Yankees Win A Tense One, Time To Exhale & Breathe A Little Easier

G effing D. Tonight's Yankees/Red Sox game is absolutely killing me. 2 outs away from picking up the W and Mo blows the save. WTF? Then the Yankees get to Papelbon and have 2 shots at knocking in the game winner but nope. Freaking Jorge. Talk about a horrible inning. 4 SBs and a whiff. Horrible. Aargh.

The game is currently in the 10th inning and I can't bear myself to watch it. I've been a nervous nelly these last few days. I'm starting to get that sinking feeling that the Yankees are royally screwed. I know they're still in really good shape but they're not playing well at all. They still have a pretty good-sized lead but with the way they're playing and 3 more games with Boston, 'll admit it, I don't feel good about it. Hopefully this post ends on a happy note.

Phil Hughes looked great tonight. Yankees made the right move by starting him tonight.

A-Rod is becoming extremely hot. I can't believe he's on the cusp of hitting 30 HRs. I didn't think he had a shot but he's been on a tear. I was jumping around the house when he went deep. Thought I woke up my kids but thankfully, I didn't.

My pre-season prediction for the AL MVP was Robinson Cano. I still stand by that prediction. Robbie is the man.

I'm not liking how Mariano has pitched recently. I hope he gets it out of his system if they make it to the postseason. My fantasy team is in the championship of a $ league. I have both Papelbon and Rivera. Tonight was not a good night.

I'm not enjoying what I'm seeing from Jorge Posada. That 9th inning was brutal.

The Yankees currently have the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th. C'mon fellas. Take care of this. I've been typing this blog in the kitchen and am within earshot of the TV. I've been running in whenever I hear Miller start to call a play. The Yankees have been doing better this game when I've been in the other room. Being the superstitious cat that I am, I'm staying put and sticking with what's working.

Force out at home. Freaking A. Here we go again. C'mon Juan Miranda. You like pie, right?

YES HE DOES! Okajima with the bases loaded walk! Yankees win. Thuhh Yankees win.

Man, that was an extremely tense game. I can finally breathe easier. The win means the Yankees at worst clinch a tie for the wild card. The only way that happens is if they finish 0-6 and Boston finishes 7-0. I'm not going to comment on that. This hasn't been the best month for the Yankees and I'm not going to make another potential foot-in-mouth comment until it's done.

One week to go. The Yanks are a 1/2 game back of Tampa for the division and have clinched a tie for the wild-card. This should be a great week. Lucky for me the next 3 are in Toronto. It's about an hour-and-a-half away and I'm going. I'm really hoping to see them clinch the WC and I'm hoping it's tomorrow. That would be awesome. Leaving early to do some autograph hunting. Off to bed. My mind is racing though. That game was crazy.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

What Would You Do-ooh-ooh For A Hall-A-Day?

I read yesterday on MLBTradeRumors that per Jon Heyman, the Yankees have contacted the Blue Jays about Roy Halladay. Well duh. I could have written that and had a 99.9% chance of being right. This isn't anything to salivate over or get worked up about. Not yet anyway. The Yankees have to do their due-diligence and at least check in about Halladay's availability, especially now that the new Jays GM has said he'd trade Roy within the division. It wouldn't be good business if the Yankees didn't call and ask about it. I'm sure it was likely a routine call, something I'm sure Cashamn has done several times this offseason with different GMs. Until I hear something more substantial about it, I'm dismissing it as fodder.

I think the Yankees will become major players for Doc. There's no doubt that the Yanks will make competitive offers, if for nothing else, to drive up the price for everyone else. I think it's something they'll actually focus on sooner rather than later, especially if they want to be players for John Lackey. If the Yankees sign Lackey, I don't see them making a run at Halladay. That would be rather costly. But if you're going to make an offer to Lackey, why not go after Halladay, as their respective salaries will likely be in the same ballpark. I guess what the Yankees need to decide is if it's worth giving up players in addition to the salary or just go with the salary. Think of it as acquiring Johan Santana and CC Sabathia. The Mets had to trade top prospects for Santana in addition to paying him $100 million plus. The Yankees waited a year and signed CC as a free agent, thus keeping their prospects. Right now, it would obviously cost more to acquire Halladay as opposed to Lackey since Halladay can only be gotten via trade. You can roll the dice and hope Roy hits the free agent market next year but i think there is zero chance of that happening. Bottom line: if you want Roy Halladay you have to pony up the players.

