New York Yankees 2010 Season Preview

I want to start out by introducing myself.  My name is Gary W. Marchese Jr.  I am very excited to have this oppurtunity to be writing for Number One Baseball.  I am 32 years old, married with a 13 month old baby girl.  I currently work as a social worker for the county I live in.  I live in Wayne, NJ and I plan on becoming a full time writer one day.  I hope you will enjoy my work and come check me and this website out frequently.  I also have a blog called Yanks and more which I hope you will come visit as well.  I will now get down to business, here is your New York Yankees preview.

The New York Yankees wrapped up their 27th World Championship in November.  It was a long 9 years for them as they are used to winning and winning some more.  The Yankees last year were led by newcomers CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett.  Nick Swisher who was aquired in a trade also brought a great attitude to the clubhouse that has been so business like for so long.  He is a good fun natured guy and it really rubbed off on the team.  The old saying goes pitching wins and the Yankees sure had pitching last season.  CC Sabathia became the true ace that the Yankees have been seeking for a few years now.  He won 19 games and was brilliant in the postseason.  A.J. Burnett adjusted well and was a solid pitcher, he won 13 games but went through a stretch where he kept getting no decisions and a lot of them weren’t his fault. 

The Yankees pitching staff for this upcoming season will shape up this way: CC Sabatia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez, Phil Hughes/Joba Chamberlain.  I think it will be in this order and I know that the Yankees are saying the 5th starter job is a open competition between Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin and Alfredo Aceves but I just don’t believe that.  I actually think Phil Hughes will be the 5th starter with Joba Chamberlain going back to the bullpen.  I think either Mitre or Gaudin will be traded in spring training and the other will be a long man out of the bullpen.  I think the bullpen will shape up nicely with MO as the closer and Joba Chamberlain setting him up.  I think Dave Robertson will be the other main set up man with Damaso Marte as the main lefty.  I think that they will carry a 2nd lefty but it will be a open competition between Royce Ring, Boone Logan, Wilkens Arias and Kei Igawa. 

The Yankees starting lineup is pretty much set with left field being the only exception.  The Yankees will be without Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui who played well last season.  Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson will be replacing them.  Nick Johnson came up through the Yankees system so I don’t think he will be a problem at all, it is just if he can stay healthy as that has been his biggest drawback.  Curtis Granderson seems like a easygoing fun personality and should fit in just great with this team, he also will love the short porch in rightfield.  Here is how I would project the Yankees lineup to be:

Derek Jeter, Nick Johnson,Mark Teixeira,A-rod, Jorge Posada,Robinson Cano,Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson,Brett Gardner/Randy Winn.  I think that Marcus Thames may make the team but they also have rule 5 pick Jaime Hoffman.  I could also see the Yankees going with Gardner in center and Granderson in left but that will all play out in spring training.  Francisco Cervelli will be the backup catcher and I think Ramiro Pena will be the utility infielder once again.  I think all in all this is a team that will once again compete for a World Championship.  I think the toughest thing for them will be the division they play in with the Red Sox and Rays being so good also.

Some Random things

Peter Abraham had a good blog post today about A-rod looking better and better with guys like Vick, Favre, Manny, Big Papi all doing things to look bad and him just playing ball and not saying much and looking good. I would advise you to check it out at http://yankees.lhblogs.com.

Brett Favre can’t he just go away it is dispicable what he has done the last couple of years holding these teams hostage and putting young guys on the bench and possibly screwing up their futures.

The Yankees signed most of their top picks actually 13 out of 14 and overslotted on most of them but this is where they can take advantage and get away with it. Teams like Boston and the Mets can also do it.

I am going with the Lohud Yankees Blog on a trip to Scranton next Sunday. There are some tickets available and it is worth going on, if you are interested let me know or check it out on the Lohud Blog.

The minor league season will be ending in the next couple of weeks, I will do some postseason reviews of some of the top prospects at that time.

The Mets finally put some Met history into Citi Field and recognize the New York Giants also not just the Brooklyn Dodgers. This seems good but didn’t it take a little too long for this to happen?

Yanks at Oakland

The New York Yankees will try and end their 2 game losing streak. CC Sabathia takes the mound back home, he goes to Oakland here he has season tickets to the Raiders games and says that he won’t give them up at least going to a couple of games and then giving the rest to friends. Here are the pregame notes and lineup from Peter Abraham.

The Yankees have scored 3 runs on 13 hits in their last 18 innings.

The Yankees lost three straight this year in Anaheim and also in Chicago.

CC is 1-4 with a 7.12 era career in Oakland. He has 8 career starts at the Oakland Coliseum.

Derek Jeter is 9 for 20 on the roadtrip with 5 rbi’s. He is now batting 327.

