Around the Horn - 5/27

Willie Randolph survived a Monday meeting with management, but for how long?. The verdict, "he's still manager, for now". That's not a rave. Then the Mets went out and looked flat against the NL East leading Marlins and lost 7-3. Luis Gonzalez drove in 3 runs to out do Jose Reyes who hit a pair of solo home runs. Mike Pelfrey was awful yet again in taking the loss. Perhaps he's been vastly overrated by Mets management.

Another manager hanging by a thread is Mariners skipper John McLaren. And you can understand how the front office would be upset with him after his handling of young gun Felix Hernandez yesterday. Hernandez and Bartolo Colon were locked in a great pitchers duel as the Mariners and Red Sox met. The game was tied 1-1 in the 8th when The King rang into trouble.

Sean Casey singled before Hernandez got 2 quick ground outs. It appeared he might escape trouble and maybe that's why McLaren left him in so long. Dustin Pedroia's ground rule double scored pinch-runner Julio Lugo to put the Sox up 2-1. The Mariners elected to walk David Ortiz and pitch to Manny Ramirez. That backfired when Ramirez singled to right. 3-1 Sox. Maybe a good time to take Hernandez out. No? An infield single by Mike Lowell made it 4-1. Okay, pull him now. No? A J.D. Drew single loaded the bases. You have to take him out now. NO???

McLaren finally pulled Hernandez after he walked Jason Varitek to force in a run. Great job taking a kid's great game and turning it into a fiasco. The Mariners scored twice in the bottom of the 9th, but it was too little too late at that point. Perhaps it might not have been had McLaren had the smarts to go to the bullpen about 4 batters earlier.

Clint Hurdle and the Rockies front office must be wondering what happened to their playoff team from a year ago. Granted the Rockies weren't much better at this time last year, just 3 games ahead of their current (20-31) pace. But the great pitching they got in '07 has not been there. Yesterday they were pounded by the Phillies 20-5. Chase Utley homered and drove in 6 runs and Chris Coste and Pedro Feliz knocked in 4 runs each. Jamie Moyer picked up career win #235.

No such outburst in Anaheim, where it took 12 innings before anyone scored. The Angels pulled out a 1-0 win over the Tigers when Garrett Anderson drew a bases loaded walk. Jose Arredondo picked up his first major league victory. Starters Kenny Rogers and John Garland both threw 7 scoreless innings. Gary Sheffield had to leave the game with an oblique injury and will be re-evaluated today.

Eric Hinske belted a 3-run home run to help boost the Rays to a 7-3 win over the Rangers. The victory moved the Rays to 11 games over .500. Scott Kazmir was dealing- 3 hits and 10 Ks over 7 innings. Meanwhile Sidney Ponson crashed back to earth with a 5 inning, 5 run, 12 hit performance.

Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez homered and Ryan Dempster improved to 6-2 in the Cubs 3-1 win over the Dodgers. Kerry Wood picked up his 11th save.

Team meetings don't always work. Royals manager Trey Hillman tried it before yesterday's game with the Blue Jays. But a few hours later the Royals had lost their 8th straight, 7-2. Marco Scutaro and Greg Zaun homered to help Shaun Marcum improve to 5-3, 2.64.

Gabe Kapler's 11th inning single gave the Brewers a 4-3 win over the Nationals.

The Indians and White Sox went 12 innings before the Chisox scored 3 times for a 6-3 win. Starters Javier Vazquez and Paul Byrd each allowed 3 runs in 6 innings. The Indians had to know they were in trouble when they put Scott Elarton into the game to start the 12th.

The Braves beat the Diamondbacks 7-3 to hand Brandon Webb his second consecutive loss. The right-hander allowed 7 runs, 4 of them earned, in just 4.1 innings pitched. Jair Jurrjens couldn't go 5 to get the win, but the Braves bullpen did an excellent job over the final 4.1 innings. Mark Texeira lead the offense with 4 RBI and Brian McCann homered.

News and Notes

Mets outfielder Ryan Church will be examined by a neurologist today due to lingering effects from the concussion he suffered last week.

