2011 Yankees pitchers predictions

This was the big issue this winter. The Yanks missed out of Cliff Lee and then Andy Pettitte decided it was time to hang it up. The Yanks rotation has many question marks, but the bullpen looks as strong as ever. So can the Yankees hit their way into October? Or will the pitching surprise everyone, and lead the charge in the quest for title 28.

CC Sabathia: Entering year three in the Bronx, CC has given the Yankees everything and then some that they had expected from him when he signed here. He has battled for the CY Young award, and pitched phenomenal in the postseason, the biggest question is will he leave New York after this year.

Best case: 22-6 2.81 ERA 215 Strikeouts. CC wins the CY Young and leads the bombers back into the playoffs on his slimmed down back.

Worst case: 15-10 4.02 ERA 167 SO Sabathia begins to eat a box of Captain Crunch a day, his knee is an issue, or ::gasp:: he gets hurt from throwing so many innings the past few years.

My prediction: 20-7 3.12 ERA 190 SO The big man is an consistent as ever, and anchors the bombers rotation.

A.J. Burnett: Will we see bad A.J. or will we get to see good A.J.? When Burnett is doing bad, he looks lost and gets hit hard. When he is doing well, his stuff is moving all over the place and is as close to unhittable as anyone in baseball. But what A.J. shows up?
Best case: 17-9 3.88 ERA 206 SO Burnett shows off his 2008 form, shutting down the Red Sox and looking like the pitcher the Yanks signed.
Worst case: 11-13 4.89 ERA 174 SO I don't think it can get any worse for Burnett, especially after last season. The worst case has Burnett looking lost at times, getting bombed by Boston and blowing leads. The boo birds will be out, early and often.
My prediction: 13-10 4.19 ERA 186 SO Burnett comes back and has a season similar to 2009. Burnett is going to struggle at times but will also have enough starts where he will shut down the opponent.

Phil Hughes: 2010 was a break out year for Hughes, winning 18 games. But Hughes struggled in the second half of the season, and fell victim to giving up the long ball. Now their are reports that his velocity has dropped, will his wins do the same?
Best case: 19-8 3.45 180 SO. Hughes proves that he last season was no fluke, and can be the Yankees second ace.
Worst case: 12-10 4.87 ERA 152 SO. Phil takes a step back, dealing with injuries, Hughes tries to do his best but instead looks like Burnett circa 2010.
My prediction: 16-8 4.09 169 SO. Hughes falls back to earth, but is still very solid. I would be very concerned with the chance that he suffers an injury since his innings went up by 90 from 2009 to 2010. This year that could catch up with him.

Ivan Nova : Yankee fans love to see the big stars, but they also love to see the home grown kid find a way to succeed in the Bronx. Nova last year had flashes of success, but would also flash signs of being just a kid.
Best case: 15-7 3.76 ERA 155 SO. Just call his super Nova if this is the case, cause he will have blown expectations out of the water.
Worst case: 3-9 5.72 ERA 82 SO and a trip to Scranton. Nothing could be worse then the Yanks having to send down Nova because he is doing that poor. In his starts, Nova wouldn't be able to get past the opposing line up for a third time, thus leaving alot of games early.

My prediction: 12-9 4.32 ERA 134 SO. He's just a kid so lets remember to cut him a break, he will have his good starts and then have some bad starts. But has a performance that gets him a chance to start a playoff game and hold a spot in the 2012 rotation.

Freddy Garcia: Steady Freddy might not be able to live up to his nickname for much longer, but the Yanks will hope that they can squeeze one more season out of his right arm, or atleast enough juice from it to keep them afloat.
Best case: 14-7 3.83 ERA 141 SO. Garcia parties like it's 2005 again, and his shoulder has no issues.
Worst case: 4-10 5.66 ERA 67 SO. Garcia gets hurt,or struggled and the Yankees cut him and rather go with one someone in the minors or Bartolo Colon.
My prediction: 11-8 4.63 ERA 93 SO. Freddy isn't great, but gives the Yankees innings and quality starts for a fifth starter.

I'm not going to run through the entire bullpen because relievers are tough to predict. But I will give my prediction on the great Mariano Rivera.

Mariano Rivera: Simply The Best

Best case: 3-1 1.33 ERA 70 SO. Rivera finds another way to wow us all

Worst case: 2-4 3.03 ERA 55 SO. Mo cant strike any one out, and suddenly looks like a human.

My prediction: 3-2 1.83 ERA 64 SO Mo is a machine, no matter what age.

Overall I think the Yankees are going to finish in second place, due to the lack of starting depth. But this team is good enough to make the playoffs as the wild card and still win over 90 games. In fact I think the Red Sox win the division, but I'm not so sure they run away with it. Wouldn't surprise me if the Yanks only finish a game or two out.
Final Record: 94-68 wild card winners, lose in the ALCS

2011 Yankees starting line up predictions

We are less then 24 hours away from the start of the 2011 Yankees season. This off season seemed much longer then the past few, in the past the Yanks were coming off a championship and had added high priced free agents. This off season? Neither, the best off season addition was Rafael Soriano, as we know no championship parade and worst of all Andy Pettitte retired and left the Yanks rotation very thin.

But opening day is a time for optimism, along with predictions on how the Yanks will do. So with that here is a break down of my predictions for the 2011 Yanks starting line up and pitchers.

Russell Martin: Last season Martin played very poorly, but part of that was because Joe Torre treated him as if he was Scott Proctor and played him at third during his off days. But will a bad hip and a change from the NL West to the AL East help or hurt Martin?
Best case: .290/12 home runs/ 70 RBI, plays in over 125 games
Worst case: .240/6 /42  and has to go on the DL for any amount of time
My prediction: .276/10/60 Martin stays healthy, other then the occasionally day to day stuff.

Mark Teixeria: Will this be the season that Tex gets off to a decent start? Well everyone sure hopes, I think that Tex wont be as bad as he was the past two seasons, but he will hit around .250 in April, a respectable but still low for Mark. Last year Teixeria was never able to really get hot, and suffered so many nagging injuries, the key this season, would be to just stay healthy and get off to a decent start.
Best case: .300/38/139 Tex manages to get off to a nice start and never looks back, putting up MVP like stats.
Worst case: .250/30/100 85% of big leaguers would love to have this line, but for Tex it indicates a poor season and a slow start. Also fans begin to lose some patients with Tex in this scenario, they start to compare him to the old A-Rod and say hes "not clutch".
My prediction: .280/34/120 Mark gets off to an OK start, and then heats up and has a year similar to 2009.

Robinson Cano: I love to watch Cano play, and that starts with the fact that I have really gotten to see his game grow since 2005. The Yankees are really counting on Cano to have a season similar to 2010, but are the expectations too high?

Best case: .340/35/125 Cano turns into an absolute beast, hitting for a higher average and adds more power to his game

Worst case: .281/22/88 Cano starts to swing at balls over his head and in the dirt, and the famous "lazy" tag comes back out.

My prediction: .324/30/108 I will say right out that Robbie is my favorite  player, but it seems like everyone expects his to improve by alot, I think Cano will be consistent and have a slightly better season then last year.

Derek Jeter: Ah the captain, this is a tough one since not many shortstops have managed to put up a decent season over the age of 35, but Jeter is determined to change that.

Best case: .330/16/70 The man gets his 3,000 hit, and the fans forget about 2010.

Worst case: .250/9/60 Yankee fans watch Jeter declining right in front of their eyes, suddenly rumors are popping up that Jeter will be moving to the out field, since his defense has gotten worse.

My prediction: .296/10/66 Jeter improves from last season, but still hits into the famous double plays, still lacks range and short and we still hear the rumors. But its Derek Jeter! We look past the flaws and love him anyways.

Alex Rodriguez: uh oh its 2011, an odd year, you know what the means right? A big year for A-Rod, or atleast you would think so since he won the MVP in 2003,2005,and 2007 and shut up the critics in 2009 with a postseason for the ages. But does the trend continue?
Best case: .300/45/136 A-Rod stays healthy and has the big season that everyone expects
Worst case .268/25/110 A-Rod struggles with little injuries or is forced to spend a large chunk of time on the DL. His defense declines more and he still cant catch up on fastballs.
My prediction: .278/33/128 It might be an odd year, but that doesn't equal a huge season in my eyes. But the third basemen finds a way to stay healthy and still have a very very good season.

Nick Swisher: Every ones favorite goof ball had his best all around season last year, but was it a mirage or is he for real.

Best case: .300/30/100 Swish still improves, and suddenly a big pay day will be awaiting him.
Worst case: .255/24/73 Last season was based off luck, and the old Swisher comes back.
My prediction: .284/30/93 It was a quiet spring for Swisher, but don't expect him to be so quiet with the bat this season, I expect alot of the same from Swisher, including an increase in RBI's since he will be batting behind Cano.

Curtis Granderson: It was the tale of two seasons for the Grandy man. The first half: awful. The second: amazing. What half held the real Granderson?
Best case: .291/30/90 Kevin Long shows why he is the best at what he does and suddenly the Granderson trade looks like a steal.

Worst case: .244/16/60 Granderson cant hit lefties and is benched while Austin Jackson has a good season with the Tigers.

My prediction: .273/26/78 Granderson will struggle at times, but he is more consistent and has a nice season.

Brett Gardner: Back in 2008 I hated Gardner, and begged for the Yankees to either send him down or just keep his around as a pinch runner. Good thing I'm not a scout, because Gardner has turned into a great all around player.
Best case: .300/10/52 Brett continues to play great defense, and steals alot.
Worst case: .260/4/36 Gardner battles injuries, and struggles. But still steals alot.
My prediction: .283/8/49 Gardy has another impressive season, and steals...alot.

Jorge Posada: We saw the first core four member retire this past winter, could this be the final season of Posada in pinstripes?
Best case: .285/25/80 Posada is healthy, happy and hitting. Girardi even tosses him a bone and lets him catch every now and then.
Worst case: .240/15/48 Posada battles injuries and has a tough time ajusting to DHing full time. To make things worse he complains about it to the media, causing an issue.
My prediction: .255/22/73 Posada will still hit as long as hes healthy, and aside from the occasional grumble he takes DHing well and the Yanks welcome him back in 2012.

Talkin Baseball/John Flaherty Interview 3-29-11

In case you missed it or just want to hear the greatness again, here is the interview with John Flaherty.

Flash Interview:


And in case you missed any of the episode


Enjoy! And don't forget to tune in every Tuesday at 7pm on WCWP.org for Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner run down 3-29-11... John Flaherty joins us!

That's right former Yankee and current YES Network broadcaster John Flaherty joins us tonight on Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner. Listen as we talk about Opening day and the latest on the Yankees as they get ready for the start of the season.

Other then Mr.Flaherty, we will discuss the Yankees and Mets rosters as they get ready to open up the season, along with breaking down the American League division winners, along with out MVP and CY Young award winners.

Tune in tonight on WCWP.org and WCWPSports.org from 7-9pm for all your baseball news, if you would like to call us up and talk/debate with us the number to call is 516-299-2790.

Yankee season tickets have arrived

The booklet they came in.

Just like last season the players are on the tickets

I like the tickets this year. Yes they are similar to last season, but still very nice. My biggest issue is that in past years they gave out $5 coupons for tickets, this year they gave out only 50% off coupons and only three of them.  A better marketing idea would have been two buy one get one coupons.... oh well

The suprises of spring training

Well this the last week the Yankees will be down in Tampa training until 2012. On of my favorite things is how the storylines are resolved and the unexpected, becomes a reality.

First example, Gustavo Molina as the back up catcher.
 A few weeks back on Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner I joked the Molina would make the team over Jesus Montero or Austin Romine. Well each day it looks more and more like a solid possability. Molina has had a nice spring, while Montero has struggled and would not get the chance to play everyday in the bigs. Romine missed time, and many feel he is also not ready. I would have said Jorge Posada, but he has yet to catch a single inning in spring training and I doubt he will for the remaining few days. So that leaves it to Molina.

I actually like the Molina idea since, he will just play once a week if that, and when Cervelli comes back they can cut Cervelli they can either send down Molina or Cervelli.

Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia all make the team, with the last two being the fourth and fifth starters.
Yes two of them would have to make the team as the starting pitchers at the back of the rotation, unless the Yanks were going to go with four man rotation. But Sergio Mitre was sadly cut as the long man, and that opened up the role for big Bartolo.

I never expected Colon to be on the roster once opening day hit, I also had my doubts about Nova (I was assuming the Yanks would make a trade) but they both will be pitching in the bigs to start 2011.

Eric Chavez does not get hurt! And makes the team

Whats more shocking that he didnt get hurt or that he made the team? I would say that he was healthy enough, cause I had a feeling Girardi would add him to the roster if he played well, and he has done just that hitting close to .400 this spring.

New York baseball preview

Had to write this up for my school news paper, sure its not as in depth as most of the stuff, but writing for a general audience can be tough. Anyways enjoy....


There is something about baseball’s opening day that is not like anything else. It’s a tradition steep in history, it’s a sign that warmer and better days are coming and on the first day of the season everyone is even with a record of 0-0.



It has been a long off season but Americas past time kicks into full gear on Thursday March 31st when six games will be played to start of 2011. One of the teams that will be on action on the 31st will be the New York Yankees. It has been a long winter for Yankee fans since Alex Rodriguez struck out to end game 6 of the American League Championship Series, last October.

It began with missing out on top free agent Cliff Lee, the Yankees had made a major mistake of putting all their eggs in one basket, waiting for Lee while other free agent were gobbled up by other teams. Eventually Lee spurned the Yankees and the Rangers, the team seem as a major threat to the Yanks chance to sign Lee, to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies. This left the bombers searching for pitching, they would go and sign a bunch of low key free agent pitchers, many coming off bad seasons or injury prone ones.

But just when things couldn’t get any worse for the Yankees, it did. Andy Pettite, the third most winning pitcher in the franchise’s history, opted to retire instead of coming back for one more season, leaving the Yankees rotation in shambles. Pettitte, said at the time that he rather stay home with his family, then try and push himself through one more season, a reason that in the eyes of many fans is completely expectable.

Without Pettitte and Lee, a huge void was left in the rotation, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman tried his best to fix the hole, by building a strong bullpen, grabbing all star closer Rafael Soriano, to be the set up man to Mariano Rivera. But the starting rotation is the major issue. C.C. Sabathia is as consistent as any pitcher in the majors, but he is coming off knee surgery and has thrown over 230 innings each of the past four seasons. One injury to Sabathia, and the Yankees season is virtually over. A.J. Burnett is set to be the number two starter, but he is as inconsistent as they come. Last year Burnett would have stretches during the season were he looked as dominant as any other pitcher in baseball, and then he had stretches were he looked as if he belonged in the minor leagues. Phil Hughes had a great season in 2010, winning 18 games, but his second half was sub-par having an ERA above five and he gave up too many home runs. This season Hughes is somewhat of a question mark because in his fine 2010 season, he increased his innings pitched by 90 innings, and often young pitchers that increase their work load by that much have a tendency to get hurt. The fourth and five starting jobs were won by Freddy Garcia and Ivan Nova. Both serviceable pitchers, but concerns can be raised that Nova is young and inexperienced, and struggled when the opposing team’s line up faced him again last season. Garcia is known for being a work horse, eating a lot of inning, but has lost a lot of velocity over the years.

The Yankees line up didn’t change at all, they will still be one of the top offense clubs in the majors, even with an older Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, both of whom I expect to bounce back. A major concern for the Bronx bombers is that the teams around them got stronger, especially the Boston Red Sox. The BoSox fell short of the postseason in 2010 but don’t expect similar results in 2011. They went out and traded for Adrian Gonzalez, one of the best offensive players in the game. They also spent a lot of money to improve the bullpen and pick up superstar left fielder Carl Crawford. Combine the fact that last season the Red Sox were without Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, Josh Beckett, and Daisuke Matsuzaka for a large part of last season, this year’s Red Sox team looks to be the favorites in the American League East.

