Happy Opening Day!!

At long last the day is upon us. We wait all off-season and Spring Training for this day to arrive and it's finally here. Opening Day! It should be a national holiday. I'm at work now, but am cutting out at about 2pm EST to enjoy the day. It's raining here in Buffalo I think it's also raining in Baltimore. If today's game gets rained out I'm going to be really depressed.

Back at the end of February, I took a crack at predicting the Opening Day roster. Now that it's finalized, let's see how I did:

Predicted roster:
The offense: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa

The pitching: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Dan Giese, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez

Actual Roster:
The offense: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Ramiro Pena, Melky Cabrera

The pitching: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Jonathan Albaldejo, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez

I was close. I had Angel Berroa on the roster as the extra infielder, saying that the job was his unless a "dark horse candidate came out of nowhere." I guess Ramiro Pena is that dark horse. I'm a little surprised because I thought Berroa had a great spring. Admittedly, I don't know much about Pena. Could he be the next Alberto Gonzalez? Here today and gone before the year is out? Regardless, I don't expect either to get much PT.

I had A-Rod on the roster. It was before his injury. I didn't have Melky on the roster. I didn't think they'd carry 5 OFs, and I was wrong. I'm a little surprised but understand they don't want to lose him by releasing. Melky had a great spring and I'm sure that saved his neck. I don't think he'll get much PT, but who knows? I think Cody Ransom will do just fine as a fill-in for Alex. Steve at Yankees: Minor To Majors doesn't think so.

I also had Dan Giese on the roster as the long man. Girardi and company decided a long man wasn't needed and I can see that. They've got some horses in the rotation. With the exception of Joba, they all should be able to pitch deep into the ball games. There really isn't a need for a long man. The days of blowing out the bullpen early in the season are behind us. Knock on wood. So Jonathan Albaladejo gets the nod and I am down with that. I was a fan of that trade when Cashman made it before last season. I hope he stays healthy.

So first pitch is hopefully about 5 hours away. I'm really hoping the rain stays away. I'll probably be live-blogging the game. So feel free to stop by and watch.

The road to #27 starts today! I think it'll be a tough year with tough competition. As I predicted yesterday, I think they'll finish tied with Boston for first, but finish 2nd because of head-to-head records. But I think they'll win it all. I feel better about their chances this year then I have in recent years. They have the pitching and that's the key. Get the Canyon of Heroes ready cuz the boys are on their way!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Prediction For Opening Day Roster

In the comments of my last post, regular reader Dino offered up a sort-of prediction of who he expected/wanted in the Yankee bullpen. That got me to thinking about who'd comprise the Opening Day roster and I figured why not give a crack at predicting who will make the squad. So here's what I think/prefer, assuming of course that they all remain healthy.

The offensive givens: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher

The pitching givens: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte

For those too lazy to count the names, it's 18 and that leaves 7 spots. One of those is the CF position, which is a battle between Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner. I honestly don't have a preference to one over the other. I think both are 4th OFs at best. Since it looks like one is definitely making the team, barring a trade, I'm going with Gardner as the winner. I don't think the Yankees are high on Melky anymore. His time has come and gone. Even though his OBP was horrible last season, I think the Yankees like what Gardner brings to the table, namely he's quick. His upside is also probably a little higher than Melky's. I think he has more potential to help the team. So I'm pegging Gardner to be our Opening Day center fielder.

One of the spots is going to a back-up infielder. There aren't many guys to choose from. I think it's a 3-horse race between Cody Ransom, Juan Miranda, and Angel Berroa. Berroa is a chump and lets face it, he ain't making the team. I think Miranda is one-dimensional, being best suited as a first-baseman. Ransom is versatile and can play pretty much anywhere in the infield. He logged time at each position last year. It helps to have a guy that can fill in anywhere. Cody Ransom will make the Opening Day Roster.

So that leaves 5 open spots, all of which are going to relief pitchers. One of those guys is going to be a swing-man, someone who can start or relieve. The options for that role as I see it are Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Brett Tomko, Ian Kennedy, Humberto Sanchez, Kei Igawa and Dan Giese. in my opinion, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Alfredo Aceves, need to start and that won't be happening in the majors. They're ticketed for Scranton. Sanchez is still a year or so away and is coming off an injury. I don't even know why Igawa is on the list as he blows. He's an option and not a good one. See you in Scranton. That leaves Tomko and Giese. Tomko was horrible last season and I don't see him performing well enough to earn that spot. Dan Giese had a pretty solid campaign in 2008 (3.53 ERA in 43.1 IPs, 1.22 WHIP, .232 average against) and I think he's the best man for the job. He can start (3 starts in 2008) and can relieve (17 relief appearances). And of all the names above, he's the last one I would think needs to get in a healthy amount of innings. Giese is my pick for the swing man. It's his job to lose.

And then their were 4. 4 spots for by my estimation 6 guys: Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez, David Robertson, Jose Veras, Mark Melancon, and Jonathan Albaladejo. This is probably the most difficult of all the choices because all of them are more than capable of pitching at the major league level. There's only room at the inn for 4 so 2 have to go. A lot of this could come down to who shines this spring and who falters. I think Coke and Edwar are locks as they pitched well enough last year to earn the spots. Coke so far has been the man. He's in for sure. Edwar at times can be inconsistent, but for the most part, he gets the job done. Like Giese, it's their jobs to lose. Veras probably pitched well enough to earn a spot, which leaves one opening for Robertson, Melancon, and Albaladejo. I think Albaladejo goes to AAA. Like Humberto Sanchez, he's coming off an injury and he's probably best suited to start the season in Scranton. I think Robertson probably had the job heading into the spring but I don't think he's going to have a better spring than Melancon. It's a toss up and I can go either way. I think Melancon is going to have a better spring so he's my call for the last spot.

So after all of that, I realized that that would be 12 hitters and 13 pitchers which probably isn't the right balance. I don't see the Yanks carrying 13 pitchers. It's possible since they'll have a lot of versatility on the bench. Swisher can play 1B/OF/DH. Matsui can play OF/DH. Ransom can play anywhere in the infield. I can see the team wanting to maybe carry another middle infielder. I don't see anybody really filling that role except for Angel Berroa or a dark horse candidate that comes out of nowhere. For lack of a better option, I'm going with Berroa. Unfortunately, that means I'm sending Mark Melancon back to the minors. He has to absolutely blow everyone else away to pick up one of the spots, and that's certainly possible.

The offense: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Angel Berroa

The pitching: CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Dan Giese, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Edwar Ramirez.

So there you have it. That's who I think will comprise the Yankees Opening Day roster, based on everyone making it through the spring without ending up on the DL. So what do you guys think? What do you disagree with and why? There are definitely some question marks and I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Crazy Game Thanks To Shoddy Angels D

The Yankees got a gift today from the Angels. In fact, they got 4 of them. 4 huge costly errors led to 9 or 10 unearned runs and ultimately a Yankee victory and a series split. But that's baseball. It a win and the standings and I'll take it. They never gave up. They battled back from a 5-run deficit and this has to be a huge confidence boost to a team that's heading out on a road trip and has been mired in a mini-slump. Big win today boys and girls. Big win.

It certainly didn't start out well. Darrell Rasner was absolutely brutal. Prediction: it won't be long before Rasner makes his final start of the season. He was awful today, and he's been awful more than he's been good. It's to the point where starting him is becoming a huge liability. Including today's game, D-Raz has won 2 of his last 12 starts. Houston, we have a problem. Luckily, it's a problem that's not hard to fix. The Yankees have many options they can go with to start in place of Rasner, and they're names we're all familiar with. Ian Kennedy can easily be called up to take the spot. He's allowed 14 hits and 4 runs in his last 4 outings for Scranton. Since being demoted to the minors, IPK has an ERA of 1.99 in 54.1 IPs. Opposing hitters are hitting .179 off Ian. Phil Hughes is on the med and is currently rehabbing in Charleston. He's had only 2 outings but has been outstanding: 6.2 IPs, 3 H, 0 ER. And then there's our favorite sorry excuse for a Yankee, Carl Pavano. He's pretty much on the same rehab schedule as Hughes, and has done alright in his 2 outings: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER. He could throw 5 consecutive no-nos and I wouldn't care. I hope he never dons the Pinstripes this year. He's been a colossal waste of time and money. Bringing him back to the Bronx would definitely disrupt the clubhouse. It's no secret nobody wants him there. I hope Cashman has the smarts to keep him down. I'd like to think eh does. Getting back to Hughes and Kennedy, I'd much prefer to see them get another chance to pitch than to look outside of the organization. Jarrod Washburn is a bum and they shouldn't even bother. At least give the youngsters another shot. They can't do any worse than Rasner that's for sure.

The offense got a nice kick-start today from one of their newest acquisitions. The X-Man, Xavier Nady, coming through in a big way with 4 hits and 6 RBI. Nady is now batting .385 as a Yankee, with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 8 games. Ken Singleton was right when he remarked that Nady was probably the best offensive acquisition any team acquired at the trade deadline. I like Mark Teixeira and all but he hasn't quite performed to Nady's level this year. That Brian Cashman is one smart cookie.

Bobby Abreu on the other hand? What was he thinking trying to run to 3rd on a routine fly ball to left? That has to be one of the biggest boneheaded moves I've seen in a long, long time. Why would you even attempt that when there are 2 outs? The rule of thumb is never make the 1st or 3rd out at 3rd base. No idea what was going through his mind as it wasn't even a close play. It makes no sense to even try to tag from 2nd to 3rd in that situation. What's worse is he ended up costing the Yankees what could have been an all important run. Stupid. Just stupid. He at least atoned for his mistake by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Bobby's been on a tear lately, hitting .387 (24 for 62) and raising his average 15 points since the All-Star break. He's scored 20 runs and knocked in 17 in those 16 games. Bobby's been awesome lately, so I'll let that horrendous baserunning mistake slide.

It was also nice to see our other deadline acquisition Ivan Rodriguez break out today with 2 hits and a HR. That bat is going to come in handy down the stretch. Unlike Melky Cabrera, who managed to find a way to go oh-for-5, he writes while shaking his head in disgust. Paul O'Neill made a comment during the broadcast that Melky needs to stop trying to murder the ball and concentrate on raising his average. Great observation Mr. O'Neill. Great observation. Melky is playing his way right out of the lineup. Enter Justin Christian. He deserves a chance to start I'd say. He's provided quite the spark to the offense with his blazing speed. Said speed pretty much winning the game today. I loved seeing him take 3rd and scoring on the poor throw. That was heads up right there. I'm inclined to think he has the green light to run whenever he wants to. If it's not the case, it better be. Memo to Joe Girardi: sit Melky, play Justin, win-win. Make it happen. Better yet, let me have a few swings. I can go of-for-5 too.

Dan Giese was today's unsung hero. His 3 scoreless innings were huge. It gave the Yankees offense the opportunity to claw their was back into the game. That was pretty invaluable right there. He was awesome today. It's too bad he didn't get the win. He deserved it. Thanks Edwar. He picked up the win but definitely didn't deserve it. I'll let it slide though because Edwar has been lights out. It's the 1st game since July 2nd he's allowed a hit. 11.1 hitless/scoreless innings in a 10 game span. I'll forgive this bad outing. But only because the Yanks won. While I'm talking about the bullpen, not sure why Mariano wasn't warming up to pitch the 9th inning? I didn't get to see the post game show so I'm not sure if anything was mentioned about an injury. Hope not. Fingers crossed.

