Yanks V.S. O's

The Yankees Take on the O's tonight at the stadium. Mussina takes the mound looking for his 14th win of the season against Jeremy Guthrie. The Yanks have been playing excellent after the break aside from the hiccup last night in Boston. Xavier Nady is looking for his first hit in a Yankee uniform tonight, give him some time he is a great player. Sorry for the lack of updates lately, but my Pittsburgh source was spot on days before the Nady/Marte trade went down on Friday (Thanks Neal).
The Washburn trade will go down before the deadline no other team can take on the money (Even if they could they wouldn't). If for some reason a trade didn't happen look for Ian Kennedy, or Alfredo Aceves in the Bronx in the near future (this week). I do not see the Yankees making a move for a catcher nor should they. Back after the game with some rumors that are gaining some legs.

Jarrod Washburn possible trade to New York Yankees.

There are rumors Jarrod Washburn could be headed to the Bronx along with Jose Vidro (just puked in my mouth .222 BA). For Kei Igawa and another minor league prospect. Jose Vidro is not a player the Yankees need, but Seattle wants to include him in a deal so they could shed his salary also. I doubt the Yankees make this move if the Mariners insist on including Vidro.

Yankees beat A's 7-1, Sexson Solid. Alfredo Aceves?

The Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics tonight 7-1 behind a strong pitching performance from Mike Mussina. Mussina scattered 9 hits through 6 innings only giving up 1 ER. The biggest part of Mussina's game tonight was not giving up a walk. If there were men on base wile he was giving up so many hits, the game may have not ended up this way. On top of Mussina's performance the Yankees pen pitched perfect in the final 3 innings. Robertson 1 inning 0 hits 3K's. Ramirez 1 inning 0 hits 2 K's. Hawkins 1 inning 0 hits 1K. Robertson seems to be a nice addition to the Yankees staff. Sexson had a 2 out RBI in his first AB with the Yankees. I have been hearing some rumblings that Rasner staying in the rotation will depend on his next start, and it is possible the Yankees will give this years Yankees minor league sensation Alfredo Aceves a shot in the Bronx. It is very possible Aceves will be the replacement, after the struggles Ian Kennedy has been having coming back from injury. Aceves will have to keep pitching well in Scranton in his next start to be considered, but it seems he would be next in line. His numbers have been stellar, and he deserves a shot at the rotation, if Rasner can not hold his spot down. Aceves throws strikes, and has not given up a walk yet in Scranton. Aceves has pitched 12 innings giving up 8 hits and 0ER striking out 14 in AAA. Chris Britton is also deserving of a call up with a 1.83 ERA in Scranton, but we all know that would be a waste (I'm talking to you Joe).

Alfredo Aceves Strong in Scranton

Alfredo Aceves pitched 4 innings in Scranton today. Giving up 2 hits striking out 5 0ER. More updates later.

Give in sign Barry Bonds.

Even though I am not a very big Barry Bonds fan (who is?) I surrender. This team needs to take a shot at winning this year, and why not do it for the MLB minimum. Barry Bonds is waiting for that call Cash, make it happen. You will have the haters saying he is a clubhouse cancer, but what chemistry does this team really have? Will it really make a difference on a team like the Yankees. Its not like the Yankees is a team full of rookies that will not be able to handle any pressure that comes with playing with Barry Bonds. You lay down the ground rules to Barry and say this is how its going to happen. No talking to the media, no lazy boy in the clubhouse, no posse. Tell him he is just like every other player on the team, and if he is really serious about playing he will have no problems with that. There is no smoking gun on Bonds using steroids (unless they are moving some furniture around BALCO). So why not take a shot for the league minimum with out giving up any of your prospects in the process? Ive read plenty of reactions from Yankees fans, and I can tell most of you feel the same as I on this topic. After all it's only 314 feet to the short porch at Yankee Stadium.

13th Inning in the All Star Game.

Its the 13th inning of the All Star Game. Quarter to 1 in the morning call the game a tie and flip a coin for home field advantage, or just give it to the team with the best record over all. Even Bud Selig looks like he is about to pass out. Clint Hurdle is sacrificing his pitcher to the baseball gods. It will be interesting to see what position players can pitch for the AL since Scott Kazmir will be unable to pitch very long.

Yankees Interested in Nady, Marte

The Yankees are interested in Nady, and Marte from Pittsburgh according to a few Pirates sources. The Pirates have some interest in Ross Ohlendorf, and Ian Kennedy. The Yankees will most likely be reluctant to deal Kennedy especially for someone with average career numbers (Nady). Marte a lefty would be an ideal player to obtain at the deadline, if the price wasn't astronomical.

