LAS VEGAS — The Yankees are once again inspiring fear and loathing in, appropriately, Las Vegas.
The days of Dan Giese, Kei Igawa, Ian Kennedy, Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner starting are over. Baseball’s recession-proof team became much easier for fans to hate again after agreeing on a seven-year, $161 million contract with left-handed ace CC Sabathia.
They are also willing to go five years and $80 million on free agent A.J. Burnett and $64 million on Derek Lowe, determined to land at least one, if not both.
“We look at the Yankees as not even part of the same league we play in,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said matter-of-factly Wednesday night.
The Yankees outbid their nearest rival for Sabathia by more than $60 million. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and moving into a new stadium where some single-game tickets amount to college tuition, the Bronx Bombers came to Las Vegas bent on remodeling their rotation.
Sabathia’s preference was to play on the West Coast, but the Giants and Angels never approached the Yankees’ offer. Providing an opt-out clause after three years was critical, freeing Sabathia to join a California team if his family is uncomfortable in New York.
“When he first came up, he would just rear back and throw. Now, he can pretty much do anything,” Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. “People talk about the pressure of New York. But people struggle when they put pressure on themselves.”
The only pitcher in New York with more heat than Sabathia will be new Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets confirmed his three-year, $37 million deal Wednesday. His arrival, with the likely addition of Seattle’s J.J. Putz as a setup man — a trade involving Aaron Heilman and Mike Carp was finalized Wednesday night — is nothing short of an armored door for a bullpen that was pieced together by duct tape and chicken wire last September.
“When you can acquire a person such as that, it’s almost the same as when Johan Santana is pitching,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “It lifts the spirit of your team. We lost a lot of games late last season.”
This winter? Not so much in New York. Cash is king. Or, more accurately, general manager Brian Cashman. The Yankees, embarrassed by last season’s failure and their eight-year World Series title drought gnawing at them, are all in.
Forget “Jersey Boys” on The Strip. Pull up a seat for the latest version of “Damn Yankees.”
“They do what they do, and everyone else does what they can,” O’Dowd said. “I think there are probably three or four teams that live in a different universe (the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets). Even the Cubs have a budget.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
