What Happened In Vegas Went To New York

If you weren't convinced before the Winter Meetings that New York is the baseball capitol of the world, you are now. The Mets signed K-Rod and acquired JJ Putz. The Yankees are in the process of signing CC Sabathia and have the inside track on AJ Burnett. Neither team appears to be finished, either. The Mets will probably (or, should) go after some offense. Yankees are working on a trade of Melky Cabrera to the Brewers in exchange for Mike Cameron. They're also working on bringing back Andy Pettitte, hoping he'll accept less money to return for another year.

As far as the Yankees are concerned, it looks as if they've done away with building from within and being embarrassed about having the highest payroll in baseball. But looks are deceiving. They still have all their top prospects; none of them were traded away this week. Their payroll has not increased; over $80 million came off the books at the end of this past season. The addition of Sabathia has not increased their payroll.

Speaking of Sabathia, if you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I was opposed to his signing because of his weight and because of all the innings he pitched last season. I'm even more opposed to it now because of the extra year they tacked on. I don't understand that at all! Weren't the Yankees bidding against themselves when they did that? And the opt-out clause doesn't make me feel any better; if Sabathia doesn't want to opt out after three years, the Yankees are stuck with him, whether he's a boom or a bust.

I'm hearing that the Yankees will keep a close eye on Sabathia's innings count, that he won't have to pitch as many because of the bullpen the Yankees have. I haven't heard anything about whether or not his weight issue will be addressed; I've only heard that it's not an issue and that being over 300 pounds is completely natural for him.

Good luck, CC.

Bernadette