Via Joel Sherman the other day –

“We are a championship-caliber-contending team with areas of need that I need to work on,” general manager Brian Cashman said in assessing the first third of the season. “We are going to have to continue to look for ways to improve our pitching.”

“Overall, the pitching is going to be the defining thing for us,” Cashman said. “The pitching has excelled, but it is not wise or prudent to sit back and try not to reinforce and improve on it.”

So, what do you think? Who will the Yankees pick up? Who will they trade to get him? Who on the current staff will get bumped when he is acquired? If you were the GM, what would you do?

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Via Michael S. Schmidt -

Just days before the Yankees headed north from Florida to begin the 2010 season, third baseman Alex Rodriguez sat down for an interview with investigators for Major League Baseball near the team’s spring training complex in Tampa.

The investigators, according to several people briefed on the interview, wanted to question Rodriguez about his ties to a Canadian doctor who said he had treated Rodriguez and who was under investigation by federal authorities in the United States on suspicion of distributing performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes.

In the interview, which lasted several hours, Rodriguez was emphatic: the doctor had treated him but had never given him performance-enhancing drugs.

Fourteen months later, the investigators for baseball still have not accepted those answers as fact and are trying to determine what the doctor, Anthony Galea, might have given Rodriguez, according to several people briefed on the federal investigation.

In recent weeks, the investigators have sought to obtain the medical records Galea kept about his treatment of Rodriguez. To date, they have been unsuccessful despite the fact that Rodriguez has cleared the way for the records to be released, according to two people with knowledge of the request.

Galea, who was indicted in October by a federal grand jury in Buffalo on five charges that alleged he distributed performance-enhancing drugs — including human growth hormone — to professional athletes in the United States, has been in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors in Buffalo for several months, according to several people briefed on the case. The people would not be identified because the dealings between the government and Galea and his lawyers are confidential.

A guilty plea in the case, one that would probably involve Galea’s laying out exactly what he did and did not do for the athletes, could provide baseball with its answers and would probably make clear whether Rodriguez faces any criminal exposure. Rodriguez, according to the people briefed on the case, testified in 2010 before a federal grand jury hearing evidence in the case. It is not clear what his testimony was.

Mark J. Mahoney, Galea’s lawyer in Buffalo, said he knew nothing about baseball’s efforts to gain records of Galea’s treatment of Rodriguez. Galea’s lawyer in Canada, Brian H. Greenspan, did not respond to two e-mails and a voicemail message left at his office on Sunday.

Rodriguez’s lawyers, James E. Sharp and Jay K. Reisinger, issued a statement to The New York Times on Sunday.

“Alex fully cooperated with Major League Baseball and federal authorities in Buffalo regarding his treatment with Dr. Galea, including granting a release of his medical records,” the statement said. “Regarding matters before the grand jury, strict secrecy rules do not permit us to comment.”

Reisinger as a result would not say whether Rodriguez had told the grand jury if he was treated with H.G.H., or even whether Rodriguez had appeared before the grand jury.

I wonder why “the investigators for baseball still have not accepted” A-Rod’s answers on this? Do they think he was lying? The answer has to be yes – or else why would they want more on this? And, if they find out that A-Rod did get HGH from Galea, what would they do? Would they suspend him for 50 games? What would that mean for Alex’s Hall of Fame chances? How would the Yankees react to all this?

It’s amazing that we’re still talking about this – all these months later, huh?

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Via Danny Knobler -

Pete Rose needed 2,370 games to get to 3,000 hits. Derek Jeter, 14 hits away from 3,000, has played in 2,350 games.

Pete Rose had just turned 37 when he got to 3,000 hits. Derek Jeter won’t turn 37 until June 26.

We spend so much time talking about how old Derek Jeter is, how long he should play shortstop and how long he should lead off, and we forget that technically, he’s still ahead of Pete Rose’s pace.

“If there’s one guy who could scare Pete, it’s Derek,” Chipper Jones said over the weekend. “If Derek can play five or so more years, he could definitely scare 4,000.”

Before the Jeter-haters go crazy, this is not a prediction that Jeter is going to beat the Hit King. Rose was a .324 hitter when he got to 3,000; Jeter is at .260 after going 1-for-5 to get to 2,986 hits on Sunday in Anaheim.

But there are more comparisons than you’d think.

Here’s one: Back in 1978, when Rose was chasing 3,000, the Reds considered it very important that he get there at home. Reds manager Sparky Anderson even suggested to reporters that he’d pull Rose from a road game, if necessary.

“I will not allow Pete Rose to do it anywhere but Cincinnati,” Anderson said then. “I would not cheat those people. It’s a must that he do it at home.”

And he did.

Now Jeter and the Yankees come home, for 10 games starting Tuesday against the Red Sox. And now the pressure is on for Jeter to do it at home, too.

Obviously, it’s not impossible that he will. Plenty of times in his career, Jeter has had 14 hits in 10 games.

Obviously, it’s not a given that he will. Jeter hasn’t had 14 hits in any 10-game span this year. And of the 14 players to reach 3,000 since Rose did it, only three — Lou Brock in 1979, George Brett in 1992 and Paul Molitor in 1996 — got the final 14 hits in as few as 10 games.

Rose, for what it’s worth, needed just eight games to go from 2,986 to 3,000.

I remember talking about this in 2005.  Now?  I think there’s no way that Jeter catches Rose.  But, it is fun to wonder if Derek can get hit #3,000 on the Yankees current homestand.  What  do you think?

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Wow. Did anyone see Cano’s homer last night? If not, check out Torrii Hunter’s attempt to catch this homer.

Once again, wow.

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Did anyone see Maicer Izturis’ RBI “single” in the 9th inning of Saturday’s game?

Is it just me, or, is that a ball that an average major league shortstop makes a play on – with little problem – to get the out? (Maybe it was just me, it was late when it happened…)

In any event, maybe it’s time for the Yankees to get a defensive caddy that they can trust – meaning not Eduardo “Death To Flying Things” Nunez – on the roster to sub for Derek Jeter in late and close games? There’s no need to have Luis Ayala, Hector Noesi and Lance Pendleton on the roster at the same time. They’re all garbage time fillers. You don’t need three of them. Do you?

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Via the Times –

When it was disclosed that Bartolo Colon had received a novel stem cell treatment on his ailing elbow and shoulder, Major League Baseball said it would investigate, in part to ensure that Colon had not benefited from any banned substance as part of the medical procedure.

One of the first steps was to obtain and review the medical records of Colon’s treatment, something that did not seem to be difficult because Colon, according to his lawyer, had agreed to release the documentation.

But more than three weeks later, the inquiry by baseball has hardly made any progress: the records from Clínica Unión Médica in Santiago, Dominican Republic, where Colon was treated in the spring of 2010, have yet to be turned over to baseball.

Colon’s lawyer, Jay K. Reisinger, who has represented Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa, said he requested the documents from doctors in the Dominican Republic, using a medical records release in English and Spanish that was signed by Colon. He said he had not received them.

Reisinger said he planned to turn over the records to M.L.B. and the Major League Baseball Players Association.

One doctor involved in the procedure, Leonel Liriano, said he thought that a senior doctor on the medical team that treated Colon, Sergio Guzman, was withholding the records because Colon owes money related to the procedure. Liriano said the records were in Guzman’s possession.

“We have fully cooperated to the best of our ability with M.L.B. and the union,” Reisinger said. “I have not been provided a reason yet as to the delay. But I have been told they will be provided.”

After inquiries by The New York Times on Thursday, Colon’s agent, Mitch Frankel, said Guzman indicated the records would be made available early next week. But there seemed to be significant confusion Friday over the availability of the material.

In an interview, Guzman accused Colon’s representatives of acting irresponsibly and said the records had been sought only by phone and not in writing.

“No medical record would ever be handed over like that,” Guzman said. “Not in the United States and not in the most backwards country in the world.”

He added that he did not have a problem providing a detailed report on the procedure to the lawyer, but not the records.

He said that one condition under which he would release the records to baseball is if the findings of its investigation into the Colon matter were made public. And Guzman suggested that the records were not being withheld because of financial issues involving Colon.

I just realized, if Bartolo becomes famous for this procedure like Tommy John did for his, we could be referring to it as “The Colon Treatment.” Holy High Colonic Batman!

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Via Mark Feinsand –

Hold off on those Cooperstown plans for Gary Sanchez.

The Yankees’ 18-year-old catching prospect was told to leave the team’s Low-A affiliate in Charleston, sent back to Tampa for what one source termed “attitude problems.”

Sanchez, who was listed by Baseball America as the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect behind fellow catcher Jesus Montero before the season, is considered by many to be the Bombers’ best all-around hitting prospect.

Two separate sources confirmed the move, as Sanchez had apparently become a malcontent after getting off to a slow start this season and losing playing time to J.R. Murphy, who has been the team’s best hitter this season. Sanchez, who is hitting .238 with four home runs and 21 RBI in 32 games this season, has apparently grown frustrated with his poor start during his first year in Low-A ball.

Sanchez declined to enter a game as a replacement, then refused to catch a pitcher in the bullpen when asked to do so by a coach, the two incidents apparently prompting his banishment from the club.

Sanchez will take part in extended spring training games until the Yankees decide what to do with him.

In general, if you’re asking an 18-year old to have good judgement, you’re setting yourself up for dissapointment. It’s not the rule – there are some very mature 18-year olds out there. But, again, in general, anything stupid that an 18-year old does should not shock you. Hopefully this is a learning lesson for the kid.

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My son’s Little League team – maybe I should say “our team” since I’m one of the coaches? – took a pounding today.  I lost track of the score but it was around 28-7.  Really, it was that bad.  With the holiday last weekend, we had two weeks between games and no full team practice.  (Five of the kids were able to get together last night for a bit – but, that’s less than half the team.) 

Basically, today, they played like they’ve never played baseball before in their life and they were half-asleep.  Yeah, I know they’re a bunch of seven, eight and nine-year olds.  But, still…the score would have been worse if not for a rule that stops an inning once your team has scored five runs.

So, after this game I’m thinking to myself “It can’t get much worse than that” and then I saw the terrible news about the boy in Arizona.  And, that made me think about the horrible story about the New Jersey boy last year.

This stuff is beyond scary.  Just last weekend, I was practicing with my son – who is seven – in the backyard.  I threw a hardball from maybe fifty feet (thereabouts) and he never got a glove on it – nailed him right in the chest, heart level.  Luckily, because he is little and learning to play, I cookied it over to him with a bit of an arc on it.  But, he still took it full and solid to the chest – and it made him cry.  Of course, I wanted to kick myself after it happened – and was very, very, appreciative of the fact that he was not seriously hurt.  (Ten minutes later, he was fine and running around having fun.)

In any event, I don’t know what is going on these days?  I played Little League in the ’70′s.  I don’t ever remember hearing about kids getting hit in the heart and dying when I played. 

I could understand if these were batted balls causing the harm today - since the bats are more deadly these days.  But, thrown balls?  Are kids throwing harder these days – compared to when I was a kid?  Or, were just better at getting out of the way?  I have no clue.

I just know that having kids die – in any manner – is one of the worst possible things that can happen in the world.  And, it should not happen playing baseball.  Somebody needs to figure out what’s going on and put a stop to it – and fast.

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Since April 25th, the Yankees are 19-18.

Yes, in their last 37 games, they’re just about a .500 ballclub.

How this team is in first place, I dunno?

Well, actually, I do know.

Overall, the Yankees are 31-24 this season. But, they’re 6-0 when playing Baltimore. Take that 6-0 against the terrible O’s out of New York’s record and that makes it 25-24….again, just about a .500 ballclub.

So, does this mean the Yankees will “only” win 90 games this season? At this rate, it wouldn’t shock me if that happens. Heck, I said that a month ago.  The only question I have now is:  Will I be able to say the same thing a month from now?

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Via John Nalbone -

Yankees senior vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman confirmed to The Times this morning that Double-A Trenton Thunder hitting coach Julius Matos has been suspended by the organization for a length of time “to be determined.”

Matos, 36, was ordered away from the Thunder and summoned to the team’s minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., Thursday following a heated altercation with Trenton manager Tony Franklin in the hallway outside the team’s clubhouse in the wake of Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Altoona at Waterfront Park.

“It’s an unfortunate incident, but these things happen from time to time within a club,” Franklin said prior to Friday night’s series opener against New Hampshire. “It’s much like a family where there will be disagreements, but the Yankees took the proper action in doing what they did. We’re trying to get back to baseball, and trying to get back to normalcy. These things are out of the ordinary and we’re troubled by them. I just hope from this day forward that things get a little bit better and work out for everybody, but it’s going to be a long process.”

Matos was ejected from Tuesday’s game in the ninth inning by first base umpire Scott Mahoney after Franklin had already argued with the home plate umpire Shaun Lampe on behalf of shortstop Jose Pirela, who also had been ejected by Lampe.

Upon leaving the dugout Matos threw a bag of baseballs onto the field, which angered Franklin since it is the manager’s responsibility to protest on behalf of his team.

As Matos was waiting to confront one or more of the umpires in the hallway after the game Franklin, 60, entered through the same door and the two men immediately began arguing.

Sources said the confrontation became so heated that an enraged Franklin, who last month was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains, needed to be physically restrained from the much younger Matos, who also served as Franklin’s hitting coach in 2008.

Although the incident never did come to blows, the team closed the Thunder clubhouse to the media after the game. Franklin eventually allowed reporters into his office, but asked that they limit their questions to only the game.

I hope Matos was renting, and didn’t buy, in Trenton.

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Via Jim Benson -

The standard television angle at a baseball game comes from a camera in center field. It shows the pitcher’s back as he delivers to the plate with the batter, catcher and umpire waiting.

More and more, the players aren’t the focal point when watching Major League Baseball telecasts from this standard shot.

It is the box seats behind the plate.

Namely, the empty box seats.

MLB and commish Bud Selig might want to look into technology and see if they can do something to cover up this glaring eyesore. Maybe they can digitally put bodies in those seats or just black them out.

This is really becoming an embarrassment to MLB. Those seats have been priced so high that even fans who don’t have to take out a second mortgage to sit there are taking a pass.

We’re not just talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates or Kansas City Royals, either. Even some of the high-profile teams, such as the New York Yankees, can’t escape having more empty seats than filled ones behind the plate.

Selig won’t tell the teams what to do. Yet he needs to encourage owners to jump back in time — like, say, five years — and make those seats affordable again, even for the rich guys.

It has become apparent this spring that baseball isn’t just pricing itself out of the market with premium seats, but throughout the whole park. The empty seats all over MLB parks can’t be explained by the rainy weather which has plagued the sport in the first two months.

When Wrigley Field isn’t selling out on a regular basis anymore, there is a problem in baseball. It isn’t that the Cubs’ faithful are fed up with the product, although who could blame them.

Baseball is on the verge of losing a generation of fans who don’t mind shelling out big bucks for NFL or NBA games, but aren’t quite willing to do so with 81 home baseball games on the schedule.

I agree with this 100%. And, I am happy to see someone write about this issue. It bothers me, too, every time I see all those empty seats.

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Wow We Stayed Above .500 for the Month?!

Once again, I meant to do this a couple of days ago, but the end of the school year is approaching and things happen.

May Record: (15-14)-(vs TOR, 1-0; @ DET, 1-3; @ TEX, 2-1; vs KC, 1-2; vs BOS, 0-3; @ TB, 1-1; @ BAL, 2-0; vs NYM, 2-1; vs TOR, 2-1; @ SEA, 1-2; @ OAK, 2-0)

Season Standings: New York, Boston (-1), Tampa Bay (-1.5), Toronto (-3), Baltimore (-6)

Team Offense: .762 OPS

The Good

• Mark Teixeira–He is continuing his good 2011 season.  He hit 10 more home runs this month and still got on base at a .351 clip.  His overall OPS for the month is .885.  Hopefully he can follow up his May with a June of a OPS over 1.
• Curtis Granderson–Who thought that Granderson would be the most consistent Yankee in the 2011 season?  Yeah, I didn’t either.  I had hopes, but I didn’t think it would happen.  Regardless, like Teixeira, Granderson also hit 10 home runs in May, but he also managed to bat .298 and get on base .378 of the time.  His OPS for May was 1.016.
• Brett Gardner–He didn’t have the best start to the season, but he has picked it up in May.  He is getting on base at a .379 clip.  His stolen base rate, however, is not really good enough.

The Bad

• Alex Rodriguez–Putting Arod in this section when I have Gardner in the The Good section even though their numbers are shockingly similar probably isn’t fair.  But really, Alex Rodriguez should never have the same numbers as Brett Gardner.  I am also bitter about him dragging down my fantasy team for the month.
• Jorge Posada–I am doubting very much that Posada will be a Yankee in 2012.  It would take a super amazing year for that to happen.  Right now, he once again appears in The Bad section of the team offense.  His .639 wasn’t good.  Also, possibly worse was the temper tantrum he threw–that would rival that of my third grade students who get an assignment they don’t want to complete–at learning he was dropped to 9th in the lineup.  As far as I was concerned, he was damn lucky to be in the lineup.  If it was Andruw Jones or someone similar who did the same thing, I imagine the player would have been designated for assignment the next day.
• Nick Swisher–I thought the Yankees should have traded him in the off season.  I figured, sell him high, get what you can before he comes crashing back to Earth.  Well, he is back at Earth.  He is hanging out with a .671 OPS for the month of May, and a .669 OPS for the season as a whole.   (To be fair, I also said the Yankees should trade him after the 2009 and 2010 seasons, but he continued to be successful.)

The Watch

• Derek Jeter is having a decent month.  He is currently sitting on a hit streak.  He is just 16 hits away from the magical 3,000 number.  I have tickets for June 14.  It would take some hot hitting, but I’m hoping to be present for the day.

Team Pitching: 3.36 ERA

Wow, I think I discovered how the Yankees managed to stay above .500 for the month of May despite their putrid play.

The Good:

• Bartolo Colon–The best find of the off season?  When you factor in expectations? 4 out of 6 starts from Colon in May were at least Quality Starts.  His record for the month was only 1-2, but that was due to the lack of offense and/or bullpen behind him.  I will take a 3.57 ERA out of him every time.
• David Robertson–0.75. 0.75. Yeah.  David Robertson posted a 0.75 ERA for the month of May.  He is also striking out nearly twice as many people as innings pitched.  If there is one complaint about Robertson, is that he is also walking nearly 1 batter per inning pitched as well.
• Mariano Rivera–I wasn’t really sure if I should put him here or not.  On one hand, he posted a 2.08 ERA, but on the other hand, he also had a blown save and a loss during an extra innings game.
• Joba Chamberlain–Joba also posted a 2.08 ERA, and didn’t relinquish a lead once.  I am also liking his control this year.  Hopefully he can continue this for the remainder of the year.

The Bad

• uhh….I got nothing.  Normally I would have at least one pitcher with an ERA of about 4.50 who I could shove in this category, but all of the major players on the Yankee pitching staff don’t even break four.  Well, Burnett has a 4.05 ERA for May, but I hardly think that counts as bad.

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Donnie Collins wonders about Andrew Brackman. It’s a great read.

What to do with the Yankees 1st round pick from 2007?  Well, you can’t get your $4.55 million back, that’s for sure.

Maybe Brackman can team up with Kei Igawa and the two of them can take up magic and do Penn & Teller tricks? I’m sure they would be swell at festive events. Maybe they could even perform at Brian Cashman’s farewell party?

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Via the Daily News –

Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and Hollywood starlet Cameron Diaz have split up, according to reports.

The celebrity couple has allegedly parted ways just one month after the actress spoke publicly about their relationship for the first time.

“They’ve broken up,” a source told Perez Hilton’s website fitperez.com.

“[Cameron is] hurt and betrayed, because she tried so hard to please him. … She went overboard.”

Diaz, 38, and the baseball ace, 35, started dating last year and have been increasingly spotted publicly. At the Super Bowl this year, Diaz fed A-Rod popcorn, and the actress showed up at spring training in Tampa.

She confirmed that A-Rod was her boyfriend in the U.K.’s Elle magazine and said their love affair was “not a secret any more.”

The movie star also met A-Rod’s two children – Natasha, six, and Ella, three – and reportedly moved to Miami to be closer to him.

Yuri Sucart could not be reached for comment.

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2011 is…

The 10th anniversary of the 2001 A.L. Champion Yankees.
The 15th anniversary of the 1996 World Champion Yankees.
The 30th anniversary of the 1981 A.L. Champion Yankees.
The 35th anniversary of the 1976 A.L. Champion Yankees.
The 50th anniversary of the 1961 World Champion Yankees.
The 55th anniversary of the 1956 World Champion Yankees.
The 60th anniversary of the 1951 World Champion Yankees.
The 70th anniversary of the 1941 World Champion Yankees.
The 75th anniversary of the 1936 World Champion Yankees.
The 85th anniversary of the 1926 A.L. Champion Yankees.
The 90th anniversary of the 1921 A.L. Champion Yankees.

Imagine being someone like Mitch Miller…if he was a baseball fan…and he may have been, I dunno…he got to see all these Yankees team play!

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Good read on these two from Neil Best.

H/T to Mike Silva.

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Via Marc Topkin a month ago -

Now that that draft is out of the way — no offense to Mssrs. Clayborn, Bowers, Foster or any other future Buc — it’s time to focus on the one that could shape a Tampa Bay franchise for a decade to come.

With 10 of the first 60 picks in the June draft and 12 of the first 89 (all by the end of the second round) — a result of the free-agent exodus from the Rays, looming changes to the draft process and one of the deepest talent pools in years — the Rays have an unprecedented opportunity to stock their organization with the potential impact players that are vital to their chances to compete.

And, with five weeks to go before the June 6-8 draft, they are in the midst of a massive scouting effort to take maximum advantage of their opportunities.

“Because of our revenues and the competition we face, the amateur draft is arguably more important to us than to any other club, and this year’s draft is easily the most important in our history,” executive VP Andrew Friedman said. “The number of high picks we have is literally unprecedented. It’s a tremendous opportunity for us, and we’re devoting more energy and resources to the process than we ever have.”

The only previous team with close to the number of early picks the Rays have is the 1990 Expos, who had 11 of the first 84. They ended up with seven big-leaguers, though only one real standout, OF Rondell White. Their other picks included INF Shane Andrews and LHPs Chris Haney and Gabe White.

The Rays are looking — and willing to spend the requisite millions — to do better and are considering myriad possibilities. “We’re not locked into any one specific profile, and we’re keeping an open mind in getting as many looks as possible at the top talent in the country,” Friedman said.

“Every pick is its own opportunity, and we’re going to look for the best talent that we can each time it’s our turn. Our goal is to come away from the first two rounds with 12 players who can be significant contributors in the American League East.”

I mentioned this four months ago. This is going to be interesting to watch. The Rays are smart. But, money will be an issue for them – at least I think it will be? If Tampa decides to say the heck with it, and takes the best player at each slot, regardless of the potential signing cost, this draft could be something that we Yankees fans will have to live with for much of the next ten years.

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Via Mark Feinsand -

Derek Jeter isn’t feeling the pressure yet as he pursues his 3,000th hit, but that could change in the next two weeks.

The captain acknowledged this week that the pressure to record the milestone at Yankee Stadium would probably be the most intense aspect of the chase, especially as the Yankees’ next home stand winds down in the middle of this month.

“That’ll probably be the only pressure thing, to try to do it at home,” Jeter said. “I know we go to Anaheim next. Then we go home. When you get closer, maybe, but we’re still a long ways away.”

Jeter enters this weekend’s series against the Angels with 2,984 hits, having opened the road trip 8-for-24 against the Mariners and A’s to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

Jeter is averaging 1.11 hits per game this season, putting the projected date for No. 3,000 at June 18 in Chicago against the Cubs.

But when you look at his recent performance and not his slow start in April, Jeter is averaging 1.25 hits per game since May 2, a pace that moves the projected date for No. 3,000 up to June 16 against the Rangers – the final game of the Yankees’ 10-game home stand.

Back on May 4th, I said it will happen on June 18th. And, I’m sticking with that.

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Via Pete Caldera -

Yankees GM Brian Cashman is satisfied that none of the Yankees’ rules have been violated with regard to Alex Rodriguez’s cousin, Yuri Sucart, who was spotted at the club’s hotel.

Sucart was involved, by Rodriguez’s admission, in acquiring the performance-enhancing drugs that Rodriguez used during his days as a Texas Ranger from 2001-03.

According to Cashman, an MLB probe has cleared Rodriguez of any wrongdoing by associating with Sucart, who is not allowed on Yankee property. What occurs in a public place is simply “walk-of-life’’ stuff, Cashman said Thursday.

“He’s not allowed in any of our facilities, period. That’s team areas, buses, non-public areas of the stadium. That’s all,” Cashman said. “In terms of every day, walk-of-life stuff, we don’t control that.”

Cashman has not spoken with A-Rod, and the GM does not consider the matter to be anything of note. The Daily News first reported Sucart’s presence in San Francisco, where the club stayed this week.

“Mistakes have been made in the past and admitted and everybody moves forward,” Cashman said. “(Sucart) will be Alex’s cousin for life. I’ve never met the man, our paths have never crossed.

“I just know our areas have not been compromised.”

Looks like Cashman and the Yankees consider this to be all to be petting outside of the Yankees panties with zero penetration.

I can just hear John Sterling now: It’s a dry hump, from A-Rod’s chump!

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Via Mark Feinsand -

Major League Baseball is once again investigating Alex Rodriguez’s relationship with the cousin he admitted two years ago was his steroid mule.

According to a team source, Rodriguez’s cousin, Yuri Sucart, is again traveling with Rodriguez on some road trips, despite being banned by the Yankees from any team-related function or facility. That edict followed A-Rod’s 2009 claim that Sucart provided and injected him with performance-enhancing drugs. Sucart, wearing a Yankee hooded sweatshirt, was spotted at the team’s St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco Tuesday night after the middle game of the Bombers’ series with Oakland. The source also said Sucart has accompanied A-Rod on road trips this year and even last season.

Sucart was spotted chauffeuring A-Rod around in spring training in ’09, prompting the Yankees to ban Sucart from team flights, buses and in restricted areas at stadiums and spring training sites.

“We have been in contact with the Yankees about this matter,” Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive VP of labor relations, told the Daily News Wednesday. “We are looking into it.”

Major League Baseball instituted its own ban of personal trainers and non-team employees before the 2003 season – in part as a security measure in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and in part because clubhouses were rife with personal trainers and hangers-on. The ban does not extend to team hotels nor does it prevent people such as Sucart from purchasing a ticket to a game and watching as a spectator.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman would not comment on the matter when reached at his Stadium office Wednesday.

A-Rod needs a “go-fer.” I get that – especially in today’s paparazzi times. Heck, this is nothing new, actually. Even Dracula needed Reinfeld.

And, A-Rod wants to help his primo by giving him a job – especially after Alex threw him under the bus with the Selena Roberts thing. I get that too.

But, dude, buy your cousin a frozen banana stand on the boardwalk so that he can pay his bills. And, hire someone else to be your butler. This move, of using Yuri Sucart, is just plain stupid.

And, it’s, once again, A-Rod thinking that he’s so big that the rules don’t apply to him – even when the rules were written for him. Gosh, I will celebrate the day this hiney-clown is no longer a member of the New York Yankees.

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Something is up. Check out this screen shot taken just a few minutes ago – click on the image to enlarge:

Interesting, when you follow the URLs:

http://twitter.com/russellmartin55/statuses/76027102633275392

http://twitter.com/russellmartin55/statuses/76026908629942272

It says the pages don’t exist.

I bet that Martin has someone posting to his Twitter account for him – and then that person realized it’s not a great idea to have tweets time-stamped with the time that Martin is playing in a game, and, then, they deleted the posts. There’s no way Martin made these tweets while he was running the bases. Just goes to show…don’t think that the celeb tweeter is really saying what they’re tweeting. Sometimes it’s somebody else pulling a Cyrano de Bergerac.

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Gary Carter was the first Mets player that I ever hated. He was just too “red light” for me – more so that Curt Schilling at his worst, although, not at the Nick Swisher level has been lately. For the 11 years before that, the Mets and their players were just a team to root against and/or laugh at (when you could).  Carter was the one who brought the rivalry to another level for me.

Of course, as I matured, I learned to appreciate Carter’s career. I’ve always had a soft-spot for catchers.

But, when he was in his hey-day with the Mets, I just hated Gary Carter – as I suspect other Yankees fans did as well.

However, today, I am just sick to my stomach to hear the sad news of Carter’s condition.  This is something that no one should have to go through – ever. 

I know that’s how life works.  Terrible things happen to people, good and bad folks, and there’s nothing we can do about it.  But, it still sucks.

Funny, as a “thought I knew it all 22-year old,” when I saw Gary Carter playing in Queens, I would tell my Mets fans friends “He sucks!”  And, now, all I can think about his how much this “sucks” for him.   I guess times change, huh? 

In a way, for Carter’s sake, I wish I could go back in time – with him in his prime, playing for the Mets, and me thinking he sucked.  That’s a lot better than what he has to deal with now.  I really, truly, feel terrible about his news.  Again, this just sucks.

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