Teixeira Hangs In Hoboken?

Mark Teixeira is going to make a ton of money this offseason and the New York Yankees may just be the team to flip the bill for his services. With Jason Giambi's horrendous contract coming off the books this fall, Tex wearing pinstripes should be a consistent rumor.

However, there may be even more reason to consider the Baltimore native signing in New York as his sister apparently resides in Hoboken and Tex loves it:

The Yankees and Mets both could be looking for a first baseman next year, as Jason Giambi and Carlos Delgado will be likely be let go.

When the Rangers were looking to trade Teixeira last year, some speculated he'd want to either go to Atlanta (he went to Georgia Tech) or Baltimore (where he grew up). But Heyman adds a new wrinkle with the report that Teixeira's sister - Elizabeth Durastanti - lives right here in Hoboken.

"I love it. I love coming here,'' Teixeira said on a recent trip to New York. "I grew up in a big city. I went to college in a big city [Georgia Tech, in Atlanta]. I like having a lot of things to do.''

Plus, he's of Portuguese ancestry, so he'll love the Ironbound.

Heyman also gives the odds for various teams signing Teixeira, and has the Yankees as the favorites as 3-2, followed by the Mets at 4-1.

Nobody can resist the strange yet alluring Hoboken culture which fuses fraternity life with corporate ties.

Journal News: Sabathia 'Audition'

Yesterday, CC Sabathia walked three and gave up five hits - including a towering two-run blast by Shelley Duncan - over four innings. However, the Yankees fans on hand made sure the hefty lefty knew how much he was wanted in pinstripes:

With the new Yankee Stadium being built with the same dimensions as the old one, having left-handers in the rotation will remain a priority. The Yankees also could need a starter as Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte will contemplate retirement after this season.

Sabathia would give the Yankees a veteran at the top of the rotation, easing the pressure on young right-handers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

Even the money could make sense. The Yankees can easily better the offer Cleveland has made as the expiring contracts of Mussina, Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Kyle Farnsworth, Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano will clear $80.5 million off the books at the end of the season.

Several Yankee fans in the crowd shouted at Sabathia that they hoped to see him in pinstripes next season. He smiled when told that he was the object of their affection.

"I have nothing to say to that," he said. "I'm just focused on this year, then we'll see what happens."

Nick The Stick At 1st?

According to Joel Sherman, the Yankees may appease an obsessed segment of their fanbase and return former first baseman Nick Johnson to the Bronx should he prove himself capable this Spring.

Over 700 at-bats during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Nick Johnson hit 29 homeruns and knocked in 105 runs for the New York Yankees. Five years later, Johnson is still recovering from a badley broken leg which forced him to miss the entire 2007 season.

His last year in the bigs - 2006 - saw Johnson hit .290/.428/.520 with 23 homeruns, 46 doubles and 77 RBI. Nick the Stick walked 110 times to only 99 strikeouts. All very impressive numbers considering his home park - RFK - is a drastic pitcher's park.

Should Johnson prove healthy, he would be an interesting option for Brian Cashman, and at the very least provide a potent platoon when paired with the righthanded Shelley Duncan. A lot of "ifs" stand in the way of that, though.

McNamee Evidence May Be Weak

According to a New York Times report citing scientific experts, the physical evidence trainer Brian McNamee submitted to officials yesterday may be impossible to date. The Clemens defense team will also lambaste McNamee during a trial as the fact that the evidence was handled by his accuser does not work in the ex-trainer's favor. From the article:

The syringes, vials and gauze pads that Brian McNamee has turned over to federal investigators to back up his contention that he injected Roger Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone will be the subject of a strenuous attack if they enter the courtroom, according to medical and legal experts.

The syringes, vials and gauze pads are said to date from 2000 and 2001, part of a four-year period in which McNamee contends he gave Clemens drug injections. But even if the physical evidence tests positive for Clemens’s DNA and, say, steroids, Clemens’s lawyers could argue that McNamee added steroid traces to the original evidence in a bid to incriminate Clemens, experts say.

“You can test to figure out what the substance is, but you cannot figure out how old it is,” Dr. Don Catlin, the former director of the Olympic testing lab at U.C.L.A., said in a telephone interview.

There is no way to date blood either, Catlin said, which means there may not be a conclusive way to establish that the syringes, vials and pads were from 2000 and 2001.

The experts said that any syringes were particularly important because they could have come in contact with Clemens’s blood and a substance he might have been injected with.

This is where I get off. Legal mumbo-jumbo and scientific experts become a baseball blog's worst nightmare. Not that this story hasn't been intrusive and annoying from the jump.

More Sabathia Implications

This will become a tiresome commentary, but Johan Santana's lucrative contract have ripple effects on the rest of the starting pitcher free agent crop, particularly fellow Cy Young lefthander CC Sabathia.

The AP published a story indicating how persuasive Santana's historic deal will become for Sabathia, his current general manager and the rest of baseball in general.

Some pieces from the article:

The mammoth [Santana] deal made headlines all around the country and rattled the Indians, who are attempting to sign C.C. Sabathia to a long-term contract. Now, they might have been priced out of any chance at doing so by the Mets' spending splurge.

The Indians recently offered an extension to Sabathia, the defending AL Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after the 2008 season. But that deal has now been dwarfed -- perhaps nearly doubled -- by Santana's record-setting package with New York.

"We recognize that the Santana deal is an added reference point in a contract discussion with C.C.," Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said Monday. "Every deal that deals with a pitcher of C.C.'s ilk is relevant. But in the end, the only thing that matters is how relevant C.C. and his agents feel it is."

The 27-year-old Sabathia has maintained he wants to stay in Cleveland, where he began his career, got married and began raising a family. "It's my second home," he said while back in town last month. And there's no doubt that the Indians want to keep Sabathia, who went 19-7 last season and became the club's first Cy Young winner in 35 years.

"The only question that remains is can we find a business deal that is deemed to be equitable and fair by both parties?" he said. "Any deal like that we could arrive at will cause both parties to reach and stretch beyond past their point of comfort. The question is, can we reach and stretch and arrive at a point we both feel good about? That remains to be seen."

While preparing their initial offer to Sabathia, the Indians analyzed recent deals signed by pitchers such as Jake Peavy (three years, $52 million), Roy Halladay (three years, $40 million), Chris Carpenter (five years, $63.5 million) and Carlos Zambrano (five years, $91.5 million) for comparison.

"Recognizing the market we're operating in, we have to be aware of risk and we have to be careful," Shapiro said. "There are people like C.C. who will push the boundaries of our risk tolerance. C.C., because of who he is as a person, as a teammate, as a man and what he can do on the mound, will push the boundaries of our risk tolerance.

"Frankly, he already has."

Shapiro would not confirm or deny a rumor that Sabathia rejected Cleveland's initial offer but did state the Indians would not shy away from a bidding war should the talented southpaw test free agency. Shapiro declared "We're not going away" and said the Indians "will be there in October and November" along with a host of interested suitors.

Shapiro does not seem resigned to the belief that the Indians cannot afford Sabathia, but many remain skeptical due to owner Larry Dolan's propensity for shying away from big ticket items once big market bullies throw their hat into the ring. Signing Sabathia to a megadeal which approaches Santana's extension - in the $110-125 million neighborhood - would be a huge departure for Dolan.

Sabathia Rumors Supplant Santana

Unfortunately for the strong corps of die-hard Cleveland fans, it appears as though they will now have the honor of being this month's version of the Twins fanbase - as they must deal with the prospect of losing a Cy Young winning lefthander to free agency because their franchise won't pony up the money to keep him.

According to several reports, Cleveland offered CC Sabathia a four year extension worth about $70 million on top of the $11.25 million he will make in 2008. A contract of $80+ million will not hold last year's AL Cy Young winner, particularly after witnessing Santana bank over $150 million last week.

Some locals address the Sabathia issue:

· Cleveland Plain Dealer says Indians need to up their offer to Sabathia.

· The Akron Beacon Journal ponders whether or not Sabathia will stick around.

· The Chicago Tribune believes the Johan Santana deal puts Sabathia's future on deck.

Heyman: Santana Deal Imminent

Update 5:00 pm:

The Mets and Twins have been granted a two hour extension until 7 pm to conclude contract talks which would lock up Johan Santana into his mid-30s.

---

Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting the Mets are closing in on a deal of six years at about $22 million per season:

Johan Santana and the Mets continue to make progress on a record-setting contract that is expected to make the two-time Cy Young winner a $150-million man, SI.com has learned. People with knowledge of the talks say they expect a deal to be completed by the 5 p.m. EST deadline.

Santana and the Mets are discussing a contract extension for six years that is expected to pay Santana close to $22 million a year, according to sources familiar with the talks. In addition, it is believed the Mets may add about $7 million to Santana's $13.25 million salary for 2008.

That expected new $20 million salary for '08, and the six additional years at $22 million, could bring Santana's total haul to $152 million. The previous record for a pitcher was Barry Zito's $126-million, seven-year deal signed last winter with the San Francisco Giants.

Some reports say the Mets are holding strong to a deal of five years and a sixth year as a vested option, but if Heyman's report is accurate, Omar Minaya cannot be blamed for trying. They are throwing the kitchen sink at Santana, and a deal will therefore get done soon, if it hasn't already.

I know plenty of Mets fans, and though we like to take shots at each other from time to time, I have to offer a kudos on picking up the best pitcher in baseball. With the NL and that stadium, Johan will be an absolute stud for them. Citi Field and not Fenway Park is all the Yankees care about.

Twins Will Shop Santana

Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the Minnesota Twins will listen to offers on the centerpiece of their franchise this Winter.

The Twins don't have to trade Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana this winter, but they are expected to shop the left-handed pitcher who can become a free agent after next season. There will be more of a market for Santana, 28, this winter than next July before the trade deadline. The New York Mets, run by Omar Minaya, remain the strong favorite to acquire him if he leaves.

There will be several teams interested, but the price will probably be too steep to pursue. Even if a team comprised an offer good enough to land the lefty, his impending free agency might make the deal moot.

Should a contending team's last piece of the puzzle be a #1 starter, they might feel it necessary toward making a championship run. However, this would be an expensive six-month rental considering the type of super-prospects it would take to acquire him.

Sheffield Hangin' Em Up?


Gary Sheffield will be mulling over a possible shoulder surgery this off-season. He has already had untold amounts of cortisone shot into his body, and any potential steroid use would also contribute to his 38 year-old body breaking down.

When it comes time to decide whether to have offseason right shoulder surgery, Sheffield has to think of himself.

Some think Sheffield won't walk away because he has $28 million left on the table for the next two seasons. Others believe the lure of 500 career home runs or another World Series ring is too great.

They are wrong.

This is not about glory or money. It's about pain.

That's why it would come as no surprise if Sheffield retires.

Wouldn't that just be a shame. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

_


In other news:

Cubs President John McDonough squashed any rumors of an A-Rod deal being in place. The Chicago Tribune agrees.

"I laughed when I heard it - it's outrageous," McDonough said.

Added Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who managed Rodriguez in Seattle when A-Rod broke into the league: "There's no truth to that story. Do you think his agent (Scott Boras) would fall into a trap like that? He wouldn't do that."

So now that that is settled, Alex Rodriguez can focus on hitting a homerun per playoff game played this October.