YankeesRedSox.com

For those of you familiar with this site, you have read something similar before.  For those of you who are not, read on. 

Why does MLB insist on scheduling games in cities with lousy weather in late March and skip scheduling games in cities with great weather?  To wit...

Why is Arizona traveling to Cincy?

Why did Toronto travel to the Yankees?

Why do the Royals go North to Detroit?

Why is Tampa playing in Baltimore?

Why are the Rangers playing in Seattle?

Why are the Astros and Padres playing each other?  Why are the Giants and Dodgers and Angels and Twins doing the same? 

I am just wondering, why does MLB keep insisting on forcing games into bad weather sites?

End of rant, thanks for listening. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I know Andy is desperately waiting for this, so to help him get over his worries, I present my 2008 predictions.  Please don't use these for any wagering, besides being illegal in the US, I offer zero guarantees.  Anyway, here we go....

AL East

1- Boston- I go back and forth on this one and I have changed my mind all spring, but on March 30th I think the Red Sox will win the AL East, so they go first today.  Ultimately, the healthier team will prevail and I have no idea which team will have the better luck in that department.

2- Yankees- see above but I will say less runs scored but also less runs allowed equals 90+ wins

3- Toronto- I know Tampa is the trendy pick, but I think the Blue Jays will make some noise this year and probably challenge the Yankees and Red Sox for the AL East crown well into September.

4- Tampa- Kazmir is starting the season hurt and while the lineup is looking great, the pitching is very shaky.  They should easily improve on 66 their wins from last year though.

5- Baltimore- I can't believe that the Orioles used to be the class of the AL East.  This team is simply a joke and will be the worst in the league.

AL Central

1- Cleveland- I would have picked Detroit if I liked their pitching.  Cleveland will have a better lineup and the pitching is good, so they are on top.

2- Detroit, they will score in bunches, but I don't think they have enough pitching to take the crown.

The thing about the Central is that things really drop off in a huge way after the top two clubs.  I will pick them to finish....

3- Chicago

4- Minnesota

5- Kansas City

...but to be honest I could see the three finishing in any order.

AL West

1- Seattle- I am going to pick them as my surprise team this year and I think Hernandez and Bedard are going to be dominant.

2- Angels- Losing Escobar is a big loss.  

3- Texas- I like the direction of this team, but I don't think they are ready to challenge the big guys yet.

4- Oakland- Clearly building for the future and it will show in the standings.

Now onto the NL

NL East

1- Mets- Until the Santana trade I would have picked Philadelphia, but I just love Santana in the NL and the Mets have four pitchers who could each win 15 games or more.  The offense is shaky, but Wright and Beltran are as good a 1-2 punch as any other team in the NL

2- Phillies- Brett Myers back in the rotation is big and I think they will stay on the Mets' tails all season.

3- Atlanta- Back-to-back third place finishes for the Braves is strange

4- Nationals- Very interesting outfield

5- Florida- They traded their two best players and got some stars for the future, check back in 2011 or so.

NL Central

1- Cubs- I won't predict the end of a 99-year drought, but I think they win the division

2- Millwaukee- Should be right on the heels of the Cubs, but they won't catch them

3- Cincinnati- I think they will surprise people and finish above .500

Just like the AL Central I think there is a big drop and I think the following three teams could finish anyway but I predict....

4- Houston

5- St. Louis

6- Pittsburgh

NL West

1- Arizona- love the pitching and I think some of the young offensive players will be very good this year

2- San Diego- They will fall just short- again

3- Colorado- too bad they couldn't win the World Series last year because they won't be back there in 2008

4- LA Dodgers- Joe Torre is going to finish outside of the top two spots in the division for the first time since 1994

5- San Francisco- Another team that I can't figure out.  The Zito contract looks like an enormous mistake and I have a feeling we will be saying the same thing about the Rowand deal next year.  

As for the playoffs, I am picking the Yankees and Phillies as my wild card teams and Cleveland and the Mets as the two best records.  

