Joel Sherman's Hardball

Joel Sherman's Hardball

Yankees trade for Berkman, will be announced Saturday

July 30, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

The Yankees have to wait until Saturday to officially announce their acquisition of Lance Berkman in a trade with the Astros. Article 19 of the Basic Agreement states that trades involving players... Read on

The Yankees have to wait until Saturday to officially announce their acquisition of Lance Berkman in a trade with the Astros.
	 
Article 19 of the Basic Agreement states that trades involving players with 10-and-5 rights cannot be announced until 24 hours after the player gives his consent to waive the no-trade provision that comes from those rights (10 years in the majors, five with the current team).
	 
The Yankees and Astros agreed to a trade for Berkman on Friday afternoon and Berkman gave his consent to waive the no-trade rights. Still, the deal can not be announced until Saturday because of Article 19, which was put in place as part of the Basic Agreement to protect players from signing away rights they did not know they had. The 24-hour window is designed to give a player a period of reflection after his consent.
	 
Technically, Berkman could wake up Saturday and change his mind. But that almost certainly will not happen.
	 
The Post has learned that the Astros had agreed to pay $4 million of the $7.5 million Berkman is due between the rest of his salary this year and the buyout on his $15 million option for 2011. The Astros will get Triple-A reliever Mark Melancon and High-A infielder Jimmy Paredes.
	 
Selig gave his blessings to the trade because more than $1 million was exchanged and the commissioner must bless any trade in which that sum or more is exchanged. He obviously can only bless a completed trade.
	 
The trade was timestamped at 12:30 p.m. Central time, so the Berkman cannot officially agree until 1:30 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow. To get a time stamp, a trade must be completed.
	 
A person involved in the negotiations for this trade said Berkman was elated to rejoin his pal, Andy Pettitte.
	 
"Lance was viewing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with the Yankees," the source said.
	 
However, he seemed sorry to be leaving Houston.
	 
"I’m from Texas. Heck, I played at Rice. This city is like the womb. I feel very comfortable here. To think about the possibility of going anywhere else is kind of scary," Berkman told The Associated Press.
	 
"My ideal situation is to win a title here. If this organization feels those aims are better accomplished by trying to strip down this roster and reload with younger guys, I don’t want to stand in the way of that," Berkman added.
	 
Berkman said Astros general manager Ed Wade discussed the possibility of a trade with him.
	 
"He approached me two days ago with a list of probably eight teams that had expressed some interest. There were four yeas and four nays. There were some that were just no possibility," Berkman said.
	 
"In one way, it’s good if there are teams that still want me to play for them. That makes me feel pretty good, particular in a down season," Berkman said. "I still have confidence that I could play at a high level."
	 
Neither side revealed any players other than Berkman in the deal.
	 
The Yankees made this trade exclusively to add Berkman’s bat for the stretch.
	 
He does not directly fit any of their greatest needs. However, his price both in dollars and/or prospects had fallen so low that the Yankees moved to acquire the switch-hitter.Berkman earlier was removed from the Astros lineup for their game Friday against the Brewers in Houston.
	 
When it comes to position players, the Yankees actually preferred either a supplemental type who either plays the corner infield (to rest Alex Rodriguez on occasion) or bats righty and plays the corner outfield (to put Curtis Granderson on the bench against most lefties). Berkman is neither of these.
	 
He used to play the outfield, but at 34 with a body breaking down, he has been exclusively a first baseman this year. He is a switch-hitter, but he was hitting .188 against southpaws with one homer in 64 at-bats. Also, Berkman has been terrible on the road this year, hitting .194 away from Minute Maid Park.
	 
The problems don’t end there: Berkman played in the easiest division in the majors (NL Central) and would be asked to come to the AL East. He has never played anyplace other than with Houston. And he has never served as a full-time DH, which would be his main duty as a Yankee.
	 
However, with the trade Thursday of Roy Oswalt, the Astros clearly indicated to the sport that even previously intractable owner Drayton McLane believes it is rebuilding time. Berkman would essentially fill the role the Yankees had envisioned for Nick Johnson, regular DH and occasional fill-in first baseman for Mark Teixeira. He is a veteran bat with plenty of playoff experience.
	 
Berkman is having his worst season at .240 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs. But in his past 18 games, Berkman hit .274 with six homers in 64 at-bats.
	 
"The bat speed is starting to come," a scout who watched Berkman this week. "It’s getting there, especially from the left side."
	 
Berkman also is the kind of patient hitter the Yankees always like and they would be hoping that the intensity of a championship hunt would energize him for a strong finish.
	 
With AP

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Phillies' trade of Lee still doesn't make sense

July 30, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

I hated the Phillies trade of Cliff Lee to the Mariners from the moment I first heard it last offseason and the reason why was only magnified a few months back when I saw the HBO documentary "Broad Street Bullies."
	 
That documentary focused on how the fight-first Flyers won Stanley Cups in 1974 and ’75, and it showed that even 35 years later, a tough city like Philadelphia still embraces champions from the NHL.
	 
At the moment the Phillies traded Lee, they were in the best run of their history: Three straight division titles, two straight NL titles and one championship. In Halladay and Lee, the Phillies had arguably the two best pitchers in the sport, which would give them a great chance to win yet another division title, NL title and championship. And if they do that, you know what the Phillies of this era are called: A dynasty.
	 
And like those Broad Street Bullies, they get to exist as royalty in Philadelphia forever.
	 
That is why I never understood trading Lee for some nebulous worry that they had to re-stock their farm system to look long-range, and that was especially silly looking when they wound up giving back-of-the-rotation Joe Blanton a three-year, $24 million contract when Lee was making $9 million this year.
	 
I think that prospects have become over-valued in baseball and – incredibly – actually winning a title has become undervalued. So many executives I speak to sound as if they want to be crowned champions of Baseball America as much as champions of, you know, the WORLD. I am not talking about damning the future as much as keeping in perspective that there is only one championship given out per year and winning one is precious, and you can maximize the chance to win one you have to do that.
	 
By trading Lee, the Phillies lost their way. But in obtaining Roy Oswalt, Philadelphia righted itself. The Phils could have stayed in a philosophy of not giving up prospects now for a very good starter, but one not quite as good as Lee, because they didn’t want to look dumb. Instead, they honored what was right by going for another championship at the cost of three young players.
	 
This era of Phillies baseball is already going to be honored by the city, but the organization got a piece in Oswalt that could help extend it even further.
	 
In fact, the ability to make this trade showed Philadelphia still had a nice prospect base even if it would have held onto Lee. But, again, that was wisely put in the past by the Phillies. They did what they had to in order to unite the two Roys atop their rotation. How about a nickname for the new Nos. 1-2 combo: The Dest-ROY-ers.
	 
***
	 
The Padres were among the teams that was quietly trying to find a way into the bidding for Oswalt. San Diego, in fact, would still like to add a starter, but it does not look likely. However, the Padres feel that if they need a starter down the stretch that they could turn to Triple-A lefty Cory Luebke or their current long man Tim Stauffer for answers.
	 
They do not have the same internal answers for a bat, specifically a lefty-hitting outfielder. That is why they are still pursuing that even after obtaining Miguel Tejada yesterday. Kansas City’s Rick Ankiel and the Cubs’ Kosuke Fukudome are both available, though Fukudome’s $12 million pricetag next year is probably too much of an obstacle even with Chicago willing to add dollars.
	 
Meanwhile, San Diego is hoping that getting out of Baltimore and into a pennant race will push Tejada to being closer to the hitter he was last year (.795 OPS) than this season (.673). The Padres plans on using Tejada at third base and some at shortstop (though they would probably have to bring in a better defender late in games they led).
	 
***
	 
I asked the executive of an AL team that I sensed could use a bat if he were interested in Lance Berkman and this is what he said: “Check out the home/road splits. Also, I worry about bringing someone from the NL Central into the AL.”
	 
Berkman has hit .287 at home this year with a .512 slugging percentage. But away from Minute Maid Park, Berkman was hitting .194 with a .343 slugging percentage. In addition, the switch-hitting Berkman has batted just .188 vs. lefties this year with one homer in 64 at-bats.
	 
***
	 
I ask pretty much each person I talk to who they think will definitely be traded before tomorrow at 4 p.m. and the two who are currently coming up the most are the Cubs’ Ted Lilly and Toronto’s Jose Bautista.

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Yankees need righty-hitting outfielder

July 30, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

It was easy to miss why the Yankees need to add a righty-hitting outfielder if you were watching last night’s trouncing of the Indians. There was all the extraneous stuff with Alex Rodriguez’s no... Read on

It was easy to miss why the Yankees need to add a righty-hitting outfielder if you were watching last night’s trouncing of the Indians.
	 
There was all the extraneous stuff with Alex Rodriguez’s no-steps-forward march toward 600 homers, and the Yankees’ offensive eruption, and Marcus Thames playing third base, and Andy Marte pitching for the Indians and striking out Nick Swisher.
	 
