Daily Archives: January 20, 2004

The Yankees avoided arbitration with Alfonso Soriano, who earned $800,000 in 2003. The two sides have agreed on a one-year deal for $5.4 million.

In other news, the A Rod Rumor Mill is starting to churn once again (or is that my stomach?).

Kaz Sasaki has informed the Seattle Mariners that he will not return to the team in 2004, choosing to remain in Japan. Bryan Smith believes that the Mariners will be able to survive Sasaki’s departure, but he also stresses that Mariner GM Bill Bavasi’s other moves will doom Seattle to a third-place finish in 2004.

Fans of baseball literature should be in for a treat this spring, as two highly-anticipated books about pitching will be released. One is a collaboration between Rob Neyer and his former employer, Bill James, “The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers.” The second title is the debut effort by Baseball Prospectus’ injury-guru, Will Carroll. Carroll recently handed in the manuscript for “Saving the Pitcher.” While he’s experiencing some trepidation over how the book will be received, if it is anything like his “Under the Knife” column, it should be insightful, engaging, and above all, educational.

When Orlando ‘El Duque’ Hernandez came to the States to pitch for the Yanks in 1998, it wasn’t long before a fairy-tale story accompanied his adventures. Before long, political strings were pulled, and his ex-wife and two children were allowed to join him in the U.S. Jose Contreras, the latest Cuban exile to pitch for New York, is not enjoying the same kind of luck. Contreras recently told the Spanish newspaper, La Prensa that Cuban officials have denied permission for his wife to leave Cuba. They have informed him that she will have to wait four more years before she can apply again.

The Yankees are looking at John Burkett as the insurance arm they need to fill out their rotation. Oy veh. Burkett has spent the last few years with the Red Sox. Whenever he has started against New York, Yankee fans have felt confident that the Bombers could send the old man to the showers by the fifth inning. You think Red Sox Nation will share the sentiment should Burkett pitch against them in 2004? Count on it.