AAAAARRGGHHH Matey! (Exhibition Game Notes)

Today's game exemplifies why you don't pay attention to the score in a Spring Training game.

1) The story of today will be Billy Crystal. It SHOULD be Mike Mussina. He retired 15 straight, and while I grant that Pittsburgh doesn't really have a great line up, to see Mussina look as good has he did is a very encouraging thought. What's interesting is that even though last year was a bad year for Mussina, he was still above .500 for the year. Hmmm...


2) Okay, the Billy Crystal thing was kind of cool. He did strike out, but he worked the count full, and he did make contact. his swing actually looked better than some other players who shall remain nameless.


3) Karstens and Traber did not have good outings. You like to say one bad outing, no big deal, but when there are all these other people vying for your spot, it's not really the time to be messing up.

4) I don't know who Cody Ransom is, but I like him more each game.


5) Molina is having an excellent Spring Training.


6) Paulie + Coney in the broadcast booth = genius.


Right, am off for night one of three in a row of college basketball! If any of you have tickets to the Big East Tournament, come find me and say hi!

Quick, Someone Tell Michael Kay

On his blog, Phil Hughes says that he and Joba and Ian decided on The Three Amigos as their nickname.


I don't know about you, but, personally, I think anything is better than Generation Tre.

Three Amigos is classic and doesn't sound awkward in the English language.

Something Cone-y This Way Comes (Exhibition Game Notes)

Some notes from today's game against Toronto:

1) Chien Ming Wang looked MUCH better today than he did his last time out, keeping it a little too high in the first inning, but getting much better as the game went on, which is obviously a really good thing.

2) The bats did their thing today. If there's one aspect of the 2008 Yankees I'm really not worried about (well, at least, not right now), it's the offense.

3) Molina was totally safe on the slide, but, that aside, I'd pay good money to see him and Posada in a foot race. An Olympic track star, he is not. However, trying to steal on him would be like signing my own 'out' warrant.

4) Cone was awesome in the broadcast booth. I could listen to him game in, game out.

5) Girardi, to use a geek term, pwned Michael Kay during the interview, and it was a beautiful thing.

Seeing Reds (Exhibition Game Notes)

So I saw most of today's baseball game, which is the first time i've been able to do that since, like, the beginning of last week, though I did miss most of Joba's pitching to eat dinner. Anyway, some notes.

1) Joba does need to get his pitch count down. He got the job done, but if he is to succeed as a starter, he's got to throw less than 45 pitches over two innings. I have no doubt Joba can do it, but I won't lie, I was a little nervous in the first where he was getting behind in counts and whatnot...but maybe I've just been spoiled by Phil Hughes.

2) Ian Kennedy got notably better as his innings went on.

3) Traber and Hawkins were good; Rivera was vintage. You would think he's got fifteen years left on his contract.

4) Cincinnati has this pitcher named Volquez, which keeps making me think of Star Trek, but the point is, Volquez struck out eight in four innings, including six in two. I haven't heard of him before tonight, but DANG.

5) The offense did its thing, of course.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #8

Between yesterday and today, this is the first chance I've had to update, so I'll do one now, and one tomorrow morning.

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Chicago Cubs

If you don't feel for the Cubs, a team that hasn't won a World Series in exactly 100 years or been to the big show in over fifty, well, you're not much of a baseball fan.

Thus, when there finally is a competitive Cubs team out there, like there is now, you can't help but pay attention.

The last time the Cubs flirted with a National League Pennant was 2003, which many agree should have happened if not for one "fan" who thought more about a foul ball than the fortunes of his club. Before that, it was a team built around the youth of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, which...well, let's just say there's a reason Phil, Joba and Ian are under an innings cap.

Anyway, this year's Cubs team has a good chance, given the overall weak NL Central to do some playoff damage.

