Around the Horn - 3/31

Nice try kid. They kept ya out of school for nothing.

Plenty of opening days did go off today, and last night. How about Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals breaking in the new ball park with a walk off home run last night against the Braves.

It only took the Tigers Miguel Cabrera two at-bats to hit his first American League home run. Justin Verlander only allowed 1 hit through 5 innings, then blew a 3-0 lead. The game is now in extra innings.

The White Sox Mark Buehrle must be looking for a do over. The Indians tagged him for 7 runs in just 2 2-3 innings. Jim Thome has smacked a pair of 2-run homers off of C.C. Sabathia. Thome had been 0-11 against him entering the game.

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Game Off

All that anticipation and the game has been called because of rain. They figured there would be a window of opportunity today, but it never happened.

The opener will now be Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m.. But at least now most of us will be home to see it.

Who'll stop the rain?

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The Daily Yankeeland

Andy Pettitte and Ian Kennedy through a minor league intrasquad game against each other back in Tampa yesterday. Pettitte felt good and reached his goal of 77 pitches. He threw six scoreless innings of 1 hit ball, walking 1, and struck out 6. Kennedy threw 75 pitches in throwing 5 shutout innings. He allowed 4 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 5.

Robinson Cano, Chien-Ming Wang, and Jason Giambi are on our roto baseball team.

Bobby Murcer is still recuperating from a procedure earlier this month and won't be in attendance today. He's expected back soon though.

This is the first opening day with a new Yankees manager since Joe Torre came on the scene in 1996.

The NY Times' Tyler Kepner has a piece on the Yankees, "the more things change, the more they stay the same" attitude. "Win now or else" is still the motto.

The NY Post's Filip Bondy (still a weird looking dude) talks to the Bleacher Creatures about the Stadium. They want to stay right where they are.

The Yankees have won their last 10 home openers. They haven't opened against the Blue Jays during that stretch.

Today's anthem will be sung by the West Point Glee Club and the West Point Cadet Color Guard will present the American flag. Two F-18 fighter jets will also do a fly over. No eagle and no Ronan Tynan (though he could have God Bless America in the 7th) ? Pre-game ceremonies start at 12:40 p.m.

This will be Derek Jeter's 12 opening day start, surpassing Phil Rizzuto for the team record at shortstop.

The Yankees haven't had a lot of success against Roy Halladay (10-4, 2.99 in 26 games, 24 starts). Robinson Cano (5-13, .385, 2 HR), Johnny Damon (22-67, .328, 1 HR), Jason Giambi (17-54, .315, 3 HR), and Jorge Posada (12-37, .324, 1 HR) would be the exceptions. This is Halladay's 6th straight opening day start. He's 2-2, 4.09 in the previous 5.

Chien-Ming Wang is 3-2, 4.20 against the Blue Jays in 7 career starts. His ERA is higher from the 2.2 inning, 8 run fiasco he had last August. Aaron Hill (9-14, .643), Matt Stairs (4-10, .400), and Vernon Wells (6-16, .375) have done well against him.

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You Like the Yankees Chances

First off we want to thank our readers for our latest poll results. 118 of you answered the poll, which is a new all-time high for My Pinstripes. :)

21% of you felt the Yankees will top the 100 victory mark. We found that a little surprising considering the newness of the pitching staff and the uncertainty of the bullpen. The team hasn't won 100 games since a streak of 3 straight seasons from 2002-2004.

31% of you felt the team would pick up 96-99 victories.

25% of you agreed with us on the 93-95 range.

10% said 90-92.

Then come the naysayers, Mets fans, and Yankees haters ;)

4% said 85-89 wins and 9% voted for less than 85 wins.

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Rain on the Scarecrow

Opening day is here and the weather is not beautiful. We have a steady light rain falling in western Jersey right now; temp is 40. In the Bronx its mostly cloudy and 45 and there's a 60% chance of rain. Rain is actually more annoying than snow. You may recall that in 1996 it snowed during the opener against Kansas City.

Mr. October does March- Reggie Jackson will be throwing out the first pitch today. A great slugger, a Hall of Fame inductee...but he's not Yogi or Whitey. Goose Gossage just got inducted in the Hall so you would think even he might be the one. Reggie probably campaigned for it.

For those of you too young remember, Reggie was, and probably still is, a piece of work. There are lot of people who are rubbed the wrong way by Alex Rodriguez. They feel there is something phony about his personality and/or he tries to please too many people. Well compared to Reggie, A-Rod is a saint.

Reggie played with a huge chip on his shoulder and they only person he tried to please was himself. A great player on the field, a jerk off of it. The ESPN mini-series, "The Bronx is Burning", only gave you a small insight into Reggie's personality.

Steins in the House - All the Steinbrenner boys, George, Hank, and Hal are expected to be in attendance for today's final season opener in "the" Yankee Stadium.

Emotions Running High - Derek Jeter is one of the most calm, cool, and reserved players, but he's expecting today to be very emotional.

"This year will be emotional," Jeter said. "I really don't know what to expect, but you'll take a look around and try to remember as many things as you can.

"This being the last Opening Day in Yankee Stadium, I'm sure people will let it soak in a little bit more. It's going to be a special year."

They say it's your Birthday - It's an extra special day for Chien-Ming Wang. Besides getting the opening day assignment, today is The Wanger's 28th birthday.

"To be the Opening Day starter is the best birthday gift I could have," Wang said yesterday.

Game 1 of 162 - Play Ball!

Speaking of "Rain on the Scarecrow"

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Another Opening Another Show

It's here baby! In a little over 12 hours from now Opening Day will have arrived in the Bronx. The final opening day in the grand old place. Thanks to Brian Heyman and Peter Abraham, here are tomorrow's starting lineups.

Blue Jays
Eckstein SS
Stairs or Stewart LF
Rios RF
Wells CF
Thomas DH
Overbay 1B
Hill 2B
Scutaro 3B
Zaun C
Halladay P

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF
Wang P

GO YANKEES!

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Verducci Picks Yankees to Win AL East

He may still be on the Steinbrenner's shit list after his defense of Joe Torre in print, but Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci has picked the Yankees to win the American League's East division.

Two GMs told me this is the year the Yankees don't make the postseason, one of them going so far as to say they'll finish third, behind Boston and Toronto. I'm not buying it. The Yankees have so much talent it would take a multitude of worst-case scenarios to cut them low: Andy Pettitte breaks down, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and, most critically, Jorge Posada all decline significantly because of age, and kid pitchers Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy aren't ready to carry a full season of New York's physical and psychological load. Is all of that going to happen? No.

Boston seems more prone to a fallback, if only because recent world champions seem to be handed a tax bill the following season -- and if it hits Josh Beckett, look out. Toronto is intriguing, but there's a huge difference between 87 wins and the 94 you need to play with the big boys in the East. The Jays are not in that weight class.

We like his thinking even though we don't agree with it completely. But that's a story for another day.

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Moose Comes Back to Earth

Alex Rodriguez enjoyed a great homecoming in front of 30,000 plus fans with a home run and 2 RBI, but Mike Mussina wasn't so happy afterwards. Moose got tagged for 5.1 earned runs in 5 innings as the Yankees lost to the Florida Marlins, 5-3.

Five seems to be the number of the night as Mussina also allowed 5 hits. Two of them were home runs by former Met, Mike Jacobs. Andrew Miller, acquired in the Miguel Cabrera trade, upped to his spring record to 3-0, with 5 innings of 3 run ball.

Derek Jeter and A-Rod each doubled in a run in the 3rd inning when the Yankees took their only lead of the night, 2-1. Trailing 4-2 in the 5th, A-Rod hit his 4th home run of the spring for the Yankees final tally.

LaTroy Hawkins retired both batters he faced to extend his scoreless spring to 8.2 innings. Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Jason Giambi had 2 hits each.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	3	1	2	0	0	1	0	.245
Matsui, LF	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.343
Jeter, SS	4	1	2	1	0	0	2	.280
Betemit, 1B	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.154
Abreu, RF	4	0	0	0	0	3	2	.349
Ransom, SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.282
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	1	2	2	1	1	1	.452
1-Green, PR-3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.179
Giambi, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	1	1	.395
2-Porter, PR-RF	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250
Posada, C	3	0	1	0	0	1	2	.244
Molina, C	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.342
Cano, 2B	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	.452
Castro, B, 2B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Duncan, DH	3	0	1	0	0	0	4	.362
a-Ensberg, PH-DH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.234
Cabrera, CF	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.304
Lane, CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.222
Totals	37	3	10	3	4	10	22
a-Walked for Duncan in the 8th. 1-Ran for Rodriguez, A in the 7th. 2-Ran for Giambi in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Damon 2 (7, Miller, A, Miller, A), Jeter (5, Miller, A), Rodriguez, A (5, Miller, A). HR: Rodriguez, A (4, 5th inning off Miller, A, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 4; Jeter 3; Rodriguez, A 6; Giambi 2; Posada; Duncan. RBI: Jeter (2), Rodriguez, A 2 (10). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cabrera; Posada; Jeter 2; Duncan; Cano; Betemit. Team LOB: 11.

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (L, 0-1)	5.1	5	5	5	1	2	2	6.00
Hawkins	0.2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Albaladejo	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3.86
Ramirez	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	4.32

HBP: Willingham (by Mussina).
Pitches-strikes: Mussina 73-48, Hawkins 8-5, Albaladejo 11-8, Ramirez 12-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 2-11, Hawkins 0-2, Albaladejo 1-1, Ramirez 1-1.
Batters faced: Mussina 22, Hawkins 3, Albaladejo 4, Ramirez 4.
Umpires: HP: James Hoye. 1B: Ed Rapuano. 2B: Angel Hernandez. 3B: Mike Estabrook.
Weather: 74 degrees, clear.
Wind: 10 mph, In from CF.
T: 2:31.
Att: 30,227.

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Show Me the Money

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports that Jose Canseco's ex- has nothing to do with the sleazebag's hatred of A-Rod. But rather it's all about the Benjamins. Apparently Canseco and his twin moron brother Ozzie wanted to represent A-Rod, but Rodriguez wisely declined.

However, people who were close confidants of Canseco insist the actual reason the ex-ballplayer despises A-Rod has nothing to do with Canseco's former wife but regards Canseco's true passion, which, of course, is money.

Those former confidants told SI.com the rift between the two Miami-raised superstars actually occurred when Rodriguez chose not to let Canseco and his brother, Ozzie, be his agents. Those former confidants say Canseco was bitterly disappointed in A-Rod's business rejection.

"I know Jose, and I know Jose very well. He would be madder at A-Rod for not signing with the agency than for going after Jessica,'' said Juan Iglesias, a well-respected Miami-based player agent and former business associate of Canseco's.

"At that time, Jose wanted to focus on his professional life. He and his wife were struggling throughout the '90's and into the 2000's. At that time, they were in the process of getting divorced. Jose was in a disrespectful situation and was with other women.''

Yet another former close confidant of Canseco's agreed that the rift had nothing to do with Jessica and instead came about when Canseco lost the client he thought would make a success out of his fledgling South Florida Sports Council, which instead became another of Canseco's failed business ventures. "That's where the animosity comes from,'' the former Canseco confidant said.

In Canseco's new book (should it even be allowed to be called a book), super-roid writes to A-Rod, "I hate your (bleeping) guts.''

Iglesias went on to refute Canseco's claims that A-Rod was a steroid user/abuser.

"Alex was a gentleman with the guy. If he says that about [Rodriguez], I hate to think what he says about me,'' Iglesias said. "I never heard one word about him going after Jose's wife. Never. Not one word. And I would have heard that. We were personal friends.''

Iglesias said he watched Canseco calling out A-Rod on Nightline this week and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. But having lived through it with him, he did believe it.

"The whole thing with A-Rod is absolutely false,'' said Iglesias, who recalled that the Cansecos and A-Rod doubled dated at the 1995 Super Bowl in Miami. "Jose didn't write it in his first book, and Jessica didn't write it in her book. And she talked about everybody she [had a relationship with]. If A-Rod had anything to do with her, that's [a] headline and that would have been in the book.''

It's simply amazing that anyone can write a book and say anything they want about anyone and in many cases won't be sued. A lawsuit might just sell more books and that would not be in the interest of Alex Rodriguez or anyone else. Even if it means being vindicated.

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Opening Day Roster Set

The question has finally been answered. The long man in the Yankees bullpen is.....NO ONE. Darrell Rasner and Kei Igawa were all reassigned to the minor leagues and Jeff Karstens was placed on the 15-day DL. Brian Bruney made the pen as expected, but with Andy Pettitte DL'ed retroactive to last Saturday, both Ross Ohlendorf (pictured to the left) and Jon Albaladejo made the team.

In addition to the 3 long men, Scott Patterson, Nick Green, Edwar Ramirez, and Jose Veras were all sent down to the minors.

Girardi said making the cuts “was brutal” and he praised the spring that Patterson had. But his lack of big-league experience was a factor. Patterson looked crushed afterward.

Patterson has to get up here at some point. He's too good to overlook. Once Pettitte comes off the DL next week, either Ohlendorf or Albaladejo will be ticketed for Scranton. Joe Girardi also said there will be a long man in the pen at some point.

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The Daily Yankeeland

The Yankees finish up the spring training schedule (hard to believe we're there already) with a pair of games in Miami against the Florida Marlins. It's a bit of a homecoming of course for Joe Girardi who was manager of the year as the Marlins skipper in 2006 and then was fired after clashing with the Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. Girardi also butted heads with the beat writers at times so it should be interesting to see what they write this weekend. Both games will broadcast on WCBS radio.

The Yankees 25 man roster is just about finalized. We know that Morgan Ensberg, Shelley Duncan, Jose Molina, and Wilson Betemit will be on the bench, and the final bullpen spots will probably be go to Darrell Rasner (please, anyone but Igawa) and Brian Bruney. Scott Patterson had better be here some time this season.

Kay is for Kool-aid: Michael Kay was overly effusive with his praise of George Steinbrenner in the wake of the Legends Field renaming ceremony. You would have thought Georgie was the greatest thing since sliced bread according to his YESman Kay, who poured on the praises on his 1050ESPN radio show. As you recalled Kay also shredded JoeTorre for weeks after his contract negotiation fell through. Stick to announcing Michael.

Former traveling secretary George Costanza David Szen has asked the court to be spared prison time for failing to report more than $50,000 in tips from players and coaches. Szen pleaded guilty back in December.

According to Peter Abraham, Andy Pettitte threw a 25-pitch bullpen session today in Tampa and felt great.

“As far as during my bullpen and stuff like that, I feel great,” Pettitte told the AP. “It loosened up good. Do I still feel it walking around? Yeah. Sunday is a good day. I need to get some good work in. That’s all I’m looking for now.”

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Please Don't Forget Joe

We're not talking about Joe Torre. TheBigLead tipped us off to this sad story about the widow of pitcher Joe Kennedy trying to cope with her loss. Our heart breaks for her.

Read it Here.

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Fantasy Baseball Anyone?

We've got our league's (in its 13th year) draft/auction on Sunday. But we've received a number of emails asking us to run a "My Pinstripes League". If we have enough participants we would be glad to do it. If interested email us at mantlemurcer@yahoo.com.

BILLY JOEL "Sometimes A Fantasy"

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Master Motivator

Brian McNamee is telling kids "don't do what I did" as part of his "penance" for distributing/using steroids and generally being an a-hole. McNamee met with a small number of work out buffs in Everett, Massachuesetts, warning them of the perils of performance enhancing drugs.

“My lifetime of actions can be defined by one singular monumental mistake,” he said in a 12-minute talk at a friend’s supplement store. “I believe firmly that everyone deserves a second chance. Every second chance needs a first step. Today, I’m taking that first step.”

“You have to be careful what you get yourself involved in,” he said. “The best guide is to go with your gut feeling. If it doesn’t feel right, you probably shouldn’t be going.”

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Duncan 2008's First Award Winner

Shelley Duncan is the recipient of the James P. Dawson Award, given annually to the top Yankees prospect in spring training. The award is named after the late NY Times sportswriter who died during spring training in 1953.

LoHud's Peter Abraham had the honor of presenting Duncan with the award. Duncan reacted like you would expect him to.

“This is cool, dude,” Shelley said. “Awesome.”

Though some winners have gone on to win Rookie of the Year or had great careers, we remember many winners in the late '60s and the '70s that never amounted to anything as ball players. We're sure that Duncan will be one of the successful ones.

Duncan received a commemorative watch from William Barthman Jewelers as part of the celebration.

"I always need a new watch," Duncan said. "It's funny. You can joke around and say, 'Some people say Spring Training doesn't mean anything.' Well, now it means a watch to me."

Ya gotta love this guy!

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Let it be Monday

Not that we want to rush the weekend away, but start the season already. Another boring loss to the Pirates today. Another poor performance by Kei Igawa. 5 hits from the offense, 2 of them in the 9th. Derek Jeter and Nick Green hit solo homers for the 2 runs. On the upside, the bullpen was outstanding, though Jeff Karstens appeared to have pulled a groin muscle.

George must be pissed that he has to wait until next year for a win in his self-named park.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.217
a-Brown, PH-DH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.200
Jeter, SS	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	.261
1-Gonzalez, PR-SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.208
Duncan, RF	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.364
Tabata, J, RF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.100
Rodriguez, A, 3B	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	.436
Green, 3B	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	.185
Posada, C	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.237
Molina, C	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.351
Matsui, LF	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.364
Porter, LF	2	0	0	0	0	2	1	.259
Ensberg, 1B	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.234
Ransom, 1B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.289
Betemit, 2B	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.157
Castro, B, 2B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Cabrera, CF	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.327
Lane, CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.222
Totals	31	2	5	2	2	6	7
a-Struck out for Damon in the 8th. 1-Ran for Jeter in the 6th.
BATTING 2B: Molina (4, Grabow). HR: Jeter (1, 1st inning off Gorzelanny, 0 on, 1 out), Green (2, 9th inning off Grabow, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Jeter 4; Rodriguez, A; Green 4; Molina 2; Ransom. RBI: Jeter (1), Green (5). 2-out RBI: Green. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Porter. GIDP: Ensberg. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING E: Ensberg (3, fielding), Ohlendorf (1, pickoff). Outfield assists: Cabrera (Morgan at 2nd base). Pickoffs: Posada (Morgan at 1st base), Molina (Laboy at 2nd base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Igawa (L, 1-1)	3.1	5	4	4	3	2	0	5.56
Karstens	1.1	1	0	0	0	2	0	8.44
Patterson	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Ohlendorf	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.86
Bruney	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2.00
Schmidt	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	1	9.00

Ground outs-fly outs: Igawa 7-1, Karstens 0-1, Patterson 2-1, Ohlendorf 2-0,
Bruney 0-1, Schmidt 1-1.
Batters faced: Igawa 19, Karstens 4, Patterson 4, Ohlendorf 3, Bruney 4, Schmidt 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Karstens 2-0, Patterson 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Andy Fletcher. 1B: Dan Bolino. 2B: Scot Chamberlain. 3B: --NO UMP--.
Weather: 73 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 6 mph, Varies.
T: 2:39 (:10 delay).
Att: 10,719.

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4000

Time to forget about the fun of baseball and get serious for a minute. Since the coverage is not what it once was, you may have not heard the other day that Iraq casualty list is now at 4,000 Americans. Let's look at that another way.

4,000

We don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or Venutian. Start typing some email or get out some stationary if you prefer and write your Senators and House Reps. Demand that this war of lies be stopped. Threaten to vote against them in their next election (it drives them crazy).

We don't endorse candidates on this site, but you know which presidential candidates would be glad to stay in Iraq for 100 years and which wouldn't.

This war must be stopped now. Mission accomplished, our ass.

Now back to your fun day.

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Mrs. George or Igawa?

