About Last Night....Rather This Morning.....Enemies Become Friends

Moose is definitely laboring a bit after being extended past his usual 100 pitch count over the past several starts. These last two starts show that he's wearing down a bit. It's almost September and most players hit a wall around this time of the year on regular rest and work. With all the bullpen and starter issues, Moose has been extended a bit more than he's used to. His lack of control is good indication that he's tired.

I don't think it would be such a bad idea to have Aaron Small pitch for Moose on Saturday. Give Moose a little blow. I know it's against the A's, but Small has done well as a spot starter and he would be on normal rest since he pitched Monday. I know it's all hands on deck, but Moose going 3 innings isn't going to help us in long run. If we have the extra arm, let's use it to give Moose a blow. Probably won't happen, bur I figured that I'd throw it out there.

Giambi's cortizone shot for his elbow last week will probably last four to six weeks. Which means that he'll probably need another before the playoffs start. What he needs to do is layoff the batting practice. He's wearing himself out. Are 500 swings in the cage necessary this time of year? You need all your energy for the games. I know it's important to stay sharp, but if you're suffering from tendonitis in your elbow, it might not be a bad idea to scale things back a bit.

I think picking Mark Bellhorn up off of waivers is a good move for the Yankees. It solidifies our bench and gives us some defensive options in the late innings. It also gives another left-handed bat to come off the bench (although he is the whiffinator).

One of the things that differentiated the Yanks from everyone else in the dynasty years; was their bench and their bullpen. With Tino, Womack, Ruben, Bernie and or Lawton, we have some pretty nice options coming off the bench. Bellhorn can definitely help. Particularly when you consider that he's coming from Infidel Nation, any information that he can impart on Joe & Company will help matters.

Do his 109 Ks in 283 ABs concern me? Absolutely. But he still has decent glove and he does have decent pop when he makes contact. Let's just hope he's not an infidel spy like Mendoza was for us.