MY BASEBALL BIAS

Did you know that Robbie Cano was only supposed to play six games with his DR team? I guess that was the deal he made with Cashman before he split for the winter, but he proceeded to play in another four games. Cash said he won’t be reprimanded, but the question needs to be asked - Why didn’t the organization have someone down in the DR keeping an eye on just such a thing? He’s the last player we can afford to lose going into the 2008 season, unless you feel comfortable with Nick Green or Wilson Betemit at 2B. i didn’t think so.

What happened to Jim Leyritz is unfortunate, but the tragic part is that the woman he killed had a family - two young kids in fact. She was leaving her waitressing job at 3:00 a.m., something her husband was glad to see her finally giving up. He always worried about her coming home that late from work. Leyritz, regardless of his playing career and accomplishments, should be punished to the fullest extent of Florida law. This act, on top of Tony LaRussa’s incident during spring training last year, should be another wake-up call for MLB. It’s an issue that needs constant attention.

Other than myself, is anyone else excited for the Joe Girardi tenure to begin? I can’t wait to see him take the field for the first time as skipper at Spring Training.

How much longer before we read an article about Joba moving back to the pen?

I’d be interested to see how many people who haven’t ventured out to Yankee Stadium in the last few years plan on making a pilgrimage back to the old stadium one last time. I may start an online journal here at MBB so people can share their thoughts.

I want to write a book on Kyle Farnsworth but I’m going to hold my tongue until the start of ST.

Does anyone recommend the movie Michael Clayton? Is it Oscar worthy? My lady and I need to begin seeing most of those movies. Hopefully there’s an awards show this year (writer’s strike).

I gotta give a shout-out to my boys Ian of Sox and Dawgs and Anthony of the Oriole Post who not only are exceptional bloggers, but continue to be great radio partners. Thanks for your friendship this past year gentleman and I look forward to many more episodes of our weekly radio program “The Hits Keep Coming”. Was that a plug or what?

Please have a safe and Happy New Years. The blog will take a short break until January 2nd when I will finally announce a big happening here at MBB.

Until then, give your buddy, girlfriend or whoever isn’t drinking your keys if you plan on partying it up for the New Year.

See everyone in 2008 and thanks again for supporting MBB!

Greg C. over at the blog Sliding Into Home has some great pics of the “new” Yankee Stadium that’s currently under construction. Go over and check ‘em out.

Thanks Greg!

I’ve seen this report in two places - MLB Trade Rumors and from Steve at WasWatching.com.

It looks like a report has surfaced in a major Puerto Rican newspaper that says the Yankees have signed Juan Gonzalez to a two year/$2M dollar deal. Is that absurd or what?

Last time I checked, Gonzalez hasn’t played in the majors since 2005 and he’s now 38. He has no other value than taking up space. Unless the Yankees are getting ready to deal Jason Giambi or something but that clearly isn’t happening.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post has the skinny:

Hank Steinbrenner has continued to suggest the Yanks are in play for Santana, and a sense has percolated of a tug-of-war between Steinbrenner’s willingness to surrender top youngsters and GM Brian Cashman’s reluctance. But multiple sources say the media has focused on the wrong son of George Steinbrenner. These sources say Hal Steinbrenner is most responsible for dictating financial policy and does not want to spend the dollars in salary and luxury tax (nearly $30 million annually) necessary for Santana.

What an interesting twist. Hank is the mouthpiece, Hal handles the bills, Cashman seems to be on the longest vacation of his life and Randy Levine hasn’t been heard of since the Torre firing.

This topic deserves more attention, no?

From the NY Times:

The former Yankee Jim Leyritz was arrested Friday on charges of driving under the influence and killing another driver after his vehicle crashed into hers.

Leyritz, who turned 44 on Thursday, faces charges of D.U.I. manslaughter and D.U.I. property damage, said Detective Kathy Collins, a Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman.

He posted the $11,000 bond and was released from the Broward County jail. It could not be determined whether Leyritz had a lawyer.

Fort Lauderdale authorities got a call at 3:20 a.m. that a crash had occurred in the city’s entertainment district, Collins said.

She said Leyritz was driving a 2006 Ford Expedition when he collided at an intersection with 2000 Mitsubishi driven by a 30-year-old woman. The woman was ejected from the car. She was critically injured and transported to the Broward General Medical Center, where she died, Collins said. Her identity was not immediately released.

Witnesses told the police that Leyritz, who lives in Plantation, Fla., had a red light.

Police believe alcohol was involved in the crash, though investigators are waiting for the results of blood alcohol tests, Collins said.

Tragic.

The current print edition of Baseball America ranked the Yankees top-ten prospects:

1. Joba Chamberlain
2. Austin Jackson
3. Jose Tabata
4. Ian Kennedy
5. Alan Horne
6. Jesus Montero
7. Jeffrey Marquez
8. Brett Gardner
9. Ross Ohlendorf
10. Andrew Brackman

So John Sickels, Kevin Glodstein of Baseball Prospectus and now the guys over at BA all agree on the top five guys in the system - Chamberlain, Jackson, Tabata, Kennedy and Horne.

But what about the next five?

Baseball America: 6. Montero, 7. Marquez, 8. Gardner, 9. Ohlendorff, 10. Brackman

Baseball Prospectus: 6. Dellin Betances, 7. Montero, 8. Andrew Brackman, 9. Edwar Ramirez, 10. Kelvin DeLeon

John Sickels: 6. Bradley Suttle, 7. Dellin Betances, 8. Austin Romine, 9. Montero, 10. Dan McCutchen

The only player listed on all three lists of the next five is catcher Jesus Montero. Both Sickels and Goldstein seem to still be high on Betances but BA dropped him out of the top 10 (he was ranked 6th last year by BA). I don’t agree with Brett Gardner at 8 on the BA list or Edwar Ramirez at 9 on the Goldstein list. Is Austin Jackson really the second best prospect in the system?

Any thoughts? Should Joba really be ranked #1 on all three lists? I kid, I kid.

From ESPN.com:

“The Yankees sent a letter to Cano to stop playing, but they didn’t offer many details or reasons,” said Alfredo Griffin, the Estrellas Orientales general manager.

Cano told Estrellas teammates, however, that the Yankees didn’t want him to aggravate a calf injury that is still healing.

The Dominican winter league baseball tournament began its round-robin playoff series Wednesday. Cano hit .389 in nine games during the regular season. He was hitless in his first postseason game Wednesday.

Not much news here other than the Yankees have every right to protect their investment. The much larger question will be what position Cano hits in in the lineup. I would like to see him hit fifth behind A-Rod, but we’ll have to wait and see what Girardi has in mind.

My ideal lineup would be:

1. Damon (L)
2. Jeter (R)
3. Abreu (L)
4. A-Rod (R)
5. Cano (L)
6. Posada (S)
7. Matsui (L)
8. Giambi (L)/Duncan (R)
9. Melky (S)

I think Cano can equal or even surpass Matsui now in offensive production. I’m not sure I like Giambi anywhere in the lineup anymore but maybe he’ll thrive if dropped to the bottom of the order. He could also see a lot of RBI chances with Cano, Posada and Matsui batting in front of him. But how much can we expect him to play? 80 games? 100? Duncan will definitely get his at-bats if he has a good spring training.

Isn’t it fun to kick these ideas around?

He signed a $1 million, one-year contract on Wednesday with the San Diego Padres. He can push that number to $4.5 million if he reaches certain performance bonuses. He’s slated to return sometime in mid-May.

A few things were floating around out there today on the Johan Santana trade front.

First, Peter Abraham wrote that the Yankees should, at this point, pass on trading for him. He believes the Yankees should continue to develop the young kids (Hughes, Kennedy and Chamberlain) instead of adding another $140 million dollars over the next seven years to their payroll.

I agree with him. A few months ago I was all for a trade, but I’ve changed my mind. The cost in dollars and players would be a risky move for organization. We all know that Santana is one of the top pitchers in all of baseball, but it’s time to move on. If he goes to the Red Sox, let them deal with having to pay him $140 million. I think the Yankees should reduce payroll to a reasonable level, maybe $160 million by 2009 and refuse to sign players for more than five years (A-Rod being the exception).

And finally, La Velle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune checks in on Santana today and offered this:

The Twins checked in with the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets just before everyone split for the holidays but nothing major appears to be heating up.

Also heard that, in some trade scenarios discussed with the Yankees, that lefthander Kei Igawa’s name has popped up. Igawa, 28, was 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA last season. There’s a belief that he needs to get out of New York to establish himself. And, of course, Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson isn’t afraid of such a project. It’s still believed that Phillip Hughes and Melky Cabrera would lead any package from the Yankees.

Kei Igawa? I’m sure he was being discussed as the third or fourth player in the deal. Maybe if the Yankees hang-on to Igawa, he’ll make a remarkable comeback from a terrible 2007. Don’t hold your breath on that one, but it would be nice to see.

LATROY HAWKINS, RHP
STATS

The Yankees made the Hawkins signing official today:

YANKEES SIGN RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER LaTROY HAWKINS

The New York Yankees announced today they have signed right-handed pitcher LaTroy Hawkins to a one-year contract.

Hawkins, 35, made 62 relief appearances for the Colorado Rockies in 2007, going 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA. Over his final 53 outings of the season following a one-month stay on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation, he was 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA, holding opponents to a .233 batting average. Hawkins appeared in five postseason games for the National League champions, allowing just 2H and 1ER in 5.0IP (1BB, 3K).

He has a 56-76 career record with 75 saves and a 4.68 ERA in 631 Major League games (98 starts) over 13 seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies. Since becoming a full-time reliever in 2000, Hawkins’ 532 relief appearances are tied for the ninth-most in the Majors and tied for the fourth-most among right-handers. He is one of only five pitchers to make more than 60 appearances in each of the last eight seasons (2000-07) and threw a combined 550.2 innings over the stretch, sixth-most among Major League relievers.

A native of Gary, Ind., Hawkins was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round of the 1991 First-Year Player Draft.

Throw him against the wall and see if he sticks.

Do you believe him?

I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful holiday season. I’m currently on the road, JFK to be exact, on my way home to see family. My goal this trip is to inject even more Yankee pride into my two nephews. Their both young, but it’s never too early to start. I just hope my Derek Jeter posters arrived.

As you can see, I took a few days off from the blog. Always a good idea around the holidays when not much is happening on the baseball front. I’ll probably post sporadically the next week until after the new year when things get rolling again. Hard to believe pitchers & catchers report is less than two months.