Freddy Garcia Joins The Tigers

Well there goes that ship. I’m not really disappointed (at all), I mean, who knows what to expect from a guy who’s coming off of major surgery and hasn’t faced live hitters yet.

Matsui Update, Hank Speaks

According to Ed Price, Hideki Matsui will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday. He doesn’t have a definitive assignment yet (GCL or Class-A), but he’s been running without a brace and looks like he’s ready to go. He’ll run the bases again tomorrow and as long as he feels good on Thursday, he should be playing. The Yankees could really use Matsui’s bat. Price notes that there’s no opening for Matsui, but you don’t let his bat rot on the bench while Melky Cabrera is in the game.

Also, Hank Steinbrenner has spoken (of course). He’s not ready to write off this season but he understands the situation and knows that the injuries have been especially crippling. He did give a nice guarantee for next year, saying that the Yankees will be the team to beat and that they’ll go after a big veteran pitcher (CC!) if they have to (that’s a must).

It Still Stings

In light of how pissed off I am with Joe Girardi, I’ve decided that the best way to keep track of his stupid lineup decisions is to keep some sort of visual and textual record of them. That is why I have established the Fire Joe Girardi widget on the right-hand side of the blog. The widget has replaced the Carl Pavano Watch box, and will document dumb decisions by General Joe, after each and every game.

Speaking of dumb decisions, I just realized that Johnny Damon actually has an 11-game hitting streak going (before getting the night off). In fact, his last 5 games have all been multi-hit affairs (2 hits in each game). And, this is the guy that Joe Girardi saw fit to rest against a WC competitor…

Uh, yeah, that’s going in the widget.

The Case For Manny Ramirez

There are quite a few folks out there who are very much against the idea of bringing Manny Ramirez to the Bronx next year. While Manny is aging, that’s obvious, his numbers are far from poor. He’s currently hitting .475 with a 1.393 OPS for the Dodgers and doesn’t seem like he’s going to slow down, anytime soon. Now, the biggest selling point for Ramirez is his ability to hit in crucial spots. This year he’s hitting .340 with RISP and sports a 1.068 OPS, plus, his career numbers with RISP are phenomenal (.329/.452/.606).

Watching the Yankees all year is like watching the opposite of Manny Ramirez. The team’s cleanup hitter is batting .239 with RISP (.213 with RISP and 2 outs). Our current number 5 hitter is hitting .204 with RISP and .071 with the bases loaded. How awful is that? That’s why the Yankees offense has been so frustrating, all season long. If you can get anything close to Manny Ramirez’s production behind Alex Rodriguez, the change in offensive output would be extremely positive and, while Jason Giambi is a solid player, the entire complexion of the lineup changes simply by inserting Manny’s name (even at 37).

When you have a player of this caliber (HOF), one that can definitely hit in Yankee Stadium and in the AL East, and one that is very motivated to play against your biggest rival, you don’t let him go to another team. Manny Ramirez in a pinstriped uniform would certainly work. Give the guy his 3 or 4-year deal and move on. People may complain about the length (4 is pushing it a bit), but this is essentially a sure thing. Even if there’s a tremendous decline in his offensive output in 2 years, the numbers would still be very solid.

Joba Clarification

Joba Chamberlain was reportedly ready to start a throwing program tomorrow. However, although Joba feels ready to go, the Yankees won’t let him begin his throwing until Friday. Then again, if the Yankees continue to tumble down the standings (the Post even has an article labeled Death Watch up), there will be no need for Joba to return this year and he’ll likely be shut down.

Nice Try

Tyler Kepner brings us Joe Girardi’s reasoning for sitting Johnny Damon in a must-win game against a tough Wild Card competitor (the Red Sox also won tonight).

“The turf sometimes can beat up his body,” Girardi said before the game. “We’ve got three days in a row with a short turnaround on Wednesday.”

Damon was 0 for 3 against the left-handed Perkins (9-3) in a game at Yankee Stadium last month. Justin Christian started that game and had a double, but he went 0 for 4 as Damon’s replacement this time.

Asked again about the move after the game, Girardi replied testily: “Justin Christian has had a lot of success off left-handers, and he’s played very well. That is why Justin Christian played.”

Before the game, Christian had a .391 average in 23 at-bats against left-handers. Damon was hitting .296 against left-handers in 115 at-bats. Girardi later cited a physical reason for sitting Damon, even though Damon had spent the last two days as the designated hitter.

“It’s tough, but the other thing you have to deal with is Johnny’s shoulder’s banged up,” Girardi said. “There’s a lot of things that go on that make the lineup the way we want to. That’s what I chose to do.”

I’m sorry, but I’d take Damon’s sample size (a larger sample) over Christian’s (a rookie who has never chased a playoff spot) 23 at-bats against lefties, anyday. Also, if you want to sit Damon and give him a rest, why not wait until the finale? Why not wait until you notch one win and then take it from there? Or, if his shoulder really needs a break (Johnny Damon said he was fine before the game), why not play Nady in LF and have Damon as the DH? Girardi’s reasoning makes no sense. Maybe a month ago, this sort of lineup could go unchallenged, but at this time, when you’re benching some of the best players on your team (Damon hits well with RISP), there’s really no excuse.