The Reds are reportedly calling up top prospect Jay Bruce today which could mean the end of Scott Hatteberg's days in Cincy.

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Yankees Can't Overcome Igawa

Sorry for the late recap, we were catching up on some much needed sleep. Last night's game pretty much went as we expected. When you score 5 runs in a major league baseball game, you should win said game. But when Kei Igawa is your starting pitcher, 5 runs is just not enough. Igawa gave up 6 in 3 innings (we had predicted 5 in 3.1, not bad) and a Yankees rally fell short in the 9th as the Tigers held on for a 6-5 win.

Ivan Rodriguez doubled to lead off the 1st and scored two batters later on a sac fly by Carlos Guillen to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead just 3 batters into their lineup. Igawa managed to have a 1-2-3 2nd inning after Jason Giambi tied the game with his team leading 7th home run against Kenny Rogers, but Igawa ran smack into trouble again in the 3rd.

Ryan Rayburn reached on an infield single and came home all the way from 1st on Rodriguez's second double of the game. Placido Polanco's bunt single put runners on the corners and 1 out later, Magglio Ordonez singled through the left side for a 3-1 Tigers lead. Igawa retired Miguel Cabrera, but Gary Sheffield doubled down the left field line (the left field line got more action than any Yankees infielder) for a 4-1 advantage.

Joe Girardi was hoping to save some wear and tear on his pen, but after Igawa gave up four straight singles, including RBI hits by Rodriguez and Polanco, to open the 4th, he had no choice but to go to Jonathan Albaladejo.

The Yankees bullpen kept the team in the game, though Albaladejo had to leave the game in the 6th inning with an elbow injury and is headed for the disabled list. A double by Robinson Cano ended Rogers night in the 7th, and he came around on Chad Moeller's RBI single to cut the lead to 6-2.

In the 9th the Yankees rallied against Tigers closer Todd Jones, who was came on for a non-save situation. Wilson Betemit doubled, moved to 3rd on a wild pitch, and came home on Cano's ground out. Johnny Damon pinch-hit and beat out a slow grounder for an infield single. He moved to 3rd on another wild pitch and a Melky Cabrera ground out and scored on Derek Jeter's single. Jeter moved to 2nd on fielder's indifference and scored on Bobby Abreu's RBI double. Suddenly a blow out was a 6-5 game and the Yankees had the tying run on 2nd Base.

Jim Leyland elected to intentionally walk Hideki Matsui, whose 17-game hitting streak came to an end, to face Shelley Duncan. The big 1st Baseman got wood on the ball, but skied to Curtis Granderson in center field to end the game.

News and Notes

Jonathan Albaladejo said he felt like a needle was in his elbow and a burning sensation accompanied it. Maybe instead of Chris Britton making his umpteenth trip up, we'll finally see Scott Patterson. Nah.

Derek Jeter has started the season with a home run in 128 at-bats, the longest such streak of his career.

Kei Igawa is still slated for a start against the Rays next Wednesday. Why not just forfeit the game now and send everyone to the movies?

May 9, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	3		5	14	3
Detroit	1	0	3	2	0	0	0	0	X		6	13	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Cabrera, CF	5	0	2	0	0	0	2	.277
Jeter, SS	4	1	2	1	1	0	3	.305
Abreu, RF	4	0	1	1	1	2	3	.297
Matsui, LF	4	0	0	0	1	0	4	.333
Duncan, S, 1B	5	0	1	0	0	0	2	.194
Giambi, DH	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.178
Betemit, 3B	4	1	2	0	0	0	2	.250
Cano, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	0	.182
Moeller, C	3	0	1	1	0	1	1	.290
a-Damon, PH	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	.286
Totals	38	5	14	5	3	3	17
a-Singled for Moeller in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Cabrera (5, Rogers), Giambi (5, Rogers), Cano (5, Rogers), Betemit (1, Jones, T), Abreu (6, Jones, T). HR: Giambi (7, 2nd inning off Rogers, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Cabrera 3; Jeter 2; Abreu 2; Duncan, S; Giambi 6; Betemit 3; Cano 3; Moeller; Damon. RBI: Giambi (19), Moeller (4), Cano (11), Jeter (17), Abreu (22). 2-out RBI: Jeter; Abreu. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Matsui; Betemit 2; Duncan, S. GIDP: Matsui; Jeter. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING PO: Betemit (1st base by Rogers). FIELDING E: Matsui (1, fielding), Moeller (2, throw), Betemit (1, fielding). Outfield assists: Abreu (Rodriguez at 3rd base). DP: 2 (Abreu-Cano-Betemit, Betemit-Cano-Duncan, S).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Igawa (L, 0-1)	3.0	11	6	6	0	0	0	18.00
Albaladejo	2.1	2	0	0	1	2	0	3.95
Hawkins	1.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	6.38
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00

