1. So now Alex Rodriguez joins Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter and Jose Molina on the sprain/strain train, and you ask again: Just how many injuries would the Yankees have if Joe Girardi had not put them such a grueling camp? If Joe Torre were still here and the Yanks were suffering these injuries we would be again talking about if he is out of touch with modern workout regimens. So it is only fair, at this point, to wonder if Girardi and the rest of the organization have any clue. But the bigger concern for the Yanks should be this: They just got into a four-year deal with an older, heavy workload catcher (Posada) and a 10-year deal with Rodriguez. Up until now both Posada and Rodriguez have shown incredible durability. But the Yanks can be assured that they have bought what is almost certain to be not only decline years in production, but decline years in health, as well.
2. The Mets have a glaring problem three weeks into the season and that problem is named Carlos Delgado. It would be easier to ignore Delgado’s 0-for-12 against the Phillies or his .200 batting average and .292 slugging percentage had he not endured such a poor 2007 or if he were not 36 and giving off such creaky signs. But this cannot be ignored. Delgado is to the Mets what Mike Mussina is to the Yankees: A once standout player whose current organization is hoping he can recapture just a piece of his past to survive the season competently. In both cases, the early evidence is not good at all. It is becoming more and more evident that the Mets are going to have to address that issue as this season goes along by either limiting Delgado’s at-bats or going all Frank Thomas on him and just releasing him. Then the question will become who picks up the at-bats in Delgado’s absence.
3. Ned Thompson was a first responder for the New York Police Department on Sept. 11, 2001. He worked the bucket brigade for weeks at Ground Zero. Despite being a non-smoker, Ned died on March 9 at age 39 of lung cancer, almost certainly caused by his selfless work near the fallen towers. He was survived by a wife and four daughters, all eight years old or younger. I am telling you this because there is a fundraiser a week from tonight, April 28, for Ned Thompson. It is at the Gallway Hooker restaurant at 7 E. 36th Street in Manhattan between 6-10 p.m. Baseball New York is strongly supporting this effort. Brian Cashman had sent Ned a signed baseball and a letter in the weeks before his passing that was said to bring him great happiness in his final days, and the Yankees are sending memorabilia to be auctioned off. The Mets donated an autographed Tom Seaver baseball. And Bobby Valentine, who was so involved in the post-tragedy efforts, sent autograph items from Japan that included a 2000 World Series program and a T-shrit commemorating his Chiba Lotte Marines 2005 pennant. If you can’t make the auction, there is a trust fund set up for Ned’s girls:
Trust for the Benefit of Edward D. Thompson Children
35 Edgewood Ave.
Little Silver, N.J. 07739.