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Fox Sports is reporting that trade talks between Seattle and New York have stalled.

A source says that Seattle is concerned about David Adams’ health, and that led them to ask for more.

The Yankees are unwilling to accommodate that request, and the two teams are at a standstill.

The Reds have begun to intensify their talks with the Mariners now, and the Rangers are also lingering.

Reports that a deal to the Yankees is imminent may have been a little premature

Lee remains scheduled to pitch tonight. By then we will surely know more.

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It has been a sub par year for several Yankees in 2010 so far, but two major weapons for the Bronx Bombers are starting to return to form.

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have had a fantastic past couple of weeks and are showing glimpses of their former selves.

A-Rod had been driving in runs, but his power numbers were way down and it looked as if he might never regain his power stroke.

However, ever since that road trip to Arizona and L.A. he has proved the doubters wrong.

After a monster night in Oakland on Tuesday, A-Rod has 14 home runs and 67 RBI on the season, leading the Yanks in that department.

Those numbers are much better than seven home runs and 50 RBI, which he had just about two weeks ago.

As everyone knows A-Rod is a key bat to the Yankees offense, especially after doing without him for the first month of last season, we all learned just how valuable a part of the lineup he is.

I expect a big second half for A-Rod this year, and he could be a possible MVP candidate when it’s all said and done.

The other major offensive production that the Yankees had been missing this year, Mark Teixeira, has heated up as well.

He has reached base safely in 12 straight games, and has risen his batting average up to .241 presently, still a far cry from what he hit last year, but it’s a step in the right direction.

In fact, Teixeira is hitting .309, with six home runs, and 20 RBI over the past couple of weeks.

Much like A-Rod, I think Teixeira will have a huge second half and start to look more like the MVP runner up from a year ago.

It is amazing to me, with all the struggles that these two players have had, that the Yankees sit atop the AL East with the best record in baseball.

Any way you look at it, these two players are major components to the Yankees’ offense and are essential to the continued success of the franchise in the future, the postseason in particular.

So it is a good sign for the Bronx Bombers that they have, arguably, their two big bombers heating up as the season turns over to the second half drawing ever closer to October.

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From his head scratching organizational moves to a main character on Seinfeld, George Steinbrenner is a man who will do whatever it takes to win it all.  

Since taking over the Yankees in 1973, the team has won 11 pennants and seven World Series titles.  That might not seem like much, but Steinbrenner has done everything in his power to try and win as many championships as possible.

He has made some very good decisions throughout his tenure as owner of the Yankees.

After losing the 1976 World Series to the Reds, Steinbrenner realized the Yankees needed just a little more to push them over the top, and he went out and got the biggest free agent out there—Reggie Jackson.

With Jackson, “the straw that stirs the drink”, the Yankees won the fall classic in ’77 and ’78, bringing big George his first two rings in back-to-back fashion.

While Mr. October’s stint in the Bronx ended in 1981, after several disagreements with Steinbrenner , the Yankees had found a new star in Dave Winfield who began his nine year tenure with the Yankees in Jackson’s final year.

Despite having both Jackson and Winfield together, the Yankees failed to win the 1981 World Series, finally falling to the Dodgers after beating them in both ’77 and ’78.

With Jackson gone, the Yankees struggled after that ’81 World Series defeat, never seeing the light of day in the playoffs for the rest of the decade.

Yet, Winfield continued to prosper and build upon his Hall of Fame career, even while on a very bad team for nearly 10 years. In pinstripes, Winfield hit 205 home runs, had 818 RBI, and collected 1,300 of his 3,110 career hits.

He also won five Gold Gloves, appeared in eight All Star games, and got five Silver Slugger awards.

He was clearly the best player on the Yankees for that miserable decade, but another young star emerged from within the Yankee organization, Don Mattingly .

Mattingly would be one of the few Yankees developed form their own farm system for the better part of the next 15 years.

Making his debut in 1982 and taking over full time first base duties by 1984, Mattingly turned into a very good hitter, to go along wi th his slick fielding.

Throughout the mid ’80s Mattingly was among the best hitters in baseball, winning the MVP in 1985 and three consecutive Silver Slugger awards, he also led the league in hits twice.

Meanwhile, the controversies continued to go back and forth between Winfield and Steinbrenner .

After paying a small time gambler, Howie Spira , to get some dirt on Winfield, who sued Steinbrenner for not owning up to a clause in his contract, MLB commissioner Fay Vincent banned Steinbrenner for life.

Gene Michael took over every day operations of the club from there on out, which allowed the Yankees to develop some of their young talent, such as Bernie Williams, who would have probably been traded away for veteran players had Steinbrenner still been in charge.

With Winfield being traded in the middle of the 1990 season, and a back injury limiting Mattingly’s production, the 90’s looked as if they were going to be just as bad as the 80’s.

Steinbrenner was reinstated in 1993, but was less inclined to run the Yankees every day operation, leaving Gene Michael in charge.

The Yankees were leading the AL East in 1994 when the players strike wiped out the rest of the season, and they returned to the playoffs in 1995 for the first time since ’81, also making this Mattingly’s first and only playoff appearance.

In ’96, under new manager Joe Torre, the young Yankees won the World Series for the first time since ’81 and got Steinbrenner his third ring as owner.

Torre, alongside his new core four players; Derek Jeter , Andy Pettitte , Jorge Posada , and Mariano Rivera would go on to win three straight titles from 1998 to 2000, proving that the talent from within the organization can be enough to win titles.

The Yankees would win the AL Championship series in 2001 and 2003 but failed to win either of those years, putting an end to the dynasty years. 

After 2003 the Yankees started signing more and more free agents, and their team payroll has never been less than $185 million since, needles to say, but they have led the MLB with the highest payroll since as well, but never missed the playoffs for 12 years until 2008.

After dumping several of those monster salaries after 2007 and 2008, like Jason Giambi , the Yankees went out and invested in three very good players; CC Sabathia , A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira .

Withthe new three players, along wi th the same core four from the dynasty years and Alex Rrodriguez , the Yankees had the best record in baseball and eventually won their first World Series since 2000, bringing Steinbrenner’s championship total to seven.

Upon winning the 2009 World Series, that team had a message for Steinbrenner , “This one’s for you boss.”

Many people criticize Steinbrenner for all the money he has shelled out to free agents over the past decade or so, and for all the terrible trades he made in 80’s, but in his mind, he was just trying to do what was best for the team and lead them a World Series title every year.

As a fan of the Yankees, I know that as long as the Steinbrenner’s own the Yankees they will try to put the best team in baseball on the field, and if that takes $200+ million every year I’m fine wi th that, because I obviously want to see the Yankees win, and that’s what George Michael Steinbrenner is all about.

Happy 80th Birthday to the Boss.

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The Yankees, Red Sox , and Rays have nearly come to a stand still in the fight for the AL East crown, and likely the best record in baseball.

So who is going to come out ahead?

Well, it is likely that the team that makes the best acquisitions is going to end up on top, making the month of July, more specifically the July 31st trade deadline, the deciding factor in this year’s race in the East.

The Yankees currently sit in first, up by a half a game over the Red Sox and two games over the Rays, but have seen their bullpen struggle mightily and have an extremely young bench, with three rookies presently keeping it warm.

If the Yankees really wanted to put themselves over the top of the other teams in the AL East, then they would go out and acquire a front line stater like Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt , both of whom are both available and are Cy Young capable pitchers, which the Yankees know all too well with Lee.

But it is probably more likely that the Yankees will look to add a veteran bat to the bench and some much needed help in the bullpen, which blew another game Friday against the Blue Jays.

Regardless of who they go after, the Yankees are capable of going out in the trade market and acquiring almost any player they want, with both the talent in the minors and of course, the financial means to afford any contract they might have to pick up.

