Looks like Joba's dropped about 20 lbs. Babyface Kennedy looks like a junior in high school.

From McCarron's notebook today:

ACHY HIDEKI: Hideki Matsui might not be at full strength when the Yankee position players begin spring workouts Feb. 21 because of lingering soreness in his right knee, the outfielder told Japanese reporters in New York Monday. Matsui, who is slated to fly to Tampa today to talk to team doctors and trainers, was examined by a doctor in New York. Matsui said he hopes to be healthy enough that he does not have to begin spring training under a different program than his teammates.

IF AT FIRST: Jeter and Posada took batting practice with Shelley Duncan and newly signed infielder Chris Woodward. Duncan was out early to take grounders at first base under the tutelage of Tino Martinez and stayed to take throws when Jeter and Woodward took the field. Posada did multiple drills with an eight-pound medicine ball, tossing it high in the air from a variety of angles. He said it's for "core and overall strength." Though he has been working with medicine balls for about 10 years, Posada quipped, "After a while, an eight-pound ball weighs a lot."

"Oft-injured pitcher Carl Pavano arrived at the Yankees' minor league complex Friday and played catch for 12 minutes. A $39.95 million bust since signing with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2005 season, Pavano had rotator cuff surgery last June 5. It's not known whether he will pitch in 2008, the final season of his four-year contract. Yankees vice president Billy Connors and pitching coach Dave Eiland watched Pavano's throwing session, which was broken into two segments. The right-hander's throwing distance reached around 90 feet. Eiland plans to meet with Pavano and Yankees head trainer Gene Monahan Monday to discuss the pitcher's rehab program. "He feels great," Eiland said. "The ball came out of his hand well." Pavano, who threw in a restricted area, did not stop to talk with reporters."

http://tinyurl.com/23y2qp

6 we will have to get george costanza on that.

p o s t - p o s t - post (repeat)

Are you guys ready for some baseball?

although the thermometer says it is still winter, the days are getting noticeably longer.

the anticipation of this season seems more pressing than it was in recent years. maybe they all do, but i am really, ridiculously excited.

Since Pavano did in fact throw, when will he be released from the hospital? Anyone think he'll be ready to perform that trick again by August?

It's time for baseball ! Personally, thank God for ...
a) the Jints
b) my recent trip to Joisey which included a driveby the new/old Stadium(s)
c) the Banter

Sun shining? Check.
Players at camp? Check.
Pavano jokes in mid-season form? Check.

Its like spring training is here early!

"For one thing," Jeter said, "I'll call him Joe."

Thank God for the press!

That Post article by Sherman raises a major issue: it talks about having Joba in the pen to find his successor by having them pitch in the 6th and 7th innings, which means Joba will still be reserved for the 8th. This is problematic because it limits his innings to 1 and keeps him further from starter stamina, and it also further reinforces his role as "8th inning guy." Oh well...

Torre is gone.
Cashman's been good for 2 years now.
Girardi is a stud.
ARod has 2 MVPs in 4 years, and is a Yankee for life. He has also learned to STFU.
Our bench (JDMB) looks great.
We won't see Pavano in uniform.
DougOut is gone.
Cairo is gone. (I do miss him though)
We have a solid, maybe even above average BUC.

Wow. So..... who are we going to rip?
(oh... yeah... ARod has still not found Osama.)

I watch the swirling snow outside and think (so help me) 'At least there are no midges biting out there.'

wowzers, that's a little harder than you'd think if you don't post on a regular basis...

(cricket, cricket...)

ahh, that's better. I'm ready for freddy, coach!

For me, the greater feeling of optimism stems from my belief that Girardi will more quickly read and react to his personnel. Unlike Torre, he won't repeatedly bang his head against the wall before trying something new. With all of the talent in the Yankees organization, that gives me hope that even if a Plan A fails, another one has a chance to succeed shortly thereafter.

I'm sure there will be opportunity to complain about the 1B situation.

And don't forget Moose.

I have confidence, though. His body must be a bit stronger with age and that should mean more of his groundballs will get through. That's the hope, anyway.

Also, by now the guy should have all the confidence he needs, should feel comfortable, at home, etc.

It's now or never, Melk!

Still, even if he can't quite step it up this year, I'd be happy to retain him as a bench player, especially if he can develop his base-stealing skills.

Guess Pettitte and Roger really aren't going to be BFF anymore.

37 Oh, I don't know weeping. Bernie didn't really bust out until his age-25 season, so Melky might have another year left to really pile on. Of course, that season for Bernie came after he played 286 G in the bigs . . . and as of right now, Melky has played in 286 G in the bigs. !!!

weeping, you might be on to something! =)

"Joba Chamberlain will prepare during spring training as a starter, but will begin the season in the Yankee bullpen barring injury to any of the other five main rotation members, team officials confirmed to The Post. "

Senate Approves Surveillance Bill, Preserves Telecom Immunity

"The Senate voted today to preserve retroactive immunity from lawsuits for telecommunications companies that cooperated with a government eavesdropping program, decisively rejecting an amendment that would have stripped the provision from a bill to modernize an electronic surveillance law.

Senators voted 67 to 31 to shelve the amendment offered by Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.). A filibuster-proof 60 votes had been needed for the amendment to move forward."

Is it Thursday yet? No? Sigh.

44 Unless someone gets hurt or is completely ineffective (Moose), I think its probably for the best. The trick, AFAIC, is that Joba is in the rotation by, let's say, August 1.

Also, keep in mind, over the past few years, the Yankees have had more than enough pitching to make the post season. It's been in the playoffs when the pitching has faltered. So, if you can keep Joba and Hughes rested for October, then by all means that is the way to go.

http://tinyurl.com/3xflso

Here goes:
The quick Andy Fox jumped over the lazy Wade Boggs.
The quick Andy Fox jumped over the lazy Wade Boggs.
The quick Andy Fox jumped over the lazy Wade Boggs.

What is Freddy Garcia...
Why is Damaso Garcia...
Where is Jerry Garcia...
How is Andy Garcia...
Who is Karim Garcia? (ahh, yes that's the one)

Whew, all that typing wore me out... it is time for a break (wouldn't want to get carpal tunnel)

it is for our own good, i'm sure.

our best interests are at heart.

ugh.

Putting Joba in an 8th-inning role accomplishes none of that. High-leverage innings, one at a time, several times a week, using two pitches; how do you get from there to pitching in the rotation?

I say by June, he'll be "too valuable" in the 8th inning to change it. I'm willing to bet that this will be the rest of his career.

The consensus from the four doctors who testified: Neither HGH nor vitamin B-12 appears to help athletic performance very much, although much more research is needed on HGH, which also has a litany of unappealing side effects.

"There is no credible scientific evidence that growth hormone substantively increases muscle strength or aerobic exercise capacity in normal individuals," said Dr. Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study at the Boston University of Medicine.

286, 286? Really?

Uncanny.

That's so fucking funny!

Are you on acid or something, Bama?

Counting the minutes...

Theoretically, it could work. But bullpen roles have become more ossified since then, and it's hard to see a manager using a guy like Joba in innings 5-6. Once Farnsworth gets hit a couple of times (that is to say, a week into the season), Joba goes back into a short role.

54 A month ago, I would have agreed with you. But too many people have pointed out to me that Chad Billingsly did the short relief-to-starting gig last year, and he worked out A-OK. Developed his pitches and the whole bit. I think Joba will be fine. And I really don't think they'll leave him in the pen. Joba is definitely the first guy to get the call if one (Moose) of the starting 5 go down, or are ineffective.

50 At first I thought you were being funny, but then I said "Wait, William? Funny? Take that back!" Then I read the article, and that's funny! What's even funnier is that I can't tell if you were being funny or your usual serious self, which sometimes is funny anyway. Funny!

What do you think, Weep?

66 Me, serious? Sarcasm never seems to play well in the written form.

http://tinyurl.com/2shruj

>;)

The pizza man... no
The Maytag man... no
The Mushroom man.. no

The Melkman delievers!

I like the sound of that

If you want him to become a starter, Weaver's Law is the only plan that makes sense. With Mussina and two kids in the rotation, there should be plenty of opportunities in innings 5-7. He gets his innings in without being overextended, he gets to develop his whole repertoire, and you don't play games with his arm.

But, of course, it won't be as high-leverage as the late innings. It won't be as exciting as last year; Joba won't be coming in to shut the other guys down and get to Mariano. He won't be that go-to guy this year, he'll just be...pitching.

All winter, I've heard Yankee fans saying that they want to go with the kids, to build for the future rather than for one year at a time. But then you have to be willing to make some compromises, and that's where people have a problem. Frankly, maybe we need to lower our expectations for Joba this year. Give him a chance to develop, even if it means giving up a little this year.

If that's what people want, this is what it takes.

I really think the Yanks and Girardi and going to have to see how the BP shakes out and just how good (or how bad) it turns out to be.

(http://tinyurl.com/yw5rna)

So, what's to come of Dice-K? What kind of genius was Theo on the one? Would you be happy if he were a Yankee?

This year will really tell whether it was a good move.

I'll start. Guess who:

That's exactly right John.
You're exactly right.
You made a good point, John.
Good point, John.
It's like you said, John....

As for the Joba innings at 140, the assumption made was that we'd get into playoff country (!) and that might involve another 20 or so? Three starts? So try to keep full season at 160. Same playoff issues may apply to Hughes, come to think of it ... and he's starting from day 1. Why I still want another back end starter, though it is hardly ideal.

No, it was Susyn Waldman, of course!

96 On XM the other night, I heard Milo Hamilton say that, at one point, Steinbrenner wanted to hire him as the Yanks' radio man. Why this didn't happen, he didn't say, but all I could think was - oh, to be free of Sterling and Waldman! (Hamilton later said he prefers to have a former player as his partner.)

Of course, I say that having never heard him call anything, outside of the famous replay of Aaron's 715th home run. But I like how he handled the interview.

Nah, I wouldn't joke about that stuff, but the closest I've come to it is this:

"What do prostate patients and Gerber Baby Food have in common?

They both have strained peas..."

Again, I don't get the count the ring argument. Essentially, any slighly above average pitcher would have contributed what Dice-K did. It's hard to argue that the Red Sox would not have won the World Series without spending so much on Dice K.

I think he's really taking to blogging, and seems to have a sense of having his own domain. He keeps insisting he's a newspaper writer first, and the blog is secondary, but his commitment and mutliple daily posts speaks for itself. Even on vacation and with his family, he can't stay away from posting.

I have to imagine he is about the ultimate inside scoop on the Yankees. It also seems from the tone of his interviews, that players and people take to him.

So time to put Lohud back on your morning agendas. I don't want to have to feel responsible for keeping yuz guys current.

P.S. Jeter's interview was pretty good. The guy is still smooth as silk and the ultimate in 'really? I didn't know'. But he actually offered a few opinions and was about as open as he gets.

That would be great, but he sure needs work. His first step pushes him upright, instead of moving him laterally like a sprinter. And when he runs he kind of looks like he's pounding the dirt with his feet.

If Rickey isn't in the Mets camp this year, we should get him in the Yankees'.

Well, there goes our seventeen game lead...

(ssshhh... shuts door) >;)

(he says as he moves the rock he's been under since October)