It turns out that the discussions surrounding Manny Ramirez were all smoke and mirrors. The Yankees shocked the baseball world by signing first baseman Mark Teixeira to a 8-year $180 million contract yesterday. Brian Cashman proved once again why he is a great GM. He waited for the Sox, and Angels to drop out and then made Tex an offer he couldn't refuse. Hank and Hal clearly wanted to have star-studded team when New Yankee Stadium opens for business.
This is an awesome acquisition for the Yanks. They get younger and better offensively and defensively. Lee Jenkins wrote on SI.com yesterday that Tex should fit right in to the Yankees clubhouse. He's clean cut, professional, and plays hard every day and most importantly avoids controversy. Manny's antics would have driven Joe Girardi crazy. Bob Klapisch, from the Bergen Record, summed it up best in his Dec. 21 column.
The question now becomes does getting Tex make the Yanks the hands-down favorite to not only win the AL East but also win the World Series. Steve Phillips said on SportsCenter last night that while getting Tex is a huge improvement for the Yanks, they are neither a lock to win the division nor the World Series. As I said when the Yanks signs CC and A.J., baseball is a marathon not a sprint. There are a lot of "ifs" that go into predicting the outcome of a baseball season. I'll refrain from doing that. For now I'm going to enjoy this acquisition.
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