Some of the players that will draw interest from Brian Cashman this month will be:

Bench/DH: Ty Wigginton, Kelly Johnson, David DeJesus , Josh Willingham , Cristian Guzman, Corey Hart, Cody Ross, and Adam Dunn.

Bullpen: Joakim Soria (wishful thinking), Octavio Dotel , Scott Downs, Shawn Camp, Will Ohman , Alfredo Simon, Rafael Perez, Matt Lindstrom , and Brandon Lyon.

I think Ty Wigginton makes the most sense for the Yankees; he’s certainly available, and at a relatively low price. He’s a very versatile player, who can also supply a lot of power, which the Yankee’ bench desperately needs.

I would love to see Adam Dunn in pinstripes as the DH, he would do a lot of damage with the short porch in right, but he would require more prospects and more money than probably any other player on that list, and I don’t think Cashman will go down that route.

In the bullpen, I think Brandon Lyon would be a great fit.

He has proven that he can perform well in the AL, with a 2.86 ERA with the Tigers last year, and he has continued to pitch well this year for the Astros (currently with a 3.00 ERA and 15 holds).

He also makes sense for Houston to move, he’s due $4.25 million this year, and he’s 30 years old, so he’s not a young prospect.

Two of the key players that might be on the move for the Yankees are Eduardo Nunez and Brandon Laird

Nunez is a shortstop at AAA Scranton who is hitting .312, with 17 stolen bases and 39 runs driven in, but has trouble fielding the ball with nine errors this year. He seems to have the bat that’s ready for the majors, but unfortunately he is behind Derek Jeter , so he could be out of options with the Yankees unless he switches positions.

Laird is a slugging third baseman at AA Trenton who is hitting .291, with an impressive 19 home runs, and 80 RBI. But like Nunez, Laird will soon be out of options for a future in the big leagues with the Yankees as Alex Rodriguez is under contract to man the hot corner until 2017.

I seriously doubt that Cashman deals either of the top two catchers in the minors, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine , unless he goes after Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt .

If they do go after a starter, I would expect them to go after Fausto Carmona, who is 7-6 with a 3.86 ERA and is available along with teammate Jake Westbrook.

CC Sabathia will certainly put in a good word for his former teammates Carmona and Westbrook, but I think the Yankees are happy with the starting five they have now.

The bullpen has been atrocious and needs help now, and the bench could use a veteran presence, so look for the Yankees to be out there seeking to improve those two areas, and hopefully that will be enough for them to capture their second strait AL East crown and eventually repeat as World Series champions.

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As usual, there have been a lot of rumors that continue to swirl around the Yankees as the trade deadline approaches in July.

However, the Yankees might not have to trade anything to add depth to their bench because there are some very talented free agents available that could get the job done just as easily as somebody the Yankees could trade for.

This is also a better option, due to the fact that the Yankees wouldn’t have to give up any prospects, and some of the players out there might be cheaper than picking up the contract of a traded player.

Mark Grudzielanek is a hard-nosed veteran player who has had a very solid 15-year career in the big leagues.

He has over 2,000 career hits and a career batting average of .289, along with a .986 fielding percentage. He was an All-Star way back in ’96 and won a Gold Glove in 2006.

Grudzielanek started this season with the Cleveland Indians, and hit .279 with 11 RBI and 10 runs scored, but was released because the Indians wanted to give their younger players a shot, realizing their season was over.

He would give the Yankees a much needed veteran presence on the bench, while providing solid defense in the middle infield and an average bat, for a cheap price too.

An option for the corner infield spots and occasional DH is Joe Crede, who has dealt with some back issues over his career, but may be worth the risk to the Yankees.

He hit 15 home runs in a injury interupted season with the Twins a year ago, and has hit 140 homers over his career.

The Yankees could use some of that power off the bench right about now, considering the four players warming the bench right now have a grand total of zero home runs, at least not until Marcus Thames returns. A power outage indeed.

Crede would be a big risk, considering his injury history, and he probably wouldn’t come cheaply (not with Scott Boris as his agent), but the Yankees do need some pop from the bench.

Another veteran, and former teammate of Joe Crede, Jermaine Dye is also still available, which simply amazes me that a player of his caliber can’t find a job.

He too would get the job done for the Yankees in the power department, he hit 27 home runs and had 87 RBI for the White Sox last year.

Dye would be a major upgrade over any of the outfielders currently on the bench or Thames, he is 35 but still has a cannon of an arm in the outfield.

These guys could all help the Yankees with their very young and inexperienced bench.

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The “Phil Hughes Rules” have claimed their first start, which would have been last Friday. Those same rules have also claimed their first loss as the Yankees fell to the Mariners 7-4. 

The Seattle Mariners are among the worst offensive teams in baseball, and with Hughes on the mound, boasting a 10-1 record, the game would appear to be a good match up for the Yankees.

That is of course not mentioning the 10 days in between tonight and Hughes’s last start. Due to limits on innings pitched, he had to miss his last scheduled start on June 25.

Hughes pitched very poorly against Seattle. He allowed at least one run in every inning except for the first, and was pulled after five and two thirds.

The Mariners posted 10 hits, including a home run and four doubles, and six earned runs. That’s coming from a terrible offensive team against arguably the best pitcher for the Yankees this year.

If you ask me that sounds like he either had a really bad night, or something was hindering his effectiveness on the mound. MY9 Broadcaster, Al Leiter thought the latter of the two. 

“By limiting his innings and skipping his last start, I think it has affected his effectiveness tonight,” Leiter said.

Either way, he pitched very poorly, and hopefully this will serve as a lesson to New York  not skip any more starts. But I’m sure they will just say that he had a bad outing.

Yeah, a bad outing due to 10 days off.

Nick Swisher accounted for two of the Yankee runs, with two solo shots off Cliff Lee, but the rest of the Yankee offense was unable to pick it up. Lee threw a complete game.

An embarrassing performance by New York, and one that could be the first of many to come, if Hughes is unable to pitch like he did before the “rules” came into effect.

A game that the Yankees, seemingly, should have won turned out to be an easy win for the Mariners, whose offensive woes ended against a pathetic Hughes.

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The new Yankee Stadium has only been open for just over a year now, but in that short time span, it has played host to some very special and memorable games in Yankee history.

From a World Series to a 15 inning epic, here are my top five most memorable games at the new big ballpark in the Bronx.

Begin Slideshow

It was definitely not the most well-played game ever, but it was an instant classic for the 2010 season—at least for the Yankees, anyway.

The Bombers went into the ninth inning trailing 5-4. Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher both walked to lead off the inning against Aaron Heilman. Mark Teixeira’s ground ball moved them to second and third, and A-Rod hit a sacrifice fly to score Jeter.

Mariano Rivera had a one-two-three bottom of the ninth and they headed to the 10th tied 5-5

Leading off the bottom of the 10th, Curtis Granderson smacked a home run to deep right field to give the Yankees a one-run lead. Jeter would later ground into a double play and Rivera grounded out in his third career at-bat to end the inning, garnering much applause from the Yankee dugout.

Mo pitched the bottom of the 10th inning, making this his first two-inning appearance of the year. But it would not be an easy inning, to say the least.

Leading off, Stephen Drew dunked in a bloop hit, reminiscent of Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off hit off Mo ending the 2001 World Series. Justin Upton doubled to deep left and Drew was held at third. Miguel Montero was then intentionally walked to load the bases with no one out.

The D-backs sure could have used Gonzo in that 10th inning, because the next three batters posed little threat to Mo. Chris Young fouled out to Franciso Cervelli, Adam LaRoche popped out to A-Rod, and Mark Reynolds struck out swinging to end the game. 

Mo looked as cool as a cucumber as he pitched to those final three batters, just as if there were no one on base. Clearly, Rivera had no mental damage left from that 2001 heart-breaker.

The Yankees are now 9-3 against the D-backs and have never lost a series to them since 2001.

Next up for the Yanks is a visit to an old friend and old enemy, Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez, out in L.A. The series gets started on Friday night after an off-day on Thursday for the Bombers.

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If I told you before the season that Derek Jeter would have a worse batting average than Nick Swisher in the middle of June, you probably would have said “Are you crazy?”, or something of that nature.

Now that we are in the middle of June, and Swisher does have a higher batting average than Jeter, you have to wonder how the Yankees are in first place.

Well, to say the least, it has been quite an unusual year for the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees have been thrust into first place by unexpected performances from players that you least expected a big year from.

Phil Hughes has been a major boost for the Yanks this year, now 10-1 on the season, which is the best record on the team. Hughes is arguably the best pitcher on the team, and has certainly been a big surprise for the Yankees.

Brett “the Jet” Gardner has become a big part of the Yankee offense this year. He is hitting .320, with 49 runs scored, and has swiped 23 bases in 28 attempts. His speed has been a refreshing new look for the Yankees.

Many Yankee fans, including myself, were very worried about not resigning Johnny Damon, but after the start that Gardner has had, I think we can all happily say “Johnny who?”.

Another player who has really come into his own and has official staked his claim as the best second baseman in baseball is Robinson Cano.

Not only is he leading the Majors in hitting, but he leads the Yankees in nearly every offensive category, hits, RBI, home runs—you name it he’s leading the way. Not to mention his 1.009 OPS for the season.

Nick Swisher is yet another player having a career year and giving the Yankees all that he can. Heading into tonight, Swisher is hitting a career high .298 (nearly 50 points higher than his career average), and has driven in 44 RBI to the tune of 11 home runs.

But the one that I think nobody saw coming, is ageless Andy Pettitte. After another strong outing last night, Andy is now 9-2 on the year, with a 2.48 ERA. He is having a career year at age 38 and just might get another shot at the Cy Young award.

Not too shabby for a guy who is on the brink of retirement every year.

So in a year when Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez and 90% of the bullpen have all struggled, I find it pretty amazing that the Yankees sit atop the AL East with the best record in baseball.

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The Yankees have a very inconsistent bullpen this year. Take a look at some of the main culprits.

Joba Chamberlain: 5.52 ERA 

Chad Gaudin: 6.89 ERA

David Robertson: 5.48 ERA

Chan Ho Park: 6.86 ERA

It is obvious that the Yankees weakest spot on the team is the bullpen, and that has to improve if they plan on going anywhere this October.

I realize that Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves have missed time, but even they could not solve all the Yankees pitching problems, and we don’t know when they will return.

So I have gathered a small list of pitchers from the farm system that could make an immediate impact for the Yankees out of the bullpen.

Jonathan Albaladejo is a pitcher who has seen his fair share of struggles in New York, but has been lights out this season at AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre, racking up 23 saves while posting an impressive 1.31 ERA. He has also struck out 45 and walked only 12.

In my opinion, he has earned another shot at the big leagues.

Royce Ring has also seen time in the majors, making appearances with the Mets , Padres, and Braves.

The 29-year-old lefty has also posted great numbers this year at AAA with a 1.48 ERA in 24 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .174 batting average.

The only problem might be that the Yankees all ready have two lefties in the bullpen right now.

Ivan Nova made his Major League debut earlier this season in Detroit, and pitched three scoreless innings in his brief stint with New York.

He has been the best starter at AAA this year, posting a 5-2 record with a 3.14 ERA in 13 starts. He could easily fit in to the long reliever role immediately for the Yanks.

Either the current Yankees bullpen pitchers need to improve or a change needs to be made, because they have to be better than what they are right now if they want to have a shot at title number 28.

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