And none of this would have been possible if not for the extremely shoddy Angels' defense. Wow. Talk about a bad game. A dropped fly ball in center....4 runs score in the inning. 2 fielding errors and 1 throwing error....6 runs score in the inning. That's bad baseball right there. They always talk about how the Angels play great fundamental baseball. That certainly wasn't the case today. So we here at the Boogie Down, which is just me (why do I refer to myself as we?), say thanks Angels' defense.

The worst part about today is that both the Sox and Rays won their games so this great win gained us nothing in the standings. I thought for sure we'd pick up a game on the Rays but Kyle Farnsworth apparently had other plans. Even when he's not a Yankee he finds ways to hurt us. He pitched an inning today for the Tigers, blowing the save, giving up 3 earned with 2 longballs. Kyle for Pudge? If you had any doubt before about who won that deal, that doubt should be gone. If his outing wasn't bad enough, the Tigers ended up taking the lead in extras only to blow it again. Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

So now the boys are off on a 10 game roadie. 4 in Texas, 3 in Anaheim, and 3 in Minnesota. These are going to be some big games that could very well define the rest of the season. The Yanks will no doubt be up to the task. They are after all one of 2 AL teams with winning records away from home. The other of course being the Angels. The win today has to be a huge confidence boost. They came from behind and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the best baseball had to offer. And hitting John Lackey is no easy task. Just ask the Red Sox. I can't think of a better way to start this roadie. Take it to 'em fellas.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Just Checking In

I didn't see a lot of today's game. I dozed off right after it started. I woke up and it was 2-1. Not bad. I saw Cano make it 3-1 and then had to step out. I caught Wright's HR to make it 3-2, and then had to get my son ready for bed all by my lonesome b/c the missus was at her parent's house taking care of her 92 year old Grandmother while her folks went out. I finally got my son to sleep and made back to the game just in time to see Mo shut it down for the 1-2-3. Yankees win. Thuhhh Yankees win.

Andy Pettitte continued his dominant string of outings. Since getting bombed for 10 runs against the Royals he's been light out. Today was no different. He's now won 4 straight and has been impressive in each outing. To update his line over his last 4 starts: 4-0, 27 IP, 19 H, 7 BB, 23 K, 3 ER, 1.00 ERA. Talk about awesome. It seems that most of my Pettitte posts lately all say the same thing. Since that's the case, I'll reiterate my Pettitte-closing of choice. Andy always pitches better in the 2nd half. Looks like the 2nd half started early.

I didn't get to see last night's trouncing of the Mets. As I wrote earlier, I went to catch the Scranton Yankees take on the Buffalo Bisons. It was a real good game. Quite the pitcher's duel. Jeff Karstens threw for Scranton and he looked good. He left the game though on the losing end of a 1-0 game. The craziest part about the game was the fog. The field was pretty much fog covered the entire game. It was so bad that they actually suspended the game with 2 outs and 2 strikes on the batter in the bottom of the 9th. The Bisons took a 1-0 lead into the 9th and had the sky been clear they would have won easily. Two routine fly balls though fell beyond the left fielder and led to a tie game. It was kind of funny as the OF had no clue where the ball was. Even though it ended 1-1, all in all it was a good time. I may go back on Sunday for the finale but I doubt it.

I did follow along with the game on my XM radio. I had it on and would occasionally listen to the action. I thought for sure Ponson was done early. Bases loaded no outs in the 2nd and he works out of it? Wow. It's like I've been saying, Ponson is low risk, high reward. He comes at a cheap price and if he gives you anything, you're good. If he can continue to throw 6 shutout innings every time out there, we'll be real good. But don't get too excited. We all saw how Dan Giese fared in his 2nd start. But keep it up Sid, we're pulling for you.

So we're officially at the half way point, sitting at 44-37 and 5 games back of first and only 4 back in the loss column. Not bad considering how the year started and the injuries they've sustained. Last year after 81 games, the Yanks were 40-41 and 10.5 back of first. I'd say the positives this year have been the play of Johnny Damon, Mike Mussina, Mariano, Joba, A-Rod and the mustachioed one. While the disappointments have been Robbie Cano, Hughes and Kennedy, and 1/2 to 2/3 of the bullpen. But they're in a good position. Cano is starting to swing the bat. Jeter's OPS is up 39 points 6/17. Moose, Joba, and Andy are all pitching real well. The biggest questions right now are who are the 4th and 5th starters going to be, and will Matsui need surgery? Fingers crossed that he doesn't.

The Yankees sort of finish their interleague schedule tomorrow. D-Raz vs. Oliver Perez. 2 guys who have been incredibly inconsistent. Should be a fun one. I think I said the Yankees had to go 10-5 over this interleague stretch for it to be a success. I failed to take into account they had the DP today, so now that it's 16 games against NL teams below 500. Anything less than 11-5 is a failure. With 2 games to go the Yanks are 10-4. So far so good. The only negative about this stretch is that the Sox (8-6) and Rays (10-4) didn't fare so badly against they're tougher NL opponents. This now makes the upcoming games against the Sox and Rays a lot more important. The Yanks are playing good ball. They'll do well. If only we had the Wanger.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Friday Afternoon Spanking

I am so glad I'm not home right now watching what's supposed to be a baseball game. Ross Ohlendorf just gave up a 4-run bomb and pretty much put the game out of reach. It's now 11-4 Mets. Brutal pitching right from the get go. I think it's safe to say that Dan Giese has probably started his last game as a Yankee. The honeymoon is over. It was fun while it lasted. I'd be shocked if he gets another turn.

A-Rod just went yard to make it 11-5. The Yanks have had plenty of chances today. Normally, when the Yanks rack up 9 hits and 4 walks, they'll score more than 5 runs. They've had lots of chances so far today. Through 5 innings they've left 10 on base. Pitiful. Just pitiful.

This day night double-header is going to be interesting. At the rate this game is going, the 2nd game is going to start minutes after the 1st one ends. Considering they have to go to Shea, I can't imagine it'll start on time. If you play 3 innings in an hour, they're looking at finishing the 1st game at 6pm. I imagine the start time for the 2nd game is between 7-8. That gives them an hour or two to pack up and get to Shea. I wouldn't be surprised if the teams mail it in and finish this one up in 30 minutes or so.

Ponson starts his 2nd tour of duty with the Yanks tonight. Me thinks it'll be a short one. But we'll see. He's one of those low risk, high reward signings. I'm knocking on wood that it works out. Enjoy the game. I'll be checking out the Baby Bombers as they take on the hometown Buffalo Bisons. all I can say is go Scranton!

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Giese Fillis In Well For Wang But Yanks Drop 2nd Straight

Wow, 2 straight losses. I forgot what that felt like for a brief moment. Not much to really say about the game. It was a tough one. For a while it looked like one run would win it. The Yanks had their chances, but came up empty. They often do against pitchers they've never seen. They never seem to hit the ball well against guys making their major league debuts. The 2nd inning was their best chance and they failed miserably. Bases loaded no outs, no runs. Horrible. Posada did the worst thing you can do in that situation and that's fail to put the ball in play. Cano did the 2nd worst thing you can do and that's pop out. And Melky of course kills the rally with a whiff. Melky has been absolutely horrible lately. I wouldn't complain if the Yankees gave Brett Gardner a look. Doubt that'll happen though.

Dan Giese pitched a great game today. I'll take that outing every time. He was pitching beautifully until he made an errant throw to 2nd on a potential DP. The standing ovation he received from the Yankee Stadium crowd was well deserved. I found myself clapping along with them. He pitched well enough to win that game. Just took a bad beat. He definitely deserves another shot at starting. If he continues to pitch like that he'll have Yankee fans saying "Wang who?" Just kidding. No chance of that happening. Chien-Ming is the man.

Andy Pettitte on the hill tomorrow. No better guy you want pitching after a Yankee loss. On a sunnier note, Daisuke Matsuzaka in his return for the DL threw 1 inning, giving up 6 hits and 7 earned, walking 3. I love it. Love it, love it, love it.

Peace , love, and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie