Notes heading into the rubber game/rain-out

1. Chasen Shreve's greatest moment as a Yankee came just as he is likely to be replaced by a trade for some badly needed LH relief specialist, which is what he isn't. 

2. On that front, supposedly, Houston and the Cubs are bidding for Chris Britton, an overpriced dice-roll, considering his injuries. You can never count out Stealth Cashman, who makes deals out of nowhere, but we know Baltimore won't trade with the Yankees unless it is a nightmare deal for us, and I'd have to say, Go Cubs!

3. Gleyber Torres, who started rehab yesterday at Single A Tampa, is the fourth-youngest player on the Tampons Tarpons roster. Only pitcher Rony Garcia, infielder Diego Castillo, and outfielder Estevan Floral are younger.

4. Blake Rutherford - the biggest prospect we traded last year for the Toddfather, David Robertson, et al - is starting to turn heads in Single A. He had looked like a clunker for a while, but now he's hitting .303 with six home runs and 11 stolen bases. Just sayin'... trade prospects, and it's only a matter of time before you pay the price. 

5. The notion that Humanus Centepedes apparently needs surgery on both heels is a reminder that the Mets are fundamentally cursed. If there's a lesson to be learned, I would suggest this: When you acquire an aging veteran in a pennant race, you must always remember that the former team was happy to let him go. Despite his obvious desire to stay with the Yankees, we did not sign Todd Frazier last winter, because of the clear decline in his skills. But two years ago, the Mets doubled-down on Cespedes, and now they're stuck. 

6. Last night for Scranton, Justus Sheffield went 5 and 2/3 innings, gave up one earned run and struck out four. I really don't understand why he doesn't get a call. Do they really think the starting pitchers on the trade market will do better? My best guess: He's on a pitch count, they're limiting him carefully, and if nothing pops at the trade deadline, he'll get the call. I cannot believe they would trade him, unless Bumgarner becomes available.

7. Five years ago, the Yankees outspent the world on 16-year-old international free agents - the eloquently named Dermis Garcia being top millionaire - and, from here, it looks like Hal wasted his money. Hardly any of them have sprouted - (Floral was in the class, but he was relatively cheap.) But in the last three years, they seem to have figured things out. Today, we have a surge of young talent way, way, way down in the system - Antonio Cabello, Eziquiel Duran, Everson Pereira, Anthony Garcia, Roberto Chirinos, et al - and in two to three years, after we have won a few rings, we might really have something. (Or maybe it's just the usual crapola hype, which is an earmark of the Yankees.)

8. Every Yank fan I know - bar none - is rooting for us to trade for Nathan Eovaldi. That the guy has made it back is a testimony to his guts and perseverance. We know he can do it in New York. We also know he might feel a twinge and be gone for good. Nobody wants this guy to pitch in front of the 500-person crowds in Tampa. He needs to be a Yankee again. Out of sheer blind fantasy romance, he's the one guy I'd be willing to give up a prospect for. I mean, seriously, who wants fucking JA Happ?