From Michael S. Schmidt at the New York Times:


Schmidt's sources say that the investigation was initiated in early March, after A-Rod met with investigators. Selena Roberts, the author of the upcoming "A-Rod" book, was contacted and declined participation, due to journalistic conflicts.

Via John Schlegel.

From Mike Puma at the Post:


I don't know how much it really matters, but it can't be a bad thing. Let's hope it's something to build on.

30-year-old rookie Matt Palmer shut down the Yankees for 6 1/3 innings. He only allowed three hits and one earned run over that span, pitching the Angels to an 8-4 victory Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

For a while, however, it looked like Palmer would be the hard-luck loser against CC Sabathia. The Yankees and Sabathia carried a 1-0 until the sixth inning when the Angels were able to scratch across a run to even the score. They would then score seven more times over the next three innings to put the game out of reach, despite the Yankees scoring three in the ninth.

Hideki Matsui hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to give the Yankees the early 1-0 lead. The Angels then put together a rally in the next half-inning, loading the bases with one out. However, Sabathia was able to strike out Brandon Wood and get Maicer Izturis to line out to Robinson Cano.

Sabathia finished the day giving up five runs (four earned) over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked four. The Yankees are now 2-4 in his starts.

The Angels tied the game in the sixth on Kendry Morales' RBI groundout. Then in the seventh, with runners on second and third and two outs, Howie Kendrick had an RBI infield hit, Torii Hunter hit a two-run double and Mike Napoli hit an RBI single. They'd score one more in the next inning on a Morales solo home run off struggling reliever Jose Veras.

They would then score two more times in the ninth inning on Juan Rivera's single coupled with Melky Cabrera's fielding error in right.

However, the Yankees, who rallied from a 9-4 deficit the previous night, tried again today. With Cabrera on third with two outs, Jorge Posada hit a two-run home run to right to make it an 8-3 game. Brett Gardner scored the Yankees fourth and final run after Derek Jeter reached on Gary Matthews Jr.'s error.

The Yankees are now 13-11, as the loss snapped their four-game winning streak. Phil Hughes and Joe Saunders will face each other tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m.

Recap records: Patrick: 8–2, Seamus: 4–6, Andrew: 1–3.

Andrew Fletcher blogs about the Yankees regularly at Scott Proctor's Arm.

Johnny Damon, free agent to be, told ESPN.com's Andrew Marchand that he'd like to return next season, but that it's probably not likely.


Damon, Hideki Matsui and Xavier Nady are all free agents after this season, clearing $32.55 million off the books, according to Cot's.

Nick Swisher is signed through 2011, with a club option for 2012, and Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner are under our control. Austin Jackson is tearing it up at AAA so far this season, hitting .371 with a .444 OBA in 62 at bats over 16 games. Jackson, however, has primarily played center field and it sounds like he's a stronger defender than Gardner.

Assuming that Swisher proves dependable, Jackson wins the job and Gardner doesn't really step it up, it would seem that the Yankees will still need one regular corner OF. The free agent crop includes Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Rick Ankiel, Brian Giles and Vladimir Guerrero, in addition to the aforementioned Damon, Matsui and Nady. Carl Crawford and Magglio Ordonez both have options for 2010.

We'll see how it shakes out. I could see a scenario where Damon can return. But, it likely depends on how much money he's looking for, as well.

Chad Jennings reports that the Yankees have signed Casey Fossum to a Minor League deal and he will start for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees today

Jennings guesses that Fossum may have cleared waivers on Thursday, which would mean that the Yankees wouldn't have been required to place a claim on him and give him a 40 man roster spot.

Fossum, 31, has pitched in 237 Major League games, starting 120. He has a record of 40-53 with a 5.45 ERA and 2 saves. As a starter, he is 29-47 with a 5.65 ERA.

Friday night's pitching match up between the Yankees and the Angels, Andy Pettitte (2-1, 2.96) facing Jered Weaver (2-1, 2.45), had all the makings of a pitchers duel.

