With a fake nail on the index finger of his pitching hand, A.J. Burnett was able to throw his knuckle-curve for strikes and dominated the Yankees for six innings last night. Mike Mussina had a decent curve himself, but not the yakker he displayed in some of his spring training outings. The result was a typical post-2003 Mike Mussina start: 5 2/3 IP, 4 R, 2 K. Though Mussina kept it close, it was obvious from the very start which way the game was going to go.

Moose gave up a hard-luck unearned run in the first. Scrappy David Eckstein led off the game with a sinking liner to the right side that Giambi knocked down, but didn’t glove cleanly. When Giambi came up with the ball, he looked to flip to Mussina for the out, but Mussina, who had broken for the bag on contact, eased up when Giambi came to his feet expecting the big lug to take it himself. With no other option, Giambi did just that and his foot hit the bag at the exact instant that Eckstein’s foot did. There is no official rule that the tie goes to the runner, but that’s what happened. Giambi was charged with an error on the play, I assume for either his brief bobble or his apparent hesitation over what to do with the ball once he had it, but if Mussina covers, Eckstein’s out. Giambi made another nice play later in the game, diving up the line with his foot on the bag to snag a Derek Jeter throw in the dirt for an out, and made a valiant but fruitless (and thankfully harmless) dive into the camera pit in pursuit of a foul pop. Back in the first inning, Eckstein was move to second by a well-placed ground-ball single by Shannon Stewart and plated by a flare over Robinson Cano’s head by Alex Rios, though he would have been out had Jose Molina fielded Bobby Abreu’s throw cleanly. In Molina’s defense, he threw out both attempting Toronto base steelers in the game.

The Jays made it 3-0 in the third on a two-out walk to Rios and a two-run Vernon Wells homer to left on a hanging slider that Mussina said was his worst slider of the game. They then added on in the sixth, despite Johnny Damon snagging a would-be wall-scraping homer by Rios to start the inning. Wells followed that out with a single and was pushed to second when a Mussina changeup (Mussina called it a “lazy curve”) appeared to nick the bill of Frank Thomas’s helmet. Mussina then got Lyle Overbay to fly out for the second out and got ahead of Aaron Hill 0-2, but Hill singled Wells home on a fat 84-mile-per-hour fastball up in the zone, bringing Joe Girardi out of the dugout to make the first mid-inning pitching change of his Yankee career. LaTroy Hawkins got the third on out a fly ball with a single pitch to Marco Scutaro, proving that Girardi is a managerial genius. Unfortunately, the Jays added another run against Hawkins in the seventh when Rod Barajas hit a ground-ball double down the right field line, moved to third on an Eckstein grounder, and scored on a single by Rios.

Burnett, meanwhile, allowed just four singles through six innings and didn’t walk a man nor allow a Yankee past first base until the seventh, when Bobby Abreu led off with a walk and Alex Rodriguez followed with a two-run bomb to dead center. That shot drove Burnett from the game, but Toronto relievers Brian Tallet (two perfect innings, 4 Ks) and Jeremy Accardo were no more generous. The Yanks made thingS interesting against Accardo in the bottom of the ninth when Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu led off with singles to put men on first and second and bring the tying run to the plate, but Alex Rodriguez struck out at the end of a tense six-pitch at-bat, Jason Giambi hit a 390-foot fly out to the 399-foot sign in center, and Robinson Cano flied out to left on the first pitch he saw to give the Jays a 5-2 win.

Tonight Mike Mussina will begin his 18th major league season and his eighth as a New York Yankee. Regardless of how he performs this year, it will likely be his last as a Yankee, as he is in the second year of the two-year contract he signed following the 2006 season. At age 39, if he struggles the way he did last year, it could prove to be his last year in the majors as well.

In the winter following the Yankees’ last World Series win, the two big free agents were Manny Ramirez and Mike Mussina. The 2000 season saw David Cone post a 6.91 ERA in his final year as a Yankee and Denny Neagle post a 5.81 mark after coming to the Bronx from Cincinnati in a mid-July deal. With a rotation just three-men deep and no apparent reinforcements on the way from the then-barren farm system, the Yankees made the correct choice by signing the 32-year-old Mussina to a six-year deal worth $88.5 million. The 28-year-old Ramirez, a Washington Heights native who longed to play in the Bronx, instead landed with the rival Red Sox for $168 million over eight years. In those eight years, both men have helped their teams to a pair of World Series appearances, but Mussina’s Yankees lost both times (despite going 2-1 in the three games Mussina pitched in those two Series), while Ramirez’s Red Sox won both times, with Ramirez claiming the MVP trophy in the team’s curse-breaking victory in 2004.

Mussina pitched well enough to earn the Cy Young award in his first year as a Yankee, but the award instead went to his rotation-mate Roger Clemens, who won 16 straight games to arrive at a 20-1 record on September 19 thanks to a handful of convenient no-decisions while Mussina went 17-11 with more than a run and a half less offensive support per game. In his first postseason with the Yankees, Mussina pitched well in three of his four starts, most memorably in the “Jeter flip” game in Oakland with the Yankees facing elimination in the ALDS. Mussina also struck out ten Diamondbacks in eight innings of two-run ball in Game 5 of that year’s World Series, but his performance was overshadowed by the fans’ chanting of Paul O’Neill’s name, Scott Brosius’s game-tying ninth-inning home run, and the Yankees’ eventual twelfth-inning victory.

In his first three seasons with the Yankees, Mussina posted a 3.52 ERA and struck out 8.07 men per nine innings against just 1.78 walks, he averaged nearly 220 innings a year, more than 6 2/3 innings per start, and more than 17 wins a year despite never reaching the magic total of 20. Since then, however, he’s been a different pitcher.

Since out-dueling Josh Beckett in Game 3 of the 2003 World Series, Mussina has posted a regular season ERA of 4.36, struck out a more pedestrian 6.97 men per nine innings (against a still-stellar 2.04 walks), and averaged just 173 1/3 innings per year and less than six innings per start. Take away his strong performance in April and May of 2006, when he briefly managed to compensate for his decreasing velocity with a Bugs Bunny changeup that would occasionally dip below 70 miles per hour, and things look even worse. Prior to 2004, Mussina had never posted an ERA below league average and only come close to average on two occasions. In the past four years, he’s only been above average once, and that was largely due to those two strong months in 2006.

Last year, Mussina struggled through his worst major league season. After getting rocked in his season debut in the bitter cold of the Bronx, he pulled a hamstring in the second inning of his next start and missed three weeks. After returning, he was more of the same, posting a 4.25 ERA, averaging six innings per start exactly, and striking out just 5.22 men per nine innings. Then, facing the Tigers at home on August 16, the bottom fell out. Mussina gave up seven runs in five innings in that start, then 13 more in 4 2/3 innings between his next two starts combined while striking out just three men total in the three outings. Things were so ugly that Joe Torre, in the heat of his final pennant race as the Yankee skipper, was all but forced to pull Mussina from the rotation in favor of rookie and first-year professional Ian Kennedy.

Kennedy pitched well, giving Mussina a two-week rest during which his only game action was a poor relief outing in an early September loss. The break seemed to do Moose some good. When Roger Clemens’ elbow discomfort forced Mussina back into the rotation, Moose returned with three strong starts, winning all three with a 1.37 ERA and lasting a full seven frames in the latter two, but he closed the regular season with another five-inning stinker. Faced with starting Mussina in Game 4 of the ALDS while facing elimination, Torre opted to give the ball to Chien-Ming Wang on three-days’ rest, a decision I supported. Wang was awful and Mussina came in to relieve in the second, but Moose allowed a pair of inherited runners to score, then coughed up two more runs of his own. That was enough to make the difference in the Yankees’ eventual 6-4 loss.

At his peak, Mussina threw in the low-90s with a devastating knuckle-curveball. This spring, he had several starts in which he had command of a monstrous curve, but his velocity was topping out in the mid-80s. Even with two rookies in the rotation, Mike Mussina is no better than the Yankees’ fifth starter. He starts the second game of the season tonight because of seniority and Andy Pettitte’s balky back. With Moose unlikely to make it out of the sixth, both Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera having pitched last night, and the Yankees in the second of 20 straight games to open the year, we should get our first informative look at Joe Girardi’s bullpen moves tonight.

Facing Mussina is A.J. Burnett, who dominated the Yankees in his two starts against them last year, allowing just one run (a Johnny Damon solo homer) in 15 innings while striking out 13 and allowing just seven other hits. Burnett has a similar repertoire to Mussina (fastball, knuckle-curve, change), but has at least ten more miles per hour on his heater, which is no small difference. In contrast to Mussina’s success with his curve this spring, the oft-injured Burnett had an awful spring (7.36 ERA, just 8 Ks against 9 walks in 18 1/3 innings), which stemmed from a November incident in which Burnett slammed his pitching hand in a car door, breaking the nail on his index finger. With the nail still healing, Burnett was unable to throw his knuckle-curve until the end of spring training. That forced him to spend more time on his changeup, which could be to his benefit as the season progresses, but clearly wasn’t doing him much good in Florida. The key to tonight’s game will thus be each starter’s effectiveness with his curve, which means we could know pretty early on what kind of game to expect.

Okay, so if you could go back in time and attend any event at Yankee Stadium what would it be? The Louis-Schmelling rematch? Reggie’s three-dinger game? Chambliss’s pennant-winning homer game? Which one of these?

Oh, and speaking of randomness, let me just say this: If I could go back in time and visit any place in New York City, I’d go to the old Penn Station and the Polo Grounds.

Finally, if I could re-cast movie history, I’d have Sean Penn play Ty Cobb, not Tommy Lee Jones. And while we’re on Ron Shelton, I’d also have cast Gene Hackman play the lead role in Blaze, not Paul Newman. But more than anything I wish Art Carney had gotten the chance to reprise his stage role of Felix Unger in the movie version of The Odd Couple. Jack Lemmon was good in the movie, but man, Art Carney was in a league of his own.

Joe Girardi got his first win as the manager of the Yankees last night as the Yanks beat the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 3-2 in front of a packed house in a beauty of a game in the final opener in the history of the original Yankee Stadium. Though it rained most of the day and again after the game, the weather for the rescheduled opener was gorgeous throughout, which was in part a tribute to the contest’s swift pace.

As I’d hoped, starters Chien-Ming Wang and Roy Halladay were both on their game and produced a riveting duel through the first seven innings. The two starting pitchers got 28 of the game’s first 41 outs on the ground, five more by strikeout, and one by caught stealing (Derek Jeter, who got a bad jump on Halladay and catcher Gregg Zaun). Wang got three more outs in the infield, two in the second via a humpback line drive to second baseman Robinson Cano, who doubled Alex Rios off first, and a rocket line drive by Marcos Scutaro in the seventh that Jason Giambi, playing in on the grass to guard against the bunt, snagged with a leap. That’s 37 of 41 outs in the infield between the two pitchers. Of those remaining four outs, two came on tremendous fourth-inning catches by Yankee center fielder Melky Cabrera. The first was a drive to the 385-foot sign in the right-centerfield gap by Lyle Overbay that Cabrera caught moments before turning and slamming back-first into the wall. Two pitches later, Aaron Hill hit a sinking liner to the left-centerfield gap that Cabrera caught on a lunge, topping forward and sliding on his chest after making the catch.

As the stellar defensive play behind Wang indicates, Halladay was the sharper of the two pitchers, but also the less fortunate. The Yankees got out to an early lead in the bottom of the first on a two-out Bobby Abreu single and a double by Alex Rodriguez that scored Abreu from first, but the Jays tied it up right away in the top of the second on a pair of singles by Frank Thomas and Lyle Overbay (the latter of which was a hard grounder hit to Alex Rodriguez’s right that ticked off the third baseman’s glove as he dove) and a fielder’s choice by Scutaro. The two aces each faced just one more than the minimum over the next four and a half innings until the Jays took the lead in the top of the fifth when Scutaro drew a lead-off walk, stole second (his second steal of the game), moved to third on a single by Zaun, and scored on a slow Shannon Stewart groundout to third.

Melky Cabrera led off the bottom of the sixth against Halladay with a ten-pitch at-bat that saw him battle back from 1-2 to a full count, fouling off four pitches along the way. On the tenth pitch, Cabrera lifted a pop fly down the right field line that just cleared the wall behind the “3” in the 314-foot sign for a game-tying home run. In the top of the seventh, Wang gave up a lead-off double to Hill, but Giambi’s snag of Scutaro’s line-drive held the runner. Hill then moved to third on the second out, a grounder of course, and Wang got David Eckstein to ground out to strand Hill.

The Yankees mounted their own threat in the bottom of the seventh following a flair single by Rodriguez over Hill’s head at second base. That lead-off hit was followed by a walk to Giambi. Cano then hit a chopper that Eckstein fielded in front of second base. Eckstein’s momentum carried him past the bag forcing him to attempt to make a tag on Giambi, but Giambi froze in the baseline and ducked Eckstein’s tag, forcing the Toronto shortstop to fire to first base in the hope of turning a 6-3-4 double play, but Giambi beat the return throw from Overbay, sliding headfirst and safely into second. A replay shows that Hill could have fielded the ball on the bag and turned an easy DP had Eckstein not cut it off, but as much credit for the eventual result of the play is due to Giambi’s savvy baserunning as to Eckstein’s aggression. Giambi, incidentally, had a fine game despite going 0 for 3. In addition to that baserunning maneuver and his leaping catch of Scutaro’s liner, Giambi made several nice scoops at first base and cut down a lead-runner at second in the second by ranging to his right for a hopper and making a nice shovel pass to Derek Jeter on the bag as his momentum carried him toward the keystone.

With Rodriguez on third and Giambi on second with one out, the Jays walked Jorge Posada to load the bases for Hideki Matsui, setting up the double play for groundballer Halladay against Groundzilla. Matsui, who went 0 for 3 with three groundouts in the game, hit a skipping grounder just to the right of second base, but the ball hit the heal of Hill’s glove on his attempt at a back-handed stop, and the Jays were only able to get Posada at second as Rodriguez scored with the go-ahead and ultimately winning run.

With Wang having maxed out at 92 pitches in the seventh (Girardi made the only mound visit of the game with two outs and Hill on third in the seventh, likely to tell Wang to empty the tank), Girardi followed the formula by calling on Joba Chamberlain in the eighth and Mariano Rivera in the ninth. Chamberlain wasn’t particularly sharp, but he still worked around a walk and struck out two for a scoreless frame. Curiously, he used his curveball more than his slider. He used the hook to get a 1-1 strike call against Alex Rios, but Rios successfully checked his swing on the slider twice, including on ball four of his ten-pitch walk. Joba’s slider was irresistible to hitters last year, so either the pitch wasn’t working last night, or the league is catching up. That will bear watching. Chamberlain got Wells looking on bit of a hanging curve that dropped into the top of the zone as Rios stole second, then made quick work of Thomas, blowing a high fastball by him for a three-pitch strikeout. Rivera needed just 12 pitches to pick up the save, striking out Overbay, getting Hill to lift an easy fly to center, and inducing a mild groundout from Scutaro to end the game. Rivera then collected the ball from Giambi and presented it to Girardi, who was clearly overjoyed by the entire experience. He couldn’t have asked for a better game.

My wife and I trekked out to Yankee Stadium yesterday, shelled out about $25 a piece on train and subway fare, then and sunk another $25 or so into some eats at the ballpark as we sat in the cold, misting rain for two and a half hours waiting for a ball game that was never played. Back in New Jersey this afternoon, the rain seems to have finally ceased and the sun is starting to filter through the still-overcast sky, but I’m not going back to the Bronx tonight. My wife is working late and, frankly, I’m too worn out and pissed off from our journey yesterday to bother, even though they should actually play the final Opening Day game in Yankee Stadium history at 7:05 tonight.

If you told me that, with tickets in hand, I’d pass up the opportunity to go to this game, I’d tell you you’re crazy, but I’ll only jump through so many hoops. As our president once said, “Fool me once, shame on . . . shame on you. Fool me . . . you can’t get fooled again.” No, I got to sit in the old Stadium yesterday and contemplate the finality of this season for the old yard. I got to see the bunting lining the face of the stands. I got to see the old familiar faces in the right field bleachers and chow down on the best Italian sausage in the Stadium, and I’ll be back there on Sunday to see Chien-Ming Wang match up against a star pitcher from a division rival, so I don’t need to endure the cold, the wind, and the remaining wet, and I don’t need to endure the crowds or the four-hour round trip on public transit necessitated by the parking crunch created by the construction of the new Stadium.

I will, however, happily and eagerly tune in the high-definition broadcast on YES from the warm and convenient comfort of my living room. I’ve also happily passed on my tickets to a good friend (and reader), so as to not rob anyone of the opportunity to see the game in person.

The Yanks will do tonight what they intended to do yesterday, complete with ceremonies and fanfare, and though my bitterness over the team’s mishandling of yesterday’s game keeps telling me it will lack some of the excitement we all expected yesterday because of the delay, the fact that it will be played at night under the lights, and the fact that the stands are unlikely to be full due to others who were similarly either unable or unwilling to alter their Tuesday schedules, deep down I doubt it will be diminished much at all.

Most of all, the game still promises a stellar pitching match-up, with ace Roy Halladay taking the mound for the Blue Jays and groundballer extraordinaire Chien-Ming Wang starting for the Yankees. Given the fact that the ground has been softened by two days of rain, if both men are on their game, their outfielders may need to find new ways to occupy themselves in the pastures this evening. I, for one, would love something along the lines of this two-hour and eight-minute gem from three Aprils ago, provided it concludes with the opposite result.

While we’re still waiting for the first pitch, here are a few items worth mentioning from the past few days:

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Unlike many of my colleagues I did not grow up reading the Bill James Abstracts. I wasn’t interested in numbers (I was given a copy of The Hidden Game of Baseball for my birthday when I was ten or eleven and didn’t open the book until I was over thirty). I didn’t read Bill James until about eight years ago when I inherited my cousin’s collection of the Abstracts. I still wasn’t especially interested in numbers (though is arguments were appealing), but I found James to be a wonderful critic and lucid writer (hey, I used to read Ruth Reichl’s restaurant reviews all the time even though I never intended to go to any of the places she wrote about, I just liked reading her). In fact, the first post ever here at Bronx Banter was about the Red Sox hiring of James.

Which brings me to the 60 Minutes segment on James that was aired this past Sunday. Anyone catch it? I thought it was superficial at best. The worst part about it was that it divided baseball people into two groups–stat heads and the people who go by their “gut,” by what their eyes tell them. In other words, the same, tired, old song. You would figure that 60 Minutes would be above this uninspired kind of journalism, even though they are a populist program. Billy Beane was mentioned as the man who brought sabermetrics to organized baseball. Nevermind Sandy Alderson, or Branch Rickey. Forget about Allan Roth. I guess it didn’t fit their narrow profile, which didn’t shed much light on the Red Sox or James.

Joe Posnanski has a good blog entry about the 60 Minutes piece over at his blog:

There were numerous silly moments, my favorite being when Morley Safer — whose first piece for 60 Minutes was, I believe, on Napoleon — made his statement about how Bill said there’s no such thing as a clutch hitter, and Red Sox Manager Terry Francona replied, “I’ve heard him say that (ed. note: very doubtful) but then I’d want him to be introduced to David Ortiz.”

Really? Does Francona really think Bill James is somehow unaware of David Ortiz?I’m always baffled when people say goofy stuff like this — when they go up to coaches and say, “Have you guys thought about playing zone?”* To me, this is a lot like hearing that a doctor has come up with a new method to perform a heart transplant, and saying, “Yeah, but have you tried that like thing where you have people open their mouths and stick tongue depressors on their tongues and stuff?”

*Roy Williams always had a classic Roy Williams-like answer whenever anyone came up to him with the “Have you thought of this” type suggestion. He would say, “No offense, but believe me, we’ve thought of it. Anything you have thought of, we’ve thought of. It’s our frickin’ job.”

Georged

Veteran scribe Peter Golenbock is writing a book on George Steinbrenner. Peter asked if I’d be kind enough to post the following request. Here goes:

Dear Yankee fans, I am researching a book on the life and times of George Steinbrenner. If any of you have any interesting stories about him, as fans, employees, or recipients of his generosity, I would love to hear them. Send them to petergolenb@yahoo.com. Please include your address and telephone number.

Yanks, Jays take two tonight…

The game was been postponed until tomorrow night. A major drag for all those fans who schlepped up to the Bronx and stood around in the rain. Now, they wouldn’t have wanted to schedule the series in Toronto to begin with, no that would have made too much sense.

Toronto Blue Jays

2007 Record: 83-79 (.512)
2007 Pythagorean Record: 87-75 (.537)

Manager: John Gibbons
General Manager: J.P. Ricciardi

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Rogers Centre

Who’s Replacing Whom:

Scott Rolen replaces Troy Glaus on the DL
David Eckstein replaces John McDonald (bench) and Royce Clayton at shortstop
Marco Scutaro and John McDonald replace Russ Adams (minors), Jason Smith, Ray Olmedo, Howie Clark, Hector Luna (minors) and others on the bench
Shannon Stewart replaces Reed Johnson
Buck Coates replaces Adam Lind (minors)
Rod Barajas ironically replaces Jason Phillips and Curtis Thigpen (minors)
Brandon League replaces Casey Janssen (DL)
Randy Wells replaces Josh Towers

Opening Day Roster:

1B – Lyle Overbay (L)
2B – Aaron Hill (R)
SS – David Eckstein (R)
3B – Marco Scutaro (R)
C – Gregg Zaun (S)
RF – Alex Rios (R)
CF – Vernon Wells (R)
LF – Matt Stairs (L)
DH – Frank Thomas (R)

Bench:

R – Shannon Stewart (OF)
R – John McDonald (IF)
L – Buck Coats (OF)
R – Rod Barajas (C)

Rotation:

R – Roy Halladay
R – A.J. Burnett
R – Dustin McGowan
R – Shaun Marcum
R – Jesse Litsch

Bullpen:

R – Jeremy Accardo
L – Scott Downs
R – Jason Frasor
R – Brian Wolfe
L – Brian Tallet
R – Brandon League
R – Randy Wells

15-day DL: R – Scott Rolen (3B), L – B.J. Ryan
60-day DL: R – Casey Janssen

Likely Lineup:

R – David Eckstein (SS)
L – Matt Stairs (LF)
R – Alex Rios (RF)
R – Vernon Wells (CF)
R – Frank Thomas (DH)
L – Lyle Overbay (1B)
R – Aaron Hill (2B)
R – Marco Scutaro (3B)
S – Gregg Zaun (C)

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This is the sixth Opening Day for Bronx Banter. Since 2003, I’ve often wondered what life would be for the Yankees without Joe Torre, and, more significantly, what’d be like without George Steinbrenner. In way, we are entering the new season, the last for the House that Ruth Built (and the good people of NYC rennovated in the mid-seventies), without either man. Torre has moved to the west coast to lead the L.A. Dodgers, and the Boss has been quietly removed from the public eye, replaced by his two sons, Hank and Hal. This is the end of an era in some regards, and all spring I’ve felt sad about the pending loss of Yankee Stadium, and the demise of the Boss (man, I never thought I’d say that). There is something really off about Opening Day in the Bronx when Bob Sheppard isn’t in the house.

Of course, there is plenty to be excited about with the team–from Joe Girardi and his staff, to the young pitchers, to the returning stars like Rodriguez, Jeter, Posada and Rivera. Still, I’ve found myself avoiding reading too closely about the team over the past few weeks. Cliff has done a wonderful job of charting the progress of the team during spring training, and there is no lack of material available (with Pete Abe leading the way). There is so much to read, in fact, that I’ve almost shut-down in an effort to start fresh today. I want my impressions to be clear and sharp. In order to do that, I found it helpful to step away, ever-so slightly.

I’m also hesitant because on some level, I don’t always like the person I become during baseball season: Neurotic. I get so wrapped up in the winning and losing of games that I have no control over that it impacts my sleep, my well-being, my relationship with my wife, you name it. I’ve enjoyed the winter break from the emotional rollercoaster. Who knows? Maybe I’m maturing…I know I’m far less knuts than I used to be (and maybe this is just wishful thinking). But I also know that the Yankees are the only team that stirs me up like I’m a kid. When I checked on-line last week and saw that the Red Sox had won their first game, I felt a twinge in my gut. Oh, man, here we go again. Then again, that is part of the reason why I love following the Yanks, because, rational or not, the games mean something to me.

Give me a couple of pitches today and I’ll be hooked–watching how much Jeter enjoys himself, or seeing Robinson Cano stroking a line drive into the left-centerfield gap, or Johnny Damon poppin’ one into the upper deck in right, or just admiring Rodriguez’s seemingly effortless swing. These and many other small moments, give me so much pleasure over the course of the long season, that they overwhelm my petty insecurities as a fan obsessed with the results. The play on the field, the injuries, the hard work, all make coming back worthwhile.

Cliff and I will be holding down daily coverage this year, with weekly additions from Bruce, Emma and Will. Hope y’all will fall through and enjoy it with us. (For starters, check out Roger Angell’s latest at the New Yorker.)

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

New York Yankees

2007 Record: 94-68 (.580)
2007 Pythagorean Record: 98.5-63.5 (.608)

Manager: Joe Girardi
General Manager: Brian Cashman

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Yankee Stadium (100/99)

Who’s Replacing Whom:

Morgan Ensberg replaces Doug Mientkiewicz
Ian Kennedy replaces Roger Clemens
LaTroy Hawkins replaces Luis Vizcaino
Billy Traber replaces Ron Villone and Sean Henn (DL)
Ross Ohlendorf replaces Edwar Ramirez (minors)

Opening Day Roster:

1B – Jason Giambi (L)
2B – Robinson Cano (L)
SS – Derek Jeter (R)
3B – Alex Rodriguez (R)
C – Jorge Posada (S)
RF – Bobby Abreu (L)
CF – Melky Cabrera (S)
LF – Johnny Damon (L)
DH – Hideki Matsui (L)

Bench:

R – Shelley Duncan (1B/OF)
R – Morgan Ensberg (1B/3B)
S – Wilson Betemit (IF)
R – Jose Molina (C)

Rotation:

R – Chien-Ming Wang
R – Mike Mussina
R – Phil Hughes
R – Ian Kennedy

Bullpen:

R – Mariano Rivera
R – Joba Chamberlain
L – Billy Traber
R – LaTroy Hawkins
R – Kyle Farnsworth
R – Brian Bruney
R – Ross Ohlendorf
R – Jonathan Albaladejo

15-day DL: L – Andy Pettitte, R – Jeff Karstens, L – Sean Henn
60-day DL: R – Humberto Sanchez, R – Andrew Brackman, R – Carl Pavano

Lineup:

L – Johnny Damon (LF)
R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Bobby Abreu (RF)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Jason Giambi (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
S – Melky Cabrera (CF)

The Yankees open the 2008 season with a roster that looks a lot like the one with which they concluded the 2007 season. That may not be the most encouraging sign for a team that finished in second place in its division in 2007, but there are a lot of hidden positives.

To begin with, the Yankees made several significant roster upgrades during the season last year. Roger Clemens solidified a rotation spot in early June, replacing Kei Igawa and Matt DeSalvo; thus, Ian Kennedy replaces not just Clemens, whose performance he’s likely to match or even exceed, but the dismal early-season performances of Igawa (7.63 ERA prior to Clemens’ arrival) and DeSalvo (5.87 ERA prior to Clemens). On the bench, Wilson Betemit, Shelley Duncan, and Jose Molina were mid-season upgrades from Miguel Cairo (.246 EqA), Kevin Thompson (.214), and Wil Nieves (.141), respectively. Duncan replaced Thompson on July 20, Molina replaced Nieves on July 22, Betemit was acquired at the July 31 trading deadline, and Cairo was designated for assignment a week later. When Phil Hughes came off the disabled list on August 4, he solidified another rotation spot that had been filled at various times by Carl Pavano (4.76 ERA), Jeff Karstens (14.73 ERA as a starter), Darrell Rasner (solid until he was injured in his third start in this spot), Tyler Clippard (6.33 ERA), DeSalvo (one dismal start), and Igawa in a return engagement (5.97 ERA pre-Hughes). This year, Hughes returns to the rotation as a better pitcher than the one who came back from hamstring and ankle injuries last August still worried about his legs, and is replacing not only his own performance over 13 starts, but that of those various replacement pitchers. On August 7 of last year, the Yankees brought up Joba Chamberlain and made him their primary set-up reliever, which allowed every other reliever other than Rivera to drop down a notch on the depth chart and squeezed out Mike Myers a week later. Opposing hitters had hit .257/.349/.399 against Myers. They hit .145/.202/.229 against Chamberlain. Chamberlain won’t be quite that dominant this year for the simple reason that no one could be, but he’ll be more effective than any of the short relievers the Yankees used for the first four months of last season, save for perhaps for Luis Vizcaino during the months of June and July (1.27 ERA in 29 games after posting a 7.27 mark in April and May).

In part due to those in-season upgrades, the Yankees went 56-28 over the final three months of last season, a pace which projects to 108 wins over a full campaign. Having upgraded on the fly during the summer, the Yankees then spent the offseason working to keep that roster intact, doling out more than $444 million to do so by signing Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Robinson Cano to long-term deals, re-signing Andy Pettitte and picking up Bobby Abreu’s option for this season, inking Jose Molina for two years, going through arbitration with Chien-Ming Wang, and settling with arbitration-eligible youngsters Wilson Betemit and Brian Bruney.

Given all of that, the apparent lack of change on the roster is less of a concern. The bench, rotation, and bullpen should all be better than they were a year ago because of the upgrades made during last season. As for the starting lineup, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are all but guaranteed to see noticeable-to-significant decreases in production given the exceptional nature of their 2007 performances, but there are several other players who can be flagged for improvement.

Bobby Abreu hit .228/.313/.289 through the end of last May, then hit .309/.396/.520 the rest of the season. Abreu hit .349 with a pair of homers and a team-best 13 walks this spring. If he stays hot entering the season, he should easily outpace last year’s performance. Similarly, Johnny Damon hit .234/.338/.322 through July 20 of last year, then .319/.369/.493 the rest of the year. Damon was plagued by a variety of nagging injuries in the first half of last season, but once he got healthy, his stats looked a lot like they did in his first year as a Yankee (.285/.359/.482). Keeping Damon healthy is a challenge, but there’s ample opportunity for improvement there.

Speaking of health, Jason Giambi missed more than two months of last year with plantar fasciitis and hit just .236/.356/.433, which was roughly equivalent to what the Yankees got out of Doug Mientkiewicz (.277/.349/.440) or what they can expect from Morgan Ensberg this year (.233/.366/.438 the last two seasons combined). This year, Giambi’s going to be back in the field, which increases his chance of injury, but also tends to increase his production at the plate. Just looking at 2006, Giambi’s last healthy season–which happened to be one split fairly evenly between the two positions–Giambi hit .224/.373/.531 as a DH and .289/.459/.592 as a first baseman. Giambi is 37 and his body has been through a lot over the years, so there’s a good chance he’s cooked, but he spent most of his time in the field this spring and looked good, hitting .395 with two homers (though, oddly, just two walks), so there’s reason to believe that, even if he only gives the Yanks another 300 plate appearances, they’ll be more productive plate appearances than the 300 he gave them last year.

