jacksonianmarch

He's out through the ASB. We have the Twins for 4, I am not too concerned right now. I will be more concerned if he cannot go coming out of the ASB. A grade I strain should heal on its own, but the guy is 39 and coming off an ankle injury, it could become a recurring issue

Yankees nab Nestor Cortes to finalize the class. This class is going to be a good one

They aren't even supposed to announce the suspensions until an appeal is finished. That's why the Braun case was such a big deal, not just that it was overturned, but that it was announced prior to the appeal.

From the sounds of it, they don't have enough to get Cano. But it looks like ARod and Braun are about to get nailed to the wall. I just think it will be the offseason by the time this gets sorted out. This will be the first time the MLB is charging players without them having a positive test. It will be a landmark case, one that will be tied up for awhile, IMO, due to its precedence

Judge is on his way to Tampa. The Yankees nabbed Bridges and Fowler as well. I really, really like this class

The appeals will last for a long, long time

I still am not completely convinced they are THIS good, as in a 100 win team. But they are still a playoff contender with one glaring weakness. Fix that weakness and they really wont have too many holes. When you have a team that is leading the AL in wins at the ASB and your team truly has one huge hole, then you have to plug it. It's different with us, since we have so many f***ing holes and the old plugs are supposedly on their way back. But with the sox, your back end of the pen has been horrendous. Fix that and you could win it all

In all seriousness, CC isn't the same pitcher, but he really hasn't been since his first season in NY. When he was in Cleveland, he was a fireballer. Since coming to NY, he's been more of a change of pace guy who had a good fastball. He's learned to adjust to his lost velo by slowing down his breaking pitches and his changeup. He can pitch to any location with any pitch and his stuff is still nasty, it just comes in slightly slower than before. I am not worried about him, really and truly. His style of pitching will continue to be highly effective as he continues to lose velo. I'd be more worried if his stuff was still there, but he couldn't take the bump due to knee or back issues.

So this Betances kid seems to have finally found his niche. He sucked out of the rotation the last 2 yrs, but since being converted to a full time reliever, he's been completely dominant, and he's found his strike zone. In his 17 relief appearances, he has an ERA of 2.30 with a 41/11 K/BB ratio in 31.1IP. More impressive, is what he's done the last 10 outings. 17IP 5H 1ER 25K 5BB. The guy has always had top flight stuff, sitting mid 90s as a starter. Now relieving, he's sitting high 90s and locating his previously inconsistent breaking pitch. He is a candidate for promotion should he keep this up, and might have finally found his niche after 8 yrs in the Yankees minors.

When you don't have an argument, call the other guy an idiot. I have it now!

Webster and Rubby are throwing mid to high 90s as starters. Throw them in a pen, and you might see some triple digits. I have a feeling that is the plan with these two for this yr, is once Buch is healthy, they move both into the big league pen and see what happens. One will likely thrive, the other might need some work, but it might be a good way to find a strong reliever without having to deal anyone away

who the f*** was that who hacked in? Were you able to figure that out?

I think they should probably try him in the pen from here on out and see if he can have a Joba like effect on your pen. I'd also consider Webster for your pen once Buchholz is back. Young starters with live arms tend to thrive in 1-2 inning stints

Guys, the idea that you aren't favorites right now is pretty interesting. You have the best record in the AL, so it isn't like your schlepping into the final WC slot here. You lineup is tops in runs scored and OPS. Your starters are 7th in the majors in ERA. The biggest drawback is the fact that your pen has the 23rd best ERA in the majors, and every team below them is pretty much out of contention. The sox have the 3rd worst save percentage and the 6th most blown saves. So your starters are getting it done. Your hitters are killing it. Your pen is giving it away. And now with Miller possibly out for the yr, you are losing one of your more effective relievers. I know a lot of you guys are on the "save for the future" bandwagon, but you have a legit shot at winning a title and without giving up something, you aren't going to get anything. Acquiring a guy like Papelbon would make your team WS favorites. Without a reliable back end arm, though, your candidacy for the WS will not be taken seriously

His K rate isn't even his worst with the Yankees, so nice try again. He's at 7.69K/9IP, right near his first 2 seasons in NY where he was 7.71 and 7.46. So mistake #1 on your end. Mistake #2 is expecting his HR rate to continue. It's an aberration at this point. If he continues to allow 1.3HR/9 through next yr, then I'll agree with you. Otherwise, it's a blip on the radar. You know, Pedro had a gigantic jump in HR/9IP (0.6 to 1.0) when he moved to Fenway. That didn't become a trend as he held that number well under 1 until his final yr in the bean. HR rates are unpredictable and until a trend is shown, are really useless indicators and show a serious need to grasp at straws. The funny thing is, his peripherals are better than his first 2 seasons in the Bronx and his xFIP is lower, yet miraculously, he's ready for demise!! You are such a homer, lol, and it takes one to know one. The other funny thing is the splits of CC through the last 3 yrs. His ERA is higher in the second half by about .3 runs per 9, but his peripherals improve by a major amount. From 2010-2012, CC's K rate rises by over 1 per 9 after the ASB and his walk rate drops by 0.2 per 9. So while you are busy expecting him to fail, he's posting his 3rd best xFIP in his Yankee career and his best is yet to come as his peripherals improve down the stretch. I think you might be writing him off prematurely. There are a lot of problems in NY, CC isn't one of them

Maybe I didn't specify. They need to catch lightning in a bottle and cannot afford to mortgage their future for a slim chance at winning this yr. I don't want flashy, expensive upgrades. I want a tweak here and there. We cannot afford to pilfer our system long term. And if that isn't enough, then so be it. This is a team that has its bed made with ridiculous contracts and adding to them wont work. We either hope ARod and Jeter can recapture their old glory or we sink

5 games in the L column in early July isn't an insurmountable lead. I still think the sox are playing over their heads, but every day that goes by, they are starting to prove that they are better than everyone thought

If they catch lightning in a bottle, then I'll be pleased, but not at the expense of our prospects. We have to make very minimal upgrades at the deadline to contend. We cannot be dealing away Austin, Williams, + for Utley

Take your Midol there champ. I was responding to rjortiz saying that he didn't want to deal away Bogaerts for a guy about to hit FA

Middlebrooks is the better prospect. Power is a rare commodity these days and that kid has light tower power.

Shields doesn't hit FA until after 2014

Hey, we're back up? Nice. Good to see the Yankees putting up a fight. The old cavalry is on its way, lol. This is still a team that should blow it up, but with the 6 game run here, I have a feeling we'll be going all out as usual. sigh

They're fading. Their offense is abysmal and now the pitching is having some struggles. If the pitching isn't on point every night, then a losing streak occurs

Joba is a guy I expect to rebound on a horrible team. Cashman and Co should take 90% of the blame on this and 10% falls on him as being an ornery dumbass and a fat f***. We need to let him go and bring up more kids. I didn't get to see the game as I'm homeless for a couple days and bunking with family, but the game cast wasn't pretty.

Absolutely, and I bet ARod is frustrated by the fact that the Yankees are taking it slow with him, and that may be why he took to the net. Regardless, they're taking it slow with him for a reason. They don't want another guy to come back only to go back on the DL