Deal With Mo Finalized

Today the deal with closer Mariano Rivera was finalized. It is worth $45 million over three years and will likely by Rivera’s last contract as a major leaguer (he is currently 38 years old.) Rivera has been great to us and it is nice to see him stay in pinstripes once more. Rivera had become a free agent after the season was over, but ended up with the Yanks again… can you imagine him anywhere else anyway? He will certainly be appreciated this year, especially as we try to figure out this whole pitching thing.

Pettitte Admits Briefly Using HGH

On the other side of the ball as Clemens, Andy Pettitte has admitted that what the Mitchell Report said about him was true; he used HGH in 2002. Pettitte said that it was not for performance enhancement, but instead for helping his elbow injury heal faster (this statement goes in line with what the report said as well.) He quit only two days after he started because he didn’t feel comfortable using the hormone. It should be noted that during that time HGH was not banned, so you really can’t make Pettitte into the bad guy here. He was just trying to get better so that he could help his team out as fast as possible. I am sure he still wishes those two days didn’t happen (and so do I as a Yankee fan) because sadly even those 48 hours will taint his name from now on, including when he is considered for the Hall of Fame. During his statement he also emphasized that he had never used steroids.

Pitcher Talk

Finally some news that doesn’t have to do with Mitchell madness (although I have a feeling Mr. Mitchell will cause some more splashes soon). Dan Haren will not be a Yankee next season because Oakland just traded him to the Diamondbacks as part of a three team deal (the other team was the Astros). The departure of Haren does signify a few things though, including Joe Blanton will most likely be unloaded too; the A’s had said earlier that if Haren goes, so does Blanton. He is certainly a possibility still, but the big trade talks involving the Yankees is for non other than Johan Santana.

We all knew that the Yanks hadn’t actually stopped thinking about the Twins’ ace, but Hank Steinbrenner actually said it to the public this time. He also said that the only way that Santana would come is if the Yanks could trade Matsui somehow. With the Giants no longer in the market for an outfielder, I don’t know if that will happen. But either way, it seems like a dumb excuse. I bet if the Twins offered to accept the Yankees’ original offer of Hughes, Cabrera, and a mid-level prospect for Santana, we’d accept. Bottom line in the Santana trade talks is that nothing has really changed since it all began.

In other news, former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior is currently a free agent and the Yanks are among a few teams interested. Prior is coming off major surgery and seeks only a one year deal, whereas the Yankees want a one year deal with a team option for a second year. Prior certainly has the potential to be great, as he was once expected to become one of the league’s top pitchers. But, that never really happened due to an injury plagued time with the Cubs. The Cubs finally gave up on him this season, but if he gets through rehab successfully he will certainly have a chance at being a good pitcher. Other teams interested include the Mets and Nationals.

The Aftermath Begins

It has been over a day since the Mitchell Report was released and sparks are flying left and right. The biggest controversy is over Roger Clemens. Considered to be one of the greatest pitchers in this era of baseball, the Rocket is facing a lot of scrutiny. He is fighting back though; he has denied all claims and has hired a lawyer already with the possibility of suing still open. Former Yankees trainer, Brian McNamee, was the one who told Mitchell that Clemens had taken steroids. It is possible though, that McNamee was just throwing out a big lie in hopes of getting a better plea bargaining deal (he is currently being tried for distributing steroids). It will be interesting to see what Clemens does and how it will all effect his legacy, especially whether or not he remains a potential Hall of Famer.

In other news, well its just more Mitchell madness. The MLB is asking Congress to postpone the hearing they are supposed to give about the investigation next week. Apparently giving the first ever Allan H. (Bud) Selig Mentoring Award is more important than this investigation. As the days pass I am starting to dislike Selig more and more…

The Mitchell Report

It’s been an hour since it was released and I am frustrated, but to tell you the truth not surprised at all. The report contained several Yankees as I mentioned in my last update. One of the major guys is obviously Andy Petite. But remember that when he used them it was not illegal, so he shouldn’t be punished or even scrutinized for that.

Other Yankee names include Clemens, Knoblauch, David Justice, Sheffield, Giambi, Kevin Brown, Glenallen Hill, Ron Villone, and Grimsley. All of the accusations on these guys were not during their tenures with the Yankees. Ok, now lets look at the Red Sox names: Mo Vaughn, Manny Alexander. Mo Vaughn is an ex-sock and he doesn’t really matter. Alexander was already accused so that is nothing new and it isn’t like he is a big name anyway, does anyone even know who he is? Hmm… it seems like he didn’t get much on the Red Sox; but there was a lot of the Yankees. Biased? Please, anyone can clearly see that.

It is like this guy only asked the New York trainers. He does know that there are 28 other teams with trainers right?

There were a few other big names, but obviously they weren’t tied to the Red Sox in any way. The report states Tejada as a possibility. It will be interesting to see how that story develops, especially since the Astros just traded for him yesterday. Paul Lo Duca was also accused. Below is a list of all of the new and old names included in the report of players believed to have used steroids: (more…)

The Mitchell Report Released

It is 2 o’clock and it has been released. Stay tuned as I update with the big news. If you would like to check it out for yourself, you may do so here: www.mlb.com/mitchellreport

You can also watch the live press conference at mlb.com or on the CNN website(which I prefer).

Update: There are certainly a lot of names in the report. Yankees include Andy Petite, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, and Giambi (not that that is new). Andy Petite is said to have used it to speed up recovery from an injury. And guess what? No major Red Sox names. Not even that many minor names.