SU was watching some Yankee action this afternoon (naturally, we use that term loosely). All of a sudden in the 6th inning, up comes A-Rod to pinch hit with 2 men on and 2 outs. He just missed a 96 mph fastball and then hit a liner foul in the right field corner. He ultimately walked and kept the inning alive. Not much right? But SU saw something: the guy has pride and even though he never plays anymore, he really took each pitch seriously and was right there.
Here is what needs to happen right after the All-Star Break:
- Trade Beltran before he really pulls his hamstring. They are going to lose a great opportunity by keep running him out there. Do it now!
- Shut Texeira down now for the season. He is awful. A-Rod gets all the flack but Texeira is an automatic out. Let him have his surgery. You can’t move him with his bad knee and bad neck and 13 rbis for half a season.
- Trade Chapman to the Nationals so he can be re-united with Dusty Baker. They need a closer and are a win now team.
Prediction: the Yankees will still contend for the wild card even with these moves because A-Rod is going to catch fire and Refsnyder will get more steady at bats. But you have to loosen the roster. Aaron Hicks can go in any trade – not a NY guy. SU hopes he figures it out but it won’t be in the Bronx.
By the way, how good is Didi Gregorius? This guy is hitting .300 with power. He should bat 3rd or 4th. Girardi has him (finally) up to 5th. I know it was hard to move him ahead of Chase Headley.
Of course, Aaron Judge now tweaked his hamstring and went on the DL. But he will come back and needs to be part of the picture. The fans are ready. SU is ready. Cashman: make it happen.
As for the Mets, their pitching is falling apart but with Wheeler coming back, they should be able to hang around. Too bad for Harvey although many Met fans have no compassion for this guy. No doubt, he has lost millions on his next contract.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Agreed on all your suggestions. I don’t think the team gets any less competitive this season because of those moves and they could get some decent talent in return.
Texeira is truly awful. The season is a bust and he should go fix whatever he needs to fix. I like Refsnyder’s bat but he’s not much of a first baseman. Don’t love putting a righty who never played the position out there every day. Good for him making the best of an opportunity though. And Didi is really fun to watch. One of the good moves by Cashman by the way.
Totally agree with your take on the Yankees. Sometimes you need addition by subtraction. The team could still contend and perhaps adding some youthful exuberance would provide a spark.
As a Mets fan, I would love to see us add a strong lefty arm in the bullpen. I think Verrett or Gilmartin will prove adequate as a 5th starter in Harvey’s place so I would spend our few bullets we have left improving the pen. While the likelihood of a Yanks/Mets trade is virtually nil, I would love to hear from the Yankees fan perspective what it would take to get Miller or Chapman. Two closers have already been moved so the market is starting to heat up.