But, the Yankees offense silenced that notion early by scoring four runs in the first inning. After back to back Yankee walks by Jeter and Damon set the table, Hideki Matsui sacrificed Jeter home for the first run. Robinson Cano picked up an RBI with a two out single to follow. Finally, Posada cleared the bases with a home run to deep right. 4-0 Yankees after one.

Pettitte did his best to keep the pitchers duel dream together, holding the Angels scoreless through 5 innings. In the sixth, however, he became unraveled. He allowed back to back singles to start the inning, but it looked like he might get out of it, after eliciting a ground ball out and striking out a batter.

Unfortunately, the Angels would rally. A two RBI single, single and walk later, the bases were loaded and Joe Girardi opted to bring in Mark Melancon. Melancon was not effective, though, as Gary Matthews, Jr. drive all three runners home with a triple. After a Bobby Abreu walk, a wild pitch allowed Matthews to score. That was the end of the damage, but the Angels now had the lead at 6-4.

It would get worse before it got better. Jose Veras came out to start the seventh, but he struggled. Walk, single, RBI single, RBI sacrifice. Edwar Ramirez would get a turn next. Single, walk, RBI sacrifice and then, finally, a line out to end the inning. The score was ugly - 9-4, Angels.

The Yankees offense came right back in the eighth, though. After Hideki Matsui grounded out to start the inning, Cano doubled. And then Posada walked. Brett Gardner singled to load the bases for Melky Cabrera, who delivered with an RBI single that kept the bases loaded. Ramiro Pena did the very same thing. Derek Jeter grounded out to end the string of singles, but he drove in an RBI in the process. Johnny Damon struck out to end the inning, but the Yankees were back in the game, down by a run, 9-8.

Jonathan Albaladejo pitched a 1-2-3 9th to keep it close and Angels closer Brian Fuentes came out to close the game for the Angels. But the Yankees got all over him - and fast. Mark Teixeira worked a walk, Hideki Matsui singled and Robinson Cano did the same. Angel Berroa pitch ran for Matsui. This loaded the bases for Jorge Posada.

Jorge delivered, putting a walk off single into left field and scoring Teixeira and Berroa. Yankees win, 10-9!

Albaladejo picked up the win, improving to 2-1.

The last three hitters in the Yankees lineup delivered, as Nick Swisher/Gardner (more on that in a second), Melky and Pena combined to go 5 for 10 with 2 runs, 3 RBI, 1 walk and 1 HBP. Cano had a big day at 3 for 5 with a double, 2 runs and 1 RBI. But, the big hero was Jorge Posada. He was 2 for 4 with a homer, 2 runs, 4 RBI and a walk.

Swisher had to leave the game early, after he was hit on the elbow by a pitch. But, Peter Abraham says that all he has is a bruise and that x-rays were negative. He's day to day.

Tomorrow at 1:05 PM ET, CC Sabathia (1-2, 4.73) will go against Matt Palmer (1-0, 6.00).

Recap records: Patrick: 8–2, Seamus: 4–6, Andrew: 1–2.

In his first rehab game action, A-Rod went 1 for 6 with a home run and 2 walks in an extended spring game, reports MLB.com's Dawn Klemish.

Of course, the hot topic of the day was the fresh speculation derived from Selena Roberts' new book. Namely, the suggestion that A-Rod used steroids both with the Yankees and in high school and that he engaged in pitch tipping in Texas. The book says that A-Rod would tell friends on other teams what was coming, when the game was out of hand, in expectation of receiving the same treatment from them. On Thursday, many players or former players and coaches commented on the speculation.

"To me, it seems like a lot of he-said, she-said kind of stuff," Joe Girardi told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. "We've been down this road. We're going to move on. Alex has talked about how he's going to move on." Girardi said that he's never seen Alex tip pitches.

In an interview with SI.com, Robert detailed the pitch tipping accusations and what they are based on.

Also on SI.com, Ted Keith spoke with former A-Rod teammates R.A. Dickey, Doug Glanville and Shane Spencer. All three expressed outrage at the idea of pitch tipping. Both Dickey and Glanville said that they hadn't seen anything that would support the claims and that they would reserve judgment, hoping it to be untrue. Spencer, though, says that he heard whispers about it, but apparently never witnessed it himself.

Mike Cramer, who was the President of the Rangers when A-Rod was with the team, told the Post that he never heard anything about pitch tipping.

Both A-Rod's former high school coach, Rich Hofman, and a former high school teammate, Doug Mientkiewicz have come out refuting the claim that he used steroids while playing high school ball.

"It's totally unsubstantiated, totally false, all innuendo, a vendetta," Hofman told Linda Robertson of the Miami Herald. "We had a close-knit group and in all our conversations, steroids never came up. These kids loved to play baseball. We had a rigorous program and that's why we were good - we earned it."

When asked about the claim that Hofman's son, David, had seen A-Rod use steroids, Hofman called it "totally bogus."

"There’s no way," Mientkiewicz told Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. "I was with him too much, I was with him for too long. Our team was together, like, 20 hours of the day. Every day."

"He also grew two or three inches," Mientkiewicz continued. "You’re talking about a 15 year old kid who looked really skinny and scrawny. Then he hit puberty and he grew into a man. Everybody goes through it. So now every 13 to 15 year old kid is going to be accused of this, because he hits puberty?"

Both Mark Teixeira and Johnny Damon issued your standard "no comment, we support Alex" type of statements.

A-Rod himself declined comment on the book. "I'm not going there," he told Klemish. "I'm just so excited to be back on the field and playing baseball."

Via the Post, Steve Lombardi and Steve, again via Rhett Bollinger.

Congratulations to Reggie Jackson, who will be honored with the 2009 Joe DiMaggio Award on Tuesday. According to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, the award highlights "commitment to the health, well-being and education of America's youth."

Led by the firm of Swisher, Pena and Burnett, the Yankees defeated the Angels on Thursday night, 7-4.

The Angels wasted no time grabbing a lead, scoring a run in the top of the first. But, the Yankees answered right back, thanks to a Hideki Matsui RBI single that scored Mark Teixeira. Don't look now, but Godzilla's got his average up to .292 after a slow start.

But, the Angels continued to chip away at Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, scoring 2 more runs in the third to make it 3-1 through two. The Yankees would again answer back in the form of a Johnny Damon solo home run in the third and a Derek Jeter RBI single in the fourth. On Jeter's hit, former Yankee Bobby Abreu made an error that allowed Ramiro Pena to score. 4-3, Yankees, after four.

Burnett, meanwhile, settled down, holding the Angels offense scoreless in the third and fourth. He allowed them to tie the game in the fifth, but then pitched another two scoreless innings. In the end, Burnett struck out five through seven, allowing those four runs on eight hits.

He left the game tied when Phil Coke came out to start the eighth. Coke was impressive, setting down the Angels in order.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees took back the lead when Melky Cabrera singled, scoring Robinson Cano. Ramiro Pena followed that up with a double, giving the Yankees a pair of much needed insurance runs, as Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher scored.

After back to back rough outings, Mo was back on his game, collecting his fifth save of the season. The first hitter he faced, Torii Hunter, singled and then reached second on fielder's indifference. The next three batters were retired, however, including two strike outs.

And so, the Yankees end the month of April at 12-10, 2 games back of the division leading Red Sox.

Tomorrow, at 7:05 PM ET, Andy Pettitte (2-1, 2.96) will face Jered Weaver (2-1, 2.45) in game two of the series.

Recap records: Patrick: 7–2, Seamus: 4–6, Andrew: 1–2.

MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reports that A-Rod will participate in an extended spring game today, his first game action since having surgery on his hip. He also has this:


10 days would be May 9. Not that big of a difference - 6 days. He'll be back when he's ready.