Manny To Be A Marlin?

That’s how it currently looks. MLBTR is following the talks between the Red Sox and the Marlins and the Sox are looking for something like Jeremy Hermida and a few prospects (they’ll eat most of his salary), so all indications are these are serious discussions. There are also rumors thank speculate a 3-way deal is in the works between the Pirates, Sox and Marlins. In this scenario, the Marlins would get Manny, the Pirates would get Hermida (or Willingham?) and the Sox would get Jason Bay and maybe John Grabow. To be honest, if Manny Ramirez leaves Boston (and he sounds like he wants to leave), the Yankees are that much better.

Jason Bay is good, but he’s no Manny Ramirez.

UPDATE (1:25) – The Palm Beach Post reports that the Marlins have reached a tentative agreement to bring in Manny.

UPDATE (1:35) – It appears as though Jeffrey Loria, owner of the Florida Marlins, denies that a tentative agreement has been reached.

LaTroy Traded

LaTroy Hawkins was traded to the Houston Astros today for prospect Matt Cusick. Cusick has alternated between 2B and 3B Class A Lexington and he hit .285 with a .811 OPS. He’s just 22 years old.

It’s a good day for Yankee fans.

Yanks Trade For Pudge Rodriguez

No Posada, no problem. The Yankees just gave up Kyle Farnsworth for Ivan Rodriguez (Detroit). Pudge is great defensively and he’s having a nice year with the bat. The power is gone, but he’s still great when you compare his overall game to Jose Molina.

Jason Bay To The Rays?

It could happen. They obviously have a great farm system and could use it for a trade, in this case. He’d be the right-handed bat that they’ve been searching for and would provide the team with a huge boost. I guarantee you that Brian Cashman has now called the Pirates in an attempt to boost the price, although the Cardinals are competing with the Rays as well. I’d look for the Yankees to increase their search for a pitcher if the Rays land Bay, who is arguably the biggest bat left on the market (next to Manny Ramirez, of course).

Matsui Continues Rehab

Hideki Matsui has upped his rehab regimen a bit, and while no one fully expects him to return (there’s no timetable set), he’s working hard to help the team out this season. It’d be nice to see Hideki come back, but with Nady on the team, he won’t be rushed.

Wednesday Morning Bits: Pavano & Hughes, Damon, Rotation News

Here are a few items to start your day.

1. Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano both pitched for Class A Charleston last night. Pavano pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk, while striking out 4. Hughes pitched 3 scoreless innings, with 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 strike out. Pavano’s fastball hovered in the mid to upper 80’s (I wouldn’t expect him back anytime soon), while Hughes’ fastball stayed within the upper 90’s. In fact, Hughes was only supposed to pitch 2 innings, but his fastball was looking good so they kept him in there for a third. Believe it or not, I would actually resign Carl Pavano, but only at the league mininum (if possible). I figure he owes the Yankees a discount, although his career is probably over.

2. Next up, a confusing bit to say the least. Last night, Johnny Damon made his “long awaited” return to the OF and played in left. When asked about his return and the shoulder injury that had him sidelined, Damon told reporters (including Tyler Kepner), “I’m pretty much going to have pain in there all year.” Whoa, taking one out of the Posada play book, I see. Literally a few minutes later, Joe Girardi who’s about as honest as Pinocchio when it comes to discussing injuries, told reporters that Damon felt great and had experienced no pain upon his return. What’s the deal? Damon actually seems to be hurting based on what he told reporters and it seems like Girardi may have used him prematurely in the field.

Damon said he understood the need to share the designated hitter role so Girardi could give other players a rest during a stretch of 20 games without a day off. On Tuesday, Alex Rodriguez started at D.H. and Xavier Nady did not start.

Damon said it was unrealistic to wait until he felt healthy before going back in the field. Never a strong thrower, he said he would improvise to get by.

“As long as I’m able to throw to the cutoff man and chase down some balls out there, that’s the most important thing,” Damon said. “I have to save my bullets, because there’s going to be pain.”

Now, let’s make something very clear. Girardi was told by Damon that he felt good enough to play the OF, however, it seems like Damon may have been taking one for the team since Girardi probably told him that he was thinking of playing A-Rod at DH for the day. I don’t really know who to blame here, Damon for embellishing a bit or Girardi for not using his better judgment. I mean, seriously, who are you going to have at DH, the guy with an arm like Barbara Bush or the always healthy third baseman who works out like a racehorse. Damon’s days in the field are quickly coming to an end. I’m sorry but “I have to save my bullets” doesn’t make me feel very confident in your ability to play defense in left. I think it’s time for Xavier Nady to hit the grass and get acquainted with the left side.

