Only 3 Games Into The Season And The Yankees Are Already Cheating

That is probably some sort of record, right?  I actually happen to think that this story is not a big deal at all, but I have to start the Yankee-hating posts at some point right?

From the Deadspin article:

For this, we have to thank dogged investigative journalist Keith Olbermann, or at least his Tweeted photo of a Yankees employee behind home plate flashing hand signals to hitters in the on-deck circle. It made news, and MLB was forced to give Brian Cashman a call to gently remind them that that's a no-no.

"Communicating pitch types, pitch speed, through hand signals, is prohibited," the spokesman said after looking at the photo. "We're going to call them to remind them what the rule says. It could all be perfectly innocent - some clubs don't trust what's on the scoreboard."

Friday Wrap Up: There Will Be No Football This Weekend

There will be no football this weekend for the first time in a long time.  We have the Super Bowl next weekend and that's it.  What are we going to do to pass the time?? 

Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Sarah Shahi is here to help take us into the weekend though, and that should help soften the blow.  She's got this new show on USA called Fairly Legal that looks decent, but I haven't had time to check it out yet.  Maybe I'll get to that this weekend sometime, since there won't be any football.

1. Royals pitcher Gil Meche is retiring from baseball, and giving back the last $12m of his contract to the Royals.  This story is pretty amazing, not to mention very refreshing to hear.  An modern athlete that is not out for every dollar he can get?  Pretty few and far between these days.  Tyler Kepner has a story in the New York Times that is a great read. 

But Meche knew the Royals really signed him to start games and log innings. His deteriorating shoulder, surgically repaired twice in 2001, would not allow him to do that. As a divorced father of three, he believed his children — ages 7, 5 and 3 — needed him more than his teammates did.

Meche told the Royals’ general manager, Dayton Moore, that he did not want any of the paycheck due him. No settlement, no buyout, no strings. The Royals had been roundly criticized for signing Meche in the first place — he was 55-44 with a 4.65 earned run average in six seasons for the Mariners — and Meche believed they had already paid him enough.