Detroit	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Rodriguez, C	4	2	3	2	1	0	1	.269
Polanco, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	3	.280
Guillen, 3B	3	0	0	1	0	0	6	.305
Ordonez, RF	4	0	2	1	0	1	1	.309
Cabrera, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.252
Sheffield, LF	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.204
Joyce, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.182
Renteria, SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.272
Thames, DH	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	.260
Raburn, CF	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	.304
Granderson, CF	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	.262
Totals	35	6	13	6	1	4	19
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez 2 (12, Igawa, Igawa), Ordonez (9, Igawa), Sheffield (5, Igawa). TB: Rodriguez 5; Polanco 2; Ordonez 3; Cabrera; Sheffield 2; Thames; Raburn 2; Granderson. RBI: Guillen (15), Rodriguez 2 (16), Ordonez (25), Sheffield (7), Polanco (13). 2-out RBI: Sheffield. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cabrera; Renteria 2; Ordonez; Guillen; Rodriguez. SF: Guillen. GIDP: Sheffield. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Granderson (2, 2nd base off Albaladejo/Moeller), Polanco (2, 2nd base off Albaladejo/Moeller). FIELDING DP: 2 (Rogers-Renteria-Cabrera, Polanco-Renteria-Cabrera). Pickoffs: Rogers (Betemit at 1st base).

Detroit IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Rogers (W, 3-3) 6.0 9 2 2 2 3 1 5.82 Miner 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8.41 Jones, T 1.0 4 3 3 1 0 0 4.50

Igawa pitched to 4 batters in the 4th. Rogers pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP: Ramirez, Miner, Jones, T 2. IBB: Matsui (by Jones, T). Pitches-strikes: Igawa 64-41, Albaladejo 36-17, Hawkins 12-10, Ramirez 13-8, Rogers 97-57, Miner 28-16, Jones, T 25-15. Ground outs-fly outs: Igawa 2-7, Albaladejo 3-1, Hawkins 3-1, Ramirez 1-1, Rogers 8-6, Miner 4-2, Jones, T 2-1. Batters faced: Igawa 20, Albaladejo 8, Hawkins 5, Ramirez 4, Rogers 26, Miner 7, Jones, T 8. Inherited runners-scored: Albaladejo 2-0, Hawkins 2-0, Miner 1-1. Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Paul Emmel. 3B: Gary Darling. Weather: 60 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 8 mph, L to R. T: 3:03. Att: 44,062.

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Time to Get in Gear in the Motor City

The Yankees start a 3-game series with the Detroit Tigers tonight in Motown. Unfortunately, Kei Igawa will be on the hill for the Bombers, which means we'll probably finally get around to watching Michael Clayton.

The Yankees (18-18) were swept in a 3-game set by the Tigers (15-21) last week at Yankee Stadium. The Tigers thought they had some momentum going and then dropped 6 of 7 to the Twins and Red Sox.

Igawa's opponent tonight will be Kenny Rogers who limited a punchless Yankees lineup to 2 runs over 6 innings on April 29. The Tigers won that game 6-4 as Phil Hughes made his last pre-disabled list start. The Tigers took the next two games of the series as well by 6-2 and 8-4 margins.

Saturday's nationally televised game on Fox which will feature Jeremy Bonderman against Darrell Rasner, and the series winds up Sunday afternoon with a pair of lefties, Nate Robertson and Andy Pettitte, facing off.

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Young Pop Guns

The Yankees knew that having an infusion of youth, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy, in the pitching staff would make 2008 a transition year, but they also thought it would make it a successful year. It's been anything, but that.

While Chamberlain continues to excel in his bullpen setup role, Hughes and Kennedy have struggled in the starting rotation. Hughes was on the hill last night and came out on the losing end of a 6-2 game with the Detroit Tigers. To make matters worse the Yankees announced after the game that Alex Rodriguez had been placed on the 15-day DL with a Grade 2 Quad strain.

Hughes had a poor night right from the start, walking lead off man Curtis Granderson. A single by Placido Polanco, a wild pitch, and a single by Magglio Ordonez quickly gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. The inning epimotized Hughes' night. He had no command and his catcher, the newly called up Chris Stewart, was crossed up several times. (On a side note, why did Joe Girardi start a newbie instead of having Jose Molina catch Hughes and then have Stewart catch a veteran, Andy Pettitte, on Wednesday.)

The Yankees quickly tied the game back in the 2nd on Robinson Cano's 2-run home run, his 2nd of the season, off of Tigers start Kenny Rogers. (Despite the home run Cano has the second lowest batting average among league qualifiers.) But the Tigers jumped right back on Hughes in the 3rd inning.

Granderson blasted a long home run to center field and two batters later, Gary Sheffield hit a 2-run laser into the left field seats for a 5-2 Tigers lead. When Hughes have up a double to Granderson and an RBI single to Polanco in the 4th, Joe Girardi had no choice but to pull his young right-hander.

The Yankees offense, without both A-Rod and Jorge Posada, was anemic at best. Jason Giambi grounded out to end the 1st inning with two men aboard. Rogers walked three straight hitters with two out in the 3rd, but Cano flied out.

In the 8th, they mounted a rally against wild right-hander Denny Bautista. Shelley Duncan drew a lead-off walk, and after Morgan Ensberg and Cano were retired, pinch-hitter Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon both walked to load the bases. Bautista hit Derek Jeter with a pitch to force home a run, cutting the lead in half at 6-3. Jim Leyland called on Clay Rapada to face Bobby Abreu and Rapada won out, getting Abreu to bounce into an inning ending force out.

The Yankees had one more chance in the 9th against closer Todd Jones to bring the tying run to the plate. Hideki Matsui drew the 8th walk of the game and moved to 2nd on a wild pitch. Giambi ripped a single down the right field line (it's possible Miguel Cabrera has less mobility than Giambi) to score Matsui. That gave the Yankees three shots with the tying run at the plate. And they failed miserably. Duncan and Ensberg grounded out and Cano struck out on a pitch up in his eyes.

News and Notes

One of the few bright notes on the night was the performance of Ross Ohlendorf who has struggled in the long man role. But last night the Big O threw 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out 5.

No word on who will be recalled to replace A-Rod on the roster. Ensberg and Alberto Gonzalez will split time at 3rd Base.

Gary Sheffield's home run was career #482.

Hideki Matsui at .326 was the only Yankee to appear last night with an average above .290.

April 29, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Detroit	2	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	0		6	11	1
NY Yankees	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	1		4	8	0

Detroit	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Granderson, CF	3	3	2	1	2	0	1	.348
Polanco, 2B	5	2	4	1	0	0	1	.216
Sheffield, DH	4	1	1	2	1	2	3	.164
Ordonez, RF	5	0	1	2	0	0	3	.300
Cabrera, 1B	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	.271
Guillen, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	2	1	.321
Renteria, SS	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	.311
Rodriguez, C	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.269
Jones, J, LF	4	0	0	0	0	2	2	.185
Raburn, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.250
Totals	36	6	11	6	4	8	13
BATTING 2B: Polanco (3, Hughes), Granderson (2, Hughes), Rodriguez (8, Ramirez). HR: Granderson (3, 3rd inning off Hughes, 0 on, 0 out), Sheffield (2, 3rd inning off Hughes, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Granderson 6; Polanco 5; Sheffield 4; Ordonez; Cabrera; Rodriguez 3. RBI: Ordonez 2 (19), Granderson (5), Sheffield 2 (5), Polanco (7). 2-out RBI: Polanco. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Jones, J; Ordonez; Granderson. GIDP: Cabrera; Ordonez. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Rodriguez (3, 2nd base off Hughes/Stewart). FIELDING E: Jones, J (1, fielding).

