| 02 April 2009
We're less than one week away from opening day so it's time to take one last look at the teams we'll be seeing the most of over the next six months - the AL East.
YFSF and Pinstripe Alley both wrote previews for us back in February and Fire Brand of the AL is running their annual Know Thy Enemy previews this week, but we're going to keep things simple this week and give you Three Things you should know about the 2009 Orioles.
Click these links to get Three Things about the Blue Jays, Rays and Orioles.
The are tons of things to talk about when it comes to the Yankees but here are Three Things I consider to be key topics for the 2009 season:
1. Does Arod make or break this team? Arod is a one man circus... and not in a good way. Despite his ability as a player, he remained a dark cloud hovering over the Yankees and that cloud became a hurricane this offseason. Hip surgery in a cyst will keep him out out of the lineup and the spotlight for the first half of the season, but that could be a blessing or a curse - depending on your point of view. The Yankees roster is still stacked with talent, but Arod absense will put added stress on Mark Teixeira and the middle of the lineup. Now Tex is the lone power threath, unless you still consider Matsui, Swisher, Nady and/or Posada power threats. The offense will be potent, but it also has a number of question marks... Arod's return to the lineup will be a huge boost for the second half, but the cirus that follows him might ruin any good mojo the team develops in the first half. Only time will tell.
Oh and in the meantime, Cody Ransom will likely be filling in at third base. He hit .302 (43 AB) in 2008, but he's a career .251 hitter and has never started...
2. Under pressure. The Yankees spent a gazillion dollars this offseason in an effort to get back ontop of the AL East and the major leagues. They spent another gazillion, well "they" meaning New York residents, on a brand new stadium. If they don't win it all in 2009, I wouldn't be surprised if the state of New York simply imploded in October.
Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia will probably feel the most pressure. Tex will be expected to anchor the lineup while Arod is out and Sabathia is expected to be durable, effective and imposing for 200 innings, while often squaring off with the opponent's ace. C.C. didn't handle the pressure all that well when the Red Sox trounced him and the Indians in the 2007 playoffs (10.1 IP, 12 ER, 17 H, 7 BB, 2 losses)... and Yankees fans will waste no time pouncing (or bouncing) of the hefty lefty if he doesn't look like a 20 game winner right out of the gate.
AJ Burnett is another concern. He knows every baseball fan in the world is just waiting for him to come up lame at some piont this season. The pressure to perfomr and stay healthy will be tremendous all season and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he tries to fight through an injury at some point, just avoid the "I told you so's."
And we won't even talk about the presure Arod will feel when he comes back...
3. Underachievers. The Yankees will be hoping for some bounce back seasons in 2009. In 2007 Robinson Cano hit .306 with 19 homers, 97 RBI and 93 runs scored. That was after he hit .342 in 2006. But in 2008, Cano never really got it all together and he finished at .271 with 72 RBI and 70 runs. Most teams would love those numbers from their 2B, but with Jeter set to lead off and Damon in the two hole, the Yankees will be looking to Cano for production in the middle of the lineup. So far this spring, he seems poised to bounce back:
51 AB, .333 BA, .382 OBP, 3 HR, 8 RBI.
Hideki Matsui missed all of July last season due to injury, but did finish with a .294 BA. He's shown some pop this spring (3 HR, 12 RBI) but he's hitting just .233. Matsui will likely spend alot of time at DH, now that Jason Giambi is in Oakland, and that should keep the 35 year old healthy. Matsui can help Teixeira anchor the lineup if he can get back to his ususal 20 HR, 100 RBI, .300 BA form.
After coming out of knowhere to hit .338 in 2007, Jorge Posada played just 51 games in 2008. Posada will turn 38 in August and all those 140+ game seasons seem to finally be catching up to him (no pun intended). If Posada struggles to stay behind the plate, the Ynakees have the option to have him DH, but it creates a messy platoon in the outfield with Matsui, Damon, Gardner, Cabrera, Nady and Swisher. Depth is a good thing, but too many moving parts is not. The more immediate concern is that Posada might be cooked all together. He's a .300 hitter with some pop when healthy, if he hits the DL again, Jose Molina and his .216 BA will weaken the lineup dramatically.
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