Skip to main content

A preview of the 2011 New York Yankees

In the previous post we looked at the Yankees rotation. There are a lot of question marks surrounding their rotation, but if the Yankees have one thing going for them it is their offense.

Even if the Bombers pitchers get bombed on a consistent basis, you would have to think that the Yankee offense will find ways to pull them out of the fire.

The lineup has very little change over from the last two seasons.
Derek Jeter -SS
Curtis Granderson-CF
Robinson Cano -2B
Alex Rodriguez -3B
Mark Teixiera -1B
Nick Swisher - RF
Jorge Posado - DH
Russell Martin - C
Brett Gardner - LF
The Yankees known what they will get from Jeter, Tiexiera and A-Rod. Tiexiera has spent the spring working extremly hard on his swing, trying to make sure that he gets off to a faster start this April, compared to previous seasons. Even if he does get off to a slow start, Tiexeria is good for 35 homers and 110 RBI.

Word out of camp this year is that Rodriguez is in the best shape of his career. He hit six homers and drove in 16 this spring, which means he could be on pace for another 40 plus homer season.

Then there is Robinson Cano. Once considered a lazy player, Cano has turned into a MVP candidate. He has recorded 200 plus hit seasons in 2009 and 2010 respectively, and was in the middle of the MVP race last year with 41 doubles, 29 homers and 109 RBI, with a .319 batting average.

Cano will move up to the number three spot, with Tiexeria moving down to five. Not a big deal, but it means that Cano will get more RBI opportunities and at bats.

Of course there are question marks. Jorge Posada is in the final year of his contract, and the Yankees are clearly done with him. Posada will be the DH this year, after the Bombers brought in former Dodger Russell Martin to be the starting catcher. Francisco Cervelli will be the back up catcher.

Martin really disappointed in LA. A guy who once showed great promise a few years ago, has watched his numbers dive the last three seasons. Last year, Martin hit only five homers and drove in 26 in 97 games with the Dodgers. He has become a light hitter, and if he fails behind the plate, Yankee fans will clamor for Posada to be the catcher again. Will Yankee management budge when that happens?

As for the Yankees bullpen, it looks rock solid. With Mariano Rivera, the unquestioned greatest closer in the game, the Yankees still have the perfect weapon to close out games.

He will have a better supporting cast this year, with former Rays closer Rafael Soriano joining him. Soriano had a 1.73 ERA with 45 saves last year for the Rays; he could close some games for the Yankees this year, and may even by Rivera's heir apparent, but right now having those two together in the same bullpen really shortens the game for the Bronx Bombers.

Along with Soriano and Rivera will be former Met Pedro Feliciano, a lefty specialist who is very effective at getting both right and left handed batters out, as well as a slimmer Joba Chamberlain.

So how will the Yankees do in 2011?

A lot has been made about the off-season moves of the Red Sox, who added Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. Many have predicted that the Red Sox will compete in the World Series later this year.

But we will have to wait and see. Gonzalez has to adjust to American League pitching, and BoSox pitching has about as many question marks as the Yankees.

As usual the race for the division title and wild card will run through New York and Boston. Doesn't matter who win the East, because both team will be in the playoffs.
Prediction: Yankees 92-70 2nd place AL East.

Comments

Post a Comment

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 ...
8 comments
Read more

Is Aaron Glenn in Danger of Getting Fired?

 According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio there is a "chance"   that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn could be fired at seasons end.  While Florio doesn't site any sources, the rumor has caught fire the last two days. The question is would it make sense? Let's examine this for a second?  Why it Makes Sense:  Glenn has not been great in his first year as Head Coach of this team. The talent has taken a major step backwards, granted two of those talented players were traded away in Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis and Quinnen Williams to Dallas.  The decision he and GM Darren Mougey made to give Justin Fields a two year deal proved to be a horrible mistake, and Glenn stuck with Fields for far too long before pulling the plug following the Jets loss to the Patriots on a Thursday night in mid November.  Glenn gave now former Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks too much power to run the defense, and the players couldn't stand Wilks. Reports indicated this week af...
Post a Comment
Read more

Same Ol' Jets! Gang Green Dropped by Ravens

 RAVENS 24 - JETS 9  In short the opener to the 2022 season for the New York Jets was a complete and utter disaster.  A team that came into the season with the promise of better days ahead, a team that had taken on so many kudos in the off-season for what so many in the media had claimed was an impeccable off-season and draft, came out flat as a pancake when it mattered the most.  If this was a debut of what is to come for the Jets in 2022, you better start preparing your 2023 draft boards.  Sunday's 24-9 loss wasn't just a defeat at the hands of a better team, it was a total indictment of the Jets current predicament.  The Jets offensive line, which has been battered and beaten this summer with the losses of Meckhi Becton and Duane Brown looked like a sieve on Sunday. Joe Flacco, who is not exactly fleet of foot, was under siege all afternoon. The fact he came out of Sunday's game having been sacked only three times was a miracle in itself.  George Fa...
Post a Comment
Read more