In the off-season baseball free agent pool I had going — the one where I bragged about correctly predicting the Yankees would sign Teixeira and Sabathia — I also had Pat Burrell signing a four-year $60 million deal with the Rangers. That was the low end for contracts we predicted for Burrell, too. The guy may leave a lot to be desired with his defense, strikeout totals, and inconsistent batting average, but it was fair to figure that a 30 home run hitter and near 100 RBI and walk guy would get upwards of three years and 40 million for his services. Why else would he reportedly turn down a measly two year $22 million offer from the Phillies? I, like many others, felt that was a low ball deal by the Phils and that Burrell would comfortably receive more on the market. Apparently not.

For all we know, there could have been other solid offers on the table for Pat, but there likely couldn’t have been anything too significant money-wise otherwise he probably would have taken it. Think about it: Burrell just won the World Series — signing to win a ring probably wasn’t a top priority. Maybe the allure of playing in Florida (he played ball at Miami in college) and for a contender caused him to overlook the few millions he may have been leaving on the table. Still, I can’t believe that he signed for so little money. I guess I’ll brace myself for the impending two-year $20 million contract Adam Dunn signs. Here I was thinking sluggers were a premium and Pat Burrell goes out and signs for just 16 mil. To show you a sign of the times, Andruw Jones got more than that after a .220 season. As for my prediction about Pat signing with the Rangers, it appears as if I wasn’t too far off. And I’m glad the Rays got Burrell; now they’ll have a decent power bat to help them compete in the AL East.

Mark Teixeira took a long time deciding where he would sign as his agent, Scott Boras, floated rumors regarding which teams were involved in the bidding for the high-priced free agent. The Angels were a player, as were the Nats and Orioles because of the hometown factor. The Red Sox were said to be closing in on a deal for Tex but then they said they were no longer a factor in the bidding. Not much later the Angels took their offer off the table and Teixeira unexpectedly signed with the Yankees. So what happened behind the scenes that made the Red Sox and Angels drop out of the running after appearing to be leading candidates? Murray Chass via SbB says it’s because Teixeira simply did not want to live in Boston:

“He just didn’t want to go to Boston,” the official said. “He didn’t want to be a Red Sox so Boras called the Yankees and said he really wants to be a Yankee.”
…
“The family issues and where they reside were obviously part of the decision. Tex and his wife had their discussions. I don’t know what that dialogue was.”

That last quote about the family issues were from Boras who said the deciding factor was the difference in the offers on the table, not geography. That quote seems to indicate otherwise. Knowing that Teixeira was an East Coast guy I figured the Angels were low on the radar though a team to be considered. It’s hard to know if that’s the reason Teixeira signed with the Yankees, but it seems like where his family wanted to live could be a factor. So could the $180+ million they offered him. In this scenario Teixeira got to go to a good team and get top dollar rather than a crappy team with good money (like the Nationals were offering). As long as the Yankees were willing to pay more than the Angels and Red Sox, why not take their money?

Before free agency began, in a pool with some friends, I had predicted the Yankees would sign CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. The reasoning? If they can do it, why not? While shedding payroll this offseason, the Yankees sure have stepped up and added on some serious contracts. Should they sign one or two more players before the season starts, the Yankees would be close to committing a half billion dollars to players in one off season. It’s crazy when you think about that type of money. Then again, it’s no surprise that the Yankees have thrown this much money around.

I joked a few months ago that Hank Steinbrenner wanted to file a grievance against the Brewers for abusing the arm of their guy (Sabathia had about four straight starts on three days of rest, throwing complete games mostly). I wasn’t far off from the truth. With the way the team performed — missing out on the playoffs to the Rays and Red Sox — you knew they would spend wildly to make up for the embarrassment. They have not disappointed. Really, if they had just pulled the trigger on the Johan Santana trade last off-season and none of this would be happening. But they didn’t, and this is the result. I really only think the Burnett contract was bad because I don’t think he’ll produce in the Bronx. Sabathia they may only wind up paying for three years if he opts out and you can’t knock a team for locking up the top pitcher on the market. And if you have the cash for Teixeira, why not buy him? It’s a leg up on the Red Sox and Angels, and he’s a good ballplayer. I’d say signing Derek Lowe would cap off the incredible offseason for the Yanks.

Imagine how much fun it is to be Joe Girardi and to have all these new toys to play with for Christmas? The signings don’t make the Yankees unbeatable but it makes them much tougher. Injuries can still easily do a number on them like last year and keep them out of the playoffs, but don’t bet on it. Why not just sign another starting pitcher as an insurance policy? If you’re the Yankees and you can do it, then why not?

Dock Ellis died on Friday but the news was overshadowed over the weekend by the busy sports schedule. I didn’t know who Ellis was until I was playing in a fantasy baseball league with a team named after him. After that, it was pretty easy to find out what made him famous. The guy threw a no-hitter while high on LSD, aka acid for the youthful souls. The Wiz of Odds passes along a few great videos of Ellis, the first tells the story behind is no-hitter on acid. It’s better if you just watch than if I describe the story. Believe me, once you hear it, you’ll really be shaking your head.

My teammates knew I was high, but they didn’t know what I was high on! And here’s video of the legendary blast he gave up to Reggie Jackson in the 1971 All-Star Game at Detroit, also passed along by The Wiz.

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Brian Giles is pretty well-known for his odd sense of humor and penchant for being naked. And when he’s not out tanning himself, waxing himself, or cavorting around the clubhouse in his skivvies, he’s a pretty good player. At least he was before getting traded to San Diego. In the four years prior to being dealt for Jason Bay and Oliver Perez, Giles averaged 37 home runs a season. Since becoming a Padre, his power numbers have dropped steadily to the point where he’s lucky if he cracks 15 home runs. So where did all that power go? Either the dude was roiding up, or he was wasting it all off the field battering his woman (possibly out of roid rage?):

Giles had a lawsuit filed against him by an ex-girlfriend claiming she was battered and abused by Giles, to the point that she had a miscarriage. Unless that’s just generic footage, it looks like she has a pretty strong case. Maybe if that jerk were trying to do his hitting on the field he wouldn’t have screwed my fantasy team in ‘04 as badly as he did. Makes you wonder if this is only coming out now because he’s no longer an All-Star …

I’ll be the first one to give Cole Hamels some props for pitching lights out in the playoffs. The guy nutted up and was probably the biggest reason the Phillies won the World Series. Still though, I’m not sure that dominance should give you the right to crap on the Mets (unless your name is Jimmy Rollins). Hamels was on WFAN and was egged on by their hosts from the sounds of things. I urge you to listen to get a flavor for the interview because what players say on the radio gets blown out of proportion by people such as myself. Still, here are how the inflammatory comments read in print:

“Last year and this year I think we did believe that [they were choke artists]. Three years ago we didn’t because they smoked everybody, and I think we all thought they were going to win it all. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. But, yeah, that’s kind of what we believed and I think we’re always going to believe that until they prove us wrong,” Hamels said. “For the past two years they’ve been choke artists.”

It still reads a lot worse than it sounded, but Hamels had several chances to go easy on the Mets and even back off of agreeing with the hosts yet he stood firm. I guess he’s the one with the ring and has the right to say that, but the Mets also have the ability to make him eat his words this year. They’ve signed K-Rod and added J.J. Putz to their bullpen, so they’ve addressed many of their problems. Those moves don’t make them winners, but they do make them better. Here’s to a splendid ‘09 baseball season in the NL East!