The Hot Stove is in full effect now that some of the biggest free agent dominoes (K-Rod, Sabathia, Burnett) have fallen. At the forefront of the offseason is none other than the New York Yankees. It's funny how one year of missing postseason play changes things. Last winter GM Brian Cashman emphasized the importance of developing homegrown stars and keeping the farm system stocked with prospects. He refused to part with Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Melky Cabrera (among others) for Johan Santana. The result? A starting rotation decimated by injury and left with now-retired 20-game winner Mike Mussina and not much else.
So how do the Bronx Bombers respond this winter? They spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars on two free-agent starting pitchers. C.C. Sabathia, arguably the prize of the 2008 free agent class, grabbed a 7-year, $161 million deal. The oft-injured A.J. Burnett then pulled in a 5-year, $82.5 million deal of his own. The Yanks instantly added 35 wins and 482 strikeouts to their rotation. The front of the rotation has a legitimate ace and now the Yanks suddenly look formidable again.
Of course, there are some warning signs around these two pitchers. Burnett has a lengthy injury history and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2003. He has only made 30 starts in a season twice in his career: 2005 (32 starts with the Marlins) and 2008 (34 starts with the Blue Jays). When healthy, he is an above-average power pitcher who led the American League with 231 strikeouts this season. As for Sabathia, his weight has been a constant concern. He officially checks in at 290 pounds but many baseball insiders would debate that. He has never logged fewer than 180 innings in a season since his first full big league campaign in 2001. Last year he threw 253 innings (with the help of 10 complete games) and had 251 strikeouts. He may only be 28 but one has to wonder just how much longer he can keep this grueling pace up.
There is also the underlying concern that comes with being in pinstripes: the pressure of playing in New York. Burnett has performed well against both Boston and the Yankees while in Toronto but the fact remains that he has never pitched on the postseason stage. He was injured during the Marlins' miracle run in 2003. Sabathia has made just three postseason starts, surrendering a 6.14 ERA and 15 walks in 14 and 2/3 innings. And let's be honest. Being defined as a great Yankee means contributing when it counts, in October. Just ask A-Rod.
We have seen plenty of big free agent acquisitions go horribly wrong in New York. Hideki Irabu, Kei Igawa, Carl Pavano, Randy Johnson, Jason Giambi, and Jose Contreras, just to name a few. You could also bring a few Mets flops into this. Bret Saberhagen, Bobby Bonilla, Mo Vaughn. I could keep going but I think you get the point.
Bottom line, no one should be surprised that the Yankees have been the big impact player this offseason. They have proved they can't sustain a strong player development program. Save for one wave of players (Jeter, Posada, Pettite, Rivera) that came up around the same time, the Yankees haven't developed anybody. The scary part is that they haven't even had can't-miss prospects only to trade them away like the Mets (Burnett, Lastings Milledge, Mike Jacobs, Carlos Gomez). Shelley Duncan, Eric Duncan, Brien Taylor, Melido Perez, Austin Jackson, Brett Gardner, Alan Horne? Please. The Steinbrenners only know how to do two things: spend boatloads of money and make headlines.
The Yankees have the back page of the Big Apple newspapers to themselves once more, upstaging the Mets' acquisitions of K-Rod & J.J. Putz. Those headlines may be important in December but let's see where Cashman, Girardi (who I think doesn't relate to this bunch of players at all), and company are come next October.
In other news & notes:
- Props to New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul for setting a new NBA record for most consecutive regular-season games with at least one steal, with 106. Paul's record-setting theft came with 3:43 left in the second quarter of last night's contest against the San Antonio Spurs. CP3 is arguably one of the best point guards in the NBA right now. He is a complete player and an absolute joy to watch. It's a shame the Hornets had to get moved to the Western Conference a few years back. If they were still in the East, I believe the quartet of Celtics, Pistons, Cavaliers, & Hornets could certainly rival the Western quartet of Spurs, Lakers, Suns, & Jazz.
