Javy again?

Last night we heard tons of rumors about the Yankees making a trade for a pitcher. Today, we found out that those rumors were indeed true and the unknown pitcher is who else but Javier Vazquez. In exchange for Javy the Yankees sent Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, and Arodys Vizcaino over to Atlanta. The Braves also sent Boone Logan, a left-handed specialist, to the Bronx. I haven’t really thought it out yet, but I have to say I’m not really liking this trade. Once it really hits me, I will go into further detail on the trade, for now let’s just hope it works out for the best. Maybe we need to pretend this Vazquez is a brand new pitcher who we’ve never seen before…

“And in centerfield for the Yankees, Curtis Granderson”

Curtis Granderson is set to become a Yankees, pending physicals and things of that matter. So, what did the Yankees give up? Well, in this deal they are losing Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy, and most importantly Austin Jackson. This was a three team deal involving the Yankees, Tigers, and Diamondbacks. Let me break this down in an organized manner:

Heading to the Yankees: Curtis Granderson

Heading to the Tigers: Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, Max Scherzer, and Dan Schlereth

Heading to the Diamondbacks: Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson

So is it a good deal? Well, the Yankees are acquiring a pretty good center fielder in Granderson. He is fast, plays good defense, can hit righties pretty well, though lefties have been a different story, but that can change. So overall its clear the Yankees are getting a very good player, but did they give up too much. Well, Phil Coke was pretty expendable especially since he has a knack to give up big homeruns. I feel Ian Kennedy still has a good chance to become a good starter, so so that stings a bit in my opinion, but he was expendable. So those two aren’t huge losses. But, what about Austin Jackson. Going into 2009 Jackson was the Yankees number 1 prospect, and he had a pretty good season, he hit .300 with 65 RBI’s, but what stands out was his drop in power. He only hit 4 home runs in 2009, and this was a cause for concern. Despite the drop in power, Jackson is still considered a pretty good player, who probably would have seen a good amount of playing time in 2010 with the Yankees. But, it is really too early to tell what he will end up to be. Curtis Granderson is more of a guardsmen, and that is why I feel this a good move by the Yankees.

Another thing that makes this move a good deal, is that it gives the Yankees great leverage with Johnny Damon. Right now the Yankees could go into 2010 with Melky in left, Granderson in center, and Swisher in right. And I think that would be a pretty good outfield. So the Yankees don’t really need Damon, which brings his price way down. Now the Yankees can take their focus completely off of Damon, and shift to only foccusing on Andy Pettitte and other pitchers.

However, this deal does represent the end of an era. What era am I talking about you say? Well, I mean the era of silly fans coming up with insane trade proposals that usually went like this “Let’s trade Melky and Ian Kennedy for player X”. Oh well, we still have Melky so we just have to find out who to substitute for Ian Kennedy. Maybe Anthony Claggett?

Bruney traded to the Nationals

Brian Bruney has been traded to the Washington Nationals for their rule 5 draft pick . In the last year Bruney has really declined as a pitcher, and I don’t blame the Yankees for this move. This way the Yankees won’t have to pay him about 2 million (which he about was set to get), and they can save that money for other purposes. Considering the Nationals had the first pick in the rule 5 draft, and now the Yankees do, I really like this move.

Game 84: Yankees at Twins

Last night the Yankees took game 1 of this three game series against the Twins by the score of 10-2, if you think about it the score could have been 13-2 if it wasn’t for an amazing play by center fielder Carlos Gomez to rob A-Rod of a grand slam. It was just a fascinating play that is worth a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th look, so here it is. Anyway, tonight the Yankees look to clinch a series win by of course winning, and to do that they send out the following lineup via PeteAbe to face Anthony Swarzak (rookie who the Yankees have never faced):

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

C Jorge Posada

2B Robinson Cano

RF Nick Swisher

CF Brett Gardner – who gets yet another start while Melky sits on the bench, seems a bit weird to me

And on the hill, Allan James Burnett

The guy in the front is pitching for the Yankees tonight, the guy in the back (Halladay) is not and will not be pitching for the Yankees. Hey, but that gives me an idea...Burnett for Halladay, straight up. I'd do it, get JP on the phone *sarcasm*

Forget about Halladay

In case you needed more re-enforcements of the idea that Roy Halladay will not be wearing Yankee pinstripes, Joel Sherman “tweets” that Yankee officials told him there is zero chance. The price is just to high on him, there’s no way the Yankees would give so much up for a 32 year old pitcher no matter how good he is. In case you’re wondering, my guess is that he goes to the Phillies, and if he isn’t traded JP Ricciardi should be fired for putting Halladay out there like this and then not doing anything.

Molina is in the house

Jose Molina has rejoined the Yankees. While, I have not heard anything on who was sent down, the Yankees said they won’t carry three catchers, so I guess Cervelli was/or will be sent down. We’re going to miss you Francisco Cervelli, but we’ll probably see you again in September, and you can further develop down in the minors in the meanwhile.

Montero added to the Eastern League All Star team

Jesus Montero who has been hitting very well since being promoted to the Trenton Thunder, has been added to the EL All Star team. While he has only been with Trenton for 26 games, he is hitting .299 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI’s. And he is doing all this is a ballpark known to be a pitcher’s ballpark, and in a league known as a pitcher’s league. He can flat out hit.

Game 83: Yankees at Twins

Yesterday the Yankees were unable to pull of a sweep of the Blue Jays, dropping the final game of the series by the score of 7-6. The game was very interesting, and the Yankees probably could have won if some blatant mistakes weren’t made by the umps. I’ll have more on that below. Anyway, tonight the Bombers take on the Twins in Minnesota – unless the Yankees play the Twins in the playoffs this will be the last time the Yankees play in the Metrodome because the Twins are moving into their new ballpark next year. The last time the Yanks met the Twins was in the Bronx, if you recall that was the series in which the Yankees had all those walk off wins. I’m sure Ron Gardehire is happy to be playing the Yankees at his team’s home this time. The Yankees will send the following lineup out via PeteAbe to face Scott Baker:

SS Derek Jeter

LF Johnny Damon

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

DH Hideki Matsui

RF Nick Swisher

2B Robinson Cano

CF Brett Gardner – I prefer Melky, especially when Cervelli is catching because the lineup is already weakened

C Francisco Cervelli

And on the mound, Carsten Charles Sabathia

Aceves to start on Thursday

According to PeteAbe, Alfredo Aceves was told he will be starting in Wang’s place on Thursday. Once he starts on Thursday, he won’t be needed again until well after the All Star Break, because the Yankees can strategically skip him on certain off days. While many of us would have liked to see Hughes start, Aceves is more stretched out after throwing 4 innings on Sunday. If he can keep his pitch count down on Thursday, maybe Aceves could go 6 innings.

Halladay rumors

All throughout the day there have been rumors that Jays are looking to trade Roy Halladay. While Bule Jay’s GM said that he is not actively shopping Halladay, he told Buster Olney, “We’re going to see what’s out there.” According to Jon Heyman, the Yankees and Phillies are the early favorites, followed by the Angels. I personally just don’t see the Yankees trading for Halladay, even though he is arguably the best pitcher in the majors. The starting point for this trade if the Yankees were to make it would be Phil Hughes and Jesus Montero, and more (Austin Jackson…). I don’t think Brian Cashman would give away so much potential for one pitcher, no matter how good he is. I wouldn’t make that trade either. Well, we just have to wait and see.

“Marty Foster’s got some explaining to do”

Yesterday’s third base umpire, Marty Foster, seriously screwed up yesterday when he called Jeter out at third, telling Jeter that he did not have to be tagged. Here’s what Jeter said after the game:

“I was told I was out because the ball beat me, and he didn’t have to tag me. I was unaware they had changed the rules.”

While attempting to steal third with no outs didn’t seem like the smartest baseball move, what Foster said was even dumber. After the game Foster asked the crew chief, John Hirschbeck, if he could address the media for him (pretty cowardly of Foster). Hirschbeck had this to say about Jeter’s claim about what Foster said:

“It would make his actions seem appropriate if that’s what he was told. The best way I can answer it is to talk to Marty about it. Not here at the ballpark, but if I see him tonight, or if not, we’ll have lunch tomorrow and we’ll discuss it. Getting a play right is one thing, but how you handle it is also important. Nowadays, with the cameras, ESPN and the reporters, I say the media, I actually mean television — it used to be if the ball beat you, you were out, but it isn’t that way anymore. It’s not a reason to call someone out. You have to make a good tag.”

I don’t expect much more to come from this, Major League baseball will probably just have a private talk with Marty Foster that no one will ever hear of, and that’s that. But, there’s no denying that Foster really screwed up.

“Bye, Bye, Berroa”

According to PeteAbe, Angel Berroa was released today. I don’t this too many Yankee fans will miss him. Hey, but the Mets could use him.

“Remember that guy?”

Do you remember when the Yankees signed this guy named Kei Igawa out of Japan, in a move that looked like a counter attack to Boston signing Dice-K? Well, Mr. Igawa recently tied Evan Thomas for the most wins in Scranton franchise history at 26. Now this signing is becoming a real joke, I wonder if we will ever see him in the Majors again (he’s on contract for 2 more years). Here’s what Kei had to say via PeteAbe who got the story from Chad Jennings:

As long as there is a record that I have chance of setting, it’s something the process to get through. It’s a stepping stone, not a final goal of mine.”

Off Day Musings (3rd Edition)

Right now everything is going well in Yankee Universe, winning seems to do that. After losing series to both the Nationals and the Marlins, things weren’t looking so good, and many were calling for Girardi’s head. However, since then things got back on track and the Yankees took 2 out of 3 from the Braves, and swept the lowly Mets. Today the Yankees are off, and they are gearing up for 7 game home stand, in which they play the Mariners 3 times and the Blue Jays 4 times. After that the Yankees set out for a road trip to Minnesota then Anaheim before the All Star Break begins. Let’s not get to ahead of ourselves though, because for now we should just be enjoying an off day, but I know there are many people out there (myself included) who don’t like off days because they want to see Yankee baseball every day. While, I can’t do anything about the Yankees not playing, I can hopefully quench your thirst for baseball with a few stories, links, and rumors.

Rivera the great reaches his 500th save

Last night Mariano recorded his 500th Major League save, 2nd on the all time list to Trevor Hoffman who has 571 saves. Despite how great Hoffman is, we all know that Mariano is the greatest reliever of all time. What makes Mo great is that his only goal is to help his team win, he is not trying to set records or anything. After last night’s game, things got emotional as every member of the Yankees gave Mo a hug. All of his teammates were so happy for him, some people got some memorabilia. Cody Ransom got to take home the bat that Mo used in the at bat in which he got his first Major League RBI. Chien-Ming Wang asked Mo to sign a ball to give to his son, JJ Wang, so that JJ would always know that his father played with the great Mariano Rivera. He truly is unbelievable. Recently, ESPN sat down with Mariano for an interview, it was a few days before he actually got his 500th save. It definitely is worth a watch, it was just amazing to see how humble Mariano really is. Check it out.

Should I stay or should I go?

According to PeteAbe, Jose Molina is set to return to the big league roster very soon. He was with the team yesterday, and he did some base-running drills. Now he will begin a rehab assignment that should last for about a week before he rejoins the Yankees. The big question though is, “What to do with Fransisco Cervelli?” There are only a few options:

• Carry 3 catchers – One option is to carry Jose Molina and Fransisco Cervelli, along with Jorge Posada. In this option, somebody obviously has to be either sent down or DFA. Ramiro Pena sent down? Brett Tomko DFA? I’m not crazy about this option.
• Send the kid to AAA – Another option is to carry just Jose Molina and Jorge Posada, and to send Fransisco Cervelli to AAA. This would be a tough call, Cervelli calls a great game, the pitchers love him, and he brings a spark to the team. I really don’t know if this is the right option, I’m 50-50 on this.
• Trade Jose Molina – The final option is to trade Jose Molina and carry Jorge Posada and Fransisco Cervelli. To me this seems kind of harsh to Molina, plus what do you do if Jorge or Cervelli gets hurt, Kevin Cash? Maybe? Jose Molina has done nothing to deserve being traded, the pitchers love throwing to him just like Cervelli. If they were to trade Molina, I doubt they would get much in return, but there should be some teams out there that would like to have him. I really am unsure on what to do with this whole situation, but that’s why I’m not the general manager. However, feel free to pretend that you are Brian Cashman, and comment on the move you would make.

Huston Street?

The rumors keep on burning that Huston Street will be a Yankee. I still feel the same way on him, I’d absolutely love to have him in the bullpen as he would provide an 8th inning fix, and possibly even a future closer since he has already been closing ballgames, but the thing is that I don’t think he is worth the price that the Rockies are going to want for him. He only becomes more expensive now that the Rockies are winning ballgames left and right. How to you feel about the Huston Street comments? Feel free to comment.

How to get your baseball fix?

Well as you know the Yankees are not playing today, but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch baseball today. Here are some notable games set to take place tonight:

Boston @ Baltimore (NESN, MASN) 7:05

Lester goes for Boston

Berker goes for Baltimore

Tampa Bay @ Toronto (SUN, TSN) 7:07

Niemann goes for Tampa Bay

Halladay goes for Toronto

NY Mets @ Milwaukee (ESPN, FSWI) 7:08

Nieve goes for New York

Looper goes for Milwaukee

Update: I just realized this was my 100th post. Pretty cool.

