Yankees Sign Masahiro Tanaka

[Backtobanks]

I just don't understand the Yankees argument. They have an old and flawed team. They have a [expletive] minor league system. They have money. And they are in NY. The Cubs have more to offer.

 

Obviously you're biased (like most of us). They are an old and flawed team, while we are younger and more flawed (at this point). Everyone will agree on the minor league system, but with enough money they can bypass having prospects by signing FAs. They have money and they are in NY. To anyone outside of a die-hard Cub fan, those are pretty good reasons to pick NY.

[Guest]

I just don't understand the Yankees argument. They have an old and flawed team. They have a [expletive] minor league system. They have money. And they are in NY. The Cubs have more to offer.

 

Obviously you're biased (like most of us). They are an old and flawed team, while we are younger and more flawed (at this point). Everyone will agree on the minor league system, but with enough money they can bypass having prospects by signing FAs. They have money and they are in NY. To anyone outside of a die-hard Cub fan, those are pretty good reasons to pick NY.

 

That's going to be very difficult for them to do and require a really nice hit rate.

[Guest]

Remember re Tanaka: it is possible to want a guy badly, to make him a killer offer, to do everything possible to get him ... & not get him.

 

Brett on Twitter, being all rational and stuff.

I don't think it is true. If the Cubs do everything possible to get him they will. It's all about the money. If it wasn't he wouldn't have left Japan.

 

That's some flawed logic.

 

It's obviously about some combination of all the factors, of which money is almost certainly the most heavily weighted one. If money is anywhere near equal, other factors could easily come into play. I'm not sure how you could declare otherwise with any sort of certainty.

If the money is near equal then the Cubs haven't done everything possible to get him. The Yankees are not the George Steinbrenner Yankees. They are the Hal Steinbrenner Yankees, an owner who strongly desires to make money. He's said repeatedly over the last two years that the team needs to shed payroll. He's just been given a gift by MLB and A-Rod, he's not going to turn around and put them over the tax threshold.

 

The Cubs need to offer him a contract that would put the Yankees over the luxury tax threshold and be too expensive for any other team. If they do that and he doesn't sign with the Cubs, well than yes, they didn't get him and they did the best they could to try. I don't see it happening.

[Boris]

I understand my bias. Even so, objectively speaking the Cubs are at least on the uptick. A professional ball player surely will have a team with him explaining all the talent variables in play with each pursuing team. Unless I am missing something, the Cubs would, on paper, look to be the more attractive option. The Cubs will win the World Series before the Yankees grab another title.

 

Also, I do understand my analysis weighs heavily on Tanaka being a Cub. If he isn't, our landscape changes considerably.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Boris

[Guest]

Remember re Tanaka: it is possible to want a guy badly, to make him a killer offer, to do everything possible to get him ... & not get him.

 

Brett on Twitter, being all rational and stuff.

I don't think it is true. If the Cubs do everything possible to get him they will. It's all about the money. If it wasn't he wouldn't have left Japan.

 

That's some flawed logic.

 

It's obviously about some combination of all the factors, of which money is almost certainly the most heavily weighted one. If money is anywhere near equal, other factors could easily come into play. I'm not sure how you could declare otherwise with any sort of certainty.

If the money is near equal then the Cubs haven't done everything possible to get him. The Yankees are not the George Steinbrenner Yankees. They are the Hal Steinbrenner Yankees, an owner who strongly desires to make money. He's said repeatedly over the last two years that the team needs to shed payroll. He's just been given a gift by MLB and A-Rod, he's not going to turn around and put them over the tax threshold.

 

The Cubs need to offer him a contract that would put the Yankees over the luxury tax threshold and be too expensive for any other team. If they do that and he doesn't sign with the Cubs, well than yes, they didn't get him and they did the best they could to try. I don't see it happening.

 

I don't disagree with you there, but there are reports today (and there have been others recently) that the Yankees still don't care all that much about going past the tax now.

[Guest]

For those who don't remember this story:

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/old-foes-brian-cashman-theo-epstein-catch-connecticut-125059856.html

[Tyrant]

The Cubs will win the World Series before the Yankees grab another title.

