It's been an eventful offseason so far, but the type of moves Cashman has done have left me very pleasantly surprised. Let me explan :

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Hey,


Anybody know of a good pitching camp in NY or the Tristate Area (as close to Yonkers as possible)? I'm a pitcher from Europe, and I'm coming to the states this summer, so I wanted to have somebody look at my pitching or give me a few pointers.  Anybody know of something? Maybe a AAA, AA pitching coach, or a camp (I've already written that :D)

Thanx for anything, much appreciated

In my opinion, this statistic is not good at all.

Look at Burnett, wasn't he 5-0 vs. the Red Sox before last night, with an excellent game? I know everybody can be a general after the war, but teams change, batters change, and pitchers have either good/bad form. I just got a strange feeling when some of the moderator's posted that they think not having Joba pitch against the Red Sox is ok, since Burnett is filthy against them. I'm pretty sure it would've been a completely different game had Joba pitched (remember last year's game?)

What do you think, what's the best/worst statistic for a pitcher going into a game?

...the Yankee situation is slowly becoming better. CC has gone for 2 straight excellent games, the bullpen has held up in the last two games, and the Yanks have won two straight series, one of them against the best team in the AL East.

Matsui has come back with a bang, our starting shortstop is back. The Yankees are .500, and yet almost everybody except Damon and Cabrera are having sub-par seasons (Swisher's cooled off too).

So all I'm saying is calm down, yes there are a lot of problems, but everything's coming together slowly. All we have to keep doing is winning series...

A couple of things I was wondering:

1) Mark Texiera was beaming at the press conference, and pretty much all he was saying was that he wanted to be a Yankee from the start. He also says he works hard, and expects a lot out of himself. You can't really rate, predict, or give stats for character, but this guy, at least to me, seems like the catalyst that will propel us to the playoffs. He wanted to be a Yankee from the start, and he knew he was going to be a Yankee 2 weeks before he agreed. Kudos to Brian Cashman for keeping that quiet. I honestly think that him, not CC, will be the face of the Yankees during his 8 year deal.

2) The Red Sox were getting ready to take Mark Texiera, embrace him, and cheer for him in Fenway Park. Now that he signs with the Yankees, they're calling him a jerk, and calling us fools for signing him to a long-term deal (the same amount of years they were offering). And now they're hoping that Youkilis will be as good as Texiera, just because he had a career year. Last I checked, they were willing to let go of Lowell and move Youkilis to 3rd just to sign him. Smells a lot like when we took A-Rod from them.

3) Why did Pettite reject the offer?. I really want him on the Yankees' pitching staff, but the only thing we want him for is the fact that he eats innings, and that fact that he'd be a good #4 starter (Joba's #5). A 6 million paycut is fair, in my opinion, seeing as he looked on a big decline last season. We stuck with him through the Mitchell report, and Pettite keeps on stating that he wants to be a Yankee and pitch in the new stadium. If he does, then why not take the offer?

4) There have been many posts, especially on this site, arguing about Joba, saying that he should be a starter. This shouldn't even be argued! His ERA was as good as a starter as it was a setup man. We have a bullpen flocked with great 1-2 inning guys. We signed Joba to be a starter, and just because he was good as a reliever, doesn't mean he should stay there. Did the pro-bullpen people see him outduel Josh Beckett in Fenway, keeping the Yankees' playoff hopes alive? Honestly, it makes as much sense as moving Jeter to CF this season.

Alright, it's time for the 3B edition of Sizing up the AL East:

Yankees-Alex Rodriguez

Currently the best 3rd baseman in the game. One of a kind hitter that I'm glad I got to see play. He hits for power, average, has good speed, and even a good glove. Having the year he had while people called it a down year, I think, is a testament to his talent. It looks like he has streaks of a great year followed by a "dissapointing" year. Well, last year was dissapointing, and the Yankees just introduced Texiera, the man who will be protecting A-Rod in the lineup. Expect a monster season from A-Rod. He gets a 9.

Red Sox-Mike Lowell

Lowell had a bad season last year, especially after his excellent 2007 season. It didn't help that he got limited batting time behind the plate because of his 2 DL stints. He won't repeat 2007, and Lowell is not getting any younger. But he is a pretty good player. Not great, but you can rely on him to get 20HR, 90 RBI and have a .280 BA. He also has a plus glove, but he gets a 6.

Devil Rays-Evan Longoria

Wow. This guy rocketed into the big leagues, and looked like a fish in water. If he had played a full season, he, most likely, would have gotten 35HR and 100RBI. In his first major league season! His BA was a bit low, but I expect that will go up in his second year. It isn't unlikely that he'll pull a Pedroia, and win ROY and MVP back to back, because all the scouting reports while he was in the Minors were true. Excellent slugging percentage, HR, RBI numbers. Looks a little like A-Rod, but since he's a bit unproven and only one season into his career, he gets an 8.

Yankees:9pts       Red Sox:6pts       Devil Rays:8pts

So here come the standings:

NYY: 30pts

BOS: 27pts

Rays:24pts

Coming up: C

It's time for the SS edition of Sizing up the AL East! Let's take a look:

Yankees-Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter, the face of the Yankees for the past decade-many are talking about him declining. He isn't, after all, getting any younger, and some "analysts" are talking about moving him to CF. But he was having a great season until May, where he suffered a HBP injury to his wrist, after which his BA went down by .040 points. His defense has been critized by the same "analysts" and "experts", but his fielding percentage was second among SS in the AL last season. He won a Gold Glove for 3 consecutive years, and he even won the Silver Slugger last season (3rd consecutive season). He's 34, not 40, and I don't think that one of the best SS in the game (excellent average, good speed and RBI) is going to have a bad year next season (barring a freak injury to his wrist). As much as I love Jeter, he gets a 7.

