So like two weekends ago I wrote out a post longhand over the weekend with every intention of typing it up and posting it at work that week. Then Jon Lester went and threw a no-hitter, and all my clever bits of insight (including a "Scenes from the Yankees Front Office") seemed a trifle shallow. It's all worth resurrecting at some point, but currently the notebook that contains this post and I are about 1,000 miles apart, so now is not that time.
(On a personal note, I lost luggage somewhere between Charleston and Providence - Reagan Airport is the best guess of where it landed. Keep an eye out, Teddy - my Spice Girls T-shirt is at stake)
I just learned that Ortiz is going on the DL, which means that Man-Ram will probably DH, with an outfield of Ellsbury, Crisp, and Drew. I am very thankful that Coco Crisp was not traded for the sake of trading him, even though I was definitely in that camp this offseason - he wants to start, teams need center fielders, he could bring back value, let's go ahead and trade him!
As for the title of this post, about fifteen minutes ago I walked in on a Fox Sports story about the Lakers-Celtics NBA championship. The graphic that was used to introduce the story was "Rivalry Redux".
KA-CHING!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Lots of Things, So Little Time
I haven't posted in a while, needless to say my job has been misery of late, but I won't get into that right now. So the Yanks are hovering around .500, the Red Sox are in 2nd place, but more impressively the Rays are in first place. I thought I'd catch up on stuff that happened in May and then look forward to a week of work before taking a vacation.
Team and Player Celebrations
Delluci homers and puts the Tribe up over the Yanks off Joba Chamberlain. The next day Joba strikes out Delluci and pumps his fist. Delluci is offended and then Don Larson is, and now baseball's celebrations are out of hand. Short of rules that prohibit celebrating anything (as it is in the NFL of late), to me baseball's antics after a homerun or a strikeout are downright cliche these days.
Now Joba's not the first to do this pumping of fists after striking someone out. I recall Randy Johnson doing it frequently and he's going to the Hall of Fame, but no one's been on his case about it of late. This whole thing's relative to what other things go on in the game. Do I think players and teams are wrong for celebrating stuff and going over the top? Not really, mainly due to what our culture is these days.
The fact of the matter is, these things are almost expected today. Yes, baseball has a tradition of players not watching homeruns leave the yard from home plate or throwing your helmet off as you round third on a walk off homerun. Quite frankly, lots of things lose tradition and there will be more celebrations and so on. The only thing that can be done is if baseball fines players or bans them from certain types of behavior on the field.
Those Rays
Yes, the AL East is in bizarro fashion right now. SI has a great comic book-type cover depicting it. Since this blog is not about the Rays, I have to say it's great to see a young team with lots of talent just shocking everyone right now. The last fews years the team building concept went from Moneyball to replenishing your farm system. We've seen the Indians, Brewers, D'Backs, and now the Rays do this, and they've all done well one year or another the last five seasons or so.
This is a Yankee fan posting, but honestly it would be nice to see the Rays have a winning season and even make the playoffs. I'm not saying I wish the Sox or Yanks do not make it, but like tradition everyone figured the Rays would have another bad year (okay, not everyone, but anyone who did you had to think was going out on a limb). I believe they are the real deal, and even if they don't make the playoffs, they should have a winning record and be able to compete in the AL East the next few years.
Games I went to
My final notes here are that I'm really enjoying going to games this year, especially when--here it comes--I haven't been following this season as closely as I usually do. I went to a game in Petco and that is a nice field. Huge concorses, a nice green space in the OF, but food was a lot (more than Yankee stadium, yes, wait until the new Yankee stadium is open next year).
I was also at Yankee Stadium for my first game this year. I'm really going to miss that stadium and as the drunk fan in front of me said, "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with this stadium, it's a classic." I do have to agree, but this stadium is merely a sign of the times and Geore Steinbrenner's last addition to the organization.
Anyhow, I leave you with a video I took of Joba Chamberlain, who between innings I caught on video lip singing with Eminem. Check it out, May's review to come soon.
By the way, if anyone knows a Rays fan, an actual one, please let me know. That'd be a first for me to hear of.
Team and Player Celebrations
Delluci homers and puts the Tribe up over the Yanks off Joba Chamberlain. The next day Joba strikes out Delluci and pumps his fist. Delluci is offended and then Don Larson is, and now baseball's celebrations are out of hand. Short of rules that prohibit celebrating anything (as it is in the NFL of late), to me baseball's antics after a homerun or a strikeout are downright cliche these days.
Now Joba's not the first to do this pumping of fists after striking someone out. I recall Randy Johnson doing it frequently and he's going to the Hall of Fame, but no one's been on his case about it of late. This whole thing's relative to what other things go on in the game. Do I think players and teams are wrong for celebrating stuff and going over the top? Not really, mainly due to what our culture is these days.
The fact of the matter is, these things are almost expected today. Yes, baseball has a tradition of players not watching homeruns leave the yard from home plate or throwing your helmet off as you round third on a walk off homerun. Quite frankly, lots of things lose tradition and there will be more celebrations and so on. The only thing that can be done is if baseball fines players or bans them from certain types of behavior on the field.
Those Rays
Yes, the AL East is in bizarro fashion right now. SI has a great comic book-type cover depicting it. Since this blog is not about the Rays, I have to say it's great to see a young team with lots of talent just shocking everyone right now. The last fews years the team building concept went from Moneyball to replenishing your farm system. We've seen the Indians, Brewers, D'Backs, and now the Rays do this, and they've all done well one year or another the last five seasons or so.
This is a Yankee fan posting, but honestly it would be nice to see the Rays have a winning season and even make the playoffs. I'm not saying I wish the Sox or Yanks do not make it, but like tradition everyone figured the Rays would have another bad year (okay, not everyone, but anyone who did you had to think was going out on a limb). I believe they are the real deal, and even if they don't make the playoffs, they should have a winning record and be able to compete in the AL East the next few years.
Games I went to
My final notes here are that I'm really enjoying going to games this year, especially when--here it comes--I haven't been following this season as closely as I usually do. I went to a game in Petco and that is a nice field. Huge concorses, a nice green space in the OF, but food was a lot (more than Yankee stadium, yes, wait until the new Yankee stadium is open next year).
I was also at Yankee Stadium for my first game this year. I'm really going to miss that stadium and as the drunk fan in front of me said, "I don't know what the fuck is wrong with this stadium, it's a classic." I do have to agree, but this stadium is merely a sign of the times and Geore Steinbrenner's last addition to the organization.
Anyhow, I leave you with a video I took of Joba Chamberlain, who between innings I caught on video lip singing with Eminem. Check it out, May's review to come soon.
By the way, if anyone knows a Rays fan, an actual one, please let me know. That'd be a first for me to hear of.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Rivalry Re-Redux
In an effor to land on our feet in the Topsy-Turvy world of the AL East, we will be changing the format of this blog. While it will still be a rivarly blog, I will now be representing the interests of the Tampa Bay Rays, while Teddy will be toeing the rubber for the Baltimore Orioles.
Keep an eye out next week for these posts:
The Greatest Rays' Center Fielder of All-Time: B.J. Upton or Ice Williams?
The Baltimore Orioles: The Three Guys on the Team I've Heard Of
Enjoy the weekend!
Keep an eye out next week for these posts:
The Greatest Rays' Center Fielder of All-Time: B.J. Upton or Ice Williams?
The Baltimore Orioles: The Three Guys on the Team I've Heard Of
Enjoy the weekend!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Anniversary
Good-gosh-golly-geez. A year already? I remember those heady early days, when I was blogging at a Fast and Furious pace that Vin Diesel would have been proud of, before coasting into a Tokyo Drift of not posting.
Well, I ain't back up to my old pace yet, but I should be good for once a week, at least.
I haven't been able to catch many games this year (though I do thank Buffalo South on Folly Road for realizing that there weren't really that many people interested in the NHL playoffs) nor am I playing in a fantasy league this year, so I feel a little less plugged in than I usually would.
Also, that second World Series in 4 years does take some of the bite out of a guy. Yes, I know the Yankees have still out-championed the Red Sox by a margin three times the distance of a Johnny Damon throw from the outfield, but it's nice to have some of the desperation seep away.
After 2003, I had promised myself that if the Red Sox did not win the World Series by the time I turned 30, I would turn my back on baseball. Now, I don't know if I would have followed through on that (and I won't have to) but having recently turned 29, I remembed that vow, and had the Sox lived up to their historical reputation, I could be looking at my self-imposed final year as a fan. No real point there, just reflecting.
