Yankees Continue to Spend Stupidly, Near 4-Year Deal With Headley

I got 52MM bucks

I've repeated it numerous times this offseason. The Yankees do not have a philosophy for building the 2015 team. They're avoiding giving big bucks to those who will help the team (i.e. David Robertson) one second, and in the next moment they are spending money in a ridiculous manner. It continued on Monday when media outlets reported that the Yankees and Chase Headley agreed to to a four-year, $52MM deal.

While $12MM a season is reasonable these days, giving Headley four years is not. This is a guy who has had ONE great season. It was a fabulous, MVP-type season. But he did nothing before it and he's done nothing since. Acquired at this past season's trade deadline, Headley had ONE good stretch as Yankee. He brings a great glove to the position, but having the left side of the infield as a complete good-glove, no-hit combo is not a good combo.

It is clear that Hal Steinbrenner does not want to spend money like his Dad. Which is fine, but spend it wisely. George made plenty of mistakes in that department too, but getting cheap on David Robertson isn't the way to do it. They should have used this money to lure back Brandon McCarthy. They overspent last year on Jacoby Ellsbury (by a lot) and Brian McCann.

This isn't the Kansas City Royals where it takes more than a decade to build a contender. This is New York and though the Yankees don't need to win the World Series every year, you at least want to be competetive.

The team still does not have a solid rotation due to injuries and uncertainities, and the lineup will have a hard time producing runs. Much of the issues comes down to Alex Rodriguez and, believe it or not, this is not his fault. The Yankees stupidly gave him a 10-year deal at an average of $27.5MM a year and it has completely hamstrung them.

This team is in disarray from top to bottom.

Tampa Yankees Hitting the Highway

In a move that has been in the works for quite a while, the Tampa Yankees (Florida St. League 'A+' ball) have reached an agreement to move north to Ocala, FL.  George M. Steinbrenner III will continue to host Spring Training for Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and the rest of the Major League Yankees.

The city council of Ocala, a 90 minute straight shoot up route 75 from Tampa, will be presented with plans Tuesday for a proposed $45MM stadium and entertainment complex. The city's mayor, Ken Guinn, said a half-cent sales tax for a five year period would pay for the new ball park, though the tax would have to pass referendum.

If all goes as planned, the Tampa Yankees could begin play in Ocala in 2016. The reason for the move is a reported lack of interest in Single-A baseball in the Tampa area, especially with a Major League team located nearby.

The Steinbrenner family owns the Kinsman Horse Stable, which is located in Ocala. There is no word on future plans for GMS III Field outside of Spring Training use. While it will mean the loss of several jobs, the county and Tampa Sports Authority will not be affected since there are no ticket surcharges on Tampa Yankees tickets.

Yankees Fans Need to Make Up Their Minds and Stop Whining: A Semi-Rant

We know how you feel El Capitan

The year 2008 was very memorable in the history of the New York Yankees. The team was playing its last season on the site of the original and renovated versions of Yankee Stadium. There was a new manager, Joe Girardi, for the first time since 1996. Most of all, the team stunk by the Yankees and George Steinbrenner's standards - 89-73, 3rd place in the AL East, eight games behind the division winning Tampa Bay Rays. The Boston Red Sox took the AL wild card, six games ahead of the Yankees. The fans were livid.

The battle cry was shouted from the rooftops around the metropolitan area. Sign great players!!! Bring in All-Stars!!! We have to win now!!! The Yankees did just that giving deals to CC Sabathia (7 years, $161MM), Mark Teixeira (8 years, $180MM), and A.J. Burnett (5 years, $82.5MM). They traded for Nick Swisher (originally to play 1st base before Teixeira's signing), who became integral after Xavier Nady was lost early in the season. And of course there was still Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada.

The Yankees immediately won their first World Series in nine years and Yankees fans were figuratively fat and happy heading into the winter. Then something happened over the next four years. Players got older, some retired, some skills deteriorated, some didn't heal as quickly as they once did. The 2013 version of the Yankees is the fan base's nightmare. An old, injury riddled team that is currently filled with players who don't have the bat speed or the fastball they once did, and youngsters who aren't ready to be playing regularly in the Major Leagues.

