Stumbled across this ESPN Sports Center ad with Yasiel Puig.  Gave me a chuckle.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=13356536

SU asks this question: if you are mostly sitting on the bench, how do you get hurt?  The Yankees just announced that their latest utility infielder acquisition, Dustin Ackley from Seattle, has been placed on the DL with a right lumbar strain.  How is that possible?  Out 20-30 days and surgery is a possibility.  It’s not like he was this great pick up but still…

SU will give Brian Cashman a pass as he was smart enough to not trade any of their prospects for some over-priced contract.  As a long-time Yankee fan, I would much rather watch guys like Judge, Refsnyder and Severino for years to come than see a rental pitcher for a few months who will be gone come October – even if it means missing the playoffs this year.

The Yankees need a back-up first baseman.  And if Texeiria goes down with an injury, they are really exposed.  That is the one position where they are extremely vulnerable.

SU tuned in to the Met game last night to see 3 homeruns in about 5 minutes from a team that just a few days ago could not hit.  The fans were on their feet and Citifield was truly rocking.  SU expects the gloom and doom fans who call in to WFAN to be few and far between now as ownership made the moves that needed to be made.  The acquisition of Cespedes as a rental player is just the kind of move that the big boys do year-after-year.  If he can get hot, that adds a lot to the line up.  SU is on record that if the Mets get in the playoff hunt, they will steal the backpage of the tabloids from the Yankees.  I maintain my position and let’s see now what happens.  Of course, they need to play on the road like they play at home (check the splits – really different).  But when you can throw out a stud pitcher every night, the fans get excited.

Meanwhile, the Yankees surprisingly keep chugging along and have no more games outside of the Eastern time zone for the rest of the season.  The offense from the bottom of the order has come alive and even Stephen Drew is showing signs of having a pulse.  SU is excited to see how Severino does this week in his Major League debut.  Long-time subscriber A. Grossman, who seems shy about posting on the blog, sent these comments SU’s way this morning:

“The Yankees don’t get to high or too low in their mind set as they approach each game. No egos…. just business at hand. With our underachieving 2nd baseman batting a crisp 370 BA in the month of July might be the last piece in our lineup which we can almost say is not formidable from top to bottom… almost.  We are not a flashy team and does not rely on one or two players anymore. These past 2 weeks the bottom 3 in our lineup has definitely participated in our wins. To keep this steady karma going should help us not getting into a slump… I hope.  I don’t think we are going to run away with the division. As long as we win more series than losses we may be able to climb to about 17- 19 over 500… which would put us at a surprising 90-72…. 7 games ahead of Las Vegas prediction.  PS   We can’t trade Nova as he is fresh and just getting back in the swing of things. Who else will step up now from our Starters?”

SU is cautiously optimistic now (a big change for me from earlier in the year) but 12 games left with Toronto will likely tell the story.

Met fans: are you legitimately excited?  Or have your hearts been broken one too many times?  Time to stop the moaning and groaning?