Yankees Refuse to Go South, Call on Tex

On December 23rd the Yankees signed THE most coveted free agent of the 2008 winter, Mark Teixeira. Some would call the Yankees selfish, and many would tell them that buying a World Series isn't good for baseball. Be the Tampa Bay Rays. Harvest your players, play them, until they're fantastic, get to the playoffs for a year and then watch them leaves to only be signed by the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets or Cubs. Fans forget, but this is actually the Yankees' style. Derek Jeter, Chien Ming Wang, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson, Andy Pettitte, Ian Kennedy, Jose Veras...The list is long and the players are distinguished--all of these players came out of the Yankees' farmsystem and all of them are very good. The point is, the core of the Yankees isn't bought, its grown, and thats what will give them a World Series--guys who WANT to win as a Yankee.

Who knows how motivated C.C. Sabathia is to win a Championship-- he has his money and really wasn't thrilled about playing for the Yankees until he was offered a golden egg. A.J. Burnett came at a high price, and a guy that pitches a Pavanian 3/4 of a season yearly might be a risk. Well maybe not Pavanian, that's be more like getting dirty with a masseuse instead of pitching at all. Mark Teixeira though WILL get the Yankees to the promise land. The smartest signing this off season. He gives AROD protection, and hitting in front of the beast, Texeira's numbers will explode. Jeter benefits to, hitting in front of Teixeira his runs will increase, and his average will probably jump with all of the fastballs he'll get. Bobby Abreu didn't have this effect.

Teixeira is a winner, he wants to win, he plays to win, he puts his ass on the line every game. His lifting regimen, not full of steroids and HGH like Clemens' or Bonds', is adored by Men's Health and is possibly the most grueling work out system in the business. Teixeira plays every game, every year-- his managers have to forced him to take a seat on the bench. His power numbers are consistent and, well, powerful. 33, 30, 33 homers during his past three years. From 2005-2006 he played EVERY single game for the Rangers. In 2008, he played 157 games. He's a very solid baserunner with a .378 OBP during his career, and he isn't a swing and whiff Adam Dunn guy, his lifetime batting average is .290 and he struck out on 93 times last year-- a feat that modern era power hitters rarely can match. A winner of 2 Gold Gloves, Teixeira also plays plus defense at an underrated position. He's also a high-character guy. He doesn't pout, fight, or whine about his teammates when times are bad and teammates are sucking-- he simply tells them to work harder and get better. He takes responsibility for himself. He was offered a larger contract from The Nationals, but he waited out the Yankees. Maybe it was that snake Scott Boras, or maybe Teixeira wants to win. Jason Giambi won't be missed.

For all of the hubbub the Yankees' payroll gets is still below what it was last year. Instead of signing high-priced veterans that could care less about the playoffs-- Bobby Abreu, Carl Pavano-- they made a run at true competitors. 2009 will be an interesting season. New stadium, clean slate. Their bullpen is in the top 10 in the MLB, their rotation is number 1, they're hitters are number 1 and they have a coach that WANTS to win. They'll still be there in October 2009.