Mariano Rivera, Bobby Abreu and retired All-Star Roberto Alomar helped make kids' Christmas yesterday. Alomar appeared at two locations of the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx, and Rivera and Abreu appeared at one. All three donned Santa hats to give gifts to the children, who were delighted by their special guests. The kids got to attend this particularr event as a result of doing well in school.
An aside before some of the players' comments -- one girl that sang at the first site was absolutely amazing. Jocelyn Quiroz, 12, the fourth of six daughters, sang "O Holy Night." Most of the kids there even looked wowed, and when 9-year-old boys are impressed enough by a Christmas song to turn to their friends and comment, you've got to be impressive.
Jocelyn was recently the first recipient of a scholarship given out by Hank Aaron and his wife for accomplishments. She said at the event at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan that her dream was to sing at a Major League Baseball game, and was told by people from MLB that she'll sing the national anthem at two games in 2008. Said Jocelyn: "It's my dream because I get to sing to the world and make people happy and put smiles on their faces."
Anyway, back to baseball. Both Rivera and Abreu said the release of the Mitchell Report is a difficult thing for baseball.
Neither Yankee placed blame on any specific players named in the report. The number of players in the report alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs -- more than 80 -- caught both players' attention, though.
"It's hard, it's difficult," Rivera said. "I have a lot of guys, people that I respect, and I cannot point fingers at anybody. We all make decisions in life and we have to live with those decisions. I don't assume that they did it. I don't assume that at all."
Said Abreu: "It's something tough. It's tough right now. I don't have the answer for that. What I hear is what you hear on the news."
Neither player commented on any individual teammates named, including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi and Ron Villone.
Rivera and Abreu had not spoken to New York-area reporters since the news that each will return to the Yankees in 2008. Rivera agreed to terms of a three-year, $45-million contract last month -- the Yankees have not officially announced it -- and the Yankees picked up their $16-million option on Abreu.
"I'm excited," said Rivera, 38, who ranks third on baseball's all-time save list. "I wanted to finish my career with the Yankees. It was what we wanted."
As for how close he came to signing elsewhere, Rivera grinned and said: "It wasn't that close."
Abreu, who missed much of spring training with an oblique muscle strain, said he looks forward to having a better season in 2008. He has been closely following the trade talks for Twins ace Johan Santana, a fellow Venezuelan also represented by agent Peter Greenberg.
"I know him very well," Abreu said. "I know he wants to play here. He's such a good pitcher. If he gets here, it's going to help us get so many wins."
Comments (31)
Great story about OTHER things players do! And, they were Yankees, imagine that!
Just an aside to the Mitchell Follies, how about some other questionable things that have transpired over the years? Abreu WAS a HR machine for awhile (winning the All Star contest) and now is just a doubles hitter. Also, how about that Oriole leadoff guy a few years back, I think it was Brady Anderson, hitting like 50 HR's that ONE year? And funny too, there were NO Red Sox players involved with any of these substances? The only thing that is for certain about this charade of a report is that it is drastically INCOMPLETE.
There are prominent Red Sox players who have juiced in the last several years.
They just haven't been caught.
There is little doubt that a Radomski or McNamee once existed in every clubhouse in baseball - and perhaps still do.
The guys who spilled their guts on the Yankees just had NY ties. There are guys just like them in every baseball town.
Hopefully, those guys will get what's coming to them as well.
Thanks Kat. Good to know some folks are managing to keep perspective despite the universal anti-Yank conspiracy. Whatever will we do? The latest rumor is that they're mulling whether to put asterisks next to the Torre championships or just turn the trophies over to the Red Sox.
More to the point, interesting piece in the NYT by Juliet Macur about HGH detection and recent advancements in the blood test for it.
I have no interest in carrying the witch hunt any further.
It is obvious after Mitchell's investigation that nothing that was both new and credible turned up, and that players were publicly discredited with no evidence whatsoever other than the unsubstantiated allegations of someone who testified under threat of indictment.
The only positive to be gained now is to grab the moment while the perception is that baseball must do something and use it to address the future, not the past.
We've seen various vengeful suggestions here, from NYY hiring private investigators to go after other teams' players, to pressuring Congress to carry out one of its endless, ineffectual, headline-seeking 'hearings' (where what we 'hear' is people hoping some TV face time will help them get re-elected).
The Commision, the clubs, and the union need to get together quickly to put in place a new, improved program that all of MLB can get behind.
The rest is time and momentum wasted.
Fehr's already dug his heels in about blood tests. Actually, from what I understand, no league has blood tests, and no union has budged on them. Maybe this will be enough to rock the boat?
I don't know how many of you saw Pete Abraham's comments on his blog (I know I see some of you over there from time to time) about the functions of clubhouse personnel and the complete lack of control over who gets hired in those positions and what they do for their money. If you haven't seen it, you might want to check it out.
If his description is accurate, having clubs take control over these employees (ARod apparently has one of his own who follows him around holding his drinks), do pre-employment background checks, have job descriptions and supervision, all that stuff could go a long way towards controlling the flow of all sorts of good and services that have nothing to do with baseball into the clubhouse.
Personal servants with weird responsibilities can still be employed by those who want them, but outside the Stadium.
Skippy!!!
What are they doing to you in there???
I love reading articles about the GOOD things that pro athletes do, it sort of lifts the spirits so maybe Kat can indulge us with a couple more during this holiday season.
Kat: In the time you've been covering baseball, is there any player that has struck you as being the most charitable, either with his time, money or both?
I almost hate to start this discussion again but ESPN.com is reporting that the Yanks and Twins have started talking about Santana again.
Now that Haren is no longer a fallback option, Minnesota is in a better position than they were before.
No wonder M’s couldn’t prevail
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/story/229300.html
[quote]
As soon as Roger Clemens was identified as a drug cheat in the Mitchell Report released Thursday, I thought back seven years, to a drab Saturday at Safeco Field that turned disturbingly quiet in the gathering twilight.
On Oct. 14, 2000, in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, “The Rocket” put on one of the most impressive performances in baseball playoff history. Behind a combination of pride, smarts, talent, adrenaline and a sort of Rocket Fuel not yet publicized – or even speculated upon – Clemens took the mound as a 6-foot-4, 230-pound pillar of intimidation.
Once he threw a fastball aimed at the face of Alex Rodriguez in the first inning – Rodriguez somehow avoided the statement pitch and went on to live happily ever after, more or less – the Mariners were understandably disinclined to settle into a comfort zone at home plate.
They struck out 15 times. Their lone base hit was contributed by Al Martin, regarded in those days with ridicule for having fibbed about once playing in the Rose Bowl as a University of Southern California linebacker.
After Clemens’ shutout gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, manager Joe Torre compared the right-hander’s masterpiece to that of Bob Gibson, who struck out 17 Detroit batters in the opener of the 1968 World Series.
But while Gibson’s only extraneous advantages were the long, early-fall shadows that dappled the Busch Stadium infield during the late innings, evidence suggests Clemens’ superhuman performance against the Mariners was artificially enhanced by either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin. The former Yankees strength and conditioning coach who supervised the procedure, Brian McNamee, is uncertain; he can recall only that the shots administered to Clemens’ buttocks, on four to six occasions, found the perennial All-Star pitcher pleased with the results.
According to the Mitchell Report, Clemens told McNamee the drugs “had a pretty good effect” on him.
Amid the buildup that turned the announcement of George Mitchell’s fact-finding investigation into the most anticipated sports daytime drama since a House committee hearing on steroids in 2005 – the day Rafael Palmeiro, who would test positive a few months later, famously emphasized his denial with a period – Mariners fans had reason to regard the report with trepidation.
The best teams the franchise ever assembled were built around guys who showed up at spring training with ironlike thighs and bulging biceps. I can still hear Lou Piniella, shuffling his feet as he shot the breeze in the Arizona sun, describing the startling physical metamorphosis of one player and gushing: “He looks like Tarzan!”
Would the Mitchell Report expose the Mariners as frauds? As Reds manager Dusty Baker put it a few days ago, describing the mood of fearful suspense pervasive throughout baseball: “For a lot of people, it ain’t gonna be Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
And then, after the report was released – a bogus version hit the Internet first, implicating a couple of key Mariners players from the glory years – you could almost hear the champagne popping from the bottles left unopened once Seattle was eliminated from World Series contention, in 2000 and 2001, by the Yankees.
Ah, the Yankees. Every season they seem to lead baseball in some category that makes them easy to dislike: salaries, dugout fights, managerial-firing rumors, one-sided trades. True to their controversial heritage, the Yankees were represented in the Mitchell Report by a gang of eight.
Three starting pitchers – Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Denny Neagle – were cited, as well as outfielder Dave Justice, second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, reserve outfielder Glenallen Hill and relief pitchers Jason Grimsley and Mike Stanton.
