Swings (and maybe some misses)

-I am big fan of Brad Richards joining the New York Rangers. The fact that he took less money to join the Blueshirts says it wasn't all about the money, as with some past free agents who came to Broadway. He knows John Tortarella and has proven he can win in that system. He brings a playmaking ability, both on the power play and in even strength situations, that the Rangers have been sorely lacking for a couple of years now. While this doesn't necessarily mean that Lord Stanley's Cup is in this team's future, it does mean that at least, as of right now, that gleaming silver has caught the attention of the Rangers. There are still some things that need to happen with the Rangers before we pencil them in. Marian Gaborik has to prove he is tough enough to handle New York and Torts' system. Youngsters like Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Michael Del Zotto, Michael Sauer, Dan Girardi, and Marc Staal, Derek Stepan, and a host of others have to keep improving. And, in the case of Callahan, stay healthy. However, for the first time since Scott Gomez and Chris Drury signed on the dotted line a few years ago, there is real talk of contention. It is my opinion that the Rangers are much better now than they were then.

-Phil Hughes makes his first start since April tonight. He had shown increased velocity during his rehab outings in Trenton so there is always the hope that he comes back and regains the form he showed in the beginning of last season. If the Yankees get that pitcher back they significantly bolster their pitching staff which consists of C.C. Sabathia and the two surprises of Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. If Hughes is the same pitcher he was at the beginning of last season then A.J. Burnett becomes the fifth starter by default which isn't a terrible thing. And, if anything happens to anyone there is always Ivan Nova waiting in Scranton.

-I can't help but wonder when Derek Jeter is finally going to reach 3,000 hits. If I had to guess it will come at home against Tampa Bay tomorrow or Friday. Yeah, I know I went out on a limb. I'm also betting that it come on a ground ball.

-The more I think about what the Yankees did with Ivan Nova the more I get a little miffed at the Yankees. Here was a guy who was really starting to turn the corner in his pr career and could be blossoming into a solid #3 starter and then bam! Down to the minors. The Yankee leadership said it was best for his development. Really? Giving the kid the impression that no matter how well he does he was never in the Yankees plans. Telling the kid that basically Freddy Garcia has more upside than you do? He seems like a level-headed enough youngster that maybe this doesn't really bother him. But, then again, he is young and was pitching the best baseball of his MLB career and he still couldn't hold down a job with the Yankees. Can't be good for anyone's confidence. With all that said, I don't envy the choices Brian Cashman has to make. Nova was pitching well but so was everyone else except A.J. Burnett. It probably wouldn't be the best thing for Nova to move to the bullpen because he takes a while to warm up and it also is a different form of pitching. Personally, gun to my head, I probably move Garcia into the bullpen, or Colon. Colon hasn't pitched this many innings in years and has had several injuries to his arm over that span. Garcia is having what is basically a career year and he is like 50 years old at this point. I just don't like "rewarding" kids with a demotion when they are playing well. Nor do I like stunting their development so that an aging veteran who doesn't have near the amount of upside can live off a Yankee Legacy like Jorge Posada is doing. Sure, Posada is hitting right now but is this Jorge really better than a Jesus Montero right now? No. Or, the Yankees could ease Montero into the bigs by sending Frankie "Throw it to Centerfield" Cervelli down to AAA and letting Montero catch a game or two a week and get a start at DH every now and then like the Yankees did with a young Posada.

-Added to the Yankee prospects to watch list are Cito Culver, the Yanks first round draft pick last year and Mark Montgomery, a relief pitcher with Low A Charleston who has struck out 16 batters in 6 innings. Culver, the man whom Keith Law said had no business being a first round pick is hitting .299 with 15 RBI's in 18 games. I'm not saying Culver is going to be the next Jeter but he is making real strides. And, for those interested, this year's first round draft pick Dante Bichette, Jr. is hitting .159 but has 15 walks in 13 games and only has 9 K's. He has something you can't teach there and for an 18 year-old kid thats not a bad start. However, it's Mason Williams that will soon be rocketing up prospect lists, especially if he keeps hitting like he is.

-Mets fans have something to be excited about and the name is Matt Harvey. Here is what ESPN's Keith Law said about Harvey as he heads into the Futures Game "Harvey was the seventh pick in last year's draft and came into pro ball boasting a plus fastball with good downhill plane and a solid average-or-better changeup but struggled with both breaking balls. Reports this year have the breaking balls improving but the changeup regressing -- which would still leave him a three-pitch guy, plenty to be a front-line starter given the strength of his fastball. Harvey tore through high Class A, which is what you'd expect a first-rounder drafted out of the ACC to do. He has made one start in Double-A, giving up four runs and allowing 11 baserunners in four-plus innings." The stuff is there with Harvey and I personally think he will be a future ace for the Mets, especially if they the ballpark as it is.

-For those of you expecting some sort of rant about the All-Star Game rosters, sorry. I just enjoy the game for what it is nowadays. It's always nce to see certain guys make it but its not like not making an All-Star team is like like losing a Gold Glove vote to a DH like Tino Martinez did to Rafael Palmeiro who only played 25 games at first.

Fly Balls

-Imagine you are the manager of a team that just rattled off 11 wins in 12 games, your team is 15-6 in the month of June and you are without your best pitcher who is still rehabbing from Tommy John Surgery. Your best player just came back after spending over 50 days on the DL. What do you do? Resign of course. That is exactly what Nationals manager Jim Riggleman did after his team beat the Mariners 1-0 on Thursday afternoon. Riggleman didn't want to be a lame duck manager, said he wanted job security, so he quit his job. Wait, you wanted job security so you quit your job? If I am a baseball GM I wouldn't even consider a guy who literally quit on his team. Something tells me his heart just wasn't in it, wasn't in this team. If it was he wouldn't have quit, he would have let the numbers do the talking and forced GM Mike Rizzo to re-sign him. Well, stupid is as stupid does and stupid did.

-I am getting really fed up with the Yankees handling of Jesus Montero. There is no way Francisco Cervelli is better than Montero in any facet of the game. Brian Cashman even admitted as much recently. When Jorge Posada was a youngster they didn't keep him at AAA until Joe Girardi was ready to leave. Nope. they brought Posada up and allowed him to learn on the job. If the Yankees want to see what this kid is really made of bring him up, allow him to spell Russell Martin a couple of days a week, thereby keeping Martin fresh, and allow him to DH against lefties. That's 3-4 games a week he could be playing in. And when he sin't playing he could learn from Tony Pena, Russell Martin, Jorge Posada, and Joe Girardi, all former catchers how to better field his position. Right now Montero is batting over .290 at AAA and people around him, including former All-Star catcher Butch Wynegar, think he is bored. Wynegar even said the kid was MLB ready. C'mon Cashman, bring him up!

-Ron Artest has filed for a name change. His new name? Metta World Peace. Ummm, yeah.

-With the 17th overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft the New York Knicks took Iman Shumpert, a 6-6 PG from Georgia Tech. The Knicks passed on Chris Singleton from Florida State to get Shumpert. Wait, wasn't Iman a model from the 1990's? Anyway, the kid is supposed to be a good defensive player, something the Knicks need but will not use under Mike D'Antoni.

-The last pick in the NBA draft, the Mr. Irrelevant of the NBA was Isaiah Thomas, Jr. We knew Isaiah Thomas was irrelevant in the NBA for quite some time. At least Jim Dolan didn't order the Knicks to draft him, now that would have been interesting.

-The New Jersey Nets had a very nice draft. They traded with the Celtics for Marshon Brooks, a pretty good scorer who can slide right into the #2 guard position. In the second round they traded for Bojan Bogdanovic, who ranked second in the Euroleague in scoring. I don't think he will be around for a year or two but the Nets needed some extra scoring punch. The Nets then went for defense and rebounding when they took Jordan Williams from Maryland. He is small at 6'9" but he has the instincts. I'll give the Nets an A- for their draft.

-The Knicks draft wasn't as exciting. They could have something if their first rounder Iman Shumpert learns from Chauncey Billups all that he can in running an NBA offense. Until then they have a perimeter defender who should at least contest opposing ballhandlers when Billups is off the floor. They obtained big man Josh Harrellson from Charlotte in the second round. Harrellson is big, has little offensive talent, and will be lucky to crack D'Antoni's strict rotation. Knicks grade is a B- but if Shumpert develops into their PG of the future then this becomes an A.

-There are rumors swirling around the New York Rangers and Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators. Depending on what the Senators would want in return for Spezza he would be an excellent fit on Broadway. However, I don't think a deal will happen, not with Brad Richards a free agent. Spezza had knee issues last year that limited him to 60 games but he is a playmaker and goal scorer, just what the Rangers need. I can't see Ottawa wanting to trade him though, nor do I see the Rangers wanting to part with a lot of the kids they have patiently developed.

-I am not understanding Joe Girardi and his insistance on playing Andruw Jones over Brett Gardner in left against left-handed pitching. Gardner is hitting .278 against lefties with more walks (5) than strikeouts (4) in 36 at-bats. Andruw Jones is hitting .241 against lefties in 58 at-bats but has 21 strikeouts and only 6 walks! Oh, its because Jones has homered 4 times off of lefties this year? Crap Girardi! Look, Joe, I don't disagree with a lot of what you do but give Gardner the playing time. He has earned it. If it makes you feel any better Joe, Gardner and Jones have the same amount of homers (4) but Andruw is only hitting .213 while Gardner is hitting .286 now. C'mon man! Be smart! Put the best lineup out there!

-Don't look now but Ivan Nova is now 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA. He is 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in June. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for this kid.

Pop Flies & Suicide Squeezes

-Derek Jeter went 259 at bats between home runs when he hit his first today against the Rangers. He then had to wait until his next at bat before belting his second one of the year, the shortest wait time for him between homers. Baseball is weird sometimes. By going 4 for 5, Jeter raised his batting average 20 points to .276. Baseball is a strange, strange game. But awesome as well.

-Francisco Cervelli hit his first grand slam today. He actually had to wait longer than Jeter between homers, going 307 AB's, last homering on June 24, 2009.

-Justin Verlander threw his second no-hitter of his career, and the second one this week which is also the second one this year. Verlander struck out 4, which tied his lowest output this year, which is also his other complete game this year.

-Mariano Rivera pitched 1 inning on May 6, 2011 and struck out more batter than the starter, Ivan Nova did in 7 innings.

-According to Ben Badler on Twitter, Blue Jays minor league shortstop Gustavo Pierre has 20 errors in 27 games. All that for the bargain basement price of $700,000.

-There will be no repeat this year in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks completely outplayed the Lakers. The Lakers showed absolutely no class in their loss. Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom got thrown out for flagrant fouls and the Lakers had no control over their emotions, or the Mavericks. On a side note, I guess Kobe Bryant was right to feel like the Mavs could beat the Lakers, because, well, because they did. In four games. So, now I guess its time for Phil Jackson to take a hiatus from the NBA before he goes on to coach the Heat, Knicks, or some other team with some superstar power.

-Whose offense is more feeble? The Twins or Padres? The Padres have been shut out 8 times this year. The Twins have a team OPS of .614, the Padres are second to last at .620. The Padres are hitting .216 as a team and the Twins are hitting .230. The Twins have hit 14 home runs while the Padres have 20. I honestly can't decide who is worse.

-The Mets are one of the 16 teams with a higher team batting average than the Yankees (.250-.247). The other team with a higher team average are: Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Royals, Astros, Indians, Rangers, Reds, Phillies, Dodgers, Tigers, Brewers, Mets, Red Sox, Marlins, and Blue Jays. Yes, the Royals are 4th in the big leagues with a .268 AVG. However, the Yankees do lead the majors in home runs with 49, 9 more than the Rangers.

-Justin Maxwell hit his 11th home run for the SWB Yankees in 101 at bats. He also has 45 K's, and 20 BB's. He only has 24 hits (11 of which are the homers) and has 3 2B's, and 1 triple. So, he either hits the ball a long way or not at all. Kind of Jorge Posada this year.

-SWB Yankees reliever Andy Sisco has yet to allow a run this year. That is 12 games and 11.1 innings. He has struck out 12, walked 8, and allowed only 4 hits. If he can cut his walks a bit he could be in the Bronx at some point this season. Or, he could just be this year's version of Zack Kroenke.

-The Royals have stayed true to their commitment to winning. Yeah, you read that right. They called up Eric Hosmer this past week without regard to starting his arbitration clock early. The Royals think he is ready and they needed some help at first base. Hosmer is just the first of a long line of Royals prospects who should make their major league debut this year. Mike Montgomery and Danny Duffy should be next in the parade, followed by Mike Moustakas. It could be the days of the Royals being pushovers might be coming to an end. If half of these prospects they have in their system live up to the hype the Royals are going to field an amazing team.

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy your sports.

To Trade or Not to Trade

SI's Jon Heyman reported today that a rival GM said he would trade Felix Hernandez to the Yankees for Jesus Montero, Ivan Nova, Manny Banuelos, and Dellin Betances. I figured this would make a fun post to debate whether or not this makes sense for the Yankees.

First, we all know what King Felix is capable of. He already has one Cy Young award under his belt and just turned 25. Still, at 25, Felix has 1,176.2 innings on his electric right arm. Does that mean anything? Well, no not really but given the injuries that have ruined careers, like those of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, one has to look at the mileage on the arm as a possible negative. We have seen Johan Santana, arguably the best pitcher in baseball only a few years ago, miss significant time due to injuries the last couple of years. Santana is probably the best comparable to Hernandez right now. Is that saying Hernandez will suffer similar injuries? No. But with that many innings on an arm that young one has to proceed with caution. Could Felix come into the Bronx and dominate? Yes. For how long? Well thats a risk you take with every pitcher, including the young pitchers you would be trading away.

Speaking of the young kids, let's take a look at them and see if you would include them in a deal.

Jesus Monetero was traded away last year in the Cliff Lee deal only to see that trade fall apart after the Mariners reneged on the deal and sent Lee to Texas. So, Montero stayed a Yankee. So far this year, Montero has picked up where he left off in AAA, hitting a cool .480 (12 hits in 5 games) with a homer and 2 RBI and 3 doubles. The kid is flat out raking. We all knew he could hit but his defense has been called into question time and time again. Is it awful? No. I think he would be better than Jarrod Saltalamachia behind the dish. I also think his offense could overcome his defensive lapses. We are talking about possible 30 homers and .300 AVG from the catching position, or DH.

Manny Banuelos was the darling of Spring Training this year. He is a lefty which is always a premium when it comes to pitching. He also has a great fastball and command to go along with three other plus pitches. He rocketed up prospect rankings this offseason and is considered the Yankees #2 prospect behind Montero. Banuelos has the makings of an ace. The only question seems to be on his height as he is only 5'10" but the arm is there. Man-Ban has the makings to be a Hernandez-type pitcher in his own right but that is only potential right now.

Dellin Betances is one of the most intriguing prospects in all of baseball. He has a great frame at 6'8" and 255 lbs. He had some trouble finding the strike zone but seemed to put it together last year. He could be an elite starter or future closer because of the fastball and command of two-three other pitches on a given night.

Ivan Nova has been kicking around the Bronx for the second year in a row. His problem seems to be getting through the order the second and third time through. However, he possesses some excellent stuff, a low 90's fastball and decent breaking balls. He could be a #3 starter is he puts it together, or a swing man out of the bullpen. He should be a long term major leaguer regardless.

The Yankees, in this deal, would be trading 4 of their top 10 prospects, a hefty price for any player. Personally, I would not do this trade. I just don't feel good trading away two potential frontline starters and a 30 homer bat as young as Montero's. I have been wary about trading for young power arms with a lot of innings on them for some time now, and this is no different. Yes, King Felix is probably the best pitcher in the game now but I don't know if that warrants depleting 4 of the top 10 prospects from a highly ranked farm system. Montero, for example, was ranked in the top 5 prospects in all of baseball. I could see dealing Montero for Felix but not with Banuelos and Betances.

Let's say the Yankees do make that deal and Felix wins 20-23 games for a few years. Let's say, for arguments sake, Montero hits .300 and 30 for the same amount of years and that Banuelos wins 12-15 games a year when he is ready and Betances wins a similar number. Let's also say Nova wins 10 games a year over that same span. Would the Yankees be better off with Montero, Banuelos, Betances, and Nova or with just Hernandez?

As a free agent I would shower King Felix with dollars to pitch in the Bronx. As for making that trade, no, I'll keep the kids. It's not like King Felix would mean the difference between not making the playoffs and winning the World Series. Give me the kids and I'll hedge my bets on them winning down the road.

What would you do? Leave a comment and let the debate begin.