Cleveland Indians

2008 Record: 81-81 (.500)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 85-77 (.525)

Manager: Eric Wedge
General Manager: Mark Shapiro

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Progressive Field (103/102)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

• Mark DeRosa replaces Casey Blake and some of Jamey Carroll (DL)
• Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner inherit playing time from Franklin Gutierrez
• Victor Martinez reclaims playing time from Kelly Shoppach and Ryan Garko
• Trevor Crowe is filling in for David Dellucci (DL)
• Tony Graffanino is filling in for Jamey Carroll (DL)
• Anthony Reyes replaces Paul Byrd
• Carl Pavano replaces CC Sabathia, Jake Westbrook (DL), and Matt Ginter
• Aaron Laffey is filling in for Scott Lewis (DL) who replaces Jeremy Sowers (minors)
• Fausto Carmona and Lewis take over starts from Laffey
• Kerry Wood replaces Edward Mujica and Juan Rincon and takes over the save opportunities given to Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, Masa Kobayashi, and Joe Borowski
• Joe Smith and Vinnie Chulk replace Tom Mastny, Jorge Julio, Joe Borowski, and assorted others
• Vinnie Chulk is filling Josh Barfield’s roster spot; Barfield replaces Andy Marte

25-man Roster:

1B – Ryan Garko (R)
2B – Asdrubal Cabrera (S)
SS – Jhonny Peralta (R)
3B – Mark DeRosa (R)
C – Victor Martinez (S)
RF – Shin-Soo Choo (L)
CF – Grady Sizemore (L)
LF – Ben Francisco (R)
DH – Travis Hafner (L)

Bench:

R – Kelly Shoppach (C)
S – Trevor Crowe (OF)
R – Tony Graffanino (IF)

Rotation:

L – Cliff Lee
R – Anthony Reyes
R – Fausto Carmona
R – Carl Pavano
L – Aaron Laffey

Bullpen:

R – Kerry Wood
R – Rafael Betancourt
L – Rafael Perez
R – Jensen Lewis
R – Masahide Kobayashi
R – Joe Smith
R – Vinnie Chulk
L – Zach Jackson

15-day DL: LHP – Scott Lewis (elbow strain), OF – David Dellucci (strained calf), IF – Jamey Carroll (broken hand)
60-day DL: RHP – Jake Westbrook (TJ)

Typical Lineup:

L – Grady Sizemore (CF)
R – Mark DeRosa (3B)
S – Victor Martinez (C)
L – Travis Hafner (DH)
R – Jhonny Peralta (SS)
L – Shin-Soo Choo (RF)
R – Ryan Garko (1B)
R – Ben Francisco (LF)
S – Asdrubal Cabrera (2B)

Note: Trevor Crowe is sharing left field with Ben Francisco. Otherwise, the most common lineup variation sees Martinez shift to first with Kelly Shoppach taking his place behind the plate and Garko’s spot in the lineup.

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When I went to the Yankees’ workout day at the new Yankee Stadium back on April 2, a reporter from The Bronx Beat followed me around with a camera to capture my initial impressions of the new ballpark. The result is this piece, which also uses my photography of the park’s construction from the previous two seasons.

All of the still photographs in that piece are mine. Many of the photographs I took that day can be found in my photo essay on the new stadium. My other writing on the new ballpark can be found here, while my posts on the closing of the old Stadium can be found here.

The Yankees are only team in the majors not to have played a home game this season and enter their home opener this afternoon coming off the longest season-opening road trip in team history. Here are some quick impressions from that just-complete trip:

Record: 5-4
Record in Series: 2-1
Runs scored per game: 5.67 (7th best in MLB)
Runs allowed per game: 5.22 (8th worst in MLB)
Runs allowed per game minus Monday’s blowout: 4.00

AL East Standings:

TOR –
BAL .5
NYY 1.5
TBR 2.5
BOS 3.5

• The Yankees were without Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira missed three games due to a wrist injury. Hideki Matsui and Cody Ransom went a combined 6-for-49 (.122) with five walks. Yet the Yankees scored four or more runs in every game and averaged 5 2/3 runs per game on the trip.
• A great deal of the credit for that goes to Nick Swisher, who drove in or scored 18 of the Yankees’ 51 runs (35 percent) on the trip.
• The trip ended with the news that Xavier Nady will likely miss most or all of the season with a tear in his right elbow, but Nady was hitting a very Nady-like .286/.310/.429 and will be replaced in right field by Swisher. That’s an upgrade. Swisher will surely cool off, but he should have been the starting right fielder over Nady anyway. Where the Yankees will miss Nady is on the bench, as Matsui and Johnny Damon will need days off. Nady might be a very ordinary hitter, he’s still more productive than Melky Cabrera.
• In the comeback department, Matsui and Chien-Ming Wang have been awful, but Robinson Cano has been terrific, hitting .382/.447/.618 with four unintentional walks, and Jorge Posada has looked good both at the plate, driving in nine runs (second on the team to Swisher’s 11) with five of his seven hits going for extra bases, and behind the plate.
• Despite the solid offensive attack, the Yankees come home just a game over .500 at 5-4. Three of those losses were directly attributable to poor staring pitching performances (by CC Sabathia on Opening Day and by Chien-Ming Wang in both of his starts).
• Sabathia was not only better, but dominant in his second start. A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte both pitched well twice, and Joba Chamberlain turned in a solid outing in his only start thus far. That leaves only Wang as an issue in the rotation. Dave Eiland is on the case and working hard to get Wang back on track.
• Since the duds by Sabathia and Wang to open the season, the Yankees have gone 5-2. After dropping the opening series in Baltimore, they won their next two series, most significantly taking two of three from the Rays at the Trop.
• In their five wins, the Yankees have allowed just nine runs, or 1.8 per victory.

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Andy Pettitte takes the hill this afternoon looking to send the Yankees home with a win. Pettitte was fantastic against the Royals on Friday (7 IP, 1 R, 6 K, just four baserunners). In his last start against the Rays, last July, he was even better (8 IP, 0 R, 5 K, four baserunners), though that came at home and his results in three previous starts against the Rays were more mixed.

Johnny Damon, who missed yesterday’s game due to the flu, returns to the lineup this afternoon, bumping Derek Jeter back into the leadoff spot and Brett Gardner down to the seven hole. Damon takes the place of the ailing Xavier Nady who is out indefinitely due to a tear in his right elbow (more specific news is still pending as Nady waits to see the team doctors). The rest of the lineup is the same as last night’s with Jorge Posada at DH and Ramiro Peña at third base.

That lineup will face 26-year-old righty Andy Sonnanstine, who had a rough outing against the Orioles last week (4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 K) and last faced the Yankees a year and one day ago, also at the Trop, and was even worse (3 1/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 3 HR). Of the three Yankees who homered of him in that game, only Damon is in today’s lineup (Alex Rodriguez and Morgan Ensberg were the other two).

Everyone’s wearing number 42 today in recognition of Jackie Robinson day. Whereas wearing the number was elective in past years, this year it’s manditory for everyone.

Disregard that 7-2 final score; last night’s game at Tropicana Field was a tense pitchers’ duel that saw both teams execute late-game rallies, leaving the result in doubt until the ninth inning.

The Yankees got off to a good start by loading the bases against Matt Garza without recording an out in the top of the first. Singles by Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter and a walk to Mark Teixeira brought up the team’s hottest hitter in Nick Swisher. Swisher worked a seven-pitch full count, but Garza struck out Swisher on a nasty curveball. Jorge Posada got one run home with a sacrifice fly to deep left, but Robinson Cano hit a looping liner to strand the remaning runners.

For a while it seemed that one run was all the Yankees would need as A.J. Burnett burned through the Rays order, issuing only a walk to Pat Burrell the first time through.

When Swisher led of the fourth, Garza sent a 1-1 fastball right at Nick’s noggin, likely retribution for Swisher’s jovial mound appearance (and souvenir strikeout ball) from the night before. Swisher ducked out of the way, took a close strike on the outside corner, then dumped Garza’s next pitch in the right-centerfield stands to make the Yankee lead 2-0.

Burnett, set the Rays down in order the second time through the Tampa lineup to bring a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Burnett wound up allowing just three hits in his eight innings of work, unfortunately, they all came in a row to start the seventh as Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, and Carlos Peña singled to make it 2-1 and Burrell lifted a sac fly to right to tie the game at 2-2.

Undeterred, the Yankees took the lead right back in the eight. With Garza’s night having ended after seven frames, nine Ks, and 112 pitches, Joe Maddon brought in lefty J.P. Howell to face Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Mark Teixeira, whose aching wrist is most bothersome when he hits right-handed. Gardner led off by lifting a fly-ball double over a drawn-in Crawford in left field. Jeter then singled to put runners on the corners, and the aching Teixeira, who had gone 0-for-2 with a walk from the left side, worked a full count, then lifted a sac fly to the warning track to plate Gardner with the go-ahead run.

After one last perfect inning from Burnett in the eight, the Yankees added some insurance against Dan Wheeler in the ninth. Robinson Cano led off with a first-pitch single. Melky Cabrera, who had entered as a defensive replacement for Xavier Nady in the eighth, hit a ground-ball single through the right side. Then, after Ramiro Peña, who started for Cody Ransom and went 0-for-3 with a walk) failed to get down a bunt and Jose Molina (0-for-4) struck out, Gardner bounced a ground-rule double off the warning track in straight-away center and Jeter completed the scoring with a three-run homer to right center. Brian Bruney the capped the night off by striking out the top three men in the Rays’ order on ten pitches, five of them, including all three pitches to Evan Longoria, swinging strikes.

Burnett did exactly what the Yankees needed him to do, and exactly what he set out to do, not only delivering a win, but eating up eight innings in the process. He needed just 103 pitches, struck out nine, and allowed just four baserunners (the Burrell walk and the three straight singles in the seventh).

The Yankees can now wrap up a winning road trip with a win behind Andy Pettitte this afternoon.

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A.J. Burnett’s first Yankee start saw him halt a two-game losing streak with 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball against the Orioles last Thursday. Today, the Yankees will ask Burnett not only to halt a two-game losing streak, but to go a little deeper into the game. Tonight is the seventh in a streak fifteen straight days on which the Yankees have a game.

Chien-Ming Wang’s disastrous start last night forced Joe Girardi to burn default long man Jonathan Albaladejo for 60 pitches over three innings last night as well as Edwar Ramirez for 51 pitches over two innings. Phil Coke threw 38 pitches last night after pitching the day before as well. That leaves Girardi with a four-man bullpen for tonight. Fortunately, the four available men are the top four in the pen: Mariano Rivera, Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, and Jose Veras. Still, Girardi won’t be able to play matchups in the late-innings if Burnett doesn’t go deep into the game.

Much to my surprise, the Yankees have not optioned Albaladejo or Coke in exchange for a fresh bullpen arm. Last April 17, Albaladejo threw 48 pitches in a three-inning relief outing following an early Mike Mussina exit and was optioned out the next day for the fresh arm of Edwar Ramirez, who then pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings that night.

More to the point, the Yankees are 3-4 on the season and would like to return home with a winning record. That would require them to win tonight and tomorrow behind Burnett and Andy Pettitte.

Johnny Damon is out with the flu. Nick Swisher takes his place in left field as Mark Teixeira returns to the lineup against the righty-throwing Matt Garza. Brett Gardner moves to the leadoff spot, pushing Derek Jeter back down to number two. Swisher bats cleanup as Hideki Matsui gets the day off, Jorge Posada serves as DH after catching all but the final half inning of last night’s 3 1/2 hour disaster. Jose Molina is behind the plate just as he was for Burnett’s last start. Ramiro Peña starts at third in place of the struggling Cody Ransom, who is 2-for-24 with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts on the young season and had a miserable night in the field last night, due in part to the baseball-colored Tropicana Field roof.

The Rays run out the same lineup save for Ben Zobrist getting the start in left field. Matt Garza dominated the Red Sox in his last start, allowing just one run on four hits and three walks in seven full innings. The ALCS MVP pitched similarly against the Yankees last April, but had a tougher time with the Bombers in two September starts, posting this combined line in two Rays losses: 10 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 HR. Xavier Nady hit one of the two home runs (Wilson Betemit hit the other).

It’s worth noting that the Yankees went 11-7 against the eventual pennant winning Rays last year.

Tampa Bay Rays

2008 Record: 97-65 (.599), AL Champs
2008 Pythagorean Record: 92-70 (.568)

Manager: Joe Maddon
General Manager: Andrew Friedman

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Tropicana Field (102/103)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

• Pat Burrell replaces Eric Hinske and Jonny Gomes
• Gabe Kapler replaces Cliff Floyd
• Jeff Niemann replaces Edwin Jackson (and is holding a spot for David Price)
• Brian Shouse replaces Trever Miller
• Joe Nelson replaces Jason Hammel
• Lance Cormier replaces Gary Glover and Chad Bradford (DL)

25-man Roster:

1B – Carlos Peña (L)
2B – Akinori Iwamura (L)
SS – Jason Bartlett (R)
3B – Evan Longoria (R)
C – Dioner Navarro (S)
RF – Gabe Gross (L)
CF – B.J. Upton (R)
LF – Carl Crawford (L)
DH – Pat Burrell (R)

Bench:

S – Willy Aybar (1B/3B)
S – Ben Zobrist (UT)
R – Gabe Kapler (OF)
R – Shawn Riggans (C)

Rotation:

R – James Shields
L – Scott Kazmir
R – Matt Garza
R – Andy Sonnanstine
R – Jeff Niemann

Bullpen:

R – Troy Percival
R – Grant Balfour
L – J.P. Howell
R – Dan Wheeler
L – Brian Shouse
R – Joe Nelson
R – Lance Cormier

15-day DL: RHP – Chad Bradford (elbow surgery), RHP – Jason Isringhausen (rehab from September elbow surgery), OF – Fernando Perez (broken wrist)

Projected Lineup:

R – B.J. Upton (CF)
L – Carl Crawford (LF)
R – Evan Longoria (3B)
L – Carlos Peña (1B)
R – Pat Burrell (DH)
L – Gabe Gross (RF)
S – Dioner Navarro (C)
L – Akinori Iwamura (2B)
R – Jason Bartlett (SS)

Notes: Gross will platoon with Gabe Kapler and Ben Zobrist in right field.

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The Yankees scored two in the top of the first against Sidney Ponson yesterday afternoon, and Andy Pettitte made those runs hold up with seven stellar innings in which he allowed just one run on three hits and a walk as the Yankees beat the Royals 4-1 in Kansas City’s home opener.

Pettitte’s was the best performance by a Yankee starting pitcher this season and underlined the strength of this year’s team: starting pitching depth. There’s not a man in the Yankees’ rotation that you wouldn’t want to have on the mound on any given day (yes, even A.J. Burnett, my complaints about him stem largely from his injury history and his contract, in other words the possibility of having him not on the mound but still on the books). The Yankees opened the season by having their top two starters, CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang, get lit up, but Burnett and Pettitte brought them right back to even in the blink of an eye. Sabathia takes his second turn tomorrow, then Joba Chamberlain gets his first on Sunday, then back around again. If those five starters can stay healthy (admittedly a huge “if”), the Yankees will have a very realistic expectation of winning every game they play. They’ll still lose about 60 of them, but it won’t be because they were outmatched on the mound. That’s a tremendous advantage for a ballclub, in terms of strength and strategy as well as confidence.

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The Yankees lost the first two games of the season because their starting pitchers weren’t sharp. CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang combined for this line in those two games: 8 IP, 17 H, 13 R, 1 HR, 8 BB, 0 K, 3.13 WHIP, 14.63 ERA. End of story. Neither was suffering from anything worse than poor mechanics (Wang) or a simple lack of feel (Sabathia). I’m not concerned about either, and Sabathia will be back on the bump tomorrow.

