Call me Deezus Montero...DEEZ NUUUUUUTZ!

By now you have all probably heard about last night’s trade — the Yanks sent Jesus and Hector Noesi to the Mariners for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos.

I think this was a great trade for a number of reasons. First, the Yanks needed pitching and Mike Pineda will make an immediate impact. He’s not arbitration eligible until 2014 and won’t become a free agent until 2017; he’s going to be dirt cheap and is capable of being a 2-3 starter, and he’s only 22 years old (will be 23 next week). Plus, Campos put up great numbers in Single-A last year for a 19-year-old. He may not reach the bigs for a couple of seasons, but he should become a great pitcher.

Next, Jesus was never projected to be a great catcher. Sure, he could’ve been a damn good DH, but that spot is going to be used for the older guys who need a day off in the coming years. There was really no spot for Jesus. Also, the Yanks have Austin Romine and Gary Sanchez — two catching prospects who are better defensive backstops than Jesus. With this logic dealing Jesus for a young stud pitcher is a no brainer.

Noesi showed some promise and was fun to root for, but he’s a small price to pay for getting a great pitcher.

As I said before, this was a steal of a trade for the Yanks — they’d have been stupid not to pull the trigger — but I will miss Jesus. He’s really the first position player whose career I followed all the way through the minors. I hope he continues to rake — just not against the Yanks — and has a great career. Here’s why:

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For those hoping to see Jesus Montero back on the field, you’ll just have to wait until Spring Training. Montero played a total of 127 games this season (most of which he caught) and the Yankees believe he deserves a bit of a break. He will still maintain his strength and conditioning regimen so he can enter Spring Training ready to earn a full-time spot in the big leagues. Cashman also noted that moving Montero to right field is definitely not going to happen, so the idea of letting Swisher’s option lapse and having Martin behind the plate and Montero in right field is pretty much dead in the water.

Brian Gordon didn’t have his best outing. He gave up four runs on five hits with a strikeout in five innings. He did retire 10 in a row at one point, but the Reds got to him in the fifth.

Hector Noesi was left out to dry. Girardi stayed with him in the eighth and his final line was six runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings. Yikes.

Chris Heisey victimized Yankee pitching to the tune of three home runs, five RBI and four runs scored. The last player to homer three times in a game against the Yanks was loser Kevin Millar on 7/23/04.

The offense was not there tonight either, you could tell it was a getaway day. They were swinging at a lot of first pitches and went 0-for-9 with RISP while stranding seven men. The Yanks had a chance in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out but Ramiro Pena grounded out and pinch-hitter Posada followed suit — both outs came on the first pitch.

Swisher’s solo shot in the second and A-Rod’s RBI double in the eighth were among the team’s four hits.

It was the first time in 11 games that the Yanks allowed more than four runs and the second time in 21 games that they allowed 12 or more hits (14).

After scoring just five runs on 10 hits  over the first two games, the Reds finally broke through. It wasn’t pretty. Let us never speak of this game again. The thing that really galls me is that the team could have taken over first place with a win, but instead they’re a half-game back of Boston. Rats.

The Yanks have an off day tomorrow but will get back at it Friday as the Rockies come to town for a three-game set.

LET’S GO YANKS!!!

Brian Gordon, who was signed by the team before the game, started and pitched decent. He limited the damage and kept the team in the game, which is just what the Yanks needed from him. Flash went 5 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and as many walks. He pretty much cruised through the first four innings before a rough fifth.

His first turn through the order, three Rangers reached base; his second go ’round four guys got on; and his final time through five men reached. He also did bean Beltre with the bases loaded for Texas’ second run, but I was pleased with his performance. Apparently so were the Yanks because Bri will make his next start against the Reds.

Cory Wade picked up the win with two perfect innings of relief with two punch outs. It was his first win in the majors since June 13, 2009.

In between Hector Noesi threw 1 2/3 innings and gave up a hit and a walk, D-Rob threw a perfect inning with one strikeout and Mo tossed two innings of one-hit ball. Needless to say the bullpen was on point.

The offense came through as well. Grandy went 3-for-5 and scored the winning run, Cano went 2-for-4 and scored twice and Martin went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Martin had missed seven of the previous eight games and came in 2-for-31 with just one RBI since May 24.

Posada made his first start against a lefty (CJ Wilson) since May 6 and went 1-for-5 with an RBI. He’s now 4-for-39 (.103) against southpaws on the year.

They could have ended the game in the ninth, as they had the bases loaded and one out, but Grandy struck out on a filthy 3-2 pitch and Tex grounded out. This one wasn’t as easy to watch as the 12-4 victories, but it was much more fun.

Other news:

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Bad AJ was out in full force, as he gave up eight runs — a season-high seven earned — on seven hits with three strikeouts to four walks in just 5 2/3 innings of work. His ERA against the Sox as a Yankee is now 8.85 in eight starts. Yikes. He’s 6-4 this year and I hope that this isn’t the part of the season where he breaks down and spirals out of control.

AJ has put together some great starts this year, but he has yet to throw a scoreless outing this season. I don’t know what that means, but I feel like he should have at least one scoreless outing. His peripherals are decent though, so I guess I shouldn’t be bitching.

There’s not much else to say, the Yanks had opportunities but committed many errors — mentally and physically. You have Cervelli’s two pick-off attempts that went into the outfield, Gardy not coming home on a wild pitch, Jeter’s GIDP with the bases loaded in the sixth and many other things that made this game a botched abortion. They were 4-for-14 with RISP and stranded seven runners as the Sox won their fifth straight game at The Stadium, their longest single-season streak since July 7-9, 1939.

The Yanks allowed a total of 14 runs on the final seven games of their road trip, but yielded 17 runs in the first two games of this series. Man, I miss playing the AL West.

Cervelli, who was only playing because Russell Martin’s back locked up, had one of the weirdest games. In addition to the aforementioned throwing errors, he went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI, two runs scored, a walk and took a foul ball off his junk. It was his seventh — SEVENTH!!!!! — career three-hit game. However, since the start of 2010 he has thrown out just 10 of 78 base runners whereas he had caught 13 of 21 would-be base stealers in 2009.

You have to give props to Tex for playing one day after taking a Lester cutter off his knee, an injury that looked like it could sideline him for a while. He drove in a pair of runs on a sac fly and a single.

Fun Facts:

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NoeCY threw six innings of relief after Fabulous Freddy was anything but fabulous. Over the six frames, he gave up only two runs on three hits with a strikeout and a walk. Following a two-run homer from Ortiz, Noesi actually retired 13 batters in a row…14 if you include Ellsbury trying to stretch a double into a triple.

He did a great job of saving the bullpen and certainly made a case for himself if a rotation spot should open up.

The last Yankee pitcher to toss six innings of relief was none other than Scranton’s all-time wins leader Kei Igawa on 4/28/07 against the Red Sox in relief of Jeff Karstens.

Another plus was Posada, who played first base after Tex got beaned (more on that later) and went 3-for-3, drove in a run and scored. His average is now at .195, the highest its been since early April. He also recorded his first two hits off a lefty (Lester) this season; he came in 0-for-27 hitting righty but is now 2-for-2. It was his second appearance this season at first and the 30th of his career.

Jeter had a pair of singles (although one could have easily been an error) and is now 12 hits from 3,000. He hasn’t struck out in 57 plate appearances, the longest such streak of his career; the last time he whiffed was 5/24 against the Blue Jays.

Swish Dog also had a good game — 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Cano drive in the other run.

Gardy had a huge pinch-hit walk and later scored on Posada’s single during a rally that fell short in the ninth. It was too little too late, but it was good seeing them not give up.

With the good comes the bad, and there was plenty tonight:

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