IF "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY", CANO NEEDS TO TAKE THE DEAL

Scott Boras will literally suck the life out of any true baseball fan. There... I said it. You can't be much worse for baseball than Scott Boras is.  Sure, for the players, he is a Golden God.  For us, we watch our heroes move on to the Golden Egg and years of happiness with another team.  Meanwhile, we are left in the dark wondering what the hell just happened?

(From Willy Wonka)
Truth be told, players that truly love the "fan" are hard to find.  We've been lucky.  We've had that with guys like Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams and of course Derek Jeter.  But there is something that happens to players... ego. And I am of the belief that it doesn't happen because of the fans. I mean it does... but there is a lot of help from the agent who is constantly in their ear telling them how much they're worth and how great they are. Enter Scott Boras and what may possibly be the worst scenario ever for Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees.

It's being reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports,HERE, that the Yankees have made an offer to Cano. But, according to reports, the offer was rejected.... The offer is being reported as significant. Heyman writes: "Robinson is focused on preparing for and playing the 2013 season.  By agreement discussions shall remain confidential. Also by agreement, discussions will cease if they are a distraction to Robinson's performance and leadership of the 2013 Yankees.... It is believed Cano is seeking a deal for 10 years in excess of $200 million. The Yankees' offer was surely a decent chunk of change (surely over $100 million), but it wasn't significant in the sense that it apparently has not moved him."

Stay tuned... shit's about to get real...

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DESTROYING THE IMAGE OF GREATNESS

I never saw Joe DiMaggio play the game, but the stories and old films give me such a feeling of Pride for the way he played and the love he had for this great game of baseball. He was one of the greatest and being an Italian American myself, the idea that guys like DiMaggio, Tony Lazzeri, Phil Rizzuto and many other Italians were part of the Yankees makes me proud.

I once wrote a piece called WHEN HONORING BASEBALL HEROES GOES REALLY WRONG   and in it, I questioned the way we as Americans treat our heroes long after they’ve passed.  I gave you 2 pretty good examples about the West Side Highway which was changed to the Joe DiMaggio Highway by Rudy Guiliani in 1999 and the Larry Doby Highway over in the back roads of Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Larry Doby Highway sign now stands on the side of a broken down road in dirty snow and weeds near a strip joint.  Sure, the idea was great I'm  paper I'm sure, but the execution and upkeep is horrendous.  We’ve forgotten these greats and  it’s sad really. Are we forgetting that Larry Doby was the second African American to play in the major leagues (1st in the American League) behind the great Jackie Robinson? Next time I'm over that way, I'll take a picture. You won't believe it.

The other day I walked into a bodega and went to grab a Snapple.  My heart sank as a saw an energy drink with Joe DiMaggio’s face on it.  It was some Joltin’ Joe Espresso drink.  I mean, is this what we’ve become?  Is this how we want our Yankees to connect to our youth that have never seen these players but just heard of them?  Disgraceful. Sure, I know, back in the day there were tobacco baseball cards, I got that. The difference was adults bought those, not kids.

But more importantly, what the hell are we doing with our heroes? Again, Larry Doby was the first African American to play in the American League. Jackie Robinson is honored when every baseball player in Major League baseball wearing #42 for 1 day.  A brilliant move.  But then Larry Doby gets a sign on a broken down street in Jersey and Joe DiMaggio gets an energy drink.  Sure, I understand the impact of Jackie, all I'm saying is, maybe a sign on the side of a road isn't the great placement, you know what I mean?

Hey look, I appreciate the honoring of the greats, but instead of just plopping a sign up and being done with it… can we think it through first?  It’s freaking pathetic.  We’re better than that.

That’s my take anyway.

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WHO WILL FILL IN FOR GRANDERSON?

With Curtis Granderson out for ten weeks with a broken forearm, some Yankees fans have started hitting the panic button. I feel like throwing our hands up and wailing about the injustice of injuries in February is a little premature. This is only Spring Training. I understand that Granderson’s injury brings to light a lot of the disappointment from the inactive off season. We let guys like Chris Dickerson and Raul Ibanez go and now we have a hurt outfielder.

 Alfonso Soriano and Johnny Damon have both said they would be open to coming back. I have seen a lot of Yankees fans jumping on both those ships as well. The thing is, we really don’t need either one of them. I get the nostalgia some fans might feel. The idea is we will bring them back and it will be like the good old days, but it’s not at all realistic. Neither Soriano nor Damon is a great fielder or hitter at this point in their careers. Soriano was a great base stealer, but he has 22 stolen bases in the past 4 seasons, so it’s probably safe to say those days are over too.

The Yankees might look into some veteran players on the cheap side that they could option down or place at DH. But I think they might look into younger talent in their own farm system. Guys like Melky Mesa, Adonis Garcia, Slade Heathcott, and Zoilo Almonte show serious promise and this could be their opportunity to shine. Granderson’s injury only has him missing one month of the regular season. While injuries are never a good thing, I would rather see them now than in June or August.

Any injury the team faces makes Yankee fans worry, and I get it. Really, I do. It is not the end of the world though. The baseball season is long and we haven’t even started yet. We will miss Granderson in April, and we want him to recover nicely and quickly. But we have other options. Our farm system is full of young, talented guys, who are more than willing to earn their pinstripes in the Bronx. This isn’t a new situation. Time and again the Yankees have shown their resilience when faced with injuries. We’ll miss Granderson but we will make due.

There are 162 games in a season. A few spring training games do not determine the outcome of the year. Like the great Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over, ‘til it’s over.”

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804

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DANTE BICHETTE JR & MASON WILLIAMS HAVE EXTRA TALENT

Hey, are you "Ridin' High" with Navy 58? Does that statement sound Greek to you? Do you have any idea what I just wrote?   I don't expect you to, but if you follow the Baby Bombers on Twitter, this phrase may make perfect sense. That's because the other night I noticed something interesting transpiring on Twitter.  There was a link to a song called "Ridin' High" by a group called Navy 58.

 

(In Photo: Dante Bichette Jr)

The members appeared to be Dante Bichette Jr & Mason Williams, 2 guys we Yankee fans all have high hopes for with the Yankees organization and 2 guys that have lended their voices to what could easily become a second gig...maybe.

Below are the links to songs by them. "Ridin' High", and another tune called "Whole Team."




So what do you make of this?  Look, anytime you want to try something new because you just want to see how it goes, I say "Go for it."  Having dreams and ideas make the world go round and give an individual a chance to push further.  That's the goal right? Here's another song called "Gold":



So, what do you think? Tweet them. Let them know.  You can reach Dante on Twitter at @DBJr19 and Mason Williams is @MJordanW9. Oh... and if you like Navy 58, follow them @Navy_58.

(In Photo: Mason Williams)
We'll do a follow up with some more music next week, so look for BYB's post.  Here's 2 guys who's talent we can't wait to see on the baseball field... be they definitely have that extra talent as you can see.

Way to go guys!

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NO GRANDERSON? NO PROBLEM

It's official.  Look for the Yankees to look internally for power help to replace Curtis Granderson who is out 10 weeks with a broken forearm. (Read TOUGH BREAK FOR GRANDERSON.) That means, no Johnny Damon, no Alfonso Soriano (I actually thought that idea was silly), no Ken Phleps and no, my 10 year old is not available.

 

(In Photo: Juan Rivera) 
Instead, according to Yahoo Sports, "The Yankees will take a good look at the outfielders currently in camp before searching outside the organization. Veterans Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera are the frontrunners to see time in left field, though youngsters Zoilo Almonte, Melky Mesa and Ronnier Mustelier will also have an opportunity to compete."

(In Photo: Ronnier Mustelier)
Read HERE. In a nutshell, what does this mean? I means it's Spring Training and we'll figure it out and still stay on the cheap path the New York Yankees have been on for months. If it doesn't work, we look elsewhere.

In other words... "We'll stay," as Austin Powers once said... we have the talent. Everyone needs to calm down.

That is all.

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PAIN FREE BUT HUGHES MAY MISS START OF THE SEASON

It was tweeted by Meredith Marakovits earlier today that although Phil Hughes feels good and is "pain free", it doesn't matter.  The truth is Hughes hasn't started throwing again and they are taking things very, very slowly. The ESPN report on this is HERE. Meredith's tweet is below:

I don't like the sound of this.  a bulging disk in the back (Read HUGHES HAS A BULGE & IT'S NOT THE GOOD ONE LADIES) is an issue for a pitcher.  When asked about how things were going, Hughes said "Every day is a day lost."  Frustration, I get that. Bottom line, he's waiting for doctors to give him clearance. Once he has that, he will throw again.

That's the update.  I hate writing about injury, but I'm trying to keep a positive face on this, it's the Spring.  You want this happening now if you need it to happen at all.  If anything new happens, we'll tell you.

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CHRIS DICKERSON NEEDS HIS BYB, EVEN IN BALTIMORE

I have mad respect for Chris Dickerson and have for a while now.  He was a good Yankee, he appears to be a great teammate and all we were ever asking for on Bleeding Yankee Blue was for the Yankees to give the guy a legitimate shot.  He never got that shot, and in turn, he darted and found a job pretty darn fast with the Baltimore Orioles.  He’s the enemy now so to speak. But for me personally, he’s a pal. Why? Because he needs his BYB and he knows it.

Jeana Bellezza wrote a great piece about Dickerson yesterday titled I WANT CHRIS DICKERSON BACK! A piece reacting to the Curtis Granderson  injury and wondering it would have been smarter to keep Chris around, because, if he was with the Yankees, we’d get Dickerson in there and he’d compete for a spot this Spring in left field.   Dickerson, a good sport, Tweeted us yesterday morning with a:

I wrote him back immediately telling him he was “Loving this” meaning, loving the fact that he’s wanted in the Bronx!  He responded with:

He really is a good teammate and a good friend.  And I appreciate him taking the time to write us here at BYB.  He knows the Yankee fans have always been good to him. He gets it, he gets us and we appreciate the banter!

Chris, thanks for having some fun with us.  Keep reading Bleeding Yankee Blue, even in Baltimore. You da man.

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BOBBY VALENTINE NEEDS A STOP TALKING

Maybe Bobby needs a nice Silence of the Lambs muzzle.  The reality is, I have never liked Bobby Valentine, or should I say, I never respected him. Not liking or hating is cruel.  At least when it comes to respect, it comes between 2 human beings or more and people understand how you treat or handle others as a manager or individual.  I call him Uncle Rico (Read WHY VALENTINE IS BASEBALL'S UNCLE RICO) because he's stuck in the past. 

Bobby has never won a damn thing in the states, yet, he's placed on a pedastal by Major League Baseball and networks like ESPN for being an "expert."  An expert of what, I have no idea. But fine, I guess if you know the right people, you fail "up."

Uncle Rico was just made athletic director for Sacred Heart University.  Good for him. According to Jerry Spar of WEEI who was there, read HERE, Valentine spoke about the Red Sox in 2012 and said this:

 "I thought I did a hell of a job in Boston. I thought what had to be done there was done except for winning a pennant. But Connie Mack wasn’t going to win with that team. It’s six months of a 62-year life. It’s six months of a 42-year career in baseball. It’s a blip..."

How insulting is this guy? Now you know me, I don't care for or root for the Red Sox, but let's not forget that this is still a major league club we're talking about.  There is absolutely no way to fully blame the entire Red Sox club for sucking.  After all, that's why the manager is there... to manage.  The team didn't gel partly because of Bobby and it's a big PART. The team, didn't have respect for their manager and in turn, they didn't do what they needed to win.  It's a joint effort for sure... again, Bobby was a big part of that crappy season.

I kind of feel bad for the Sacred Heart players.  What's gonna happen when he blows that gig?

And  for the record... Connie Mack is rolling over in his grave.  It's easy to challenge a dead guy.  Come on Bobby, you're better than that...or are you?

Kudos to Aaron Gleeman at Hardball Talk which is where I read this story first, HERE.

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LOSING IN THE SPRING? WHO GIVES A CRAP

I’m about to say something that will annoy all of you.  But I’m doing it out of love, because let’s face it, the reality is, something’s there needs to be some hard talk.  I do not care that the Yankees lose games during Spring Training.  It means nothing to me.  There, I said it.

Let’s not misunderstand me, I love to win, I fight to win. I’m a competitive guy when it comes to everything in life and baseball… except for the Spring.  When the Yankees lose in the Spring, it means absolutely nothing to me.  Why? Because we’re already getting crazy and not an official 2013 season pitch has been thrown.

You know what I care about? Healthy players. I care about good mechanics and if they aren’t good, that’s where the Spring kicks in. Work out the kinks.  I care about seeing the pitch and driving the pitch and if you miss… who gives a crap, IT’S SPRING! The timing will get there by April 1st, God willing.

I hate debating which players suck and which players don't in the Spring. It doesn't matter to me. I looked at Twitter after the game yesterday. I mean, are we really going to sit here and have a debate over where of not Joba Chamberlain should be a starter or reliever now? Are we really? As soon as the game ended yesterday, the Joba Chamberlain quote about him wanting to start or close one day was all over the net, read HERE.  The reality is, good for him if that's what he wants. He has that right, but do we really need to turn this into a story?  It's Spring Training, it's something to think about, if not with the Yankees, then down the road when he becomes a free agent somewhere.  The dude's just marketing himself, what's the big deal? And what if Joba stinks this spring. Are we going to suddenly start the cry of "trade Joba Chamberlain?"  Are we going to start the "Go start somehwhere else?" Really? Why? It's Spring.

You know what matters right now? Derek Jeter being on track for Opening day. You know what matters? Kevin Youkilis being healthy in the next few days, or Michael Pineda working toward a strong comeback this season or  CC Sabathia being dominant.  That’s what matters right now, because Spring is where it all comes together and believe it or not, wins... losses mean crap now. 

So, enough of this. Sometimes it gets way to overwhelming to understand.  Bottom line, I love my Yankees, but I love my Yankees winning during the season.  Sure, I love the boys throwing the ball around in the Spring, but that’s where it ends.  These games that don’t mean anything are exactly what they are… give it rest with the “Win every game this Spring” and “trade-off the deadweight” crap on February 26^th… you can’t be serious. Can you?

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT DURING YANKEE SPRING TRAINING

It's the eve of February 26th and were just 4 games into Spring Training. We lost 3 of those games. Is it really time to start the "Fire Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi" chants this early? I surely don't think so. I can see it now, that good old "It's all ARod's fault" tactic will surface when we can't point the finger at the real problem.

I've seen that one a lot too. I guess pitching is his fault too, no? Being in social media, you can see the widespread panic over losing Spring Training games. It's laughable that some throw in the towel in such a young season, or show angst as to thinking our playoff hopes are shot.

However, I do understand the passion. I want to win all the time, no question about it. Who do you know says that they prefer losing? Let me know if you do, I would shake their hand for openly admitting that. It's best to take it one game at a time. Especially in February or March. This is the time to work off the rust, to give up the long ball or get struck out in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs.  Like Allen Iverson once said, "It's practice, we talkin' about practice."


So put the paper bag down, and let's save the dismay for when it really counts. In April and May, and even more in October. And I don't mean start the chaos immediately after the Opening Day game, we have plenty of time to say "It's only April." We have a long season ahead of us, we've been through ups and downs before.

Don't forget March 10th Derek Jeter is expected to make his return and Spring Training debut. Read that HERE.  It will be the first time Jeter will take the field since his ankle injury in Game 1 of the ALCS.

In other words, we have plenty of baseball to play... calm down. And by the way, I was nice about it. Wait until you see Casey's rant tomorrow....

-- Rudy Laurens, BYB Writer
Facebook: House of Champions



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I WANT CHRIS DICKERSON BACK!

There it is, I am just going to lay it out there. I know I am not the only one thinking this. Can we invent the “do-over” for baseball? Trust me, if I could I would right now. Sure, maybe this is easy to say right now but we believed that Chris Dickerson was a good solution for this team a long time ago, read GIVE CHRIS DICKERSON A SHOT! for our take on this.

