Sunday, July 31, 2011

Trade Deadline Passes With No Yankee Action

And that was the right move to make for the Yankees.

After Ubaldo went to Cleveland yesterday, the well pretty much dried up in terms of quality starting pitching options that were better than what the Yankees already have.  Hiroki Kuroda wasn't going to agree to a trade, Wandy Rodriguez's contract is a lot to take on and with questions about his ability to transition to the AL he probably wasn't worth the prospect package it would have taken to get him.  And everybody else beyond those 2 who could have been available just plain sucks.

And after the job the 3 Yankee starters did on Friday and Saturday, and with the job Freddy Garcia did again today, the Yankees are in a position where they currently have 6 starting pitchers who are capable of going out and pitching a very good game.  The fact of the matter is, there aren't a lot of teams out there, even among the major playoff contenders, who can say that.  Sure, there's no clear cut #2 starter, and each guy not named CC is just as capable of going out there and blowing up, but again I would say that that holds true for almost every other team out there.

Offensively, the team has already gotten Eric Chavez back, Andruw Jones has come to life, and this weekend provided more proof that Teix and Robbie Cano are starting to heat up.  Swish is on an absolute tear, C-Grand and Gardy are still producing, and Jeter and Martin are chipping in with hits and walks here and there.  Another bat wouldn't have made much more of an impact than the guys in the lineup already are, and of course there is the inevitable return of A-Rod next month.

I, for one, am very happy that the Yankees didn't make any moves at this deadline.  They did not have a glaring need, and they didn't let moves by anybody else influence how they went about talking to their targets or change their plans in terms of what they were willing to offer to get somebody.  The great thing about this team is that it is built to win today, tomorrow, next week, next month, September, October, next year, 2 years from now, and 5 years from now.  The organization is stacked from top to bottom and it was good to see the Yankees go through this deadline keeping that setup intact.

With the deadline out of the way, no we can focus on what's really important.  Whittling away at those magic numbers and making the traditional late-season run against the Fraud Sawx to overtake them in the standings.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How do you figure this team did not have a glaring need?? They have no number 2 starter come playoff time. They will be hard pressed to get out of the ALDS - if - they hold on and win the Wild Card

Unknown said...

2nd most R scored in MLB, 2nd in wOBA, 8th in ERA, 7th in FIP, highest run differential, and a 6.5 game lead against their next closest competitor in the WC race with 3 games in hand. The team is doing just fine.

Everybody knows they don't have a solid #2, but they DO have a bunch of guys who are capable of pitching like one and capable of being solid #3s or 4s when the situation calls for it. Plus they have a solid bullpen and plenty of arms in Triple-A who can come up and make an impact.

And don't forget 2 important names- Montero and Rodriguez. We're going to see those guys in the lineup later this month or September at the latest.

There's no need to jump off the ship yet, especially when there aren't even any leaks.