I just turned on the MLB Network and saw Tom Verducci talking about this in a Breaking News segment…

My thanks to those who left comments here in other entries, also alerting me of this…

Here’s the scoop from SI.com -

In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez’s name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball’s ’03 survey testing, SI’s sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. “You’ll have to talk to the union,” said Rodriguez, the Yankees’ third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, “I’m not saying anything.”

Phone messages left by SI for players’ union executive director Donald Fehr were not returned.

Wow. If true, Jose Canseco was right again. And, all of a sudden, the Joe Torre book doesn’t seem like the biggest news in Yankeeland any more…

Update, 12 noon EST, 2/7/09: How many times do you think this video clip will be replayed in the next 24 hours?

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More on Joba’s wild night out – via the Daily News:

Yankees star Joba Chamberlain downed vodka-and-sodas and caroused at a Nebraska strip club in the hours before he was busted for drunken driving, the Daily News has learned.

The 23-year-old pitcher went drinking at a bar in downtown Lincoln and then capped off his Friday night at a local jiggle joint, where he got into a tiff with another customer over the rival Red Sox, witnesses said.

Chamberlain – who had a blood-alcohol level more than 1-1/2 times Nebraska’s legal limit when he was nabbed – was heckled as he and friends watched the dancers at the Night Before Lounge, witnesses said.

“Some guy yelled out, ‘If you played for the Red Sox, you wouldn’t be sitting here,’” clubgoer Gary (Bo) Bohaty said.

Boston was knocked out of the playoffs Sunday night.

“That got a rise out of him,” said Bohaty, owner of the Beacon Lounge, a bar next to the strip club. “[Joba] turned his head and said, ‘What did you say?’ and the guy yelled it out again.”

As Chamberlain kept shouting back, one of the pitcher’s friends got into a shoving match with the heckler, said the club’s manager, who asked not to be identified.

Once order was restored, Chamberlain and his five friends stared at the gyrating dancers for nearly 90 minutes before leaving just after midnight. Chamberlain paid the $145 tab and left a $100 tip at the club, where the cover charge is $3, the manager said.

His estranged mother, Jacqueline Standley, has said her struggle with alcohol and drugs led her son to be raised mostly by his wheelchair-bound father.

The father snapped at reporters outside his home yesterday.

“Please get off my property,” said Harlan Chamberlain, who then pointed to a woman in a neighboring driveway. “If she got a DUI, would it be a story?”

Harlan, who seems to enjoy all the media coverage that he gets at Yankee Stadium, etc., has to learn that the media is a two-way street. Well, at the least, he’s learning it now…

As far as Joba, hey, he’s not the only ballplayer to hang out in nudie bars…but, the DUI thing is still inexcusable. Dude, call a cab. I’m sure they have car service places in Lincoln, Nebraska, don’t they?

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Via the AP -

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain has been arrested for allegedly driving under the influence, speeding and having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle.

Deborah Collins is a spokeswoman for the Nebraska State Patrol.

She says Chamberlain was stopped for speeding on U.S. 77 near his hometown of Lincoln at about 1 a.m. on Saturday.

Collins says Chamberlain was taken to the Cornhusker Place Detox in Lincoln, which she says is the normal protocol.

Chamberlain was lodged at the center on charges of driving under the influence, having an open container of alcohol and speeding.

Collins says the county attorney likely would file formal charges on Monday.

An e-mail sent to Chamberlain’s agent Saturday was not immediately returned.

As I have mentioned before, DUI is a terrible, terrible, crime – in my opinion. It’s inexcusable.

The first thing that came to my mind when I heard this was Jim Leyritz. Chamberlain is lucky he’s not in that type of situation right now.

Maybe the Yankees should set up a session for Joba to meet Matthew Wasser’s parents this off-season – so that Chamberlain can hear from someone close to it just how terrible a choice of DUI can be?

Chamberlain is young and he can learn from this incident. Hopefully, he will learn from it. But, until he proves that he has learned from it, his status as a guy who “gets it” has to be moved down – several pegs.

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In the end, the Yankees finished 6 games behind the Boston Red Sox this season – and six games back from being the A.L. Wildcard team.

On the season, the Yankees went 51-46 when playing “winning teams” (meaning they had a winning percentage >=.500) and 38-27 when playing “losing teams” (meaning they had a winning percentage <.500).

It was New York's play against "losing teams" that hurt them in the standings this year - as Boston went 46-18 against "losing teams" and Tampa Bay went 42-19 against "losing teams." The difference here between New York, Tampa and Boston is why the Yankees finished where they did in the standings.

