The Hot Stove Starts To Simmer

The November installment of the GM meetings started yesterday and as expected not much went down. The real fun is at the December GM meetings. So if you're expecting some juicy stuff this week, you're going to be let down.

The "big news" yesterday was that both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui filed for free agency. Nobody should be surprised by this. The Yankees have a small window to negotiate with them exclusively before other teams can enter the mix. I believe that window closes on the 19th and I'd be surprised if the Yankees do anything with them before the deadline. There's a lot of question/debate going on as to whether the Yankees should bring back these guys back. A lot of people seem to think that they will sign one of them, but not both. Most people seem to think Damon will be the one returning. I see positives to bringing both back, but I don't see it happening. I think it's possible that neither return.

If you put me on the spot and asked me to pick which one I wanted back, I'd pick Damon over Matsui. I think Johnny can bring more to the table because he can still play the field. I also like him at the top of the order batting behind Jeter. He still has some decent speed and again he can play the field. Right now the Yankees OF is pretty weak with Swisher, Melky and Gardner. Even if you put Austin Jackson in that mix (I don't think they will) it's still weak. Johnny is a viable option. I also think if Matsui isn't on the squad that Damon can get some DH time and that should help him with his leg issues.

I think Matsui has a lot to offer as the guy hitting behind A-Rod but I think his bat can be easily replaced. The Yankees should be able to find a LH power bat for the same kind of money. I'm also not a fan of the full-time DH. But that's just me.

I wouldn't mind seeing both guys return but neither should get more than a 1-2 year deal if they do return. I also wouldn't pay them as much as they were paid in their last contract. I also wouldn't sign either until I explore bringing in other free agents, namely Matt Holiday and Jason Bay, to take their place. Cashman would need to move quickly though because you don't want to wait too long and end up with nothing. I'm sure Cash-Money is looking ahead at who will be available in a few years. It may make more sense to bring Damon back for a year and go after a 2011 free agent than to go after Holliday or Bay. Cash is a smart guy. I'm sure he'll make the right moves. I think we'll see Damon back in Pinstripes before it's all said and done.

You guys have any thoughts? Who do you prefer they sign if given the choice between Matsui and Damon? Do you even want those guys back? The Hot Stove is starting to simmer. Can't wait for it to be roaring. There's no better offseason in sports than baseball's hot stove.

The other Yankees who have filed for free agency include Andy Pettitte, Eric Hinske, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Jose Molina and Xavier Nady. In the next day or two I'll be posting my thoughts on the open roster spots and who I think should fill them. Assuming I can find the time of course.

Peace, love and Pintripes,

J-Boogie

You Can't Win 'Em All: Yanks Fall To Jays 5-4

I didn't have high hopes about the Yankees' chances to win tonight's game against the Jays. I don't have high hopes anytime Sergio Mitre pitches. My outlook when he takes the hill is I hope the offense shows up because they're going to need to outslug the opponents. Sergio didn't pitch poorly tonight. He was OK. He likely would have won the game had the Yanks not made an error on what should have been a double play. But that's the way the ball bounces. Sergio, like a lot of rookie pitchers, needs to work on pitching deeper into games. He's got to be better than 96 pitches in 5 innings. That's a lot of pitches for a guy who only walked one better. The short outings definitely can impact a series.

Alfredo Aceves is likely out for the rest of the series. He gave the team 4 innings of scoreless baseball, keeping the team in the game and giving the Yankees ample opportunity to jump back ahead. Tonight was just one of those night's where they couldn't muster enough. I really hope the Yankees are considering Aceves for the 5th spot in the rotation. I'd feel better with Aceves taking the ball every 5th day and having Mitre relieve than the other way around. I also think if the Yankees get the opportunity they need to put A.J. Burnett in between Mitre and Joba. Joba has a tendency to throw a short outing every now and then. If he doesn't pitch deep into the game tomorrow, it would likely negatively impact the bullpen for the rest of the series and beyond. Burnett, CC, and Andy have shown they can give the team length consistently so even if it does happen, it shouldn't be that big of an issue. I think the right play though is having Aceves take the 5th spot and sandwich Burnett in between Ace and Joba. Ideally, I'd like to see the rotation set up like this: Burnett, Sabathia, Joba, Pettitte, Aceves/Mitre. That works best for me. They have 2 off days coming up (8/20 and 8/24). They should be able to rearrange the rotation a little bit by then. I hope they do.

The offense had its opportunities tonight but fell just short. I thought they were going to pull it out in the 9th after Matsui singled. I don't know how Ramiro Pena didn't beat that throw to 2nd. As soon as I saw Scutaro commit to 2nd I thought for sure all hands would be safe. It didn't look to me like Pena ran at full speed. I don't know if he thought Scutaro wouldn't throw there or what, but you should never assume that. Pena should have beat that out. Had he, it would have been runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 down and their chances would have been exponentially greater. Get well soon Brett Gardner.

Nick Swisher kind of came up like a lame duck in his final at-bats. 3 ABs, 3 Ks, all with runners on. I have a love-hate, wait, make that a like-dislike relationship with Nick Swisher. I like his personality and his ability to get on base and hit the occasional base knock. I dislike his inability to put the bat on the ball and come up empty when the game is on the line. Tonight, like the majority of Swisher's nights, was definitely a dislike. Again, get well soon Brett Gardner. Heck, I'd even rather see Eric Hinske up there. Oh well.

The Red Sox finally won a game. The Yankee lead is now back to 5-and-a-half. Joba vs. Scott Richmond tomorrow. The Yanks hammered Richmond earlier in the year when they saw him in Toronto. I think the Jays are going to make Joba work for it tomorrow. Considering Aceves is out tomorrow, the Jays would be wise to try and run up Joba's pitch count and chase him early. The middle innings could prove to be very crucial tomorrow. Hopefully, the offense shows up and lays a hurting on Richmond.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Fall To Jays 7-6 in Series Finale, Blame The Pitching Not The Umps

I didn't get to see any of yesterday's game. I did follow along with it as best I could on MLB.com's gamecast. I'll tell yeah, it's pretty stressful trying to watch a game that way, especially when there are 2 outs in the 9th with the winning run at the plate. You see the little ball arc making it's way toward the virtual plate and there's a slight pause before it tells you what happened. I thought for a second that the Yanks were going to pull it off but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

I didn't see, but read about, the 2 blown calls made by the umpire. The one in the first when Girardi got ejected sounded pretty bad. I would have liked to have seen it. Derek commented after the game that the ump told him he didn't have to be tagged to be called out. What's up with that? I can understand getting all hot and bothered by that, but come on now. How many times have we seen Derek get the out call at second when he never tagged the guy stealing second? It's baseball. Blown calls are a part of the game and they always balance out in the end. The Yankees will have benefited from many a blown call. Just ask the Orioles. They'll tell you. For the most part, games are not won and lost because of a blown call. Games are won and lost because you didn't hit, or you didn't pitch. Yesterday, it was the latter.

The "Pettitte Pattern" is still in effect. Going back 8 starts, Andy has won, lost, won, lost, won, no decision but got rocked, won, lost. I didn't see the game to say first-hand, but Pettitte's line was rather unimpressive. 5 hits, 5 walks, 6 earned in 6 innings. 53% of his pitches were strikes and that's pretty bad in my book. He definitely didn't get things done. Neither did Brian Bruney. He needed to come in and keep the score where it was. Bru has been pretty terrible lately. In 3 games, his ERA has jumped from 2.84 to 4.11. In those 3 games, he's thrown 2.2 innings, 7 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned. Brutal. That's not the Brian Bruney I expect to see.

What's up with Mark Teixeira? He started July on fire, but has gone 0-7 in the last 2 games and his average is down to .273, the lowest it's been since May 29th. It's also been an eternity (June 12) since his last home run. Teix isn't exactly finishing off the 1st half on a high note. The team was 2-for-11 yesterday with RISP. One extra hit and they probably win that ball game. They can afford to slack with RISP if the pitching is on. When it's off, like it was yesterday, they need to make the most of those opportunities.

Congrats to Eric Hinske on hist 1st HR as a Yank. Hopefully, it's the 1st on many.

The Yanks are now in Minnesota for a 3 game set. Tonight's game is on My9 which means no Yankee baseball for me. Two games in a row. Ugh. The Scranton Yankees are in town and I may go check that out assuming my car is fixed in time. I was driving home from work yesterday when my muffler came unattached. I dragged that sucker for about 15 miles before I could pull over. Good times.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yankees Acquire Eric Hinske From Pirates

The Yankees jumped into the trade market today picking up Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Casey Erickson and Eric Fryer, 2 minor leaguers.

At first, I was like, "huh?" Then I remembered that Xavier Nady was done for the year and then it clicked. I'm a fan of the deal. Hinske isn't exactly highly paid so it's not like the Yanks are adding much payroll. Hinske's salary is $1.5 million and the Yankees did receive some cash from the Buccos as part of the deal. And let's face it, the odds that we would have ever heard the names Casey Erickson and Eric Fryer is very, very slim.

The move also gives the Yankees some added flexibility with the lineup. Hinske can play at the corners, both in the infield and in the outfield. He's also got a little pop in his bat also. Last year with the Rays, he hit 21 doubles and had 20 HRs. He bats from the left so he should be able to take advantage of the short porch in Yankee Stadium. It may end up being a perfect fit.

Maybe he's a good luck charm. He played with the Rays in 2008 (AL Champs) and with the Red Sox in 2007 (World Champs). It's not the best trade in the world. It's also not the worst. Low risk, high reward. I can dig it. Welcome aboard.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie