Need Art?

I'm not sure how many Yankee fans out there are familiar with the name Marty Appel. Marty was the PR Director for the New York Yankees. You've probably seen him on various episodes of Yankeeography or some other YES programming. At least I think he was in some Yankeeography episodes. Anyway, he knows his stuff and he wanted to share something that he thought might be of interest to Yankees fans, especially with the holiday shopping season upon us.

Legendary Sports Prints sells top quality art at reasonable prices. There are 2 pieces in particular that Marty thought might be of interest. Both are by Bill Purdom. One shows Mantle at bat with Maris on deck from 1960, and the other Ruth at bat with Gehrig on deck from 1929, the first time players wore numbers. The Maris/Mantle one shows the left field grandstand, and the Ruth/Gehrig one the right field grandstand. They are beautiful pieces and might be worth checking out.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Who's The Better Pitcher - Part 2

The other day I listed the respective stats for 2 unnamed pitchers, asking the question who people thought was the better one based on their stats. The stats were based on their career stats and were for a 162 game average. I took them from their respective pages at baseball-reference.com. Here again are the stats. Their identities are listed below.

Pitcher A:
W-L = 15-10
GS = 34
CG = 2
SHO = 1
IP = 220
H = 214
HR = 17
BB = 74
K = 129
ERA = 3.54 (.62 below the league average for his career)
WHIP = 1.314

Pitcher B:
W-L = 17-9
GS = 33
CG = 3
SHO = 1
IP = 225.7
H = 219
BB = 49
K = 178
ERA = 3.68 (.83 below the league average for his career)
WHIP = 1.192

Pitcher B has Pitcher A beat in pretty much every statistical category when you look at it. Pitcher A is Tom Glavine, who is a virtual lock for the HOF. Pitcher B is Mike Mussina, who many people feel isn't worthy of being inducted into the Hall. Surprised?

I'm sure if I were to have asked the question who's the better pitcher, Tom Glavine or Mike Mussina, most people, if not all, would have answered Glavine. Yet if you look at their career stats, Moose has the better numbers and in my estimation is the better pitcher, especially when you consider Moose pitched in the AL his whole career while Glavine pitched in the NL. Yet the road to Cooperstown for Mike could be a bumpy ride. He's 30 wins shy of 300. Glavine by the way was 38 wins shy after his first 18 seasons and had also started 34 more games than Mike up to that point in his career. Moose never won a ring, but very well could have had the greatest closer of all time not blown a save in game 7 of the 2001 World Series. Glavine won 1 ring in 5 trips to series. The two have identical postseason ERAs. Glavine though did win 2 Cy Young Awards to Moose's zero, which to me is more of a by-product of who pitched in your league. If you go back and look at the voting records, the AL had more guys you would consider top-of-the-line compared to the NL. At least that's how I see it.

Now that I've broken it down a little bit more, I'll ask the question again, who's the better pitcher? Tom Glavine or Mike Mussina? I'm curious to know what people would say now.

It's things like this that I'll be blogging about from time to time at my 2nd blog, Elect Mike Mussina. Please feel free to check it out.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

J-Boogie

Win Some Yankees/Red Sox/Mets DVDs

Lisa from Subway Squawkers e-mailed me to let me know that they are giving away some DVD box sets for the holiday. Here are the DVDs that readers can win:

"Essential Games of Yankee Stadium"
"Essential Games of Shea Stadium"
"Essential Games of Fenway Park"

They have 5 copies of each to give away and all you have to do to enter is send them an e-mail. Looks like it's a random drawing. You can find more details about it by clicking here.

J-Boogie

Thanksgiving Top 10

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd put up a list of the top 10 baseball-related things I'm thankful for this offseason. I did the same last year and the year before. Some entries are repeats. Feel free to post your own.

10) Round 1 of this year's World Baseball Classic is being held in Toronto, only 1.5 hours away
9) MLB on XM Radio, can't beat 24-7 baseball coverage
8) The Hot Stove, there's no better offseason in sports
7) The 18-year HOF career of one Michael Cole Mussina (thanks for the memories!)
6) Brian Cashman is still the Yankee GM
5) Everyone who reads this blog
4) I'm not a Red Sox fan
3) With each passing day, we're 1 day closer to pitchers and catchers reporting
2) George M. Steinbrenner III and all he's done for the Yankees franchise
and the #1 baseball-related thing thing I'm thankful for this offseason is,
1) I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee fan
..... and I'm especially thankful for my wife and son.

Happy Thanksgiving!

J-Boogie

Who's The Better Pitcher?

My friend and I are debating who is a better pitcher. Consider these #s and tell me who you think is the better pitcher. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section. Your participation is appreciated.

These #s are based on their career statistics and are for a 162 game average, as listed at baseball-reference.com. I don't want to give too much away about their identities, but both have started more than 500 games and have pitched more than 4000 innings. So they've been around, or were around, for quite a while.

Pitcher A:
W-L = 15-10
GS = 34
CG = 2
SHO = 1
IP = 220
H = 214
HR = 17
BB = 74
K = 129
ERA = 3.54 (.62 below the league average for his career)
WHIP = 1.314

Pitcher B:
W-L = 17-9
GS = 33
CG = 3
SHO = 1
IP = 225.7
H = 219
BB = 49
K = 178
ERA = 3.68 (.83 below the league average for his career)
WHIP = 1.192

I'll post their respective identities a little later on.

J-Boogie

This Could Get Interesting

On my way to work this morning I was listening to XM Radio's MLB channel. It's pretty much what I listen to all day, every day. They mentioned a story that was in today's LA Times. The Angels have "reportedly" shifted their main interest from Mark Teixeira to CC Sabathia. Tex "reportedly" wants a 10 year deal and that's apparently about 3 years longer than what the Angels are willing to give. The article mentions that the Halos are "reportedly" willing to give CC a deal that comes close to the Yankees offer of 6 years/$140 million. It comes off as total speculation, but yikes.

This could make things interesting for the Yankees in their pursuit of CC. As I've discussed before, CC is a west coast guy. Everybody should know this by now. If the Angels swoop in and offer CC anything over $130 million, I don't see how/why he wouldn't hop all over that. Assuming of course that he does in fact want to play out west. The Yankees would likely need to significantly increase their offer if they want CC to come to New York. The first figure that comes to mind is $20 million over what the Angels offer. So perhaps they're looking at $150-160 million, which is $25-26.6 million per year. Wow. That's a lot of cheddar. I wonder how high the Yankees are willing to go? A point has to come where it makes more sense to spend that money elsewhere. I guess we'll find out soon if the Angels do in fact drop an offer in CC's lap. I don't think the Yankees waiting too long to throw out their second offer. This time of year is great isn't it? Man, I love it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

All Is Quiet

Not much going out there in Yankeeland. Hal Steinbrenner has assumed control of the team, but other than that all is pretty quiet. As long as the person in the charge of the Yankees is named Steinbrenner, I'm happy. Hal and Hank definitely know what their father has meant for the team and for Major League Baseball. There's no way they do anything to change the way the ship is run. And even thought Hal is the control person, fear not Yankee fans, Big Bank Hank will still be in charge of baseball operations. Awesome. Hank isn't one to shy away from making some inane comment and I like that. You want a nice and crazy sound bite, Hank's your guy. He seems to be a lot more like his pops and I don't think he'll be afraid to let people know how he feels and what he wants. He might be a blowhard, but he'll do whatever he can to make sure the team wins.

Still no movement on the free agent front. CC remains unsigned. That makes me a little nervous. I'm beginning to think he'd prefer something else, even if it's at a lower salary. It's widely known that CC prefers playing in the National League. It's also widely know that he prefers to play on the west coast as that's where he was born and raised. Nobody is going to give CC as much money as the Yankees. Everyone knows this, including CC and his agent. If it was about the cash, he'd have signed already. At least that's what I think. What's really the difference between 6 years/$140 mill and 6 years/$120 million? Not much when you think about it. A few of us were talking about it at work and and extra $20 million wouldn't be enough for us to want to play out west if the scenario were reversed. $120 million is enough money for probably about 8 generations of Sabathia's to live rather comfortably. If he truly wants to play in the NL or play out west, the Yanks might need to dig a little deeper. I think he's going to slip through our fingers. Hopefully, CC does something soon so the Yankees can move on to other targets. What do you guys think? We going to land the big guy?

A.J. Burnett's agent wants a 5 year deal. If I'm the Yankees, I don't even bother. From what I've read, it sounds like they wouldn't even entertain the thought. They'll be tempted to if CC signs elsewhere and I hope they resist that temptation. I still think A.J. has the potential to be a huge bust. Five years is a long time and I don't think the risk would be worth the reward. Cashman is a creative guy. I'm sure he'll come up with something if need be.

As I said in my Say No Lowe post from a few days ago, I think the Yankees need to pass on Derek Lowe if the price tag is indeed $16 million per year. I'm just not a fan and I think his numbers will balloon if he comes back to the AL. $16 mill just isn't worth it to me. Hope it's not to the Yanks.

If the Yankees happen to swing and miss with the big 3, I have to think they'll make a huge push for Mark Teixeira. How can they not? I still think they should even if they sign all 3 of the above. Nick Swisher will be serviceable, but he's no Mark Teixeira. Adding Tex to the lineup would be preferred, but I understand they want to throw the $$ at the pitchers. I wonder what Cashman is really thinking?

I really thought something would have happened by now. I'm continuously hopping online to check for updates. I pretty much do this all throughout the hot stove. I pretty much live on MLBtraderumors.com. If you've never checked the site out, I highly recommend it. It's like a one-stop shop for pretty much all the news there is to print.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Elect Moose 2.0

I just updated the "Elect Moose" post I wrote back in early August and posted it over at my second site, Elect Mike Mussina. I also posted something about what Pete Abe just wrote about Moose and why he's going to vote for him come election time. Feel free to check it out.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Elect Mike Mussina

Joel Sherman at the NY Post posted another "is Mike Mussina a HOFer" article on his Hardball blog. At this time, Sherman sees Mussina "slightly on the wrong side of the Hall borderline," lying in a "gulf between greatness and immortality." He mentions that "when you are a voter, you are essentially always judging the line where greatness ends and immortality begins."

I respectfully disagree with Joel. As I've mentioned many times, for my money, Mike Mussina is a Hall of Famer. And that is why I've created a new blog called Elect Mike Mussina. It's in the very early stages, but hey, I've got until 2014 before Moose gets on the ballot. Five years should be plenty of time to try and help people see that Mike belongs on the right side of the Hall borderline. Like I said, it's in the very early stages and it will be interesting to see what I/we can make of it.

I'm hoping it becomes a site that will hopefully change some minds and sway some voters. It's a call to arms of sorts. Let's rally the troops and help Moose. Five years should be plenty of time to get the word out and do some campaigning. There are a lot of us out there. Fox Sports has a poll up, asking if Moose is a HOFer. 64,815 people have voted thus far and 71% of the voters believe he is. It takes 75% to gain induction. We've got some work to do.

If any of my blog friends can hook the site up with a link on their blog, I'd appreciate it. Your links are already there. If you could let me know that you added it to your site, I'd appreciate it. My plan is to e-mail everyone I currently link with in the coming days and ask for an add. I'll skip you if I know you did it. Also, please feel free to give the site a plug. the more readers the better. If anyone else is interested in linking up, give me a shout. There's contact info on that blog. The site's address is electmoose.com.

It may take me a few days to update the site as I get everything in order. Again, 2014 is a ways off so I've got plenty of time to get it up and running at full steam. Thanks and I hope to see you there.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Various Mike Mussina Articles

I thought I'd put together a list of recent articles I've come across about Mike Mussina and his retirement. Feel free to give them a look and by all means, please share any you know of that I don't have listed.

Joe Posnanski at SI.com

Tyler Kepner at NY Times

John Donovan at SI.com

Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports

Pete Abraham

Mark Feinsand at NY Daily News

Joel Sherman at NY Post

Moose Makes It Official

Mike Mussina confirmed today what everyone reported yesterday, he has officially retired. Sigh. Here's a copy of a press release from the Yankees, courtesy of Pete Abe's blog. It's a great release and in my mind, just solidifies what I already knew: Moose is a Hall Of Famer.

