Ace in the Hole Greatly Needed
By Jonathan Leshanski 

In the CC Sabathia signing, the Yankees addressed their biggest need.  With the retirement of Mike Mussina, the Yankees were coming into 2009 with essentially no pitching save for Chien-Ming Wang who is coming off a serious injury that sidelined him for most of 2008.  So what they were left with were Joba Chamberlain, who’s not yet established as a starting pitchers, and question marks.  Well question marks and Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, neither of whom impressed (or posted ERA’s of less than 6.62) in 2008. 

So unless the Yankees wanted to pray for three days of rain between each and every start between Wang and Chamberlain they desperately needed someone, or better yet, more than one person to fill that gap. 

And even more they needed to find an ace - someone to take the place of 20 game winner Mike Mussina. And with all the potential aces out there, they turned to the most proven and reliable free agent they could find out there, CC Sabathia.  It may not have been the smartest economic decision, but over the last two seasons, it’s been hard to argue with the wizardry which Sabathia has done with the baseball, going 36-17 with an ERA of 2.95. 

But with that signing the Yankees not only addressed a need, but also sent a message to the rest of baseball.  The message is that they Yankees don’t settle for third, and they aren’t planning on a slow rebuilding. 

When you looked at the Yankees’ needs, Sabathia was the smartest signing they could have asked for.  What the Yankees needed more than anything was a top pitcher, then a solid number two pitcher and then a good defensive outfielder, and only then did they need a bat.  Thus in the grand scheme of things, their first two signings will be the ones which can make them a solid contender again.

Teixeira is just icing on that cake.  Sabathia and Burnett will be the base it is built upon. 

Big Tex is Bigger Deal
By Adam Adkins

Signing Mark Teixeira was the better move for the New York Yankees, compared to the CC Sabathia signing.  Why?  Read on.

1)      Teixeira is a position player, and position players provide more than pitchers.

This shouldn’t be new for anyone.  Position players play roughly every day, and provide more innings.  Therefore, they have many, many more chances to produce, which, therefore, means they should be more productive.  Teixeira is a very good player, too, so there’s no question that he’s more productive than Sabathia.  That’s no slap in the face to Sabathia; the best pitchers ever weren’t as valuable as the best hitters.  It’s not opinion, it is fact.

3)      No opt-out clause.

That’s a big, big point in Teix’s favor.  Sabathia signed what amounts to a 3 year, $69 million deal with a gigantic player option (4 years and around 90 million).  That is so good for CC and so bad for the Yankees for several reasons, one of which being the possibility of Sabathia’s arm blowing out before the end of year three.  He’s gonna forgo the opt-out.  But what if he’s dominant, sick, terrific, the CC Sabathia we know and love?  He’s gone.  And the Yanks will have to sign him again to another gigantic contract.  Teixeira, despite being represented by Satan himself, has no such option.   

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