Yanks do that pitching thing, win (Postgame Notes 26 August 2009)

For the first time since, uh, before last weekend, the Yankees received a quality start from their starting pitcher, and, accordingly, they won.


Andy Pettitte has historically been good in the second half; this year is no different.

After a some-what rough first inning that took a double play to escape scoreless, Pettitte cruised through seven innings.

The Yankee offense scored four runs off of long balls from Jorge Posada and Jerry Hairston Jr (yes, you read that right), and then five more in the bottom of the seventh inning doing damage against the Texas bullpen.

The one blemish to the night was Jorge Posada leaving the game in the top of the eighth inning after a pitch hit his (gloved) hand; via the beat guys on Twitter (Sweeny Murti and Josh Thompson covering for Pete Abraham), Posada re-aggravated a ring finger injury, but x-rays were negative and he is day-to-day--Posada was unlikely to catch tomorrow's game anyway, being a night game after a day game.


AJ Burnett goes tomorrow in the rubber game of this series, and after his last start at Fenway (yet another Fenway disaster in 2009), he could use a decent outing.

Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of an Unlikely Victory (Postgame Notes 25 August 2009)

The win was there for the taking.

Down by five runs in the ninth, the Yankees clawed back to within one run, and had men on second and first base with no one out and Swisher at the plate.

Nick Swisher doesn't much like hitting at Yankee Stadium, but he still draws quite a few walks, and against a pitcher that couldn't throw strikes, the call for him to bunt in that situation will likely haunt Joe Girardi and the Yankees until their next win.

The bunt may have been the conventional move and the by-the-book move, but there were two problems with it: Swisher's not a typical bunter, and Frank Francisco had been showing himself to be eminently hittable.

The only significant problem I have had with Joe Girardi all year is that he plays by the book just a little too often.

Sometimes--rarely, but still--momentum or a unique situation calls for the book to be thrown out the window.

That's exactly tonight. The Yankees had sent six men to the plate before Swisher in the ninth inning, and all six of them had reached via walk or hit.

When Swisher showed bunt, it became clear that Girardi was playing for the tie and not the win (which is normal when you're home), but one has to ask, had this been any other inning, would Swisher really have bunted there? If this game was on the road, would Swisher have bunted there?

Absolutley not.


****

That aside, this game wasn't lost in the ninth inning. It was lost when Joba Chamberlain blew a 4-0 lead.

Some stuff from Joe P. of River Ave Blues:

Nine of 10 runs scored after bases empty, two outs...in both innings Joba allowed runs, it came down to his inability to retire the No. 9 hitter...


Sure, it'd have been nice if Chad Gaudin had not given up those two bombs, but Gaudin didn't put the Yankees in a 7-4 hole to start.

Right now, the fact that Joba is the Yankees' #4 starter in the postseason is a little disconcerting. He's still young, but he's got some serious on-field growing up to do.

Predicting the AL and NL Wild Card Races

With just over a month left, the playoff races are beginning to take shape.

The division races are fairly clear: Yankees, Angels and one of Tigers/White Sox in the American League, and Phillies and Cardinals in the National League; surprisingly it's the Dodgers who may have the most tenuous hold on their division lead in the NL.

The Wild Card races, however, are a bit harder to predict.

When the Yankees are so likely to win the East, why does the Wild Card race matter?

For two reasons: a) if the AL Wild Card winner comes out of the Central or the West, that will likely be the team the Yankees play in the first round, and b) The Wild Card winner has played in--and won--a fair few of this decade's World Series.

So, let's go through the teams in most contention:

American League

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox have to be considered the favorite just because they've held the position for so long, but that doesn't mean they are a good choice to be favorite.

They made their biggest move early in the season with a 12-game win streak, but right now their starting rotation is mostly "Josh and Jon and then there are bombs". Getting Wakefield back should help, but not if Beckett keeps pitching like he did in his last two outings.

The good news is that the offense has stepped it up quite a bit--but there's only so much an offense can do.


Texas Rangers

The darlings of the AL this year, they're finally doing it with pitching. Derek Holland and Scott Feldman have been revelations. Head to head, they took two of the last three that they played with Boston, but the one loss came when the night's closer, Frank Francisco, blew the lead.

If they make the playoffs, Ron Washington is probably a shoo-in for manager of the year.


Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays are still paying for the slow, 2007-Yankees-like start to the season and may now have too much to overcome. They are only three games back, but they are trailing two teams and their pitching hasn't been as good as it was last season. Trading Edwin Jackson away does not seem to have been a great decision, speaking mildly.

There's certainly hope, though, and unlike the Rangers, this group has postseason experience.



National League

Colorado Rockies

Once again, they've taken on a veneer as a team of destiny. The division isn't out of the question for this group, and if they did take it, it would be a come back even bigger than the 1978 Yankees--just to give an idea as to what the Rockies have done already.

We still aren't quite sure how Jason Marquis is doing it, but somehow he's found a way.


San Francisco Giants

When both Lincecum and Cain are on, they are probably the best 1-2 in baseball. The problem is, outside of Pablo Sandoval, they basically have zero offensive support. Yes, pitching wins championships, but you can't win every game 1-0, which is pretty much what the Giants have had to do all season.

Given how poorly the Giants have played in recent years, the fact that they are this good this year has been especially remarkable. If only they had that little more bit of offense...


Atlanta Braves

Four-and-a-half games out, it's not exceedingly likely the Braves make the postseason, but it's also far too soon to count them out entirely.

Like the Giants, they have the pitching but not necessarily the hitting--that is, until they decide to give Heyward a shot...

Yankees Lose Game of Missed Opportunties (Postgame Notes 03 June 2009)

Tonight's game wasn't lost when Andy Pettitte gave up three runs in the first in what might be considered his worst outing of the season.

Tonight's game was lost when Alex Rodriguez grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out in a game in which the winning team never led by more than three runs.

I know it's not fair to harp on A-Rod because, well, everyone does it, but tonight it really hurt the team.

No, Andy Pettitte wasn't any good, especially in the first couple of innings, but a 3-0 or 4-1 deficit is usually not considered the end of the world unless you're facing a Sabathia/Halladay/Santana type, and even then, if you work the counts well enough, you just have to wait for the bullpen.

Not having Mark Teixeira in the line up (banged-up ankle, DTD) certainly didn't help the Yankees, but the Yankees didn't lose because Brett Gardner was in the line up. They lost because, when the team needed them to, Rodriguez and Robinson Canó didn't come through.

To be fair, A-Rod did have an RBI knock in the bottom of the first, but this might be precisely what is most frustrating.

The one run there was great...but then, with the bases loaded, when some real damage could have been done, he was not able to come through.

Still, some things should not be lost, such as Brett Tomko's three scoreless innings in relief. Since the Yankees only used him and Robertson for one inning, there are plenty left in the bullpen--including Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes--that can give length if Wang falters tomorrow.

The Yankees didn't get blown out and kept themselves in the game, and in their last 21 games, it's only the second time the starter has been saddled with the loss.

You hope that Pettitte's not hurt (though this seems doubtful), let yourself bemoan for a little while the inability to hit with runners on base tonight, go to sleep and then wake up tomorrow ready to cheer on Wang's first win of the season.

That's the beauty of baseball.

Tomorrow's another day, and we get to play (or, in my instance, watch) again.

Yankees vs Rangers, 03 June 2009: A liveblog

4.31 PM: Tonight's line up from WFAN:
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Canó 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF (Gardner?)

4.32 PM: Have you been to both Yankee Stadium and Citifield? Then come on and go vote for which stadium you think is better.

NBC.com is running the poll; right now it's a dead heat.


4.36 PM: ROTATION UPDATE: Wang to start tomorrow, Sabathia Friday and Hughes to the bullpen. Courtesy WFAN.

4.53 PM: So PeteAbe is saying that Gardner's playing center...I'll correct the line up when I find out for sure.

The Wang-Hughes move is a conversation starter for sure.

In my mind there is no question Wang needs a chance to start, but I am not sure if Hughes is best served by going to the bullpen. Anyway, we'll see.

5.14 PM: Per @YankeesWFAN, Molina is expected to miss another 2-4 weeks. Good thing Cervelli has been playing so well, huh?

6.16 PM: Teixeira has been scratched after banging his knee ankle, sorry, in last night's slide of doom. X-rays were negative and he is day to day.

New line up:


Jeter SS
Swisher 1B
Damon LF
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Cabrera RF
Gardner CF

6.54 PM: First pitch scheduled for 7.15.

7.27 PM: If you squint hard enough, that may have been a double play ball, but instead it's 1-0 Texas with guys on 1st and 2nd and one out.

7.30 PM: And now the bases are loaded.

7.31 PM: Now 2-0 Texas. Yanks were lucky there as they got a great play from Jeter. Andy does not look very sharp. to say the least.

7.33 PM: Yanks have some work to do now, 3-0 Texas after one. Just hoping here that Pettitte isn't hurting too badly but that was not a good first inning.

7.42 PM: Swisher double and A-Rod single sandwiched around a Damon K and it's now 3-1 Texas.

7.49 PM: You get the feeling that this is not Pettitte's night.

7.53 PM: And Texas gets that run right back. I wonder if Andy's back is bothering him or what...but he's not pitching well. Not even a little.

8.09 PM: Posada got hit with a bat or something there...and he looked hurt real bad for a minute, but he's stayed in this far.

8.14 PM: I'm not sure it's possible to overstate how big those k's there after the unintentional interference were...

8.30 PM: A-Rod up with bases loaded and one out. I am biting my nails, of course.

8.33 PM: I kind of hate A-Rod right now.

8.51 PM: I'd say the Yankees need a big offensive inning but I'm not one for overstatement.

And just like that Canó grounds out. And Beckett's no hitting the Tigers. It is not the best night of the year to be a Yankee fan right now...

8.56 PM: That wasn't exactly the inning the Yankees needed.

9.28 PM: You get the feeling that if the Yankees just got some sort of spark, they'd win this game...

9.37 PM: Jorge Posada esta en fuego!

9.52 PM: I vote Brett Tomko player of the game.

Yankees Move To Ten Over .500 (Postgame Notes 02 June 2009)

Sometimes you win with pitching, sometimes you win by luck...

...and sometimes you decide you don't like it when the other pitcher hits you, go hard (but clean) into second to break up a double play, score seven runs in an inning, break a close game open, and never look back.

The Yankees won today not so much because they outhit the Rangers (though they did), but because they out scored them--if you look at the line score, the total hits-13-8 would indicate that the game was a lot closer than it was.

To be fair, over the first three innings it was a close game, but then the fourth happened.

The past few years, had a Yankees' batter been hit by a pitch in the way Teixeira was (and he was actually hit twice) the response would have been to simply ignore it.

While, in theory, the turn-the-other-cheek-mentality would nominate the team for sainthood, baseball players aren't, and are not supposed to be, saints. Heroes, yes; saints, no.

So today, Teixeira didn't try to be a saint...but he also took his revenge the right way--playing hard and clean on the basepath.

It's the fight in this team that we've seen all year that makes this the most fun it's been to watch the Yankees in years.


As for pitching, it was not AJ Burnett's best-ever start, but he walked only one over seven, and the Yanks will take that, likely, every single time.

I think the statistic is that the last nineteen of twenty-one games, Yankee starting pitching has pitched at least five innings.

The stat I like more? Since the start of the Yankees' nine game win streak--way back when on May 13th--the starting pitching has lost a grand total of one game. The Yankees have lost more games than just that one, of course, but those losses were taken by the bullpen which indicates 1) yes, the bullpen is an issue, 2) the Yankees aren't getting blown out, and 3) the Yankees are making a fight of it nearly every single time.

The Yanks are 16-5 in their last 21 (.761) and haven't lost two in a row since that five game losing streak that had everyone ready to jump off a cliff.


Do the Yankees have issues? Sure. They need to figure out that bullpen and whatnot, but at the same time, they're winning in a way we haven't seen in ages.

Everyone's contributing; they're playing well in nearly every facet of the game and not only are they beating teams like Baltimore and Cleveland, whom they're supposed to beat, but they are also winning against teams like Texas--and until tonight they had the best record in the AL--and they all count.



Some late night breaking news to wrap this up: Jesus Montero, it has been confirmed, has been promoted to Trenton. If you haven't, check out his stats for the Tampa Yankees. Dude can rake.

Yankees at Rangers, 26 May 2009: A Liveblog

8.43 PM: I've been out and about all week (and will continue to be), but for one of the rare times, I am thankful for the rain delay. I'll actually be able to catch the whole game!

Today's line up from LoHud:


Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cervelli C

10.03 PM: First pitch scheduled for 10.30 PM.

10.32 PM: First pitch second pitch, first hit. I can work with this.

10.38 PM: One hit and nothing else. Johnny Damon is left at third. Now Joba takes the mound; hopefully he pitches a bit better than his 7+ ERA at Arlington.

10.42 PM: Uh oh. Melky ran full force into the wall and is obviously hurt and in a lot of pain.

10.57 PM: Joba has a rough first inning; giving up two runs and too many walks. He obviously did not pitch his simulated innings. Still, 2-0 is not quite a blow out.

11.11 PM: Gardner stranded at third as Matsui, Swisher and Cervelli can't bring him in. Yanks have to do something about Matsui becoming a black hole at DH.

11.38 PM: Yankees have had men on base every inning thus far, but haven't been able to bring home the run(s).

Meanwhile, Joba looks tentative and uncomfortable on the mound.


11.51 PM: News on Melky Cabrera is a right shoulder sprain (strain? Some are saying sprain and others strain, there IS a difference); x-rays were negative, so this is a good sign. I imagine he'll be out a couple of days but shouldn't be worse than that.

Meanwhile, Milwood is pitching like...well, not like a Rangers' pitcher.

11.57 PM: Joba does not look good, at all. Dunno if it's Texas or what, but he looks fairly awful right now.

11.58 PM: Melky to have MRI tomorrow--from Hoch.

12.05 AM: Damn, that is one sweet swing.

12.10 AM: Yankees go to Aceves in the fifth inning. Not sure if Joba was removed for pitch count or ineffectiveness, but whatever it was, it wasn't what the Yankees needed.

12.14 AM: Aceves there was everything Joba was not: efficient and effective.

12.21 AM: Matsui there seriously just missed a home run. Given his struggles of late, one must imagine Millwood is not too long for this game. Now 3-2 Rangers.

12.24 AM: After Swisher strikes out on three pitches, Cervelli singles and Matsui scores the tying run.

1.00 AM: At 1.00 AM on 27 May 2009, my love affair with Nick Swisher came to an end.

Messin' with Texas (Postgame Notes Memorial Day 2009)

Phil Hughes must really want to stay in that rotation.

It's so easy to see the 11-1 score of today's game and automatically assume that today's game revolved around an offensive explosion, a real manifest of Bronx bombing.

But if you did that, you'd be wrong.

Really, really wrong.

The Yankees won today because Phil Hughes was exceptional, allowing just three hits over eight innings and no runs (Texas' lone run was scored off of a Nelson Cruz HR in the bottom of the 9th).

The Yankee offense struck early, and stuck often, using singles, doubles and sac flies--not home runs--to build their ten run lead; but had they never scored another run after the first inning, they would have still won the game. That's how well Hughes pitched.

Maybe it's something about Texas; after all, last time Hughes pitched here he nearly had a no-hitter.

At any rate, what's really awesome, is that the last two times the Yanks have lost a game, they've come right back with a win the next day.

For the first time since 2007 (not counting April), the Yankees are only a game out of first place, and they are in first in the Wild Card (though no one on the Yankees or their fans really want to settle for that).

After all, this team is simply playing too well for that.

Yankees at Rangers, Memorial Day Gamer

I'm headed out for the day, so here's what you need to know before the game.

• The Yankees were 2-2 last year at the Ballpark in Arlington.

• Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Chien Ming Wang have all suffered devestating injuries while pitching in the state of Texas (Wang was in Houston; Hughes and Joba in Arlington)

• So, of course, Hughes pitches today.

• Since the Yankees are on the road, they can't walk off. Boo.

• The Yanks went 8-2 on the homestand and are in the thick of the AL East race.

• I'll put the over/under at four HR/game.
  

A Lost Road Trip

So first off, I apologize for being so sporadic recently. I've been dealing with some personal issues which will hopefully sort themselves out, but it looks like I haven't been missing much.

This was, after all, a make-or-break road trip for the Yankees, and, well, when you only win three games out of ten, things don't look very good.

It's hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong.

It's easy enough to blame the injury to Joba as a death knell or contend that the Angels are simply unbeatable, but the fact is, the Yankees had a legitimate chance to win every game they played on the road trip.

In at least one of the Texas games, all of the Anaheim games and two of the Minnesota games, the Yankees had a physical lead. They only won three of those games, and in only two of the games, if memory serves, did they not relinquish a lead.

Teams that play baseball in October, it should be noted, know how to keep leads once they have them.

There wasn't any one part of the Yankees that has been more at fault than the other--when they hit, they didn't pitch, when they pitched, they didn't hit, when the starters couldn't go deep, the bullpen was overworked and prone to giving up even more runs.

The ERA of the pitching staff, once one of the best in the majors, has skyrocketed since the eight game win streak.

To add injury to insult---err, reverse that---it now looks like Derek Jeter and Dan Giese are hurt as well.

It's not time to write 2008 off just yet--speaking as an optimist, I won't until the Yankees are mathematically eliminated--but the team is fighting for its life right now, and the fight is not going in their favor, at all.

Miracles can happen, but the Yankees shouldn't have to rely on that for October baseball.

Moose Almighty (Postgame Notes 07 August 08)

If a Little League coach ever wants to instill in his young pitchers how to work out of trouble, he might consider showing them a tape of Mike Mussina's performance tonight.

Mussina was not dominant--eight hits, one walk and six strikeouts over seven innings--but he made the pitches (and the defensive plays) when he had to, and ended up anchoring a Yankee shut-out of the league's leading offensive team in Texas.

At this point in the season, from the Yankees' viewpoint, they don't have to be pretty they just have to be wins. Every game is a must-win, especially on a night like tonight, when the Red Sox are off and the Yankees had a chance to pick up half of a game on Boston.

On the offensive side of things, Derek Jeter had one of his best games this season, and was responsible for two of the Yankees' three runs.

Alex Rodriguez, however, had a horrible series and did not reach base once. Hopefully, the change of scenery--Anaheim next--will do him well; the Yankees will need his bat.

Robinson Canò's hand seems to have fully healed--he went 3-for-4 with a double--though he still needs to work on his baserunning a little bit.

The Yankee bullpen tonight--Brian Bruney, Dàmaso Marte and Mariano Rivera--did not allow a baserunner. Seems the innings given by Sidney Ponson last night helped rest the bullpen.

The Yankees are in Anaheim tomorrow night, and they will send Ian Kennedy (yes, that Ian Kennedy) to the mound against Jered Weaver. The Yankees have historically had trouble winning in Anaheim; a win tomorrow would be especially important in setting the tone for the series.

****

As you know, the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics start tomorrow night. I'll try to throw in a little Olympic coverage as well.

Go USA! Go United Kingdom! Go World!

Found in New York (Postgame Notes 2 July 2008)

FOUND IN NEW YORK

The missing offense advertised last night has been found today, at the corner of 161st Ave and River Avenue. It was found in a condition healthy enough for 18 runs on 16 hits and 7 walks.

The offense was returned by pitchers L. Mendoza, W. Madrigal and J. Wright and hitters J. Giambi, B. Abreu, A. Rodriguez, R Canò, and B. Gardner.

The reward for the tip will be given to one Hank Steinbrenner, whose pre-game comments were instrumental in the offense's return.

Pitchers Mendoza, Madrigal and Wright have the thanks of the Yankees' pitching staff, and Sir Sidney Ponson would like to offer his own personal "thank you" as well.

******

NOTICE

WARNING: On 3 July, a group of baseball players known as the Boston Red Sox will be arriving at Yankee Stadium. Said group of baseballers are known to be unwelcome in the city of New York, and fans of the New York Yankees are asked to exercise all due caution in watching said baseball games.

Known consequences of watching Yankees-Red Sox include: heart arrythmia, hyperventilation, compulsive nail biting, exclamation of vulgar remarks, alcoholic beverage spillage and minor property destruction.

Casual baseball fans are advised not to watch said games unless under proper fanatical supervision.


(actually, you might want to reverse that)

Texas Two-Step (Postgame Notes 30 June 2008)

Apparently, no one told the Texas Rangers or the New York Yankees that they were supposed to hit tonight.

Two line ups--one with this year's best offense, and one with last year's best offense (nearly all returning this year, too)--could not manage more than three combined runs in tonight's game.

While Texas had the misfortune of running into a stellar Mike Mussina, the Yankees have no excuse for their utter lack of hitting since Friday evening.

Yesterday the only run they managed came off of the bat of Wilson Betemit, and today they managed just four hits against a Texas team known for everything but their pitching. While Alex Rodriguez had (yet another) mammoth home run and Jason Giambi had his first triple since 2002, the utter lack of offense from the top and bottom part of the line up is astounding, frustrating, and extremely hard to watch.

On most teams, if your starter can go six innings while yielding just two runs, he is usually in line for the win, but Mike Mussina seems to be cursed in his quest for 20 wins--He has not won since the series in Houston, taking the loss against Edinson Volquez and having his start rained out in Pittsburgh (when the Yankees were actually winning the game).

Mussina and the Yankee bullpen ought to be credited for keeping the most potent offense in the league to just two runs, though that won't happen because of the loss.

In the seventh inning there was an exceptionally scary moment as Jose Molina was crossed up on a pitch by Jose Veras and a fastball hit him...well, let's just say he's probably worshipping at the alter of athletic cup makers tonight. As a true testament to the amazingness that is a Molina brother, Jose Molina stayed in the game.

Brett Gardner also had his much awaited major league debut today, and while he did not get a hit, he worked a full count twice and reached on a Fielder's Choice before promptly stealing second. He might not hit for much power, but the kid can fly and was adequate, though largely untested, in left field.

Joba Chamberlain will pitch for the Yankees tomorrow--with luck he will recieve a little more support than just one run.

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #21

Hey, whaddya know, it's officially spring!

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 Texas Rangers

No matter what happens, the Rangers will likely always be known as the team that gave us A-Rod, which is okay, as long as you remember that this is a team with an offense that, despite losing A-Rod a few years ago, could still put up a 30-spot against the Orioles.

Granted, to not score an abysmally high number of runs against the Oioles is pobably moe worthy of notice, but 30 runs is...30 runs.

Anyway.

The Rangers haven't done much to improve their pitching staff, which is a head-scratcher seeing as theirr pitching staff was arguably the weakest point of their team last year, even after they traded Gagnè to Boston.

The angers have decided to take a chance on Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley, who can be great additions if they stay healthy and keep their tempers in check.

Michael Young is an excellent shortstop, and with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Frank Catalanotto, it's alphabet soup at the bottom of the order.

Threat to the Yankees: Yellow, exercise caution.

The Rangers are not a playoff caliber team, especially not in the AL, but the Yankees do play them six times and it would be unwise to take the team for granted. Then again, this was the team that Phil Hughes was no hitting....

A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #16 and #17

(Call it Irish luck, but you get two today)

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 Washington Nationals and The Baltimore Orioles

You have to feel for baseball fans in the DC metro area; they're blessed with two baseball teams, but they're cursed by the Montreal Expos and Pete Angelos at the same time.

As the former Montreal Expos, have not had the expectations of being a serious contender, although last year they did take to the role of spoiler quite nicely. Just ask any Mets fan.

Of note for Yankee fans: Tyler Clippard and Wil Nieves are on the Nationals now, so if you're a fan of either of them (or both) you might want to pay attention to the days that Clippard starts.


Nationals Threat to the Yankees: Green, Proceed Normally.

They were much better last year than they were supposed to be, losing "only" 89 games instead of the 100 they were supposed to, but this is still not a team likely to play in October.


Now, the team that will be of greater interest to most of you: The Orioles.

The Orioles are easily the worst team in the American League, and quite possibly the only team that has not taken steps to improve. It's one thing if Boston or Cleveland doesn't do much in the off-season, given the philosophy of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but the Orioles have not had a winning season since 1997.

The best way to sum it up, is that the Texas Rangers, a team with no postseason plans whatsoever last year, beat Baltimore in a game by a score of 30-3, and now, the only really significant move Baltimore has made is trading Erik Bedard to Seattle--their one, and possibly only, decent pitcher.

Daniel Cabrera is supposed to be good, but like Edwar Ramirez, he's either really really good or really really bad. No one else on the rotation has distinguished himself.

It doesn't get much better in the field. Brian Roberts is all-star caliber, but there's not much else there. Kevin Millar (Cowboy Up?) batted .215 as a DH last year (though he did have a .999 fielding percentage). Melvin Mora had two home runs after the break last year. The outfield, complete with Payton, Gibbons and Huff (et al), is not very good, and that's putting it nicely.

Of course, a lot of Baltimore's poor fortune can be blamed on owner Pete Angelos's really, really bad decision making, but these birds are going to be grounded for a long time to come.

Threat to the Yankees: Orange, exercise extreme caution

Huh, you're asking, right?

Well, remember, they weren't much better last season, but it wasn't until SEPTEMBER that we were able to take a series from them. No team ever goes 0-162.

We play the Orioles eighteen times in a season, and that's more than enough to impact the standings. The worst mistake the Yankees could make wold be to take the team for granted, even if they should demolish them.