Looks like the Yankees brass reads Bob Raissman. Via Peter Botte –

There is no team campaign against Alex Rodriguez, the Bombers said Friday. Yankees president Randy Levine insisted through a team spokesman Friday that, “Nobody in this organization is mad at Alex.”

Pinstriped brass otherwise didn’t have a lot to say about a report in Friday’s Daily News. That report quoted a TV industry source as saying team officials were angered that A-Rod hadn’t immediately informed them he’d been contacted by the FBI, which wants to question him in its investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea.

In response to assertions that the organization also backed the YES Network’s decision to highlight Rodriguez’s most recent controversy during Wednesday’s telecast of the spring-training opener, GM Brian Cashman added that he has “never told YES to do or not do anything.”

Below, we have some exclusive WasWatching.com footage of Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman on his way to address the media on this topic while Alex Rodriguez anxiously awaits to hear what Cashman has to say about the team’s position on him given his latest situation:

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I saw this on a message board and thought that it was fairly interesting to add here.

The site katron.org uses MLB’s Gameday to show what balls in play in one park would look like in another park.

Below, you see Granderson’s fly outs, line outs, pop outs, singles, doubles, and triples in Comerica park during 2009, overlayed in Yankee Stadium.

I see a potential 10-13 additional home runs had Granderson been hitting in the Bronx.

*Important Caveat* The site has added that “every location is where the ball was fielded by a player, not where it landed.” This clearly changes things, but it is still interesting.

For fun, here is Damon’s 2009 home runs in Yankee Stadium overlayed in Comerica.

Interestingly, all of his Yankee Stadium home runs from 2009 certainly seem as if they would have also been home runs in Comerica.

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Hey, don’t forget that our Yankeeland Provider once bid $26 million just for the rights to make Kei Igawa a millionaire twenty times over.

Who is Yoshida? See this from ESPN.com -

Eri Yoshida hopes to expand that roster and break the gender barrier at the same time.

Yoshida, the petite 18-year-old who became the first female drafted by a Japanese professional team, Kobe 9 Cruise of the Kansai Independent Baseball League, made her pro debut on March 26, 2009, at the Osaka Dome. She learned how to throw a knuckleball as a young girl by watching video of Wakefield.

On Tuesday, at the Red Sox player development complex, Yoshida, wearing a gray Boston T-shirt with Wakefield’s name and number on the back, met her idol and pitched with him.

“I’m impressed,” Wakefield said. “She spun a couple, but for the most part it was very good. She was able to take the spin out of a lot of them and they had quite a lot of movement on them.”

Yoshida, who stands 5-foot-1 and throws her knuckleball with a sidearm motion, is in the United States to pitch in the independent Arizona Winter League. She got her first win on Feb. 12, tossing four shutout innings for the Yuma Scorpions. But she admitted she was nervous working with the 43-year-old Wakefield.

“I think everything that he taught me is going to give me a chance to really work on what I need to work on,” she said through Red Sox team translator Masa Hoshino. “But also, I got a chance to meet him and it really gave me some courage and the confidence I need to really get back to training hard.”

Sure, she’s not very tall – and Cash has said he likes tall pitchers. But, Pat Venditte isn’t a giant either.

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Throughout his career, the major knock on Nick Johnson has been his inability to stay healthy. When not on the disabled list or struggling with injures, Johnson is a very solid offensive player capable of posting a batting average north of .280, drawing 80+ walks and hitting 15 or more home runs in a given season. His 2007 season with the Washington Nationals is a fine example of the designated hitter’s ceiling, and with some luck, he could come close to those numbers in 2010…if he can stay healthy.

That’s a big IF, and it always has been with  him. He’s been placed on the disabled list at least eight times during his career. He’s been on the 60-day disabled list three times. Needless to say, when you hear that something is bothering Johnson, you begin to worry. Its hard to be optimistic with a player who has only appeared in 59% of his games during an eight year career. Anyway, guess who’s balky back is in the news again:

Yankees designated hitter Nick Johnson was scratched from the lineup on Thursday with a stiff lower back…”I could have played,” Johnson said. “But I felt it back there, so I told them.” (source)

As it turns out, one of his spikes got caught during batting practice which injured his back. He told reporters that he would have played if it had been a regular season game, but it does make you wonder. What if Nick Johnson deals with the injury bug again this season? The Yankees are a much different team than the Nationals and Marlins. They need to be competitive, so every player needs to be at the top of their game and generally healthy. Like the title of this post states, Johnson’s injury history could help outfielder Marcus Thames make the team.

