First, start with this list -

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And, then, sort it by Fielding Runs/Game and you get this leader board:

Hmmm…

Are we looking at two of the best fielding CF, ever, today, in Peter Bourjos and Austin Jackson?

Well, they’re on pace for that distinction, for sure. And, yes, Paul Blair could go get ‘em with anybody…

Does the Yankees captain need some P90X DVDs for  Christmas? Via the Post -

The ankle we knew about. The gut, not so much.

Derek Jeter was spotted at a hotel on South Beach in Miami yesterday wearing a walking boot to protect the left ankle he broke in the playoffs last season. Yet the 38-year-old Jeter also seemed to be carrying another burden — some extra weight hanging from the Yankees shortstop’s normally fit frame.

According to general manager Brian Cashman, Jeter has been in a non-weight bearing situation and will continue to be until January. That means if he has been able to work out at all, it has been limited to upper body because he can’t put any weight on his left foot.

Jeter has also been seen at the team’s minor league complex in Tampa a couple times this offseason, but not on a regular basis. It’s unknown if he has been there for treatment, workouts or something else.

I dunno…

Looks like he’s wearing a loose T-shirt, out, on a windy day. But, maybe he has gained ten pounds or so since his injury, given that it’s not allowing him to workout? I guess we’ll have to wait for him to appear in Central Park with his shirt off, just to be sure…

The Mets are giving David Wright a $122 million seven year extension. And, the Yankees resigned Mo Rivera for one year at $10 million (plus incentives).

I think the Yankees are making a mistake to count on Rivera to close games in 2013. Yes, he’s a very special pitcher – one of the most unique in baseball history. But, given his age and the fact that he’s coming off a major injury, there’s a lot of risk there. It would not shock me to see Mariano pitch well, when he’s out there – but, also spend significant periods of time on the disabled list next season. Then again, the Yankees probably think they have insurance with David Aardsma – knowing how Brian Cashman operates.

The Wright deal with the Mets is interesting. What are the odds that he finishes all of those years in Flushing? There’s never been a “star” Mets player to spend his entire career with the team, has there? Can David be the first one?

The details.

Alex Meyer can bring it.

Seems like a good trade for both teams.

There’s something about the name Dick McAuliffe. As a kid, in the 1970′s, I always remember seeing on the back of his baseball card that he tied a major league record by going the whole season with grounding into a double play. And, for some reason, that made his name stick with me. He’s 73-years old today. That’s old enough to be my dad…and I am old enough to be someone’s grandfather…if I had a kid at 25 and then they had a kid at 25 as well…

Happy Birthday Dick. And, here’s a fun compare:

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Bernie’s in there.

Here’s one way to slice it -

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The deal.

Do they realize he’s not that much better than the guy they once had and got rid of?

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Two really good reads on this today: Tyler Kepner and Peter Abraham.

There really seems to be two camps forming on this matter…

Well, at least a few teams are willing to give him a multi-year deal.

Me?  I wouldn’t do it.

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Via ESPN on November 2nd:

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Ryan Adams was suspended Friday for the first 25 games of next season after testing positive for a banned amphetamine.

The 25-year-old Adams played in 29 big league games for the Orioles in 2011 and spent most of last season with Triple-A Norfolk. He was on Baltimore’s 40-man roster at the time of the test.

Adams was assigned outright on Sept. 14 to Norfolk, where he hit .224 with four homers, 18 doubles and 20 RBIs in 65 games this year. He was an All-Star two years ago in the Double-A Eastern League.

Since infielder Neifi Perez was suspended twice and outfielder Mike Cameron once for banned stimulants in 2007, the only major league player other than Adams penalized for a stimulant violation was Milwaukee pitcher Mark Rogers in August 2011.

And, now Adams has company. Via Philly.com -

Carlos Ruiz, the Phillies’ all-star catcher and most productive hitter in 2012, was suspended for 25 games Tuesday by Major League Baseball for a violation of its performance-enhancing drug policy.

According to two league sources, Ruiz tested positive for Adderall, an amphetamine commonly used to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Adderall is classified as a banned stimulant – not a steroid – under MLB’s policy. The suspension was triggered by Ruiz’s second positive test for the stimulant.

The Phillies will be without Ruiz until April 28, when he can make his season debut in New York against the Mets. Ruiz will be allowed to fully participate during spring training and could spend April playing in extended spring games. He will forfeit roughly $750,000 in salary during the suspension.

And, I suspect that Ruiz will have some company sooner rather than later. Anyone who thinks that players are not using this stuff, still, is ignoring the nature of these guys – always looking for an edge.

Separated at birth?  If not, certainly joined in terms of Cooperstown-worthy merits:

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He passed away today at the age of 95.

Say what you want about his inclusion in Cooperstown, or not.  But, you cannot say that he didn’t have a huge impact on the game of professional baseball.

Andy Pettitte could join this club in 2013:

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The skinny.

Andy Pettitte is one of my all-time favorite Yankees. And, I have no question in my mind regarding his ability to face and handle major league hitters. But, he will be 41-years old next season. And, the last time he pitched more than 130 innings in a big league season was 2009. Therefore, I think it’s a mistake to count on him to be your #3 starter in your rotation.

The story.

This would be a fascinating trade, if it happens.

Imagine if the Yankees traded Andy Pettitte to the Rays for Josh Hamilton back in November of 2000.

No, that was not a rumored deal, at the time.

More so, that’s what a Lester-Myers deal would have been like – had it happened back then instead of now.

Joe Pos has a nice feature running on Frank White.

How cool would it be if the following (below) all played on the same team at the same time?

Ernie White
Sammy White
Bill White
Frank White
Roy White
Devon White
Rondell White
Jerry White

It’s open mic night in this comments section.

Don’t forget to tip your waitress!

Sparky steps down.

Via Ben Shapiro -

For years, Paul O’Neill was the New York Yankee who Boston Red Sox fans loved to hate.

O’Neil hasn’t played in pinstripes since the end of the 2001 season, and Red Sox fans have found plenty Yankees to dislike in the meantime.

Since 2009, Nick Swisher has been one of the least popular Yankees in Boston — a large feat considering how little love Red Sox fans have for all who wear pinstripes.

That might make it a little odd to think about the very real possibility that Swisher could wear a Red Sox uniform next season. According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, the Red Sox have been engaged in on-going talks with Swisher and his agents.

The Red Sox need at least one outfielder. Even after signing Jonny Gomes, the Red Sox are still light in the outfield.

Swisher possesses some qualities on which the Red Sox place a priority.

He’s a 32-year old switch hitter who can play either the outfield (normally right field) or first base. He has hit 20 or more home runs for nine seasons in a row. Swisher has an unimpressive career .256 batting average, but that is offset by a very respectable career on-base percentage of .361.

Swisher is not popular among Red Sox nation right now, but odds are that he’d be a fairly productive player in Boston

He might even make Red Sox fans forget about his pinstriped past.

Swisher would be the perfect Masshole, in the model of Millar, Schilling and the others before them…

So, who had the better big league career?

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Too close to call?

Batters with seasons where they had at least 130 walks:

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Is it safe to say that Ruth, Bonds and Williams were the most feared batters in baseball history?

Is it safe to assume that:

Jets = Mets
and
Giants = Yankees?

Chuck Finley turns 50 today.

Jamie Moyer turned 50 about a week ago.

Think about that when you consider that Moyer pitched in the major leagues this past season.

The New York Yankees CC Sabathia and the New York Mets Ike Davis will be honored at the 33rd Annual Thurman Munson Awards Dinner on Tuesday night, February 5, 2013, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City, it was announced by the AHRC New York City Foundation.

Diana Munson, Thurman’s widow, will attend her 33rd straight benefit, having been involved since its inception, raising nearly $12 million to assist children and adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Thurman Munson Awards are presented for success on the fields of play and philanthropic works off the field.

For tickets and information on the Munson Awards Dinner call 212-249-6188.

Via Richard Sandomir -

Fear not, Yankees fans: the YES Network’s Yankees propaganda will continue even if News Corporation increases its ownership stake in the channel from 49 percent, which it agreed to purchase Tuesday, to as much as 80 percent in three years.

The deal cedes to the Yankees continued control of pinstripe content even if the team owns as little as 20 percent.

And why would Fox Sports, the division of News Corporation that owns 19 regional sports networks, want to alter YES’s Yankees propaganda formula? It has served YES so well that it will be valued at $3.8 billion if News Corporation buys majority control. Carrying the Nets did not make YES valuable. It’s about Yankees games; the pre- and postgame shows; the “Yankeeography” series and replays of games; and the “Yankee Classics,” in which the Yankees never lose. (They have lost classic games, but YES does not show them.)

Earlier this year, when YES was celebrating its 10th anniversary, I talked to Randy Levine, the Yankees’ president, and Tracy Dolgin, who runs YES, about the unashamedly pro-Yankees slant of the network’s announcers and the absence of a news operation like the one on SNY. “We tell our people if you want to be bipartisan and fair, don’t work for YES,” Levine said.

As for carrying a nightly news show, like SNY’s “SportsNite,” Dolgin said: “News is a loser. If you want news, watch ESPN.”

Fox will, of course, bring some of its programming to YES. That was one reason to make the deal. It needs a New York outpost, especially as it starts a national sports network that is, for now, called Fox Sports 1. But tinker with the propaganda? Never.

The Yankees, clearly, with this approach, feel that their faithful are a bunch of fanboys who crave nothing but pro-Yankees pablum. And, I find that to be very insulting.

If there was only specific one thing that the Yankees could do, between now and the start of Spring Training, what would you want it to be and why?

Sam West died today back in 1985 at the age of 81.

Who was Sam West? He’s a baseball player that few speak about today.

He was good enough to play in the first ever All-Star game. (He came into the game replacing Babe Ruth!)

Here’s some more on him:

West had a 16-year major league career as an outfielder, and was named to the All Star team four times. Virtually all his career was spent with the Washington Senators and the St. Louis Browns, with his last season spent with the 1942 Chicago White Sox. West enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on October 31, 1942, effectively ending his playing career.

He never once played on a pennant winner. Although he played 10 seasons for the Senators, from 1927-32 and 1938-41, they had traded him after the 1932 season to the Browns in a trade that brought Goose Goslin to Washington, so he missed the 1933 Washington Senators team that went to the 1933 World Series.

West’s lifetime batting average was .299, and he had a .371 on-base percentage. In 1931, when he hit .333, he was 9th in the MVP voting.

It’s really a shame that players like West get swallowed up by baseball history and almost become forgotten by the general baseball fan public.

The story.

It’s interesting that you don’t hear much buzz about where Ichiro is going to play next year.

Then again, he’s not alone. I don’t see a lot of rumors regarding teams having an interest in Rafael Soriano either…