Winter Meetings, Day 3 by Jared Carrabis
Scared of Sabathia? Don't be. Mark Teixeira could be the next to go


With the chance to return home to pitch in his home state of California and remain in the National League where he could continue to hit tape measure home runs, CC Sabathia instead has officially ran towards the dollar signs in New York. The contract that brought Sabathia to the Bronx is a record deal worth $161 million over the next seven years. The contract will exceed the annual pay that Johan Santana receives from the New York Mets.

The Yankees initial offer of 6-years and $140 million dollars was bumped up to 7-years, $161 million but the seventh year wasn’t the kicker for the hefty lefty. In Sabathia’s new record setting contract, the big man has an opt-out clause after the first three years. After the 2011 season, Sabathia has the choice to opt-out of his contract leaving four years and $92 million on the table. If he feels that he is worth more than that amount at that point, he can renegotiate and remain in New York or if he decides the Bronx isn’t for him, he can pack his bags.

For those of you that are shaking in their boots at the thought of Sabathia joining the Yankees and him being the difference maker in the race for the division title, I have some words of advice for you: it’s not a big deal. In my opinion, the National League made this guy look ten times better than he really is. Is he a good pitcher? Absolutely. Is he a great pitcher? Not in the American League, I’d say Johan Santana still deserves to be the highest paid pitcher in baseball.

Before Sabathia was traded to the Brewers and took on a God-like form, the left-hander had a 6-8 record with a 3.83 ERA against American League hitters. Those numbers were in 18 games with the Cleveland Indians. In 17 games with the Brewers, Sabathia was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA. Was this magic? No. It was the result of a league with a weaker offense compared to the American League and it can’t hurt to have an automatic out shuffled in the opposing lineup once ever nine at bats.

Lifetime against Boston, Sabathia has made 7 starts and has posted a 2-4 record with a 3.91 ERA. So maybe Sabathia doesn’t have his best days against the Red Sox but if the left-hander is going to be the one to lead the Yankees into October, someone else on the staff better step their game up once they get their. CC Sabathia and his new teammate Alex Rodriguez will have a lot in common once the playoffs roll around. A 2-3 record with a 7.92 ERA isn’t exactly something to brag about. Neither is his 12.27 ERA this most recent October. In the 2007 ALCS against the Red Sox Sabathia was 0-2 with a 10.45 ERA, still scared of this acquisition? Didn’t think so.

Moving on. Now with Sabathia gone from the free agent market, this locks in the top priority for a lot of teams that were looking to land either Sabathia or Mark Teixeira. With the Angels having lost their All Star closer, they knew they had to retain one or the other after following a 100-win season with a first-round exit in the postseason. The Red Sox remain the front-runners for Teixeira’s services but the Washington Nationals are not far behind.

Washington is preparing an offer of 8-years, $160 million to Teixeira. ESPN’s Peter Gammons has said, ““I don’t think there’s any chance that Teixeira ends up in Washington”. Washington would be willing to offer 10 years and the Baltimore Orioles are also willing to break bank for Teixeira by offering 9 years. Of course you can’t count the Bombers out because we’ve all seen what the Yankees are willing to spend. After writing a check for $161 million on Wednesday, it is unlikely that the Yankees would be willing to go beyond 8 years especially since their main focus is pitching with Derek Lowe their next target. However, the Boston Red Sox are prepared to offer 10 years to Teixeira if need be with an annual salary topping any other team. The Red Sox are willing to make Mark Teixeira the highest paid player in Red Sox history topping the contract of Manny Ramirez by about $2 million.

Peter Gammons was asked when he sees Teixeira signing with a team and he responded by saying, “I’m guessing about a week from now”. This is where it gets interesting. Sabathia was the first domino and once he falls, they will all start to fall. I mentioned Manny Ramirez and his monster contract which led to the spotlight being on him 24/7 in Boston, something that Ramirez was not a fan of. When asked if Teixeira was ready for all of the attention that Boston brings, Peter Gammons responded with, “I think he’d like it. He likes that kind of fire and passion. I think he’d really enjoy it in Boston.”

Published on December 10, 2008

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