A Couple of Things

First, Eddie Guardado, who recently signed with the Texas Rangers ($2 million), was offerred a contract by the Yankees during the off-season. Guardado could be a sleeper (as a reliever) after having some major arm issues (he had TJ surgery in 2006) and would’ve been a nice and relatively cheap addition to the pen. He’ll have the opportunity to maybe win the closer position in Texas, although C.J. Wilson could be slated for that spot.

Next up, Mark Teixeira, the future Yankee 1B (I know, I know) is letting Scott Boras work his magic, and will hopefully land a big deal after the 2008 season. The Braves are trying to sign him to an extension, but with Boras at the helm, I wouldn’t be surprised if Teixeira became a highly sought after free agent. Expect the Yankees to dominate those talks (with Giambi gone). He could even earn up to $18-20 million a year.

Finally, some news on an actual Yankee. Peter Abraham has the story on Bobby Abreu, who has shown up to Spring Training looking very fit. He has reportedly weighed in at 215 lbs, which is 10 lbs lower than his 2007 weight. Nowadays, Abreu isn’t much of a home run hitter, but if he can keep that OBP up and get on base, his slimmer self will probably encourage Girardi to let him go and swipe a lot of bags (fantasy owners, take notice).

Some People Make Me Laugh

From the Amherst Bulletin:

Is there any way for a politician to tell when a baseball player has taken steroids?

Fortunately for fans, players, and the truth, I’ve developed a little checklist. Any politician can simply take a good look at any tainted player and add up the points for each positive answer. Has the player ever:

* played for the Yankees? (2 points)

* gone from three homeruns a year to 52? (4 points)

* punched a hole in a clubhouse wall? (5 points)

* been seen hanging around the clubhouse with men who hold degrees in pharmaceutical science? (6 points)

* switched in six months from a size 15 collar to a size 34? (8 points)

* punched a hole in a manager? (9 points)

* made noises resembling those of King Kong in his latest movie? (10 points)

* shaved his shoulders? (11 points)

* slid into second with a double and head butted the umpire? (14 points)

* actually liked playing for the Yankees? (18 points)

If a player totals more than 40 points, you don’t need a Congressional hearing to answer the “did he or didn’t he” question.

HAHA! That’s soooo funny! You’re amazing humor explains why you write for such a prestigious and well-known newspaper…. really!

Damon’s Retracted Retirement

Johnny Damon caused quite a stir on the blog scene yesterday, as his comments about an early retirement in 2007 were widely circulated on the net. However, today Damon clarified his comments with the following:

But when asked about his comments today, Damon admitted that “it never got that close.”

“I would have never done that to the team,” he said.

I wonder why Damon would even think about retirement? He’s probably itching to go home and see this day everyday. Hell, that would make any grown man hang it up.

Thursday’s Bitties: Jeter Responds to UPenn Study, Plus Other Bits…

You guys love my bits… admit it:

• First, Kevin Kernan at the NY Post has Jeter’s response to the recent UPenn study that labeled him as one of the worst shortstops in the entire game. Jeter says there are a variety of unmeasurable variables that factor into his play that could not be included in the study (the underlying yet overarching elements) and Gene Monahan, the Yanks’ senior advisor, also goes to bat for Jeter’s play. Statheads beware.
• Next up, the media are saying that A-Rod’s comments earlier in the day were rather misleading and open him up to some self-induced controversy. Apparently, when speaking about steroids, testing, how he’s never used PED’s, etc., A-Rod stated that he’d been tested “9-10 times” last season. At first, nobody really thought too much about this comment, but later, many sportswriters were wondering how A-Rod could, in fact, be tested (randomly) that many times. A-Rod responded saying that it was simply hyperbole(in passing), although some beat writers don’t see it that way since A-Rod didn’t look like he was exaggerating. Seriously, and people wonder why A-Rod steers clear of the baseball media. See that, even when A-Rod doesn’t test positive for PED’s (and just gets tested) he makes the news.
• Next up, a really unsubstantial bit, but it’s still a nice little blurb about one of my favorite ex-Yankees, Gary Sheffield. When asked about the Yankees, Sheffield actually said that he misses the team. I know many people may not like Sheff after his controversial Joe Torre/racism talk from last year, but, I must say that Sheffield will always be one of my favorite Yankees (even if he was only with the team for a brief period). When Sheff hit the ball, hell, I would duck even when I was sitting in the cozy confines of my own living room. It’s fun to see a guy like that play.
• Finally, I know the first bit railed on the statheads and sabermetric guys over at UPenn (I didn’t write it), but, for those of you who have stuck around to see this final bit, Murray Chass has an update for you on all of the main guys that the Oakland A’s drafted in the famous read, Moneyball. It’s a good read if you’re a fan of the book and love Billy Beane’s baseball methods. I was actually sad to hear that Jeremy Brown retired. He sounded so excited (according to the book) when he heard he was getting drafted in the first round… that was great stuff.

That’s it for the morning. Expect more info/commentary/randomness, later.

Crackin’ The Whip

From Newsday:

TAMPA, Fla. – Robinson Cano’s most vocal source of motivation, former third-base coach Larry Bowa, is gone. But Cano, who signed a four-year, $30-million contract last month, said he will be fine without him.

“I’ve got to do it myself now,” Cano said.

Cano said he probably needed the pushing more in his first couple years. He spoke to Bowa, now with the Dodgers, about two weeks ago. Bowa prodded him a little bit, asking about his weight and if he was in shape. Mostly, though, Bowa said: “Keep your head up, keep working hard, keep fighting.”

You know, a lot of people often question Cano’s work ethic. Hopefully, the millions of dollars he is now making (for years to come) will be enough to motivate him to work extremely hard. Cano will probably knock on the 20 HR door this season, but I expect he’ll hit maybe 19 homers (which is still excellent for his position).

Another little note from that article was the following:

Two of Cano’s closest friends on the team, Melky Cabrera and Alex Rodri.guez, nearly left in the offseason — Cabrera in a trade for Johan Santana and Rodriguez via free agency. Cano is glad they both are back.

As for Cabrera, Cano said: “I was a little bit worried [that he would get traded]. I saw him, and he was so sad. I told him, if they trade you, just keep playing your game and keep working hard. I’m glad it didn’t happen.”

Gotta love the Melk-Man. I guarantee that OPS will be higher this season. Yup.