C'mon Joe, Start Phelps

Spring Training is an important time of year for all players. Players are trying to get in shape and are battling for a spot on the team. This year, for the Yankees, their is really only one battle for a starting position. It wasn't really considered a battle before the spring started and even now but it really should be. The battle I am speaking of is between Josh Phelps, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Andy Phillips. Lets just scratch Phillips out now as the Yankees really could not justify keeping him over Phelps. Phelps is better at just about everything other then defense. So that leaves Phelps and Minky. I am in no way an advocate of spring training stats mean a whole lot but in this case I believe they are important. Josh Phelps is 11 for 25 with 2 homers while Minky is hitting under .100 with no significant hits. Phelps has shown his calmness in clutch situations while Minky has found his double play stroke. I was disappointed when the yankees first signed Minky. Were they fooled by his decent average last year? Did they feel his defense would justify his offense? I agree that defense is important but the Yankees had survived with Giambi at first for the good part of the last 5 years. They could manage to get an average 1st basemen in turn for a solid bat. They obviously felt different as they decided to sign Minky. Minky has not had a good year since his days with the Twins. He wasn't even that good then! He also hasn't proved he can handle the media as his first tour in NY was laughable. I have no faith that this guy could justify hitting what he may with his defense. He just seems over matched at the plate even in spring. That brings us to Josh Phelps. He is 29 years old and was acquired in the Rule-5 draft. Admittedly, I kind of overlooked this signing as insignificant but its starting to look like a good pickup. Phelps had a solid year in AAA last year and was held down mostly because he had no where to play. He has been tossed around alot and hasn't had a chance to play since 2003 when he hit 20 homers and hit 270 in 119 games. Not the best numbers but is still respectable for a then 25 year old. He also has a career MLB average of a 981 fielding %. This guy needs a chance to suceed and the yankees should give it to him. He has tons more upside then Minky and can produce more over a full season. Coming into spring training it was his job to lose. IF this spring continues, he should lose it.

Spring Training Game 3/22

The Yankees lost to the Reds 8-7.

Carl Pavano got the start today and had yet another shaky outing. His line was 4.1 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 2 Ks. He once again left fans disapointed as he started off terribly letting up 3 hits right away. Even though he got out of that jam, it was a sign for things to come as he struggled the rest of the way. He really needs to use these final spring trainging starts to put it together or he may soon lose his starting spot.

The bullpen didnt fare to well today either. Villone had the worst outing, letting up 3 runs in 0.1 innings. Hes making Henn look very good and almost makes me wish he signed soemwhere else and we got a draft pick. Bruney and Beam also each allowed a run in an innings work.

On the offensive side of the ball, Cano continued his hot streak going 2 for 4 with a double. Abreu and A-Rod went deep and Jeter collected 2 hits. Nothing much more then that.

Opinon On Arod's Contact Situation

There has been a lot of talk recently on the clause in his contract that would allow Arod to opt out of the final three years of his deal. He is set to make somewhere between 72-81 million dollars over his final 3 years. That works out to about 25 million per year. This immediatly strikes me as strange when a player is making 25 million a year in one of his best chances to win a championship and he would want to opt out. IS he that egotistical to really think some team would give him that much more then 25 mil per year to play a decent defense? I dont mind Arod that much at all. He probably one of the best players I will see play. But why does he have to be so concerned with money and championships? His best chance of helping the yankees towards a championship is forgetting all this shit and just playing like he can. Imagine what a monster year is for a guy who has a down year with a 290 35 121 clip. I just truly believe that their is less drama behind the scenes then people like jim rome make it out to be. Now I could see Arod staying if and only if he has a good year and the yankees make it at least to the ALCS. I think if he has another off year he could react 2 ways. HE could just opt out and leave or his pride may get in the way and he will stay and try to prove his haters wrong. Either way if the yankees come close to a world series. I dont think he'll go because I believe it when this guy says he wants a championship. An interesting situation would be the few teams able to pay him more if he does opt out. Think about it. Would Arod go to Boston in spite of the fans that gave him so much grief? I think it could happen. Fortunatly for now the yankees have one of the greatest hitters of all-time in their lineup and I wouldnt mind if it stayed that way for 4 more years.

J.B Cox: Future Set-Up Man?

Age: 22
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 205 lbs
Drafted: Second Round in 2005 out of the University of Texas
Position: Relief Pitcher
Throws: Right

Fastball: J.B. Cox is not going to blow his fastball by anybody. He throws a 2-seamer at about 91-92 mph from a 3/4 arm slot. Previously, Cox had proven to throw a very durable near-sidearm fastball, but the Yankees decided to change this. He was throwing 86-89 when they drafted him, in part due to fatigue after throwing so many college innings. The new arm slot vastly improves his breaking stuff, and retains the movement on his fastball. His delivery is still deceptive, and very repeatable. He controls his fastball very well, throwing strikes with ease. The sink on his fastball has been compared to Derek Lowe's.

Slider: Cox has a plus slider, on par with T.J. Beam's. He throws it at about 85 mph, with excellent control. It breaks hard and in to left handed batters, getting him a decent amount of swings and misses. He is by no means a strikeout pitcher, but his slider is certainly a strikeout weapon. He doesn't use the pitch to get strikes, but it certainly looks like a strike when he is throwing it. The weird arm slot that he throws from makes it even more deceptive.

Changeup: Cox entered 2006 with a feel for a changeup, but it wasn't good enough to be thrown in a pressure situation. That changed. He worked very hard, turning it in to a major league quality pitch. It isn't anything special, but it gives the hitters something softer to think about. He will continue to work on it coming in to 2007, and the Yankees believe that he can make the changeup a near plus pitch.

Command: Cox has absolutely stellar command, which is easily his biggest asset. He does not get himself into trouble by walking people. He does not leave balls over the middle of the plate, resulting in an astronomically low 6 career home runs allowed in 290.1 innings between college and the minor leagues. Cox has pitched in 13 CWS games, handling the pressure as well if not better than fellow-Texan Huston Street.

Performance: Cox put together three excellent years in the NCAA's storied University of Texas, pitching 185.2 innings, striking out 190, walking 53, and posting a 2.03 ERA. He got the final out of their 2005 Championship before signing with the Yankees. He has one of best pedigrees for a college closer in the short history of drafted college closers. He doesn't throw as hard as most power relievers, but he has certainly showed up on the mound. Between High A Tampa and AA Trenton, Cox has pitched 104.2 innings, striking out 87 while walking just 29. He has allowed only 23 earned runs during that time for an ERA of 1.98.

2007 Outlook: On a lot of teams, Cox would already be in the major league bullpen and perhaps a major league closer. However, the Yankees refused to rush Cox, seeing Joe Devine on the Braves and Craig Hansen on the Red Sox crash and burn after being rushed from high end college programs to pressure situations in the show. With a suddenly loaded Yankee bullpen, Cox will start 2007 in Scranton, which will give him time to work on his changeup. He will likely be second or third on the Yankee relief depth charts, behind Chris Britton (if he gets optioned down) and T.J. Beam (who is starting to get old). There is no doubt in my mind that Cox could perform better than Kyle Farnsworth or Scott Proctor next year if sent immediately to the Yankees.

Health: If there is one reason to be concerned about Cox, this is it. He pitched well over 100 innings in 2005 between the college season, the CWS, and Tampa. The Yankees slowed it down a bit this year, giving him 77 innings before shipping him off to Team USA. He pitched well there, but went down with an elbow injury in the final days of play. He was supposed to go to Arizona, but was pulled from the team roster. No Yankee official seems to be making a big deal about it though. Hopefully they are not trying to mask a bigger problem.

Ceiling: There is debate as to whether or not Cox can be a big league closer. His fastball is below average for an ace reliever. Most closers (even Mariano) sport a 95+ mph fastball to blow by people. I think that Cox has the ability to close, but will not fool anybody to thinking that Mariano had yet to retire. In terms of quality, I would compare him to John Wetteland. Wetteland was a decent closer, but not a great one. Think about some of Tom Gordon's good years, or one of Shield's better years. The ability to eat innings should not be underrated here. Cox could be one of the average closers in this league or one of the better setup men.

Matsu-who?

Well, it is official ladies and gentlemen, it appears Boston's new God, Daisuke Matsuzaka, is going to be the greatest pitcher of all time. They might as well just vote him into the Hall of Fame now. I honestly dont even know why hes even going to play. He,apparently, has 4 plus-plus pitches with great control, doesnt give up too many homers, and has no chance of becoming the next Hideki Irabu. So, whenever Dice-K comes to town, the Yankees players should just say "Hey, Dice-Ks pitching? Yeah? Ok were going home." This would save the embarresment of versing this beastly pitcher. Right? WRONG. This Dice-k fenzy thing going on is beggining to get unbearable. I'd expect it from Red Sox fans but even ESPN is falling into the Dice-K mania as its hard to watch ESPNews for an hour without hearing how good he is. This was ok for awhile because of the excitment but come on people, he has only pitched a few innings in spring training. SPRING TRAINING. Since when is it a fact that doing good in spring means your gonna be so great. I really wish this logic applied as the Yankees would probably have the greatest bullpen in history (minus Kyle Farnsworth of course). I really do understand the amount of coverage due to the heresay of his stuff and his posting price but whats with making a big deal out of everything he does. What has he proven? He can get out some hitters in spring training, he can strike out some college players. Yeah, color me unimpressed. How about we wait and see how he does when the pressure is on. When he has to verse MLB hitters going all out for 9 innings. LEts wait and see how he reacts to the pressure of the Boston media and fans that, I can guarntee, wouldnt be too slow to turn on him if he deosnt suceed immediatly. What makes him so inept to failure? What if his supposed amazing stuff isnt all taht amazing and doesnt translate to the MLB? These are all questiosn that none of us can answer. The only time we will know is during the real season. IF he is amazing then, I will say touche Sox fans, you got me. But for now, instead of sayign how good hes going to be, how about we wait and see.

Joba Chamberlain: Future Ace?

Age: 22
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 230
Drafted: 1st Supplemental Round in 2006 out of University of Nebraska
Position: Starting Pitcher
Throws: Right

Fastball: Chamberlain is a big guy. He has a big fastball. Chamberlain throws 94-97 with plenty of life. There were reports out of Hawaii that he was being clocked at 98-99. Chamberlain's weight problem prevented him in the past from maintaining his ideal fastball throughout the later stages of each start, but he has whipped himself into shape over the last two years. More on his weight later. Chamberlain locates his fastball with the best of them.


Changeup: Chamberlain has an average 80-82 mph changeup. The Yankees are working on it and believe that it has a chance to become significantly better. He has throw it a lot in Hawaii, using it to get ahead in the counts.

Slider: Chamberlain has an above average to plus slider, which is his strikeout pitch. A typical power pitcher, you can imagine how he uses it. He has command with it, rarely leaving it up in the zone (although, like most pitchers, he can't really get a called strike with it). It is his best secondary pitch.

Curveball: Chamberlain has an above average curveball. Chamberlain may or may not abandon it as his primary "slow" pitch in favor the changeup. Lately the Yankees have been encouraging curveballs over sliders for their high school draft picks, so we'll see how Chamberlain goes.

Command: Chamberlain has plus control, but not plus command. Of course, he has the advantage of throwing 97. He'll pound the zone for strikes, but won' tbe able to hit a one inch box like Kennedy or Clippard, but he won't walk the ballpark either. Unlike those two, Chamberlain can afford to lay the occasional fastball over the middle of the plate. He illustrated his control in the HBL this winter, striking out 46 while somehow walking 3.

Performance: Chamberlain does not have an Ian Kennedy resume. He played for one year for a Division II college, weighing close to 290 pounds. He had a strong fastball but not much else, posting an ERA ove 5.00. He transfered to Nebraska, and set about improving his weight. The results were excellent, and he pitched 118.2 innings of of 2.81 ERA ball. He struck out 130 while walking just 33 and allowing just 7 home runs. He entered 2006 as a top-5 pitching prospect in the draft, but a triceps injury scared a lot of people away. His performance suffered early on, although he would eventually recovery and end the season well. He pitched 89.1 innings of 3.93 ERA ball, striking out 102 and walking 34. He allowed 8 home runs. The injury scared scared off a lot of people, causing Chamberlain to sink to the Yankees at the 41st pick. He signed late, preventing him from pitching in Staten Island. Instead, the Yankees sent him to Hawaii, where he blossomed. He pitched 37.2 innings of 2.63 ERA ball, posting that mind blowing strikeout to walk ratio of 46:3. The hitting competition wasn't great in Hawaii, but those numbers are beyond insane. Chamberlain was clearly the best pitcher in the state.

2007 Outlook: The looked like a foregone conclusion two months ago that Chamberlain would start the year in Tampa. He hadn't played an ounce of professional baseball and hadn't blown away NCAA hitters. However, as a power pitcher with tons of life on his fastball, Chamberlain may find wooden bats easier than Kennedy might. His HBL performance was nothing short of dazzling, and the hitters there are supposed to be roughly equal to High A ball level. The Yankees may push him and start him at Trenton, especially considering that Trenton may be the only minor league club that the Yankees aren't going to have a huge surplus of rotation spots. He could excell and could find himself in the major league picture as early as Spring Training of 2008.

Health: Chamberlain has two primary health concerns. First, he has weight problems. He used to be downright fat. He weighted over 280 pounds, with some claiming he was closer to 300. He had all sorts of knee and muscle problems throughout his early college career. However, someone must have lit a fire under his fat ass because he lost over 50 pounds and began pitching like an ace. The knee problems have gone away, but his triceps started to act up at the begining of this year. The injury hurt his velocity and his control, and as a result all of his numbers dipped. It was enough to make teams shy away from his top-level stuff and let him fall to the Yankees at 41.

Ceiling: Chamberlain is a bona fide potential #1 starter. He has the control, power, and secondary stuff to do it all. He has been reported to be an unceasing competitor who wears his emotions on his sleeves. He certainly has the ability to strike out 200 while posting an ERA over 3.50, which makes him an ace in my book. He'll probably pitch his fair share of innings and even have a shot at a Cy Young down the line.

Reaching his Ceiling: Time will tell whether or not Chamberlain's triceps injury is serious. I expect that it is not. His weight problem will on the other hand be a constant issue, and similar problems have derailed the careers of many a Bartolo Colon.


Comparison: C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia is a little bit taller and wider, but they have the same basic pitching style. They both have a strong fastball which sits at 94-95, and both throw a slider/curve/changeup setup. Sabathia's achilles heel prior to his successful 2006 season involved a lot of maturity issues, which Chamberlain (who is already a father) does not seem to have. The college polish is certainly there.

Spring Training Game 3/20 aka BFOX Eats His Words

The Yankees beat the Phillies 5-2 in thier latest spring training game.

Well, after my Igawa bashing article, it seems like I have to eat some of my words. This might change by next start but for now Igawa has shown some promise as his line was a sharp 5 innings, 2 hits, NO runs, 3 walks, and 3 Ks. This marks Igawas first real good performance and I hope to see many more like it. The only real negative I could see was leaving some pitches up and some shaky control. Other then that he was solid.

Rivera, Vizcaino, Myers, and Bean followed. They all looked sharp and none of them allowed any runs.

Nothing much happened offensively except a few 2 for 3 days by Cano, MAtsui, and Cabrera. This was a good sign for Melky who had been really struggling this Spring.

AL East Predictions

Team Win Loss
Yankees 95 67
Red Sox 93 69
Jays 88 74
D-Rays 76 86
Orioles 73 89



I may be a little biased because i'm a yankee fan but I honestly believe that they will come in first. First of all, they have one of the best if not the best offense in baseball. Every hitter in the lineup is a serious threat for a quick run except Doug M but hes their for defense. Then it comes to bullpen. Many people think the Yankees dont have a solid bullpen but if used correctly it could be very solid. They have one of the best closers in the game and Kyle Farnsworth (who should be able to put it together this year). They also have a nice young power arm in Brian Bruney and aquired young Chris Brittain in the trade for Jaret Wright. Also, Scott Proctor will be their until Torre makes him pitch another 100 innings and his arm falls off.
Then comes to the achilles heel of the Yankees. The starting rotation. Ill be the first to admit it is weak but guys like Mussina and Pettitte will give you solid season and hopefully Wang will have similar numbers to last year. That leaves Igawa and Pavano. Reports on Igawas stuff havent been spectacular but hes supposedly having a nice camp and could be a solid number 5 innings eater. I dont expect Pavano to be able to pitch the whole season so Im expecting (hoping) Phil Hughes will be able to come up and have an effect close to that of Verlanders or Weavers.

This was obviously a very close race. Boston has improved their lineup this year with the additions of Lugo and Drew. Everyone knows what to expect from Manny and Ortiz but their are some question marks. Will Lugo return to form after a horrible stint with the Dodgers? Can JD Drew become a solid offensive force in the lineup? I believe they both can and the Sox could also have one of the best lineups. Then comes starting pitching. They have a HUGE question mark in Dice-K. Although he seems like he will make the transition well, you never know. Then there is Curt Schilling who is still probably going to be a solid pitcher but he is getting older and will be more injury prone. Then comes to another wild card in Beckett. Will he be able to get his control and home run tendencies in check? Jon Papelbon is another guy who your not sure what your gonna get. IT will be intresting to see if he can be as dominate as a starter as he was as a closer. Hopefully he didnt get used to only pitching one innings. Finally Tim Wakefield will be Tim Wakefield. Then comes to the weakness of the Sox. Their bullpen. They signed many guys this offseason but none of them too impressive. As a Yankee fan watching them vs the Sox last year, even when a starter would be solid, the bullpen would blow it. The only saving grace of the pen last year was Papelbon and now hes gone. Hopefully for the Sox guys like Tavarez, Hansen, and Donnely step up.

Toronto is a very solid team. They have a lineup full of solid hitters with some big guns in Wells, Glaus, Thomas and Rios. This could be a solid lineup that could win some games for them. There bullpen is also decent with a good set-up man in League and a top 10 closer in BJ Ryan. Then comes the starting rotation. Their is the always great Roy Halladay who if stays healthy could be in contention for a Cy Young. Then comes AJ Burnett who really needs to stay healthy this year and live up to his potential. The rest of the guys are definate back-end starters like Chacin, Thompson, and others who may have solid season but also have to watch out for injuires which have plagued them before.

This is a out on a limb pick but I feel the D-rays will be better then the Orioles. The D-rays have a great young group of guys on offense like Young, Upton, Crawford, Baldelli, and more guys coming up through the minors like Brignac and Longoria. Though their entire pitching staff is shaky they have a solid ace in Kazmir. They also have a young guy in Niemann who could be very good for them. That brings us to the Orioles who have traded away a solid reliver for Jaret Wright. They also signed Steve Trachsel to start. I dont see how that could possibly imporve your team. They didnt improve much offensively and I can fully see the D-Rays pulling a good season outta nowhere and finishing ahead of the Orioles.

Kei Igawa: Smart Move?

As you know, Kei Igawa was signed by the Yankees last offseason for a contract total of around 46 million. This includes the 26 million dollar posting fee the yanks had to pay to talk to him. This came as a shock to many as that was more then Dice-K was projected to get (even though he wound up getting over 50). I for one was really disapointed with this careless toss around of money. Sure, he has been a beast in Japan but this isnt Japan. Guys like Igawa arent the aces they are over there. Igawa sits 89-91 and has barely above average breaking/off-speed pitches. This is not the repotoire of a AL East pitcher worth paying 26 million to talk to. Also, his game is flawed as he has pitched up in the zone in Japan all his career and favors it. This will not go well in the MLB. Players like Vlad, Sheff, and Pujols will tee off on 90 MPH fastballs up in the zone. I suppose the slap hitters in Japan werent exactly power hitters. All of this combined with somewhat sketchy control doesnt make this look like a worthwhile investment. Torre has even said hes not opposed to starting him in the minors. Are you kidding Joe? 46 million spent on this guy to be solid and he has a chance of opening up in the minors. This is ridiculus. People say we drastically needed another pitcher. Well during the negotiating period we signed Pettitte. That gave the yanks a solid 1-2-3. With Pavano rounding is out. Then you can say he will fill in the 5th spot but 46 million for a 5th starter. Their is no difference between Karstens/Rasner to Igawa except the hand in which they throw. They are throwing the same stuff with Karstens breaking pitches probably a little better. This is why I was hoping that after they signed Pettitte they would just call off negotiation with Igawa, save their 26 million and spend it soemwhere useful. They could have even saved it, god forbid. I honestly hope Igawa does good this year. We need him too. But my concern is the yankees just paid 46 million for a middle class long reliver.

Sean Henn Has Rare 4th Option

Six weeks before spring training, Yankees GM Brian Cashman learned that Sean Henn qualified for a rare fourth option to the minors because he did not have 90 days of service between 2001-03 and had less than five years of service entering this year. The Yanks consider this a blessing. Rather than be forced to make a decision this spring on Henn like they thought they were going to have to, the Yanks are likely to take Mike Myers and Ron Villone as the lefties in the pen, and send Henn, 25, to Triple-A.

"I continue to believe he is like Scott Proctor, that given time he has a great arm and will emerge," Cashman said. "Now, with the option, we will get more time developing the rare lefty reliever who throws 92-95 mph with movement."

www.nypost.com/seven/03182007/sports/mets/damon__mets_were_wise_to_sign_schoeneweis_mets_joel_sherman.htm


This was a very good turn of events for the yankees. It now allows them to send Henn back down to the minors to finally master his control and secondary pitches. Until recently, I have been very unimpressed with Henn. We all remember the three horrible starts he made in 2005. But he has shown potential this spring and im glad hell get another shot to prove himself. That being said there is a small chance he makes the team out of spring and all of this becomes irrelevant.

A Personal Favorite Prospect: Dellin Betances

Age: 18
Height: 6'9"
Weight: 185-215
Drafted: 8th Round in 2006
Position: Starting Pitcher
Throws: Right

Fastball: Betances is 18 years old. He is a big guy. He has yet to put a lot of muscle on his frame. He throws a 93-97 mph fastball, hitting 98, with nasty movement on it. He throws it with command and consistent mechanics. His fastball can do nothing but improve. Betances entered camp a raw talent, throwing 3-4 mph slower and with a mechanical delivery all over the place. The Yankees took him in and almost immediately corrected his flaws, resulting in a beautiful product.

Curveball: Betances throws a knuckle curve. He entered camp with a slight feel for it, but it was not much of a weapon. As would be a theme for Betances, this would change almost immediately. In less than two months, Betances transformed a pitch which he had little feel for in to a true plus pitch. His curveball is a strikeout weapon that sits in the low 80s.

Changeup: Yet again, Betances entered camp without much of a changeup. In fact, he entered camp barely knowing how to throw one. At least he had some experience with a curveball. With a little instruction, Betances was almost instantly able to throw a plus changeup, which compliments his fastball perfectly. He does not yet use it as a strikeout pitch, but that could change in the future.

Command: Betances entered camp with the typical "tall man syndrom", meaning that he had difficult repeating his delivery. That lasted about a week. To compare, it took Randy Johnson the better part of a half decade to do the same. That said, Betances is not 6'10". People tend to overestimate height, and I would say that Betances is more likely closer to 6'7" than 6'9". After that week of adjustment, Betances never let up. He was dominant.

Performance: Betances has a short pedigree in professional baseball. After signing, he tossed 23.1 innings (the Yankees limited his workload, as they do with a lot of 18 year olds), striking out 27, walking 7, and allowing just 3 earned runs (1.16 ERA). Betances did this following a 40+ inning high school performance where he struck out over 100. Why did he fall to us in the 8th round? Well, there are a few reasons. First off, no one thought that he would sign. Second, he pretty much said "If I am going to sign, it is only going to be with the Yankees". Third, he was not a three pitch pitcher prior to attending the Yankee camp. He tossed a live fastball and had little in terms of secondary pitches. This is a steal.

2007 Outlook: Dellin will certainly head to Charleston, where he will join a very talented rotation. The Yankee goal in 2007 will likely to simply keep Betances healthy, marginally effective, and adjusted to everyday baseball. He has no lingering issues with injury to worry about, but at such a young age who knows what health problems he may encounter in the future. He could very well take the Phil Hughes path, moving up to Tampa after some limited time in Charleston. If he manages to pitch 120+ innings, we Yankee fans should be very optimistic about his future. If he dominates Charleston, we may have another top-flight prospect on our hands.

Health: Incomplete. He is too young to determine anything about his health, although he has no immediately apparent health issues.

Ceiling: Betances has no ceiling. He is that good. If he can continue to stay mechanically clean and throw three plus pitches, he will be a success in this league. He is so young that he should be considered years ahead of schedule. I have not seen Betances pitch, but after reading a lot about him something struck me. He knows how to adjust. He quickly learned pitches, he quickly learned how to fix his mechanics, and he quickly learned how to attack hitters in professional baseball. Who does this remind me of? Phil Hughes.

Note: I will be getting more and more reports from www.yankeeprospects.blogspot.com as this was from that site also.

Phil Hughes Scouting Report

Phil Hughes
Age: 20
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 220 lbs
Drafted: 1st Round in 2004 out of High School
Position: Starting Pitcher
Throws: Right


Season: 146.0 2.16 12 - 6 0.86 10.4
IP ERA Record WHIP K/9

Fastball: Phil Hughes' fastball sits in the 93-94 range. He can dial it up to 97 when need but prefers to sit lower in order to command it as well as possible. Although his fastball could be straight at times he cancels that out by putting it almost exactly where he wants it to be.

Curveball: Hughes used a slider during high school but the yankees decided to throw that out and teach him a curve. I turns out that was a great move as now he has one of the best curves in the minors. It is a deadly strikeout weapon that lands on it's spot every time, with a solid 1-7 break.

Changeup: Hughes' changeup sits about 78-79 MPH range. It is about a major league average pitch right now but with his work ethic and great coaching he should master the change during his time in AAA.

Command: Lots of pitchers have a 65 fastball, 70 curveball, and 60 changeup. Phil Hughes compliment them with 70 control. He can put his fastball and curveball wherever he wants without fail. He barely walks anyone. If a ball bounces in the dirt, he meant to do it. He has a career BB/9 ratio of 2.05 (which is roughly Mike Mussina level). He is a smart pitcher who always thinks one step ahead of the batter.

Projection: I think Hughes has huge ceiling and he could have a quick impact for the yankees in the near future.

Yankee Player Predictlons

Damon
287 AVG 22 homers 76 rbis 33 doubles 26 SBs

Jeter
320 AVG 16 homers 92 rbis 37 doubles 34 Sbs

Abreu
298 AVG 19 homers 101 rbis 34 doubles 21 Sbs

Giambi
252 AVG 35 homers 108 rbis

A-rod
301 AVG 39 homers 126 rbis 30 doubles 16 Sbs

Matsui
295 AVG 23 homers 111 rbis 38 doubles

Cano
325 AVG 19 homers 87 rbis 48 doubles

Posada
274 AVG 20 homers 88 rbis

Mientkiewicz
269 AVG 11 homers 55 rbis

Pitchers:
Wang
17-7 3.60 era

Pettitte
15-9 3.91 era

Mussina
14-10 4.08 era

Pavano
11-11 4.53 era

Igawa
12-10 4.32 era

Hughes(just in case)
7-4 3.88 era

3/19 Spring Training Game

The Yankees got beat 9-1 by Toronto today.

The hot Jeff Karstens took the mound after snowballing some hype for the 5th spot. Unfortunatley for him, he didnt pitch as well today as he did others. In 4 1/3 innings he allowed 6 hits resulting in 4 runs. It wasnt a shock as he doesnt have the stuff to be consistanly dominant.

Chris Britton also pitched for the yankees only to be belted. I asummed after looking at last years stats he was a lock for the pen but he has been disspointing in evry sense of the word as he let up 5 runs and only managed 1 out.

Although both Karstens and Britton were bad Proctor, Bruney, and Henn were all good each pitching a hitless, shutout innings.

The yankees didnt get much going offensively. Their only run came on a double play by the always bad Minky. Cano was the lone bright spot with a double. Minky is now hitting 077 this spring with phelps looking very good. Can you say 1st abse controversy?

A Huge Fans Take on the Carl Pavano Saga

Its hard to look back in retrospect to see if the Yankees shouldve signed Pavano. People who are completely against him now may be the very same people who were pushing to sign him. Though irrelevent now, lets look back at Pavanos two years before becoming a yankee. In 2003, Pavano was a pretty solid pitcher. Posting a 4.30 era and 12 wins, he showed himslelf able to hold his own in the majors. He also pitched over 200 innings that year to only increase his value. Jump to 2004 and you have a pitcher winning 18 games with a 3.00 era. Those are obviously ace numbers including a few strong playoff games. He once again pitched over 200 innings, had a low walk rate, and didnt give up to many home runs. Finally free agency rolls around and the bids begin. The only problem is while people are falling in love with his stats, no teams are really looking at his stuff. Teams like the Yankees werent thinking if his 91 MPH sinking fastball and barely above average off-speed stuff could truely make an impact in the AL East. As it turned out other teams were more caught up in the numbers too, as Boston apparently offered him more then the Yankees. Unfortunately for us Yankee fans, he chose to take less money (if you can even call 10 mill per year "less money") to play for the yankees. The resounding applause of yankee fans were heard not knowing what was in store for the future. Well the middle part of teh story is well-known to Yankees fans as a period of grief and every other fan as a time of jokes. It seemed every fan from Boston who was dieing to get Pavano all of a sudden never wanted him becasue he knew he was gonna suck. Now after a serious of ridiculus injuries and some backlash against him, he is now back supposedly ready to starting earning his money. For this I am happy but the real question is, do we want him back. Yankees seem so reliant on Pavano coming back, thinking he would fill the rotation needs to perfection, but what was forgotten in this fiasco was the cold hard facts. Pavano is nothing more then an adequate 4th or 5th starter in the AL. He sitting at about 90 now and he hasnt thrown many impressive breaking balls all spring. People need to relize that hes not going to come back and be that 18-8 pitcher taht he was for that one year. He is now nothing more then an average starter taht had a big year at the right time. Yankees have the youth in their system to come up and give more effort then Pavano ever has with better stuff then he has/had. Please do not take this as a I hate Pavano letter but take it as fustration as money lost on a player who never seemed to have the drive to play. I hope this is a learning block for teh yankees as they hopefuly wont sign the PAvanos and Jaret Wrights of the world. But in change have their farm system flourish and sign guys based on consistency and work ethic.

Bobby Abreu hurt

"Bobby Abreu strained an oblique muscle in batting practice Monday and is expected to be shut down for at least a week or two.

Abreu is one of the game's most durable players, but his status for Opening Day is in question because of the injury. Melky Cabrera can fill in for Abreu in right field, but that's still a big downgrade. Maybe the injury will cause Bernie Williams to reconsider his decision to turn down an invitation to camp."

~Rotoworld


This is a similar injury that players like Chipper Jones had last year. It had some lingering effects all year that, yankee fans rest assured, should not happen to Abreu because of his durability over the years. SOme people are saying this may bring bernie back, but its doubtful.

Manny Arrives In Camp Earlier Then Expected

From MLB.COM

Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez beat his own timetable to camp when he arrived in the clubhouse at 8:54 a.m. ET on Monday, three days before he had told the club he'd be there.
Ramirez had been given permission from the club to report on March 1 because of an illness to his mother. The rest of the position players reported on Feb. 20.

The slugger quietly walked into a clubhouse and politely asked reporters to "please move, I need some space."

Wearing braids with red highlights and appearing toned and in shape, Ramirez came in wearing white sweat pants and a black T-shirt. He was greeted by several teammates, including David Ortiz, Alberto Castillo and Doug Mirabelli."

Ramirez is beginning his seventh season with the Red Sox. He has two years remaining on an eight-year, $160 million contract. Ramirez was involved in trade rumors over the winter -- yet again -- but as is seemingly the case every year, the Red Sox couldn't find a deal that would make them better.

Ramirez did the right thing by deciding to come to camp. It seemed shady he was at the car show while his mom was supposedly so ill. Maybe the talk of trades being re-opened made him re-consider. Anyway, it was a good move coming to camp.

Mets Rotation Preview

From MikesMets.com

Tom Glavine
Much has been made about the Mets going into battle with a 41-year-old "ace" in 2007. The obvious truth is that Tom Glavine is not a number one pitcher, and the Mets aren't asking him to be that. What they could use from his in 2007 is consistency. Last year Glavine pitched like an ace from the beginning of the season through June 3, with a 2.59 ERA, averaging 6-2/3 innings in those 12 starts. Then over his nest 11 starts, covering the months of June and July, Glavine struggled to the tune of a 5.79 ERA, and only averaged 5-1/2 innings per start. Finally, over his last 9 starts, Glavine pitched to a solid 3.45 ERA, and averaged over 6-1/3 innings per outing. While it would be wonderful if Glavine could pitch like he did in those first two months of 2006 over a stretch of the upcoming season, it seems to me it would be more valuable if he could avoid a real prolonged slump and contribute a consistent solid season.

Pedro Martinez
We've heard that Pedro's rehab from rotator cuff surgery is going really well, and that he is targeting a post-All Star Break return. If he could return to start 10-15 games down the stretch he could be a difference maker, and we'll all certainly be following his progress closely. Shoulder surgery is a tricky thing for pitchers, though, particularly 35-year-olds. Also, as much of a shot in the arm that it could be if Pedro returns and pitches fairly well, it's a momentum killer if he tries to force a comeback with inadequate stuff, a la last September. Despite the hopeful reports on his recovery, the wise approach is simply not counting on anything from Pedro this season.

Orlando Hernandez
El Duque managed 29 starts and 162 innings combined for the Mets and Diamondbacks in 2006. He hadn't made that many starts since 2000, his last great year with the Yankees. Considering he is over 40 and has missed quite a lot of time over the last few seasons, I've received many questions and a not inconsiderable amount of ridicule over my optimistic outlook for Hernandez in 2007. While I concede that I could be wrong, I liked the fact that El Duque actually pitched his best in September last year. While it is likely that the Mets will have to give Hernandez a break or two during the year, and he will have some games when he is not commanding his breaking pitches where he gets knocked out very early, he has also shown the ability to go deep into games better than anyone else on the current staff. Of the 20 starts he made for the Mets last season 10 were for 7 innings or more, 3 more lasted 6 innings, and only four of them were for less than 5 innings. Not bad for an old guy.


Read the full scouting report on Orlando Hernandez --> http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_starting_rotation_preview.html

John Maine
2006 was a real breakout year for Maine, as he went from being regarded by the media as a throw-in in the Kris Benson deal to a starting pitcher in three playoff games. Look for Maine to develop more consistency and solidly establish himself in the Mets rotation.

Read the full scouting report on John Maine --> http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_rotation_preview_john_mai.html

Oliver Perez
You never knew quite what to expect out of Perez, but I always found myself looking forward to his starts. Then he stepped up and gave the Mets all they could hope for in those two League Championship Series games against the Cardinals. I can't deny the possibility that Perez could flop completely in 2007, I'm optimistic that the improvements to his mechanics combined with his undeniable ability will combine to produce a solid starter for the Mets this season. He may undergo some ups and downs, but he'll be fun to watch.


Read the full scouting report on Oliver Perez -->http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_rotation_preview_oliver_p.html

That leaves the fifth starter to come out of the group of Alay Soler, Jason Vargas, Dave Williams, Mike Pelfrey and Phil Humber. Let's take a quick look at them:



Jason Vargas
ProVargass: Major league experience, left-hander, good stuff.
Cons: Last year was a lost season with bad performance and a loss of confidence.


Read the full scouting report on Jason Vargas --> http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_rotation_preview_jason_va.html

Dave Williams
Pros: A lot of major league experience, was very aggressive while with Mets last season.
Cons: Gives up too many gopher balls, mediocre stuff, somewhat injury prone.


Read the full scouting report on Dave Williams --> http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_rotation_preview_dave_wil.html

Mike Pelfrey
Pros: Terrific fastball, decent changeup, throws strikes.
Cons: Needs a consistent breaking pitch.


Read the full scouting report on Mike Pelfrey --> http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_rotation_preview_mike_pel.html

Phil Humber
Pros: Has all the pitches, bulldog personality.
Cons: Only pitched 80 innings last year after coming back from Tommy John surgery.


Read the full scouting report on Phil Humber --> http://www.mikesmets.com/2007/01/2007_starting_rotation_preview_1.html

Glass half empty or half full?

Beyond doubt there is plenty that can go wrong with the Mets starting pitching staff heading into the upcoming season. There are so many uncertainties among all of the candidates for the starting rotation -- whether it's age, inexperience, inconsistency or the lack of a true front-line starter -- a plausible argument can be made that if things go very wrong the Mets may not have a single starter reach double figures in wins. There just doesn't seem to be much certainty heading into a season where every division foe except Washington would seem to have a more formidable starting rotation. It's understandable that many Mets fans feel pessimistic about the team's chances.

Yet, while this rotation lacks the feel of being a sure thing, there is some quality here, and also a quantity of reasonable candidates that didn't exist last season. Moreover, there is a can-do attitude that permeates this team now that is quite a change from Mets teams in the past that seemed to falter when things didn't go there way. It's both the quality of the available pitchers and the new-found ability as an organization to overcome obstacles and make things work that leads me to believe that we'll be okay. I think our starting pitching is going to be fine. While I don't expect any big winners or Cy Young hopefuls this season, I fully expect the Mets to have four starters crack double figures in win totals.

So, barring a last-minute blockbuster trade, the Mets will lack the feeling of a sure thing with their starters. Much has been made of this. Rather than dwell on that, I can see the possibilities here, and the framework of a decent rotation. Many in the press dwell on what the Mets lack, but there is good reason to believe that this team is good enough to contend and win if they can maximize what they do have.


Mike is a great writer, and always does a great job. I think this is an intresting view of the Mets rotation since its one of the biggest questions in the majors.

FA List for 2006 off-season

BIG NAMED FA'S, AND JAPANESE PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Barry Zito, SP 28 Signed (A) San Francisco 7 $126,000,000 15
Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP 26 Signed Japan Boston 6 $52,000,000 2
Kei Igawa, SP 27 Signed NY Yankees 5 $20,000,000 31
Akinori Iwamura, 3B 28 Signed Tampa Bay 3 $7,700,000 29
Alfonso Soriano, CF 31 Signed (A) Chicago Cubs 8 $136,000,000 3
Jason Schmidt, SP 34 Signed (A) LA Dodgers 3 $47,000,000 4
Carlos Lee, LF 30 Signed (A) Houston 6 $100,000,000 7
Barry Bonds, LF 42 Signed San Francisco 1 $15,800,000 16


Moises Alou, RF 40 Signed (A) NY Mets 1 $8,500,000 37
Tony Armas, SP 28 Signed Pittsburgh 1 $3,500,000
Rich Aurilia, 3B 35 Signed (A) San Francisco 2 $8,000,000 34
Danys Baez, RP 29 Signed (A) Baltimore 3 $19,000,000
Rod Barajas, C 31 Signed Philadelphia 1 $2,500,000
Miguel Batista, SP 36 Signed (B) Seattle 3 $25,000,000 Ronnie Belliard, 2B 31 Signed St. Louis Washington Minor Lg. NR
Aaron Boone, 3B 33 Signed Florida 1 $925,000 NR
Joe Borowski, RP 35 Signed (A) Cleveland 1 $4,250,000 28
Chad Bradford, RP 32 Signed (A) Baltimore 3 $10,500,000 NR
Marlon Byrd, CF 29 Signed Texas 1 NR

Miguel Cairo, 2B 32 Signed NY Yankees 1 $750,000 NR
Jamey Carroll, 2B 33 Agreed Colorado 2 $4,000,000 NR
Sean Casey, 1B 32 Signed (A) Detroit 1 $4,000,000 NR
Frank Catalanotto, LF 32 Signed (A) Texas 3 $13,000,000 NR
Jeff Cirillo, 3B 37 Signed Minnesota 1 $1,500,000 NR
Alex Cora, SS 31 Signed Boston 2 $4,000,000 NR
David Dellucci, LF 33 Signed (A) Cleveland 3 $11,500,000 NR
Mark DeRosa, 2B 31 Signed (B) Chicago Cubs 3 $13,000,000 NR

Octavio Dotel, RP 33 Signed Kansas City 1 $5,000,000 NR
J.D. Drew, RF 31 Signed (A) Boston 5 $70,000,000 8
Ray Durham, 2B 35 Signed (A) San Francisco 2 $14,000,000 22

Adam Eaton, SP 29 Signed Philadelphia 3 $24,500,000 25
Jim Edmonds, CF 36 Signed (A) St. Louis 2 $19,000,000 10
Darin Erstad, CF 32 Signed Chicago Sox 1 $1,000,000 NR

Pedro Feliz, 3B 31 Signed (B) San Francisco 1 $5,100,000 NR
Steve Finley, CF 41 Free Agent San Francisco -- NR
Cliff Floyd, LF 34 Signed (A) Chicago Cubs 1 $3,000,000 NR
Keith Foulke, RP 34 Signed (B) Cleveland 1 $5,000,000 NR
Ryan Franklin, RP 33 Signed St. Louis 1 $1,000,000 NR
Aaron Fultz, RP 33 Signed (A) Cleveland 1 $1,650,000 NR

