CC The Grizzly

CC Sabathia

Got this article an email from Tom over at Serious Sports News Network He wanted me to pass it along to you guys. Hilarious.

Here is the beginning...click the headline below to jump to the whole article.

Yankees Assign Mark Teixeira To Wake Up CC From Hibernation/SSNN:

With spring training just around the corner, the New York Yankees are beginning their final preparations for the season. This year, that includes the daunting task of waking up pitcher CC Sabathia from his three-month hibernation.

“Yeah, someone’s gotta go up there and rustle CC,” said manager Joe Girardi. “Not fun.”
In late October, Sabathia consumed approximately 200,000 calories woth of food, which is four times his normal daily intake. Then, he went to the Catskill mountains in upstate New York, where he found a suitable cave for his three-month slumber. 

He stripped naked, curled into a fetal position, and went into a trance-like sleep that would allow him to wake up refreshed and ready for the season, and have the added benefit of allowing him to survive the cold winter, where food is scarce and harder to come by. This is the first year that the Yankees have had to wake up Sabathia from his annual hibernation.

“It’s not fun, from what I understand,” said Derek Jeter, who heard about the challenge from Sabathia’s former Cleveland Indians teammate Grady Sizemore. “Wait, unless, do you like waking up a raging 300-lb ginormous mammal? No? Okay, then, yeah, it’s not fun.

He may be a giant mammal, but he's our giant mammal!!!

Welcome To New York CC!!!

CC Sabathia

While it took a little longer than the Yankees had hoped, Brian Cashman finally announced today that he had got his man. After a lot of speculation and many rumors, CC Sabathia finally gave the nod to Mr. Cashman, and informed him that he, like many greats before him, was ready to "don The Pinstripes".

So welcome to New York Mr. Sabathia.

If you perform well here, you will be loved the world over. If you put in the effort, the dedication, and the hard work we all know you put into the other clubs you have pitched for, you will be idolized by the fans here.

Your time here will be what you make of it, and I, like many others are hoping you make it the best you can.

Oh, and in case no one has told you yet, the Yankees are on a mission...so I hope you're ready for battle.

PS-
I can't begin to tell you how pissed off my friends who are Indian's fans are at the Yankees for "buying" CC (I have been telling them for three years this was inevitable).  I honestly don't know why they are so angry since they are the ones who traded him away at the All-Star break last year.  Doesn't make any sense to me lol.  But that is neither here nor there. 

What is here however, is a 6'7, 250 (on a uhhhh...light day) pound workhorse, and I am loving it

CC's A Yankee!!! (Soon)

CC Sabathia

CC's a Yankee

Stupid work, I can't post more now but it looks like 7 years 160 million.

Wow. CC's a beast even in negotitations!

More soon so stay tuned.

C.C. Ya!

CC Sabathia

Greetings,

First and foremost, I would like to thank Mark for the excellent job that he does with the Bronx Stop.com.

As his brother and a guest columnist, I have reached a humbling conclusion tonight that some may find incorrect and and ill conceived.

This is an exciting time of year for baseball fans and I must say that coming home from work tonight to an episode of Baseball Tonight was a great feeling. While watching the show and taking in a report about what Milton Bradley ate for lunch, I realized something - something important.

The Yankees need to offer C.C. Sabathia an ultimatum. The contract is on the table until the end of the week - end of story. Not a threat, a simple deadline. I fully understand Mr. Sabathia's desire to play on the West coast and his desire to wait on the Angels or Dodgers to show him the money; however in doing so, he has made it clear that the New York Yankees are not an organization that he wants anything to do with.

One hundred and forty million is a number that the average person can not easily comprehend. Now imagine that is the dollar amount that the New York Yankees are offering you to throw a baseball 60 feet 6 inches at the brand new Yankee Stadium and in turn basically securing yourself a key to Manhattan.

All of this sounds great and Sabathia has certainly given these things consideration and has come to one conclusion-- he is still waiting for the Giants and the Dodgers.