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, CF-LF	4	0	1	0	1	2	0	.274
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.278
Abreu, RF	5	0	1	0	0	1	4	.276
Molina, C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.245
Matsui, LF-RF	4	1	2	0	1	0	0	.326
Giambi, DH	4	0	1	1	1	0	3	.171
Duncan, S, 1B	2	2	1	0	3	0	1	.154
Ensberg, 3B	4	0	0	0	1	0	4	.233
Cano, 2B	5	1	1	2	0	2	5	.155
Stewart, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
a-Cabrera, PH-CF	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.289
Totals	35	4	8	4	8	7	18
a-Walked for Stewart in the 8th.
BATTING 2B: Duncan, S (1, Rogers). HR: Cano (2, 2nd inning off Rogers, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Abreu; Matsui 2; Giambi; Duncan, S 2; Cano 4. RBI: Cano 2 (7), Jeter (14), Giambi (12). 2-out RBI: Jeter. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Giambi 2; Cano 3; Ensberg; Abreu 2. Team LOB: 13. FIELDING DP: 2 (Jeter-Duncan, S, Ensberg-Cano-Duncan, S).

Detroit	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rogers (W, 2-3)	6.0	6	2	2	4	4	1	6.75
Seay	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3.00
Bautista	0.2	0	1	1	3	1	0	2.25
Rapada (H, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Jones, T (S, 5)	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	0	2.45

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hughes (L, 0-4)	3.2	8	6	6	3	2	2	9.00
Ohlendorf	3.1	1	0	0	1	5	0	5.40
Ramirez	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Hawkins	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7.98

WP: Jones, T, Hughes 2.
HBP: Jeter (by Bautista).
Pitches-strikes: Rogers 101-60, Seay 13-11, Bautista 25-9, Rapada 2-2, Jones, T 15-9, Hughes 82-50, Ohlendorf 46-32, Ramirez 14-10, Hawkins 9-6.
Ground outs-fly outs: Rogers 8-6, Seay 1-1, Bautista 0-1, Rapada 1-0, Jones, T 2-0, Hughes 6-3, Ohlendorf 3-2, Ramirez 0-2, Hawkins 2-1.
Batters faced: Rogers 28, Seay 4, Bautista 6, Rapada 1, Jones, T 5, Hughes 21, Ohlendorf 12, Ramirez 4, Hawkins 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Rapada 3-0, Ohlendorf 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Mark Wegner. 1B: Chad Fairchild. 2B: Rick Reed. 3B: Jeff Kellogg.
Weather: 55 degrees, clear.
Wind: 14 mph, R to L.
T: 3:26.
Att: 49,194.

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Yankees vs. Tigers - April 29

The Yankees finally return to Yankee Stadium tonight for the start of a 9-game homestand. It won't be an easy 9 games either, with 3-game series against Detroit, Seattle, and Cleveland.

Things kick off tonight with Phil Hughes (0-3, 7.85) taking to the mound against Tigers veteran Kenny Rogers. Hughes will again be trying to right the ship after a rocky start this season. He appeared to be on the right track in Chicago when the rains came and forced his removal from the game after just two innings.

Hughes faced the Tigers just once last season without success. He got saddled with the loss after allowing 5 runs in 6 innings pitched. He allowed just four hits, but three of them were home runs.

Rogers has struggled this season as well, compiling a 1-3 record with a 7.66 in 5 starts. The 43-yr old left-hander made just 11 starts last season after a blot clot removed from left shoulder. Rogers has faced the Yankees 35 times in his career, only 14 of them as a starter. He's put a 5-7, 6.45 record and the team has a .325 average against him.

