Forgive me for writing this piece, but besides being a life-long Yankee fan, I am also a fan of the NY Jets...and thus I can be very pessimistic. So, although the Yanks come into the 2010 season loaded and a favorite in many circles to go back to the World Series, I couldn't help but ponder what's the worst things that could happen to this team. Here's my list of 5 events that could turn this season into a "2009 Mets" type disaster...
1) ARod reinjures hip
I know that ARod was told that last season's hip surgery went so well he won't need a follow-up procedure, but after seeing Carlos Delgado have to go back under the knife, the ARod hip issue just can't be ignored. If word should come that ARod will need to miss extensive time for a follow-up procedure it would crush the hopes of Yankee Universe. Unfortunately, the Yanks will have to live with this possibility for the next 8 years of ARod's (insane) contract.
Probability: 15%
2) Sabathia, Burnett & Pettitte all suffer arm related injuries
Last year's big three all pitched over 200 innings. They went deep in the playoffs, CC & AJ for the first time, and Andy for the first time in many years. If all three broke down this year due to tired arms, strains or tears it wouldn't be a surprise. Fortunately, Girardi and the Yanks are aware of the potential danger, and are attempting to limit the amount of throwing these guys do in the pre-season. The Yanks could afford to lose 1, possibly even 2, of these guys for significant portions of the season (the Vasquez signing was big for this reason) but if all 3 were to go down, it would be a disaster.
Probability: 10%
3) Yankee outfield struggles
One thing about Johnny Damon was he was consistent as hell. From 2002 to 2009 he never batted below .270, scored less than 93 runs or had an OBP under .345. His replacement Curtis Granderson has a LIFETIME OBP of .344, hit .249 last year, and has scored less than 93 runs in 2 of his 4 full years despite playing in a pretty good offense in Detroit.
The other outfielders for the Yanks - Swisher, Gardner, Winn, Thames, Hoffman - are either inconsistent (Would you really be surprised if Nick Swisher, after partying all winter, hit .220 like he did with the White Sox in 2008), young & unproven (Gardner, Hoffman), or old & flawed (Winn, Thames). There is the distinct possibility that by mid-summer, Yankee fans may long for the days of one Melky Cabrera.
Probability: 20%
4) Mo finally behaves humanly
One of these years it's bound to happen. Mo has had early season struggles, so a bad April will not necessarily be cause for alarm. But what if by the All-Star Break Mo is sporting a 7.00 ERA with 6 blown saves. Would the Yanks do as the Phils did last year with Brad Lidge --- keep sending him out there. Or would they panic and move Joba or Hughes to the back of the bullpen, hoping they were ready to handle the pressures of replacing the greatest closer of all time?
Probability: 8%
5) Jeter linked to PED's
I may get death threats for even writing this. So let me say this:
I DO NOT HAVE ANY REASON TO THINK THAT DEREK JETER HAS EVER USED PED'S.
The only reason I bring this up is because, if Jeter were to ever be linked to PED's, it would totally destroy the Yankee brand. When we all found out ARod, Manny, Big Papi, Bonds, Giambi, Sosa, & McGwire were linked to the stuff, no one was surprised. I mean if the cheater played for your team, you tried to pretend like it was a surprise, but we all knew the best hitters in the game were a little too good.
But if Jeter ever was associated with PED's it would make all Yankee championships since '96 null and void. You know it would. All the Yankee haters would come out the woodwork to trash Jeter. They've wanted to for so long but haven't been able to say much except the occasional "he's overrated" or "he's a terrible short-stop", even though deep down they know he's one of the truly great winners of all time, right there with the likes of Bill Russell, John Wooden, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan & Joe Montana.
A connection to PED's for Jeter (and the obvious media tsunami it would create) would tarnish his impeccable reputation and would suck the life out of this Yankee team in the same way Thurman Munson's death did to the '79 Yanks, who were also trying to repeat as champs.
Probability: Less than 1%
Showing posts with label NY Yankees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NY Yankees. Show all posts
February 25, 2010
April 27, 2009
BEATDOWN IN BEANTOWN
The Yankees were spanked up real good in Boston over the weekend. They got swept by a hot Red Sox team that has now won 10 in a row after starting the season 2-6. The Sox beat the Yanks in just about every possible way.
On Friday the Sox got to Mariano Rivera in the ninth to tie the game and then won it later on a home run from Youk off Damaso "Farnsworth" Marte.
On Saturday, AJ "Jekyll & Hyde" Burnett gave up a 6 run lead. And even though the Yanks battled back several times to regain the lead, the bullpen just would not allow the Yanks to win this game.
I mean, seriously, when the Yanks took an 11-10 lead in the 8th inning with Damaso Marte warming up in the bullpen for the Yanks, I wrote a comment in Peter Abraham's LoHud blog that the Yanks would need to put up at least 6 in the inning to avoid the bullpen giving it back. What happened? Yanks lose by 5. That's how much confidence I have when Marte takes the mound.
Marte didn't give up all the runs but he is like the character Eddie Mush from the movie "A Bronx Tale". Mush was the type of guy who, "if he didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have no luck at all." In one scene in the movie all the mobsters are at the race track betting on a particular horse. When they see that Mush has bet on the same horse they all tear up their tickets because they know, even though their horse was currently in the lead, they can't win if Mush bet on him too. That's how I feel about Marte. Even if he pitches well (which happens just about as often as Rush Limbaugh compliments Obama), just the fact that he participated in the game, the Yanks are cursed to lose.
On Sunday, the Yanks got their first well pitched game of the series by Andy Pettitte but poor defense, lack of timely hitting, a Big Papi sighting, and a friggin' straight steal of home did them in.
To add injury to insult, the Yanks put Chien Ming Wang, Cody Ransom & Brian Bruney on the disabled list. Now Wang & Ransom going on the DL is actually a blessing in disguise, considering the way they've played. But Bruney was one of the few bright spots in the bullpen. And he was THE ONLY reliable link to Mariano. So that hurts.
The Yanks should have won 2 of 3 but instead will leave Boston with their tails between their legs. Despite all that the Yanks have been thru, they currently sit at .500. But it seems that the Yanks should be something like 6-12 right now due to all the blowouts and heartbreaking losses they've endured.
Hopefully, the starting pitching can get on track, which will by itself help to improve a worn-out bullpen. CC goes today. It might be a good time for him to start pitching like a 160 million dollar pitcher. And Phil Hughes will start on Tuesday against Detroit, replacing Wang in the rotation. If he can just go 5 innings and give up 5 runs or less it will be a HUGE improvement over what Wang was giving us.
Plus, I predict ARod will be back by the end of next week. I hope, I hope, I hope.
Fare thee well Boston,...until we meet again!
On Friday the Sox got to Mariano Rivera in the ninth to tie the game and then won it later on a home run from Youk off Damaso "Farnsworth" Marte.
On Saturday, AJ "Jekyll & Hyde" Burnett gave up a 6 run lead. And even though the Yanks battled back several times to regain the lead, the bullpen just would not allow the Yanks to win this game.
I mean, seriously, when the Yanks took an 11-10 lead in the 8th inning with Damaso Marte warming up in the bullpen for the Yanks, I wrote a comment in Peter Abraham's LoHud blog that the Yanks would need to put up at least 6 in the inning to avoid the bullpen giving it back. What happened? Yanks lose by 5. That's how much confidence I have when Marte takes the mound.
Marte didn't give up all the runs but he is like the character Eddie Mush from the movie "A Bronx Tale". Mush was the type of guy who, "if he didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have no luck at all." In one scene in the movie all the mobsters are at the race track betting on a particular horse. When they see that Mush has bet on the same horse they all tear up their tickets because they know, even though their horse was currently in the lead, they can't win if Mush bet on him too. That's how I feel about Marte. Even if he pitches well (which happens just about as often as Rush Limbaugh compliments Obama), just the fact that he participated in the game, the Yanks are cursed to lose.