In total, when the Yankees played the Reds, Pirates, Indians, Tigers, Royals, and Rangers this year, they went 15-21. And, those are ‘bad’ teams. If you want to say that those 7 games under .500 against these ‘bad’ teams is the difference between the Rays, Bosox and Yanks this season, I would not fight you on it.

In particular, from June 6, 2008 through July 10, 2008, the Yankees lost six games to the Royals, Reds, Rangers and Pirates that they should have never lost. Here are the games – and the player on the Yankees who probably had the biggest hand in that loss:

June 6th vs. The Royals – Goat: Johnny Damon

June 9th vs. The Royals – Goat: Melky Cabrera

June 20th vs. The Reds – Goat: Jason Giambi

June 30th vs. The Rangers – Goat: Jorge Posada

July 1st vs. The Rangers – Goat: Melky Cabrera

July 10th at The Pirates – Goat: Alex Rodriguez

Damon…Melky…Giambi…Posada…and A-Rod. Hey, what can you say? It was a team effort, right?

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The Yankees version of Mortimer and Randolph Duke – and, yes, this would make Brian Cashman to be Louis Winthorpe – reached a low-point to me with this one. Via the Post -

The Red Sox fan who paid $175,100 for the tattered David Ortiz jersey buried in the foundation of the new Yankee Stadium had the best seats in the house at last night’s game: The Boss’ box.

Massachusetts car dealer Kevin Meehan rooted for the hated Sox from the Steinbrenner box after snapping up the luxe seats in a charity auction. Boston won 7-3.

He bought the seats months before the jersey was found buried in two feet of freshly laid concrete.

“I suppose I could have worn the shirt, but it would have caused a bloodbath,” Meehan said. But he called his first ever trip to the Stadium “a great experience,” adding, “Everyone was really friendly.”

The Ortiz jersey was jackhammered out of the concrete in April after Sox-loving Bronx hardhat Gino Castignoli buried it behind home plate in an effort to curse the Yanks. Proceeds from its sale went to a cancer-research charity.

Com’on guys – just leave the box empty, rather than sell it to a Sox fan, if you can’t be there. And, if you want to give money to charity, then just reach into your pocket and do it that way. You still get the write-off.

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Via the Daily News -

“He’s not the villain he’s cast as,” Cashman, who signed Pavano to the contract, said Monday. “Carl Pavano has worked his butt off. He’s always tried. He just hasn’t stayed healthy. No one is trying to avoid him. When he’s healthy, he can pitch. He’s one of the hardest workers we’ve got. People don’t want to realize it or look at it, but that’s true.

“He hasn’t laid down on us, he just hasn’t been healthy. People lose their objectivity and make it things it’s not. The bottom line is, he’s had every intention of helping us, but between all the injuries, we’ve had a lot of stuff that hasn’t worked physically. When he’s healthy, he can do what few can do.”

Yeah, that’s Carl – he’s all about helping the team.

Great quote here Cash. It’s an insult to the intelligence of Yankees fans around the world. But, it’s an instant classic in the making.

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The Yankees had the 28th, 44th and 75th overall selections in the draft this year.

What happens? With the 28th pick, they take a kid, Gerrit Cole who will not sign. With the 44th pick, they take a kid that many feel was an “over-draft” – Jeremy Bleich. And, with the 75th pick they take a kid, Scott Bittle, with a bad shoulder.

As a result, in the end, the Yankees only sign one of their first three picks in the 2008 draft – and it was the one who was an “over-draft” – Jeremy Bleich.

Basically, the Yankees threw away two of the first 75 picks in this draft because of bad decisions on who to pick. They didn’t do their homework in terms of sign-ability and health.

Sure, they get some extra picks next draft as a result of the “no signs.” But, they also miss the chance to have some premium talent mature in their system over the next year.

Great job here by “Ca$h-money!,” huh?

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Have you seen the post-game quotes from Ian Kennedy on his effort last night? Mark Feinsand and Cliff Corcoran were right on them. The ones that stand out to me, from “IPK.”

“It’s the first bad outing I’ve had in a long time. I’m not going to look much into it. I felt like I made some good pitches. Yeah, I got the leadoff hitter on quite a bit, but got out of it in the second inning. I’m not too upset about it. . . . Even on their singles, like, what, ground balls? So, that’s not a big deal.”

“A bunch of singles and three doubles or so. I’m just not real upset about it. I’m just going to move on. I’ve already done that.”

Well, now we know why the Yankees were so slow to call up Kennedy – despite the fact that he was beating up on weak Triple-A hitters. When you hear comments like these, it’s clear that he’s a horse’s patootie in terms of his attitude.

If I’m the Yankees, and I’m hearing this, I send him right back down to the minors – now.

