The New York Yankees have agreed to a one year deal with free agent left-hander Andy Pettitte, reportedly worth $5.5 million.

Pettitte was painted as a selfish crybaby (by the press) because he refused to accept a pay cut from his previous season's salary ($16 million). Pettitte disagreed with that assessment, stating in an interview:

"Heck, the bottom line is I'm a man, and I guess it does take a shot at your pride a little bit," he said. "But when you put all that aside, I wanted to play for the New York Yankees and, you know, that was the bottom line. I wanted to be there. I wanted to play in that new stadium."

Pettitte will likely fill out the back end of the Yankee rotation, joining newly acquired arms CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett as the Yanks open up their new ballpark with a significantly upgraded roster compared to last season.

Pettite finished the 2008 season with a 14-14 record, posting a 4.54 era in 204 innings pitched. Pettite also posted great control numbers again, walking only 55 batters while striking out 158.

Now that the Yankees have dotted the "i's" and crossed the "t's" on the Teixeira contract and given him Jason Giambi's old position and jersey number, Giambi has probably (by now) seen the writing on the wall.

That's why he's going back home.

The Oakland A's have announced they have agreed in principle (and pending physical) on a one year deal worth $4 million. The team also has an option for the 2010 season (worth $6.5 million) with a $1.25 million buyout option.

And in other news, good ridance to the multi-million-dollar-mistake known as Carl Pavano. The Cleveland Indians, after an extensive physical (and by God it better have been extensive for their sake) agreed on a one year contract with the oft injured RHP, worth $1.5 million.

The contract has $5.3 million in performance bonuses.

No word yet on whether running his ferrari into the back of a garbage truck is one of the incentives.

And so ushers in the next era of Yankee baseball.

No, not the one that has Teixeira holding the coveted first base position for the New York Yankees.

I'm talking about the era that will last eight years; the era of me constantly misspelling the new Bomber's last name, and constantly typing like a 90 year old grandmother to ensure that I don't spell it wrong.

My biggest frustration with the Yankees' 2009 Offseason plan wasn't the fact that they outspent the entire GNP of the Congo, Tibet, or Guam. My issue is the fact that the Yankees spent that money on a man with a last name that is almost physically impossible to type.

We were excited when the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher. Swisher. The name just flows off the keyboard.

Burnett and Sabathia. Pretty easy to handle.

But Teixeira? GOOD F#@*'IN LORD!

My left hand will inevitably become crippled due to the constant strain of reaching for the letter "X" when I have to type such news articles as "Teixeira Hits Walk-Off to Complete Series Sweep" or "Teixeira Continues His 30 At-Bat Hit Streak" or "Teixeira Saves Wounded Seal, Wins Triple Crown"

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the New York Yankees organization for constantly delivering a great product to its loyal fans.

And we'd like to take this opportunity to make this Seasame Street announcement:

"The Letter X has been brought to you by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome"

Updating the site and filling in the "Old News Category" that we missed on reporting while suffering from a wonderful vacation, here's the Yankees free agent signing updates.

As if you needed us to tell you:

The free-agent pitchers reached preliminary agreements last week, with Sabathia getting a $161 million, seven-year contract and Burnett an $82.5 million, five-year deal. Sabathia's agreement is a record amount for a pitcher.

According to an ESPN.com News Services report, the Yankees have increased their offer to free agent lefty, CC Sabathia, and are close to acquiring his John Hancock:

Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney the deal offered by the Yankees is now worth $160 million over seven years -- the most money ever paid a pitcher in major league history. The team had originally offered six years and $140 million.

While a deal is not yet done, a source told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark there are "zero major road blocks" that would prevent the Yankees from reaching agreement with Sabathia. Not all terms of the deal are agreed to yet, the source indicated. Sabathia also would need to take a physical.

The CC deal for the Bombers has been an "on again, off again saga for the Yanks" as their contract offer turned one month old yesterday. There had been reports that the Giants were set to sign the lefty and multiple reports that CC was going to be a Dodger.

If the signing actually takes place, the Yankees would have acquired their main offseason target and can now look to adding additional arms to solidify their shaky rotation.

In a somewhat puzzling move, the Bombers have declined to offer arbitration to any of their free agents, forgoing a chance to receive compensation picks in next season's amateur draft.

The Yanks declined to offer arbitration to Andy Pettitte, who they thought might receive a similar salary ($16 million) if he won the case. The Yanks are looking to bring Pettitte back, but at a lower price tag than his 2008 salary.

