Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 2/8/13

Here's something I've never really understood about the whole "blizzard preparation" process; people who insist that you need to gas up your car before the storm.  Ummmm, why?  Where exactly do you think you're going to be driving to when Mother Nature drops 18-24 inches of snow on your candyass?  Answer- nowhere.  You're not going anywhere and nor should you be.  You should be staying in your house, eating the food that you were hopefully smart enough to stock up on, crossing your fingers that the power doesn't get knocked out, and catching up on all the TV shows you've been meaning to watch on your DVR (side note- "The Americans" on FX is the tits).  Anybody who goes to fill up their gas tank before a blizzard just so their car can sit in the garage for 3 days is an idiot.  So don't be an idiot and stay safe and stay warm this weekend if you're area is fixing to get clobbered.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Rupert Pupkin of NoMaas pointed out the big difference in Jeter's and Mo's reactions to the latest A-Rod news.  Personally, I think Jeter's sheds more light on how the organization feels about Alex right now.

- Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits asked if the Yankees needed to add another bullpen arm before the season.  I don't think they HAVE to, but more bullpen depth is never a bad thing.

- On Tuesday, fishjam25 of Yankees Fans Unite ranked and released his 2013 Top 40 prospects list.

- Chad Jennings of LoHud questioned whether Brett Gardner was still a platoon candidate or if his all-around skill set made him worthy of having an everyday role.

- Rob Abruzzese of of Bronx Baseball Daily investigated just how overpaid Mark Teixeira is on the heels of Teix's candid comments to Dan Barbarisi last week.

- On Wednesday, Mike Eder of TYA made a strong case for pursuing Casper Wells in a trade to add a strong right-handed outfield bat.  I admittedly hadn't considered Wells, but it makes a lot of sense.

- Mike Axisa of RAB took a stab at constructing the 2013 Triple-A RailRiders roster.  Could be a pretty good outfield and pretty good bullpen.  Rotation might need some work.

- On Thursday, Steve Skinner of Bleeding Yankee Blue analyzed the projected Yankee rotation and how it stacks up against its AL East competition.

- El duque of It Is High... declared that 2013 will be the year of Austin Romine and Romine could be a make-or-break factor to the Yankees' season.

- Hunter Farman of Yanks Go Yard looked back at the 2007 offseason and wondered what could have been if the Yankees went through with their plans to go after the non-A-Rod third baseman who was available.

- William Juliano of The Captain's Blog discussed the unfair nature of the MSM's handling of the Biogenesis story and the lack of accountability on their part when it comes to maintaining journalistic integrity.

For today's Friday Jam, we're kicking it old school with some Public Enemy.  As an upper middle class white kid growing up in Connecticut, songs like "Rebel Without A Pause" really spoke to me and helped mold me into the strong, anti-establishment badass I am today.  For example, I don't always separate the glass from the plastic when I recycle.  That's just what THE MAN wants me to do.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Pitchers & Catchers Report Date Prepper: The Catchers

(TCS just doin' the damn thing!  Courtesy of Getty Images)

We're now just a handful of days away from the unofficial start of Spring Training and the unofficial start of baseball season.  Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to camp next Tuesday, and from there the dreariness and gray emotional cloud that hung over this offseason should start to disappear.  There are already players working out in Tampa, and reports coming in from beat writers about another guy showing up almost every day, but it will be real, really real, when the whole battery crew rolls into town on Tuesday.  Last week the Yankees released their list of non-roster invitees, and combined with the members of the 40-man roster there will be a bounty of pitchers and catchers in camp.  In preparation for those early ST festivities, let's take a look at the players who'll be arriving next week and what they have to offer, starting with the backstops.

Nova Confident He'll Be In The Rotation

The always confident Ivan Nova doesn't seem to have lost any of his edge after his disastrous 2012 season.  In an article in the Daily News earlier in the week, Nova told Anthony McCarron he absolutely believes he's going to be in the starting rotation this season.

“I’m going to be there.  Just do my work. It doesn't cross my mind that I’m going to be in the minor leagues. I’m going to be in the rotation, that’s what I’m working for."

“I know what I've got in my hand,” “I know what I've got and I know what I can do and I just have to do it."

Strong words from the guy who, in the same story, admitted to forcing pitches and throwing certain pitches that he couldn't control at times last year, but that's Nova.  And as bad as his 2012 was, there are still reasons to be optimistic about Nova rebounding in 2013.  His BB and K rates trended in the right direction last year, his fastball velocity improved, and he's still just 26 years old.  It's way too early to write off Nova, and although I don't think it's a guaranteed lock that he'll beat out David Phelps for the 5th spot in the rotation, I do think he, like other 5th starter competitors before him, will have the deck stacked in his favor heading into ST.