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Via the Post -

Alex Rodriguez has no problem doling out dough for fancy toys and stripper gal pals – but when it comes to his two nonprofits for needy kids, he forked over little more than a measly $50,000 for the last complete year of giving, tax records reveal.

(more…)

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Well, while the 2004 Varitek fight and following ALCS may have been a bust for Alex Rodriguez, it seems that wasn’t the only bust that he was working in Boston that year…via the Boston Herald:

The most wanted woman in Massachusetts is Candice Houlihan – the ex-stripper from Reading who had a two-night fling with Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.

The dancer-turned-hairdresser is being pursued by ABC’s “Good Morning America,” FOX News, “Inside Edition,” a pack of photo agencies including Splash News, “Access Hollywood” and Us magazine.

Not to mention attorneys for Cynthia Rodriguez, who sued her All-Star hubby for divorce Monday alleging “extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct.”

Houlihan told the Track that she had a two-night stand with the Bronx Bombers’ hot cornerman after meeting him at Fenway Park in 2004. C-Rod was pregnant with their first child at the time.

The former Centerfolds pole princess said she and A-Rod had sex at his Ritz-Carlton hotel room the July 2004 night he got into an on-the-field brawl with Jason Varitek. They hooked up again during that season’s American League Championship Series.

Why do I feel that Ms. Houlihan is not going to be the first and last A-Rod “friend” to come out of the woodwork in the days, weeks, and months to follow?

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Via the Daily News -

Pop icon Madonna is using kabbalah to brainwash Yankee star Alex Rodriguez into believing they are “soulmates,” the ballplayer’s estranged wife is telling friends.

Cynthia Rodriguez, who has bolted to rocker Lenny Kravitz’s Paris pad to avoid the limelight, is blaming the Material Girl for breaking up her five-year marriage, a close friend told the Daily News. The 34-year-old stunner has revealed to close confidants that she discovered a note her husband wrote professing his true feelings to Madonna.

“I believe he was having an affair with Madonna,” she told a friend, who spoke anonymously for fear of angering A-Rod. “She said she found a letter where Alex told Madonna: ‘You are my true soulmate.’”

[Cynthia] has privately insisted to pals that the “Hard Candy” singer beguiled A-Rod by introducing him to the mystical Jewish teachings of kabbalah.

“I feel like Madonna is using mind control over him,” Cynthia Rodriguez told the friend. “I don’t recognize the man he’s become. He was a sweet, beautiful, loving husband and father. Today he’s very cold and calculating.”

The Bombers’ $275 million third baseman upset his wife in April by showing up 10 minutes after she gave birth to their daughter, Ella Alexander. He only exacerbated her hurt feelings by spending only a day with her and their newborn before rejoining the Yankees.

“This all started with kabbalah,” said the friend. “Alex told Cynthia that he’d discovered that he’d been looking for his soul mate. And now, he said, he’d found her.”

Three weeks after the birth of their daughter Ella, A-Rod dropped a knee-wobbling bomb on his wife, the friend said. Alex “came to Cynthia and claimed their marriage was over,” the friend said. “That was news to her. She’d had no clue. She said, ‘I was devastated,’” the friend said. “I’ve been with him for 13 years,” she told her friend. “I stood beside him through all his struggles.”

Alex’s response to all this was: “Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball – I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Madonna to come, take fear from bats. I offer her cigar, rum.”

Seriously, what a mess. The “A-Rod Big Apple Circus” lives on…

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Great, just what this Yankees season needs…a storyline that reads like something out of a movie from 1969. Via Newsday:

A-Rod may have made one too many errors — in his marriage, that is.

While Rodriguez deals with accusations that he’s been cavorting with Madonna, now comes the news out of left field that his wife Cynthia has fled to Paris for a romantic fling with rocker Lenny Kravitz.

According to reports, Cynthia left her two children, the youngest just 3½ months old, back at their Miami home before flying to Paris.

The wild rumor, first reported by perezhilton.com Wednesday, is particularly odd because Madonna and Kravitz used to be an item. The two go back to 1990, the year they first became an item and wrote Madonna’s hit “Justify My Love” together.

Hey, look, this stuff comes with the territory. Go read “The Big Bam.” As great as Babe Ruth was on the field, the Yankees had to deal with all the off-the-field stuff that came with the Bambino too. This is what happens with the biggest star, highest paid player, etc. – especially when he’s a bit of a “playa.”

Still, it’s terrible timing on all this. If the Red Sox coming to town isn’t reason enough for ESPN (and the like) to be all over the Yankees like hair on soap, this just makes it worse. Sure, A-Rod’s been down this road before – with the Joslyn Morse thing, his wife’s choice of T-shirts, and the second Canseco book – and has been able to “no comment” his way out of it. But, this time might be different.

