So now what should the Yanks do to play out the string? I’m already in favor of dumping Ponson in favor of ANY of the kids on the farm….

Bugs & Cranks’ Yanks correspondent Ed Valentine has some interesting ideas, too. (You’ll have to head there to read the full thing as I don’t want to pilfer the whole shebang.) To summarize:

1. Shut down Joba Chamberlain
2. Play Brett Gardner every day
3. Shut down Hideki Matsui
4. Get Phil Hughes some big-league starts
5. Play Johnny Damon at first base

I know all of this makes the Yankees seem like a $200 million version of the Washington Nationals. But, the reality is, that is what they are. Just another team going nowhere in 2008 that needs to spend the next few weeks finding out what they can about how they will be constructed in 2009.

I like his thinking, though I am not so sure about Damon at 1B.