The Yankees beat the Mariners two straight years in the league championship series. Do we remember the outcome differently if, say, Dave Justice (MVP of the 2000 ALCS, whose home run sent Seattle home for the winter after Game 6) didn’t come into contact with McNamee, the clubhouse’s steroid expert? McNamee worked for the Yankees for two seasons, 2000 and 2001. Connect the dots.
The scope of the Yankees’ involvement in the scandal is enough to make an appeal by the Mariners to the commissioner’s office – Please reverse the results of the 2000 and 2001 championship series! – seem reasonable. After all, the only Seattle players from those years named Thursday were third basemen David Bell and pitcher Ryan Franklin.
On the other hand, maybe it’s best to let it go.
Those who escaped inclusion in the Mitchell Report aren’t necessarily innocent; they simply had the good sense (or blind luck) not to write checks to Kirk Radomski, the supplier who moonlighted as a Mets clubhouse attendant. Or to purchase banned substances on the Internet. Or to be linked to the BALCO case.
If a Mets attendant was able to identify 60 clients, the odds are pretty strong that there are other steroid sources out there, with 60 other clients.
The Mariners? No offense to Bell or Franklin, but the team that had the Yankees on their heels in the 2000 playoffs, and won a record-tying 116 games in 2001, won’t be linked to any kind of asterisk. They can breathe free.
For now, anyway.
The Mitchell Report accomplished what it set out to do. It completed as thorough an investigation of baseball’s steroid culture as could be expected without the cooperation of the players association, and offered 20 suggestions for cleaning up the mess.
But it didn’t close the door on a shameful era, and it raises still more questions without answers.
At least we can address one question that’s been gnawing at Mariners fans for seven years: How did Roger Clemens, at the age of 38, harness enough energy to overpower 15 strikeout victims on Oct. 14, 2000?
Simple.
He cheated.
John McGrath: 253-597-8742, Ext. 6154
john.mcgrath@thenewstribune.com [/quote]
Can someone please email Mr, Mcgrath, He's crying like baby and whining that His poor Mariners team got beaten by The Yankees. Mr.Mcgrath still bitter about The Mariners losing to Yankees in 2000 and 2001
This morning's quotes from Hank would certainly indicate that he has not lost interest. Either in the pitcher or in the limelight... ;-)
Anonymous has still not found out how to do LINKS...
AND since he or she is afraid to reveal an identity, we can't send someone over to do a demonstration.
Pity.
Diane, Are you wearing red underware?
Passing on Rowand, and then informing the Twinks that the Yanks are still interested in Santana, shows the contined "on the job training" of H\H is costing the Yanks dearly. Rowand should have been signed to both replace the soon to be traded Melky, and eliminate an option the Giants had in attaining a productive outfielder. Taking Rowand off the market, would have forced the Giants to trade for Matsui or Toronto's Rios. The B. Jays asking price for Rios had already been ruled "out of hand" by SF, thus putting the Yanks in the "drivers seat". The inability of H\H to anticipate several moves ahead is hurting the Yanks currently, and will haunt this team well into the new stadium.
PIT,
The list of people who have access to that information is currently closed, but don't bother joining the waiting list, you could never meet the standards to qualify for it anyway... there's a spelling test!
LOL
I didn't want the Yanks to sign Rowand anyways and the Yanks obviously weren't interested.
Signing Rowand before they traded Matsui would have been a stupid move anyways because the Yanks would then be forced to accept less than market value for Matsui since he would have been another extra outfielder.
Hank is an absolute liar....EVERYONE calls his bluff.
I wont give Posad 4 yrs....BS
I wont talk with Arod again....BS
We are out of the Twins Santana trade....BS
This guy is a bigger liar than Pettite!
Perfect for the sinking Yankees.....THE 80's are back....LOL
Watch how many empty seats in duh Bronx this year...FAIR WEATHER FANS !!!!
And the allegation against Pettite comes from just as trustworthy a source as your diatribe against Hank... ;-)
Some of you people are ridiculous. "Didnt the Yanks say if Arod opted out....blah blah"
Okay, show of hands for you guys that would let the 2007 MVP, Future HR champion, best offensive player bar-none go when they call you and say "No wait I want to be with your team." How many of you are going to say "NO SORRY YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE!" ??? Oh look no hands. If its your job as a team owner, you would never say that. The goal is to put the best team on the field you can...and A-Rod is 1000x better than the next best option Mike Lowell....So get off Hanks back.
Secondly, Nowhere in this report does it say that the Yankees have changed their offer for Santana. They just made a few contact calls with them to see where things stand. Show of hands for you guys that would just blow Santana off because of a short deadline you set at the winter meetings to get Minnesota to potentially bite on what you offered, to keep him away from the Red Sox, and to make your rotation the best it can be for 2008. Oh no hands again.
Its easy for you guys to sit here and bash the Yankees for getting Alex Rodriguez back, and continue their pursuit of Johan Santana because of what Hank has said in the past. But lets face it, Its the best offensive player in the league and the best left handed pitcher in the league. How many teams, if they have the means, would just let these guys go elsewhere? None. How many of you are GMs and team owners? None.
And can we all take a moment to thank Divine Providence for that?
Getting less than market value for Matsui would have been OK with the Yanks, as "dumping" his salary would have offset the salary of Santana. The reason the Yanks didn't sign Rowand is purely monetary. Signing Rowand for roughly $13 million, and then trading Matsui would have been a "wash" concerning the team payroll. But to then trade for Santana would have "added" another roughly $12 million to the team payroll. H\H's primary concern is to lower the team payroll, or at the very least "hold the line". In the past, fielding the best team possible was priority 1. This is obviously not the case with H\H.
Two, count them, two shout-outs to Johan in the papers today, one from Hank and one from Abreu.
No, I wouldn't say that deal has been forgotten in Yankeeland.
And all as proper as you please, just answering questions from the press... nothing remotely resembling tampering...
Very nice to see them doing such a great thing!
Oh please -- get a grip, Anon. Hank is not a liar, he's merely expressing his feelings, that's it. When he makes a comment he's not bound to it by anything or anyone. He has a right to change his mind if his feelings change and CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE. How ridiculously brainlessly stupid would it be for Hank to make a comment depending on how he's feeling and then say he's bound by those feelings, that he can't change his mind for the good of the team? What planet do you come from? Stop looking for excuses to bash the Yankees. And what the hell are you talking about when you rant about fair weather fans? This comment makes no sense -- in fact your entire ranting post makes you sound insane.
It would not have been a "wash" to trade Matsui and sign Rowand because it would have taken a 5-year contract to get Rowand.
Matsui is signed through 2009 whereas Rowand would have been signed through 2012.
That's hardly a wash when Matsui's replacement would have cost the Yanks an extra $36M.
When it's all said and done, the payroll in 2008 will be roughly 10-15% higher than it was in 2007 and Roy says that the Steinbrenners are just "holding the line" in order to lower payroll.
Once again, the facts are getting in the way of his black helicopter theories.
Wfan- Breaking News Andy Pettite has admitted using Hgh during 2002 when He had elbow Injury
I am very glad that he has decided to make this admission.
Here is the link to the espn.com story on Pettitte's admission:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3156305
i cannot believe that 1 season of an extra 12 million is really going to be the determining factor in whether they get Santana especially in light of all the payroll that they will shed at year's end and all the additional revenue they will begin getting from the new stadium.
The determining factor is how much the Yanks will need to give up and whether they are willing to do so.
To me the Matsui trade is seperate and "sources" are drawing conclusions about payoll concerns with Santana because of the timing of the Santana talks and Matsui talks
Bravo, Andy. Your statement is credible and you have done nothing wrong. HGH shouldn't have been an issue to begin with since it was not banned at the time and it's not a steroid. People take HGH as a supplement today -- especially older people -- and you can get it without a prescription. Mitchell just needed to add some more Yankees to the list so he decided to add alleged HGH users to his report to beef it up. I think old men Mitchell and Selig should be taking HGH for their obvious senility.
The Yanks have made it clear to the Twins they need to trade Matsui if they are going to acquire Santana. This makes it obvious that trading Matsui is necessary to get Santana. Not separate.
The salaries of Santana and Matsui are very, very close. That makes this a monetary "wash" in "08". Though Rowand would be signed for more than the remaining 2 yrs on Matsui's contract, the numerous contracts expiring after the "08" season, (Giambi\Abreu\Mussina\etc.), will result in a "lower" team payroll in "09".
Those contracts coming off the books after 2008 have nothing to do with Hank and Hal. They would be coming off the books whether Ronald McDonald was running the team.
Giambi, Farnsworth, and Moose were all signed long before Hank and Hal were even in the picture.
You are drawing links where there are none.