The Yankees take on the Rangers in their last series of the season out west and it's going to be an interesting lineup tonight:
#Yankees lineup, no Tex return: Gardner CF, Jeter SS, McCann 1B, Beltran DH, Headley 3B, Cervelli C, Roberts 2B, Ichiro RF, Z. Almonte LF
— George A. King III (@GeorgeAKingIII) July 28, 2014
The Yankees have called up Zoilo Almonte in order to serve as the proper fourth outfielder that the team currently doesn't have. To make room for him on the roster, Jeff Francis has been designated for assignment after pitching in just two games over 1.2 innings during his Yankees career. The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster and unless there's some kind of trade brewing, it could be just the opening Rob Refsnyder needs to get a call-up.
Mark Teixeira is out of the lineup again tonight, so their decision not to DL him is looking more and more questionable. He says he expects to be in the lineup tonight, but we'll see. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter lead off, however, Jacoby Ellsbury is also sitting out tonight, and given the sudden move to bring up Zoilo, it doesn't look very promising for the center fielder. Brian McCann remains at first base with Carlos Beltran again at DH. Francisco Cervelli remains behind the plate for what seems like the 100th game straight, Brian Roberts is at second, and Ichiro Suzuki and Zoilo Almonte are in the same lineup. This could be a weird game.
With trade rumors starting to brew around Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, it appears that in the very unlikely event he is dealt, Colorado will not simply ship him off to any potential bidder.
However sense is #Rockies owner would only trade Tulo to place Tulo wants. We will see if that holds if Tulo actually put on market
Tulowitzki has spoke about his respect for Derek Jeter, choosing to wear No. 2 in honor of his favorite player. He has acknowledged the storyline of replacing him at shortstop next year, but is this a place he would want to go? Would the Yankees even be able to put together a string enough package to get the Rockies to make a trade they don't really have to make? We'll have to see.
The Yankees are interested in bringing the left-hander to the Bronx.
The New York Yankees are interested in possibly acquiring White Sox' left-hander John Danks, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. According to Stark, Chicago has had scouts watching the Yankees' farm system over the past few days, particularly their numerous catching prospects, which may be a further indication that the two sides are discussing a deal that would send Danks to the Bronx.
The 29-year-old Danks has a 4.40 ERA, 4.63 FIP, 2.00 K/BB, and 1.2 WAR this season, and hasn't been the same pitcher since returning from shoulder surgery in 2013. Prior to landing on the DL early in the 2012 season, Danks had a 115 ERA+ and 18.5 WAR in an 832 innings stretch from 2008-2012, but has just a 89 ERA+, 4.85 FIP, and 2.1 WAR in 269.1 innings since. He has over two years remaining on a five-year, $65 million extension signed in December of 2011. He will make $14.25 million in each of the next two seasons, and carries a six-team no-trade clause, though it is unclear if the Yankees are on it.
The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching, despite their recent acquisition of Brandon McCarthy, who has pitched well in his first three starts with the club. The Yankees' rotation ranks 16th in baseball this season with a 3.88 ERA and 3.96 FIP, but is without CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, and Masahiro Tanaka, all of whom are dealing with injuries that could keep them out for the remainder of the season. The Yankees' situation has gotten so dire that the club has been forced to scour baseball's bargain bin, with guys like Jeff Francis and Chris Capuano each appearing for the club within the last week.
Behind McCarthy, Hiroki Kuroda, and David Phelps, the Yankees don't have much in the rotation other than the hope that Tanaka beats the odds and forgoes Tommy John surgery. It is essentially a necessity for them to add at least one more starter to have a reasonable chance at surpassing Baltimore and Toronto in the AL East.
Chicago's interest in New York's catching prospects isn't surprising considering the organization seems to have a surplus of them. Between names such as JR Murphy, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, Luis Torrens, and Peter O'Brien, the Yankees are chalk full of young talent behind the plate, and seem to have little room for them with Brian McCann and Francisco Cervelli locked into spots at the major league level.
Stark also mentions that the Yankees and White Sox have had trouble matching up in past trade discussions, noting that the last significant deal between the two organizations was the trade that brought Nick Swisher to New York, which happened six years ago.
The Rangers continue their run of winning the opener of a series and absolutely no other games ever
Sure, call me Tank Commander of the 2014 Texas Rangers. However, it was especially satisfying to watch the Rangers beat the Yankees with the crowd teaming with fans cheering on a contending Yankees team. It's nice to know the Rangers sent them home disappointed.
I was pretty pumped during this game. This is the most I've wanted to see the Rangers win since like mid-May. I miss that feeling.
P.S. How fun was it seeing Neftali Feliz get Jeter to end the game and get the save? The most fun.
Player of the Game: Other than Brett Gardner transforming into Babe Ruth, Yu Darvish had a Darvishian outing to quiet the fawning Jeter fans -- and Gerry Fraley.
A rough fifth inning doomed David Phelps and the Yankees to another loss.
The Yankees and Texas Rangers met for the first game of a three game set down in Arlington. David Phelps got the start against Rangers' ace Yu Darvish. The team didn't get bailed out by a rain-shortened affair this time around, though.
It took until the top of third for one of the teams to put a run up on the scoreboard. The run would come courtesy of the slugging Brett Gardner, who turned on a Darvish offering and sent it into the right field seats for a solo home run, his 11th of the season. Darvish settled back in and made it to the fifth without any more damage done, until that man came up again. This time, Gardner really muscled up and launched one into center field making it 2-0 Yankees. The Rangers would cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning as Elvis Andrus singled home Chris Gimenez with two outs. The lead would officially disappear a few batters later when Adrian Beltre doubled down the left field line, bringing Andrus home and knotting the game up at two. Things kept going downhill for Phelps, as the next hitter J.P. Arencibia scored both Beltre and Alex Rios with a single, vaulting the Rangers ahead. All of it while just one out away from getting out of the inning unscathed.
That was all that the Rangers would need to win the day. In spite of eleven hits the Yankees couldn't push across any non Gardner-produced runs. One of those hits just happened to be the one that pushed Derek Jeter past Carl Yastrzemski into seventh on the all-time MLB hits list as he had a nice three hit day for himself. The team had two-out rallies in both the seventh and eighth innings but failed to capitalize on them. They went 0-6 with runners in scoring position on the day. Also notable was the return of Mark Teixeira, who singled in his pinch hitting appearance during that ill-fated 8th inning rally. Welcome back, Tex!
Phelps was good for the most part, but doomed by that one bad inning. And one bad inning is sometimes all it takes if you're facing a hurler the quality of Yu Darvish. Also having an unimpressive offense that can't get hits in high leverage situations doesn't help, either. That's three losses in a row for the Yankees as they find themselves falling behind in both the division and second Wild Card races.
The squads will match up again tomorrow night at 8:05 PM. Brandon McCarthy and Nick Martinez are your probables.
New York appears to be the only suitor for the remainder of the contract, which means they could wait until a waiver deal in August
With the off day and lack of White Sox news, Monday felt very much like Frank Thomas Hall of Fame Observance Day.
Today, it's a different story on at least one front, as the White Sox head to Detroit for three games with the Tigers. Whether any rumors follow is a different matter, but with the deadline fast approaching on Thursday, now would be the time.
Unfortunately, the scuttlebutt is rather limited. John Danks is the only trade asset giving off any heat, but it's only coming from one team -- the New York Yankees.
For a while, only one source had reported the interest from the Bronx with any kind of on conviction. CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman tied the Yanks to Danks in a few different posts, most recently on Sunday.
The Yankees are still looking at White Sox left-hander John Danks as a trade possibility in what appears to be a diminishing starters market for them.
Danks may be among the most likely rotation candidates for the Yankees, if not the most likely, as there's no evidence they're even talking to the Padres about Ian Kennedy. And several other available pitchers aren't possibilities for them. The Yankees, who've lost four of their original five starters to injury, already added right-hander Brandon McCarthy, who looks like a superb pickup so far; however, a second rotation piece won't be easy.
The White Sox had scouts watching the Yankees' system, particularly the minor league catching surplus, in the past few days. It is yet one more indication the Yankees are focused on John Danks in their search for another starting pitcher. Danks' $14.25 million salary the next two years wouldn't be as big an issue for the Yankees as it is for other clubs. But what might be a factor is that these are two teams that have had a lot of trouble matching up in recent years. In the past decade, the only significant trade the Yankees and White Sox have made was the deal that sent Nick Swisher to the Bronx -- six years ago.
Maybe the Sox can't deal with the trauma from hearing Brian Cashman's voice over the phone. Or maybe Cashman keeps making ridiculous offers since the last one worked.
If Danks' contract is that onerous to the rest of the market, then that thickens the plot of any potential August deal. The White Sox could (and might, or probably will) put Danks on waivers, and it's possible the Yankees could claim him, figuring the worst-case scenario has them paying all of his salary while keeping the prospects that may have been discussed over the last few weeks.
"The question posed to the White Sox then is, would they let him go for nothing on a waiver claim? I think they would,’’ the source said. "But I just don’t see someone taking that contract on.’’
It’s not that the Sox don’t like or have no use for Danks. It’s just Business 101. Getting rid of Peavy, Alex Rios (after the non-waiver deadline) and others last season gave Hahn enough payroll flexibility to pursue Jose Abreu in the offseason. The Sox also stepped up their investments in the draft and international signings.
Unless the Sox have fears about Danks' shoulder that his performance masks, I don't think they would be that desperate, because the other strategic reasons just aren't that compelling.
Salary? The Sox will be taking Adam Dunn's salary off the books in 2015, or earlier if Hahn can find a taker. Chris Sale and Jose Quintana will still be making far less than they're worth, and the last two rotation spots are league-minimum guys at the moment. Danks' presence isn't prohibiting any significant action on the payroll, and getting rid of him for nothing in return means that money will have to be spent on a starter.
Rodon? He already has his choice of two rotation spots without bringing Danks into the question.
Left-handedness? Not really, because all of them handle righties well enough. In fact, Danks has better splits against righties over his career, while Quintana's splits are dead even and Sale can face anybody on any day.
From here, it looks like it comes down to whether the Sox think they're on borrowed time with his post-surgery shoulder. If they are, they have a funny way of showing it -- he's thrown at least 110 pitches seven times, and crossed the 120-pitch mark twice. There's nothing wrong with that if he's as healthy as any pitcher can be in July, but shoulders can be fickle.
If there is no special cause for concern and the contract inspires tepid-at-best interest around the league, the Sox would probably be better off waiting until the offseason or 2015, when dollars and time come off the commitment. It's possible they have a huge splash in mind, but considering they made a strong run at Masahiro Tanaka last offseason after their current payroll had been allocated, it seems like Hahn will have some spending money available even if Danks remains on the books.
Recapping the Yankees' minor league affiliates' results from July 28th.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 6-4 vs. Pawtucket Red Sox
2B Jose Pirela 3-4 RF Rob Refsnyder 2-4, 2B CF Adonis Garcia 1-3, 2 RBI, K DH Kyle Roller 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K 1B Austin Romine 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI - hitting .325 over last 10 games C John Ryan Murphy 1-4, RBI 3B Rob Segedin 0-4, 4 K LF Taylor Dugas 0-4, K SS Carmen Angelini 0-3, BB, K
Chris Leroux 6.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HR - 52 of 79 pitches for strikes, 7 GO/2 FO Joel De La Cruz 2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 K, HR, WP - 24 of 34 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/0 FO Matt Daley 1.0 IP, H, K - 14 of 17 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/0 FO
Double-A Trenton Thunder: W 6-1 vs. New Britain Rock Cats
DH Jake Cave 1-3, 2 BB LF Ben Gamel 2-5, 2B, RBI C Gary Sanchez 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K - hitting .341 over last 10 games 1B Peter O`Brien 1-2, BB, K, HBP - hitting .306 over last 10 games RF Tyler Austin 1-3, BB CF Mason Williams 1-4, 2 RBI, K 3B Dan Fiorito 1-4, RBI 2B Jose Toussen 0-4, K SS Ali Castillo 3-4, SB, CS, PO
Zach Nuding 6.0 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 3 K - 61 of 90 pitches for strikes, 7 GO/7 FO Mark Montgomery 1.0 IP, K - 8 of 10 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/1 FO James Pazos 1.0 IP, H, 2 K, WP - 10 of 16 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/0 FO Nick Rumbelow 1.0 IP, 2 K - 8 of 10 pitches for strikes, 1 GO/0 FO
High-A Tampa Yankees:L 1-3 vs. Charlotte Stone Crabs
LF Jose Rosario 0-5, 2 K RF Aaron Judge 0-1, 4 BB 1B Greg Bird 0-3, BB, 2 K 3B Dante Bichette 0-4 - hitting .205 over last 10 games DH Eric Jagielo 1-2, BB, HBP PO 2B Angelo Gumbs 1-4 SS Cito Culver 1-3, 3B, BB, 2 K C Wes Wilson 0-4, RBI, 2 K CF Claudio Custodio 1-3, BB, 2 SB, CS, outfield assist
Jhon Morban 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, HBP - 4 GO/3 FO Kyle Haynes 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 K - 3 GO/2 FO Taylor Garrison 1.0 IP, BB, 2 K - 0 GO/1 FO
Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:W 6-5 vs. Asheville Tourists
CF Mark Payton 2-4, HR, 3 RBI - hitting .341/.449/.537 over last 10 games RF Michael O`Neill 0-4, 2 K SS Tyler Wade 1-4 3B Miguel Andujar 1-4, K DH Jackson Valera 0-3, BB, K LF John Murphy 1-4, K C Eduardo de Oleo 0-3, BB, K, two errors (10) 2B Gosuke Katoh 1-1, RBI, 2 BB 1B Reymond Nunez 1-4, HR, 2 RBI
Rookie Davis 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 K, 2 HBP - 58 of 87 pitches for strikes, 5 GO/3 FO Angel Rincon 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 K, HR - 35 of 45 pitches for strikes, 2 GO/1 FO Stefan Lopez 0.2 IP, K - 0 GO/1 FO
Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 4-5 vs. Connecticut Tigers
CF Devyn Bolasky 1-5 SS Vince Conde 0-4, BB, 2 K, SB 2B Ty McFarland 0-4, BB, K, throwing error (12) DH Isaias Tejeda 0-3, BB, K 1B Connor Spencer 3-4, RBI - hitting .425 over last 10 games LF Chris Breen 0-3, RBI, K RF Austin Aune 1-3, BB, 2 K 3B Renzo Martini 2-4, 2B, RBI C Collin Slaybaugh 1-4, 2B
Jordan Foley 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K - 4 GO/1 FO Jonathan Holder 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R/0 ER, 2 K - 3 GO/3 FO Rony Bautista 2.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K, WP, balk - 0 GO/1 FO, blown save (2)
RF Jose Figueroa 0-5, K, outfield assist LF Ericson Leonora 2-3, 3B, 2 BB SS angel Aguilar 0-4, BB, 2 K 1B Jake Hernandez 1-3, 2 BB 3B Allen Valerio 1-3, 2B, RBI, K DH Frank Frias 3-5, 2B, K, SB C Jesus Aparicio 1-3, RBI, BB, SB, pickoff 2B Tyler Palmer 1-5, 3B, RBI, 2 K - hitting .360 over last 10 games CF Jordan Barnes 0-4, 2 K
Branden Pinder 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K, WP, pickoff - 1 GO/0FO Jonathan Padilla 3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, BB, 4 K, WP - 3 GO/1 FO Nestor Cortes 3.0 IP, 5 H, ER, 4 K, WP, pickoff - 0 GO/1 FO Abel Mora 1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, K - 0 GO/1 FO
" ... We’re not ready to deal [Troy Tulowitzki]. We want to hear it from him ... Which is to say: We want him to be the bad guy, not us. It’s a ludicrous way to run a business, of course, and it highlights how little confidence the Rockies have in themselves to make the sort of a deal that reinvigorates and re-energizes a ball club in desperate need of both. Front-office dithering can set franchises back years ... "
Tulo day trip was innocent, but word is he wouldn't mind being a Yankee - CBSSports.com Jon Heyman gives his thoughts on the Tulowitzki situation, and hidden in there, says the All-Star is expected to be out for a month. I must have missed that elsewhere. Other than that, though, this is all stuff we already know: The Rockies don't want to trade Tulo now and may not even do so in the offseason, though if someone overwhelms them, a deal could happen.
Weiss has no issue with Tulo's Bronx visit | Rockies.com: News Walt Weiss believes Tulowitzki's attendance at Yankee Stadium is overblown. Tulo was apparently in New York to visit his mother, which better explains why he made the trip there from Philadelphia. I guess.
Anderson stands by his tweets | Rockies.com: News Brett Anderson's 'controversial' tweet about Tulo's visit to the Bronx was not at all controversial, as it turns out, but rather just part of Anderson's sense of humor that we've all come to love. Regardless of whether Anderson was truly annoyed at his teammates decision to attend another MLB game on the DL, I thought the tweet was hilarious and certainly not one bit worse than what Tulo did. Don't censor Brett, people!
Look for Jorge De La Rosa and Brett Anderson to stay put - The Denver Post The Rockies' top two lefties are drawing trade interest from multiple American League clubs, reports Patrick Saunders, but chances are Colorado hangs onto the duo for the rest of this season and beyond. The Yankees and Orioles have inquired about De La Rosa, while the Royals have checked in on Anderson. Saunders says the Rockies will most likely pick up the latter's $12 million option for next season, a scenario that didn't look possible a month ago.
Blogpile
Rockies Review - A Colorado Rockies Blog: GUEST POST: History in Denver suggests that altitude shouldn't be an excuse for the Colorado Rockies Tom Olson at Rockies Review uses one of the hot words of this season -- EXCUSES -- to talk about the Rockies' failure at altitude, and how it shouldn't be that way because the Denver Bears and Zephyrs didn't have problems. Setting aside the fact the minor league baseball and MLB are much different animals, ballpark dimensions also aren't taken into account here. Mile High Stadium was a veritable bandbox compared to Coors Field, so while there might have been more home runs (although, again, an apples-to-apples comparison of different levels and different eras is dangerous), I'm willing to bet hits were not as prevalent over on 17th Avenue as they are at 20th and Blake.
Brian Cashman has looked to the Cubs for more ways to improve the Yankees before the trading deadline. He already asked about pitcher Jake Arrieta and also inquired on the availability of outfielder Justin Ruggiano as well. While they at least said Arrieta would cost a lot, they simply declared that Ruggiano was off limits in any potential trade, which is unfortunate, because he could have been very useful.
The 32-year-old right-handed batter has hit .293/.358/.449 in his first year with the Cubs. He has crushed lefties to the tune of a 126 wRC+ and isn't completely useless against righties either with a 97 wRC+. Ruggiano can also play all three outfield positions at a decent level, making him the perfect candidate to platoon against southpaws. On top of all that, he's in his first year of arbitration and will be under team control through the 2017 season. He would have been a long-term solution for a right-handed bat off the bench.
The Yankees are said to be looking at every possible option they can come up with in order to improve the team on both offense and pitching. If they do end up making a move for a bat, expect it to be for a right-handed hitting outfielder, something they have coveted in July over the last few years.
"Moose" now faces an even steeper uphill climb to Cooperstown.
Over the weekend, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted six members into their ranks at Cooperstown, but while the ceremonies were nice, the Hall made a public relations slip by releasing some changes to the future voting process at the same time:
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of Directors today announced changes to the rules for election for recently retired players, reducing the length of stay on the ballot for players from a maximum of 15 to 10 years, while installing a new balloting and registration process for Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting members.
Players will now only remain on the ballot for 10 years rather than 15. Instead of the weekend being about the likes of Greg Maddux and Joe Torre, a lot of the discussion was about these changes. Nice work, Cooperstown.
In the long run, it makes some sense to reduce the years on the ballot since a voter shouldn't really need 15 years to determine whether or not someone is a Hall of Famer. However, they don't make sense amidst this particular era of voting. The ballot already suffers from overcrowding with too many players who have legitimate Hall of Fame arguments running up against a 10-player limit for ballot. If they were going to make the procedural change, they could have at least remedied that problem to make it so BBWAA writers don't have to leave people off the ballot who they feel are Hall of Famers just because of the limit. If I was making a ballot based off the names eligible in 2015, I know I would go over. There are numerous criticisms of the change, including how it screws over players with no allegations like Tim Raines and how it's not so subtly an effort by the Hall to get players under PED allegations off the ballot faster, but Hall of Fame voting expert Jay Jaffe already wrote an excellent article breaking down these issues. It's a must-click for anyone even remotely interested in the Hall.
Instead, I am going to focus on how these changes affect my favorite player on the ballot, former Yankees starter Mike Mussina. During his eight years in pinstripes, I was an unabashedly big fan of "Moose," and even before I got into sabermetric statistics, I thought that he was a Hall of Fame caliber pitcher for his wide success during an 18-year career that started with an outstanding decade with the Orioles. (He's an Orioles Hall of Famer at least.) As I've learned more and more about sabermetrics, they have only made me more resolute in my belief that Mussina is a Hall of Famer, and Jaffe wrote at length about the clear worthiness of Mussina's candidacy last December when he was set to debut on the Hall of Fame ballot. In the crowded field that arguably included 17 Hall of Famers despite a 10-player ballot limit though (and two pitchers very similar to Mussina in Curt Schilling and the since-elected Tom Glavine) "Moose" was only able to appear on 20.3% of voter ballots.
While it was a bit of a frustrating debut, I was still optimistic about Mussina's chance at eventually reaching the Hall of Fame. After all, Bert Blyleven's vote total was a meager 14.1% in 1999, his second year of eligibility, when campaigns throughout the Internet helped boost awareness of his case for the Cooperstown, and he was eventually elected in 2011, his 14th year on the ballot. It was a long wait, but Blyleven got there eventually.
The BBWAA, which was not consulted on the most recent decision, has a relatively new committee chaired by Susan Slusser that includes Jaffe and other likeminded thoughtful voters, and they might still propose changes to the voting process that include changing the ballot limit and cleaning up the BBWAA ranks to exclude members from voting who have not covered baseball in decades (seriously, some of them write about golf now and are far removed from the game). With no impending changes on the horizon though, Moose faces a challenge. He has nine years to go to reach Cooperstown before he falls off the ballot instead of fourteen. It's not as bad a problem as it is for the deserving Raines, who now has three years to go instead of eight, and Edgar Martinez, who has five years left instead of ten, but it's still worth exploring.
One could make an argument that parsing just 10 names onto the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot might be even more difficult than it was in 2014. It would be an absolute shock to not see Johnson and Martinez elected immediately. Smoltz will most likely make it in his first time around, too, since voters seem to like him a lot and he fits in nicely with his former rotationmates Maddux and Glavine, who were inducted last year. Craig Biggio fell literally a few votes shy in 2014 at 74.8%, and I'm sure sentiment will build up to push him over the top. The BBWAA has never elected four players to the Hall of Fame by itself since the current process was established in 1967, but I'm optimistic that they will get the job done.
Aside from the four likely Hall of Famers in next year's class, most of Mussina's competition from last year remains. Jack Morris is at last off the ballot, but 15 players who received at least 10% of the vote are there. Mike Piazza is inching closer and closer to Cooperstown despite Murray Chass's backne hocum that has kept him out due to PED allegations over the past couple years; he reached 62.2% of ballots last year. The very worthy Jeff Bagwell should also at least appear on 54.3% of ballots as he did last year despite similar shaky PED allegations. A little over a third of voters put Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds on their ballots, too. (I'd put them on mine as well. A Hall of Fame without the greatest pitcher and hitter of our generation is silly, PEDs or not.) Sheffield's not getting elected in 2015, but I think he'll get enough votes to stay on the ballot in 2016.
Sammy Sosa could very well drop off the ballot after receiving just 7.2% of votes last year, which would be a bit of a shame, but he's not getting elected by this crowd, so it'd probably be best for him to do so. Grandfathered into the new rules, Don Mattingly will be in his 15th and final year of eligibility and he will drop off the ballot after 2015.
There are several other names to consider too, but the long story short is that it is going to be hard for Mussina to make much headway beyond the 20.3% he received in 2014.
The year after next is when Mussina should hopefully start taking some steps forward in voting. The only standout newcomer is Junior, who will be elected without a blink of an eye. Edmonds might garner some support, but even though I think he has an interesting Hall of Fame case, it wouldn't surprise me to see him drop off after one ballot much like Kenny Lofton did in 2013. I feel like they might lump him in the same category as fellow first-time eligible player Garret Anderson, which is laughable.
Anyway, with Johnson, Pedro, and Smoltz likely getting elected in 2015, there are fewer standout pitchers on the ballot. There are still plenty of position players, but at least there won't be many pitchers to face. Clemens is off in his own weird category with Bonds. Schilling and Mussina are probably in this long trek to Cooperstown together, though Schilling appeared on 50 more ballots than Moose did last year (29.2% to 20.3%). As much as he is an annoying person, he is an eventual Hall of Famer who will receive votes. People who love them some saves will also probably vote for Trevor Hoffman in his ballot debut and continue to vote for Lee Smith for whatever reason. (Hoffman's case is a bit more interesting, but in this crowded field, I would not include him in my top ten.) Nonetheless, I am crossing my fingers that Mussina can make a big jump of sorts in 2016 (it would be even nicer if the BBWAA's likely suggestions on changing player limits go into effect for this year, if not sooner).
If we're lucky, maybe Piazza will take another jump from the one he'll probably get in 2015 to reach Cooperstown in 2016 and remove him from the ballot. This will also be Alan Trammell's final year on the ballot, so he will depart as well--at 20.8% in 2014, he's unfortunately not going anywhere. Trammell is supremely underrated and should be a Hall of Famer, so hopefully the Veteran's Committee can get him (and his longtime double play partner Lou Whitaker) in sometime down the road. Under the new rules, Mark McGwire also departs the ballot in his 10th year. He was also going nowhere.
Now it starts to get messy again. Manny, Pudge, Vlad, and Georgie all have legitimate Hall of Fame cases, though none are slam dunks with the Hall of Fame voting crowd. They will all probably get at least 5% to stay on the ballot though. If anyone is elected, it will likely be someone who's been gradually building up support, like Bagwell or Raines. I really hope Raines makes the big jump from 46.1% in 2014 to Cooperstown here because otherwise, he falls off the ballot. Ridiculous. Less ridiculous is Lee Smith at last coming off the ballot after this year.
It would be helpful for Mussina's case if Bagwell made it here and some of the likes of Sheffield, Jeff Kent, Fred McGriff, or Larry Walker departed the ballot by falling under the 5% margin. Sheffield's probably not getting much support, and I don't anticipate Kent, McGriff, or Walker doing much better than the 10-17% margin they pulled last year in this crowd. Sheffield's probably the most likely given the speed which Sosa seems to be going off the ballot.
Now it gets messy for Moose again. Chipper's an insta-induct, and Thome probably is as well. Two spots gone, just like that. Vizquel's going to get his share of votes, too, since he's often compared to Ozzie Smith, even though as Jaffe has pointed out, Omar couldn't hold Ozzie's jock strap when it comes to offensive production. Rolen's an intriguing case, especially at a position with not many Hall of Famers, and I'm sure he'll get his votes. (So will Jones and Damon.)
Regardless, under the current rules voters will have to decide which eight players they want to add to Jones and Thome among Mussina, Schilling, Bonds, Clemens, Manny, Guerrero, Posada, Martinez, Pudge, Hoffman, Walker, Kent, and more. Good luck with that. I don't see much progress for Moose here.
Mo will go in immediately. Everyone else is debatable. Imagine if Alex Rodriguez doesn't play again and he goes on this ballot, too. Run for the hills.
Years Seven-Ten: 2020-23 ballots
Notable newcomers: Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, ?
It's obviously very difficult to project ballots beyond 2019 since aside from Jeter and the 40-year-old Ichiro's likely retirement in the next couple years, we have no idea whose career will be ending in the next few years. (For reference, players retiring in 2015 would be on the 2021 ballot, 2016 in 2022, and 2017 in 2023.) If A-Rod's career doesn't end with his 2013 season, it will almost definitely after one of those years. Sad to say, but CC Sabathia's probably will, too. It wouldn't be surprising to see guys like David Ortiz, Jason Giambi, Carlos Beltran, Bobby Abreu, and Jimmy Rollins retire soon and get some votes in those years. These will probably be the best years for Mussina to try to get into the Hall of Fame via the BBWAA, as his ballots will hopefully have slowly climbed up to heights such that Cooperstown is in sight.
Godspeed, Moose. If you ever make the Hall, I will be certain to make my way up to that otherwise-sleepy town in New York and enjoy it.
Wait a second... A half-season of performance isn't predictive?
Including his performance with the Yankees, Brian McCann has a career slash line of .274/.345/.466 (115 wRC+). When the Yankees signed him in the offseason, the thinking was that he would produce along those lines, combined with excellent defense and pitch framing. The team got the latter two, but not the former. From the beginning of the season to July 8th(309 PA--I'll get to the date later), Brian McCann hit .231/.288/.378 (83 wRC+) with just seven home runs. That was in stark contrast to his ZiPS projection of .258/.340/.451.
Of course, the criticisms began to crop up. There was those infamous comments from McCann's former hitting coach Terry Pendleton that he couldn't handle New York, that the pressure hanging over his head due to a large contract in a large market would doom him. Ben Lindbergh of Grantland did a bit of research on this and found that most of the criticism was bunk. McCann was not pulling his way into the shift, his approach had not changed, and his plate discipline was consistent. The only issue that arose was with his hard-hit average; the type of power he had seen in the past wasn't cropping up.
Luckily, there was a possible solution. Kevin Long worked with McCann and eliminated the toe-tap in his swing, something that Long believed screwed with his timing. Well, did that work? Since that article on the toe-tap was published on July 8th (remember that date?), McCann has hit .300/.328/.383 (96 wRC+). Is that explosive? No, it's not. It's not in line with his career mark nor with his ZiPS projections, but it's still in stark contrast to pre-July. The contact is now there; it's just the power that is missing. Could this be because of some of the issues that Kevin Long found when ironing out McCann's approach? That's possible. I'd say it's probably luck. Here is the spray chart of batted-ball data from 2012 and 2013 via FanGraphs:
And what does that look like this year? Pretty darn similar:
The obvious tendency to favor the right-side of the field is still there--fly balls just haven't found their way over the short porch as of yet. But like his overall batting line, that will certainly regress.
To think that the first half of the season is a true barometer of McCann's performance is completely ludicrous. Players that have the type of track record McCann has do not turn into a pumpkin overnight, especially when it has been proven that everything that made him successful in the past has remained the same. The issue is that people confuse performance with talent.
For example, let's take a look at Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projections for Brian McCann. What's great about these projections is that they don't just show you the projection, but every possible projection given their expected talent level. And if you take a peak at McCann's 10th percentile PECOTA projection, it reads: .222/.297/.391. Does that look familiar? That means that given McCann's talent level, there is a 10% chance that he would perform at that level or lower. What we were seeing was that 10% chance. If his performance was beyond the realm of possibility then I would be worried. But if we were to run 100 simulations of McCann's 2014 season, about 10 of them would look like his current performance, or worse. It'd be the same player that could possibly hit .288/.374/.508 (the 90th percentile). Both of them would be equally deceptive, but the talent level would remain the same.
Brian McCann is essentially the same hitter he was last year. There's the obvious discount one would add for a year of aging, but he is not a significantly different hitter. He has improved in the past month due to some changes, changes that have put him more in line with his expected performance. It's not there yet, but you can see regression happening. The days of ~80 wRC+ McCann are behind us, I believe, and what we will see in the future is the player we all expected coming into this season.
In Brian Cashman's search for pitching help, you would imagine that Justin Masterson would be the perfect target. They've been interested before, he's a ground ball pitcher, and he's about to hit free agency. Yet still, even counting all those reasons, the Yankeesdon't see Masterson as a solution to their rotation problem. At least not at the price it will cost them to acquire him.
This year Masterson has struggled mightily. He has a 5.51 ERA and 4.08 FIP on the season, however, despite his ability to keep the ball on the ground (58.5%) and prevent the home run (0.55 HR/9), he's struggled to keep the ball over the plate (5.14 BB/9 by far a career-worst). While they've already traded for a struggling pitcher in Brandon McCarthy, the Yankees must not see some major defect that they could correct, like a drop in velocity, for Masterson, and make him effective again.
That being said, much of Masterson's skill-set is very dependent on infield defense and the Indians actually have the worst-rated defense in baseball with -62 defensive runs saved. While we all know the Yankees don't have a very good infield, they would at least provide an upgrade with their -14 DRS. The Yankees undoubtedly have some kind of defensive metrics at their disposal and they're probably aware of how they compare to the Indians. The fact that they're still not interested must mean they really don't like what they're seeing from him, especially when it will take more than Vidal Nuno to get him.
The 11 runs the Rangers scored was the most runs they've scored in a game since June 16 and they still lost
Usually when a guy has a seven RBI game, you can assume your team is going to win. Almost always when you score 11 runs, you can assume your team won by a lot of runs. But this is 2014 and the Rangers don't do winning.
Player of the Game: Gee, I wonder. J.P. Arencibia went 4-4 with two doubles and two home runs and drove in seven Rangers. Essentially, Arencibia contributed more in this single game than he did in the entire first half of the season.
The Yankees had only scored at least 12 runs one other time this season. They needed every single one of those damn runs.
Well, that was an uncomfortable, topsy-turvy game to watch. Grab your alcohol, folks, because it's going to be a doozy getting through this one.
The pace for this game was set by the very first batter, one Brett Michael Gardner. The day after pounding Rangers ace Yu Darvish for a pair of homers in a three-hit game, Gardner drove the second pitch he saw from starter Nick Martinez well over the right-center field wall to give the Yankees an instantaneous 1-0 lead. Incredibly, it was Gardner's 13th homer of the season, which is second on the team and more than slugging teammates Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran (not to mention other teams' sluggers, like Matt Holliday and Shin-Soo Choo). It was just the beginning of a brilliant night from the Yankees left fielder.
Texas took the lead from the Yankees in the third inning with a two-out rally against Brandon McCarthy that was eerily similar to the Rangers' rally against David Phelps yesterday. Alex Rios, Adrian Beltre, and Jim Adduci all singled consecutively, tying the game at one, and after a wild pitch, J.P. Arencibia slapped a two-run double to put Texas on top, 3-1. Arencibia had the go-ahead hit yesterday as well, and his double in the third was his second of the game. Like Gardner, his evening would only get better, though even more improbably since he entered tonight with a miserable 36 OPS+. The Yankees apparently like to defy the odds with Arencibia, who followed up this at-bat with a solo homer to right field in the fifth that added another Texas run.
Arencibia's homer was quite deflating, as the Yankees were just puttering along against Martinez, who limited them to just three hits through five. It felt like the Yankees would simply continue stumbling to their fourth loss in a row, but the offense came alive in the sixth in a manner not seen by fans in quite awhile. The inning began, of course, with Gardner, who doubled to right for his third hit of the game, and Derek Jeter followed with an infield single that was initially ruled an out before replay revealed Arencibia didn't keep his foot on the bag. Martinez threw a wild pitch and loaded the bases with one out by walking Mark Teixeira, who was starting for the first time since his stint on the bench with a lat injury. Beltran continued his own quietly hot hitting with a two-run single, and McCann tied the game up with a sacrifice fly. Solid inning with some nice RISP production, right? The Yankees weren't done.
Martinez walked Chase Headley to put Beltran in scoring position, and Martinez departed, his nice performance ruined by an awful sixth. Reliever Shawn Tolleson wasn't much better, as he was beaten by the worst hitters in the Yankees' lineup. Zoilo Almonte laced an RBI single to center that gave the Yankees the lead again, and he surrendered a booming Brendan Ryan double over Leonys Martin's head in center field that brought home two more runs (it might have gone further than any other hit the light-hitting Ryan has had as a Yankee, including that lazy Fenway Park Green Monster homer last September). Gardner put a cap on the inning by lifting a fly ball to right-center field that Martin and Rios did not communicate well on:
Whoops. The error scored the Yankees' seventh run of the inning and ran the score up to 8-4. An inning later, Roman Mendez also struggled against the Yankees' hitters. He loaded the bases with no one out on a couple walks and a single. McCann fouled out, but Headley roped a single to score Jacoby Ellsbury with run number nine. Almonte then beat out a potential double play ball, plating the Yankees' 10th run. It was the first time they reached double digits in a game since April 24th. I've missed that kind of offense.
The margin was now six runs, and it felt like a laugher. McCarthy departed after six innings and four runs, a fine performance. Then, the normally reliable bullpen imploded. Adam Warren started the bottom of the seventh by doing exactly what managers don't want to see in blowouts--issuing a leadoff walk to a shaky hitter (Elvis Andrus). Rios singled to center, and a batter later, Adduci walked to load the bases for Arencibia. Warren didn't have it and Joe Girardi didn't feel like messing around, even in a six-run game. Dellin Betances entered, and the Yankees' All-Star reliever was in a good spot to mow Arencibia down.
Then...
Uh....
J.P. Arencibia crushed a grand slam to deep left off Dellin Betances, and my mind fell to pieces. This is Andrew's futon composing this recap now. Don't ask questions about how, I have my ways. Andrew's currently gnawing on the lampshade, leave him be.
Betances surrendered a triple to Martin to bring the tying run to the plate, but he thankfully worked out of the jam without allowing another run to the offense. Neal Cotts relieved Mendez, and Gardner greeted him with his fourth hit of the night, a single up the middle (he fell a triple shy of the cycle). Teixeira brought some sanity to this game by belting a two-run homer to left around where Arencibia hit his, running the score up to 12-8, Yankees. He must have felt Gardner creeping up on his home run total. Texas scratched out a run against Chase Whitley in the eighth and the stage was set for a cardiac-damaging ninth inning.
It seemed to start off well for David Robertson, as he became the first Yankee pitcher all inning to figure out how retire one of the worst hitters in baseball in Arencibia. Somehow, D-Rob struck him out. The baseball operations folks back in the Bronx were puzzled. Robertson caused some uneasiness by allowing a Martin single to center and inexplicably walking Robinson Chirinos. The Rangers were down to their last out when Rougned Odor bounced out to first base, but they weren't dead yet.
Choo walked.
Andrus lined a two-run single up the middle.
Rios walked to load the bases for future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre.
The count ran full.
Mearns tried to crawl into his mop bucket.
I am now feeling the effects of the resulting spillage. Why would you do this, David Robertson?
On his 31st pitch of the night, Robertson got Beltre to swing hard at a pitch right down the middle and he belted it. Off the bat, it looked terrifying, like it might hit the left field wall or even soar over for a walk-off grand slam. By the grace of Mo, it landed safely in Gardner's glove without stress and the Yankees had somehow won, 12-11. There are ways to snap a four-game losing streak, and then there's games like these. That was too much to bear. For Mo's sake, Yankees, Tanya is in the middle of trying to pass the bar exam, why would you do this to her?
Ah well. On the bright side, Hiroki Kuroda is set to go against Colby Lewis tomorrow night at 8pm. I'll be watching, though I can't say the same for Andrew, who is currently engaged in conversation with a half-used tube of toothpaste. Sigh.
The Yankees latest acquisitions have looked good so far. Is it time to start thinking about keeping them long-term?
The two major moves Brian Cashman's made over the past month have worked out well for the Yankees so far. Since picking him up for Vidal Nuno (somehow) and plugging him into a rotation that was falling apart at the seams (or more accurately, ulnar collateral ligaments), the team has won all four of Brandon McCarthy's starts and the righty has an ERA of 2.55, a WHIP of 1.30 and a K:BB rate of 5.00. Meanwhile, since arriving in the Bronx on July 22nd, Chase Headley's been hitting like well...that guy who wore his uniform two years ago, with a triple-slash line of .333/.375/.500 in 32 plate appearances. These are small samples for sure, but the early returns are good.
Part of the reason McCarthy and Headley came so cheap, besides that they were struggling mightily for their previous teams, is that both will be free agents this November. With their early success as Yankees, and with the club's myriad uncertainties going forward at both of their positions, could Cashman and company make a preemptive strike to get either player locked up long-term?
Depending on medical prognoses for Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda, the Yankees could be in the market for as many as four starting pitchers this winter. With Hiroki Kuroda a candidate to retire and Ivan Nova unlikely for Opening Day, they'll probably need to add a minimum of two. McCarthy has a somewhat speckled past when it comes to injuries and effectiveness. He was very good for Oakland in 2011 and 2012, but never managed to make more than twenty-five starts in a season, then failed to impress in his season-and-a-half in Arizona, though his peripherals certainly out-shined his inflated ERA's. This year it's been more of the same, where McCarthy's over fifty percent ground ball rate, his 4.71 K:BB ratio and his sub-3.00 FIP are much more indicative of his true performance than his ugly 4.56 ERA and 6-10 won-loss record.
McCarthy is currently finishing off a two-year, $18 million contract. Matching that for 2015-2016 probably wouldn't be enough to get the 31-year-old to eschew another go at free agency, but adding a third year, or at least a third year vesting option at a slightly higher AAV might be. The Yankees would be taking a risk betting on McCarthy's ability to stay healthy and continue keeping the ball on the ground, but the reward could be a mid-rotation option for the next few years that costs less than the going market rate.
The Yankees' need when it comes to Headley is a little more muddled thanks to Alex Rodriguez's unpredictable saga. If A-Rod's active and ready to go for 2015, he may need to play third regularly, since Carlos Beltran is signed for two more years and, if this season is any indication, will require plenty of time at DH. Headley has played the outfield, but not since 2009 and he amassed a UZR/150 of -12.6 while there. Having Headley, Beltran and A-Rod form some sort of bizarre rotation at third, right and DH next year sounds alright in theory, but for a lot of reasons, it probably wouldn't work out.
But the Yankees have plodded into their last two seasons without a viable non-A-Rod plan at third and the results have been really, really bad. This time they may decide to hang on to Headley and let the potential problem of having too many starting-level players take care of itself, especially when two of them will turn 38 and 40 respectively next year. Headley's earning $10.53 million in 2014, so he'll look to match or top that - and get multiple years, even coming off his horrendous first half. As recently as 2013, he was worth 3.6 fWAR with a 113 wRC+ so he should be fairly confident in his ability to play well down the stretch and enter the off-season as a sought-after commodity, especially with only Pablo Sandoval to compete with in a weak third base class. Unless the Yankees come up with a four or five year eight-figure AAV deal, Headley's better off finding out what the open market has to offer.
The Yankees have expressed interest in acquiring Ian Kennedy to not only improve their rotation for the rest of the season, but also next year's as well. Unfortunately, the Padres' right-hander suffered an oblique injury that, though might not require a DL stint, has kept him from starting in the last few days before the trading deadline. He's projected to start again on August 2, but a team like that Yankees, who has already been hurt by injuries to their rotation, can't afford to acquire a pitcher who might not be able to stay on the field.
It has also been said that San Diego, now without a general manager, is unsure on how to handle the situation and might just end up holding onto Kennedy. One executive who dealt with the team believed that the chances of Kennedy being moved were at 50-50. Even if they were to deal him, the group that is currently running the organization has said that "they can't leave the next GM with no rotation, so they'd need a big league starter, plus a second prospect, if they're going to move Kennedy."
With the amount of injuries that have plagued the Yankees' major league rotation, it is unlikely that they would be able to come up with a big league starter that they could actually afford to give up. Chase Whitley shouldn't really be considered a starter and though Shane Greene could be someone they could move, they actually need him to fill out the rotation along with Hiroki Kuroda, David Phelps, and Brandon McCarthy. Michael Pineda isn't due back until August and he's not someone they can rely on staying healthy the rest of the way. If that's the asking price for Ian Kennedy, technically it sounds affordable, but the Yankees just can't do it.
With the Yankees' quest to bolster their starting rotation proving to be difficult, Brian Cashman has now turned his attention to reinforcing the bullpen instead. They are again looking toward the leaderless San Diego Padres, who now have the top reliever on the market in Joaquin Benoit. That is to say, if he's actually available. Like with Ian Kennedy, the Padres have not yet determined whether they want to trade Benoit or not, though they have already traded Huston Street several weeks ago.
On the season, Benoit has been excellent with a 1.88 ERA and 2.65 FIP for San Diego. While the Yankees bullpen has been a strength for the team for much of the season, adding Benoit could go a long way toward shortening games and would represent a significant upgrade over someone like David Huff, or really anyone not named David Robertson or Dellin Betances. Adding another elite reliever would prevent overworking Betances as they head into the final two months of the season with a playoff spot on the line.
The one hang up is that the 37-year-old right-hander is locked up to a long-term contract and is owed $8 million in 2015 and an option for 2016 that can become guaranteed based on the amount of games he finishes. While Benoit could help the bullpen in the event that Robertson leaves in free agency, the Yankees are better off re-signing their closer than hope an expensive and old reliever continues to be very good. Considering all of this, the reality of such a deal will likely rely heavily on what the Yankees have to give up in return. That will be key.
The Dodgers clearly need bullpen help, as their staff ranks 22nd in the majors in ERA (3.71) and 24th in WAR (0.9), so it makes sense that they are pursuing Benoit. San Diego, however, isn't exactly inclined to deal him within the division, which could stall out talks between the two organizations.
New York's interest is somewhat surprising considering the back of their bullpen, led by David Robertson and Dellin Betances, has been a strength this season. Andy Martino of the New York Daily Post tweets that it makes sense for the club to target a bullpen upgrade since they are having trouble acquiring a starting pitcher. He also adds that there is currently "nothing going on" between the Yankees and Padres, though that could easily change in the next day or so.
Benoit is having an excellent season in the first year of a two-year deal he signed with the Padres over the offseason. In 43 innings, he has a minuscule 1.88 ERA, 2.64 FIP, 10.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 1.2 WAR. He is owed $8 million next season and also carries a $8 million club option (with a $1.5 million buyout) for 2016 that becomes guaranteed if he finishes 55 games in 2015.
It is far from a certainty that San Diego deals their current closer, though Chris Cotillo reported yesterday that there is "still a good chance" he is moved before Thursday's deadline. One holdback in a Benoit deal could be San Diego's high asking price, as evidenced by the outstanding return they received for Huston Street earlier this month. Of course, the Padres have all the leverage since they can always hold onto him for next year.
With a little more than 24 hours before the trade deadline, it is unknown whether the Dodgers will add a big-ticket starting pitcher like Jon Lester, David Price or Cole Hamels, for whom the cost is exorbitant. But the Dodgers figure to add a pitcher of some sort, especially in relief by the 1 p.m. PT July 31 non-waiver deadline.
Adding a starting pitcher remains a priority for the Dodgers, with uncertainty surrounding both Dan Haren and Josh Beckett, but adding a starter could be done in August through waivers in the right situation.
A reliever seems more likely to be added by Thursday afternoon, to help ease some of the burden off Kenley Jansen, J.P. Howell, Brian Wilson and Brandon League. Buster Olney of ESPN intimated as much.
Safest bet in the last hours leading to the trade deadline: The Dodgers are going to get bullpen help, one way or another.
The Padres aren't going to be competitive this year or next (the remainder of Benoit's contract), and the only way they would threaten for a playoff spot is with a maximum return for players like Benoit, so to limit their negotiating pool is foolish and shortsighted.
Benoit is 4-2 with a 1.88 ERA this season in 42 games, with 51 strikeouts and 13 walks in 43 innings. He has saved three games this year and saved 24 games in 2013 with the Tigers, so he fits general manager Ned Colletti's fetish for experienced closers.
The Yankees are also said to be interested in Benoit, per Heyman.
Benoit makes $6 million this season, so there would be roughly $1.93 million remaining in 2014, plus $8 million in 2015 and an $8 million club option in 2016, with a $1.5 million buyout, that becomes guaranteed with 55 games finished in 2015.
Acquiring Benoit would go a long way in making the 2015 bullpen surpass the 2014 squad as the most expensive bullpen in Dodgers history. Brian Wilson has an $8.5 million player option for next year, Brandon League is due another $7.5 million and Kenley Jansen will be arbitration eligible for a second season, due a raise on his $4.3 million salary.
It's odd to see Brian McCann on the bench on the day before an off-day, but it's possible that they're giving Cervelli one more start to possibly drum up some interest just before the deadline. The Brian Roberts situation is odd, since he's just two plate appearances away from unlocking a $250K bonus. Girardi continues to say that he's giving him time off, but the timing is too coincidental. Something is up. They're waiting until after the deadline and they're either looking to add a second baseman or they're going to bring someone up. I don't think Roberts is long for this team.
We've heard plenty of rumors as to who the Yankees are interested in. Brian Cashman has asked the White Sox about John Danks and the Rockies about Brett Anderson, however, it appears that neither are going to happen.
While it's good to see that Danks isn't going to happen, because wow is that a bad idea, Anderson might not be a bad acquisition if they don't have to give up too much. His injury history is likely what is keeping anything from becoming close to realistic.
