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"When he said that, I said, 'We're going to love it,'" she recalled.
Already, they spent Wednesday looking at houses in Alpine, N.J. The Sabathias intend to permanently move to the area.
They said the one-month gap between the Yankees' initial offer and Sabathia's acceptance was partly because they have a new child and partly because he wanted to hear from every interested team. He was concerned New York would withdraw its offer and move on.
"I was worried about the public perception here," Sabathia said. "I don't want anybody to think that I didn't want to come here."
Burnett seemed to be the wilder personality. He has a Pisces tattoo on his left hand in honor of his two sons. When asked about his trips to the disabled list (10), he interrupted the questioner.
"You don't have to say the number," he said.
The 31-year-old right-hander even received a recruiting call from Alex Rodriguez. Last September, Burnett got an unexpected recommendation to sign with the Yankees: from Carl Pavano.
His former Florida teammate, maligned for multiple injuries during his four seasons in New York, spoke with him during batting practice at Yankee Stadium.
"It's a great place to play. It's a great place to live," Burnett said Pavano told him. "I was expecting to hear, you know, different things."
Playing near his home in Maryland was important to Burnett. So was the chance to win.
"Of course, money had something to do with it," he added. "How often do you get the chance to put on pinstripes? I mean, whether you want to admit that you love them or hate them, everybody wants to be a Yankee."
Burnett was looking forward to picking out his locker in the oval clubhouse of the new ballpark, where the pair went to pose for pictures after the news conference. Before heading over, he heard a loud noise from above as he spoke with reporters.
"Get over to the new place quick," he said. "We're supposed to get out first."
Notes: The Yankees still hope to re-sign Andy Pettitte. "He's still excited about coming back," manager Joe Girardi said. ... Steinbrenner said it was possible Joba Chamberlain could wind up splitting time as a starter and reliever. Steinbrenner also wouldn't rule out chances of signing OF Manny Ramirez. "I guess as realistic as any of the other free agents, because we're looking at all of them," he said. "We're just going to have to see what each day brings."
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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