Welcome to the Bronx Austin Kearns and Lance Berkman

Past trade deadlines for the Yankees have produced sub-par trades. I mean if you consider Kyle Farnsworth for Ivan Rodriguez a big deal than i guess not, but the last big impact player the Yanks acquired at the deadline that I can think of is Bobby Abreu (great deal). Yesterday the Yanks acquired two players that improve the team, Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns coming to the Bronx in separate deals.

Lance Berkman is the bigger name of the two, being a five time all star and known for his hitting ability. Due to his 10 and 5 rights (10 years in the league, 5 with the same team) Berkman had the right to veto any trade. Berkman turned down a trade to the White Sox and after that Brian Cashman was all over him. Cashman offered Mark Melancon and a prospect for "The big puma", who agreed to the trade. I think that it is a great trade for the Yanks, early reports are that the Astros will eat four million of Berkman's 7.5 million contract. Berkman can play first base and play the corner outfield spots, although he will see most of his time at DH. What I love the most about Berkman is that this year he is having a "down" year yet has an OBP of .372 and has 13 homers and 49 RBI. The only thing that worries me is that with Jorge Posada struggling to stay behind the plate, Posada will need to share the time at DH, possibly moving Berkman to the bench or outfield. With the move the Yanks can send Juan Miranda back to AAA Scranton.

With the addition of Berkman the line up could possibly look like this :
Jeter
Swisher

Tex

A-Rod

Cano

Berkman

Posada

Granderson

Gardner

You could always switch Berkman and Posada depending on who's hitting better.

The other deal the Yankees made that was over shadowed by Berkman was adding Austin Kearns to be a role/bench player. This season with Cleveland, Kearns was having a nice season hitting .272  with 42 RBI along with playing spectacular defense. When Kearns was told the news that he was going to the Yankees he said that playing time didn't matter to him with a team like the Yankees. You gotta love a player like that right away, it says something about Kearns, a free agent after this season, that he isn't worried about his next contract and his stats but more importantly helping the team win. The Yanks can now send down Colin Curtis who played decent in his time up and was a fan favorite, but the Yanks don't need him if they have Kearns.

Marcus Thames most likely will lose some playing time now that Berkman and Kearns are here but that's not a huge loss. Granderson may lose a bit of playing time against lefties since Kearns and Thames hit them well, most of all it strengthens the bench. For Kearns the Yanks gave up nothing just cash and a player to be named later.

The Yankees made two big moves that really helped the club out, the trade deadline isn't done just yet so more help could be on the way. The bombers could use some help in the bullpen so maybe a small move may be made there to help the club. If the Yanks don't make another move I wouldn't be upset they have already made two good trades. Now if they could just get rid of Chan Ho Park....

Yanks offering flex plans for $275..a seat

The Yankees have started to offer flex plans for the remainder of the season in which you choose four games to attend, of the four games you are allowed to pick one Red Sox game and three other (non Red Sox)remaining games. The catch is that the seats are in the field level and run for $275 a seat.

Sure the view is great from these locations but for $275 a seat or $2200 for a pair to all four games is not worth it. Another way that this deal is a rip off is you must buy either two or four seats, and when I attempted to buy a pair on Ticketmaster almost all the pairs are in the last few rows.

It has been well know that the Yankees have had a hard time selling these seats and on any given game that is not played against the Red Sox, Mets or on the weekend, many of the seats are empty for the entire game. Unlike the legends seating area that has an all you can eat buffet, the field level seats between the bases offer nothing other than waiters service that you have to pay for. In this deal the Yankees are throwing in free passes to the Mohegan sun sports bar, which is just other way to spend money.

If the Yankees were to really create something to put some butt's in the seat they should have added some sort of free food in the deal and/or had a playoff pre-sale option. The Yankees could have given out some sort of coupons for a certain amount of free food, or given out Bomber Bucks (Yankee money that can only be spent at Yankee stadium on food,tickets and merchandise). Another way to possibly increase demand would be give the ticket purchasers the chance to be in a pre-sale for post season tickets just like partial season ticket holders. Before some partial plan holders get upset realize this, by purchasing this four game flex plan the customer is probably paying the same amount if not more than most partial plan holders. I can speak for myself and say that my 12 game bleacher plan was just $288 before fees, so just one seat for this flex plan is almost the same amount for my 12 games with two seats.

I'm sure that some people who have that type of money may think that it is a great deal. But I'm sure that the expensive field level seats are available through single ticket purchase even for big games like the Red Sox. So if you were to buy just for the Boston game think again. Either way the Yanks hope that the embarrassingly empty seats will get filled.

Who Is Writing This Newsday Headline ? Ken Singleton ?

Mondays Newsday had this headline referring to A-Rod getting hit by a pitch in his final at bat in Sundays game. The headline may seem like a typical headline to some but i instantly though of Ken Singleton and his impulse to yell "look out !!!" any time their is a foul ball.  Although I am not a the biggest Singleton fan since I personally find it bland (When it's him and flash on the west coast trips i need to drink 5 red bulls to stay awake). But Kenny seems like a class act, and a Yankee season wouldn't be complete with a few "Look Out !!".

The Derek Jeter Drinking Game

Derek Jeter is loved by Yankees fans, disliked by many other fans in the rest of the league, and yet is respected by all. As many Yankee fans feel, it seems like forever Jeter has been involved with the Yanks and it will be one of the strangest things when he chooses to hang up his spikes. When you watch as many games as I do, you tend to realize that Jeter has certain traits that come with him. Please remember to drink responsible while playing, even if Jeter gets just four at bats in a game I'm sure you will have had enough to be legally over the limit so don't get behind the wheel. Please note I am not responsible for you, your action, behavior or any other embarrassing moment that may come from this game.

So lets begin :

• Jeter leads off the game and swings first pitch - 1 drink
• Jeter leads off the game, swings first pitch and hits a weak ground ball - 2 drinks
• Jeter hits into a double play - 1 drink
• Jeter swings first pitch with runners on and hits into a double play - 3 drinks
• Jeter fixes his batting gloves after a pitch - 1 drink , take addition drink if he steps out of the box also
• If Michael Kay says "Past a diving Jeter" or anything similar to that - 1 drink
• If Jeter attempts his famous "jump throw" and the runner is safe - 2 drinks
• If the "Flip play" is mentioned on air or by a fellow game participant  - 1 drink
• If the dive into the stands against the Red Sox is mentioned - 1 drink
• If either play mentioned in the last 2 rules, is replayed drink for the entire replay of the moment
• If an announcer calls a hit my Jeter to right field, "Jeterian"- 1 drink, if its on national TV (FOX,ESPN) take 2 drinks
• If an announcer mentions that he is the captain - 1 drink
• Jeter is seen on the top steps of the dugout - 1 drink
• Jeter's parents are shown on TV - 1 drink
• If the grudge between A-Rod and Jeter is mentioned - 1 drink, don't drink if the camera shoots to them standing/sitting next to each other talking.
• If Michael Kay mentions how hard it is for the manager to get Jeter to take a day off - 1 drink
• If any announcer mentions Jeters postseason heroics - 1 drink , take additional drink for each specific moment they mention
• Jeter is called clutch - 1 drink ,and take additional drink if he is called Mr. November
• If they show a shot of a female holding up a home made sign with Jeters name on it - 1 drink, if the sign mentions "love" or "marry" take 2 drinks. Take 3 drinks if it has both.
• Jeter is called Jeet by a teammate or announcer - 1 drink
• Is called by his full name of Derek Sanderson Jeter - 2 drinks
• Jeter disagrees with the umpire and says something to him, but doesn't get tossed - 1 drink
• Following a mound visit Jeter is the last one to leave the mound and is seen talking to the pitcher - 1 drink
• If Jeter is seen doing a fist pump - 1 drink
• Jeter hits a home run to the short porch in right field - 1 drink
• Jeter hits a home run to LF or CF - 2 drinks
• Jeter is seen clapping his hands following a hit - 1 drink
• Jeter hits a ball that lands in monument park and the announcer mentions how one day Jeter will end up there - 2 drinks
• Jeter is mentioned as the all time Yankee hit leader - 1 drink , take additional drink if they say how he will become the first ever Yankee to hit 3,000
• Jeter fouls a ball of his foot and it misses his guard - 1 drink
• Jeter jack knifes out of the way, and just misses getting hit by a pitch - 1 drink
• Jeter gets hit by a pitch - 1 drink
• Jeter gets hit by a pitch on his hand or wrist - 2 drinks , take an additional 2 drinks if any announcer mentions how Jeter dives into the plate when he swings and it often happens.
• Jeter gets hit by a pitch, taken out of the game, and is suppose to miss an extended amount of time - drink till you forget, since you know you cant replace Derek Jeter.

Remember drink responsible

No Home Homer from A-Rod

On Thursday night Alex Rodriguez made himself one step closer to historic home run 600, by hitting 599. The entire weekend fans were waiting for 600 to land in the Bronx, but those fans will have to wait until when ? Well nobody is sure but if it is going to land in the Bronx, it will have to wait until August 2nd. The Yankees will be on the road in Cleveland and Tampa Bay.

It is completely possible that Alex won't hit another home run this week and it can happen in August when the Yankees return home against the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. Of course I don't have the power to choose when he hits the historic bomb, but I would love for it to be the first game back at the stadium or a game against the Red Sox.

It could happen as soon as Monday night in Cleveland, but any where it happens outside of the Bronx will ruin the moment for A-Rod. In Cleveland the fans are going to boo if the milestone homer is hit there along with possibly a few steroids chants. The same could happen in Tampa. although Tampa has been known to house alot of Yankee fans. But if Alex wants to soak in the moment, it has to be done in New York.

Why Tino !?!! Why !?!

While reading the NY Daily News yesterday, I came across this ad in the sports section.Yankee favorite Tino Martinez doing a corny ad for Bay Ridge Toyota. So my question is why Tino ? I don't think he needs the money, he got paid so much while in the majors and is currently paid by the Yankees to be a special assistant. Tino has worked for ESPN and the YES Network since he has retired from baseball. I was always a big Tino fan growing up and was upset in 2002 when they picked Giambi over him. But I'll admit that Tino in the booth is awful, his voice just doesn't sound right and he seems so nervous. Maybe they can try and get him to be in studio with Bob Lorenz, anything to prevent him from being in lame ad's like the one above.

(Sorry for the bad cell phone camera pictures)

Mike Francesa Does his Best Joba Fist Pump

Too funny, Joba hasn't pitched his best and I know Francesa has always hated him doing the fist pump deal.