Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 6/15

My apartment is gross.  I came to that conclusion the other night while watching Game 1 of the NBA Finals.  Between the back-to-back weekends traveling back to CT to see family and friends, and the creative hot streak I've been on with the blog, I have gotten way away from my normal cleaning/apartment maintenance schedule, and the place is suffering because of it.  It's not like I have anybody to bring over or impress, but it's never a great feeling when you feel like you're living in squalor.  I'm passing on my company's annual golf outing tomorrow and that's probably for the best.  I need the next 48 hours to whip my place back into shape.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Nick Fleder of Bronx Baseball Daily profiled 5 pitchers the Yankees could target at the trade deadline.  Not a lot of need for starting pitching right now, but you never know when the injury bug could bite again.

- Brandon C. of Pinstripe Alley scored an interview with Ty Hensley, the Yankees' 1st-Round pick and hopefully soon-to-be prospect.  Seems like a good kid.

- On Tuesday, Brien Jackson of IIATMS mused on the Yankees' current RISP struggles and put a brighter spin on it than most.

- On Wednesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog looked at A-Rod's career numbers and projected where he could end up in the all-time rankings of some major categories when he finally hangs 'em up.

- SJK of NoMaas updated Joe Girardi's team nickname list. I started laughing when I got to Teix and didn't stop until I closed the page.

- Kate Conroy of Lady Loves Pinstripes argued for the idea of trading for Carlos Quentin as a LF plug-in for Brett Gardner.  Like the offense, but Quentin's horrific defensive numbers would have me passing on him for other options.

- Jon Heyman of CBS Sports caught up with Francisco Cervelli and spoke with him about his demotion and extended stay in Triple-A this season. Cervelli still seems plenty salty to me.

- On Thursday, friend of the blog Jamie Insalaco of Bomber Banter expressed his desire to see Garcia go and Eppley stay when D-Rob was activated.  That's a desire that I shared; too bad it was Phelps that got the boot.

- On the other side of that coin, Jesse Schindler of Bleeding Yankee Blue stated that it should have been David Phelps who went down and Garcia that stayed.  I can appreciate the logic there as well, and commend on Jesse on the wise choice.

- And to bring the Phelps discussion full circle, fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite wondered out loud if Phelps should have been the man to go.

- Dan Pfeiffer of NYY Universe looked at 5 MiL guys who should be due for a promotion in the near future.

- Chris Carelli of Yanks Go Yard put together a real good profile of 2nd-Round pick Austin Aune, even getting some feedback from his HS athletic director.

- Mike Axisa of RAB looked at the 40-man roster and pointed out some Rule 5-eligible guys not on it who could be affected by the upcoming trade deadline.

- On Friday, Mike Eder of TYA put CC's fastball under the PITCHf/x microscope to try to dig deeper into the problems surrounding it.  I had a hunch Mike was going to do something like this after myself and others touched on it earlier in the week, and he didn't disappoint.

For the Friday Jam, I'm coming with the heater and hitting you with some Carly Rae Jepsen.  It's real simple, folks. "Call Me Maybe" is the hottest song out there right now, and if you don't like it then you don't like America.  "I threw a wish in the well/Don't ask me, I'll never tell" is a straight fire line, and if Kelly Clarkson had thought of it maybe her career would still be relevant.



You're welcome.  Enjoy your weekends, everybody. If you're in the DC area, the RAB guys and some of my fellow TYA bros will be in town for the series.  Find 'em and buy them a beer.

Gardner's Arm Better Come Back Looking Like This

He's had rest.  He's had rehab outings.  He's had more rest.  He's had "treatment."  He's had MRIs.  Now he's had PRP therapy and a cortisone shot.  If Brett Gardner doesn't come back in 3-4 weeks looking and functioning like the T-1000 with this injured elbow, everybody involved on the Yankee medical staff should have their end-of-the-year bonus taken away.

(Swanny Duckson Productions.  Back and better than ever!)

Nick Swisher Is Not Coming Back

(Smiling all the way to the bank.  Courtesy of Herb Swanson/EPA)

Nick Swisher's future as a Yankee after the 2012 season has been a constant point of conversation this year, as he is the first big internal free agent candidate who could be affected by the future payroll plans.  The conversation heated up this week after the Dodgers announced their new deal with Andre Ethier, with everybody chiming in on how they think the Ethier deal will affect Swish and his value on the open market.  I'm one of the last chimers, so I'll just try to make my point short and sweet.