Kuzul

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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It is always fun to speculate who will make the once-again expanded All-Star Game roster. Since each team has to have at least one All-Star, here are the 30 who are deserving.

This list includes many young stars of the game who should be showcased to the whole nation, as well as some veterans that you might not expect to see at an All-Star Game.

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Who else would be allowed into Yankee Stadium or Citi Field in that outfit?

That’s a rhetorical question, so no need to answer it.

Who else could manage to sneak past security and talk to players inside the clubhouse after a loss?

Maybe only a handful of celebrities come to mind.

Who else could make New Yorkers suddenly consider the middle finger to be an obscene gesture after years of it?

Only a pop singer that talks about monsters.

So is the story of Lady Gaga attending a New York Mets/San Diego Padres game on June 10 and a New York Yankees/New York Mets game on Friday night.

Who knew that the boys of summer’s biggest fan was the “Bad Romance” singer? 

Maybe the infamous disco stick really refers to a Louisville Slugger?

Or “Poker Face” can be attributed to a pitcher’s look at the batter before a key pitch?

In the unlikeliest of possibilities, best to hop on the train and take advantage of it.

The Mets are doing just that on Wednesday when they host “Go Gaga for Wright Night” and hand out 20,000 blue foam hands with the index finger pointed up as the “best finger.”

This promotion hopes to boost third baseman David Wright’s election onto the National League All-Star Team.

Wright needs the extra push to get past Philadelphia’s Placido Polanco.

It also mocks Gaga, who stuck up her middle finger to paparazzi (ah, the irony) during the Mets-Padres game.

In both games the pop singer attended, the home teams lost. Maybe she’s slowly turning into Jessica Simpson.

And what possibly could Lady Gaga talk about in the clubhouse with Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez?

“Hey, I heard you have a thing for blonds?”

“What’s gotten into you this year? A .367 batting average with 14 homers and 49 RBI?”

Initial reports stated that she is now banned from the clubhouse. General manager Brian Cashman denied the claim.

Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before she’ll be penning a tribute to the Yankees during their inevitable playoff run come October.

“I watch your games wearing next to nothing/Yankees and I could write a bad romance.”

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The recent retirement of Ken Griffey Jr. has left a void in the baseball world. As the owner of what many fans have long considered the sweetest swing in the game, Griffey possessed a fluid, seemingly effortless approach that was always a sight to behold.

Close your eyes, envision Junior Griffey getting a pitch to drive and unleashing that smooth stroke through the zone, then that picturesque follow through…beautiful isn’t it?

When considering what it means to have a “sweet swing”, I’m not necessarily thinking of the most effective or unique, as those may be separate discussions unto themselves. Players like Ichiro, Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols have highly productive swings that clearly help them excel against big league pitching.

Although those three future Hall of Famers can certainly hit, none of them possess what I would consider a sweet swing. The definition of a “sweet swing” is obviously subjective and open to debate.

From my perspective, it should pertain to a player with a smooth, fluid stroke, containing as few moving parts and potential mechanical flaws as possible. It should begin with a calm, balanced stance, gracefully flow through the hitting zone as the body weight shifts, then culminate in a follow through worthy of a statue out in front of the stadium.

Now that Griffey and his sweet swing have been relegated to the annals of baseball history, who is now the proud owner of the sweetest swing in Major League Baseball today?

Let’s examine a few of the potential candidates. Please feel free to add any other deserving players to the discussion.

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In my last article I took a look back at the old guard of the New York Yankees: Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.

Then I realized that New York might have a new core four of players: Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain.

All of them won their first World Series together last year and are shaping into quite a nice quartet of players.

Everyone in the world of baseball now knows who Cano is and what he is capable of doing with the bat. As of June 17 he has the highest batting average in MLB at .370 and also leads the Yankees with 14 home runs and 48 RBI.

Cano is off to a great start to his still very young career, being only 27, and will definitely continue to be a force for the Yanks down the road. 

By far the biggest surprise on the Yankees this year has been the 26-year-old out fielder Gardner, who continues to impress even here in mid June so you can’t say he just started hot.

Gardner has hit three home runs and driven in 22 runs, but you can’t simply look at those stats when it comes to him. He has hit .317 for the Bombers, with a .401 on base percentage, and stolen 22 bases so far.

