Yankees Daily

I wrote an article for the bleacher report and it’s long. It’s broken up however and it’s pretty entertaining so it shouldn’t be too hard to read. I’m going to post it first on the bleacher report on Sunday morning because they asked me to write something for them.

The article I wrote has nothing to do with the Yankees and their season. I mentioned one player from the Yankees.

The Yankees destroyed the Cubs by a score of 10-1. It was such an easy win you’re probably thinking, let’s play in the World Series already. Hold on, it’s only the spring. We have 162 games to go.

What’s going on with all of these home runs the Yankees are hitting? Is it the new ball park? Are we playing at Coors field now?

Now to the good stuff.

* Mark Texeira

Not only did he hit 1 home run bomb, but 2. He scored 2 times and drove in 4 runs. He finished the spring with a .433 batting average. This bothers me because these stats don’t count.

* Derek Jeter

He hit a home run and drove in 3. I like Jeter in the lead off spot. If Gardner starts to have a great year however, I feel the Yankees should move Gardner into the lead off spot.

* Cody Ransom

Scored twice and walked twice. The more you get on base, the more you score. That’s why the Red Sox have been so successful. They find players who can get on base.

* Shelley Duncan

Hit a home run. Poor guy. What’s he going to do? Be a career minor leaguer?

* The Yankees’ starting pitching and their bull pen

Andy Pettitte looked great. He gives up a lot of hits like the announcers said but he always gets out of jams. I’m excited about Burnett especially since I drafted him in all of my fantasy baseball drafts. He struck out 6 batters in 4 innings. Bruney got 2 batter outs. That was all they could ask from him.

Phil Coke has an awesome throwing motion especially towards left-handed batters. The ball seems to start on the back of the batter’s shoulder than lands right in the middle of the catcher’s glove.

Thank god Spring Training is over!

When the season starts, I’ll be posting a player of the game when the Yankees win. When they lose, I’ll post a disgraceful player of the game. Each week I’ll count which player has the most and I’ll accumulate it through out the season. Each Sunday you’ll get the totals for the week. I’ll spread articles about certain things through out the week.

I watched a little of the Mets play the Red Sox and Daisuke MatSueCocka is really fat! He looked like a fat slob!

Final note. Let’s Go Yankees!

There were a lot of stars that shined bright last night as the Yankees took down the Chicago Cubs in the new Yankee stadium by a score of 7-4. Also, give me a break. I was too tired to write about this last night because it got late.

* Derek Jeter

Mr. November had the first hit of the game in the new stadium which seemed like the right thing to happen since he’s also Mr. Yankee. He also went 2-for-2 and scored a run.

* Hideki Matsui

Hit a 2 run bomb and has convinced me to start him in fantasy baseball. I drafted him and I wasn’t sure how good he was going to be.

* Robinson Cano

He hit a 2 run home run. I emailed my friend Rich last night asking if he wanted Adam Lambert to win American Idol and he emailed back to me, “Cano’s homer- nice & sweet!” There are Yankee fans every where.

* Cody Ransom

He hit a 3 run bomb. As soon as he hit it I knew it was gone. It was like, “smack!,” yes, I know that’s a home run. All he has to do is hold fort until A-Rod gets back.

* Mariano Rivera

God pitched another perfect inning. His era for the spring? 0.00. Imagine the season starts and he starts getting smoked every which way? That wouldn’t be good but I doubt it would happen.

The not-so-great: Chien-Ming Wang

He didn’t look that bad but he did give up 4 earned runs. He got knocked around a little.

Player of the Game: Robinson Cano

Had 2 hits and had a 2 run home run.

Canizo Hits A Two Run Bomb

I can’t wait until the spring training games are over. I’m ready for the season. The Yankees know who they want at certain positions and it’s time to play.

A+: Joba Chamberlain

He gave up 2 earned runs in 5.1 innings but his velocity was great and he struck out 6 batters. Great joba by him. Get it? Great joba?

A+: Phil Coke

He pitched 1 perfect inning and struck out 2 batters. Coke is it.

A+: Melky Cabrera

The Melk Man scored a run and drove in 3. I call him the Melk Man because he delivers the MILK! That makes no sense but I’ve heard people call him the Melk Man.

A+: Angel Berroa

He had 2 hits and drove in a run. He’s earned a roster spot on this team with the spring he’s had.

A: Brett Gardner

He had an RBI and had 3 hits. His spring batting average is up to .390. He doesn’t get an A+ because he got caught stealing. It would stink if the season started and he went into a slump the first month of the season.

A: Mark Teixeira

He got on base twice and scored a run.

Player of the Game: Melky Cabrera

I have to give it to him for driving in half the teams’ runs.

It seems to me that this Yankee team is ready to start the season. If they play the way we know they are capable of playing, we could see 100 wins.

I’m hoping this spring means something and that all these Yankee wins could help build momentum for when the regular season starts. We know that these games don’t prove much but I’ll take what I saw.

