The Weekend Dailyland

Chien-Ming Wang has been working on a new changeup and threw it 4 times in yesterday's game against the Phillies. It could be an effective weapon in addition to Wang's wicked sinker and hard fastball.

Among Melky Cabrera's goals this season is to increase his stolen base total. Cabrera stole 13 times in 18 attempts last season, and is hoping his new manager gives him the steal sign more often. That's one of the many goals Melky has for the season.

"Mainly on running bases, my batting and my defense," he said. "I want to work a lot on stealing bases, too. I want to steal more bases."

Alex Rodriguez has taken Melky and Robinson Cano under his wing, and the influence has already paid off.

"I feel better prepared now," said Cabrera, who took over center field from Damon last year. "I've always wanted to play every day and help the team. I appreciate that this manager, like Joe Torre, has showed confidence in me."

Ed Price of the Star Ledger has a Q & A w/ Ian Kennedy

Among the questions was the comparison some have made between IPK and Mike Mussina.

Q: People have compared you to Mike Mussina since long before you were teammates. Your pitching styles are similar -- wide repertoire, good control, outsmart hitters -- and both of you dip down low when starting a delivery from the stretch position. Do you like the comparison?

Yeah. He's pitched 18 years in the big leagues. It's awesome, especially since I looked up to him probably ever since high school. I haven't told him that.

I asked him (recently) how he came up with the "down" stretch. We were comparing stories. I thought he did it for the same reason, but it's a totally different reason. He had an old pitching coach that made him do something sort of like that, and he exaggerated it. I did it to get a grip on some pitches. ... It just buys me more time because my changeup's so hard to hold. (Kennedy holds the ball with his middle, ring and pinkie fingers on his changeup.)

Tyler Kepner - NY Times
Cano has quickly risen to the elite level of 2nd Basemen. GM Brian Cashman feels that only Phillies' 2nd Baseman Chase Utley is at a higher level. The Yankees did their best for a few years to try to be sure it would happen somewhere else. Thankfully, opponents saw less in Cano than the Yankees.

The Rangers turned down Cano as part of the A-Rod - Alfonso Soriano deal, instead opting for Joaquin Arias. For a brief time in 2004, the Yankees moved Cano to 3rd base in an attempt to deal him and Dionner Navarro to the Royals for Carlos Beltran. Later that season the Yankees also tried to package him in a deal for Randy Johnson. Luckily, no one took them up on any of the deals.

“Thank God we never traded him,” said Gordon Blakeley, a special assistant to Cashman. “We liked him a lot and we didn’t want to give him away, but he wasn’t a ‘No, don’t trade him for any cost’ guy. If we felt we could get a Beltrán or an A-Rod, he could have gone in a deal. We were fortunate.”

With a new long term contract, Cano can totally concentrate on baseball and continuing to improve in the field and at home plate. He already turns a slick DP with Derek Jeter, and could have a batting title in his future.

Austin Krum's professional career has not gotten off to a good start. Last year's 9th round draft pick was arrested yesterday for trespassing and resisting arrest. He was asked several times to leave "Tia's Tex Mex" in Tampa after having issues with another patron. Tampa police were called when Krum repeatedly refused and he made the mistake of being belligerent to them.

Mark Feinsand - NY Daily News has a piece on how Joe Girardi developed his managerial style.