Bring on the Bo Sox

I know that it is still early in the season but this 2 game mini series with the Red Sox is a big one for the Yanks. After the 3 game sweep at Fenway last week, the Yankees should be looking for a measure of revenge in this series. The Red Sox are reeling a bit after dropping 3 of 4 over the weekend against Tampa. It will certainly help to have Nick Swisher back in the lineup. He was sorely missed in Saturday’s loss against the Angels.

Series Pitching Matchups:
Phil “The Thrill” Hughes will take the ball for the Yankees. He will be countered by Jon Lester.
Game 2 on Tuesday will see Joba Chamberlain against Josh Beckett.

Alfredo Aceves was called up from Scranton-Wilkes Barre.

A Weekend to Forget...

The Yankees have to be scratching their heads following being swept by Boston this weekend. Sunday night’s game saw a lifeless effort by the Yankees which could be directly linked to how the first two games of the series played out. Friday night’s contest looked all but theirs as Mariano Rivera was one out away from closing out a 4-2 win for the Yankees. Instead he gave up a game tying 2-run homer to Jason Bay. The Yankees went on to lose the game in extra innings when Damaso Marte allowed a walk off home run by Kevin Youkilis.

Saturday’s game promised to be a pitcher’s match up of epic proportions as former teammates AJ Burnett and Josh Beckett went head to head. Burnett held up his part of the deal as he looked dominant through 3 innings. By that time Beckett had already allowed 6 runs and after 3 the Yankees led 6-0. The Red Sox would then mount a ridiculous comeback on Burnett and a parade of relievers as they scored in each and every subsequent inning and won the game 16-11. Burnett who looked so dominant through 3 looked lost over the next 2 frames and ended up allowing 8 earned runs over 5 innings.

After the heartbreaking losses that the Yankees endured on Friday and Saturday, they simply looked flat while being defeated 4-1 Sunday night. Andy Pettitte had little to no support by his teammates in the field and at the plate. Pettitte did not help his own cause very much either as he allowed an embarrassing moment when Jocoby Ellsbury stole home on the lefty.

Overall, it was a weekend to forget for the Yankees. Did I forget to mention that Brian Bruney and Cody Ransom both went down with injuries during the series as well? It’s on to Detroit now for the Yanks. They can sure use a dominant 8 inning performance from CC as the bullpen has been bruised and battered over the past 3 days. Let’s see if the hefty lefty can deliver a much needed win.

Hey Big Papi...SHUT UP!

For years Yankees fans saw Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox continually plunk Derek Jeter and others on numerous occasions with little to no retaliation. And for years Yankees fans thirsted for someone to step up to Red Sox hitters (mainly Ortiz and Ramirez) and pitch them inside. Yankees fans wanted to see their pitchers come inside not to target Red Sox hitters, but to back them off of the plate and establish the inside corner.

We finally have the pitcher we so deeply yearned for. Joba Chamberlain has come inside on Red Sox hitters regularly the past couple of seasons. And he has enjoyed great success against them because of it. Most notably, he out-dueled Josh Beckett in a 1-0 Yankee win in Fenway Park just last season. Chamberlain is well within his rights to throw inside. Although, it may seem that he has a strange fetish when it comes to seeing Kevin Youkilis hit the deck, Chamberlain has done nothing wrong.

That brings us to “Big Papi”, David Oritz. Ortiz was quoted in the New York Post talking about how Chamberlain should not continue to throw inside and particularly not throw inside on Kevin Youkilis. Here are the direct quotes:

“None of that, man--just play the game the way it’s supposed to be, and that’s about it.”

“This is a guy, as good as he is, and the next step for him will be to earn respect from everybody in the league. He’s not a bad guy, but when things like that happen, people get the wrong idea.”

Here is my issue with what Ortiz had to say. First, he plays on the same club with a guy who just last week tried to decapitate Bobby Abreu. Ortiz should look around in his own locker room before commenting on Chamberlain. Chamberlain never fired a ball at a batter's head, after the batter stepped out of the batter's box.

Second, as far as I can tell, Chamberlain is playing the game the way it’s meant to be played. While he did throw inside or behind Youkilis on numerous occasions, he never hit him. He has played the game the same way that winner’s such as Bob Gibson, Don Drysdale, and Tom Seaver played the game. As a power pitcher he must own the inside part of the plate and if he has to back hitters off a bit, he is well within his rights.

Thirdly, Ortiz couldn't be more off on the "respect" thing. Chamberlain shouldn’t be concerned with earning the respect of everyone in the league. His main concern is to win games for the New York Yankees. If he has to come inside, that is his right. The last thing he should think about when pitching is, “What if Youkilis doesn’t like me?”