Interesting debate. Mrs. George didn't come close to reaching home plate when she threw out the first pitch, but Igawa just stunk up the join again in 3.1 innings. The Yankees trail 4-1 and it could have been worse if not for Igawa's fielding of a bad bunt, and Jorge Posada's pickoff of Nyjer Morgan at 1st base.

All told, Igawa allowed 4 earned runs, 5 hits, and walked 3. His pitch count was already in the 50s in the 3rd inning. This guy stinks and it's not going to get any better.

The lone Yankees run is on a Derek Jeter solo home run.

Pirates 4-1 bottom 4

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The Bride of Godzilla

There were reports yesterday that Hideki Matsui was getting married, but apparently he already is, for a day any way. Matsui slipped up to New York yesterday and got hitched to a 25-yr old countrywoman. He told reporters it about today and, for some reason, showed a drawing of the bride that looked like it was done by a police artist.

"I, Hideki Matsui, was married yesterday in New York City," Matsui said. "The bride is a 25-year-old civilian and had been formerly working in a reputable position at a highly respected company."

Matsui said he was introduced to the woman in Japan after the 2006 season, and that the wedding plans -- a traditional ceremony, he said -- have been in the works for six months. He said she attended a few Yankees games last season.

"I met somebody who felt right and that was it," Matsui said. "Hopefully, this event will be a good thing for me as a baseball player."

The Yankees had a bet going in the clubhouse- who would get married first, Bobby Abreu or Derek Jeter. Abreu is currently seeing someone while Jeter is not. Matsui suckered his teammates into including him and took glee in their reaction to the announcement.

"Who told you that?" Jeter said quizzically, before dashing over to Matsui to check out the story for himself.

Mark it down. This, Jeter said, surprised him. Now, Jeter has a one year handicap to find a lucky lady and get hitched, or else dole out some cash to the Matsuis.

"He won," Jeter said. "I got one year? No chance. I'll give him the money today. That's pretty good, though. He's sneaky. I should have known he was up to something."

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Godzilla.

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A-Rod Silent, but Hank Bashes Josebag

Alex Rodriguez has refused to answer Jose Canseco's rants, but Hank Steinbrenner, to no surprise, let the king of sleeze have it in the Bergen Record.

"if [Sandy] Koufax, [Mickey] Mantle, [Babe] Ruth, [Willie] Mays or [Hank] Aaron were playing today, they all would be suspected of doing something — and of course, they didn't do it. There was no such thing in their day.

"This is the age of paranoia."

"Consider the source, that's No. 1," Steinbrenner said of Canseco. "He wouldn't have been able to hit the ball out of the infield without steroids.

"And No. 2, if Mantle or Ruth were playing today, with the 550-foot home runs they hit, everybody'd be saying they were on something. They didn't even lift weights in those days. They played on alcohol and hot dogs.

"There are certain naturals. There are guys who can just do it, and Alex is one of those guys," Steinbrenner said. "He's just friggin' great."

"He got a couple of things right with the first one, and now he's just trying to make money," said Steinbrenner, who suggested that Canseco needed this attention, "or else he'd be on some reality show on TV.

"It's a shame, because he's preying on a player that everyone's attention is on," said Steinbrenner, who emphasized A-Rod's comparison to a modern-day Mantle regarding natural ability.

"Without injuries," Steinbrenner said, "[Mantle] would've broken every record in the book.

"[Rodriguez] is not only one of the greatest hitters ever, he's one of the best shortstops ever, and one of the best third basemen," Steinbrenner said. "He is just a natural. People have to come to grips with that."

Canseco's claims are disturbing, but not as disturbing as Canseco himself. Deadspin.com has excerpts of a piece by Pat Jordan on the overmuscled creep. Be warned that after reading this you may want to shower or vomit.

All those needles and vials of performance enhancing drugs around the house which his woman of the moment must learn to differentiate, winstrol from deca-durabolin from HGH, and then draw the proper amount of fluid into each syringe and inject that needle and its fluid into Jose's buttocks.

That's just a minor example. One wonders why any woman would even hang with him. They must be under the false impression that he has money.

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Yankees vs. Pirates - March 27

Legends Field officially becomes George M. Steinbrenner Field today with a ceremony prior to the Yankees hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Today's lineup

Damon, DH
Jeter, SS
Duncan, RF
Rodriguez, A, 3B
Posada, C
Matsui, LF
Ensberg, 1B
Betemit, 2B
Cabrera, CF

and unfortunately Kei Igawa on the mound.

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Wang Confident for Opening Day

Our boy "The Wanger", Chien-Ming Wang had, to put it politely, a miserable post-season. He hasn't exactly had the best spring training either. But after yesterday's 5 inning, 4 run performance, he felt confident as he prepares for his opening day start on Monday. And his manager Joe Girardi felt it was his best appearance of the spring.

Fair enough. Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez both blew double play balls that would have meant just a 1 run inning instead of 4 runs. And all the runs were earned since you can't assume double plays.

Wang has tried some new things this spring, including a new change up and came out of yesterday's game realizing he has to throw inside more on hitters so they're not so comfortable up there.

