Archive for January, 2011

…just be thankful you don’t root for the Mets. 14 MORE DAYS UNTIL PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT!!!!!!

About a week after Rangers CEO Chuck Greenberg bragged about derailing the Yankees’ chances of signing Cliff Lee, team president Randy Levine fired back on Friday. Hilarity ensued. Greenberg, at last Sunday’s Fan Fest in Arlington:

A source close to Andy Pettitte told Craig Calcaterra today that there is a “very strong possibility” that Pettitte will pitch in 2011. Andy is apparently doing his preseason workouts and has experienced no setbacks yet. This source also said that Pettitte’s hesitation to return has nothing to do with Clemens’ upcoming trial in July, which many have speculated as the reason he doesn’t want to return. I guess it’s not really Pettitte’s fault, it’s more the media creating stories, but I’m sick of this hearsay about whether or not we’ll see Andy Pettitte pitch this season. Make a friggin’ [...]

Amidst the snow storm, the Yanks signed Bartolo Colon to a minor-league deal on Wednesday. He will reportedly make $900,000 plus incentives if he makes the team, so it’s similar to the contracts of Mark Prior and Luis Vizcaino. The 37-year-old didn’t pitch last year, but was apparently very solid in the Dominican League this winter. In seven starts he allowed more than one earned run just twice, and never more than three, and finished with a 1.93 ERA. He also fanned 28 batters and walked just six in 37 1/3 innings. The signing of this fat bastard is very [...]

So says Bill Madden of the Daily News — via NoMaas. Now the title does say Cash “might” want to leave after his contract is up following the 2011 campaign and Madden never quotes anyone directly about him wanting out — clearly it’s just speculation — but I don’t know if I buy it. Madman:

Construction is finished on Jeter’s new house and…I have no words. The thing is ridiculous. The 30,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom, nine-bath mansion cost $7.7 million and took over a year to finish. It is the biggest house (in terms of square footage) in Hillsborough County (Tampa), and isn’t gaudy at all. I’m glad he didn’t go overboard. Pics after the jump

In a move that has been looming for about a week now, the Yanks agreed to terms with outfielder Andruw Jones. He will get a $2 million salary with another $1.2 million in incentives. The Guy Who Can’t Spell His Name Properly will pretty much be the new Marcus Thames — a fourth outfielder. He’s definitely a defensive upgrade, but his numbers have been slipping over the past four-or-so years. Whatever, I just hope he can avoid bats better than his predecessor. Jones, who will be 34 in April, has put up great numbers in an extremely small sample size [...]

Cashman’s hilarity went three-fold yesterday. Not only did he tell Andy Pettitte to not “Brett Favre us” and distance himself from the Rafael Soriano signing (shades of when Joe Torre put in writing that he didn’t want Giambi), but he also, apparently, pondered bringing back Carl Pavano for another tour of duty in the Bronx. The first two I can’t fault him for. I feel the same way about Andy Pettitte. Although what he’s doing is far less severe than what Favre did (plus he didn’t send texts of his garbage), it’s getting annoying. Make a friggin’ decision already. You [...]

The Yanks avoided arbitration with Joba, Hughes and Logan, as all three signed one-year deals today. Joba will get $1.4 million, Philthy will get $2.7 million and Boom Boom Boone will get $1.2 million in 2011. Hughes is a steal at $2.7 million, that is a fact, and I think Joba has a bounce-back year from his up-and-down 2010 and earns his dough. Boone is kind of a steal at his price, I liked him last year, but it seems like a lot for a lefty specialist who only threw 40 innings last year. Oh well, what can you do? [...]

Apparently the reason Russell Martin’s numbers dropped off the past two years is because of “personal issues.” There’s some things that you keep to yourself. Those distractions, they’re personal — personal issues in my life that not everybody needs to know about. I had some distractions that maybe led me not to have that same drive that I’ve had in the past. Really, that’s all it is, honestly. I didn’t train quite as — I trained hard, but before, nobody trained as hard as I did. His numbers were dogshit the past two years, but the three years prior to [...]