December 2008

The Yankees Are Getting Better and Younger

The Yanks have had quite the off-season.  There's a lot of "experts" out there talking about how it's the same old same old from the Bronx Bombers, but is it? Yes, they've been spending money on some stars. I'd argue that they're not only getting talent, they're getting talent that is in or near it's prime. Last year, the Yankees relied too much on "could be's",  "never were's" and "used to be's" with a few proven players scattered in there. This year, they'll be younger, and more proven. Taking a quick look at each position and you  can see they'll be better talent wise at almost every position.

1B: Tex over Giambi is a huge upgrade. Did the Yankees overpay for Tex? Maybe. But they certainly upgraded. Tex is one of the top three offensive first basemen in the league. He has no equal on defense. This has been a thorn in the Yankees side as long as Giambi has been there.

2B: This is a "We don't know" position. Will Cano return to form or will he struggle again? I don't know and frankly neither does anyone else. The Yankees seem to believe in him so that might count for something.

3B: A-Rod, love him or hate him this is an odd year, which has typically been a good year for him. (Of course I'm a little superstitious! I am a baseball fan). Even a down year for this guy is something to look forward to from an offensive POV. Of course, the question will be can he hit when it matters?

SS: A healthy Jeter is always welcome in my opinion.

Outfield/DH: This is still a bit of a cluttered mess. Who will play where? Is Gardner really that big of an improvement over Melky? Personally, I think Melky is a good to average centerfielder. If that is the case, Damon could play left and Swisher could DH/play left or right. Nady will be a good platoon guy and I think he could play LF everyday.  He is the type of guy the Yankees had in spades during the last dynasty run in the late 90's.  A hard working platoon guy that can play hard nosed defense and get some timely hits when needed.

DH is the most interesting position to me. I think Matsui needs to go. I've not been sold on him for a few years. I imagine that might hurt the team from a business stand point as I am sure he brings in a lot of revenue from the Japanese markets but his skills are just fading. If they kept him, I think that he would be adequate. The depth here at OF allows them some wiggle room in the trade department.
I think they should move Matsui for a MR guy and go after Manny to be a full time DH.

C: If Jorge is healthy, he will really lengthen their lineup this coming year. We'll see what happens there. I love Jorge but he is older. Molina isn't a bad back up because of his defensive skills but his offense leaves much to be desired.  If Jorge is healthy this should be a huge upgrade over last year.


Tomorrow we'll look at the pitching and management.

This Just In: Todd Jones Needs a Hankey!

Todd Jones is whining about the Yankees making moves that are perfectly legal and within the rules of the game. Poor Todd never mentions that they Yankees payroll actually went down this year. Poor Todd never mentions that these rules actually make sense for the Yankees. Boo Hoo, this is what Todd has to say...

I wonder if Yankees fans ever blush. What's so special about pulling for the bully at the end of the street who beats up on the smallest kid in town? What's cool is when you're rooting for a team that comes from nowhere. Most of us like the underdogs, and they still have their day in baseball, as we saw with the Rays this past season.

I'll answer for you Todd. I do blush occasionally, but never about the Yankees. If I were a Pirates fan, I'd blush about my ownership. If I were a Marlins fan, I'd blush about my ownership. As a Yankees fan, I blush when I have to read drivel like yours.

HT: Yankees Chick

I Love Andy Pettitte

andypettttt.jpg

One of my favorite Yankee Stadium memories is from when I was in college. We drove to the Stadium at the last minute.  I snuck down from the nose bleed sections to the right field wall. Shawn Green still played for the Blue Jays. He missed a ball that should have been an easy out (after striking out on three pitches in the top half of the inning) and we rode him really hard. He actually pointed to us, uttered a few words about wanting to have "special relationships" with us.  That clip of him pointing at us actually made it on ESPN, the world wide misleader, that night. Clemens was pitching for the Jays. There was this little girl that came to the game with her dad. She wore a pink dress, patent leather shoes, and had a poster hidden against her body.  During one portion of the game where there was really not all that much going on, the fans started booing and chanting. I turned around and sure enough her poster said, "I love Roger." I have no idea what her dad was doing bringing her to that portion of the stadium. That is a fond memory.

Another fond memory was this large guy making fun of Bernie Williams. Now, I love Bernie. There was no need for him to be making fun of Bernie at this time (I think it was '97) so I turned around to see who was heckling Bernie. The guy looked like Newman.

newman2.jpg

So I turned around and went after the poor fellow. I asked him if they charged him for two seats and told him to let Bernie alone. The entire area of the stadium cheered me for that. (I know it was mean and I can only claim the lack of judgment that comes from youth).  

None of that was my favorite memory from that game. My favorite memory from that game is the fact that Andy Pettitte pitched. Even as I sit and type this post I can still remember his pitching. It was magical. He was so fluid. Each body-motion was loaded with power, yet the overall motion was like a dancer performing a fine classical tune. Andy Pettitte is my favorite Yankee of my life time, maybe of all time...but

...it's time for him to accept the fact that he isn't worth 16 million dollars in this market. Is there another team out there that is going to give it to him? Maybe, maybe not, no one knows for sure. At what point though, does that become a moot point. Andy has said before that it's not just about the money for him. I believed him. Now, I'm starting to wonder.  He has a chance to be part of one of the potentially greatest rotations in a long time to wear the Yankee pinstripes. When he left last time, I was crushed. It physically hurt and I imagine that this time will hurt some as well but he needs to be realistic.

I suppose with the Red Sox signing of Brad Penny may give Andy some more room to negotiate with the Yanks but not much. I really hope he comes back. I think his leadership and personality will be good for the Yankees. He's one of the best post season pitchers of all time.  The Yankees could use him, but they don't need him.

How To Fix The BCS

I know this is a baseball blog but I found this blog today and it mentioned how to fix the BCS. The whole post makes sense to me. You can read it here. My favorite quote is:

Last year, LSU proved that the proper spin is more important than wins or losses. 

9 Things I learned About Life at a Baseball Game #3

This is the third installment of a 9 part series of things I've learned over the years about life whiling playing, coaching, watching or umpiring baseball. You can find principle #1 here and principle #2 here.

Principle #1 is "Losers Make Excuses, Winners Make Changes"

Principle #2 is "Don't Worry About What Just Happened; Focus On What is About To Happen"
   
Principle #3 is "Without the Will to Prepare, the Will to Win is Pointless. Nothing More Than Glorified Hubris."
Baseball3     Most of the time baseball is a game that is won before the first pitch is ever thrown so preparation is the key (Note: I only say most of the time because I shudder at universal statements). Sure the walk off Larry gets the most attention but how much preparation goes into that moment? How many decisions over the course of the game lead to that moment? Recently I watched a game end in a 2-0 shut out. The losing pitcher gave up zero earned runs. He still lost. I wonder if the short stop or the right fielder put in enough practice time to be confident in that game situation.
    It always amazes me how people seem to think that successful people just wake up one day as successful people. It just doesn't work that way. It takes hard work and preparation. The will to win without the will to prepare to win is useless.
    Success follows preparation, period. It's true in baseball and it's true in life. I used to work in the food service business and nowhere was this principle more evident to me than there. The difference between successful servers and non-successful servers was the fact that the successful ones prepared. The difference in a good shifts and bad shifts was the level of preparation that went into each shift.
    No one can step up to a plate and just hit successfully. No pitcher can be successfully over the long haul if he doesn't prepare. If he doesn't hone his skill and study his opponent he will not succeed on pure talent alone. It's in the preparation that we hone those skills. How does a guy who can't hit a curveball learn to hit it? You guessed it, preparation. So baseball has taught me that preparation is the key to success. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Study, study, study.
    Hone your skills. If you try something and fail, study what you did. Look at what went right, what went wrong. Schedule time in your day to look at what you're doing. Take time to prepare. Have a will to prepare, at the end of the day that is far more important than your will to win.

Bloomburg on Melvin: "Here's a baseball man moonlighting as a businessman. And failing miserably."

Bloomberg.com has an interesting article concerning Doug Melvin. A discussion that I have been having for years regards the fact that many, if not most of the guy's running the MLB teams have no idea what they are doing. They don't know how to be competitive and successful. More of that later. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the article, which can be read in its entirety here:

[Melvin]...shows a complete lack of understanding of a superior athlete's desire to feel wanted and the business behind baseball in the Bronx, especially at this moment in franchise history.

and

Let's hope the businessman explains the basics to the baseball man.

6 Rules to Live By. (In Baseball and Life)

  1. Control your destiny or someone else will
  2. Face reality as it is, not as you wish it to be
  3. Be candid with everyone
  4. Don't Manage, lead
  5. Change, before you have to
  6. If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete (You're not competing, you're losing).

Heading in the Right Direction...

One of the realities you learn to live with when you cheer for the Yankees is everyone complaing about the Yankees "buying a championship."  It  usually sounds like this:

Me: I like the Yankees

Them: OH they just wah wah wah wah wah, buy, wah wah wah, cry cry cry, their, wah  wah wah, championships.

 

I get so tired of hearing it. As if it's the Yankees fault that half the world buys their stuff and that they are the most successful franchise in the history of the world.  

This year is no exception. Of course with the signing of C.C. and AJ this year is no different. But is it true? Of course, the Yankees haven't won a world series in years despite adding to their line-up and their payroll. This year, things seem a little different though, the Yankees are getting younger and their going after pitching.

The Yankees farm system is stacked with pitching talent and they are building the talent on the fielding side.  They currently have in the system Ian Kennedy, Austin Jackson, and Philip Hughes--all potential big timers

Next years starting rotation looks something like this:

1.       Sabathia, 28 yo

2.       Burnett, 32 yo

3.       Wang, 29 yo

4.       Chamberlain, 23 yo

5.       Pettite, 36 (I am speculating here)

This is where the Yankee haters are most bothersome. If this rotation were the Mets, or the Red Sux the world wide miss leader would be heralding it as one of the greatest potential rotations ever.  Yes, the 2009 Yankees have some holes to fill. Yes, they may not be where they want to be yet, but they are moving in the right direction and the last few months have proven that.

The Yankees may well be the team to beat in '09.

I'm Back...

No matter how often I try to stop blogging about sports and baseball, I always come back to it. I always get stuck thinking about this or that. So here we go one more time. Posts with substance to come soon.
« previous month | back to blog | next monthly »