CC didn't feel right about playing for the Angels

that as much as you or I or any other angel fan might think brandon wood, sean rodriguez, jordan walden and trevor reckling all represent a championship future, prospects meaning absolute zero to free agents.

also, last year was the first time the yankees didnt make the playoffs in like 15 years or something. We might not even make it this year and the rest of the division is only getting stronger

Let me rephrase things.

The belief among many is that the Yankees can “buy” a World Series, and that is implicit in the signings of Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira.

Let’s review the story so far:

The Yankees as of this morning have a record of 51-36. Not bad, but they’re also in second place behind the Red Sox, after spending the opening months of the season staring at the ass of the Blue Jays. The Rays, with a payroll which is a fraction of the Yankees’, are just three games behind New York.

We know that Rodriguez was out for some of the first half, and that Teixeira had his characteristic slow start. However, Sabathia—a player who has never won a post-season game in his career—is just 8-5 in his 18 starts thus far in 2009 (though, to be fair, he’s had a couple of tough ND as well). While being paid on a par with aces like Santana, Sabathia is performing like a really good #2.

Well, then, surely Burnett is lighting it up, right? Especially since he was being paid an absurd amount of money to pitch in New York. But Burnett is just 8-4 in his 17 starts thus far. Not horrible, but also not exactly what one might point to as the ace of the staff, despite his salary.

Chamberlain is a guy the team keeps trying to stuff into the rotation, despite all signs that he can’t sustain his magic into the third pass through the lineup. He’s averaging just 5.1 IP/start, and isn’t overwhelming observers with evidence of emotional maturity, either.

Wang can’t stay healthy and the team has decided Hughes is better out of the ’pen.

How does the Yankee “philosophy” of simply buying the talent every year—assuming that this truly is their game plan—translate into automatic rings? After all, this same team bought Damon, traded for (and extended) Rodriguez, signed Pavano and Wright and made many other high-profile moves over the past decade, and hasn’t won a World Series since 2000 or even appeared in a Series since 2003. All the Sheffields and Matsuis and Giambis didn’t make a difference in the post-season. Most years, they were shown the door in the ALDS.

So how exactly is this any different from the Angels, and how exactly does the signing of a Sabathia or Teixeira make any more of a difference than the past high-profile signings?

It isn’t and it doesn’t. That goes to what I wrote above:

But for the long haul, the future is far from guaranteed in pinstripes, and signing a deal for seven seasons which make one untradeable is a huge leap of faith.

I won’t quote the whole story in the NY Times, but it illustrates well what i was saying:

The Yankees arrived at the All-Star break Sunday with a 51-37 record, the second-best in the American League. But behind the numbers is a troubling reality, reinforced by a weekend sweep at Angel Stadium.

After the Los Angeles Angels’ third comeback victory of the weekend, by 5-4 against C. C. Sabathia, the Yankees could find themselves asking why they struggle against the other powers in the league.

In the first half, the Yankees faced four teams that are now in first place: the Angels, the Boston Red Sox, the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees went 5-15 in those games.

Also troubling is their record when Sabathia pitches. Signed to a seven-year, $161 million contract in December, Sabathia is 8-6 with a 3.86 earned run average. The Yankees are 9-10 in games he has started.

After the Angels torched their pitching on Friday and Saturday, the Yankees needed Sabathia to pitch like an ace. Instead, he allowed five runs and nine hits in six and two-thirds innings. The Angels’ John Lackey was better, allowing two runs in seven innings.

Mandatory reading for anyone foolish enough to believe that Roy Halladay is all that stands between the Angels and a World Series victory.

Santa comes in December, not October.
Duh.

that at least with CC, there was tremendous pressure from the players union to take the highest offer. They don’t give a shit whether CC’s happy or that he’s playing for a team he loves, they only want to increase the bench mark with the theory that a rising tide lifts all boats. Even if the boats are stuck in a polluted harbor.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with going for the money (I work with people who jump ship all the time for $$), just be honest about it.

there’s a McDonald’s just across the street from the Penn Campus at 40th & Walnut. At least back in the late ‘80s, it was alternatively known as McDeath or McDOA because of the number of stabbings and shootings that occurred there, at least one per year. Strangely, the Burger King that was directly across the street did not suffer a similar fate. Now that is a disreputable McDonald’s.