Game 75: Yankees at Mets

Tonight the Yankees look to defeat the Mets for a sweep of the series. The Yankees won the previous two games in the series with great pitching and timely hitting. It also doesn’t hurt that the Mets can not hit, can not field, and their pitching is mediocre. When your second best pitcher is Livan Hernandez you know youre in trouble. Livan has been surprisingly good for the Mets this year, sporting a 4.05 ERA. However, in his one start against the Bombers this year, he went 5.1 innings and allowed 6 runs. I’m sure the Yankees are willing to take that again, and here is the lineup via PeteAbe they send out in hopes of doing just that:

SS Derek Jeter

RF Nick Swisher

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

2B Robinson Cano

LF Melky Cabrera

CF Brett Gardner

RHP Chien-Ming Wang

I'm going to keep using this picture because I'm really feeling it.

Call a doctor

You know the story, a flu has been spreading through the Yankees clubhouse. The newest victim is Phil Hughes, and Mark Teixeira isn’t feeling 100% either. Anyway, I’m trying to keep track of all the players who have or had this flu (several coaches reportedly also have the flu): So far I have Hideki Matsui, Melky Cabrera, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Phil Hughes down as players who have or had the flu.

Phillies interested in Chien-Ming Wang

Frequent commentator Steven Cheung pointed out that ESPN Rumor Central says that the Phillies like Chien-Ming Wang. You can read the story here, but the full story requires insider access, which I don’t have. My take on it: Now would be the worst time to trade Wang because his trade value is down from his horrific start of the the 2009 campaign. Even when his value goes back up, I see no reason to trade Wang unless the Phillies overwhelm Brian Cashman with an offer too good to refuse. You can never have enough starting pitching. If Wang was to be traded, I would assume Hughes goes back into the rotation. If that’s the case, what do you if Hughes or Wang or any other rotation member struggles for that matter? What do you do when Joba and Hughes both reach their innings limit (Joba’s is about 150-160, Hughes is more unknown but is believed to be around 180)? Chien-Ming Wang should not be traded unless the Yankees get an amazing return, which I see as 99.9% not happening.

Just won’t die

The rumors of Huston Street to the Yankees are still well and alive. I still feel the same way, I would love to have Street in the Yankees pen, but I think the Rockies asking price will not be worth it. Maybe Brian Cashman has a trick up is sleeve. We will just have to wait and see.

Game 74: Yankees at Mets

Last night the Yankees defeated the Mets by the score of 9-1, with the help of the Mets terrible defense. Their entire infield each made an error, well except for Luis Castillo (ironic right?) who I feel has already done his share. CC pitched well and showed no signs of the muscle soreness that bothered him in his last start. Brett Gardner had the night of his life, he was a double short of the cycle and if you think about it he should have gotten it because on one of his singles CC was on first base and any other runner would have advanced to third and Brett would have easily made it to second. Oh well. Anyway, tonight the Yankees look to secure a series win as they face Tim Redding and the Mets. You may remember Redding in his short 1 inning stint with the Yankees in which he gave up 6 runs, that was the end of him. Anyhow, here’s the starting lineup via PeteAbe :

CF Brett Gardner

RF Nick Swisher

1B Mark Teixeira

3B Alex Rodriguez

2B Robinson Cano

C Jorge Posada

LF Melky Cabrera

SS Ramiro Pena

RHP A.J. Burnett

Paging Doctor Robert (Beatles reference)

Johnny Damon joins the list of Yankees who are/were under the weather. Other members of that list inlcude Matsui, Melky Cabrera, and Derek Jeter. What’s going on here, you would think the Yankees could control this better.

Pat Venditte finally climbs the ladder

Pat Venditte (the Yankees ambidextrous pitcher who nobody really feels is a prospect, but continues to get hitters out) was promoted to Tampa (Class A Advanced). This is good for him because he is not that young (24) for his level and he can’t continue to just dominate 20 year olds, he needs to either prove he can get more experienced hitters out or prove that he can’t.

Nady needs Tommy John Surgery

Just in case you missed it, Nady needs TJ surgery. He really wanted to come back, that’s why he tried alternative methods but they failed. He is a free agent after the season and it is unlikely the Yankees will re-sign him, especially because his agent is named Scott Boras. I still feel the way I felt last night when I heard the news, very disappointed. Will Brian Cashman make a trade now that Nady isn’t coming back, who knows.

Musings on Huston Street

Marc Craig wonders whether Huston will be fitting on Yankee pinstripes in the near future. I like the idea very much, but I don’t think the Rockies want to trade anyone right now, they have been on a hot streak and probably don’t want to mess it up. Maybe once they cool down, they will be more open to trading Street. However, I still don’t think he’ll come cheap. According to Marc Craig the Yankees have been interested in Street since May. While I like the idea, to me it has to be for the right price.