The funny thing about the negotiations is that the offer should speak for itself. The NY Yankees should not have to sell C.C. Sabathia on coming to Yankee Stadium or pitching for the greatest franchise in the history of professional sports. C.C.'s indecision speaks for itself and I think for that reason it is necessary to impose a deadline on the offer, a firm deadline that will not be revisited.

The New York Yankees should wait for no one.

Especially not an overweight (although inarguably durable) starting pitcher that has 117 career wins. Yes Sabathia is an all star; but you could easily make the argument that he is not even the best pitcher in the league. Two seasons with 17 + wins does not make a pitcher great.

I am not against the idea of signing Sabathia, but I want to make it clear that the Yankees need to make a decision to propose a deadline and if Sabathia decides to turn it down; they need to begin working towards improving the 2009 team, leaving Sabathia and his desire to play elsewhere on the table.

It will be interesting to see how the next several weeks play out, but remember one thing. Signing big name expensive all stars has not been the answer for the Yankees recently; so maybe it won't be all bad if Sabathia ends up a Brewer.

Go Bombers!!!

Chris M./Guest Columnist

Davidoff Examines Competition For CC

CC Sabathia

Ken Davidoff/Newsday.com:

Red Sox:
General manager Theo Epstein, manager Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell met with Sabathia and his representatives yesterday. Really? Don't the Red Sox have a deep rotation and a greater need for offense (namely, Mark Teixeira)?

"We wouldn't be meeting with him unless we had legitimate interest," a Boston official said.

All right. Here's what Francona said, however: "We don't feel the need to go sign somebody for more years than the organization is comfortable and put the organization in peril, potentially. We have had a lot of good young kids come through our system and we have some veterans and it's a very good mix."

Translation: it would be out of character for Epstein to commit six years and $140 million to a free-agent starter. Besides, if Sabathia harbors doubts about playing in New York, Boston is an even bigger fish bowl for Sawx players.
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Brewers:
Frustration was the primary mood after their meeting with Greg Genske, Scott Parker and Brian Peters. According to someone familiar with the situation, the Brewers still aren't sure what they need to do to retain Sabathia. It seems they can't stretch their offer by much more.

Translation: It's gonna take a lot (more than the Brewers can seemingly offer) for CC to remain with the Brew Crew.
_______________

Giants:
They loom as the most interesting possibility. They clearly would be Sabathia's top choice, if the money were equal. But can it be equal?

Team officials wouldn't say quite that yesterday, yet they said, on the condition of anonymity, that they were thinking very seriously about Sabathia. Could they possibly offer more than the seven-year, $126-million deal they gave to Barry Zito? If they did, it could crush them. Nevertheless, if they did, they'd probably get their man.
_______________

Dodgers:
That CC approached Dodgers GM Ned Colletti about being a Dodger is fascinating. You wouldn't think Colletti would make something like this up. And the Yankees can't be thrilled to hear about this.

Nevertheless, read Colletti's quote: "It's an interesting dynamic with anybody who is long term at a salary that's higher than most. When you're talking about a player who is long term, it's going to change the dynamic of your team in some way."

Translation: "No, we're not signing him. We can't afford him."

Abraham Offers Some Insight On CC

CC Sabathia

Peter Abraham/LoHud Yankees Blog:

Here are some of the more interesting comments Cashman had on CC Sabathia:
“He’s got a life choice to make that will direct where they will reside for the next however many years determined by the contract he decides to negotiate. He’s going through the process.”

On whether the Yankees would pressure him for a decision: 

“If you’re a marginal free agent or a low-end guy, you can speed the process up – from the club’s perspective — by pushing the envelope. With the premier free agents, all that’ll do is push them away.”

On Reggie Jackson’s involvement: 

“He went through the same (free agent) process at relatively the same age. He’s someone who came to New York, conquered New York and can give the perspective.”
(Slick move by the Yankees here. Mr. October lives in the Bay Area now. He was a free agent, went through ups and downs in New York and knows the terrain. Who better to talk to CC?)

On CC’s process: 

“We’re not being played, we’re not being manipulated, we’re not being used. I just think that he’s making an informed decision, and there’s a process that will take.”

Even More:

I also spoke to Joe Girardi, who said the meeting with Sabathia went well on Sunday. He seemed heartened by the idea that CC was asking about the lifestyle in New York. CC and his wife have three kids, the latest coming seven weeks ago. Joe and his wife also have three kids.

Girardi explained to Sabathia that he encourages players to bring their sons into the clubhouse and to be around the team. He talked about his situation, living in Westchester and putting his kids in school.

In the end, it’ll be about the money. But the Yankees are pleased that Sabathia is asking the right questions. If the guy wasn’t serious about the Yankees, why did he ask for a second meeting? I don’t see the Steinbrenners letting the Dodgers get close.

Agent Genske Risking Client CC Millions

CC Sabathia

Bill Madden/New York Daily News:

The $140 million game of chicken began in earnest Sunday night when Brian Cashman met with CC Sabathia and his agent, Greg Genske, on the eve of the winter meetings at the Bellagio hotel.

According to industry sources, it was Genske and not Cashman who asked for the meeting, although the Yankee GM is just as anxious to find out Sabathia's intentions now that the big lefty has had a couple of weeks to mull the six-year, $140 million offer that would make him the highest-paid pitcher in history. The reason Genske wanted the meeting, said one source, is that the agent is trying to buy more time for another team more to Sabathia's liking to approach the Yankee bid.

With each passing day, the likelihood of that lessens considerably. "(Genske) has to be concerned about them pulling the offer and moving on to the other (free agent) pitchers," the source said. "If he blows this deal, he's dead as an agent. For one thing, who's going to approach that $140 million if the Yankees are out of it? Sabathia winds up with a deal $20 million less than Barry Zito? Like I said, (Genske's) dead."

Although they have boldly made Sabathia their No.1 priority, it is unclear how long the Yankees will keep their offer out there, especially with other pitchers they covet now fielding big offers. Hal Steinbrenner has said the offer won't be out there indefinitely and it would seem that Genske, with nothing else even close to the Yankee bid, is going to need to provide Cashman with a satisfactory reason for why it hasn't been accepted. Only the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants are believed to have made offers to Sabathia, both of them $40 million lower than the Yankees'.

Madden makes an interesting point in this piece.  If the only two teams who are interested in CC Sabathia can only put $100 million on the table, what happens if they Yankees rescind thier offer?  Like he said, CC winds up with a contract that is $20 million less than Barry Zitos.  

I don't know about CC, but if I were another client of Grenske, I would be on a hunt for new representation.  

Angels GM: Teixeira Still #1 Priority

CC Sabathia

Lyle Spencer/MLB.com Via MLBTradeRumors.com:

With Mark Teixeira still the Angels' highest priority, general manager Tony Reagins said he doesn't anticipate anything happening before the Winter Meetings convene in Las Vegas on Monday.

"It doesn't look like we'll have anything done by then," Reagins said on Tuesday.

Reagins made it clear that Teixeira remains No. 1 on the club's list of targets, with everything else lining up behind the power-hitting first baseman seeking a long-term deal in the $20 million per year range.

Regains said "there was nothing to" reports that had the Angels moving past Teixeira and focusing on starter CC Sabathia, adding that the club has "no concerns" about Teixeira's left knee, which was subjected to arthroscopic surgery in 2007. A published report indicated the Angels were too concerned with the knee long-term to go past six years for Teixeira, triggering a move toward Sabathia.

This is a very good sign for the Yankees.  

Hey CC you Know Pinstripes are Very Sliming, Right?

CC Sabathia

CC Sabathia has apparently broken off talks with the indians untill after the season. As long as the Indians stay competitive expect Sabathia to hit the open market after the season. This is very good news for Yankee fans. With significant payroll coming off the books after 08 (Mussina, Giambi, Pettitte, Farnsworth) and the increased revenue of a new stadium, I don’t expect the Yankees to get outbid for Sabathia. Sabathia is currently 26, the reigning AL Cy Young winner and has had an ERA+ of 140 or better the last two years. Add in the fact that no prospects will depart to bring him here, and the Johan non-move could look very good in 12 months.