Original Phil Hughes Returns

Back when Phil Hughes was a top five prospect in all of baseball, he had everyone raved that he hard outstanding fastball control, and a knockout curveball. Here is even a snippet from Baseball America when they rated Hughes the Yankees top prospect prior to the 2007 season:

"Hughes' greatest accomplishment as a pro has been to forsake his slider in favor of a knockout curveball, which is more of a strikeout pitch and produces less stress on his arm. It's a true power breaking ball that sits in the low 80s with 1-to-7 break. Club officials call it the best in the system because Hughes can throw it for quality strikes or bury it out of the zone, and because he uses the same arm slot and release point he uses for his fastball."

High praise indeed, but after Hughes reached the majors and following his long DL stint after he pulled a hamstring mid-no-hitter in Texas, he forsook his conventional curveball grip for the grip of a knucklecurve a la Mike Mussina. Since then it has seemed that he has always had trouble with putting hitter away, and if you ever saw one of them take his curveball, you would know he wasn't following anyone with it.

It seems the biggest difference with the curveball is the velocity he throws it with. Now his curveball sits in the upper 70s rather that the 72-73 he threw with the knucklecurve. That seem to keep the Jays hitters off balance more and didn't allow them to foul of the pitch when they were fooled.

Since 2008 Hughes has had to rely primarily on his fastball and cut fastball to get hitters out, and as the second half of last year showed, he cannot survive an entire season with just fastballs. Forever it was thought that Hughes needed to add a change up in order to move to an elite level as a starter. The reality might be that he needs to return to his roots with his curveball and, of course, a change would be nice too.

Now I'll actually be able to look forward to his Friday start against the light hitting Oakland A's.

Ortiz Suspended

For the altercation with Baltimore pitcher Kevin Gregg, in which Gregg was the instigator, David Ortiz received a four game suspension. Ortiz should not have responded physically. Gregg had already been tossed for jawing at Big Papi as Papi trotted to first. Four games is probably about right, although I think there's a fair chance Ortiz will get the penalty reduced on appeal. Gregg seemed to be operating with some kind of a chip on his shoulder for an imagined disrespect from the Sox based on his post game comments. I guess you have to get yourself riled up and motivated somehow when your team is destined for the basement, and you have 70 or so games to play.

In other news, one of my favorite shows, Curb Your Enthusiasm, will be featuring Bill Buckner in a future episode. God knows how Larry David, a die hard Yankee fan, will use Buckner in the episode. It's good to know that Buckner has developed a sense of humor about his place in history after all of the grief the city of Boston put him through.

Mr. 3000... Derek Jeter

Well I would be extremely remiss in my Yankee blogging duties if I didn't post something about my all-time favorite player getting his 3,000 hit in the big leagues.

With a home run in the 3rd inning off of David Price, Jeter joined an elusive club that only has 27 other members before him. That is crazy when you think about it. Baseball has been a national institution in America since 1876. That's 135 years of baseball and Jeter will only be number 28 to get 3,000.

I have been watching Jeter from almost the beginning of his big league career. His rise to stardom coincided with my own interest in the baseball and the Yankees. Like millions of other little league ball players past and present I always tried to emulate Jeter.

Even with Jeter's recent struggles it is hard for Yankee fans not to love him and hard for any opponent not to respect him for the class and dignity he provided baseball with through one of its darkest eras.

Congratulations Derek and hopefully there are a few more left in your bat.

And to make matters worse...

Jon Lester has been placed on the DL with a strain in his latissimus. With John Lackey pitching like he's throwing batting practice and Clay Buchholz already on the DL, the All-Star break cannot come soon enough. It's really unfortunate because Buchholz, Lester and Josh Beckett had formed an intimidating three-headed monster in the rotation. However, I think Boston is right to err on the side of caution. If they hope to make a run at a title they will need both of their ailing star pitchers. I guess we'll have to deal with the Kevin Millwood era for a couple of weeks.

Lackey Lacking Again

Yesterday, after another short outing in which he gave up seven runs, John Lackey is starting to become a real liability. I have more confidence in Tim Wakefield at this stage. It's enough to make you long for the days of Dice-K. Last season, while not spectacular, was what I would call productive for Lackey. He was 14-11 with a 4.40 ERA. These stats are nothing to write home about, but they're not terrible, and he made 33 starts and pitched 215 innings. At least he gave the Sox a chance to win every night and ate up some innings.

Now, with an ERA well over 7.00, Boston has some tough decisions to make about using Lackey. I don't see how they can trot him out there every fifth day with the way he's performing. On the other hand I don't know what other choices they have.

Sox Victims of Cliff Lee's 3rd Straight Shut Out

I don't know what to say here. Josh Beckett had an off night. Cliff Lee was world class. It was a very boring game from a Sox fan perspective. I just sat there waiting for something to happen, and it never did. The Sox had a total of four base runners, and they were scattered around here and there. You can't really point to any instance in the game and say, that's where Boston lost it's chance to make something happen.

Boston is now 6-7 in interleague play. It's hard to complain about the system since it's given the Red Sox huge opportunities in the past several years with double digit win totals each year in interleague play. This stretch of poor performances is starting to get frustrating, especially after the successful run it follows. Can't we just be normal, win two of every three and call it a day? I hate these huge inexplicable swings of the pendulum.

Sox Sputtering

After a remarkable month long run, the Red Sox have lost their grip on the AL East with a 6-4 loss to the Pirates today. A four game losing streak, while always frustrating and detrimental, is not a reason to panic at this stage. But their losses to the likes of San Diego and Pittsburgh just always brings the bile to the back of my throat. These are games that the Sox should be handling with relative ease. I'm not asking for a sweep, but you would like to see Boston split these games at least with three games in Philly on the horizon. Who knows. The way things go in baseball I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox swept the Phillies after playing like crud this past week.

Beckett Tosses One Hitter

After Kevin Youkilis failed to make a tough throw to first on a grounder to third in the third inning last night, Josh Beckett didn't allow another base runner for the rest of the night. Beckett went the full nine, earning the third shutout of his Sox career. Youkilis would make up for his play in the field later by providing the margin of victory with a three run homer in the seventh. The fact that it came against the Rays, for whom I have the most contempt, makes it all the more sweet.

Beckett is emerging as a Cy Young front runner. These things are always debatable of course, but he is leading the AL in ERA (1.86), batting average against (.174), and is tied for the lead in WHIP (0.92). Now if he can keep from getting a blister or some slight indigestion that puts him on the DL...

Derek Jeter's Injury

As we all know Derek Jeter is out of the Yankee line up for an as yet to be determined amount of time with a calf strain. New York is still debating whether to put him on the DL. What I am posting about is an interesting conversation I heard on ESPN radio last night regarding this injury and injuries in general. It's funny when they put the intelligent stuff on at 8pm when practically no one will be listening to the radio.

The host had a physical therapist specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine call into the show. They discussed the nature of Jeter's injury, possible treatment plans, and the issue of athletes' non-disclosure of injuries in order to stay on the field. The PT (of course I can't remember her name) successfully gave medical explanations in layman's terms, and I left with a clear understanding of the situation. My point is that I wish sports media gave more time to this type of in depth analysis regarding injuries, training, and self-care issues that modern athletes face.

Big Shots Considering Realignment

I could write about the Yankees because they have actually won two straight, but the injury to Bartolo Colon has me slightly depressed. Anyway, it looks as though and age of ignorance might be coming to an end for Major League Baseball. Welhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifl... at least sort of.

Buster Olney that MLB and the players union are talking about realignment to balance the leagues out to 15 teams a piece. Of course this would never have been a problem if Selig didn't insist on adding four new franchises to the game during the 1990s.

There is talk of reverting to a singular division that would allow the top five teams to make the playoffs (because they absolutely need that second wild card so fewer people's feelings are hurt). That would make the situation better and allow the AL East to represent the AL in the playoffs every season.

The one point I don't like about the proposed realignment, would be that interleague play would constantly be going on. That means some teams would be playing interleague games that would decide the pennant in September. But at least this is a step in the right direction.

Good News for Hughes Tainted By Joba's Injury

Word has come out of the Yankee camp that Joba Chamberlain will most likely have to undergo Tommy John surgery which will end his season and knock him out for most of 2012 as well.

The Chamberlain injury is perplexing. Joba hit the DL two days ago with discomfort in his arm that was diagnosed as a strained, then torn flexor muscle. Both of those would have laid him up for a month or more, but news that it is actually a torn elbow ligament is devastating to an already shorthanded bullpen.

For right now the burden of setting up Mariano Rivera will fall to Dave Robertson, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Robertson has excelled in higher leverage situations this season and while his walk numbers are still worrisome, his strike out rate is more than impressive. However, this now means that relievers in the class of Luis Ayala and Boone Logan... Yikes.

The Yankees can be somewhat optimistic about another young hurler, as Phil Hughes seems to be progressing well in his rehab. Today he throw 30 pitches in extended spring training where he touched 90-92 on the radar gun. It will be important to see how he bounces back tomorrow and the next time out. Hopefully he will get into a minor league game soon and then into the rotation by the Fourth of July.

Things look bad right now, but not as bad as the media may make it out to be. The Yankees just need to survive until the return of Hughes and they need to start testing some of their young arms to see if they are ready to compete in a big league bullpen. Jeff Marquez is not the answer and neither is Ayala or Logan. Time to perhaps expand the role of Hector Noesi or give Kevin Whelan and George Kontos a shot. Both are having exceptional years as relievers at Scranton so why not give them a shot. Hell, even Tim Norton would be a good option at this point.

Hopefully once the rain subsides CC Sabathia decides to go into beast mode and allay the fears of Yankee fans for one night.

Sox Take Fourth Straight from Yanks

Last night Boston didn't waste anytime as they scored three runs before New York's Freddy Garcia even recorded an out. I haven't watched a whole bunch of Freddy Garcia in my life, but he looked bewildered. He tried to stick with his soft stuff, presumably because he had no faith in his fastball that was topping out at 85 mph. In the end, spurred on by a David Ortiz two run homer in the fifth, the Sox held on for a 6-4 victory, their fourth in a row against the Yanks, all at the Stadium.

Lost in the story of the big free agent signings and the slow start followed by resurgence, is the excellent play of David Ortiz. He is now hitting .324/.390/.602 for the year. He has 14 HR's and 16 doubles. The biggest difference is that he's finally remembered how to take the ball the opposite way. The past two seasons or so he was constantly looking to turn on an inside pitch. That kind of pitch proved so irresistible that he was literally swinging at pitches up around his eyes and striking out with great frequency (he had a career high 145 last year in the same amount of games). This year he's hitting to all fields therefore nullifying the absurd shift most teams play against him. Perhaps he's learned a thing or two from his new teammate, Adrian Gonzalez.

Dice-Done

Our long national nightmare is over. The report is that Daisuke Matsuzaka will undergo Tommy John surgery thereby ending his Red Sox career. And what did we get for a quadrillion dollars and our first born child, two halfway decent seasons and a prescription for Zantac for all of the indigestion. Good riddance.

