First Full Workouts Begin Today

Am I the only one who wishes they were in Florida today to watch the Yankees' first full team workout?

Hopefully be back with more later. Work is kicking my ass.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Damon, Wang v. Park, Hughes v. Joba

It was a pretty uneventful couple of days. I wasn't expecting much since pitchers and catchers just reported 5 days ago. I'm a little bummed because things aren't in full swing yet. I'm jonesing for some games. I'm jonesing for some video. Sure, I could probably dig some up online but hey, I'm lazy. I prefer TV. I wish there was some daily 1/2 hour show about the Yankees. I watch the coverage on MLB Network (when I can) and I hope that I might get a little nugget here and there but i haven't been fortunate enough to run into anything, save for a brief clip of CC on day 1. Games will be here soon enough. I really can't wait for the Yanks ST opener. Hurry up already. Here are a few little tidbits about some things I saw recently.

• Johnny Damon signed with the Tigers. I really wish the Yanks had found a way to bring JD back. I really like JD. I think he's one of the better guys in the game and I wish him all the best.
• The Yankees have apparently signed Chan Ho Park to a 1-year deal, to presumably pitch out of the bullpen. I'm not exactly sure why the Yanks felt the need to bring in Park except that he's another pitching option. You can never have enough pitching. His salary is being reported at $1.2m. So the Yankees sign Chan Ho Park for $1.2 million but let Chien-Ming Wang walk and he signs a deal with the Nats for $2 million? I don't get that. Admittedly, I'm not as up on CMW as i should be, so I'm sure there's something there I'm missing, but my impression is that the Yanks had no interest in the Wanger whatsoever. I get that b/c there's really no room for him in the rotation, but was an effort even made to bring him in as a swingman a la Park? I'll probably write more on that later.
• The biggest story of the spring for my money is the battle for the 5th spot in the rotation between Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. My prediction: Phil Hughes. I've been touting him as a superior pitcher to Joba and I think this season is the season everyone else sees that. Not sure if anyone else saw the picture over at Lohud of the 2 leaving the bullpen. If not, you can find it here. Is it me or does Joba look a little softer than usual? I know those microfleeces aren't the most flattering shirts, but he looks a little bigger than usual. At least to me anyway. Team Hughes all the way. More on this as the spring develops.

Be back later, as time allows.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

The Boys Are Back

Just caught a little glimpse of Phil Hughes and CC Sabathia on MLB Network's Hot Stove program. Baseball is back my friends. Baseball is back!!

The march to 28 begins now!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

1 Week And Counting

I can't believe that the start of Spring Training is a mere 7 days away. It seems like just yesterday I was watching the Yankees finish off the Phillies for the organization's 27th World Championship. Good times.

As a whole I thought the offseason was pretty boring. Maybe I was spoiled by the big signings (CC, A.J., and Tex) from last year. Outside of the Granderson deal, not much went down. Oh wait, forgot about bringing back Javier Vazquez. I'm more disappointed with what didn't happen (Damon, Matsui, and Wang) then what did happen. The offseason move that bothered me the most was the Nick Johnson signing. I still don't get why they went with Johnson when they could have kept Matsui around for pretty much the same amount of money. I have a feeling that is going to come back to haunt the Yankees.

The biggest question for me going into Spring Training is who will be the Yankees' 5th starter? I prefer the team to go with Phil Hughes. I think he is, and I think he'll always be, a more complete pitcher than Joba Chamberlain. Hughes is a pitcher. Chamberlain is more of a thrower. I don't like "throwers" as starters. Call it personal preference but I prefer them in the pen. I also think Joba's mentality is better suited at the back of the bullpen but that's just me. I'll be incredibly miffed if that 5th spot goes to Gaudin, or God forbid, Sergio Mitre. Ugh.

I'm hoping to do a lot more blogging as Spring Training gets rolling. I definitely didn't get to do as much blogging as I wanted to this offseason. It pretty much got away from me. I've been pretty slammed lately. The job is stressing me out. We're trying to buy/sell our house. I've got 2 kids 2 and under and another one on the way. Yes, ladies and gents, we're having another "Boogie Down Baby." ETA = mid-August. 3 kids 3 and under. What was I thinking?

T-minus 7 days until the march to 28 starts. Excitement is building.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Jumping The Shark

You guys catch Nick Swisher on this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother? If you didn't, you didn't miss much. He appeared for all of about 30 seconds and I think he said like 2 sentences, maybe 3. I'm assuming Nick is a fan of the show as his girlfriend appeared in an episode a few weeks back. Anyway, this post has more to do with the show itself than with Swisher.

I used to really like the show. I still do as it makes me laugh, but I don't like it as much as i used to. Not sure how many people out there are familiar with the phrase "jumping the shark." If you're not familiar with the phrase, give it a Google. In my opinion, the show has jumped it. They've jumped it several times. What's up with all of the stunt casting? It seems like every episode has a special guest star. Britney Spears? Carrie Underwood (future)? Stacey Keibler? Nick Swisher? Heidi and Spencer? Shows that have nothing to do with the point of the show? If it weren't for Neil Patrick Harris, I'd be long gone.

I've resorted to writing posts about TV shows. I really wish baseball were here.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

February Is Finally Upon Us

I can't begin to tell you how excited i was when I woke up this morning. The calendar has rolled into February and that means that baseball is just around the corner. Pitchers and catchers report on the 17th. Only 2 and a half weeks to go until the march toward #28 kicks off.

Opening Day will be here before we know it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie