Top News:
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
No deal for Youkilis — Kevin Youkilis and the Red Sox will not reach a long-term contract agreement this offseason, said Joe Bick, Youkilis's agent. Youkilis and the team have discussed a possible long-term contract this winter, but the sides currently stand too far apart for a deal to be finished before the 2009 season.
RELATED:
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Yankees grab prize Sox pined for — $180m deal lures Teixeira to N.Y. — Their familiar and monstrous rivals loomed over the Red Sox the whole time, their deep pockets and pinstripes somehow hidden in plain sight. The real surprise might not be where Mark Teixeira …
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Red Sox trumped in Teixeira stakes — The Red Sox never needed Mark Teixeira. — That's what I kept hearing from Sox defenders after the Yankees scored a knockout punch in the heavyweight fight with Boston. The Yankees, as we warned all along, swept in and grabbed the prized free agent of the 2008 offseason.
Gordon Edes / Yahoo! Sports:
Yankees are stealth Bombers, get Teixeira
Yankees are stealth Bombers, get Teixeira
Discussion:
Sox and Pinstripes
Danielle Sessa / Bloomberg:
Brewers Owner Suggests Salary Cap After Yankees Sign Teixeira — A A A — Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said Major League Baseball may need to impose a salary cap to preserve competition after the New York Yankees spent $424 million to sign three players.
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Craig Calcaterra / Hardball Times:
It's worth noting . . . . . .that the Yankees payroll on Opening Day 2008 was $209 million. — It's also worth noting that even with the additions of Teixeira, Sabathia, and Burnett, the Yankees' 2009 payroll obligations — including signing bonuses — stand at roughly $201-205 million, give or take.
Boston Globe:
Derek Lowe closing in on deal with Mets — According to a baseball source, The New York Mets appear to be closing in on a deal for free-agent pitcher Derek Lowe. — The deal is believed to be four years in length, or three years with a vesting option. The contract is estimated to be worth between $14-16 million per season.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, Hot Stove Blog, FanHouse, MLB Rumors, The 'Ropolitans, Mets Fever and 24 Hours From Suicide
RELATED:
Gordon Edes / Yahoo! Sports:
Mets deep in negotiations for Derek Lowe
Mets deep in negotiations for Derek Lowe
Discussion:
Mets Geek, Bottom9 Baseball, Subway Squawkers, Mets Fever, 24 Hours From Suicide and MetsBlog.com
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Pettitte could be the odd man out — After speaking to several different people this evening, it appears the arrival of Mark Teixeira could mean the departure of Andy Pettitte. — Pettitte has been sitting on a $10 million offer from the Yankees for a while now, believing he deserves …
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Lee Jenkins / Sports Illustrated:
Teixeira perfect for N.Y.
Teixeira perfect for N.Y.
Discussion:
It is about the money, stupid, Bugs & Cranks, MLB.com, bronxbanterblog.com and Sliding Into Home
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
YANKS SIGN CASH TO MINOR LEAGUE DEAL — The Yankees stole another player away from the Red Sox on Tuesday, though Boston will hardly bemoan the loss of Kevin Cash as much as it did watching Mark Teixeira take, well, the Yankee cash and run to the Bronx. — The Yankees did not announce any signing …
Marc Katz / Dayton Daily News:
Dragons lose new manager — DAYTON — Jamie Dismuke, who was to manage the Dayton Dragons this summer, has instead taken a job as hitting coach for the Class AAA Gwinnett (Ga.) Braves in the Atlanta Braves organization. — “It's a better situation for me,” said Dismuke …
Spencer Fordin / MLB.com:
Markakis declines invite to Classic — With baby due in March, outfielder tells paper he's staying home — BALTIMORE — This time, the Orioles won't lose their best player to the World Baseball Classic. Right fielder Nick Markakis told The Baltimore Sun on Tuesday that he has declined …
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Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Yankee Signings of Teixeira, Sabathia, and Burnett Move Salary Figures to Cartoonish Levels — As I wrote yesterday, in The Anatomy of a Yankees Spending Spree, what we have now is the perfect Steinbrennerian storm for going after free agents with reckless abandon this postseason.
Curt Schilling / 38 Pitches:
With Teixeira signing comes a dose of reality — No one should be shocked, at all. Theo has, at least in my opinion, operated within parameters set by he and the club, and stuck to them. Letting emotion enter into this stuff will see you spend for spending sake.
Discussion:
Projo Sox Blog
Jack Marshall / Hardball Times:
The baseball ethicist: Why nobody signed Barry Bonds — I had been gleefully anticipating the 2008 baseball season for one additional reason than the usual ones: no more Barry Bonds. For an ethicist, the astounding volume of invalid rationalizations put forth to excuse, tolerate …
Discussion:
MVN
Bob Ryan / Boston Globe:
Bronx bombshell sends loud message — Attention, Yankee Nation. Attention, America. Attention, World. Attention, Universe. Attention, Galaxies Unknown. Attention, Babe, The Iron Horse, The Mick, and all other residents of that great Yankee Retirement Home In The Sky:
Discussion:
LA Times Sports Blog