New York Yankees

Brett Gardner is having a great season at the plate.

He currently ranks 8th in the American league in batting average at .333, and 2nd in stolen bases with 16, while being caught stealing only once.  His On Base percentage is good enough for 4th in the AL, at .411, and he ranks 2nd in runs, with 28.  He has also drawn 14 walks.

Gardner has done all this from the number 9 spot.

Mickey Mantle had a terrible season in 1959. He batted .285, with 31 home runs, 75 RBI, and a.517 slugging average.

Most players would not consider that too bad, but Mantle was not most players.

Yankees general manager George Weiss wanted to slash Mantle's $75,000 salary by $15,000.

From his home in Dallas, Mantle agreed that his 1959 season "wasn't so good," but he felt the New York Yankees "cut my salary too much."

Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Alex Rodriguez’s 19th career grand slam gave New York a lead they would not relinquish in an 8-4 win over Minnesota Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Joba Chamberlain (1-1) struck out the side in the eighth inning to earn the win. Scott Baker (4-3) suffered the loss despite striking out nine in six innings.

There's no doubt the New York Yankees has had some pretty good prospects over the years: Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, and Derek Jeter. These days' prospects are Jesus Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Austin Jackson (who left via trade), and Phil Hughes.

Austin Jackson was supposed to be the starting center-fielder, but Brian Cashman traded him for Curtis Granderson, who is now injured. Jackson is thriving as the leadoff guy as a Detroit Tiger.

Brian Cashman kept all four players as they were coming up with the Core Four.

This may seem like a strange idea to think of in the land of the free (and the home of the brave), but the wide world of sports in America could be termed as the land of supporting Communism.

Could a country that is based on free market economics and laissez-faire attitude be equated to be the same as the dreaded “reds under the bed"?

In the midst of their worst offensive slump of the season and having loss four of five, the Yankees return home to open up a seven-game, three-team homestand against the American League Central-leading Minnesota Twins.

The Yanks and Twins enter their three-game set with identical 22-12 records, good for second best in the Majors behind the Rays and tied with the Padres.

Like New York, Minnesota has done it with a mix of good hitting and solid pitching. The Twins lead the AL with a .277 batting average and are second with a 3.51 ERA.

Ivan Nova has always been an interesting prospect to me. He’s usually received glowing reports from scouts, but his numbers generally haven’t been there in the minors and his peripherals, like walk rate and strikeout rate, haven’t really been there either.

In his defense, like I said, he does get good scouting reports, he’s a big guy at 6′4″, he throws hard in the mid-90’s, and has been on the younger side at each level he has pitched.

Make sure you don’t miss my article on Phil Hughes and the importance patience plays when producing young pitchers. Here are a few other notes for today:

One thing I’ve heard and read a lot over the past couple of days—people saying that they were wrong about Phil Hughes.