SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

** Most analysts have designated the Toronto Blue Jays as THE team in the AL East. They are vastly improved, some of their "All-Stars" are suspect. Pitcher Josh Johnson was a staff ace at one time, but his velocity has decreased significantly over the last three years. Ricky Romero was knocked around by just about everybody. R.A. Dickey may find life a little tougher battling the patient hitters in the AL East. Jose Reyes is very talented, but he's also very temperamental and moody if things don't go his way. Jose Bautista is coming off a serious injury and a 'clean' Melky Cabrera is a mystery.
They'll do very well, but don't expect them to run away and hide from the rest of the division.

** I don't believe the Orioles will be as successful as last year. Everything went right for Baltimore last year. they had a 29-9 record in one-run games. They also won 16 straight extra inning games. They ranked 9th in runs scored  (4th in the AL East) and 10th in batting average. Good indications that luck may have played a significant part in their record.

** Boston didn't help themselves very much, but outside of Josh Hamilton and a couple of big-name pitchers, there wasn't very much to choose from.

** The Yanks basically stayed the same, too. They did sign Kevin Youkilis, but lost A-Rod and no one knows what Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera will be able to accomplish. The Yanks did dump Freddie Garcia and Andruw Jones. Garcia is still out there and Jones will be playing in Japan next year.

** Tampa traded one of their best pitchers and...is that all they did? What's going on in Florida?

** Some MLB pitchers will be trying out padded caps next year, to help reduce injuries. I don't know how much help that will be, but I guess it can't hurt.

** A minor league outfielder in the Tampa Bay organization has been suspended 50 games after refusing to take an offseason drug test. He hit .244 with 4 home runs in Class A last year. What's he trying to hide? If he was taking PEDs, they sure didn't help.

** The Yanks were hit with a $19.4 million luxury tax for last season. I don't think that includes Michael Pineda's salary, but he sure was a luxury.

** Free-agent update:
Nick Swisher is available and it appears the two best possibilities are Texas or Cleveland. He wants a multi-year deal so the Yanks are probably not involved.
Michael Bourn isn't signed. He's looking for 5 years but there seems to be  little interest at that level. If Boras tries for a one-year deal, again NY might be interested. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Boston, the "smartest" city, remember?) says the Yanks "could use a leadoff hitter."   Right, with Gardner, Jeter and Ichiro, they already have three guys that could fill that spot.

***THEY SAID IT***
"There's a new version of “Miracle on 34th Street.” In this one, Tim Tebow starts a New York Jets game at quarterback"  -- Brad Dickson
" Missed the post game news conference,   so  how  much did Gisele Bundchen complain about her husband’s Patriot teammates?"  -- Janice Hough
" This just in: Beverly Hills 90210, Washington Wizards 87."  -- RJ Currie
"December 15   started Capital One Bowl Week, which runs until January 7. And they wonder why many football players are bad at math."  -- Janice Hough
 "One popular Christmas gift this year – ugly sweaters. Who ever knew that members of the PGA and local news anchormen would be trendsetters?"  -- Brad Dickson
" Did you see the Manny Pacquiao fight? He got knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez in the 6th round. Pacquiao hit the canvas face first. Was that really that big of a deal? Passing out face first in Vegas -- who hasn't done that, really?"  -- Jay Leno
   And the non-sports item:

 "US Weekly reports Katy Perry spotted Russell Brand at a nightclub and hid behind a table. She found Lindsay Lohan under it."  -- RJ Currie

Congratulations to Jim Boeheim on his 900th career victory.

CP-