'Joba Rules' being rewritten for 2008

Chamberlain groomed for rotation but could see time in bullpen

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
01/28/2008 9:11 PM ET

NEW YORK -- The Yankees believe that Joba Chamberlain will be just as dominant in their starting rotation as he was in relief. Then again, it wouldn't hurt to keep that latter option.

With Chamberlain already throwing off mounds at the club's training facility in Tampa, Fla., the Yankees have repeatedly insisted that they are preparing to groom him as a starter when pitchers and catchers officially report on Feb. 14.

Since innings are a consideration, the Yankees may have some creative routes in store for handling Chamberlain -- up to and including the possibility that he could see some time in the bullpen, where he excelled as a setup man late last year.

"Anything can happen, so you don't rule anything out," pitching coach Dave Eiland said in a telephone interview. "But we're going into it right now with Joba as a starter. We're going to see where that takes us."

Chamberlain, 22, burst onto the Major League scene after making his debut in August, going 2-0 with one save and a 0.38 ERA in 19 relief appearances before suffering a memorable blown save in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Cleveland.

Accustomed to duty as a starter in college and the Minors, Chamberlain was protected with what came to be known as the "Joba Rules." As a starting pitcher, many of those limitations -- such as the since-relaxed bans on pitching back-to-back days -- would be rendered moot.

But after throwing only 112 1/3 innings in his first professional season, Chamberlain -- and his workload -- will be watched closely. The Yankees plan to have tight grips on not only Chamberlain but on young hurlers Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, among others.

"Obviously, at the Major League level, winning is first," Eiland said. "We're going to have to watch that and monitor that to protect them, but we're trying to win each and every ballgame that they pitch in as well. I really don't foresee it as a problem.

"When [manager] Joe [Girardi] was in Miami with the Marlins, he had to do a lot of that with a young staff. It's not going to be anything that's new to us."

One thing the Yankees will not do, Eiland said, is open the season with a six-man rotation. Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy are all considered strong contenders to open the year in New York, but the Yankees also have 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang, 15-game winner Andy Pettitte and veteran Mike Mussina to consider.

Eiland is entering his first year as the Yankees' pitching coach after serving in the same role at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year. He has already been joined in Tampa by Chamberlain, Hughes and Jeff Karstens, with more pitchers set to report later this week.

Eiland said that he has spoken with a number of the pitchers and is closely coordinating scheduling with bench coach Rob Thomson to help his first camp run smoothly.

"Weather permitting and health permitting, I've got the first week to 10 days of the rotation in place," Eiland said. "We're pretty much ready for it. We're going to hammer the fundamentals and basics -- basically, Pitching 101: working ahead in the count, throwing strike one, attacking the strike zone with quality strikes. It's really a simple philosophy."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

News source：http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080128&content_id=2358431&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Cano deal finalized

The Yankees have completed their negotiations with Robinson Cano on a four-year contract. Here is how it will break down:

2008: $3 million
2009: $6 million
2010: $9 million
2011: $10 million
2012: $14 million or a $2 million buyout
2013: $15 million or a $2 million buyout

So at worst Cano will make $30 million over four years but could make $57 over six. He will be in Manhattan sometime in the next two days for a physical that will complete the deal. Cano is in Dominican Republic at the moment.

Analysis: This seems to be a deal that makes sense for both sides. The Yankees get Cano for an average of $4.5 million over the next two seasons, probably a slight savings over what he could get via arbitration. They will have greater payroll flexibility by 2010, when Cano will hit $10 million.

If he performs well, his option years could prove to be a bargain. If he does not, the Yankees can cut him loose for $2 million.

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/28/cano-deal-finalized/

Yankees may be close with Cano

The Yankees appear ready to break tradition and give a long-term contract to one of their arbitration-eligible players.

Robinson Cano is reportedly close to a four-year, $30 million deal. Because of his service time, this is the first of four years Cano would be eligible for arbitration. His agent, Bobby Barad, asked for $4.55 million last week. The Yankees countered with $3.2 million.

This deal would be similar to what the Mets did for David Wright (6 years, $55 million) and Jose Reyes (4 years, $23.25 million) last season.

The Mets hold an option year on Wright and Reyes. The Cano deal would likely have a option as well.

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: Waiting on a call from Cano’s agent, Bobby Barad. But it sounds like the team will be for four years with the Yankees holding two one-year options. They would buy out four years of arbitration and two years of free agency.

In the long term, it will probably prove economical for the Yankees. Cano’s deal will probably be backloaded.

I’d be surprised if they signed Chien-Ming Wang to a long-term deal this season given that pitchers are more fragile.

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/24/yankees-may-be-close-with-cano/

Yankees set record with $218M payroll in 2007

Thursday, January 24th 2008, 4:00 AM

The Yankees did finish first in something last year - spending.

While its streak of AL East titles ended at nine, the Yanks wound up with a record payroll of $218.3 million.

The World Series champion Boston Red Sox were a distant second at $155.4 million, according to information received by clubs from the commissioner's office.

In addition to the largest payroll, the Yankees have the highest revenue in the majors. The Bombers took in $415 million last year, giving about $100 million of it away in the sport's revenue-sharing plan.

Both the Yankees and Mets will receive revenue boosts in 2009, when they move into new stadiums.

The Yankees were set to fall under the $200 million mark last year before signing Roger Clemens, who increased their payroll by $17.4 million. The Yanks are on track to lead the major leagues in payroll again. They have committed $198.6 million to 19 signed players on their 40-man roster. Adding in the midpoints for their three players remaining in arbitration - Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano and Brian Bruney - the total increases to $207.6 million.

The Dodgers were third last season at $125.6 million, followed by the Mets ($120.9 million).

News source：http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/01/24/2008-01-24_yankees_set_record_with_218m_payroll_in_.html

Agent: Cano interested in long-term deal

The Yankees could lock up Robinson Cano, their All-Star second baseman, to a long-term deal before he hits free agency. (Newsday / Paul J. Bereswill)

BY KAT O'BRIEN |kat.obrien@newsday.com

January 23, 2008

Barad made clear that the Yankees have not broached that topic with him and Cano, and that he has not brought up the possibility. However, should the Yankees seek to lock up their All-Star second baseman well before free agency - as the Mets did with third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes - Cano could have interest.

"He wouldn't be adverse to that in theory," Barad said.

Could it get done? That's more complicated. Said Barad: "It depends on, there's so many factors that would determine that." Several of the game's best young players have inked multiyear deals with their clubs early in their careers, including the Indians' Grady Sizemore (six years, $23.45 million) and the Phillies' Chase Utley (seven years, $85 million).

General manager Brian Cashman did not return calls.

Cano, 25, batted .306 with 19 homers and 97 RBIs this season. He has a career .314 average in three seasons. He is not eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season.

This is the first year he is eligible for salary arbitration. Cano submitted a $4.55-million salary request for 2008, and the Yankees countered with $3.2 million. Barad said negotiations have not begun.

Chien-Ming Wang is another Yankee who is arbitration-eligible for the first time. Wang is seeking $4.6 million, and the Yankees are offering $4 million. Wang's agent, Alan Nero, would not comment.

News source：http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks235548478jan23,0,1394788.story

Don Mattingly leaves Joe Torre's side because of family matters

BY ANTHONY McCARRON
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Wednesday, January 23rd 2008, 4:00 AM

Almost three months after he was a finalist for the Yankees' managerial job, Don Mattingly has asked the Dodgers to scale back his responsibilities as a member of Joe Torre's new coaching staff in Los Angeles.

Mattingly was supposed to be the Dodgers' hitting coach this year, but he was replaced yesterday by Mike Easler. Instead, Mattingly is going to serve as what the Dodgers called a "major league special assignment coach."

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Mattingly and his wife of 28 years, Kim, have agreed to separate. Mattingly, the sources said, felt he should spend as much time at home in Evansville, Indiana, to be with his 16-year-old son, Jordon, a high school sophomore, rather than uproot him and bring him to Los Angeles.

Ray Schulte, Mattingly's agent, would only say that Mattingly asked for the switch for "family reasons."

"It was Donnie's request and the Dodgers were gracious enough to grant his request. Donnie's prioritizing his family first," Schulte said. "Everything, health, is fine. Everything is good in that respect. It's like any other family - they need to prioritize and that's what Donnie's doing right now. He still feels like part of the Dodger organization."

In a statement released by the Dodgers announcing the move, Mattingly said, "I'm very grateful that the Dodgers have allowed me to take care of these family matters and I hope that everyone can respect our privacy during this time. I truly appreciate the support of all Dodger fans since joining the organization and I look forward to helping the team win in 2008 and beyond."

Both Hank Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman said no family concerns came up when Mattingly, 46, interviewed to become Yankee manager. "That didn't have any bearing on the manager's job," said Steinbrenner, who had not heard Mattingly changed his Dodger role. "I hope everything's OK."

"The manager interview was about the best guy for the job," Cashman wrote in an e-mail. "(Joe) Girardi was that guy, plain and simple."

Mattingly was a serious candidate to replace Torre as Yankee manager - some believed he was the favorite - but the Yanks ultimately chose Girardi instead and Mattingly went West with Torre when Torre was named Dodgers' skipper.

It's unclear how this might affect Mattingly's future as a potential manager. He is expected to assist L.A.'s major league coaching staff at spring training when the Dodgers report next month and then be available for "other duties throughout the season," the team said in a release.

Mattingly and his wife, who were high school sweethearts, have been married since Sept. 8, 1979. The couple has three children - 22-year-old Taylor, a former Yankee farmhand, 20-year-old Preston, a Dodger prospect, and Jordon.

When Mattingly retired after the 1995 season, he went into a self-imposed exile of sorts at his farm in Evansville. He cited a desire to be home while his older sons were completing high school. The Yankees tried several times to hire him as their hitting coach, but he rebuffed them. He spent seven seasons as a spring training instructor from 1997-2003 before agreeing to become hitting coach for 2004, a post he held for three seasons until he switched to bench coach last year.

As part of his attempt to lure Mattingly back to full-time duty, George Steinbrenner put a clause in Mattingly's contract that provided for numerous flights for Mattingly's wife to fly from Indiana to New York during the season.

News source：http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/01/23/2008-01-23_don_mattingly_leaves_joe_torres_side_bec.html

Pinch hitting: Rivera’s Cutter

Our pinch hitter program has a week to go. We’ve had 19 guest bloggers on a variety of subjects and they’ve generated about 1,000 comments. Next up is Brian from Rivera’s Cutter.

Brian started his blog in 2006. He wanted to start writing because he didn’t like how some segments of the mainstream media were against the Yankees. He lives in Hoboken, N.J., and teaches at a private school.

Here’s his post:

The Yankees have acquired numerous relievers over the years who were successful with other teams: Chris Hammond, Paul Quantrill, Steve Karsay, Tom Gordon, Kyle Farnsworth, Mike Myers and Alan Embree, to name a few. Of them, only Gordon was effective for the Yankees, though his meltdowns probably cost them the 2004 ALCS. While Joba Chamberlain was amazing for two months last season, the Yankees shouldn’t be forced to use a potential No. 1 starter in a setup role.

But to me, it became clear that under Joe Torre, the failing of the middle relief was a fait accompli. He had no faith in anyone who wasn’t named Mariano Rivera and the rest of the bullpen had little faith in themselves as well. We as fans learned to only trust Mariano. It was a vicious cycle.

Looking back as recently as last year, one walk issued by Farnsworth, Brian Bruney, or whoever else was often enough for Torre to come take the ball from them as the opening chords of Enter Sandman would reinforce to everyone that the Yankees had only one reliable reliever. They would leave the mound frustrated and angry, their confidence hurt. Their body language didn’t say, “Here comes Mo to help.” It said, “Everyone loves Mo and thinks I’m terrible.”

Rivera always was Torre’s security blanket, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player. But during the dynasty years, Torre also had an underrated weapon in Ramiro Mendoza. Mendoza and his rubber arm and power sinker handled intense workloads under Torre, twice exceeding 130 innings pitched (there were no “Ramiro Rules,” unfortunately). In 2003, Mendoza finally broke down and his career never recovered.

Torre found lesser versions of Mendoza in Karsay (’02), Gordon (’04), and Proctor (’06), but it was never quite the same.

One of Torre’s greatest assets as a manager was his ability to shield his players from criticism. On the field also, he never wanted them to get embarrassed. He was quick to pull both starters and relievers. However, this mentality backfired. It was common for him to use five relievers in a victory – but why would you pull a reliever who is pitching well unless they have thrown too many pitches?

Struggles by the starting pitching only exacerbated bullpen problems. But again, everyone brought to Torre’s Yankees from the outside (Randy Johnson, Javy Vazquez, Jeff Weaver, Kevin Brown, etc) would struggle. Seemingly any pitcher, starter or reliever, would underachieve. So who was at fault? The pressures of New York or Torre?

This in many ways is up to Joe Girardi to decide. How will Girardi handle his pitchers? He will have a staggering number of quality arms at his disposal. In Florida, Girardi used primarily six young starters and an unknown bullpen and got them all to perform well. However, the following year several of the pitchers ended up on the disabled list. So was Girardi getting the most out of them or simply overusing them?

And perhaps most importantly: Can Girardi teach us to love Farnsworth?

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/23/pinch-hitting-riveras-cutter/

Mailbag: Is Posada's future at first?

Beat reporter Bryan Hoch answers Yankees fans' questions

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
01/21/2008 11:58 AM ET

Since we know that Jorge Posada signed a contract for four more years, do you think he is going to move to first base in two? -- Mo L., Spokane, Wash.

There has been no definite time frame on a position switch for Posada, except to say that it could happen someday. If you look at the history of catchers' decline entering their late 30s, the tale of the tape suggests that no one maintains those levels of productivity forever. If there is a catching fountain of youth, the secret isn't being let out.

Then again, Posada may be marking new territory anyway, part of the reason why the Yankees felt comfortable with ponying up four years and $52.4 million. No catcher did what Posada did in 2007 at age 36. If you remember, the Yankees dabbled a little with Posada at first base as recently as last season, using National League rules and the absence of the designated hitter as their reasoning.

Posada seemed less than enthusiastic about the move, but after taking a few ground balls during batting practice, he seemed at least passable, recording six putouts and taking part in one double play. That doesn't mean Posada feels especially comfortable about first base, and certainly for 2008, the Yankees don't envision any switch in store.

Actually, he believes that coming up as an infielder and making a switch later to catcher may have helped keep Posada from suffering the wear and tear most catchers inevitably experience at this stage of their careers. The DH rule also provides another way that Posada could be a lineup force through 2011. By then, the next crop of Yankees catchers -- Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, among them -- should have had opportunities to state their cases for big league duty.

"Having the DH in the American League was one of the things -- if anything goes wrong, I could fall [back] as a DH," Posada said recently. "Right now, I'm a catcher. I'm looking forward to catch for four more years. After that, if I can play after that contract, I'll try to do something else."

What's all this talk about the Yankees needing a No. 1 starter? Have we forgotten about Chien-Ming Wang? He's won 19 games two years in a row, took a perfect game into the eighth inning and has great poise on the mound. He did have one bad series against Cleveland, but is that enough to say he's not No. 1 material?
-- Eric W., Los Angeles

That's up to the observer. There are plenty of people out there who insist that Wang is really more of a solid No. 2, despite the 38 victories over the past two seasons. They've used the Cleveland postseason starts as ammunition this offseason, and until Wang gets back on a mound and starts chalking up wins, there's not a whole lot he can do.

The results of the AL Cy Young Award balloting, where Wang did not receive even one vote, were surprising. For the purposes of comparisons among "aces," Wang seems to have been hurt by high hit totals and low strikeout ratios.

Posada and second baseman Robinson Cano have been among the players who have stepped up and insisted the Yankees need an ace such as the Twins' Johan Santana for 2008. The decision seems to be a split one among the clubhouse, at best. Left-hander Andy Pettitte thinks the Yankees will be just fine as currently comprised, saying last month, "I think Wang is an absolute stud. An ace."

Do you think the fallout from the Mitchell Report could be a big distraction for the team? Pettitte may speak at the congressional hearings on Feb. 13. I feel that the lingering effects could be felt for a long time.
-- Neil B., Albany, N.Y.

In Pettitte's case, there will probably be some uncomfortable moments when he first reports to Spring Training -- he'll have to address the media on what he told Congress less than 24 hours later in Tampa, Fla.

But getting down into the routine of pitchers and catchers could actually be the best thing for Pettitte. The on-field drills and conditioning are things that players are accustomed to and understand; the off-field debates are the realm of lawyers and the like.

Between the lines will probably be where Pettitte can be most like himself, as he can focus on the work that he's done for his entire adult life.

I am wondering what happened to Don Mattingly on the 2008 Hall of Fame ballot. I thought a couple of years ago Donnie Baseball was just a few percentages shy of becoming enshrined?
-- Cameron B., Greenwood, Ind.

Mattingly was on the ballot for an eighth consecutive year and actually had a slight uptick in votes, though he fell well shy of the 75 percent of ballots cast needed for induction into Cooperstown. Mattingly received 86 votes (15.8 percent), which represented some progress over the 54 votes (9.9 percent) cast in his favor in 2007.

That support is enough to keep him on for next year's ballot, but since Mattingly has never earned more than 28 percent of the vote in any year, even he has admitted that the Hall of Fame remains a long shot. As long as No. 23 hangs in Monument Park, he seems to be fine with that.

What do you see in Brian Cashman's future as the Yankees' general manager? His contract is up after this year.
-- Josh M., Howell, N.J.

I don't know if it's something to worry about just yet for the typical fan. Can it become a topic in September and October if it's still unresolved? Absolutely.

Cashman has said so many times that he doesn't make moves to keep his job, he makes them to do his job. If you check out the moves this offseason, he's been ardent about not sacrificing the future to make sure he has an office in the new stadium.

Even though Cashman admits the job description has changed again, he would be quick to tell you that he has outlasted all estimates in a climate that isn't favorable to long runs of service. You would have to think that if the Yankees win and Cashman is comfortable with the setup of the Hank and Hal Steinbrenner era, he could be made a fair offer to stay.

Last spring, closer Mariano Rivera was working on a changeup. Whatever happened to that?
-- Spencer P., Oakland

It seems that Rivera toys with something every spring, mostly to kill the seven weeks after pitchers and catchers report. Hey, for a guy notorious for not taking road trips around Florida, you've got to have something that occupies your time. The changeup wasn't really a factor in big league competition; if you're going to get beat, it might as well be with your best stuff.

Manager Joe Girardi should consider giving Rivera a good-natured shock on the first day of Spring Training by hanging gray uniform pants -- and only the road grays -- in his locker.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

News source：http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080121&content_id=2351915&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

On Johan, A-Rod and Johnny

Four interesting stories on the interweb today:

The Twins still want to deal Johan Santana and the Mets looks like the team. I’m almost as tired of this story as I am the Roger Clemens/Brian McNamee soap opera. Just trade the guy.

Alex Rodriguex has taken a player from the University of Miami under his wing. Saw lots of this sort of thing with Robbie and Melky last year.

Johnny Damon is stumping for Rudy Giuliani in Florida. Why would anybody vote based on what a baseball player said?

Old friend Scotty Proctor signed a $1.1 million deal with the Dodgers. There’s earning your money and then there’s earning your money. Good for him.

Peter Gammons mentioned this blog in his latest ESPN.com offering. As a kid who grew up in the 1970s and 80s (before SportsCenter and the web), Peter Gammons was how you found out about baseball. His Sunday notes column in the Globe was my bible. Thanks for the props, Commish.

If for some reason you’ve missed them, please read the guests posts today from Todd Drew and Will Carroll. Both are terrific pieces of writing in far different ways.

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/21/on-johan-a-rod-and-johnny/

NBA Today - 2008.01.20

Today's Top 10：
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/nbatv_top10/top10_080119.asx

Today's Highlight：
1.TOR vs PHI
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_583_torphi.asx


2.MEM vs CHA
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_584_memcha.asx


3.POR vs ORL
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_585_pororl.asx


4.SAC vs IND
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_586_sacind.asx


5.NYK vs MIA
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_587_nykmia.asx


6.DET vs CHI
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_588_detchi.asx


7.GSW vs MIL
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_589_gswmil.asx


8.SAS vs HOU
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_590_sashou.asx


9.SEA vs DAL
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_591_seadal.asx


10.MIN vs DEN
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_592_minden.asx


11.NJN vs LAC
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_593_njnlac.asx


All data comes from NBA.Com

明天（01/21）NBA轉播（in Taiwan）：
1.AM 09:00 Nets vs Suns 緯來育樂台 Live

Dollars and sense on the Santana deal

Wanted to bring this story on Yahoo Sports to your attention.

It’s a financial breakdown of a possible Santana deal by Vince Gennaro. Vince is a Westchester resident (and a reader here) who wrote “Diamond Dollars: The Economics Of Winning Baseball.”

Vince has worked with Major League teams on how best to include economics in trade and free-agent decisions. His work is fascinating.

His breakdown reveals that a trade for Santana does not make financial sense for the Yankees. It’s an interesting read.

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/19/dollars-and-sense-on-the-santana-deal/

NBA Today - 2008.01.19

Today's Top 10：
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/nbatv_top10/top10_080118.asx

Today's Highlight：
1.ATL vs TOR
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_573_atltor.asx


2.NYK vs WAS
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_574_nykwas.asx


3.POR vs MIA
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_575_pormia.asx


4.PHI vs BOS
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_576_phibos.asx


5.SAC vs DET
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_577_sacdet.asx


6.SEA vs MEM
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_578_seamem.asx


7.CHA vs NOH
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_579_chanoh.asx


8.LAC vs UTA
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_580_lacuta.asx


9.MIN vs PHX
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_581_minphx.asx


10.GSW vs CHI
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_582_gswchi.asx


東西區各隊戰績和排名：


All data comes from NBA.Com

明天（01/20）NBA轉播（in Taiwan）：
1.AM 09:30 Spurs vs Rockets 緯來體育台 Live
2.AM 12:00 Warriors vs Bucks 緯來體育台 D-Live

Yanks begin arbitration process

Figures exchanged with Wang, Cano, Bruney; Betemit signs

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
01/18/2008 6:00 PM ET

NEW YORK -- The Yankees set grounds for salary arbitration with three of their players on Friday, while avoiding the process completely by agreeing to a one-year contract with Wilson Betemit.

Infielder Robinson Cano and right-handers Chien-Ming Wang and Brian Bruney exchanged salary figures with the club as part of the process of arbitration, though players and clubs may still agree on contracts before a potential hearing date.

The requests filed by representatives for Cano and Wang, two of the Yankees' prized younger components, were separated by $50,000. Cano filed for $4.55 million and was offered $3.2 million by the club, while Wang requested $4.6 million and was offered $4 million.

Cano, 25, batted .306 with 19 home runs and 97 RBIs for the Yankees in 2007, establishing a number of career highs in the process. He earned $490,800 last season.

Wang, who will turn 28 on Opening Day, tied his career high in victories for the second consecutive season in 2007, going 19-7 with a 3.70 ERA while establishing a career high with 104 strikeouts. He earned $489,500 last season after his contract was renewed in Spring Training.

While both Cano and Wang have expressed levels of interest in signing long-term deals with the Yankees, discussions of that nature have not yet opened in earnest.

Bruney, who will be 26 in February, was 3-2 with a 4.68 ERA in 58 appearances across two stints with the Yankees in 2007. He requested $845,000 and was offered $640,000.

The Yankees avoided arbitration with Betemit on Friday, coming to terms on a one-year contract worth a reported $1.165 million.

A switch-hitting infielder, Betemit was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed reliever Scott Proctor on July 31. He mainly filled a reserve role down the stretch, appearing in 37 games and helping bolster one of the club's weaker first-half benches in recent memory.

Betemit earned $405,000 last season. He batted .226 with four home runs and 24 RBIs after joining the Yankees, making nine starts at first base, one start at second base, four starts at shortstop and five starts at third base.

The Yankees envision Betemit filling a similar role in 2008, as he heads into Spring Training competing with Jason Giambi, Shelley Duncan and non-roster invitee Jason Lane to serve as New York's Opening Day first baseman.

Betemit is a career .260 hitter in 409 Major League games with the Yankees, Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. New York had preliminarily considered Betemit as its starting third baseman before Alex Rodriguez agreed to a landmark 10-year, $275 million contract in December.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

News source：http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080118&content_id=2350595&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Rodriguez and Wright, Together

Published: January 18, 2008

Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and David Wright of the Mets play the same position, third base, and play in the same city. At the 28th Thurman Munson Awards dinner Feb. 5, they will also take the same stage and receive the same award.

Rodriguez and Wright are being honored with Munson awards, which are named after the Yankees catcher who died in 1979. Melky Cabrera, the Yankees’ center fielder; Craig Biggio, the former Houston Astros star; Jamal Crawford of the Knicks; and Kristi Yamaguchi, an Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater, will also receive awards.

The awards recognize excellence on the playing field and charitable work in the community.

“It is a privilege and honor to receive the Munson award,” Rodriguez said.

Diana Munson, Thurman’s widow, has helped raise almost $9 million through the dinner to aid children and adults with developmental disabilities.

The dinner will be at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. For information, call (212) 249-6188.

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/sports/baseball/18arod.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

Arbitration figures for the unsigned Yankees

Here are the arbitration figures that were submitted today:

Brian Bruney submitted $845,000, the Yankees submittted $640,000.

Robinson Cano submitted $4.55 million, the Yankees submitted $3.2 million.

Chien-Ming Wang submitted $4.6 million, the Yankees submitted $4 million.

It seems like the Yankees lowballed Cano a little bit. Maybe it will take a hearing to come to some conclusion. Obviously a deal with Wang should come pretty easily since they’re only $600,000 apart.

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/18/arbitration-figures-for-the-unsigned-yankees/

Clemens’s Lawyers Negotiating Deposition

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and DUFF WILSON

Published: January 14, 2008

When Mark McGwire and four other baseball players testified in front of Congress three years ago, they did so under oath but were not forced to give depositions in advance of their testimony.

Even without giving a deposition, McGwire was easily painted into a corner at the hearing. He infamously answered, “I’m not here to discuss the past,” when asked whether he had used steroids. The hearings hurt McGwire’s image and severely hampered his chances of being elected to the Hall of Fame.

The situations will be much different for Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, his former personal trainer, who are scheduled to testify Feb. 13 in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Clemens and McNamee will probably be deposed in the coming weeks by lawyers for the committee, a sign of how serious it appears to be taking their conflicting stories.

Preparations for those depositions are already under way. Clemens’s lawyers are planning to go to Washington on Monday to meet with officials from the committee to address the circumstances surrounding his deposition. They want Clemens to be questioned publicly, and are concerned about how private testimony could be used against him.

“The implication that Roger is having second thoughts about testifying in front of Congress in public are completely false,” his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Sunday in a telephone interview. “We are concerned about the procedures and other things Congress wants leading up to that testimony, and we will address those matters when we go to Congress tomorrow.”

Clemens has said McNamee injected him with the painkiller lidocaine and vitamin B12 on several occasions. Earl Ward, McNamee’s lawyer, has also said that McNamee was prepared to testify about an abscess Clemens developed in the area where he said Clemens was injected.

The committee chairman, Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, had said that he expected Clemens and McNamee to answer the invitations voluntarily.

But Philip M. Schiliro, the chief of staff for Waxman and the committee, said of Clemens on Sunday, “He can refuse to come in voluntarily, but if the committee feels strongly, it can subpoena him for a deposition.”

The committee procedure provides for confidentiality of the transcripts. The transcript can be released by vote of the committee or by agreement of the chairman and ranking minority member.

If somebody under subpoena refuses to answer a question, that person can be held in contempt of Congress, said J. Keith Ausbrook, Republican general counsel to the committee.

Depositions, according to Daniel C. Richman, a law professor at Columbia University, will allow the committee to pin down McNamee and Clemens on specifics surrounding their comments.

Hardin said another issue he planned to address with Congress was its request for a tape of an interview his investigators did with McNamee last month, the day before the release of the Mitchell report.

Hardin had said he did not want to provide the tape if the committee was going to provide it to McNamee before he testified. The committee can subpoena the tape if it is not provided voluntarily.

Ward said that investigators for Hardin asked McNamee in that meeting to change his story about Clemens’s use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The committee staff said it wanted to review the tape to assess the credibility of both sides’ assertions and to better prepare to question McNamee and Clemens.

Ward, meanwhile, said he would speak with committee staff members on Monday about securing immunity for McNamee. McNamee entered into a proffer agreement with federal prosecutors to avoid being charged with steroid distribution. As part of the agreement to tell the truth, he told investigators working for Mitchell that Clemens used steroids.

When speaking of the proffer agreement, Ward said, “It is important to understand it does not protect him from lying; we are just trying to protect him for being prosecuted for steroid distribution.”

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/sports/baseball/14clemens.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

Clemens Faces Dangers of Spin in Steroid Case

By ALAN SCHWARZ

Published: January 13, 2008

Roger Clemens has not stumped in New Hampshire, has not yukked with Stephen Colbert, and most certainly has not welled up in a coffee shop. Yet he is running perhaps America’s most provocative campaign.

Accused by his former personal trainer of taking steroids for several years, Clemens has found his reputation as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history splintering by the day. He has embarked on a furious and, some say, debatable public relations effort with the spin of his tightest slider.

Clemens released an online video denying the allegations; opened himself to a “60 Minutes” interview; filed a defamation lawsuit against the personal trainer, Brian McNamee; and held a contentious news conference Monday in which he not only played a stealthily recorded tape of a telephone conversation with McNamee, but also fumed for the cameras before storming off.

Unlike that of a measured and calculating politician, Clemens’s fierce and occasionally unbridled response to attack evidenced what made him so successful (and at times polarizing) as an athlete: a visceral, almost manic competitiveness that can explode into imprudence. A boot-wearing Texan in the John Wayne mold, Clemens won 354 games and a record 7 Cy Young awards not by meekly pitching around threats but by firing fastballs, some of them up and in. A former catcher, Charlie O’Brien, once said reverently: “When things get tough, Roger wants to go harder, to throw faster. You can see smoke coming out of his nose.”

Clemens’s appeal to the public has been based not on dousing his characteristic fire but on flaunting it.

“Roger knows that these allegations are untrue,” Rusty Hardin, his lawyer, said, “and he will do everything to prove that, including testifying under oath. I don’t think you can go halfway.” Experts in crisis management, however, said he might be losing this strangest of games for the same reasons he won so many others.

An industry has developed around defending celebrities who are accused of wrongdoing, find themselves in a news media firestorm and want to emerge with their public image intact. Whether ultimately guilty (like Martha Stewart) or vindicated (like the Duke lacrosse players), many of them begin with teams of experts who have navigated the course before — and who tend to preach immediate-but-tempered action.

“In my view, you have to make a contrary impression as soon as the news comes out,” said Barry Langberg, a lawyer who represented Carol Burnett and Aretha Franklin in successful defamation lawsuits against tabloid newspapers. “And then you shield the person from direct confrontation. I would not say that has been done in Mr. Clemens’s case, but of course it’s hard to know how much he is responsible for it.”

If Clemens is telling the truth about never having taken steroids, Langberg and other experts said, he is failing to leave that impression — and instead leaving himself open to public and legal consequences. His contentions that injections he received were merely of the painkiller lidocaine and the vitamin B12 have not rung plausibly with the public, they said, despite his emotion.

The only pro-Clemens crowd he has encountered came Saturday at a Texas coaches convention, where he was swathed in home-state devotees at a speaking engagement.

Langberg said that he would have filed a defamation suit as soon as Clemens was named in the report released Dec. 13 by George J. Mitchell because defamation lawsuits impress the public as long as they look as if they are immediate, rather than more calculated, responses. Hardin said he waited until Jan. 6 partly to be assured of Clemens’s truthfulness and to conduct further investigations on Clemens’s behalf.

Langberg said: “People generally have the reaction that if you file a suit, you must be right — you wouldn’t subject yourself to depositions, court proceedings, all those things. The way they did it, timing it with his appearance on ‘60 Minutes,’ it looked too staged and theatrical. They got a lot of negative when it should have been a positive, because of the timing.”

Langberg and Marina Ein, a crisis-management consultant based in Washington, said they would have strongly advised against Clemens’s appearing on “60 Minutes” last Sunday and holding a long news conference the next day. They tell their clients to assert their innocence, outrage and commitment to fight the charges under oath only in a brief written statement, rather than in the more uncontrollable forums in which Clemens lost his cool.

Clemens did issue such a statement through his agent, Randy Hendricks, five days after the Mitchell report became public. After lawyers defended McNamee vociferously, the Clemens team decided to accept a CBS request for a “60 Minutes” interview, in part because it would be conducted by a friend of Clemens’s, Mike Wallace.

“He fell into a trap he didn’t see,” Ein said. “Early in the interview, he said about steroids, ‘Where would I get the needles?’ But later, talking about how McNamee’s injections were only lidocaine and vitamin B12, apparently needles were no problem. I guarantee you that the authorities are going to jump all over that. He did exactly what you should fear would happen.”

In the next day’s testy news conference, Clemens reiterated his outrage, pointed it toward the reporters, and also warned that “I would be afraid for McNamee” if he ever visited Houston. At one point, Hardin passed him a note that said, “Lighten up.”

It appeared notable that the question that caused Clemens to exit abruptly in anger concerned whether he thought the report would endanger his otherwise guaranteed status as a baseball Hall of Famer, a ballplayer’s ultimate legacy. “I could give a rat’s ass about that,” he said with a sneer.

Ein said: “People who are under the microscope tend to not do themselves favors when they go on offense. They’re much better off being very brief and allowing others to speak on their behalf. I don’t think that secretly taping people and news conferences where you’re outraged and storm off is effective or persuasive.”

Langberg added, “I’ve never seen someone help himself by explaining himself.”

Then again, Mark McGwire, who vacuously told a Congressional committee three years ago that he would not “talk about the past” and has since virtually disappeared from public view, was mocked and vilified for his scripted flimsiness. Clemens can hardly be accused of that. Since mounting his counteroffensive 10 days ago, attacking McNamee’s claims and credibility while pledging to tell his story under oath and without immunity, he has displayed the same questionable defiance that has occasionally pocked his career.

With the Boston Red Sox in 1990, Clemens was ejected from a pivotal playoff game in the second inning for profanely jawing with an umpire — which he denied doing — and later remained in the dugout against the rules, which he said he did not know. His catcher that day, Tony Peña, said in a telephone interview Thursday that the incident had demonstrated how Clemens was occasionally too competitive for his own good.

“He wants to win so bad — in his mind, he can’t lose,” said Peña, now a coach with the Yankees. “Sometimes, he tried to do more than he is capable of doing. He wants to show you who’s the best.”

Ten years later, pitching for the Yankees in a World Series game against the Mets, Clemens threw the barrel of a shattered bat in the direction of his longtime nemesis Mike Piazza, and later explained that he thought he was throwing only the ball. At worst, he was laughably lying; at best, Clemens was so wired for battle that he blew past the limits of competitive decorum.

As for his current vehemence, a close confidant of Clemens said that it was partly borne of his shaken view of a country he had represented with pride. Clemens, with a strong patriotic streak, visited United States troops in the Middle East in 2002 and savored wearing the Team USA uniform during the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He seems to feel as if the public and the news media are trying him for virtual treason.

“He’s worried that he has been convicted by a country that he loves,” the confidant said. “It’s like a death watch, and he’s the condemned.”

Meanwhile, Clemens sits at home in Houston, hearing the Martha Stewart comparisons and telling himself that Duke lacrosse vindication awaits. He has said his public piece for now, his legal team says; Clemens will deliver his deposition to Congressional authorities, then testify under oath on live television. When it comes to winning or losing public good will, Roger Clemens — as he has for 24 seasons and through the past two weeks — does not give up the ball.

