Posada Injury Update

I forgot to mention this before, but in the same article from Anthony McCarron about Posada defending Torre, Jorge talked a little about his rehab.

"The beginning (of rehab in early December) was tough, I can't lie to you," Posada said. "It's not easy to rehab from major surgery. But I saw improvement every time I threw the baseball, so it was rewarding. I have no pain, I'm able to do a lot of strength stuff with no pain and I can swing the bat real well."

McCarron also reported that Jorge worked out at the Yankees' player development complex in Tampa on today, and that he still believes he will be ready by Opening Day.

Boston Signs Brad Wilkerson

Tony Massarotti is reporting that the Boston Red Sox have signed outfielder/first baseman Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal. The deal is worth a base salary of $400,000, but could be worth up to $1.5 million if he reached all the incentives in the deal.

Last year with the Mariners and Blue Jays Wilkerson hit .220/.308/.326 with 4 HR and 28 RBI.

It's not really a big move for them, but it adds some more depth to their roster

White Sox Offer Abreu One-Year Deal

UPDATE 4:32 p.m. from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick:

Negotiations between the Chicago White Sox and free-agent outfielder Bobby Abreu stalled early this week after the team floated the possibility of a one-year, $8 million contract, said a baseball source.

According to the source, the White Sox have some interest in acquiring Abreu and adding a pitcher, but Williams can't make those moves unless he trades right fielder Jermaine Dye and his $11.5 million salary. And the team has made little or no headway in trade talks involving Dye.

Roger Ruben of the NY Daily News is reporting that the Chicago White Sox have made a one-year, $8 million offer to former Yankee right fielder Bobby Abreu. I believe this is the first offer he's received, and it's well below the money and three-year deal he had been hoping for.

I'm very surprised that the Mets have not gotten involved. To me, he'd be a nice fit for them, but it was reported again today that they're not interested.

Posada Defends Torre

From Anthony McCarron:

Jorge Posada joked that it would "take me about three years" to read all 512 pages of Joe Torre's book, "The Yankee Years." But the Yankee catcher needed no time at all to defend his former manager Tuesday, saying that Torre did not violate clubhouse sanctity with the book and adding that much of the controversial content was already common knowledge.

And, Posada said, the infamous "A-Fraud" monicker for Alex Rodriguez was nothing more than a clubhouse joke uttered solely by former bullpen catcher Mike Borzello - now with Torre in Los Angeles - in front of Rodriguez himself. Rodriguez, Posada said, would be among those chuckling while Borzello tweaked him.

"There was not one player on those teams that said those words," Posada said. "Never. If we heard it, it was just (Borzello) messing with Alex and Alex would be right there and he'd be laughing about it. It was never out of disrespect at all . . . It was never said behind his back by any teammate."

"It really isn't explosive," Posada said of the book. "We'll have to sit down and read it, but what's been said in the media, nothing's been surprising to me. I think he's just talking about his experiences with the winning teams and all that. He hasn't really said anything we didn't know.

"Joe's done nothing wrong, in my eyes. He's been a father figure to me, so I don't think he can do any wrong."

Posada agreed with the idea that Rodriguez is a magnet for attention because of A-Rod's status in the game and his outsized contract.

"You're going to talk about the best player in baseball, you're going to talk about the best player in basketball, in the NFL," Posada said. "Alex is the best player in baseball, so you're going to talk about him. A baseball season doesn't go by without talking about Alex Rodriguez."

As for the suggestion in the book that Rodriguez has a bad case of Derek Jeter envy, Posada said, "I have no idea about that. I don't know where that came from."

While Torre's book will doubtless keep tongues wagging into the baseball season - who knows, after all, if it will have any impact on his new team, the Dodgers? - Posada believes there is "no chance" the Yankees will suffer this season because of any fallout.

"We'll laugh about it," Posada said. "We've got a lot of other things we've got to worry about. We've got to get ready for this season and have a good year."

"Joe's done nothing wrong, in my eyes. He's been a father figure to me, so I don't think he can do any wrong."

Does that mean that if Joe Torre pushed an old lady down a some stairs that it would be OK because "he's been a father figure" to you?

Costas Joins MLB Network

From Ray Frager:

Bob Costas will be a regular presence on MLB Network, hosting a studio show and other programming and calling some games, the network announced today.

MLB Network Studio 42 with Bob Costas debuts Thursday at 8 p.m. with a Joe Torre interview. Costas also will be the play-by-play voice on "a select number" of MLB Network's 26 games.

Even though he's not a big fan of bloggers, I'm glad he's being added to the MLB Network. He does a good job and will make an already very good new channel, even better.

The report also mentions that because of this deal Costas will no longer be on HBO.

Mo at The Garden

Mariano was sitting courtside at the Knicks game and spoke briefly with MSG's Jill Martin during halftime. He was asked about the Yankees offseason, his shoulder, and of course, Torre's book. Here's what he had to say:
Speaking of the Knicks game, did anyone catch Kobe Bryant's record-setting 61 point game last night? Wow, what a performance.

Cashman Crushed Over Torre Book

From Ken Rosenthal:

Torre's revelations about players such as Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown and, of course, Alex Rodriguez are receiving far more attention than his criticisms of Cashman.

Most manager-player relationships, though, are fleeting. Cashman was Torre's GM for 10 years, from 1998 to 2007.

The Yankees won the World Series in the first three of those years. They made the playoffs in all 10. And Torre and Cashman formed what should have been an unbreakable bond while working for George Steinbrenner, perhaps the most demanding owner in sports.

Now this.

Amid the initial uproar over "The Yankee Years," Torre revealed to the New York Times that he told Cashman, "we'd always be friends." As much as Torre talks about trust, he cannot possibly believe that.

Cashman, friends say, is "crushed" by how Torre depicted him in the book. He had considered Torre a second father. And he was loyal to Torre, except, perhaps, at the very end.

I know Torre is angry with the Yankees, and probably felt that he needed to get his story out there, but I wonder if now he thinks it was all worth it.

Was writing this book so important to Torre that he didn't care about potentially hurting relationships with former players, and with a guy who considered him to be "a second father"? Apparently it was, but I have to wonder if Torre is having some second thoughts. I guess we'll find out more in the upcoming days as he continues to make the rounds to publicize the book.

Speaking of which, I gotta run over to Barnes and Noble to pick up the book.

Clemens' DNA Found In Syringes

I know nobody wants to discuss steroids, but I thought this was pretty significant.

From Del Quentin Wilber:

Scientific tests have linked Roger Clemens's DNA to blood in syringes that a personal trainer says he used to inject the former star pitcher with performance-enhancing drugs, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

The DNA results, preliminary and subject to verification tests, could prove critical if prosecutors seek an indictment of Clemens on charges he lied about the use of steroids, according to the sources.

Clemens lawyer isn't buying it:

Yesterday, Rusty Hardin, Clemens's Houston-based defense attorney, said the DNA tests "won't matter at all."

"It will still be evidence fabricated by McNamee," Hardin said. "I would be dumbfounded if any responsible person ever found this to be reliable or credible evidence in any way."