Damon Doesn't Understand Why Yanks Don't Want Him

From Jon Heyman:

Johnny Damon doesn't get it, doesn't get why he's not getting offers after the year he had. Damon didn't get why he didn't receive an offer from the incumbent Rays after he was a leader for them in the clubhouse and on the field, and now he doesn't get why he seemingly is running second as a candidate to be the Yankees' left-handed DH.

"I think it's a perfect fit,'' Damon said of the Yankees by phone. "But for some reason you have the year I had, especially with a team that has trouble scoring, and you can't even get a call to continue playing."

And while it has been reported that the Yanks were considering bringing Damon back, according to the NY Post it isn't going to happen:

There won't be a Johnny Damon II.

According to Damon, he isn't returning to the Yankees as a free agent.

"We both are looking at other options now,'' Damon told The Post Saturday and called it "unfortunate.''

According to GM Brian Cashman, Damon contacted the club.

"He called and I told him the truth. He is not the No. 1 option if and when I turn to DH options,'' Cashman said.

Do you think the Yanks should be targeting Damon over Ibanez?

Yanks on Verge of Signing Clay Rapada

From Zack Meisel:

The Yankees are near an agreement with reliever Clay Rapada on a Minor League contract with an invite to Spring Training, a source told MLB.com.

Rapada will likely fill the void created when left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima failed his physical this week. Okajima, 36, had signed a Minor League contract with a Spring Training invitation in late December.

In five Major League seasons with four teams, Rapada has compiled a 5-0 record and 5.13 ERA in 78 appearances.

Yanks To Sign Chavez and Ibanez Once AJ Deal is Approved

Yanks, Pirates Agree on Burnett Deal

From George A. King III:

According to multiple sources, the Yankees and Pirates are nearing a deal that would send A.J. Burnett to the Pirates for two marginal prospects. Pittsburgh would absorb $13 million to $15 million of the $33 million Burnett is owed this season and next.

"It will happen this weekend,'' a person familiar with the deal predicted. "Probably Saturday.''

The Pirates initially offered to pay $10 million, but the Yankees then demanded a significant prospect if they were going to pick up $23 million for a pitcher not on their team.

As for those two prospects, here's the details from Andrew Marchand:

The Yankees got two players from the Pirates who more than likely will never see the Bronx and, if they do, it will be as bit players. We went into detail about who Diego Moreno is here and Exicardo Cayones is here. These aren't top prospects, but, in the case of Marino, the Yankees are hoping they can straighten out his attitude and maximize his talent. But the guy is already 25 and has barely pitched at Double-A. Cayones is young, just 20, so he has time to develop. In other words, don't hold your breath waiting for these guys.

Adios, AJ. Thanks for game 2 of the '09 series.

Okajima Fails Physical

From Bryan Hoch:

Hideki Okajima failed his physical and will not report to Spring Training with the Yankees.

Okajima, 36, had signed a Minor League contract with a spring invitation in late December, hoping to bounce back to the effective form he showed in his first few seasons with the Red Sox.

WFAN 660 AM’s Sweeny Murti first reported that Okajima would not be in camp.

Well, so much for that.

AJ to Pirates To Be Done By The Weekend

AJ Says No To Deal To Angels

From Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron:

The Yankees were hoping they could bring back Bobby Abreu to be their designated hitter by swapping A.J. Burnett to the Angels, but the righthander would not waive his no-trade rights, according to two baseball executives with knowledge of the talks.

So rather than having their winter business concluded and a DH in place, the Yankees Wednesday were still working on sending Burnett to the Pirates for two marginal prospects, one of the executives said. The executive said the trade could be consummated by the weekend — Burnett is slated to report to Yankees spring camp Sunday.

“It’s not a deadline, but it doesn’t make sense for him to go to Yankee camp if he’s going to get traded,” the executive said. Some deal for Burnett appears likely — the Yankees are talking to two other teams about him, too. The Yankees have suspended their pursuit of free agent DHs such as Raul Ibañez until the Burnett matter is settled.

Burnett is allowed to pick 10 teams he can refuse to be traded to and the Angels are one of them, as are the Mariners and the other West Coast teams. Burnett and his family live in Maryland.

Abreu still draws his walks, but at this point in his career that's about all he does. With that said, I really hate that AJ has a no trade clause, because that's certainly not something he's earned.

Scattered Thoughts on #MysteryTeam

This post is being syndicated from The Yankee Analysts.
Claiming that Twitter has changed the landscape of sports reporting and journalism has become one of the more cliché statements of the past calendar year or so. In fact, it has become so cliché that referring to it as cliché is, in fact, cliché. Or something like that.

That being said, the ubiquitousness of Twitter cannot be overstated. After all, it was only a shade over two months ago that this happened:

In essence, Twitter has become the go-to source for breaking news, for all parties concerned - fans, journalists, professional athletes, and front office personnel utilize the 140-characters to garner as much information as possible, choosing the jumble of text and abbreviations over the larger bodies of analysis to which they link. The social networking giant has, in short, become the place for sports analysis, prognostication, rumors, and reporting. It is expected to be omnipotent, and it oftentimes is just that. Recently, however, #MysteryTeam has come to represent not only a veritable joie de vivre, but a somewhat frustrating outlier.

The #MysteryTeam phenomenon began, at least in a practical sense, with the Phillies signing of Clifton Phifer Lee. As late as Thanksgiving of 2010, most everyone 'in the know' was certain that Lee would be signing on the dotted line with either the Yankees or the Rangers. Some writers alluded to a 'mystery team' throwing a monkey wrench into the operation, yet it seems inevitable that one of the 2010 ALCS teams would win the bidding. As Yankees and Rangers fans remember, it was roughly three weeks later that Lee was hamming it up in front of cameras at his introductory press conference ... as a Phillie.

Throughout this past season, it seemed as if every rumor was sprinkled with allusions to a 'mystery team' pursuing trade deadline targets, or planning their off-season around Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, or the possibly opted-out CC Sabathia (some in a truthful sense, but most in jest). Over these past two months, the allusions to a 'mystery team' have evolved (or devolved) into #MysteryTeam being added into a substantial percentage of all rumblings and grumblings. And for all the prognostications about payroll flexibility, likely landing spots, and the like ... #MysteryTeam won out with Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and, most recently, Yoenis Céspedes. Jorge Soler, perhaps the last remaining prize on the market, has been linked to the Cubs, Yankees, Marlins, and, among others, #MysteryTeam.

What does this all mean? To be perfectly frank, I'm not quite sure it means anything at all. The likeliest lesson to be learned is that the leakiness of front offices has not quite kept pace with the insatiable appetite of the fans and media, and that the news breaking abilities of Twitter are as dependent on such leaks as any other medium - it's simply instantaneous. This 'phenomenon' may merely be a product of players being more willing to follow dollars, or more willing to give 'home town' discounts. It may be a result of more teams being willing to enter the fray, and thus impeding the ability of journalists to stakeout the usual suspects.

Or it may just be nothing more than a joke transcended into news, albeit a far more prescient joke than most.

Follow me on Twitter - @DomenicLanza