It is the middle of December, snowing, Christmas is fast approaching, the Giants are playing for home field on Sunday and what is on my mind? Baseball, of course. This is not unusual for any hard core fan but I am not even pondering the fate of my favorite team. I am a Mets fan but it’s the Yankee’s that are monopolizing my attention. The Yankee’s have dominated media coverage this week as they introduced 250 million dollars worth of pitchers in the persons of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.
The general feeling amongst Yankee fan’s and the local media is the Yankees have secured a position in the post season with their recent acquisitions. I have read numerous articles claiming that the Red Sox need to make a big move to answer the Yankee changes. Some have hinted that anything less than procuring Mark Teixeira will leave the Sox without hope of claiming the division in ’09. I could not disagree more. If the season started today, snow not withstanding, I would consider the Red Sox favorites to win the AL East.
The Red Sox won the wild card last season with 95 wins. They accomplished this even though many of their best players suffered through long battles with injuries. The list of players that missed significant time includes: Popi, Becket, Drew, Lowe and that doesn’t even take into consideration the disaster that was Manny being Manny, his last in Boston. If the Sox can stay even close to healthy they might dominate the entire league. I expect the many young players on Boston to improve with last years experience and Jason Bay to show everyone just how complete and talented a player he is and none of this requires Texeria or anyone else not already on the Red Sox roster. I realize that health is serious concern for the Red Sox but the Yankees are not without their own issues of wellbeing.
How much of the upcoming season depends on Posada returning to catch on a daily basis for New York? Posada could not throw at all last year and although Molina is a fine defensive back stop, he can not bat his weight. The Yankee batting order could include Molina, Swisher and Gardner, not exactly murder’s row. What if Cano continues to struggle and Damon and Jeter continue to show their age and drop off just a little? Doesn’t leave much protection for ARod, does it? They could go out and sign Manny but they already have Damon and Matsui in left and they should both play DH. Posada might have to see considerable time at DH, so I question if signing another horrible outfielder that should be a DH, is wise. Maybe the Yankees need to find another 200 million for Texeria.
I suppose an overly optimistic Yankee fan would tell me: CC will win the Cy Young, Burnett will be in good physical shape, Wang’s foot and fragile shoulder will be fine, Jaba will stay healthy and sober, Hugh’s will pitch more than 80 innings, Petite wont rat on anyone, Posada will catch, Swisher will find his power stroke from his steroid days in Oakland, Cano will fulfill his promise, Damon, Jeter and Matsui will turn back the clock and ARod will win the MVP because it is an odd year. Boston’s youth improving and their veteran’s missing fewer games, seem more likely. I can’t wait for opening day.
I have to go shovel.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
We shall see, although I must admit the final paragraph is nice and bitter and somewhat convincing.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the season either. You know Hughes is my boy; I think he wins 14+, which puts the Yanks over the top. Joba staying sober? That's another story altogether.
And by the way, the first and last paragraphs are textbook Intro and Conclusion paragraphs. I think I'll keep these as models for future students.