On the Yankees beat

Does this mean that Giambi and Bernie will split DH with Wilson playing first or late inning defense? It will be interesting to see who's left in the cold--Guiel, Philips, Crosby--and who knows who else. Hopefully not Melky. I'm already planning my large "Play Melky" banners for the Stadium next season.

I feel bad for Phillips too, but he had a pretty fair shot as far as the Yankees go. If I hadn't seen Wilson's numbers a few minutes ago I wouldn't feel this way but compared to Andy, this deal is a no brainer. I still like Andy, but maybe as a late inning defensive sub.

Craig Wilson will bring back memories of Jim Leyritz and Lou Pinella. "Blue collar" players that are not real athletically inclined, but will run through a wall for their team, and somehow get the job done. Congrats to "Cash" on getting C. Wilson for a player that was wearing out his welcome quickly.

Guiel has options left, and was send down to Columbus.

Ponson has agreed to pitch out of the pen.

Wilson for Chacon is a roster wash.

Dunno who else will be cut. Bubba? I hope not. Bernie as our only backup CFer is not a happy thought. Andy? I don't think so. They said they're keeping him. Maybe Nick Green. Wilson can also play IF positions, so do they need Green still? Does he still have options left?

Or maybe they'll send TJ Beam back to Columbus. Nice kid, but I don't want to see him on the mound in anything short of a national emergency.

The dugout is getting crowded but I believe our bench is stronger. I don't know much about Wilson but he apparently he has some pop in his bat. I believe Green will go when Cano comes back. Crosby should hang on for defensive purpose. Melky is here to stay. He should get quality playing time especially with the age of our OF. There are break downs all the time. If, Joe was smart give them a rest once a week. Melky has his playing time. Guiel was not the answer especially with Abreu but I appreciated his effort and desire to play it the right way for the team. Bernie will get some at bats as DH with Giambi resting or sitting occasionally. Phillips should stay but will see limited playing time until Matsui or Sheffield come back. The more I think about it the more it sounds crazy. We'll know soon.

Giambi is as good on defense as the Statue of Liberty holding up a fishing net. If the ball happens to be hit into the net, then yeah you can say he'll catch it. Otherwise, it's another base hit and more baserunners to put pressure on the Yankee pitchers.

It's no coincidence that when the Yankees were lackadaisical and sloppy earlier in this season, they were struggling.
In came Phillips and Cabrera and now their fielding (outside of third base) is slick.
They looked like an entirely different team. Younger, faster, smooth fielding and overall more energetic.

Now, because of pressure from "the top" (and you know who it is) and the ignorant fans, they are once again moving away from that very formula that gave them success these past two months. Knuckleheads.

With this free swinging, strike out artist, Craig Wilson, they are probably going to sit Phillips more. That is unfortunate because they never really gave him much of a chance. The Yankees never have enough patience or confidence in their young players.

I hope they can at least move him to a team that will let him play and I can guarantee you that he will shine, more so that this Wilson dud (yes, DUD not dude) will ever do for you.

I like Craig Wilson. IMO, we need someone who can play both IF and OF positions. Watching Aaron Guiel trying to play 1B was proof of that.

Wilson mashes lefties, so maybe some sort of platoon could be worked out.

He plays a pretty solid 1B. He's not that great in the OF. Arm and range are fine for 1B, not so hot for OF. I doubt he'd start over Melky, Damon, or Abreu.

eric, i have no idea what your talking about...

bobby abreu is younger than both aaron guiel and bernie williams, who he will be replacing as the right fielder.

craig wilson is the same age as andy phillips, and as much as i like andy phillips, he was too streaky of a hitter. wilson is a solid pickup for nothing(shawn chacon)

andy phillips has had 222 at bats this season and is batting .239 with 7 home runs and a .272 obp.

craig wilson has had 255 at bats with 13 home runs with a .339 obp, so obviously its an offensive upgrade.

defensively i think phillips is better, but wilson can also play the outfield. both of them combined are great utility players which will add much needed effectiveness to the bench.

there is no way you can call the front office "knuckleheads" for making these moves...

they added an all star outfielder and a solid bench player/spot starter without giving up any of their top prospects, or even anyone from AAA or AA.

and with these moves actually got YOUNGER

Well of course you don't.

