What a great week!  The Yankees cliched the AL East and home field advantage.   Hey what a year!  Jeter passes Gehrig, Cano and Jeter have 200+ hit seasons (first double play combo to do that in the modern era) , Mo get his 500th save, 15 walkoffs, 50 come from behind wins… shall I go on?

I thought it would be fun to look back on some of the preseason discussions, moves and concerns and how they panned out…

Derek Jeter… Getting up there in age?  Set to have at .333 season with a .405 OBP!  Hell of a year for the Captain.

Mark Teixeira… How will he hand the NY pressure? He is just “a beast”.  A welcomed addition to the the Yankee first basemen tradition.

Jorge Posada… Too old to catch and be a force at the plate?  .290 average, 81 RBIs.  Did a good job behind the plate.

Marinano Rivera… Is he too old?  44/46 Saves, 1.82 ERA… enough said.   He’s the King of Closers.

Robinson Cano… Would he rebound after a tough 2008 season?  Answer, He is now considered one of the best 2nd Basemen in baseball. And you wanted to trade him!

AJ Burnett… He’s been injured so many times during his career will he hold up?  Answer, Solid season and going into the playoffs with some mojo.  Good move Cash!

Andy Pettitte.. Isn’t he too old to pitch?  14-7 wins and also going into the playoffs with some mojo.  Not Bad!  Another good move Cash!

Alex Rodriguez.. Will he ever be a true Yankee?  I think he proved himself with clutch hits and contributions throughout the season.  Had a solid season considering he had surgery and missed about 40 games.

Nick Swisher… The “X” Factor in right field.  Chugging those Red Bulls one after another he brought intangibles to the club house.. along with 28 home runs.  Xavier who?

Phil Hughes… Should the Yankees wait for him to develop or trade him?  I guess now we can say he’s one of the best late game relievers in baseball and possibly heir apparent to Mariano’s spot.

There were a few rough spots…

Joba Chamberlain, Where does he fit?  The jury is still out.  Spotty performances all season.  Yankees over caring for his arm.  His performance in the post season will be interesting to watch and will probably help determine his future.

Chien-Ming Wang struggled to find his grove but then found his shoulder to be injured.  Hopefully he will be back to old form next season.

All in all it was a great year to be a Yankee fan.  I can’t remember the last time this team was so much fun to watch.   The highlight for me and the turning point of the year in my opinion was when they swept 4 games from Boston in August.  After that the Yankees never looked back.  Let’s hope they keep the mojo going in the post season.

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As Alexander Pope once wrote ”hope springs eternal”.    It’s almost spring.. almost time for baseball at a new (unbelievable) stadium.  There may be a certain amount of “hope” in my 2009 Yankee predictions, but I have solid confidence in this year’s team.  Here it goes…

1. Yankees will win home opener at the new stadium against Cleveland on April 16th.  C.C. Sabathia will get his first win over Cliff Lee.  Unfortunately Bronx Bomber fans won’t get a chance to “cheer” Carl Pavano during the home opening series… only 4 games and Pavano is projected to be #5 in the rotation.  While I hope it doesn’t happen, fans wil probably give A-Rod the old “bronxcheer”.  Let’s hope he answers with 2 homers so the fans tone down and team can benefit from his ability.  What’s done is done.. now let’s win!
   
2. If he stay’s healthy, C.C. Sabathia will post 23 wins this season.   He’s has one of the best offensive teams in baseball giving him run support.   If they give him 5-6 runs a game he may win 25!
   
3. A. J. Burnett and Chien-Mein Wang will remain healthy all season winning 18 and 20 games respectively.  Again, run support.
   
4. Derek Jeter will bat .300 or above this season..  OK, pretty much even money on this one.
   
5. A-Rod will have a tough April and May.   However, will break out in June to finish the season at around .300 with 38 HRs and 109 RBIs.  The fans will be on him all year while he’s in the field so get use to hearing “E5″.   I hope I’m wrong but 20+ errors for A-Rod this year.
   
6. Mark Teixeira will prove to be a GREAT Yankee first baseman.  I mean along the lines of Don Mattingly, Tino Martinez and dare I say Lou Gerhig.  He will flash the leather and quietly bat in the low .300’s.   Yankee fans will welcome him as another “clutch” player.
   
7. Joba Chamberlain will end up being the 7-8th inning dude.  For three reasons.. A. The Yankees will figure out that it’s better to have one of the strongest arms in baseball effecting the outcome of 65 games instead of 35.  B. Phil Hughes will bloom.  C. They’ll need to fill a gap in the bullpen. 
   
8. Johnny Damon will hit the ground running offensively.
   
9. Jorge Posadawill platoon with Melina.   The Yankees will want his bat in the lineup so he may see some DH time if Matsui isn’t performing.  I hate to say it but this may be Jorge’s last year behind the plate.
   
10. Robinson Canowill have a killer season batting .305 with 32 HR, 98 RBI’s.   He will be one of the best hitting 2B men  of 2009 in all of baseball.  Well, at least I hope so.
    
11. Melky Cabrera and Brett Garnder will end up sharing time in Centerfield, with Garnder usually coming in late in the game as a pinch runner.
    
12. Marino Rivera… no prediction on this one.  I hope he comes back to form after the shoulder surgery but we really won’t know until around late April after he’s in game situations.  If he’s not at least 90% of the old Mo, the Yankees have a serious problem.  He’s got to retain his 9th innning dominance in order for the Yankees to have a shot at the playoffs.
    
13. The Yankees will win 97 games beating the Red Sox by 1 game for the division title (thus making the playoffs).  Wins per pitcher breaks down a follows… Sabathia 23, Burnett 18, Wang 20, Pettitte 15, Joba 4, Hughes 12 & 5 games won by the bullpen.
    
14. The Yankees will beat the Angels to win the ALCS and face the Phillies in the World Series.  Will they win the WS?  If they get there I’ll be sure to post my prediction.
    
15. Joe Girardi will be back as the Yankee manager in 2010.

Disclaimer:  The predictions provided above have been made by a Yankee fan who may have his head a bit in the clouds (or up his ass) because he is so hungry to watch baseball again and he wants his team to make the playoffs.  These prophecies were made under the assumption that all of the players mentioned stay off the DL for the most part and that Yankees develop a good solution to the middle inning pitching challenge.  It would also help if Boston and Tampa Bay play like crap from April through June! 

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From the Associated Press… 

Chien-Ming Wang threw 27 pitches yesterday in his first mound session this year as he rehabilitates his injured foot.  Wang missed the final 3 1/2 months of last season after hurting his foot running the bases. He had several bullpen sessions last October after undergoing a rehab program.

“He’s full go for spring training,” Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “He felt strong. He really looked good. A good day for him.”

Wang won 19 games in both 2006 and 2007. On Tuesday, he also had a long toss session with Joba Chamberlain, who will be part of a rotation with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte.

“No concerns,” Wang said. “Everything feels fine.”

New York catcher Jorge Posada continued to make progress after undergoing shoulder surgery. He made 140 throws on Monday, and plans to throw harder on Wednesday.

Posada said he won’t likely catch in a spring training game until around March 8, but still expects to be ready for opening day.

“No setbacks,” Posada said. “Everything has been good. Hopefully everything stays healthy.”

Good to read they are working early and getting ready.  62 days until opening day!

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The book The Yankee Years comes out today.  Joe Torre is in NYC today doing book signings and radio interviews.   Yet veteran Yankee players have been noticeably silent when it comes to backing up team mates who were called out in the book.   I heard both Posada and Jeter say in interviews that they will reserve comment until the book comes out…. we’ll it’s out now (and don’t tell me they didn’t get advanced copies).

Wallace Matthews of Newsday wrote a great article today (It’s time for Jeter to step up, defend Rodriguez)calling for “The Captain” to stand behind A-Rod.   I will add all the veterans… Posada, Pettitte, Rivera, Damon should join the cause and stick up for their team mate.   They may have a sense of loyalty towards Torre, but they are not playing for the Dodgers.. they play for the Yankees.

I was a little upset with Jeter didn’t mention Joe Torre at all during the last game celebration at Yankee stadium… now he has a chance to REALLY cement himself as the best Yankee captain.   What’s your next move Derek? If he’s smart it will be to back up A-Rod.

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I think it’s now safe to say that Scott Boras is completely insane.   According to The Boston Herald, Boras is seeking a Jorge Posada like (4yr, $52M) deal for Jason Varitek.  The 36 year old Red Sox catcher batted a weak .220 in 2008 and saw a drop off in RBI production.

“When you talk about Jason’s down year,” Boras said, “I basically take issue with the terminology. Jason Varitek is paid to lead and paid to get his team to win. His offensive production, while certainly something that has been considered in the upper echelon for catchers (isn’t as important), I know from the past negotiation with Boston, his offense was a very small value in the marketplace.”.   This guy is a master.

If Theo was thinking signing Tek would be a no-brainer… guess again.  Scott Boras.. Insane Sports Agent is on the case.   Unreal.

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Jorge Posada

During the last Yankee road trip Cashman had a chat Posada and asked him if he could “catch 120 games in 2009?”.   “He looked me in the eye and he swears that he’s going to be back, as good as ever,” Cashman said earlier this month. “It’s up to us to buy into that or not.” 

As for Ivan Rodriguez?  All signs point to Pudge signing with another team in 2009.  Having Jose Melina as a back up catcher makes this choice an easy one for the Yankees.  Melina has told Yankee brass that he plans to train in the off season as if he will be called on to catch 100+ games.  That’s the kind of back up catcher any club would want.

:: Donnie23