I have Andy Pettitte as one of my bench pitchers in fantasy baseball and I’m wondering if I should make him a starter.

A+ Andy Pettitte

Total domination. He reached his pitch count and then came out of the game with only 1 earned run against him. I guess you can say he’s ready for the season.

A+ Mark Teixeira

I’ve read that Mark doesn’t perform well under pressure. Do you know where I’ve read that from? From Red Sox fans. He had 2 RBI’s.

A Derek Jeter

He got on base twice and scored a run. Typical Jeter production.

A Jose Veras

After having a good year last year, I see him having a great one this season. He gave up 1 hit and no runs in 1 inning and lowered his spring era to 1.80.

C + Brett Gardner

He didn’t get a hit but he scored a run and threw out Scott Rolen out at third base. That has to account for something.

F Nick Swisher

It makes sense why Girardi picked Xavier Nady to start in right-field. Swisher went 0-for-4 and lowered his spring batting average down to .239. You can say that the announcement of Nady starting could of made Swisher not play as well the rest of the way but if you are a professional, you must bring effort every day.

Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte

There’s nothing more you can say about how well Andy has pitched. I wouldn’t be surprised if he became the best pitcher on the Yankee roster this year.

The New York Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 9-8. Most of the runs scored against the Yankees were against one pitcher. That was the bad. First the good.

A+: Mariano Rivera

To say he is ready to start the season is an understatement. He struck out 3 batters in 1 inning.

A+: Johnny Damon

He had 3 hits today. I’m wondering if those 3 hits would of been better out of the lead off spot.

A+: Nick Swisher

He loaded up the stat sheet good. He got on base 3 times and had 2 runs scored along with 2 RBI’s. If he’s the type of batter that’s going to back up Nady in right field then I’ll gladly take it.

A: Robinson Cano

My boy Cano hit a home run today. That’s right, my “boy.” I’m just busting chops because I was hard on Cano a few games back saying that I had no confidence in him. I’m starting to think that I should of kept him in fantasy baseball because his average is .348 thus far in spring. He’s making me a believer again.

B-: Brett Gardner

He reached base twice and scored a run but got caught stealing. He got caught stealing by the back up catcher mind you. The thing with back up catchers is that they’re mostly on the team for defensive purposes so it makes sense that Gardner got caught stealing. I’m sure the back up Pirate catcher has a bionic arm.

F: This is more like, a BIG fat F: A.J. Burnett

What happened? I drafted Burnett is fantasy baseball and he goes out and gives up a million runs? He better get his act together. My life and fantasy baseball team is counting on him. He’s lucky this isn’t the regular season or he’d get the first disgraceful player of the game award. 6 earned runs in 4.1 innings is not what I had in mind.

Game 31: Yankees win over the Braves 6-4

Today was an important day for some Yankee players. Some made a good impression and some didn’t. Some will remain on the team and some might get released. Let’s look at the players battling for spots.

Melky Cabrera:

He’s battling Brett Gardner for the center field position. He didn’t hurt himself by going 3-for-4 with 1 run scored. His average for the spring is now .346. I still don’t think he has potential to be great. To me, he’ll always be a good defensive center-fielder who’s an average hitter.

Brett Gardner:

Just last week we were talking about how Gardner had the starting center field position locked up. After going 0-for-2 with a strikeout, his position isn’t so secured.

Brett Tomko:

He pitched 3 innings of shut out ball lowering his spring era to 1.17. I don’t know how he’s winning this spring training battle between Alfredo Aceves and Dan Giese for the long reliever position. Tomko has been a pretty terrible pitcher his whole career. His numbers speak for themselves this spring and he’s winning going away.

Dan Giese:

He let in 3 runs but only 1 of them was earned. Still, he was very effective last year but his era this spring is 6.89. That’s not good for some one who’s fastball tops out at 87 mph and throws a bunch of off speed pitches. I like Giese because he was good last year. It will be a shame to see him not make the 40 man roster.

Alfredo Aceves:

He gave up an earned run in 3 innings but has a 4.60 spring era. He’ll most likely be sent down to the minors.

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We have a good idea that Brett Tomko will win the long reliever role because he’s earned it but it’s hard to say which way Joe Girardi will go with Gardner and Cabrera.

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I’d like to mention that the YesNetwork is a bad tv station. Today I was watching Matsui’s grand slam game and they messed it up. The game froze while Matsui was rounding the bases. Then when the game went back on, they didn’t reshow Matsui’s home run. Talk about anti-climatic. Yes, we need them for the Yankees but that’s all they are good for.

The New York Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 4-1. It looks to me as though CC Sabathia is ready for the season after yesterday’s performance.

A+: CC Sabathia

He didn’t pitch against the best lineup but he dominated. If you are great and you face some one inferior to you, you are supposed to dominate them. That’s what CC did.

A+: Mariano Rivera

I can’t believe how much he is dominating. He only gave up 1 hit all spring. How great can you get? He’s the Babe Ruth of relief pitchers. Better yet, he’s the Mariano Rivera of relief pitchers.

A+: Mark Teixeira

He went 2-for-3 with an RBI. I keep reading how he’s going to fail as a Yankee. Of course I’m reading this from fans from other teams.

B+: Derek Jeter

The captain had a good day scoring a run and getting an RBI. The Yankees are going to have him lead off because he hits into too many double plays. That sounds like a good idea.

C-: Brett Gardner

Joe Girardi said he has an idea who he wants to start in center-field. I have a feeling it’s going to be Gardner. He only got on base with a walk after 3 at bats but he stole a base. That has to count for something.

F: The YesNetwork

I don’t understand why they hardly show the Yankees on tv in spring training. Do they want us to pay for mlb tv? I’m not going to buy mlb tv for games that don’t count. Once the season starts, mlbtv.com becomes useless.

The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 10-2. The Phillies had both of their stars, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit bombs.

A+—Melky Cabrera

He had a home run and 3 RBI’s. It pains me to say it but he might of broken even with Gardner for the starting center-field position. I want Gardner to win the job because of his base stealing ability and I feel that Gardner’s speed brings more to the Yankees’ offense.

A—Phil Coke

He only pitched to 2 batters and struck them both out but they were probably the most important outs in the game up until that point. There were two men on base when Coke came in the game with 1 out. He did a great job.

B+—Nick Swisher

He hit a home run and walked. I’m pretty sure that Xavier Nady still has the edge to start in right-field

B—Hideki Matsui

He hit a 2-run home run but disappeared after that. I don’t know why pitchers wouldn’t fear him. He can hit bombs. After all he was the home run leader in Japan.

B—Cody Ransom

He hit a solo home run in 3 at bats. He definitely won’t replace Alex Rodriguez but the Yankees should be ok with Ransom keeping third base warm.

C+—Joba Chamberlain

I was hoping Joba would pitch at least 5 innings but he only made it through 4.1 innings. He threw a lot of balls today. His only mistakes were solo home runs to some of the best hitters in baseball, Utley and Howard. He left two men on base for Coke but Coke got him out of the jam.

Player of the Game: Melky Cabrera

He made it harder for Joe Girardi to choose a starting center fielder with today’s performance.

The New York Yankees beat the Red Sox by a score of 7-1. It’s only spring training but it’s always fun when the Yankees win over the Red Sox.  It was close throughout the whole game but the Yankees beat up on some bad Red Sox pitching at the end.

A+—Brett Gardner

He legged out a triple with his speed then scored on an infield single by Johnny Damon. The fielder for the Red Sox almost caught the ball that Gardner hit but once he missed it, it was off to the races for Gardner

A—AJ Burnett

He ran out of gas in the 6th inning but was great for 5 innings. This is the most he’s pitched this spring so he’ll get better as we move towards the season.

A—Mariano Rivera

What more can I say about Mariano Rivera? He’s a god. He pitched 1 inning and struck out two batters without having anyone get on base.

A—Angel Berroa

He drove in the winning run when the game was tied at 1-1. Berrora is showing why he was a first round pick for the Royals. He’s having a great spring.

A—Johnny Damon

He beat out the throw to first to get an infield single and drove in Gardner. He then stole a base on Tim Wakefield, which you’re supposed to do. If I was a manager of a baseball team that was playing against a team Tim Wakefield was pitching for, I’d make my runners steal every time they’re on base and there’s a base open.

A—Austin Jackson

He had only 1 at bat but boy did he make it count. He hit a grand slam. He reminds me of Alfonso Soriano with the way he swings his bat and the way he looks as a player.

Player of the Game: A.J. Burnett

He went pitch for pitch with Tim Wakefield and kept the Yankees in the game.

The New York Yankees were playing the 2008 World Series champs, but the team’s pitching did not step their game up. The Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 8-3.

Here come my individual player performance grades:

Xavier Nady: B+

He went 1-for-2 with with an RBI. It looks as though Nady might win the right field position, according to Joe Girardi; that’s great news for me, because I have Nady on one of my baseball fantasy teams.

Crap, I have another fantasy draft tonight and I don’t feel like doing it. I have a headache.

Mark Teixeira: B

He got a hit and scored a run. Nothing shabby but nothing fancy about his line.

Jorge Posada: C+

I will take anything Posada will give when it comes to stats. He got on base once and scored a run. I look at him as a luxury because of all the big bats the Yankees have, especially when Alex Rodriguez comes back.

Chien-Ming Wang: C-

He was good at the start but ended up letting in three earned runs in five innings.

Brian Bruney: F

He’s having a very bad spring. He gave up two earned runs in one inning and now has a 7.56 ERA. Yankee fans won’t stand for this nonsense once the regular season starts.

Dan Giese: F

Another guy struggling in the preseason. He allowed three earned runs in one inning. Maybe he’s meant to be a journeyman after all.

I’d also like to note that I for one would like to hear Girardi say he’s giving the spot to Gardner in center field.