The Brewers go from getting the Yanks 1st round pick to the 2nd round because they signed a higher ranked player than CC

sabbathia, jeter, damon, rivera, posada, burnett, and maybe tex…

the yankees are on the verge of having some really big and really bad contracts.

I would think they’d be trying harder to move Nady than Swisher, right? Either way, I wouldn’t mind have either one of those guys in the Reds outfield next season. Get on it, Jockerty.

is also excited because he just signed Corey Patterson to a minor-league deal (according to Denver Post).

just incredible. and they STILL arent the runaway favorite to win the AL East. i love Yankee baseball.

I mean seriously, I think at this point I am only a baseball fan because there is a possibility that this Yankee team won’t make the playoffs.

The Yankees have now $864M in guaranteed contracts. To 12 players. Those 12 players, half of their ML roster, will make over $184M next year. Nine (!) will make over $13M next year. And they’re still trying to resign Petitte.

They’ve committed to over $500M past 2010.

They have over $700M committed to 5 players, one of whom (Jeter) is only signed for 2 more years.

Oh, and if ARod plays like ARod for the rest of his contract, add $30M to all of these numbers for “marketing bonuses” for hitting HRs number 660, 714, 755, 762 (tying the record), and 763. Yep, $6M for 1 HR.

link (from MLBTR. Matsui and Damon are yucky, but Nady or Swisher would be nice. of course i like Swisher much more. he’s signed to a great contract, he can play all over the outfield (even if CF is a stretch for him) and at 1B and he’s a switch hitter. but Nady is probably more likely for the Reds, as he’s in his walk year, he’s right handed, and he’d probably come cheaper. i commend Jocketty for his patience. let’s hope it pays off.

yet, haven’t won a World Series since 2000. Granted, they’ve been to a couple and of the seven teams to win since, only Florida is considered a club with a relatively small payroll. Still, I enjoy the thought of the Yankees spending themselves into bankruptcy only to finish second at best.

We all talk about the Yankees trying to buy a championship, and that the Reds would be better off growing the team from within. What’s often missed, though, is this: It’s just smarter and easier to build a winner than to buy one.

When the Yankees were winning championships, it was with mostly homegrown talent. Those players are not only cheap, they’re usually in the best part of their career. Remember that a team “owns” the first 6 ML years of a player; if a guy debuts at 24, he isn’t a free agent until he’s entering his age-30 year. By that time most players have peaked.

Instead, what the Yankees are doing is buying the decline phases of most of these guys. Sure, Tiex and ARod probably have a couple of great years left, but will ARod still be a $20M player in 4 or 5 years? Will Tiex or Sabathia or Burnett? Not all of them will; I’d guess no more than 2 will.

Here’s the numbers to shed some light on what I’m saying: From ‘96-’01, the Yankees always had the highest payroll (except for ‘’98 when Baltimore outspent them), but it wasn’t obscene; they were never more than 8% over the next highest payroll, and never fewer than 9 teams spent 2/3 of what they did. Last year, the Mets had the 2nd highest payroll but spent less than 66% of what the Yankees did.

My point? Let them spend their money. Yea, it kind of sucks, but I don’t think they’ll be successful until they go back to building from within. Something the Reds are in the middle of doing (and hopefully they’ll be successful at it).

Salary cap smalary scrap. These deals will bite the Yankees in the ass for years to come.

they also signed catcher Kevin Cash today. I hear his throws are right on the money, but his bat isn’t worth a dime.

Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham thinks Swisher is most likely to be traded. He says the Yanks gave up a top prospect to get Nady, so parting with him would be difficult. They didn’t give up much to get Swisher.

Though he also thinks the Yanks could keep Swisher as a bench player, though that would likely mean Pettitte is out of luck. The Yankees payroll is still $20 million less than last year, and they want to keep it that way. Or so they say…

is reporting that the Nats offered Teixeira more money than the Yankees did, and were willing to go even higher. Apparently, Tex just wasn’t interested.