Some news from the last few days I haven't gotten around to writing about until now -
Score one for Brian Cashman: that Nick Swisher trade looks better everyday. Not only has he been one of our best offensive weapons so far (carrying the team in April), but what the Yanks sent to Chicago in return has turned into a relative disaster. Jeff Marquez has a 14.18 ERA in Triple-A (and hasn't pitched since April). Wilson Betemit was just designated for assignment (because he hit .200/.280/.311 and had five errors in 13 games). The only decent player Chicago got back in that trade (so far) has been Jhonny Nunez, who's pitching well out of the pen in Double-A. (FYI, Swisher's hitting .251/.388/.521.)
- Austin Jackson finally hit his first homerun of the year. It's a bit worrying that it took this long, especially considering his high strikeout totals; usually, homers and strikeouts go hand in hand. Shelley Duncan hit his 19th, and is batting .302/.369/.680. He's likely at the front of the 'promotion queue', but there's no opening at 1B or OF.
- Elsewhere in the minors, Jesus Montero's had a nice Double-A debut, going 2-7 (both singles) with two walks, one strikeout and a GDP in his first two games (he caught one and DH'ed the other). In the same game last night, Chris Garcia (a high-potential, oft-injured pitcher) threw seven scoreless innings of four-hit, two-walk, six-K ball (with 11 groundouts to four flyouts). He's allowed one run in 22 innings (.41 ERA), and has an outside chance to help the Yankee bullpen this year.
- If you're interested in maintaining Gate 2 of the old Yankee Stadium, check out this website that is dedicated to preserving it.