Post: Yankees set to lower offer to Pettitte

From Joel Sherman:

(Andy) Pettitte recently rejected the Yankees' latest $10 million overture, and now - barring a wave of sentimentality by the Yanks or significant change of strategy by either side - that dollar figure very likely will not be offered again.

Multiple sources refused to divulge if the offer had been lowered already. But one executive briefed on the matter described both the chances of making a deal and the $10 million bid as on life support. Another executive said he did not believe that the $10 million offer was there to be taken any longer. A lowered offer almost certainly would assure the end of the prideful Pettitte's second tour with the Yankees.

You snooze you lose, Andy. I don't think another team will come up with $10 million.

With the Yankees signing Jason Johnson and having Phil Coke preparing to be a starter, it appears as if the Yankees are ready to move on.

Photos of the day

Here are some professional photos from Mark Teixeira's press conference.








(Photos by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Pavano finds a home

Carl Pavano is the latest ex-Yankee to find a home.

Jerry Crasnick is reporting that the Cleveland Indians have signed the oft-injured right-hander to a one-year contract this afternoon. A dollar amount was not disclosed.

Crasnick says the deal could have a low base salary and performance incentives.

I think it's safe to say Pavano will receive a rude welcome if and when he pitches in New York this season.

Update - 4:35 p.m.: Jon Heyman says the deal is for $1.5 million but could reach as high as $6.8 million if he makes 18 starts and pitches 130 innings. That's no easy task; Pavano didn't reach 18 starts in any season as a Yankee, and only made 26 starts with the club in four years.

Duncan DFA; Coke's role change

More news from Sam Borden via Peter Abraham:

Shelley Duncan was designated for assignment resulting from the acquisition of someone named Mark Teixeira. Phil Coke was also told to prepare to work as a starter.

Duncan was fun to watch for about five minutes. But hopefully he'll catch on with someone else.

Coke pitched 12 games in relief at the end of the season, allowing only one earned run in 14 2/3 innings.

So Coke throws his hat into the ring for the fifth starter spot, along with newly-acquired Jason Johnson. If all else fails, he'll be a solid left-handed relief option.

Yankees sign Jason Johnson

Sam Borden (via Peter Abraham) is reporting that the Yankees have signed RHP Jason Johnson to a minor-league. Manager Joe Girardi said he will compete for the fifth starter spot.

Johnson went 1-2 with a 5.22 ERA in 16 appearances (two starts) with the Dodgers last season. He is 56-100 with a 4.99 ERA (89 ERA+) in 1357 career innings.

In other words, he won't be the fifth starter.

Yankees announce Teixeira, old No. 25 finds a new home

Mark Teixeira just finished speaking at the podium and is officially a Yankee. For those who couldn't watch, he will wear No. 25. I doubt there will be the same backlash there was when LaTroy Hawkins wore No. 21 for a time last year.

Teixeira appeared very excited and happy to be there. Michael Kay made a point of saying some acquisitions seem lost at these press conferences, but Teixeira took everything in stride and had a big smile on his face while doing so.

I really, really can't wait for this season to begin.

Meanwhile, the old No. 25, Jason Giambi, has agreed to a one-year deal with his old team. His contract with the Oakland A's is for $4.5 million and has a $5 million option for 2010 ($1 million buyout).

Mitre speaks

It was reported last night that Sergio Mitre failed a drug test as a result of taking a supplement he bought at a GNC store. He released a statement today talking about what happened (via YanksBlog).

"Although being suspended for 50 games is tough to accept, I think that it is important to understand that I am in full support of drug testing in baseball," Mitre said in a statement. "I did take the supplement in question and accept full responsibility for taking it. What has been difficult for me to understand is that I legally purchased this supplement at GNC and had no intention nor desire to cheat or to circumvent the system in any way.

"As confirmed through the drug testing and grievance processes, it contained a 'contaminant' amount of an illegal, performance-enhancing drug. This was not listed as an ingredient on the packaging, should not have been in the supplement and certainly should not have been available for legal purchase at a store."

"I accept my punishment because, as a professional, I have a responsibility for what I put into my body," Mitre said. "For this I will suffer a significant financial penalty and, more importantly, it will affect my reputation. I only hope that this will help others avoid being punished for having taken a product bought legally at a retail store."

