Tis the Tax Season

Quick update for all of you.  The Yankees lowered their luxury tax this year by a couple million (it’s obviously still very high).  Here’s the story.  Also, the Yankees posted up a very brief interview with Shelley Duncan about his family and the holiday season.  Good to hear from him and he sounds like he’s doing well.  Check it out.

Happy Holidays pt.2

Hope you’re all enjoying yourselves!  Since I may not post much tomorrow (I’ve got a ton of family at my home this week), here’s a holiday video I made earlier this month featuring the projected 2008 rotation (sans Ian Kennedy) for the New York Yankees.  Enjoy.

Happy Holidays — Santana and Clemens Stuff

Hey everyone. Happy Holidays and I hope all is well. Despite the holiday festivities and family gatherings, many of you have still checked in on the blog and I appreciate it. I probably won’t post too much today or tomorrow (I celebrate Christmas) but if you have a moment, feel free to stop by and I’m sure I’ll have something up.

With that said, let’s move on to the big stories that are sure to saturate most of the baseball blogs. We’ve all been wondering whether or not a Johan Santana trade will occur within the upcoming days or soon after New Years, and if a trade does occur, what teams will be involved. Here are some recent bits and points that can provide some insight to the Santana situation.

1. The battle between the Red Sox and Yankees has continued even when baseball has ended. These two teams are thought to be in the lead for Santana although the Twins would rather trade him to an NL organization. The Twins, however, have been hard pressed to find a good offer from any NL teams (the Dodgers were probably the best bet, but by acquiring Hiroki Kuroda recently, they’re most likely out).
2. The Red Sox are thought to be the front-runner for Santana and are seemingly willing to provide him with a huge contract (money + many years). This is different from their usual philosophy and many believe that the Yankees may have to up the ante in order to get him over the BoSox (Ian Kennedy?).
3. David Ortiz recently spoke up about the Santana to Boston deal, stating that he finds it to be unlikely (he is a good friend with Johan Santana). Nonetheless, Ortiz still says he would be very excited to call Santana a Red Sox. Here’s the main quote:

“No,” Ortiz said when asked if he thought his good friend, Santana, would be traded to the Red Sox. “I was (following it) for a minute, but I guess they stopped. They don’t want him to go. (Minnesota) already gave Boston too many good things already. Me, and now Santana? No way.”

Along with the Santana talk, Roger Clemens and his steroid allegations are probably the biggest ongoing issue in baseball. Roger posted his online video yesterday (another denial) and is expected to be on 60 Minutes (January 6th, 2008). The Daily News is reporting that Brian McNamee (Roger’s acuser) would actually like to speak to Clemens and explain himself (that he was obligated, legally, to tell the truth). He’s seen the video posted by Roger and is sticking to his Mitchell Report story. If Clemens is outed after all this denying, forget the HOF. He’ll be a social outcast for a long, long time.