Eh, a forgettable night for Phil Phranchise. He let in a run in each of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, and then let 3 score in the 6th, when he only recorded two outs. Phil walked 2, let up 10 hits, the 7 runs (6 earned), and only struck out 3.  Hughes was on extra rest, which might’ve been a part of this, but he had been pitching to a 4.21 ERA in June before tonight, so it might be that this every-5-days thing is starting to catch up with him. Either that, or opposing hitters are starting to learn how to hit him now, with more video from his starts available. Whatever it is, not a great night for Hughes, whose innings will be limited over the next month or so as the Yanks try to preserve his arm.

On the good news front, Nick Swisher smacked two homers, and yeah, that’s about all the good news. Oh, I guess two perfect inning from Chan Ho Park and 1.1 scoreless innings from Boone Logan were nice touches as well. Still, a loss is a loss, and the Yanks will just hope they don’t follow this one with another.

Cliff Lee v. Phil Hughes. That’s tonight’s matchup. Those are also the likely 2 and 3 starters in the Yanks’ ’11 rotation (sorry AJ, but you’ll be the best number 4 in the game). Sometimes, its nice to sit back as the team faces a guy who might very well be on this ballclub next year, and daydream about the future. But for the time being, let’s just hope Hughsie comes out with the W over a guy who pitches so dangerousLee. (My apologies for the puns).

Dave’s back from his mysterious family matter that forced him to leave the ballclub for about a month. Just guessing, but I would think AJ Burnett was the first guy in the clubhouse to give him a big ‘ol bear hug when he walked into the stadium today.

You may or may not be aware that the Mets and Marlins are playing a series down in San Juan, Puerto Rico, former vacation home of the Montreal Expos. I like the “on-location” idea that this series represents. MLB has also played opening series in Japan and exhibition games in China. The NFL has started playing a game a year in England. Moral of the story: pro leagues are trying to generate interest in their respective sports abroad/ in other areas. I’d fan this on Faceboon if it had a page, because nothing’s better than giving the gift of baseball to people who don’t typically see it being played at the Major League level. The logistical problem is, of course, taking home games away from a ballclub (hello, Toronto Blue Jays), dealing with jetlag for the really far away places, and finding a stadium that makes sense. With those things in mind, realize that the far-away games would have to be either Spring exhibitions or Opening Series. Also, games abroad need to be spread evenly among Major League teams. Here’s a few ideas for on-location games:

Hawaii: Whatever the stadium is where the Pro Bowl was so frequently played would probably be a fitting spot. Aloha Stadium, that’s the name of it. How hard would it be to get a ballfield on the field? (Seriously….I have no idea. I might be being totally unrealistic.) Talk about a place that’s robbed of big city sports. Hawaiians have no teams in the Big Four leagues, mostly due to that whole lack of proximity thing. I mean, I’m sure Hawaiians aren’t complaining, they’ve got the good life, but it couldn’t hurt to have a series down there to, at the very least, give the Flyin’ Hawaiian (Shane Victorino) a chance to play in front of some other Hawaii-natives.

New Orleans: Yeah, they’ve got a minor league team, but NO is a big city, that really could have a baseball team. The only southeastern ballclub outside of Florida is the Braves. The Cards and Texas clubs aren’t too afar away, I suppose, but generally Louisiana is in no man’s land. They deserve to see a big league game.

Venezuela: Do you know how many big leaguers are natives of Venezuela? Politics aside, it would be fun for those guys to get a homecoming, and for young Venezuelans to get a little reassurance about the stage they’re so longing to play on.

Tennessee: I just think it would be really cool for Peyton Manning to throw a first pitch to Todd Helton, who was his backup QB at U. Tennessee. That’s really the whole reasoning for this location.

London: Yeah, the NFL’s already been there. What I’d really want to see is if the whole firm thing translates over to baseball. Green St. Hooligans become the River Ave. Hooligans?

Rio de Janeiro: Have you seen  the athletes on Brazil’s soccer team? With the newfound emphasis on athleticism, baseball scouts would love to see some  young Brazilian soccer players hone their baseball skills. What better way to introduce the sport than bringing an MLB club down there to inspire ‘em?

Sydney, Australia: Do I even need to explain this one?  Australia: Awesome

India: After the whole Million Dollar Arm contest, it dawned on me that there are so many people in India, someone has to have the skills to become a big leaguer. So, why not haver a game played in the world’s second most populous country?

That’s what I’ve got for now, comment if you’ve got any other cool ideas for on-location ballgames.

Mark Feinsand over at the Daily News has an article up today about Alex and his Quest for the 763rd Home Run. Mostly, the article discusses A-Rod’s multiple $6mm bonuses that come with his 660th, 714th, 755th, 762nd, and 763rd homers, if they end up happening. Mark makes the argument that ever since A-Rod’s little PED problem with my second least favorite reporter, Selena Roberts, those milestones seem to be not so big a deal. After all, he used ‘roids, right?

With all due respect Mark, sure Barry Bonds never admitted anything, but was there a man on earth who didn’t think he was drinking HGH out of the bottom of his Wheaties bowl every morning? Was it not somewhat obvious that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had something in their bloodstreams in ’98? Isn’t Andy Pettitte’s great start this season celebrated despite that whole Mitchell report? Doesn’t Coors Field come to its feet every time Jason Giambi comes to the plate? Didn’t a couple Dodgers fans try to make Manny an All-Star starter last year (campaigned and everything) AFTER he’d been dealt a 50-game PED suspension? Ryan Franklin’s a fan favorite closer in St. Louis…and he was in the Mitchell Report AND suspended for a positive test back in the day. Former Yank and fan favorite, Jerry Hairston Jr. was in that report, but who didn’t jump up and down when scored that big run in the ALCS last season? Is Brian Roberts, despite an admission of  one-time use, not still the most popular player in Baltimore?

I guess, what I’m getting at, is that since steroids have been so prominent over that past two decades, it seems like it almost doesn’t matter if you used ‘em or not. Don’t get me wrong, players like Ken Griffey Jr. and Derek Jeter, who stayed clean, deserve all the more respect for being stars in this day and age, but an admission to using ‘roids isn’t going to stop any of A-Rod’s potential milestones from being a big deal. He came clean, what more can you ask?

Word has it that there is a mystery team in on Cliff Lee. Said mystery team may be the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals, you might’ve heard, already have Chris Carpenter (2.63 ERA/1.13 WHIP), Adam Wainwright (2.47 ERA/1.02 WHIP), and Jaime Garcia (2.27 ERA/1.26 WHIP). If they added Lee, they would instantly have the greatest postseason rotation of all time. I’d expect them to destroy whoever they met in the playoffs, and even the Yankees might not be able to beat that rotation in a 7 game series. A four-headed monster like that would make St. Louis instant World Series favorites.

Everybody’s favorite trade rumor junkie, Tim Dierkes, spent some time brainstorming Big Z-to-anywhere-but-the-North-Side scenarios earlier today. Most of the ideas, he admitted, weren’t plausible. He made one suggestion though, that I actually see some merit to: Big Z to Queens for Ollie P. and Luis Castillo.

We all know that when Milton Bradley went to Seattle and back came Carlos Silva, everyone was all “Oh Jack Z, so brilliant, so smart, so genius!” Then Bradley didn’t do much in Seattle, and Silva’s tearing up the NL Central. Perhaps, Oliver Perez could find himself enjoying the N. Side too.

Let’s look at $$$ for one second:

Via Cot’s we learn that Oliver Perez will make $12mm this year, and the same amount in ’11 before he hits free agency. Luis Castillo will make $6.25mm this year, and that same amount next year. Carlos (not to be mistaken with the baby from the Hangover, who is much more well behaved) Will bring in $18.875mm this year, the same amount next year, $19mm in 2012 (pending the accuracy of the Mayan calendar), and then he has a vesting option based on Cy Young votes in ’11 and ’12 that would bring him back for $19.25mm in ’13. That option, as of now, looks pretty unlikely to ever vest. Wee bit of math here $12mm + $6.25mm = $18.25mm. The difference in salaries is pretty much negligible; the only issue being that Zambrano is signed for a year longer than Luis and Oliver.

Why does this deal make sense? The Cubs have Mike Fontenot and Ryan Theriot, who are both equal to or better than Luis Castillo with the bat and the glove…right now at least. Luis had a great year in ’09 with a .302/.387/.346 line. He’s been under-performing thus far in ’09, and is currently nursing a bruised heal, but he obviously has potential, and thus could be a handy player to have on the club when MF and RT struggle. Also, he makes the salary swaps fairly even, which helps get the deal done. As for Ollie, he’s obviously done in NY. The fans are mad at him, he wouldn’t go to triple-A. He’s pitching terribly. He needs a change of scenery (a la Silva). Ollie P. obviously can be a great pitcher, but he just isn’t right now. Carlos Z has had his last Chicago meltdown. Lou Pineilla and Jim Hendry want him out; he’s Milton Bradley 2.0. Zambrano has pitched well in recent years and is only 29. He’s still got talent, but, he needs out of Chicago. So swap two struggling starters, throw in a 2B to even it up a bit, and you have a deal. The Mets need another arm anyways, and there’s a better chance that Zambrano pans out for them than there is that Perez does. If you’re thinking: oh no, who would play 2B at CitiField, look at Ruben Tejada who isn’t doing too shabby filling in right now: he’s hiting .333 in his past ten games. The 20 year old is young, and could prove to be a part of the squad for years to come.

Last note, for the Cubbies. Ollie and Luis hit the market after 2011 (Big Z not till 2012). This is helpful, actually, because the team looks like it could begin to re-tool/re-build sooner rather than later. Ted Lilly, Derrek Lee, and Xavier Nady are free agents at year’s end. Manager Lou Piniella is only under contract through this year. Aramis Ramirez has a player option for ’11, and a team option for ’12. Kosuke Fukodome hits the market after ’11. Silva has a mutual option for ’12. John Grabow is off the books after ’11 too, while the Cubbies hold a $3mm option on Bob Howry for next season. Moral of the story: the Cubs have lots of guys coming off the books in the next two offseasons, and getting rid of Perez and Castillo then (rather than waiting a year to say goodbye to Zambrano) would give them a bigger budget to start replacing their free agent departures and start piecing together the next team that’ll attempt to get the Cubs one of those WS rings they haven’t seen since ’08…1908 that is.

The Mets get Big Z for his age 29, 30, and 31 seasons: not bad  for dealing two overpaid pieces that aren’t exactly important to the club. If he gets his act together, Zambrano could team up with Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey to make the playoffs, at the least, interesting. The Cubs can get back to a relatively calm clubhouse, and if Perez pitches like he did once upon a time, he, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zilva, and hopefully and emerging Jeff Samardzija would make the pitching staff somewhat respectable if the Cubbies made a push in the Central in 2011.

Seems like a win-win to me.

Let me preface this by saying I never give up. I’m the guy who still has hope with two outs, none on in the ninth with a five-run deficit. Yet, for some reason yesterday I saw the Yanks were down by four with one out in the ninth and thought, “eh, it’s over.” A rare occurrence for me. Obviously, I was wrong.

At that point A-Rod was on first and Robby Cano came to the plate. Alex heads to second without a throw, Robby delivers a little spark with a double to right that brings Alex home. Jorge singles the same way to put runners on the corners for Curtis Granderson. Jorge manages to get to seconds without a throw, though, and Curtis draws a walk to load ‘em for new fan favorite Chad Huffman. Not like this is a big deak fir Huffman or anything, he just slaps one to right to bring in two more runs. Colin Curtis comes in with a  big ten pitch at-bat that results in a ground out and an RBI that ties the game. John Broxton gives an IBB to the captain, and then Frankie Cervelli K’s to end it, but only after the score had been tied. Mariano throws a perfect inning, Robby Cano hits a two-run homer, and Mariano strikes out two, letting up a Loney single, and ends the game with a groundout. Somehow the Yanks climbed out of that hole, and ended up on top. Pretty incredible. They maintain a 2 game lead over the boys from Beantown and sit 3 games ahead of Tampa Bay.

Derek Jeter: 36 years of age…technically. He still seems like he’s a twenty-something kid.

The BoSox placed Dustin Pedroia on the DL in the am after he fouled a ball off his foot last night. His foot’s broken, and he’s on the 15-day (as opposed to the 60-day) DL. ESPN suggests it could take 6 weeks before the guy with the weird beard is back in Beantown. As much as I hate Dustin simply from a Yankee-fan perspective, they guy’s a gamer, and you have to feel  bad for him being out in the thick of a pennant chase.

Then, young gun Clay Bucholz apparently hurt his leg running the bases by the Bay in San Fran, and was pulled early. If he’s out for any period of time, Boston could be in big trouble.