Kuzul

Sure, it’s Lee’s right to decline any trade, something the man has earned through his  “10 & 5” rights, not to mention his no-trade clause.

However, if Lee was thinking about anyone other than himself, he would acquiesce and go to the Dodgers for another chance at the playoffs, while giving the Cubs an opportunity to land a prospect and secure some salary relief.

But no, it seems that D-Lee either doesn’t want the pressure of being in a pennant race as the new face on a winning team, or he just wants to stick it to the Cubs.

Either way, it’s a selfish move that greatly diminishes his credibility.

Now, if you think this is a sign of loyalty, think again. Being loyal would mean trying to help the team. Plus, just how loyal do you think he will be as a free agent?

Look, Lee is lucky anybody wants him with the kind of season he is having. Meanwhile, this is the second year out of the past three that Lee has stunk up the joint.

I tell you, if I was Jim Hendry, I’d sit him down and tell him to his face that if he wants to stay, fine, but he’ll be sitting on the bench while Tyler Colvin learns the position.

I wonder if that would make Lee change his mind?

Either way, it’s not just petty resentment that I am proposing; rather, it is a move that makes sense since Lee is not likely to return and the Cubs do need to find out what their options are.

Colvin should be someone they look at to replace Lee as the next Cubs first baseman, barring a trade. They have no one at the minor league level ready to take over, and Colvin has the kind of power you want at that position.

But we don’t know if he can play first base, which is why he should get the opportunity now, while the Cubs continue to sink anyway, giving Hendry a more informed opinion as he builds next year’s team.

But Hendry doens’t have the backbone to stand up to Lee this way, so he’ll probably continue to play every day and bat third in the lineup while walking away at the end of the season.

Again, it’s his right. But the Cubs should exercise their rights as well.

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It’s tempting for the more seasoned (really old) followers of the San Francisco Giants to sit back and enjoy what has been a fabulous start to the second half of the season.

The club’s record is third-best in the National League and seventh in the big leagues three games into the Florida Marlins series in San Francisco. The Giants are 2 1/2 games out of the NL West lead and are atop the NL wild-card race.

Fans and media-types have to work, or ignore reality, to be critical of what were considered shortcomings with the Giants on a 11-3 streak since the All-Star break.

The team’s starting pitching has been superb. The bullpen has done a surprisingly good job getting games to closer Brian Wilson.

Manager Bruce Bochy has, apparently, become a great deal smarter in the second half. Unless he, alone, blew the three games the club lost in the last couple of weeks.

Every club can use another hitter, but the Giants are scoring plenty of runs. And, knocking situational hitting when a team is 11-3 seems silly.

Fans and the media should be relaxing and enjoying the fact that the Giants jumped from 10th to seventh on ESPN.com’s MLB power rankings this week.

Why bother worrying about the trade deadline when the Giants have one of the best records in baseball? Well, the cyclical nature of baseball indicates that the club’s flaws will become apparent again soon. So…

The Giants desperately need relief pitching (specifically left-handed relievers). The only way to get help for the bullpen is in trade. No help coming from the minor leagues and even the happiest of Giants fan likely quivers at the thought of relying too heavily on Denny Bautista, Joe Martinez, and Santiago Casilla.

While they’re poking around for a reliever or two, the Giants might as well see if any hitters are available for a decent asking price. Pablo Sandoval might return to first-half form. And Buster Posey just might not bat .368, with a .975 OPS and .571 slugging percentage for the final three months of the season. Although, nothing the kid does should surprise anybody.

There just isn’t a great deal of bullpen talent on the market, so trade rumors have focused on the organization’s reported interest in finding another proven hitter.

Oh, the Giants are going to get relief help. Before giving up anything in trade, the Giants might want to consider calling lefty Alex Hinshaw up to see if he can get outs or about giving Dontrelle Willis a shot as a lefty-vs.-lefty reliever.

The Giants have the luxury of giving a young farmhand and a fallen star a chance to stabilize the pen.

The club is a lot more likely to land an outfielder like Washington’s Josh Willingham or Kansas City veteran Jose Guillen than they are to trade for Adam Dunn. (Although, Dunn is on record now as denying that he ever said he would refuse to play in San Francisco. That, apparently, was an urban legend based on the assumption that AT&T Park is death to all lefty swingers who aren’t Barry Bonds.)

Dunn’s going to be a free agent at the end of the year, so the Giants aren’t interested unless they can sign him to a long-term deal before any trade is consumated. Teams typically allow for negotiations between a trade partner and a player in such a situation.

The Giants just aren’t willing to offer the type of package necessary to lure Dunn to San Francisco. The Nationals apparently turned down a Chicago White Sox offer featuring starting second baseman Gordon Beckham and insisted on a package featuring three top prospects headed by pitcher Daniel Hudson. Translation: Madison Bumgarner and two top prospects would, maybe, bring Dunn west.

Tampa Bay asked the Nats about Dunn and the Rays were told that any package for the slugger would have to include starting pitcher Matt Garza, who is having an outstanding season and pitched a no-hitter on Monday night. Translation: If Bumgarner’s untouchable, toss Matt Cain into the deal.

The Giants discussed Guillen with the Royals, the New York Post reported. The 34-year-old would, reportedly, go to San Francisco with cash to cover some of the $4.55 million left on his contract. ESPN’s Jayson Stark, however, reported that the Royals “have no real options” to trade Guillen—even while asking for little in return.

There’s word that the Giants are, again, interested in free agent-to-be Prince Fielder. Any package would start with trading left-hander Madison Bumgarner. Fielder’s out of the question.

Willingham can play right field, where he wouldn’t take any more at-bats from Pat Burrell.

The Giants had interest in Royals base-stealing outfielder Scott Podsednik, but the Los Angeles Dodgers wound up acquiring the left-hand hitter in exchange for two minor leaguers.

If first baseman Travis Ishikawa keeps producing, Aubrey Huff will split time between the outfield and first and the Giants wouldn’t necessarily have to add a hitter, because it appears that Aaron Rowand might be inching back to reasonable productivity after his single started Thursday’s game-winning rally against the Marlins.

It could be that this is the time for Giants fans to step back and acknowledge that the call for homegrown talent has gone on for years and, well, it could be that Nate Schierholtz, Ishikawa and, perhaps, a minor leaguer like infielders Emmanuel Burris or Ryan Rohlinger team to produce the runs the Giants need.

Why deal for a .260 hitter in Guillen if Schierholtz can hit .250 and contribute in every other area of the game, too?

The Giants are inching toward the trade deadline in position, remarkably, to just keep doing what they’ve been doing. That’s been plenty good enough over the last 14 games.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com

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It’s become a rite of summer.  If a major league team has an available player at the trade deadline, he’ll be connected to the Yankees somehow, whether he makes sense for New York or not.

So it comes as no surprise that the Yankees have been connected to just about every available player at this year’s trade deadline.  They’ve made known offers for Cliff Lee and Dan Haren and have made inquiries about several other players they view as upgrades.

One player that hasn’t been overwhelmingly rumored to be a Yankee target is Washington first baseman Adam Dunn.  Aside from a few Buster Olney tweets, Dunn-to-New York rumors have been nearly nonexistent.  

Dunn is in the last year of a two-year contract and will be a free agent at year’s end. The Nationals have expressed interest in resigning the prodigious slugger, but with less than three days before the trade deadline, they’ve yet to offer him an extension.  

With each day, it looks less and less likely that the Nationals and Dunn will eventually come to terms on an extension.  Because of this supposed impasse, it makes sense for Washington to get player value for him now rather than lose him for nothing but draft picks in the offseason.

Dunn’s bat would obviously play well in any Major League lineup, but the Yankees have the opening and opportunity to acquire the perennial 40-homer Dunn.  

For all intents and purposes, Nick Johnson is gone for the season.  In his absence, the Yankees have been using a combination of Juan Miranda and Marcus Thames in the DH spot, occasionally giving their regulars a half-day as the designated hitter.  

Thames and Miranda are better suited as bench players at this point in their respective careers, and using Alex Rodriguez or Jorge Posada in the DH role means that Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli are getting more at bats than they should.

Acquiring Adam Dunn would make the league’s best offense even more formidable and give the lineup a more consistent look. He’s hit 40 home runs in four of the past five seasons, and hasn’t hit less than 38 since 2003. He consistently posts high on-base percentages, and when kept out of the field, he becomes even more valuable to his team.

I’m not overly familiar with the Nationals farm system, so I can’t accurately assume what type of package they’d want in return for Dunn.  Washington GM Mike Rizzo has said that it would take an overwhelming offer to pry Dunn away, but that was before his team fell 15 games back in the National League East.

The Yankees certainly have the pieces to make a deal for Dunn, and GM Brian Cashman has shown a willingness to include just about any prospect in the right deal.  Dunn isn’t the type of player that would require the Yankees to part ways with uber-prospect Jesus Montero or even his second-fiddle Austin Romine.

The Yankees have a stable full of low-ceiling, high-probability arms sitting in Triple-A and Double-A and could start their offer with a pitcher along the lines of Ivan Nova, Zach McAllister or Hector Noesi.  

The Yankees could continue to build a package around one of those pitchers by adding a hitter like someone along the lines of SS Eduardo Nunez (AAA) 3B Brandon Laird (AA) or 2B David Adams (AA), all of whom are enjoying nice seasons for their respective teams.

A package with one of those pitchers, one of those hitters and maybe another low-level prospect or two would be comparable to what Dunn was traded for the last time he found himself on the block.

Many Yankee fans find themselves overly attached to prospects within the farm system, but part of a prospect’s value is that he can be used to acquire a player that more readily impacts the major league team.  

The Yankees have done a good job in the past five years developing depth at multiple positions so that they can deal for a player like Adam Dunn and not completely decimate the farm system.

Do the Yankees need Adam Dunn?  Almost certainly not—they have the majors’ highest scoring offense, and that has carried them to the major’s best record over the first four months.  

But adding a bat of Dunn’s caliber to an already potent lineup would undoubtedly add some serious pop and would limit the number of plate appearances that inferior hitters would otherwise see.

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The Mets have lost seven of eight on this recent West Coast road trip, and if it weren’t for a bad call at home plate last Sunday against the Giants, the Mets could be in the middle of an eight-game losing streak.

The Mets were a game behind the Braves, and 1.5 GB ahead in the wild card. Now, the Mets find themselves six games behind Atlanta in the east, and three in back of the wild card.

The Mets natives are restless, and once again it is Jerry Manuel’s head that is on the chopping block. If Manuel is fired at the end of the season, here is a list of candidates who could replace him.

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The San Francisco Giants enter the last week before the Major League Baseball trade deadline three games behind the San Diego Padres in the National League West. The Giants have so far won on the heels of their tremendous starting rotation, but there are other pieces needed if the Giants are to return to the postseason. Those pieces? Bats.

The Giants are 10th in the National League in runs scored but still have won eight of their last 10. Now is the time for the Giants to get the big piece at the plate that will help them get over their offensive inconsistencies and put pressure on the front-running Padres.

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By this point, most people in baseball consider the Cincinnati Reds contenders. Critics took awhile to come around, but the continued steady stream of success has altered their opinions.

One of the reasons they are here is a trade from the 2009 deadline. The Reds acquired Scott Rolen from the Blue Jays for Edwin Encarnacion, Zach Stewart, and Josh Roenicke. 

Rolen, a 2010 All-Star, has been phenomenal for the Reds, and the proof is in the record. The team is 6-11 without Rolen in the starting lineup and 45-31 with him present.

The offense ranks sixth overall in team batting average, and fellow All-Stars Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips are each having career years. Johnny Gomes is among the major league leaders in RBI with 64 after signing right before Spring Training as a platoon right fielder. It seems that everything is going right in Cincinnati.

The starting pitching has been excellent of late. Over the last 30 games, the Reds ERA is 2.70, second best in the majors.

Bronson Arroyo (10-4), Johnny Cueto (9-2), and Mike Leake (7-1) have pitched much better than pre-season expectations. Philadelphia Phillies’ ace Roy Halladay has eight losses on the year; the above mentioned trio has a COMBINED seven.

But that doesn’t mean the Reds should stand pat.

The relief pitching has been less than stellar outside of All-Star Arthur Rhodes (1.43 ERA). This is the biggest need for the Reds as the trading deadline approaches.

Closer Francisco “CoCo” Cordero is right at the top of the leader board with 26 saves—yet most fans are petrified when they watch him run to the mound. He has a knack for digging himself into a hole before somehow getting out of the jam.

He has six blown saves on the year, which is not too great for a guy making $12M. Before Tuesday’s perfect ninth inning, he had walked batters in six consecutive previous outings. But realistically speaking, the Reds will not be acquiring a pitcher that will knock Cordero out of the closer role.

The Reds have offered Jason Isringhausen a contract and expect resolution soon, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that he expects to hear from Isringhausen within a day or two.

The Reds watched Isringhausen throw, and manager Dusty Baker told Fay that he liked what he saw. But Isringhausen hasn’t pitched since June of ’09, just before having season ending Tommy John surgery.

It’s a low risk/high reward situation, but that’s not enough. They also signed Russ Springer to a minor league deal—but it’s the same situation. Nobody expects either of these two guys to pitch the eighth or ninth inning for the club.

The problem is the lack of good relief pitching out there.

“There’s not a lot available on the market,” Jocketty told reporters.

Kerry Wood, Jason Frasor, Octavio Dotel, Kevin Gregg, Joakim Soria, Matt Capps, Leo Nunez, and David Aardsma are all available. None of them get me too excited.

But how much of the rich farm system do the Reds want to give up right now? With Arroyo, Cueto, Leake, Edinson Volquez, Aaron Harang, Homer Bailey and Travis Wood, the Reds have one of the deepest rotations in the majors.

Matt Maloney could start for a ton of teams right now, and he has been stuck in the minors. I would assume Maloney and former No.1 pick 1B Yonder Alonso are the top two prospects of value on the trading block.

Is giving up one of the two above mentioned players worth a decent to average reliever? The other way to look at it: is it worth it to give up a few prospects for a chance to go to the World Series THIS YEAR?

Maybe the Reds could slide the injured Bailey into relief when he returns from the DL. He has never done it before, but the starting rotation is extremely crowded at the moment.

Another option is to bring up flame-throwing 22-year-old Aroldis Chapman.

He has hit 102 MPH on the radar gun, but his lack of control leads most to believe he wont be up till September when the roster expands. But there is no doubt he could be the next David Price or Joba Chamberlin—pitchers that simply explode onto the late season scene and ride that momentum into the playoffs.

On the offensive side, the Reds have reportedly expressed interest in Blue Jays catcher John Buck. But other than that there has been little talk about adding to the lineup.

Gary Matthews Jr. was signed last month and has hit .310 in Triple-A Louisville. He might be able to grab a roster spot away from somebody like Laynce Nix or Chris Heisey, but either way it’s not going to be a move that infuses much panic in other contending teams.

The Reds are enjoying their best season in 10 years. The time is right to make a strong push, and if that means sacrificing a top prospect, so be it.

Who knows if Cincinnati will be in contention next year? It’s time for the Reds to stop always thinking next year and focus on this year. Pull the trigger on the best available reliever (Capps) and hope he can help right the biggest problem on this team.

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It’s been depressing, disheartening, and discomforting to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers (49-45), who have not won a game since the All-Star break (0-6).

Last night the Dodgers suffered a gut-wrenching loss to their rival San Francisco Giants when Andrew Torres hit a go-ahead, two-run double off the wall in the ninth inning off reliever George Sherill. 

Don Mattingly then replaced Sherrill with Travis Schlichting, who gave up an RBI single later in the inning to the Giants’ red-hot catcher Buster Posey. 

Then in the bottom of the ninth, after the Giants had taken a 7-5 lead, the Dodgers last chance at recovery—Andre Ethier—stepped up to the plate with a man on second. After hitting a two-run home run earlier in the game, and notorious for producing in clutch moments throughout the season, Ethier had momentum on his side.

But what began as a hopeful 2-0 count evaporated into a demoralizing strikeout for the All-Star outfielder, sealing the Dodgers’ sixth straight loss.

After manager Joe Torre was ejected earlier in the game, Don Mattingly took over, but made a potentially game-changing, managerial mistake in the top of the ninth. Mattingly approached closer Jonathan Broxton, who appeared just moments away from blowing his second save in three days, but then made the fatal error of stepping off the mound only to retreat a few steps back after hearing first basemen James Loney utter a question in the distance.

Rule 8.06(d) in the Major League Baseball rulebook states that only one visit can be made to the mound per inning by a manager or coach without removing the pitcher. Two visits to the same pitcher in the same inning means that pitcher automatically has to be taken out. The rule declares that “a manager or coach is considered to have concluded his visit when he leaves the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher’s rubber.”

Consequently, when Mattingly approached Jonathon Broxton on the mound two separate times, it forced the Dodgers’ intimidating and experienced closer to leave the game and be replaced by Sherill. 

The Dodgers handed the Giants a second victory in a row, but that was just the bitter topping on the cake for the slew of games the Dodgers have thrown away since returning from the All-Star break.

Being swept by the St. Louis Cardinals was a tough blow, but realistically they faced the stellar pitching of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, which completely shut them down. 

But on the other hand, where was the Dodgers pitching? 

Well, it’s where it has been all season, mediocre and inconsistent.

While no team is flawless, the Los Angeles Dodgers most visible and detrimental issue has been their pitching staff. Other than Vicente Padilla, who has proven truly reliable on the mound, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and Hiroki Kuroda continue to struggle and remain in a desperate search of their rhythm.

Even Broxton, a two-time All-Star, continues to underperform. After the Cardinals took two games from the Dodgers last week, Broxton let the third slip away last Sunday in a grueling 5-4 loss.

Neither Dodger All-Star has shined since the break. Other than last night’s two-run home run, the powerful bat of Andre Ethier has been non-existent.

Aside from the burden of a capricious pitching staff, the Dodgers are without a leader. Ethier is too young, Loney too erratic, and Matt Kemp is too unpredictable. Though players like Rafael Furcal and Manny Ramirez have the experience, they have been plagued by injury.

In fact, in the midst of the Dodgers’ despair, Ramirez was just put on the disabled list with a strained calf.

Los Angeles is lagging behind a surprising San Diego Padres juggernaut, a resurgent Colorado Rockies team and the streaky San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers’ bats need to be reawakened and rescue them from this bundle of losses.

A more consistent, dependable pitcher like Hong-Chih Kuo should replace the turbulent Broxton.

Finally, Joe Torre needs to come to the team’s aid and revive it from this losing streak.

There is still a lot of baseball to be played and with an upcoming schedule that looks to be in their favor, hopefully the Dodgers can take advantage and regain their confidence and control.

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In a few surprising roster shuffles surrounding the MLB All-Star break, the Los Angeles Dodgers made several efforts to upgrade their pitching—at least until they seal a deal before the trade deadline.

In an unexpected move on Sunday, the Dodgers optioned RHP John Ely to Triple-A Albuquerque and replaced him on the roster with reliever Jon Link.

Ely is 4-7 with a 4.63 ERA in 14 starts overall this season; however, he has failed to pitch three complete innings in his last two outings.

Link, who has already been recalled three times this year by Los Angeles, has a 3.86 ERA in five appearances and just over four innings of work.

In a more anticipated decision on Wednesday, Los Angeles placed struggling left-handed reliever George Sherrill on outright waivers.

Sherrill has a 7.32 ERA in 34 appearances for the Dodgers this season. He is expected to clear waivers on Monday, at which time he would have the opportunity to accept a minor league roster position. In the meantime, he will retain his roster spot with Los Angeles unless he is claimed by another Major League squad.

One possibility for replacing Sherrill in the bullpen is Jack Taschner, who was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers in June.

In seven appearances with Albuquerque, the 32-year-old lefty is currently 0-0 with one save and a 3.52 ERA in just over seven innings pitched.

However, the immediate priority is to fill the fifth spot in the starting pitching rotation vacated by Ely, and all signs are pointing to James McDonald being called up on Monday to start the home series vs. the San Francisco Giants.

McDonald, who recently added a hard slider to his pitching repertoire, is 6-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 12 games started with the Isotopes.

If all else fails, among other pitchers, Carlos Monasterios could be utilized in a starter-by-committee scenario, at least until Los Angeles decides whether a trade will be made or a deal with a free agent pitcher will be signed before the deadline.

Citizens of Dodgertown still have high hopes of acquiring a big market starter to complete the pitching staff, however all indicators are suggesting that team finances will limit Los Angeles in terms of making a deal.

In yet another move to make room for Manny Ramirez returning from the 15-day disabled list, the Dodgers placed utility outfielder Reed Johnson on the DL with an injured back.

Manny’s return was expected to prompt Los Angeles to make a decision on whether to retain rookie outfielder Xavier Paul, or contemplate the future of veteran outfielder Garret Anderson.

So far this season, Paul is batting .259 with 22 hits in 85 at-bats with the Dodgers while compiling a .308 on-base percentage and a .341 slugging percentage. Paul is also highly valued for his speed, both in defense and on the bases, as well as his strong arm in the outfield.

Anderson, on the other hand, is batting just .178 with 24 hits in 135 at-bats, while registering a .193 OBP and a .274 slugging percentage.

It has been suggested that Anderson may be considered as a potential trade commodity, however it’s unclear whether or not any teams around the Majors would have interest in the veteran outfielder.

Nevertheless, with cash at a minimum, General Manager Ned Colletti will be exploring every possible angle to acquire much needed pitching help.

The MLB trade deadline is July 31.

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The second half of the Yankees 2010 season begins tonight.

The run towards another playoff appearance for the defending World Series Champions also begins tonight too.

While the offense and the starting pitching have been outstanding, the bullpen of the Yankees hasn’t been very good (outside of Mariano Rivera, of course).

I made a suggestion for the Yankees to trade for Octavio Dotel. A lot of you didn’t really agree or want to go for it. I have seen other teams interested in Dotel, but not the Yankees.

George King of the New York Post suggested that the Yankees could take a look at left-handed reliever George Sherrill, who was just waived by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, I know you’re all going to look at Sherrill’s numbers, see that he has the 7.08 ERA, the 2.21 WHIP, the 16 walks and 16 runs in just 20 innings pitched so far in 2010. I know you’re also going to see that he is due the rest of his $4.5 million from his one year contract with the Dodgers.

So why would the Yankees want to take a chance on this guy when he’s been pitching this badly?

It’s because he’s been a better pitcher than this, especially over the last two seasons.

In 2008, he was an American League All-Star with the Orioles, saving 31 games.

In 2009, he saved 20 games with a 2.40 before being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline, then posted a 0.65 ERA in 27.2 innings.

When Sherrill is pitching well, he’s a good reliever. What makes him a possibly attractive candidate for a struggling bullpen is that he’s a left-hander.

Anyone can get a right-handed reliever; they’re considered a dime a dozen. But lefties are considered more valuable, which in Sherrill’s case, might get him onto another major league team and not in the Dodgers minor league system.

Sherrill was placed on outright waivers, so any team can claim him with the Dodgers not being able to pull him back.

The Yankees need bullpen help, especially when trying to get the ball to Rivera late in close games.

We’ve seen Joba Chamberlain fail multiple times in 2010 as the setup man. He took a shut-out performance by Javier Vazquez and squandered it into a 4-1 loss to the Mariners. He’s also blown two games that could have been wins for CC Sabathia (Boston, Cleveland). Joba’s command isn’t there and his demeanor on the mound, at times, is flat out terrible.

It could be time to take Joba out of the setup role. If the Yankees were to make a waiver claim and sign Sherrill, they could put him in the setup role, like the Dodgers did last year with him and Jonathan Broxton.

I know a lot of you might get turned away from Sherrill’s lousy 2010 in L.A., but sometimes a fresh start could be what a player needs, and in this case, being put in the middle of a pennant race.

Last season, Sherrill got to experience his first taste of being a playoff pitcher with the Dodgers, posting a 3.86 and a 1-0 record in the NLDS against the Cardinals, but struggled against the Phillies with a 13.50 ERA.

There was talk about bringing in players from AAA Scranton/Wilks-Barre to try and help the Yankees bullpen and build the bridge to Rivera. However, minor league numbers are just that: In the minors and not in the majors. In the minors, Marc Melancon and Jonathan Albaladejo look like dominators, but when called up to the big leagues, they get figured out and hit around.

Not too many options have been thrown around for the Yankees to add to the bullpen—the team needs to add some arms for the second half, especially if they look to defend and repeat as champions.

The Yankees have 15 days left until the trading deadline; if they want to make a move and get someone who they can throw in now to help, Sherrill can very likely be that man.

The only question is, does Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman have interest in Sherrill?

The clock is ticking for the Yankees to make moves. This could, potentially be a move that will make or break their season.

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It goes without saying that Jeff Francoeur has pretty much worn out his welcome in New York. He is hitting a paltry .253, can’t run all that well, or play other positions. Also, with the return of Carlos Beltran to the Mets lineup, New York is rather deep in outfield talent.

The Mets have Carlos Beltran in center and Jason Bay in left. Right now, Angel Pagan and Francoeur are platooning in right, though the two have comparable OPS stats when facing lefties (.695 for Pagan vs. .737 for Francoeur). As a result, the platoon looks like it will be Pagan mostly playing, rather than anything split.

This leads to one question: What do the Mets do with Jeff Francoeur?

Releasing him is an option that is starting to gain steam. Matt Meyers of ESPN wrote, “Francoeur is still running on the fumes of his former potential, but it’s time to realize that he is what he is: A 26-year-old plodding outfielder with a great arm who is capable of hitting some singles when a lefty is on the mound. Does that sound like a player who can help a team in the midst of a nip-and-tuck playoff race?”

Harsh words, but when you look at his stats, they are not what you expect to get from a right fielder. Since June 1, he has hit .265 with three home runs and 15 RBI. They’re not terrible numbers, but where did the 100 RBI player from Atlanta go?

It goes without saying, at least to me, that Pagan is the outfielder to hold on to as the playoff race thickens, not Francoeur. However, I don’t think his stats are so horrendous that an outright release is necessary.

If he was put on the trading block, then there might be a suitor or two. The Red Sox have enough injuries to their outfield that having Francoeur just as insurance could help then keep pace in the AL East. The Giants may take a flier on him, as they could use an outfielder. They signed Dontrelle Willis, so I wouldn’t put it past them.

Beyond that, I can’t think of all that many teams who would want him. He’s only 26, so there is always the chance that he returns to his old form. The Mets also have Jesus Feliciano, who’s playing quite well and is proving to be a much better option due to his versatility.

The only thing the Mets can be glad about, perhaps, is that the person they traded to get him last year, Ryan Church, is hitting .186 and playing even worse.

I do not see Francoeur being in a Mets uniform in 2011 though, in any case. What’s your take? Should the Mets give up and release him? Should they trade him to salvage any value they can? If there are teams looking at Kerry Wood and Dontrelle Willis, there will be some looking at Francoeur, so it’s worth a shot to me.

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