Bleacher Report - Articles by Will Shaffer

Philadelphia Phillies: Getting Roy Halladay Is a No-Brainer

Will Shaffer — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:00:28 -0400

The end of July is either one of the most exciting times, or the most nerve-racking. It just depends on who you are.

For players, it is a lot of stress.

Anyone could be traded anywhere at any time. Every text message or phone call received could be that dreaded news, or great news, depending on who you are and where you end up going.

No one wants to go from a contender to one of baseball's teams in the dumpster.

At the same time, going from the dumpster to one of the contending teams would be ideal to any player.

For fans, the end of July means the time for blockbuster trades. The time where getting that player you've always dreamed of playing for your team could finally come true.

Anything could happen before the calender flips to August.

Take Roy Halladay as an example.

At least four teams are highly interested in the 2003 Cy Young Award winner. As Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi adequately puts it, "someone has to have the stomach for this."

The question is, who will it be?

In Philadelphia newspapers, there's quite a bit of speculation that the Phillies are the front-runners for the ace. As they should be!

The Dodger's have been reported as one of the teams in the chase, but the question is do they have the minor league talent to land him?

The Yankees and the Red Sox certainly have the talent to trade for any player they want. Then again, with the payrolls they sport, can they afford to trade away the prospects that in a few years could be performing well at the major league level at a much-reduced cost?

I don't think they really want to do that, even for a phenomenal pitcher such as Doc Halladay.

Now the Phillies on the other hand...

The World Series Champions have quite a bit of minor league talent as well as some young players performing better than expected at the major league level.

J.A. Happ for example, has a 7-0 record this season with a 2.68 era. Obviously to get Halladay a player with Happ's numbers would have to be included.

Should the Phillies let him go?

Absolutely. His performance is at it's peak, the question is how long can he maintain the level he is performing at. That's the roll of the dice Phillies GM Rubin Amaro Jr. has to make with trading Happ.

For a proven performer such as Halladay, that one really is a no-brainer.

Another player needed to make this deal happen is Kyle Drabek, son of former Pirates Cy Young winner Doug Drabek. The kid was born to pitch and trading him is probably more of a splinter in the mind's eye for Rubin Amaro Jr. than Happ. Especially after watching Drabek pitch eight innings last night in a win for the Double-A Reading Phillies.

If the Phillies want to make a serious run at a second consecutive world title, they have to get more pitching.

That is the bottom line.

The bullpen has been good but hurt all season, more than likely do to their overuse because of the lack of consistency in the starting rotation.

Get Roy Halladay, he eats innings, he's a proven performer, he's the jelly the Phillies rotation has been missing since Brett Myers went down.

Cole Hamels is the peanut butter.

Hopefully Myers returns from the DL in late August to give the bullpen a fresh arm for the stretch.

Pedro Martinez also could be a nice addition, but I wouldn't rest my championship aspirations on him.

If the Phillies can get Roy Halladay they give themselves their best chance at getting a second consecutive World Series title.

Go get him Rubin, it's seriously a no-brainer.

World Champs Taking Care Of Business Before Holidays

Will Shaffer — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:00:29 -0500

Unlike the Yankees and Mets, who are making blockbuster moves go out of style, the Phillies are taking care of business in a more subtle way before the holidays.

A few weeks ago the Phillies signed Raul Ibanez to replace Pat Burrell and be their everyday left fielder. The deal was finalized today. This deal is an intriguing one, and whether it's a good or bad move cannot be properly determined until we have numbers to compare between the two players and the teams each respectively are with next season.

Personally I feel Burrell should have been retained, if only for his right-handed power bat, for at least one more season. Although Ibanez does hit for a better average and has much better defensive prowess. At this time I'd consider Ibanez an upgrade; however, the lineup is more unbalanced to the left side from this move.

Within this past week the Phillies have re-signed veteran Jamie Moyer and also tendered a contract to Chan Ho Park.

Retaining Moyer was a serious need to Philadelphia fans. Jamie does three things for Philadelphia, provide wins, eat innings, and act as a secondary pitching coach. Moyer is invaluable to this team and would have been a terrible loss if he ended up somewhere else.

Chan Ho Park is another intriguing signing. In recent years Park has been mainly a reliever, and an effective one at times. He decided to sign with the Phillies because they recently won the World Championship and because they are offering him an opportunity to start games.

If Park is to become a starter for the Phillies in '09, he'll have to win the fifth spot in the rotation away from talented pitchers such as Kyle Kendrick, JA Happ, Adam Eaton, and Carlos Carrasco. While there is certainly a possibility he could do that, I wouldn't be surprised to find Park in the Phillies' bullpen at the beginning of the '09 season.

The first four spots in the Phillies rotation, barring any spring training injuries or holiday season bar fights, are locked down with Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton taking the ball respectively every fifth day.

Much of the Phillies '08 World Championship squad will be back in '09. The bullpen will be virtually the same, as will the rotation. The lineup also will be mostly the same, with the only question marks being where Manuel decides to plug Ibanez in and how quickly Utley can return to the lineup healthy and productive.

All in all, the '09 season should be highly entertaining for the defending World Champs and the possibility for a repeat is certainly there.

Phillies and Hamels to Put Nail in The Coffin at Home Tonight

Will Shaffer — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:20:18 -0400

With a 3-1 advantage over the Tampa Bay Rays and team ace Cole Hamels pitching tonight in Philadelphia, it seems the Phillies have everything going for them to clinch their first World Championship in over 26 years.

