THE YANKEES GANG OF 6

I wanted to just break down the September call-ups for you. These guys have a great opportunity here and will help energize and already hot Yankees team:



Raul Valdes: Finally, my wish has come true. Another lefty in the pen to help out Boone Logan on consecutive days. Many don't see the reason for this because the bullpen is so hot, but to me, it makes sense, sometimes you need to play the odds with lefty hitters and lefty pitchers and Valdes could prove helpful. In 7 appearances last year for the Cardinals he had a 3.38 ERA.Scott Proctor: He's back and older and wiser, we hope. In the four years with the Yankees, Proctor had a 4.29 ERA in 190 appearances. To me, Scott Proctor was the early 2000's David Robertson, before we knew how great David Robertson could be. While in Scranton this year, after 7 innings, he posted a 2.57 ERA. Welcome Back Scott Proctor.



Lance Pendleton: I like this kid and I'm glad he's back. In 14 innings pitched this season in Scranton, Pendleton has a 3.21 ERA with 8 strikeouts.Chris Dickerson: He provides the speed and has a decent bat and good defense. He's a perfect late inning bench guy and I love the kids energy.



Brandon Laird: He had a shot earlier this year and did well getting his first hit and first RBI in the Bronx. What a way to start. Another guy that can be a good addition to the bench, plus he can play 3rd base and outfield. Utility is good.Jesus Montero: What can I say that hasn't already been said. The rising of Jesus is all over Yankeeland and we are happy to have him. Slow start in his major league debut although he did get a big run off of Russell Martin's triple against the Sox the other night. I believe that his presence will be an asset to the Yankee team. Youth can bring energy and the hype surrounding this kid is incredible.



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WHY I DIG BRANDON LAIRD

"I'm still speechless. It's just a dream come true." --Brandon Laird tells ESPN

(Photo: Getty)
Last night was very cool for a 23 year old like Brandon Laird. Sure, he was a New York Yankee and that was great, but he was playing in the Bronx in front of us fans and in front of his family. That would be enough to give you chills, but to top that off, he got his first hit and his first RBI of his Major League career and I think we have something here. The best part is, today he will start his first game and no one is happier than me.

ESPN had a great nugget which I missed last night. It turns out Laird was a pinch hitter in the seventh inning for Derek Jeter. That's not the nugget, the nugget is the reaction from Nick Swisher:

"When he picked up a helmet in the Yankee dugout, Nick Swisher was confused. 'I was like, 'What do you think you're doing?' Swisher said with a laugh."(Photo: Getty)
Brandon Laird was called up during the Rays series and I quickly wrote WHY I CHOOSE LAIRD OVER NUNEZ. I was immediately debated publicly on Facebook which is the reaction I was going for. But again, let me reiterate. I'm not saying I don't like Eduardo Nunez. What I don't like are his errors and all I am suggesting is we give Brandon Laird a shot at 3rd, just to see what the kid's got. After all, Nunez didn't exactly earn the third base role for his defense, we all know it's for his offense, which is superb. Luckily for us, we will see if Laird has what it takes to be a big league third baseman, today is his day.

Laird by the way is a former 27^th round pick. Brandon's brother Gerald is a member of a St. Louis Cardinals. This is a baseball family. Like so many families before; the Hairston's which consisted of Jerry Hairston, who played for the White Sox in the 80's and his sons Jerry Hairston Jr. and Scott Hairston. Then you have of course, the Griffey's and the Swishers. Yup. Nick Swisher's dad Steve Swisher played before him. There are so many baseball families. If you're a card collector, have fun looking for those gems. Check out Steve Swisher below. The point is, I like the trend and I'm rooting for Laird. If Brandon can compete on a major league level and share responsibility with Nunez at third, the worry of filling the void until A-Rod comes back goes away, plus, Laird can also fill in at first base and outfield. Diversity is important and it's an advantage for Laird.

Good luck today pal, do your thing today, you know I'm rooting for you.

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WHY I'LL TAKE A YANKEE BLOWOUT ANY DAY

(Photo: Getty)
I always love a blowout, there's no stress and it shows a fan that all the parts are working correctly, well, not totally tonight, but mostly. Now, you can blame the heat if you want, but the Yankees offense was incredible, yet Phil Hughes wasn't. One thing you have to know about Hughes is, he doesn't make excuses and I hope he doesn't tonight because if your a major league ballplayer, it doesn't matter if it's too cold or too hot, you have a job to do and he just didn't do it tonight. Phil Hughes pitched 4.1 innings, he gave up 9 hits and 7 runs tonight. Girardi calls Hughes appearance tonight a "blip", meaning, it's just a bad night and he'll be back next time out. I say I worry aa bit about King Hughes. I don't know if this guy is right yet. It concerns me. He didn't get the win, Hector Noesi did. Noesi did a good job coming in, he managed to go 3.2 innings, allowed 4 hits and 0 runs. Bottom line, if the Yankees didn't score 17 runs and scored say, 5 runs, all of Yankeeland would be hammering young Hughes right now. Phil dodged a bullet, next time it's a must win.

Now let's get to what was amazing tonight, the Yankee bats. A few beautiful highlights:
(Photo: Getty)
Nick Swisher had 3 hits tonight, and it all started with a 3 run homer that eventually led to the Yankees batting around the order and scored 9 runs. Tonight Swisher had 5 RBI's. A great night for Swish.

Mark Teixeira looked like he was never in a slump with that ourstanding and long awaited Grand Slam. It was a nice shot to right field and man oh man did he need that.
(Photo: Getty)
Derek Jeter knocked in 3 runs. I'd say perhaps, just perhaps, Derek Jeter is happy to be back in the 2 hole, after all, Jeet used to always be in the 2 hole, so this is nothing new. I think the combination of Gardy leading off and Jeter batting second can be a recipe for success. Can you imagine if we did this starting in the beginning of the season?
The sweetest highlight for me was seeing Brandon Laird play, and not only get his first hit, but get his first major league RBI as well. Congrats Brandon, welcome to New York.

Final Score: Yankees 17 - Athletics 7

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WHY I CHOOSE LAIRD OVER NUNEZ

(In Photo: Brandon Laird)
I know I’m not in good company when I say that headline out loud, but let’s face it, I can’t stand the errors that Nunez is offering night after night and while it isn’t fair for me to choose Brandon Laird over Eduardo Nunez based merely on minor league numbers, I am and I will because I can.

This isn’t to say I don’t like Nunez. I’ve heard it time and time again, "Nunez can learn to play a better in field" or "Nunez can learn to throw better." OK, When? He’s a major leaguer, it’s not like there’s a more elite league after the Majors; This is it, so the time is now. Show me something. Nunez has a terrific bat and while he filled in for Jeter, he was hitting close to .300. I will give him that, but 12 errors is the team high and Nunez owns that and he hasn’t played all that much before the Jeter fill in role.

(In Photo: Brandon Laird)

On the other side of the coin, when the Yankees got word that Ramiro Pena needed to have his appendix removed (HERE), suddenly they had a roster spot for an infielder, so Brandon Laird was called up. Laird was hitting .266 in Scranton Wilkes Barre and had 10 homers and 21 doubles. The kid's got huge potential and the best part is, he can play almost anywhere. By almost anywhere I mean some key spots, third base, first base and the outfield. Yes, the chatter about Laird has been positive and I’m the first person to buy into it. Remember Brian Gordon? I embraced him, and here comes Laird and I’ll do the same, I'm easy. Why? Because early on, the hype around Laird was big, and hopefully he’ll measure up.

So yes, when errors stack up fast and when errors lose ball games, people are going to start talking. And I’m not saying I’m rooting for that to happen, I’m just saying that’s the only way people will open their eyes.

Girardi is clearly fooled by Nunez’s bat and Girardi told Pete Caldera at the Bergen Record that “He’s earned that” in reference toNunez having A-Rod’s spot at 3^rd while A-Rod recovers from surgery. All I’m saying is, give Nunez a few days off, play Laird and watch him perform, that’s all. Yes, your heart may be set on Nunez, but all I’m saying is I feel like something’s coming. Nunez has dodged a few bullets on errors and pretty soon, I don’t know when, there’s going to be a costly error that will make people say enough’s enough. No, I’m not the Amazing Kreskin, this is a gut thing…. Hopefully I’m wrong….when it comes to this stuff, I like to be wrong.

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