An answer to two questions from Jim. A:
Yes, the Yankees are continuing to monitor things with Johan Santana and haven't completely ruled out a trade for him. However, nothing is close and nothing has really changed.
With regards to what players are most involved in charities, I know a lot about some of the Texas Rangers players, as I was around them for close to four years. But as far as Yankees go, a couple are really active with their own foundations, which is great, such as Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. I asked Ray Negron (who is really active with players' charitable involvement in New York) that question yesterday, and he said that among current Yankees, Robinson Cano is really active and that Mariano Rivera hasbecome among the most active (he always did some). He also named one other player, whose name escapes me at the moment.
Comments (9)
For those of you who have not seen it, here is the link to the espn story on Pettitte's admission that he used HGH:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3156305
andy's admission is:
1) not surprising, as you would expect him to be a man and not hide behind lawyers and half-truths. i definitely believe that he was proded into using HGH. by the way - was HGH already banned in 2002? are we to expect a certain suspension?
2) validating the credibility of the whistle blowers. if they were right about a marginal user such as andy, you can bet the farm they are spot on as to the big time users.
Recently published accounts indicate that Jeter has given more than two million dollars of his own money to his Turn Two Foundation, above and beyond the money he has brought in by fundraising. His sister was also directly involved in running it. It is designed to reward healthy behaviors such as school achievement in children at risk. The Kips' Bay Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx that is mentioned in Kat's story has been a major beneficiary of Turn Two, which has distributed more than seven million dollars in grants to help kids turn away from risky behaviors and invest their energy in positive activities. Jeter started work on Turn Two when he was just a rookie.
Posada and his wife Laura's activities on behalf of children who suffer the same potentially fatal condition as their son Jorge Jr., as well as the parents of these children, have been widely reported for years. They give time as well as money and their foundation works with five other major foundations towards treatment and research as well as family support.
Thanks Marianne!
Gil L.,
I agree with you, Andy has just given an 'injection' of credibility to the Mitchell report.
You are most welcome, Kat!
Andy adds nothing of value to the report concerning other players. They must each speak for themselves. I think all the players named on the report should have remained silent because of the way Mitchell and Selig went about producing it in such a prejudicial manner. All players mentioned should ban together and insist that the investigation be done properly or not at all -- either you do a thorough investigation of the entire MLB or you do none. While I admire Andy's honesty, I don't think he should have validated these biased findings while giving Mitchell and Selig any kind of acknowledgment of their shoddy work. They deserve no respect whatsoever.
To add another word about the Turn Two Foundation, it is a family project that Jeter's parents as well as his sister are actively involved in. It provides programs for kids in Kalamazoo, Michigan -- their home town while Derek was growing up -- as well as the Bronx.
Kat,
Thanks for the information, I really appreciate your feedback.
I had always heard that Jason Giambi did a lot for kids, I think maybe I read that in Sports Illustrated a while back but maybe he has scaled back his charity work in light of his recent past. I think it's a great way for him to rebuild the faith people had in him.