The LoHud Yankees Blog

Derek Jeter passed on questions about A-Rod for now. But Joe Girardi believes that this, too, shall pass.

Rodriguez is not expected in Tampa until next week, right when position players are to report. He is still scheduled to be honored by the University of Miami baseball program on Friday. Rodriguez donated the money needed to refurbish their stadium.

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Headed off to the minor-league complex to catch the early workouts. I’ll file a post or two from there.

One of our readers, a guy named Vincent, was volunteering at Tom Glavine’s annual fundraiser for the Georgia Transplant Foundation a few days ago. John Smoltz was there and Vincent took the opportunity to get a photo taken.

“With a Bic and spare sheet of paper I made the picture one that all Yanks fans could be proud of,” he wrote.

Nice job by Vincent and it looks like Smoltz was a good sport about it.

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You fans of Don Mattingly will get a kick out of this YouTube video. It was produced by the people at Mattingly Baseball to help promote their products.

Thanks to Skip from Mattingly Baseball for sending over the link.

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Another friend of the blog, Robert, wanted me to let you know about some game-used and signed Staten Island Yankees jerseys that are available at Baby Bombers.com

They have an assortment of players including Dellin Betances, Ian Kennedy, Wilkins De La Rosa and Chase Wright. Prices range from $85 to $165. It certainly would be a unique thing to wear to a game.

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Meanwhile, if you’re a glutton for PED punishment, here’s the complete A-Rod transcript from his ESPN interview.

OK, that’s it for today. Check back tomorrow for more from Tampa.

Just spent a few minutes on the phone with Joe Girardi, who was nice enough to return my call. He will get to camp tomorrow and doesn’t expect the A-Rod situation to cause too much of a ruckus. At least not more than the team can handle.

He compared it Andy Pettitte’s admission of drug use last spring.

“It will be on a larger scale because of who Alex is. The media buzz will be there for a few days,” Girardi said. “But we have to support each other and play the games and do our jobs. We’re going to get through this. I think this is a chance for us to shine, both Alex individually and us as a team.”

Girardi has spoken with Rodriguez several times in recent days and found him to be “in a good place.” He hopes that the admission of guilt helps him as a player.

“Anything you’re through something in your personal life or you have something on your chest, it impacts how you play,” he said. “If anything, maybe this helps him. He’s been tested regularly since 2004 and he’ll be tested for the WBC. He’s a great player regardless and that’s something I want to say when we talk again.”

Check out the paper tomorrow for more from Girardi. He seems comfortable that the Yankees will find their way through this mess in due time.

Here is an interview with gritty, gutty, scrappy Brett Gardner. He talks about his trying to make the club and the A-Rod aftermath.

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Lots of multi-media on the blog today. Let me know what you like, what you don’t like, what you’d like to see more of, etc. I’m open to suggestions.

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I have a newspaper story to write. But in yet another shameless plug, I’ll be on with Scott Ferrall tonight at 9 p.m. on Howard 101 on Sirius Satellite Radio. I guess that means I can curse on the air.

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Thanks to everybody who participated in the video chat this afternoon. It went for about 30 minutes. It was great that some of the regulars were on and asking questions. Because I’m a nitwit, there’s like a 35-second delay in the beginning when I just sit there.

Meanwhile, question for those techies out there. I have a MacBook and I’m using the built in camera and microphone. The camera is fine but the mic has some static in it. Are there external mics you can use or any idea how to fix that?

Drop me an e-mail with any advice.

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Meanwhile, here are the results of the polls we ran during the live chat:

Should the Yankees cut A-Rod?
Yes: 3%
No: 95%
Depends on what kind of season he’s going to have: 2%

How many homers will A-Rod hit this season?
More than 57: He’ll top his all-time high: 14%
Less than 30: Too much pressure: 4%
Right around 35, last year’s total: 82%

Do you believe that A-Rod only took steroids for 3 years?
Yes: 53%
No: 18%
Undecided: 29%

Did you feel Alex’s confession was sincere?
Yes: 69%
No: 16%
Can’t decide: 16%

Thanks to the wonders of technology, I’ll be doing a live video chat at 4 p.m.

So please head over to the LoHud Yankees Blog Mogulus channel and submit your questions.

Thanks.

How about some baseball?

When I walked into the complex this morning, the first two guys I saw were Chien-Ming Wang and Phil Hughes.

The Wanger looked good. He got to Arizona in mid January and worked out for several weeks with a trainer before coming here. He has thrown off the mound twice and will again tomorrow.

Wang said his foot has totally healed and he is ready to go. I asked him about the Yankees adding CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

“Great for us,” he said. “We have a good rotation. I was glad.”

Wang has long resisted the idea of being considered the ace of the staff. Part of it is his personality, part of it is cultural. He defers to older players and always has. The guy is a competitor on the mound but quiet off it. Look for him to have a big year as he tries to make up for missing so much time. He also was relieved not to face another arbitration hearing.

Hughes has been in Tampa for a while as well. It speaks well of him that he showed up early knowing it’s a long-shot that he makes the team.

Dave Eiland and Rob Thomson were there with the players. Those two guys get after it. Also saw scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, who was watching workouts.

If you watched A-Rod on ESPN last night, he made a lot of faces. Our pals at the Fack Youk blog did some screen grabs that are pretty funny. Meanwhile, maybe it was the TV in the hotel. But was he a weird shade of orange?

(Disclaimer: This post is intended to be amusing and should in no way be construed as an attack on Alex Rodriguez. We at the LoHud Yankee Blog wish Alex well in his endeavors. Plus those guys sent us a link.)

WFAN did a lengthy and detailed interview today with Selena Roberts. It’s archived on their site if you want to have a listen. Kim Jones and Evan Roberts did a nice job with it.

I’m not going to comment beyond that. I get that people want to kill the messenger in these situations. It’s hard to expect fans to feel otherwise and it would be a waste of words to try and change minds. People get emotional about sports.

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Meanwhile, Miguel Tejada apparently cut a deal to plead guilty to lying to Congress about steroids. The charges were filed today.

It’s certain that some grandstanding Congressman will try and get A-Rod to Washington. Rep. Elijah Cummings already has mentioned it. As I have written before, I find it a complete waste of time and money for Congress to investigate ballplayers.

Let the leagues handle it and have Congress deal with — oh, I don’t know — war, terrorism, the economy and education. What A-Rod did in 2003 is not really a pressing matter.

The Late Show with David Letterman had the Top 10 Messages Left on Alex Rodriguez’s Answering Machine last night:

10. “Hey, it’s Mark McGwire. Want to get together this week and not talk about the past?”

9. “Joe Torre here — thanks for helping book sales”

8. “Could you find a steroid that keeps you from choking in the playoffs?”

7. “Are you worried this will taint all the championships you didn’t win?”

6. “It’s Bernie Madoff. Nice try but I’m still the most hated man in New York”

5. “Michael Phelps here. Got any snacks?”

4. “This is Sammy Sosa. Just pretend you don’t speak English”

3. “Michael Phelps again. Did I call you or did you call me?”

2. “Hey, it’s Rod Blagojevich — I’ll say you’re innocent, if you say I am”

1. “It’s Madonna. You got a phone number for Jeter?”

They clearly have some Yankees fans on the writing staff at the Late Show. Good stuff.

You can find the Top 10 archive on the Late Show site.

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Meanwhile, CC Sabathia was chilling at a WWE event the other day.