Curtis Granderson – Page 4 – Keefe To The City

Jun 19, 2012

Boston Has Become the Newer New York

Boston and its fans have always hated New York, so isn’t it weird that the city has become everything it’s been against? Mike Miccoli misses the way things used to be.

Here’s something you probably didn’t know about me, even though we may have never met: I’m a Red Sox fan, but I used to root for the New York Yankees.

As a kid growing up in Rhode Island, the Tri-Guido-County areas dictated enemy lines for Yankees and Red Sox fans. Thanks to my lack of geographical direction, I’m not too sure which side I was on, but I knew that I liked rooting for winners, and in the late ‘90s/early 2000s, the Yankees were the biggest winner.

Of course, I was a casual baseball fan back then. By casual, I mean that I watched the team when they were winning, collected Derek Jeter baseball cards and may or may not have bought a red Yankees cap, similar to the one Fred Durst wore. I was, unfortunately, the poster boy for pink hat fan’s as a teenager. But with hockey and football as my sports, I thought it was somewhat acceptable to root for a baseball team who just won all the time. It wasn’t like the Bruins or Patriots were winning anything for me … yet.

So what happened to my pink-hat ways? Thankfully, I grew up and moved to Boston where the city’s culture forced me to become a baseball junkie (as did years of fantasy baseball). The move forced me to turn in my pink, I mean red Yankees hat for a Red Sox hat. I resisted at first – seriously, I did – before succumbing to the pressures of my friends and the city.

The Red Sox were the perennial underdogs; a group of guys who you could get behind, not because they were a team of All-Stars or the highest-paid players, but because they wanted to win, and erase lifetimes of losing in Boston. The team had been consistently deserving of a “Good job, good effort” meme up until 2004, and it was endearing. But in 2004, everything changed, and then, for good measure, everything changed again in 2007.

Along with the Patriots, the Red Sox became the toast of the town, while the Bruins and Celtics wallowed in mediocrity, turning around the city’s sports focus. The change lasted until 2008 when the Celtics won and earned back their respect and the Bruins regained their status after winning in 2011.

In the span of 10 years, Boston sports teams claimed a total of seven championships. Prior to 2002 (when the Patriots won their first Super Bowl) it might have taken the city of Boston 30 years to reach that number, and it would have only been because of the Celtics’ torrid run in the late 70s and 80s, and the Bruins sole Cup in ‘72.

After the seven titles, Boston wasn’t the home of the underdog anymore. The city and its teams became the favorites. Boston was the city with the parades, the highest payrolls and the seemingly sold-out games. Everyone was a fan, too – for better or worse. And by winning, Boston got what they’ve always wanted: to be exactly like New York.

Championships do strange things to teams and in turn, cities. Win a few and you’ll have a target on your back for years to come. The same fans who might have been rooting for the Patriots to upset the Rams, the Red Sox to stun the Yankees right before sweeping the Cardinals, the Celtics to silence the Lakers and the Bruins to shock the Canucks, probably despise those teams now. And can you blame them? Pair those wins with embarrassing moments like Spygate (ugh), White Housegate (ugh) and Bobby Valentine (UGH), and what do you expect to happen?

In becoming New York, the Boston sports scene turned into everything Boston sports fans hated about their rival city. And now, New York’s teams and players have become … umm … well, likeable. Right now I could say something positive about every New York team sans the Jets, because frankly, the Jets are still the worst. But this was never the case before. When the Bruins were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, who did I root for? The Rangers: a New York team I grew up hating.

While Boston still has plenty of likeable, hard-working athletes there are a hell of a lot of guys who are considered to be flat-out jerks. New York doesn’t have that same stigma anymore. New York has the universally appreciated Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Callahan, Victor Cruz and Curtis Granderson, and Jeter and Mariano Rivera are on an even higher level. Sure, New York still boasts some jerks, but the bad apples are clearly outnumbered.

It’s become the complete opposite in Boston. Yes, there’s Patrice Bergeron, Paul Pierce and Dustin Pedroia, but take a look around at fans from the sports world fans and look at how many non-Bostonians hate Boston athletes. How many outsiders are cheering for Tom Brady nowadays? Or what about Tim Thomas? Feel-good stories (like the ones Brady and Thomas shared) get tainted once the ultimate goal is reached and not reached repeatedly, and those two former postseason heroes are experiencing that now have postseason failures.

I guess this is all part of the unspoken trade-off for success: win championships and you will be hated. I get it. But if Boston is going to be New York, the only thing I want to know is if we can give some of our bandwagon fans to New York? We never asked for them.

Blogs • Yankees

Jun 5, 2012

A Sunday with John and Suzyn

It’s always entertaining to listen to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman broadcast a Yankees game. But it’s even better when that game is the final game of an 11-day, nine-game road trip.

Last June with the Brewers at the Stadium for a three-game series, which the Yankees would sweep, I decided to listen to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman while I wrote down my thoughts from their broadcast. I have wanted to do it again since, but wasn’t sure when the time would be right. With the debut of this site and the Yankees wrapping up an 11-day, nine-game road trip, and figuring John and Suzyn would be at their “best,” Sunday seemed like the perfect time to do it again.

Here’s what transpired on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park…

TOP 1ST
If there’s ever a “You can’t predict baseball” matchup for John and Suzyn, this is it. Justin Verlander, the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner against Phil Hughes, the reigning The Only Reason We Still Believe He Is A Starter Is Because We Picked Him In The First Round Eight Years Ago winner. I have already sarcastically tweeted that I’m excited for this Phil Hughes start in my attempt at flipping this around Leon Black style from Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The last time I did this there wasn’t a single “You can’t predict baseball” reference. That would be like Phil Hughes making a start without giving up a home run. It just doesn’t happen. And if it happens again today it would be monumental. There’s no way you can pick two random games to listen to an entire broadcast from John and Suzyn and get a “You can’t predict baseball” no-no in back-to-back games nearly a year apart. It’s impossible.

I said it already, but I think it’s important to say again that is the last game of an 11-day, nine-game road trip for the Yankees and it’s a day game and a getaway day game following a devastating walk-off loss from about 14 hours ago. In other words, this has all of the makings of a recipe for disaster. Did I mention that it’s Phil Hughes against Justin Verlander?

Suzyn: “And as the Captain, Derek Jeter, steps up to the plate, stepping up to the microphone is the voice of the New York Yankees … here is John Sterling.”

John: “Well, Suzyn, I thank you.”

And before John can even give Verlander’s numbers…

John: “Swung on and hit in the air to right field and deep … back goes Boesch on the track at the wall … SHE’S GONE! Oh, what a beginning! The captain homers the opposite way to right field on Verlander’s first pitch! The first-ball fastball he hit over the right field stands. El Capitan! He homers and the Yankees take a 1-0 lead! And Suzyn does that ever underscore about how you can’t predict baseball?”

Suzyn: “You cannot predict baseball!”

Well, that takes care of me worrying about not hearing “You can’t predict baseball.”

Justin Verlander might be the best pitcher on the planet, but he doesn’t really scare me as much as rookie lefties do against the Yankees or any pitcher making his Major League debut. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true, and I bet I’m not the only one that thinks this way. The Yankees have now scored in the first inning in each of their last five games against Verlander and six of the last seven if you include the ALDS. If they can find a way to win today they will be 2-0 against Verlander this year. Give me Verlander over the 21-year-old lefty that looks like he’s 15 making his Major League debut on Sunday Night Baseball in Yankee Stadium any day of the week.

Curtis Granderson walks on four pitches and after the count goes to 1-2 on A-Rod and John gets into some more about predicting baseball…

“It’s funny … you can talk baseball … you can have the experts … you can have predictions … analyze it … I’d like to know the person who felt that Jeter would homer on the first pitch off Verlander.”

A-Rod walks, and the Yankees have first and second and no one out.

“Here’s Cano and the pitch is … in the dirt … it gets away from Santos! Well, runners at second and third and now if the Yankees make the right kind of outs they can actually take a 3-0 lead. I know he’s a tough pitcher … he’s the toughest!”

John gives a recap of what’s happened and then Suzyn corrects his previous call.

Suzyn: “And he just gave him a passed ball on that because that ball did not hit the dirt. That ball was bounced off of Santos’ glove … he’s not a great catcher.

John: “No…”

Wild pitch? Passed ball? In the dirt? Off a glove? Ah, who cares?

The inning ends with the Yankees leading 2-0. Hughes blew a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning in his last start, so I’m setting the over/under at 1.5 innings until the Tigers tie the game or take the lead, and once this happens, how badly will John and Suzyn cover for him? Then again, the Yankees lead 2-0 against Justin Verlander and I have already heard the word “predict” several times and we haven’t even played a full inning. Can it possibly get any better than this? Should I just turn the game off now?

BOTTOM 1ST
Four Sundays ago I did a retro recap of Hughes’ start against the Royals for WFAN.com in an attempt to find out if Hughes belongs in the rotation and to find out just what Phil Hughes is since he’s now in his sixth season in the majors, and no one really knows if he should be part of the rotation or the bullpen. Hughes pitched his first quality start of the year in that game and then went on a little run for a few weeks before the Angels embarrassed him in front of his family and friends last week. I hope I can have the same impact on the game I did four Sundays ago.

John introduces Phil Hughes and his numbers by saying Hughes “has pitched much better of late.” What? Is this real life? This is Hughes’ 11th start of the year. He has three quality starts so far, and in his last outing against the Angels he gave away a 3-0 lead in the first inning and allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. But hey, he’s been much better of late!

Hughes retires Quintin Berry and Danny Worth.

“There are two away … here is Mag … I was going to say Magglio Ordonez. Here is Miguel Cabrera!”

I guess it’s hard to get on John for trying to activate Magglio Ordonez and hit him third in the Tigers lineup since he is at the park today and since Miguel and Magglio both begin with the letter “M.”

Cabrera walks and a passed ball allows him to move to second with two outs.

John: “Now first base is open, so you can pitch carefully to Fielder.”

I’m not sure that’s the best advice, John. This is Phil Hughes pitching, not CC Sabathia. I don’t think we want to be giving free passes in the first inning with the dangerous Yankee killer Delmon Young on deck. But Hughes has been “much better of late,” so what do I know?

Hughes retires Fielder to end the inning.

TOP 2ND
Nick Swisher singles to lead off the second inning bringing up Eric Chavez.

John: “Verlander deals… swung on and popped in the air to left … going back is Kelly … on the track … leaps … and he’s made another catch! Last night he robbed Teixeira of a homer … this time I’d say he robbed Chavez of a double! That ball went a lot further than I ever thought!”

I’ll say it went a lot further than being “popped in the air to left.”

It does feel like I’m using a cheat sheet by watching the game muted on YES while listening to John and Suzyn just to see how good of a job they are doing. (I’m sure Michael Kay wasn’t exactly all over that Chavez out either.) On a side note: Don Kelly reminds me of David Murphy.

The replay shows the ball clearly would have bounced and hit the wall, but that doesn’t stop Suzyn from saying, “I think that would have been a home run” despite her seeing the replay.

Russell Martin walks as the fifth Yankee to reach in the first two innings and Suzyn adds, “I cannot picture a game when I have seen Justin Verlander like this.” Since I’m giving out doppelgangers (I feel like Michael Kay talking about Paul Byrd as Kelsey Grammer and Jeff Niemann as Jeff Daniels) well Justin Verlander has always reminded me of Jason Lee. Stillwater, anyone? “Fever Dog!”

BOTTOM 2ND
Suzyn is giving her first scoreboard of the day, so I decided to go back to the last time I did this to see what I said about Suzyn and her scoreboards.

Suzyn is giving her first scoreboard update of the day. The best part of the scoreboard updates is that John clearly hates them. He hates that his broadcast gets hijacked momentarily and hates that he has to interrupt Suzyn to give the play-by-play. It breaks up his flow and his rhythm and I kind of agree. And maybe the scoreboards can be taken out of the broadcast? I know it would be like taking away someone’s lines in a play in that Suzyn’s airtime would be cut down significantly, but it’s 2011. I don’t think anyone is waiting for Suzyn’s scoreboard updates to find out scores from around the league.

Change “2011” to “2012” and I could have just reused that whole thing.

Phil Hughes has terrible body language when he throws a ball. It’s so noticeable and I can’t think of anyone acting that way after they miss their spot, and it looks ridiculous. A two-out hit against Hughes prevents us from seeing our first 1-2-3 inning of the game.

John: “Hey, there’s no question about Hughes’ arm. He began the season terribly and he has pitched much better in the last few weeks.”

Why does John feel the need to always build Hughes’ confidence and self-esteem? He can’t hear you, John! And there are a lot of questions about Hughes’ arm, mainly because of the way he has pitched this season. Was I the only one that watched Hughes pitch in Anaheim last Monday?

TOP 3RD
The Yankees take a 2-0 lead into the third and the first pitch to Granderson is a ball.

John: “He really can’t throw strike one … and this is Justin Verlander we’re talking about! It’s a funny game.”

The scoreboard screen has stopped working at Comerica Park and this can only mean chaos for John and Suzyn.

John: “We can’t give you a pitch count. That pitch count has stopped. We’ll find out later for you.”

Suzyn: “It said 39.”

John: “No, no … it started at 39.”

Suzyn: “Oh!”

John: “The pitch to A-Rod is low and the count is 2-0.”

Suzyn: “OK, 39 and it was 3 and 2 … and he struck him out…”

John: “Right, so that’s…”

Suzyn: “So that’s 45 … and two … 47…”

John: “The pitch is a strike. Also the scoreboard has stopped. I gotta find a different place for the count.”

Suzyn: “I guess you’re going to have to look at the monitor here.”

And then on the 3-1 pitch to A-Rod…

John: “And the pitch is swung on and lined to deep left … that ball is HIGH … it is FAR … IT IS GONE! Over the inner fence and over the original fence! Way up in the crowd … what a shot! An A-Bomb from A-Rod, and the Yankees take a 3-0 lead! And Suzyn you could hear the crack of the bat from up here … you can’t hit a ball a lot further except if you’re Miguel Cabrera.”

Suzyn: “No. That was the ninth homer of the year for Alex and … you knew for it … and Verlander knew as soon as he hit it also. You could see Don Kelly take a couple of steps to his left and Berry turn around, but that ball was gone from the second he it.”

Cano and Teixeira are retired, but the Yankees lead 3-0.

BOTTOM 3RD
John: “Our fervent wishes that the board would come back. It makes it somewhat tough.”

With one out, Berry lays down a bunt and is thrown out by Chavez in what might be the most accurate Sterling call in 15 years. He honestly couldn’t have done a better job on the play.

“The pitch … Berry bunts toward third … fielded by Chavez … throws … IN TIME for the out.”

Worth walks with two outs preventing the first 1-2-3 inning of the game and it brings up Miguel Cabrera or “CabrerA” as Sterling likes to say. Hughes gets him to fly out to right and it’s still 3-0 Yankees after three.

TOP 4TH
John: “You know one thing Suzyn, you gave the stat before … when they don’t hit a home run, the Yankees are 0-12. Well, they’ve hit two homers today.”

Suzyn “Right.”

John: “Hahahaha. We’ll see if that holds up.”

And…

John: “You know I think what bothers the Yankees and their followers … here is Verlander’s pitch … swung on and hit in the air to right … Boesch is back … in front of the track … and he makes the catch and there’s one away. I think what bothers, Suzyn, the Yankees and their followers and the broadcasters … look at this lineup against a righty when you have Ibanez, Swisher and Chavez … 6, 7 and 8 and the Yankees never hit or don’t hit much with the bases loaded or with men on base.”

Raul Ibanez flies out to lead off the inning.

John: “Hey, the scoreboard’s back.”

Suzyn: “Yes, it is.”

Swisher walks and Verlander is at 63 pitches with 33 balls and he has just 10 outs.

Chavez singles, but Russell Martin lines into a double play to Cabrera, and John reminds us, “That’s baseball though.”

BOTTOM 4TH
Hughes’ first pitch to Prince Fielder is a curveball that finds Fielder’s perfect stroke and then goes about as far as any home run at Comerica Park has gone to right field, and Fielder knows it as he slams down his bat and watches his work.

Suzyn: “Boy was there no doubt about that.”

Young grounds out and here’s Suzyn with the scoreboard update just in case you wanted to know that Nationals-Braves score.

Hughes bounces back to retire the next three after Fielder’s leadoff home run and keep the Yankees’ lead at 3-1.

John: “One run, one hit … the Fielder home run, which went so far it should count for two … at the end of four … 4-1 Yanks on the New York Yankees radio network driven by Jeep.”

TOP 5TH
More first-pitch balls from Verlander in the fifth…

John: “Of all things Verlander can’t throw strike 1 and he is a strike throwing machine.”

Granderson doubles with one out before A-Rod strikes out swinging. Cano comes up with Granderson on second and two outs, and on 3-2 pitch…

John: “Now Verlander deals … swung on and a high fly to right-center … Boesch … and Berry … and … that ball is … IN THE GAP! It falls in the gap! Granderson scores … here is Cano going to third … and the throw is … not in time! It gets by … but backed up by … now the ball went into the dugout and Cano is allowed to go home! So first of all, the long fly to right-center split Berry and Boesch and landed … and went to the wall. It was an easy triple for Cano … it’s 430 feet out there. The throw got by, so we’ll find out who the error is on. Two runs score. Give Cano an RBI .. and the Yankees now take a 5-1 lead.”

Teixeira grounds out, but I’m still in awe over the call on the Cano triple. Granted, I had the chance to see it on TV as it was happening and it was a little weird that Berry didn’t get to it, but nevertheless, that was an epic piece of broadcasting.

BOTTOM 5TH
I think it’s funny that Sterling says “error” the way you’re supposed you say “era.”

It’s time for the Daily News 5th and Roger Rubin joins the booth in place of Mark Feinsand.

Hughes walks Don Kelly to lead off the fifth inning. Kelly is currently in a 6-for-46 slump, so walking him to lead off an inning with a four-run lead is always a good idea.

John and Suzyn start asking Roger questions about the Yankees offense…

Roger: “You know it’s funny before the game a bunch of us were talking to Kevin Long about the team’s problems scoring with runners in scoring position and Derek [Jeter] was walking by and he was almost making fun of it. You know, ‘What’s wrong with us, Kevin? Tell us!'”

Suzyn: “Well, it would actually be nice if they figured out what’s wrong with them.”

Roger: “It would be. At one point Kevin say to Derek as he was walking back by a second time, ‘Derek, are we ever gonna score again?’ and Derek was like, ‘I don’t think so.’ Well, he took care of that one right there.”

John: “But, however, if people ask that question, they have a right to ask it because the percentages are so bad … men in scoring position and bases loaded.”

See this is what I love about John and Suzyn: they are Yankees fans and they don’t hide it. They want the Yankees to win the way the fans do and when the team plays poorly they want answers. The mood of the broadcast changes depending on the score of the game and the Yankees’ recent play, and if the Yankees are in the middle of a three-game losing streak you feel like you’re watching the game with your buddies complaining about the team. They don’t follow the game the way beat writers and reporters do, and they shouldn’t since they are the voices of the team on the radio and have to watch them for 162 games plus the playoffs. John and Suzyn should want and expect success from the team and they should be noticeably upset when they don’t get it. This is the Yankees radio network and not a national broadcast.

Santos hits into a double play that is turned by Jeter and Cano leading John to ask, “Have you ever see anyone cooler than Robbie Cano?”

Berry goes down looking and Hughes continues to look good (though I’m scared to type that since things can unravel quickly for the Phranchise).

TOP 6TH
John always reminds us that he owes a station break as if it’s a contest and he owes the listeners another chance to win. Now he might just be talking to the producer to let him know he’s aware that he stills need to do a 10-second station ID, but it always sounds like we let John borrow a station break and he has yet to return it.

Chavez singles on a soft fly ball to left, but that’s all the Yankees manage in the sixth.

BOTTOM 6TH
Suzyn tries to get her scoreboard updates in, but Hughes strikes out Worth and Cabrera swinging and Fielder grounds out for a perfect inning from Hughes.

If the first time I did something like this for Hughes led him to go on a mini run, and this game ends up being one in which he outpitches Verlander, does that mean I will have to do this for every Hughes start for the rest of the season? If it produces wins, I don’t have a problem with it.

TOP 7TH
John: “The 1-1 is lined toward right-center, and there’s a base hit! Jeterian? Haha! You bet! Inside-out swing and he lines it to right-center field.”

John talks about the tight AL East, and as bad as the Yankees have been they can head to the Stadium on Tuesday for a three-game series with Tampa Bay and trail in the division by just one game if they hold on today.

But John reminds us that, “Willie Stargell used to say, ‘The pennant race begins September 1.’” So, I guess the first five months of the season didn’t count back then either?

BOTTOM 7TH
A quiet frame from John and Suzyn as Hughes allows a two-out single to Jhonny Peralta before getting Kelly to pop out to end the inning. This has been Hughes’ best start of the season and with the chance to either finish at 6-3 on the road trip with a win, or 5-4 with a loss following Saturday night’ debacle, Hughes has done his job, which is rare.

TOP 8TH
Ibanez, Swisher and Chavez go down in order and I’m beginning to get the sense that John and Suzyn just want the last couple of innings of the last game of an 11-day road trip to go quickly. This road trip started back on the Yankees’ off day on May 24. That feels like forever ago.

TOP 9TH
John and Suzyn are talking about the players drafted ahead of Derek Jeter in 1992, which leads to a discussion about other great players passed over early in the draft, and the name of the player the Mets took first overall before Reggie Jackson in the 1966 draft has eluded them. John knows the player’s name was “Steve,” but can’t remember his last name. Keith Olbermann texts Suzyn to tell her it was Steve Chilcott.

Suzyn: “What a wonderful invention … texting.”

John: “Ha! I love E-ZPass and DVR myself.”

Suzyn: “Hahahaha! Well, the person that invented DVR and E-ZPass should be in some Hall of Fame.”

John: “Hahaha right! … Absolutely!”

Suzyn: “Somewhere…”

John then goes on to say that the Cross Bronx Expressway belongs in the Hall of Shame. I can’t disagree with him there.

After Martin’s leadoff double, Jeter, Granderson and A-Rod go down in order and John gets excited: “The Yankees are three outs away from a big win.”

BOTTOM 9TH
Phil Hughes is three outs away from his first complete game ever, unless you really want to count the rain-shortened six-inning complete game he threw.

He strikes out Cabrera to start the ninth and gets Fielder to ground out before Young singles. With Young on first and Hughes facing his last batter in Boesch, a fan runs on the field.

John: “And now someone runs on the field … no one pursues him … and he’s running out toward right field … and Swisher gives him a little high five … and now he runs to center field … now people start coming out on the field to get him … and now he runs toward the infield … brilliant … and finally he is apprehended and taken down. You know at first you think it’s funny and people laugh, etcetera, well, how do you know the guy isn’t crazy? How do you know he doesn’t have a weapon or a knife or something? So, the gentleman is handcuffed and led off … two outs, a runner at first and now Girardi trots out to make sure Hughes is OK.”

“And once again it’ll be a 2-2 to Boesch … Hughes is set at the chest … and the pitch … struck him out swinging! Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeee Yankees win!”

The game ends in two hours and 39 minutes. Phil Hughes beat Justin Verlander, threw his first nine-inning complete game in the process and kept Miguel Cabrera in the park. The Yankees scored five runs against Verlander and A-Rod hit his second home run in three games. John and Suzyn talked about not being able to predict baseball after the first pitch of the game, and I got to hear John do play-by-play of a fan running on the field while trying to evade security. And on top of it all, the Yankees won the game and the series and finished their 11-day, nine-game road trip at 6-3. Forget Johan Santana’s no-hitter. This was a perfect game.

Blogs • Yankees

Feb 17, 2010

Some Questions Still Unanswered

Five questions surrounding the Yankees as spring training begins.

This column was originally published on WFAN.com Feb. 17, 2010.

The first day of pitchers and catchers is the first official day of the season. It’s a day that represents the closing days of winter and the excitement for spring and summer. It grants new life to the 29 teams that didn’t finish the previous season with a win, and gives hope to clubs looking to be this season’s dark horse. Today is that day.

Coming off a world championship, Tampa should be relaxed for the first time in a decade. New York’s real baseball problems are in Port St. Lucie at Mets camp where Omar Minaya is trying to build a rotation on the fly and trying to figure out exactly who is going catch that rotation. No one in Queens is satisfied with the situation at first base or in right field, and the team’s center fielder isn’t going to be ready for Opening Day. It’s a good time to be a Yankees fan.

But even with the Yankees boasting a team as good if not better than their 103-win club of a year ago, there are still a handful of minor housekeeping matters to be taken care of over the next six weeks. Here’s five questions surrounding the Bombers at the beginning of spring:

1. Can the veterans stay healthy?
The difference between the 2008 and 2009 Yankees was 14 regular season wins and another 11 wins in October. A serious rash of injuries created this difference. Aside from Alex Rodriguez missing the first month of the season, the Yankees were remarkably healthy in 2009. In 2008, they weren’t as lucky.

The injury bug wreaked havoc on the ‘08 Yankees, landing the following players on the disabled list at least once: Jonathan Albaladejo, Wilson Betemit, Chris Britton, Brian Bruney, Joba Chamberlain, Johnny Damon, Dan Giese, Phil Hughes, Jeff Karstens, Ian Kennedy, Hideki Matsui, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Chien-Ming Wang. Starters landed on the DL, as did their replacements, and their replacements’ replacements. It was a disaster from Opening Day through Game 162 in what was the worst season in the Bronx since 1993.

This season, the Yankees are somewhat younger than they were a year ago after trimming Johnny Damon (36) and Hideki Matsui (35) from the roster. However, there is still cause for concern as the team’s superstars get up there in age.

Here are the current ages for the starting lineup: 26, 27, 28, 29, 29, 31, 34, 35 and 38.

Here are the current ages for the starting rotation and closer (Hughes and Chamberlain included): 23, 24, 29, 33, 33, 37 and 40.

There are a lot of 30s listed there, and they are all very significant players on the roster. The Yankees are going to need good fortune and a bill of health similar to 2009 to make another October run, and they are going to need to leave camp healthy.

2. Who’s going to play center field?
When the Yankees traded for Curtis Granderson, I thought they finally had a long-term solution in center field. I was also thinking that Johnny Damon was going to be back in left, but that is clearly not the case. As of now, it looks like Granderson will be in left and Brett Gardner in center, and maybe that is for the better.

