On the Yankees beat

In Erik Boland's Newsday article about the game he wrote, in part, "But this sow is getting harder and harder to dress up in queen's clothing ..."

For a second I actually thought he was referring to how the Yankee players wear women's undergarments ... I really did ...

Anyway, I guess the Yellow Thong has lost its magic, at least for now.

We can still enjoy the games, even though most of the players aren't doing that well. It's just baseball and the dynasty years are nothing but a memory now ... Clemens, McNamee, Leyritz and others have tarnished that image for sure ...

Around the league, can you believe ANOTHER HR for Ludwick, up to .336 now! We should be looking for good players we might be able to land ... guys like Ludwick who really hit.

The Yankees need to make some trades, get rid Cashman and Afterman and really get after rebuilding the team.

No sense in wasting the rest of the season ... dump half the team, all the garbage, and bring up any and all kids you can, and trade all the vets you can get something for.

Clemens, McNamee and Leyritz have only tarnished themselves... not the team and/or its history.

DOC

I wish they could fire Cashman now. I have seen enough of this soft team. Trade Damon now. He's been a bust. Bring up Brett Gardner. Let him play left field. But they have to start the new direction by firing Cashman. He does not deserve to oversee the changes that must be done to this team. He's done enough damage. BTW, even this blog!! I haven't made a posting in awhile and then i get an error for too many messages in a short period of time. Maybe this is censorship. Shoot i know Newsday is a liberal biased paper but i can't even speak the truth regarding my baseball team? This is unamerican!! Maybe with my comments they want to keep me off the blog!!

You might get the impression of me that I dislike Damon, Abreu and Giambi. This would be the wrong impression. I have enjoyed their play over the past couple of years but the deterioation of their play is evident to me.

As Shaun Powell has indicated its time to retool. Run the kids out there and see what they have. Night after night these seasoned vets do not perform at all. Explore some trades and infuse the lineup with some energy. Abreu goes into these funks at a moments notice. Damon appears lost at the plate taking imaginary swipes at balls down and away. Giambi's fielding has become his plus that's a mouth full.

I know the saying its early but thisis a year later and those 3 guys are not showing any signs of an energy boost. We can't rid ourselves of all three of them but somebody may need anyone of these three.

How about our pitching staff too. Wang is NOT an ace. Big games he comes up small. Last night is just another indication of that fact. Pettitte is done. Mussina is using mirrors to get people out. How long is that going to last. Believe it or not i have more faith i him than anyone else. Rasner..career minor leaguer with a small amount of major league success. Kennedy..i would rather watch paint dry then see him pitch. This team is in big time trouble!! He couple this staff infection with the injuries and lack the clowns that they are playing in the field than this spells two words...LAST PLACE!!!

Lets go Mets! Haha Haha It finally has come. The Mets have overtaken the mighty Yankees as New York's team. By bye Yankees. Don't wory. We eill beat the Red Sox for you in the World Series.

For the people calling for Cashman's head:

What is Cashman doing or not doing that another GM would? Outside of waiting for his team to get healthy there's not a ton Cashman or Girardi can do to improve the team. I know I know, "Cashman should have traded for Johan" all well and good, but Johan would not fix the problems with this team. In fact the trade would only have compounded the Yankees' problems.

What's more, if Cashman were replaced, a new GM might be given a mandate of WIN NOW by the owners which could lead to a ton of short sighted trades that destroy all the work Cashman, Newman, and Oppenhiemer have done to try and set the team up for the long term. Remember, it was that WIN NOW mandate that got the Yankees in this situation in the first place.

Look, this may not be an easy year for Yankee fans, but there is a plan here. Take a look at what teams are doing with their young players, they're signing them to long term deals and keeping them off the free agent market so the guys who are getting to free agency are flawed or old - you can't build a team with what's out there. And teams with good young players aren't trading them. So the only way to get those players on your team is to develop them yourself and keep them. Not all of them are going to work out, and even fewer are going to be great from go - so you're going to have to sit back and show some patience - or find another team to root for.

Why would trading for Santana compounded the problem ? Yes it would have cost NY 2 prospects and Melky but besides that where is the problem?

Cashman will be gone after this season is over.

The "win now mandate" has not cost NY much by way of prospects these last 10 yrs.Who Navarro? What Yankee prospect is starring for another team ?

Phil:

Very easy to say - dump this guy, go get an ace in here...not so easy to do.

I'm sure the Yankees will make changes where they can, but no one is going to trade an ACE in the middle of the season and even if they are the cost will be prohibitive. As I said in the post above, Johan was a sexy name, but if you look at what's wrong with this team (offense, injuries, back of the rotation) Santana addresses none of these problems and, in fact, compounds them.

More likely the changes we're going to see will be the departures of Duncan and Ensberg and some retooling of the bench in general. If you don't trust those two guys as right handed hitters enough for them to crack the lineup against Oliver Perez then they shouldn't be here - and for the record I don't blame Girardi for not trusting Duncan or Ensberg - they've been non-productive this season. It wouldn't shock me if Ensberg were DFA'ed on Tuesday to make room for Alex

Chip: Amen to your comment.

I wish we could fine some teams interested in our older, flawed players. AKA, Damon (Gardner), Abreu and Giambi (Duncan, Betemint)

Chip,
I agree. All the people who are calling for Cashman to be fired are basically saying he should be fired and then the plan he has in place should be......put in place.
Cashman wants the team to get younger. So do the fans.
Cashman has a plan that may not come together until next season, but more likely 2010 unless some good FA pickups like Tex and Sabathia can be made.

People want young arms in the bullpen and even with the injuries to Albaladejo and Bruney, you have Ohlendorf, Ramirez and some guy named Chamberlain. Next year you will have a young replacement for Farnsworth.

People want Giambi, Abreu and Damon gone. The Yanks young OF's are not ready yet but w/ Abreu and Giambi's contracts expiring at the end of the season, they will be gone, unless Abreu gets out of this funk and puts together a great season and then is willing to except a short term deal (the latter is highly unlikely). As for getting rid of them now, none of them has any real value to any other team. If they are not helping the Yanks, they're not going to help anyone else either. The Yanks would have to pick up huge chunks of salary, so why pay them to play for other teams, while replacing them with kids who don't have a chance?
We blame Cashman for rushing Hughes and Kennedy, yet we want young OF's and more pitchers for the bullpen called up?

People want a new, young, energetic team yet they don't think the Yanks should stop winning divisions while that team is built.

We can't have it all folks. At least A-Rod will be back tomorrow, so that is a little good news.

Ruse -

For the sake of argument, lets assume the Yankees traded Melky, Kennedy and two prospects for Johan. The team would not have brought back Andy. So yes, you're replacing Andy with Johan, and right now that's an upgrade. But you're also replacing Kennedy with Igawa and that's a drop.

In addition, you're taking Melky (the best defensive OF on the team) and replacing him with Damon and replacing Damon in LF with Matsui - so you're hurting the defense. And then you're replacing Melky's offensive production with the non-production of Shelley Duncan, so you're hurting the offense as well.

As for the win now mentality. Until two years ago, teams that picked up free agents forfeited thier first round pick as compensation. In signing Giambi, Pavano, Mussina, et al - the Yankees haven't had first round picks for the better part of the decade. And because they were winning, they weren't picking until late in the second round (Third round if you count the compensatory picks that are made between rounds 1 and 2). Tough to build a farm system that way.

For example, the draft pick that the Yankees gave up to sign Giambi was used by Oakland to draft Jeremy Bonderman.

I've stated my opinions on Cashman too many times to get back into it so I let that subject pass.

I think its obvious that the Yanks just aren't very good without A-Rod and Posada in the lineup. With them they MIGHT be competitive. Untill they both return though its gonna be lots of ugly loses. Still too dependant on that HR ball to score. In spite of the meltdown against the Mets the BP hasn't been too bad.

1/4 thru the season and the SP is as big a problem as I expected. Although Mussina has stepped it up Pettitte has not pitched as well as I expected. Rasner is a pleasant surprise. I'd ride him for as long as you can. Since its a matter of time before the league catches up with him. But you might get a good 1/2 year of productive starts from him, which could help mitigate the disaster that is Hughes and Kennedy. Wang is still a good #2 trying to be a #1.

Hitting so far is as I stated too dependant on the long ball. Jeter is as always on his game. Matsui so far also has been a plus. Beyond that its a disaster (A-Rod and Posada excluded). The bench has provided no help in the absence of the two and no production late in games. Molina has suffered what most backups suffer, Overexposure! Giambi is all or nothing. Cano is a mystery and Abreu is just being Abreu. At times the team looks older than iit is(see Johnny Damon). There appears to be no youth at the AAA level that is capable of helping either. Gonzalez has a real nice glove but is not ready for a fulltime stint hitting. Maybe another year at AAA and he will be. But he is never going to provide power and from 3B thats a minus and unless they move Jeter SS is out for him.

RP has been basically not bad. Farnsworth is still capable of his annoying implosions....but has at least provided a fair number of successful outings too. Hawkins was a waste but one year and he's done. Joba has been a bit less than expected but still above average for setup men and Mariano has been near flawless. Ohlendorf......Im not sure about yet. Same on Ramirez. Both show potential and may develop further.

Defense as a whole has been the worst I've seen in many years as a fan of baseball. They may not be the worst team in the bigs now but they are in the bottom 1/4 for sure. Gonzalez has helped but the OF and 1B are embarrassingly bad. Molina is solid but not great. Cano has actually been a touch better than in the past but still below average for 2B in the league. Jeter is great on the balls he reaches but the number of balls he reaches goes down every month.

With all this the team has still remained within striking distance thru the first 1/4 of the season. Now things start getting a bit more serious. They have to turn it up a bit when A-Rod gets back and again when Jorge returns if they want to avoid falling out of it.

Jim A,

One thing thats always missing when talking about "the plan" is this. Its easy to get younger....but you also need to get better.

Whatever Chip sometimes Change is needed.

his creativity and baseball knowledge is shot. the Ryan church deal is perfect example of creativity and how did Atlanta recieve Mark Kotsay in a trade and let us not mention Beckett to the sox.

we need a GM that know players and how to fine tune them into his team.

Brian Cashman's GM skills was not under the microscope due to the nucleaus of the team being intact.

when you hear him and people on here speaking on the what can one do at least last season BC placed blame on himself well here we are again.

if you listen to keyboard geeks this team will stay this way all year and no changes will be needed. WHen your money is invested you want results . The team while in last is not out of it so make changes now before you do slip out of it.

and Bullsh*t to the 2010 if he wanted the team to be younger he would have be ridden of Bobby Abreau.

He stubburnly (if there is such) wanted to showcase his ways and choices and it backfired plain and simple. His baseball mind is retarded on player personal. damm well he should have went after a defensive OF player then sign a IF . You don't think for one Minute the Nats would have listened to Bobby Abreau for Church and schneider??? again one may posses baseball smarts but not baseball instincts. there are alot of what if's but the fact remains obviously you have to do your homework .

I know for a fact if we had roberto kelly with his then good stats and the O'neill trade came up with his awful stats against lefties the "EXPERTS" would have said noo waaaay hecks nooo. and shot down a rick keyes who may have saw paul play in Clev and called him a dummy for not knowing what he is talking about , yeah i can see that playing out if that trade was today

A team full of "all -stars" and they all can't wait for A-Rod to get back. How do you justify 20 mill. to Giambi, 16 mill. to Abreu, 13 mill to Damon, etc. etc. etc and anxiously await A-Rod? You know what that means, dont you? A-Rod reads the paper, knows he's being counted on to get this team out of the rut, and presses. Any Yankee fan can tell you that A-Rod presses. So he comes swinging out of the gate tomorrow, and makes all thsoe simulated game grand slams seem like hogwash.

Now, I'm not calling for Cash's head, by any means. But at some point, you have to give Duncan a shot at first. Granted, defensive wiz Dougy M. was probably demandfng soooo muchthis past offseason, he was hard to resign. Yet, when Giambi gobbled up that hard shot to 1st base (believe it was in the 4th), he somehow gets up (without injury, miracously) and one hops jeter covering second. Instead of getting the easy out, he tosses it to 2nd. Giambi couldnt throw to second cleanly for a 3-5-3 double play if the batter crawled to 1st base.

If any opposing team is smart, they'd reserve their lefties to throw against Yanks. Did you see Damon flail (is that too strong of a word for Damon's swing?) at those pitches?

When do we wait for Cano to warm up? How about sending him back to AAA and throwing Gonzalez at 2nd for a few weeks? Barring any high pop ups, Gonzalez should fair well.

12 runs in 6 games. 200 mill. dollars invested. Something isn't adding up.

Sadly I have no problems with anything that Nudge has said in that long post. The short one to Jim I will say this - take a look at top flight young guys around the league - they're all struggling, it isn't just Hughes and Kennedy. Adam Jones, Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki, Chad Billingsley - Adam Gordon last year too for that matter. Young guys don't always click right off the bat.

I still believe that, if he shows he's healthy and throwing with any sort of velocity, the Yankees will sign Freddy Garcia for the second half of the season. It is also possible that the team will make a deal around the All-Star break for a pitcher on a team that is even more out of it than the Yankees are (Yankees may be in last place but they are closer to first place than they were at this time last year).

As for Alberto Gonzalez - I actually think Nudge is being kind. I've heard him compared to Rey Ordonez offensively.

