New York Yankees News: Almost Yankees, Blackouts, and the Scoreboard

Throughout the '90s there was a decent team to field from players who could have been Yankees: Jake Westbrook, Eric Milton, Fred McGriff, Bob Wickman...

In the last few years, that team has been in decline, as the Yankees have lacked flexibility at the major league level and been unwilling to trade major prospects for rental players.

But the team might be getting a boost in 2011:

Ian Kennedy got the Opening Day start for the Diamondbacks... Mark Melancon made the Astros bullpen, Sergio Mitre will be in the Brewers pen, Lance Berkman really did open as the Cardinals right fielder, Juan Miranda started at first base for the Diamondbacks, Shelley Duncan made the Indians bench, Dustin Moseley is in the Padres rotation, Ross Ohledorf is the No. 3 starter for the Pirates, Jeff Karstens and Jose Veras are both in the Pirates bullpen, and Jose Tabata is the Pirates starting left fielder.

That's not a great team, and if there weren't so many Pirates on it, I suggest that by filling out the lineup a little, that team might beat the Pirates head-to-head.

With the exception of Tabata, whose off the field behavior and immaturity cost him a shot at pinstriped fame, there's not really a guy there who I think is better than our 25th player right now.

DirectTV customers are in danger of losing the Yankees. I think I adequately expressed my disdain for both media conglomerates and cable providers, and for the phony "we're on the customer's side" rhetoric that invariably comes from both sides, last year when Fox and Cablevision blacked out parts of my postseason. Until I can pay for only the programs I watch (baseball, Mythbusters and Chuck), I'm going to be unhappy with the current system.

Not to sound like a shill, but I just paid my $20 for a full season worth of all the radio broadcasts I can listen to through MLB.com. Listened to the Yankee game at work on Thursday, and the BoSox-Rangers game yesterday. Considering the dungeon my cubicle occupies (think Office Space), it's already a sound investment.

Yesterday, the Jays and O's won, the Red Sox and Rays lost.