Entries Tagged 'Yankees' ↓

So, here we are in the first (turkey) leg of the holiday/off-season with the Hot Stove in full effect. Let’s take a very quick look at what the hell is happening (or not) in the front office:

Derek Lowe

We currently hear grumblings that the Yankees and the Red Sox are “battling it over Derek Lowe”. Wow… wait… the rubber arm with the newscaster girl is really and truly ready to head back to the East? Is he currently medicated enough to handle the stress that he says he craves? We’ll see… Either NY or BOS will most certainly offer it.

Reports out of Dodgertown are that he’s in the best (mental) shape of his life.

Prediction: He comes to Boston on a three-year, $45Million deal and suffers his first-ever season-stopping elbow injury after the All-Star break in his second year.

Jason Varitek

Captain Varitek needs to decide how the last great contract of his career should be structured. Is he looking to break the bank on a team that desparately needs his defense and preparation? Will the Sox offer a mediocre two-year deal with a club option to make him stick it out for a “hometown discount”?

Prediction: He bolts for either Detroit for a three-year deal or plays in Boston for one more year as a full-time catcher, while training a AAA talent To Be Named and act as the backup for ‘10-’11.

A. J. Burnett

Burnett “should not” come to Boston based on simply his injury history. He’s currently the J.D. Drew of the pitching free agents. He had a tremendous year in Toronto last year (18 wins), but until 2008 he was barely a winning pitcher (69-66). He needs to probably take the most money he can find, which will not come from the Sox.

Prediction: He ends up signing with the Mets and falling apart after the ‘09 season.

Mark Texiera

Markie boy is going to be one rich … insert expletive. He’s a talent and he’s worth good money, but not the obscene money he’ll be offered by different clubs. There are a ton of people in the mix for this guy and he can sit back for the next month while people throw just about everything including the marketing rights for his own television show and plush doll.

Prediction: He signs with the Yankees for 8 years, $210Million and pisses off A-Rod every time he wakes up in the morning, and every night when he goes to bed.

The ‘09 Season

It’s World Baseball Classic time, folks, and you never know what will happen to people during Spring Training. Personally, I like the WBC. A lot. It gives people REAL baseball to watch and it gives talented players a chance to play for their home country. It’s not about money. It’s about pride.

Regardless of which players are “allowed” to play (including an upcoming disagreement between Matsuzaka and the Sox Brass), the WBC will have a lesser impact during it’s Sophomore campaign. I’d expect a fair number of Sox players to sit back and watch, but don’t be surprised if a couple players (Lowell for P.R., Papi for D.R., and even Youk) get involved early.

As far as the season, it’s going to depend a lot on how one of the most expensive free-agent markets in years shakes out. Clearly, the Yankees have about $300 Million dollars at their disposal, but they also have a new leader in 40 year-old, somewhat level-headed Hal Steinbrenner.

Prediction: It’s going to be a long summer, but the Fenway Faithful will watch the Sox in the playoffs once again, riding the pitching rotation of Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lowe, Masterson and Wakefield.

It appears that it wouldn’t take much to sweep the Yankees, regardless of whether or not it’s the final Sox/Yanks series of the year. I’m sure that the baseball gods were looking at the schedule and Fox television was drooling over the idea of taking the Saturday games as the “must-win battle of the century”!

For the Yankees, it’s just a three-game series that leads to a golf vacation and some possible arm surgery for Mariano Rivera.

IF the Red Sox can do it and IF the Rays fall prey to the “it doesn’t matter because we’re headed to the playoffs” routine, we’ll see a very pumped, in-your-face attitude by the Sox as they head home to meet either the Twins or the “other” Sox.

I assume, however, that we’ll be seeing our first Red Sox playoff game this year in the land of LA. Just a few short miles from where Manny dumped his bags and started to play real baseball for the first time this year.

The forecast calls for a ton of rain right through the weekend which will either put a real strain on the team as they try to wrap up the week and prepare for the ALDS, or will call for the regulars to sit and rest during some part of a double-header while the Rays clinch the division.

Either way, let’s see a sweep. It’d be a nice end to a hard season.

I look at the standings and I keep my cool. The Rays are a legitimate contender until someone kicks them in the private parts. The best part about this? I AM SO HAPPY IT’S NOT THE TYPICAL YANKEE RIVALRY. I yell because I care.

Clay Feet

The Clay Buchholz experiment is simply not working out so far this year. The kid is having a hell of a time adjusting to his first year in the Bigs and it looks like his confidence takes a hit each time out of the gate. I can’t help wonder if maybe a flip-flop between Masterson and Buchholz (starter vs. ‘pen) would have been a better decision; recognizing the no-hitter and the length of service.

It might be time to speed up the progress for Colon and see if he can jump in there for a couple starts.

Manny Being a #$(%$* ?

Listen, Manny can do whatever he wants and the club won’t do much about it. Whatever happens to his contract from here on out is anyone’s guess. Is he worth $20 million per year? Is he only worth that if he’s protected by Ortiz? His mischief does not bug me, but having an all-out fight with a 60-something year-old man wasn’t obviously very bright. He’ll still be here next year, I’m sure. It seems that he’s a necessary evil when things aren’t going his way and it’s a guaranteed hall of fame player when things are. Where’s Schilling in all of this? I’m surprised he hasn’t spoken up about the situation.

Mike Lowell is on the DL until the 25th (if nothing else goes wrong) due to the sprained left thumb. He’ll try to keep up some conditioning, etc…, but how good did Casey look last night when he stepped in? A veteran who could have been a starter for a lesser team, Casey is a professional and rumored to be a hell of a teammate. We’ll see if he can stay focused and give the Sox the production they’ll need to protect Papi and Manny.

Hey, don’t look now, but the Yankees are coming to town for the first of 19 games. With Wang coming in to face Buchholz, this might be interesting. I want to see Buchholz pick it up and pitch better. He has the potential to be a solid #2, but he’s going to have to seriously control his pitches and learn how to stay out of the mental side of things when he doesn’t do well. Derek Lowe could not be reached for comment.

It looks as though this is the end of the Mitchell report fallout. Bud Selig, whether truthfully reluctant or not (hey, he could certainly be crying wolf here), is going to accept the recommendation made in Senator Mitchell’s report and not punish any of the players, former or current, for their alleged steroid and / or PED use.

If you’re looking at the sheer expense of bringing some modicum of justice to a steroid or PED user, then sure, this is the right call. I’m not so certain it gives any closure to the players who came in #2 in voting for some award that had both financial and Hall of Fame impact on their career when they, themselves, played clean. I’m being biased, but Mike Greenwell would love more phone calls to discuss how insanely pissed off he is at MLB in general.

The new players agreement for PED use / distribution will be out soon and we’ll see how serious everyone is THIS time (that’s the third time they’ve been “really serious” if you’re keeping tabs).

As if you needed further proof that the Rocket’s final (and I REALLY believe it’s his final) game in any uniform happened last night, he is now ineligible for at least the ALCS, if the Yankees were to advance.

Ron Villone will take his place and come from the bullpen, meaning that if the Yankees do move on, they’ll either have Phil Hughes or Mike Mussina picking up the start in the Rocket’s place.

Cheers to the end of a hell of a career. I don’t see him coming back.