When I posted this video of Curtis Granderson contemplating his pre at-bat music last week, I had no idea he was considering using the final song played, the infamous “Friday” by Rebecca Black.
He only used it for his first at-bat, according to @Fletch788, so we can’t credit the “song” for his game-winning homer. When I’m at the stadium this Sunday, I better not hear this.
A week ago, Curtis Granderson had a 50-50 chance to play on Opening Day. Grandy didn’t just play, though; he started and ended the game with terrific catches in center, and hit a game-winning solo shot in the seventh.
Baseball is back. Boy am I glad.
Scoreboard Says:
Yankees 6, Tigers 3
Win: Joba Chamberlain
Loss: Phil Coke
Save: Mariano Rivera
Perfect ‘Pen:
Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and Mo mowed down nine straight Tigers following CC Sabathia’s quality start. In a battle of two of the top bullpens in baseball, the Yankees’ prevailed.
For the past two years, I’ve provided my forecast for the season. Consume with pleasure. Last year, I *cough* proudly *cough* went 10-for-50 on these calls. This year, I’m striving for perfection.
AL East
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees*
3. Rays
4. Blue Jays
5. Orioles
AL Central
1. White Sox
2. Twins
3. Tigers
4. Indians
5. Royals
AL West
1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. Mariners
4. Athletics
NL East
1. Braves
2. Phillies*
3. Nationals
4. Marlins
5. Mets
NL Central
1. Cardinals
2. Reds
3. Brewers
4. Cubs
5. Pirates
6. Astros
NL West
1. Giants
2. Rockies
3. Dodgers
4. Padres
5. Diamondbacks
*Wild Card Winner
AL Champion: Rangers
NL Champion: Reds
World Series Champion: Reds, 6 games
Awards:
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP: Jay Bruce
AL Cy: Jon Lester
NL Cy: Cliff Lee
AL RoY: Jesus Montero
NL RoY: Aroldis Chapman
AL Manager: Ron Washington
NL Manager: Fredi Gonzalez
Yankee Stats:
Alex Rodriguez RBIs: 148
A.J. Burnett wins: 16
Derek Jeter AVG: .291
Robinson Cano HR: 33
Brett Gardner R: 123
CC Sabathia Ks: 200
Ivan Nova ERA: 4.01
Jorge Posada SB: 0
Jesus Montero GS: 55
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2009 predictions
2009 results
2010 predictions
2010 results
Let the smack talk begin in the comments!
New year, new format. Let’s go!
On the Hill:
Thursday: Justin Verlander vs. CC Sabathia
Saturday: Brad Penny vs. A.J. Burnett
Sunday: Max Scherzer vs. Phil Hughes
Players to Watch:
Miguel Cabrera: If he’s sober, he’s dangerous with a bat (and I guess when he isn’t sober too).
Alex Rodriguez: He had the best spring training of any Yankee by far. But six homers and 15 RBIs in 49 at-bats in Florida/Arizona doesn’t guarantee success in New York with 40 degree weather.
As I said this morning, the Red Sox are the favorites this year. But how in the world do 45 out of 45 ESPN analysts picked them to win the division? I bet even a NESN analyst didn’t pick them.
Will I pick the upset? Yup, you guessed it: I’m picking the O’s to shock the nation in ‘11. Luke Scott for World Series MVP.
I will reveal my real predictions at 1 p.m. Stay tuned, and start figuring out your own predictions to share in the comments (see prediction questions here).
Finally, a season in which the Yankees are not the favorites to represent the American League in the World Series. The Red Sox are. Even though I’m a Yankees fan, I can say that with pleasure.
I like being the underdog, and I like how we don’t know how media will react to that. Initially, I predict the Yankees will be treated the same as usual: a season is considered a failure if they don’t hoist a trophy in late October. But what if the Red Sox get off to a hot start? Then maybe the media will cover this season a bit differently.
Baseball needs this. The rivalry fuels this sport. Don’t give me the “there’s still no parity in baseball” argument. It’s a lot more equal than you think.
The Washington Post put together an excellent infographic that shows how many closers other teams have had during Mariano Rivera’s time with the Yankees. At first glance, it’s a bit confusing, but it’s very clear after reading the index at the top.
The Cubs have had 11 saves leaders since 1997, the year Rivera inherited the closer role from John Wetteland, and five other teams had 10 saves leaders in that 14-year span.