Lastly, Ortiz needs to worry about himself, and his .220 batting average. This guy clearly has not been himself since Manny left. Whether, that is attributable to Manny leaving, being older, being fatter, whatever the case, Ortiz should shut his yap, and worry about his own game.

It could be that Big Papi is trying to gain a psychological edge over Chamberlain. If that is the case, it just shows that Ortiz the Red Sox don’t feel comfortable stepping in against Joba. If I were Joba, I would buzz Ortiz the first time he comes to bat (just knock him down, not to hit him) and give him a little wink afterwards, as to say “You are not telling me what to do.” “You are not my Papi.”

-Favad Ali

Josh Beckett, Head Hunter?

Is Josh Beckett aware that Bobby Abreu no longer plays for the Yankees? Was Beckett's wayward pitch intentional? You be the judge...

Rivalry Renewed

Yankees vs. Red Sox: Position by Position

With the Yankees falling out of playoff contention last year, the rivalry took a bit of a year off. With the moves the Yankees have made this offseason I believe they have closed the gap with their bitter rivals and the war is back on for 2009! I am no way discounting the Rays because they are the defending division champs and they will battle the Yanks and Sox all year long. This post is just purely to highlight the special rivalry the Yanks and Sox share.

C-Yankees. If Posada is anywhere near 100% his offensive production should be head and shoulders above the woeful Varitek

1B-Yankees (Barely). Tex is primed for a big year in the Bronx, but Youk is also an offensive force, especially in Fenway Park. Tiebreak goes to the Yankees because they ended up signing Teixeira away from the Sox, who so desperately wanted the slugger

2B- Red Sox. Reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia will probably come down to earth a bit from last year but Cano’s inconsistency gives Pedroia the edge.

3B-Yankees A-Rod Returns in May. Enough said.

SS-Yankees. Jeter may be headed into decline but I’d still take him over the combo of Lowrie and Lugo anyday.

LF-Push. Bay fit into the Red Sox clubhouse nicely, but Damon continues to be a force coming off of another great year.

CF- Red Sox. Ellsbury is exactly the type of player the Yankees hope Gardner turns into this year. Excellent defensively and on the bases.

RF- Push. Drew still has yet to put together a complete season in Boston. While the combination of Nady and Swisher should be comparible to Drew's production.

DH- Red Sox. Papi had a down year in 08 while Matsui could barely stay on the field. Papi takes it on pedigree.

Bench: Push. The Yankees will feature a bench with Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera on it. While the Sox have Rocco Baldelli and Mark Kotsay on the bench.

SP- Yankees. Top 3 are a push. Sabathia, Wang, Burnett are just as good as Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka. 4-5 Starters give the Yanks the edge. Pettitte and Chamberlain over Wakefield and Penny easily.

Middle Relief- Red Sox. The Yankees should be improved but the Sox have the proven bullpen arms.

Closer- Yankees. Rivera is still the greatest of all time but Papelbon isn’t far behind.

Manager- Red Sox. Francona has shown a winner’s touch while Girardi has yet to taste the champagne.

Front Office- Red Sox. You can’t argue with their success in mixing solid vets with young players from within. A lot like what the Yankees did back in ’94-’01. Yankees are slowly getting back to that formula.

Final Score: 6-6

It should be a fun year.

I’m sure these will be hotly contested opinions. I’d love to hear your comments/arguments. So please Post ‘em!

-Favad Ali

So Long Curt

Curt Schilling announced his retirement today via his blog 38Pitches.com. Schilling is a borderline hall of famer and a bona fide big game pitcher whose loud personality almost outweighed his ability on the mound. He was truly one of the best big game pitchers to ever toe the rubber, compiling an 10-2 record in the postseason.

As a Yankee fan, I am glad to see him go, as he has been at the center of the Yankees misfortunes in recent years, from his MVP performance to beat the Yankees in the ’01 World Series as a member of the Diamondbacks to his bloody sock performance which propelled the Red Sox to overcome a 3-0 series lead in the ‘04 ALCS. Schilling could have been a Yankee going in to the ’04 season, but the Yankees chose to go and trade for the younger Javier Vasquez. At the time, it seemed like the right move, but it blew up in their face and the rest is history. He will forever be a legend to fans in Boston and a villain to the highest degree in New York.

-Favad Ali

Best Rotation in the Game?

CC Sabathia, Chien Ming Wang, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and Joba Chamberlain. Not a bad starting five. In fact, I challenge you to name a better starting five. Sabathia, the best left handed pitcher in baseball the last two seasons, and Wang will be good for a minimum 15 wins each with an era in the mid 3’s. Burnett and Pettitte will be good for 12-15 wins each with an era in the low 4’s. And Joba, if he stays healthy he will dominate, albeit in limited innings, I’m hearing around 150. What starting five can top this? Let’s try and find one.

