New York Yankees (95-67, .586, 1st in AL East)
This just kills me. While I'm a firm believer in the premise that you are the big dog until someone can knock you off, this year the Yankees are the defenders of the crown in the AL East and the White Sox are World Series champions.
Honestly, though I can't see why either team should relinquish their spots based on lineups alone. I have my theories and secret hater-flavored hopes in my tiny, freezing heart, but based on paper, there is no reason why those two squads shouldn't be heavy contenders in October.
The Yanks have upgraded to a point in center with Johnny Damon, thus getting the corpse of Bernie Williams out of the field and onto the bench where he'll serve as mascot. With Gary Sheffield showing no signs of slowing down and Hideki Matsui returning in left field (did he even know what free agency was, or did George slip his interpreter a few bucks to omit that part of the equation?) the outfield will be solid.
Assuming Jason Giambi continues to improve in his post-roids production (Comeback player of the year? Really?) they;ll have Giambi, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez around the horn. Find one team in baseball who wouldn't take that infield, I dare you.
Starting pitching is stable, if not lights out, as the Yanks can't catch a break with free agents lately and the bullpen looks like a mess with Kyle Farnsworth, Tanyon Sturtze, Octavio Dotel (two seasons removed from "lights out" much like the path Brad Lidge is on) and Mike Myers, the lefty specialist who is physically incapable of getting right-handers out (2.17 ERA vs. lefties and 6.48 vs. righties; 29.0 IP vs. 8.1 left to right; 18 to 3 Ks... It goes on like that for a while).
Finally is Mr. Clutch, Mariano Rivera. I can type his name without soiling myself, so he must have lost a step. He's still a great closer, but now that he's shown cracks in the armor, he's not as terrifying anymore. Kinda weird for Red Sox fans - imagine if one day you woke up and your bathroom wasn't there. That's roughly how it felt to see Rivera giving up home runs last year, just disorienting to a degree that it became surreal.
Are they still the team to beat? Yep, they're still the Yankees and you know Cashman is good for one more free agent before the seasons starts and another couple before the mid-August push after the All-Star game. Are they better than the Sox or Blue Jays? Possibly, but not head and shoulders above. And that makes for a good spring in the AL East.
New York Yankees
C: Posada; Stinnett
1B: Giambi; Phillips
2B: Cano; Cairo
SS: Jeter; Escalona
3B: Rodriguez; Cairo
LF: Matsui
CF: Damon; Crosby; Williams
RF: Sheffield
DH: Williams
SP: Johnson; Mussina; Chacon; Wang; Pavano; Wright
CP: Rivera
RP: Farnsworth; Sturze; Dotel; Small; Myers; Villone; Proctor
Honestly, though I can't see why either team should relinquish their spots based on lineups alone. I have my theories and secret hater-flavored hopes in my tiny, freezing heart, but based on paper, there is no reason why those two squads shouldn't be heavy contenders in October.
The Yanks have upgraded to a point in center with Johnny Damon, thus getting the corpse of Bernie Williams out of the field and onto the bench where he'll serve as mascot. With Gary Sheffield showing no signs of slowing down and Hideki Matsui returning in left field (did he even know what free agency was, or did George slip his interpreter a few bucks to omit that part of the equation?) the outfield will be solid.
Assuming Jason Giambi continues to improve in his post-roids production (Comeback player of the year? Really?) they;ll have Giambi, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez around the horn. Find one team in baseball who wouldn't take that infield, I dare you.
Starting pitching is stable, if not lights out, as the Yanks can't catch a break with free agents lately and the bullpen looks like a mess with Kyle Farnsworth, Tanyon Sturtze, Octavio Dotel (two seasons removed from "lights out" much like the path Brad Lidge is on) and Mike Myers, the lefty specialist who is physically incapable of getting right-handers out (2.17 ERA vs. lefties and 6.48 vs. righties; 29.0 IP vs. 8.1 left to right; 18 to 3 Ks... It goes on like that for a while).
Finally is Mr. Clutch, Mariano Rivera. I can type his name without soiling myself, so he must have lost a step. He's still a great closer, but now that he's shown cracks in the armor, he's not as terrifying anymore. Kinda weird for Red Sox fans - imagine if one day you woke up and your bathroom wasn't there. That's roughly how it felt to see Rivera giving up home runs last year, just disorienting to a degree that it became surreal.
Are they still the team to beat? Yep, they're still the Yankees and you know Cashman is good for one more free agent before the seasons starts and another couple before the mid-August push after the All-Star game. Are they better than the Sox or Blue Jays? Possibly, but not head and shoulders above. And that makes for a good spring in the AL East.
New York Yankees
C: Posada; Stinnett
1B: Giambi; Phillips
2B: Cano; Cairo
SS: Jeter; Escalona
3B: Rodriguez; Cairo
LF: Matsui
CF: Damon; Crosby; Williams
RF: Sheffield
DH: Williams
SP: Johnson; Mussina; Chacon; Wang; Pavano; Wright
CP: Rivera
RP: Farnsworth; Sturze; Dotel; Small; Myers; Villone; Proctor
Labels: Preview-2006
posted by Matt G at
11:36 AM
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