Reds to enact a Yankees-like facial hair policy in 2014: Report

Taking a page from the New York Yankees playbook, the Cincinnati Reds will institute a stricter facial hair policy for players beginning this season.

Although not as severe as George Steinbrenner's famous edict regarding beards, sideburns and moustaches, new Reds manager Bryan Price likes the idea of "tame" facial growth.

Jamie Ramsey, the Assistant Director of Media Relations for the Reds, tweeted this Friday:

...there's a facial hair policy for the Cincinnati #Reds in 2014. Beards and moustaches are permitted but must be tame. "No Duck Dynasty"
— Jamie Ramsey (@Jamieblog) February 14, 2014

The Yankees are well-known around the league for their rather stringent policies on grooming. Johnny Damon and Kevin Youkilis are just two of baseball’s more hirsute players who had to pick up some razors after signing with the Bombers.

Ramsey added that he believes the new policy isn’t meant to be hard on the players; rather, it is Price wanting to construct a team-first atmosphere.

I guess he didn't see that page from the 2013 Red Sox championship season playbook.

Mets pitcher Collin McHugh makes Twitter joke after sweep of Yankees

Collin McHugh, the young righthander who is scheduled to make his first start of the season for the New York Mets on Saturday, rubbed a little salt into the already wounded New York Yankees after his team took all four games of the Subway Series this weekend.

McHugh — who didn't even get to look at a Yankee player from the mound during the unbelievable sweep — did all of his bragging on his Twitter account.

“You can call us the NYC Sanitation Dept. because we just SWEPT the yankees from Queens to the Bronx,” McHugh tweeted (@Collin_McHugh) after the game. The tweet appeared to be deleted shortly after.

For the reeling Yankees, it looks like their unfathomable run with a bunch of scrappy fill-ins could have run its course. Hopefully, the cavalry bugles will bleat this weekend against the Boston Red Sox when Kevin Youkilis and Mark Teixeira come back to Yankee Stadium.

R.A. Dickey didn't like Yankees' 'Eye-Gate' stall tactic

R.A. Dickey had just been rocked by Lyle Overbay's two-run homer as the Toronto Blue Jays knuckleballer got ready to throw one of his gimmicky pitches to the next batter. In the New York Yankees bullpen, David Robertson — who had just caught Overbay's dinger — was warming up to preserve the 3-2 Yankees lead.

Out in front of the dugout was that next batter — Eduardo Nunez — who was being treated by trainer Steve Donohue with eye wash. And Dickey didn't like it.

“What had happened, and it was fairly obvious to everyone in our dugout, was that Joe (Girardi) was trying to get (Nunez) to take some extra time so he could get Robertson warmed up in the bullpen,” Dickey said. “(It’s) just gamesmanship on his part.”

Dickey approached plate umpire Chris Conroy to voice his objection. Toronto manager John Gibbons came out of the dugout to ask Conroy about it. Before the debate could get any more heated, Nunez came to bat.

Even before Dickey opened his mouth, Girardi was asked about what was happening and said, “Nunie had something in his eye.”

Told of the accusation, Nunez said, “You can’t predict you’re going to have something in your eyes. It happens. It was only for a moment. Why he said that, I don’t know.”

The Yankees were stuck between a rock and a hard place.  There was no way Nunez was coming out of the game — with only sore Kevin Youkilis waiting as the only replacement infielder — and Girardi wasn't going to take chances on his already thin bench.

Dickey’s ire was more directed at the umpiring crew than at Girardi and the Yankees.

“It’s well within the confines of the rules, it’s just that the umpire needs to have a feel for the game and know what’s going on,” Dickey said. “It’s certainly not Joe’s fault. He’s doing what he can to get his team ready to win the game. It’s the umpire’s responsibility to know what’s going on there.”

The knuckleballer gave up four hits in seven innings but two of them were home runs.  The tough loss dropped Dickey to 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA as the Yankees completed the four-game sweep of their northern neighbors.

Yankees turn rare triple play against Orioles in 5-2 win

The New York Yankees turned a dramatic triple play in the eighth inning of Friday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles in a match-up full of wild plays.

In the seventh inning, Adam Jones dropped Vernon Wells' fly ball while blowing a bubble for a game-changing, three-run error, that helped New York beat the O's, 5-2, for its fourth straight win.

In front of a freezing Yankee Stadium crowd, New York turned the rare triple play after Baltimore started the eighth with two singles off CC Sabathia (2-1), and Manny Machado hit a sharp low liner at second baseman Robinson Cano.

Cano tossed it to shortstop Jayson Nix for the forceout at second. Nick Markakis, thinking the ball was going to be caught by Cano, got trapped in a rundown between second and third base.

Third baseman Kevin Youkilis tagged Markakis and then threw to first baseman Lyle Overbay when Machado ranged too far off the bag. Overbay then threw to Cano, who tagged Machado, setting off a giant celebration by New York.

That is 4-6-5-6-5-3-4 if you’re scoring the game at home and probably the last one like that you'll ever see.

CC Sabathia was superb for the Yankees. The big leftie went eight innings, struck out nine and gave up one earned run.

The last triple play by the Yankees was on April 22, 2010 against the Oakland A's.

Youkilis at Yankees camp: 'I'll never be Alex Rodriguez'

Kevin Youkilis had his first workout with the New York Yankees Thursday and it didn't take long for the A-Rod questions to to be thrown his way.

"I'll never be Alex Rodriguez," the clean-shaven Youkilis said. "He's one of the best hitters of all time.  I can be a good major-league hitter and help this team win."

The Yankees new third baseman arrived at the Yankees' spring training camp from Los Angeles without his old facial hair and with a new batting stance.

Youkilis batted at a minor league complex and in the main facility where he met with manager Joe Girardi and coaches.

Yankees not worried they have oldest starting lineup in MLB

To the surprise of very few, the New York Yankees head into spring training with the oldest average starting lineup in Major League Baseball.  But I don't think anyone thought the gap between first and second place would have such a large discrepancy.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the average age of the Yankees starting lineup they expect to field on Opening Day is 32.9-years-old.  The Philadelphia Phillies come in at second at 30.9 — a full two years younger than the median age of the Bronx Bombers.

That's even after dropping a few years with the 34-year-old Kevin Youkilis replacing an injured 37-year-old Alex Rodriguez at third base.

Elias, and their number-crunching ilk, reports that the average age of the 30 MLB teams' Opening Day lineups across the last 10 years is 29.7. The Yankees haven't seen that number since well ... Derek Jeter had a Fade.

The Texas Rangers come in at third with an average starting lineup of 30.6-years-old while the Kansas City Royals are the babies of the bunch at No. 30 with a median age of 26.0.

The main culprits for the Yankees advanced average age are Ichiro Suzuki, 39, Jeter, 38, Travis Hafner, at 35, and Youkilis — all crucial parts of this year's team.

The additional hairs in the shower drains and ever-growing bottles of Ensure® don't seem to worry general manager Brian Cashman too much.

"I would say you are always concerned about it," he said. "But I am not concerned about it when you look at the alternative.  The alternative is I can get a younger player that isn't very good ... and he won't get hurt, but he isn't going to help."

If that's the case, then the Yankees' arms — with Mariano Rivera, 43, Andy Pettitte, 41, and Hiroki Kuroda, 38, — have years of help to spare too.

Joba still waiting for new Yankee Youkilis to return call

It wasn't long after the New York Yankees had signed Kevin Youkilis to a deal that Joba Chamberlain called his one-time nemesis to welcome him to the Bronx.

Did the former Red Sox player, who Chamberlain had a long-running feud with as their two teams battled in the AL East, ever respond?

