Finally!!

Not only is it my birthday, but it's also the trade deadline today. Two years ago the Yankees got me Bobby Abreu. This year it's Ivan Rodriguez, Xavier Nady, and Damaso Marte. They finally got rid of Farnworth, Hawkins, and some minor leaguers. I'm happy.

These were some very good trades and very strategic. I-Rod will fill in for the catcher spot, provide great defense, and they he'll likely be gone after the season. Nady, who was a prospect years ago, has been having his best season by far, so hopefully he'll continue to milk that the 2nd half. And Marte is probably the best left handed reliever the Yanks have traded for in a long time.

The one thing I worry about is the bullpen at this point. Farnsworth was doing pretty good, but I never had much faith in him and he was going to start getting jacked at some point. Veras and Ramirez have been good, but Marte adds the strong left handed pitcher they've lacked for a long time (probably since Mike Stanton, his first time on the team).

But enough of the Yanks, Manny is gone (or as I'm calling Manny banning Manny). His situation in Boston just became ridiculous and the Sox had nothing to lose since they likely weren't going to sign him again. They had to give up a lot, a couple good arms, but Manny's attitude was piss poor. I'll let Doug give his thoughts on it though.

That's about all for me, I just got to NJ and it's late, I'll write more later.

Trade Talkin' Time

Having just read this article, I thought I'd throw in my two cents of what the Yanks may want to trade for this year.

I should first note that the article points out that the Yankees put Barry Bonds on the table as a possible player to sign. But it doesn't sound very serious, they were just noting that he could be a resource for the rest of the year. It looks like Matsui is done for the year, Damon is banged up and won't play much LF, so they need someone who can platoon and be willing to DH now and then. Is Bonds a solution? Sure. But that solution will come with lots of baggage. And honestly, can we see Bonds handling the NY media at all? It could be a potential disaster and huge distration should anything go down.

And now for the worst joke of the day, if the Yankees sign Bonds he'd finally be behind bars...get it, the pinstripes are like bars. I told you it was bad...

Besides Bonds in terms of priority here's where the Yanks need the most help:

1. Starting pitching. I don't even know the rotation anymore. Wang's out til Sept the earliest, Hughes and Kennedy are long forgotten, Igawa is never an option, and there's risk among the rest of them for injury due to age and just the long season. The article mentions Jared Washburn as an option--and he'd be a decent #4 starter. I think a starting pitcher who's a veteran and has post season experience would be my criteria. Which means I'd also look at Greg Maddux as well.

2. Relief pitching. There have been a good deal of injuries here too and no one's really made up for it. Edwar Ramirez has been tremendous and Farnsworth has finally been pretty good. Everyone else, I don't trust (except Mariano). If Kennedy or Hughes come back, they should go to the bullpen, but they could use some help down the stretch. A good middle reliever who can get outs is the way to go.

3. Another bat. The offense is fine, but there's always slumps in the dog days of summer. LF is a mess obviously, but so is catcher. Finding a catcher who can throw runners out is ideal, but it'd be nice to have them be able to hit some. That's a bit lofty since Posada has been one of the better offensive catchers the last decade, but they also don't need a guy who will hit below .250 the rest of the way. They're looking into Benji Molina. Or maybe Tony Pena could come out of retirement.

Don't expect a blockbuster trade. There isn't a crisis per say and the tone of trading has changed for the Yankees of late.

The All-Star Game/Rev Up for the 2nd Half

Elmo aside (see prior post from Doug), the All-Star game was fun to watch this year. Sure the AL won again, even with a DH the NL can't win. As I've mentioned in prior posts, I'm not big on the All-Star game, but since this one was at Yankee Stadium I had to watch it. What was interesting about the game was how fast paced it was up until the 7th or 8th inning when it reversed gears and went into slow motion. The best inning to watch was when Aaron Cook took over and Uggla made some very bad mistakes in the field subsequently loading the bases. But they got out of it with no outs on the board.

In the end, the game ended around 1:30am, which was a good thing since Kazmir was the last arm and everyone kept thinking back to that time in Milwaukee 6 years ago.