Jeter is batting 358 for his career in Oakland.

Nick Swisher has reached base safely in 26 straight games. He once did it in 36 straight for Oakland in 2006.

Robinson Cano is a 365 hitter with no one on base but 203 when there are runners in scoring position.

Vinny Mazzaro who is from NJ pitched against the Yanks on July 23 and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Matsui is back and feels better, Gardner won’t be back as quick as thought. He needs to keep the splint on for another week. Sergio Mitre will work out of the pen until he starts again. Joe Girardi claimed that Damaso Marte may be activated on Friday which is interesting since it seems the Yanks want nothing to do with him but he is under contract for this year and I believe next also.

Yankees Lineup:
Jeter(SS)
Damon(LF)
Tex(1B)
A-rod(3B)
Matsui(DH)
Posada(C)
Cano(2B)
Swisher(RF)
Cabrera(CF)

Yanks lose opener in Oakland

There really isn’t much to say about the Yankees lackluster performance last night in Oakland. They lost to Brett Tomko and the A’s 3-0. Yes that is right that Brett Tomko who the Yankees DFA’D earlier in the year and who hadn’t made a major league start in a year and a half. He pitched 5 shutout innings, the Yankees one big chance was in the 4th when they had the bases loaded and one out with A-rod up and he bounced into a rare 1-2-3 double play. The Yankees didn’t do much else, the bullpen completely shut them down. A.J. Burnett pitched 8 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. He looked unhittable early on but had one bad inning where he gave up all the runs and 4 of the 6 hits but he deserved better then this. The Yankees will try and end a 2 game slide tonight with CC Sabathia on the mound in his hometown against Vin Mazzaro from New Jersey.

Yankees Draft Picks

The baseball draft is different then any other sport in that most guys don’t make an impact for several years. In Football and Basketball especially guys get drafted and can make an immediate impact in the next season. In baseball it is tough, you see guys get drafted in late rounds and become great and you see first round picks never make it. The Yankees and other teams like the Red Sox and Mets and Dodgers have an advantage in that they can overpay guys to get them to sign because the slotting system is screwed up but they have the disadvantage of never picking high. The Yankees are always one of the last teams to pick so they never have a chance to sign a guy like Stephen Strasburg etc. The Yankees signed 13 of their top 14 picks and tonight announced they have signed a couple of later round picks. I know people like to go nuts over this but it is good to get these guys signed and into your system. The Yankees have guys like Ramiro Pena and Francisco Cervelli who I am sure when they were drafted no one thought much of them but they made an impact on the Yankees this year. I follow the minor league teams and like to see the young guys come up and make an impact but don’t go too nuts over the draft picks, just wait and see what happens before you pass judgement.

Yankees at A’s

The New York Yankees begin a 3 game series with the Oakland A’s tonight in Oakland at 10:05PM on the YES network. A.J. Burnett is on the mound against Brett Tomko who was released from the Yankees in June, he was pretty bitter at the time so I am sure he will be pumped up for tonight. He was pitching in AAA though and didn’t have great numbers for Oakland but they are desperate for pitching right now. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via the Lohud Yankees Blog.

The Yankees are 5-1 against Oakland this year and 10-2 over the last 2 years.

Robinson Cano has a 14 game hitting streak. He has gone from batting 305 to 321.

A.J. Burnett is 6-2 with a 2.50 era in his last 11 starts. He is 2-2 with a 4.14 lifetime against the A’s.

Burnett has thrown 17 wild pitches this season, the team record is 23 by Tim Leary in 1990. Those were the good old days LOL.

Brian Bruney has thrown 5 straight scoreless innings and David Robertson has gone 6 straight.

The Yankees are 12-3 this month.

Nick Swisher has 20 homeruns and 17 have come on the road. 13 of them have come against righties.

Derek Jeter is 8 of 16 on this trip. He has 5 rbi’s and 3 xbh. He is now batting 323.

Jerry Hairston Jr’s. next game will be the 1,00th of his career.

Alfredo Aceves has been struggling going 15 2/3 innings, 15 hits, 12 runs with 4 walks and 11 strikeouts in his last 9 appearances.

Yankees Lineup:
Jeter(DH)
Damon(LF)
Tex(1B)
A-rod(3B)
Posada(C)
Cano(2B)
Swisher(RF)
Cabrera(CF)
Pena(SS)

There is news about the draft picks who have to midnight tonight to come to terms, the Yankees have signed 13 of their top 14 picks and more, I will have more on this later on tonight.

Pitching matchups for Yanks/A’s series

Tomorrow- Brett Tomko vs A.J. Burnett
Tuesday- Vin Mazzaro vs CC Sabathia
Wednesday- Chad Gaudin vs Brett Anderson

The first two games the Yankees clearly have the advantage. They should be able to put some runs on the board and the A’s aren’t a great hitting team going against the top 2 pitchers. The third game would be the game the Yankees could lose, Brett Anderson is good and who knows what Gaudin will give the Yankees. I think the Yankees will win 2 out of 3 and that will be fine.

Yanks lose don’t get the sweep

The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners today by the score of 10-3. Joba Chamberlain got the start and wasn’t very good only going 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 7 hits. Alfredo Aceves came on in relief in the sixth and ended up pitching 1 2/3 innings giving up 4 runs on 4 hits with a couple of strikeouts. Chad Gaudin pitched 1 1/3 giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. It wasn’t a very good day for the pitchers who have been so good lately especially the bullpen. Chad Gaudin is still in line to pitch Wednesday. The Yankees did win 3 out of 4 in Seattle and will head off to Oakland to play 3 starting tomorrow night.

The story of the day and the good news from this game was Derek Jeter getting 3 hits and setting the all time record for most hits as a SS. A-rod, Swisher, Hinske, Pena and Cano all had one hit a piece. Doug Fister the starting pitcher for the Mariners had the Yankees offense off balance all day and they really didn’t muster much. Hideki Matsui was out of the lineup and had fluid drained during the game and will miss tomorrow and then be day to day. The Boston Red Sox lost today so the Yankees lead remains at 7 1/2 in the AL east, Boston also is now 1/2 game behind the Texas Rangers for the wildcard lead.

Yankees at Mariners(Going for the sweep)

The New York Yankees take on the Seattle Mariners at 4:10 today on the YES network. Joba Chamberlain makes the start. The Yankees will try and win their 7th game in a row. Here are the pregame notes and lineup via Peter Abraham.

The Yankees are 36 and 11 in their last 47 games. This is an amazing run, not much to complain about.

The Yankees are 5-1 against Seattle this year and have outscored them 20-5 in this series.

Derek Jeter needs one hit to tie for the record for most hits ever by a SS. He will be tied with Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.

The Yankees bullpen has been unbelievable giving up 0 runs in their last 12 2/3 innings, 1 in their last 19 2/3 and 3 in their last 30 1/3. They have also struck out 31 in their last 30 1/3 and given up 22 hits.

Jerry Hairston Jr. is 9 of 26 with 3 xbh and 6 rbi’s as a Yankee.

Robinson Cano has a 13 game hitting streak going 24 of 57 with 9 xbh. He has 51 multiple hit games this season only trailing Ichiro who has 56. Robinson Cano has had a great season other then not being great with runners in scoring position although he seems to be getting better with that lately. He may even win a gold glove this year.

Melky Cabrera has played every inning in CF since Brett Gardner went down, he may need a rest. He is 6 of his last 48.

Joba after being almost unhittable in his first 3 starts after the break has struggled in his last 2. He has allowed 8 runs on 11 hits and 9 walks over 11 innings.

Derek Jeter has 4 homeruns in his last 8 games.

The Yankees are 33-26 away from Yankee stadium.

Hideki Matsui has fluid on his left knee and is day to day. Mo may not be available today.

Yankees Lineup:
Jeter(SS)
Damon(LF)
Tex(DH)
A-rod(3B)
Posada(C)
Swisher(1B)
Hinske(RF)
Hairston(CF)
Pena(2B)

Yanks not sleepless in Seattle

http://gmarchese.blogspot.comThe New York Yankees defeated the Seattle Mariners last night by the score of 5-2. Sergio Mitre got the start and didn’t pitch too bad going 5 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. Dave Robertson came on and pitched 1 scoreless inning giving up 2 hits but striking out 3. Phil Coke pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings giving up 0 hits with 3 strikeouts. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for the save giving up a hit and walk but also striking out two.

The offense was led by Derek Jeter who had 2 hits and 2 rbi’s and Robinson Cano who had 2 hits. A-rod had a hit and a couple of walks. Nick Swisher had a 2 run homerun, Mark Teixeira had a hit, Jerry Hairston Jr had a hit and Jose Molina had a couple of hits and also a big play in the seventh throwing out Ichiro trying to steal third. The Yankees just keep rolling along now 7 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. Joba Chamberlain will get the start today after all and then not pitch again for another 8 days.

The Yankees are now 23-6 since the all star break which is the best record in their history post all star break.

Mariano Rivera has now completed 31 consecutive save chances matching his career high which he last accomplished in 2005.

The Yankees bullpen has given up 1 run in their last 20 2/3 innings, this is just dominant and with that type of pitching you would expect to have a run like the Yankees have had. The other thing the Yankees pitchers do for the most part is get a lot of strikeouts, the bullpen had 8 last night and CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte had 10 in back to back games.