Early in his career, Kenny Lofton hurt the Yankees as an Indian when he batted .330 against them across his first four years in a Cleveland uniform.
In the fall of 2007, he helped the Indians dismiss the Yankees from the first round of the AL playoffs – a loss that ended the Joe Torre Era – by hitting .375.
In between, the well-traveled Lofton spent the 2004 season as a Yankee, batting .275 in 83 games and complaining about the way Torre used him.
Lofton was out of the game last season, but recently he tried to hurt the Yankees again when he attempted to dissuade CC Sabathia from signing with the Bombers.
“He painted a bad picture of New York and the Yankees,” a person in the know said. “A lot of negative things.”
Lofton’s words couldn’t match the record-setting $161 million for seven years the Yankees offered the 28-year-old lefty, who played with Lofton in Cleveland in 2001 and 2007.
Now, the Yankees are poised to introduce Sabathia this week. He is scheduled to arrive in town tonight, undergo a physical tomorrow, and could stuff a 6-foot-7, 290-pound body into pinstripes at a Wednesday press conference at the old Yankee Stadium.
There was talk of holding the event at the new digs across the street, but “The House That The Boss Built” isn’t ready for that action.
Sabathia is the centerpiece of the Yankees’ plans to reshape a rotation that badly needed help.
Of course, he isn’t the only one.
A.J. Burnett, pending a physical, is in the fold thanks to a five-year, $82.5 million deal.
The Yankees also remain engaged with Andy Pettitte, who some Yankee officials believe will relent and take their $10 million offer, and free agents Ben Sheets and Derek Lowe.
While you never count out the Yankees from anything when it comes to free-agent spending, it’s not likely they will sign two of those three hurlers.
Unless, of course, they have plans to shift Joba Chamberlain to the bullpen, where some believe he would be more valuable to the Yanks.