The Washington Nationals apparently had a more lucrative offer on the table for free agent Mark Teixeira – more lucrative than the one he eventually signed with the New York Yankees.

Anyway, just one more note on Mark Teixeira: I’ve heard from a reliable source that the first baseman turned down about $5 million more from the Nationals to sign with the Yankees. And the Nats would have gone higher, but were never given the chance. Teixeira jumped at Brian Cashman’s first offer.

I guess it wasn’t ALL about the money – just mostly about it. Being on a contender every year also brings a certain appeal.

Those greedy Nationals are always trying to one-up everybody by throwing their money at every free agent that walks by. Makes me sick.

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.

According to ESPN.com, the New York Yankees agreed to an eight-year deal with free agent first basemen Mark Teixeira.

The agreement, which is subject to a physical, includes a signing bonus of about $5 million and a complete no-trade provision, The Associated Press reported.

The Yankees had made an offer to Teixeira weeks ago, but then withdrew it; their intention all along was to make an offer, which they did formally on Tuesday, if it fell within parameters acceptable to the organization. The contract will pay Teixeira, who made it clear he wanted to make a decision on where to play next season and beyond by Christmas, an average of $22.5 million per season.
The Yankees had $88.5 million coming off the books (included in that total — $23.4 million on Jason Giambi, $16 million on Bobby Abreu, and $11 million to both Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano), and even with the Teixeira contract, they expect their payroll to fall below $200 million. New York has committed $423.5 million in salary in the last month, with $161 million going to left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia ($23 million over seven years) and $82.5 million to right-hander A.J. Burnett ($18.5 million over five) last week alone.

The deal also virtually eliminates any chance that free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez has a landing place with the Yankees. New York does have money left to add another starting pitcher, most likely veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte at $10 million if he agrees to terms soon.

I think I just heard the collective heads of every Boston Red Sox fan explode at the same time.

I would say that this news is unbelievable but it’s very much believable. If the Yankees want a player, there’s nothing that’ll stop them from acquiring said player. Other than signing Manny, the Bombers essentially accomplished what they wanted to accomplish this offseason by acquiring pitching, as well as the desire to get younger.