Then there’s Robinson Cano, who hit .343/.396/.557 in the second half of last season, but just .274/.314/.427 in the first half. Cano’s seen this pattern before, as his career OPS is 212 points higher after the All-Star break than before. Cano arrived in camp this year determined to have a first-half similar to his past second-half performances and hit .452. He also went 3-for-3 on the basepaths (Cano stole just four bags in nine tries last season). If Cano can put together a full season reflective of his abilities at the plate, he could make the leap from star to superstar at age 25.

Finally, there’s Melky Cabrera. Melky’s just 23, but this will be his third season as a major league starter, and it could be a decisive one for his Yankee future. Scranton center fielder Brett Gardner was one of the last cuts in camp and will be breathing down Melky’s neck all year, something both Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have been rather upfront about in the press. Melky started last year cold and on the bench before finally being given the center field job on June 1 as a result of Johnny Damon’s first-half struggles. Melky hit .325/.375/.482 in his first three months in center, but went cold again September. This year he’ll be the Yankees’ starting center fielder on Opening Day for the first time in his career, and the club will be looking for him to reward their continued faith in him with a breakout season. One positive indicator from spring training: Melky hit .304, drew 7 walks (tied for second best on the team), and struck out just three times.

Another positive indicator for the team is that 98-plus-win Pythagorean record listed above. The Yankees scored nearly six runs per game last year and 76 more than the next most productive offense in baseball. This year, they have a better bench and hope for improvement at five spots in the order. The passage of a season has also allowed them to improve their pitching by starting the year with Hughes, Kennedy, Chamberlain, and Ross Ohlendorf on the major league staff and with last year’s Double-A sensations Alan Horne, Jeff Marquez, and reliever Scott Patterson now waiting in the wings with triple-A Scranton.

None of this means the Yankees will be a better team than they were a year ago, but there’s certainly a strong chance that they will be, and it’s difficult to believe they’ll be any worse, which, considering they won 94 games and the Wild Card last year, is a nice place to start.

In an ideal tuneup for Opening Day, the Yankees beat the Marlins in a well-pitched ballgame by a 4-2 score. The decisive blow came with the Yanks trailing 2-1 in the ninth inning and facing Florida closer Kevin Gregg. Shelley Duncan struck out to start the inning, but Greg Porter walked and Cody Ransom singled. Chad Moeller then hit a three-run, stand-up, inside-the-park homer to give the Yankees the lead and, eventually, the win.

Lineup:

L – Johnny Damon (LF)
R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Bobby Abreu (RF)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Jason Giambi (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
S – Melky Cabrera (CF)

Pitchers: Phil Hughes, Billy Traber, Mariano Rivera, Kyle Farnsworth, Brian Bruney, Joba Chamberlain, Ross Ohlendorf

Subs: Shelley Duncan (PR/1B), Cody Ransom (2B), Wilson Betemit (SS), Morgan Ensberg (3B), Jose Molina (C), Jason Lane (RF), Bernie Castro (CF), Greg Porter (LF), Chad Moeller (DH)

Opposition: The Marlins’ starters.

Big Hits: A double by Damon (1 for 2, BB), a solo homer by Melky Cabrera (2 for 3) and that inside-the-park homer by Chad Moeller (1 for 1). Jason Giambi was 2 for 3.

Who Pitched Well: Everyone. Phil Hughes allowed two runs (one unearned) on three hits and a walk in five innings and struck out four. He still got most of his outs in the air, but he was far more efficient, needing just 69 pitches, and he retired the last ten men he faced in order. Six of the eight members of the Opening Day bullpen pitched (LaTroy Hawkins and Jonathan “Andy Pettitte’s Roster Spot” Albaladejo being the exception) and combined they put up this line: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. Mariano Rivera recorded the only fly out. The pen’s other 11 outs came via strikeout or groundout. Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney both struck out the only two men they faced. The two hits were doubles off Billy Traber and Ross Ohlendorf.

Oopsies: A fielding error by Derek Jeter.

Ouchies: A groundball struck Jeter’s pinky (I assume the right one, since the left one would have been in his glove) during batting practice. He played in the game, but went 0 for 2, made an error, and came out earlier than the other starters. Still, he’s expected to be in the Opening Day lineup despite the bruised finger.

More: Scott Patterson got “a little heated” when he was sent down, but he’ll buck up and try to pitch his way back. To me the most interesting part of that article by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch comes at the end:

The right-hander said he developed the mental toughness to deal with successful hitters during the offseason in the Venezuelan Winter League, facing players such as Miguel Cabrera and Jose Castro.

“I knew then that I’d be able to do OK against Major League hitters,” Patterson said.

Did he mean Juan Castro? And even if he did, does a 35-year-old with a career .231/.269/.336 line really qualify as a “Major League hitter”? Either way, Miguel Cabrera definitely counts.

Wilson Betemit declined Morgan Ensberg’s offer of $5,000 for uniform number 14, so Ensberg will take number 11, which was worn by Chris Woodward during spring training and Doug Mientkiewicz last year. A couple of anecdotes about Joe Girardi. And finally, per Joel Sherman, Brian Cashman “envisions” both Shelley Duncan and Morgan Ensberg starting against the tougher lefties in the league. I imagine that scenario would put Duncan in left in place of the lefty-challenged Bobby Abreu and Ensberg at first base in place of either Giambi or, if Giambi shifts to DH for those games, Matsui. If either of the latter two are in a groove, they won’t need the sub, but subbing Shelley in for Abreu against lefties is a good move, though I wonder to what degree Joe Girardi will actually execute that plan.

The Yankees set their Opening Day roster yesterday. First the expected moves: Jeff Karstens was placed on the 15-day DL, though he’s expected to miss at least a month; Nick Green and Jose Veras were sent down, as were Edwar Ramirez and Scott Patterson.

Here’s where the surprises come in. Andy Pettitte threw 25 pitches in the bullpen yesterday and is still on schedule to pitch a minor league intrasquad game on Sunday (against Ian Kennedy) and then make a start in the first trip through the rotation in the regular season. However, because he hasn’t pitched in a spring training game since March 17 the Yankees were able to put him on the 15-day DL retroactive to that start, thus making him eligible to come off the DL to start the fifth game of the regular season a week from today against the Rays.

With Pettitte on the DL, the Yankees will have an eight-man bullpen and thus have decided to start the season without a long-man. With two extra spots available (Pettitte’s and the one expected to be filled by a long-reliever), they are taking two extra right-handed short relievers. Thus Brian Bruney, Ross Ohlendorf, and the big surprise to me, Jonathan Albaladejo will all start the season with the big club, while Kei Igawa and Darrell Rasner will both start the season in the Scranton rotation.

My only complaint is that Scott Patterson should have made the team over Albaladejo, but then Albaladejo will likely get bumped when Pettitte comes off the DL a week from today, so that’s likely moot. I’ll be curious to see if Girardi renews his desire for long man once the bullpen is down to seven men. If so, it will force another decision. For now, here are your 2008 New York Yankees:

1B – Jason Giambi (L)
2B – Robinson Cano (L)
SS – Derek Jeter (R)
3B – Alex Rodriguez (R)
C – Jorge Posada (S)
RF – Bobby Abreu (L)
CF – Melky Cabrera (S)
LF – Johnny Damon (L)
DH – Hideki Matsui (L)

R – Shelley Duncan (1B/OF)
R – Morgan Ensberg (1B/3B)
S – Wilson Betemit (IF)
R – Jose Molina (C)

R – Chien-Ming Wang
R – Mike Mussina
R – Phil Hughes
R – Ian Kennedy

R – Mariano Rivera
R – Joba Chamberlain
L – Billy Traber
R – LaTroy Hawkins
R – Kyle Farnsworth
R – Brian Bruney
R – Ross Ohlendorf
R – Jonathan Albaladejo

15-day DL: L – Andy Pettitte, R – Jeff Karstens, L – Sean Henn
60-day DL: R – Humberto Sanchez, R – Andrew Brackman, R – Carl Pavano

(more…)

When one hears the name "Alex" associated with the current day Yankees, the identity of Alex Rodriguez comes to mind. (Or perhaps even Alex Belth.) Three decades ago, another Alex patrolled the outfield for the Yankees. Though not as talented as Rodriguez, he was very controversial, even more so than the man who has become the lightning rod for the Yankees of the new millennium.

This 1975 Topps card (No. 534) is the only one that depicts Alex Johnson as a Yankee, albeit featuring the airbrushed cap colors of the Bronx Bombers. (The cap, oddly fitted onto his head, matches the oddity of Johnson’s facial expression.) Troubled and talented, Johnson didn’t last long with the Yankees, playing only 62 games for them across parts of the 1974 and ’75 seasons. He missed out on the glory years of 1976 to 1978, which is fitting for a player who never had the fortune of participating in the postseason. At times a productive player—he won the American League batting crown in 1970–Johnson fit the description of a journeyman, bouncing from the Phillies to the Cardinals to the Angels and Rangers, before finishing his career with the Yankees and Tigers. Given his talent, he should have played his entire career in one or two places. With a sweet right-handed swing, brute strength, and the kind speed that allowed him to run home to first in under 3.8 seconds—simply remarkable for a right-handed hitter—Johnson possessed All-Star talent.

Chiseled like a museum statue (think of someone with the build of a Glenallen Hill or Mark Whiten), Johnson possessed the kind of physical force that earned him the nickname, "The Bull." Sadly, Johnson’s repeated confrontations with teammates and the media also brought on such less complimentary names as "Awful Alex" and "Alex The Angry." More than 30 years after his retirement in 1976, that is how Johnson tends to be remembered by most fans.

Johnson didn’t like conversing with sportswriters, whom he didn’t trust. He nicknamed one particularly heavy-set writer "The Oblong Jerk." (For all of his faults, Johnson was intelligent; I mean, how often do you hear an athlete using the word "oblong?") He felt even more strongly about another writer, once pouring coffee grounds into the gentleman’s typewriter. Johnson also criticized official scorers for intentionally tabulating his statistics incorrectly, such as failing to give him proper credit for runs batted in or outfield assists. "One of them in particular is Dick Miller," said Johnson, referring to the Southern California writer who covered the Angels. "I don’t think he can even count when it comes to scoring me."

Johnson’s personality quirks carried over to the playing field. Since he believed that his body would become "stale" if he used excessive amounts of energy, he didn’t hustle to his position in the outfield, making him the anti-Pete Rose. On more than one occasion, he told reporters that "I’m just paid to hit," and that full effort in other parts of the game was simply not necessary. He also paced himself by failing to run hard on routine infield grounders and pop-ups, a habit that became especially problematic in 1971. That summer, "Awful Alex" was benched five times by manager Lefty Phillips for a failure to hustle. Johnson also chose not to partake in one of baseball’s time-honored rituals, refusing to shake hands with his teammates after hitting a home run. "I don’t want to waste time running up and down the bench," Johnson explained, "shaking hands for everything that happens."

In actuality, Johnson suffered from mental illness and would have benefited from counseling of some kind. The Angels probably should have arranged psychiatric service, but that sort of thing just wasn’t done very often in professional sports at the time. So Johnson fell deeper into the cracks, seemingly unable to improve his behavior even as the Angels’ attempts at discipline mounted.

As antisocial as Johnson could be, he could also be kind to the point of being saintly. He once donated $500 to a fund earmarked for his former Angels teammate Minnie Rojas, who had been paralyzed in a horrifying car crash. Not wanting to publicize his charitable effort, Johnson denied making the contribution. From a public relations perspective, Johnson could have used all the good will that the donation would have generated, but all that mattered to him was helping a friend.

Johnson also took time to attend the funeral of his former friend, infielder Hiraldo "Chico Ruiz," who lost his life in a 1972 car accident. The two had become estranged, often arguing with each other during that tumultuous 1971 season with the Angels. Putting hard feelings aside, Johnson was one of the few ballplayers to attend the funeral service for Ruiz.

Based on the comments of friends and family, Johnson’s off-the-field persona was far different from the angry public image that he often portrayed. He could be generous, warm, and considerate. Sadly, the baseball world saw too little of that side.

Since his playing days, Johnson has remained reclusive, rarely granting interviews. I’ve never seen him profiled as part of a "Where are they now?" piece. I don’t know if he’s still "Angry Alex," or if he has found a way to move past that stage of his life. Perhaps only Alex knows.

Bruce Markusen writes "Cooperstown Confidential" for MLB.com.

Joel Sherman is blogging twice a day for the Post now. One of the most saber-friendly columinsts going, Sherman usually has something interesting to add to the discussion. Peep.

The boys at River Avenue Blues are doing some fund-raising for the Jorge Posada Foundation. Check it out.

Why were the Red Sox so successful last year? This picture from Rays Anatomy offers some insight.

Lastly, check out Eric Neel’s takeout piece on Joe Torre over at ESPN:

I expected him to be cool. I’d heard the supremely self-possessed Derek Jeter call him “Mr. Torre,” as if kneeling at the feet of an ancient elder, and I’d had Dodgers broadcaster Charlie Steiner tell me, with just the slightest hint of exaggeration, that Torre “is like Neo in ‘The Matrix,'” a man capable of moving objects in space with a supernatural flick of the wrist. But what I hadn’t quite anticipated is the way Torre’s calm confidence seems to radiate, seems available to those around him, like a campfire at which they might warm their hands. Some of that comes from winning four World Series rings; he’s quick to say his success buys him time and goodwill with people. But some of it is just this: When you’re with Joe Torre, you get the feeling — though, as a student of postmodern culture and a working writer in the world of sports journalism, I know such things are impossible — that he might actually be for real.

Last fall, the Indians, and the entire Joe Torre Era already seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?

This is why Josh Wilker is doing some of the best work out there. Lawrence Taylor scared me as a kid, so did MJ, and later, Pedro and the Big Unit.

The Yankees played their final home game of exhibition season yesterday, prior to which Legends Field was renamed for the Bossman. The Yanks now play a pair of games against Joe Girardi’s old team, the Marlins, in the Fish’s regular season home, Dolphin Stadium, then head north for the final Opening Day at Yankee Stadium.

As for the game, Kei Igawa gave up a bunch of runs early, the Yanks didn’t score much and lost 5-2 to the Pirates.

Lineup:

L – Johnny Damon (DH)
R – Derek Jeter (SS)
R – Shelley Duncan (RF)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Hideki Matsui (LF)
R – Morgan Ensberg (1B)
S – Wilson Betemit (2B)
S – Melky Cabrera (CF)

Pitchers: Kei Igawa, Jeff Karstens, Scott Patterson, Ross Ohlendorf, Brian Bruney, Josh Schmidt

Subs: Cody Ransom (1B), Bernie Castro (2B), Alberto Gonzalez (PR/SS), Nick Green (3B), Jose Molina (C), Jose Tabata (RF), Jason Lane (CF), Greg Porter (LF), Jason Brown (DH)

Opposition: The Pirates minus Jason Bay.

Big Hits: Homers by Derek Jeter (1 for 2, BB) and Nick Green (1 for 2) and a double by Jose Molina (1 for 2). No Yankee had a multi-hit game.

Who Pitched Well: Scott Patterson had another perfect outing, this one lasting four outs. Patterson has allowed just one baserunner (a double) in 7 2/3 spring innings and struck out seven. Brian Bruney and Ross Ohlendorf both pitched around singles for scoreless innings. Bruney struck out two. Ohlendorf struck out none, but faced the minimum thanks to a Jose Molina pickoff and got his other two outs on the ground. Jeff Karstens pitched around a single for a scoreless 1 1/3 innings and struck out two, but left the game with a groin injury (see below).

Who Didn’t: Kei Igawa gave up four runs on four singles, a double, and three walks in 3 1/3 innings, putting the ball back in Darrell Rasner’s shoe when it comes to the battle for the long-man job in the Opening Day bullpen.

Oopsies: Morgan Ensberg’s third error at first base and a wild pickoff throw by Ohlendorf.

Nice Plays: Molina pounced on Ohlendorf’s wild throw and nailed the runner at second. Jorge Posada picked Nyjer Morgan off first base.

Minor Work: Mariano Rivera, Jose Veras, and Jonathan Albaladejo all pitched in yesterday’s triple-A contest. Mo worked around a walk, struck out a man, and is set to start the season. Looking at the list of pitchers in yesterday’s major league game, I’d say those assignments are confirmation that neither Veras (who gave up two runs in his only inning) nor Albaladejo (who matched Mo’s line) is making the 25-man roster, though neither was among the players officially reassigned yesterday (see below).

Ouchies: Andy Pettitte threw long toss yesterday, will pitch in an intrasquad game on Sunday, and could start the fourth game of the season if all goes well. Karstens did not travel with the team to Miami. He’ll stay behind to get an MRI and will likely land on the DL with a groin injury, leaving Darrell Rasner as the last man standing for the long-relief job. Back in the lineup, Johnny Damon (flu) went 0 for 3 as the DH. Brett Gardner needed his lip stitched up after fouling a ball off his face on Wednesday, but otherwise he’s fine, though a bit tough to look at. Scott Patterson got hit in the hip by a comebacker, but stayed in the game.

Roster Moves: The Yankees cleaned house when it comes to position players, reassigning Brett Gardner, Cody Ransom, Jason Lane, Bernie Castro, Greg Porter, Chad Moeller, and Jason Brown to minor league camp. That leaves the four expected bench players (Molina, Duncan, Ensberg, Betemit) and Nick Green in major league camp. Per Pete Abe, Joe Girardi said that Wilson Betemit has made the team, which means Green will be farmed out as well. So, though it’s still unofficial, you can put that four-man bench in ink. As for the reassigned players, Castro (2B), Ransom (3B), Lane (RF), Gardner (CF), Moeller (C), and possibly Porter (LF) will start for Scranton. I assume catcher Jason Brown will return to his role as an organizational soldier, though every year I expect him to retire and begin his career as a coach.

(more…)

Please allow me to start the column by saying I miscalculated. I had intended to review the various papers’ pullout/special sections on the Yankees, but they will be available this Sunday. Since rosters are complete now, the last vestiges of those sections can now go to print.

In order to truly appreciate those sections — regardless of the quality of writing — think of the planning that goes into it. Editors meet on the content for those sections and begin doling assignments starting from the time they send reporters to Tampa. It’s a long, painstaking process.

I’ll tie in the reviews with some Opening Day missives in the next column. …

… This week, I wanted to veer off the beaten path (not the "beatin’ path," as in "dead horse," or Canseco v. A-Rod: A Juicing and Wife-Ogling Tale), to discuss how various media members view their function in the baseball establishment. But before I do, a quick tangent: Reading about the Red Sox’ whining about the Japan trip took me into the DeLorean and the last week of March, 2004. My colleagues and I were on two-week rotations for Spring Training, and I had the final two weeks leading up to the Yankees’ exodus to Japan, where they opened the season against the Devil Rays. I actually watched their charter take off from my hotel room.

At any rate, the quotes from various Sox players and coaches were eerily reminiscent of those of Kevin Brown, Mike Mussina and a couple of other Yankees who vocalized their disdain for the long haul across the International Date Line. There was concern of how the trip would affect the team long-term for the season. The first three weeks of April were terrible; the Yankees went 8-11 in their first 19 games, including a 1-6 mark against the Red Sox. An eight-game win streak ended the first month of the season and bled into May, and set the tone for a 101-61 record that included 61 come-from-behind victories.

But the early effects of the Japan trip were still talked about on Sept. 30, the night the Yankees clinched the AL East on a game-winning home run by Bernie Williams. As I was scampering through the clubhouse, steno pad in hand trying to avoid a champagne shower that would have ruined my notes, I recall one local television reporter introducing a question to Mussina (and I’m paraphrasing): "Moose, it’s been a long season, you’ve been outspoken about the Japan trip and voiced your complaints, etc. …" To which Mussina replied, "Complained? You’ve been here like 10 minutes all year, how do you know?" Now while I may not be the biggest fan of Mussina, especially in his treatment of media members, I thought this was hilarious and if I were in his position, I can’t say I’d have reacted differently. I’d love to find out if something similar occurs in Boston later this year. That would be hilarious.

To the point of the column: media members’ opinions of their place in the game. In her most recent column, ESPN.com Ombudsman (Ombudsperson?) Le Anne Schreiber interviewed many ESPN reporters and analysts about how they juggle their multiple roles, specifically the injection of opinion when serving as guests on ESPN Radio programming, SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, etc., compared to managing their "objectivity" in reporting. It’s an old-school/new-school debate that’s raging in Journalism schools, going back to when I was in college, and there isn’t a real answer.

I found the last half-dozen paragraphs most interesting. Schreiber discusses Steve Phillips’ role in the Mitchell Report analysis, which led to the question of, "How much are the media and other non-players a part of the game?"

On a recent "Outside the Lines" report, Phillips seemed to take a giant step onto the media side of the fence when he acknowledged that, as general manager of the Mets, he had signed a player whose performance declined upon joining the team. When Phillips learned the cause was the player’s going off amphetamines, he thought, "Well, dear God, will somebody please get him back on those? That’s the truth, and I say it with some sense of shame and responsibility."

After that show, Phillips says, "I got a lot of reaction from people at ESPN, pats on the back, and I wondered if I had opened up too much about it."

Such disclosure may not be in the best interest of baseball, but it is essential for an ESPN baseball analyst who is asked to comment on others’ complicity in the steroids era. To me, it seemed Phillips had chosen the media side of the line, but I also noticed that when asked later in that same show what baseball management should do now to clean up the game, he began talking about what "they should do" and then shifted to what "we should do."

"I wasn’t aware of switching from ‘they’ to ‘we,’" Phillips says. "But I do believe that we as broadcasters are part of the game. We still have an impact on the game. I don’t know whether this crosses the line in broadcasting or not. I don’t know if writers like Buster Olney and Peter Gammons consider themselves part of the game, but as a GM I always thought of the media covering the game as part of the game."

I knew what Olney’s answer would be, but still I asked him whether he thought he was part of the game.

"No," Olney said. "There is definitely a hard line there for me. I don’t think of myself as part of the institution of baseball."

(TJ) Quinn, Olney, Phillips — all drawing different lines or trying to locate them within the shifting landscape of journalism. Old-school straight lines may have toppled to the ground like a pile of overlapping pick-up sticks, but I think ESPN should make sure all its reporters, analysts, producers and editors know where the old lines are so they can recognize when it is in everyone’s best interest to pick them up again.

I found Olney’s quote astonishing. If he, or any other writer, doesn’t consider himself part of the institution of baseball, then the institution of baseball should not give members of the BBWAA such elevated status. Remove the writers’ wing from the Hall of Fame. Don’t allow them to vote for any regular-season honors. Writers are an integral part of the game’s culture, makeup and have helped develop some of its vernacular. When I worked at YES, I wasn’t around the team every day. For my first three years there, until I cut back my game assignments, I worked roughly 50+ games a year on-site and at least 100 more on the editorial side. I felt like I was part of the game because my summaries, columns, etc., were helping shape fans’ views of the team. On a different level, when I did TV and radio play-by-play for my college sports teams, I didn’t feel like I was a part of the team, but I was a part of the game. I was an element of the way people received information on the game.

What do you think? Are writers, broadcasters, front office members, owners, etc., separate from the Institution of Baseball? Is Phillips right? Is Olney?

I’m curious to review your comments.

Until next week …

Brett Myers and 22-year-old righty Andrew Carpenter shut out the Yanks 4-0.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
L – Bobby Abreu (RF)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Jason Giambi (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
S – Wilson Betemit (SS)
R – Jason Lane (LF)
R – Chien-Ming Wang (P)

Pitchers: Chien-Ming Wang, Ross Ohlendorf, Joba Chamberlain, Billy Traber, Brian Bruney

Subs: Morgan Ensberg (1B), Chris Woodward (SS), Cody Ransom (3B), Jose Molina (C), Bernie Castro (PH/CF), Nick Green (PH), Greg Porter (PR), Carlos Mendoza (PR)

Opponent: The Phillies’ starters.

Big Hits: Robinson Cano went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles. Bobby Abreu walked twice in four trips. The rest of the Yankee hitters reached base just four times on two other singles and two other walks.

Who Pitched Well: Billy Traber retired the only two men he faced. Those two men happened to be lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the latter of whom struck out. Ross Ohlendorf pitched around a Geoff Jenkins double, striking out two in the sixth. Joba Chamberlain faced three batters, walking one, striking out one, and getting the third to ground out.

Who Didn’t: A bad second inning ruined Chien-Ming Wang’s outing. Wang allowed four runs on six singles and two walks in his five innings, but all four runs, four of those singles, and one of the walks came in the second inning. Things were worse than they should have been in that frame as Wang induced two double-play balls, but due to misplays by Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez (the latter Alex Rodriguez’s third error of the spring) only got one out from them. Brian Bruney only retired half of the four men he faced, allowing a double to So Taguchi and a single.

Ouchies: Andy Pettitte threw 36 pitches in the bullpen and said he felt good. He’s on target to make a minor league start on Saturday and start Game 3 of the regular season, though he’ll have to throw another bullpen today to stay on target. Brett Gardner fouled a ball off his face. Bloodied, he came out of the game immediately and headed to the dentist for x-rays. Johnny Damon missed the game as he continues to struggle with the flu. Don’t be surprised if you start hearing about other players battling the flu in the coming days (Pete Abe reports Shelley Duncan and Jeff Karstens aren’t feeling so hot . . . easy fix on the latter: send him to minor league camp).

Minor Work: Pitching for Tampa, Mariano Rivera tossed a perfect inning and Kyle Farnsworth pitched a scoreless one, but allowed two hits.

Roster Moves: As predicted by Chad Jennings, Sean Henn has been placed on the 15-day DL with tendonitis. Nick Green chose not to opt out of his Yankee contract, but the Yanks did reduce their futility-man glut by releasing Chris Woodward. Analyzing the battle for the final bench spot two weeks ago, I wrote, “We’ll get our first big lesson on Joe Girardi’s decision making when he’s forced to choose between Chris Woodward and Morgan Ensberg, a choice which should be obvious.” Well, with four days left in camp, Ensberg’s on the 40-man roster and Chris Woodward is looking for a new team. I couldn’t be more impressed.

More: Gardner got the start because Damon was sick and Melky Cabrera stayed behind in Tampa for some sliding practice. Legends Field becomes George M. Steinbrenner Field today. Porn enthusiast Hideki Matsui is getting married.

(more…)

Pat Jordan has a funny story about chasing Jose Canseco for a magazine profile over at Deadspin:

I have been pursuing Jose, like the Holy Grail, for three months now, trying to nail him down for a magazine profile he’d agreed to do in January, partly because, as his lawyer/agent had told me, “Jose’s on the balls on his ass,” and partly because Jose was trying to interest a publisher in his second steroids-tell-all book, which existed only as a two page proposal of typos that had yet to interest any publisher. This second book would be titled “Vindicated,” and it would “encompass approximately 300 pages and will require six months to complete.”

My pursuit of Jose began in January when I called him in California. His girlfriend, Heidi, answered the phone. I told her that I was writing a magazine story about Jose writing a book. “And a movie,” she said. “Jose is writing a book and a movie about himself.” I said, “You mean a screenplay?” She paused a beat, then said, “No, a movie.” I said, “Of course.”

Uh, and nice zinger to end the piece, right? One commentor on Deadspin said you could just skip the entire story and go right to the last line and that pretty much sums it up. Yow.

I figure many of you, being sane and intelligent people, probably missed the official start of baseball season–live from Japan, at 6 a.m., Red Sox-A’s–but I had to write about something, and damned if I have anything left to say about spring training. My viewing didn’t go quite the way I planned, as I fell asleep on the futon sometime during the second inning and woke up hours later to the grating laughter of Mike and Mike. Fortunately my TiVo knows me better than I know myself.

It wasn’t the game’s fault–this one was highly entertaining, even if the end result, 5-4 Sox, wasn’t ideal. Cliff gave the play-by-play yesterday. Depending on your tolerance for Schadenfreude, watching Daisuke Matsuzaka completely and utterly lose the strike zone in the early going was either fun or somewhat wince-inducing–this was supposed to be his big homecoming, after all–but either way, he made an impressive recovery, and the Sox won a tough one, albeit with a little help from the A’s.

Yes, it turns out Oakland isn’t messing around with this whole “rebuilding” thing. I thought I’d been paying pretty close attention to baseball transactions this winter, but I’ve never even heard of a bunch of these guys. I’ve certainly heard of Emil Brown, though, and in the 10th inning, he proceded to demonstrate how they do things in Kansas City and Pittsburgh. I have a lot of faith in Billy Beane’s diabolical schemes, but this particular season . . . well, it could be a rough summer for the Bay Area.

These days, my joy at Opening Day is usually tempered a bit by the knowledge that with it comes Joe Morgan’s ESPN announcing; but we’ve been spared this year, as Steve Phillips and Gary Thorne made the trip instead. I haven’t heard much of Thorne before, I don’t think, and I actually enjoyed him. His use of “Sayonara!” as a home run call was pretty unforgivable, but his perkiness seems to be entirely genuine, and I just couldn’t dislike him, especially since he seemed as punchy as his pre-dawn audience as he rambled on about coffee and cherry blossoms. At one point, he was openly wavering on whether to address himself to East Coast fans just waking up and eating breakfast, or those “west of the Mississippi” who might be arriving home “after the bars close.” I’m still not sure what he ended up deciding, but either way, it was entertaining.

Even Steve Phillips, who regularly rubs me the wrong way on Baseball Tonight, seemed so happy to have baseball back that I couldn’t hold a grudge. Though I did scoff–out loud, just on general principle, even though no one was there to hear it–when he said of Matsuzaka, during his early struggles, “the look in his eyes for his last pitch was the best he’s had yet. He’s competing now, it looks like.” Really? Is that the same "look" you saw in the eyes of Mo Vaugh, Roberto Alomar, and Armando Benitez (twice)? Unfortunately for Mets fans, Scott Kazmir’s eyeballs apparently don’t convey that much competitiveness.

Also joining the telecast, considerably earlier in the day than I prefer to see him, was the Commisioner himself. Having just finished up an exciting and historic trip that brought Major League Baseball to China for the first time ever, Bud Selig was his usual charismatic self, brimming with enthralling stories from his travels in Beijing:

“I remember standing on the field with Joe Torre, who I’ve known for about 50-plus years, and he looked at me and I looked at him. And he said, ‘Did you ever think we’d be standing on a field in Beijing, about to play Major League Baseball?’ And I said, ‘No.’”
(Long pause).

A born raconteur, that man.

There’s been much debate recently over how much the additional travel and jetlag will affect the Red Sox. (No one appears to care very much whether or not it will affect the A’s). Over at YFSF, Paul makes a convincing case that the trip to Japan has historically had little if any impact on a team’s performance. He’s probably right, though when I flew home from Taiwan last summer I was a zombie for well over a week. Regardless, and despite what you might have heard earlier this spring from Theo Epstein, the complaining has already commenced. I’d say karma’s a bitch, but alas, the Sox did win the game.