If he's telling the truth, you really have to feel for him. He filed a grievance in September, and obviously was unsuccessful.

Rosenthal's Yankee-centric news: Swisher, Nady, Fuentes, Pettitte

Ken Rosenthal has a bunch of Yankee items in today's column, so let's tackle it piece-by-piece.

Nick Swisher might not be a Yankee for long. The signing of free agent Mark Teixeira eliminated any chance of Swisher playing first base, and the team's outfield surplus almost certainly will lead to a trade.

Both Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing significant interest, according to major-league sources. The Yankees are not in a rush to trade either; their only desire is to make the best possible deal.

The versatility of both players is appealing; Nady plays both outfield corners and first base, while Swisher plays all three outfield positions and first.

Nady, 30, is a free agent after next season. Swisher, 28, is signed through 2011 with a club option for '12. Either would be more affordable to the Giants than Ramirez. Swisher also would fit for the Braves and Pirates.

"The Yankees are not in a rush to trade either; their only desire is to make the best possible deal."

Exactly. The Yankees don't need to trade either. They fit into the lineup just fine. Depending on the returns, the Yankees should just sit tight.

Before free-agent left-hander Brian Fuentes signed with the Angels, his agents proposed an interesting concept to the Yankees.

Their idea was for Fuentes to serve two years as a setup man for Mariano Rivera, then replace him as the team's closer — assuming that Rivera, 39, was ready to retire.

"We had some serious talks," said Fuentes' lead agent, Rick Thurman. "It didn't end up happening. At the end of the day Brian's preference was to close. And when push came to shove, he wanted to be on the west coast, close to home."

The Yankees liked Fuentes, but they were not willing to pay him closer money as a setup man and never made him an offer, a major-league source said.

But we have Joba Chamberlain to take over as closer when Mariano Rivera retires, remember? Fuentes ended up signing a two-year, $17.5 million deal.

The Yankees still want to re-sign free-agent left-hander Andy Pettitte, with one source saying, "The door is not closed. When there's a will, there's a way." Pettitte, 36, has balked at the Yankees' one-year, $10 million offer, but the two sides could compromise by enabling Pettitte to approach his previous $16 million salary through reasonably attainable appearance-based incentives ...

An incentive-laden contract could be the best way to handle this situation. It's obviously about the money at this point, but it still would be nice to have Pettitte eating innings at the back end of the rotation.

Sergio Mitre suspended for using banned substance

Sergio Mitre (remember him?) tested positive for a banned substance and will be suspended for 50 games.

The Yankees signed the right-hander on Nov. 3. He was already set to be out until at least the middle of the season due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Apparently a supplement he bought at GNC contained a trace amount of androstenedione.

Phillies pitcher J.C. Romero also tested positive.

Kepner: Pettitte rejects Yankees' offer

According to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times, Andy Pettitte's return to the Yankees is uncertain.

Pettitte has rejected the Yankees’ one-year, $10 million offer, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations, and there is no standing offer for now.

Pettitte could return because some in the Yankees’ hierarchy want him back. But in a winter of aggressive activity, the Yankees have been unwilling to bend for Pettitte. As an eight-year, $180 million deal for first baseman Mark Teixeira becomes official with a news conference Tuesday, the awkward Pettitte drama plays out in the background.

Remember when his return was "virtually inevitable?"

If this news is true, good riddance.

Braves think they still have Teixeira

Sorry, Atlanta, but he's ours.

Via Jim Baumbach at The Final Score comes this hilarious bit from the Braves' 2009 spring training ticket site:

Join the Braves in sunny Lake Buena Vista, FL, as they embark on a new journey toward National League East supremacy. They will play 18 Spring Training games at Champion Stadium.

Come on out to the ballpark and see the Atlanta Braves take the field for their 12th season of Spring Training at Champion Stadium. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see returning Braves stars like Mark Teixeira, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz as they play alongside the stars of tomorrow.

This is why copy editors will always have a job. At least they spelled "Teixeira" correctly.

Teixeira press conference set for 1 p.m. tomorrow

Peter Abraham is reporting that the Mark Teixeira press conference will take place at the old Stadium at 1 p.m. tomorrow.

I'm assuming YES and ESPN will be carrying it.

There's something about this press conferences that I love. Yes, the responses to questions are pretty standard - "always dreamed about being a Yankee," "tradition," "great to be a part of the Yankee family" - but seeing the player wear pinstripes for the first time is pretty special.

Yankee items on ESPN's '09 watch list

ESPN rolled out their 2009 MLB watch list Sunday. They've broken it up into nine categories, and the Yankees have found their way into three of them.

New face in new place:

(CC) Sabathia rides into New York just as Johan Santana did last season: two trains running, each 29 on entrance, both kind and thoughtful and vehemently competitive. Santana could have won the NL Cy Young Award, but for the Mets' bullpen. Sabathia arrived in the league in June, and after going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and not allowing more than four runs in 17 starts -- including four in succession on three days' rest down the stretch -- he made himself part of the Cy discussion. Sabathia is 117-73 lifetime; Santana is 109-51. Each has won the Cy Young in the American League, and last year both were in the top three in the majors in ERA, quality starts, games started and innings pitched.

Santana had no problem handling New York, and neither should Sabathia. Of course, there is a lot of pressure on the $243 million initials twins, CC and A.J. Burnett. The Yankees have lost their 20-game winner, Mike Mussina, and may lose Andy Pettitte. Last season, the Yankees lost Chien-Ming Wang on June 15 and used nine different people for at least seven starts; consequently, more than a quarter of their games were started by Sidney Ponson, Darrell Rasner and Carl Pavano.

As he neared signing with the Yankees, Sabathia got a message from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein telling him how much Epstein respected him for putting aside free agency to try to bring Milwaukee a championship. Some look at what Sabathia has done the past two seasons -- from Opening Day to the playoffs: 36 wins, 513 innings pitched, 69 starts -- and worry about what that means to his long-term career. The Yankees look at him and see what they most need: the model of reliability.
-- Peter Gammons

The pressure is on...

Let's see: In (Joe) Girardi's first season as manager, the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993. His critics in the New York media compared him unfavorably with his predecessor, the sainted Joe Torre.

The team is moving into a new $1.3 billion stadium, and ownership has just invested more than $420 million in free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett. If the Yankees get off to a slow start -- say, 0-3 in Grapefruit League play -- someone is going to feel the heat. And our gut tells us it won't be Brian Cashman.
-- Jerry Crasnick

And the early favorite is...

What if I told you that a team with unlimited financial resources won 89 games, and then acquired the world's greatest pitcher and the American League's greatest first baseman? Is that something you'd be interested in? I'm fairly sure it's going to interest the oddsmakers. It has been so long since the Yankees have won a World Series that it's now fashionable to look for reasons why they'll continue not winning. It's really not that complicated, though: The World Series favorite should be the best team in the American League, and right now that perfectly describes the New York Yankees.
-- Rob Neyer

Nothing unbelievably groundbreaking here. I do agree that Girardi is under a lot of pressure this season. While Crasnick is probably displaying some sarcasm with his Grapefruit League line, it's not too far from the truth. A slow April and May could signal the end for the Yankees' skipper.

And I'm sick of the Yankees being the favorite talk. The Yankees have had the highest payroll for years and haven't brought home No. 27. This is why they play the games in little TV screens and not on paper.

Teixeira to be announced early this week

Old Yankee Stadium will have one last event. After introducing CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, many thought the old place was ready to shut its doors. Not so fast.

Mark Teixeira, who agreed to terms with the Yankees on Dec. 23, could take his physical as early as tomorrow. After that, the news conference could take place Tuesday, according to Bryan Hoch.

Unless they sign Manny Ramirez or something, this will be the Stadium's last hoorah.

Reviving a dead issue: The Joba Debate

"Reviving the Joba (Chamberlain) Debate," by Justin Sablich (via Greg at Sliding Into Home).

Why? Why bring up this issue again? It's been understood for a while that Chamberlain would go into spring training as a starter. We don't need to discuss this any further.

Let's examine Mr. Sablich's points.

Should Pettitte return, is there any reason to believe (other than injuries) that the Yankees cannot survive with a rotation of C.C. Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Pettitte and Hughes?

