Yanks Sign First Round Pick

Today the Yankees signed their first round draft pick Cito Culver, a shortstop out of Irondequiot HS, NY. This is good news considering the Yankees have failed to sign first round draft picks in the past (see Gerrit Cole).

Also, as we were both out late last night, we did not have a postgame post for the game. But how about that beatdown of Roy Halladay? And Granderson, Swisher, and Tex all coming through with home runs. Swisher is having an amazing season and should be on the All-Star team. I don't care if it means seven Yankees, he deserves it.

Also CC looked dominant early, struggled in the middle, then settled down to go seven innings allowing just three runs and striking out seven. I think CC is a couple starts away from going on a tear similar to how he threw at the end of the year last year. He's just got to piece it all together in one start and he'll be off.

A.J. Burnett vs the ageless Jamie Moyer tonight, 7:05 p.m.

A-Rod remains to be a game-time decision.

See Ya

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World Series Rematch: Yankees vs Phillies

Yankees
Derek Jeter
Curtis Granderson
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Nick Swisher
Jorge Posada
Brett Gardner
Francisco Cervelli
Ramiro Pena

Phillies
Shan Victorino
Chase Utley
Placido Polanco
Ryan Howard
Jayson Werth
Raul Ibanez
Ben Francisco
Juan Castro
Carlos Ruiz

What's Up, Doc?: A year removed from the AL East Roy Halladay ventures back with the Phillies better than ever with an 8-4 record and 1.96 ERA. Halladay is 18-6 against the Yankees in his career and only Curtis Granderson and Ramiro Pena have over .300 batting average.
C'mon Carsten: CC Sabathia has four of his six wins against the Orioles. He has not been the ace like he was last year, and if they're going to win tonight, he's going to need to pitch better than the man on the mound for the Phillies tonight.
Injury News: A-Rod remains out of the lineup with an ailing hip flexor. Meanwhile, Sergio Mitre strained his oblique during batting practice and was put on the DL. Boone Logan has been called up.

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Code Breaker

During the game last night, Alex Rodriguez apparently crossed the pitcher's mound on his way back to first after a foul ball. A's pitcher Dallas Braden took offense to A-Rod breaking one of the unwritten rules of baseball, and let the slugger know about it when it happened. After Cano

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grounded into the double play to end the inning, Braden flipped out and started kicking and screaming. A-Rod just waved him off as Braden went to knock stuff over in the A's dugout.

Sure, A-Rod broke the "code" of baseball and I get why Braden would be like, "Hey! Get off my mound!" At least the first time, but I don't really understand the temper tantrum he threw after the inning. I could see Braden doing something like that if A-Rod was stealing signs, but this was a little over the top for something like this. And especially a guy with, as Rodriguez says, "a handful of wins."

On the A-Rod side, people really need to start writing stuff down for him because he's not very good with the "unwritten rule" thing. He slapped the ball from Bronson Arroyo's glove in 2004, did steroids before the official testing, called off the Blue Jays infielder while running the bases in Toronto, and now this. I can see why other people in baseball don't like the guy.

Some other quick things:

• The Yanks turned their first triple play since 1968 in 5-4-3 fashion during the 6th inning of yesterday's game. If you take a look at the video they have on Yankees.com, they have all the different radio and TV calls of the play. I'm not sure if there was editing, but the fact that John Sterling automatically knew it was the first triple play in 40 years was impressive.
• With the team's trip to visit President Barrack Obama at the White House next week, the Yankees released a schedule of events in and around Washington, D.C.
  
• In Fantasy Baseball, my team, A Deuce for the Cuse, is in 6th place out of 12 teams, 137.33 points out of first place. John's team, SwishHawk, is in last place, 196 points behind me. John, however, has channeled his inner Brian Cashman and pulled off 3 trades this week to acquire 7 new players, including Grady Sizemore, John Lackey, Rajai Davis, and Lance Berkman. My team is being powered by Matt Kemp, currently the position player with the most points, and Roy Halladay, currently the pitcher with the most points. Paul Konerko continues to rack up the points and was an absolute steal in the 20th round. Shane Victorino and Chirs Carpenter are holding down the fort for John right now. We should have put a wager on who finishes higher, but I think I'm going to have a tough time talking John into that now.
  

