Every Given Sunday: Ri... (12/28)
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December 29, 2008 The Week In QuotesDecember 22-28WE WERE JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS
"The philosophy of George Steinbrenner, which has been continued by Hal and Hank, is that the Yankees are a sacred trust to their fans and they believe in continually reinvesting in the team rather than reinvesting in themselves. We follow all the rules of baseball, we pay millions of dollars to other teams, and we are essential to the revenues generated by Major League Baseball and its networks and other entities."
"We're in an economy where hearts are breaking, and these guys are going to the public for money. Do you think there are ethical issues?"
"From the moment we arrived in Boston in late 2001, we saw it as a monumental challenge. We sought to reduce the financial gap and succeeded to a degree. Now, with a new stadium filled with revenue opportunities, they have leaped away from us again. So we have to be even more careful in deploying our resources."
"They're all outraged. We know they're outraged." GIVING $82.5 MILLION TO A.J. BURNETT IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF PLAYING AROUND
"Those damn Yankees! They don't play around. When they're trying to win, they're trying to win. It's crazy. They just paid $27 million in luxury tax. That's like 27 dollars to them. They don't even care."
"He said he really wanted to come back, but he needed the Angels to step up. I didn't know what he meant, because I thought eight years and $160 million was a pretty impressive offer."
"They're scary. Their rotation is one of the best, if not the best, in the game, and now look at their lineup. They have A-Rod, Jeter, Teixeira, Hideki Matsui, Xavier Nady, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada is coming back, Nick Swisher... golly, that's a nice lineup." LIFE AIN'T FAIR
"The Angels had a better record than us and the Blue Jays, and the Brewers and the Blue Jays got shoved down the food chain. The Elias rankings have never been changed, and there are so many smart statistical gurus-Bill James, etc.-that could create a fair model for both players and teams, who should be compensated fairly according to the value of each player to that team. Last year, Geoff Jenkins, who had a nice career with us and was arguably one of our better players, was not even ranked... and Tony Graffanino, a part-time player, was ranked. We have dropped 46 slots in the 2009 draft, and we will be dropping even more because there are so many compensation picks. The second round will be almost the third round, in the way that it will develop."
"Obviously, the 34 percent they kick into the revenue-sharing pool and the luxury taxes don't affect them one whit. They are on a completely different economic playing field. I paid $220 million for my team; now they get three players for $420 million."
"The Yankees will lose some draft picks, but they can draft unsignable players in fourth and fifth rounds, and pay over-slot, as they did with Andrew Brackman [the Yankees' number one pick in 2007]. The Draft Elias rankings and compensation needs to be changed. I do not want to sound like I'm whining, but teams who have to build with draft picks get frustrated. I had interest in Juan Cruz, and because I thought we had extra first-round picks for CC and for Ben Sheets, I had considered a Type A signing. Now I have to reconsider. We will keep having fun with scouting and player development, and finding our role players. Brian [Cashman] has to do what his owners and market asks him to do."
"At the rate the Yankees are going, I'm not sure anyone can compete with them. Frankly, the sport might need a salary cap." FIFTEEN PERCENT OF 180 MILLION IS...
"I don't think the geographics were going to be outcome-determinative if things were closer. The family issues and where they reside were obviously part of the decision. Tex and his wife had their discussions. I don't know what that dialogue was."
"Every negotiation I do, people don't really know what teams have an interest. I have a number of teams that felt the team that signed the player they didn't know was involved. I field offers. Whatever teams tell me, I keep in confidence. I'm not going to disclose what offers teams make."
"He just didn't want to go to Boston. He didn't want to be a Red Sox, so Boras called the Yankees and said he really wants to be a Yankee." THEIR MANAGER IS STABBING A GRINNING MARK TEIXEIRA VOODOO DOLL AND WEEPING OVER A COPY OF GARY MATTHEWS' FOUR-YEAR DEAL
"You just want to wish the player well, and you hope he made the right choice for him and his family. At the end of the day, I think he wound up where he wanted to be."
"It became evident, both in words and actions, that our offer wasn't going to get it done. We thought our offer was more than fair. It was probably the fifth-highest in the history of the game. But we came to the realization this wasn't going to happen, and we had to move forward. I'm not going to get into specifics. It just became clear that being an Angel wasn't a priority for that camp."
"You just want to wish the player well, and you hope he made the right choice for him and his family. At the end of the day, I think he wound up where he wanted to be."
"Manny will not be an Angel. We're going to give our kids an opportunity to play. We signed Juan Rivera to a three-year deal, and we think, given at-bats, he can be a productive player. With Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Matthews Jr., and Reggie Willits, our outfield is intact. It will not happen. We are not going to sign Manny Ramirez. End of story."
"We feel good about what he can do with considerable at-bats and good health. At some point our young guys have to get that opportunity." BUD SELIG WILL HOST A ROUNDTABLE CONSISTING ONLY OF HIMSELF
""Whether ESPN is still in the rotation of baseball fans? I assume they will be. But I want to be in that rotation also. ... I think everybody in baseball understands you have to be credible, that fans have a lot of alternatives in terms of accessing information about baseball. We want to make sure they view us as someone they can rely on."
"There's no Christmas for me. This is clearly a challenging, unprecedented time. What helps me sleep at night is the knowledge that we're looking to build an asset, not just for 2009, but for decades afterward."
"When the NFL Network came on, they pissed off everyone. They were maybe a little arrogant. MLB hired [former WB network exec] Bill Morningstar to handle sales, and he's one of the best and smartest guys around. We're having good conversations, and they've been great about working with us." THE REST
"It would be fun. It would be a good time. I've heard some boos there already, so it wouldn't bother me."
"It's easier when you insist that things are mandatory. Providing flexibility and providing variability just leads to confusion. If you have fixed dates, it makes life easier."
"Honestly, I have walked on this thin ice before with anything I've ever done in my broadcasting career. As I was telling the Dodgers, I would never ask for something I thought I would fail at. I think it's gonna take the right woman at the right time, and if I may be so bold, I believe that person's me."
"They're still high on my list-they always have been. It looks like they're out of the market for Teixeira. They'll draw up a new plan, and hopefully I'll be a part of it."
""That would be like saying Madonna sold her penthouse in Columbus Circle, so therefore that may have an impact on whether my house would sell in Danville." --- Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.
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