Merry Christmas + Picks

Merry Christmas everyone!

Even though it never feels like Christmas in the 90s anymore.

Anyways, late, but just wanted to post my NBA picks for today.

Celtics +2 (L)
Mavericks +5

Record 2-6-0
Comments: Should have bet with more discipline and took the value bet on the Lakers at home.

Teixiera signs with the New York Yankees

As reported by ESPN, Mark Teixiera has agreed to terms with the New York Yankees.
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Great article by Lee Jenkins of SI.com about the Mark Teixiera signing.

Being Annoying is now Illegal

They should definitely bring this law to New York.

Week 16 Picks

A little late, so I'll submit my SNF and MNF picks.

Carolina +4 (L)
Chicago -4

Season Record: 2-5-0
Comments: Carolina defense blew this game. Another tough loss chalked up.

Lack of posts

There will probably be some inactivity on this blog for another 24-48 hours as I am in the process of packing and going back to New York.

A reoccurring question I've been asked recently is, "What are you going to do back in New York?". The answer is, I don't know. If you told me at the beginning of college that I'd be lost after I graduate, I would have laughed. If you told me even four months ago that this coming New Year, I'd be back home and not having any clue what to expect, I would have highly doubted it.

I may not know what to expect going forward, but I have some goals. Besides finding a job, I want to get some more exercise in, read some good books, spend some time with my family, and rediscover New York. I haven't been in New York longer than three months in the past four and a half years, and I'm sure it has changed a lot.

Charlie Brown Christmas . . . by Scrubs

This is amazing.

What the !@#$ is wrong with teens these days!?

So my 14-year old cousin living in California messages me today, and I'm thinking, "Oh, how nice. She's going to congratulate me on graduating." How wrong I was.

This is essentially how the conversation went.
Her: Hey. Can you order a dress online for me? I'll pay you in cash.
Please.
Please.
Please.
Please.
I need the dress by Friday. I want to dress up on the last day of class before winter break.
(SIRENS GO OFF IN MY HEAD. )
Me: Link me.
Her: Why?
Me: Because I'm !@#$-ing paying for it.
Her: Fine. http://www.yandy.com/Jingle-Bell-Baby-Mini-Dress.php

And then I called her dad.

George Bush gets pelted with shoes in Baghdad

From CNN.com:

President Bush made a farewell visit Sunday to Baghdad, Iraq, where he met with Iraqi leaders and was targeted by an angry Iraqi man, who jumped up and threw shoes at Bush during a news conference.

Security personnel surround President Bush after an Iraqi threw his shoes at him in Baghdad Sunday.

Among Muslims, throwing shoes at someone, or sitting so that the bottom of a shoe faces another person, is considered an insult.

The man was dragged out screaming after throwing the shoes. Bush ducked, and the shoes, thrown one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

As the man continued to scream from another room, Bush said: "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know."

Manny in Pinstripes?

George A. King III of the NY Post reported in today's paper that the Yankees will be in contention of signing Mark Teixiera, if not Manny Ramirez.

While I would like to believe this is true, I think the Yankees will only be in the Mark Teixiera talks to drive up his price for the Angels and Red Sox. I think the Yankees simply can't afford to give a multi-year contract to a 1B right now. Manny on the other hand, is an interesting scenario. King says the Yankees would have to trade Nady, and if that can net back a backup catcher or prospect, why not sign Manny? He'd be the best pure hitter in the game right now (sorry Pujols) protecting the most complete player in the game, Alex Rodriguez.

Sunday Picks

I love gambling. My mother tells me it's in my blood.
I've done pretty well with sports capping this year, but Sportsbook's payout is way too slow for my taste so I've taken a break the last 2 months. I decided however, I could use my blog to post picks I like, so even though I don't win any money, I'd have that craving satisfied.

NFL
Tennessee -3
Miami -6 (Play of the Week)
Detroit +17
Buffalo +9
Arizona -3

Record: 2-3
Comments: Jeff Fisher really mismanaged the game down the stretch, Tennessee had multiple shots to win that game. Almost had the cover in Miami, which I still think was a strong play. However, it looks like that San Francisco defense is legitimate. I took the bait on Arizona and got burned!

Burnett in Pinstripes

AJ Burnett has come to terms with the Yankees for 5-years and $82.5 million

Dirty South or Gotham City? Oh, and I'm graduating!

I am graduating from The University of Michigan this Sunday. My parents and I have decided it'd be a waste of time for them to drive 12-13 hours from New York to attend a winter ceremony. It's gray and slushy outside here in Ann Arbor, and I don't think it'd be worth their time.

I bought a pair of Michigan Nike Dunk SB Highs BTTYS back in Sophomore year, and swore that I would not wear it until I walked at graduation. Now that I know I'm not attending the ceremony, I regret not wearing them sooner!
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As reported by Peter Abraham, AJ Burnett is currently choosing between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. I think Burnett will end up signing with the Yankees. He won't have to switch divisions and his wife is also on the East coast.

If Burnett signs, it'd set up a rotation of:
CC Sabathia
Chien-Ming Wang
AJ Burnett
(Andy Pettite? Ben Sheets? Derek Lowe? Jake Peavy?)
Joba Chamberlain (For 150-175 innings)

Anybody who thinks that's not the best rotation in the AL East, if not all of baseball, would be clowning.

Coming Soon: Mike Cameron patroling CF for the 2009 New York Yankees

Mark Feinsand of the Daily News reported this morning that Yankees are closing in on acquiring Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera.

Initial thoughts?
A friend of mine suggests that the Yankees are acquiring Mike Cameron not only because he plays an adequate CF, but because he is also really good friends with CC. I don't know how much being friends with the ace pitcher weighs in on the Yankees' decisions for trades, but Cameron should be an adequate one year stopgap before super 5-tool prospect Austin Jackson is ready.

My only problem is that he strikes out a lot. However, even at age 35, he still has some speed and should cover a lot of ground in CF for the Yankees. And he stole 17 bases last year!
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1:19PM Edit:

Joel Sherman of the NY Post says a deal is "unlikely" while Kevin Baxter of he L.A. Times says the deal is done.

And Tom Haudcricourt of Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel reports that Brian Cashman tried to unload Kei Igawa on the Brewers. Gotta love C-Money's due diligence.

6:53PM Edit
Peter Abraham reports that deal is still alive and the Yankees can have Cameron as soon as tomorrow.

Cashman flies to Texas

According to the NY Post, Brian Cashman left the Bellagio before the Rule 5 Draft today to go to Texas and meet with Andy Pettitte. I think Brian Cashman will be giving Andy Pettitte his final offer before turning his attention to another pitcher such as Ben Sheets. ESPN has reported we have offered AJ Burnett 5 years for $80 million dollars and if that is true, I do not see the Atlanta Braves being able to top that offer.

I remember this summer reading about how Andy really wants to be able to pitch for us in the new Stadium next year. Andy, if you really meant it, suck up you pride, and take the pay cut. We supported you unconditionally after the steroids fiasco last year, and it's time to show some of that love back.
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Now that the Jake Peavy trade with the Cubs is dead, wouldn't it make sense for Cashman to try to land Peavy with a package headlined by Ian Kennedy? There's no way you can bring Peavy back after basically announcing to the league that he's not part of your plans moving forward can you?

"How To Talk To Girls"

I wasn't ballin' like this kid back in the 4th grade.
Alex Greven, a 9-year-old in Colorado wrote a self-help book called "How To Talk to Girls" and now Fox has bought its movie rights! He's getting low to mid six figures.

From Reuters:

Greven wrote "Girls" as a handwritten, $3 pamphlet sold at his school book fair; he wrote it after he noticed his peers were having some trouble talking to the ladies, though the book is geared for all ages. Among this advice: Comb your hair and don't wear sweats; control your hyperness and cut down on sugar if necessary; a crush is like a love disease that can drive you mad; it is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewelry but are like cars that need a lot of oil.

I obviously need a mulligan on my childhood.

UNTOLD Polka Dot Pocket Tee

Last year when the economy was showing weakness in September, and my roommate was having a difficult finding a job, we joked about starting our own t-shirt line (like every other hipster with no direction in life). One of the concepts we talked about were basic pocket tees with graphic pockets...

Then I came across this Untold Tee on Hypebeast.

Not only am I mad that I didn't do this first, but I'm also mad because I really want one...

Last pair . . . I swear

I know I've said multiple times that I've bought my last pair of sneakers. But I can't resist these. Last pair, I swear. Vans Leather Pack Chukka. January 2009.

Pic via Hypebeast

Mets trade for Putz

According to Tim Brown of Yahoo, the New York Mets just acquired J.J. Putz in a three-way trade with the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians.

As reported by the AP:

The Mets shipped reliever Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez, lefty Jason Vargas and three minor leaguers to the Mariners for Putz, center fielder Jeremy Reed and reliever Sean Green in the first trade by new Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik.

Promising outfielder Franklin Gutierrez was sent from the Indians to Seattle. Cleveland gets reliever Joe Smith from the Mets and 23-year-old second baseman Luis Valbuena from Seattle."

It appears Putz will be setting up for Francisco Rodriguez. I'm not a Mets fan, but I have some good friends who are and they must be THRILLED to see Heilman go. Whenever he entered a game I had to talk them off the bridge.

Jay Chou Concert

Moving away from baseball for a moment because this morning I have already posted twice about the Yankees and gotten into an argument on a Facebook thread about whether or not Alex Rodriguez has "earned his stripes" (which he has).

Taiwanese-pop sensation Jay Chou, 周杰倫, will be having a concert at the Mohegan Sun on December 21st. I'm really looking forward to this concert because I missed out on his last concert in the East Coast back in 2004. My father had two tickets to the Christmas eve concert for me back then (VIP section nonetheless!), but the girl I was dating then was Korean and had no interest in going to the concert. I ended up telling my dad to return the tickets because I wasn't that big of a fan yet and didn't want to go to a pop concert with one of my guy friends.

Four years later. Lesson learned? I would have gone to this concert ALONE if I had to. But I will be going to the 2AM concert on December 21st with a bunch of friends. Lately, my iTunes playlist has consisted of Korean hip hop and old school R&B, but I'm sure starting this weekend I will have Jay Chou's discography on repeat.

Is anyone else going to this concert? Get in touch with me if you are!

Jayson Starks: Yankees in Position?

Jayson Starks just said on ESPN that signing CC Sabathia will put the Yankees in position to accomplish all their goals this offseason. I couldn't agree more.

As of now, our rotation consists of CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, and Joba Chamberlain (who has an innings cap). I think Andy Pettite will be resigned, leaving us room for one more starter in the rotation. The remaining top three pitching free agents are Derek Lowe, A.J. Burnett, and Ben Sheets. Jake Peavy is also on the trading block, but unless the Yankees can land him with a package centered around Ian Kennedy (which won't happen), I don't think a deal will be made.

If I'm Brian Cashman, I'd sign Ben Sheets to a 2 year incentive laden contract with a 13-14 million base. He's an injury risk, but from what I've seen, when healthy he is lights out. I'd much rather commit 2 years to Ben Sheets, then give A.J. Burnett the 5-year contract he's seeking. The fact that we also have Phil Hughes in the event that Ben Sheets suffers another injury leaves me enamored with a potential Ben Sheets signing. I'm a fan of Derek Lowe, but from what I've read and heard, he'll probably be getting on the Mass Pike to the Red Sox for 4 years.

Offensively, we need a CF, 1B, and backup catcher (not in particular order). I think the Yankees should give Brett Gardner the shot to take over CF. He does everything that lineup needs: small ball and speed. I know a lot of Yankee fans would also love the prospect of Teixiera manning 1B for the next 8-10 years but realistically speaking, they have to keep that spot open not only for some starts by Posada this season, but possibly for Derek Jeter a few years down the road. Give Nick Swisher a chance, he's young, has shown that he can hit for power (back in Oakland), and posts a high OBP which is something they will miss from Jason Giambi. Juan Miranda is also a power hitting prospect in the minors, and he may be called up if Swisher falters. I don't think there's a NEED to extend a multiyear contract for someone to play 1B.

If the Yankees are able to sign one of the three upper tier pitching free agents left, and either sign or trade for a serviceable backup catcher, I think the Yankees will be in prime position to contend in 2009.

New York Yankees near deal with CC Sabathia

So this morning I woke up late, around 11AM, because of the all-nighter I pulled the day before studying for my Korean final exam. I stumbled over to my laptop to see several messages from friends asking if the New York Yankees have signed CC Sabathia. Naturally I rush over to ESPN and see the illuminating red and cream box of text with breaking news reporting that CC Sabathia is indeed near a 7-year $160 million deal.

After perusing over my routine of baseball blogs and listening to Buster Olney and Michael Kay's analysis on ESPN, this is what I think of the CC Sabathia deal:

The Yankees probably have targeted CC Sabathia for at least two years now, which is one of the reasons they didn't give up the farm for Santana last year, knowing that Sabathia would be hitting the open market in Winter 2008. Whether or not you agree with Cashman's decision to not give up Hughes and Kennedy, there should be no argument that giving up a draft pick in the 2009 draft is less expensive than giving up both Hughes and Kennedy.

Also keep in mind that Santana's stats and performance was showing that he may have peaked as a pitcher. The number of HRs allowed were going up, his fastball velocity lost a tick. Sabathia on the other hand, is being signed after posting an excellent season, and a track record of being durable and pitch deep into games (despite his physique which I am sure a lot of people are concerned or critical about).

That being said, they absolutely had to land Sabathia because of the gaping holes in their rotation. There was also a recent article about how there won't be another pitcher of Sabathia's caliber hitting the open market for two-three years. Take Jake Peavy for example, teams are locking in successful young pitchers with high ceilings to long term contracts before they can be eligible for free agency in fear of a Santana-Sabathia situation where the team won't be able to afford an multiyear annual $20+ million salary.

Keep in mind there is almost always a New York "premium" or "surcharge" because of our taxes, cost of living, and media. Combined with the supply and demand of ace pitching, the Yankees had to overbid to ensure they signed Sabathia.

I agree with Michael Kay's analysis. He said realistically speaking, with this signing, the Yankees are probably looking for post season contention and at least 1 World Series rings in the next four years. Everything they get after that would be considered as a cherry on top of the sundae. Cashman knows very well that long-term pitching deals rarely pan out (Barry Zito and Kevin Brown for example), and that is why the Yankees have actually stayed away from these kind of deals in the past. However, the last time the New York Yankees signed a pitcher to a deal of this length was Mike Mussina, who provided six years in his initial contract, and was eventually resigned for two more years, providing a total of eight years of excellent pitching . Lets hope CC Sabathia will be the same bang for the buck.