Skip to main content

Champion Yankees Ready For Repeat

The World Champion New York Yankees have arrived at training camp, and are set, and ready to rock and roll on pursuing the franchises 28th championship.

Gone are Johnny Damon, Melkey Cabrera and Hideki Matsui. In are Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson. The Yankees off-season was addition by subtraction. Granderson give the Yankees a legit center fielder, who is young, 30, and can hit home runs and steal bases. Johnson, a former Yankee prospect, will take over the DH roll for the popular Matsui, who won the World Series by himself in Game Six.

There will be pressure to win it all again, there always is in Yankee land. Plus much has been made in recent weeks about the clubs reluctance to negotiate extensions for Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and manager Joe Girardi. However the club's M.O. is to not discuss contracts until the season is over, this one is just beginning.

Jeter, Rivera and Girardi will get paid in due time, they have earned it.

The Yankees only concerns in camp is to see who will be the fifth starter between Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. The loser gets to set up for Rivera this season; not a bad cons elation prize if you ask me. They have to find out if Vazquez can pitch in New York. Last time he was a Yankee in 2004, Vazquez was a complete bust, highlighted by his dreadful performance in the 2004 ALCS. And they have to figure out whether to lead off with Granderson, or move him down in the order.

YAWN! Boring! But when you win a World Series, a boring Spring Training is actually a good thing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jets, Dolphins and Patriots Playoff Breakdown

Here are the formuli that could get the Jets into and out of the playoff party this season: 1) If the Jets win against Seattle and Miami, they win the AFC East based on a better conference record (8-4) than the New England Patriots, even if New England wins out as well. 2) If the Patriots win out and the Dolphins win out and finish at 11-5, the Jets would be 10-6, or 9-7, and probably out of the playoffs. Both New England and Miami would make the playoffs, with the Dolphins as a divison winner and the Patriots as a wild card. The Patriots make the postseason if Baltimore loses one of its final two games. 3) If the Patriots win out and the Dolphins and Jets split, then the Patriots win the AFC East. The Jets will have to hope that they beat Miami to win that tie-breaker and, further, hope that they have a better conference record than the Baltimore Ravens in order to clinch the sixth seed. 4) If the Patriots and Ravens win out and the Dolphins and Jets split their final two games, then ...

Francisco Lindor Remains Red Hot as Mets Top Phillies

 Francisco Lindor remains the hottest player in Queens right now.  The Mets shortstop blasted two more home runs, including a three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning, Monday night to help propel the Mets to a 5-4 win over Philadelphia.   Lindor who typically struggles in the month of April is putting together a heck of a month. Monday's two hit effort was the 10th game in the last 11 where Lindor has recorded a hit. In fact in the month of April alone this year, Lindor was hitting at .311 coming into Monday's action.  On the year, Lindor is batting .284 with five homers and 13 RBI.  Lindor's efforts proved to be prophetic, as the Phillies Alec Bohm crushed a three-run bomb off Edwin Diaz in the top of the ninth to cut the Mets lead to a single run. Fortunately for New York, Diaz was able to shut the door with strikeouts of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper.  New York (16-7) has now won five in a row.  

Mets Keep Rolling into Phillies Series

 The New York Mets are feeling pretty good about things right now!  The Amazin's swept a four game series from the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, winning 7-4 Sunday afternoon. It was the first time since 1986 that the Amazin's had swept such a series from St. Louis. We all know what happened later that season.    Well, not to get too far ahead of ourselves, because the 2025 version now faces a very stiff challenge. The Mets will face their arch rivals the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday with only two games separating the two teams in the NL East.  The Mets took out Philly in the NLDS last October, so this figures to be a heck of showdown. The Mets begin a month long stretch against teams that are likely postseason contenders like the Phillies, D-Backs, Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers.  If the Mets (15-7) are this good, we will know for sure in a month.