Back in Tampa
Monday: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (0-1. 17.18) for the Yankees vs. LHP Scott Kazmir (1-0, 1.50), 7:08PM
Tuesday: RHP A.J. Burnett (1-0, 3.38) vs. RHP Matt Garza (1-0, 1.29), 7:08PM
The First Victory of the Year is Always Sweet
The Yankees avoided the sweep by beating the Orioles 11-2 on Thursday. A.J. Burnett pitched a solid 5 1/3 innings. I believe he is going to be a major difference maker in the upcoming season. For the first time in quite a few years, the Yankees have three frontline starters in their rotation. If they all can stay healthy, this should limit any long losing streaks.
Pitching (similar to hitting) is contagious. For example, If Sabathia and Wang pitch back-to-back solid games, Burnett is going to build off of this momentum -not wanting to be the starter that gets knocked out early. This then carries down the line to Pettitte and Chamberlain. The competitive nature of athletes allows them to build off of each others successes. It's this mentality that can cause a pitching staff to get hot and carry a club.
The Yankees are in Kansas City for the home opener of the remodeled Kaufman Stadium. Here are the upcoming pitching matchups:
Pitching (similar to hitting) is contagious. For example, If Sabathia and Wang pitch back-to-back solid games, Burnett is going to build off of this momentum -not wanting to be the starter that gets knocked out early. This then carries down the line to Pettitte and Chamberlain. The competitive nature of athletes allows them to build off of each others successes. It's this mentality that can cause a pitching staff to get hot and carry a club.
The Yankees are in Kansas City for the home opener of the remodeled Kaufman Stadium. Here are the upcoming pitching matchups:
Friday: LHP Andy Pettitte (0-0. 0.00) for the Yankees vs. RHP Sydney Ponson (0-0, 0.00), 4:10
Saturday: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Horacio Ramirez (0-0, 0.00), 7:10
"I Guess We Aren't Going to Go 162-0"
Perfect line by Joe Girardi to sum up today's game. Here are a few random thoughts:
Plus ca change - Glad to see that after re-tooling the starting rotation during the off season, opening day in Camden Yards was a typical Yankee/Orioles slugfest. CC Sabathia failed to establish his fastball early in the game. Later, when he made a few borderline pitches the umpire squeezed him.
Nick Swisher had a great at bat off of the bench. Questions still surround his ability to make the transition from playing everyday to becoming a role player, but this was a solid step in the right direction.
Brett Gardner had himself a game. The sacrifice bunt wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. He also picked up an assist from the outfield, gunning a player at the plate.
Posada caught all 9 innings. I'm still holding my breath until he reports on how he feels Tuesday.
The great thing about baseball is that there is always tomorrow (or in this case Wednesday)!
Plus ca change - Glad to see that after re-tooling the starting rotation during the off season, opening day in Camden Yards was a typical Yankee/Orioles slugfest. CC Sabathia failed to establish his fastball early in the game. Later, when he made a few borderline pitches the umpire squeezed him.
Nick Swisher had a great at bat off of the bench. Questions still surround his ability to make the transition from playing everyday to becoming a role player, but this was a solid step in the right direction.
Brett Gardner had himself a game. The sacrifice bunt wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. He also picked up an assist from the outfield, gunning a player at the plate.
Posada caught all 9 innings. I'm still holding my breath until he reports on how he feels Tuesday.
The great thing about baseball is that there is always tomorrow (or in this case Wednesday)!
Tomorrows Lineup
Pete Abraham reported that Joe Girardi announced his opening day lineup after the workout today at Camden Yards:
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Nady RF
Ransom 3B
Gardner CF
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Nady RF
Ransom 3B
Gardner CF
It's For Real Now
The Yankees wrapped up the Grapefruit League with an MLB best record of
24-10-1 (second best overall in baseball to the Anaheim Angels, who had
26 wins in the Cactus League). Most baseball pundits downplay spring
training, however Joe Girardi believes it is good to make a habit out
of winning early and then carry it through to the regular season. While
this has gone either way for teams in the past, the current 2009 Yankee
squad is built around pitching. If the starters can stay healthy over
the course of 162 games, October baseball should be back in the Bronx
again.