In the matchups I think Seattle shocks Boston and Cleveland beats the Yankees with Cleveland winning the AL crown

For the NL I will pick the Mets over the Cubs (remember they can't play the Phillies) and Arizona over the Philies with the Mets winning the NL

And, I think the Mets win their third championship over Cleveland next October.

And now it's time to PLAY BALL! 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Yankees made their cuts tonight and they chose to put Andy Pettitte on the DL to start the season which makes a lot of sense. 

The bench is not a surprise, Betemit, Duncan, Ensberg and Molina, but with 12 pitchers making the team the Yankees took a bit of a different route.  Instead of going with the long guy, they went with extra righty relievers.  Billy Traber made it as the lefty, but so did Bruney, Ohlendorf and Albie.  You know that one of the final three will be sent down Saturday to make room for Pettite, but based on Girardi repeating his earlier preference for a long reliever tonight it could be two of them.  In effect, the Yankees have extended Spring Training by a week and those three will be fighting to keep their big league positions.

As for the roster, there are a couple of problems I have with it.  First, who is the guy playing first in a tight game?  I am going to guess that Betemit or Ensberg fill that role, but I don't know if that is much of an upgrade.  And, while we are at it, is the plan really to put Giambi at first for 100+ games?  If so, expect that plan to fail badly in 2008.

And, while Traber has nice numbers, he is the second coming of Mike Myers.  I would love to see the Yankees carry 11 pitchers and just let someone else loose on the lefties.  But, Traber is the guy for now, just don't expect it to stick if he continues his career patterns against lefties and righties.  

But, that's where we are and the Yankees will spend the first four weeks of the season playing 27 games with 18 of them on the road, not the best recipie to a quick start.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

If you haven't heard already, Bobby Murcer announced today that he isn't well enough to travel to Yankee Stadium for Opening Day.  On the plus side, it sounds like he will be in the broadcast booth soon, just not as soon as we all would want.

Bob Sheppard will also not be able to make it, which definitely puts a downer on the final opener from the Stadium.  Add in the curious decision to let Reggie throw out the first pitch and you have a strange beginning to the final season.

I have nothing against Reggie, but shouldn't the final Opening Day honor go to Yogi?  And, if the reason Reggie was selected is to honor the 30th anniversary of the 1978 team, then why isn't Diana Munson throwing out the first pitch?  I know we will all be excited for Opening Day, but Bobby and Bob will be missed.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, the Yankees have two games with Florida before heading on the plane to New York.  Yet, less than 48 hours from that plane flight, we still don't know the final roster. 

We now know that Jeff Karstens isn't going to make the team because he is headed to the DL.  Kei Igawa showed that he still can grab the big moment and bombed yesterday.  That would seem to have cleared the field for Rasner to become the long guy in the pen, but nine walks in 14 innings doesn't exactly fill you with confidence.  Bruney and Ohlendorf are both pitching well, but you can only take one of them if you take Rasner (and I am assuming Traber makes it).

Further complicating things is that the Yankees could put Andy Pettitte on the DL to start the season, but backdate the move so he could pitch April 5th.  Since he is scheduled to start Sunday against Scranton anyway, the earliest he could pitch in the bigs would be April 4th.  The Yankees could just move everyone up a spot in the rotation and pitch Kennedy on the 4th with Pettitte filling in on the 5th.  That would allow them another player to start the season.  

And, don't forget that we still are unsure when Mekly and Duncan will have their suspension hearings, though perhaps the Yankees will have one of them drop the appeal and serve the suspension if Pettitte does go on the DL.  

Stay tuned, it's only about 72 hours until Opening Day! 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't know about you, but for this Yankees' fan seeing yesterday's ceremony dedicating the field in Tampa to George Steinbrenner was somewhat surreal. 

Let me say up front that I think the George of 2008 needs to be left alone.  I don't know what exactly has happened to him, but it seems pretty obvious that he is not what he once was and anyone who takes shots at him over his current condition is pathetic.  