It used to be we didn't worry about The Wanger at all. But we are a bit worried at the moment. Wang has always been a cool customer. He seemed to effortlessly win 8 games in 17 rookie starts and followed that up with a fabulous 19 win season in 2006.

But even though he won 19 games last year, Wang struggled at times, especially in the second half. His two playoff appearances, were to put it politely, awful. (It also makes a question Ron Guidry's ability to help a pitcher make adjustments). Wang has always been a cool customer. "He just never gets rattled", were words often used by Joe Torre.

But after getting thrashed by the Blue Jays for 8 runs in 2.2 innings last August, Wang was clearly rattled. He was 6-1, 3.15 w/ 2 no decisions the rest of the way, but he struggled with his control, walking 3 or more batters in 5 of those last 9 starts. The 3.15 ERA was a bit misleading too as he escaped a lot of jams and went long in a lot of counts.

We've always felt confident in The Wanger, but we are concerned. It is tempered a bit though by having Dave Eiland as the pitching coach. He seems to be able to quickly recognize issues as he did earlier this spring after Wang didn't make it out of the 1st inning against the Reds.

Hopefully the real Wanger is here all year. The Yankees NEED him.

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Whoooo are you? Who Who? Who Who?

Saw this over at The Big Lead...pretty cool. We turned out to be Hanley Ramirez.



Find out Which Major Leaguer Are You at LiquidGeneration.com!

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Oh Good God

How did we miss this on Monday (thanks to the boys at TheYankeeZone.com)?

Yankees - Claimed pitcher Felix Heredia off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.

Apparently someone had nothing better to do this week than throw a false transaction into ESPN and CBS Sportsline (as some of you may have seen on various websites, it reported Corey Lidle having a transaction for the Blue Jays).

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Phillies Beat Bobbling Yankees, 4-0

The Phillies took advantage of miscues by Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez and their pitching limited the Yankees to 2 hits in a 4-0 Phillies win. Chien-Ming Wang got himself into trouble in the 2nd when he allowed 3 straight singles to load the bases with no one out. Wang induced the double play grounder he needed from Jayson Werth, but Cano dropped the flip from Wilson Betemit and could only get a force.

Wang walked Chris Coste to load the bases and set up another potential double play situation with the pitcher, Brett Myers, coming to the plate. Wang got what he needed again, but this time the ball went right through Alex Rodriguez's legs for a run scoring error. Jimmy Rollins then put an exclamation point on the inning with a 2-run single.

The Yankees had 5 regulars in the lineup, but looked feeble at the plate all day. Both hits they picked up, singles by the red hot Cano and Jorge Posada, were in the first 5 innings against Myers. Drew Carpenter allowed just a walk in his 4 innings of work as the Yankees lost their 2nd straight.

Wang settled down allowing just 2 other hits the rest of the day, but the damage was done. Ross Ohlendorf threw a scoreless 6th and then Joba Chamberlain, Billy Traber, and Brian Bruney tossed .2 scoreless innings each.

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gardner, B, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.324
a-Castro, B, PH-CF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Cano, 2B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.467
1-Mendoza, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500
Abreu, RF	2	0	0	0	2	1	1	.385
2-Porter, PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.280
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	.432
Ransom, 3B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.270
Giambi, 1B	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	.385
Chamberlain, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Traber, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Bruney, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b-Green, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.160
Posada, C	2	0	1	0	1	1	0	.250
Molina, C	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	.343
Betemit, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.167
Woodward, SS	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.393
Lane, LF	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	.227
Wang, P	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000
Ohlendorf, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Ensberg, 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.244
Totals	30	0	4	0	4	9	16
a-Struck out for Gardner, B in the 5th. b-Struck out for Bruney in the 9th. 1-Ran for Cano in the 9th. 2-Ran for Abreu in the 9th.
BATTING TB: Cano 2; Ransom; Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rodriguez, A; Wang; Woodward 2. GIDP: Rodriguez, A. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING E: Rodriguez, A (3, fielding). Outfield assists: Abreu (Jenkins at 2nd base). DP: (Betemit-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Wang (L, 2-2)	5.0	6	4	4	2	2	0	8.04
Ohlendorf	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	2.08
Chamberlain	0.2	0	0	0	1	1	0	5.00
Traber	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.08
Bruney	0.2	2	0	0	0	1	0	2.25

WP: Chamberlain.
Ground outs-fly outs: Wang 9-3, Ohlendorf 0-1, Chamberlain 1-0,
Traber 0-1, Bruney 0-0
Batters faced: Wang 22, Ohlendorf 4, Chamberlain 3, Traber 2, Bruney 3
Inherited runners-scored: Traber 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Crawford. 1B: Marty Foster. 2B: Andy Fletcher. 3B: Kevin Causey.
Weather: 70 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 5 mph, In from RF.
T: 2:23.
Att: 9,549.

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Bob Sheppard Vows to be Back

Bob Sheppard confirmed that he will miss the Yankees home opener, but vowed to be back sometime during the season. The "Voice of God" has been the Yankees PA announcer since 1951. He's been suffering from health problems since the end of last season.

Though Mr. Sheppard wouldn't set a date, he said he would be back this season.

"I don't know when it will be, but it will be," he said yesterday from his home in Baldwin.

Mr. Sheppard's long time backup, Jim Hall, will continue to fill in for him.

Source: Newsday

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The Daily Yankeeland

Ed Price of the Star Ledger sat down for a Q&A with Hal Steinbrenner, who has his own definitive opinions on how the Yankees should be run.

So it's the same process? Cashman makes recommendations to ownership, and then those are acted on?

Exactly the way it should be, in my opinion.

Andy Pettitte won't pitch the 2nd game of the season as originally anticipated, but after yesterday's side session he was confident he'll pitch one of the first five games.

Long time Yankees beat writer Bill Madden talks about his memories of Yankee Stadium.

Mark Feinsand has a piece on the confidence shown by the Yankees Big 3 - Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy.

Republicans and Democrats are split across party lines again...on Roger Clemens. This time about whether or not he told the truth before the Congressional oversight committee. Can you guys concentrate on something important, like say, ENDING THE WAR?

Johnny Damon was scratched from the lineup against the Phillies today as he's still experiencing flu like symptoms. He's expected to play again on the weekend.

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Yankees vs. Phillies - March 26

Chien-Ming Wang gets the start today and is in the lineup. You read that correctly. No DH for today's game, but Wang has been told not to swing.

YANKEES
Gardner CF
Cano 2B
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Betemit SS
Lane LF
Wang P

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Down on the Farm - March 26

It's time for a quick look at what's been going on over at the Yankees minor league camp. Chad Jennings covers the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees and has been down in Tampa for Spring Training. He got the following information from speaking with Mark Newman, Yankees senior VP.

1. The fact he didn't quite commit to Chase Wright being in the Triple-A rotation had me curious, so I asked if the team might move Wright to the bullpen. Newman said he still thinks of Wright as a starter.

2. Kevin Whelan is not going to be ready to start the season in Double-A. Whelan left the Arizona Fall League with a sore arm -- Newman said it was an elbow issue -- but now has a sore shoulder. When he pitches, Whelan will be pitching out of the bullpen. No more rotation to get him stretched out.

3. Anthony Claggett will also not be ready to start the season. Claggett has a hamstring issue and when he's ready to pitch, Newman said Claggett will also be working out of the bullpen. Not having Claggett makes the Double-A rotation a little clearer, seeming to put Dan McCutchen, Phil Coke, George Kontos, Jason Jones and Brett Smith in line to start for Trenton.

4. A few people has asked about three independent league pitchers the Yankees signed this offseason: Luke Massetti, Stephen Artz and Chace Vacek. Newman spoke about them very briefly, saying all three have been fine this spring but that he wasn't sure where they would start the season. Somewhere in A ball.

* Mark Newman when asked about Humberto Sanchez will be used when he's healthy: "We're looking at him as a reliever right now, but we'll see how it goes. He can do both, depending on what our organization needs."

* Eladio Rodriguez, the catcher who was signed with Jason Rees out of the Israel Baseball League, never reported to the Yankees. Newman said he had some sort of visa problems.

J.B. Cox threw the 1st inning of Monday's Triple-A game and looked good, according to Jennings.

I thought Cox looked great. I stood behind the plate for his inning and he threw a lot of nice sliders for strikes, but when I asked Cox what he thought he just said it was "alright" and then did that hand thing where you rock it from side to side. I don't know if that particularly hand motion has a name, but it's what he did.

Eric Duncan has gone for 7-12 over the last 3 games with a home run and 5 RBI

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Rich Harden is Back

But will he stay healthy? The oft-injured A's right-hander dominated the Red Sox over 6 innings in the A's 5-1 win in Japan this morning. Harden struck out 9 and limited the Sox to 3 hits. Manny Ramirez belted a solo home run for the Sox only run. And of course Manny stood there for 20 minutes admiring it. We continue to wonder why no one puts Manny on his ass for this classlessness.

Jon Lester struggled with his control in 4 innings of work, allowing 4 runs. Emil Brown blasted a 3-run homer off of him in his 2nd game as a member of the A's. Chris Denorfia and Jeff Fiorentino added RBI singles.

The game also marked the return to the big leagues of ex-Red Sox hero Keith Foulke. Foulke, in his second stint with the A's, hadn't pitched in the majors since 2006.

MLB finally got something right too. They're reimbursing the A's for the monies lost by not playing the games in Oakland. The A's generally sell out when the Red Sox are in town.

Steve Phillips was doing the game with Gary Thorne and finally got something right. With the A's leading 5-1 in the 8th, Phillips stated "you or I might run here, but the A's don't run often."

For a team that struggles to score runs, abiding by the moneyball rules is absolutely absurd. If you can't score, you should hit and run, steal, whatever it takes. Billy Beane is a great talent evaluator, but his logic is just dumb.

