No comment…

From MSNBC:

WOODLAND, Calif. – Major League Baseball MVP Dustin Pedroia’s brother faces accusations of child molestation in Yolo County.

Brett Pedroia, 29, turned himself in to Woodland police on Jan. 9. According to an arrest report, he’s suspected of oral copulation and lewd acts with a child under 14.

Brett Pedroia was booked and later released on $50,000 bail. He was working in his family’s tire store Saturday, but he said he had no comment.

The Pedroia family is well-known and liked in Woodland.

“I do find it very, very hard to believe,” next-door neighbor Kay Beruny said. “They’re wonderful people, and we’re very shocked and surprised, and can’t believe it.”

Controversy surrounding Torre’s tell-all probably “overblown”

From ESPN:

One source familiar with the book told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that it’s “inaccurate” to suggest that Torre used it as a forum to get even with the Yankees or settle old scores.

The source said some of the controversial angles being reported in the New York tabloids have been taken out of context or “overblown.”

“Joe is very honest in the book,” the source said, “but he doesn’t make any personal attacks. In terms of him name-calling, that’s not his style.”

The book is not a first-person tell-all, but rather, a third-person narrative by Verducci, who interviewed dozens of players and team personnel while researching for the book, the source said.

Torre is currently in Hawaii on vacation. According to the Daily News, he is scheduled for the “Late Show With David Letterman” on Feb. 3, as well as a book signing that day at the Yogi Berra Museum in New Jersey.

“Smart people will judge the book upon actually reading it and not reading preliminary reports prior to its publication,” Verducci told SI.com.

The book, written by Verducci, will be released February 3rd. Only then will Torre’s words be fully understood. While this issue has clearly defined its key players (Torre, A-Rod, Jeter, Cashman), I can’t help but to feel bad for CC Sabathia, A.J. and Mark Teixeira. These guys should be the big stories when spring training begins, not Joe Torre and his controversial tell-all.

Lucky guy

Just a quick bit about Alfredo Aceves. I know a lot of people are fans of his and think that he could contribute in 2009, especially after a successful ‘08 debut. However, although I agree and think that Aceves can be helpful to the team, remember to temper expectations.

Aceves pitched 30 innings in 2008. Most of those innings—28 of them—came in the month of September. While Aceves’ 2.57 ERA that month was stellar, luck seemed to help him tremendously. During September, Aceves BABIP of .241 was the 3rd lowest that month for AL pitchers. Meanwhile, his 5.13 FIP was actually the 4th highest in the AL. Basically, the .241 is unsustainable and the FIP indicates that his ERA should have trended upwards (and significantly upwards).

All in all, nobody is exactly sure what to make of Aceves. As long as you don’t think he’s the second coming or believe he should be awarded the 5th starter gig based on last year’s numbers, then your expectations are tempered and you’re reserving judgement (which is good).

Strong armed

A recent John Walsh read over at THT analyzes outfielder arms from the ‘08 season. Say what you want about Damon, he’s terrible, but Nady and Melky were above average in that department.

Prepare for it…

From Bill Madden (Daily News):

Joe Torre’s place in the Baseball Hall of Fame is secure, but his place in Monument Park at the new Yankee Stadium may not be.

According to a new book by Sports Illustrated baseball writer Tom Verducci, Torre was a bitter man by the time he left the Yankees in October of 2007, and he takes a few rips at the team that he led for 12 seasons.

In “The Yankee Years,” due to be released on Feb. 3, Torre describes general manager Brian Cashman as a less than supportive ally who betrayed him on several fronts, and says that his star player, Alex Rodriguez, was often referred to by his teammates as “A-Fraud” and was obsessed with his perceived rival, shortstop Derek Jeter.

You know, I like Joe Torre and have went to bat for him on many occasions. HOWEVER, with that said, wouldn’t it be nice if Joe Torre, for once in his managerial career, stood up and said, “You know what? I was not good at that (bullpen management) which is why the Yankees let me go.” Or maybe he could discuss his in-game flaws regarding the Curt Schilling game when he refused to bunt or the midge game where he refused to take his team off the field. How about admitting that you are not perfect as a manager?

That would be a nice change of pace.

Then again, I won’t jump to conclusions because Verducci’s book could be nothing major. He could simply be rehashing some of Torre’s statements from years gone by. Meanwhile, at least Donnie sounds (somewhat) coherent, even if he is talking about Manny Ramirez.

UPDATE – From USA Today:

Torre also discloses that, in 1999, team doctors revealed to George Steinbrenner that the Yankee manager had prostate cancer — before telling Torre.

Wow, I don’t even know how to respond to that one…

Pettitte hurting pitching depth?

From Jon Heyman (SI):

Veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia chose the Mets over the Yankees because he felt it gave him the best opportunity to pitch, as the Mets still have not filled their final starting job. Even if the Mets sign one more starting pitcher, Garcia could still have a chance to make the starting rotation since the recently-signed Tim Redding has the versatility to pitch out of the bullpen.

While the Yankees still would appear to have one final unsettled spot in the rotation, as well, there’s still a chance longtime Yankee Andy Pettitte could reverse course and grab that job, and Garcia apparently wondered about that possibility. The Mets are still trying to sign a starter, and are focusing mostly on their own free agent Oliver Perez, but there’s no certainty they will be able to secure him. And even if Perez does re-sign with the Mets, Redding, who has a guaranteed $2.25-million contract (plus incentives), has the ability to pitch out of the bullpen.

Freddy Garcia is Freddy Garcia and Andy Pettitte is Andy Pettitte. I’d take Andy over Freddy any day. However, if Andy doesn’t return (if he goes somewhere else) and we lost out on the chance to add a low-cost piece to the depth chart, isn’t that a problem for us? Also, we know that the Yankees went after John Smoltz. Did Smoltz take this into account when he signed with Boston? Maybe the Yanks went after other guys like Brad Penny but we’re not hearing about that. Could it be that the notion of Andy Pettitte cost us cheap pitching depth?

It’s an interesting topic and one that is troubling. Andy needs to grow a pair and accept what he has coming to him deserves. If he signs with the team, none of this will matter.

Clean Sheets

From Jon Heyman (SI):

The Yankees are still talking to free agent pitchers Andy Pettitte and Ben Sheets as they seek to add yet another veteran pitcher to their vastly improved rotation. The Yankees are believed to be offering less guaranteed money than the $10 million that was on the table for months for Pettitte but still may prefer to bring him back.

While the Rangers have met twice with Sheets, the Yankees are one of a few teams considering the talented righthander. Sheets has provided a second medical report for teams to review but it isn’t known how it differs from the first. His market has been slow despite a career full of accomplishments. At least one of the teams looking at Sheets appears to be hoping to keep it to a one-year deal.

At this point, forget Andy Pettitte. Go with Sheets on a 1-year deal. It makes sense when you think about the upside. In fact, he and Burnett are extremely similar. If the Yankees can pay $16.5 million per over 5 years for a very talented 31-year old with injury issues, then they can certainly afford to pay $5-9 million for one year of Sheets, who is a very talented 29-year old with injury issues.

Fans can plead their case for an option year in order to retain Sheets (if he delivers on his upside) but in this market I doubt he would want to get into an extended commitment, especially if he can cash in on the weaker pitching market due out in November.

UPDATED – The Rangers are still somewhat apprehensive with regards to Sheets. According to the Star-Telegram, Dr. James Andrews recently examined Sheets (I believe this is the new medical report that Heyman refers to in his blog post) and the Rangers—and others—seem to be evaluating Andrews’ reports. Stay tuned for more info.