Kuzul

The Yankees payroll is about average, maybe even smaller than it should be.

I hate to use juvenile terminology, but you people who complain about it are whiners and haters. Most reasonable observers agree that the the Yankees and the star powered teams that they field are great for the business of the other 29 teams. However, I will go further than that. I can say with reasonable certainty, that their payroll really isn’t that high at all.

New York City is expensive. Well, New York State is expensive, the city itself will bleed every penny you have. We are easily one of the most heavily taxed states in the country. Sure the city has much to offer, but it all comes at the price of a sales tax that is almost nine percent.

That extra nine percent is added to a premium of anywhere between 25 and 100 percent that we pay on almost all goods and services. The premium is the result of higher rents and transportation costs. We pay these premiums using money that is subject to extra city payroll taxes that total about four percent of your income. I won’t even try to explain New York State’s property taxes and other small taxes that don’t even make sense to me.

I think the point I’ve made here is obvious: The Yankees pay their players well, but the players pay their state well in turn. Alex Rodriguez made $25M-plus as both a member of the Rangers and the Yankees, but he pocketed a lot more of that salary as a member of the Rangers.

Money is an object, but it is a relative object. In order to successfully compete in a dynamic marketplace, the Yankees and the Mets must entice free agents with salaries that are much higher in absolute terms, because in real terms, the purchasing power of those salaries is much lower.

Speaking of the marketplaces, let’s take a look at the Yankees market. The New York metropolitan area has a population of about 19 million people. Since there are no baseball teams besides the Yankees and the Mets in New York State, you can add on another 10 million people who are New Yorkers yet don’t reside in the city itself.

So, the Yankees and the Mets have to their selves a marketplace of almost 30 million people.  And to be quite frank, who cares about the Mets?

The exact extent of the Bomber’s international appeal is unknown, but it is surely bigger than any other team in MLB. Sorry other 29 teams, but you just don’t have as many people living in your market. So while the supply of baseball remains constant, the demand for baseball  increases. It is only fair that the Yankees benefit from these extra revenue streams.

Actually, everyone benefits from the Yankees extra revenue streams. Despite complaining from the “small-market” Boston Red Sox, most owners love it when the Yankees come to town. The 27-time world champions probably bring in more spectators when they visit Baltimore than the Orioles do.

Owners don’t care who you root for once you’re in the stadium, as long as you part with your money. This popularity is fueled both by the Yankees having a roster loaded with stars and the mere storyline of having a perennial power house that other teams want to beat.

Still not convinced?

Do you still think that having a salary cap would create a more fair world for the have-nots? You’re forgetting what makes the MLB different from the NBA and the NFL. The MLB is loaded international players from Latin America and Japan.

If baseball modeled its draft and payroll system similarly to the other two sports, it would create an impossibly difficult situation for aspiring Latino players. There would be little incentive for clubs to invest money in Latin America and try to discover the next big talent.

Even if there was a way to incorporate these players into the draft system, teams could easily cheat the salary cap by offering cash payments to family members in foreign countries. In all likelihood, teams wouldn’t even bother going south of the border.

That would be a shame considering stars born in Latin America put so much money into hospitals, churches and charities of their home countries. We take it for granted that those evil Yankee dollars mean clean water for a poor child overseas.

Fortunately, there never will be a salary cap in baseball. It is in the interest of almost all parties to allow teams to spend freely and invest in their product. But unfortunately, many ignorant fans will continue to blame the Yankees for all the ills in the baseball world.

Their efforts would be much better spent protesting their own team’s failure to invest in quality ball players. Hatred of the Yankees is not based on of reason or logic. It is based on jealously and a failure to understand how baseball and the economy works.

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Major League Baseball free agency officially began on Sunday. The Yankees and Mets could both be players in this year’s market. The Yankees normally are out to get the biggest names, and this year is no different. Across town, the Mets are more likely to look at filling some pieces, rather than chasing the big names.

You never know however. Anything can happen during the free agency period.

The Yankees are clearly going after Cliff Lee, but how soon will they make an offer? Will they upgrade their outfield by pursuing Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth?

Will the Mets make any big additions? New GM Sandy Alderson has the task of piecing together the roster. Is pitching the main priority?

Few the latest rumors, visit Double G Sports.

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MLB free agency has officially started and the New York Yankees have a full plate to say the least.

Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte are no longer officially Yankees. Than there is free agent pitching ace Cliff Lee, along with outfielders Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth—who will be the most sought after players on the market.

