Monthly Archives: April 2009

I wanted to know more about Ramiro Pena, the Yankees’ utility infielder de jour, and Will Weiss hipped me to a piece that Aaron Moore wrote about Pena and Eric Duncan for the YES Network back in June of 2005.

Dig:

While Duncan holds the title of the Yankees’ top prospect, the distinction of most intriguing minor leaguer belongs to the 19-year-old Pena. At 19, he is the youngest player on any Eastern League roster.

The master plan was to keep Pena in Class-A for the season, but he has done more than hold his own as Trenton’s everyday shortstop. The Yankees signed the Monterrey, Mexico, native last February as an international free agent.

The organization was forced to move Pena up from Tampa after
Columbus needed Trenton’s Andy Cannizaro to fill its void at shortstop. During Pena’s short stint in Tampa, he hit only .247 with an on-base percentage of .321.

Since joining the Thunder, those numbers have increased nicely as he continues to show no signs of being overmatched by Eastern League pitchers. Through his first 14 games in Double-A, Pena has an impressive .327 average with three RBIs and no home runs.
He will never play the role of the modern shortstop like Miguel Tejada, who puts up gaudy power numbers. Pena is more in the mold of an Ozzie Guillen. A shortstop who fields his position brilliantly, hits around .270, but more importantly, moves runners over while hitting toward the bottom of the lineup.

Regardless of what he hits in the minors, Pena’s glove will eventually get him a trip to the majors. And that’s what Thunder manager Bill Masse told Pena on his inaugural day in New Jersey — to focus on defense. In his short time with the Thunder, Pena has already provided a number of highlight-reel plays.

With his fantastic lateral speed, Pena ranges well into the hole on ground balls and does not shy away from contact while covering second base. His spin-move throw to first base is all ready major league worthy. In a recent series against Reading, Pena took away two hits by fielding ground balls on the right-field of second base and making quick accurate throws to beat the runners.

Even though he is still a teenager, Pena has a silent confidence about him that speaks well for his chances of succeeding in New York.
At this point, Pena’s main deficiency is his size. Walking around the clubhouse in a tee-shirt and shorts, he is hardly bigger than a batboy.

That should change as he physically matures and improves his workout routine.

Pena’s arm is not Jeteresque. However, his exceptional range and quick feet hide his lack of a cannon arm.

And he already has a big fan in the player who lines up on his left.

“He is so good, so smooth, carries so much range,” Duncan said. “It’s not like I am playing with a 19-year-old, it’s like I’m playing with someone who has been there a while.”

For some, being away from home and playing with teammates much older and seasoned could be a problem. This is not the case for Pena.

“It’s not been that big of a change for me,” said Pena, with the help of teammate Omir Santos’ translation. “I’ve always played with guys older than me. No big deal for me. If I was still in Mexico I would be playing with guys in a league that is like Double-A here.”
Both Duncan and Pena are aware that their chances of playing together in the Bronx are unlikely anytime soon, with Jeter and Rodriguez locked up to long term deals. Even though they have made rapid movements up the organizational ladder, neither focuses on the players above them.

“I don’t really think about it,” Pena said.

“All I can do is go out every day and work as hard as I can,” Duncan said. “If it’s with the Yankees, that’s great. If not, it will have to be for another team. It’s just the way it is.”

Well, I guess this is what happens when you forget to smear lamb’s blood over the bat rack.

Why on all other nights during the year does Chien-Ming Wang’s sinker sink, but tonight it is straight down the middle?

Hmmmm, no, doesn’t quite work. How about: The maror, or bitter herbs, symbolize the bitterness of leaving a metric ton of runners on base in two consecutive games….

Or: And Mark Teixeira went unto the Orioles pitchers, and spake thus: let my left-handed swing go, that it may serve the Yankees; and if you refuse to let it go, I will smite all thy borders with… uh, frogs —

Ah, screw it. The Orioles beat the Yankees 7-5 tonight, in a game that wasn’t actually as close as that makes it sound (until suddenly it was). Needless to say it is far to early to fret, let alone worry, let alone panic, but this wasn’t what you’d call a gem of a game. Chien Ming Wang was not himself; Ken Singleton said he wasn’t “getting on top of his sinker,” which is what announcers always say on those rare occasions when Wang starts chucking meatballs down the middle. Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara, formerly Hideki Matsui’s teammate on the Yomiuri Giants, took the mound for the O’s, and while I wasn’t exactly awed by him, he did get the job done. The Yankees’ unleavened (sorry) offense sputtered for most of the game, eking out a run here and there before rousing itself in the ninth – too little too late, but still a somewhat more positive note to end on.

Wang allowed two runs in the first inning on three consecutive doubles, then semi-fooled me with a 1-2-3 second, and squeaked out of trouble in the third. The Yankees scored their first run in the fourth, when Cody Ransom doubled in Xavier Nady, and in general they seemed to be putting together some more impressive at-bats and maybe gathering a little momentum. But things fell apart for Wang in the bottom of the inning – Scott singled, Pie walked, Zaun doubled, Roberts singled, sac fly, home run from Nick Markakis (now hitting .714 on the season) – you get the idea. When the smoke cleared, the Yankees were down 7-1 and Edwar Ramirez was in the game.

Derek “D-Cline” Jeter had a strong night, 2-for-4 in the end with a walk; Posada looked good on a strong double, and scored the Yankees’ second run in the sixth inning, when Cano doubled him home. Mark Teixeira, however, was having tougher time: going into the ninth he was 0-for-4, and so 0-for-8 in his brief Yankees career. And while, obviously, this is completely meaningless two games in, I was still a little worried that it was going to become A Thing – that fans and media would focus on it, laser-like, until some kind of obsessive watch for the first hit developed, and maybe a mental block, and who knows.

[Side note: New York sports fans do not have the right to criticize other fans for their booing habits, ever, so I’m not saying Baltimore fans shouldn’t be booing Teixeira so intensely. They should boo whoever they want whenever they want and more power to them. However, I’m confused about the particular hostility to Teixeira, because: did anyone ever think he was actually going to end up in Baltimore? I don’t believe I heard a soul suggest that as a strong possibility. It’s like if I started booing George Clooney because he wasn’t dating me, or Mayor Bloomberg for not giving me a key to the city… I mean, these things were never even on the table, you know? No one in San Francisco is going to boo Sabathia for not giving the Giants a hometown discount, because it was a nonissue. I just feel like I’m missing something].

It was 7-2 O’s in the top of the ninth when the Yankees got their act semi-together. Gardner was on base with two outs when Jeter hit his first home run of the year, making it 7-4, and Johnny Damon walked. This brought up Teixeira in the big spot, under pressure, A-Rod-style… and he hit a nice strong double to center, and now we can stop reading about his tiny little 0-fer. Phew. Of course Matsui then popped out, so, moot point.

Tomorrow the Yankees face a largely unknown rookie with an ERA over 6, which means you can expect them to be shut out. Unless maybe A.J. Burnett parts the Orioles batters like the… well, you know.

The Yankees look to rebound from a disappointing Opening Day tonight against the Orioles and veteran Japanese right-hander Koji Uehara. Uehara is making his major league debut tonight, but he already has some history with the Yankees’ two Asian players. When Uehara joined the Yomiuri Giants as a 24-year-old rookie in 1999, Hideki Matsui was already established as the Giants hitting star. Matsui is just six months older than Uehara, and the two were teammates for four seasons and remain friends. Their time together climaxed in 2002, when Matsui won his third Central League MVP award, Uehara won his second Sawamura Award, and the Giants won their twentieth Japan Series championship. Matsui joined the Yankees the next year, and the Giants haven’t won a championship since.

In 2004, Uehara pitched for the Japanese Olympic team in Athens. When Japan faced Chinese Taipei, the starting pitchers were Uehara and Chien-Ming Wang, then a Yankee prospect who had just made his Triple-A debut. Uehara and Wang matched each other into the seventh. Uehara gave up a three-run home run to the Dodgers’ Chin-Feng Chen in the third. Wang blew the lead by allowing Japan to tie the game in the sixth. Ultimately, the game was decided by the bullpens as Japan won 4-3 with a run off the Rockies’ Tsao Chin-Hui in the bottom of the ninth. Current Dodger Hiroki Kuroda got the win.

Uehara also pitched for Japan in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and was the starting pitcher in Japan’s game against the USA. Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 in that game. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5. Johnny Damon struck out in a pinch-hit at-bat, I assume after Uehara came out of the game.

So, Uehara isn’t a complete unknown to the Yankees, at least not to Jeter and Matsui. The scouting report on the 34-year-old righty is that he’s a finesse pitcher with outstanding control. His fastball tops out in the low 90s, but he compliments it with a cutter, slider, splitter, and forkball. In his ten seasons with the Giants, he walked an incredibly low 1.20 men per nine innings and had an equally impressive 6.68 K/BB ratio. He has, however, suffered from some leg injuries and spent 2007 as the Giants’ closer in part to stay healthy. Last year, he made just 12 starts against 14 relief appearances and posted a 3.81 ERA in just 89 2/3 innings, though his peripherals remained outstanding.

The most famous walk Uehara issued came in his rookie season of 1999. Matsui and Venezuelan slugger Roberto Petagine were neck-and-neck in the Central League’s home-run race that year. With Matsui a home run behind the gaijin late in the season, Uehara was ordered by to intentionally walk Petagine in a game against Petagine’s Yakult Swallows. The Swallows had been walking Matsui all game, but Uehara wanted to pitch to Petagine and broke down in tears upon carrying out his orders. It was all for naught, as Petagine out-lasted Matsui, 44 homers to 42. In 2003, Petagine joined the Giants as Matsui’s replacement.

Getting back to tonight, while Uehara brings some interesting history to the mound, my eyes will be on Chein-Ming Wang, who is making his first regular season start since breaking his foot while running the bases in Houston on June 15 of last year. Wang had an inconsistent spring, posting a 4.15 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and most alarmingly, allowing three home runs (he allowed four in 15 starts last year). In his last start of the spring, in the first game ever played in the new Yankee Stadium, he gave up four runs in five innings and didn’t get a ground-ball out until the third inning. Wang’s foot is not my concern. What concerns me is the rust on his arm and his mechanics, as well as the fact that, when he hit the DL last year, his numbers revealed career-highs in ERA (4.07), walk-rate (3.3 BB/9), and WHIP (1.32). None of those figures is alarming, they were combined with a career-high strikeout rate (5.1 K/9), and Wang is no longer being relied on to be the Yankees’ ace, but after an eight-month layoff from mid-June to mid-February, he has something to prove this month.

The Yankee line-up is the same as Monday’s. The Orioles have moved Luke Scott to DH and replaced him in left field with Felix Pie, putting Ty Wigginton on the bench.

In other news, Dan Giese was claimed off waivers by the A’s.

I have a cousin who wants to be Jewish in the worst way. She is funny and bright and beautiful (her father, born Irish Catholic, married my aunt) and she calls herself Jew “ish.” Heavy on the “ish.” Sometimes I feel more “ish” than a bonafide Jew. My mother was raised Catholic, went to school with the nuns, and reluctantly “converted” to Judiasm under relentless pressure from my father’s parents. Mom all but renounced her conversion, if not technically, then at least in spirit, so I have never for a moment considered her a Jew in any way, shape or form. Her conversion said more about my father’s unwillingness to stand up to his parents than it did about his own religious convictions.

My father, of course, considered himself Jewish even though he didn’t believe in God, even if he only attended Synagogue twice a year, on the high holidays, to pay respects to his parents. He also considered his children Jewish though we had no formal religious training. The thought that we would consider ourselves only half-Jewish was something he laughed at. “Half-Jewish means Jewish,” he once told me. I didn’t have a barmitzvah, neither did my sister or my brother. I am not religious at all, and the extent of my participation in Judiasm is going to a Chanukah party and one sedsr every year. They have significance as family gatherings more than anything else. I have memorized the songs from Passover, they are hard-wired into my consciousness, in the same way I remember nursey rhymes. I don’t know what the words mean, I just know the melodies and what words sound appealing and funny.  The songs are soulful and fill me with warmth and sadness.

The seders weren’t always unpleasent, though negotiating the Afikomen payment with my uncle Georgie was nothing short of terrifying. “So what makes you think you deserve money for this little piece of Afikomen?”

Dag, I don’t know, dude, can I just sit down before I wet myself, please?

Since I’ve been an adult, the seders have always been increasingly informal, with the non-Jews in the family starting to out-number the Jews. They are loud and lively.  I like the chaotic commotion and I love the fresh horseradish, which I pile onto pieces of matzoh until my nose is running and my eyes are red.

And what’s not to like about supressed laughter? That’s the best kind, isn’t it?  Trying to remain serious as my father read through the Haggadah was always fun, and now his absence is almost palpable.

Still, the story, of the Jews flight from Eygpt, is one that can be applied to the current state of the world, but I have never found a strong connection to it. I don’t feel comfortable wearing a yarmulke or talking about God. I can’t read the four questions in Hebrew.

I asked my brother the other day if he feels Jewish. And he said, “Depends on the company.” Around Jews, it is hard to feel Jewish because there is so much about the rituals that we never experienced. But around Goyim, yeah, sometimes it is easy to feel Jewish.

More than anything I feel like a New Yorker. I can identify with the New York Jewish life. I am an American–and never felt so strongly about that as I did on my recent trip to Belgium–but my nationality is New Yorker. And after all, Lenny Bruce said if you are a New Yorker, you are a Jew. I would add, Dominican, Irish, Italian, Black, Mexican, Cuban, you name it, under that umbrella. The beauty of being a New Yorker is that you can be a little bit of everything and altogether yourself.

Today’s news is powered by . . . you!

• Joel Sherman sounds the klaxons over game #1 of 162:

Now a few sentences about perspective. Sabathia began horrendously last year, going 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in his first four starts and recovered to have arguably his best season. Teixeira annually is an April dud and then steadily builds toward superb final results.

But we all know the terms of engagement here. Sabathia was the highest-paid free-agent pitcher of the offseason and Teixeira the highest-paid position player. In a down economic climate, the Yanks invested $341 million on just those two. They are not going to feel bad about those decisions at 0-1. However, no one wants to make a bad first impression as a Yankee because the hole is always a little deeper, so deep that many never truly escape.

[My take: As long as they keep Hank Steinbrenner sedated and muzzled, everything will work itself out.]

• Will Carroll writes of any CC Sabathia injury concerns:

It was just last year, in Cleveland, when Sabathia began the season poorly, but by the end of the year, no one was talking about those first few outings. People seemed more confused than worried about his Opening Day start for the Yankees, with Sabathia showing no dominance, some command problems, and spending his half-inning on the bench with a heating pad on his side. The heating pad had many concerned, though in the few shots I saw, it was being held in different areas along his ribcage, and Sabathia’s explanation that he was “keeping warm” does make some sense. “Precautionary” would make even more sense, because it’s important to remember that Sabathia has a history of oblique strains, injuring himself at the start of the season in both 2005 and 2006. With the combination of game results, his history, and the provocative image, this bears watching. I do think that there was something throwing off his release point; it could be any one of a million factors, including not being able to get his core loose.

• PeteAbe provides the minor league rosters for all levels.  Here is the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster:

CLASS AAA SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES
Manager: Dave Miley
Coaches: Scott Aldred (P), Butch Wynegar (H), Aaron Ledesma
Pitchers: Alfredo Aceves, Anthony Claggett, J.B. Cox, Dan Geise, Phil Hughes, Kei Igawa, Steven Jackson, Jason Johnson, Ian Kennedy, Zach Kroenke, Mark Melancon, Dave Robertson, Brett Tomko, Brett
Catchers: Kevin Cash, P.J. Pilittere, Chris Stewart.
Infielders: Doug Bernier, Eric Duncan, Justin Leone, Juan Miranda, Kevin Russo.
Outfielders: Shelley Duncan, Austin Jackson, Todd Linden, John Rodriguez.

• Some of the Yankees managed to get a tour of The White House.
• Just in case you were wondering which company was the “Official Paint” of the Yankees, CNBC lists all the major sponsors for the 2009 season.

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I just heard that Jack Curry, one of the most respected baseball writers in country, was in an accident on Sunday down in Philadelphia where he was covering Opening Day.  He suffered bruised ribs, according to an e-mail I received from a friend but is doing okay. 

Here’s wishing Jack a quick and full recovery.

Dude, this platter is for you:

As a young baseball fan growing up in the 1970s, I liked and admired Willie Stargell so much that I was once motivated to do something very foolish: at the age of nine, I stole his elusive 1974 baseball card from my next door neighbor’s house. (I’m not sure why I became so infatuated with the 1974 card; I actually liked the 1973 card a lot more, since it was an action shot, showing a massive Stargell stretching to receive a throw at first base ahead of the arrival of Philadelphia’s Del Unser. I also preferred the 1973 card of Bobby Bonds, which features an unexpected appearance by Stargell, who is attempting to retire Bonds in a rundown play. Two stars on one card, yes!)

Fortunately, my neighbor Hank Taylor—the older brother of one of my best friends, Alec—knew about my infatuation with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ slugger and quickly confronted me about the pilfered card. Feeling humiliated at being caught and guilty over what I had done, I returned the stolen item. As I look back at that incident today, I’m tempted to make the following conclusion: in a strange and indirect way, Willie Stargell taught me a simple but important lesson about how it was wrong to take things that didn’t belong to me.

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Russell Adams and Tim Marchman have an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about the grim future of the newspaper beat writer:

Beginning this season, the Washington Post will rely on the Baltimore Sun to cover the Orioles, while the Sun will leave its Nationals coverage to the Post, part of a broader content-sharing deal being replicated at papers around the country. The Hartford Courant quit sending a reporter on the road with the Red Sox, and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has cut its Red Sox road presence to between 35-40 games from 70 last year. And the New York Times now sends only one person on certain road trips that in the past would have called for two, Mr. Jolly said.

Still, some major dailies are not about to take reporters off the baseball beat. The cash-strapped Boston Herald has cut its city desk by more than half in the past five years, but tinkering with Red Sox coverage “was never really an option,” said Tony Massarotti, who covered the team for the Herald for nearly 15 years before moving to the rival Globe last fall. “It would be suicide, quite honestly.”

Some teams and organizations say the decrease in newspaper coverage may hamper their ability to promote themselves. Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, wrote recently on his blog that to let newspapers die is a “recipe for disaster” for professional sports leagues because newspapers, however weakened, remain the leagues’ best and only link to a mass audience. He said he has spoken to other sports executives about creating a league-backed “beat writer cooperative” to guarantee a minimum number of daily stories on each local team.

Today, Oscar Madison would be a blogger. Think his roommate would leave comments signed F.U.?

Panic in the Streets … $207 million team starts 0-1!

OK … here’s the real news:

• Our own Cliff Corcoran provides his usual excellent recap of yesterday’s game.
• Here are some other recaps:
  • USA Today (Associated Press)
  • MLB.com
  • PeteAbe with a not-too-overly-concerned Joe Girardi
• Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus.com starts the Yanks out in the top position of his weekly rankings:

A $441 million spending spree brought the Yankees the winter’s biggest haul, but their self-loving $300 million slugger—a former steroid user, in case you hadn’t heard—starts the year on the DL as the team moves into its charmless $1.3 billion new ballpark, the House That Ruthlessness Built. This is the third consecutive year the Yanks top the pre-season Hit List, but money guarantees nothing in the top-heavy AL East. (800 RS/635 RA)

• Tyler Kepner writes about the risks the Yankees are taking in signing CC Sabathia:

The Yankees gave him the most money ever guaranteed to a pitcher — $161 million for seven years — without any precedent to study.

“There’s no doubt there’s risk,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “You try to assess the ability of the player and you look at body type and all those things. Regardless, even if there were some comparables, good or bad — which there weren’t — there are always stand-alones.” .  .  .

“You look at his legs, and they’re huge, but they’re solid muscle,” the Yankees’ pitching coach, Dave Eiland, said. “For me, that’s where most of his weight is, and that’s good weight. He’s 6-foot-7, big-boned, a thick guy. At 250 pounds, he’d look like Manute Bol, maybe.”

Sabathia’s bulk helps hide the ball in his delivery, and his height gives a better downward plane on his pitches. His reach allows him to release the ball a bit closer to the hitter.

[My take: Well, its not Wayne Garland-risky, but its still a LOT of money.  I don’t know if ANY pitcher is worth being in the top 5 in annual salary.]

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CC Sabathia couldn’t command his fastball in yesterday’s season opener, and though the Yankee offense made a valiant attempt to dig out of the early hole their new ace put them in, they fell just short. Then the bullpen allowed things to unravel.

Sabathia struggled from the very beginning, opening his Yankee career by allowing a single to Brian Roberts, bouncing a wild pitch to move Roberts to second, and issuing a four-pitch walk to Adam Jones. Another wild pitch moved the runners to second and third with just one out, but Sabathia got out of that jam with a couple of ground ball outs.

Sabathia worked a 1-2-3 second, but started the third by giving up a leadoff single to Cesar Izturis on a 3-1 pitch and walking Roberts. Adam Jones tried to bunt the runners up on the first pitch he saw from Sabathia, but after bunting the first pitch foul, swung away and crushed a second-pitch fastball to the right-field gap for a triple, plating both runners. Jones then scored himself on a sac fly.

A slick 4-6-3 double play got Sabathia out of another jam in the fourth after he put runners on the corners with one out, but he wasn’t so lucky in the fifth. Roberts led off that inning with a soaring ground-rule double just beyond Brett Gardner’s reach in the right-field gap. After that, the Orioles bled him, scoring three more runs without getting another ball out of the infield.

Jones followed Roberts’ double with a single that tipped off the glove of a diving Cody Ransom, who had been playing in to guard against the bunt. With runners on the corners, Nick Markakis hit a tapper on a hit-and-run to the vacated shortstop position. Derek Jeter was able to get to the ball, but not in time to get an out. That scored Roberts. Melvin Mora followed with a well-hit ball down the left-field line that Ransom was able stop, but didn’t field cleanly, allowing Mora to reach with a bases-loading single. Aubrey Huff then plated Jones and advanced the other runners with a groundout to Cano. With first base open, Joe Girardi had Sabathia intentionally walk righty Ty Wigginton to pitch to lefty Luke Scott with two outs and a force at every base. Sabathia walked Scott, ending his Yankee debut with this line: 4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 0 K.

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Baltimore Orioles

2008 Record: 68-93 (.422)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 73-88 (.451)

Manager: Dave Trembley
General Manager: Andy MacPhail

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Oriole Park at Camden Yards (103/104)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

• Cesar Izturis replaces Juan Castro, Alex Cintron, Freddie Bynum, Luis Hernandez, and Brandon Fahey
• Gregg Zaun replaces Guillermo Quiroz
• Matt Wieters will replace Ramon Hernandez, though for now Chad Moeller has his roster spot.
• Felix Pie and Ryan Freel replace Kevin Millar
• Ty Wigginton replaces Jay Payton
• Robert Andino replaces Luis Montanez (minors)
• Koji Uehara replaces Daniel Cabrera
• Mark Hendrickson replaces Garrett Olson
• Adam Eaton replaces Brian Burres
• Alfredo Simon replaces Radhames Liz (minors) and Chris Waters (minors)
• Chris Ray replaces Chad Bradford (DL) and will soon replace George Sherrill as closer
• Danyz Baez replaces Lance Cormier

25-man Roster:

1B – Aubrey Huff (L)
2B – Brian Roberts (S)
SS – Cesar Izturis (S)
3B – Melvin Mora (R)
C – Gregg Zaun (S)
RF – Nick Markakis (L)
CF – Adam Jones (R)
LF – Felix Pie (L)
DH – Luke Scott (L)

Bench:

R – Ty Wigginton (UT)
R – Ryan Freel (UT)
R – Robert Andino (IF)
R – Chad Moeller (C)

Rotation:

R – Jeremy Guthrie
R – Koji Uehara
R – Alfredo Simon
L – Mark Hendrickson
R – Adam Eaton

Bullpen:

L – George Sherrill
R – Chris Ray
L – Jamie Walker
R – Jim Johnson
R – Danys Baez
R – Matt Albers
R – Dennis Sarfate
R – Brian Bass

15-day DL: LHP – Rich Hill

Projected lineup vs. RHP:

S – Brian Roberts (2B)
R – Adam Jones (CF)
L – Nick Markakis (RF)
L – Aubrey Huff (1B)
R – Melvin Mora (3B)
L – Luke Scott (DH)
S – Gregg Zaun (C)
L – Felix Pie (LF)
S – Cesar Izturis (SS)

Projected lineup vs. LHP:

S – Brian Roberts (2B)
R – Adam Jones (CF)
L – Nick Markakis (RF)
L – Aubrey Huff (1B)
R – Melvin Mora (3B)
R – Ty Wigginton (DH)
S – Gregg Zaun (C)
R – Ryan Freel (LF)
S – Cesar Izturis (SS)

Notes: There are 26 players listed for the O’s 25-man roster because fifth starter Adam Eaton, who was signed to a minor league deal this offseason, won’t be added until just before his first start next week.

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“90 percent of life is just showing up.”  

Woody Allen

I’m happy to have you along for Bronx Banter’s seventh Opening Day.  Whether you’ve been with us for a while or this is your first spring here, welcome. 

A lot has changed since I started this blog in November of 2002.  At that time, baseball blogging was a small world and it wasn’t long before I felt comfortable carving out my own little niche.  Now, there are literally hundreds of blogs devoted to baseball.  I wish I could keep up with half of them.  Some people blog as a hobby while others have more professional aspirations. 

I’ve made a ton of friends since ’02–with journalists, authors, editors, and readers–and am pleased when I see how far some of us Internet-based writers have come.  Emma Span is writing a book; Josh Wilker just signed a deal to write one, and Greg Prince just released a book of his own.  So has Jon Weisman, the tour de force behind Dodger Thoughts, the great team blog that was recently picked-up by the L.A. Times.  Jay Jaffe and the BP crew are appearing at ESPN; Cliff Corcoran and Tim Marchman are featured at SI.com.  Phil Bencomo just launched a terrific-looking new site, and Nate Silver practically runs the world.  Steve Lombardi is at SNY now, and so are we, while River Ave Blues was wisely scooped-up by the good people over at YES. It has been a time of change and I’m proud to be a small part of it, honored to know so many talented people–and I haven’t even mention half of them.

This is Cliff’s fifth Opening Day with me and his continued excellence and dedication helps make the Banter flow.  He provides rock-solid analysis and sharp, passionate observation.  Diane Firstman joined us this off-season and she is nothing short of a pro; her daily posts are insightful, informative and funny.  Bruce Markusen has been a key contributor for years, lending a historical perspective to all things Yankee and otherwise, as well as his deft take on the current state of the team.  And Will Weiss keeps a keen eye on the media and how the coverage of the Yankees has evolved.  Emma Span is our wild card, an irrepressible wit and avid fan, and now that her book is almost complete we hope to see more of her round these parts.

Altogether, I think we provide just the kind of banter I had in mind when I started the site.  I have never aspired to being the end-all-be-all voice, just a thoughtful one in a chorus of lively talk.  I’m no expert.  I am a fan, and I try to capture the experience of what it is like being a Yankee fan living in New York City.  It’s own experience, no better or worse than anyone else’s, but authentically mine.  I’ve been blogging and writing for six-and-a-half years now, and feel as if I am just getting started, just learning how to do it.  I have a small clue about writing.  I certainly have an appreciation of how hard it is to do.

I love people–and I’m still as curious as I was when I begun the site.  I also love good writing, great storytelling, and the game of baseball.  So did Todd Drew, a Bronx Banter contributor who passed away in January.  Todd wanted to be a good writer in the worst way.  His spirit, his engagement in life, in people, in writing, and in the Yankees, is our spirit.  Todd is very much alive, and will be very much with us as we sit back and get ready for the man behind the plate to yell, “Play Ball!”

Yup, Opening Day…Todd would be geeked, no doubt about that.

The last time a sense of newness and expectation this powerful converged with the New York Yankees was 2002. The YES Network had been clear for takeoff — it launched on March 19 on Time Warner Cable and RCN in New York (Cablevision would be left out until March 31 the following year). The major signing was a power-hitting first baseman brought to New York from an American League West stalwart.

This year, a massive new stadium — in size and cost — sets the backdrop for a Yankee team that has brought in another powerful first baseman from the AL West, but two stud pitchers to solidify the starting rotation.

The Yankees opened the 2002 season on a Monday afternoon in April, in Baltimore. The same scenario comes to the fore today. Seven years ago, Roger Clemens took the hill and was tattooed in a 10-3 loss. Clemens injured his pitching hand trying to snare a hard-bouncing ground ball with his bare hand.

What will the outcome be today? Will history repeat itself? Will C.C. Sabathia, the highest-paid pitcher ever, try to barehand a line drive and damage the investment the Yankees have placed in him? Will Mark Teixeira, the topic of much discussion over the weekend, particularly after Saturday’s two-home-run performance, do what Jason Giambi couldn’t: get off to a great start in New York and convince the fans that he can hang in New York?

The greatest differences: the 2002 team, while starkly different than its predecessor, was coming off a Game 7 loss in the World Series and a potential four-peat. This Yankee team, at least in the makeup of its core players, is not that different than last year’s, and is coming off its first playoff absence since 1993.

How about the season? Will history repeat itself there also? The opening-day loss didn’t faze the 2002 group, which went on to finish 103-58 and coasted to a fifth straight AL East title only to get complacent and lose to the Angels in the first round. A 103-58 record is possible, but the intradivision competition is tougher. The Angels lurk again.

From everything I’ve read, seen and heard, I sense the air of purpose from this team is as strong as the Joe Torre championship teams. I’m as curious as the rest of you to see how it all plays out, and I can’t wait.

Today’s news is powered by an Opening Day Yankee Roll Call . . .

• MLB.com reports on Ramiro Pena snagging the final roster spot:

Despite having not played above Double-A Trenton, Pena opened eyes in camp when Derek Jeter left the club for the World Baseball Classic, showcasing a slick glove and a developing bat. Pena batted .277 (18-for-65) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBIs in 30 Spring Training games for New York.

• Joba Chamberlain was quite impressive in his final Spring Training start.
• Will Alex Rodriguez be back on the field by the end of April?:

Alex Rodriguez’s progress in rehab after hip surgery is going so well that he could rejoin the New York Yankees by the end of April.

When Rodriguez underwent hip surgery on March 9, the initial prognosis was for him to miss six to nine weeks. That would have had him returning anywhere from the end of April to the middle of May.

Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long told the New York Post that Rodriguez has begun to hit and “feels 70 percent.” Long speaks with the third baseman daily, the Post reported.

Citing an unnamed team official, the Post also said it’s possible Rodriguez could be back on the field by late April if the Yankees were to support that.

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New York Yankees

2008 Record: 89-73 (.549)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 87-75 (.537)

Manager: Joe Girardi
General Manager: Brian Cashman

Home Ballpark: Yankee Stadium 2.0

Who’s Replacing Whom:

• Yankee Stadium 2.0 replaces Yankee Stadium 1.1
• Mark Teixeira replaces Jason Giambi
• Nick Swisher, Xavier Nady, and Hideki Matsui replace Bobby Abreu
• Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera switch jobs
• Jorge Posada replaces Chad Moeller, Ivan Rodriguez, and hopefully a lot of Jose Molina
• Cody Ransom replaces Wilson Betemit and Morgan Ensberg
• Ramiro Peña replaces Alberto Gonzalez
• CC Sabathia replaces Mike Mussina
• A.J. Burnett replaces Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Carl Pavano
• Chien-Ming Wang replaces Darrell Rasner
• Joba Chamberlain replaces Sidney Ponson
• Brian Bruney replaces Joba Chamberlain’s relief innings
• Damaso Marte replaces Kyle Farnsworth
• Phil Coke replaces LaTroy Hawkins
• Jonathan Albaladejo replaces Ross Ohlendorf

25-man Roster:

1B – Mark Teixeira (S)
2B – Robinson Cano (L)
SS – Derek Jeter (R)
3B – Cody Ransom (R)
C – Jorge Posada (S)
RF – Xavier Nady (R)
CF – Brett Gardner (L)
LF – Johnny Damon (L)
DH – Hideki Matsui (L)

Bench:

S – Nick Swisher (OF/1B)
S – Melky Cabrera (OF)
R – Jose Molina (C)
S – Ramiro Peña (IF)

Rotation:

L – CC Sabathia
R – Chien-Ming Wang
R – A.J. Burnett
L – Andy Pettitte
R – Joba Chamberlain

Bullpen:

R – Mariano Rivera
R – Brian Bruney
L – Damaso Marte
R – Jose Veras
L – Phil Coke
R – Edwar Ramirez
R – Jonathan Albaladejo

15-day DL: 3B – Alex Rodriguez (hip labrum)

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Johnny Damon (LF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Xavier Nady (RF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
L – Brett Gardner (CF)

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The 2009 Major League Baseball season begins in Philadelphia tonight at 8:05 with the first pitch from the Phillies’ Brett Myers to the Braves’ Yunel Escobar. The Phillies are, of course, the defending World Champions and my pick to repeat as the National League pennant winners. The Braves are one of the most improved teams in baseball entering the 2009 season, but one that I still believe will fall short of the playoffs.

The Phillies’ season may hinge on the hinge in their ace’s left arm. Cole Hamels should be starting tonight, but he’s been pushed back to Friday by the elbow inflammation which reared its head in mid-March. If Hamels is unable to make 30 starts this year, that just might open the door for a lesser team such as the Braves to slip into the postseason. A strong season from Myers could help keep the Braves in their place, which provides a nice subtext to tonight’s game. The Braves counter Myers tonight with Derek Lowe, who signed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Braves this winter and will be as important to their season as Hamels is to the Phillies’.

Full rosters below the jump.

Play Ball!

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The talented writer Tommy Craggs has a long profile on the talented second baseman Dustin Pedroia today in Boston Magazine:

Let’s linger for a moment on this word, “scrappy.” It’s a linguistic spitball, this word, scuffed up and coated in foreign substances, and it has bucked and dived across nearly the whole of professional baseball’s history, entering the lexicon at the tag end of the 19th century with one meaning and leaving the next century with quite another.

The first player so labeled was probably John Carroll. He stood 5-foot-7 and played the outfield for the most part, ending his career with Cleveland in 1887. “Scrappy” was his nickname, for reasons now lost to history, though it’s likely it referred to a pugnacious disposition, i.e., he was prone to scraps. It’s difficult to know, though, because the christening of Scrappy Carroll went on behind the back of the Oxford English Dictionary, which locates the first use of “scrappy,” in this sense, in 1895, nearly a decade after Carroll had left the game. According to Jonathan Lighter, editor of The Historical Dictionary of American Slang, this usage of “scrappy” was at least popularized, if not coined, on our baseball diamonds.

“‘Scrappy,’ in those days, meant that you would fight at the drop of a hat,” says John Thorn, editor of Total Baseball.

…”Scrappy” approached the new century, then, as “the consolation prize of baseball adjectives—like saying a girl has a nice sense of humor,” Thorn says. The model was established by the relentlessly overpraised 5-foot-7 shortstop David Eckstein, who had the good fortune of being a slow, limp-armed, dink-and-dunking mediocrity who was not so bad at the plate as to prevent two of his teams from winning the World Series, and who not incidentally is as white as the fresh-fallen snow. Eckstein remains the sort of guy who makes Fox announcers sound like the front row of a Jonas Brothers show. He even won a World Series MVP with the Cardinals in 2006, mostly on the strength of a few doubles, of which at least one would’ve been caught had the Tigers not penciled in the moai of Easter Island in left field. (Poor Craig Monroe is probably still trying to get a read on that line drive.)

And now, in the twilight of Eckstein’s career and at the dawn of the Post-Steroid Era, the mantle has been passed to Pedroia. Today, “scrappy” serves as an implicit rebuke to the super-sized stars of the so-called Steroid Era, in much the same way it once carved out a fatuous distinction between white ballplayers and black and Latino ballplayers—the old spitball dancing once more on baseball’s ill winds. Pedroia has had to endure a lot of facile comparisons to Eckstein, whose game bears as much resemblance to Pedroia’s as it does to Manute Bol’s. Last year, with his big whip of a swing, Pedroia hit a robust .326 and rapped 73 extra-base hits, the 10th-best total all-time for any player 5-foot-9 or shorter. In addition, Pedroia’s 54 doubles came against 52 strikeouts, and he whiffed on only 8 percent of the pitches he swung at. “You used to see those kinds of numbers,” Theo Epstein says. “Like, Joe DiMaggio hit 30 homers and struck out 18 times or something. You don’t see that anymore. …I think [‘scrappy’] is just a convenient label for him. But it doesn’t really define who he is.”

Scrappy or not, Dustin Pedroia can flat-out hit. At least so far he can.

Who will throw out the first pitch in the new Stadium?

Here’s my pick.

Speaking of the sweet science, Sports Illustrated once featured a two-part piece by the great one, A.J. Liebling.  From December, 1955.

The University of Eighth Avenue, part one

The Unviversity of Eighth Avenue, part two