Welcome to Trading Season

I think aside from the off-season “Hot Stove” this is my favorite time of year.  The trade deadline is a month away and the Yanks kicked off trading season by dealing a pair of socks to the Pirates for Eric Hinske. Well, it’s more than a pair of socks, the Yanks traded two low-level minor leaguers for Hinske.

I like this move a lot.  Neither of the prospects the Yanks gave up are highly touted prospects and Hinske does just what i suggested the Yanks do: bolster the bench.  Hinske, a member of the Rays last year and Red Sox in 2007, knows what  AL East and AL pennant races are like.  He plays 1B/3B/LF/RF and can DH or PH when needed.  He hits for power (20 bombs last year, only 1 in 106 at-bats this year) and stands in the left-handed batter’s box so if he hits a lazy pop-up to right field, it’s going out of the park.  With the Yanks admitting to needing to getting A-Rod more rest, Hinske’s bat provides more pop than Cody Ransom or Ramiro Pena, who will probably be sent down to AAA to make room for Hinske.

The Yanks also continue to collect past AL Rookies of the Year as Hinske won in 2002 and the recently DFA’d Angel Berroa won in 2003.

The Biggest Win You Didn’t Hear About

By 5 pm EST Wednesday afternoon, the biggest win you didn’t hear about was in the books with the winning team celebrating on the playing field.  Chances are you had no idea that it happened and once you did or do, it won’t really matter to you.

Yesterday, by 5 pm EST, the United States had defeated Spain in a soccer match.  That’s it.  Disinterested now?  Read on.

It was the Confederations Cup semi-finals.  The Confederations Cup, for newbies out there, is a tournament of soccer national teams that have won FIFA (the governing body of international soccer) confederation championships.  There are eight teams in all: six FIFA confederation champions, the most recent World Cup winner, and the host country.  The tournament is held every four years, like the World Cup.

Still yawning?  What if I told you that Spain was ranked #1 in the world?  What if I told you the United States had only defeated the #1 team in the world on one other occasion in its soccer history?  What if I told you Spain was unbeaten in its last 35 matches?  (tying a world record)  What if I told you Spain had won 15 straight?  What if I told you the US shut out the Spanish?

If this doesn’t matter to you, it probably should.  This is a HUGE story in American sports.  I know that Americans don’t really care about soccer, but the rest of the world does and perception is important to a lot of people.  The US has long been a laughingstock in international soccer and this win gives us a big boost going into the 2010 World Cup.

Losers of 9-of-13

After being unable to capitalize on Tommy Hanson’s 5 walks in 5.1 innings, the Yanks lost their ninth game in their last 13 and fell into a second place tie with the Blue Jays, five back of the Red Sox (who did what the Yanks should have done last week and hammered the Nationals).  Somehow, though, the Yanks and Jays lead the AL Wild Card, but this doesn’t excuse the Bronx Bombers’ poor play recently.

No playoff-bound team should lose 2-of-3 to the Nats and 2-of-3 to the Marlins back-to-back.  Facing Atlanta last night, the Yanks stranded 11 runners as Nick Swisher went 0-5 and Jorge Posada earned the golden sombrero, striking out four times.  Derek Jeter grounded into a key double play and A-Rod’s struggles continued.  The offense was abysmal yesterday.  How do you not score one run against a rookie that walks five guys?  Chien-Ming Wang pitched ok, despite his one terrible inning where he surrendered his 3 earned runs.  Wang threw only 62 pitches in 5.0 innings pitched before being pinch-hit for in the 6th inning.

So tell me, where on earth do the Yankees go from here?  Ace CC Sabathia is kinda hurt and seems to be blaming his manager leaving him out there for 120 pitches on a regular basis.  It seems like they’re falling apart.  What happened to those days where everyone got pies in the face?