On the Yankees beat

Wow, what an offensive explosion. The Yankees won 16-3 over the White Sox and pulled within three games for the wild card lead.
Seven Yankees players hit a total of eight home runs. Shockingly, that is without a homer by Alex Rodriguez, who was pretty funny about it. He joked that it was lonely sitting by Gator (pitching coach Ron Guidry) with no homers.

Look below for some non-game-related things I wrote for tomorrow's paper. I'll be catching up on some long-overdue sleep, along with most other baseball writers and front office types.

Sorry I didn't get to post the lineup. There have been a lot of extra events today, press conferences and so on. The Yankees lead 9-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning. They've already hit four home runs, though unfortunately for the many people snapping pictures of Alex Rodriguez's every at-bat, none have been by Rodriguez. He still has 499 career home runs, after just lining out to the right field wall.
Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera have all homered for the Yankees.

Crazy hectic day, here's a rundown:

Proctor to Dodgers for infielder Wilson Betemit
Gagne's going to the Red Sox, but Jermaine Dye is not
All-Star Game logo unveiled
Rivera still says bullpen needs help, plans to go to free agency
Farnsworth won't talk
MLB still hoping to play exhibition games in China, open 2008 season in Japan, could involve Yankees
Hal Steinbrenner said Cashman's doing a good job, he's happy with team's improvement

Must run to Torre's press conference

Just a few hours left until the trade deadline. The Yankees are still trying to get Eric Gagne, and still trying to trade Kyle Farnsworth and perhaps Scott Proctor.

Nobody's been talking this morning about the direction of the Gagne talks, but the last information I had was that the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Brewers were in the mix. The Rangers still weren't excited enough about any deal to pull the trigger, though.

Well, trades are going down around the league, and there's lots more talk of ones that may happen. The Boston Globe, among others, is reporting that the Red Sox may be close to acquiring outfielder Jermaine Dye. Several outlets, including SI.com and FoxSports.com, are saying Octavio Dotel may be headed to the Braves (who are also getting first baseman Mark Teixeira).
Trades are even happening in the NBA, as Kevin Garnett is reportedly headed to the Boston Celtics.

As for the Yankees, they're still trying to upgrade the bullpen. They're still talking on Eric Gagne. I've been told there are four suitors for Gagne at this point -- the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and -- surprise -- the Brewers. I'm not sure if the Brewers are a team he can veto a trade to or not. He can veto a trade to the Red Sox, but not to the Yankees or Mets.

We're closing in on tomorrow's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. Now that the Rangers have agreed to trade Mark Teixeira to the Braves (in what looks like a pretty solid deal for both teams), GM Jon Daniels can turn his focus to other players. Perhaps foremost on that list is Eric Gagne. A source told me in the last few minutes that things are "heating up" on him. The Yankees are among the several teams pushing to get Gagne, particularly with Kyle Farnsworth's continued struggles. The Yankees are trying to trade Farnsworth, and Detroit is a possible destination.

In non-trade talk, here are some things I worked up on the train back from Baltimore this morning:

Thanks to the Yankees notes and Elias Sports Bureau on these:

Alex Rodriguez is one of two players (with Sammy Sosa) ever to hit 35 homers in 10 consecutive seasons. He is the only player with 35 homers and 100 RBIs in 11 straight seasons, though Babe Ruth did it in 11 separate seasons. Since hitting his 499th home run Wednesday, he is hitless though. Pitchers are being very careful with him and he is, as he said, "playing into their hands" a little bit. There are lots and lots of cameras flashing every time he steps to the plate, something I imagine will only be more pronounced at Yankee Stadium where most are Yankees fans.
Rodriguez may be pressing, but as Derek Jeter said yesterday, "He's going to hit another home run sometime."

The Yankees remain in the hunt for Eric Gagne. I was told this evening by a person familiar with negotiations that the Yankees, Mets and Red Sox are pushing the hardest to get Gagne. However, Gagne's limited no-trade clause allows him to veto a trade to the Red Sox, so they would be a long shot. Should be an interesting day-and-a-half.

The Yankees won 10-6, with a big game from Johnny Damon. Robinson Cano, Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter all had big offensive afternoons as well.

Johnny Damon has not been his usual havoc-wreaking self most of this season. Yesterday was a notable exception.
Damon was on base much of the afternoon and scored four runs in the Yankees’ 10-6 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. He even had an impressive game in leftfield, making a running catch towards center field over his head and stopping a run from scoring with a perfect throw home.
“Johnny had a great game – defensively, offensively, on the bases,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “He got a great jump on that ball he caught over his head.”
In Saturday’s loss, Damon ground into his first two double plays all year. His play yesterday helped make up for that. He went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and four runs scored.
“(Saturday) night was a disappointing game for me,” Damon said. “You have to show what you’re made of. You’re only as good as your last at-bat.”
The Yankees had dropped three straight before yesterday’s win, as Friday’s completion of the suspended game counted in the books as a June 28th win. Since both Boston and Cleveland lost, the Yankees are eight games out in the AL East and four back in the wild card race.
Damon was by no means the only Yankee hitter to have a good game. Bobby Abreu went 2-for-4 with two walks, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Derek Jeter went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double and a run scored. Robinson Cano had his 11th multi-hit game in the past 16 games. And Melky Cabrera was 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.
Yankee starter Chien-Ming Wang improved to 12-5, even though he described his outing as “bad”. He gave up nine hits and four walks in six innings, but limited the damage against him to three earned runs.

Joba Chamberlain will pitch an inning in relief for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tomorrow night, which could be a precursor to his joining the Yankees' bullpen, though that's not a done deal.

Phil Hughes pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings at S/W-B, and should rejoin the Yankees' rotation Saturday.

The game's starting late due to rain (although it hasn't actually been raining in the last hour). They should be underway about 2:15 p.m.

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Cabrera CF
Molina C

Wang P

Orioles
Roberts 2B
Patterson CF
Markakis RF
Millar 1B
Tejada DH
Huff 3B
Gibbons LF
Bako C
Hernandez SS

Cabrera P

That was a tough 7-5 loss for the Yankees, who fell to 11-17 against left-handed starters. As I wrote in my game story, this was rookie Brian Burres, not Johan Santana or some other Cy Young Award contender/winner. The Yankees did not score or put multiple runners on base in an inning until Hideki Matsui's seventh-inning homer off Burres.
The Yankees' bullpen was putrid. Four runs in the ninth for the Yankees made the score close, but it was 7-1 going into that inning.
Johnny Damon had not ground into a double play all season until he ground into two tonight, including once in the ninth inning. He was one of two players not to have done so.

So many Yankees fans wait in and around the Yankees' hotel here in hopes of autographs/photos that some of the players say they barely venture outside of their room when not at the ballpark.
But a few of the ones who did had pretty interesting days in the hours before coming to Camden Yards for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game.

Mike Mussina, who was drafted by the Orioles and played for them from 1991-2000, still has a fan club here. He attended a fan club meeting this afternoon, which I think is pretty cool.

The other interesting side trip may have that beat, though. Relievers Ron Villone and Scott Proctor and first baseman Andy Phillips, along with several staff members (including clubhouse manager Lou Cucuzza and director of executive security Joe Flannino) took a tour of the White House in Washington. President Bush was not there, but they did get a tour of the West Wing.

Villone had been there before in 1992 as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team, and they met then-President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush that year. He said they got a pretty good glimpse of the West Wing and description of some of the history.
Proctor had been to the White House as a kid, but was too young to remember much.
Phillips had never been, and said: "I was a little bit more in awe of it than what I would have expected."

In my free hours, I had lunch with an aunt and uncle and a couple cousins. Good times and good seafood.

Here's the lineup for tonight's game:

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Cabrera CF

Clemens P

Orioles
Roberts 2B
Patterson CF
Markakis RF
Millar 1B
Tejada SS
Huff DH
Hernandez C
Payton LF
Gomez 3B

Burres LHP

Here's a note on the Yankees' interest in Eric Gagne from today's Newsday:

The Yankees have had serious discussions with the Rangers about reliever Eric Gagne, two major-league sources confirmed Friday night. Gagne is closing for the Rangers but would be a setup man for Mariano Rivera if he were to come to the Yankees. If the Yankees could add Gagne, the back end of their bullpen would be hugely upgraded.

The teams have not been able to agree on a return for Gagne but can continue to haggle over players until the 4 p.m. Tuesday non-waiver trade deadline. The Rangers want pitching in return and have interest in minor-league righthanders Ian Kennedy and Jeffrey Marquez. They also like centerfielder Melky Cabrera, but the Yankees are unlikely to surrender him for Gagne.

Gagne is not as overpowering as he was for the Dodgers in 2002-04 but has been excellent in the closer's role this season. Entering Friday's play, he was 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 34 games and had converted 16 of 17 save opportunities. He had allowed a run in only one save situation this season and had given up only 23 hits in 33 1/3 innings, striking out 29.

The Braves and Angels are the favorites to trade for Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira, but two major-league sources indicated that the Yankees are not completely out of that chase. General manager Brian Cashman has remained adamant that he will not give up Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, however, which could take the Yankees out of the bidding.

