Pat Venditte, better known as That Guy Who Pitches Righty and Lefty, made his debut against Big League hitters yesterday and had a solid first outing. The ambidextrous hurler gave up a run on two hits with a walk over 1 1/3 innings of work, not bad for a player who had never made it past single-A ball.
I’m pulling for this kid to make it to the Bigs, not just because he could be a major asset to the Yanks’ pitching staff but because he seems humble and wants to be a good pitcher. Plus it appears he’s down-to-earth and [...]

Mark Teixeira took a fastball from Jeremy Guthrie off his right elbow during the second inning of Monday’s 11-7 victory over the Orioles. You’d think O’s fans would be content after the release of this “zinger” against Tex prior to last season.
The good news is that Tex should only be sidelined for a couple of days and is not expected to miss the season opener in Beantown.
It’s just bruised. It should just be a day or two…At the very least I’ll play on Thursday.
Now I don’t think it was intentional because the bases were loaded, but it’s Spring Training and [...]

Drug addict and potential home wrecker Mindy McCready has made some bold allegations regarding Roger Clemens. No, it’s not about steroids but rather his inability to perform in the bedroom.
The washed-up country music star is set to reveal all in a XXX-rated film — aptly titled “Baseball Mistress” — set to hit shelves next month. Among the topics to be discussed in the film (which I’m sure will get some Oscar nods) will be Clemens’ problem with erectile dysfunction and how Dean Cain was “better equipped” than the seven-time Cy Young Award winner. This sounds all-too-familiar; I could have sworn [...]

Despite Andy Pettitte having yet another Spring Training start botched due to rain, the Yankees rocked the Tigers 8-0 before the rain came and washed away the effort. The pitchers had a one-hitter going and pretty much the whole A+ lineup was getting in on the action. It’s a shame the game had to be canceled, this could have been one meaningless game for the ages.
Richard Gere was in full uniform and exchanged the lineup card for the Yanks, no word on whether or not he kept the card up his butt.
Johnny Damon, in his first game at Legends Field [...]

Just over a year removed from the admission he used performance-enhancing drugs, Alex Rodriguez is set to meet with Federal Investigators today regarding Dr. Anthony Galea. Those close to the slugger insist that there is nothing to worry about; the meeting is all about Galea, who is facing drug charges in Canada and an FBI investigation in the US about PEDs.
A-Rod is set to say that he received legal platelet replacement treatment from the Doc and nothing else. Big Al will claim he had no relationship with Galea prior to meeting him on the instruction of his chiropractor Mark Lindsay [...]

Phillip Joseph Hughes. You read that correctly, Phil Hughes will be the Yankees fifth starter for the 2010 season.
“We evaluated the whole spring,” Girardi said. “I’m very excited with the improvement in [Hughes'] changeup. To me, that made a big difference in who he is. Our decision is for him to be the fifth starter, and all the other guys are competing to be in the bullpen…I think Joba could do either job but right now we feel Hughes is ahead as a starter.”
Although I always thought that Joba should be in the ‘pen (fine, call me a B-Jobber), I [...]

Behind Javy Vazquez’ 6+ innings of one-run, four-hit ball the Yanks edged the Nats 3-1 on Wednesday. Vazquez faced the minimum through five innings and was said to have pitched well in his fourth start of the Spring (what grand slam?). The one baffling stat is that Ian Desmond, Ian freaking Desmond, finagled a two-bagger off Mo. The game wasn’t on TV but yankees.com has the low down.
A-Rod had an RBI triple, drove in a pair and continued his torrid Spring Training, hitting .357 in these games that don’t count. I hope that meeting with the Feds regarding Dr. Galea [...]

Former Yankees (among other teams, especially the Mets) star Dwight “Doc” Gooden was busted early Tuesday morning for DWI in Franklin Lakes, NJ, after rear-ending another car. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was under the influence of a controlled substance (not that if it was alcohol it would be any better, it would still be despicable, but with his history of drug abuse…). The story gets worse, as Doctor K had a child in the car with him at the time of the accident. I hope for Doc’s sake it was his five-year-old son Dylan, otherwise it would just [...]

Johnny Damon just finished torching the bridge he helped build in New York.
“I started wearing it this past offseason after I knew I wasn’t coming back to New York,” Damon said of his 2004 World Series ring. “I was in New York for four years and I couldn’t wear it then.”
Wow. If he’s trying to get back at the Yankees and their fans then mission accomplished. What a scumbag. All that glitters is not gold. I guess a one-year/$8 million contract can’t buy you any class.
But wait, it gets better. “I can get it mailed to me,” Asshole said of [...]

AJ Burnett started off slow but settled down and had a solid day during the Yanks’ 9-7 loss to the Fightin’ Phils today. Royce Ring retired the lone batter he faced (Rauuuuul) and Phil Hughes’ numbers were deceiving as he pitched well but served up a couple of meatballs; read and hear what Phil himself had to say about his performance. Tex went 4-for-4 with a two-run jack and, if not for the wind, would have had another bomb. All in all it was a good day for the Yanks, despite the L. But, hey, at least it didn’t come [...]