Tuesday Hot Stove

Don't Do as I Say
We could use an umbrella to keep the rain off the stove. The Red Sox could use a swift kick in the ass. We don't want to hear any more garbage out of Boston about how the Yankees did this or did that. First it was complaining about how much money the Yankees spent and then the Red Sox started doling out huge deals. Now comes word the Red Sox are about to sign Japanese amateur Junichi Tazawa, violating an age old verbal agreement that the Major Leagues would not raid the Japanese amateurs.

The Yankees may have been looking into a deal as well, but publicly Brian Cashman stated it was a mistake for teams to take such an approach. The fall out from all this of course is that Japanese leagues could disrupt the US amateur draft by making huge offers to US college and high school kids.

Bing Stays Healthier
If the A's can reel in Rafael Furcal, they'll look to deal oft-injured, underachieving shortstop Bobby Crosby. The A's are said to be willing to pick up a good chunk of Crosby's $5.25 million salary.

You Can Never Have Too Many
Left-handers that is. The Cardinals are still finalizing a deal with reliever Trever Miller and have now made an offer to fellow free agent Arthur Rhodes. The Yankees will be disappointed to see him out of the AL.

Making a Pitch
The LA Times reports that the Angels have shifted focus from re-signing Mark Teixeira to addressing pitching needs. Translation - CC Sabathia.

You'll Look Great in Black and Orange
That may be one of the pitches the Orioles make towards free agent pitcher A.J. Burnett now that Baltimore is in the mix.

The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
The Mets have received the X-Rays from Francisco Rodriguez's medical records as they decide whether or not to spend big money on a closer.

Stot Unemployed
With a new manager in Seattle, pitching coach Mel Stottelmyre, still one of our favorites from those old bad Yankees teams, is out of a job. Stot worked one season on the M's staff. Perhaps something will open up with Joe Torre in LA.

UPDATE 5:00 PM
Rockies Try Not to Laugh at Mets
The Rockies have reportedly turned down a deal that would have sent Aaron Heilman to Colorado for Huston Street. Street isn't what he once was or what anyone thought he would be, but he's still a lot better than Heilman.

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The Daily Yankeeland

Ron Villone has signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. Villone is hoping to pitch in his 14th major league season. Bubba Crosby signed a minor league deal with the Mariners, but was not invited to the major league camp.

We've been hearing from Hank Steinbrenner since last October, but now Hal Steinbrenner has some things to say. He sat down for an interview with GQ Magazine entitled, "The Godfather, Part II". Here are a couple of excerpts:

Was there a distinct moment at which you and Hank took control of the Yankees?
No. I obviously became considerably more involved at a somewhat dramatic pace when Steve, my sister’s ex-husband, left [in February of 2007]. A couple months after that, I think Hank realized I could use some help.

Various sources say you “hate” and “avidly disdain” the media.
No truth to that. That was Bill Madden [of the New York Daily News]. Look, first of all, I don’t hate anybody. It’s a useless emotion. It accomplishes nothing. He even said I hate the players, which is certainly not true. We’ve all had issues with the media, okay, but at the same time, I understand, Hank understands, they’re in business just like we’re in business.

Am I comfortable dealing with the media? Probably not as comfortable as Hank is. Definitely not as comfortable as my dad was. Have I had disagreements with them in the past, disagreed with things they’ve written and the reasons they wrote them? Yes, of course. But again, I understand what the deal is.

The Yankees' position players report today. It will be interesting to see what kind of shape Jason Giambi, who has reportedly lost a lot of weight, and Johnny Damon, who admitted he was out of shape last year when he reported, are in.

Hank Steinbrenner took yesterday's Pettitte press conference as an opportunity to take a shot at Congress and the NFL. Prince Hank feels baseball has been singled out and the NFL has gotten away with much more P.E.D. use than baseball. There's definitely some truth to what he says.

Hank also talked about how confident he feels about this year's Yankees team.

"I think we're a legitimate World Series threat this year," Steinbrenner said. "I think we're one of the four or five teams in the American League that can win it. I don't want to trash the National League, but the American League is very strong and everyone knows it.

"We're one of, I'd say, four teams that has a chance to win it, in my opinion. Starting next year or the year after, we may be the favorite."

According to the Sports Business Journal, the Yankees are seeking about $20 million a year for the top sponsorship package once they move into the new Stadium.

After 2 years away from the game, former Yankees pitcher and pitching coach Mel Stottelmyre is back at work as pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners.

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Diamondbacks Hire Mel Stottelmyre

The Arizona Diamondbacks have hired former Yankee player and coach Mel Stottlemyre as a spring training instructor, and will also work the team's pitchers during the season. Mel's son Mel Jr., who pitched for the Royals and Astros, is the team's minor league pitching coordinator. Mel's son Todd was a member of the Diamondbacks for 3 seasons.

Good luck to a guy who was one of the few bright spots during the declinasty days of the late '60s/early 70's, and an integral part of the Yankees 4 World Series wins during the '96-'00 stretch.

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