So what's being shouted out now? Why can't we be more like the Pittsburgh Pirates? Say What? You know how the Pittsburgh Pirates got the way they did? By losing and losing some more and losing even more. It's not hard to build a good squad when you are perennially in the bottom of the division and have draft picks in the first five picks every year. Throw in a couple of key free agents (e.g. Russell Martin) and have a bona fide home grown star (Andrew McCutchen) and suddenly life is grand.

Then when the Pirates stars are ready for big money, they'll get dispatched to other teams around the league. Just the same way the Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals do. Do you think for one nanosecond, any Yankees fan is going to put up with the seasons it would take to build a team of young talent like that? Not one, not a single one!

89 wins in 2008 and the first non-playoff team in 13 years proved that. Not a team that barely won 70 games, but a team that almost won 90 drove people crazy. It's hard to argue with the Yankees haters when they say the fans are spoiled, because, for the most part, it's true. The younger fans didn't go through the rotten years when there were no championships like the late 1960s and early 1970s, and most of the 1980's and the early 1990s.

You want to talk about bad teams? You did't have to watch guys like Jerry Kenny, Dooley Womack, and Horace Clarke. (Ever see a guy get over 680 at-bats with an OPS less than .600?) Please don't let me tell you about the 1982 "speed team".  The 1996-2000 squads gave many of today's fans a sense of entitlement. The championship is ours or the complete season is a waste. Really? And you claim to love baseball?

Many fans were ready to riot after the team lost in the 2012 playoffs...the American League Championship Series no less. Four wins from reaching the World Series, but the reaction sounded as though the Yankees finished in last place in the AL East.

Of course, the fans are right about some things, it just takes losing to set them straight. The Yankees front office did this to themselves. We all know that. They knew there were rumors about A-Rod's steroid use, but they went ahead and bid against themselves to re-sign him to a ridiculous 10-year, $275MM deal when he opted out of his current contract after the 2008 season. (Just like they knew Giambi in all likelihood was a user before they signed him to a large deal prior to the 2002 season.)

CC Sabathia's a much better person on and off the field than A-Rod could ever hope to be, but re-working his deal through 2017 wasn't a great idea. No, the Yankees didn't want to lose him when he opted out of his deal after the 2011 season, but perhaps they should have let the free agent market help decide the length and amount of the deal.  The big man has a lot of innings and pitches in his left arm and last year his elbow complained loudly about it. Sabathia has looked ordinary and has lost velocity this season. He's guaranteed $71MM over the next three seasons and can get $25MM in the final year of the deal if he stays healthy.

Teixeira has gotten beat up, pull happy, and still has three years and $67.5MM on his contract. Now, you can't count on bad things happening, but when players are on the other side of 30-years of age, things happen more often. Unfortunately, a lot of them occurred this year. But fans can't bash the same contracts they applauded before the last two seasons. (Many of these same fans wanted the Yankees to sign Josh Hamilton this past off-season - 28 RBI and a .665 OPS in 77 games so far for the Angels.)

The worst part about all those contracts combined with Hal Steinbrenner's quest to get the salary to $189MM? The Yankees are not going to be able to sign Robinson Cano. They might even be wise to deal him at this year's trade deadline. Rumor has it that Cano wants a 10 year deal. If the Yankees are dumb enough to give it to him (or for that matter if anyone is) you can expect more 2013's in the future. I love Cano, he's one of my favorite players to watch bat and field, but the insanity has to stop somewhere.

Fans are going to have to learn to live with whatever happens this year. There are no teams like the LA Dodgers to take all the bad contracts away like those idiots did last year with the Red Sox. (It's laughable that people give Boston credit for that move.) Not only aren't there teams like that, but somehow Bud Selig would find a way to not allow the Yankees to salary dump. (He shouldn't allow it either, just like he shouldn't have allowed Florida and Boston to do so last year.)

