Spring Training Part 2

Welcome back my fellow Yankee fans. Well if you read last week you know me and my wife (AKA Disco) collaborated with some insight on spring training. Well this week as promised we plan to give you our very own and quite unique perspective of our Spring training Experience.

Yankee Joe: So because my two oldest kids are playing Little league baseball we could not make our trip up to Legends Field until Sunday the 24th. Not that this matters much and in the end it worked out nice as Saturday turned out to be on the Rainy side. So Early Sunday morning we loaded the kids our selves and provisions (Sandwiches, Drinks, Digital Camera, balls and Pens) into the Family truckster and motored our way up to Legends Field. We arrived around 11am and were able to find some seats on the third base side of the field. At the time these were great seats, because the sun was still behind the clouds and when the players came out we would be less then 3 feet from the players. About 11:45 after the grounds crew finished touching up the field the Yankees came out to the field. They all gathered in right field and begin stretching and calisthenics. As I mentioned in my previous Blog Legends Field is comprised of three fields. The Yankees were practicing on two of the fields. On the Main field A-Rod, Melky, Posada, and Giambi worked out on. On field two Jeter, Abreu, Cano, and Matsui worked out on. The rest of the team and spring training invites moved between both fields threw out the work outs. We spent most of our time on the Main field but did manage to catch some action on the Secondary field as well.

Disco: YES, we loaded up our children, two boys (9 & 6) and one girl (almost 7mos.) and fought the 45 minute traffic to the beautiful Legend Fields. Now if you have kids, you would know that traveling with kids can be frustrating but we are very lucky to have 3 wonderful kids that played with their toys during the trip. Once we get to Legend fields the best place to park is in the Buccaneer parking lot acrosse the street from Legends Field but we have to walk up a very long steep ramp/ bridge crossing the street below. It is difficult to get a close seat with a stroller so we decided to carry our 7mos daughter now weighing 16lb., 7 oz. Can you say ouch? Our backs hurt from trading off carrying our child. Yankee Joe likes to sit by third base but I prefer to sit near the first base line because it’s near the Yankee dugout and normally where they sign autographs.
Yankee Joe: After calisthenics they brought out the batting cages and the team started batting practice. On the main field Moose, Edwar Ramerez, and Russ Olendorf were throwing batting practice. Edwar looked extremely impressive, and seemed to have a pretty good handle on his fastball. Last year if you all remember Edwar struggled because he could not complement his killer Change-up with his fastball. If what I saw Sunday is any indication he may very well have a fantastic season because his fastball looked amazing with some seriously scary movement on it. I swear Mo may very well may have been teaching him the cut fastball if I did not know better. We also got our first look at Jonathan Albaladejoe who we got when we traded Tyler Clipperd to the Nationals. I’ll be honest I was not impressed with this kid at all. For starters he seemed to be a bit out of shape to me, and if batting practice was any indication he is going to give up A LOT of hits. Then again this is just spring training but considering Clippered possible up side I’m expecting A LOT from this kid, so I hope my first impression of him is wrong.

Disco: Remember Yankee Fans, I don’t know anything about baseball but Man did Edwar look good out there. He had great form and control but seemed to just lack the experience. To quote Yankee Joe “He is all done cooking, he just lacks the seasoning.” Ross Ohlendorf was not even close to being as impressive as Edwar but seemed to get the job done. So I’m told by Yankee Joe, Jonathan Albaladejo is a pitcher the Yankees recently received in a trade. Well the Yankees need to send him back because he is out of shape and could barely throw a pitch. It is just Spring training, he could shape up. Darrell Ranser appears to have the experience, control and great form. I personally think this guy could be a great relief pitcher but according to Yankee Joe he normally starts. Yeah you never know they could always change it.

Yankee Joe: Ok so about 1pm the sun finally came out. On the upside we did not have to worry about rain washing out the workout. On the down side this IS FLORIDA so being in the sun is not always a good thing. Needless to say we moved from the third base side of the field to the first base side. There was more shade over there and we could still get close enough to the field. Not long after we got there my wife points out to me that A-Rod’s wife and daughter are sitting behind home plate. About a minute later Alex comes walking out of the dugout, and heads straight over to his wife and daughter. They exchange Pleasantries for a few minutes, and then A-Rod goes back to work. Not long after this Alex’s wife and daughter left their seats and never returned. A few fans that saw this commented that it must be a publicity stunt because he has done it before. My thoughts were that this is Alex’s wife’s way of telling him she made it to the field. You have to figure Alex leaves for work A LOT earlier then his wife and kid would like to be out of their rented Condo. So it’s more likely Cytha (Alex’s wife) takes her time getting to the field. When she gets there they head to the seats behind home plate to let Alex know they are there. Once he sees them he comes over says hi to his daughter and wife spends a min or two with them then goes back to work. His wife and child at that point head to the air conditioned Suites (Yes even Legends Field has those) so they can be comfortable, and wait for Alex to finish workouts.

Disco: Alex looked great out there. It was so sweet to see Alex lean over and kiss his daughter. We got some very good pictures of Alex with his daughter and wife. During practice Alex was fielding first base, I wonder if they are considering changing his position. Hmm, think of the possibilities. Ladies, DEREK Jeter, WOW! Dam he looks good!!! He has toned up and fielding like the MVP that we know he is. All I can say is WOW!! DEREK JETER has left me speechless.

Yankee Joe: So we spent the rest of our time on the first base side of the field. The sun was just too damn hot and normally at the end of practice, fans can lineup next to the dugouts and normally get an autograph from a player. At some point I decided to go grab some drinks for the kids and my wife, thankfully the concession stand was open unfortunately at this time A-Rod decided to go visit the fans on the first base side and sign some autographs. When I returned with drinks in hand fans were racing to the first base side of the field to get an autograph. So I quickly put the drinks down where we were standing and grabbed both kids and the balls we had brought (and a pen) and headed into the frey. Now you have to understand I have only dealt with autographs in two situations 1) at the end of practices, and 2) on the second and third practices fields. In both situations security had things well in hand having the fans lineup to get autographs. This was not he case with A-Rod on the main field. People were leaping over seats climbing over other fans and generally shoving their way to the front to get an autograph. Security I believe was caught off guard because they could do nothing to retain order during any of this. Remember I was with my kids and because we were already on the first base side we were able to get close to field level right away this however turned out to be a bad thing. As fans started piling onto this small area that A-Rod was walking down signing autographs I found my self trying less to get up to the gate where Alex was walking by and mostly trying to keep both my kids safe as other fans shoved their way past, threw and yes OVER us. At one point a barely grabbed my son out of the way before some idiot bulldozed over him. When I made a comment to the guy he gave me a eat shit and like it look and proceed to shove the next person out of his way. I had not noticed it but we had worked our way to the edge of the dugout and in doing so also moved practically in front of the field. WE were inches from Alex and an Autograph but at the same time the crowd was getting dangerous. I grabbed my youngest son and picked him up because I was scared he would get trampled, my oldest son I stood behind and managed to keep a few fans at bay as he waited for another fan to step out of the way. This VERY kind gentlemen and his wife explained they already had an autograph from Alex and were just trying to get a picture. Once he got that picture he planned to move and allow my son to take his place. His wife helped me by positioning her self next too me allowing us to make a small pocket for my oldest son to stand in and not get trampled. If it was not for these to very kind people this situation could have become VERY dangerous for my kids I can’t express how grateful I was for their help. Once Alex walked by us Fans started yelling for him to sign what they had. Another women who ended up standing next to me, also saw my predicament. She was at the time trying to get Alex to sign her jersey. He had already done so and when she realized she would not be able to leave where she was she offered to take my son’s balls and ask Alex to sign them. Unfortunately for my oldest son he was bumped by the crowd and he dropped his ball momentarily. I had already handed my youngest son’s ball to the women, and Alex was busy signing it while I yanked my oldest son up off the floor (Ball in hand) before he ended up getting trampled. At this time Another fans directly behind me came flying forward, he managed to catch his balance as I stepped in front of him to keep him from landing on my son. I at the time gave him a piece of my mind. Truth is the poor guy had been shoved, and had no control of what had happened. I Honestly wish I could apologize to him because he truly felt bad, so if you happen to be that guy and are reading this I was that guy that gave you hell for nearly landing on his kid. I know you did not do it intentually and thank you for putting up with me at that time. Also I want to thank the women that got the ball signed for my youngest son. He is THRILLED to have an autographed ball from Alex you really helped make his day. Lastly THANKYOU to the couple that helped me keep my kids safe. With out you I’m scared to think what could have happened. Ladies and gents the moral to this story is if you have kids save the autograph hunting for the end of practice or the secondary field. During practice if a player is signing have your kids stay behind and take your chances by your self. Most of the fans trying to get autographs are complete idiots, but there are a few as I have pointed out that are good people. My point is be careful and leave the kids in their seats they will be safer at least during workouts on the main field. On the secondary field things aren’t as bad but they can get rough at times as well.

Disco: People are just crazy about A-ROD, unfortunately they almost squashed my children. Crazy is not always good. Thanks to those that helped protect my children!!

Yankee Joe: So my oldest son was very disappointed about missing his chance to get A-Rod’s autograph. Unfortunately nobody on the main field was going to stay after and sign so as we were getting ready to leave my oldest son was feeling pretty upset. As we were getting ready to head to the parking lot another fan came by and said Giambi was signing autographs on the secondary field. So with a look to my wife who basically said “Go!!” I handed my daughter off to her and grabbed my oldest son and we headed to the secondary field. Giambi was there sure enough along with Jason Lane and they were both signing autographs. We managed to get both of them to sign his ball and basically made my sons day. Now I’ll admit I’m pretty hard on Jason through out the year considering his injuries batting average and the whole Roids thing. Something I will give him credit for thou is that he has always been all about the fans. This man signed Autographs for a good 45 minutes and would not leave until he had signed one for every last person. He also took a minute to ask my son if he played baseball and basically have a quick conversation with him. Not a phoney one a REALL conversation. I may not be a big Giambi fan but I will say this he is a good person when it is all said and done regardless of what mistakes he has made. This does not mean I plan on going easy on him mind you but I will say that I have a bit more respect for the guy after seeing him deal with the fans.

Disco: I personally did not care for Giambi due to the Roids thing but after seeing him with my son, I believe him to be a good person. Giambi gave out autographs before and after practice. When I saw him practicing on the small field I caught a small bit of his conversation with the hitting coach and my impression is that he is a good guy. I hope he does well this season.

Yankee Jo: Ok well that pretty much wraps up Spring Training for us. After getting Giambi’s and Lane’s autographs we hit the gift shop bought some pennants for the kids, and headed home. While in the gift shop I was hoping to grab a Joba Rules T-shirt. Unfortunately it was priced out at nearly 30 dollars. Hey I love my Yankees but 30 bucks for a T-shirt is a bit to pricy for me.

Disco: We are going, going, gone! We are out of the park! Let’s Go HOME!

Till next Week

The Yankee Fan (And Disco)

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

Spring is in the air and I’m happier than a fat man at an all you can eat buffet. (AKA Red Sucks Fan) SPRING TRAINING HAS ARRIVED which means yes my fellow Yankee Maniacs BASEBALL IS BACK!!! Now mind you Pitchers and Catchers (Unless your name is Andy Pettit) have reported to there respected Spring Training locations and for the New York Yankees that means Legends Fiend Field (Soon to be Renamed Steinbrenner Field) in Tampa Florida. Now as it so happens, I your ever loving Yankee fan and Blogger extraordinar live down here in sunny Florida just 45 minutes from Tampa. Now for the last few years I have made the trek up to Tampa and enjoyed watching the Yankees warm up and prepare for the Spring Training Season and I have enjoyed a fair share of spring games as well. Now you know that no self respecting Yankee fan can do these sort of things with out dragging their significant other (Kicking and Screaming) along for the ride. I’m no different in this aspect. So this week and next you will be treated to a very special blog. A sort of He Said, She Said run down on Spring Training. Me and the Wife (AKA Hot Lips to me, Disco to the rest of you guys) will give you a run down of what to expect if you decided to catch a Spring game, where and when to go for the Spring Workouts, about how much in US Greenbacks you can expect to spend, and some of the best places to go and try to catch some of our Favorite Yankees out and about and off the playing field in Tampa Florida. To distinguish who is saying what, my comments will be tabbed with a Yankee Joe, and my Wife will be tabbed with Disco. Easy enough to figure out I suppose.

Yankee Joe: Ok first and for most you have to understand that Pitchers and catchers reported on February 13th. Now nobody was on the field until the 14th because on the first day of reporting every body has to take a physical, and sign paperwork and what not; this usually take the whole day. Now after the 14th the Workouts begin which are free to the public and happen around 11am till around 2pm Monday threw Sunday. These workouts thou are strictly pitchers and catchers so if you like watching BP sessions or watching catchers stretch out this can be a lot of fun but to be honest I prefer to wait until the full team works out starting on February 20th. These workouts are a lot more fun and tend to run a bit longer. There is always a full batting practice, as well as fielding drills to watch. Also because the full team is there the opportunity to grab an autograph is much better because some players will take a break and spend some time with the fans. Speaking of the Fans if you go to these practices you basically have the run of the place. There is no assigned seating so you can get as close to the field as you like although I must warn some of you overly ambushes fans that they still do not look fondly on fans jumping out on the field and giving the players a hug, basically stay in the stands.

Disco: Okay, Ladies and gentlemen. I’m the wife and I’m the one Yankee Joe (YJ) drags kicking and screaming to Spring Training. Last year I went to Spring Training without the notorious Yankee Joe because he was sick and he wanted the inside scoop. That is what you really get when you go to Spring Training. I love going to see the Pitcher and Catchers train. There are not as many fans there and you get to watch those stretches (yes cute butts). You even get to see more of the big named pitchers and young rookie pitchers actually showing their stuff. Remember I’m not a baseball fan but I love going to Spring Training. If I could I would go to every Spring Training practice because you get to see the players as people not famous baseball heroes. Last year I saw A-Rod being the family man with his wife and very cute daughter.

