Chasing800 is going to look at each position and give you insight and opinion on the current situation and what may loom ahead. Today we will look at the Left Field.Left Field:Johnny Damon seems as the likely candidate to get most of the playing time in LF. He is entering the last year of a four-year contract that he signed prior to the 2006 season. Last season, Damon proved he was again one of the elite lead-off hitters in the game. His defense in LF is better than average in my opinion and he's better suited there, than he is in CF. His consistency at the plate will keep him in the line-up in some capacity, even if it means he gets a few days at DH.On the days Damon isn't in LF, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher will be there. Matsui is looking...

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Tags: 2009 Outlook, Baseball, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Spring Training, Yankees

The Yankees will wear a new hat this season to commemorate the inaugural season in the New Yankee Stadium. It will have a patch on the back of the hat instead of the side. It's a little weird that they would place a patch on the back of the hat but it's not a bad logo. It will just get a little getting use to. Here are some photos of the new design:Share your thoughts on The Forum: www.ChasingRecords....

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Tags: Baseball, Yankee Stadium, Yankees

Today, there was actual baseball played. No more talk, it was time for business. Spring Training offically began today as the Yankees played their first game of the spring.Some highlights of today's game against the Toronto Blue Jays was Brett Gardner hitting the second pitch of the game for a homerun. Alex Rodriguez also went yard, as he hit a 2-run shot in the 4th innning. The Yankees won the game 6-1. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Nick Swisher were the other "main" Yankees that played in today's opener. Mark Teixera should make his spring debut tomorrow.Manager Joe Girardi announced his rotation today, he said it was going to go as follows: CC Sabathia, Chein-Ming Wang, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and Joba Chamberlain. This rotation makes...

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Tags: AJ Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Baseball, Brett Gardner, CC Sabathia, Chein-Ming Wang, Derek Jeter, Joba Chamberlain, Joe Girardi, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Spring Training, Yankees

Spring Training is under way and the Yankees are eager to make sure the team is ready for Opening Day. After a week straight of workouts, manager Joe Girardi called for a day off and an afternoon of fun for the Bronx Bombers.Girardi wants to build a better relationship with his players than he had with them last season and this, was a step in the right direction. He took his guys to play pool. Now this, you don't see everyday. I have to give the manager a round of applause for this. It's a nice way to get the guys to bond and get to know one another off the field and lt loose for an afternoon and not have to go through the everyday stress of baseball.Here are what some Yankees had to say about Girardi's idea:Johnny Damon:"It was a great day....

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Tags: Baseball, Joe Girardi, Johnny Damon, Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, Spring Training, Yankees

MySpaceFacebookDon't forget to join us for our Tuesday Night Chats! Live at 8pm at www.ChasingRecords.com.Share your thoughts on The Forum: http://www.chasingrecords.c...

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Tags: ChasingRecords

The following news may upset a lot of females out there. There's a rumor swirling that Derek Jeter might be getting married to his girlfriend Minka Kelly. This rumor came about from Hideki Matsui.Last season Matsui, Jeter, and Bobby Abreu made a bet as to who was going to get married first. Matsui got married last year before the season began, thus leaving Abreu and Jeter behind. Jeter said he didn't have a girlfriend so the bet was extended for him an extra year. That year is about to be up.“We’ve got a bet going,” Matsui replied. “If he doesn’t get married within a year, I win the bet. Basically the bet was, whoever gets married first wins. Jeter said he himself doesn’t have a girlfriend, so he’s getting a one-year handicap” Matsui said last...

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Tags: Baseball, Bobby Abreu, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Spring Training, Yankees

The following news may upset a lot of females out there. There's a rumor swirling that Derek Jeter might be getting married to his girlfriend Minka Kelly. This rumor came about from Hideki Matsui.Last season Matsui, Jeter, and Bobby Abreu made a bet as to who was going to get married first. Matsui got married last year before the season began, thus leaving Abreu and Jeter behind. Jeter said he didn't have a girlfriend so the bet was extended for him an extra year. That year is about to be up.“We’ve got a bet going,” Matsui replied. “If he doesn’t get married within a year, I win the bet. Basically the bet was, whoever gets married first wins. Jeter said he himself doesn’t have a girlfriend, so he’s getting a one-year handicap” Matsui said last year.Most people, myself included found this hilarious. Derek had a different take on it:“That’s...

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Tags: Baseball, Bobby Abreu, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Los Angeles Angels, Spring Training, Yankees

Yesterday Mariano Rivera addressed the media and let them in on a little secret...he was pitching through a lot of pain last season."I felt it all day," Rivera said. "I don't want to go through that again....It was painful but I did it," said Rivera, who said the worst days were the ones when he pitched more than an inning or for the third game in a row."It was quite the season for Rivera in 2008, it was possibly the best season of his career. Rivera had a 1.40 ERA and allowed only 41 hits over 70 2/3 innings. He struck out 77 and walked six while recording 39 saves. To Mo, it wasn't such a great year because the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time since Rivera came aboard 14 years ago."I look at how we finished," he said....

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Tags: Baseball, Brian Cashman, Mariano Rivera, Yankee Stadium, Yankees

Sometimes people need to think before they open their mouths. I wasn't going to mention this but it's such an ignorant opinion I feel the need to address it.This past week Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt was very critical of Alex Rodriguez in part due to his admission of using steroids. Ok, so were alot of people. Here's what Oswalt said:"A-Rod's numbers shouldn't count for anything," Oswalt said in a phone interview with MLB.com. "I feel like he cheated me out of the game."Did Oswalt forget his Astros were led to the 2005 World Series by Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens? Two men who were using performance enhancing drugs combined for about 30 wins that season. Come on, are you serious Roy?"It does bother me," Oswalt said. "Especially for...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Houston Astros, Miguel Tejada, Roy Oswalt

A lot has gone on this week regarding Alex Rodriguez and steroids. I'm a little tired of all the talk about it, hence the inactivity of the blog since Monday. I don't think it's necessary to state my opinion over and over again or cover everyone's opinion. I think we all have our views on the matter and there is little room for changing that.Of course anything A-Rod does is big news but some of it is really not worth covering but it's interesting to see the fascination with Alex. Now that Spring Training is under way we can start talking actual baseball. Alex is suppose to report to camp on Tuesday and sometime this week will hold a press conference based on his admitted steroid use. I hope once he addresses the media that he can focus on the...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, World Baseball Classic, Yankees

A week before Spring Training starts we have one of the biggest scandals to ever hit baseball. Yea, it's that serious. Just as things looked to be getting away from the whole steroid talk Sports Illustrated comes out with an article on Saturday morning telling us that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. On top of that, the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association Gene Orza tipped A-Rod as well as other players on when their drug tests were going to take place. This is a HUGE mess and puts MLB in a fragile state just days before the 2009 season is to begin.I was shocked to hear Alex tested positive. Yes, shocked. Why? Because Alex has always been a consistent .300 35-40 HR 100 RBI guy. Steroids or not, he's one...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Baseball, Derek Jeter, Yankees

ere is the Alex Rodriguez interview with Peter Gammons that aired on ESPN earlier tonight containing Alex's admission of his steroid use. I will post them in parts as they become available.My thoughts on his interview will come soon as I review the interview and gather my thoughts and facts on the situatui...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Texas Rangers, Yankees

STATEMENT FROM THE NEW YORK YANKEESRE: ALEX RODRIGUEZ“We strongly believe there is no place in baseball for performance enhancing drugs of any type, and we support the efforts of the Commissioner to continually improve the testing process.“We urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming in addressing his use of performance enhancing drugs. We take him at his word that he was. Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex—like all of us—is a human being not immune to fault.“We speak often about the members of this organization being part of a family, and that is never more true than in times of adversity. Alex took a big step by admitting his mistake, and while there is no condoning the use of...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Yankees

According to Sports Illustrated Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, his last with the Texas Rangers. SI.com is reporting that they have four sources that told them Alex tested positive for two anabolic steroids.From SportsIllustrated.com:In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Texas Rangers, Yankees

Yankees Genreal Manager Brian Cashman doesn't think Alex Rodriguez will be effected by the Joe Torre book. As everyone knows by now, it is said in the book that players called Alex "A-Fraud". People close to Alex say it's a non issue, so does Cashman."He's fine," Cashman said. "It's something he's going to have to deal with."Every spring A-Rod has had to deal with some type of controversy and this year will be no different. He will again be asked about his relationship with Derek Jeter, something Torre also alluded to in his book. Cash said he's spoken to Alex recently about the book and it's topics and he has no issues with it."He's already dealt with stuff like this way too many times," Cashman said of the "A-Fraud" fallout. "It's just another...

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, Brain Cashman, Joe Torre, Yankees

I went this morning to go buy the Joe Torre book, "The Yankee Years" and had no problem finding it. I bought it at Barnes and Noble on 86th street. When I went to go pay for the book the cashier told me about a book signing Torre was doing on 46th and 5th. I orginally wasn't going to go through the hassle of waiting on line to meet Joe because I would be waiting for hours. I asked when the signing started and the cashier replied "in 5 mins". So I said I might as well go ahead and try, after all it was snowing like crazy so the line couldn't have been that long, right?Well a few train stops and a few blocks later I reached my destination. Now I had to see what I was dealing in terms of a line and waiting time. I was also trying to do this and make it back in time for work at 3pm so could the unexpected happen? Could I get Joe Torre to sign...

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Tags: Joe Torre, WFAN

Last night Knicks fans witnessed history. No, it wasn't anything done by the Knicks. This time the opposition made history. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 61 points in the win over the Knicks. The 61 points was the most scored EVER by a player in Madison Square Garden. Kobe's 61 surpasses the previous record of 60 by Bernard King on Christmas Day in 1984. Kobe also passed Michael Jordan's 55 points which was the most ever by an opposing player.The Lakers won 126-117. Bryant was 19-31 from the field and 20-20 at the line. Remarkable. The crowd at MSG went from booing Bryant to chanting MVP at the end of his record setting performance. New Yorkers know a good show when they see one and believe me they haven't seen one in awhile...

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Tags: Knicks, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Los Angeles Lakers