It is that time of year and time to start seriously talking baseball.
I hope everyone checks in with the report on their team and their comments about the other teams and posts. Have fun!
Yankees: We play second fiddle to the Red Sox this year but the team is getting younger and the Pettitte controversy already appears to be behind them.
Shelley Duncan is trying to win a starting job, he is playing first about as well as Jason Giambi, (not that that is good) and actually looks good in Right Field. He might be the cheap solution next year for Abreu leaving. Eventually one of the CF prospect will probably push Melky to a corner position.
For the Line Up the Yanks are exceptional. Posada & Molina will provide excellent offense behind the plate and while Jorge is unlikely to bat as he did last year, it will still be plus offense and Molina is a big improvement on any backup catcher then we had since Joe Girardi.
First Base, Left Field & DH will be from the pool of Damon, Matsui, Giambi and Duncan. The plan is currently for Damon to play most of Left and Giambi most of first, but little injuries will change this throughout the year.
Middle Infield, I expect Cano & Jeter to have a better years. I think Jeter had a leg injury for much of last year. It wasn’t reported, but I saw it in the way he played the field and ran the bases. He took less extra bases and his steals were way down. Additionally he was no moving well to 3rd in the field.
Third Base, well A-Rod would be hard pressed to match last year, so I expect a drop off. He should still have a great year, just not as good.
Right & Center: Bobby Abreu is playing for a contract and came into camp healthier and in better shape. He should have a monster year. I would expect 100+ RBIs and 110+ runs on the low side. Cabrera should continue to improve and the work he is doing on plate discipline is already showing with 5 walks this spring.
In the Field the Yanks are solid this year. Weak at first and maybe a little weak at starting Catcher but Melky makes up for average range with a plus arm in CF. Abreu is a good RF. Damon will play plus LF. Cano is already an average 2b and is still improving and Jeter had a bad year last year and should bounce back a bit. A-Rod is becoming a good third baseman with a great arm.
Starters: Wang, Pettitte and Hughes should all put up good number. I expect 45+ wins from this trio. Despite in being against baseball wisdom, Wang has back to back 19 win season and is still improving and still young. Rounding out the rotation at the start of the year is Kennedy and Moose. Kennedy should be able to get 10 wins and hopefully 180 inning. Moose could loose his job to either Joba or another kid before July. I hope I am wrong, but I think his tank is nearly dry.
Bullpen: The ageless Rivera should have another good year. Joba will start the season as the 8th inning guy and this is a big plus for the Yanks. Demoting Farnsworth to share 7th inning duties with Hawkins who has looked good in spring, but who knows. The rest is wide open with about 7 names for 2 or 3 positions.
The farm is looking good. I won’t go into detail yet, but there is a lot of pitching and some outfield help available.
Joe Girardi is the right man for the Yanks. I know this is controversial but Torre outstayed his usefulness. Girardi is the right mix of fire in the belly and baseball smarts to rebuild this team around the youth Cashman is bringing in.
The Yanks are scheduled to drop about $80 million in payroll after this year. Pettitte, Pavanno, Moose, Farnsworth, Giambi & Abreu are the biggest chunks.
Jim