Right now, Thames is competing with Jamie Hoffman for the final position player slot, but the Yankees may have to seriously consider carrying a player with designated hitter experience rather than an extra Randy Winn. Yes, should Johnson miss extended periods because of  injuries, the Yankees could use Jorge Posada as the designated hitter and let Frankie Cervelli catch, but that depletes the bench and could cause problems in extra-inning games. Also, having another player on the bench who could juice the lineup with extra left-handed power has to be more attractive than any commodity Hoffman can bring.

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Dayn Perry lists four reasons [why] the Yankees are vulnerable – H/T to BBTF – and they are:

1. The lower baseline
2. Age
3. A brutal division
4. The vagaries of the postseason

I agree on point #1 – and I touched upon that back in January.

Ditto on point #2 – and I recently mentioned that as well.

And, point #3? Hey, I agree again – and I mentioned this back in January.

The last point? Well, it’s valid – anything can happen in a short series. But, I’ll start worrying about the post-season in October…not in March. I would replace #4 with “The dependence on A.J. Burnett and Javy Vazquez.”

I just wrote about this a week ago where I said:

For me, at this time, the Yankees biggest “go wrong” concerns should be around A.J. Burnett and Javy Vazquez. As always, when it comes to being a contender, especially in the A.L. East, it’s all about pitching.

New York’s bullpen should be O.K. this year. And, Girardi has shown a knack for finding solutions there when “Plan A” doesn’t work out. So, that leaves it to the starting pitching.

CC Sabathia should be fine – he’s a proven ace. And, Andy Pettitte will be Andy Pettitte – giving you 200 innings and winning half of his starts, thereabouts. That leaves it up to Burnett and Vazquez to round out the rotation. They both need to make 30 starts, throw 200 innings, and keep their ERA near league average or below. If they both cannot do that, then the Yankees are playing the season with one-half of a starting rotation…compared to the Red Sox and Rays who appear to have very good starting rotations this year. And, that’s a problem.

Not getting all the breaks/magic of last season, not having age catch up with some key performers, having to deal with Boston and Tampa, and counting on some previously questionable starting pitchers, are the Yankees biggest worries this season…to me. What about you? What do you think?

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Are the Yankees upset with Alex Rodriguez? Via Bob Raissman:

Certain members of the Yankees high command are very, very angry with Alex Rodriguez.

No one likes being deceived, especially these suits. They are furious over A-Rod hanging them out to dry, not immediately informing them he had been contacted by the FBI to testify in a matter concerning Anthony Galea, the Canadian doctor linked to the importing of illegal drugs.

“They (Yankees brass) don’t like being blindsided,” said a TV industry source who deals with the Yankees and YES. “If Rodriguez isn’t protecting the organization paying him a fortune, why should the organization go out of its way to protect him?”

So, it’s highly unlikely Bombers brass was shedding a single tear over how its Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network covered A-Rod’s first first plate appearance of the spring.

The angry Yankee executives could not have scripted it any better.

That “humongous gorilla” that once weighed A-Rod down in October was gone. The hip was better, too. There was also the official “one of the guys” proclamation hanging somewhere in A-Rod’s mind.

“That all amounts to a huge sigh or relief for Alex Rodriguez, who now comes into camp healthy,” Michael Kay, YES’ play-by-play man, said as Rodriguez stepped in Wednesday to face Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf.

As soon as those uplifting words left Kay’s mouth, Ken Singleton, his partner, down-shifted into the dark side. Singleton started talking about last spring, hip surgery and “uh, uh, steroids.”

Kay quickly said: “Now Alex was looking to have a very, very quiet spring this year with health and the world championship, but he was questioned by the media the other day because he’s going to be questioned by FBI officials about the Canadian-based doctor Anthony Galea . . .”

Singleton tried to characterize this as a routine matter, but the prominent mention of A-Rod’s latest controversy – highlighting it during his first spring at-bat – was not business as usual for YES.

Highlighting tales of syringes and shady characters is not good for the Yankees brand. This time around, though, although it’s “just” about him having to talk to the FBI, A-Rod was not provided cover. For YES, this was a radical departure. It indicates the depth of anger here. While there’s no evidence Kay and Singleton were ordered by the higher-ups to highlight this so early in the telecast, you can be sure, absolutely sure, none of the Yankee higher-ups called their counterparts at YES to complain.

“At first they (Yankees execs) thought the media was blowing this up (out of proportion),” an MLB source said. “Then they found out he (Rodriguez) is being called in (by the FBI) to testify and this was coming directly from the feds. Thanks to Alex, the Yankees were caught off guard.”

Now, there is concern over this FBI situation – and where it will lead. Whenever players are called to testify under oath, there’s always the risk they can get caught up in perjury charges, as was the case with Barry Bonds and Miguel Tejada. There’s also concern that A-Rod may be backsliding into his days of scandal and turmoil.

“They (Yankee officials) are concerned this stuff is going to start happening all over again,” the source said. “They are not happy. He’s been in camp, what, a week? First he gets in the papers for his Maybach thing (fender bender). Then comes this FBI thing. They’re wishing he would have stayed with Kate Hudson.”

Ah, yes, Kate Hudson…the lady in white.

I’m not sure that I agree with Raissman here. After all, how could the YES booth not mention the FBI thing and A-Rod during his first At Bat?

But, if it’s true that Rodriguez didn’t plug the Yankees brass into this thing, immediately, when he first found out – and they were “were caught off guard” by the news – then you have to question, yet again, where A-Rod’s brain is…and whether all the talk about his transformation last season is, in the end, just talk.

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Roy White’s 9th career game at third base was a doozy, wasn’t it?

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In the past 11 years, I’ve probably logged at least 240,000 miles just driving back and forth to work. When you tack on family-related weekend driving on top of that, it’s fair to say that I’m on the road a bit. Most of those 11 years – probably around 90% of it – I’ve lived in New Jersey. And, for about 98% of that time, I’ve been working in New Jersey. So, it’s safe to say that I do a lot of driving in New Jersey.

Since I’m often stuck in traffic, I get to see many car magnets, bumper stickers, and license plate frames.

To this day, my favorite bumper sticker had “JESUS LOVES YOU” in big letters on it with “The rest of us think you’re an asshole” in smaller print under that. But, what always catches my eye are the things that people put on their car which relate back to the teams that they root for and follow.

Of course, in New Jersey, I see a lot of “Yankees” and “Mets” stuff on cars. And, I see too many cars with New Jersey plates that have some “Red Sox” magnets, stickers, etc.

Recently, I saw a car – with Jersey plates – that had a “Los Angeles Dodgers” license plate frame. For a nano-second I thought that was strange. But, it’s probably someone who was once a Brooklyn Dodgers fan…I suppose.

But, tonight, on Route 22 (Eastbound), I saw a first: A car with New Jersey plates and a “Kansas City Royals” license plate frame. How does that happen?

I doubt it was either Jose Rosado or Bob Hamelin. And, I’m more than sure it wasn’t someone who became a Kyle Farnsworth groupie while he was in New York and now made the switch…or, could it have been?

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Via the AP –

The first pitch of the spring to Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder landed directly in the middle of his back.

It wasn’t due to a lack of control on the part of San Francisco Giants left-hander Barry Zito. There was a reason.

The Giants had been simmering all winter over Fielder’s antics after hitting a walk-off home run against them at Milwaukee’s Miller Park on Sept. 6. When Fielder neared home plate, he braced for contact with his teammates, who fell backward like bowling pins.

There had been rumblings that the Giants were going to send a message to Fielder on Thursday, and they wasted no time in doing so.

Plate umpire Ted Barrett went about halfway to the mound to make sure no larger fireworks ensued and Fielder ambled to first base with not much of a reaction, as if to say, “OK, you got me.”

Yes, needless to say, I’m digging Barry Zito right about now.

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Two of my all-time favorite syndicated shows from back in the 1970′s. This one is ten minutes long. But, if you’re 40 or older, you’ll want to watch it all.

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There were 411 professional baseball teams last year.

What the heck is wrong with me that I find this information exciting to know?

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Via the AP –

New York Yankees designated hitter Nick Johnson was scratched from the starting lineup for Thursday’s game against Philadelphia because of a stiff lower back.

Jamie Hoffmann replaced Johnson in the game that featured new Phillies ace Roy Halladay and Yankees star CC Sabathia.

Johnson was signed during the off-season to take the spot of 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, who is now with the Los Angeles Angels. Johnson hit an RBI double in the Yankees’ exhibition opener Wednesday.

Jackie “Moms” Mabley has been dead for 35 years. But, I’d probably take her over Nick Johnson in a fitness test.

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Yesterday, Kevin Kernan, in The Post, suggested that the Yankees should “keep [Derek] Jeter in pinstripes, even as owner.” Here’s a couple of snips from what he wrote:

The Yankees need to find a way to make Derek Jeter a Yankee for Life. There’s really only one way. At some point the Steinbrenner family would have to take him into the ownership group.

Jeter, of course, is in the final year of his 10-year, $189 million contract. The Yankees and Jeter will come together on a new deal at some point, but Jeter needs to be a Yankee for Life and there is a way to make him one. The Yankees need to work out a deal with Jeter where they allow him to become part of Yankees ownership after his playing days are complete. Players cannot be part of ownership, so this would have to be a separate deal.

As it stands now, most certainly, Jeter will follow the player-to-ownership path of Michael Jordan. Jordan should have been with the Bulls for life, but wound up a Wizard at the end of his playing career and over the weekend became principal owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Jeter is set on being an owner when his playing days are done. Without specifically talking about the Yankees, Jeter told The Post yesterday that being an owner is “definitely a goal of mine.”

Seeing this, my first reaction was to remember this old story:

Former player and broadcaster Joe Garagiola recalls seeing [Joe] DiMaggio at a golf tournament, long after he had retired, on a day when Yankee owner George Steinbrenner had signed a player to a huge contract.

“What would Steinbrenner have to pay you if you were playing for him today?” Garagiola asked DiMaggio.

Replied DiMaggio, “I’d have looked at him and said, ‘Hello partner.’ “

Poor Kevin Kernan. His suggestion here brought cause for some of the usual FJM Wannabes in the Yankees blogosphere to emerge from their ivory towers – constructed out of their alleged righteousness – gunning for him with torches and pitchforks.

Sure, it’s a wild idea from Kernan. And, I doubt that the Steinbrenner Brothers would allow Jeter to become part of their ownership group. But, could something close to this happen?

Back in May of 1984, the Kansas City Royals signed George Brett to a supposed lifetime contract – which basically made Brett partners with then Royals owner Avron Fogelman in some real estate projects.

Could the Yankees do the same with Jeter? Hey, it’s possible. Maybe they could offer a Derek a share of the Steinbrenner Hotel Properties or something?

Nah…it will probably never happen.

But, maybe there’s more to the George Brett thing? This season, Brett enters his 17th year as being the Royals Vice President of Baseball Operations.

Right now, Mark Newman is the Yankees Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations. And, New York doesn’t have a Vice President of Baseball Operations…as far as I know. So, would it be terrible to make Derek Jeter an offer to be the Yankees Vice President of Baseball Operations, once he’s retired, as part of a deal to keep him with the team after 2010? I don’t think so – do you? For sure…there’s probably a lot worse candidates than Jeter for the job, no?

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The Media Relations folks at the MLB Network recently shared that the blackout has been lifted in the New York Yankees’ local television market for MLB Network’s simulcast of the Yankees at Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training game on Thursday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET (delay from 1pm game start time). MLB Network will carry CSN Philadelphia’s call of the game. Sweet.

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Is it just me, or, does anyone else think Josie Cotton when they see Lacey Brown?

That said, at this junction, I think Siobhan Magnus or Alex Lambert is going to win it this year.

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Please consider taking the following poll:

Thanks in advance. And, please feel free to add comments on your opinion in the comments section below.

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Yesterday, I took my annual “pre-season” trip to the allergist and I brought along the copy of “Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend” that I’m currently reading. When my doctor saw me with the book, he laughed and said “I should have known that you’d be reading that one” and then shared that he had heard the book being discussed on WFAN.

As it’s been a year since we’ve seen each other, and I knew that he was a Yankees fan going way back, having grown up close to the Stadium, I asked him if he made his way to the new Stadium last year.

He shared that he did make it to a game and then mentioned something interesting. He said, as a kid, they would often celebrate birthdays by going to Yankees games – taking twenty (or so) family members and friends to game, grabbing a hotdog, soda and ice cream for all in the process. After saying this, he followed with “Of course, you could never do that today.”

Think about this for a minute. Probably as recent as 1980, you could feasibly take 20 kids to Yankee Stadium for a game, get them a dog, pop, and some ice cream for close to $250, in total, thereabouts. But, how much would that cost you today – even if you were willing to sit in the upper deck out in the outfield? You’re probably looking at something around $800 for that outing, no? That’s quite a bump in the last 30 years.

Now, sure, I know, $800 to some is not a ton of money. And, yes, there’s such a thing as inflation. But, it just seems – at least to me – that the cost for such an outing, today, should be closer to $600 or less.

Funny, as I typed that, immediately I thought “Maybe I should strike that? Two hundred extra bucks doesn’t seem like a lot to bitch about.” But, thinking about it longer, it’s an interesting difference. Six hundred dollars is closer to $500 and eight hundred dollars is closer to $1,000. And, a grand, for most, is not a small amount of money. The other figure, $500, is doable and somewhat reasonable for a kids party these days. But, once you get closer to a thousand dollars, I doubt that many people could swing that one.

Shame. But, then again, that’s life today in Yankeeland. It’s just more and more difficult to take the entire family, or more, to a game. And, it’s practically impossible to do it several times a season.

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Check out this piece which appeared in Time back on April 14, 1941 -

“That settles it,” exclaimed many a baseball fan last week, “the Yankees will win the pennant.” What elicited this flat prophecy was a headline: DRAFT BOARD DEFERS RIZZUTO IN CLASS 3A.

For months fans have buzzed about Philip (“Scooter”) Rizzuto, 22, a rookie the Yankees recently refused to sell for $150,000. Scooter Rizzuto at shortstop and his pal, Gerry Priddy, at second base, had made Kansas City the bugaboo of rival American Association clubs. Last year these Keystone Kids led Kansas City to its second consecutive pennant and set a new league record for double plays: 130. Both are extraordinary hitters, extraordinary fielders. But it was Rizzuto, the Scooter, who caught the fans’ fancy.

Smaller and nimbler than the average ballplayer, Rizzuto does everything with a pinch of snuff. He leaps for balls, slides for bases, scoots around like a catnipped rabbit. Last year he led the American Association in assists, putouts, stolen bases. As if that were not enough for a five-foot-fiver, Rizz the Whizz batted .347, an average good enough to lead the league until the season’s final fortnight. For these accomplishments Scooter Rizzuto was voted the Most Valuable Player in all 43 minor leagues in the U.S.

Rizzuto’s rise to baseball’s top crust has been almost as spectacular as his playing. Son of a $20-a-week Manhattan dock worker, he captained his high-school team, was picked up by Yankee Scout Paul Krichell four years ago—after the Dodgers had turned him down because he was too small. He was started off in the Yankees’ Class D club in the Bi-State League, progressed rapidly to its Class B club at Norfolk, to its AA club at Kansas City. This spring Yankee Manager Joe McCarthy brought Rizzuto and Priddy up to the Big Team to replace some rusty parts. “Once in a generation a club gets a double find like this,” chuckled Manager McCarthy.

But lately Manager McCarthy has been chuckling out of the other corner of his mouth. The Yankees’ prize rookie had lived up to his reputation all right—in 15 exhibition games he had batted .438, a better average than that of any other Yankee, including Batting Champion Joe Di Maggio. But the Scooter had a low number in the draft, had been examined at St. Petersburg, pronounced physically fit. Last week, in time’s nick, Rizzuto’s home-town draft board granted his request for deferment (because of dependents), gave the approaching baseball season the most spectacular rookie since Bob Feller.

“Rizz the Whizz”? I guess that one didn’t take off…but, nonetheless, a great story on the rookie Scooter, for sure.

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Maybe? See this via Christopher Harris -

The fundamentals don’t support the notion that [Javy] Vazquez is going to give a repeat performance in pinstripes this year. In ’09, his fly-ball rate was 34.8 percent. For his career, it’s smack dab at 40 percent. And in his three seasons pitching for the White Sox from ’06 to ’08, it was 40.7, 43.4 and 41.7 percent. More fly balls are rarely a good thing for a pitcher, yet it’s likely that more fly balls are what Vazquez will see. Next, consider his new home ballpark. While it’s true that it’s far too early to unilaterally declare that the new Yankee Stadium is and always will be a home run hitter’s paradise, it’s not too early to declare that Turner Field is very tough in that regard, especially for left-handed hitters. Last year, Turner Field was fifth hardest on homers, while Yankee Stadium was famously the No. 1 home run hitting venue around, and has one heck of an enticing right-field porch, about which right-handed pitchers need to be concerned. Finally, Vazquez’s strand rate last year was 76.6 percent, the highest of his big league life (compared to 70.8 percent for his career).

But the main reason I feel secure saying Vazquez won’t repeat his 2009 season in 2010 is simple: I’ve seen this movie before. Vazquez has done this. In 2004, at age 28, Vazquez played a full season for the Yankees and did little to erase his reputation as a soft pitcher. Set free from the non-attention he enjoyed in six years as a Montreal Expo, he put together a blazing first half (10 wins, 3.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) and an All-Star Game appearance as a Yankee, then went belly-up when the pennant race got tight, posting a 6.92 ERA and 1.49 WHIP after the break. Plus, he famously allowed Johnny Damon’s Game 7 grand slam in the Red Sox’s improbable playoff comeback. (Remember ol’ gutsy Vazquez relieving ol’ gutsy Kevin Brown, Yanks fans?) And after posting a sub-4.00 ERA his each of his final three seasons in Montreal, Vazquez would go on to post a 4.00-plus ERA in four of his next five with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and White Sox.

At the least, it’s something to be mindful of while watching Vazquez perform this season.

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Hey, it’s not like these two teams don’t have some history, right? Enjoy the game today!

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It’s amazing how things play out over the course of a year.

No one lets us know this better than John Sterling. At least once per broadcast, he’ll emphasize that no one can predict baseball. We cannot predict this game. And that’s why I love John Sterling. Sure, he’s cliché. Yes, he can be corny. But he also speaks the truth. Baseball relies too much on the human element. No one will ever be able to predict what will happen. Here’s to you, PECOTA.

Last March, things were astronomically, exponentially, infinitely different in Yankee-land. Over the last 525,600 minutes, the annals of time have progressed in a way none of us could see coming.

Yes, the team is mostly the same. Derek Jeter still plays shortstop. CC Sabathia is still the #1 starter. Joe Girardi is still the manager.

But consider these changes. Last year at this time, we were fretting over Alex Rodriguez’s hip injury (it really is amazing how A-Rod’s offseason progressed last year. The “A-Fraud” comment in Joe Torre’s book was a big news story. Then came the report that he was switching to the Dominican Republic for the WBC. Then came the news that he took steroids. Then came his interview with Peter Gammons, where he admitted using steroids with Texas. Then came his hip injury that was originally supposed to sideline him for the entire 2009 season. And then came the news that he would only miss ten weeks. All of that developed within a one-month span).

Last year at this time, this video was a hit. And that guy was also our starting third baseman.

Last year at this time, we were excited about CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and Nick Swisher. Neither of them had even played a game yet.

Last year at this time, Team USA beat the Yankees 6-5 in an exhibition game. Derek Jeter beat the Yankees.

Last year at this time, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera were coming off surgeries.

Last year at this time, we were looking at pictures of the new Stadium and waiting with bated breath for the first game.

Last year at this time, Angel Berroa was on the team.

The point is, things were very, very different last March. All of us were frustrated with the team’s poor performance in 2008, and we were hopeful for the 2009 season. This March, we’re riding on the heels of a memorable postseason run. The Yankees won the World Series. Alex Rodriguez was the postseason MVP.

Who would have thought that would happen?

I suppose that in March 2011, things will be even more different. But that’s to be expected. Time breeds change. And that’s the fun in being a fan.

You just cannot predict baseball.

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Via Darren Rovell –

Sources told CNBC that Yankees players recently received a letter from the Major League Baseball Players Association that informed them that there was mistake in the calculation of the World Series championship share.

By virtue of winning, the Yankees divided up $21.2 million. Originally, the Yankees awarded 46 players and coaches full shares, making the full share a record $365,052 (12.25 partial shares were also awarded.)

But the letter told those who had full shares that three people (two trainers and a player) were not allocated their proper share. The result? Those who received full shares are now being asked to pay back approximately $10,000 each.

Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo declined comment. A union spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

What are we talking about here, a half-mill in total that they’re short? What is that, like what the Yankees pay A-Rod for every 10 plate appearances – give or take? Chump change in the Yankeeland picture. Seems like it would be much easier for the Brothers Stein to write a check for the difference rather than mess with everyone’s tax return (assuming the winning shares were paid in 2009).

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If you had to pick three members of the Yankees organization who you felt were worthy of your total allegiance, who would they be?

Me? I would probably go with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. Why? I dunno…it’s probably just payback for all the equity that they’ve built up through the years. Sure, they have their faults and failures. But, I would feel comfortable saying that I believe in them. Granted, they won’t be around for much longer. So, I’ll have to revisit these picks pretty soon.

Now, on the other hand, if you were to ask me who I thought were the Yankees Divine Trinity in most other Yankees fans eyes, I would say that it’s Brian Cashman, Alex Rodriguez and Phil Hughes. Why? Well, that’s simple. I’ve felt the venom of Yankees fans for years now any time I’ve ever mentioned one of those three in a less than genuflecting manner.

But, that’s what I think many would answer to this question. And, it doesn’t mean that it’s true. Therefore, I thought I would ask. This brings us full circle.

If you had to pick three members of the Yankees organization who you felt were worthy of your total allegiance, who would they be? And, if you’re willing to say, why these three?

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Via Baseball-Reference.com – Yankees who passed away outside of the United States:

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Ernie Ross really wasn’t a “Yankee” since he played for the Orioles before the franchise was moved to New York.

And, Alex Burr is an interesting story – that I detailed here back in 2007.

It’s amazing what you can learn with this wacky searches. For example, before this, I knew nothing about Armando Marsans. But, then I saw this via his B-R.com Bullpen Page -

Armando Marsans played eight seasons in major league baseball, during the Deadball Era, accumulating 2,273 at-bats. In 1912, he was in the top ten in batting average. A centerfielder, he was a teammate of Harvard Eddie Grant in Cincinnati and George Sisler in St. Louis. He was the first Cuban-born player to get 500 at-bats in the big leagues, followed shortly thereafter by Dolf Luque and Mike Gonzalez.

He was the Reds’ Opening Day clean-up hitter in 1912 and 1914.

He was the first Cuban to manage in Organized Baseball, leading the Elmira Colonels in 1924. He also managed the 1956 Havana Cubans in the Florida International League.

He is the all-time stolen base leader in the history of the Cuban Winter League, with 135, 23 more than Cristobal Torriente.

Any day that I learn some baseball history that I didn’t know before is a good day…if you ask me.

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Via Bryan Hoch -

The Yankees are heading to the video arcade this morning for their second annual field trip.

Joe Girardi said that 66 players have been grouped into teams and they’ll be competitively playing skeeball, pop-a-shot basketball and video Indy racing — all except poor Joba Chamberlain, who was sent home sick after showing up with flu-like symptoms.

“I think it’s good to get the guys together away from the field,” Girardi said. “There’s competition. There’s cheering for each other in a big group.”

Everyone must play the three games mentioned above, and players are free to roam the arcade when they’re not in competition.

Can’t wait to see the pictures from this one…

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Everybody’s talking about Alex Rodriguez, the FBI, and a suspected HGH dealer. Check it out:

Mike Lupica warns that A-Rod better tell the truth this time and not work off a script.

Ian O’Connor writes that Alex Rodriguez’s steroid stain will last forever.

George King notes that when “Rodriguez is involved, even the smallest issue has the ability to quickly grow into a colossal one.”

And, there’s probably much more to come today.

With six, you get eggroll. With A-Rod, you get all sorts of stuff, eh?

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Ben Badler recently took a look at which teams have signed the most international prospects in the 2010 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. Note that, on this, Badler states:

This breakdown is not an analysis of which teams have done the best job in international scouting or have been the most efficient with their international spending. Teams that don’t draft well might have more Latin American prospects in their top 30 by default (and vice versa), we’re looking only at prospects and not giving credit to young big leaguers like Elvis Andrus or Pablo Sandoval, and we’re just looking at raw numbers, not necessarily the quality of the prospects.

And…

If a player appears in the Prospect Handbook, we’re giving the team that originally signed him the credit regardless of that player’s current organization.

Here are the teams in Badler’s study to have 8+ players:

TEAM       TOP 30
Yankees    12
Rockies    11
Mets       10
Phillies   10
Braves     9
Cubs       9
Mariners   9
Rangers    9
Red Sox    9
Twins      9
Indians    8
Reds       8
Tigers     8

Seeing all this made me think about Hensley Meulens, Mark Hutton, Robert Eenhoorn, Andy Morales and the ever famous Katsuhiro Maeda and his orange-dyed hair.

So, who was your favorite Yankees international signee who went bust?

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When I first heard today that Alex Rodriguez had been contacted by federal investigators regarding Dr. Anthony Galea, who is accused of selling HGH, I thought nothing bad would come it. Now, after reading what Michael Schmidt wrote about it in the Times…well…I’m not so sure. Some snips from Schmidt:

Last December, concerned Yankee officials reached out to representatives of their star slugger Alex Rodriguez. Along with everyone else in baseball, they had just learned that a Canadian-based doctor named Anthony Galea was under investigation as a possible distributor of performance-enhancing drugs.

The Yankees were particularly concerned, said a person in baseball with knowledge of what occurred, because Rodriguez was monitored by a chiropractor last season who had worked closely with Galea in the past.

Now, however, those same Yankees officials are not sure what to think.

Asked by reporters if he had been treated by Galea, Rodriguez responded: “I can’t really get into that. You’ll know within time, all at the same time.

The New York Times reported on its Web site Sunday night that investigators had information indicating that Rodriguez was treated by Galea at some point in the past. In addition, The Times reported that an athlete who was treated by Galea in Canada said he had been told by the doctor that he had previously traveled to New York to treat Rodriguez.

Monday’s remarks by Rodriguez thrust the Yankees back into territory with which they have become familiar in recent seasons.

Because they do not want to be seen as impeding a federal investigation, the Yankees and Major League Baseball will probably wait until after Rodriguez meets with the authorities before questioning him. For the moment, the Yankees find themselves unsure of what Rodriguez’s dealings with Galea entailed, if indeed there were any, and where they could lead.

But in a written statement issued shortly after Rodriguez spoke, the Yankees tried to put some distance between themselves and Rodriguez, their 34-year-old star.

“The Yankees never authorized Dr. Tony Galea to treat Alex Rodriguez, nor do we have any knowledge of any such treatment,” the statement said.

Hmmm…maybe it’s time to ask that hypothetical question again?

So, Yankees fans – and just baseball fans in general – what are you thoughts on all this? Could there be something here? And, if so, how would you feel about it?

