Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Shrek…

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and his business partner sued Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz on Thursday for naming a Dominican Republic nightclub after their chain of 40/40 Club sports bar lounges.

They have accused Ortiz of trading on the fame, value and goodwill of their name through his club Forty/Forty and its website, www.fortyforty.net, which they say has caused their business “marketplace confusion and damage,” the lawsuit said.

“David Ortiz is fully aware of plaintiff’s Manhattan 40/40 Club, since he had been a patron there on several occasions long before he opened his infringing Forty/Forty Club,” said the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court.

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Because of his lack of power, Brett Gardner must maintain a keen batting eye in order to generate a high enough on-base percentage to be a pinstripe-worthy hitter. Gardner has a history of struggling upon being promoted to a new level, but then adjusting successfully. BG started out his career very nicely at Single-A with a .84 BB/K and a .433 OBP. Here’s what happened to his BB/K and OBP after that:

1st year at AA: .69/.352
2nd year at AA: 1.03/.386

1st year at AAA: .49/.343
2nd year at AAA: .92/.414

1st year at MLB: .27/.283
2nd year at MLB: .65/.345

Can Gardner take the next step and add an above-average bat to his already top tier glove and wheels? His approach over the first week and a half gives some hope that he can. Gardner is only swinging at 14% of pitches thrown out of the strike zone. According to Fangraphs, this is the 8th best rate in the league.

In the few PAs he’s seen so far, Gardner has a BB/K ratio of 1.33. His thus-far stagnant OBP (.333) appears to be the product of some bad luck: Gardner is hitting the ball well (as evidenced by his 20.0% LD rate), but his BABIP (.250) is lower than his career average.

If Gardner can maintain his early season approach (hopefully minus the incessant bunt attempts), the OBP will go up and he will be a very valuable player.

Date / Avg FB Speed / Max FB Speed

4-4 / 92.36 / 95.6
4-6 / 95.12 / 96.4
4-11 / 93.47 / 95.1
4-14 / 92.65 / 94.7

Source: BrooksBaseball

D-Rob kept it exciting by allowing a grand slam to Bobby Abreu in the 9th.

*Props to Moses Hightower for also contributing to this post

Matsui will be honored before the game when he gets his World Series ring.

“I think it’s great that he’s going to be here because of what he meant to our club last year,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “You wish all the guys could be here.. . To me, it’s going to be good to see him and to be able to give him that ring as well because it’s well-deserved.. . I think it’s fitting he’s here.”

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Welcome home, Hideki.

Rules are rules.

On Sunday, AJ Burnett overcame a rough 2-run first inning in Tampa by not allowing another run over 7 innings, while the Yankees’ offense delivered seven to take another series from an AL elite.

Burnett settled down after a visit from pitching coach Dave Eiland.


*Props to Louis Winthorpe III for also contributing to this post.

Can’t say it any better than Mark Teixeira:

“We went straight from spring training and played arguably the two best teams in the American League, two of our biggest opponents in the division and won both series,” Mark Teixeira said. “You’ve got to feel good about that.”

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