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.)

News Droppings

On the Swisher and Nady front:

Tyler Kepner of The New York Times checks in today with some good stuff on the possible trades involving either corner OF, citing interest by the Reds, Nats, Braves, and Giants. From the tone of the piece, it looks like the Yankees aren't going to make a trade for the sake of clearing payroll or opening a spot on the roster. It makes sense. Nady and Swisher are two key guys who can play a meaningful factor in all 162.

Brain Cashman was quoted as well, saying:
“It depends on the trade talk, If we feel there’s a benefit, we’ll make a move. That’s basically it. We’re in a position where we don’t have to make a move, so that’s a strong position to be in. We could have them all year. We’re not going to do anything unless there’s a reason to do it.”

I wouldn't force the issue either. I think that this year will be the year of the mid-season acquisition. The free agent class next year is pretty weak and there's a lot of parity in the divisions these days. A lot of teams will be looking to pick up a key piece at the trading deadline and thinking they have enough to make a run.

The Yankees may find a better market for either player in late June than in January.

On the Spring Training front:

From mlb.com and the boys at RAB the Yankees have offered 20 players non-roster invites to Spring Training. The list is as follows:

Pitchers: Kei Igawa, Jason Johnson, Mark Melancon, Sergio Mitre
Catchers: Kyle Anson, Kevin Cash, Jesus Montero, PJ Pilittere, Austin Romine
Infielders: Doug Bernier, Angel Berroa, Eduardo Nunez, Ramiro Pena, Kevin Russo
Outfielders: Colin Curtis, Shelley Duncan, Austin Jackson, Justin Leone, Todd Linden, John Rodriguez

Notables are of course Austin Jackson, Austin Romine, Jesus Montero, and Mark Melancon as they represent the best and the best known names of our homegrown talent. Keep your eyes on Ramiro Pena, Eduardo Nunez and Kevin Russo though. They will get more opportunities in camp than they normally would due to Derek and Alex's commitments to the WBC.

Jason Johnson, Angel Berroa, Kevin Cash, Todd Linden and John Rodriguez all have MLB experience and all more notable than Kei Igawa's, Justin Leone's, Shelley Duncan's, Doug Bernier's. Berroa was in fact the rookie of the year back in 2003 when he beat out Hideki Matsui for the title.

On the Jorge Posada front:

It's not looking like the Jorge will DH for Puerto Rico in the WBC. The Yankees are telling anyone within earshot that Jorge's just not ready for that kind of commitment.

I think we may get a pissing match yet though.

Cash has decreed:
"I am sure he would love to play [in the World Baseball Classic], but he is currently rehabbing from surgery and would not be ready."
"He wouldn't be able to perform. He won't start on time as a catcher in spring training. It's just a fact. There's nothing I can do about it or the player can do about it. We're hoping to have Jorge by Opening Day, but he will not be the opening spring training catcher, I can tell you that."

Jorge's retort:
"This will be my last chance to play for Puerto Rico, and I'm very clear on that. For that reason, I'll do anything possible to be 100 percent, because it is a dream of mine to wear that uniform."

Jorge's Dad even had this to say:
"He feels fine and wants to play for Puerto Rico."

Team Puerto Rico's GM, Lou Mendez mused:
"I would love to have Posada on Team PR. I am waiting to learn his status because of insurance issues."

And finally, Joe Giradi chimed in with:
"Obviously, he's very important to this club," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said recently. "We need him. I'm encouraged right now. ... You can talk about playing three out of four [games] or four out of five, but I think early on the important thing is that we don't abuse him, and allow him to continue to gain strength in that shoulder. I plan on him being our everyday catcher."

I hope this thing dies down and Jorge realizes that he's got to learn 2 new pitchers and needs to have much more of a commitment to the team that signs his paychecks than the country where his dad knocked up his mom.

Inmates vs. The Asylum

I alluded to this very recently in my Top Ten Reasons the Yankees Lost in 2008 post. This kind of primadonna crap gets on my nerves. Apparently Jorge Posada is gearing up to DH for Puerto Rico in the WBC. This report is coming from ESPN Deportes, but I'll give the hat tip to RAB for breaking it and the report can be reached here.

While this report is in no way confirmed, we can assume fairly easily that this is something Jorge wants to do. We can also assume, just as easily, that is certainly something that the Yankees do not want him to do. It's a tough call. I'm sure he's dying to play. He never wanted to go on the DL or even get the surgery in the first place last year, so I'm pretty sure he's itching to see some live pitches. I get it and normally I wouldn't have a problem.

The thing is, Jorge is 37 and coming off of reconstruction surgery in his shoulder. Naturally the Yankees want to keep him in-house so they can get their own readings on Jorge's recovery and rehabilitation. Also, they want to ensure that Jorge breaks camp healthy and with all his throwing strength. Any sort of head-first slide, collision at the plate, or what-have you could erase all the hard work he put in over the Winter. It's just a better way to keep tabs on a key player coming off of a serious injury. After all, the Yankees committed 4 more years to him and a bunch more millions before the injury-shortened '08 season. The least Jorge could do is obey the wishes of the team. We'll see about that.

In the interest of fairness though, if I was Jorge I'd stay as far away from any Yankee Spring Training. All the strength and conditioning work that gets done there leads to some horrific season ending injury for a hefty percentage of the team. Obviously I'd prefer Jorge to stay in Florida this Spring and root for Puerto Rico on TV, but all he's really doing is giving the Romaine's, Montero's, Molina's, Cervelli's, Cash's, and maybe even the Nutt's of the world to get some more time in behind the dish they wouldn't normally with Jorge in camp. If he does go to the WBC though, I'd just tell Jorge to get used to DH'ing. Once Matsui's gone he's got 2 more years where he'll be doing it exclusively.

"We Need Offense"

I keep seeing this. On message boards. In the "Comments" section after an online article or blog. In my dreams.

Seriously, these words haunt me. They're scary. Especially if Cashman hears them and it leads to 8 years of Teixeira and/or any years with Manny. That's just frightening.

I am steadfast in my belief that Brian Cashman will remain deaf to these pleas from the ignorant, uninformed, and downright idiotic members (a.k.a. "the majority") of our glorious fan base. Something tells me he pays a little bit more attention than these dunderheads.

For example, I am pretty sure Cashman is taking a lot more into account than "who's gunna protect A-rod?". I hate that question. I don't even understand the concept of protection in the lineup. It's probably one of the dumber things I hear people say when they're analyzing a lineup. There's 3 outs per inning, the batting order doesn't matter much when you're facing elite pitching.

Most fans don't realize the bats that we've already acquired this off season. Allow me to re-introduce most in the fanbase to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada.

Hideki Matsui has been battling injury fairly consistently for the past 3 seasons. In 2006 he played in only 51 games, he missed 20 games in 2007, and missed 69 games this season. Over that 3 year period he's missed more than a full season plus the playoffs.

The good news is he's our DH. The bum knee and freak wrist injuries are less apt to happen when you watch the other team hit from the bench. For his career, Matsui has DH'd in 134 games -- almost a full season. And over that almost-season as a DH, Matsui hit .296 with .369 OBP and .489 SLG. -- with 22 HRs and 90 RBI. Not bad at all.

It isn't too much of a stretch to expect this type of production next year. And it's a pretty good bargain at $13 mill if we could just get Manny off the brain. If Matsui can do that, who needs Manny anyway? Hell, David Ortiz, widely considered the best DH in the league, posted a .264/.369/.507 line last year with 23 HRs and 89 RBI. Granted he was battling a wrist injury of his own, but I'm fine with cherry-picking stats that prove my point.

Jorge Posada is our catcher. In 2008 he experienced his first injury-shortened season and only played in just 51 games. Unfortunately, his shoulder gave out on him and needed extensive surgery. He's still rehabbing the shoulder and has recently made as many as 75 throws from 60 feet. The hope everyone holds is that he can regain his shoulder strength and have enough to play 120 or more behind the dish.

Jorge's strength has always been his impressive switch hitting ability as opposed to his average to above-average catching ability. In 2007 he set career highs in offensive categories by posting a sick, sick line of .338/.426/.543. His career numbers are still impressive for catchers in the league with a line of .277/.380/.477. Something between/near those 2 lines is probable for 2009. And when you take into account the production we got from the catching position in 2007:

Jose Molina: .216/.263/.313
Chad Moeller: .231/.311/.330
Ivan Rodriguez: .219/.257/.323
Francisco Cervelli: .000/.000/.000

You'd understand first why scoring was so far down and second that giving up on Chad Moeller and expecting Pudge to do something was a really fucking stupid idea. Posada's numbers as a catcher are light years beyond this pile of shit we were forced to eat last year. Sorry for the profanity, but those numbers make me really mad!

The problem with Posada is that shoulder. It forces us to be extra-cautious in regards to a guy like Mark Teixeira. You can't go long term with Teixeira when 3 years reamian of Posada's deal. And those who point to Posada's progression in going 75 throws at 60 feet, he's still 6 inches away from getting it back to a pitcher with a 75 pitch limit.

Manny and Teixeira are not realistic or even smart options at this point. We don't need offense. So shut up.