Only someone with a higher understanding of the game would be able to understand that you don't compare numbers like that without looking deeper.

For one thing, Phillips is in the AL not NL. Everyone and their grandmother knows that the AL is tougher.

Furthermore, realize that this is the first year in which Phillips have had any significant major league at bats, through no fault of his own, mind you. The Yankees have been keeping him in the minors for no good reason other than not having room up here for him.

On almost any other club he would have been playing for several years now.

Whereas, Wilson have had plenty of experience dealing with NL pitchers and all the while playing with no pressure in Pittsburgh.

Therefore, you can't compare the numbers for their face value.

Speaking of the numbers, I noticed you conveniently left out Wilson's BA and his SO total.

Wilson is batting .267 in 255 at bats with 88 K's.

My oh my, doesn't that come out to be over 180 SO's for a full season?

Now that might be all right if you're a slugger, but a utility man? I'm not so sure.

Lastly, with 32 more at bats, Wilson has a measly 15 more hits than Phillips while being in an easier hitting league and with more major league experience.

So much for being better.

Knuckleheads, indeed.

Eric,
You aren't making any sense...
"with 32 more at bats, Wilson has a measly 15 more hits than Phillips" Um isn't that batting almost .500 for those measly 32 at bats? Yeah that sucks.
Phillips was given plenty of chances this year...Too many actually when you factor in a playoff race. They hung onto him, playing every day while he crushed the ball to the tune of .180 in July! All the while decreasing Boston's lead...Imagine if we had a good hitter instead of him last month...would we be ahead of Boston? Maybe.

Lastly you said "The Yankees have been keeping him in the minors for no good reason other than not having room up here for him."
That is a pretty damn good reason isn't it?????????????

There is no reason to feel bad for Phillips. The point is to win a championship and for that you utilize your best players. Phillips was doing a relatively poor job of it and Wilson is an upgrade, both power wise and via OBP. The Yanks arent out to make nice nice with their players...theyre there to win. This isnt peewee leaue where you keep in a scrub cause you dont want to hurt his feelings...

So of course to simplify matters as to who's on first, Joe isn't playing either Phillips or Wilson tonight. Brilliant!

So of course to simplify matters as to who's on first, Joe isn't playing either Phillips or Wilson tonight. Brilliant!

Luke, you are just so full of it.
Don't try that batting .500 bit.

Anyone with half a brain knows that 15 more hits spread over half a season is insignificant. Look how much it has helped the Wilson's Pirates. Yeah okay.

It was a response to someone who earlier claimed how Wilson was so much more of an improvement over Phillips.
Get it now?

And for your information, the Yankees were 16-9 in July with a "struggling" Phillips.

Compared that to the 13-10 record they had in April, when Phillips wasn't playing and they had their full arsenal of sluggers.

So maybe you don't need an entire lineup of bashers to win??

Maybe having solid defensive players behind your pitchers can give them more confidence?

Imagine that.

Actually, upon further examination, the difference between Wilson's batting is even more insignificant.

Since Wilson has 32 more at bats, I calculated the number of hits Phillips would have if he had the same number of bats, using Phillips .239 BA and Wilson's .267 BA.

The final numbers: the difference is 7 base hits.
That's right, Wilson, the supposedly dream player would have 7 more base hits than Phillips.
7 whole hits. Whooopeee.

Guys...I just want to tell you I have no life and I spend my days calculating roll-players' statistics in order to come across as smart.
Women find this very attractive in a man, you should all try it :)

The immediate post above is obviously an imposter.

Is that you Luke? Or are you also Adam?

Why can't you just admit when you're wrong or come up with a better argument for your case instead of going for the kindergarten-level remarks?

By the way, my number crunching took less than a minute.