Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts

Brian Cashman spends night sleeping on NYC street for homeless charity (PHOTO)

Brian Cashman has probably lost more than a few hours of sleep pondering life with Alex Rodriguez for the next three years, but at least he did it from the cozy comfort of his own bed.

On Thursday night though, the Yankees general manager joined hundreds of executives nationwide by participating in the annual "Sleep Out" organized by Covenant House, sleeping on the streets of Manhattan as if he were homeless.

And if he was denied any sleep on the sidewalk slab, at least this was for a good cause.
This was Cashman's fourth year participating in the charity event, so he bundled up for the night knowing the temperatures would be hovering around the mid-20s. 

Covenant House is non-profit that manages shelters for homeless youth in 21 cities across the country.

Cashman told MLB.com that one night on the street helps puts things in perspective:


"I have no idea how any human being possibly can do it for one night, let alone weeks on end," He said. "It's a disaster. There's no way to simplify it. That's why obviously for those who are less fortunate, if we can get people to raise funds here and contribute to Covenant House, they've got programs to put people back on the right track and be a safe harbor."

The Yankees GM told MLB.com that $1.6 million was raised in New York alone — making it about $5 million raised nationally.


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Yankees are considering a talk with Max Scherzer: Report

After showing little interest in any high-priced player this offseason, the Yankees sound like they may be reconsidering their reported plan to avoid spending a lot of money and go after one of baseball's top free-agents — namely right-hander Max Scherzer.

The Tigers' workhorse is arguably the top starter on the market this year, on a list which also includes Jon Lester and James Shields. And he would also garner the most expensive contract.



According to CBS Sports, it shouldn't come as a surprise if the Yankees and Scherzer start talking:

The Yankees and Scherzer's agent, Scott Boras, are said to have had a brief contact sometime since returning from the GM meetings, and word is the Yankees may "revisit" their inclination not to make any big expenditures this winter.

The early word was that they were going to avoid the biggest free agents, and that seems to hold true, with the possible exception of Scherzer. Yankees people have long admired Lester, the other big-time free agent pitcher in his prime, but it seems Scherzer is the one they are seriously considering.

During the GM meetings in Phoenix last Wednesday, Boras was asked what he thought of the Yankees’ reported disinterest in signing a mega-name this offseason.

Boras wasn't convinced.

"The one thing I know about the Yankees is that they’ve been out of the playoffs for two years," Boras said.. "You have to go back to 1992 or 1993 (the last time that happened). The Steinbrenner history has always been, ‘We’re going to win.’ It serves their brand. It serves their model to do anything they can to win. I’m not here to make individual decisions for them but I just know, I think that brand dynamic and trying to win every year has gone pretty well for them the last time I looked."

Boras also championed his client, a 2013 Cy Young winner and ace of just about any rotation he joins.

"Over the last three years he's led Major League Baseball in strikeouts and wins," Boras said. "He has a resume that's off the charts."

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but with their tender-armed pitching roster, it seems the Yankees might have no other choice than making a grandiose move for a proven arm.


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Jose Canseco wants to sell his detached finger: Report

Just when you thought you couldn't find that Christmas gift for the sports fan who has everything, Jose Canseco may have solved your problems.

The former baseball slugger and disgraced player is planning to sell the finger he shot off while cleaning his gun earlier this month, according to his Twitter account.



Canseco, you might remember, shot off his finger while cleaning his gun and doctors reattached the digit, which, Canseco's fiancee said, was "hanging by a string."

But while Canseco was playing poker last week, the finger fell off, he said, and now he wants to sell it.

He can't put the finger  on eBay, since the website has a policy against selling body parts. So, if you are bent on getting a middle finger, tweet your offer to Canseco. 






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Kate Upton and Justin Verlander learn to swing (PHOTOS)

Yup. That was Kate Upton and boyfriend Justin Verlander flying through air with the greatest of ease Saturday afternoon.



The supermodel and Tigers pitcher took a class at the New York Trapeze School in Queens and posted photos of themselves on Instagram flying through the air as they learned to swing, reports Page Six of the N.Y. Post.

Kate later posted, “I learned @justinverlander is amazing at trapeze!”


And it's good to see their relationship isn't walking a tightrope.
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Jose Canseco says re-attached finger fell off during poker game

It's one thing to have a losing hand during a poker game, but what about anteing up one of your fingers?

Only about a month after doctors reattached Jose Canseco's middle finger, when he shot it off by accident, the former baseball star has revealed that the sewn on digit once fell off — during a game of poker.



The disgraced MLB star lost his finger when his weapon discharged while he was cleaning it in his Las Vegas home last month and he tweeted about it constantly.

Canseco expressed some deep-felt emotion during interviews following the freak incident, but it seems he found his latest incident "kinda funny."  

"OK well I might as well tell you," a tweet from Canseco said. "I was playing in a poker tournament last night and my finger fell off. Someone took a video of it.'"



Then he described how someone had given his agent a video of the incident and admitted he thought it was entertaining.  

Canseco also gave his followers the gory details and started expressing doubts about whether doctors should have put his finger back in place because he felt like it was falling off. 

"My finger should have been amputated from the beginning. It was very loose with no bone to connect it.it was also smelling really bad,'"he added.



Following the October gun incident, he broke down while speaking about the ordeal.

"At first I heard it go off and I actually grabbed the gun and put it on the table," he recalled.

"(I) thought nothing had happened. Then I look at my hand and my finger’s blown off."

Now, according to Canseco, the video is apparently out there:

And the saga continues...
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Kevin Long gives tee-rrific reason for going to Mets from Yankees: Report

The Yankees fired hitting coach Kevin Long in October, only to see him land with the Mets in the same position soon after.



Long, who had been the Yankees hitting coach since 2007, had a few good reasons to sign with the cross-city rivals including a hitting philosophy which will match the Mets' style of play.

But it was a wardrobe concern which won the coach over.

"I have a lot of 'I Love New York' shirts," Long joked during an appearance on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. "So I figured why not just go to the other side of town? I don't have to get rid of those shirts."

I wonder if Long, who has already started working with his new team, knows that you can buy 10 of the ubiquitous tees for 10 bucks — even at most Manhattan tourist traps.

It's one of the best only deals left in NYC.

But if those Citi Field renovations work out as planned, Long might be wearing "I Love Short Fences" t-shirts by next summer.

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Chuck Knoblauch goes on bizarre 'tribute to drunk drivers' Twitter rant: Report

Former MLB second baseman Chuck Knoblauch took to Twitter early Thursday and unleashed a bizarre rant that seemed to come out of left field — maybe even from out of the park.

The 46-year-old Knoblauch, a four-time All-Star in Minnesota before joining the New York Yankees, seemed just a little out of touch with reality when he implied people who drive drunk and commit domestic violence should be praised, reported the N.Y. Daily News.



“You know what. Let's pay tribute to all the drunk drivers in the world. All the domestic violent offenders, yes me. Is the nation sad?” Knoblauch, who earned three World Series rings with the Yankees from 1998-2001, tweeted.

“We are all sad stories,” Knoblauch, who now lives in Houston, tweeted just after midnight local time. “I'm guilty that's it. I will never be guilty Of drunk driving. It's sad like everything else. But f---king stand”

“UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. DONE. CRY NOMORE TEARS. I STAND UP. ITS MY FAULT.”


And the social media response against Knobby's out-there remarks wasn't a surprise.


It’s unclear what the troubled Knoblauch was referring to, but one likely cause is a recent domestic violence charge against him.

He was arrested July 23 for misdemeanor assault after court records allege he smashed his wife Cheri’s head into a wall,  reported Click 2 Houston. Police said Knoblauch appeared to be intoxicated while they also observed a bump on his wife’s forehead, scratch to her face and a large bruise on her arm.

Knoblauch’s name was also in the news Wednesday after a videotaped deposition from 2009 featuring former Yankees teammate Roger Clemens was released. Clemens faces a defamation suit tied to steroid allegations levied by trainer Brian McNamee.

McNamee said he provided banned drugs to Andy Pettitte, Knoblauch and Clemens. Knoblauch, whose name was included in the now-infamous Mitchell Report, has admitted using human growth hormone.

What set Knoblauch off on his late night Twitter binge is anyone’s guess. But it can't be good for his case. Just sayin'.

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Cashman and Girardi divided on A-Rod's role with Yankees: Report

Publicly, the New York Yankees have been putting on a unified face in accepting the return of Alex Rodriguez and the remaining three-year, $61 million contract he hauls into spring training — namely, a blank stare.

Probably because there is little they can do about A-Rod putting on pinstripes in 2015 and the less talk of the admitted steroid cheat, the better.

But behind the scenes, manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman are reportedly at clear odds about what Rodriguez's role with the team will be when he is back, according to the N.Y. Post.




Girardi sounds excited to see what Rodriguez can offer the Yankees at third base and even spoke with him last month about taking some reps at first base during spring training.

“We’re preparing him to play third base, but I think you have to see,” said Girardi. “Obviously, we believe there’s going to be some DH days in there. You’ve got to see where he’s at. I mean, he is going to be 40. He hasn’t played a whole lot in the last couple of years. But our hope is that he comes back and is a very productive player for us.”

Cashman, on the other hand, seems bent on getting a third baseman, meaning A-Rod is likely ticketed for a full-time designated hitter role and made it clear at this week's general managers meeting in Arizona that third base is prime for the taking.

“If I signed a Chase Headley, he would be the starting third baseman,” Cashman said on Day 2 of the meetings. “If I traded for a third baseman that was an everyday guy, that would be the move I would be making.”



Meanwhile, Girardi said he has kept in touch with Rodriguez via phone, text and email this offseason. The manager claimed he may even go visit A-Rod this offseason to gauge how he’s doing physically, although like everybody else, he has no idea what to expect from the aging, embattled slugger.

And Cashman?

“Alex obviously is going to come in and compete,” Cashman said. “Compete for at-bats, compete for a position; simple as that. When we last saw Alex he was playing third base, that was a little over a year ago. Obviously he’s looking to compete for an everyday position at third, maybe fight for at-bats at the DH spot.”

The Yankees seemed impressed by what they saw from Headley during his two months as a Yankee last season, making him an ideal candidate to return at third. And since they reportedly have no intention of pursuing Pablo Sandoval, Headley looks like Cashman's top choice.

And considering how much time Mark Teixeira has missed due to injury over the past few seasons, it sounds like the Yankees will need a spare first baseman/DH to fill in.

So when push actually comes to shove between Cashman and Girardi, the soon-to-be 40-year-old A-Rod might fit the bill in that capacity.


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