All Things Bubba

The Rule 5 draft was today. The Yankees were expecting to lose Steven Jackson and/or Brett Smith. But neither was taken. Nor was Eric Duncan. Instead, the Yanks lost RHP Mike Gardner, to the Padres.

The Reds, as expected, lost screwball pitcher Carlos Guevara. The Marlins took him, then flipped him to the Padres. With their pick, the Reds took RHP Sergio Valenzuela from the Braves. It's a rather puzzling choice. The scouts must have seen something in him they liked, because his stats are underwhelming.

The Sweeny Blog is reporting that the Yankees will be signing Nick Green to a minor league contract (again). They'll give him a chance to make the roster as a reserve infielder.

And the blogosphere is abuzz with the rumor that Hideki Matsui is on the block. He may be traded to San Francisco. Dunno if I buy that. He has a no-trade, and he likes NY. The Yankees have a cachet in Japan that other teams don't. Also, the Yanks make a lot of money selling TV rights to Japan, just because of Matsui.