The problem with AJ is not the money since the Yankees have the funds to trade him for no value and pay most of his contract or just release him.  I know that they won’t do that, but this is exactly the problem with AJ.  It means that he takes up a valuable spot on the 25 and 40 man rosters.  They have to deal with AJ in the off season.  He doesn’t belong on the team and you can make the case that he can cost them the pennant or WS ring because he takes up a spot on the roster that say a guy like Nociea can take.

 For this year he will not pitch in the playoffs and he should not be pitching now but they will use him as a starter until he implodes.

 You have to like Granderson’s play and I said more than a month ago that he will be the MVP in the American league.  Adrian Gonzalez has cooled off and Granderson’s numbers are now better than Gonzo (except for the batting average) and will be significantly better by the end of the season.  Forget about Jacoby Ellsbury.  He is a nice player but not the MVP.

 Another point on Nova.  He has tied or set various rookie records for the Yankees for wins, consecutive wins and wins as a starter.  I wouldn’t trade him straight up for the Colorado pitcher who was traded to the Indians. The best trades are those that were never made and this is one of them.  You could make the case that Nova is the number two starter now and could be in the future.  I say this because he has poise on the mound that AJ might have had when he pitched in little league.  He also has four pitches and he is getting better with each outing.

I said before Joe took out Colon that it was a mistake.  Let me say that I do not like the automatic, scientific approach to how Joe and other managers use their bullpens.  Nothing is automatic other than Mo, so I do make an exception for the use of Rivera in situations like Joe used him in last night.  However, this was another exception to my rule where I would have let the starter compete the game.  In this instance Colon was in command.  The walk in the eight inning was not indicative of him losing control and, in fact, he struck out the last batter after the walk and struck out the side in the inning.  He had only 87 pitches through 8 innings.  If there was ever a game when the starter should have been given the chance to complete the game this was the one.  I like Joe G but I he frustrates me often, like last night. 

I agree with Russ and John B. on Swisher and Gardiner.  We are probably stuck with them this year, but they should not be front line players on the team next year (in the case of Gardy) and Swisher should be traded. 

There are bad signs we are seeing ever game and I do not believe that this team will make the playoffs.  They lack focus and energy, which is the result of some distractions (Posada) and mega contracts.  Yes, Cashman was 100% right with Soriano, who is another Pavano with a three-year contract instead of four years.   

What has happened to Jeter’s power?  His batting average is Ok but he never drives the ball except for one game.  I have zero faith in him with runners on base.  I was hoping for him to get hit and take a base. 

In general, this team has more streaky hitters that any team in my memory.  They do not steal bases (Gardiner is vastly overrated in this area) and their defense is below average.  For $200 million this team is poorly put together.  And they are stuck with some long-term contracts (Jeter, A-Rod, Teixeira and CC).  I agree with the comments made about CC.  He wants to go let him.  With his bulk he will be another liability going forward. 

My solution is getting younger as fast a possible. Here are my immediate changes to the team. 

-Let Posada go if he doesn’t start hitting;

-Demote Cirvelli.  He can’t hit and his defensive play is average;

-Bring up Montero.  I don’t want to trade this kid and I want to see what he can do for us now;

-Play Nunez more at short.  His bat is better than Jeter;

-Change the order of the regular lineup to be Jeter, Granderson, Cano, A-Rod, Tex, Martin, Montero, Swisher and Nunez when he is not at shortstop.

I would make all of the players understand that winning and driving in runs is the name of the game and not necessarily hitting home runs.  The players’ swings are too long and it is obvious that they are swinging for the fences.

RIGHT NOW THE YANKEES ARE BORING AND THEY ARE LOSING.  THE ONLY TIME THE YANKEES CAN BE BORING IS IF THEY ARE WINNING GAMES AND THE WS.

 Here is what I would do if I managed the Yankees. Besides mandating that Gardiner bunt twice a game (I am sorry, that is off topic in this post) I would use a relief pitcher for one or two innings as required.  For example, if CC pitches seven innings and I felt he had to come out of the game because of the number of pitches thrown or the difficulty he had during the game, I would go with the next guy in the rotation to pitch the eight inning, say Soriano.  If CC pitched only six innings, then Soriano would pitch both the 7^th and 8^th innings, depending, of course, on how well he was pitching. The next day Hughes pitches six innings (we can only hope here) then I would use Chamberlain for two innings, and so forth.  The reason for this is simple.  To repeat, the only sure thing is Mo.  If Chamberlain is pitching well in the 7^th inning  why not let him pitch the 8th inning?  The chances are if he is on his game in the 7^th inning he may continue with this effort in the 8^th inning.  If you change to Soriano how do you know that he is on his game?   I would also use Robertson in the mix, so I have three guys to pitch one or two innings a game and I would use the lefties as needed to get out specific batters.

 If any one of the three is not pitching well in their first inning of pitching then take him out and use the next guy in the rotation. I know that the Yankees are paying Soriano $15 million, but I only care about winning and not about egos.

 As far as yesterday is concerned, we all knew that Soriano did   not have any location on his pitches, or as Susie Waldman says, he was missing his spots.  Why not go to Robertson before the bases were loaded with one run in?  Because Soriano is Joe’s 8^th inning guy.  Baloney. 

 I was surprised that Joe brought in Soriano when Roberson hadn’t pitched in a while.  I was surprised that Joe did not let CC pitch the 8^th inning.  I was surprised that Gardiner didn’t bunt in the game?  Sorry again on Gardiner.

I like signing Prior (you never know) and, obviously, the connection with the Cub’s pitching coach who is now with the Yankees is driving this deal.

I am not sure of trading for Grienke.  I wish the kid the best but someone with an anxiety disorder is not suitable for playing in the Bronx.  I like signing Martin.  Hopefully he won’t slug someone in Minnesota.

Putting trades aside, I want Gardiner to learn how to bunt (I demand him to bunt two times a game) and I demand that Tex hit occasionally to leftfield to keep the defense honest.  I am not a Gardiner fan so if he doesn’t bunt he is not a everyday player in my opinion.  I agree with John B that the Yankees should try to trade Swish since his trade value will never be higher.

I want to wish all Yankee Round Table loyalists Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

 I agree with the points already made on the website.

 Not mentioned were the good at bats of Jeter.  He was driving the ball last night to center and right field.  It is a harbinger of a big post season from Jeter.  Granderson is a quality player and an even better spokesperson for the Yankees and baseball.  The fact that he reworked his swing in August (he says it was a minor tweaking of his mechanics) speaks volumes of his desire to help the team win.

 How about A-Rod!  He didn’t have a great game but he did have one walk, one hit, a stolen base and a heads-up play when he tossed the ball to second base to try to catch the runner off the base.  The play almost worked.  In addition, he avoided the line drive hit by Cano at first base late in the game.

 I thought the Yankees had to win all of CC’s games, have a lock down performance from Rivera and get clutch hitting from Tex and A-Rod.  So far so good.

 Let’s not count the money yet but we are in a good position one up and having to win two of four with half the potential games at the Stadium.

Other than CC and Mo being perfect the keys to winning are great performances from Tex and A-Rod.  They must deliver for the Yankees to get to the WS.  Early in the games the Yankees must not leave runners  in scoring position.   If the Twins have to pitch around Tex and A-Rod I am confident that Cano and Swish will deliver in the clutch.

 I am concerned about MO, though, hopefully, his ineffectiveness is because of lack of work.  But I understand that the pitching coach saw a flaw in his delivery and Mo was working on it.  Without MO it is over.

 The hitting is erratic and their inability to drive in important runs may hurt them going forward.  What will be the catalyst in the playoffs for them to hit in the clutch when they haven’t been able to do so in the past month or so, or after the All Star break?  I am not sure that they can turn it on just because it is the playoffs, but that is exactly what they have to do, like they did in 2000 but that team was younger than the current team.

 Besides pitching the long-ball hitting of Tex and A-Rod is the key to the Yankees winning games in the playoffs.  The other guys are important but if these two guys remain hot in October they will force the opposition to pitch around them and the other guys can pick up the RBIs.  Jeter is not producing and that is not a good sign.

 The character of this team will shine through or it will not.  They  have the talent but they must be on their game because the competition this year is much better than in years past.  Getting past the Rangers and Minnesota will not be easy this time.  And if they are in the WS facing the Phillies will be very difficult given their two Number One starters and a very capable Cole Hammels.  At this point I just hope they can make the WS and I will take my chances with the Phillies then.

Watch out for the Red Sox.

The Yankees have 10 home games and the last six on the road facing the Jays and then ending the season with the Red Sox.  They play 19 of their games against grade A teams (only 3 games against the O’s may qualify as the easy part of their schedule, but the O’s just won a series from the Yankees).  They have 7 games against the Rays and six against the Jays, who definitely have the Yankees number.

 The Rays play 13 games against the O’s, Royals, Angels and the Mariners.  If the Yankees go 13 and 9 and the Jays go 14 and 7 they win the division.