News source：http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/sports/baseball/13clemens.html?ref=baseball

Hawkins adds clarity to Yanks' bullpen

Looking to win, veteran right-hander eager to fill middle innings

By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
01/11/2008 1:15 PM ET

NEW YORK -- LaTroy Hawkins has drawn duty in plenty of roles and uniforms, most recently trotting out of the bullpen to pitch for the Colorado Rockies in last year's World Series.

But now that Hawkins has relocated his workplace to New York, preparing to wear his sixth Major League jersey, the 35-year-old right-hander suspects that the experience awaiting him may be far different.

"With all the history and tradition, it's pretty much everybody's dream to wear the pinstripes and be part of the Yankees organization," Hawkins said by telephone. "I'm looking forward to it. It's funny. I'm excited about it, but my family and friends -- they're ecstatic about it.

"Now they're all Yankees fans. With the Yankees, you either love them or hate them. I like being a part of that whole aura."

The Yankees finalized a one-year, $3.75 million contract with Hawkins in late December, effectively filling the gap left in their bullpen when reliever Luis Vizcaino departed in favor of a two-year deal with the Rockies.

Coincidentally, Vizcaino is expected to help replace Hawkins in Colorado's bullpen -- a swap the Yankees found attractive because of the one-year nature of Hawkins' agreement, plus the compensatory Draft pick the Yankees will gain as a result of losing Vizcaino, a Type B free agent.

Speaking Thursday on the club's YES Network, general manager Brian Cashman said that he believes Hawkins provides a way to help keep the ball on its way to closer Mariano Rivera.

"He's a versatile reliever that we feel can provide us some innings and fill in the gap between the sixth and seventh innings, simple as that," Cashman said.

A veteran who has also pitched for the Twins, Cubs, Giants and Orioles, Hawkins was 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 62 appearances last season for the Rockies, riding a late surge on their way to the National League pennant. He threw a scoreless seventh inning in the pressurized Wild Card playoff against the Padres and allowed one run over five innings of postseason work.

Cashman said that a minor adjustment in Hawkins' delivery helped him coax more ground balls in 2007. That method of survival helped produce a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings of pitching in the thin air at Coors Field, but it can also be a helpful component for success in the Bronx.

A one-time starting pitcher, Hawkins has experienced his ups and downs, most notably a troubled stint as a closer with the Cubs that ended quite sourly. But Cashman said that there may be some discrepancy between any public perception and the Yankees' actual mind-set in the Hawkins deal.

"We didn't sign him to be a setup man," Cashman said. "We signed him to be someone that can be used in the sixth or seventh innings and possibly give us two innings at a time."

The Yankees' bullpen picture also figures to include returning setup man Kyle Farnsworth, whom Cashman envisions handling the eighth inning. Beyond that, the relief corps figures to be a Spring Training free-for-all, with numerous internal candidates jockeying to join relief locks of Rivera, Farnsworth and Hawkins.

Hawkins said that no matter the inning assignments he draws -- sixth, seventh or eighth -- he is confident he will be able to handle them.

"I think all of those innings are just as important," Hawkins said. "Sometimes you can lose a ballgame in the sixth, seventh or eighth innings. My job is to go out there and pass the ball to the next guy so they can do their job, or pass it straight to Mariano. Whichever way it is, we still have to get those three, four or five crucial outs."

Though they have not spoken since the signing became official, Yankees manager Joe Girardi placed a November telephone call to Hawkins, laying out how he would be used if he signed and relaying interest in working together.

"Knowing the track record and knowing how successful the Yankees have been helped [the decision]," Hawkins said. "They haven't won the World Series in a few years, but they always put themselves in a position to have the chance to do so."

That was important to Hawkins, who was entertaining offers from other clubs after the Rockies turned down a $3.75 million option for 2008.

Some attempted to sell Hawkins on helping to rebuild and reload. But after pitching for the 2006 Orioles, a team that finished 70-92 under those same pretenses, Hawkins decided to go with a safer bet toward postseason play.

"I just felt like coming to New York was probably the best situation for me to be successful and be on a winning team," Hawkins said. "I think that's most important. I had some teams that wanted me to come there and start the process of a winning tradition.

"I just didn't know if I was ready for that. I did that in Baltimore and I went to a losing situation, and losing definitely doesn't do well for your mental approach for the game."

Hawkins said he does not anticipate having any such problems with the Yankees.

"My expectation is to come in and hopefully win a World Series," Hawkins said. "I think that's everyone's goal at the Major League level. I know that coming to New York is definitely putting myself in a good position to do so."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

News source：http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080111&content_id=2343751&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Source: Brian McNamee reveals more info on Roger Clemens to investigators

BY TERI THOMPSON AND MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS
Saturday, January 12th 2008, 10:28 PM

When Brian McNamee answered questions from federal investigators last year, he didn't volunteer a lot beyond what he was asked. Now, say sources close to Roger Clemens' former trainer, McNamee is providing additional information to investigators as they prepare for a congressional hearing on Feb. 13. "Brian's position is, 'Let's deal with the truth,'" said Earl Ward, McNamee's attorney. "That's his position."

According to a source close to the trainer who says he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone, McNamee answered questions from the government and former Sen. George Mitchell's office truthfully, but "he tried not to hurt Roger" in the process. Now that Clemens has sued him for defamation and has mounted a ferocious attack on McNamee, "stuff is pouring out of him." According to Ward, "Brian knows a lot about Roger's moral character and knows a lot about his extracurricular activities. ... There's a lot that he could say to damage Roger's reputation, but we plan on taking the high road. ... If some of this stuff were to come out, Roger Clemens would look very, very, very bad."

McNamee will tell Congress more about his knowledge of Clemens' use of performance-enhancing drugs, says Ward, including his belief that Clemens was treated for an abscess on his buttocks in 1998, around the time McNamee says he began injecting Clemens. According to a source, McNamee didn't initially tell federal investigators about the abscess but says he is now "willing to talk about it with Congress."

Congressional staffers are believed to be preparing questions about medical issues Clemens may have faced, including the types of injections he says he received. Clemens has denied being injected with steroids or human growth hormone, but says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12. Lidocaine is often given in conjunction with steroid injections, according to a medical source familiar with the information Congress has been provided, and is not generally administered by a non-medical professional. "I have never, ever in my entire career heard of a personal trainer giving someone a lidocaine injection," the source says. Ward said McNamee still has not been served with the defamation lawsuit Clemens filed against him last week.

CLEMENS OATH HEDGE? Meanwhile, ESPN.com reported that Rusty Hardin, Clemens' lawyer, has made the first move toward backing off his adamant claims that Clemens would go to Congress and testify under oath that he did not take steroids or human growth hormone, as McNamee has claimed he did. According to the Web site, Hardin is waffling on whether Clemens will answer questions in a deposition by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee before the Feb. 13 hearing before the committee, saying it might interfere with Clemens' defamation lawsuit against McNamee. The report also said that Hardin may not turn over a taped conversation between McNamee and two investigators from Hardin's office recorded on Dec. 12, the day before the Mitchell Report was released. The Daily News first reported the existence of the tape and the claims by McNamee's lawyer, Earl Ward, that it should be made public. McNamee has said the investigators tried to get him to recant his claims about Clemens, Ward told The News last week.

Richard Emery, a libel specialist who is also representing McNamee, told The News after the lawsuit was filed a week ago that he was astounded that Clemens went forward with litigation and that avoidance of testimony before Congress was likely a big reason why.

"It's an obvious ploy to deter Clemens from not going to Washington," Emery said then. "This has to do with the fear of Clemens going before Congress under oath. I don't consider this lawsuit a major threat. I'm sure we can get it dismissed."

News source：http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/01/12/2008-01-12_source_brian_mcnamee_reveals_more_info_o.html

Clemens not committing to deposition

01/13/2008 6:16 PM ET

NEW YORK -- Roger Clemens' lawyer wouldn't commit Sunday to having the pitcher give a deposition to congressional investigators, even as he said the seven-time Cy Young Award winner remains willing to testify in open session before a House committee investigating denials that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, was likely to meet this week with staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has asked him to testify Feb. 13 along with his accuser, former trainer Brian McNamee. The committee wants to take depositions from the pair along with Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch and Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who has admitted supplying players with steroids and human growth hormone.

Hardin wouldn't directly answer questions about a deposition.

"There has been absolutely no change in Roger's willingness and indeed desire to testify under oath before Congress in a public hearing at a date of the Oversight Committee's choosing," Hardin said in a statement. "Any suggestion that he or we are having any second thoughts about that is absolutely false. All other pre-appearance issues and scheduling we will discuss privately with the committee and do not think it is appropriate to discuss those matters publicly."

McNamee told baseball drugs investigator George Mitchell that he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH in 1998, 2000 and 2001, allegations the pitcher denies.

ESPN.com, citing an unidentified individual familiar with the inquiry, reported Hardin is hedging on whether Clemens will give a deposition because it could interfere with the defamation suit Clemens filed against McNamee on Jan. 6. The individual also said Hardin might not give the committee the recording of a Dec. 12 interview involving McNamee and Clemens' investigators.

"This backtracking by Hardin is indicative of him getting cold feet. Roger will never testify," said Richard Emery, one of McNamee's lawyers. "Now we're seeing his true colors being revealed, that he's refusing to go before Congress and do that by trying to put it off."

A deposition allows staff lawyers for the committee time to push witnesses on points in ways congressmen often don't. Any inconsistencies the deposition and later testimony during a hearing could be exposed.

"He has no choice in the matter if he's subpoenaed," Emery said. "It's just a question of whether the congressional investigators will be subpoena him. If they don't, they'd be crazy. The whole point is to investigate in advance of the hearing so it isn't a circus."

McNamee's lawyers keep hinting there is additional evidence to back his account but won't go into details.

"We've always said there will be clear corroboration," Emery said. "Clear coronation exists. And I won't say anything more."

In the opener of Congress' baseball/steroids doubleheader, commissioner Bud Selig, union head Donald Fehr and Mitchell are to testify before the committee on Tuesday. Mitchell has refused to release most of the evidence supporting his report, saying that decision was up to Major League Baseball and others who supplied evidence to him.

A former Senate majority leader and current Boston Red Sox director, Mitchell made 20 recommendations in his Dec. 13 report. Selig has adopted many but others are subject to collective bargaining, such as Mitchell's call for drug testing to be moved to an independent body.

Players have complained that Mitchell had no standard of evidence for what he printed in the report. Clemens angrily was upset that he has been presumed guilty.

Fehr said the issue goes beyond that.

"Once the report issues, there's going to be a natural tendency for people to treat it as accurate merely because it issued and that is without any sort of the normal process you would have," Fehr said. "The whole premise of drug-testing is that you are presumed guilty unless you are proved innocent, and that is fairly inconsistent with normal modes of jurisprudence, but that's what we have.

News source：http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080113&content_id=2344970&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The Yankees sharp behind Wang

Now here’s some quality blogging from The Replacement Level Yankees Weblog.

They broke down defensive zone ratings for games when Chien-Ming Wang pitches as opposed to when he doesn’t pitch. Turns out the Yankees actually do play better defense when the Wanger is on the mound.

My belief is that Wang’s sinker is such a good pitch that it’s difficult for hitters to do much with it. It leads to grounders and weak fly balls. This negates the relative lack of strikeouts.

I also suspect that Wang fields more balls than an average pitcher because of the sinker. He gets a lot of outs himself.

Anyway, good stuff from RLYB.

————

Don’t forget, spring training tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Ticketmaster has them.

News source：http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/01/11/the-yankees-sharp-behind-wang/

NBA Today - 2008.01.14

Today's Top 10：
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/nbatv_top10/top10_080113.asx

Today's Highlight：
1.POR vs TOR
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_541_portor.asx


2.CHI vs ATL
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_542_chiatl.asx


3.NOH vs HOU
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_543_nohhou.asx


4.DET vs NYK
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_544_detnyk.asx


5.IND vs GSW
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_545_indgsw.asx


6.MEM vs LAL
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/recaps/recap08_546_memlal.asx


東西區各隊戰績和排名：


明天（01/15）NBA轉播（in Taiwan）：
1.AM 10:00 Bucks vs Jazz 緯來體育台