Hamels has been virtually unhittable in these 2008 Playoffs and after scoring 10 runs in last nights contest the fightin' Phils have all the momentum they need to close this series out.

Should this series go to a sixth game, the venue would switch back to Tampa Bay. This would not be to Philadelphia's advantage; however, the Phillies have shown they can win on the road in these playoffs.

All the marbles rest on Cole Hamels shoulders tonight. If he pitches to his ability, there will be a massive celebration in Philadelphia after tonight's game.

Each game of this World Series has been highly entertaining and I'm sure tonight's will be no different.

New York Yankees: Offensive Explosion

Will Shaffer — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:18:45 -0400

The slumbering giant awoke in the Bronx last night, leading the Yankees to a lopsided 18-7 victory over the Texas Rangers.

The downpour of runs was more than twice the amount the Yankees could score their past four games.

Finally, Yankees fans could relax and enjoy a game, although no one knew what the outcome was to be for sure until the final third of the game.

Jason Giambi capped the night with a majestic grand slam in the third inning and finished the night with six RBI in all.

Bobby Abreu would end up getting two hits in five trips to the plate, driving in a pair of runs and scoring three on his own.

Alex Rodriguez would also play a large part in the game, hitting a three-run shot as part of a nine-run seventh inning.

In three official at-bats, A-Rod would end up with two hits, score four runs, drive in three, and walk twice.

That's production from the middle of the order.

In total, A-Rod and Giambi would combine for four hits in seven at-bats, driving in nine runs, and scoring six of them. That accounts for 15 of the Yankees' 18 runs last night being either scored or driven in by the two sluggers.

The new guy, Brett Gardner, finally recorded his first major league hit—an RBI single—and stole two bases for the Yanks. He looks extremely fast; a race between Gardner and Jose Reyes might be very interesting.

Check out Texas rookie Wandy Madrigal's ERA after his first Major League appearance—162.00. Ouch. How could the Rangers' management put the kid into his first Major League outing at Yankee Stadium in the seventh inning with merely a one run lead? That's just not right.

With the Boston Red Sox coming into town tonight, winning—and winning big—against Texas must be a little weight off the Yankees' shoulders.

New York must, however, win at least three out of its four games versus the reigning World Champions to even gain ground on them in the standings.

Boston comes in looking a little different than usual, without Big Papi David Ortiz hitting third in the order and without Mike Timlin coming out of the bullpen.

The Yankees are slated to have arguably their four best starting pitchers take the hill in these four games.

Pettitte (9-5) starts tonight against Jon Lester (6-3). Tomorrow Darrell Rasner (4-6) takes the hill against Josh Beckett (7-5). On Saturday it's Mike Mussina (10-6) against Justin Masterson (4-2). The series finale on Sunday will have Joba Chamberlain (2-2) go up against Tim Wakefield (5-6).

New York Yankees: Bad Chemistry?

Will Shaffer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:35:54 -0400

As we pass the midway point and near the All-Star game during the final season being played in old-school Yankee Stadium, one minor detail of the season couldn't be tarnishing it more. The Yankees record: 44 wins and 40 losses.

My explanation for this is two-fold: first the injury bug going around to Posada, A-Rod, Hideki Matsui, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Chien-Ming Wang.

The second reason is simply poor chemistry. The club has a great make-up when you analyze the pieces, but they have rarely performed well as a cohesive unit because the make-up of the team is largely inconsistent.

When the top of the lineup produces the middle of the order struggles.

When the middle of the order produces the top struggles.

The bottom of the lineup has been largely terrible all season.

The team has been unable to come from behind all year, and the bullpen has been poor at keeping the leads they do get before giving the ball to the closer. When will they all put it together?

Probably never.

Losing has almost become more routine than winning.

I'm sure no fan can be as disappointed as the manager, Joe Girardi.

Given reigns blessed with the most potent offense in the major leagues last year, along with a veteran starting pitching staff, hot prospects, and the best closer in the game—back in spring training Girardi was probably hoping to be in first place at this point in the season—maybe even with a lead.

Certainly that was the fans expectations, should it not also be the manager or the whole teams' for that matter?

How can one not be utterly disappointed in not only the record, but how it is they've gotten there?

At times, the offense pours on runs and usually with a grand display of power, speed, and clutch hitting.

The problem is they only have about four or five of these games a month.

The rest of the time it's a struggle to score more than a few, and despite the starting rotation's recent supply of quality starts (aside from the 15-6 cookie we recieved from the Mets), you can't honestly expect a starting pitcher to shut out the opponent every day.

Where has the fire gone with the New York Yankees, why don't they play with a sense of urgency yet?

The trade-deadline is right around the corner, and who knows what may happen?

My gut feeling is that Melky Cabrera is going to be sent somewhere to get a pitcher, who and where I have no idea, but with two quality outfielders in the minors he's become expendable.

This kind of move may affect Yankee's second baseman Robinson Cano, Cabrera's best friend, who's struggled plenty this season himself but has shown signs of life at the plate recently.

Who knows how Cano would react to such a move, would his game get better or will he slump?

Melky got off to a decent start but has been ice cold since May with the bat.

Other teams are still interested in him though, as he plays an excellent centerfield and has a very strong and accurate arm. He's a better hitter than his numbers indicate, and hopefully, he will get hot soon or his days in pinstripes may be numbered.

The Yankees need a reliable starting pitcher badly, if not an ace altogether to help replace Chien-Ming Wang.

Joba Chamberlain has pitched beautifully at times but has also shown growing pains and that he still has much to learn.

C.C. Sabathia would be an excellent summer rental—at any cost—even if he signs elsewhere in the offseason for more money.

Who cares about what he does next year if he helps the Yankees win the World Series this year?

Right now, trading Kennedy and Hughes for Santana would have been a good deal. Santana has pitched well for a poor Mets team, and Hughes and Kennedy are both on the DL. Both prospects pitched poorly for the Yankees when they were healthy earlier this year.

Maybe instead, make a move for a hot hitter such as Pat Burrell of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Philadelphia has been trying to move Pat forever, and the Yankees are probably one of the few teams he would waive his no-trade clause for.

With a .275 average in the first half to go along with at least 20 home-runs, 45 runs scored, 51 runs-batted in, and a .414 OBP, getting Burrell would be
an excellent addition to the strong left-handed hitting Yankees club.

Sure, he's a free agent after the year is done, but I recommend caring about what free agents do next year, after the World Series, not before.

Sure, the Phillies would want pitching for him, but the Yankees apparently are flush with pitching prospects. Why not part with a little bit of the future to help out now.

If the Yankees are to reach 100 wins this season, they'll have to earn 56 wins and lose only 22 ballgames from today until the end of the year.

I have a lot of faith in the Yankees, but doing that well certainly would seem to be a stretch even for my expectations at this point.

Something needs to get shaken up on this Yankees club.

Bringing up prospects to fill in the holes hasn't worked and will not work for the Yankees this season. It's led the team to a mediocre 44-40 mark as we near the All-Star break.

Let's go Brian Cashman. It's time the Yankees bought another world championship. Because if they don't find something to help this team out soon, there won't a celebration during the final season at Yankee Stadium—only mediocrity and criticism.

The Art of Hitting

Will Shaffer — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:34:19 -0400

Every couple of days a week, I get to go to the batting cage and smack yellow balls around.

I'm a switch hitter, but I'm naturally right-handed.

Sometimes I notice my left-handed stroke is sweeter than my swing from the right side. That is, when I make contact from the left side, the ball cracks off the sweet spot more often than from the right side.

I've also noticed that I make contact with more balls from the right-handed side of the plate.

Making these observations after a few times out led me to experiment the next time I hit.

I love hitting. If I could, I'd do it everyday—but batting tokens can be expensive, and who has time to go hit baseballs everyday?

After spending some time hitting earlier this evening, I found when I hit left-handed, my left hand flies off the bat after I reach the point of contact. In essence, I was swinging the bat solely with my right arm.

I tried not only keeping my left hand on the bat throughout my swing, but also to bring my left hand to the ball instead of my right, which had been my natural tendency.

The results were several shots hit hard either up the middle or to the right-field side. One late swing produced a scorched ball to left field. Nice.

Then I switched to my right side and applied the same philosophy.

Usually from the right side I pull way off the ball, sometimes so much I even hit the ball off the top of the bat. Usually I'm trying to bring my left hand to the ball, with my right hand pushing. Sounds familiar, right?

This time I tried making contact with my right hand, and just let my left go along for the ride. Had there not been netting above me, balls would have been flying farther than I'd ever hit one before. The sound the ball was making coming off my bat produced a grin, and it allowed me to relax and have more fun.

For just one moment, I felt like a real hitter.

Sometimes I wonder if guys up at the big-league level have problems similar to my own. I have fantastic timing and excellent hand-eye coordination, and a short and pretty decent swing.

If I were only three to six inches taller, I might have actually had a shot at being an athlete, but I never was really given a chance.

Instead, I watch ballgames everyday I can, and I admire the lucky guys who get to go out there and have fun playing.

And their salaries....

Josh Banks vs. Joba Chamberlain Match Makes for Best Pitching Duel This Year

Will Shaffer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:21:01 -0400

In the first inning, Joba Chamberlain struck out two before retiring the side.

Then Josh Banks pitched out of trouble, retiring Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi on strikeouts with Jeter and Damon standing on second and third respectively.

In the second, it was Chamberlain who worked out of a bases-loaded nobody-out jam.

Joba began by striking out Scott Hairston. Then he effectively blocked home plate, tagging out Adrian Gonzalez after Jose Molina quickly recovered a low pitch that got away. Then Joba struck out Khalil Green to retire the side, pumping his fist in the heat of the moment as he headed back to the dugout.

Both pitchers worked an effective and efficient third inning.

In the fourth, Joba surrendered his first run of the game. After giving up a leadoff single to Brian Giles, he walked Adrian Gonzalez, then struck out Chase Headley for the first out of the inning.

Up came Tony Clark who, on a two balls one strike count, laced a pitch just inside the foul-line in left field. The ball would end up in the stands for a ground-rule double, scoring Giles from second.

That would be all the scoring the Padres would do this inning—and ultimately in the game. A-Rod gunned down Adrian Gonzalez at home plate on a ground ball before Joba retired Khalil Green on a line-out to Bobby Abreu in deep right field.

The bottom of the inning was fairly uneventful, aside from Jason Giambi getting hit by an inside fastball by Banks with two outs already recorded. Posada would end up grounding out on a nice play by Adrian Gonzalez at first base to end the inning.

Before this game, I had not yet seen Josh Banks pitch. His stuff reminds me a lot of Mike Mussina's. He features a fastball clocked in the mid to high 80 mph range with a good slider and a knuckle curve. His allies are location and changing speeds.

He pitches effectively to both sides of the plate to both left and right-handed hitters using any of his pitches. He also competes hard, especially with runners in scoring position as we saw in the first inning. Very Moose-like.

The top of the fifth was unremarkable as well. Joba recorded his third walk of the game before his seventh strikeout. The inning would end on a sharp ground out to Jeter, who flipped to Cano for the force-out at second.

Cano flied out to the deepest part of the park, dead center field, for the first out of the bottom of the fifth inning. Had he hit the ball to any other field it would have tied the game.

Then Banks would do something he hadn't done all game: walk Melky Cabrera with one out.

Cabrera then took advantage of the Padres' greatest weakness, which is giving up stolen bases. The Melk-Man swiped second and third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jose Molina. Tie game.

Damon was then robbed of a single by Padres center fielder Jody Gerut to end the inning.

After recording two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth, Joba Chamberlain hit the 100 pitch mark and prompted Joe Girardi to end his day. Although Joba would not factor in the game's decision, he pitched extremely well.

His final line was five-and-two-thirds innings pitched, surrendering only one run off four hits, walking three batters, and striking out nine.

Jose Veras finished the inning by getting Tony Clark to fly out to Johnny Damon in left field.

The Yankees took their first lead of the day in the bottom of the sixth. Jeter led off with a single to left field, then stole second base with Bobby Abreu up. Abreu would later ground out to first base, moving Jeter to third.

On the first pitch, red-hot Alex Rodriguez singled to left field to score Jeter from third. Josh Banks' day would then be done, as Padres manager Bud Black replaced him with the left-handed Justin Hampson to face left-handed hitting Jason Giambi.

A-Rod stole second base before Giambi eventually struck out. Then Hampson intentionally walked Jorge Posada to face the left-handed Robinson Cano. Cano flew out to end the threat.

Veras pitched a scoreless seventh despite walking two.

The bottom of the seventh featured Jose Molina hitting a ground-rule double with one out. Damon was then robbed again of a base hit, this time by Padres right fielder Brian Giles in what will probably be a web-gem on SportCenter tonight.

Bud Black lifted Hampson in favor of the right-handed Bryan Corey to face Derek Jeter.

Jeter walked to bring up the slumping Bobby Abreu who has only three hits in his previous 27 at-bats. Abreu would pop out to end the inning.

Onto the eighth, a scary time for Yankees fans with Kyle Farnsworth on the mound. Not so scary today though, as Farnsworth would strike out two—only surrendering a single to Adrian Gonzalez—before retiring the side.

After an uneventful bottom of the eighth inning, Mariano Rivera would come in the top of the ninth to strike out the side, recording his 20th save of the season and preserving the Yankees' 40th win of the season.

The win is now the seventh in a row for the red-hot Yankees, now winners of their 12th game out of their last 15 played.

Granted, the wins are piling up against teams more or less not that great. But gaining consecutive sweeps is a difficult thing to do against any team in the big leagues today.

The Yankees have beaten some great pitchers, such as Roy Oswalt and Jake Peavy. They've won games by overwhelming the opposing team with strong offensive output and they've grinded out wins in close games.

The bullpen has preserved leads and the offense has provided leads for the bullpen to work with. The starters are giving the offense time to do its job before handing the ball to the bullpen.

Overall, the Yankees are tied with the Detroit Tigers as the hottest teams in Major League Baseball in their past 10 games, as both teams have gone 8-2.

After recording nine strikeouts today and only surrendering one run, Joba Chamberlain critics can only be silenced. His move to the rotation now looms large with the loss of Chien-Ming Wang. By the All-Star break he could legitimately be the Yankees' ace in the starting rotation.

June, as it was last season, seems to be the month the Yankees come to life. Yankees fans can only hope this type of play will continue as long as possible, as the team is still only five games behind Boston in the standings after today.

The win for the Yankees today displayed some of the best pitching I've seen from any team all season. It wasn't a shut-out, it wasn't a slug-fest, just good old fashioned baseball.

Yankees Pester Peavy, Protect Rasner

Will Shaffer — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:44:22 -0400

In a painfully long, rain-delayed game, the New York Yankees prevailed to win again, 8-5, late Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres. It was their sixth straight victory and 11th in their last 14 contests.

It wasn't as pretty as the prior two nights; the opponent scored this time.

Darrell Rasner had only walked six batters in his prior 42 innings pitched. Tonight he allowed five bases on balls, but only two runs and three hits, grinding out five innings to advance his record to 4-4 on the season.

The game mainly featured Alex Rodriguez, who scored two runs, hit a homer, stole a base, and played excellent defensively. His average for the season is now .337.

Johnny Damon also played very well with three hits, two RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored.

Contributions came throughout the lineup, as only Jason Giambi was hitless in the contest.

The bullpen came in, gave up a few runs, but never the lead, helping the Yankees win their third straight series.

Joba Chamberlain takes the mound tomorrow afternoon with a pitch limit of around 105, going for the sweep against Josh Banks.

New York Yankees: Finished Without Wang?

Will Shaffer — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:29:31 -0400

Ever since Chien-Ming Wang got injured on Sunday, there’s been more speculation on what's to come of the Yankees this season.

Wang will be out until at least September. When and if he does come back this season, how much can you seriously expect to get out of him?

We'll just have to wait until September to answer that.

Does this hurt the Yankees?

Absolutely.

Is it the end of their season, however?

Absolutely not.

Wang is one man who pitches once every five days. Will he be missed on each and every one of those days?

You bet.

Every pitcher in the major leagues will be traded to the Yankees before the trade deadline next month to fill Wang's void in the rotation.

Names like CC Sabathia, Randy Wolf, and a list so long of other potential suitors might make the cut to pitch in Wang’s place.

To make a trade for any of these pitchers the Yanks would have to move someone from their major league roster.

Will the Yankees trade anyone on their major league roster the way they're playing right now?

It’s doubtful, although with the Steinbrenner's history there’s a sure effort to do so.

General Manager Brian Cashman is smarter than that.

He will not pull the trigger on any deal unless he knows with certainty it's the right move to make. No matter how much pressure the Steinbrenner's put on him, Cashman would rather lose his job than hurt his team.

Let's not forget about the other four guys in the rotation.

Mike Mussina, who's having potentially the best season of his career.

Andy Pettitte, who's no slouch himself and pitched a pretty good game on Tuesday against San Diego to get to 7-5 on the season.

Joba Chamberlain, who's pretty much as nasty as they come, and he's still learning how to get better folks.

And last, but certainly not least, Darrell Rasner, an interesting case himself.

In several of his games, he got shelled and some of them were pretty good. He could pitch inside a little more, but who am I to say what he should do to be better?

The one thing most Yankee’s fans are sure of is that he will be good—sometimes. That's why he's your fourth starter and not your first. Rasner could win 10 games for them this season; he could also lose 10 games.

At some point in July, the Yanks will get Phil Hughes back.

There's the potential fifth man for the rotation.

The question is, will he be the Hughes that was terrible every time he pitched this year?

Or will he be the pitcher he is capable of being?

Which is the guy who almost threw a no-hitter against Texas last year. The season may hinge on his shoulders once back in the rotation.

Until that time, we'll watch others that may or may not be good.

We'll probably see Ian Kennedy again, but before that we'll see 31 year-old journeymen Dan Giese.

Giese has pitched well for the Yankees as a long reliever out of the bullpen. He's appeared in three games and only surrendered one run in seven and a third innings pitched.

The Yankees offense is rolling right now.

They're getting contributions throughout the lineup, from the leadoff guy down to the nine-hole hitter.

The sluggers are slugging, the slappers are slapping; everyone is finally performing as we expected them to.

The starters are holding opponents down while the offense tears opposing pitchers up. Should there be a close game, there's Mariano Rivera waiting in the back of the pen.

That's Yankee's baseball.

It's a long season, full of ups and downs, and we're only a little past the midway point in June.

The team is only five and a half games behind Boston in the standings. Can they catch them?

Of course they can.

Losing a pitcher of Wang's caliber right now certainly is not a good thing, but the whole team is not going to crawl into a corner because of it.

A trade could happen.

The Yankees are on a roll, so let's just sit back, relax and watch to see what happens for another week.

By the time we come back I'm sure they'll be something else juicy for us to talk about.

New York Yankees: Here They Come!

Will Shaffer — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:44:13 -0400

In only one week, much has changed for the New York Yankees.

The ace of the starting rotation, Chien-Ming Wang, is hurt and out with what manager Joe Girardi calls a sprained foot. Wang sustained the injury while running to home plate and scoring during the finale of Sunday's Interleague Series against the Houston Astros.

A timetable for Wang's return is forthcoming, as he is returning to New York for an MRI.

The victory was a lopsided 13-0 for the Yankees. It was the medicine the team badly needed. Now winners of five out of their last six games, the Yankees seem to be rolling. Everything is working for them right now, aside from the injury to arguably their best starting pitcher.

Alex Rodriguez seems to have really found his zone, displaying brilliance both offensively and defensively over the past week.

Rodriguez has been very solid ever since coming off the disabled list, but recently in each at-bat he has shown really good plate discipline—taking walks and not swinging at bad pitches out of the strike zone.

When the ball does go over the plate, he's usually not missing it. A-Rod is hitting .326 now on the season with 12 home runs—two in the past two games—36 runs scored, and 37 RBI.

His on-base-percentage is .411; any OBP above .400 is exceptional. He's not going to hit 54 home runs this year, but he may be one of the biggest keys to the Yankees lineup.

Another key player in the Yanks' batting order is Johnny Damon, who is on a sick tear right now.

In his last 110 at-bats, Damon has collected 47 hits—that's a .427 average, in case anyone was curious. He's also scored 43 runs now on the season, which leads the team and ties him for 11th in the American League. That's the production you're looking for from your leadoff hitter if you're Joe Girardi.

With white-hot Damon getting on base and captain Derek Jeter's bat starting to warm, three-hole hitter Bobby Abreu should see his fair share of RBI opportunities. Not many hitters have an eye like Abreu's, so should he walk, the guy behind him couldn't be anyone better than the also white-hot Rodriguez.

Jorge Posada rejoining the club has really been the last string needed to pull the team out of the depths of .500 ball. With everyone hitting so well in front of him, there's no pressure on Jorge to do anything aside from what he's capable of at the plate. It must be a fun place to be in right now.

Even Robinson Cano seems to be feeling his way out of his season-long slump. The second baseman had two hits in four trips to the plate on Sunday, and he even walked once. That's the biggest thing for Robbie and the team: If Cano can start to work opposing pitchers as everyone else in the lineup does, he might start to get some pitches to hit.

Having a productive Cano as an eight-hole hitter with this team is going to be something for opposing clubs to fear.

The nine-hole hitter, Melky Cabrera, is having a solid season offensively as well. The Melk-Man has seven homers, 24 runs scored, and 31 RBI.

Not bad numbers in mid-June for your ninth hitter. Murderer's row is officially back—and it's going to be fun to watch the rest of the summer.

The pitching has been very good as well.

Wang, despite getting injured, won his eighth game of the season Sunday. He won't be injured forever, and once he returns the Yankees will have a very good starter on the hill for them everyday. Invariably, the hot pitching prospect Phil Hughes will be healthy again too.

Mike Mussina, now sporting a 10-4 record, is on pace to record his first ever 20 win campaign, something longtime Moose fans are absolutely dying for. No one deserves it more.

We'll stop the predictions right there though, as it is only mid-June.

Andy Pettitte seems to be finding his groove as well, earning three wins in his past five games.

With the pitch count unplugged for Joba Chamberlain, the sky is the limit for the young righthander. Joba has the potential to be one of the nastiest starters in the game.

Look at guys like Johan Santana, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and Roy Halladay; on any given day they all have two or three pitches that are downright nasty. If you're lucky, they only have one or two. With Joba learning the grip of Wang's power sinker, he could have five nasty pitches.

He can paint either corner with a blistering 96-99 mph fastball or use a 91-93 mph turbo-sinker to induce groundouts.

He can fool you with either an 86-89 mph slider, or softer pitches like the curveball he learned from Hughes or the change-up he learned from Ian Kennedy.

Hitters have to be walking up to the plate wondering what his agenda is going to be against them—that in itself is the most powerful weapon a pitcher can have.

With Posada putting down the fingers behind the plate, if Chamberlain gets control over those five pitches between now and September, you can pretty much pencil him in for a win every game he goes out there as long as the Yanks can score three or more runs.

Everyone, including myself, has criticized the team taking Joba out of the bullpen. With Wang suddenly out of the rotation, the move could be a big one for the Yankees—possibly even season-saving when we look back come winter.

There are still 92 games left for the Yankees to play this season. With the lineup finally performing to it's capabilities, the rotation pitching well, and Mariano Rivera having one of his finest seasons closing, the Yanks are poised to start winning games in bunches. Stay tuned.

MLB: Baseball Today is Thriving

Will Shaffer — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:34:51 -0400

With nearly a month to go until the All-Star Game in New York, one looks at the standings this season and sees some surprises. For some of us, the parity is a big one.

Who would have thought Tampa Bay would be 11 games over .500 in mid-June?

Who could believe the team with the most wins in baseball would be the Chicago Cubs? Even if it is only by one win.

Even more surprising is the parity we find in today's game. 50 years ago it was all the Yankees, 30 years ago there was the Big Red Machine, in the 80's we had the Oakland A's, and the 90's had the Atlanta Braves and Yankees again representing baseball's elite.

Now, the elite is a melting-pot of teams like the Boston Red Sox, both the Chicago clubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (which is really tough to say five times fast).

While these teams have the best records today, a week from now the whole picture could be totally different. That's how close everyone is behind them. That's what makes the game exciting for longtime fans like me and hopefully many many others.

Surprisingly, the first-place divisional team in baseball with the largest lead over the second place team is the Chicago White Sox who are six and a half games in front of the Minnesota Twins. Man, the Twins must miss Santana right now. But even a six and a half game lead isn't really that much of a concern at this stage of the season.

The standings don't really have significance until after the All-Star Game. That's when it's time to start playing your best ball and forget about the first half. Once the trade-deadline passes and the calendar flips to August, then we go full-throttle until the end of the season with only a pit stop for reinforcements in September when the minor league season concludes.

What's more surprising right now are the teams currently in the cellar or are just keeping their necks from being in the cellar—entertaining teams like the Mets, the Rockies, the Yankees, and the Padres. These were all playoff caliber teams within the past few seasons, or in the Yankees' case every season. What's going on?

The game of baseball, while the rules generally stay the same, is constantly evolving. Over time the players change positions, ability, and sometimes teams, just as the coaches, managers, and GM's come and go too. The World Series trophy hasn't gone to the same team two years in a row since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000.

The game seems to thrive on the parity as well, generating record numbers of fans coming to see the games live. Baseball is good for TV too, as stations that air ballgames get good ratings during those time slots.

Football doesn't have baseball's parity, certainly not even close to similar length of season either, but honestly I think the fans prefer it that way. It's more entertaining right now.

Baseball truly is the greatest American Pass-time.

With so many games to be played, so many teams, players, and coaches fighting hard everyday and so many fans coming out to see them all, how can anyone say any game in America, or the world, is better?

Chien-Ming Wang Improves To 7-2

Will Shaffer — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:13:10 -0400

With a 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics late last night, the New York Yankees Chien-Ming Wang improves his season record to 7-2.

Wang was stellar. Despite allowing the leadoff runner to get on base in all but two of his seven and a third innings pitched, the big righthander gave up only one run with the aid of four double plays.

That's Chieng-Ming Wang baseball, and it was exactly what the Yankees needed last night.

Wang began the season a perfect 6-0 after his first seven starts, but had been unable to record a victory in his previous six games. His last win was back on May 2 against the Seattle Mariners.

The brass can breath a sigh of relief, as Wang, a huge part of this Yankees rotation, finally looked like the pitcher that has won 19 games in each of the last two seasons. With regained control and confidence in his turbo-sinker, along with a sharp slider, Wang and the Yanks look to start heating up out West.

In a low scoring affair that included two hit batters, one for each club, and a balk by Oakland starter Dana Eveland, the Yankees climb over the .500 mark once again. Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 17th save, and Jose Veras recorded two outs for the hold.

Hopefully, the strong pitching will spill over into tonight's game with Darrell Rasner taking the hill.

One thing the Yankees have had this season is strong starting from Wang, Andy Pettitte, and Mike Mussina. The trio are now 21-11 in their starts this year, with Pettitte slated to hit the mound late Thursday evening.

Rasner too has pitched very well, despite a 3-3 record he sports a solid 2.58 era in his six starts this season.

While phenom Joba Chamberlain works on getting his arm stretched out for going deeper into games—he was up to 78 pitches going four and a third innings his last outing—the other Yankee starters need to continue to provide quality starts to keep a struggling bullpen well-rested.

With newly appointed set-up man Kyle Farnsworth apparently ailing, figuring out who to put in games between the starter and "Sandman" Rivera has become a riddle for manager Joe Girardi.

Yesterday it was Veras, who will it be today? Or tomorrow?

With less than two months before the trade deadline, it's fair to say General Manager Brian Cashman should be looking into this problem before it gets any worse. Then again, if the team starts to win games left and right, the problem hopefully will take care of itself in the process.

What's Wrong with the New York Yankees?

Will Shaffer — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:36:15 -0400

The New York Yankees are nearing the midway point of their final season in Yankee Stadium. Their record? .500

Granted, with some of the injuries they've sustained, being at .500 isn't that bad. Then again, fans don't care about what's not bad—they care about what's not good.

So here we go again. It was about this time last season when Roger Clemens rejoined the team, and some say that that was the boost they needed to play well enough to make the playoffs. Where will the boost come from this season?

Pitching-wise, the Yanks' 'pen must be better. You know something is wrong when the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen is better than the Yankees. What's more important though, is why.

The Phillies seem to have the formula, with different guys like Ryan Madsen and Rudy Seanez ready to go out and take care of the seventh, Tom Gordon or JC Romero in the eighth, and then Brad Lidge in the ninth.

The Yankees? Edwar Ramirez or Jose Veras—who?—for the seventh, Mr. Inconsistent Kyle Farnsworth in the eighth, and then the best closer in the game, Mariano Rivera, in the ninth. Who else can the Yankees turn to? Ross Ohlendorf or LaTroy Hawkins? The Yanks don't even have a left-handed reliever, let alone a J.C. Romero (didn't the Phils get him off waivers last season?).

I completely understand the Steinbrenner's desire to have Joba Chamberlain in the starting rotation, especially with Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy not only injured, but literally sucking when not injured anyway.

But here's what the Steinbrenner's don't understand—you don't change something that's working. Taking Joba out of the set-up role has destroyed what was a solid Yankees bullpen and turned it into a mess.

Ross Ohlendorf is a starter with a good sinker. He's not the greatest candidate for a bullpen job unless you put him in with a ten-run lead. LaTroy Hawkins had a good year last year, but do you really expect him to have two in a row? Farnsworth was pitching great in the seventh inning, but the eighth and sometimes in tie games in the ninth? Bad choice. But look, it's Girardi's only option. And when they do put Mo in a tie game in the ninth? Look what happened against the Royals yesterday.

Bullpens are role-playing positions, and when you take someone out of their role, you never know what you're going to get out of them, even if they are the best relief pitcher of all time.

Enough about the pitching woes, what is going on with the offense? When's the last time we saw Derek Jeter hitting .276? Why is Robbie Cano so bad this year?

Whether Jeter will admit it or not, getting hit on the hand hurts, and it takes time for wounds to heal. He seems to be swinging the bat the same way he always does nevertheless, so what's the problem?

My opinion: The dude is too much of a team player. He's always the guy trying to punch the ball through the right side to get that runner from first to third. He's always trying to get the ball in the air to get that runner home from third with less than two outs. Dude—just take what you're given and hit it hard somewhere!

I think Derek's hitting problems all revolve around thinking too much at the plate. He has too much natural ability to be hitting like this. He 's so much more of a dynamic player than this. Unless the rumors are true, maybe Jeter is simply starting to age after all...maybe his best seasons are behind him now. I don't believe that, but hey, results speak louder than beliefs.

Cano is the complete opposite of Jeter. He has zero agenda when stepping to the plate, other than hit the ball hard, anywhere. Robbie is a way better hitter than what we've seen so far this season and everyone knows it.

Honestly though, what he's been doing this season is killing the Yankees. He's playing great in the field, but he's got to become more selective at the plate. Maybe try to draw a walk sometime this season? Maybe, instead of swinging at a pitch he knows he can get his bat to, try swinging at pitches you know you can get hits from?

How many times this season has Cano came to the plate with a runner or two on base, swung at the first or second pitch, and either grounded out weakly or popped out? Too many times to count. It's tolerable in April and May, but now it's June—now it's unacceptable.

Everyone else in the lineup is doing pretty well. Johnny Damon is finally starting to look like the Johnny Damon I remember with Boston, the A's, and KC. Abreu isn't walking as much as he used to, but that's because he's getting pitched to because the guy behind him is A-Rod. Giambi is on pace to hit at least 40 homers this year. Matsui is hitting .323. Melky is even having a solid year at the plate. Now they have Posada back. Where's the weakness in that lineup? Look at number's two and 24 and you'll have the answer.

When Jeter and Cano start hitting they way they're capable of, and the bullpen starts putting up 0s instead of L's, then the Yankees will have a winning record and start climbing the standings. It's only June, so you can't count them out, but it's time for the Yankees to start playing Yankees baseball.

Chase Utley: My Fantasy Team Dream

Will Shaffer — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:55:24 -0400

My best fantasy team is now 7-3 and I don't know where it'd be without Chase Utley.

The Dude is killing the ball all over the place.

Currently he's sporting a .316 average with 21 bombs, 51 runs scored and 56 RBI—numbers many other players would happily take at season's end.

Overall, he has accumulated 311 points for my fantasy club and the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, the mid-point of the long season, is still more than a month away. The possibility of a 1,000 point fantasy season for the man exists and that's straight sick.

Chase has exceeded even my own expectations. I watched the kid's numbers from the moment the Phils drafted him at number fifteen in the first round of the 2000 draft. His college numbers were gaudy, so expectations were already high for the kid.

Here we are, eight years later, and Chase looks to be a lock for not only the All-Star Game, but also the NL MVP. When he's hot he can hit home runs five days in a row, or more.

When he's not, there's the consistent aspect of his game, which I view as Jeter-like, that still produces timely big hits and loads of runs scored and RBI. He almost is like the Phillies version of Derek Jeter, only younger with more power and from the left side of the dish.

Chase has been a staple on my fantasy team all year. With a strong supporting caste, the team is tough as nails to beat. This team was without Jorge Posada for much of the season and should only receive a lift from his return—although Chris Coste, even with reduced playing time compared to Posada's, did an excellent job as a fill in.

The rest of the team is an interesting mix: a platoon at first base between the red-hot Jason Giambi and the highly talented Derek Lee. At short-stop is the captain himself, Derek Jeter. Aramis Ramirez mans my 3B post. My outfield is a hodgepodge of new and different guys like Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin, and Nate McLouth. The backups are hard not to start with Kosuke Fukudome and Juan Pierre.

My pitching has been either the Phillies' or Yankees', as I live and die my fantasy dreams through their success or failures each week.

So far my fantasy dreams have been warm sweet ones with this team.

In first place with a nice three game lead over the second place team in my division, this group is almost a lock to make the playoffs once the fantasy season ends in seven weeks.

Who knows how far this team will go?

The only definitive is this: with Chase Utley on my team, the sky is the limit. Thank you Chase Utley, for being awesome this season.

Alex Rodriguez is a Fantasy Team Anchor

Will Shaffer — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:57:32 -0400

I have five fantasy-baseball teams on mlb.com. Each one of them is in some ways similar and in many ways different.

First off, one of the things that makes mlb.com's fantasy game different from many others is how pitching is handled. Instead of choosing individual pitchers and factoring their stats into one's team stats, on mlb.com, you have to choose an entire teams staff and hope for the best.

The team I felt was going to be my best was obviously going to be the one I have A-Rod on. After a monster season last year, how could you not go with the guy for your number-one pick, and I was lucky enough to get the number-one pick.

Yet here we are, more than halfway through the fantasy season, and my team with A-Rod not only isn't in first place, it doen't even sport a winning record as it's now 5-5 after 10 weeks. Alex strained his quad and hit the DL for a while, which didn't really help, but there's more than one player on every team.

The rest of my squad is rounded out as follows: at catcher I have a platoon of mostly Chris Coste of the Phillies and my backup, if he gets hurt or slumps, is Jose Molina—unfortunately that's the best I could do at this position on this team.

At first base I have Adrian Gonzalez, who's having a terrific season for the offensively challenged San Diego Padres. At second, I have the very talented letdown named Robinson Cano, who's virtually killed my fantasy team as well as the Yankees with his season long slump. At short I have Yunel Escobar of the Atlanta Braves, who's done pretty well—or at least better than my backup for the position which is the White Sox's Orlando Cabrera.

Obviously my third baseman is A-Rod. My outfield is comprised of Shane Victorino for speed, Carlos Quentin—a mid-season pickup who's having a terrific year, and Bobby Abreu, who's usually a fantasy team stud and is having a pretty good year—so far.

I was smart with pitching on this team, grabbing that nasty Padres staff early in the draft, but I also have the Yankees and Phillies staff's as well for backups. This proved to be a great move as the Padres and Yankees staff's have been up and down so far this season, and the Phillies staff has been very very good to this point.

So you can see, it's a pretty good club on paper, but the results haven't been what I expected. A-Rod is hitting well, but not blasing bombs at the awesome pace he was last season. Robbie Cano is doing nothing I expected him to, which I shouldn't be surprised about, since he seems to be a better second-half player anyway.

The loss of Jake Peavy has diminished San Diego's nasty pitching staff and downgraded it to just good—for now. The Phillies' pitching has been a warm welcome. It should be interesting to see how the rest of the fantasy season plays out for this team and my others, which I'll talk about in future articles.