On Sunday, the Yanks got their first well pitched game of the series by Andy Pettitte but poor defense, lack of timely hitting, a Big Papi sighting, and a friggin' straight steal of home did them in.
To add injury to insult, the Yanks put Chien Ming Wang, Cody Ransom & Brian Bruney on the disabled list. Now Wang & Ransom going on the DL is actually a blessing in disguise, considering the way they've played. But Bruney was one of the few bright spots in the bullpen. And he was THE ONLY reliable link to Mariano. So that hurts.
The Yanks should have won 2 of 3 but instead will leave Boston with their tails between their legs. Despite all that the Yanks have been thru, they currently sit at .500. But it seems that the Yanks should be something like 6-12 right now due to all the blowouts and heartbreaking losses they've endured.
Hopefully, the starting pitching can get on track, which will by itself help to improve a worn-out bullpen. CC goes today. It might be a good time for him to start pitching like a 160 million dollar pitcher. And Phil Hughes will start on Tuesday against Detroit, replacing Wang in the rotation. If he can just go 5 innings and give up 5 runs or less it will be a HUGE improvement over what Wang was giving us.
Plus, I predict ARod will be back by the end of next week. I hope, I hope, I hope.
Fare thee well Boston,...until we meet again!
April 17, 2009
New Stadiums Come With A Trade-Off
I read an article today by Tom Verducci about how the New Yankee Stadium may not equal the previous one in terms of fan noise. This of course, he suggests, figures to take away a certain advantage that the Yankees had. His is not the only take I've heard on this issue in the last several weeks. The same things have been written about the Met's Citifield.
But is it really an issue?
I was living in Baltimore when Oriole Park at Camden Yards was built. Memorial Stadium was a dump. And Camden Yards is a jewel of a ballpark. But it may surprise some to know the same things were said of it back then, that are being said about the Yanks' & Mets' new digs today.
"Too many corporate guys with suits."
"The new ballpark has priced out the real fans."
"The noise level can't compare to Memorial Stadium"
Maybe these issues were a surprise to the Orioles' organization at the time but do you think they have, for one second, regretted building Camden Yards? Of course not.
Now, do you think the Yankees were unaware that moving the fans back from the field in a bowl shape instead of straight up would reduce the noise level?
Do you think they might have considered that pricing some seats as high as $2500 would alienate a portion of their fan base?
Would it have occured to the Yankee brass that the type of fans who can pay top price for a seat in the new stadium aren't the kind of people who are going to get drunk on beer and heckle opposing players all game?
Perhaps they balanced those negatives with how much extra money they'd make with luxury boxes and corporate sponsorship.
That's why teams build new ballbarks. It increases revenue streams. In theory, by doing so you are able to use that extra income to put a better team on the field.
The Yankees have not won 26 championships in baseball because they've acheived some sort of advantage over other teams due to loud, intimidating fans. They've done it by putting a winning team on the field more often than not. If they continue to do that, I think they'll be alright...even in the New Yankee Stadium.
But is it really an issue?
I was living in Baltimore when Oriole Park at Camden Yards was built. Memorial Stadium was a dump. And Camden Yards is a jewel of a ballpark. But it may surprise some to know the same things were said of it back then, that are being said about the Yanks' & Mets' new digs today.
"Too many corporate guys with suits."
"The new ballpark has priced out the real fans."
"The noise level can't compare to Memorial Stadium"
Maybe these issues were a surprise to the Orioles' organization at the time but do you think they have, for one second, regretted building Camden Yards? Of course not.
Now, do you think the Yankees were unaware that moving the fans back from the field in a bowl shape instead of straight up would reduce the noise level?
Do you think they might have considered that pricing some seats as high as $2500 would alienate a portion of their fan base?
Would it have occured to the Yankee brass that the type of fans who can pay top price for a seat in the new stadium aren't the kind of people who are going to get drunk on beer and heckle opposing players all game?
Perhaps they balanced those negatives with how much extra money they'd make with luxury boxes and corporate sponsorship.
That's why teams build new ballbarks. It increases revenue streams. In theory, by doing so you are able to use that extra income to put a better team on the field.
The Yankees have not won 26 championships in baseball because they've acheived some sort of advantage over other teams due to loud, intimidating fans. They've done it by putting a winning team on the field more often than not. If they continue to do that, I think they'll be alright...even in the New Yankee Stadium.
Bullpen Spoils New Yankee Stadium Debut
Damaso Marte & Jose Veras blew another one for us.
Veras, I have accepted is streaky. He'll be lights out for weeks but then he'll have periods of poor control that lead to him getting rocked. I'll live with him, but you have to monitor him closely when he's in one of his unreliable periods.
Marte, on the other hand has been consistenly bad for the Yanks since they got him. Girardi & Cashman want to believe otherwise, due to his body of work in Pittsburgh. But this is New York. I don't care what you did other places. You have to get it done here. Last year he was used as a lefty specialist. He failed. He was used as a set up guy. He failed. He's been used as a mop up guy. He failed.
At this point Marte should be used as a lefty specialist only, pitching to 1 hitter at a time. If he can handle that for the next couple months, then, maybe his role can be expanded. God, I hate the fact the Yanks gave him a 3 year contract!!!
The Cody Ransom Experiment should be shut down, NOW. It's obvious his bat is non-existent but if we can't even get steady defense from him, he ain't worth a Zimbabwe Dollar. He was probably looking at this chance as his last shot at the major leagues since he's 33. When he started off poorly, he obviously started pressing and things just snowballed. Time to move on and get a major league quality body at 3B until ARod returns.
CC Sabathia didn't look too good yesterday. Too many pitches led to him leaving after 5 and turning the game over to a shaky bullpen. But at least he was able to battle in this one and keep us in the game unlike his first start in Baltimore. Maybe he was too jacked up yesterday due to it being the first game in the new stadium and pitching against his former team. Hopefully, he'll bounce back in his next start.
David Robertson pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game. Robertson was called up due to the Nady injury and had been lights out at Scranton. The Yanks should not hesitate to swap out guys in the bullpen. We have too much depth in the minors to continuously send guys out there who aren't doing the job. Marte & Veras, this means you.
Cano continued his hot bat yesterday with 3 more hits plus a walk. Keep it up, Robbie.
Veras, I have accepted is streaky. He'll be lights out for weeks but then he'll have periods of poor control that lead to him getting rocked. I'll live with him, but you have to monitor him closely when he's in one of his unreliable periods.
Marte, on the other hand has been consistenly bad for the Yanks since they got him. Girardi & Cashman want to believe otherwise, due to his body of work in Pittsburgh. But this is New York. I don't care what you did other places. You have to get it done here. Last year he was used as a lefty specialist. He failed. He was used as a set up guy. He failed. He's been used as a mop up guy. He failed.
At this point Marte should be used as a lefty specialist only, pitching to 1 hitter at a time. If he can handle that for the next couple months, then, maybe his role can be expanded. God, I hate the fact the Yanks gave him a 3 year contract!!!
The Cody Ransom Experiment should be shut down, NOW. It's obvious his bat is non-existent but if we can't even get steady defense from him, he ain't worth a Zimbabwe Dollar. He was probably looking at this chance as his last shot at the major leagues since he's 33. When he started off poorly, he obviously started pressing and things just snowballed. Time to move on and get a major league quality body at 3B until ARod returns.
CC Sabathia didn't look too good yesterday. Too many pitches led to him leaving after 5 and turning the game over to a shaky bullpen. But at least he was able to battle in this one and keep us in the game unlike his first start in Baltimore. Maybe he was too jacked up yesterday due to it being the first game in the new stadium and pitching against his former team. Hopefully, he'll bounce back in his next start.
David Robertson pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game. Robertson was called up due to the Nady injury and had been lights out at Scranton. The Yanks should not hesitate to swap out guys in the bullpen. We have too much depth in the minors to continuously send guys out there who aren't doing the job. Marte & Veras, this means you.
Cano continued his hot bat yesterday with 3 more hits plus a walk. Keep it up, Robbie.
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