Lost in the midst of everyone’s bitching about the Yankees’ holiday spending spree this year is the notion that Major League Baseball might actually step up and finally put a salary cap in place in efforts to control teams’ future spending. (I said might.)

In one offseason, the Yankees acquired two of the top pitching free agents (CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett) available and the market’s best young hitter (Mark Teixiera). Outside of Manny Ramirez and possibly Jake Peavy, the Bronx Spenders have left the market completely bare. (And don’t think they haven’t thought about figuring out a way to squeeze both Manny and Peavy into their budget, too.)

If you trust what some of the major media outlets are saying, then the Yankees are pissing people off – and not just the Red Sox, Angels and every other team that tries to compete with their spending every year. Apparently, they’re pissing off the league, too, but will it be enough to get Bud Selig off his dead ass and put a cap in place? It’s unlikely, but at least there’s talk of a cap possibly on the horizon.

I don’t blame the Yankees for spending as much as they can because there aren’t any rules in place to stop them. If you’re going to allow a tyrant to do whatever it wants, then the tyrant is probably going to do whatever it wants. The Yankees don’t hide who they are – they want to win and they’re willing to spend to do so. And you know what? Don’t blame them – blame the league that doesn’t care enough about evening the playing field to put a system in place to control the spending of every team.

But maybe this time around people are finally going to wake up. The Yankees’ spending isn’t out of control – it’s been out of control for a long time. But again, don’t blame them. There’s never been a better time for a cap and if the Spenders’ holiday shopping spree won’t force change in baseball, then I’m afraid nothing will.

Hal Steinbrenner says he’s optimistic about the Yankees’ chances of landing free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett.

Steinbrenner is optimistic that he’ll soon add righthander A.J. Burnett to the team’s roster and payroll, he said yesterday. The Yankees have made Burnett a five-year, $80-million offer, and they’re waiting to hear back from him. The Braves also are in the mix, although it’s not clear whether Atlanta added a guaranteed fifth year to its package.

“We’re interested in him and he’s interested in us,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ control person, said of Burnett in a telephone interview with Newsday. “Obviously, New York has a lot to offer, and playing for the Yankees is just a great thing.”

Steinbrenner said he is “optimistic” about Burnett, though he qualified that by saying: “I’m always optimistic.”

Well considering Steinbrenner has the ability to hand out $100 million contracts like they were Pez candy, why wouldn’t he always be optimistic? Landing Burnett and CC Sabathia in the same offseason would obviously go a long way in the Yankees’ plan to rebuild their starting rotation. And considering Burnett is already familiar with the division and league, his chances of being a free agent bust should be minimal.

After signing CC Sabathia to a mega deal worth an estimated $161 million earlier in the day, the New York Yankees weren’t done on Wednesday as they traded youngster Melky Cabrera to the Milwaukee Brewers for 35-year old Mike Cameron.

The Yankees have been saying that Cabrera and Brett Gardner would compete for the center field job, but the acquisition of Cameron gives them a veteran presence at the position.

Many believed Cabrera would be the center fielder of the future entering the 2008 campaign, but a disappointing season, in which he hit .249 with eight homeruns and 37 RBIs in 129 games, led many to believe he was destined for a future as a utility outfielder. Yankees blue-chip prospect Austin Jackson is not expected to be ready for big league action until at least 2010, making Cameron the ideal one-year stopgap in center field.

Cameron, a former Met, hit .243 with 25 HRs and 70 RBIs in 120 games last season. He will earn $10 million in 2009.

Cameron has always been a fine ball player and it never hurts to add leadership to the clubhouse. But Cabrera is only 24, which means he still has roughly three years before he hits his prime so one would have thought that the Yankees would take their time to develop his talents.

This was a nice trade for Brewers as they cut salary and get a solid young player, but one that will need time to develop.

There was talk about wanting the opportunity to hit, to play for his home state and the desire to be a Dodger. But in the end, it was all about the money.

CC Sabathia is on the verge of signing a seven-year contract with the New York Yankees worth at least $160 million according to ESPN.

After three straight days of face-to-face meetings between GM Brian Cashman and Sabathia, the big lefty decided he wants to spend the next six years of his career as a Yankee. The decision came late last night after Cashman flew to see Sabathia at his home in San Francisco. By the time the meeting was concluded, Sabathia had informed the Yankees that he had made his decision to call New York his baseball home, the Post has learned.

There are still minor hurdles to finalize, notably that Sabathia must pass a physical. But after so much belief that Sabathia was stalling because he wanted to avoid New York, he agreed to the largest pitching contract in major league history, at least $140 million.

It means that the Yankees have lassoed the player they were building their offseason around: An ace in his prime. Sabathia is just 28, and last year between the Indians and Brewers he went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA. The previous season he won the AL Cy Young. Now he is the first major new piece to be put into the new Yankee Stadium.

Should we be surprised? No. Money talks and the Yankees have a lot of it. Maybe he had other reasons to sign with the Bronx Bombers that aren’t being reported yet, but it really appears that the cash trumped all.

You have to hand it to the Yankees. They had to get pitching this offseason and they landed the biggest fish in the free agency pond. But it’ll be interesting to see if CC goes the way of Mike Hampton, Barry Zito and all of the other pitchers who got massive free agency deals and then effectively became dog crap. Either way, the Yankees got their guy.