Of course, that's merely quibbling about a few million over 8 years, less than $1m/year after all:I've heard from a reliable source that the first baseman turned down about $5 million more from the Nationals to sign with the Yankees. And the Nats would have gone higher, but were never given the chance. Teixeira jumped at Brian Cashman's first offer.
I wouldn't exactly say that Teix put the name of this blog to the real test, but at least he gave it a run. Now, if CC took the Brewers offer, THAT would have put my theory in the trash!
I guess it wasn't ALL about the money - just mostly about it. Being on a contender every year also brings a certain appeal.
Friday, December 26, 2008
It wasn't totally about the money
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8 comments:
Regarding Sabathia, how would staying in Milwaukee prove anything?
1) He wanted to play for a World Series contender.
21) He wanted to play on the West Coast.
3) He wanted to be in the N.L.
Admittedly the Yankees only fit category 1. But the Brewers only fit category 2. And we don't know which order he put those priorities (I would assume priority No. 1 was get filthy stinking rich, which the Yankees answered quite nicely).
If Sabathia had accepted $10 million per to play for the Dodgers or Giants, I'd say that would prove it wasn't about the money.
Hey Butch, in 2005 CC told the previously traded Milton Bradley that Bradley let him down by getting traded from the Indians for his behavior problems.
CC wanted to bring a championship to Cleveland and he felt that Bradley was essential to that happening. However, Mark Shapiro managed to sign up all the core players from the 2007 Playoff run with one exception, CC Sabathia.
CC Sabathia's ultra poor showing against the Red Sox in the 2007 AL championship series allowed the Sox to sneak back from a 3-1 deficit to win in 7 games.
CC followed up the 2007 playoff failure with an 0-4 start and a plus 6.00 ERA the April 2008. What can it mean when the one guy who said he wanted to bring a championship to Cleveland, and had the chance to close the deal for the Indians and bring them a world series, fails, and then doesn't even consider giving the Indians a shot at re-signing CC so he can finish what he started, the dream of a championship in Cleveland.
It means it's all about the money.
CC was the reason the Indians made the playoffs, but then he was the reason the Indians lost to the Red Sox in 7 games. Oh to find a guy with the burning desire to win a championship, if that had been Kirk Gibson blowing it in the playoffs, he probably comes back the next season asking for a paycut.
Cooler,
I respectfully disagree.
First, Fausto Carmona didn't really help the Indians either by going 2 IP and giving up 7 in Game 6 of that same series.
Second, wasn't CC the one who put the Brewers on his back down the stretch by repeatedly pitching on three days' rest? I don't think his motivation to succeed and help his team win can be questioned. Maybe he choked in the playoffs. Maybe he was tired. But I don't he just quit on the Indians.
Third, why would he ask for a pay cut? His larger sample size says he was a huge reason the Indians got to the playoffs. Just because he screwed up in the playoffs doesn't mean that he should take a pay cut. It's like if a salesman had been great for 11 months, but when a big client came along, he and the team he had to work with failed to get the client. The other guys in the group screwed up, too, and would you ask the salesman to take a paycut?
Fourth, other than Fausto Carmona and Rafael Betancourt, who else did Shapiro sign that off-season or early the next season? Sizemore and Martinez signed the previous off-season and Hafner signed back in July of 2007. Maybe CC didn't sign, but if you knew that you could make a lot more money and play for a team that would give you the opportunity to win World Series, wouldn't you do it? If you knew you could make a lot more money with someone else while getting closer to a personal, wouldn't you even though the business that helped get you where you were wanted you back?
Was his deal all about the money? No, even though quite a bit of it is. I doubt any players just blindly take the most money regardless. New York gives him the chance for championships, fame, and the possible undying admiration of millions. Milwaukee doesn't offer that. Also, who else really laid down a solid bid other than the Yankees?
As for what CC would have proved by taking the Milwaukee deal, he would have walked away from quite a bit of guaranteed money. Milwaukee offered him $100M. New York offered him $161M. He would have had to walk away from $61M and the endorsements that are sure to follow. He would have proved a lot by taking Milwaukee's deal.
Mark Shapiro slowly signed most of the core players that had been with the Indians for a few years, Jhonny Peralta, Vic Martinez, Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Cliff Lee, Jake Westbrook, even CC signed a four year deal that took him into his first year beyond his initial free agency.
The idea was to show the Indians, and CC, the Indians commitment to winning a championship. CC walked away from that and actually stated that his best chance to win a championship was in New York.
This sentiment is totally wrong when CC himself was the difference maker. Even this coming year, with CC, the Indians suddenly have two Cy Young Award winners, a solid number three in Carmona, plus Jake Westbrook coming back in June or July.
With the emergence of Shin Soo Choo and Kelly Shoppach, and Vic Martinez healthy again, the Indians were poised again for a resurgence in 2009.
I wasn't suggesting CC take a paycut in 2009, I was suggesting that CC acknowledge he failed in bringing a championship to Cleveland, and maybe it was odd to insult his former team as not being good enough to win a championship when CC himself was the difference maker that was needed.
The Indians actually offered to rework CC's 2008 contract, tacking on another 7-8 million, in exchange for a contract extension. Too bad CC had no Kirk Gibson fire in his belly, because Kirk would have stayed and gotten the job done, even if it meant his pay raise was less than going elsewhere.
I don't really see how CC insulted the Indians by saying that he had the best chance of winning a Championship in NY. If he honestly felt that the Yankees were his best chance then how can anyone hold that against him?
If CC wanted to wait until free agency to sign a cntract that is his right. The Indians could have made a bid just for CC's services this offseason as well. It's not fair to a player to expect him to give up his right to make the most money possible through his carrer. I understand wanting the player to love the team as much as the fan does, but most times that isn't the case.
Basically I don't think CC did wrong by anyone by waiting until he was a free agent and taking the highest offer, or going where he felt he had the best chance to win a championship, or any other reason he signed with the Yankees.
Well, there aren't that many Kirk Gibson's out there, are there? Once CC castigated Milton Bradley, he was posing as a Kirk Gibson type who didn't deliver.
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