"I don't like color television. Don't like that color for nothin'. Saw 'Bonanza' at my in-laws. It's not for me. The Ponderosa looked fake. Hardly recognized Little Joe. "

Presley.

Thank you! I kept hearing this mix on WFMU and that quote has been driving me crazy. I knew I had heard it before but I could never place it.

"Catcher Ivan Rodriguez has agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Houston Astros."

I don't think Pudge is all that anymore, but this still seems like he could have been very cheap insurance for us/Po.

From Bombers Beat:

UPDATE 12:11 p.m.: The Yankees have results back from the MRI exams on Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte. Cano is out until Friday with bursitis of the right shoulder and Marte is day-to-day with inflammation in his left shoulder.

[4] ...buzzkill >;)

Rodriguez most likely starts for Houston. J.R. Towles (.188/.288/.323 in 186 career AB) was at the top of their depth chart before signing I, Rodicus.

Besides, I heard one of the YES announcers mentioning Pudge and the scuttlebutt is that the young pitchers were suffering developmentally because of Pudge's penchant for calling fastballs so that he could show off his throwing arm, which would potentially A.) tire them out sooner and B.) make their pitches very predictable if if they manage to hit the strike zone. They mentioned that there were many complaints of this sort, so I don't blame Cash.

[6] Chyll, I've heard that same complaint said about Pudge many times before, going way back to his Texas days. I tend to think its true, particularly last year as Pudge was in a contract year and his defense is certainly his calling card - but I do wonder if the data backs it up.

[6] This was discussed here last year, and maybe it is true. But to what degree and what the actual ramifications are, we can't say. Could this be addressed to him? Is this still true this late in his career? Certainly, I don't know... but we paid soooooo much for the talent we aquired, it's kind of hard to see other teams benefitting from these cheap deals. And as 'how Po goes' may still be our biggestest issue, it seems like $1.5m is pennies to spend for some insurance.

[8] OYF, its not just pennies, its also roster space. The 40-man is full, who do you drop to add Pudge? I'm also not sure that, given how bad he looked at the plate last year (in an admittedly small Yankee sample), and how good Molina is with the glove, that Molina isn't the more valuable player now.

[8] I wonder if I-Rod would have signed any place where he was not the starter (or at least stood a good chance to start). Then again, didn't the Yankees have the option of offering him arbitration? It seems to me that they never wanted him after last season. So, if there is a complaint, it's not that I-Rod might/could/should have been had for 1.5 million or whatever, but that the Yankees gave up on him at a very early stage.

[9] If Molina is as or more valuable, than there is not much reason to sign Pudge. If you sign I-Rod, then you implicitly value him more than Molina. In that case, finding room for him on the 40-man roster is easy, because you simply waive Molina.