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11:30

Welcome to the live chat. Mark will be here at noon, but you can start submitting your questions now. Remember, your comments will not appear until they are selected by the moderator.

12:00

Good afternoon everybody, and welcome back for the latest edition of "Blogging the Bombers: The Live Chat." I'm no psychic, but I'm guessing we'll be discussing Roy Halladay, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes today, so let's get it started.

12:00

[Comment From Zach G.]
You said it a previous chat that the Yankees playoff rotation would be Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, and Pettite. With Hughes most likely playing a significant role in the bullpen, where does that leave Joba?

12:03

Well, for starters, you can take Wang out of that mix for now since we have no idea what will happen with his shoulder. Assuming that Joba doesn't get hurt this year, you would have to think that he'll reach his innings limit by October, so he'll be in the bullpen. I have no idea who they would use as a fourth starter if Wang isn't back, but perhaps they would go with a three-man rotation. We're a long way off from there, but I would be surprised to see the Yankees allow Joba to blow by his innings limit, which is believed to be around 160 or so.

12:03

[Comment From DD10]
mark- why on earth would they send Cervelli down for Molina. They finally had two players in Pena and Cervelli that gave them youth and perfromance. Should we believe Cashman when they say they want to get younger. These guys were playing well and had enough time on the field to develop at the MLB level.

12:06

It's simple... when you have a solid backup catcher, you don't release him just for kicks. Molina has been a very good backup to Jorge Posada since he joined the Yankees. Pitchers love throwing to him and he's good in the clubhouse. Releasing him wouldn't make any sense. What if they did that and then Cervelli got hurt? Then they're really screwed. Cervelli and Pena were two guys that didn't figure into the plans this season, but with the way they performed, they have set themselves up to be on the team from Opening Day in 2010. Getting a pair of 23-year-olds regular everyday play in the minors to get better isn't the worst idea. Both will be back in September, if not earlier.

12:06

[Comment From DocBooch]
Hi Mark, what's the reason the Yanks won't be major players in Halladay? Money, trade pieces, or division rivals? There have been numerous prior precedents that debunks every single one of those.

12:09

All of the above. For starters, I'd be shocked if the Blue Jays dealt him to another AL East team. I tried to think last night of big-time players of Halladay's status that have been traded within their own division and had trouble coming up with any (Feel free to email me if you can name any). Second, the price the Yankees would have to pay if Toronto was willing to trade him there would be enormous. I'm talking Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain AND Austin Jackson kind of enormous. It just isn't practical on either side for this trade to happen.

12:09

[Comment From Rich Allen]
The Yankees are VERY lefthanded in the outfield. Are they going to be looking for a righthanded outfield bat before the deadline?

12:12

Well. Melky and Swisher are switch-hitters, and considering that they start on pretty much a daily basis, I don't necessarily agree with that statement. Unless some outfielder falls in Cashman's lap, I don't see him making a deal for one. I would think he's much more concerned with finding a No. 5 starter and another bullpen arm.

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