Hank is at it again...

"For somebody of that stature, it would certainly behoove him to be a Yankee, which would probably be for the rest of his career," Steinbrenner, the Yankees' co-chairman, said during a telephone interview Friday with The Associated Press. "I think that would be a great move for him but, of course I'm prejudiced."

Seriously, what does Hal think of this when Hank goes off staying stupid, arrogant things...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5198475

THE ATHLETES
• A (Washington) -- Aug. 12 (vitamin drip/HGH); Sept. 14 (Nutropin/Actovegin)
• B (New York) -- July 22; July 30; Aug. 6 (HGH); Sept. 1 (HGH); Sept. 10 (HGH)
• C (Tampa) -- July 30
• D (Orlando) -- Aug. 3 (Plasma Rich Platelet)
• E (Boston) -- Aug. 3; Aug. 26
• F (Tampa) -- Aug. 8
• G (San Francisco) -- Aug. 9 (possibly HGH)
• H (San Diego) -- Aug. 10 (HGH)
• I (New York) -- Aug. 10 (ATP and ginseng); Aug. 26 (vitamin drip)
• J (Boston) -- Aug. 11 (vitamin drip)
• K (Cleveland) -- Aug. 13 (HGH knee); Sept. 1 (vitamin drip); Sept. 11 (vitamin drip)
• L (Cleveland) -- Aug. 13 (HGH knee); Aug. 27 (HGH); Sept. 1 (HGH); Sept. 11 (HGH)
• M (Cleveland) -- Aug. 13 (HGH knee); Aug. 27 (HGH)
• N (No city available) -- Aug. 18 -24 (called about medical condition)
• O (No city available)
• P (Cleveland) -- Aug. 27
• Q (Cleveland) -- Aug. 27 (vitamin drip)
• R (Cleveland) -- Sept. 1
• S (Cleveland) -- Sept. 1 (vitamin drip)
• T (Washington) -- Sept. 3 (Actovegin/vitamin drip)
• U (New York) -- Sept. 10 (exam)
• V (Cleveland) -- Sept. 11 (vitamin drip)
• W (Cleveland) -- Sept. 11 (vitamin drip)
• X (Cleveland) -- Sept. 11 (vitamin drip)
• Y (Cleveland) -- Sept. 11 (vitamin drip)



Rodriguez = Athlete B?  I'd like to think he is clean but who knows....

So I was thinking of what the 2010 Yankees could look like because I am going through baseball widthrawl. 

Jeter - SS

Damon/Jackson - LF

Teixera - 1B

Rodriguez - 3B

Posada - DH

Swisher - RF

Cano - 2B

Cabrera/Gardner/Jackson - CF

Cirvelli - C

SP

Sabathia

Burnett

Pettitte

Hughes

Chamberlain

RP

Rivera

Robertson

Marte

Coke

Aceves

Melancon

Mitre

Bench

Jackson

Gardner

Pena

Duncan/Montero???

That being said, what do we know?  I expect Joba to be better, Swisher to hit for a higher average and thus produce more, Rodriguez to be better than last year (totals wise) and pretty much a +/- 5% of 2009 for the rest of the squad.  If Posada gets to DH more, look for him to bat for a higher average and produce more. The only question is the bullpen.  With the absence of Hughes (filled by Robertson), the bullpen is softer than the 2009 version.  I think CF is up for grabs again or Girardi might give the job to the Melkman but work Gardner and Jackson in for 30% of the games to see how they react.  I would like to see Cano not lolligag to 1st base on groundball outs, I would like to see Joba/Hughes anchor the backend of the rotation and I would like to see Austin Jackson make the ML roster.

I know this sounds a bit crazy but give it some thought.  AJ on normal rest at home with the DH.  Home/road splits show AJ better at home and against Pedro whom has a really crappy ERA at Yankee stadium (even if it is new).  Doubtful Cliff Lee will have a bad game and in addition to not having a DH, you take Posada out of the mix too. What does everyone think, it might be crazy but I think it's the right thing to do.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4445223

"Baseball's attempts to speed up the pace of the game have taken some getting used to for Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon -- to the tune of thousands of dollars.

Papelbon was fined $5,000 by Major League Baseball for taking too long to deliver his first pitch Tuesday night, according to Boston-area media reports. It was at least the fifth time he's been cited for failure to adhere to baseball's new speed limits for pitchers and Papelbon says he's been fined more than $10,000 total.

"After this, I don't know, man," Papelbon said, according to the Boston Herald, which first reported the fine. "I think they're going to call my parole officer and put me away."

Not too look forward to the post season but you can't help but wonder who the Yankees are going to be playing, the Angels in a 5 game or in a 7 game.  Personally, I think Boston is too good to not make the Wildcard so it will probably be the Angels.  I would love to say the Yankees match up with the Angels better this year but again, it's still the Angels.  I looked at their batting order from last night's game and 1 - 9 are all batting .300 or better....ALL.  They now have the #1 offense (arguably), 1st in batting, runs scored but lack significantly in the pitching department.  The Yankees lead the majors in OPS, OBP, SLG, but also 1st in WHIP, 2nd in BAA and 3rd in OPS against.  In a short series though, anything goes.  I would much rather face the Angels in a 7 game than a 5.  Thoughts?

Saw this post on Peter Abraham's Blog...

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/08/14/ichiro-for-the-hall-of-fame/

"• Ichiro has been an All-Star nine times.

• He has won eight Gold Gloves.

• He is heading for his ninth consecutive season with 206+ hits. He also has gone eight straight years with 100+ runs.

• He is a career .333 hitter with a .378 on-base percentage. Among active players, only Albert Pujols has a higher average and that could change depending on the day.

• Ichiro has played in an amazing 1,387 of the 1,411 games Seattle has played since he arrived in 2001.

• Ichiro played in the postseason once, in 2001. He hit .421 in 10 games.

• He has clearly been one of the best hitters, base-runners and defensive players in the game since the day he arrived."

...thought it would be good discussion.  Here are Ichiro's career stats courtesey of Baseball-Reference.com

I think he has a shot if he plays for a few more years and has 90% of his 162 game average in stats.  These are hall-worthy stats.

Girardi says flat out that he will not compromise a young arm for a short term gain.  Makes sense to me and quite stark in comparisson from Torre who has worn out 3 relievers already.  Speaking of which, anyone who is worried about the Dodgers for a potential WS opponent, I wouldn't get your hopes up, they are starting to fade especially since Billingsly has no signs of returning soon; but, it's only August, there is plenty of baseball left to go.