So now the second half is underway and there are going to be some great races in the AL East, AL Central, NL East, NL Central, and a very weak NL West. I exclude the AL West because assuming the Angels don't get an injury bug, they are surely going to win the division. Once again:

• A Mets-Phils rivalry is beginning (if there's a Mets fan and Phillies fan out there start blogging daily) again--start the smack talk folks.
• Can the White Sox keep up their offensive prowess and keep Ozzie Guillen calm?
• Do the Sabathia and Harden trades start an arm race?
• Will we have a repeat 2005 season in the NL West where one team finished above (barely) .500?

For the Yankees, last year they had the best record during the 2nd half. Off to a 5-0 start they'll be in the hunt for the Wild Card or division. While they're offense is good, their starting pitching is not, and it will be interesting to see if they trade for a good #3 or #4 pitcher. This year they got their wish at first base having just claimed Richie Sexson off waivers. I'm not sold on Sexson at all though as his batting eye and power skills are sliding away quickly. But he holds the promise of resurrecting it all. Look for Robinson Cano to have his tremendous 2nd half surge and Derek Jeter will get it going too.

It's All Over (And You Only Half-Realize It)!!

A point-by-point rebuttal to the delusional ramblings of a Yankees fan:

While it's true that the Yankees will contend for the Wild Card with the Rays, the notion that they can "contend" with the Red Sox is like saying Elmo could contend with Wolverine. While Elmo's teaching kids how to love and hug and share or whatever, Wolverine's busy carving them up with his razor-sharp adamantium claws.

Hughes and Kennedy will be too busy running for City Council in Trenton to put on a uniform after labor day.

Papelbon not only eats Mo Rivera's lunch, he eats his breakfast, brunch, dinner, and that piece of pie he left in the fridge he was going to eat as a midnight snack. If Papelbon, armed only with a kilt, was to face off again Rivera, armed with his cut fastball, Jason Giambi's mustache, a bazooka, and a hive full of live bees, Papelbon would take him down faster than Mo could blame it on the rain.

Have a super all-star break!

It's Half Over (Already)!!

Yikes, we're at the half way point in the baseball season already. Time flies, I can't figure out how to slow it down anymore with the exception of work some days, which is not how I like spending 40+ hours of my time most weeks.

I just wanted to put a few thoughts/notes/whatevs down here on the season so far, which again as I will point out, I haven't followed as intensely this year.

• For one, the Yankees have a better record than they did last year at the break. But it's not all that good now that they have the Rays to contend with as well as the Red Sox. They're only 6 games out and had a good run a couple weeks back. The pitching is worrisome still, but Hughes and Kennedy will hopefully get straightened out for the stretch run.

• In other news, the NL Central made some bad ass trades. I was suprised Sabathia was traded to the Brewers. My bet is that he will end up somewhere else this offseason--the Yanks could be a contender if they get rid of Mussina and Pettitte reconsiders retirement. Plus with Giambi likely leaving, the $$ are flashing. The Red Sox will be in there too, probably the Mets, Phils, and Dodgers. The other player traded was Rich Harden, who has already been on the DL once this year. Yet the Cubs, even after the disasters called Prior and Wood, traded some of the farm for an arm that's only pitched one full season. If Harden can be Harden and stay healthy--great trade--otherwise I'm somewhat pessimistic on this one.

• All-Star game is on tonight and I'm actually going to watch this one--yes, only because it's at Yankee Stadium. I watched part of the HR derby last night (I usually don't watch any of these things) and it was one of the best I've seen. Josh Hamilton has an incredible swing, strength, and it again confirms that it's good he was able to play baseball again.

• Speaking of the game, what's up with Jonathan Papelbon. I got what he was saying, wanting to close and all, but he didn't say it very well. Almost a bit cocky--Rivera is the greatest closer of all-time Papelbon, you're just getting started still.

My goal this second half is to try and watch more games. I'm not only wasting my MLB TV subscription, but it's just weird not feeling in the loop. Have a good All-Star break people!

Scenes from the Yankees Front Office

HANK STEINBRENNER: What is this nonsense? Wang getting his foot hurt? The designated hitter rule was part of the Magna Carta in the 13th century - why are pitchers still hitting?

GENE MICHAEL: Good call, Boss!

GEORGE STEINBRENNER: I'm the boss!

GENE MICHAEL: Um... right, sorry, boss.

GEORGE STEINBRENNER: I like pudding!

HANK STEINBRENNER: Listen, Stick - the important thing is that we have Joba Chamberlain starting now, right? I mean, what's he done so far - won like, forty games, right?