I personally would love to see the Yankees land Halladay. But I don't want to see them pay through the nose for him. But if they want him I think they're going to have to. This will probably go down pretty much the same way things did when the Yankees were looking at trading for Johan Santana. It's going to cost at least 4 prospects. The Jays will probably ask for both Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. If that's the case I walk away. i am fine with one of them going but not both. The Yanks would be wise to hold onto one of the youngsters. Trading both is a dealbreaker for me. If one has to go I hope it's Joba. I am really high on Hughes and I think he is now, and will always be, a better pitcher than Joba. I'm fine with them dealing either, but not both.

The 2nd piece of the puzzle is going to definitely be Austin Jackson. As high as I am on A-Jax, I'd be OK with him being included in a package. There's no guarantee that Jackson will ever materialize. And I think OFs are much easier to come by than stud starting pitchers.

The 3rd piece of the puzzle would probably have to be Jesus Montero. I'm not a fan of him being included but the Jays would be stupid not to ask for him. He's arguably the Yankees best prospect and he's a catcher. I'd like to see the Yankees find a way to hold onto him but I think it'll be tough to do, especially if they get in a bidding war with another team, namely the Red Sox. Perhaps Cashman can talk the Jays down into taking Austin Romine over Montero. The Yankees are going to be in need of a catcher very soon as Jorge Posada isn't going to be around much longer. The Yanks would be wise to keep the better of the two if at all possible.

The 4th piece, and I'd assume there will be a 4th piece, is probably going to end up being another pitching prospect. Someone like Ian Kennedy, Zach McAllister, or Andrew Brackman. Maybe the Jays would want a guy like Juan Miranda. The Yanks don't have a huge need for him with Mark Teixeira being on the squad.

So barring any creative deals, say where the Yankees take on a guy as a salary dump (Vernon Wells), i think it's going to take at least 4 guys to pry Halladay away from the Jays. I'm fine with that if it's the right 4 guys. I could live with it if the Yankees dealt Joba, Austin Jackson, Austin Romine and any of those pitchers. I could even live with it if they threw in Juan Miranda. I'm not as big of a fan of the deal if it includes Montero but I can probably live with it. There's no guarantee that any prospect will materialize. There is a guarantee that Roy Halladay kicks ass. If the opportunity arises I hope the Yankees go for it.

I'm still undecided on whether or not it's better to deal the guys and pay the contract (for Halladay) then to just pay the contract (Lackey). I prefer Halladay to Lackey but I'm not 100% sure I prefer they deal the prospects and pay the cash for the better pitcher as opposed to just paying the cash for a great but not as good pitcher.

What do you guys think? Do you want to see the Yankees go after Halladay? If so, what can you live with them dealing? What's a dealbreaker? You think they'd be better off signing Lackey as opposed to dealing for Halladay? Lay it on me.

The Hot Stove is heating up. Tomorrow marks the 1st day teams can sign other teams' free agents. Let the games begin.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

A Better Late Than Never Post About Last Night's Game

I wanted to post something about last night's game during my lunch today but work was pretty busy and I didn't have the time. Since tonight's game is a little less than 2 hours from now, I don't want to write a full post. Here are some really quick little notes:

• A.J. Burnet looked really good.
• Phil Coke looked really bad. He's lucky they came back.
• Kyle Farnsworth looked worse than Phil Coke.
• Juan Miranda looked like he enjoyed his pie.
• Walkoffs never get old. I'm glad to see the team still get fired up about winning what's technically a meaningless game.

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