Yankees notes: A win, a promotion, but no trades

A lot going on in baseball on this fine Sunday. Justin Verlander almost pitched his third career no-hitter, the Red Sox unofficially acquired Erik Bedard from the Mariners, the Indians traded for Ubaldo Jimenez, and much, much more.

The Yankees, however, didn’t make any of the major headlines. For the first time that I can remember, the Yankees didn’t add a single piece to their team before the trade deadline. I guess initial rumors were true in that the Yankees real acquisitions were just the returns of both Eric Chavez and Rafael Soriano.

Here are some Yankees news items to be aware of for Sunday.

• Brian Cashman told Joel Sherman he was never close to doing a trade of any type. I was surprised they didn’t land anybody, but it sounds like they weren’t even close.
• No trades? Fine. They’ll take a 4-2 win instead, completing a series victory against the Orioles. Brett Gardner led the way with a three-run triple and Freddy Garcia earned his 10th win. Derek Jeter exited early after being hit by a pitch but X-Rays were negative.
• Manny Banuelos, a highly regarded prospect for the Yankees, was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A, according to Jack Curry. It’s nice to see the Yankees move a prospect at the deadline — within their organization.

Poll Results: Fans split on Jesus Montero’s trade value

My latest poll was inconclusive, so the debate will linger until Sunday’s trade deadline. Would you include Jesus Montero in a trade for Ubaldo Jimenez? Some of you said yes, some said no, and one said as long as it would only be him in the deal.

This type of result tends to occur with prospect value. Some fans put an incredible value on potential, while others realize they are still just prospects. If that statement didn’t reveal my vote then I’ll be a little more blunt for you: Yes, the Yankees should absolutely include Montero in a trade for Jimenez.

Rockies mistaking Ubaldo Jimenez for Roy Halladay in Yankees trade talks

Starting pitchers are hot commodities at the trade deadline. Always have been, always will be. But, according to Jon Heyman, the Rockies are going overboard in the preliminary negotiations with the Yankees for Ubaldo Jimenez.

how apart are rox, yanks? colo seeks banuelos, betances AND nova w/ montero. nyy says it wont trade any of those 3 w/ jesus

In other words, the Rockies want the Yankees’ top three prospects and a 24-year-old major league starter in exchange for a 5-8, 4.08 ERA pitcher.

Right.

Nate’s Takes: Jesus Montero, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Joe Girardi’s dog

After an anti climatic All-Star Game the Yankees got off to a rough start in Toronto. Before that, Robinson Cano brought the Home Run Derby crown back to New York after his teammate Derek Jeter was bashed for making the first mistake in career full of perfection. In the past couple of days, CC Sabathia showed why he should be the front-runner for the AL Cy Young award and Brett Gardner showed why he should replace Jeter in the leadoff spot.

The Yankees right now find themselves in an interesting spot. With the trade deadline looming it’s hard to find a legitimate trade target that makes sense for them. The signing of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon have worked out well so far, but who knows if they can keep it up. While the bullpen has suffered injury after injury, they still remain one of the best in baseball. While the lineup has had its ups and downs the Yankees feature one of the best lineups in baseball and have very little room for an acquisition.

One trade target the stands out is Ubaldo Jimenez. While the name sounds good, Jimenez has struggled for almost a year now. The Rockies would want a huge package in return starting with at least Jesus Montero. With the trade deadline approaching here are my takes.

Swish, Tex and Grandy go bananas in win

Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson combined to go 8-for-15 with three homers, 11 RBIs and six runs scored in a 12-7 win over the Orioles.

Best of all: Teixeira. He got on base five times with a two-run shot. He needed that. Granderson hit a grand slam. Swisher hit a two-run homer and a bases-clearing double. Phil Hughes earned his eighth win, but in one of his worst outings of the year (still, a quality start).

Worst of all: Chad Gaudin. He allowed four runs on five hits in the final two innings. That’s not ideal for the last guy in the bullpen.

Coming up: Game 2 of the series is Wednesday night.

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Special shout-out to Stephen Strasburg. Fourteen strikeouts in his debut! That’s sending a message to Ubaldo Jimenez saying: You’ve got company!

Lupica: ‘Teixeira looked like a bargain’ last season

I was agreeing with Mike Lupica’s latest column on Mark Teixeira until the very end when he said “Teixeira was worth every nickel last season. He looked like a bargain, even at his magic number ($200 million).”

A bargain?! He made $20 million last year and is making the same ridiculous amount this year. How in the world could he throw that term out when there are players making half, HALF! the money he is and producing just as much or more.

Take Prince Fielder, who signed a two-year, $18 million deal (total) in 2009. Last year Fielder ousted Teixeira in literally every offensive category and only fell short on the defensive end. If I’m a baseball general manager, I’d sacrifice the defense for an $11 million discount.

How about Derrek Lee? He posted nearly identical numbers to Teixeira and possesses a great glove. In 2006, he signed a five-year, $65 million deal.

I’m sorry, but the word bargain is reserved for those who are actually out-producing their contract, not living up to it. Teixeira lived up to his contract, I guess, last year. In order for Teixeira to be a bargain, he’d have to set records and basically match the McGwire/Sosa numbers from the late ‘90s.

I have absolutely no sympathy for players making $20 million or more. When you make that much you have to be a sure thing.

Anyone know who the biggest bargain in baseball is today?

It’s Ubaldo Jimenez. He signed a four-year, $10 million deal last year and is now the best pitcher in baseball posting unheard of numbers. Now he’s a bargain.

I know it’s still June and Teixeira has time to turn his season around, but a season hitting less than 30 homers and a .250 batting average would be unacceptable for a first baseman making $20 million.

And don’t get me started on A-Rod.

Ken Griffey Jr. retires; just too important to overlook

I’ve neglected to post significant outside-of-Yankeeland baseball news this year, such as the Rangers bankruptcy, Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hitter, Roy Halladay’s prefect game and the incredible amount of sub-3 ERAs you can find in baseball these days.

But when Ken Griffey Jr. says he is hanging up his spikes, I can’t overlook it.

And that’s what he did yesterday, the Seattle Time reported.

It’s a shame he picked yesterday to retire, as first base umpire Jim Joyce missed an obvious call that cost Tigers starter Armando Galarraga a perfect game. This snapshot of Google Trends (right) was taken at 11:27 p.m. EST last night, showing the world cares more about more about a blown call than one of the game’s best players retirement.

Griffey’s list of accolades over his career goes on forever, but just to name a few…

• 13-time All-Star
• 7-time Silver Slugger winner
• 10-time Gold Glove winner
• Named to All-Century team
• MVP winner

But there’s one gaping hole on that résumé. A World Series ring. Do you think that’s going to keep him out of the Hall of Fame? Not a chance.

He is one of the few great sluggers to avoid any link to performance-enhancing drugs in the Steroid Era. If not for injuries in the prime of his career, he had a good chance to break Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.

Griffey, “The Kid,” will be missed by baseball. His swing, his smile, and his class. Everything about him.

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For a great testament piece on Griffey, check out Tom Verducci’s latest piece on the star.