Cliff Lee has been on the Yankees “Christmas List” for quite some time and no one in the Bronx is denying that Lee is what they want.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman needs to get the iconic players all squared away before even getting to Lee. The Yankees should overpay, because no one can imagine the Yankees sans the Captain and the Closer, especially the huge and loyal fans. A group that Cashman and co. needs to keep happy as clams, making the above inevitable.

Unfortunately, Lee’s wife did not enjoy her time at the Stadium during the ALCS. A handful of stupid Yankees fans decided to taunt the ace’s Mrs., which was not a smart idea considering the circumstances. Any and every Yankees fan knows that we coveted Lee and that he was finally a free agent at the end of 2010 season. This makes it so hard to comprehend what the hell these fans were thinking. Obviously they were not at all.

What if these contract talks with Jeter do become “messy” and take up a lot more time, money and manpower than anticipated?

When will Southpaw Andy Pettitte decide if he is done with baseball or not? Hopefully, it will be sooner than later. The Yankees are going to need Pettitte more than ever, if for some reason Lee does not sign with New York.

So, what are the Yankees other options if the Lee deal doesn’t come about?

Do they move onto Crawford or Werth and forget starting pitching as the top priority?

Doubtful because they Yankees are still pretty stacked offensively in Crawford and Werth’s respected positions. Pitching has a necessary void that needs to be filled, considering CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Phil Hughes are going to need some help in the rotation.

Burnett needs to work his butt off before 2011 Spring Training, because having a solid Burnett again could be the difference maker for the team’s success.

Are there any other free agent arms the Yankees have in mind just in case?

Trust in the fact that there is not a pitcher even in the same league as Lee available, but here are three names that would be the next best thing:

Jorge De La Rosa – Doubtful that De La Rosa could resign with the Colorado Rockies but will test the free agent market to see what else is out there. De La Rosa is a solid lefty, finishing the last two seasons with a 4.31 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 306.2 innings of work. De La Rosa frequents the DL way too often, but with the short list of solid starters on the market, he can get a lot more this off-season.

Brandon Webb – Arizona Diamondbacks are not jumping to resign Webb, as he had shoulder surgery that kept him out since beginning of 2009-10 season. Still, Webb a former Cy Young winner before the injury was one of the best righties in the game from 2006-08 and could add nice depth to the back of that rotation. In 2008, Webb finished 22-7 for the season, with a 3.30 ERA, striking out 183 over 226.2 innings pitched. Webb is 31 years old and whether he can get back to two years ago is a risk, but one that could work.

Rafael Soriano – Not a starter, but was easily in the top three closers in baseball the past few seasons. Tampa Bay Rays would love to keep Soriano, but he will join a long list of other players the Rays can’t afford to resign. The Yankees did not pick up Kerry Woods option at $11 million for 2011, but they still could resign Wood at a lower and more reasonable price for his services. Still, if Lee is not going to be in pinstripes than why would the Yankees not throw their money at Soriano and make the bullpen absolutely ruthless and impossible to beat.

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The latest message from the New York Yankees is that they will not be caught up in the bidding for the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Jayson Werth or the Tampa Bay Rays‘ Carl Crawford.

Players are not even legal free agents until Saturday at midnight, so shouldn’t their respective teams be allowed to negotiate without the Yankees butting in yet?

The Yankees made it clear: They want to bring the talents of Texas Rangers ace Cliff Lee to the Bronx. Add Lee’s monster deal with new contracts needed for a captain, a living iconic closer and a superstar southpaw who are also three of the infamous Yankees “Core Four.”

Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte all command huge paychecks, and let’s hope the new Steinbrenner ownership doesn’t make a mess of what daddy built.

The usually non-confrontational and sensible brother, Hal, made older brother Hank-like public statements in regards to Jeter’s contract talks. Hal’s testimony sounded like a warning to Yankees fans explaining that these proceedings have to work for the business and the pinstripes. Here are Hal’s exact words:

“You just never know with these things… Both parties need to be happy with the deal—that’s absolutely going to happen—and that may make things more complicated, I don’t know. There’s always the possibility that things could get messy. I’ve got to try to do my job on behalf of the partnership and our partners and everybody else involved with the organization, and Hank and I need to keep a level head and realize… that we’re running a business here.”

