Hoping for a quiet Spring Training 2010
ByThe countdown ends today. Pitchers and catchers officially report this morning. Yes, many players have been in camp for a week now, getting a head start on the month and a half training session. The beat reporters are in full force as well, highlighting what they think will be the big stories of the spring. But for a team like the Yankees, coming off a World Series victory and rife with veterans at almost every position, how many developments can we expect?
Photo credit: AP/Kathy Willens
We’ve all missed baseball over the past three-plus months. From April through October, and even into November, we saw our favorite team play nearly every day. Then, starting November 5, nothing. No first pitches. No home runs over the short porch. No heroically epic at-bats, and no fist-pumping strikeouts. In their stead were a steady flow of rumors that keep us interested in baseball year-round. Now we can put those rumors to rest and start focusing on the reason we’re here in the first place, the games.
Between now and Opening Day, we’ll have to endure a month and a half of training camp. It might sound like a joy — actual baseball, if only exhibition — but beyond the glimpses of games we get on YES, there’s not much to get excited about. In fact, I’d prefer it if the Yankees maintained a relatively quiet camp this year. It would make me feel a lot better heading into Fenway Park on April 4.
Why a quiet camp? Because the Yankees appear all but set. The infield, from catcher all the way around, sports veteran stars. In the outfield only one spot remains contested, and even then it’s not much of a battle. Will anyone care much if Randy Winn gets the bulk of the playing time? Won’t that mean he’s doing something right? Then there’s the pitching staff, in which one spot is up for grabs. It could be Chamberlain, or it could be Hughes. Either way we’ll get to see one of the Yankees young, high-ceiling pitchers in the rotation.
Beyond that the only worries are of the bench and bullpen, and early in the season those aren’t weighty concerns anyway. The Yankees opened 2009 relatively weak in both aspects, only to find them strengths by season’s end. Yes, Jamie Hoffmann might win a spot on the 25-man roster, but even if he doesn’t it’s not a big deal. They’ll quietly ship him back to L.A., or else work out a deal to keep him at Scranton. The bullpen appears even less exciting, as the Yankees basically have all seven slots filled: Mariano Rivera, the loser of the fifth starter battle, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Al Aceves, Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre.
The most controversial issue this spring, it seems, centers on the batting order. Does Nick Johnson hit second, where he’ll get on base for Teixeira and A-Rod, or does the baserunning threat Curtis Granderson hit in that role? If Johnson hits second, does Granderson hit fifth? Does Posada? Where does Nick Swisher fit? Robinson Cano? The question I’m asking: Does it even matter? If it’s worth only one win over 162 games, can’t they afford to try different permutations?
These issues, the only issues currently facing the Yankees in spring training, will not have an enormous impact on the season. That means we should have a relatively quiet spring. If camp isn’t quiet, something has gone wrong. It means both Chamberlain and Hughes are getting lit up. It means Curtis Granderson is 0 for the spring against lefties. It means, and I gulp as I type this, that someone got hurt.
If these things don’t happen, the beat reporters have a boring spring and we hear a lot of regurgitation of talking points. In this case, I think I can handle it, given the implications of the alternative.
Tweet
Apparently it took a whole 28 minutes for someone to ask Girardi a question about A-Rod. My oh my, how far we’ve come.
28 you say?
ICWUDT.
The most compelling storyline by far:
Who gets the 25th spot, Thames or Hoffmann? The loser probably leaves the organization altogether, methinks.
And yes, your team is officially the balls when this is your most compelling spring training storyline and everything else is pretty much set in stone.
5th starter?
I don’t think it’s definitely Joba. I think it’ probably Joba, but i don’t think it’s set in stone.
Meh. I’d say 90% chance it’s Joba.
I think it’s probably Joba, but i don’t think it’s set in stone.
I don’t think it’s set in stone either, but I think it’s set in clay and that clay is currently sitting in a kiln.
Nicely handled.
Good point, too.
If Melancon has a really good spring any chance he can make the team from the get go?
Nope, he’s blocked out because the big league pen has Mo, Hughes, Marte, Aceves, Robertson, and two guys who are out of minor league options (Gaudin and Mitre).
Melancon, like all the other young relievers on the 40 man, will have to wait for someone in front of him to either get injured, get traded, or get crappy.
You think Mitre or Guadin will get traded for like the rights to Jamie Hoffmann thus clearing up a spot?
Mitre yes, Gaudin no. Chad’s getting nearly $3M this year. I doubt the Dodgers would be too keen to take that without a lot of cash heading west. Mitre’s earning $1.25M.
In essence, we’ll have traded Bruney and Mitre for Hoffmann. If Hoffmann ever does ANYTHING, it will have been worth it.
Mitre’s earning $0.85 million.
I can’t believe that the Yankees might actually break camp with both him and Gaudin in the bullpen. What’s the point of having potentially three long-relief guys in the pen, especially when you have 4 starters who have averaged something like 210 innings each of the past two years?
Well Gaudin has crazy splits vs Right Handers so I wouldn’t be surprised if he is used as a righty specialist. From memory he also touched 95 in relief last year so I think he could be a real bonus out of the pen.
Meattray on the other hand will probably be a mop-up man.
You are also underrating Aceves. He flashes I nice mix of pitches and will be used in high leverage situations.
if he is as good as everyones been saying for yrs he will force his way into the mix. Great performance will never hold a young player back.
Yes, but the question was whether or not he could make the team opening day.
No matter how well he pitches in spring training, he can’t knock off one of those more established guys. It’s just too little time, against not full competition.
If he pitches like he can, he will definitely be in the mix later in the season.
We would have also accepted:
/boversimplified
Will anyone care much if Randy Winn gets the bulk of the playing time? Won’t that mean he’s doing something right?
No, it just proves that Cashman is an idiot for not signing Damon for the league minimum, with incentives ranging from a life-time supply of Twinkies to the future opportunity of entering a lottery for tickets to an Old-Timers’ Day game of his choosing, when he had the chance.
League minimum?! Please. 4/$50!
If these things don’t happen, the beat reporters have a boring spring and we hear a lot of regurgitation of talking points.
You mean like this gem from MLB.com? The headline is “Repeat on Yanks’ mind as workouts begin.” Really? I thought the Yanks wanted to lose this year. I’m glad they cleared that one up.
“Pirates aim for slightly less pathetic 2010 – ah, f-ck it”
I’m so pumped to go to college in Pittsburgh next year: 3 dollar pirates tickets every game for the nicest stadium in baseball
I love Pittsburgh. It’s a much cooler town than it gets credit for.
Agreed. The park is amazing and my visit to Pittsburgh was way more enjoyable than I would have imagined when I was planning it out.
Haha I’m going to ST this year and one of the games we’re going to is Orioles-Pirates at the Pirates’ place.
….
….
No, I don’t have any idea why I’m going to this particular game.
I don’t buy that lineup stuff, I think it makes an impact, just my humble opinion…..SO PUMPED FOR 2010
Out of curiosity, is your humble opinion based on any type of detailed, rigorous examination? Or just your stubborn hunch?
In a vacuum, I’m also inclined to think lineup order does matter, but the analytical record vehemently disagrees with me and it’s usually right. So I’ve acquiesced to the detailed, researched opinion of others.
I for one do care if Randy Winn gets the bulk of the playing time. I’m rooting for homegrown talent like Brett Gardner to succeed.
Why? If Winn’s playing better don’t you want him in games?
Not if he is in the camp (Yo. *points to self*) that believes Brett Gardner’s true talent level is greater than Randy Winn’s at this point in their respective careers.
That’s not what Joe’s saying, though.
No, I understand what he is saying, but I am not one of those who support the notion that a lesser player should usurp playing time from a clearly better player because the former is on a hot streak and/or the latter is mired in a slump.
Fair enough. You’re bullish on Gardner and want him to start over Winn even if Winn is hitting better than Gardner because you’ve got faith your patience will be rewarded. I can respect that.
Yeah, it is like the Ronnie Belliard-Orland Hudson situation in Los Angeles down the stretch of the 2009 season – no one could argue that Belliard was hitting like a psycho, but Torre completely benching Hudson, the better player on both sides of the ball, in favor of Belliard was not a decision that I saw as correct.
But I also don’t think Joe addressed Kevin’s issue directly, either. As a fan, you always want the guys on the field that give you the best chance to win that day and that week. Joe’s point seemed to assume Kevin doesn’t see it that way, but that’s not the way I read the Kevin comment.
/nitpick’d
I want a loud ST.
I want ESPN & Co flipping out because Joba and Hughes are both untouchable.
JOBA AND PHIL TO TEH PEN!!11!
You mentioned ESPN, which reminded me of NESN, which then reminded me of this gem from earlier today:
Joba Chamberlain Appears Destined for the Bullpen http://bit.ly/bIGidy
That’s full of fail
I should be a sportswriter… Supplement one bullshit story with another.
“According to the New York Post, Chamberlain is not going into spring training as the favorite to win the job as the Yankees’ fifth starter and is likely to end up in the bullpen.”
-NESN
“The Yankees fifth-starter’s competition is set up for Joba Chamberlain to win.”
…
“But he won’t.”
-Post
Epic journalism right there.
NESN sourcing the Post is like the dumbest kid in class cheating off the second-dumbest kid in class.
Truer words were never posted.
Is “truer” a word, truly?
Anything but another steroid scandal. By God ANYTHING!11!!!!1!!
Someone could have murdered someone.
/Damon’d
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnuVhv_FpdI , safe)
Haha. I love that quote. I’ll definitely miss JD’s awkward interviews. Seems like a really chill dude.
I was SO DEPRESSED by the whole A-Rod steroid scandal, and then I saw that interview, and I laughed for about five minutes straight. It felt really good.
Johnny seems like a good guy. I hope he finds somewhere to play. And he utterly blows every time he plays the Yankees.
It’s Joba in the #5 hole for sure. We put extraordinary time and effort developing, protecting and nurturing him last season under difficult must-win circumstances, which is a testament to the commitment and resolve of Cash, Joe G and the Steinbrenners. He is still an incredibly young guy who gave us a winning record and a solid half-season of quality starts (six innings or more with three runs or less) under confounding rules and rest restrictions that might’ve loused up the timing of even the best starting pitcher. The leash is coming off now though. Time to let the big dog eat. Hughes may well one day be a top-flight starter. But his stupendous 8th-inning set-ups last year saved every Yankee arm innings and tons of wear and tear — closers, middle-relievers and starters alike. So for now, Phil, just don your waiter’s attire and prepare to set the plate for Big Mo again this year. You’ll notice nobody in the Boston press or fan blogs cracking wise about Joba. They fear his next phase, as well they should.
For even more Yankee fun, check out the musical comedy vid “Joe’s Job – The Ballad of Terry Francona” at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvVZQnELQ9s
It’s a must-see for Yankee and Red Suks fans alike! Go Yankees! 28 in 2010!!!
As long as the silence is based on no injuries im cool. I don’t really care if my twitter feed is blowing up with post about how the yankees are screwed because hughes or joba “didn’t prove anything” or because Granderson doesn’t hit lefties well for a couple of weeks in March.
In real life, I want Joba to be a #1 starter, he definitely has the ability to be at the top of the rotation. I like arguing with fans that he belongs in the rotation because i end up dropping all this knowledge on them as if i were a rapper.
On RAB, I like to say “Joba to the Pen!1!”. Because I believe his stuff is nasty as a set up man/closer. And he can be very successful there. But really i just like to debate (which i haven’t in months).
But deep inside, I want him to be in the rotation and be successful. So here’s to Joba posting an ERA in the 3s with 190IP! Cheers
So you’re inconsistent and just say things to say them?
why is “real life” dif than posting your view here?
if you think joba is a future frontline starter in ‘real life’ just say so. you saying he belongs in the bullpen to be dif here to get a convo going or something is pretty ridic
So…
Jeter
Granderson
Tex
A-Rod
Posada
Johnson
Swisher
Cano
Gardner
…right?
No Way…. No one gie love to cano
Jeter
Johnson
Tex
A-Rod
Posada
Cano
Granderson
Swisher
Gardner
That one.
I like that, too. Switch Granderson and Cano if you’d like; or you could even put Swisher sixth or put him in the middle of the two to break up lefties.
It’s nice that there will still be three switch hitters in the everyday lineup and four when Winn is included.
It’s even nicer that two of the three lefties in our everyday lineup have no platoon split and hit lefties just as well as righties.
The more I think about that fact, the more I want to INTENTIONALLY stack the lefties together. Putting Granderson next to Cano on purpose is a good thing: they’ll get LOOGY’d late game anyway (because managers are slaves to routine), but it’ll backfire since Robbie can feast on marginal lefty relievers. And, the other side of the coin: there are righty relievers (and starters) who struggle to get lefty batters out. Doubling them up can be a nice strategic advantage.
Based on that, I firmly support the Cano-Granderson-Swisher configuration for 6-7-8. Counteract the LOOGY reliever move by inviting the LOOGY and using Cano’s good numbers against lefties to make it backfire, and give righty starters who struggle against lefty hitters a nightmarish Posada-Cano-Granderson-Swisher-Winn/Gardner fivesome at the bottom of the order.
Fun fact: Nick Johnson actually has a better OPS vs. LHP (.863) than against RHP (.844).
Nick’s wOBA splits graph:
http://www.fangraphs.com/graph.....091006.png
Robbie’s:
http://www.fangraphs.com/graph.....091006.png
Convergence, yo.
This is the one I always ponder. Me likey.
What’s weird is that all of the “projected” line up’s I’ve seen has Robinson Cano in the 2-hole. From what I can remember, most of them look like this:
Jeter
Cano
Teixeira
Rodriguez
Posada
Granderson
Johnson
Swisher
Gardner
For whatever reason…Robinson Cano is batting #2 while it’s been widely stated that Nick Johnson would be a great fit there…and even Nick Swisher has had some nice appearances there as well in the not-so-distant past.
Where are these projected lineups that you speak of?
Linkage, bro.
I was actually in my local CVS and all of the “Fantasy Sports News” type magazines had this as the projected line up. Not that they are reliable what-so-ever…but they had some good stats in there…so it seemed like they at least had done some research…but still couldn’t figure out the best projected line up lol
…
I will explain. No, there is too much. I will sum up.
——–
Rose: I see from all these fantasy baseball magazines for sale at my local drugstore that the Yankees should bat Cano in the #2 hole. Should I trust this information as well reasoned and logically sound?
Me: Is it true that if you don’t “use it”, you “lose it”?
Is that a serious question?
No. It wasn’t.
(leans back in chair, grins awkwardly)
? I think you misunderstood. I wasn’t really asking whether or not I should trust the perceived unreliable magazines. I was just stating that it was weird how several magazines I’ve been looking at has a projection of said line up. I am, by no means, in agreement with it.
My retort: You know they’re unreliable… so even bringing the information up is kind of pointless.
Saying “What’s weird is that all of the projected line ups I’ve seen have Robinson Cano in the 2-hole” if those projected lineups come from fantasy sports magazines is akin to saying “What’s weird is that Mike Francesa thinks Joba should be in the bullpen and not the rotation”.
I mean… come on.
is akin to saying “What’s weird is that Mike Francesa thinks Joba should be in the bullpen and not the rotation”.
And people do that!
And if it weren’t numerous magazines I certainly wouldn’t have brought it up…but it was quite a few…and you would think fantasy professionals would get their line ups correct before issuing their “expertise”.
Oh well…
And people do that!
Rose: don’t be one of those people. You’re smarter than that.
I don’t really care what lineup they use as long as they stick to one as their everyday lineup. Moving a couple guys for a lefty/righty match up is cool but Joe shouldn’t revert back to 2008 when no one knew where they were batting from day to day.
No chance of that with Girardi managing and all the different outfielders on the roster.
eh, i think all of the LFs will bat 9th pretty much every day, unless it’s a tough lefty and you want thames to hit 8th and granderson 9th. I think that the lineup will be mobile, but not totally amorphous. Jeter will lead off every day. Tex will hit 3rd. A-Rod will hit 4th. NJ will probably hit 2nd. Cano Posada and Swisher will be somewhere between 5th and 8th every day, and Granderson will be in that range almost every single day, possibly hitting 2nd or 9th occasionally, depending on how the matchups (not just lefty-righty, but based on pitcher type and recent performance trends from NJ and Granderson) shake out.
What I like about Joe’s decision-making is that he always has sound statistical logic behind his moves. I also think that as he grows as a manager he will (/has already begun to) become more educated about sample sizes and situational significance, and thus his moves will become decreasingly asinine. One thing that has bothered me about JoeG’s criticizers in the past has been the way they’ll quickly jump to “overmanaging” conclusions because one of his moves will correlate to a statistical validation based on small sample sizes, or an unnecessary lefty-righty matchup. I do believe Joe understands what the limitations of using stats for matchups are, and I believe his matchups are more often based on the profiles of the hitter and pitcher (that is, their specific repertoires/skill sets) than they are the minute sample sizes that back them up
I see scenarios talk about well if Joba bombs then he’ll go to the pen and if Hughes bombs then he’ll go to the pen.
But nobody has talked about what if Joba and Hughes pitch (as starts) really good during ST? How can you then justify sending them to the bullpen?
Seriously? Because how in the world can either of them possibly beat out cc, aj, andy, vazquez???
Because how in the world can either of them possibly beat out cc, aj, andy, vazquez???
By pitching better than one of those four. Which both Joba and Hughes are eminently capable of.
/seriousresponsetoSBGL’sneedlesslyincredulousquestion
Oh yea?
Even in the spring if they both throw 0′s for 6 starts you think theres a chance in hell they beat out the other 4?
Thats Eric in a nutshell. Argue to argue. Even a yankee system homer like him doesnt think they would move javy freaking vazquez to the pen for one of those guys.
If my answers frighten you, Vincent, you should cease asking scary questions.
/moviequote’d
Cant be a thread without a lame one.
You’re like Pavlov’s dog. So adorable.
Vazquez? No. Pettitte? Not impossible. Andy would probably be monstrous out of the pen, but there’s a pretty solid chance that he’s a worse starter than BOTH Joba and Phil this year. I would be thunderstruck to see him pitching relief early on, but if Hughes starts in the ‘pen and Andy is sucking mid-may, I wouldn’t rule out swapping the two (after Hughes gets a couple of minor league starts on a “rehab” assignment for “biceps fatigue” or something like that – damn you, obscure rule that mike found)
ANDY PETTITTE IS A STAHTING PITCHAHHHH!!!!
Eh, he was kind of sucking in mid-May, late June last year. I’m glad he stuck around in the starting rotation.
Great performance will never hold a young player back.
I wonder who said that…….
Q.E.D.
BANGWAGON
If those guys give great performances they will pitch major innings in the pen. Which is kind of a key job dont you think?
Not like great performance will send either one to Scranton. Average performance wont send either one to the minors.
Hughes forced his way into the mix with performance last yr. The Yankees dont hold players back if they perform. They find spots for them. I just dont know why you force the rotation on all of em.
The difference between the yanks’ success with a bullpen of Mo/Joba/Hughes/Robertson/Aceves/Marte and Mo/Robertson/Aceves/Marte/Gaudin figures to be less than the difference between the yanks’ success with Joba or Hughes in the 5th spot and Gaudin or Mitre in the 5th spot.
There is a prevailing misconception out there that teams have crappy 5th starters because there is no need to have a good 5th starter. This is patently false. Teams that have crappy 5th starters have crappy 5th starters because they don’t have 5 quality starters, and/or can’t afford a good 5th starter. Every pitcher who can or could be a quality starter should be considered as such because, as the old (and for once, very true) cliche goes, you can never have too much quality starting pitching.
A good manager can put average relievers in the position to succeed, and thereby breed a successful bullpen out of mainly mediocre overall pitchers. Starters, however, can’t be used this way. They have to face full lineups, multiple times, in order to succeed. Thus they have to be superior pitchers. This is a philosophy the yankees adopted when Girardi came aboard. Managers make good bullpens. Good pitchers make good starters. Good pitchers (or rather, pitchers good enough to be good starters) should not be wasted in the bullpen, where success can still exist without them.
Just look at the Yanks’ bullpen in ’09. Outside of Mariano, the yankees did not have one truly exceptional pitcher in there. Each had pretty significant flaws – Robertson’s was his walk-rate, Aceves’s was his lack of an exceptional pitch, even Mariano can only pitch at one, fairly average, velocity, which would make it borderline impossible for him to succeed as a starter. Yet the yanks’ bullpen in ’09 was very successful, and lost the yankees very few games.
This is why the yankees want both Hughes and Chamberlain to be starters. Both are, in the eyes of the organization and most scouts and fans, capable of becoming PITCHERS who do not have these flaws – they both are capable of throwing multiple quality pitches, they are both capable of having acceptable walk-rates, they are both capable of changing speeds, and they have both shown the ability to pitch deep into ballgames, albeit without consistency thus far. Pitchers who are or figure to be capable of doing all of those things should never, I repeat NEVER, be held in the bullpen without extenuating circumstances.
This year, however, there are extenuating circumstances – the yankees figure to have 5 quality starters (a full rotation) with only one of those pitchers. So there remains a question of whether or not it is worth sending one of those guys to the minors as A) injury insurance for the 2010 rotation, and B) a means of building up arm strength and stamina for the 2011 season, when both will (presumably) be needed in the rotation, since doing so would avoid the more guaranteed value you’ll get from either out of the ‘pen in 2010.
In my opinion, the value that a ready-to-go 6th starter gives to the 2010 club is pretty comparable to the value that ANOTHER quality reliever would give that 2010 club. The implications for 2011 just push it wayyy over the edge in favor of sending the “loser of the 5th starter battle” (translation: Phil Hughes unless something is seeeeerrriously wrong with Joba in ST) to AAA to start the 2010 season.
