December 2008

JOY TO THE WORLD

Cashman to NY Post:

“Being the Yankees’ GM is easy. I just listen to A Show of Their Own for all the answers!”

So, I’m pretty sure Brian Cashman or Mark Teixeira is a fan of “A Show of Their Own.” Last night, I asked for Tex to sign with the Yankees as my Yankees Christmas wish on air (Click HERE to listen). The next day, Tex is in pinstripes! Now Cashman, if you would just steal Grady Sizemore from the Indians, I’d be in a pinstriped heaven!

 

grady.pngOk, I’m sure the Yankees and Tex don’t get their career advice from a twenty year old chick in North Carolina, but I can dream right?

TEIXEIRA 

It really looked as if the Red Sox would end up with Tex. I know John Henry said the Red Sox wouldn’t be a factor, but he did leave the offer on the table, which, to me, seemed like he was bluffing. Every Yankees specialist fan I’ve spoken with said I should give up on Tex being a Yankee, but I prayed hard and a Christmas miracle transpired.

tex.jpg I plead my case for Tex last night on the air. Honestly, Tex is the only guy who made sense. Bobby Abreu is gone and he took his big bat with him. We had no one to fill the number three spot in the line up. We needed a big bat to protect A-Rod our clean up guy. I mean who would have been number three? I’d die if Manny ever donned the pinstripes!

The Options…

 

x.jpgMaybe Xavier Nady - Not a bad choice, but Tex is an upgrade. Nady did well last year, but then had a period were he sort of fell off the face of the earth for a stretch towards the end of the year (but what Yankee didn’t).

 

godzilla.jpg Hideki Matsui – yea right, unless he returns to Godzilla form, but then he’d better serve as a 5 or 6 guy. Maybe even a number 7 guy. I’m not so sure Matsui will be with the big team all year, I say he lands on the 15-day DL at least once next year.

 

jopo.jpgJorge Posada – I actually started to laugh as I typed this one. Posada is too slow, he’s a catcher, come on. He’ll fill the 6th spot in the order.

 

 
robbie.jpgRobinson Cano - Even though he’s been working in the Dominican this winter, he’s still not a viable number 3 guy. At his peak I see him as a 5 or 6 guy. This year, I think he’ll see a lot of time in the number 8 hole.

 

swish.jpgNick Swisher – I’m not even sure why he’s a Yankee to be honest. Trade bait now I guess. It seemed odd to me that the Yankees would have signed Swisher to play first base all year. The man said himself that he didn’t have much experience at 1B, but he’d try. Great, “try” that’s what we need coming back from a crap year and going into a new stadium, a guy to “try” to play 1B. Swisher didn’t actually say “try,” but that was the gist of his little speech. Anyway… (sorry I go off on tangents a lot) Swisher would be lucky to bat 9th in the Yankees line-up.

 

Cameron.jpg

Melky puff.jpg

gardy.jpgMike Cameron/ Melky Cabrera / Brett Gardner - which ever guy we go with here, will bat 9th Maybe Cameron bats 7th or 8th, but not 3rd. It’s my belief that the Yankees will stick with Melky in CF until the CF savior Austin Jackson is ready to take over full time. Melky had a bad year this year, but I don’t think anyone should be counted out after one season. If he was in his late 30s or early 40s and he had such a bad year, I’d say sure get rid of him, but he’s only in his 20s. Keep the Melk Man, he’ll deliver… at some point. It’s also stupid of Cashman to trade for Cameron. Cashman keeps saying he wants to make the Yankees a younger team, but Cameron is no spring chicken. Why try one mediocre CF for an older mediocre centerfielder? If Cashman is going to talk the talk, he needs to walk the walk. I think the only reason the Yanks contemplated the trade was to appease CC. CC should have no say though. I don’t think CC demanded Cameron, but the Yankees knew they are buddies. Why does CC’s friendship with Cameron matter more than Cano and Melky’s friendship? Cano and Melky have been Yankees longer than CC. In my opinion CC has something to prove. Don’t get me wrong, I love CC and think he was a great acquisition. I also like the Cleveland Indians, so I know a thing or two about CC.

 

jetes.jpg

damon.jpgI’m not even going to bother writing Derek Jeter or Johnny Damon. If you think Jeter or Damon are 3 slot guys, then… I don’t know, you’re insane.

The Line-up Card

So, I’m going to go ahead and write it down, Girardi feel free to use this…

1 Damon – LF

2 Jeter – SS

3 Teixeira – 1B

4 Rodriguez – 3B

5 Nady – RF

6 Posada – C

7 Matsui – DH

8 Cano – 2B

9 Melky -CF

 

The Rotation  

 I’m happy about the pitching staff this year. I think this is the first year in a while where I feel confident in our starters AND our pen. A 10 million dollar deal is on the table for Andy Pettitte. He hasn’t accepted the offer yet and (although I love Andy) I hope he rejects the offer or the Yankees pull the offer. I know Pettitte has done a lot for the Yankees over the years, but he’s getting older, he’s worried about his elbow and back and frankly, so am I. It’s time for us to move on and go with the Young Guns.

Girardi… you can use this one too!

1 Sabathia

2 Burnett

3 Wang

4 Chamberlain

5 Hughes

 

In Other Yankees News…

Ex-Yankees Pitcher, Chris Britton recently signed with the Padres. I really hope this guy does well with the Padres. I hear he can hit bombs so hopefully that will manifest into something out west. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Charlotte, NC in 2007. He was one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. He’s like a big teddy bear, super fun guy. Chris Britton and Ruben Sierra are the two nicest baseball players I’ve met. Very fan friendly guys they are. Anyway… just wanted to say Good luck Chris!

 

Final Whisper: BIG thanks to Michelle Damon!!!!

 
Michelle Damon.jpgWithout her, CC may have went back to the Brewers or some other team that’s not the Yankees! So Michelle, thanks for showing Amber Sabathia that it IS possible to raise a  loving family in the New York area and showing her the way to Saks!  

 

the sabathia family.jpg 

Baseball Nerdish as Always,

Brit

 

I feel like reading a book now…

Hometown Glory?

 

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2601026&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1
Panthers “In The Ayer” from Candy + Potter on Vimeo

Ok, it’s the off-season and it’s rather quite. So, I’ll be watching the Carolina Panthers take on the New York Giants tomorrow. Usually, I’d go with the Giants, but I’ve got to have a little hometown spirit right? I’m not a big football person, although I like to watch it (if that makes any sense at all). Plus, I need the Panthers to win so I can win my fantasy football game this week (yea, I missed the draft).

The radio station I listen to here in Charlotte (WLNK 107.9) put together this very amusing rally music video for the Panthers and I thought I’d share it…

 Final Whisper: Go Panthers!

Baseball Nerdish as Always,

Brit

Finals Notice

Sorry I’ve been MIA this week. My goal with this blog is to post at least 3 times a week if not more, but this week I have FINALS!!! Although the Yankees are important in my life, graduating college next year is also very important to me… so hang tight.

 

I’m going to try to blog tomorrow or later tonight then I’ll be back up and running as usual by Sunday.

 

Baseball Nerdish as Always,

Brit

 

all-nighter.jpg

Jesus, Take the Wheel

Yesterday, Lisa Winston (of MLB.com and GotMiLB here on MLBlogs) was the special guest on A Show of Their Own. She covered the AFL this year and had some great information to share with us. To listen to the interview click here. Speaking with her on air was very inspiring. You can tell she LOVES minor league baseball. I enjoy minor league baseball as well, the Charleston RiverDogs (Yankees single-A) are my favorite team to watch as of this year.  I was able to participate in the RiverDogs Fancaster of the Year this past season and had a blast! I came in third, even though I was nervous and just sucked. Anyway, Jesus Montero is quickly becoming my favorite prospect. If you haven’t heard of him, here is your chance to learn more….  (Enjoy the pic I snapped this year).

