Yankees Taking Dead Aim At Dontrelle Willis

On Tuesday night, the New York Yankees were participating in three "games". In one of the games, they lost to the Boston Red Sox by a score of 9-5. Despite the game at Fenway being the only game that counted in the standings, it was probably the least important "game" that the Yankees were involved in on May 22ND.

In a "second" game the Yankees were involved in, Gary Sheffield made a rehab start in New Britton Connecticut. Gary went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and then jumped in a car and traveled to Boston to rejoin the Yankees. If "Sheff" reports no problem with his wrist today, he will be in the Yankee lineup tonight. Boy, it's going to be great to have Gary and his violent swing back in the lineup.

Now the third "game" the Yankees were involved in last night, may turn out to be the most important "game" they played on May 22ND.  The results of this "game" may not be known for weeks, but the ground work that may have been laid out, could help the Yanks obtain their 27Th world title this year.

At Fenway Park last night, the Florida Marlins had scouts looking at Chien-Ming Wang and Melky Cabrera. This tells me, the Yankees are taking dead aim in trying to trade for Florida lefty, Dontrelle Willis.

I guess the Yankee thinking here is, they are trying to strike now while Dontrelle is struggling (5.21 ERA) . By being proactive, the Yankees will avoid the trading deadline frenzy that will occur late in July. By acting now, Willis may "cost" the Yankees less than it would in two months.

Now "cost" is a key word here. Because they were at the game last night, we know the Marlins have Cabrera and Wang on their list. They will also ask the Yankees for, Robinson Cano and Phillip Hughes. Yes, it will take that much or very close to it.

Brian Cashman's job now is to take a name or two off the list and substitute it with other names. My thinking is, the Yankees would want to hang on to Wang, and that means Cano may be included in this trade. In short, the Yankees know in order for them to go deep in the playoffs, they need more starting pitching.

Cano's name may come as a surprise to many, but realistically, the Yankees could always find a second baseman that can "fit" on this team. They have Migel Cairo, and always could make a minor deal for a guy like Tony Graffinino.

Once the Yankees see that Gary Sheffield is healthy, I'm sure they will take the next step on this potential blockbuster deal.  The Yankees need another quality starter more than anything else right now, and yes, on May 22ND, they have taken dead aim at Dontrelle Willis.

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