News of  the Day, chronicling the Yanks since …. late October 2008!

Here is what’s going on:

• At Newsday, Ken Davidoff opines on Ken Rosenthal’s notion that the Yanks should sign Ben Sheets and Juan Cruz:

Should they, though? Say, at the prices that Rosenthal suggests – a one-year, $7-million deal for Sheets with incentives that could push it past $14 million, and a two-year, $10-million package for Cruz?

Definitely not for Cruz, I’d say. Brian Cashman’s best work, since gaining full control of the team in late 2005, has been on the Yankees’ bullpen. They should be good to go with what they have.

For Sheets? You’d have to strongly consider that one. The Yankees passed on Sheets in December because they felt like they already had their “high-risk, high-reward” guy in A.J. Burnett, and because they preferred Andy Pettitte’s durability and familarity with New York. But with Pettitte and the Yankees still at odds, and with Sheets possibly down to a year, that certainly changes the equation.

• John Walsh (The Hardball Times) has an analysis of outfielder’s arms for the 2008 season, and … no great surprise here … the Yankee contingent left a little bit to be desired (Damon awful, Abreu slipped a lot, Cabrera and Nady were decent).
• MLB.com has a status update on the Yanks payroll for 2009.  As of right now it stands at $186 million for 16 players.
• Keith Law is out with his Top 100 prospects for 2009, over at ESPN.  The highest-ranked Yankee?  Austin Jackson, at #46 (down from #24 last year).  Here is part of Law’s write-up on Austin’s City Limits:

Jackson’s star has dimmed over the past year or so, as an expected breakout hasn’t come. He’s shown that he takes a while to adjust to each new level or challenge. He’s still a great athlete, but it’s not translating into baseball skills as quickly as hoped.

Jackson’s tools grade out as more or less average across the board, with nothing standing out as plus except for the possibility that he’ll become an above-average hitter (for average, that is). He had good speed but is, at best, a 55 runner now, although he has good instincts on the bases. He has gap power and can jerk a ball over the fence to left, but doesn’t project as more than a 15-20 homer guy unless he fills out substantially. He’s solid in center field with a good arm, but probably isn’t a Gold Glove candidate.

• Dellin Betances just missed Law’s Top 100 list.
• In a separate piece, Law hands out a list of each organization’s top prospects.  Here’s the Yanks  (btw …. “prospect” is being defined as still eligible for ROTY consideration):

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Jesus Montero, C
3. Andrew Brackman, RHP
4. Dellin Betances, RHP
5. Zach McAllister, RHP

• PeteAbe at LoHud reports that the Yanks offices are moving to the new Stadium tomorrow.

• AP reports that Bill Werber, the oldest living ex-major leaguer, and a teammate of Babe Ruth, died Thursday at the age of 100.  From the article:

Werber, who would forget dates and times late in life, had no trouble remembering his days as a player — including his first major league plate appearance in 1930 with the Yankees.

“Babe Ruth hit a home run and I wanted to show them how fast I could run,” Werber said in an interview in June. “So I get into the dugout, and — finally — Babe got into the dugout. He patted me on the head and said, ‘Son, you don’t have to run like that when the Babe hits one.'”

• A local Omaha newspaper has a Q&A with Joba Chamberlain, including some … interesting questions:

Q. If you didn’t go pro, what would you be doing?
A. I’d be a United States Marshal. My dad was involved in the law enforcement all of his life. It’s something that’s always interested me.

Q. Do you pamper yourself?
A. I take care of my skin. When I’m back home, I’ll get facials and sometimes manicures. I’m a big Bath and Body Shop fan. I like to smell good all of the time.

Q. Do you have a favorite fragrance?
A. Satsuma, it’s the smell of a Japanese mandarin.

• The Times offers up the tale of a Red Sox fan named … Mark Teixeira:

This tale of two Teixeiras is filled with contrast and will play out over the next eight years, spiced by the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Mark Steven Teixeira’s sticks are smaller, his gloves are made of wool and his preferred base is a bass drum. He can pound out a beat as well as Mark Charles Teixeira can pound out hits, and he has the CDs to prove it: “Saturday Night” (2006) and “Sneaky Child” (2007).

While Teixeira the first baseman has played alongside stars like Chipper Jones and Vladimir Guerrero, Teixeira the drummer plays regularly with such jazz and blues luminaries as the guitarist Duke Robillard, the singer Toni Lynn Washington and the organist Al Kooper, who once famously backed up Bob Dylan.

• Wily Mo Pena turns 27.  Pena was drafted by the Yanks, but was traded to the Reds for Drew Henson and Michael Coleman before seeing any action with the big club.
• Erubiel Durazo turns 35 today.  Durazo was Yankee property for all of six weeks in 2006, never seeing action at the ML level.  He then got re-signed by them late in 2007, again seeing no action with the big boys.
• Happy 39th birthday to Alan Embree, who was terrible as a mid-season pickup by the Yanks in 2005 (14.3 IP, 20 H,  3 BB, 7.53 ERA).
• Mark Wohlers, another mid-season RP pick-up (2001) turns 39 today.
• Happy 58th birthday to Charlie Spikes, who got a cup of joe with the Bombers in ’72 before being packaged with John Ellis, Jerry Kenney, and Rusty Torres to the Indians for Graig Nettles and Jerry Moses.