The Yankees lost 24 home runs and 82 RBIs from Damon, and 28 home runs and 90 RBIs from Hideki Matsui. Granderson is going to be asked to make up for the offensive production lost with Damon. Nick Johnson will be an upgrade in the on-base department over Matsui, but he isn’t going to be able to provide the power that Godzilla gave the Yankees at DH – unless he becomes a product of the short porch.

With Granderson in left, there will be less wear and tear on his body than there would be in center, allowing him to be stronger offensively. No one is counting on Gardner’s bat anyways and any offense he can provide the team is a plus, but not needed.

If the Yankees feel that Granderson’s game has diminished in center like it appeared to be during the final weeks of last season, then Gardner is the right man for the job. It’s safe to say whatever decision is made at the end of spring training will be changed more than once throughout the year.

3. Who’s going to be the long reliever?
Joe Girardi didn’t think it was necessary to have a long reliever on the Opening Day roster last season. It didn’t take him long to change his mind.

Early on, the bullpen was overtaxed and it didn’t help that the team was asking Edwar Ramirez, Phil Coke, Jose Veras and Brian Bruney to get important outs. Chien-Ming Wang pretty much caused the bullpen fatigue for the first couple of weeks of the season, and the relievers didn’t recover until the Yankees finally made wholesale changes. The same thing can’t happen this season.

Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre will be the long reliever candidates since no matter what the Yankees say, the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation doesn’t include them.

When it comes down to it, Gaudin is the better option. He is more reliable (3.43 ERA in 42 innings with the Yankees) and has had previous success in the majors. Gaudin’s high pitch counts forced Girardi to have a short leash with him in most of his starts, but the ability to help the team is certainly there. I don’t know if you can say the same for Mitre.

Mitre might only be a little over a year removed from Tommy John surgery, but it’s not like he was some stud before his injury. Mitre allowed 71 hits in 51 1/3 innings with the Yankees last season, and posted a 1.63 WHIP, which was only worse than the pitcher formerly known as Chien-Ming Wang’s 2.02 and the always-exciting Edwar Ramirez’s 1.96. I would like to think that the best team in baseball would have someone more reliable than Mitre in the bullpen and serving as the long reliever. Give it to Gaudin.

4. Which A.J. Burnett will show up?
The difference between winning 95 games this season and 105 games depends on which A.J. Burnett comes to pitch.

There’s no doubt that Burnett has No. 1 stuff, but many times, he pitches like a No. 5. His potential no-hitters can quickly turn into four-run deficits, and when his game begins to south, there is no way to right the ship until five days later.

Burnett proved himself in the postseason after finishing the regular season with just 13 wins in 33 starts. His performance in Game 2 of the World Series made up for all the eggs he laid throughout the summer, but it wasn’t enough to fully gain his trust.

When Burnett takes the mound, you hope that you get the guy who allowed one hit to the Red Sox over 7 2/3 innings in August and not the guy who allowed a grand slam to Jason Varitek in April. The season won’t be won or lost because of Burnett, but he has the ability to make the Yankees untouchable in the division and the league.

5. How will the Yankees handle Derek Jeter’s contract situation?
A lot of newspapers will need to fill space between now and the end of the season, and they will argue about the contract status of Derek Jeter to do so.

When Jeter, Casey Close, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner sit down to hammer out a new deal for the face of the franchise and the face of the game, they are going to give Jeter what he deserves: whatever he wants.

Jeter isn’t going to be given a low-ball offer filled with incentives like Joe Torre was, and he isn’t going to be left hanging in the balance like Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada were. Jeter is going to be given a multiyear deal for a lucrative amount of money, and there is no other way it will happen and there is no other way it should.

Speculation can be justified when it comes to the contract statuses of Mariano and Girardi, or with Posada at the end of next season, and that’s because they are not Derek Jeter. There is only one Derek Jeter, and because of that, he ‘s going to get treated and taken care of in a way that no other player will or should. End of story.

Blogs • Yankees

Feb 11, 2010

Plenty of Relief In Sight

No bullpen is perfect and no bullpen is unbeatable, but for the first time in a while, the Yankees might have one close to those things.

Every season I like to believe the Yankees bullpen is going to be better than it was the season before. For the first time since Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson were building the bridge to ninth inning, it looks like the bullpen in the Bronx will be the best it’s been in quite some time.

I won’t have to convince myself this spring that the Yankees can catch lightning in a bottle four times in one season with four different relievers. There’s no more Brian Bruney. No more Phil Coke. No more watching late leads disappear into the right field bleachers. No more needing to worry about how the day’s bridge to Mariano will be constructed, or if it will be sturdy enough to reach the ninth inning.

The acquisitions of Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez this offseason will overshadow Brian Cashman’s decision to ship away Bruney and Coke, but I think these moves deserve just as much recognition. Cashman was able to take away two of Joe Girardi’s most used relievers, two pitchers who inspired zero confidence among fans, and whose only roles in the major leagues should be serving as mop-up men. Bruney and Coke combined for 116 appearances last season, and not once in any of those 116 pitching changes was there a feeling that the opposition wouldn’t add to their run total.

The obvious problem with the Yankees during the beginning of last season was behind the outfield wall in their bullpen. The absence of A-Rod from the lineup and Mark Teixeira’s early offseason woes didn’t help matters, but the real dilemmas began when Girardi went to the mound to pull his starter. The Yankees were a $200 million team with a $200 bullpen. On Opening Day, the bullpen consisted of Rivera, Bruney, Coke, Damaso Marte, Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras. Outside of Rivera, there wasn’t one pitcher capable of getting important outs on a consistent basis. (Marte only remembered how to pitch in the postseason, and thankfully he did then).

All of the books and DVD specials about the 2009 championship season will focus on a number of elements: the return of A-Rod; Mark Teixeira turning it around offensively; the walk-off wins against the Twins; and Joe Girardi’s Billy Martin impression in Atlanta. All were notable turning points in the quest for No. 27, however, three dates that won’t be recognized when it comes to the club’s remarkable turnaround are May 18, June 8 and June 13.

May 18 was Edwar Ramirez’s final game with the team before being sent down until September call-ups. June 8 was Phil Hughes first appearance out of the bullpen – the most significant decision the team made all season. June 13 was Jose Veras’ last game as a Yankee before being traded to the Cleveland for three pouches of Red Man and two daily passes to the Rock and Hall of Fame.

The destruction and rebuilding of the bullpen midseason was more necessary than any walk-off home run or come-from-behind win. The reconstruction of the bullpen allowed for the late-inning heroics to take place, and turned the Yankees from postseason hopefuls into postseason favorites.

The decision to make Hughes the setup man and the emergence of David Robertson changed the late innings for the Yankees, by shortening games and allowing starters to know their winning decision wouldn’t vanish at the hands of Bruney, Coke, Ramirez or Veras.

This season, the Yankees enter spring training with Rivera, Robertson, Marte and Alfredo Aceves as sure things in the bullpen. Chad Gaudin will likely join them as the long reliever as will someone from the Mark Melancon-Jonathan Albaladejo-Boone Logan group. That leaves one spot for either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes.

Even when the Yankees have finally decided on a set role for Joba, the debate as to whether he belongs in the rotation or bullpen will never end. The discussion is not going away anytime soon and will likely control the baseball talk once the Yankees make their decision on him for 2010.

I have been an advocate of Joba being a starter since the transition was made in 2008. More importantly, I am an advocate of the Yankees winning games and right now, putting him in the bullpen gives the Yankees the best chance to win.

It would have been satisfying to see Joba mature as a front-end starter and be a staple of the rotation for years to come, but it doesn’t look like he is going to get that chance. In this market on this team, there isn’t time for Joba to gain experience as a starter by failing at first. There just isn’t room in the rotation for a 4 1/3 inning pitcher, especially when that pitcher has had immediate and exceptional success as a reliever.

After Joba’s postseason dominance – aside from one fastball to Pedro Feliz – and the return of his high-90s velocity, it doesn’t seem possible that he will begin 2010 in the rotation, and it doesn’t appear likely that he will ever return there.

There will be enough words written in the city between now and Opening Day about Joba’s role on the team, but common sense has him beginning the year as a reliever. With Joba in the bullpen, Phil Hughes will slide into the No. 5 spot in the rotation, in what is currently the best rotation in baseball. Sorry, Boston.

Someone will take the fall as the mop-up man this season, but at least there won’t be several people deserving of that role. On paper, this bullpen has the potential to be the best in baseball, and the best in the Bronx since the last time Yankees went back-to-back and belly-to-belly in October.

No bullpen is perfect and no bullpen is unbeatable. There is usually a Kyle Farnsworth or a Scott Proctor on every club. There will always be a game where a three-run lead turns into a two-run deficit, but as currently constructed it’s hard to pick out who will be this season’s LaTroy Hawkins. For the first time in a while, there might not be one.

Tag: Curtis Granderson

Boston Has Become the Newer New York

A Sunday with John and Suzyn

Some Questions Still Unanswered

Plenty of Relief In Sight