Yankees baseball blog

Angels prep Sabathia offer

The Angels, unwilling to meet Mark Teixeira's desire for a 10-year contract, are in discussions with CC Sabathia and could offer him a contract that approaches the $140-million bid extended to him by the  Yankees.

The Angels appear reluctant to guarantee more than seven years in a contract for Teixeira, said a source familiar with the club's thinking. They appear more likely to pursue Sabathia, with an offer in the range of Johan Santana's six-year, $137.5-million contract with the Mets.

Teixeira remains the Angels' top priority - the club would sign him but does not want to miss out on Sabathia while waiting to see whether Teixeira's asking price falls. The Angels are not believed to have made a formal offer to either player. GM Tony Reagins said the club has not ruled out retaining Teixeira. Continue

Roger Clemens had 10-year fling with country star Mindy McCready

Roger Clemens carried on a decade-long affair with country star Mindy McCready, a romance that began when McCready was a 15-year-old aspiring singer performing in a karaoke bar and Clemens was a 28-year-old Red Sox ace and married father of two, several sources have told the Daily News.

The revelations could torpedo claims of an unsullied character that are central to the defamation suit Clemens filed Jan. 6 against his former personal trainer Brian McNamee. Vivid details of the affair could surface in several media projects that McCready is involved with - including a documentary that begins filming today in Nashville, a new album and a reality show. Continue

Was that blood or red paint?

More than two years after the fact we still don't truly know whether that really was blood on the sock of Boston's pitcher / publicist Curt Schilling during the 2004 postseason. Last night, however, we received an interesting second-hand admission that it was staged with - get this - red paint.

Red Sox officials are incensed this morning it's even a question, and Yankees fans surely have to be bothered by this, as well. Every time that darn Schilling sock is mentioned, it reminds Yankee fans of perhaps their worst week in franchise history, when they became the first baseball team to blow a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series, to the Red Sox, no less. Continue

New Poll

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Cy for Santana, Chien-Ming 2nd

For the second straight year, a Yankees pitcher was the runnerup for the AL Cy Young Award. Chien-Ming Wang capped a tremendous breakout season by finishing behind only two-time unanimous selection Johan Santana in baseball writers' voting released yesterday. Wang's 19 wins tied him for the league lead with Santana, who also paced the AL in ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched as Minnesota's ace lefty earned his second unanimous Cy Young win in three seasons.

"After winning the first Cy Young, I was trying to show people that what happened in 2004 wasn't a fluke," Santana said. "I wanted to show everybody I'm a proven pitcher and I'm able to do this. I know as long as I can stay healthy, I'm going to do my best. But I still believe I can be better." Continue

Red Sox show yen for 'Zaka

With the official announcement last night that Boston had won the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka, the clock started on the Red Sox's 30-day window to sign the Japanese pitcher to a contract and perhaps turn him into an icon in the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry, such as Johnny Damon or Jose Contreras, two other stars the teams have clashed over.

The Red Sox's winning bid, announced in Japan as $51.11million by Matsuzaka's club, the Seibu Lions, towered over the Yankees' $32 million offer. The Mets, who a baseball official said bid $38 million, apparently finished second in the Matsuzaka Sweepstakes. Neither New York GM expressed any anguish after the announcement, which came last night in simultaneous press conferences, one at the GM meetings here and one in Japan. "Congratulations to them," Yankee GM Brian Cashman said of the Sox. "You want something, you go after it." Continue

MLB will sanction, sell supplements

Union head Donald Fehr met for nearly two hours with the Yankees yesterday, and part of the discussion centered around Major League Baseball's reported plan to begin selling approved supplements in an attempt to produce fewer positive drug tests amid the game's ongoing crackdown on steroids and other banned substances.

The Associated Press reported last night that MLB and the Players' Association are having NSF International, a company based in Ann Arbor, Mich., certify that products are clean before they can be made available for resale to players in the 30 major-league clubhouses. Continue

Ryan & Jays close deal

B.J. Ryan, a hard-throwing lefty closer whom the Yankees and Mets inquired about early on in free agency, signed a five-year, $47 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last night, the Daily News has learned.

Ryan, 29, had 36 saves in 41 attempts for the Orioles last season and had been pursued by the Indians, Tigers and Red Sox. The Mets and the Phillies viewed him as a fallback in case they could not sign Billy Wagner and the Yankees hoped they could convince him to set up for Mariano Rivera. Continue

Lawton tests positive; 10-day ban in '06

If the Yankees had even a remote interest in bringing back Matt Lawton - and there's scant evidence they did - yesterday's news put an end to such thoughts. Lawton failed a steroids test, Major League Baseball announced, so the free agent will begin the 2006 season by serving a 10-day suspension.

"I made a terrible and foolish mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life," Lawton said, in a statement to The Associated Press. "I take full responsibility for my actions and did not appeal my suspension. I apologize to the fans, the game, my family and all those people that I let down. I am truly sorry and deeply regret my terrible lapse in judgment." Continue

Rocket to Rangers?

The Yankees could have some competition for Roger Clemens' services, after all, and this would be a battle in which George Steinbrenner lacked the home-field advantage. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner has expressed interest in joining the Texas Rangers, according to two people familiar with Clemens' thinking. On Feb. 6, Newsday reported that Clemens, who will turn 43 Aug. 4, made a handshake agreement with Astros owner Drayton McLane upon signing a one-year, $18-million contract for 2005. McLane agreed to trade Clemens to the Yankees if the Astros fell out of the pennant race.

In an interview with ESPN last month, Clemens, who refused to commit to playing the entire 2005 season with the Astros, said he would permit a trade only to the Yankees. Since then, however, the Rangers have surged, putting together a nine-game winning streak before losing last night in Detroit. Texas' hot streak apparently has piqued Clemens' interest in the Rangers. Continue