Five-time All-Star Mike Mussina today announced his retirement from Baseball. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Mussina becomes the first pitcher to retire immediately following a 20-win season since Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax exited the game following his 27-9 campaign in 1966.

Mussina, 39, was a member of the Yankees pitching staff from 2001-08, compiling a record of 123-72 with a 3.88 ERA. Since signing with the Yankees as a free agent prior to the 2001 season, no other American League pitcher recorded more wins than Mussina. He struck out 1,278 batters in pinstripes, ranking sixth on the club’s all-time list. His 72 wins at Yankee Stadium were the third-most since 1976 when the facility was remodeled, behind Ron Guidry (99) and Andy Pettitte (95).

With a 123-72 record, he finished 51 games over .500 with the Yankees while going 66 games over .500 with Baltimore (147-81). According to Elias, he joins Randy Johnson as the only pitchers since 1900 to own a career record of at least 50 games over .500 with two different teams (Johnson was 130-74 with Seattle, 56 games over, and 118-62 with Arizona, 56 games over).

Mussina reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career in 2008, going 20-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 34 starts for the Yankees. At age 39, he became the oldest pitcher in Baseball history to record 20 wins in a season for the first time in his career, passing Jamie Moyer (20 wins in 2001 at age 38). He also became the Yankees’ first 20-game winner with an ERA lower than 3.40 since Ron Guidry went 22-6 with a 3.27 ERA in 1985.
In addition, Mussina earned his seventh career Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2008 (also 1996-99, 2001 and 2003).

Mussina pitched 18 years in the Majors from 1991-2008, making 536 combined starts (537 appearances) with the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles and posting a 270-153 record with a 3.68 ERA and 2,813 strikeouts. Only three pitchers recorded more wins than Mussina during his time in the Major Leagues. He reached 15 wins in a season 11 times, including a career-high 20 victories in 2008, and placed in the top five in Cy Young Award voting six times in his career.

Pitching his entire career in the American League East Division, Mussina finished tied with Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes for 32nd place on Baseball’s all-time wins list after surpassing Jack Morris (254), Jim McCormick (265), Gus Weyhing (265), as well as Hall of Famers Bob Gibson (251), Carl Hubbell (253), Red Faber (254), Ted Lyons (260), Bob Feller (266), Eppa Rixey (266) and Jim Palmer (268) in the 2008 season.

Mussina’s .638 career winning percentage is sixth-best all-time among Major Leaguers with at least 500 career starts and ranked second among active pitchers (Randy Johnson-.648), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. His 2,813 strikeouts rank 19th on Baseball’s all-time list.
A native of Montoursville, Pa., Mussina retired as one of just 18 pitchers in Major League history to own a career record of at least 115 games over .500 (270-153). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, twelve of those pitchers are currently in the Hall of Fame, five are not eligible yet (Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Mussina) and one only pitched in nine seasons (Bob Caruthers).

He is the only American League pitcher to record 17 consecutive seasons of 10-or-more wins (1992-2008) and only Walter Johnson (18) has more total seasons of double-digits wins than Mussina all-time among AL hurlers. According to Elias, only five other Major League pitchers have compiled a stretch of 17 straight seasons with at least 10 wins – Greg Maddux (20 yrs., 1988-2007), Cy Young (19, 1891-1909), Steve Carlton (18, 1967-84), Don Sutton (17, 1966-82) and Warren Spahn (17, 1947-63). Also according to Elias, Mussina is the only pitcher in AL history to make at least 24 starts in 17 consecutive seasons (1992-2008).

A master of control, Mussina walked only 785 batters in 3,562.2 career innings, averaging 1.98 walks/9.0IP. According to Elias, he is one of just three pitchers in AL history to toss at least 3,000.0 innings while holding opponents to fewer than 2.0 walks/9.0IP, joining Jack Quinn (1.96) and Cy Young (1.11).

Though he never won a World Series title, Mussina pitched in 23 playoff games (21 starts), going 7-8 with a 3.42 ERA. He twice appeared in the Fall Classic—both with the Yankees—in 2001 vs. Arizona and 2003 vs. Florida.

Originally drafted by Baltimore in the first round (20th overall) of the 1990 First-Year Player Draft, Mussina ranks second all-time among Orioles’ pitchers in strikeouts (1,535) and winning percentage (.645, 147-81), third in wins (147), fifth in games started (288) and sixth in innings pitched (2,009.2). His 218 strikeouts in 1997 established a new club record that was later broken by Erik Bedard in 2007 (221).

Great Moose Article

Woke up a little early this morning and came across this article on SI.com by John Donovan. It's a great article about Mike Mussina and his tenure in pinstripes. If you're a Moose fan, or are a baseball fan that doubts just how good Moose really is/was (hey it's still not official), I suggest you check it out. It's a good read.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Moose Is Hanging 'Em Up

I was at my brother-in law's new house tonight getting ready to munch on some pizza when I felt a vibration in my pocket. I pulled the celly and saw I had a text message. Without looking, I knew who it was from, friend and reader of my blog, Danny Mac. He forwards me the text alerts he gets from ESPN that pertain to the Yankees. I was hoping when I flipped it open to read something along the lines of "CC Sabathia signs with the Yankees." Unfortunately it read, "Fox Sports: Yankees P Mike Mussina will announce his retirement later this week." Ugh.

I kind of knew deep down all along that Moose was going to call it a career. I was still hoping though that he wasn't quite ready and was going to announce his intentions to play. I thought that since he hadn't announced it yet that he was still mulling it over, which I took as a sign that he still had a little gas left in the tank. According to Ken Rosenthal's article on Fox Sports, Moose waited until after all the post season awards were doled out to make his announcement. Yeah, I totally didn't think of that.

As I thought about this over the last few hours, I've made my peace with it. It makes a lot of sense that Moose would hang it up. He's going out as a 20 game winner and that's what people are going to remember. that alone will make a lot of people forget about his lackluster 2007 season. And what more does he really have to prove? Sure he could stick around for 3 more years and in all likelihood would win 30 more games giving him 300 for his career. But then people will call him a "compiler" and cite that he only won 300 because he pitched so long. For my money, Moose is a slam dunk for the HOF. But I know there are a lot of people out there who don't agree with me. Fox Sports is doing a poll, asking if Moose is a HOFer. 69% of the 20,630 voters say yes. I wrote a post back in August called "Elect Moose." I suggest giving it a look if you're interested in seeing some arguments in favor of inducting him into the Hall. I'm hoping to start another website in the coming weeks that will focus on Moose's career and doing what I can to help him turn that 69% into 100%. A grass roots campaign kind of thing. Stay tuned for more info. It's still in the planning stages.

Finally, I want to wish Moose the best in his retirement. I hope to see him in a few months at his annual fan club dinner, which is something I hope he continues even though he's not playing. So take care Mike. You are and will always be one of my favorite pitchers. It was a pleasure to watch you pitch. Hopefully, I'll see you in Cooperstown in 5 years.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Say No Lowe

According to Jon Heyman at SI.com, Derek Lowe is reportedly seeking a starting offer of $16 million per year. If that's the case, tell 'em what to say Mase, say no Lowe. Sorry, had to drop the De La Soul reference.

I'm sorry but Lowe isn't worth $16 mill per year at the age of 35 and if that's what it will take, I hope the Yankees pass. Tying up $16 million per year for a 35 year old pitcher doesn't make any sense to me. I can't imagine that Lowe would want a deal for less than 4 years either. I don't think it's wise to that that much money up into a pitcher on the down side of his career.

I also don't think that the #s Lowe put up in LA are going to hold up if he moves to the Bronx. I can see him performing much like did as a starter for the BoSox. Lowe did very well in his 1st year as a starter in 2002, going 21-8 with an ERA of 2.58, a WHIP of 0.97 and an opponents batting average of .211. In 2003, it looks like the league figured him out as his ERA ballooned to 4.47. Opponents hit .272 off him. 2004 was even worse for Lowe as his ERA was north of 5 (5.42)and the batting average was .299. In 2005, he went to LA , a pitcher's park and did quite well. If he moves back to the AL East, I see his #s being closer to what they were in 2003 and 2004, and that's not what I'd expect from a guy banking $16 mill.

It sounds like Lowe and super-agent Scott Boras believe Lowe is worth that much cheddar because Andy Pettitte got that much last season, when he was 35, same age as Lowe will be this year. Sorry, but Andy pretty much sucked last year. I can see Lowe maybe being worth that somewhere else, but not in NY.

I hope the Yankees have the good sense to stay out of the mix if this is really what Lowe is looking for. If they don't land Sabathia and/or A.J., I still would hope they wouldn't pay Lowe that much.

I love the hot stove.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Reportedly Make Offer To Burnett

According to George King of the NY Post, the Yankees are preparing to make an offer to A.J. Burnett for reported terms of 5 years at $80 million. Yeah, I don't buy it. Sounds to me like it's something that Mr. King has trumped up to gain attention as he's the only one I've seen with this info. Here's an excerpt from his article:

"The Yankees, according to several industry insiders, spent yesterday preparing an offer - perhaps a five-year deal worth about $80 million - for Toronto righty A.J. Burnett."

Now, I may not be hip to the lingo that sports writers use, but the word "perhaps" makes me think that it's total speculation. And who exactly are "industry insiders?" That seems like an odd term to use. Wouldn't it have to be either someone with the Yankees if the offer hasn't been made yet? How would anyone else know? It just seems a little odd and I can't get it to add up.

Now, if the offer happens to be real, my first reaction: not a huge fan but I'd be OK with it. I'm not a huge Burnett fan and while he is one of the better options that are available, I don't really like the deal at those terms. A.J. hasn't exactly been the picture of health in recent years. I also think he could be had for a little less cash as $16 mill per year seems a little steep. If true, I do like the Yankees aggressiveness. I'm fine with them blowing everybody else out of the water and not even giving the player much of a choice. With about $80 mill/year coming off the books, they have the $$ to do this.

Fact of the matter is adding AJ to the Yankees is going to make them a better team, assuming he stays healthy. But that's a roll of the dice. Anybody could get hurt, a la Chien-Ming Wang. You just never know. I think I've talked myself into being more on the side of liking the deal. I'm just a little worried about his history with injuries. Hopefully, he's turned the corner. Unless of course for some reason he signs with the Red Sox. Then I hope his arm falls off.

And I still don't buy George King's story. Something about it just smells kind of funny.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Still Waiting.....

I'll bet based on the title of this post that I'm referring to CC Sabathia. While true, I am waiting for him to accept the Yankees mega-offer, I'm more interested to know what's going on with my man Mike Mussina. I thought for sure this was something Mike would have decided and made public long ago. Quite honestly, I would have thought had he wanted to retire, he would have done so already. Considering that he's yet to decide, I'm starting to think that the odds of Moose pitching in 2009 are increasing with each passing day.

I can understand why he filed for free agency. It only makes sense that he's keeping his options open. It also makes a little sense that Mike would want to wait to see what kind of interest there is in teams taking on his services. But still, the fact that he hasn't officially retired yet makes me think he's not going to. I sent his agent, Arn Tellem, an e-mail on Saturday night asking for an update (figured why not) and have yet to (and probably won't) receive a reply. In short, I asked what's Moose doing and have any teams expressed interest in him. Hey, it never hurts to ask.

I'm thinking that we'll hear something from Moose sometime this week. I haven't seen anything about this but I'd have to think the Yankees have had some contact with him. I get the sense that BC would like Moose back in Pinstripes. They pretty much have a slam dunk in Andy Pettitte and could have signed him prior to 11/14 but they didn't. That makes me think they're looking at other options. Then again, they always could have signed Moose by 11/14 if he was interested in pitching. Who knows? Right now, we can only speculate and there isn't much to go on. I, for one, want to see Moose back in Pinstripes. Hopefully, something comes out on his plans soon.

Who knows? Maybe his agent will respond to my inquiry and I'll be able to break the news. How cool would that be?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

CC = Crazy Cheddar

According to various sources, like Pete Abe, the Yankees have reportedly offered CC Sabathia a 6 year deal worth $140 million. Hot damn that be a lot of coin. The offer surpasses the record offer that the Mets gave Johan Santana last year by a cool 2.5 million. I think it's safe to say that the Yankees mean business. Can anyone really see any other team out there even coming close to that? I can see someone stepping in to possibly drive up the final price but I don't think anyone wants to, or even can, drop that much money on CC. I think it's a matter of time before this deal gets done. I can't see this dragging out much longer than the middle of next week. I think the Yanks were smart to strike early. It kind of puts pressure on CC to make his intentions known rather quickly. If he's not interested, it's best the Yankees find this out sooner rather than later as they can move that money on to other resources. I don't see the Yankees leaving this deal on he table for long. The ball is in CC's court and the only reason I can't see him signing with NY is if he really has no desire whatsoever to play on the east coast.

If you ask me, and why would you, I'm glad that things didn't work out last offseason with Johan Santana. A year goes by and we could get the lefty for pretty much the same money without having to lose 3 prospects. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer Johan over CC every day of the week. But not for an additional 3 prospects. I'm glad the Yanks rolled the dice and waited the year. Now all they have to do is wrap this up.

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm pretty giddy over this. I don't see how this won't happen, and that kind of worries me. A part of me is expecting the rug to be pulled out from under me at the last second. Hopefully, it's over quickly and the Yanks git-r-done.

On a personal note, in case anyone was wondering, I had my follow-up visit with the doc today and I do have diverticulitis, which is manageable as long as I stay away from certain foods. My 2 favorite snacks are sunflower seeds and popcorn, both of which are now no-nos, and both are probably largely to blame for having diverticulitis in the first place. The CT scan did show something else though my doctor wasn't really sure what it was or meant so I have to see a Gastroenterologist. He said it was some kind of hardening/thickening of my gastric mucosa, which is some mucusy thing that is basically my stomach lining. It's not causing any discomfort and it's probably nothing, but s they say, better safe than sorry. So I'm getting it checked out by an expert. Hakuna matata.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-boogie

Swisher Deal Details

Here are the details on the Swisher deal:

Yanks get Swisher and minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira
White Sox get Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhony Nunez

I still like the deal. Betemit is a chump and though Swisher isn't exactly the bomb at the plate (he hit .219 last year) he gives the Yankees a lot more flexibility since he can play the OF and 1B. It's a smart move and benefits both teams. Swisher gives the Yankees a little more room to play with in terms of roster options. He could play CF in place of Melky or Gardner. Could play 1B if the free agent market doesn't cooperate. Could play RF if that position stays open as well.

J-Boogie

Nick Swisher Is A Yankee

As I was finishing my last post, I heard on XM Radio that the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher from the White Sox. I was kind of half listening and I'm pretty sure they said the Yankees. There were no specifics but my buddy Dan just got a text alert from ESPN that says they acquired him for Jeff Marquez. Interesting deal to say the least. First impression: I dig the deal if in fact it's straight up. There really isn't any room at the inn for Marquez and it makes sense to me to deal him. The Yankees let Abreu go and this could fill that hole. Or possibly he plays 1B and no Mark Teixeira? Lots of roster felxibility with this trade! I love it. I can't wait to see how the roster starts to shape up in the coming days. I love this time of year.

Here's a link to ESPN's story.

XM is reporting that the Yanks also dealt a kid with the last name of Teixeira. Not sure who that is but no relation to Mark. Now it sounds like they acquired him. MLBtraderumors says they acquired Kanekoa Texeira. That makes the deal even better.

XM is now mentioning that Wilson Betemit was in the deal. I still think it's a good deal. Never a big fan of Wilson's.

J-Boogie

Shopping Season Starts Tomorrow

Greetings everyone. Hope you've been well. Sorry for my prolonged absence by life hasn't been on my good side lately. By no means are things bad. It's just that free time is fleeting. I woke up Monday with a fever and a bad case of the runs. Not sure if it was related to my recent digestive problems but it wasn't fun to say the least. Tuesday I had my abdominal CT scan and I had to drink some gross concoction (barium I think) which gave me the runs. Work has been hectic. But all things considered, I can't complain. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get the results of my CT scan. I'm pretty sure they're going to tell me I have diverticulitis. They called me on Wednesday and told me to finish my pills and come in for my follow-up. And that's where I am with things. But enough about me. Let's talk Yankees. I've got some catching up to do.

• As expected the Yankees cut ties with Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano. No complaints from me. No one in their right mind wants Pavano back. Giambi could provide some value but only at a drastically reduced salary and only after other options are explored. If things don't work out with Mark Teixeira, I can see looking to bring back the Big G. But I'm sure he'll command a better salary from other teams. I say leave him be and only consider it as a last resort.
• Andy Pettitte remains unsigned and filed for free agency. I don't think he's the top pitching priority for the Yankees. They would have signed him already if they wanted to commit a spot in the rotation to him. I don't think they want him back. Spots 1 and 2 go to Wang and Joba. Spots 3 and 4 are going to go to in all likelihood 2 free agents. Spot 5 is up in the air and I don't think AP is the first choice. I don't see Andy improving on his sub-par 2008. Save the money and spend it elsewhere. Like with Giambi, leave him be and only bring him back as a last resort.
• Mike Mussina remains unsigned and filed for free agency. I'm not surprised that Moose hasn't retired yet. It only makes sense to see what offers are out there. Mike recently said that he's "still up in the air" about coming back. I think he'll wait to see how the 1st few days of the free agent season goes before he officially makes his decision. Personally, I think he'll pitch and I think he'll be locked up by mid next-week. Where is the only question. Please be New York.
• Damaso Marte signed a 3 year deal which is good for me b/c I can now continue to sport my Damaso Marte batting jersey for the next 3 years. Yippee! It was a smart signing. It was about par for the lefty market and he's definitely more than capable of satisfying the role. I don't think Phil Coke is the answer and isn't he a starter anyway? Let him develop as such in the minors and when the time comes to limit his innings, add him to the pen. Pretty much what they did last year.
• Congrats to Mariano Rivera and Mike Mussina for picking up some Cy Young votes. Both had solid years and the recognition was well-deserved.
• Tomorrow marks the official opening of free agent season. Teams are free to negotiate with anyone and this should be quite an interesting time for the Yankees. I've been waiting for this day all offseason because it's when the hot stove really gets going. My wish list is CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. I'm up in the air about what other SP I'd like to see them go after. I'm not a fan of AJ Burnett or Derek Lowe. I'd guess I'd prefer AJ, but again, not a fan. Joel Sherman of the NY Post is reporting that the Yanks won't wait long to blow CC away with an offer. I don't really see the Yankees not getting CC. I think signing him is a must and if that means making him the highest paid pitcher in baseball than they need to do that. It all starts tomorrow and I don't think the Yankees will wait long to strike.

really hope my life gets a little less hectic so I can get back to blogging on a regular basis. I've missed doing it and quite honestly it's at times therapeutic. I hope everyone is enjoying the offseason and is ready for the real fun to begin when the clock strikes 12:01.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Golden Moose

I had to hop on to offer up congrats to my man Moooooooooooooooooooose on winning his 7th career Gold Glove Award, which ranks him 2nd for all AL pitchers, trailing only Jim Kaat, who has 14. I think Moose could pull that off if he continues to pitch. And that's the big question. Will he or won't he? As of right now, I'm sad to say I think he won't be. And if he does, I'm thinking it won't be for the Yankees. It sounds as if the team wants to bring back Andy Pettitte and if that happens, I can't see them even making a play for Mike. The only way they would bring back both is if they bust out on all other free agent options. Hey, ya never know.

Again, congrats to Moose on picking up the honor. It's well deserved and not a bad way to cap off one of his better seasons. The annual MMFC dinner should be pretty fun this year.

J-Boogie health update: feeling better but still a little blah. Got a CT scan on the abdominal region scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and should no more when that's done. But by and large I'm feeling well. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a light day at work so I'm hoping to catch up on some Yankee blogging.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Update

Sorry I've been absent over the last few days. I've wanted to blog but I've been suffering from severe abdominal pains and the doctor believes I have diverticulitis. It's been unbearable. The pains keep me up at night and I sleep in 30 minute blocks before I feel the need to get up and visit the bathroom. Not fun. I am feeling better today though there is still some discomfort. I'm on the road to recovery and hope to be back to blogging more regularly in the coming days.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie