Manny Traded; Yankees get Pudge, Nady, Marte

I'm back from Pittsburgh and so much has been happening since I've gone and now come back.

-Yankees took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox this weekend, an exciting 1-0 win on Fri with Joba outdueling Beckett, striking out 9 in a 7-inning shutout effort.
-Yankees struggled after their loss on Sunday tot he Red Sox, losing the first 2 games of the series to the lowly Orioles. They bounced back yesterday afternoon, however, with Abreu slamming 2 hrs, Nady finally coming through with a few RBIs and runs scored.
-The Yankees received Xavier Nady (Pirates OF) and Damaso Marte (LHP Reliever) for Jeff Karstens, Ross Ohlendorf, Dan McCutchen, and Jose Tabata. A very good deal for the Yankees, minus Jose Tabata who had great potential to be a very good player. Nady has a .330 avg, .383 OBP, and 13 hr. He's a power hitter who can take over left field when Damon is DH'ing. Eventually he can take over Abreu's job in right field since this is his final year in his contract. Marte is a left-handed reliever...yay finally! He's done well and will hopefully fit well into the bullpen.
-Kyle Farnsworth was finally traded for Catcher Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez. I was surprised, angry, then satisfied with this trade. First off, thank god Farnsworth is gone. OK, he had done surprisingly well this season, but he can't be trusted in big spots, especially down the stretch and potentially the playoffs. I didn't think Pudge was doing well this season, but then again all you hear is how the Tigers suck and gradually started getting better. But he'll be a big offensive upgrade from Molina. He's an everyday catcher, while Molina is back-up. And he's great defensively. I wish him all the luck in his first start as a Yankee tonight @ Yankee stadium.
-Ken Griffey Jr. was traded to the White Sox today. Mmm, interesting.
-Biggest news of all, of course, is that Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers in return for OF Jason Bay of the Pirates. RHP Craig Hansen (Bos), OF Brandon Moss(Bos), INF Andy LaRoche(LA), and RHP Bryan Morris(LA) were sent to the Pirates. Also, the Red Sox will be paying the rest of Manny's contract ($7 million). Manny is in the NL where there is no DH, so he's going to have to play LF. You can tell the Red Sox just wanted to get rid of him, he wasn't trying and was a huge distraction for the Red Sox who got swept (again) by the Angels and almost no-hit, too. Jason Bay has good numbers, not a great avg, but a decent OBP. He's no manny, however, who is historically a Yankee killer. Do you know how different the line up is when a pitcher doesn't have to go from David Ortiz to Manny Ramirez? Bay is being thrust into the spotlight where a team is in the race for the postseason when he's spent his baseball career with the Pirates.

HUUUUUGE series starting tonight for the Yankees. They're playing the Angels who are 10-2 since the break (Yankees 9-3). They just came off a sweep of the Red Sox and have excellent pitching. I hope the Yankees can at least split the series with them. They need to prove themselves agaisnt a great team. 2 out of 3 from the Red Sox is good, 3 out of 4 from the Angels is even better.

Tonight: LHP Andy Pettite (12-7, 3.76) vs. RHP Jon Garland (9-6, 4.30) 7:05 ET
Tomorrow: RHP Sidney Ponson (6-2, 4.59) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (11-5, 3.57) 7:05 ET
Saturday: RHP Mike Mussina (13-7, 3.56) vs. LHP Jered Weaver (9-8, 4.11) 3:55 ET (I hope Moose is back on his game for this match-up, it's the only game I get to watch in this series!)
Sunday: RHP Darrell Rasner (5-8, 4.92) vs. RHP John Lackey (9-2, 2.93) 1:05 ET (Great, the guy who threw an almost no-hitter against the Red Sox)