... that Mariano Rivera is some kind of mystical, inhuman cyborg that destroys anything in its path and is only addicted to winning, here it is, courtesy of the World Wide Leader's "Sports Science."
Now granted this is coming from somebody who had to guess and cheat his was to Cs in the last science class he ever took, which was senior year in high school, but that's just crazy! 1600 RPM? 8 inches of lateral movement?? All from the same arm angle as his 4-seamer??? That just doesn't seem fair. And then you factor in the whole 'human eye not being able to see a ball traveling that fast in the last 10 feet before it reaches the plate' thing and I know it's just not fair. Maybe guys should be allowed to take HGH if they're going to be facing Mo on a regular basis. With the hand-eye coordination benefits it has, it only seems right to help level the playing field for these poor schlubs.
I would also like to take this opportunity to start the official AB4AR campaign to change the name of the "Magnus Effect" to the "Rivera Effect." It just seems right.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Is The Offense Already Starting To Heat Up?
(That's a fine looking swing, Mr. Gardner. Courtesy of The AP)
You've got Brett Gardner following through with 2 hands on his swing now and making line drive contact seemingly every game. You've got Jeter putting multiple hits on the board and by all accounts looking better at the plate each game. You've got The Horse looking trim, seeing the ball well, and absolutely mashing the crap out of everything right now. You've got Cano hitting line drives, Teix looking sharper than he ever has this early, and even Russell Martin and his now 94.5738% healthy knee getting a couple of hits and stealing bases yesterday. These are all good signs, right?
Before you roll your eyes and give me the "Spring Training doesn't mean anything" speech, notice that I didn't include anybody's stats anywhere in that previous paragraph. I'm well aware that ST performance and statistics have little to no bearing on how a guy is going to play once the games start to count. But it's the actions that are happening on the field that are encouraging, especially when it's geared towards the group of guys who are trying to come back from down years and injuries.
I've long held the belief that Brett Gardner could hit for a little more power if he wanted to and said that he should be looking to drive the ball into gaps. He makes the adjustment to his swing, finishing with both hands on the bat, and suddenly there's more sting in his contact. A-Rod gets into better shape this year, drops a few pounds to lessen the load on his older body and he's hitting the ball better than I can ever remember in ST since he joined the Yanks. Teix put in more work in the offseason and he's off to a better spring start.
The point of this is not to try to prove that all these performances are going to lead to monster starts in April or monster years from these guys. The point is to recognize that many Yankee hitters are having better springs than they have in the past with the bat. They're ahead of the curve in terms of getting their timing and swing mechanics down, and that has to at least be an encouraging sign for them, their coaches, and us fans. Think about it the other way; if Teix was still rocking on 0-for right now and popping the ball up all the time, we'd be sitting here saying "Here we go again. Goddamn Teix is starting off cold." So since he ISN'T doing that this spring, that should at least give us hope that he's going to carry this over in the regular season and, at the very least, not suck as badly in April as he has before.
The Dawning Of A New Era
(No, AB4AR doesn't have hats... yet.)
If you're a regular reader of the site, you might notice a few small changes this morning. After some input and suggestions from fellow members of the Yankosphere, I finally got around the updating the site and changing the color scheme over to the road uni to hopefully make everything easier to read. I even added the link to the Facebook page! Hey, techmology!
I hope this new color scheme works for everybody and I look forward to getting any feedback, positive or negative, that my readers have. As I've said many times before, I'm a Yankee fan and a writer, not a computer programmer, design engineer, or software tech, so this is about as fancy as the design is going to get for now, at least until Google gets smart enough to buy me out and put some professionals on the job. So while you can't count on getting a site that looks like something, you can still count on getting the same low-quality, high-comedy analysis and insight that you've come to know and
P.S.- Links in posts will now show up as the bold/italicized text, so click on those in the Linkapaloozas to check out the excellent work of my blogging brethren. I'll have to make a conscious effort to stay away from that in my regular writing.
P.P.S.- Check out the damn Facebook page and "Like" it.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
On The 2012 Rotation
I'm not the type to look ahead, and I always stress the importance of focusing on the NOW in Yankee baseball, but with the way some of the young guys have pitched so far in Spring Training, I think it warrants talking about how and where they might fit in in 2012. So allow me a minute to spitball and consider the potential situation for next year's rotation.
This year's rotational situation is what it is, and despite some early success from the likes of Garcia, Colon, and Ivan Nova, I think we can all agree that no level of regular season success in 2011 is going to lead to Garcia or Colon being a part of the 2012 rotation. They are here this year to serve as Band-Aids to try to help ease the sting of losing Lee and Pettitte and as placeholders for the crop of young talent in Double and Triple-A right now, namely the Killer Bs. And there's nothing wrong with that. Betances and ManBan are going to have innings limitations this year, and after the fiasco that was trying to put Joba and Ian Kennedy in the rotation before they were ready, the Yankees are playing it safe with these guys. With the lineup they have, the deep bullpen, and CC and Hughes at the top of the rotation they are still going to be one of the best teams in baseball.
But after 2011 ends for the Yankees, the rotation again becomes a huge question mark and a huge talking point. As of today, there are only 2 guys who will definitely be under contract and in the rotation in 2012, those guys being Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to say that whether he opts out or not after this year, CC Sabathia is coming back in 2012, giving the Yanks the same 3 "definites" that they had coming into this year. But after that is where it starts to get interesting.
I figure Ivan Nova is going to get the final '11 rotation spot over Colon, barring injury of course, so he becomes the #1 candidate to fill in the #4 spot in the 2012 rotation, a candidacy that could be strengthened by an improved performance this year and him showing that he has developed his secondary pitches and learned to change things up the 3rd time through a lineup. After him, the next group of internal candidates to step in and take a spot in the 2011 rotation, due to injuries or poor performance by others, would be Hector Noesi, David Phelps, and Adam Warren. As with Nova, they would be considered to have a leg up on the the rest of the youthful competition just based on any experience gained this year. The fact that none of these 3 are considered high-ceiling prospects, however, and could be used as trade fodder this year to bring in a starter at the deadline makes their 2012 spots less of a sure thing. But if the Yankees catch lightning in a bottle with any of them, they're going to have to give serious consideration to keeping that guy around for 2012.
Which brings us to the next possibility, somebody either added at the 2011 deadline or signed in the 2011 offseason taking a spot. Guys like Chris Carpenter, Mark Buehrle, and Roy Oswalt would be at the top of that list, and the addition of either of the first 2 by a trade probably eliminates guys from the Noesi/Phelps/Warren/D.J. Mitchell pool. So if one of them is brought in, do the Yankees sign him after 2011 and make him the #4 starter for 2012? If they don't, do they go all out for Roy Oswalt and plug him into the #2/#3 spot for 2012? Any outsider brought in ]before the start of 2012 has to be considered a favorite to also make the 2012 rotation due to the experience factor, but with age and salary concerns the Yankees could make the decision to not add payroll for an older player.
This year's rotational situation is what it is, and despite some early success from the likes of Garcia, Colon, and Ivan Nova, I think we can all agree that no level of regular season success in 2011 is going to lead to Garcia or Colon being a part of the 2012 rotation. They are here this year to serve as Band-Aids to try to help ease the sting of losing Lee and Pettitte and as placeholders for the crop of young talent in Double and Triple-A right now, namely the Killer Bs. And there's nothing wrong with that. Betances and ManBan are going to have innings limitations this year, and after the fiasco that was trying to put Joba and Ian Kennedy in the rotation before they were ready, the Yankees are playing it safe with these guys. With the lineup they have, the deep bullpen, and CC and Hughes at the top of the rotation they are still going to be one of the best teams in baseball.