GENE MICHAEL: Well, yeah, he's won a game...
HANK STEINBRENNER: And Hughes and Kennedy, they're tearing it up, right?

GENE MICHAEL: How about that new stadium, Boss?

GEORGE STEINBRENNER: I'm the boss!

GENE MICHAEL: Yeah... right.

GEORGE STEINBRENNER: My shoes taste like cupcakes!

JOE GIRARDI: Hey guys, remember what I did to those young Marlins pitchers in '06?

BRIAN CASHMAN: Yeah...?

JOE GIRARDI: Yeah. Uh... nevermind.

HANK STEINBRENNER: What's up with this team, Cash? I mean, Robinson Cano? More like, Robinson... Can't... Play... No......... More.

GENE MICHAEL: Good one, Boss!

GEORGE STEINBRENNER: I'm the boss!

GENE MICHAEL: Erm...

GEORGE STEINBRENNER: I want Famous Ray's!

HANK STEINBRENNER: And Melky Cabrera - more like... Melky Crap-era!

GENE MICHAEL: Zing!

HANK STEINBRENNER: Where's Torre, anyway?

JOE GIRARDI: Uh... I'm the manager now.

HANK STEINBRENNER: And why isn't Joba Chamberlain a starter yet? He's like a combination of Cy Young, Albert Schweitzer, and Dirk Diggler!

JOE GIRARDI: Actually, we do have him starting...

BRIAN CASHMAN: Hey, lay off the new guy.

HANK STEINBRENNER: You're on thin ice, Cash. Remember when I told you that you should trade every player on the 40-man roster for Johan Santana and you didn't and then we ended up in third place? Yeah... you know what I'm talking about.

BRIAN CASHMAN: But-but-

HANK STEINBRENNER: Shuddup. I've got the solution here - a personal letter to the managing partner's office. It says here, "Put Rickey in, Rickey's ready to play."

Neglect

I fess up, I have been neglecting this blog and baseball overall this year. I have no excuses, only realities like meeting a big deadline at work the last month (it was met) and focusing more energies on a side music career. And now that it's July 1st and been summer, I'm looking at the calendar and half the season is over already--and I haven't been to Nationals Park still...

I'll also admit I haven't been keeping up with the Yankees as much, I know where they stand and see players going on the DL, but it's not something I'm remembering on a daily basis. I haven't watched many games either on my MLB TV.

Okay, but enough of my lameness, here are some notes on the Yanks and baseball all around I wanted to comment on:

Baseball Stuff

• What's with players pushing GMs and other baseball staff around. Shawn Chacon's case was the worst and I'm sure we will see him in an independent league soon if no one picks him up. I was suprised that Manny pushed the head of ticket distribution down the other day because they weren't going to get him enough tickets for some upcoming game.

• The All-Star game is coming up and there's probably going to be some new faces which is good. Also, since it's up at Yankee Stadium, I may have to watch this one.

• The Devil Rays are for real. I'm convinced they will be an above .500 team this year with a good shot at the Wild Card. This is something I admire because they've finally learned how to build a young talented team through the farm and not free agency.

• Willie Randolph getting fired with several other staff was an attempt at slapping the Mets awake. I don't know if it will work, hearing some of those guys talk leads me to think there's no real leadership in the clubhouse and I doubt Jerry Manuel is the guy to change that.

Yankees Stuff

• Well, they finally are having a good run despite the injuries. The offense is letting loose with the likes of Damon, Giambi, Abreu, Matsui and A-Rod all hitting over .300 the last two months and producing well. Joba's doing just fine as a starter, though it'd be nice to see him go deeper into games. I'm wondering if they'll make a move for Sabathia in a trade. If not now, they may go after him hard this offseason unless the Tribe locks him up quickly.

• Kei Igawa's made a couple appearances and they did not go well. $27 million to talk--water under the bridge for the team right?

• Mike Mussina has been unbelieveable. This not only saved him face (he was deemed for the bullpen before the season started), but it helping the Yanks out when the starting rotation is in shambles. I think this is making the Yanks reconsider signing him for another year or two.

• Farnsworth and Hawkins have settled down...somewhat.

Again, my apologies to our readers, I'll do better the second half and try to watch some games every once in a while.