Is Cameron Diaz a distraction to A-Rod?

Spring Training is here. But before we really dig in to the Yankees development, let me give you something that could be a distraction to one of the the Yankees stars..... Alex Rodriguez.
As we all know the fame and personality of A-Rod have attracted a lot of women in the past. There was Madonna, then came Kate Hudson, and now there are rumors that A-Rod is dating Hollywood star Cameron Diaz.

The baseball pro was caught getting pretty cozy with Cameron Diaz at the CAA Party in Miami a couple of weeks ago. Pre-partying for the Super Bowl with friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes at the W Hotel, Cameron seemed to be having a blast with A-Rod as the two danced the night away.

“They were having a great time,” a partygoer tells OK! while Cameron was, “grinding on A-Rod.”

According to the partygoer, a tipsy Cameron was being very, “fun and flirty,” with the Yankee player sitting on the couch beside her as she, “was dancing by herself and then turning into [Alex] some.”

Last year A-Rod had a monstrous season especially in the post-season overcoming his past failures. Some people say ex-girlfriend Kate Hudson is the reason why. Now Cameron looks like to be on board.... will A-Rod have the same effect?

To tell you the truth, I don't really care. It's not our business who A-Rod dates. Let him have his personal life to himself as long as he remained "the best" baseball player in the league. That's all our concern.

So my message to A-Rod; "just keep on swinging and blasting"!

Baseball step aside for Super Bowl

Baseball and the Yankees will have to step aside for the moment and give praise to the winner of the NFL Super Bowl XLIV, the New Orleans Saints. Louisiana native Tracy Porter, a corner back, played a crucial role in the New Orleans Saints' magical run to a Super Bowl title and their victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

A second-round draft pick who grew up in Port Allen, across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, Porter watched the Saints every Sunday with his family and friends. He remembers bags on the heads of embarrassed fans during the franchise's lean years.

Now the Saints have done the previously unthinkable in large part because of him in a 31-17 victory Sunday. Porter's 74-yard touchdown on an interception of a Peyton Manning pass gave the Saints an insurmountable two-touchdown lead late in the fourth quarter.

It is so nice to see a city like New Orleans who was nearly destroyed by a hurricane 5 years ago upset a winning team like the Indianapolis Colts for their 1st Super Bowl title. Who Dat?

Congratulations New Orleans Saints! Just like the New York Yankees, you are now at the top of the mountain.

Why Joe Mauer's signing with the Twins is good for the Yankees?

There is no doubt that Joe Mauer is the best catcher in MLB today. He is the "whole package" at the catching position. Mauer has Gold Glove skills, size, poise, and have the best swing in baseball. He hits for a consistently stellar average while also taking walks. Definitely Mauer has grown into a top-tier home run threat and run producer.

Mauer is the 2009 AL MVP, 3 time AL Batting Champion, 3 time Silver Slugger , 2 time Gold Glover, and a 3 time All-Star. Mauer got it all. That is why many teams are after him when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2010 season. The powerhouse Yankees are also interested, knowing that their prize catcher (Jorge Posada) will be retiring soon.

However Mauer looks like is never going to leave the Twins. Remember that Mauer is a Minnesota local boy. Mauer is Minnesota's hometown hero. And the Twins will do everything just to keep their star in their organization.... hell, the Twins are willing to give the moon just to keep him.

The Minnesota Twins ownership wished to move from the Metrodome to a site behind the Target Center, claiming that the Metrodome generates too little revenue for the Twins to be competitive. Therefore it is wise for them to keep their prize catcher to fill in those seats in their new stadium.

So is this bad news for the Yankees? Not exactly. Look at it this way, the Yankees will be free on their financial budget. Mauer would most likely get $ 20+ million annually for 10 years. That means if the Yankees sign Mauer they will have difficulty acquiring an Ace type starting pitcher (assuming their sticking to their $ 200 million budget). It is better for the Yankees to invest on pitching first than a catcher. Posada's highest salary is just $ 13.1 million and he is also a good offensive catcher.

