Baseball season is getting closer!

First off, hopefully everyone had a great Christmas, or Hanukkah, or whatever holiday there is out there to be objective.

Now its off to baseball. The start of spring training is only a mere two months away! Time sure does fly by. The Yankees have by far been the most active team in the signing of free agents. I figured they would acquire C.C. Sabathia, was hoping they would not sign A.J. Burnett, and had no idea whatsoever that they showed remote interest in signed Texieria.

They have so far signed 3 of the 5 top free agents of the offseason and have spent a record amount of money. While they have spent so much, they still somehow have managed to keep their payroll behind the 208 million that was spent last year. While Cashman seems adamant on keeping the payroll somewhat lower than last season, I can't see how he will manage to do that.

The person I want to focus on right now is a man by the name of Andrew Eugene Pettitte. Andy Pettitte is a player I have enjoyed watching pitch for many, many years. He was the guy everyone would root for and a guy that would come through for the Yankees and pitch a huge game when they needed it most. Everyone had a soft spot for Andy- not only for his ability to compete, but also because he had the characteristic of being a good guy off the field. I always appreciated Andy for the traits he had both on and off the field.

That was however until December of 2003. After stating to the fans how much he wanted to be a Yankee and insisting he would be back, he signs a three year deal with the Astros. That's great. Blame the Yankees, you know, they didn't treat him right. Or maybe go with he wanted to be with his family. Either way, I know I was devastated when he left. I enjoyed watching Andy pitch when he was here and he brought consistency to the team. However, when you look at baseball now, it is more of a money-driven sport, and players sticking with the same team for their whole career is something that is a rarity in the sport and hard to find. Just look at players like A-Rod, C.C, and others. Money drives them. Do you think if Cleveland could have competed and afforded Sabathia, would he have stayed there? I am sure they Indians loved CC and from what I hear CC loved it there. But 181 million is a huge motivating factor.

I have gone off on a tangent again. This happens quite often. Back to Andy Pettitte. The point I am trying to make is this. Once again, Andy feeds us with the "I want to be a Yankee. I want to open up in the new stadium." And once again I believe the guy, like a fool. Once again, money is a driving factor. Mr. Pettitte wants more money, 16 million to be exact. I hate to break it to Andy but hes going to be 37 year old next year, and he isn't exactly coming off a great season. He didn't cut the Yankees a break in 2003 when he left them for Houston, so why would they cut him a break and give him more money than he is worth in 2009? These players are so greedy. Maybe its about pride, I really don't know. But I think Andy has earned well enough money to keep him and his family satisfied for many years. He has earned well over 108 million dollars in his career; more money than most of us will ever see.

I will miss Andy if he doesn't come back, but I will be able to get over it. I would rather have him over an oft-injured A.J Burnett, but this is all on Andy. The Yankees made him and offer, and he is the one that is holding off. He was 14-14 with an era of 4.54 and did not help the Yankees this year during games when they really needed him to come through. He was paid 16 million this year. I think if anything, he is the one who should have seen 10 million as a way of redemption from the 16 million he stole last year. He wasn't anything like that bum Pavano, but he still did not earn the money he was given. Perhaps this tangent would fall under the category of "overpaid baseball players"- im not entirely sure. I guess we will see what happens and if Andy does decide to come back, and if the Yankees still will be willing to take him back. Only time will tell.