Lot of heads shaking over CC deal

"The best pitcher in baseball"???? Really...............

First, there's a big difference between pitching for the Mets and pitching for the Yankees. Please don't assume they are the same because it's in the same city.

Second, CC had a chance to meet face-to-face with the Yankee brass. He needed to know what it was like to raise his family in New York, Westchester really. The Yankees are about to sign their #1 priority. Now the rest of their dominos should fall into place.

There's an opt out after 3 years. And since everyone, EVERYONE, takes the opt out, the contract is actually 3 Years for 69 Million. A three year deal for the best pitchers in baseball, who's only 28, is a pretty good deal for a big market team like that Yankees.

overrated. I find it very funny that nobody remembers the dismal numbers CC put up the first half of this year with the indians in the american league. yeah, he was great in the national league but....thats the national league. lets not fool ourselves here.

Yes. Look at the numbers over the last 2 years.

So the Yankees will have CC and probably Burnett and Lowe as well. And will more than likely part with huge bucks to grab Manny once the dust clears. Add Wang and Joba to the rotation. Maybe Andy P (if he comes back). It certainly appears that they will be relevent again, but the Rays still have the pitching and Boston's Beckett, Daiske, Lester, (Wake & Materson?) and Bowden & Buckholtz in the wings isn't exactly chopped liver. Say what you want about pitching being everything, but when your top contenders have good pitching as well, hitting becomes an important factor. It'll still be tough to beat Boston's line up of Youlilis, Pedroia, Papi, Drew,

"The Yankees have always had money to burn and have been burdened with big contracts that are eventually useless over time. "

yes, money to burn, yes contracts that are eventually useless, but no it does not seem to be a burden to them. they have the money they can afford to spend it. the more they spend, the more they spend...big contracts DO NOT seem to slow them from signing more big contracts at all...hence they are not a burden.

Sounds like irrational exuberance to me. Here's a guy who performs at his worst when on the big stage and is far from 'the best pitcher in baseball.' I'm very happy the Red Sox didn't get seriously involved.

'best in the game right now' is that line for real?

I'm okay with the Yankees getting Sabathia. They'll need more than CC to truly compete. They'll get two (maybe three) solid seasons out of him, then they'll eat (or he'll eat?) the rest of his contract.

Good luck w/ baseball in NY guys. Who the hell is going to pay those ticket prices? If nobody noticed, most of the Wall Street banks that paid the high ticket prices are now going to the government with tin cups asking for cash. My guess is that request for $2,500 per game tickets are going to go over like the request of the Lehman CEO for a back pay bonus.

By the way...did the Yankee's factor in the cost of the expanded buffet table in the locker room?

CC has had two excellent regular seasons but for what he's getting will be hard pressed to live up to expectations. Moreover, he melted in the post season. The reason Mo Rivera is the best closer in history is his post season performance. As a RS fan I hope CC performs like Hampton or Zito once they got the $$.

even as a yankee fan, its a big mistake . for that kind of money they could have got two or three pitchers and teixeria ..

If I'm not mistaken, Big 'ol C-C has had more than his share of troubles in post season play? Let's not annoint him as a first ballot Hall of Famer just yet, OK?

I hope this will turn some heads as the Yankees go back to New York State and ask for more public money for their new stadium. If they can be this irresponsible with their own money, how irresponsible can they be with taxpayer money?

The sox have had to problems hitting CC in the past, and I think they will continue to hit him well, especially now that they will see him more...
stupid yankees.

I agree with Mike's comment: "The best pitcher in baseball"???? Really...............

The guy is not big game, we all know that. He's pitched a boatload of innings the past few seasons, and is always an injury risk with his weight.

The Best pitcher in baseball is a kid named Tim Lincecum out in SF. CC makes the short list of the best pitchers in the game, but would you really take him over Beckett, Santana, Halladay, Peavy, or even hot-headed John Lackey?? Maybe one or two of those guys, but not the full list. This isnt a Zito contract in terms of pure idiocy, but they clearly overpaid to get their guy. I would have spent the same money on Lowe, Burnett, and Sheets, or any combination of 2, instead of the lug they just signed.

he's gonna deflate like a flat tire in about 2 years. yankees = morons

Sabathia doesn't scare me as a Sox fan. I hope the Yankees offer Lowe and Burnett 5-6 year deals too, and end up paying 50+ million a year just for three pitchers.

