Mark Teixeira showed immediately why he may turn out to be the rare player worth the $180 million he'll make over eight years playing for the Yankees. Okay, NO player is worth that kind of money, but athletes sports executives live in an alternative universe where fans suspend disbelief and care that the ends justify the means.
Teixeira's credentials as a player says enough. Priceless is the intangible he's bringing to the Bronx: He is about a high-character of a player and a person you'd meet — and this was his first impression. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said it best, words I didn't use in my story yesterday but sums up Teixeira perfectly:
“Character speaks volumes,” Girardi said. “You’re going to go through some rough times and it’s how long you let those rough times last. Usually if you have the character and the work ethic he has, the struggles are shorter.”
Hate the Yankees all you want for their reckless spending, but remember that the salaries of Jason Giambi ($120 million), Carl Pavano ($40 million) and Bobby Abreu ($16 million) all came off the books. All they did was re-invest in their commitment to winning. It's not necessarily fair, but it's not illegal either.
In case you care, Pavano signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract, with performance incentives predicated on actually going to work, with the Indians. Why he's guaranteed a spot in the rotation I can't imagine. He's the type of guy you take a filer on and make him earn a spot and the respect of his teammates. There's still lots of good will to repaired, but that's now Cleveland's problem.
The stalemate between Andy Pettitte and the Yankees continues. Both sides have a point, but the Yankees need Pettitte back. This revamped rotation is still fragile and you'd rather see the young arms as insurance policies who'd benefit from more work at Triple-A. Besides, remember last season when Sidney Ponson was the fifth starter? Moral of the story, you can never, ever, have enough pitching.
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