Berkman Signs with the Cardinals

And here's a little more on the deal from Jon Heyman:

Official Elias Rankings Released

The official Elias rankings for the upcoming offseason were released yesterday, here how the Yankees free agents ranked:

Type A:

• Mariano Rivera
• Derek Jeter
• Andy Pettitte
  

Type-B:

• Lance Berkman
• Kerry Wood
• Javy Vazquez

Having these guys qualify as Type-B's means the Yanks would receive a supplemental first round draft pick in next year if they sign elsewhere. However, to receive those picks the Yankees would first have to offer each player arbitration. Considering they haven't done that in two years, and the money it could cost if one or more players accept, I wouldn't expect that to happen.

Options Declined For Berkman, Johnson, and Wood

From the Yankees PR department:

The Yankees today declined the options for Lance Berkman, Nick Johnson and Kerry Wood; excercised option for Andrew Brackman

Those options were $11M for Wood, $15M for Berkman, and $5.5M for Johnson, so these were obvious decisions for the Yanks. Berkman gets a $2M buyout and Johnson get $250K.

I do think they should look try to resign Wood, just not for anything near $11M.

A-Rod Set For Sunday Return, Berkman Back Tomorrow

From Brian Costello:

Alex Rodriguez worked in the batting cage before last night's game between the Yankees and A's, his first step back to returning from a left calf injury.

Rodriguez is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday against the Blue Jays, and both manager Joe Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long expect him to be ready to play that day, barring a setback.

"He's good to go," Long said.

...

Lance Berkman (right ankle sprain) played his first rehab game for Double-A Trenton, going 2-for-5 with a run scored. He's expected to play for Trenton again tonight, then come off the DL and be activated tomorrow, when rosters expand.

Good news all around. Now they just gotta get Pettitte and Aceves back and they'll be at full force for the stretch run.

Berkman To Begin Rehab Stint With Trenton

Chad Jennings is reporting that Lance Berkman will head to Double-A Trenton for a two-day rehab assignment. Here's a funny quote from Berkman about his return:

A glimpse into Berkman’s personality: When the group of reporters asked him how quickly he thought he could be back, Berkman immediately went to his brand of self-deprecating humor. “I’m sure fans can’t wait for me to resume my pursuit of the Mendoza line,” he said.

He might not have done much prior to his injury, but don't be surprised if he picks up a few big hits for this team in September.

Today's Lineup, Nunez Up, Berkman to the DL

A lot of stuff going on this morning as the Yankees prepare for the series finale against the Tigers.

Eduardo Nunez has been called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He will be replacing Lance Berkman, who is headed to the DL with that bad ankle.

Alex Rodriguez may be able to pinch hit today, but the Yankees will wait until after batting practice to make that decision.

And here is today's lineup:

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Austin Kearns DH
Ramiro Pena 3B

Berkman's Ankle is Fine, Listed as Day-to-Day

According to Chad Jennings, Joe Girardi said after the game that Lance Berkman's ankle was "jammed" and that he's listed as day-to-day.

Berkman even tried to convince Girardi to keep him in the game, but the manager wanted to play it safe.

“I think it was precaution,” Berkman said. “We’ll see how it feels. It started to swell a little bit, so we’ll see how it feels in the morning.”

“I think it’s just more painful than anything else,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything major wrong. I think I just twisted it when I hit the bag there.”

I guess that's good new, but I'm still pissed they could only get two hits off freaking Bryan Bullington and his career 5.02 ERA.

Hey Lance, I hope Someone Warned You About The Media

Well, here's another knee-jerk reaction from a member of the New York media, who continue to make this city look bad, one article at a time. Bob Klapisch is apparently ready to label Lance Berkman a bust after just 22 at-bats.... I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Take it away, Bob:

To say the slugger had his worst day as a Yankee on Saturday would be putting it gently: First he smoked Alex Rodriguez on the shin with a batting-practice ground ball, then failed to get the ball out of the infield against the Red Sox while dropping his average to .091.

It didn’t matter, really, that the Yankees cruised to a 5-2 victory behind CC Sabathia. And it was secondary to the batting practice incident that it was actually A-Rod’s fault — he was exchanging greetings with Fox announcer Joe Buck and wasn’t watching the ball. Somehow, an afternoon of blame boomeranged back to Berkman, the gentle, Rice-educated out-of-towner who doesn’t seem to belong.

“I know I have no credibility here, I haven’t done anything. I haven’t won a world championship like the other guys,” Berkman said. “You have to earn [respect] from the fans, and so far all I’ve done is earn their ire.”

Berkman is too secure to take booing personally, and he’s been around long enough not to measure himself by a 2-for-22 start. But his case serves as another example of the dangers of sprinkling small-market players onto the Yankees roster. Brian Cashman got away with it last year with Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, but Berkman is a different species, a second-tier player who isn’t particularly strong or fit or fast.

Did he really say that Cashman "got away with" signing on of the best pitchers and first basemen in the sport, and a pitcher who throws 95 with one of the best curveballs in the game? Yea Bob, who could have seen that one working out?

And how is it secondary that it wasn't Berkman's fault that A-Rod got hit or that they won the game despite his rough day at the plate? The only thing that should ever matter to a Yankees fan is whether the Yankees won or lost the game. Everything else, for the most part, is meaningless. Are these two fairly insignificant things really what you writers focus on after a game that saw the Yankees build their division lead back to a game and a half and their lead over Boston to six? Maybe it's just me, but I was pretty happy they won and that A-Rod wasn't hurt badly at all. That should be the story.

Failing in front of 50,000 fans every night forces those kind of look-in-the-mirror reckonings. Maybe back home in Houston, Berkman’s non-production would’ve been ignored forever. After all, his mediocrity fit in perfectly with the dreadful Astros.

But Berkman was only hitting .245 with a career-low .436 slugging percentage. At age 34, Berkman is probably looking at the rapid-decline phase of any non-steroid user, which makes you wonder what Cashman saw in him in the first place.

...

Berkman would like to think he’s got something to offer in September and maybe October, too. But he knows the slate is clean here – or at least was. Starting today, with a $32 million batting practice victim to his name, Berkman has been awarded his first August asterisk.

God man, give the guy a break. Adjusting to a place like this takes some time, and that goes for almost everyone who has ever tried to do it. Relax.

And that goes to some of you fans as well. I know New Yorkers boo when they're not happy, and I get that. I've done it myself. But do you people realize how bad you make the rest of us look sometimes? The guy waived his no-trade clause to come to New York and try to win. He left the only place he's called home to come here, and after just 22 at-bats you're booing the guy. Real classy.

This also wasn't the first dose of mindless booing from some the Yankee faithful this week. A-Rod heard boos during his chase of 600, and the fact that the most of them came during a meaningless at-bats makes it all that much more embarrassing.

I'm not saying Berkman hasn't been awful, he has. But I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet, and the boos are ridiculous. All the guy needs is one big hit to get the fans back on his side and gain some much-needed confidence, and who knows, maybe that hit comes tonight on national TV.

Here's an unrelated question for you guys: How would you rate CC Sabathia's start yesterday?

Do you have your answer? OK, good, here's how Klapisch described it:

Sabathia pitched a solid, if not spectacular game Saturday, allowing just two runs in eighth innings, pushing the Sox back to a six-game deficit in the East.

Don’t kid yourself: This was a game the Yankees needed, knowing Burnett would be facing Josh Beckett tonight. The Sox might not have the same firepower without Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, but they’re still dangerous enough for the Yankees to need a strong outing from Sabathia.

They got one – sort of. The left-hander had only one turbulent inning, the second, when he allowed Victor Martinez a leadoff home run, followed by back-to-back doubles to Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell. But that was all for the Sox.

Eight innings of two-run baseball, against your biggest rivals, in a game you really needed to win, is now "sort of" strong and "solid, if not spectacular." Ahhh... only in New York.

Emotional Puma

Check out these quotes via LoHud:

“I told Andy (Pettitte) that several times over the past day and a half I’ve been about to burst into tears, literally,” Berkman said. “The emotion is incredible. I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s just weird. I’m thrilled to be here. This is a great opportunity… It can fluster you a little bit. I’m sure a couple of weeks from now it won’t be a big deal, but at first there’s a lot of emotions, and there’s a lot of things that go through my mind. I’m dealing with it, and I think it will be great. I’m still excited about everything and wouldn’t change it, but it’s been a tough couple of days emotionally.”

...

“I don’t think I’ve played a meaningful game in like three years,” he said last night. “I hate to put it like that, but you have to learn how to manage your emotions again. When we were going through our little playoff run there in Houston, I learned how to do it. You kind of have to be in the environment and realize it’s the same game, and kind of slow everything down. The tendency is for everything to speed up and be real nervous and be real excited. It takes a little bit of being in that environment to get used to it.”

I can understand his emotions. It can't be easy to leave the only place you've known in this game. But as soon as he mentions the word "fluster," I start to get a little nervous. He better get over that, and soon. Being flustered doesn't help you much when you're in New York.

Evaluating the Deadline Deals

Yankees acquire RHP Kerry Wood and $2,172,131 for Cash or a PTBNL

Kerry Wood's 2010 has been a tale of two seasons thus far. In May, Wood posted an 11.05 ERA, 2.32 WHIP, and 7.4 BB/9. Granted - this line occurred over 7.1 IP, an incredibly small sample size ... but Wood was working off of an injury and, at the age of 33, it wouldn't bee surprising to see his numbers nosedive after yet another trip to the disabled list. In June and July, however, Wood performed much better (another trip to the disabled list notwithstanding). Over 12.2 IP, Wood posted a 3.55 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 3.55 BB/9. Once more we are working off of an incredibly small sample size - but there's not much else to work with.

Wood's 2009 was fairly mediocre - 4.25 ERA, 4.15 FIP, 4.11 xFIP, and 2.25 K/BB provided for a fairly poor return for the first year of his two year, $20.5 M contract. While he certainly wasn't bad, he wasn't very good either. He was relatively healthy, however, and continued to rack up strikeouts (as he has done this year, as well).

In my mind, this deal represents a low-risk, high-reward situation for the bullpen. The Wood of June and July bolsters the bullpen significantly, as would his 2009 incarnation. The 2008 Wood could very well give the Yankees the best bullpen in the game. The Wood of May, however, would be far worse than Park (or anyone, for that matter). The typical Wood ... may just end up on the disabled list - I'm sure Nick Johnson could use the company. All this for a paltry PTBNL or $500,000.

Yankees acquire OF Austin Kearns for a PTBNL

Austin Kearns represents a tremendous upgrade to the Yankees bench - he provides a better bat and glove than Colin Curtis (or Kevin Russo or Greg Golson) and a better glove than Marcus Thames (without giving away too much with the bat, to boot). He's batting .272/.354/.419 with 8 HR, 4 SB, and a 115 wRC+ in 301 AB, while playing solid defense in LF and RF (and not embarrassing himself in CF).

For his career, Kearns doesn't show much of a platoon split, batting .261/.383/.416 against LHP and .256/.341/.430 against RHP. Against a strong lefty, having Kearns in LF, Gardner in CF, and Thames DH'ing represents a massive upgrade over previous alignments.

Yankees acquire 1B Lance Berkman and $4 M for RHP Mark Melancon and IF Jimmy Paredes

Despite being in the midst of the worst season of his career, Lance Berkman represents a massive upgrade over the DH pu pu platter of Juan Miranda and Marcus Thames, while strengthening the bench with the latter moving to what will primarily be a PH role against LHP. Further, it's worth noting that Berkman has an .882 OPS in July and has traditionally batted better against RHP (which will only be assisted by the short porch in New Yankee Stadium).

In my mind, Berkman's early season woes were the product of recovering from offseason knee surgery. His .275 BABIP is a career low (and about 20 points lower than expected), as his is still-solid .189 ISO. Noting this, the ZiPS projection system, found on Fangraphs, projects a .260/.383/.480 for the remainder of 2010 - and that doesn't account for the move to the Yankees line-up or stadium.

Mark Melancon, in my mind, never received much of a shot - but he was battered in his short Major League stints and was in the midst of his worst minor league season at 25. With Albaladejo and Sanchez still around, I'm not sure that he'll be missed. Jimmy Paredes does not appear to be anything special, either - he outgrew SS at age 21 and has not drawn many positive reviews for his defense at 2B or 3B, either. He's essentially David Adams with a lesser glove and less plate discipline - and the Yankees still have Adams.

Berkman Talks About His New Home

(REUTERS/Scott Audette)

From Mark Feinsand:

On being traded to the Yankees: "I never thought in a million years it would happen, being a lifelong Houston Astro. I didn’t think that a set of circumstances would come along to make this happen. I’m very happy to be here, but obviously a little sad to be leaving an organization that gave me my first chance in the big-leagues. I had a lot of great years there, but I’m very excited and very happy to be here. It’s a great situation. Who doesn’t want to play for the Yankees?"

On Andy Pettitte's involvement in bringing him here: "The whole time he was there, I had a sense that he wanted to be back here. I would always give him a hard time, ‘You’re going to go back to the Yankees; I know you are.’ We’ve had a lot of conversations about the differences between the organizations. Him being one of my best friends in the world is a big part of the reason that the Yankees were on my radar. It would take something like that, a relationship like that, to pry me out of that environment that I was comfortable with there in Houston."

On being a full-time DH: "It will probably being different being a full-time DH. When you play every day, you don’t have to worry about staying loose and staying in the flow of the game. I think there will probably be an adjustment period, but when I step in the batter’s box, I’m not gong to think about, ‘Oh man, I’m DH-ing.’ It shouldn’t take long. I’m looking forward to it. I think it will actually be good for my knee."

...

On going from fifth place to first: "I was thinking about that on the way over here; I’m coming to play for the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays, basically for first place in the division in August, or I’d be going up to play the Milwaukee Brewers and there are like 10 people in the stands. There’s a definite difference. Not to say anything bad about the Astros or the Brewers, that’s just the situation we were in this year. When Minute Maid Park is full and the people are excited, there’s not a better place to play, but that’s not the case and it hasn’t been for several years."

...

On the Yankees' World Series-or-bust mentality: "Ever since I’ve been active in professional baseball, the Yankees have either won the World Series or were extremely upset that they didn’t win the World Series. That’s a different deal. That’s a level that no other organization in the game that has that kind of expectation. Part of it comes from the success that the organization has had. 27 world championships and the next closest is 10 for the Cardinals, that’s a huge difference. With that success comes the expectation that all players in the game recognize, that the New York Yankees play baseball for one reason - to win the World Series. Not just get there, but to win it."

Good stuff from Big Puma. You can read more of his quotes here.

Melancon & Paredes Headed To Houston... Kearns a Yankee

That was a very tough loss tonight. Hughes pitched very well for five innings, but one bad inning is all it take against a team as good as the Rays. More on that later, for now here's a few more rumors.

Joel Sherman is reporting that the players heading to Houston are Triple-A reliever Mark Melancon, and Single-A infielder Jimmy Paredes, and that the deal will be done by 1:30 pm tomorrow afternoon. I guess we may see Berkman's debut tomorrow night. Houston will be paying $4 million of the $7.5 million Berkman is owed between this year and his buyout for next year.

He's also reporting that the Yankees have also acquired Austin Kearns from the Indians for a player to be named later.

To wrap up this batch of rumors, Jayson Stark says the Yankees are in on Ted Lilly, and Buster Olney says that the Yankees may be working on a third deal for someone he assumes can play third base. Ummm... Bullpen?

Sherman: Berkman to Yanks a Done Deal

(UPDATE: 6:29 PM) Another update from Joel Sherman:

Deal is completed, Berkman consented to waive no-trade rights, just have to wait 24 hrs for the technicality

No word yet on who is going to Houston besides that Ken Davidoff says that they are expected to receive "non-prospect minor-leaguer(s) and payroll relief" and a few rumors about David Adams and Ivan Nova, but Nova is pitching tonight for Scranton, so I don't think he's involved. Kevin Russo & Jimmy Paredes were pulled from their starts tonight, so it could be them. We'll know more tomorrow.

Alright, they've solved the DH issue. Now on to the bullpen...

(UPDATE: 5:45 PM) From Sherman:

Rule is Berkman deal can't be officially announced for 24 hrs after completed because the player (Berkman) has to waive 10-5 rights but that almost certainly is technicality

(original post)

Here's a few tweets of interest:

Ken Rosenthal:

Yankees indeed moving quickly on Berkman, as others report. Team will NOT pick up 15M option as condition of deal; strictly a rental.

Joel Sherman:

Hearing Berkman deal from #Astros to #Yankees is on verge of completion

Buster Olney:

The Yankees' talks for Lance Berkman are advancing, quickly.

Jon Heyman:

Yankees-Berkman in serious talks

Sounds like it's close to done.

In other Yankees news from the world of Tweet, there's this from Bob Klapisch:

Source says Yankees "may have some other things cooking" after Berkman deal is complete.

Hopefully those others things include fixing this bullpen.