He's definately not the best pitcher in baseball. The Yankees were more than desperate and it showed when they outbid themselves and that made them look like complete idiots. He has an opt out clause after 3 years. Something tells me he's only in New York for 3 years lol.

Can we once and for all put to rest the argument as to who is the best GM between Cashman and Theo? Cashman tried exactly one year of building from within, and now he's back to trying to buy his way into the World Series. Pavano, Johnson, Clemens II. I can't wait until this becomes another fat contract with no production - even if I have to wait 2-3 years.

Who's better right now?

somebody sounds bitter..

On one hand you can call CC durable. On the other you could (should) worry about a guy who's thrown 512 innings over the past two seasons and the wear and tear that kind of workload will put on a guy who doesn't put a premium on conditioning (see Colon, Bartolo).

This is GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Yankees have guaranteed themselves at LEAST 3-5 years of mediocrity and no chance of contending.
They over paid plain and simple.
Say it aint so D-Low....not the Empire!!!!!!!!

CC's postseason ERA is 7.92 in 5 games and just 25 innings. HIs ERA against the Red Sox in '07 was 10.45. Last year against the Phils in the NLDS he got crushed, giving up 5 earned in 3 2/3. Those are the numbers, and they don't lie.

I seriously doubt that 3 years from now CC will be able to get more $$ than this deal. Unless both sides have the opt-out option, he's in NY for the next 7 years and the Yanks are stuck with a bloated pitcher and his fat contract.

Tim Lincecum is the pitcher who deserves this kind of money (if anyone really should), look what the kid has done on a bad SF team and its not like SF is a small market.

It's so cute how the sox fans downplay C.C. now that he's signed to the Yankees. No need to get nervous, we didn't even make the playoffs last year. Beckett had a great year, Wakefield got younger, Dice-K rarely walked anyone, Ortiz put up numbers that were the best of his career and Bay is a better offensive player than Ramirez, so you guys have nothing to worry about. In all seriousness, thanx for letting a Yankees fan know that you are sweating now that C.C. is in NY. If it wasn't a big deal, then you guys wouldn't try to find how this is a "bad" deal for the Yankees. If that was the case then the sox brass wouldn't try to make it more difficult for the Yanks by talking to C.C.

Before going overboard on this deal, whether you like it or not, keep one thing in mind: Mike Mussina won 20 games for the Pinheads last year. He retired, remember ? Sabathia fills that void - if he has a great year - at best. Bottom line, Yanks need a lot more. A LOT more, if they want to compete.

CC (Cake and Cookies) as he has been called on the radio..good luck NY.

They just signed a fat, arm-weary, non-postseason performing guy who's gonna come back to the AL, where everybody has already seen him, and get smacked around by 9 hitter lineups. Great. We'll get Teixeira, spend smartly on the bullpen and win another World Series.

And for the record....don't blame Cashman....blame Hank, but everyone knows that right?

Is this the man who... wrecked the buffet at the Harrow Club this morning?

CC will love NY. With him, Joba, and Wang as the rotation, CC can pitch every three days all season long.

Heh heh, good luck Yankees. You never learn. Signing starting pitchers to long term contracts for big bucks more often than not is destined for failure and wasted money. Especially involoving a big butt, big belly guy like him who'll spend most of his time on the DL.

Sure - let him go pitch in NY. He will opt out after 3 years, and get another contract that's even more insane than this one. I am very surprised and not surprised at the same time that he picked NY. Of course, i am sure his agent helped considerably with that. I think his initial misgivings about playing in NY, (or Boston or Philly) will prove to be accurate, and he will wish he went west.

I would say good luck, but i wouldn't want that anyways!!! Go Sox!!!

Say it ain't so D-Lowe...that's great! Now throw him into the mix with chokers Wang and CC and head case Joba, plus along with "underperformer of the month" Kennedy or Hughes and that makes up a solid pitching staff!

They will compliment the "over-hill-gang "posing as the starting line-up nicely!

Looks like it's up to the "Swish" to save the team!

CC is the Tony Romo of MLB: can't win itn the playoffs

Does nobody else find it amazing that the Yankees will go out and buy 60% of next season's starting rotation this offseason? Nobody else in baseball can do that. They slough off huge contracts and just keep right on moving along. I'm sure the Kansas City's and Oakland's just shake their head at the numbers. Between A-Fraud and CC alone, the Yanks will have a larger payroll than 25% of the league...yet they still are a profitable team. That's amazing.

