I’m not saying it’s not true, just that I plan to maintain my denial until I absolutely have to give it up.

I’m still hoping that Colletti reads this headline in the paper this morning, spits out his oatmeal, tightens the belt on his bathrobe, and gets on the phone to CC’s agent LIKE NOW.

Agreed on the first paragraph. Should I be in attendance for his return to Cleveland (assuming with 80% probability he gets a start), I’ll give him a standing ovation when announced. After that, nothing but cheers for the Tribe.

Ask Milwaukee.

A reliable innings hog for much of his career? No. He reached 200 innings once in his first six seasons.

He certainly has made up for that over the last two years, but, well, we’ll see where that leads.

I guess I’m a little more emotionally attached to CC than to Wood, who I specifically liked for the first time… just yesterday.

I think Wood for 2 years at <$10M per is a much better signing than Sabathia for 7 years at $160M. I think there’s a very good chance the Tribe is better than the Yankees this year, or even maybe for most of the next seven years. But I don’t care about that right now, because my favorite player just turned into a Yankee.

This is sports. It’s not about logic.

On how bad the Yankees were last year -

Not really that bad. Still pretty good. It’s hard to throw all that talent (even old overpriced talent) at the wall and not have some stick.

OH YEAH THAN WHY ARE SIGNING TOMO CHOKAH? HUH? SELL THE TEAM DOLAN SELL IT AMIRITE

… Last time I will ever say that.

Not trying to chastise or anything, but I’m crestfallen enough as it is with the CC news so I’d rather avoid thinking about the obvious and foreboding corollary effects involving LBJ.

Why?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

(Nike money. InBev money, car company money, taco chain money)

Let’s not get into this. I’m not accusing either of you of starting anything. But let’s just not.

Grady Sizemore.

Jim Brown is better now, but LeBron may surpass him some day. Of course we won’t know that for another 15 years. Jim Brown is definately hard to top, though.

Damn.

or US

Actually, I’m sure C.C. would know that we’re in a recession. That opt-out clause is his ticket to a bigger bank if the economy somehow pulls a u-turn in the next three years.

You’d really have to be a fool not to take a contract that pays you nearly 20% more than the next employer that also allows you to potentially sign a NEW contract in three years if you feel you could get another bump.

Did he REALLY say he wanted to be a Dodger? The closest source I found to the conversation was on ESPN. It said:

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark on Monday that he ran into the free agent on Sunday night in a hotel lobby and the left-hander told him that he wants to be a Dodger.

So, Stark reported that Colletti told him that CC said that he wants to be a Dodger. That’s triple hearsay. It could just as easily been wishful thinking/creative interpretation on Colletti’s part. Even so, armed with that knowledge/belief, Colletti should have put his money where CC’s mouth was. I’ve not heard a single report of any contract offer by LA to CC.

I’d like to be a federal judge (trust me, it may be one of the best gigs in the world), but no one’s offered it to me, so I’ll continue to draw my paycheck at my current job. CC may have wanted to be a Dodger, but the Yankees were willing to pay for his services.

Whoops – that was supposed to be in reply to Harry Doyle’s comment about MLB’s current economic situation giving the Yankees virtually the “right” to sign anyone they choose at any dollars they want and no one else can come remotely close to it, not even the Red Sox, Angels, Giants, or Dodgers.

I have actually done this (obviously millions are not on the line) twice. once i was offered a significant amount of money to relocate to a different city and i declined. another time i was offered a significant amount of money to go to a different company in the same city doing the same thing, but i didn’t like the kind of work they did. nothing gets more tired in these discussions than the old “you’d do the same thing in that position line.” CC actually struck me as someone who fit that mold – that going to the west coast was the most important thing to him.

Why should they own up proudly? And what has CC said on this issue? I think like most people would do, he’s considering the money and the location together, throwing them in a blender and trying to make a decision. Everyone cares about compensation and location, but to varying degrees.

What I find to be absolutely wrong in your analysis is the notion that a person reaches a certain income level and then stops valuing money. Of course, it loses its marginal value as you gain more, but I think not nearly as quickly as you suppose. And it certainly doesn’t drop to zero just because you’ve got a nice house for yourself and each of your children.

We’ve been round and round on this topic before, but I think you’re just underestimating the average person’s ability to adjust their ambition with regard to money, or life in general, in this case, CC’s amibition with regard to the extra $40 million. Yeah, we get that he doesn’t need it to live or eat. He can use it to buy a business, or make an actual difference in charity work, or provide for his 200 closest relatives.

I’m not arguing that he should have chosen $40 M over his preferred city. He probably shouldn’t have. But arguing against the idea that the last $40 M has no value at all.

Tough to quantify this. C.C. has already made about $30 million, and this new deal is 23 × 7 = 161.

There were several teams, including the Dodgers, who would have signed him for 22 × 6 = 132.

At least 12 clubs and possibly 25 would have signed him for 23 × 5 = 115. I believe we would have.

That means that C.C.’s net earnings when this was done was going to be between 145M and 190M, no matter what.

So the right to choose your venue is not worth 46M to C.C., and the right to several preferable choices (including a California NL option) is not worth even 29 million.

Still, I have to think the opt-out is the key point there. He wasn’t going to walk away from an extra ~35M when the only reason is that he might not like to play there, when they’re offering him the opt-out.

It does whenever I get change at the concession stand, but that could just be an old stadium thing.

he’s actually a real Yankee fan

no. such. thing.

The only person I associate with that I consider a “real” Yankee fan is my old Navy roommate Dave. He lives in New jersey, which is kind of like living under a rock, but he has cable so we talked about it hours ago. I tried to make him nervous about the innings pitched over the past two years (thanks LGT community.)

Agreed.

yep. the power of itallics.