Jose Canseco to join Ft. Worth Cats as player/coach… or maybe not.

Former Rangers slugger Jose Canseco posted some “breaking news” today on his Twitter account:

Breaking news this is a first folks las vegas police was just at my house i have been charged with rape by a [name withheld] from las vegas — Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) May 22, 2013

He goes on to tweet a photo of the fitness model, along with her phone number (stay classy, Jose), then suggests a polygraph to “get the ball rolling.”

“Stay tuned to another day in the life of jose canseco,” he tweeted.

No word yet on how this will affect the 48-year-old’s debut Thursday as a player/coach with the Fort Worth Cats, but he says he’s at the airport on his way to Fort Worth.

Washington Post: Tom Boswell: Yankees Are Monuments To Baseball Success

Boz pays homage to the gritty, gutsy, scrappy, first place 2013 underdog Yankees:

Perhaps for the first time in their history, the Yankees now epitomize exactly the kind of team that always used to try to beat them: a group of inspired-by-adversity, too-old-or-too-young, one-last-chance players who band together to prove that baseball is a team game, not just an aggregation of talent and fat contracts.

Put a few all-star seasons, such as Cano’s 31 RBI, Kiroda’s 1.99 ERA and Rivera’s 16 saves and 1.56 ERA, at the center of a truly inspired group effort, and you can get shocking results for quite a long time. But the Yankees’ current 102-win pace, with nine victories in their past 12 games, is simply not possible for a full season. At some point, the real Yankees have to return.

Until then, if it’s novelty you want, root for the Nine Old Men, and all the unknown kids who are helping them. Just once in a lifetime, everybody should be able to say they cheered for the Yankees.

Try it, you’ll like it.

Girardi Still Believes as Injuries Mount

“Things stay fresh in my mind,” Girardi said. “I’ve seen Hafner hit home runs to left-center in big parks; I’ve seen him pull balls; I’ve seen him work counts. I’ve seen Lyle be a double monster his whole career and play great defense at first base. I remember saying, ‘Oh, my goodness, can you believe how close he’s playing to second base?’ I remember seeing Vernon hit balls out on us. I remember Youk taking Mo deep.

“So I believe in these guys. I believe they can still do it. I don’t think that because you’re older, you can’t do it anymore. Sometimes it just means maybe you can’t play as many games as you used to.”

Arizona Diamondbacks add missing pieces - Veteran leaders who keep things loose

“You have no idea how important it was to bring in some of these guys,” closer J.J. Putz said, “especially a guy like Hinske.”

Hinske, 35, has never been a .300 hitter in the major leagues. He’s never belted 25 or more home runs in a season, either. But it’s all the intangibles he offers that makes him just as valuable as a superstar.

“Having those kinds of guys is huge,” Hinske said. “It doesn’t have to be one person. It doesn’t have to be an everyday player. It just needs to be a veteran guy who’s been around, who understands what it takes to win in the game.

“If you don’t have any chemistry together in the clubhouse, you’re not going to win together on the field. If there’s a bunch of guys that really don’t get along, you’re not going to have success on the field, no matter how talented you are. We’ve all seen that quite a bit.”

Can you believe the #### we have to put up with Nick Piecoro has a day off ?

Dallas Morning News: Grant: Michael Young willing to accept trade to Philadelphia; details must be finalized

Young is not likely to officially waive his no-trade clause without some sort of compensation. The Rangers must also still gain approval of MLB commissioner Bud Selig due to the large amount of cash (more than $10 million) the Rangers are sending Philadelphia. As with all deals, it would not be official until Young passes a physical for Philadelphia.

The Rangers will receive 25-year-old RHP Josh Lindblom and a minor leaguer, believed to be 22-year-old RHP Lisalverto Bonilla.

If the Rangers send over that $10 million, this sounds pretty good for the Phillies in theory.

Young’s numbers have slipped because he can’t hit RHP anymore. Ryan Howard’s numbers have slipped because he can’t hit LHP anymore. Some sort of time-sharing agreement could potentially be arranged under which, for the price of a single overpaid first baseman, they get not only a first baseman who can hit RHP (Ryan Howard) but also a first baseman who can hit LHP (Michael Young).