Looks like they still fail to consider team chemistry in the process. Another 25-player, 25-cab team?

Hey, CC may need a bypass surgery after his first season. But honestly, CC is not even close to the best pitcher in baseball. He posted great numbers in a weak division and Conference for that matter. The Sox and Rays are going to feast on him for the next w/e years he plays there. Big mistake on his part and the Yankees. Just goes to show how truely dumb their management is.

DIdn't the yankee's just ask the local NY government for $450 million dollars to help them out? If they stopped the driving players salary arm's race they might not need to have taxpayers fund the team.

TYPICAL YANKS....OVERPAY A FAT OLDER PITCHER WHO HAS PEAKED.
LOL EVEN WHEN THEY OVERSPEND THEY STILL DO NOT WIN!
IT IS NOT THE MLB OF 10 YEARS AGO.

The Yanks seemed to have no choice but to sign him. It is conceivable the Sox could sandbag a season to let the farm product to mature, but the Yanks seem like that option is not ever in the cards.

Anyway, no one mentions Toronto's staff. So the Jays, Rays, Sox and Yanks will field playoff caliber rotations. 09 will be quite a shootout.

this may be a very good short term deal for the yanks, but it really doesnt scare me one bit as a redsox fan. hes way too fat and out of shape and its going to catch up with him sooner rather than later. hes been able to get away with it since he is young, but one he gets into his 30's, he will be falling apart. Plus he sucks in the postseason, so hooray for the morons in new york!!!!

The biggest problem with this signing is that it signals that the Yankees are once again going with the "ignore the farm system and try to buy a championship" thing. Sabbathia and whomever else they grab in free agency will cost them at least a first rounder and a sandwich pick in compensation - so there goes their shot at landing an impact player in the draft. Not to mention, the Red Sox pick up Tazawa who is widely considered to be the equivalent of a mid to late first rounder - and gave up nothing for him except money - so if they have to give up compensatory picks in free agency, it's not that big of a deal.

Hopefully this shakes the Yankees out of the Tex pursuit and gives us a clean shot at him. We'll see - but I love that the Yanks have once again gone back to cannabalizing their future for the sake of the present. Whether or not CC is the real deal, he can't replace what will be lost down the road as the Yanks continue to fail to develop young talent and continue to overpay for mercenaries. Love it.

CC: 0-2 vs Sox in playoffs. Bring him on.

johan santana is easily a better pitcher than cc

I love it, the Yankees end up bidding against themselves for an extra year and $20 million. There was no one even close to 7 and $140, even the Brewers admitted they were at $100. Boras got the Yankees to give an extra year and $20million with no one even close to the orginal offer. GREAT JOB!
So in 2015 when CC tips the scales at 350lbs, and has thrown a few thousand more innings, we shall see how the extra year works for the Yankees..

love bashing on the NL. Who won the world series?

they didnt have to give any farm players to get him, just cash...and we know it grows on trees in the bronx.

Can't believe I'm the first one to say this; The Yankees suck!

If D-Lowe signs with the Yankees I don't think we should boo him only because he wanted to come back to Boston, he didn't go straight to the Yankees, and was so amazing in the 2004 post season. I know its a tough call but I say go easy on him.

Do players so not want to play for the Yankees that they have to be paid five times their worth in order to get them to sign? Has it come to this?

7 Years for a pitcher is foolishness and it speaks volumes regarding the desperation of the Empire. Let's hope they give 6 years to Manny and 6 to Derek Lowe and why not add Veritek at 4 years and 60 million? The reason we surpassed the Yankees is because of foolish spending on players just cresting at the over the hill mark.

I thought Zito's contract was insane. This is like Zito's deal, only in this case the pitcher is 300 pounds. Not smart, Cashman. Not smart at all. 7 years? Who the hell would give any pitcher a seven-year deal after the Zito disaster? And in this economy? I'd love to know what the second best offer was. Maybe 5 years and $120 million?

Anybody think this kid can possibly have healthy knees when he's carrying that much weight?

yay!! we get to spank around Sabathia even more in 09

what's the over/under on that first Yankees $1 billion contract?

Sox pound the living snot out of CC ... but he is still a great pitcher. Yankees had to do this if not for just the publicity factor. Yanks still have a long way to go, but now this opens up more space in the bigger scheme for Sox to grab Tex.

I would not want to see CC on the Angels ... Yanks actually did everytone a favor here, taking him out of play.