Gardner looks to be coming into his own this season, and is proving to be a tough out at the plate for any pitcher, lefty or righty. If he keeps this up all year, he might just be calling left field in the Bronx home for a long time.

Now to the pitching side, where the Yankees seem to be happy with Chamberlain in the bullpen and in the set up role right now.

Being just 24 years old, Chamberlain has seen time in the rotation and now back again in the bullpen, where I believe he is best suited for. He has struggled at times this season, as evident in his 4.76 ERA, but most of that came from a few bumps in the road and he has settled down some recently.

Chamberlain has also picked up some saves this year when Rivera couldn’t go, and it looks like he might be the heir apparent to the great closer. Who knows what the future holds for Chamberlain, but if he can be half as good as Rivera, then it will be a bright one.

That brings me to Hughes who has firmly planted himself into the starting rotation for years to come this season.

The future ace of the Yankees, has gone 9-1 with a 3.11 ERA this year, after beating out Chamberlain for the fifth starter spot in the rotation.

Many thought that Chamberlain was built more like a starter than Hughes and that he should be in the rotation. Well I think the Yankees made the correct choice, and are extremely pleased with what they are getting out of him right now.

Only time will tell if this new core four will be better than the last, but so far they are off to a great start, and will be the faces of a new Yankee era.

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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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Coming off a sweep of the Astros that propelled the Yankees into a tie with the Rays for the best record in baseball, New York faces a stiffer challenge this week as they play a three-game set with the defending National League champion Phillies.

However, Philly doesn’t appear to be the same team the Bombers beat in last year’s Fall Classic, as they have lost 14 of their past 20 games. The Phils have averaged just 2.4 runs per contest over that stretch and most of these struggles have come since they were accused of stealing signs by using binoculars in the bullpen.

Charlie Manuel’s bunch has been shut out an astounding six times since May 22 while they currently rank 20th in the Majors with a .258 batting average.

Pitching, meanwhile, continues to be a strength, as Philadelphia’s 3.94 ERA puts them 10th in baseball. The upcoming series opens with a tremendous matchup on the mound.

Tuesday, June 15—CC Sabathia (6-3, 4.01) vs. Roy Halladay (8-4, 1.96)

If Sabathia only had to face the Orioles, he’d have no problem winning a second American League Cy Young Award. This season, the big lefty is 4-0 with a 2.73 ERA against the Birds, including a seven-inning, two-run effort in his last outing on Wednesday. But versus everyone else, Sabathia is a more pedestrian 2-3 with a 4.69 ERA.

The former Brewer is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Phillies, but allowed just five runs in 13 and 2/3 innings (3.29) over two starts during the ’09 World Series.

Placido Polanco has had success against Sabathia, going 14-for-43 (.326) with seven extra-base hits, but Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, and Wilson Valdez are a combined 0-for-12 off him in the regular season. Of course, Utley did smack three homers off the southpaw last fall.

Halladay’s transition to the NL has been expectedly easy, with the right-hander leading the league in complete games (5) and innings pitched (101), while ranking second in wins, fourth in ERA, and a WHIP (1.02). His perfect game at Florida on May 29 was the icing on the cake.

The Yankees were happy to see the former Blue Jay head to the NL because he is 18-6 with a 2.84 in 37 games (35 starts) against them. He was 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA at the old stadium and went 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA in two starts at the new ballpark last year.

Halladay has handled Derek Jeter (22-for-91, .242, 24 K’s) and Robinson Cano (10-for-48, .208), as well as Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner, who are each 4-for-17 (.235) off him.

But Alex Rodriguez is 23-for-77 (.299) with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. In addition, Curtis Granderson is 5-for-12 (.417).

Wednesday, June 16—A.J. Burnett (6-4, 3.86) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.80)

Burnett has allowed 10 runs in 12 and 2/3 innings over his last two starts (both losses.) His problem has been the long ball as he’s surrendered four of them over that span.

The key to Burnett’s success this season has been keeping the ball on the ground. He is 4-0 with a 1.34 ERA when he induces more ground balls than fly balls, but he is 2-4 with a 6.18 when the opposite occurs.

The right-hander is 5-8 with a 4.75 mark in 17 games (16 starts) versus the Phils and had one excellent start and one terrible start against them in the World Series.

Brian Schneider is 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles off Burnett, but Ryan Howard (2-for-12, .167, 6 K’s), Werth (1-for-7, .143), Ross Gload (1-for-6, .167) and Shane Victorino (1-for-6) have all struggled.

Kendrick pitched two scoreless innings of relief on Friday, but his other 12 appearances this season have been as a starter. He has never faced the Yankees and did not appear in last year’s postseason for the Phillies. However, he did dominate Mark Teixeira, during the first baseman’s two stints with Atlanta, to the tune of 1-for-12 (.083).

Thursday, June 17—Andy Pettitte (8-1, 2.46) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-6, 5.03)

Pettitte continued his dazzling season during his last outing against the Astros when he yielded just two earned runs in 7 and 1/3 innings to take home the victory.

The veteran currently ranks in the top four among AL pitchers in wins, ERA, WHIP (1.10) and winning percentage.

The left-hander is 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA in seven regular-season starts against the Phillies and beat them twice in the ’09 Fall Classic.

Werth is just 1-for-13 (.077) with five strikeouts when facing Pettitte, while Howard (1-for-9, .111) and Utley (1-for-6, .167) struggle as well. Polanco, on the other hand, is 3-for-7 (.429) with a homer.

Moyer’s ERA jumped more than a run after giving up nine in just one inning of work at Fenway Park on Friday. He is now 3-4 with a 6.69 ERA on the road this season and has only had moderate success in the Bronx, going 6-5 with a 4.84 mark in 19 games (18 starts).

Overall, the 47-year-old is 10-9 with a 4.78 ERA in 36 career games (34 starts) against the Yankees.

Facing Moyer, Jeter is 22-for-68 (.324), A-Rod is 21-for-54 (.389) with six homers and 12 RBIs, Jorge Posada is 15-for-45 (.333) and Teixeira is 11-for-36 (.306). Only Granderson (1-for-7, .143) seems to have a tough time versus the left-hander.

Follow me on Twitter at JordanHarrison .

Jordan Schwartz is one of Bleacher Report’s New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com.

Jordan can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

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New York Yankees brought out their brooms in the Bronx, as they swept the Houston Astros over the weekend.

The Yankees were without Arod, but you wouldn’t know it by the way the team beat-on the Astros.

Jorge Posada actually brought two brooms; one broom was to hit two grand slams. The extra broom was to shut-up everyone who had doubted his abilities over the last two weeks.

Along with Jorge, the Captain came through big time. Jeter had two homers in Saturday’s game alone and seems to have found his swagger at the perfect time.

Ramiro Pena who is taking on Arod’s role, had two RBI ‘s; Brett Gardner continues to defy all odds driving in two runs and raising his batting average to .317; and rookie Chad Huffman got his first big league hit over this very productive weekend.

Also, Robinson Cano had a milestone, hitting his 100th home run in pinstripes. Cano has been ridiculous this season and it has been a treat to witness.

Actually, the whole Yankees team played like they were defending something again. It was refreshing to watch, as well as needed after an ugly May.

The Bombers are entering part two of not just the World Series , but the Subway Series as well.

Against the Phillies, both teams are playing for bragging rights. The Yankees for keeps, and the Phillies as proof.

As for the Mets, New York City street credit is at stake. This should be motivation enough. The Yankees cannot lose the series to the messy Mets from queens, again.

They know it, the fans know it, and the Mets will know it soon enough.

LATEST NEWS:

The New York Yankees have caught up with the Tampa Bay Rays for first place, both shares a record of 40-23.

Rays should be afraid because the Red Sox are playing well too.

It’s about time the two owners of the American League East gave the over confident and cocky Rays a good kick in the ass.

The Yankees are back; it’s in the air.

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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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Robinson Cano doesn’t get the publicity of Yankee teammates Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Mark Teixeira, but he is having the best season of any Yankee position player in 2010.

He is currently leading the majors in hitting with a .376 average and is fourth in the majors in runs batted in with 46 with only Miguel Cabrera, Vladimir Guerrero, and Evan Longoria ahead of him.

Cano leads the majors in hits with 88 with Ichiro Suzuki next with 83. He is tied for sixth in home runs with 12. Only Cabrera has more total bases than Cano with 145 with Cano one behind at 144. His .418 OBP is sixth best in the majors among players with at least 150 at-bats.

He is fourth in the majors in slugging with a .615 mark. Only Cabrera, Justin Morneau, and Andre Ethier have a higher percentage. For sake of comparison, Albert Pujols is No.16 on the list at .557.

Cano is fifth in OPS with a 1.033 mark. Alex Rodriguez is way down the list with a .843 mark.

He almost leads the Yankees across the board in most offensive categories. He leads in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, all four offensive percentage categories, and extra-base hits.

All of his current offensive percentage numbers are career highs. His 88 hits with over 100 games left in the season should insure his second straight 200-hit season.

His .312 batting average is No. 12 among active players. At 27 it may be too young to even consider Cano as a future Hall of Famer, but if he keeps playing like he has in the past six years, he could very well have a plaque on the wall in Cooperstown along with many other Yankee greats.

When he hits his next home run, it will be the 100th of his career, but he should reach the 200 homers plateau a lot sooner since he has hit 37 since the start of the 2009 season.

Cano hits even better away from Yankee Stadium with a .380 road average. He has hit consistently all season, hitting .400 in April, .336 in May, and .455 in June. His batting average in night games is an amazing .421.

Even when playing defense he has done well, with only one error in 305 chances with the season over a third over.

If Cano continues to play at this level all season, he should receive consideration as the AL MVP, but for right now he is definitely the MVP for the Yankees at this stage of the season.

Around the Diamond

Boof Bonser allowed four runs and two hits while not retiring a batter in the 11-0 loss by the Red Sox to the Indians. MLB.com doesn’t even list his ERA, as it is so high since he has not retired a batter this season, as that was his first appearance.

Mark Teixeira may be finally breaking out of his season-long slump after having five hits in his last nine at-bats in his last two games after going 0-for-10 in his previous two games. His .224 average matches his season high when he was hitting .224 on May 19.

Jonathan Sanchez (4-5, 2.82) is continuing to be a victim of little run support when on the mound. He has lost games this season when he gave up one run in seven innings, one run in five innings, one run in eight innings, and two runs in seven innings. His four wins have come in games in which he gave up no runs or one run.

The Rays have outscored their opponents 28-6 in their last three games and have outscored the Blue Jays 19-1 in their last two games, allowing the Blue Jays one run and six hits total in those games.

David Price (9-2, 2.23) needs only one more win to match his 2009 total, when he posted a 10-7 record with a 4.42 ERA. It took him 23 starts to record the 10 wins last season while needing only 12 starts to win nine games in 2010.

The two Chicago teams, who have not been hitting well for most of the 2010 season, broke out last night, scoring a combined 24 runs and hammering 28 hits, including eight home runs. The Cubs posted a 9-4 win over the Brewers with Carlos Zambrano winning his first game as a starter since April 10 despite walking five batters in five innings. The Cubs moved to within 5.5 games of the second place Cardinals in the NL Central.

Derek Lee hit his 300th home run of his career, while Geovany Soto and Marlon Byrd each hit two home runs in the contest.

Meanwhile, at Cellular Field in Chicago, the White Sox blasted the Tigers 15-3 behind the pitching of Freddy Garcia (6-3, 4.82) and a 16-hit attack that lifted the team average to .245 after being .225 earlier this season.

The White Sox scored seven times in the fourth and seventh innings. Brent Lillibridge hit a three-run, pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning in only his second at-bat this season. All 10 White Sox who hit in the game had at least one hit.

Omar Vizquel had three hits and drove in three runs, while Ramon Castro drove in four runs, including a three-run home run. Gordon Beckham had his first extra-base hit since April 29 when he doubled.

Garcia pitched well except for solo home runs given up to Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera. The problem for the White Sox has been consistency since they have one winning streak of over two games, when they finished a three-game sweep over the Mariners on April 25.

The only other time the White Sox have won as many as two games in a row is when they defeated the Marlins on May 22 and 23. They have alternated losses with wins over their last four games.

John Danks takes the mound tonight for the White Sox and has lost five of his last six starts. His mound opponent, Max Scherzer, struck out 14 in his last win on May 30 against the A’s but lost his last start against the Royals and has only one win since April 18.

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