Now, what happens with the back end of the rotation? Clearly, Aceves, while great to have in the pen can't keep starting every fifth day. John Lackey is still on the DL and was ineffective when he pitched anyway. It's not like the back end needs to pitch like Bob Gibson. They just need to be .500 or so. It also doesn't instill me with a lot of confidence when the Sox start their home stand by getting swept and are now down 4-0 to the A's with Buchholz, a supposed top line guy, pitching. The Sox are working very hard to undo the progress they made in May.

Yanks Sweep/Sox Swept

Clearly this is no good. I don't know what it is about the White Sox. At first I thought it was just my imagination that Chicago always beats Boston. However, I learned today that Chicago has won six straight in Boston.

Now the Red Sox have lost four in a row, three at home. I suppose the pace Boston was on wouldn't keep up for ever. After going an AL best 19-10 in May they were bound to cool off a bit. I won't start to get too concerned unless they continue to falter over the weekend.

Yankee fans and the rest of the media are making it sound as if they're playing horribly and the season is doomed. I don't know what team they are watching. Although they've been inconsistent and not all the parts are working at the same level all the time, I would not expect the Yankees to go quietly... not by a long shot.

In the year 2013...

...assuming the world hasn't ended in 2012 per the Mayan calendar, we will finally have flying cars, food will come in pill form, and this will happen to the Yankees.

Sox Sweep Stanks

As I write this Boston is losing to Baltimore 3-0 but nevertheless, the Red Sox swept a three game series against the Yankees over the weekend. I can't remember the last time I saw the Red Sox sweep a series in the Bronx. Fortunately, I have every sports media outlet on Earth to tell me that is was in 2004. The Sox won it all in '04 in case you forgot. Am I drawing any parallels? What do you think I am? A stunad? I wouldn't dare.

In fact, I think it's probably a really bad omen. Boston will probably go 5-20 from here. I will say this though. The Yankees look old. That's what happens in sports. One day you're an invaluable, wily veteran. The next, you're dead weight, ready for Shady Pines. That's where Posada is now. Jeter and A-Rod aren't quite there yet. I think they will still show flashes of former brilliance this season. But how stupid do people look who said that Rodriguez would hit 800 HR's? All I can say is, I told you so.

All that aside, if the Sox keep getting gutty starting pitching they will be fine. Lester didn't look great last night for a while, but he settled in and kept the Sox in the game. He gave them a chance, and the bats finally came through. No matter who you sign and how much money you spend, sometimes it just comes down to guts.

Things Begin to Unravel

Things are pretty bad in the Yankee Universe right now. The team is losing. Competitive games are few and far between and now Jorge Posada is upset at the Yankees lack of faith in his .165 batting average and .621 OPS.

We'll start with Jorge first. It's easy to understand why Posada would have trouble adjusting from catching every game to just taking his four hacks a day, it's hard to understand why he would think the Yankees are in the wrong for handling his situation as they have.

It must be difficult for every aging veteran to look at young players doing what they used to be able to do and thinking that they still have the ability, but the fact of the matter is Jorge never had the defensive ability that Russell Martin has and the Yankees are clearly a better team with Martin as a receiver than Posada. And the fact of the matter is that Jorge can't hit then Jesus Montero is sitting in Scranton. Montero is unlikely to complain about batting ninth either.

It's a shame that things are going poorly for Posada. But when you hold out for the money and the years that he did after his fantastic 2007 season, you run the risk of embarrassing yourself at the tail end of the contract and your career. Posada will be 40 in August. New York is unlikely to bring him back after the year. Young cheaper players are waiting in the wings and older slower players are waiting for the DH spot in the Yankee lineup. It is tough to watch someone who was great for so long struggle at the end, but it's worse to watch him whining about the unfairness of the situation.

I'm sick of players and the media whining about teams owing players things. All the team owes them are the ridiculous salaries they get paid, especially in the case of aging Yankees. The deal is the get paid and then they play. That's what the two sides owe each other.

As for the rest of the Yankees, things don't look good and it's not for the reasons everyone was anticipating at the beginning of the season. The pitching has been good. Except for Rafael Soriano, the bullpen has been as strong as anticipated. The starting rotation has been far better than anyone could have reasonable expected. It is the hitting that has been a grand disappointment.

While the home runs have come as expected, the Yankees seem to lack the ability to hit with runners in scoring position. For a team that has the scored on average more runs than any other in baseball, they haven't done so lately. It has been almost a week since they have cracked the 5+ run barrier. And if you eliminate that Sunday affair in Texas, they haven't put up more than five runs in a game since April 29.

This extended dry spell has made me feel like I'm back in 2008 when the Yankees also had major inconsistencies at the plate. Maybe the whole Posada affair will give the Yankees an open door to make a tough decision and bring up Jesus Montero. It definitely feels like the Yankees will need some kind of spark to get this ship moving in the right direction. Right now it doesn't seem like that catalyst is on the Yankee roster.

Buchholz Beats Yanks

So far this season, Clay Buchholz has pitched just a'ight for me dog. Moments of efficiency have been overshadowed by notable lapses. The 4.00+ ERA and the 1.500+ WHIP have been nothing to write home about. But last night in an important game for the Sox against the Yankees, Buchholz went 7 innings for the first time allowing two runs along the way. Buchholz showed great control and made only one big mistake, a two run homer to Russell Martin.

Though Buchholz left with a 5-2 lead, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon tried their best to give the game away. Bard was all over the place. He looked like Daniel Osterbrock from the AA New Britain Rockcats game I went to on Thursday. Papelbon uneventfully retired the first two batters he faced then allowed hits to Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson, which closed the game to within a run.

The Sox need Clay to have more games like this especially with the back end of the rotation floundering. Dice-K is Dice-K, Wakefield is too old, and who knows what to make of John Lackey. Lackey's wife's battle with breast cancer was recently revealed. Who can blame the guy for pitching poorly? Far be it for me to suggest how person should deal with a major illness in his family, but Lackey seems totally miserable. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes a leave of absence soon.

Fulham v. Liverpool

It seemed about time for a blog post and considering I have been out of the country for the past week and not keeping up with the Red Sox, I have decided to shift gears. Liverpool Football Club is the newest acquisition of the Fenway Sports Group, so this is somewhat related to the Red Sox. On Monday, I was fortunate to be in London watching my team, Fulham, get absolutely embarrassed by the North England club. The final score was 5-2 and Liverpool (Maxi Rodriguez) scored twice in the first seven minutes and once in the first 30 seconds. The Reds came screaming down the field and showed why Simon Davies spent most of the season on the bench. Here are some more observations from my first EPL game.

· Craven Cottage is a great place to watch a game. Ironically, it is similar to Fenway as it feels like you are on the field. I was so close to the field I could hear Clint Dempsey tell the ref to “fuck off” more than once.

· The Liverpool fans are fanatical. Their chants started before the first whistle and didn’t stop for 90 minutes. This was a regular season game of no real consequence and the atmosphere was electric. I don’t think we have a U.S. equivalent. Even Sox v. Yanks regular season games can be slow and pedestrian. The only potential equal might be college football or basketball, but their fan bases are built into the student body.

· Luis Suarez is the real deal and everyone knows it. Not selling Torres is what got Roy Hodgson sacked and Suarez is more than comparable as his replacement.

· The speed and accuracy of the game is incredible.

· Dirk Kuyt is a lot bigger than you think. Dude must be a gym rat.

· If Liverpool’s right back, Glen Johnson, was American he would probably lead the NFL in rushing. He is compact and explosive.

· 18 year old left back John Flanagan was impressive. He was very composed on the back line and fit right in next Jaime Carragher.

· I am calling it now; Liverpool will be at the top of the Top at the end of 2012. Steven Gerrard will be back and Kenny Daglish seems poised to lead the lads to another title.

Gonzalez Going the Other Way

One of the finest sights during the first six weeks of the season has to be watching Adrian Gonzalez smash home runs to the opposite field. When the Sox got Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, I knew much more about Crawford as I've seen him wear out the Sox year after year. Therefore I was more excited about his acquisition than Gonzalez just because of familiarity. But Adrian is a big time hitter. It's just awesome to see a guy with no weaknesses in the middle of the order.

Most of the time pitchers try to stay away from left handed hitters (ie: David Ortiz). You can't do that against Gonzalez. And when he hits one out the other way, it just looks so effortless. I bring this up because I'm watching the Sox now. Down a run against the Jays, Gonzalez leads off the top of the ninth with an opposite field bomb on a pitch you didn't think he could reach never mind hit out. I think I have a jersey to purchase.

Sox Return to Fenway

Before the Sox went on the road I wrote that I was worried that the small amount of momentum the Sox had going before the left would be sapped once they flew to the left coast. The Sox have got to be pleased that they finished 6-3 on the trip. Now they face off against the Mariners this evening. That's nice way to get re-acclimated after a long journey.

As I write the Red Sox have taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 3rd on two RBI singles by Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. The pitcher must have been blinded by gleam from Big Papi's Run-D-MC style chain around his neck. That thing looks like it weighs more than my cat.

Colon Relives Past Glories; Puts Yanks On Track

It has been a long time since Bartolo Colon was mentioned among the top echelon of starters in baseball. It has been almost equally as long since Colon pitched eight complete innings.

Colon was masterful tonight, using his two-seamer to freeze hitters while pounding away with his four-seamer that hummed through the strike zone at an average of 93 mph and even touched 96. It doesn't seem likely that Colon will hold up for a full season at age 38, but right now he is giving the Yankees quality and length and doing far more than eating innings out there.

Using a steady stream of fastballs Colon doesn't mess around. He pounded the zone and rarely threw anything off-speed, throwing just nine off-speed pitches out of 99. He never really needed the change up or slider he recorded 17 outs on the ground or via strike out, and all but one of those came from a fastball.

Right now the Yankees need all the pitching they can get. With Rafael Soriano struggling and the bats falling silent the length the starters give the Yankees will become that much more important. Right now they are doing they doing that. The past four games New York starters have thrown quality starts and at least pitched into the seventh (or in Freddy Garcia's case they should have). It is a reassuring trend, but Brian Cashman is sure to continue to keep his ear to the ground in search of another top end starter. There will always be doubt as to whether Colon's or Garcia's shoulder breaks down again or even both.

With the recent disheartening news that Phil Hughes might have thoracic outlet syndrome, every quality start until the tradeline will be that much more vaulable.

CC Sabathia should continue the trend tomorrow night since the White Sox still haven't come close to pulling out of their own hitting funk.

Dice-Konquerer

Sometimes I think I post on Dice-K just to see what kind of play on words in the title of the post. Anyhow... I don't think I have ever seen him this dominant after two awesome starts in a row. Last night he pitched eight shutout innings and gave up just a single hit as Boston has now taken the first three games of this four game series. Usually I'm happy if he can get through four with less that three runs. I'm trying not to get used to it, but if this continues with Jon Lester and Josh Beckett on the rolls that they're on, the Sox will be a force to be reckoned with.

Red Sox: Road Warriors

Usually this west coast road swing is the kiss of death for the Sox. In spite of the team's improved play recently I still had some trepidation as they headed for the bay area to start this trip. So far, so good. The Sox have won three in a row and are getting ever closer to .500.

Josh Beckett continues to be masterful, and I for one am going to enjoy it until he gets a hangnail or goes on the DL after a paper cut disaster. He pitched eight innings allowing only two runs last night against the Angels. The Sox certainly needed him as they stranded 13 runners. Hitting with RISP continues to be an issue, but Boston was able to push runners across when it mattered most in the top of the 11th. Adrian Gonzalez got it done with two run double.

Another thing that is tempering my enthusiasm is the injury to Kevin Youkilis. He fouled a pitch off his shin early in the game and was forced to leave. The severity of the injury has yet to be released, but TV cameras showed an egg plant colored welt.

The Sox still have a long way to go on this trip. They have three more game in Anaheim then they fly back east to the Charm City for a series with the Orioles. I will hold on to my optimism for now, especially with Jon Lester toeing the rubber tonight.

We want a pitcher, not a belly-itcher.

When Bobby Jenks came into the game last night and Don Orcillo pointed out that he had not surrendered a run or even a hit yet this season, I knew the Sox were toast. Clay Buchholz labored through 5+ and left with a one run lead. Alfredo Aceves allowed an inherited runner to score, but that's not where the trouble started. It was Bobby Jenks and his absurd goatee that ruined the Sox this time giving up four runs in the seventh. The Sox rallied within a run to no avail. They went quietly in the ninth, even with the top of the order coming up.

Speaking of the the Sox failed rally, Carl Crawford led off the ninth and I have to say, in the time that I've watched him, he looks utterly clueless at the plate. Adrian Gonzalez hasn't lived up to his billing either, but a least he's put solid wood on the ball. Crawford is swinging like a broken screen door.

Dice-Katastrophe

As good as Beckett was on Sunday. That's how bad Dice-K was yesterday. We'll never be able to trade his ass now. I was amazed at Beckett two nights ago. The curve ball looked filthy. When he's can locate the cutter and fast ball and can snap of the curve ball with regularity, he's one of the best. There's just been no consistency in a couple seasons.

I really have no more words about Dice-K. What a waste. They should just cut him. Beckett gives up two hits, Dice-K meanwhile pitches two innings.

At least we still have Lester. After 2 1/3 tonight he's looking pretty strong and just dealt a nasty fastball over the outside corner to get a backward K. Let's see if he can strike out Johnny Damon.

Yanks Show Desperation; Sign Carlos Silva

Word comes from Jon Heyman that the Yankees have continued collecting washed up pitchers by signing Carlos Silva who was released by the Cubs before the season started. Now it surely says something about Silva's abilities that the Cubs chose to eat $11.5 million for the 2011 season rather than carry the 9-year vet.

It also says something about how worried the Yankees are with Phil Hughes's velocity and performance that they would go out and sign a pitcher that they expressed no interest in two weeks ago.

It will be a bad sign Silva sees anytime in the majors this year. It will mean that Phil Hughes has a serious problem, Ivan Nova couldn't handle the four spot and two of the trio of veterans the Yankees have already couldn't hack it.

I don't like the the signing. It's good for depth, but it's bad if he ever sees New York. Anyway this commercial perked me up after I heard the news so enjoy.

Yanks and Sox Game 1

So it begins...

This will just be my quick thoughts on the first rivalry game of the year and if you watched the game you will now why I want to keep them brief. The Red Sox took the first of the season series and I'm not that surprised. Phil Hughes looked bad in his first start of the season and downright atrocious today. I wasn't expecting the implosion John Lackey was lucky enough in that regard to pick up the win.

I think that both teams have somewhat identified who they will be this season. Both will hit a ton, but they each lack rotation depth. This is likely to be one ugly summer of baseball if neither team makes moves for stronger starters.

In other news it seems Manny Ramirez is throwing in the towel. I can only go by what I've heard on the radio waves, but it seems he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs for the second time and rather than face a 100 game suspension he said screw you and walked away. He probably did the Rays a favor anyway since he was hitting a minuscule .056 in a super small sample size of just 17 plate appearances and he hasn't looked good since his first half year with the Dodgers.

It's an inauspicious end to a brilliant career. Manny will go down as one of the greatest righ-handed hitters of all time, but I doubt he hoped to go out like this. Though, part of me thinks Manny being Manny doesn't give a crap.

Sox Slow Out of the Gate

The Sox are off to a poor start getting swept by the Rangers in Arlington. Though it's early, they need a much better showing against the hapless Indians before heading home for a slate of divisional games, the first six against the hated Yankees and Rays.

On a side note, I don't know when the hell I'm going to watch any games. I'm busy and I'm fried. I've got school and I'm in a play. This blog isn't about that I guess. But it is frustrating. I haven't seen a single pitch yet. Once my semester is over I WILL sit with a beer and watch a game from beginning to end. Sounds easy, but sometimes it just ain't.

The Sox are Doomed

Well, that's the end of that. Tom Verducci is predicting that the Sox will win 100 games and win the World Series. Therefore, they will win 82 and miss the post season. Double check, but I don't think he has another team in the majors winning even 95 in this prediction. That doesn't make sense.

Yankee Season Preview

I was planning on responding to a comment on my previous post, but decided to just write another post because the answer was simply too long and I haven't really previewed the upcoming Yankee season as a whole.

The Rotation
We'll start with the rotation and off the bat I think we can all agree that it's not good, but this is far from the worst rotation they have trotted out there in the past five years... Anyone recall 2008? That's the year that Darrell Rasner, Sidney Ponson and Carl Pavano started a combined 42 games while posting an ERA of 5.61. That Yankee team still won 89 games and I would say this team has a better rotation and a better defense. That will help cover some of the pitching deficiencies, something the '08 team and no ability to do.

The Yankees still have a bona fide ace in CC Sabathia. The big lefty is unlikely to slow down right now, especially when he has an opt-out for the end of the season which could earn another $60 million. A.J. Burnett will again fellow Sabathia. Now that is a big question mark. It's hard to speak with optimism about Burnett's upcoming season, but Burnett debuted new mechanics this spring and the results showed. He didn't walk a batter and struck out 11 in 13 innings. Yea those numbers don't really mean anything, but it's better than him blowing up. He could be better this year and it's unlikely he'll be worse.

Beyond Burnett there are even more question marks with Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova. Both are young pitchers with potential to be solid or, in Phil Hughes's case, better than average. Of course both could also regress and be league average or worse. Hughes is more likely to take a step forward than Nova who might not be long for the rotation if he doesn't start well.

Now we come to the fifth starter. There isn't much to say about these guys. All three are retreads and would be better suited in a 2003 old-timers game. Still New York will be able to get about 100 league average innings out of Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Kevin Millwood. They won't be good or pretty, but the job will get done.

The rotation isn't a finished product either. The Yankees have the monetary ability (obviously) and prospects to acquire a top end pitcher before July 31st. I think its safe to say that these five starters will not be the same five starters who pitch in September.

The Lineup
Here is the Yankee bread and butter. The lineup is as good as it has been for the past ten years. They will score runs and lots of them. They will be in the top three for runs scored and will also be at the top of the leader board for OBP too. This is probably as close to a complete lineup you can create in a non-video game world. Every bat can hurt you in some shape or form. The toughest choice for Joe Girardi will be whether or not to have Brett Gardner lead off or Derek Jeter. Other than that this offense can just be set on cruise control for most of the season and you can sit back and enjoy the ride.

The Bullpen
On paper this is by far the best bullpen New York has put together in years. This will help to cover some of the rotation blemishes that the Yankees will have early on.

Mariano Rivera is Mariano Rivera and backing him up with Rafael Soriano is filthy if Soriano can stay healthy. Beyond that Joba Chamberlain looked good this spring and if he keeps up the pace he set in the second half of last year, the Yankees won't loss many games when they have the lead beyond the sixth inning.

The back end is just the beginning of the depth that Cashman has assembled in the pen. Dave Robertson will return to the middle innings where his 10.4 K/9 will be very useful. Boone Logan will be fine for use against lefties, and if Pedro Feliciano heals up, Girardi will have two quality lefties to deploy in the late innings.

Bartolo Colon will be fine as a long reliever, although his past injury troubles don't seem to bode well for the physical demands placed on relievers who's use is as sporadic as a long reliever's.

Prediction
It's fun to hate on the Yankees and this off-season made it easy when two players rejected the Yankees money for the preferences of their families. Many will be looking for New York to falter and slip beyond a Red Sox team that improved over the winter.

While the Sox have plenty of weapons on offense, I don't trust their bullpen at all and I think everyone is overlooking Boston's rotation question marks. The neutral baseball analyst in me would choose the Red Sox to win the division, just slipping by New York for the best record in baseball. But the homer in me will choose the Yankees. I have faith in Cashman to add another pitcher and I think the Yankee lineup is still better than Boston's and the Yankee bullpen has a solid advantage. The slight advantage that the Sox have in the rotation won't be enough to edge the Yankees over a full season.

Rotation is Set - Yankee Style

Which to me means with little intelligence applied. The Yankees announced how the rotation will begin the season. Well really they have announced how the way the last two spots will shake out since they named CC as the Opening Day starter (obviously) and Burnett the number two starter with Phil Hughes the number three.

Girardi has made the obvious choice of inserting Ivan Nova into the four spot in the rotation. Its hard to argue with that since Nova has pitched exceptionally well this spring and is the one candidate of the group who can still become a decent starter in the near future. Not only that, but unlike the last few Yankee starting prospects, he is actually stretched out to pitch an entire big league season.

The last spot was a little tougher to decide. The Yankees were running out two retreads in Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. Colon hasn't pitched in the majors since 2009 and hadn't pitched a full season since 2005, but he was exceptionally strong this spring. The rotund right-hander had good velocity and movement all spring and it seemed like he would come out of left field and surprise everyone to grab that fifth spot.

His competition was Fraddy Garcia and while it had been a long time since Garcia was an above-average pitcher, it wasn't absurd to think of him lasting most of the year in the rotation and providing serviceable production. Hell, he had just thrown 160 innings last season with the White Sox with decent numbers.

The Yankee logic seems to be that Colon would be more versatile than Garcia. It's something that doesn't seem to mesh with either players history or physical profile. Based on their recent injury history it would seem wiser to have Colon in the rotation. Being overweight with a history of shoulder issues doesn't scream flexibility.

Either way the addition of Kevin Millwood will make Garcia or Colon expendable if they fail within their first three or four starts.

The Rotation is Set

Some people may have been surprised when Terry Francona announced the 2011 Red Sox starting rotation. I case you missed it: Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, and the corpse of Dice-K. (AKA Daisuke Matsuzaka). Some were surprised that Beckett was dropped into the 4 spot. Frankly, it really doesn’t matter. Hopefully, Beckett and Lackey and be effective and make solid contributions every 5^th day.( I don’t expect any Cy Young type performances) I don’t think Dice-K will last the year. He may turn into an innings eater in the bullpen or just fake an “injury” all season. Either way you will definitely see Tim Wakefield and Alfredo Aceves make a more to be the 5^th starter.

Though the Sox haven’t been playing great lately, everything in Florida seems to have gone well. There haven’t been any major injuries and Adrian Gonzalez should be fit for opening day. (He will also be signed, sealed , and delivered with a fat contract extension.) Questions still remain in the bullpen, but I think Francona will sort out each pitcher’s role by June. Jonathan Papelbon has struggled, but if he wants to get paid next year (the Red Sox have all but said they will let him walk after 2011) he will have to perform. There is also the added incentive that Daniel Bard and Bobby Jenks are breathing down his neck for the closer job. The offensive should carry the team (I mean JD Drew is batting 7^th) and hopefully the pitching will be good enough to get them to the World Series, if not everyone will call all of Theo’s moves a failure. So without further ado, Play Ball!

Yanks v. Sox 2004: Game 4

I am watching MLB network revisit this classic match up on my new HD service. I remember that night well. My brother Pete and I went to a 10pm movie that evening thinking that the game would be over by then. (This was pre-kid for me. I will never see a 10pm movie again.) Also, keep in mind, no one knew or expected the Sox to come back down 0-3. At the time, I felt like the Sox were just taking the piss. They made the Yanks play another game, burn some more pitchers and maybe fail in the series again as a result. Pete, what was your recollection? I don't suppose you remember the movie we watched.

Insights into Strasburg Injury

Here's an interesting article on the Stephen Strasburg injury written by Tom Verducci. Seems there's a hitch in his giddy up that portended his current elbow issues. It's a very technical article and some of the descriptions are hard to envision without video of Strasburg's delivery, but it's interesting nevertheless. It helps to illustrate the reasons for other pitchers' arm problems as well. You'll recognize the names, Mark Prior, Joe Nathan and others.

Lackey Looking Good

John Lackey has now looked sharp in two straight starts this spring. Everyone knows that the Sox line up looks formidable heading into April, but the key this year will be for starters Josh Beckett and John Lackey to bounce back from bad seasons. Dice-K needs to bounce back too, but I think you have to actually have been something to bounce back. (Can we just call Dice-K a bust already? I don't think I'm jumping the gun here.)

Having a healthy productive Dice-K would be nice, but really Lackey and Beckett need to be their old selves for the Sox to get back in the post season. Both were inconsistent and got banged around a lot last year. With Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester becoming the underpaid aces of the staff, they don't need to do much. I would take 14-8 with a 3.80 ERA from each of them. I don't think Beckett needs to get back to 2007 form. He just needs to stay healthy and learn to pitch with less velocity. Lackey needs to get back his confidence and be the gamer he's always been.

Yanks Fall to Sox; Banuelos Impresses

Yesterday the Yankees took on the Red Sox for the first time this year. Well they didn't actually take on the Red Sox since the only real Boston player to make the trip was starter Clay Buchholz, still they fell 5-3 on the strength of a Boone Logan seventh inning implosion.

Despite that, the Yankees did see some stellar pitching. Bartolo Colon threw three scoreless innings while striking out five Red Sox scrubs. More on him in a minute.

To me the real stellar pitching came from 19-year-old Manny Banuelos. Banuelos was impressive. Not just because he threw his second scoreless appearance this spring but becaus eof how he did it. Unlike Colon, ManBan hit his spots with a crisp 93-96 MPH fastball, and had exception movement on his breaking pitches, which he also threw for quality strikes. Russell Martin even raved about how polished the youngster is, comparing him to another hard throwing young lefty.

The young lefty's mechanics were also something to marvel at. He possesses a very easy delivery and it surprises you how hard his fastball comes out of his small frame. Banuelos didn't pitch the last time Trenton was in New Britain, but you better believe I am eyeing their return in mid-June. Though, I wont count on ManBan still being there come June. The way he pitches, he may force a promotion before then.

Colon is a bit of a different story. While the numbers looked good, Colon was all over the place, especially in his third inning of work. He was bailed out by some bad swings from the Red Sox. Colon may be pitching better than the Yankees expected, but Girardi and Cashman will take note of his lack of command within the strike zone. The big guy always seemed to be trailing in the race for the fifth starter spot and he hasn't done enough to change that perception yet.

Some the pitching has been decent, but the bats have continued to struggle. The only hitter who has looked ready for the start of the season is Alex Rodriguez. He hit the ball hard again on Friday night. A bullet single through the right side and then a double off the wall in left-center. A-Rod looks like he may still have some elite level production left in his bones. I'm always an optomist at this point in the season, but I really think he's going to put himself back in the discussion as one of the best hitters in baseball.

Today's action features CC Sabathia on the mound and Jesus Montero behind the plate. Unfortunately the game isn't on YES today, so we'll have to wait till next week to see the Yanks in action again.

Links!

I know it's a little late, but leave it to Joe Posnanski to write an insightful post on the passing of Duke Snider. There's also one on the 1955 season, when he barely missed out on the MVP. Also Tom Verducci echos the sentiments that have been on this blog since it's inception. As Peter points it out on an almost a weekly basis, starters are more valuable than closers.

Beckett Scratched from Scheduled Start

Josh Beckett will continue to take it easy this week after being hit in the noggin on Monday while throwing batting practice. Beckett suffered a concussion. He has started to resume team activities today, but will not start on Thursday. Obviously, you play it super-safe during spring training and hopefully there won’t be any residual effects from this injury. This is not how Red Sox wanted Josh Beckett to start 2011.

Hughes Makes First Start; Pitching Rumors Abound

Phil Hughes made his first start of the spring this afternoon and was solid through two innings of work. The young righty walked one, but thanks to a double play, faced the minimum six batters. The talk of the day seemed to be the lack of his use of the change up during his short stint, as he threw only three to the six batters he faced.

Hughes needs to get his change working this year. The cutter is a devastating pitch and his fastball can be sneaky good. Still, he needs another off-speed pitch besides his curve to keep hitters honest. If that fourth pitch can be developed into something at least average then 18 wins will be just the beginning for him.

There were two other pitchers in the news today that could effect the Yankees rotation of the future. Speculation has run rampant since New York lost out on Cliff Lee that the Yanks would make a play for the Cardinals Chris Carpenter. The odds of that happening took a couple of hits, first when Albert Pujols failed to sign an extension, and then when Adam Wainwright went down for the year. Now Carpenter is out with a strained hamstring. Though it may not be really severe, Carpenter's health has never really been more than a house of cards. Any little breeze will threaten to send him to the DL. It will definitely be something the Yankees will have to monitor.

Rumors have also spread that the Yankees are pursuing the Twins Fransisco Liriano. It has also been said that the Yankees would only need to offer a package headlined by either Ivan Nova or Joba Chamberlain. I'd have to believe Brian Cashman wouldn't hesitate to send either if not both of those players if that is what Minnesota GM Bill Smith requested. Sadly though Yankee fans dreams of Liriano in pinstripes will have to wait. Buster Olney reported earlier today that the Twins aren't thinking of moving Liriano... yet.

As always, the Yankees will show patience and let the market develop. Tomorrow's starter may have a big impact on that discussion. If A.J. Burnett can bounce back to his 2008 form, or at least his 2009 form, then the Yankees may not be desperate for pitching help come July 31st. That doesn't mean the wont be looking to improve, but a solid Burnett could keep teams from trying to play on Yankee desperation to raise their prices.

Duke Snider Dies

Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider died yesterday. I always found his role in baseball history kind of interesting. As good as he was, he was probably the third best player in his own city. He lacked both the titles of the Mick and the signature moment of Willie Mays. Playing the same position as Mantle and Mays also contributed to him being overshadowed. It's hard to believe it took him 11 tries to get into the Hall of Fame. Just the same, I will raise a Brooklyn Lager, to you today Duke. For those of you who haven't tried it, the '55 Pennant Ale is pretty damn good.

Baseball is Back!

Yesterday we got our first taste of baseball since last November, and boy was it awesome. Some people ignore Spring Training and will only tune in once the real season starts, but to for me those games in February and March are what keep me going through the clean up from another wet and nasty winter thaw.

The Yankees fell to the Phillies 5-4 yesterday in a game that didn't see a ton of runs until the later innings. Early on the Yankee pitchers seemed solid. Joba Chamberlain threw a crisp clean inning where he displayed slightly new mechanics. Joba now starts his hands closer to his waist which gets his hands over the rubber sooner. The adjustment seemed to really change his approach and hopefully it leads to more consistent appearances throughout the season.

The young righty was plagued by massive late-inning blow ups during the first half of regular season last year, leading to a bloated ERA. If Joba can be what he was as a reliever in early 2008 or even the second half last season when he posted an ERA of 2.88 and a BB/K ratio of 4.63 then the Yankee bullpen has the potential to be a force of nature.

The other pitcher I was impressed with was Bartolo Colon. Crazy right? I should say I wasn't impressed so much as I was surprised his shins didn't give out under his ample frame. Also that he was able to touch the mid-90s with his fast ball in his second inning of work. That's really all Colon ever had, a power fastball, an average slider and an average change up. But if the Yankees can get 10 starts out of him, with him pitching to roughly his career numbers, then Brian Cashman's gamble will have reaped a decent reward.

The position players all did ok, A-Rod hit the ball with authority, everyone got excited because Mark Teixeira got a hit before May. Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson looked like they need a couple dozen more at bats before they will find their strokes, and honestly, Derek Jeter's 2011 swing didn't look a whole lot better than last year's version. Time will tell on that and I'm going to hold out hope that he can at least have a mild rebound from last year.

Today's game will give us a taste of the prospects. Ivan Nova will start for New York, and he will be throwing to the #3 prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America: Jesus Montero. I was robbed of the chance to see him pitch when he was at Trenton back in 2009 and broke his wrist a week before the Thunder rolled through my backyard to play the New Britain Rock Cats.

Everyone will be critiquing his receiving skills, and I will be paying attention to that as well, but I can't wait to see him swing the stick. It should be fun to watch. BA's #43 prospect Dellin Betances will also be taking the mound today. He is one massive individual with a big fastball and a hammer curve. It should be fun.

2 players I am excited to see in red socks (I don’t mean Adrian Gonzalez or Carl Crawford)

The Red Sox made a lot of big moves this off-season as to be expected from a large market team that missed the playoffs last year. As a fan, I am happy to see Theo Epstein spend the money on quality players who can be expected to make significant contributions for the next 7-10 years. I really like Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, but the two Red Sox I am most excited about are two players who were with the Red Sox in 2010, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jose Iglesias.

Salty (I can’t be bothered to type out his whole name) is huge. Physically, he has all the tools to be successful. Injuries have been an issue, but because Varitek is the back-up Salty will get at least one day off a week, if not two. I think he could thrive in Boston as a manager of the pitching staff and a complimentary offensive player. (Most of the time he will be batting 8^th). Varitek has already started to mentor Salty, encouraging him to grab a locker on the pitcher’s side of the locker room. Varitek is the only other position player on that side. Salty is still young and Francona won’t expect an MVP year from him, I think Tito would be happy if he was a solid contributor on a daily basis that grew into a more substantial role with the Sox.

I may be getting ahead of myself, as projections don’t expect Iglesias in Boston until 2012, but all reports are the kid has the potential to be a legitimate super-star. I have heard him described a cross between Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez. I always thought that giving up Ramirez for Beckett was a necessary and fair move, but it would have been nice to have Ramirez. Scutaro looks healthy and should be solid at shortstop, but if he struggles or gets hurt look for Igelsias to get the call up.