ter approaches, management is hearing some comments from its most tenured players. According to the New York Daily News, Yankees all-star catcher Jorge Posada commented on the situation Friday night at fund-raising dinner: "We need more than one [starting pitcher]. We'll start with one. Obviously, we'll see who wants to come here and hopefully we can land two big pitchers." It was not as if Posada was making angry demands. They were just hopeful suggestions, but the fact that he spoke out to the media should send a message to general manager Brian Cashman that the players want -and need- more to work with in 2009. Now, it is also no secret that one of the best starting pitchers from last season will officially become a free agent November 14. Former Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers' pitcher CC Sabathia, depicted above, is the type of ace Posada was talking about that could lead his team deep into October. Sabathia, the 2007 A.L. Cy Young Award winner, compiled a collective 2.70 ERA, 251 strike outs and 17-10 record in 2008 while almost single handedly carrying the Brewers into the playoffs by pitching three times in final nine days of the season-almost unheard of in the modern era. But it is not just the Yankees' catcher who wants to see the 28-year-old ace in pinstripes next season.The Yankees two other longest tenured players have made their feelings perfectly clear as well. Mariano Rivera, regarded by many as one of the best closers of all time and the greatest postseason closer in history, has been with the club since 1995. "Definitely. If you ask me, personally, I would definitely like to have (Sabathia)," Rivera said according to the New York Post. But I'm no one to say what the Yankees should do or not." Again, while Rivera did not demand that the Yankees acquirethe young star, he did say his personal choice would be in favor of signing the Bay Area native. Like Rivera, Yankees captain Derek Jeter has been with the Yankees since 1995, and maybe more important than speaking through the media to management, Jeter told reporters Friday he talked on the phone to Sabathia about New York. "(Sabathia's) asked questions about us. But I'll leave it at that," Jeter said according to Yahoo! Sports. "A private conversation that you have with some one is private. If he wants to talk about it, I'll give him the opportunity to do it first." However, the star shortstop later added, "I don't ever try to sell New York. I'm there if some one wants to ask me questions about different things. But I don't think you really have to sell the organization . . . I leave that up to them if they need convincing." Of the three players who have mentioned Sabathia in the media, Jeter probably holds the most influence in the organization. After all, he is the captain of the team and the player that teammates and fans always expect to come through in the clutch. Fans love him; players love him; management loves him. If any player had any say in what transactions Yankees' executives were mulling over, it is Derek Jeter.
What is interesting about these three players speaking out this offseason and endorsing the signing of the ace lefty is that they are currently the only members on the team who played for the Yankees dynasty from 1996-2000. These players have been in New York since their early 20s, and they were big assets to four World Series championship teams in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 and key factors on Yankee teams that reached the Fall Classic in 2001 and 2003. So, if any three players know what the Yankees need to reach the top, it is Posada, Rivera and Jeter, shown below. Management should know by now that if these three players have spoken about signing Sabathia, there is no reason the team should not offer him a contract that would be impossible for him to refuse. In my mind, if the
Yankees do not sign Sabathia in the upcoming months-no matter what else they do-this offseason will be considered a failure. The organization will not only let down the fans, but it would also let down their three most honored and loved players. Last season, Posada also made remarks that the Yankees should go after a left-handed ace who was on the trade market: Johan Santana. While the team was in a bidding war for the Minnesota Twins star, the Yankees eventually dropped out of the race because they felt management felt trading away prospects and giving Santana a record-breaking deal would be too much. Not listening to Posada hurt the team in the long run and left a glaring hole in the rotation the Yankees could never fill in 2008, which is why the team is in this position now. The New York Mets ended up trading for Santana and signed him to a 7 year, $150 million contract. In terms of Sabathia, the Yankees have no excuses not to offer him a contract even larger than Santana's. They will not be losing any prospects and the team, which held the highest payroll in Major League Baseball in 2008, has roughly $80 million in salaries coming off the books this offseason. The only way Sabathia is not wearing a Yankee uniform in the Bronx next season is if he truly does not want to pitch in New York. It should not be anything the Yankees failed to do. If it is, the team will have made a horrible decision that could affect the club's stars the team's loyal fan base. Fans and players cannot wait for the hunt for CC, opening nationwide Friday, November 14.
1 comment:
As someone who knows very little about the sport of baseball, and even less about the business and political aspects of the MLB, I was expecting to have more than a little trouble grasping the issues of your post. Thanks to your cogent and thorough explanation of the Yankees’ debate over signing CC Sabathia, however, this was not the case. Knowing of course that professional baseball exists in large part in this country as first and foremost a business to make money, I never realized that the players themselves had any say in determining who does and perhaps does not get signed. Of course, it makes sense that a star player (such as Jeter, who even I am familiar with!) would be able to use the media in a manner so as to put pressure on management to comply with his requests or risk angering millions of his devoted fans. The fact that management at least listens to the opinions of its star players, without the intervention of media and fans, was a fascinating part of your post. I thought you made an excellent point in support of your argument by reminding the reader that the three players who have made a case for signing Sabathia are the only remaining Yankees who played for the team during their so-called “dynasty.” The fact that these players know what it takes to win, and all express a desire to have Sabathia join the team, renders your appeal for the Yankees to sign Sabathia all the more convincing. I also appreciated the parallel you created in the example of Johan Santana. While reading your post, I found myself wondering “why wouldn’t they sign this guy?” Although you believe what happened with Santana was a mistake, your description of his situation provided the answers I was looking for (specifically, that the Yankees felt they would be trading away prospects and awarding Santana too large a contract), as well as the potential consequences of not Sabathia. Overall, this post makes a well-supported and compelling case for the Yankees signing Sabathia, and is an interesting read even for a baseball neophyte like me!
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