In December of 2003, I said the Yankees not signing Andy Pettitte was the biggest mistake the team had made in at least 25 years (that is until they signed A-Rod last offseason, but that's another story). They valued other team's free agents as opposed to one of their own, and instead of having a rotation that featured Mike Mussina, Javier Vasquez, and Pettitte, they were instead blessed with Kevin Brown. I am a firm believer that if the Yankees signed Pettitte back in 2003, at a time when he wanted to sign, the Yankees would never have lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS, and in turn would have helped Don Mattingly get his first ring.

Well fast-forward to the present, and this time it's Pettitte that's in the wrong.  The Yankees have come out all along and said they want him back, however they want him back at a lower salary than he made the last two years. When you look at his numbers, that's perfectly reasonable. But furthermore, it's time for Pettitte to pay back the Yankees for their loyalty.

Two years ago the lefty signed a one-year deal with a player option for the second year for $16 million. In other words, it was entirely his decision if he wanted to come back and pitch for $16 million in 2008. The team gave him plenty of time to make a decision, and when Pettitte finally did make his decision, it was to return. Then, only a few days later, the Mitchell Report came out, and Pettitte was one of the prime names mentioned.

Instead of looking into ways to possibly void the contract, the Yankees supported Pettitte 100 percent. They gave him a couple of extra days before reporting to spring training, and when he did arrive and host a press conference, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera all showed up in support of their longtime friend and teammate.

During the 2003 season Pettitte said that he could not envision himself pitching for anyone else besides the Yankees. As we said earlier though, the Yankees dissed him, and he took his services to his hometown Astros. Throughout the 2008 season, Pettitte had said that if he were going to pitch in 2009, it would only be for the Yankees. At no point did he say, it would only be for the Yankees if they paid him a salary that was near or equal to $16 million. 

So with the Yankees having offered $10 million, which is MORE than fair, as a matter of fact, it's probably a few million over market value, which is just another sign of the team's loyalty, it's time for Pettitte to live up to his reputation of being one of the few good, and honest people in sports. If he wants to come back and play for the Yankees, accept their offer, if he doesn't, then don't. But don't hide behind the fa

The New York Yankees won three straight World Series from 1998-2000, and not one of them was as much fun to celebrate as their championship in 1996.  In `98, they were chasing history (125-50), in `99, once they went up 3-0 against the Braves, you knew the championship was a foregone conclusion, and in `00 there was so much pressure to beat the Mets that just winning it was a relief. Yet in `96, after an 18-year drought, the feeling after the Yankees won was pure euphoria. Well, after today's news, you can say goodbye to experiencing that feeling again.

The New York Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, and how do they respond? By going out and signing the top three free agents on the market for a combined total of more than $400 million!!!! Now I know people are going to make the argument that even by signing CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and now Mark Teixeira, they still are spending less than they spent on last year's team because over $80 million came off the books. But you know what, I don't care.

There comes a time when enough is enough. Just because the Yankees spent $220 million on their payroll in 2008 doesn't mean they were correct to do that. And frankly, the thought of lowering the payroll by a good $40 million was intriguing to me. Instead, the team is back to where they were in 2004, having an All-Star at nearly every position, and for those of you who forgot, that 2004 team had the worst playoff collapse in the history of the sport.

Obviously the rotation is better now than it was in 2004, but problems still exist with the rest of the team. Can they run? Can they play defense? Can they pick each other up and not go into team slumps? Can they overcome A-Rod being A-Rod? No matter how much money they spend, they still have not addressed some major issues, team defense, team speed, and team athleticism.

Yes, Teixeira is a MAJOR upgrade over Jason Giambi at first base, but will he be a gold-glove caliber first baseman for 8 years? Was it worth $180 million to have him play first over Nick Swisher? Did they have to include a full no-trade clause when seemingly every other big-market team bailed out of the negotiations? I mean honestly, do you think Teixeira would've taken the Nationals offer over the Yankees if they had offered a full no-trade?

Joel Sherman brought up a very good point in the New York Post saying that this was a move as much for 2010 as it was for 2009 because the team would be looking to potentially replace Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Xavier Nady. While that is all fair, it doesn't address the fact that the contract is for 8 years! I like Teixeira as a player, and as a person, but 8 years is a HUGE commitment for someone, and I highly doubt they'll be basking in the glory six years from now when they have A-Rod on the books for $27.5 million at the age of 39, and Teixeira on the books for $22.5 million at the age of 34, not to mention Sabathia for $23 million also at 34.