Losing Curtis Granderson to an injury so soon really sucks, but because of this I think my worst nightmare just may be coming true. I really didn’t like losing Dickerson when the Yankees designated him for assignment. I felt sick to my stomach when I found out he went to the Orioles. Now I feel like I have come full circle because I am living in a “dejavu” world because it was just last month I was talking about how losing Dickerson would be a big blow. I would hardly say I have a good track record predicting these things, but this time I think I may have been on to something.

After Dickerson was designated for assignment we wrote about just how much we didn’t like it here at BYB in a piece called WHY CHRIS DICKERSON WILL BE MISSED. I really liked Chris Dickerson, and I still do. I think he is going to do great things for the Orioles and I am going to hate watching him play in their uniform. In fact, it may eat away at me inside. I think he is going to be a big contributor for any team he plays on. If we hadn’t let him go he could have made our bench very strong.

I had several people tell me that Dickerson just “didn’t have a place on the team.” I agree with that to a certain extent; however Dickerson has an impressive skill set and he had already proven himself in some big situations. When you have a good skill set, there is always a need. Sure, the Yankees had a lot of lefties and someone had to go, and unfortunately it was him. However, we were very quick to point out that cutting Dickerson because he was another lefty bat in a loaded lineup could come back to bite us later because “For all we know, the team could look a lot different by the time the All-Star break comes around.” In this case, we didn’t even get through the second game of Spring Training and the team is already looking different for a short amount of time.

What happens if we somehow come up short with left handed hitting outfielder later? It may not be likely, but anything can happen. Sure, Granderson will be back in May if all goes well but now doesn’t Dickerson look like a good option? No offense to the bench we have now, but I really liked Dickerson. He is familiar and I knew what we were getting with him.

After losing Raul Ibanez and Nick Swisher I kind of want that. He understood what wearing our uniform meant and the expectations that come with it. I think he rose to the challenge. Not to say that the players we have now won’t, but my loyalty rested with Dickerson. Sure, some say that train of thought may be crazy and maybe it is. However, what he did during his time here did not go unnoticed and he played the game with a lot of passion, and that is something a team always needs.

In my mind, he would be the perfect fit….and now he is gone. When I think about the skill set we are going to be missing while Granderson is out I think Dickerson matched a lot of that except for one area, the power numbers. Sure, he isn’t going to hit 40+ home runs but when you compare his defensive skills, and his speed he can match Grandy. While Dickerson doesn’t hit the homers, he does put the ball in play and he can drive in runs. He walks a lot and he doesn’t strike out as much as Granderson does.

I know the Yankees will figure this out, and I am sure if they choose to put Matt Diaz or Juan Rivera in the outfield for the time being that they will rise to the occasion….but I still feel like the Yankees gave away the perfect fit.

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Writer and Editor

Twitter: @NyPrincessJ



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KEVIN YOUKILIS HAS A BUM HIP

According to Bryan Hoch, and several others today on Twitter, Kevin Youkilis has been scratched from today's Spring Training game. Read Hoch HERE, but in a nutshell, he writes:

"The Yankees have described Youkilis' injury as a sore left oblique, and manager Joe Girardi said that Youkilis should be re-evaluated in a couple of days. Girardi said Youkilis had not been sent for tests.

'Basically, yesterday I had a little cramp,' Youkilis said. 'That just turned into, 'We're going to be precautionary.' I'm fine. I could play today, and I'm perfectly fine, but they were just like, 'No, we're going to sit you out.'

Youkilis said that if this were the regular season, there would be no question about him playing. 

'I don't think it's anything serious,' Girardi said. 'We're being really cautious right now, because we can be.'

Youkilis said that this does not feel like the oblique injuries he has had in the past; he can swing the bat, but the Yankees do not want him to.

'I think I kind of learned my lesson: Don't say you're tight,' Youkilis said. 'It's my first week here, and now I understand the terminology and what to do.'"

I first read about it from David Waldstein in his Tweets below:

Look, they will re-evaluate in a few days and see what happens.  It's not like Youk broke a forearm and it's not like Joba Chamberlain popped him him the face or anything. This is an injury that appears minor at this point.  If anything more develops, we'll tell you. No panicking!!!!

