jacksonianmarch

Lenny DiNardo was claimed off waivers by the A's today.

oh NO, west of there.

the first part of spring training is useless and watching the hitters is essentially useless as well. Bat speed may be something to take into account but that doesnt take the cake. I just look to see location and velocity from the pitchers come the third week of ST. If Pavano is topping out at 88 and missing the corners, then we should have dumped his ass. Igawa will be an intriguing follow during ST as well as all of the high profile minor league kids. Cool thing is, I am getting transferred this yr and one of my potential landing spots is 1 hour from scranton, a half hour from trenton and an hour and a half train ride from the bronx. Yea, its in Jersey but a nice part and right near all that good yankee baseball. Spring training could be a prelude to some serious fun for this summer.

fixed it for you!

how are the pirates going to win the AL East, they arent even in the division. Jeepers

You are correct. On March 12th, the yankees will be in Fort Myers.

I am not creaming my pants over anybody. Pettitte is not an ace. He is no savior. He's just a solid, consistent, and yes, durable option to fit into the middle of the rotation.

He needs to develop his arsenal or he will get worse. He at least had about a quarter of the season where he wasnt afraid to throw the curve and that was a good 8-10 starts where he was dynamite. If he comes out timid, those 8-10 starts wont be there to hold up how poor he actually threw.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5870&PHPSESSID=21370714a45b3d3053 and it isnt even close. The yankees composite farm system pitching score was 74. The 2nd highest was 64 in florida. The distance between 64 and 54 spans spots 2 through 11. The yankees rated 4th overall mostly due to placing 18th in offensive farm system. The sox rated 11th overall, 7th in pitching with Buchholz leading the way.

They cannot because he is not. Last yr he was a 5, and if he doesnt incorporate that curve back in or develop that change further, he will continue to be a back of the rotation starter.

he's done it in pinstripes as well against the sox and the like. He's got a better resume going for him than Beckett who spent his entire career in the NL least, Papelbon who has started 4 games in the majors and Matsuzaka who has faced a level equivalent to AAA. Lets be serious here, the guy has shown he could do it in NY, he still has great stuff and put up better numbers than he did in NY while in Houston.

ARod talks to the media. Manny doesnt. If you befriend the media, eventually they will skewer you. If you are an ass to the media, all that will abound is speculation with no real facts. Its about time ARod adopts the Steve Carlton view of media.

she's got crazy eyes.

This is what scares me. Cashman has done a very good job with acquiring young pitching talent and there is some position prospect talent brewing as well. The rotation has Mussina, Pettitte, and Pavano in it, all 3 will be gone by the end of 2008. Wang and to a lesser extent, Igawa is all that will be left. Santana may or may not be a FA option by 2009. The yankees have to be prepared to let these kids handle the reigns. Aside from Hughes, and to a lesser extent Sanchez, the rest of the AAA guys will likely act like rookies and have some serious ups and downs. I have said before that I'd give up 2007 or 2008 for the development of a solid internal rotation that would return to dynasty form. The talent is there, we just have to bridge the gap with patience, something George is not accustomed to doing. This is why the ascension of Hughes this yr is critical. If he comes up as the 5, and holds down a rotation spot for 2008, then another spot could potentially open up for Sanchez at that time (or he may be in the pen). If one spot opens per season, we could turn over the rotation to the young guns without giving up short term success. But we all know George. If he decides to blow everything up mid season because we are 2 back of the sox, it could set the franchise back 4-5 yrs. This farm system is not getting undo hype. The pitching prowess is real. The potential is there. It is up to Cashman to hold as long as he can before he gets porked in a deal for Enrique Wilson (Damaso Mate for Wilson, what were you smoking!).

he has been done for awhile? Did anyone see his composites in Houston? NL or no, they were impressive. And as for letting Pettitte walk, it was obviously a poor decision and one very akin to Damon's treatment in Boston. The yankees were fresh off 2003 where our offense failed us. Steiny was in full swing and decides to get Sheff and ARod while passing on retaining one of the most reliable pitchers in yankee history. Pettitte was put off by the lack of respect and signed with Houston. What people fail to realize is the yankees offered more yrs and more money than Houston did. Funniest thing of all, though, is the sox trumped everyone. If I remember correctly, the yankees offered 4yrs 52, while the sox were in the 5 yr 60+ range. He was offered a significant contract, but Steinny was too busy acquiring the Kevin Brown's and Javy Vazquez's of the world to notice that he had a great yankee pitcher walking right out from under him. Pettitte is no savior and never was a savior. He is a solid pitcher who will give consistent, unspectacular performances throughout the season and will elevate his game a little in the playoffs. He wont K 15 batters and sure as hell wont pitch any perfect games. But he very quietly wins a lot of games and posts quality starts. Last yr he put up 20QS's in an off yr. Higher than anyone in the NYY-BOS battle aside from Mussina who had 23. In 2005 he led the majors in QS with 27. 2004 he was hurt, but in 2003, he had 20 again. For many and for me too, QS is not the best indicator of how good a pitcher is, but it is a good indicator for how they will fit into your team. If you have a solid bullpen and a great lineup, a QS will lead to a lot of wins. If your pen and lineup suck, a QS is meaningless. He is not spectacular. Not by a long shot. But when you put up QS's with NY's lineup and NY's bullpen you are going to win a fair share of games.

So we are to believe that one bad half of a season invalidates a solid career in the AL East? He is still in his prime (provided the back end of it), still throws just as hard and throws with the same bite. He had an unprecedented first half of the yr last yr and if he kept that up, I would be very worried. But he didnt and returned his number to respectability. I dont expect him to be the pitcher he was in the first half all yr, nor do I think he will be as good as he was in the last half. He is an easily predicted pitcher when on the yankees. 200IP 15-20 wins 3.8-4.2ERA and nothing will change.

Certain pitchers translate well to the AL East. Large arsenals, good control, power ful pitchers. Beckett has the last 2. He regressed as a pitcher last yr rather than "fought through an adjustment yr." He needs to reverse the trend or he could get worse.

I hope not. I dont like that violent motion, it has Tommy John written all over it. Nathan would be a good sign, but Mo should be here through 2009, the first season in the new stadium. He has said he wants to close in the new stadium, the yankees want him closing in the new stadium, and I sure as hell want him closing in the new stadium. I have a feeling that would be his final yr.

agreed. He was a terrible signing and is a scumbag. But he can pitch when he is healthy and has a market if he shows he can pitch. If we can have a reasonably signed 31 yr old showing he can pitch in the AL East, we could get another few top prospects and open up room for Clemens or Hughes to slide into the slot.

the doctor said he'd have less chance of hurting it starting. He said nothing about improving.

that is tampering.

with pitching, you typically revert to baseline with 50% of the if's working. That is why I think the yankees are a bit more consistent, because Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina are not flashy, but eat innings effectively. They arent aces by any means, but their contributions can be predicted easily prior to the season. The yankees if's include spots 4 and 5 in the rotation. The sox if's include 1-4 with a healthy Wake being a very predictable pitcher. Assume 2 of the 4 come true. My pick is Matsuzaka a full yes and beckett and paps splitting one. Beckett will show marginal improvement and Paps will have a good season by the end, but will be handled VERY carefully.

Schilling starts the yr as the ace in position only. Schilling will end up as the 2 but this is the yr his decline becomes evident. Matsuzaka becomes the ace by the all star break. Beckett only shows marginal improvement and Paps is treated with kid gloves.

Well, you sure are enthusiastic about your team, good for you.