Gardner Tending The Field

An exciting race ends with a fairly lackluster finish as Brett Gardner beats out Melky Cabrera for the CF spot. At the very least, it was a good race that saw the speedy Gardner win the spot away from the younger and more experienced Cabrera.

Personally, I like either in this spot. With that in mind, I hope to never see Johnny Damon or Nick Swisher out in Center. In case you forgot, I need defense in that outfield. While I'm at it, I also never want to see the name Mike Cameron anywhere near the words "trade talks heat up".

The one thing that does surprise me about this move is the fact that we start Cody Ransom instead of the rehabbing Alex Rodriguez at 3rd base. I just think that Melky's experience kind of wins out in this situation. Maybe I'm splitting hairs, but an 8-9 of Cabrera, Ransom seems like it would turn over the lineup a bit better than Gardner, Ransom or Ransom, Gardner at the bottom.

I do expect to see a lot more running from this team this year though, and that seems to be the way Girardi's leaning. Melky's poor baserunning and nonexistant basestealing plus his lackluster and fading numbers are, after all, what sent him to Scranton last year. Anyone who's seen Gardner play knows that his speed is his game. And just to hammer his point on speed home, Girardi had this to say on the subject, “Speed is an interesting dimension to a club, and I like it, because it puts a lot of pressure on the defense”.

There you have it. With the Jeter-Damon flip-flop, the addition a Teixeira, a healthy Jorge and Matsui, Nady for a season with a touch of Swish, and Brett Gardner looking to swipe a few bags we've got a very new, new-look New York Yankees on our hands. This looks to be a very proactive and clever club equally adept at manufacturing runs as well as knocking them in.

Only one more week...

Johnny's Last Stand

It's plain to see now. In fact it's fairly obvious. Johnny Damon's tenure as a New York Yankee is officially coming to an end. I couldn't be happier.

When I first heard that Joe Girardi made an adjustment to the top of the lineup by pulling the ol' switcheroo with Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon I assumed it was more due to Jeter's new habit of grounding into double plays in key situations. The more I thought about it, the more Johnny Damon's new role started to sink in. After all, Damon was seen as a much needed savior and crucial cog in the machine when he was acquired as a free agent 3 years ago. Keep in mind, back then he was a lead-off hitting centerfielder. He begins his final tour of duty in Yankee pinstripes as a leftfielder hitting out of the 2-hole. Frankly, he's outplayed his usefulness. Good riddance.

In typical fashion Johnny Damon had something to say and didn't disappoint. He said this of the move, "I'm definitely bigger than most leadoff hitters, so it's time for me to move down, and I hit the ball on the right side a lot." Damon added, "I’m O.K. with it. It makes the team better. We know Derek’s on-base percentage is a lot higher than mine. Hopefully, we can tinker with this thing, and my production in the two-hole will increase with Derek on base quite a bit [...] He'll be on first and I can jack home runs." Curiously, he then added "Whatever Joe wants, I think how this camp has been going, you know, everyone's got to do what Joe wants."

That last line I feel is th most telling. Joe Girardi may say he's "toying" with it, but I fairly certain his mind is made up in this regard. When we open in Baltimore, Jeter will lead-off and Damon will bat second. This will be the 1-2 punch all season. Get used to it.

The CF battle between Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera has been one of the more interesting stories to keep an eye on down in Tampa. Gardner seems like he's gonna get the nod. He's often cited as Girardi favorite and looks like a Giradi disciple. Plus he's batted at a .343 clip this spring with 3Hrs. Melky isn't going quietly though. He's hit at a .313 clip and boasts 9 RBIs. Personally, I'd go with Melky in Center, shift him to left in the 7th, bench Damon, and let Gardner patrol CF during the last 3 innings. Did I mention I hate Johnny Damon? Regardless, look for the decision to be made by Monday.

Speaking of decisions, the long-man spot out of the pen is up for grabs today. Dan Geise, Brett Tomko, and Alfredo Aceves take the hill vs. The Atlanta Braves toaday a 1:15 PM ET. This may seem like a throw away position to the uninformed and nothing more than a dull battle between garbage arms, but if you remember anything about recent Yankee history, you'd know pitching is the most important thing. This is no different. We have 5 starting pitchers, yes, but none of them are without their nagging questions. The long man can either save the day like Ramiro Mendoza or compound your troubles like Ramiro Mendoza. --Sorry, I can't think of another long man besides Ramiro Mendoza.

This battle is also important because if Brett Tomko wins it out, someone will have to be sacrificed off the roster to make room as Tomko came to camp as a non-roster invitee. For the record, Tomko looks far superior to the other two this Spring posting a 1.46 ERA through 12 and 1/3 innings. Aceves has pitched to a 4.97 ERA and Geise carries an ERA of 7.43 -- pretty ugly fellas. Uglier still when I mention the 9 combined HRs the opposition has hit off you both. Today may be the last to make an impression.

What The WBC Has Taught Me

I've watched a lot of these games. A lot more than any sane person should, that's for sure, and I have gleamed a few bits of information from this event that I'd like to share. Let it be known before we start this that I am a fan of the World Baseball Classic. Here goes:

• First, MLB sucks at marketing. They're pathetic. You've got to really want to watch these games to even find them. I've had a helluva time catching the gams that I've wanted to watch. I get the fact that they're launching the MLB network while this event is going on and are using the event to showcase said network, but if you want viewers, you put it on broadcast TV. Plus, do your due dilligence to get the common baseball fan interested in watching Japan play Korea - showcase Yu Darvish, juxtapose the Eastern and Western style of baseball, just sell the f'n thing!
  
• Lose the fringe teams. Watching the Netherlands beat the Dominican Republic twice was neat, really, it was -- but the Netherlands have little to no business being associated with this event. Same with Italy, South Africa, and any of the other teams that can't field a Major Leaguer without looking at the registry in Ellis Island.
  
• If you're not willing to lose the fringe teams, then change the format. Double Elimination is a really dull way to solve anything. It's not something the typical American sports fan can relate to. Just play a round of single elimination games, then a few 3-game series culminating to a big 5 game series for the title, we get that, plus, it cuts out a lot of the down time most of the MLB players were complaining about. In Spring Training, there are games everyday, if you're going to run this event during Spring Training, you've got to do better to accommodate the guys who are supposed to be getting ready to do their jobs.
• Pitching and Defense, dummy! That's what this game is. All those ridiculous new offensive stats with their silly abbreviations and nonsensical values are only applicable to rotary/fantasy baseball owners. They don't amount to a hill of beans between those two white lines and if the WBC has done nothing else, it's further reinforced my understanding of what it takes to win. The Domincan team played shit defense and were chewed up by quality pitching. Go home, gentlemen. Just last night, Venezula demonstrated why Bobby Abreu is out of New York and why Miguel Cabrerra is terribly overrated. They both have no use for that hunk of leather they carry on their non-dominant hand. Add to that, Carlos f'n Silva and his high sinkers. Tell Hugo Chavez I said hi.
  
• With that in mind, Team USA, you're on borrowed time. Derek Jeter can't cover any real estate between himself and the 2nd base bag and that fact almost put Puerto Rico in instead. David Wright bailed us out though (unlike that other 3rd baseman from NY) and we snuck in. Japan sends the boys back home tonight on ESPN courtesy of Dice-K himself, (who cares though, let's just hope for a high pitch count).
  

Finally, Some Good News

• Cano and Marte both received a seemingly clean bill of health after spending some time in the ol' MRI tube. Test revealed shoulder bursitis for Cano and some inflammation for Marte, confirming what Yankee trainers and officials suspected.

It might just be me, but it seems like a pretty rare day when a Yankee injury in camp isn't season-threatening. Let's hope it stays that way.

• The new look Brian Bruney not only reported to camp 40 pounds lighter than his '06 form, and 20 pounds lighter than last year. He also sports a new attitude, confidence, and overall level of determination. Bruney wants the 8th (despite what most Joba-to-the-pen morons think) and is prepared to take it.

"I look at it like it's mine," Bruney said. "I've got to prepare for the eighth inning. Until somebody tells me what I'm throwing, my goal is the eighth inning. That's what I'm mentally preparing for [...] I like people that doubt me," Bruney said. "I would rather somebody doubt me than call me the best. Tell me I can't do something, and I'll do it. That's how I look at it. Now it's my goal to prove all the doubters wrong."

I love this and think Bruney's more than capable of being the man in that situation. He was very impressive before that crazy foot injury (same one that shelved Wang and killed our season) last year and returned late in the season to finish up with some sick to fairly sick numbers. Check it:
In 34.3 innings he surrendered only 18 hits, posted 33K's, and allowed just 16 walks. That's a WHIP of 0.990 - add to that an ERA of 1.83; pretty nasty.

Sure it's an injury shortened season, but his new commitment to himself, his teammates, and the game has me thinking that 2009 will be the breakout year for Brian Bruney and will, hopefully, quiet most of the asinine waterheads who still think Joba is best suited in the 'pen. I'm looking squarely at you ESPN and MLB Network.

• Jorge Posada took his rightful spot behind the plate and caught his first game in nearly a year. He reported no difficulty after catching three innings for Andy Pettite on Sunday. The next step will be catching in consecutive games and testing out that arm during steal attempts.
  

