The Yankees’ decision-makers aren’t Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson. They are general manager Brian Cashman and, perhaps, Hal Steinbrenner.
Thus, yesterday Angels lefty C.J. Wilson wasn’t exactly facing the people who chose not to aggressively pursue him in free agency during the offseason.
“You’re not trying to strike out the front office,” Wilson said after the Angels’ 7-1 victory over the Yankees. “You have to go in there and get Cano out, get [Alex Rodriguez] out. That’s the game.”
Going into his first outing against the Yankees since they passed on him last winter, Wilson said he wasn’t fired up to prove anything to the men in pinstripes. But Wilson did indicate it was rewarding to fare so well.
The 31-year-old fired six innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and striking out two.
“I think it’s more of an aftertaste than a [motivation] before,” Wilson said.
And was there a nice aftertaste?
“Yeah, it feels good,” he said. “It’s nice to have an off-day in New York. I love the city. This is like my second home hereIt’s my favorite city in the country.”
There seems little doubt Wilson was at least somewhat interested in playing in New York. In addition to raving about the city, he admitted: “I really like pitching here. I feel like it’s a good energy.”
And his agent, Bob Garber, certainly wanted the Yankees in the offseason mix. The agent even falsely said at the time the Yankees team had invited Wilson to visit Yankee Stadium.
In truth, the Yankees’ interest was only minimal, and Wilson signed a five-year $77.5 million deal with the Angels. He’s now 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts this season.
Wilson would not answer when asked if he was hurt the Yankees didn’t pursue him.
“I don’t make emotional baseball comments. I’m not even gonna address that. Because I don’t think it’s a worthy question,” he said. “Because I don’t let emotional stuff get in — it’s just a logic thing. Every GM has a different idea of how they do it. Everybody has different constraints. There’s not one way to build a team.”
“They obviously went after a couple pitchers this year, [and] obviously both those guys did really good last year. You can’t hold a grudge forever. You just move on. I’m an Angel. That’s it.”
