(Sorry for the shaky video. Better quality video here, but MLB.com doesn’t let you embed it’s highlights. Or I’m too dumb to figure how to do it. Either way, sorry.)

So by now you’ve all seen the last play of Detroit’s Armando Galarraga’s would-be perfect game. You’ve seen it in real time, slow motion and from every angle imaginable. And from each viewing, you can see he was cheated out of a perfect game thanks to a bad call by first base umpire Jim Joyce.

But perhaps in all the hullabaloo over the should’ve been last out, you missed the third-to-last out of the game. Leading off the ninth inning, Cleveland’s Mark Grudzielanek  drove the first pitch he saw to extremely deep left center. Austin Jackson, Detroit’s centerfielder, held down the turbo button on a dead sprint to left center, reached his left arm out as far as it could go and hauled in the ball on the warning track before slightly running into the wall. Well done, Mr. Jackson. But also kudos to the announcer for flipping out, as well as the Tigers in the dugout. Excitement!

Yankee fans should remember Jackson as the jewel of the farm system for a few years before he was a key member of the Curtis Granderson trade this offseason. Just to check in, Jackson led the AL with 36 hits after the first month of the season and was named AL Rookie of the Month. He’s currently batting .332.

Anyway, to be fair to Joyce, he admitted after the game that he screwed up.

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the [poop] out of it,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”

Of course, people are up in arms over the missed call. Instead of going through all that, just re-live the thrilling and ultimately disappointing ninth inning with this guy. So feel bad for Galarraga if you want. Heck, you could even feel bad for Joyce, if you want. He messed up. It happens. Nobody’s perfect.

Especially with shotty umpiring.

The rocky Yankee career of Randy Winn ended today when he was designated for assignment to make way for the return of Curtis Granderson. There’s that old phrase that goes if you don’t have anything nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all. Let’s make one quick exemption for Winn, though. When a team decides to keep a 25-year-old infielder who’s been playing the outfield of late opposed to the 13-year outfield veteran, the guy who once made an All-Star game, uh, things probably didn’t go so well.

Anyway, tonight will be Granderson’s first game since May 1 against the White Sox. He’s batting .225 with two homeruns and seven RBIs, and stole four bases. His return also probably ends Brett Gardner’s time in center, as Granderson will play there and Gardner will move back to left. Granderson is also slated to bat second, a spot where he hasn’t batted all year.

The Yankees come into the four-game series at home 28-19, 4.5 games behind the first-place Rays. The Cleveland Indians stand at 17-28, good enough for last in the AL Central. This is the first series between the two teams this season.

Pitching Matchups:

Friday, 7:05: Fausto Carmona (4-2, 3.45 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (5-1, 2.72 ERA)

Saturday, 1:05: David Huff (2-6, 5.25 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (4-3, 3.86 ERA)

Sunday, 1:05:  Justin Masterson (0-5, 6.13 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett (5-2, 3.55 ERA)

Monday, 1:05: Mitch Talbot (6-3, 3.73 ERA) vs. Andy Pettitte (6-1, 2.62 ERA)

Streaking Yankees:

Robinson Cano: The second baseman has a 10-game hitting streak going in which five of those games he’s collected multiple hits. His two RBIs in yesterday’s loss to the Twins ended a six-game stretch where he didn’t drive in any runs.

Derek Jeter: The captain looked like he was breaking out of his slump with his 5-13 performance in three games against the Twins earlier this week. His game-winning homerun in the Yankees’ 1-0 win in the series opener was his first since Apr. 30.

Un-Streaking Yankees:

CC Sabathia: The Yankees have lost Sabathia’s last three starts, over which he’s given up a combined 12 runs on 23 hits in just 18 innings.

Francisco Cervelli: The catcher has just eight hits in his last 10 games, although four of those have gone for extra bases.

Streaking Indians:

Shin-Soo Choo: After going 27 games without a homer, Choo has three in his last six games. In that stretch, he’s also three multi-hit games to go with one of the more entertaining names in all of baseball. He leads the Indians in batting average (.302), homeruns (7), RBIs (25), On-Base percentage (.412), walks (30) and stolen bases (9). So in other words, if he’s on your fantasy team, way to go. Much better to have him than the injured Grady Sizemore, who has been nothing short of spectacularly disappointing when playing.

Un-Streaking Indians:

Matt LaPorta: The former Brewer farmhand (who was a key player in the Sabathia deal a few years ago) is having a not so great May. He’s batting just .200 with five RBIs, nine walks and 23 strikeouts.

Justin Masterson: The former Red Sox pitcher hasn’t earned a win since Aug. 20 of last season, dropping his last 11 decisions. But we know starting pitchers don’t get decisions in all of their starts, so perhaps it’s unfair to judge him by his record over that stretch. Since his last win, the Indians are 2-14 in his starts. Alright, never mind.

You Might Remember… Shelley Duncan, who was called up by Cleveland last week. The former Yankee now patrols the Indians dugout looking for people to violently high five and forearm smash. When not doing that, however, he’s gone 3-5 with three RBIs in his limited playing time so far.

After a nine year drought, the Yankees won the 2009 World Series and would like to build on it in 2010. Complacency is not in the cards for this team. CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira didn’t sign with the Yankees last winter with one championship in mind. They came seeking multiple championships. Winning in 2009 was a relief of sorts for the Yankees, a team that is expected to win every year, and now that they’ve done it, they will feel some weight being lifted off of their shoulders, but being that they are the Yankees, the team will still feel pressure to repeat in 2010.

The Yankees are a year older, but that’s what was said last year when they were coming off a year in which they didn’t make the post-season. The “Core Four” is growing old together, but there is a great mix of young players and multiple championship-winning veterans that will make up the 25 man roster to start the season.

I hear a lot of talk about the Yankees’ 7-8-9 hitters, of Granderson, Swisher and Gardner, being weak. That may be “weak” when considering it to Yankee standards, but that bottom three is still one of the best in the majors. How many teams can say that they have a guy coming off a 30 home run season batting 7th and a guy coming off a 29 home runs and a .371 OBP season batting 8th? I know Granderson is stymied by lefties and that concerns a lot of people, but I’m willing to deal with him being an automatic out most of the time against lefties if he can tear the cover off of the ball against righties. That becomes a different story in the playoffs, but I’m optimistic that Granderson’s average against lefties won’t be sub-.200 (.183 vs. lefties in ’09).

Another question for the Yankees is which Javier Vazquez will they be getting? The one that struggled somewhat in 2004 (14-10 record, 4.91 ERA) with the Yankees or the one with a 2.87 ERA (15-10 record) with Atlanta in 2009? Since he will be the team’s fourth starter, I’d be extremely happy if he has 13 or 14 wins and an ERA ranging anywhere between 3.40 and 4.00 in 2010. The Yankees haven’t had double-digit wins out of its fourth starter since Jaret Wright won 11 games in 2006 (4.49 ERA). I’d be concerned if Vazquez was being asked to be the No. 2 starter, but as a No. 4 starter, he is more than capable of giving the Yankees more than they’ve had in recent years out of the pitcher in that spot.

Now to the main question. Can the Yankees repeat in 2010?

Yes.

Having a healthy A-Rod for the entire season could mean an MVP season for Mark Teixeira. He finished second in the AL MVP voting last year and he had a poor start to the season. If he can get off to a good start in April and May (unlike last year) he could be looking at an MVP season with 40+ home runs, 140+ RBI and a .315+ average.

A pitching staff of Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Vazquez and Hughes should be better than last year’s staff when they pieced together a fifth starter and the fourth starter, Joba Chamberlain, was on inning restrictions.

If Mr. Consistent, Derek Jeter, stays Mr. Consistent, and Nick Johnson remains healthy the entire season, those two guys will score a ton of runs in front of A-Rod and Teixeira. Robinson Cano becomes a key part of the lineup with the departure of Hideki Matsui. He’ll be counted on to produce with men in scoring position more often while batting either 5th or 6th. He didn’t hit well with runners in scoring position in 2009, so that may be a concern. If he lives up to his abilities, though, it shouldn’t be a problem. We still haven’t seen the best of Cano yet and hopefully we’ll see the peak of his talent in upcoming years.

It’s hard to argue that this team did not improve from a year ago for the mere fact that the pitching staff is deeper now. But other teams have improved as well. The Yankees should be able to hold off the demons in the AL East and get back into the World Series in 2010 barring any major injuries, which sometimes comes with age. I like this team’s chances to repeat as World Series champions.

The Yankees have signed free agent outfielder Randy Winn to a one-year, $2 million deal. The signing officially ends Johnny Damon’s run as a Yankee. Winn will be the team’s fourth outfielder and will be able to spell either Gardner or Granderson at left field.

Versatility is key for the Yankees in the outfield. Gardner and Granderson can each play left or center. This gives the Yankees options. When Winn plays in left, either Gardner or Granderson can play center field.

Most people will yawn at this signing, but the Yankees brought in Winn as a veteran insurance policy if one of their outfielders gets injured and he will be an experienced player to use to give Gardner and Granderson days off.

I would have liked to see the Yankees go with a young player as their fourth outfielder, but I understand their need for a veteran outfielder. This means youngsters like rule 5 draft pick Jamie Hoffman and recently acquired Greg Golson won’t make the 25-man roster.

The Yankees’ offseason moves coincide with their bid to make the team younger. The Yankees have parted ways with Johnny Damon, 36, and Matsui, 35 (turns 36 midseason), in favor of Curtis Grandereson, who will be 29 by the start of the season and Nick Johnson, 31. The Yankees did, however, want Damon back, but not at the price and length of contract he demanded. 

The Yankees will be losing some power, but they hope the jet stream to right field will help Nick Johnson hit more home runs. What Johnson lacks in power he makes up with patience at the plate. He has a .400+ career OBP and he’ll be given a lot of fastballs to feast on which should drive his average up. Pitchers will be less inclined to walk him knowing Teixeira and A-Rod loom on deck. It would be quite a feat if Johnson walked more than 90 times this season. He walked 99 times last year. 

Granderson, who hit 30 home runs last year, will hover around the same mark in 2010. He’ll fill some of the power void left by Matsui. Although he doesn’t hit well against lefties, he should improve with some tutelage from hitting coach Kevin Long. 

The Yankees lose veteran and post season experience but they get younger and by not giving in to Damon’s demands, they save some money which can be spent on a pitcher to help solidify their rotation.

Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine

The Yankees introduced their newest acquisition, center fielder Curtis Granderson, today in a press conference from Yankee Stadium. Granderson will don number 14 since Joe Girardi is taking number 28 in reference to the team’s goal of a 28th title. The Yankees hope Granderson will be the next great player that fits into the team’s lineage of exceptional center fielders.

“I’m excited to get a chance to be here with the defending world champions,” Granderson said at the press conference. “Hopefully we can look to repeat and add titles throughout the course of my career and be in the great city of New York.”

Granderson’s character will fit well in the Yankees’ clubhouse and his bat will fit well in Yankee Stadium.

Johnny Damon still believes he fits on the Yankees even though they have acquired center fielder Curtis Granderson.

“I don’t think it affects what I can still do. Either they come out and pursue me or they don’t,” Damon told the New York Post. “I still know how to play baseball and will make any team better.”

The Yankees could figure out a way to make it work if they bring back Damon (although I don’t like the idea of having Damon and Granderson in the same lineup), but not on a four-year deal. Two years is the maximum I see the Yankees going. If Damon and the Yankees come to terms, either Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner become expendable. Finding potential trade suitors for Cabrera of Gardner shouldn’t be hard since some teams have already expressed interest in the young outfielders. 

Nothing but silence has come out of Matsui’s camp meaning they are weighing their options and realistically evaluating the market for slugger. Matsui has to be the Yankees priority over Damon for the mere fact that signing Damon gives the team excess outfielders and without Matsui, the Yankees don’t have a defined DH. The fact that Damon is a better option in left field than Cabrera and Gardner takes a back seat to the Yankees’ unwillingness to give Damon a four-year contract. If Damon’s asking price doesn’t come down to where the Yankees want it, they’ll be content with putting Cabrera in left field and having Gardner as their fourth outfielder.

If Damon lowers his contract standards to two years and Matsui accepts a one-year deal, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that both guys are back with the team next year. The Yankees should be more concerned with brining back the World Series MVP before Damon. 

Read more on the Yankees and Matsui
Also read about Matsui and Damon

Newly acquired center fielder Curtis Granderson brings a fresh, youthful look to the Yankees. He has good power and speed. His speed, though, doesn’t translate into stolen bases. He stole a career high 26 bases in 2007 and stole 20 bases in 2009. With his speed, I’m wondering why? 

It’s not the fact that he only stole 20 bases in 2009 that concerns me. It’s the fact that he only attempted to steal a base only 26 times. A guy with that speed should attempt to steal at least 50 bases a year. He didn’t have a great OBP in 2009 (.327), which adds to the reason why he didn’t attempt more steals, but look at 2007 and 2008. He had good OBPs (.365 in 2008 and .361 in 2007) and attempted 27 steals in 2007 (caught 1 time) and in 2008 he attempted a mere 16 steals (caught 4 times).

Yes, there’s more to stealing bases than just pure speed but Granderson has the pure speed. With such great speed he might as well gamble. He was only caught six times in 26 attempts last season. He’s been in the bigs for four full seasons, he should have learned how to read pitchers and get better jumps by now. If he hasn’t then shame on the Tigers coaching staff.

They say you don’t have to be fast to be a good base stealer, but if you are fast you can be a great base stealer. It doesn’t make sense that he only attempted 26 steals last year. Even if he is awful at reading pitchers and doesn’t get great jump, his speed alone should give him reason to attempt more stolen bases. He must be doing something right, though, if he converted 20 of 26 attempts in 2009 and was thrown out just one time in 2007. If he was forbidden to steal a base unless directly told to by the coaching staff then I understand. If he had the green light to take it upon himself to steal a bag then I question why he didn’t make more attempts. Maybe it’s because he was too busy hitting home runs.

Alfonso Soriano never attempted less than 40 stolen bases from 2001-2003 when he was with the Yankees. If Girardi gives Granderson the green light, I’d like for him to attempt over 50 in the season. He has the ability to convert around 40 of them because of his speed alone. 

Can Granderson be a 30-30 player with the Yankees? As a leadoff hitter, usually the 30 home runs are what keeps a player from being a 30-30 guy. In Granderson’s case it’s the stolen bases. Granderson has to get that OBP up to above .360 again and he needs to burn up the base paths. Don’t get caught too many times, Teixeira and A-Rod are due up.

I won’t lie, I was lukewarm about the chatter three weeks ago that the Yankees were looking to acquire Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. I didn’t like the fact that he only hit .249 in 2009 and that he only got on base 32.7% of the time. I didn’t like that he strikes out so much and that for a guy with his speed, he only stole 20 bases last year. His .183 average against lefties in 2009 bugs me too. But there’s just something about him putting on the pinstripes that makes me believe he is going to turn it up as the Yankees center fielder over what could be a good portion of the next decade. 

Again, at the beginning I didn’t like this idea. Then, when I inserted Granderson into the Yankees lineup, something dawned on me. The Yankees lineup is so tenacious and deep that hitting between Jeter and Teixeira (against righties) will only make him a better hitter. Something is strikingly wrong if you only hit .250 when batting before Teixeira and A-Rod. After saying this, however, I’m still quite concerned about Granderson’s poor numbers in 2009.

To obtain Granderson, the Yankees had to part with their first or second best prospect, Austin Jackson. The Yankees, who have been reluctant to give up Jackson, traded him in the deal because he would most likely turn out to be a Curtis Granderson-type player down the road. It makes more sense for the Yankees to give up Jackson in a trade for Granderson instead of a trade for Roy Halladay. This is because in return for Jackson, the Yankees received the best case scenario of what Austin Jackson would become in about 7 years. Granderson is already established in the MLB, unlike Jackson. At age 22, Jackson’s future is up in the air, although it does look bright. Granderson has four full major league seasons as a starting center fielder under his belt.

I’ve spent the last two nights reading about Curtis Granderson and Austin Jackson, reading articles on the three-way trade and scouting reports on the two players and reading fan discussions and forums. There are a million different angles and opinions. When you get so many people talking about one topic there’s bound to be differences and conflicting reports. Some people love Austin Jackson and think he is going to be a future star in the majors. Other people aren’t so high on him and don’t expect him to be anything sensational.

People are also speculating on who got the best deal out of the three-team trade. Some people think the Yankees lost greatly in this deal citing Tigers GM and former Marlins GM, Dave Dombrowski, “ripped off”  the Yankees. Others believe the Yankees got the best part of the deal and stole Granderson away from the Tigers for almost nothing. It all depends on how you view the players that were traded. If you believe Granderson is going to be a star in New York then you must believe the Yankees got the best part of the deal. If you think Jackson is going to rise, Max Scherzer is going to become a big time pitcher and Granderson is going to flounder with the Yankees, then maybe the Tigers got the best part. Maybe you think Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson are going to make the Diamondbacks’ rotation one to reckon with. Time will tell who got the best out of this trade. How do you define or set parameters to figure out who got the best deal in the trade and who got the short end of the stick? If the “best” means winning the World Series then we all know who is most likely to be known as getting the best out of the Curtis Granderson, three-team trade, even if Granderson doesn’t do all that great.