Good morning, good afternoon or good evening to you my friends. It's been nearly two months, but welcome to this off-season/Christmas Eve edition of the Gospel According to "L". I first want to wish my fellow Christians a Merry and safe Christmas, and my Jewish friends a Happy Belated Hanukkah. For the rest of you - Happy Kwanza, Boxing Day, etc. As long as you don't celebrate Death to America Day, may you have a happy holiday. Well, as I said it's been a while so let's see if I remember how to do this well. We're going talk a bit about the Jason Giambi situation, why Carl Pavano is better than Pedro Martinez, the possibility (yes it's still there) of Randy Johnson coming to the Boogie Down Bronx, and some other stuff.

Now before I begin, I just want to let you know that the instance the Yankees' 2005 regular season schedule is available, I will post it right here on the website. If a schedule is only partial I never post it until it is complete. All I do know is that the Yankees will visit Miller Park in June - so there's your sneak preview. I also want to give my premature congratulations to the District of Columbia and the Washington Nationals - baseball will finally be back where it belongs if all 30 owners approve the deal - lighten the hell up Angelos, you still have your territory! Hey DC, Merry Christmas baby! Anyway let's get this bad boy underway.

I want to begin with something that happened three weeks ago. What was that you ask? Jason Giambi's admission of steroid use. As you know Jason admitted that was indeed doping back in 2003. According to the report, he obtained most of these drugs from Barry Bonds' personal trainer: Greg Anderson - a real sleazeball. The next day Bonds had no choice but to confess his usage - friends you talk about a smoking gun, this gun was producing thick black smoke! Giambi said he was injecting a human growth hormone (hGH) in his stomach and testosterone in his behind! If that wasn't sick enough - he was also placing drops of a liquid they call "the clear" under his tongue and rubbing some kind of testosterone balm called "the cream" on his body. The latter two are supposedly undetectable in drug tests and hGH is not banned by Major League Baseball, but that's not the point now is it? Even before that, he was using a steroid he obtained at a Las Vegas gym called Deca Durabolin (a.k.a. nandrolone decanoate.) I looked it up on the Yahoo! search engine while doing some research, and there were a couple of websites actually selling this garbage to the public! One website stated that it comes in dosages from 50mg to 300mg, that it has minimal side effects (if you believe that I got a bridge over in Kings County I want to sell you), and that it stays in the system for up to 18 months! That's a year-and-a-half! Is it really worth it? I ask you.

You know when I first heard Giambi admitting the truth, I wasn't really surprised and there was a thought that came into my mind. It's no wonder he developed that tumor in his pituitary gland. Now Giambi also said that if he knew it was illegal he would never have done it. Hey Jason, how about it being immoral? There can be a difference between illegal and immoral. Alcohol and porn are legal, but are they moral? No, of course not! What Giambi and Bonds were basically doing was cheating their way to the top! If anything every major sport on this planet should ban any performance-enhancing drug available and test athletes every week! What does this say to a kid who wants to be a pro baseball player? Hey if Barry Bonds or Jason Giambi used it, I can too. Way back when, I'm sure even in ancient Greece, athletes trained naturally, and if they excelled in their sport, it was truly a great accomplishment. Now we have athletes using garbage. Forget the fact that they're basically cheating (just like the ho Gary Sheffield married), they're setting themselves up for a rotten future health-wise. Do you have any idea how horrible the side effects of this garbage are? Some are silly, but others are the type you wouldn't wish on your worst enemies. Palpitations, retaining water (often in the neck and face), impotence (imagine a world with no Viagra,) acne, gynecomastia - in other words, men developing boobs! What else: heart disease - the leading cause of death in this country, the shrinking of testicles (isn't that nice, in order to get big muscles your nuts shrink), liver disease, etc. Not only that - there's also a heavy risk of cancer. Let me tell you this friends - when you use crap like this, you're playing Russian roulette. Every time you inject or ingest any kind of steroids, you're pointing that gun to your head and eventually the bullet will penetrate the body!

Two more points on this issue then we'll move on. First off there were reports that the Yankees were thinking of voiding Giambi's large contract - that's just a pipe dream. First off, that contract is so large that the matter could actually get tied up in court, and knowing a big star like Giambi, he'd have himself at least two or three good lawyers. Second, who will you replace him with? Tino Martinez? Listen, I enjoyed his six seasons in a Yankee uniform and what he did for us, and he is a gold-glove caliber first baseman (robbed in 1999 by scumbag writers who were probably paid off - it wouldn't surprise me if it were true), but his good days are probably past him. Then again, Giambi's are too more than likely. But who's to say Giambi won't sign with another team and put up large numbers without these drugs? Something to think about. The second point I want to raise is that there are some people talking about erasing the records set by Barry Bonds and some of Giambi's numbers - this is plain out stupid. Maybe we should void some of Pete Rose's managerial wins since he gambled on his team, or how about the 1919 World Series where eight White Sox players took money to throw the series to Cincinnati? Maybe we should eliminate Mark McGwire's 70-homerun season back in '98 since he was using something called androstenedione (andro for short.) You know, as bad as people like Darryl Strawberry and Steve Howe were with illegal drugs, at least they never used this garbage. All right, let's move on.