But after 2011 ends for the Yankees, the rotation again becomes a huge question mark and a huge talking point. As of today, there are only 2 guys who will definitely be under contract and in the rotation in 2012, those guys being Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to say that whether he opts out or not after this year, CC Sabathia is coming back in 2012, giving the Yanks the same 3 "definites" that they had coming into this year. But after that is where it starts to get interesting.
I figure Ivan Nova is going to get the final '11 rotation spot over Colon, barring injury of course, so he becomes the #1 candidate to fill in the #4 spot in the 2012 rotation, a candidacy that could be strengthened by an improved performance this year and him showing that he has developed his secondary pitches and learned to change things up the 3rd time through a lineup. After him, the next group of internal candidates to step in and take a spot in the 2011 rotation, due to injuries or poor performance by others, would be Hector Noesi, David Phelps, and Adam Warren. As with Nova, they would be considered to have a leg up on the the rest of the youthful competition just based on any experience gained this year. The fact that none of these 3 are considered high-ceiling prospects, however, and could be used as trade fodder this year to bring in a starter at the deadline makes their 2012 spots less of a sure thing. But if the Yankees catch lightning in a bottle with any of them, they're going to have to give serious consideration to keeping that guy around for 2012.
Which brings us to the next possibility, somebody either added at the 2011 deadline or signed in the 2011 offseason taking a spot. Guys like Chris Carpenter, Mark Buehrle, and Roy Oswalt would be at the top of that list, and the addition of either of the first 2 by a trade probably eliminates guys from the Noesi/Phelps/Warren/D.J. Mitchell pool. So if one of them is brought in, do the Yankees sign him after 2011 and make him the #4 starter for 2012? If they don't, do they go all out for Roy Oswalt and plug him into the #2/#3 spot for 2012? Any outsider brought in ]before the start of 2012 has to be considered a favorite to also make the 2012 rotation due to the experience factor, but with age and salary concerns the Yankees could make the decision to not add payroll for an older player.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Yankee Catching Situation Becoming More Clear
One of the biggest competition storylines coming into Spring Training was the 2 Yankee catcher spots on the 25-man and who was going to end up with them. Before ST, the Yankees made it seem like it was Jesus Montero's job to lose, then they added Russell Martin and named him the starter, forcing Montero into a competition with Cervelli for the backup spot, a competition that was leaning in Frankie's favor thanks to his experience. Now with what's happened over the last week, some good and some bad, the picture is starting to come into focus.
Martin- He beat the odds that I set and managed to stay healthy behind the plate last night in his first game catching of ST. He caught well, didn't leave with an injury, and all indications this morning are that he feels good and will be ready to catch again tomorrow. As long as the Yankees monitor his innings and his health as he tries to get back to 100%, Martin will be the starting catcher out of camp.
Cervelli- That foul ball off his foot earlier in the week turned out to be more serious than everyone initially thought, and yesterday it was announced that Frankie has a broken foot, effectively taking him out of the competition for the backup role and forcing him to Triple-A for a rehab assignment whenever he does get healthy. While we all know what Cervelli is as a player, it still sucks to see him lose what probably would have been a sure roster spot because of something out his control. 3rd time in the last 4 years that he has suffered some sort of injury in ST. Maybe the guy should just stay away in the future.
Montero- If the season started tomorrow, The Jesus would be the backup to Martin and the buzz about him would continue to grow heading into the start of the regular season. So far this spring Montero has shown flashes of the powerful bat he possesses, and has held his own behind the dish, throwing a few runners out and getting good reviews from Yankee pitchers about his receiving skills, something that was the biggest knock on him. Montero has done everything asked of him, and with Cervelli out of the picture he becomes the best option. At 21 he's a big part of the Yankees future and it looks like that future is going to start now.
Austin Romine- Probably won't get a spot on the 25-man out of camp, but he has also impressed coaches, and Joe has not ruled him out as an option for the backup role, citing his own history as a player who made the jump from Double-A to the Majors. Romine receives a bit better than Jesus, but doesn't have the spark in his bat to put up numbers any greater than Cervelli would. At best, he bumps up to Triple-A to start the season, at worst he's back in Double-A when everything shakes, neither of which are really bad options for him.
Jorge Posada- He's still lurking as an emergency if the Yankees experience any more injury bad luck with Martin, Montero, or Romine, but they are staying committed to keeping him at DH, and it's the right move to make. Let him catch a few side sessions here and there in camp to get pitchers some work, but nobody wants Jorge behind the plate catching whole games and getting beaten up. If something happens where it comes to that, the Yankees should look to the trade market to build depth rather than risk Jorge's health early in the season.
Martin- He beat the odds that I set and managed to stay healthy behind the plate last night in his first game catching of ST. He caught well, didn't leave with an injury, and all indications this morning are that he feels good and will be ready to catch again tomorrow. As long as the Yankees monitor his innings and his health as he tries to get back to 100%, Martin will be the starting catcher out of camp.
Cervelli- That foul ball off his foot earlier in the week turned out to be more serious than everyone initially thought, and yesterday it was announced that Frankie has a broken foot, effectively taking him out of the competition for the backup role and forcing him to Triple-A for a rehab assignment whenever he does get healthy. While we all know what Cervelli is as a player, it still sucks to see him lose what probably would have been a sure roster spot because of something out his control. 3rd time in the last 4 years that he has suffered some sort of injury in ST. Maybe the guy should just stay away in the future.
Montero- If the season started tomorrow, The Jesus would be the backup to Martin and the buzz about him would continue to grow heading into the start of the regular season. So far this spring Montero has shown flashes of the powerful bat he possesses, and has held his own behind the dish, throwing a few runners out and getting good reviews from Yankee pitchers about his receiving skills, something that was the biggest knock on him. Montero has done everything asked of him, and with Cervelli out of the picture he becomes the best option. At 21 he's a big part of the Yankees future and it looks like that future is going to start now.
Austin Romine- Probably won't get a spot on the 25-man out of camp, but he has also impressed coaches, and Joe has not ruled him out as an option for the backup role, citing his own history as a player who made the jump from Double-A to the Majors. Romine receives a bit better than Jesus, but doesn't have the spark in his bat to put up numbers any greater than Cervelli would. At best, he bumps up to Triple-A to start the season, at worst he's back in Double-A when everything shakes, neither of which are really bad options for him.
Jorge Posada- He's still lurking as an emergency if the Yankees experience any more injury bad luck with Martin, Montero, or Romine, but they are staying committed to keeping him at DH, and it's the right move to make. Let him catch a few side sessions here and there in camp to get pitchers some work, but nobody wants Jorge behind the plate catching whole games and getting beaten up. If something happens where it comes to that, the Yankees should look to the trade market to build depth rather than risk Jorge's health early in the season.
Friday, March 4, 2011
I Got Nothing (So I'll Just Plug The Facebook Page Again)
Normally this is the time of the week when I start to stop caring about my 9-5 job and focus my remaining work-weekly energy to the blog. Unfortunately for you people, that's not happening today. It's a bit of a slow day in Yankeeland and I'm cutting out of work soon to head to a local brewery with my company's plant manager to presumably get hammered on the company's dime (SCORE!).
With that in mind, I will channel my inner Deadspin writer and leave you this offering of one of the best QOTSA songs ever that also happens to be one of the greatest song titles ever.
Oh, and the changes to the site I've talked about? They're coming. I promise. In the mean time, check out the official AB4AR Facebook page and, if you're feeling extra nice, go ahead and "Like" it.
With that in mind, I will channel my inner Deadspin writer and leave you this offering of one of the best QOTSA songs ever that also happens to be one of the greatest song titles ever.
Oh, and the changes to the site I've talked about? They're coming. I promise. In the mean time, check out the official AB4AR Facebook page and, if you're feeling extra nice, go ahead and "Like" it.
Russell Martin Will Crouch Behind The Plate Today
But will he be able to do it without injuring or re-aggravating anything? That's the big question.
Odds on what happens today:
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings without discomfort- 25:1
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings without injury- 13:2
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings but re-aggravates his hip injury- 5:1
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings but re-aggravates his knee injury- 3:1
- Martin leaves the game early with some kind of injury/discomfort- 2:1
As you can tell, I'm not exactly optimistic about this today, especially considering he's wearing a protective brace and he's admittedly still not 100%. In any case, I know Jesus Montero's future with the 25-man heading into the season has a lot riding on the outcome of Martin's catching debut today.
Odds on what happens today:
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings without discomfort- 25:1
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings without injury- 13:2
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings but re-aggravates his hip injury- 5:1
- Martin manages to catch his share of innings but re-aggravates his knee injury- 3:1
- Martin leaves the game early with some kind of injury/discomfort- 2:1
As you can tell, I'm not exactly optimistic about this today, especially considering he's wearing a protective brace and he's admittedly still not 100%. In any case, I know Jesus Montero's future with the 25-man heading into the season has a lot riding on the outcome of Martin's catching debut today.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tim Beckham Feels The Power
(Photo courtesy of The AP)
Can you feel it, Tim Beckham? Can you FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL it??? Can you feel the POWAH of The Jesus?!?! Can you feel the GLORAY of The Jesus?!?!
Can you, Tim Beckham, feel the powerful glory of The Jesus flowing through your humanly veins as he tags your candyass OUT at home plate?!! Can you?!?!?! CAN YOU, TIM BECKHAM?!?!?!?!
ARE YOU READY TO BE SAVED FROM YOUR SINS OF TRYING TO SCORE ON THE JESUS, TIM BECKHAM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Good. Then go sit your ass on the bench where you belong. And never cross The Almighty again, lest thee wish to feel his wrath another time.
The Catching Clouds Are Parting...
... And The Jesus could be poking his majestic face through them soon, bringing with him abundant sunshine to be shined upon all the commoners.
Russell Martin will finally catch for the first time tomorrow, but he'll be wearing a protective knee brace as a security blanket for his still-not-100% knee. Nobody knows what's up with Cervelli's foot after his MRI yesterday. Jorge Posada seems to be moving on from behind the plate, focusing his energies full time to being a DH. There are questions abound regarding the current Yankee catcher depth chart, and yet one name remains a constant, healthy presence and a possible option to answer these questions.
He hasn't lit the world on fire so far in ST, but The Jesus has held his own at the plate, worked hard and received praise for his defensive workouts, gotten advice from Joe Mauer, and even threw out 2 baserunners in his last game behind the plate. Say what you want about his size, his receiving ability, or his throwing mechanics, the fact of the matter is Jesus is the only healthy catcher in camp right now who could play every day behind the plate if he had to, and that fact alone has to increase his chances of sneaking in and making the 25-man roster.
Just like last ST, otherworldly forces seem to be acting to get Montero onto the team. It must be nice to be the son of God.
Russell Martin will finally catch for the first time tomorrow, but he'll be wearing a protective knee brace as a security blanket for his still-not-100% knee. Nobody knows what's up with Cervelli's foot after his MRI yesterday. Jorge Posada seems to be moving on from behind the plate, focusing his energies full time to being a DH. There are questions abound regarding the current Yankee catcher depth chart, and yet one name remains a constant, healthy presence and a possible option to answer these questions.
He hasn't lit the world on fire so far in ST, but The Jesus has held his own at the plate, worked hard and received praise for his defensive workouts, gotten advice from Joe Mauer, and even threw out 2 baserunners in his last game behind the plate. Say what you want about his size, his receiving ability, or his throwing mechanics, the fact of the matter is Jesus is the only healthy catcher in camp right now who could play every day behind the plate if he had to, and that fact alone has to increase his chances of sneaking in and making the 25-man roster.
Just like last ST, otherworldly forces seem to be acting to get Montero onto the team. It must be nice to be the son of God.
(Cue the angelic horns. Release the doves.)
A.J. Burnett Is The Greatest Pitcher Of All Time!!
Well, not really. But he did look sharp yesterday, and that's an encouraging sign for him, his coaches, his teammates, Cash, and Yankee fans.
21 pitches, 15 strikes, good fastball command, threw a few good breaking balls, worked out of trouble after back-to-back singles without allowing a run, didn't hit anybody with a pitch, and managed to not come out of the game with a black eye. For a first ST start I don't think anybody could have asked for more than that.
He's still got a long way to go to build a bridge of consistency and make everybody forget about the 2010 nightmare, but yesterday was a good start. Baby steps, baby steps.
21 pitches, 15 strikes, good fastball command, threw a few good breaking balls, worked out of trouble after back-to-back singles without allowing a run, didn't hit anybody with a pitch, and managed to not come out of the game with a black eye. For a first ST start I don't think anybody could have asked for more than that.
He's still got a long way to go to build a bridge of consistency and make everybody forget about the 2010 nightmare, but yesterday was a good start. Baby steps, baby steps.
(Hey look! It's Good A.J.)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Putting Some Early Spring Training Storylines In Perspective
Storyline: Rafael Soriano Isn't Getting Along with Anybody
Perspective: So? Should this really come as a surprise to anybody? The guy looked miserable as hell at his introductory presser, and he looked like Debbie Downer when he got to camp. He's a mope and most people don't like to associate themselves with mopes. If Soriano wants to sulk around and be a surly guy, who cares? As long as he performs well in the 8th-inning role it shouldn't matter if he's hanging out with the guys and playing cards on road trips. Let him be a bum and listen to his Dashboard Confessional records.
Storyline: Derek Jeter Still Isn't Hitting
Perspective: Yeah, Jeter stumbled out of the gate, going 1-6 in his first 2 games with a bunch of groundballs, which is not what any Yankee fan wants to see. But you have to take into account that Jeter is still working on refining his swing and getting used to his new motions within that swing. This is a guy who's had the same swing since '96. He's not going to just automatically jump back up to a .330 hitter when he makes changes to that swing. Give him some to work out the kinks in ST. If he's still beating the ball into the ground in June, then we can start getting concerned.
Storyline: The Yankees Are Going to Trade for Francisco Liriano!!!
Perspective: Calm down, people. It's nothing but a bunch of rumors going around, none of which have stuck or been confirmed by anybody legitimate. Would I trade Joba or Ivan Nova for Liriano? Hell yeah, I would. I would trade both of them for Liriano, pack up their ST lockers, drive them to the airport, and pay for their tickets to Minneapolis if it meant getting Liriano back. But the Twins aren't making that trade. They would be nuts to. This option is definitely something to keep an eye on as the season progresses, but there's no reason to go buy a custom 47 Yankee jersey just yet.
Storyline: ZOMG!!!!!!1!!1111!!! Betances and Banuelos Were AWESOME in Their Outings!!! The Yankees Should Let Them Compete for a Spot in the Rotation!!
Perspective: Pump your breaks on this one, folks. Were they awesome in their outings? Yes they were. And they justified all the praise they've gotten as top prospects and made the Yankees look smart for holding onto them in the process. But we're still dealing with guys who have never thrown more than 100-120 innings in a Minor League season. There's no need to rush them into the rotation now, knowing you will have to get creative with innings limits with them, and risking screwing up their development in the process. After the debacle that has been Joba's career path, the Yankees should never rush anybody to the Majors again, especially not these 2. Just be patient.
Storyline: The Horse is in Great Shape and CRUSHING the Ball So Far
Perspective: Now this IS something worth getting jazzed up about right here. For the last couple seasons The Horse has been bigger, bulkier, and banged up. Now he looks slim, trim, and in racing shape. His pasterns are good to go, his hooves are healthy, his coat is shining, and he's straight up murdering the ball all over the park right now. For a player/horse of his caliber at this older age, these are all signs pointing towards a huge year for A-Rod, and that is some damn good news.
If Charlie Sheen is an F-18 Vatican warlock with tiger blood, then The Horse is some sort of mystical Illuminati battleship wizard that can deploy ordinances from the ground, the air, and from other dimensions that don't even exist in this human realm.
Boosh.
Perspective: So? Should this really come as a surprise to anybody? The guy looked miserable as hell at his introductory presser, and he looked like Debbie Downer when he got to camp. He's a mope and most people don't like to associate themselves with mopes. If Soriano wants to sulk around and be a surly guy, who cares? As long as he performs well in the 8th-inning role it shouldn't matter if he's hanging out with the guys and playing cards on road trips. Let him be a bum and listen to his Dashboard Confessional records.
Storyline: Derek Jeter Still Isn't Hitting
Perspective: Yeah, Jeter stumbled out of the gate, going 1-6 in his first 2 games with a bunch of groundballs, which is not what any Yankee fan wants to see. But you have to take into account that Jeter is still working on refining his swing and getting used to his new motions within that swing. This is a guy who's had the same swing since '96. He's not going to just automatically jump back up to a .330 hitter when he makes changes to that swing. Give him some to work out the kinks in ST. If he's still beating the ball into the ground in June, then we can start getting concerned.
Storyline: The Yankees Are Going to Trade for Francisco Liriano!!!
Perspective: Calm down, people. It's nothing but a bunch of rumors going around, none of which have stuck or been confirmed by anybody legitimate. Would I trade Joba or Ivan Nova for Liriano? Hell yeah, I would. I would trade both of them for Liriano, pack up their ST lockers, drive them to the airport, and pay for their tickets to Minneapolis if it meant getting Liriano back. But the Twins aren't making that trade. They would be nuts to. This option is definitely something to keep an eye on as the season progresses, but there's no reason to go buy a custom 47 Yankee jersey just yet.
Storyline: ZOMG!!!!!!1!!1111!!! Betances and Banuelos Were AWESOME in Their Outings!!! The Yankees Should Let Them Compete for a Spot in the Rotation!!
Perspective: Pump your breaks on this one, folks. Were they awesome in their outings? Yes they were. And they justified all the praise they've gotten as top prospects and made the Yankees look smart for holding onto them in the process. But we're still dealing with guys who have never thrown more than 100-120 innings in a Minor League season. There's no need to rush them into the rotation now, knowing you will have to get creative with innings limits with them, and risking screwing up their development in the process. After the debacle that has been Joba's career path, the Yankees should never rush anybody to the Majors again, especially not these 2. Just be patient.
Storyline: The Horse is in Great Shape and CRUSHING the Ball So Far
Perspective: Now this IS something worth getting jazzed up about right here. For the last couple seasons The Horse has been bigger, bulkier, and banged up. Now he looks slim, trim, and in racing shape. His pasterns are good to go, his hooves are healthy, his coat is shining, and he's straight up murdering the ball all over the park right now. For a player/horse of his caliber at this older age, these are all signs pointing towards a huge year for A-Rod, and that is some damn good news.
If Charlie Sheen is an F-18 Vatican warlock with tiger blood, then The Horse is some sort of mystical Illuminati battleship wizard that can deploy ordinances from the ground, the air, and from other dimensions that don't even exist in this human realm.
Boosh.
A.J. Takes The Mound Today (WATCH OUT!!!)
Today's the big day. We've seen CC go out and look solid for a first start, we've seen Phil do the same, and we've been blown away by the performances of ManBan and The Beast. But today A.J. takes the hill for his first Spring Training start and I don't know about the rest of you out there in Yankeeland, but I am ready for anything to happen.
I wouldn't be surprised if he went out there and struck out all 6 batters he faces. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get an out. Will his pitches be sharp? Will he be able to locate the curveball? Will he give up a few hits and start crying on the mound? Will he hit any batters? Will his head explode?
One thing you can say about an A.J. start is at least they are exciting. The fact that literally anything can happen does make it a bit more entertaining, so I guess that's a positive that comes with all the negatives related to his "wild card" status.
So what do we get today? Good A.J. or Bad A.J.? Stay tuned!!
I wouldn't be surprised if he went out there and struck out all 6 batters he faces. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't get an out. Will his pitches be sharp? Will he be able to locate the curveball? Will he give up a few hits and start crying on the mound? Will he hit any batters? Will his head explode?
One thing you can say about an A.J. start is at least they are exciting. The fact that literally anything can happen does make it a bit more entertaining, so I guess that's a positive that comes with all the negatives related to his "wild card" status.
So what do we get today? Good A.J. or Bad A.J.? Stay tuned!!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Offseason Space Filler Post: My Top 10 Favorite Yankees Part II
If you missed Part I of this epic list you can find it right here. Now let's get back into the list and check out the Top 5.
5) David Cone- After reading all the books on the 90s-2000s Yankee dynasty, Cone has retroactively become one of my favorite all-time Yankees. If I had known all the 'behind the scenes' stuff that I know now back then, there's a chance Coney would be even higher on this list. Cone is another guy who established himself as a big time fan favorite despite only being a Yankee for a little over 5 years, fewer than that actually on the mound, because of his drive, his work ethic, and his insane thirst for winning that made him a great teammate and the unquestioned clubhouse leader of the 90s Yankee dynasty.
In the locker room, Cone was the team's spokesman, always willing to stick around and deal with the media, especially in situations where he knew other teammates wouldn't want to after a bad performance. He also had the ear and trust of Joe Torre and the balls to talk crap to George Steinbrenner. The story of Cone telling The Boss to "get the fuck out of here" when he tried to interfere in a team meeting was one of my favorite stories from Buster Olney's book. All the stories about Cone pitching with the aneurysm, the diagnosis, how crushed he was when he found out, and how hard he busted his ass to get back out on the mound because he didn't want to let his teammates down are all perfect examples of just how badass David Cone was.
On the mound, Cone used all kinds of different pitches and arm angles to work hitters. He was a bit like El Duque in that sometimes he would dial something up and you would watch and just think "what the hell did he just throw?" But that was Cone's style. He was going to use every way he could think of to get a guy out, and even more ways than that if it was a day where he didn't have his best stuff. Watching him pitch was kind of like watching a painter put together a portrait; a little bit of this, a little bit of that, inside, outside, up in the zone, down in the zone, all kinds of angles and release points, and boom! Done. 8 innings of 1-run, 4-hit ball.
I missed the first couple innings of Boomer's perfect game, but I sat and watched every inning of Cone's in July of '98. To date, standing and cheering in my living room with my dad and watching his reaction as the final out was made is one of my favorite memories as a Yankee fan. As a former athlete, I wish I could have played with more guys like David Cone.
4) Paul O'Neill- He was probably a bit too ornery, he was definitely intense, and he might have been certifiably insane, but Paul O'Neill was and is the man and was definitely one of the most fun Yankees to watch. After basically being given away by a Cincinnati Reds team that didn't realize what they had, O'Neill flourished in the Bronx, putting up a .303/.377/.492 tripleslash line, 4 ASG nominations, and, like pretty much everybody else on this list) 4 World Series rings during his 9-year Yankee career.
O'Neill was great to watch because he was such an open book. Just by looking at his face and his body language you could tell not only what kind of day he was having, but how he felt about it. Some guys could go 2-4 with an RBI and be happy as clams, but O'Neill could be 2-4 and still be grumbling and shaking his head as he stepped into the box in the 9th inning because one hit was a weak grounder that found its way through the infield and the other probably should have been scored an error. In his mind, he was stepping up there trying to get his first "real" hit of the day. As somebody who cursed every mistake I ever made on the lacrosse field and who has to try incredibly hard not to do the same to the players I now coach, I can relate to and respect that kind of intensity and dedication to his job that O'Neill had. Every out he made made him feel like he was letting the team down, the fans down, and himself down. While it may be a little over the top, it shows how much O'Neill cared and that's the kind of teammate you want. That's a guy you can go to war with.
That caring and intensity is probably while O'Neill and his stats aged more gracefully than others who still play ball at 38. Even in his final year, with his batting average down to .267, O'Neill still managed 55 XBH, 70 RBIs, a .789 OPS, and a 104 OPS+. The dude had skills and even as he got older he didn't lose them. On top of the everyday stuff, O'Neill has been a part of some of the most iconic Yankees images of the last 50 years. The running, stretching catch to rob Luis Polonia of a hit and seal the win in Game 5 of the '96 World Series, stepping on the field for Game 4 of the '99 WS just hours after his father had died, and of course, the iconic leg kick in his swing. Oh, and if you didn't have tears in your eyes watching the Yankee crowd chant his name in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, then there is something seriously wrong with you.
In the locker room, Cone was the team's spokesman, always willing to stick around and deal with the media, especially in situations where he knew other teammates wouldn't want to after a bad performance. He also had the ear and trust of Joe Torre and the balls to talk crap to George Steinbrenner. The story of Cone telling The Boss to "get the fuck out of here" when he tried to interfere in a team meeting was one of my favorite stories from Buster Olney's book. All the stories about Cone pitching with the aneurysm, the diagnosis, how crushed he was when he found out, and how hard he busted his ass to get back out on the mound because he didn't want to let his teammates down are all perfect examples of just how badass David Cone was.
On the mound, Cone used all kinds of different pitches and arm angles to work hitters. He was a bit like El Duque in that sometimes he would dial something up and you would watch and just think "what the hell did he just throw?" But that was Cone's style. He was going to use every way he could think of to get a guy out, and even more ways than that if it was a day where he didn't have his best stuff. Watching him pitch was kind of like watching a painter put together a portrait; a little bit of this, a little bit of that, inside, outside, up in the zone, down in the zone, all kinds of angles and release points, and boom! Done. 8 innings of 1-run, 4-hit ball.
I missed the first couple innings of Boomer's perfect game, but I sat and watched every inning of Cone's in July of '98. To date, standing and cheering in my living room with my dad and watching his reaction as the final out was made is one of my favorite memories as a Yankee fan. As a former athlete, I wish I could have played with more guys like David Cone.
O'Neill was great to watch because he was such an open book. Just by looking at his face and his body language you could tell not only what kind of day he was having, but how he felt about it. Some guys could go 2-4 with an RBI and be happy as clams, but O'Neill could be 2-4 and still be grumbling and shaking his head as he stepped into the box in the 9th inning because one hit was a weak grounder that found its way through the infield and the other probably should have been scored an error. In his mind, he was stepping up there trying to get his first "real" hit of the day. As somebody who cursed every mistake I ever made on the lacrosse field and who has to try incredibly hard not to do the same to the players I now coach, I can relate to and respect that kind of intensity and dedication to his job that O'Neill had. Every out he made made him feel like he was letting the team down, the fans down, and himself down. While it may be a little over the top, it shows how much O'Neill cared and that's the kind of teammate you want. That's a guy you can go to war with.
That caring and intensity is probably while O'Neill and his stats aged more gracefully than others who still play ball at 38. Even in his final year, with his batting average down to .267, O'Neill still managed 55 XBH, 70 RBIs, a .789 OPS, and a 104 OPS+. The dude had skills and even as he got older he didn't lose them. On top of the everyday stuff, O'Neill has been a part of some of the most iconic Yankees images of the last 50 years. The running, stretching catch to rob Luis Polonia of a hit and seal the win in Game 5 of the '96 World Series, stepping on the field for Game 4 of the '99 WS just hours after his father had died, and of course, the iconic leg kick in his swing. Oh, and if you didn't have tears in your eyes watching the Yankee crowd chant his name in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, then there is something seriously wrong with you.
Monday, February 28, 2011
A.J.'s Spring Training Off To A Good Start
("AND DOWN GOES GOLSON!!" Courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg: NY Post)
Via The Post:
"Fright invaded Yankees camp yesterday when A.J. Burnett hit Greg Golson in the head during a morning batting-practice session on a back field at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Golson went down and stayed on the ground. Eventually he was taken off the field on a cart. The outfielder was taken for tests, which were negative."
Looks like the offseason meetings and work with Larry Rothschild is already starting to pay dividends, huh?
/facepalm
In all seriousness, I'm sure this was just a freak accident. But when you're a guy coming into this year under a bigger microscope than anybody on the pitching staff and with much bigger expectations to improve upon 2010 because of the current rotation situation, this is not how you want to start things off if you're A.J. Anybody else does this and it's no big deal. But since it's A.J., it becomes a story and an opportunity for the MSM to bring up his past failures again. For a guy who's already shown he can be is a mental midget, KO'ing your teammate in BP isn't exactly a good way to get some positive vibes and confidence going.
(Bad A.J. makes his first 2011 appearance!)
Offseason Space Filler Post: My Top 10 Favorite Yankees Part I
It's getting a little late in the game to put this off any longer, and with Spring Training in full swing now I'm starting to run out of time to be able to use the "Offseason Space Filler Post" tag. So while I could sit here and comment on every early-2000s former All Star in camp on a Minor League deal and how he's performing so far, I think I'll just leave that to the blogs that actually care and instead take another trip down memory lane.
Many of you remember November's award-winning 2-part series on my most hated Yankees of all-time. If you don't, first of all shame on you for that, and second of all you can check out Part I and Part Deux before diving into this lovefest right here. All caught up? Good. Now let's take a look at some players who actually put a smile or 2 on my face during their time in pinstripes. And remember, I'm focusing on players from the era in which I have lived and followed the Yankees, otherwise we'd just be looking at another Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio list.
10) Orlando Hernandez- I don't care how old he actually was when the Yankees first got him in '98 or how old he actually is today. This guy was money as a Yankee and was the first Yankee free agent signing that I remember being legitimately excited about. I also remember practically crapping myself at a card show when I stumbled upon a couple of his Bowman rookie cards for cheap. Sure, they weren't the Chrome edition, which might actually still be worth a little, but that wasn't the point. The point was this was the hottest new pitcher on the market, the Yankees had him, and I had a piece of him.
There was something special about watching El Duque pitch. His windup, insanely high leg kick, and changing arm angles always made you wonder what kind of pitch was actually going to leave his hand when he let go of the ball. His '98 and '99 seasons were his best, but even as AL hitters started to figure him out, he still managed to be effective and had a nice comeback season in 2004 after missing the entire '03 season. Perhaps the best, and most memorable, thing about El Duque was his postseason success. He had an almost Mo-like calmness and quiet intensity on the mound, and nowhere was that more evident than in the postseason.
When you add everything up, El Duque was awesome because of all the mystery surrounding him. The circumstances of his defection, his actual age, the number of different arm angles and pitches he used, and the ridiculous leg kick all added up to make him a sort of cult hero amongst Yankee fans during that late 90s-early 2000s time period. And I bought into all of it hook, line, and sinker. In fact, I probably would have been more excited to see El Duque's dusty ass in camp this ST than any other FA pitcher.
9) Tino Martinez- He had the unenviable task of having to come in and replace Donnie Baseball after the '95 season. He had the even more difficult task of trying to win over the rabid Yankee fanbase, who had worshipped Donnie over his career, and so Constantino Martinez joined the Yankees in 1996 with a bit of a hill to climb. All he did over the next 6 seasons in the Bronx was play in 5 World Series, win 4 of them, finish 2nd in the 1997 AL MVP race, and put together 5 seasons of 28+ HR, 105+ RBI, and .800+ OPS baseball, effectively winning over the tough Yankee crowd. Add in the first pitch, 2-run homer in the 9th of Game 4 of the '01 World Series and, while not making the fans completely forget Mattingly, Tino's performance while in a Yankee uniform certainly made Donnie Baseball a distant memory.
Thinking back to the good old days of '96-'01, I think my favorite thing about Tino was how he went about his business on the baseball field. On a team with all kinds of characters (David Wells, Paul O'Neill), mega stars (Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Mo), and other interesting stories (El Duque, Darryl Strawberry), Tino always flew under the radar, quietly doing his job, putting up monster numbers, and doing things to help the team win. He had a reputation as a fierce competitor, a loyal teammate, and a clubhouse leaders, best emphasized by how quickly and viciously his teammates defended him in their ugly brawl with the Orioles in '98 after Armando Benitez drilled Tino in the back with a fastball. But Tino always projected the image of a calm, collected, consummate professional who only cared about winning. Every team needs players like this to help build the structure for winning, and Tino was the perfect piece for that foundation, representing everything that was right about the Yankees during those dynasty years and everything that was wrong about them after he left.
Even when he came back in '05 for his final season, a shell of the player he was in his prime, it was impossible not to root for and respect Tino, for what he did for the team and the way he played the game. Even in retirement he remains connected to the Yankees, as a ST instructor and as of last year, a color commentator on YES. Tino loves being a Yankee and being part of the Yankee organization, and I love him for it.
Many of you remember November's award-winning 2-part series on my most hated Yankees of all-time. If you don't, first of all shame on you for that, and second of all you can check out Part I and Part Deux before diving into this lovefest right here. All caught up? Good. Now let's take a look at some players who actually put a smile or 2 on my face during their time in pinstripes. And remember, I'm focusing on players from the era in which I have lived and followed the Yankees, otherwise we'd just be looking at another Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio list.
There was something special about watching El Duque pitch. His windup, insanely high leg kick, and changing arm angles always made you wonder what kind of pitch was actually going to leave his hand when he let go of the ball. His '98 and '99 seasons were his best, but even as AL hitters started to figure him out, he still managed to be effective and had a nice comeback season in 2004 after missing the entire '03 season. Perhaps the best, and most memorable, thing about El Duque was his postseason success. He had an almost Mo-like calmness and quiet intensity on the mound, and nowhere was that more evident than in the postseason.
When you add everything up, El Duque was awesome because of all the mystery surrounding him. The circumstances of his defection, his actual age, the number of different arm angles and pitches he used, and the ridiculous leg kick all added up to make him a sort of cult hero amongst Yankee fans during that late 90s-early 2000s time period. And I bought into all of it hook, line, and sinker. In fact, I probably would have been more excited to see El Duque's dusty ass in camp this ST than any other FA pitcher.
Thinking back to the good old days of '96-'01, I think my favorite thing about Tino was how he went about his business on the baseball field. On a team with all kinds of characters (David Wells, Paul O'Neill), mega stars (Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Mo), and other interesting stories (El Duque, Darryl Strawberry), Tino always flew under the radar, quietly doing his job, putting up monster numbers, and doing things to help the team win. He had a reputation as a fierce competitor, a loyal teammate, and a clubhouse leaders, best emphasized by how quickly and viciously his teammates defended him in their ugly brawl with the Orioles in '98 after Armando Benitez drilled Tino in the back with a fastball. But Tino always projected the image of a calm, collected, consummate professional who only cared about winning. Every team needs players like this to help build the structure for winning, and Tino was the perfect piece for that foundation, representing everything that was right about the Yankees during those dynasty years and everything that was wrong about them after he left.
Even when he came back in '05 for his final season, a shell of the player he was in his prime, it was impossible not to root for and respect Tino, for what he did for the team and the way he played the game. Even in retirement he remains connected to the Yankees, as a ST instructor and as of last year, a color commentator on YES. Tino loves being a Yankee and being part of the Yankee organization, and I love him for it.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Baseball Is Officially Back Today
And I couldn't be more excited about it! And also more pissed off because, as you all know, I don't get YES out here in Wisconsin. But anyway, here's today's lineup:
1) Jeter- SS
2) Swisher- RF
3) Teixeira- 1B
4) Rodriguez- 3B
5) Cano- 2B
6) Posada- DH
7) Granderson- CF
8) Cervelli- C
9) Gardner- LF
Colon- SP
Remember, no Martin because of the knee and no Brackman because of the groin. Also scheduled to pitch today are Joba, D-Rob, Noesi, and Eric Wordekemper. Play ball, boys!
1) Jeter- SS
2) Swisher- RF
3) Teixeira- 1B
4) Rodriguez- 3B
5) Cano- 2B
6) Posada- DH
7) Granderson- CF
8) Cervelli- C
9) Gardner- LF
Colon- SP
Remember, no Martin because of the knee and no Brackman because of the groin. Also scheduled to pitch today are Joba, D-Rob, Noesi, and Eric Wordekemper. Play ball, boys!
Friday, February 25, 2011
AB4AR Off-Topic Fun Time: Breaking Down The Charlie Sheen Rant Yankee-Style
("Go Yankees! The gnarly gnarlingtons that they are.")
"Look what I’m dealing with, man. I’m dealing with fools and trolls." - Cash
With all the stuff Cash had to deal with this offseason - getting spurned by Lee, the Jeter negotiations, all the Minor League deals, Andy retiring, the beating he took in the MSM for the moves he made and for being more vocal, and finally being overruled by the ownership on the Soriano signing - wouldn't it have been awesome to see him get up there when it was his turn to talk at the Soriano introductory presser and drop this line when Feinsand asked him why he was against the deal? I would never question Cash again on anything if he had the stones to call out Hank and Levine like this.
"... and then they look at me and say, ‘I can’t process it.’ Well, no, and you never will! Stop trying! Just sit back and enjoy the show.” - A-Rod
As much flak as he already takes for saying the wrong thing in the media, making bad decisions on when to announce things, and having Cameron Diaz feed him popcorn at the Super Bowl, I would have paid money to watch A-Rod drop this line on the media at the press conference after he hit his 600th homer last year. Just go all out, play up the bad guy role, and tell everybody to bask in his awesomeness. And then rise up on his hind legs and kick somebody in the face.
Friday Morning Thought To Ponder: Is Bartolo Colon Secretly A Voodoo Witch Doctor?
(Colon's alter ego?)
Seriously, this is something worth looking into. Consider the facts:
- The guy has not pitched in the Majors since 2009.
- He has not pitched more than 100+ innings since 2006.
- He has not been consistently healthy since 2006.
- He managed to turn a handful of Dominican winter ball innings into a contract offer, albeit a non-guaranteed one, from the New York Yankees.
- He has shown Joe Girardi enough to all but eliminate the younger guys from the back-of-the-rotation competion.
- He has been given the first shot to show what he's got left in the Yankees' ST season opener tomorrow afternoon.
- His toughest 'young guy' competition for the 5th starter spot, Andrew Brackman, is going to miss this weekend's action with a groin injury.
The cards couldn't be falling into place any better for Colon to sneak into the 5th starter role right now. There is still no concrete proof that he's behind this, but if Ivan Nova takes a digger down the dugout steps this weekend and messes up his knee, something is definitely up.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The "I'm Stuck Being A Cubicle Monkey" Mini-Linkapalooza
(I'm going to burn down the building)
Glaring lack of posts over the last 2.5 days, I know. The 9-5 job is kicking my ass all over the world right now, to the point that I'm eschewing eating my lunch on my lunch break to be able to put SOMETHING up on the blog. And that something is a quick look around the Yankosphere to see who is devoting enough time to churning out quality stuff in an effort to make up for my lack of activity. Sorry I can't be a part of it.
- EJ Fagan at TYA unveils his new Top 30 Prospects list using a new rating system.
- Mark Feinsand of the Daily News has a piece about Eric Chavez and how he thinks he can help the Yankees this season. Sorry, Eric, but making sure all the ice and ACE bandages get used up doesn't qualify as help in my book.
- Cliff Corcoran at Pinstriped Bible examines the Russell Martin health situation and takes a bit more of a positive approach than I did. Hey, somebody has to.
- A couple bits on The Pitcher Formerly Known as Mark Prior. Chad at LoHud had a little piece on Prior's capabilities and my eyeballs almost fell out of my head when I read that he's only pitched 12-13 innings since '06.
Ben Kabak at RAB is waving his Prior flag, rooting for Prior this season. As for me, rooting, yes. But expecting anything? Hell no. Not with just 13 innings over the last 5 years to work from.
- Lastly, Larry Koestler at TYA commits a nearly unforgivable sin by previewing the 2011 Fraud Sawx. I know he's just doing his job, but for me, the only word that I need to know for the 2011 Red Sox is "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
This Could Be A Problem
("They called me Mr. Glass." Courtesy of The AP)
Via LoHud:
"Joe Girardi said he does not expect Russell Martin to be behind the plate for Saturday’s spring opener.
Martin’s hip is fine, but his knee is still stiff and the Yankees don’t want to risk a setback. They still expect him to be 100 percent at some point this spring, they’re just moving slowly."
Great. A starting catcher who can't catch. He's not 100% healthy right now so they don't want to risk him playing the toughest position in terms of maintaining physical health yet. But once he reaches that 100% level, then it's all smooth sailing and he won't suffer any setbacks after he starts playing the position every day. Have I got that right? Maybe it's time to rethink those CAIRO projections for Martin.
Should I be concerned about this yet?
Yankees Showing Their Hand In Announcing ST Rotation
Here it is:
1) Bartolo Colon
2) Ivan Nova
3) CC Sabathia
4) A.J. Burnett
5) Phil Hughes
6) Freddy Garcia
Here's 3 things I take from it:
1) Freddy Garcia is almost guaranteed a spot as the 4th or 5th starter to open the season. For a guy with diminished stuff, league average at best numbers, and who's in camp on a non-guaranteed Minor League contract, the Yankees certainly seem to have a lot of faith in Garcia based on his "innings eater" reputation and past performance against them. How else do you explain him being the last one to pitch in ST? For a guy whose contract doesn't guarantee him a spot on the team, I would want to get a good look at him quickly to start formulating an idea of what he can offer and whether or not he's worth keeping around. The fact that he's throwing after the other guaranteed rotation guys says to me that the Yanks have already decided to keep him around, at least for now.
2) The other rotation spot competition is just between Colon and Nova. They are the first 2 pitch and so become the 2 with the most to prove. It will be just like Joba-Phil last ST, except that this young guy is younger than Hughes and the fat guy is fatter than Joba. I still don't see any way Colon gets a spot in the rotation out of ST, but the Yanks are determined to give him a real shot.
3) The Meat Tray is out. No Sergio in the rotation means no shot for him and his groundball wizardry to show what he can do. I can live with that, as now Mitre falls back into his role of long reliever in the bullpen, effectively rounding out that solid crew, and becomes the emergency 6th starter again. But still, a bit of a tough pill to swallow for a guy who was penciled in as the 5th starter a few weeks ago and not gets bypassed for a big fat slob who threw a few decent innings of Dominican winter ball and probably will require a double bypass some time this season.
1) Bartolo Colon
2) Ivan Nova
3) CC Sabathia
4) A.J. Burnett
5) Phil Hughes
6) Freddy Garcia
Here's 3 things I take from it:
1) Freddy Garcia is almost guaranteed a spot as the 4th or 5th starter to open the season. For a guy with diminished stuff, league average at best numbers, and who's in camp on a non-guaranteed Minor League contract, the Yankees certainly seem to have a lot of faith in Garcia based on his "innings eater" reputation and past performance against them. How else do you explain him being the last one to pitch in ST? For a guy whose contract doesn't guarantee him a spot on the team, I would want to get a good look at him quickly to start formulating an idea of what he can offer and whether or not he's worth keeping around. The fact that he's throwing after the other guaranteed rotation guys says to me that the Yanks have already decided to keep him around, at least for now.
2) The other rotation spot competition is just between Colon and Nova. They are the first 2 pitch and so become the 2 with the most to prove. It will be just like Joba-Phil last ST, except that this young guy is younger than Hughes and the fat guy is fatter than Joba. I still don't see any way Colon gets a spot in the rotation out of ST, but the Yanks are determined to give him a real shot.
3) The Meat Tray is out. No Sergio in the rotation means no shot for him and his groundball wizardry to show what he can do. I can live with that, as now Mitre falls back into his role of long reliever in the bullpen, effectively rounding out that solid crew, and becomes the emergency 6th starter again. But still, a bit of a tough pill to swallow for a guy who was penciled in as the 5th starter a few weeks ago and not gets bypassed for a big fat slob who threw a few decent innings of Dominican winter ball and probably will require a double bypass some time this season.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
You Cannot Stop Hank Steinbrenner, You Can Only Hope To Contain Him
"I think, maybe, they celebrated too much last year. Some of the players, too busy building mansions and doing other things and not concentrating on winning. I have no problem saying that."
"... I was just saying, maybe they were riding the wave of '09 a little too much, and it happens sometimes. This year in spring so far, from what I've seen and what I've been told, they've come in with a real, new drive and determination -- the kind they had in '09." (via The AP)
Hank. Buddy. Pal. What are you doing here? You know I'm a big fan of yours. I love the bluster of the old man that you try to re-enact. I love the potshots at the Red Sox. But taking a shot at Jeter over the 2009 World Series? Come on now. That's just foolish.
If you were so concerned about the team's focus in 2010 then you should have said something in 2010, not waited until after that season had ended and the 2011 season was starting to chime in. 2009 was what it was and 2010 was what it was and they're both in the past. The team wanted to win and played hard in 2009 and they wanted to win and played hard in 2010, the results just didn't come the same. The team is going to play hard in 2011 and they're going to want to win just as much as they did in the past 2 seasons so there's no need to start jabbing at players to try to provide extra motivation.
Jeter can handle his business, A-Rod can handle his business, Joe can handle his business, they all can handle their business. You just need to shut up about them and focus on what you do best, that being finding some stuff to tweak Fraud Sox Nation on and start stirring that pot a little bit. They're sitting all high and mighty ovah they-ah in Beantown thinking they've gawt the fahhckin' toitle wrapped up with Gawnzawlez and Cahhl Crawfehd. Tell them to check the calenders or count their rings or something. Your boys are going to be fine.
Oh and put that cigarette out, dude. Bad example for the young fans.
"... I was just saying, maybe they were riding the wave of '09 a little too much, and it happens sometimes. This year in spring so far, from what I've seen and what I've been told, they've come in with a real, new drive and determination -- the kind they had in '09." (via The AP)
Hank. Buddy. Pal. What are you doing here? You know I'm a big fan of yours. I love the bluster of the old man that you try to re-enact. I love the potshots at the Red Sox. But taking a shot at Jeter over the 2009 World Series? Come on now. That's just foolish.
If you were so concerned about the team's focus in 2010 then you should have said something in 2010, not waited until after that season had ended and the 2011 season was starting to chime in. 2009 was what it was and 2010 was what it was and they're both in the past. The team wanted to win and played hard in 2009 and they wanted to win and played hard in 2010, the results just didn't come the same. The team is going to play hard in 2011 and they're going to want to win just as much as they did in the past 2 seasons so there's no need to start jabbing at players to try to provide extra motivation.
Jeter can handle his business, A-Rod can handle his business, Joe can handle his business, they all can handle their business. You just need to shut up about them and focus on what you do best, that being finding some stuff to tweak Fraud Sox Nation on and start stirring that pot a little bit. They're sitting all high and mighty ovah they-ah in Beantown thinking they've gawt the fahhckin' toitle wrapped up with Gawnzawlez and Cahhl Crawfehd. Tell them to check the calenders or count their rings or something. Your boys are going to be fine.
Oh and put that cigarette out, dude. Bad example for the young fans.
Monday, February 21, 2011
2011 Yankee CAIRO Hitter Projections, What They Say About Each Player, And What I Think Of Them
(No, she doesn't work for AB4AR. But it'd be nice if she did)
Preseason projections are always fun, and there have been a bounty of them out there for quite some time now. The school of thought I attend in projections is the CAIRO model. If you don't know what that entails (and if you're a regular reader of this blog and know of its love for YouTube videos and bad jokes, chances are you don't), do yourself a favor and brush up here. Long story short, the 2011 CAIRO projections for the Yankee hitters are good. But are they good indicators of what will actually happen?
Time for me to put on the official AB4AR wizard hat and peer into the official AB4AR crystal ball as I examine each member of the starting lineup's 2011 CAIRO projection and give my take AND my projection for each player based off of the CAIRO numbers.
My Worst Fears Realized
From the man whose job I wish I had, Chad at LoHud, comes the worst news I've gotten since I calculated my tax return:
"Behind Steinbrenner Field, there is a practice field that is essentially two infields stacked back-to-back. That’s where all of the Yankees infielders, catchers and pitchers are going through fielding drills this morning.
Among them is Jorge Posada, who’s in full catching gear for the drills. It’s the first I remember seeing him really go through catching drills this spring."
I repeat, AMONG THEM IS JORGE POSADA, WHO'S IN FULL CATCHING GEAR FOR THE DRILLS.
"Behind Steinbrenner Field, there is a practice field that is essentially two infields stacked back-to-back. That’s where all of the Yankees infielders, catchers and pitchers are going through fielding drills this morning.
Among them is Jorge Posada, who’s in full catching gear for the drills. It’s the first I remember seeing him really go through catching drills this spring."
I repeat, AMONG THEM IS JORGE POSADA, WHO'S IN FULL CATCHING GEAR FOR THE DRILLS.
Quick Hit First Week Of ST Recap As Week 2 Kicks Off
- CC did show up looking lighter, closer to the 25 pounds he said he lost. He also made his first public indication that he would consider opting out after the 2011 season.
- Joba showed up looking fatter. Bartolo Colon showed up just looking fat. The Joba thing doesn't seem like a big deal to the organization, but apparently there's a plan in place to help Colon shed 25 pounds this ST and it doesn't involve him having a limb cut off.
- Phil Hughes was amongst the first to throw bullpen sessions last week, and also the first to start throwing offspeed stuff. Later in the week, Joba joined him throwing his secondary pitches in the 'pen. Both good signs.
- A.J. Burnett and Larry Rothschild continued spreading sunshine and good vibes about A.J.'s 2011 performance. It all sounds good, but until the guy is out there pitching well against Major League hitters, I'm going to withhold judgement.
- The battle for the back of the rotation spots kicked off with few fireworks. The old guys, young guys, and incumbents are all in camp, and while the organization did indicate that the battle was between the veterans, we're still at least 2 weeks away from anything materializing in terms of favorites.
- The Killer Bs are all in camp and getting attention, but Cash squashed any hope of them being factors in the rotation battle by saying ManBan and Beastances will start the season in Double-A.
- Mo was a late arrival to camp as he was tending to his sick child back home (presumably with his own God-like powers). At this point in his career, Mo runs his own one-man ST camp so it's really NBD.
- Jeter and Gardner were both in camp early to work on their hitting. Gardner said he's completely recovered from his wrist surgery.
- Jeter seems to be taking his bad 2010 and offseason negotiating barbs to heart as he's worked with Kevin Long extensively to rework his swing and get some speed back in his bat.
- Teix is also in camp, back to 100% health-wise according to him, and took a lot more swings this offseason to try to shake his recent history of starting cold in March and April.
- Robinson Cano had a case of the whoopsies and was a late arrival to camp, getting his days mixed up and arriving yesterday.
The team is all in Tampa now and the "real" Spring Training starts this week. Let's see how these storylines progress and watch for what new batch of storylines present themselves over the next 7 days.
- Joba showed up looking fatter. Bartolo Colon showed up just looking fat. The Joba thing doesn't seem like a big deal to the organization, but apparently there's a plan in place to help Colon shed 25 pounds this ST and it doesn't involve him having a limb cut off.
- Phil Hughes was amongst the first to throw bullpen sessions last week, and also the first to start throwing offspeed stuff. Later in the week, Joba joined him throwing his secondary pitches in the 'pen. Both good signs.
- A.J. Burnett and Larry Rothschild continued spreading sunshine and good vibes about A.J.'s 2011 performance. It all sounds good, but until the guy is out there pitching well against Major League hitters, I'm going to withhold judgement.
- The battle for the back of the rotation spots kicked off with few fireworks. The old guys, young guys, and incumbents are all in camp, and while the organization did indicate that the battle was between the veterans, we're still at least 2 weeks away from anything materializing in terms of favorites.
- The Killer Bs are all in camp and getting attention, but Cash squashed any hope of them being factors in the rotation battle by saying ManBan and Beastances will start the season in Double-A.
- Mo was a late arrival to camp as he was tending to his sick child back home (presumably with his own God-like powers). At this point in his career, Mo runs his own one-man ST camp so it's really NBD.
- Jeter and Gardner were both in camp early to work on their hitting. Gardner said he's completely recovered from his wrist surgery.
- Jeter seems to be taking his bad 2010 and offseason negotiating barbs to heart as he's worked with Kevin Long extensively to rework his swing and get some speed back in his bat.
- Teix is also in camp, back to 100% health-wise according to him, and took a lot more swings this offseason to try to shake his recent history of starting cold in March and April.
- Robinson Cano had a case of the whoopsies and was a late arrival to camp, getting his days mixed up and arriving yesterday.
The team is all in Tampa now and the "real" Spring Training starts this week. Let's see how these storylines progress and watch for what new batch of storylines present themselves over the next 7 days.
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