Yankees Make Capitol Gains

The Yankees made the much ballyhooed trip to the White House yesterday for a meet and greet with the President. It doesn't get much cooler for a ball player than to be invited to the White House.

President Barack Obama lauded the Yankees for their actions both on and off the field, which yesterday included a visit to the Walter Reed Army Hospital.

The President singled out Mark Teixeira for the scholarship he started with his first signing bonus at age 21. It was in remembrance of a close friend who had died in a car accident.

Obama made references to the home of his fellow Illinois favorite son, Joe Girardi, and took a shot from Yankees Assistant GM Jean Afterman about his hometown White Sox.

“Let him hold it,” she said. “He may not get a chance again.”

The President is quick on his feet though...

“And you wonder why the other teams don’t root for you,” he said as the room erupted again.

A good time had by all.

Below is video from yesterday's event.

Let's Be Frank

I am really getting embarrassed at the shear stupidity of some of my fellow Americans. I don't like getting into politics on here, but seriously, why are so many people believing blatant lies about the proposed health care plan.

Do reading/viewing, whatever, and not just biased media such as Fox or MSBNC. Check out independent sites such as Factcheck.org.

In the meantime, enjoy Barney Frank ripping apart one of said stupid fellow Americans.

Is Half a Confession Better than None?

In listening to Alex Rodriguez's "confessional" with Peter Gammons yesterday, you definitely got the impression that where there's smoke there's fire. While on the one hand he admitted to steroid use from 2001-2003 ("that's pretty accurate" left the door open for more revelations), A-Rod was more apologetic for being naive rather for actually taking an illegal substance.

Possibly more damaging to A-Rod's reputation, was his accusation that SI.com reporter Selena Roberts was stalking him, and in fact had been cited by the Miami police for trying to break into his home. Peter Abraham of the Journal News reported last night that no such citation took place nor are there any police records of any such incident.

We were also left with the impression that A-Rod is still not speaking the entire truth. A truth that may never come out. We're sure that Bud Selig will want to meet with Rodriguez, just as he did with Jason Giambi, to clear the air. A-Rod will also be quizzed about Roberts accusation that MLBPA COO Gene Orza tipped him off to a 2004 random drug test.

And of course this has the chance to get even uglier, even "zooier". Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) wants to conduct another dog and pony show in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which still is NOT supposed to deal with these issues. With nearly 600 thousand workers laid off in January, somehow we think Congress should be working on other things.

Even President Obama was quizzed about A-Rod's failings during his first press conference last night, stating that he was "disappointed" at the news. We wonder too if the President realizes just how little common sense A-Rod has.

Ah, this is only beginning of what is to be a very long baseball season in the Bronx.

The Daily Yankeeland - 1/22

The oldest former Major Leaguer, Billy Werber, passed away earlier today at age 100. Werber was a member of the '27 Yankees, and in fact played bridge with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Bill Dickey.
UPDATE 1/23 - Steve Politi of the Star Ledger fondly remembers Mr. Werber.

Friday is moving day for the Yankees. Employees of the team, players not included, will be moving from the their offices in the current/old Stadium to the new park.

ESPN.com' Keith Law released his ranking of the top 100 prospects in MLB. Orioles cathcer Matt Wieters took the top spot with Rays pitcher David Price ranked number two. Three Yankees made the list - Austin Jackson (46), Jesus Montero (83), and Andrew Brackman (95). Dellin Betances narrowly missed the top 100.

River Ave. Blues has a good profile on Betances, who along with Andres Perez, honored scout Cesar Presbott at this past weekend's New York Professional Baseball Hot Stove League Dinner.

Lanny Breuer, who represented Roger Clemens during last year's Congressional hearings, was named assistant Attorney General, for the Justice Department's Juvenile criminal division, by Barack Obama.

Jon Heyman ranked his top 15 teams that could still spend some big money in the free agent market. The Yankees are ranked 12th.

12. Yankees. Even after spending $423.5 million on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Teixeira, they're always a threat to spend, especially if they can find a taker for Nady, or even better, Swisher (who has $21 million to go). One person said it's "less than 50-50'' that they take back Andy Pettitte. But where else is he going to go?

MLB.com's Bryan Hoch spoke with hitting coach Kevin Long about the new lineup.

Face of an Idiot

I don't like to get political on here, but I just couldn't let this pass. And idiot is too weak of a word to describe the asshole that is Rush Limbaugh. On his radio show yesterday he actually said he hoped Obama failed miserably.

Can I point something out ya windbag? If he fails, the country goes further down the toilet.

Apparently Rush has enough money and illegal prescription drugs to get him through.

It's a Beautiful Day

I never thought I'd see this day. I'm 47, not 147, but I didn't think I would see this day in my lifetime. With the blatant and unseen racism in this country, I didn't think it was possible that an African-American would be elected President.

I realize this was just as much of a case of wanting to push out the current party in power than anything else, but our country took an amazing step in electing Barack Obama. Some people won't accept this day. They think it's the beginning of the end. Apparently they weren't paying attention the last 8 years.

Here's to a brand new beginning and a brand new day.