jacksonianmarch

The final 3 roster spots to be determined are 12th pitcher, backup 1b and backup C. Tyler Kepner is reporting that the yankees are going young. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/sports/baseball/30yankees.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin From the looks of it, Wil Nieves, the 28 yr old defensive whiz will make the team over the 40 yr old Pratt who had the better stick. I had been clamoring for Nieves last season when jokers like Kelly Stinnett and Sal Fasano were parading around. If your backup catcher sucks, might as well develop one. Nieves will never be a starter, but he is capable of hitting mid .250s and being solid defensively. I like this move. Josh Phelps will beat out Andy Phillips. Bout goddamn time. Andy Phillips cannot hit, period. Phelps can mash. Phillips is a better defensive player, by leaps and bounds, but Minky is the best there is and he is the starter. Phelps doubles as a lefty masher who can be a solid pinch hitter in times of need against good lefties. I think Phelps is my dark horse pick to be the yankees starting 1b by the time the season ends. He has a history of serious power when he was in Toronto, but they didnt have a spot for him and he lost his way a bit. He has serious power. Might as well give him a shot in a low pressure environment. And Sean Henn will make it over Villone. I hate Henn, or at least I did. Until I watched Ron Villone pitch at the end of last season and this ST. Henn is a much better reliever than he was a starter. It remains to be seen if he will lay an egg in relief, but he will be mostly mop up duty. He has a great arm, and Torre may be hoping they can groom him to be a lefty version of Proctor (great arm, infinite chance, finally comes through as an integral part of the pen). As expected, Rasner has won the 5th starter charade until Karstens is ready. It sounds like Karstens will be ready by mid april. After that, either Rasner or Henn will go (my guess is Henn as he has options left). Either way, nice to see a bit of youth on this perennially ancient team.

Jackson pitched well last night. 5IP 2ER 5H. I had heard he had a power arm when we dealt for him, but he is a big tall guy throwing low 90s sinkers. The yankees seem to have a new outlook on their pitching. Sinker/curve seems to be the way to go, as they dealt for 3 of them (Sanchez throws a mid 90s 2 seamer which sinks, and Ohlendorf throws a mid 90s hard sinker). CMW changed their perspective a bit.

and I thought a major problem with Becks was his stubborness. He is a gunslinger and with every gunslinger, they want to do it their way. The second he gets lit up pitching the way the sox want him to throw, Nuke will come back. The pitching coach's job is to stay on him when he faces defeat to prevent that. Beckett's ability lies in his mind, not his arm. When he is confident, he can be the ace of the staff and win a WS, a la 2003. When his confidence is shaken, he will walk 9 and get shelled by a rival. Surprisingly, his skin on his hands is as thin as his psyche. The pitching coach has a ton of work to do. Beckett has the ability, nobody will ever doubt that.

schilling under 4? Beckett under 4? Matsuzaka under 3?

and bosox, aside from a run through the playoffs, Beckett has never been an ace on any team he was on. I think Mats is your ace and Bekett still languishes in the 3-4 role as he doesnt have the arsenal or the balls to throw any pitch on any count. And that is a requirement in the ALE. Hitters here will wear you down if you try to K everyone.

it sounds obvious hoke, but why didnt he do it last yr?

Carew

forgot Steven Jackson too, who we got from ARI with Ohlendorf and Gonzalez. He is dominating the Jays right now on YES.

he takes pauses for half a minute. Never got into being a clone.

lol, and the lefty specialist is coming into the game! What? He's intentionally walking the lefty.

adam. Sit in the corner kid.

Ah, I see. He misses Fenway in the 1 hole and gets TB, OAK, BAL, CLE, TB before he undoubtedy get pushed back a day on FOX against the sox when CMW should be back. The 1 hole might be the only chance he has to miss Boston twice.

rotoworld is reporting that the sox likely will insert him as the 5th starter in May. I hope it isnt true. I like the kid and think he needs a year.

Oden or bust!

Pavano shouldnt touch the ball until the 4th turn, maybe the fifth even with Wang out. But Pettitte needs his last ST start, which makes him unavailable on opening day and Mussina refuses to pitch on short rest. They wont throw Igawa out there on opening day in his first yr, so the only other option is Pavano. It isnt like we lost 4 of our rotation and Pavano is all that is left.

too much power on Coco. too little power on Lowell. too high a BA on Vtek? I think you are dead on with Duddy.

not really all that minor. I am very annoyed at this one. Cox had been absolutely dominant to this point and he gets by on pinpoint accuracy, a biting sinker and a plus slider. He would have been the perfect middle relief option should anyone go down, and I have a feeling he was slated to replace Vizcaino who was acquired as a stopgap. Now Cox will be rehabbing for a long time and likely wont be MLB ready until 2009.

sorry for the momentary relapse into theriv, but it was necessary. I just dont get how some people have absolutely zero respect for those who would die for their country.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2816598 The guy couldnt make it work for a few more years? Glad this prick isnt taking over.

good night. Here is to hoping RZ is shipped off to China before I wake up. Goddamn commie.

I think I scared the traitor away.