Well, the Yank$ had their 20 game winner from last year retire, and now they likely have a new one. No net gain yet. (except health from Wang & Jobba the Hut)

It will be a good deal for 3, possibly 4 years. After that the Yanks will be paying
big dollars for diminishing results.

It's beautiful to see all these yankee's yahoos trying to rationalize another blunder of a contract made by their beloved Brian Cashman... continue o nation of sheep! continue.

Dumb move by the Yankees!!
Red Sox will roll over them again.

this is gonna be so fun watching hank fuming as the sox knock fat boy out in the 3rd inning.

7 years for a pitcher! Awesome! The Yankees couldn't have spent their money any worse.

Funny...I didn't hear any of you loud-mouth Sox fans complain about David Well's weight when he signed with Boston and CC is a much better pitcher than Wells ever was! I guess its a defense mechanism when you have mud kicked in your faces.

By the way, I have a message from the Yankees to all you Sox fans...

WE"RE BACK!

Let's see how good Sabathia is in the tougher-every-year AL East. Its comical how pathetic the Yankees have become having to grovel and overpay to get guys to play for them and last year saying they would not resign A-Rod if he opted out. their front office has lost all credibility. High priced free agents do not win championships hopefully Cashman continues to overlook this obvious fact.

I don't won't him. You can have him. He's too fat for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Best in the business???? Ever hear of a guy named Jon Lester? How about this guy called Josh Beckett? They're not bad either.

I heard CC is in the process of having his name legally changed to CC Pavano.

CC had very nice numbers for half a season, and also a few seasons ago.

Remember how Carl Pavano was supposed to be a big signing for the Yankees based on one season? Well, Sabathia is a bit better than that, but calling him "the best pitcher in baseball" is nonsense. Johan Santana and Jake Peavy are still pitching, right?

I'm sure he'll end up being the kind of horse that Kevin Brown was.

Ha, I love it. A Boston writer calls Sabathia possibly the best pitcher in baseball and Sox fans come unglued. Who do ya think is the best? Josh " I just got torched in the playoffs" Beckett? Perhaps Daisuke " I can't get through more than 5 innings" Matsuzaka? Perhaps John " I just blew game 7 of the ALCS and our chance for a repeat" Lester?

Not fearing the Yanks with CC at all. We'll still be the better team. Thank you, NY, for overlooking Tex.

remeber when the sox spent 100 million plus on dice k, na the red sox never spend money on pitchers, you gguys make it sound like the red sox payroll is like the rays.

I just love Boston fans whining about how much the Yankees spend...like somehow the Red Sox are crying poverty. Thank goodness the rest of baseball waking up to how annoying this franchise is....

Red Sox Nation...lol!

You know it's funny but in all the emails, there is not one word about a fat idiot of a guy getting this kind of money when the rest of the nation is in dire economic condition with many peole, hard working, out of work. What is this country we have when this kind of thing occurs.? Everything is upside down.

" INSANITY"; Definition; Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results! Gee, do we detect a pattern here with the " Bronx Chokers" ? Let's see, over-paid, over-hyped " big name Pitchers" with bloated contracts which resulted in ZERO World Championships in this Century;
Carl Pavano, Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown and now " Fat Boy", C,C. Sabathia
Face it Yankee fans, your GM Cashman pushed the Panic Button, BIG TIME!
Enjoy another 3rd Place Finish in 09 !!

The Yankees had a better opportunity last year when they should have pursued a far better lefty in Johan Santanna and are now scraping for anything. CC in my book is overrated and I`m glad he went to the Yankees. Funny how all the other teams kicked the tires and weren`t as die hired interested as the Yankees were. He looked great in the national league because no one else had a chance to see him for as many innings. Sox fans can rejoice. Another bone head move by Yankee brass. SOX OWN this guy. He is nothing more than a 4.00 ERA and maybe 16 wins (I`m looking at his true years with the Indians) Have fun Yankee fans watching this guy for the next 7 years. He`s no Sandy Koufax. PS, Lester has more promise.

Faiaz-

It's a numbers game. The Sox hit CC just fine. There's no need to defend a stupid move by casting random weak insults at a better team (by the numbers).

but, if you have a huge budget and are completely desperate, why not, right? Isn't that what keeps fans paying for tickets? Big names and new stadiums? Timing with the economy isn't great, but I don't suspect NYC wil have trouble filling seats at a Yanks game just yet (till the L's start rolling in).

Yanks sign a 290 pound pitcher?
I haven't seen this much CC injected in the New York pitching staff since Clemens was there.

Another day goes by and you can see how softmorish the SAWX fans are.
And another day goes by and you can see how worried they are about the YANKS.
Get over it you got 2 titles the last few years. But when it is ingrained in your blood it never goes away. I really think it would better for a SAWX fan to live a better life if they did not win the two titles because they would have an excuse for this.
But again when it comes to the SAWX and the rest of sports in New England nothing surprises me. As they say "Get A Life".

Hank Steinbrenner is an idiot. First he talks his way out of signing Johan Santana and now he is forced to overpay for a pitcher who isn't nearly as good. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Sabathia has arm trouble by July 09.

uhh... does any body know what the most discreet and efficient way to turn this in to plausible reasons not to repay my student loans is?
i mean i kinda HAVE lost faith in humanity.
and how come my high school college-counselor never talked to me about the wonderful career opportunities in the ever growing industry of yankee baseball?

or my fat camp supervisor?

If CC had signed with the Sox, the story would be "Who, Theo did it again! CC, Lester, Beckett, Dice-K...best rotation in baseball history!"

Meanwhile the Sox have to prove they can win a WS without Manny. Big Papi is suddenly injury prone and a strikeout on Tex set Sox fans off on the doom and gloom.

Cashman closed the deal on a top FA. Theo is waiting on Varitek.

To Keith "we're back"

ya, the yanks will be in back of the sawx and tampa bay.

Maybe CC will end up in court for shooting himself at a club...

I can't believe a Yankee fan compared CC to David Wells.
The Sox signed Wells to a 1 year, incentive laden deal.
CC got a SEVEN year, $161 MILLION deal.
Gee, you're right Keith, so similar- ha ha...moron.

Hey, "yankeefanhatesredsox" guy...

First, learn how to spell.

Second, how do you misconstrue a bunch of posts that are essentially laughing at the Yankees latest multimillion-dollar blunder as "worry?"

You Yankee fans don't even have anything substantial to bring to a blog...

CC will NOT.... I repaeat NOT, be close to the same production over the life of his contract with the Yankees as Mike Mussina was for his 8 yrs there. By losing Mussina and gaining CC (for almost twice the cost) the Yankees are actually getting worse. I love the deal. I just hope they dont have enough $$ left to go after Tex.

Mussina went 123-72, with a 3.88 ERA in New York. He averaged 31 starts a season. He averaged more than 194 innings a year. He won better than 63 percent of his decisions.

New York City baseball - half a biilion dollars in salaries and luxury taxes - ZERO playoff berths. PRICELESS!!!

All I have to say is wow........RedSux Nation is really worried judging by the comments I'm seeing. Uhh he's so fat....Ugg there they go spedning all that money...ugh my ***** hurts..

And really explain to me how the Yankees are in any way shape or form abandoning their farm system by signing an in his prime 28 year old ace?

As to the guy who called Joba a head case, that man you call Beckett is way more of a head case than Joba has ever been... Also, yes maybe CC will be replacing Mussinas wins, however; we will also have Wang back in full health unlike last year when he had a freak injury.

Anyway you should all hope you sign Texeira becuase w/o him I have a feeling you'll only be the 3rd best team in the division.

dude this goes to comment #29. Every single thing you just said was wrong, david ortiz had a terrible year with no power numbers(i know he was in pain just making a point), dice was still as wild as usual but effectively wild if you will, there is no way Bay is a better hitter then manny was( i should slap you for saying that) Bay last year had trouble with the breaking ball while manny will go down as one of the greatest hitters of all time, beckett was dealing with serious injuries and was not "great" by any means, and i dont understand how a player gets younger?..i can tell your from ny, and you proably did not watch 1/3 of the games this year..CC and AJ will mostst likely get ny back to the playoffs, but in a best of 7 the yankees have no big game pitchers, mmaybe joba can fill that one, but wang and cc have shown that they are not ready for those bright lights, and aj has never had a chance..should be an interesing season, redsox really need to step up on teixeira because the middle of hte order with ortiz not the same is facing some major slumps..good luck boys

I dont understand all the hype about Joba. I the longest I saw him pitch as a starter was maybe the top of the 6th inning..maybe. I keep remembering him in Cleveland with the knats all over him and the look on his face.