Bobby Abreu is a NY Yankee

Friends,

Let's rejoice for we have lasted through a season of serious injuries to remain a half game out of the division lead and a half game ahead in the wild-card race. And now, Brian Cashman and George Steinbrenner have rewarded the players and fans with a trade that reaffirms this team's chances to go the distance in October. ESPN's Buster Olney (apparently Harold Reynold's replacement in all things Baseball Tonight-related) posted this "dream team" lineup for when all of our players return from injury:

CF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
1B Jason Giambi
DH Gary Sheffield
RF Bobby Abreu
3B Alex Rodriguez
LF Hideki Matsui
C Jorge Posada
2B Robinson Cano

Are you looking at that beast?

Oh and did I also mention that Corey Lidle is a solid addition? I feel it in my bones. This is starting to come together.

Testosterone: a white crystalline steroid hormone

I want to point out that sports fans lost two great figures to high levels of testosterone last week- the first is that Amish guy that won the bike race in France, and the other is former "Baseball Tonight" fixture, Harold Reynolds.

Some of you pukeheads probably hate HR for his brand of bravado-- his overbearing analysis, and his silly batting DVDs. I personally love the guy. Yet as much as I love HR, he loves PA booty a helluva lot more, and he got pinched for chasing tail at the Bristol studios. I hope the accusations are false, and even if true, I hope the girl that turned him in gets a yeast infection.

1/2

Friends, we are on the verge of taking control of our season. Is it me, or is this season the most exciting in about five years? Even though we didn't win it until the final week last season, I feel so much more connected to this team. It's a lot more like 1996, which I'm sure we would all agree was the glory year. This is going to be a great two months...

-Steiner

"We can begin again"

Well, four of us here at Steiner's Warriors have completed our respective bar exams and can now focus full time on blogging, as is our custom. I congratulate Tattered Standard, Dodort, Adam Cohen, and myself on completing the long hall. Hopefully we are all attorneys right now, but just don't know it yet.

Meanwhile, while we were slugging it out with the boards of examiners, the Yankees burst back into the playoff hunt on all fronts. We are currently in first in the wildcard and a mere 1.5 games back from Boston.

Trade talk continues. The Post reports today that Lidle may be the man. I'd much rather Lieber, but neither are really any good at this point. I still think we should give Chacon another shot at the job. His big inning of relief on Thursday night may be the spark he needed. Check out the new poll on the right and let your voice be heard on the matter!

-Steiner

Season Saved

According to the New York Post, the Yanks have acquired Sal Fasano for an undisclosed minor leaguer. (lets hop not Philip Hughes). He won't arrive in NY until this weekend however as he is finishing up the filming of Debbie Does Dallas Revisted.

I guess this is an upgrade over Stinnett -- then again sending Torre to the plate with a wet newspaper would be an upgrade over Stinnett so that is not the measuring stick. It does most likely signal the end of Stinnett in Pinstripes.

Warriors

Anth, Cohen, Mark, and Dan. You fellas are the true warriors here. Good luck and God speed. May the Lord be watching over your shoulders today.

Trade A-Rod?

Let's not lose our minds here. What A-Rod needs now is a big hug from Yankee fans. He's the best player in the game, and as whiney and flacid he may be, we need him and we're lucky to have him. A-Rod, if you're reading this, consider this an e-hug. I'm with you.

Hello Everyone! Holy Cow!

I just want to offer a quick hello and thanks for the inviation to post (although I've already done that.) I am a a longtime friend of Anthony. I am indeed a separate person from Anthony. I chose Phil Rizzuto because I thought it would be a one time comment.

I've followed the Yankees since I knew about them (my uncle started me out a Phillies fan. He got me a Phillies hat when I was born and still in the hospital.) I hope at the minimum they beat the Red Sox (can't stand their attitude, though I think Theo Epstein is the best thing of the organization.)

I will admit I have a hard time with the announcers and at times have trouble listening. I do know that Kimberly Jones can do no wrong and she's welcome to come over anytime.

I hope to give some good feedback on the topics as well as offering some of my own. Thanks again for allowing me into this exclusive blog.

Trades, You're The G.M.

With the trading deadline fast approaching what would you do to get the Yankees to another World Series? According to MLB.com, Yanks have interest in Vladimir Guerrero. What about Abreu? Yanks hold option of Sheff for next year.

Ex Blogger's Uncle Produces Again

Mark Feinsand, of NewYork.Yankees.MLB.com, reports New York Yankees OF Hideki Matsui (wrist) received a good report from Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser on his surgically repaired left wrist Thursday, July 20. According to Rosenwasser, the bones in Matsui's wrist have fused together perfectly and he will be cleared for batting practice once the lingering pain from the surgery subsides.

Thank you for the good news, Melvin.

A-Rod: Starting to get sickening

Catch the walk away line in this Times article on yesterday's tough loss.

Ahh, hell, I'll just put it up for you:

"Rodriguez seemed to be prepared to accept whatever fate had in store, come what may. 'If we win, we win; if we don’t, we don’t,' he said. 'It’s not the end of the world.'"

WHAT? I mean, granted, if we lose it's not the end of the world. That will come soon enough out of the Middle East. But come on, it's this guy's job to win. He's not a firefighter or a nurse. His profession is hardly necessary. So in the context of the baseball world, winning is all that matters. If the team doesn't win, why pay guys like A-Rod $20 million a year? Sheff and Matsui are probably pushing themselves to get back in time to make a difference, and this guy's attitude is take it or leave it. Unbelievable.

-Steiner

First Poll

Who is the Yankees 2006 MVP thus far?
	Derek Jeter
	Mariano Rivera
	Jason Giambi
	Chien-Ming Wang
	Mike Mussina
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Second Half ANSWERS

"Hero"

Second Half Questions

Bullpen: Is there any help in sight? Will we continue to run Rivera into the ground? What role will Chacon play in the pen? And will Dotel have anything to offer? It does look like Proctor may have turned a corner and recaptured some of his April, May magic.

Fifth Starter: Is Sidney the guy or is he on a short leash with Chacon in line for another shot when he falters? And what of Pavano, who was supposedly throwing off a mound a few weeks ago? I haven't heard anything.

Outfield: Abreu? Reggie Sanders? Look at Sander's numbers. He's terrible. He's probably an adequate defender, but inferior to Cabrera and Bernie at the plate. The one good thing about getting a guy like Sanders is that he can settle into a bench role when Matsui and Sheff come back (assuming they are on track), while if you get Abreu, suddenly Bernie is out of a job, even as DH.

Injuries: Will we lose A-Rod for any significant time? What is Cano's deal? How far away are Sheff and Matsui?

These are the questions, friends, that will determine our destiny this season...

-Steiner

Goofy Gafs

"After making a career-worst three errors, Rodriguez was lifted in the eighth inning because of a sore left big toe. The star third baseman fouled a ball off his toe in the fifth and plans to go for X-rays on Tuesday morning."

I promise to never make an assumption about A-Rod again. It results in sloppy play and an injury. I apologize fellow Blogites.

What a start!

Recently, A-Rod said he'd pay to watch himself, because he's got "amazing talent." That's a quote. The more I hear A-Rod speak, about his therapy, about how we can't compete in the wild card, the more I think he's something of a douche bag. You know, something used for vaginal lavage and enemas. It's surprising how someone could put up such great numbers on paper yet not be a team leader in any discernible way.

Well, we're 1/2 game from Boston and 2 little games (in the lost column) from the White Sox. As even August Stuart noted recently, we won some "big games" this weekend. God bless him.

Gather round your firesides on Tuesday, because Sidney Ponson makes his debut as a Yankee!

-Steiner

Bizarre clubhouse feud

So, the internal Yankee "debate" about whether they can win the wildcard continues. Jeter, of course, thinks likes us. But read Damon's comments about Chicago. Sounds like a couple of guys are really afraid of the White Sox, even after the last two days.

Great Start to the Second Half

Fat Boy Slim

Well its official -- The Yanks have made their first big move of the trading season acquiring the one and only Sid Ponson. I guess he can't be worse than Chacon! Ponson is pictured here about to eat Lil Mac. I think he did actually eat him before he was traded to the Giants a few years back.

In all reality though this is a good pickup for the Yanks at low cost and no risk -- we will see what happens.

The Second Half

A-Rod proclaimed yesterday that we can't win the wildcard. He said he's "100% sure of it." That bugs me. He bugs me. We're 3 games down from Boston, 5 down from the White Sox. Will the White Sox play .650 baseball all season? Of course not. Will Detroit win 100 games? Don't bet on it. Everything is open. We might not end up winning the wildcard, but I still think that attitude is annoying.

In other news, Steiners Warriors is hereby offering a $1,000,000 reward for information leading to the identification of Ordinary Guy. Oh, and you can't collect it, Ordinary. The reward will be paid out of our annual dues.

Pitching Update

If there was ever a time we'll miss Mark at this blog, it is now. The Yankees will start former Kansas City Royal Kris Wilson tomorrow in place of Shawn Chacon. Where is our good man with a scouting report from Kansas City? I guess the search for the next Aaron Small has begun...

Here are Wilson's career numbers.

Courageous Comments By Johnson

From the NYT:

"You look at Maddux and you look at Clemens, those guys and myself, we're all in our early 40's," Johnson said. "We're not going to go seven, eight, nine innings anymore. There's going to be games where we do, and tonight I was trying to pick up the bullpen. But you can only do the smoke-and-mirrors thing so long out there against good-hitting teams."

Too bad he didn't realize that during contract negotiations.

Bombers Bursting

19-1. Chacon is a dead man walking. Basically, the Yankees need both a bat and an arm to compete in the division, and soon, and we'd have to sell the family farm to get them. And it might not be enough anyway.

In its current depleted state, this team just isn't very good.

All-Star Joke

Unbelievable. Mark Redman is an all-star, while Francisco Liriano is not (at this point). Check out their respective numbers:

Redman: 5-4, 5.59
Liriano: 9-1, 1.99

Liriano will probably win the Cy Young (or at least finish second to his teammate, Johann Santana). Redman will be lucky to be on a Major League roster come September. And he's surely the worst "all-star" since Mike Sharperson had the honor of representing the 1990 Dodgers. In fact, Redman may be the worst all-star ever.

It's always amazing how some things that are so universally hailed as idiotic seem beyond change. The "every team gets an All-Star" rule is one of them. The whole thing stinks of Bolshevism, both in its ridiculous "egal" sentiment and its Soviet-like institutional permanence in the face of all good sense.

-Steiner