The Yanks signed Marcus Thames to a minor league deal worth about $900,000 Monday. He’ll be expected to spark some Spring Training competition for an outfield spot.

Thames, who came up through the Yanks farm system, should be a solid bench player. This isn’t exactly a blockbuster deal, the Yanks pretty much took a shot at bolstering their depth.

I like this Thames signing; it was a good move by the team. Although the thought of Shef back in pinstripes made me happy.

Thames signed a minor league deal with the Yankees on Monday

Also, check out the list of non-roster players the Yanks have invited to Spring Training, which is just nine days away.

I apologize for straying from baseball and the Yankees, but it’s Super Bowl Sunday! My prediction for the Big Game is: Colts 42, Saints 38. Manning will get the MVP after throwing for 275 yards, 3 TDs and a pick.

If the Colts do win, the exciting thing for Giants fans is that the G-Men will win the Super Bowl next year. Think about it: the Steelers won in ‘05, then the Colts won, and then the Giants won. After that the Steelers won again; so if the Colts win this year then the Giants will clearly win next year. The due factor. So let’s go Colts!

Arguably the greatest baseball player ever, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, is up in heaven celebrating his 115th birthday today.

What he’s done for the Yankees organization (let alone the game of baseball) need not be stated; it would take too long to type all of his achievements and I don’t have the patience. But he was a giant among men. He could basically hit a home run on command…and he was a shut-down pitcher for a while. Imagine a player who could pitch a lot better than Mo AND hit a lot better than Pujols — that was The Babe.

Plus he was a fat slob. I’m not trying to glorify gluttony here, but just think about how hard players are supposed to train. Babe never did anything but drink beers, eat hot dogs and run through hookers — the game came naturally to him. He was like the original Lawrence Taylor (minus the crack abuse) in that sense. I wish I could have seen him play.

Also, we can’t forget the sage advice he gave Benny The Jet, “Remember kid, there’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid and you’ll never go wrong.” So true, so true.

So in honor of The Bambino’s b-day Saturday I’m going to eat about 15 hot dogs, drink like 20 beers, and get a steady flow of hookers. I just hope I don’t get cancer.

As Yankees captain Derek Jeter (and Mariano Rivera) enters the final year of his deal, many speculate on what the team will do about their impending free agent(s). Will they let him walk? Will they low-ball him like they did with Damon? Will he go to the Astros like Pettitte (and Clemens) did in ‘04? Will they give him whatever he wants?

Well, now we might have a better idea of what the Yanks will do when Jeet reaches free agency. We can thank Hank for that:

“We’ll get into all of that eventually,” Hank Steinbrenner told AP on Thursday. “Jeter’s place in Yankee history is obvious, so I think you can pretty much assume from there.”

I’m going to assume that Jeter will get whatever he wants. If they don’t sign him, or low-ball him, the criticism would be ten times worse than when Joe Torre left. Not signing Jeter would be the biggest mistake the team has made in a long time.

Emotions aside, if I was forced to, maybe I can see them not offering a deal to Mo because he’s so much older than Jeter, he doesn’t play everyday, and they might figure he’ll just retire. But regardless, they need to make an effort; Rivera has been too important to that franchise for them to turn their back on him…then again I said the same thing about Bernie Williams. And we all know how that played out.

Captain, on the other hand, needs to be signed. First of all, I don’t think Ramiro Pena or Eduardo Nunez is ready to become the full-time shortstop. Second, he’s about 5 1/2 years younger than Mo, plays everyday, and still has a lot left in the tank (not that Mo doesn’t, but Rivera will be 41 as a free agent after the ‘10 season).

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The bottom line is: You can’t let half the Old Guard leave and not expect a huge fan backlash and/or decline in team production. The Yanks better do whatever it takes to bring these two Yankees icons back…and do the same for Posada the following offseason.

If you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guarenteed, I will. I got spare time.

Good news (or bad depending on how you feel about Buck/McCarver) for Yankees fans, as FOX has released its MLB schedule for the new season. The slate is set to feature seven Yankees games, including two at night.

Dang. There’s no announcer I hate more than Joe Buck. Not only did he botch the “Helmet Catch” call in SB42, but it was so obvious he was rooting against the Yanks in last year’s World Series. I know I’m not alone on this: how does Joe Buck still have a job? I seriously think he wouldn’t be employed if his dad wasn’t Jack Buck. Maybe the good people at FOX can have Artie Lange make an appearance in the booth just to mess with Joey’s head.

And don’t get me started on McCarver.

Joba Chamberlain has said he will welcome a chance to become the next Mo. Although he says he’d prefer to be in the rotation, this is a good “start.”

Joba will still head to Spring Training early in an effort to beat out Phil Hughes (among others) and claim that No. 5 spot, but I think he’s starting to realize how amazing it would be to succeed Mo. Which is a good thing.

If you think Joba should be in the rotation, you're lion to yourself

The Yanks seem intent on making Joba the set-up man for Mo…all I can say is it’s about f’ing time. I realize that starting pitching is hard to come by, but Joba was hit-or-miss as a starter and shut-down in the ‘pen. Look at his regular season numbers against his postseason numbers from 2009.

Also, check out RAB’s take on the Joba situation.

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Former Yankee bum Jeff Weaver is set to sign a minor league deal with the Dodgers. It’s mind boggling how Joe Torre can trust that clown after what he went through in 2003. Especially since Jeff isn’t even the best pitcher in his own family.

Who brought the A-Hole?

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