The Yankees Head North, ST Is Officially Over

Spring Training is finally over and all I can say is Thank God! I usually enjoy ST for the most part. This year though was quite the downer. There weren't enough games on TV for my liking. When they were on they were either day games or replays (couldn't get into them). It didn't help either that my two little boys commanded so much attention when the games were on. Ah the joys of parenthood. It's going to get really fun for me in August when baby #3 rolls around. I'll have 3 kids 3 and under. Yikes. What have I gotten myself into?

According to the countdown clock over at Yankees.com we're about 21 hours and 49 minutes away from the first pitch of the 2010 season. Yankees v. Red Sox on ESPN. Talk about kicking things off with a bang. If only the game were in the Bronx and not in that toilet known as Fenway Park. It would have been nice to see the boys get their rings with those A-holes in town but what can you do? I'm just glad baseball is back. Life just got a whole lot better.

As I predicted yesterday I'm expecting big things from the Yankees this year. 1)Robbie Cano = MVP. 2)CC Sabathia = Cy Young. 3)Yankees = 28 time World Champs. Yeah that's right. Robbie Cano for MVP. I really think Robbie is going to have a monster year. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the batting title, finished top 5 in RBI, and wins the Gold Glove. He's more than capable of pulling off all 3, especially hitting 5th in the Yankees' lineup. The key is of course going to be his ability to hit with RISP. If you're hitting 5th in the Yankees lineup you can't hit .207 with an OPS of .574 with RISP like RC did last year. I'm thinking Robbie will hit much closer to his career average of .306 in those key situations. Mark my words, Robinson will be the MVP. You heard it here first.

The key to any successful season is staying healthy. The Yankees escaped ST with no real injuries. There were some bumps and bruises along the way but nothing major. Everyone looks to be ready for the opener. I'm feeling pretty good about the team. The lineup, as I've previously discussed, is perfect. The rotation, with Phil Hughes as the 5th starter, is very much to my liking and is again, one of the best in baseball. The bullpen, with Mariano Rivera as the closer and Joba as the setup man, is solid. I see no reason to think the Yankees can't and won't repeat as champions.

Lastly, I again want to encourage everyone to join me in donating money to Nick Swisher's charity, Swish's Wishes. For every HR Nick hits this year I'm going to donate $10 to his charity. Thankfully, I'm not alone in this. A few of my Yankee blogger compadres are joining in. Dan (from Bronx Baseball Daily and WasWatching), Conor (from 6 Pound 8 Ounce Baby Joba) and Fernando (from Respect Jeter's Gangster) are all taking part. As I wrote a few weeks ago, if you want to contribute, please let us know. We're (hopefully) going to track the overall amount on our respective blogs and we'd love to add your pledge amount to the total. We encourage you to participate as it's for a good cause, but no one should feel as if they have to. the more the merrier. If not, no harm no foul.

21 hours and 13 minutes to go......

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie