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$423 million is the amount of money a slow economy dropped revenue for the state of Washington.

$423 million is the amount of measurable media coverage TDG Communications says it has generated for the Black Hills of South Dakota since 2005.

$423 million is what oil firms are paying to settle a groundwater contamination lawsuit.

$423 million is the estimated amount a group of hackers planned to steal from a Japanese bank using a planted keylogger.

And $423 million is the amount the New York Yankees will have shelled out to sign CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira as soon as the former Ranger, Brave and Angel first baseman officially signs his deal.

Yeah. Revenue sharing and the luxury tax have done a lot to level the playing field in Major League Baseball.

After two seasons ruined by terrible bullpens the New York Mets went to work Wednesday finalizing deals for a new closer and then a setup man.

Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, he of 62 saves for Anaheim last season, inked a 3-year, $37 million contract that will become official pending a physical, according to the New York Daily News.

Not satisfied, the Mets then acquired former Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz in a 212 player trade involving 26 teams in 9 countries.

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Last week Yankee honcho Hal Steinbrenner, the quieter, less-limelight-needy brother of the Idiot Son of George Steinbrenner (Hank), was quoted by various sports media sources indicating that CC Sabathia would have a deadline to accept the team’s $140 million contract offer.

“We’ve made him an offer. It’s not going to be there forever,” said Hal, after he was voted the team’s new controlling owner on Thursday, Nov. 20.

This statement, given last year’s lines re-drawn in the sand over the A-Rod negotiations, were the typical laughable bravado to come from the Bronx. Now, however, as if that wasn’t enough, it has come out that the Yankees might increase their already obnoxiously high offer to $150 million - but only if other teams expected to get in on the process make offers to Sabathia.

NBCSports.com, publishing a Sporting News column citing a New York Newsday report that sourced the information to a “person familiar with the situation” said if the Los Angeles Angels get in on the bidding they’ll make the increase in their offer.

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On November 4th, as annual baseball meetings got under way, Commissioner Bud Selig listed off Wall Street firms that had failed, warning general managers they need to “operate in a fashion that’s cognizant of that economy,”according to Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner’s office.

Less than two weeks later, the New York Yankees are preparing to brush off the warning, and offer free agent pitcher CC Sabathia a deal that will make him the most expensive pitcher in MLB history. The same Sabathia that weighs as much as many defensive linemen, has a history that leans on the inconsistent side, and was merely average last season with the Indians, before moving to the National League, where he pitched well in his first half season facing many hitters who hadn’t seen him before, but was possibly overused.

Note that the offer has not yet been made–but team co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner, in his never ending quest to prove himself to daddy, saw fit to announce his team’s plans to the media.  In a further act of arrogance, he went so far as to say he expected to also make offers to AJ Burnett and Derek Lowe.

It’s a good thing the Yankees have such a proven track record with big money free agent deals.

The Florida Marlins continue illustrating why Major League Baseball will eventually need to implement a salary floor.

The Fish reportedly have agreed to trade up-and-coming starter Scott Olsen and veteran outfielder Josh Willingham to the Washington Nationals for utility man Emilio Bonifacio and two minor leaguers, according to sportingnews.com.

Owner Jeffrey Loria has reportedly authorized a payroll of $40 million for the first time since 2005. But while the Marlins have reportedly made plans to increase their salaries this season, they’d already traded arbitration-eligible first baseman Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for a middle reliever. And acquiring Bonifacio makes it possible that also arbitration-eligible second baseman Dan Uggla could be on the block as well.

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The Oakland Athletics made the first major trade of the offseason only this time General Manager Billy Beane was the buyer, not the seller.

I was surprised to see this afternoon that the A’s were the team to acquire Matt Holliday from Colorado - and that they gave up two young players and former closer Huston Street in order to do so.

Based on the firesales Beane has held for his top starting pitchers in recent years - Joe Blanton, Rich Harden and Dan Haren the last two offseasons alone - along with his willingness to let players like Jason Giambi go in exchange for draft picks makes this look like a surprising move.

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Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for winning the 2008 World Series. While the Atlanta Journal-Constitution lost interest, the television ratings and the bizarre, three-day game five it wsa a pretty solid series, with three games settled by one run.

Now that the Phillies have their second all-time series (the first was in 1980, in case you missed it on the broadcasts) championship it’s not totally inappropriate to look ahead to next season. Brushbackpitch already looked at the New York Yankees plans to once again dive head first into the free agent market as they christen their new stadium.

But I’m surprised at just how many big name players appear to be on the market already - not only in terms of free agents, but in guys under contract that smaller-market teams have put on the block.

Atlanta, the Chicago Cubs, and even the Kansas City Royals have been named as potential landing spots for Jake Peavy, the San Diego Padres ace, who has given the team a list of teams he would agree to play for. The Padres definitely need an influx of offense, and trading Peavy could land that as well as a pitching replacement.

The Milwaukee Brewers, weeks off their first playoff appearance since 1982, likely stand to lose Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia to free agency and now the word is that Prince Fielder could be on the block as well. Among other reasons cited by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Fielder’s salary could go from $670,000 up to $6 million to $8 million - and he could instead be used to garner a replacement arm.

Finally, last year’s National League upstart Colorado Rockies are exploring trade options for stud outfielder Matt Holliday. The team allegedly thinks it can’t sign him long term and will sometime soon decide whether to move him now or during the season, or keep him and take the draft picks they would garner when they lose him to free agency.

Keep your eyes on sites like mlbtraderumors.com for the next several months. It could be a fascinating off-season.

The Philadelphia Phillies are one game from winning their first World Series Championship since 1980. They’ve dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays in impressive fashion three of four games so far and they could end the series tonight with Cole Hamels is on the hill.

While the team on the field has been impressive and powerful the fans in the stands have again earned notoriety for their anti-social behavior, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki.

Rays manager Joe Maddon during his press conference before game four talked of how he exchanged some banter with a fan drinking Coors Light, indicating that any decent Philadelphian should be drinking Schmidt or Rolling Rock.

But he then pleaded with the fans to lay off of his granddaughter. Apparently some of the drunken idiots had been pelting her with mustard packets. I don’t know how old she is or where she is sitting, but come on - at the end of the day it’s still just a baseball game.

What possible reason could there be to throw stuff at kids? Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and the aforementioned Hamels are among the best in the game at their positions. They’re fun to watch and they’re close to bringing the city a championship the fans can celebrate.

Too bad a few yahoos apparently are trying to overshadow the experience.

What a difference a year makes.

The New York Yankees plan to keep Joba Chamberlain in the starting rotation, will consider bringing back Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina and would like to sign more than one of the top free agent pitchers available this offseason, according to a story published in SportsIllustrated.com.

With their strategy of building from within and keeping homegrown prospects failing miserably this season, the Yankees will again open up the purse strings to pursue, among others, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe, and possibly Ben Sheets, along with first baseman Mark Teixeira and potentially Manny Ramirez as free agents, Jon Heyman’s story indicates.

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The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Chicago Cubs won 197 games between them during the regular season leading many pundits nationwide to predict these teams would matchup in the World Series.

But in baseball only the unpredictable is predictable. Heading into the eighth inning Sunday night the Angels were tied 4-4 with Boston in their effort to avoid being swept out of the playoffs. A win would allow them to avoid the fate that once again befell the Cubs, who were taken out in three straight by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs have now gone 100 years without a World Series championship. At this point the Angels don’t look like that good a bet either.

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