Brendan Ryan has deal with Yankees, will provide Jeter insurance

I thought Obamacare was supposed to mark the end of crappy insurance?

Brendan Ryan, who will provide insurance for shortstop Derek Jeter, has a deal with the Yankees, sources say.

Ryan hit .197 for the Mariners and Yankees last year but won a place with the Yankees for his exceptional defense.

The Yankees are still pursuing free-agent shrtstop Stephen Drew as they have questions on both sides of the infield. Jeter signed a one-year, $12 million deal for 2014.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the sides were close.

Jeter Prepares to Turn a Page and Publish Many Others

Jon Anderson: Going for the 2

Derek Jeter, nearing the final act of a storied athletic career, is ready to talk about his life after baseball. He wants to be a book publisher.

On Thursday, Jeter, the Yankees’ shortstop and captain, announced that he would start a publishing imprint, Jeter Publishing, a partnership with Simon & Schuster…

The publishing imprint will include nonfiction books for adults, like biographies and titles on business and lifestyle; children’s picture books; middle-grade fiction; and books for children who are learning to read…

Jeter Publishing will work with Wicked Cow Entertainment, a firm that manages strategy for sports and entertainment brands and will be looking for “brand extensions” for books.

“You never know where this may go,” Jeter said. “You look at all the opportunities that come with content in general; I mean, there might be a compelling story that someone has that turns into a film or a TV show.”...

Jon Anderson, the president of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, said that Jeter’s parents, Dorothy and Charles, were planning to meet with the editorial staff at Simon & Schuster to provide “background on young Derek Jeter.” Jeter’s charitable organization, the Turn 2 Foundation, will be involved with the children’s books stamped with the Jeter name.

One of the first books planned, Anderson said, is a “Derek Jeter guide to baseball” for young readers. The plan includes updating the book each year.

How Jeter’s new deal counts against Yankees’ $189M goal | New York Post

An attempt to explain how Jeter’s new contract impacts the Competitive Balance Tax.

Yankees sign Derek Jeter to a one-year, $12 million deal for 2014  - NY Daily News

A little more info about the Jeter signing. How could Jeter expect to take such a big pay cut after such a great year in 2013? It’s usually not pretty watching a great one end his career.

Even after the worst season of his career, Derek Jeter found a way to get a raise.
No, Jeter won’t be making more than the $17 million he earned in each of the past three seasons, but rather than triggering his $9.5 million player option, on Friday the 39-year-old captain agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with the Yankees for 2014.
According to a source, Jeter and his agent, Casey Close, recently approached Hal Steinbrenner about a new contract, not wanting to take a pay cut of $7.5 million.
The two sides ultimately came to an agreement on the $12 million pact, getting it done before Monday, when Jeter would have had to accept or decline the option.
“He’s Derek Jeter,” the source said. “Nobody wanted a fight over a couple million dollars.”[Emphasis added.]

Yankees re-sign Jeter for one-year, $12 million | yankees.com: News

Speaking as a diehard Red Sox fan, I heartily support this move.

The Yankees announced Friday they have re-signed shortstop Derek Jeter to a one-year, $12 million contract for the 2014 season.

Deadspin: Mariano Rivera’s Goodbye Turns Us All Into Blubbering Children

This is the last time Mariano Rivera will wear pinstripes, until some Old Timer’s Day in the near future when he’ll probably look exactly the same, and the fastball will still be cutting, and you’ll wonder if he couldn’t have done this for a few more years if he wanted to. But it’s over, and even if a season-long victory lap was secretly as much about saying “we want you to stay” as “we’re thankful we got to see you play,” the man’s done. As Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte approached the mound to remove Rivera from the game, cameras caught the first words exchanged. Jeter to Rivera: “Time to go.”

Will Shin-Soo Choo be the NY Mets’ big free agent target?

Will the Mets Choo-Choo-Choose Shin?

Shin-Soo Choo’s name has arisen before as the man the Mets might spend on this winter, most notably by our John Harper several months ago.  As the offseason draws closer, I can tell you that chatter linking the team to Choo is spreading, both around the league and inside the organization.

“Hearing Choo is the guy they like,” said one rival executive last week, and he isn’t the only one in the industry making that connection.

I ran that by a Mets official who has been briefed on Sandy Alderson’s thinking, and got this response: “I’m hearing that, too.”

A second Mets source said that the team liked Choo—this is no state secret, as the Cincinnati outfielder has a .425 on-base percentage this year (.389 career), with 20 home runs—but are not interested in engaging in a crazy bidding war for the 31-year-old Scott Boras client. Basically, the Mets really like the player, but are comfortable turning elsewhere if the market outpaces what they expect (this is an unsurprising public position).

If the Mets sign Choo, they would not want use him in center field, as the Reds have. Rookie Juan Lagares’ brilliant defense probably prevents the team from spending on that position, and one team source noted that Choo would fit perfectly in right field, replacing the surprising production the team received this year from Marlon Byrd, albeit with a higher OBP.

The Mets will probably look to sign or trade for a second corner outfielder. Eric Young Jr. has done well during his extended audition, but the team views him more as a fourth outfielder (and some in the organization would like to see Young at second base more often).

Derek Jeter At-Bat Songs - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Just a bit outside.

Gabe Kapler: OUR TURN TO LEARN: A BASEBALL TRADITION RECONSIDERED

If hitters need more of a challenge, maybe they can hire Jose Cano?

“B.P. is part of baseball tradition,” Chavez said. “It’s fun for the fans; you try to hit a couple of balls in the stands. But in terms of work, what are you working on? It’s a 30-mile-per-hour pitch.”

I’ll expose myself a bit by saying I loved every minute of batting practice. I loved the controllable element of it. I knew I was getting a juicy, fat pitch and I was strong enough to put the ball in the seats at will on most days. Yeah, I’d get as much out of it as possible by envisioning scenarios like moving a runner from second to third base or scoring a guy from third base with less than two outs.

But was I actually getting better? I think the answer is yes, but only marginally so, and I know there is a better way.

I remember my first Japanese batting practice session as overwhelming and simultaneously exhilarating. Rather than our style, where a single turtle (a portable batting cage rolled in in an effort to save balls) is placed behind home plate, the Japanese have two of these devices side by side on the left and right of home plate. Each turtle has a catcher and two pitchers stand around 50 feet from the hitter, side by side, one left-handed and one right-handed.

The session was like a dance, similar to the rhythmic drums that became familiar in the stands during games. As one pitcher released the ball, the hitter on the other side made contact. “CRACK, pause, CRACK,” echoed throughout the park.

The fielders were blessed with consistent opportunities to take live balls off the bat, arguably the most valuable element of American B.P. Defenders need ground and fly balls at game speed as well, which are nearly impossible to simulate with a coach-hit ball smacked by a fungo bat. As you can imagine, swings are more plentiful and time is saved with the Japanese system.

Casey McGehee, currently playing for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, reminded me, “The B.P. throwers are animals. They throw from about 50 feet and are letting it eat (throwing hard)! Also, hitters will have the throwers mix in sliders, changeups, curveballs — whatever you want. I really enjoy the way that they do B.P. because I feel it is much more game-like than what you get in the States.”

Batting practice pitchers in Japan are often former professional pitchers. I was shocked to find out, as Casey mentioned, that not only could I request middle-middle sinkers (like I did the day of my rare, stuffed-animal-yielding homer) and hanging breaking balls in BP, but I could request a located off-speed pitch, and the guy throwing had the ability to deliver on the request.

It all made more sense when I found out that these men are sometimes paid in excess of the equivalent of $100,000 a year to take good care of the hitters’ needs as they prepare themselves for battle. They don’t have additional responsibilities, like our coaches do, and they can focus on being great at presenting as close to game situation practice as possible. They are highly incentivized to excel. If they’re unable to satisfy the needs of the hitter, they might find themselves in another line of work.

Sean Kenney: Big Leagues, Little Bricks

25” x 30”        5,068 LEGO elements.        Completed March 16, 2013

This exhibit is on display at The Louisville Slugger Museum through September 2013

Enter an extrodinary world of sculptures built entirely with LEGO bricks showcasing on the historical lore of baseball as a part of Americana. The show features portraits of famous baseball players, sculptural figures of baseball in motion, a classic Louisville Slugger bat, a 10 foot wide mural with the lyrics of “Take me out to the ball game” and a giant model of Wrigley Field, all built with zillions of LEGO pieces.

25” x 30”        5,068 LEGO elements.        Completed March 16, 2013