Friday night links

It is now officially baseball season in the Geant world, as my Syracuse Orange entered Heartbreak City last night. (That link is to a Gus Johnson soundboard. Have fun.) And that is the only mention of them I will make until I can do it without crying, so give me about 6-8 months.

But, as I said, baseball is right around the corner! We're just about 9 days away from Opening Night against the Red Sox as the World Champs head to Fenway to supply a Boston Beatdown.

It's been a uncharacteristically quiet spring in Tampa. But, as they say, no news is good news.

There are a few links to some interesting stories:

• A-Rod may or may not have been questioned by Federal Investigators in regards to Dr. Anthony Galea. If he was, he is back and in the lineup for tonight's spring training game against the Phillies. (How many times have the Yanks played the Phillies this year in spring training? And I thought we played the Red Sox a lot.) And as I was writing this A-Rod has told reporters that there was no meeting today.
• If you hadn't heard, Michael Jordan has become the principle owner of the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA. Apparently, Derek Jeter wants to follow in his footsteps, and own a professional baseball team. Now, I know we would all love it if after his playing days were over Jeter would one day become the owner of the Yankees. In my mind, that would be the only person I would feel comfortable owning the Yankees besides the Steinbrenner family. But, when you look at it realistically, I don't see how it could possibly happen. According to a Forbes report from last year, the Yanks are worth $1.5 billion. That's a lot of money. Now, Jordan can afford to do it because 1) the Bobcats are worth $278 million. If Jeter wants to buy the Marlins (valued at $277 million) it might be possible. And 2) He's Michael Jordan. You know those shoes Jeter endorses? The Air Jordans? Guess who those were named after. And guess who gets a royalty every time they're sold. Though, I don't think Jeter has gambled away as much of his money as Jordan did.
  

Also, late Wednesday night, John and I drafted in our Fantasy Baseball league. It's a 12-team 5x5 Rotisserie league. His team, SwishHawk, is led by Prince Fielder, Troy Tulowitzki, Nick Markakis, Tori Hunter, Chris Carpenter, and Matt Cain. My team, A Deuce for the Cuse, boasts Matt Kemp, Mark Reynolds, Ben Zobrist, Roy Halladay, Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Johnson, and Jonathan Broxton. Of course, I think I have the better team, but I'm sure John thinks otherwise. We'll keep you updated throughout the course of the season on which Michael Kay's Successor is faring better in the league.

SEE YA!

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Game 142: Orioles at Yankees

YANKEES (91-50)
Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera LF
Gardner CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (13-6, 4.10).

ORIOLES (56-83)
Roberts 2B
Izturis SS
Markakis RF
Reimold LF
Mora 3B
Scott 1B
Wieters DH
Pie CF
Moeller C

Pitching: RHP Chris Tillman (1-3, 4.66)

TIME/TV: FIRST PITCH SCHEDULED FOR 8:20, YES

As I'm sure you all already know, Derek Jeter needs just one hit to pass Lou Gehrig for 1st on the All-time list.

Right now, I'm waiting to watch Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech. The ceremony is on ESPN. I lived just outside of Chicago at the end of the Jordan-era, so I enjoyed watching the '97 and '98 championship teams.

UPDATE 12:35 AM: Jeter finally did it, congratulations. The rain put a damper on things, that's for sure. I cannot believe they are going to restart this game. I think the MLB needs to review its rain-delay policies. This is ridiculous, and it's not the first time its happened this season. Enjoy the game if you're staying up to watch.

UPDATE 12:37: ALL THE STARTERS ARE OUT OF THE GAME? And they're going home? This is more ridiculous than the pine tar game where Billy Martin put Ron Guidry in centerfield and Don Mattingly at second. This is by far the weirdest thing I've ever seen.

UPDATE 12:42: After years of listening to Kay, he finally made me laugh. He used his "If you're keeping score..." line before telling people to just stop. He's by no means a standup comedian, but he actually told a somewhat joke.

Or maybe it's just cause it's almost 1 AM.

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