Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Hot Stove

Well, a ton has happened since I last posted. I have been extremely busy finishing up the first semester of my junior year at school. Here are some major moves that have occurred.

Yankees - The Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson. Granderson is a wonderful fielder, he is very fast and a good guy, but doesn't have the best batting average (249. last year). To get Curtis, the Yankees dished out top prospect Austin Jackson, reliever Phil Coke, and prospect pitcher Ian Kennedy. Many think the Yankees gave up a lot, but this was a good move for them. Kennedy is prone to injury and has shown nothing in the majors. Coke did contribute to the Yankees this past season as a lefty in the pen, but struggled a lot. As far as Jackson goes, some prospects pan out and some don't. Chances are that he will not end up being better than Granderson. Curtis is welcomed by me to be our starting center fielder for a bunch of years.

As far as Yankee free agents go, they were able to resign Andy Pettitte to a one year deal. Hideki Matsui signed a one year deal with the Angels. Johnny Damon is yet to sign, but has said he is going to start to look around at teams since he hasn't heard much from the Yankees yet.

New York needs help with their starting pitching, so it wouldn't surprise anyone if they went after some back of the rotation guys like Ben Sheets or Jason Marquis.

Are they going to sign Matt Holliday or Jason Bay? I don't think anything the Yankees pull off would surprise anyone, but it appears as though they are not talking to these players currently which would lead us to believe they would try to resign Johnny Damon.

Major Moves:

  • Roy Halladay to the Phillies
  • Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins to the Mariners
  • John Lackey to the Red Sox

Monday, November 16, 2009

Taking a Look at the Winter...

The Yankees made huge off-season moves after the 2008 season, and it helped lead them to a World Series title in 2009. This off-season proves to be another where the Yankees have many decisions to make.

Three notable Yankees are free agents: Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Andy Pettitte. These three individuals played a major role in the Yankees championship run.

Damon:

Everyone knows that Johnny is an exceptional player. He hits home runs, hits for average, and still has speed. The one main fault in Johnny's game is his play in the outfield. He has no arm, and not much range in left field. A major question for the Yankees is: Do they want Damon to be their left fielder next season? I see them re-signing him as a DH, if they do not sign Matsui.

Matsui:

Not enough can be said about Matsui. He hit over 600. in the World Series, and had 6 RBIs in the clinching game. He had an excellent season as well. The problem with Matsui, is that he does not have the legs to play left field anymore. He is strictly a DH, and nothing else. Matsui has had a great career with the Yankees, but if I had to guess, his tenure in New York is over.

Pettitte:

Andy Pettitte thought about retiring before this season, ended up coming back, only to win the clinching game of every playoff series. What a year for Pettitte. He definitely still has gas in the tank, and hopefully comes back to pitch in New York on a one year contract. If not, the Yankees must take a look at John Lackey.

Monday, November 9, 2009

World Series Champs! #27

The Yankees have done it again. After winning in 96', 98', 99' and 2000, the Yankees went through a nine year drought. During that nine year period, the Yankees reached the World Series twice, yet hadn't made it past the first round since 2004.

This championship marks the 27th title in Yankee history. That by far, is more than any other franchise. Behind this championship comes many different story lines.

The first that sticks out is Alex Rodriguez breaking out of his playoff slumping history with a bang. A-Rod was huge for the Yankees this postseason and Joe Girardi said "We wouldn't have done this without Alex." Not only did A-Rod get many hits and home runs in the playoffs, many of them were clutch, game tying or game leading. Rodriguez had done everything in his career besides get a ring. This means so much to him, and it's nice to see a guy who had such a tough off season (steroid admission, rough divorce, hip surgery), succeed and get a ring.

Another story is the big free agent signings that Brian Cashman was able to get done in the off-season. He brought in C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Every single one of these players played huge for the Yankees this year.

C.C was the clear ace of this team, and continued to fill that role in the playoffs.

Burnett was the #2 starter, and although he had some shaky starts, for the most part Burnett had an excellent season, and really fit in well with this team.

Mark Teixeira is an MVP candidate. His play at 1st base makes the entire infield better, and he finished tied for the lead for home runs in the American league.

Swisher came to this team not knowing what his role was going to be. Boy did he step up. After starting right fielder Xavier Nady went down with a shoulder injury, Swish filled the role. Not only did he put up nice numbers, he became the biggest and friendliest personality on this team. Swisher was not only a huge producer, but a huge clubhouse guy.

Not enough can be said about this year's Yankee team. They got their championship, and it was well deserved. They were the best team in the regular season, and the best team in the playoffs.

Celebrate we will, but for Brian Cashman, it's decision time. Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Andy Pettitte are free agents. He must also figure out what to do with Chien-Ming Wang.

It will be a long off-season, but it's great to know that the Yankees are back where they belong, as champions.

Monday, October 26, 2009

We're Bacccck

The New York Yankees defeated the Angels 5-2 last night, to win the American League Championship Series, and move on to their 40th world series. The Yankees have won the World Series 26 of the 39 previous times they have been in it.

I haven't posted about this series yet due to a massive amount of schoolwork, but what a series this was.

The Yankees ace, C.C. Sabathia was the MVP of the series. I thought that he and Alex Rodriguez should have been C0 MVP's. What an unbelievable series for the two of them.

C.C. went eight innings in game one and game four on just three days rest. He gave up one run in each of those starts.

A-Rod has been batting 400. plus throughout the postseason, hitting big home run after big home run. In game six last night, he got on base all five times he was up, getting two hits and being walked twice. A-Rod has also played well defensively in the playoffs.

What can be said about Andy Pettitte. He has always been a big game pitcher for the Yankees, and he proved that again last night. Pettitte went six plus innings giving up one run.

Mariano Rivera came in during the eighth inning for the six out save, and he did the norm. He succeeded.

As the Yankees head back to the world series, the city of New York awaits Wednesday night, where Jay Z is scheduled to perform "Empire State of Mind" before first pitch.

I'll tell you one thing, the Bronx will be rocking.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Recap of Game Three/ALDS

The Yankees entered game three of the ALDS in a wonderful position. They lead 2-0 going into the clinching game with season veteran Andy Pettitte on the hill. Not only was that the case, they were facing former Yankee Carl Pavano, a pitcher who made 39.4 million dollars with the Yankees over the course of four seasons and made just 26 starts.

The Yanks came in ready to hit Pavano hard and win the series. This wasn't the case. Pavano looked like Greg Maddux in the 96' World Series just sitting Yankees down left and right.

Pettitte matched him pitch for pitch as neither team was getting swings through the first six innings. The Twins finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Trailing 1-0 in the top of the seventh, with dominant Pavano still on the mound, Alex Rodriguez stepped up to the plate.

A-Rod took a 3-2 pitch the opposite way and out of the park. He did it again. More game tying heroics for Alex, highlighting the unbelievable series he had. He finished the series 5-11 with six RBI's and two home runs. Later that inning, Jorge Posada hit an opposite field home run to give the Yankees the lead. They never looked back. After adding insurance runs in the eighth, the Yankees finished with a 4-1 win.

Some may say the Twins are not a great team, and the Yankee's sweep was expected, but you cannot look at it this way. They hadn't gotten past the ALDS since 2004. A-Rod hadn't had post season success since before he was a Yankee. The Yankee bullpen is looking like it was in the late 90's, and their three man rotation looks like they can take the Yankees all the way. Impressive ALDS all around, can't wait for the Angels on Friday. What a match up it will be.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Magic in the Bronx

Game two of the ALDS was one of the most storied games I have ever seen. The Yankees willed their way over the Twins 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th inning walking off for the 16th time this season.

A.J. Burnett stepped up and gave the Yankees a solid six innings, despite getting trouble a few times, he only gave up one run.

Mark Teixeira got the game winning hit but the heroes of this game were Alex Rodriguez and Dave Robertson.

We all know what A-Rod was in the playoffs before this season. We all have heard it a million times. A-Rod cannot hit in the clutch. It has been documented ever since he has been a Yankee.

Everything this season with A-Rod has just been different. Ever since his steroid admission and hip surgery he has seemed like a different person. This isn't the first regular season where A-Rod has gotten clutch hits, but it is the first time he has done it staying out of the spotlight. He kept to himself and did what he had to do.

Alex's first two playoff games: 4-8 with five RBI'S and one HR. His home run tied the game in the ninth inning last night, his RBI single tied the game in the sixth inning last night, and his two RBI's in game one gave some much needed security to the Yankees lead.

We'll see how he does throughout the rest of the postseason, but so far he has been simply dominant in the 2009 playoffs.

Who knows if Alex would have had the opportunity to tie the game last night if it wasn't for Dave Robertson. He came in the top of the 11th inning with two on, nobody out, and after giving up a hit the bases were loaded with no one out. He then recorded three straight outs to keep the Yankees in the game. What a job by him.

Once the game reached the bottom of the 11th and the heart of the Yankee order was due up, it was only a matter of time before a slice of Burnett Pie would be served. Mark Teixeira lined a bullet off the top of the left field wall, and that was that.

Yankees win again, and can clinch Sunday night against Carl Pavano.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Breaking Down Game One

The Yankees defeated the Twins 7-2 last night, overcoming a 2-0 deficit in the 3rd inning. C.C. Sabathia went six and two-third innings to get the win.

There were a few story lines in the defeat. Derek Jeter proved once again to be Mr. Clutch drilling a two run homer into the left field seats in the third inning to tie the score. Nick Swisher hit an RBI double down the right field line to put the Yankees ahead in the fifth. Alex Rodriguez had two RBI hits breaking out of his major slump batting with runners in scoring position in the playoffs.

This was good for Alex to get some weight off his back. Even if his playoff numbers were not running through his mind, he still will not have to listen to the questions about his playoff struggles at least for now.

Hideki Matsui hit a 2 run blast to center field last night. All Matsui has done this year is prove his case for the Yankees to keep him next year, but who knows what will happen with that.

C.C. Sabathia broke out of his playoff struggles as well putting in a great performance, especially if you take away Posada's two past balls. He really has proved himself to be the ace of this pitching staff all season, and he continued that into last night's huge game.

With a 1-0 lead in the series, the Yanks take the field again Friday night with A.J. Burnett on the mound. Hopefully A.J. brings his lights out stuff to the mound. He has the ability to throw a perfect game on any night with his dirty breaking ball. We'll see which A.J. shows up as the Bombers look to go up 2-0 heading into the Metrodome.