Exhibit A
Boston Red Sox
Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester, Wakefield, Penny, Smoltz, Buckholz

This rotation is very top heavy, yet very fragile. Beckett must stay healthy to lead at the top of the rotation. You should get solid years from Matsuzaka and Lester once again, but the remaining arms are very spotty. Wakefield is going on 43 years old and has a tendency to be inconsistent. Penny and Smoltz were top of the rotation starters in years past, but both are coming off of major injuries and cannot be counted on until the second half of the season. Buckholz has shown flashes of brilliance but is not ready to become a regular member of a major league rotation.

Exhibit B
Tampa Bay Rays
Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Sonnanstine, Price

Young, hard throwing, and durable. That describes how the front four performed last year. But that was last year. Can they repeat solid 2008’s and prove they are consistent big league pitchers. Price is the X factor. He looks to be a can’s miss prospect. His showing in the postseason was nothing short of phenomenal in relief. But being a big league starter is a whole other animal. Also, the oft-injured Scott Kazmir will be a key as the Rays don’t have much depth in the starting rotation should he or someone else go down with an injury.

Exhibit C
Chicago Cubs
Zambrano, Harden, Dempster, Lilly, Marshall

The Cubs rotation was among the best in the game in 2008. However, expect a slight drop off this year. The combination of Harden’s health and whether or not the Cubs get repeat performances out of Lilly and Dempster, who each tallied 17 wins last year will be the key to Chicago’s success in the rotation this year. Zambrano should bounce back from a down year to lead this formidable five.

Exhibit D
San Francisco Giants
Lincecum, Cain, Johnson, Zito, Sanchez

The Giants rotation will be key for them competing for a division crown in the weak NL West. Cy Young Tim Lincecum should only improve this year. Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez have immense talent and are young and hungry. The veteran lefty duo of Randy Johnson and Barry Zito will also contribute. Johnson is looking to reach the magical 300 win mark while Zito showed he may have figured out how to pitch again, as he went 6-5 while holding batters to a .232 average in the second half of last year.

Honorable mention: Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks.

While arguments A-D were compelling, I would still take the Yankees rotation going into 2009 above anyone else’s. No other rotation boasts the same type of power and guile that the Yankees do. With an established ace who is coming of off back to back brilliant seasons, a sinkerballer who posted back to back 19 win seasons in 2006 and 2007, a flame thrower who wants to prove he can be a consistent winner, a wily lefty who still has what it takes to get batters out, and a 23 year old fire balling phenom, I sure do like their chances. Only time will tell if my argument will hold true.

-Favad Ali

49 year old, Oil Can Boyd: "I can still pitch!"

Is pitching in demand right now in baseball? Of course, the Mets just gave Livan Hernandez a minor league contract as proof for the need of pitching. Is there a market for a 10 year veteran with 78-77 record with a 4.04 ERA in 1389.2 innings pitched? You’d think so. But what if he’s a 49 year old veteran, who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues in 18 years. It's true, ex-Boston Red Sox pitcher, Dennis ‘Oil Can’ Boyd is throwing his arm into the free agent pool.

Children who were born the year Boyd retired, 1991, are driving now. The country has seen 3 new Presidents enter the oval office since Boyd last threw a pitch. Why does he want to come back now? Aside from saying his shoulder has never felt better and he’s still throwing in the 90s, his main reason is his idol, one of baseball’s all-time greats Satchel Paige. He says he’d like to emulate his idol who didn’t break into the game until his 40s and pitched well into his 50s. Boyd has stayed active in recent years playing for the Brockton Rox of the independent Canadian-American League in 2005 and playing with an All-Star Traveling team in 2007 consisting of former big leaguers Bill ‘The Spaceman’ Lee, Marquis Grissom, and Delino Deshields. All Boyd is asking for is 15 minutes of time from a team. He says “Give me 15 minutes and I’ll show you I can still pitch”.

Of course, the likelyhood that Boyd can still pitch effectively in the majors is very slim but not impossible. In 1999, 35 year old Jim Morris made his MLB debut pitching for the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays. Like the Morris story, Oil Can Boyd would be a tremendous feel good story and there’s nothing the game could use more right now. I’m rooting for Boyd and I hope some team at least gives him a shot. Baseball desperately needs some positive press right now, let’s hope Oil Can Boyd can provide it.

-Robb Lennahan

Papi Speaks out Against Users

The latest person to throw their two cents in to solve the problem of steroid use in baseball is non other than Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Following the opinion of White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, Ortiz also believes players who test positive for steroid use should be suspended for one entire season. Within the current MLB drug policy players who test positive once are subject to a 50 day suspension, followed by a 100 day suspension for a 2nd positive, and a lifetime ban for a 3rd positive test.

Ortiz coming out and calling for a one year suspension for steroid users is not the real story here. We’ve heard things like this ever since steroid use became such a problem in the game. From former and current players, the media, and the government, everyone’s been suggesting a number of solutions. The real issue with Ortiz is what happens if his name is on the infamous ‘list of 104’? Would he actually admit to his mistake, or better yet, voluntarily sit out an entire season? Obviously, because he has been one of the best hitters in the game and because he only became consistently productive after 2002, there will always be suspicions of steroid use.

As long as his name remains clean, with maybe 5 more productive seasons, he should merit a place in the Hall of Fame. However, if it does come to light he did use steroids, or was even associated with a steroid supplier, his numbers on the field will mean nothing. Especially after his one year ban proposal, I’d be surprised if Ortiz even got 5% of the votes for the Hall. I hope for his sake he has been clean, because if his numbers are tainted, his image will never recover. One question remains though if it surfaces that he did use. Would Ortiz dare set foot on the field of New Yankee Stadium and face the wrath of 50,000+ Yankee faithful? I guess he wouldn’t have a choice, and it would be very interesting to see.

-Robb Lennahan

The Manny Problem

Two Years for 45 million dollars. One year for 25 million dollars. These are the two reported contracts Manny Ramirez has turned down from the Los Angeles Dodgers. We all know Manny’s resume. A .396 batting average through 53 games to lead the Dodgers to the playoffs. World Series Championships in 2004 and 2007 with the Red Sox. A future 1st Ballot Hall of Famer, who will likely eclipse 600 home runs and come near 3000 hits all without the steriod cloud hanging over him.

We also know the negative side of Manny. Tanking his final season in Boston to force a trade to Los Angeles, the fake injuries, the clubhouse disputes, and the icing on the cake shoving Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground because he couldn’t accommodate Manny’s request of 16 tickets for a Red Sox-Astros game. By the Way Mr. McCormick is 64 years old.

Taking all this into account however and what you have is still one heck of a ballplayer (when he wants to be) and a ballplayer who will be paid a great deal of money. Now I understand a player's competitive nature doesn’t end on the field. Whether its baseball, basketball, or video games; I'm sure these guys want to be the best in everything they do. The same goes for their contracts. I’m sure Manny Ramirez feels that he should be one of the highest paid players in the game, because that’s part of his competitive nature. Being the best also means getting paid the most. Turn back the clock 3 years and this would be true and Manny would almost certainly be signed right now to whatever contract he wanted, lets say 4 years and 100 million dollars.

Unfortunately for Manny and many other Americans, it is 2009, and the country is in a serious economic recession. The word recession probably means very little to Manny Ramirez. He’s made well over 100 million dollars in his career, he’ll probably have more than enough money to take care of himself and his family for the next 50 years so this next contract shouldn’t really matter. But it does. It actually matters more than he realizes, I think. Lets take a look at his most likely employer for 2009 the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers play in the state of California. A state which is in serious economic trouble. California has 145 Billion dollars in expenditures through 2010. The expected revenue through that time is only 100 Billion. Meaning a 45 Billion Dollar deficit for the state in the next 2 years. Combine that with the taxpayers, who are losing jobs at an alarmingly high rate, and that spells trouble. People who are struggling to find employment or pay their mortgage or put food on the table certainly wont be going to any Dodgers games anytime soon.

But that’s not the issue, the Dodgers will sell tickets. The issue is how do the Dodgers justify to their state, and their fan base, bringing back a player who’s turned down such a large sum of money. Especially in light of their states economic problems. Can the fans really cheer for someone who turned down 20 Million dollars when the unemployment rate in California is at its highest in 15 years. When in December alone more than 78,000 people lost their jobs. How does Manny Ramirez justify turning down a 20 Million dollar contract. More so how can the Dodgers justify bringing him back at this point?

Looking at the Dodgers, like all teams, they have holes but unlike most teams they have some money to spend. For the 25 million they offered Manny they could most likely sign Adam Dunn, Juan Cruz, and either Randy Wolf or Ben Sheets. Now granted, none of those 3 players have the marketability of a Manny Ramirez but with those 3 players you have filled 3 glaring needs on your club. In a very weak National League West those signings barring injury should win you the division. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt needs to let his fan base know that he is willing to spend the money to put a winning team on the field but that he can't justify Manny’s demands in this economy.

I think letting Manny walk will actually make the Dodgers look better in the court of public opinion rather than signing him to 20+ million. The game is for the fans, and if I'm a Dodgers fan, I can't justify spending my hard earned money to go to a game to watch a player who cried all winter over only being offered a 25 million dollar contract. Mr. McCourt please take a stand and let this clown walk away and get his money from someone else, trust me you’ll be better off.

-Robb Lennahan