Good morning friends. I was away Friday through Sunday, arriving home to a house without power and flat out exhausted from a nearly 5 hour drive. No complaints; it was a great weekend but I saw/read little baseball. I’m playing catch-up, and here are a bunch of interesting links from this morning and over the weekend:

• Phillies GM Amaro denies swap talks: OK, plenty has been shared about this one, and like everyone else, I found it silly. In what universe would the Cardinals swap a same aged Pujols for Howard? To save a few dollars in AAV? Slim and none and slim left a long time ago. Buster notes the deal might make sense if the Cards decide they can’t afford Pujols, but they would be able to take on Howard, who will make $19m and $20m this year and next. How does that make sense?
• If Roger Clemens’ defamation suit against Brian McNamee moves forward Jeter, Rivera could testify: Sure, Pettitte might have something of value to say, but the odds on Jeter and/or Mo having anything to say besides “I knew nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing” are about as long as Pujols being traded for Howard.
• Speaking of Mo… Modern Yankee Heroes: From humble beginnings, Mariano Rivera becomes greatest closer in MLB history: Just another fun recap of Mo’s humble/poor childhood beginnings to his ascent to the top of the heap of closers in MLB history.
• Speaking of Jeter… Cuban SS Hechavarria will pass on Yankees for Blue Jays: Jeter’s possible heir apparent will bypass the Yanks’ loot for Toronto’s, citing Jeter’s likely extension as a reason why. This just in: Other teams are also successful in the pursuit of foreign players besides the big guys: Chapman, Hechavarria, etc.
• Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland having brain surgery: Serious stuff here. We’re hoping that the surgery fixes this condition. We’re all baseball fans here first and foremost and while we root for and against different laundry, we’re hoping to see this kid back on the field as soon as he’s able.
• Nationals GM Mike Rizzo: ‘Money has nothing to do with who’s going to play’: National’s GM claiming it won’t be about the money. We’ll see. Though, I have to admit, he’s in a no-win spot with Strasburg. If he makes the club, Rizzo will be accused of rushing the kid to help the gate. If he keeps Stras in the minors, it’d be to slow the arb clock from starting (rather than “developmental reasons”).
• Mark Twain, Baseball Fan, Had an Eye for a Short-Stop: A bit of humor about Twain, baseball and history.
• Jose Reyes perfect example of why baseball needs HGH testing: “That’s why the players association needs to drop its tone-deaf opposition to HGH blood tests. If Reyes is indeed innocent, he’s precisely the type of athlete who could benefit from this screening.” Not sure if the testing is the answer; I still think storing the blood until there’s a better test is a better idea.
• ‘Cuse still lands a #1 seed. I was surprised, given their two late losses, including to the Hoyas on Thursday. Whatthehellsahoya, anyways?