montero.jpg

      With the nagging shoulder injury that plagued Jorge Posada this year, many Yankee fans are wondering what will happen when Posada eventually retires. I’m not implying Posada will or needs to retire after one surgery, but for the purpose of this blog, lets pretend it’s the future and Posada is no longer the man behind the plate for the Yankees. So, what is the answer for the Yankees behind the plate? Simply put, Jesus is the answer…
      Ok, before you all think I’m crazy, let me introduce you all to Jesus Montero. The Yankees signed Montero as an international non-drafted free agent on October 17th, 2006. Montero was signed out of Venezuela as a 16 year old (he is 19 now). Of course, Montero is a catcher, but he is best known for his power hitting abilities. In his first year (2007) in the Gulf Coast League, Montero belted 3 homers in only 33 games. This year as a Charleston RiverDog, Montero hit .326 and was in the top ten of most offensive categories. Scouts say that Montero’s power is comparable to Philadelphia Phillies’ First Baseman, Ryan Howard. The only thing that seemed to exasperate Montero this year offensively was left-handed pitchers (he would fit right in with the 2008 Yankees).

       Seriously though, Montero is the most likely guy to take over Posada’s job when he retires (Austin Romine is a close second). With Cashman now in “Builder Bob mode,” I don’t see the Yankees trading for a catcher when Posada becomes inept. Yankees fans will have a hard time adjusting to life after Jorge, but life with Jesus looks to be just as rewarding. Posada is a vocal leader, I’m not sure about Montero, but even if he’s not that kind of leader, I don’t think it will matter. When Jeter and Rodriguez retire, look for Joba and Cano to morph into leaders of the team. Montero is, like I said, most noted for his offensive skills, but what about his defensive skills?
In his inaugural year, Montero committed just one error in 182 total chances as catcher. This past year, Montero had a .993 fielding percentage. Clearly, Montero knows his way around the plate. He’s so good, in fact, Montero was invited to spring training this past year with the big team. Montero hit a homerun in his only at bat, but that was not enough to keep him around. Montero was assigned to minor league camp shortly after. I don’t believe it was ever the intention of the Yankees to keep Montero on the big team this past year, I think they just wanted to assess his abilities for themselves. Montero was promoted to Class-A Charleston at the beginning of this past year. This move was the best for Montero, I believe. Montero  had such a great year behind the plate for the Riverdogs that he was named the starting catcher for the South Atlantic League All-Star team.

       The only thing that worries the scouts is Montero’s size. Montero is listed as 6’4″, 225lbs. Some scouts say that Montero is too big to be a catcher and will be limited to the DH role, but I disagree. Current Yankee back up catcher, Jose Molina, is listed as 6’2″, 235lbs. Molina is arguably the best back up catcher in all of baseball and his size doesn’t seem to bother his athletic ability. If you look at Montero, he doesn’t look any bigger than Posada. I think his body is fine for a catcher; I wouldn’t want him to be any smaller than 210lbs behind the plate, but at the same time, he cannot gain much more weight. I’ve seen Montero up close, in person, and he’s not as big as the scouts want people to think. Everyone knows catchers are not great base runners, with the exception of Joe Mauer, so I don’t see any problem coming from his size. He moves great behind the plate and has the stats to back that up. He’s a power hitter and that’s what the Yankees will needs when Posada’s gone.

       As a life long Yankee fan, it’s going to be hard for me to see Posada retire (when that day comes), but I know if the Yankees stick with Jesus, we’ll be in good hands. Don’t expect to see Montero any time soon, I wouldn’t expect to see him up in the majors until 2010 or 2011. Even at that time, I don’t see him as the everyday catcher. He’ll undoubtedly spend some time apprenticing under Posada. If you haven’t seen Montero play in person, you’re missing out, trust me.

 

FINAL WHISPER: Do yourself a favor and check out some MiLB games this year. They are soooo much fun. Here’s hoping Ty can manage the RiverDogs to the SAL Championship!

 

Baseball Nerdish as Always,
  Brit

                                                Title Courtesy of Carrie Underwood

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