Kuzul

I wrote a piece on Wednesday night about how the Seattle Mariners traded Cliff Lee to the Minnesota Twins for Minor League catcher Wilson Ramos, left-handed pitcher Brian Duensing, and a low-level minor league outfielder.

The trade disintegrated when Ramos got hurt last Saturday playing for Triple-A Rochester.

Once Ramos returns to active duty (he is day-to-day with a strained oblique), the trade will be consummated like a new bride on her wedding night.

It’s no coincidence the Twins pitched Duensing for 3.1 innings last night in relief of very ineffective Twins’ starter Nick Blackburn. It was 3.1 scoreless innings of relief; the lefty allowed three hits, while striking out three Milwaukee Brewers’ hitters.

In the minds of the Mariners, it basically cements the deal for Lee, as they will get their catcher and left-handed starting pitcher, two positions they indicated they must have in any trade for Lee.

However, an obstacle now comes in the form of the New York Mets. With the Philadelphia Phillies floundering and the Mets only a half-game behind the division-leading Atlanta Braves, the Mets believe they have a real shot of winning the NL East this season.

Renting Cliff Lee will not only help them achieve that goal, but when combined with a healthy return of outfielder Carlos Beltran, Lee could help them get to a World Series.

Never forget, Omar Minaya will strip an entire franchise’s farm system for one pitcher he feels can put them over the top. He already did it in 2002 when he was GM of the Montreal Expos.

Back then he TRADED Cliff Lee as part of a package of young players for right-handed pitcher Bartolo Colon.

The Mariners could get greedy and, by using the Mets as leverage, try to wrestle more away from the Twins.

But oftentimes the greedy get what they deserve, and that’s usually something not nearly as good as what they already had in the pocket.

Why would the Mariners trade with the Mets anyway? The Mets have nothing the Mariners need; the Mariners are looking for a young catcher with the potential to start right away.

Ramos fits that bill. But is that why the Mets brought up catcher Josh Thole the other day, to show him off in the big leagues? The Mariners will have a few scouts in town this weekend scouting the Twins (and now the Mets?) and can get a look at Thole, too. The Mariners will also be in town next week when they play the Yankees.

But while Thole has rebounded well from a horrible April, he is very young defensively behind the plate and does not hit for much power (10 career HR’s in 3+ Minor League seasons).

The Mariners also want a left-handed starting pitcher.

While Duensing is not a complete youngster (he is 27), he does have good Major League experience and can step right into Lee’s spot in the rotation—maybe throwing to Ramos. The Mets only have Jonathon Niese as a starting left-handed pitcher, and with his pretty good season thus far in 2010, it does not look like he’s going anywhere.

The Mets do have other prospects they would give up for their rental, including a package built around prospects like Ruben Tejada , Fernando Martinez , Wilmer Flores , and Jeurys Familia .

Although these players are good, none are what the Mariners are seeking, making the Twins’ deal more appealing for the Mariners.

But then again, if the Mets gave them ALL of those prospects, then you might have a deal.

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It wasn’t a classic to begin the evening, with lots of walks and terrible clutch hitting, but last night’s New York Yankees-Arizona Diamondbacks matchup ended up being a really good baseball game.

It had everything in the latter innings: great defensive plays, big hits (although not enough), and some stellar clutch pitching by the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history, Mariano Rivera.

With the Boston Red Sox blowing a lead in Colorado and Tampa Bay’s starting pitching continuing to crumble, the Yankees had an opportunity to pick up another full game on both their closest division rivals.

At this point, they were playing with house money.

A nice eighth inning rally scored the tying run on Alex Rodriguez’ sacrifice fly. And it all happened without the benefit hit, the Yankees’ second such inning of the game.

Simultaneously, the game was utopia and a virtual disaster for the sabermetric crowd. The Yankees “didn’t make outs” on 23 of their 47 plate appearances, generating 13 walks and ten hits plus A-rod’s sac fly.

But while their on-base percentage was about .500 for the evening, they were terrible in getting hits with runners in scoring position. Robinson Cano, their best hitter this year, had multiple opportunities to drive in runs, but he could not do the job. They hit into five double plays. It happens.

But it shows the RBI stat can be a big deal and is very important.

Joe Girardi saw an opportunity to steal a game in the standings and went for it. Again, he was playing with house money. What helped was that the Yankees have an off-day on Thursday, and Rivera would have an extra day to rest.

The manager brought Rivera into a tie game, something he rarely does. Not bringing in Rivera in a tie game earlier this season at Toronto cost the Yankees a chance at winning another contest.

(Isn’t the image above this piece priceless? It is from last night’s game, and it shows Girardi leaving the mound basically saying, “I’ve done my job, no need to say anything else. You do your job and go get ’em, Mo.”)

Instead of Rivera in the 14th inning of that game, Girardi used Chad Gaudin (who stinks) and the waiver wire pick-up only needed nine pitches to lose that game.

But Girardi used his biggest bullpen chip at Arizona, and Rivera used his Houdini escape tricks to help seal another Yankee win.

And now they have a 2.5-game lead on both Boston and Tampa Bay.

OTHER THOUGHTS ON LAST NIGHT’S GAME

While Girardi did make a good move by having Rivera in the tie game, he did (and almost did) make some head-scratchers.

1) Why did Girardi pinch-run for Nick Swisher in the ninth inning? Is Kevin Russo that much of a burner that he is significantly faster than the Yankee right fielder? And why put in Chad Huffman to play right field, essentially burning three guys on one play?

Girardi might have been better off sticking with Swisher (since he was not the tying run) and keeping the extra position players. Remember that the Yankees had already used Colin Curtis (a great kid by the way) earlier to hit for Javier Vazquez.

The game might have gone into further innings, but…. 

2) The Yankees didn’t seem like they wanted more extra innings. That is the reason they went for broke and brought the infield in with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 10th.

The normal move would be to play the infield back for the double play, give up the tying run and then try and get out of the inning with the next batter.

By using almost his entire bullpen during Monday and Tuesday night’s games and burning Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and now Mo in the current game, Girardi likely wanted to win the game there in the 10th or lose it there in the 10th.  

He did not want an 11th inning.

3) I would have blown a gasket if Girardi brought in Boone Logan (who was warming up) in for Rivera in the last of the 10th inning. You don’t need to pinch-hit for Mo in that spot already up a run.

I would rather go into the bottom of the 10th with a one-run lead and Rivera on the mound than try to extend the lead with a pinch-hitter and put Logan on the mound.

4) But if you are going to use a pinch-hitter, why use Ramiro Pena? He is your last position player, and you have no one else to back up Francisco Cervelli in case he gets hurt.

Remember that Girardi had used Jorge Posada to pinch-hit in the eighth inning.

That is why burning up all your players for unnecessary pinch-running stunts causes you to lose your bench quickly.

And that is why I always like to have only 11 pitchers at the most and more position players, especially when playing in National League parks.

But if you are going to use a pinch hitter for Rivera (now batting in the No. 2 spot), why not use C.C. Sabathia?

He loves hitting, is pretty good at it, and you don’t use your last bench player IN CASE the game goes longer than the 10th inning.

Sabathia is actually a better hitter than Ramiro Pena, anyway.

But as I said earlier, Girardi was playing with house money, as Boston and Tampa already lost, and he was going to win the game in the 10th or lose it there.

He did win it by making his best move of the night (and maybe the season) by bringing in Mariano Rivera to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game.

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The Minnesota Twins are tired of running headlong into the buzzsaw that is the New York Yankees. This is the team that has beaten the Twins in the playoffs three separate times during the managerial reign of Ron Gardenhire.  

In their new 2010 Target Field, the Twins want to win the whole thing this season. They have a potent offense, led by three-time batting champion and 2009 MVP Joe Mauer and former MVP Justin Morneau.

They have the financial wherewithal with the new stadium and have upped their payroll already to $98 million, more than the Los Angeles Dodgers’. In addition, the Pohlad family, owners of the Twins franchise, are one of the wealthiest families in all of sports.

Yankees be damned!

Speaking with someone familiar with the situation (and verifying the initial conversation), the Twins traded for Cliff Lee last week, but the deal fell through. The primary player going to the Seattle Mariners, catcher Wilson Ramos , suffered a strained oblique during Saturday’s game. Ramos is expected to miss seven to ten days .

Ramos was not yet placed on the seven-day minor league disabled list, keeping the trade possible. Unless the Commissioner’s office signs off on the deal, players on the disabled list are usually ineligible to be traded. There must be an understanding that both teams know that player is on the disabled list.

The deal included Ramos, a Twins Major League-ready pitcher (believed to be left-handed reliever Brian Duensing ), and a low level minor league outfielder. The Mariners might be including a low level player, too.

Once Ramos gets clearance to play baseball again, this trade will again be made.

It appears that this deal heavily favors the Twins, as they would get one of the premier pitchers in baseball essentially for a young catcher their system sorely needs, a possible starting pitcher, and a filler.

If I were the Mariners, I would hold out (briefly, like a day) for 3B Danny Valencia , instead of the low level player, in addition to Ramos and Duensing.

This deal would give the Twins a very formidable starting rotation with Lee, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker, Carl Pavano, and Nick Blackburn.

Pavano, Baker, and Blackburn are without any type of innings limits. Slowey (91 innings pitched in 2009), and Liriano (138 innings pitched in 2009), are both coming off arm injuries and will likely be monitored for the rest of 2010.

In addition, Blackburn, who is signed through 2013 and is usually the team’s most reliable starting pitcher, has had a very off year so far. His record is a respectable 6-4, but with a 5.80 ERA. We all know, however, that the pitchers’ wins are more important.

The Twins staff already has five good starters, but Lee would fit in nicely in any team’s rotation. As I write this, Lee just finished up another complete game , beating the Chicago Cubs 8-1 with nine strikeouts and ZERO walks.  

It is Lee’s fourth complete game this season.

He is now 6-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 0.912 WHIP. He has struck out 76 batters in 86.2 innings, and he has walked only four batters.

Dontrelle Willis walked seven hitters in only two-plus innings last night.

Ramos is a good, young catcher but is blocked by Joe Mauer, making him expendable. Ramos came up to the majors earlier this season when Mauer was hurt and hit .296/.321 OBP/.407 SLG/.729 OPS with three doubles and an RBI in limited time.

However, he is struggling with the bat in Triple-A Rochester, hitting only .218 with four homers and 18 RBI.

That positive Major League time gave the Mariners an idea that he can be a good starting catcher. In fact, Ramos could step into a starting role right away.

Duensing is a 27-year-old left-handed pitcher who was squeezed out of the Twins rotation in 2010. He started nine games last season, including this gem over the rival Detroit Tigers, which helped lead the Twins into the playoffs.

Duensing was 5-1 as a starter down the stretch last year for the Twins.

Even though he has been great as a reliever this season (2-1, 1.88 ERA, 0.812 WHIP), and really tough against lefty hitters (.122 BA), I do expect the Mariners to convert Duensing back to a starting pitcher.

It is not enough of a haul for the Mariners, especially well before the trading deadline and with Lee pitching so well right now.

The Mariners are basically giving the American League Central division title to the Twins.

And that is bad new for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, and any other possible American League playoff team which could face Lee in the 2010 playoffs.

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The term underrated is thrown around quite frequently. It can be used to describe pretty much any situation, but is most often used for sports figures and their on-field exploits.

Yesterday, June 21st, was the 71st anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s retirement. While Gehrig removed himself from the Yankee lineup prior to the game on May 2, 1939, he remained with the team as captain for another six weeks.

Gehrig was one of the greatest all-around baseball players of all time, but much of his greatness was often overshadowed by the great Yankee teams and players. He was part of the first Yankee dynasty’s back in the mid-to-late 1920’s through the mid-1930’s.

He is widely considered the greatest first baseman of all time.

His records are numerous. He has the most grand slams with 23, has the most seasons with 400+ total bases with five (only four other players have two or more—Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx all had two, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Chuck Klein has three), and Gehrig AVERAGED 147 RBI per season.

Since Gehrig retired in 1939, only 16 times has 147 RBI in a single season even been eclipsed! It has only happened 52 total times, with Gehrig attaining this level seven times himself.

He hit 493 career home runs, accumulated a staggering 1,995 RBI, scored 1,888 runs, and had a career batting average of .340. At the time of his retirement, Gehrig was second all time in home runs, third in RBI, and third in runs scored.

But how can the greatest first baseman of all time, and the best run producer baseball has ever had, be underrated?

Easy. The biggest reason was the player he is most associated with, Babe Ruth.

Gehrig was overshadowed his entire career by the hitters who hit in front of him.

Gehrig wore uniform No. 4 because he hit fourth (cleanup) in the Yankee lineup. The player before him, Babe Ruth, wore uniform No. 3 because Ruth hit third, just in front of Gehrig.

Gehrig put up all those great production seasons even hitting immediately behind the other big run producer of that era. In 1927 when Ruth hit 60 HR’s and drove in 164 runs, Gehrig came to the plate at least 60 times with the bases empty.

But Gehrig made the most of his men on base opportunities, driving in an amazing 175 runs that 1927 season hitting behind Ruth. On a continuous basis, Gehrig was denied many opportunities to increase his statistics, and yet, still was the eras top RBI producer.

And it was not only Ruth, because two seasons after Ruth left the Yankees, they acquired Joe DiMaggio from the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals. The young Yankee Clipper phenom hit third in front of Gehrig for the remainder of Lou’s career.

Play on the field was not the only way both Ruth and DiMaggio overshadowed Gehrig.

Both Ruth and DiMaggio were huge personalities; Ruth very gregarious while Joe D. was a more quiet celebrity who was a private person, but certainly relished the New York nightlife.

Gehrig was more reserved, a quiet family man. He did not fraternize with others during the train rides or when they were on the 1934 Tour of Japan. He had Jan Brady syndrome, the middle child between big brother Babe and the young, talented brother DiMaggio.

While Gehrig was renowned as a slugger, his fielding and speed on the bases were vastly underrated.

Gehrig was swift around the first base bag, with quick feet and an innate ability to position himself correctly. His good footwork could have been a product of his time as a fullback for the Columbia University football team.

Gehrig had a career .990 fielding percentage at first base. Two of the best recent defensive first baseman in New York were Don Mattingly (.992) and Keith Hernandez (.994).

With terrible field conditions compared to the modern era and comparably deficient equipment, Gehrig still held his own percentage-wise compared to the first basemen of today.

Still, for a big guy, Gehrig had great speed. He did not steal bases, but in reading reports of that time showed Gehrig was one of the most fearless baserunners.

He scored from first base most of the time on doubles, accumulated 163 career triples, and hit six inside the park home runs. In 1926, he led the league with 20 three-baggers.

He also stole home an amazing 15 times in his career. Lou Brock never stole home.

Yet, even though Gehrig was an all-around ballplayer, not just a slugger, he is often overlooked when “the best players in history are discussed.”

Lou Gehrig played in seven World Series with the Yankees, with his team winning six titles. Gehrig dominated these contests, hitting .361 BA/.477 OBP/.731 SLG/1.208 OPS with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. All numbers which are considerable better than his career stats of .340/3447/.632/1.075 OPS.

His only “bad” series could be 1938, with the ALS disease already ravaging his body, when he only hit .286 with no extra base hits. Gehrig scored eight game winning runs in World Series competition. Yet it is Ruth’s gigantic 1928 Series against the Cardinals, and Ruth’s 1932 Game Three “Called Shot” which always got the headlines.

With his unknown deadly disease crippling him, Gehrig continued to play. His consecutive game streak is now toppled, but the stories are still there. Future X-rays of his hands revealed many broken bones which he played through, and he came back from a beaning in 1933, staying in that game.

It has been documented that once a person is diagnosed with ALS, the disease which now carries Gehrig’s name, the person usually lives about five years.

Gehrig lived only two years after diagnosis, indicating he played major league baseball at a high level with the disease for three seasons.

Yet he only thought about others. When he went to manager Joe McCarthy before taking himself out of the lineup, Lou said, “I’m benching myself for the good of the team.”

The consummate team player.

He was a great slugger, but also a great runner, fielder and person. Overshadowed throughout his career by Ruth and DiMaggio, many people only remember “The Iron Horse” from his consecutive game streak and the disease which took his life.

On June 3, 1932, Gehrig was the first 20th Century player to hit four home runs in one game, and would have had five if Philadelphia A’s center fielder Al Simmons did not rob Gehrig of another with a great over the shoulder catch.

With Shibe Park’s 470 foot distance to that area of the field, it probably would have been an inside the park homer.

After that game, McCarthy said to Lou, “Well, Lou, nobody can take today away from you.” On the same day, however, cross-town manager John McGraw announced his retirement after thirty years of managing the New York Giants.

McGraw, and not Gehrig, got the main headlines in the sports sections the next day. 

A typical occurrence for one of the most underrated players in baseball history.

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After seven brilliant innings by New York Yankee starting pitcher Javier Vazquez in Friday night’s game versus the New York Mets, Joe Girardi did his usual routine.

He pulled out of the game a very effective pitcher who was cruising through a lineup all night long, giving up one very soft run in the top of the 1st inning.

Why did Girardi pull Vazquez?

Well, by God, Javier was over the magical 100 pitch count threshhold! Vazquez threw 109 pitches before being pulled.

Oh my goodness! The Yankees best starting pitcher over the last month was pulled out of the game during a very critical moment. The game was 1-0 Mets, and Vazquez was cruising, having not allowed a hit for five and a third innings!

And this was after Vazquez quieted the Mets bats earlier this season on one hit over six innings.

That mistake of pulling Vazquez based upon pitch count by Girardi COST the Yankees an opportunity to win that game.

And to make matters worse, Girardi brought in perhaps his most inconsistent pre-8th inning guy Chan Ho Park to start the inning. He put Park in the game ONE NIGHT after Park gave up two hits in a third of an inning in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

In that game, Park relieved another reliever, Joba Chamberlain, who had replaced an effective starter in Andy Pettitte. Pettitte was relieved after throwing a whopping 105 pitches!

According the Michael Kay on the broadcast, Andy’s pitch count was high.

Take him out!

Is that why Girardi took Petitte out yesterday after 105 pitches? Pettitte could have AND SHOULD HAVE gone out for the 8th inning against Philadelphia.

AND VAZQUEZ SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT FOR THE 8TH INNING FRIDAY NIGHT.

Are 109 pitches really too much for one of the most durable pitchers (besides Roy Halladay and Mark Buerhle) in the entire sport? A guy in the 34 year old Vazquez, who has averaged 217 innings and 33 starts in each of his 10 full seasons in the majors?

That is flat out retarded. Girardi is not a good manager when it comes to pitching. That is surprising Girardi was a pretty good catcher. He is the same as every other manager in baseball, making the same moves with pitchers and trying to lose ballgames.

They do not follow the most basic rule in pitching.

It is also DelGrippo’s Baseball Rule No. 1 to win games :

In a close game, if your starting pitcher is throwing well (and especially dominating the opposition) NEVER, EVER take him out due to an innings limit or pitch count.

WHY?

Because as a manager, you know how your current pitcher is throwing, but you have no idea how your relief pitcher will throw. Is it a good day, or a bad day for them?

We don’t know, but we do know our starting pitcher (who is usually at least 30 years old if they are throwing for the Yankees).

*This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George is going to get married to Susan. Kramer then tells Jerry all about the horrors of marriage, including the following exchange:

Kramer: Yeah, and you can forget about watching TV while you’re eating.
Jerry: I can?
Kramer: Oh, yeah! You know why? Because it’s dinner time. And you know what you do at dinner?
Jerry: What?
Kramer: You talk about your day! “How was your day today? Did you have a good day today or a bad day today ? Well, what kind of day was it? I don’t know, how ’bout you, how was your day?”
Jerry: Boy!
Kramer: It’s sad, Jerry. It’s a sad state of affairs.

The same exchange can be used in the sad state of pitching affairs in major league baseball. All around you see how young pitchers are doing well , and that more have sub 3.00 ERA’s. But many of these hurlers are being conditioned to look over their shoulders towards the bailout bullpen at every hint of trouble from the fifth inning on.

But the sad state is when managers think that after 100 pitches, it is time to take your starter out of the game, and never go above 120. This is because some guy who never played the game suggests that pitchers will be injured for life it they do.

That is why Justin Verlander has not thrown above 120 pitches since I wrote this article .

And if your starter IS OUT due to some reason, like getting hit hard or has been replaced by a pinch hitter, and your first relief pitcher is pitching well, NEVER, EVER take him out to bring in your 7th inning, 8th inning or closer (unless it is Mariano Rivera).

WHY?

Same reason above, you know how your current pitcher is performing and you do not know how the next guy will do.

When relief pitchers have good days, everyone is happy. But why take the risk? That is why they are relievers – they really aren’t great pitchers.

But when relievers have bad days, and they oftentimes do, the team usually loses the game. Most of the time when relief pitchers give up runs, games penciled in the win column turn into losses. Or as Girardi has shown the Pettitte and Vazquez games, he takes a one run deficit and makes it into a game you never will win.

Maybe, just maybe they turn into games you barely squeak out but use up your entire bullpen by playing the idiotic matchup game.  

And the matchup game is because lefty pitchers supposedly can only get out left handed hitters, and righty pitchers can supposedly only get out right handed hitters.

And that is why (as I mentioned earlier) relievers are not good pitchers because they can pretty much only get out the same side hitter. They never had the pitches to make it as a starter.

That is why starters should pitch longer than seven innings and 100-110 pitches. They are your better pitchers. They should pitch more, especially when they are in their 30’s and have been involved in the majors for a decade as have Pettitte and Vazquez have been.

No way Vazquez should be taken out of Friday night’s game. Girardi cost the Yankees an opportunity to win that game. I have much more confidence in Vazquez (after throwing 5.1 consecutive hitless innings) pitching the 8th and, even the 9th, innings than I do some middle reliever guy.

And that includes Joba Chamberlain.

A team today should only have ten pitchers – five starters, a closer, and four guys who can get out both right handed and left handed batters and pitch multiple innings. One of those four needs to be a five+ inning type guy (a sixth starter)- in case there is an extremely long extra inning game.

I ask you, “is it too much to think that a pitcher can’t throw 15 pitches per inning? That equates to 105 pitches for a seven inning game. Then why can’t he go two more innings than the usual seven if he feels good, his legs are strong and he is dominating the opposition?

The biggest knock on the “abuse of pitchers” was that the pitches they threw when tired is what led to injuries. Vazquez (and Pettitte*) did not appear tired after seven innings. So why take them out, and lose those games?

* I do understand a little about Pettitte as the Yankees are a little worried because his rib cage injury from last season has begun to act up again . The Yankees may think it might be a little more serious than just a pull .

Is is that hard? Or is everybody scared of what the agents will think? Are the GM’s who let this craziness continue worried too much about the money lost if a pitcher gets hurt?

Are wins and losses important?

As I said earlier, it is not just Girardi who makes this terrible blunder time after time. Zack Greinke’s bullpen has blown at least three games for him this year, Tim Lincecum’s bullpen blew several of his early starts.

Just yesterday, The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen blew a win for Cole Hamels . The Phillies bullpen is a sad group of pitchers who should be the poster children for complete game advocacy.

But Hamels had thrown 117 pitches by that time, and the Phillies had a five run lead with two innings to go. As the PAP guys say, “the game is in the bag, why abuse the starting pitcher?”

It is not pitch counts or innings workloads which hurt pitchers arms. Josh Johnson of the Florida Marlins, the second best pitcher in baseball had Tommy John surgery at age 22. He was not abused via pitch count or innings increments, having a steady increase throughout his pro career. 

Johnson was taken out of yesterday’s game  by manager Fredi Gonzalez, he of the double-switch lineup snafu’s, removed Johnson after eight innings because he had thrown 117 pitches.

How about a 34 year old man in Javier Vazquez, who has a history of durability and was pitching great baseball?

Why take him out after 109 dominating pitches?

Now that the Yankees are in sole possession of first place, Girardi will try like hell to help his team lose games.

You can pitch count on it.  

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Last week, I went to Trenton for my second trip to see the New York Yankees Double-A Minor League team, the Trenton Thunder.

It is always a pleasure to go to Trenton, as I get to talk baseball and strategy with the Thunder manager, Tony Franklin, one of the true good guys in the entire pro game. Interestingly, one player who Franklin played with in his second pro season was Yankee minor league pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras.

The main reason for going back to Trenton was to see the Thunder’s young slugger Brandon Laird again. I had gone to see the Thunder earlier in the season, and had seen Laird about a dozen games in 2008 during his stay at Low-A Charleston.

Laird was impressive then, and he is even more impressive now.

When the Yankees drafted Brandon Laird, they selected him out of a junior college with their 27th round pick in the 2007 draft . Laird couldn’t wait to play pro ball, signed right away, and was immediately tested by the organization in the Gulf Coast League.

The Yankees draft guys at the bottom of the draft very well. In that same draft, they selected current Washington National stud reliever Drew Storen out of high school with the 34th pick, but couldn’t sign him. Storen ended up going to the Nationals with their second first-round pick (10th pick overall) in the 2009 Stephen Strasburg draft.

The Yankees also drafted Luke Murton late in that same draft and Scott Bittle, a RHP from the University of Mississippi. Both guys would not sign but were later drafted again by the Yankees, with Bittle being a wasted second-round pick in 2008. Murton is now doing well in Charleston .

Laird dominated the GCL that year, hitting .339 with eight home runs and 29 RBI in 45 games. He then moved in 2008 to full season, Low-A Charleston, clubbing 23 home runs, including an amazing 11 during the month of August.

It was this time when I saw Laird in the middle of his August streak. He had a great four-games series at Lakewood, NJ, booming balls over the park. Laird has always been a great hitter in August , hitting .332 with a 1.041 OPS.

Laird actually out-slugged teammate Jesus Montero at Charleston (.498 vs. 491) with more homers, as Jesus “only” hit 17 dingers.

Last season in Tampa, he was as consistent a hitter as he was in Charleston, except his power numbers declined to only 13 home runs. The Florida State League (FSL) is the toughest league to hit in with the tremendous pitching, spacious stadiums, and heavy humidity.

You can probably add at least a half dozen or more home runs to a power hitter’s stats in the FSL, as the ball does not travel as far. When I asked Laird about this, he just smiled and said, “it really had no effect on my performance.”

Laird doesn’t give much away in regards to negative situations or tough questions. After a few questions and “boiler plate” answers, I turned off the recorder and said to Laird, “The Yankees teach you guys very well in how to respond to questions, huh?” He almost laughed and said, “Pretty much, yeah. They’re good.”

Other players I have spoken to say the ball seems like it could be out of the park, but just dies into the outfielder’s gloves.

These FSL variables do not just affect home runs, but doubles, too, further reducing a hitter’s slugging marks.

Entering his Double-A season, Laird was not looked upon as a prospect as much as Jesus Montero or Austin Romine.

And with good reason.

Both Montero and Romine are catchers, a more premium position. Good hitting catchers are exponentially more important. Also, Montero was doing his damage at a younger age, while Romine was the FSL Player of the Year last season.

But Laird is now making his mark, leading the Minor Leagues with 62 RBI. His current pace would give him over 120 RBI. That is amazing for a Minor League hitter.  

Tuesday night, Laird hit another three run homer off Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Tim Alderson. That was coming off the heels of a three-run towering bomb the prior Friday night against the Binghamton Mets.

Laird’s power is unassuming. He is not a massive guy in the sense that Alex Rodriguez, Josh Hamilton or Albert Pujols are big guys who you assume will hit home runs.

Laird is listed at 6’1″ and 215 lbs. Ok, good enough, but the Yankees do pad their size stats a little.

What Laird has is a tremendously easy, compact swing, which is well-balanced from the load (which is slight) to the follow-through. While he will swing and miss (mostly on outside pitches), he still is almost never off balance on those swings.

Probably his best hitting attribute, Laird stays inside the ball very well. I saw him line a single to right field on a fastball on the outer third of the plate, and hit a couple rockets to left, including that Friday night home run.

Those rockets were both on inside pitches. The Friday night home run was on an 0-1 curve ball over the inner half, after he took a fastball over the middle of the plate.

In taking that first-pitch fastball, then banging that curve for a three-run dinger, showed me that Laird is not afraid of hitting while behind in the count. Most good hitters do not mind hitting while behind, and Laird is no exception.

“No, I don’t mind at all,” said Laird when I asked him after Friday night’s game about hitting with two strikes. “If I am behind in the count, I still look for a strike to hit and try to put a good swing on it.”

What about that 0-1 curve ball he hit for a home run? I asked Laird if he looks for a type of pitch or is sitting location. “In that situation, I look for a specific location instead of a particular pitch. If a pitcher throws it to my location, I try to make that mistake hurt.”

Good to hear, as I believe the higher up in level a hitter gets, the better off he is looking location rather than specific pitch. The exception, of course, is with two strikes, where the idea is to protect the plate and put the ball in play.

On defense, similar to the time I saw him in Charleston in 2008, Laird has played both first and third base at Trenton. While he has made 11 errors thus far in 2010, Laird exhibited pretty good footwork around first base. He even made the Armando Galarraga non-perfect game play with ease.

However, his defense at third needs improvement in regards to footwork, which is sometimes awkward as he moves to the ball. Surprisingly, the bulkier Javier Vazquez (recently promoted to Triple-A Scranton) moved to the ball better than Laird.

While Laird’s throwing arm from third is not tremendous in strength, it is accurate, with most throws I saw at the first baseman’s chest.

Among other players (catchers Romine and Montero, SS Eduardo Nunez), Laird is being mentioned as a possible trade chip for pitcher Cliff Lee and maybe a full-time designated hitter, one such as Chicago’s Paul Konerko.

As I have mentioned many times before, if everyone is healthy, the Yankees do not need anybody to defend their 2009 World Series title. They have a really good rotation, a solid bullpen, and a pretty deep lineup.

Even the innings limit on Phil Hughes will only strengthen the bullpen when, like last season, he becomes part of the back end.

Laird has tremendous baseball qualities, including a very quick bat and a very astute idea of what he wants (and needs) to do in each plate appearance. His strikeout numbers are somewhat higher this season, but he remains a good, high-contact power hitter who does not walk a lot.

His deficiencies on defense can be improved, if not entirely corrected, with solid infield coaching and about 100,000 more ground balls. He has the time.

And with the Major Leagues on the horizon (most Double-A All-Stars do make the Major Leagues) the desire to improve should be there for Laird. According to others I have spoken with, Laird has a good work ethic.

Laird’s swing and demeanor reminds me of Bob Horner , the former third sacker for the Atlanta Braves, and 1978 National League Rookie of the Year. Horner went from college superstar at Arizona State straight to the majors. Like Laird, he was another high-contact power hitter who did not strike out or walk much.

Looking at the numbers and seeing him play in person many times over the course of a couple seasons, Laird is a Yankee keeper who should not be traded away. With age creeping up on Alex Rodriguez (who might be a full-time DH), Laird could be in line for an eventual Yankee Major League third base job.

He could also improve his stock as an all-around player with some work in the outfield, a sort of Kevin Russo-type with a much better bat and more power.

Since the Brian Cashman regime took over full control in 2005, the Yankees have been very good at promoting their own players into the Majors. Players such as Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano, David Robertson, Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena, and Russo have been developed from within and been productive as Major Leaguers.

In a few years, I see no reason why Brandon Laird cannot join that list.

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This is the latest installment of the 2010 New York Yankee progress, honoring the epic Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. According to the astute readers of imdb.com, the Baseball-Reference of the movie and T.V. industry, “Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo ” is ranked as the No. 4 movie of all time .

What is more important is that the Yankees have vaulted themselves into the No. 1 record in the major leagues. With Sunday’s 9-5 win over the Houston Astros, combined with Tampa Bay’s 6-1 loss to the Florida Marlins, the Yankees and Rays are tied atop of the AL East with identical 40-23 records , the best record in MLB.

The Yankees have been 9-3 in June, fattening up on the Baltimore Orioles (5-1) and the Houston Astros (recent three game sweep), while losing two of three to the pitching-rich Toronto Blue Jays.

All numbers are from the last 14 days, unless noted.

Il Buono

No. 1 Robinson Cano —has slashed .395 BA/.469 OBP/.605 SLG/1.074 OPS, with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI and 13 runs scored. Even more impressive are his numbers over the last month at .443/.476/.660/1.136.

During one stretch of his recent 17 game hitting streak, Cano had multiple hits in eight straight (19-33, 3 2B, 3 HR, 14 RBI).

Simply ridiculous, and at the top of the leaderboards for American League MVP.

No. 2 Brett Gardner —How can you not love Brett the Jet?  After a mini-slump which brought his numbers down considerably, Gardner began to hit again (and walk), by slashing .455/.552/.773/1.324 over the last week. Included were a double, triple, and his third home run.

Until Sunday, that homer tied him for the New York city left field lead with the New York Mets Jason Bay, he of the $66 million contract. Bay hit his fourth home run Sunday, but Gardner still leads the very wealthy Bay in OPS (.822 vs. .806).

No. 3 Derek Jeter —Do you really think he was going to stay on the bad list forever? After going through a long funk at the plate and in the field, which prompted the annual “Is Derek Jeter Done?” articles, Jeter has ripped a .333/.391/.514/.906 line over the last month.

While many do not like it when Jeter goes after the first pitch, he is hitting .404 with a .908 OPS when hacking at the first offering. The key is swinging at good strikes.

No. 4 Curtis Granderson —While Granderson’s overall numbers since returning from the disabled list are not great, the team has picked up its pace since Curtis returned to the lineup and his position in center.

That is because we saw less of Randy Winn (before being released), Marcus Thames and rookie Kevin Russo.

The Yankees are 12-4 since his return, but were only 7-11 in the last 18 games he was out of the lineup.

I would still like Granderson to sit back more when he swings, as he is often out in front on the right leg during swings and misses.

No. 5 Nick Swisher —He is turning in to one of my favorite Yankee players. I was not a fan of the trade which brought him here, but he has done very well, and has been instrumental in the lengthening of the 2009 and 2010 lineups. Has hit a very consistent .308/.402/.495/896 with 19 runs, eight doubles, three homers and 16 RBI over last month.

No. 6 CC Sabathia —What? He is struggling, right? Well, he is 2-0 with a 3.21 ERA in his two June starts. A 6-3 record thus far should be 8-3, but CC lost a win at Boston because of a rain delay and another when Joe Girardi pulled CC early against the Sawx and the bullpen blew the game.

This is a durable pitcher who should be allowed to throw 125-135 pitches each start.

No. 7 Andy Pettitte —Happy Birthday to Pettitte, who turns 38 today. Imagine on Thursday when Pettitte faces Jamie Moyer, who is seven years older than Andy?

Age is no factor for Pettitte, who is still dominating lineups by changing speeds and hitting corners. Again, why do scouts always worry about velocity and arm strength when a guy who does not top 90 MPH can consistently get guys out?

No. 8 Yankee bullpen —Over the last two weeks, the main part of the bullpen, Mariano Rivera, Joba, D-Rob, Chan Ho Park and Damaso Marte have been outstanding. They have thrown 21 innings, allowing 12 hits, five walks, and struck out 23. That is a WHIP of .809 and the one earned run allowed leads to a miniscule 0.43 ERA.

No. 9 Javier Vazquez —He is 4-1, 3.03 ERA over the last month with a 0.918 WHIP. While he has allowed five home runs, Javy has only walked five over his last 33 innings. He has been the most consistent starter this side of Pettitte.

He is similar to Andy by changing speeds and hitting that outside corner to RH hitters with his curve ball being the key to his success.

Il brutto

No. 1 Francisco Cervelli— Wow! He has come back down to earth faster than the Space Shuttle. Over the last month, the Cisco Kid has hit under .200 with an OPS of .522. He still dos come through with key RBI singles.

His 13 hits (all singles) over the last month have produced 12 RBI. He is still a force on defense and calls a great game.

I love the way he watches the batter before he puts down the sign. Concentrate on Cervelli during a couple at bats tonight and you will see what I mean.

No. 2 Alex Rodriguez —it has nothing to do with his lack of power, because he is still hitting the ball hard. But his injury could be more severe than a few missing days. Any long term time missed could hurt the Yankees lineup at a time when it was finally complete. (I do not count Nick Johnson).

No. 3 Jorge Posada —Two swings doesn’t make a season. Posada was brutal before his two grand slam weekend, but he also swung the bat better in other at bats during the Houston Series.

Posada gets into a taking pitches groove once in a while, taking good hitting strikes. This leads to indecisiveness and too much thinking at the plate.

When Posada is aggressive and still taking his walks by not swinging at balls outside the zone, he is a much better hitter.

Stay aggressive and hit good pitches, Jorge!  

Il cattivo

No. 1 AJ Burnett —An 0-2 record with 7.11 ERA in June with four home runs allowed in two games. Combine that with five walks and 14 hits in 12.2 innings pitched, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Bad AJ go home, but tell your twin brother, good AJ, to come back out and play.

No. 2 Marcus Thames —basically it is the entire bench which stinks, but since I think Thames never should have made the team in the first place, he is my poster boy.

Thames is 2 for his last 22 with eight strikes out and an OPS of .322. By the time his injury heals, I hope Chad Huffman (or Jorge Vazquez from Triple A) takes his roster spot – for good.

Combine Thames with Ramiro Pena, Kevin Russo and Chad Moeller, and the bench is 14 for 81 with four doubles and six RBI over the last month.

That is why Alex needs to be back in the lineup soon.

No. 3 Chad Gaudin —There is no conceivable reason why Gaudin actually pitches in games or is on the roster. He stinks!

Having been released twice already this season, once by the Yankees should only reiterate how bad this guy is.

There is no reason why Gaudin should have been in the June 5th game in the bottom of the 13th in a tie game at Toronto. It only took nine pitches before the Yankees were walking off the field.

That 13th inning rundown: Batter One – leadoff walk on FOUR pitches. Batter two – sac bunt on second pitch. Batter three – game winning single on an 0-2 count!

No way the Yankees should lose on the road to a division rival without using your best relief pitcher, Mariano Rivera.

Get rid of this loser, Gaudin, and bring up Mark Melancon for good.

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The NCAA is powerless to stop the complete destruction of the Big 12. Nebraska has already joined the Big Ten (now the new Big 12 – or maybe Big 16 soon), and teams such as Texas, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and others could soon follow.

Other teams are being courted by the Pac 10.  

These big conferences are doing it for money, to create new rivalries, and gain leverage over other conferences with regards to bowl games and TV contracts (i.e. more money).

Major League Baseball likes money too, and they are very good at earning a buck. With TV revenues at an all time high, and royalties galore, each team is making around $40 million before they sell one ticket. Estimated revenues in 2010 are $8 billion.

With the team salaries of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox increasing via free agency, there is talk of possible realignment in the major leagues due to the perennial top of the division finishes for both of those “Big Market” teams.

Realignment for the sake of putting all the “Big Market” teams together should not happen—ever.

Teams need to compete with what they have, similar to how some people are born into wealth and some are not. Those people who are not born wealthy need to work harder and do better than those who already have the money.

Do you think Bill Gates of Microsoft was born with a silver spoon in his mouth? No. He worked hard to develop his software for personal computers.

The only teams which people are concerned about in realignment are the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East and the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East. 

Other large city teams such as the Los Angeles and Chicago teams are somewhat affected, but not as much.

Why? They are the only big market team in their respective divisions. The Yankees/Red Sox and Mets/Phillies are two big markets teams in one division. Seeking to “one up” the other, both franchises try to outspend each other. 

This causes people to believe other teams in those divisions might not be able to compete. But those other teams do compete and they compete and win often.

They work harder by drafting and developing players and building from within.

Take the Red Sox and Yankees. They have been rivals for too long, and have a tremendous history.

Why change things?

Despite their recent success, each of those teams has had bouts with loss. The Yankees have made the playoffs 13 of the last 14 seasons, but missed out on the playoffs the 12 years prior to Derek Jeter—and other home grown players—becoming starters.

The Red Sox have made the playoffs six of the last seven years, but missed out on five of the prior seven years before that.

During those down years, the Orioles and Blue Jays were dominating the AL East. At the time of two divisions, even the Detroit Tigers won a few titles. The Tampa Bay Rays are currently tied for first place, and made the World Series in 2008.

The late 1960’s and early 1970’s were miserable for both teams, and the Phillies and Mets were mostly terrible back then as well.

The Yankees and Red Sox built their recent good stretches through their own systems and players, and then paid up the money to keep their own guys. Any free agents they signed were brought aboard to supplement an already strong team.

These big market teams have the most revenue, and are supposedly the richest. But in order to succeed, a team (and a company) still has to be well run.

Most of the dozen seasons the Yankees were not winning, they were signing free agents, but still not winning titles. That is because they did not have their own core of home grown players to keep things stable.

Same thing with the last few seasons of the New York Mets. They signed free agents such as Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, but did not build a deep core of home grown talent. They did not make the playoffs for several seasons, but now are playing better with many cheaper, younger players.

All winning teams have their own home grown developed core.

The Yankees and Red Sox have deep pocket ownership, but all MLB owners are wealthy. The Minnesota Twins’ Pohlad-family ownership is worth over $2 billion. The Rays owner made a fortune on Wall Street. They are all wealthy.

The Yankees and Red Sox have tremendous local TV money, but that is because the demand is there for their product.

That has been built through years of turmoil and success and both franchises have built up a tremendous fan base. Most teams which have been around have that advantage. Newer franchises need to build from within to win.

And winning seasons usually do bring more fans (and additional revenue) to the games.

Many people feel the other teams in AL East, such as the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, are destined to be fighting for last place nearly every season. Those teams need to do a better job in developing their own players to get better.

The Orioles think they have done that, but it hasn’t transpired yet into wins. The Blue Jays have done the same via the draft, but their guys (mostly young pitchers) have begun to improve.

The good teams build from within, then add on when needed.

Within the last several years, five starting pitchers were traded due to salary concerns. These players were Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Jake Peavy.

Only Sabathia’s current team, the Yankees (40-23), have a significantly better record than the team which traded him, the Cleveland Indians (25-37), or let him go via free agency, the Milwaukee Brewers (26-37).

The Mets (35-28) are a game worse than Santana’s former team, the Twins (36-27). Lee’s new team, the Seattle Mariners (24-39) are worse than the Indians (25-37). Even Halladay’s new big market team, the Phillies (32-29) are a half game back of the Toronto Blue Jays’ record (34-30).

And the surprise in all of baseball, the San Diego Padres, who traded Peavy last season to the big market Chicago White Sox, have a record of 37-26, a full seven and a half games better than the Pale Hose.

Those small market teams are doing something right. They are developing cheap talent and winning. Spending the most money does not guarantee success in the win column.

The next step is to be able to keep the young talented players within your franchise and not let them move on via free agency. More revenue is flowing into the smaller market teams. That money needs to be put to better use.

Let’s say I have complete control of what to do for the majors with regards to realignment. Both the owners and the players union give me carte blanche and will not change anything I enact. 

I would then:

1) Add Two More Teams to the American League West .

The American League has 14 teams and the National League has 16 teams. Two more teams in the AL would give the majors 32 teams.

It would give the current owners another billion dollars in their coffers. Sell two franchises to two more rich people for $600 million each. Take the billion and split it between the current 30 teams.

Take the additional $200 million and give much of it to the lower market teams, and make it part of the deal that they spend this extra money on player salaries.

Or they can split the money up any other way, but the additional money received by the smaller market teams MUST BE SPENT ON SALARIES.

Not to sign other teams’ free agents , but require them to use that money to sign their own players who are free agents . The idea is to keep your own good players to build a relationship between fans and players. Kids grow up idolizing their heroes.

My hero was Thurman Munson, and he was a Yankee for life. My Dad’s was Joe DiMaggio, and he was a Yankee for life. My 12 year old son’s baseball hero is Derek Jeter, and he isn’t gong anywhere else.

These home grown heroes should be kept and not let go via free agency because of salary constraints. Joe Mauer stays in Minnesota, Albert Pujols stays in St. Louis, Carl Crawford should be able to stay in Tampa Bay, and Prince Fielder the same in Milwaukee.

These two new MLB cities should be Portland, OR and San Antonio, TX, the two largest cities which do not have a major league baseball franchise. Each of these cities have several citizens who are members of the Forbes 400 of riches Americans, so they have wealth.

2) Require revenue sharing money to be spent on player salaries

This is similar to the above concept, but also includes the International free agent market and the draft.

The Florida Marlins should not receive $45 million dollars in revenue sharing, and only have $35 million in player salaries. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals should not be content with earning a small profit based solely upon their revenue share dollars, and continue to be rewarded for their ineptness.

These teams are/were content to make a small profit and move on. Mostly they complained of the woe-is-me small market syndrome.

The International market is teeming with talent, and most players go to the bigger market teams. I am not a fan of an International Draft so the smaller market teams need to be required to spend on these talent troves to get better players.

3) Limit teams to sign only two multi-year free agents per off season

Since revenue sharing money is required to be spent for smaller market teams to sign their own free agents, there will be less players available on the open market. Teams will lock up more of their own talented younger players for longer terms.

With less free agents out there, more teams will be have to develop their own talent. 

It is easy for a General Manager to spend a lot on players, but it is much tougher to develop talent.

But if a GM must go free agency, he cannot sign more than two multi-year deals in one offseason affecting the bigger dollar contracts. This will force guys to sign quickly and does not limit the one year deals.

4) Expand team control from six years to seven years

A team which develops a good young player should be rewarded. A young player usually takes two seasons to get his feet wet, and begins to really start producing in year three. That is three years into the team relationship and now you begin to get into the higher arbitration dollars.

Make it seven years of control, with the first four of slotted salaries, unless, of course a team wants to buy out a players’ arbitration years.

Then get rid of the Super Twos. If a rookie plays in a game, he has a year under his belt. That will get really good younger players up sooner for teams which develop talent, but teams now have that extra year of control.

No more Stephen Strasburg’s and Carlos Santana’s waiting for two plus months in the minors when their teams could use their talents now. More Jason Heyward’s and Evan Longoria’s. How many games could have Strasburg won if he began this season in the majors?

Washington would have a much better record, and they would have sold out every Strasburg game so far. That is good for all teams involved.

Over the last ten seasons, there have been six different AL teams in the World Series, and an amazing eight different NL teams in the Fall Classic. Small market teams such as Houston, Florida, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Arizona have made the World Series.

During this stretch Colorado, San Diego, Oakland and Minnesota have made the playoffs in multiple seasons.

There is no need for realignment to occur. There have been many times where large market teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Mets and both Chicago franchises have floundered.

The Cubs spend a lot of money ($144 million in 2010) and still have not won a World Series in over 100 years. The White Sox have won one title since the early 20th century and the Red Sox have only their two recent titles.

The Marlins have the same number of World Series titles. If they were required to spend money on keeping many of their own players, they might have won more.

According to reports I read, Boston is only the 10th biggest market in the United States, and areas such as Dallas, Houston, Washington, Miami and Atlanta are bigger.

So why is Boston considered a “Big Market” team and some of those above and many just below Boston considered “Small Market.”

There is a vast history of baseball in Boston, and many more fans are interested in their team. And their ownership spends the money to compete.

If other “Smaller Market” teams built a relationship with the fans in their market via home grown players who are kept within their organization, they could build more of a following, too. A better product builds more revenue via ticket sales and media revenues.

It will take some time and good hard work to compete. Bill Gates can attest to that.

Teams which build strongly from within and then keep their own players will get better. Even the Pirates were good in the early 1990’s, but could not keep their good, young players such as Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and John Smiley.

Trades will still occur and major stars will still be traded for a pack of prospects. New York will win their share of titles, but will also go through a period of losing.

Everything goes in cycles.

My changes listed above would help many teams keep their talented players and compete with the bigger clubs.

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UPDATE (11:15 PM): Jorge Vazquez played third base Saturday night for Double A Trenton, making every play, including charging a slash bunt in front of him and throwing the runner out.

His promotion might be in relation to Marcus Thames being place on the disabled list, and having Chad Huffman promoted from Triple A.

But, Vazquez will eventually become the Yankees right handed bat off the bench in place of Thames, and likely Huffman, too.

Alex Rodriguez came out of Thursday night’s game with a sore groin. He is not in Friday’s lineup either.

He was to meet with New York Yankee doctor Dr. Christopher Ahmad Friday, and will like to see his hip specialist, Dr. Marc Philippon.

First, I do not believe that Alex’ groin is going to be a big issue. He said there was discomfort, but no pain.

But, what if Alex’ tight groin is related to his hip injury? How will an extended period of time on the disabled list, not for the minimum of 15 days but say a month, affect the Yankees lineup?

For tonight, manager Joe Girardi is using Ramiro Pena at third base, further weakening an already light Yankee lineup. I say already light because Francisco Cervelli has not hit in the last week or so, and Jorge Posada has gone 3 for his last 27 (.111 BA/.294 OBP/.111 SLG) since coming back off the disabled list.

Who will play third base if Alex is out for an extended time? He was diagnosed with tendonitis of the hip flexor, and is probably out until Tuesday when the Yankees play the Philadelphia Phillies.

That will give Alex four days off the hip. But what if it is not enough?

Pena and Kevin Russo are the only guys on the 25 man roster capable of playing third base. Those guys don’t send shivers down American League pitchers’ spines.

In Triple A Scranton, there is Matt Cusick, but he is not ready, and would be mostly a filler type of player.

In Double A Trenton, the minor league RBI leader, Brandon Laird, is hitting for average and power. He has 56 RBI on the season.

I was at last night’s Thunder game and Laird had a couple more hits.

But according to Trenton Thunder manager Tony Franklin, he has been instructed to play Jorge Vazquez more at third base. This move from above indicates that Vazquez, a 28-year-old Mexican League veteran of nine seasons, might be primed for a promotion to Triple A Scranton.

After all, Vazquez is hitting .432 BA/.447 OBP/.541 SLG since returning from a stint on the disabled list from an appendectomy. He hit .329/.357/.578 last season, his first year playing in the United States. The former four-time Mexican League All-Star put up nearly similar numbers in his final season in Mexico.

Vazquez is obviously too good of a hitter for Double A and soon will be moved to Scranton.

Interestingly, Vazquez did not get a chance to finish the game last night against the Binghamton Mets as he was tossed from the game in the bottom of the 7th.

During a Mets pitching change, Mets pitching coach Mark Brewer thought Vazquez was too close to the plate during the pitchers warm ups, and began screaming at Vazquez. Manager Tony Franklin, coaching third base, tried to intervene, but Vazquez had begun to hear Brewer (tough, as Jorge does not speak much English) and began to move towards the Mets bench.

Vazquez was restrained, but not before the home plate umpire (who had several members of both teams squawking at him all night), threw Vazquez out of the game. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but nothing more ensued.

Franklin said Vazquez will be a third base tonight.

That also means Laird will likely stay the entire season at Trenton, a good move since Laird has made the normal progression of one level per season, and continues to impress his way up the ladder.

Laird is a tremendous hitter, with good balance and an innate ability to stay inside the baseball.

He will be a good major league hitter, but not this season.

Jorge Vazquez will eventually be the New York Yankees right handed bat off the bench, and I hope at a minimum, be there to replace Marcus Thames, who is now showing he can not even hit left handed pitching anymore.

However, if things get a little troublesome for Alex Rodriguez, Vazquez could see some time at third base, too.

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There was a recent NY Post report by columnist George King which portrayed the New York Yankees as being interested in the services of left handed pitcher Cliff Lee of the Seattle Mariners. Lee is an outstanding pitcher, one of the top five pitchers in baseball.

The report states that Seattle expects the Yankees to attempt to obtain Lee, with information gathered from a person “familiar with Seattle’s thought process “. The Mariners are preparing for the Yankees to try and trade for Lee, and have scouts in attendance at various Yankees minor league games.

The Mariners, therefore, are assuming the Yankees have interest now .

Recently the Mariners have had two scouts at Low A Charleston and two in Reading, PA checking in on the Yankees Double A squad, the Trenton Thunder.

Possibilities in Charleston include pretty much nobody, except OF Slade Heathcott and C/DH J.R. Murphy , last year’s first and second round picks. Those two aren’t going anywhere. You want to say, maybe, Charleston RHP Jose Ramirez might be wanted, then OK, because he might have that proverbial upside . Otherwise, Charleston really offers nothing of value.

But Double A does offer real value for another team. Reportedly the Mariners like RHP David Phelps , 3B/1B Brandon Laird and C Austin Romine . Well, who doesn’t, right? You don’t have to be a pro scout to figure out that these three are the top players.

Phelps gets guys out and doesn’t walk anybody, Laird hits for great power and average, plus doesn’t strike out much. Romine is a well above average defensive catcher who hits for a high average. Three solid players who will all get to the big leagues…for some team.

The Mariners are starting “their trade talk” with a combination of one of the Yankees top catchers (either Jesus Montero or Romine) and Triple A shortstop Eduardo Nunez .

But just because the Mariners are scouting the Yankees prospects does not mean the Yankees are interested in trading any of them right now for Cliff Lee.

Knowing their 2010 season is shot, Seattle is probably getting a list of players they like for a proposal to the Yankees . The Mariners would like a few players in return for Lee who could help on the offensive end*.

 *The funny thing about Seattle and their new defensive first concept is that it worked well for one year because it took everyone by surprise. Now they improved their defense again by adding 1B Casey Kotchman and 3B/2B Chone Figgins, plus re-signing SS Jack Wilson.

But a team can save all the runs they want, but you still need to hit or the lack of consistent run production will add to the tremendous amount of pressure already on the pitching staff.

When a pitching staff knows it cannot give up 3 or more runs a game, the pressure to make every pitch count becomes unbearable .

While there is lots of talk regarding a trade of Lee to the Yankees, it doesn’t seem like the Yankees have initiated any of this talk of a trade . No one from the Yankees camp has ever said they want to trade with the M’s for Lee.

The Yankees M.O. is to wait and be patient until impending free agency, and not to trade prospects for veterans, especially when the veteran can walk that off season after the trade. Think what GM Brian Cashman did when Johan Santana was on the block prior to the 2008 season.  

The Yankees refused to trade RHP Phil Hughes, RHP Joba Chamberlain and 2B Robinson Cano (among other players) in several possible deals with Minnesota for Santana. The Yankees never offered Cano, but it was Minnesota who wanted him. Cashman was ripped for not making a trade for Santana, especially after the Yankees did not make the playoffs in 2008.

Instead Cashman went out and signed a free agent pitcher in CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett that following off season.

They did not make the playoffs in 2008, but the team won the World Series in 2009 and is now better in the long run.

Much of the talk now, though, is that the Yankees will trade for Lee. FoxSports Ken Rosenthal picked up on the story and quoted a rival executive saying the Yankees will trade for Lee because he is a “top of the rotation starter.” Many of these national writers don’t have any original ideas, but use only what comes from their sources.

They very rarely use analysis to figure out what would be good for the teams and why teams would do, or should not do certain things.

For example, for several reasons it is a flat out given that Cliff Lee will sign as a free agent with the Yankees in the off season.

1) Lee is really good friends with CC Sabathia, and CC has told him how great it is to play in New York.

2) Lee is really good friends with AJ Burnett, both are from Arkansas, and share the same agent, Darek Braunecker.

3) The Yankees have five really good starting pitchers right now. Even with Hughes on an innings limit this season (about 180, but it keeps going up), they only need to fill maybe five extra rotation starts during the season. That is assuming that no starter gets hurt. 

Seattle is the impatient group here, not wanting to worsen an already terrible trade they made for Lee. They really needed a bat, probably two instead of another top arm. Not that the players the Phillies got back from Seattle are any good either. Seattle did not give up much for Lee, and those players are all struggling this season in the Phillies system.

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is blowing smoke out there wanting to have other teams think the Yankees will attempt to get Lee this season. It is similar to how agents let it be known the Yankees want to sign their free agents (even if it is not true), Zduriencik wants to drive the price up for his biggest trade bait.

There are already stories out there asking why don’t this team or that team now try and get Lee. Even Red Sox fans are wondering if Lee would be good for them .

I know the Mariner’s GM is doing his due diligence and seeing what the market can bear for his ace starting pitcher. But rather than approach other teams, it might be best to let other teams come to them. That way you can get more because the other teams are the needy ones.

But Seattle would be best to take the picks from Lee’s departure (although if it was the Yankees signing him, they would be lower picks) and use them in what already appears to be a really good draft pool of talent next season.

The Mariners GM has a tremendous track record of drafting and developing players. But like any GM, he is on the hot set to WIN NOW.

By not trading for Lee this season, the Yankees do not give away any players and only need spend money to sign Lee next year.

And by that time, they can then decide what to do with free agent to be Javier Vazquez and get feedback from Andy Pettitte with what he will do about a possible retirement.

This trade does not make sense from a Yankees stand point, unless one of their starters gets hurt–then the entire ballgame MIGHT change.

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