Here at the "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog, we like to do a lot of thinking. Not just any kind of thinking mind you, but rather the kind of thinking that leads to action, and the kind of action that leads to incarceration. But not all of our thoughts are related to stealing Deron's pension, some of our thoughts are related to baseball, and the Yankees. To this end, here are our thoughts about some positive signs that 2009 will be a good year for the New York Yankees.
Phil Coke. Mr. Coke only threw 14.2 innings last year, and I know we've been burnt by our youth movement before, but Coke shows some signs that he could carry his success to 2009. Though a starter by trade, Coke was used a reliever, and was very efficient to that end. The question will be whether they want Coke to start, which he may be able to do. He's not a lefty specialist since he was better against righties than he was against lefties, and if he can get righties out as a lefty, why not let him start a few games? Whether he's vying for a spot in the rotation, or he's sitting in the bullpen Coke could prove to be a valuable asset to the Yankees.
Robinson Cano. After his absolute worst season in the majors some may have lost confidence in Cano, but I think he's primed for a huge comeback next season. A "Comeback Player of the Year" kind of comeback. In the midst of this awful season many may have overlooked that he finished the season with an 11 game hitting streak batting .450 in that stretch with 11 RBI's. The man can still hit.
Joe Girardi. Weren't we just criticizing him a week ago for losing the veteran clubhouse, and watching the youth movement decline under his watch? Yes, but this is exactly why I think he'll do better next season. He won't make the same mistakes that alienated his veterans, and he now knows that he needs to push these kids more.
Alex Rodriguez. Anyone whose watched A-Rod's tenure as a Yankee knows that he always wins an MVP in odd years. 2005, 2007, and now 2009. I expect him to hit 60 homeruns and with Madonna by his side, he could hit 80.
Alfredo Aceves. Aceves started against the Rays, Angels, White Sox, Orioles and Red Sox in September, 4 of which were post season contenders. His last start of the season against the Red Sox was not particularly impressive, but his other appearances more than make up for it. Will he be able to continue these performances into 2009? Usually, the reason rookie's digress is that they did not learn to pitch, they only learned to throw. The difference? They rely on their talent, and not on their smarts. They blew fastballs by hitters in the minors, and then had some success doing so in the majors, but eventually, big league hitters catch onto the trick and start knocking those fastballs out of the park. The rookie pitcher, knowing nothing else, continues to launch his fastball and continues to get rocked. Aceves is not a rookie in the traditional sense. He is a veteran of the Mexican league, and although the quality of hitters is much different, he has enough experience to know how to switch things up, and I suspect that is what allowed him to pitch excellently against 4 big league teams, 3 of them post season contenders.
Derek Jeter. Its hard to lose a season when your shortstop wins a batting title. You heard it here first.
Chamberlain and Hughes. Between the two of them, I suspect we'll get a full 30 starts, and not the Hughes of Spring, 2008 kind of starts. I'm talking about the Hughes of September, 2008. The best kind of Hughes there is.
Free Agent Player to be Named. There's no doubt about it, the Yankees are signing some big free agent. I don't know who it will be, but trust that the Yankees will have one of Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, or AJ Burnett.
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9 comments:
If I remember correctly I think that last game Aceves pitched against the Sox it was raining/bad weather, so that could have had some affect on his performance.
I think the seller for me is that he faced some tough lineups. The Angels and White Sox both were stacked with power hitters, and he managed to weave through them effectively. He doesn't throw hard, so knowing how to pitch is very important for him to be succesful.
From what I saw he was sitting in the 90-94 range which is decent, but I like the movement he had on his pitches. That's why I'm optimistic about his chances next season.
I want Teixeira. Badly. I know pitching's a priority but we need a first baseman not named Giambi, Posada, Damon, Matsui, Betemit, Ransom.
I agree with going after Teixeira, but they need to get pitching too and that will cost a lot of money, which means Cashman is probably going to have to get creative to fill CF. I think that is going to be the key to the offseason. I don't really want to see Damon/Melky/Gardner in CF again.
I say if we can sign BOTH Sabbathia and Texiera (I know i spelled those wrong), than we can afford have Melky or Gardner in center.
I say the Yankees create a fishing site on the web that looks like an Obama/Biden campaign contribution page. They raised $150M in one month, that way the Yankees can raise all the money they need in order to sign a third big money free agent.
The Yankees need no fishing site to raise money.
They can get more than enough cash by selling hungry and thirsty fans $200 hot dog and $150 beer in the near future.
$200 hot dogs never tasted better.
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