CLEVELAND ROCKED!

Andy Pettitte pitched a gem and it was overshadowed by the bombs in Cleveland tonight! The Yankees were knocking them out of the park at a record level.  They were on a mission and they clearly refused to play small ball.  Maybe this was just a crazy coincidence that the Yankees continued to crank out home runs. Maybe it was a sign that the Yankees are truly in-sync.  Or maybe this is what Brian Cashman knew would happen all along, and we, the fans, on the outside looking in are wrong about this club. Any way you slice it... the Yankees are in fact the real deal, and it was evident tonight when they were the "true" Bronx Bombers!

First off, our "go-to" guy, Andy Pettitte.  7 strong innings. He struck out 4 and gave up 5 hits and only 1 run.  What can you say... it's Andy Pettitte... simply the best and stronger than ever.  And to think... this guy retired. My goodness.

Now onto the hitting.  There was a ton of it and I'm bound to miss something, but here it goes...

Brett Gardner hit a double in the first inning and then the homers began. In the 3rd, Ichiro Suzuki hit a solo shot. Robinson Cano, who is hot as hell had a 2 run home run and a 2 run double tonight. Kevin Youkilis clobbered a two run home run off Brett Myers in the sixth inning.

Then Lyle Overbay hit a solo shot off Myers in the 8th, and then Brennan Boesch hit a 2 run shot off Myers in the 8th.   In the end, the Yankees were a power club tonight... small ball what?

Final tonight: Yankees 14 - Indians 1.  Oh yeah... and that losing record? Um, we're 4-4. A new season starts tomorrow...

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RUSS CANZLER IS A COOL GUY

Russ Canzler will be my new Eli Whiteside.  He'll be someone I check in with throughout their 2013 season because they were a Yankee for 5 minutes. That's how I roll.  I didn't know much about Canzler until he came aboard and ... I still don't, but that being said, you have to give Canzler credit for being a good sport about being on several teams this offseason due to being DFA'ed and then being signed.  He wound up on the Baltimore Orioles.  We wrote about the ordeal in GUESS WHERE RUSS CANZLER JUST LANDED? for guidance on that.

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian interviewed Canzler about it all and he said this of the situation: "It's been fun...I was thinking about buying all the hats of the teams I've been on this winter."  

Bastian (full piece HERE) also has the full story about Canzler's short lived time as a Yankee writing:

"After signing free-agent pitcher Brett Myers, though, Cleveland once again tried to pass Canzler through waivers. This time around, the 26-year-old first baseman was claimed by the Yankees. New York had a need for a right-handed hitter, and Canzler seemed to be the type of player who might get a real shot at filling that role.

Playing in the Yankees' system seemed like a match made in baseball heaven, too. Canzler could train in Tampa near relatives and, if he did not make the Opening Day roster, he might've suited up for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Canzler's just moved into a house roughly a half hour from that Minor League stadium.

"We were all set," Canzler said. "We thought it worked out."

The Yanks then entered talks with Hafner about bringing the DH to the Bronx -- an idea that had Canzler excited. Last September, Hafner and Canzler were a few lockers apart, and the veteran did his part to make the first baseman feel at ease in the Majors.

"He was really nice to me, really nice to the younger guys," Canzler said. "He was kind of that calm presence that made us all feel comfortable and helped us enjoy our time."

When the Yankees signed Hafner, though, Canzler had a sudden realization.

"It hit me," he said. "I was like, 'Oh, wait. Uh oh. Wait a minute. We're at 40 on the roster again.'"

I really like this cat, I'm sorry it didn't work out for him in New York, but we'll run into him in Baltimore.

Just thought I'd share.

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TRADE RUMORS AROUND THE YANKEES & MLB

Denard Span: The Yankees, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.com HERE, and us, who suggested this was a nice fit days ago HERE, says the Yankees are "all in" on guys like Span, Shane Victorino and Justin Upton.  The problem is the Twins, according to Heyman, want "a ton" for Span.

Brett Myers: The White Sox have acquired Myers and cash and that comes from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Read his Tweet HERE. You can also read the Sports Illustrated piece on it HERE. Houston will get 2 players now and a player to be named.  We had a piece out a few weeks ago titled WHAT I MIGHT DO AS THE YANKEES GM. We suggested maybe the Yankees could try to acquire Myers and Wandy Rodriguez in one shot.  Now with Joba Chamberlain on his way back, Myers didn't look like an option any more.  Hey, we were close, I mean Meyers was clearly on the move, but the timing was wrong for the Yankees, no biggie, I'm pretty confident we can do it without Brett Myers.

Matt Garza: It's being reported by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that the Boston Red Sox may be in the mix for Matt Garza, but the Sox front office isn't sure he's better than what they already have. Read HERE.  Seriously? That's a joke, right? The Red Sox aren't exactly outstanding this season. The Dodgers have also checked in on Garza, according to Bruce Levine at ESPN Chicago, read HERE.  Anyway, if the Yankees were to snag any pitcher, I would feel good trying to get Garza down the stretch.  I believe he's solid in the American League east and he really wants to be part of a contender.

JC Romero: The Indians have signed Romero to a minor league deal.  This is coming from Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.  Read that Tweet HERE. Romero's trying to latch onto a team for a while now.  Remember, the Yankees even picked up up briefly last season, read HERE.

Cliff Lee: There is a piece in Yankees Fans Unite HERE that makes an argument for Cliff Lee.  My opinion on Lee is, he thought he had it all figured out, he didn't want to come to the Yankees in the first place, he made excuses that the Phillies were younger, not even true and he does not want to come to the Bronx. In turn, I say screw him, we don't need him, fate brought him to a loser, he should stay there.

The strangest part of the Lee, Yankee stuff is when doing a simple search on Google, the image above shows up.  Someone had wishful thinking back when he was a free agent I guess.  It's just funny.

Billy Butler: It appears that the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be buyers at the trade deadline and have inquired about the Royals Golden Boy Billy Butler.  There's no way the Royals part with Butler, he's their future, but it just goes to show how important the Pirates will be down the stretch.

Melky Cabrera: Look, the Yankees haven't really hinted that they want to guy back, but he's red hot and he would be a smart choice.  I gather the Yanks never really liked Melky but given the circumstances of Brett Gardner out and Nick Swisher hurt, it may actually be a good idea. We shall see...

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WHAT I MIGHT DO AS THE YANKEES GM

On June 25th the Yankees defeated the Indians 7-1, Hiroki Kuroda got an impressive win throwing 7+ innings of 1 run ball with 7 strikeouts, propelling the Yankees to their 13th win in their past 16 games, and their 8th straight. Sure, it happened 2 weeks ago, but it was significant, it was the beginning of something good for the Yankees, a gelling if you will. The bombers were really clicking on all cylinders and the whole city knew it.

 Then, on June 27th a couple of hours before game time the Yankees announced that CC would be put on the 15 day DL for a groin strain, read HERE. At that point, I was still optimistic for the Yanks because they still had another left hander in the rotation, old reliable Andy Pettitte.  But that changed when Andy went down with a come backer off the bat of Casey Kotchman, busting his ankle, read HERE. It's devastating, but this isn't a cause for complete, "abandon ship" type of concern... we should however look further than who we have to fill the holes, my opinion of course. Why? Because since those injuries, some of the moving parts just aren't working and there is need for improvement....outside the organization.

 Let's break it down. Cory Wade has been good, but not recently.  That was why he was sent down and it's my opinion that he shouldn't have even been in last night's game against the Red Sox, read WADE HAPPENS. They Yankees picked up Chad Qualls and while I'm not exactly sure how effective he really is yet, I'm not exactly pleased with Wade's recent performance and I'm not too confident in Qualls ability.

I'm thinking another solid reliever in that bullpen could really do wonders. If I were assigned the Yankees GM role for the day, I would work very closely with the Houston Astros to make a trade for Brett Myers & Wandy Rodriguez a rental starter and reliever that could really help our club.

• Brett Myers is a former starter turned closer who really can do either.  Throughout his career he has been a starting pitcher on the Phillies (2002-2009) and the Astros. Sure, there were 2 seasons in 2007 when he was with the Phillies and became a closer for a good portion of the season after former Yankee Flash Gordon went down for some time. Bottom line, Myers did such a good job that when Gordon came back, Myers stayed as the closer for the rest of the season recording 21 saves. 

This year Myers was appointed closer when Mark Melancon was traded to the Red Sox. This season Myers has 18 saves already with a 3.54 ERA. He is a solid option to shore up the Yankees bullpen and in my opinion, a better option than Chad Qualls or Cory Wade.

• Wandy Rodriguez is the other piece to this potential deal.  He is the ace of the Astros pitching staff and is a proven left handed pitcher.  Rodriguez has posted an ERA under 4 every season since 2008.  He could be the piece that can fill the void as a lefty with 2 lefties out. Plus, the Astros are a team in serious rebuilding mode. They easily traded Houston fan favorite Lance Berkman to the Yankees in the summer of 2010 for just 2 mid level prospects. 

If Brian Cashman could work the Astros again and get a trade going again, give up a few low level prospects and get the Astros to eat some salary on Myers and Rodriguez, I'd be all over this.

Sure, there are other pitchers out there, but we all know Cole Hamels is just too expensive for the Yankees, Read HERE. How about Huston Street who's a good target (read HERE), and Matt Garza whom the Yankees really like and has already proven himself in the AL East, read HERE, but I tell you what, it's my opinion Myers and Rodriguez could be the best option by the deadline, a reliever and starter, both rentals, both reliable and both for low level prospects. If I'm the Yankees GM for a day, that's what I'd do, what about you? Comment.



--Will Cohen, BYB Contributor




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WHY CASHMAN'S CREEPING

Brian Cashman's work is never done and it isn't enough that the Yankees rotation is temporarily fixed with great pitching outings from Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon and youngsters who pitch like 10 year veterans. (I mean have you seen the Killer B's? touching 93, 94, 95 mph. Nice.) No no, Cashman's on the prowl, like a cat and if it means looking at every pitcher who throws a baseball well, Cashman has a call in to them.

Sunday, rumor's surfaced that Yankees looked at the Astros' Brett Myers. An experienced pitcher the Astros are looking to unload. My guess, Cashman's mulling it over, but I don't see it happening.

To me, Brett Myers is not a better option to what we already have if you think about it. For instance, Freddy Garcia just pitched 3 perfect innings yesterday against the Braves. To me, Myers has never stood out to me as being spectacular and I'd go as far as say I'd take AJ Burnett over Brett Myers. You heard it here first.

Look, after this long cold winter, the Yankees have been connected to Francisco Liriano, Josh Johnson, Felix Hernandez, Chris Carpenter, Fausto Carmona and Carlos Zambrano and my cousin Brian. All these pitchers are quality guys and would be a home run in the Bronx. Then I hear about Myers and I'm luke warm. That's a gut feeling, nothing more. No doubt Myers is a good pitcher, but who would you want out there to represent the Yanks right now? Freddy Garcia or Brett Myers. Based on what Garcia's done and his positive Bronx attitude, I go Freddy.
Personally, with what were seeing from our pitchers at this moment, I'd much rather roll the dice, get through April and May and see where we are. Meanwhile, hopefully the Seattle Mariners collapse and the Yanks can then respectfully pry Felix Hernandez from last place Seattle. To me, I say get a quality, young pitcher. King Felix is it. You play to win now, not in 2013. (That's a shot at my friend Dan who's a Mets fan. Much respect Dan.) In a trade scenerio, we may be able to sprinkle in an outfielder and some non "Killer B" youngsters for him. I don't know if this will ever happen of course, but there is no doubt that King Felix in pinstripes may be the greatest sight my eyes have ever seen, for sure.

On the other side of the coin, Brett Myers is a career 87-71 with a 4.20 career ERA in nine seasons and was 14-8 with a 3.14 ERA a year ago in his first season with the Astros. It could be a temporary fix, yet switching from the NL to AL may not be a good idea.

It is possible Myers could be a good pitcher until our youngsters are ready next year and beyond, plus, over time, he may be a cheaper option. Cashman knows best, I don't.

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