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BRETT GARDNER'S GOTTA GO DEEP

I heard it.  It was grisly.  The Yankee fan’s worst nightmare- getting blasted by a pitch.  And it happened, in the second official Yankee game of the spring.  Grandy is out for 10-weeks with a broken forearm.  But, folks, I am here to tell you that even though this is a terrible blow or as USA Today says (HERE), “fly (chaser) in the ointment,” all is not lost, friends.  We’ve got Gardy!  And he’s gonna dig deep and fly.  Going three for three on Monday, Brett Gardner is one of the most underrated players in the game today.  Now it’s his time to shine.  Now it’s his time to make it happen.

“Gardner has saved more runs than anyone else in baseball. If he doesn't win the Gold Glove this season, the entire voting system will need to be destroyed. Add in his nearly forty stolen bases, .338 BABIP, and his 4.3 WAR which is beaten only by Matt Holliday, Ryan Braun, and Alex Gordon, and you've got yourself an underrated player,” according to 2011 article in The Business Insider, HERE.  The article goes on to say that Girardi needs to put more faith in his swift outfielder and bat him first.  Now, Gardy didn’t win a gold glove last season and missed pretty much all of 2012.  But, he’s back, better than ever and he will not disappoint.

After Sunday’s game, Gardner put it all out on the table, "I'd like to lead off. It'd be silly to say I love hitting ninth, you know?" Gardner said. " ... It's not something I'm really concerned with, but maybe if I have a really good spring it's something they'll consider." I for one would applaud Gardy batting first.  We could use his OBP to creep up and if we are looking to bolster our small ball, then getting Gardy into the lead off spot is for me!

According to our skipper, Joe Girardi, in an article published in the Daily News (HERE) just after the injury to Granderson “Sometimes because of an injury someone gets to shine and winds up being there a long time. We’ll see.”  Bringing up some of our young talent to tap off the outfield may be a great way to switch things up. 

(In Photo: Melky Mesa)
“Melky Mesa and Zoilo Almonte (who homered and threw a runner out at third base in the Yankees’ spring training opener against the Braves in Lake Buena Vista, read HERE); and non-roster outfield candidates previously slated for Trenton or Scranton, Adonis Garcia and Ronnier Mustelier.” 

A farm team favorite from the get go, the home-grown Yankee 29-year-old gritty center fielder has to dig deep mentally and physically to earn back his spot and develop leadership skills in the outfield.  I think he has it in him and like Girardi said, now is the time to entertain new scenarios for the good of the team and for the good of the game.  Hopefully one of these new scenarios sees Gardy back, better than ever, ready to embark on a career best season!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




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ALL IN GOOD FUN TO ALEX RODRIGUEZ

This was forwarded to me on Facebook.   I laughed.  Anyway... pass it on.

That is all.

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A JOHNNY DAMON REUNION?

Look, it's not a necessity that the Yankees do anything to replace Curtis Granderson. That's the honest truth. But for the sake of feeling nostalgic, why don't we bring in someone like Johnny Damon? We'll get alittle reunion going, we'll get a lefty bat replacement and from what he's said, read HERE, he'd be happy to comeback as a temporary replacement for Curtis Granderson. Then, when Grandy comes back, Johnny claims he'll pack his stuff up and go home. Here's what Johnny said: "You guys know that I would have tons of interest to go to New York... But I just don't think they would be interested. I'm not exactly sure what happened over the years or something. They have had plenty of opportunities and I kept raising my hand, wanting to go back and, you know, hopefully it would be a perfect fit. It always had been. Have me for six weeks and then send me off on my merry way. That's fine."

Is it a stupid idea?  No, especially if he'll do it at base pay and only be temporary. But in truth, the reality is, we don't really need him. Again, we have Juan Rivera. We have Matt Diaz and life will be fine.  But for all you who want to see Damon back filling in in left with a lousy throwing arm and maybe 10 home runs in his bat, sure, I'm all for it.

Do I sound mean? I'm only rattling off reasons that the Yankees probably DON'T want Damon back.  My feeling is though, if we can get him cheap, try the guy out at that low, low salary, I'd say it's worth it... just for the hell of it. For the record though, Johnny went 46 for 207 with 4 home runs for the Indians last season. Maybe that's the Yankees' reason for not "jumping" on Damon as he says. It's not cruel, it's the reality of age in baseball.

Stay tuned... anything can happen in Yankeeland. 

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HEATHCOTT & AUSTIN WON'T COMPETE FOR OUTFIELD SPOT

(In Photo: Slade Heathcott)
According to Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger, he says that Girardi isn't too keen on having Tyler Heathcott or Tyler Austin compete for the now opening in the outfield since Curtis Granderson got plunked on the forearm... read McCullough HERE.

We have Juan Rivera and Matt Diaz.  This is a good scenario for those guys because now we'll see their worth.  Ladies and Gentlemen, this isn't a bad problem.  Believe it or not, having Granderson out will provide us with some data... data that will allow us to analyze who the better outfielder would be and a good bench option in a pinch later on.

(In Photo: Russ Canzler)
Now, and this is after the fact, but having a guy like Russ Canzler right now would have been a great thing.  Having a guy like Chris Dickerson here right now would be a great thing... but we don't.  We'll just have to see what happens.  But all indications are there will be no "competition" for that outfield spot between Heathcott and Austin. That is all.

(In Photo: Chris Dickerson)
Oh, and we'll have a more extended piece about the "what if" and Chris Dickerson on BYB soon... look for it. He has always been a fan favorite who is now a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and look for the hashtag #BYB. Also, join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

CLEAN CUT VS. SCRUFF

After David Price made his silly comment the other day about he not wanting to come to the New York Yankees long term because of their facial hair policy, read HERE. He's appeared to have back tracked now.  No surprise here.  I thought what he said was ridiculous… read IF THE DEAL'S RIGHT, YOU'LL SHAVE for context on that.  The reality is, he back tracked one day later according to David Lennon, HERE.

But reading comments from the Internet, I was surprised by the many die-hard Yankee fans that just want to scrap the whole “Clean Cut” look. 

It’s been a staple with the Yankees for quite a long time and we all know about the feud between Don Mattingly and George Steinbrenner about the long hair back in 1991.  Now it’s world famous.  It’s funny though, at the time, almost all of us were "Team Mattingly", because we loved him of course, yet, me personally, I still wanted that rule to stay intact.

Fast forward to the present day where the New York Yankees wear their crisp, white and blue pinstripes and a clean face look like the elite club that many should want to aspire to be.  Don’t misunderstand me, scruff don’t bother me, long hair don’t bother me, tattoos don’t bother me, earrings, earplugs, nose ring, nipple ring… I don’t really care. It’s your body, you have that right.  All I’m saying is, if the Yankees want you because they love your talent and they know you can contribute, why NOT take one for the team and get cleaned up, it’s their rule.  Look at KevinYoukilis.  The dudes spotless right now. 

Remember him in Boston? He was a hot mess.

Look at our boy Johnny Damon. What a transformation and it didn’t hamper his ability.  He was wanted by the Yankees, he followed the rule and became a champion.

It’s not to say I would ban it across the league, I wouldn’t. I actually  think it works great for teams like the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers.  I mean, growing up loving baseball, there was something truly bad ass about seeing dudes like Pete Vuckovich and Robin Yount with their ridiculous hair and staches with the Brewers for example.  But we’re the Yankees, we don’t do that and I kind of like it.

I’ve always felt like the Yankees are a symbol of something big.  I’ve always felt like there was something superior about our team and with that comes image, a clean cut group of guys that look similar in appearance, like a military ready to go to battle, like a team that forms 1, meaning, we stand at 25 that are 1, not a bunch of misfits or idiots as Johnny Damon used to say of the Sox.  

It worked for the Sox, but I just don’t think it works for the Yanks.   Call me silly, but I think that has always been the idea for the Yankees.  If you disagree, I can see your argument.  Many would like to end the whole thing with concerns that players WON’T come to New York, like David Price hinted about the other day.  I say, if the price is right, you’ll shave your body hair off.   But that’s just me.

 Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and look for the hashtag #BYB. Also, join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.