Most of all, all of us want a competitive, interesting team to watch. If the Yankees front office doesn't wise up, and I question if the current group can, attendance will continue to dwindle, ratings will continue to drop, and the Yankees will not make the playoffs, let alone win a championship, for a very long time.

Then you will really hear some whining.

Donnie Baseball's Coming to Town

Don Mattingly had three misfortunes when he wore the Yankees pinstripes during his playing career. He was called up from the minors one year after the Yankees had been in the World Series for the third time in five seasons and in the playoffs in four of those five seasons.

Second, his work ethic took a toll on his back and shortened the productivity and possibly the length of his career. It definitely impacted his chances at being elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Finally, he retired right before the Yankees won four World Series in five years. Don Mattingly left his imprint on the New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, and Yankees fans around the globe. To this day he is one of the most beloved players to both fans and his former teammates.

Mattingly returns to New York and the new Yankee Stadium for just the second time tonight (His other appearance was for the unveiling of George Steinbrenner's plaque) as the team he manages, the Los Angeles Dodgers, gets ready to play its first ever regular season game at the Stadium.

While he wasn't the babe magnet that Derek Jeter is, Mattingly was every bit the rock star his fellow captain is. He didn't need to go clubbing or appear in his own series of car commercials to be the most popular athlete in the Tri-State area.

From 1984 through 1987, there was arguably no better baseball player on the planet. During the four year stretch, Mattingly averaged 29 home runs, 120 RBI, 102 runs scored, 210 hits, 45 doubles, a .336 batting average, and 350 total bases.

He drove in 145 runs in 1984 and won the AL MVP Award by 93 pts over Kansas City's George Brett. Controversy ensued a year later when Mattingly finished second to pitcher Roger Clemens despite having led the AL in seven offensive categories and won his second of nine Gold Gloves.  He had 238 hits in 1985, 53 of them doubles, and finished with a .967 OPS.

Mattingly's 1987 season included a then record six grand slams. Remarkably, they were the only ones he hit in his career. That same season he tied Dale Long's Major League record by homering in eight straight contests.

However, too many swings off the batting tee and his perseverance to continually improve at the plate took its toll on Mattingly's back. (There has also been a story that Mattingly injured his back messing around with pitcher Bob Shirley in the clubhouse, but both players denied it.) He would only top 20 home runs and 100 RBI one more time in his career.

He went from being extra-ordinary to ordinary at the plate. It's the reason the six time All-Star has fallen short of election to the Hall of Fame. 2,153 career hits, 222 home runs, and 1099 RBI don't cut it in a sport driven by numbers, playoff appearances and championship rings.

Unfortunately, timing was everything when it came to Mattingly's baseball career. There was no wild card playoff entrant for all but one season of Mattingly's career and the Yankees did not win any division titles in his tenure in New York. (They finished in 2nd place three times prior to the 1995 season). That may have changed in 1994 had the players' strike not wiped out the last two months of the regular season and all of the post-season.

Mattingly finally made the playoffs in his final year thanks to baseball's implementation of the wild card in 1995. The playoffs started out like a dream come true in Yankee Stadium. The Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners in the first two games of the best of five series and Mattingly's home run in Game 2 sent the crowd into delirium. (The Game 2 victor was a rookie by the name of Mariano Rivera)

The baseball Gods were not kind though when the series moved out to Seattle. The Mariners won three straight games, the finale in their last at-bat in the 11th inning. The team flight home was extremely emotional as Mattingly said good-bye to his teammates, many of whom felt they had let their leader down. In his only playoff appearance Mattingly hit .417 and had a gaudy 1.148 OPS. It was the captain's 2-run double that snapped a 2-2 tie and given the Yankees the lead in the 6th inning of Game 5, but it was not meant to be. A 14-year career came to an abrupt end.

The team retired Mattingly's number 23 on August 31, 1997, but he still wore it for several seasons as a Spring Training instructor with the team. He was then named the team's hitting coach prior to the 2004 season. After three seasons he became manager Joe Torre's bench coach until Torre's 12 year run ended after the 2007 season.

Mattingly was a finalist with Joe Girardi for the Yankees job and then joined Torre as hitting coach with the Dodgers. He lost out to Manny Acta for the Cleveland Indians job for the 2010 season, but then replaced Torre when he retired after the 2010 season.

The 2013 season came with a lot of expectations after new ownership threw money around like it was going out of style. Injuries and under achievement beset the team early on though and the Dodgers enter tonight's game in last place in the NL West, seven games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.

There has been talk that Mattingly's job is in jeopardy. No matter what happens, he will always have a home in the Bronx.  The fans will prove that tonight.

Welcome Back Donnie Baseball!

Yankees Turning to Groupon as Attendance Drops

There's clearly been a direct affect of a chillier spring on attendance at New York Yankees games, but it's nothing compared to what the price of tickets, food, beverage,  parking and/or mass transit has done to keep fans away. The Yankees wanted to build a palace and they did, but they priced out the average baseball fan in the process. The Steinbrenners still don't seem to understand that.

Fans turned en masse to Stub Hub the last few years to find cheaper seats. The Steinbrenners didn't dig that tactic, so they made it harder for fans to get seats this year through Stub Hub (no e-tickets, no pick up window near the Stadium) and came up with their own re-sale plan with Ticketmaster. Yeah, that ticked off fans too. Everyone hates Ticketmaster.

Now the Yankees are turning to discount broker Groupon to sell tickets to games that aren't as attractive to fans.  Through Groupon, fans can buy seats up to 54% off for a series with the Seattle Mariners May 14-16 and the Cleveland Indians June 3-5.

Here's an idea Yankees. Drop your ticket prices, your hot dog prices, your beer prices, your parking prices. Remember...over there at the old Stadium...plenty of people in the seats. And maybe you can put mannequins in the Legends Seats to make it look more people are there. Or hire seat fillers like they do at the Oscars.  Yeah, that's the (overpriced ticket).

Fans are willing to pay to see Derek Jeter, but at these prices people don't want to pay the same amount to see Jayson Nix.

Yankees and Rupert Murdoch Not Perfect Together

If you know me, you know I hate Fox News and much of the way Fox Sports televises games. Fox Broadcasting is part of News Corporation, the mass media entity run by the 81-year old spawn of the devil, Rupert Murdoch. So you should be able to understand why I threw up in my mouth a little after I read that Murdoch is on the verge of purchasing a 49% share of the YES Network.

The team is not for sale according to an unnamed official, but at one time George Steinbrenner considered selling the team to another media dirt bag named Jim Dolan. Thankfully, Steinbrenner had a change of heart. Will Hal and Hank Steinbrenner stick to their guns at a time when the economy is hurting and the Yankees priced themselves out of packed houses with a new stadium that was aimed at those who eat pate and drink champagne?

While the NY media has been focused on the Mets money troubles and their involvement with Bernie Madoff, perhaps the Yankees are hurting as well. (Which means making less money; to you and me that's not a loss, but it is those who are a part of the lifestyles of the rich and famous.)

Selling a chunk of the network and/or the team itself is one thing, but to sell it to a scum bag like Murdoch is another. By now you know of the phone hacking scandal that News Corp was involved in, which led to Murdoch closing the doors on the 168-yr old "News of the World" and caused him to drop out of a deal to take over a satellite company that would have been worth billions of dollars. Numerous criminal charges were filed against the executives of News Corp., including Murdoch.

The Tasmanian Devil was even called unfit to run a newspaper empire by a British Parliamentary panel. Apparently the Steinbrenner family doesn't care who they deal with as long as their money is green.

This past Sunday, Murdoch caused controversy by tweeting about the "Jewish owned press" being anti-Israel. He later apologized, but pretty much said he didn't know why he was. He still felt he was right, which is no surprise. Fox News has built an empire by blatantly lying to their viewers and never having any accountability for it. As a matter of fact, Murdoch takes no responsibility for anything his companies or employees do.

Hal, Hank, Randy Levine, just say NO to the YES sale. I don't want Derek Jeter and CC Sabathia to one day get their checks from News Corp.

Hankenstein Is On The Loose

Just when you thought it was safe to have a non controversial spring training Hank Steinbrenner materialized in Tampa and had plenty to say (as always).

Why did the Yankees struggled in 2010?

‘‘I think maybe they celebrated too much last year,’’ Steinbrenner said Monday from the Yankees’ spring-training facility in Tampa, Fla. ‘‘Some of the players, too busy building mansions and doing other things and not concentrating on winning. I have no problem saying that.’’

When it was pointed out to Hank that Derek Jeter in fact did build a large mansion (which of course he already knew), son #1 said he wasn't singling anyone out.

The Yankees apparently also partied like it was 1999 and took 2010 for granted.

‘‘I was just saying maybe they were riding the wave of ’09 a little too much, and it happens sometimes,’’ Steinbrenner said.

Let's look at those who struggled last year. Derek Jeter doesn't need motivation from anyone but himself. He's always been a hungry ball player and when he no longer feels that hunger he'll walk away from the game.

Mark Teixeira is one of the hardest working men in show business. He had an awful start and middle, then he turned things around until injuries to his toe and thumb knocked down his offense again. His ALCS hamstring injury was the perfect ending to an imperfect season.

Curtis Granderson; a lot of adjustments coming to New York and he's not the first player to have a sub par first season in the Big Apple. He hit better after working with Kevin Long. This season will be a much truer test of Granderson's abilities.

Alex Rodriguez battled some injuries and didn't have his usual consistency...and he still drove in 125 runs.

A.J. Burnett's issues are well documented and go back for years. It certainly had nothing to do with "riding the wave".

Big Hank wasn't done though...he then blasted revenue sharing, comparing it to communism and socialism. Hank should get together with the guys from Fox News and they should all take a class on learning the difference between communism and socialism.

What Hank doesn't realize is that when his father spoke his words crashed down like a 2 ton block of cement. When Hank talks it has the impact of a feather.

Hank, this is dedicated to you...

Another Loss in the Yankees Family

It's been a tough year for anyone that's been associated with the Yankees. Sadly tonight I read that former Yankees pitcher Tommy Underwood died this afternoon after an 18 month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was just 56 years of age.

Underwood was 13-9 for the Yankees in 1980. He was traded early the next season, along with Jim Spencer, to Oakland for Dave Revering, Mike Patterson, and Chuck Doughty.

Underwood spent 11 seasons all told in the majors, finishing with an 87-89 mark. He played for five organizations, retiring after playing for Baltimore in 1984.

Though his pro career was nothing special, Underwood and his brother Pat (also a former big leaguer) were legends in their hometown of Kokomo, Indiana.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family.

Games People Play

The Yankees negotiations with Derek Jeter got a whole lot uglier this afternoon when Brian Cashman in not so many words told Jeter to "Take it or leave it."

"He should be nothing but a New York Yankee," Cashman said of Jeter earlier today. "He chooses not to be."

"We're not trying to chase Derek away. We're trying to get him to sign," general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday. "But at the same time, he's a free agent. If he doesn't like what we're offering him, if he can find a better opportunity with more money, that's fine. Whatever's important to him."

Pretty tough talk from a guy who has never come off publicly as being tough. Cashman's attitude was most likely in response to remarks made by Jeter's agent Casey Close over the weekend. Close found the Yankees negotiating tactics "baffling". And I agree.

From the get-go, the Yankees have played out the negotiations in the media. Not all that unlike when George Steinbrenner would leak information to select NY media in the 1970's and 1980's. Close's remarks were actually out of character for him since neither he or Jeter generally remark on any negotiations involving the Yankees captain.

The Yankees have offered Jeter a three year, $45 million deal. A fair contract for a 36-yr old coming off the worst offensive season of his career. However, this is no ordinary player. I won't get into intangibles or defensive UZR ratings. The bottom line is that Jeter is the face of the franchise. The guy who always does everything right. The guy who has never embarrassed the franchise. The guy with five rings.

At the same time the Yankees are correct in saying that Jeter will not get a "Victory lap" contract. That makes perfect sense. You don't overpay 36-yr olds. What doesn't make perfect sense is for the Yankees to take a hard line and to take it public. Perhaps it's just tough talk. Talk to cover their asses. If you recall once Alex Rodriguez opted out his contract, the Yankees said they were done with him. We all know how that turned out.

Jeter should never wear another uniform during his playing days. So work out a deal. Would it do any harm to add a fourth year to the contract, with a possible option for a fifth year? Yes, these are frugal times, but no one said to build an overpriced Stadium that people can't afford to go to. The Yankees are loaded with money and don't think for one second they are not.

Why not use other incentives such as they do in Hollywood, where an actor actress will get a percentage of a film. Give Jeter a piece of the YES Network. Just get something done.

My good friend, "the Bman" astutely pointed out "How fecking stupid are the Yankees??!! I hate paying too much, but treating Jeter like this? What a crock. Hey, let's give A-Rod more $ and low-ball a legend."

He has a point and this negotiation shows that things haven't changed a whole lot from Steinbrenner to Steinbrenner. George was notorious for paying other team's free agents more than his own free agents.

The Yankees best wise up soon or they will indeed due serious harm to their fan base if Derek Jeter were to walk.

The Boss and Billy the Kid With An Eye on Cooperstown

They once formed a crazy triumvirate that were splattered across the headlines of the New York Sports pages. From 1977 - 1981, Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, and Billy Martin could not be mentioned without one of the other names being mentioned.

Jackson was overwhelmingly elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1993 and now the Boss and Billy the Kid's names will come before the Veterans Committee for election to Cooperstown. Results will be announced on December 6.

In addition to the duo, former Yankees Ron Guidry, who had some of his best seasons under Martin, and Tommy John will also be on the ballot.

Vida Blue, Davey Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Ted Simmons, Al Oliver, Marvin Miller, Rusty Staub, and Pat Gillick round out the ballot.

Yankees Kick Eiland To The Curb

In a surprising move today the Yankees have decided not to retain the services of pitching coach Dave Eiland. During a season end press conference GM Brian Cashman announced the dismissal and said it was for "private reasons".

The Yankees pitching came under fire for their performance in the American League Championship Series loss to Texas as well as A.J. Burnett's complete melt down during the regular season.

Eiland had missed a chunk of the regular season due to reasons of a private nature, but it's not thought that had anything to do with today's announcement.

If I didn't know better I would think George Steinbrenner were still alive. Unhappy with the manager's performance, the Boss firing a pitching or hitting coach was one of his classic moves.

Yogi Misses OT Day

A bad week in Yankeeland continued today when it was announced Yogi Berra would miss Old Timer's Day after falling near his home.

Here's the official release from the Yankees:

The Yankees' Old-Timers Day festivities on Saturday will certainly carry a reverent tone, following the loss of owner George Steinbrenner. Unfortunately, one former Yankees great, Yogi Berra, will miss the festivities.

Berra suffered a fall near his Montclair, NJ., home on Friday night, according to a statement from his family issued on Saturday afternoon. Multiple media reports suggested that Berra hadn't broken any bones, but remained quite sore following the fall. Berra suffered some bruising and is now recovering at home.

From the statement, Berra's attention still seemed to be on the event at Yankee Stadium that he will be forced to skip.

"He is extremely disappointed he is unable to participate in today's Old-Timers ceremonies and see so many of his friends," the statement said. "He appreciates all the well-wishes and hopes to be up and about very soon."

Yankees Show Rays Who's Boss

It was an emotional night from start to finish at Yankee Stadium this evening as the Yankees and Rays squared off in the first game since George Steinbrenner's passing. The Yankees rallied from a pair of deficits to produce a dramatic 5-4 walk off win on Nick Swisher's single in the bottm of the 9th.

The evening started with solemn and tender tributes to the man known as "The Boss" and long time PA announcer Bob Sheppard, who passed away last Sunday. Mariano Rivera placed roses on home plate and the crowd stood in a moment of silence. Video tributes played throughout the evening and the PA booth was silent. And Derek Jeter spoke eloquently and emotionally about the man whose voice he revered and the boss that he had struck up a friendship with.

The Yankees seemed flat and the crowd was as quiet as the PA booth for much of the game until Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada connected for back to back home runs off James Shields in the 6th inning to tie the game at three apiece.

Down a run in the 8th, Swisher brought the crowd to their feet again with his 16th home run of the year, off Joaquin Benoit, to tie the game at 4-4. Benoit had allowed just two home runs in his previous 27.2 innings.

CC Sabathia was not at his best, allowing four runs (three earned) and four walks in seven innings. David Robertson struck out the side in the 8th and Mariano Rivera earned the win after tossing a scoreless 9th. Rivera's inning included a pick off of B.J. Upton after he reached with a lead off single.

Curtis Granderson has struggled against left-handers, but has succeeded against Randy Choate and did again tonight with a lead off single to start the home half of the 9th. Pinch-hitter Ramiro Pena sacrificed Granderson to 2nd base before Brett Gardner earned a one out walk.

Rays' skipper Joe Maddon went to right-hander Dan Wheeler to face Derek Jeter and the move paid off when the Captain went down swinging for the second out. But Maddon countered with another right-hander Lance Cormier to face Swisher. The Yankees right fielder had been 0-7 against Cormier, but ripped a line drive to right field to score Granderson ahead of Gable Kapler's throw for the game winner.

An emotional night ended with an emotional celebration and, of course, some pie courtesy of A.J. Burnett.

Commemorative Patches to be Added to Uniforms

Here are the two patches that will be added to the Yankees uniforms in honor of George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard.

My Internet Radio Debut

I went on the air this morning with Jay Ferraro of Gotham Baseball Live to talk about the passing of George Steinbrenner.

Does everyone hate how their recorded voice sounds? I do. I come on about the 10 minute mark. At 16:24 you'll hear one of our Beagles, Tinker, howl in the background. A short time later, our other Beagle, Virginia can be heard barking. Thanks for the help guys.

George Steinbrenner Has Died

Yankees principle owner George Steinbrenner has died according to an official NY Yankees press release.

Steinbrenner, who turned 80 on July 4, was at his home in the Tampa/St. Pete area when emergency responders were called Monday night. He died at 6:30 a.m. this morning of an apparent heart attack.

The Yankees released the following statement:

“It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing,” the family said in a statement released this morning. “He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80. He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family – his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren. He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again.”

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Steinbrenner and Yankees families.

ALDS Game 3 Victory Song

3 down, 8 to go.

Some Boss for the Boss.

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

What We Learned From the Rays Series

With the Yankees taking 2 of 3 from last year's AL Pennant winner, we learned/confirmed a few things.

• Throw the Joba Rules out the window. With the way he's pitching right now, there's no way you can shut down Joba once he hits an innings limit. Perhaps if pitchers weren't babied so much they could last longer. I grew up watching horses like Catfish Hunter and Nolan Ryan..rub some dirt on it and get back in there.

• Chien-Ming Wang's season is over and his career is in jeopardy. With arthroscopic surgery scheduled for yesterday on the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint, Wang's season was finished and his 2010 was put in question. It's possible his 2010 season could be compromised as well

  "We're certainly going to miss him, especially later in the season when the games mean more and more," Jorge Posada said. "At least he knows what's going on. He's been through a lot, but he's still young and he still has a lot to go." "Now it's about Wang; it's not about the Yankees anymore," Posada said. "He's got to get healthy and take care of himself. Whatever he's got to do to be Wang again, he's got to do it."

• Matt Garza stands up for his teammates. Garza admitted to hitting Mark Teixeira last night after Evan Longoria was hit on Monday and got buzzed last night. Teixeira was fine with it and so am I. Nothing wrong with protecting your teammates..though Garza is one ugly MFer.

• The Rays were a flash in the pan last year. Everything went right for the Rays last year, but not this year. Their bullpen has stunk all year and their starting pitching isn't as good as it was.
  

• Pat Burrell stinks...at least this year. What a horrible signing this turned out to be. Teams really screwed up not signing Bobby Abreu. The Rays should do everything they can to move him.

• Brian Bruney still stinks.
  

• We've been saying it all year and we'll say it again. It's so nice to have a 1st baseman that can play defense.

• George Steinbrenner was in the house last night and was feisty. While we've never been fans of King George, that's still good to see.

• Roy Halladay is still a Blue Jay, which means the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers will still be on the prowl for him.

• Ken Singleton should be the primary YES play-by-play guy not Michael Kay.

• The Trop should be burned/exploded/whatever'ed to the ground. What a fugly place.
  

There's probably more, but that's all we have time for.

The Daily Yankeeland - 3/27

The Yankees play the Reds in Tampa this evening at 7:15 EDT. The game is on WABC radio so you can hear the melodic voice of one John Sterling. CC Sabathia gets the start and Mariano Rivera will be making another appearance.

George Steinbrenner will be at the Yankees home opener, according to a source in the know. King George hasn't been at the Stadium since last season's All-Star game.

Peter Abraham of the Journal News reports that it will cost $19 to park at the new Stadium and the new Metro North station won't be ready for the first home stand.

To promote his new album, Bernie Williams sat down for an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine. Among his revelations, Derek Jeter hated when Bernie played his guitar on team bus rides or airplane flights.

The NY Times' Richard Sandomir has a profile of Yankees veep/bulldog Randy Levine.

“Part of Randy likes to fight,” said Hal Steinbrenner, the managing general partner. “He has a history of not backing down. He likes to be the bad cop. I’m the good cop.”

You may have read the other day that the wife of former Yankees prospect Jose Tabata was arrested after abducting a new born. The story gets even stranger. A stunned Tabata, who is 20 years younger than his wife, thinks she also lied to him about a number of things, including being pregnant. Click here to read Tabata's full statement.

Time to get your priorities in order, Hanley Ramirez. The Yankees have long had a dress code that includes no facial hair, other than a mustache, no earrings, and no long hair. The Florida Marlins recently instituted a similar policy, causing Ramirez to go ballistic after getting his hair cut.

"After the star shortstop was forced to shear his long locks, he strolled through the clubhouse sharing his opinion of the new fashion rules across his chest, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

"I'm sick of this s---," the message read, in thick Sharpie letters. "I'm angry," Ramirez said. "I want to be traded." Ramirez was not only forced to cut off his cornrows under the new policy, he also won't be allowed to wear jewelry while playing.

"It's incredible," he said later. "We're big-leaguers."

Ramirez eventually cooled down after a talk with team officials and said everything was cool.

The Daily Yankeeland - 3/11

The Yankees style is buttoned up corporate; Nick Swisher has other ideas.

Johnny Damon, who dresses next to Swisher, says Swisher “knows that this is a short part of our lives, and he is going to enjoy it to the fullest.”

George King of the Post has a piece on the Yankees current third baseman. That would be Cody Ransom.

Mike Mussina and his family visited the Yankees yesterday and watched last night's game.

The Yankees travel to Lakeland today to take on the Tigers in a 1:05 start. CC Sabathia gets the start for the Yanks.

Peter Abraham has a live video chat scheduled for Noon EDT today.

Mariano Rivera threw a BP session today and felt good afterwards. Jesus Montero and John Rodriguez were the guinea pigs.

Investigators found evidence of steroids on the needles that Brian McNamee allegedly injected Roger Clemens with. The Rocket's DNA had already been found on the same needles. Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, was quick to dismiss the test, stating in not so many words that McNamee had tamperedwith the evidence.

Andy Pettitte was in D.C. last week to meet with investigators on the Clemens' perjury case.

The Yankees are being proactive in killing germs in the new digs.

A new autobiography of George Steinbrenner, says the Yankees owner and olympic backer, supported skaters Tanya Harding, Nicole Bobek, and Ron Karnaugh in the early '90s. Yes, that would be when Harding's goons "laid the pipe" to Nancy Kerrigan. The Steinbrenner camp says they don't remember funding Harding at all. King George doesn't have good taste in picking out skaters though. Bobek was arrested for home invasion in 1994.