Introduction and Overview Jibba-Jabba

Welcome to my blog. I decided to make one because I read up on baseball all the time and have a lot to say about it and thought perhaps I could focus it in a constructive way...or just ramble...whichever. Anywho, about me as a Yankee fan. I have been a fan since roughly the age of 8 or 9 or so. The Buck Showalter days. My favorite player as a wee lad was Don Mattingly. Others I've been known to love over the years are Derek Jeter, David Cone, and Hideki Matsui. So, yeah. I'm pretty die-hard and whatnot. I tend to dislike the Red Sox and Mets because their fans annoy me. I recognize many Yankee fans are also obnoxious(but I loved the Yankees long before I had the chance to hate them) and try not to count myself among them. So, that's basically the gist of me. I intend to do what a sports blog does: read rumors and put my own personal spin on them. I hope you(whoever you are) enjoy.

The winter meetings are a crazy crazy time for following baseball rumors. Having locked up A-Rod and Posada, the Yankees(even with a potential hole at 1B) still have a pretty scary lineup and probably don't need to look to make many improvements there. Pitching, on the other hand as has been the case for the past several seasons, has been a serious weakness for them.

Getting Andy Pettitte back was crucial as he has always proven to be a very reliable starter for us. Chien-Ming Wang, while generally unimpressive in the playoffs, had his second very good year in a row and I think he will continue to play a very important part of our rotation. Past those two is where question marks arise.

Mike Mussina. I've been a huge fan of his even from his time in Baltimore, but after a very impressive 2006, he had a very bad 2007 posting career worsts in both ERA and WHIP. Some think there might be some gas left in the tank, but I can't help but think he's probably done pitching effectively. Only time will tell, but either way, I'm not very confident slotting him as anything above a #4 or 5 starter right now.

That brings us to the kids. Phil Hughes, barring some shaky starts and an injury, really impressed me this past season. It should also be noted that Hughes is the first, and at this point, only player on the Yankees ever who is younger than me. He showed an ability to hang in the game and work through trouble. His most impressive outing was probably his 3+ innings of shutout relief for Roger Clemens in Game 3 of the ALDS. He wound up being the only Yankee pitcher to get a win in this year's postseason. Neddless to say, I really really like him and value him over any of our young pitchers(including Joba). I think he's fully ready to pitch in the majors, though I'm sure they'll have to limit on his innings this year. As far as trading him for Johan, it was one of those deals I couldn't look at through an objective lens. Any time you can land the best pitcher in baseball, it's nothing to cry about, but I think all Yankee fans have become attached to Phil. He's probably the best pitcher to come through our farm since Petitte and some have even argued since Guidry. Only time will tell if he can live up to the ace potential that he has, but I surely don't mind hanging onto him.

Joba Chamberlain. This guy had some kind of dominant year between the majors and minors. Spanning A, AA, AAA, and the majors in 112.1 innings, he gave up just 74 hits, 33 walks, and 5 homeruns, while striking out 169. Wow. There's really not much more that can be said about what kind of talent this guy. The numbers speak for themselves. However, we still have not seen Joba start in the majors. There is no substitute for that. As a reliever, batters don't get to get a second look at your pitches in the same game. That's not to say Joba won't be effective, but I think it's easier to project what you've actually seen. And we shouldn't be penciling him in as our #2-3 type next year. He, like Hughes, has ace potential, but again we won't know until we see.

Ian Kennedy. Kennedy's one of those guys whose value can be justified with the Moneyball approach. He doesn't have overpowering stuff or a dominant fastball, but he's doing something right as his stats clearly show. I'll agree with most that he probably doesn't have ace potential, but I think many undervalue his capability. He has more experience under his belt as well and may be the most major league ready of the three.

The leftovers. I excluded Alan Horne from the big kids and I don't consider him a leftover, but he only finished AA ball last year, so I assume he'll be starting in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I think with the innings limits on Joba and Hughes(Kennedy probably won't have one) and the uncertainty that is Mike Mussina, we're going to have to rely on that ol' scrap pile again with guys like A-O-Kei Igawa, Matt DeSalvo, Chase Wright, Tyler Clip...oh wait, etc.

So yeah, our rotation's kind of in shambles right now, but I'm fine with going forward with what we have because while it may not win us a WS in 2008, I think it keeps us adequately equipped for the future. We definitely should not be making any desperation moves that will screw up the years of work that will hopefully turn our pitching around.

As the Rivera signing showed, our bullpen is probably even worse than our rotation. He was given way more money than any reliever should be, but we love him and needed him, etc. Farnsworth....yuck. This guy is devastating when he hits his spots, but unfortunately that's rare. Cashman unfortunately seems to be high on him and isn't interested in trading him. Such is life. I hope they retain the Viz as he was very effective outside of a rough stretch early in the season. These reliever contracts are starting to get a little ridiculous though. I recall reading that he may seek something in the 4-year/$20M range. Woahhhhhh. That's way too much for any reliever not being managed by Joe Torre. I've also thought the Yankees should pursue Ron Mahay as he's pretty tough on lefties and had a solid year for Texas, but I read something like 3 years/$12M for him. I'm not too keen on locking up relievers well into their 30's for multiple years. I mean, I guess we have to do what we have to do. It's a good thing we have that Steinbrenner checkbook, I suppose. On a brighter note than free agent relievers: Ross Ohlendorf. I'd heard great things about him. He threw mostly a mid-90s fastball and mid 80's slider when I watched him and while not quite Joba, he looked good and I certainly think he'll have a spot in the bullpen. I kind of think Kei Igawa's stuff would translate better in the bullpen and I may like to see that, but who really knows with that guy. We also have a bunch of assorted children who may be ready to give a crack at the bullpen and I wouldn't mind that. I like the trade we made with the Nationals to get Abudlabobby. I'm rambling...my head hurts...I've been typing for a while...Sean Henn needs to be thrown in a dumpster...

So, on that note, I'm going to end it here. This was just an overview of what I think the Yankees should look like going into next year. My future bloggings should be more direct and news-based. Goodbye.