The Yankees had an opportunity to add a second lefty to the bullpen, but they chose spring training star Luis Ayala instead. Steve Garrison would have joined Boone Logan in the bullpen, but Ayala impressed the Yankees enough in spring (11-1/3 IP, 9 H, ER, 0 BB, 9 K) to be chosen over the lefty.
No problems here. It’s not like Ayala or Garrison are likely to stay in the bullpen all season. Thoughts?
(This wouldn’t have been a discussion if Pedro Feliciano had kept healthy.)
Pedro Feliciano has been shut down for 10 days due to a sore pitching arm. The lefty specialist led the league in appearances the last three seasons, pitching in an unmatched 266 games. Go figure, his arm hurts.
Jack Curry broke the news this morning that Brett Gardner will be the leadoff man against righties with Derek Jeter hitting second. Jeter will remain the leadoff hitter against lefties.
I like the move. I’d rather have Jeter hit toward the bottom, but that’s not realistic unless he’s hitting near the Mendoza Line heading into May.
Rivera is 41 but he hasn’t pitched less than 55 games in a season since 2002. He also has had an ERA in the 1’s in seven of his past eight seasons.
Soriano is coming off a 45-save season, which led the American league, so it will be interesting to see how he’ll react by just collecting holds this season. He’s still getting paid like a closer ($35M/3yrs), but won’t close games unless Rivera is tired or on the DL.
Remember, terms in his contract allow him to leave the Yankees after one season.
New poll: Will Mark Teixeira have a good April for once?
Nine in the lineup, seven in the pen and five in the rotation leaves four spots for the bench. Three of which are made up of a backup catcher, infielder and outfielder, while the last spot is typically for a speedster or a slugger.
Joe Girardi made a few roster announcements this morning (via LoHud):
Jonathan Papelbon yesterday allowed two runs in a minor league game. Here’s what he had to say after the game (via Craig Calcaterra).
“This was exactly what I wanted.”
Well put, sir. The Red Sox closer sure is getting his work in this spring. In five innings he’s allowed seven earned runs on two homers with five walks and three strikeouts.
The story with the Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is a little different: 4 IP, H, 0 ER, 5 K’s. Just sayin’.
After keeping quiet for most of spring training, the Yankees made a couple of moves this morning, less than a week away from Opening Day.
First, they finally signed Kevin Millwood. Second, they traded Sergio Mitre to the Brewers for center fielder Chris Dickerson.
Of course, the Yankees had to stir the pot right after I released my pitching projections.
You’ve seen my lineup projection. You’ve seen my rotation projection. Tomorrow you’ll find my projection for the bench. Now here’s my projected bullpen for the 2011 Yankees.
Most AL teams will use a 12-man pitching staff, which leaves room for seven relievers. Six of which are actually guarantees to make the team: Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Pedro Feliciano, David Robertson, and Joba Chamberlain.
I have Ivan Nova and Bartolo Colon in the rotation, leaving Sergio Mitre, Freddy Garcia and Romulo Sanchez for the final spot in the bullpen. Yes, Garcia would agree to be a long reliever. And with that knowledge, I project Mitre and Sanchez will be the odd men out.
Already, I’ve changed my rotation projection since I spoke on Yankee Roll Call on Saturday. The front three have been set in stone for a while now with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Phil Hughes (yes, in that order).
But deciding the last two is why we have spring training. The four main candidates are:
All spring I’ve thought Nova should be the fourth starter. (Really, ever since Andy Pettitte decided to *retire* I’ve thought that.) And I’m sticking with that projection, especially after his six no-hit inning performance. So there were really three guys fighting for one spot. Let’s review.
A slight strain in Curtis Granderson’s internal oblique might keep him from playing on Opening Day. Joe Girardi told reporters today the Yankees center fielder has a “chance” to play.
It’s unfortunate the injury bug hit the Yankees late in the spring, but sometimes you have to roll with the punches.
OK, so if not Grandy in center on Opening Day, then who? The top backup outfielder has to be the guy who the Yankees paid $2 million this offseason: Andruw Jones.
