David Ortiz on Cano contract: I would give him $500 million

Big Papi thinks Robinson Cano deserves a big payday.

"I would give him 500 million," David Ortiz said with a smile Thursday of the rumored $300 million-plus the Yankees second baseman is seeking. "He deserves it."

The Red Sox slugger, a friend of Cano's, was joking. Wasn't he?

The Boston designated hitter believes Cano, who will turn 31 Oct. 22, should cash in big on the free-agent market while the going is good

"Good players deserve to get paid," Ortiz said after his team's workout at Fenway Park. "He's one of the top three players in the game, so somebody's going to have to."

Asked if he can picture Cano in a different uniform, Ortiz said "it might happen," but he believes the Yankees will ante up for their only real All-Star.

"Every team needs a player like him," Ortiz said. "I definitely believe the Yankees are going to come through. You don't let players like that go. That's a keeper. But you never know. The game is crazy. There's a lot of teams out there with money chasing players like that."

Cano is believed to be looking for a contract of eight to 10 years. The Yankees, already burdened with long-term deals with old and injured stars like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia, want to avoid that kind of commitment.

Ortiz said Cano is worth both the money and the years.

"At the end of the day, can you expect production from Cano for the next 10 years?" asked Ortiz. 

"Yes. Cano makes the game look too easy. I hit the ball so hard toward him this year, and it was like he was expecting it. He anticipates the way you are going to hit, he knows the hitter's swings. He is an extremely smart player. I have never seen a ground ball go by him."

Ortiz's teammate, Dustin Pedroia, signed an eight-year, $110-million extension in July, the kind of deal the Yankees would do with Cano in a second. Pedroia and Cano are widely considered to be the top second basemen in the American League, but Cano is looking for far more money.

"Those are two different players," said Ortiz, who declined to speculate how Pedroia's contract might impact Cano's. "I don't think you can compare them [to each other]. They're good at what they do individually."

Cano hit .314 with 27 homers and 107 RBIs with a .383 OBP and .899 OPS in 160 games. He hit .329 against righthanders and .291 against lefthanders.

"I wouldn't be surprised if next year if the whole Yankee lineup is healthy, he ends up being the batting title champ," Ortiz said. "It wouldn't surprise me because that's him, he can hit against anybody. Lefty, righty, he has no weakness."

I think I just heard Hal Steinbrenner say Shut up.

Robinson Cano called deadbeat dad by son's mom

New York Yankees free agent Robinson Cano is embroiled in a child-support battle with the mother of his young son, who is hoping to drive up his relatively low $600-a-month payments to $25,000.

The All-Star second baseman, who made $15 million this past season, is often late with payments that go toward raising his 3-year-old son, Robinson Miguel Cano Castro, the child’s  Dominican mom, Jackelin Castro, told ESPN.

The 30-year-old Cano insists he’s paying the agreed-upon amount. But Castro says the payments are inconsistent.

Castro says payments for May and June were made on July 2, and July and August payments were made on Aug. 15.

“It’s like a crumb because I [have] to chase after that money,” Castro told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”

Cano hopes to receive long-term contract offers in the $300 million range as a free agent next season. And, even though $600 is a lot of money in the Dominican Republic — where the average yearly salary is $2,370 — but it's hardly comparable to Cano's salary. Castro’s supporters believe the child deserves more.

Castro’s lawyer, Wendy Diaz, said Cano should be paying closer to $25,000 a month.

“I believe the money he gives to his son, when he does, is not enough to feed the dogs of Robinson Cano’s house,” said Diaz.

Castro did not sign the deal, according to the report, but Cano has been making the payments. “The intention of him and his advisers was somewhat to intimidate me,” Castro said.

“His living circumstances, financially, socially and culturally, are very, very far from what the child’s experiencing and gets,” Castro.

Cano said he’s giving plenty to his kid beyond the monthly stipend.

“I have gone above and beyond to care for my child, including an agreed-upon monthly stipend, a house, a car, insurance, school and other essentials for the baby and his mother, as well as many other things including toys and clothing,” Cano said in a prepared statement.

Whenever an innocent child is involved — common sense sometimes trumps contracts.

A-Rod tells MLB panel he was tricked into taking illegal drugs: Report

Alex Rodriguez said the only dope being taken was himself after claiming he was tricked into taking steroids by Biogenesis proprietor Anthony Bosch.

A-Rod —who is fighting a 211-game suspension by Major League Baseball — claims Bosch duped him into using the banned supplements at Tuesday's arbitration hearing.

According to the N.Y. Daily News, a source with knowledge of Rodriguez’s ongoing hearings in Manhattan, said the embattled Yankee and his lawyers have presented a case based partly on the idea that Rodriguez believed the substances he procured from the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic were innocent legal supplements.

That defense conflicts with the version told by Bosch — the founder and head honcho of the now-shuttered facility — who spent part of Monday and almost all of Tuesday testifying before the three-person panel that will decide on the appropriateness of the 211-game doping ban MLB commissioner Bud Selig imposed upon Rodriguez in August.

Bosch, who is cooperating with MLB, has spent much of that time validating a vast trove of Biogenesis documents as well as his own electronic communications with Rodriguez. The league believes the evidence reflects a deep dealer-source relationship. If the Biogenesis products were legitimate, MLB argues, why were they so expensive and why were the transactions so secretive?

Attorneys for Rodriguez will likely begin their cross-examination of Bosch on Wednesday, attacking his credibility during the closed-door hearing as they have for several months now — pointing out that MLB’s investigators paid Bosch for his evidence and offered to drop him from a lawsuit if he cooperated with their probe. They may also point out that Bosch is the subject of federal and state criminal investigations in Florida, and that he was fined $5,000 by the Florida Department of Health for holding himself out as a doctor.

By claiming that he was given banned drugs when he thought he was getting legal supplements, Rodriguez is tearing a page from the playbook that guided other tainted athletes. Barry Bonds told a grand jury in 2003 that he thought the creams he got from his BALCO-affiliated trainer, Greg Anderson, were something like flaxseed oil. Roger Clemens claimed he thought the intramuscular injections he got from his trainer, Brian McNamee, were shots of vitamin B-12 and lidocaine.

That sort of alibi got Clemens into trouble when he couldn’t explain why the injections took place during furtive visits to supply closets and an upper East Side apartment, and why he needed an unauthorized strength coach to give him shots instead of a team doctor.

Such claims have met minimal success in courtrooms, but they sometimes work in the confidential confines of a sport’s drug program. Olympic sports have the highest standard of what is loosely termed "strict liability," where an athlete is almost always held responsible for substances found in his or her specimen regardless of intent.

A-Rod's post-season hearing is expected to continue through this week but can't continue next week due to scheduling conflicts. They may pick up once again later this month or in November if necessary.

A-Rod supporters protest 211-game suspension outside MLB offices

Alex Rodriguez may be a pariah in almost every ball park in America after his involvement with the Biogenesis doping scandal became public — including at Yankee Stadium — but he had plenty of fans showing support outside the Manhattan offices of the commissioner of baseball during the first day his arbitration hearing Monday.

The beleaguered A-Rod has found some support in the baseball doping scandal from Hispanics Across America, whose members can be seen waving Dominican flags and sporting No. 13 T-shirts outside the league's Park Avenue offices.

Rodriguez, who is fighting a 211-game suspension handed down by Commissioner Bud Selig for allegedly violating the game's collectively bargained drug policy in an arbitration hearing this week, greeted a large group of supporters waving signs and Dominican flags as he arrived for the hearing Monday. And Tuesday he will be supported by HAA, which says it plans to send a message to Selig, arbitrator Fredric Horowitz and even Yankee President Randy Levine that they are responsible for what the group describes as an unfair suspension.

According to the group's press release, protests will continue through the week with a possible 24-hour vigil in front of the MLB's headquarters from Thursday into Friday.

"We want the arbitrators, MLB and the NY Yankees to hear us loud and clear. We are the fans, we are the people," HAA president Fernando Mateo said.

"The punishment does not fit the crime, said Mateo —who was hospitalized after an altercation with a security guard Tuesday morning. "A-Rod is innocent. If A-Rod is found guilty by association a 50-game suspension like every 1st time offender would be fair."

Girardi says Mariano playing center field is not going to happen: Report

It looks like all of the speculation regarding Mariano Rivera living out a career-long dream of playing center field in a major league game can finally be put to rest. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Saturday that his closer will not get penciled in at CF and may not even pitch at all this weekend against the Houston Astros, according to YES Network's Sweeny Murti.

There have been reports that Rivera's knee has been bothering him and whispers that the reverent closer didn't want to disrespect the game by going in as a novelty.

Of playing in the outfield Sunday, Rivera said: "I did consider it strongly. If it would have been a few years earlier, then I would have done it. But now my knee is not cooperating. I'm not going to make a fool of myself out there. I respect the game too much for me to do something that I'm not supposed to be doing.''

Rivera had said in spring training that he wanted to "empty the tank'' this season. The 43-year-old said he did exactly that.

"Oh my God, yes,'' he said. "I think I spent every ounce of fuel that I had in my tank. It's empty. I had nothing left. I gave everything that I had. I can go home. I can say, 'You know what, I used every talent that the Lord gave me.' ''

If that is the case, it means Thursday's symbolic four-out relief appearance against the Rays at Yankee Stadium might have been the last time fans got to see Rivera play in a major league game.

Wow.

While it was a fun thought, Joe Girardi said Mariano playing CF is not going to happen. Still possible that Thur was his last game.
— Sweeny Murti (@YankeesWFAN) September 28, 2013

Girardi: Playing centerfield is now Mariano's call

It's not hard to believe that throughout all of the season-long tributes and "farewell" swag piling up in his living room, the gift that Mariano Rivera might end up holding most dearly to his heart after he retires was the opportunity to play center field in a major-league game just once.

Now that the Yankees season is officially kaput, there is a real possibility that Mariano Rivera will be granted his last baseball wish and play center field this weekend against the long out-of-it Astros in Minute Maid Park.

Manager Joe Girardi said before last night's series opener against Houston that it still is possible that the Yankees' retiring closer will fulfill his longtime dream of playing in the outfield in a major-league game —but it's up to Mo.

"I'll talk to him every day to see what he wants to do,'' Girardi said. "I know he's talked about playing some centerfield, but I know he has some concern about his [knee] running out there. So that's really up to him. If he wants to do it, he can do it. I'm OK with it.''

Baseball purists have called an outfield stint by Rivera a trivialisation of the game. And it was not clear if Rivera was still keen on the idea after mentioning his wobbly knee and need to respect the game.  It was not even known if Rivera will pitch this weekend. After Thursday night's emotional send-off at Yankee Stadium, Girardi said he will take it day-by-day.

"I have to talk to Mo,'' he said. "See what he wants to do.''

Still, don't bet against Mo tackling Tal's Hill Sunday afternoon as a well-deserved wrap up to his illustrious career. Purists be damned.

Andy Pettitte got a standing ovation at Yankee Stadium too (VIDEO)

Almost lost in all of the unforgettable show of love during Mariano Rivera's last moments as a player at Yankee Stadium Thursday night was the fact that another Yankee great was spending his last days in pinstripes as well.

Andy Pettitte — who announced his retirement last week in the midst of all the Mariano hoopla — finally got chance to play the of reliever of sorts to his long time teammate. The Yankees pitcher emerged from the dugout to his own curtain call and warm ovation from Yankees fans one last time.

At the urging of the crowd, Pettitte stepped out and tipped his hat to the sold-out Yankee Stadium while the overwhelmed Rivera — lost in his own emotional moment — stood and gave him a hand.

Pettitte will get one more chance to take the mound when he starts against the Astros on Sunday. Expect one final tribute for Pettitte when he leaves the mound in his hometown of Houston.

A-Rod had awkward run-in with Hank Aaron: Report

Just before Alex Rodriguez broke Lou Gehrig’s grand slam record last weekend, the beleaguered Yankees ball player had an awkward run-in with one of baseball's truly all-time greats — Hank Aaron.

Rodriguez was dining at the celebrated Manhattan restaurant Nobu when he spotted Aaron at a nearby table, reports Page Six of the N.Y. Post.  A-Rod approached the legendary Hammerin’ Hank —who was dining with New York Lizards owner Andrew Murstein — and said, "Mr. Aaron, I just wanted to introduce myself. I think about you every day when I play. You’re an inspiration to me."

(In case Aaron didn’t know who he was, he added, "My name is Alex Rodriguez," claims the Post.)

Aaron said in August of A-Rod, "I just want [him] to get his life straightened out. Forget about baseball, get back on the path on being the young man I saw maybe 15 or 16 years ago."

Wonder if A-Rod recommended the red herring?

Longoria concedes strike after knocking helmet over eyes (VIDEO)

Evan Longoria takes a strike from Phil Hughes after knocking his helmet over his eyes while at the plate Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. The Rays' slugger apparently tapped the back of his lid with his bat right before the pitch.

Hughes is the one who should have been hiding his face after two disastrous innings.

Longoria?  He went 3-for-5 and blasted two home runs to help beat the Yankees 8-3.

Mariano Rivera bobblehead delay causes chaos during Yankees giveaway

A New York Yankees giveaway resulted in mayhem after a shipment of Mariano Rivera bobblehead dolls showed up late in the Bronx causing long lines and complaints at Yankee Stadium before Tuesday's game against the Rays.

The Yankees' decision to pass out 18,000 bobbleheads on "Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Night" turned into a promotional nightmare after a shipping snafu kept the valued souvenirs from arriving by 5 p.m. —when the gates were scheduled to open — after thousands of fans lined up outside the Stadium.

The gates opened more than 30 minutes later than usual, and the Yankees handed out vouchers instead, reported CBS New York. An announcement was made during the middle of the third inning that vouchers for the Little Mos could be redeemed from that point until 30 minutes after the game.

Lines formed immediately and stretched from beyond the right-field foul pole to third base on the main level, then up a ramp to another level and back down to the first level, as some fans waited several innings to scoop up their gifts. Pushing and arguing broke out among the anxious fans waiting for the freebies.

Deborah Tymon, the Yankees’ senior VP of marketing, said the shipment arrived shortly after 6 p.m., adding "everyone with a voucher will be receiving a bobblehead tonight."

According to Tymon, the shipment originated in Seattle and traveled by train through Chicago, before the truck transporting the dolls broke down in New Jersey.

Tymon added that the Yanks typically receive giveaway shipments on the day of a game due to storage restrictions at the Stadium. But fans were in no mood to hear excuses.

Before the game was over, some of the bobbleheads showed up on eBay with a $250 asking price.

Mariano Rivera is now immortalized on an NYC mobile monument

Since 2010, Gray Line Tours has been recognizing celebrities and their reach to fans with its "Ride of Fame," a double-decker tour bus designed to give fans a special connection with these celebrities when they visit New York City.

On Friday, Gray Line introduced another mobile monument in honor of New York Yankees hometown hero Mariano Rivera. The bus was permanently emblazoned with a giant photo of Rivera and included a personal seat for the iconic Yankee closer. Now when tourists come to New York they can ride around town in the ubiquitous bus that is a shrine to Rivera, not that Mo's image isn't all over Manhattan these days already.

As always, Rivera —who has collected a huge pile of memorable swag on his farewell tour — was his usual gracious self in accepting the honor. 

"Thank you to Gray Line for a bus like this. It's wonderful. It is great for me and my family," he said. "And it will be great to see myself on one of these things!"

Rivera is not the first Yankee great to be honored by Gray Line. Mo joins Reggie Jackson and Roger Maris as other "Ride of Fame" inductees. 

A-Rod breaks Lou Gehrig's major league grand-slam record (VIDEO)

Lost in all of the controversy surrounding New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez these days is the fact that the maligned slugger has hit a lot of home runs — tainted or not.

A-Rod's legacy in pinstripes might get even more complicated after he crushed a grand slam Friday night passing Yankees icon Lou Gehrig to become the all-time MLB grand slam leader with 24.

Rodriguez's seventh-inning blast, an opposite-field shot to rightfield, broke a career grand-slam tie with Gehrig and led the Yankees to a 5-1 victory over the Giants.

"It's hard to think about things like that right now," Rodriguez said about passing the Iron Horse. "We're really in a sprint to the end here and every win is huge for us."

A-Rod came to the plate mired in a 1-for-25 slump and the Yankees entered the night with five losses in their last six games.

The Yankees, who have eight games left, are three games behind the Indians for the second wild-card spot.

"I saw where I was 1-for-24, 1-for-25, whatever it was, but I thought for the most part I was swinging the bat decently well, but that's baseball," said A-Rod, whose 654th homer moved him within six of fourth-place Willie Mays on the all-time list. "One swing can turn a lot of things around."

At least for one night.

Andy Pettitte's retirement signals end of Yankees era

The official statement announcing Andy Pettitte's retirement simply signals the end of a great New York Yankees era. With Mariano Rivera already riding into the sunset, it will leave Derek Jeter as the only remaining member of the original Core Four on the roster next year.

A sad day for Yankees fans and baseball in general.

Statement from Andy Pettitte. pic.twitter.com/OKsDaY5NhH
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 20, 2013

Yankees' Brendan Ryan starts double play with sensational diving catch (VIDEO)

Yankee shortstop Brendan Ryan plays the right side of the field on a shift and makes a sparkling play on a hard grounder to start a double play Sunday night at Fenway Park.

Ryan's gem was one of the only bright spots for his team the whole weekend after the Red Sox went on to a 9-2 victory and a four-game sweep of the Yanks.

Cello quartet serenades crowd with 'Enter Sandman' in Fenway tribute to Mariano Rivera (VIDEO)

The Boston Cello Quartet serenades Fenway Park with Metallica's "Enter Sandman" as part of the festivities honoring the Yankees Mariano Rivera's impending retirement.

Happily for Boston fans, this more genteel version of the closer's heavy metal walk-on song didn't signal what is usually a death knell for Red Sox batters. Today there would be no cutter.

Even Boston is going to miss the future Hall of Famer.

Yankees put Jeter on 60-day DL, officially ending his 2013 season: Report

Any hopes of another Derek Jeter comeback this season were quickly dashed Saturday morning when, according to the New York Yankees official Twitter page, the team activated David Phelps and put the shortstop on the 60-day disabled list. The announcement of the moves eliminate the slim chance of Jeter returning to the lineup in any capacity for the rest of the regular season or in postseason play if the team makes the playoffs.

A year after playing in 159 games and leading all of baseball in plate appearances (740), at-bats (683) and hits (216), Jeter's 2013 season comes to an end after just 17 games, spread over three attempts to return from the disabled list due to complications arising out of the broken left ankle the Captain suffered in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS against the Detroit Tigers.

Sadly, the uncertainty is finally official.

#Yankees reinstate RHP David Phelps from 60-day DL; transfer SS Derek Jeter to 60-day DL.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 14, 2013

Red Sox website helps fans distinguish players by beard and add hair to their own faces (VIDEO)

The momentum building from the Red Sox players' beards this season has reached such a fever pitch in Boston that the team's website is featuring a template where fans can distinguish the players apart with a chart showing silhouettes of each bearded player's different facial hairstyle.

Similar to one of those ubiquitous barber shop posters, this chart at Redsox.com comes with the individual player's different beard style and a feature that allows you to put your own photo into one of the assorted selection of looks.  Each fashion comes with nickname so one day you can look like burly Mike Napoli with "The Siesta"  or a sleeker Shane Victorino sporting a "Pineapple" the next or even "The Sick Flow" of Dustin Pedroia anytime — all without shunning a razor for six months or picking remnants of lunch off your face before bedtime every night.

The best part for Sawx fans — knowing their Yankee counterparts can only look at their own clean-shaven team and never how it would feel to look like Derek Jeter in a Van Dyke.

Below,  MLB Network broadcasters discuss all the different Red Sox players' beards and their  beard template that is featured at #GETBEARD.

Soriano's leaping catch robs Machado of home run (VIDEO)

Alfonso Soriano makes a spectacular leaping catch over the left-field wall to take a home run away from the Orioles' Manny Machado in the eighth inning Thursday night at Camden Yards.

The Yankees leftfielder gives a little salute to a grateful Dave Robertson on the mound after making the dramatic catch. Soriano's grab became even more important after the Yankees blew a four-run lead in the game.

The Yankees ended up winning, 6-5, to stay one game behind the Rays in the AL Wild Card race.

Manny Machado makes sweet barehanded play against Yankees (VIDEO)

Chris Davis and Adam Jones may get all the headlines in Baltimore due to their offensive power, but Manny Machado — a terrific hitter himself — has been putting together quite a resume of defensive highlights at third base. Those clips include this incredible barehanded catch and throw of Alfonso's Soriano's slow grounder at Camden Yards against the Yankees Wednesday night.

It didn't stop the Yankees from going on to a 5-4 victory — pulling themselves over the O's in the AL Wild Card race.

Girardi and Showalter go at it for stealing signs (VIDEO)

Orioles manager Buck Showalter and Yankees skipper Joe Girardi got in a heated exchange in the top of the second inning at Camden Yards Monday night and had to be restrained from    possibly resorting to fisticuffs.

The reason for their woofing — Girardi thought he saw Orioles third-base coach Bobby Dickerson stealing signs, either pitch selection or location, in the first inning.

In fact, Girardi was so sure of what he thought he saw, he raced the full length of the Yankees dugout to let Dickerson know what he thought he saw.

And when the inning ended, a still livid Girardi came out and barked at his his Orioles counterpart in a shouting match, causing players from both dugouts to spill onto the field and  forcing home plate umpire, Ed Hickox, to issue warnings to both starting pitchers.

Even after the game was over and the Yankees had lost 4-2 to drop three games back in the wild-card race with 18 left to play, Girardi was still prickly about the incident.

"There was something I saw," he said, emphasizing his words, "and I'm just going to leave it at that."