NYTimes

"Someone told me the other day, if they get Johnson they wouldn't go after Beltran," the official, who refused to be named, said. "Even the Yankees have to have a limit."




Very interesting. I'd have to say this increases the odds that Beltran goes back to Houston at a reasonable number....if it's true.

If that's true the Astros are going to have to get going asap because they only have a few more days to make a deal with Beltran a reality.

Really? the yankees have to have a limit? And this is based on what?? Depending on what happens with Giambi, it wouldn't shock me if they went after beltran too... Georgie's got egg on his face.

Yawn.....I'll believe it when he is introduced as a member of a team not named the Yankees.

you know whats funny about all this....donald trump calls him a smart business man....i dont see it....he is now over 200 mill with no world series in 4 years and spends more year after year...anybody can spend money but with the luxary tax he is going to get killed..he will go after beltran BECAUSE HE CAN....

When it comes to the Yankees and their massive financial resources, my biggest fear is that they will wise up some day and start using those dollars to lock up young impact players who are still in the prime of their careers. So, when the Yankees decided to forego Vlad Guerrero last winter and include Javier Vasquez in the RJ trade, and when I see that they've apparently come to the conclusion that Carlos Beltran will cost too much, I start getting like that dog who's trying to lure the cat into the dryer in one of my favorite Far Side cartoons ...



Oh please, please, please let those rumors about Yankee stupidity be true.

JD

CNBC just reporting the Mets will give in to Boras' 7/17 demands. Of course, that is CNBC, trying to pawn it off as 'sports entertainment business news.' In any event, it is nice to have a National League team which for some reason is more concerned about competing with the Yanks than with the NL East.

As much as I hate George and everything he stands for, the fact that he has spent over a half a billion dollars in the past 4 years coupled with the fact that the Yankees have zero World Championships in that time frame, is irrelevant in the world of business. I am sure that Trump is referring to the profit and marketability of the product, (the Yankees), as a whole.

I got to agree with DCA here. The fact he bought a flagging franchise (which it was) from CBS at the bargain basement price of $10 million dollars (IIRC) and has turned it into the cash cow that it is says a lot. It's partially location location, but he was the one that was smart enough to see the potential and hire the people that helped him develop the Yankees into what they are now as a business entity.

I'm gonna have to wait until Beltran is signed by the Astros or Mets before I believe the Yankees aren't interested. IMO, George is probably sitting there letting all of us Sox fans get excited that he won't sign him, and then he will swoop in and get him.

The Yankees indeed may have a limit of some sort, the operative word being "may." If they get into a bidding war for Beltran and he costs them $17.5 million per year, the Yanks have to add 40% on to that salary for 2005 and 2006 at least for the luxury tax. That brings Beltran to $24.5 million per year, an expensive proposition, even for them.

I don't think the Yankees are out of the running...It should be interesting to see the game when we play them this year.

I don't think they're saying it just to confuse/ excite JUST the red sox fans. He's doing it to everyone....

I think the Yankees are just waiting until the 11th hour, when they will call Boras and say "Now that all the offers are on the table, how much will it take for Carlos to come to the Bronx?"

Then, of course, they will give it to him...

According to the Yanks, they've told Boras once Randy Johnson is official, they'll talk to him.

Yankees won't pursue Beltran; and my 3 month old puppy won't pee on my carpet.

It's their nature - wait for the offer.

I'm convinced that this is a long-term plan by Steinbrenner to lose the next 83 World Series so that they can become more beloved than the Sox before winning their next one.

1. Also, at this point, Big Stein probably doesn't care/cares a lot less about maximizing profits. He's not just in "Go For It Now" mode, he's in "Go For It Now, Because I'm Gonna Die Soon" mode. He'll spend whatever he needs to spend to make himself feel confident that Chokers are going to win it all this year, because there might not be a Next Year for him. So despite all of the reports, I'll still be surprised if the Yankees don't get Beltran.

2. Off topic, but Trump knows roughly jack and s'hit about being a smart businessman. His enormous wealth comes from his grandfather, who amassed a small fortune as a hotelier/pimp (not a joke) for gold miners out West, and from his dad, who used the family fortune to develop loads of real estate in post-WWII New York City. And despite having this little head start, Trump has gone bankrupt. Twice. But he promotes the hell out of himself and has people fooled into thinking that he's some kind of business genius...which, unfortunately, in some twisted way, makes him a business genius. But regardless, I wouldn't put much stock in anything he says.

Actually, I can remember in 1996 even my Red Sox fan friends were cheering for the Yanks. The local businesses all had 'Go Yankees!" signs outside. 96 was wierd in that respect, it seemed like most of baseball was hoping for them to beat the big bad braves. Plus, even the most anti-Yankee person (my friends included) had to admit Torre (with the problems of his two brothers), Bernie, Jeter, Tino, Paullie, Pettite, Mo, Key, Coney (coming off surgery for an aneurysm), and Wetteland, etc, etc were tough to hate at that point.

It's not only a title drought that can captivate a fanbase and fans of other squads, it's also the nature and makeup of a team. Hell, I cheered for Boston in 1986.. partly because they were AL and partly because those Mets were a bunch of arrogant assholes!

Jamie my friend, the Yankees could field a line up of Good Will peacekeepers, and they would be evil in my eyes

I can believe that Caspir!

Not sure how you felt in 1996 but after the strike in 1994 when the Yanks were good enough to win it all and the heartbreaker in that F%&*ing Kingdome (I'm also a Raider fan who celebrated when they blew that dump up!) It seemed like most of my area (SW CT... 1/2 Sox, 1/2 Yanks) was pulling for the Yankees since they had been pretty much abbysmal from 1984-1994 and hadn't won a title since 1978... yeah I know it wasn't most of a century but based on the Yankee past success over the century it might as well have been!

You know Jamie, I believe that was the team that was assembled while Steinbrenner was in exile. While it was hard to root FOR that team, it didn't contain the "usual" cast of Yankee players - you know, the jerks (kind of like the current Yankee team with Brown, Sheffield, et al). There actually were some players on the Yankees I liked - though I wouldn't go as far as cheering them on or wishing the team well.

It appears that it came down to a choice of RJ or Beltran. Now would I, as a Yankee fan rather have an old RJ and an old Bernie or a young Beltran and a young Vazquez? I go the younger way. Preface that by saying I believe Vazquez will bounce back and be the pitcher the Yanks traded for and in Beltran address a weakness -- no not offense, but a CF that can defend and hit. Not to mention both players would be here much longer.

I gotta say, I think NY dropped the ball on this one. We all know Beltran is, I don't know, magic or something. I think they'd have gone after him with much more persistance than Randy Johnson.

I hear ya- all the local Yankee fans here - and I mean every single one- is disappointed in this trade; they would all rather have kept Vazquez and signed Beltran.

If I were a Yankee fan I would agree.

I see one really good year out of Johnson and then two decline years, whilst Vazquez I believe will just be coming back into his own the next three years. In addition, I can not believe the Yankes are going into the season with gaping holes at CF and 1B- it's just not like them...

Throw in 2B as well, actually.

While it's hard to argue with these assessments, one may have to wait and see what they do with the 15 million or so that Bernie was making in 06. (Not to mention Brown's 15 million.) Only then can the plan be really critiqued.

Is Bernie signed thru 2006 at 15 mil? I did not know that, seems like another loyalty overpayment?

And Brown- signed thru 2006 or 2005? I'm not familiar with Yankee contract situations- do you by any chance have a link to a list?

I think both Bernie and Brown are only signed through 2005. The message above was saying we need to wait until 2006 to truly asess.

No, Bernie and Brown are done after this year. I think there's a club option for Bernie which would not be picked up. What I meant was, in 06, what do they do with the money that they were paying Bernie but are no longer paying him. At that point, one can evalute the Johnson trade from a Yankee perspective a little better.

Ah, OK I see.

Of course my rooting direction is that RJ has another 2003, not another 2004.