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»

Joba Chamberlain lost so much blood he could have died: Daily News

(NEWSER) - Yankees relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain is likely out for the season and possibly done with baseball after suffering a bizarre and gruesome ankle injury, reports the Daily News . He damaged his right ankle while playing with his young son and lost so much blood that his life was in danger, a team insider tells the newspaper. "I believe it was a trampoline," says GM Brian Cashman. The gruesome part: The bone pierced the skin, ala Joe Theisman. 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»