Folks seem to think that Cashman is somehow on top of things. Except things wouldn't have gotten to this point if he really was.

The GM seems to have this pathetic aversion to giving up anything he values in a trade. So he didn't deal Pavano after season 1, no youngsters of significance since the Vazquez deal, nor even a in-season deal of veteran spare bits. Thus we've seen plenty of waiver wire deals and Chacon-for-Wilson variety.

If the Yanks are going to make any upgrades now, Cashman is going to have to swallow hard and give up something to get something. I just don't see that happening.

The Yankees need to do what most teams do when injuries hit - bring up the next best player on the depth chart. Miguel Cairo shouldn't be on the Yankees depth chart at 1B. For a game or two if somebody is dinged up he's adequate but beyond that level he's not a first baseman. I understand burning an option on a minor league player has a cost but when you are spending $180 million for a .500 team that cost is nominal.

And please please please bring up Omir Santos and send down Nieves. Isn't that what is supposed to happen when you are hitting .116 in late June - you get sent down? My touchstone for weak hitting major leaguers is Oriole SS Mark Belanger and he never managed worse than .158. Chone Figgins had more hits last Monday than Nieves has in 19 games. I beg of you, Brian Cashman, please try somebody new from the minor leagues. I don't care if you have to activate Rick Cerone - make a change.

Who knew the Yanks would miss Sal Fasano and Aaron Guiel? This team is...not good.

I have a very bad feeling about this year.

Am I following a different team from everyone else. Nothing can help this team from the inside until year end. Errors and baserunning blunders aside, some coaching staff, they lack balance, pitching, and a bench. If Alex ain't on a tear, they are ordinary. Not tellin ya what ya didn't know, but the infield experiment was designed for debacle from the start. And how Nieves remains hitting half his weight disturbs me.

Like they said in the good old days, there is always next year.

Don't trade the kids. Bring them up.

Depressing weekend series...just when I started feeling good about how well the team (or at least A-Rod!) have been playing, I have to start downing the Pepto because my nerves are shot!

It's like one step forward...SIX steps back!

:::grumble:::grumble!!!:::

If there is anyone out there who doesnt think A-Rod is yet again the Yanks MVP, please let them step forward. Also, I cant help but think that this team would be so much better with Sheffield in RF as opposed to Abreu. Bobby did a great hob in the second half of last season for the Yanks, but it is apparent that while he was never a slugger in the Sheff mold, he was dangerous last season. Now he is mediocre at best. Whats wrong with Cano? Did he read his press clippings last year when everyone compared him to Carew? Well, he better read those again and figure out whats wrong with his swing. When he goes to left, he rocks.When he tries to pull everything, he is another mediocre bat. Has Matsui seen his best days?

Even teams composed of good players can have a bad year. Yes, having Wil Nieves as BUC isn't good, nor is Cairo at first base. But I think this team is just snake bit this year. You can't expect to win the division every year, or even make the post season every year. It's just a bad luck year.

7 There's some truth to that. However, Cliff's points are all totally valid. Nieves doesn't belong in the ML...DFA Phelps and keeping Basak on the roster going into 6 games without the DH has to rank as one of the biggest bonehead moves I have ever seen...leaving Britton/Henn in Scranton while carrying a loogy who can't get lefties out is mystifying...the list goes on and on.

All that said...I have resigned myself to a short season. Because the alternative is worse -- i.e., we try to fix these holes in July by trading away Hughes and or Joba before the deadline. I really don't care about losing Clippard or Chase Wright. But please, please, please God -- do not trade away Hughes, Joba or Tabata!

Cashman has a lot to answer for, surely, but the roster moves you just referenced, Zero, were almost certainly mandated by Torre. With an off day coming up, what manager in good conscience would have put that line-up out there? Some will claim the players choked, that they're not as good as we or they think they are, or that they don't have that bellyful of guts you need to wear pinstripes...but, simply put, the team took this west coast swing lightly, too lightly. And that starts from the top. This was the most unprepared Yankees team I've seen in, well, since last year's playoffs. Makes you wonder what exactly is being discussed in those pre-series meetings.

It looks more and more like the 21-29 start was the real thing....and the 9-game winning streak was the fluke.

They're done. They're not catching Cleveland in this race. Hard to tell who is more disappointing this season -- the Yanks or the White Sox (who will soon be bolstering the Red Sox even further by giving away Buehrle).

If it's any consolation, the Yanks are 2 back of the Sox in the MLB pythag division :)

11 er, 4 back...

11 Great - I'm still holding out hope that maybe we can win the Pythagorean World Series this year!

Who's going to the Pythagorean victory parade?

The Yankees' Wild Card hopes were always a long shot. If they are out of the playoff race by the All Star game, then Cashman will have to make some hard choices. Now is the time to trade Cano. Teams will soon figure out that he is a mess. Cano in some combination with the relievers (ideally Proctor) may be able to net the Yankees a decent 1st baseman or a young promising young pitcher.

12 13 It's not consolation. But Raf's is still a good point if the issue is Cashman's job performance. It's ludicrous to assign responsibility for the difference between actual record and pythagorean record to the GM, that makes no sense at all.

8Perfect post. I agree 110% verbatim. Our bench and management of the pen is embarrasing. 4Yes, bring the kids up and don't trade them away for a short term solution. I'm a hardy fan, but this is beginning to appear pathetic. I'm not sure if my last sentence is fair because injuries are in abundance. I can't stand it when Abreu and Cano act cool and don't hustle.

15 You gathered by my post that I was taking some sort of consolation in it?

14 I don't know what it is about Cano, but the way he plays seems to be a microcosm of what's wrong with the Yankees - he just looks completely nonchalant & lazy out there, but could probably give two sh*ts because he knows he's not going anywhere under this GM...

Abreu - 22 HRs/yr - 4 HR
Cano - 15 HR last year with 6wks on DL - 3HR
Jeter - 19 HRs five times - 5 HR
Damon - 24 HR last year - 4 HR; physically unable to perform
Giambi - on DL
First Base - no power
Nieves - for reasons only known to Torre, not only on roster, but starts every 5th game.

BTW, the DH remains a great rule change. All of the "strategy" associated with not having a DH is not actually "strategy" (nor is it in any way complicated or interesting), but has to do with working around asking a particular group of players, who are specialists, to do what they are unable to do at a ML level.

Great recap as usual, Cliff. Although, didn't Clemens pitch three innings of relief during that 18 inning NLDS game 4 against the Braves back in 2005? I realize that the record you were referencing was for the regular season only (a good piece of trivia, BTW).

I was listening to the Giants broadcast on XM and they were using the gap in relief appearances in such a way to suggest that pitching in relief was something that Roger had never done since his rookie year. They were saying things like "Clemens is doing something he hasn't done in over two decades" and "Roger is taking the mound in relief for only the second time in his illustrious career". It just seemed to me that those guys should have at least mentioned the fact that he pitched in relief a couple of years ago in the playoffs.

13 Would that Pythagorean victory parade have to take a triangular route?

The Yankees are 7 games behind where they should be based on the Pythag standings -- a reflection of an awful record in 1-run games (4-12). This is primarily luck, specifically bad luck in this case. The Sawx are 2 games ahead of where they should be.

Looking ahead, the big decisions are going to be whether or not to keep 35-year old Posada (who will probably get a 3-year offer from a team like the Angels) and 37-year old Rivera. And, of course, do they sign A-Rod to a 7-year, $200 million extension?

Should the Yankees start playing Posada at 1B and find a catcher? Granted, Posada's defense at C has improved significantly over the past 2 or 3 years, but he can't last forever behind the plate.

Rivera is a guy who they could sign to a 1 or 2 year extension, and I think they'd have to sign him in that case. But, what if he wants 3 years?

And, finally, anyone want to see how a 39-year old A-Rod would do? Of course, he could be going for the HR record -- but not a reason to sign him to such a huge deal.

17 Uh, no. Raf said "If it's any consolation..." 11. And he added a smiley.

I guess I'm just noting that the Pythagorean record is worth paying attention to even though it isn't any consolation, which I think was kind of Raf's point in the first place.

18 Jorgie, I am not entirely sure what your point is with that post, though you do highlight well that the team is hitting for much less power than last year. I would point out a couple of things. first, it's somewhat unfair to put Jeter on that list; his SLG is currently .486, higher than his career average, and higher than 4 out of the five times he hit 19+ HRs. He's hitting with similar power, only with fewer HR and more 2B.

Second, expected to get 24 HR again from Damon would be wishful thinking; his career average (last year included) is only 14/season, with four full seasons of 10 or fewer.

20 Would the Pythagorean Play of the Week have to be a 3-4-5 double play? (I guess it would be the play of the century.)

14 Ah, Simone, I just don't know. Sori part II.

I love what this kid can do, both at the bat and in the field, and would hate to let him go only to see him flourish elsewhere.

That said, I strongly suspect he's got some issues between the ears that might render him impervious to coaching.

I'm not quite sure how driven he is to become a better player.

Still, though, he's got such extraordinary talent.

I'd be inclined to stick it out with him, but I must admit, he does try my patience.

21 It's often suggested, but I am just not a fan of moving Posada to 1B (except maybe 20 or 30 times a season to "rest" him from C). As his bat declines as he approaches 40 y.o., he will not hit enough to warrant using him at first (though he should sill outslug our 1B fiasco from this year). Finding a C who can hit is much harder than finding a slugging 1B, so overall it is less likely (I suspect) that Catcher X + Posada 1B will outperform Posada C + Firstbaseman Y. If it were me, I would try to squeeze as many years catching out of Posada as possible and look for a better alternative at 1B (of course, using the DH and 1B to spell Posada more and more as the years go by).

14 25 Cano's value, it seems to me, is dependent on the rest of the team. That is, even in this frustrating 'bad' year, when he has an OPS+ of 94, he is still hitting around .720 OPS. That's not so good, but not awful for a middle infielder. So, if Cano can be a guy who hits down in the lineup, offering league average (or slighly lower) hitting in his of years, but better than average production in his good years, AND doesn't cost much, AND is only 24 y.o., then there is a lot of value in keeping.

If, on the other hand, he is expected to be a #3 or # 4 hitter, or to repeat his stellar 2006 campaign, or to carry the team, then maybe it would better to trade him while he is young and while (If?) his stock is still very high.

And of course, it would all depend on what players were offfered in return.

21 I'm sold on a 39-year old Alex.

Now that I've seen the man at his worst, I'd feel good about him at 39.

The man never gets hurt (knock on wood) so I'd expect he could easily give you, say, 25 hr/.280 at that age. The rest would be gravy.

If there's anyone to take a chance on, it's him. I'm officially sold.

Jorgie and Mo need to stay because they're our guys.

Transition Jorgie into a DH/PH/1B gig and let Mo pitch until he decides he can't pitch anymore. At the very least, you sign him for what he wants and then get to work finding him an understudy during his declining years.

22 Yes but you referenced MY post in saying it's 'wasn't consolation'. Don't rope me into this whole theoretical feel-good fantasy victories thing... ;-)

20 It would be the first World Series victory parade in history to end where it started. Appropriate because they wouldn't have actually won1 anything, and they could just get on the team bus and go back home...

So, what we're saying is play (and pay) Posada, A-Rod and Rivera until they're completely through. This formula means we're overpaying them wildly in the final years of their new deals with no adequate replacements.

Sounds like a formula for going .500 for the foreseeable future to me.

27 I don't know, mp.

My problem with Cano is that he seems to lose focus. To me, a winning team should be constructed of players who, whatever their individual talents may be, stay focused enough that they maximize their value each and every ab and play.

If this is the kind of player Cano is, I'd say trade him because it's hard to go all the way with guys who can't stay focused.

I don't know, I just feel uncomfortable with a guy in the lineup who might give you a quality ab, but might just give away an ab, depending on his mood, which is what I get from Robinson.

He needs someone to get through to him the way Clemens got through to Schilling, then he could be great.

24 Well played, RIYank. That 3-4-5 double play is certainly more likely than the Joe Dimaggio to Andy Phillips to A-Rod variety (as Chyll Will says, wait for it...)

30 Agreed, but my idea is to pay them and then get to work on developing their replacements.

All three of these guys I think would be valuable both for their contributions (I wouldn't expect any of them to offer zero value to the team, to be "done") and for their presence.

I'd rather have young guys coming up who get to play with and learn from Jorgie, Mo and Alex than not, so if that costs something, all right.

I think the emphasis should be on transition rather than rupture.

20 Well played.

The trade Cano stuff I don't understand. The kid is still just that - a kid.

Maybe last year created unreal expectations, but on a real team he's the number 9 hitter, and he'd be fantastic as that.

Besides, he followed up his uninspired first year (impervious to coaching?) with outstanding defense last year (113 RATE) and has continued it this year (112 RATE).

No doubt his stroke is off but so was A-Rod's last year. It happens. But just as those who called for trading him were foolish, so are the folks who want to get rid of a 24 yo 2B who plays outstanding defense just becuase he's not hitting .340 (again).

29 I referenced yours and Raf's! But this has clearly reached the 'whatever' phase :)

I think trading Cano would be a serious mistake. I'm pretty confident that his stock will rise in the second half, so even if he's going to be traded it's better to do it in the off-season. And I'd rather not trade him. It's not like he's blocking some really good S-WB infielder, and it seems unlikely that he could be replaced with someone who'll give you more productivity.
His June OPS is .832, by the way.

34 35 There ya go, I wouldn't have put in my two cents about Cano if I'd read that first.

34 He is still a kid, Jim, which is why it's hard to say what will become of him.

Perhaps the problem is that I don't want him to just be some number 9 guy. I think he could be great and it would be hard for me to watch him year in and year out failing to achieve what appears to me to be his potential.

From a numbers standpoint, sure, keep him, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about.

Why does this whole year feel like a Yankees team from the mid-to-late 60's?

I'm looking at the rosters from 65-67, and while all the individual names jump out at you (Mantle, Maris et al), the team just couldn't get it together enough to finish above 5th or 6th on a year to year basis.

Time for a lot of new blood, I suppose. But where's the next George Steinbrenner willing to swoop in & make some real changes?

34 'Outstanding' defense is debatable, IMO...

39 I think it's fair to say he's a guy who makes outstanding plays routinely.

I'm really just amazed how fluid he is out there.

I hate watching him go back on flyballs, however. Though he seems to make the play every time, it always looks like an adventure to me.

But his arm, his hands, his pivots, all things of beauty. His major flaw is that he botches routine plays from time to time, though actually I don't think this has happened in awhile now, so that's good.

37 He's a 2B. Soriano created unreal expectations as well.

Me, I expect a .750-.800 OPS from my 2B with above average defense. Anything more is extra sweet gravy. Cano is exactly that, if not more, and extremely cheap for another three years. To use the old Goldman line, if you want to get rid of Cano you have to name guys to take his place. And looking around baseball, I see none.

39 Then debate. Name three other 2B that are better with the glove and pick one decent defensive stat to back up your argument.

37 This is where we often depart ways, Weeping. You seem (if I recall correctly) to dislike when a player "gives up" on ABs or "doesn't play up to potential." But how do you know that a player is doing that? How do we know what we are seeing isn't really Cano's potential, and that last year was a fluke, or he was playing over his head, or whatever? How can we tell when a player grounds out meakly or takes a called third strike that he "gave away" the AB, rather than he was trying his hardest but was just fooled, or he was simply overmatched?

I can only look at numbers and try to tease out of those numbers the past and current value of a player, and use that to predict the future worth of a player. Obviously attitude and work ethic and the like will affect a player's career, but they are pretty nebulous and hard to identify let alone quantify from our perspective. Rather, I think frustrated fans tend to ascribe moral failing to explain a failure in execution ("Dammit A-Rod, how could you strike out when all you need is a fly ball--that's just giving an AB away").

42 Well said. That tendency toward moral assessments is amazing. Most shocking to me is when a professional like PeteAbe expresses it.

Alex Rodriguez is the best 3rd baseman the Yankees have ever had, far and away. He is a joy to watch. His performance has been absolutely astounding.

He needs to get traded. He ain't coming back next year. Hopefully Cashman will wait until just before the deadline and bend the Angels or the Dodgers over the barrel.

42 /nods enthusiastically

Cano plays how he plays -- it doesn't mean he's not giving 100%, he's just graceful and fluid. He makes it "look" easy when he's on and makes it look nonchalant when he's off.

And as has already been stated, I think some people have unfair expectations of him. If he continues to play the pivot the way he has this year, I would keep him for 10 years even if he only hits .270 -- I don't see a whole lot of better options.

If you don't mind the payroll jump, move A-Rod to 1st now and get Beltre from the Mariners.

You'd improve the infield defense, and boost the offense a bit.

(and no, Richie Sexson is not the answer ... and no, I don't have a clue what the Yanks could trade to get Beltre)

44 He is not coming back becuase he refuses to play in NY, or because the Yankees will nev