The Yankees are not pursuing the Devil Rays' Ty Wigginton, a source said.

Left over from last night, Andy Pettitte was pretty hard on himself. The Yankees' offense clearly had something to do with the loss, though. Two runs won't win many games.

Scott Proctor has given up four home runs in the last two weeks.

Here's the lineup for the second game

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Cabrera CF

Pettitte P

Orioles
Roberts 2B
Patterson CF
Markakis RF
Millar 1B
Tejada SS
Huff 3B
Hernandez C
Gibbons DH
Payton LF

Guthrie P

The Yankees held on to win the suspended game 8-7. It got a little dicey though in the bottom of the ninth. Mariano Rivera was pitching for the Yankees. After striking out Miguel Tejada to begin the inning, he gave up a double to Corey Patterson and an RBI single to Ramon Hernandez. Then Jay Payton hit a grounder to Derek Jeter, who appeared to complete the double play. But the umpire ruled that Payton reached first base safely. Brian Roberts then singled down the third base line, sending Payton (the tying run) to third base.
But Rivera got Brandon Fahey to ground out to second baseman Robinson Cano to end the game.

Left-hander Kei Igawa was, in fact, optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre today. The Yankees called up utility player Chris Basak to take his spot. They had been carrying an extra pitcher. Joe Torre said this afternoon they plan to skip the fifth starter this time through the rotation, which means they won't need the No. 5 until next Saturday. The idea is that Phil Hughes will be ready to make that start.

Here are the lineups that are expected to be on th efield when play resumes in the suspended game.

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Matsui LF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Abreu RF
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B

Myers P

Orioles
Roberts 2B
Fahey 3B
Markakis RF
Gomez 1B
Huff DH
Tejada SS
Patterson CF
Bako C
Payton LF

Bell P

Busy travel day today. Here's a tidbit that I don't know if it means anything or not. When I walked into the ballpark at Camden Yards a few minutes ago, Kei Igawa, his interpreter and his suitcases were on the way out. Stay tuned for more info.

Here's my full story on tonight's game, a 7-0 loss to the Royals. Because of time constraints, no quotes made papers. But you can read them here, on the blog.

Here's the lineup tonight

Yankees
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Phillips 1B
Cano 2B
Duncan DH
Molina C

Igawa P

Royals
German 3B
DeJesus CF
Grudzielanek 2B
Butler DH
Sanders RF
Brown LF
Gordon 1B
Pena SS
LaRue C

De La Rosa P

OK, guys, be nice to each other. It's awfully nasty on the blog today.

The Yankees go for a sweep tonight. Of course, they do have their worst starter (Kei Igawa) going in what could be his last start for the Yankees this season. They have an off day Monday and could skip him. And by the time after that, Phil Hughes may be ready to join the rotation.

Perhaps we'll have history tonight, with Alex Rodriguez hitting the 500th home run of his career. My guess is that he'll hit it tonight, before he turns 32 tomorrow.

The Yankees beat the Royals 7-1. They have now won six in a row and 17 of their last 22.

Alex Rodriguez hit career home run No. 499. It was a line drive to right center field that gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead. Melky Cabrera had the first three RBIs of the game, and he was tickled to learn he is hitting .345 in July. He had a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly.
Mike Mussina gave up one run in 5 2/3 innings and the bullpen did not allow any runs.
The Yankees pulled within 6 1/2 of the Red Sox. They are 4 1/2 out in the wild card chase.

Giambi may be a little more optimistic about his timeframe for a return than is realistic. When Joe Torre was asked about Giambi's hope to return next week, Torre said: "I don't think so, but I'm glad he feels that way."
Scott Proctor rejoined the team and is available in the bullpen.
Jose Molina will catch tomorrow.

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Cabrera CF

Mussina P

Royals
DeJesus CF
German 2B
Teahen RF
Butler DH
Gload 1B
Sanders LF
Gordon 3B
Buck C
Pena SS

Meche P

Jason Giambi could be close to rejoining the Yankees. He's working out in Tampa, and here is the report from the Associated Press there on how he is doing:

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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July 25, 2007, 3:04 PM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. -- Yankees slugger Jason Giambi is set to start a minor league rehab assignment Friday night with Class A Tampa and hopes to rejoin the team next week.

The designated hitter, who has been sidelined since May 30 after tearing tissue in his left foot, said he will play two games with the Yankees' Florida State League team before he is re-evaluated Sunday.

"I'm to that point where I really can't do anymore working out, taking BP and running," Giambi said. "Now it's going to be more game activity. I think that will be a gauge to see how I do."