Boston	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Pedroia, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.250
Youkilis, 1B	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.143
Ortiz, DH	3	0	0	0	1	1	3	.000
Ramirez, LF	4	1	1	1	0	3	2	.333
Lowell, 3B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.375
Moss, RF	3	0	0	0	0	3	1	.250
a-Casey, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Varitek, C	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	.000
Crisp, CF	3	0	1	0	0	2	0	.333
Lugo, SS	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	.500
Totals	31	1	5	1	3	13	11
a-Grounded into a double play for Moss in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Crisp (1, Casilla). HR: Ramirez (1, 6th inning off Harden, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Ramirez 4; Lowell 2; Crisp 2; Lugo. RBI: Ramirez (5). 2-out RBI: Ramirez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ortiz; Lugo; Ramirez. GIDP: Pedroia; Casey. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Lugo (1, 2nd base off Harden/Suzuki).

Oakland	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Buck, RF	5	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000
Ellis, 2B	3	1	0	0	1	1	0	.143
Barton, 1B	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	.000
Sweeney, M, DH	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.500
Brown, E, LF	4	1	1	3	0	0	1	.250
Crosby, SS	4	1	1	0	0	1	0	.333
Hannahan, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.375
Suzuki, C	3	1	2	0	1	0	1	.375
Denorfia, CF	2	0	1	1	0	1	0	.500
a-Cust, PH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000
1-Fiorentino, PR-CF	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1.000
Totals	33	5	9	5	4	7	10
a-Walked for Denorfia in the 6th. 1-Ran for Cust in the 6th.
BATTING 2B: Crosby (1, Lester), Suzuki 2 (2, Aardsma, Corey). HR: Brown, E (1, 3rd inning off Lester, 2 on, 1 out). TB: Sweeney, M 2; Brown, E 4; Crosby 2; Hannahan; Suzuki 4; Denorfia; Fiorentino. RBI: Denorfia (1), Brown, E 3 (4), Fiorentino (1). 2-out RBI: Denorfia; Fiorentino. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Buck 2. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING E: Crosby (1, fielding). DP: 2 (Crosby-Ellis-Barton, Ellis-Crosby-Barton).

Boston	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Lester (L, 0-1)	4.0	5	4	4	3	4	1	9.00
Aardsma	1.2	1	0	0	0	3	0	0.00
Lopez	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00
Delcarmen	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Corey	1.0	2	1	1	0	0	0	4.50

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Harden (W, 1-0)	6.0	3	1	1	3	9	1	1.50
Casilla (H, 1)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
Foulke (H, 2)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Embree	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00

WP: Foulke.
Pitches-strikes: Lester 83-47, Aardsma 20-14, Lopez 10-4,
Delcarmen 18-11, Corey 14-12, Harden 95-60, Casilla 17-12,
Foulke 15-10, Embree 12-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Lester 3-5, Aardsma 2-0, Lopez 0-1,
Delcarmen 2-1, Corey 1-2, Harden 3-6, Casilla 1-0, Foulke 0-2, Embree 2-0.
Batters faced: Lester 20, Aardsma 6, Lopez 2, Delcarmen 4,
Corey 5, Harden 23, Casilla 4, Foulke 4, Embree 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Lopez 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Paul Nauert. 3B: Rick Reed.
Weather: 68 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 2:51.
Att: 44,735.

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Yankees vs. Indians - March 25 Recap

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	4	0	0	0	0	0	6	.233
a-Lane, PH-DH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.238
Jeter, SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	.250
Duncan, 1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.390
Abreu, RF	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	.405
Ensberg, 3B	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250
Giambi, 1B	4	1	2	0	0	1	1	.417
1-Castro, B, PR-LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.263
Cano, 2B	4	1	3	2	0	0	0	.464
Gardner, B, RF-CF	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.355
Matsui, LF	3	1	0	0	1	0	3	.375
Green, 2B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
Betemit, 3B	3	0	1	1	1	0	2	.178
Woodward, SS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.407
Molina, C	4	1	3	1	0	0	0	.353
Porter, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.280
Cabrera, CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.340
Moeller, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.160
Totals	37	5	10	4	4	3	21
a-Walked for Damon in the 8th. 1-Ran for Giambi in the 7th.
BATTING 2B: Molina (3, Byrd), Giambi (3, Byrd), Cano 2 (5, Byrd, Byrd). TB: Giambi 3; Cano 5; Betemit; Molina 4; Cabrera. RBI: Cano 2 (19), Betemit (9), Molina (6). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi; Damon; Betemit 2. GIDP: Matsui; Jeter. Team LOB: 9. FIELDING E: Cabrera (1, fielding), Woodward (3, fielding). DP: 2 (Betemit-Cano-Giambi, Jeter-Cano-Giambi).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Kennedy	4.2	5	4	0	4	3	1	2.00
Patterson	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Farnsworth	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.25
Rasner (BS, 1)(L, 1-1)	2.0	3	3	0	1	1	1	5.02

Ground outs-fly outs: Kennedy 5-6, Patterson 0-0, Farnsworth 2-1, Rasner 2-2 Batters faced: Kennedy 23, Patterson 1, Farnsworth 3, Rasner 10 Umpires: HP: Jerry Layne. 1B: Mike Reilly. 2B: Greg Gibson. 3B: Laz Diaz. Weather: 64 degrees, sunny. Wind: 10 mph, In from CF. T: 2:46. Att: 8,826.

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