'Miguel, you are a rock, and this rock I will build my...'

If that's not an indictment on Torre's use of the bullpen, then I don't what is. Also, somehow, the notion that Sturtze was at one time effective has now become an urban legend. Yes, Torre over used to Sturtze, but that didn't lead to his decline. Sturtze was never any good to begin with, which, I guess, really makes you wonder why he was used so much!

NYTIMES**

A National League scout, who did not want to comment publicly on a potential deal not involving his club, said Betemit, a .263 career hitter, was nothing special. But the scout said the deal still made sense for the Yankees because Proctor seemed exhausted despite throwing hard.

"Proctor may come back in a year or two, but at this point, he's Tanyon Sturtze Jr.," the scout said, referring to the former Yankees reliever who needed shoulder surgery after extensive use. "Use him up, throw him out."

Yankees senior vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman, who got a report from pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras, said of Chamberlain's outing: "Great. His first fastball was 95. He hit 100. He got one strikeout with a fastball, one with a curveball and one with a slider."

OMG, Alex. what a find! I just took a quick look through that blog and can already see that it promises hours and hours of great old school nostalgia. Nice.

Looking at this blog it makes me think about DJ Red Alert. He must have a closet full of tapes from his old shows on KissFM. I'd love for him to start posting some of those shows on the web.

ah, to be young again in 1989 and witnessing the true golden age of hip hop!

A bench with J. Molina, Duncan, Betemit, and whichever of the 4 OFs isn't playing is not bad at all.

Eric Gagne to the Yankees for Tyler Clippard, Jeff Karstens, and a C-level prospect.

Eric Gagne to the Yankees for Tyler Clippard, Jeff Marquez, and a C-level prospect.

This is an interesting deal. Coming into the season, I really liked Clippard, but have soured on him since. Karstens doesn't strike me as anything more than a long-man, spot starter, but that actually has some value. Marquez, on the other hand, might have a little more upside, mostly because he is younger.

If healthy, Gagne is a difference maker reliever. The drawback with him is he isn't likely to stick around for next season becaise Mo is likely to come back (I am not interested in the Gagne is leverage in the Mo negotiations argument because I would cringe and then vomit if they used it).

This is really a tough call. I think Clippard, at 22, still has potential, so I wouldn't be comfortable dealing him for a middle relief rental. I think I'd rather use him in another deal and give Joba/Britton/Edwar a crack at being MO's bridge.

12 You're no more surprised by that than I am, JohnnyC.

I still like Clippard as a potential 5th/emergency starter next year behind Wang/Pettitte/Hughes/Joba/ and a cheap Moose.

11 I do like the Betemit trade if it means that bench.

I think that Edwar can be dominant in the set-up role only if Torre lets him. And I hope the Yankees don't fall in love with Joba as a reliever instead of a starter, I would prefer the 150+ IP from him rather than 70.

Ironically (as Michael Kay would say), the Yankees got Robinson from Atlanta in exchange for the late Clete Boyer.

This season, the criteria is based on the top-30, instead of top-20 referenced below. So, maybe, Gagne might have an outside chance at being a Type A if the formula is weighted toward the most recent season.

The two compensation classes will shrink beginning in the winter after the 2007 season; the Type A pool will only comprise players in the top 20 percent of their positions, and the Type B pool will only comprise players in the second quintile (21-40 percent). The rankings come from a formula that MLB and the players' union agreed on in the early 1990s, entrusting Elias with the task of generating the statistical rating for each player. The formula -- the specific components of which no one seems to know -- looks at player statistics from the preceding two seasons, combining both bulk statistics (that is, ones that increase with playing time) and simple rate statistics (such as batting average). It then ranks players in each of those categories and then assigns each player a points value inversely related to his ranking. In this respect, the formula is based on where a player ranks in relation to his peers in each category -- not how the player actually performed. If you led all players at your position in home runs over the past two years, it wouldn't matter if you hit 40 or 80 -- you'd get the same number of points.

By the way, what the f is Torre talking about with the resin bag thing? Alex walked 3 times on Sunday.

Aslo, type A free agents used to be the top 20% according to the rankings, but now it's shrunk to the top 20%. Type B is now 20%-40% instead of 30%-50%.

If it's the former, then based on two seasons of work, I can see that Gagne gets top 40% (top 72 relief pitchers, which is how Villone qualified). But if Gagne has to compete against a pool of "closers," then there's no way he's one of the 12 best closers of 2006 and 2007.

But I really think instead of possibly giving up Horne or even worse, Kennedy for Gagne, the Yanks should look at a less costly, albeit older option - Troy Percival.

Apparently, the Cards have made him available and I doubt that they would ask high-level guys. His numbers:

14.2 IP 15Ks 3.07 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.

He's 38, but we're obviously not thinking about the long term here. A bullpen of Percvial, Joba and Mo would be pretty good I think.

I wonder if Cashman has the means to know what the ranking will be?

Cairo is 33, slugs around .350, with a BFOG+ of 220, which is enough for Torre to overlook his mediocre play.

I don't think it would make or break the Yankees' season at this point, but if upgrading the BUIF is worth even a single win over the last 2 and a half months of the season, then they need it.

Or at least it will keep Cairo from starting at first ever again. Then we would just need to find a new home for Minky.

Email me:jen@nosenseworrying.com

Cashman sets some absurd standard that he considers "equal value" for a bad player so he can keep him and doesn't have to admit a mistake.

I really hope the next six hours prove me wrong and Farnsworth is gone.

Kevin Costner as Phil "The Phranchise" Hughes
Sean Connery as Joba Chamberlain
Charles Martin Smith as Ian Patrick Kennedy
Andy Garcia as Alan Horne

But unless you think that he is so bad that he should be DFA'd regardless of cost (and he may be--I'm not arguing the point), Cashman can't necessarily be faulted for not pulling the trigger too quickly on a lopsided trade. It all depends on what is being offered, and more importantly, how much salary is swapped.

FWIW, Farnsowrth's ERA+ is only 94--or just a little worse than average (though his WHIP is scary bad). Despite our bitching, there are actually worse options in the league, and I assume no one wants Cashman to trade for one of them.

As for figuring out if injury time hurts a guy's ranking, try to find the listings of free agents for the 2000 offseason (ie, after 2000), and look up old friend Tom Gordon. He pitched only 17.7 innings in 1999, and then missed all of 2000 before signing with the Cubs. That might give a clue as to how missing significant time affects rankings, even with the changes.

Despite the bitching about the bitching, I don't care if there are worse options in the league besides Farnsy, I'm not advocating for the them to be made Yankees.

I care little about, say, the Pirates' bullpen, I want the Yankees to have better relievers.

36 Sorry, [sarcasm] Or at least it will keep Cairo from starting at first ever again. [/sarcasm]

However, the general managers in baseball are a bunch of trained chimps that tend to ignore history and become infatuated with a fastball (Exactly how we wound up with him in the first place, now that we think about it)

So, in my opinion, the only way that Kyle Farnsworth is untradeable is if we decide we're going to set standards that make him untradeable.

This team is better off without Farnsworth, and if Cashman is too stubborn to do that, thats very disappointing.

Sorry Alex...too late.

Didn't Proctor come from the Dodgers in the first place? I say do the deal, mostly because guys like Proctor are fairly replaceable. Not that bench guys aren't, but Britton/Edwar can certainly do what Proctor is doing...That is, provide slightly better than league average work out of the BP, strike some guys out, and be maddeningly inconsistent. Joe tends to think of Proctor as better and more consistent than he is, and then is shocked when he can't get guys out every time out...

Mostly, I say do the trade just to shake up the BP. If they can possibly get rid of Farns and trade Proctor, that opens the door for Joba (sigh, don't overthrow big guy, if you get hurt I will give up on baseball), and Edwar/Britton, who are both better than what we have, or at least as good and younger

50 I think Pete Abe said he was on the 7 day DL (they sure do things differently in the minors) with something that wasn't major.

http://i18.tinypic.com/63mb52r.jpg

Also, what the hell is Torre going to do now, without Proctor's arm to destroy?!

DUMP HIM.

What do we gain by keeping Worthless?

It's not an issue of what is 'gained' by not DUMPING HIM--the question is what can be gotten in return. It is quite possibvle that no one will take him, which makes DUMPING HIM rather difficult, no?

If he really is so bad that they should DUMP HIM, then he should simply be DFA'd, since anyone should be able to do a better job. But if that's the case, fault Cashman for not DUMPING HIM via DFA, rather than failing to trade him.