My only hope is that Hal didn’t mean it to come off as a warning regarding Jeter’s future as a Yankee being in question. I feel I can speak for 99 percent of Yankees fan by saying that turmoil and anarchy would result from losing out captain. God only knows how the players would feel, but I would presume lost and upset.

Truth is, Yankees fans wish those words came out of Hank’s mouth, but they did not.

Jeter’s agents fought right back, making the normally private Jeter’s professional affairs ESPN’s needed replacement for any Brett Favre stories. Jeter’s camp had every right to invalidate Hal’s remarks. Referring to recent comments by Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman, Jeter’s agent, Casey Close, said:

“While it’s not our intent to negotiate the terms of Derek’s free agent contract in a public forum, we do agree with Hal and Brian’s recent comments that this contract is about business and winning championships. Clearly, baseball is a business, and Derek’s impact on the sport’s most valuable franchise can’t be overstated. Moreover, no athlete embodies the spirit of a champion more than Derek Jeter.”

Now Yankees fans should bear in mind that even with the resigning of Jeter, Mo and Pettitte, and if they can get Lee, it doesn’t completely close the door on anything.

Rewind back to the 2008-2009 offseason when the Yankees claimed not to be mixed up in bidding on Mark Teixeira’s talents, following the monster signings of CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett.

Where is Teixeira playing now?

Exactly my point. So I am not giving up on my dreams of getting Jayson Werth just yet. Having a four-man rotating outfield of Swisher, Granderson, Gardner and Werth (or Crawford) gives significant rest without forfeiting any talent. It adds another quality fast base-runner and power hitter to the lineup, while keeping the group healthy, considering all three were hurting at one point or another in 2009 season.

This should make for some seriously historical Yankees drama. Unlike before, fans want the “older and declining” players to be the first priority.

Looking back to about a week ago, age and experience can still win championships—just go ask the San Francisco Giants World Series MVP or leading regular-season RBI hitter about that.

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Baseball is the only sport, in my opinion, where the season lasts 365 days a year. Major League Baseball’s offseason is unlike any other.

The “Hot Stove” is always cooking something.

Nothing like going to bed with a rumor and waking up to a new player on your team.

Teams can officially start negotiating with free agents come 12:01 Sunday morning. Teams that are likely to spend are, of course, the New York Yankees, who are looking to get younger and get back to the Fall Classic.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are looking to have a bounce back year and regain their AL West crown.

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I’ve, perhaps, been exhausting in my stance on the upcoming negotiations between the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter, as well as Jeter’s future productivity.

The Yankees should not bend unflappably to Derek Jeter’s will. However, that does not mean they should not make any sort of statement to Jeter about his worth to the franchise.

That statement would be most effective if he, and fellow Yankee for life Mariano Rivera, were signed to contracts before Sunday.

Why?

Because the Yankees have exclusive negotiating rights with both players up until midnight on Saturday. Once we pass into the early hours of Sunday morning, other teams will be able to negotiate with Jeter and Rivera.

Recently, there has been an explosion of interest in the resigning of Derek Jeter because of statements made by Hal Steinbrenner.

“There’s always the possibility that things could get messy. I know our fans are very emotional and that’s what we love about them,” Steinbrenner said. “But I have to do my job on behalf of the partnership and everyone else involved in the organization. Hank and I need to keep a level head and realize we’re running a business here.”

This is a difficult situation to navigate. While some will adamantly proclaim Derek Jeter’s right to be given whatever contract he wants, that is simply not the way contract negotiations work. The team will not hand Derek Jeter a blank check.

However, the Yankees are dancing a fine line in these negotiations.

Two years ago they handed Alex Rodriguez the richest contract in the history of Major League Baseball. At the time, Rodriguez was 33 years old. The 10-year contract made Rodriguez a Yankee until he is 43, and pays him an average of $27,500,000 a year.

The contract does have a decreasing value as the years roll by, but the specter of its magnitude now looms large in the upcoming negotiations with Jeter and Rivera.

At rock-bottom, Alex Rodriguez is nothing more than another one of the Yankees’ mercenaries.

But Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are something entirely different. They are representations of both the Yankees mundaneness and how they are truly an exceptional franchise.

Both players came from the Yankees farm system, and both players have been Yankees for sixteen years! They are a testament to what truly makes the Yankees great. Not only do they develop their own stars, but they spend to keep their stars on their roster.

