First posted on Tuesday, July 19

While other teams in the AL East sit and watch the transaction wire, the New York Yankees make moves and release dead weight in a New York minute.

Al Leiter is just the latest example. Whether it be getting rid of Steve Karsay, Mike Stanton or Paul Quantrill, or making a trade for Leiter, GM Brian Cashman will waste no time in changing the face of this $200 million team. Time is money, and wasting time is losing ground to the competition.

While the Orioles try to get A.J. Burnett, and the Red Sox trade for light-hitting Alex Cora and miss out on Bret Boone, Cashman picked up Leiter for a player to be named later and some cash. This may not sound like much now, but it's little moves you make like Theo Epstein did last year that can win you a championship. No one knows that better then the Yankees. It was the Dave Roberts stolen base in Game 4 of The ALCS that broke the Yanks' back last year. And it was Leiter who beat the Sox this past weekend to help the Bombers take three out of four in Boston.

You may ask, why Al Leiter? He's old and wasn't pitching worth a damn in Florida. But I say it's a great move.

Leiter started his career in New York when he was 21 back in 1987 and made 22 starts over two-plus seasons before going to Toronto. Then he pitched in New York with the Mets from 1998-2004, so he is well aware of the pressure and circumstance of being in a New York uniform. Plus, he's won world championships with Toronto and Florida and tried to get one with the Mets, so he's postseason ready for sure.

What I also like about the 39-year-old (we played together in Florida in 1996 when I was hurt all year, my last in the big leagues) is that this is a shot in the arm, a chance at one last shot at glory, and there are few players I respect more then Al. He's always prepared, always attacking the hitter with every pitch, and one of the proudest players I've been around, so if he doesn't have his stuff some nights, you can bet he'll try and beat you with his heart. He's a tough son of a b---- and there's no better player to have around when you need someone to lead.

One last thing, along with Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, and when Carl Pavano comes back, Leiter's addition will give the Yankees four pitchers in their rotation who have won championships. And I like those odds when the postseason starts.

Gary Sheffield is the first but he won't be the last to say that he won't risk his livelihood on early spring games.

The 16 team, 18 day World Baseball Classic is great in theory but will have many problems as MLB tries to make it work. Cuba has come out and said, that if this competition is a capitalization of baseball it will not participate. The Japanese Major Leagues has accepted, but their players association has not. Alex Rodriguez said he would love to play for the Dominican Republic, but minutes later was told by Commissioner Bud Selig, it's not his decision to make. These are just a few of the early problems getting these games off the ground.

The Major League Baseball Players association has said, they will require pitch counts. Here's my take.

Yes, I love the fact that baseball wants to go global, but no, the timing is terrible. Having a tournament in the middle of spring training is going to cause many players to decline and many teams to hold their breath while their players, which they pay millions of dollars to, participate in an event that holds NO rewards for them.

Just like winter baseball in many countries, once players have achieved some success in our Major Leagues, their teams ask them to stop playing, 1) because they don't want the player to risk injury and 2) teams want their players to have enough off-season as possible, and to save their best baseball for the MLB Championship Season.

These will be some of the major problems facing MLB as they ask players, 1) who are not in tip-top shape and 2) could be coming off season-ending surgery or some injury that hurt their production the year before. Listen, if I'm an owner, and I pay you to work and play for me, do I want you risking any type of injury that will hurt my teams chances that year? Also, do I want you wasting your pitches, or your energy on a tournament that gets me nothing in return?

And this might be the biggest reason - we are trying to get ready for a long, 185 day, 162 game season and possible playoff games. Some of our team is playing in this tournament, and some of us are playing spring training games, and all of us are not together for 18 days, and possibly longer depending on if you go to the final rounds?

Any activities, whether it be flag football or water skiing are written into players' contracts to protect them from harm. Why is it when it helps MLB it's OK for the same players to risk harm when they and the teams get nothing in return...

If I'm a player and or an owner, I say no thanks, if you won't stop the season for the Olympics, then don't stop spring training for The World Baseball Classic.

Baseball wants the All-Star game to have meaning? I don't get it.

If the game means so much, why are some of baseball's best players not in the game?

Derek Jeter just lost out on the internet vote to Scott Podsednik. That never should have happened. And Michael Young is more deserving than Jeter??? Don't make me laugh.

If I were starting a team right now, the first player I'd take would be Jeter. No one is more clutch in big games than him, no other shortstop in baseball has more championships, and no other shortstop has to play in a tougher media town.

You'll never find a better person to represent baseball than Derek Jeter. His numbers easily warrant him being in Detroit, and the fact that he had to be on the list of five players that had to beg for votes is a disgrace to the game.

First, the fact that home-field advantage is decided by this game is a joke.

Second, can you imagine an NBA All-Star game without Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson? Neither can I, and Jeter is the Jordan of baseball.

Third, if this game means so much to the outcome of the World Series, then put the best players out there on the field and forget the "player from every team" concept. Some teams don't have All-Stars, and fans don't want to see those players anyway, especially if they don't deserve it.

If you want to do that stupid internet vote, let the fans of those non-deserving players vote their player onto the team, that way, when some team doesn't have a player, only the fans are to blame. The All-Star game is a joke, especially when the best players are not going to be there.

Derek Jeter is better than the All-Star game. It makes me sick that he won't be there.