Few Things

The Yankees and Brian Bruney avoided arbitration by signing a $1.25 million deal. I like Bruney he has potential to be a top set up man if he can stay healthy and throw strikes. Those are some big if's. I remember being at the stadium for Brian's first Yankee appearance. The Yanks were getting beaten pretty good by the O's in 2006. To start an inning, Bob Shepard announces "Now pitching for the Yankees numbah thirty three, Brian Bruney, numbah thirty three." I turned to me buddy and said "Who the hell is this guy?" Next thing I know I look up at the gun reading in CF and it says " FASTBALL 97." I quickly grew to like the formerly big bald man.

Also its been found out that the captainmanaged to grab the Joe D "thank the good lord..." sign from the stadium. Leave it to DJ to nab the most pimp ass thing he possibly could have. Maybe now he'll tap it for good luck every time he has relations with a supermodel.

Around the league

Scott Boras believes that Manny will be signed by Spring Training.

Jon Garland agreed to a one year deal (with option) with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Aaron Heilman is headed back to the NL after a short stay with Seattle. The Mariners received SS Ronny Cedeno and Garret Olson and Heilman goes to the Cubs.

And Dustin Pedroia's older brother Brett was charged with child molestation. Gross.


I know the posts haven't been much lately, but once pitchers and catchers report there should be some more to write about. I will also have a division by division breakdown of all major league teams. Including predictions on playoff spots as well as awards.

Stuff..... and things

It has been widely reported that In the new Joe Torre/Tom Verducci book. Mr. Torre takes some shots at A Rod, referring to how some teammates referred to him as A Fraud. Well in amazing stroke of luck I have found an excerpt from the book detailing a conversation between Alex and Joe before a playoff game.

"Joe: Alex, you've really been pressing lately so to alleviate some of the pressure, I am going to drop you to 7th in the order.

A Rod: God that Madonna is real put together...you know for an older lady.

Joe: Alex, are you even listening....I'm dropping you to 7th in the order....for a playoff game.

A Rod: I mean she's still in really good shape, she doesn't have any loose, hangy skin or anything.

Joe: Alex....I don't think your head is in the game.

A Rod: ...and she's real spiritual too.....that Kaballah seams like something I could really get into.

Joe: Are you f'ing kidding me right now?

A Rod: ...cause we are livvving in a material world....and I am a material girl....

Joe: God damn it.

A Rod: MATERIAALLLLLLL"


Really interesting stuff there...I can see where the controversy comes from.



Also the Yankees signed Andy Pettitte to a one year deal with a guranteed base salary of $5.5 million but could be worth up to $12 with all the incentives. I love this signing. The Yankees are getting Andy on the cheap, and if he has a good year he gets his money.
*Standing ovation for Cashmoney*

Garcia to the Mets

from MLBtraderumors.com
Freddy Garcia has a agreed to a minor league with the Mets which apparently could be worth up to $8 or $9 millions if all incentives are reached. Also interesting in this is that Garcia apparently cited concern about the Yankees re-signing Andy Pettitte as to why he did not sign with the Bombers.

I'll say it again I think the Yankees rotation would really be something to be reckoned with if Pettitte is brought back. If he comes back at a reasonable price, he will likely give the Yankees 200 innings of at least league average pitching with a possibilty of him having a bounceback year.

Ahhh brotherly love

According to deadspin.com the McGwire family reunion will be a bit awkward this year.

Jay, Mark's suddenly in the spotlight sibling, has announced that he will be writing a book detailing his brothers use of steroids. In the book, entitled, The McGwire Family Secret: The Truth about Steroids, a Slugger, and Ultimate Redemption, the younger McGwire will describe how he got Mark into steroids and was the first person to actually inject him. Here is a quote from Jay McGwire from Deadspin:

"Mark is a man I think most would like to forgive because his reason wasn’t nefarious—it was for survival. My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love. I want Mark to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom—which is the only way to live. "

It's obvious that this book is written purely out of love. Love of undeserved attention, and the big fat check he's going to get from the obscene amount of copies this literary goldmine is going to sell.

Talk about being a lowlife, selling out your brother to make a buck. I understand Big Mac most likely is a cheater, but so are dozens others from this generation. the dude is just trying to get on with his life. Let him be.

Freddy Garcia

From: MLBtraderumors.com

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal was told by a major league source that the Mets and Yankees are the leading contenders for free agent right-hander Freddy Garcia.

Garcia has, according to the source, "pretty much narrowed it down" to the New York teams. The 33-year-old is 118-77 lifetime with a 4.07 ERA, but has pitched just 73 innings over the past two seasons. He is thought to be looking for a major league contract.

Freddy Garcia could be a nice low-risk pickup for either team. He'd be slightly lower risk for the Yankees as they have a deeper rotation and a multitude of other options in the minors (Hughes, Kennedy, Aceves, Coke). While the Mets still really need a #3 starter Garcia could be that, if he stays healthy.

Around some other blogs

I haven't posted in a couple of days because unfortunately there's not a whole heck of a lot going on. I don't really feel like repeating my posts on Pettitte and Nady/Swisher and that's still the only happenings in Yankee land lately.

Peter Abraham and also the guys over at River Ave Blues discuss the possible lack of rotation depth if Pettitte doesn't resign.

http://riveraveblues.com/2009/01/a-matter-of-depth-on-the-mound-6937/

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/01/14/at-what-point-is-rotation-depth-a-concern/

In my opinion it would behoove both the Yankees and Andy Pettitte to agree to a deal. Andy needs to realize his market is not quite what he thought and the Yankees need to realize that after the amount of money the spent this off season to go in with 2 starts who are injury risks (Joba and Burnett) and another who could get shelled (Hughes, Aceves, etc) would be dumb. Pettitte would be a perfect cog in the wheel in the back end of this rotation, but he is NOT worth the $16 millions he earned last year.

Braves sign Lowe

The Atlanta Braves signed Derek Lowe today to a four year $60 million contract. This makes the NL East a little more interesting. The Braves are in a nice position to make some noise, their rotation doesn't have the bonafide ace that the Phillies have with Hamels or the Mets have with Santana, but they have great depth especially if Tim Hudson can have a decent , healthy year. The Braves add Lowe to earlier acquisitions Javy Vazquez, japanese import Kenshin Kawakami, young hurler Jair Jurrjens, and Hudson.

Congrats to Rickey and Jim Rice

The HOF announced this years inductees, today former A's/Yankees/A's/Blue Jays/A's/Padres/Angels/A's/Mets/Mariners/Padres/Red Sox/Dodger's great Rickey Henderson (dude's been around).

Over his career he scored 2295 runs, tops all time, and he stole 1406 bases, also tops all time. He finished his career with 3055 hits. I can only imagine how awesome his speech is going to be. I need to come up with a drinking game for how many times he will refer to himself in the third person.

Also announced is former Red Sox great Jim Rice. The former 8 time all star and 1978 AL MVP finished his career with 382 home runs and a lifetime average of .298.


Don Mattingly gained 64 votes good for 11.9%, enough to stay on the ballot but far from the requisite 75% needed for election

David Cone appeared on the ballot for the first time garnering 21 votes for 3.9%, falling short of the 5% necessary to stay on the ballot.

Another Slow Day

Not much again today, more rumors swirling regarding Nady,Swisher, Lowe, and Manny, but nothing substantial. The Red Sox signed Takashi Saito to a one year deal, another move that could pay off for the Sox.

Since baseball is slow I'll talk a little football:
As I write this the Cardinals are beating the Panthers 17-7, and earlier the Ravens beat the Titans. I will be watching the Giants tomorrow with a nice stiff drink. I am confident that my G-men can beat the Eagles, but I'm still worried. I figure if they beat Philly tomorrow, they will defeat either Arizona or Carolina and make the Super Bowl.

My Super Bowl Prediction is
Giants v Steelers.


EDIT : 8:49 PM

did i say Giants v Steelers.....I meant Eagles v Steelers

Not a whole lot going on today

Kind of a slow news day, Mets are about to sign Tim Redding, then add either Lowe or Perez.

I'll write a little more about the Red Sox acquisitions. What the Red Sox have done over the past two days is as different from the Yankees offseason as possible. The Bombers made big splashes adding top notch players, and really changing the look of the team. The Red Sox didn't really have to make major moves like the Yankees, even with sub par years from Ortiz and Lowell they made the ALCS. What the Red Sox have done is give themselves incredible depth. They have a bench featuring Kotsay and Baldelli. If Drew or Bay were to go down for a while, they have way more than adequate replacements. Adding Smoltz to the rotation (even though word is he may not be ready to pitch at the beginning of the year), gives them a veteran presence at the back end of the rotation that allows Clay Bucholtz more time in AAA, and considering Brad Penny's injury history, guys like Smoltz can move up to fill in the #2 or #3 successfully, or at least better than adding a guy like Sidney Ponson off the scrap heap.

Bill James 2009 Handbook

I just picked up the Bill James 09 handbook earlier today. It's pretty interesting to look through. I'm not saying I live or die by it, but it's intriguing to look at his perspective. For instance:

According to his +/- scale Robinson Cano had a score of -16 at 2nd base last year. This scale is strictly defensive, so his putrid offensive year had no effect on the score. That -16 earned Robby a dead last ranking out of all MLB 2nd Basemen in 08.

Mark Teixeira earned a score of +24, ranking him first, four points ahead of Albert Pujols.

Derek Jeter's score of -12 proved all of the experts wrong, it was NOT the worst in the majors. Five other shortstops had the privilege of scoring worse that DJ (although he dead ranked dead last when combing the three year numbers from 06-08).

The book is full of all kinds of interesting stats and analysis, again I wouldn't swear by it, or say it is the be all, end all of baseball knowledge, but it's fun to look through and I plan on placing directly next to my toilet (where I do most of my heavy reading).

In other literature news I recently picked up a copy of Buster Olney's The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty. I know I'm a bit behind as this book came out several years ago, but this copy has an extended version discussing the 2004-2007 seasons, focusing a lot on Alex Rodriguez. It really gives you the feeling of being right in the Yankee clubhouse. It details the Torre, Martinez, O'Neill dynasty of 1996-2001, interweaving anecdotes of player relationships, details of working for the Big Stein, and the makeup of those Yankees that I grew to know and love. It is filled with such detail that I almost feel David Wells hangover, Paul O'Neill's obsession with success, or Roger Clemens unmatched intensity (hopefully I don't get the same side effects from the HGH, I can't afford to have my boys shrink). Overall a great read.

Red Sox close to Baldelli and Smoltz

These could be some decent moves for the Sox. If Baldelli can get his often changing diagnosis under control, he is a nice athletic OF with some pop. He seems like a nice addition to the Sox bench.

Smoltz, who turns 42 in May, figures to be Boston's 4th starter. If he can stay healthy, he is a veteran who is a big game pitcher, and knows how to win. He won't put up the type of numbers that he has in previous years, now in the brutal AL East, but could be a solid contributor to the Red Sox. He could be a dangerous part of that team in the playoffs, given his closing experience.

Other news around baseball:

Hoffman agreed to a deal with Milwaukee.

The Mets have made an offer to Tim Redding.

Andy Pettitte may now be open to going back to Houston.

The Yankees wil most likely trade Xavier Nady, but Nick Swisher is possible also.


And in the "I'm sure someone....somewhere cares" category:

Nationals pitcher John Patterson retired yesterday.

Fun Red Sox fact.

In his spare time in the offseason, Red Sox ace Josh Beckett enjoys dressing in women's clothes and performing in nightclubs under the name Sally Sugarrack.

The Yanks are better off with Swisher rather than Nady

So far Cash has done a nice job getting all the pieces the Yankees need (by giving them hundreds of millions of someone else's dollars), but there is one thing irking me, barring a trade, the Yanks plan on starting Xavier Nady over Nick Swisher. While both players are relatively similar, Swisher is two years younger, switch hits, is more versatile and athletic, and plays better defense (Swish's best position is first, but still plays above average in the corners).

These are the 162 game averages for each player:

Nady
BA .280 OBP .335 SLG .458 HRs 21 RBI 78 R 69 H 150

Swisher
BA .244 OBP .354 SLG .451 HRs 28 RBI 86 R 94 H 137

They both have very similar career numbers, but Swisher has more potential to be a masher, while Nady is merely a nice 5th or 6th hitter.

Is Andy Pettitte on Meth?

How could Andy possibly justify rejecting a 1 year $10 million offer. Let's just forget all that "I want to be a Yankee, money's not an issue" talk for a second.

Last year Andy had a 4.54 ERA, pitched 204 innings, went 14-14, with a BAA of .290, and a WHIP of 1.41 and an ERA+ of 98. This would make him a number 3 or 4 starter, , while making $16 million a year.

Let's compare him to some other pitchers last year.

Paul Byrd- ERA 4.60, 180 innings , 11-12, BAA .287, WHIP 1.32, ERA+ 98. Salary $7.5 million.
Tim Wakefield- ERA 4.13, 181 innings, 10-11, BAA .228, WHIP 1.18, ERA+112. Salary $4 million.
Brett Myers- ERA 4.55, 190 innings, 10-13, BAA, .267, WHIP 1.38, ERA+ 96. Salary $8.5 million.

The Yankees came out and said they believed Andy was about an $8 million pitcher, but offered him $10 mil because they loved Andy and wanted him back. That seems right about what he's worth.

The Inaugural Post

So I decided to join the billions of other a-holes online and start a baseball blog. This is nothing earth shattering, but I'd thought I'd start one of these babies up and maybe somewhere along the line someone will read one of my opinions.

A little about me:
I'm a fresh college graduate in the teaching field.
I love me some Yankees
I still manage to be fairly un-biased, despite the bad name a lot of us Yankees fans have.
I am deeply and hopelessly obsessed with the game of baseball.

Here's a couple quick thoughts for the night

MLB Network- pretty legit. The Don Larsen game was great, getting to hear Mel Allen and Vin Scully's combined voices for 9 innings was amazing. If there were strippers, beer, and pie...I would've been convinced that I had gone to heaven. The rest of the programming is solid, if a bit repetative.

Yankees Payroll- will be lower than last year...stop f'ing bitching about it.

Manny- Will find a home somewhere in CA and dominate the NL West, until he decides he doesn't want to, and will then sit in the clubhouse eating Easy Mac, nursing a "knee injury", and attempting to find Waldo in a sea of inexplicably similarly dressed people.

Pat Burell to the Rays- a solid pickup for a young team. Burell's veteran prescence and power bat will do a lot for the AL Champs, as long as he stays a DH.

Milton Bradley to the Cubs- Big Risk for the Cubbies. Bradley played out of this world last year, but remains an injury risk. I also think his character issues are blown out of proportion.

Holliday and Giambi to the A's- Nice addition's to the middle of the lineup for the A's. With the Angels losing their closer, and Teixeira, Oaktown could make a run.


Ok thats it for now.