New York Yankees

There have been a few rumors about international free agents lately and the Yankees are involved in three of them: Dominican righty Rafael DePaula and a pair of Cuban first basemen Leslie Anderson , who can also play all three outfield positions, and Jose Julio Ruiz .

Here are scouting reports and the most recent rumors on the trio:

Although he was born in the Bronx, right in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, Rich Chaynee never liked the New York Yankees. He complained that the crowds disrupted his life.

The Yankees experienced a magical 2009 season that resulted in their 27th championship. Everything fell into place in just the right way, and they avoided any and all unfortunate mishaps.

Alex Rodriguez was able to break out of his October nightmare, even after a crippling hip injury nearly derailed his season before it began.

Every season is different and provides a whole new set of obstacles, and this 2010 Yankee team is no different.

Why would the New York Yankees neglect to re-sign Derek Jeter before now?

At the end of this season he will be a free agent. This is the final year of a 10-year $189M contract.

It is not good to send you franchise hit leader into Spring Training with the thought of free agency on his mind. There is more than one team that would be delighted to have the future Hall of Famer (I hate it when people say that) anchoring their infield.

Jeter, 35, had one of his better years in 2009 batting .334 with 18 homers, 66 RBI, 212 hits, 107 runs and an OBP of .406.

With exhibition games starting in March, MSG decided to air ESPN's hit miniseries "The Bronx Is Burning" this week as an appetizer.

This eight-series drama featured characters such as Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner, Reggie Jackson, Gabe Paul, Thurman Munson, Mickey Rivers and Fran Healy. Martin stood out more than the rest with his crazy personality.

It's remarkable why Yankees fans adore Martin despite the nonsense he pulled as the Yankees manager.

In a great baseball movie that had to warm the hearts of all Boston Red Sox fans, Jimmy Fallon played the role of an insane Boston Red Sox fan whose life revolved around the season tickets he had inherited from his uncle.

Fallon’s character was a math teacher who fell in love with Drew Barrymore, a yuppie executive climbing the ladder in her company who was barely conversant about baseball.

Yankees position players are officially due in camp today, but they won’t start playing games until March 3. They take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 1:05 p.m. game that will be televised on the YES Network.

Join us as we’ll be hosting a live chat during the game. Watch the game with some of the Bronx Baseball Daily writers, ask us questions about the upcoming season, or just bitch about bad camera angles.

There has been a lot of talk about Johnny Damon this offseason.

Nothing seems able to stop it: Not the Yankees replacing him in the lineup with Nick Johnson and signing Randy Winn, leaving no room in the outfield, or even Damon signing a contract with a different team could stop it.

When Damon says stuff like this, he becomes hard to ignore:

One of the first things I said when the Yankees signed Chan Ho Park the other night was that his deal would make more sense if the Yankees moved Chad Gaudin.

Part of my reasoning was that for the past few weeks, the Yankees have been talking budget. It didn’t make sense to spend $1.2 million, even if it was a good deal, on your sixth reliever if you are being budget-conscious.

Well, it turns out that Gaudin’s contract, and Sergio Mitre’s for that matter, will only be a problem if the Yankees want it to be a problem.

Christian Garcia is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher with a mid-90s fastball, one of the best curveball’s in the Yankees system and a strong changeup. He’s just about proven everything in the minor leagues except the ability to stay healthy.