Over the last six months, we've learned that Alex Rodriguez has been given the nicknames A-Roid, A-Fraud and A-SWF. Now we're told of nickname for the slugger back in 2005..."Bitch Tits." According to the upcoming biography that first broke the news he had tested positive for steroids, A-Rod was called that by fellow Yankees who noticed some extra cuppage on the third baseman, a sign to some that he was using HGH. A-Rod has denied using steroids during his tenure with the Yankees, but the book talks to players and management who say that many in the organization suspected that he was and it quotes one major leaguer who accuses him of using HGH with former Yankee Kevin Brown in 2004. Other new revelations in the book include allegations that A-Rod used steroids as early as high school, tipped off pitches to friends on opposing teams and, most heinous of all, only tips 15% when he eats at Hooters. more ›

Some more choice quotes were revealed today from Joe Torre's upcoming memoir titled "The Yankee Years." The Daily News highlighted some of the former manager's blunt takes on members of his starting rotation throughout the years. While not shockingly calling Kevin Brown "a beaten man...with emotional issues," he then compares him to David Wells by saying, "The difference between (them) is that both make your life miserable, but David Wells meant to." He describes poor outings where Randy Johnson "freaked out" afterward and says that all the players "hated Carl Pavano." Torre is scheduled to talk about the book on Larry King Live this Friday and today told the Times, "I’m probably going to get more credit or more blame than I deserve, whichever way you want to look at it.” The News's Mike Lupica champions the book today calling it "tough opinions, but honest ones" and discouraging Torre "from taking a single step back." more ›

The morning started with rumors of names mentioned in Senator George Mitchell's report to Major League Baseball, but not until this afternoon were any rumors substantiated. Stating in his report that “there is much about the illegal use of performance enhancing substances in baseball that I did not learn,” Mitchell proceeded to lay waste to the careers of many notable players, perhaps none more so than Roger Clemens. In the report Brian McNamee, Roger Clemens’... more ›

Nineteen-year-old Kevin Brown was senteced to 3 1/2 years in prison for his brutal attack on two Chinese teenagers in Queens. Last summer, Brown and a friend, Paul Heavey, drove up next to a Lexus driven by Raymond Liang, John Lu and other Chinese friends. Brown and Heavey shouted slurs at them and rammed their car into the Lexus. more ›

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/443517p-373548c.html more ›

-Mets 3 Nationals 1: New York couldn’t break through against Washington starter, Tony Armas, Jr., but scored single runs off of the Nationals’ bullpen in the seventh, eighth and ninth for the victory. Michael Tucker homered on the first pitch he saw in the eighth to break the tie and Billy Wagner took over for Darren Oliver and got his 28th save of the season. more ›

Baseball has a wacky transaction system. Yesterday the Yankees offered Bernie Williams arbitration, but only because they knew he would decline it. Why the apparent waste of time? Because without the offer, the Yankees would have lost negotiating rights to Bernie and if Bernie had accepted he would have been in line for a salary near ten million dollars for 2006. So, the Yankees and Bernie have until January 8th to make a deal. Even if they do, Bernie won’t be back as a starter and a certain, hairy, centerfielder may take his place. more ›

It was a season of lows and highs from an 11-19 start to 95 wins and a playoff spot the Yankees gave their fans a story with many twists and turns in 2005. There was the emergence of Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang and the painful decline of Bernie Williams. In the end, the Yankees couldn’t keep the momentum they had built in September going and fell to the Angels in five games. more ›

Maybe all Randy Johnson needed was to be angry when he pitched. He came to New York and angrily pushed a cameraman. After that day in February, the Randy Johnson of 2004 seemed to disappear and a mediocre forty-one year old pitcher took his place. This week, Randy Johnson got angry again and the results were impressive. Johnson flirted with a no-hitter and stuck out eleven batters Tuesday night as the Yankees beat the Twins 4-0. more ›

The Yankees can’t wait to escape from California. They may have the dumbest name in baseball, but the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim can play baseball and on Saturday night they thumped the Yankees for the third straight game, this time winning 8-6. more ›

Monday’s game was a microcosm of the Yankees’ season, not pretty but ultimately effective. It took them almost four hours, but in the end the Yankees outlasted the Rangers 11-10. As a result, the Yankees are back in first place for the first time since April. more ›

The Yankees may be taking this idea of developing their farm system a little too seriously. Forced to start Tim Redding and Darrell May in the past week, the Yankees turned to prospect, Al Leiter, to pitch Sunday night. Since leaving the Yankees sixteen years ago, Leiter had won 148 games and three World Series. Sunday night he stymied the Red Sox leading the Yankees to a 5-3 victory while striking out a season-high eight. more ›

Don’t look now, but the Yankees are winning again. Friday night they dispatched the Indians 5-4 and currently sit in second place, 3 1/2 games behind the disgruntled Boston Red Sox. Friday’s victory was due to solid, but not spectacular pitching from rookie, Chien-Ming Wang. Wang raised his record to 6-3 and has become an integral part of this team. With Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright all on the disabled list, the Yankees will be counting on Wang heavily in the second half of the season. more ›

For those of you who thought the low-point of the 2005 Yankee season was losing three out of four games to the Devil Rays, guess again. The Kansas City Royals, winners of only 26 percent of their games before this series, completed a three game sweep of the Yankees Thursday night with a 5-2 victory. For the series, the Yankees managed to score a total of six runs against a pitching staff with an ERA of 5.44. more ›

Kevin Brown continued his resurgence, pitching seven innings for his fourth straight win. Since getting bombed by the Devil Rays on May 6th, Brown has gone 4-0 with an ERA of 2.16. Gothamist isn’t ready to trust Brown after last October, but perhaps he has finally turned a corner. more ›

What seemed like a routine victory changed in the bottom of the seventh when Tigers’ pitcher, Franklyn German, hit Alex Rodriguez. It may have been a message since A-Rod had already hit two home runs, it may not have been, but for the first time in a long time, the Yankees responded. Paul Quantrill waited until he had two outs in the eighth and then threw a pitch behind Jason Smith. After both benches were warned, Quantrill wound up and hit Smith in the back, earning himself and Joe Torre an ejection from the game. Quantrill blamed his sudden onset of wildness on the wet conditions, but Gothamist was glad to see the Yankee pitchers stand up for their hitters. The Yankee batters have been hit far too often since Roger Clemens left town and perhaps Tuesday’s retaliation is a sign that had better stop. more ›

Tino Martinez did not homer in the game, snapping his streak at five straight games. It had been the longest streak by a Yankee since Don Mattingly tied the MLB record by homering in eight straight games in 1987. Jason Giambi was given a surprising start at DH and managed to a single in the ninth inning. Giambi, who refused a demotion to the minors earlier in the week, also struck out twice and is hitting .198. Joe Torre seems inclined to stick with him, even with Bernie Williams on the bench and Ruben Sierra on the way. more ›

Tino Martinez continued his torrid May, hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive game and bringing his average up to .346 for the month. Tino’s resurgence has been a big plus for the Yankees because Jason Giambi continues to slump. Giambi is hitless since April 28th and seems afraid to swing the bat. With his average down to .195, Giambi, Joe Torre and GM, Brian Cashman, met to discuss their options before the game. While it is rumored that sending Giambi to the minors was mentioned during the meeting, none of the parties would confirm it. It is clear that something has to change for Giambi and maybe escaping the pressures of New York for Columbus, OH, would allow him to clear his head and get back to baseball. Then again, it is possible that he isn’t a major league caliber player without using steroids and what we have seen so far is the best we will. more ›

Brown’s and Mussina’s gems could not have come at a better time. Mussina snapped a four-game losing streak that included three losses to Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay!) and a sloppy 6-3 loss to Oakland on Friday night. Still, Gothamist needs to see more. The A’s line-up is hardly potent, especially with Eric Chavez, its best hitter, hitting .190. Still, Tampa Bay’s line-up is not fearsome, yet it still managed to torch Brown in his previous start. These starts are baby steps for the Yankees. For a team that is now six games under .500, those are the only steps they can take. more ›

Lost in the glare of A Rod’s amazing performance was another solid outing by Carl Pavano. Pavano mixed and matched his pitches and while he was not overpowering, his stuff was good enough when it had to be; especially in the fifth inning when he escaped from a second and third, no one out and reigning MVP Vlad Guerrero at the plate situation by only allowing one run. more ›

Rookie, Andy Phillips, was the offensive star of the game, going 2-4 with a home run while driving in four runs. Phillips, who had spent time on the bench earlier this season, was recalled from Columbus Friday to replace Ruben Sierra who will be out four to six weeks. With Tino Martinez and Jason Giambi struggling, perhaps Phillips will get more playing time over the next month. He certainly earned another look based on his performance Sunday. more ›

On the other side of the ledger, perhaps Texas’ Chris Young should inherit the moniker of “Big Unit”. Young, at 6’10”, is as tall as Randy Johnson and certainly pitched like him tonight, limiting the Yankees to four hits while striking out seven. The Yankee offense could never get on track and managed only two extra base hits against a mediocre pitching staff. more ›

To make matters worse for the Yankees, owner, George Steinbrenner vented his frustration publicly after the game issuing a statement saying, “Enough is enough. I am bitterly disappointed as I’m sure all Yankee fans are by the lack of performance by our team. It is unbelievable to me that the highest-paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk. They are not playing like true Yankees. They have the talent to win and they are not winning. I expect Joe Torre, his complete coaching staff and the team to turn this around.” more ›

The Yankee offense collected only five hits total. One week into the season, the Yankees are hitting .262 as a team with Jason Giambi, Tino Martinez and Bernie Williams all hitting under .200. Getting those three going will be a big focus for Hitting Coach, Don Mattingly, over the next few games. more ›

For Yankee fans, Opening Night 2005 could not have come soon enough. A brutal winter, the anticipation of seeing Randy Johnson in pinstripes and the disappointment left over from last year’s collapse, have created an urgency among the fans to see their team play ball. more ›

Wells has always been a fan favorite at Yankee Stadium, but with his antics, he could be a perfect target for the bleacher creatures. Pitching perfect games drunk, wearing Babe Ruth's hat during a game and asking for his number, getting in fights, being so round that his uniform is hardly buttoned. more ›

NYC will lose about $40 million due to the loss of economy of not having the World Series. And Mets fans are a bit gleeful. And the folks at Mickey Mantle's restaurant have - gasp - temporarily renamed their establishment "Ted Williams'". No joke - we saw it on Fox 5. A pyschologist tells the Post that Yankees fans should not wallow in sadness but rather go outdoors, go to the gym, have a cup of tea to relax; the shrink is from L.A., so Gothamist has our own suggestions for Yankees fans: Support the St. Louis Cardinals, though wearing red could be confusing (Red Sox and Cardinals seem different, but we don't know their Pantone colors). Rent The Pride of the Yankees, which shows it's not just about winning - it's about surviving. Pray Steinbrenner and Cashman make some good moves and not just add more $$$ to payroll. Think football, with the Jets and Giants doing well so far. more ›

...It just lays down and loses four straight games to its biggest rivals. In the span of four days, the Yankees managed to lose four games to become the first team in baseball post season history to be up three games to none and lose a seven game series. Gotta give credit where credit is due, the Red Sox have guts and they pulled off a miraculous series of wins. The biggest comeback and the biggest collapse in baseball history. You have to wonder though, where did the Yankees vaunted comeback ability go? Where did Mr. Everything/Mr. Clutch/Mr. Captain Derek Jeter go? He hit .200 with one extra base hit. Nothing quite like a lead off man who doesn't set the table. more ›

When did it become acceptable to act like a jackass and risk the safety of the players and umpires on playing field by throwing baseballs onto the field. It's one thing to express your displeasure with a call by booing or even cursing, but there was no excuse for the Yankee "fans" that threw balls onto the field in the 8th inning of last night's game. Those that threw the balls last night are no different than Giant fans who threw packed snowballs onto the field in 1995. They deserve to lose season ticket rights and be brought up on charges. The fans at Yankee stadium may not have had the benefit of instant replay, but that is no excuse. What would happen if someone in the upper deck threw a ball that landed in a field level seat? The actions of a few, ruined what was a well played baseball game, and how the real fans are perceived. To the "fan" that Fox 5 reported threw his cell phone onto the field, you're the not only a jackass, but stupid too. more ›

Clearly, we were looking to work in some homonyms today. Too bad they aren't playing the Twins anymore. Anyway, last night, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 31 (box score). The Yankees now lead the best of seven series two games to none. While Pedro Martinez has proclaimed the Yankees are his daddies, his performance last night wasn't all that bad. He threw for six innings, giving up four hits and three runs. His counterpart on the Yankees pitched superbly. more ›