Abreu's arbitration offer was also withheld by Yankee brass, for the same reasons as Pettitte. Abreu might have been the Yankees only chance at receiving a compensation pick in the amateur draft, but since the Yanks refused arbitration, they lose out.

According to the New York Post, the Bombers are prepared to offer free agent starting pitcher A.J. Burnett a contract worth $80 million over five years.

This comes on the tails of a precedent setting offer to CC Sabathia, the left hander whom the Yankees have targeted as their main arm in attempts to rebuild the rotation.

With the Cubs signing Ryan Dempster to a four year deal, the Yanks look to quickly remove starters before the market turns into an ugly bidding war.

ドアが出口の当らないために注意してはいけない。 in Japanese, according to Alta Vista's Babel fist translation, means; "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Darrell Rasner had asked Yankee GM Brian Cashman to be shipped over to Japan, where he would eventually sign a two year deal with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Pacific League.

Rasner finished with a 5-10 record, posting a 5.40 era in 24 games with the Bombers last season. With all the talk of the Yanks retooling their rotation this offseason, Rasner inevitably saw the writing on the wall.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com the Yankees have reportedly offered free agent pitcher CC Sabathia a 6 year, $140 million contract. The offer, if signed, would be the most lucrative for a pitcher since last year's Johan Santana mega buck deal.

According to ESPN.com, the Yankees signed left handed reliever Damaso Marte to a three year deal worth $12 million dollars.

The Yankees had initially opted to buyout Marte's contract, as opposed to picking up a $6 million option.

The move gives the Yankees a left handed option out of the bullpen, but not a solid one. Marte went 1-3 with a 5.40 era after being acquired by the Yankees in the Xavier Nady deal at the trading deadline.

The Yankees haven't had a solid left handed specialist since the days of Mike Stanton and Grahame Llyod.

With the first round of General Manager meetings in full swing, Brian Cashman and company declined to pick up the team options on both Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano's contracts.

Giambi will receive $5 million for the buyout and Pavano cashes in another $1.95 million. This, obviously, isn't the first time the Yankees have given Pavano money for doing absolutely nothing.

The moves free up some cash for the Yankees, as the two spots held by Giambi and Pavano free up close to $28 million dollars.

Some sources think that Giambi may return to Oakland, as reported by ESPN:

In a sign that Giambi may want to return to the Athletics, Oakland announced Tuesday that Bob Alejo will become its director of strength and conditioning. Alejo was Oakland's strength and conditioning coach from 1993-2001 and followed Giambi to the Yankees, working for Giambi personally and for the team during some years.

The Yankees signed former Florida Marlin starting pitcher Sergio Mitre to a minor league deal, worth $1.25 million, with the team holding a club option for 2010.

Don't expect to see Mitre in pinstripes until after the All-Star Break, as he is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Mitre was a member of Joe Girardi's 2006 Florida Marlins, going 5-8 with a 4.65 era. Mitre's most effective pitch is his sinkerball.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at the Bombers offseason plans; free agents, players parting ways, and analysis of positions that need to be upgraded if the Yanks look to correct their disappointing 2008 season.

First up is Yankee first baseman Jason Giambi. Giambi's contract situation with the team is unstable at best. The Yanks have a $22 million club option on his contract, or a $5 million buyout option.

It doesn't take an advanced degree in physics to see where this discussion is going.

All signs point to Cashman opting to use the buyout clause, saving the Yankees a cool $17 million. Once that's taken care of and the money's been wired, there are two roads the Yankees can go down with Giambi.

Road #1: Cutting Ties

There are a handful of Yankee fans that are salivating over this option, especially with the impeding free agency of Mark Teixeira and to a lesser extent, Hank Blalock.

If the Angels can't quickly resign K-Rod, we have a hard time believing that the Angels will be able to convince Teixeira that they're committed to winning. Despite their recent success, their lineup is aging quickly and could be subject to fire sales this offseason.

While Teixeira would be a huge upgrade over Giambi, there are rumors that Teixeira would be willing to play for the Orioles next season. He grew up in Maryland and rooted for the Orioles as a child. We all know that Orioles brass have been known to recklessly pony up big bucks. This could be one of those times. Don't look for the Yanks to get into a bidding war over a first baseman, as pitching is a top priority this offseason.

Internal options at first base are intersting. Cody Ransom comes to mind as the best prospect suited to play first, but when all is said and done, he's most likely nothing more than a super utility guy. Juan Miranda, a relative unkown until his September call up, has been dominating the Arizona Fall League; The 25-year-old ranks second in slugging percentage (.871) and third in batting average (.452),

Road #2: Sign and Cross Fingers

The road less likely traveled is to buy out Jason's contract and sign him to a lesser deal, one loaded with performance based incentives. This prevents Giambi from signing on with a team like the Red Sox or Angels and going on a 50 HR/150 RBI binge-like season and hurting the Yankees in the long run.

The posibility of that happening is highly unlikely, we're just writing it down now so we have something to link back to next September when Giambi hits the game winning walk off home run for the Angels in the one game playoff that keeps the Yankees out of the postseason.


River Avenue News Prediction:
Yanks lose the 'stache and bring in a handful of journeymen to compete for the first base job.

With Phase 1 of their Off Season Plan complete (see article) the Yankees enter phase two as they look to better a team that finished third in the AL East this season.

Here are some recent updates and moves the Yanks have made in light of a disastrous 2008 campaign:

- Fired third base coach Bobby Meacham and special pitching instructor Rich Monteleone.

- Organization meetings are being held, starting today, in Florida to access the team's off season free agent spending plan. The Yanks are thought to be interested in CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Ben Sheets, and first baseman Mark Teixeira. Also, exploring a trade for San Diego pitcher Jake Peavy is possible.

- Andy is interested in coming back in '09, but does he fit into the Yankees plan?

- There are conflicting reports as to whether Moose wants to return next season.

Brian Cashman has been on fire since he resigned with the Yankees. His most recent statements indicate that the Yankees will be major players in the free agent market this winter, with their main goal to set their sights on upgrading the rotation.

For those interested in the list of potential free agent pitchers, here's the group Cashman will be picking from: (Red Players are viable upgrades, Yellow Players are gambles, and Green Players, well...make sure you have a upchuck bucket handy if Cashman signs them).

Kris Benson (33)
A.J. Burnett (32) - can opt out after '08 season
Paul Byrd (38)
Matt Clement (33)
Bartolo Colon (36)
Ryan Dempster (32)
Josh Fogg (32)
Freddy Garcia (33)
Jon Garland (29)
Mike Hampton (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Livan Hernandez (34)
Orlando Hernandez (43)
Jason Jennings (30)
Randy Johnson (45)
John Lackey (30) - $9MM club option for '09 with a $0.5MM buyout
Jon Lieber (39)
Braden Looper (34)
Rodrigo Lopez (33) - club option for '09
Derek Lowe (36)
Greg Maddux (43)
Pedro Martinez (37)
Sergio Mitre (28)
Jamie Moyer (46)
Mark Mulder (31) - $11MM club option for '09 with a $1.5MM buyout
Mike Mussina (40)
Carl Pavano (33) - $13MM club option for '09 with a $1.95MM buyout
Brad Penny (31) - $8.75MM club option for '09 with a $2MM buyout
Odalis Perez (32)
Oliver Perez (27)
Andy Pettitte (37)
Sidney Ponson (32)
Mark Prior (27)
Kenny Rogers (44)
Glendon Rusch (34)
C.C. Sabathia (28)
Curt Schilling (42)
Ben Sheets (30)
John Smoltz (42)
Tim Wakefield (42) - perpetual $4MM club option
Kip Wells (32)
Randy Wolf (32)

According to an article posted by Sports Illustrated's John Heyman, Brewer lefty CC Sabathia may not be looking for a big payday in the Bronx when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season;

The latest scuttlebutt heard on Sunday is that Sabathia does not want to go to the Yankees, who are nonetheless expected to make the biggest bid for the free-agent star.

A person close to Sabathia said a few days ago that the pitcher does indeed prefer to play in California "if all things are equal'' but also insisted that Sabathia has become "more open-minded'' about playing in one of the other 17 states, provinces or districts that have major league baseball. That person said that as recently as two years ago he couldn't have envisioned Sabathia choosing anywhere outside California but now could see it.

It was written in this space last week that the Angels are expected to make a big play for Sabathia, though it's presumed everywhere that the best monetary offer will come from the Bronx. As for the word that's gone around (including here) that Sabathia was going to acquire a home in Orange County, Calif., Sabathia recently has told folks that while he and his wife recently viewed homes in Southern California, they haven't made a purchase yet.

This would be just another setback that the Yanks must face this offseason, as they're sure to do some major re-tooling to right the ship.