" Keeping known rule-breakers outof Cooperstown would be a lot more effective deterrent than putting asterisks alongside their records, to be disregarded by those who are "non-judgmental." "

Dr. Thomas Sowell

Makes all kinds of sense to me!

Statement of Andy Pettitte issued through Randy Hendricks

"First, I would like to say that contrary to media reports, I have never used steroids. I have no idea why the media would say that I have used steroids, but they  have done so repeatedly. This is hurtful to me and my family.

In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow. I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped. This is it - two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list.

If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize. I accept responsibility for those two days. Everything else written or said about me knowingly using illegal drugs is nonsense, wrong and hurtful. I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. I wasn’t looking for an edge; I was looking to heal.

If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry, but I hope that you will listen to me carefully and understand that two days of perhaps bad judgment should not ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication. I have tried to do things the right way my entire life, and, again, ask that you put those two days in the proper context. People that know me will know that what I say is true."

I will continue to believe Andy Pettitte's words over any soiled characters with seedy, damaged and criminal reputations who want to take as many people down with them as possible. PROVE IT.

To me, the whole issue is dead. The report is incomplete, hearsay and not necessarily true in many of its' so-called "revelations". I choose to take good men at the value of their own good word.

Andy Pettitte is a good man. One of the best.

I'm just ready to get back to some REAL baseball news.

GO YANKEES!

Now PROVE IT!

I heard from a guy that used to drink heavily at a Washington, DC bar, that Senator George Mitchell would come in regularly with Senators Chris Dodd, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy and get drunk as a skunks and then drive home.

WHAT A TERRIBLE ALLEGATION! How COULD those Senators do such a thing?

Of course, they DENY that it ever happened...

Is this allegation plausible?

Sure, why not?

After all, it IS a bunch of politicians... they make their living telling lies to the American public...

There's just one little thing that keeps on getting in the way...

THE PROOF!

This is one time when I really didn't want to be right. Click here for "The List".

Is it just me, or is Mo Vaughn the only Red Sox player (sans Brendan Donnelly) on the list?

Something stinks up there in Beantown, and this time it's not just the Red Sox.

Jeannie and I were at our favorite Mexican restaurant for about an hour at lunch, and the ESPNation mentioned Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Barry Bonds and Miguel Tejada.

Just those 4 players...

For an hour straight...

The "Mitchell" scroll tab at the bottom of the TV screen reported Clemens and Pettitte ONLY. Over and over and over and over and over.

No mention of any other players, other than Jason Giambi.

Just the Yankee players.

And we're to believe that this report isn't biased?

Yeah... RIIIIIIIIGHHHTTT...

See? It's not ALL bad news today.

GO YANKEES!

You know, the feeling that you get when you realize that you've been set up; when you realize that the joke's on you. When you suddenly realize that everyone else IS laughing AT you.

George Mitchell is on the Board of Directors for the Boston Red Sox.

How many Red Sox players will be implicated? Already, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte have been implicated by the ESPNation Leaking Scandal Machine. We ALL knew about Jason Giambi.

Will the former US Senator Mitchell be fair and honest about EVERYONE, or will he be the home-team Democratic Washington Partisan that he has been in the past?

This whole "report" is beginning to have a strange odor about it to me. I really, really hope I'm wrong.

I guess we'll see in a couple of hours...

Names are going to be named.

Fans are going to be mad.

One name that probably won't be on the list is Bud Selig's.

Still, the eight-hundred pound steroid-gorilla that the MLB brass has tried to hide in its' closet has taken a big dump all over baseball.

Today, it all rolls down hill...

He should fill the role that Luis Vizcaino sputtered in last season. The deal is for 1 year, $3.75 million.

Signings like Hawkins and Jose Molina may not garner the big, juicy headlines, but watch for these two veterans to be key players on the 2008 Yankee ball club.

Keeping the young guys while adding veteran pieces... in a way, it kind of feels like 1996 all over again...

GO YANKEES!

Especially for two middle-of-the-road players? One of whom is at the end of his career?

For a National League pitcher? We ALL know how well Senior Circuit pitchers do in the American League when they actually have to face nine hitters through a line-up! The results aren't normally very pretty.

With the Yankees suddenly YOUNG pitching staff, it would benefit the Yankees to keep a perennial 100 RBI man.

The Yankees should keep Hideki Matsui, and stop being stupid.

GO YANKEES!

His keen eyes were focused entirely on his next victim; it was as if there was no one else around. He eyed the darting movements of his quarry, as he stretched his somewhat cumbersome frame into a crouch; waiting to pounce.

Suddenly, Mickey Mouse blinked; unable to maintain his quiet composure, he darted into the open, trying to evade the silent stare of Moose. The sprint would prove to be his last.

The house was filled with a deathly silence. From the clenching feline jaws of the Moose, the mouse dangled; lifeless. The Moose had done his duty; he had protected his family from the terrible scourge and infestation of the mouse-kind.

We are very thankful for our three cats: Moose (Mussina), Bernie (Williams) and (Oscar) Gamble. Along with our three pooches (Piniella, Scooter and Maris), they keep us safe in our beds at night.

Our house is now a "mouse-free zone" once more.

Everybody have a GREAT day!

GO YANKEES!

The Yankees have apparently escaped the Johan Santana drama without mortgaging their future. For now. The Yankees have a tremendous amount of players in the minors that are just mere moments away from the Majors; the Yankees have rightly decided to hold onto them.

How many extra wins would Johan Santana add to the Yankees in the upcoming season? If he would win 18-20 games, then how many would Phil Hughes win? If Phil Hughes wins 14-15 games this season with healthy legs (and therefore improved velocity), then the difference is just between 3-5 games.

Trading away the farm just isn't worth that few wins.

Don't forget just how close this season AND post-season truly was; the Yankees were second by a slight 2 games in the American League East, and could have beaten the Indians minus an over-rested Game One starter and an orgy of Midges in Game Two. Even then, with a couple of moves from the manager, these two losses COULD have been averted.

Had the Yankees beaten Cleveland (as they SHOULD have), then the series with Boston could have been up for grabs, because the Yankees and the Red Sox are built to beat one another. Exactly NONE of the Red Sox players wanted to play the Yankees.

Call me crazy, call me names, call me anything you want... but so far this winter I've been right about Girardi, A-Rod, Posada, Rivera and Pettitte...

Just keep the faith, Yankee fans! Good things come to those that wait patiently! Don't let the sensationalist, anti-Yankee Media cause you to lose what you know deep in your hearts to be true. The Yankees are going to be really good next year.

GO YANKEES!

This goes a LOOOOOONG way towards solidifying the Yankees' rotation, even WITH the likes of youngsters Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy filling out the other 3 open slots.

Chien-Ming Wang will provide steady starts as the projected number one in this rotation.

Mike Mussina can be used for spot starts and long relief.

This has been a fantastic off-season for the Yanks!

GO YANKEES!

Whoop-de-doo. (yawn.)

Something tells me that the Twins are going to keep Santana until sometime in July, when it'll be determined if they're in the race for the American League Central Pennant. If they're out of it by then, they'll be looking to unload him for some talent. By then, they'll be willing to part with him for a whole lot less than they're jockeying for now.

So don't worry, fans... the Twins asking price is ASTRONOMICAL. They won't trade him until July unless some team out there is willing to mortgage it's future with some jaw-dropping deal.

I don't think it's gonna happen... at least, not yet...

GO YANKEES!

Any trade involving Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy or Robinson Cano is ridiculous. The Yankees would be mortgaging too much of their future pitching prospects for Santana, great pitcher though he is. Robinson Cano WILL be a batting champion one day. The Twins really don't care about winning next year; they just want to unload a high-priced player for several cheaper ones.

It's much easier to replace position players than pitchers; that's why I wouldn't be opposed to moving Melky Cabrera in a deal that lands Santana. It does appear that the Twins asking price is going to be astronomical, even if the deal doesn't involve the big three pitching prospects.

The Yankees would be well advised to remember a trade from a different sport made in the same town between the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys for a great, proven player named Herschel Walker. We all know how THAT one turned out.

This might be a trade that the Yankees might be better off missing. The initial asking price just seems to be a bit too high...

GO YANKEES!