Tomorrow the Yankees start their long march toward the playoffs in Baltimore against the Orioles. As we did last year, here are the upcoming pitching matchups:
Tomorrow the Yankees start their long march toward the playoffs in Baltimore against the Orioles. As we did last year, here are the upcoming pitching matchups:
Monday: LHP CC Sabathia (17-10. 2.70 in 2008) for the Yankees vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie (10-12, 3.63), 4:05
Wednesday: RHP Chien-Ming Wang (8-2, 4.07) vs. RHP Koji Uehara (6-5, 3.81 for Yomiuri Giants), 7:05
Thursday: RHP A.J. Burnett (18-10, 4.07) vs. RHP Alfredo Simon (0-0, 6.23), 1:35
The weather is starting to turn in New York, the birds are chirping outside, and the first pitch of the year will be thrown in less than 24 hours. Let the fun begin.
Bob Sheppard Retires
Bob Sheppard, the voice of the Yankees, has decided to retire. Jack Curry broke the story for the New York Times via an interivew with Paul Doherty, a friend and agent who represents him. Here is the link:
Final Decisions
As spring training winds down, Joe Girardi provided some clarity today
on one of the three remaining question marks for the upcoming season.
After the game against the Pirates, he announced that Brett Gardner
will start in centerfield on opening day. During the spring
exhibition schedule, Gardner played exceptionally well, batting .418
with a .468 on-base percentage. He had three doubles, two triples,
three
home runs, six RBI and five stolen bases.
For those that have read this blog regularly, I favored Gardner over Cabrera simply because he brought a style of play that differed from what any other player on the team could offer. He slaps the ball around and uses his speed (one of the three fastest players in the organization) to get on base. Numerous times during the spring, he has distracted pitchers while on first and second. This has prevented them from fully concentrating on the batter and making them more susceptible to throwing a cookie and having it hit hard. Presuming he can get on base consistently, he should create enough of a distraction for Jeter and Damon to get some good pitches to hit.
The second question for the Yankees regards the bullpen. Joe Girardi is toying with the idea of not carrying a long-man, and going with Jonathan Albaladejo instead. Albaledejo has been impressive this spring, but with Joba Chamberlain anchoring the back-end of the rotation and being on a strict innings limit (once again), under this scenario, the bullpen could get burned out early. Dan Giese and Alfredo Aceves have not thrown exceptionally well this spring, but Brett Tomko has looked good. I think in the end they will take Albaladejo, but put Tomko on the Scranton roster as a backup in case things don't go as a planned.
The last decision regards the utility infield position. Angel Berroa is competing against Ramiro Pena. Berroa has hit well this spring, but has looked real shaky in the field (including two errors in the game I attended in Tampa). Pena has a great arm and has shown a major league caliber glove, but questions remain regarding his ability to hit. I believe that this, factored in with his age (22) will translate into Berroa winning the job and Pena being sent Scranton to further develop offensively. The Yankees will want him to play regularly, something that the utility role in the Bronx will not offer.
For those that have read this blog regularly, I favored Gardner over Cabrera simply because he brought a style of play that differed from what any other player on the team could offer. He slaps the ball around and uses his speed (one of the three fastest players in the organization) to get on base. Numerous times during the spring, he has distracted pitchers while on first and second. This has prevented them from fully concentrating on the batter and making them more susceptible to throwing a cookie and having it hit hard. Presuming he can get on base consistently, he should create enough of a distraction for Jeter and Damon to get some good pitches to hit.
