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Congrats to A-Rod and Thank God.  Now we can get back to baseball.  Hughes looks good so far.

The Yankee machine was running well (with a few knocks) but overall pretty well.  Yet Brian Cashman felt it was necessary to replace a few spare parts in the engine.  Well, the Yankees have lost 2-3 since the trade deadline and are 5-5 in the last 10.  If the Yankees had acquired Cliff Lee, I would have said great job.  I’m not to keen on the Kearns and Wood acquisitions, and its going to take some time for me to believe that Berkman can recapture even a fraction of his former self.  This is an important stretch, Toronto, Boston and Texas (immediately following Tampa).  These are playoff (or playoff caliber teams), and so far the grade is a D.  1-2 vs.  Tampa (I have no idea why you rest your team against Tampa) and 0-1 vs. Tor with another AJ blow up and Dustin Mosely as the guy to halt the losing streak.  All this while Alex is completely screwed up in the head.  He needs to hit the HR and get it over with. 

Boston has its pitching lined up, Buchholz vs. Vazquez, Lackey vs. Sabathia, Beckett vs. Burnett, Lester vs. Mosely.  If the Yankees aren’t careful, Boston can be right back into the race.

Yesterday was Take it Seriously… today, it’s keep it simple!  I agree too many parts for Joe Girardi, who can be the Mike Martz of baseball.  Mike Martz was the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams when they won the Super Bowl under Dick Veermil.  I call Martz the “Mad Scientist” because the guy just has too many parts to his offense, and with that Super Bowl victory, thinks he knows more than anyone else… hence the Mad Scientist moniker.  Girardi is in danger of falling into that category with all of these players on the team now.  I don’t know how this affects his magic book that he consults all the time, but for now….  keep it simple.  I didn’t have a problem with guys getting a day off, perhaps he should sit Jeter one of these next two days, or Cano.  Then get ready for the Sox.

I fear that Cashman’s aquisitions at the dealine may do more harm than good.  Girardi has too many options now…and seems to be making too many moves in the last few games. Granted, it’s a small sample size and he is probably just trying to get these guys acclaimated to being Yankees as soon as possible…BUT….he may have done so at the expense of winning games.

I wouldn’t have pinch hit Kearns for Gardner last night. I’ve always liked Kearns, but I thought he would become a much better hitter than he is today.

We are in for two months of terrific baseball.  Everyone plays each other (including the Rangers).  And despite how Girardi played the game Sunday with the “B” team, there is still a series this weekend with the Red Sox.  Take it seriously!  The Red Sox are not out of it, and they are getting healthier by the day.  It will be very interesting to watch the Sox play the Rays and the Sox and Rays play the Rangers.  By the way, I think the Yanks have the Rangers six times.  I’m concerned because they are going to be a “tough out” in the playoffs.  But it all starts with this weekend – and the Red Sox, a series Girardi should take very seriously. 

As for the Blue Jays, the best thing that can happen is for A-Rod to hit the dumb HR already.  If others are like me the HR is only relevant for this one reason: it’s becoming an issue now.  Other than that, A-Rod’s homers are tainted anyway, so who really cares?

If so, maybe the Yanks need to exorcise them. If the Rays were not in our Division a game behind us I think I would more readily appreciate their brand of ball. Young, hard working over-achievers. And they have one of the best managers of the last and current decade, that’s a solid mix for winning games.

As for the acquisitions, Kearns might actually be more valuable than Berkman, more versatile. And Kerry Wood is the message to Joba, thin career ice ahead for you, buddy.

Last night was a perfect example of the neighborhood play on the ball Jeter fielded up the middle and fipped to Cano and relayed to first for no outs instead of a double play.  Now, the runner at first looked like he was safe so I won’t assume the double play, but this call raises something I’ve talked about for years. 

The Neighborhood play has been a part of the game forever.  It is sometimes incorrectly stated to be that the middle infielder does not touch the bag at all.  Not so.  There is actually an art to the neighborhood play and Cano practiced it perfectly last night.  The neighborhood play is that ball and foot on the bag do not occur simultaneously.  Last night, Cano stepped on the bag and an instant later had the ball in his glove before wheeling it over to first base. 

Now before some people yell about calling the play “honestly” and that the runner should be safe – remember this.  If you enjoy watching the contact between baserunner and middle infielder (like I do) when a runner is trying to break up a double play, I think it’s important to give the middle infielder the benefit of the neighborhood play.  The issue here is escapability.  Unless you want to see many all-star middle infielders who make lots of money ending up on the disabled list because of broken up double plays, I think the umpires should allow the fielder to escape and use their judgment in how much leeway they want to give a fielder in time elapsed between foot on the bag and possession of the ball.  Obviously you don’t want ridiculous lapses of time between the two and after watching baseball for a long time, managers know when to argue when a runner is called out and it was “too long.”  Girardi went out last night and probably commented on the neighborhood play, but there’s nothing he could do about it.

Cano had it entirely right last night.  Was the runner safe?  Absolutely, but Cano had all of the other elements right.  He hit the bag, caught the ball a second after leaving the bag.  I think that’s what Girardi was defending, “hey, you want my all star second baseman to get killed out here?”

I for one, still like to see contact around the bag between baserunners and fielders but I don’t want to see guys hurt – these professionals avoid that with the neighborhood play – escaping just in a nick of time

The press is writing that “no one cares” about A-Rod becoming a member of the 600 home run club. Other writers say, “the home run has lost it luster”.  I actually agree. But…I think this helps A-Rod. Providing there are no other surprises with PEDs, he can quietly amass home runs as he pursues the record.