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Via Bill Madden –

The great baseball sage Branch Rickey had a theory about developing front-line starting pitchers that Brian Cashman is painfully finding all too true. For every 10 pitchers you sign, Rickey said, you’re fortunate if two of them make it.

That’s how long the odds were for producing a quality pitcher in Rickey’s day with the Dodgers in the ’40s and the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ’50s. They’re even longer today with baseball having expanded to 30 teams and so many young athletes gravitating to football and basketball.

In the spring of 2007, eight months after the first draft Cashman presided over as GM, in which he took 14 pitchers with his first 18 picks, the GM made the declaration that the Yankees were putting the emphasis on arms. “You’ve got to develop your own starting pitching,” he said, “because otherwise there’s nothing more expensive on the free agent market.”

As he spoke, Cashman noted the crop of arms he’d recently added to the organizaton – Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, Ross Ohlendorf, Dellin Betances, Zach McAllister, Mark Melancon, Humberto Sanchez, and Daniel McCutchen – and expressed brave hope that, from that imposing group, he would be able to cull a mostly homegrown rotation within 4-5 years. So here we are, four years later and none of them has established himself as a major league starter – at least with the Yankees – and it is understandable if Cashman is beginning to feel a little antsy when it comes to Chamberlain and Hughes competing for the fifth spot this year. It’s because of the slower-than-hoped for development of the young pitchers that Cashman had to go out and get Javy Vazquez to fortify the rotation as the No. 4 starter for $11.5 million.

This is the year he really needs to see at least one fruit of his labor.

“You try your hardest not to be impatient,” Cashman said Sunday, “but with pitchers it’s not easy. That’s why we’ve continued to stay with Chamberlain as a starter. We’ve invested a lot in that.”

If there is one common denominator in Cashman’s pitching philosophy, it appears to be size. For what it’s worth, there are 10 pitchers in Yankee camp this spring 6-foot-5 or taller, including Hughes (6-5), Brackman (6-10, 240) and McAllister (6-6), while Chamberlain is 6-2, 230.

“I admit it, I love big pitchers,” Cashman said.

Despite the shutout so far by all his pitching prodigies, Cashman remains steadfast in his belief that Hughes, Chamberlain, Brackman, Bettances and McAllister will all reach their potential – how else can he think? – and in his address to the team a few days ago he told them he fully expected that to be sooner rather than later.

As much as I like to point out that Jeff Weaver, Javy Vazquez Part I, Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, and Kei Igawa are a big part of Brian Cashman’s Yankees legacy, in the end, that group of guys like Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Dellin Betances, Ryan Pope, J.B. Cox, Andrew Brackman and Jeremy Bleich are going to be part of it too – especially Chamberlain and Hughes.

Well, that’s what I think. How about you?

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Via the AP –

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has been contacted by federal investigators regarding a Canadian doctor accused of selling an unapproved drug.

Rodriguez said Monday he was “aware” of the investigation and plans on cooperating with government officials who are looking into Dr. Anthony Galea. Rodriguez said a date for an interview has not been set.

“I can’t really get into that,” Rodriguez said. “I have to speak to those guys first. I’ve just got to wait for instructions.”

Galea is facing four charges in his country related to the drug known as Actovegin, which is extracted from calf’s blood and used for healing. His assistant also has been charged in the U.S. for having HGH and another drug while crossing the border in September.

A-Rod said the probe won’t have an affect on him because “this is about someone else.” He declined comment when asked if he has even been treated by Galea.

“I’m focused on baseball,” Rodriguez said.

New York general Brian Cashman was informed of the situation Monday, and added that he has not been told about any other Yankees’ players being involved.

“Not aware of any,” Cashman said.

The Yankees released a statement saying they had not been contacted about the matter.

“The Yankees never authorized Dr. Tony Galea to treat Alex Rodriguez, nor do we have any knowledge of any such treatment,” the statement said. “We will continue to monitor the situation.”

Cashman said the Yankees have not had any dealings with Galea. He declined comment on Rodriguez’s situation, saying “I don’t have much to comment off of.”

I doubt that anything will come out of this – in terms of impacting A-Rod. He’s doing the proper thing on cooperating. And, I’m sure he’ll get good counsel on how to answer questions, etc.

Part of me feels that if his name wasn’t “Alex Rodriguez” and if he wasn’t so high profile, A-Rod wouldn’t even get called into this whole thing.

I mean…if Dr. Mark Lindsay, who did A-Rod’s hip surgery, performed surgery on Morty Lipschitz, a 57-year old man from Columbus, Ohio, are the feds going to call Morty in to…because Lindsay has a connection to Galea? I’m guessing “probably not.”

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