we have a major opportunity to bury tampa the next 3 days. if tampa sweeps, it could give them enough incentive to make a major move for a player. but if we push them down, alot of things could change the rest of the season and down the road (i.e. not picking up crawford's $10 mil option)...

Here's some rumors and speculation that concerns us -

- From mlbtraderumors.com: Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record reporting that the Mariners reportedly asked the Yankees for outfielders Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner in exchange for Jarrod Washburn. Sounds a little steep for a hired gun/possible rental: 2 young ML-ready CFers that have both excelled this year. I guess this scenario would all depend on how the Yankees felt Austin Jackson was coming along and if they felt he was ready for the show full-time in CF right now. This obviously might change a little bit now based on Gardner's thumb injury but at least we know what the asking price is for Washburn (I'd love to keep Gardy out of this somehow - his injury right now could be a blessing). TMS, you were right the other day when you said something about Seattle being interested in ML-ready talent and not necessarily just minor leaguers. Interesting...

- Erik Bedard was just placed on the DL by Seattle with soreness in his left shoulder so it looks like he's no longer an option for us... Or could this be an opportunity to get him cheaper than expected provided he'll still be able to come back and pitch this year?? Maybe if the injury's not too serious, we pick him up, rehab him and let him come back mid-Sept. in time for the playoffs. The Mariners plan to treat the injury with rest and medication with no plan for him to even undergo an MRI at the moment. 2nd time he's been on the DL this year with the same thing though...

- Despite picking up Adam LaRoche recently, the Red Sux are still engaged in talks with the Indians over Victor Martinez. And also Cliff Lee too apparently. Any deal for either player will have to start with Clay Buchholz and so far Boston hasn't been willing to put Buchholz on the table yet. Apparently, they're interested in Halladay as well. Same deal though - it would have to start with Buchholz and they seem unwilling to include him in any deal.

- Yanks had at least 1 scout in attendance at Ian Snell's latest AAA start. Pittsburgh Pirate righthander has been dominant since being demoted. What's weird is that he apparently asked for the demotion (doesn't look like it was injury-related) and to remain in Indianapolis which is even more bizarre. It appears he's just lost all confidence in the Pirates organization to turn their situation around and would now rather stay at the Triple-A level to continue auditioning for other teams until the Pirates come up with a way to move him. Very odd, almost unheard of situation.. Just looking over his stats since he's been in the league, they're unimpressive to say the least. Still, he's only 27 years old and has always had very good stuff. Fastball in the 92-96 MPH range, good slider and a real good, effective changeup with great arm action. With that type of arsenal, it's baffling why he's struggled so much since becoming a major league pitcher, and in the National League no less. Looks like he's definitely on our radar though. Might prove to be a much cheaper alternative than some of these other guys we've been talking about for the past few days - a move for a talented guy w/o depleting the farm system or compromising our major league roster. Could be a real diamond in the rough here. Worth taking a chance on IMO.

Here's a good article I found on the Yankees/Snell situation:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/224764-ian-snell-another-possibility-for-the-yankees

Some archived mlb.com video of Snell:
http://mlb.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?text=Snell&start=0&hitsPerPage=12&hitsPerSite=10

[Edited by - finestrg on 07-27-2009 7:55 PM]

Yeah Melky and Brett is tough to do this year though I wouldn't say that's an unfair deal in terms of value. We just can't afford to give up both right now.

Snell is interesting but his control is terrible. He's better than Mitre right now though.

Posted by TMS:

i wouldn't give up either Melky or Gardner for Washburn... i think the presence of both those kids has really energized our team & that can't be understated... the team has the best record in the AL right now, no need for panic type moves... i think we should be able to get Washburn for a combo of minor league talent that doesn't include any of our top prospects... for someone like Bedard if he were healthy then definitely we'd have to give up some of our major league ready talent.

agreed - a 5th arm would be nice, but the rest of the line-up is solid and no need to mess w what's working.

how about boston sucking these days btw - you think they blew their load early this year or another run to come? would be nice to take the remaining games we play against them this year to get us ready mentally for playoffs - our team needs to feel like they can beat the sux and a few wins towrds end of the season wouldnt hurt...

ok, who's better: aj burnett or cy young?

[Edited by - djsunyc on 07-27-2009 9:21 PM]

Posted by Allanfan20:

Who's better? Joe Girardi or Jesus?

this is a tough one but what i do know is that how some people wear superman pajamas when they go to bed, superman wears joe girardi pajamas...

Posted by Finestrg:

Could be a real diamond in the rough here. Worth taking a chance on IMO.

Speaking of diamonds in the rough, this kid Mitre could be just that. He's still 28 years old and and has shown flashes of dominance. The only thing that's held him back are some injury problems. If this kid can stay healthy, he just might be the answer, and it won't cost us anything since we already have him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2005 season

In 2005, he started off on Triple-A Iowa's roster, and on May 10, 2005, he was recalled from Iowa, only to be sent down after two games and not pitching in either. On May 24, 2005, he was called up for a spot start. On June 14, 2005, Mitre pitched his first complete game, along with his first shutout in a 14-0 victory over the Florida Marlins against Josh Beckett. [7]

[edit] 2006 season

On December 7, 2005, the Florida Marlins traded Juan Pierre to the Cubs, receiving Mitre and minor league pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Renyel Pinto in exchange.

He pitched 15 games for the Marlins in 2006.

[edit] 2007 season

In the 2007 season, Mitre set many “career bests.”[2] He won a career-high five games.[2] He also set career bests with 27 games played, 27 starts, 149.0 innings pitched and 80 strikeouts.[2] Mitre had a streak of not allowing an earned run in 24.2 consecutive innings.[2] This streak lasted five starts, beginning May 20 at Tampa and ending June 15 at Kansas City.[2] He made Marlins history with his 1.12 ERA in May, only the second lowest for a starting pitcher during May in Marlins history, a feat previously held by Chris Hammond, who turned in a 0.61 ERA in May 1994.[2] Mitre began to see injury problems beginning in 2007, missing two weeks with a blister on his right middle finger, and time later in the season for a strained right hamstring.[2] He had three stints on the disabled list, foreshadowing his 2008 season. [2]

[edit] 2008 season

Mitre did not play in a game in 2008. [9] On July 15, Mitre underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery to fix right forearm tightness. As is the case with all Tommy John surgery patients, he was expected to miss 12 – 18 months.[10] He was released by the Marlins at the end of the 2008 season.

On November 3, Mitre signed a one-year minor league contract with the New York Yankees with an option for 2010.[11]

What I like about Mitre is his consistency. He's going to have a 4.5 ERA (or thereabouts) by giving up 4 runs one game and five the next. He's not going pitch a shutout and then give up nine runs. That's about as much as you can ask from a fifth starter

What I don't understand is why the Yanks haven't tried to lure Mussina out to get ready for September/October

Posted by SupremeCommander:

What I like about Mitre is his consistency. He's going to have a 4.5 ERA (or thereabouts) by giving up 4 runs one game and five the next. He's not going pitch a shutout and then give up nine runs. That's about as much as you can ask from a fifth starter

What I don't understand is why the Yanks haven't tried to lure Mussina out to get ready for September/October

i'm pretty sure Cash is probably asking but Moose is probably happy w/his retirement.