On the Yankees beat

I'm about 50 miles from Boston on the CT shoreline, and it's been storming all day. And by storming all day I mean constant thunder, lightning and regular showers since before 7 this morning without letting up. Right now, it's raining harder than it has yet, so unless I've got one nasty little storm cloud right over my town, I'm guessing that whatever is hitting Boston is not going to clear up in time for us to watch Sir Sid at Fenway tonight. Could be a break.

I meant, could be a break for the Yanks, and Sid.

Anyone else read the rumor that the Washburn deal is cooling or dead and that the Yanks might be looking into the Royals' Brian Bannister?

Kat -
The radar looks ugly to me:
http://www.wunderground.com/US/MA/Boston.html

Looks like it's pouring outside the Boston metropolitan area, and it should start raining shortly.

It could clear out - a lot depends on the direction of storms that are currently hitting eastern LI and the CT shore

DC Yank - yeah it looks like the Yankees are holding firm - a marginal prospect and absorbing salary in exchange for Washburn. I don't understand the Bannister rumors - supposedly KC is asking for Melky

I assume that there's a replacement in mind (Randy Winn?) if we are actually shopping Melky

Melky's name keeps getting thrown out whenever you hear the words "trade", but I gotta think that would be a stupid move. As most fans, I would be bent because I really like the guy. Maybe he doesn't bring a powerful bat but he makes great plays in the outfield and brings youth and zip to the team. I don't think you should mess too much with their karma right now. Team seems to be playing well together. Besides, I'm not getting rid of my "got melky" shirt...

well Melky may have become too COCKY for his own good for his performance all the Hype he gets here is not merited in his performance.

Melky is a better than average fielder with a very good arm. His bat is fair but a liability from the right side. I believe that the Yankees could live with his fielding and bat but have a tough time with his baseball smarts or instincts. His documented dives into firstbase have been questioned with no change when he lays down a bunt his turns and watches it as he's running this slows him down. The latest sign of immaturity was his acknowledgement of the bleacher creachers while a ball is hit at him which he commits and error on. If you were to compare him to Damon, Abreu or Nady based on stats. He's our fourth OF but his youth and speed makes him our steady CF. Its unfair to compare seasoned players with a guy in his second full year of play but I sense the Yankees don't see if as the typical Yankee CF.
I hate to be harsch to Melky because even with those observations that I have made.He does hustle but he does not change and improve in the little things that may enhance his staying power or improvement at the plate or in the field. This being said, I hope he goes 4/4 with 3 homers and a double. We may need it tonight with Sir Sydney on the hill.

it looks like alot of the storms directly over boston are starting to weaken albeit there are still storms to the south and, as it seems as of now, another couple cells are forming to the west of the city although they could be false returns. the storms seem to generally be moving in an east-northeast direction so the city and game might be fine....we'll see though, these storms can sometimes flare up out of nowhere

Spending caps are unAmerican and anti-Capitalistic. Money doesn't win or lose games. Money is just a tool that can be spent wisely or foolishly. If the Yankees make lots of money from fan support and good investments, why shouldn't they put that money back into their own team?

Not spending enough isn't frowned upon, is it? Why should teams like the Rays spend next to no money and take handouts from generous teams like the Yankees? Funny how when the low budget teams win it's said that you don't need lots of money to win. Well that's right but you can't have it both ways. But if a team with loads of money decides to spend it on themselves in team development and not outsidebaseball, why shouldn't they?

All you people who cry about salary caps don't make any sense. You're just looking for a reason to criticize the Yankees. You can't admit they have great players, that's why they win. You just have to attribute it to something else--esp. money--to make yourselves feel better. That's really too bad.

Yeah, nice try, Troll. Sorry, but I don't need caps to accentuate my points. Keep trying, though. One day, you may actually be able to write a job application.

The Indians came one game from playing in the world series last year with a payroll of about $60 mill. The Rockies played the D'backs in the NLCS last year, both payrolls under 70. THe D'Rays are in first place despite a payroll a third of the Yanks and Redsox. When the Yanks won it in '96, they only had the third highest payroll in baseball. In fact, the more they spent as the years went by, the worse they did. Those people who bitch about it do so just because they hate the Yankees and that's the easiest thing to target. I've tried arguing with these people and it's a complete waste of time. They are not interested in facts.