Tag: New York Yankees (Page 18 of 52)

MLB Opening Week: 10 Things to Watch

April 5, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

While nothing beats the opening weekend in football, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the start of a new baseball season. With a sense of a new beginning, the opening week of baseball brings hope and excitement to fans across the country.

Then you realize that you’re favorite team is the Pirates, Royals or Nationals and all that hope gets crushed. It’s an ugly realization, but it is what it is.

As baseball is set to kick off a new season, here are 10 things to keep an eye on this week.

1. Roy Halladay makes his Philles debut
Fans will have to wait until next weekend to see Halladay make his Philadelphia debut, but they probably won’t have to wait long to see him dominate in red and white. Halladay will start against the Nationals on Opening Day and then at Houston five days later, which means he gets tune ups against two of the weaker teams in the National League. He shouldn’t have any issues making the early-season transition to the NL – outside of hitting, of course. Unless he succumbs to the pressure of pitching in Philadelphia, Halladay will likely have plenty of success throughout the entire season.

2. Jason Heyward’s MLB debut
The top position player prospect in baseball will enter the 2010 season as the Braves’ starting right fielder. The former 2007 first round pick hit .323 with 17 homers and 63 RBI between three stops in the minor leagues last season and might be the difference between the Braves finishing in the middle of the pack in the National League, or securing a postseason berth. Heyward doesn’t have one breakout skill, but he’s a five-tool player who takes a patient approach to the plate and exhibits good bat speed. He’s also a solid defender, with above-average speed and can play multiple outfield positions. If Heyward turns out to be the real deal, then so too will the Braves.

3. Can Jon Rauch fill Joe Nathan’s shoes?
After Nathan decided to have Tommy John surgery and therefore miss the entire 2010 season, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that the club would employ a closer-by-committee situation with their bullpen. But Gardenhire quickly went back on that decision, instead choosing to go with Rauch as his full-time closer. The question now becomes: Will Rauch be the same reliable pitcher he was last year in Minnesota or the one that struggled in Arizona in the first half? Rauch isn’t the long-term solution, but he doesn’t have to be either. He just has to be dependable this season to help bridge the gap until Nathan returns to full health in 2011.

MLB

2010 MLB Season A.J. Burnett Atlanta Braves Cincinnati Reds Damaso Marte Jack Cust Jarrod Saltamacchia Jason Heyward Jason Heyward debut Joba Chamberlin Joe Nathan John Bowker Jon Rauch Jorge Posada Los Angeles Angels Matt Palmer Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Oakland A's Philadelphia Phillies Roy Halladay Roy Halladay debut San Francisco Giants Scott Kazmir Scott Kazmir DL Taylor Teagarden Texas Rangers

Red Sox, Yankees open 2010 season with a bang

April 5, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

There’s really no other way to open up a baseball season then to pit the Yankees and Red Sox against each other on national TV, which the MLB did last night.

The BoSox’s Dustin Pedroia had a two-run homer and an RBI single to power Boston past New York 9-7 in a wild opener. The Red Sox overcame an early 5-1 deficit thanks to timely hitting by Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and newcomer Adrian Beltre. The biggest hit came off Pedroia’s bat when he took a Chan Ho Park pitch over the Green Monster in the seventh inning, giving him dingers on consecutive Opening Days now.

As usual for this time of year, the starting pitching was spotty. CC Sabathia went 5.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits while striking out four. Josh Beckett only went 4.2 innings while giving up five runs on eight hits and allowing two home runs. He struck out only two batters.

Game 2 of this three-game series will be played on Tuesday.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

MLB

Adrian Beltre Boston Red Sox CC Sabathia Dustin Pedroia Josh Beckett Kevin Youkilis New York Yankees

Is the Yankees’ outfield in trouble?

April 3, 2010 / Christopher Glotfelty

Although they ~~inked~~ traded for the young, talented Curtis Granderson ~~to a five-year deal~~ over the offseason, the Yankees’ outfield situation looks shakier upon further examination. Ken Rosenthal, for one, thinks the team may need to start shopping for another outfielder.

On the eve of the season opener, some in the industry already are wondering how long the Yankees would tolerate sub-par production from outfielders Randy Winn and Marcus Thames.
The Yankees’ starting left fielder, Brett Gardner, is not yet established as a major-league hitter. An injury to center fielder Curtis Granderson or right fielder Nick Swisher would leave the Yankees further exposed.
Neither Winn, a switch-hitter, nor Thames, a right-handed hitter, had a good spring. Winn, 35, had a batting/on-base/slugging line of .224/.255/.265. Thames, 33, was even worse, hitting .135/.182/.269. Both had about 50 at-bats.

If you’re a Yankee fan, this must be a bit scary, as Winn’s best days are far behind him and Marcus ~~James~~ Thames is rarely impressive at the plate. Although the Yankees are only spending $2 million total on these bench players, I wonder if letting go of Melky Cabrera was the right idea.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

MLB

New York Yankees Yankees

The 10 highest-paid sports teams in the world

March 30, 2010 / John Paulsen

Yahoo! Sports has the list, which averages the salaries for a starting player.

It’s interesting to see six NBA teams on the list, but it makes sense. Since only five players can play at a time in basketball, franchises can spend more money on their starters. NBA rosters are quite a bit smaller than baseball, football or even soccer rosters.

That makes the Yankees’ top-ranking that much more amazing.

MLB, NBA, NFL, Soccer

Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Lakers New York Yankees

2010 MLB Preview: AL East

March 22, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

First up is the AL East.

1. New York Yankees (1)
If you think I would get cute in these rankings and suggest that some upstart team would derail the Yankees this season, then you sir, are sadly mistaken. I just don’t have the conjones to bet against them, especially after they added Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson to their already stacked roster. Sure they lost World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, the latter of which loved to work the count and provided the Yanks with some pop over the last couple of seasons. But thanks to Granderson, Johnson, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texeira, Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada, the lineup is still stacked from top to bottom. Vazquez, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mariano Rivera will once again highlight a strong pitching staff and assuming they don’t suffer any major injuries, there’s nothing to suggest that the Bombers won’t make another championship run. That said, let’s not be oblivious to the potential problems that could arise for the Yanks this season. Age is a factor, as is the fact that Granderson can’t hit lefties and will be under the spotlight as the club’s biggest offseason acquisition. Plus, for as good as Vazquez was over the past couple of years, he was a disaster the last time he wore pinstripes (Boston fans remember this well.) Should the Yankees win another World Series? Yeah – especially considering they have the best-purchased roster in baseball. But just like last year, they still have to prove it between the lines and they’re not immune to hurdles getting in their way.