E-Boland and the Bombers

I think we should being up Thompson. I liked what I saw out of him in limited time last season. Damon is a very good player, but all his injuries are getting kind of annoying. Hopefully he'll be back as soon as possible.

In the mean time, who leads off? Melky? Jeter? I heard Torre would've led off Cano today, which I don't like.

"Shin splints"

I would lead off with Jeter and bat Cano second, although that sets up a lefty-lefty situation if Abreu bats third.

melky in no way leads off and in fact sardhina should be called up and move Matsui /melky to center. melky has not shown me any lead off capabilities we trying to win

Until it is clear what is physically wrong w/Damon,Melky will bat leadoff and play center.If Damon goes on the DL ,the Yanks will recall Thompson or Sardinha .

In 19 games last yr Melky batted .333 25-75 batting 1st.He is a very capable leadoff hitter.

Melky will be fine leading off for a little while - lets not freak out until we know more.

The question becomes, how do you make room for a call up - if Damon does not go on the DL the options are to cut either Phelps or Nieves or send down a reliever. I would think that with all the off days it would make more sense to go with a four man rotation and send down Rasner.

Yanks ride w/ what they have if Damon doesn't go on the DL.Although sending Rasner out for 2 weeks makes sense .

I see chip becasue if sardhina comes up and tear it up somebody is going to be Wally Pipped

Francessa opening the show - the Yankee roster needs to be adjusted: The Yankees need to have a fifth outfielder on the team (he wants Bernie). "If they had played today and something had happened to Matsui or Abreu who goes into the outfield? Cairo? They have four firstbasemen (Cairo, Phelps, Doug, Giambi) and four outfielders, that doesn't work"

The answer is, yes, in a pinch Cairo is the fifth outfielder - Phelps can also play a corner if needed. This is the problem that happens when you have a roster where you have one first baseman who can't field, and another one who can't hit - you need a platoon because Doug can't hit lefties at all. You can't play Cairo there because then you're up a creek if something happens during the game to Jeter, A-Rod or Cano - I really think that what's going to happen is that the 12 man relief corps is going to be cut down to 11 to bring up a Reese, Thompson type and they will just set up the Scranton Shuttle. With the AAA team being only an hour or so away by car (or less by private jet in a pinch) they can afford, at least on homestands, to have sort of a revolving door with the 25th man.

Anon - I don't think they call up Bronson because he's a young player and they would rather he played everyday and also, he's not a CF - if they're going to recall a back up outfielder it will be one who can play all three spots Reese, Thompson or Gardner.

Here's a quote I pulled from Ken Rosenthal's latest: The Brewers greatly value Hardy's defense; they moved Bill Hall to center field this season even though Hall gave them rare offensive production at short.

The team's rationale, however, made sense: Hardy, who did not play after May 17 last season due to an ankle injury, could be one of those players who figures it out offensively.

Tony Pena Jr., the Royals' new shortstop, falls into the same category. He, too, will never hit like Hall, but his defense is so good he needs to be only adequate offensively. - END

So here's the question, if the Brewers and the Royals are willing to sacrifice some offense for terrific defense and it's considered a smart move, why is it a bad move when the Yankees do the same thing with Meinty at 1st?

Thompson.

Who said it was a bad move? The Yanks gain defensively and they have a capable hitter in the 9 hole.Meintky has the ability to hit .275 w/ 12hr 65 rbi.What more do we need for the time being?

Two words: Bernie Williams

Way to go Cashman, way to go.

"So here's the question, if the Brewers and the Royals are willing to sacrifice some offense for terrific defense and it's considered a smart move, why is it a bad move when the Yankees do the same thing with Meinty at 1st?"

I will first say that I agree with your point, but also ask you if you really just attempted to use the BREWERS and ROYALS to justify it......?

"Bernie Williams," yeah, he'd be a much better option than all the young talent we can bring up with MUCH better defensive skills. Good thing Cashman is the GM, not you... I prefer to win games. I love Bernie, but he's got no value other than as a DH and we already have a more capable one of those.

Anthony, the Yankees don't need Bernie Williams, what they need is a back up outfielder - by that I mean an outfielder who can be counted on to field the ball - Williams the last couple of years has been atrocious in the field (or do you not remember that he was so bad that Torre used Bubba Crosby in CF instead of him in the 2005 ALDS)

Ruse - the short list, Heyman, Neyer, Francessa, Russo, Olney.

Chris - I get your point, but it actually makes my point even more valid - the Brewers and Royals aren't exactly littered with sluggers so for them to give up offense means they aren't getting it from somewhere else - Yankee lineup is stacked and yet they take heat for having 1 guy batting 9th (a former batting champ btw) who isn't capable of hitting 25 HR

Who do they have in mind ? The Yanks didn't move prospects to sign Mientky or Phelps and until they can find a good hit/field everyday 1st baseman the current situation will do just fine....fortunately I never listen to ESPN or NY city sports talk.

The other day when "cramps" were reported for Damon, I said yeah, like Wang had a cramp too. And you all said to quit talking like that, don't panic, etc.

The Yankees are notorious for under reporting and misinforming on injuries. I knew it was something more than "cramps" as soon as I heard it. Too bad the rest of you just don't get it.

Geez...lets hope for a miracle morning wakeup for tomorrow with Damon. Maybe theres a special lotion he can rub on to make the pain or cramps "magically disappear" and be able to play...geez it seems that this team cannot have a healthy team for the first month of every regular season! someone from the original 25 man roster seems to always get hurt right at the begginning. They just can't play withthe full squad and i absolutely hate that!

Chip, I knew you would say that, and you're completely right.

I just mean that using those teams to justify anything seems like it would lose credibility, just by the mention of them. It strengthens your point in a way, but at the same time, they're not teams that can afford to lose any offense, so who could really say for THOSE teams that sacrificing offense is a smart move..?

But again, you are right and I've said in other blogs the same thing, we don't need as much offense out of 1B as would normally be the case because we get above average production out of other positions (2B, SS, 3B...).

by the way, Peter Abraham does a great blog for those of you who don't already know..... I just came upon this one here following something that someone on his blog said today.

http://yankees.lohudblogs.com/

Rick-
Your right concerning the Yankee injuries. You have stated your concern several times over these "minor injuries" and been "gang banged" as an alarmist. Then, when your proved right, hear nothing but "crickets" from the attackers. I would DL Damon, put Melky in CF, and callup Sardinha as a 4th OF. His play in ST earned him that right.

Rick-
Your right concerning the Yankee injuries. You have stated your concern several times over these "minor injuries" and been labeled as an "alarmist". Then, when your proved right, hear nothing but "crickets" from the attackers. I would DL Damon, put Melky in CF, and callup Sardinha as a 4th OF. His play in ST earned him that right.

I can remember indicating that Melky not be traded because our average age was 32 in the OF at the time. Now, Damon will be observed for awhile before a decision is made for DL option. Even with the turn of events, BW was not the answer. His only position was DH that was not going to happen.

Batting Cano leadoff is just so dumb -- and so typically Torre. God, what planet does this man come from? Jeter is the best leadoff hitter on the team (including Damon). But if you want to keep Jeter second, move Melky up -- he needs the at-bats anyway.

Also, I wouldn't call up Thompson or Sardinha -- I think it makes more sense to call up Brett Gardner. Melky is the best outfielder on the team by far -- so there's no need for a "second option" (if Melky played left or center on a daily basis he would save the Yankees runs) -- but they do need an extra outfielder and Gardner is a good fielder and has excellent speed, which would make him perfect for a late-inning stolen base or two (Yankees were bunting and stealing in game one).

Rick and Roy:

You are both 100% right about Damon's sexy calves and the Yanks' notorious lying about injuries. Anyone old enough to remember when SS Mickey Klutts (that was his name, whataya want from me?) broke his wrist? It was announced as a "jam-sprain" while the Yanks desperately tried to trade for a SS. It became comical when neutral doctors were interviewed and said there was no such condition as a jam-sprain.

So Damon had Sunday off, then plays only 4 innings Mon before going down? Unfortunately, this is probably a harbinger of a series of injuries that are more common on an aging team. I'm especially worried about Posada.

Thank you Roy. I agree with you.

"I'm especially worried about Posada."

What reason do you have to worry about Posada other than his age? He's in great shape, and is very durable, playing at his highest level ever.

He's our most important and irreplaceable player right now, that is a valid concern, but he isn't banged up or injured right, now as far as I know at least.

Chris:

Yeah, he's pretty close to irreplaceable, which is why I'm worried. He turns 36 in September, so he's already past the age when most catchers wear down and decline. If Torre has him start 130 games again, it'll be asking for trouble.

Can we revisit why Wilson wasn't signed as righty 1b/OF player? I guess not, it's like beating a dead horse -- kind of like, "bring bernie back". Puke.

Let's count how many OFers get hurt jogging towards a fence on a known home run. It's always something with this guy.

REESE.

Roy I agree with You AND Rick . I would call up sardhina and play melky in CF and if melky CANNOT burden the EVERYDAY job and infact has a ceiling then Sardhina would be inserted . can bobby abreau play CF??

I have a feeling we should have signed soriano

i know i was reaching with that last comment on SORI , I feel though he would have came here for less money and in fact could have been in our OF plans for years to come, maybe we could have made him a of/inf/ super utility player

Our biggest concern of an injury to a starter is Jorge Posada. Our backup situation at this position is weak at best from my viewing of Nieves. We can handle DL assignments any where else on the field but the tools of ignorance will kill us.