Sheffield for Hire

The Detroit Tigers released outfielder Gary Sheffield today. Sheffield, who will be due $14 million dollars, was having a very disappointing spring batting only .178 in 45 at bats.

Just like most people I was very surprised by this move. Of course it is probably the right move but how often do you see a team release a 9 time All-Star who is one home run shy of his 500th dinger. Sheff’s stay in Detroit was a major disappointment to say the least. In two injury plagued seasons he hit just .250 with 44 homers in only 247 games. Also while with Detroit the once versatile Sheffield became relegated to DH duties.

This move also will bring into question Sheffield’s legacy as he nears the end of his career and moves onto the Hall of Fame ballot. Assuming another team signs him for the ‘09 season, that will mark the 8th ball club he’s played for. Throughout his career he has been one of the most feared hitters in the league but in the steroid era is 499 homers and 2615 hits enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. Also take into account that he has never been the most media friendly player and is notorious for his surly attitude. Even after his release he stated he was “ probably the most athletic guy on this team”. Come on Gary, you’re 40 years old and haven’t been healthy since 2005, you wouldn’t be the most athletic guy on an independent team.

I think 2009 will be the last we see of Gary Sheffield. Im pretty confident there’s a club out there that will take him on as a bat off the bench/ 4th outfielder. Beyond ‘09 I just don’t see Gary’s inflated ego taking a contract for what he’s worth right now, which would probably be in the 1-2 million dollar range. The next question then becomes is he a Hall of Famer? I personally would say yes, but honestly if he does get in it will be after a number of years on the ballot. What do you guys think, would you vote him in?

-Robb Lennahan

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

My Yankees Opening Day Roster

Everyone else is doing it, so I figured why not me...

C Jorge Posada
1B Mark Teixeira
2B Robinson Cano
3B Cody Ransom
SS Derek Jeter
LF Johnny Damon
CF Brett Gardner
RF Xavier Nady
DH Hideki Matsui

C Jose Molina
RF Nick Swisher
CF Melky Cabrera
INF Ramiro Pena

SP CC Sabathia
SP Chien Ming Wang
SP AJ Burnett
SP Andy Pettitte
SP Joba Chamberlain

CL Mariano Rivera
SU Damaso Marte
SU Brian Bruney
MR Jose Veras
MR Phil Coke
MR Edwar Ramirez
LR Brett Tomko

Brett, the Best Bet for Center

Before Sundays win against Pittsburgh, skipper Joe Girardi named Brett Gardner as the team's starting center fielder. We are happy for Brett and think that his speed and defense will help the team immensely. Brett should be given the green light to run at his own discretion and if so he should rack up upwards of 40 stolen bases this year. The Yankees haven't had a speed threat like that since Alfonso Soriano.

My only concern was that maybe Joe could have held off with announcing the winner of the battle between Gardy and the Melk Man until the last couple of exhibitions against the Cubs christening the new Yankee Stadium. Gardner, being a young player could let complacency slip in much the way we saw with Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera in the past. However something tells me that Gardner will not let this oppurtunity go to waste and will play every game like he's competing to keep the job. Because in all essence he will be. If he falls into a prolonged slump I'm sure we'll see Melky or someone else trying their luck in conquering the center field position.

-Favad Ali

David Price: The future is...in the minors

The defending AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays optioned 23 year old left handed pitcher David Price to their minor league camp today. The move was based solely on the Rays desire to closely monitor the workload of their young phenom. After pitching 139.1 innings between the majors and minors last season, the Rays do not want to increase his innings by more than 20% in 2009. A 20% increase would put Price’s ‘09 innings pitched to roughly 165 innings.

While I completely understand the decision made by the Rays and am not at all surprised by it, I think it’s the wrong one for the organization. The Rays who are hampered by a limited payroll, play in the same division with the infinite money of the Yankees and Red Sox and realistically have a short amount of time to be competitive. Regardless of how deep their minor league system is and how good they are at developing players, we just have not seen a team consistently compete with one of the lower payrolls in the league. Now I fully understand that with Price pitching in the minors he can be lifted at any point in the game without any real consequences as to the outcome of the game. In the big leagues though, this is much harder to justify. Removing Price from a 1-0 game in the 5th inning is easier said than done, especially if the Rays lose the game. I also understand the Rays desire to give Price regular work and keep him on a consistent pitching schedule but I think it would be more beneficial to their major league team if he was with them all season. They could possibly start Price in the bullpen and then move him into the rotation later in the season similar to what the Yankees did with Joba Chamberlain in ‘08.

