Before I finish up the NRI position players and move on to the starting pitchers, a quick comment about Eric Chavez: Joel Sherman tweeted this morning that Yankees ownership doesn’t want to pony up money “to get DH and/or Chavez” unless A.J. Burnett is moved. I don’t mind the idea of getting ...

The Yankees won’t be signing Hiroyuki Nakajima, but that’s probably not a big deal anyway. I spoke with Ichiro Kubota at Japan’s Slugger magazine to get a scouting report on the infielder. What I heard wasn’t all that exciting. “Like Jeter, he has a good inside-out swing,” Kubota said, ...

Was Freddy Garcia offering a preemptive facepalm in response to the moves Joe Girardi would make following his departure? (AP) Well, I was wrong about Max Scherzer, who kept the ball in the park and kept the Yankees hitless for five and a third innings on Sunday. Freddy Garcia didn’t pitch too ...

Look, I don’t mean to criticize the quality of Brian Cashman’s bench players. He’s blown off the bench in the past and been burned for it; this year the Yankees have primarily had Chavez, Andruw Jones, Eduardo Nunez, and Francisco Cervelli as their primary benchies, and that’s ...

Eric Chavez is on his way back to the big league roster. (AP) As you’d expect when the AL’s second-best team faces off with one on a 15-game losing streak, the Yankees pounded the Mariners 10-3 on Monday night, waiting out a two-hour rain delay to do so. Mark Texiera’s towering two-run ...

Ubaldo Jimenez is no control freak. (AP) Steve has touched on the Ubaldo Jimenez rumors couple of times already, but what he hasn’t passed along is the full scope of what the Rockies are asking for. On Sunday night, SI.com’s Jon Heyman tweeted that the Rox want Jesus Montero, Manuel Banuelos, ...

Russell Martin is enjoying the AL East's bandboxes. (AP) Scrubbing my initial plans to attend Saturday’s wet affair, I spent Sunday night in the Yankee Stadium press box, and watched the Bronx Bombers do two things they’ve done countless times in the past: wait out an inexperienced starter, ...

Eric Chavez has made the 25-man roster thanks to a strong spring, giving the Yankees a quality backup off the bench. (AP) The Yankees cleared up a whole lot of questions on Monday by announcing a handful of roster decisions. Here’s a rundown based upon news gathered from the various beat reporters: • The ...

Jose Cruz: Lost in Houston, Not Rescued by the Yankees Looking back at Cliff’s post on the signing of Eric Chavez, I was reminded of Jose Cruz, the father of the Jose Cruz who played in the majors from 1997 to 2008. Jose Jr. was just an okay-player for most of his career, but Senior was brilliant. ...