Did Joe Hurt Hughes' Trade Value Last Night?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The main talking point from last night's game, besides the obvious one of how awesome a win it was, was Joe's decision to go to the hook quickly with Phil Hughes in the 6th inning.  With 2 outs, a runner on 1st, a 1-run lead, and Hughes at only 80 pitches, Joe had seen enough and went to Boone Logan to face lefty-hitting Mitch Moreland.  Moreland hit the second pitch he saw from Logan for a 2-run homer to deep center and the lead was blown, setting up the eventual 9th inning dramatics.

Personally, I think Joe made a bad call yanking Hughes and going to Logan when he did.  To me it was a classic case of the matchup binder winning out over what was happening on the field, and I thought the situation on the field gave Hughes (and Joe) enough wiggle room to allow him to face Moreland and take one more shot at ending an inning that should have already been over.  At the same time, I can understand why Joe made the move.  Hughes had given up 2 consecutive hits on balls up in the zone, he hadn't been all that sharp, and if Hughes gives up one more hit to blow the lead everybody is going to be killing Joe today for not going to the 'pen.  It was a lose-lose situation for him either way and unfortunately the decision he made turned out to be the wrong one.

Yanks Taking The "Innings Management" Approach With Michael Pineda. Why Didn't I See This Coming?

A small scare went up last night after Michael Pineda was removed from his latest Triple-A start after just 3 innings.  They were 3 solid innings, with no runs allowed, 3 hits, and 3 strikeouts, and his pitch count was only at 39.  After stating that they wanted to give him more time to stretch out his pitch count, Pineda was done after not even half of that count.  Not a good look.  Any possibility of an injury was quickly shot down by Brian Cashman's explanation that "innings management" was the reason for the early exit.

Of course.  After saying for over a month that I expected Pineda to come back (when he was fully ready) and be immediately inserted into the rotation, I never once considered the possibility of the Yankees actually taking the cautious approach I suggested way back in September of last year.  It's become the new flavor of the month branch-off of the modern "limiting the workload of young pitchers" school of thought, and looking at Pineda and his situation with the Yankees from 30,000 feet, it actually makes a lot of sense.

Jeter Resumes Baseball Activities

On Monday, we were told that Derek Jeter had been standing in a batter's box tracking pitches while guys threw their bullpen sessions.  Not exactly a strong indicator that he was going to be ready to come off the DL on Saturday when he's eligible or that he was even close to returning.  However, yesterday's pregame activities brought much better news as Jeter reportedly hit, took ground balls, and ran in the field during team batting practice.

From not moving and not even swinging a bat to basically full baseball activities in just a few days?  Sounds like it could be another push to get Jeter back on the field as quickly as possible.  You'd think the Yankees would have learned their lesson on that approach by now, but I guess at this point there's really nothing to lose.  It's 100 games into the season and I'm a firm believer that Jeter is going to be bothered by nagging little injuries like this quad strain from here on out.

The team has been getting some contributions from Nunez and Lillibridge lately but they could still use an upgrade.  Jeter can be that upgrade whenever he's cleared to play again so they might as well play him.  If he gets hurt again, at least they've got better backups available than what was there while Nunez was hurt.

Game 100 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 TEX 4

(Phil be bummin'.  Courtesy of the AP)

Blowing leads sucks.  Always has, always will.  It sucks even more when it happens this season because the Yankee offense is so weak it really can't be counted on to make a comeback.  Comeback wins are awesome, especially when they're on the road and in the 9th inning.  The Yankees haven't gotten to experience too many of those games this season due to the aforementioned offensive weakness.  Well Yankee fans got a little taste of both last night, in one of those games that makes you want to fold the tent on the season and one of those wins that leave you with just a little bit of hope that somehow this group can turn it around and make one more run.

Game Notes:

- Nice little 2-run inning for the Yankees in the top of the 3rd, started by Melky Mesa and Austin Romine's back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning.  Ichiro chipped in with an RBI single for the other run.

- They tacked on another in the 4th with some of the smallest smallball you can play.  Leadoff double by Vernon Wells, moved to 3rd on a sac fly, scores on a fielder's choice.  Yankee baseball, ladies and gentlemen!

- Phil Hughes avoided early trouble with a pair of inning-ending double plays and was generally OK through 5 innings.  He put a few guys on here and there but made pitches to get out of trouble.  That's usually a good sign with him.

- Whatever was working for him through 5 fell apart in the bottom of the 6th.  After a Brent Lillibridge error, Hughes gave up an RBI double to Adrian Beltre and an RBI single to Elvis Andrus on pitches left up in the zone, and then just like that his night was over.

- Hughes was only at 80 pitches, but Joe didn't like what he saw and went to Boone  Logan to face Mitch Moreland.  Nobody liked what they saw after Moreland hit the second pitch he saw from Logan for a 2-run homer to give the Rangers the lead.  Really no explanation or justification for Joe's decision there.  He blew it.

- Somehow, someway, after being retired 15 batters straight since the 4th, the Yankee offense managed to come back in the top of the 9th.  Wells got it started with a walk, moved to second on a Joe Nathan wild pitch, and scored on an Eduardo Nunez RBI triple to tie it.  Lillibridge followed up with a single and it was Mo time.

- Strikeout, strikeout, groundout.  12 pitches, 8 strikes.  Day at the office.

Waiting For The Other (Horse)Shoe To Drop

(Courtesy of Steve Nesius)

I've made a point to keep the Alex Rodriguez steroid talk to an absolute minimum on AB4AR.  I think it's boring and I don't think it serves any purpose other than to give the irrational A-Rod haters reason to blab, but in light of what went down yesterday with Ryan Braun and what the implications now are for A-Rod, I think it's appropriate to talk about it now.

Yanks Closing In On Soriano

It's not a blockbuster move by any means, but it's more than the small, replacement-level moves the Yankees have been making all year, so that's something.  According to George King of The Post, the Yankees are close to finalizing a deal with the Chicago Cubs for outfielder and former Yankee Alfonso Soriano.  The Cubs are reported to be paying almost all of Soriano's remaining salary through next season so as not to affect the Yankees' 2014 payroll plans and New York is expected to send back a mid-level prospect in return.

I wrote about Soriano way back in December and touched on him again in February and nothing has really changed since then.  He's hitting .256/.286/.471 (.323 wOBA) with 17 HR this season and has been really hot in the month of July.  He still registers as an above-average corner outfielder and he hits left-handed pitching (.346 wOBA/116 wRC+ in 118 PA against LHP this season).  With the Yankees still starving for righty power, this is a move that makes sense.  It's also one that does little to elicit any real emotion.

On the one hand, the Yankees sound like they're close to addressing a major need and I look like I'm going to be right with at least one of my predictions from last week.  On the other, they'll be adding another 30-something guy on a multi-year deal who's basically a glorified platoon player.  That sheds a little light on what their strategy might be heading towards the deadline and it's not exactly an inspiring move.

Game 99: TEX 3 NYY 0

(Courtesy of the AP)

If you were too distracted by the Ryan Braun stuff and the conspiracy theory wheels turning about what it means for A-Rod, you didn't miss much.  The Yankees pretty much no-showed against a returning Yu Darvish and the Texas Rangers in the opening game of this 4-game series.  The fade is really starting to set in with this crew.  If no serious moves are made in the next 9 days, you can put a bow on the season.

Game Notes:

- Tough start for Ivan Nova.  In more ways than 1.  He gave up an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st after a clearly blown safe call on an Ian Kinsler stolen base.  It would be the only run Texas needed.

- Darvish didn't look to be missing anything after his DL trip, or maybe the Yankee lineup just sucks that bad.  The only baserunner he allowed through the first 4 innings was Brett Gardner on a leadoff HBP.

- Actually not a bad outing for Nova.  He was in and out of trouble all night but managed to keep the deficit at just 1 through 5 innings.  If he could have thrown a few more early strikes it could have been a different night for him.

- Nova seemed to tire in the 6th, giving up a second run on a walk and a double, and then came out and surrendered the insurance in the bottom of the 7th when he left a fastball up to Nelson Cruz that Cruz creamed for a HR to center.

- The Yanks put 2 on in the 5th against Darvish, but that was all.  He was out after 6 and they didn't generate anything against the Texas bullpen.  9 innings, 28 at-bats, 3 hits.  All of them were singles.   Pathetic.

Yankees Need More From CC Sabathia

(Looks like a man searching for answers.  Courtesy of the AP)

Stop me if you've heard this one before.  CC Sabathia walks onto a pitching mound, struggles to command his fastball, and gets knocked around for a bunch of hits and runs.  It's been a common theme for CC from his first start this season to last night's stinker and it's starting to become a major problem for the rotation and the team.  His diminished velocity is old news at this point, and whether his command problems are due to natural age-related regression, a change in mechanics, an undisclosed injury, or a combination of the 3 is irrelevant.  What matters is that CC is 21 starts into the season and showing no signs of improving his game as he adjust to life without the plus heater.  In fact, he's gotten worse as the season has gone on.

As The Quads Strain...

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Yankees lost an absolute heartbreaker in Boston last night, a game in which their offense surprisingly picked itself up off the mat and climbed back into a game that they probably had no business being in.  If there was a tougher way to send the team off to Texas to possibly watch their postseason lights get turned out, I'd hate to see it.  Look around the locker room after the game and there would have been plenty of worthy candidates for the finger of blame, including the guy in the manager's office, and after a loss like that what is everybody in Yankeeland going to be talking about today?  A couple of old guys with strained quads.

MiL Rehab Roundup: 7/22/13

Another day, another batch of injury updates.  Not even sure if it's fair to call this a "MiL" rehab post since nobody in it is officially participating in any MiL games but whatever.

Derek Jeter- Reportedly stood in the batter's box and tracked pitches against Andy and Phil the other day.  Not exactly strong "baseball-related activities."  No timetable for this return yet.

Alex Rodriguez- Same story.  Official diagnosis is a Grade I quad strain.  All we know at this point is that he's not coming back for the Texas or Tampa series.

Curtis Granderson- Has been taking real BP for at least a few days.  Next step is sim games.

Francisco Cervelli- Has been doing throwing drills for about a week and started taking dry swings with a bat last week.  Still a while away, but no more reported issues with his hand or elbow.

David Phelps- Been throwing bullpen sessions in Tampa without issue.  The plan is for him to make a rehab appearance on Tuesday.

Jayson Nix- Played in a sim game yesterday according to Joe.  Seems like the closest to returning.  Yaaaayyyyyy...

Game 98 Wrap-Up: BOS 8 NYY 7

(Courtesy of the AP)

With the Jeter and A-Rod injury winds howling in Yankeeland, the best thing they could have done was get a win to get out of Boston with a series victory.  They had CC Sabathia on the mound coming off an extended rest over the break, they had the very hittable Ryan Dempster starting for the Sawx, and they had the same lineup that started to get some things going on Saturday out there again.  The talk about what's going on off the field has overtaken the talk about the on-the-field issues over the last few days, which may not be a bad thing for this group.  After last night's results, I think that's probably going to change.

Game Notes:

- It was a quick start for the Yankee offense, thanks to more bad D by the Sawx.  Dempster and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each threw balls away in the top of the 1st that led to 2 runs, but as is usually the case nowadays the rally died in the middle of the batting order.

- CC worked around baserunners in the first 2 innings.  He couldn't work around a Jacoby Ellsbury leadoff double in the 3rd.  Dustin Pedroia singled him in to get Boston on the board and help drive up CC's pitch count.

- His slider was diving off the table, but CC's command of both his fastballs was off and it started to get worse in the 3rd.  He was leaving balls over the plate and up in the zone and it really bit him on a 3-run home run by Mike Napoli to give the Sawx a 4-3 lead.

- While CC continued to get knocked around for 3 more runs through the 5th, the offense disappeared against Dempster.  After needing 50 pitches to get through the first 2 innings, he only needed a handful over 30 to get through the next 3.

- The lineup finally knocked Dempster out in the 6th and pulled within 2 on a bunch of singles.  But for every positive offensive action there is an equal and opposite reaction these days and in the 6th it was a Lyle Overbay first-pitch swinging, inning-ending double play.

- After tying it up in the 7th, the Yankees looked poised to take the game in the late innings.  They left at least one runner on base in each of the final 3 frames, including another Overbay GIDP.

- Bullpen did all they could through 10.  Major props to Shawn Kelley for his work, but it made no sense that he was in before Mo.  It made even less sense that Adam Warren got the ball in the 11th and he gave up the walk-off loser to Napoli.

Trade Deadline Prep Week Recap

The trade deadline is just 10 days.  The Yankees are starting to carve out their position in the market and for once it's not a strictly buyer position.  The immediate and short-term futures of this organization can be changed in the next week plus and there are a lot of things that could play out, some outcomes more realistic than others.  If you missed any of the prep posts from this past week at AB4AR, here they are again:

Monday- The Needs

Tuesday- The Targets

Wednesday- The Rumors

Thursday- The Pipe Dreams

Friday- The Predictions

Problem With A-Rod? (Updated)

As first reported by almost the entire beat writer contingent and just confirmed by the RailRiders themselves, Alex Rodriguez will not be in the lineup today on what was supposed to be the final day of his rehab assignment before being activated off the Major League DL tomorrow.  This comes after A-Rod was forced to DH yesterday instead of playing third base due to tightness in his left quad.  Rodriguez went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts in that game and now it appears that this quad could be more problematic than first thought.

It's too early to tell right now, but all signs are pointing towards A-Rod not being activated for tomorrow's game in Texas.  The Yankees are already going through a tricky quad injury with Derek Jeter and they were quick to put him on the DL on Friday morning when they had the opportunity.  They'd look pretty foolish trying the same thing with A-Rod and having him wind up back on the DL too.  I'm sure we'll get more from the team about this as the day goes on.  I don't expect it will be good news.

** UPDATE 11:58 AM- Via Joel Sherman, A-Rod is going back to NY today to get an MRI on the quad.  Not a good sign. **

** UPDATE 6:55 PM- Directly from the team itself, A-Rod has been officially diagnosed with a Grade I quad strain and will not be traveling to Texas to join the team tomorrow.  He will instead go back to Tampa for rest and treatment, and with his 20-day rehab window expired the Yanks may have to get creative to get him back ready to play. **

Game 97 Wrap-Up: NYY 5 BOS 2

(Yankee defensive play of the game.  Maybe of the year.  Courtesy of the AP)

It was an ugly start to the Yankees' second half on Friday night.  Their starting pitching wasn't great, their offense wasn't good at all, and they dropped another game in the postseason race.  Things got worse earlier yesterday when they lost another player - Zoilo Almonte - to the DL and made some moves to call up more scraps to add to the heap.  They needed something good yesterday to get a little positive momentum going, a win perhaps, and they had the right guy on the mound to help get it done in Hiroki Kuroda.  He showed up in a big way today and in a much appreciated change of pace he got some offensive support on his way to his 9th win of the season (still not enough for Jim Leyland).

Game Notes:

- The offense had a few chances early.  Brett Gardner led off the game with an infield single and got doubled off on an Ichiro lineout, and they couldn't come through with runners on second and third in the 2nd.

- Hirok was up to the challenge of covering them though.  He worked around a HBP in the first thanks to some bad baserunning by Daniel Nava and had his fastball and slider working really well early.

- The Yanks blew another opportunity in the 5th when Eduardo Nunez was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third.  John Lackey helped redeem them by throwing a wild pitch to move Luis Cruz to second and Gardner capitalized with an RBI single to give New York a 1-0 lead.

- The smallball success continued in the top of the 7th against a tiring Lackey.  Nunez doubled, moved to second on a Chris Stewart groundout, and scored on a single by Cruz.  Another single by Gardner put 2 on with 1 out and 1 in to end Lackey's day.

- Kuroda helped his cause covering the plate on a passed ball in the 5th to keep the game scoreless, then hurt it with a wild pitch in the 7th that allowed a second run to score.  Still, 2 runs in 7 against the Sawx and handing it over to D-Rob and Mo is a job well done.

- D-Rob and Mo handled things easily in the final 2 frames, thanks in part to a spectacular catch-throw double play by Chris Stewart to end the 8th, and the Yanks evened up the series.

A New Roster Move Low Has Been Reached

That's how I feel right now.  Like Lloyd Christmas in "Dumb And Dumber."  When Zoilo Almonte hurts his ankle and hits the DL and his replacement is Melky Mesa and his 36.7% K rate in Triple-A fresh off the Triple-A DL, and Alberto Gonzalez is being DFA'd to clear a spot for the return of Thomas Neal to do the righty DH duties, that's when I've had enough with this dump.  Non-stop injuries and non-stop terrible injury replacements.  It's reaching comically-bad levels of low now.  Just as uninspiring as uninspiring gets.

Joe's Old Mother Hubbard and he's just got nothing in the cupboard.  It wouldn't shock me if A-Rod's entire body just separated from itself in his final rehab AB tonight and one of Jeter's legs fell off.  At least it's not all bad news.  Still got that Overbay-Wells-Hafner trio locking down the 4-6 spots in the order...

P.S.- Yep, absolutely mixed in a slight "Major League 2" reference just lines after the "D&D" one.  And I did it with a hangover, a possible seasonal allergy attack, and a charred hand.  No DL trips for this guy though.  Rub a little dirt on it and get back out there.

Game 96 Wrap-Up: BOS 4 NYY 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

Second half started the same way the first half ended, with the Yankee pitchers giving up untimely home runs to dig a whole for the offense and the hitters doing little to try to climb out.  Same shit, different day.  Do I even need to recap that?

F*ck Yeahs:

- Nobody: Maybe Brett Gardner for scoring a run on his own with a bunch of stolen bases, but he got tossed early for throwing his helmet after a bad third strike call and he didn't get a hit.  Nobody had more than 1 hit.

Oh Nos:

- Andy Pettitte: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.  Another so-so outing for Andy, who looks very much like a 41-year-old pitcher on his last legs and likely will for the remainder of the season.  4 runs shouldn't be a guaranteed loss but it is these days and that's the number of runs he always seems to give up.  Putting his team down 3-0 on 2 early HR in the first 2 innings was not helpful at all.

Next Up:

Second game of the series is this afternoon, on FOX I believe.  Hiroki Kuroda and John Lackey are the starting pitchers.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 7/19/13

Short day for me today.  Playing in my buddy's charity golf tournament again, although I'm not exactly sure playing golf with a burned-to-shit hand in 90+ degree weather and humidity and dodging thunderstorms is going to be much more fun than slacking off at the office.  It'll probably turn into "drunkenly driving the cart around while my buddy hits in the pouring rain" at his charity golf tournament again pretty quickly.  Now onto the links!

- On Tuesday, Chad Jennings of LoHud had a really cool collection of quotes about Mo from a bunch of his fellow ASG relief pitchers.  There really might not be a more universally-respected person in all of pro sports than Mo.

- El duque of It Is High... checked out a recent SS Staten Island Yankee game and offered up his thoughts on the prospects he saw, including 2013 1st rounder Eric Jagielo.

- Mike Ashmore of Thunder Thoughts interviewed former top Yankee prospect Mark Melancon about his rise to Major League All Stardom after struggling early in his career.

- Abe Froman of NoMaas compared this season's ASB run differential to past years to see if there's a precedent for success based on the team's current -2 differential.

- On Wednesday, Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily unveiled his post-draft top 50 prospects rankings.  Lotta new faces mixed in.

- Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes proposed an interesting trade scenario involving a couple names not being discussed much.

- On Thursday, Mike Axisa of RAB weighed the "buy or sell" option for the Yankees as they approach the trade deadline.  The poll results might surprise you.

- Jason Cohen of Pinstriped Bible had an interview with fringe pitching prospect Brett Gerritse.  Love me some prospect interviews.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog investigated the idea of starting pitchers, specifically CC Sabathia, "pitching to score."  Most CC haters would probably agree with this analysis.

- William Tasker of IIATMS/TYA looked back at former Yankee pitcher Ed Figueroa and his glory days of the 70s.

- On Friday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits wondered how much A-Rod has left in the tank now that his return is mere days away.

- Matthew B of Yankees Fans Unite had 5 big questions about the Yankees heading into the second half.

Going with a little Local H for this week's jam.  Awesome band.  Saw them in a crummy little bar tucked into a strip mall a few years back in Naperville with a buddy of mine.  They packed about 400-500 people into a place that probably should have only held about half of that and Local H played for about 2 hours.  $10 ticket for that show and 6-buck buckets of Old Style.  That'll get it done.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Trade Deadline Prep Week: The Predictions

(Will the original "Yankee 5th Starter Competition Pageant" winner still be in pinstripes at year's end?) 

Guess that Chase Headley thing was never going to work out, huh?  Good thing I didn't expect it to, although I did tip my hand a little with a couple of my pipe dream guys.  If the Yanks added Lucroy and Stanton at the deadline, I think I'd take a day off of work to celebrate.  I also don't expect that to happen, but I do have some ideas about what I do and don't think will happen before the July 31st deadline.  The Yankees can't sit and be inactive, that's the only thing they can't do.  Whether they are buyers, sellers, or both, they need to do something.  Before the deadline passes and the dust settles, here's what I think they'll do.

BREAKING: Derek Jeter to the 15-Day DL

Guess that quad strain was a little more serious than we thought.  Via Andy McCullough, the Yankees are putting Derek Jeter on the 15-day DL today, retroactive to July 12th, and will call up Brent Lillibridge to take his place on the active roster.

This doesn't spell good news for Jeter moving forward, as the team did attempt to talk down the seriousness of the injury after he left that game while still acknowledging the DL was a possibility.  It all adds up to Jeter not being ready physically to handle full games and chances are he won't be physically ready when he's available to be activated next week.  A 40-man move will have to be made to clear a spot for Brent Lillibridge.  No word on what that move is just yet.

A-Rod To Return On Monday

Alex Rodriguez went 1-4 last night in his first rehab game with Triple-A, clubbing a home run to right field and hitting another deep drive to right in his first AB.  The bigger A-Rod news came off the field later last night when the team officially announced that they plan to activate Alex on Monday when his 20-day rehab window expires.  Obviously that comes with the big "if" asterisk, as this weekend's Triple-A slate includes 4 games.  Rodriguez will likely play in all 4 of those games and will need to come through those games without issue before the decision is made.

A-Rod himself said he was starting to feel better at the plate in the last few games and what he's done supports that claim.  If he comes through this weekend without any physical issues there's no reason to not activate him.  He'd be a big boost to the lineup and give the team at least a little more right-handed punch.  At long last, we might finally get to talk about A-Rod's on-field activities again.

P.S.- Makes me sick to my stomach that Randy Levine gave the word to Bob Nightengale, like he jinxed it.  I just feel like everything Levine is involved in turns to absolute dogmess, so it wouldn't shock me at all if A-Rod blew out his knee on Sunday.

Yankee Rotation Out Of The Break Says Something

When the Yankees start up play tonight, they'll do it with some ASB-aided adjustments to the rotation.  They've lined up Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda, and CC Sabathia to pitch the 3 games in Boston, in that order.  Despite what Joe says, there's definitely more to that decision than just making sure guys get extra days off.

Simply, it shows that the Yankees still don't trust their young pitching.  Big series out of the break, against the team they're chasing in the AL East who also happens to be their blood rival, and Joe doesn't want Phil or Ivan anywhere near that situation.  Nova's been the best starter in the rotation the last 3 turns through and Phil is at least as likely to give the Yanks a better start than Pettitte will if not more likely.  But once again, the Yanks are making the statement that they're going to ride their veterans to the promised land.

Which is not to say it's a bad strategy.  CC and Hirok are the team's top 2 starters, and Andy has more of a big game reputation than Hughes or Nova.  And maybe there's a bit of trade strategy mixed in there too, like not wanting Hughes to get shelled in a nationally-televised game to hurt his market value.  We've seen it happen before against Boston.  Hughes would be tagged to pitch one of the next 2 games in the Texas series and he's a much better pitcher out there in Arlington than he is in Fenway.

Good strategy, bad strategy?  Guess we'll find out in 3 days.

Second Half Turnaround On The Horizon For Mason Williams

(Courtesy of Cliff Welch/MiLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It’s been a trying season for top prospect Mason Williams. There was his DUI arrest in late April, a slow start at the plate after that carried over into the early part of June, and questions about his attitude and hustle popping up again in scouting reports. He’s missed games both due to minor injuries and undisclosed team reasons this season, and as recently as a month ago had a season OPS in the mid-600s. Since about the middle of June, however, Williams has started to find himself at the plate and is currently in the middle of a pretty wicked 2-week hot streak. He got knocked off track early, but Williams now appears primed for a strong finish to his 2013.

Trade Deadline Prep Week: The Pipe Dreams

(Love me some Lucroy.  Courtesy of the AP)

The past 3 days have been spent on the realistic parts of the Yankee deadline position.  We know what they have, we know what they need, we know who they're after, and we know what stories are out there right now.  There's not much more to do about that other than watch it play out and hope Cash can pull off some magic, so why not expand the mind a bit and think outside the box of trade reality?  There are some higher-profile players out there who would be even better additions for the Yankees now and for the future than the players already discussed this week.  If Cash wanted to get bold, and the other GMs were willing to listen, here are some big swings the Yanks could take to try to really upgrade their team.

How's That Early Second Half Schedule Looking?

The Yankees resume their regular season tomorrow night and they'll start it deep in enemy territory with a 3-game weekend series in Bahhhston.  At 51-44, they currently sit 4th in the AL East , 6 games behind the Sawx (5 in the loss column) and 3 games behind both the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays for the Wild Card.  As luck would have it, the Yanks play their first 10 games of the second half against those 3 teams in what could be the make-or-break stretch for their postseason hopes.

After Baahhhston, the Yanks will travel to Texas for 4 before heading right back east for a 3-game home set against Tampa.  Then it's travel off day to the West Coast, 2 games against the Dodgers, travel off day, 3 at San Diego, 3 at the White Sox, travel off day, and 3 back at home against the Tigers.  21 games, 15 on the road, the first 10 against the 3 teams they're chasing in the playoff race, and the final 3 against the reigning AL champs.  The extra off days are nice, but that's still a tough stretch.  There's the soft underbelly of the 6 against the Padres and White Sox, but after going 3-4 against KC and Minnesota last week even those games can't be called gimmes anymore.

The end of this first second half stretch will bring the Yankees to August 12th.  The trade deadline will pass in that span, and perhaps a player or 2 will return from the DL.  By that Monday, we should know if the Yankees are serious postseason contenders or packing up the tents for the season.  They don't necessarily have to gain a ton of ground in the next 3 weeks, but they can't afford to lose much more.

Trade Deadline Prep Week: The Rumors

(Do teams still really want this guy?  Courtesy of the AP)

We know what they want and we know who they're after.  Time to get to what's being said about both of those things out on the market.  The Yankees have been connected to a number of players and teams in the last week, most of them already mentioned in the previous posts.  What's being said out there on the rumor mill might lend some clues as to what moves the Yankees are trying to make before the deadline or it could be smoke, mirrors, and shadow games.  That's the fun and frustration of the pre-deadline rumor mill.  What stories are floating around out there right now involving the Bombers?  And more importantly, what do they mean?