Take That

Who says the Yankees don’t have impact position players in their farm system?

Game 89: Yanks VS. BoSox

UPDATE (8:23) – The Brewers have acquired C.C. Sabathia from the Indians. It’s pretty much a done deal.

Here are the lineups, courtesy of PA:

YANKEES (46-42)
Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C
Chamberlain RHP

RED SOX (52-38.)
Ellsbury LF
Pedroia 2B
Drew RF
Lowell 3B
Youkilis 1B
Casey DH
Crisp CF
Lugo SS
Cash C
Wakefield RHP

In 4.1 IP, Joba has a 2.08 ERA versus the Boston Red Sox, with a 1.38 WHIP and 5 K’s. Mike Lowell did most of that damage, as he is 2-for-2 against Joba with 1 HR. Also, Tim Wakefield versus the Yanks has a 5.03 ERA in 202 IP (that’s a full season for some guys). Wakefield has been a better pitcher at home then on the road (3.30 ERA VS. 4.02 ERA), however, he has rattled off 7 quality starts in a row, going 7 innings plus in each of those starts (boy, does he love interleague play or what?).

GAME NOTES: Johnny Damon has been placed on the 15-day DL and Justin Christian has been recalled. This will be the first time Damon has ever been on the disabled list.

SOX TO WATCH: Dustin Pedroia has a 13-game hitting streak going (9 of those games were multi-hit games), which has upped his BA to a lovely .313. Add in a sweet .819 OPS and this guy has earned his AS spot. However, right now Dustin Pedroia is far too comfortable at the plate. He’s leaning over the dish, he’s crowding it inside, and that’s not going to help the Yankees today. I think Joba Chamberlain knows that as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him throw the heat up and in to Pee-wee Pedroia. That’s something Yankee pitchers have shied away from for years, but Roger Clemens was one of Joba’s mentors, and we’ve seen Joba go in on another Sox player before, so let’s see what he does with Pedroia.

YANKS TO WATCH: Robinson Cano has been heating up lately, and he hits Wakefield at a .310/.310/.690 clip. In 29 AB’s, Cano has 9 hits including 2 HR’s, 3 doubles and 1 3B. With his bat getting hot, and with Wakefield on the mound, Cano could have a big day.

Brewers Will Likely Snag Sabathia

Looks like Yankee fans will have to wait until the end of the season if they want to see C.C. Sabathia in the Bronx (and even then it may not happen). From Jon Heyman (SI):

The pennant-starved Milwaukee Brewers appear to be a clear favorite in the sweepstakes for star Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia, as those two teams continue to talk today.

The Brewers have told the Indians they’d like to have a deal done before Tuesday, as they’d like to get two starts for Sabathia before the All-Star break — Tuesday and next Sunday.

The Brewers, who have a deep reservoir of prospects and a just-as-deep desire to return to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, are said to be offering a package featuring hitting sensation Matt LaPorta, one of 10 All-Stars from the Brewers’ stacked Double-A Huntsville, Ala. team. The apparent inclusion of LaPorta is seen by competing teams as giving the Brewers the upper hand.

League sources indicate the Indians have been pressing for top shortstop Alcides Escobar to come with LaPorta; however, the Brewers originally offered two Class-A prospects to go with LaPorta instead. Newsday reported that those two players were third baseman Taylor Green, the Brewers’ minor league player of the year in 2007, and outfielder Lorenzo Cain, both from the high Class-A team at Brevard (Fla.) County.

The Yankees do not have a hitting prospect like LaPorta in their system and he’s considered an elite, young talent. In fact, LaPorta is such a good prospect that most of the other interested teams (Phillies, Dodgers, Rays) have bowed out of the Sabathia Sweepstakes upon hearing of his inclusion in the deal. The Brewers and Indians are moving quickly, and the Brewers’ clearly desire the left-handed ace. If the Yankees want pitching then it’ll likely have to come from within, as the duo of Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner aren’t going to do the trick, not even with smoke and mirrors.

(Thanks to MLBTR).

AS Rosters

Here are the full rosters for both teams. The only Yanks that made it are Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera. No Moose, but it’s hard to complain with the current list of pitchers for the AS team.

Also, the Final Vote for the last selection to the All-Star Team (AL & NL) is being held and Jason Giambi is one of the 4 candidates (Jermaine Dye, Evan Longoria, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts) that could possibly lock up the final roster spot (on the AL side). Jermaine Dye and Evan Longoria will be tough to beat so definitely support Jason by voting for him, here. Voting ends Thursday.

A-Rod Brainwashed?

What a strange title for a Sunday post, huh?

Well, apparently, A-Rod’s former friend and trainer believes Alex Rodriguez has been “brainwashed” by Madonna and her kabbalah-following ways. While I don’t know much about kabbalah, I don’t think it’s a crime to switch religious ideals, although Cynthia Rodriguez is claiming that those kabbalah-driven ideals are causing A-Rod to neglect his family. The entire thing is pretty weird, I soap opera-like, that’s all I can say to describe it, really. As long as it doesn’t effect A-Rod’s ability to play the game, then I would have no problem with it, but then you also have to wonder, at what point is this going to become a bigger problem for the Yankees and for Alex Rodriguez? At what point do you begin speaking to your 10-year investment, the face of your franchise, and get him on track before he hurts himself and then the team? It’s really a tough situation for the club.

Yankees, Sellers?

From Bill Madden:

As it is, with each ensuing injury or pratfall by a Yankee starting pitcher, GM Brian Cashman’s trading deadline priorities seem to change by the day. For the longest time, the target was always a big-time starting pitcher. Then it was a high-quality set-up man. Now that the bullpen appears to have stabilized, the back end of the starting rotation is collapsing again. And lately even Cashman admits the Yankees’ hitting has always been a concern as he has begun combing the outfielder market. It may just be, however, there are so many holes in this leaking Yankee clipper that Cashman may have to conclude he’d be better off trying to be a seller at the deadline, especially if it’s possible to procure some legitimate prospects for the still-barren farm system.

Madden makes a pretty decent point here. While the Yankees had a tremendous win yesterday, at what point do they look at the standings and say, “hell, it’s time to pack it up” and start selling the aging components of their underachieving roster? Now, this is a touchy subject for all of us (no Yankee fan wants to concede a season), especially with the AS break approaching, as we’ve proven to be a second half ballclub these past few years. But, if the Yanks lose again to the Sox and then get swept by the Rays (I’m talking worst case scenario), does the team start rethinking it’s strategy with the trade deadline nearing?

Many are quick to say, yes, let’s sell. We can get rid of Bobby Abreu’s declining bat/eye, lose LaTroy Hawkins (who would want him?), punt a few pitchers, maybe, and then gather some prospects. However, while the current situation looks grim, with two teams to compete with in the AL East (and the Orioles are inching close), you also have to consider the newness of it all and take that into account. The Rays are winning and will continue to win. They’re a real team with real talent, nevertheless, they have never seen a playoff push before, so how exactly will they react when the Sox (or even the Yanks) begin winning more ballgames? Will they buckle? Will pitchers figure out Longoria? Will Troy Percival hold up? Will James Shields be able to pitch on the road? These are all things that must be thought of and taken into account.

No matter how bad the team looks right now, this is why (or at least this is part of why) the Yankees will not start dealing away pieces of their misshapen puzzle. Also, let’s not forget that the Yankees don’t have the easiest contracts to send away and their $200 million dollar payroll would be the laughing stock of sports if the team was to trade away players and concede the season. The team is all about payroll pride, which is why Kei Igawa, Jaret Wright, and other disastrous clowns have gotten tons of chances to keep playing (they got paid a lot, so they had opportunities to play). I guess you can also argue that with the new stadium opening up, the Yankees would never sell for that reason, however, I’m sure if the team sold a ton of its parts and then signed Pat Burrell, Mark Teixeira, and C.C. Sabathia in the offseason (or a mix of those players), you’d have the stadium filled on opening day, as well as every day after that.

So, the NY Yankees won’t sell anytime soon, no matter how good of an idea it may be down the road (the end of the road is coming up quick).

DL Damon?

Depending on how Johnny Damon feels tomorrow morning (he’s suffering from a sprained acromioclavicular joint), he could be headed to the DL. In fact, right now it’s more than likely that he will end up on the DL, which would be a tremendous blow to the Yankees. He and Matsui were our 2 most consistent hitters, especially with RISP, so when the team is struggling for that big hit, their absence will certainly be felt. Brett Gardner will have his work cutout for him and I guess fans are happy to see the kid get a shot out there, in LF. However, if Gardner is needed to play everyday, that would also hamper the Yankees in terms of possible trading scenarios (in order to upgrade their pitching staff), because they’ll have to keep both Melky and Gardner around (for now).