The fever has finally broken, but now I have a painful and uncontrollable cough, so I won't be on Inside Baseball with Marty Lurie tonight. Although I suggest you tune in because Marty will be interviewing Ken Macha and a writer for MLB.com who covered the Dodgers during Milton Bradley's time there.
As for other news, Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees. This makes the Red Sox desperate for a new center fielder. I don't think the A's will be involved, despite the fact that the A's basically have three center fielders. Kotsay has a no-trade clause in his contract. Payton made a hasty retreat from Boston when he didn't get any playing time. And Milton Bradley is someone the A's have wanted for a while.
The Yankees also signed Octavio Dotel. They reportedly signed him for a $2 million one-year contract. It'll be interesting to see how Dotel performs this season coming off Tommy John surgery. The A's aren't the type of team that can take a chance on a player coming off surgery and risk tying up salary on a player who may or may not be healthy.
The truth is I'm more frustrated that the Yankees were able to sign Mike Myers. He could've been the ideal lefty specialist for the A's. Right now, the A's don't have a true LOOGY. Or at least one that is proven.