Short-term the move makes sense, but you don't build winning organizations by thinking short-term. Furthermore, the New York Yankees could go on to win the World Series this year (which I don't think they'll do), and they could go on to win the World Series the next three years (which again I don't think they'll do), and you know what everyone will say? "Well of course they won the World Series, look who they bought." And if they don't win the World Series, you know what everyone will say? "How could they not win with that payroll?"

People sometimes utter the phrase, "win at all cost." Well, the Yankees may win, but it will be a lose-lose situation.

When all is said and done, the 2008 offseason will resemble the 2000 offseason, and for that I say shame on baseball, its owners, and its general managers. There's a saying that goes something like this, "History repeats itself." So with that said, why didn't all of these people learn from the mistakes of 2000?

Mark Teixeira is about to sign one of the top five richest contracts in the history of baseball. There are terms being thrown out there such as 8 years and $184 million! In 2000, Alex Rodriguez signed his now infamous 10 year/$252 million deal. At the time, A-Rod was 24 years old, and the Rangers thought he was the centerpiece to their franchise. Three years later, they felt it was best to pay $9 million a year to get rid of him. Teixeira is currently 28. If any team that signs him now feels they will not have an inkling to trade him before his contract is up, well they're crazy.

In 2000, the Colorado Rockies handed out the richest ever contract to a pitcher, 8 years/$121 million, to lure Mike Hampton to the high altitude of Denver. At the time, he was 27 years old, and coming off a season in which he helped pitch the New York Mets to their first World Series since 1986. By the time Hampton played out his contract, THREE teams were paying his salary, including a team he never suited up for, the Florida Marlins! Well, fast-forward to 2008, and the New York Yankees just signed CC Sabathia to the richest contract ever given to a pitcher, 7 years/$161 million. Sabathia, 28, just finished an incredible run in helping lead the Milwaukee Brewers to their first postseason berth since 1982...

In 2000, the LA Dodgers inked Darren Dreifort, a pitcher who had a history of arm trouble, and whose lowest ERA as a starting pitcher was 4.00, to a 5 year/$55 million deal. Dreifort missed the entire 2002 season, and was out of baseball after 2004. Move ahead to 2008, and the New York Yankees just signed A.J. Burnett, a pitcher who has a history of arm trouble, and is coming off his best overall season despite a 4.07 ERA, to a 5 year/$82.5 million deal...

People look back upon that 2000 offseason and cringe, and that was during a pretty good economic time. I can't imagine what people are going to say about this offseason. I, for one, am disgusted by it.

Many people have chimed in with their thoughts on the Plaxico Burress situation, so I figured why not add my two cents.

By this point we all know the details. We know Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg, that he was at the club with teammate Antonio Pierce, that he turned himself in to the New York City Police Department, and that the Giants have suspended him for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

While many are wondering how this will affect the Giants as a team, I am wondering what lessons will athletes and stars learn from this? The fact of the matter is, when it's all said and done, Burress was extremely lucky. He's lucky that the accidental gunshot went off on himself and not any innocent by standard. He's lucky that the bullet struck his leg, and not a main artery. He's lucky he's alive, as is everyone else that was at the club that night.

The next question then is why did Burress feel the need to bring a gun, let alone a loaded gun, to a New York City nightclub on a Friday night? If he was that concerned for his life, why go out at all? He's got a wife, a family, and a job to worry about it. If he fears that going to a club that night could endanger all of that, then don't go!

The excuse that many athletes and famous people give for carrying guns is that they're targets due to their fame and fortune. I completely agree that they're more recognizable than the average person, however sometimes they bring it upon themselves. By wearing big, flashy jewelry, dressing to the nines, and driving expensive, decked-out cars they attract attention, sometimes positive and sometimes negative.

But in today's economy, with unemployment rates rising seemingly daily, crime is only going to go up. So if that's the case, start taking precautions. Dress down a bit; wear a nice watch or a nice necklace, but not ones that cost $100,000. You can still look good, but there's no need to flaunt it. If you go out to a club, maybe bring a bodyguard, leave well before closing time, and be very attentive when driving home. Try to see if someone is following you. I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, I was always taught that if you felt someone was following you, you drive directly to a police station.

Obviously this is not the lifestyle we desire to live, but the operative word there is live. If you want to enjoy the rest of your life with your friends and family, and not behind bars, there are changes that we all have to make. One of those changes is to leave the guns at home; nothing good ever comes from bringing one to a club.


Random Thoughts:

• Can we please stop this trend of naming head coaches-in waiting? I mean, honestly, how dumb is this? It's one thing if there was a timetable for the current coach to retire (like at the end of the year), but there isn't! If a school or a team wants to make certain than an assistant is not going to leave, how about they make the agreement, but don't announce it until the head coach has decided it's his final year?

• I, for one, am happy Charlie Weis is returning to Notre Dame. If for no other reason than because Notre Dame decided to give him a ludicrous extension so quickly into his tenure as head coach. Hopefully it's a lesson for all schools and teams going forward, don't base terms for a contract extension on such a small sample, instead take at least 3 years of service and go from there.

Baseball's free agency period is upon us, and with that comes the growing speculation of absurd contracts that will be offered to different players.  Unfortunately, those absurd contracts actually get signed, and in turn, cripple teams for years to come. So with that said, I often times find myself asking, why don't these teams learn from past mistakes? In other words, just because you have the money to spend, doesn't mean you actually have to spend it.

This point is a bigger issue for the small to mid-market teams because a mistake in the free agent market for them hurts a lot more than a mistake in the market for teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Dodgers, etc., but with today's economy, and the way teams are trying to build from within, it's a problem for everybody, not the least of which are the fans.

Many small to mid-market teams say they have to spend on free agents in order to show their fan base that they're making an effort to compete. While that may work to encourage the fans once or twice, eventually the fans catch on and realize these moves are just stupid, and actually cost them money because ticket prices in turn go up.

It is quite rare that a free agent signing by a mid-market team changes the culture of that team, and in fact helps lead them on the rebuilding effort. As a matter of fact, the only one that comes to mind in recent years was the Detroit Tigers signing of Pudge Rodriguez in 2003. Following Pudge's signing, the team went out and signed Magglio Ordonez, Troy Percival, and Kenny Rogers, and combined those veterans with the young players they had in their farm system to reach the World Series in 2006.

But there are many more examples of teams spending lavishly on border-line free agents, and not getting much in return. The Colorado Rockies signed Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle to HUGE contracts in December of 2000, and how did those pan out? Or what about the Dodgers giving Darren Dreifort 5 years $55 million, or Seattle throwing money at Richie Sexson, Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, and Carlos Silva? How did all of those moves work out?

Let's not stop there though. Carl Pavano getting 4 years and roughly $40 million from the Yankees, Edgar Renteria 4 years $40 million from the Red Sox, Julio Lugo 4 years $36 million from the Red Sox. The list goes on and on, and the players named aren't bad players, but they're not worth the money they were paid.
 
So again, why do teams feel the need to spend that type of money on them? Is it because they're so scared of the player actually signing with a different team, and it may come back to haunt them? If that's the case, let them sign with the different team. It will end up being their problem, not yours.

If you look at the recent history of big free agent signings, there have only been a few that have truly changed the fortunes of a team the next season. In the offseason prior to the 2004 season, the Houston Astros were able to sign both Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens. Prior to that, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed Randy Johnson in 1998. Besides that, there really haven't been any big free agent signings that have sent teams over the hump that following season.

So you may ask, what's the solution to this problem? Well, if I'm not mistaken we just elected a President who ran a campaign on the idea of change, and the idea to build the economy from the bottom up. With that said, why don't we take some ideas from President-elect Barack Obama, and change things in baseball?

It may not be popular among owners and players alike, but how about the teams show some restraint and not sign these players to the absurd contracts that, as we just mentioned, don't actually produce? While players will say that's not fair because the owners now pocket more money, well, there's a solution to that too. Lower ticket prices.

If teams lower ticket prices, more and more real fans will be able to attend games. As more fans attend games, more money is made for all of baseball. Now I understand that baseball has enjoyed unparalleled success the past few seasons in regards to attendance, but trust me, it's going to take a hit in 2009, and who knows how much longer.

In a time when the citizens of this country need something to boost its spirits, wouldn't it be nice to turn to America's pastime for that lift? Wouldn't it be nice for a family of four to attend a game, maybe 2, 3, or even 5 in one season, and not have to sacrifice something else?

The players and owners alike will all make it through this recession okay. Maybe they won't make as much money as they thought they would, but they definitely will not go hungry. The same cannot be said for the rest of society. Since the fans have given so much to the game, it's time for the owners and players to give something back to the fans...an affordable game that they can enjoy. In the long run, everyone will benefit.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!