We Hate You Carl

Pavano and Hughes have both finished their rehab starts and you know what? Somehow Pavano did much better. Hughes' velocity was down and its to risky to pitch him before he`s totally 100 percent ready. They need another pitcher.

Our options are Chase Wright, Alfredo Aceves, and Carl Pavano. Wright has been very lucky. I would never start him. I`d like to see him traded after the year. Maybe along with Kennedy, Melky, and Matsui/Damon for a good young center-fielder. That leaves Aceves and Pavano. I wanted Aceves instead of Kennedy but I think I`d have to go with Pavano instead.

They signed him to what is now an absurd deal that looked pretty good at the time. They also have had numerous chances to dump on another team. Including reportedly at least one at the trade deadline this year. They may as well go with him now. They don't have anything to lose and they have everything to gain. The season's on the line and Rasner, Rasner, and Ponson are all in our rotation. Not to mention Mussina is our ace and as a shot at the Cy Young award and 20 wins.

If Pavano struggles then Hughes can fill his spot with Aceves waiting to step in for Ponson or Rasner to get bombed. Tomorrow is yet another big game. The game against Roy Halladay is next to a guarenteed loss so they need to take tomorrow's game.

1) Mussina
2) Pettitte
3) Ponson
4) Rasner
5) Pavano

Somebody please shoot me.

Reinforcements

Although they`ve inched closer the Yankees still have the odds heavily against them for the playoffs. Help is on the way though.

• Matsui started his rehab assignment yesterday. He could be back by Tuesday as a DH for the year. It should be interesting to see what they do. I would think Damon would move to center but Gardner has been playing well of late. He`d obviously be a big bat to add.
• Phil Hughes is pitching today in his last rehab start. He could be up for the game on Wednesday if he does well. He could be terrible like he was earlier in the year. Or he could be brilliant like last year. He`s replaced his slider with a cutter.
• Some guy named Carl Pavano is also making a rehab start today in AA. Its his last rehab start. He could also be up for the game on Wednesday. I think the spot will go to whoever pitches better today. The other will come up to replace Rasner soon. Hopefully Pavano can stay healthy until Joba gets back. ;)
• Joba is also on his way back. He`ll probably come in for whoever happens to be struggling when he`s ready.

All of these guys could be helpful additions. Particularly Matsui and Joba.

A series win?

They actually finally won a series. Granted it was against Kansas City but I`ll take it. Its to bad they couldn't win that first game and get the sweep but oh well. Boston lost again so they`re 5 games out and back in that borderline contender range. Also, Boston is only .5 games ahead of Chicago and Minnesota.

I said yesterday this was a must win and they delivered. After Mussina's first inning I though they were in trouble and kind of annoyed at Michael Kay's constant references to Mussina's first inning struggles. However, he settled down and gave them what they needed, 7 innings of 3 run ball. He gave the bullpen a desperately needed rest.

The offense also exploded after a pathetic showing yesterday. A-Rod's first inning home run to tie it was huge and Nady's homer to give them the lead was also great. They showed everyone why the Yankees didn't want Brian Bannister.

However, lets not get ahead of ourselves. They`re still only in third in the wild card and the next series is big. They have to face both Burnett and Halladay. They need to take 2/3 against Toronto. They have a day off tomorrow.

The Blame Game- Melky

Melky has been a controversial figure for Yankees fans. On one side we had people who said he was young and that it was impressive for him to even be in the majors at his age. His fielding was great and his hitting could only improve from here. On the other side we had fans who though he was a 4th outfielder. His hitting was below average. His defense was overrated. I was one of the former.

I`ve been a huge supporter of Melky comparing him to guys like Carlos Beltran. However, he has been an absolutely pathetic hitter this year. Literally, he was one of the worst hitters in baseball this year. His defense also seemed to drop off with him making mental mistakes. It finally earned him a long overdue demotion to AAA for Brett Gardner who had a big day today. This year was an important one for Melky and he really blew it. I`m very close to calling him a bust.

In April things looked great for Melky. He had power developing and he was hitting. Things have gone only downhill from there. I think we may see him traded in the offseason. The only question is who will hold over centerfield until Austin jackson is (hopefully) ready. It doesn't look like it will be Melky.

Can they do it?

Right now after a Yankees win and Boston loss they are 6 games behind Boston for first in the wild card and 4.5 games behind Chicago/Minnesota for second. Things don't look good. I think they`re pretty much done. However, they do have a small chance.

The next 3 series (counting the current one) are huge. They`re all against weaker teams and the Yankees have a chance to beat up on them. Kansas City, Toronto, and Baltimore are all beatable (although Toronto is tough). They need to win at least 6 of their 9 games against these teams if they`re going to make a run. They`re only 1-1 so far and tomorrow's game against Kansas City is huge. They need to win this series badly. They have Mussina pitching which is good but its certainly no sure thing.

Hughes needs only one more minor league start before coming up, Joba has started throwing, Matsui will begin his rehab performances today in A ball, and even Pavano is making his way back. They need to be 4 or 5 games out at the end of this "easy" stretch. After this stretch some of these injured players will be coming back for the stretch run and we`ll know whether or not they have a chance. Again, tomorrow is huge. They NEED a win

Last Game

I went to the game today and it was ugly but it was fun. I missed the game yesterday but from I heard it was ugly. It may be my last game at the old stadium. It was a good one to.

For the first 6 innings we did our now typical whining about hitting with RISP and they`re terrible luck. However, in the 7th they capitalized on 2 errors and a wild pitch to tie the game at 2. By the time the 13th rolled around the stadium had just about emptied out. Finally, Brett Gardner got the walk off hit for the second time in his young career.

Ponson did his typical performance getting into a ton of jams and miraculously getting out. He`s become this year's Aaron Small with less run support. The bullpen was also brilliant. The only one who did poorly was Damaso Marte who walked the only batter he faced. I`m more than a little worried about him. I still like him but he seems to need to adjust to a new team. Maybe for now Girardi should try and have him avoid key spots.

Although it doesn't really matter in the big picture it was a good game.

Move

Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom will be called up. Richie Sexson is gone and Melky will be sent to AAA. I like the Gardner/Melky move. The season is basically over and they may as well see what Gardner has for next year. I intially didn't like the Sexson/Ransom move but since th season is basically over they may as well see if Ransom can do better than Betemi for next year.

The Blame Game- Wang

Our next target in this series is Chien Ming Wang.

He was hurt in interleague play (I think against the Pirates) while running around the bases. Hank came out with some comments about how the NL needed to make the pitchers stop hitting afterwards. He was upset and I can't really blame him. During every off-season it seems like theirs a debate over whether Chien Ming Wang is an ace or not. He came out of the gate pitching great as usual and was even striking out hitters with his slider. He slowed down as the season went on but his injury was a crippling blow. Whether he should be or not he`s the Yankees best pitcher and losing him was awful.

We had hopes he`s be back by the middle of September but he won't be until October when the Yankees won't be playing anymore. They`re throwing out bad pitchers and seeing if they can catch lightning in a bottle. That doesn't usually work out that well. Wang was irreplaceable for the Yankees. They`ll be glad to have him back next year.

Damon to Center

Another reason for Damon moving to center could simply be to see if he can handle it next year. I doubt he can though.

Gerritt Cole to College

The Yankees first round draft pick has opted for college instead of signing according to Tyler Kepner. This is a problem. The farm relies on being replenished every year through the draft. The Yankees will get the 29th overall pick next year in addition to the one they already will get and any ones they may acquire through free agency.

With Pudge and Abreu both as Type A free agents they have a chance for a monster draft this year.

Damon to Centerfield

The Newark Star Ledger is reporting that Damon will be taking over in center for now. I don't see the point. We lose some on defense and essentialy its Betemit/Sexson replacing Melky/Christian. Its kind of a wash unless they`re just trying to boost Damon's trade value.

The Blame Game- The Big Three

We all knew going into the year that Cashman was taking a big risk by having 3/5 of our rotation as rookies. We heard going into the year that Kennedy was the most ready of the "Big Three." Next was Hughes and then Joba. Then in reverse order was the potential. It didn't work out like that. Hughes and Kennedy consistently were embarassingly awful. Both were injured as well fairly early on. Kennedy also seemed to have an attitude problem that we never heard about that surfaced again when he returned a week or so ago. We are still waiting for Hughes' return and I thought he had the potential to be the Yankees savior if they didn't fall back as far as they did.

On the other hand, Joba was everything they could have hoped for. He became one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball. His transition from the bullpen could not have been smoother which was partially because of the bullpen's dominance. Him and Mussina were a very good 1-2 punch in the rotation. However, as we all know he went down with rotator cuff tendinitis. Ultimately, that injury is one of the reasons they collapsed. Rasner and Kennedy each had one start that would have gone to Joba and very well may have been won. Also, his last start which he lost may have been affected by his injury.Had he gotten those 3 extra wins they`d be 3.5 games back instead of a devestating 6.5. Obviously, he may not have won them all though.

Kennedy seems to be in AAA for the rest of the year and his stock has plummeted in the eyes of Yankees fans. However, despite Hughes' struggles other GM's still seem to think highly of him. The last month and a half should be interesting just to see how Hughes does. He will get one more rehab start than be brought up again. Joba's injury does not seem to be long term and he was really great while up. I think its safe to pencil him in for a rotation spot next year (barring some unforseen September event). Kennedy seems to be on the path to be traded in the off-season while if Hughes pitches well he may earn himself a rotation spot next year.

Many fans may look back at the Johan Santana trade proposals now and wonder why we didn't made the move. Melky, Kennedy, and Hughes all failed to deliver this year. However, we need to give Hughes more time. Cashman really had no choice but to go with them for the season.

Its Over....

I really hate to say it but this season is basically dead. 6.5 games out is to much to overcome for this team. Baring a Mets like collapse by Boston and Minnesota/Chicago this team has no hope for a comeback. I`ll keep the blog going for the rest of the year on the off-chance we`ll come back. As we go along through the rest of the season I`ll try and identify some of the reasons this team couldn't come through. In addition to this teams major flaws Giese is now injured and Hughes/Pavano will need another start before they can come back. Its really a shame to have a season like this to end the last year in the old stadium. I`m extremely dissapointed. After the trade deadline I thought this team was destined for great things. Now its time to just sit back and see how things set up for next year. Theirs still a few interesting things to watch for like the fact that Moose/Pettitte may be fighting for a rotation spot next year, how Hughes/Joba do, and a few other things. Maybe they can pull off a miraculous comeback but I have to say I`d be totally shocked.

We Live

A day after Hank basically declared the season over the Yankees got a big win. For a few innings it looked like they would gain a game on Boston. However, Boston came back against Texas and they merely hold their ground at 5 games back. Today is another big game.

Mussina pitched fairly well. Not his usual brilliance but 7 innings of 3 run ball is fine for me. Marte had another dissapointing performance. He`s been a dissapointment. Rivera also blew his first save of the year. He`s been bad lately.A-Rod picked up the team with a game-winning homer. Imagine that, a clutch hit.

Byrd to Boston

Paul Byrd has been traded to the Red Sox. The Yankees had some interest in him. However, its not really a big deal. He doesn't strike guys out at all and doesn't have a great GB%. His FIP is over 5.00. He might even be a downgrade for Boston. Let them take his salary.

Garcia to Tigers

Freddy Garcia is going to sign a deal with the Tigers. I`m slightly dissapointed about this but Pavano should be ready at about the same time as Garcia and he may be a better option believe it or not.

Just Survive

Things are looking bad now but if we can survive long enough to get some injured players back then we may have a shot at a comeback. Phil Hughes is just about ready and although he`s definitely no sure thing he could be better than Giese/Ponson/Rasner. Matsui is making his way back and would be a great bat to add. Pavano is almost back and if he stays healthy then he could also be better than Giese/Pavano/Rasner. Freddy Garcia is also a FA option I would`ve signed before Wednesday's start. Not to mention Mark Melancon is sitting in AAA just dominating.

The Yankees are slumping now and Boston is hot right now. Things are bound to reverse themselves but we need this to happen before its to late. If they can gain a fame or two on Boston in the next week or so then they may be in much better shape. I`m not saying you can count on them but if everything works out then they still can make the playoffs.

Joba Throwing, Matsui Running

Joba will be starting his throwing program on Friday. By that time we may have a better view on whether the Yankees should bring him back or not for the season. Their in that fringe competitor spot where they`re one hot streak away from getting back in the race but also one losing streak from virtual elimination. The losing streak needs to end tonight.

Also, I`ve neglected Matsui's recovery partially because because I was resigned to him being out for the season. He`s started running and could be back soon. Obviously he`d be a great bat to add.

Rasner to replace Kennedy

Maybe some rest was what he needed. It`ll probably just be one start than Hughes will be back.

Luchinno Leaving Boston?

Jon Heyman is reporting that he`s thinking about that after the year. God, I hope so. I can't stand the guy.