Actually only fault I can find with Nudge's post is the Joba thing - I mean he's been worse than last year but last year he was untouchable and we all knew that wouldn't be the case this year.

I look to please you specifically Chip! At least a little.

Usualy I can find something good going on even in a loss but last night I couldn't even watch the whole thing through (even though I kept checking back again and again like peeking at a road accident). If there were good things going on among our Yankees they must have happened while I was in Cranford.

So all I can do is resort to my mantra: our record last year was also 20-24 at this point and we made it to the playoffs... our record last year was also... our record...

Chip,

On Joba....he still is the top tier at setup....just a little less consistent than I would like. At least lately. That may change for the better though.

Bomber -

Beckett was gotten for Hanley Ramirez (one of the best young players in baseball) and they had to take back Lowell's contract at a time when Lowell looked cooked - the Yankees didn't have any prospect on Hanley's level and had Alex at 3b.

The Mets got lucky on Church - they made the deal not because they really liked Church, they made the deal because they could not stand Lastings Milledge. And NO, they wouldn't have done Bobby Abreu for Church and Schnieder because Abreu doesn't fit into their financial plan. They got a cheap outfielder with a ton of promise in Milledge.

And the Roberto Kelly for Paulie trade was not made to get Paul, it was done because Kelly and Mel Hall were making life miserable for Bernie Williams and Stick had faith in Bernie developing into a prime player despite the fact that, at the time, he was barely a major leaguer.

Chip ....

no way ,

The yankees could have traded for Johan and would have certain gave a great look into aquiring another starter (bartolo colon over Igwa for example) as for the OF you could have traded Bobby to a team like the Nats for Ryan Church or deeply explore your AAA talent and see if one of the OF could grow. and if the need for OF talent was extreme (gasp) you could have EXPLORED the Hamilton case. Yo umay laugh at the nats deal but think about it the nats probally would have taken bobby and traded him again probally to the mets for Lastings and others

A dominant pitcher is contagious you saw how even a mediocore Johan gave a quality start he gave up four scatterd runs basically keeping his team in it and Oliver well you saw that

As for the kelly trade(since this is my 5th time trying to post)

Stick still took a chance in trading a player who was (haaha) being called the next bonds or ricky for a low 200 hitter against lefties and heat was all over The yanks for that trade but the fact that stick knew baseball and trusted his instincts.

like i said there would be no way You would accept that trade today if it was on the table be real.

My point is at the end of the day baseball is still a sport of risk taking and gamble and still one would have to find that hot hand and not stand pat if you don't have too.

If a GM like stick was here this team would not be assembled the way it is now even if took the job in april.

Bomber - but the thing about the Kelly trade is that it's the same in the Lastings deal in that it wasn't necessarily the guys the teams were getting back that were the key, it was unloading guys who were bad for the clubhouse. The fact that Paul was great and Church looks to be a very good player were gravy in both cases.

To be a GM anyone can do, To be a good GM you have to posess PIMP/Hustler skills.

A PIMP M not a GM would have recieved beckett for Nothing .

Theo sounded like a crackhead looking to sell their TV and Body for the hit so Florida said Gimme ya best if you want beckett (he would have bolted anyway!

Beltran wanted to be pimped by the Yanks so bad he called the team while the ink was wet on his mets contract.

Someone cuff that two bit Pimp and throw his a$$ in the slammer!

I've lost 10 posts in the last 20 minutes on this god damn blog.

Wow!

Maybe Cablevision has an IT dept that can run a blog site with some dexterity.

huggy bear:

you're absolutely right.

yanks could have had Oliver Perez for a bag of balls 2 yrs ago from the Pirates but he didn't fit the "profile".beltran would be playing CF and Okijima would be in the bullpen.

Where is the Yankees's offense? They can't score runs and they are thinking rather than hitting. The are impatient at the plate and not taking what the pitchers are offering them. We don't need home runs but find ways to get men home to score. And when the offense slumps so does the pitching. But, when we have offensive explosions the pitchers are motivated and pitch a little better. Giradi has to call a team meeting to spice things up and get them to take another approach because what we are seeing is a disaster and not working.

Outside of Mussina's resurgence starting pitching has come up short of late.Clutch play also includes starting pitching .Winning a game 2-1 3-2 occasionally takes pressure off the offense

Captain Dolby,

calm down playboy. did'nt I give you two bunnies to "ease your" "lil man" pain?

Ruse -

yes trades is like playing poker, Perez should have been a thought like many other players but the GM was looking for boy scouts.

When Giambi and the steroids issue first came up he should have been pimped outta town . laying in cold sweat in his Las Vegas basement

it would have been alot of money but hey we talking about the NEW YORK YANKEES DAMMIT who uses the Dave Chapelle slogan , WE RICH BITCHH!!!

Arod is the best pimp, and the truth now shows

What would you guys like to see Girardi do NOW. Starting Tuesday. That he is not already doing. (Not counting holding more meetings.) Tactically and strategically -- with the roster he has or at least no more than the 40-man.

Im sure there is a point in that post somewhere. Anyone able to find it?

I am sick over this weekend's mess. How can we let the dysfunctional Mutts stomp us?
I got a couple of suggestions:
1. Get rid of Abreu. His contract is up at the end of the season and I am sure there would be some takers for this gap hitter w/diminished defensive skills.
2. Move Melky over to right and bring up either Gardner or Jackson for centerfield - improve the overall outfield defense.
3. Flip-flop Jeter and Damon at the lead-off spot. If memory serves me correctly, Jeter was the best lead-off hitter in baseball a couple of years ago. Not saying he should lead-off all the time, but against lefties - YES HE SHOULD, with Damon in the 2-hole, it would open up the running game a little, and both guys know how to move runners over.
4. Move Matsui up to the 3 spot. He is a proven RBI machine w/POWER, something Abreu teases us with once in a while.
5. Get a not-to-old veteran starter like Arroyo, Lilly, or Washburn and plug them into the 4 spot.
6.Trade Kennedy - we have more starters coming up and can afford to lose one of these guys in the right trade.
6. Release Giambi and give Shelly Duncan and one of the leftt hitting minor leaguers a chance to get some experience.
And finally: Fire Cashman. End this madness now!

ruse,

Humor?

no ruse, sorry, not you --

Nudge:

Humor?

Jim A

I blame Cashman for not trading for Santana! As I said all winter, and you agreed, prospects are just that, and usually most of them don't pan out. I also blame him for not getting rid of Farnsworthless!

The team has many more issues than Santana though, but he sure would have been the better way to go than counting on "prospects" to fill out 40% of the rotation. Many on here call to get rid of Matsui too. He is the one guy that can still Git-R-Done! Damon is the one to unload. Put Matsui in LF.

I feel we are in for a looooong season! We fans are reaping what BC has sowed, and it's not pretty. IMHO

Diane,

Is that a guess at that huggybear post? I was laughing after reading it....not for any intended reason though.

Can't "get rid" of Damon - he's got another year on his contract and at least a partial no trade clause. In addition Matsui can't play LF, at all.

I don't blame Cashman for not getting Santana because, as I said earlier, I don't see how Santana fixes the majority of the problems that this team has. All Santana does is upgrade the spot in the rotation being held by Andy Pettitte.

Johan Santana does not prevent A-Rod from hurting his quad, does not prevent the back of the rotation from underperforming, does not prevent Cano from having a bad start, does not prevent Giambi from hitting sub .200, does not help the rest of the struggling offense.

Far be it for me to support Farnsworth, but until Saturday he had run off a really impressive string of appearances this season as the 7th inning guy.

Nudge,

I think huggybear is just another pseudonym for one of my favorite posters here and it sounds like his sort of humor, which always makes me laugh even when I can't explain why.

Bomber, don't be mad if that wasn't you!!

You and Michael can always make me smile, though.

Even on a day like today, when I am grateful *not* to have a game to watch...

There's my buddy Chip, right on que! Problem is, all of his "solutions" are the "problems". And, he still can't see it! Unbelievable!

Diane,

I'll take your word for it.

But no one is willing to explain to me what Girardi should do differently, with the roster he's got, starting this week!

Even when I'm begging for enlightenment...

...or just an assurance that there IS something to be done.

Diane

I think the part of your question that speaks volumes is the "with the roster he's got" part. That's where the questioning of Cashman comes into play by many of us. Girardi can only do so much with what he's been dealt.

Okay Rick,

So now it comes down to the old managerial question of how to get the very best out of the guys you actually have?

"Im sure there is a point in that post somewhere. Anyone able to find it? - Nudge

ladies and gentleman - the above poster obviously uses his brain.

Nudge I have some blocks for you to run

yes there is a point .

when Giambi was at his lowest the team should have "bargain with him to step away rich. or publicly embarrass him by either the minors or the carl pavano method of rotting away.

Brian Cashman is a nerd not a baseball man. I could probally deal him a blind pitcher for 20 mil per. I heard his parking was revoked and he now has to use metered parking. 2 hr limit buddy or you get a ticket.

but I have connections buddy ! Elliot spitzer before being caught hooked me up. those was my ..... he used.

Honestly I could'nt be the Yankees Owner

My pregame talk will go as such.

"Listen here B**hes you all is my property Bi**hes

You better not f**k up my money or I have you shopping at JC penny.

Johnny damon - "listen here pretty boy yo u was better when you looked like the Gieco Caveman so i will excuse the hair rule for you.

Bobby Abreau - The next time you let the wall scare you, I will be forced to Pimp slap your ass into the Bleachers

But no one is willing to explain to me what Girardi should do differently, with the roster he's got, starting this week!

Even when I'm begging for enlightenment...

...or just an assurance that there IS something to be done.

Comedy aside .....

Diane what he should do is ......

Catcher - Molina

1b- this is actually easy Duncan is not hitting you send him down and call up someone maybe E Duncan , my instinct says Miranda and test run them. You sit Giambi down. what he is going to get mad and demand what? to be released or traded ? ok

2b- you have to play cano unless something falls into your lap.

ss- Jeter

3b- Alex is back

Here comes the tricky part

RF - Bobby (bench him at times and play Matsui TO SEND A MESSAGE !!!

CF - MELKY

LF- DAMON

Line up

Jeter his numbers are not worthy of anything else but his heart is a trendsetter

damon - his at bats could advance jeter

Matsui - give him his due

Arod

Melky
Abreau
Cano - until he shows results
Duncan
Molina

There are some things Girardi can do with this roster, but because of the buddy system he is reluctant do do it. Release Giambi, trade Abreu and Kennedy (the Generation Tre ain't working), move Melky over to right and bring up Jackson or Gardner and put them in centerfield. Gotta get a spark from somewhere. Damon and Jeter should be sharing lead-off duties, and Matsui can be put in more RBI situations, despite how few there have been. Gotta try to get some runs early and settle down the starters - so they don't think they need to pitch a no-hitter every time out.

Come on, wake up people!

Rick -

I did not give any solutions. I simply pointed out that your "solutions" don't really solve any of the problems.

Rather than taking a shot at me, why don't you look at what I said and explain where I'm wrong? Would trading Melky, Kennedy and two prospects for Johan have done ANYTHING to upgrade the team other than replace Andy with Johan? Did I miss where Santana was going to play CF on his non-pitching days and bat .330 with 25 HR?

Did I not get the memo that Santana is a mystical healer and would restore Jorge's shoulder? Where he would go all Mr. Miyagi and fix Jeter and A-Rod's quad problems? Is he going to sit there at the cage and fix Giambi's swing?

I'm not arguing against Johan Santana - but saying that the Yankees stink because Cashman didn't trade for Johan only shows your UNBELIEVABLE ignorance.

oh, and genius - the word is cue not que

3 hits! Bobby (I will take all 3rd strikes) Abreu is, never mind. What's the point?
At least the umps took a few runs away from the Mets last night or it might have been 15-2.
Wang was cruising until he started getting everything up in the zone.
Jose Reyes hit a shot didn't he? Maybe we can get him to DH for us. He's better than what we have.
At least there are 118 games left to right this ship.
{SIGH}

Diane - here's what I do with the current team

1. Sign Freddy Garcia. There will be other teams looking at him, assuming he's healthy I offer him a 2 year contract - modest base this year with lots of performance triggers. Figure all told 2 years $12-16 mil if he hits all the incentives.

2. When he comes back, I make Wilson Betemit the first baseman. I know, he was brutal at third with the glove, but he was hitting the tar out of the ball when he got hurt. He has to be better defensively than Giambi right? And you're not getting any production from Duncan or Ensberg.

3. If Kennedy falters on Thursday go to the next guy on the list, whether that's Steve White, Dan Giese, Chase Wright - whomever.

4. Look hard at ways to upgrade the bench - specifically the RH power portion of it.

In the mean time, there's not a ton Girardi/Cashman or anyone else can do except wait for guys to get healthy.

As for the batting order - you can't really do all that much with it if you want to avoid stacking Abreu, Matsui, Giambi, and Cano. Unless you want to go out and sign Piazza.

Unfortunately, this roster is flawed. We had an AWESOME run and now we have to shed some payroll, develop some youngsters and make a solid FA signing and we'll be back. The only reason this season is not a washout right now is b/c the AL is very underwhelming minus a few teams (Boston, Angels, Indians). So, Yanks have a chance for the wildcard but I won't be surprised if it's a postseason miss this year. As for the roster/future:

1B: a mess right now ... even though Giambi has 8 HR's he's batting under .200 and nobody else has stepped up (Duncan + Ensberg are not the answer and maybe Betemit can play there a bit if he ever gets off the DL) ... next year, Tex is the answer. Yanks need to blow him out of the water w/ a great offer

2B: Cano just not hitting yet ... will be fine

SS: Jeter is Jeter

3B: Arod has missed more games this year then the last 7 years combined. Unfortunate break but it happens. We need him back.

C: I thought Molina was a better hitter, apparently not. We need a healthy Jorge back.

DH: matsui having a great year so far ... adjusting well to his part time OF/Dh role

OF: nothing happening out here ... Abreu is back to hot and cold (I guess he needs Arod hitting behind him or he can't hit) ... Melky has underperformed (even his throwing from OF has been subpar) ... Damon is just a player we overpaid. He's decent (not worth the money) and we're stuck with him. Next year: a Damon, Melky, Gardner, Jackson OF just doesn't do it for me. Matt Holiday has 1 year left on his contract after this year and Yanks should package either Jackson or Tabata (whoever they think has less upside) and a couple of pitchers and try to get Holliday (at trade deadline if Colorado out of it or during off season)

P: terrible ... Wang is Wang (will win 18 games but does anyone trust him in a HUGE game?) ... Andy has disappointed (has HGH stuff really affected him?) ... Moose pitching above his head right now (he'll crash and burn eventually) ... kids have disappointed. Hopefully Hughes comes back and pitches well and gains some confidence for next year and beyond. Same with Kennedy. And let's pray 1 or 2 of the minor legaue kids (Melancon, Marquez, Brackman, etc.) can pitch well enough to be in the mix next year. As for next year, it looks like a bloated CC Sabbathia needs to be the play.

Relief: only strong point so far

Bench: terrible

"O where O where did the hitting all go? O where O where can it bbeeeee".

I know how to make Kennedy's ERA go down to respectable levels. Have him pitch against the Yanks

Stick is on the FAN with Joe and Evan

Chip - would love to see Wilson at 1st. It gives us better defense at 1st, gives us another RHH against LHPing and gets Giambi out of the lineup...SIGN ME UP!!!!

Not 100% sold on Fat Freddy's health, but if he checks out, could be a vet arm to log innings.

I thought it was a desperate move to bring Ian back after only one minor league start. He should have been down there for 3-4 starts to really refine his control and secondary pitches.

Please no on Piazza.

You are right, there isnt much the Yanks can do to turn this around. If we continue to hover around .500 around the All-Star break, I would love to see a firesale of the vets who are about to be FA's ( Giambi, Farny, Abreu, Moose ). I have no clue who would actually give up any type of prospects for these guys, but its worth a shot.

GO YANKS!!!!!

Chip

The point I was making was that this team is mostly made up of your and Cashman's favorite choices and mostly, they have not been good. There's no way for sure to prove that my choices would have been better, but I know one thing, they couldn't be any worse!

A couple of examples: Dumping BERNIE and signing Damon for 4 years, Igawa over LILLY, seriously counting on Carla for the 2007 season (hahahaha), keeping Farnsworthless on this team, thinking the "prospect kids" were all going to be the next "Aces" and therefore not trading for a PROVEN and young CY winner who just happens to be a LH too.

I'm not saying that these particular examples are the total cause of our current woes, but IMO they certainly are contributing factors to the overall demise of this team. And, I would have taken the other route on each of these I have mentioned.

Chip

The point I was making was that this team is mostly made up of your and Cashman's favorite choices and mostly, they have not been good. There's no way for sure to prove that my choices would have been better, but I know one thing, they couldn't be any worse!

A couple of examples: Dumping BERNIE and signing Damon for 4 years, Igawa over LILLY, seriously counting on Carla for the 2007 season (hahahaha), keeping Farnsworthless on this team, thinking the "prospect kids" were all going to be the next "Aces" and therefore not trading for a PROVEN and young CY winner who just happens to be a LH too.

I'm not saying that these particular examples are the total cause of our current woes, but IMO they certainly are contributing factors to the overall demise of this team. And, I would have taken the other route on each of these I have mentioned.

Rick - Would Johan really be making a difference right now? Who would be playing CF for us? Johan's contract is #2 in the league in terms of dollars per year. #1 is Arod, would that have been a sound business move to have 50Million invested in just two players? How has that worked out for us with Giambi? We still have to sign Jeter, we still have to resign Wang to a long term deal, we still have Jorge and Mo making 30M+ combined. So with A-rod, Johan, Jeter, Mo, Posada...that would be 100M for 5 players. Then you still would need to get a 1B, a CF, then in 2 years a Right fielder, a Left fielder, 2 more SP's since you traded away Hughes and Kennedy....there is a domino affect if we signed Johan that the media, and yourself, choose to overlook.

DRU

Like Jim A says, this is the Yankees were talking about. Money is not an issue. What you get for the money is.

Rick ...

Bernie was shot get over that and what would have been the OF now had we kept bernie??

Not signing Beltran was the death blow.

Damon was a good "emergency signing at the time

Lilly is only mentioned due to him being a FA at the time but honestly intrest should have applied to trade opportunities tapped into a teams prospects i mean if you cannot create opportunity then whats the worth?

Dru - there will be a domino effect if these prospects do not pan out

what did Stick say on the FAN?

Yankee Bri,

Your are vastly undervaluing Holliday if you think that the Rockies would make that deal. That package might get you a minor leaguer in return, not an MVP candidate with another full year on his contract that the club stakes its current identity on. I'd start with at least 2 everyday players who are productive and then add the prospects. Problem is those everyday players the Yanks have are not going to be available for trades. Jackson and Tabata aren't exactly making you salivate....so why do the Rockies want to trade one of the best young hitter around to get either of them?

Stick said he was happy in his current position and the Yanks are slow starters.

Anon,

He basically didn't say much. They talked a lot about how Stick built the 90's team. He did say that this team will be alright and that the Yanks usually get off to slow starts then turn it on. They also asked him whether Joba should be starting or where he is now. Stick said that it wasn't his call and that Joba could do either.
I was pretty disappointed with the interview. I wanted more stuff on this team.

Bomber - I agree, passing on Beltran for Randy Johnson was a mistake - but I don't know too many Met fans who are happy with Beltran either.

Nudge - we discussed Jackson and Tabata yesterday. Tabata is 19 and coming off hand surgery. Both he and Jackson are in their first year in AA. Lots of players struggle their first year moving up a level. Certainly not going to say they're the type of ML ready players the Rockies would want for Holliday - but they also aren't busts of prospects.

Still not sold on Holliday as a long term answer. Would be like signing Carlos Lee.

Oh, He also said the deal to get O'Neil was the search for a lefty bat since the Yanks had a predominant Righty lineup.

Come on now, I know the common theme is that we print money in the bronx, but there is a limit SOMEWHERE. I dont think the solution is to throw more money at the problem. Look at the top payrolls.

NYY = 209M
Tigers = 138M
Mets = 138M
Sox = 133M
W-Sox = 121M
Angels = 119M
Cubs = 118M
Dodgers = 118M
Mariners = 117M
Braves = 102M
Cards = 100M

Only 11 of the 30 teams topped 100M. So again, Arod, Santana, Jeter, Posada and Mo would have topped 19 MLB teams! Now you have to go out and sign a CF this year, at least 1SP in the Freddy Garcia mold..now we are up to 120M for 7 players. What about the other 33 players needed to fill out the 40man roster? Do you think the Yanks are going to spend more than double what the #2 team in the league is spending? Then that number would only go up next year when we need to fill out the roster spots of RF, 1B, SP, SP, RP and maybe more. Come on guys, more money and more top priced all stars is not the solution, thats what got us in this trouble. The Yanks need to be smarter with their money. I dont know about you guys, but Im getting sick and tired of the ticket prices going up every year. Every year I go less and less, and its only going to get worse when the new park opens. We need to stop the madness of going out and getting the top priced guys, building from within is the only sensible long term solution.

I saw a post on Abreu in the Daily News calling him a ghost: sometimes he's there, sometimes he's not.
Ladies and Gentlemen on the Newsday Yankee blog: I give you Casper, the 3rd strike ghost.

Nudge - the deal for O'Neil was also done because he was a huge believer in Bernie and Roberto Kelly (along with Mel Hall) were making Bernie's life miserable.

Did any of you think Stick was going to come on the air and say anything other than what he said? He's Brian Cashman's mentor, a guy who has spent most of his adult life working for the Yankees - he's not going to make any waves

Chip,

As I stated, when I see some positive AAA numbers....then its on my radar. Till then its show me. To me its not writing them off...its them not getting my attention.

BB - "Dru - there will be a domino effect if these prospects do not pan out". I think thats pretty obvious. Dont bury these kids yet BB. Remember Melky when he 1st came up? Remember him being referred to as a 4th OF or a throw in player? Young players do tend to improve if you give them a shot, a real one over a couple years. The thing is BB, if t