Three of four from the Tigers last week was nice - we're all still waiting for the Tigers' offense (which was supposed to be a hybrid between the '27 Yankees, Big Red Machine teams of the '70s and the Thundercats) to come together. They'll straighten out and score a bunch of runs this year, but have already missed the expectations put on them. It was nice to get those games taken care of early.
The Sox are going for a split against the Twins - another 3 out of 4 would have been nice, but Wake's flutterball apparently betrayed him last night. I mean, a home run for Adam Everett? Did the rapture happen last night and I missed it?
The Sox pitching staff is something I'm still struggling to hold in my head. Oh, Beckett and Wakefield are known quantities. And I did learn that "Matsuzaka" apparently means "Crossing Guard", in Japanese, which explains why Dice-K walks as many as he does.
Jon Lester has the same problem with racking up the free passes. Every good young lefty prospect is invariably compared to either Randy Johnson or Tom Glavine. Since Lester is not mulletted sasquatch with a howitzer for a left arm, he falls into the latter camp. He'll need to get those control numbers looking better if he wants that to stick.
Although both Dice-K and Lester are prone to One Bad Inning Syndrome (OBIS), fortunately they do not use this to go into a Derek Lowe/Aaron Selesque form of shellshock, resulting in crooked number upon crooked number flying up on the scoreboard until their manager goes all 8 Belles on them. (Too soon?)
Clay Buchholz has lost when he's pitched great, lost when he's been awful, won when he pitched great, and won when he pitched okay, and has a mess of no-decisions. It still doesn't tell me a lot about the guy.
Insurance policy Julian Tavarez was designated for assignement today. If you don't already know, Tavarez and Manny are BFFs. They go all the way back to the Indians farm system in the '90s. Without looking, I'm sure the Boston media has drawn straws so that half of them can write the "Manny pouts" story, while the other half takes the whole "If nobody tells him, will Manny even notice? Will they just tell him that Mike Timlin is Tavarez? Oh, that Manny being Manny on Planet Manny - that's so Manny" angle.
I think what will happen is that the Yankees will sign Tavarez, so that along with Farnsworth and Hawkins they will have the Holy Trinity of erratic right-handed setup men. Then, when the Yankees next play in Boston, Manny can sit out the game with "the flu" and then meet up with Tavarez for drinks after the game.
What I'm waiting for is the 300-style cavalry - and yes, I just referenced my least-favorite movie in the entirety of space and time, but it's apt - by which I mean, the elephantine cavalry.
Yes, there are Curt Schilling jokes to be mined there, and I am including him in the cavalry - but I don't know if he'll even pitch this year. No, what I'm waiting for is...
(gulp)
I can't believe I'm about to type this...
Bartolo Colon
I may not have dispensed any vitriol on the man in this space before, but Teddy can certainly attest that I have long been not a Bartolo Colon fan. By which I mean that I actively went out of way to hate on the man. I used a lot of "over" words. Overpaid, overweight, and (most especially) overrated.
When I first heard that he'd been signed, I figured they were going to stencil Goodyear on his side and use him to get aerial shots of Fenway.
Theo Epstein characterized this as a low-risk, high-reward investment. The risk in dollars is certainly low, as for the reward...
Shockingly, he's looked really good in his minor league rehab starts. So suddenly I am faced with the prospect of having to actively root for Bartolo Colon. I've been trying to find another comparable shifting of loyalties and come up blank. Any suggestions?
Well, I ain't back up to my old pace yet, but I should be good for once a week, at least.
I haven't been able to catch many games this year (though I do thank Buffalo South on Folly Road for realizing that there weren't really that many people interested in the NHL playoffs) nor am I playing in a fantasy league this year, so I feel a little less plugged in than I usually would.
Also, that second World Series in 4 years does take some of the bite out of a guy. Yes, I know the Yankees have still out-championed the Red Sox by a margin three times the distance of a Johnny Damon throw from the outfield, but it's nice to have some of the desperation seep away.
After 2003, I had promised myself that if the Red Sox did not win the World Series by the time I turned 30, I would turn my back on baseball. Now, I don't know if I would have followed through on that (and I won't have to) but having recently turned 29, I remembed that vow, and had the Sox lived up to their historical reputation, I could be looking at my self-imposed final year as a fan. No real point there, just reflecting.
Three of four from the Tigers last week was nice - we're all still waiting for the Tigers' offense (which was supposed to be a hybrid between the '27 Yankees, Big Red Machine teams of the '70s and the Thundercats) to come together. They'll straighten out and score a bunch of runs this year, but have already missed the expectations put on them. It was nice to get those games taken care of early.
The Sox are going for a split against the Twins - another 3 out of 4 would have been nice, but Wake's flutterball apparently betrayed him last night. I mean, a home run for Adam Everett? Did the rapture happen last night and I missed it?
The Sox pitching staff is something I'm still struggling to hold in my head. Oh, Beckett and Wakefield are known quantities. And I did learn that "Matsuzaka" apparently means "Crossing Guard", in Japanese, which explains why Dice-K walks as many as he does.
Jon Lester has the same problem with racking up the free passes. Every good young lefty prospect is invariably compared to either Randy Johnson or Tom Glavine. Since Lester is not mulletted sasquatch with a howitzer for a left arm, he falls into the latter camp. He'll need to get those control numbers looking better if he wants that to stick.
Although both Dice-K and Lester are prone to One Bad Inning Syndrome (OBIS), fortunately they do not use this to go into a Derek Lowe/Aaron Selesque form of shellshock, resulting in crooked number upon crooked number flying up on the scoreboard until their manager goes all 8 Belles on them. (Too soon?)
Clay Buchholz has lost when he's pitched great, lost when he's been awful, won when he pitched great, and won when he pitched okay, and has a mess of no-decisions. It still doesn't tell me a lot about the guy.
Insurance policy Julian Tavarez was designated for assignement today. If you don't already know, Tavarez and Manny are BFFs. They go all the way back to the Indians farm system in the '90s. Without looking, I'm sure the Boston media has drawn straws so that half of them can write the "Manny pouts" story, while the other half takes the whole "If nobody tells him, will Manny even notice? Will they just tell him that Mike Timlin is Tavarez? Oh, that Manny being Manny on Planet Manny - that's so Manny" angle.
I think what will happen is that the Yankees will sign Tavarez, so that along with Farnsworth and Hawkins they will have the Holy Trinity of erratic right-handed setup men. Then, when the Yankees next play in Boston, Manny can sit out the game with "the flu" and then meet up with Tavarez for drinks after the game.
What I'm waiting for is the 300-style cavalry - and yes, I just referenced my least-favorite movie in the entirety of space and time, but it's apt - by which I mean, the elephantine cavalry.
Yes, there are Curt Schilling jokes to be mined there, and I am including him in the cavalry - but I don't know if he'll even pitch this year. No, what I'm waiting for is...
(gulp)
I can't believe I'm about to type this...
Bartolo Colon
I may not have dispensed any vitriol on the man in this space before, but Teddy can certainly attest that I have long been not a Bartolo Colon fan. By which I mean that I actively went out of way to hate on the man. I used a lot of "over" words. Overpaid, overweight, and (most especially) overrated.
When I first heard that he'd been signed, I figured they were going to stencil Goodyear on his side and use him to get aerial shots of Fenway.
Theo Epstein characterized this as a low-risk, high-reward investment. The risk in dollars is certainly low, as for the reward...
Shockingly, he's looked really good in his minor league rehab starts. So suddenly I am faced with the prospect of having to actively root for Bartolo Colon. I've been trying to find another comparable shifting of loyalties and come up blank. Any suggestions?
Happy Anniversary (to us)!!
Over the weekend this blog celebrated its one year anniversary. This is certainly viewed as a success considering Doug and I tried this idea a few years ago and nothing happened (we didn't blog much). But now we're wiser in our baseball knowledge and putting our thoughts down when we can.
We appreciate those of you who read us and encourage you to tell your baseball--Yankee and Red Sox friends about this blog. We're looking forward to the next year of blogging!
We appreciate those of you who read us and encourage you to tell your baseball--Yankee and Red Sox friends about this blog. We're looking forward to the next year of blogging!
Monday, May 5, 2008
There Will Be Blood
This is awful.
For once, I'm not getting melodramatic about anything that happened on the field, but rather something that happened off of it. According to a story at espn.com, a Yankee fan killed a Red Sox fan over a - what else? - Red Sox/Yankees argument.
I can't let this go without at least one quip - namely, that maybe this is a good time to retire the insufferable "Yankees Suck!" chant - but really, this is a situation to be dead serious about.
Hey, Teddy and I are proof positive that Red Sox and Yankees fans can exist in harmony without raised voices and certainly without bloodshed.
I'll write something a little more topical to the state of the Sox later on, but just felt the need to say something about this while it was fresh on my mind.
For once, I'm not getting melodramatic about anything that happened on the field, but rather something that happened off of it. According to a story at espn.com, a Yankee fan killed a Red Sox fan over a - what else? - Red Sox/Yankees argument.
I can't let this go without at least one quip - namely, that maybe this is a good time to retire the insufferable "Yankees Suck!" chant - but really, this is a situation to be dead serious about.
Hey, Teddy and I are proof positive that Red Sox and Yankees fans can exist in harmony without raised voices and certainly without bloodshed.
I'll write something a little more topical to the state of the Sox later on, but just felt the need to say something about this while it was fresh on my mind.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Hindsight and Foresight: Yankees April Review, May Preview
This post isn't the one you have been waiting for. Much to my pleasant suprise Doug posted an entry on here and I didn't see it until a couple days later after which I pumped my fist in the air. Welcome back and I'm sure we'll see more coming!
But here from me is the seasons first Hindsight and Foresight which is now a monthly installment. I'm going to play around with how I write these. There will be stats and comments, and I'll throw my two cents in on decisions, quotes, and so forth. Anything I've posted on during the month already I'll just lead you back to what I wrote or if I have anything new to say, I'll just say it. So let's just get into this.
Hindsight: April Review
April was a tough month to watch. The new pitching combination of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy failed to produce a win. The offense struggled. Injuries crept up on key players. And Hank Steinbrenner in his father's fashion blasted the team for not starting Joba (and clarified his comments later on). Was this a typical April in the Bronx?
Fans shouldn't be suprised with the lackluster and mediocre start by the Yankees in April. Here's how the last five April's have gone for the Yankees in terms of their record:
2008: 14-15
2007: 9-14
2006: 13-10 (tied first place with Boston)
2005: 10-14
2004: 12-11
Can the Pope be blamed for some of this? Well, the Yankees only had 11 home games because of his visit to Yankee Stadium. But they only won five of these games. Overall, the Yankees failed to put any sort of winning streak together. They hit three wins in a row twice and subsequently lose three in a row after both of those streaks. They won three series against teams (Toronto, Chicago, and Tampa Bay), split three (Boston, Tampa Bay and Cleveland), and lost the other three series (Kansas City, Boston, and Baltimore--I'm not counting Detroit which ended in May).
April Stats
W-L: 14-15
RS/RA: 125/133
Offense (AVG/OBP/SLG): .255/.324/.411
Pitching (ERA/Whip/K per 9/BAA): 4.56/1.41/6.55/.269
Who's Hot: Hideki Matsui was off to a .322/.425/.511/4 HR/13 RBI start
Who's Not: Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy (0-6 combined, each with ERAs over 8.00, more on this), also Robinson Cano is off to a terrible start (.151/.211/.236)
My Yankee of April: Although Matsui is great out of the gate, Melky Cabrera has been showing power early hitting 5 HRs (8 is his career high) and actually had more RBIs than Matsui (15).
Notes on Offense
Foresight: May
The Yanks will has six series at home and four on the road in May. There are some key match ups against Detroit, Cleveland, the Mets, and Baltimore. Right now the offense is showing some signs of waking up and hopefully when A-Rod is back will be in full swing. The pitching is what is most concerning. While Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina are holding the line they could all have a bad month. Look for Kennedy to be sent to the minors and for spots starts from Rasner, Karstens, Henn, and dare I say it--Igawa.
But here from me is the seasons first Hindsight and Foresight which is now a monthly installment. I'm going to play around with how I write these. There will be stats and comments, and I'll throw my two cents in on decisions, quotes, and so forth. Anything I've posted on during the month already I'll just lead you back to what I wrote or if I have anything new to say, I'll just say it. So let's just get into this.
Hindsight: April Review
April was a tough month to watch. The new pitching combination of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy failed to produce a win. The offense struggled. Injuries crept up on key players. And Hank Steinbrenner in his father's fashion blasted the team for not starting Joba (and clarified his comments later on). Was this a typical April in the Bronx?
Fans shouldn't be suprised with the lackluster and mediocre start by the Yankees in April. Here's how the last five April's have gone for the Yankees in terms of their record:
2008: 14-15
2007: 9-14
2006: 13-10 (tied first place with Boston)
2005: 10-14
2004: 12-11
Can the Pope be blamed for some of this? Well, the Yankees only had 11 home games because of his visit to Yankee Stadium. But they only won five of these games. Overall, the Yankees failed to put any sort of winning streak together. They hit three wins in a row twice and subsequently lose three in a row after both of those streaks. They won three series against teams (Toronto, Chicago, and Tampa Bay), split three (Boston, Tampa Bay and Cleveland), and lost the other three series (Kansas City, Boston, and Baltimore--I'm not counting Detroit which ended in May).
April Stats
W-L: 14-15
RS/RA: 125/133
Offense (AVG/OBP/SLG): .255/.324/.411
Pitching (ERA/Whip/K per 9/BAA): 4.56/1.41/6.55/.269
Who's Hot: Hideki Matsui was off to a .322/.425/.511/4 HR/13 RBI start
Who's Not: Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy (0-6 combined, each with ERAs over 8.00, more on this), also Robinson Cano is off to a terrible start (.151/.211/.236)
My Yankee of April: Although Matsui is great out of the gate, Melky Cabrera has been showing power early hitting 5 HRs (8 is his career high) and actually had more RBIs than Matsui (15).
Notes on Offense
- The Yankee offense scored only 4.3 runs/game in April
- Bobby Abreu known for a good batting eye, walked only 8 times against 24 strike outs.
- Robinson Cano, known as a "slow first half" player had his worst April to date. In the last two years he was hitting over .300 and then dropped off only to pick it up in the second half of the season. His rythm is off at the plate and he looks uncomfortable swinging.
- Jason Giambi isn't cutting it at first base. I have no stats to share on this, but after watching a few games he'll have to platoon more with someone else at first and DH (I just don't know if Duncan or Betemit's gloves are that much better though).
Notes on Pitching
- The Yankees will just have to deal with Kennedy and Hughes' poor starts. Hughes is now injured (more on in a bit), but both did not show any command on the mound. Kennedy has consistently worked behind in the count leading to lots of hits (10.9/nine innings) and walks (8.05/nine innings). Three of Hughes' starts lasted no more than 4 innings pitched. Just check out his game log.
- A bright spot is how quickly Mike Mussina has reinvented himself. See I knew that Stanford degree would come in handy again. Asked to pitch more like a "Jamie Moyer", Mussina has done just that throwing more breaking stuff and not relying as much on his fastball which got him in trouble a lot last year.
- In the bullpen LaTroy Hawkins is looking like the twin of Kyle Farnsworth. Hawkins has allowed every runner that was on base when he came in the game to score. Don't you think in his wind up he gives away his pitch (he doesn't cover the ball with his glove)?
- What's up with Wang? 6.23 K's/nine innings! We'll see if this holds up.
Injuries
Well, I noted this the other day before even more injuries came into play. Lots of injuries are going to put the Yankees in a precarious position this early in the season. To note:
- Brian Bruney tore something called a lisfrac in his foot. After getting three opinions, he is going to try to rehab and avoid season ending surgery. He won't be back until the second half at best.
- Wilson Betemit is recovering from pink eye and is playing in the minors right now.
- Phil Hughes somehow has a stress fracture in his ribs and is out until July. This is bringing back memories of Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano. Again, not an arm injury so no one's freaking out yet.
- Alex Rodriguez as I suspected has a grade 2 tear in his quad. He just needs rest, but his bat will be missed the next two weeks. Let's hope this isn't a lingering problem during the year--don't rush him back.
- Jorge Posada was probably the worst injury of all since he's never been on the DL and the Molina, Moeller combo behind the plate is weak at best. As reported by BP's Will Carroll, from MRIs Posada has a strained rotator cuff. They are getting multiple opinions, but the only way to know if anything serious is torn would be to open him up and look. Likely, he's going to miss 6 weeks and rehab the shoulder. However, if problems throwing still persist, expect him to be DHing a lot.
Foresight: May
The Yanks will has six series at home and four on the road in May. There are some key match ups against Detroit, Cleveland, the Mets, and Baltimore. Right now the offense is showing some signs of waking up and hopefully when A-Rod is back will be in full swing. The pitching is what is most concerning. While Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina are holding the line they could all have a bad month. Look for Kennedy to be sent to the minors and for spots starts from Rasner, Karstens, Henn, and dare I say it--Igawa.
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