3. Finally, we have “rotation” news (when do we not have rotation news?). Brian Cashman is still holding out on Seattle and hopes that they’ll lower their asking price for Jarrod Washburn (the Mets may have jumped into the race too, especially with John Maine’s injury). If they don’t, Cashman notes that the Yankees do have internal options to take over for Sidney Ponson (and maybe Darrell Rasner), namely Alfredo Aceves and Ian Kennedy (he says that they’re the top 2 candidates). While both Hughes and Pavano threw innings yesterday, Cashman and Girardi also stated that Hughes was the most likely of the two to actually contribute down the stretch (obviously). If you’re wondering about Chien-Ming Wang and what he’s been up to lately, Wang actually had his cast taken off yesterday and his foot has healed. Despite the good news, he still has a ways to go before he can actually return to the mound.

What Is This?

The Yankee offense coughed this one up, although you could blame Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte (Rasner did what he could as a back-end starter). The club is just squandering opportunities to move up in the standings. On a night that had the Red Sox facing John Lackey (who nearly threw a no-hitter) and the Rays facing Roy Halladay, you would think the offense would show up today, but they didn’t. And, when they finally decided to show some signs of life, it was the 9th inning and the game was over.

With that said, I can’t just blame the players. Let’s not forget that Joe Girardi, of course, deserves some of the blame here (some is the key word). Here’s a list of things he did wrong.

1. First, Joe Girardi has said that the first game of the series is the most important one to win. Well, sorry Joe but the Yankees lost the first game, so wouldn’t it be as important to win the second (pivotal) game, in order to split the series? That’s important too, right? Apparently it’s not because Xavier Nady got the night off. Now, I understand that Nady was struggling since his arrival, but, he hit a homer last night and was needed in the lineup today. Maybe that HR was a sign that he was breaking out, you never know (we’ll never know). I don’t think it’s going to kill him to have him in there in the second game, which could dramatically effect the series’ outcome. If you want to sit him, sit him in the third game, once you’ve split the series, OR, sit him in the next series (again, I don’t think he’ll be hurt if you play him for 2 more days). Also, let’s not forget that Jason Giambi had been slumping hard coming into today’s game. Wouldn’t you want to keep the lineup as deep as possible to help him and everyone else around him?

2. Moving on, Joe Girardi loves his splits. After Darrell Rasner struggled, he brought in Damaso Marte to face Nick Markakis. Now, when this happened, I nearly threw a punch into my computer screen (I watch MLBTV). I know about Nick Markakis because I have him on a few fantasy teams, but that doesn’t mean I’m the only one nor does it mean it’s hard to learn a thing or two about him. Markakis hits lefties this year at a phenomenal clip. In fact, his .317 AVG and .956 OPS against them are better than his righty-splits. Joe Girardi could have easily learned this if he would have looked at a scouting report, or a statistics page. But no, Girardi sees a lefty and calls a lefty. He doesn’t ask questions. He doesn’t check the numbers, he simply reacts and that’s that. He called in Marte to face Markakis and Markakis promptly singled and loaded the bases. Girardi could have brought in Edwar or Veras to face him since it would have been a better battle. Then he could have brought in Marte to face Huff (who doesn’t hit lefties well). When is Joe going to learn that not all lefties do poorly against lefties (and vice versa)? Of course, it’s up to Marte to execute, but still.

3. My final complaint is minor. Why is Richie Sexson on this team? Wilson Betemit cannot hit lefties as right-handed hitter, so why not give Sexson a pinch hit? He was brought in to hit lefties, right? That was the reasoning? Granted, he’s terrible, but that’s why you brought him in. He probably would have struck out, but Betemit hits .229 against lefties this year. Hell, if Girardi is a numbers guy, I think Sexson’s .338 AVG against lefties earns him a shot (even if it is an aberration). At least he’s shown some more patience against them in comparison. I just don’t get Sexson’s presence on this team. If you want defense, you can get that elsewhere (and it’ll actually be GOOD). Just because Sexson is cheap, doesn’t make him worth it, especially if he’s even good enough to pinch hit against a left-handed pitcher.

As you can see, Girardi should get SOME of the blame (he is the manager, after all). He didn’t put his best lineup out there and he hurt the team before the game even started. Then, when the game started, some of his moves were rather questionable. I don’t think I’m being harsh, am I?