"No," the Yankees reliever said Tuesday night at the Baseball Assistance Team fundraiser at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square. "He didn't call me back."

Chamberlain — who was being honored with the Bart Giamatti Award Tuesday — called Youkilis right after the Yankees signed him to a one-year deal back in December.

"It was just, 'I'm glad you're on our team, glad you're on our side and I look forward to seeing you and hopefully we can win one over here for the good guys,'" Chamberlain said he told Youkilis' voicemail.

Youkilis — will be filling in at third base while Alex Rodriguez recovers from hip surgery — left the Yankee reliever hanging.

The two players are not exactly the best of buds — especially after Joba was suspended for two games in 2007 for firing a couple of fastballs over Youkilis' head.  Both players have said that bygones are bygones.

"If it was that big a deal, I wouldn't have been signing with the Yankees.  But I don't think it is that big a deal," said Youkilis after joining the Yankees. "A lot of it is made out within the media and the fans."

Still, it sounds like Chamberlain is getting the silent treatment.

"I'm bound to run into him at some point," Chamberlain said.  "Sooner rather than later, I'm assuming. So we'll see what happens."

Unless Youkilis picks up the old cell phone. Joba might have to wait until Feb. 20 to hug it out with his old rival.  That's when the entire Yankee roster convenes in Tampa.

A-Rod gives thumbs-up after successful hip surgery

Alex Rodriguez looked positively chipper after his hip operation Wednesday and even took time out to post a photo of himself and tell his fans he was ready for rehab.

The New York Yankees third baseman underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum, bone impingement and cyst in his left hip at the Hospital for special Surgery in Manhattan.

A-Rod gave a thumbs up after the procedure and wrote on his Facebook page:

"Surgery went well. The road to recovery officially begins ... looking forward to the challenges ahead."

Rodriguez, who is expected to be out of action at least until the All-Star Game in July, added, "Thank you for all the prayers & well wishes.  I'll admit I'm a little nervous, but I'm in great hands."

In a statement released by the Yankees, the team said that the surgery "went as planned and without any complications."

The Yankees signed former Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis to fill in for A-Rod while he recovers.

A-Rod has 'pre-hab' vacation in Cabo before surgery

Alex Rodriguez is taking a little break at a private villa with girlfriend Torrie Wilson and his two kids before he undergoes hip surgery in mid-January.

The New York Yankees third baseman has made Cabo San Lucas his favorite holiday getaway over the past few years but this time the trip is not all about relaxation.

A-Rod has been reportedly been working out with Wilson twice a day as a sort of "pre-hab" before he undergoes the knife next month, reports The New York Post.

A source told The Post that, "Alex visits the gym every morning and every afternoon for at least an hour each time with his personal trainer, who he has flown in with him.  He is very focused on doing "pre-hab" to prepare himself for surgery, which involves core work to strengthen and improve his recovery time."

The source claims it is Wilson, not surprisingly, who is getting most of the attention for her sculpted body.

"People keep approaching her to ask her for her workout routine and her diet," said the spy.

Wilson's hot bod might just be the thing to keep the punchless A-Rod from thinking about Kevin Youkilis — the Yankees' new replacement at third base while he recovers.

Another source said the couple have been keeping a low profile with friends like George Clooney and his girlfriend Stacey Keibler:

"They haven't been partying, they've been staying in their villa, spending time with the kids and reading a lot."

CC Sabathia really wants a 'Doc McStuffins' doll for Xmas

Someone tell Brian Cashman that the return of Mariano Rivera and the acquisition of Kevin Youkilis as Christmas gifts for CC Sabathia just won't do.

Those two things are only stocking stuffers compared to what the New York Yankees big lefty really wants — a 'Doc McStuffins' doll.

Preschoolers seem to be turning the Disney TV show's animated star into this year's Elmo (minus the rap sheet) and the dolls are about as rare as an A-Rod hit in the playoffs.

And if you are a millionaire major league star and still striking out at the toy store,  fans might want to rethink snagging one of the Doc McStuffins "Time for your Checkup" doll or her plush friend Lambie before they promise one to their kid.

"You can't find them anywhere," CC's wife, Amber, told the New York Daily News. "We were at Toys 'R' Us asking them to look in the back."

Facebook and Twitter have been overrun with desperate shoppers trying to locate the coveted toys before their kids wake up Christmas morning with tears in their eyes.  The $34.99 doll is fetching up to $130 on the social websites.

"It is almost impossible to find Doc McStuffins," said Gerrick Johnson, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets. "My guess is that they didn't have a lot of production lined up for the first year run."

CC might better off shopping for a Catcher McStuffins.  He's going to need a new battery-mate and it might be easier to find.

Youkilis has no problem with old rival, new teammate Joba

For any fans wondering if a little something extra came with Kevin Youkilis' one-year, $12 million deal with the Yankees — namely fireworks between the new Yankees third baseman and his old antagonist Joba Chamberlain — don't count on it.

Yesterday, it sounded like Youkilis — who had officially become a New York Yankee — had put all the bad blood between the two new teammates and familiar old rivals behind him.

"It's not a big deal to me.  If it was that big of a deal, I wouldn't be signing with the Yankees," said Youkilis, who received a voice mail message from Chamberlain and plans to return it.  "A lot of it has been made bigger with the media and fans.  You look at my stats and I have been hit [by a pitch] 99 times.  There have been multiple pitchers who have hit me.  Joba has only hit me once, [last season as a Chicago White Sox].  It's not a big deal.  We are teammates now and we have the same goals of going to spring training and winning."

Much was made of Chamberlain's fastballs zipping perilously close to Youk's head during their days as opponents in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry.  In 2007, Chamberlain threw two times at Youkilis' head and was suspended.  The next season he did it again sending Youkilis to the dirt before he started to charge the mound.  Youkilis' Red Sox teammates restrained him.

"It's not a story, it's one of those things people love to talk about," Youkilis said.  "It's a new teammate and we are going to take the field together.  When he goes out there to pitch hopefully I can play great defense behind him."

Former Red Sox teammate and one-time Yankee foe Johnny Damon eased his friend's trepidation of what it would be like to jump ship from Red Sox Nation to Yankee Universe.

"Johnny said I would love the experience," said Youkilis.  "I never thought I would be on the other side of the rivalry but I felt the New York Yankees were the best fit to try and win another World Series."

Yankees fans have got to love this guy already.

Joba reaches out to new Yankee teammate Youkilis

The biggest stumbling block in the signing of Kevin Youkilis to the New York Yankees might not have been the Indians or the Dodgers, it could have been the Yankees' own Joba Chamberlain.

There's been a lot of bad blood between the two ever since the Yankees' reliever buzzed a couple of 99-mph fastballs past his old Red Sox rival's head during his rookie year in 2007.  The following year, Chamberlain almost tagged Youkilis again.  That throw prompted Youkilis to charge the mound before he was retrained by his Red Sox teammates.

"He has great command until Youk gets in there," then Red Sox manager Terry Francona quipped about Chamberlain at the time.

So in keeping with the spirit of the season — the offseason trading one — Chamberlain attempted to be the first Yankee to welcome Youkilis to New York when he phoned the third baseman to ease the tension before the two players have to share a clubhouse.

Chamberlain's initial try resulted in leaving a voice mail for Youkilis, who will officially become a Yankee after he passes a physical.  He accepted the Yankees' offer for a one-year deal for $12.4 million Monday to fill in for Alex Rodriguez while he recovers from hip surgery.

The feud petered out over the past couple of seasons as Chamberlain saw less playing time due to injuries, but last season the reliever did plunk Youkilis after he was dealt to the White Sox.  Youk took the hit and trotted to first base without incident.

Johnny Damon, who played with Youkilis in Boston and Chamberlain in New York, doesn't expect any friction between the two during the transition.