But in the sixth inning the score was still 1-1. The Yankees had the tie-breaking run on second and one out. Colin Curtis was due up. Lefty Tony Sipp relieved. Thames was on the bench. Yet Joe Girardi did not signal for Thames. And it is not because Thames has failed to hit lefties. He is batting .315 vs. southpaws with a .406 on-base percentage.
	 
But it is obvious now that Joe Girardi does not want to put Thames in the field; he is just too much of a liability in a close game. Thames has started just two games in the outfield this month.
	 
That is why the Yankees are out there looking for a righty hitter who could start vs. southpaws in left field, giving the Yankees the option of moving Brett Gardner to center and getting Curtis Granderson out of the lineup vs. lefties. The ideal situation would be if the Yankees could find a versatile player who not only plays the corner outfield, but some corner infield, which would enable the Yankees to more comfortably DH Alex Rodriguez once every two weeks. At present, the Yankees are using the offensively challenged Ramiro Pena to spot A-Rod.
	 
The Yankees obtained a player just like this at the deadline last year in Jerry Hairston from the Reds, and the Yankees called the Padres to inquire about Hairston again. But Hairston is now an important everyday cog on a first-place team. The Yankees have asked about Florida’s Cody Ross, but with Chris Coghlan going out with an injury, it might be harder for the Marlins to deal Ross.
	 
The Yankees also asked Toronto about Jose Bautista, who leads the majors in homers and who has played games this year in all three outfield slots and also first and third base. But there does not appear to be a match there. The Yankees also are not optimistic about a match with Baltimore for Ty Wigginton.
	 
The Cubs’ Ryan Theriot is available, but has limited experience at third base and the outfield. The Yankees have some interest in Kansas City’s Willie Bloomquist.
	 
The Yankees picked Randy Winn over Reed Johnson in the off-season, but Johnson is a strong defender who hits well against lefties. He is currently on the DL, but close to returning to the Dodgers, who recently added Scott Podsednik as a fourth outfielder, so maybe Johnson will be available in early August. The A’s have told teams they are not trading Coco Crisp.
	 
I will throw out one other name that is total speculation by me (I have no sources on this): Andruw Jones. The Yankees had interest in Jones before last season. Yankees GM Brian Cashman and White Sox GM Kenny Williams have a very strong relationship. Jones is no longer an elite center fielder, but he is an above-average defender in center. Jones has a .517 slugging percentage against southpaws. And Jones obviously has a ton of big-game experience from his time with the Braves.

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Yankees finished with pursuit of Dunn

July 29, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

The Yankees have all but given up hope of landing Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, The Post has learned.The Yankees consider the current asking price steep and would only deliver that kind of package for... Read on

The Yankees have all but given up hope of landing Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, The Post has learned.
	 
The Yankees consider the current asking price steep and would only deliver that kind of package for a game-changing necessity, such as Cliff Lee, not for someone they consider a luxury, such as Dunn.
	 
Plus, the Yankees were worried about giving up significant prospects and not being sure about Dunn as a DH. Dunn has spent his entire career in the NL, so he has never DH'ed regularly and has said repeatedly he does not want to be exclusively a DH. That combination made the Yankees wonder if he would adapt to the job, especially when you add on a new league, a new city, and a level of expectation Dunn has never experienced with the Reds, Diamondbacks or Nationasl.
	 
Similar worries also – coincidentally – moved the Yankees’ nearest AL East pursuer, the Rays, away from Dunn, as well.
	 
Dunn is a well-below-average defender at either first base or the corner outfield, so the Yankees did not see using him in the field except for, perhaps, a spot start. In addition, the Yankees want to use the DH slot regularly down the stretch as a rest sanctuary for Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira.
	 
To work through all of their issues involving Dunn, the Yankees feel the asking price by the Nationals would have to drop. But they are not anticipating that happening between now and the deadline at 4 p.m. Saturday. Thus, the frontrunners for Dunn appear to remain the White Sox and Giants.

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Be prepared for a quiet trade deadline

July 28, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

A friend in the business once cautioned me to avoid writing what is not going to happen. He did this for two reasons: 1) He pointed out that no one goes into a bar and says, “Wow, did you hear who the Mets are not getting?” 2) He noted you can only look like a fool after you write the Yankees aren’t getting someone and they turn around and get that player.
	 
I have lived by that advice as much as possible during my career. But I will take a momentary detour here. When I write these words it is 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday. That means a lot can happen between now and the non-waiver trade deadline on Saturday at 4 p.m., and nothing pushes deals to happen like an actual deadline.
	 
But having been on the phone, e-mail and text message with dozens of baseball people the past few days, I have received one version or another of not much is going on or to expect nothing more than small deals. One of the most optimistic reports I got yesterday came from an NL assistant GM who said to me, “Well at least today the prices moved from obscene to ridiculous.”
	 
An AL executive who I believe does among the best jobs of staying atop the movement offered this appraisal via e-mail this afternoon: “My calls today leave me with the impression that this will be a very quiet deadline. (Jayson) Werth, (Prince) Fielder, (Corey) Hart, (Adam) Dunn, (Josh) Willingham, Roy (Oswalt), et al could very well stay put.”
	 
Again, I want to caution that there is a long time to the deadline and that I hate that I am even writing about players NOT getting traded. But the tone and sentiment from club officials is not optimistic. There are a few reasons:
	 
1) Keep in mind that two very good starters, Cliff Lee and Dan Haren, already have been traded. 2) Teams are telling each other they have little to no money to spend. 3) Few teams are sitting in such financial straits that they feel that they must unload a contract simply to get rid of the money.
	 
4) Teams are valuing (over-valuing?) prospects like never before. As one AL GM said, “When the Yanks are giving you a long list of who they won’t trade that means the whole sport is protecting prospects.” 5) There is a strong belief that a boatload of players will get through waivers and be available in August, so many teams do not even consider Saturday a deadline. 6) Potential buyers such as the Mets, Angels and Rockies have played so badly of late and fallen far enough back in their division races that plans to do more than they have at this point could be on hold. The Tigers are dealing with enough significant injuries that they might see no way that a trade could help enough. Essentially the number of buyers is dwindling.
	 
However, keep in mind that trending the right way could motivate some buying. For example, a week ago, the Phillies were putting together contingencies as both buyers and sellers depending on where they were in the day or two before the deadline. But with six straight wins, the Phillies are now “the most active team out there,” according to an NL scout.
	 
Again, here are more words of caution: No one saw the Yanks coming on Lee and they had a deal in principle concluded with the Mariners before Seattle veered and did a trade with Texas, instead. And with all the rumors about Haren, none tied him to the Angels until the deal was actually complete. So we will probably encounter some surprises in the next few days. But on a Wednesday afternoon the sound of pessimism and silence were most common around the majors.
	 
***
	 
The A’s began Wednesday tied with the Angels for second place in the AL West, 8 1-2 games behind the Rangers. They have no illusions of making the playoffs. But, nevertheless, they have told inquiring teams that they are all but certain not to make any deals before Saturday’s deadline.
	 
Many clubs were interested in Oakland set-up men Michael Wuertz and lefty Craig Breslow. But the A’s can control both for at least two more years at reasonable dollars and want to keep what they perceive as a strong pitching unit together to make a more legitimate run next season. The A’s think that with their all 26-or-younger rotation of Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Vin Mazzaro and Dallas Braden plus closer Andrew Bailey will give them a chance to contend next year.
	 
Oakland’s hope now is to let this group play together and gain some momentum the rest of the season, bring up its best two hitting prospects – Chris Carter and Michael Taylor – after Sept. 1 and then splurge on one power bat in the offseason, someone like Adam Dunn. The A’s feel they will be able to afford to make a significant power acquisition because with Eric Chavez coming off the books, the current group projects to just under $0 million in total payroll.
	 
***
	 
The Blue Jays continue to tell interested teams that they do not feel they must trade Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor or John Buck.
	 
The Blue Jays insist they are willing to offer arbitration to all four with Downs headed toward being a Type-A free agent and the other three all projected to be Type-Bs, meaning they could secure a bunch of either first and/or second-round picks for them if they reject arbitration and leave. There is general suspicion around the majors that is just a ploy by Toronto not to look desperate and to maximize the value of these players, especially when it comes to Downs.
	 
The feeling around the sport is that perhaps no team would be willing to give up a first-round pick for a lefty set-up man if Downs rejected arbitration and that the Jays don’t want to risk him accepting and coming back as a well-paid set-up man on a team not expecting to contend.
	 
However, Blue Jays officials insist they are not concerned about offering arbitration to Downs. If he accepts, they figure, his comparables would put him on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for between what Darren Oliver makes ($3.5 million) to what Jeremy Affeldt makes ($4.5 million), and those officials say they are comfortable bringing Downs back in that scenario because the 34-year-old lefty stays in great shape, is considered a strong clubhouse asset and has been among the more consistent relievers in the majors the past few years. The Jays feel they can either keep him for next year to help support a young rotation or trade him.
	 
Also, Toronto officials note that Atlanta was willing to surrender its first-round pick to sign Type-A lefty Billy Wagner to just a one-year contract and Baltimore was willing to surrender a first-round pick to sign Type-A lefty Mike Gonzalez. Both were closers, but the Jays think the interest that has been shown on Downs means some team might give him a two- or three-year deal and surrender a first-round pick in the offseason.
	 
Twelve teams have called on Downs, including the Yankees.

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Would Mets trade Perez, Castillo to Cubs for available Zambrano?

July 28, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

On his Twitter account yesterday, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Cubs have let teams know they are willing to move Carlos Zambrano. That makes sense since Chicago would definitely want to remove an underperforming, overpaid malcontent. But the reasons that the Cubs want so badly to get rid of Zambrano is why he is such a difficult player to move.
	 
Now this is pure speculation by me – in other words, this is not something anyone has told me is possible. But if you were the Mets would you trade Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo for Zambrano? Here is my thought on this: The Mets want to get Perez and Castillo out of their sight and the Cubs want to get Zambrano out of their sight. It is almost a perfect salary match for 2011: Zambrano is due $17.875 million and Castillo and Perez combine to make $18 million.
	 
The problem is Zambrano’s $18 million option for 2012. How much of that would the Cubs have to assume to make the deal appealing enough for the Mets to bite? Half? Three-quarters?
	 
At this point, the Mets have to know for sure that Perez can never pitch successfully for them. It is possible that Zambrano might. You have to worry about the behavior. But say the Mets could get Zambrano for $6 million in 2012, would that make it worthwhile to put his declining stuff and troubling personality into the clubhouse? And would saving at least that $6 million be worth it for the Cubs to get Zambrano and his too often out-of-control behavior out the door?
	 
The Cubs did a deal that had many of these elements with the Mariners last offseason. The Cubs wanted the behavior-challenged Milton Bradley off their roster and Seattle wanted the Oliver Perez-esque waste of money, Carlos Silva, off its roster. The salaries did not match perfectly, so Seattle agreed to pay $9 million between this year and next year of Silva’s contract.
	 
***
	 
The Cardinals were very encouraged by Kyle Lohse’s rehab start Monday, his first outing since undergoing surgery to his forearm. However, the Cardinals are still looking for a starting pitcher and remain in contact with the Astros about Roy Oswalt. Why?
	 
1) They imagine that a rotation fronted by Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Oswalt and Jaime Garcia not only goes a long way to sewing up the NL Central, but makes them stronger in short playoff series. 2) Unlike Lohse, the Cardinals do not believe they will get Brad Penny back this season. He continues to complain of discomfort in his right shoulder, though the Cardinals have not found a specific reason through various tests for the pain. 3) They want to guard themselves against a setback with Lohse. 4) Garcia missed most of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and so St. Louis does have concern has worry about how the rookie lefty will hold up over the full season. 5) Right now the Nos. 4-5 starters are Jeff Suppan and Blake Hawksworth, and that concerns the Cardinals about their depth, especially if Lohse doesn’t return, Garcia slows down or there is another problem. …
	 
Friday is the sixth anniversary of the ill-fated day when the Mets traded Scott Kazmir to the Rays for Victor Zambrano. What is interesting six years later is that Kazmir might be the worst starter in the majors this year at 7-9 with a 6.92 ERA and now on the DL with shoulder fatigue.
	 
Meanwhile, the Mets did make another deal that same day with Pittsburgh for Kris Benson. Two of the players the Mets gave up – Jose Bautista and Ty Wigginton – were actually American League All-Stars this year. …
	 
Arizona’s Chad Qualls not only has the worst ERA in the majors among pitchers who have worked in 40 games this year, but at 8.51 that is first and second place feels a few miles away: Tampa’s Randy Choate at 6.20 ERA.
	 
But an NL scout said he says the veteran righty as a worthwhile gamble, especially since Arizona will probably not look for much in return if a team is willing to eat the $1.6 million Qualls is due the rest of the year.
	 
“This guy is the bad luck champion of 2010 to me,” the scout said. “I am telling you his fastball is the same velocity and so is his slider. He has been successful with this stuff. But he needs to find a pitching coach who will get him into a good spot on the rubber to get that 93 mph sinker working best again. And he needs to get out of Arizona. It is so negative there for him because he has pitched poorly and the team has played terribly.”

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Who's buying, who's selling: Updating MLB's trade market

July 27, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

Get ready for baseball’s version of Four Corners. Many teams are planning on using as much time as possible between now and the Saturday 4 p.m. deadline to determine if they are contenders or not... Read on

Get ready for baseball’s version of Four Corners.
	 
Many teams are planning on using as much time as possible between now and the Saturday 4 p.m. deadline to determine if they are contenders or not before they decide to give up prospects and/or add payroll at a time when just about every team is claiming they have little to no money to spend.
	 
As an example, the Phillies’ just-concluded four-game sweep of the Rockies has significantly altered both teams’ focus for the deadline.
	 
The most common refrain you heard about the Phillies a week ago was that they were all over the place, making plans to trade Jayson Werth for prospects with their eyes on the future and making plans to trade Werth as a vehicle to get a starter to help for a playoff push.
	 
But after losing four in a row, the Phillies have rebounded to now win five straight, notably with the sweep of Colorado. They are 4 1/2 out in the NL East and just 2 1/2 back in the wild card. And one AL official told me this today: “It is not a slam dunk they trade Werth. I know that has been the perception, but I am not sure it is the reality. I have talked to their people and they sound like they are going to keep him and go for this thing with him.”
	 
Meanwhile, a week ago, the Rockies had feelers out everywhere looking for a bat (they talked Adam Dunn, but didn’t like his poor defense), perhaps a starter (though Dan Haren was the only available arm they really liked) and definitely a reliever (they were regularly in touch with Toronto about Kevin Gregg). But now they are in the midst of their longest losing streak of the season and have fallen a season-high eight games out of first, while dropping to 4 1/2 games out in the wild card. They see so many problem spots on their offense – Todd Helton, Dexter Fowler, Brad Hawpe – that they not only are not in buy mode, but are considering selling.
	 
One way or the other, Colorado wants to put Jhoulys Chacin back into the rotation and are quietly shopping Aaron Cook and telling teams they would either eat some dollars or take back a contract. Cook, though, is having his worst season since becoming a full-time starter in 2004 at 4-6 with a 4.78 ERA. Also, he is owed about $3 million on his $9 million contract for this season, $9.5 million next year and there is a mutual option in 2012 for $11 million or $500,000 buyout. However, if he is traded his base salary increases by $1 million in each season.
	 
Colorado does get its most important player, Troy Tulowitzki (wrist), off the disabled list tonight and will assess with its shortstop back where it is are over the next few days before making a clear buy or sell decision.
	 
***
	 
The one player that there is agreement will definitely be traded before the deadline is the Cubs’ Ted Lilly. The Yanks’ interest is miniscule. The lefty pitched poorly against the Dodgers (seven runs in 3 2/3 innings) on July 9. However, Dodgers officials are telling team that beleaguered owner Frank McCourt wants to try to get some positive press and will authorize a small payroll bump to obtain a pitcher. And Joe Torre greatly admired Lilly’s tenacity when they were together with the Yankees, and therefore L.A. is likely to have interest in the lefty. Lilly is 3-8 with a 3.88 ERA, and has about $4 million still owed him this year. …
	 
The Giants are working on outfielder Jose Guillen with Kansas City sending back some money on the $4 million-ish he is owed the rest of the year. …
	 
Tampa Bay likes Adam Dunn’s bat, but Dunn has said he does not want to be a DH and the Rays had such a miserable experience with Pat Burrell at DH against his desires that they are not after Dunn.

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Joba loses setup role, but Yankees won't send him to minors

July 27, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

Joba Chamberlain has lost his exclusive eighth-inning job, but is in no jeopardy of being sent to the minors, sources told The Post.Joe Girardi refused to say on Monday night that Chamberlain had... Read on

Joba Chamberlain has lost his exclusive eighth-inning job, but is in no jeopardy of being sent to the minors, sources told The Post.
	 
Joe Girardi refused to say on Monday night that Chamberlain had lost his job, but a club official explained: “The first thing we felt we had to do was take him out of the eighth inning.”
	 
That began last night when David Robertson and Boone Logan protected a one-run lead in the eighth in what became a 3-2 victory over the Indians. Robertson replaced Javier Vazquez with a runner on first and no outs and induced a double play. Logan then came in to strike out lefty Shin-Soo Choo.
	 
It is possible Chamberlain will be used as part of a mix in the eighth inning. But no longer does he have sole responsibility for the inning when he is available.
	 
“We would like for him to pitch at the level he is capable of pitching at,’’ Girardi said prior to tonight’s game against the Indians.
	 
What is not possible, at least for now, is sending Chamberlain to the minors for two major reasons: 1) The Yanks feel it would be a terrible message to bust somebody from main set-up man all the way to Scranton in one move, so they will try to fix him outside the eighth inning and 2) They do not believe Chamberlain is failing because of an attitude problem. Yankee officials actually consider Chamberlain a hard worker. In other words they are not looking at this how they viewed a situation with Melky Cabrera in 2008. That season the Yanks thought Cabrera had become lazy and that was a factor in his struggles, so they did demote him in mid-August to Triple-A.
	 
Still, Chamberlain’s struggles have the Yanks checking out available eighth-inning options. They called the Royals last week about Joakim Soria and were told the closer was not available. They are interested in Toronto’s Scott Downs, but an executive from another AL team described the Blue Jays’ demands for the lefty as “not something I can imagine anyone paying for a set-up man.”
	 
In fact, right now, the price is being described by multiple executives as too high for all the main available relievers such as Washington’s Matt Capps, and Pittsburgh’s Octavio Dotel and Joel Hanrahan. The Mets and Red Sox are among many teams looking for relief help.
	 
The Yanks are preparing as if they might have to solve the problem internally. That begins with trying to remedy the inconsistency of Chamberlain and hoping Damaso Marte heals well from his shoulder problems. They also imagine that, at some point, Phil Hughes could go into the pen to keep him under his innings cap while bolstering the relief crew. The Yanks also are willing to consider if a minor league starter could potentially help down the stretch and in the playoffs, with hard-throwing Ivan Nova a possibility.
	 
The Diamondbacks did request Chamberlain last week as part of a package for Dan Haren. However, the Yanks were only willing to incorporate Haren’s salary over the next few years if a trade was essentially a salary dump and the Yanks had to only give up middling prospects.

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3UP: Mets Status, Haren, Joba

July 26, 2010 , ι By Joel Sherman

1. Late last week I was speaking to an official from an AL team and casually asked what he thought about the Mets. This is what he said, “They are off on Monday. I would keep an eye on Monday.” The executive went on to explain that it is the Mets’ tendency to have big-picture meetings on off-days, and the way their road trip was going – and the way it would continue to go – the executive figured that the meeting could have real substance. And not just because the trade deadline would be less than a week away.

The thought was that the Mets are desperate not to have Citi Field empty in August and September. Therefore, the first job would be to change the subject from the West Coast disaster to the future. That GM Omar Minaya would not say that coaches were safe very well could be a signal that the sacrifice to the angry fans will be a coach or two, with hitting coach Howard Johnson the most likely to be jettisoned.

The idea – the Mets would hope – would be to spin the story forward: Hey, look at the names and pedigree of our hitters. We feel we have to find a better way to reach them and, boom, here it is. The way that would most assure that the fans start buzzing about the present/future rather than the past is if the Mets put current Rookie League manager Wally Backman on the coaching staff.

That also would be yet another shot over the bow to Jerry Manuel, since Backman is considered a prime candidate to replace Manuel for next season. So is Bob Melvin, who also could conceivably be put onto the coaching staff.

Will it go down this way, I do not know. But I do expect that something dramatic will occur today. The Mets will definitely feel compelled to change the subject.

2. My Sunday Hardball
	 columnwas mainly about why I imagined that Dan Haren would not end up a Yankee, specifically because it complicated the Yankees’ future payroll, specifically because they are targeting Cliff Lee in the offseason. But buried in that column was that I had heard that the Diamondbacks were pushing very hard to trade Haren because of their own payroll troubles; notably that they had to stay at $60 million or lower for next season.

That left Arizona in a perfect storm: Feeling they had to trade their most expensive player at a time when Haren was having his worst season since becoming a full-time starter in 2005. Haren’s statistical profile this year is very much like that of Javier Vazquez’s, but he is doing it in the AL while Haren is in the NL and there is a lot of whispering that he might be hurt.

I think you have to look at what they received in return from the Angels – Joe Saunders and three prospects – through that prism. They traded a valuable piece at the worst possible time to trade him. The Yankees obviously knew that and that is why they low-balled an offer. They did not want Haren badly, but if he essentially fell into their laps they were willing to take yet another version of Vazquez and then figure out in the offseason how to re-organize financially.

3. The only pitcher who appeared in 40 games this year and has a worse ERA than Joba Chamberlain’s 5.95 is Fernando Nieve, who was recently released by the Mets with his 6.00 ERA. No one who has appeared in 40 games has a worse WHIP than Joba’s 1.61.

In other words with 60 percent of the season gone now, Chamberlain has arguably been the worst regularly used reliever in the majors. He certainly is in the conversation. Which is ridiculous considering his stuff, which might not be what it was in his electric 2007 debut, but is still certainly better than his performance.

It appears that Joe Girardi is on the brink of removing Joba from the eighth inning and going with David Robertson, instead. But here is something else to keep in mind: Is it possible that the Yanks would send Chamberlain to the minors as a way to a) work through some of the issues with his inconsistency and b) to shake up a guy who just might need to have his world jolted. Chamberlain has always struck me as the kind of player who gets way too comfortable in the majors. Maybe he needs to be reminded that he needs to consistency earn his way up here and that nothing is a given.

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3UP: Mets Mentality, Francoeur and A-Rod.

July 23, 2010 , ι By JOEL SHERMAN

1. Omar Minaya gave Jerry Manuel a vote of confidence yesterday. He does not do that without Jeff Wilpon’s blessings. So that means Manuel is safe, at least for a while, if not the rest of the season.
	 
Look, we can all fire the manager. That is the most common knee-jerk response to team failure. Somehow you can convince yourself that if Bobby Valentine or Wally Backman or Gil Hodges’ ghost were managing this team that even now the Mets would be three games up in first place.
	 
But as an organization the Mets have a far more difficult job than removing a manager or hiring a new one. They have to ask this question: Why is this team so susceptible to the death spiral? Why when it gets hit does it find it so darn hard – in most cases impossible – to recover?
	 
My friend and colleague Mike Vaccaro, my foremost expert on the Mets (at least when Howie Rose and Gary Cohen are not accessible), said to me how much this current Met dive reminds him of the conclusion of 2007 when you really felt the Mets could not come back from even a one-run deficit.
	 
The Mets have that epic collapse in 2007. They also have a late-season plunge in 2008 in which they could not overcome the shoddy work of their bullpen in the way that, say, Philadelphia did with Brad Lidge last year to get all the way to the World Series. In 2009, the Mets essentially went into the fetal position once the injuries mounted. And now there is this current run of 13 straight games in which the team has scored three or fewer runs.
	 
How is that possible? Look at the names. Except this feels like another moment when the Mets cannot overcome whatever larger-than-the-manager issue enwraps them; this inability to keep a bad moment from spiraling into a contagion. There is something not right with, well, I don’t know. I watch it and I cannot explain it. Is it the wrong mix of players? Is it something that funnels down from ownership and infects play?
	 
I don’t know that there is an easy explanation and that is why I believe this is so much more difficult to solve than simply by firing the manager. What is it about this organization that when matters go wrong, they go horribly wrong? What is it that prevents this team from turning a one-alarm crisis into a season killer?
	 
2. I believe just about anyone can be traded. I remember in 1992, for example, that then Yankees manager Buck Showalter suggested that he would do something, um, uncomfortable if then GM Gene Michael could find a trade for Tim Leary, who arguably was the worst pitcher in baseball. Michael actually traded Leary to the Mariners.
	 
It can be done if you are willing to take on most of a salary and/or take back nothing in return or you find a rival executive who is no genius.
	 
That being said Jeff Francoeur might want to take a deep breath before making even subtle trade demands. Aside from the Newark Bears, I cannot imagine any team actually interested in his services. He was traded for equally damaged goods last year in Ryan Church and if he goes this time, it will be for even less than that.
	 
In fact, here is a question: Does Francoeur have a job in the majors next year. He will still be only 27. And everyone knows that he is a wonderful guy. But this is now two teams that have simply decided his lack of discipline at the plate is intolerable. It is one thing to have no discipline and be Vlad Guerrero, a unique talent who can swing at anything in North America and hit it. But which team is going to want to give a job to a .300 on-base percentage guy with OK but not special power? And who is going to want to give even a bench job to that same guy considering his swing/approach will probably get worse without frequent at-bats?
	 
3. I do not believe that Alex Rodriguez will press this weekend for his 600th homer. The way he performed last postseason exemplifies that he has found a way to handle pressure that had mostly escaped him previously. He has figured out that the best way to displace stress is to focus on wins and losses and recognize that his contributions will be appreciated all the more in that framework as opposed to simply as a numbers-accumulating ego monster.
	 
Obviously, his steroid revelations have dimmed the relevance of this milestone accomplishment. But I wonder if the back nine of his career is filled with clutch play, team-oriented actions and championships if that will do anything to help clean up his reputation, at least a little bit.

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About the Author

JOEL SHERMAN Joel Sherman has been at the Post since 1989, serving as Yankees beat writer from 1989-95 and baseball columnist since 1996. His Hardball blog won a 2008 Best Sports Blog honor from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association. Joel’s books include "Birth of a Dynasty, Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees." He served as a weekly baseball analyst on New York 1 from 2000-05, was a regular contributor on the MSG Network from 2000-08, and was part of the My 9 Yankees postgame show for the past two seasons. He graduated from NYU in 1985. Columnist Archives