Yankee Joe: Now legends Field is broken up into 3 fields. Mostly the practices are done on the main field but on the two secondary fields you will find many of the Yankee minor league players that were not invited to the big teams Spring Training. This can actually be a lot of fun for two reasons. One you get a first look at some of the up and coming Yankees that are in the minors. For example last year I got to see Joba throwing from a mound before most Yankee fans had a clue who he was. A few years before that I could say the same thing about Chen Ming Wang. Both at the time gave me the same impression, which was they were going to make a big splash on the Yankees when they made their way to the big team. In Joba’s case I had no clue how soon that would be. Now the other reason these workouts can be fun is because many former Yankees come to spring training to help coach and instruct. Reggie Jackson for example can be seen regularly at any one of the three fields and is probably one of the most autograph friendly former players out there. Ron Guidry before he was the Pitching coach was also a regular and rumor has it he will be in Tampa again this year as a special instructor. Last but not least the best thing to do if you happen to have any question about when the workouts start or where you can park call Legends field directly at (813) 879-2244 or you can always visit there website at http://www.legendsfieldtampa.com/

Disco: Enjoy the atmosphere. Grab a hot dog and a Coke. Yes they have stadium food (Not Free) for you to enjoy while watching your favorite Yankee. Also Legend Fields has a souvenir shop that has some Yankee peripheral you don’t see in the everyday sports shop. Be sure to bring a working pen, paper or ball, and your baseball gloves (to catch any pop flies). Normally after practice a few of the players will sign autographs. Make sure to ask your local security guard where they will be signing them that day and sit as close to that spot as possible because you will be standing in line for a long time. You can some times catch a Yankee near the bull pen practice fence. Enjoy the atmosphere!!

Yankee Joe: Ok so you went to the Spring Workouts and had a blast but no matter how loud you screamed his name Derek Jeter, A-rod or any other Yankee just would not come over and give you an autograph. Ok first and foremost let’s not get to upset over this. Remember gang they are down in Florida to get ready for the season so these workouts are important. With that said our Yankees after workouts are not a bunch of stay at home wimps. O No not at all. Yes the Yankee do like to get out and have them selves some fun. One of the best places to go and try to catch a Yankee out in public (or many other MLB players for that matter) is at International Plaza & Bay Street, which happens to be right next to the Tampa Airport. For one thing this happens to be a kick ass mall. It has three levels for your shoping pleasure with the third level including an out side area where most of the Resturants and bars are located and THAT my friends is where you can find many a Major League ball player including some of our favorite Yankees. Now aside From the mall other great places to run into a Yankee would be at any Golds Gym in the Tampa area the one close to Legends field seems to be the most popular. If you want to run into the boss or one of his sons the I-Hoop just around the corner form Legends field is a great place to go. You basically would have to stake the place out because they don’t’ have a regular schedule as I’m told. You can bet thou that they do tend to go after yankee pratice is over so maby after enjoying some time at Legends Field pop on over to I-HOP and you might catch a glips of the Boss and his sons. The Local beachs is a rare place to find a ball player but there have been a few sightings at times. Jason Giambi has been known to run along the beach in the mornings just befor pratices in the past. If ya want to know what beaches are in the Tampa area here’s a link to find them. http://www.tbo.com/static/sections/tbo-life-travel-beaches/ You have to keep in mind that most of these Yankees know they will be spending the next 2-3 months down in Tampa depending on when they report in. So a lot of them either have bought property down here (like Derek Jeter) or Rent Condos most do not stay in a Hotel so staking out the hotels is probably not a good plan.

Disco: Going to the mall to see a Yankee. What are you crazy? The Tampa International Mall is just a cool place to be. The night life there with live bands and no cover charge is just worth the trip. If you see a Yankee in the process, that is just a bonus. Florida has so much to offer, don’t limit it to the Field. Your bound to run into a Yankee just touring our Beautiful Tampa.

Yankee Joe: Ok so you either have followed my advice or listened to my wife and decided to just wander the City of Tampa your self. In either case you have had the luck to run into a Yankee ball player like say Derek Jeter. Now there are a few ground rules I think I should pass on to you guys. Ok for starters NEVER and I mean NEVER scream at the top of you lungs and run charging at said player. This, I can promise you is more likely to get you arrested and then committed to a locally nuthouse then get an Autograph. Secondly if you happen to run into said player at a Gym I can’t strongly suggest enough that you DO NOT try to approach them while they are working out. For the most part these guys are just trying to get a bit more work in, and really are just looking for a quite place to do it. If you bug them their less likely to be receptive to it and on top of that the chance that they won’t come back are pretty big. What I suggest is to wait till they finished on one particular machine and as their walking threw politely approach them and ask for an autograph. If you’re not interrupting them their less likely to be annoyed and will likely give you an autograph. In a lot of cases I have known players to actually stop and talk with the person that asked them for the autograph in these cases. Mostly because they had finished their workouts, and were either getting ready to leave or hadn’t decided what they were going to do next so the brief interruption doesn’t bother them and sometimes they welcome it. Now I just can’t stress this ENOUGH especially for the Ladies if you happen to run into a player at the gym THE SHOWERS IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO ASK FOR AN AUTOGRAPH!!! So before you get that water proof pen and your flip-flops out please for the love of all that is baseball keep that in mind. Honestly thou guys and girls the most important thing to remember if you meet a player simply treat them with a bit of respect and for the most part like a normal person. In most cases I have found that all they really want is to keep a low profile and just enjoy their time away from the field. Most are happy to chat for a few minutes, and give an autograph. They tend not to respond to excessive complements, screaming there names and Marriage Proposals (Although depending on their mood ya never know). Truth is just be nice to them respect their boundaries a bit. If they feel like you’re trapping them in so they can’t leave the first thing their going to do is bolt. If you stay relaxed keep it casual and remain friendly they will do the same and you will later have a story to tell your buddies about.

Disco: Yankee Joe is right about the showers but they can’t stop you from dreaming about it. Yummy!! Wet and Naked!! Yummy!! Sorry in Dreamland. What Yankee Joe is trying to say in not so many words is treat a Yankee like an everyday JOE not a Yankee. I don’t think I would even recognize a Yankee out of uniform so to me every Yankee is a Yankee Joe.

Yankee Joe: Ok to some this all up. If you’re coming down to Tampa to catch the Yankees make shore you come for the Workouts. It’s free, and a great chance to see some of our favorite Yankees past and present. After the Morning practices hit the town, check out the malls, beaches, and other attractions, your bound to run into a Yankee out there. If that happens just remember they don’t want to be harassed while there off the clock (Or need help with that soap on a rope) so give them there space and just use some common curtsey when approaching them. As for money hey it’s a vacation right?? The Workouts are free but most everything else will cost ya money so make shore you bring a reasonable amount. Off the top of my head if I was spending say 4 days in Tampa for spring training I would set aside 400-500 dollars just for running around money (not including normal expenses) and that’s per person. Now keep in mind you can probably do it a lot cheaper but I’m figuring if it’s me and I’m on vacation I am going to be a bit thrifty with my spending.

Disco: Come see your Yankees drop the ball and show off their cute butts. With some luck you might get an autograph by just spending sometime in beautiful sunny Florida. Next week we will be going to Spring Training and I can give you my unknowing insight to the Yankee’s progress. Yankee Joe can give the real scoop from the Yankee fan perspective.

Yankee Joe: She says she doesn’t know what she is talking about but last year she predicted Posada’s career year, Abrues season long slump and Melky’s great second season. So don’t let my wife fool ya she is as much a baseball fan as me, just from a slightly warped perspective. (Hey that’s the number 1 reason I married her)

Disco: Yes, I’m slightly wrapped but I did marry Yankee Joe. So join us next week for our wrapped views on Baseball and very cute butts.

Till next Week

The Yankee Fan (And Disco)

The Starting Pitching Crisis

Hello all you crazy Yankee Fans. Well I could not have been more wrong this week. Ughhh The bats finaly did wake up thou a bit to late as we droped 2 of 3 to the Mets. The Good News is we are hiting again so lets hope that the trend continues.

Things are a bit crazy for me this week so Im giving you all a guest bloger. He is a member of The Yankees Club over on yahoo a groups that i am proud to be a part owner of. His internet handel is draciron and he is one of the smartest baseball people i have yet to meet. So with out furth to do i give you draciron.

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There was a time nearly every team had a star pitcher. A team ace. It was the #2 through #5 spots that troubled some teams. Most teams had at least the 2-4 spot covered by somebody who would at least eat innings for them and not hurt the team too badly on most days. They also usually had a long relief guy, normally a starter who couldn't make it all the way through the season in the rotation any more but who could step in for short term injuries and come in if the starter got blasted early.

In 80s a pitching crisis started. Teams started finding it harder and harder to fill rotation spots. Few teams had 5 starters they could count on and many teams had not a single starter they felt confident in. By the 90s this had reached a crisis stage. There was talk of raising the mound again and widening the strike zone. None of this was done as the offensive surge that corresponded with the loss in pitching was considered good for the game. For a time in the late 90s and early 00s pitching surged back. Several developing starters found their stuff. A wave of new young starters appeared and some balance returned to the game. By 2004 most teams were in about the same shape pitching wise as they were in the 80s.

A wave of retirements threatens to return Baseball back to the starting pitching crisis. Injuries have taken many of the young starters who shined in the late 90s and early 00s. Aging starters like Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens are close to retirement with no new crop of ancients to replace them. The generation that came after them has already fallen or is on the precipice and as close as they are too retirement. Of the following starters only one or two will ever have a full effective season after 08. Unlikely any will still be full time starters in 2009.

Glavine, Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Olando Hernandez, David Wells, Roger Clemens, Carl Pavano, Chris Carpenter, Steve Traschel, Jaret Wright, Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement, Mussina, Pettitte, Paul Byrd, Kenny Rogers, Ramon Ortiz, Ponsen, Jose Contraras, Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver, Mike Hampton, Park, Jon Lieber, Mark Prior, Kerry Woods, Woody Williams, Wade Miller, livan Hernandez, Jason Schmidt, Bret Tomko and Russ Ortiz.

The mass retirement from the names above combined with normal attrition among starting pitchers who are easily the most likely to get hurt among baseball players leaves a wide open door to new young pitchers. The only problem is there are so few to go around and so many are going to be pressed into service at early ages as an emergency measure. Over the next 2 to 3 years many more well known pitchers besides those listed above will wind up no longer being a significant part of a rotation. Pitchers will burn out as Jarrod Weaver appears to be at high risk of doing so and as Llarano appears to have done. Verlander has all the hallmarks of the Prior/Woods here I am too bad it didn't last syndrome. Far too few teams are developing more sustainable pitching. The Tigers have done an excellent job in developing Bonderman and Robertson. Few teams would have stuck with either given their early struggles. The O's have Bedard, Cabrera and Loewen. The Jays who provided many of todays starters is not having much luck with Chacin or Zambrano both of whom are starting to look like could have beens at this point. Lester with the Redsox is a big question mark at this point. The Yankees have a whole slew of potential starting pitchers but for some reason refuse to give them a chance to pitch. The Royals have Grienke, Bannister and De la Rosa but Grienke is the only one of that group that has top of the rotation potential so far. Bonser is making some noise with the Twins. Danks with the Whitesox, Ervin Santana with the Angels are two more with promise. The A's as usual have a whole crop. Harden, Haren, Blanton and Guadin are this years batch. If the A's keep producing starters at this rate there won't be many teams in the majors that doesn't have an ex A stater in their rotation.

The Rangers surprisingly have a few. McCarthy, Tejeda and Loe. Chuck James and Kyle Davies is all the normally pitching rich Braves have coming up. Neither are looking strong at this point. D-Train Willis is showing signs of early burn out. Declining stats and a deep slump starting in 06 are not good signs of longevity for him. Sanchez and Olsen show some promise. Maine with the Mets has the re-incarnation of Seaver written all over him. Hamels in Philly is kicking up the dust. The Astros are betting the farm on Rodriguez, Sampson and Albers. The Cards have Wainwright, Rich Hill with the Cubs. The Pirates have gone with all prospects. Duke, Snell lead the way. Maholm and Gorzelanny finish out the rotation. Cain with the Giants is having a break out year. Lowery is showing good promise. The Padres have Peavy. Francis and Hirsh are this years Rockies sacrifice to the gods of slugging.

That's about it for pitchers under 27 who've established themselves. Out of that group at least half over the next few years will flop, get hurt or otherwise wind up out of the rotation. Considering the current star pitchers such as Webb, Oswalt, Santana, Halladay and such are in their prime or the tail end of their prime and that many will see noticeable declines over the next few years it leaves a sizable void again in rotations. A little bad luck and this could be even worse than the early 90s starting pitching crisis. Especially with the majority of most teams rotations hitting the red zone for starting pitchers. That is the 30-34 age range that sees most pitchers blow out their arms, a drop in velocity that normally accompanies an inability to get hitters out any more.

This means that an ERA over 5 will again be considered acceptable and even considered good for bottom of the rotation starters. Starters will start making debuts at younger ages. The value of starting pitching will go up noticeably. Teams that have deep rotations will be rare and will dominate the leagues they play in.

Why for over a hundred years was there plenty of starting pitchers and suddenly a shortage? In the 60s and 70s it was hitting that was in trouble rather than pitching. Rules changes helped spark offense. So too did many parks bringing in the fences. The DH was introduced to increase offense in the AL and strike zones were narrowed for the same reason. It worked, better than they'd hoped. Though the rule changes were only a minor part of the offensive surge. Many people attribute it to just plain better hitting. There are many more factors involved however.

Defense is a major part of why offensive numbers have surged. The core of this is the decline in official scorers. What was an error in the 70s is a basehit in the 90s. Today to get an error you almost have to intentionally drop the ball. Before the 80s if the ball touched glove and it did not take heroic efforts to get a glove on the ball it was ruled an error. If a player missed a play because they got turned around or started the wrong way then got close it was ruled an error. Today players mishandle what are almost routine plays and see it scored as a hit instead of an error. This is the result of how games are scored. Once incentive based contracts started hitting the market players started making quite a bit of noise about errors as it directly affected their pocketbook. Before the incentive based contracts they did not care as much. In an effort to jump start offense scorers are also more lenient, especially with home town players. The big problem is that these are sports writers with no real training. They live and die by interviews and scoring an error can cost them the ability to get an interview. Can lead to their not scoring future games.

The net effect is that players today look like better defensive players than they really are. Fielding percentages are much higher. As such players who can hit well but have poor defensive skills don't look as bad and are used more often. This leads to a major drop in defense which hurts pitching. Especially non strike out pitchers. In the past what was important for middle infielders, catchers and center fielders was their glove. If they could also hit that was a plus. Today many middle infielders are defensive liabilities but they do hit well. A double whammy on pitchers who neither get the break in the lineup they once got by facing weak hitting middle infielders and by having that much poorer defense backing them up.

Promotion by the radar gun is another factor that is badly damaging starting pitching today. Until the 80s teams generally had 2 to 4 junk ball pitchers on the roster. Today most teams have zero. Maddux and Wakefield are two of the few surviving junkball pitchers left. Wakefield is the last knuckleball pitcher left in Baseball. This affects pitching in several ways. First if you see a steady diet of low and mid 90s fastballs it makes them seem slow. It also makes hitting high 90s fastballs all the easier. In the past you saw wicked junk from pitchers that often rarely topped out in the mid 80s. Then the next day you see a fastball in the 90s and it seemed really fast. That kind of balance is no longer in the game. A second aspect is that control more than speed is important to a pitcher but seems to be a forgotten element when scouting today. So many good control pitchers are ignored while guys who could not hit a battleship with a continent are promoted in their place just because they throw fast. If Maddux for example came up today he'd never get to AAA much less the majors. Maddux's fastball is too slow. A third aspect is junk ball pitchers are more durable. Especially knuckleballers. Having a couple junk ball pitchers in the rotation gives you long term starters. Guys far less likely to get hurt and pitchers far more likely to pitch into their mid 30s. So rotations are more brittle. More heavily harmed by injuries today than in the past and there is more flux in the rotation. This is aggravated by the fact that a pitcher that cannot throw strikes cannot succeed in the majors. Doesn't matter how fast they can throw the ball. Walks are eventually lethal to any pitcher that keeps giving them up in large numbers. So many of the prospects brought up at the expense of better but slower throwing pitchers are flops while the better prospects rot in the lower levels of the minors.

Not only were fences pulled in, new parks built since 1980 are often built with smaller fences and hitter friendly design. This has made the job tougher and tougher on starting pitchers

Steroids and other performance enhancing substances have been a major bane to pitchers in general. The extra strength doesn't just generate extra power. It produces stronger muscles which improves reaction time which is not just a factor of nerves but in the ability to get that bat around on a pitch, which is much a matter of strength and the size of the bat relative to that strength. It is also a factor of eyesight. The sooner the pitch is picked up on the the sooner the swing can start.

This crisis can be averted however. To fix the pitching problems these things should happen.

Add one to the umpiring crew. Make that umpire the official scorer. By giving a more realistic fielding percentage teams have better tools to evaluate defense and you'll never hear good glove mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Royce Clayton again. In a couple years teams will shore up defense up the middle and the resulting improvements in defense will benefit pitchers by giving them some easier outs in the inning and by reducing the numbers of cheap base hits by the opposing team.

Bring back junk ball pitchers. Every staff should have at least one. Most staffs should carry a good knuckballer. You can throw a knuckle ball pitcher out there for 300-400 innings and they will ask for more. That takes a huge strain off the rest of the staff. Junk ball pitchers with the added durability will stabilize rotations and make the other pitchers in the rotation seem better.

Pull back the fences. There are too many HRs. They have become boring. Fans don't want to watch a softball game. Guys with real power are still going to hit the ball out. We don't need light hitting infielders hitting 20 HRs a season.

Get serious about steroids and Human growth formula. Clean up the game while there is still a game to clean up.

Use computer assisted ball and strike counts. This will standardize the strike zone, enlarge it and give the umps one less thing to worry about. Leave the umps room to overrule the computer and a special set of glasses to review the pitch. This will provide higher quality strike zones and allow junk ballers to better nibble the corners and get creative with pitches. It'll also reduce the odd stances used by players to manipulate the strike zone.

Promote pitchers on control not velocity. Just by having a guy in there throwing strikes the game goes faster and scoring is reduced. Faster games mean less wear and tear on the staff and fewer relievers needed.

Force pitchers to have at least 3 out pitches in their arsenal. The quickest way to watch a pitcher go from great to quite hittable is to know what they are coming with and be ready for it. If they have at least 3 pitches they can effectively use and one or two others they can set a hitter up with then they become quite effective.

Teach young pitchers to change speeds. Cone and Whitey Ford were masters at this. Neither of them if they didn't change speed makes it out of AAA. By changing velocity it keeps hitters off balance and leaves the top fastball effective when they really need a KO to get out of a jam. Few pitchers today even know what changing speed is much less use it.

If Baseball does this it averts a crisis in pitching.

Slow Start To Season

You know Yankee fans this season has just not started off all that well now has it?? Nope the first few weeks of the season we could not get a starter to throw more then 5 inning whether they wanted them to or Captain Hook Torre himself would allow them to or not. Regardless off that now the starting pitching is starting to perform, in the last 13games they have given up 3 runs or LESS, and believe it or not the Yankees are starting to put things together. I know I know after the loss today 1-2 to the M's that's kind of hard to believe but things are looking up for the Yankees. The starting pitching has done a very good job, truth is Wang's one bad outing and Iggy's ugly start are the only two poor starts from a Yankee pitcher this month. The rest of the month has been strong start after strong start. The BP has actually settled down even thou Vizcaino seems to be inventing new ways to blow ball games for us it seems the rest of the guys are settling in. Time will tell over the next few weeks but I honestly see the Yankees getting ready to go on a major tear to be honest. Here are some Key reasons why I think so and a few Key things that need to happen along the way.

BASE HITS WIN GAMES (Hell I'll settle for some hitting PERIOD) Truth be told the month of May has been pretty hard on most of the Yankee bats. A-Rod after a scorching start to the 2007 season has cooled of BIG TIME with only 1 HR and a .286 BA for the month. Giambi is not hitting any better .188 BA with 1 HR himself. Matsui is hitting .304 for the Month but in his last 10 games only .264, Robbie Cano has struggled the worst with his hitting .186 with 11 K's and then there's Bobby Abreu who looked just lost at the plate the last few days is hitting .222 in May. If the Yankees are going to take advantage of the great pitching their getting right now they have got to start hitting again. It's one thing when a few guys start slumping but right now only Jeter and Posada seem to be getting hits consistently or can be counted on to drive in runs. In the end thou we all know this won't last. A-Rod despite slumping is still hitting well above .300 and was bound to cool off from his amazing April. Giambi well he can be counted on to hit below his own weight average wise but he is likely going to pop a few HR's here and there as well, and he does get on base via the walk so he should improve as well. Matsui is slumping just a bit now but he had a good game today he will likely turn things around as well. That brings us to Bobby and Robbie both seem to be slow starters Robbie last year did not have a good first few months at the plate and Abrue always seem to be a late bloomer as well. Although Robbie seems like he may take a few more weeks to come out of it. Abrue on the other hand is hitting second or third in this lineup and is bound to break out at any time. What’s also important here is that the bats are slumping NOW much like the struggles with the Pitching and the Injuries I'd prefer a team wide slump NOW in May then in August and September. Remember its base ball folks it's a Marathon not a sprint.

The Pitching has to continue to do what it has done; Andy today threw a great game and got the bums rap loss because the offense let him down. Moose has had two very good outings Wang nearly threw a perfect game and YEA he had an ugly start the other day. I'm betting that his next time out he is one tough SOB to hit much less score on. I have a lot of confidence that over the next two months Moose, Andy and Wang are going to be VERY VERY GOOD for the Yankees. So the key falls on 2 guys and how well they pitch. First Rasner who has been nothing short of fantastic for the Yankees. You can't blame him for the average of 5 innings a start. Truth is Captain Hook Torre is terrified of him on the mound and will not give this kid a real chance. They constantly pull him in the 6 Th when he could very well work out of trouble. How good has Rasner been?? Take a look over 5 starts, Rasner has a 3.28 ERA which is DAM GOOD if you ask me. DeSalvo has been BRILLIANT for us in two outings and he should honestly be 2-0 right now. Truth is Wild Kyle, a Blind Ump and Mo cost him that game (Hell that sound like the start of a really bad joke don't' it??). If DeSalvo can keep pitching like this over the next few weeks the Yankees are going to be in VERY good Shape.

Next is what will happen when Hughes and then the Rocket join the ball club. Right now as things stand Rasner and DeSalvo are taking Roster spots that will belong to both Clemens and Hughes by the end of the month. Truth is thou the Yankees desperately need a long relief man to come in and eat innings when guys can't get out of the 5 Th and 6th innings. Truth is games like that happen and with a Bull Pen full of short relievers the pen is going to get over worked when this happens. Moose and Clemens are likely to have quite a few games where they simply run out of gas and we need a reliever to come in and give us a few innings to get to the 8 th or 9th. If I’m the Yankees right now DeSalvo and Rasner are auditioning for that very roll. So who gets the quick trip to the minors or out the door?? Vizcaino has not been all that good. Wild Kyle I honestly have no faith in, after that I'm not sure. What it comes down to thou is we need somebody that can eat these innings for us. Clemens who I have a TON of respect for I just don't see pitching all that great in the AL. Don't' get me wrong folks the Rocket still has gas in the tank but there is a reason he did so well in the NL. There is no DH and if you watched his starts he generally pitched 5 maybe 6 innings before being pulled from the game. What that translates to in the Al is a very overworked BP with out a long man. Hughes?? I love this kid and he looks like he is going to be amazing for the Yankees but he has been on a very strict pitch count from day one and although the injury helps control that some the Yankees are still going to be vary careful with him and how many innings they let him throw. With that in mind I can see quite a few games where Hughes will be pulled after the 6 Th which means we need a long reliever. Regardless of this Clemens to his credit will be a help to the Yankees he may not be as good as advertised but I'm willing to bet he will be good enough to win and should be better then Randy Johnson was last year with his 5 something ERA and 18 wins. Hughes is hard to call; I know he is going to be VERY good just how good is hard to say. Time will tell.

Ok folks so hear is what I'm thinking the next week or so is going to go for us. Starting this week we get the White Sox for Three Games in Chicago, The Yankees with Moose on the mound will take game one and Wang will pitch a gem on Weds day to take game two. Rasner will pitch well on Thursday but the Yankees will likely fall short and loose on Thursday. Then the BIG weekend series in NY against the Mets. We have DeSalvo, Pettitte and Moose going for us REMBER NL RULES so I'm seeing a three game SWEEP of the Mets as DeSalvo shows us he is the real deal, Andy and Moose tie up the Mets hitters and the Yankees FEAST on Mets pitching. This series will be HUGE because I see a lot of the bats coming alive in this series and starting to hit again which is important because we invite the Sucks into Yankee stadium that Monday Tuesday and Weds and by the way the Yankees will be on such a roll I'm calling for yet another three game sweep. So from now till Next Weds the Yankees if you ask me are only going to loose one game the bats are going to wake up and the Yankees are going to be on a roll. Call me Crazy if you want but this is how I see things. It will be interesting to see if I'm right. Hey I'm man enough to say I was wrong but I don't have to be all that wrong to still be right about the Yankees getting on a roll. So what do you guys think how will the next week pan out for the Yankees??

Till Next Week

The Yankee Fan

Youth or Free Agents??

So I have to apologize for being MIA the last few weeks. Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Insanity is to blame or in a nut shell real life got the better of me. Yea, Yea I know I post this thing once a week how hard can that be. Well considering that I can only post a blog once a week that should tell you how busy I am on a normal week, so when things get busy or crazy it’s just dam near impossible. The good news is that I have made some arrangements to avoid not being able to post a blog and over the summer when this happens to me again I should be able to introduce you my readers to some very dedicated and very talented Yankee fans who will be guest blogging for me. This week thou I’m quite ready to write so your stuck with me for now.

**UPDATED** Mind you I have been working on this Blog the last few days. As many of you know Roger "The Rocket" Clemens was signed buy the Yankees and at todays game Roger adressed the yankee fathful ala King Henery Style. Althou I'm not a big fan of the Yankees signing Clemens this is proably a good move buy the Yankees. Considering the injurys we keep facing and that Clemens in the rotation will help take some presuer off the rookies like Iggy, Rasner and others. The way i see it buy Mid June or sooner the Yankee rotation will be Wang, Pettitte, Musena, Clemens, and Hughs when he can come back Iggy till then. Honestly i think Clemens is going to struggle in the AL East and his efectivness will not be what it was in the NL the past two years. I could how ever be vary wrong. Eather way this is a bost for the Yankees rotation and good news for now. Welcome back Rocket and I REALY hope you can help.

In the last two weeks I have noticed that there is an interesting debate over the direction the Yankees have taken, this being the Youth movement or Free Agent signings of Veteran players. Now in a perfect world a team should be able to do both but unfortunately these days Free Agent pitchers are expecting long term deals and fat paychecks. Many Yankee fans have shown frustration over not signing Bary Zito a guy I my self was hoping would be a Yankee this year but frankly I’m glad the Yankees passed on him. Ted Lilly, Jef Supan, Gill Mech, and Jason Schmidt are also among others that fans are currently lamenting over because Cashmen passed them up. Others like my self applaud Cashmen’s effort in this winters Free Agent market, and see that he has given the Yankees an improved Farm system and has provided the talent for this team to win this year and many years to come. So the Debate is simple Youth or Veterans who are more valuable??

For Years the Yankees have been a Free Agent, and blockbuster trade type of team. They have traded young talent for current and established ball players, these players after these trades have been sigend to large contract extentions. In the Free Agent market they have never broken any single player records in terms of Pay but have signed many long term deals some as short as 4 years and some as long as 7 years. For the most part these deals have worked out for the Yankees Mike Musena has been a very good and serviceable pitcher for the Yankees. He has however had his ups and downs thou as he has gotten older, he has lead some to wonder if signing him to a 5 year deal was the right thing to do. Jason Giambi not one of my favorite players was signed to a 7 year deal and although his bat has been some what effective at times, his injury prone body and his inability to actually play first base has become a serious problem. Carol Pavano was the best pitcher on the Free Agent market at the time we signed him to a 5 year 20 million something contract. In his time as a Yankee he has racked up 5 wins and spent most of the time finding new and inventive ways to be injured. It’s likely he is going to be out for the rest of the season and if the Yankees are smart they will cut their losses by cutting Pavano loose at some point in the season. The Yankees acquired A-rod in exchanged for our up and coming second baseman Alfanso Soriano. Due to Soris inability to settle in at second and his inability to not swing at everything thrown to him is what helped spank the deal. A-Rod for his part has served the Yankees well even with the so called off year last year and he has started this season red hot at the plate. With A-rod came, his long term deal and in terms of money 14 to 16 million, in terms of years (so long as Alex does not Opt out this year which I don’t believe he will do) the Yankees have him for at least three more seasons. This is a deal that has worked out well for the Yankees despite A-Rods rumbles last season. He can field at third base, and his bat is invaluable in the lineup. Also at his age he is likely not to slow down production wise over the next three years. Other then the A-Rod deal most of these deals present problems for the Yankees. With Moose as much as I like him on the mound his last few seasons have been riddled with injuries and inconsistencies at times. If the Yankees wanted to move Moose to make room for a young pitcher they couldn’t do it because of Moo’s contract terms of length. The same can be said about Giambi, when you weigh the injury factor along with his inability to play the field well, then throw in the amount of money and time left on his contract moving Giambi in a trade becomes next to impossible. Randy Johnson whom the Yankees acquired from the D-backs just two seasons ago was traded back for a handful of young prospects. Part of the reason this deal got done was because Johnson’s contract only had one year left on it and the D-backs were willing to work out some sort of extension that only added a second year to that. Money wise Johnson was making less then what some of these guys on the Free Agent market were signing for. He was a short term investment for the D-backs and to them a smart move. Because of how his contract was structured in terms of length which is why Cashmen was able to move him.

Now before I move on lets take a look at where the Yankee’s farm system is in terms of talent. Over the last three seasons we have seen Robinson Canoe, Chen Ming Wang, Melky Cabrea, Scot Proctor, Sean Hen, Darel Rasner, Jeff Karastan, and finally Philip Hughs come up form the minors and have a real impact on this team. Obviously Melky, Cano, Proctor, and Wang have made major impacts to this team and Rasner, Karastan, Hen, and Hughs are just starting to make there presence known. What I don’t get is that many of the "experts" have called the Yankee farm system baron and used up. How is this so if we have managed to bring up players that have made major impacts on the team?? Truth is the Yankees farm system is weak but it’s not with out resources either. Wang, Melky and Cano were all strong prospects coming into the majors and its not surprising they have produced so well. Last season Karastan and Rasner were brought up to fill rotation spots for the Yankees and performed quite well in their short time on the team. The problem was there was no room at the time to see what they could really do for us. Why?? Well Johnson, Wright and Moose were all taking up spots on the roster. So when Cash goes into the off season he looks at all this young pitching we have just waiting for a chance to get on the mound in NY and he realizes he needs to make room for them. With the way the Free agent market is, how can you make room for those young pitchers?? If you sign Zito to seven years your Rotation is now crowded with Johnson and Wright. Plus you lock into Zito for 7 years which means he is not going anywhere any time soon. Ted Lily would have been the same only over 5 years. Cashmen traded Johnson and Wright retaining some very good prospects in return. He also moved Shef to gain another pitching prospect although in Sanchez case he may be the injury of the month sort of guy-Time will tell. So now we have Wang and Pavano in the rotation for this season and that’s about it. Considering what we know about Pavano it’s safe to say Cash knew he needed to grab another Vet or two to solidify this rotation. Some argue Zito was the guy to get. Maybe he was but remember if we sign him we are stuck with him for 7 years. I liked Zito personally but the last thing I wanted was to see the Yankees stuck with another Moose like contract where the pitcher is obviously aging and loosing his ability to be productive for a full season yet we are still paying him like he is. So the decision was made to sign Anddy Pettitte, at the age of 34 for 2 years. A much shorter term contract and talent wise on the same level as Zito. Then Cash resigned Moose, a move I’m still scratching my head over. Granted we only have Moose for a season possibly two if we pick up his option. My problem is Moose as good as he has been for us, he is still 38 and I think he is just not the guy he was when we first signed him. In the long run this may be a smart move considering Lilly, Mech, Supan and others were signing 4 year deals. With Moose we have him for this season only and have the option to keep him for a second or possibly do what we did with Shef and pick up the option, then trade him or simply let him go. What does this do for the Yankees?? Well remember we have Hughs who has recently proven he is ready for the majors, Karastan who despite his poor first start of the season is better then that, Rasner who has shown he can start for the Yankees when needed and be effective, Chris Wright who will be a very good young pitcher for the Yankees in a few years, Tyler Cliperd who is DOMINATING Triple A right now, and many other young prospects just waiting for there chance. Now granted having all this young pitching is great but they’re not all going to become great pitchers. Some we may trade for some help in the Catching department where we have nobody to take over for Posada when he eventually retires from the game, or perhaps a first basmen where the Yankees currently have NOBODY who can both hit and Field. What we have is one guy that hits home runs and barely hits his own weight over a season plus should probably be fielding first with a spatula. Then we have a guy that can field first base EXTEREMLY well but could not hit a ball if you put him on a little League T-Ball team. So having a lot of young pitching talent currently in the minors should allow the Yankees to grab somebody that can fill those two holes. But what about the guys that don’t’ get traded like Hughes, Olendorf and Kliperd?? Remember next year depending on how things fall Zambrano and Santana amoung others will be on the Free Agent market. Both are young and both would be good long term investments for the Yankees. Also the D-train will be available from the fish at some point and we all know it's going to happen. He would make an excellent pick up as well. CC Sabath will also be a Free agent. I personally would avoid him because his injury record is very much like Pavano the only diference is CC WANTS to be out there pitching. Now if the Yankees grab one of these guys to go with Wang next year, then throw Hughes in the Mix we have 3 strong pitchers. Now if Andy sticks around next season You have a starting rotation of Wang, Andy, (Free Agent Trade acquisition) Hughes, and there is still room for Rasner, Karastan, Klipered, Wright or another young rookie. The following season if Andy leaves the Yankees we have Wang Hughs and who ever we grabbed the season before again, three strong starters and YOUNG to boot. Kliperd is likely ready for the Majors so he comes up and we either sign trade or depending on some of the other young pitching simply stay where we are with what we have. The point here is letting the young crop of talent take the time to develop and more importantly give Cashmen room to make moves and changes that we never had the chance of making before. Because of the moves Cash made in the off season he should be able to make a deal to bring us a decent young catcher to take over for Posada in the next year or two. We should eventually get a decent playing first basemen that can both hit and field the ball. We could also make a trade for a starter if it comes down to that. We also should be able to bring up pitchers that can get the job done as starters with out having to sign guys that we are hoping will pitch well after basically stinking all season OR not have to trade away our budding young talent in the farm system for a guy that may pitch well now or may simply be mediocre at best. FELXIBLITY! The Yankees now have flexibility and it will play a key roll in their ability to win this season.

Do we trade away all this young talent and get our selves the big name big dollar players. Do we hold them up in the minors and con’t to sign big long term contracts?? Or are you like me and would rather see short term contracts signed and the young talent in the minors given a chance to help. The truth is with the amount of talent we have in Triple A finding a starter isn’t going to be to much of a problem. With the lineup the Yankees have scoring runs will not be a problem. Truth is we have the time and we have the offense to back up these young pitchers why not give them a chance and see what they can give us??

So I leave this question to you my readers what do we do?? Youth or Free agents? We can’t have both not in the world of baseball today with the long term big money contracts that are being signed. You can finagle it to some degree but the emphases, has to be one way or the other. What is the right direction for the Yankees Youth or Free Agents??

Till next week

The Yankee Fan

Injury Woes and a Tribute to Bernie

Well, it’s Sunday and You all know what that means. Yep time for me to let all of you crazy Yankee fans out there know what I think about our beloved Yankees. This weeks topic The disabled List or basically what is quickly become most of the Yankee roster. Let’s see now Matsui is on the DL with a Strained hammy, Wang is on the DL as well with the same injury. Karastan is on the DL because his arm was hurting thank god it was not his elbow and MRI’s scans came back clean. All three of them should be back on the Yankee roster before the end of the month Wang maybe as soon as next weekend, because good Ole Carl (I stubbed my Toe and it hurts so much) Pavano is hurt again as well (And just placed on the DL Today). Apparently his arm was feeling stiff and it extended up to his elbow. That can’t be a good sign. Moose also pulled a hammy but the Yankees seemed to think he would only miss one start, but then they placed him on the DL today as well so who frigen knows. The Good news in all of this my fellow Yankee fans (And YES there is some Good news) is that it’s only April. Injuries happen threw out the year, and usually they happen in bunches like the Yankee are going threw right now. The thing is right now the season just began, and once everybody is healthy by the end of April which is likely to happen (with the possible exception of Pavano) This team is going to be tough to beat. More importantly with the injuries mostly out of the way early the Yankees should not encounter too many late season injuries. Remember last year we went threw a rash of early injuries as well but finished the season strong unlike Boston who had their injuries late in the season and crashed and burned to third place in the division. So I say let them have their fast starts, let them be healthy NOW. The Yankees will work out their kinks, get healthy and then do what they do every year which is leading the AL East buy the end of September.

Now with all the injuries as of late especially when Damon was hurt the first week of the season then Matsui went down a lot of people have started to talk about bringing Bernie back into the Yankee fold. Personally I think the Ghosts of Yankee Stadium are trying to tell Cashmen something, and he needs to get on the phone and call Bernie PRONTO, before Abrue gets hit by a stray foul ball and a piano drops out of nowhere on Melky. Why bring Bernie back?? Well aside form being the best PR thing the Yankees could do, Bernie has always been a quite leader on this team and would be a HUGE clubhouse positive and a good influence on the young players coming up to help fill in for the walking wounded. On top of that Bernie proved last year that he still has it in his Bat. Last of all many a critic CLAIMS Bernie is not hall of Fame material and I for one beg to differ. Another season just might help him sway a few more stubborn voters into believing Bernie is worthy. A Few months ago I wrote a Blog about why I believe Bernie should be in the Hall Of Fame, so to finish this week and in Honor of one of my Favorite Yankees I have Reposted this blog for all to read.

Bernie Williams or BERN BABY BERN!!

Bernie Williams to me has been one of the greatest Yankees to ever grace the field of Yankee stadium. Mind you I said ONE of the greatest as I am well aware that many others have come before him. The thing about Bernie Williams is he was the first piece of puzzle in what would become the Yankee Dynasty of the late 90’s. Before Derek Jeter, Mo Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and a few others there was Bernie Williams. In 1991 Bernie Williams made his MLB Début as a Yankee and has never looked back, and in that time has put up some impressive numbers along the way. Currently Bernie ranks in the top 10 of most Yankee offensive categories most notably, games played (5th), Hits (4th), Doubles (2nd), HR (6th), Runs Scored (5th), and RBI’s (6th). But it’s not his Career regular season numbers that stand out. In the postseason Bernie Williams has been a force even in his declining years, take a look for your self

SEASON	TEAM	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
1991	NYY	85	320	43	76	19	4	3	34	48	57	10	5	.238	.336	.350	.686
1992	NYY	62	261	39	73	14	2	5	26	29	36	7	6	.280	.354	.406	.760
1993	NYY	139	567	67	152	31	4	12	68	53	106	9	9	.268	.333	.400	.733
1994	NYY	108	408	80	118	29	1	12	57	61	54	16	9	.289	.384	.453	.837
1995	NYY	144	563	93	173	29	9	18	82	75	98	8	6	.307	.392	.487	.879
1996	NYY	143	551	108	168	26	7	29	102	82	72	17	4	.305	.391	.535	.926
1997	NYY	129	509	107	167	35	6	21	100	73	80	15	8	.328	.408	.544	.952
1998	NYY	128	499	101	169	30	5	26	97	74	81	15	9	.339	.422	.575	.997
1999	NYY	158	591	116	202	28	6	25	115	100	95	9	10	.342	.435	.536	.971
2000	NYY	141	537	108	165	37	6	30	121	71	84	13	5	.307	.391	.566	.957
2001	NYY	146	540	102	166	38	0	26	94	78	67	11	5	.307	.395	.522	.917
2002	NYY	154	612	102	204	37	2	19	102	83	97	8	4	.333	.415	.493	.908
2003	NYY	119	445	77	117	19	1	15	64	71	61	5	0	.263	.367	.411	.778
2004	NYY	148	561	105	147	29	1	22	70	85	96	1	5	.262	.360	.435	.795
2005	NYY	141	485	53	121	19	1	12	64	53	75	1	2	.249	.321	.367	.688
2006	NYY	112	368	54	104	26	0	11	55	30	47	2	0	.283	.333	.443	.776
Total	--	2057	7817	1355	2322	446	55	286	1251	1066	1206	147	87	.297	.381	.478	.859

My biggest argument with people when they tell me Bernie is not Hall of Fame Material is that he leads most MLB Players in post-season offensive stats. First in Games played with 125, First in runs scored with 83, Second only to Derek Jeter in hits with 128, First in total bases with 223, First in Doubles with 29, First in HR with 22, first in RBI’s with 80, First in walks with 72, second only to Derek Jeter in base hits with 77, first in Extra Base Hits with 51, and has been on base more times then any major league ball player in the post season with 202. If Bernie Williams was has been a great player over all in the post season he has been an EXCEPTIONAL player in the Postseason where it matters most.

When Bernie retires which is most likely this year, he will be remembered by many Yankee fans as a living legend of our times. The baseball writers thou will likely not be so kind, as they come up with excuse after excuse. He does not have 300 HR, his last few seasons have not been that great, and the one that aggravates me the most is that his numbers are good in the postseason ONLY because he plays for the Yankees. Their argument is that Bernie would not have played so many Postseason games if he were on another team. This argument will always piss me off because what they’re basically saying is because Bernie is a Yankee we are going to penalize him for being an exceptional postseason player. You think they would say the same thing about David Ortiz even thou he does not even RANK in any of these categories for the postseason?? The argument is a stupid one. Bernie Williams was one of the few things to cheer about during the lean years of the mid 90’s, and was a big part of the reason the Yankees even made the play offs, much less got to the World Series in 1996. It’s not like the man was riding the coattails of everybody else on the team then suddenly hit well for a few games in October.

He has ALWAYS hit well in October and if I am not mistaken it’s not like the pitching he was facing was poor. Those teams pitching to him got to the postseason ON THEIR PITCHING, which means when facing the best pitching in baseball Bernie Williams was better. You can’t ignore the fact that he will be in the top 5 of these Postseason stats for years to come. In most of those categories the player behind him trails by 10 or more points. He is ahead of Legends such as, Babe Ruth, Lou, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Pet Rose, Steve Garvey, and Yogi Berra. There should be no Doubt that Bernie Williams maybe not on the first but eventually should be gracing the hollowed Halls of the hall of fame. Unfortunately the Writers of our day and age can’t even recognize players like Don Mattingly, Goose Gosage, and others as Hall of Fame members so Bernie will likely be left out in the cold when it comes to the Hall of fame while Chemically enhanced Steroid Abused players like Mark McGuire, and Barry Bonds are allowed in with their tainted records and questionable past.

Till next Week

The Yankees Fan