Morse Headed to Mariners in 3 Team Deal

I was hoping the Yankees could work out a deal for power hitting outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse, but the 6'5" slugger will call Seattle his new home in 2013.

The Mariners acquired Morse from the Washington Nationals in a deal that also involved the Oakland A's. Mariners catcher John Jaso will be headed to Oakland, while the A's sent A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen to the Nationals. A player to be named later will also be sent from the A's to the Nationals.

Morse was a light hitting utility infielder when he played for the Mariners from 2005-2008. Morse began to show some pop with his bat in his first year in Washington (2009) and followed it up with a break out season a year later when he hit 31 home runs and drove in 95 runs. Injuries limited Morse to 102 games in 2012, but he managed to hit 18 HR and knocked in 62.

Morse and Kendrys Morales, acquired earlier this off-season from the Angels, are expected to help bolster a Mariners lineup that was dead last in runs scored (619) last season. He became expendable in Washington when the Nationals re-signed first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Jaso split his time between catcher and DH last season and set career highs in home runs (10), RBI (50), and OPS (.850).

Cole was drafted by the Nationals in the fourth round of the 2010 amateur draft and dealt to Oakland as part of the package that brought 21-game winner Gio Gonzalez to DC prior to last season. He stood out at Double-A Burlington last year with a 2.07 ERA and struck out 102 in 95.2 innings before a promotion to Triple-A.  .

Treinen was selected by the A's in the 7th round of the 2011 draft and spent last season at high Class 'A' Stockton.

The Road Well Traveled

Thanks to the pitching of A.J. Burnett and the bat of Nick Swisher, the Yankees finished off a three game sweep of the Oakland A's on Wednesday to turn what was a poor starting road trip into a positive 4-2 record. The Yankees now head to one of their house of horrors, Anaheim, to face the Los Angeles Angels with a chance to win at least five of nine on the trip and with a very good chance to win six since CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon will start two of the three games (Ivan Nova starts the other).

The Yankees got great pitching in the Oakland series and that continued yesterday when Burnett shook off some early struggles (including a 2-run home run by Josh Willingham) to give the Yankees seven solid innings in a 4-2 win. The Yankees trailed 2-1 when they put two on with none out against A's starter Gio Gonzalez in the 4th inning. That's when things got a little weird- Swisher showed bunt on the first two pitches (both balls) - only third base coach Rob Thomson hadn't given him the bunt sign. While A's pitching coach Ron Romanick was telling Gonzalez to throw strikes (he had thrown six straight out of the strike zone), Swisher found out from Thomson that he had misread the signs. So then all Swisher did was rip a three run home run into the left field seats to put the Yankees ahead for good.

Burnett then made it stand up by shutting down the A's lineup with the exception of Coco Crisp, who had two hits and walk, but was stranded at third after tripling in the 5th and at second base after he swiped it in the 3rd.

Joba Chamberlain worked out of a two on, one out jam in the 8th when he speared Conor Jackson's line drive and turned it into a double play. Mariano Rivera breezed through the 9th for his first save since May 10. It came in his 1,004th appearance, tying him with Goose Gossage for 14th place on the all-time list.

Notes

Derek Jeter had one hit, leaving him with 16 to go to the 3,000 mark. The captain has a 7 game hitting streak in which he's hitting .333 (9-27).

The Yankees have beaten the A's 10 straight times, the longest current streak of any team in the Majors.

Nick Swisher has a modest six game hitting streak, all on the road trip. He's 6-20 (.300) with one hit in each game.

A's Snap Yankees Streak

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0		6	9	0
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0		4	6	0

One of the keys to the Yankees’ success this season has been a continually strengthening bullpen. But Saturday afternoon, one of its’ mainstays, Al Aceves, couldn’t bail out starter Andy Pettitte and the Yankees 8-game winning streak came to a screeching halt. Gio Gonzalez and the Oakland Athletics topped the Yankees 6-4.

Pettitte entered the 7th inning protecting a 1-0 lead, but quickly ran into trouble. Scott Hairston led off the inning with a double and Nomar Garciapparra walked. Jack Cust flied out, but after Pettitte convinced Joe Girardi he felt fine, Rajai Davis singled to right to the tie up the game. When Bobby Crosby bunted his way on to load the bases, Girardi sent for Aceves.

Read the rest of my recap on Baseball Digest Online.

Breaking News: Beane Dealing Again

A's GM Billy Beane will never be accused of standing pat, whether it be good times or bad. Beane already swung a deal that sent his ace, Dan Haren, to the Diamondbacks for a boatload of prospects. Now Beane has dealt up and coming slugger, Nick Swisher, to the White Sox for more prospects.

Big things were expected from Swisher after he hit 35 HRs and drove in 95 runs in 2006. But the 1st Baseman/Outfielder slumped through much of this past season, only producing 22 home runs and 78 RBI. Swisher can either play the outfield for Chicago, or move to 1st Base if Paul Konerko is dealt.

In return the A's receivedleft-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez, right-handed pitcher Fautino De Los Santos and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.

Gonzalez started out in the White Sox organization before being to the Phillies in the Jim Thome trade. He returned to the windy city when the Sox dealt Freddy Garcia to the Phils. The 21-year old is on the move again, but is still highly touted. This past season, Gonzalez struck out 185 batters in 150 innings pitched.

De Los Santos was named the Most Outstanding Major League Prospect of the South Atlantic League's posting a 9-4 record with a 2.40 ERA.

Sweeney was the White Sox top rated prospect entering '07, but hit just .270 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI at Triple-A. He did poorly in a brief stint with the big club.

Source

Breaking News: Beane Dealing Again

A's GM Billy Beane will never be accused of standing pat, whether it be good times or bad. Beane already swung a deal that sent his ace, Dan Haren, to the Diamondbacks for a boatload of prospects. Now Beane has dealt up and coming slugger, Nick Swisher, to the White Sox for more prospects.

Big things were expected from Swisher after he hit 35 HRs and drove in 95 runs in 2006. But the 1st Baseman/Outfielder slumped through much of this past season, only producing 22 home runs and 78 RBI. Swisher can either play the outfield for Chicago, or move to 1st Base if Paul Konerko is dealt.

In return the A's receivedleft-handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez, right-handed pitcher Fautino De Los Santos and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.

Gonzalez started out in the White Sox organization before being to the Phillies in the Jim Thome trade. He returned to the windy city when the Sox dealt Freddy Garcia to the Phils. The 21-year old is on the move again, but is still highly touted. This past season, Gonzalez struck out 185 batters in 150 innings pitched.

De Los Santos was named the Most Outstanding Major League Prospect of the South Atlantic League's posting a 9-4 record with a 2.40 ERA.

Sweeney was the White Sox top rated prospect entering '07, but hit just .270 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI at Triple-A. He did poorly in a brief stint with the big club.

Source