But, what happened yesterday was about the Steinbrenner that existed previous to this, the guy who ran the Yankees from 1973 to roughly 2006.  And, I am not sure that guy is worthy of this honor.  

Ok, sure if you want to measure things in championships, George has to get credit.  The guy has six in 35 years, and he has also won ten pennants in that time period.  In addition, George was one of the guys who recognized the change that free agency brought to baseball and capitalized on it.  He made the bold moves, Reggie, Goose, etc., that got the Yankees their first two titles.  Of course, his early success was his downfall later on, but you cannot dismiss his accomplishments in the early part of the free agency period.

And, there are the countless good deeds the Yankees and George have done.  Some fans think it is stupid, but I appreciate the fact that the Yankees perform "God Bless America" at every home game.  September 11th changed a lot of things in this city and I am glad the Yankees continue to honor those memories.  They have stood up and made a difference countless times from the terrible fire in the Bronx to the recent atrocity at Virginia Tech, the Yankees and Geroge Steinbrenner have always seemed to step up and try to ease the pain.

But, contrast that with the George we once knew.  The guy Seinfeld parodied, the bully, the mean George.  I am not saying it is all his fault, his Dad seems like he was impossible to please and the apple didn't fall far, but Steinbrenner took it to a new level.  He gave no quarter in his pursuit of winning and gave no consideration to what that meant.  When he fired Yogi Berra after 16 games in 1985, he alienated one of the greatest Yankees for ten years.  He was ruthless in his criticism of his own players and management.  It's hard to remember now, but before Torre and Showalter the Yankees went through more than a manager a year under Steinbrenner.  Fans applauded when he was banned from baseball in 1990 and now he seems to be a hero.

Perhaps that is a function of success, Geroge won a lot more in the last half of his ownership than he did in the first half.  The Yankees' image mellowed under Joe Torrre and while everyone respected Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter is a 1,000-times more likeable.  Memories are short and George's transgressions have faded, just like the idea that he wanted to move the team to New Jersey seems absurd today.

But, life is all about the sum of everything and I am just not sure where that leaves George as he heads to the bottom of the ninth, but I do hope he pulls out the win.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, despite the Red Sox being 6722, or so, miles away from Boston, they are set to open the 2008 MLB season in about 9 hours.

What does the season hold for Boston?  While we need to wait until the 31st of March before Peter posts his predictions, most are thinking Boston has a good shot in 2008.  The concerns?

1.) The loss of Curt Schilling for some or all of the season

2.)  The health of Josh Beckett

3.)  The age of Tim Wakefield

4.)  Whether Jacoby Ellsbury is for real

5.)  The loss of Dr. Charles Steinberg

6.)  No replacement for Jason Varitek in sight

The positives?

1.)  The Red Sox kept Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz (and Masterson and Lowrie)

2.)  J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo and Daisuke Matsuzaka have a year of experience under their belts in Boston

3.)  A year of maturation for Manny Delcarmen, Jonathan Papelbon, Dustin Pedroia and Ellsbury

4.)  The minor league machine has been largely left to build for the past 3 seasons (save someone named Hanley something or other)

Line-up for tomorrow (my guess):

2b - Pedroia

1b - Youkilis

dh - Ortiz

lf - Ramirez

3b - Lowell

rf - Drew

c - Varitek

ss - Lugo

cf - Ellsbury

sp - Matsuzaka

For those looking for a more expert pediction than mine, Sunday's Globe had a baseball preview.  Notice Nick Cafardo picking Toronto finishing 1st in the AL East (Nick, really?).

Anyway, you should be asleep right now if you want to catch tomorrow morning's game.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Sorry for making you throw up a bit there, but after today I think we have to seriously consider the thought of Kei Igawa as the long man in the pen.  Start with this confirmation from Peter Abraham about the candidates for the long guy.  Then, take a look at Chad Jennings' report about today's action.  Add in the fact that the Yankees have $46 million invested in Igawa and you have to assume he has a real shot at breaking camp with the team. 

Think about it, Karstens has blown up the past few weeks and while Rasner has been better, Igawa has the lower ERA.  Then, think about Andy Pettitte's back and you have to assume Igawa is a real possibility. 

Wow 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

The Yankees announced tonight that they have added Morgan Ensberg to the 40-man roster.  (In a shocking sidenote, Carl Pavano was placed on the 60-man DL to make room for Ensberg)

This essentially means that Ensberg is on the team and while I think that is a good thing, it makes me curious about the final roster.

We have learned the rotation (Wang, Pettitte, Mussina, Hughes, Kennedy) and part of the bullpen (Rivera, joba, Farnsworth and Hawkins)  We also know that 13 hitters are going to make the team (Posada, Molina, Giambi, Duncan, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod, Ensberg, Damon, Cabrera, Abreu, Matsui and I am going to add Betemit)

That would leave three spots open and you would assume that at least two of them are going to pitchers, with three certainly a storng possibilty.  If you pencil in a Traber and Karstens as spots 10 and 11 in the bullpen, do you assume the Yankees are going to go with someone like Ohlendorf or does Ransom or Lane make the team on offense?  The depth is pretty good with a bench of Betemit, Molina, Ensberg and Duncan (assume Giambi at first)  so going with 12 pitchers wouldn't be as damaging as usual.

But, it will be a very interesting week to see how things play out, three spots left.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

As I write this, the Red Sox are on a plane heading to the Eastern lands  Actually, they are flying West, but you they will end up in the East.

That behind us, it was an interest past 24 hours for the Red Sox.  Firstly, the players threatened a boycott of the entire Japan trip over a pay dispute for coaches and staff.  Previous trips to Japan had coaches and staff getting a stipend, but for some reason this trip did not.  When it became apparent, the Red Sox players tried to right a wrong.  And please, don't try and educate me on the greater nonsense of this issue.  I understand that $40k for a trip to Japan for the players is a joke.  But I do think that equal pay for equal effort is important here.  If an assistant trainer is not going to get a stipend, then his/her ability to afford such a trip might be limited.  Again, $40k is a joke, but equal pay for equal effort is my stance (I think $100 a day would suffice frankly).

Here's what we know:  Daisuke Matsuzaka will start game 1.  Jon Lester (seriously, who'd have thought this) will start game 2.

Terry Francona has made it clear he will not risk injury to win these 2 games.  No pitcher will pitch back-to-back to games.  In addition, MLB allowed Boston to bring 30 players with 3 needing to be declared inactive prior to game 1.  That means there will be a bevy of arms available during the 2 game set.  Overuse should not be an issue.

Bartolo Colon was assigned to minor league camp, presumably in an attempt to get him some more work.  He was never a candidate to start game 1 or 2, so him pitching in warm Florida is a good idea.  My guess is that when he is ready, he'll be on the big-league squad.  If I am not mistaken, he needs to be on the roster prior to game 3 in Toronto to have his contract guaranteed.

2 exhibition games and then 2 real games (3/25 and 3/26 early AM) in Japan and the season is underway.  This season came very quickly.

Question:  What's your take on the AL East this year?  Here's my take:

Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles (O's will be deep in 5th, they blow).  As an FYI, Boston Herald writer Tony Massarotti has it:  Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, O's.  Interesting.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Personally, I think they best line in the movie is either the part about candlesticks or when Susan Sarandon asks Tim Robbins if he thinks "Dwight Gooden makes love with his socks on", but whatever your favorite part, I bring you some sad news.  "Bull Durham" is now 20-years old. 

In honor of the 20th brithday, ESPN has done an amusing update of the movie.  Isn't it sad how realistic it sounds?

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just heard on WFAN that Joba will start the season in the bullpen.  He has a limit of 140 innings or so this year which makes this not a surprise.  The questions I have are 1- how soon do we get him to the rotation and 2- how long will it take to stretch back out? 

Joe Girardi said his future remains as a starter, so this will be very, very interesting to watch.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Check out this little study that just came out.  Now, before we go and excuse the athletes remember that they knew they were breaking a rule when they used HGH and this study doesn't account for the psychological benefits of using it.  But, it does raise some interesting questions.

On other news, Bill Traber looks like he punched his ticket for the bigs today with another strong performance.  It's hard to argue with the results so far and the guy has been lethal on lefties in his career.  The problem is, he is a one-trick pony.  Righties hit him and hit him hard.  Having him on the team almost forces you to carry 12 pitchers and that isn't a good thing.  

And, it looks more and more like Joba will start the season in the bullpen.  Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy have shown enough to win spots in the rotation, so I would expect Joba back in the 8th inning.  It makes sense with the Yankees need to keep his innings down, I just worry that they will have a tough time moving him out of that role.  With Traber joining Joba, Mo, Farnsworth and Hawkins, that leaves only two spots in the pen.  I thought Karstens was a lock until he blew up the other day, now I am not really sure who will make it. 

One last note, Brian Williams announced on NBC News tonight that JP Morgan bought Bear Stearns for less than the Yankees are going to pay Alex Rodriguez.  That's simply amazing. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In what I considered a bit of a surprise the Boston Red Sox cut Doug Mirabelli.  Here's why I'm surprised.

Mirabelli is probably the best hitter of the back-up catchers in camp (Kevin Cash and Dustin "Dusty" Brown being the others).  Now Brown has hit a bit in the minors, but has only 27 at bats at AAA (none at MLB) while Cash, well Cash has just not hit since 2005.  I can't say what it was that caused him to stop hitting, but for some reason, no longer can hit for average nor get on base.  A bad combo.

Back to Brown, he has slowly made his way through the Red Sox farm system (Red Sox 35th round pick in 2000 draft).  He gotten on base a bit, but with each promotion, he has gotten worse.

While hitting is important for the back-up catcher, the key will be his defense.  And with that in mind, Cash has the edge.  He successfully caught Tim Wakefield last season and is far more experienced.  I expect the decision will come down to Cash or...Mirabelli.  Yes, Mirabelli.

The Red Sox might just have decided to waive Mirabelli because his deal had far too many incentive clauses for a now borderline major leaguer.  I think it is a toss-up between Cash and Mirabelli at this point.

The sad point in all of this is that the Red Sox really have done a poor job in grooming Jason Varitek's replacement.  Barring a trade, I just don't know who will take his place.  I know I've railed on this subject before, but it's the truth.  George Kottaras stopped hitting once the Red Sox got him for David Wells in 2006.

Chris Carter and Brandon Moss are both making noise in Spring Training in their attempt to win a roster spot on the 25-man squad.

Curt Schilling was placed (or moved to) the 60-day DL meaning he won't be seen until June at the earliest.

Opening day (dawn) 12 days away...

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Hit a Yankee at your own risk.  After years of taking it on the chin with Joe Torre in charge, the Yankees showed that they have had enough today.  Now, I don't condone what Duncan did, that was over the line, but Phillips hitting Longoria was perfect and I will bet you anything that Joe Girardi ordered it. 

Good for him, I am sick of watching pitchers hit Jeter and the rest of the Yankees and not see their hitters get dusted.  Girardi sent a message today and the AL better pay attention to it.

As for Duncan's play, that was unfortunate to say the least.  You could see this one developing from a mile away and Duncan even talked on Sunday about having to decide between third and home what he would do to a catcher.  Well, he didn't get to third, he got to first and made a bad decision.  I am sure that someone in the Yankees' clubhouse will pull him aside on it.  I bet his Father will give him a call.  If Elliot Johnson had been standing at second, that might have exonerated Duncan to some extent, but Iwamura didn't do anything and should not have had to deal with that.

And, Jon Maddon should just zip it.  He showed no concern for Cervelli the other day and he didn't start Johnson today which would have give the Yankees a chance to "punish" the right guy.  Someone would have hit Johnson and this thing would have been over.  I hope the Yankees play Duncan against Tampa on Saturday and when he gets plunked this thing ends before someone else gets hurt.   

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been big on saying I don't put much stock in Spring Training games.  But time's a awaistin' and there are some developments that concern me and should concern you, assuming you are a Red Sox fan.

It is being reported that Josh Beckett will not be ready for opening day.  He is suffering from back spasms, a condition that can flare up time and time again.  That's your ace.  Strike One.

Daisuke Matsuzaka isn't a lock to head to Japan either as his wife is due with their first child.  She is due the day the club is schedule to travel to Japan.  If she goes past due, his ability to attend is in question.  That's your #2 starter.  Strike 2.

Julio Lugo has missed the past 8 games with a back injury.  Coco Crisp is still on the roster and has only played 8 innings this spring, Curt Schilling is done for a minimum of 3 months and likely the year.  David Ortiz doesn't have a HR yet, nor does Manny Ramirez.  Clay Buchholz has been bad, so has Julian Tavarez, Kyle Snyder, Jon Lester (good last appearance) and Matsuzaka have been bad and the Red Sox are 4-8 in Spring Training play.  Strike(s) 3.

These sorts of things happen in baseball, but this combined with the toll that is expected to be taken with the extreme travel ahead, the Red Sox might start and end the month of April with their heads spinning.

Old friend Mike Greenwell was in town to throw the opening pitch.  Somehow he has managed to grow a denim mustache.  In all seriousness, he admitted in an interview that had it not been for his wife, he would have tried steroids.  Interesting.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, so my childhood dream of playing for the Yankees didn't work out, but this news from Peter Abraham makes me think I still have a shot.  For instance, when I compare myself to Billy Crystal I find that:

We are both too old for rookie ball.

We were both born in New York.

We both love the Yankees. 

We are off to a good start here, right?

But then again, Billy Crystal is a movie star and I am not (yet).  

Ok, points to Billy, but I still have an ace up my sleeve....

I have never appeared in a movie wearing a Mets hat.   

So, I think this should be a done deal.  Billy and I are practically the same and while he has the fame, I have the non-Mets hat thing on my side.  Makes sense, doesn't it? (a guy can dream, right?) 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, the Yankees have played "real" games for a week now and you can start to see a couple of things developing in camp.

First, Joe Girardi has wiped the slate clean with Kyle Farnsworth.  This has caused a lot of hand-wringing in the press, but what is the downside to this move?  Sure, none of us believe Farnsworth will amount to anything, but Girardi wouldn't be doing his job unless he tried something new with the guy.  Joe Torre was a guy who had his favorites and he played them, Kyle was not one of them and while it isn't an excuse for his stuggles, it probably didn't help.   Why not see if you can get something out of the guy with a new regime in charge? 

Next, the battle for the last couple of spots in the bullpen is getting very interesting.  Girardi has gone on the record as saying he wants a long reliever in the bullpen and with the need to keep the innings down for the kids, that makes sense.  So far, Jeff Karstens has taken the lead in securing that role with very good pitching in week one.  I woudl guess he is competing with Rasner and Igawa and I think he will beat them out.  You can't question his toughness (remember hte broken leg) but his strikeout rates in the bigs have been lousy.  He is still only 25 and could be a decent arm in the pen, but the strikeouts bear watching.

Despite his good start, I am not sure if Billy Traber will make the team.  Traber is certainly good against lefties (career .613OPS against them) but he gets killed by righties (.894).  That is about as one-dimensional as you can get and the Yankees take away flexibility if they go that route.  Even with a long reliever, you want guys who can pitch innings in the bullpen and Traber won't cut it in that department.

Lastly, you can expect the final spots on the roster to come down to the final days of camp.  Ensberg, Woodward, Lane and Green will battle it out for the bench with Ohlendorf, Veras, Albie, Bruney and Britton fighting it out for the bullpen spots.  One name that I didn't mention is Brett Gardner.  If he keeps up his hitting, he will force his way into that conversation, even if the Yankees don't need to take another outfielder. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Boston.com had this Jonathan Papelbon quote today:

"That situation, man, it's a tough situation for me right now because basically I'm at a point to where I feel like the position I'm in, there's a certain standard that needs to be put in place here," Papelbon said. "I feel like with me being at the top of my position I feel like that standard needs to be set and I'm the one to set that standard. And I don't think that the Red Sox are really necessarily seeing eye-to-eye with me on that subject right now. Hopefully we can get somewhere.

"We're chugging away at this thing and we want to get it done, believe me, and we can move on. At the same time, I feel a certain obligation to not only to myself and my family to make the money that I deserve, but for the game of baseball. Mariano Rivera has been doing it for the past 10 years. With me coming up behind him, I feel a certain obligation to do the same."

I guess all I can say is that he "deserves" whatever the Red Sox think he is worth and if that means he gets renewed and not signed to a long-term deal, well then, deal with it.  The Red Sox are operating within the confines of the CBA and have the right to do what they want with this deal.

Part of the game is proving you can last and if you can, you'll get your payday.  Prior to that?  Take your apparent sub-standard pay of $400k and keep pitching.  As a fan of the Red Sox, please do not tell me what your responsibilities are to your family and please don't tell me why you are worth substantially more money than than the $400k you were paid in 2007.  You aren't going to find many people that sympathize with you on this one aside from your teammates, maybe.

Jonathan, you play baseball and make a ton of money.  If you can keep it up, you will make a ton more.  Save the sob story and please, please do not compare yourself to Mariano Rivera.  He's been closing games at a high level for 11 years.  Let's talk in a few years and see where you are.

Having gotten that off my chest, I remain a big Papelbon fan.  I have to assume some of this is posturing, but all I ask is that he not expect me to become indignant along with him.

I love the financial part of the game, I just hate it when players air their claims of poverty to the media.  It doesn't sit well with me.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Just regurgitating some news:

Bartolo looked good in a bullpen session yesterday.  I don't know about you, but I would feel much better letting him lock down the 5th spot in the rotation rather than let a one or more of Kyle Snyder, Julian Tavarez or a AAA option handle things.  Of course that means Clay Buchholz is not an option.  I think it might be best to start him in AAA having thought about it.  People are likely to have high expectations for Buchholz so starting in a lesser pressure situation might be best.  Of course, if the other options mentioned above don't pan out, Buchholz is the next best option.

Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox are talking about a long-term deal.  Certainly it would be nice to lock him up for a while, but at the same time, they can't let his current year overly influence further years pay.  In other words, don't give him too much now so that he can lay claim to larger amounts later.

The Red Sox are at approximately $129mm in payroll.  That covers 28 players expected to make up the 25-man roster and 3 others that could start the season on the DL or extended spring training or the minors.  That means the Red Sox have saved up some room to A.)  Extend players starting this year (i.e. potential front load) or bring on additional talent prior to the 2 trade deadlines.

Last year the Red Sox had an official payroll of $143,026,214.

There is some great back and forth between the Red Sox and Yankees ownership groups the past few days.  Despite not thinking much of Hank Steinbrenner's previous comments, I think he showed a sense of humor and class in discussing his relationship with John Henry.  I think if both sides keep this friendly, great.  If it turns in another direction though, I do wonder what that might mean for opposing fans in either Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

According to Peter Abraham, the Yankees have made their first cuts of spring (already??) and Eric Duncan is one of the four.  (Eduardo Nunez, Austin Romine and Jesus Montero were the others) 

Ok, so the Yankees cut two catchers who are years away, a shortstop who is 20 and hasn't passed A-ball yet and their former first-round pick Duncan on March 2nd?  If the fact that Duncan was left off the 40-man and exposed to the Rule 5 draft wasn't enough to convince you that the Yankees think he has no future, this should.  Then again, I have to imagine that Duncan did something in camp that warranted this move.  Maybe he hit on Girardi's wife?  Seriously, up until 2007 this guy was probably one of the top prospects in the system and now he gets farmed out after two games?  Someone please shed some light on this one because this destroys any remaining trade value Duncan might have had.  

(BTW- Duncan went 1-1 in his lone AB and he is 23 as compared to most of the other NRI's in Yankees' camp.  Seriously, what did he do?) 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I was driving home from work the other day and I heard one of the baseball guys on ESPN Radio's 850AM.  It was one of their local (Boston) shows and the radio personality (I didn't catch his name, but it isn't important) said that the Red Sox sent Clay Buchholz to Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe as punishment?  This guy said that because he didn't condition properly in 2007, they sent him to Tempe, AZ to learn him some conditioning skills.

All the reports I've read suggest he was disappointed when the Red Sox ended his season in September over fears of hurting his arm.  The sent him to Tempe to help him get better, but not for punishment's sake.

Sorry for the lack of details (like who and when), but I thought it a controversial take on the matter.

Anyway, who's ready for a 6:05 am game?  It's just 23 days away until opening day for Boston.  As you know, they start things off in Japan with two 6:05am starts against Oakland, then fly back to LA to face the Dodgers for 3 more spring training games with starts times of 10:40, 10:10 and 4:10pm.  Then they continue with the regular season on April 1st and 2nd with two more games against the A's with start times of 10:05 and 10:05pm.  Great, for those with kids and/or jobs, don't count on watching a real Red Sox game until April 4th when they visit the Blue Jays for a 7:15 start, that's game 5 of the regular season.

This schedule could really cause problems.  I hope they leave the guys not expected to start in Oakland so as not to screw with their internal clocks.

Anyway, slow news day with the Red Sox.  Spring training games this early really don't offer much.  If a guy goes 4-4 with 4 HRs or a pitcher gets shelled, is is just an early spring training game.  I did read somewhere that Freddy Garcia was seen in camp.  Apparently the Red Sox were doing some testing to see if he was worth a contract offer.  Garcia had major shoulder surgery in 2007 and likely won't be ready until mid-season.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am just thankful that apparently I will always have part of a website to write for.  (scroll to the bottom)

Seriously, what ventures could Hankenstein be thinking about? Now, it's no surprise that they aren't blood rivals, remember that John Henry was a minority owner of the Yankees before he assumed control of the Marlins and then the Red Sox.  But, a Henry-Steinbrenner partnership would be interesting to say the least.

But, that's not the real news of the day.  Check out this boxscore from Tampa.   The big news today was Giambi getting a HR off of Cole Hamels (lefty) as part of a big day.  Today's game was on YES and while I didn't watch it in total, I have to say Jason looked as fit as I have seen him.  Way too early to draw conclusions, but Duncan and Giambi have been the offensive stars of the first two (real) games. 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Within this article about Robinson Cano is a snippet that the Yankees offered Jorge Posada and Mike Lowell in 1997 to the Expos for Pedro Martinez.  Tyler Kepner is an excellent reporter, so I have no doubt that he is right, but it really surprised me to learn that. 

It made me wonder what would have happened if Montreal took that deal.  (And, if there are any Expos' fans left they obviously wish they had a mulligan on that one.)  The Yankees would have opened 1998 an amazing rotation, but lacking some punch at catcher.  Furthermore, you would have to assume that the March 1998 signing of El Duque would not have happened. 

With no apparent succesor for Girardi at catcher, would the Yankees have jumped at the chance to acquire Mike Piazza that May when he was traded twice in eight days?  

Obviously, it is fun to speculate, but the biggest question is would the Yankees have won three-consecutive World Series with Pedro instead of Posada?

What do you think? 

Posted by Peter (Yankees) at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)