So how happy do you think it makes Roger Clemens that the Yanks and Red Sox (not to mention the Astros) will fawn all over him once again this year for his services? His head must be ready to explode. Speaking of which, I was thinking about Barry Bonds last night, and what I find fascinating (in a morbid kind of way) about him is that he seems utterly incapable of making the right move. It just keeps getting worse and worse. Meanwhile, Clemens is dipped in pixie-dust, and everything keeps coming up roses and daffodils for him. I still think the Rocket more likely to end up in Boston than New York, but nothing would surprise me. I never thought I’d say this, but I’d be happy to see him back.

The Daily News has a piece on South Bronx native Humberto Sanchez.

The news is not hopeful for Bobby Murcer. Again, our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

Goose didn’t make the Hall once again, but he’s getting closer. Meanwhile, Jim Rice lost votes, as did Bert Blyeleven. Over at The Baseball Analysts, our old bud Sully makes the case that Dwight Evans was better than Rice.

Kei Igawa was introduced to the media yesterday at Yankee Stadium. Here is how GM, Brian Cashman, described the Bombers’ new southpaw:

“He’s not a blower and he’s not a soft-tosser,” Cashman said. “He’s somewhere in between.

“I think pitchability is the proper word. I think he knows how to pitch, I think he knows what he’s doing.”
(N.Y. Post)

Pitchability. Hey, you could look it up. I don’t know where you’d look it up, but you could try all the same.

Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks agreed to a two-year, $26 million extension yesterday. According to Peter Botte in The Daily News:

The Associated Press reported his new deal as two years for $26 million, with $12 million in signing bonuses spread over the next four years ($3.5 million, $0.5 million, $4 million and $4 million). Johnson also will earn salaries of $4 million this season, half of which will be paid by the Yankees, and $10 million in 2008. Arizona also owes him more than $40 million in deferred payments and interest through 2012 from his previous stay with the D-Backs.

The Big Unit will have a physical today. If everything is copacetic, the trade will be complete.

Also, Miguel Cairo signed a one-year, $750,000 deal this weekend, to return as the Bombers’ utility infielder. He needs to pass a physcial before the deal is official. This likely spells the end of Bernie Williams’ fine career in pinstripes. While this is not a shock, I am curious to see what how the Yankees handle Bernie. Will he retire? Will he go someplace else for a couple of few years? Which one of these?

The Johnson deal is not done yet, but it should happen. Arizona has until 5 p.m. on Sunday to work out an extension with the Big Unit. If they come to terms, Johnson will then take a physical exam on Monday. The Post and the News have articles on Ross Ohlendorf. Over at Baseball Musings, David Pinto thinks both teams should be happy with the deal.

So it looks like there is a tentative deal in place between the Yankees and Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson. It involves four young players coming to New York, three of them hard-throwing pitchers, and a double A second baseman. Yanks to cough up $1.5-2 million, mere bag of shells. I’m watching Verducci talking about it on YES and they ran a chart showing that the Bombers have now aquired seven young, strong arms this off-season. In an of itself, that is just so cool. They can develop some of them, and dangle the others as trade bait. I don’t know how the move will work out but I have to admit that in an understated, un-splashy, un-Yankee (or just un-George) way, it’s been an exciting and rewarding winter to be a Yankee fan. Yeah, I know, Minky Dinky Dog, but don’t get too greedy now. They aren’t going to be flawless and you can’t get everything. Cashman and company really are running the show and that’s compelling. If the team is run correctly, there is no reason why they shouldn’t always be successful, right? I mean, aside from bad luck and injuries and all. Hey, I really liked the ’06 team and think that this year’s team will be even more appealing. Don’t you think?

Say word.

While the Randy Johnson story plods alongs, the Bombers are reportedly close to signing a first baseman. According to Anthony McCarron in today’s Daily News:

The Yankees and Doug Mientkiewicz are so close to completing a one-year contract that the first baseman was on his way to New York yesterday to take a physical, according to a source. The lefty-hitting former Met likely will play first against righties in a platoon with Josh Phelps or Andy Phillips as Jason Giambi serves as the full-time DH.

This news is certain not to be received well by those sabermetrically-inclined Yankee fans, but it appears as if Alex Rodriguez’s high school teammate will be playing in the Bronx this year. Mienkiewicz is a glove man who does not hit much.

Pete Abraham started a blog in 2006 and in no time it became vital reading for Yankee fans. Pete truly “gets” blogging and his site is one of the best out there. (I mean, in case you didn’t know that already.) Anyhow, Pete has the latest on RJ.

Also, props and vitamin’s l-o-v-and-e go to our good pal and new father, Mike Plugh. Eastward Ha!

Ain’t nothing happening until then. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of rumors flying about. Here is the latest from SI.com, The East Valley Tribune, Bergan Record, Times, Post and the News.

It was another great year to be a Yankee fan. Although the Bombers’ season ended with a whimper against the Tigers, there were a lot of great moments during the season to keep us warm at night. Cliff and I had a great time writing about it all and sharing the season with you. Looking forward to more good stuff in the year to come. Here’s wishing you and yours the best for a safe and happy New Year.

Apparently, Bobby Murcer’s surgery was a success. Meanwhile, Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron report that the Yankees are closing in on a deal for The Big Unit. They also note that the Bombers are interested in Minky as a first baseman, and Mark Loretta as a utility infielder.

Barry Zito signed with the Giants for many years and much money. No No New York.

Bobby Murcer is having surgery today. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this week. Our best wishes go out to Murcer and his family.

More on The Big Unit. Joel Sherman doesn’t think trading Johnson will have any impact on the Yankees’ interest in Barry Zito. Jon Heyman has a different take:

After ignoring Zito for weeks, the Yankees suddenly are thinking about the advantages of youth and durability, two of Zito’s strengths. Perhaps another new glance at Andy Pettitte’s MRI scared them straight.

…One person close to Zito’s father said he believes that, just as was true in the case of another former Oakland star Jason Giambi, the father Joe Zito would like his son to play for the Yankees. Joe Zito and George Steinbrenner have several acquaintances in common. Beyond that, Zito told the San Francisco Chronicle he most wants to go to a place that aims to win multiple titles. That sounds like the Yankees, too.

The person who knows Zito’s father and family speculated, “If the Yankees want him, they can have him.”

There seems to be some urgency to the Johnson talks, a quick timetable that fits into this headline-grabbing two-step scenario, as well. The Yankees would like to complete a Johnson deal by New Year’s Day, presumably to give them ample opportunity to find a replacement. Zito, who’s expected to start seriously sorting through his offers after Jan. 1, is the only logical replacement, a left-hander with a Cy Young award on his resume.

Both Steven Goldman and Dayn Perry think trading Johnson is the right move. Here’s Goldman:

As for what the Yankees might get out of the Diamondbacks or another trading partner, it almost doesn’t matter…Moving Johnson is an all-win scenario for the Yankees. As Branch Rickey said, it’s better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late. By definition, 43 years old is a year too late. If the Yankees can use the deal to fill outstanding needs like reserve catcher or utility infielder, so much the better. The possibilities created by his absence are almost limitless.

Ring a ding, ding.

For the past two months a good friend of mine keeps asking me why the Yankees won’t go after Barry Zito. I’ve long stopped trying to give him an answer, but if the Bombers do end up moving Randy Johnson, Zito might become a very real possibility.

“Many people just believe that I can’t get sick, or they refuse to accept the fact that my body gets tired like everyone else. Well, I do sometimes, but there are so many people who depend on me for inspiration and support that if I wanted to get sick or slow down…I just can’t. I just can’t afford to slow down.”
James Brown

James Brown’s body finally gave in and he died today of pneumonia at the age of 73. It is safe to say that there will never be another one like him. Brown was a legendary performer and one of the most influencial musicians of the past fifty years.

Unlike nearly everyone else in the greater soul community for whom the success of any soul artist was another rung up the ladder…James Brown was a Solo Man who forged ahead on his own, who, far from negotiating any kind of compromise solution to reach a broader audience, demanded that that very audience sit up and listen to what he had to say. There is no question he was ill mannered in his insistence, and that he was resented for it. Solomon Burke dismissed him as not a proper soul singer at all, and his own all-black band referred to him privately as “that greasy nigger,” but he was not to be denied. Long after Ray Charles had left the parochial world of sould and Sam Cooke was on the verge of Las Vegas bookings and Hollywood success, James Brown alone, a contemporary of both Charles and Cooke, was still out there toiling in the vineyards, singing self-created music that increasingly left both the idea of accommodation and the old tired formulations of r&b behind. Perhaps this is why he was called ‘our number one black poet’ by LeRoi Jones and hailed in 1969 as possibly ‘the most important black man in America’ by Look magazine (as well as gaining attention from SNCC leaders Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown). His music reached out with revolutionary fervor to a New Breed audience of blacks and whites. It was a militant culturally as any Black Panter political manifesto, without ever abandoning the past or its original audience. For James Brown remained firmly rooted in a sense of self and a sense of tradition that Black America had not always known that it had.

Peter Guralnick from, “Sweet Soul Music”

The Godfather of Soul is gone. Rest in Peace. Then get up off that thing, and shake your ass. It’s what the old man would want.

Ed Price reports that the Yankees and Diamondbacks are talking turkey about sending Randy Johnson back to Arizona. ESPN the Magazine confirms the rumor. Ho Ho Ho.

Hey guys. Just dropping in on Christmas Eve to wish you and yours the happiest of holidays. My old man’s family is Jewish, while my Ma is Catholic, so I’ve always celebrated both Chanukah and Christmas, the ‘ol double-dip if you will. Anyhow, no matter what you celebrate, I hope you enjoy the holiday madness. Let me know what you get. I asked for GI Joe with the Kung-Fu grip. Actually, Em and I already exchanged presents, and I got some cool kitchen stuff as well a dvd set of “Freaks and Geeks.” Whoopee.

The Yankees have officially signed Juan Miranda. Plus, here’s Murray Chass on the team’s finances.