Mondesi, Maybe; Weaver, Wow
So what happens? In the span of the past four days, Joe Torre's boys have managed to acquire Raul Mondesi to play RF and added Tigers ace Jeff Weaver to an already deep starting rotation -- and none of the crown jewels have exited the Bronx castle. If you review Monday's analysis of the Mondesi acquisition, you know I'm not sold on him being any type of long-term answer, but it was a nice move at relatively little cost -- 26-year-old AA LHP Scott Wiggins. If Mondesi stays motivated, he's All-Star caliber. Weaver came at a much higher price, but this is going to be a terrific deal for the Yankees now and for the future.

Menage a Trade
The three-team deal -- and when did those become so commonplace, anyway? -- sent Ted Lilly from New York to the A's and "hey-what-happened?" former Rangers prospect Carlos Pena from Oakland (er, Sacramento) to Motown, which packed Weaver off into pinstripes. The Tigers also get a prospect and the fabled PTBNL from Oakland, while the A's receive two bright young stars from the Yankees low minor leagues. Not to invoke any cliches -- I mean, cliches do help us live and learn, though if we overuse them, what goes around comes around -- but this trade could legitimately be good for all three teams involved.

Ted's Excellent Adventure Continues by the Bay
With all due respect to Aaron Harang and/or Cory Lidle, Lilly immediately moves from being the best sixth starter in the major leagues to being the best fourth starter in the AL -- outside the Bronx. If, for some wildly unlikely reason he is available on your waiver wire, go get him. Pena, no matter his current struggles, is The Real Deal and could someday win a batting title playing in the spacious gap-power-friendly CoPa. Weaver, well, he goes from being a legitimate candidate to represent the Tigers at the All-Star Game to shuttling around the Yankee rotation while everyone except Mike Mussina battles injuries.

Probable Starters 7/6: Pettitte vs. TOR (Parris) 7/7: TBD/Weaver vs. TOR (Carpenter) 7/8: Off Day 7/9: All-Star Game @ MIL 7/10: Off Day

Looking Ahead to 2004
Now Weaver, who is only 25, gets a couple of years learning what "work ethic" really means from Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. And by Opening Day 2004, when Clemens, David Wells and Orlando Hernandez have all ridden off into retirement, the rotation should still include a 35-year-old Mussina, a 31-year-old Pettitte, Weaver at 27, and hopefully a fully recuperated 24-year-old Claussen. Kudos to Brian Cashman for managing to balance "now" and "then" so spectacularly well. The one thing about Weaver that changes: he is now a mortal lock in keeper leagues of any kind.

Elliptical Information ...
In other news, the Yanks put Randy Choate back on the Columbus Shuttle and re-called Clippers closer Brandon Knight, who has no fantasy value ... Oh, you may have heard that Derek Jeter had a little scrape on Thursday. (If, like me, you're not only a Yankee fan but a Jeter owner, and you saw the play, hey, how'd that heart taste in your mouth?) ... Jeter is unlikely to play until after the All-Star Break, but an MRI didn't show any fractures, and the bruised left lower leg and minor sprain to the left knee should heal quickly ... Clemens has been scratched from Sunday's start; this morning, Torre announced that Lilly would replace him ... whoops ...