Yankee Insider

A few things to ponder:

Should the Yanks sign Pedro?

I blogged about this earlier in the season, but with reports flying around, from ESPN to Fox and everywhere in between that Pedro Martinez could land with the Yankees, I’m inclined to put in my two cents again on the subject and say I was ahead of the curve on this.

I suggested at the beginning of the season that they at least consider it, but honestly, I don’t understand why they would make the move now. The Yankees are rumored along with three or four other teams as possible suitors for Martinez. Ironically, all of the teams rumored don’t need help in the starting pitching department, the Yankees included.

They are set to take a look at Martinez in the Dominican Republic, where he will work out for a few teams. I would take a chance on Martinez if it was a minor league deal, or if he budged on his asking price of $3 million. You can never have enough pitching.

I genuinely believed Martinez would end up back with the Dodgers, or figured the Mets would finally cave and bring him back. It really makes more sense for him to return to the Mets.

I think he could be a serviceable arm in the bullpen – for the right price – and if nothing else will create a little buzz for whatever team takes the chance. Word is that the Angeles are hotly pursuing Martinez.

The problem for the Yankees centers more around having Martinez on the team. He’s never been popular with the Bombers.

Should the Yankees Leave Wang Alone?

Yes, no doubt. He pitched much better against the Nationals this week and for the first time this season, the Yankees failed to win a game when their pitchers gave up three runs or less. Talk about bad luck for Chien-Ming Wang.

By the way, congrats to Wang. His wife gave birth earlier in the week. Wang had tons of balloons and cards in his locker. He seemed upbeat and happy. In his culture, having a child is considered “good luck.”

That wasn’t the case Wednesday night, but Wang’s pitches are finally moving. His slider was sharp and his velocity is up. His sinker is finally starting to sink. You can’t move him to the bullpen now. He’s just not suited for the pen and won’t rebound as quickly pitching in shorter stints.

He’s starter and that’s that. Plus, Phil Hughes has embraced his new role – for the time being. Keep in mind people, Wang won 19 games twice as the ace of the last two Yankee playoff teams. He also won eight games before injury cut his season short last year.

The problems for him are not arm related – they are mechanical. He’s still searching for that arm slot and I truly believe he was getting over some shell shock after his first five starts. He’s never been this bad and for a pitcher of his success, sometimes making light of it is as tough as correcting it. Pitching is as mental as it is physical.

Wang should be fine. The Yankees should also be willing to wait him out – at least a bit longer. He’s too valuable and many contending teams have a bad starter or two in the back of their rotation. It won’t cost the Yankees a playoff spot in June. They are only three out of first place and Wang is making strides.

How’s Gardner?

Less than a day after being carted off the Yankee Stadium outfield with what the team feared might be a concussion, Brett Gardner was back on his feet and ready to play.

“I’m feeling all right, better today,” Gardner said Friday afternoon. “I’ve still got a little headache and my body’s a little sore, but other than that, I'm probably pretty lucky that it's not any worse.”

Gardner was not in Friday's starting lineup, still suffering from soreness and a minor headache. But he was available to pinch-hit and expected to be back to normal on Saturday.