Yes, a Joe Mauer type doesn't come everyday. But where talking about a catching position here. A position where injuries always catch up. Even the star caliber Mauer incurred several injuries in the past and has suffered back problems that forced him to miss the entire month of April last season. A catcher's position is the toughest position in baseball. You have to get down on your knees for 160 games in a season. Catching everyday will affect the knees of the catcher and will lose their speed and agility. We don't see a catcher stealing 20+ base in season do you?

Their main goal is to catch and have some bat along the way. So for the Yankees seeing Mauer sign with the Twins is a good thing. The Yankees can now divert their attention to starting pitching (which should be their top priority). Cliff Lee and Josh Beckett will be free agent at the end of the 2010 season. The Yanks will certainly would like to have an additional good starting pitchers to bolster their already strong rotation.

And in regards to the catching position... well the Yankees still have Jorge Posada don't they? And Posada can still catch this season and maybe half of it in 2011. Plus the Yankees have catching prospects down in the minors. Jesus Montero and Austin Romine are the prime candidates. If Montero is as good as advertise and turns out to be an average defensive catcher, then the Yankees have solve their catching problems.

But if not, there is still Romine or the Yankees can go for a trade and the free agency route. If your going to ask me I would rather have a good defensive catcher with some bat than an offensive catcher with poor defensive skills. Remember that the success of the starting pitcher also comes from their battery mates.

Mauer is good as gone and the Yankees must look for a replacement for Posada soon. Either they get a catcher in their farm system, or through a trade, or from the free agency pool. It doesn't really matter. What matters is that the Yankees must get a good defensive catcher with some pop that falls accordingly to their budget. And that ladies and gentlemen is how you define success.

Yankees has the most retired numbers

Do you know that the New York Yankees has the most number of retired numbers in Major League Baseball? They have retired 15 numbers for 16 players. Here are the list:

1 - Billy Martin 2B
3 - Babe Ruth RF
4 - Lou Gehrig 1B
5 - Joe DiMaggio CF
7 - Mickey Mantle CF
8 - Bill Dickey C
8 - Yogi Berra C
9 - Roger Maris RF
10 - Phil Rizzuto SS
15 - Thurman Munson C
16 - Whitey Ford SP
23 - Don Mattingly 1B
32 - Elston Howard C
37 - Casey Stengel M
44 - Reggie Jackson RF
49 - Ron Guidry SP

42 - Jackie Robinson (retired throughout the league)

The number 42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier.
The day was declared Jackie Robinson Day, and would later be observed by all of baseball, with select players from every team wearing the number 42.
Mariano Rivera, the current closer for the Yankees still wears the number due to a grandfather clause and is the last remaining player to do so.

So that's 15 Yankee retired numbers plus the retired number of Jackie Robinson which make a total of 16. That means the Yankees now have only 84 numbers to choose from out of a 100. The Yankees have never issued number 0, the only two single-digit numbers that have not been retired are number 2, currently worn by team captain Derek Jeter, and number 6, last worn by former Manager Joe Torre.
If both numbers are ultimately retired, the team would become the first in baseball history to have all of the numbers 1–10 retired.

The Yankees are considering to retire additional numbers of several prominent figures who wore them in the past. This people are:

21 - Paul O'Neill RF (1993-2001) = Relief pitcher Latroy Hawkins briefly wore the number in the 2008 season but, on April 16, 2008, Hawkins switched to number 22 in response to the criticism he received by many Yankee fans.

51 - Bernie Williams CF (1991-2006) = The Yankees All-Star center fielder; He played his entire 16 year career with the Yankees.

35 - Mike Mussina SP (2001-2008) = nicknamed the Moose; Mussina played the last 8 years of his career with the Yankees.

6 - Joe Torre M (1996-2007) = Led the Yankees to 6 American League Pennants and 4 World Series Championships. In addition he managed the team to the postseason each year during his tenure as manager.

So that's another 4 numbers of the chart. With Andy Pettitte (46) close to retiring, and Mariano Rivera (42), Derek Jeter (2) and Jorge Posada (20) not far behind, the Yankees will seriously retire their numbers without a doubt. That's another 4 off the chart and a total of 8.
Less than a decade from now the Yankees might also retire the numbers of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and CC Sabathia (if they continue their careers as a Yankee). Add another 3 numbers to it.

You got a potential of 11 retired numbers coming soon. Sooner or later the Yankee organization will run out of jersey numbers to play with. This is just to show how dominating this franchise is. The Yankees, time and time again, have managed to have great players to their team. That is why they have the most number of World Series Championships with 27 titles and still counting.
They remained competitive every year by getting good players.

So don't be surprise if you suddenly see a Yankee player in the field wearing jersey number 112. With 15 Yankee retired numbers plus a lot more coming, this scenario will become a possibility.






will there be a player in the future who has a jersey no of 162 or 103

Who's the Idiot?

(Image from Lenny's Yankees)

At first the Johnny Damon/Scott Boras ridiculous contract demands was kinda humorous. But now, nobody is laughing anymore....

4 years ago.... when Damon was 4 years younger, the tactics that Boras and Damon used was effective. At that time Damon was still at his prime at the age of 32. Damon was a lot faster and better. He was one of the best lead-off hitter in the league.
Because of that almost every team wants to sign the speedy Damon. Even the Boston Red Sox (Damon's former team) made an offer to Damon. But in the end it's the Yankee empire that won the bidding, signing Damon for 4 years at $ 13 million annually.

But that was 4 years ago or should I say... centuries ago. Today Damon is older, slower, and is more likely to have more injuries.
Both Boras and Damon should be "aware" that they are aiming for the stars ($ 13 million annually), and it seems to be a distant possibility. Even the Yankees (considered as the wealthiest organization in baseball) can't afford the salary that Damon/Boras is asking.

And as the day progresses and spring coming soon, Damon was still playing "hard to get". Each and every team that were interested in signing Damon went to their plan B's and signed a player that were more affordable.
It was only the Yankees who have a deep interest in bringing back Damon. In fact the Yankees waited too long that they lost the chance of signing other free agents like Hideki Matsui, Jerry Hairston Jr., etc.

I thought that Damon's story is going to be like Bobby Abreu of 2008 where Abreu took a massive pay-cut with the Angels just before the Spring training. But still Damon remained "high and mighty" and still refuse to take a pay-cut, hoping that someday a team will give him the $ 13 million that he wanted.

Something is definitely wrong with Johnny Damon. It's obvious that Damon screwed up a good thing here by allowing Scott Boras to antagonize the Yankee front office with his contract demands even after GM Brian Cashman's warnings that he wasn't playing games with the agent.
They thought that Yankees would give in to their demands knowing that Steinbrenners have "very deep pockets". I guess the owners are strictly serious with their $ 200 million budget.

With only $ 2 million left on the Yankees budget, Cashman went the distance and offered Damon $ 5 million (higher than their budget). Again Damon played them a fool. So the Yankees closed the chapter on Damon and move on by signing free agent outfielder Randy Winn for just $ 2 million only. That move place the nail in the coffin and put the Damon scenario to rest.... finally.

Damon either let his own ego get in the way of a perfect situation with the Yankees or he paid a price for trusting Boras too much, but in any case he'll miss his old team more than it will miss him. Not only will Damon miss the chance to play with a team that can win again a World Series but Damon will also miss the Yankees Stadium. It is in that stadium that Damon was able to set a career high of 24 home runs in a single season (2006 & 2009).

It's a tough lost for the Yankees but even a "greater" lost for both Damon and Boras. There was once an instance that several baseball people said that they believe Cashman became furious with Boras' negotiating tactics. One person close to the situation said that he once heard the Yankee GM screaming at Boras via his cell phone.

Before I thought the Red Sox community was just "bitter" with the situation that Damon went to the rival Yankees for more money. They kept on calling Damon "Idiot", which by definition means a very stupid person.
Now I truly believed what the Red Sox community are implying against Damon. Damon has one of the 7 deadly sins..... greed.
And now it is killing him, until now Damon is still unemployed as we speak.

I hate to point the obvious, but Johnny Damon is truly an "Idiot"!. Unless of course he wise up and swallow his pride and have some dignity left in his character, the name idiot will stick with him forever.....