Possible trades and signings for the Yankees

Wow, sorry guys, its been a while, almost a month actually.  I'm sorry for the lack of posts and updates as of late during a very up-and-down first month plus.  I've been really, really busy at work lately and have had little time to myself.  So I figured while I do have some time on my hands I would post something that's been on my mind for some time now.  This lack of posts will not happen again, sorry.

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Well, Ken Griffey Jr., earlier this week, asked the Reds for a trade.  Now is it just me or is Griffey a perfect fit as a DH?  He's a power-hitting, run producer who can no longer play the field daily.  If you put him on the bench for half the game, it could extend his career 2 years or so.  Now, the Yanks have been getting some good production from Matsui out of the DH spot, so this isn't necessarily a need for them, but they do lack some Griffey-like hitting from 1B Jason Giambi.  This might sound crazy, and in now way do I expect it to happen, if the Yankees moved Damon to 1B, put Matsui in LF, that opens up the DH spot where Griffey could fall in quite nicely.  They could deal some young pitching, which the Reds seem to have a liking of recently, or some young prospects down on the farm. 

Possibility: Not likely, but don't count it out.

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Ol' Boomer Wells says he wants to be a Yankee again.  Why?  Because he knows they're willing to pay the money he'll demand.  Why else?  He knows the Yankees need pitching badly and the history of the Yankees will to sign post-prime starters.  I don't know how many people would want him because of what happened last year with Clemens.  But Hank "Lil' Stein" Steinbrenner admitted that Wells has crossed his mind and would consider him.  I used to like Wells, his previous 2 stays with the Yankees, but now, I don't think they need a 45 year old in the rotation, they're better off just mixing and matching with the younger guys until something concrete arises.

Possibility: Possible, because Hank may want him, but not necessarily likely.

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This comes from Steve Phillips in ESPN the Magazine...

The Reds should offer the Yankees Jared Burton, who's ringing up K's in bunches, and Jeremy Affeldt for Phil Hughes.  That way the Yankees can move Joba to the rotation, which satisfies Hank, and then use Burton as the 8th inning man.  And then Affeldt could become the lefty specialist, which the Yankees lack in their pen.  They could also throw in Arroyo if they wanted him.  Doing this deal would be a sign that Cashman acknowledging a possible mistake in banking on Hughes and Kennedy and not acquiring Johan Santana.

Possibility: Pretty much none.  I don't think they would trade Hughes without seeing him over the course of a full year.

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Did I leave anything or anyone out?  Let me know by just commenting below.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.

The Rivalry Renewed, Tonight

Starting tonight the Yankees will renew their historic rivalry with the Red Sox.  This is just the first installment of many to come in the 2008 season.  The first meeting of the year will be at, as the Great Pete Abraham put it, the world's largest drunk tank, I mean Fenway Park.  

This should be an interesting weekend from Beer-- I mean Beantown.  This series will feature what each team is made of.  It's not a weekend that will cost the Yankees or the Sox with some losses.  This is sort of like an exhibition between the two teams, to see what each are made of.  Each game features some good pitching match-ups that look to prove things.

Game 1: Chien-Ming Wang vs. Clay Buchholz

Wang looks to prove that he can not only win and be successful on the road, but also in Boston.

Buchholz looks to prove to all the fans up in Boston that all the hype from his one big game is actually worth it.  Where would he be without that no-hitter?

Game 2: Mike Mussina vs. Josh Beckett

Moose looks to prove that he can be good in back-to-back starts and that he's still got it.

Beckett looks to prove that his last start was just him being rusty and the injury to his back is not affecting him.  He has the most to prove, actually.

Game 3: Phil Hughes vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka

Hughes has to prove that he can handle the majors and the pressure of a big rivalry.   Although it is only April, a victory would be a tell-tale sign that he can handle what could be late season pressure.

Matsuzaka has been good, but last year he wasn't great.  He has to show that what he's done so far isn't a fluke.  He has to show that he can also pitch well versus the Yankees.

It should be a fun series.

Tonight's game starts at 7:00 on YES.  Tomorrow's game starts at 3:55 on FOX.  And Sunday's game starts at 8:00 on ESPN.

Sterling's View: From Section 29

So today I attended my first of many games at the Final Season at Yankee Stadium.  It started off well with a pretty good first inning from Pettitte and then the offense picked him up and scored early.  But it was all pretty much downhill from there.  My friend said to me in the second inning that they'd be lucky to get four good innings out of Pettitte today, he couldn't have been more right.  We could just see that he didn't have it today, not his usual self, and he will be the first to tell you that.

I'm not going to go into this with sort of play-by-play coverage, because if that's what your seeking there are other places to find it, but I just want to get into some of the things that I saw from the team and such.

* Andy's start was an isolated case I think.  He was shortened in spring training with the HGH stuff and the back injury.  I'm sure next time he'll be better, don't worry about him yet.  ...  The relievers looked good today, they kept the Yanks in the game, it could've been a barn burner early.  Brian Bruney looked very good today, I'm hoping for a good year from him big time, 4K in 2 innings.  Ross Ohlendorf got off to a bad start, but pitched well the rest of the way.

* Joe Pepitone pulled the lever to make it official that there 76 scheduled regular season games left at the stadium, tick tock (see above).

* The offense wasn't good today, obviously.  ...  I was impressed with A-Rod and Posada.  ...  Today was the worst I've ever seen Jeter play live going 0-5.  ...  Shelley Duncan swings for the fences every swing, he will either hit a HR or strikeout.  He's one of those guys.

* It's the first week of the season, it's not time to panic yet.  If this goes on for another 3-4 weeks, maybe you can get back to me.

Every time I go to a game I'll be doing this sort of recap thing.  And I'm also going to show you all the view from my seat, just for fun.

Baseball '08: Yankees Preview

New York's Newsday came out with their annual Baseball Preview section in today's paper.  There are some interesting points on the Yankees and all of baseball in the section.  They are written by Yanks' beat writer Kat O'Brien, Jim Baumbach, and Ken Davidoff.  It's so in-depth and a great read.  Pick up a copy of the paper or look at it on Newsday.com.

MLB Season Prediction

In this post, I'm going to steer away from the Yankees a bit and talk about all of the MLB with my season predictions.  They will include standings for each division, the wild card winners, award winners, and playoff and Series predictions.  I hope everyone reading this won't take it personally if a fellow Yankee fan doesn't pick them to go all the way this year.

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AL East:

The American League's Best Division

1. New York Yankees- This may be me speaking from the heart more than the head here, but the questions people have about the Yankees this year are the same questions that have to be answered for the Red Sox.  People seem to forget that only because they are the defending champs.  Young pitching, can it be relied on?  Is the bullpen going to hold up all year?  Both questions need to be answered by BOTH teams, don't forget it.

2. Boston Red Sox- For them to go back-to-back, they need to make sure that Lester can do his thing for a full year, and if Buchholz can do the same, or was his 1 great game just a fluke?  People seem to want to say Buchholz is the man already, but how many games did he pitch, off the top of my head I think he pitched 3, why people think he is exempt from that young pitching question, his no-hitter.  He needs to prove it wasn't a fluke, big time.  They don't have Timlin for a while this year, can their bullpen be relied on, who knows yet.  Their starting pitching is subject, Lester and Buchholz aside, Dice-K never once impressed me, Wakefield is a crap shoot every game, Schilling won't pitch till at best July, and Josh Beckett's injury could be one that lingers all year.  If the Sox' pitching crumbles on them, their offense has to be relied on.  In a battle of offenses, I take the Yankees offense any day of the week.

3. Toronto Blue Jays- It's a shame for them that they have to be in this division.  They have talent, but no where up to go.  The only place I can see them going is down.  And if injuries gets the best of them like they usually do, I think that will happen.  Can they handle another Burnett or Halladay injury, what about a Rolen injury?  Injuries are their achilles heel.  If they under achieve again, which I do think is highly likely, John Gibbons is the first manager to go this year.

4. Tampa Bay Rays- They are on the upswing now.  They could finish at 81-81, or even 82-80.  They have some good, young players coming up.  No bigger than Evan Longoria.  He will start in AAA, but will come up mid-May and have a big impact on that team.  They are my sleeper team to finish after the top 2 in this division.  Joe Maddon will have a good time this year after he sees what his team can do.  If he has the patience to stick around another 3 years, he could be dealing with a pennant contender.

5. Baltimore Orioles- No Bedard, no chance.  They might trade Brian Roberts.  They have no pitching, no offense.  The one bright spot on this team to look out for is Adam Jones, I think he will be a good player in this league.  These Orioles are my pick for the worst team in baseball, they have a realistic chance to lose 110 games, they're pitiful.

AL Central:

The AL's Powerhouse

1. Detroit Tigers- These Tigers were already dangerous.  But with the additions of Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, and Edgar Renteria, they are flat out scary.  They have some of the best and underrated players in all of baseball.  Three players they have that are tops at what they do are some of the most underrated players out there, Edgar Renteria, Placido Polanco, and Carlos Guillen.  Their one question is the bullpen, will it be effective and can they get the ball to Todd Jones without blowing anything?  That's their one and possibly only concern this year.

2. Cleveland Indians-  With stronger competition this year, they are the odd men out of the AL Central.  They have the AL's best one-two punch I think, with Cy Young Winner C.C. Sabathia and 19-game winner, Fausto Carmona.  They're offense is very efficient, and they seem to be able to fire on all cylinders.  Their bullpen is solid, and their bridge to Borowski (Perez and Bentancourt) cannot be questioned.  Say what you want about Borowski and his enflamed ERA. but he can rack up those saves as well as anybody.

3. Kansas City Royals-  Another young team on the upswing.  They've got a future star in Alex Gordon and a future slugger in Billy Butler.  They're going to play a lot of young, unproven players.  And their pitching could be mix-and-match all year long, but they've got nothing to lose, and nowhere to go but up.  I think they are 3-5 years away from being pennant contenders.

4. Chicago White Sox- This team isn't good, just simply put.  They lost a key member to their rotation in Jon Garland.  Ozzie Guillen is clearly not the manager for this club he once was.  He seems to want to go one way, why the management wants to go another.  He and GM Kenny Williams are not on the same page.  That leads to his downfall.  It's a race between Guillen and Gibbons for who is fired first in baseball this year.

5. Minnesota Twins- They can't win without Johan Santana and Torii Hunter.  They clearly seem to be in a rebuilding stage for certain.  Yes, their offense is good, but it's not nearly a good enough offense to carry them throughout the season without pitching.  This Twins team has some work to do before they get back to their winning ways.

AL West:

Baseball's Worst Division

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-  The acquisition of Torii Hunter seems to solidify an already great offense.  They're pitching is great, especially with the addition of Jon Garland.  Although today we all found out Kelvim Escobar is out most likely for the whole year, and maybe forever.  I still see them as too good of a team for a good Mariners team to pass.  They have the guy who I consider to be the AL's best manager in Mike Scioscia, that and they're all around solid team, they look to be a good team for me this year.

2. Seattle Mariners- The addition of Erik Bedard solidifies their pitching staff, with Bedard and King Felix as the one-two punch.  We know what we're going to get from all the offensive players on that squad, but I don't think it's enough.  I like this team a lot, and I think they're a playoff and division winning sleeper this year.  If they can lock down one or two good offensive acquisitions, they will a team to be reckoned with again.  Not this year though.

3. Oakland Athletics- This team is in what seems to be a rebuilding stage, but it's not easy to see exactly what direction they are in.  They don't have a good offense, and with the loss of Dan Haren, they're pitching is weak.  Third place in this case looks better than it actually is only because it's a 4-team division.  They have some young players who are going to be good in 3-5 years, which is when I can see them being a top team again.  Daric Barton and Jack Cust are going to be a dangerous 3-4 combo in the middle of that lineup in a couple of years, that's when this A's club has got a legit shot, not this year.

4. Texas Rangers- To keep it simple...  They're just bad.  No pitching + no offense= no winning.  The clock of success for Hank Blalock is ticking for me, and it's almost out of battery.  That same situation is on the way for Michael Young this year.

NL East:

The Division for NL Supremacy

1. New York Mets- The acquisition of Johan Santana gets them an extra, say, 5-6 wins, which is enough for them to eek out the division win by a margin of around 3 games over the Phillies.  If the Mets win the division this year, it's solely because of the Santana addition.  If he wasn't on this team, they would finish in 2nd, maybe even 3rd in this division.  Wright will have another good year.  But Jose Reyes is going to have a better year, to show everyone that last year's horrific slump where he seemed to not be trying was just a hunch.  He's going to have a monster year.  I am not a believer in the school of thought that says, "The trade for Johan gets the Mets over the top and will win them the whole damn thing."  Nah uh, it can't happen, a guy who plays only once a week or so cannot be the reason they win the whole thing.  And don't give me the "he lifts the morale in the clubhouse" crap, because there is no such thing as moral victories.  Ok, rant over.

2. Philadelphia Phillies- No doubt about it, the Phillies have a great offense.  One of the game's best (that bandbox of a park helps).  But simply put, they don't have the pitching to keep them atop the division and stay a game or a half behind the Mets all year long.  That's the big issue, that will be the reason they can't win the division.  If they had some better pitching, they'd win the division because their offense is better than the Mets', and the Mets won't stay healthy either.  To capitalize on that, they would need the pitching.  Pitching, pitching, pitching...

3. Atlanta Braves-  This is my sleeper of all sleeper teams this year.  They could win the division and blow both the Phillies and the Mets out of the water.  The pitching needs some work, and Hampton must stay healthy.  But their middle of the order can compete with the best of them.  It includes Francoeur, C. Jones, McCann, and Teixeria.  If their pitching overachieves, they will win this division.  That's not a guarantee, because I can't say their pitching will do so.  But if I were to know for a fact that it could and would, I would guarantee it.

4. Washington Nationals- They're young, so that can be a valid excuse of why they're so bad.  They have ZERO pitching, and their offense is no good, but I question why Dmitri Young is sitting on the bench.  He's their best offensive player.  Hmmm, I know a team that might like a good, power hitting first baseman, I'm thinking of a team that plays in New York and wears an NY on their chest, hmmm, I wonder.  They're going nowhere.

5. Florida Marlins- As good as Hanley Ramirez is, he's not good enough to make this team good.  There's no offense outside of him after the lose of Miggy.  And their pitching is pitiful.  They have something to look forward to in the future though in Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.

NL Central:

Two Good Teams, Four Teams... Not So Much

1. Chicago Cubs- They're a very complete team.  They have speed, power, scoring, good hitting, and good pitching.  They might even get Brian Roberts by the end of this month which would add even more speed and more hitting to their already good lineup.  I like their pitching a lot and Zambrano for me is a sleeper to do better than Johan in NY.  I have a lot of issues with Japanese players coming over, because usually it doesn't work out.  I think Fukudome will be solid, .280, 13, 50.  They're good and they're poised to do some damage this season.

2. Milwaukee Brewers- This team has offensive firepower and have some very underrated players in Corey Hart, and Bill Hall.  They have essentially the same team except for a downgrade in closer from CoCo Cordero to Eric Gagne.  They finished in second last year also.  With that being said, if you have the same team pretty much, they won't improve.  More of the same for Milwaukee this year, but with a good pitching pickup, this team can make some noise.

3. Houston Astros-  This team is similar to that of last year's, but in a weaker division, I can see them moving up a bit.  They've got some hot young players in Hunter Pence and J.R. Towles.  They have some always solid veterans like Carlos Lee, Ty Wigginton, and Lance Berkman.  Their SP is suspect though, which is why they won't go any higher than 3.  I think they're bullpen will be much improved this year with the addition of Jose 'Papa Grande' Valverde.

4. Cincinnati Reds- This team has some good players, but some question marks.  I think their pitching is a tad weak, and I don't trust a majority of their hitters.  I really like the CoCo Cordero signing and the hire of manager Dusty Baker, I've always liked him as a manager every place he's been.  They don't have enough trustworthy hitters and SP's.

5. St. Louis Cardinals- This team has an absent ace.  Their pitching is pretty much, well, terrible.  Their offense is not good either.  There's only one guy in that lineup that is going to give consistency in his numbers, and that is Pujols.  But he has a bad elbow, and that could effect him greatly.  If he gets hurt who do they turn to for offense, unproven offensive player Rick Ankiel, injury prone Troy Glaus, or Chris Duncan who is in this league for his power?  That's why they can't succeed, their entire offensive production is a one man show, and that show could get canceled this year.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates- Their ace won 9 games and lost 12 lasy year.  They have awful pitching, atop the league's worst.  The same can be said for their offense.  The guy they rely on mostly for their offense is Jason Bay, the guy I frequently call the most overrated player in the game.  He has a low AVG, strikes out a ton, doesn't drive in enough runs, and his power numbers are declining always.  This lineup cannot be trusted.  They are awful, my vote for NL's worst record.  They may lose 110 games too.

NL West:

The National League's Best Division

1. Arizona Diamondbacks- The ML's best one-two punch in Brandon Webb and Dan Haren.  I loved the offense last year and it was good enough to get them the division last year.  With no changes, I still love it.  The pitching is improved tremendously.  Now, I know Randy Johnson is not what he once was, but he's their 5th starter!  And speaking of him, I do think he will stay healthy this year and have a big, unexpected year.  I can see a 15-9, 3.80-4.00 season for him, but I cannot guarantee.  I really, really love this club.

2. Colorado Rockies- They were the surprise team of the year last season.  I love their hitting.  Matt Holliday should have won the MVP last year for the NL.  I really like Todd Helton, Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki, and Brad Hawpe.  Their O is awesome to say the least.  But I really question their pitching, I don't like Jeff Francis as the ace of the staff and they have no one I like outside of him really, although Ubaldo Jimenez caught my eye last year.  And speaking from experience, Luis Vizcaino is not to be relied on.  Their offense is good, but their pitching is not good enough for them to surpass a superior Diamondback team.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers- This team has young raw talent all around.  Pitching, hitting, everywhere.  They also have a good mix of veterans like newest Dodger Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, and Nomar Garciaparra.  I really like their staring pitching, mainly Brad Penny, total animal out there.  Derek Lowe is good for 12-15 wins, and I'm really excited to see what new Japanese export, Hiroki Kuroda can do in the majors, I think he'll do pretty well.  You also can forget the addition of our manager Joe Torre, I hope he has a good time out there in LA and realizes that baseball can be fun again.  Although their pitching is good, I just don't think they have enough experience to get it done this year.  But guys like Loney, Martin, and Kemp are going to spearhead this club into the playoffs and beyond in a few years.

4. San Diego Padres-  This team has great pitching in Peavy, Young, and Maddux but they don't have enough offense.  They don't have a player who batted over .285 last year, there's just not enough production up and down that lineup to keep them in contention for that long.  The division is better now, and they're going to be able to skate by like they used to when the division wasn't good.

5. San Francisco Giants- Post-Bonds Era begins.  It will begin the same way it ended, bad, awful, any of those kinds of words will suit fine.  Their pitching stinks, their bullpen stinks, and their offense stinks.  All around they're a pretty terrible team.  I'm trying to think if they'll get 70 wins this year, I'm leaning towards no.  Aaron Rowand isn't going to be the player he was with Philly last year, he played in a bandbox, which largely contributed to his great numbers.  Now he will be playing a big park with a lot of room, won't bode well for him this year.  They're going to need to do some big rebuilding to get them back to 2002 form.

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Playoff Predictions:

(* indicates WC winner)

AL:

ALDS:  LA Angels vs. NY Yankees- Yankees in 5

              Boston Red Sox* vs. Detroit Tigers- Tigers in 5

ALCS:  NY Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers- Tigers in 7

NL:

NLDS: Chicago Cubs vs. NY Mets- Mets in 5

             Arizona D-Backs vs. Philadelphia Phillies*- D-Backs in 4

NLCS: NY Mets vs. Arizona D-Backs- D-Backs in 7

World Series:

Detroit Tigers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

WINNER: Diamondbacks in 6, They're pitching is too good to beat late in the season and the offense does it's part consistently like usual.  They're not the best team in the big leagues, but pitching, which they do have the best of, wins championships.  In a short series, Webb-Haren is scary, and in a long series, seeing one or both of them twice is even worse.  They have the advantage.  It will be their 2nd World Championship in 7 years.

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Awards:

MVP:

AL- Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees

NL- Jose Reyes, New York Mets

Cy Young:

AL- Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners

NL- Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres

Rookie of the Year:

AL- Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

NL- Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs

Manager of the Year:

AL- Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays

NL- Lou Piniella, Chicago Cubs

Player Profiles: Phil Hughes

This is the second installment of the Player Profiles section.  This Profile will be on Phil Hughes.  If you haven't done so yet, please check out the first installment below, on Joba Chamberlain.

Here's an excerpt from a Phil Hughes scouting report:

"Philip Hughes is a rare blend in baseball.  He has plenty of skills, plays for a New York team and is nearly appropriately hyped.  Hughes has been able to breeze his way through the minor leagues and prior 2006, ascended to become the Yankees number one prospect.  Prior to 2007 he was one of the two pitchers debated as the top pitching prospect along with Reds pitcher, Homer Bailey."

Now it appears this piece was written prior to his major league debut, but it still holds true.  Hughes did come up rather quickly, and probably sooner than expected due to injuries at the big club.  Because of Hughes' ability to use his pitches just the way he wants to, he is extremely hyped, and rightfully so.  Before his debut, Yankee fans knew him as the best pitching prospect in the game.  But after watching him almost no-hit the Rangers in his second career start, and pitch 4 brilliant innings in relief with the season on the line in the playoffs, Yankee fans now think of Hughes as the young stud, who is going to save the Yankees from ever having the rebuild.  Simply put, Hughes went from being the best prospect to the savior of the Yankees for years, and years to come.

"Hughes boasts a good fastball that works comfortably in the mid 90s. His four-seamer has good movement and is able to locate it very well.  All of Hughes' pitching is based on his ability to locate pitches.  Hughes also throws a plus two-seam fastball that sits in the low 90s."

All of this is very true, but the pitch that is the reason he is what he is, is his curve.  The curve is thrown in the mid 80's, unheard of, this is his out pitch.  He locates it so well, and can do anything he wants with it.  It's his best pitch by far.  He is also working on a change-up, and if he can get that to work for him, he will have 4 plus pitches, he can also throw a slider if he so chooses.

"Long-term, Hughes is going to be a strikeout pitcher with a long career in the big leagues.  He will certainly know how to use his pitches as well as anyone.  He will be a star."

I would have to second that last statement.  There's no other way to put it than Hughes has a bright future and has the potential to be a special, special player in this game for a long time.

Can Hughes be a consistent 3 starter this season, will he be able to handle the New York pressure of being the savior, and will he be able to show the fans and management that keeping him in favor of Johan was the right move?  All these questions are important ones, look for these answers in the upcoming months of the 2008 season.

Player Profiles: Joba Chamberlain

In this section, I will be discussing a player on the team and talking about what they've done, what they're doing, and what they need to do.  Basically, it's a profile on a specific player.  This week's, and the first ever profile is on Joba Chamberlain.

Here is how a rival scout sizes up Joba:

"Electric fastball.  One of the best fastballs in the league right now.  He can legitimately throw the thing 100 [mph], and when he's coming out of the bullpen in the eighth inning like he was, it's just impossible.  And then, the way he was throwing his slider in the high 80s and even sometimes 90- completely ridiculous.  I mean, you talk about stuff- this guy has stuff.  And you didn't even see his changeup, which is good, or his curve, which is even better.  I say as a starter, he'll be even better, once he figures out the way he wants to work in all those different pitches."

And that's exactly why he's gotta be a starter.  At first, I wanted him to stay as the 8th inning man because I can't rely on any of the other guys they've got out there.  But the thing that gets me is, he threw two plus pitches last year and guys couldn't touch it, but as a starter he will feature 4 plus or above average pitches.  If you can fathom two pitches people can't touch, mix that with 2 more that look to be tough to hit, you've got yourself quite the pitcher.  And if they were to leave him be in the bullpen for the rest of his career, it would be a waste of talent, because those other plus pitches wouldn't be featured.  If you've got that kind of talent, you've got to let it shine.

"The only question with him is whether he'll hold up.  He's got one of those bodies that has a tendency to get a little bit big, though I understand he's lost a lot of weight, and the encouraging thing is that he didn't seem to put any on while he was in the majors.  Most guys, they get that first taste of the big leagues, they're eating out every night, clubhouse food, whatever- they puff up a bit.  He went the other way- hard workouts, discipline.  If he has the makeup to go with the stuff, you're talking about a special, special pitcher."

And this is why I still have a bit of a hesitant reaction when I hear he will be a starter.  I am from the school of thought that says if it's not broken, don't fix it.  I think that applies here, because Joba's role as the setup man worked perfectly, seeing that and the fact that we don't really have a reliable reliever, why would you want to take a perfect fit and ruin it?  Joba rarely faulted as a reliever, now they take him from looks to be his new element, and put him in another one where they don't know how he will perform under.  Basically, they're fixing something that was flawless, that needs no fixing.  I think of another hefty pitcher, Bartolo Colon, 2 seasons removed from a Cy Young, his body couldn't hold up and now he's on a minor league deal.  He could be effective as a reliever, because he would only need to pitch for an inning or 2.  Now Joba's in much better shape, but I think that if he has to pitch for 6-8 innings, his body may not hold up, where if he pitches 1+ we know his body can hold up.  I am still skeptical about the move, but that really means nothing.

Joba is the impact rookie for the Yankees, here's what the Sporting News says about that:

"Perhaps no minor league pitcher generated as much buzz as Chamberlain last season after his high-profile insertion into the Yankee bullpen.  Despite having first-round talent in 2006, he slid to the draft's supplemental round due to a knee injury.  Possessing a tall, strong frame and plenty of arm strength, he has a very impressive 88-97-mph fastball and a plus 80-85-mph slider that misses bats with ease.  His 72-75-mph curveball is also a solid pitch, and he will offer an 80-82-mph changeup.  Chamberlain was brilliant as a starter at three levels last year, going 9-2 with a 2.45 ERA, 5.3 K/BB ratio 13.8 strikeouts per game and .198 opponents' average.  Surprisingly, he adapted well to relief while serving as Mariano Rivera's primary setup man, and posted a 0.38 ERA and 12.8 strikeouts per game in 19 appearances.  The Yankees plan on moving him back into the rotation to begin 2008."

Indeed his story will be a compelling one over the course of the 2008 season, will he shift from starter to reliever, will he stick as an effective starter, or will he be the heir-apparent to Mariano Rivera?  Important questions, all to be answered this year.

Opening Day Problems for the Yankees

With the upcoming suspensions to start being served on Opening Day (March 31 @ the Stadium) for Melky Cabrera (3 games) and Shelley Duncan (3 games) the Yankees have some issues for OD.  These suspensions likely imply that they will start out 2008 with a 23-man roster.  With Melky out, this forces Damon to CF from LF and Matsui from DH to LF.  Damon has only played a game or 2 this spring in CF, same for Matsui in LF.  This also secures the OD 1B job for Jason Giambi.  So the Yankees will need to find a DH for Opening Day within the next 17 days.  I would be extremely surprised if they went out and signed someone to be their DH for 3 games, really surprised.

The players can appeal their suspensions, but as I said before, there are only 17 days left till the season starts, and by that time, their right to appeal the suspensions could and most likely will expire, and if they do appeal, the process will be over with by the time March 31 rolls around. So, the following is my prediction for the Opening Day 23-man roster, including pitchers.

P:

Chien-Ming Wang

Andy Pettitte

Mike Mussina

Phil Hughes

Ian Kennedy

Joba Chamberlain

Mariano Rivera

LaTroy Hawkins 

Kyle Farnsworth

Jose Veras

Ross Ohlendorf

Brian Bruney

C:

Jorge Posada

Jose Molina

IF:

Jason Giambi

Robinson Cano

Alex Rodriguez

Derek Jeter

Wilson Betemit

Chris Woodward/Morgan Ensberg

OF:

Matsui

Damon

Abreu

I think either Woodward or Ensberg will make the team to be the DH for the opening series, then after their suspended players come back their fate will be decided.  Its a possibly for both to make it if they decide to carry one less pitcher, which would be 11, chances are they'll carry 12 or 13.  If they carry 13, they will have to do decide who makes the roster, Woodward/Ensberg and Betemit (the 13th would be between Igawa and Karstens). 

With these suspensions, I believe that Woodward, Betemit, and Ensberg are going to have to really step up these next couple of weeks to prove their spots.

Here's what I think OD will look like for the Yankees.

w/ Ensberg over Woodward:      w/ Woodward over Ensberg:                                                  

1. Damon CF                                    1. Damon CF

2. Jeter SS                                        2. Jeter SS

3. Abreu RF                                      3. Abreu RF

4. Rodriguez 3B                              4. Rodriguez 3B

5. Giambi 1B                                    5. Giambi 1B

6. Matsui LF                                   6. Matsui LF

7. Posada C                                      7. Posada C

8. Cano 2B                                      8. Cano 2B

9. Ensberg DH                               9. Betemit DH

                                         (Woodward becomes UTL IF.)

w/ Ensberg/Woodward over Betemit: 

1-8: SAME                                                                      

9. Ensberg/Woodward DH                                      

w/ Betemit over Ensberg/Woodward:

1-8: SAME

9. Betemit DH

It'll be interesting to follow.

Reds @ Yankees, 7:15 Under the Lights

Starting Line-ups: 

Damon CF

Jeter SS

Abreu RF

Rodriguez 3B

Giambi 1B

Posada C

Matsui DH

Green 2B 

Gardner LF 

Pitching 

Chamberlain (3-4 innings, Pictured in Lion Suit) 

Rivera (1 inning) 

Kennedy (3-4 innings) 

Hawkins (1 inning)

Reds: 

Bruce CF

Hatteburg DH 

Griffey Jr. RF

Phillips 2B

Dunn LF

Encarnacion 3B

Votto 1B

Valentine C 

Janish SS

Pitching

Baily 

Volquez 

Stanton 

Coutlangus 

Lehr 

Notes: MLB TV, Under the Lights. Yankees signed Chad Moeller today to a Minor League deal to replace injured Francisco Cervelli. Sorry about lack of updates, it won't happen again. 

Stadium to Close With Hockey?

A report in the Post says that the NHL's second Winter Classic game will be held in Yankee Stadium in late 2008-early 2009. The Rangers will play, not the Long Island pigs. The Rangers have sought to play the Winter Classic here for a while with no avail because the Yankees were concerned how the ice would affect the baseball field. But with no baseball in 2009, it seems like a good idea. But Yankee fans, including a good friend of mine Peter Abraham say that it is not acceptable to close the stadium with hockey. 

My solution: we have the stadium closed for baseball and it will be a huge event. We have a ceremony and then we wave goodbye to baseball at the House that Ruth Built. But why not let the Rangers play? It brings revenue to New York and that is a good thing. Plus, the NHL is a great league and the Winter Classic is bigger than the All-Star game. I say let it happen and treasure the atmosphere the stadium has had for all sports, baseball, boxing, football and now hockey. And it gives us something that Shea does not have! 

Results: Yankees vs. Cincinnati Reds @ Ed Smith Stadium, Sarasota, FL

Today the Yankees played their 6th exhibition game, taking on the Reds in Sarasota.  The game started at 1:05 and was not televised.

                          __________

Here are the lines for the starters and pitchers.  Today was not a good one for the Yankees.  The starters didn't do much offensively today, granted their A lineup was not in today.  CMW looked unimpressive today.  Pitching was ghastly today overall.  The kids in contention for backup jobs or even higher spots in the minors did a lot today.  But I do applaud them for trying their hardest and making a game of it.  And I think we saw what Joe Girardi is as a manager today when he asked the Reds and umps to play the needless bottom of the ninth to see Steven Jackson pitch, even though Jackson was awful, it was good of Joe to give all of his players a fair shot.  I commend him for doing that, and the umps and Reds for going along with it.  

Final Score- Reds 12, Yankees 8

Damon, DH: 2-3

Molina, C: 0-3

Abreu, RF: 1-3 (HR), R, RBI, K

Giambi, 1B: 0-2, K

Betemit, 2B: 1-3, R, K

A-Jax, LF: 1-3, R, RBI, K

Gardener, CF: 0-3

Woodward, 3B: 1-3, 2 RBI

Gonzalez, SS: 0-2

Wang: (L, 1-1) 0.2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Patterson: 1.1 IP, K

Farnsworth: 1.0 IP, BB, K

Rasner: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, HR

Henn: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Giese: 1.0 IP

Traber: 1.0 IP, K

Let's just say this game wasn't pretty.  I was impressed that we were able to climb back from 12 down and make it a 4 run game.  But the pitching (Wang and Rasner) was just ineffective today.  And I do really think this will be a more current thing for Wang this year than it has in years past.  This is all because I think the league has figured out his sinker and they've got a handle on it.  I've been saying for a while now that he needs to find another effective pitch in order for his success to continue.  Word is he's been working on a change up this off-season.  If he can get that to work I think he will have a plus sinker, plus change, and a pretty good, hard, fast 4-seamer.  He really needs to improve on his pitches, I think this game could be a wake-up call to him.  He gets the Igawa For A Day Award giving up 6 runs on as many hits in just 2 thirds of an inning.  Today's pitcher of the day was tough because no one out there was dazzling, but the choice for me was Billy Traber, pitching one inning and fanning a batter.  Today's Player of the Game was Greg Porter, not listed, he went 1-1, scored, and drove in 4, so if you do the math, that's a grand slam.  So he has to be the obvious choice.  But if you want a starter to get it, it's gotta be Bobby Abreu, who had a hit in three AB's, knocking in a run, scoring one, which all came off his homer.  Damon did well with 2 hits in 3 AB's.

Hit you with some more stuff a little bit later on.

P.S.: Giambi plays, but does nothing to improve his case, Duncan was a DNP, so the daily tally is still at a 4-2 lead for Slam.

Results: Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins @ Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL

Here are your results from today's exhibition game.

                                      ______

Final Score- Twins 7, Yankees 5

Here are the lines for the starters (plus Shelley Duncan) and the pitchers.  Today's game wasn't great for the Yankees.  They got out to a deficit early, then came back with the lead, then lost it.  Two of the Big Three didn't seem sharp today, but as Joba put it, "It was bound to happen."  Better for Joba and Ike to get it out of their systems now than it would be to do it in June.  Offense looked good again though, that's their strong point.

Damon, LF: 1-3, R, RBI

Duncan, 1B: 1-2 (HR), R, RBI, K

Jeter, SS: 2-2, BB

Abreu, RF: 1-3, RBI

Rodriguez, DH: 0-2, BB, K

Giambi, 1B: 1-3, R, K

Posada, C: 0-3

Cano, 2B: 3-3, R, RBI

Betemit, 3B: 1-3, R, RBI, K

Cabrera, CF: 0-3, 2 K

Kennedy: (ND) 2.0 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 0 BB, 0 K, HR

Phillips: 1.0 IP, 0 R, K

Chamberlain: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, K, HR

Albaladejo: 1.2 IP, 4 H, R, ER, 2 K

Ramirez: (0-1) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, K

Britton: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Ohlendorf: 0.2 IP, H, 0 R, 2 K

This game was just alright for me.  I saw a lot from our offense as usual, pitching was pretty much weak the whole way through.  A couple bright spots there I guess.  Really impressed with Shelley again, another HR, another RBI, another R, so for the spring, he's 7-11, 2 HR, 9 RBI.  Joe Girardi said of Shelley today, "He's taking advantage of every opportunity."  He nailed it on the head, couldn't be more right on that one, Joe G.  So that brings the daily tally to Duncan 4, Giambi 1.  Giambi had a hit, but he didn't do extraordinary things.  Today's Player of the Game though, is Robinson Cano, he goes 3-3, drives in a run, and scores.  He looks to be in mid-season form as I said a couple of days ago.  Today's Pitcher of the Day is Ross Ohlendorf, he faces 3 batters, and fans 2 of them.  He needs to continue to pitch well because he is in contention for a bullpen spot, and as I've said before, I think he will be a big part of it this year.  He's a smart man, Princeton grad, so I think he will be one of the Moose type guys that's always intelligent on the mound.  And today's Igawa For A Day Award goes to Edwar Ramirez, he gives up 2 hits, 3 runs, all earned, walked a guy, and fanned another.  He pitched awful today, showing that, he has good stuff, but it gets hit a lot because he seems to throw it to the middle of the zone all too often.

Catch you later with some more notes.

What's On Tap for the Yankees Today

Today the Yankees play an exhibition game at Steinbrenner Field against the Minnesota Twins. The game will start at 1:15 PM on YES and ESPN.

Results: Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays @ Knology Park, Dunedin, FL

Here are your results for the Yankees exhibition game today.

                                      ___________

Final Score- Yankees 2, Blue Jays 0

Here are the lines for the starters and the pitchers.  The game was cut short due to rain, Hughes was great today.  Duncan was again a beast, Duncan 3, Giambi 1.  Another great day for the Yankees, the Jays didn't get a hit today in 6 innings, that can't be good.

Damon, LF: 0-2

Jeter, SS: 0-1, K

Abreu, DH: 1-1

Rodriguez, 3B: 0-0, BB

Giambi, 1B: 0-1

Posada, C: 0-1

Ducan, RF: 2-2, R, RBI

Cabrera, CF: 1-1, RBI

Castro, 2B: 1-2

Hughes: (1-0) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Patterson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K

Igawa: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Traber: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

This game was alright, I mean it only went 6 so we couldn't see a full spectrum of things, but there wasn't too much action on offense aside from 2 guys primarily.  The pitching was great though, headed by none other than Kei Igawa.  I guess Hughes only went one because he threw a little under a week ago, he did pretty well even though he didn't K anybody, he threw 10 pitches, 7 for strikes, so that's a great showing of his command.  But I want to focus on Kei Igawa right now, who earns the Pitcher of the Day Award, throwing 2 innings, 6-up, 6-down, 2 K's.  That was HUGE for him, because he was so dreadful against a college team on Friday, but today against a big league club, although against AAA players, he looked great, 18 pitches, 13 strikes.  That should give him a boost, he needed one bad.  Watch out International Leaguers, Kei's a'coming for ya.  There was no Igawa for A Day winner today because the Yankees threw a 5 inning perfect game.  How 'bout that Shelley Duncan, going 2 for 2 today, ripping another double, scoring another time, and knocking in another run.  That makes him, for the spring, 

6-9, with 8 RBI.  He continues to build his case to Girardi.  Giambi didn't do anything to help his own out today.  I think Shelley realizes the opportunity at hand and knows he's gotta play his absolute best this spring to seize it.  He gets Player of the Day honors today.  Good for him.  Duncan 3, Giambi 1.

Be back with some more stuff later.

What's On Tap for the Yankees Today

Today the Yankees play their 4th exhibition game at Knology Park in Dunedin, FL against the Toronto Blue Jays. Phil Hughes is scheduled to start today. The game will start at 1:05 PM.

Moose

Pete Abraham has a great piece over at his blog about Mussina and the goings on from today.  He basically says that people are already ripping into Moose for pitching so poorly, but it's March 3 and he has exactly a month to work on things, so it doesn't really matter at this point.

You can find the story here.

The link to his blog is over at the right.

Results: Yankees vs. Houston Astros @ Osceola County Stadium, Kissimmee, FL

Here are your results from the Yankees' exhibition game today.

                                            __________

Final Score- Yankees 7, Astros 6

Here are the lines from the starters and pitchers.  Yet another good offensive output for the Yankees, pitching was weak at points.

Damon, LF: 1-4, R

Cabrera, CF: 2-3, 2 R, BB

Cano, 2B: 3-4, R, 2 RBI

Duncan, DH: 2-4, R, 2 RBI

Ensberg, 1B: 2-4, R, RBI, K

Betemit, 3B: 0-2, 2 BB, K

Lane, RF: 0-4, RBI

Cervelli, C: 1-1, 2 BB

Woodward, SS: 1-3, R, K

Mussina: (ND) 2.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 ER, HR

Karstens: (1-0) 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K

Ramirez: 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, K

Jackson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

McCutchen: 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, K

Melancon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

This game was similar to yesterday's in that it was mostly offensive that did the talking and not the pitching.  Mussina really reeked today, but it's early, what me worry?  Karstens picked up Moose's slack and he looked really good today.  He did give up a couple of hits, but he did pitch 3 innings in the spring, so that was impressive.  He also shut out the Astros and K'd two of them.  Jeff Karstens gets Pitcher of the Day honors today with his nice performance.  As for the offense, Cano was in mid-season form today with his 3-hit, 2-RBI performance.  And Shelley Duncan followed up his Saturday performance today, adding another 2 hits and 2 RBI's.  Another good game from Morgan Ensberg as well.  Today's Player of the Day Award goes to Robinson Cano.  Shelley was the runner-up, Duncan 2, Giambi 1.  Igawa for A Day honors go to Mike Mussina, but again, it's early, what me worry?

Be back later with some more stuff.

What's On Tap for the Yankees Today

Today the Yankees play their 3rd exhibition game at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, FL against the Houston Astros. The lineup for the Yanks is up and is below. The game is slated to start at 1:05 PM today on MLB.TV.

Lineup:

Yankees:

Damon LF

Cabrera CF

Cano 2B

Duncan DH

Ensberg 1B

Betemit 3B

Lane RF

Cervelli C

Woodward SS

Pitching:

Mussina SP (2-3 innings)

Karstens

Jackson

McCutchen

Ramirez

Melancon

The Weekend's Big Winners

The Yankees opened up their exhibition season this weekend with three games.  They played the University of South Florida on Friday and the Phillies both Saturday and Sunday.  Each game had a 'player of the game' that made an impact in that game.  Each player that I will list below, were the big winners of the first weekend of spring training.  A 'big winner' is a player that is in contention for a big spot in 2008 and did something to plead their cases.  Hopefully this will be a regular segment on The Roll Call.  The following are the Big Winners of the weekend of February 29-March 2.

Friday, Feb. 29: The Big Three

Versus USF on Friday, each member of the Big Three was featured, all displaying why the Yankees passed up trades for marquee names.  They combined for 5 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 6 strikeouts, and 0 walks.  They were simply dominant over the Bulls.  It is already known that each player will be on the 25-man roster and will pitch in some capacity.  The reason they are the big winners is that this team will strongly depend on their performances.  Each player on Friday showed exactly why they have all the hope stored in them.  With performances like that, it is easy to see that they will all make impacts this year.

Saturday, March 1: Shelley Duncan

Versus the Phillies on Saturday, Shelley was dominant from the plate.  He went 2-for-3, smashing a homer Slam Duncan-style, and driving in 5.  This was big for him because he is in contention for the first base job.  Talk around town is that Giambi has pretty much got it, well Shelley quieted that down a bit with his great performance Saturday.  He said he didn't think it really mattered because its just the spring, but it must have looked good to Joe Girardi yesterday.  And in the back of his mind you've got to believe that he thought it was a statement. So Shelley's the Big Winner because he started to build his case for first base.  If he can keep that up, it won't be hard to see #17 manning the first base line come March 31st.

Sunday, March 2: Jason Giambi

Versus the Phillies on Sunday, Jason went 2-3 with a big 3-run HR and a hard hit, opposite field double that scored one.  He also made a nice play in the field and didn't seem stiff out in the field.  This was a huge game for Jason because after Shelley's performance yesterday, people began to talk.  So Giambi goes out there and has a huge game himself to tell everyone that he's not done just yet.  That was a big boost for Jason because its showing that his work with K-Long is paying off and his defensive could be slightly improving.  This was also a statement game from Giambi.  So the Giambino is the Big Winner here because he too started to build his case for first base.  If he keeps this up, Yankee fans will be treated to a good competition for first base.

Runner Up: Andy Pettitte (he had something to prove today, and was successful)

Results: Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies @ Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL

Here are your results from the Yankees' first official exhibition game at Steinbrenner Field today.

                                                                               ________

Final Score: Yankees 7, Phillies 7

Here are the lines for the starters and pitchers.  Another good offensive day, the same cannot be said for the majority of the pitching.

Damon, DH: 1-3, 1K

Jeter, SS:      0-3, 1K

Abreu, RF:   2-3, 2R

Rodriguez, 3B: 1-1, 1BB

Giambi, 1B:      2-3 (HR), 1R, 4RBI

Posada, C:        0-3

Cano, 2B:          1-3, 1K

Lane, LF:         2-3 (HR), 2R, 1RBI

Cabrera, CF:   0-1, 1RBI, 1BB

Pettitte: (ND) 2 IP, 1 H, 0R, 1 BB, 1K

White:            1.2 IP, 5 H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB (21.60 ERA)

Patterson:     0.1 IP, 0 H, 0R, 0BB, 0 K

Hawkins:       1.0 IP, 0 H, 0R, 0BB, 0 K

Farnsworth:  1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1K, 1 HR

Henn:             1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Bruney:          1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1K

Veras:             1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Today's game wasn't as good as the other 2 this weekend.  The offense was good again, but the pitching was not good.  It was the usual suspects, Bruney, Farnsworth, and one unusual suspect, Steven White, were the ones that did the damage.  But that's expected whenever Bruney and Farnsworth take the mound.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  I found it interesting that Giambi came back with a great game today after Shelley had a great game yesterday.  A competition is brewing.  Lane was solid today, I was impressed.  Giambi earns Player of the Day honors and Andy Pettitte earns Pitcher of the Day honors.  Today's Igawa for A Day Award goes to Steven White.

Be back with more stuff later.

Yankees-Phillies Game Observations

Well, it's mid-6th down in Tampa.  The offense has once again looked great today, and a few of the pitchers have been suspect.  The day after Shelley Duncan splashes onto the scene and builds his case, Giambi has one of those games too.

Pitching:

- Pettitte pitched pretty well.  In the first inning I had the feeling he may have been a bit pumped for his first game since all this HGH crap.  And it showed because he allowed Werth to walk on a full count.  But he simmered down in the 2nd inning, and he looked pretty good.  Nothing too impressive, but nothing bad, so that's a plus.

- Steven White looked totally unimpressive to me.  He allowed 2 hits in the third but got out of it.  Then in the 4th inning, he loaded the bases and kind of unraveled.  He gave up a 2-run hit down the third base side.  He's done.

- LaTroy Hawkins pitched a good inning of work.  He looked pretty good.  As I've said in the past, I like the signing, I think it will work out well for them.

- Kyle Farnsworth allows a homer to Pat Burrell, what else is new?  I hate that guy.

Hitting:

- Giambi hits a big homer that put the Yankees out in front 3-0 in the first inning.  Then in the third inning, Giambi rips an opposite-field double that scores Abreu.  4 RBI's for him.  We've got a nice competition going here for first base.

- Jason Lane was a nice surprise today, he's not going to make the big-level club out of the gate, but it's still nice to see good baseball this early.  He hit a solo shot in 2nd then tripled in the fourth.  Good to see, hopefully he can repeat that 26-HR performance from a couple of seasons ago with Houston.

That's all for now, I'll be back in a little with the stats.

Yankees Prospect Update: Jose Tabata

In what I hope becomes a regular series, I'm going to be going through some of the top prospects in the system and giving updates on the players. 

One of the most promising youngsters is Jose Tabata. He's a right fielder from Venezuela who's hitting and fielding have been most impressive in his three seasons in the Yankees farm system. He's got an arm like Roberto Clemente and the hitting skills of Bernie Williams, something the Yankees will treasure with the ever-aging outfield. 

Tabata last season with Tampa Class A put up a .307 average, 129 hits and 54 RBI's in 104 games. That is more than one RBI every two games!  Brian Cashman describes Jose as a "potential middle-of-the lineup power impact bat." Now imagine if you will that Tabata can hit home runs, which he only hit 5 of last season. Do we have a new A-Rod? 

Tabata is only 19 so don't expect him to be on the Yankees roster yet but he will probably make it to at AA Trenton this season and it wouldn't be surprising to see him at AAA Scranton by late July. Tabata is only 19, so imagine how good he'll be by 20, 21. 

Some people say Joba, Kennedy and Hughes are our big three and that may be true but there's a new big three with hitting: Tabata, Jesus Montero and Austin Jackson. These guys are our future.  

P.S. Thanks to Pete Abraham for adding us to his list of blogs. It's greatly appreciated. 

What's on Tap for the Yankees Today

Today the Yankees officially open up their exhibition season at Steinbrenner Field against the Philadelphia Phillies.  The lineup is up for the Yankees and is below, as for the Phillies, it is TBA, as it comes out, we will update you.  The game is scheduled to start at 1:15 PM today on YES.

Lineups:

Yankees:

Johnny Damon   DH

Derek Jeter         SS

Bobby Abreu       RF

Alex Rodriguez   3B

Jason Giambi      1B

Jorge Posada       C

Robinson Cano   2B

Jason Lane          LF

Melky Cabrera   CF

Pitchers:

Andy Pettitte SP (2 inn.)

Steven White

LaTroy Hawkins

Kyle Farnsworth

Brian Bruney

Sean Henn

Jose Veras

Phillies:

TBA

Prospects Look Good

Today's New York Newsday has an excellent article on the Yankees' top prospects that aren't named Joba, Phil, and Ian.  They profile Tabata, Montero, Marquez, A-Jax, and Gardener wonderfully.  These guys are guys to watch in 2008, a few could reach the major league level in 2008.  It takes it prospect-by-prospect and gives a background on each.  There are good things to come in future for the Yankees.

There is also a good article on Melky Cabrera.  It's a good read.

So pick up a copy of Newsday or go to newsday.com and check it out.

Shelley Duncan Pleads His Case to Girardi Today

Shelley Duncan had a huge 2-hit, 5-RBI game today versus the Phillies.  Now as we all know, Duncan is in contention to become the Yankees first baseman this year.  Even though he says its really nothing because of the point in time we're at, you have to believe that this is only the beginning for Shelley this spring.  If you look at what his competition (Giambi and Ensberg) has done so far this spring, its nothing amazing.  Now, its only been 2 games, so I know things can and most likely will change, but you have to think today's game was just Shelley's way of letting everyone know, especially Joe Girardi that the job is not taken yet.  Today's phenomenal performance was just chapter one in Shelley Duncan's building case for the first base position.  If he goes out and puts his heart and soul into every at-bat, I think you will see him win that job eventually.  With each game this spring, I believe you will see Slam Duncan build upon the foundation that he has already laid down.  

He's working on his defense which is a major plus for him, since he's already got that awesome power swing and fiery personality behind him.  With his tough work this spring, things look to be setting up quite nicely for Duncan so far.  If Shelley were to continue to dazzle us all this spring, I certainly don't think it's out of the question to say that he could be at 1st base on Opening Day on March 31st.  If that does indeed happen, Shelley would certainly deserve it.

Results: Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies @ Bright House Field, Clearwater, FL

Here are your results from the Yankees' first official exhibition game today.

____________

Final Score- Yankees 9, Phillies 3

Here are the lines of the starters and pitchers. Another solid day today for the Players in Pinstripes.

Gardner, CF: 1-3, 2K

Jeter, SS: 1-2, 1R, 1BB

Abreu, RF: 2-3, 2R, 1K

Rodriguez, 3B: 2-3(HR), 2R, 1RBI, 1K

Duncan, 1B: 2-3(HR), 1R, 5RBI

Ensberg, DH: 0-3, 2K

Molina, C: 0-3

Porter, LF: 0-3

Woodward, 2B: 2-3, E4

Wang: (1-0) 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0R, 1 K

Rasner:         1.0 IP, 2H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2BB

Traber:         1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K

Britton:        1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R

Phillips:       1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K

Albaladejo: 1.0 IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K

Giese:          1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Ohlendorf:  1.0 IP, 1 H, 0R, 0BB, 0K

Another good all around day from the Yankees.  There were really no weak spots to worry about.  All the regulars did their things.  The one low point for me was Darrell Rasner, but he won't be used with the big club much, so it's not much to sweat over.  From what I've seen, so far, so good.  Shelley Duncan earns the Player of the Day Award and Jonathan Albaladejo earns Pitcher of the Day Award.  I think these 2 guys could have impacts for this club during the year. The Igawa for A Day Award goes to to Darrell Rasner, but again, not much to worry over.

Be back with some more stuff later.

Yankees- Phillies Game Observations

It's the top of the seventh and let me tell you that the Yankees have looked great today. Pitching not terrible and Shelley Duncan producing well. A couple of interesting surprises. 

Pitching: 

-Wang pitched a gem today. 24 pitches in two innings of work. He also recorded a strikeout and seemed to be mixing and matching well too. He seems to be looking better than he did last October when Wang couldn't throw a sinker. 

-Rasner and Britton didn't look so good but they didn't do too much damage. In Rasner's inning of work, he let up a run and loaded the bases. Chris Britton also let up a run in his one inning of work. The run was not Britton's fault though as Chris Woodward let it through his legs but Jimmy Rollins' double surely was. 

Hitting: 

-Shelley Duncan looked great today with a three-run homer in the first and a 2 RBI double later in the game. 

-A-Rod had a homer in the 5th and scored a run off Duncan's homer. He looks sharp as he should. 

-Derek Jeter did not look sharp. Although he had a double and a steal, Jeter got picked off and grounded into a double play early in the game. He needs a little work. 

Thats it for now, I'll update you later with stats.  

What's on Tap for the Yankees Today

Today the Yankees officially open up their exhibition season against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field in Clearwater, FL.  The lineups are up for each teams and are below.  The game is scheduled to start at 1:05 PM today on MLB.TV.  Then tomorrow, the Yankees and Phillies will travel to Tampa to do battle at Steinbrenner Field.

Lineups:

Yankees:

Brett Gardner  CF

Derek Jeter      SS

Bobby Abreu    RF

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Shelley Duncan 1B

Morgan Ensberg DH

Jose Molina       C

Greg Porter      LF

Chris Woodward 2B

Pitchers:

Chien-Ming Wang SP (2 inn.)

Darrell Rasner

Chris Britton

Jon Albaladejo

Heath Phillips

Dan Giese

Ross Ohlendorf

Phillies:

Jimmy Rollins    SS

Shane Victorino CF

Chase Utley        2B

Ryan Howard     1B

Pat Burrell         DH

Geoff Jenkins     RF

Greg Dobbs        3B

Chris Snelling    LF

Carlos Ruiz         C

Pitchers:

Adam Eaton (SP)

Chad Durbin

Ryan Madson

Clay Condrey

Tom Gordon

Go Yankees, be back later with lines and results.

The Everlasting Legacy of Kei Igawa, the Flying Monkey

All this talk around the NY media today about Kei Igawa got me to thinking about this signing. I've been trying to figure this out for some time now, and I think this may be the reason why this went down.  Why for the life of me, did this man get $46M thrown at him, and for what, to leave balls up in the zone to be crushed out?

Here's what went down:

Off-season 2006-2007 the Yankees were in a negotiating fight for Japanese superstar Daisuke Matsuzaka with the Boston Red Sox.  The Sox were willing to cough up more dough for him than the Yankees.  Here ends the war for Daisuke.  Seeing this, the Yankee front office (possibly with the influence of the Boss) saw this and thought just to match the Sox they needed to bring in a successful Japanese pitcher themselves.  So they looked around, and found a guy a lot of us had not heard of before, 3-time strikeout king, Kei Igawa.  Now, Igawa was by no stretch of the imagination the superstar that Daisuke was, but still a success nonetheless.  (See stats below for his Japanese career).  The Yankees took $46M and threw it at Igawa so they could have an export themselves.  So now the Yankees are level with the Red Sox, at least in the minds of the management.  Coming into the season with all the confidence in the world, Igawa takes the mound, and time after time the results were the same, he could never get his pitches down, so he would get pounded up and down the order, getting his pitches crushed out of the yard.  The Yankees then sent Igawa down to the minors to work on his mechanics.  He came back to the majors, and seemingly still had no idea what to do whether it was as a starter or as a reliever. He then got sent down to AAA again.  When the Padres claimed Igawa, Cashman pulled him off waivers, seemingly having hope left in him for whatever reason.  He came back to the majors when rosters expanded in September.  Then in his all-time shining moment, Igawa dresses up as a flying monkey.  Igawa then gets left off the playoff roster, giving him an extra month to fix things over the off-season.  In what looks to be his second chance, and possibly his last with the Yankees, he allows a grand slam to a college player who hasn't played for 2 years.  Igawa says he isn't worried though, if that is any consolation .  The saga will continue throughout the season.

This was another signing out of ignorance for the Yankees in recent years, going along with those of the likes of Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown and Jaret Wright.  This was just a move out of possible jealousy and the need to spend money to get even with a team.  I think the Yankees may have learned a lesson on this one, because they didn't try to match the Mets with the Santana deal.  Hopefully Cash & Co. have finally learned their lesson here, young, homegrown pitching is good pitching.

Japanese Stats:

Year	Team	G	W	L	SV	IP	K	BB	HR	ERA
1998	Hanshin	―	―	―	―	―	―	―	―	―
1999	Hanshin	7	1	1	0	15.1	14	13	1	6.46
2000	Hanshin	9	1	3	0	39.1	37	19	5	4.35
2001	Hanshin	29	9	13	0	192.0	171	89	11	2.67
2002	Hanshin	31	14	9	1	209.2	206	53	15	2.49
2003	Hanshin	29	20	5	0	206.0	179	58	15	2.80
2004	Hanshin	29	14	11	0	200.1	228	54	29	3.73
2005	Hanshin	27	13	9	0	172.1	145	60	23	3.86
2006	Hanshin	29	14	9	0	209	194	49	17	2.97
Total	―	190	86	60	1	1244	1174	395	116	3.14

   (credit that to Wikipedia's Kei Igawa page)