Changing Lanes

Jason Lane, who is currently hitting .248/.340/.485 in AAA with 11 HR’s, could opt out of his contract today with the Yankees if he doesn’t get the call to be with the major league team. At this point, he could easily replace Shelley Duncan, whose anemic offense won’t be missed at all.

Cashman Confused About Chris

Yankee bloggers, whether it’s myself or another, constantly wonder about the use of Chris Britton. The Yankees acquired him only a few years ago (it feels like ages), yet we never seem to see him pitch more than an inning of mop up duty or clean up the mess had by a Mike Mussina or another floundering starter. We’ve wondered why he’s relegated to such roles because he’s always put up some fairly effective numbers. Chalk it up to Joe Torre’s BP management, we’ve said, however, Joe Girardi’s use of Brittion hasn’t been much different.

In fact, even Brian Cashman is wondering about it:

The Yankees’ reluctance to use Britton has been confounding to many Yankees bloggers, and Brian Cashman sounded similarly baffled when asked about Britton on Wednesday. Cashman said he would never tell his manager how to run a game, but he seemed hopeful that Joe Girardi would give Britton more of a chance.

“It’s about opportunity,” Cashman said. “He has not failed in any capacity at any level. Every chance he’s gotten, he’s had success, period. That’s what defines Chris Britton. I can’t tell you any more than that.”

See that? Even Cashman wants to know what’s going on and doesn’t understand why Britton has been used the way he has been. Now that Cashman has been publicly asked about the issue, then maybe Joe Girardi will listen to what he has to say and give Britton his shot. He can’t be much worse than LaTroy Hawkins and I may even trust him a bit more than Kyle Farnsworth.

Time For A Tear

First, before I say anything, allow me to apologize to all of you for my absence as of late. It’s currently crunch time in Grad School and I’m trying to finish up on a strong note (I should be done after this week is over). I have a lot of work to do, but there’s a finish line in sight and knowing that summer vacation is just around the bend certainly drives me to get my work done, not later, but now. So, I’ll definitely be posting this week, although the posting may not be as frequent as it normally is. Anyways, enough of my babbling…

The Yankees lost a tough one to the Twins yesterday, even after Bobby Abreu literally knocked Nick Blackburn, the SP, out of the contest. I say that it’s a tough one to lose because the Yankees have dug themselves into a hole. The Rays are playing over their heads somewhat, but they still have a good enough team to maintain their current pace. However, their young squad doesn’t know what it’s like to handle the pressure of holding first place in the AL East, so we’ll see if they begin to tumble sometime soon, when the pressure really mounts. Also, let’s not forget about Boston, who continues to win even without David Ortiz, who’s currently sidelined with a sprained wrist.

After seeing Blackburn exit today, I thought the Yankees could have a chance to mount a comeback. Those dreams were quickly dashed in CF as Melky Cabrera bobbled the ball, allowing Justin Morneau, the fastest runner in baseball (…) to come home with a 3B and an error. The Yankee offense just couldn’t back Darrell Rasner who, despite pitching somewhat poorly, seemed to do well at the same time. It was one of those situations that had him battling effectively at key points, but he also didn’t have it. Overall, a weird performance, although he struck out 5 in 5.1 which is a positive for sure.

In other Yankee news, the Rockies are reportedly interested in LaTroy Hawkins if he doesn’t pan out with NY. Earlier in the season, I wondered if this trade would happen. Hawkins has shown that he can pitch in Colorado and he’s also shown that he can’t pitch in NY. I wonder if the Yanks can flip him and maybe another arm for Brian Fuentes? I like Fuentes and he’s an effective left-hander, so maybe something can be born from LaTroy Hawkins’ ineffectiveness. Eh, we’ll have to wait and see.

(Thanks to RAB).