Yankees News and Notes on a Wed night

The New York Yankees have started to play better ball in the last couple of days. The offense is starting to get it together and the pitching has been impressive. Here are some notes from Wednesday. Mariano Rivera had high praise for prize prospect Manny Banuelos calling him the best prospect he has ever seen. He is about to turn 20, he will begin the year in AA but I wouldn't be suprised to see him in AAA and the majors probably by next season. Brian Cashman said most likely they will go with what they have, it is possible that something happens by the end of March but not likely. He is talking about the pitching situation. Cashman has to feel good about what he has seen so far though with Garcia, Colon, Nova and even Mitre all pitching very well. The young kids have been impressive also so the Yankees know they are coming. Girardi said this could be the best bullpen he has had. I would agree with that with a dominant eighth and ninth inning and very good relievers in front of the two closers at the end. Joba, Dave Robertson, Boone Logan and Pedro Feliciano are all good relievers. Girardi said he was impressed with Sorianos debut, he didn't expect much else then what he saw. Eduardo Nunez played left field and caught the only ball that was hit to him out there. The Yankees want him and Ramiro Pena to play there this spring just in case they are needed in a pinch this year. Nunez raised his spring average to 375 with five stolen bases, he has been impressive and he may supplant Pena as the utility guy on the team. Russel Martin and Andruw Jones hit their first homeruns as Yankees. The Yankees had seven starters in the lineup tonight and they all had at least one hit.

Grapefruit League Game 15-Rays at Yankees

The New York Yankees will play under the lights once again tonight against the Rays. Here are some notes and the lineups for tonights game. Javier Vazquez makes the start for the Yankees and Carlos Hernandez for the Rays.

• Alfredo Aceves will make the start on Saturday against the Houston Astros.
• CC Sabathia will start tomorrow at home and Sergio Mitre on the road, Chad Gaudin will pitch in relief of Mitre.
• The pitchers who are scheduled behind Vazquez today are Dave Robertson, Chan Ho Park, Dustin Moseley, Mark Melancon, Romulo Sanchez and Boone Logan.
• The players coming off of the bench for the Yankees are Austin Romine(C), Jon Weber(1B), Reegie Corona(2B), Kevin Russo(SS), Eduardo Nunez(3B), Colin Curtis(LF), Greg Golson(CF), Reid Gorecki(RF), P.J. Pilittere(DH).

Yankees Lineup:

Derek Jeter(SS)

Curtis Granderson(CF)

Nick Swisher(RF)

Jorge Posada(C)

Robinson Cano(2B)

Marcus Thames(DH)

Randy Winn(LF)

Juan Miranda(1B)

Ramiro Pena(3B)

Rays Lineup:

Jason Bartlett(SS)

Carl Crawford(LF)

Ben Zobrist(RF)

Carlos Pena(1B)

Willy Aybar(3B)

B.J. Upton(CF)

Pat Burrell(DH)

Sean Rodriguez(2B)

Dioner Navarro(C)

Grapefruit League Game 10 and 11-Yankees at Detroit and Orioles at Yankees

The New York Yankees are playing split squad games today. They have been rained out 2 days in a row and this is what they decided to do. The Yankees brought some of the minor leaguers up today just in case although one is scheduled to play. Edwar Gonzalez is scheduled to play. Here are a few quick notes and then I will have the lineups and reserve players for today.

• Kevin Russo will get to play shortstop today, he is trying to make a run at the major league utility job. I am still betting on Ramiro Pena getting that job but you never know what could happen.
• A.J. Burnett, Mark Melancon and Phil Hughes are each scheduled to throw side sessions today.
• Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher will all go on back to back roadtrips. They are going to Lakeland today and Bradenton tomorrow.

Yankees Lineup(Home Game)

Gardner(CF)

Johnson(DH)

Posada(C)

Cano(2B)

Granderson(LF)

Winn(RF)

Miranda(1B)

Laird(3B)

Pena(SS)

Yanks Lineup(Road Game)

Jeter(SS)

Swisher(RF)

Teixeira(1B)

Rodriguez(3B)

Thames(LF)

Cervelli(C)

Hoffman(CF)

Winfree(DH)

Nunez(2B)

Chad Gaudin will start this game and Javier Vazquez starts the home game.

New York Mets lose to Boston Red Sox and start spinning the Reyes News

The New York Mets lost to the Boston Red Sox by the score of 8-2 today at Tradition Field. The more important thing is they once again are without their starting SS for who knows how long. The Mets originally said earlier today that he would be out 28 weeks and his rest will be starting now. They have now said this afternoon that his rest actually started last week. Here we go again, what is it because his agent said he was working out on Monday and Tuesday of this week and they backed that up earlier today but are now backtracking. This is typical Mets, they can't get their stories straight, especially when it has to do with an injury or illness. I don't know what can be done to prevent this, they claimed they were going to better this year with their focus on prevention and recovery. The Mets are already without Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran for at least a month, I am guessing 2 months. I don't think you will see them together until June. Alex Cora is a nice guy and a good backup to have, but he is not a starter, and they will be hurt significantly by this. I wish Jose Reyes the best and hope he gets back on the field soon just because he is a exciting player to watch and the Mets will be better with him on the field. Here is the recap of the game, Mike Pelfrey got the start and pitched 3 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. He did strike out 4 and showed no lingering effects from getting hit on the knee his last start. Tobi Stoner, Pedro Feliciano and Elmer Dessens each pitched a scorless inning. Ryota Igarashi didn't pitch so good, he faced 6 batters in a inning and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. In the battle for a bench role, Frank Catalanotto was 0-3, he is now batting 125 this spring. Mike Jacobs hit a homerun. I think Jacobs is a guy who will make the team, he has good power off of the bench and can play first base. He actually finished with 2 hits, Alex Cora was 1-1. Chris Coste went 1-2. The Mets will play the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM.

Recap of todays Yankees game and some Notes

The New York Yankees took it on the chin today losing to the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 9-1. The story of the game though wasn't the final outcome it was Francisco Cervelli getting beaned in the head and leaving the game. He did seem ok on the field and was helped off of it but did get up under his own power. He was taken to a local hospital for precautionary testing which included a CT scan. The tests were negative and he said he was feeling a little dizzy and had a headache but he should be back in a couple of days. The story of the game on the field would be A.J. Burnett making his first start. He wasn't great but he was happy that he got his work in and did what he wanted to do. He was throwing only a fastball and changeup and as Joe Girardi said, his out pitch is the curveball and if you take that away, it is a different pitcher. He wasn't concerned with the results, just that he got his work in and starts to feel good about his changeup. His line on the day was 1 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs and 1 walk. He guessed that he threw 10 changeups on the day. Here is what Jorge Posada said about his outing "He's starting it down, that's the big thing. He's finishing it well. There was one of them that was up, hit off the end of the bat, but I thought he did a great job." Boone Logan was very impressive again, in his debut he retired all 4 batters he faced and 3 were lefties. Today he pitched 2 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts. I know it is early but he is really making a case to be the second lefty if the yankees carry one. Jonathan Albaladejo on the flip side was just awful, it was actually painful to watch. He got torched for 7 hits and 5 runs in 1/3 of an inning. He also walked a batter. That is his second bad outing, I don't think he will be making the team out of spring training this year. Mark Melancon continues to impress, the Yankees still have high hopes for him. He pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up 0 runs on 1 hit and had a strikeout. Andrew Brackman who really struggled last year after coming back from Tommy John surgery but has looked better in bullpens was bad today also. He pitched 1 inning giving up 3 hits and 2 runs. The other guys who pitched were Romulo Sanchez who pitched an inning giving up a hit and walk but 0 runs and Jason Hirsch who pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. The offense didn't do much at all. Reegie Corona, Brandon Laird, Colin Curtis,Austin Romine, Juan Miranda and Kevin Russo all had a hit. If you notice these are all minor league guys. Colin Curtis has been impressive so far this spring and Reegie Corona is a guy they like, he has been known for his defense. Austin Romine is right behind Jesus Montero as top catching prospect and Juan Miranda has had big numbers in AAA and Kevin Russo is a super utility type guy who has a outside chance of making the team. The lone RBI was a groundout off the bat of Ramiro Pena who is the frontrunner to be the utility guy again this year. Francisco Cervelli obviously will not make the trip tomorrow, Mike Rivera will take his place. Amaury Sanit will also not make the trip after appearing in todays game. Dave Eiland confirmed today that Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte and Chan Ho Park will all throw a batting practice session on Monday. They are the only pitchers who have yet to face live batters. Andy Pettitte is pitching a 2 inning simulated game tomorrow and will move forward as if it was a real game. This will count as his first outing Dave Eiland said. Nick Johnson took batting practice today and felt good afterward. He said "I took a few swings in the cage, felt loose." Kei Igawa pitched well yesterday and Joe Girardi didn't rule out the idea of him creating a place for himself as a lefty reliever. I would bet against him ever pitching for the Yankees again though but you never know. The Yankees will play the Twins tomorrow afternoon in Fort Myers.

Grapefruit League Game 2-Yankees at Phillies

The New York Yankees are taking on the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon at 1:00PM in clearwarter. This is a rematch of this past seasons World Series in which the Yankees won their 27th World Title in 6 games. Roy Halladay will take on CC Sabathia but they will only be pitching 2 innings or so in this game. Here are the notes and starting lineups for the game. Derek Jeter, A-rod and Mark Tiexiera aren't making the trip so we will get to see some of the younger infielders try and make a impression. Placido Polanco is the Phillies new third baseman and longtime teammate of Marcus Thames and Curtis Granderson in Detroit. Thames and Granderson aren't on the trip of course though. Zach McAllister and Austin Romine were named the Kevin Lawn Minor league pitcher and player of the year for 2009. Austin Romine is with Jesus Montero as one of the top catching prospects for the Yankees. He is better defensively but doesn't have the power that Montero has. Zach McAllister has become one of the Yankees best young arms and may be the first in line for a callup if it is needed. Kevin Russo feels better but is getting another day off from the Yankees. Joe Girardi laughed at all the coverage the CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay matchup today is getting. "It's getting a lot of coverage like it's a regular-season game" The late inning replacements for today's game are C Austin Romine, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Eduardo Nunez, SS Reegie Corona, 3B Jorge Vazquez,LF Colin Curtis, CF Reid Gorecki,RF David Winfree,DH Jesus Montero. I am anxious to see Montero and Romine, these guys really seem to be the real deal and I could see them being a catching tandem in the big leagues. The game will be on tape delay tonight at 7 on the MLB network but not televised live at all. If you want to follow you can check out http://mlb.com/ for the boxscore and live updates. I will be back on later for some postgame reaction and the notes from the game. Yankees Lineup: Gardner(CF) Johnson(DH) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Winn(LF) Miranda(1B) Pena(SS) Laird(3B) Phillies Lineup: Rollins(SS) Polanco(3B) Francisco(CF) Werth(RF) Mayberry(LF) Ransom(1B) Castro(2B) Bocock(DH) Ruiz(C)

A Year Later and A Different A-rod

Alex Rodriguez was under a tent last year in Tampa admitting his steroid use. He went through a very difficult press conference and then had to go to Colorado to have surgery and rehab his hip. He came back to the Yankees on May 8th and was a different person buying into the team concept. He went on to become a World Series Champion and playoff hero and now he was under the tent again this year in a very different press conference. Today was all about how last year was, how he has changed. He said he will continue to do the things he did last year and just focus on baseball. He said the taste of being a champion only leaves him hunger for more. Here are some of the quotes from his press conference today " I kind of divorced myself from the idea of numbers." This is what he said on Johnny Damon "I was just crossing my fingers, hoping he would come back." This is what he said about Derek Jeter " He was born to be a Yankee." The full audio of the press conference can be found at http://yankees.lhblogs.com/ It can also be heard at http://mlb.com/ and http://yankees.com/ The springs first live batting practices were today and basically the pitchers called out the pitches and location and for the most part the hitters just stood there. Here are the pitchers who threw batting practice and the 2 groups they were in. Field 1: Chad Guadin, Sergio Mitre,Jon Albaladejo, Royce Ring, Grant Duff and Arias Field 2: Alfredo Aceves,Jason Hirsch,Dave Robertson,Segovia,Sanchez and Sanit. They tried to mix up the outfield assignments for instance both Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson were in LF. Ramiro Pena was at second. CC Sabathia will start the second spring training game. One of the 5th starter candidates will start the opener and it won't be Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes according to Joe Girardi. He made that announcement today so it will be Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre or Alfredo Aceves.

One last long weekend without baseball

I will be enjoying a nice 4 day Presidents Day weekend and this will be the last weekend without baseball. Pitchers and Catchers will begin reporting next week, with the Yankees reporting on Thursday. I know the games don't start until March 1st but still there will be plenty to write about from the workouts and then eventually the exhibition games. It is a very exciting time of the year and it means that spring is drawing near which is always a good thing. Here are some things to keep an eye out for this weekend. It appears that the Johnny Damon saga may be coming to an end. The Detroit Tigers have apparently offered him a 2 yr deal for 14 million. If he does end up signing that, isn't it what he was offered by the Yankees and didn't he say he wanted to stay a Yankee?? The Atlanta Braves have offered him a one year deal and appear that they are still taking with him. It was being reported earlier today that the Chigago White Sox were trying to make a late push for him. I would guess he is going to sign with the Tigers by the end of this weekend. The New York Mets signed catcher Josh Riggans to a minor league deal today along with veteran Japanese lefty Hisanora Takahashi. My question is are the Mets playing a game of lets see how many catchers we can sign, they have an insane amount on their roster right now. Frank Thomas and Tom Glavine officially retired today. Tom Glavine will be joining the Braves front office. Tim Lincecum's arbitration hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. The Giants have offered him a long term deal for 3 years and 37 million. He is seeking 13 million for the one year and the Giants offered 8 million. It looks like he will go to the hearing and not sign the long term deal.

Baseball News

I am back, i took the day off yesterday due to me and my family having some kind of stomach virus. I didn't get to talk about the Yankees inviting 20 non roster players to spring training. I am not going to go through the whole list but basically you know most of them. The Yankees have announced some of the signings in the past few weeks. Reid Gorecki, Royce Ring, Marcus Thames etc got the invites and minor league deals with incentives if they make the roster. The 2 top catchers Austin Romine and Jesus Montero got invites along with Kei Igawa. If you forget who Igawa is he is the Japanese pitcher the signed a fews yrs ago that has become a bust. I am thinking the Yankees will give him the chance to be the 2nd lefty out of the pen but I doubt that will happen. The Yankees currently have Damaso Marte but they have other guys who will try and win that job. Wilkens Arias and Jeremy Bleich are 2 left handers to keep an eye on. Arias is 29 so not much of a prospect but held lefties to a sub 200 batting avg last year in the minors. Bleich spent his first year in pro ball last season and is a starting pitcher that could move quickly. It is always good to see some of the prospects and guys fighting for jobs in spring training. It appears that Chien-Ming Wang will be heading to Washington. He is expected to sign a minor league deal for 2 million with the chance to make the team when healthy. Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reported this morning that he already chose the Nationals. The Atlanta Braves offered Johnny Damon a one year deal today for 4 million with deferred money that could double it. He apparently turned it down still seeking a 2 yr deal. The Tigers and Rays are still said to have interest but may also want to keep it at a one year deal.

The Calm before the Storm

The title says it all, as we all wait for the snow up here in the Tristate area we can start thinking of spring training. The Yankees truck day will be on Monday. That is the day where all the equipment and stuff needed for spring training is loaded up and heads down to Tampa. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to spring training in 13 days. Derek Jeter is already down there working out and Joba Chamberlain will be heading there on Monday. I am sure there may be some others. It has been a long cold winter and I am sure we will be getting hammered with snow this month but at least we can think spring with pitchers and catchers about to report to spring training. It is time to get excited and feel the warmth of spring. It has been quiet for a couple of weeks now but we will be geared up now to bring all the news and notes from spring training. I will be posting pictures of spring training as well so come back and check it out once spring training begins. The Minnesota Twins signed Orlando Cabrera. The Toronto Blue Jays signed reliever Kevin Gregg. Melvin Mora signed with the Colorado Rockies for 1 yr and 1.275 million. There aren't many free agents left out there but one notable is Johnny Damon. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. His agent Scott Boras is still claiming there are 3 or 4 teams out there. I haven't seen one that has offered him anything. Detroit has been the chatter lately but they were clearing money off of their books so who knows.

Baseball Contracts avoiding arbitration

I am not going to go through the whole list since it is pretty long. I will discuss the biggest names though. Here are some of the players and the contracts they agreed too. Jonathan Papelbon/Boston Red Sox-1yr 9.35 million Jered Weaver/Anaheim Angels-1 yr 4.265 million John Danks/Chicago White Sox- 1yr 3.45 million Rafael Perez/Cleveland Indians-1 yr 895,000 Jorge Cantu/Florida Marlins-1 yr 6 million Matt Lindstrom/Houston Astros- 1yr 1.625 million Alex Gordon/K.C. Royals- 1yr 1.15 million Howie Kendrick/Anaheim Angels- 1yr 1.75 million Jonathan Broxton/L.A. Dodgers- 2 yrs 11 million Andre Ethier/ L.A. Dodgers- 2yrs 15.25 million James Loney/L.A. Dodgers-1 yr 3.1 million Russel Martin/L.A. Dodgers- 1yr 5.05 million Carlos Gomez/Milwaukee Brewers-1yr 1.1 million Rickie Weeks/Milwaukee Brewers-1yr 2.75 million Francisco Liriano/Minnesota Twins-1yr 1.6 million Carl Pavano/Minnesota Twins-1 yr 7 million Jeff Francouer/New York Mets-1yr 5 million Ryan Ludwick/St. Louis Cardinals-1yr 5.45 million There are many others but this is a pretty good list. Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners signed an extension for 5 yrs and roughly 8o million dollars. That was a great move by Seattle, he is their ace and they needed to lock him up. The Detroit Tigers finalized their deal with Jose Valverde to be the closer for 2 yrs and 14 million. There is a club option for 2012 for 9 million. The saga of Bengie Molina took an unexpected turn when the Mets made him a 1 yr offer and told him take it or leave it. It was for 5 million and he left it and signed back with the San Francisco Giants for 1 yr and 4.5 million. The Colorado Rockies signed Huston Street to a 3 yr 22.5 million dollar deal. He came to them last season in a trade.

Wang not done yet?

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe had a interesting note on his blog today. It said that about 15 teams have inquired about Chien-Ming Wang, he is scheduled to see Dr. Andrews on Jan 4th to get a update on his timeframe. His agent keeps saying he will be ready by May but who knows. The interesting thing about the note was that it said the Yankees were maybe going to match what anyone offers him, hoping to keep him around so just maybe he will come back after all. If the Yankees could bring him back and he ends up being healthy and productive somewhere close to what he used to be well then the Yankees have found their 4th starter and can have Hughes or Joba as the 5th and the other in the bullpen which most likely would be Joba. I actually think the Yankees might be better off doing this then signing a pitcher, they also have Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre as guys they could use. I also noticed that opening day which now has been switched to opening night on ESPN 2 is also Easter. The Yankees will be up in Fenway Park. The schedule also has them playing Tuesday and Wednesday, moving the days up. On a day like this with all the snow lets remember there are only 60 days until pitchers and catchers.

Baseball Winter Meetings

The annual Baseball Winter Meetings will start tomorrow and run through Thursday. I thought I should do a little preview especially focusing on the Mets and Yankees and what their needs are and what they may do. I am going to start with the New York Mets since they have more holes to fill. The New York Mets are looking for: Catcher Starting Pitcher Left Fielder 1st baseman The Mets have been stockpiling catchers with the signings of Henry Blanco and Chris Coste to go with Omir Santos but they are still looking to sign Bengie Molina who would become their starting catcher. I personally think finding a #2 starter to put behind Johan Santana should be their main priority and really they should get in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes and see if they can make that work. If they were able to get Roy Halladay to put with Johan Santana right there they would have something and it would energize their fan base. If they can't get Halladay I think they should look at John Lackey which I am sure they are going to check in on. I do think the Mets need to find a leftfielder, I saw last week where they were requesting medical records on Hideki Matsui but I just don't see that being a fit with him not playing the outfield in a year and a half. I think Marlon Byrd would be good but if the Mets want to really do something big they should sign Matt Holliday. I don't think they are going to be in on Holliday but we will see. The Mets are claiming they are going to take a look at bringing back Carlos Delgado for a year if he is healthy but I am not so sure about that, i can see them platooning someone like a Mark DeRosa with Daniel Murphy. The Mets feel that top prospect Ike Davis who is the son of Ron Davis who played with the Yankees is going to be ready next year. They don't want to sign someone big for first base since he will be taking over their as early as next season. I really don't know what to expect from the Mets as we still don't know what they are willing or able to spend. I think we may get a good idea of what is possible for them this week. The New York Yankees are coming off a World Championship but they do have a couple of needs. Their main priority is going to be resigning their #3 starter Andy Pettitte which I think may get done this week. They are sure to check in with the Blue Jays about Roy Halladay but I think they are skeptical of trading prospects and giving him big money for an extension. I wouldn't rule out the Yankees for anything though so it will be interesting to see if they are serious or just trying to stop the Red Sox from getting him. I could see the Yankees signing a Joel Piniero for the 4th spot in their rotation and then using Phil Hughes as a 5th and having Joba go back to the bullpen. The Yankees right now need a leftfielder and I think they will try to resign Johnny Damon but they will not go more then 2 years with him. If he thinks he can get more then 2 years he will leave but I am not so sure anyone is going to give it to him. I can see him resigning for 2 years and between 16-18 million. If the Yankees don't resign him then I can see them jumping in for Jason Bay or Matt Holliday but I don't think that will happen. They may try to resign World Series MVP Hideki Matsui to a 1 year deal where he will get less then he was making this past season but I don't think he will come back. I think the Yankees will really like to use a revolving door with the DH position. They could use Posada, Damon, A-rod, Jeter, Tex as DH's giving them rest in the field. I think Francisco Cervelli will be the backup and catch from 50-60 games leaving Jorge Posada to catch no more then 110 games. This free agent class is considered weak and the big names are John Lackey, Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. I am not so sure anything major will get done this week but teams will put things in motion and I am sure you will get a flurry of activity with the middle tier guys. It should be a fun week of rumors and stories and hopefully some activity to talk about.

Former World Series MVP suicidal?

The story today was that former Yankees closer and World Series MVP John Wetteland was about to attempt suicide. The article states that his wife called 911 saying he kept saying things about killing himself and he wasn't acting right. The police came and he walked out of his house with his hands in the air saying please help. He was always a high strung guy and admitted to using drugs in his younger days but this comes as a suprise. He was the World Series MVP in 1996 and then finished his career with Texas. He was out of baseball for a little while but came back to the big leagues last year as the bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners, he seemed to enjoy his job with them so this came as a suprise. I am not sure what the situation is but I hope he gets the help he needs and is able to return home to his family and resume his life. It is amazing how quickly the rich and famous can fall and shows that it isn't always what it is cracked up to be. It also shows a more human side to athletes, they really are just like us other then having the fame and fortune, a lot of times they have more demons then even the so called normal person. I wish him and his family the best of luck and hopefully he will have a quick recovery and be able to go back to his job next year.

Yankees Parade

I did not get to attend the parade but I did watch it on T.V. and it was fantastic. The New York Yankees are champions once again and that can never be taken away. It was great hearing Joe Girardi say that he is changing his number to 28 now and that the boss told him there is only one thing better then this and that is doing it again next year. It was great seeing the first timers like A-rod, CC, Tex, Swish,Cano, Melky, Joba,Hughes and all the rookies. There had to be easily a million and maybe 2 million at the parade. I always say this too, NY gets a bad rap but when it comes to things like this they bond together and there really is never any issues like there are in other cities. It is going to be a great offseason but reality is going to set in soon that there is no more baseball to look forward to and it will be a cold winter but at least happy. Joe Girardi reminded us that there is only 96 now 95 days until pitchers and catchers so that is something to warm the heart. I will enjoy the holidays and won't be posting as much but will try to keep up with any hotstove stuff and now I have to start getting into the other sports as well so keep coming back to visit and maybe I will have some live chat or chats about the hotstove.