The second question for the Yankees regards the bullpen. Joe Girardi is toying with the idea of not carrying a long-man, and going with Jonathan Albaladejo instead. Albaledejo has been impressive this spring, but with Joba Chamberlain anchoring the back-end of the rotation and being on a strict innings limit (once again), under this scenario, the bullpen could get burned out early. Dan Giese and Alfredo Aceves have not thrown exceptionally well this spring, but Brett Tomko has looked good. I think in the end they will take Albaladejo, but put Tomko on the Scranton roster as a backup in case things don't go as a planned.
The last decision regards the utility infield position. Angel Berroa is competing against Ramiro Pena. Berroa has hit well this spring, but has looked real shaky in the field (including two errors in the game I attended in Tampa). Pena has a great arm and has shown a major league caliber glove, but questions remain regarding his ability to hit. I believe that this, factored in with his age (22) will translate into Berroa winning the job and Pena being sent Scranton to further develop offensively. The Yankees will want him to play regularly, something that the utility role in the Bronx will not offer.
Posada Throwing Better
Today while the Yankees traveled to Port Charlotte to take on the Tampa Bay Rays, Jorge Posada and CC Sabathia stayed behind and worked out in a minor league game against the Pirates. While facing the Pirates, Posada threw out three runners attempting to steal second base. After the game, he said the the shoulder felt 100% and nailing the runners at second base was a huge boost to his confidence.
The Yankees are counting on Posada to catch between 100-110 games this year. In order to be effective, he needs to be able to throw. This is definitely a good thing.
Also, as an insurance policy against Jose Molina breaking down, the Yankees picked up Chris Stewart from the Chicago White Sox for future considerations. Most teams keep at least one veteran catcher on their Triple-A roster as protection against an injury on the big league club. That is why this move was made.
The Yankees are counting on Posada to catch between 100-110 games this year. In order to be effective, he needs to be able to throw. This is definitely a good thing.
Also, as an insurance policy against Jose Molina breaking down, the Yankees picked up Chris Stewart from the Chicago White Sox for future considerations. Most teams keep at least one veteran catcher on their Triple-A roster as protection against an injury on the big league club. That is why this move was made.
Hit Against the Grain
I'm not sure if you noticed, but many players are swinging two-toned bats this spring. This stood out as more than a coincidence on my trip to Tampa and Ft. Myers so I did some research to figure out why. It turns out that the two-toned color is part of the new regulation issued by MLB on maple bats for the upcoming season.
USA Today had a great piece where they broke down all the guidelines and got reactions from many players. The part that I found most interesting regards the new placement of the label. Up until this season, the label has always been placed against the grain on ash and maple bats. Hitters are taught that they must hold the bat with the label up. This will ensure that contact is made with the grain (the harder side of the wood). MLB conducted a study and found that with maple, the bat is stronger by swinging it against the grain. Thus, not only are these bats two-toned, but the label has also been moved 90 degrees. Many hitters, including Ryan Howard and Darrin Erstad are not buying it. I wonder if this will push them back to ash, or force them to simply rotate the bat so that the label faces the pitcher.
USA Today had a great piece where they broke down all the guidelines and got reactions from many players. The part that I found most interesting regards the new placement of the label. Up until this season, the label has always been placed against the grain on ash and maple bats. Hitters are taught that they must hold the bat with the label up. This will ensure that contact is made with the grain (the harder side of the wood). MLB conducted a study and found that with maple, the bat is stronger by swinging it against the grain. Thus, not only are these bats two-toned, but the label has also been moved 90 degrees. Many hitters, including Ryan Howard and Darrin Erstad are not buying it. I wonder if this will push them back to ash, or force them to simply rotate the bat so that the label faces the pitcher.
Short Rehab Schedule
A-Rod had surgery today to repair the torn labrum in his hip. The first part of the rehab will take place right after the procedure; he will be on a stationary bike. Based on his reputation of having a work-ethic second to none, Pete Abraham predicts he will be back in six weeks. I agree.