Yankees Injuries, and Odds and Ends

As a possible replacement for Rasner after the break, Jeff Karstens pitched 7 innings giving up 5 hits 0 walks striking out 6 in Scranton tonight. Brian Bruney pitched 1.1 innings for Trenton tonight giving up 1 hit 2 runs 1ER 2 walks 2K's picking up the loss. The switch pitcher Pat Venditte gave up his first ER tonight for Staten Island, but still picked up his 7th save. With Staten Island Venditte has pitched 11.2 innings giving up only 3 hits 1 run 1ER with 6 walks and 12K's to the tune of a 0.77 ERA. The Yankees will look to sign Richie Sexson next week after he clears waivers (Sorry Chad Moeller). The Yankees signed Eric Milton he is 5 weeks away from pitching in a game.Carl Pavano threw 45 pitches in his second batting practice session without a problem. Victor Zambrano continues to work out at the Yankees complex in Tampa, although he is not signed by the Yankees (lets keep it that way). Phil Hughes threw 25 pitches in his first mound session the Yankees eye a September return for Hughes. Hideki Matsui took 55 swings in batting practice and is feeling good. Johnny Damon plans to hit off a tee Monday. Chien Ming Wang eyes a September 1st return.

Getting back in the blogging zone. Yanks beat up on Jays.

Sorry guys had to take some time off for a surgery. Now after a short time away from blogging I am getting back into the zone. First off sad day for Baseball as beloved Yankee Bobby Murcer passed away today at the age of 62. I myself am not old enough to see Murcer play, but being a Yankee fan you know all of the players, and history of those players. Stories from family about the Yankees, or the ever so famous Yankees Classics on YES. Everyone knows how Great Bobby was, and he will be missed. He was a great player, and I always enjoyed him calling games for the Yankees. On a lighter note the Yankees got back to business, and took it to the Jays after getting 2 hits last night off Roy Halladay. The Yankees beat the Jays 9-4. Alex Rodriguez passed Mickey Mantle on the all time home run list with number 537. Derek Jeter lead off the game with a home run to get to a nice round 200 for his career. Brett Gardner was 2 for 2 with 3 RBI and 2 walks (he is coming around). Rasner battled through 5 tough innings to get the win, but I do not expect him to have a spot in the rotation after the break (Ian Kennedy, Jeff Karstens anyone?). The pen for the Yanks continues to be strong over the last handful of games. It will be interesting to see if Cashman has anything in his bag of tricks at the trade deadline.

Yankees Awake? Melky Sits.

The New York Yankees pounded the Texas Rangers 18-7 tonight at Yankee Stadium. Now Hank thinks hes the man, and the Yankees responded to his comments earlier today. I doubt the Yankees scored a ton of runs because they were worried about what Hank said, but they know they have been playing terrible. I was just glad to see Melky out of the lineup. Gardner didn't do anything too special,but he swiped 2nd base, and had 3rd stolen on a foul ball 1 hit 1 RBI. I think you have keep him in the lineup tomorrow against Boston. These next four games will be interesting Boston has lost 5 in a row (If the Yankees were not sleeping they could have caught up).

What is the problem with the Yankees?

Score a ton of runs get horrible pitching. Get good pitching and score no runs. This Yankees team is frustrating to watch. One run games kill you the most. Especially when Mariano comes into the game with the game tied (He's going to give up a run). They have a hard time putting all the parts of their game together to win ball games, and it is hard to understand. How does this team not score runs? They have so many talented hitters in their lineup, but it just seems only a few players have the desire. As much as I love Melky Cabrera he's got to take a seat for a wile. Brett Gardner has not got a hit yet, but he shows some real potential (working the count, running hard).I think he should take over the CF duties for a wile wile Melky has time to stew about all the GIDP's. Another smart move wile Matsui is out would be to DH Posada, and start Molina at catcher. Molina's bat is horrible, but he can gun down anyone in the league trying to swipe a base. Posada on the other hand cant throw out anyone after his arm issue this season. A lot of this rant stems from last nights 3-2 loss to the Rangers. Why is Jeter riding pine down 3-2 in the 9th inning with Melky comming to bat? Why is Jeter even riding pine at all? Why can we not put all of our best players on the field at the same time. Tonight I would like to see
1.Damon LF
2.Jeter SS
3.Abreu RF
4.Rodriguez 3B
5.Giambi 1B
6.Posada DH
7.Cano 2B
8.Molina C
9.Gardner CF
Please Joe I know you read my blog, see how it works out.By the way Ponson told me he is going to tear it up tonight.