Naturally, they supplement their roster with free agents, but without the ability to develop players within a farm system, a major league ballclub is incapable of winning. Every team other than the Yankees and Red Sox in the past decade are a testament to that, and the Yankees and Red Sox are perhaps more of a testament to that than any other ballclub, because they never could have won without their own stars, the ones they developed on their farm system and paid to keep in their cities.

Is it any wonder that the Yankees went without a World Series from 2000 to 2009 when nary a prospect from AAA contributed to a championship? Is it so shocking that suddenly the farm produces talent like Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner and the Yankees win a World Series?

That’s why, if Hal Steinbrenner is truly serious about wanting Mariano Rivera, and especially Derek Jeter, to be Yankees for life, he must give Brian Cashman a mandate to get both players signed before midnight on Saturday.

Get creative. Offer a front-loaded contract, less years and more money, whatever it takes. Come to an agreement before Sunday.

There would be no grander statement from a team that is habitually criticized as buying championships than to send a message to the league that these two players, whatever it takes, have always and will always be Yankees.

Take the adjective “messy” out of the equation, Hal. If it takes round the clock negotiations between the publication of this article and the signing of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, it will be worth it.

If you have to overpay them, it will be worth it.

It will be worth it because you know nobody is going to pay these two as much as you will.

You know you don’t want to suffer them the indignity of hitting the open market where their true value is in question.

Because you know their true value as Yankees is priceless.

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We can finally close the doors on the 2010 Major League Baseball season.

The San Francisco Giants won the World Series over the Texas Rangers 4-1, and are now the current champions.

Now will begin the period where players will become free agents. On Sunday, five days after the World Series has concluded, teams can negotiate with players on the open market.

For the now former world champion Yankees, it is now time for them to re-shape and re-tool their roster for the 2011 season.

They already made their first commitment by re-signing manager Joe Girardi to a three-year deal worth about $9 million.

Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman have a lot of work to do if they are looking to continue their winning trend.

What could be on the list for the Yankees for 2011? Lets find out:

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At the end of the day, it’s a business. That’s the line always thrown out during any player’s contract negotiations, especially when the player is a fan favorite and a longtime resident. That said, if there was ever a guy bigger than the business, Derek Jeter would be it.

However, during an interview with Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN, Hal Steinbrenner gave the impression that there would be no special treatment for the Yankee Legend:

“There’s always the possibility that things could get messy,” Steinbrenner said. “We absolutely want him back. We absolutely want [Mariano Rivera] back. They’re career Yankees. But having said that, we’re running a business here. So if there’s a deal to be done, it’s going to be a deal that both sides are happy with.”

Hopefully, people won’t blow this out of proportion (which may be a little hypocritical of us, considering the headline). This just seems like basic negotiating tactics. If you want to get heated because you think Jeter deserves better than media-posturing, that’s fair, but please don’t take this to mean Jeter will be snagging grounders somewhere else next season.

The two sides will come to an agreement, and a deal will eventually happen. Derek Jeter will be the Yankees starting shortstop in 2011, and his Hall of Fame bust will have nothing but “Yankees” written from 1996 to the year he ends up leaving the game for good.

So stop with the posturing and the radio shows and the silly comments, and just get this deal done already.

This article originally appeared on The NY Sports Digest. If it’s offbeat and it’s about the Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Giants, Jets, Islanders or Rangers, then The Digest is the spot to get it. Stop with the mega-sites and get a feel for the true pulse of New York at www.NYSportsDigest.com

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Every year, managers, coaches and writers from around Major League Baseball award honors and trophies to the players—and every year, they screw up.

So Bleacher Report’s Featured Columnists decided to do it ourselves. Instead of just complaining about the awards as they are announced as we would normally do on our own, we teamed up to hold our own mock awards vote.

On Monday, we kicked off Week 2 of our four-week-long results series with our picks for AL Comeback Player of the Year, then we followed that up yesterday with their counterparts in the NL. Today, we look at the best relievers in the American League.

The top five vote-getters are featured here with commentary from people who chose them. The full list of votes is at the end.

So read on, see how we did and be sure to let us know what we got wrong!

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The members of the “Core Four” have been the faces of the New York Yankees for many years. As the 2010 season comes to a close, one must realize that the Core Four cannot go on forever.

Andy Pettitte turns 39.

Derek Jeter turns 37.

Jorge Posada turns 40.

The Great Mariano Rivera turns 41 this November.

The great question is: How many more years will the Core Four continue to play?

Here is my observation of the Core Four, future Yankee legends.

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