"Joba gets pumped up, especially when he was a young player," said Damon.

Mariano Rivera, one of the Yankees elder statesmen, had only praise for A-Rod's new replacement.

"One thing I know is that the guy plays hard," said Rivera of Youkilis. "Yankee (fans) didn't like him but he was wearing a Red Sox uniform.  I can't decide for them but he will be my teammate and I have to respect him for that."

Rodriguez will be undergoing the surgery in January and the Yankees are hopeful of his return by June.  Something tells me fans aren't going to be that hopeful after A-Rod's performance during the 2012 playoffs.

Youkilis' uncle says former Red Sox player likes New York

The New York Yankees have made a one-year, $12 million offer to Kevin Youkilis to fill in at third base while Alex Rodriguez recovers from off season hip surgery.

All indications from Youkilis' agent Joe Bick say that the former Red Sox infielder is giving the deal "serious consideration" but wasn't sure if he has decided to put on the pinstripes.

"If he has [decided] he hasn't told me," said Bick.

A more reliable source of his intentions might be Youk's uncle Ed — a Manhattan bar owner.

Edward Youkilis — owner of Edward's in Tribeca — told The New York Post that he didn't have any inside information on his nephew's decision but said he has talked positively in the past about playing in New York.

"Every time the phone rings I think it's somebody calling me with the news [that Youkilis has signed with the Yankees]," said Edward — who actually looks more like the ballplayer's cousin than an uncle. "I spoke to his father and he didn't know."

The Los Angeles Dodgers pursuit of the infielder has seemed to peter out, leaving only the Yankees and the Seattle Mariners as the only serious bidders.

A-Rod: I'll take Yankees back to World Series after surgery

Alex Rodriguez played Santa and gave presents to a group of lucky kids at a toy giveaway in Miami on Saturday, but it was the New York Yankees who got a visit from Christmas past when A-Rod vowed to return from upcoming hip surgery in enough time to lead the team to the World Series — just like in 2009.

The Yankees 37-year-old  third baseman, who is scheduled for surgery in mid-January to repair a torn labrum in his left hip, said he will rebound from last year's forgettable season and be back at the plate in time for the playoffs.

"Look, I know it's a challenge to get to the World Series and I know it's going to be a long road back," Rodriguez told reporters at the Boys & Girls Club of Miami-Dade Saturday. "But my job as a leader is to help my team to the championship no matter what."

Rodriguez just endured a coal-worthy post-season after a not-so-nice 2012 regular season campaign. The Yankees slugger batted a miserly .120 (3-for-25) with no RBI in the playoffs and manager Joe Girardi actually benched and pinch-hit the slugger multiple times.

Yankees in talks with Youkilis for one-year deal

It wasn't too long ago that Wade Boggs broke Boston hearts by ditching his Red Sox uniform and donned the despised pinstripes of the New York Yankees.  Now there are reports that another famed Boston third baseman could be jumping from the Red Sox Nation into the Yankees Universe.

Jack Curry of the Yes Network is reporting on Twitter that the Yankees have spoken with the agent of former Red Sox stalwart Kevin Youkilis about signing a one-year deal to fill in for the injured third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

Youkilis played for the Chicago White Sox most of last season after being released by the Red Sox in mid-season.

He was a rookie with the "Idiots" who finally put an end to the Curse of the Bambino by bringing a World Series title to Boston in 2004 but didn't see any action in the Series before becoming a fan favorite.

Youkilis is a career .283 hitter who slipped to .235 last season. The 34-year-old Youkilis had a .336 OBP and hit 19 home runs with 60 RBIs in 2012 but has seen his numbers decline in recent years.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians have also shown interest in the steady Youkilis who made $12 million last season — a number the suddenly budget-conscious Yankees are not likely to match.

Maybe he just wants an opportunity to ride a police horse around the outfield of Yankee Stadium.