Tigers vs. Hughes

Curtis Granderson 1-2 1 HR 1 RBI
Carlos Guillen 1-3 1 HR 2 RBI
Brandon Inge 0-2
Magglio Ordonez 0-3
Placido Polanco 1-3
Ivan Rodriguez 0-1
Marcus Thames 1-3 1 HR 2 RBI

Yankees vs. Rogers

Bobby Abreu 1-5 2 RBI
Johnny Damon 15-49 (.306) 2 HR 7 RBI
Morgan Ensberg 1-5 1 RBI
Jason Giambi 10-23 (.435) 4 HR 9 RBI 7 BB
Derek Jeter 8-20 (.400) 1 HR 2 RBI 5 BB
Hideki Matsui 2-3 1 HR 1 RBI
Jose Molina 5-12 (.417) 3 RBI

It's unfortunate that A-Rod and Jorge Posada are out of the lineup since they have destroyed Rogers in the past. Arod is 10-19 (.526)-5 HR-9 RBI with 5 BB. Posada is hitting .500 (8-16) against Rogers with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 9 walks.

News and Notes

According to a Star Ledger report yesterday Harlan Chamberlain was released from the hospital and is back home. Great news!

The Yankees are really reaching out to find catchers. The Times Tribune's Chad Jennings reports that the Yankees have brought in 29-yr old catcher Eladio Rodriguez to take Chris Stewart's spot at Scranton. "E-Rod" was the one time MVP of the Israel Baseball League.

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Break up the Royals

No one outside of Kansas City, and maybe not even there, picked the Royals to win the AL Central. But they're well on their way to a 162-0 season. They beat the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd straight time today, coming Edgar Renteria short of pitching a no-hitter. "Huh?", you ask.

Renteria had all 3 Tigers hits on the day, 2 of them allowed by starter Brian Bannister, who dominated the Tigers through 7 innings in a 4-0 win.

Kenny Rogers pitched well for Detroit, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings, but the Royals reached the Tigers shaky pen for 2 more.

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The New Whipping Boy

He's still raking in the dough, but Scott Boras isn't being looked upon too highly by some of his current and former clientele of late.

We won't regurge the whole Alex Rodriguez contract biz again, but A-Rod did mention yesterday that he hasn't spoken to Boras since that whole fiasco. The two were once thick as thieves.

Now the mouth that roared II (Schilling would be the mouth that roared I) is taking shots at Boras. Gary Sheffield needs to have a chip on his shoulder and he's decided what that should be this year.

It all stems from Sheffield's contract negotiations with the Yankees prior to the 2004 season. Sheffield ended up negotiating the contract himself and he was not pleased with the outcome.

"Can you explain why (Miguel) Tejada gets six years, (Vladimir) Guerrero gets five years and I get three? He cost me two years of a contract because he was trying to tarnish my name,'' Sheffield said in 2004. "The whole year in Atlanta, I had to get the players' association to stop him from writing me threatening letters saying, 'Either you let me do your contract or I'll be forced to sue you.' That's a threat and harassment.''

Since Boras was still under contract when Sheff signed the deal in late 2003, he wants a cut of the money.

"Nothing happens. Then, he comes back, `I want some more money.' That's basically the way he's acting,'' Sheffield said. "I don't know why. It's probably personal with him. But when it's done, it's going to be personal with me.''

Grievances have been filed and depositions given (another deposition will take place on Feb. 28) and the case should be resolved soon. Sheffield hasn't been able to comment on the proceedings, but vowed not to hold his tongue when it's over.

"It ain't going to be pretty,'' he said. "No fine is going to be big enough. No suspension is going to be long enough."

"Total hell,'' he said, referring to his time as a Boras client. "I shouldn't have ever introduced myself to him. Period. Bad person.''

Kenny Rogers also fired Boras this past winter when the agent tried to negotiate with teams other than the Tigers. That was in direct conflict to the pitcher's wishes.

One more Sheff note- earlier this week he said he missed playing for the Yankees. Aw, how sweet. We can't speak for everyone, but we don't miss you.

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Short Stops - 3/30

Kenny Rogers underwent emergency surgery today to remove a blood clot from his left shoulder. It was originally thought he was just suffering from a tired arm. He's already on the 15 day DL, but will be out a minimum of 6-8 weeks.

Scott Shields has been one of the best set up men in the game for several years, and he was rewarded for it yesterday. The Angels gave the righty a 3 year, $14.6 million deal.

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