C.C. & A.J.

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge Yankees fan. I grew up with a strong NY sports influence and have followed religiously ever since my early years. I went back to NY this past summer to see my last game in the old Yankee Stadium. It was a fabulous time; there is a great blog post from July about it.

I just read Buster Olney's evaluation of the new additions to the Yankees -- C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. It got me thinking. Before his stint with ESPN, Olney worked for The New York Times and wrote about the Yankees. He also has written The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty, which discusses why the 2001 World Series was lost and why a World Series pennant hasn't graced the Stadium since 2000. I stopped reading halfway through to start football camp in 2005. I'll get back to it sometime.

I had been pondering about these signings ever since they became official last week. My immediate, negative thought purely consisted of the length of these contracts. Sabathia got 7 years and Burnett 5 years. For two power pitches, Burnett more so than Sabathia, the contract seems long. The arm of a pitcher takes on so much wear and tear over time. Sabathia pitched 253 innings last year, Burnett 221, both setting career highs. Although pitching every 5 days, pitchers are the most injured position in baseball and as a Yankees fan I cannot help but be scarred by long deals from past (i.e. Carl Pavano, about $2 million per start). However, Sabathia is 28, the contract will carry him to his mid-thirties. With an opt-out clause after his 3rd year, the contract doesn't seem so reckless as it first appeared. Burnett's deal is scary to me. He has had arm troubles in the past, is 32 years old, and looks like he is throwing out his arm with every fastball. His contract will carry him past his mid-thirties. Risky? For me, yes. The Yankees need him to perform like Roger Clemens did when they traded for him in 1999.

The one good thing is that the payroll will be down this year from the ~$210 million spent in 2008; as $88 million came off the books. Don't get me wrong, it will still be high, but the production from the 2009 payroll should be higher per dollar with the loss of high profile free agents who never quite panned out (again Pavano). For now, I am somewhat content with direction of the team. By picking up these free agents the Yankees are allowing their young pitchers to gain more experience. As we saw last year, throwing them into the fire did not work. I guess time will tell.