Is it possible for the Rays to compete this year even with David Price in the minors for half of the season? Absolutely. In fact I think the Rays have a stronger team than last season. Unfortunately for them so do the Yankees and Red Sox. This means EVERY game matters. This is why I believe David Price should be on their major league roster all season, even if he’s in the bullpen. In such a competitive division you must have your 25 best players available even if that means taking a risk with the left arm of your future ace.

-Robb Lennahan

Yankees New and Notes

Manager Joe Girardi will experiment with the lineup batting Derek Jeter in the leadoff position for the rest of Spring Training. He will drop Johnny Damon to number two because he likes Damon’s ability to pull the ball and hit in situations. Story

[My Take: This could be an interesting move as Damon is one of the toughest players to double up and has more pop than Jeter. However, the move could be a wash as Jeter is also an exceptional situational hitter because of his propensity to shoot the ball to right field.]

Brian Cashman is still looking to move Melky Cabrera who is out of options and has taken a back seat to Brett Gardner in the CF mix. The White Sox are a prime target according to Ken Rosenthal who can throw Cabrera into their CF competition which features motley-looking crew consisting of Brian Anderson, Dewayne Wise, and Jerry Owens. Story

[My Take: Melky’s has had more than a fair chance to become a mainstay over the past 3 seasons. It’s time to cut him loose and see if the Yankees can get something worthwhile in return. Also, Gardner’s superior speed and defense along with his patience at the plate are more of an asset than what Melky brings to the table. Gardner could/should not be longed for this position in the future though, as Austin Jackson would be the ideal answer in center for the future.

CC Sabathia has been named the starter for both the season opener in Baltimore and opening day ten days later at the new Yankee Stadium against Cleveland. Story

[My Take: No surprise here as CC should take the ball for both openers as he is the big name/big money ace who was brought in to be the number one starter that the Yankees have lacked for so long now.]

-Favad Ali

NYY Position Battles

It seems that Joe Girardi has selected Xavier Nady as the starting rightfielder to start the season instead of Nick Swisher. Much to our chagrin as the stats just show that Swisher is the more prudent choice as documented in this previous article.

Joe Girardi has not yet announced his choice for starting centerfielder but Brett Gardner has to be in the lead if you take in his performance this spring compared to Melky Cabrera’s. Whoever ends up starting will only be keeping the position warm for Austin Jackson, as the youngster looks primed for a shot at the bigs this year or next.

All things being equal, Brett Tomko looks like the frontrunner in the race to fill the long man role out of the bullpen. Tomko has out performed Dan Geise and Alfredo Aceves his spring and as a result deserves the shot.

Cody Ransom has won the dubious honor of holding third base for Alex Rodriguez until the slugger returns from injury. Ransom didn’t really have to compete for the spot as the Yankees didn’t have many other options. As a result of Ransom being forced into a starting role Angel Berroa looks have won the utility role of the bench.

-Favad Ali

Kudos to Japan

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but I wanted to congratulate Japan for winning a second consecutive WBC crown. The championship game was a thrilling one as they beat Korea 5-3 in 10 innings. Team USA can learn a thing or two from both Japan and Korea about how to play and win in these tournament showcases.

AJ Burnin' Up

For as long as AJ Burnett has been in the Majors, we have all heard about the stuff he possesses and his potential to be great. He is now 32 and his stuff and his potential have yet to translate into great success on the mound. He and the Yankees believe this is the year that it will happen. Burnett looked solid once again as the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 7-1 Tuesday night. He pitched into the sixth while allowing 1 run on 4 hits. His spring ERA in 4 starts is a stellar 1.20. Obviously, you can’t expect Burnett to pitch this spectacularly during the regular year, but everyone around Yankees camp believe he is primed for a solid first year with the club.

He has matured as a pitcher and learned a lot from former Blue Jay teammate Roy Halladay. AJ looks and works more like a pitcher rather than just a hard thrower compared to years gone by. Everyone knows about his fastball, but he has done an excellent job of mixing in his breaking pitches and changing speeds this spring. He has even been tutoring Chien Ming Wang, talking about mixing in more offspeed pitches to compliment his hard sinker. They key for AJ this year will be staying healthy. He has been injury plagued throughout his career and must stay off the DL as he and the rest of the Yankee starters will play a vital role in the team’s success this year.

-Favad Ali