Are there no limits in this world?
According to various media outlets on Tuesday afternoon, free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira has agreed to an eight-year, $180 million contract with the New York Yankees.
This comes just a day after the Commissioner's office handed the Bronx Bombers a luxury tax bill in excess of $26 million for being over the alleged salary cap.
Salary cap? Seriously?
This now puts the Yankees winter shopping at almost half a billion dollars, with Teixeira joining CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett as new Yanks. Perhaps the switch-hitter will find a way to shorten his name to initials so he fits in with the new class in the Bronx?
One potential problem the Yankees will now face in 2009 is whether or not second baseman Robinson Cano will develop a complex; he is the only starting infielder on the team that doesn't have a contract in excess of $100 million.
This revelation would also indicate that the Yankees outbid the hated Boston Red Sox, as well as the Washington Nationals, for Teixeira's services.
23 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
To clarify: The media sources I reference include ESPN.com, FOXSports.com & a number of New York media sites. The story is on the front page of ESPN.com currently
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Sean Crowe 6 months ago
The Yankees have officially ruined baseball.
They've signed every major free agent this offseason. Rumors have them signing Manny Ramirez as well. They now have the 4 highest paid players in the game. They'll likely have the 5th when they sign Manny. They currently also have the highest bid on Derek Lowe.
Translation: Baseball is dead to me. And many others.
And this isn't just a Red Sox thing. Everyone who isn't a Yankee fan feels this way. We've had it. We're done. We don't care anymore. The Yankees can have their All-Star team, the rest of us aren't playing.
It's worth losing as many season as they have to in order to get a salary cap. Nobody can afford tickets this year anyway. Lock out the players, get a salary cap, and stop this insanity.
What if they don't win this season? Then what?
This is insanity.
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
well put.
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Dracula's Buttocks has teeth 6 months ago
Sean,
The Yankees are the scum of the Earth. They have ruined baseball for everyone who isn't a devil-worshiping Yankee fan with no sense of decency or self respect.
They probably still won't win a World Series because of the lousy karma they've developed in recent years, but that's not the point. They are the Wal-Marts of sports. They ruin a competitive sport and turn it into a mockery that's won not on the field by players, but in the offices of power-tie-wearing smarmy executives who's mission is solely to wring every dime out of the fans in a time of dire economic hardship.
I'm done with baseball. It makes me want to puke. A salary cap HAS to be put in place. Screw the players union. Screw the scumbag Yankees. And screw the stupid fans who pay $500 to take their families to a three hour ball game that has little to no social value when looking at things in a larger perspective.
The Yankees will forever be known as the team that MURDERED baseball. That will be their legacy, and people will always despise them for it.
People have to speak out. No, SHOUT at the top of their lungs about how tragic and disgusting this Yankee team is. They are destroying America's pastime with wanton arrogance, and should have their feet held to the fire for it.
Thank you for being one of the first voices to let this be known.
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Kenny Stein 6 months ago
The Yankees are the most pathetic team in all of sports.
They are such babies. Boo-hoo, we didn't make the playoffs, now lets go sign the top two free agent pitchers and the top free agent hitter (and maybe the 2nd best free agent hitter in Manny) and go get better again.
They act like 5-year-olds and somebody just kicked em off the monkey bars so they go use daddy's money to hire bodyguards.
I don't care if you have millions of pathetic fans that have never been to New York. there are still tens of millions that have nothing but absolute hatred and pity for the insecure New York Yankees and they deserve it.
I have respect for the Rays, the Phillies, and many other teams. But I'll never have respect for the Yankees. And I'll happily cheer this season for them to miss the playoffs for a 2nd straight year and in October if they make it that far.
The Rays are NOT going away and of course neither are the Red Sox. So even if you win 95 games, its no guarantee in the East.
I will be so happy if the Steinbrenners have to sit there knowing that their 400 million in investments (jesus, think about that, 400 million dollars) were worthless for 2009.
Go. Rays.
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Ed Duffy 6 months ago
Maybe now they go sign Manny, Lowe, and while they're at it why not get Abreau back and since they just love sticking in the Red Sox craw why not give Varitek the four years Boras wants and have him and Jorge split the catching duties. Now that I think of it they could use Fuentes as another guy in the pen. After all it's only $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
I feel your sarcasm. And then Hank & Hal wonder why people hate their last name and the Yankees so much...
The city should take their money back they gave the Yankees for their pretty new stadium. If they have $400 million laying around to throw at three guys, maybe they should pay a few million for the 53,000 that pay their bills... and not stick the millions of tax-paying New Yorkers w/ the bill for them to be an over rated third place team.
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Jameson Fleming 6 months ago
If it wasn't for the fact that my Phillies won the World Series finally, baseball would be flying out the window for me as well. The only thing that keeps me hooked is the desire to see the Phillies do it again. I haven't followed this too closely, but the Yankees are making the city pay for most of its new stadium correct? They sign multiple players to 100 million dollar contracts but burden the city with its stadium.
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
yes sir.
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Dylan Sharek 6 months ago
If the Yankees don't make the playoffs this year, it'll be the best thing baseball has seen in years...
(In my opinion, it's a possibility. Money doesn't buy cohesion or a winning team ALL the time.)
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Will Shepherd 6 months ago
They hit the "cap" on type A free agent signings with Teix. That means that they can't sign Manny and the Angels already said they weren't interested in him. Next to the Yankees not making the playoffs after spending close to half a billion dollars on 3 people, Manny not finding a new home in 09 would be almost as sweet.
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Jon Malen 6 months ago
To all of the Boston Sucks fans eat your heart out. Your cheap owner had an option, it was called come up with some cash. I hope the class act Lowell remembers how he was almost gone like some other good Red Sucks players were treated. Cry your eyes out, maybe your owner can find a cheap player in Japan. Maybe the Yanks will sign Varitek and realy stick it to you Boston A-holes.
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
Congratulations, Jon - you personify exactly why people hate the Yankees and their fans
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redsoxfan12 fan 6 months ago
Well jon. Idk why your flaming the red sox at least we win our championships by playing the game and not buying our championships. the yankees yeah they have an all star line up but mostly there all over 30.. If you look at the red sox pedrioa, youkilis, bay,ellsbury,lowrie. We have all these young talented players. And to even put the icing on the cake we didn't even need teixiera that bad we just wanted to fill a small hole we had. But you yankee bitches are so unselfish that they have to get every good player on the market to say HA! We got this guy and you don't. But oh well who cares!!. The red sox have an outstanding 1B in the farm system named Lars Anderson look him up he has outstanding numbers and a beautiful power hitter.
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Jean Kijewski 6 months ago
Awww, you're just a bunch of cry babies...if the owners would put their profits back into the team instead of stuffing their greedy pockets, they could do the same thing that the Steinbrenners do!!!!
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
I agree that there needs to be a salary basement AND cap so that more teams kept their talent around and built with free agents as well.
That doesn't change the fact that the Steinbrenners define greed and are everything that is wrong with this country. When they ask the taxpayers of New York to foot the bill for their stadium, and then spend $400 million on free agents, they don't deserve to own a major league team.
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Dracula's Buttocks has teeth 6 months ago
Jean,
Yeah, your comment makes a lot of sense (not).
If the Pittsburgh Pirates put all the money they get from revenue sharing into their team (instead of their owners pockets) then they would only fall short about $140 million of matching the Yankee payroll.
The system is broken. Stop making excuses for an organization of scumbags. If the Yankees are your favorite team, than just accept the fact that you root for scum.
Say it out loud now: "My team is scum!"
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BILL POE 6 months ago
ISNT IT TRUE THAT YANKEES HAD TO PAY A LARGE FIGURE BECAUSE THEY ARE OVER THE SALARY CAP..AND DOESNT THAT MONEY GO TO THE OTHER CLUBS IN MLB WHICH IS SPLIT UP BETWEEN THEM..YOU DONT HEAR THE OWNERS COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING..JUST ALOT OF DUMB WRITERS WHO DONT REALLY KNOW A THING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT PENALTY MONEY THE YANKS HAVE TO PAY..SUCK UP PEOPLE--LEARN THE RULES..
37YANKFAN..
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
Actually, if you have a television that is equipped with cable, watch a little ESPN this evening. Buster Olney said his voicemail blew up today with execs, scouts and other various baseball personnel that were pissed and frustrated that the Yankees were spending this much money.
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Bob Warja 6 months ago
You know, I have a different viewpoint than most. I believe that the Yankees spending spree is not ruining the game and the reason they spend the most is they make the most. It's simple, really: they have the highest revenue stream, heck they have their own TV network! And I can't say that I don't envy Yankee fans for having an owner who is willing to put some profits back into the team as opposed to his own pockets. And anyway, it's been proven you can't buy a championship. The Yanks have had the highest payroll for how many years now, and not only haven't they won the WS in quite awhile, they didn't even make the playoffs last year, while the low budget Rays did. Nice article.
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Ed Duffy 6 months ago
Look, this garbage about cheap owners from Yankee fans does one thing, highlights your ignorance. The Red Sox for one maximize their spending but do not have bottemless pockets. The Angels should be the ones embarrassed for letting Tex get away, they needed him, for the Sox, it would have been a nice move with the questions surrounding Lowell and Ortiz, but it wasn't a necessity.
Big aquisitions don't guarrantee anything and the Yankees still need to get a cf, hope Posada is healthy, etc, there are plenty of questions there, just like anywhere else.
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Jon Malen 6 months ago
You don't have a clear mind Tab, It's all you Boston Sucks Fans wishing you can be us. We love being hated bye A-Holes like you Tab. Bye the way what young chippie is your teams owner dating now. Maybe he should spend more money on the team in stead of robbing the craddle. Lot's of luck in your small little world. Bye the way Merry F'n Christmas.
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TAB BAMFORD 6 months ago
Jon: in case you can't read (I wouldn't be shocked), my bio tells you that I'm not from Boston and I'm not a BoSox fan.
You, however, are a huge douchenozzle who gives Yankee fans a bad name. Post your mind numbing crap somewhere else.
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