Yankees Pitch Sabathia Record Breaking Deal

(NEWSER) - Yankees officials are confident that pitcher CC Sabathia will sign with the team, the New York Times reports. The seven-year, $160 million deal is the priciest ever for a pitcher. Yankees GM Brian Cashman recently met twice with Sabathia in Las Vegas and again yesterday in San Francisco. Sabathia had reportedly wanted to play in California, but no offers emerged. More»

Oft-disabled pitcher gets 5-year, $82.5M contract

(NEWSER) - The New York Yankees have snapped up free agent pitcher AJ Burnett with a 5-year, $82.5 million contract—and the deal could be a risky one, writes Jay Jaffe in Baseball Prospectus. Burnett’s contract forces the team to hold onto him for all 5 years unless they trade him; this for a pitcher whose continued arm problems have frequently kept him off the field. More»

Damon's heads-up play drives Phillies to brink of elimination

(AP) - Alex Rodriguez hit a go-ahead, two-out double in the ninth inning off Brad Lidge and the Yankees beat the Phillies, 7-4, tonight in Philadelphia to claim a 3-1 lead in the World Series. Joba Chamberlain opened the door for the Phillies, yielding a homer to Pedro Feliz with two out in the eighth to tie the score at 4, but A-Rod, Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera pulled it out as the Yankees moved within one win of their elusive 27th championship. More»

Sport re-evaluates its pay structure

(NEWSER) - Looking at baseball, you’d think the country wasn’t in a recession—clubs are charging exorbitant ticket prices and shelling out tens of millions of dollars on top free agents. Will the bubble ever collapse? Probably not, writes Nate Silver for Esquire. MLB is, after all, a legally protected monopoly. But more importantly, the sport already has taken steps to add a dose of reality its out-of-control pay structure. More»

(NEWSER) - The George Steinbrenner era is officially over for the Yankees after 35 years. Other clubs today approved his son Hal as the “control person” for the team, the Daily News reports. The announcement makes official what many already knew—that the elder Steinbrenner has passed off responsibility for day-to-day operations to his sons. Hal’s brother, Hank, is involved in the organization, but Hal holds the purse-strings. More»