Anonymous, March 29, 2007 12:33 PM
Bubba Links
Baseball Links
If I were the superstitious type, I would think that this is not going to be the Yankees' year. They were attacked by bees in Sarasota last week. It happened again, in Lakeland. This time, there were thousands of them. 
Hat-Man thinks the Yankees next year will be missing a lot of familiar faces. Mo, Moose, Jorgie, A-Rod...all could be gone at the end of this season. It's hard to think about, but he's probably right. Cashman has shown that he's not the sentimental type.
I do think Celizic underestimates what Mo brings to the team. A good closer is key in the post-season, or so the stat-heads tell us (and I believe it). And Mo is the best. He'll be hard to replace.
WaPo declares: Thanks to Yanks, the Sugar Daddy System Is Over
In the offseason, almost imperceptibly, the very foundation of baseball's talent-flow system -- the means by which rich and poor teams amass players and move them among each other -- was jolted by a tectonic shift. When the New York Yankees not only held onto their best pitching prospect, right-hander Philip Hughes, but also traded away two potential Hall of Fame veterans, Randy Johnson and Gary Sheffield, for six prospects, it may have marked the end of an era -- one that we shall call what?
"We're not going to be anybody's sugar daddy anymore," Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said this spring, when asked about this shift.
Actually, I think this shift occurred earlier - during the regular season, when they refused to trade prospects for a star outfielder, even when Godzilla and Sheff went down with what looked like season-ending injuries. No one believed it, and they kept asking for Hughes, Duncan, Cox, even Cano, Wang, and Melky. Looks like it's finally sinking in.
I must say, I was impressed with Matsuzaka the other day. He wasn't at his best, and was pretty bummed about it afterwards. But jeez, he held the Reds' first string lineup hitless for five innings. True, he gave up five walks, but still...if that's a bad day for him, the Sox got a steal.
Former Major League baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years for attempted murder. Prosecutors say he attacked a bunch of his employees with a machete and poured gasoline on them. He was angry because they swam in his pool without permission.
The Bats played Indianapolis in Sarasota today, winning 8-4. Bellhorn hit a homerun. Dunno if Bubba played, or how he did. They don't seem to have box scores.
Shawn has this to say about Bubba going to the minors:
Mark Bellhorn and Bubba Crosby both accepted assignment to the minor leagues. That's a minor surprise, but given that this is roster crunch time of year, not a big one. The Reds may have promised to pursue trades for each if an avenue opens. I find it hard to believe that the Nationals weren't interested in Crosby, as he would be better than what they have in center field now.
I find it hard to believe the Nationals weren't interested in both of them, because they seem to be assembling a collection of former Reds. Maybe Bubba and Bellhorn weren't Reds long enough.
