Before reacting to the New York Yankees signing free agent Mark Teixeira to an eight-year, $180 million contract, try taking a deep breath and counting to 10.
Yes, they signed Teixeira to the fourth-richest contract in major league history - right behind the 10-year, $275 million deal they gave Alex Rodriguez, the 10-year, $252 million deal Texas gave Rodriguez and the 10-year, $189 million deal New York gave Derek Jeter. It's just ahead of the eight-year, $161 million deal New York gave CC Sabathia.
No, it is no reason to pout and scream.
Milwaukee's Mark Attanasio, one of the new guys on the ownership block, has conjured up an age-old whine about the Yankees' offseason spending, saying it's a sign that baseball needs a salary cap. Chalk that off to sour grapes, having not even come close to re-signing Sabathia.
Bottom line is the Yankees are in a different financial stratosphere than most franchises, but they also have not done anything this offseason that signals any new era in the baseball world.
What the Yankees have done is redistribute the salaries they have lopped off their 2008 roster.
Despite the spending spree that brought them Teixeira, Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, which is in the running for the worst expenditure of the offseason; and trades that brought them left-handed reliever Damaso Marte and first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher, and built-in raises for Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano, the Yankees' offseason efforts have added $79.05 million in payroll.
Meanwhile, the removal of Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, Wilson Betemit, Morgan Ensberg, Kyle Farnsworth, LaTroy Hawkins, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano and Andy Pettitte from their Opening Day roster a season ago has slashed $90.22 million of payroll.
Oh, the Yankees will again have a payroll close to $200 million, the highest in baseball, but that provides no guarantees.
They went over $200 million a year ago and finished third in the American League East. Despite having the highest payroll in each of the last eight seasons, they haven't won a world championship in that stretch, made it to the World Series only twice, and in the last four years, are a combined 4-9 in playoff games.
INFIELD CHATTER
The Yankees are looking to move two from a group of outfielders of Xavier Nady, Swisher and Hideki Matsui. The Los Angeles Angels, Texas, Oakland and Atlanta are considered to have interest.
Free-agent outfielder Adam Dunn remains a favorite of Washington general manager Jim Bowden, who was in charge in Cincinnati when the Reds drafted Dunn and talked him out of playing football at Texas.
THE ROTATION
Fallout from Teixeira's signing with the Yankees:
- Left-handed closer Brian Fuentes now becomes the No. 1 target for the Angels, the one team that could give Fuentes the three-year, $30 million deal he anticipated.
- Outfielder Manny Ramirez doesn't have a legit option other than to return to the L.A. Dodgers, who now have no reason at all to raise their two-year offer.
- The N.Y. Mets are the front- runners for right-hander Derek Lowe, with Boston unlikely to get involved in another serious negotiation with a client of agent Scott Boras right now.
- The Yankees aren't likely to keep their $10 million offer on the table for left-hander Andy Pettitte, who balked at taking a cut from last year's $16 million.
- Toronto now gets a third-round draft pick for the loss of Burnett to the Yankees, who lose their first-round pick to the Angels for Teixeira and second-round pick to Milwaukee for Sabathia.
OUT IN LEFT FIELD
For all the gripes about the Yankees signing Sabathia and Teixeira, at least they were the best pitcher and position player on the open market.
The signing that does damage to the system was giving Burnett a five-year, $82.5 million deal.
The oft-injured right-handers 18 victories in 2008 marked the only time in his career he has won more than 12 games.
He has made 30 starts twice - both seasons leading up to becoming a free agent.
CLOSING STATEMENT
Money might make it easier for teams to cover up poor judgment, but it doesn't guarantee success.
In the past seven years, only twice has a team with a payroll that ranked among the top 10 in baseball won a world championship - Boston in 2007 and 2004.
And the Red Sox are a team that might be among the big spenders but has built its success around homegrown talent.
In fact, in the past four years, there has been no more than five of the top 10 teams in terms of payroll who have even qualified for the postseason.
Other than the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, the only other team that had a top-10 payroll that even advanced to the World Series was Detroit, which ranked ninth in 2006 when it lost to St. Louis.
Philadelphia, which ranked 12th in payroll last season, knocked off Tampa Bay, which ranked 29th, in the World Series, a year after Colorado, which ranked 25th, lost to Boston.
BY THE NUMBERS
39 teams have had a season-opening payroll in excess of $100 million, but only twice has a team in that group won a championship - Boston in 2007 and 2004.
FOR SALE
The New York Times is looking to sell its 17.5 percent share in New England Sports Ventures, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company owns the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park and NESN, the cable television station that broadcasts the bulk of Red Sox games.
HE SAID IT
"They've had the best lineup I've seen for seven years in a row and they haven't won it all. They can still be beat. It will take dedication, hard work, and you've got to have heart. When you have that, you have a chance,"
Torri Hunter, Angels outfielder, reacting to the Yankees signing of Mark Teixeira.
(Tracy Ringolsby writes for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colo. E-mail ringolsbyt(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)
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