Ok I want to now talk a bit about the whole situation involving Randy Johnson. At this current moment the Yankees, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers were supposed to be involved in a three-way deal that would send the Big Unit to the Yanks, while Javy Vazquez, Dioner Navarro and another Yankee prospect would go to the Dodgers, and Shawn Green and some prospects would go to the Snakes. It was on Tuesday night that the Dodgers hauled-a** out of the deal. I still remember - this is kind of funny. I was watching the Knicks get b**ch-slapped by the Dallas Mavericks, and for some reason I turned on ESPN NEWS. There was the little breaking news on the bottom right-hand corner: "Dodgers pull out of Johnson deal, trade dead." I did see ESPN say that the D-Backs might actually keep the Unit for the 2005 season, but fear not, for there is still hope.

Now the reason the trade fell through, as far as I know, is that Javy Vazquez apparently does not want to be traded to the Dodgers. Another reason was that he and Kaz Ishii, who would have become a Yankee, were outside the United States, and both were scheduled to have physicals. Well you can understand - ballplayers don't just take the winter off; they need to keep their skills at a peak, so they play winter ball in other countries. I mentioned earlier that the Snakes said they're not looking for a new third partner and might keep Johnson for the final year of his contract. That's not to say that George Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, Randy Levine and others won't. My friends don't underestimate Steinbrenner - he can be persuasive. Any owner who can make deals with sports franchises overseas surely can make them with teams within North America. He can probably get another team in this deal and convince them to take a Javier Vazquez (more than likely a National League team) and then be able to send some prospects over to Arizona. One team I had in mind was the Nats. On paper their talent is pretty good: Livan Hernandez, Will Cordero, Jose Vidro, and even some recent free agent signings such as Cristian Guzman, Vinny Castilla and Jose Guillen. But that's just one team, surely there are others. And don't forget - Randy Johnson will only waive the no-trade clause in his contract if he is traded to the Yankees and only the Yankees!

Speaking of Vazquez, he recently told reporters in Ponce (his hometown in Puerto Rico) that if the Yankees traded him, get this, they would "regret it." He also said it's not fair to deal him just because he had one bad second half. ˇJavier, no seá bruto! You stunk up the joint in the second half of the season and nearly cost us the division! Javy Vazquez right now has no right to talk at all! If anything, he should be lucky he is still on the roster - right now he's good enough to be the Yankees' fifth starter!

I will say this: if the Yankees do get Randy Johnson, it will one-up them on the Red Sox. I'm going to talk a little more about other off-season acquisitions later on - both Yankee and Red Sox. The Sox have a rotation that makes last season's look like garbage, wait until you see. Speaking of the Sox, I want to talk a bit about Carl Pavano and Pedro Martinez.

As you know, the Yankees signed Carl Pavano and the Mets signed Pedro Martinez. The beauty of these deals is that both New York teams sign away two pitchers the Sox badly wanted to sign but couldn't. The Metropolitans signed Pedro to a four-year $54 million contract, while the Bombers signed Pavano to a four-year, nearly $40 million contract - as you can plainly see, both men become free agents after 2008. The Red Sox traded Pavano in 1997 to Montreal in exchange for Pedro. Both men are switching leagues and both men have each won a World Series in the past two seasons. Now here are some of the differences.

Carl Pavano on opening day will be 29; Pedro is and will be 33. Pavano is in the peak of his career, while Pedro is more than likely in the beginning stages of the good old washed-up status. I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm just being the messenger - trust me Met fans, I've seen Pedro more often than you have. Carl Pavano eats up innings, while Pedro can only go so far before melting down - remember game 7 of the 2003 ALCS and even game 5 of the '04 ALCS? Now I'm not saying the Mets got screwed or anything like that, I mean I'm sure Pedro could win no less than 15 games in the Met rotation, however I'm just glad the Yankees got Pavano instead.

Pedro will more than likely benefit from a league where there is no DH present. One major reason is that you can take a pitcher out of a ballgame in the NL more often without having to see your manager pay a visit to the mound, unlike the AL. In the NL, pitchers can be taken out simply by pinch-hitting for them in the number nine spot, and as you know in the AL, pitchers do not come to the plate with a bat. Pedro is a better fit for the Mets rather than the Yankees. It's bad enough the Bombers' bullpen got overworked in 2004, with Pedro starting every five days it would have half it's members opting for an early retirement. One more reason Carl Pavano is a better fit for the Yanks than Pedro Martinez: Pavano's heart has always been with the Yankees. He grew up about 20 minutes from Hartford with a family that included diehard Yankee fans. I did hear somebody say the Yankees are in trouble if Pavano's name is associated with Javy Vazquez' from 2004. I'm not so sure Pavano will have the same trouble and I'll tell you why. He is a power pitcher while Vazquez is a sinker pitcher. Vazquez struggled in the second half of last season, while Pavano has a history of pitching well in the second half. Why do you think the Sox wanted to sign him so badly? Well, I hope I've convinced you, but then again, that should be up to one person: Carl Pavano. All right, one more topic then we're done.

Now I want to finish up with a look at some of the other hot stove moves not mentioned above. The Yankees have signed Jaret Wright and Tony Womack, as well as acquired Mike Stanton and Felix Rodriguez in trades. Gone so far are Jon Lieber, El Duque, Felix Heredia (thank God), Kenny Lofton, John Olerud, Travis Lee (we hardly knew ye) and Tony Clark. Of those I just mentioned, I'm really happy with those of Stanton and Womack. The Yankees have lacked a good lefty reliever since Stanton left for the Mets after 2002 - well that wrong has been righted. Womack is a good second baseman who can get on base and steal bases. Just imagine Chuck Knoblauch and Homer Bush being merged into one person - that's Tony Womack. He's probably not going to steal 70 bases like he did back in 1999, but he is a threat when he is on base. I liked Miguel Cairo very much, but I think Womack's a big upgrade. He is no Alfonso Soriano, but he is good enough.

Now the acquisition of Felix Rodriguez for Kenny Lofton is not one that troubles me, so much as that I cannot comment on it. I haven't seen him enough to form an opinion on his pitching, and sometimes numbers can be deceptive. Now Jaret Wright is a question mark for one big reason: in his last American League stint, he was horrible. Now he did have a good season last year with the Braves: he went 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA and 159 strikeouts in a little over 186 innings - that's not too bad. But can he do the same thing in the American League? He only proved it in his first season with the Indians, and after that he was awful. They do say his attitude has changed and that he is nicer now than he was when he started. Let's see how all this works out.

The Red Sox have a brand new rotation: David Wells, Matt Clement and Wade Miller. Wells and Miller are scary if healthy, and Clement is a good pitcher with power. The Sox also signed Edgar Renteria, who made the final out in the 2004 World Series and was the 1997 World Series hero. If you want to tick off a Tribe fan, just mention the name Edgar Renteria. I wonder, when the Sox visit the Jake, who'll get booed louder - Renteria or Manny Ramirez? This after all the crap they spoke about when they said "if we don't win the World Series in 2004, we'll never win it." They lose Pedro and Orlando Cabrera, and they deal away Dave Roberts, who was the main reason why the Sox did not get swept by the Yankees, yet they have a pitching staff that's better this season and a shortstop who is better. Anyway, the Braves just got themselves Tim Hudson and the Cardinals got Mark Mulder. A's fans, the pipe dream is over - get used to being terrible again. The Tigers signed Troy Percival away from the Angels, while the Diamondbacks signed Troy Glaus and Russ Ortiz to four-year huge contracts, yet they cannot afford to keep Randy Johnson. Something tells me Jerry Colangelo's not telling the truth here. I mentioned that Renteria signed with the Sox, well Cabrera signed with the Halos while David Eckstein signed with the Cardinals - a three-team trade without Bud Selig's approval. The only other big deals I can think of at this time are J.D. Drew signing with the Dodgers, the Halos signing Steve Finley, the Braves acquiring Danny Kolb from Milwaukee to allow John Smoltz back into the rotation. Richard Hidalgo leaves the Mets to go back to Texas - only this time with the Rangers and Al Leiter leaves to go back to the Marlins. Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre both signing with the Mariners, while the Dodgers sign Jeff Kent.

Derek Lowe is still out on the block, as are Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. From what I understand, two teams are really going after Lowe - the Dodgers and his hometown Tigers. Delgado could be heading either to the Orioles or the Mets, and you know the story with Beltran. Carlos Beltran's agent is Scott Boras, and you know he has an excellent relationship with Steinbrenner and co. Now there are three possible scenarios for Beltran: a) he signs with the Mets, which is unlikely b) he re-signs with the Astros, which could be likely or c) he signs with the Yankees, which is highly likely. Steinbrenner could offer something to the liking of Beltran and Boras (killer B's, heh) and he would become the new starting centerfielder for the Bronx Bombers. If you want to convince him to become a Yankee, all you have to do is mention the following things: 26 World Championships, 39 Pennants, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Doesn't get any easier than that. All right I'm going to stop right there, if I don't talk to you again before 2004 is over, have a good holiday and a safe New Year, and please stay off the road if you're going to drink. I'll see you again probably in 2005.