This is good news. Posada's health and ability to rebound from shoulder surgery is without a doubt the single most important part of our team's success going forward. We need him to catch and we need him to catch often. For those of you hoping for a return to the '06 form, he's also hitting a .360 clip this spring.

• Stay tuned because Mo goes tonight.
  

Obviously, this is tremendous. Little else needs to be said about the importance of Mariano Rivera.

• And on the lighter side, Manny Ramirez's triumphant return is being halted by, you guessed it Red Sox fans, a bad hamstring. Go figure, the guy hamstrings the organization all winter long by rejecting every offer laid in front of him, then he hurts his hamstring when running down a ball (at around half-speed mind you) during his first in-game action out in left.

Those morbid Yankee fans who are still holding out hope that we get Manny if he opts out in 2010 can officially get off the bandwagon and return any and all Yankee memorabilia they own. This is why you do not want anyone over 35 who only brings offense to the table in your outfield. While I truly hope Manny's injury isn't serious, as he's a fascinating personality and tremendous hitter, I do hope most fans will pull their collective heads out of their collective asses and let Manny be Manny someplace far, far away.

And in reality it's never good news if a player gets hurt (unless of course they play for Boston, get well soon Dustin, you too Julio.)

Since We Last Spoke...

It's been a hot minute since my last post. For that I apologize, but the stinking, festering A-Rod situation is too much to bear on a daily basis. I don't hate Alex Rodriguez for this. I hate A-Rod. I hate the public persona of the Yankees 3rd baseman. I hate the omnipresent media eye and media mouth that feeds off of and into this larger-than-life figure. It overshadows everything and is mostly meaningless, trite, and exploitative.

With that in mind, I am putting a moratorium on the nickname "A-Rod". After all, if Sean Combs can go by "Diddy" when the names "Puffy" and "Puff Daddy" held too much negative connotation and association with violence and murder, Alex can do it too when the name "A-Rod" is more a harbinger of doom, disaster, and PEDs.

It's incredibly hard to ignore the Alex Rodriguez story as it will venture on for the next nine years of all of our Yankee lives. Alex and his glove-slapping, steroid-injecting, She-Hulk loving ways will continue to weigh on and nag the most staunch of his supporters and admirers. Those who despise him will remain unaffected as every story that comes out serves only to reinforce the negative disposition and disdain they already hold towardds him.

With that in mind, the prevailing debate that rages on is whether or not the Yankees are better off without him as he rehabs the bum hip. It's an interesting debate to be sure as logic tells you no, but emotion tells you yes. Clearly, it's tough to reproduce what Alex's bat gives you on a daily basis. Then again, he's such a media magnet and lightning rod for controversy that his absence has got to be a relaxing and soothing change of pace in the already dangerous media jungle that is the Yankee Universe.

Personally, I really think we're better off without him, but for the short-term only. I don't care about missing him for a month, especially when it's the first month of the season. Those predicting doom and gloom for the Yankees because of no A-Rod in April won't even remember he was on the DL when August rolls around.

The game is still based on two things pitching and defense and Alex's presence has little to no bearing on either. In fact, after watching Cody Ransom flash the leather in a few Spring Training games, I'm fairly convinced that we're getting a bit of defensive upgrade over at the hot corner.

Yes, I expect less homeruns in April and less overall scoring for the month. It's all irrelevant though if we're able to prevent the other team for scoring any and with that rotation heathy and productive (knock on wood), we're sure to keep the crooked numbers off of the scoreboard. People still forget that during the most important stretch of the season last year we were going with Mussina, Pettite, Ponson, Pavano, and a prayer (the prayer being enough strength for Mussina to pitch everyday as he was the only effective starter from August to September). C.C., Wang, Burnett, Pettite, and Joba represent the best single-season upgrade in all of baseball and probably the best rotation in all of baseball as well. This fact is obviously being lost in the wash in the face of the Alex Rodriguez mellowdrama(s). Alas, such is life though.

Turning the page, I have been obsessed with the WBC thus far. I know, I know, Robby and Marte are hurting from their participation, but they were hurting before it started and played anyway like true Yankee A-holes. Watching the Domincan team get eliminated was both bittersweet and familiar. As a Yankee fan I can relate when an obviously more dominant team on paper loses to a team of seemingly lesser players. It was a textbook Yankee failure. A couple of poor defensive plays and an inability to hit offspeed stuff led to team DR's downfall, plus just piss poor management.

Team USA goes tonight, I think, on ESPN so check it out if you get the chance. Andy Pettite takes the hill for the Yanks against the Twins. The Gardner/Melky battle leans more toward Garnder by the day as does the Nady/Swisher battle lean toward Nady. It's definately going to be interesting to see how this shakes out as we progress towards opening day. Alex's injury also helps us out in this aspect too as we pretty much have an extra month to decide on how the outfield should look.