The bullpen coughed up four insurance runs after the Yankee offense pulled within a run in the opener, but in the last two games, the bullpen contributed eight hitless, scoreless innings. Included among those were perfect frames from Phil Coke and Brian Bruney, who had given up the four runs on Monday. Every man in the pen pitched in the series. The only one who remains a concern moving forward is Damaso Marte, who faced two batters on Monday. He gave up a two-RBI double to the lefty (both runs being charged to Bruney) before getting the righty to ground out.

Also encouraging is that the offense scored 21 runs in the first three games, showing resiliency by rallying back to within a run of the O’s in the first two games, then dropping 11 runs on Baltimore in the finale. Perhaps the best news to come out of the opening series is that the hitting star of the series was Robinson Cano, who went 6-for-11 with a double, a home run, and three walks. Last April, it took Cano eight games to get six hits, 12 games to get two extra-base hits, and 19 games to draw three walks; this year each took him just three games.

The other hitting star of the series was Nick Swisher, who only started in yesterday’s finale, but delivered a pinch-hit double in the opener and a pinch-hit walk in the second game. Yesterday, he went 3-for-5 with a double and a tie-breaking home run, collecting a career-high five RBIs. Xavier Nady had two doubles and a walk himself, but Swisher has already given Joe Girardi reason to reconsider how he deploys his two right fielders.

Other positives: Jorge Posada picked up a double, a 425-foot home run, and a walk in eight trips. He also threw out a stealing Brian Roberts by so much that Roberts turned around and headed back to first base (where he was tagged out). Derek Jeter went 5-for-13 with a homer, a walk, and a steal. Ramiro Peña singled in his first (and still only) major league at-bat yesterday. After starting the season 0-for-8 with a walk, Mark Teixeira went 3-for-6 with a double and a game-tying homer to finish the series; the double came in his only right-handed at-bat. Johnny Damon went 3-for-11  with a triple, two walks, and a steal. Even Jose Molina reached base twice in four trips.

The bad: While Hideki Matsui homered in the opener, that was the only time he reached base in ten at-bats. In his pinch-hit appearance yesterday (his only at-bat of the series), Melky Cabrera missed badly on three straight Matt Albers breaking balls.

Less noticeable was the fact that the Yankees won the war on the bases. The Bronx Burners went 4-for-4 in their own steal attempts and threw out (or picked off) four of the seven attempting Oriole base stealers.

Finally, the defensive upgrades at first base and center field, as well as in right field when Nick Swisher was out there yesterday, where instantly noticeable, and Cano’s fielding seems to have rebounded along with his bat.

Of course, it was just three games . . .

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.

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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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 Yankees’ home opener may not be until April 16, but the first baseball game ever played at the new Yankee Stadium took place last night, as did a number of other firsts, which though they may be unofficial, will always be the ones I count because I was there.

Because of the rain yesterday afternoon, neither team took batting practice. I arrived at the park a bit after 5:30 and the Cubs took the field too loosen up soon after. Here are some photographs from before the game (as always, all of my photos can be enlarged with a click).

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The Yankees held their first workout at the new Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon. It was the first time the entire team gathered at the new ballpark, the first time the field was used for baseball activities, and the first time that fans were allowed into the stands. The new Yankee Stadium is open for business. Below are a few photos and impressions of the new ballpark (all photos can be clicked to enlarge).

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You may have heard that the Yankees, who beat the Phillies today 8-5, finished their spring training schedule with the Grapefruit League’s best record. That’s not terribly meaningful, but it is pretty cool. Save for Alex Rodriguez’s hip and assorted other off-field issues, there was nothing but good news out of Yankee camp this March. Here’s hoping things go as well in the regular season.

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)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
L – Brett Gardner (CF)

Subs: Shelley Duncan (1B), Angel Berroa (2B), Ramiro Peña (SS), Justin Leone (3B), Jose Molina (C), Todd Linden (RF), Melky Cabrera (LF-CF), John Rodriguez (LF), Kevin Cash (DH)

Pitchers: CC Sabathia, Jose Veras, Damaso Marte, Phil Coke, Brian Bruney, Jay Stephens, Steven Jackson

Opposition: The Phillies’ B-team

Big Hits:

Two-run homers by Mark Teixeira (3-for-3) and Hideki Matsui (2-for-3), a triple by Robinson Cano (1-for-2, BB), and a double by Nick Swisher (1-for-1).

Who Pitched Well:

Jose Veras, Damaso Marte, Phil Coke, Brian Bruney, and Steven Jackson combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings allowing just one hit (off Veras), and two walks (by Veras and Marte). CC Sabathia allowed two runs on six hits in his 3 2/3 innings (one on a Jayson Werth homer), but he also struck out five against just one walk. For an abreviated warm-up start, that’s just fine.

Who Didn’t:

Poor Jay Stephens, who was a swing-man in A-ball last year and was brought over to major league camp for this game only, was in over his head and it showed as he gave up three runs on three singles and two walks while getting just two outs.

Battles:

Angel Berroa and Ramiro Peña combined to go 0-for-3, but Berroa scored a run as a pinch-runner, while Peña was caught stealing in his stint as a pinch-runner.

Don’t read anything into Nick Swisher starting over Xavier Nady in what otherwise looks like the Opening Day lineup. Nady was hit in the elbow with a pitch on Tuesday and was held out of the game as a precaution. He’s fine and will start on Monday.

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SI.com has it’s 2009 MLB preview material up, and yours truly is one of the so-called experts picking the division, pennant, and World Series and major awards winners and pontificating on the whys and wherefores.

I have the Yankees winning the Wild Card and losing to the AL East champion (and eventuall world champion) Red Sox in a hard-fought ALCS. The AL East (which should beget the pennant-winner, whoever it might be) was almost a coin-flip for me between the Yanks, Sox, and Rays (anyone have a three-sided coin?), but when push came to shove, the Sox were just deeper, younger, and had less down-side than the other two, at least in my mind. I’m bully on the Yankee pitching staff, but merely hopeful about the offense.

Surprisingly, I was the only “expert” to pick CC Sabathia to win the AL Cy Young award, though two others picked Mark Teixeira for MVP. I went with Josh Hamilton for the latter, though I could certainly see Tex taking the trophy.

In addition to my comments in the roundtable linked above, here are my responses that didn’t get used:

Which division is the best in baseball, top-to-bottom?

The AL East is the best division in baseball because it is home to the three best teams in baseball, the Red Sox, Rays, and Yankees. Every division has a team as bad as the Orioles, but none has one as good as any of the top three teams in the AL East.

What is your sleeper team for 2009?

I think the Reds’ streak of eight-straight losing seasons is going to come to an end this year. I think Joey Votto is going to have a huge sophomore season. He’s surrounded by talented young hitters in Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, Edwin Encarnacion, and Chris Dickerson. Ramon Hernandez is a sure improvement over Paul Bako. Willy Taveras and Alex Gonzalez won’t hit much, but they’ll improve the Cincinnati defense, which was among the worst in baseball last year, something Dickerson will also help correct. That will benefit the rotation–which features the up-and-coming duo of Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto as well as innings-eater Bronson Arroyo, bounceback candidate Aaron Harang, and could be rounded out by a new and improved Homer Bailey–and the already solid bullpen. They’re not a playoff team, but for the first time in a long time, they look like a good team.

Which rookie will have the biggest impact?

Matt Wieters will win the AL Rookie of the Year award because he’s a flat-out masher who will put up outstanding numbers once he’s installed as the Orioles’ starting catcher (think Evan Longoria last year), but David Price will have the biggest impact as he’ll be entering the impossibly tight AL East race as a member of the Rays’ rotation.

The Yankees are down to just 26 players in camp and are using non-prospects as late-game subs. They’re also cruising through their spring schedule, having won seven in a row and 16 of their last 18, including today’s 6-3 win over the Reds. They are very much ready to come north.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
S – Nick Swisher (LF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Xavier Nady (DH)
S – Melky Cabrera (RF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
R – Angel Berroa (SS)
S – Ramiro Peña (2B)

Subs: Chris Malec (1B), Mitch Hilligoss (3B), Kevin Cash (C), Dan Brewer (RF), Taylor Grote (CF), Eric Fryer (LF), Francisco Cervelli (DH)

Pitchers: Joba Chamberlain, Brian Bruney, Edwar Ramirez, Phil Coke, Dan Giese

Opponent: The Reds’ starters

Big Hits:

Doubles by Melky Cabrera (1-for-2), Mark Teixeira (1-for-2), and Angel Berroa (2-for-4). Brett Gardner went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot.

Who Pitched Well:

Phil Coke and Dan Giese each struck out two in a perfect inning. Brian Bruney retired the only two men he faced, striking out one of them. Joba Chamberlain allwed two runs on five hits (four of them singles) and three walks in 5 1/3 innings, but also struck out six and two of those three walks, and one of those runs came as he was running out of gas in the sixth. He’ll pitch in a minor league intrasquad game in Tampa on Sunday before joining the rest of the team in Baltimore on Monday.

Roster News:

With Xavier Nady and Brett Gardner officially declared the staring right and center fielders, the Yankees have finalized their Opening Day bullpen by reassigning Brett Tomko and optioning Alfredo Aceves and Dan Giese to Triple-A. That leaves Jonathan Albaladejo as the last man in the Opening Day pen which will look like this:

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

I still want David Robertson in there, but he’ll likely be the first man up if any of the above struggles (though only Coke, Ramirez, and Albaladejo have options left).

The Yankees also reassigned Kevin Cash, guaranteeing that they won’t cary an extra catcher.

With Alex Rodriguez headed for the 15-day disabled list, the last spot on the roster is down to Angel Berroa and Ramiro Peña, and the Yankees will have to open a spot on the 40-man roster to make room for the winner, with Giese and Juan Miranda the top candidates to be dropped from the 40-man to make room. It seems likely that both players will travel north with the team for this weekend’s two-game preseason series against the Cubs, and the loser will then head over to Scranton to be the starting shortstop.

Meanwhile, the Scranton rotation will be Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, Kei Igawa, and Jason Johnson. Tomko will pitch out of the pen, but to his displeasure, though he doesn’t have an out in his contract until June 1. More importantly, why on earth are the Yankees wasting Triple-A starts on Johnson when George Kontos has nothing left to prove in Double-A?

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Andy Pettitte was fantastic in his last full spring start as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 3-1. He’ll pitch the second-half of Saturday’s game against the Cubs at the new stadium, and will then start the fourth game of the season against the Royals in Kansas City.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Johnny Damon (LF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
R – Jose Molina (C)
L – Brett Gardner (CF)

Subs: Eric Duncan (1B), Justin Snyder (2B), Ramiro Peña (SS), Angel Berroa (3B), Kyle Anson (C), Jack Rye (RF), Melky Cabrera (LF-CF), James Cooper (LF)

Pitchers: Andy Pettitte, Damaso Marte, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez

Opponent: The Jays’ starters

Big Hits:

Moonlighting minor leaguer Justin Snyder tripled in his only at-bat. Mark Teixeira (2-for-3, BB), Derek Jeter (1-for-2, BB, SB), and Angel Berroa (1-for-1) doubled.

Cody Ransom went 0-for-2 with a walk, but was both caught stealing and picked off first base (I assume he reached on a fielder’s choice at some point). He made up for that with a great play in the second when Scott Rolen tried to go from first to third on a single to center. Brett Gardner’s throw was strong, but way high. Ransom lept in the air and, in the process of making a half spin, caught the ball and reached across his body to apply a blind tag right at the bag that nabbed Rolen. Good stuff.

Who Pitched Well:

Andy Pettitte allowed just one run on five hits (four of them singles) and no walks in 6 2/3 innings while striking out seven. Edwar Ramirez pitched a perfect ninth inning. Jose Veras pitched around a double for a scoreless eighth.

Who Didn’t:

Damaso Marte faced two batters. One of them (Adam Lind) doubled, the other flew out.

Battles:

Ramiro Peña went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, leaving two men on base. Angel Berroa delivered an RBI double in his only at-bat.