Or rather, this was my opinion. Then this happened: http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....lem-23835/. So it appears that the extenuating circumstances surrounding Hughes in 2010 do, in fact, essentially force the yankees to put Hughes in the ‘pen in 2010. Dammit.
/truthbomb’d
heh
Didnt mean beat one of those 4 out. I meant if they pitch good in ST I hope that means they give a second thought to sending one of them to the pen and basically only giving him 70 innings
We all knew what you meant.
Well, all of us except for one. One who is four.
So who do you want to be the guy that tells the fans and the veteran players like Mo and the coaching staff in their walk yrs that they are sending Hughes down to get “innings” and not help the team esp after his dominating perf last season?
How does that go over? Esp after D Robertson has a few rough outings in April while Hughes who has nothing more to show in AAA just cruises thru 6+ a start in Scranton.
No chance that happens.
So who do you want to be the guy that tells the fans and the veteran players like Mo and the coaching staff in their walk yrs that they are sending Hughes down to get “innings” and not help the team esp after his dominating perf last season?
A) The veteran players will understand. They’ve been in Hughes’s situation before and they know what it means and why it’s happening.
B) Fuck the fans. They’re idiots. We don’t make decisions for them. We make decisions to win titles, and they thank us afterwards.
Sincerely,
The Yankees
So as a GM you would handcuff yourself to what the players want? Smart move.
I think Mo is the last person to panic if someone has a few rough outings, which you dont even know will happen.
Mo, Marte (healthy), DRob, Aceves, and whoever else is a good bullpen.
Phil Hughes in playoffs:
6.1 IP, 11H, 6ER, 4BB, 7K
OMG Mo must have have went to Cash’s office and demand he gets a new bullpen after a few rough October outings.
If the yankees brass operated on a “what the fans think is right” MO, they’d have $260 million payroll and constantly be a 90 win team.
Numbers crunch.
I don’t think who bats where in the lineup is controversial at all.
It’s Girardi. He’ll probably have a different order every game anyway.
i think it will shuffle a fair amount – I think it’s silly to set something in ST and expect it to be the optimal setup for the rest of the year – but I do think there will be some consistency. Personally, I’d prefer Granderson’s speed in front of the doubles power of Cano/Posada/Swish, so I’d bat him 6th. Two quality 1-4s back to back FTW!
“Personally, I’d prefer Granderson’s speed in front of the doubles power of Cano/
Posada/Swish, so I’d bat him 6th.”Fixed that for ya.
Unless you meant to say that you’d bat Granderson 5th. Those are the only two ways that works… unless you intend to hit Gardner/Winn/Thames/Hoffman 5th, which we all know you don’t.
yeah i did mean do say bat granderson 5th. Pretty much only an idiot could ruin this lineup based on its structure, but i like the idea of Granderson’s speed, rather than johnson’s, in front of the guys who probably won’t hit 30+ HRs like Tex and A-Rod will. I like the idea of a second quality 1-4 starting after A-Rod. To me, Granderson-Cano-Posada-Swisher would be that 1-4 (5-8). I don’t think it’s likely, and the difference in production between that and Posada-Granderson-Cano-Swisher, or pretty much any construction of those 4, is probably miniscule, but I like the idea.
I could see the value of a Granderson-Posada-Cano-Swish 5-6-7-8.
It’s just not likely to happen, though. Posada would need to utterly collapse in order to not be the #5 hitter. Loyalty, holmes.
I was actually thinking Granderson-Cano-Posada-Swisher. But you’re right. Posada is, at least to start the season, going to bat 5th. Period. Oh, the horror.
“unless you intend to hit Gardner/Winn/Thames/Hoffman 5th, which we all know you don’t.”
or do i?…2010 projected lineup:
…well i was going to construct a ridiculously dumb lineup, but then i realized that i can’t even think of a single way to order the yankees hitters (apart from playing Gardner, Winn, and Thames simultaneously in the outfield, and other things of that nature) that wouldn’t result in the yankees still having the best offense in baseball next year. jesus i love the yankees.
[...] « Hoping for a quiet Spring Training 2010 Feb [...]
Id rather Use start the season in AAA as a starter, then get called up for the eventual injury. I feel like we’re wasting him as a relieve; it’s probably better to have Melancon in his place.
[...] few minor exceptions (A-Rod and Cameron Diaz now?) it looks like we’re about to find out. The most conspicuous stories from Yankees camp so far seems to be the lack of conspicuous stories so [...]