New York Yankees

Perhaps the baseball gods have intervened. Perhaps he did it on purpose. Perhaps I’m making too big a deal out of this.

Derek Jeter has not scored a run in six straight games, which, for a guy who scores constantly, and did score a run in eight straight games earlier this season, is probably one of the longest stretches of his career.

Right now "the New York Yankees" doesn’t have the same ring to it as it did in the start of the year. The Yankees have now lost five of their last seven games and have fallen to five games behind the Rays in the A.L. East.

The injury bug has been a real pest a majority of the season. But everyone kept talking about how important it was for other players to step up… and they were. Everyone was talking about how fantastic the starting pitching was for this club, and it certainly has been a big help.

The look on Mark Teixeira's face tells it all.

The Yankees are mired in a slump to beat all slumps. Not only has the lights-out pitching from early in the year disappeared, but the offense is sputtering right now as well.

Which is not a good combination.

I'd say the slump started with the Detroit series, which was won by the Tigers three games to one. Then it looked like the Yankees dominance over the Twins would never end, that is until Jason Kubel proved that Mo was in fact human by hitting a grand slam—the first ever slam given up by Mo at Yankee Stadium.

It seems that nary a week goes by without another player being indicted on charges of using PEDs. While the juicers', and their suppliers, house of cards fell in the MLB, PED investigations and suspensions have now proliferated to the NFL, professional cycling, and other sports.

One thing is clear. These substances, the people who use them, and the people who distribute them, are not going away.

Every conviction is only a drop in the vast ocean that the purists believe professional sports are sinking in.

Roy Oswalt has asked the Houston Astros for a trade. The Yankees are looking for another starter since Javier Vazquez is struggling to keep is spot. What if the Yankees could make a deal for the Houston ace?

The Yankees save several guys on the team that they could move in order to bring Oswalt to New York. The Astros would like to get a pitcher in return from the Yankees, so why not add Vazquez to the deal?

  The way Javier Vazquez was pitching last night it looked like he was going to take care of the Mets all by himself. Six innings, one hit, six strikeouts and only 70 pitches. Unfortunately he bruised his hand while bunting in the top of the 7th inning and needed some help.

According to Tim Bontemps of the NY Post, one of the Yankees top left-handed pitching prospects, Jeremy Bleich, has been put on the DL with a shoulder injury that could require surgery to fix.

Here is more from the Post:

"Mark Newman, the Yankees’ senior vice president of baseball operations, was downcast when asked about the issues with Bleich’s shoulder yesterday.

For the first time in the history of the Subway Series I think to myself "Could the New York Yankees please put us out of our misery and sweep us?"

A sweep by the Yankees would go a long way towards putting the final nail in the coffin of the Omar Minaya era. Jerry Manuel can stay.

It usually isn't a surprise to see the left side of the Yankee infield in the All-Star game; Derek Jeter has 10 All-Star games under his belt and Alex Rodriguez has 12.

But this year's All-Star Game in Anaheim, California could see Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano accompanying A-Rod and Jeter.

Cano is probably having the best year of the lot, batting .338 with nine home runs and 28 RBI heading into tonight's game. So his numbers should speak for themselves, and I believe he will be a starter.