Nady and Marte for Tabata, Ohlendorf and two minor league pitchers

It's now being reported that the Yankees have traded Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke and George Kontos for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. The Yankees haven't confirmed this and physicals need to be taken, but Nady was pulled from the Pittsburgh lineup, and Coke was pulled from his scheduled start tonight.

What the Yankees gave up

Tabata has been a highly-touted prospect since being signed a few years ago (I'm actually older than him by a couple of weeks), but he's had some behavioral issues and has been on the disabled list with a wrist injury since the beginning of the month. He has a .630 OPS in 294 at-bats with Double-A Trenton.

I've liked Ohlendorf since the Yankees acquired him in the Randy Johnson trade, but if the Yankees could get Nady and Marte without giving up players like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy (for now) or Austin Jackson, they had to pull the trigger. Ohlendorf recently began starting again, and now it looks as if it were simply to showcase him.

I don't know much about Coke or Kontos. Coke is a 26-year-old lefty who was having a solid season for Double-A Trenton. He was recently called up to Triple-A. He struck out 109 batters while walking 38 in 114 1/3 innings for Trenton. Kontos is a 23-year-old righty. Pitching for Trenton, he posted a 3.77 ERA in 20 starts, striking out 103 and walking 43.

What the Yankees got

Nady, the Pirates' starting right fielder, is having a great year. He is batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBI. He also has a .919 OPS. He's never had more than 431 at-bats in a season (he is already up to 327), so that is a bit of a concern. However, he provides the Yankees a solid right-handed bat from the corner outfield spot and force Brett Gardner back to the minors.

Marte wasn't as much of a need as some would lead you to believe. Historically, lefties don't hit well against him (.198 BAA vs. .241), but this season, lefties are hitting him at a .255 clip. Righties, on the other hand, are hitting .200 against him this season. If he can regain his dominance against lefties, he'd be a solid addition to this Yankees bullpen. Other numbers this season: he has struck out 47 batters in 46 2/3 innings while walking 16. He has allowed four home runs and 38 hits.

Tentative lineup

C: Jose Molina
1B: Jason Giambi
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Xavier Nady
CF: Melky Cabrera
RF: Bobby Abreu
DH: Johnny Damon

This trade probably signals the end of Hideki Matsui's and Jorge Posada's respective seasons.

Money

Nady has $3.35 million due to him this season, a contract he signed during the off-season to avoid arbitration. Marte has a $6 million club option for 2009. He signed a two-year, $4.7 million extension in November 2006.

41 days until pitchers and catchers

For everything on Yankees' Spring Training, this is the site for you.

Add Wallace Matthews to the list of morons

Yesterday in Newsday, former ESPN Radio host Wallace Matthews wrote a diatribe about how Alex Rodriguez is bad for the Yankees and that him opting out of his contract should essentially be cause for celebration.

He says that the Yankees didn't have any sluggers from 1996-2001 and that they barely got production from third base (source).

In 1996, the Yankees got four home runs, 54 RBIs and a .308 batting average out of Charlie Boggs, the two-headed monster that held down third base that year.

In 1998, the third baseman's name was Scott Brosius and the numbers were 19, 98 and .300. In 1999, Brosius again: 17, 71, .247. In 2000: 16, 64, .230.

The Yankees won the World Series in every one of those years and in fact, won 14 World Series games in a row, stretching from Game 3 against the Braves in 1996 through Game 2 against the Mets in 2000.

During the previous three seasons, the Yankees' third baseman has averaged 40 home runs and 119 RBIs and batted just about .300. Two seasons back, he won the AL MVP, and this season he has a great chance to put up the best numbers of a career that already is a first-ballot ticket to Cooperstown.

And with him, the Yankees have won precisely nothing.

That's a very obtuse argument. He obviously doesn't like Rodriguez, and is using oranges to compare apples.

Rodriguez isn't the reason the Yankees haven't gone to the World Series since 2003. Awful starting pitching is. I suppose Rodriguez traded for Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson and Javier Vazquez, and signed Jaret Wright.

Matthews says the Yankees need relief pitching. This is true. However, he also says that allowing Rodriguez to leave would free up money. There will be enough money next year to go around and sign for middle relievers with Rodriguez being on the team.

The Rodriguez criticisms are ridiculous. I don't understand all of the hatred people have for him.

Review of Citizens Bank Park

Last night, I went to my first game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and I must say that I came home very impressed.

It is a beautiful stadium with all of the modern amenities. The food was great and they offered a wide selection. They have barbecue, cheesesteaks, hot dogs, pizza, etc.

The outfield concourse, known as Ashburn Alley, offers great views of the entire ballpark. In addition to the views of the ballpark, it goes right behind the visitor's bullpen. Of course, former buddy Randy Johnson (pictured, right) was pitching for the Diamondbacks last night, so I got to see him warm up. Needless to say, it was great yelling at him.

When walking to the seats, the entire concourse is open, so you can look out and see the field. The wideness of said concourses is also a plus.

The crowd was quiet for most of the game, and I expected the Philadelphia fans to be a little more rowdy, but maybe this had to do with it being a Wednesday night game against Arizona. Phillies starter Jamie Moyer gave up a first pitch home run to Eric Byrnes, and that was the last offense until the eighth inning, when he gave up three more runs to take a 4-0 lead.

The Phillies were able to come back in the ninth, scoring three runs. 2006 MVP Ryan Howard came off the bench to pinch hit, but lined into a double play to end the game.

All-in-all, it was a fun game in a very nice stadium. Going to a game in a 21st Century stadium made me realize what we as Yankee fans are really missing out on, and I am now excited for the new Yankee Stadium. I would definitely want to come back to Citizens Bank Park.

The above pictures are from my Canon PowerShot A540. I followed Maria Sharapova's advice to make every shot a PowerShot.

Clemens update plus more

I know I've churned out a lot of posts today, but here's another one.

Manager extraordinaire Joe Torre announced that resident mercenary Roger Clemens will make his much-anticipated 2007 debut Monday against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago.

For all the money the Yankees are paying Clemens, they should at least pitch him in Fenway, but I digress.

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Did anyone see Giants closer Armando Benitez tonight against the Mets?

With the Giants leading 4-3 going to the bottom of the 12th inning, Benitez, returning to Shea Stadium, walked Jose Reyes to lead off the inning. He then was called for a balk, allowing Reyes to take second. He was then sacrificed to third. Soon after, he was called for a balk again, allowing Reyes to score. He then gave up a walkoff home run to Carlos Delgado. Pretty funny stuff.

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I will not be around for the Yankee game tomorrow night, as I will be going to my first game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia to see the Phillies play. As an added bonus, Randy Johnson will be pitching for Arizona.

Luis Vizcaino: Awful pitcher or just another Joe Torre casualty?

Meet Luis Vizcaino. He is a Yankee middle reliever, wears uniform number 52, and was sent to the Yankees in the Randy Johnson salary dump. He is 2-1 with a 7.66 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. He has struck out 12 while walking 19. He has squandered 24 hits, 3 of which went for home runs.

At first glance, these numbers are awful. But there has to be a reason as to why he is struggling, right? Is he a bad pitcher? Hardly. He was an integral member of the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox bullpen. From 2004-2006, he posted a sub-4 ERA in each of those 3 years. There has to be a reason why his numbers with the mighty Yankees are terrible.

The reason is Joe Torre.

Vizcaino was great in Spring Training and the first two weeks of the season. Out of the first 10 games of the season, Vizcaino pitched in 8, pitching 8 1/3 innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 earned run, striking out 2, and walkking 3.

Joe Torre fell in love with him, just as he did with Ron Villone last year.

Since then, his numbers have done a complete 180. Beginning April 19, he has allowed 20 earned runs in 16 appearances. The overwork has obviously adversely affected his pitching, and is most likely injured and is not telling anyone.

Let's look at Villone's numbers from last year. Pre-all-star break, he was 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA and a .201 batting average against (BAA). Post-all-star break, he was 0-2 with a 8.35 ERA and a .301 BAA. In August alone, he pitched in an obscene 17 games, which resulted in 22 1/3 innings pitched and a 6.04 ERA. His September numbers were nothing to write home about either. In 9 games, he pitched 6 innings and allowed 18 earned runs.

As a result, poor old Ron was rotting in AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the historic 2007 season. He was one of St. Joseph's most trusted relievers for more than half of the year, but there's only so much a 36-year-old arm can take. Now Villone is back, fighting Torre's fight.

Joe Torre cannot manage the bullpen. His mistakes were often overshadowed by successful Yankee teams and smart personnel around him. This year, this is not the case. The team is awful and his blunders are magnified. There is already one Joe Torre casualty this year, and it is not even June yet. Let's hope that the Namesake (Scott Proctor) is not next.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports