Read it, and please comment on what you thought. I was very interested by it and would love to see your point of view.
4/9/09
Ha ha Carl
Carl Pavano got shelled today. 9 earned runs, on 6 hits and three walks over the course of one inning. His Era? 81.00. Thank God he's gone.
Rest in Peace Nick
Nick Adenhart, a 22 year old starter for the Angels, died this morning in a car crash. It is a tragedy that someone so young can die because of another person making a mistake by drinking. Rest in Peace Nick, our condolences go out to the Adenhart family, then Angels organization, and everyone that knew this young man.
4/8/09
Yankee Predictions
We all know that everyone makes predictions. They're not always right, but they're fun to make. Here are a few predictions I have that are Yankee specific.
CC Sabathia's ERA will be above four until mid-May. Then he will hit his stride, and by the end of the year he'll be at 3.00 or 3.25. He's going to have a rough start, like he did last year, but then he'll be used to New York, and he'll have some innings under his belt, and he will destroy the competition.
Robinson Cano is going to bat around .330/.400/.500, with 25-30 homers, and above average defense. Robby's stats weren't good last year, mostly due to a terrible start to the season, and he never seemed to hit his true potential. After all the trade rumors this off-season, Robby has something to prove. If he can just "hit 'em where they ain't" his average will sky rocket. Kevin Long worked with Robby in the DR this off-season and it should help. Robby will lay off more pitches and draw more walks this year. With Tex on his side of the diamond, rather than Giambi, Cano won't have to cover as wide of a range of hits, which should help his defense because he can stay in a slightly smaller area. Robby is my sleeper MVP pick, and he's the most likely comeback player of the year. Cano is set for a big year with his new swing/stance, improved plate vision, and more help on the right side of the diamond.
Melky Cabrera will be traded. We've all heard that Gardner has better range, better speed, and better OBP abilities. Gardner has the starting job, and if he loses it, it will be because we need someone who can hit, which isn't Melky. We have Nick Swisher as the 4th outfielder already, and Hideki will be able to play the outfield on occassion by June, so Melky is just an extra player. Melky is one of my favorite players and it will be sad to see him go, but when we have a hole we need to fill, and teamsd like Detroit, Toronto, and Seattle go into fire-sale mode, the Melkman will be dangled in all kinds of trade talks, and someone is bound to bite.
Cody Ransom is going to have a rough April. he doesn't have the talent to play major league level baseball, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Berroa or Pena fill in at third for multiple games before A-Rod returns. When A-Rod gets back, I see Ransom going back to triple A, and Pena being the utility infielder, as he is faster and better with the glove than Ransom. If Ransom hits poorly in his time as a starter he really won't have any edge on Pena for the utility role.
AJ Burnett will get injured this year. Last year was only the third time he topped 200 innings, and the other two time he pitched 23 and 135.2 innings the following year. I say he's good for 20-25 starts, but after that pull out your Phil Hughes jersey's.
Back later with more...
CC Sabathia's ERA will be above four until mid-May. Then he will hit his stride, and by the end of the year he'll be at 3.00 or 3.25. He's going to have a rough start, like he did last year, but then he'll be used to New York, and he'll have some innings under his belt, and he will destroy the competition.
Robinson Cano is going to bat around .330/.400/.500, with 25-30 homers, and above average defense. Robby's stats weren't good last year, mostly due to a terrible start to the season, and he never seemed to hit his true potential. After all the trade rumors this off-season, Robby has something to prove. If he can just "hit 'em where they ain't" his average will sky rocket. Kevin Long worked with Robby in the DR this off-season and it should help. Robby will lay off more pitches and draw more walks this year. With Tex on his side of the diamond, rather than Giambi, Cano won't have to cover as wide of a range of hits, which should help his defense because he can stay in a slightly smaller area. Robby is my sleeper MVP pick, and he's the most likely comeback player of the year. Cano is set for a big year with his new swing/stance, improved plate vision, and more help on the right side of the diamond.
Melky Cabrera will be traded. We've all heard that Gardner has better range, better speed, and better OBP abilities. Gardner has the starting job, and if he loses it, it will be because we need someone who can hit, which isn't Melky. We have Nick Swisher as the 4th outfielder already, and Hideki will be able to play the outfield on occassion by June, so Melky is just an extra player. Melky is one of my favorite players and it will be sad to see him go, but when we have a hole we need to fill, and teamsd like Detroit, Toronto, and Seattle go into fire-sale mode, the Melkman will be dangled in all kinds of trade talks, and someone is bound to bite.
Cody Ransom is going to have a rough April. he doesn't have the talent to play major league level baseball, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Berroa or Pena fill in at third for multiple games before A-Rod returns. When A-Rod gets back, I see Ransom going back to triple A, and Pena being the utility infielder, as he is faster and better with the glove than Ransom. If Ransom hits poorly in his time as a starter he really won't have any edge on Pena for the utility role.
AJ Burnett will get injured this year. Last year was only the third time he topped 200 innings, and the other two time he pitched 23 and 135.2 innings the following year. I say he's good for 20-25 starts, but after that pull out your Phil Hughes jersey's.
Back later with more...
4/7/09
Minor Leagues
PeteAbe has posted the rosters for all of the Yankees minor league teams. If you get the chance, check it out. One thing I noticed was that Dan Geise is on the roster for AAA Scranton. I heard that the Padres were looking to claim him off waivers, but I guess he cleared waivers. I think he could really help as a longman out of the bullpen, so I like that a lot. Game 2 tomorrow...
4/6/09
In Game Update
It's the bottom of the 5th and CC is really struggling. He just doesn't really have any command today, not even of his fastball. He just walked a run in and got the hook. Definitely a rough day. I'm not too concerned though, as it's only the 1st game of the year. I'm sure he had some Opening Day jitters/ first day as a Yankee jitters. I'm sure he'll find his command and be able to calm down in the future.
Roster
I forgot to include the Opening Day Roster.
Here you go...
Derek Jeter- SS
Johnny Damon- LF
Mark Teixeira- 1B
Hideki Matsui- DH
Jorge Posada- C
Robinson Cano- 2B
Xavier Nady- RF
Cody Ransom- 3B
Brett Gardner- CF
And Starting for the NY Yankees- CC Sabathia
Opening Day/ Updates
I've been waiting for this day for the last 5 months. Opening Day is here, and I am beyond excited. The Yankees, as you all know, missed the playoffs last season for the first time in 13 years, and they certainly went out and did something about it during the offseason. The most notable moves were the acquisitions of Nick Swisher (Trade), CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. I remember at the beginning of the offseason commenting on how insane it would be for Cashman to go out and get the "big three" free-agents (Tex, Burnett, and Sabathia). To this day, I am still shocked that he was able to do that. These acquisitions filled some major holes, mainly the weak starting rotation and the lack of a regular 1B.
In no particular order, here are a few things that I am excited about for upcoming season (8 MIN!):
1. Seeing how Teixeira, Burnett, and Sabathia will adjust to the big NY stage.
2. The unbelievable AL East. It should be quite a race.
3. The hopeful emergence of Brett Gardner.
4. Fantasy Baseball- I'm participating in 2 leagues. First, I am playing in the "Battle of Baby Joba League", the league created by and for this site. I wasn't able to draft by myself, but I had a friend do it, and my team is pretty beastly, if I do say so myself. I'm also playing in another blogger leauge, which should be a good time. This is only my second fantasy year, so I'm excited to see how I do.
5. Hopefully seeing the Yankees return to October Baseball- I'm not going to lie, I felt a little empty last October. Its just not the same without the Yankees. With the revamped rotation, I can see a playoff appearance very possible.
It's 4:03 and the game should start in 2 min. I'm so pumped.
Before I go, I just wanted to say that we are going to extend the contest by a few days, we just want to make sure that everybody that wants to enter have the opportunity to. Please get your entries in if you haven't done so already.
They are doing player introductions in Baltimore. LETS GO YANKEES.
4/3/09
And So it Begins...
Tonight will be the first game ever played at the new Yankee Stadium. As everybody knows, it is an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs and it should be a fun game to watch. PeteAbe has the lineups and pre-game schedule if you want to take a look.
I, for one, am very excited to see the new place open. From the pictures it looks to be truly incredible, and I can't wait to see my first game there. Unfortunately though, it won't be until late May since I live in Boston. I hope it's as cool and amazing as it looks in the pictures. What I will miss most about the old place is the atmosphere that it had, especially during the playoffs. I'm sure it'll transfer over, because the fans play a huge role in creating that thrilling atmosphere. I'm very excited to see it and am pumped for the game tonight.
Lets hear your thoughts on the New Stadium in the comments...
4/2/09
Here's to the New Place.
Do you have a big screen TV? Is it HD? Think about your TV. Now think about the height of your house. That's probably the best way to describe the fantastic new TV screen at the new park. It's incredible. Apparently the Yankees didn't just build a ballpark, they built a city. The place is ridiculous. No wonder seats cost ten billion dollars a pop. This is going to be a fun place to visit for years to come.
The Yanks kick off the season tomorrow with an exhibition against the Cubbies. Chesley Sullenberger, the captain of the flight in January that needed to be landed on the Hudson, will throw out the first pitch. But really, I'm more interested in who will be able to say that they had the first "New Yankee Stadium Hot Dog," the first steak at the steakhouse, the first meal at the Hard Rock Cafe, the first soda in the stands, the first beer, started the first role call, said "Red Socks Suck" first, and got kicked out first. If you go to the game tomorrow I suggest getting there at 4 am, being first in line, and then just do all the "firsts" in stadium history. I'm sure some happened at the workout, but there'll surely be other great firsts to be had, and at least firsts on a gameday. It'll be something you can brag about for years. Derek Jeter's already hit the first ball over the fence so we'll see what other great firsts you can have. We'd love to hear about any good ones you have (first to utilize a Yankee staidum urinal) I mean the possibilities are endless.
We are going all the way this year. I'm saying that now so I can brag when we do. Mark Teixeira is always a slow starter, but he had a hot spring and hopefully it'll keep going that way. Jeter batting first will help our OBP numbers from the leadoff spot, and Damon second will lower our DP totals. A-Rod and Tex will make a helluva combo in the middle of the order. Our rotation is going to be great, if everyone stays healthy. And if not...don't worry, we've got Phil Hughes. We have endless possibilities in the 'pen. Robby Cano and Nick Swisher can only get better. Brett Gardner has the spunk our lineup needs. We're going to have at least one bench clearing brawl against both Tampa and Boston. Jorge is back, and he'll be his old self behind the plate. I'm pretty sure we'll have the best DH in the league with Matsui (yea Papi. I said it. Whatcha gonna do?). Girardi knows its all on the line this year, and he's ready for the challenge. We can do this. And Boston can't. We're beating Tampa Bay for the division, they can have the wild card if they want, but we're going to win the division, the division series, the championship series, and the World Series. Not to mention we'll have the Cy Young winner (Burnett, Sabathia, Joba, Wang, Rivera...take your pick, the MVP (Jeter, Teixeira, and Cano could all be candidates), and the Rookie of the Year, Gardner (Oh no Matt Wieters....whatcha gotta say to that? David Price...you think you could beat B-Gard, no way dude. No way). And don't forget the comeback player of the year (Cano), the DHL Delivery Man (Mariano), Manager of the Year (Girardi) and executive of the Year (Cashman). Sure, I'm being optimistics, but the thing is that it's not that far fetched for us to win any of those awards. And we will win the Series. I'm positive. So...here's to a great year. Let's start it off by destroying the Cubbies tomorrow before the season actually begins.
The Yanks kick off the season tomorrow with an exhibition against the Cubbies. Chesley Sullenberger, the captain of the flight in January that needed to be landed on the Hudson, will throw out the first pitch. But really, I'm more interested in who will be able to say that they had the first "New Yankee Stadium Hot Dog," the first steak at the steakhouse, the first meal at the Hard Rock Cafe, the first soda in the stands, the first beer, started the first role call, said "Red Socks Suck" first, and got kicked out first. If you go to the game tomorrow I suggest getting there at 4 am, being first in line, and then just do all the "firsts" in stadium history. I'm sure some happened at the workout, but there'll surely be other great firsts to be had, and at least firsts on a gameday. It'll be something you can brag about for years. Derek Jeter's already hit the first ball over the fence so we'll see what other great firsts you can have. We'd love to hear about any good ones you have (first to utilize a Yankee staidum urinal) I mean the possibilities are endless.
We are going all the way this year. I'm saying that now so I can brag when we do. Mark Teixeira is always a slow starter, but he had a hot spring and hopefully it'll keep going that way. Jeter batting first will help our OBP numbers from the leadoff spot, and Damon second will lower our DP totals. A-Rod and Tex will make a helluva combo in the middle of the order. Our rotation is going to be great, if everyone stays healthy. And if not...don't worry, we've got Phil Hughes. We have endless possibilities in the 'pen. Robby Cano and Nick Swisher can only get better. Brett Gardner has the spunk our lineup needs. We're going to have at least one bench clearing brawl against both Tampa and Boston. Jorge is back, and he'll be his old self behind the plate. I'm pretty sure we'll have the best DH in the league with Matsui (yea Papi. I said it. Whatcha gonna do?). Girardi knows its all on the line this year, and he's ready for the challenge. We can do this. And Boston can't. We're beating Tampa Bay for the division, they can have the wild card if they want, but we're going to win the division, the division series, the championship series, and the World Series. Not to mention we'll have the Cy Young winner (Burnett, Sabathia, Joba, Wang, Rivera...take your pick, the MVP (Jeter, Teixeira, and Cano could all be candidates), and the Rookie of the Year, Gardner (Oh no Matt Wieters....whatcha gotta say to that? David Price...you think you could beat B-Gard, no way dude. No way). And don't forget the comeback player of the year (Cano), the DHL Delivery Man (Mariano), Manager of the Year (Girardi) and executive of the Year (Cashman). Sure, I'm being optimistics, but the thing is that it's not that far fetched for us to win any of those awards. And we will win the Series. I'm positive. So...here's to a great year. Let's start it off by destroying the Cubbies tomorrow before the season actually begins.
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