Yankees Rumors and Gossip 8/5/15: Luis Severino and waiver trades

Can I interest you in some rumors, and perhaps some gossip? Of course I can! We all love rumors, and we all love gossip. It’s what makes us human. We love spectacles and grand machinations. Trade rumors are arguably more fun than the trade deadline itself, and gossips are arguably just as fun as most of the on-field action. Who wouldn’t take a mariachi Alex Rodriguez story over a bland 3-0 game most days?

That said, here’s a Matt Vasgersian call I enjoyed from yesterday (this in response to Brian McCann’s three-run bomb from Craig Breslow):

Craig Breslow should check his wallet after the game because McCann might have his car keys and his credit cards as well.

I only barely understand what that means, but I do know that Vasgersian is a criminally underused commodity, and is probably the best national play-by-play man working today. When it comes to baseball as a whole, including team-specific commentators? Sure, I’ll go ahead and slot him in third there behind Vin Scully and Jon Miller. Unclear why Vasgersian won’t be calling the World Series this year, but I suppose we couldn’t possibly unseat this man.

In any case, Matt Vasgersian has little to do with the Yankees, which is something that is, in no uncertain terms, an unmitigated tragedy. Here are some things that are Yankees-related:

• We’re all excited to watch Luis Severino make his Major League debut in a few hours, and that includes Severino’s now-teammates. The choice word-of-the-day was ‘excited.’ Said one Alex Rodriguez: "We’re very excited. Sometimes the best trades you make are the ones you don't make." Said a relaxed Joe Girardi: "I’m excited to see Severino." Said a festive Brian McCann: "We’re excited to have him join us."
• The trade deadline has wafted by us but trades can, of course, still happen, albeit in a somewhat tortured and convoluted way via waivers. Whispers hold that the Yankees could bite on Martin Prado or Chase Utley should they come up for grabs on the waiver wires, but it’s a long shot the team would get hold of either of them.
• The Hollywood Reporter ran a longform piece on Derek Jeter’s burgeoning post-baseball career, with special focus on his website The Players’ Tribune. Jeter was flicked a question about Alex Rodriguez writing for the site – specifically if Jeter would ask Alex to cobble together some thoughts about his PED use and his suspension. "No, I'm not going to start calling people like I'm a member of the media and say, ‘Hey, I've got this idea for you,’" Jeter said, continuing, "I would not be comfortable doing that with anyone. I don't view myself as being a member of the media."
• Other news from that piece: Jeter is still refusing to open a Twitter account.
• Meanwhile, Jeter continued on his anti-bullying tip this week, promoting the Turn2 Foundation’s ‘Social Change Week.’ He visited Siena College and spoke about cyberbulling – we’ve previously discussed Jeter’s involvement in STOPit, an anti-cyberbullying app.
• Be sure to read this Alex Rodriguez interview the New York Post ran last weekend – it’s long, and Alex’s answers tend to be sparse (or perhaps he just likes to cut to the chase), but it’s interesting and it is without question worth your time. Many words are spent on Rodriguez’s personal life, but his response to questions about his relationship with his teammates is perhaps the most interesting thing here. Of manager Joe Girardi he said: "[He has] an Ivy League mind." (The kind of mind that makes a pitching change mid at-bat.) Tragically, Alex did not refer to MLB as "MLB Baseball" here, which I can only assume is an oversight on his part.
• Word on the street is that Fox Sports might like to slap A-Rod on our television screens for its Postseason coverage should the Yankees not make it into the Fall Classic. In this case, the aforementioned play-by-play man power rankings would need to be adjusted: Alex Rodriguez >>> Vin Scully > Jon Miller > Matt Vasgerisan.
• David Ortiz felt the need to vomit words out of the front of his head yesterday in response to a question about Alex Rodriguez’s stellar play this season. "The guy is playing the right way now – as far as we know," the thirty-nine-year-old Ortiz, who failed a drug test in 2003, said. "He’s having a good season and doing the right thing. I guess that deserves credit." One presumes Rodriguez’s 3.1 WAR efforts in 2015 deserve credit, yes.
• Other things Rodriguez may or may not deserve credit for: being termed the best sign-stealer in baseball by former Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun. "[Rodriguez is] one of the smartest players I've ever seen," Zaun said. "I flat-out knew he was stealing signs, but I could tell you right now, we weren't exactly making it hard on him because our guys were either too dumb, or too lazy, to use anything complicated."