The Mets last season missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season; the Mets faithful shouldn’t get too excited for 2011 since it looks like the Mets will make it five straight years without a postseason berth.

Ace pitcher Johan Santana is expected to miss the start of the season, and is out until at least after the all star break. That leaves Mike Pelfrey and R.A. Dickey as the top pitchers on the staff, both are very good, but won’t be able to fill the void left by Santana. After Dickey and Pelfrey the rotation begins to get choppy, Jon Neise had a nice season last year, but is a young pitcher, so expect a lot of ups and downs. Chris Young and Chris Capuano are both respectable pitchers when they are healthy, especially Young, who was a CY Young candidate just a few seasons ago. But neither pitcher has proven that they can stay healthy, and if they get hurt the Mets don’t have much depth behind them.

The Mets lineup looks good on paper, but once again injuries are a major issue. Carlos Beltran hasn’t played a full season since 2008, and has already suffered injuries to both knees in spring training. Jason Bay looks to return after a disappointing season, Bay was struggling before being sidelined for the season in late July. Bay is expected to rebound, but Mets fans should realize that Bay will not be the same player he was in 2009 with the Red Sox, because he showed in 2010 that Citi Field zapped him of some of his power. Jose Reyes might not even finish the season out with the Mets. A free agent after this season, Reyes should expect a big pay rise if he stays healthy and has a productive season. With the financial issues that the Mets have, don’t expect Reyes to be back next season, instead the Mets may look to trade Reyes for prospects and players that can help in the future.

At least Met fans can look forward to an exciting season with new manager Terry Collins, a no nonsense type of guy. Also throw in the fact that Luis Castillo won’t be dropping pop ups and Oliver Perez won’t be on the Citi Field mound, this upcoming season is already to jump for joy.

The season may be just starting up, but some predictions for the division winners.

In the AL East, he Red Sox outlasts the Yankees, but the bombers make it into the playoffs, winning the wild card. The Rays will stick around for a while but they just don’t have the pitching, and eventually fall out of the race.

The central will be a tough division Minnesota Twins hold off the Chicago White Sox, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have bounce back seasons, but the Twins still lose in the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers could also be a team that surprises a lot of people, and make a push to knock the Twins off as the best team.

In the west, the Oakland Athletics surprise everyone and win the division. They have a young pitching staff and a stacked bullpen. With the “Money Ball” movie coming out this season, based on the A’s franchise, expect a fairytale finish for the Athletics.

In the National League, expect a down to the wire fight for the NL East between the Braves and the Phillies. While the Phillies are the popular choice especially with their starting rotation, the Braves are a well rounded young team. The big question mark remains if Chase Utley will return for the Phillies and will he stay healthy.

Once St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright went down for the season with an arm injury, the Milwaukee Brewers became the team to beat in the central division. With three big starters in Zach Grienke, Shaun Marcum and Yovani Gallardo the Brewers have the best rotation in the central, and have a line up full of power. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Brewers deep in October.

The San Francisco Giants shocked the baseball world, when they won the World Series, but in 2011 expect the Colorado Rockies to shock the Giants and win the NL West. But don’t count the Giants out completely as they still make it into the playoffs thanks to their pitching as the wild card team.

2011 Yankees Opening Day tickets have arrived !

They came in the mail today! I am very excited for the new baseball season especially opening day. Don't be too jealous if you don't have tickets since mine are in 433 (or in Guam), since Ticketmaster has been releasing alot of seats, and Stubhub has alot of deals. Until then, admire the 2011 stock tickets that the Yankees will be handing out this year. Not bad in my eyes, but very similar to last season.

Remember when taking a picture of tickets to always cover the bar codes.

Welcome Millwood, so long Sergio

The Mitre era in pinstripes is over. Today the Yankees have sent Sergio to the Brewers, this comes after they signed Kevin Millwood to a minor league deal plus incentives.

The deal with Millwood is a fair one, its a minor league deal similar to Freddy Garcia's deal. So if Millwood makes the team he should make around $1.5 million, and upwards to $3 million in incentives. Its a good deal, since Millwood won't start the season with the team, so the Yanks can see what Ivan Nova,Bartolo Colon and Garcia have to offer first. Millwood last season was 4-16 for the Orioles, but at times had pitched better then his record indicates.

Now on to sad news, Sergio "Meat-tray" was traded to the Brewers, at this time it is unsure what the bombers will get back. But all I can say is what ever they traded him for was not enough, Mitre was a favorite of mine (and Joe Girardi's). I wish Sergio the best, and maybe the Yankees got back old pal Wil Nieves (lets hope not)

New York vs Boston: Battle for Video Embarrassment

Ahh the Yanks and Sox don't face off for another few weeks on the field, but the war in the stands and on the street will always be going between these two long time rivals.

In the latest battle, lets look at who has the more embarressing video: Lets start with the "2011 Red Sox anthem"



Wow where to start on this one. I will give them credit on nice video editing but still talking about 2004 Red Sox fans? That is really weak. Also can Sox fans stop talking about the A-Rod-Jason Varitek fight? They might be the only group of fans to defend a player who had on a mask during the fight.

That said the rapping is awful,is since when does the World Series trophy belong in Boston? It had not been there prior to 2004 in 86 years.


Now time for the Yankees video


Michael lapayower seems like a nice guy, I even follow him on Twitter. But with that said the way he starts this video is so creepy "Heyyy Yankeeee fans" in that creepy voice. From their it just gets corny, how many times have we seen a rocky video? I mean even the Yankees use it at the stadium between innings when they are trying to rally.

Who is the winner for more embarrassing? Well that job is up to you. Comment and let me know, if I like the comment, may you get a prize. If not you atleast made me laugh.

If you think I was mean, read what LA Times writer T.J. Simer had to say about Marcus Thames. Talk about classless, Thames always seemed like a nice guy, and even took the high road on this one. Simer should lose his press credintials, because it seemed like it was a personal attack on the former Yankee.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner Episode 5; Yankees, Mets, National League Preview and former Yankee Steve Karsay

Well it was Tuesday yesterday and you know what that means! Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner was live on WCWPSports.org from 7-9pm EST.

In case you missed the episode, you may always listen to the podcast right below, as Joe Szadok, David Otero and myself, Matt Saur talk Yankees, Mets, break down the National League and talk with former big leaguer and Yankee pitcher, Steve Karsay.


Here is the interview with Steve Karsay: 

Oliver Perez to the Yankees? Don't even think about it

While Mets fans celebrated the end of the Olly Perez and Luis Castillo era (or error), Yankee fans still wondered who would be rounding out the end of the rotation. Well if you add the two together you know what that means. Rumors of Perez to the Yankees.

Why in the world would the Yankees want Perez? Yes I get it he is just 29, yes he is a lefty, and yes he once had a bright future. But his velocity has dropped significantly, in spring training he hardly hit 89 on the gun. His control is awful and his attitude is just as bad. I mention that last statement after he refused to be sent down to the minors last year, even though he was terrible.

If the Yanks go out and get Perez, it will show the  sad state of pitching in the MLB, and the Yanks desperation for pitching.

A sweet relaxing spring training

Could always talk more about Jeter's house!

Steroid issues, managing changes, drama filled books,A-Rod, fat toads, new high priced free agents, reminiscing about playoff chokes and more A-Rod drama. That is what has made up the Yankees spring training the past few seasons.

But this years its oddly dull. A-Rod has had himself a good spring training with no issues, Girardi is the manager and will be for a while and the fat toads are long gone. The story lines are basic, baseball stuff something those who have followed the bombers are not use to. While everyone is wanting to watch the Phillies rotation or the Cardinals deal with Albert Pujols and the injury to Adam Wainwright, you could even argue the Yankees aren't even the team that many want to look at during spring training, that would belong to the Red Sox.

But of course their are story lines to the spring, but even those are basic baseball story lines that you can find in any other camp. The biggest is who is the fourth and fifth starter and that is a legit issue, but all the candidates have pitched well so far. The next biggest storyline could be will all the players stay healthy, another issue that comes up on the other 29 clubs.

Of course on March 31st when CC Sabathia throws the first pitch of the season, the baseball world will once again have an eye on the bombers, but until then it will remain a stress free spring in Tampa. But you wont hear anyone on the Yankees complain.

Yanks parking mess: City deafults on parking bonds & a hotel in the Bronx?

So it looks like the city of NY is going to default on the bonds for the parking garages around Yankee Stadium according to this report.

Its upsetting but when you have too much parking, high prices and mass transit option that are cheaper and more convenient, why would anyone want to drive? This season (if they don't close garages) it will be easy to get in and out of the parking since not many individuals are going to want to pay $35 to park.

The other thing in this, is will a hotel in the Bronx really work? Sure if this was 2007, I might agree. At that time hordes of tourists were coming to the Bronx to see the old Yankee Stadium one last time, and that lasted for much of 2008 and 2009. But as the "new" Yankee Stadium's newness wears off then what? Why would anyone want to visit and stay in a hotel in the south Bronx when you have all the luxury hotel a train ride away in Manhattan?

What they should do is either lower the price of the garages, knock the garages down, or build parks on the top level of each garage. That way they still have the parking, and can give back to the community.

Newest Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner Episode 4 (3-15-2011)

Missed Talkin' Baseball : The Hot Corner this week? Well That's a shame since it is the best baseball talk show on WCWPSports.org  . But don't you worry cause you can check all the action out here on the Talkin' Baseball podcast. Listen as David Otero, Joe Szadok and myself, talk Yankees and Mets spring training action. Along with what player will have a break out season in 2011.

Near the end of the podcast listen in as the gang talks to Ben Nicholson-Smith from MLBTradeRumors.com as we discuss possible trades.

The all 2002-2008 Yankees pitching staff: The worst pitchers of the drought years

Torre catches some sleep while
watching the 2002-2008 Yanks.

This is part two of a two part series, looking back on the drought years of 2002-2008. Today we look at the pitchers that the Yanks sent to the mound during eight year drought. If you want to see the entire team, check out yesterdays post. 

The Yankees were always spenders, but after the 2004 collapse against the Boston Red Sox, the Yanks went crazy signing Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano, and then trading for Randy Johnson. All three of those players are of the list, lets see who else is.

Starting rotation:

Randy Johnson- The Randy Johnson era got off to a bad start when he pushed a camera man on his way to get his physical. It never got much better, he was always grumpy with reporters and refused to pitch to Jorge Posada. In all fairness the season before Johnson was insane out in Arizona and Yankee fans expected much of the same in 2005, but the league change was too much too handle. In 2006 Johnson was down right awful, with an ERA over five, but thanks to the bombers offense he still ended up with 17 wins.

Jaret Wright- I hated this signing from the start, Wright had always been injury prone, but in 2004 he went to the Braves and had a 15 win season. The Yankees foolishly jumped to sign Wright, a move that looked even worse when after Wright got hurt not even two months into the season. Wright would return to pitch in September, but was left off the postseason roster. In 2006 Wright was better but only threw 140 innings, never giving the Yankees depth in games. His Yankees career would end when the Yankees traded him for Chris Britton. Over two seasons Wright threw just under 200 innings.

Carl Pavano- Do I really need to explain myself on this one? Pavano is the poster child for this era of Yankee futility. It began with one of his first starts when he got hit in the head with a batted ball, it was down hill from their. The Yankees clubhouse hated his guts, thinking he was a wimp for not being able to pitch thru the injuries. He missed all of 2006 and lied to the Yankees once he crashed his car in Florida and broke a rib. He tried to make it back in 2007 and was named the opening day starter, but after two starts once again got hurt. In 2008 he made it back for just 7 starts, ending his Yankees career. In his four seasons in pinstripes he made just 26 starts but was paid close to $40 million during that time. Just pathetic..

Jeff Weaver- The Yanks got the worst of this deal, in 2002 the Tigers, A's and Yanks were involved in a 3 way trade. The Tigers got Jeremy Bonderman, the A's got Ted Lilly and the Yankees got Jeff Weaver. Looking at the trade the Yankees were the big losers in the deal. Weaver struggled through his tenure as a Yankee and often was seen sulking on the bench after a rough start. That was a major issue of his was his body language always showed what type of day he was going to have. To this day Yankee fans wonder why Joe Torre left him in to face Alex Gonzalez in the 2003 World Series. Weaver would eventually be shipped off for Kevin Brown, another guy of this list.

Jose Contreras- The best part of Contreras in pinstripes was that the Yankees were renamed "the evil empire". Contreras struggled in 2003, and then began to pitch better in 2004 but was traded for Estaban Loiza. Sadly Loiza was awful while Contreras had a nice stretch over the next few seasons.

Kevin Brown- Last season the Yankee fans booed Javier Vazquez for his part in the 2004 collapse. I never really bought into that. The man I blame is Kevin Brown, he was awful during that game and his entire Yankee career. Another surly guy in the clubhouse, Brown began the 2004 season off hot but soon would spend time on the DL with an intestinal parasite. Once he came back he punched a wall like an idiot with his pitching hand. Then in 2005 he hurt his back and was never heard from again. All I can say is good riddance.

If you think the Yankees starting rotation was bad, the bullpen was not much better.

Bullpen:

Kei Igawa- Someone needs to be the long man in this bullpen. I must admit I feel bad putting Igawa on this list after the disaster in Japan, but he pitched so poor while he was here. The best part of Igawa's stint was when he came in from the bullpen in 2007 and pitched well against the Red Sox. Other then that he has spent much of the last three seasons in Scranton.

Latroy Hawkins- You steal Paul O'Neill's number expect to be booed. That's what happened in 2008 for Hawkins. Hawkins stunk and had to switch his number, but was shipped out to Houston before he was able to turn his season around. So much for being the set up guy for Mo.

Felix Rodriguez- This one might not be completely fair. Rodriguez did not come over with high expectations but got hurt in the strangest way in 2005, hurting his knee while slipping in the shower. He was never heard from again, no really he was never heard or seen.

Kyle Farnsworth- When Farnsy came into the game it was a guarantee he would give up at least one run. He never gained the trust of Joe Torre in his first two years, sadly my best Yankee memory was when he almost gave up a homer to Manny Ramirez but Melky Cabrera was able to rob him.

Steve Karsay- Who could deny a New York kid? Well the Yanks signed him to an insane four year contract prior to the 2002 season. In 2002 Karsay did a great job, but once again was over worked. Karsay would miss the entire 2003 season needing Tommy John surgery, he would make a few appearances in 2004 and 2005 before being released.

Paul Quantrill- QuanGorMo was the three headed monster in the first half of the 2004 season. But Quantrill fell of the tracks in the second half of 2004, probably from over use. In 2005 the Yanks would finally cut him half way through the season. He was just that bad.

Felix Heredia- Heredia the horriable as I called him. Heredia wasn't that bad when the Yankees got him in 2003 pitching to a 1.20 ERA in 12 games. Heredia was always wild walking lots of guys and that caught up to him in 2004. He was so bad pitching to an ERA over six. The Yanks would trade him to the Mets (suckers!) after the 2004 season for Mike Stanton. Heredia would throw just 2.2 innings for the Mets before injuring his shoulder and testing positive for a steroid test.

The all 2002-2008 Yankee Team : The worst free agent signings of the drought years. Part one

This is part one of a two part series, looking back on the drought years of 2002-2008. Today we look at the position players, while tomorrow we look at the pitchers.

Our feelings exactly.

After the Yankees embarrassed the Mets by celebrating on their own field, the Yankees would not win another World Series for eight seasons. Some called it the curse of the rings, since following that 2000 World Series the Yankees organization didn't give out rings to certain scouts and front office personnel. But the real reason behind not winning a title was poor choices by the front office. In the early part of the 2000's the Yankees traded away prospects, the same way they were spending cash on aging veteran players. Eventually the Yanks began to build up the farm system, starting once Brian Cashman took over control of the entire organization. The reckless spending continued, but it looks like that too has caught up to the Yankees, who vow to no longer hand out ridiculous contracts. But here is to the all reckless spending/ poor trades team from 2002 to 2008, with the worst team money could buy.

Catcher: Wil Nieves- This is a tough one since Jorge Posada spent alot of time behind the dish during this time. But Nieves was suppose to be the back up catcher in 2007, but he was so bad the Yanks instead played Posada to death and eventually traded for Jose Molina. During his time in pinstripes Nieves hit just .141.

First base: Travis Lee- The immediate Question is what?!?! Well Lee was paid $2 million bucks to play in just seven games. He had just two hits during those games, and then got hurt with a torn shoulder labrum.

Second base: Tony Womack- Womack had a nice 2004 season, so the Yanks decided they would go with him to fill the void left by Miguel Cairo. Womack was so bad at second that the Yanks sent him to the outfield to bring up Robinson Cano. Womack hit for no power, a poor average and still played poor defense in the outfield. All that for a WAR of -1.7 and $2 million in Tony's pocket.

Third base: Todd Zeile- Some Yankee fans would like to see Alex Rodriguez in this spot. Sure A-Rod had his postseason struggles, and signed an enormous extension that looks awful, but he did win a championship in 2009. Zeile was just plain awful, he hit at the mendoza line and was eventually released.

Shortstop: Erick Almonte- Jeter was always at shortstop except for that short time in 2003 when Almonte had to fill in for the injures shortstop. Almonte held his own, but this is to wishing that Jeter never gets hurt again.



2005 ALDS Game 5
A low light for Sheff and the Yanks.

 Right field: Gary Sheffield- How can a guy who had over 30 homers and 120 RBIs in his first two seasons with the Yankees be on the worst list? Well the Yanks could have gone after Vlad Guerrerro who was the better play from the start, but Sheffields decline in pinstripes began in May of 2006 when he hurt his wrist and would miss most of the season. During that time the Yanks went out and traded for Bobby Abreu, once Sheff returned from injury, he wasn't too pleased that Abreu had taken his spot, but he moved to first base and did his best at the position. Sheffield Struggled once he returned and the Yanks eventually would trade him that off season. After leaving Sheffield bashed Joe Torre and the Yanks organization, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of Yankee fans.

Center field: Kenny Lofton- Bernie Williams was getting older and the Yankees felt that Kenny Lofton would be a good fit to play centerfield. The two were suppose to split time, but Bernie would gain more time once Lofton would spend time on the DL on two separate trips. Lofton never seemed to buy into the platoon role, and when he left he made sure to knock Joe Torre and the Yankees.

Left field: Xavier Nady- The Yankees were falling fast in 2008 and needed something to save them, they called on former-Met, Xavier Nady. Nady was actually pretty good during his time with the Yanks in 2008, and was set to be the starting rightfielder in 2009, but he blew out his shoulder. What looks so bad is that the Yanks traded away Jose Tabata, Daniel McCutchen and Ross Ohlendorf for Nady and Damaso Marte, two players that didn't help them in 2008 and were hurt in much of 2009.



We will always remember the mustache.

 Desingnated hitter: Jason Giambi- Let me start off saying I always like Giambi personally, when the Yankees first signed him in 2002, I admit I rooted against him cause I was a big Tino Martinez fan. But over time I began to like "The dancing bear", with that said Giambi did have a tough Yankee career. He battled numerous injuries, including a benign tumor in 2004, he also apologized for taking steroids, but never actually said what he was apologizing for. Giambi was labeled as a guy who could hit but not play defense, and after his first two seasons that held true. The Yanks were always looking to find someone to replace him in the late innings for defense. Giambi may have been a nice guy, but was over paid and didn't live up to the hype.

Come back tomorrow for the best/ or worst (depending on how you look it) pitchers from 2002-2008.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner 3-9-11

Sorry for the delay but this weeks TB:THC was so packed that it had to be broken into two seperete episodes. In the first one you can hear all the Yankees and Mets talk, in the second episode is where Joe Szadok, David Otero and myself break down the over/unders on wins National League in 2011.

Enjoy!

Yankees ticket presale: Golden for some, a bust for others.

If only the 2011 tickets, will look that nice.

Leading up to the public sale on Friday, the Yankees have been having presales for individual game tickets for full season ticket holders, partial plan holders, Yankee Universe members and the Staten Island Yankee season ticket holders. After each day it seemed like a major disappointment. I can attest to that, well sort of.

I had the chance to purchase Yankees tickets on Tuesday during the partial ticket plan holders presale. My goal was for Opening Day, old timers day and one of the Mets games. I was able to get two of the three. Netting OTD in the main and Opening Day in the grandstand, the Mets I never saw a ticket below $150.

I was one of the few lucky ones to actually get Opening Day or OTD, many were unable to find any type of ticket for any of the premium games. For the entire Mets series I never saw anything below $150, for only one of the Red Sox games did I see Grandstand seats and that was for obstructed view seats for the September series.

The reason behind this? No it's not cause the Yankees were being nice and trying to hold seats back for the public but they are instead they are still trying to sell partial season plans. It makes sense since I was trying for random weekend games and only selecting grandstand and nothing was coming up.

Overall a bad job by the Yankees, many season ticket holders have said that this was the toughest presale ever. It shows once again that the Yankees don't care about their season ticket holders, they rather sell the tickets as a package (which is the right business decision). But a little word of advice when it comes to that, since the Yanks are trying to to sell the packages instead, if those packages don't sell in the weeks prior to the event those tickets will be released on Ticketmaster.

The Newest Place to Find Cheap Yankees Tickets: ScoreBig.com

With the start of the baseball season under a month away, it will be time to head back out to the ballpark for the great American pastime. But with an economy like this, and the growing expense of going to the ballpark, the best thing to do is save money on tickets. The newest site for cheap tickets is ScoreBig.com.

Unlike StubHub, on ScoreBig you are able to make an offer for how much you would like to pay for tickets, so if you feel that you only want to pay a certain amount, you can offer just that. The drawback is you can only put one offer in per price range every 24 hours, so if you put something ridiculously low then you wont be able to return and make an appropriate one for 24 hours.

What is good about it is they don't charge a service fee at all and they ship out the hard tickets, so their will be no Internet printouts (I hate those and they are easy to fake).

The one major issue I had with this is that you cant choose what exact section you want your seats. You will not know what row or section until you receive the tickets, instead what you have to choose from is what price and stadium level you want to sit on.

Currently their are just a few Yankees games listed, but the Mets, Devils,Islanders, Nets and Knicks all have tickets listed. You will need to be "invited" to join the site so if you click here, you can join.

Yankees 2011 promotional schedule

Who could deny Yankee
Snoopy?

The New York Yankees announced the promotional schedule, and for such a rich organization it seems quite cheap. 

Here is the break down by month of the promotions, for the exact dates they are listed here.

April (4 promo dates)- Calendar Day, magnetic schedule day and cap night.
The Yanks play 18 times in April and you only have four promotions? Not only is it just four promotions they have two calender days. Bad marketing by the Yanks, when April is typically a poor attendance month.

May (1 promo date)- Grass seed planter night
Only one promotion given away in month where they play 13 games. In the bombers defense they do play the Mets and Red Sox six times. But the one give away is grass seed planter night? Embarrassing

June (12 promo dates)- Jorge Posada figure night, cap day(twice), bat day,collectible cup night, Dunkin Donuts gift card night, pin night,T-shirt night, key ring night, lunch box night, Yankee collectible truck night, and old timers day.
Oh boy if you like free stuff buy your June tickets now! This is probably the best month for promotions, you get a Jorge Posada figure, a bat and can create your own outfit with a Yankee shirt and cap.

July (4 promo dates)- Visor night, fan ring day, collectible truck day and TBA
Didn't they just have collectible truck day the month before? Strange that all the promos in this month are during the weekend.

August (3 promo dates) Cap night, collectible ford focus night and TBA

Last chance to get your Yankees hat with tons of cheap advertisements on it ! Also another toy car give away? How about they give away real cars, then I will pay for those $1,500 seats.

September (6 dates) Poster night, binder night, calculator day, snoopy Yankee night, TBA and Roger Maris 61st, 50th anniversary night.
Back to school brings your school supplies this month. The snoopy Yankee night is always very popular, just ask my girlfriend who gets way too excited about it. Last thing is the Roger Maris 50th anniversary of his 61st home run is very cool, especially since they will hold it against the Red Sox, the same team he hit it off 50 years ago.

So their you have it 30 promotional days in an 81 game season, a bit on the cheap side if you ask me, but then again I really don't care that much for the free stuff since I go to actually watch the game, but you would be very surprised how many kids and adults get excited over this free crap stuff. One strange thing is that alot of the give aways are on the weekend and during the summer, both times when the Yankees don't need to sell tickets. Since after all the reason behind giving away this stuff is to increase attendance.

New Talkin' Baseball: The Hot Corner

Listen in full,without commercials as Joe Szadok, David Otero and myself Matt Saur talk about the Yankees prospects, debate the over/under on wins for the American League in 2011 and try to figure out what the Mets are going to do with Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez, all that and much more.


Our Guest for the night was : Yankees beat writer Erik Boland from Newsday, he joins the program in the second hour around the 30 minute mark.


In case you want to listen live to the show, check it out every Tuesday night from 7-9pm on WCWPSports.org

Program reminder : Talkin' Baseball: The Hot Corner on tonight 7-9pm

A-Rod loves Talkin' Baseball: The Hot Corner

Just a reminder tonight on WCWPSports.org the second edition of Talkin' Baseball: The Hot Corner will take place from 7-9 pm.

Our guest for tonight is Erik Boland, Yankees beat writer for Newsday, who will join us in the eight o'clock hour.


Some topics for tonight:

• Yankees prospects stepping up in Spring Training
• Derek Jeter struggling already- To early or time to overreact.
• The reality of Chris Carpenter and Francisco Liriano being Yankees
• Over/under on wins this season for all the teams in the majors according to Vegaswatch.net
• Will Carlos Beltran moving to right field really help?
• Will Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo be on the Mets when Spring Training ends

All this and more tonight on Talkin' Baseball 7-9 on WCWPSports.org