Clueless Joe: ALDS Game 2 Edition

Thinking hard, or hardly thinking?

Let me start off by saying that I am a fan of Joe Girardi, I defend most of his choices but some of his moves in yesterdays game absolutely baffled me.

First move might not be on Girardi, but why are the Yankees pitching to Miguel Cabrera? I know that it was early in the game, and that the night before the Yanks pitching held Cabrera down but since 2009 Miggy has hit atleast .370 against them with 7 home runs and 18 RBI. I think its time for the Yanks to get a new scouting report on him, cause its pretty obvious that the current one doesn't work.

The second move was pinch hitting Eric Chavez for Brett Gardner in the bottom of the seventh. Chavez has shown that he has no pop left in his bat (5 home runs since 2008), also bats left handed like Gardner and is much slower. The move was essentially trading Brett Gardner up for someone of lesser value, atleast with Gardner at the plate he could beat out an infield grounder, and you would have speed on the bases. In the end Chavez went down on three straight pitches, looking at the third strike.

Just like the rosin bag, the Yanks chances
of winning dropped.

The final move Girardi made was in the top of the ninth, sending Luis Ayala out to the mound when the game was 4-1 Tigers. Luis Ayala apparently must have some good black mail on Girardi cause he had no business being in the game. The night before Girardi brought him into a eight run lead, and Ayala had a tough time throwing a strike, it got so bad that Mariano Rivera had to come into the game to close it out. Soriano and Robertson have not gotten into a game since last Tuesday, they have more then enough rest to throw an inning in game two and then again in games three and four, this is after all the playoffs. Instead Girardi managed it like it was just another regular season game, the out come was Ayala giving up a run to help the Tigers win the game. The run loomed large when in the bottom of the ninth the Yankees held a mini rally against Jose Valverde. With the score 5-3 the Yanks had first and second, so the tying run was on first not second had the run not scored.

Game three now proves to be a huge game, as CC and Verlander face off again, this time in the motor city. If the Yanks can't beat the Tigers in game three the season would rest in the hands of ::gulp:: A.J. Burnett.

Time For a Change: Switching The Line Up



Swisher should convince Jeter to get a
mo hawk.

 Six in a row and it's time to panic in the Bronx. Among Yankees fans, I would say that I amongst the cooler heads and won't overreact to a losing streak like this in May. But looking at the losing streak and the games even before the streak the Yankees had not been that impressive. Sure they were out homering everyone, but doing little other wise. So here is my pitch for what Joe Girardi should do with the line up.

1. Derek Jeter - Yes he stays on top of the line up, in the ideal world I would hit Jeter lower, but you can't do that to the captain unless he comes to you and asks to bat lower, especially after this weekend long drama with Jorge Posada hitting 9th. Jeter looked like he was improving, until the Boston series when he turned back into ground ball Derek.

2. Nick Swisher- Before he hits second I think Swisher needs to sit a day, he has looked off and his comments the other day about trying too hard to hit home runs was alarming. Give him a day to clear his head, and then insert him back into the line up hitting after Jeter. Sure the possibility of the ground ball double play could be large, but Swisher was great in this spot last year. He is going to see a ton of fastballs and good pitches to hit, since most pitchers would rather face Swisher then Tex of A-Rod.

3. Robinson Cano- Here is the first big switch, Cano hits third. Robby has frustrated me this season with his lack of patients at the plate but has been the Yankees second best hitter all season long. Other than his slump this past week, Cano has been fairly consistent and deserves the chance to move up and hit third.



If they can play the infield together, they can hit
behind each other

 4. Alex Rodriguez- A-Rod was hitting .385 when he hurt his oblique, since then he has hit just .180 and has looked lost at the plate. Either way, Girardi loves A-Rod in this spot, and it is the best possible spot for him.

5. Mark Teixeira- The move is basically flip flopping Cano and Tex in the line up, Teixeira had a great April and avoided his annual slump, but that seems to have carried over to May. No doubt in my mind Tex will bounce back, but how soon?

6. Curtis Granderson- "The Grandyman can, oh the Grandyman can" that line has been frequently heard on WCBS 880 when John Sterling breaks it out for Granderson. In his second season with the Yankees Granderson has been everything and more from what they expected from him. He already has 14 home runs and has a realistic shot of hitting 40. If Curtis hits 6th, he would be able to collect a few more RBI's. Although I am often against switching guys in the batting order when they are doing well, I do believe that what ever Kevin Long did that night in Texas last August has helped and will continue to show throughout the season.

Granderson has hit many home runs with that bat.

7. Jorge Posada- I hope hitting 7th does not bruise his ego, because this is the best spot for Jorge. I think he is going to turn it around and hit better than the way he has so far, I mean it can't possibly get worse, right?

8. Russell Martin- The Canadian catcher has hit a bit of a slump come May hitting just .167, but he is still getting on base and has had some good at bats. I like hitting him 8th since behind him will be Brett Gardner, and Martin has some speed, so if both get on I wouldn't mind a double steal.

9. Brett Gardner- The way he has played this month has been under the radar, hitting .341 in May and getting on base at almost .100 more than his batting average. The alarming thing has been that Brett has gotten caught stealing more times than he has been safe (CS-6 SB-5). Gardner's hitting may lead to him moving back up to lead off, but I am a big fan of him hitting 9th at this time, creating a double lead off. The one issue I have with Gardner is his lack of base running skills. Sure he is fast, but some of the choices he makes on when to go or not shock me, he also waits way too long to run and the hitter up at the plate take hittable pitches because of this.

This weeks Yankee notes

Are you sure he's only 37?

Yes it has been a while, in fact its been too long. Anyway here is a run down of some things that don't really deserve their own post.

• It could it be time for Bartolo Colon to stick in the starting rotation. Yes I will admit I was against the Yankees even giving him a legitimate shot, but with the way he has pitched it is tough to deny him the chance. I'm talking about him taking Ivan Nova's spot once Hughes comes back. Nova has yet to impress me, and is very frustrating to watch. The kid walks way to many guys and struggles his third go round in the batting order, I rather see him go down and work on some more pitches while the Yanks try and ride of Colon and hope he stays healthy.
• Brett Gardner needs to have a long sit down with Kevin Long. Girardi should think of sitting him for a few days to clear his mind and then hope that a few lessons with Long pay off. Gardner is hitting just .128 this season, and although last season was one of the better left fielders, his arm is awful. I don't think it's time to send him down, but he has killed the Yanks so far.
• This one is at Girardi but can Eduardo Nunez get in a game? And pinch running doesn't count. This is a young player that was ranked as one of the top 10 prospects in the Yankees system, and was rumored in trade talks this past winter. Sitting on the bench in the big league is not going to help his progress as a player and possible trade bait. If they were gonna do this, they should have gave Ramiro Pena the job.
• Lastly check out my classmates video about the love of baseball from a Yankees perspective.

2011 Yankees starting line up predictions

We are less then 24 hours away from the start of the 2011 Yankees season. This off season seemed much longer then the past few, in the past the Yanks were coming off a championship and had added high priced free agents. This off season? Neither, the best off season addition was Rafael Soriano, as we know no championship parade and worst of all Andy Pettitte retired and left the Yanks rotation very thin.

But opening day is a time for optimism, along with predictions on how the Yanks will do. So with that here is a break down of my predictions for the 2011 Yanks starting line up and pitchers.

Russell Martin: Last season Martin played very poorly, but part of that was because Joe Torre treated him as if he was Scott Proctor and played him at third during his off days. But will a bad hip and a change from the NL West to the AL East help or hurt Martin?
Best case: .290/12 home runs/ 70 RBI, plays in over 125 games
Worst case: .240/6 /42  and has to go on the DL for any amount of time
My prediction: .276/10/60 Martin stays healthy, other then the occasionally day to day stuff.

Mark Teixeria: Will this be the season that Tex gets off to a decent start? Well everyone sure hopes, I think that Tex wont be as bad as he was the past two seasons, but he will hit around .250 in April, a respectable but still low for Mark. Last year Teixeria was never able to really get hot, and suffered so many nagging injuries, the key this season, would be to just stay healthy and get off to a decent start.
Best case: .300/38/139 Tex manages to get off to a nice start and never looks back, putting up MVP like stats.
Worst case: .250/30/100 85% of big leaguers would love to have this line, but for Tex it indicates a poor season and a slow start. Also fans begin to lose some patients with Tex in this scenario, they start to compare him to the old A-Rod and say hes "not clutch".
My prediction: .280/34/120 Mark gets off to an OK start, and then heats up and has a year similar to 2009.

Robinson Cano: I love to watch Cano play, and that starts with the fact that I have really gotten to see his game grow since 2005. The Yankees are really counting on Cano to have a season similar to 2010, but are the expectations too high?

Best case: .340/35/125 Cano turns into an absolute beast, hitting for a higher average and adds more power to his game

Worst case: .281/22/88 Cano starts to swing at balls over his head and in the dirt, and the famous "lazy" tag comes back out.

My prediction: .324/30/108 I will say right out that Robbie is my favorite  player, but it seems like everyone expects his to improve by alot, I think Cano will be consistent and have a slightly better season then last year.

Derek Jeter: Ah the captain, this is a tough one since not many shortstops have managed to put up a decent season over the age of 35, but Jeter is determined to change that.

Best case: .330/16/70 The man gets his 3,000 hit, and the fans forget about 2010.

Worst case: .250/9/60 Yankee fans watch Jeter declining right in front of their eyes, suddenly rumors are popping up that Jeter will be moving to the out field, since his defense has gotten worse.

My prediction: .296/10/66 Jeter improves from last season, but still hits into the famous double plays, still lacks range and short and we still hear the rumors. But its Derek Jeter! We look past the flaws and love him anyways.

Alex Rodriguez: uh oh its 2011, an odd year, you know what the means right? A big year for A-Rod, or atleast you would think so since he won the MVP in 2003,2005,and 2007 and shut up the critics in 2009 with a postseason for the ages. But does the trend continue?
Best case: .300/45/136 A-Rod stays healthy and has the big season that everyone expects
Worst case .268/25/110 A-Rod struggles with little injuries or is forced to spend a large chunk of time on the DL. His defense declines more and he still cant catch up on fastballs.
My prediction: .278/33/128 It might be an odd year, but that doesn't equal a huge season in my eyes. But the third basemen finds a way to stay healthy and still have a very very good season.

Nick Swisher: Every ones favorite goof ball had his best all around season last year, but was it a mirage or is he for real.

Best case: .300/30/100 Swish still improves, and suddenly a big pay day will be awaiting him.
Worst case: .255/24/73 Last season was based off luck, and the old Swisher comes back.
My prediction: .284/30/93 It was a quiet spring for Swisher, but don't expect him to be so quiet with the bat this season, I expect alot of the same from Swisher, including an increase in RBI's since he will be batting behind Cano.

Curtis Granderson: It was the tale of two seasons for the Grandy man. The first half: awful. The second: amazing. What half held the real Granderson?
Best case: .291/30/90 Kevin Long shows why he is the best at what he does and suddenly the Granderson trade looks like a steal.

Worst case: .244/16/60 Granderson cant hit lefties and is benched while Austin Jackson has a good season with the Tigers.

My prediction: .273/26/78 Granderson will struggle at times, but he is more consistent and has a nice season.

Brett Gardner: Back in 2008 I hated Gardner, and begged for the Yankees to either send him down or just keep his around as a pinch runner. Good thing I'm not a scout, because Gardner has turned into a great all around player.
Best case: .300/10/52 Brett continues to play great defense, and steals alot.
Worst case: .260/4/36 Gardner battles injuries, and struggles. But still steals alot.
My prediction: .283/8/49 Gardy has another impressive season, and steals...alot.

Jorge Posada: We saw the first core four member retire this past winter, could this be the final season of Posada in pinstripes?
Best case: .285/25/80 Posada is healthy, happy and hitting. Girardi even tosses him a bone and lets him catch every now and then.
Worst case: .240/15/48 Posada battles injuries and has a tough time ajusting to DHing full time. To make things worse he complains about it to the media, causing an issue.
My prediction: .255/22/73 Posada will still hit as long as hes healthy, and aside from the occasional grumble he takes DHing well and the Yanks welcome him back in 2012.

Yankee video mixes

Searching across Youtube and found some well done Yankee tribute videos by Chesterbball18.
Check them out:

Alex Rodriguez


Robinson Cano


Nick Swisher


Brett Gardner


Mariano Rivera

First ever! NYY Stars and Pinstripes awards for the 2010 Yankees

NYY Stars and Pinstripes presents : The 2010 Yankees awards

Best Hitter: Robinson Cano

Following his 2008 season, some fans and media called for Cano to be traded. After all they had all labeled him as lazy, and had been benched that season for not hustling. Cano improved in 2009, but still struggled with RISP and had a poor Postseason. 2010 would be his breakout season, starting off in April and May hitting .400 and .336 respectfully. While A-Rod was hurt, and Derek Jeter and Mark Tiexeira slumped, Cano carried the team. Cano struggled at times but was the most consistent hitter over the years.

Best Pitcher: CC Sabathia:
Its always a tough choice when Mariano Rivera has another Mariano type season, but nothing can compare to what the big man did for the Yankees. That big man I'm talking about of course is CC Sabathia. CC in his two seasons has been everything the Yankees could ask for. Sure at times Sabathia may not always look dominant on the mound, but he always finds a way to keep the Yankees in the game. CC may not win the CY Young award, but at least he can take home this award.

Most Improved: Robinson Cano:
It was a tough choice between Robby and Brett Gardner, but since Cano did turn himself into an MVP caliber player, his 2008 season seems miles away.

Best Trade: Kerry Wood for a player to be named later:
At the time Wood had an era close to seven, and had been remembered as the injury prone player. But once the season ended and Wood had an ERA below one, during his time in pinstripes, this could be remembered as one of Brian Cashman's best trades. The Indians were trying to just dump salary, and the Yankees desperate for another arm in the bullpen took a chance. Wood will likely get a closers job elsewhere, and the Yankees wont get a chance to resign him unless they are willing to pay close to closer money.

Best off season pick up: Marcus Thames:
I had mentioned this earlier in the season. But when you think back to the off season Brian Cashman had signed Nick Johnson and Randy Winn, suddenly the best pick up was Thames. Thames did have the knack for the big knock, getting a few big hits during the season.
Editors note: Trades were not considered in off season pick ups. They also will not get their own award since the Curtis Granderson trade involved prospects and you wont be able to declare a winner till you see how they pan out. The Javier Vazquez trade could be considered a draw, although Boone Logan was a big gain for the Yanks.

Rookie of the Year: Ivan Nova?

Alright so I was just being silly adding this category, but I had not realized that the Yankees only had four players that could be considered rookies play for them this season. That list would include Colin Curtis, Kevin Russo, Eduardo Nunez and Ivan Nova. All four had contributed something to the team, but Ivan Nova made a few starts down the stretch of the season that helped the Yanks. Nova did walk a few too many, but I liked what I saw from the 23 year old Dominican righty.

MVP: CC Sabathia:

This could come as the shock out of all the awards handed out, but who was the Yankees MVP. It really came down to CC or Cano, and you could make great arguments for both. But when it came down to it, although Cano carried the team at times with his hitting, Tex and A-Rod still had 30/100 when the season was over. CC was the rock of the pitching staff, while Burnett was imploding all over, Pettitte was injured, Hughes struggled. Sabathia was always the Yankees most reliable starter, giving the team innings and always keeping the Yankees in the game.

Even philosophers have a take on the Yankees...

Alright so this isn't the most exciting thing ever but earlier today myself and MJ from wcwpsports.com had to make a class presentation about philosophers and a current topic. We chose to act as radio hosts for our campus radio station and relate the Yanks and the philosophers, here ya go....


Machiavelli: 6 o clock, welcome to the Sportswire, 88.1 WCWP. Machiavelli and Aristotle with you till 7. Call us at 516-299-2790. Leading off with some 2010 Yankees Baseball and Aristotle, this team really limping their way into the post-season. They have some questions to answer don’t they?

Aristotle: You’re absolutely right and the biggest question mark is starting pitching and who they could lean on after C.C. Sabathia?

Machiavelli: Let’s start with the young guy, Phil Hughes. Yankees took an absolutely wrong approach in dealing with this guy! What’s the deal with this an innings limit? I don’t comprehend the idea of putting a 17 game winner and only letting him pitch 175 innings.

Aristotle: Disagree, it’s all about finding a medium with this guy. Nothing in excess, nothing to deficient. Save him for the long-term and don’t throw his arm out after one season.

Machiavelli: But he is your best pitcher after Sabathia this season, you need to take a head on approach with him in his final couple of games and not just limit him before the post-season, that won’t get him ready.

Aristotle: Alright, well moving on from Hughes let’s talk about AJ Burnett. This guy has just 4 wins since July 1st and is 10-15 with a 5.33 ERA. What a joke he has been and the problem I think he has right now, is that he has no idea who he is. He’s lost all confidence in his pitches, his command is all over the plate, he’s just lost his identity.

Machiavelli: So what’s the plan of action if you’re Girardi?

Aristotle: No way this guy can be relied upon in the playoffs. Let him work things out, hopefully, in the off-season where he work on his faults and become a better pitcher. Again, he needs to know who he is. There is no reason to jeopardize the good of the team by sending him out on the mound this season.

Machiavelli: Moving away from the pitchers, let’s talk about some position players

Aristotle: One of the bigger stories of the Yankees season has been Brett Gardner. Here’s a guy who has surprised everyone in left field but at the same time, might be challenged once Tampa Bay Outfielder Carl Crawford hits the open market in free agency, do you think the Yanks should pursue him?

Machiavelli: You know my feelings. If you have the money to get someone, go and get them! Don’t wait around and let another team scoop up one of the best players in the game. It will make them better and not you. You have to beat them to the punch and the Yankees organization has the tools to get him…Right now we got a caller on the line, this is St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas, how’s it going?

St.Thomas Aquinas – Hey guys, first time caller, long time listener. I disagree with what Machiavelli is saying about Carl Crawford. I don’t like the idea of the Yankees just using all these millions of dollars and consuming and consuming. I believe in building from within. Brett Gardner started in our minor leagues, was drafted by the team…his roots are in New York. Enough of this spending spree of buying players.

Machiavelli – Well, thanks for the call Thomas, appreciate it. The Yankees going out and spending money is nothing illegal. They are simply getting these players before anyone else. Why risk being hurt by the Red Sox if they sign a big time free agent. If you can prevent it, do so.

Aristotle: So all in all, the Yankees post-season could go either way. They could either falter due to their questions in the rotation, especially with Phil Hughes and AJ Burnett. Or, they could repeat because of their young talent like Brett Gardner. No matter how it ends up, it should make for an interesting October.

Machiavelli: There you have it, the Sportswire on 88.1 FM WCWP. We are out of time for tonight, join us tomorrow where Aristotle and myself will be chatting about the debacle that was the 2010 Mets, you won’t want to miss that.

Yankees Quick Hits : Hughes, Pettitte and a quick glance at the upcoming roadtrip

The Yankees start a road trip tonight in Texas against the Rangers. This is going to be one of the toughest road trips of the season for the bombers, they have just a 2.5 game lead in the AL East and will have to face the Rays,Rangers and the Orioles all on the road.

• Phil Hughes since the All Star break hasn't pitched well going 5-5 with a 5.47 ERA. His innings limit for this season look to be safe, but if the Yankees can they should think of giving him a start off.

• Andy Pettitte pitched four scoreless inning Thursday night in his first rehab start in Trenton. Pettitte didn't suffer any set backs, always a good sign. It has not been said what the next step will be for Pettitte but I would think that he would only need another rehab start and then he could be back with the team.
• Brett Gardner has 40 steals this season, the last Yankees player to steal 40 bases was Alfonso Soriano in 2002.
• Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves will not return this season, Joe Girardi announced. Both played large roles in 2009, Marte was great in the 2009 Postseason , while Aceves was a crutial part of the bullpen and was one of the reasons the Yanks made the playoffs.
• Derek Jeter claims he doesn't care what his batting average is as long as the Yankees keep winning. But it is strange to see the captain hitting just .262. Over his last ten games Jeter is hitting just .125 . Through the first two months of the season Jeter's average was at .302 , but in June he hit .243  and that trend continued. In July he hit .245 , August .239 and so far in September just .172

Yankees offensive team leaders

Yankees Average Leaders :

Robinson Cano .318
Nick Swisher .295
Brett Gardner .284


Yankees Home Run Leaders :

Mark Teixeira - 30
Robinson Cano - 26
Nick Swisher - 25

Yankees Runs Batted In Leaders :

Mark Teixeira - 99
Alex Rodriguez - 97
Robinson Cano - 91

Just a few things, its strange to not see Derek Jeter up their with batting average leaders. The other is, it shows you how Mark Teixeira has been an absolute monster since June, he looked so bad the first two months of the season and now outside of his average his numbers will look the same. Even though Cano has cooled off a bit as of late, hes still top three in all the categories and has been the Yanks most consistent player along with Nick Swisher.

Where has the offense gone ?

The last time the Yankees put up double digit runs was July 29th in Cleveland. Over the last eight games the Yanks have averaged 3.4 runs a game. So what has happened to the offensive that leads baseball in runs scored ?

So lets look at how the main stays in the Yankees line up has fared over their past 10 games.

Derek Jeter .261 , 0 HR, 4 RBI, 9 SO : Jeter has been having a mediocre season based on Jeter standards.But he has killed the Yanks with his double plays and he lack of power.

Nick Swisher .243 0 HR 1 RBI 16 SO 3 BB : Swisher has been one of the most consistent hitters this season. Past 10 games Swisher wasn't driving in the runs and had only 3 walks.Now Swish is day to day with a forearm injury.

Mark Teixeira .250 3 HR 8 RBI 11 SO : Tex has been one of the better hitters for the Yankees during this tough stretch.

Alex Rodriguez .282 , 4HR , 10 RBI, 9 SO : A-Rod rediscovered his power stroke last Saturday hitting three homers. Just when it seemed like Rodriguez was about to heat up, he got injured and is now day to day with tightness in his calf.

Robinson Cano .235, O HR , 2 RBI, 5 SO, 6 BB : Cano has struggled lately, but it isn't cause hes swinging at bad pitches. Cano has drawn more walks then strike outs, had a written that line in 2008 you would have though i was kidding. Cano had been suffering from a bad cold when the Yanks were in Texas.

Jorge Posada .129 , 1 HR , 2 RBI ,7 SO : Posada has been awful. He doesn't seem comfortable at the plate at times and has really shown his age. The worst part is that his replacement Francisco Cervelli isn't much better (see below).

Curtis Granderson .290, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 SO, 3 BB :  Grandy had been working with Kevin Long to improve his swing and it looks like it's helping. Its always a good sign when Granderson has only five strike outs over 10 games.

Lance Berkman .194 ,0 HR,4 RBI , 5 BB , 5 SO : The big puma has struggled since coming over to the Yanks at the trade deadline. He still hasn't hit his first home run as a Yankee and recently was hurt his ankle on a play running to first base.

Brett Gardner .250 , 0 HR, 2 RBI, 9 SO : Gardner had been playing poorly at the start of the week, but seems to have figured it out. With speed like Gardner's, your not going to be in extended slumps.

Posada and the Yanks have forgotten what to do with a bat.

Francisco Cervelli .138, 0 HR, 2RBI, 1 BB , 7 SO : Mentioned above that Posada couldn't be benched since he had no replacement. That's because Cervelli has been just as bad as Posada and has less power. Cervelli has been terrible since late May, offensively and defensively.

So as you see the Yanks have a reoccurring problem. First it is that many of the players are banged up, but that's to expect coming from an older team that has played every single day since July 19th. The other is that the players are striking out too often. So combine those two problems and add in the struggles of the Yankees this season to hit young pitchers they have never seen before and you get the current struggles.

Johnny Damon returns to the Bronx :How will the fans welcome him?

It was the bottom of the third inning and the Yankees were leading the Phillies 2-1 in game 6 of the 2009 World Series. Derek Jeter had just singled to give the Yanks a runner on first with one out, Johnny Damon came up to face Pedro Martinez for his second at bat of the game. Damon worked the count full before drawing a walk to give the Yankees runners on first a second. Damon would move to second once Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch. Following an Alex Rodriguez strike out Hideki Matsui singled to center scoring Jeter and Damon to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The bombers would tack on three more runs, and win the World Series but that walk and run scored by Johnny Damon would be his last inning wearing the pinstripes in a game. Damon was forced to leave the game after that inning with a strained calf.

After becoming one of the few players to win a World Series with the Yankees and the Red Sox, Damon became a free agent. Represented by Scott Boras, Damon was looking for a four year deal. Damon had come off one of his best offensive seasons of his career, but age and poor defensive skills had the Brian Cashman and the Yanks looking for a shorter deal. Both sides couldn't come to an agreement, and Brian Cashman took it upon himself to go out in the meantime and get DH Nick Johnson. Johnny, then came back to the Yanks and said he would take a smaller deal to stay in the Bronx but it was too late.

So the question is what will the reception be like for Johnny Damon ? Earlier this season Hideki Matsui came back and received a huge ovation during the ring ceremony. Matsui also received a warm reception each time he came up to the plate, each game he played at the stadium. So will Damon receive the same ?

Lets remember that Hideki Matsui had played with the Yankees since 2003, had a huge game 6 of the World Series and was named MVP of the series and had wanted to come back to the Yankees in 2010 but the Yanks had no interest in signing him. Damon on the other hand had been a Red Sox prior to coming to the Bronx, and became greedy when negotiating with the Yanks this past off season.

But when it comes down to it, I feel Damon should and will get a nice hand from the crowd. Even though he may not have left on the best terms, when it comes down to it he accomplished what he was brought in to do. Damon won a championship, helped lighten the mood in the clubhouse and was productive during his four years in pinstripes. When the Yanks signed Damon to a four year $52 million deal, many around baseball felt it would be a good deal in the first two years, but his production would have dropped off during the final two. But Damon proved the critics wrong and during those four years his worst offensive stats were hitting .270, 12,63,.351 all of those stats coming in 2007 when Damon was battling depression symptoms, out of shape and thinking of retiring. Other then Damon losing a step in center field, and being forced to move to left field, Damon was worth every dollar of his contract especially when you think of all the clutch hits he had gotten over the years.

 The Yankees have used Damon's bat at times, this is possibly why they went out and got Lance Berkman. Of course looking back on it, many Yankee fans wish the bombers had signed Damon instead of Nick Johnson, who struggled when he was healthy and then did what he does best, got hurt. This season Damon has put up solid numbers but nothing compared to last season. The new Yankee Stadium is perfect for Damon's swing, and that is what helped him have such a great season in 2009. But Brett Gardner is younger and has done a great job playing left field (although they have comparable throwing arms ) and reminds me of Damon at times with the way he fouls off tough pitches.

When Damon steps up to the plate for the first time at Yankee Stadium wearing a Detroit Tigers uniform expect to hear cheers. I know when I'm at the game Wednesday I will cheer for him, but then again I cheered for Matsui and even Jose Molina (What can I say I think hes a great catcher ). Its doubtful but following this season Damon's deal with Detroit is over, and if the Yanks need a DH and someone who could occasionally play left field I think they will know where to turn.

My favorite Johnny Damon moment : The two stolen bases, on the same play in game four of the 2009 World Series. The Yankees were tied with the Phillies in the top of the ninth when Damon went to steal second base. After making it successfully to second Damon stood up and began to run towards third. I immediately began to scream and think what is he doing ! But with Mark Teixiera up, the Phillies had put on a lefty shift, so nobody was covering third base. Damon made it to third base easily and would eventually score the go ahead run for the Yankees on an Alex Rodriguez double.

Quick Hits : Yanks vs A's edition. Braden,Pettitte and the YES broadcast

Just a few quick notes

•  If you were hoping for a A-Rod - Dallas Braden dust up, your going to have to wait till Oakland heads to the stadium in late August, Braden is on the DL and was not scheduled to pitch anyways
• John Flaherty and Ken Singleton are announcing this west coast trip, no Bob Lorenz in studio and Jack Curry will be taking Kim Jones' on field reporter job. So expect alot of blandness and bad calls from Singleton and Flash, and make you you notice Singleton's favorite saying "Look out !", I know it gives me a chuckle every time.
• This is the Yankees last trip out west for the regular season.
• Andy Pettitte was officially announced as part of the AL All Star roster once it was made official that Clay Buchholz would not be attending due to injury.
• Brett Gardner is batting lead off and Derek Jeter is hitting second tonight (I have been calling for this for a while)
• Robinson Cano has been struggling a bit in his last 10 games hitting just .194. Cano hasn't had an off day in a while if my memory is correct. Maybe its time for him to get a day off.
• Another Yankee struggling has been Curtis Granderson who has quietly been having a poor season. In his last 10 games he is batting .189, and this past home stand was 3-22.
• Derek Jeter has not driven in a run since June 12th against Houston when he hit two home runs.
• Yesterday was the second walk off victory by the bombers this season, something that many fans got use to last season. Marcus Thames has gotten both walk off hits/pies this season.

Should Jeter continue to hit lead off ?

It seems that every time Derek Jeter is up this season he is swinging on the first pitch. This can be a good idea at times,for a veteran hitter like Jeter will see a fastball most of the times. It is not good to constantly do this if you are a lead off hitter. Jeter is on pace this season to drive in over 90 runs, but is drawing less walks. Jeter currently has 25 walks through 6/26, only one more walk then Jorge Posada and Nick Johnson (24 walks) both of whom have missed time due to injury.

Not only is Jeter walking less but he is seeing less pitches per at bat, seeing less then 3.5 pitches on average. Last season Jeter saw 3.84 pitches per at bat and drew 72 walks.

Now I'm not trying to kill Jeter here, he has been the heart and soul of the Yankees for the past 14 seasons and will continue to be until he retires. But i feel that it is time for him to go back to hitting second. Jeter was always known for being a great two hitter and prior to 2009 he had hit in that spot for most of his career. The move to the second slot in the order makes sense because currently the spot is fluctuating between Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson.

So who would hit first you may ask ? Well i feel that the best choice would be every ones favorite speed-ster Brett Gardner. Gardner would make the perfect lead off and would give even more length to an already mighty line up. Gardner has draw 31 walks already this season in 83 less at bats and sees an average of over 4.5 pitches per game.

The original reason that Jeter was moved to the lead off position last season was so he would not hit into as many double plays and to give Johnny Damon a better chance to drive in runs. If you move Jeter down to second in the line up, you may have to worry about the double plays again but with Gardners speed,hustle and ability to take out the second baseman the chances of a double play are slimmer. With Jeter hitting second it also give Gardner the opportunity to steal more bases. How you may ask if Jeter takes less pitches? Well it is known that Jeter is one of the smartest hitters in baseball so he would know that with a base running threat like Gardy on the bases not to swing as often along with the fact that Jeter is great at putting the ball in play causing for a good hit and run combo. The other benefit is that with both runners on they could attempt the risky double steal.

What bothers me the most is that as the lead off hitter, it is your job to get on base. Jeter has not done that this season. Maybe i am making a little much of this because since Jeter has been the lead off man he has had one of his best seasons, helped lead the Yankees to a World Series victory, and so far this season the Yanks have the best record in the majors. But if Joe Girardi wants to make the most out of his line up the best decision would be to have Gardner lead off and move Jeter to his old two spot.