Gwen Stefani Has No Doubt And So Does Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter hates injury, talking about injuries, talking to the media at length, not playing baseball, and holding press conferences in which it is clear he would rather be water boarded than answering questions about his state of health and age.

Despite all of that, Jeter sat down prior to Thursday's game to discuss his current status with the Yankees beat writers, national guys, and anyone else who dropped in. The main theme was "I'll be back". There's "No doubt I will be back."

Jeter confirmed that he's frustrated; upset that he had made progress and thought he was on the verge of coming back when a new fracture appeared. He didn't feel he had pushed himself to play on Opening Day, he merely went at the pace the doctors told him to follow. He was also not sure when the new fracture occurred.

He showed some sense of humor when ESPN baseball guy Pedro Gomez asked that if being at an advanced age (for baseball) could affect his rehab. Jeter joked that there were a lot of people in the room at an "andvanced age". Gomez countered with "Yes, but none of us are out there."

Jeter also said if it were up to him he would take a CT scan every day to monitor his progress, though "I don't know how much they cost."

Jeter reminded everyone that when he comes back he will no longer address the injury, because that's not the way he does thing.

Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News asked if Jeter had a date in mind to return. The Captain said, "Yes, but I'm not telling you."

The shortstop said he was happy to be back around his teammates and he had kept in touch with them while he was rehabbing in Tampa. When queried, he said that Mariano Rivera's comeback from last year's knee injury had no impact on his psyche towards his own comeback.

The Captain also had Eduardo Nunez's back and said he'll do a good job while he's out. Though, with a laugh, he mentioned he didn't have the MLB package and hadn't seen many games.

So now we just wait.

YCN: Q & A With Ty Hensley

My latest published piece for the Yahoo Contributor Network is a Q & A with the Yankees' 2012 first round draft choice, Ty Hensley.

He comes off as a confident kid, who takes his baseball very seriously. You can read the interview by clicking here.  Enjoy!

FullCountPitch - The Full Count: Susan Slusser

Susan Slusser talks about the stumbling A's

Susan Slusser has been on the Oakland A’s beat for 13 years for the San Francisco Chronicle. Who better to talk to about Bob Geren’s firing, Brett Anderson’s clipped wing, and more? You can also follow Susan and the A’s on Twitter.

FCP: With Bob Geren fired, are there any names being mentioned to take over in 2012 and does Bob Melvin have a legitimate shot to get the full time job?

Susan Slusser: I believe the A’s would give Melvin every opportunity to show he’s the man for the job; indications were that this was the guy they wanted and the front office believes Melvin to be a good fit. He’d probably have to really fall flat on his face not to come back, especially considering how well the players speak of him. Player relations and communications seemed to drive some of the managerial switch, and Melvin’s reputatution as a players’ manager was mentioned numerous times.

Don Wakamatsu was very highly regarded when he was Oakland’s bench coach, so I’d have to think in the unlikely chance that the A’s don’t retain Melvin that he’d be among those considered. Like Melvin, he’s a former Seattle manager and a Bay Area native; Wakamatsu is from Hayward and Melvin from Menlo Park. But I’m fairly certain the A’s have their man.

Read the rest of this free article at FullCountPitch.com

David DeJesus Brett Anderson Trevor Cahill Andrew Bailey Hideki Matsui Cliff Pennington Kurt Suzuki

FullCountPitch - The Full Count: Jack Curry

Jack Curry discusses CC Sabathia's contract and more

Jack Curry was a long time sportswriter for the New York Times before joining the YES Network prior to the 2010 season. In 2000, he co-write Derek Jeter’s autobiography, “Life You Imagine: Life Lessons For Achieving Your Dreams”. Today he joins us for a session of The Full Count.

FCP: We’ve all seen the decline of newspapers in this country. I still can’t have my breakfast without my morning sports page in my hands. Do you foresee a day when there will be no “paper” newspapers?

Jack Curry: I also enjoy reading the actual newspaper. Having worked at The NY Times for 22 years, I always enjoyed the routine of scooping up the paper in the driveway. That being said, the business has obviously changed a lot and a generation of “readers” get their info off the ‘net and not in the actual newspapers. I also think newspapers will be around, but I wouldn’t be shocked if some papers are someday forced to become online only.

FCP: If Yankees like Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada continue to struggle, do you see Brian Cashman trying to make a big splash for another bat or just deal for a serviceable bat (a Jeff Conine type for example)? Any chance Jorge Vazquez gets a chance in the bigs?

JC: A couple of weeks ago, Cashman told me that he makes daily evaluations of the team and is always searching for areas in which they can improve. At that time, Cashman said he wasn’t ready to move to do anything with Posada. He said Posada deserved the chance to emerge from his funk. He didn’t day mention Swisher that day, but I’m sure he feels the same way. The easy solution for the Yankees is for Posada and Swisher to be similar to the players they’ve been in their careers. If they’re not, like not, that’s when it gets dicey. It’s easy to say a GM should “go get someone,” but the execs I’ve spoken to say the market is bare right now. Vazquez has earned the shot to play in the big leagues. It’s just a matter of whether Yankees will pull trigger.

Click here to read the rest of this article for free at fullcountpitch.com.

CC Sabathia Jorge Vazquez Hector Noesi Ivan Nova

FullCountPitch - The Full Count: Jen Royle

Jen Royle talks with Orioles starter Brian Matusz

After seven years covering the New York Yankees for the YES Network, MLBAM and SIRIUS/XM’s Baseball Channel, Jen Royle moved to Baltimore to cover the Orioles and Ravens on MASN and 105.7 The Fan.

You can catch Jen from 6-7:15 on “Baltimore Baseball Tonight’s” O’s pregame show with Jim Duquette and Joe Orsulak for Baltimore’s 105.7 The Fan, and you can also follow her on Twitter.

Today, Jen becomes the latest victim guest for “The Full Count”.

FCP: You were a Red Sox fan growing up, how did you put that aside when you starting working for other teams?

Jen Royle: YES! I was a huge Red Sox fan growing up. I literally grew up at Fenway Park. My parents were both born and raised in the city of Boston and my grandparents lived 10 minutes from Fenway Park when I was a child. So needless to say, I spent a lot of time at the ballpark. I vividly remember my father putting me on his shoulders so I could see Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Mike Greenwell, Dwight Evans, etc. And I grew up watching Roger Clemens. Fast forward 20 years later, who would have thought I would end up covering Clemens with the New York Yankees.

In terms of the fan in me disappearing, it just sort of happened naturally. Once I started working for the YES Network in New York, I didn’t care at all about the Red Sox. I sort of just naturally turned into an unbiased, objective reporter. And let me make this clear, I didn’t care about the Yankees either in terms of winning or losing. I did, however, start to pull for certain people.

I think what most fans don’t understand is once you start covering ONE team on a daily basis, you start to build really nice relationships so it becomes difficult to hope they fail. So that also played a part in me not caring about the Red Sox anymore.

FCP: You came to Baltimore after working in the New York market for the YES Network. What’s the biggest difference you see in the way the Orioles and Yankees are covered?

Jen Royle: I mean, you can’t even compare. From a fan standpoint, a media standpoint and an organization standpoint, it’s just COMPLETELY different. In fact, to be completely honest, I think it was a culture shock for me my first month on the job. I started to question my decision to move to Baltimore because the team started off 2-16 and there were maybe 10,000 fans in the ballpark. Not to mention, I was the new girl in town and was under an abundance of scrutiny because of where I came from — Boston and New York. I had no friends in town and I was driving for the first time in 10 years. So I was a “Negative Nelly” at the beginning.

There are maybe six Orioles reporters in the clubhouse after a game, compared to 30-50 in New York. The Orioles organization doesn’t have the “win now” mentality that the Yankees have, mostly because they don’t have the financial resources and they know competing in the American League East is a much tougher task. Andy MacPhail is doing the best job he can, but he is certainly at an unfair advantage when competing with Brian Cashman.

When I covered the Yankees, we didn’t leave the clubhouse until the last player was one, we stayed on the field with them during batting practice and we went back into the clubhouse after batting practice. In Baltimore, with all due respect, the team isn’t as news-worthy. Things that may be a big deal in New York simply aren’t an issue in Baltimore. I can’t stress enough how different of an atmosphere it is.

Click here to read the rest of this free Q & A w/ Jen Royle at FullCountPitch.com

Joba is Footloose

The Omaha-World Journal has a Q & A with Joba Chamberlain. Some audio is included. Here's an amusing excerpt.

Q. What about music?
A. It's the greatest form of expression there is. I was involved in musicals when I was in high school — "West Side Story" and "Footloose."
Q. So you can dance?
A. A little bit.
Q. Why'd you get into theater?
A. My dad always said: "You've got to be involved in sports or school or get a job." I really wasn't a huge fan of getting a job at the time. So I did theater.
Q. Did you have any embarrassing moments on stage?
A. The day we did "Footloose" a girl almost slipped off my shoulder, but I caught her. She was wearing a satin dress and heels and used my thigh as a step. ... So I basically got a heel into my thigh and nearly dropped her.
Q. Will you ever get back into theater?
A. It would be fun to do, just to be a part of something and not necessarily the headliner. I wouldn't want that much responsibility.

Anthony Claggett Answers Our Question

Trenton Thunder beat writer Mike Ashmore gave the fans a chance to ask questions of the Thunder players. We had one for Anthony Claggett and Mike asked him it.

My Pinstripes: "How do you see yourself pitching in the future- starter, set up guy, closer...?"

AC: “Hmmm, good question. I’d say stuff-wise — I’m a fastball, changeup, slider guy – I could see myself as a starter. I don’t know if anybody else would. I think most teams have me as kind of a middle relief kind of guy, which is fine with me. I think if I gained some velocity, I could be an eighth or ninth inning type of guy. But we’ll just have to see if that happens.”

“I started last year, maybe 13 or 14 starts or something like that. I was a closer in college, and I was a closer my first year of pro ball.”

Very Cool!

Anthony Claggett Answers Our Question

Trenton Thunder beat writer Mike Ashmore gave the fans a chance to ask questions of the Thunder players. We had one for Anthony Claggett and Mike asked him it.

My Pinstripes: "How do you see yourself pitching in the future- starter, set up guy, closer...?"

AC: “Hmmm, good question. I’d say stuff-wise — I’m a fastball, changeup, slider guy – I could see myself as a starter. I don’t know if anybody else would. I think most teams have me as kind of a middle relief kind of guy, which is fine with me. I think if I gained some velocity, I could be an eighth or ninth inning type of guy. But we’ll just have to see if that happens.”

“I started last year, maybe 13 or 14 starts or something like that. I was a closer in college, and I was a closer my first year of pro ball.”

Very Cool!