Red Sox-Jed Lowrie/Julio Lugo

I wrote both names (they both had the same number of AB last season), but going into the future, I think Jed Lowrie will be seeing more playing time next season. We didn't get to see too much of the 1st round pick last year, but he did get some clutch hits. Looking at his stats, though, Lowrie doesn't have any strong points (little speed, little power, average..average). Lugo just looks like a faster version of Lowrie, and I think it might be a while before they can compete for the top SS in the AL East. Although Lowrie is young, and I'm supposing he's going to get playing time, I'll give the duo a 5.

Devil Rays-Jason Bartlett

The Piranha, as nicknamed by Ozzie Guillen thanks to his small-ball type of play, looks like the Devil Rays' Opening Day SS.  He has virtually no home-run power, but he makes up for it with great defense and base-running.The Devil Rays definatelly made a good trade when they traded for this guy. Although I wouldn't replace Jeter for him, Bartlett looks like one of the sparkplugs that energized the Devil Rays to such a turnaround. He also gets a 5.

Yankees-7pts       Devil Rays-5pts       Red Sox-5pts

Total standings:

NYY-21pts

BOS-21pts

Rays-16pts

Coming up next: 3B, ought to be interesting

Well, with the Yankees winning 1B, let's have a look at the following three second basemen:

Yankees-Robinson Cano

While most people look at last season as a significant down year in Cano's numbers, you'd have to look at the monthly breakdown to get a better idea of where the problems were. His only really bad month was April (sub .200), after which he got better month after month. He is no gold glover, and we're still waiting for the power to show. He is said to be working hard in the DR with Kevin Long, and let's hope that last season was a wake up call for Cano. He has been known not to hustle for ground balls, even getting benched by Girardi for a while. If he's hot though, he's one of the best hitting 2B in the AL. The question is, will he be hot? If he is, and repeats the batting title campaign, he's a legitamate 8. Last season was a 5. I'll try to be unbiased though, and I'll give him a 6.

Red Sox-Dustin Pedroia

Tough to argue that this guy doesn't take home the 2B prize in this post. He's coming into his 3rd year in the big leagues, won ROY in his first, and MVP in his second year.  Pedroia also won a Gold Glove last season, and while he doesn't hit for power, he's a legitamate 20-20 threat, with an excellent batting average (.326 last season). I think the Red Sox had a good enough offseason signing this guy to a long term deal. Pedroia is was a 9 last season, and will probably get better; I won't give him a 10 though, because he lacks the power. But he does get a 9.

Devil Rays-Akinori Iwamura

He's also coming into his 3rd full MLB year this season. His 1st season was a disappointment to many, and he didn't increase his numbers in his second year.  He looks like an average 2nd baseman, legitimate BA, RBI, and sub-par HR. Not too many steals either. Nothing to complain about this guy, he is a solid ballplayer. He might pick it up in his 3rd year, but now he's looking like the worst out of the three. He's worse than Cano, so he gets a 5.

Red Sox-9pts       Yankees-6pts       Devil Rays-5pts

So that leaves us with the following standings after 2 rounds:

Red Sox:16pts

Yankees:14pts

Devil Rays:11pts

So after a lot of argument about who will top out the AL East next year, I thought I'd take it position by position, and try to find out which of the top 3 AL East teams (Rays, Sox, Yanks) have the biggest chance at taking it all. I'll rank each position by a scale from one to ten, and add up the totals in the grand finale. Might not be accurate, but I thought I'd try. I'll do position players first, followed by pitching staff and then bullpen. I'd like comments, see where you guys stand on this, thanks.

1B

Yankees-Mark Texiera

Pretty much the best 1B in the AL in my opinion ( You can argue about Morneau and Cabrera, though). Has an awesome glove, something we haven't had for a long time. Hits for average, power, and is just entering his prime. He's pretty much been a 30-100 guy for the past 5 years. Has a steady rate of success, barely any fluctuating numbers in his career. I absolutely love this guy, and hope he does well for the Yanks. On a scale from one to ten, I'll give Texiera an 8.

Red Sox-Kevin Youkilis

I am a Yankee fan, but I'm going to have to admit that Youkilis is good. He's not old either (29), and has been getting better every year (had carrer numbers in every offensive category except runs last year). Also has an awesome glove, one of the best in the AL. Him and Tex might be a tight race for the AL 1B Gold Glove. He's was similar to Tex last season, but because of his career stats, I'm giving Youkilis a 7

Devil Rays-Carlos Pena

Ok, forget that. Tex, Youkilis, and Pena will duke it out for the Gold Glove (this guy just won it last season).  The oldest one on the list (30), though not by much. Many considered his career season 2 years ago to be a fluke, although he capitalized with a declined but respectable year last season. He's the only one on the list who isn't well rounded though, as hitting for average isn't his best category (about .250 BA last season). He has a good glove and power, but other than that, he's average. That's why I'll give Pena a 6

Yanks:8pts       Red Sox:7pts       Devil Rays:6pts