Giambi took on-field batting practice for the second time Wednesday and went through an extensive base running session.

"I'm fired up," Giambi said. "It's gone faster than I expected."

Giambi is hitting .262 with seven homers and 23 RBIs. His foot began bothering him soon after he played the field for the first time on April 28, and he hit .117 in May with three homers and six RBIs.

I saw a couple questions about the suspended game to be completed Friday in Baltimore. Joe Torre said the other day that you've got to do everything you can to win the first game, given that you're already leading late in the game. Expect the lineup at the start to be what it was when play was suspended. He can't use Luis Vizcaino, though, who had already pitched in the game.

Maybe the most notable thing from tonight's game was that Robinson Cano had three walks for the first time in his career. He did not recall another game in which he had walked three times, even at the minor league level. The Yankees gave him the lineup card after the game, which got a grin out of him. Cano walked only 16 times in all of 2005, and 18 in all of 2006, so to get three walks in one game is pretty amazing.

Other than that, the Yankees won 9-4. Derek Jeter had four hits. Jorge Posada and Bobby Abreu both drove in two runs. Chien-Ming Wang got the win, and gave up four runs in six innings. The Yankees have won five in a row and are now only 4 1/2 games behind the Indians in the wild card chase.

Phil Hughes had a great outing tonight. He pitched six shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He struck out seven.

Here are some comments on/from Hughes, courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Scranton Times-Tribune:

Hughes: "I was struggling early on to really command the fastball. I was throwing enough for strikes, but they weren't good strikes. I was missing up and missing out over the plate a little bit. The biggest thing was, tonight was really a night when I had enough time to see where I needed to make adjustments and was able to adjust later on in the game."

Hughes on getting out of bases loaded, no outs in fifth inning when it was a 2-0 game (Scranton up): "One big hit and we're either tied or behind. From a selfish standpoint it was good to get out of that inning, make some good pitches and feel good about yourself. On the other hand, we got out of a tough inning where it could have been a different ballgame."

S/W-B pitching coach Dave Eiland:
"He was good. He got better and stronger as the game went on. I thought his sixth inning was his best inning. He struggled a little bit early on to find his arm slot on his fastball, but once he found it, he maintained it and made some good pitches."

It's another high-scoring night for the Yankees. They lead the Royals 8-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Seven of their eight runs came in the first two innings. Chien-Ming Wang is still in the game pitching.

Here's the lineup for tonight's game:

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Cabrera CF

Wang P

Royals
DeJesus CF
Grudzielanek 2B
Teahen RF
Butler DH
Gload 1B
Sanders LF
Gordon 3B
Buck C
Pena SS

Elarton P

As everyone is caught up in trade talk, understandably so, talk from people in the game is that things are pretty quiet. The last few years, with the wild card and more teams believing they are in the race, most trades tend to take place in the couple days leading up to July 31st. We'll see if this year holds true to that.

One area that's been on the Yankees' radar if they do make a trade is the bullpen. Given some of the struggles of their relievers, it's a spot they could stand to upgrade. Whether they do or not, we'll see over the next 7 1/2 days.
Among the relievers they already have, Luis Vizcaino has become indispensable. In 27 games and 27 1/3 innings since May 28th, he has a 0.99 ERA (three earned runs allowed). And this month, in 14 1/3 innings pitched, he has given up eight hits and three walks, while striking out 15. That's pretty remarkable.

What trade, if any, do you think the Yankees need to make before July 31st. GM Brian Cashman and other front office people are gathering in Tampa now to discuss things.

Here are some notes and the lineup for tonight's game.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre game is being played tonight, but due to rain all day, Phil Hughes will not pitch. It was questionable if they would even get the day in.
Robinson Cano was named the American League co-player of the week last week along with the Devil Rays' B.J. Upton.
Shelley Duncan will be in the lineup tonight to stay with the hot hand. Bobby Abreu also has terrible numbers against lefty Odalis Perez, so he'll be on the bench. Duncan's dad, Dave, the Cardinals' pitching coach; his mom, Jeanine; and his brother, Chris, a Cardinals outfielder, are all coming to watch the game tonight. The Cardinals are off, which is good timing.
Scott Proctor will miss today and tomorrow's game. His wife had a baby boy, Cooper, today.
Tony Pena's a proud papa. His son, Tony Pena Jr., is in the Royals' starting lineup as the shortstop. Pena's never seen his son play a major league game in person before.

Yankees
Damon CF
Cabrera RF
Jeter SS
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Duncan DH

Clemens P

Royals
DeJesus CF
Grudzielanek 2B
Teahen RF
Butler DH
Gload 1B
Gordon 3B
Brown LF
Buck C
Pena SS

Perez LHP

Sorry for being out of commission for a couple days, but I've been sick. But there were some eye-popping scores over the past couple days I'm sure you all enjoyed.
It will be interesting to watch Shelley Duncan going forward. Obviously he had a tremendous start to his major league career, but the Devil Rays pitching staff is suspect, so don't go nuts just yet.
A lot of Yankee hitters have been terrific in July, fueling their 14-6 record this month. The bulk of the team is hitting above .30. Here are the guys hitting over .340: Robinson Cano (.377 with five homers and 17 RBIs), Bobby Abreu (.370 with 4 homers and 22 RBIs), Hideki Matsui (.349 with 9 homers and 17 RBIs), Melky Cabrera (.368 with one homer and 8 RBIs), and Andy Phillips (.348 with one homer and 13 RBIs).
The Yankees' record so far this month has been accomplished with three starters putting up mostly sub-par performances. Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Kei Igawa all have ERAs of 6.00 or above in July. Roger Clemens (who pitches tonight) and Chien-Mming Wang have been excellent.

The Yankees’ current thinking on the trade market it that position players will be available to upgrade their bench – Saturday night’s trade for backup catcher Jose Molina, for example – but pitchers will be hard to come by.
With that in mind, the Yankees are considering promoting Double-A righthander Joba Chamberlain to help their bullpen, even though the hard-throwing 21-yearold has only pitched as a starter in his first professional season.
The thinking is that the Yankees could trade a reliever – Kyle Farnsworth or Scott Proctor are options – for bench help before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. That would clear out space in the bullpen.
But the team isn’t sure it wants to go this route. Is Chamberlain ready to jump to the big leagues? Can he physically handle the stress of pitching out of the bullpen? These are questions they will try to answer in the next nine days.
“First off, you have to make sure that the kid is equipped for it,” manager Joe Torre said yesterday. “I’m not talking about the physical aspects. I’m talking about emotional stuff, too. You certainly don’t want to bring somebody up and find out that he’s going to take a step forward and four steps back.”
Chamberlain is 8-2 with a 2.72 ERA in 14 starts for Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton this season with 115 strikeouts and 26 walks in 79 1/3 innings. He was hit hard in his last outing, allowing nine hits and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings on Friday.
Asked about Chamberlain, Torre said: “I don’t think about that because I haven’t seen the kid. I have to wait for somebody to recommend that this would work for him.”
Has anyone recommended it? “Not yet,” Torre said.
UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.: General manager Brian Cashman, obviously agreeing with Roy and Larry M., said the Yankees have decided against bringing Chamberlain to the big leagues as a reliever.

While Wil Nieves was having his best game of the season last night, the Yankees traded for his replacement.
The Yankees last night acquired catcher Jose Molina from the Los Angeles for Double-A righthander Jeff Kennard.
Molina, 32, the brother of Giants catcher Bengie and Cardinals catcher Yadier, was batting .224 with no home runs and 10 RBIs going into last night. He is 32.
Nieves, who went into last night’s game batting .138, had two doubles, two sacrifice bunts and two RBIs in the Yankees’ Game 2 win over Tampa Bay. An offensive liability, Nieves will probably be designated for assignment by the time Molina arrives, perhaps as early as today.
Kennard, 25, was 1-4 with a 2.73 ERA in 31 appearances for Trenton.

Predictions time: What do you think the Yankees wil get out of Igawa and DeSalvo today? Remember, the D-Rays are a pretty good hitting team.
I say
Igawa 4 1/3 IP 6 H 5 R 3 BB 5 K
DeSalvo 5 IP 9 H 4 R 2 BB 1 K
Wouldn't shock me if Yanks won both games, though. They know they need to win after losing two in a row.

They don't get much uglier than tonight's 14-4 loss to the Devil Rays. Mike Mussina, Edwar Ramirez and Brian Bruney all pick up special awards for terrible performances. The best thing to do is try to forget about it and move on. There's not just one game tomorrow, but two games tomorrow.

Kevin Thompson was optioned back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Shelley Duncan, and Doug Mientkiewicz was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Joe Torre said the idea in bringing Duncan up was to be able to give struggling Johnny Damon a couple days off and perhaps gain some power. However, Melky Cabrera is sitting today with a tweaked stomach muscle that occurred on a swing yesterday. So Damon is in CF and Duncan at DH.

Lineups:
Devil Rays
Iwamura 3B
Crawford LF
Upton CF
Pena 1B
Young RF
Harris SS
Wigginton 2B
Norton DH
Navarro C

Jackson P

Yankees
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Duncan DH

Mussina P