HOMETOWN BREAKDOWN: YANKEES GIVE JOHN AXFORD THE BALL

Hometown Breakdown note: Pitcher John Axford of Port Dover, Ont., a 6-foot-6 right-hander who throws serious high-90s smoke and whom yours truly was lucky enough to interview a couple times in my former role as Simcoe Reformer sports editor, has signed a free-agent contract with the Yankees. Congratulations to John and his family.

For lack of an original way to say it, Axford has had a lot of ups and downs in the past five years. He was Seattle's seventh-round pick in the 2001 MLB draft but passed up the Mariners' money to play college ball at Notre Dame. His career in South Bend got off to a great start, but in the space of a couple months in '03, he lost his pitching mentor and close friend, Doug King, who died of a heart attack, then blew out his right elbow, leading to Tommy John surgery in November 2003.

Axford didn't pitch for Notre Dame again until the spring of '05, and only briefly, but was drafted by Cincinnati in the 42nd round. Again, he didn't sign, choosing to pitch one more year of NCAA ball at Canisius College near Buffalo.

This summer, he was pitching for the Melville Millionaires in something called the Western League. He had 19 strikeouts in a seven-inning start, and whiffed 17 batters in another contest, before the Yankees decided to give him a chance to join their organization. Yes, it's the Evil Empire he's joining, but you can't help but be excited for him and his family.

Now, after all that, it will only get harder for here to climb the baseball ladder, especially since he is 23 years old, although as a Canadian, he probably doesn't have as many miles on his arm as some 23-year-old American pitching prospects. Wish him well.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.