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Before the 2008 season, the Yanks decided to hold onto Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera instead of trading for Minnesota’s Ace: Johan Santana. Santana ended up being traded to the New York team that plays home games in Queens for a terrible package of Philip Humber, Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Santana signed an extension with the Mets that would keep him as their ace through 2013, with a $25mm club option ($5.5mm buyout) to keep him for the 2014 season. Santana went on to be exactly what the Mets wanted, posting a 2.53 ERA in ’08 with a 1.15 WHIP. He was less dominant in 25 2009 starts, but that’s attributed to his injuries, and a 3.13 ERA is still pretty damn good. Now, CC has a 2.89 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP through 25 starts for the Mets this year. But, still, how many times have the Mets reached the playoffs since getting Johan?

Some think the Yanks should’ve traded Hughes and Melky (or whatever it was that Minnesota wanted), then signed CC in the off-season to have the league’s two highest paid pitchers at the front of the rotation. Instead, the Yanks passed on Santana, missed the ’08 postseason, signed Sabathia in the offseason along with Mark Teixeira and AJ Burnett, and won the 2009 World Series. One of the key factors in the Sabathia was his team-first mentality. Okay, maybe that wasn’t a key factor. Maybe it was how he was the reason Milwaulkee made the postseason, or his 2007 Cy Young award, or his 251 K’s in 253 innings…yeah, those were key factors. But the team-first mentality was icing on top, and a nice insurance that CC would succeed in New York. Despite struggling early (as he’s done his whole career), CC pitched 230 regular season innings in ’09, while maintaining a 3.37 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He won the ALCS MVP award, and over his 5 playoff starts had a 1.98 ERA and 32 Ks over 36.1 IP.

I knew I liked Sabathia when I heard this story about his days in Milwaulkee: CC’s agents called up the Brewers front office asking them to stop making Sabathia pitch complete game after complete game after complete game. He was averaging over 7 and 2/3 innings per start in Milwaulkee, and threw 7 complete games for his club. His agents worried that all the wear and tear on his arm would decrease his value in the free agent market, or that he might get hurt and not be able to sign the contract he earned. CC found out about this, yelled at his agents, and told his manager that the team came first, and he wanted to be on the hill whenever he could be.

CC obviously didn’t see his contract suffer, as he signed the huge deal that brought him to the Bronx. Yesterday, he racked up his 15th win of the year and when asked about possibly reaching 20 wins said: ““I try to stay away form personal goals to be honest. I’d rather win a World Series than win 20 games and win a Cy Young.”

As spring training started in ’09, CC was seen with his new teammates at Miami Heat games. He started what amounted to a pre-game tradition through the spring, as he and all of the other starters who weren’t taking the hill that day would go and watch whoever was starting’s bullpen session. He created an incredible sense of “team” among the starting rotation, something most aces don’t do. CC handles the media with ease, is known to play Nintendo RBI baseball before his starts, and is about as big (metaphorically and physically) a part of the clubhouse as anyone that wears the pinstripes.

While CC struggles at times, he never gets down on himself or his team. He has streaks of brilliance and dominated the playoffs.

So, Johan Santana has been great for the Mets (in the National League though…). He probably would’ve pitched great in New York, but that likely would’ve meant either no CC or no Mark Teixeira for the Bronx Bombers. Those two guys were pretty big parts of that World Series team, no? Meanwhile, Phil Hughes was the game’s best 8th inning man last year, then made the all-star game as a starter this year. Also, he’s just 24. Melky Cabrera had a decent season last year, and then was part of the package that brought Javy Vazquez to the Bronx (you can debate whether or not that was a good trade at some other time). As we get further and further away from the days when we all dreamt of Johan pitching the Yanks to a championship, it becomes more and more apparent that letting Santana go to Shea Stadium (and later, CitiField), was the best decision for the Yanks. If they hadn’t, the Yanks would either be without CC or Teixeira, and they’d certainly be without Phil Hughes. Chances are, they’d also be without ring number 27.

GM’s tend to get praised or booed for the deals they do make, but it seems like one of the smartest (and toughest) decisions that Brian Cashman has made in the past five years was one that resulted in no deal, and resulted in a playoff-less year. Bravo, Brian.

The Yanks managed to beat Cliff Lee and his Texas mates today to salvage a split of the two-game set in Arlington. Marcus Thames played great today, and the Yankee bullpen kept the team in the game after Javy left in a disappointing 5th. One player who started neither game in Texas is Curtis Granderson. “What was Curtis doing, doesn’t he have good career numbers against Lee” you ask. Well Curtis has been working with Kevin Long to revamp his swing, hoping to eliminate the struggles he’s had at the plate pretty much all year long. Long is working on changing how Curtis grips the bat (ie his hand placement), hoping that Curtis will release one hand later in his swing than he has been doing. Long also is taking some length out of Curtis’s swing to eliminate some of the variability that comes with a longer swing.

If you’re wondering “Isn’t it weird to totally re-work a swing mid-season?” Well yeah, it is. Don’t forget though, that Kevin Long worked with A-Rod on his swing right before the playoffs last year, and fixed Nick Swisher’s swing this past offseason, and helped Cano become more consistent leading into ’09. Long is a top 5 hitting coach in the game, and if he get Curtis to swing the stick a little better down the stretch, and going into the postseason…that will be a big deal. It’ll be tough to have to test the changes in a game situation right away, but that’s what Curtis will do: debut his new swing on Thursday night in Kansas City.

On a side note: The Yanks have 4 games v. KC, 4 v. DET, 3 v. SEA, and 3 v. TOR coming up: the “easiest” stretch of schedule they’ll have for the rest of the year. This is a prime opportunity to start padding that division lead (which currently sits at 1.5 games). The Yanks have 7 more games with Tampa, 3 more with Texas, and 3 with Boston. Those are big games, but if the Bombers can go in with some cushion so that they’re season isn’t dependent on said games…well that’d be a nice situation. Hopefully, the rejuvenated swing of Curtis Granderson can add to that Yankee lineup as they push forward in search of Title 28.

After taking two of the first three in this four-game set, the Yanks will send Phil Hughes to the mound to face-off against Jon Lester. Lester is probably the best pitcher on Boston’s staff, but the Yanks have the game’s best offense (and Jorge Posada starting a 3rd straight game). Here are the lineups:

Yankees

SS Jeter

RF Swisher

1B Teixeira

3B Rodriguez

2B Cano

C Posada

DH Thames

LF Kearns

CF Granderson (That’s what it says on Gameday, but you’d expect Gardner, not Granderson, to start against a lefty. I guess Gardner’s on the pine because of his recent slump).

Pitching: Phil Hughes

Boston

SS Scutaro

RF Drew

C Martinez

DH Ortiz

3B Beltre

1B Lowell

LF Kalish

2B Hall

CF Ellsbury

Pitching: Lester

Right now, the Yanks’ 69-41 record has them 2.5 games ahead of the Rays, and 7 games up on Boston. A win today would, almost officially, give the Red Sox no shot at the division title. It would also knock them five out of the wild-card.

Update: Despite base hits from JD Drew and David Ortiz, Hughes gets out of the first with no runs scored ending the inning with a swinging strikeout of Adrian Beltre.

Update: What a play by Nick Swisher! Running to the line, sliding, backhand grab to rob Lowell of a double. Web. Gem.

Update: Posada throws high and right of Cano into CF, so Kalish gets 2nd and 3rd.

Update: Single, single, steal, walk, Dave Eiland on the phone with the bullpen to get Sergio Mitre warm. Only one run has scored (Kalish), but now the bases are loaded for Drew. As I type, Drew grounds out to Cano who only has time to throw to first. Hall scores, though, to make it 2-0. 2 outs here in the 2nd as Victor Martinez takes strike one.

Update: Martinez grounds out to Jeter on Hughes’s 57th pitch of the afternoon. 2-0 Sox as the Yanks looks to get their first hits off of Jon Lester.

Update: Through four, the Yanks are still hitless, but have walked thrice. Hughsie has allowed 5 hits, 1 walk, and two runs (both earned).

Update: Austin Kearns breaks up the no-hitter with a single past the left side of 2nd base here in the 5th.

Update: A diving Mike Lowell can’t snag Derek Jeter’s 2,786th hit. Austin Kearns goes to 3rd, as Jeter ties Mel Ott on the all-time hits list.

Update: The Yanks fail to capitalize with runners on the corners, as Nick Swisher strikes out on 3 pitches.

Update: Phil Hughes allows 2 earned runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3 over 6 innings (114 pitches). Not a bad outing for Phil Phranchise, but now it’s time for the offense to step it up.

Update: Austin Kearns with a run-slide-catch in left to get Marco Scutaro out. Kerry Wood got Bill Hall to fly out before hitting Ellsbury (who stole 2nd) and then getting Scutaro out with the help from Kearns. Now he has a 3-0 count on JD Drew.

Update: Ugh. Ellsbury steals 3rd as JD Drew takes 2nd. That’s 5 steals for Boston today (3 by Jacoby).

Update: Kerry Wood strikes out Victor Martinez and it’s God Bless America/Take me out to the Ballgame time.

Update: Jorge slaps a single past Scutaro and Beltre to lead off the bottom of the 7th.

Update: Marcus Thames hits a ball that hits two-inches short of the top of the right-centerfield wall. Posada goes to 3rd, while any other player in the game would’ve scored. Thames gets a double. No outs as Austin Kearns comes to the plate. He’s 1 for 1 with a single and a walk today.

Update: Ryan Kalish jumps for a ball at the fence (the foul fence, not the homer fence) but misses it as it goes off the top of the wall and into the stands. No fan interference, despite attempts at it.

Update: Now Lester hits Kearns to load the bases. To the plate: Curtis Granderson. Let’s see if he can solve his lefty problems, at least just for this at-bat.

Update: So much for a Granderson Hollywood moment. He fouls one off, swings and misses, takes one below the knees, and swings and misses for the K. Lester’s day is done as Jeter comes to the plate. Daniel Bard and his 1.78 ERA are being called to the mound. 6.1 IP, no earned runs (yet) on 4 hits, 3 walks, and a hit batter for Lester. He struck out 6.

Update: Bard strikes out Jeter and now Nick Swisher has a chance to do something big.

Update: And Swish strike out. That was miserable.

Update: Mark Teixeira unleashes an absolutely towering shot to right. 2-1. A-Rod to the plate. 601 anybody?

Update: A-Rod with a single up the middle.

Update: Gardner in to pinch-run for Alex with Cano at the plate.

Update: Gardner takes off on a pitch that Cano grounds to Hall at 2nd. Cano’s out. Gardner’s on 2nd. Jorge at the plate with one out here in the bottom of the 8th.

Update: Jorge walks on four straight pitches. Lance Berkman is going to pinch-hit for Marcus Thames due to Bard’s right-handed-ness.

Update: With a 2-0 count, Berkman is under the pitch, and pops it up past the infield dirt. Francona is walking out to the mound to end Daniel Bard’s night. In is Jonathan Papelbon.

Update: Austin Kearns grounds the first pitch he sees to Bill Hall, throw to Lowell, inning over. We head to the 9th, the Yanks trailing 2-1. Gardner, who pinch ran for A-Rod, will stay in the game in left field, while Ramiro Pena takes Austin Kearns’ spot in the batting order, playing 3rd base.

Update: Oh, and by the way, I’m predicting a leadoff homer by Granderson in the bottom of the 9th off Papelbon to tie the game. Also, Ryan Kalish just lined out to Jeter and Joba’s on the mound.

Update: Joba strikes out Bill Hall.

Update: With a full-count, Joba walks Ellsbury on a slider low and inside. Scutaro to the plate.

Update: The Yanks try to pitch out to get Ellsbury as he goes for 3rd…but Posada’s throw is miserable, and Jacoby is easily safe. That’s his 4th of the night. 6 total for the Red Sox.

Update: Who loves Ramiro Pena? Me. He dives to his left side, grabs the hard-hit grounder by Scutaro, jumps to his feet, and throws a strike to Teixeira to end the inning. Granderson, Jeter, Swisher due up in the bottom of the 9th. I’m really  feeling a Granderson homer right now. Everyone keeps talking about how he’s struggling, but he’s going to have a huge hit here. Just Watch.

Update: Okay…we can’t all be Shaun Spencer as portrayed by James Roday. Curtis swings and misses for strike three.

Update: The Captain draws a walk. He’s the tying run at first. Swisher is the winning run, in the batter’s box.

Update: Jeter! He steals 2nd, just in front of the throw. A base hit will tie the game.

Update: Swisher strikes out on three pitches. Now, Teixeira’s at the plate. But, remember: he doesn’t have the protection of A-Rod behind him, since he was taken out earlier. Brett Gardner is on deck.

Update: Ugh. Tex strikes out swinging….Yanks lose.

Remember when I said AJ Burnett was going to pitch great on the 8th of August against the Red Sox? I meant the 10th of August, because that’s when he’ll start since he’s dealing with back spasms right now. So, Dustin Moseley is starting tonight, and Phil Hughes will take the hill tomorrow.

A-Rod is back in the lineup at 3rd, and Jorge will catch tonight. And btw(that’s facebook-chat-style for “by the way”) A-Rod just sounded great in his interview with ESPN. He’s getting more and more likable by the day.

SS Jeet

RF Swish

1B Tex

3B A-Rod

2B Cano

C Posada

DH Berkman (he’s going to earn his pinstripes with a big night and/or a big hit tonight. Mark those words).

CF Granderson

LF Gardner

Moseley on the mound v. Josh Beckett.

In other news Brandon Morrow struck out 17 Rays today, letting up just one hit, in the ninth, with two outs. He and the Jays trumped Tampa 1-0, so the Yanks are working with a 2-game lead heading into tonight’s match-up on Sunday Night Baseball.

Update: Moseley makes a nice shortstop-ish throw for the first out, then strikes out Marco Scutaro. Ortiz hits one at Teixeira who kind of bobbles it, but flips to Moseley for the final out of the first half of the first inning of the game (said  ”of” 4 times in that sentences, if you were counting…)

Update: Joe Morgan is talking about how the Yanks aren’t living up to their offensive potential. Sure, some of the guys aren’t having career years, others are, and the Yanks are still first in the league in runs though, aren’t they? Yes. They are. So I guess even at this sub-potential level they have the best lineup in the game…

Update: Fly out, single, single, K…and now Robby Cano will look to prolong the inning and maybe even grab a ribbie.

Update: Well, Robby pops up to V-Mart at 1st, but two hits in the first for the Yanks.

Update: Nick Swisher, jumping catch at the wall. No big deal.

Update: Attaboy Big Puma! Rips one down the line and hustles out of the box all the way to second for a double.

Update: Gardner rips one to 2nd, Hall dives, grabs it, throws wide of Martinez at 1st. Berkman scores, Gardy at 1st. 1-0 Yanks.

Update: Despite about a trillion pickoff throws to first, Gardner steals 2nd.

Update: The Captain hits one right up the middle to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time hits list while driving in Gardner to make it a 2-0 Yankees lead.

Update: Nick Swish with a single to right that puts runners on the corners for Mark Teixeira.

Update: Tex out looking on a pitch he should’ve crushed. 2-0 Yanks heading into the 3rd (Beckett already at 46 pitches).

Update: A weak grounder to the right side brings Martinez to his knees and he can’t get the flip to Beckett in time to beat Berkman. But, the inning ends on a Granderson fly to the glove of Ryan Kalish.

Update: With two-outs, a V-Mart single and walks to Drew and Beltre load the bases for the young Ryan Kalish.

Update: But, Moseley forces a grounder to Tex to end the inning. His pitch count’s at 60 through 4.

Update: Beckett looking better in the 4th with a Gardner fly out and K’s of AL All-Stars Jeter and Swisher.

Update: Bill Hall unleashes one to left to make it a one-run game in the first at-bat of the 5th.

Update: A Tex Message to deep right makes it 3-1. Mark Teixeira: Awesome.

Update: After the homer, and a walk of A-Rod, Beckett hits Cano on the back knee. Robby looked like he had no idea it would break in like that.

Update: Fat Elvis sends one down the 3rd baseline for a double. A-Rod scores and Cano holds up at third.

Update: Beckett walks Granderson on four straight pitches, with the last one in the dirt. He’s now thrown 98 pitches as Brett Gardner steps up to the plate with the bases loaded.

Update: Gardner strikes out swinging, and Kevin Cash tries to pick Gardner off at 3rd, the throw hits off Cano’s helmet and goes out to left field. Robby scores, Berkman to third, Granderson to 2nd. 5-1 Yanks as the Captain steps up to the plate with two men in scoring position. Let’s hope the ball of Cano’s head didn’t give him a concussion or anything.

Update: And the Captain, hits one to right. Berkman scores. Granderson scores. Jeter stands at 2nd, the Yanks have a 7-1 lead, and Josh Beckett’s night is over.

Update: Terry Francona calls in Manny Delcarmen who starts off Nick Swisher’s AB with a strike.

Update: Swish strikes out on a pitch he shoulda, and coulda, and I thought he did…check swing on. Dropped 3rd strike, throw to 1st, inning over. Yanks hold a 7-1 lead, though, and have broken into the Boston bullpen.

Update: Wow. The Yanks have the big shift on for Ortiz, who hits one right at Cano…but it deflects off Robby’s glove and out to Swisher. It’s ruled a single, but it was right at Robby, and hit his glove…I’d call that an error.

Update: 3-6-1 double play to end the inning. That’s 6 innings for Moseley (77 pitches) with just 4 hits, 2 walks, and one run (earned on the Hall homer). He’s also struck out 4. A good night thus far for the guy who didn’t know he was starting until today.

Update: Wakefield in to pitch, and Jon Miller and company are calling his 72 mph pitches fastballs, admitting they really aren’t quite sure what they are. MLB Gameday is calling them fastballs, which is kindof funny, seeing as I can throw that fast. Then again, I can’t compliment that high heat with a knuckleball, which is probably why I went undrafted this year.

Update: A-Rod with his first hit of the night, a single to short left.

Update: Alex still has some spring in that step. A steal of 2nd for Mr. 600.

Update: Victor Martinez flashes the leather with a diving snab of a Robby Cano grounder that he runs over to first for the 2nd out of the inning. Alex to 3rd, with Jorge looking to drive him in.

Update: Oh, and PS that was Alex’s 300th career steal. 300 steals and 600 homers. Helluva career.

Update: Jorge down on strikes to end the 6th.

Update: Beltre doubles off the left field wall, but was almost caught at 2nd on the throw. Almost being the unfortunate operative word. Meanwhile, Joba is warming up in the ‘pen as Moseley strikes out Ryan Kalish for his 5th K of the night.

Update: Gene Monahan and Joe Girardi and the infield meet on the mound with an apparent concern about Moseley…but he says he’s fine, he and Jeet chat for a minute, and the game resumes.

Updates: A-Rod can’t barehand a soft grounder from Hall, which puts runners on the corners with one out for Kevin Cash. And, by Kevin Cash I mean pinch-hitter Mike Lowell. Moseley’s done, walking off to an ovation from the crowd after 6 and a third innings of one-run ball. Our Lord the Savior, 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba, in his pinstripes fleece diapers, learning about all his changeups and curveballs will come in to pitch.

Update: Lowell hits a grounder to the left side that Jeter just can’t pick up on a backhand. He goes to first, Beltre scores, Hall to 2nd. Then, as I type, Ellsbury hits a fly down the left field line that Gardner catches at the side-wall of the field for the 2nd out of the inning.

Update: Joba walks Marco Scutaro to load the bases. Boone Logan in to face David Ortiz.

Update: Best Boone non-Aaron division? Logan, Boone. Left handed pitcher. (Don’t take this seriously, obviously Brett Boone was great…I just felt like comparing names, sheesh). He gets Ortiz to ground out to Cano. Inning over. Jam escaped. 7-2 Yanks through 6 and a half with Big Puma, Granderson, and Gardner due up in the inning’s bottom half.

Update: Puma’s first hitless AB of the game, a looking strikeout. Granderson hits one hard to right, but Drew catches it at the wall.

Update: Gardner grounder to Scutaro makes it a 1-2-3 inning. 7-2 through seven.

Update: 1-2-3 inning for Boone Logan, ending it with a Swisher sliding catch of Beltre’s pop-up.

Update: Down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 8th. We head to the 9th, the Yanks holding a 7-2 lead as David Robertson is called in to pitch.

Update: Pena in as a defensive replacement, but the backhanded attempt at a Ryan Kalish hard-hit grounder goes off his glove. That’s an error.

Update: A Bill Hall grounder moves Kalish to 2nd. Mike Lowell then flies out to Gardner. Ellsbury draws a walk, and Girardi calls in Rivera to replace Robertson.

Update: Mo throw one pitch, which Scutaro grounds to Cano, who flips to Jeter, who steps on 2nd. Yankees win. Ballgame over. Two and a half game lead in the AL East. Great day for Yankee fans, Dustin Moseley, and Lance Berkman (3 for 4. 2 doubles. 2 runs. 1 RBI).

CC Sabathia pitches eight innings, walks one, allows six hits, strikes out four, and allows just two runs. No big deal. Ramiro Pena, Curtis Granderson, and Jorge Posada (not a typo) steal bases. No big deal. Yankees win. Mariano with a perfect 9th. No big deal.

Toronto homers 8 (!) times off Tampa pitching. No big deal. James Shields lets in 8 earned runs in just 4 innings. No big deal. One and a half game lead in the AL East for the Yanks. No big deal.

Just to add on, the Dodgers are losing, Giants Lost, San Diego’s losing, and the Rockies mounted a big comeback in Pittsburgh. Grrrreat day.

Yes, I’m worried about A-Rod’s shin and Lance Berkman’s liner that hit it (he didn’t get a hit in the game today though. Starting to get frustrating). Joe said Alex is day-to-day and he has no idea if he’ll play tomorrow. So, we’ll just wait to hear on that front.

AJ Burnett has a big start tomorrow. I expect him to win. No, seriously. He’s going to pitch as great as we’ve seen him all year. Wait for it.

The Yanks welcome (is that too friendly a verb?) the Red Sox to the Cathedral 2.0 in the Bronx tonight. Javy “Needs to prove he can pitch big games/or at least he needs to in the eyes of your average fan” Vazquez will be on the mound for the boys in pinstripes while Clay Bucholz will start for the injury-ridden Red Sox. Boston’s lineup isn’t too intimidating these days, not with Kevin Youkilis out for the year and Mike Cameron and Dustin Pedroia on the DL at the moment.

The Yanks have a 1/2 game lead over Tampa, while the Red Sox are 6 games back of the Bombers. This series is the Yanks’ chance to kick Boston out of the pennant race, while it’s Boston’s chance to firmly get back in it. Meanwhile, Tampa faces Toronto north of the border with Matt Garza facing off v. Brett Cecil.

Lineups for tonight’s NYY-BOS matchup.

Red Sox

CF Ellsbury

SS Scutaro

DH Ortiz

C Martinez

3B Beltre

RF Drew

1B Lowell

LF Kalish

2B Lowrie

Yankees

SS Jeter

RF Swisher

1B Teixeira

3B Rodriguez

2B Cano

DH Berkman

CF Granderson

C Cervelli

LF Gardner

UPDATE: Boston first on the board with a David Ortiz solo shot.

UPDATE: Jeter’s leadoff single gives him the same number of hits for his career as Babe Ruth (remember, Babe was a pitcher for a while though…)

UPDATE: A TEX MESSAGE over the right field wall makes it a 2-1 game. His 24th on the year.

UPDATE: Dear Javy and Frankie….talk to eachother when fielding pop-ups. K, great.

UPDATE: Javy walks in a run. Shoot.

UPDATE: Scutaro double makes it 4-3, now an intentional BB of V-mart, and Ortiz (who homered in the first) is up with the bases loaded and two outs. Great.

UPDATE: Here with one out in the 5th, Bucholz hits Jeter. Doesn’t look intentional, but expect some sort of retaliation as the series goes on.

UPDATE: A Swisher single puts runners on the corners for Tex, who went yard in the 1st. But, as I write, Tex pops out to Beltre on the third-base line, and A-Rod will try to drive in a run, or two, or three…

UPDATE: Alex singles to left; Jeter scores. Yanks now trail 4-3 with Robby Cano coming to the plate.

UPDATE: Ryan Kalish’s first homer of the year makes it 6-3; Javy walks Jed Lowrie, and now Joba’s in to relieve. For Javy: 5.1 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs (3 earned), 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts…not his best day.

UPDATE: Kerry Wood in to pitch the 7th…and puts Ortiz away on a line-out to Gardner in left.

UPDATE: Jeet draws a two-out walk off Papelbon here in the bottom of the ninth, and now Swishalicious will look to keep the game going.

UPDATE: And, Swish flies out to Kalish in right, and the Red Sox win this one. Tampa lost, though, so the Yanks stay atop the division, but Boston’s now just 5 back.

But, Kevin the Yanks start a 4 game set with the Red Sox tonight! And Javy Vazquez is starting. And the Yanks only have a 1/2 game lead over Tampa! And yada, yada, yada. I want to talk about 2011…so I’m going to…based on current events.

We all know that Javy Vazquez and Andy Pettitte are up for free agency at the end of this year, as is Cliff Lee. I think this will be Andy’s last season, so that’s one rotation spot that should open up. As for Javy, I like the guy, I think he’s a workhorse, I’d have no problem if Brian Cashman signed him to a 2 or 3 year deal come November. That said, it’s not a sure thing by any means. Two other candidates: Zack Greinke and Brandon Webb.

Last year’s AL Cy Young award winner has a 3.97 ERA/3.38 FIP/3.65 xFIP with a 7.82 K/9 rate, a 1.92 BB/9 rate, and a 1.19 WHIP thus far in 2010. He complained yesterday about the Royals never-ending rebuilding movements in Kansas City, which means he might be trade bait come the off-season.

As for Webb, he has pitched a total of one-game over the past two years, so he’s a complete and total injury risk. That said, dude won the ’06 NL Cy Young, came in 2nd for the award in both ’07 and ’08, and in his 6 seasons that lasted longer than a day (’03-’08) he never had an ERA higher than 3.59 (’04). From ’06 to ’08 his FIPs were 3.18, 3.24, 3.28, his K/9 rates were 6.82, 7.39, 7.27, and his WHIPs 1.13, 1.19, 1.20. So, Webb’s pretty good, but a la Ben Sheets, who knows if he’ll last? Webb will try to pitch out of the bullpen come September, so expect Yankee scouts to be on hand to see whether he’s still got it. Webb will likely come at a reduced price (hopefully less than that silly $10mm Ben Sheets deal that the A’s had this year), as he looks to re-establish his value before hitting the market for a big payday (a la Adrian Beltre).

With those two possibly available, can you just sit and imagine, just for one moment, a Sabathia, Lee, Greinke/Webb, Hughes, Burnett rotation? Pretty tantalizing, but ah, we’re thinking much to far ahead. Please resume your regularly scheduled Yanks v. Boston coverage/enthusiasm.

George A. King III has an article up this morning where he says:

“[T]he Yankees aren’t shutting the door on acquiring the much-traveled 34-year-old outfielder who was designated for assignment yesterday by the Royals.” Guillen’s got a Milton Bradley meet Carlos Zambrano type personality, which I don’t particularly like. He was suspended by his own manager back when he was an Angel (irony…) in ’04..(If you’ve read Sam Walker’s Fantasyland you probably remember Walker and his pal Nando holding a protest against the suspension in an effort to get Jose’s stats over the final days of the season). Guillen has a .255/.314/.429 line this year, hasn’t hit above .265 since ’07 when he hit .290 for the Nationals.

King suggests that Guillen, if acquired, would be the otherside of a DH-platoon with Lance Berkman. Nevermind that Guillen is hitting .217/.320/.301 against lefties…wait, those are his stats against lefties this year? And the Yanks are looking at him as a platoon option hitting only against lefties? And he’s allegedly a terrible teammate, with a terrible temper, a tendency to get injured, and he’s only started 21 games in the field this year? Yeah..perfect fit. Oh, wait…nevermind.

As I’ve said time and time again, Brian Cashman is a smart guy. He goes out of his way to pick the best clubhouse- guys that contribute to team morale both when they’re playing well and not as well. Nick Swisher, AJ “The Pie Man” Burnett, CC Sabathia, Curtis Granderson, and Javy Vazquez are all examples of that. So, why would he go out and get someone that isn’t as valuable as Marcus Thames and/or Austin Kearns, is a clubhouse cancer, and can’t play the field? Just doesn’t add up; so I think we can all rest easy, and expect Jose to be traded elsewhere.

With the Yanks’ W over the Jays today, and Tampa’s extra-inning loss to the Twinkies, the Yanks and Rays are back in a dead tie for the best record in baseball and the lead in the AL East. Both teams boast 67-40 records (.626 winning percentage). To put it in perspective the next best record in the game is San Diego’s 62-43 (.590). So the Yanks and Rays are pretty much heads above the rest. But, in the battle of giraffe-height cabezas, the Yanks will try and reach just above Tampa’s homegrown juggernaut.

The Pirates claimed Chan Ho Park off waivers today, so he’s officially gone. The Yanks and Pirates, of course, have had lots of players switch hands in the past few years, with the likes of Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, and Eric Hinske coming to the Yanks and Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, and Dan McCutchen (not Andrew…) going to PNC Park. Park was already “gone” from the organization, but since the Pirates claimed him, the Yanks don’t have to pay the remainder of his salary. It’s a small victory.

Also, the Red Sox placed Mike Lowell on waivers today. You might’ve heard that the Yanks actually tried to acquire Lowell pre-deadline, with the Rangers playing the middle-man between Boston and New York, but to no avail. I knew the Yanks wanted an upgrade utility infielder, but Lowell can only really play first and third, so Pena would still merit a roster spot. I guess they would’ve gotten Lowell instead of Austin Kearns (which I definitely would’ve liked). Lowell was great in his rehab stint, and homered in his first AB off the DL. He might go through waivers, because he is owed a lot of cash, which would make him a trade candidate. I don’t think the Yanks have much reason to maintain interest in Lowell, unless they’d claim him and flip Kearns to some other squad. Not very likely. I’m sure some team will have interest and try to get the veteran if he does pass through the waiver wire.