And, there’s a difference between the days of Ruth and now. The media protected players, to an extent, back then on affairs and stuff…heck, the media almost agreed in 1973 to not bring up the whole Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich thing because it was ‘not baseball related’…however, these days, ESPN (and others) live for a chance to play up these stories.

Get ready to hear a lot more on this one.

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Jack Curry reports that the Yankees are upset over the fact that David Ortiz has been selected to be the main man in the “Call Your Shot promotion” at this year’s All-Star Game (to be held at Yankee Stadium).

The New York brass would be smart to drop this one. There’s no way they’re going to look good having a hissy fit over this promotion. It’s just chum for the Yankees-bashers, if you ask me.

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Considering that their parent franchise is heck-bent on honoring the past and following tradition, this was a pretty bad move, in my opinion, by the Triple-A Yanks. Betemit was only there for a rehab stint. Did it really matter if he was assigned the same number as the one he wears in New York? If he wore #99 while down there, would it have really mattered?

Via Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times Tribune:

Did anyone else notice that Wilson Betemit wore number 14 on his uniform during his brief rehab stint with the local Yankees last week? And that sound you just heard was the last breath getting kicked out of the Red Barons.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pay close attention to uniform numbers — and it’s possible that 14 has been worn by a countless number of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees before Betemit donned it. But I do seem to remember walking into PNC Field every day back when it was called Lackawanna County Stadium and noticing a large glass case on display on the concourse.

Behind that glass: Greg Legg’s retired uniform — with his number 14 prominently displayed. Yankees fans make a big deal out of retired numbers. Come to think of it, they make a big issue out of numbers that aren’t retired, too. I just wish 18 seasons’ worth of history in this area warranted enough respect for this number to be a big deal, too.

We’re not talking about a number that should be retired here. We’re talking about one that was retired.

Legg obviously meant enough to the people he’d eventually call his neighbors and the franchise that revived professional sports in this area that he became the only Red Barons player to have his number retired.

Hey, I understand that Betemit has played 416 games in the big leagues and that the Legger played, ironically, 14. But it wouldn’t take much to just take 14 out of circulation for the Yankees and, in doing so, honor a beloved player and remember 18 pretty important seasons in our local baseball tradition.

Whenever I covered a game in Rochester, I’d have the privilege of running into Joe Altobelli, a Rochester legend who played for the Red Wings before moving on to catch for and manage the Baltimore Orioles. His uniform number 26 is retired by the Red Wings, but they didn’t put it back into circulation when the Orioles left town and the Minnesota Twins moved in a few years back.

Another good example: Former outfielder Hank Sauer’s number 9 is retired in Syracuse. Sauer’s major league career ended 18 years before the Chiefs’ parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays, even existed. But even the Blue Jays prospects can’t wear his number.

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Via Joel Sherman:

Privately, the Yankees admit they incorrectly handled Alex Rodriguez’s initial quad strain.

He suffered the injury on April 20 in Baltimore and soon after left the team to be with his wife in Miami for the birth of their second child. Because the club was on the road in Cleveland and because Rodriguez has an iron man history, the Yanks allowed Rodriguez to talk his way back into the lineup without an MRI exam on April 25.

Club officials have told The Post they regret that decision. They think it is possible they let an injured player to continue playing, turning a mild strain into a Grade 2 strain and a Disabled List stint.

“We are dying right now without Posada and A-Rod against lefties,” GM Brian Cashman said. “But we have to properly wait out the healing process and not let what is transpiring day to day impact the decision making.”

I have to disagree. If Cano and Giambi were hitting, and, if Ensbreg and Duncan were not busts this season, the Yankees should have been able to weather this small storm of live without Rodriguez and Posada.

No one could have saw this coming with Cano. But, the Giambi/Ensberg/Duncan thing did not come straight out of the blue – - as there were signs that counting on these guys could have been a mistake.

But, of course, it’s much easier to point fingers at injuries than to blame poor roster construction.

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Via the Star Ledger -

The days blur together, distinguished only by minor developments in his throwing program — an extra 10 feet of distance, another dozen throws. For Carl Pavano, even these marginal increments serve as benchmarks on yet another agonizingly slow journey back to the mound.

The rest of the time, he’s just passing the time.

“I’ve got the baseball package, I watch all our games, I relax,” Pavano said yesterday at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa. “I mean, what is there really to do? I try to eat well, and stay in shape, and look forward to my next throwing session. That’s really all I’ve got going right now.”

In his time with the Yankees, he’s pitched in only 19 games, going 5-6. He missed all of 2006 and is still a ways off from throwing off a mound this year, as he focuses on getting his surgically repaired elbow up to strength with long-tossing.