Chamberlain in the bullpen would most likely make each starting pitcher better by shortening his starts. Fans concerned about Sabathia burning out in September or Burnett breaking down over the long haul could rest a little easier. A Chamberlain bridge would also make life easier for Rivera, who turned 39 in November and may not be able to crank out a two-inning save with as much ease as in the past.

The Yankees could probably survive with that rotation, but having Andy Pettitte and Chamberlain round out that rotation is better than Pettitte and Hughes alternative. This, of course, is contingent on Pettitte accepting the Yankees' offer.

CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Chamberlain miss bats and are intimidating figures on the mound when they're on their respective games. Why try to break that up?

In addition to keeping others healthy, Chamberlain could be healthier by remaining a reliever. There’s no questioning his effectiveness as a starter. His numbers as a starter last season (2.75 ERA and 10.3 K/9) were almost identical to his stats as a reliever (2.31 ERA and 11.1 K/9). But his shoulder injury came about as a starter, and fewer innings could only help him keep his shoulder strong.

Maybe his shoulder injury came about as a result of his transition from a reliever to a starter?

A popular argument for having Chamberlain start is that you should not waste a player with such ability as a reliever because the more innings he can pitch the better. Wouldn’t you rather have 230 innings of Chamberlain rather than 90?

The problem with that argument is that you can say the same thing about Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon or a number of other great relievers. Are the Red Sox wasting Papelbon’s talent by limiting his innings and not converting him back to a starter?

Yes, I would rather have 230 innings out of Chamberlain rather than 90, thank you very much. He'll most likely have an innings limit this season, but 230 innings a couple of years down the line sounds very nice. It's always better to have more than less.

If the Yankees used Chamberlain to shorten games to six innings, is that really a waste of talent? It sounds more like an incredible advantage to me.

Piggy-backing off of what Greg said, having a good bullpen is nice, but a rotation of aces is even better.

The "Joba Debate" will always linger for as long as he pitches. If he struggles or gets hurt as a starter, Yankees fans will immediately ask, "Why wasn't he in the bullpen this whole time?" Chamberlain was drafted and groomed to be a starter. Because Brian Cashman has always struggled in building a bullpen, Chamberlain had to put his development on hold to save the Yankees. He is not a reliever, nor should he be in 2009, 2010, or anywhere else in the future.

Stadium worker injured

The AP is reporting that a Yankee Stadium construction worker was injured in a fall today. Here is its extremely terse update:

Firefighters say a construction worker has been hurt after falling off scaffolding at the new Yankee Stadium.

The Fire Department of New York says the worker was hospitalized in stable condition after tumbling about 12 feet Friday afternoon.

The Yankees haven’t commented.

The team’s $1.3 billion stadium is due to open April 16.

It sounds like he'll be fine.

Yup, very slow news day.

Yankees blog survey

Steve from Was Watching has posted a survey asking you which Yankees blogs you read.

There are about 90 blogs listed, so vote for the ones you read. There are some great ones out there.

Scott Proctor finds a home

I appreciate the e-mails and text messages (Vazzano) telling me that Scott Proctor signed with the Marlins this afternoon. I had computer issues all day, which is why I'm only posting this now.

According to a source, Proctor signed a one-year, $750,000 deal with another $250,000 in incentives.

I'm glad he found a home, and hopefully he'll contribute in a positive fashion. He's back home - he's from Stuart, Fla. - so that's great for him and his young family.

MLB Network launches today

Today's a big day in the baseball world, as MLB Network launches at 6 p.m. ET.

It will debut with Hot Stove Live at that time. Then at 7 p.m., they will air Don Larsen's perfect game.

If you click the above link, you will find a spot to enter your ZIP code to find the channel location in your area.

2008 Yankee of the Year: Mike Mussina

My congratulations go out to Mike Mussina for capturing Scott Proctor's Arm Nation's 2008 Yankee of the Year Award. He absolutely destroyed the competition, garnering over 70 percent of the vote. It was well-deserved, as well. Mariano Rivera finished in second place and will receive a $25 gift card to T.G.I. Friday's®.

Thank you all for participating in the poll.