The rotation will be built around Carlos Zambrano (of the mammoth $90 million contract extension) and Ted Lilly, while in terms of the line-up the most intriguing development is the addition of the most sought-after Japanese player this off-season, Kosuke Fukudome (Foo-Koo-Doh-May. Not...yeah, you get it.) Also, keep an eye on Geovany Soto, who was the Pacific Coast League MVP

Threat Level to the Yankees: Yellow, Proceed with Caution

The Yankees won't play the Cubs unless in the World Series, but the Cubs, if they remain healthy, have a great shot at the Postseason, and, well, if the Red Sox could win in 2004, who knows what might happen in 2008?

So the Cubs aren't likely to threaten the Yankees, but imagine, a Cubs-Yankees WS the final season of Yankee Stadium?

Yeah, I just felt a shiver up my spine.

Some (Really Late) Notes About Today's NYY/HOU Game

(I've lost track as to which number game this is)

The four hour drive from Syracuse to NJ has left me exhausted and with an "I" key that won't function properly.

1) Apparently Andy was okay and made one noticeable mistake.

2) Rivera is apparently already in midseason form, needing just eight pitches to retire the side, throwing seven of them for strikes (and two strike outs, so yea.)

3) Yanks got a bunch of production out of the 9 spot.

4) Brian Bruney hasn't done anything to improve his chances of making the team.



On another note, this week's installation of The Season will be delayed some given plans I have for tomorrow, but it should be up by Sunday evening.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #7

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The St. Louis Cardinals

I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret: the 2007 Cardinals were, more or less, the immediate inspiration for The Season. All the off-field problems they had to deal with would be enough to ruin any season; that the Cardinals stayed in the running until near the very end speaks volumes.

Rick Ankiel had some amazing heroics last year, and Albert Pujols is arguably the NL's greatest player, but their starting rotation has been bit bad by the injury bug, and Tony LaRussa is rumored to be a, shall we say, interesting presence in the clubhouse?

Yeah. It's a wonder this team won the World Series in 2006, but then I generally think of that entire baseball season as an anamoly.

Anyway.

Threat to the Yankees: Green, Proceed Normally.

In the NL Central, the Cardinals have to contend with the Cubs and the Brewers, and in the Wild Card, the entire NL West (save the Giants). The likelihood they will have any impact on the Yanks is extremely slight.


(I know this was a really short one but I'm tired and have to drive four hours tomorrow, and, yeah, it's not like the Cardinals are in the same league, let alone the same division).

Predicting the Roster

I missed all of the Yankees' exhibition game today and didn't even get the chance to follow via text message (that's what three midterms will do to you), so, alas, no postgame notes.

It's still early, but you can basically get a feel for what the Yankees roster is going to look like:

LF Johnny Damon/Hideki Matsui
SS Derek Jeter
RF Bobby Abreu
3B Alex Rodriguez
C Jorge Posada
1B Jason Giambi/Shelley Duncan
2B Robinson Canò
DH Shelley Duncan/Jason Giambi/Hideki Matsui
CF Melky Cabrera

Bench: Wilson Betemit, Morgan Ensberg, Chris Woodward Jose Molina.

Wow, I am REALLY off my game today.

Pitching (I'm not projecting the rotation order, just who's on the pitching staff)

1. Chien Ming Wang
2. Andy Pettitte
3. Mike Mussina
4. Phil Hughes
5. Ian Kennedy
6. Joba Chamberlain
7. Mariano Rivera
8. Kyle Farnsworth
9. LaTroy Hawkins
10. Jeff Karstens
11. Billy Traber
12. Ross Ohlendorf

Now you can argue the roster all you want, but if I were you, I'd just be glad all these guys are healthy. If you don't get what I mean, take a look at the Mets depth chart and look at all the red crosses.

To put that in perspective, it'd be like Abreu, Melky, Damon, Matsui, Giambi, Shelley, Robbie, Molina and Betemit all going down.

So yeah. Healthy is good. Hopefully we stay that way.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #6

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Milwaukee Brewers

Suffice it to say that last year the Brewers were first one of the great, feel-good surprises of the season...and then they were one of the great disappointments.

On paper, they should be competitive enough, especially at the corners in Ryan Braun (who put up numbers that defy, well, everything his rookie year) and Prince Fielder, who would have been treated like a king if not for A-Rod's monster season.

However, there are some major pitching questions. Ben Sheets appears to be taking lessons from Carl Pavano, Chris Capuano lost something like (at least) eighteen straight starts (okay, at that point it's luck herself doing you in) and, well, they signed Eric Gagnè, which should tell you quite a bit.

In the NL Central, they'll get some serious competition from the Cubs for the division lead, and it seems most likely that the NL Wild Card is going to come out of the West in either Colorado, San Diego or Arizona (not to mention the Dodgers), so the Brewers have quite a task ahead of them. Are they better than, say, 75% of the National League teams out there?

No question.

However, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades (and midterms that give partial credit).

Threat level to the Yankees: Green. Proceed Normally.

The two would only play each other in a World Series, and, while technically possible, it's not likely to happen. Unfortunately, however, by taking Gagnè, we may now have lost a significant anti-Boston ally....

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #5

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Atlanta Braves



It seems like just yesterday when you could pen in the Braves for an appearance in the NLCS, and an October appearance in New York at Flushing or Shea (and on one occasion, both), but those days are a long way gone now.

Sure, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones are still on the team (in Glavine's case having taken a brief hiatus in New York), but they are...how do we put it delicately...not young any more.

Okay, Smoltz packs a mean punch, and talking about rotation, Hudson's not half bad, either, but it's a far cry from the Maddox-Smoltz-Glavine combination of the nineties.

However, this isn't to say that Atlanta is a bad team. In fact, they're much more on par with the Blue Jays than, say, the Astros. In fact, they're like the Jays in that they really are a middle-of-the-division team, only, in the NL East, the Mets and the Phillies have more smoke and mirrors than a stranglehold on the division.

Mark Teixiera at first base is arguably Atlanta's most talented player, even if he's not the face of the franchise, and Jeff Francoeur will likely be around a while as well. Of course, Teixiera is a free agent at the end of the year, which means he'll likely have a very very good year because, well, that's the cool thing to do in your walk year.

Bobby Cox is still at the helm, which is just plain impressive. I mean, there's not much else you can say; he's like the Jaime Moyer of managers, not in terms of age, but in terms of longevity.


Threat to the Yankees: Green, Proceed Normally.

The Yankees and the Braves don't play each other at all during the regular season, and they don't play any AL East teams. The only possible impact the Braves could have on the Yankees outside of the World Series is if the Yankees lose in the Wild Card race to Anaheim or Seattle by one game...and yeah, you get the idea.

They're a much bigger concern to that other NY team.

Speaking of those Blue Jays...(Notes, Exhibition Game #4)

Once again, I did not catch the game so these notes are solely based on text messages sent during my lunch break.

Also, I found it funny that we played Toronto given my Toronto preview yesterday.

1) Kei Igawa had three perfect innings. Next stop, pitching against a Major League level roster...

Okay, joking aside, it'd got to be great for his confidence. I'm not saying I want him in the rotation (I don't), but if he can figure out how to pitch American style, he could be really helpful out of the bullpen. It's a big if.

2) I know Phil Hughes isn't going to be perfect every time out, but it's still nice to see!

3) Shelley Duncan wants to play. Badly. At the rate he's going, I'd say that he wants it more than anyone else out there. Could you imagine if we had this competition for every position? It really does make the team better.

4) The weather deities don't seem to like me us very much.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #4

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Toronto Blue Jays





The first division rival preview here, so it'll be a bit more in-depth than the other ones.

The Jays, quite simply, have the misfortune of playing in the the AL East. Short of winning a World Series or losing 100 games (and that's not even a hyperbole) they will be overshadowed by the Sox and Yankees when they're good, and the Orioles and Rays when they're bad.

It would, however, be a bad idea to overlook the team. Consider this: Toronto won 83 games last year, in the AL East, while losing significant time due to injury from Halladay, Burnett, Chacin, Ryan, Overbay, Glaus (now departed for more Cardinal-y pastures), Zaun, Johnson and (breath) Wells.

And you thought the Yankees had injury problems in '07!

Imagine if all of them were healthy.

Anyway, so let's start off looking at Toronto's likely starting rotation:

Roy Halladay: This guy's an ace. There's no other way about it, and, to add to it, he pitches pretty dang well against the Yanks. He's 10-4 with a 2.99 ERA in his career against the Bombers. So, basically, he makes Josh Becket look like fodder.

AJ Burnett: When he's healthy, he can be up there with the game's best. When he's healthy. He did manage 165 inning last year, which I'll admit I was surprised to see given his reputation for being an injury-risk.

Dustin McGowan: Held right-handed batters to a .198 average last year. That shouldn't be too much of an issue for the Yankees, who could likely put together a line-up with just one right-handed bat if they really wanted to (they don't.)

Shaun Marcum: Not up to the Halladay/Burnett/McGowan standards, but then, there's a reason he's not the number one starter. Had a 7.47 ERA in his last seven starts, but also had a torn meniscus, so yeah, that's not totally surprising.

Jesse Litsch: I'll put it this way--in a September game last year we were all excited we didn't have to face Halladay or Burnett (I forget which one, but I think it was Halladay), and we got to face Litsch instead. We, uh, kinda sorta lost that game, and it wasn't a pretty one, either.


Rotation summary, as it effects the Yankees: You know, I'd be more scared of facing this rotation than Boston's. Granted, I'm not really afraid of any rotation, but I really would rank a healthy Toronto rotation ahead of Boston. The, uh, problem is, though, the healthy bit.


Out of the bullpen, Accardo and Janssen are solid. Ryan is slated to return from TJ surgery, so we'll see what that does.

As for the regular line-up, highlights:

Alex Rios: Let's put it like this--there's the Jays line up, and then there's Alex Rios. He's got a .338 average against the Yankees, not to mention a poster child for a good right field arm. He is THE highlight in a line-up that, outside of Frank Thomas, does not inspire much fear.

Frank Thomas: Now that I've mentioned him, might as well...he's only a threat at the plate, as he can't play in the field, but he's still a threat. He was one of Joba's very first outs, though, so take that as you will.

Aaron Hill: Not quite Robbie Canò with with the bat, but he did tie a franchise record for home runs set by a second baseman.

Line-up summary: Toronto's strength is not their line up. If they took care of their line up the way they did their pitching, there'd be a likely chance that the race for the AL East would be a three-way. I wouldn't be surprised to see Toronto make a major push near the deadline for some serious line-up help, although, given what I've seen of Toronto's farm system up here in 'Cuse...well, I mean, when you have ten errors in a game...yeah. Doesn't bode too well.


Threat to the Yankees: Orange, Exercise Extreme Caution.

Why Orange, when they probably don't make the playoffs?

The Yankees still have to play them nineteen times this season, and if their rotation stays healthy, they are anything BUT a walk-over. I imagine the race for third in the division with Tampa is going to be very, very intense.

In another division, the NL Central and NL East come to mind, the Jays could easily be a contender, but that geography...it'll get you every time.

Moose 'N 'Pen: Notes from Exhibition Game #3

So, I did not catch today's game and thus the notes are second-hand information.

1) Apparently Moose struggled a bit in his second inning today. It's certainly much too early to draw any conclusions (see Ford, Whitey: Spring Training for details), but he is so far the only starter to have given up more than a hit in two innings of work. I am not worried at this point, because, well, it'd be un-optimistic.

2) According to the box score that was on my cell phone, Morgan Ensberg had a couple hits and a couple RBI. As did Shelley. It would be kind of funny if our 1B combined in the season for A-Rod-ish numbers.

3) Karstens pitched WELL. Don't count this kid out, he might be the 'sleeper' on the team, the guy that ends up being much more important than we realize.


***

On another note entirely: I have been hotly debating this for some time, and I still have mixed feelings about it, but I will likely start running ads. Well, an ad.

See, I do love not having ads, but there are a few reasons to run at least one. I don't want to get too detailed into it, but I'm hoping you guys will forgive me this little bit.

Anyway, the writing's not going to change. Not a bit. You'd probably have to shoot me first.*




*Except that the writing might change in that the more I do this, the better the quality.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #3

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Oakland Athletics





The Oakland Athletics of 2007 were the victims of bad luck. Really bad luck. If there was a poster team for "ravaged by injuries", the A's would easily fit the description.

Even now, just looking at a team depth chart, there are a lot of first aid crosses: Chavez, Brown, Sweeney, Harden, Duscherer and Gaudin.

The A's did lose Dan Haren in the off-season, but when your GM is Billy Beane, you're generally going to get something good in return, and the A's...well, they seem to have gotten the entirety of Arizona's farm system: Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland , Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez. (Thank you ESPN!)

I'm not going to pretend I know anything about these prospects, because, well, I don't, but for the 2008 season, losing Haren who was the starting pitcher in the 07 All-Star Game for the NL, is a blow to the starting rotation, at least in the early goings of the season. Anderson, Eveland and Smith are all starters, but it is still too early to see how they will come out--though Smith pitched well in his most recent outing and Eveland surrendered one run on four hits in two.

As for the line-up, well, the A's did score 23 runs in their exhibition game versus San Fransisco, but a)Barry Zito was pitching, and b)Bonds isn't on the Giants any more.


Anyway.

The big key for the A's in 2008 is simply to stay healthy. I know I said that about the Angels the other day, but with the A's, it really resonates. If they stay healthy, while it's far from the team that won the AL pennant in 06, they can be a contender in the AL West. Injuries, however, and you're looking at a likely repeat of last season. Unfortunately for them, the injuries have already struck.


Threat to the Yankees: Yellow, Exercise Caution.

Right now, it seems very unlikely that the A's would be able to post a better record than Seattle or Anaheim for the division and maybe even more unlikely that they'd post a better record than Detroit, Cleveland, Boston or New York for the Wild Card.

However, the Yankees do still have to play them during the course of the regular season, and trips out west never tend to be a lot of fun.

Trivia tidbit: Our first win in 1998 came in Oakland.



*****


I will not be able to catch today's game. I will try to post notes when I get back later in the afternoon, but I don't know what time that will be, so for that I do apologize. Mike Mussina is scheduled to start.

Same Ole, Same Ole (Postgame notes Exhibition Game Two)

Some notes from today's exhibition game:

1) It looks like there's going to be some competition for the first base spot, and if competition gets guys to produce, I'm all for it. Giambi had a great game, and looked good even on defense.

2)Jason Lane, a guy you might not have been aware of before today, hit to the hard half of the cycle, with a home run and a triple.

3) A-Rod and Posada each just missed their own home runs, and Bobby Abreu is already having a great spring. In fact, if you didn't know it was Abreu's walk year before, you'd probably recognize it now.

4) A bunch of notes pitching-wise:

--Andy Pettitte had an okay first (for him) and a great second. As per Andy Pettitte Start Regulations (tm), there was a double play and a pick-off.

--Steven White couldn't finish his two innings and did not look sharp at all. Four runs and five hit in 1 and 2/3 innings.

--Scott Patterson only pitched 1/3 innings but did his job.

--LaTroy Hawkins looked great, one inning no BBs, hits or runs.

--Kyle Farnsworth picked up where he left off, giving up a home run on his second pitch, but he settled down after that. It's only one inning for one game so it's too early to make any judgments; next few times out should tell us a lot more. However, John Sterling, Suzyn Waldmen and Michael Kay all have amazing timing.

--Sean Henn, (surprisingly) did not give up a run.

--Brian Bruney, despite looking much better conditioned, did not pitch well. Three hits, two runs and a walk in an inning of work. He and Farnsworth need to be able to pitch well for us to be able to start Joba as a starter, so there's some work to do there.

--Jose Veras looked great. I think he threw a grand total of six pitches, but I might be wrong on that.


5) I like the no extra innings in spring training.


6) That is the first TV I've watched since the episode of "House" after the Super Bowl. That was 5 February. Which means...I had gone 25 days without watching TV. And no, I did not watch the Oscars or any American Idol. My TV must have been mad at me; it randomly turned off in the middle of the game (and then turned back on again).

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #2

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up Today: The Houston Astros





It's hard to believe that just a few years ago, in 2005, this team was in the World Series, though when considering that Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte were on the team at the same time, it makes a little more sense.

There are a few new faces in Houston this year, including:

Miguel Tejada, who has enough legal problems now to make Clemens look saintly.

Shawn Chacon, remember him?

Jose Valverde, from the NL Champion Rockies Diamondbacks,

and Kaz Matsui from the Rockies.

(There are a couple of other new faces, like Ty Wigginton, but I can't for the life of me remember if they joined the Astros in the off-season or before)


Lance Berkman, longtime main-stay in Houston has now excised a greater life expectancy than the other B-guys, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, but has oblique issues and will be sidelined until later in this month.


Threat to the Yankees: Green--Proceed Normally.

In the dead-heat NL Central last year, the Astros were the only team that never had a realistic shot at winning the division, and that's not likely to change much this year.

Of course, given that it is the NL Central, anything is certainly possible, but even if the Astros surprise everyone (and I mean everyone) and do make the playoffs, it's not likely that they'll beat any of the teams in the West (Arizona, Colorado, San Diego all come to mind) or whoever wins the East.

The biggest threat they'd pose to the Yankees would be if they decided to release Roger Clemens...(I can hear Suzyn Waldman now, GOODNESS GRACIOUS)

[EDIT: The Yankees DO play Houston this season, but, even so, they do not pose a significant threat at this point]


****

By some sort of miracle, my group meeting got pushed back till tomorrow, which means I can watch baseball today. This has me giddy with delight.

I will once again post notes when the game concludes. Pettitte, White, Hawkins, Farnsworth, Bruney, Henn and Veras are all scheduled to pitch. I imagine Pettitte will get a rather large ovation.

Jesus, Shelley, and Even More Snow

Some notes from today's exhibition game against the Phillies:

1) Shelley had five of the Yankees' nine RBI on two swings, a three run home run and two run double. If there's supposed to be a competition for the first base spot, Shelley looks to be in the clear lead, given what Giambi did yesterday and Ensberg did today (ie, nothing). However, it's only one game, and it'd be an awful mistake to judge who should get the first base job based on one game.

2) So we all know Jesus Montero is supposed to be good--he's eighteen (!) and one of, if not the, Yankees' top offensive prospects. However, that doesn't make him going yard on the, what was it, second pitch he saw (?) any less awesome. When he makes it to the bigs (and if he keeps healthy, it's a when and not an if), I imagine there'll be some pretty funny Jesus-related comments.

3) Pitching wise, Wang was okay--he threw a few too many balls for my liking, but as I said before, you can't judge a player based on game, and even less than two innings, especially given what Wang's done for us the past couple of years. Anyway, he only gave up one hit, so I really can't complain.

--Apparently, according to LoHud, Rasner hit 107 mph on the gun. They didn't show the gun on the screen, but you have to wonder how much control can you have over a pitch like that? I'm not even sure Joba throws that hard.

[EDIT: Rebecca, the word gullible is actually in the dictionary. Under G.]

--Only saw one inning each from Albaladejo and Traber, but I liked what I saw from both, Traber especially. Hope it continues; I feel somewhat more reassured when I hear that it's Traber coming out of the 'pen and not Sean Henn.

--I keep forgetting Ohlendorf is a Princeton guy.

4) MLB.tv has a new player. It doesn't lag as much as the original player, which is awesome, but it's still not better than watching the game on TV when you can. The Phillies announcers gave the game a little bit of an old-time feel, which I really liked.


5) In the past week, we've had ONE day without snow in Syracuse. I'm not talking about one day without flurries, but bona-fide road-covering, traffic-snarling, car-burying snow. Even my Freshman year it had kinda-sorta stopped by the beginning of March...and it really wouldn't be such a big deal except I'm driving home on Friday for Spring Break, and it would be nice to actually be able to get my car out of the driveway.



Anyway. Good game. I will probably miss most of the live broadcast tomorrow, but there's a reason they invented DVR.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away

No joke. As soon as I typed this the weather outside went from a white-out-ish snowstorm to a bright blue sky.

Anyway, as I said last month, for the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Today, up first: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels, we know, are a bit of an irksome pest to the Yankees. They ended the Yankees' October in 2002 and 2005, and in this blog's very first poll, 55 out of 57 voters wanted not to face the Angels in the postseason. Of all the teams Joe Torre managed against, on the Angels had a winning record against the Yankees.

Of course, it doesn't need to be said that this isn't Joe Torre's team anymore.

Anyway, the Angels are good. If they stay healthy, they are easily the favorites to win the AL West. The addition of Torii Hunter in the outfield makes them solid at every outfield position (again, if they can stay healthy) and while they might not have the best pitching rotation in the American League, they certainly have best rotation in their division.

Keys for their 2008 season:

Stay healthy. The injuries and wear-and-tear they had by the end of last year no doubt dealt them a serious blow in October. If they stay healthy, their line up is as potent as the Tigers or the Yankees.

Have a pitcher outside of Lackey and Escobar step up in the #3 role. The Angels might have the good Weaver, but the name still gives me jitters.


Threat to the Yankees:

Orange: Exercise extreme caution.

The Yankees only play them six games in the regular season, so the Angels are unlikely to have a major impact on whether or not the Yankees get to October, but in October, it's another story.

They've been a pest in years past; hopefully, if it comes to it, Joe Girardi can figure out Mike Socsia better than Joe Torre ever could...


****

Back later with some notes from today's exhibition game against Philadelphia. It's not on YES, but you can catch the game on mlb.tv, or, if you're like me and you like to keep your cash, on radio stream here. We should get a "look" at some of the young guys--Gardner, Porter and Woodward are starting in the field and Albaladejo, Phillips and Giese are going to get some innings on the mound.

Mmmm, Aaaah, Spring (Part Two)

The important thing to remember is that except for a few people at USF, today's game does not matter in the long run. Heck, that's why they call 'em exhibition games!

Anyway, that says, there are a few comments to make:

1) The Yankees seem to have picked up right where they left off--Joba, Phil and Ian are awesome, when Giambi is the worst guy in your starting line-up, that says something, and Kei Igawa still doesn't belong in a major league uniform.

2) Eric (Mike?) Baumann just had one of the top ten moments in his life. Okay, a grand slam against Kei Igawa is not a grand slam against Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, but still. It's gotta stay with you for a while.

[EDIT: The USF roster site lists an Eric Baumann, while Feinsand says his name is Mike. Not sure which it is.]

3) The radio announcers did a great job, and once again makes you wonder why the Yankees announcers...well, could use some improvement (and I generally like John Sterling).

4) For the little while I was watching the game, I really felt like it was spring, so when I got up to make some pasta and I saw the ground outside covered in snow, it was a bit of a letdown.

Mmmm, Aaaah, Baseball

So what if the first game of the Spring is against a college team and not televised?

It's still a game.

So what if the score doesn't actually matter?

It's still a game.

It's still a game, and from now to the end of October, there will be a game, somewhere. There might still be snow on the ground, and a ridiculous wind chill for this time of year, but there is a baseball game today, and that is wonderful.

***

As luck would have it, I have stuff to do during part of today's game, though that doesn't matter much as the game's not televised.

I had hoped to liveblog Sunday's, but 2 PM is the only time a member of a group for one of my projects can meet, and there's no saying how long it'll take, so I'll have to DVR the game.

Have I mentioned I am totally NOT a fan of group projects?