Aside from watching the Yankees games on TV, Pavano doesn’t stay in contact with any of his teammates. When asked if he would visit the team during their series with the Tampa Bay Rays this week, he shook his head and said, “no chance.”

Pavano’s agent Tom O’Connell — the fourth agent the right-hander has gone through in his career — believes that Pavano would still be a desired commodity on the free-agent market this winter, even with his injury history.

“Carl’s a 1-2 starter,” O’Connell said. “Those guys don’t grow on trees. Those guys are very rare, 200-inning guys are very rare in this game, and they’re the ones that make the money. And he did it two years in a row, before he got hurt, and I’m sure he’s going to do it again.”

“Carl’s a 1-2 starter.”

Well, I’ll give him # 2. But, I’m thinking of “# 2″ as in what you teach a toddler to say when they have to go potty and it’s more than just a tinkle.

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I missed this one last week. (A report in the Calgary Herald just got it on my radar.) Via the Daily News on April 6th:

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees Wednesday night, but there was no ill will between the two teams later that evening when some of the players showed up at Rick’s Cabaret to, um, blow off some steam.

The Blue Jays bought the Yanks their first round of drinks.

“Later, they even ‘traded’ some of Rick’s Girls. Multiple blonds and brunettes danced for both teams,” our snitch says.

“Dancer” Karen (34C-23-35) said, “I love the Yankees, but the Toronto guys had a lot of class. Oh yeah, they were great tippers.”

Somehow, I don’t see this happening if it’s the Red Sox or Rays instead of the Blue Jays.

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Via the AP:

Alex Rodriguez sat in the first-base dugout at Legends Field, surrounded by the usual circle of cameras, microphones and reporters. He knows the scrutiny will only increase as he approaches Barry Bonds’ career home-run record, especially in an era when all top athletes must prove they haven’t juiced up on performance-enhancing drugs.

In his first session with reporters during spring training, Rodriguez talked about baseball’s drug-testing program and made a curious statement.

“Last year, I got tested 9-to-10 times,” Rodriguez said. “We have a very, very strict policy, and I think the game is making tremendous strides.”

If Rodriguez had been tested that many times, either he was selected for an unusually high number of checks or he might have been subjected him to additional tests — which would happen, for instance, if a player tests positive for a stimulant for the first time.

Later in the day, A-Rod said it was just hyperbole.

“My quote from earlier today was taken literally. I was not tested nine or 10 times last year. I was just using exaggeration to make a point,” Rodriguez said in a statement through Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo.

“My intent was simply to shed light on the fact that the current program being implemented is working, and a reason for that is through frequent testing. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused.”

First day of Spring Training, for him, and A-Rod already finds himself in a pickle. Ten more years, huh?

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Via the USA Today (and the AP) -

Oft-injured pitcher Carl Pavano arrived at the New York Yankees’ minor league complex Friday and played catch for 12 minutes.

A $39.95 million bust since signing with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2005 season, Pavano had rotator cuff surgery last June 5. It’s not known whether he will pitch in 2008, the final season of his four-year contract.

Yankees vice president Billy Connors and pitching coach Dave Eiland watched Pavano’s throwing session, which was broken into two segments. The right-hander’s throwing distance reached around 90 feet.

Eiland plans to meet with Pavano and Yankees head trainer Gene Monahan Monday to discuss the pitcher’s rehab program.

“He feels great,” Eiland said. “The ball came out of his hand well.”

Pavano, who threw in a restricted area, did not stop to talk with reporters.

He “played catch for 12 minutes.” Twelve minutes.

Twelve minutes!

Go ahead, and, count to 720. That’s twelve minutes. Man, that Carl, he’s a workhorse!

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Every time I hear a story about Brian Cashman buddying up with Theo Epstein, I have to confess, that, it puts a little tweak in my spine.

Yeah, I get it. They’re professionals. They’re in a select circle. There’s only 30 of them in the world. They need to be able to communicate. And, in a sense, they’re a band of brothers. So, they should be able to socialize and enjoy each other’s company. Fine.

But, Cashman just seems to be “too-buddy-buddy” with Epstein, and vice-versa. I almost want to yell “Get a room!” at them or something.

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From ESPN.com -

Former Major League Baseball player Jim Leyritz was arrested Friday on charges of driving under the influence and killing another driver after his vehicle crashed into hers.

Leyritz, who turned 44 on Thursday, faces charges of DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage, said Detective Kathy Collins, Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman.

Police believe alcohol was involved in the crash, though investigators are awaiting results of blood alcohol tests, Collins said. He posted the $11,000 bond and was released from the Broward County jail at 2:35 p.m. on Friday, according to Keyla Concepcion, a public information officer for the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

It could not be determined whether Leyritz, who lives in Davie, had a lawyer.

Fort Lauderdale authorities got a call at 3:20 a.m. that a crash had occurred in the city’s entertainment district, Collins said.

She said Leyritz was driving a 2006 Ford Expedition when he collided at an intersection with 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch of Plantation, who was driving a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero.

Veitch was ejected from the car, police said. She died at Broward General Medical Center, Collins said.

Witnesses told police Leyritz had a red light. Officers on the scene observed Leyritz to have red, watery eyes, a flushed face and an odor of alcohol, police said.

Leyritz was told Veitch had died and he was asked to submit to a blood test, police said.

“After he refused, Leyritz was informed that blood would be taken above his refusal,” the police statement said.

I hope the courts punish Leyritz for this terrible crime. This is a tragedy – when someone so young, minding their own business, is taken away for no reason whatsoever outside of someone else’s inconsiderate behavior. It’s beyond sad.

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From George King:

Former Yankee traveling secretary David Szen yesterday pleaded guilty in federal court to filing a false tax return, admitted he failed to report more than $50,000 in tips from players and coaches and was fired by the club.

Szen took a paid leave of absence in late July while the investigation was under way.

“I was wrong, and for that I’m humbly sorry, your honor,” Szen told U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz in New Haven, Conn.

Outside court, he asked for forgiveness and apologized to his family, employer and friends.

Szen, 56, was released on his own recognizance and will be sentenced March 7. Federal guidelines call for up to six months in prison for the felony conviction. He also faces a fine of up to $100,000 and will be required to pay $10,285 in back taxes plus interest and penalties.

Authorities said the tax loss was $10,285 based on under-reporting of $53,350 over five years. Szen, whose reported 2005 income was $63,631, received tips ranging from a few hundred dollars to $10,000 for services provided to unidentified coaches and players during the baseball season.

The position of Yankees traveling secretary paid an annual salary of $63,631 in 2005? In terms of net income, over the course of a calendar year, what is that, about $900 a week?

No wonder why he didn’t report his tips. If I was clearing less than $200 a day and working as hard as he probably had to work, I’d be looking to make-up some ground where I could too.

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Some Yankees named in the Mitchell Report -

Roger Clemens (page 215 of the PDF file), Andy Pettitte (page 223), Chuck Knoblauch (page 225), David Justice (page 229)…

…I would go on, but, I guess the PDF was being hit by everyone and his brother on the ‘net, because, the file kept hanging on me. So, next, I looked for some reports and saw that these guys made the list too: Ron Villone, Mike Stanton, and Kevin Brown.

Of course, this skips over the guys that we knew about like Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, and Jason Grimsley.

Of all the Yankees fingered, only Pettitte matters now. And, from what I’m reading, Andy used HGH in 2002 for his elbow rehab. That was five years ago – which is water way under the bridge, for me.

The “report” reads like a book – a heavily foot-noted book. It’s a nice summary of how it all got to this point. But, I don’t see it as being what it was billed to be…

Anyway, now, baseball has popped the pimple on its face and hopes that its complexion will start to clear up. In the meantime, I guess us fans will be stuck looking at the red mini-volcano there until this goes away.

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From Bob Klapisch –

According to one industry official, “several” prominent Yankees will be named by Mitchell in his 2 p.m. news conference in Manhattan. The official, who spoke to a third party who’d seen the final report, predicted, “It’s going to be a rough day in the Bronx” after the identities are made public.

As long as it’s not Paul O’Neill, I can deal with whatever names they want to throw out there.

Shane Spencer? If true, who cares?

Tino Martinez? Chuck Knoblauch? Hey, there was no rules or testing back in those days. At least they were “cheating” – if it claims they were – to win.

Jorge Posada? If true, it would not be shocking.

But, if it’s Paulie, well, it would bother me – because I like the guy so much.

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From the Hartford Courant (with a hat tip to Pete Abe):

Carl Pavano is still mulling a Yankees proposal to release him and then re-sign him to a minor league contract. He said Monday he is not close to a decision.

“I’d be giving up a lot of options if I signed a minor league deal,” Pavano said.

Pavano and his new representative, Tom O’Connell, met with officials from the Major League Players Association in New York on Monday to discuss those options. Pavano, 31, from Southington, has one year left on his contract and the Yankees owe him $12.95 million, including a $1.95 million buyout of his 2009 option. At the moment, he is on their 40-man roster and cannot be taken off unless he is released.

Even though Pavano will not be fully recovered from Tommy John surgery until at least midseason, he cannot be put on the disabled list, which would free up the roster spot, until the end of spring training. The Yankees, who have agreements with Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and LaTroy Hawkins, would like to open up a spot now.

If the Yankees release Pavano, he could sign with another team for the major league minimum and the Yankees would owe him the rest of his salary while he pitches for someone else. If Pavano signs a minor league deal, he would lose no money but could lose a year’s service time since the Yankees could keep him in the minor leagues all season.

Pavano, who had surgery in June, could be ready to pitch by midseason and his chances of getting a new contract anywhere would depend on whether and how he pitches in the majors in 2008.

Brian Cashman signed Pavano. He’s the one who took him to “Momma Mia.” Pavano was calling him “Cash” like he was a buddy, from the minute he signed.

I wonder how Brian Cashman feels about Carl Pavano today?

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From the Sarasota Herald Tribune:

A former New York Yankees pitcher who grew up in Lynchburg is in trouble again.

A circuit judge sentenced Kenny Clay, who now lives in Florida, to five years in prison Wednesday, a longer sentence than the prosecutor recommended.

A jury convicted Clay, 53, of grand theft for creating a fake sales order at the Sarasota copy machine office where he worked in 2005 that would have netted him a $7,500 commission check.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of three years, but Circuit Judge Rick De Furia cited the former major league pitcher’s criminal history in giving him the maximum sentence for the charge.

Clay has been caught stealing several times since his career as a ballplayer ended, and he was on probation for a similar crime when he tried to steal from the copy machine office in 2005.

In that previous case, Clay had pleaded guilty in Manatee County to stealing identification information about his girlfriend and using it to falsify credit card applications to forge checks and lease a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder.

Clay was also convicted in 1988 in Campbell County of stealing $16,000 from a class ring distributor that employed him.

Ken Clay was drafted by the Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1972 amateur draft.

May 21, 1978 and October 3, 1978 were probably the two best games in his Yankees career.

Talent and promise doesn’t always lead to a story-book ending. Sad.

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Wow, is it Jeter season already? From the Post:

IF Bronx Bomber Derek Jeter wants to keep his sex life a secret, he should learn to tie up any post-tryst loose ends.

Our spy in the lobby of the Shore Club in Miami early Sunday morning spotted “two scantily clad women screaming at the front desk because they had spent the night at Jeter’s penthouse and were then charged for parking.”

“The girls were wearing what looked like the same clothes they wore the night before – a tight cocktail dress and a mini-skirt. They were making a huge scene because they were asked to pay for parking.

“Obviously, they’d spent the night there,” giggled the onlooker, who noted that one of the overnight guests was screaming into the phone, “After last night, he’d better [bleep]ing take care of it!”

After a bit of insistence, “they eventually left happy. I assume he paid for their parking after all,” said our snitch.

Tongues in Miami are wagging over Jeter’s stint in Miami, where he was spotted Friday night dining at Nobu, then partying it up with Timbaland at Skybar. “They took over the table in the back and drank Grey Goose all night,” said a fellow reveler. “Five girls were dancing around him, but he didn’t seem interested.”

Jeter was spotted acting equally detached later that night at Set, where he was “surrounded by throngs of women five rows deep. He was hanging with a guy friend, though, and didn’t seem to take much interest in the hordes of ladies.”

Evidently, the Yankee captain likes to keep his conquests behind closed doors, because there were no Jeter sightings Saturday night.

“I heard he was staying in the penthouse at the Shore Club,” said one Miami source. “He checked in solo Friday, but nobody saw him Saturday night . . . and everyone down here talks when big names come to town. Maybe he was holed up in his suite all night?”

Jeter is notorious for his off-field plays – he’s been linked to the likes of Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jordana Brewster, Mariah Carey, Scarlett Johansson, Vanessa Minnillo and Gabrielle Union. Shore Club reps had “no comment,” and a Yankee rep did not return calls.

Well, at the least, it looks like Jeter has found some sleep-over buddies to replace A-Rod.

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From the Boston Herald:

By most accounts, rookie Shelley Duncan has positively changed the culture of the Yankees’ clubhouse with his jovial demeanor.

Yet this weekend, that same demeanor brought Duncan some unwanted notoriety.

While he signed autographs before Friday’s series opener, Duncan exchanged playful banter with some Red Sox fans. In keeping with the spirit of those conversations, he wrote in the notebook of 10-year-old Griffin Whitman, “Red Sox Suck! Shelley Duncan.”

Duncan was surprised to learn that Whitman and his parents took offense.

“I thought I was back in middle school or high school, where you try to make a joke or say something funny, and you end up saying something that gets you in trouble,” Duncan said before the Yankees’ 4-3 victory last night. “I try to be interactive with people, be funny, have a good time and have a laugh.

“It’s not always Yankees fans that have us sign stuff. I try to rile ’em up and be fun. I don’t expect anybody to make a big deal about it. Nobody ever has before.”

While Red Sox pitcher and Boston native Manny Delcarmen said he has never offered such an epithet to a fan, he does sometimes exchange playful barbs, particularly when offering autographs to Yankee loyalists.

“You look at them and you say, ‘You’re wearing Yankees stuff but you want my autograph?’ ” Delcarmen said. “I grew up here in Boston. When a Yankees fan asks for an autograph, I’m like, ‘Whatever.’ I still sign for them.”

I’m still on the fence with this one. Part of me, as a parent of small children, wants to get on Duncan for doing this. But, the other part of me reminds myself that the word “suck” is now mainstream (used in song, T.V., print, etc.) and not what it used to be (in terms of “curse word” status) when I was a kid in the 1970′s. And, that a 10-year old is in the 5th grade and probably has seen and heard the word a few times by now. (Especially a ten year old that goes to Fenway Park when the Yankees are there.)

Since I’m split on this…I’ll say for now that it was a mistake on Duncan’s part to do this…and that you have to be careful in spots like this…and ask yourself “What would Derek Jeter do?”

By the way, this season, in all of baseball, so far, there’s just been one homerun hit in the 9th inning, with 2-men on, where the team of the guy who hit it was three runs down. Yes, it was that two-out homer by Duncan on August 15, 2007.

If you’re Shelley Duncan, you want that magic homer to be the thing that people think about, when they hear your name – and not something like this prank.

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From Kevin Kernan -

IF the Yankees can’t beat the Devil Rays and Orioles, how in the world are they going to beat anybody in the playoffs?

That is, if they make it to October.

Last week’s sweep of the Red Sox was an August accomplishment, but these 2007 Yankees are inconsistent. It’s clear that this is a much different Yankees team than any other during the Joe Torre era.

Over the last five weeks, the Yankees have had three series against the dregs of their division. They dropped two of three in Baltimore at the end of July, lost two of three to the Orioles at Yankee Stadium in the middle of August and now have lost two of three to the Devil Rays, the team with the worst record in the majors. That’s six losses in nine games with two of those series at home.

The Yankees are 12-15 against TamBal this year.

This is not a team built for the long haul because its pitching staff is in transition. In the six losses against TamBal, the Orioles and Devil Rays averaged 7.7 runs.

Yankees hitters tend to disappear as a group. They best way to attack the Yankees is to throw them strikes. They worked only two walks yesterday.

Either the Orioles and Devil Rays have gotten a whole lot better the last five weeks or the Yankees are just not able to bring the same emotion and focus to every game.

The Yankees are 12-15 against TamBal this year.

For the record, the Red Sox are 18-8 against “TamBal” this year, so far, and the Blue Jays are 13-11 against them as well. How is it that Boston can beat them with ease, Toronto can hold their own against them, and, yet, New York has a hard time with the O’s and Rays? Maybe the answer is that these 2007 Yankees are not good?

With a win on August 12th, the Yankees got themselves within 4 games of the Red Sox – it was a great feat as New York was 9 games back of Boston on July 28th. That was a great run over a two-week period.

Since August 12th, the Yankees have gone 10-10 in their last 20 games. Yes, at a time where the Yankees put themselves right into the race for the A.L. East, and, it was time to make a push, they choked and became a just-five-hundred club.

Let’s face it, if not for the Seattle Mariners losing nine straight games, the Yankees would not be in the Wildcard lead at this time either.

As I’ve written before, the Yankees are 14-1 against the Pirates, Indians and Rangers this season. This means their 62-60 against everyone else. Again, just about a .500 team.

Why are the Yankees just a .500 team, when not playing teams that are struggling? The answer is Mike Mussina, Kei Igawa, and Carl Pavano. Brian Cashman counted on these three to be in his starting rotation and they all failed. And, their replacements, Roger Clemens and Phil Hughes, along with a gaggle of hurlers like DeSalvo, Wright, Karstens, Rasner, and Clippard, have not done consistently well.

When you don’t pitch consistently well, you’re going to be a .500 ballclub – even when you have a good offense.

When you boil it all down, all you have left is Brian Cashman. His pitching plan for 2007 failed. And, as a result, so have the Yankees, this season.

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From The Times-Tribune, last Friday -

Former Yankees and Phillies and current Chiefs catcher Sal Fasano stole second base in the top of the seventh against Bruney and catcher Wil Nieves. It was Fasano’s first stolen base since playing for Salt Lake in 2002 and just his second swipe of the millennium.

Way to go, Bruney and Nieves! If you can’t hold Fasano, you’re not trying.

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