What Will Sexson Be?

Well, the Yankees have essentially signed Richie Sexson. With that said, what is to be expected of Sexson now that he is a Yankee? There are a variety of things that can happen. Sexson, who has been abysmal against righties for the past two years, will probably start at 1B on Saturday, when the Yankees face Greg Smith (LHP) of the A’s. Hopefully Girardi will keep Giambi in the lineup as the DH (rest his legs), because even though Giambi is hitting .229 against lefties this year, he still has a .903 OPS against them. That number shouldn’t be ignored. If Girardi actually sits Giambi and plays Betemit and Sexson, I’ll be very worried about the team’s chances as we move forward.

I also think Sexson will get the chance to be the team’s DH (barring a Matsui return) or he’ll at least be provided with the opportunity to be an everyday player. A change of scenery may do him some good, as he was hitting under .200 at home (Safeco was the wrong choice for Sexson) while hitting .260 on the road with an .875 OPS (his OPS at home was .523!). So, if all goes well for Sexson then he could possibly be our full-time DH or he’ll get starts against lefties (as the DH or 1B). This is a low-risk and possibly low-reward move, therefore, you can’t really complain about it. I’ll say this for Sexson, he used to be a masher only 2 years ago, knocking in 34 HR for Seattle. Again, a change of scenery could help him and the pinstripe mystique could possibly pump some life back into his dying career.

Yanks Grab Sexson

Ugh. The Yankees have reportedly reached a tentative agreement with “slugger”, Richie Sexson. This guy was seen as an automatic out by Seattle fans. Hopefully, embarrassment won’t ensue in NYC.

What To Do

With Johnny Damon likely returning in a week, the Yankee offense will receive a much needed boost of both power (in comparison to Damon’s current fill-in, Brett Gardner) and speed. Damon has been having an outstanding year and he’ll likely continue his torrid pace upon his return. However, the team will still have to deal with a few question marks in the form of Bobby Abreu, Melky Cabrera, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, and let’s not forget, Derek Jeter. Also, A-Rod’s personal problems have to be a concern as well. Essentially, the entire lineup, up to this point, is a collective question mark.

While the Yankees worry about their own team, they’ll also have to deal with both the Rays and the Red Sox. Now, the Rays stumbled into the AS break losing 7 games in a row. The Red Sox are worried about slugger David Ortiz as well as Julio Lugo. Both of these teams have the ability to get better by trading for talent. In fact, wouldn’t it be the smart thing to do for the two teams, especially with the Yankees limping 6 games back in the standings? The Sox and Rays smell blood right now, and if they were to make a solid acquisition by the trade deadline, while the Yankees stay content and make bargain bin moves (which aren’t inherently bad of course), what would that say about the team?

Brian Cashman is in a precarious position. If the Sox or Rays traded for a big time talent, everyone would call for him to respond. However, this year, he’s shown that he doesn’t want to trade away his top prospects for outside talent. He’s actually letting the farm system bubble over and stew. But, imagine if the Rays acquired Matt Holliday? What would that do to the AL East? Could the Yankees even compete at that point? What’s difficult for Cashman is the nature of his team. It’s built with big names and big contracts, contracts that have ironclad trade stipulations and limitations. If Cashman wants to blow the entire thing up and trade his players, he simply cannot do that. So, in a sense, he HAS to make moves and create a contender.

However, maybe the trade deadline will come and go and we’ll see that Cashman has done nothing to better the team. Maybe he’ll ride it out and see if the team just puts it together in the second half. That probably won’t bode well for the Yanks since a rotation featuring Rasner and Ponson won’t do much damage and Melky Cabrera isn’t exactly a paragon of offenisve excellence. That non-move would mean something, though. Basically, if it fails, it fails. People always talk about Hughes and Kennedy and how they’ll signal a new era in Yankee baseball. But, by not making a move come the trade deadline, forget Hughes or Kennedy, Cashman’s non-move will probably become the definitive signal of that new era in Yankee baseball.

Last Call

From SI.com:

YANKEE STADIUM

Yankee Stadium’s regular-season finale will be a night game. The Yankees’ Sept. 21 game against the Baltimore Orioles has been scheduled for 8:05 p.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPN or ESPN2 as part of the Sunday night package. If New York fails to qualify for the postseason, it will be the last game at the Yankees’ longtime home.

Let’s hope ESPN doesn’t screw this thing up. Oh wait, Joe Morgan will be there…

(Thanks to WW).

Now Pitching, David Wright

So, the AS Game was going to end, no matter what. Even if the managers had to send position players to the mound. Can you imagine that? Having the WS shaped by a JD Drew fastball would have been a hilarious and amusing moment for us all.