Bear with me here, I'm going to ramble a lot in this post. Here are some thoughts about the Yankees.
-Why did anyone think Sergio Mitre would do better than he did in his start today? As I said, and many agreed and disagreed with, Mitre was not prepared enough for this start. It showed. Now that the Yankees called him up and put him in the rotation, it's not possible to redo it. They either keep sending him out there or put him in the bullpen. The start didn't matter too much and they can afford to keep him in the rotation, but if you want the best option, it's putting him in the pen.
-Joba Chamberlain has been rumored to be in a possible trade for Dan Haren. Rumors are swirling everywhere, but the one rumor that really seems to be echoed throughout baseball is that if the Yankees give up Joba they can get it done. Justin Louis Chamberlain should not be traded. (Wanted to use his full name now that I read his biography in the Yankees media book I got last night) His value is at it's lowest and if he picks it up and figures things out he can be a very valuable player out of the bullpen.
-If the Yankees must trade Joba, however, the best place to trade him would be Arizona. If the Yankees send him to an American League team, or a team they might see in the World Series sometime, and he figures it out, they will regret it. We wouldn't see much of Joba in Arizona.
-The Yankees need some more outfield help with Gardner and Swisher having problems and Granderson struggling. What purpose does Juan Miranda actually serve on this roster? Does he strike fear in opponents as a power bat off the bench? No. While six outfielders may be a bit much, the Yankees should try trading for a utility guy (as they are doing) like last year in Jerry Hairston Jr./Eric Hinske. For now, Chad Tracy should be playing more time in the outfield in the minors, if not be called up as an extra 1B/3B/OF off the bench.
-With the Yankees looking at Johnny Peralta and Wes Helms as utility options, they should also try to acquire Jose Bautista from the Blue Jays, or Rusty Ryal of the Diamondbacks. Jose Bautista is a perfect fit in my opinion. Bautista leads the MLB in homeruns and plays both 3B (to spell A-Rod from time to time) and the OF. The only problems are his batting average as a pinch hitter in his career, (.152) his batting average overall in his career (.238) and the facts that Toronto will ask for a lot for him and may not want to trade within the division.
-That brings me to Rusty Ryal. Ryal plays 1B, 2B, 3B, and the OF and is currently on the Diamondbacks. Jscape brought the idea up yesterday of having him be a throw in in a possible Dan Haren trade (a la Boone Logan in the Javier Vazquez trade) and I think it's very smart. Ryal will not be the type of guy that's a big name or a big bat, but he can play the field, hit fairly well, and he comes cheap. There's no harm in getting rid of him if the Yankees find someone better.
-The Yankees do not need to trade for Dan Haren, but if they can it would be great. The one thing that the Yankees should not do is trade both Ivan Nova and Zach McAllister for Haren. The Yankees would be trading their top minor league pitching depth in one trade. If someone gets hurt again like with Pettitte, the Yankees would be in the same situation they are now, but worse.
-Finally, the Yankees made the wrong choice in sending down Jonathan Albaladejo and leaving pitchers like Chad Gaudin and Dustin Moseley on the roster. The move is understood, that Girardi needed Moseley on the roster in case Mitre faultered, and the fact that Gaudin was coming off of a solid outing, but that's even more reason to get rid of Gaudin. Gaudin has no options left, while Albaladejo does.That is also understood. Still, Albaladejo is the better pitcher and when it comes down to it that should always be the deciding factor.