Today's Sabathia Nonsense

Oh these winter meetings, how they can drive a fan slowly insane. I was away from a computer all day and I'm glad I was. If I was not I would have had to post several false rumors that would have probably driven some of you a little bit crazy.

First there was a report from Tony Jackson that said that the Giants were "supremely confident" they would sign CC.

Then there was a (unconfirmed) report that Sabathia rejected the Yankees $140 million dollar offer.

An hour later there was a report stating that the Yankees were out and the Brewers were now the front runner in the Sabathia sweepstakes (same source as the report that he rejected the Yankees offer).

Ken Rosenthal then said there was no truth to the rumor that Sabathia rejected the Yankees offer. Peter Gammons confirmed that a little while later saying,

Sabathia has not turned down the Yankees, either. He has offers from the Brewers, Angels and Red Sox, and the Giants have made it clear they will be in the bidding in certain circumstances.

"Nothing," says a source close to Sabathia, "is different than it was a week ago."

There was also this from from Mark Feinsand:

Torii Hunter just held a press conference to promote his new charity, but on his way out he stopped to talk with some of us about his good buddy, CC Sabathia.

Hunter and Sabathia have talked several times, and from the sound of things, the Yankees are still a very real possibility for the big lefty. Despite all the talk that he doesn't want anything to do with New York, Hunter made it sound like the only thing keeping him from signing is the possibility that he could find a team in his home state of California, not his distaste for the Big Apple or the pressure that comes along with Yankees pinstripes.

"CC can definitely handle New York. If he doesn't sign with New York, that won't be the reason," Hunter said. "He's not going to sign with New York because he loves the West Coast; if he doesn't go to the West Coast, he's going to sign with New York because he wants to win. They have a tradition of winning, they always put the product on the field, they always sell out, the fan base is great and the market is great. You can't turn down New York unless you want to."

And finally Peter Abraham reports this:

Yankees: Have an offer on the table. Nothing has changed.

Brewers: Have an offer on the table. Contrary to some reports, they have not raised it. Sabathia did not bother to hang around Vegas yesterday to meet with them. He sent his agents.

Red Sox: Have met with Sabathia and possibly have made an offer. Terry Francona laughed out loud when asked about the idea of a long-term deal. File this under the Red Sox making trouble.

Angels: They have prioritized Mark Teixeira but could make Sabathia an offer if only to drive the Teixeira process. Teixeira, according to Torii Hunter, is having trouble sleeping and wants to ake a decision soon.

Giants: Depending what you want to believe, they could be in the mix.

In other words, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Thank you Peter for being the voice of reason.