| 12 February 2009
We had two Yankees bloggers, Pinstripe Alley and our friend John from Yanks Fan Sox Fan.
Enjoy...
YFSF
The Yankees spent a ton of money this offseason. That's certainly not news. The news is that they finally went out and spent their money wisely. If there ever was a safe way to spend hundreds of millions of dollars, the Yankees did it this offseason. After years of throwing money at guys like Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano and Jose Contreras, they finally learned from their mistakes. They were able to tie up long term options at first base and at the front of their rotation. They brought back Andy Pettitte and traded for Nick Swisher. Both moves give the Yankees long term flexibility.
By bringing in Pettitte, the Yankees accomplished two very important things: One, they didn't stunt the growth (long term) of guys like Hughes and Kennedy. Two, they now have protection for both the bullpen and Joba's arm. Joba and the pen will be protected on both ends by Pettitte and Sabathia, two pitchers that are perennial workhorses. With Swisher, the Yankees get a guy who can play all three outfield positions and first base. They also get a guy that is locked up through 2011. The Yankees were sound in their moves and true to their plan. Something the Red Sox have being doing since Theo took over and it's seemed to work out very well for them.
Going into this season, the Yankees have two big questions: Can Jorge Posada be their every day catcher and is the tandem of Gardner and Cabrera enough to fill the center field void? Fortunately for the Yankees, they have some options if the answer to one or both of those questions is no. (See details below) In an ideal world, Posada catches, Tex plays first base, Cano at second, Alex at third, Jeter at short, Damon in left and they run a platoon in both center and right, with Matsui as the designated hitter. Swisher and Nady should be able to put up the numbers to replicate, if not exceed what they lost in Abreu. The same can be said for Tex and the loss of Giambi. Add to that a healthy Matsui and (hopefully) the reappearance of the real Robbie Cano and you have the makings of a very potent offense. The only part of this team I am not sold on is the bench, especially if they need to carry a third catcher to protect Posada. Angel Berroa and Cody Ransom provide position flexibility, but really nothing else. Look for Cashman to make another move to sure up this weak link. You don't spend the money the Yankees spent this offseason only to have a subpar bench.
Call me an optimist, but I love this pitching staff. It's a staff that compliments each other in every way. Sabathia loves being the man, Wang no longer has to be the man and Pettitte gives the Yankees the innings they need to protect Joba and their bullpen. The real key to the success of the Yankees season will be health and that starts with everyone's favorite target, AJ Burnett. Sure he's pitched 200 innings before, but 2 of those 3 seasons have been contract years. The optimist in me says he stays healthy, but the ghost of Carl Pavano still haunts my mind. If someone stumbles or needs a stay on the 15 day Pavano (H/T Mike Mussina) then the Yankees can call on Hughes, IPK, Aceves and veteran Jason Johnson to step in. The bullpen is stacked with an array of options from both sides. On paper this is as complete a bullpen as they have had in years. The key here will be finding someone to settle in to the set up role.
1. Which FA pick up is going to make the biggest impact in 2009: Sabathia, Burnett or Teixeira?
YFSF - To me, that's a no brainer, CC Sabathia. The Yankees have been searching for a true shut down ace for years. Finally after many, many fruitless efforts in the free agent market and many uneventful trades, the Yankees finally have that man in Sabathia.
PA - Gotta go with the obvious one here: Carsten Charles will have the biggest impact of the big three free agents. Not that Tex or Burnett won't, but the Yankees haven't had a pitcher of Sabathia's caliber AND endurance since god knows when. Tex will be good, but not THAT much better than Giambi. And Burnett could be great, but we just can't count on him to stay healthy. In short, CC is the single biggest leap forward from 2008's roster.
2. With Pettitte coming back, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy could find themselves in AAA to start the season One argument is to put Joba in the bullpen and let Hughes, Kennedy and others fight for the No. 5 spot... thoughts?
YFSF - Joba will eventually be Mariano's successor. Of that I am sure. Other than that night in Cleveland when the Midges decided to swarm, we have seen Joba handle the pressure of setting up and pitching out of the pen with relative ease. That's a very special skill that not many players have. (See Jonathon Broxton and Rafael Betancourt) For now, though, Joba belongs in the rotation. Phil and Ian are going to be handled with kid gloves and rightly so. The next time they pitch in the bigs will be under perfect circumstances. In a perfect world, IPK pitches lights out in Scranton and his value comes back closer to pre-2008. If and when that happens, the Yankees can use him as trade bait to fill whatever hole they have come July. As for Phil, I think the goal is to have him ready for the rotation in 2010. That's the beauty of the Pettitte signing; there's nobody blocking Phil long term. Another year in Scranton will serve him well.
