The above artwork, by Meital, who turns the ripe, ol' age of 30 tomorrow (been waiting for that he says with a lecherous wink) appears in the Jerusalem Post Lite today in Tel Aviv, Israel along with the second installment of my story, "Kat & Kismet."

If you're not in the Holy Land, or if you can't wait for the tales to come in piecemeal -- even with lovely illustrations -- you can get your own copy nearly immediately by clicking here: https://www.createspace.com/3527985 or you can drop me an email directly at 26tales@gmail.com and ask me how you can get an inscribed copy for maybe even a buck or two less.

If you want to see what else Meital is up to, go here: http://heymisterimhungry.tumblr.com/ and tell her I sent you...

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So, I'm watching the Yankee game late last night as I am wont to do, although last night's telecast from Seattle meant that it was live late at night and after watching so-called clean-up "hitter" Alex Rodriguez pop up again with guys on base, I was wondering if we wouldn't be better off without him. Girardi is not going to bat him anywhere than the middle of the line-up (unlike his predecessor) and we're kind of stuck with A-Rod, hoping he returns to form, but seriously seeing very little of the expected return on his albatross of a contract.

Now, I am not saying I am happy this happened and I am not saying Felix Hernandez was throwing at Yankees intentionally (he hit Ichiro and Jeter previously, but didn't hurt them) but maybe he did us a favor, maybe he didn't. All we know is that A-Rod is out - maybe 4-6 weeks, maybe 6-8 depending on who you read and what their angle is* - and now the discussion turns to who replaces him.

But when articles by professional baseball writers opine "isn't why the Yankees signed Chavez?" which just shows their ignorance. I didn't have to bother commenting because an informed Yankee fan had already set the record straight. I guess the positive news is that Hanley Ramirez was no longer available, his cancerous headcase already sent to LA to become Don Mattingly's issue, but other names like Headley and Rolen are already hitting the wire.

The Yanks called up Ramiro Pena, but don't expect that to be the last word on the Bomber hot corner situation. Edurado Nunez is rehabbing an injured thumb and while the club sent Nuney to AAA to work on his shortstop play, he would be my choice for A-Rod's sub  instead of going outside of the organization. Losing A-Rod is simply not the blow that losing a lot of the other super-stars on this team would be.

* Brian Cashman raked a therapist over the coals this morning over reports that Mariano Rivera could return to pitch this season. Cash called the reports ridiculous and just an attempt for the guy to see his own name in a lot of newspapers and websites.