Here are the top 10 MLB jersey sales by player and team for the 2010 season. Yankees fans will be delighted to see both Derek Jeter and the Yankees leading both races.
| Top Jersey Sales by Player | Top Jersey Sales by Team |
| 1. Derek Jeter | 1. New York Yankees |
| 2. Joe Mauer | 2. Boston Red Sox |
| 3. Roy Halladay | 3. Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 4. Chase Utley | 4. Philadelphia Phillies |
| 5. Cliff Lee | 5. Chicago Cubs |
| 6. Albert Pujols | 6. St. Louis Cardinals |
| 7. Josh Hamilton | 7. Chicago White Sox |
| 8. Dustin Pedroia | 8. Atlanta Braves |
| 9. Alex Rodriguez | 9. Minnesota Twins |
| 10. Tim Lincecum | 10. Detroit Tigers |
Which MLB jerseys do you have?
I think he should have gone with Jitterbug, no? If not, help Curtis Granderson pick his at-bat song in the comments! This is from Jimmy Traina’s Hot Clicks.
News broke this afternoon that Joe Girardi is considering using two different lineups, one for righties and one for lefties. If he goes through with this idea, Brett Gardner would likely see time as leadoff man against righties (with Derek Jeter hitting second) and Jeter would hit first against lefties (with Gardner hitting ninth).
Either way, Gardner would hit in front of Jeter. Like so:
| Yankees vs. Righties | Yankees vs. Lefties |
| Brett Gardner LF | Derek Jeter SS |
| Derek Jeter SS | Nick Swisher RF |
| Mark Teixeira 1B | Mark Teixeira 1B |
| Alex Rodriguez 3B | Alex Rodriguez 3B |
| Robinson Cano 2B | Robinson Cano 2B |
| Nick Swisher RF | Jorge Posada DH |
| Jorge Posada DH | Curtis Granderson CF |
| Curtis Granderson CF | Russell Martin C |
| Russell Martin C | Brett Gardner LF |
I would be OK with Girardi implementing this dual lineup idea, but I’d make a couple changes.
Last summer I posted a 1963 Topps Jim Bouton card as one of my Featured Cards of the Week. After reading about him, I was curious enough to read his book “Ball Four.” Today, I got the chance to ask him about it in a phone interview.
It was a pleasure talking with him and I’m very thankful he could spare 10 minutes for a fan like me.
Here’s the audio:
Some notable quotes:
You can buy his book “Ball Four” here and the update to it, “Ball Four: The Final Pitch” here.
I also transcribed the entire interview below.
Forty percent voted Mo’s engine will break down in 2015, 25 percent said he’d falter in 2012, and 22 percent said he never will stop pumping out spectacular seasons.
Remember, he’s 41 years old. Yes, he’s shown no signs of slowing down, and I mean ZERO, even in his first season as a 40-year-old, but we all can see he’s losing velocity in his cutter.
All indications tell me Alex Rodriguez is bound for a big season.
1. He’s in great shape.
2. He has a hit in all 13 games he’s played this spring.
3. He has five homers to go along with a .432 BA and close to a 1.000 SLG.
Spring training stats aren’t always great indicators for how players will do in April, but after watching him hit he really looks locked in.
I love writing about the Yankees and interacting with you faithful readers in the comments and on Twitter, but yesterday I had a chance to talk about the Yankees on the air. Paul Bauer and Joe Castello of Yankee Roll Call — a Yankees radio talk show — gave me that chance. Here’s my segment:
On the show we discussed:
Hope you enjoyed it, but I’m always open to constructive criticism! Let me know what you thought of my latest radio appearance in the comments.
Thanks again, Paul and Joe, for giving me the opportunity. Hope to be on again soon!
You would think the more popular a player is, the easier it would be to find the agency that represents him. That’s not the case for Alex Rodriguez, who is the only player listed under an unknown agency in MLB Trade Rumors’ new agency database.
To clarify, A-Rod left Scott Boras for Pittsburgh sports attorney Jay Reisinger and Washington lawyer Jim Sharp, but those two represent A-Rod in non-baseball matters, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes told me in an e-mail.
| Pitcher | G | IP | ERA | WHIP | K/9 |
| Manny Banuelos | 4 | 7.2 | 0.00 | 1.17 | 11.74 |
| Sergio Mitre* | 3 | 5.0 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 7.20 |
| Ivan Nova | 4 | 14.0 | 1.29 | 0.71 | 4.50 |
| Bartolo Colon | 3 | 9.0 | 3.00 | 1.00 | 12.00 |
| Freddy Garcia | 3 | 7.2 | 4.70 | 1.30 | 7.04 |
| Dellin Betances | 4 | 6.0 | 6.00 | 2.17 | 12.00 |
Ivan Nova has been vocal as a candidate to make the Yankees rotation. After faltering in his start against the Blue Jays last Friday, he flat-out said he was “going to win” a place in the rotation. Last night, he backed that up, pitching six no-hit innings against the O’s.
As RAB and The Yankee Analysts have pointed out, Nova thanked his “new toy” for his best outing of the spring. His most consistent and reliable pitch still has to be his fastball, which sits low to mid 90s, but a curveball, changeup and slider make him an unpredictable, four-pitch pitcher.
I like his repertoire, I like his attitude, and, right now, if it were my call, I like Nova as the Yankees’ fourth starter. Thoughts?
If you still have never heard of Manny Banuelos, you need to add him to your list of must-know Yankees prospects. Why? His spring training numbers tell the story, but the Yankees have also raved of the little lefty constantly — and I’m not just talking about the GM, who always tries to boost all of his prospects’ value.
Mariano Rivera, someone who rarely says anything quoteworthy, called ManBan the best pitching prospect he’s ever seen.
Just how little is he? He’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds. For perspective, Pedro Martinez is 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. They both share a nice fastball, curveball, changeup repertoire, but ManBan is a lefty and Pedro is a righty.
Quickly, I’d have to say no, he won’t finish the year with the Yankees and yes, he will start for another team. Now that the Yankees have a crowded bullpen, I think Joba is going to want out and do what he can to prove his value before the trade deadline at the end of July.
New poll: When will Mo’s age catch up with him?
I wish I could have seen it live. I’ve missed it dearly. Mo’s cutter is a thing of beauty. The placement. The lack of emotion. The hitters’ confusion and their broken bats. After seeing it on replay, nothing’s changed (video), except for maybe the high socks?
I really liked Russell Martin’s reaction to catching the thing.
“When you’re in the box, it’s a nightmare,” Russell Martin said. “When you’re behind the plate, it’s the complete opposite… That’s the best cutter I’ve caught, for sure. It’s cause, normally you see some kind of spin and his, you don’t see the spin. There’s no side spin. It just cuts. I don’t know how he does it.”
It’s nice to get a new opinion on it, and nice to hear the detail about the spin. Sounds unhittable. And it is.
The Yankees slimmed their locker room a tad today, cutting 11 young guys.
Via LoHud:
Tickets for individual games to see the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium will go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 11 at 10:00 a.m. at yankees.com and yankeesbeisbol.com, and via Ticketmaster phone only at (877) 469-9849 and Ticketmaster TTY at (800) 943-4327.
If you’re a Yankee Stadium regular (but don’t have season tickets), don’t forget to buy your tix tomorrow morning.
Finally, the Yankees are pondering the idea of moving Brett Gardner to the leadoff spot, as one of my Twitter followers pointed out. My idea was to put Gardner first, Nick Swisher or Curtis Granderson second, and then some combination of Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Kevin Long’s idea, however, has Derek Jeter in the top three no matter what.
Mark Feinsand of the Daily News also wrote that he’d expect to see Jeter move down only to the two spot, not seventh like I expected.
The Yankee Analysts posted a nice Q&A with Yankees.com beat writer Bryan Hoch this morning. DO check it out.
Betances, who turns 22 on March 23, is 6-foot-8 and throws upper-90’s gas. This year will be his second year since recovering from Tommy John surgery. With only a few games started in Trenton last season, expect him to make a return there to start 2011.
Spring training position battles are never fun when one player is forced to concede due to an injury, but such a scenario might be the case with the Yankees backup catcher role. Francisco Cervelli fouled a ball off his foot Wednesday, and after a couple of tests the Yankees don’t know exactly how bad it is. It could be a bruise, but it also could be a hairline fracture.
If it’s the latter, it’s good news for Jesus Montero.
UPDATE: It was the latter. Cervelli is out four to eight weeks.
The one and only Charlie Sheen joined the Twitter craze this week and already accrued 1.3 million followers. He is only following 25 back, one of which is Nick Swisher.
Awesome.
Follow me on Twitter here.
Via The New York Times:
“I’m going to keep thinking as a DH, keep working as a DH,” Jorge Posada said. “If I start catching in games, it’s not going to help me. I need to concentrate on being a DH, because if I start catching then I won’t be able to put it away. I know I can still catch. But I’m not thinking as a catcher anymore.”
According to the article, Posada still travels with his catching equipment bag too.
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