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Girardi reveals lineup, love of Cano

March
30

Here is how the Yankees will line it up tomorrow (thanks to Brian Heyman for calling me with this):

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

So L-R-L-R-L-L-S-L-S. There’s some balance. I also like the idea of splitting up Giambi and Posada, who are both slow. It’s pretty frightening to see Matsui hitting eighth. … Andy Pettitte is now officially scheduled to pitch on Saturday. … Stunningly, Jeter said his right pinky (or pinkie) finger is fine.

As for the Jays, here is what John Gibbons had:

Eckstein SS
Stairs or Stewart LF
Rios RF
Wells CF
Thomas DH
Overbay 1B
Hill 2B
Scutaro 3B
Zaun C

So that completes the blogging for the day, barring something unexpected. Be here tomorrow for Opening Day and all manner of posts, interviews and other interweb excitement. I’ll be live-blogging the game as well.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 4:09 pm by Peter Abraham.
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415 Responses to “Girardi reveals lineup, love of Cano”

  1. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Interweb?

    Pete, you’re officially a web geek. I’ll go order a gift basket.

    I like that Canò isn’t hitting seventh any more, though there is something really odd about seeing Matsui eighth. That’s just…I mean, I would have had him switched with Giambi, but then I’m not the manager and what do I know…

  2. hmmm

    wow, that lineup has to get the blood pumping for opening day.

    just a sick lineup.

  3. Bob

    21 hours to go! FINALLY!!!!!

  4. Rob

    Is that lineup (Yankees’) half as good as the Tigers’??

  5. JonMichel

    I am surprised Girardi didn’t put Duncan in as Dh!

  6. Dave

    That is a deep lineup. It’ll be interesting to see how they come out of the gate this year.

  7. whozat

    “That’s just…I mean, I would have had him switched with Giambi, but then I’m not the manager and what do I know…”

    Well…why? Giambi, if healthy, is a superior offensive player to Hideki. He has more power, and he gets on base more. I figure he protects Alex a little better. Sure, Hideki’s a very good hitter, but pitchers know Jason’s AB will probably be a war of attrition. Might make them come at ARod a little harder instead of nibbling, which gives him better pitches to hit.

    I love Cano too, and this is a great vote of confidence…I might have kept him lower in the order because I figure Posada and Matsui figure to get on base more than he does, generating more RBI opportunities for Cano. But, he’s a really good hitter, and this way he gets more ABs over the course of the season, so I see the point there as well.

    Frankly, the problem of assorting 3 hitters with OPS over .850 in the 6-8 holes is pretty friggin sweet :-)

  8. Doreen

    Wow! It’s great for Cano, and I agree, it is totally strange seeing Matsui 8th, BUT, that means that this lineup has a MATSUI hitting 8th, if you know what I mean.

    I am so psyched for tomorrow. I have a few errands to run tomorrow and plan to be out and about early so I can get home and not miss a thing. To all of you who are lucky (smart, forsightful) enough to be going to the game, have a great, great day!

  9. whozat

    “I am surprised Girardi didn’t put Duncan in as Dh!”

    Why? They’re facing a righty, and Matsui’s a far superior hitter in general, but certainly against righties.

  10. Jonah Falcon

    It’s simple:

    Cano hits .385 vs. Halladay. Matsui hits .206 v. Halladay.

  11. Countdown

    Cano batting 6th?

    but, but, but..

    I thought Girardi was a Torre clone?

  12. whozat

    “Is that lineup (Yankees’) half as good as the Tigers’??”

    You mean the lineup with Brandon Inge as the CFer?

    I think so, yes.

  13. Stanny46

    Awesome! Thanks for posting :0)
    It’s beginning to seem real!

  14. Doreen

    That lineup is a perfect example of using the same ingredients to make a totally different dish!

  15. Bob

    Gonna be weird tomorrow seeing a Yankee manager awake during games again. lol

  16. Dave

    Cano had 103 PAs in the 6 hole last year.. opening day lineups are just that.. opening day lineups.

  17. CB

    It’s really hard to believe that any baseball team could have a career .850 OPS player hitting in the 8th hole but that’s what the yankees have in Matsui.

    That’s almost unfathomable. For many teams an .850 OPS player would be their single best hitter.

    Girardi is making a real commitment to Cano with this lineup.

    Where people hit in a lineup as stacked as this doesn’t matter in many respects.

    But on average each spot higher in the order you hit you wind up getting 18 more at bats over the course of the season.

    So by hitting Cano 6th instead of 8th Girardi is giving Cano an extra 36 at bats. Not a huge number but it could be around 7% more at bats for the season.

  18. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    whozat: Like I said, there’s a reason I’m not the manager ;)

    But yeah. That line up is DEEP.

  19. whozat

    “That lineup is a perfect example of using the same ingredients to make a totally different dish!”

    Guys…It’s wonderful to be excited, but let’s not be ridiculous here. Girardi moved one guy up a couple spots in the order. When all the players were healthy last year, we saw

    Damon
    Jeter
    Abreu
    ARod
    Giambi
    Posada/Matsui
    Matsui/Posada

    pretty much all the time. This isn’t HUGELY different from that.

  20. whozat

    “whozat: Like I said, there’s a reason I’m not the manager ;)”

    Sure, and that’s cool. When someone puts an opinion out there, my first instinct is always to ask why. Gives us something to talk about, no?

  21. Doreen

    whozat -

    But it IS a slightly different look, for a change. I think maybe we’re all guilty of being a little psyched for the season to start??

  22. Countdown

    “Gonna be weird tomorrow seeing a Yankee manager awake during games again”

    I wonder if Torre will show up to the game during 3rd inning, like the rest of the Dodger fans.

  23. Doreen

    I mean, imagine the reaction if the opening day lineup was 100% the same as last year? Especially given the vibe here that most people hoped that Cano would (should?) be moved up in the order.

    Of course, day 2 could see something else entirely. :)

  24. Brian (from PA)

    I had an argument with this guy I talk to a lot who is a White Sox fan. He told me that Cano is at the most the 4th best second baseman in the AL, behind Brian Roberts (isn’t he playing 1st base now or something or am i totally wrong?) Dustin Pedroia, BJ UPTON (and i explained to him that Upton is a CF now but his logic is that Upton still played enough 2B last year) and perhaps even Placido Polanco is i don’t count Upton…okay guy, we’ll see where that moron puts Cano when he hits 25 homers and drives in over 100 this year. Also Cano is a doubles machine and i expect his OBP to increase this year. Hopefully his defense does as well, i don’t think that his defense will suffer due to the loss of Larry Bowa, but it will get better because he is getting older/more mature.

  25. michael

    not sure about cano hitting behind jason. cano hits alot of doubles gappers and jason walks alot where a faster player might score jason will end up on third. i’d consider switching cano and giambi so that when cano doubles, giambi can drive him in with a single.

  26. whozat

    Hey, anyone know why there’s some buzz in blogland about John Maine having a breakout year this year? What’s so great about this guy? Looked at his numbers, which look good…keeps his walks down, which I love, doesn’t give up a lot of hits, doesn’t really strike out THAT many. Looks like he’ll be a solid guy, but is there something I’m not seeing?

  27. hmmm

    yes, i guess being a better hitter and a better fielder than Pedroia isn’t good enough. you also have to be taller and have a better head of hair. oh wait.

  28. Doreen

    michael –

    It looked like Jason was “motoring” this spring, so I guess we’ll see.

  29. Dave

    For Cano to hit 25 homeruns he is going to have to change his approach. This has been said many times but he is a groundball hitter. His GB% was at 52.2% last year which ranked up there with Ichiro, Jeter, Tony Pena, and Pierre. He will have to sacrifice BA points for an increased SLG. He’ll have to change his approach though.

  30. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    whozat: Agreed. Amazing how the blog reads more like an AIM chatroom than a blog!

    I saw Maine pitch last year against Arizona. He wasn’t very good. I don’t know why people expect so much from the Mets this year; the only noticeable difference I see is Santana, and Reyes is still too immature.

  31. CB

    The biggest difference in the line up between this year and last isn’t the order of the names but the state of the players.

    Overall, the team is just in much better shape this year than last year and I think that’s part of the reason why the line up looks so tremendous this year.

    -There are no questions about ARod this year. Last year spring training was filled with Can ARod perform in NY coming off that disastrous playoff performance and of course the opt out.

    -They are much healthier this year - Giambi, Abreu, Damon.

    -Cano is a more mature hitter. Same for Melky (though to a lesser degree).

    -Player are in better shape.

    -Being able to play Giambi at first instead of Minky

    The pitching is clearly improved from last year. The same is true for the hitters - the names are largely the same but they are in a better state of performance than they were last year at this time.

  32. Doreen

    Anyone watching golf? I’m seriously disturbed by Woody Austin’s choice of shirt. :lol:

  33. whozat

    “jason walks alot where a faster player might score jason will end up on third. i’d consider switching cano and giambi so that when cano doubles, giambi can drive him in with a single.”

    jason also hits a lot more homers, when healthy. That changes how pitchers will pitch to ARod, AND putting him right behind our best OBP guys increases the likelihood that those homers will score multiple base runners.

    “Brian Roberts, Dustin Pedroia, Placido Polanco”

    I didn’t realize players were ranked on hype :-)

    Roberts - great in 05, solid last year, mediocre every other year. He’s fast, and that makes him fun to watch

    Pedroia - his one year not even as good as Cano’s last two years.

    Polanco - doesn’t really walk and doesn’t really slug. Even with hitting over .340 last year wasn’t as valuable as Cano.

  34. mel

    Hee Haw! We’re almost there.

    I think that Matsui will be fine hitting with hitting 8th. No prima donna there.

    No matter who the pitcher is, you’ll never see a Shelley Duncan start on Opening Day over a healthy Hideki Matsui.

  35. Doreen

    CB -

    From your keyboard to the baseball gods’ ears!

  36. I make the champagne bottles pop...but the Yankees could do it in October (please, I'm dying here)

    Its about time Cano got moved up in the order. I mean, this doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll stay up there the whole year but, as some of you said, its different and change is good.

    20 hrs, 15 minutes till Opening Day…..finally…..was it me, or did this offseason feel like an eternity.

  37. Joba the Great

    Pete, great job this spring. Your blogging efforts, in addition to your print duties, have been prolific, informative and last but not least, fun. Your work makes being a Yankee fan more enjoyable. Best of luck this season.

  38. whozat

    “For Cano to hit 25 homeruns he is going to have to change his approach. This has been said many times but he is a groundball hitter. His GB% was at 52.2% last year which ranked up there with Ichiro, Jeter, Tony Pena, and Pierre. He will have to sacrifice BA points for an increased SLG. He’ll have to change his approach though.”

    Well…he hit 19 last year. Avoiding a heinous slump should help him tack a few more on, no? I think I agree that, to sit in the 25-30 range consistently, he’d have to trade some AVG for SLG, but I think to sit between 20 and 25 he won’t. Also…I’d like see him put together a consistent year and take some more walks before I’d like to see him worrying about homers.

  39. Jeff

    I want to see this lineup socre 1,000 runs this season!

  40. mel

    CB,

    Seriously, are we a bunch of homers or what? I don’t know what it’s like at other sites, but it seems like the people here are the only ones that think this team is improved and can make a lot of noise.

  41. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    mel: Of course we are! It’s the Optimism! It’s contagious!

  42. hmmm

    “For Cano to hit 25 homeruns he is going to have to change his approach. ”

    i don’t think he does. all he has to do is put together 2 solid halves in the same season.

    he hit 19 HRs last year and basically spent all of April and May in a terrible slump.

    if he starts off hot, and he’s been on fire all spring, he’ll hit 25 HRs with the exact same approach.

  43. whozat

    “Seriously, are we a bunch of homers or what? I don’t know what it’s like at other sites, but it seems like the people here are the only ones that think this team is improved and can make a lot of noise.”

    Well…people here AND most objective ratings and ranking systems. Most prognosticators are assuming that every Yankee position player will decline, and the young pitching will be too inconsistent to make up the difference.

  44. Dave

    Yea but the same can be said of all baseball players.

    The reality is that slumps do occur numerous times throughout the season, unless you are Rodriguez circa 2007. Saying a player should hit x amount of homeruns if he doesn’t slump drastically is like saying a team will do good if their pitching stays healthy. It’s a given, it’s nice to think it will happen but it rarely does.

  45. mel

    rebecca,

    I was going to ask you if we were crazy with optimism, but whozat put into perspective.

    I wonder if Curry & Crew can break a lot of hearts? Go Davidson!

  46. Todd Parlato

    Let’s hope Torre doesn’t show up at the Stadium tomorrow…………..due to force of habit and/or senility..

  47. I make the champagne bottles pop...but the Yankees could do it in October (please, I'm dying here)

    If he stays healthy all year, there is no doubt in my mind that Robbie can hit 25 HRs, hit .315+, and knock in 100+ runs and, given his growing maturity, maintain a respectable OBP.

    I know we all know what we have in Cano, we should’t be questioning what he can and cannot do and whether he should have to chnage is approach, hitting wise. Sure he could walk some more but look at his numbers. The guy hit 19 HRs last year with a horrible first 2 months. He basically did what he did all in the second half. Is it that much of a strech for him to hit 6 more this year?

  48. whozat

    “Saying a player should hit x amount of homeruns if he doesn’t slump drastically is like saying a team will do good if their pitching stays healthy. It’s a given, it’s nice to think it will happen but it rarely does.”

    That’s not true…plenty of players go through a season without the EPIC kind of slump that Robbie had last April and May. And, sort of, June.

  49. Drive 4-5

    mel,

    We sure are homers. But look at the other teams and where do you see major improvement?

    Boston stayed pat and only finished 2 games ahead of us last year. There’s no reason to think that with a better start than last year the Yanks couldn’t win the division. Their starting pitching is over rated and features 1 stud and 4 question marks.

    Toronto’s fate is tied to its health. They’ve already lost Scott Rolen for 6 weeks, AJ Burnett has a finger injury and couldnt throw a curveball in ST, BJ Ryan will open the season on the DL as he recovers from surgery and reliever Casey Janssen is out for the season. Vernon Wells didnt have surgery and is hoping his shoulder holds up.

    Detroit has already lost Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney and Curtis Granderson to injuries.

    I don’t think the Yankees have improved their team at all since being booted by Cleveland. I still think they are going to wish they had bundled IPK and Melky for Santana at the last minute.But the 2008 Yankees sport one of the game’s best lineups and are going to be very competitive.

  50. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Well, like I said, Optimism is contagious. Though I’m firmly delusional.

  51. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    not that big of a deal as a matter of fact almost expected good luck to Robbie and remember you Fantasy League nuts Yunel Escobar & Jair Jurrgens sleepers in the NL ;)

  52. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    From the conversations I’m having files:

    Me: Okay suppose I made you an ultimatum–you either had to write some of my thesis or root for the Yankees for one game–or I would never speak to you again, which would you chose?

    Friend-who’s-a-Red-Sox-fan: Honestly, root for the Yankees.

  53. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    Robi not Robbie I got to stop that …. :?

  54. Yazman

    Maybe I’m a homer, but I’ll take the Yanks lineup over Detroit’s. Not by a lot, but I’m betting we score more runs.

    1. CF Curtis Granderson .295, 125, 22, 60, 35
    2. 2B Placido Polanco .325, 105, 8, 75, 5
    3. RF Magglio Ordonez .310, 115, 25, 135, 3
    4. 3B Miguel Cabrera .320, 100, 30, 135, 5
    5. DH Gary Sheffield .295, 100, 25, 100, 15
    6. 1B Carlos Guillen .295, 100, 15, 105, 10
    7. SS Edgar Renteria .300, 95, 10, 60, 10
    8. LF Jacque Jones .280, 60, 15, 70, 8 (Lower numbers due to platooning with Thames)
    9. C Ivan Rodriguez .290, 55, 10, 60, 2

    From
    http://neorandian.newsvine.com/_news/2008/01/24/1253320-detroit-tigers-lineup-for-2008-season

  55. Yazman

    (the #s are just that guy’s predictions, so fill in your own best guesses)

  56. I make the champagne bottles pop...but the Yankees could do it in October (please, I'm dying here)

    Brandon-
    No, Robbie not Robi

  57. AndrewYF

    Maine is not an exciting pitcher. He doesn’t have blow-you-away stuff, or a bugs-bunny pitch, but he’s a really solid pitcher in an inferior league. I don’t know if he’ll ‘break out’, but he has the ability to be someone like Dan Haren (in the AL), who fits that mold as well. Don’t discount him.

    Boston has not improved from last year. In fact, they’ve gotten worse. Beckett has back problems, Schilling is out for the year, and they have made zero additions to their team. It’s going to bite Theo in the ass when he realizes that Lester is a back-of-the-rotation pitcher and Ellsbury just an overhyped speedster. You never, EVER stand still in this game. But Boston has. After their 1998 season, arguably the best season ever by any team, the Yankees didn’t stand pat. They traded David Wells, who you could argue was the ace of the staff, for Roger Clemens. Worked out beautifully.

    If you’re not trying to constantly improve your team, you’ll fall behind. Boston has fallen behind, and this summer Sox fans are going to be demanding the head of Theo on a platter when they realize his success as a GM has been predicated much more on luck than actual skill.

  58. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    “Brandon-
    No, Robbie not Robi”

    Robinson Cano = Robi

  59. MMF

    This is a good team and the insider are picking it despite the so-so reviews from the press.

    I’m not a gambler, but the Vegas odds on the yanks are a lot different from the projections of what we’ve seen in the press. It looks like Vegas is saying the over under on the yanks is 93.5 wins, just behind the Red Sox at 94.

    Pete’s 87 win projection is about the average for the main stream press. I’ve see a couple at about 85 and some in the low 90’s. I have not seen one above 92.

    I figure that the vegas guys putting big bucks at stake and would have a pretty good idea what is expected of the teams. Maybe someone knows more about this than me, but it appears that the press underrates the yankees based on gut feeling and not hard numbers.

    Any way, what I’m trying to get at is that the optimism and expectations of the fans of this blog are not misplaced. Team is good.

  60. Nick in SF

    Of course I didn’t pay attention to this new thread and posted the following to the last one:

    “Rebecca: let’s just say optimistic, not delusionally so! At least until the Yanks lose a game, which will hopefully not happen until, what, May or June?

    Murphydog: If you like Londonistan, you might also like America Alone by Mark Steyn. It’s very much the same theme, and the book tends to be pretty repetitive as well, but Steyn is a really funny writer. Both books are highly political and controversial so… not for all the Yankee LoHud crew.”

    Regarding the lineup, before anyone gets excited either way about where Cano is and where Giambi, Posada, and Matsui are, let’s keep in mind that this is just the opening day lineup. For all we know (or all I know) this could just be a reflection on Cano’s #’s vs. Halladay. So we’ll see how it shakes out.

    But I suspect that Cano won’t be batting 8th in front of Melky too much, just because bunching up Giambi, Posada, and Matsui together could seriously clog the basepaths. nice to break them up with a little speed while still having some pop, which Cano provides. I can’t wait!

  61. Fran

    Yazman - on ESPN News earlier they were interviewing a newspaper reported from Detriot who said that Sheffield told him “this line-up is the best I’ve ever been in. This line-up can manufacture runs. The Yankees line-ups I was in could not.”

    This Yankee line-up will be able to manufacture runs. I think that they’ll run more with Girardi.

    The big thing is to stay healthy and the Yankees are coming into the season in better shape than they have in the past few years.

    If Hughes and Kennedy come through I think this team will win the division easily.

  62. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    Well, guys, you know what?

    I would always rather be underrated than overrated. That way, when we win, people will actually say “hey that team kicked some serious a–!”

    By the way, Davidson’s up on Kansas. Okay, so the score’s 17-16, but still…

  63. Mike

    Toronto..Opening Day… Let’s hope no shoulders get dislocated. Looking at you, Jeter.

  64. Nick in SF

    Hey MMF, regarding the Vegas odds, for those of you who aren’t familar with how that works, the number is not so much a real projection of how many games Vegas thinks the Yanks will win, but the number they think will attract equal action on both sides, which is what the books want.

    One of the sad realities of sports betting is that you’ll almost always get a lousy, inflated price if you want to bet on the Yankees. Historically, in recent years at least, I think you’d almost always end up with a profit if you bet against the Yanks every game of the season, and that’s with them still winning 90+ games over the year.

  65. I make the champagne bottles pop...but the Yankees could do it in October (please, I'm dying here)

    Brandon-
    Well if you base it on how his name is spelled, then it is Robi. I don’t know but it just looks funny like that.

  66. MMF

    SF– interesting, so it appears to cut both ways — i.e., underrated by the press and overated by vegas!

  67. I make the champagne bottles pop...but the Yankees could do it in October (please, I'm dying here)

    Guys, have we made our predictions yet? I don’t think I caught them.

  68. gargoyle

    Giambi and Matsui should be switched in the order. G is no longer that .430 OBP guy that some think he is. His BA has declined so .precipitously that his OBP will slip under .400.

    I always surprised at the lack of respect Matsui gets. He’s a much more versatile hitter (makes contact, drives in guys from 3rd w/ less than 2 outs, goes the other way) than G is. G is a completely one dimensional hitter these days.

  69. mel

    Sheffield’s still in the league? huh.

  70. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    why are people predicting John Maine to have a Cy Young runner up year ?

    fastball that sits 92 and a questionable slider which he mixed into his rep. last season, I mean is it just me ?

  71. Fran

    Mel - Yeah and trying to get attention as usual.

  72. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Can weather.com and accuweather get together? I mean one says it will stop at 11 and start raining at 5. (accuweather). weather.com says it will rain starting at 11 and the rest of the day.

  73. I make the champagne bottles pop...but the Yankees could do it in October (please, I'm dying here)

    Mike, why’d you have to go there? I was hoping no one would bring that up. The look he had on his face…I don’t ever wanna see that face on his face ever again.

  74. whozat

    “G is no longer that .430 OBP guy that some think he is. His BA has declined so .precipitously that his OBP will slip under .400.”

    His OBP was .413 in 2006, with an avg of .253. I feel pretty confident that, if healthy, he can still be that guy.

    If he’s healthy, he slugs more and gets on more than Matsui. That’s who I want in the five hole.

    This is not to say that Matsui does not ALSO get underrated by many people because he’s not flashy. Matsui is a very good hitter, no doubt. Jason, however, was one of the top ten most useful hitters in the AL in 2006.

  75. hmmm

    “I still think they are going to wish they had bundled IPK and Melky for Santana at the last minute.”

    maybe, except this was never the offer.

    we can keep saying it was, but almost every single source says it was Kennedy and Wang.

  76. Nick in SF

    Well, we won’t find out if the Yanks were underrated or overrated until we get deep into the season, will we? For the 93.5 wins over/under, I would just say it might be a little inflated, as Yankees lines always are. Heck, I would be delighted if the Yanks come right in at that number, I think 93/94 wins probably puts them in the playoffs for sure.

    On paper — that mythical paper — the Yanks lineup looks murderous, but there are so many question marks and cogs that could break down… And we’ve discussed and debated the possible landmines in the rotation and bullpen all winter on this blog. Yikes. But I still want to take the over, I’m too much of a fan!

  77. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    -Guys, have we made our predictions yet? I don’t think I caught them.-

    AL

    East - Yankees
    Central - Indians
    West - Mariners
    WC - Tigers

    NL

    East - Braves
    Central - Reds
    West - DBacks
    WC - Rockies

    yes I decided we can take the division I think the Red Sox have more issues in the rotation and bullpen this season than people would like to admit, yeh you can tell me about Moose I’d throw at you Wakefield w/ no Mirabelli, Pettitte and Wang atleast they will begin the season, no one knows what they will get from Dice K or Lester or Colon. Yeh he’s hitting 96 mph but can be hit. The bullpen ok Corey, Lopez, 41 yr. old Timlin ? I think the battles vs Detroit will effect them and Toronto always has their number. Tampa is also more pesky, plus remember Schilling might return as Clemens did last season soon to be done.

    in the NL I simply believe the Braves pitching depth is better and the battle is more of how the Mets health is not going to help them. I mean just wait till Santana looks up in Philly wondering how a flyball somewhere else is a 3 run shot over there and the Rockies will continue to improve, they’re younger and better in depth. I had a hard time w/ the Wild Card I had Philly right there but unless they aquire a Brian Fuentes or something for that BP I don’t believe they will over take Colorado.

  78. whozat

    “This Yankee line-up will be able to manufacture runs. I think that they’ll run more with Girardi.”

    They’ve BEEN running. 4th in the league in SBs last year. 2nd the year before.

  79. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    whozat give me your AL & NL picks

  80. gayle

    Gargoyle the main purpose as far as I can see for the #5 guy is to protect Arod. At this point in the season and again things can always change the best person to do that is Jason. He is showing signs of the old Jason hitting for power and hittin to all fields. Oh and if you try and pitch around Giambi who is protecting him Cano.

  81. Fran

    whozat - I guess I was wrong about the Yankees being a running team. Thank you for pointing that out.

  82. R a t a c h e w y

    What a pleasant sight this is! Welcome back!

  83. whozat

    “On paper — that mythical paper — the Yanks lineup looks murderous, but there are so many question marks and cogs that could break down”

    Yeah, but there are actual realistic replacement scenarios for a lot of them. Giambi goes down…ok, Matsui, Ensberg and Duncan get some more ABs. Damon goes down…ok, Matsui and Duncan play the field more, or maybe Gardner comes up if he’s tearing up AAA and Melky covers left. Those are the big injury risks in the position player area. The rest of the starting lineup is no more injury prone than that of any other team. Melky turns out to stink…maybe Gardner is pushing up from AAA, or Damon plays more CF again.

  84. Brian (from PA)

    this is not exactly Yankees relevant, but i was just looking at schedules, and the Nats play the Braves in their home opener tonight…but it’s a one game series?? what is with MLB this year and having these whacky series’ just for the sake of a hyped, ESPN covered season opening game? I mean Oakland and Boston play a 4-set between two different countries with over-hyped 3 game exhibition series in between it…now the Nats with a 1-game series to start the season just to be on Sunday night baseball. Why not just start them with the Braves tonight and play a whole series with them to begin the season instead of going to play the Phillies tomorrow? It doesn’t make sense.

  85. whozat

    “whozat - I guess I was wrong about the Yankees being a running team. Thank you for pointing that out.”

    No worries. It’s been the line on the team for years that they don’t run. Sheff may very well be speaking the truth…back when he was in the Yankee lineup every day, they didn’t run much. But over the last two years, that’s changed.

    What really bugs me is when a broadcaster says “oh, the Yankees really don’t steal many bases, they can’t hurt you that way.” Dude…it’s your JOB to know that’s not true. Go look it up!

    Stupid FoxESPN broadcast teams…

  86. gayle

    I feel like when I was a kid and it was the day before school started after the summer. You know you were so excited you started picking out your clothes and laying things out to make sure you had everything you wanted and thought you needed for the day?

    I have already layed out the necessities for tomorrow to make sure I dont forget anything. Camera (check), towel (check), put in camera bag– money (check), credit card (check), drivers license (check), tickets (check), umbrella (check), hat (check).

    This is my first opening day ever at the Stadium and for it to be the last is pretty darn exciting. I am hoping to document my entire season this year as I have a feeling it will be a pretty special year not just for the history thatwill be taking place but I have a feeling about this team not something you can put down to numbers but there seems to be an energy and an urgency from top to bottom.

  87. Nick in SF

    You’re right, whozat, there are lots of plausible parts to move around and plug into any holes that come up, which is why I’m *OpTiMiStIc* for the season. But it would also be, ahem, plausibly realistic for someone to take the under side of that 93.5 wins bet. That was the context of my remarks.

  88. Drive 4-5

    hmmm,

    “I still think they are going to wish they had bundled IPK and Melky for Santana at the last minute.”
    maybe, except this was never the offer. ”

    Not to beat a dead horse, but we werent there and don’t know if it was and we don’t know if it wasn’t. There was a poster who had “inside info” the other night that said the Twins asked the Yanks at the last minute but Cashman was not interested in taking at all (no, not Bobcat! lol).

    In any case, this is the team we’re goin to war with and I believe it’s as good as anybody else’s.

  89. Victor the Predictor

    By the All Star break, Sheffield will want his contract renegoiated or extended citing Detroit’s lack of respect for him.
    He’ll first air his feelings when the Tigers come to the Bronx on April 29 & 30 - May 1 for their only visit to the Stadium.

  90. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    whozat what they really want to say is the Yankees don’t run quick enough, then why the hell don’t they just say it, point is we do run but these sportscaster want to make sure they don’t ruffle feathers. I could care less.

    whozat give me your AL & NL picks

  91. Brian (from PA)

    speaking of documenting the season, one year i tried to create a notebook where i would do a box score for every single game of the season, and take notes of the sorts interesting in-game occurrences that don’t fit into a box score. the idea was that i would have my own quick reference to any given game of the season. honestly, i didn’t even make it to the 7th inning of the first game before i gave up on it, lol.

  92. Yankeestech

    Cashman said only hughes and melky and other minor prospects were on the table. If hughes was out then cano was in.

  93. Yu Con Du Eek

    good that we’re all enjoying this last few hours of optimism…..

  94. Yu Con Du Eek

    …before Reality and Halliday smack us in the face tomorrow.

  95. The Bronx Stop

    I would still love to see Cano in the three spot

  96. Fran

    Gayle - sounds like you have it covered. Have fun tomorrow. I don’t have tickets so I’ll be in front of the TV watching on YES.

  97. Drive 4-5

    gayle,

    Have a blast! Double check the money and credit cards! If there’s a rain delay you may need both lol The weather I see on the ‘net says 60% chance of light showers from 2PM on. Hope theyre wrong and you have a dry,fun day.

  98. Brian (from PA)

    i’m sure the (reasonable) fans aren’t going to write off the entire season and therefore become ‘pessimists’ just because Halladay might to very well tomorrow and we could lose.

  99. whozat

    “whozat give me your AL & NL picks”

    Nah. I don’t really care enough about the NL to generate picks :-)

    As for the AL…there are just so many questions. I think the Yankees and Sox will fight until the end. I think the Yanks will beat the Sox in the season series, like they have for the last several years, but I think they both have an equal shot at the division. The Jays will, I think, be plagued by injury once again and under achieve. Looking at their lineup, they just don’t stack up. And I don’t think their pitching will stay healthy enough to contend. I don’t think 3/5 of the rotation will go on the DL ( ;-) ) but Marcum is a HUGE risk, they lost a key cog from their pen (Janssen?), and I don’t buy that Ryan is a magical healer that will come back from TJ earlier than like anyone else. I think they have some decent starting depth, but that’s not going to cut it when their lineup won’t hang with the titans.

    The Rays will finally start to be interesting, which sucks for the Yankees and Sox. They’re going to be tough. I just hope they’re as tough on the Sox as they’ve been on the Yanks at times. Just wear out the starter and feast on the pen, boys.

    As for the Central…The Tigers pen looks thin as all get out. And several of their regulars look primed to fall back to their career norms. Polanco and Ordonez, particularly. I think that Pudge isn’t going to bounce back, as his inability to take a walk starts to REALLY hurt now that his power is leaving. Verlander is great, though. I don’t see Dontrelle magically becoming awesome again, though he should eat innings.

    That’s all I really feel strongly enough about to bring up :-)

    The Indians are good. Yup. Like Asdrubal and Guttierrez in RF. Their LF seems weak. Pronk will be key, as will the groundballer who beat Pettitte in the bug game. And their pen, too. Was good last year, let’s see if it holds up.

    The Angels pitching woes REALLY change the complexion of that race, too. Could they wind up fighting the A’s for 2nd place? If Harden stays healthy and Escobar never comes back…maybe! At least until Billy trades Harden and Blanton :-)

  100. hmmm

    “Not to beat a dead horse, but we werent there and don’t know”

    of course, but your post made it sound like a certaintly that the Yankees had the chance to get Santana for Melky and IPK. but you’re right, we don’t know. i apologize if i am reading too much into the wording.

    “In any case, this is the team we’re goin to war with and I believe it’s as good as anybody else’s.”

    word. this works for me. go Yankees.

  101. whozat

    Guys, look! A Jays troll!

    sssssh…don’t scare it off…they’re very rare these days.

    Look at his little maple-leaf loincloth! Awwww…

  102. hmmm

    “Dude…it’s your JOB to know that’s not true. Go look it up!”

    just 2 days ago, Pete said on this very blog that Damon wasn’t a good baserunner anymore.

    i guess stealing 27 out of 30 bases just last year doesn’t mean anything.

  103. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    very interesting whozat but if I were to squeeze the NL East would you say Braves or Mets would have the last drop :D

  104. whozat

    “just 2 days ago, Pete said on this very blog that Damon wasn’t a good baserunner anymore.”

    ??

    Was he talking about his instincts on balls in play? Because that wouldn’t be mutually exclusive with the 27/30, I guess.

  105. hmmm

    “…before Reality and Halliday smack us in the face tomorrow.”

    and if they lose tomorrow, so what?

    guess what, the Yankees are going to lose at least 60 times this season.

  106. Brian (from PA)

    i’m not saying we’re a running team as compared to like, the rays or the angels, but weren’t we pretty high up in the AL last year when it comes to stolen bases..? i know bobby, jeter, damon and A-rod each stole at least 20, melky swiped a few too. we’re not a major running team but it’s ignorant to say that the Yankees “can’t” steal bases.

  107. Betsy

    Drive 4-5, the Yankees never had the option of packaging Melky and Kennedy for Santana. It was Hughes/Kennedy or Kennedy/Wang……….and this was after the Yanks stupidly caved on even giving up Hughes. The Yankees made the right call in refusing to be held hostage by Bill Smith.

  108. whozat

    “but if I were to squeeze the NL East would you say Braves or Mets would have the last drop ”

    I really don’t know enough to say. I couldn’t even name the Braves’ rotation! Or outfield!

    I do know this…the Mets are RIFE with injury concerns. They should get Murton or Juan Rivera, but I don’t know if they have enough left in the minors to do so. I hear the Braves’ lineup is dope, too. I’m pretty sure the back of the Mets’ rotation might be a disaster, and I know they don’t have the depth to cover for that, so…that’s an issue :-)

    ‘ts all I got, man :-)

  109. whozat

    “but weren’t we pretty high up in the AL last year when it comes to stolen bases..?”

    Yep. I just posted a bit ago that the Yanks were 4th in the AL last year in SBs and 2nd in 06.

  110. hmmm

    “Was he talking about his instincts on balls in play?”

    not sure, but this is what he said:

    “If you think Cano is above average in terms of speed, you aren’t watching the games. He has 10 steals in his career. That 2.5 years.

    Damon used to be a great base-runner. He isn’t any more.”

  111. Brian (from PA)

    yeah, I thought so. i did notice last year that the people on FOX and ESPN would comment sometime during EVERY yankees game that speed was one of their weaknesses and they weren’t much of a threat to steal. morons.

  112. AndrewYF

    Damon is still a great baserunner. He stole 24 bases last year and got caught 3 times. That is excellent.

    Cano is not particularly fast, and he’s a horrid baserunner. Still, he’d beat Giambi or Posada in a race any day.

  113. CB

    “There was a poster who had “inside info” the other night that said the Twins asked the Yanks at the last minute but Cashman was not interested in taking at all (no, not Bobcat! lol).”

    I believe this poster was Fleas.

  114. whozat

    “Damon used to be a great base-runner. He isn’t any more.”

    Huh.

    Well, he wasn’t so good in 2005 (25/35), and hasn’t approached his 2000 performance of 46/54, but…looking at SBs and SB percentage, he seems to be just as good as ever he was with Boston. Perhaps Pete’s referring to his 1st to 3rd capabilities or overall speed somehow that we can’t really track with the numbers available to us.

  115. whozat

    “I believe this poster was Fleas.”

    Oh. Then we can safely ignore that, if it was about Santana in any way.

  116. Brian (from PA)

    eitherway, i don’t know if there’s any stat for it, but i noticed last year that most of the times the Yankees would steal, it would wind up being fairly insignificant. like, most of the time Abreu would steal 2nd during A-Rod’s AB’s and then A-rod would just walk or homer. Same with Jeter, he’d steal 2nd and Bobby would get a walk. Maybe that sort of occurrence just stood out in my mind but it seemed like that was the case most of the time. if so, then i guess it doesn’t really matter how much they steal, but they are by no means a “weak” running team. they’re not amazing, but they’re definitely an adequate running team.

  117. mel

    Opening Night tonight. We’ve already had Opening Morning. Tomorrow’s Opening Day. Heard Tino say the season doesn’t open until the Yankee opener. haha.

  118. Jeff NJ

    As a Cano fantasy team owner, let me say I love this lineup. But funny thing about Matsui, everyone acts like he is in decline. His numbers are always consistent and with the extra rest this year I think he will be able to be productive much longer, hopefully into late October. This offensive Yankee team is poised to be one of the best in history. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough!

  119. Brian (from PA)

    Tino is absolutely right!

  120. whozat

    “eitherway, i don’t know if there’s any stat for it, but i noticed last year that most of the times the Yankees would steal, it would wind up being fairly insignificant. like, most of the time Abreu would steal 2nd during A-Rod’s AB’s and then A-rod would just walk or homer. Same with Jeter, he’d steal 2nd and Bobby would get a walk. Maybe that sort of occurrence just stood out in my mind but it seemed like that was the case most of the time.”

    I think part of it may be selective remembering (something that’s very normal), but I think part of that just speaks to the overall triviality of base-stealing in American League baseball today. It’s _almost_ bad to steal in front of ARod, because now the pitcher has very little incentive to give him any good pitches to hit.

  121. PittsburghYankeeFan

    I like this team much better than last year. Be prepared for a much better start. I cannot see the Red Sox winning the division this year, given their starting pithcer woes.

  122. whozat

    “But funny thing about Matsui, everyone acts like he is in decline.”

    Not everyone :-)

    I think that him getting slotted in as a mostly-DH does speak to his declining ability to stay healthy while playing the field every day.

  123. PJH

    Hard to believe baseball starts tomorrow

  124. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    “I like this team much better than last year. Be prepared for a much better start. I cannot see the Red Sox winning the division this year, given their starting pithcer woes.”

    we both have those woes only difference is we have more ready depth in minors to cover them.

  125. hmmm

    “Oh. Then we can safely ignore that, if it was about Santana in any way.”

    or really about anything.

  126. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    “Oh. Then we can safely ignore that, if it was about Santana in any way.”

    not trying to out anyone but Fleas did say he would be at Shea cheering for Johan he also a few months ago in the Santana to NY threads had Johan’s own home mapped out on google as strange as that was :?

  127. John

    What excites me the most about this team is the depth, of both position players and pitching…. If someone isn’t performing there is another player waiting to step up.

    completely off topic but…

    Does anyone know where I might find a Yankees ticket EXCHANGE board/website? Google leads me to stubhub and other broker sites, which isn’t really what I’m looking for.

  128. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    My comment to Bob Raismann
    ReL http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2008/03/30/2008-03-30_yes_to_air_the_joe_girardi_show.html?page=0

    Wow. Yeah a 5 minute interview on the phone is so disruptive. And what would amount to a 18 minute show! Jesus how can the man handle that? Grow up!! And while you’re at it cut the Fu
    Manchu.

    Yeah I know a little childish. I couldn’t help myself.

  129. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Jeff, He’s on my team too!!

  130. Brian (from PA)

    it seems that everyone i know who has a fantasy team has Cano…weird. I took a pass on fantasy baseball this year. i have always had bad luck with it.

  131. Andrea

    unrelated: anyone have any idea how far in advance one would need to book stadium tours?

  132. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Andrea, I would book now. Tours are booking fast, there are lots of black out dates. i.e. Pope coming, All Star Game etc.

  133. Fran

    Andrea - It depends on the date. I booked it two days before I went. You can check availability on the Yankees website. FYI - If the Yanks are home you can’t go in the locker room.

  134. Fran

    I was watching the local news on Channel 4. They were at the stadium interviewing some of the players today. They spoke to Alex, Derek, Joba, Johnny and played an excerpt of Wang’s press conference. The players seem as excited about opening day as we are.

  135. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    I saw that too!! I cannot wait!! I’ll be listening at work! To everyone who is going tomorrow!! Have fun!!

  136. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    seriously the day Bob Raisman comes up w/ a good baseball point is the day …..HOLY CRAP !! STEPHON CURRY JUST HIT A 3 8O

    anyway yeh I doubt Raisman makes good baseball points he’s a food critic of baseball w/ no true side.

  137. Andrea

    I want to book now, but I’m thinking of taking my friends visiting from France, but they haven’t told me when they’re actually coming, so booking the tour is making that tough!

  138. Fran

    Jennifer - are you going to TiVo/DVR the pre-game show so you can watch the opening day ceremonies when you get home? (It’s not the same on radio.)

  139. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    ohhhh boy we got a DANDY finish w/ DAVIDSON and KANSAS, CURRY made it a game it’s a 2 point lead for Kansas w/ 16 secs no timeout left for Davidson they have the ball.

  140. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    why did he pass it wow…. Davidson is slayed

  141. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    I am dvr’ing everything! I don’t know how much I’ll get done tomorrow! :lol: SHHH

  142. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Is the Yankee Welcome Home dinner tonight?

  143. Doreen

    Brandon

    Curry was covered.

  144. Rishi

    the welcome home dinner is tonight - I was at the sheraton on 53rd and 7th and it was on their agenda for the day…set up was 9-5 and the dinner was after that

  145. Rishi

    and that Kansas game was crazy - I wanted Davidson to lose so that was good :) but too much stress to get there!!

  146. MikeEff- Shelley ,Every Day

    have you guys heard about laptops miserable performance against joe torre’s dodgers?

    IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
    Buchholz (L, 1-3) 3.0 5 5 4 3 5 0 10.03

  147. Joe

    I’m going to play Devils Advocate here. I understand this is a Yankees forum, and also understand there are LOTS of homers here. The Yankees DO have a very good line up. Understand, though, the Yankees have as many questions as the teams they are competing with.

    Starting Pitching-
    Pettite- I think the concerns here are well known…injury concerns as well as the chance he might not handle steroid talk well, especially if he starts slow.

    Wang- Wang takes alot of heat, but I think he is the one KNOWN commodity here. Injuries or ineffectiveness can happen with anyone, but he is the best bet to eat innings and be the constant

    Mussina- Not sure how this will go over with Yankee homer’s…but the concern here is, “Is he even any good?” This is a pitcher who has never won 20 games and has not had a 200 inning season since 2003. He has made a career on consistency and command, but with the consistency slipping, his value should not be TOO inflated.

    Hughes- Hughes has the draft slot, minor leage stats and non-stop hype to live up to. His minor league numbers are terrific, with command complimenting his “dominance” indicators (very low hits allowed, high K numbers). He could be the X factor, but with his innings being monitored and a possible trip to the pen late in the season, how vaulable will he be over 162 games?

    Kennedy- First a huge clarification…there are no performance indicators to show that IPK has the uncanny command that fans tout. In 149 minor league innings (a concern in itself) he has issued 52 walks. In very limited big league time, he has not improved upon these numbers and, in fact, has taken an even further step back. He was no better this spring. While his bb/9 are not TERRIBLE, his calling card, command, has been overstated. His dominance stats in the minors are great, and he may win 20 games this year, but the command is not at the level talked about. Being a finesse righty, allowing free base runners will not do you a whole lot of good. Just something to watch out for.

    I’m sure most people have already read/heard about teams success (or lack thereof) when employing two starting pitchers as young and inexperienced as Phil and IPK. They may very well buck the trend, but it can’t be ignored.

    BULLPEN-

    Rivera and Hawkins are known commoditites who should contribute valuable innings. Hawkins has been much better as a reliever in his career than he gets credit for. Rivera…well, you know already.
    After these two, there are more question marks than an episode of Batman starring the Riddler.

    Joba- Great year, still has a grand total of 24 big league innings. There have been MANY one hit wonders over the years, how will he respond to his successful debut? How will he respond to not having a clearly defined role to start the year? Maybe things work out perfectly, but this is still at the very least a question.

    Farnsworth- I have read enough on this blog to know I can’t add anything you don’t already know.

    Albaladejo- He spent parts of 6 seasons bouncing between rookie ball and A ball, finally getting to AA at age 24. Put together a pretty good year in the minors last year before having a VERY good 14 innings in the Majors last year. The problem? It’s only 14 innings, and he has no track record to show anything other than being an ok MLB pitcher.

    Ohlendorf- This is a much bigger question mark than people think. He has had decent, but not great numbers in the minors. He has big time velocity, yet his dominance numbers are not what his radar gun readings would suggest. He has given up well over a hit per inning while striking out well under one per inning. His command is underrated, though, and this is MUCH needed in the bullpen because….

    Bruney- What is more amazing, his 9 walks/9 as a MLB’er or the fact that this is actually BETTER than his minor league totals of almost 10 bb/9? Why is he on this roster? He WILL cost this team at least one win because of his lack of control. Losing 20 pounds and ONLY walking 3 in 9 innings is no reason to give him a roster spot when a guy like Patterson, or even Britton was right there for the taking. Huge mistake, no way to sugarcoat this one.

  148. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    :cry: I wish I could go one of these days!

  149. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    Doreen Richards isn’t hitting that shot Curry should have taken it, he brought them back he had the hot hand he stop his dribble and it happens but he should have been the last hand that ball was in.

    I still see him being a good pro but he needs to tune his game more, though it still was an awesome NCAA trip for Davidson

  150. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    MikeE I didn’t realize laptop pitched yesterday, interesting move by Torre putting Andrew Jones to cover 2B last night ;)

  151. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Hey for those on cbssports line fantasy team. There is a chat room.

  152. mel

    Doreen,

    It pissed me off when the commentator said, “I don’t know why Curry passed it up”.

    But in reality, he should’ve passed it up when his teammate’s defender fell down earlier in the play.

  153. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    WHOA!!

    http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080330&content_id=2466601&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

    O’s cut Gibbons he is still owed 12 million!!

  154. Jax

    Did anyone see the Nationals club-house on Baseball Tonight? That’s a great looking club-house.

  155. mel

    Joe,

    I’m sure you had a lot of good analysis in that post. I just couldn’t read anything past your post about Pettitte.

  156. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    So this is going to be a very boring final four.

  157. gayle

    More on the #21 going back to storage no mention of Hawkins using it. Based on Ensberg’s reaction I am sure he told Hawkins not a good idea

    http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080330&content_id=2466852&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

  158. mel

    Rebecca,

    I hope you chose UCLA to win it all. You did right?

  159. Nick in SF

    Has there ever been a Final Four with all #1 seeds? Yawn. At least they’ll all be relatively evenly matched games. On, you know, paper.

  160. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    so George Bush throws the 1st pitch no offense but someone post me when the 1st pitch by a National is about to be thrown. :D

  161. Joe

    Mel,

    no, you didn’t miss anything. i actually blacked out like will ferrell in Old School right before hi gives the Debate Club speech…i dont even know what i just wrote? something about bruney having food withdrawls and eating Phil Hughes on accident after walking in the winning run.

  162. Nick in SF

    Brandon, that’s highly offensive.

  163. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    mel: I had pitt.

  164. Doreen

    Mel,

    I’m no expert. According to hubby though, it came down to Curry trying to take an inhuman shot versus a teammate taking a try at a more make-able one.

    Jax,

    I had totally forgotten that the Nationals play in a new stadium this year.

  165. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    “The feedback from the fans was, ‘That’s not your number.’ It was unbelievable,” Ensberg said. “The gist of it was that it was Paulie’s number, and I understood.”

  166. Blargh

    If the predictions about Maine were made recently, then they may have been based off his really good spring
    29.1 IP, 5 earned runs for an ERA of 1.53, only 20 hits + 5 walks (so WHIP of ~0.852), 33 K’s
    His last tuneup was yesterday; 4 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 5 K’s, no walks

    I’m in the camp that spring means just about nothing, but I wouldn’t mind him doing well in the NL….after all, he’s my fantasy team’s #3 starter :)

  167. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    :D
    “It represents more than a number to a lot of people. I certainly don’t want to step in that.”

  168. mel

    Dodgers beat Sox:

    Buchholz (L, 1-3) 3.0 5 5 4 3 5 0 10.03

  169. Jax

    These new ballparks are getting smaller and smaller. New Nationals park holds only 34,000.

  170. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Interesting clubhouse tidbit we picked up from Mike Mussina last night. Apparently, the biggest difference Moose has noticed between Joe Torre and Joe Girardi is that the new skipper is a chatty fellow. Where Torre pretty much left his starting pitcher alone during games unless he perceived a problem, Girardi (to Mussina’s surprise) likes to talk to him during games he’s pitching.

    “Sometimes he’s talking like a manager, and sometimes he’s talking like a catcher,” Mussina said.

    Girardi said he enjoys the interplay, especially with a player as intelligent and circumspect as Mussina.

    “I believe the way you learn and the way you teach is by
    communicating,” Girardi said. “Mike Mussina has an abundance of knowledge. When I was bench coach here I liked to pick his brain.”

    “That can be good and bad,” Mussina said of the in-game
    chitchat. “There are certain situations where you might want to let a guy just work his way out of it. But I think he (Girardi) is good for this group. If he can give us a little kick of momentum or incentive to do things a little differently, that could be a big help.”

    Phranchise, plus a little inside Girardi nugget
    Posted by Dan Graziano
    March 29, 2008 7:49PM

  171. J-Dawg--Veintisiete en '08, Chasing Greatness!

    There’s plenty of excitement for me with opening day for the Yankees tomorrow and the Final Four on Saturday. Memphis is in it for the first time since ‘85! I feel great!!

    P.S. I can’t believe that Davidson used a timeout to draw up that horrible last play. It was disjointed and awful, why not have Jason Richards create something for Curry?

  172. mel

    (Fake) Joe,

    lol. That was good. Made me hungry, tho

  173. Doreen

    Jennifer –

    I read Graziano’s post. Wasn’t that neat?

  174. Yankeestech

    It looks like Buchholz has an average fastball in the 90-92 mph range. If he wants to survive in this league he better have his curveball and change up working.

  175. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    I love reading about some of the things that go on in the clubhouse!!

  176. Doreen

    Jennifer –

    Especially since we’ve been hearing for years how “cold” and “corporate” the Yankees are. Apparently, not so much.

    I like the Ensberg story, regarding Paulie’s number, too. And I agree, Hawkins must have been filled in.

  177. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    Chad Jennings

    Action Jackson and Jose Tabata will start out in Trenton
    Abraham Almonte starts in Charleston as will Jesus and Carmen Angelini more suprises in that link.

  178. Joe

    it’s actually the real Joe, i just used up what little formal typing i can stand in the long winded post.

    basically, two young starters to compliment farnsworth, an unknown (albie), an unknown with power stuff and unpower-like numbers (ohlendorf) and an absolutely dreadful BP arm with no right being there (Bruney) carry lots of question marks…question marks i dont think a lot of yankees fans want to ask/answer.

  179. mel

    Yankeestech,

    Must just be dead arm period, because from what I’ve heard Buchholz has like 12 plus pitches that rate an 80, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

  180. MikeEff- Shelley ,Every Day

    brandon, that was NOT offensive to me…i feel the same way about that criminal.
    i’ll let you know when the game has begun

  181. Drive 4-5

    I wish we were opening against Boston. I want a piece of DiceMat, Lester & Bucholz so bad I can taste it LOL

  182. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    http://www.nypost.com/seven/03302008/sports/yankees/serbys_sunday_qa_with____bobby_murcer_104255.htm

  183. Brandon (supporting the new movement "Alex being Alex")

    Chad Jennings just put up the minor league rosters

    Action Jackson and Jose Tabata will start in AA Trenton :)

    Tampa noticeables
    Ryan Pope P
    Mitch Hilligoss 3B,
    Mark Melancon P
    Seth Fortenberry OF
    Josue Calzado OF
    J.B. Cox P

    Charleston noticeables

    Jairo Heredia SP
    Justin Snyder, 2B/UT
    Carmen Angelini, SS
    Brad Suttle, 3B/1B
    Zach McAllister SP
    Wady Rufino, OF/1B
    Austin Krum, OF
    Taylor Holiday, OF
    Dellin Betances P
    Abe Almonte, OF
    Noel Castillo P
    Austin Romine, C
    Lance Pendelton P
    Jesus Montero, C
    Jonathon Ortiz P

  184. Baja

    I’m so excited, I could pee!

  185. mel

    mlb.com telling me to click to watch the first game, but when I log in, it tells me I’m blacked out. Did that happen to anyone else?

  186. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    MikeEff: For the love of all that’s holy, tell me he got booed?

  187. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    mel, maybe cause it is on tv?

    I was just going to post over under 15 times how many times the soxs will be mentioned. Well we are already at 3.

  188. Joe

    Say what you want about Buchholz only throwing 92…but being objective here, he has REDICULOUS minor league dominance indicators as well as a MLB no hitter under his belt. If we are going to buy into the Phil Hughes hype, we gotta give him a little credit, don’t we?

  189. McLovin

    Charleston is gonna be nasty next year.But like Trenton last year a lot of people will get promoted by the end of the year.

  190. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Joe - NO

  191. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Did you ever imagine a voice like that would come out!! :lol:

  192. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    HOLY. I did not expect that voice to come from that woman.

  193. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    What is up with the Braves uniforms?!

  194. Doreen

    Rebecca -

    Me too!

    Man, I’m a singer, you are NOT supposed to hear someone, especially professional, take such deep breaths!

  195. Nick in SF

    She might be an great opera singer, but she’s no Robert Merrill.

  196. Drive 4-5

    Joe,

    Bucholz was shut down in September last year because of his shoulder. He’s been terrible all Spring. He does come with a bit of a resume, but he is ripe for picking right now.

  197. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    F the O’s fans messing with the National anthem. I was sicken the first time I went to Camden and they did that during the Anthem.

  198. Rebecca--Optimist Prime--Mission 2708

    I love the boos. I am reveling.

  199. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    Lots of Boos for GW! LOTS!!

  200. MikeEff- Shelley ,Every Day

    lots of boos!!!!!!!!!!!!

  201. Jax

    HA some fans booing Bush.

  202. MikeEff- Shelley ,Every Day

    that MADE my night!!

    now Lets Play Ball!

  203. jennifer-Phil Hughes saved!! Mussina is NOT DONE! anti-anti

    He was thrown off his game, didn’t throw a strike. Man he looked ticked!!

  204. Doreen

    Rebecca -

    I’m no fan of Bush, but I cringed when I heard the booing. :(

  205. Nick in SF

    Love him or hate him, he did throw out the greatest opening pitch of all time. Not that one. That one wasn’t one of his finer efforts.

  206. MikeEff- Shelley ,Every Day

    Brandon, it’s safe to come out now….

  207. Elizabeth--Melky in CF 08 and beyond

    I CACKLED at the boos. I was booing along at home :)

  208. J-Dawg--Veintisiete en '08, Chasing Greatness!

    I had to turn the channel before Denise Graves got to the really HIGH part of the National Anthem. The windows of my house would have shattered!

  209. Elizabeth--Melky in CF 08 and beyond

    Doreen–I’m a singer, too. She didn’t sound right. Her technique was way off.

  210. MikeEff- Shelley ,Every Day

    vox populi Doreen nothing more, nothing less.

  211. Drive 4-5

    That guy who threw out the first pitch…is his first name Lou or were those booooos?LOL

  212. Nick in SF