Yanks Get Big Tex

Only in Yankeeland is there no recession. Don’t get me wrong I’m fired up for baseball season now that the Yankees picked up Mark Teixiera yesterday. Great player. Switch-hitter, young, good defense. 8 years at $180 million---that’s after spending $243 million on CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. I’m a little embarrassed by how they thrown their money around like Teddy KGB in Rounders. It’s one thing to get a single big free agent in the offseason…but to get 3? The Yankee lineup now includes the four highest paid players in the sport.

This team still has a few holes with which to address. That’s hard to believe after spending a King’s Ransom on players. For example, who’s the left fielder? Damon? My grandmother has a better throwing arm. The center fielder? Is it Melky Cabrera..who ended the season in the minors? The fifth starter? Phil Hughes? Howard Hughes pitched better last year.

Don’t get me wrong. The Yankees pay to play. The luxury tax, which should be named the Yankee tax, just grew way north of $26 million. That money gets doled out to other baseball teams to do with it as they wish. So in a weird way, the Yankee subsidize the Royals for the right to go pound them in July. I look it at like this: when your starting third baseman (Aaron Boone) breaks his ankle playing a pick-up basketball game during the off-season, you shouldn’t be allowed to go get the best player in the sport (Alex Rodriguez). It’s in the rules but not really in the best interest of the game.

Oh well. Let’s play ball. The pressure’s on …..manager Joe Girardi.