Joe Girardi Is Still A Big Fat Idiot

I've slept on it. I've thought about it all night. I still draw the same conclusion. Joe Girardi is a big fat idiot. I've been listening to baseball talk on MLB on XM all morning. I've check out a few sites on breaks and such. I haven't come across anyone who is on Girardi's side here. Everyone is in agreement. The moves he made yesterday were ridiculous. I've received a lot of visitors today from various web searches. Here's a sample of the search queries directing people here: "girardi is an idiot," "why did girardi pull robertson," "joe girardi stupid," "girardi horrible," and I could go on and on. They were stupid moves yesterday. They are stupid moves today.

The loss though can't be totally pinned on Girardi. The Yanks came up empty with RISP. If they could have mustered one timely hit they probably win that game in 9. With the exception of Jeter, A-Rod, and Posada, the team really isn't hitting the ball. That's where Girardi needs to shine. The team didn't hit the ball when they needed to. Girardi needs to pull the right strings to ensure the team gets another chance to knock in that run. He failed miserably at that yesterday. A major problem was also exploited when Matsui was lifted for a pinch-runner. With Matsui out of the lineup, A-Rod had no protection. The Angels wisely issued him 4 free ones when he came up. The Yankees might want to consider swapping Posada and Matsui in the lineup to avoid that from happening. If not, maybe bench Swisher and use him in that role. I know Swisher sucks with RISP but he's a better source of protection for A-Rod. The bench is very weak with no power. The only guys that can fill in as DH are all weak-hitting players. I bet they wish they had Hinske on the roster over Freddy Guzman. I know I do.

Girardi also needs to throw away his books. I'm not a fan of playing lefty/righty matchups. I get the theory behind it and I know why teams do it, but it doesn't mean they always should. Case in point: Brett Gardner is a lefty who hits lefties pretty well (.291 with .781 OPS). Jerry Hairston is a righty who doesn't hit lefties terribly well (.242 with .714 OPS). There was a game last year where Girardi lifted Pudge Rodriguez against a RHP and put Melky into the lineup. Since 1987, Pudge is a .295 hitter against RHPs. Melky is a career hitter .277 hitter vs. RHPs. My point is that the books don't always have the answers. If a guy can demonstrate that he can perform in the situation, put him in and let him do his thing. Jerry Hairston did not need to hit for Brett Gardner. Throw the books away Joe. Throw 'em away.

CC tonight on short rest. Works for me. Hope the offense shows up.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Happy Arbitration Day

Teams have until midnight tonight to offer their free agents arbitration. The arbitration eligible Yankees are Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Ivan Rodriguez, Carl Pavano, and Jason Giambi.

If the player accepts the team's offer, welcome back to the Yankees. If they reject the offer, the Yankees will get compensation picks in this year's amateur draft if the player signs with another team. The # of picks the team receives is based on if the player is a type A or type B free agent. If the team doesn't offer arbitration, then the player remains the free agent that he is.

This is kind of an interesting process. A lot of teams offer arbitration to guys they don't really want back, thinking that the player will sign somewhere else and they'll get the compensation picks. It's kind of like an educated gamble. There has been no official word as to who, if anyone, the Yankees will offer arbitration to. If I'm Brian Cashman, here's what I do:

1. Bobby Abreu - offer arbitration. Bobby is looking for a multi-year deal and the Yanks don't really want to give him one. Odds are says he'll reject the offer, but if he comes back, he's not a bad guy to have. I wouldn't mind him being back in Pinstripes.
2. Mike Mussina - offer arbitration. With Moose retiring a few weeks ago, there's no chance he accepts.
3. Andy Pettitte- offer arbitration and hope he accepts. Yanks could use AP especially if CC, A.J., and Lowe go elsewhere
4. Ivan Rodriguez - don't offer arbitration. The plan is for Posada to catch and he should be ready for Opening Day. Don't risk Pudge accepting and then being stuck with him and his high salary.
5. Jason Giambi - don't offer arbitration. There really is no room for the Big G. A good OBP guy but the time has come to part ways.
6. Carl Pavano - don't offer arbitration. Do I even have to say why?

The deadline to offer arbitration is a little less than 10 hours from now. We should know more about the Yankees plans sooner than later. Any players offered arbitration have until the 7th to accept. Offering to Mussina is a given. Anything after that is up in the air.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Smoke And Mirrors

For the life of me, I do not know how Sidney Ponson does it. Our Wednesday night softball game ended around 8:30. Once I hopped into the car, I immediately turned on my XM radio and flipped it to the Yanks/Rangers game. It was zero-zero, bottom of the 2nd, bases loaded with Rangers, no outs. I immediately started cursing Posnon's name and thought to myself here we go again. Ponson likes to let guys on base. That's no secret. But somehow, don't ask me how because I have no idea, few of the guys score. I'm a firm believer that it's a matter of time before this catches up to him. The innings per game will drop and the ERA will go up. We saw it two starts ago when he only lasted 4 innings and allowed 7 runs. But then he busts out with 7 innings of 2-hit ball in his next start. When he allowed 2 2nd inning runs i thought that was just the tip of the iceberg. I thought for sure he'd get shelled. I'm really surprised he didn't. He had another great outing. 2 in-a-row. I'm shocked. I really am. It's hard to believe that a guy with a WHIP of 1.56 and an opponent's batting average over .300 has an ERA of 4.23 and is 7-2. The Yankees are 5-2 in his 7 starts. You can't deny the team wins when Sidney pitches. As long as he and they keep it up, let him pitch. But somebody tell me how he does it?

Mariano needs to treat every game like a save situation. 27 for 27 in save opportunities. He looked good tonight. Vintage Mo. Doesn't look like the back spasms are anything to be concerned about. I should have waited to say that. Let's see how he feels tomorrow. I'm knocking on wood. Last thing we need is to lose another key player.

The bullpen finally got back to the dominant form we saw in July. 2.2 IPs, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 K. Good stuff. The Yankees really need the bullpen to take care of business. Thing in the rotation are up in the air right now. It sounds as if Ian Kennedy will be back to start Friday's game against the Angels, with Dan Giese going Saturday. They can't rely on those two yet. If needed, the bullpen needs to do its thing and keep the game close so the offense can take over. They're more than capable. They just need to execute.

Jason Giambi amazes me. He slumps, grows a 'stache and goes on a tear. He slumps, shaves the 'stache, and goes on a tear. 4 for 8 with 2 HRs since shaving that sucker off. Remarkable. It's funny how things like that work out. I was so glad to see Damon in CF. Melky's bat is a huge negative in the lineup right now. Damon can cover just as much ground and even though Damon's arm is extremely weak, I'll sacrifice Melky's arm for another bat. Too bad that bat has to be Wilson Betemit. He picked up an RBI today, but he's another weak one. Not sure what they see in him. As much as I'd hate to see this happen, I really think the Yankees should consider bringing in Barry Bonds. I hate even saying that. But there's no denying adding his bat to the lineup would make it one of the sickest lineups ever assembled. The tandem of Bonds and A-Rod would be 10 times better than Manny and Ortiz ever were. Okay, maybe not 10 times better. That's a little much. But it would definitely improve the lineup tenfold. With the way the offense has struggled, it's worth a shot. Bonds has reportedly said he'd play for the league minimum and he'd even donate his salary to charity. I say give him a shot. Move Damon to CF. Leave Nady in LF. Let Bonds DH. How could it possibly hurt?

Joba's injury has been described as rotator cuff tendinitis. He could probably pitch again this season, but I don't see the Yankees rushing him back. Like I said the other day, Joba is the future of the Yankees rotation. Cashman and crew are going to do everything they can to protect that arm for the future. And if that means sitting him the rest of the way, they'll do it. No sense bringing him back early and having the condition end up worse, a la Jorge Posada. Ask him how that worked out.

Was I the only one a little worried when Pudge stayed down after that home plate collision. I was fully expecting the injury to be worse than it is, which is just a bruised knee. He'll be day-to-day. With how the Yankees season has gone lately with the injuries I thought for sure it was worse. Finally, we catch a little break. Great play by the way. Nice throw by Bobby. Nice block by Pudge. Play of the game. It saved Ponson, that's for sure.

My man Moose goes tomorrow night, looking for win #15. I really want to see Moose win 20. By my calculations, he has about 10 starts left this season, 11 tops. I'll feel good about 20 if he can win tomorrow. I want to see these guys score early and score often. Don't even make it close. Give my man some run support.

And for God's sake, I'm sick of seeing the Rays and Sox continue to win. But I'm not worried. The Indians and Royals are 2 of the worst teams in the AL. The only team that's worse is the Mariners. When it's all said and done, the Yanks will be there. They just need to stay healthy.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

ps - and for those that are wondering, which is probably none of you, we won our softball game 12-8. It was the 1st game of the playoffs (double elimination). I ended up with the win and the save. Yeah, our "coach" lets too many people play so I split time on the mound with another guy. It looked like we were going to roll them b/c it was 8-0 after 3. Our coach, anticipating a victory via the mercy rule, pulled me after 3, even though I was throwing a no-no. I had only allowed a walk. Anyway, we took a 12-0 lead into the 5th inning when the other team scored seven 2-out runs. I went back in to pitch the 6th and 7th and secured the victory. Thus, the win and the save. A first for me. Probably a last also.

Question For Joe Girardi: WTF????

Alright. I'm getting a little tired of the strings that Joe Girardi has been pulling lately. Nothing seems to work and he made back-to-back moves tonight that totally made no sense. It all started last night when he left Damaso Marte in to pitch to Marlon Byrd. Marte had walked the bases loaded had thrown 30 pitches in the 9th inning alone. Result: game winning walk-off grand slam. But the moves he made tonight in the 7th inning make were by far a million times worse. Let me recreate the scenario:

Top of the 7th. Texas 5 Yankees 1. Jason Giambi is up with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd. Justin Christian is on deck. Giambi walks. Girardi sends in a pinch runner. That pinch runner is....Pudge Rodriguez? Ok, odd move. Oh wait, here comes a pinch hitter....Melky Cabrera? And Melky, predictably, pops out to short. The rally is now pretty much killed. Those 2 moves made absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's as if Girardi messed up and sent each guy to the wrong place. It would have made more sense to have Melky pinch run and to have Pudge pinch hit. Melky is obviously the faster runner. Pudge is obviously the better hitter. I'm sure Giradi didn't mess it up. I'm sure he put Melky into pinch hit over Pudge because Melky, being a switch hitter, could bat from the left side of the plate against Rupe, a righty. I've never been a fan of trying to play the lefty/righty match-up. The question I want answered is can the guy hit righties? Let's look at the stats:

In 2008, Melky is hitting .253 against RHPs, with an OBP of .301 and a SLG of .655. 265 ABs.
In 2008, Pudge is hitting .293 against RHPs, with an OBP of .332 and a SLG of .435. 239 ABs.

Career: Melky is hitting .272 against RHPs, with an OBP of .331 and a SLG of .391. 1009 ABs.
Career: Pudge is hitting .299 against RHPs, with an OBP of .332 and a SLG of .474. 6428 ABs.

It's pretty clear cut that Pudge hits RHPs better than Melky, wouldn't you say? Am I the only one that thinks Girardi made the wrong move here? No brainer. Justin Christian started over Melky for a reason? And it has nothing to do with the Rangers' starter being a lefty. It's because Melky sucks right now. How the heck did Joe Girardi win the Manager Of The Year Award? Aargh! WTF?

I started typing this post during the bottom of the 7th. When the inning started it was 5-2 Texas. Brian Bruney came in and it was quickly 8-2. But Richie Sexson just went yard. Grand Salami style. 8-6 Rangers. That makes Girardi's moves a little easier to swallow, but he's still horrible. Thatta boy Richie. If anybody heard John Sterling's HR call, let me know what it was. I'm dying to know. I'm pulling for "Richie Sexson. Sexson time! It's niiiice." Done of course in the voice of Borat. Yeah, doubt that happened. No doubt it's something really dumb.

Melky's up. Gee I wonder what's going to happen? Wow. Hit by the pitch. Didn't see that coming. He still sucks. Damon just missed tying up the game by a few feet. So close. Jeter leads off the 9th unless Girardi decides that putting in a pitcher to pinch hit is a better option. It wouldn't surprise me. Hey, at least Jeter can't ground into a DP.

The Yankee pitching staff has been less than stellar lately. For the most part, they've been awful. Except of course for my boy Moose. He's the man. I didn't think Pettitte pitched horribly, but he was far from good. Really far. That makes 2 straight cruddy outings for AP. Can't remember the last time I used the word "cruddy." But that's what AP was. AP has to be better than that. Especially with Joba's status up in the air. Andy has always been a better 2nd half pitcher. So far, not so good. He was on a tear there for a while but has digressed over his last 2 outings. In his last 2 outings, 10.1 IPs, 17 hits, 14 ER, ERA about 12.20.

The bullpen has also been cruddy lately. They were absolutely lights out until they ran into the Orioles. Counting tonight, in their last 9 games, collectively the bullpen has throw 29.2 IPs, has given up 32 hits, yielded 21 walks, and allowed 26 earned runs, ERA about 7.89. And it's been a different culprit every night too. They've got to turn it around. They're better than this. We've seen it.

Leadoff walk by Jeter. Abreu gets caught looking on a full count. The pitch looked pretty darn good to me. You have to swing if it's close. Who does Bobby Abreu think he is? Carlos Beltran? A-Rod is now battling, down 1-2 and has fouled off a few pitches. Come on Alex. And it's 5-4-3 around the horn DP. How fitting. The 4th DP the Yankees offense hit into tonight. Man they blew this game.

And it all starts with the skipper. WTF Joe? WTF?

Sox won. Rays won. What a cruddy night.

I'll be back tomorrow with more.

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Crazy Game Thanks To Shoddy Angels D

The Yankees got a gift today from the Angels. In fact, they got 4 of them. 4 huge costly errors led to 9 or 10 unearned runs and ultimately a Yankee victory and a series split. But that's baseball. It a win and the standings and I'll take it. They never gave up. They battled back from a 5-run deficit and this has to be a huge confidence boost to a team that's heading out on a road trip and has been mired in a mini-slump. Big win today boys and girls. Big win.

It certainly didn't start out well. Darrell Rasner was absolutely brutal. Prediction: it won't be long before Rasner makes his final start of the season. He was awful today, and he's been awful more than he's been good. It's to the point where starting him is becoming a huge liability. Including today's game, D-Raz has won 2 of his last 12 starts. Houston, we have a problem. Luckily, it's a problem that's not hard to fix. The Yankees have many options they can go with to start in place of Rasner, and they're names we're all familiar with. Ian Kennedy can easily be called up to take the spot. He's allowed 14 hits and 4 runs in his last 4 outings for Scranton. Since being demoted to the minors, IPK has an ERA of 1.99 in 54.1 IPs. Opposing hitters are hitting .179 off Ian. Phil Hughes is on the med and is currently rehabbing in Charleston. He's had only 2 outings but has been outstanding: 6.2 IPs, 3 H, 0 ER. And then there's our favorite sorry excuse for a Yankee, Carl Pavano. He's pretty much on the same rehab schedule as Hughes, and has done alright in his 2 outings: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER. He could throw 5 consecutive no-nos and I wouldn't care. I hope he never dons the Pinstripes this year. He's been a colossal waste of time and money. Bringing him back to the Bronx would definitely disrupt the clubhouse. It's no secret nobody wants him there. I hope Cashman has the smarts to keep him down. I'd like to think eh does. Getting back to Hughes and Kennedy, I'd much prefer to see them get another chance to pitch than to look outside of the organization. Jarrod Washburn is a bum and they shouldn't even bother. At least give the youngsters another shot. They can't do any worse than Rasner that's for sure.

The offense got a nice kick-start today from one of their newest acquisitions. The X-Man, Xavier Nady, coming through in a big way with 4 hits and 6 RBI. Nady is now batting .385 as a Yankee, with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 8 games. Ken Singleton was right when he remarked that Nady was probably the best offensive acquisition any team acquired at the trade deadline. I like Mark Teixeira and all but he hasn't quite performed to Nady's level this year. That Brian Cashman is one smart cookie.

Bobby Abreu on the other hand? What was he thinking trying to run to 3rd on a routine fly ball to left? That has to be one of the biggest boneheaded moves I've seen in a long, long time. Why would you even attempt that when there are 2 outs? The rule of thumb is never make the 1st or 3rd out at 3rd base. No idea what was going through his mind as it wasn't even a close play. It makes no sense to even try to tag from 2nd to 3rd in that situation. What's worse is he ended up costing the Yankees what could have been an all important run. Stupid. Just stupid. He at least atoned for his mistake by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Bobby's been on a tear lately, hitting .387 (24 for 62) and raising his average 15 points since the All-Star break. He's scored 20 runs and knocked in 17 in those 16 games. Bobby's been awesome lately, so I'll let that horrendous baserunning mistake slide.

It was also nice to see our other deadline acquisition Ivan Rodriguez break out today with 2 hits and a HR. That bat is going to come in handy down the stretch. Unlike Melky Cabrera, who managed to find a way to go oh-for-5, he writes while shaking his head in disgust. Paul O'Neill made a comment during the broadcast that Melky needs to stop trying to murder the ball and concentrate on raising his average. Great observation Mr. O'Neill. Great observation. Melky is playing his way right out of the lineup. Enter Justin Christian. He deserves a chance to start I'd say. He's provided quite the spark to the offense with his blazing speed. Said speed pretty much winning the game today. I loved seeing him take 3rd and scoring on the poor throw. That was heads up right there. I'm inclined to think he has the green light to run whenever he wants to. If it's not the case, it better be. Memo to Joe Girardi: sit Melky, play Justin, win-win. Make it happen. Better yet, let me have a few swings. I can go of-for-5 too.

Dan Giese was today's unsung hero. His 3 scoreless innings were huge. It gave the Yankees offense the opportunity to claw their was back into the game. That was pretty invaluable right there. He was awesome today. It's too bad he didn't get the win. He deserved it. Thanks Edwar. He picked up the win but definitely didn't deserve it. I'll let it slide though because Edwar has been lights out. It's the 1st game since July 2nd he's allowed a hit. 11.1 hitless/scoreless innings in a 10 game span. I'll forgive this bad outing. But only because the Yanks won. While I'm talking about the bullpen, not sure why Mariano wasn't warming up to pitch the 9th inning? I didn't get to see the post game show so I'm not sure if anything was mentioned about an injury. Hope not. Fingers crossed.

And none of this would have been possible if not for the extremely shoddy Angels' defense. Wow. Talk about a bad game. A dropped fly ball in center....4 runs score in the inning. 2 fielding errors and 1 throwing error....6 runs score in the inning. That's bad baseball right there. They always talk about how the Angels play great fundamental baseball. That certainly wasn't the case today. So we here at the Boogie Down, which is just me (why do I refer to myself as we?), say thanks Angels' defense.

The worst part about today is that both the Sox and Rays won their games so this great win gained us nothing in the standings. I thought for sure we'd pick up a game on the Rays but Kyle Farnsworth apparently had other plans. Even when he's not a Yankee he finds ways to hurt us. He pitched an inning today for the Tigers, blowing the save, giving up 3 earned with 2 longballs. Kyle for Pudge? If you had any doubt before about who won that deal, that doubt should be gone. If his outing wasn't bad enough, the Tigers ended up taking the lead in extras only to blow it again. Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

So now the boys are off on a 10 game roadie. 4 in Texas, 3 in Anaheim, and 3 in Minnesota. These are going to be some big games that could very well define the rest of the season. The Yanks will no doubt be up to the task. They are after all one of 2 AL teams with winning records away from home. The other of course being the Angels. The win today has to be a huge confidence boost. They came from behind and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the best baseball had to offer. And hitting John Lackey is no easy task. Just ask the Red Sox. I can't think of a better way to start this roadie. Take it to 'em fellas.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

This Just In: Angels Are Scary Good.

Well that was fun. Not. Man the Halos are good. Far and away the best team in baseball. The Yanks didn't really stand a chance tonight, and this was the game they needed to win. They now need to hope that Darrell Rasner or Sidney Ponson can squeak one out. Me don't like their chances.

Andy Pettitte was not sharp tonight. He got better as the game went on, which isn't saying much, considering he got knocked around for 9 runs on 11 hits. I'm not putting much stock in his poor performance. He and Pudge had obvious communication problems and I'm sure that had a little to do with it. I'm not sure what kind of prep time the Yankee pitching staff had with Pudge, but I imagine it wasn't much. Now I have absolutely no idea what kind of effect throwing to a new catcher has on a pitcher, but it did appear to me that the two weren't connecting. But they did get better as the game went on. But Andy is better than that. He melted down in the 3rd. That was bad. Hopefully, the staff can get with Pudge so that they're all on the same page. Most of these guys are vets, including Pudge, so it shouldn't take long for them to get acclimated to each other and get a rhythm going.

Pudge's debut left a lot to be desired. They're talking now on the post game show that he probably got less than 3 hours of sleep yesterday with everything that goes along with being traded. Perhaps playing him today was not the best move. Jose Molina is a pretty good catcher. I'd rather see a rested Molina behind the dish than Pudge on 3 hours of sleep. Give him a day to collect himself. It's not like catching is the easiest position to play. A day off wouldn't have been a bad thing. He'll be fine.

Robbie's bat has cooled greatly, going 3 for 22 in his last 5 games. It's not like I thought he'd continue having multi-hit games every day. But I didn't foresee him slumping like this again. In their 8 straight wins, Robbie goes 18 for 35. In their last 5 games, as mentioned above, 3 for 22. The Yanks are 1-4 in those 5 games. Robbie needs to hit consistently if this team is going to win. The proof is in the pudding. On a whole, the offense did alright tonight. Scoring 6 runs on 12 hits normally wins games.

Tomorrow should be another fun one. Sidney "1.88 WHIP" Ponson is on the hill. If he gets rocked, and I'm thinking he will, he's done. There's no way he's the best option. I'd prefer to see Ian Kennedy pitch over Ponson. Hopefully, he's better than he's been tomorrow. And hopefully the Yankees give him the same type of run support he's gotten all year. The Yanks has scored 43 runs in his 5 starts. 43 divided by 5, carry the 1, umm, stupid long division. Seriously, I'll take 8 runs tomorrow. That should get it done. Assuming of course Sidney doesn't give up more than that, and quite honestly, I'm afraid he will.

With the loss tonight, we're now 1.5 back of Boston, which if you ask me, is a deficit that can be made up rather easily now that Manny is on a plane headed for LA. Man the Sox got hosed in that deal. Jason Bay is no slouch, but he's no Manny Ramirez. They essentially traded Manny, $7 million duckets, and 2 guys for Jason Bay?? If I made that trade in any fantasy league that trade would get vetoed with the quickness. But this is real life, and the trade stands. The Red Sox just got treated like an inmate in Oz. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I understand everything that's gone on with Manny, but how does that deal possibly make any sense? Sox ownership must have really wanted to rid themselves of Manny. I was talking to my father-in law tonight about the deal. He was listening to the utter garbage that is Buffalo local sports radio. Sox fans were calling in trying to justify that this was a good deal for the Sox. No matter how you try to spin it Sox fans, it's not a good deal. Not even close. You guys are done he says while shaking his head, grinning and smiling from ear to ear.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Twice Today And They Only Played Once

Due to meetings/work, I missed pretty much all of today's Yanks game. I heard very few bits and pieces, but what I heard sounded good to me. Back-to-back bombs by Bobby and Alex. Yeah, it was that kind of day. They busted out the whooping sticks. Gotta love it. Sounds like Joba threw another gem. He's going to be larger than life. I can feel it.

I left work early because my buddy and I were going to a concert. Before the show (Sam Roberts Band if you were wondering), we stopped for some pizza/wings and adult beverages at a local pizzeria/bar. If you can believe this, today was the 1st day in 2008 that I had an alcoholic beverage. Yeah, not a big drinker. But I will throw a few back, or in today's case 3 beers and 2 shots of tequila, if I feel like it. And today I did. Mainly because right when we got there, I noticed on the Yankee post game show that Kyle Farnsworth was sent packing for Pudge Rodriguez. If that's not a reason to celebrate I don't know what is. Huge trade for the Yankees. Huge. And in my opinion, Cashman again comes out the winner. He's 2 for 2 in my book. The Yankee have a plethora of relievers that can take care of business and be that bridge to Mariano. K-Farns was expendable. Very expendable. The Yankees desperately needed a catcher. Jose Mo may be able to gun down 1/2 the base stealers, but he isn't hitting worth a lick. I mentioned yesterday that the bottom of the Yankees order was incredibly weak: Melky, Betemit, Molina/Moeller. Pudge's bat in the Yankee lineup will work quite nicely. Pudge is a career 300 hitter with a .295 average so far this year. At 36, he doesn't have the pop he once did, but the average in itself is much better than anything the Yanks had in house. And his arm is a plus as well. For his career he's gunned down 47% of base stealers, though this year it's down slightly, at 36%, which is 3rd in MLB for qualified players. Nice. He's also got 13 career Gold Gloves. Can you say upgrade? Yeah, I thought you could. Having 2 catchers with great arms is going to work nicely for a team like the Yanks. Teams ran all over the Yanks last year and this year when Jorgie was behind the dish. Consider those days over. Big fan of the deal. Big fan.

Tomorrow brings the Angels to town, fresh off another sweep of the soon-to-be Mannyless BoSox. The Angels swept them both at home and on the road. Hey Dirty (water), baby I got yo number. The Angels are far and away the league's best team and they've always played well against the Yanks. I believe this stat is still true: the Angels are the only team with a winning record against the Yankees when Joe Torre was the Yankee manager. But one of their strengths is the running game. See previous paragraph. The Yanks will fare better than the Sox. No doubt.

Bye bye Kyle. Bye bye Kyle. Bye bye Kyle. We hate to see you go.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie