Wrapping up the day in Tampa
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- March
- 9
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Two good things happened today: Andy Pettitte got it cranked up and Mariano Rivera looked like Mariano Rivera in the bullpen.
“It was good to get out there and get it cranked up a little bit. It’s been a long spring already,” said Pettitte, who allowed one hit, struck our two and walked one. “Now we’ll get going and try and get everything where we need to be.”
Meanwhile Eric Hacker and Wilkin De La Rosa were sent to the minor league camp.
Jorge Posada remains on track for catching on March 15.
Chien-Ming Wang had the flu and went home early yesterday. But he did his work today and throw his bullpen tomorrow.
Joe Girardi said he was “amazed” that A-Rod would be on a stationary bike the same day as his surgery. “It makes me feel that 6-9 weeks is doable,” he said.
Prediction: It’ll be a lot closer to six weeks than nine. A-Rod will get after his rehab.
————
CC Sabathia and Nick Swisher have Twitter accounts and have been posting occasional updates about spring training.
You can find Swisher at NickSwisher and Sabathia at CC_Sabathia.
But to be accurate, neither guy is doing the actual Twittering. They send text messages to their marketing rep, who sanitizes the Twitter posts for their protection
Both of those guys also have web sites:
There’s CCSabathia52.com and Nick Swisher.net.
————
My boy Mark Feinsand of the News had a great blog item today about the pitchers having some Joe Girardi-approved fun.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Kennedy has never been that good he is a guy who needs to hit the corners just to get by. We should have traded him while he still had value. The Yankees knew that his ceiling was very low but they wanted to think he was Greg Maddux II.
For some reason, I just have a feeling that Swisher is going to have a huge year for us.
auh Pete why’d you have to burst my bubble. I thought it was them.
something nice to say about Al?
I too believe he will work hard to get back soon, however it will be up to Joe G to make sure he doesnt come back too soon and reinjure himself like the groin last year.
Thats really lame. Shaq and Nash aren’t afraid to Twitter by themselves. Shaq even tells fans to “come touch [him].”
Let Swish tweet freely!
Thanks, Pete!
Lots of good news today – I just continue to cross my fingers with Jorge and Mo, but at least things are progressing nicely. Poor Wang – I guess most of our starting rotation has had the flu now, so is Andy next, lol?
All Alex needs to do is picture the media in front of him when he’s doing his rehab and he’ll likely be back in a week, lol.
Joe talking now about AJ – says the ball came out of his hand great. Apparently, Jose Molina’s first word out of his mouth when Joe asked about AJ was “wow!”……LOL. Per Joe (he’s on WFAN with Mike), Phil has pitched better than he did last year…..
From prior thread: GB and Kernal – good points. Of course, CC and AJ are buddies, so they could tag team with Joba and Phil, lol. I only thought AJ/Phil because of the power curve that Phil is trying to learn……
I’m not giving up on Kennedy as a major league pitcher, but he has a lot still to learn even though he was supposed to be the most polished of the 3 kid pitchers. He’s also the least talented, which explains a lot.
Aside from Kennedy, how’d the other guys look? Albadladejo? Robertson? Veras?
I wish the bottom of our lineups didn’t suck so badly, lol. Look at the 7th, 8th and 9th hitters that we fielded today – ugh. Therefore, we can’t judge this team for not hitting – not when we’ve got those guys bringing up the rear and Cano and Jeter not in the lineup
Like the fact Girardi is lightening up. Alex on a bike the day of surgery? Aint modern medicine something? Six weeks from today is Monday, April 20th. It’s the start of three games with Oakland before a trip to Boston and Detroit. I’m betting he at least make a pinch hit appearance in that Oakland series.
Girardi approved fun? Is he getting soft in his old age?
Goose Gossage observed the tournament, prompting my colleague John Harper to ask him if Billy Martin ever set up such an event when Goose played for the Bombers.
“Nope,” Gossage said. “We went to the bar.”
LMAO priceless.
Most improved personality = Joe Girardi
I think he’s benefitting from this youthful resurgence as much as anybody.
I’m assuming you put along the basepath and a hole in one is hitting the bag?
They better not screw up one play where a pitcher covers first base or this article will cited!
Love that AJ came up with such a cool idea for the pitchers to have fun and get their work in – and also that Joe approved it….
Cano, Nady and Gardner are 7-8-9… that isnt a terrible bottom 3.
Yes, I think Al will be back sooner rather than later.
(I hate the nickname A-rod)
Feel better Wang. Pesky flu.
Thanks Pete
Justin March 9th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Thats really lame. Shaq and Nash aren’t afraid to Twitter by themselves. Shaq even tells fans to “come touch [him].”
Let Swish tweet freely!
uhm… shaq is 7′1″, 325lbs. I don’t think he has much to fear…
“Aside from Kennedy, how’d the other guys look? Albadladejo? Robertson? Veras?”
Jackson, Albadladejo, Robertson -
great great great
I don’t know what we’d do without Saucy, who is the official “new thread” announcer!
aww man.. all these weeks i thought i was actually talking to nick..
That’s not the bottom three until Alex returns. Until then Ransom (or a new acquisition) will take one of those slots.
If there’s no move I would try Cano at # 3 first.
7 Damon
6 Jeter
4 Cano
3 Teixiera
2 Posada
DH Matsui
9 Swish/Nady
5 Ransom
8 Gardner
That’s against RHP. Against LHP I’d DH either Nady or Posada
Betsy
March 9th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
From prior thread: GB and Kernal – good points. Of course, CC and AJ are buddies, so they could tag team with Joba and Phil, lol. I only thought AJ/Phil because of the power curve that Phil is trying to learn……
I’m not giving up on Kennedy as a major league pitcher, but he has a lot still to learn even though he was supposed to be the most polished of the 3 kid pitchers. He’s also the least talented, which explains a lot.
Aside from Kennedy, how’d the other guys look? Albadladejo? Robertson? Veras?
I wish the bottom of our lineups didn’t suck so badly, lol. Look at the 7th, 8th and 9th hitters that we fielded today – ugh. Therefore, we can’t judge this team for not hitting – not when we’ve got those guys bringing up the rear and Cano and Jeter not in the lineup
——————————————————————————————
The only kind of tattoo I can ever picture Hughes getting is the kind that you get on paper, wet and stick on….so he can fit in. Then he rushes home and washes it off before his parents see it.
Sometimes Betsy, as they say, you have to tip your hat to the other team. Toronto isn’t exactly hurting when it comes to pitching. So should we villify the bottom of our lineup every time they don’t hit? Berroa, by the way (#7 in the lineup today) is hitting 500. Leone and Pena probably aren’t going to be getting too much time in the majors. Both guys in the 7 spot got hits. Nobody else out of the 1-2-3 got hits today.
I haven’t looked at every lineup for all of ST, to check out the 7-8-9 holes, but I’m guessing we’ve had days when they did well also. Bottom line though is that a lot of these lineups, especially the bottom 3, probably won’t be playing in the Bronx. It doesn’t mean they won’t do well down below.
Just sayin.
m
March 9th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Yes, I think Al will be back sooner rather than later.
(I hate the nickname A-rod)
————————————————————
Blame that idiot announcer in the Northwest (Dave Neihouse) for starting that “?-Rod” craze. Only Hawk and DJ, The “RemDog” and Rex Hudler are worse.
Robertson and Veras have the inside tracks to the pen. Ditto Coke.
A lot can change in 4 weeks but thats how it is shaping up.
Why are so many fans in love with the idea of Cano hitting third? He is not suited to hit there at all. Abreu worked out very well there because he has a huge OBP and walked a lot.
Most of Cano’s OBP comes from hits which means he is making a lot of contact. That is perfect for a fifth place hitter so he has more opportunities to drive in runs. Unfortunately for him, Posada and Matsui (and perhaps Swisher) are still better hitters and should be ahead of him.
“But to be accurate, neither guy is doing the actual Twittering. They send text messages to their marketing rep, who sanitizes the Twitter posts for their protection”
Nice Pete – next you’ll be spilling the beans on Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
When people say “Al”, I keep thinking they are referring to Al from Burger King, not A-Rod.
Probably a few years ago, they’d have Alex laying on his back for a week. Now they know it is better to get blood flowing into the area quickly.
“Prediction: It’ll be a lot closer to six weeks than nine. A-Rod will get after his rehab.”
I doubt it. A-Rod will return in mid May. Goes back to the DL. Then have season ending surgery.
Like Cashman, I’m slightly pessimistic.
Pessimism is a healthy (and the best) state of mind. Try it out.
Just move everyone up a spot from 4 on
Damon
Jeter
Teixeria
Matsui
Posada
Cano
Nady (I’m assuming Joe goes with him)
Ransom
Gardner
“I don’t know what we’d do without Saucy, who is the official “new thread” announcer!”
___ ___ ___
lol – i lurk a lot more than you all think…
Esteban German becomes a free agent. Will the Yanks bite? hmm..
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....erman.html
Big mistake. accidently turned on “Around The Horn” and the first picture I was was Woody Paige. I thought Rodney Dangerfield had come back from the grave. Even worse was the resurection of Jackie Mason, in the form of Jay Mariotti.
I’m hardly an Ian Kennedy fan, but in fairnes to him he should be allowed to get his work in just like everybody else. Spring Training numbers are meaningless.Let’s see how he fairs in Scranton again before writing him off.
Somebody tell Bob Ryan to get a little more tanning lotion around his eyes. The idiot looks like a sunburned raccoon.
“lol – i lurk a lot more than you all think…”
LOL, i actually agree with that.
Heres wishing we have rain everyday in April, so we can start the season in May.
saucY
March 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
“I don’t know what we’d do without Saucy, who is the official “new thread” announcer!”
_ _ _
lol – i lurk a lot more than you all think…
————————————————————
That sounds suspiciously like Serena Roberts lurking in the bushes with her note pad and box of dog biscuits.
– It’s early, sure, but Girardi says that he wants to see something better tomorrow night from Joba Chamberlain. “We need him throwing strikes,” he said.
http://bombersbeat.mlblogs.com/
Ed,
I dont believe German an improvement over Ransom. German’s offensive numbers have decreased the last 3 years consecutively and his 3rd base fielding % is only .933 (15 errors in 93 games).
yes GreenBeret7, i am writing a book as well on the non-baseball activities of lohud yankee blog commenters… ‘lohud: BABOOP (batting average on balls out of play)’
“That sounds suspiciously like Serena Roberts lurking in the bushes with her note pad and box of dog biscuits.”
I love it GB lol
Keep Tex hitting third because he’s a better all around hitter than Cano.
Matsui can hit 4th and Posada 5th. This way, you break up the switch hitters.
You have Cano hit sixth, followed by Nady/Swisher, Ransom (or whomever they get to play third), and Gardner/Cabrera.
Cano is not a #3 hitter in any lineup because he isn’t patient enough to see many pitches.
SJ44
March 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Keep Tex hitting third because he’s a better all around hitter than Cano.
Matsui can hit 4th and Posada 5th. This way, you break up the switch hitters.
You have Cano hit sixth, followed by Nady/Swisher, Ransom (or whomever they get to play third), and Gardner/Cabrera.
Cano is not a #3 hitter in any lineup because he isn’t patient enough to see many pitches.
————————————————————
Without Rodriguez, 6th is the perfect spot for Cano, and with Rodriguez and the normal lineup, 7th. He adds length to the bottom third of the order.
“Most improved personality = Joe Girardi”
bullsh*t
I watched/listened to every Girardi interview last year. He is the exact same. Which is a postive.
look forward to the Yankees/Girardi doing well. And the Don Mattingly talk to go by the wayside
Pudge had only 3 RBIs last year in 33 games for us? Wow
Drive 4-5
March 9th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
“That sounds suspiciously like Serena Roberts lurking in the bushes with her note pad and box of dog biscuits.”
I love it GB lol
————————————————————
That’s how I meant that…as a joke. Every time I see somebody write “I was just lurking”, I think about that “person” hiding in the bushes with a stethiscope trying to listen for voices in the walls.
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Ransom 3B
Gardner CF
When A-rod is back, put him at cleanup and keep the rest the same.
Drive,
you are right. to be honest, I rather have Leone to be utility player since he could play all over the field while Ransom is filling in 3rd.
Francesa just said he never saw Joba dominant as a starter. Is he just saying that to get callers?
With # 13 out, just move everyone a slot….Matsui is going to come up big this season….He’s not crippled folks, the proceedures on his knees were more in the nature of a cleaning…He’s going to have a uotstanding season……
“Only Hawk and DJ, The “RemDog” and Rex Hudler are worse”
have to admit. You’re 3 for 3. All terrible
give me: Bob Uecker, Bob Costas, Vin Scully. Believe or not, the Tampa Bay Rays announcers never bothered me either. Joe McGrain is funny
OYE!! My head hurts. Mike F is talking about Joba to the pen again!! Said we’ve never seen Joba dominate as a starter. So someone calls in asks him if missed the July game against the soxs. Than he says well he hasn’t done it for a stretch of time.
Someone call up and tell that moron that Joba was always a starter!!
If Gardner continues his offensive power tear. I say we just slide him in at the #4 and let the long balls begin. He will have us saying Alex who?
So im watching some WBC games and the two hitters that keep catching my eye is Abreu and especially Dunn. They seem to be in mid season form already. I wonder if we should have retained one of the two?
Bottom line: Francesa needs someone on the show to call him on his BS.
My vote: SJ44.
vinny-b __NYY fan and WBC promoter__
March 9th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
“Only Hawk and DJ, The “RemDog” and Rex Hudler are worse”
have to admit. You’re 3 for 3. All terrible
give me: Bob Uecker, Bob Costas, Vin Scully. Believe or not, the Tampa Bay Rays announcers never bothered me either. Joe McGrain is funny
————————————————————
I’ll take Uecker and Costas any time. Never cared for Sculley, though. Loved to listen to Bill White, Rizzuto and Messer back in the day, along with Ernie Harwell, Joe Nuxall. Barber and allen were the best, though.
LOL. Girardi clamping down on Joba.
“My head hurts. Mike F is talking about Joba to the pen again”
to label Mike Francessa retarded, would be an insult to mentally retarded people. Seriously.
“Loved to listen to Bill White, Rizzuto and Messer back in the day, along with Ernie Harwell, Joe Nuxall. Barber and allen were the best, though”
kewl. Missed out on some of those. Would have like to have heard Barber. He is not a baseball guy, but really liked when Howard Cosell did Monday Night Baseball. Find myself watching any of the YES Classic replays, featuring him. He could set the stage.
“Barber and allen were the best, though”
*This Week In Baseball* with Mel Allen, was gold.
JoeyA,
Nah, I’ve done it enough when I’ve seen him. I’m not shy! lol
Its the dangers of having to host a show alone for 5 1/2 hours a day. Nobody, not even Francesa, can keep an audience entertained and interested for that long.
That’s the thing about he and Russo. Together, they were good for a long time. The last 3 years, the show got stale, their egos really got out of joint, and the show jumped the shark.
However, even in its the show’s diminished state, they were much better together than they are apart.
In the times I’ve listened to Mad Dog’s Show on Sirius/XM, while he can be funny at times, he misses Mike. The show’s chemistry isn’t the same.
Mike, alhtough he will never admit it because his ego is too large, REALLY misses Chris. Its an unlistenable show for the most part these days.
“to label Mike Francessa retarded, would be an insult to mentally retarded people. Seriously.”
Iv never heard Francessa on the radio before. But i havnt heard anyone compliment the guy. Not once. So my question is why do you guys even listen to him? Isnt there any other sports station with someone more knowledgable to listen to?
I spend much more time listening to Kay than I do Francessa or Russo solo.
“Prediction: It’ll be a lot closer to six weeks than nine. A-Rod will get after his rehab.”
You could be right Pete. However, I can’t help hoping that Selena Roberts book comes out while he’s on the DL.
Doubtless Selena’s found new stuff about A-Rod in the book that will be a further embarrassment for the Yankees. Doubtless it will be a further distraction.
At least we have a month of peace and tranquility until the circus comes back to town.
“So my question is why do you guys even listen to him? Isnt there any other sports station with someone more knowledgable to listen to?”
very fair question. On my days off (when at home) i listen to him, cuz he is on YES (TV).
need to listen to Michael Kay, instead. YES should drop Francessa, and pick-up Kay’s show instead. Actually, Francessa’s show would be a better fit for SNY.
Still 4 weeks until Opening day.
Man this Spring Training is a drag…
SNY or SNL?
Just got back from the game, something I love about this years team… Yesterday swish and nady who are fighting for a job were shagging balls and then both trying to throw it over the fence into a trash can got to love that
Bill White is a fine man, but did you ever hear his call of the Bucky Dent HR at Fenway? They guy was the most surprised person in the building!
My putting Cano in the “3″ spot is all about potential. Other than Tex he’s the most talented offensive player that could be considered for the spot and tucking him in between Jeter and Tex should give him some great pitches to hit. The other suggestions are safer, but so what? Why not aim for the best possible result. If everyone in the lineup has a “good” year, Cano will have the highest batting average. Isn’t that what you want behind Damon and Jeter?
Pessimism might be healthy, but it makes for lousy sports fans, lousy spouses and ever worse drinking buddies. I always expect the best and prepare for the worst which I would call optimistic pragmatism. It’s a much better way to go. Try it!
So my question is why do you guys even listen to him?
==========================================
I usually listen to laugh at him. The man really is in his own little world. Plus I like to stay in the know with who he is fighting with. You just have to laugh.
But I do listen to Kay more and more now
Francessa’s ratings are still strong though… thats why YES gave him a 5 yr extension and outbid MSG this past fall for his services. He eats up a large block of time in the afternoon and his ratings far outperform SNY in that timespan.
Neil Best wrote an article about how his 5:00-6:30 block of his show (usually the worst part as the show drags to the end) gets better ratings than the SNY sports debate shows. I was shocked when I read that.
vinny-b __NYY fan and WBC promoter__
March 9th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
“Loved to listen to Bill White, Rizzuto and Messer back in the day, along with Ernie Harwell, Joe Nuxall. Barber and allen were the best, though”
kewl. Missed out on some of those. Would have like to have heard Barber. He is not a baseball guy, but really liked when Howard Cosell did Monday Night Baseball. Find myself watching any of the YES Classic replays, featuring him. He could set the stage.
————————————————————
Barber and Allen are on the old Yankee WS games from the ’50s that are shown on the classics. They do TV like they did radio. Mel Allen wore his hats and both told their stories. Ernie Harwell was amazing and still does a few games for the Tigers. Interesting guy. Writes books, poetry and has more than 1,000 songs published, including “Move Over, Babe, Here Comes Henry”. He was once traded for a couple of players (as an announcer). Loved Dizzy Dean and PeeWee Reese.
86w183 -
I’m right with you on the optimistic pragmatism – or pragmatic optimism – whichever!
It’s a pretty good life philosophy.
vinny,
All i can say is at least you guys get to listen to Yankee talk. Not much here in So Cal. I guess Kay is better on his talk show then on his play by plays trying to figure out what the next nickname going to come out of his mouth. Couldnt stand the generation trey. It was like he was force feeding it to us.
“SNY or SNL?”
good one, Mark. SNL
Cano seems to me to be a no. 5 hitter when he reaches his full potential. He has the dangerous bat to protect those in front of him, and when the first four hitters are doing their thing and getting on base, Cano’s lack of patience won’t be as much of a factor because the pitcher will have to give him something to hit.
Francesa has built up a large following and an incredible amount of publicity for the past 20 years. His show has deteriorated for the past few years, especially now without Russo, but people keep coming back at 1 everyday because there is familiarity there. He is living off the Mike and the Mad Dog reputation that was built up all these years.
If nobody knew who Francesa was and he just started a show last week, nobody would listen to him because the show just drags on now without Russo. But he has the built on notoriety from the past 20 years to carry him.
No surprise whatsoever with Mo. At this stage he’s cautiously about a week behind and this year’s spring training being dragged out like it is, he’ll get his normal 10 innings of work in and be ready for the start of the season.
SoS get with the programs – so to speak
http://www.wfan.com/
http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/1050espnradio/
86w183
March 9th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Bill White is a fine man, but did you ever hear his call of the Bucky Dent HR at Fenway? They guy was the most surprised person in the building!
————————————————————
Everybody was in shock that Dent pulled Torrez’ fastball. The most surprised was Dent. If the wind hadn’t been blowing out that day, it never would have carried. Yazstremski said that he heard it hit the net and back wall at the same time. Yaz said he was sure he would catch it, then backed off to play the bounce. Thank God, Mickey Rivers heard Dent’s bat crack just before that (on the foul off of Dent’s shin) and Rivers gave Dent his lighter bat.
“All i can say is at least you guys get to listen to Yankee talk. Not much here in So Cal. I guess Kay is better on his talk show then on his play by plays trying to figure out what the next nickname going to come out of his mouth. Couldnt stand the generation trey”
SoS: feel you. Didn’t know you were in Cali. Don’t know why, but Kay has grown on me in the past 1 year. (He needs to tone down his HR calls for the opposing team tho). You right, on the Generation Trey. Although, don’t expect we wil have to worry about that anymore : )
86w183
Agreed on the Cano in the 3 spot idea as being based on potential. The necessary patience isn’t there now, but if he ever develops into a .400+OBP hitter then it’d be worth taking a serious look at. Until then, it’s just an idea.
no.
“He was once traded for a couple of players (as an announcer). Loved Dizzy Dean”
wow. Enjoy hearing these type of stories.
I remember watching the Dizzy Dean story (movie) a while back. It was a good movie. They say his announcing (on the radio) used to have English teachers, up in arms. lol.
I think it was pretty unanimous across the board that Bucky Bleepin’ Dent’s little HR was lucky. But … lucky still counts!!
But there are two sides to every coin: As Bill Bleepin’ Buckner would show Sox Nation 8 years later … UNlucky still counts too!!
Thanks Uncle E. Noted…
vinny,
I expect he’ll come up with something original like Dynamic Duo. Still nothing can be worse than the Trey talk. I hope your right though.
vinny-b __NYY fan and WBC promoter__
March 9th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
“He was once traded for a couple of players (as an announcer). Loved Dizzy Dean”
wow. Enjoy hearing these type of stories.
I remember watching the Dizzy Dean story (movie) a while back. It was a good movie. They say his announcing (on the radio) used to have English teachers, up in arms. lol.
————————————————————
“The Pride Of St. Louis” with Dan Dailey. Fairly factual. The biggest difference was that the team owner’s son was actually Augie Busch II who owned Budweiser. All in all, a good movie. If you like baseball movies, watch “The Stratton Story” (White Sox pitcher, Monty Stratton) with James Stewart.
They showed Gardner’s homer on YES. Line shawt! He also got down to first in 3.75 on his bunt!!!!!
I think Vin Scully is great & he does it all solo.
I gotta tell ya, most media, PTI, espn think the Yanks won’t overcome the 6-9 week loss of Arod. They even think Arod might not be the same player. Thoughts??
I hate the BS and Yankee haters out there!
Dizzy Dean, Now that is an announcer I miss. ” with my little buddy Pee Wee Reese” And advertising Falstaff Beer. And couldn’t he sing Wahbash Cannonball.
Not really missing Pee Wee but I do miss Dizzy
I’m not liking the Best Buy emblem on the sleeve of the Puerto Rico team…..Cheesy…..
Dizzy Dean
http://www.encyclopediaofarkan.....181a02.mp3
Mark in Tampa
March 9th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Cano seems to me to be a no. 5 hitter when he reaches his full potential. He has the dangerous bat to protect those in front of him, and when the first four hitters are doing their thing and getting on base, Cano’s lack of patience won’t be as much of a factor because the pitcher will have to give him something to hit.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I also see Cano as a perfect 5 hitter. I don’t think Cano’s “lack of patience” is terminal, however. He’s an aggressive hitter, more than an impatient one. I wouldn’t want to bat him 3rd because I wouldn’t want him to lose his aggressiveness.
If he were better protected, however, he would automatically improve his on base, something he has never had the benefit of as a Yankee. As I pointed out in a previous thread, Cano drove in nearly 100 runs batting seventh in 2007, w/zero protection (97 RBI). His on base wasn’t awful, for him – .353 (hit .303, I think). In 2007 postseason, he hit .333/.375/.800. To me, that line is how Cano would probably fare on a regular basis with protection. He is that good.
I sure don’t want to see him wasted at No. 7. We need him to get more – not less – at bats.