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After Phil Hughes was brilliant 2 nights ago, Joba Chamberlain came out and was determined to match his fellow prospect-hurler. For the first time in a while, Joba was efficient, and able to throw a solid 7 innings with 6 K’s and surrendered only 3 hits. Don’t think for a second that this was a coincidence - Joba completely realizes that his “aura” has been lost since he’s turned into a starter, and he’s looked more like Clark Kent than Superman. His breaking ball was on point, the velocity was back, and he was producing 1-2-3 innings as if he was back in the 8th. Maybe, just maybe, this could be a productive booster for Joba, especially if Hughes continues to make his presence known in the major leagues. There’s no question that Hughes has the stuff to stay here, the big unknown is 2 things - health and consistency.

Along with the big outing by Joba, the Yanks put together a biiiiiiig inning of offense for the 2nd straight game. Two jacks by Swish, Matsui has been heating up and showed it by driving in 3, and Damon had a 2-4 game with an RBI.

Another thing to note is that this kid Ramiro Pena has got game. Everytime I see a ball hit to him, he swallows it up with no problem and makes a perfect, strong throw to first. There’s no question in my mind that he will be the future shorstop on this team, but when will this transition happen? It’s a difficult thing when the face of the franchise has lost a couple of steps, but I know that Jete will do what’s best for the team, since he has ALWAYS put the team before himself. So let’s examine the options. Option 1 - Jeter moves to centerfield (like Robin Yount), Gardner and/or Austin Jackson plays left, and Pena slides right into short. Option 2 - Jeter moves to leftfield (least difficult to play) and again Pena slides into short (plus Damon/Matsui will be gone after this year so that opens up a spot). Option 3 - Jeter moves to thirdbase, Pena at short, and A-Rod becomes the full-time DH. This change will probably not take place until next year (at the earliest), so keep an eye on the situation.

Tonight Burnett will take on the dreaded Angels, who have absolutely owned us since Scioscia took over as their manager. Since the Yanks have some momentum leaving Detroit, and we’re coming back home, I would expect A.J. to throw a very good game and set the tone early. This is the year that we need to kill the demons that we’ve had to deal with from the Angels for years, and it can start with a shut-down start tonight. My last thing to note - Mo, get it together. I don’t care how many cutters or fastballs you throw to a batter, but DO NOT lay them right over the plate. You’re an all-time great, but you’re not invincible - be more careful please.

Hey folks - I apologize for not posting over the last few days, I was under the weather last week. With that said, I am absolutely disgusted with what happened over the weekend at Fenway. If you told me that Mo was gonna blow a 4-2 lead in the 9th in game 1, and Burnett was gonna blow a 6-0 lead in game 2, I would’ve laughed right in your face. I don’t know what happened, but we gotta bounce back in the next series against Detroit immediately. You can’t give Boston any inch of hope, or else they’ll battle back and kill you. I’m sure we’ll get straigtened out, but it’s just a punch to the gut when you get swept in the house of your arch-rival.

In addition to the bad series, Brian Bruney has been lost to the 15-day DL, which hopefully isn’t a bad injury - the guy has been lights out in the bullpen, so it’s a damn shame. However, this now opens the door for the very promising young hurler, Mark Melancon. Since spring-training, I’ve been talking about this kid, and how he may possibly be the next great one to come up. How many times have we seen a player get hurt, and then all of a sudden a guy like Joba comes up and the rest is history. We will find out what he’s got in the next few weeks, and then assess how the bullpen looks once again. Ransom was also put on the DL, but he wasn’t doing much to begin with. Alex Rodriguez will be back soon, and Pena can play anywhere with that vaccuum-glove he’s got.

Tonight we take on Justin Verlander, who has been an utter disgrace since last year when he completely imploded. This is a kid who won 18 games 2 years ago, and 17 games the year before that, but suddenly he’s just lost his focus. It’s a little similar to Wang, except Wang was on his way to having another dominant year before getting hurt last season. The Tigers have a very good line-up, but their pitching is just a mess, so we should at least take 2 out of 3 in this series. Sabathia will throw tonight, and it would be nice to see him go out there and give us a quality/deep start.

Let’s go big guy.

So the Yanks have now started 7-6 through their first 13 games, and there’s been a few very ugly losses. However, with the exception of Wang, the pitching performances have been solid. Now Wang needs to work on a lot of things, and I’m hoping he can now understand what everyone in the world seems to know - you MUST change speeds and mix up your pitches. You cannot force the sinker OVER and OVER until you are pounded right out of the game. I’m sure it’s a combination of a few things - arm slot, diminished leg strength from the injury, and a mental slip. As usual, A.J. Burnett rebounded with another good outing, only giving up a couple of runs and the team was able to rally to win that game (with the help of replay).

The Yanks will take on Oakland tonight (pending rain) and Dandy Andy steps onto the mound against Dana Eveland. I think what we really need to do is string a few together, because so far it’s been kind of up and down - we’re ready for a nice sweep at home. We certainly have enough pitching to shut down the Athletics, and their pitching does not scare me one bit. Giambi will probably get a nice cheer from the crowd, as he did have his big moments here - he really should’ve won a couple championships if it wasn’t for the brutal losses in 03′-04′. 

Now we move on to the issue that has left many perplexed - the “new” Yankee Stadium. I’m not sure what brought this on, or if anyone in the organization was aware before building it, but it’s suddenly become an imitation of Coors Field. Twenty home runs in 4 games, what is that?! There are routine fly-balls souring out of the stadium, and it’s looking as if it could be a year-long problem unless the team addresses it immediately. Don’t get me wrong, it helps us too, but you don’t want a Coors Field in the Bronx. It was built like the old stadium, and this place was intended to play the same way, so the organization needs to take a looong look.

As you all know, the memories begin at the new stadium today, and C.C. Sabathia will throw the first real pitch against Grady Sizemore, his former teammate. A.J. Burnett was phenomenal the other night, and Andy was solid yesterday, so let’s hope that C.C. delivers the same type of performance to open up the stadium. It’s gonna be a packed crowd on hand, and all the greats will be in attendance. It’s supposed to be a good-weather weekend (along with today), so everyone just sit back and enjoy the luxury that is Yankee baseball.

I will be at tomorrow’s game, so I’ll report back to you all on Monday how great the experience was there - GO YANKS!

Yikes. The Wanger does not look good. Here’s the thing though - he hasn’t pitched in a long time, and spring-training is not real baseball games. Remember a couple of things: 1. Wang was in a major rhthym and on his way to having a huge season before getting hurt last year; 2. He’s probably playing a mental-game with himself and thinking too much about reinjuring his foot. As long as he’s healthy (which he and everyone says he is), he will be back to the Wang we know - it’s gonna take some time though. It may even take a month before he’s really comfortable pitching in regular-season games against good teams.

How much more can we say about Nick Swisher? The guy just keeps on clobbering the ball, and it doesn’t matter which side he’s hitting from. Last night he hit one right-handed into the seats off Kazmir, and he just looks so relaxed at the plate (take some notes A-Rod). God-willing, if we get back to the post-season, Swish will come up big. You can just tell.

A.J. Burnett will take the mound tonight for his 2nd start as a Yankee, and he’ll face another young and talented hurler, Matt Garza. This has the potential to be a great duel, one of those 1-0, 2-1 games. Last time Burnett started, he ended a losing-streak for us, so let’s hope he repeats that in Tampa. You can bet on one thing - we will not get destroyed like last night, it’s extremely unlikely. Let’s go A.J.!

Happy Monday to everyone, it was a very eventful first week of baseball! We begin this week with our beloved Bombers at 3-3, but yesterday was extremely bothersome because we had that win in the palm of our hands and should be 4-2. I reailze that Phil Coke gave up the big hits to lose it, but he’s a young kid and was bound to have a real bad outing (happens to everyone). What really was to blame was the way that Girardi managed that game - he made too many moves with the bullpen, and over-thought the situation. Veras did walk a batter, but he should’ve probably been given the opportunity to get the next guy - after all, he does have more major league experience than Coke and has been in a bunch of tight spots already. So it was unfortunate, cause we had a great rally in the 7th, took the lead, and you know Mo would’ve come in and shut the door in the 9th.

Some positives to take from the weekend - C.C. was excellent and looked to be back on track, Joba was attacking the strike zone much better and may have learned to harness his stuff a bit, Swisher continues to prove how great an addition he is, and Posada is hitting all over the place (looks healthy). Also, with the exception of yesterday, the bullpen has been very good overall.

Tonight we hope that Wang can rebound and get to where he needs to be. He cannot force the sinker if it’s not working, and he cannot leave the ball up. Mix up your pitches, change speeds, throw strikes, and you will keep your team in the game, period. He will face Scott Kazmir in Tampa, who can also be erratic at times. He owns Boston, but he’s only 4-4 against us, so we can hit him if we’re patient enough. Lay off the slider out of the zone, sit on the fastball, and we’ll be just fine.

P.S.    Josh Beckett’s a loud-mouth punk.

I know, I know…the world is gonna end because the New York Yankees have started the season 0-2, with both pitchers getting hit around like single-A scrubs. Everyone take a deeeeep breath, and try to relax. It’s a marathon, not a sprint (as the old cliche goes), and we got 160 more of these to go. However, there is something that concerns me, and it’s about Wang’s inability to adjust. It seems over the last couple of years, when his sinker isn’t working well, he continues to force it and ends up getting clobbered because the ball stays up in the zone with not enough velocity. He’s gotta stop doing this, or it’s gonna be a long year for him. Burnett was trying to help him in spring-training, and specifically told him to change speeds and mix up his pitches, especially when the sinker isn’t on. Hope you learned your lesson Wanger.

On a brighter note, captain Jeter has started the 09′ season in fantastic form, including a 2-run homer yesterday and went 2-4. He looks very comfortable in that lead-off spot, so maybe that move by Girardi will pay off. As long as he holds his own at shortstop, he’ll be A-O.K. It was also nice to see Tex come through with a big hit in the 9th, and almost rallied the Bombers back from being down 6 runs. The final positive was that the bullpen did a pretty solid job after the 7 runs were surrendered.

Today Mr. Burnett takes the mound in his pinstripe-debut, and I truly feel like he will come through big. He doesn’t seem to be phased by the whole “being in the spotlight” thing, in fact I think he embraces it. Not to mention the fact that he’s 3-0 at Camden Yards, and pitches tremendously against the A.L. East. As we all know, A.J. has ace-stuff when he’s in a groove, and not many have better stuff in baseball. So let’s all sit back, relax, and enjoy the game today - keep your head up.

There wasn’t much to report yesterday in Yankeeland, but today we move on from that brutal opening day peformance, as Chien-Ming Wang faces the O’s at Camden Yards around 7:05 pm (EST). The sinker-ball throwing Bomber will be going against Koji Uehara, who formally was an ace on the Yomiuri Giants. We haven’t seen this guy yet obviously, so it should be an interesting match-up tonight. I think Wang will do his job, and we’ll rebound with a good game. You always want to start the season by winning the first series, and as we know, getting off to a fast start is something critical for the Yankees of late.

Going back to the first game, there were actually a few positives to take from it - Swisher came up with a big pinch-hitting double (going the other way), and he was clapping and getting the team pumped up for a come-back. This is exactly the kind of stuff a winning team needs, and he will fit in extremely well. Albaladejo also had a nice outing, coming out of the bullpen pretty early and did what he was asked. Finally, Posada and Matsui both went deep, which is very encouraging when you take into account the age/injury factor.

Last on Wednesday’s agenda will be the hard-throwing rebel, Joba Chamberlain. Now I realize that he may have offended a few people with his comments connected to the intoxicated-video which recently leaked, but you can’t go too crazy about it. He obviously still has some growing up to do, and I’m sure he wasn’t looking to insult Yogi (after all, he is a short guy), nor was he looking to insult Yankee fans. What’s more disconcerning is the fact that he drove under the influence, and had an open bottle of Crown Royale in his car. My other point related to this issue, is that Joba Chamberlain’s building his baseball legacy in the shape of a rebel. He’s got the long side-burns, he throws gas, he pumps his fist when he gets a big out, he’s a big guy, and now he’s caught partying a little too hard. I’m telling you, he would fit right in with those 70’s teams, and maybe that’s not such a bad thing to have. It’s nice to have players like that (i.e. David Wells, Jim Leyritz, Reggie Jackson), because it could toughen the team up a bit more and get them playing the right way. Let’s face it, the team’s been comprised of wayyyy too many soft players over the past few years.

Well, it’s Monday, it’s raining across the country, but maybe we’ll get some baseball in?! Already there’s been a few games postponed, but the Bombers look as if they will be able to get the game in, since it’s only scattered showers and warm over in Baltimore. As if you didn’t already know, it’s gonna be C.C. Sabathia taking on Jeremy Guthrie, both of which are under the age of 30. I know what you’re thinking - this stinks with the bad weather, but hey, we had snow back in 1996 when Andy took the mound as a rookie! That season turned out pretty well for everyone.

As promised, I will deliver to you my predictions for the starting line-up/rotation, as well as the overall team, so here it goes:

Derek Jeter - .315 AVG, 15 HR, 90 RBI, 220 H, 115 R, 20 SB, 25 E

Johnny Damon - .290 AVG, 20 HR, 95 RBI, 195 H, 120 R, 30 SB, 15 E

Mark Teixeira - .325 AVG, 35 HR, 130 RBI, 220 H, 100 R, 10 SB, 5 E

Hideki Matsui - .305 AVG, 25 HR, 115 RBI, 190 H, 90 R, 5 SB, 5 E

Jorge Posada - .290 AVG, 20 HR, 100 RBI, 150 H, 60 R, 0 SB, 5 E

Robinson Cano - .320 AVG, 30 HR, 120 RBI, 215 H, 90 R, 10 SB, 15 E

Xavier Nady - .285 AVG, 20 HR, 105 RBI, 175 H, 85 R, 10 SB, 10 E

Cody Ransom - .275 AVG, 10 HR, 20 RBI, 25 H, 20 R, 5 SB, 0 E

Brett Gardner - .280 AVG, 10 HR, 70 RBI, 140 H, 115 R, 45 SB, 10 E

* Alex Rodriguez (pending he returns in early May) - .290 AVG, 30 HR, 120 RBI, 130 R, 20 SB, 15 E

C.C. Sabathia - 18 W/10 L, 3.55 ERA, 225 K, 220 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 5 CG, 210 H

Chien-Ming Wang - 17 W/10 L, 3.75 ERA, 160 K, 200 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 240 H

A.J. Burnett - 15 W/5 L, 4.05 ERA, 210 K, 145 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 130 H

Andy Pettitte - 16 W/12 L, 3.90 ERA, 175 K, 190 IP, 1.05 WHIP, 210 H

Joba Chamberlain - 10 W/5 L, 3.20 ERA, 145 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 135 H, 5 SV

Mariano Rivera - 5 W/2 L, 1.95 ERA, 75 IP, 0.95 WHIP, 40 H, 35 SV

I’ll probably be off on many of these projections, but who knows. Let’s get ready for some Yankee baseball!

Happy Friday folks! Yesterday the boys in pinstripes worked out in front of a plethora of fans in the new cathedral, and from what I saw in the highlights, they looked extremely excited and impressed. They were smiling, throwing the ball around, and giving interviews afterward as if it was game 1 of the World Series. It’s gonna be a great day since they’ll get to play an exhibition, but even a greater week to come, as the Yanks will open the season for real on Monday afternoon.

I’m going to give my predictions for the starting roster, as well as for the season on Monday morning, but for now we’ll get right into FANTASY FRIDAY. This week I’m going to zone in on the under-appreciated player, or “sleeper.” Now, on the current roster, you could find a couple of  them - Xavier Nady, Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher, and for a limited time,  Cody Ransom. Let’s go over each, and how they may sneak up on you and add some production to your fantasy team:

Xavier Nady - Nady will be the everyday rightfielder, and probably will hit in the bottom of the line-up (behind Cano and in front of  Ransom). That’s not a great spot to be in, but I think Cano will be on base a lot this year, so he’ll have a lot of chances to drive him in along with the couple of big bats before him. The X-man is a solid righty bat, and he should flirt with a .300 average for most of the year, along with a home run total somewhere in the 20’s. Even if he doesn’t start for your fantasy squad, he can be an excellent reserve.

Brett Gardner - This kid has value simply because he will be the everyday centerfielder, but there’s also the potential for a great sleeper-like season. He’s going to now be hitting in front of Jeter, so that’s a good opportunity for hit-and-run plays and advancing to 2nd/3rd on bunts. Gardy may also impress people with his average, and he looks like a different hitter after seeing him this spring. Don’t forget the stolen bases of course, which may soar if on base enough.

Nick Swisher - Swish was a great grab for the clubhouse, but he could also be a quite valuable player on the field. He’s got versatility (eligible to play 1st, outfield), he’s a switch-hitter, and he sees a lot of pitches per at-bat. Also due to the fact that he’ll be playing in Yankee Stadium now, the short-porch in right will be friendly to many of his left-handed swings. Even though he’s not playing everyday, Swish will get a good amount of time (Girardi loves him), and could get you 20-25 homers with possibly a few steals.

Cody Ransom - Cody will only be starting at 3rd for about a month (so we’re told), but he could quite possibly have some fantasy-value if he keeps a hot bat. He could be involved in a lot of stealing with Gardner laying down some bunts behind him, and he does have long-ball power. I wouldn’t expect a ton out of him, but maybe you could catch some lightning in a bottle and utilize him - especially if you’re 3rd basemen goes down early.

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget your umbrella before heading home!