One day after the Mets addressed their most pressing need by locking up theatrical closer Francisco Rodriguez - and got to pat themselves on the back for shopping at Baseball's bargain table - the Yankees threw a few more sacks of money on the table, and succeeded in earning the fealty of CC Sabathia, the 300-pound workhorse who dragged the Brewers into the playoffs last season.

All it took to overcome Sabathia's reluctance to pitch in New York was $161 million over the next seven years $20 million more than the next best offer, which also came from the Yankees, and $60 million more than anybody else was prepared to pay.

The deal comes with a "walk" clause that would allow Sabathia to go back on the free-agent market three years from now if he thinks he can make even more loot - nice to see somebody still has that much confidence in the economy - or if the hassle of pitching in New York proves too tiresome.

I guess it was the extra million that won him over.

And so much for all the talk about teams scaling back on spending, fearful of some severe shrinkage in sponsorships and ticket sales, that had hysterical agents crying collusion.

The CEOs of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors may have to carpool it to Washington the next time they go to beg Congress for help.

Newspapermen and other working stiffs are waking up to find themselves out of work, wondering where their pensions and their 401(k)s went.

But sports salaries are apparently still paid in Monopoly money, not subject to the vagaries of the real world.

At least not in New York, where both Baseball teams are loading up for debut seasons in expensive new ballparks, built with costly subsidies from an economically-strapped city.

Before we start hanging the red, white, and blue bunting, though, or putting up the plastic sheeting for a post-game celebration in either clubhouse, it might be prudent to remember that it's been awhile since either team was able to buy themselves a championship, a panic-inducing dry spell that's seen small-market teams like the Diamondbacks and Marlins win the World Series.

It's fun to plug in K-Rod's numbers with last year's Mets, and imagine them playing deep into October, the same way it's fun to wonder how differently the Yankees' season might've gone if they started with Sabathia in the rotation instead of insisting that a bunch of untested kids could handle the job; a bit of hubris which, in retrospect, appears to have been nothing more than wishful thinking.

The problem with that is this isn't somebody's Rotisserie league.

Nobody gets to play those games over, not even the Yankees or the Mets, and Sabathia and K-Rod weren't available when they played them the first time.

Those guys aren't striking anybody out the second week of December, either.

It's going to be another nine months before either one of them pitches in anything resembling a big game for their new teams, if they get to do it at all.

We're told the Yankees aren't done buying yet; not with additional starters Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett and Ben Sheets still available.

Of the three big-name starters, the sometimes fragile Sheets, Sabathia's wingman with the Brewers until he was injured late last season, may have the most upside for the money; not that anybody in the Yankee front office seems to be worrying about money these days, except when it comes to where to spend it.

And the Milwaukee connection may not stop there.

When the Yankees look to retool in their outfield, which looks even more decrepit than the starting rotation, one of the names that keeps coming up is Brewer centerfielder Mike Cameron.

The Brewers may have held back on trade talks for Cameron, one of Sabathia's best friends, in the hope he could help persuade Sabathia to stay in the less stressful working environment Wisconsin.

But that ferry has left the dock.

A more attractive - and more expensive - option for the Yankees might be Rick Ankiel, the pitcher-turned-outfielder who resurrected his career in St. Louis.

But there we go again, trying to spend somebody else's play money.

Who knows? If they wind up spending for two more starting pitchers, which appears to be their plan, and find a way to bring Andy Pettitte back into the mix, the Yankees may even wind up changing their minds yet again about Joba Chamberlain, and put him back in the bullpen as Mariano Rivera's set-up man and heir apparent, which would give the roster a late-1990s look.

In the meantime, they aspire to be the Brewers.