Torre? Gone. A-Rod? Gone (conditionally). Posada? HERE TO STAY!! Well, at least for the next 4 years, which should mean the 36 year old ends his career in the stripes. The New York Yankees and Jorge Posada's camp were burning that midnight oil trying to get the deal finalized. Late into Monday night the numbers got their final crunch and reports started flowing. Jorge Posada agrees to a $54.2 million, four-year contract just in the nick of time. MLB free agency is upon us and the Yanks locked Posada down before the clock struck "too late."
The deal will be sealed once Posada passes his physical. The Yankees offered Posada a lesser deal a few weeks ago, reportedly worth $40 million over three seasons. His answer? Gimme some mo! Even this past Sunday his answer remained the same; "My first priority is the Yankees. I would like to stay with the Yankees. My heart is with the Yankees, so hopefully we can get something done." That was more than enough for the Yankees to hear! They upped the anty; the initial offer of three years was bumped up to four, and of course, the money followed suit. With A-Rod gone, there's more than enough money to go around. "We will pay what we need to pay to keep someone or get someone," said Hank Steinbrenner. Words to live by. Posada will make about $13.1 million per year, and will be the highest paid catcher in the league. That's more than other big-name catchers that garner top billing. Jason Varitek, catcher for the 2007 World Series Champions the Boston Red Sox, and Ivan Rodriguez of Detroit are each guaranteed $10 million next season.
And if the threat of free agency wasn't enough, Posada's camp pulled the ultimate card. Over the river and through the woods - to Queens! Jorge and his agents dined with Mets GM Omar Minaya and VP Tony Bernazard earlier Monday, before the monster Yankees deal was inked. The Mets are in limbo this offseason, and are not sure whether or not catcher Paul Lo Duca will return. A ploy to spook the Bronx bombers? I would say so. Posada is a 12-year veteran, and a five-time All-Star. He's been with the Yankees his entire career, and is coming off one of his best years in the blue-and-white pinstripes. During the 2007 season he played in 144 games, hit 20 homers and batted in 90 runs. Posada's on-base and slugging percentages all hit career highs at .426 and .543, respectively.
Yanks are still trying to lock down pitcher, and 8-time All-Star, Mariano Rivera. Rivera turns 38 years old later this month and in baseball, unlike most other sports, that's not old. Well, that old. The Yankees offered him $45 million over three years, but that may not be his best proposal. There was talk earlier when the Yankees didn't renew Joe Torre's contract (on Torre's terms) that would-be free agents on the team would follow suit. The stampede people expected didn't actually happen but there are some players willing to follow Joe Torre (and Don Mattingly) to the LA Dodgers. Rivera is one of them. "The Yankees are my first option. But if that is not possible, there is Joe with the Dodgers."
Pitcher Andy Pettitte is still mulling retirement. Last week he turned down a $16 million, one-year option from the Yankees. He wants to spend time with his family, and apparently wants to die a Yankee. Pettitte stated that if he did not re-sign with the Yankees he would retire. Clearly he appreciates and understands what a privilege it is to wear the stripes, huh Baby Brenners?
Damn, had I known that a ball (and balls) could net me millions, I would've paid less attention to school work and kept my eyes on the real prize.
The deal will be sealed once Posada passes his physical. The Yankees offered Posada a lesser deal a few weeks ago, reportedly worth $40 million over three seasons. His answer? Gimme some mo! Even this past Sunday his answer remained the same; "My first priority is the Yankees. I would like to stay with the Yankees. My heart is with the Yankees, so hopefully we can get something done." That was more than enough for the Yankees to hear! They upped the anty; the initial offer of three years was bumped up to four, and of course, the money followed suit. With A-Rod gone, there's more than enough money to go around. "We will pay what we need to pay to keep someone or get someone," said Hank Steinbrenner. Words to live by. Posada will make about $13.1 million per year, and will be the highest paid catcher in the league. That's more than other big-name catchers that garner top billing. Jason Varitek, catcher for the 2007 World Series Champions the Boston Red Sox, and Ivan Rodriguez of Detroit are each guaranteed $10 million next season. And if the threat of free agency wasn't enough, Posada's camp pulled the ultimate card. Over the river and through the woods - to Queens! Jorge and his agents dined with Mets GM Omar Minaya and VP Tony Bernazard earlier Monday, before the monster Yankees deal was inked. The Mets are in limbo this offseason, and are not sure whether or not catcher Paul Lo Duca will return. A ploy to spook the Bronx bombers? I would say so. Posada is a 12-year veteran, and a five-time All-Star. He's been with the Yankees his entire career, and is coming off one of his best years in the blue-and-white pinstripes. During the 2007 season he played in 144 games, hit 20 homers and batted in 90 runs. Posada's on-base and slugging percentages all hit career highs at .426 and .543, respectively.
Yanks are still trying to lock down pitcher, and 8-time All-Star, Mariano Rivera. Rivera turns 38 years old later this month and in baseball, unlike most other sports, that's not old. Well, that old. The Yankees offered him $45 million over three years, but that may not be his best proposal. There was talk earlier when the Yankees didn't renew Joe Torre's contract (on Torre's terms) that would-be free agents on the team would follow suit. The stampede people expected didn't actually happen but there are some players willing to follow Joe Torre (and Don Mattingly) to the LA Dodgers. Rivera is one of them. "The Yankees are my first option. But if that is not possible, there is Joe with the Dodgers."
Pitcher Andy Pettitte is still mulling retirement. Last week he turned down a $16 million, one-year option from the Yankees. He wants to spend time with his family, and apparently wants to die a Yankee. Pettitte stated that if he did not re-sign with the Yankees he would retire. Clearly he appreciates and understands what a privilege it is to wear the stripes, huh Baby Brenners?
Damn, had I known that a ball (and balls) could net me millions, I would've paid less attention to school work and kept my eyes on the real prize.
1 comment:
Oh, so you are a Yankee fan. Cool.
I like the smirk - you have that old school Monica thang going on w/ you.
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