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Ponson surprised everyone and threw 6 scoreless innings to save a split Friday.

Giese is not a starter.

Rasner may not be a decent #4 guy.

Yanks called up speedster Gardner. Hopefully Melky will wake up and start hitting. Gardner could be a nice little spark the next 2 weeks going into the all-star break.

The Yanks seem to still be just cruising. 44-38 is not gonna get it done.

Didn’t get to see Robertson yesterday but his numbers looked OK. Ramirez threw a shutout inning. I still think the Yanks have a decent pen and moving Joba to the starting role makes sense.

Write this down. Melancon will not see NY this year. He has thrown over 50 IP and is coming off TJ surgery. He will make his inpact in 2009.

Going to the game tomorrow night with my pops. Hopefully Joba will mow em down.

I cannot believe Ponson is starting a game Friday. I always root for the guys in pinstripes so I am hoping he proves me and a lot of other fans wrong by going 6 strong innings.

The Yankees are also starting Giese on Friday against the Mets. Wow, that has to be the weakest starting assignments for a doubleheader in a while. Hopefully the Yankees can shock the Mets and get a sweep Friday.

Cano is starting to look better. He hit .294 in May and is now at .295 this month. He is up to .241 for the season. He is not going to hit .325 but he may be able to get up to .280 and have a good 2nd half.

Jeter is also starting to rake the ball. Seeing him in the .270 BA range looked odd.

With Joba developing and Pettitte throwing well in sucks more that Wang is hurt. The Yanks could have a very good rotation if he wasn’t hurt. I am still rooting for Rasner to be a decent #4 guy but his numbers look real bad in June. I do not think Ponson or Giese is the answer at #5. Will they make a trade or give a kid a chance? Kartsens? Aceves? McCutchen? Horne? Igawa again?

On the world news front North Korea seems to be playing nice lately and will come off the state sponsored terrorism list. If only Iran would play nice too. Keep praying for peace everyone. Miracles do happen.

Tough loss last night. The team looked awful. The 1st inning really set the tone.

Joba is on the mound tonight and needs to get his first win as a starter. No more of this transition talk anymore. He needs to start growing into a legit MLB starter. I am not expecting him to have a shutout every night but a good 7 IP and 2 ER tonight would be nice.

Halfway through the season and Matsui and Damon have minor injuries. This team needs to get younger.

Cabrera is at .251. How much longer until Gardner gets a look?

An addition to the post below. Are you willing to have the Yanks miss the playoffs this year if it means a younger team next year?

Rasner is 1-4 with a 7.00 ERA in the month of June. How much longer does he stay in the rotation?

When will Hawkins be replaced by someone?

Is Ponson really going to start Friday?

Is Justin Christain a legit LF?

Will the Yankees make the playoffs?

Really, who in the organization signed Ponson recently? Was it just an emergency tactic in case Giese stunk, Kartsens got hurt again, Igawa was awful? There are PLENTY of options in the Yankees AA and AAA team to have an serious thought of using Ponson.

Aceves was promoted to AAA recently. Very interesting story, not sure about his talent. Sounds a little like El Duque. Command of 4 pitches, not overpowering. You do not have to throw 96 mph in the majors to be successful. Location is a huge part and strategy.

How much longer does Melky get to “develop”? He is batting almost .250. You look at his career BA, OBP, and SLG numbers are they are all going south. Is he more than just a 4th outfielder? I am rooting for the guy but I wonder if Gardner will be up soon to get a look? You cannot overlook defense and his arm so maybe Melky is the CF of the future. Not every centerfielder is going to hit .310, 30 HR and drive in 100 RBI’s.

I listen to Mike and the Mad Dog on the way home from work and I am growing to not really like them. They are way to negative about the Yanks. I know blind optimism makes no sense but they are so set that the Yankees need to make a move for pitching. I just do not see it that way. Do they have a great staff with Wang out, no. Do they have a good staff, yes. Rasner is a good #4 guy. Pettitte always has a good second half. Chamberlain could be a #1. Moose is a good #2. Kennedy is getting healthy. I think they create drama for ratings.

After a 7 game winning streak, the Yanks hit a bump this weekend against a good up and coming young Red Stocking team. Moose pitched well enough Friday night to get the win. Tough to give up 3 runs with 2 outs.

The bats have also gone quiet lately. This teams hitting seems to be as streaky as my boxer shorts my wife wants thrown out. The can score 37 runs in 4 games and then 4 in 3 games with just about the same lineup. This team also seems to always struggle against young pitchers with good stuff they have never seen before.

The Reds really have the potential to be a good team next year. Of course it is all potential and potential means nothing until you produce. With Harang, Arroyo, Cueto, Volquez in the rotation. Bruce, Phillips, Vetto, Keppinger, Encarnocion (sp?) in the lineup they have a good young team. I believe Griffey comes off the books next year and maybe Dunn.

Day off today as the Yanks go the Pittsburgh for a 3 game set. No reason the Yanks cannot sweep or win 2 out of 3 in Pitt. The Pirates have a young team but do not have the pitching the Reds do.

Then off to the Mets fir a 4 game series (one makeup game at the Stadium Friday). I love how teams and MLB cannot get a decent schedule but can schedule a double header in 2 different stadiums. This of course will get a lot of news and exposure and MLB cares more about that then making sensible decisions.

If the Yanks have to choose between Ponson or Karstens for 1 game of the doubleheader Friday against the Mets. Go with Karstens. Ponson will go no better than 5 innings and give up 4-5 runs. Karstens may not be a lot better but he is younger and has more potential.

The Yanks won their 7th in a row yesterday. It was a good win against a team barely awake. The Yanks are showing they can win games 13-0, 8-5 and 2-1.

The easier schedule continues for a little bit with a series against The Red Stockings and Pirates. It gets a little tougher with the Shleps (Mets) and Rangers. Then right before they break the Yanks have some big series against the Sawx, Rays and Blue Jays.

They have a good chance to hit the mid point at 46-35.

The Yanks moved up the 2nd place in the wold card standings are are still only 4 games out in the loss column for the AL East lead. One game at a time, one game at a time.

For more proof no one really reads this blog I mentioned Britton as a possible call up when Wang was hurt but the problem is Britton is on the DL.

At any rate, big game tonight against a very good young pitcher. Volquez has been mowing them down this year. Friday night games always seem to be strange for some reason. Yanks need to take 2 out of 3 this weekend.

Another win last night, even though it was not very pretty. A win is a win and that is what matters.

Why did the Yanks claim arrogant and not very good Ponson? I thought the Yankees were past stupid moves like this? They have plenty of guys at AAA that could start a game June 27th (doubleheader against Mets). Why bring in a veteran with issues that is not very good anymore? What message does this send to the young kids?

They also claimed this Perez kid with 6 fingers and assigned him to AA? Maybe Cushman and company know something that the rest of the league doesn’t?

Hard Rock cafe at new Yankee stadium? At first I was like cool. Then I realized a cheeseburger is probably going to cost $29.99. Ugh. The crazy thing is, the place will be packed year round. People, STOP buying $9.50 for a beer and coming to the games for social events. It ruins it for the real fans. A game is going on. Stop talking about you rat dog Snoochems, get off your cell phone and watch the freakin game.

Joba has no pitch limit tonight and is primed to blow away Padre hitters. Let’s keep the party wagon going.

Hopefully Godzilla’s knee is ok but he probably needs a little rest. It will give Betemit a chace to hit a little. Still don’t know why the guy is around but he had a decent hitting night last night. He booted a ball in the first on a play I could of made. Pay me 4 million a year and I can look just as good booting a ball.

Nice win last night. The Pads stink but these are the teams the Yanks are expected to beat. Play .500 ball against the good teams, beat up on the bad teams and you have a real good shot at making the playoffs.

I cannot see the A’s and Rays playing as good as they have all season. The Yanks are 3.5 games back in the wold card and 4 in the loss column in both the East and Wild Card.

Need a big game from Rasner tonight. Peavy is a very good pitcher. Hopefully rasner will not feel the pressure and lose his command. He needs to be a good #4 starter the rest of the way.

I still cannot see Geise being a long term solution in the #5 role. He is much better suited for long relief. Aceves at AA is getting a lot of chatter. He needs a start or 2 at AAA before he is called up. They will need someone for the June 27th double header against the Mets. They have options but it will be interesting to see who gets the call. Igawa, Kartsens, Aceves.

Aceves pitched last night at Trenton so 1 start at AAA and he would be on schedule to pitch a game June 27th.

The Wanger will be out until early September. Ugh. Why were my prayers not answered? Is there no God?

Looks like Geise will draw the first straw and makes Wang’s next scheduled start. He is not a long term solution. I saw him pitch in relief when Joba made his first start and he has average stuff at best. He cannot make any mistakes or he will get pounded.

My hunch is they are buying time until Kartsens can get another start or 2 at AAA and then bring him up. It will be interesting to see who they bring up to take Wang’s spot. I would be shocked if it was not Britton. They love calling that guy up and never using him.

The Yanks have shown a lot of toughness this year with A-rod being out, Posada being out, Jeter hurt, moving Joba to the rotation. They are going to have to show a lot of fight to get to the All-star break in good shape.