- Auburn, one of the more successful college football programs of the last decade under Tommy Tuberville, hired former defensive coordinator Gene Chizik as its new head coach. Chizik had a 5-19 record (including 10 straight losses) in two years as the head coach at Iowa State. Auburn alum Charles Barkley has ripped this hiring up and down for the past week. The president of the university has come out and said that he takes full responsibility for the hiring. They pushed a great coach in Tuberville out the door and Chizik was the best they could do? Sorry, Gene. I'm with Charles on this one.
- What in the world is going on with Mark Teixeira? For weeks everyone has assumed he would sign with an East Coast team, as the Red Sox were widely considered the front-runners in this free-agent sweepstakes. Now all of a sudden the Sox are saying they will not be a factor in Teixeira's decision. You're going to tell me that the Orioles and Nationals outbid the Sox? I don't think so. This one reeks of Yankee pinstripes. Stay tuned...
- The NBA season isn't even two months old and already we've seen six coaches get the axe. Reggie Theus (Sacramento), Eddie Jordan (Washington), P.J. Carlesimo (Oklahoma City), Sam Mitchell (Toronto), Randy Wittman (Minnesota), & Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia) have all been asked to step aside. I understand the concept of making an in-season coaching change to provide a spark but none of these guys are being replaced by big-ticket coaches. Front office types and no-name assistants are stepping up to fill the voids. Pretty embarrassing, isn't it David Stern?
- Congrats to Padraig Harrington on becoming the 1st European-born player to win the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award.
- The NFL Playoff race is heating up and this weekend features two matchups that will decide home-field advantage: Titans/Steelers in the AFC and Panthers/Giants in the NFC. It's a winner-take-all scenario as the victors of these contests will be guaranteed a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The losers will get a nice consolation prize, though, a first-round bye.
- From the hot starts department: The Boston Celtics set an NBA record for the best 25-game start in league history, racing out of the gate at 23-2. The defending champs are currently riding a 16-game winning streak. The San Jose Sharks set an NHL record for the best 30-game start, playing to a 25-3-2 record. The Sharks are still undefeated at home (16-0-2) but have lost their last two contests. The Celtics have proven they can win when it counts. The Sharks, who have had hot regular season stretches before, have never even made it to the Stanley Cup Finals let alone won Lord Stanley's Cup.
- Syracuse football is finally starting to take shape in the aftermath of the G-Rob Era. The hiring of SU alum and former Saints offensive coordinator Doug Marrone has been met with a lot of buzz in the Syracuse community. His enthusiasm is infectious and the media is thrilled that he actually answers questions with complete sentences and thoughts. Marrone retained defensive line coach Derrick Jackson and linebackers coach Dan Conley (another SU alum) from the old staff while hiring former Clemson OC Rob Spence as his offensive coordinator. It should be interesting to see how the rest of his staff shakes out.
- Oklahoma RB Demarco Murray ruptured his hamstring and will be out for the FedEx BCS National Title Game against Florida. Murray is the nation's 3rd-leading all-purpose yardage gainer and will be missed. However, I think Sooner QB Sam Bradford has more than enough weapons at his disposal to contend with the Gators.
- The college football bowl season begins bright and early Saturday morning with the brand-new EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C. Navy (8-4) takes on Wake Forest (7-5) in what will be the first of this year's 34 bowl matchups. It's the most wonderful time of the year.
- Congrats to Jeff Hardy on winning his first career WWE Championship this past Sunday at Armageddon, defeating Edge & Triple H in a Triple Threat Match in the Smackdown! side of the main event. As a huge Triple H fan, it was a little tough to stomach this one but Hardy is an exciting performer and his main-event breakthrough was long overdue. Sadly, John Cena retained the World Heavyweight Championship over Chris Jericho on the RAW side of the main event. Despite the loss, 2008 was still a heck of a year for Jericho as he finally captured a second World Title and cemented his place as the top heel on RAW.
- Finally, I will leave you this week with a little tidbit from New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin: "Coaching is making players do what they don't want to do so that they can become what they want to become."
Until next time.
-Meech
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