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I think a hat tip is in order for two Yankees that alot of people wanted shipped out of here at all costs in the offseason.....Johnny Damon & Jason Giambi. These guys are keeping the team in it at this point. If Giambi gives us anything close to the 1.000 OPS he's at now its going to be very difficult to see him go.

Yep, this is how Cashman looks for spare parts in the trash bins of other teams.

Sidney apparently has some anger management issues to work on and alcohol does not bring out the sunnier side of his personality.

Igawa has looked decent the past two weeks, they probably don't want to upset his "progress".

Traber, Hawkins, Giese.

We're winning now, so I'll leave it all alone.

There journeyman are all that is available at this point. The Yanks are wise to stockpile what they can and hope one of these guys morphs into Aaron Small.

At some point, when the stars start getting dumped by non-contenders, the Yanks will have to be ready to deal their young talent. Hughes & Kennedy's performance this year demonstrates how easy it is to over-value the potential of young talent. Deal 'em.

Joba fans 9 in 5.2 innings. Kid is dominating with his stuff. Middle relievers don't cough it up - and Mo fans the side to close it out.

Some days this team makes me feel pretty good.

Not ready to give up on either kid (Kennedy or Hughes). The Yanks have lots of problems. Two additions at the deadline aren't going to make a difference. You make a go of it and hope you sneak into the playoffs but in the end there is a lot of dead wood coming off the books and the thoughts should be on 2009.

Corey,

When you say "Deal 'em", are you referring specifically to Hughes and Kennedy, or are you referring to the minor league prospects (or all of the above?).

I, for one, am not ready to give up on Hughes yet. Granted, he's been a disappointment this year, and he's now been hurt two years in a row. But we saw some flashes of brilliance last year, including in the ALDS. And he's only 21. I certainly wouldn't want to trade him for Sabathia. I hope the Yankees don't pursue him -- I look at him and think there's no way it makes sense to sign him to the kind of multi-year, mega-million dollar contract he's looking for. The body type is all wrong. When he goes downhill, I think he's going to go hard and fast.

I was never quite sold on Kennedy. He might still work out fine, but my expectations were never as high for him as they were for Chamberlain and Hughes.

From everything I have read, Hughes won't be back until August and you can't trade someone on the DL. Since Sabathia won't pass through waivers, he will have to be traded by July 31st, therefore I think Hughes is safe.

I heard an interview with Cashman the other day and he isn't going to make a panic move. He is going to try and mimic 2006 when Shef and Matsui got hurt. He had an offer from the Royals of Reggie Sanders for Hughes, but he kept waiting until he got Abreu for next to nothing.

Tim,

Good points on the first post in this thread. Damon and Giambi have really picked it up. We'd still be treading water if they hadn't. I admit that I was ones of those who wouldn't have been sorry to see them go this past winter. So I'm happy to tip my hat to them. I hope they keep proving me wrong. And if Giambi gives us anything close to 1.000 OPS, the Yankees will attempt to re-sign him for a year. They're not picking up his option, not at $22 million. But I read somewhere that they've already quietly let him know that they would be willing to bring him back for a year -- provided he stays healthy and productive. That's the thing -- we keep reading (and saying) how they've got all these pricey contracts coming off the books, but it's not like they have lots of alternatives. If Giambi and Abreu produce this year, I think the Yankees have no choice but to try and bring them back, provided the deals aren't for too many years and $$$. What else are they going to do?