No not that Era, the Wil Nieves Era - the Yanks granted Wil his free agency this week. Guess that leaves Raul Chavez as the third catcher. Sheesh.

Workload could be a factor for Proctor. Ya think workload just might be the reason why the reliever who’s thrown the most innings since Opening Day 2006 is worn out? Really?

It’s late on the East Coast, but the West Coast is still enjoying live baseball. I see Grady Little is mirroring Joe Torre’s patterns as our old friend Scott Proctor is on the hill for the Dodgers for the second night in a row. With one out and runner on second, Barry Bonds, who hit home run number 749 off of Proctor, came to the plate. Proctor intentionally walked him. So Scotty, who I pegged as the victim for 755, dodgers that bullet.

Update: Scotty is showing why the Yanks traded him. He faced four batters, got one out, gave up a run and is leaving the game with runners on the corners. Good luck with that one, Grady.

Anyone else read Chad Jennings’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yanks blog? I seriously check it as often as I check Pete Abraham’s blog. He’s a pretty reasonable dude, too. For instance, in his latest post about what to do with Shelley Duncan when Giambi comes back:

I like Cairo, but I’d rather have a huge right-handed power threat than a utility infielder who’s going to hardly play. Especially when there’s another utility infielder who’s hardly going to play already on the roster.

Bravo, Chad. Bravo.

He also adds that Jason Giambi will be heading to Scranton for a rehab assignment:

Jason Giambi will make a rehab appearance with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Friday during the team’s double header against Buffalo. I haven’t heard whether he will play in both games, but it seems that he will.

According to the Yankees, Giambi will be reevaluated after Friday’s games to determine whether he remains with the Triple-A team or returns to New York.

Our team! It’s getting better!

Around the trade deadline yesterday, as Scott Proctor packed up his stuff and headed west, everyone assumed Proctor was traded because of his inconsistent pitching. He had after all allowed 20 baserunners in this last 10.1 IP and 40 over his last 28.2 IP. It’s amazing he hadn’t been hit harder.

But what if the Yankees traded Scott Proctor to protect the team from Joe Torre? That’s why Tyler Kepner intimates here:

On July 8, the day before the All-Star Game break, the Yankees led the Angels by 10 runs when Scott Proctor was sent in to pitch the eighth inning. To the Yankees’ decision makers, this was an obvious sign that Manager Joe Torre would probably always favor Proctor over a pitcher just up from the minors, no matter how promising that pitcher seemed.

So when the trading deadline arrived at 4 p.m. yesterday, the Yankees took away Torre’s go-to reliever, shipping Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the utility infielder Wilson Betemit.

At the time, that was Proctor’s fourth appearance in a span of six days, and it was an unnecessary one for sure.

Now, if what Kepner writes is true - that is, if the Yankee braintrust has figured out that Joe Torre’s bullpen management is actually hurting the arms of the relievers - why is the solution to trade the reliever in question? Wouldn’t a better solution be to root out the problem?

Steve Lombardi today notes that, increasingly, coverage of Joe Torre makes him sound like a lame duck manage. I couldn’t agree more. When your manager is hurting your team, it’s time for him to go.

Author’s Note: I could have sworn another blogger noted this last night, but I couldn’t find that post this morning. If anyone has it, drop me an e-mail, and I’ll add the appropriate hat tip.

And hopefully Miguel Cairo, too.

According to ESPN, the Yanks and Dodgers have agreed in principle on a Wilson Betemit for Scott Proctor deal. More details as they’re released.

Update by Ben: A few points: Proctor is returning to Los Angeles. He came over in the deal for Robin Ventura in 2003, and I’m sad to see him go. I’ve always liked his stuff. While his walks are up this year and strike outs are down, I have a feeling that has more to do with the 100+ innings he threw in 2006.

I know a lot of people keep saying that Wilson Betemit is insurance if (or when) A-Rod exercises his opt-out clause. Betemit turned 27 last week and has a career offensive line of .263/.338/.441 in 825 at-bats. Obviously, those numbers don’t even approach A-Rod’s output. Betemit could be used as a chit in a deal for A-Rod’s replacement, but I’m holding out hope that A-Rod stays in the Bronx beyond 2007.

Update by Joe: Just to keep you caught up on the roster implication so far, Mark Feinsand is reporting that the Yanks plan to recall Edwar Ramirez and send down Chris Basak.

Scott Proctor had a 5.13 ERA in April, mostly the product of zero-inning, three-run performance against the Red Sox on April 22. Proctor had pitched in the previous two games, allowing no runs in 1.2 IP. He was beginning to be overused, as is Joe Torre’s wont. So on May 6, he threw behind Yuniesky Betancort, earning himself a four-game suspension. Proctor had a 1.50 ERA in May — and that was completely the product of his meltdown last Sunday.

His location has been off lately — he’s been missing spots like crazy. And it’s not unfathomable to think that he just missed on an inside pitch to Youk last night. But Scott has definitely bought himself at least four games again. The All-Star break will buy him another rest.

Maybe we’ll see a completely effective Proctor this season?

The Yankees have played 11 games. Scott Proctor has appeared in 8 of them, including four in a row and is now on pace to appear in over 110 games this season. Last Wednesday, Joe and I had this conversation about Scotty. We were joking. But, um, yeah.

Ben: It’s Wednesday. That means Scott Proctor pitches!
Joe: And you know what Joe Torre’s thinkin’.
Joe: “Well, tomorrow is an off day, so I can use him Friday, too!”
Ben: So true.
Joe: And if he uses him Saturday, it’s okay, because it’s only two days in a row.
Ben: And Monday’s an off day.
Joe: Sunday it is.

Okay, so there weren’t a lot of truly pressing roster decisions to make. However, there were some issues still out there yesterday that could have in some way adversely affected the roster. Yes, Mike, backup catcher and backup first basemen aren’t of grave concern. However, it’s not a great idea to go wasting a roster spot.

Anyway, here’s what’s going down, as reported by Pete Abraham:

Henn in, Villone out. Phelps in, Phillips out (though that was reported yesterday). Nieves in, Pratt out. Karstens to the DL.

Rotation: Pavano, Pettitte, Mussina, Igawa.

That makes me especially happy, because I’m going to the second game of the season (and I’ve seen Moose pitch roughly 8 times over the last two years). All in all, though, given the choices the Yankees had, these all seem like the right moves.

The Star Ledger is reporting, through an anonymous source, that Andy Phillips was placed on outright waivers yesterday. As many of us have been saying over the past week or so (or even longer), this was a no-brainer move. Yeah, you have to feel bad for Andy and the conditions surrounding him. But he’s simply not good enough to cut it.

Phelps, on the other hand, even at 28 years old has plenty of upside. He may pan out during the season, and he may not. Regardless of the eventual outcome, though, this was the correct move.

I’m not sure what other teams would have a need for Phillips, and I don’t (from my pedestrian view) see much of a reason that he won’t clear waivers and head with Phil Hughes and Tyler Clippard to Scranton.

Hat tip to Steve for the link.