Rich Get Richer III: Mark Teixeira Goes to NY Yankees

And it is done. Mark Teixeira has agreed to an 8 year, $180 million contract to be the first baseman for the New York Yankees. Obviously this does not mean that the Yankees will win the World Series, of course, but they certainly made a few Yankee fans happy. But as I read somewhere, being a Yankee fan, unless you grew up in NYC, is a little like cheering for Brad Pitt to get the girl at the end of the movie. Teixeira, Sabathia and Burnett were the girls, and Brad Pitt got them all.

Frankly, I'm wondering if other MLB owners aren't a little excited about the spending spree, given the luxury tax money going to the other clubs. If I were an owner of a small ballclub in this market and economy, I might hope NY continues to spend, spend, spend.

Anyway, there will be rumbling, but essentially the problem is with the ownership structure and lack of salary cap in baseball. I think a system like the NBA makes sense, with the allowance for guaranteed money and "Larry Bird" exceptions. But I don't foresee Boston and NY agreeing to that anytime soon.

So for now, Yankees and Red Sox will build through free agency, smaller clubs will build through signing their young talent to long term deals before they know how good they are, and that will be baseball.

Tazawa to sign with the Red Sox

According to Japanese newspapers, Junichi Tazawa, the amateur right handed pitcher from the corporate team Eneos (Nippon Oil), will sign with the Boston Red Sox. Apparently the Texas Rangers made a longer term deal for more money, but Tazawa chose to join the BoSox due to their "development program", and due to the fact that Diasuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima have been there before to help transition.
This signing apparently is causing some in Japan to stir, in that Japanese and American teams had previously not actively sought amateur players from the others' countries. Tazawa chose to forego the Japanese draft to sign with the Red Sox, which may provide more impetus for a international draft in baseball (particularly if relations with Cuba become less hostile).