Thanks to @Jonathan_Gantt

I don’t know whether to say this is cool or just plain creepy.

I mean I love Don Zimmer but come on, this is just weird.

The Tampa Bay Rays plan to hand out the Zim Bear to fans attending the June 29 game against the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field.

What do you think of this giveaway?

Chavez hit .263 with two homers and 26 RBIs last year for the Yanks. The six-time Gold Glove winner only played in 58 games after he suffered a broken bone in his left foot.

His deal is subject to him passing a physical.

This is a great move for the Yanks. Chavez is a veteran with a lot of invaluable experience. Last year he came in and did his job but he is always an injury risk. To think what his career could be like if he weren’t injured so many times in his career.

Hopefully he can stay healthy and have a successful year for the Yanks, in what will probably be his final season as a major leaguer.

Abreu told ESPNDeportes Tuesday that he would like to be traded if he isn’t going to be an everyday player he wants out, “I’m an everyday player; I can still be in the lineup for a major league team,” Abreu said. “I will not be on the bench knowing that I can play. If the Angels don’t have a position for me, then the best thing is to trade me.”

The Angels however, look at Abreu as insurance “in case Kendrys Morales doesn’t return from a broken left ankle and Mark Trumbo is slow to return from a stress fracture in his right foot,” the Times reports.

Abreu, who will earn $9 million this season, is coming off a season that saw him taken out of the outfield and put nearly solely into the designated hitter spot.

Last season Abreu batted .253 with eight home runs, 21 stolen bases and 60 RBIs in his new role but his DH spot isn’t likely to still be there this season.

Currently the Angels’ DH spot is expected to be filled by Morales and Trumbo while the outfield is filled up with veterans Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells, and speedster Peter Bourjos.

I still think Abreu can be everyday player and would like to see him given the chance. I am not sure who is in need of a DH or outfielder though. I could have seen him as the Yankees DH spot but now they have Raul Ibanez.

Do you have any thoughts about where you think he could land?

Chapman will be given the opportunity to earn a spot in the rotation as the Reds want to get as much out of the $30 million investmant as possible.

“We are going to stretch him out,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We are going to see if there is enough time and he can do it. If there isn’t enough time or quality, we can send him back to the bullpen.”

Chapman was scheduled to pitch in the Arizona Fall League as a starter, and then in one of the Puerto Rican winter leagues, but shoulder soreness canceled those plans.

“We would have the answers by now,” Baker said, “if things went according to plan.”

Chapman now only has the spring to prove he is starter material.

“I worked hard all winter to get myself mentally and physically prepared to be a starter,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “I have been here for 2 1-2 weeks to be prepared.”

If he is doesn’t show that he is starter ready, Baker and the Reds have a few backup plans.

“A lot depends on how he does, but it also depends on our needs,” the manager said. “If he doesn’t make the rotation, we could send him to (Triple-A) Louisville. But I wouldn’t be opposed to having three lefthanders in our bullpen.”

Chapman seems like he is ready to put in the work to prove he is a starter but will be fine with either decision.

“If they make the decision to put me in the bullpen,” he said, “I will continue to work hard to prove that I can be a starter and work all the innings they want me to.”

Chapman is the only left handed option that the reds have for the rotation but he still needs to prove he is ready.

“You prefer a lefty in your rotation, but you want to go with your five best starters,” Baker said. “A good righty is better than a bad lefty.”

My money is that they will use Chapman as a starter at some point but best decision is to have him as a spot starter and relief duty to begin the season and prove he is ready for the responsibility that comes with being a major league starter.

Manager Eric Wedge announced Tuesday that he will move Suzuki from his normal leadoff spot down to No. 3 in the Mariners batting order. Wedge is planning to make Suzuki’s move permanent and he said he will figure out who is Seattle’s best option to take over in the leadoff role.

“I’ve done a lot of thinking about it this winter. … Bottom line, it’s for us to have the best lineup 1 through 9 out there,” Wedge said. “I want our lineup to be extended. I think our best opportunity is for Ichiro to be hitting third for us.”

It’ll be the first time in his career that Suzuki will be somewhere permanently other than the leadoff spot but, he’s coming off the worst year of his career in the U.S., hitting just .272. It was the first time he’s failed to hit at least .300.

The first option to replace Suzuki will most likely be former Angel’s leadoff hitter, Chone Figgins, although Wedge said he’s not set on his Nos. 1 and 2. Figgins has been terrible since coming over from the Los Angeles Angels. Figgins is coming off an injury-shortened 2011 season which saw him hit .188.

“I’m confident Figgins can get back to his old self as a leadoff hitter,” Wedge said. “That’s when he was the Figgins that produced, that got on base, that scored runs, that was a pain for opposing teams when he did lead off for Anaheim.”

“I invoked his name today in front of everyone when we had our team meeting with our pitchers and catchers,” Cashman told Kay’s audience. “You always try to point to, ‘Why can’t this be you?’ You say, ‘Hey, look what’s going on in New York with Linsanity.’ We have a number of players in camp that want to be something. They believe they can impact this club.”

In a much more quiet way, last year, Ivan Nova, was much like Lin. He came out of no where and now finds himself in the number 3 spot in the rotation.

Cashman wanted his players to see that, you could be the next Lin or Nova.

“We have 34 pitchers and eight catchers currently in camp. And part of my speech to the whole team was [about] Nova last year. Did anybody think he was going to be a 16-game winner, pitch in the front of our rotation and in one of our playoff games?”

Cashman went on to say,

“[Lin is] an example of hope for a lot of people. For different forms and fashions.”

Yankee fans and Cashman alike, hope that they can find their own Lin this season.

NBC Sports has an excerpt from the New York Post, claiming that A-Rod is on a special diet, so he only eats food from his special cooler.  He asked the staff at the hotel he was at to heat up his food for him.

That definitely is weirder than having someone cut up your spaghetti.  Or maybe not.  Either way, both A-Rod and LeBron have some serious eating issues.

The four-time Manager of the Year announced his retirement after leading the Cardinals to their 11^th World Series title in franchise history. Every athlete and coach wants to go out on top and La Russa did exactly that.

There was plenty of speculation of what he would do with his time after retiring. Many assumed he would still be around the game of baseball but more as a commentator for ESPN or FOX than anything else. However, La Russa and MLB have something different in mind.

It is unknown exactly what position the two sides are discussing but La Russa has already stated that he will not be taking the position of executive vice president of baseball operations, the job Joe Torre held for the past few seasons, but rather something else. He has hinted that the job could be to engage in special assignments for the people running the baseball operations for MLB.

It is all speculation as of now but it is clear La Russa will not be away from the game for long. It seems he will just have to enjoy his retirement for a few more weeks.

“I’m not missing the baseball side yet,” La Russa said, according to ESPN.

La Russa posted a 2,728-2,365 record over 32 seasons as a major league manager. He won two World Series with the Cardinals (2006, 2011) and one with the Oakland Athletics (1989). He has also won three American League Manager of the Year awards with the Chicago White Sox (1983) and Oakland Athletics (1988, 1992) and a National League Manager of the Year award with St. Louis in 2002.

“[Beltran] wanted me to have a new nose,” Niese [told reporters on Monday]. “So he offered to pay for it. I was just like, ‘All right.’ Then it turned into seeing doctors and to getting it fixed.”

If your wondering if this will affect his performance on the mound, Niese is too.

“It’s helped a lot with my running,” he said. “It helps with my working out. As far as the mound, I’m not sure.”