 

I don't know about that

[Guest]

Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 1m

Asked 2 agents where they think Tanaka will go. 1) Yankees, Cubs or Dodgers. 2) Yankees, Dodgers or Blue Jays. #speculation

[davell]

The Cubs will win the World Series before the Yankees grab another title.

 

I don't know about that

 

For 2015, the Yanks have A-Rod(38), Teixeira(33, 34 in April), CC(33), Ellsbury(30), McCann(30), Brendan Ryan(32), and Matt Thornton(37) under contract for close to 127 mill.

 

For 2016, they've got the same group, minus Ryan and Thornton for slightly under 124 mill.

 

For 2017, they've got 64 mill invested in A-Rod, Ellsbury, and McCann.

 

They have one of the worst systems in the game to pull from and not much flexibility to make major acquisitions, as it is. And old as dirt.

 

I would take our current situation and a capped 110 mill payroll for the next 5 years than theirs, capped at 200, for that same time.

 

And we have a TV deal coming, to where ours won't be stuck, while theirs very likely is going to hover in that range.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 1m

Asked 2 agents where they think Tanaka will go. 1) Yankees, Cubs or Dodgers. 2) Yankees, Dodgers or Blue Jays. #speculation

 

I actually think it's 1. Dodgers; 2. Yanks. 3. Cubs. 4. Nobody else.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

1) Cubs 2) Japan

[treebird]

1) Cubs 2) Japan

 

1) cubs 2) mysterious letterbomb with a tennessee postmark

[TruffleShuffle]

i am really starting to dislike the [expletive] dodgers.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Cubs will win the World Series before the Yankees grab another title.

 

I don't know about that

 

For 2015, the Yanks have A-Rod(38), Teixeira(33, 34 in April), CC(33), Ellsbury(30), McCann(30), Brendan Ryan(32), and Matt Thornton(37) under contract for close to 127 mill.

 

For 2016, they've got the same group, minus Ryan and Thornton for slightly under 124 mill.

 

For 2017, they've got 64 mill invested in A-Rod, Ellsbury, and McCann.

 

They have one of the worst systems in the game to pull from and not much flexibility to make major acquisitions, as it is. And old as dirt.

 

I would take our current situation and a capped 110 mill payroll for the next 5 years than theirs, capped at 200, for that same time.

 

And we have a TV deal coming, to where ours won't be stuck, while theirs very likely is going to hover in that range.

After a luxury tax reset nyy payroll is going way up.

[Guest]

There's not gonna be any reset if they sign Tanaka.

[jersey cubs fan]

There's not gonna be any reset if they sign Tanaka.

Which is why I voted cubs in poll

[Guest]

There's not gonna be any reset if they sign Tanaka.

Which is why I voted cubs in poll

 

I hope you're right

[davell]

If I were them, I'd reset, I just don't see it though. Even if they miss on Tanaka, they'll definitely get at least one of whats left, maybe multiples.

 

I did see one report that said privately, some Yankees front office members hope they miss out on Tanaka, then it'd be easier to go back and try to get under 189 this year.

[USSoccer]

I dislike waiting. One way or another, it would be nice to have a final outcome here so we can all decide to either melt down or get optimistic.

[OleMissCub]

I fear we are going to be let down all because of his woman.

[Guest]

I fear we are going to be let down all because of his woman.

 

If he was ever going to come here, it's because we're offering a lot more money.

 

He's not going to turn down a lot more money so his wife can pursue expanding her singing career beyond being the equivalent of the fat guy from NSync in some disbanded Japanese pop group or whatever.

[Guest]

Thanks for that:

 

Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 2m

Gut feeling on this one: Three most likely spots for Tanaka seem to be #Dodgers, #Cubs, #Yankees. Things could change though.

 

Chris Cotillo ‏@ChrisCotillo 1m

“@smolzz: @ChrisCotillo in that order?” No.

[Guest]

Is the deadline the 24th in Japanese time?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Why is there a deadline at all, anyway?

[Guest]

Why is there a deadline at all, anyway?

 

Because those are the rules of the posting process