Eric Gagne, RP 31 Signed Texas 1 $6,000,000 NR
Nomar Garciaparra, 1B 33 Signed (B) LA Dodgers 2 $18,500,000 23
Marcus Giles, 2B 28 Signed San Diego 1 $3,200,000 NR
Tom Glavine, SP 40 Signed (A) NY Mets 1 $10,500,000 20
Alex Gonzalez, SS 30 Signed Cincinnati 3 $14,000,000 NR
Luis Gonzalez, LF 39 Signed (A) LA Dodgers 1 $7,350,000 NR
Jose Guillen, RF 30 Signed (B) Seattle 1 $5,500,000 NR

Wes Helms, 3B 30 Signed F Philadelphia 2 $5,450,000 NR
Orlando Hernandez, SP 37 Signed (B) NY Mets 2 $12,000,000 NR
Roberto Hernandez, RP 42 Signed (A) Cleveland 1 $3,500,000 NR
Shea Hillenbrand, 1B 31 Signed (B) LA Angels 1 $6,500,000 24
Todd Hollandsworth, LF 33 Free Agent Cincinnati -- NR
Aubrey Huff, 3B 30 Signed (A) Baltimore 3 $20,000,000 32

Adam Kennedy, 2B 31 Signed (A) St. Louis 3 $10,000,000 NR
Ryan Klesko, LF 35 Signed (B) San Francisco 1 $1,750,000 NR
Steve Kline, RP 34 Signed San Francisco 2 $3,500,000 NR
Jon Knott, LF 28 Signed Baltimore Minor Lg. NR
Dan Kolb, RP 31 Signed Pittsburgh Minor Lg. NR

Mike Lieberthal, C 35 Signed (A) LA Dodgers 1 $1,250,000 NR
Ted Lilly, SP 31 Signed (B) Chicago Cubs 4 $40,000,000 12
Kenny Lofton, CF 39 Signed Texas 1 $6,000,000 36
Mark Loretta, 2B 35 Signed (A) Houston 1 $2,500,000 NR
Julio Lugo, SS 31 Signed Boston 4 $36,000,000 9

John Mabry, 1B 36 Signed Colorado Minor Lg. NR
Greg Maddux, SP 40 Signed (A) San Diego 1 $10,000,000 26
Jason Marquis, SP 28 Signed Chicago Cubs 3 $21,000,000 NR
Kazuo Matsui, 2B 31 Signed Colorado Colorado 1 $1,500,000 NR
Gary Matthews Jr., CF 32 Signed (A) LA Angels 5 $50,000,000 35
Gil Meche, SP 28 Signed (B) Kansas City 5 $55,000,000 13
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B 32 Signed NY Yankees 1 $1,500,000 NR
Wade Miller, SP 30 Signed Chicago Cubs 1 $1,500,000 NR
Bengie Molina, C 32 Signed (A) San Francisco 3 $16,000,000 39
Guillermo Mota, RP 33 Signed (B) NY Mets 2 $5,000,000 NR
Mark Mulder, SP 29 Signed St. Louis 2 $13,000,000 NR
Mike Mussina, SP 38 Signed (A) NY Yankees 2 $23,000,000 11

Phil Nevin, 1B 36 Free Agent Minnesota -- NR
David Newhan, LF 33 Signed NY Mets Minor Lg. NR
Trot Nixon, RF 32 Signed Cleveland 1 $3,000,000 NR

Tomo Ohka, SP 30 Signed (B) Toronto 1 $1,500,000 NR
Hideki Okajima, RP 31 Signed Boston 2 $2,500,000 NR
Darren Oliver, RP 36 Signed (B) LA Angels 1 $1,750,000 NR
Ramon Ortiz, SP 33 Signed (B) Minnesota 1 $3,100,000 NR
Russ Ortiz, SP 32 Signed San Francisco 1 $380,000 NR

Vicente Padilla, SP 29 Signed (B) Texas 3 $33,750,000 33
Chan Ho Park, SP 33 Signed (B) NY Mets 1 $600,000 NR
Jay Payton, RF 34 Signed (B) Baltimore 2 $9,500,000 NR
Andy Pettitte, SP 34 Signed NY Yankees 1 $16,000,000 6
Mike Piazza, DH 38 Signed (A) Oakland 1 $8,500,000 21
Juan Pierre, CF 29 Signed (B) LA Dodgers 5 $44,000,000 40
Joel Pineiro, SP 28 Signed Boston 1 $4,000,000 NR
Todd Pratt, C 40 Signed NY Yankees Minor Lg. NR

Aramis Ramirez, 3B 28 Signed (A) Chicago Cubs 5 $75,000,000 1
David Riske, RP 30 Signed (A) Sox Kansas City 1 $2,250,000 NR
Dave Roberts, CF 34 Signed (A) San Francisco 3 $18,000,000 19
Scott Schoeneweis, RP 33 Signed NY Mets 3 $10,800,000 NR
Jorge Sosa, RP 29 Signed NY Mets 1 $1,250,000 NR
Scott Spiezio, 3B 34 Signed St. Louis 2 $4,500,000 NR
Shannon Stewart, LF 32 Signed Oakland 1 $1,000,000 NR
Tanyon Sturtze, RP 36 Signed Atlanta 1 $750,000 NR
Jeff Suppan, SP 32 Signed (A) Milwaukee 4 $42,000,000 27
Frank Thomas, DH 38 Signed (B) Toronto 2 $18,120,000 14
John Thomson, SP 33 Signed Toronto 1 $500,000 NR
Steve Trachsel, SP 36 Signed Baltimore 1 $3,100,000 NR
Jose Valentin, 2B 37 Signed (B) NY Mets 1 $3,800,000 NR
Jose Vizcaino, SS 38 Free Agent St. Louis -- NR
Daryle Ward, RF 31 Signed Chicago Cubs 1 $1,050,000 NR
David Weathers, RP 37 Signed (A) Cincinnati 2 $5,000,000 NR
Jeff Weaver, SP 30 Signed (B) Seattle 1 $8,325,000 38
David Wells, SP 43 Signed San Diego 1 $3,000,000 NR
Kip Wells, SP 29 Signed St. Louis 1 $4,000,000 NR
Rondell White, LF 35 Signed Minnesota 1 $2,750,000 NR
Bernie Williams, RF 38 Free Agent NY Yankees -- NR
Jerome Williams, SP 25 Signed Washington 1 $500,000 NR
Woody Williams, SP 40 Signed (A) Houston 2 $12,500,000 NR
Preston Wilson, LF 32 St. Louis 1 $1,000,000 NR
Randy Wolf, SP 30 Signed LA Dodgers 1 $8,000,000 17
Todd Walker, 1B 33 Accepted Arbitration San Diego NR
Kerry Wood, SP 29 Signed Chicago Cubs 1 $1,750,000 NR
Chris Woodward, 2B 30 Signed Atlanta 1 $850,000 NR



The End to a great hall of fame career?
Jeff Bagwell, 1B 38 Retired Houston --

FA Still Left

David Bell, 3B 34 Free Agent Milwaukee --
Bernie Williams, RF 38 Free Agent NY Yankees --
Mark Redman, SP 33 Free Agent Kansas City -- NR

Predicting The NL Central

Team Win Loss
Cubs 88 74
Cardinals 85 77
Astros 84 78
Reds 81 81
Brewers 75 87
Pirates 68 94

I know this is a stretch but we have the cubs finishing 1st just because they look like the most complete team. They took care of alot of their needs in the off-season

The Cubs addressed most major needs during the off-season. Although they are a worse defense team now, they aquired a 40/40 man in soriano. He will be a key part to their offense. Soriano will team with Derrek Lee, Ramirez, and Jones to make a decent top of the order. Also they signed former utility man Mark DeRosa who could step up. Though their Starting rotation may look shaky, its actually decent and capable of handling a tough season. Headed by the young ace Zambrano the rotation consists of guys like Ted Lilly,whose needed a move to the Nl, a supposedly healthy Mark Prior, and a big time sleeper canidate in Rich Hill. This Rotation should get them some wins and although the bullpen is shaky,hopefully Kerry Wood can step up and become a dominate relief pitcher.

The Cards are an aging and injury plaged offense besides pujols. Jim Edmonds cant stay healthy long enough to be a good #4 hitter to protect Pujols. Their gonna need guys like Chris Duncan and Edwin Encarnacion to step up big to offer some protection in the lineup. Their starting rotation has Braden Looper in it. Enough Said. They dont have a good bullpen besides Izzy and lost a key part letting wainright start. They didint do anything significant in the off-season and let go 2 starting pitchers in Weaver and Suppan.

The Astros lost a solid starting pitching in Andy Pettite and most likley Roger Clemens. This starting rotation won't be the same. Even so its probably the second best in the division. The offense with the adding of Carlos Lee still has many problems. Although they have a great 3-4 in Berkman and Lee theirs nothing else their to help. Hopefully Oswalt wont have to worry about losing 1-0 games this year. This is the prediction that could be totally wrong because The Astros always seem to find themselves in the race. They will most likely start off slow and make a run towrds the end of the year.

The Reds just don't have enough offense. They have Adam Dunn who will hit you 40 homeruns but will strike out 600 times and hit 250. Also, how long can Ken Griffey Jr play before he pulls a hammy? They could however be a team to watch out for. They have decent good starters in Arroyo and Harang. Thats not even saying Homer Bailey who will probably be called up early in the season.


Brewers: Brewers have a nice starting rotation with Sheets and Capuano. However, the offense is very lacking and any hope they have lies in the arms of Prince Fielder.

Pirates gained a big bat in Adam LaRoche but gave up their only reliable bullpen man in Mike Gonzalez. Theeir is alot of potential in this team but the pitching coach is going to have to learn how to teach the starting rotation. Guys like Zach Duke are not 1 year flukes. Their has to be a reason young Pirate pitchers have a great first year then proceed to tail off. Its happened to guys like Duke and Perez. Pirates have some talent in the minors but for now they are lacking as a team so they get last place.

Predicting The NL East 2007

Team Win Loss
Mets 94 68
Phillies 91 71
Braves: 85 77
Marlins 79 83
Nationals 68 94

The NL East in 2007 will be the most improved division in the NL. The league has tons of young talent and theres alot to expect from each team(besides the Nationals).

The Mets will finish first just because they are the most complete team. Although they don't have the starting pitching that a division winner would usually have,they have the offense that should be able to keep them in the high scoring games. Also, the Mets have a solid bullpen that should also help them in cases where the starter could only go 5 innings. SO overall, they are the most complete team who just needs a young pitcher to step up and establish himself as a starter.

Even though the Phillies completed tons of trades and signings for starting pitching its still hard to see that much better of an team ERA. This is because most of the pitchers they aquired are question marks. Add to that the fact that they will pitch half there starts at Citizen Bank Park which is one of the best hitters park in the game. Freddy Garcia will have some home run troubles here. The Phillies will also have some trouble finishing games because, like last year, their bullpen is not good at all. The saving grace of this phillies team is their solid offense and solid starter in Myers and Hamels (who I predict to have a huge year). The Phillies team in 2007 reminds me alot of The Braves 2006 team. Good starting pitching and a good offense but a horrible bullpen. So they are slotted second in the league with 91 wins and a Wild Card.

The Braves are finishing 3rd because even with the upgrade in the bullpen, they still have weak spots in their pen. They lost a major offense bat in Adam Laroche, and still have an aging, injury plaged Chipper Jones. The Braves offense will not be as good and the starting pitching led by the ace John Smoltz has many question marks. Also many Braves fans think Chuck James will be a big imapct pitcher are mistaken, he really only has the potential to be a solid 4 or 5.

We have The Marlins finishing 4th because you can't reallly know what to expect from such a young ball club. Seriously, what if they all go through a sophmore slump? They showed alot of potential last year but they lost a big part in manager Joe Giradi. The Marlins still have some question marks in the offense and have a bullpen that shows ton of holes. Also will Josh Johnson be able to pitch the enitre season?

The Nationals are going to finish last just because they have nothing going for them. They lost a key part to the offense in Alfonso Soriano. The ownership made a huge mistake in not trading Soriano and the trading deadline for some top prospects to help them out now. The Nationals have Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns. Thats basically it for Offense. They have John Paterson who when healthy is a good starter but thats basically it. They do not have a good bullpen either. The worst part is that The Nationals have no top prospects that can make an impact either.

NL West Predictions

Team Win Loss
Dodgers 88 74
Padres 85 77
Giants 81 81
Rockies 78 84
D-Backs 74 88



This is a hard divison to predict. All teams seem to have strengths but also tons of weaknesses. We had to put the D-backs last mostly due to lack of pitching and lack of experience for the hitters. Sure, they have Webb but beyond that there are health questions and inconsistencies. They could potentially be much better then we have them if guys like Steven Drew, Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Miguel Montero, and Chris Young all live up to praise. The rockies were a hard team to place. They have a solid lineup but basically nothing reliable in terms of pitching. Your team only goes as far as your pitching depth as the yankees have shown the last few years. The Giants basically earned 3rd place with the Zito signing. By adding him they added a solid starter to compliment Matt Cain.If Cain can put it all together he could potentially be vying for a Cy Young this year. We then had the Dodgers and Padres to choose from. Both teams pretty solid in terms of pitching but both lacking offensively. In the end we believed the likes of Derek Lowe, Jason Schmidt,and Brad Penny beat out Jake Peavy and Chris Young. Although I do see Peay having a huge year that isnt enough to put them ahead.

Schilling to file for free agency after season

FROM FOX SPORTS

"Curt Schilling will file for free agency once the season is over after being told by Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein the team will not offer him a contract extension in spring training.

On Jan. 29, Schilling said he would not retire after the 2007 season as previously indicated, but he wanted a contract for 2008 settled by the end of this spring training.

Schilling struggled late last season and finished with a 15-7 record and 3.97 ERA. Bothered by injuries in 2005, the right-hander was 8-8 with a 5.69 ERA. But in 2004, his first season with Boston, he was 21-6 with a 3.26 ERA and a star of the Red Sox victory in the World Series."

"I'm going to play out the season and file for free agency at the end of the year," Schilling said. "Obviously, I'm disappointed, but it is a business."

Not a surprise. Who wouldn't want to try the market these days? If Schilling has an era below 4 and stays healthy, he could get himself a nice 1 year 15 mil contract.

Who Will Win the 5th Spot in the Mets Rotation?

Pelfrey: Pelfrey pitched a few games last year for the Mets after only a few innings of professional baseball in April and May. Pelfrey has all the tools to become a dominant starter very soon, but needs to hone his out speed pitches a little bit more. However, I’ve been reading reports that Pelfrey has developed a slider that is coming along nicely. What makes Pelfrey hard to hit is that his fastball is low, sinking, moving fastball. This forces the hitter to hit a lot of balls on the ground and thus make an out. With a change up and slider, Pelfrey could quickly learn to become that dominating pitcher he’s scouted to be. The one negative is really not him physically, but a lack of innings. Pelfrey has yet to pitch a whole season, and as such may need to continue to build stamina. However, Pelfrey does have the ability to help the Mets this year.

Humber: Humber last year was recovering from Tommy John surgery after a disappoint single A season in 2005. Humber surprised everyone in the Mets organization on how fast he rebounded from surgery and the velocity on his pitches. Humber has all the tools, much like Perez, to become an ace for the Mets especially with the hammer curve ball. However, I think it would be wise for the Mets to let Humber get his lumps in AAA before throwing him in the majors to build his stamina and get some experience. Humber has a 90 to 94 mph fastball that broke 97 mph in Atlanta last year, a nasty change up, and a “hammer” (or power) curve ball that described as a plus pitch.

Jorge Sosa: It’s amazing what a difference a year makes. All the talk last year for the Braves was whether Sosa was going to be a dominant closer or an ace starter for 2006. It turns out neither as Sosa fell on his face and then was traded to St. Louis where he also failed miserably. Sosa seems to have lost command on his slider and his change up was rather weak and ineffective. Sosa is the oldest pitcher of the bunch at 30 and needs to show his ability now to be considered an option. More than likely Sosa will entertain the fans in New Orleans for a good portion of the season or become a long reliever/ mop up guy for the Mets bullpen. I consider him an outside shot for the rotation though, as there appears to be better options for the Mets. Peterson could help him out a bit with the change up though.

Chan Ho Park: Chan Ho Park has had a very up and down career. Park was a dominating rookie with the Dodgers and then made the biggest mistake of his career going to Texas Ranges, also known as death for pitchers. Park’s ERA was never below 5.00 with the Rangers and was a complete disaster. Park returned to the National League and a pitcher’s park in San Diego and faired much better before a nasty intestinal illness. Park has a 90 to 92 mph fastball, a nasty curveball, and change up, which makes him a serviceable back of the rotation pitcher. Shea Stadium may just be a perfect stadium for Park and out of all the starters in the veteran category, he is the youngest (33). I can see Park bringing a solid 4.25 to 4.50 ERA mostly due to the park effects of Shea, which would be better than what Trachsel, Zambrano, Lima, or Gonzalez gave to the Mets. In my opinion, Park would be an excellent option for an emergency starter while pitching in AAA.

Baseball Prospectus top 50 prospects

1. Alex Gordon, 3B, Royals, 23
2. Philip Hughes, RHP, Yankees, 21
3. Delmon Young, OF, Devil Rays, 21
4. Homer Bailey, RHP, Reds, 21
5. Brandon Wood, SS, Angels, 22
6. Tim Lincecum, RHP, Giants, 23
7. Cameron Maybin, OF, Tigers, 20
8. Chris Young, OF, Diamondbacks, 23
9. Jay Bruce, OF, Reds, 20
10. Evan Longoria, 3B, Devil Rays, 21
11. Reid Brignac, SS, Devil Rays, 21
12. Ryan Braun, 3B, Brewers, 23
13. Matt Garza, RHP, Twins, 23
14. Yovani Gallardo, RHP, Brewers, 21
15. Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates, 20
16. Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Dodgers, 19
17. Andrew Miller, LHP, Tigers, 22
18. Fernando Martinez, OF, Mets, 18
19. Adam Miller, RHP, Indians, 22
20. Andy LaRoche, 3B, Dodgers, 23
21. Billy Butler, OF, Royals, 21
22. Jose Tabata, OF, Yankees, 18
23. Luke Hochevar, RHP, Royals, 23
24. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies, 22
25. Jeff Niemann, RHP, Devil Rays, 24
26. Philip Humber, RHP, Mets, 24
27. Brandon Erbe, RHP, Orioles, 19
28. Nick Adenhart, RHP, Angels, 21
29. Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks, 19
30. Mike Pelfrey, RHP, Mets, 23
31. Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Diamondbacks, 21
32. Scott Elbert, LHP, Dodgers, 21
33. Franklin Morales, LHP, Rockies, 21
34. Carlos Gomez, OF, Mets, 21
35. Chuck Lofgren, LHP, Indians, 22
36. Donald Veal, LHP, Cubs, 22
37. Carlos Carrasco, RHP, Phillies, 20
38. Eric Hurley, RHP, Rangers, 21
39. Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies, 21
40. Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays, 19
41. Clay Buchholz, RHP, Red Sox, 22
42. Felix Pie, OF, Cubs, 22
43. Adam Lind, OF, Blue Jays, 23
44. Adam Jones, OF, Mariners, 21
45. Jacob McGee, LHP, Devil Rays, 20
46. Jason Hirsh, RHP, Rockies, 25
47. Hunter Pence, OF, Astros, 24
48. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox, 23
49. Chris Iannetta, C, Rockies, 24
50. Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals, 20

BFOX's Opinion>> Very intresting top 50. I am a yankee fan so its nice to see Hughes at 2 but am surprised to see him in front of Young. I understand pitching is hard to come by but Young has been very highly touted for awhile. I would like to know how they ranked their players. Did they do it by stats, potential, pure stuff? I do have a few minor problems. For one, I know about Lincecum's pure stuff and amazing final year of college but I dont like rating guys who have 50 innings of pro-ball over guys like Gallardo or Garza, who both absolutly teared up the minors. Another problem I have is the placement of Chris Young. It seems like I am the only person turned off by his non-ability to hit for average. He needs to find some contact consistency as he develops his tremendous power. Another reference to some of the pitchers. This has already pissed off C-Dog in a discussion were currently having but I think Humber is way to high on the list. I honestly feel guys like Adenhart, Morales, Elbert, and Pelfrey should be rated ahead of him. They are younger and have ace type potential. I understand Humber is probably the safest bet to reach his potential but if they all pan out, Im not taking Humber. ALSO, my last descrepancy. Where the hell is Dellin Betances? :)

C-Dog's Opinion>>This is what I like!!!
18. Fernando Martinez, OF, Mets, 18
26. Philip Humber, RHP, Mets, 24
30. Mike Pelfrey, RHP, Mets, 23
34. Carlos Gomez, OF, Mets, 21

Top 10 Spring Training position battles

From http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6459038

"1. Red Sox closer
The Contenders: Joel Pineiro, Jonathan Papelbon, Mike Timlin
The Favorite: Pineiro


Joel Piniero will try to make the transition from starter to closer. (Jeff Gross / Getty Images)

Boston is nothing if not creative in digging up closers. This time around, they plan on giving converted starter Joel Pineiro a shot. He has the power fastball-slider arsenal to succeed, and he'll need to stick with those two pitches in order to thrive in his new role. Jonathan Papelbon, meanwhile, is bound for the rotation despite putting together — without exaggeration — one of the best closer seasons in history last year. However, team doctors have recommended that Papelbon's balky shoulder might respond better to starting detail. So that's what will happen. The fallback plan then becomes seasoned setup man Mike Timlin. Should Pineiro get hurt or fail to adapt, the save opps will go to Timlin. Right now, however, the job is Pineiro's to lose.


2. Mets fifth starter
The Contenders: Jorge Sosa, Philip Humber, Mike Pelfrey, Chan Ho Park
The Favorite: Sosa
The Mets missed out on the big names this winter, but they have plenty of arms in the mix headed into camp. It's likely that Jorge Sosa, barring a disastrous spring, will open the season as the fifth man, but he may not be there for long. Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey, the Mets' top two pitching prospects, will emerge as strong candidates at some point, and don't be surprised if both are in the rotation before September. Of the two, Humber has the slightly higher ceiling. Chan Ho Park, meanwhile, is the "break glass in case of emergency" guy who'll probably spend most of his time in the bullpen. Sosa for now, one of the young guns for later.


3. Yankees fourth and fifth starters
The Contenders: Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Jeffrey Karstens
The Favorite(s): Igawa and Pavano
We have three factors in play here: Carl Pavano's health, Kei Igawa's ability to keep the opposite side in check, and the possibility that the Yankees will sign Roger Clemens. Pavano, of course, has found a way to hurt just about everything on his body, but so far in 2007 he seems to be on target. The odds of a setback are quite high, though. As for Igawa, there's concern that the lefty may not be able to pass muster against stateside right-handed bats, so that'll be something to monitor in Spring Training. With that said, the Yankees intend to have Igawa open the season as a member of the rotation. If Pavano gets hurt and Clemens retires or inks elsewhere, then Karstens will be deployed as a starter. At least until they trade for someone. In the event of a Clemens signing, Igawa will probably get first crack at the five spot.


4. White Sox center fielder
The Contenders: Brian Anderson, Rob Mackowiak, Ryan Sweeney
The Favorite: Anderson
Brian Anderson was utterly awful in the first half of 2006, but after the break he compiled a not quite so utterly awful batting line of .257 AVG/.301 OBP/.393 SLG. That's far from optimal, but at least it's progress. The Sox still like Anderson's line-drive stroke and defense in center, so barring a miserable spring he'll likely open the season in center. Rob Mackowiak has a reasonable left-handed bat, but his glove in center won't play on a regular basis. If Anderson continues to struggle, then prospect Ryan Sweeney could step in. He's better defensively than Mackowiak, and he's a career .295 hitter in the minors. None of these options is ideal, but it's all the Sox have at this point.


5. Cubs fourth and fifth starters

If he can stay healthy, Wade Miller should win a spot in the Cubs rotation. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

The Contenders: Wade Miller, Jason Marquis, Angel Guzman, Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall
The Favorite(s): Miller and Marquis

These jobs depend in part upon the status of convalescing ace Mark Prior. If Prior's shoulder is well enough for him to open the season in the rotation, then this is a battle for fifth spot only. However, if Prior isn't able to answer the bell, then these five arms will vie for the final two rotation slots. With Prior, who really knows? If Miller's shoulder holds up in Arizona, he's likely to break camp as a member of the rotation. Marquis, in the absence of Prior, would likely fill the final spot (at least until the Cubs realize that he's thoroughly ill-suited to a homer-friendly park like Wrigley). If Miller struggles badly or pulls up lame again, then one of the young guns will get the nod. Among them, Angel Guzman might be the best bet.


6. Dodgers right fielder
The Contenders: Andre Ethier, Marlon Anderson, Matt Kemp
The Favorite: Ethier
The departure of J.D. Drew has, of course, left a void in right field. Andre Ethier enters camp as the favorite, but his second-half slump in 2006 means that he'll be on a reasonably short leash. In all likelihood, the Dodgers will wind up platooning Ethier, the lefty, with Matt Kemp, who bats right-handed. Should Ethier struggle badly in Florida, then Marlon Anderson will likely step in as the left-handed half of the platoon.


7. Tigers fifth starter
The Contenders: Mike Maroth, Wil Ledezma
The Favorite: Ledezma
At the time of his elbow injury last season, Mike Maroth had a respectable 4.19 ERA in 53.2 innings. Wil Ledezma, meanwhile, posted a 3.58 ERA in 60.1 innings, working both as a starter and a reliever. If Maroth stays healthy this spring, manager Jim Leyland may opt to play the veteran hand. However, Ledezma's higher upside and superior performance in 2006 will likely hold sway. It's an open competition, but Ledezma has more in his favor at this moment in time.


8. Royals third baseman

Alex Gordon's future is bright, but is he ready to produce right now? (Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images)

The Contenders: Alex Gordon, Mark Teahen
The Favorite: Gordon

Alex Gordon is the best prospect in all of baseball, the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2007 and a future MVP. However, incumbent Mark Teahen is coming off a nifty season in his own right: .290 AVG/.357 OBP/.517 SLG, 18 homers in 393 at bats. Right now, the plan is for Teahen to transition to an outfield corner spot and hand the third base job to Gordon. Of course, if Gordon fails badly in Spring Training, then the Royals will likely dispatch him to Triple-A to marinate a bit further. Otherwise, the Gordon era in Kansas City begins on Opening Day.


9. Indians first baseman
The Contenders: Casey Blake, Ryan Garko
The Favorite: Blake
The signing of Trot Nixon means that Casey Blake is now a man without a position. That puts him up against Ryan Garko for playing time at first base. Blake is the more proven talent, and he'll be making $3.75 million next season. Garko, meanwhile, has an impressive minor league dossier, but his defense leaves something to be desired. Since both are right-handed, it's an either-or situation. Barring injury or a vastly more impressive showing by Garko in Spring Training, the job is likely Blake's to lose. One wrinkle could be that the Tribe opts to play Blake in right field when a lefty's on the mound, which would mean Garko would start at first base on those occasions.


10. Marlins closer
The Contenders: Taylor Tankersley, Ricky Nolasco, Matt Lindstrom, Henry Owens, Kevin Gregg
The Favorite: Tankersley
GM Larry Beinfest has already stated that the Fish will fill their closer vacancy from within. Considering the current disrepair of the Florida rotation, Ricky Nolasco will almost certainly be deployed as a starter. That makes Taylor Tankersley the favorite. Should he falter, unproven internal candidates like Matt Lindstrom, Henry Owens and Kevin Gregg could enter the fray. Also, since Tankersley is a lefty, there's the possibility that the Marlins will opt for committee arrangement, playing matchups in the final inning rather than relying on a single closer. For now, though, expect Tankersley to pick up the saves. "

Now me as a Met fan, I can't believe they think Jorge Sosa will win the #5 spot. I think its between Chanho Park, and Mike Pelfrey. If you don't agree with something they said leave a comment with your opinion.

Cubs Avoid Arbitration WIth Zambrano

Cubs agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Zambrano on a one-year, $12.4 million contract.
Zambrano was asking for $15.5 million, while the Cubs were offering $11.025 million, and the case was set to be heard Tuesday afternoon.

Its surprising that he settled for so little. Usually the team and the player will agree on the midpoint of the two sides. Figure, using that logic, he shouldve got around 13.5 million. To me, this makes Zambrano look like he really wants to just play and not have to deal with these money issues. That being said, he has said he wants a contract this Spring or hes testing free agency. The Cubs would be crazy not to re-sign him. If they dont have the money then the only ones they could blame is themsleves for spending like fiends this offseason. Honestly if any Cubs fans read this, comment back who you would rather have locked up for the next 7 years... Zambrano or Soriano. IF he leaves, hopefully the Yankees will use their bottomless wallet to sign him.

My thoughts about the Milledge situation

Im tired of all the Milledge bashing. He is 21 years old and was the youngest kid in the NL. He has been scrutinized since the day he got called up. Their was way too many expectations for him. He was set up to fail.

Now, I agree Milledge showed some "attitude problems" last year but what do you want. He's 21 years old. You cant expect everybody to be Mr.Perfect, David Wright, or even Jose Reyes.

People only look at the bad things Milledge did. Coming in with a du-rag and a huge chain. Yeah thats not what you want your first impression to be but thats him. Thats how he likes to dress. Milledge high-fived the fans. Thats a rookie mistake he will never do again. But he had reason for those high-fives. He hit a huge homerun in extra innings. A rookie in a big spot came through! Ok Milledge played "horrible" defense, thats bullshit. Milledge showed why scouts raved about his defense. His amazing arm and diving catch after diving catch. But then there was Boston. Willie Randolph puts a rookie in LF in FENWAY. Willie what are you thinking? You have Endy Chavez in RF. That made everybody believe that Milledge can't field.

Milledge hits just .241. It goes from giving up Milledge to get Oswalt to trading Milledge for A fat Steve Trachsel "Joe Blanton". So why did Milledge hit .241? Maybe because his Mananger Willie Randolph puts a rookie batting 8th. What are you thinking again Willie? Stop with the subway comericials and think what rookie batting 8th is going to get? A Curveball. What does every rookie struggle with at first? A CURVEBALL. Smooth move Willie. If Milledge batted 2nd or even 7th, he probably wouldve had a better chance to succeed. Then Milledge goes down to the minors and proceeds to come back up in September. He has more plate disapline and does decent to the end of the year but his reputation is ruined. He's just a "Thug". Its unfair but thats not all its now the off-season.

Milledge dosen't play winter ball. Everybody and their mother cried about this. WHY ISINT HE PLAYING??? HE SHOULD BE THERE. GET RID OF HIM HES JUST A "THUG" (lets be serious if Milledge wasnt black he woulden't be called a thug). I myself said "what are you going to do when Milledge comes back with 20 extra pounds of muscle" but others insist he's probably going to hang out with his gang.

Lets fast forward to Spring Training. What happens? Milledge shows up early with 13 pounds of muscle, what do people say? Nothing.

What else? According to Tim K from Baseball Tonight Milledge now has power to the opposite field that he didin't have last season. Im tired of all the Milledge bashing especially from Mack from www.Macksmets.com. He is a good kid with so much potential. If Milledge gets traded dont be surprised if he becomes a superstar.

Mailbag!

I would like to start a question and answer type column weekly for this blog. So if anyone has any questions or even suggestions you can email me at bfox1220@hotmail.com.


Thanks.

Draft Order

First-Round Picks
1. Devil Rays
2. Royals
3. Cubs
4. Pirates
5. Orioles
6. Nationals
7. Brewers
8. Rockies
9. Diamondbacks
10. Giants
11. Mariners
12. Marlins
13. Indians
14. Braves
15. Reds
16. Blue Jays (Frank Catalanotto, A, to Tex)
17. Rangers (Carlos Lee, A, to Hou)
18. Cardinals
19. Phillies
20. Dodgers (Julio Lugo, A, to Bos)
21. Blue Jays
22. Giants (Jason Schmidt, A, to LAD)
23. Padres
24. Rangers (Gary Matthews Jr., A, to LAA)
25. White Sox
26. Athletics
27. Tigers
28. Twins
29. Giants (Moises Alou, A, to NYM)
30. Yankees

Carpenter Bringing Back Changeup

Chris Carpenter said Monday that he plans to put a changeup back into his repertoire this year.

"I have been, since I came back from surgeries, trying to get it back. When I first came up, my changeup was my second best pitch," Carpenter said. "I had a lot of confidence in it. It was a pitch I could throw for a strike and get a lot of outs with it. Ever since I came back from surgery, it hasn't been there."

This guy is one of the most dominate pitchers in the MLB without a changeup. If he could bring back his changeup to where he says it was, he would just have a filthy set of pitches. Cardinal fans should be excited, everyone else should not.

Managers In Trouble 2007 Season

Mike Hargrove, Mariners: Howard Lincoln, the Mariners' CEO, announced at the end of last season that both Hargrove and general manager Bill Bavasi were on the hot seat. A slow start could lead to quick action; the M's acquired seven new players this off-season, and Ichiro could depart as a free agent next winter if the team does not show improvement. New bench coach John McLaren would be the logical replacement.

Clint Hurdle, Rockies: Owner Charlie Monfort said recently that he expects to retain G.M. Dan O'Dowd for "quite a while," but did not offer the same endorsement to Hurdle, who sacrifices too often and relies too heavily on hot relievers. The Rockies' 76-86 record last season was their best in five years under Hurdle. A .500 record likely is necessary for him to keep his job.

Buddy Bell, Royals. It's a classic fire-the-manager scenario: Bell, in the final year of his contract, is working under a G.M. entering his first full season, Dayton Moore. While no one will confuse the Royals with contenders, it's reasonable for Moore to expect an improvement from last season's 62-100 record; he added six new players, including right-hander Gil Meche and closer Octavio Dotel, and the team's top prospect, third baseman Alex Gordon.

Charlie Manuel, Phillies: Safer than he might appear, considering that Pat Gillick has replaced a manager in the middle of a season only once in more than a quarter-century as a G.M. Still, shortstop Jimmy Rollins has contributed to the Phillies' heightened expectations, calling them "the team to beat in the N.L. East." Gillick added two former managers, Jimy Williams and Davey Lopes, to Manuel's staff, but neither is especially well-suited to handle the day-to-day pressure in Philadelphia.

Eric Wedge, Indians: Club officials do not hold Wedge accountable for the Tribe's regression from 93 wins in 2005 to 78 in '06. Given Wedge's close relationship with G.M. Mark Shapiro, it's unlikely that even a slow start would lead to a change. The hiring of Buck Showalter as an adviser to Shapiro should not be misinterpreted; it would be an absolute shock if Showalter were the Indians' next manager.

Sam Perlozzo, Orioles:: No more excuses: The Orioles, after adding three new coaches, spending $41.5 million on their bullpen and another $29.5 million on Jay Payton and Aubrey Huff, want to see growth from Perlozzo in his second full season. Owner Peter Angelos has never replaced a manager before the end of a season, but a failure to improve significantly on last year's 70-92 mark could spark a change, even though Perlozzo is signed through 2008.

Joe Torre, Yankees: It's virtually impossible to imagine Torre getting fired in the middle of the season; G.M. Brian Cashman, perhaps his biggest backer, is now the team's leading decision-maker. Cashman helped save Torre's job after the Yankees' second consecutive first-round exit last season, but another post-season flop almost certainly would lead to the promotion of hitting coach Don Mattingly or hiring of Joe Girardi.

Terry Francona, Red Sox: Signed through '08 and absolved of responsibility for last season's collapse, Francona will fall under greater scrutiny if the Sox fail to reach the post-season for the second straight year. The team's lack of an established closer makes Francona's job that much more perilous, as does the daily lineup question that figures to arise from the addition of right fielder J.D. Drew. Those issues combined with Manny being Manny . . . stay tuned.

Alex Rodriguez thoughts on Jeter And Future

"TAMPA, Fla. -- Alex Rodriguez's fourth season with the Yankees opened with a confession, as the All-Star admitted his relationship with shortstop Derek Jeter is not as strong as it once was.
"Let's be honest," Rodriguez said on Monday. "Derek and I were best of friends about 10 or 12 years ago, OK? Best of friends. We're still good friends. We get along well; we cheer hard for each other, he cheers for me. We both more importantly want to win a world championship.

"Do we go to dinner every night like we used to? No. But we're good friends, we have a lot of respect for each other, and we want to win."

Rodriguez said he felt it was important to clear up the issue of his friendship with Jeter, which had become a frequent topic of speculation in recent years.

It is widely believed that the relationship was significantly affected by a 2001 magazine article in which Rodriguez referred to Jeter as a "number two hitter," meaning he was not the impact player in his club's lineup. "

Ok, what to think about this? A-Rod calls out Jeter because Jeter is supposed to be the leader.Jeter is tired of A-Rod. A-Rod wants to know why Jeter will backup a one time Steroid User and not him. It's all about Ego.

Now in my opinion, A-Rod is going to use his opt out clause after this season unless
1.The Yankees win the world series.
2.A-Rod hits very good in the playoffs.

A-Rod will most likely opt out and go play on a team were he can be the leader, and he is the SS. (Boston anyone?)

The Yankees are going to have a major hole to fill at 3B if A-Rod does opt out. Maybe they should of had traded A-Rod this off-season to the Tigers for Joe Crede and who ever else. You can't trade somebody like A-Rod at the all-star break so the Yankees have a big problems on their hands.

Carl Pavano Pitches!!!!!!!!!

Finally, Pavano threw a bullpen session. Their was doubts about this after he was so surprisingly diagnosed with the very serious, very painful "Heavy Legs Syndrome".
Luckily, he was able to grit his way through this horrible injury and throw a couple pitches.
Yankee fans treasure this picture and hope that he can remain healthy for the regular season or just long enough to trade him. :)

Biggest Change For Milledge His Attitude?

weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/blog/2007/02/fresh_start_for_milledge.html

"For the record, Lastings Milledge did show up early -- position players were only required to let the Mets know they were in the neighborhood yesterday -- and he did more than drop off equipment. Milledge worked out with the handful of players already in camp, including David Wright and Jose Reyes, and displayed some impressive opposite-field power during batting practice on the stadium field.

Milledge said he improved his diet during the winter -- cutting down on red meat, burgers in particular -- and put on an additional 13 pounds of muscle through a new weightlifting regimen. But the biggest change may be his attitude. Milledge deftly handled two rounds with the media yesterday, first TV cameras and then print reporters, and said all the right things.As for the run-ins he had with teammates last year, Milledge believes that's all in the past and he's eager to move on.

"Everything’s clean," MIlledge said. "Everything’s fine. Everybody’s all right. I’m fine with everybody. Everything’s OK. I don’t have any problems with anybody."

Even Billy Wagner, who hung a sign over Milledge's locker in DC that read, "Know Your Place Rook!" admitted that no one is holding a grudge. "He wasn’t bad," Wagner said. "It’s sort of that grooming. We all went through it and hopefully he’s learned and matured."

I was one of the few people who didn't mind that Milledge wasn't going to play winter ball. I actually said to all the people who hate Milledge,"What if he comes back with 20 extra pounds of muscle because he's been working out all winter". Its great for Milledge and for now it seems that his attitude is better. He can now focus on winning the RF job this spring.


In other news Jose Reyes has gained 7 More Pounds of Muscle over the off-season

Is it really a good thing? Do they really want to get Reyes that big? He is a leadoff hitter who has too much muscle for somebody his size. This could potentially slow down his swing and throw off everything. No more getting bigger Jose.

YankeesProspects.com

http://www.yankeesprospects.com/index.php

Just for you Yankee fans out their, this is one of the best yankee prospect sites you will find. It provides year to year stats on every single player in the farm. Anyone looking to learn about the yankees farm or just looking for stats, this site is perfect. Also, during the season, they update daily on games and who did what. Props to whoever maintains this site, its appreciated.

Mets Spring Training Pictures

Taking A look at the possible mets rotation.


Tom Glavine will pitch on opening day as the mets ACE.


Orlando Hernandez will be the mets #2 starter.


John Maine even though the mets have said he will have to earn it will most likley be the mets #3 starter

The Battle.. The Mets right now have the #4, and #5 spots up for grabs..


We here believe that Oliver Perez will win the #4 spot


Chan Ho Park will be one of the many fighting for the spot


Many feel the mets first round pick of 2006 will win the spot. (he's kind of looking like Rick Peterson with the hair)


Philip Humber the mets first round pick of 2004 says he feels the best he has in years.


Jason Vargas has good success with the Marlins in 2005 and is looking to prove he can be the one.




Aaron Sele had a 2.96 ERA as a starter in the first half and a 4.18 overall as a starter, and wants to prove he still has somthing in the tank..



Heres a picture of David Wright drunk out of his mind.