WTF???? Teixeira Bronx Bound???

I published my last post about 2 minutes ago. Next thing I hear on XM Radio is that the Yankees are on the verge of signing Mark Teixeira. I checked MLBtraderumors and they of course had the scoop, again courtesy of Jon Heyman. There's a link on that page but it's invalid right now. But this is what the page says:

"The Yankees are on the verge of signing free-agent slugger Mark Teixeira, SI.com has learned."

I'm not getting ahead of myself but hot damn!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

J-Boogie

All I Want For Christmas

OK. This whole Mark Teixeira saga needs to end. And it needs to end with him signing with the Yankees. The latest rumor, courtesy of MLBtraderumors via Jon Heyman at SI.com is that the Yankees are "stepping up their Teixeira talks." Well, it's about time. Heyman refers to it as "an attempt to beat out the rival Red Sox for Teixeira's services." This is absolutely the reason why the Yankees need to get this done. Teixeira is without a doubt the best position player available in the free agent market and keeping him out of Boston would ensure a far weaker Sox lineup. It would be different if the Yankees didn't have a need for Teixeira, but they do. They desperately need a big bat in the middle of the lineup and who better than Mark Teixeira to fill that need? And don't say Manny Ramirez. Manny would certainly improve the Yankee lineup but there are too many question marks. I wouldn't trust him to give the Yankees a solid 3-4 years and not flake out like he did in Boston. Teixeira is the smarter signing and if the rumors are true, it sounds like the Yankees front office is figuring that out.

It was also reported by various outlets that a decision was "imminent" and could possibly come today. I really hope it does. Now that would be one helluva Christmas present for we Yankee fans. Get it done Cash. Get it done!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

I Almost Got Punked, Well Not Really

Okay. This whole Mark Teixeira thing needs to end. I'm sick of this whole will they or won't they dance. Mt friend Danny Mac tried to pull a fast one on me today. He forwards me text alerts he gets from ESPN. This is what I got from him today:

ESPN MLB - Yankees reach agreement with 1B Mark Teixeira worth 5 years and $95 million. Details are not known except for the above being a complete fabrication. LOL.

The first things that caught my eye were the words Yankees, agreement, and Mark Teixeira. For a brief second I was extremely overjoyed and then I saw the terms of the deal and I thought something was off. Danny Mac must have forgotten that Teixeira and his agent are angling for an 8-10 year deal in the $180 million range. It would have been much funnier had he left off the part about it being made up. I probably would have ran with it or at least mentioned the alert and that I couldn't verify it. I really hope the Yankees come through at the last second with a winning bid. I'm convinced that they're going to go after Teixeira or Manny Ramirez. I see the merits of signing both but I think 8 years of Teixeira is better than 3 years of ManRam. Hopefully, this saga ends by Christmas. I'd like to move on from it. Teixeira said before that he wanted it done by the holiday, so it should be happening soon.

In other news, the Yankees and Chien-Ming Wang agreed to a 1 year deal for $5 million. I love Chien-Ming Wang. He's one of my favorite pitchers and I he stays in pinstripes for his entire career. I personally think he's one of the better pitchers in the game and as I've written before, he's an ace. I disagree wholeheartedly with anyone that thinks he isn't. I know wins aren't the best measure of a pitcher but Wang was the 3rd fastest pitcher in the last 50 years to reach 50 career wins. Wang reached the 50 win plateau in his 85th career start. Doc Gooden and Ron Guidry won 50 in their first 82 starts. I don't know anyone that doesn't see those two as aces. You don't win 19 games in back-to-back seasons if you're not a top of the rotation starter. Who knows? We could be talking about back-to-back-to-back seasons if the Wanger knew how to run the bases. He was 8-2 when he went on the shelf last year. Bottom line is Wang wins ball games. The Yankees have a great 1-2-3 combo now that Sabathia and Burnett have joined the fold. I wouldn't be surprised if Wang bests these guys in wins. I think he's that good. $5 million is a steal. Nicely done Yanks.

Finally, if you want to see just how cool of a person Phil Hughes, check this link out. It comes from Zell's Pinstripe Blog. He ran into Phil on a message board and Phil hooked him up with some free swag. It's definitely worth a look and just goes to show how cool Phil really is. If only I collected baseball cards. Signed balls are more my thing.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Catching Up & Some Book Reviews

There hasn't been much to blog about in the last few days. I could have come on and wrote yet another post about Mark Teixeira, but I've been there, done that. There really isn't much more to say. The Angels have apparently pulled out of the deal and I still think he's going to Boston. It sounds like the Yankees are/were deciding on who to pursue, Teixeira or Manny Ramirez? It sounds like they're going after one of them, and unfortunately I think they chose Ramirez. I fully expect Teixeira to sign this week, maybe as soon as tomorrow. Manny won't be far behind. Hopefully, this will all be wrapped up by Christmas. Moving on....

I recently finished 2 Yankee book. The first was "The Greatest Game: The Yankees, The Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78" by Richard Bradley. I started reading it back at the beginning of the 2008 season and something always seemed to pull me away from it. Finally, some 8 months later, I finally finished it. I didn't love the book. Didn't hate it either. It was good, but not great. It was basically the same book as Buster Olney's "The Last Night Of The Yankee Dynasty" only about 20 years earlier. The book was pretty much exactly the same. Each chapter chronicled one half-inning of the game while including a detailed story about one of the major players involved, which was the formula that Buster used for his book. Buster's focused on game 7 of the 2001 World Series. This book had to do with the 1-game playoff between the Yanks and Sox back in 1978. You know, the Bucky F'n Dent game. I thought the strongest and most memorable chapters were the ones centered around Bucky Dent, Carlton Fisk, and Thurman Munson. The rest of the book, though interesting, was a little forgettable. Basically, what it boils down to is if you liked Buster's book, which I did, there's no reason you won't like this one. Same goes if you're a Yankee fan and enjoy reading about the past.

I also recently (today) finished "Yankee For Life: My 40-Year Journey In Pinstripes" by Bobby Murcer and Glen Waggoner. My wife and son got this for me for my birthday and I couldn't wait to start reading it. I've always been a fan of Bobby's and was extremely saddened by his death and this book was a great way to reflect back on his great life. The book was at times hard to read, but only because reading is difficult when you have tears in your eyes. The book drew me in and made me feel like I was part of Bobby's inner-circle. When he wrote about getting the news of his brain tumor, or what it was like going through the tests, surgery, and post-op procedures, I felt like I was right there with him. The charm of the book is that it's written as if Bobby is talking directly to you. It felt like I was sitting in a room, one-on-one with Bobby, and he's telling me all these stories about his life. I enjoyed how he had his wife Kay interject with her thoughts when the topic called for it. I thought that was an interesting dynamic. Two of my favorite parts were when Bobby's children, Todd and Tori, had a little write-up about what it was like being a clubhouse kid. Both mentioned how they were awed by little Kenny Griffey and his athletic prowess. I thought that was kind of funny. Anyone that ever saw Bobby play or listened to him on Yankee broadcasts will enjoy the book. I highly suggest that if you haven't read the book yet, you check it out. You're sure to love it.

It's been snowing here pretty much non-stop since Friday. I was outside shovelling/snow-blowing the driveway 3 times today and I'm sure I'll be out there again come morning. It's intensified a little bit over the last hour or so and I don't think it's supposed to stop. I'm not a fan. With any luck, I'll wake up tomorrow and my driveway will be miraculously spotless. I think the odds of that happening are better than waking up and finding out the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira. One can dream, can't he?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Sox Out Of Teixeira Race???

I just got finished watching the Colts/Jags game (I took the Colts and the over!!) and I figured I'd check MLBtraderumors one more time before bed. This is what I see:

9:58pm: Red Sox owner John Henry said:

"We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor."

Woah.

This comes from an article on Boston.com. The article states that Sox owner John Henry e-mailed several media members, saying:

"We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor."

Again, woah.

Now I don't necessarily take this to mean the Sox are out of the running for Teixeira, but woah. As Tim Dierkes put it on his site: "From favorites to out of the bidding."

He posted this at 11pm EST. It's probably a safe bet that more than half of New England hasn't gotten this news yet. Talk about a rude awakening.

I can't wait to see how this plays out.

J-Boogie

ps-I still think he'll somehow end up in Boston.

Cabrera/Cameron Deal Dead?

I was driving home from work today, listening to XM's 24-7 MLB channel like usual. One of the in-between segment news updates (kind of like a news update every 20 minutes) had to do with the recently discussed Brewers/Yankees Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron deal. They way they made it sound was that according to Brewers' GM Doug Melvin, the deal was pretty much dead. Per the news report, the 2 sides haven't spoken since the winter meetings. I surfed around the web to see if I could find any reports about it and surprisingly there were none that I came across. (update @8pm - Kat O'Brien now has it mentioned on her blog)

If it is in fact dead, I won't lose any sleep over it, even though Cameron would be a slight upgrade over Melky Cabrera in my opinion. This is kind of a deal that one could live with or without. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if this deal gets put back on the table at some point.

I could really care less.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

What I Learned Today

Nothing. I learned a whole lot of nothing. No update on Pettitte. No movement on the Melky/Cameron trade. And Teixeira is still on the market with the Yankees reportedly in the mix. Today was pretty much a wasted day.

Maybe tomorrow will bring some updates/news. I still think the Yankees chances for signing Mark Teixeira are slim, but I think the odds that they do are better than they were a few days ago. Am I the only one that thinks maybe the Yankees are waiting to see what happens with Teixeira before they fully commit to the Mike Cameron deal and to the signing of Andy Pettitte? According to Ed Price of the NJ Star-Ledger, the Cameron deal is supposedly done and the decision to pull the trigger is in the Yankees court. We haven't heard any details about the Cashman/Pettitte meeting that took place almost a week ago and I find that kind of odd. Normally, some kind of detail leaks out and we've heard nothing. Isn't that weird? Maybe Cash laid out the Yankees plans for Tex to AP and his offer/signing is based on what happens there? I don't know. I'm totally speculating and grasping at straws. I just hope they're pushing hard for Teixeira. Speaking of which, I also find it odd that we haven't heard anything about the Yankees offer to Teixeira. They're playing this one close to the vest. I really don't know what to make of it.

Hopefully, we don't have to wait much longer.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

The Hot Stove At The Moment Is Cool

Kind of a slow news day out there in the Yankees Universe. I was expecting to hear some news but all was pretty much quiet. No real developments in the Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera Yankees/Brewers trade. There were minor rumblings about it but it's pretty much just a rehash of what we knew already. The 2 sides are still apparently haggling over money.

I also thought that we'd hear something today with respect to Andy Pettitte. Cashman met with him last week and I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been any mention about the meeting and how it went. A rumor surfaced today courtesy of Jon Heyman at SI.com that AP has a 3-year/36 million dollar offer on the table from an unnamed team. I'm not sure I buy that. Anyone that watched Andy Pettitte pitch last year knows he's on the down side of his career and isn't worth a multi-year deal. I don't think that anyone sees AP as a pitcher deserving of $12 million dollars. Quite frankly, I think the Yankees are a little nuts for offering him $10 million, but Pettitte is a beloved Yankee and I can see the organization giving him a little more than he's worth. Andy has said that he only wants to pitch for the Yankees. He's also said that he wants to take the rest of his career on a year-by-year basis. So why is he even considering the 3 year deal, if there even is one? Personally, I think there is no 3 year deal and it's a ploy by Pettitte's agent to get the Yankees to up their offer. I don't really think that's going to happen. I'm inclined to think that Cashman told Pettitte what's what when the two met last week, which is here's $10 million, take it or leave it. The ball has to be in Andy's court right now. Considering he hasn't accepted yet, I'm guessing he's holding out expecting the team to give him more. Do the Yankees throw him a bone and bump the offer up $2 mill? I hope not. I really hope something develops with AP soon. If he does end up having another offer on the table, I don't see him taking it. I've always thought of Andy as having a little more integrity than most, even with the whole HGH thing hanging over his head. If he says he only wants to pitch for the Yankees, than I expect him to end up pitching for the Yankees if he doesn't retire. If he goes anywhere else, he's kind of selling out and his place in Yankees' lore is going to take a hit. At least for me it will.

The more I think about the Yankees rotation, the more I think they should abandon trying to land a 5th starter via free agency. Right now they need a big bat. Someone capable of giving A-Rod a little protection in the lineup. A guy like, I dunno, Mark Teixeira? If I were running the good ship Yankee, I take the $10 million I'm offering Pettitte and the $10 million I'm likely going to end up paying for Mike Cameron, and use it to sign Teixeira. $20 million puts you in Tex's ballpark. I'd much rather see them go into 2009 with a 5th starter of Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, and/or Ian Kennedy. Maybe even a cheaper free agent, like a Braden Looper. I'd much rather see a lineup that features Nick Swisher in CF and Mark Teixeira than Mike Cameron in CF and Nick Swisher at 1B. Makes sense, no?

I'm curious to know what others think. Do the Yankees need a big bat or another SP? Is Andy a sell-out if he plays for another team? Do they really need Mike Cameron? Feel free to share your thoughts.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Teixeira And Manny On Yanks Radar?

According to George King of the NY Post, the Yankees are planning on going after Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez. King's article is based on information he received from "several baseball officials." Back on November 18th, George King reported that the Yankees were preparing an offer to A.J. Burnett for about 5 years and $80 million bucks. His source for that story was "several industry insiders." I blogged about his November article when it was originally posted. Here's what I had to say:

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

As it turns out, George King and his "industry insiders" were dead on about the offer to Burnett. Maybe George has some pretty reliable sources. Here's what those "sources" have to say this time:

According to several baseball officials, the Yankees remain in the Mark Teixeira hunt. But the same connected voices insist if the Yankees don't land the switch-hitting first baseman, they will turn their money toward controversial slugger Manny Ramirez. "If they can't get Teixeira, they are right there on Manny," an official with knowledge of the Yankees' plan said yesterday.

Seems plausible. Every Yankee fan from here to Bangladesh knows that the Yankees need to add a big bat to the lineup. It's been discussed here several times. I like to think I have my finger on the pulse of the average Yankee fan and I'm pretty sure that we'd all want Teixeira over Manny. I know I sure do. He's younger, a switch hitter, a first baseman, he'll cost about the same if not less, he'd be around longer, he won't go to the Red Sox, and you don't have to worry about him flaking out on you. He's better suited for the Yankees.

I'm going to choose to believe George King this time. I questioned him last time and he ended up being right. Maybe my judgement was more clouded last time because I really didn't want them offering that to A.J. Burnett. I totally want the Yankees to make an all-out blitz for Mark Teixeira. I think they'd be fools not too. Teixeira said a few weeks back that he wanted to know where he'd be next year by Christmas, which is 11 days from now. We likely won't have to wait long to see just how interested the Yankees really are. I hope we find out that we're very interested.

And I still want to know the definition of "industry insiders" and "baseball officials." Anybody know?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

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The Boogie Down Now On Facebook

I figured I'd get with the times and sign up for Facebook. The whole "social networking" thing is a little new to me but I figured I'd give it a shot. So I signed up and added this blog to their blog network. You can join the blog network by clicking here or by clicking on the link in the left sidebar. One apparently needs 15 "fans" before they'll post links to the blog's content, so if you're on Facebook, please consider joining. I'd appreciate it.

I also created a group called "The Boogie Down (Yankees)." If you search by "Boogie Down Yankees" it should show up. The group will be the Facebook home of the blog. I'm not really sure what that really means, but all the cook kids are doing it, so why not?

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie