If you didn't catch it yesterday, first-baseman Carlos Pena of the Cubs was claimed off waivers by the Yankees. All that means is that the Yanks are the only team that can try to trade for him (and it must happen by 1 p.m. on Friday). If they don't, or if Chicago pulls him back off waivers (which seems to be the case), Pena will remain with the Cubbies. It's really only significant because it says management feels uncomfortable with the DH combination of Jorge Posada and Eric Chavez. Uh, Brian? There's a guy named Jesus in Triple-A you might've heard of.
- What looked like a strength just a few weeks ago is now starting to look like a weakness. With A.J. Burnett's and Bartolo Colon's recent ineffectiveness and Freddy Garcia's injury, even more pressure falls onto the broad shoulders of CC Sabathia (and to a lesser extent, youngn's Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova).
- Mark Teixeira has not hit in the clutch this year. T'would be nice if he did. He hasn't been "clutch" over a full season since 2008, his last before joining the Yankees.
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Nick Swisher will finally go on a honeymoon with his wife, Joanna Garcia. Only it's not Tahiti, Hawaii or the French Riviera. They'll visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan in November, their first trip as a married couple. (Of course, they do plan to "make a stop" in Europe on the way back.)
- Remember Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte? They're both scheduled to pitch in a GCL game today. But their return to MLB this season is still very uncertain.
- A group of Scranton, Pennsylvania, investors want to buy management rights to the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in the area in order to prevent the team from ever being moved.
- The reason a fouled bunt attempt with two strikes equals an out makes sense to me. Without it, hitters would wear down pitchers by fouling off pitch after pitch. But one I still don't understand is why batters can run to first on a dropped third strike. Anyone want to explain it?