PA - Despite the beliefs of some... let's call them morons (j/k), Joba should be a starter, and for so many reasons. To sum up: 1) 200+ innings is simply more valuable than 70+ (despite the fact the he might appear in more games), 2) he has FOUR average to plus-plus pitches, 3) he was a starter his entire pro career until August of '07 when he was converted purely because of an innings cap, 4) when has any team taken a great, young pitcher and tried to convert him to the pen? Would anyone dream of putting Lincecum, Felix, Price, etc. in the pen?, 5) if he fails for some reason, he can always fall back on relieving - it's FAR easier to go from starting to relieving than vice versa, and finally 6) the fact that Red Sox fans would love to see 'Joba the Reliever' should tell you something.
3. Abreu (20 HR, 100 RBI) and Giambi (32, 96) are gone... Teixeira should help fill that void, but are Yankee fans concerned about a loss of production? Abreu is still available (as of 2/3), should they try and bring him back?
YFSF - No and No. The Yankees have a number of options that should be able to get them close to that production, if not exceed it. In a perfect world, Jorge will be able to catch, Matsui will be able to DH and Swisher and Nady would be able to work a righty/ lefty platoon in right field. There will only be an issue if Jorge can't catch. If that were to happen, I would imagine you'd see one of two things: Damon or Swisher would move to center field to make up for Molina being in the lineup OR the Yankees would be forced to make a trade for either a catcher (Bengie Molina or one of the Rangers 3 catchers, just as examples) or a center fielder. The bottom line is the Yankees cannot have a void at catcher AND center field. So Yankee fans should have their fingers crossed that Jorge can once again strap on the tools of ignorance.
PA - No, they shouldn't try to bring Bobby back. I liked him - he seemed to enjoy playing baseball, especially for the Yankees, but they can probably get about as good production from Swisher/Nady, especially accounting for defense, where Abreu was atrocious. What we're somewhat counting on are 'bounceback' seasons from guys who disappointed or were hurt in 2008: Robbie Cano, Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui. I'm still a big advocate of getting Manny Ramirez (on a short-term deal), because his addition would nearly assure us the top offense in baseball.
4. Who will be the surprise of the 2009 season for the Yankees? This can be a rookie or just a player you think will play beyond expectations.
YFSF - I am speaking mostly with my heart here, rather than my head, but I'd say Nick Swisher. He's still young, he's athletic and he's an on-base machine when he's going right. At 28 years old and surrounded by a team that can flat out rake, Swisher seems poised to get back to where he was in 2006-07.
PA - Between Phil Hughes and Brett Gardner, I'll go with Hughes. This will be the year he finally stays healthy and shows why he was the top pitching prospect entering the 2007 season. But (hopefully) he won't even have to pitch until after the break because Joba will also stay healthy and effective in the 5 spot, eventually giving it over to Hughes when he nears his innings cap.
5. Predict the final standings for the AL East - We all want are team to go all the way, but try to be realistic.
YFSF - Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles. The Yankees have too much pitching if they can remain healthy. The Yankees need to replicate the luck the Rays had with their starting rotation last season and keep the core healthy. If they can do that, they win the East. The Red Sox took the right approach this offseason by signing low risk/high reward guys, but I don't know if it will be enough to compete with the Yankees over 162 games. Look for Jason Bay to have an MVP type season. The Rays were good in 2008, but they were also very lucky. Their starting pitchers remained healthy for the most part all season. They will also have David Price in the rotation this season and while that young man is very special, they will be very cautious with him. So between Price's limited innings and Kazmir's inability to go deep in games, the bullpen gets exploited and the Rays come back to earth in 2009. The Blue Jays have some real talent offensively (Travis Snider is going to be special) but the problem I see is starting pitching. Replacing Burnett will not be easy. Finally the Orioles - they made some moves this offseason that have put them back on track to be a contender a few years down the road. They have everyone's favorite young catcher (Matt Wieters) and a stable of young, athletic outfielders.
PA - It's hard for me to be 100% objective as a passionate Yankee fan. It all depends on health. Assuming all teams remain healthy, the Yanks finish in first - they have the best 1-5 rotation in MLB. If they don't stay healthy (which is rather likely), Tampa takes the division - after all, they won the division despite losing Evan Longoria for an extended period and holding back David Price until September. Sorry but I see Boston finishing third (in an insanely tough division), then Baltimore and finally Toronto.
Thanks to John and Travis for participating.
That was a lot of Yankees talk... so let's hear it Sox fans... hit the comments section and tell us what you think.
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