Melky optioned

Melky Cabrera was put out of his misery and optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this afternoon. After getting off to a nice start this season, Cabrera's OPS is down to .633. With the way the offense has been performing lately, the Yankees couldn't afford to have him in the lineup everyday.

1B Richie Sexson was also released. He was 7-28 with one home run and six RBI as a Yankee.

Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom were called up from Triple-A to take their roster spots.

Giambi takes a seat

I caught my first glimpse of the lineup tonight and noticed that Jason Giambi is sitting against the lefty Matt Harrison. Who?

Harrison has had five career starts and lefties are batting a cool .500 against him.

Meanwhile, Giambi went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI last night. This snapped a 27-game long slump that saw his batting average fall from .268 to .249.

This season, Giambi is hitting .247/.402/.517 against lefties. That isn't far off from his numbers against righties: .259/.386/.509. In fact, his OBP and SLG are both higher when he is facing southpaws.

A bottom of the order comprised of Richie Sexson, Jose Molina and Justin Christian will surely terrify young Harrison.

The beginning of the Sexson Era

The Yankees are 1-0 with Richie Sexson, as the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 7-1 Friday night. See, he is already making a difference.

After Mike Mussina allowed three hits and one run in the first inning, Sexson quickly earned his pinstripes. He hit a two-out RBI single to center to tie the game. He finished 1-for-3 with one RBI, one walk and one strikeout.

After that, the Yankees rolled. Robinson Cano hit a two-out three-run home run in the third. Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez had two-out RBI hits in the fourth. Are you sensing a trend?

Abreu, Cano and Melky Cabrera had two hits. Rodriguez had three hits, including his 20th home run of the season and 538th of his career.

Mussina pitched six innings, allowing nine hits and one earned run. He struck out six and walked none en route to his 12th win of the season. He lowered his ERA to 3.49 in the process as well.

David Robertson, Edwar Ramirez and LaTroy Hawkins each pitched one perfect inning. Robertson struck out the side in the seventh.

The two teams will do it again tomorrow afternoon. Justin Duchscherer, tomorrow's scheduled starter, has been pushed back to Sunday. Sean Gallagher, originally slated for Sunday, will start tomorrow instead.

Yankees sign Sexson

Everyone had to see this coming from a mile away.

The Yankees seem to be a haven for other people's junk, as they have reached a tentative agreement with former Mariners' first baseman Richie Sexson, according to Buster Olney.

Sexson, a right-handed hitter, is batting .218/.315/.381 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI. However, he is hitting .344 against lefties.

In 604 innings at first base this season, he has committed two errors.

He is certainly a better option than Wilson Betemit is. And if he doesn't work out, the Yankees only owe the prorated minimum salary.