Leaders

Current Yankee leader in batting average:

Andy Pettitte - .333

Current Yankee leader in earned run average:

Nick Swisher - 0.00

Make of that what you will.

Saturday Afternoon Pics

Friday was my birthday, and I celebrated by heading down to the stadium for Saturday afternoon's game against the Mets. Unfortunately, no one told the Yankees as they suffered a pretty sloppy loss to the Mets. The goat of the game was obviously Kyle Farnsworth, who came in with the Yankees down by just one run and proceeded to allow two homers and a walk to the first three batters he faced, putting the game well out of reach.

What was almost even more disheartening, however, was watching Derek Jeter make a very rare mental error on the basepaths. In the bottom of the sixth Jeter got a clean hit into center field which he inexplicably tried to stretch into a double. It didn't work out.


As you can see, Jeter wasn't anywhere close to making it to second, and I have no idea what could have made him think that he should try.

On the bright side, Andy Pettitte did a good job dominating the Mets in the first three innings and recovering nicely after putting the first four batters on in the fourth inning.


In off the field matters, the Yankees have been conducting a little ceremony after the fifth inning of each game to count down the final games at Yankee Stadium.

Considering all the nostalgia and schmaltz that's going into the Yankee Stadium farewell hoopla, I think it's pretty weird that they would choose to set the background music for this particular ceremony as Europe's "The Final Countdown". So much for dignity.

Spring Training - The Starters

40-Man Roster Players:

• Andrew Brackman (injured)
• Joba Chamberlain
• Phil Hughes
• Kei Igawa
• Jeff Karstens
• Ian Kennedy
• Jeffrey Marquez
• Mike Mussina
• Carl Pavano (injured)
• Andy Pettitte
• Humberto Sanchez (injured)
• Chien-Ming Wang

Non-Roster Invitees:

• Alan Horne
• Daniel McCutchen
• Darrell Rasner

As I said yesterday, there's a lot more going on with the pitchers than the catchers this spring. While the majority of the intrigue will be in the bullpen, there's still some questions to be answered in the rotation. The top three spots are, of course, set with Wang, Pettitte and Hughes. The fourth spot is ostensibly Mussina's, and he won't lose the job in Tampa, but considering how awful he was in the second half of the season, he'll be on a short leash come April.

The big question for now, however, is whether Joba Chamberlain is in the rotation or the bullpen. Hank Steinbrenner has said unequivically that Chamberlain is a starter, and I've got no doubt that that's where his future lies, but I don't think he's ready for a full season as a major league starter. Last year he threw 116 innings, most of them in the minor leagues, where he never had to struggle. If he starts all season for the Yankees, his workload will increase by at least half. That would be a terrible risk to take on the health of a very valuable player. Both Chamberlain and the Yankees would be much better served if he started the year in the bullpen and moved into the rotation a few months into the season. In the meantime, Ian Kennedy can take the final spot in the rotation.

While Chamberlain and Kennedy seem to be the only serious candidates for the fifth starter's job, that doesn't mean you should ignore the rest of the starters. If the Yankees learned anything in 2007, it's that there's no telling how many pitchers you're going to end up needing. Jeff Karstens figures to be the first one called upon in an emergency, but strong spring performances by Kei Igawa (who the Yankees have invested a lot of money in) or prospects Alan Horne and Jeffrey Marquez could put one of them at the front of the line.

Of course no matter who ends up taking the mound, I'm certain Carl Pavano will step up and pull his hamstring.

Back in the Saddle

Late November tends to be pretty slow as far as baseball is concerned, so I took a little time off from blogging. However, it's now December, and that means it's time for the Winter Meetings; that magical time of year when the 30 MLB teams' general managers, managers, assistant general managers, player development staff, public relations spinsters, trainers, lawyers, accountants and coffee boys turn some random hotel into The Baseball Capital of the World for one week. This year, it's the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN, which I will henceforth be calling the Gaylord Perry Hotel.

The Yankees headed into Nashville this morning knowing that whatever happens at the meetings, this will have been a good week. That's because before they left, Andy Pettitte let them know that he wanted to put the pinstripes on for another season. It was a surprising announcement, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Not only does Pettitte help solidify a rotation that's heavily dependent on unproven talent, but he also greatly decreases the team's need for Johan Santana. One of my biggest fears about this week was that the Yankees would overpay for Santana, and hopefully this means that they won't.

Options

It's been a dull week in Yankee land, with only a few small stories worth mentioning. The biggest news was the team's exercising their $16 million option to bring Bobby Abreu back for another season. Of course, this wasn't news at all, since Brian Cashman has for weeks implied that that was what he was going to do. Normally, I'd say that that $16 million would be better spent on something other than an aging right fielder whose production has been declining for the past few years. However, with A-Rod gone the Yankees have the money to spare, and the alternatives aren't that good. Without Abreu, the Yankees would either have to use Shelley Duncan, who's a good platoon player but not good enough to play every day, or downgrade their defense by moving Melky Cabrera to right and Johnny Damon to center. Of course the team could go the free agent route, but the pickings are pretty slim. The only possible free agent who I think would be a better choice than Abreu is Kosuke Fukudome.

Fukudome (whose name is pronounced Koh-skay Foo-koo-DOH-may), is the star right fielder for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese League. He's a patient hitter, with doubles power, posting a career line of .305/.397/.543 (AVG/OBP/SLG), and .329/.435/.600 over the past three seasons. Defensively, he's reported to be excellent. His speed and instincts are both above average, which makes for great range, and his arm is both strong and accurate. American fans may remember him from the World Baseball Classic last year, where he proved himself to be a clutch performer by hitting pivotal late inning home runs in both the semi-finals and finals.

Looking at how Japanese hitters have performed in the majors, I think Fukodome would perform significantly better than the declining Abreu, and would do so for less money (he's expected to cost around $12 million a year for three or four years and, as an unrestricted free agent, there would be no posting fee). That said, there's no guarantee that the Yankees would be able to sign him, and I can't fault Cashman for taking the sure thing. Plus, he now has the option of trading Abreu if he does try to sign Fukudome, much as he did with Gary Sheffield (though I'm not entirely sure if Abreu's no-trade clause is still in effect after he waived it last year).

In other option news, Andy Pettitte has declined his $16 million option for next season. According to his agent, he did so because the deadline came up and he needed more time to consider his future. However, he also said that his future consists of only two options; the Yankees or retirement, and he's not looking for more money. While the A-Rod circus might make you cynical about a player being honest in these situations, Pettitte's a stand up guy, and there's no reason to think that he doesn't mean what he's saying. It'd be better for the Yankees to know whether he'll be in their rotation, but you have to respect Pettitte's need to weigh his decision. I really do hope he comes back, but either way I wish him the best.

Our long national nightmare is over

After all that waiting, the news is starting to come fast. Right on the heels of the news that Alex Rodriguez is a narcissitic idiot comes word that the Yankees have decided to hire Joe Girardi as manager. Technically they're still negotiating, but I doubt it'll take long to finalize the deal. After all, Girardi is going to have to get right to work and find himself some coaches. Don Mattingly, who is disappointed at not getting the job, has already announced that he won't be returning next season. Meanwhile, Larry Bowa has been offered a job as the third base coach in Seattle, and Ron Guidry will likely be getting the axe soon. This would leave Girardi with a staff that consists of first base coach Tony Pena, hitting coach Kevin Long and bullpen coach Joe Kerrigan. Right now, the only candidate whose name I've heard bandied about is Dave Eiland, the pitching coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees who helped Phil Hughes so much in September. Other than that, I think the field's wide open.

As for Girardi himself, I think it's a good decision by Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenners. I've certainly written about his qualifications enough, but that's not what really impressed me about their choice. For the past few seasons, Don Mattingly has been the presumed heir to Joe Torre's throne. There really was no question that the Yankees were grooming him for the role, and when Torre left it really seemed like it was Mattingly's job to lose. However, the Yankees sat down with their candidates and allowed themselves to be impressed by Girardi, who was reportedly fantastic in his interview. As I said, it seemed like the job was Mattingly's to lose, but Girardi went ahead and won it anyway. The reason he was able to wasn't because Mattingly did anything wrong, but because the Yankee brass kept their minds open, and you have to give them a lot of credit for that.

After the sour notes of the departures of Joe Torre and Alex Rodriguez, it's truly refreshing to have good news coming out of Tampa and I'm hoping to hear more soon. Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte all said that Joe Torre's departure would impact their decisions. I hope that the arrival of the catcher who helped them so much in their younger days will also make an impact.

Live Blogging 10/05

Here we go with my first attempt at blogging while watching the game. Today's lineups are, according to mlb.com, as follows:

Yankees
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Jorge Posada, C
7. Robinson Cano 2B
8. Melky Cabrera CF
9. Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Pitcher - Andy Pettitte

Indians
1. Grady Sizemore CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
3. Travis Hafner DH
4. Victor Martinez C
5. Ryan Garko 1B
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Kenny Lofton LF
8. Jason Michaels RF
9. Casey Blake 3B
Pitcher - Fausto Carmona

These lineups are almost identical to last night's. The only changes are that Joe Torre has flip flopped Matsui and Posada, and Eric Wedge has benched Franklin Gutierrez in favor of Michaels in right field. I'm a little surprised Wedge didn't bench Lofton against the lefty, but I guess his big game last night was too much to ignore.

Update 4:50PM: Bob Sheppard will not make it to the stadium for Sunday's game due to bronchitis. This will be the first time he has missed a playoff game in his 57 year long career. Thankfully, its not serious, and I think all Yankee fans wish him the best. Peter Abraham has the full story.

Update 5:21PM: That was some efficient work from tonight's starters. I have to say that I'm a little afraid of Fausto Carmona, who is looking a lot like Chien-Ming Wang on a good night.

Update 5:28PM: Now that's more like it. Hideki Matsui took a page out of the Indian's playbook from last night and works a walk by making Carmona earn that low strike. The fact is that his sinker nearly unhittable when its at the knees, so you may as well lay off it and hope he misses the zone.

Update 5:40PM: You know, I was really hoping that TBS' coverage would be an improvement over Fox's. I understand that baseball's pace lends itself to some meandering conversations (I did, after all, enjoy Phil Rizzuto's broadcasts), but I'd like to hear tangents about baseball, not Queen Latifah's wardrobe.

Update 5:44PM: Wow. Maybe it's because I watch Melky so much, but I saw that coming a mile away. I'm not really sure what Indians' third base coach Joel Skinner could have been thinking when he sent Peralta (assuming that Peralta didn't just go on his own). It's not like Cabrera hasn't been doing this for the past year and a half.

Update 5:52PM: That, my friends, is how you break out of a slump. That's also an appropriate way for Melky to celebrate the two month anniversary of his last home run, which came against Kansas City on August 5th.

Update 6:07PM: The story of the day before the game was "Andy Pettitte: Big Game Pitcher," but it's been the defenders behind him that've been coming through in the clutch so far. First Melky, and now Mientkiewicz have saved Pettitte's bacon so far by stopping runs that the Indians should have scored.

Update 6:27PM: I guess Pettitte's been reading this, because he went ahead and saved his own bacon this time. Actually, he did it twice, first getting a double play ball after allowing a leadoff single, and then stranding a runner on second after the double play opportunity was missed. Granted, he was the one who missed the opportunity by deflecting that double play ball away from Robinson Cano, but it's still an impressive performance.

Update 6:40PM: Another note about TBS' coverage. The graphic showing the size of the baserunner's lead at first is a good idea, but those red and green zones are just silly. I mean a safe lead for Jeter or A-Rod is completely different from one for Posada or Matsui. Just give us a distance and let the announcers give the context. That's pretty much what they're there for, after all.

Update 7:07PM: This is starting to get ridiculous. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Pettitte were to allow a leadoff home run in the seventh and still not give up a run. Its almost enough to make you feel sorry for the Indians. Almost.

Update 7:55PM: Good lord. What was a cute little side story a half hour ago has turned serious, as this swarm of gnats seems to actually be bothering Joba Chamberlain's control. You really can't blame him either, as the cameras cut to a shot of his neck with a dozen of the little buggers perched on him and plenty more buzzing around. This is after the Yankees' trainer has doused him in repellant twice.

Update 7:58PM: This is crazy. Chalk that run up to the bugs, and there's a decent argument to be made at this point for the umpires to stop the game so they can spray the field.

Update 8:12PM: According the TBS on field reporter, the bugs that are causing these problems are "Canadian soldiers," which is another name for mayflies. Should the Indians win, they might well be the MVPs.

Update 8:23PM: A huge missed opportunity for A-Rod right here, and a huge opportunity given to the A-Rod haters. Before they get started, let me just say that that was a great battle against a pitcher who is having a huge night and who has stymied the entire Yankee lineup, including Captain Clutch himself.

Update 8:49PM: He's being overlooked by the TV crew, but big props to Doug Mientkiewicz for being able to keep that ball from heading to the outfield, which might've allowed Sizemore to make it to second.

Update 9:10PM: Here's when we should really start to worry. The Indians' bullpen is much deeper than the Yankees'. At least the Viz gets the bottom of the order this time around, but the top of the order will get their chance no matter what the Yankees do.

Update 9:32PM: And that's all she wrote. Goodnight folks.

Rotationology

With the regular season wrapped up, it figures to be a slow couple of days while we wait for the playoffs to start Thursday. So, I've decided to take the opportunity to talk about the playoff roster, starting with the rotation. The first two spots in the rotation are no brainers. Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte have been battling each other all season long for the title of team ace. Torre seems to have decided that Wang is his number one guy, and that's who will take the start in game one against Cleveland's ace (and my Cy Young pick) C.C. Sabathia. Pettitte will follow on Friday against Chien-Ming Wang's doppleganger, Fausto Carmona.

The rest of the rotation is harder to figure out. There are three candidates for the last two spots; Roger Clemens, Philip Hughes and Mike Mussina. Supposedly Clemens' spot as the number three starter is locked up, but by the time game three rolls around, he won't have pitched in three weeks. His continuing health problems calls into question whether or not he can actually make the start.

Of course no matter what Clemens' ultimate status might be, a decision has to be made between Hughes and Mussina. They both have turned things around in September after struggling in August, and they both have done so against weak hitting teams like Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay. Based on their last starts, you'd have to go with Hughes, who allowed only one run in seven innings against the Devil Rays. However, Mussina is the veteran with a history of postseason succcess. Ironically, I think it's that history that makes the bullpen the best place for Mussina. Both pitchers are at risk to get into serious trouble, and I feel better about Mussina being in the bullpen, ready to bail Hughes out, than vice versa.

Anyway, my schedule's pretty tight right now, but I'll try and write about the far more complicated bullpen situation in the next couple of days.