Cheaters

Now that the Johnny Damon era is over, the Yankees may have their eyes set on another bearded SoxandPhil: Jayson Werth.

Only problem: He's not a free agent yet. But that didn't stop him from having a little lunch with the Yankees Reggie Jackson and an on-field conversation before a game.

Werth denied wrongdoing but wouldn't say what they talked about:

"Reggie's an old family friend," Werth said after yesterday's game was canceled. "I've known him since I was 7 years old, I think. I've known him forever. There's nothing to tell, really. Two friends having lunch."

Funny, with all the coverage of the 2009 World Series, I don't remember reading about how tight Reggie and the Werth/Schofield family are.

So it appears J-Dub may be willing to sell his soul to play for the money. As the newly inducted wrestling hall of famer "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase said, "Everyone has a price." Good riddance, I say. We all know that Domonic Brown will soon be a better player, and perhaps John Mayberry Jr. will be a late-blooming superstar like Werth. He was just sent down, but got some good reviews:

"Since I first saw John last year, he's improved a whole lot," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We figure he needs to go out and play and, at the same time, he's got to hit righthanded pitchers better. He hits lefthanders real good. He's got some things to learn about his hitting.

"It's just like I told Jayson Werth. He's got a chance to be real good. John's going to play in the big leagues and he's going to play for a while."

One little problem with Werth playing for the Yankees, though. He wears No. 28, and Yankee manager Joe Girardi just took that number because, as we've been reminded 10,000 times, that's the number of World Championships they're shooting for this year. But that number is not going to change anytime soon, especially in 2010 when the Sox and Phils face off in the World Series.

Oh well, why bother worrying about the offseason when Opening Day is almost here. There's some news about the Phillies opener in Washington: President Obama will throw out the first pitch. Christine wondered if he plans to hang out with Shane Victorino. Probably, but only to get closer to Werth in an attempt to lure the outfielder to the Nationals.

More cheating: MLB Network is showing the Red Sox take on the Rays. Using his unfair advantage (one more leg), Elvis Burrell's Rays lead Boss Papelbon's Red Sox 2-0 in the 4th.