Game vs. Angels starts at 10:05 PM EST with AJ Burnett facing Ervin Santana. Check back for the lineups then.

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Who Will Be the Best in 2010?

We are a day away from the Yankees and Red Sox squaring off at Fenway Park to open the 2010 season. Throughout the week we have been giving you our projections of the Yankees lineup and predictions of teams throughout the league, including our playoff predictions. Today we will conclude our season preview with our award predictions. We've made some bold predictions, some safe predictions, and some biased predictions (hey, what do you expect?). Here are our regular season award predictions:


AL MVP
Mark Teixeira NYY

NL MVP
Albert Pujols STL(it's his to lose)

AL CY Young

Felix Hernandez SEA

NL CY Young

Roy Halladay PHI

AL Rookie of the Year

Austin Jackson DET

NL Rookie of the Year

Jason Heyward ATL

AL Manager of the Year

Don Wakamatsu SEA

NL Manager of the Year

Bruce Bochy SFG


If I get just one of these predictions right I'll be happy. The 2010 season is now upon us, hopefully it ends the same way as 2009...enjoy.

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Yanks in 2010? World Series or SEE YA!

So we've gone through our predictions for the individual Yankees in 2010. Now we're going to take a look at how the standings will look at the end of the season.


National League
East:
Phillies 97-65
Braves 89-73
Mets 80-82
Marlins 79-83
Nationals 69-93

Central:
Cardinals 94-68
Cubs 87-75
Brewers 84-78
Astros 80-82
Pirates 66-96

West:
Dodgers 95-67
Giants (WILD CARD) 91-71
Rockies 90-72
Diamondbacks 81-81
Padres 70-92

AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST:
Yankees 101-61
Red Sox(Wild Card) 95-67
Orioles 86-76
Rays 85-77
Blue Jays 69-93

CENTRAL:
Twins 93-89
Tigers 91-71
White Sox 85-77
Indians 76-86
Royals 67-95

WEST:
Mariners 94-88
Rangers 88-74
Angels 82-80
A's 74-88

PLAYOFFS:
FIRST ROUND
Yankees over Twins (I'm thinking they sweep and clinch it on the frozen tundra of Target Field)
Red Sox over Mariners (Unless Papelbon blows it, again)
Phillies over Giants (Though Lincecum and Cain in a short series will be tough)
Dodgers over Cards (Setting up a rematch in the NLCS)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Yankess over Red Sox (In 7 games, thus taking another 10 years off my life)
Dodgers over Phillies (In 6, because if it goes 7, I think Roy Halladay wills the Phillies to victory)

WORLD SERIES
Yankees over Dodgers
The Yanks will take home their 28th World Series title in 6 games, and Alex Rodriguez will take home MVP honors after channeling his inner Reggie Jackson and bombing 3 home runs in the clinching game. You heard it here first.

What do you think? Leave a comment and vote in the poll on the right.

(Props to @brmeyer for inspiring the headline)

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The Balance of Power shifts in the division...but which one?

Well, obviously there was a lot of news coming out of Major League Baseball today. Enough even to prevent SportsCenter to not mention Monday Night Football in the first 15 minutes of the show, which is almost unfathomable. Let's take a look at the deals:

Image via Wikipedia

Halladay" style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="377">Image via Wikipedia

First, the deal that most directly affects the Yankees. John Lackey signs a five year contract worth more than the $82.5 million A.J. Burnett got from the Yanks last year. This doesn't really scare me that much. Yes, Lackey is a workhorse who has had success in the playoffs, but besides that what is he? He went 11-8 in 2009 and 12-5 in 2008 while missing time with injury. Boston's rotation, as of right now, is Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz. I think the Yankees rotation matches up favorably to that, but I do have a biased opinion.

Now the big news: the Roy Halladay trade. The three team deal between the Phillies, Blue Jays and Mariners is still pending, and it is still unclear what prospects are headed where but the basics: the Phillies get Halladay, the Mariners get Cliff Lee, and the Blue Jays get prospects from both teams.

Now for the Phillies, they get the guy they've wanted for months now, but they have to give up Lee, who was their ace from this postseason. I literally just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is a Phillies fan who had just heard of the trade. He had only heard that the Phillies got Halladay and I was the one to break the news that they had to give up Lee in the deal. After assuring him that I was not trying to get back at him for the Giants-Eagles game last night by joking around, he was considerably less excited about the trade. Now, Halladay is an upgrade over Lee, but they Phillies would have been a lock for a World Series appearance next season if they had both.

But I think that the attention should be going to the Mariners. They added a front-line starter in an off-season where they already signed Chone Figgins and have been linked to players such as Matt Holliday and Jayson Bay to add to their lineup. They have taken advantage of the Angels losing some big names over the past few years (like Teixeira and Lackey) and have made an aggressive push to make themselves competitive. I think this deal affects the AL West more than the NL East or the AL East.

Well it's finals week, so there may not be too many posts, especially if no big news comes out of Yankee-land because, you know, priorities.

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"The Baseball World's Been Turned Upside Down"

Okay, that is what my roommate (who's a red sox fan) just said in reaction to all the deals that happened today. Obviously that is what we call an overreaction. If you havn't heard the Red Sox signed John Lackey to a 5-yeard deal supposedly a little more than what Burnett's deal was.

But what has the rest of the baseball world talking is the deal that sends Roy Halladay to the Phildaelphia Phillies, Cliff Lee to the Mariners, and prospects to the Blue Jays. I'll have more of my opinion and two cents later... but thought these deals were kinda of important so I posted this.

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A look at Yanks offseason pitching targets

With nothing really solid happening on the free agent market yet, we'll take a look at some of the names being associated with the Yankees in regards to offseason plans, and how realistic the chances are they are wearing pinstripes in 2010.

First, note that with the free agents, the Yankees are currently on the books for a 2010 payroll of $166,334,714. There's a great chart at Cot's Baseball Contracts of the future payroll commitments by the Yankees. That number is considerably ($41 million) less than 2009's payroll, giving the Yankees plenty of money to spend (or not spend, but when has that ever happened?).

We'll split this up over a series of posts, organizing them by position. We'll start with what I believe is the most important, starting pitching:

Starting Pitchers
John Lackey
Age: 31
Status: Free Agent
2009 Salary: $10 million

This first target is very familiar to Yankee fans, as they've seen Lackey as the workhorse for the Angels since he came up as a rookie in 2002. He's started at least 30 games 5 times in his 7 full seasons, but the two season's he didn't were 2008 and 2009. He is not a true ace, but would fill in nicely as the Number 3 man in the Yankees rotation behind CC and AJ. Personally, I also loved and respected the fire he showed on the mound when Angels manager Mike Scioscia went to take him out of the game during the ALCS saying, "This game is mine!"

He is apparently looking for the type of contract the Yankees gave AJ Burnett last year, $82 million over 5 years. Considering I thought the Yankees gave Burnett too much money, I'm not sure they should make the same mistake twice. The Red Sox, however, are also interested, which obviously means the Yankees will be involved, if only to jack up the price for Boston.

Roy Halladay
Age:32
Status: Under contract with Toronto Blue Jays through 2010 season
2009 Salary: $14.25 million ($15.57 million due in 2010)

The pièce de résistance of this year's trade market, Halladay will be the most talked about name until he is traded, whether it be this offseason, next season, or not at all. Halladay is not expected to resign with Toronto when his contract expires after next season, and the Blue Jays will try to get some value out of him. In a similar situation a few years ago, the Twins got fleeced in the deal that sent Johan Santanna to the Mets, so the Blue Jays won't want to make the same mistake.

Halladay is a bonafide ace and would give the Yankees two number one starters at the top end of their rotation, which would be devastating during the season and in postseason series. He has won almost 70 games over the past 4 years, and has had an ERA under 3.00 for the past two seasons.

The Blue Jays were reluctant to trade to an AL East team during the season, but a new general manager may see things differently. The Yankees would need to part with one of their top four prospects, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson, and Jesus Montero, to get this deal done. The talk is that the Yankees seem more inclined to give up Hughes or Joba in this deal, which makes sense. Halladay would come in and take up one of the rotation spots that would otherwise be filled by the two youngsters. Also, the Yankees would move to lock Halladay up long-term. If the Yankees gave him a 5-year extension, the top three spots in the rotation would be set through the end of Burnett's contract following the 2013 season.

As stated before, the Blue Jays will want the best package for Halladay. If they don't get that from teams, they could just sit back and take the two draft picks they'll get when Halladay signs with another team. Also, the Halladay situation could become a lot like the Sabathia situation during the 2008 season. The Indians didn't trade Sabathia during the offseason, but waited until midseason to do it. The Yankees decided not to pursue CC, and waited until he hit the free agent market and only gave up money for him (which the obviously have plenty of) instead of both money and prospects (of which they don't have many of high quality).

Aroldis Chapman
Age: 21
Status: Free agent
2009 Salary: N/A (Cuban Defector)

The other name you will hear a lot of from starting pitchers is Chapman. The Cuban defector has apparently been clocked at over 100 miles per hour by scouts. He pitched in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, going 0-1 with a bloated 5.68 ERA while striking out 8 in 6.1 innings pitched. Besides those six innings, there really isn't too much to go on besides what he does in front of scouts. There are his stats from his time on the Cuban National team, but can you take them at face value?

As a Yankee fan, I'm a little wary of Chapman just because he is so young, and apparently has some control issues. He recently fired his agent and joined the Hendricks Brothers, Alan and Randy. The Hendricks also represent Andy Pettitte and formerly Roger Clemens, so they have a solid relationship with the Yankees. As always, the Yankees and Red Sox will be battling tooth and nail over a player, but I'm still not convinced I want to win this time. We already had the failed Jose Contreras experiment this decade, and no one is sure if Chapman is even ready for the majors, as there is talk he would start in the minor leagues. The AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees already have one starter with a huge salary (Kei Igawa, another failed investment in a foreign pitcher), I don't think they need two. Are the Yankees ready to invest upwards of $50 million in a big question mark, especially after the recent mistakes (Pavano, Wright, Vazquez, Igawa, Contreras, do I need to go on, because this is painful?)


So those are the big names attached to the Yankees right now. They could go for a cheaper option to just fill a spot in the back end of the rotation, or trust guys like Hughes, Joba, and Ian Kennedy to take one of those spots. There is also the question mark of Chien-Mien Wang. There's the possibility he comes back, which personally I would like to see. He won 19 games two years in a row, that doesn't usually happen on accident. And he would be the third starter, which would make it much easier on him than it was in 2006 and 2007 where he was the number one guy.

When looking at the plan of attack for the Yankees, or any team for that matter, you cannot simply focus on that year's class. The Yankees did this last year with Mark Teixeira. Brian Cashman knew that the 2010 free agent position players were limited to Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, so he made a push for Tex, and it worked.

The inverse situation exists this year in regards to starting pitching. While this year only has three big names, where one of them must be traded for and one comes with more questions than answers, that is untrue of the 2011 offseason. Some of the pitchers that will be free agents after next season include: Josh Beckett, Matt Cain (has a vesting option, so he will likely NOT reach free agency), Jeff Francis, Halladay (if he's not traded and signed long-term), Cliff Lee, Ted Lilly, and Brandon Webb. That's a very impressive class. Plus, with so many good pitchers on the market, simple supply and demand would indicate that the prices may be lower for these players than usual, if you strike early.

Of the three pitchers I named, I don't see any of them as a real fit right now. Lackey isn't worth what he is asking, but will probably get it anyway. Chapman is too risky of an investment for a AAA starting pitcher or even a major league reliever. Halladay would work only if the Yankees were to give up one of the blue chips and not much else. I'd like to see if the Yankees can take the Sabathia approach with Halladay, but if that doesn't work, at least keep him away from the Red Sox. I would say let Joba, Hughes, and/or Kennedy show you what they can do, for real since it seems the inning limit (at least on the first two) are finally out the window, and go hard after the free agent class next year. A (healthy) rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte (assuming he comes back), Joba, and Hughes, with the Yankees' lineup, will probably be good for a division title and a good chance at #28.

SEE YA!

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Game 146: Blue Jays at Yankees

YANKEES (93-52)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: RHP Sergio Mitre (3-2, 7.02).

BLUE JAYS (65-79)
Scutaro SS
Hill 2B
Lind DH
Wells CF
Overbay 1B
Encarnacion 3B
Barajas C
Bautista RF
Snider LF

Pitching: RHP Roy Halladay (14-9, 3.03).

Not so Dandy: Andy Pettitte will be skipped in his scheduled start tomorrow because of shoulder fatigue. He is slated to go Monday instead. Chad Gaudin will get the nod tomorrow. I don't think this is a serious issue, the Yankees are just being cautious with the playoffs right around the corner.

Him again: Roy Halladay takes the mound for the Blue Jays after shutting out the Yankees in his September 4 start against them in Toronto while allowing only one hit and striking out nine.

2010: The 2010 preliminary schedule was released by the MLB and the Yanks will start the season in Fenway against the Sawks.

NESPN: ESPN recently launched ESPNBoston.com, a website devoted to Boston sports, to go along with the TV Channel they've had since 1979.

UPDATE 10:23: Luckily they have the 40 man rosters, because there are probably going to lose a couple of guys for several days.

UPDATE 10:33: So, Posada is going to be suspeneded for some time here. He was the only Yankees ejected, and hopefully the video tape doesn't show too much that makes MLB take more action.

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New Poll: What do the Yankees Need for the Trade Deadline?

We are just 8 days away from the July 31 trade deadline, and the rumor mill is buzzing with all sorts of news over a bunch of different teams and players. Right now, the Yankees stand 2 games over the Boston Red Sox and 5.5 games over the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. However, many believe the Yankees should make some sort of move. With the Red Sox sounding like they are going to make an effort for Roy Halladay or Victor Martinez, it is expected the Yankees will counter. Cashman has gone on the record saying he will solve problems internally first, but we've all heard that before.

So, we ask you, what would you like to see the Yankees do by the trade deadline? Acquire a starter? Reliever? Outfielder? Improve the bench? Or should they just stand pat? Vote on the poll to the right and feel free to comment on who you would like to see them get.

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Mid Season Awards

We have reached the All-Star Break so we will give you what many professional writers and analysts like to do around this time: Mid Season Awards. Here is what we have come up with for who we thought were the best of the first-half around the majors.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

AL: Joe Mauer. Mauer leads the majors in hitting with a .373 batting average. He has 15 home runs, which is already more than his career high, and 49 RBI in only 64 games played due to missing the beginning of the season with an injury. Not to mention he has thrown out 10 of 23 runners behind the plate and has a .994 fielding percentage.

Runner Up: Tori Hunter

NL: This one is a no-brainer: Albert Pujols. Pujols leads the majors with 32 home runs and 87 RBI. Pujols is also hitting .332, which is second in the NL, making him a threat to be the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski. In short, he's a machine.

Runner Up: Ryan Braun

CY YOUNG AWARD

AL: Probably the toughest choice. Zach Greinke, he's having a breakout season for the lowly Royals, with a 10-5 record and league leading 2.12 ERA. He gets the nod over Halladay because of he isn't on his way out the door.

Runner Up: Roy Halladay. Halladay has been great this season, but with the Blue Jays sinking fast in the AL East so his 10-3 record and 2.85 ERA will soon be headed to another team, possibly another league, making his bid at a Cy Young unlikely.

NL: Another close call, but I'll go with my fantasy stud Tim Lincecum. Lincecum is 10-2 with a 2.33 ERA and will be the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star team. He leads the NL in strikeouts with 149 and has 3 complete games and 2 shutouts.

Runner Up: Dan Haren. Haren is leading the league with a 2.01 ERA and is third in the NL with 129 strikeouts. He has a record of 9-5 and batters are hitting .189 against him.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
AL: Blue Jays pitcher Rickey Romero. He is 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA and 69 strikeouts this season. He will most likely be the ace of the staff once Halladay is dealt.

Runner Up: Andrew Bailey.

NL: The St. Louis Cardinals's Colby Rasmus. .278/.329/.478 11 HR 34 RBI, 46 R. Those stats don't lie.

Runner Up: Tommy Hanson

MANAGER OF THE YEAR
AL: Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers are notorious of having a power-filled lineup but they never had the pitching to contend. Well Washington, whose job was once in jeopardy, has the pitching straightened out and the team on the right track. They finish the first half only 1.5 games behind the LA Angels.

Runner Up: Mike Sciosca of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA. Or, for short, the Earth Angels. Sciosca's team has been battling with injuries all season long, but they finish the break sweeping the Yankees and standing atop the NL West.

NL: Our old friend, Joe Torre. Torre's Dodgers have the best record in the MLB. His team has had to deal with the absence of their best hitter and what was also a huge distraction in the Manny Ramirez steroid suspension, and they still are the best team in baseball.

Runner Up: Ken Macha of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers lost CC Sabathia to free agency, and Ben Sheets to injury before the season began, yet Macha has them in the thick of the NL Central division race and wild card race.

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Yankees and MLB News and Notes

Right now we are going over our Mid Season Awards aroudn the majors, we will have that post up sometime later tonight. Meanwhile, a few news and notes around the Yankees and majors.

• First, out latest poll shows that many of you Yankee fans believe Mark Teixeira was the Yankees first half MVP. Excellent choice as he has had a tremendous first half as a Yankee.
• Much speculation has been going around the Yankee Universe about who should be the fifth starter after the break. Sergio Mitre went 8 innings giving up no runs, six hits, and striking out five for AAA Scranton. He is the most likely candidate.
• Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum were named the starting pitchers for the AL and NL All Star Teams.
• The Philadelphia Phillies may be getting a former Cy Young Award winner on their team not named Roy Halladay. Former Met and Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez is scheduled to take a physical on Tuesday for the Phillies, meaning he could sign with the team by Wednesday.
• The Washington Nationals gave their managaer Manny Acta the boot today. Bench coach Jim Riggleman is expected to replace him as interim coach. The Nationals are 26-61, the owrst record in the majors.
• The Home Run Derby is tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Representing the NL will be Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez. The AL will have Brandon Inge, Nelson Cruz, Joe Mauer, and Carlos Pena.

Enjoy the HR Derby. I think Pujols will win in front of the hometown crowd. But watch out for A-Gone (Adrian Gonzalez) and Carlos Pena. Those two are my sleepers. Once again, we'll have out Mid Season Awards up later tonight.

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Halladay Bronx Bound? Don't Count On It

There has been lots of talk about pitcher Roy Halladay lately since Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi said he would listen to offers for the 32-year old pitcher. Much of that talk has been taking place in, you guessed it, New York. Fans have been calling in on talk-show radios and blogging about the possibility of the Yankees getting Halladay. Well the reason I am writing this post is to tell you that it is NOT likely to happen.

First, the Blue Jays are in the AL East, the same division as the Yankees. The Blue Jays want to be able to compete for the division down the road. By sending Halladay to the Yankees, you are giving them a rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Halladay. That is unbeatable. There is no way they'd send him to their own division, thankfully, that probably means the Red Sox won't have a shot either.

Secondly, the Yankees would not part with their top prospects for the younger, left-handed, Johan Santana two years ago, what makes you think they'd change their minds now? A deal for Halladay would have to blow away GM Riccardi, meaning Hughes, Joba, Cano, Jackson, and Montero would be the names they'd want to hear to consider a deal. Possibly 4 of the 5 would have to be in the actual deal.

Finally, Ricciardi has reiterated that they are only listening to offers. They want to see what the price is for a pitcher of Halladay's caliber. If Ricciardi doesn't see anything he likes, Halladay will remain on the team. If such a case does happen, expect Halladay to be dealt in the offseason with only a year left on his contract. Brian Cashman will monitor the situation at hand, but it is unlikely he will come up with a better offer than someone like the Phillies or White Sox.

Despite the aforementioned reasons why the Yankees won't end up with him, I have come across one theory that I actually like. Steve from WasWatching introduces the idea that the Blue Jays could take the same route the Marlins did with Beckett, who would only deal Beckett if the other team took Lowell. He wonders, would the Blue Jays only deal Halladay if the other team took Vernon Wells? Wells has a big contract, and the only teams who would have the money on their payroll to do that would be the Yankees and Red Sox. If such a case would happen, it would be a two-horse race between these two teams.

However, SI's Jon Heyman is being told the Blue Jays would be hesitant to deal within the division.

Yankees fans should look at it this way: The Phillies are the favorites to get him and that is most likely where he will end up. As Pete Abe put it, "It’s addition by subtraction from the American League for the Yankees." Arguably the best pitcher in the league, would no longer be in their division, making the games in their division an easier task to handle.

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Posada Lifts Yanks over Jays in 12

Blue Jays 5 10 0
Yankees 6 12 0

WP: Tomko...yes Tomko(1-2)
LP: Camp (0-4)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jorge Posada. He hit a solo home run to give them a lead in the 5th and he got the game-winning single in the bottom of the 12th.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Posada's walk-off RBI single. It brings the Yankees now one game behind the Red Sox.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: Johnny Damon's home run in the 7th inning to tie the game. It was a "Yankee Stadium Home Run" so you know Halladay is not going to be too fond the new Yankee Stadium, but nonetheless, it put the Yankees back in the game and gave them a chance to win.

MICHAEL KAY QUOTE(s) OF THE DAY:
"This is a corny question, but..."
"We don't want to make any speculations, but say Wang goes on the DL, do the Yankees bring Hughes back into the rotation, or do they have somebody else fill the void."-he really has no idea what the word "speculate" means.

GAME NOTES:

• If we had a category for Dumba$$ of the Game, it would go to Robinson Cano. He went 0-6 and bunted on a 3-0 count. That bunt resulted in getting the lead runner out at third. It was also in the bottom of the 12th. AWFUL! He is also 0 for his last 20 with RISP.
• Wang left the game with a strained right shoulder. Should he go on the DL the Yankees would need someone to fill his spot. Hughes hasn't pitched more than 2 innings in a good 3-4 weeks, and Aceves usually burns out around 45-50 pitches. What they can do is possibly call up someone such as Sergio Mitre from AAA.

Tommorow:

Yankees vs Blue Jays 1:05 ET Yankee Stadium

Chamberlain (4-2, 3.89) vs Scott Richmond (6-5, 3.69)

I'll be at the game tommorow, pending if Jim has work, their may not be an in-game thread.

See Ya!

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News and Notes

• After the report of Sammy Sosa testing positive for steroids in 2003, Congress is investigating about possible perjury charges.
• Speaking of steroids, Manny Ramirez will play in some minor league games next week, before he is eligible to return to the Majors on July 3rd. Personally, I think that if you are suspended for 50 games for using steroids, there is no reason you should get the luxury of getting to come back and play in the minors a week before so that you could get ready. He should have to wait until July 3rd to go to the minors and get ready.
  
• Roy Halladay was placed on the 15-day DL with a groin strain. That is a huge blow to the Blue Jays rotation, as Halladay is the American League leader in wins with 10 while racking up 88 strikeouts and posting a 2.53 ERA.
  
• Pedro Martinez thinks that he will pitching in the Majors soon. According to Martinez, the Cubs and Rays are interested.
• Raul Ibanez is being placed on the 15-day DL with a strained groin. Ibanez is tied for second in home runs and fourth in RBIs, so he'll be missed in the Phillies lineup.
  
• Since it has been pouring here for the past couple of hours, I would be surprised if there is a game today. If there is, we'll be back with the lineups and in-game updates tonight.
  

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