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11:01

Good morning, Yankee fans. Mark will join us at 11:30 a.m. for today's chat. But you can start sending your questions now. Friendly reminder, your questions won't appear in the live chat until selected by the moderator.

11:30

Good morning everybody. Welcome to the latest edition of "Blogging the Bombers: The Live Chat." We're coming to you live from midtown Atlanta, where the Yankees will close out their series with the Braves tonight. Let's get this thing started.

11:30

[Comment From jerry]
How long before the yankees fire Joe?

11:30

[Comment From Chris]
Why does the Yankee Brass continue to tolerate Giradi? I did not personally like him as a replacement for Torre to begin with but a coach who cannot win with this team is a poor coach (IMO). The Yankees have never been known for their patience and I truly believed he would be gone after the 8th straight loss to the Sox, so is there any reason you believe him to still be employed? I mean, it takes him getting kicked out of a game for our offense to spark, what does that tell you? Any chance he is gone before seasons end?

11:33

Sorry to tell all the anti-Girardi folks out there, but he's not going anywhere. The only way he gets fired during the season is if they go on a 15-game losing streak and players start revolting against him. Cashman is making the baseball decisions and Girardi is his guy. He's made that clear. I question things Girardi does from time to time, but he's not the reason they haven't been winning the past two weeks. They haven't hit in the clutch, plain and simple. That's not on the manager. They were in first place a couple weeks ago, and I don't remember people calling for his job at that point.

11:34

[Comment From JAMIE]
hi mark will melancon get called up again if so when

11:38

I wouldn't be surprised to see him back here at some point, but that point won't be in the immediate future. The Yankees' bullpen has actually shaped up to be pretty good lately, especially with Dave Robertson emerging as a solid reliever. With Rivera, Bruney, Hughes, Coke, Aceves and Robertson, they have a good foundation. If Melancon is dominating Triple-A and they decide that Hughes needs to be starting, I could see a switch, but the Yankees seem content to leave Hughes in the pen, where he's pitched very well. I don't agree with that decision, personally, but it's not my team.

11:38

[Comment From ichiro]
is there any chance i can play for the Yanks this year? it seems like i would be a great fit in right. How about Swisher, Melancon, and another minor leaguer.?

11:41

Nice to hear from you, Ichiro. I wouldn't start packing your bags just yet. The Mariners have basically built their entire team around you and you are still their most popular player. They even fired a manager in part because you guys didn't get along. Would you be a good fit in the Bronx? Of course. I just don't see it happening. Cashman seems to believe that the outfield he has right now is all he needs.

11:41

And by the way, the Ichi-roll is superb. Anyone going to Safeco Field has to try it!

11:41

[Comment From danielle]
do you think this roster is a championship caliber club? If not, what do you think is missing ?

11:45

I do believe this team has enough talent to win the World Series. Even if they aren't able to win the division (and I'm not saying that's the case), they should be able to capture the wild card. At that point, you'll be looking at a four-man rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte and Wang, with Rivera, Joba, Hughes, Bruney, Coke, Robertson and Aceves in the pen. That's pretty darn good. The lineup has more than enough offense - if they're actually hitting with RISP. As always, it comes down to execution. This team should win 95 games if the guys perform to their potential.

11:45

[Comment From BronxYankee]
What will the Yankees do with Jorge Posada the rest of the season?

11:49

They'll continue to pencil him in as the catcher - as they should. I'm getting tired of this whole "Posada can't catch" movement. Is he the best defensive catcher in the league? No. Does he know how to call a game? Yes. Everybody has made such a big deal out of a couple of bad pitching performances and blamed them on Posada, but he's been catching the bulk of the games the past few weeks and the team ERA has been outstanding. Starting next year, I can see Posada becoming a half-catcher, half-DH, moving more toward the DH role in 2011. But with Matsui on the roster now, there isn't anywhere to play Posada other than catcher, and he's not going to be riding pine so Cervelli can play. It just isn't going to happen.

11:49

[Comment From Mike from Queens]
Was there anything to Tony Pena's "firing-up" of Alex Rodriguez before Arod got the big hit last night?

11:52

I'm sure people will make something of it, but I'm not. A-Rod has been a big-time player for a long time (October aside, off course) and to think he needed Pena to fire him up to get the hit, I'm just not buying it. He still fell into an 0-2 hole, which probably wasn't part of the plan. If it was as easy as that, every manager or coach would do it all the time.

11:52

[Comment From Matt B (Princeton, NJ)]
Hi Mark, I was wondering why no one has really addressed a temporary alternative solution for A-Rod, which would be batting him 6th behind Cano and Posada. The Red Sox did this to Ortiz, and he is starting to get his swing back, why can't the Yankees give the same treatment to A-Rod, until he regains his strength in his hips. Do you know if this has been discussed at all?

11:55

I'm sure they've discussed everything, but it sounds like Girardi is going to keep him in the cleanup spot. The basis for it? He did the same thing when Teixeira struggled in April and he broke out of it. Personally, I'd move Alex up to the 2-hole, let him get some better pitches to hit in front of Damon (who I'd hit third) and Teixeira (fourth). But they didn't ask me.

11:55

[Comment From Johnny E.]
Mark. What's Phil Hughes future in your opinion considering the following. Since going to the pen, Hughes is throwing 94-95 and has pitched 10.2 innings with 14 strikeouts and a 1.69ERA.

11:58

I still believe Hughes will be a solid No. 2 starter type. Right now, they like what he's doing in the bullpen and plan on leaving him there, but Cashman did express some concerns over the lack of innings he's getting. He may very well stay in the pen all year, returning to start next year. That will have stunted his growth to some extent, but remember, he turned 23 yesterday. He's still very, very young. I think he's going to be a big-time pitcher for years.

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