Derek Jeter is and will always be a Yankee

jeter_300_030409.jpgBy Joe Auriemma
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
 – Dylan Thomas

Yes, that actually is a famous poem and not just something that was made up for Rodney Dangerfield in the movie Back to School. However, this literature does apply to the topic that has our message boards lighting up like a Christmas tree and our own Steven Goldman under attack by Yankee fans.

At the end of the 2011 season, Derek Jeter’s 10-year contract expires and the Captain becomes a free agent. The Yankees need to start thinking about a plan for Jeter, who will be 37 by the time the contract expires.

Now Jeter’s defensive skills at shortstop have diminished over the last couple of years and maybe he is declining a little bit offensively. He still did hit .300 with 11 home runs and 69 RBIs last season, mind you. However, you can’t simply take a player’s numbers and apply them to the worth of the player. He has been a valuable member of the New York Yankees organization since 1995 and brings that certain intangible that doesn’t show up in a box score, heart and leadership.

If Jeter wants to remain a Yankee after his contract expires, the Yankees should try to work with him on remaining in pinstripes. However, that means making a couple of concessions on Jeter’s part. He has to understand that he’s probably not going to get any more mega deal contract offers. At 37 years old, depending on his production at that point and if he chooses to come back, the Yankees should let him know that they truly want him back, but it has to be on short-term deals for the rest of his career.

Jeter will probably also have to move positions at that point. The Yankees need to have a plan in place to make sure they can properly replace him at the shortstop with a younger player who has more range. This is a point that is probably going to be tough for Jeter to concede, but it’s something that many of the other great Yankees have done during the waning days of their career.
 
Left field might be the perfect spot for at that point. If Yogi Berra on two bad knees at the end of his career could play there, so can Derek Jeter. Think about the left fielders the Yankees had during the Dynasty run: Gerald Williams, Tim Raines, Chad Curtis, Ricky Ledee and Shane Spencer, just to name a few.

It would have to be a complete and utter meltdown of Jeter’s all-around game over the next two seasons for the Yankees to even consider just letting this gem of a player and public relations savior simply walk away. I don’t think those concessions are too much to ask a player who has given all he has to one organization since he was just a young man. And if you are Derek Jeter, it is probably something that he will want to go along with as long as he knows the Yankees truly want him to return.

An antidote to Old Man Winter

jeter_250_030409.jpgBy Jon Lane
“Oh I just love the first day of school don’t you?!”
Patty Simcox

“It’s the biggest thrill of my life.”
Betty Rizzo, reeking of sarcasm

Nothing like quoting Grease to get a late start on today’s blog. That sums up how I feel about the wonderful world of winter, especially after spending nearly three hours shoveling two feet of snow off my driveway. Anyone who loves what Mother Nature hammered the Northeast – and parts of Alabama and Georgia – with yesterday is Patty Simcox.

Today baseball casts a bright light on a day in which the high in New York City will reach 25 degrees, and that’s not including a lovely wind chill. The Yankees are back in Tampa, Fla., to host an exhibition affair against the World Baseball Classic’s United States team. Phil Hughes starts for the Yankees against Roy Oswalt, whose teammate will be Derek Jeter. For the first time in his career, Jeter is playing against the Yankees, batting second and playing shortstop for Team USA.

The YES Network airs this live at 1 p.m., so sit back and enjoy what should prove to be a unique game.

The lineups:

YANKEES
Johnny Damon LF
Brett Gardner CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Jorge Posada DH
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 2B
Kevin Cash C
Angel Berroa SS
Justin Leone 3B

TEAM USA
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Derek Jeter SS
Chipper Jones DH
David Wright 3B
Adam Dunn RF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Ryan Braun LF
Brian McCann C
Curtis Granderson CF

1 p.m. Steven Goldman kicked off a hot debate over Jeter’s future with the Yankees once his contract expires at the end of the 2011 season. If you ask Goldman, the Yankees should not turn a blind eye to Father Time and re-sign him just because he’s Derek Jeter. If you ask Joe Auriemma, Derek Jeter should retire as a Yankee if he’s willing to make a few concessions.

What do you think?

1:19 p.m. Hughes allowed a leadoff single before getting Jeter to ground into a 4-4-3 double play. Jeter had asked to not be pitched inside, but Hughes apparently didn’t get the memo. Chipper Jones then grounded out to end the inning on a nice play by Cody Ransom.

1:29 p.m. Yankees take a 1-0 lead on Jorge Posada’s RBI single. Brett Gardner got it started with a one-out single and scored when Posada, batting left-handed, poked a blooper to left filed. The stats from these games will not count, but Posada (.625-1-3) and Gardner (.500-2-2, three runs scored) have been two of the Yankees’ best players to date.

1:35 p.m. Hughes looks terrific. He’s thrown two scoreless innings and in the second caught  David Wright and Adam Dunn looking at strike three with nasty breaking pitches.

1:49 p.m. Jeter gets revenge on Hughes with a two-out, two-run single to give Team USA a 2-1 lead in the third. That’s it for Hughes. The Yankees don’t want to extend him beyond the 42 pitches he threw in 2 2/3 innings. Hughes looked good and is still building arm strength, but his stamina and high pitch counts have been causes for concern. That’s why it’s a blessing in disguise he’ll likely begin the season at Triple-A. This kid will be an impact player and time is on his side.

2 p.m. Gardner is 2-for-2 and just swiped second base. It remains early in the spring but the Yankees have to be encouraged with the way Gardner is swinging the bat. Gardner’s meager offense is what’s kept him from getting to that next level. If he continues to have good at-bats and create havoc on the bases he’ll be the Yankees’ starting center fielder. Melky Cabrera may push him, and far and away he has the better arm, but Gardner doesn’t think twice about getting down and dirty, and would be more of a spark from the No. 9 spot in the lineup.

2:31 p.m. Gardner slaps a double down the left field line and is 3-for-3. Cabrera isn’t quaking in his cleats, however. He had one down year and remains an asset when his head is in the game. He’s also out of options, which will make for an interesting decision if Joe Girardi does in fact deem Gardner his starter.

2:48 p.m. Phil Coke’s line: 2.1 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks 2 strikeouts. I love the potential of the bullpen’s underbelly with Coke and Damaso Marte serving as the left-handers.

3:07 p.m. Cody Ransom is 2-for-3 with an RBI. Michael Kay and John Flaherty is talking up Ransom as the ideal utility infielder who’d be content being a bench player and ready to play at a moment’s notice. Certainly not an everyday player, but you worry about that only in the event the Yankees lose one of their starters. Ransom looked good in spurts last season and would fit the role player bill nicely from where I sit.

3:35 p.m. Cabrera entered the game for Gardner and struck out looking in his first at-bat. It’s 6-4, Team USA at the end of seven.

4:20 p.m. Yankees lose 6-5. Nice at-bat by Cabrera in the bottom of the ninth. He battled Matt Lindstrom to a full count before slapping base hit to put runners on the corners with nobody out and stealing a base to put himself in scoring position.

Flaherty said it best when he noted that such at-bats is a confidence builder. Judging by the recent performances of Gardner and Cabrera, this competition will go down to Spring Training’s final week, or perhaps by the time the Yankees open their new home April 3 and 4 with two exhibition games against the Cubs.

CC feeling good after simulated game

CC-3-2-250.jpg

By Jon Lane
Peter Abraham of The Journal News reported that CC Sabathia threw 28 pitches in a simulated game to Kevin Cash and Hideki Matsui, who alternated at-bats. 
Sabathia makes his spring debut Friday night against the Tigers at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“It was the first time throwing to guys without a screen up and it felt good,” Sabathia said. 
According to Abraham’s report, Sabathia was working on getting his cutter down in the strike zone, which he added is usually the last pitch to come around in the spring. Judging by the hitters’ reaction, Sabathia’s fastball was where it needed to be.

Winter Blunderland

winter_350.jpgBy Jon Lane
It’s been said that March comes in like a lion. This beast is the king of the jungle. While the Yankees prep for another Spring Training game in sunny Florida, the New York metropolitan area is being belted with up to 14 inches of snow. Right now the temperature is 25 degrees and will top out at 26. In Tampa it’s 50 with an expected high of 59.

“Winter Wonderland” is a pop standard written in 1934 by Felix Bernard (composer) and Richard B. Smith (lyricist). That duo obviously had a bit too much to drink. Memo to Jack Frost: The harder you hit, the more we look forward to spring, summer and baseball that much more.

The Yankees travel to Kissimmee (Disney World) to play the Houston Astros at 2-3 on the Grapefruit season. Peter Abraham posted today’s lineups and reports that CC Sabathia will throw roughly 25 pitches in a simulated game.

Johnny Damon LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Cody Ransom SS
Jose Molina C
Juan Miranda 1B
Angel Berroa 2B
Doug Bernier 3B

The main story is Chien-Ming Wang pitching in his first game since he tore a ligament and tendon in his right foot while running the bases against the Astros last June. Wang has been making fine progress and is lined up to be the Yankees’ No. 2 starter between Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Not a bad choice. He won a combined 38 games in 2006 and ’07 (19 each).

Over the weekend, Joba Chamberlain experimented with a four-seam fastball on Saturday. Jorge Posada was a late scratch from that game as a precaution with tightness in that surgically-repaired right shoulder, but will play long toss before today’s game. Lastly, Alex Rodriguez met with officials from Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations and Labor Relations Department to discuss his past steroid use. A statement released by MLB deemed A-Rod “cooperative” before he left to join the the Dominican Republic team of the World Baseball Classic. Robinson Cano and Damaso Marte joined A-Rod, Francisco Cervelli will play for Italy, and Derek Jeter for the United States.

I’ll be back later with random observations via the Astros radio broadcast.

1:51 p.m. Wang threw 28 pitches in two scoreless innings while the Yankees staked him to a 4-0 lead. The good news: Jorge Posada, playing as the DH, had an RBI single. The better news: Melky Cabrera is 2-for-2 with two RBIs on a triple and a two-out single. It’d be great to see Cabrera and Brett Gardner play well all spring and make Joe Girardi’s decision that much tougher.
2:07 p.m. Robinson who? Angel Berroa is 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two runs scored. Berroa’s blast upped the Yankees’ lead to 5-0 in the fourth.

Joba makes first start of spring

Joba-2-28-(2)-250.jpgYankees on YES is back on the air this afternoon live from George M. Steinbrenner field at 1:15 when Joba Chamberlain makes his first spring start against the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees are 2-1 this spring after losing to the Twins, 5-4, Friday at Fort Myers. 

 

Chamberlain showed last season he has the stuff to be an eventual starter, especially when he defeated Josh Beckett and the Red Sox, 1-0, at Fenway Park on July 25. But the Yankees plan on limiting the innings of their prized prospect. He’s never pitched a full season as a starter and had a bout with rotator cuff tendinitis that kept him out for nearly a month and forced him back to the bullpen.

 

About the Twins

Ron Gardenhire is 622-512 with one losing season during his seven years in the Twin Cities, yet taking an inexperienced 2008 club to a one-game playoff against the White Sox is being touted as his most remarkable job. The recent addition of veteran third baseman Joe Crede gives Gardenhire a power hitter who will add pop if he can stay healthy. Francisco Liriano, fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, will also be around for a full season. After a slow start, Liriano went 6-1, 2.74 in second half and was unbeaten in 10 of his last 11 starts and recently decided to not pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

 

Stay logged on to YESNetwork.com for a game recap and highlights.

 

Generation Trey?

By Glenn Giangrande
If I hear the phrase “Generation Trey” one more time, I’m going to explode.
 
I specifically remember reading an article in which Joel Sherman first coined the phrase and Michael Kay has run with it on Yankees broadcasts ever since. While I understand how it seems like every player has to have a nickname nowadays, it’s inappropriate on a number of levels.
 
First, there is a chance that a not-so-far-off day will come in which two of the three are not going to be Yankees. Who’s to say that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy will be long for pinstripes? Both have already come close to being dealt away.

Second, should we really be invoking memories of the Mets’ “Generation K,” Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, and Paul Wilson? All three were derailed by injuries and health problems, with Isringhausen being the one who fought back to carve out a very respectable career as a closer.

Third and finally, why must we have names for players who have yet to accomplish very much? I understand Joba Chamberlain was a phenomenon a couple of years ago and seems primed for a distinguished run with the Yankees, but give him and the others a chance to develop before even thinking about hitting them with labels.
 
Just let the kids stand on their own. 

Yanks schlep to Fort Myers

kennedy_250_022707.jpgBy Jon Lane
The Yankees left at 8 this morning for the 2 1/2-hour trek to Fort Myers for a game against the Minnesota Twins. Ian Kennedy starts for New York against Scott Baker.

The lineup:
Brett Gardner CF
Cody Ransom 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Jorge Posada DH
Xavier Nady RF
Melky Cabrera LF
Angel Berroa SS
Justin Leone 3B
Francisco Cervelli C

Note that Nady, Swisher, Cabrera and Gardner all made the trip. Each are competing for playing time in the outfield, while Swisher starts at first base to get some at-bats. Normally, veterans like Posada don’t make these types of trips, but 1) yesterday was his first game action since last July 19 and 2) teams are required to send at least one of their big names on the road.

The Cabrera-Gardner competition will get press throughout the spring, but Nady-Swisher is an intriguing storyline. Speculation over whether either will be traded has died down for the moment. The hope here is that both remain on the roster. Both offer depth, and Swisher’s personality has been refreshing and contagious to a group that needs positive vibes given the A-Rod melodrama and the annual World Series or bust expectations.

You can track today’s game here. I’ll be listening to the Twins’ radio feed and will check in with updates from time to time.

1:24 p.m.: Already 2-0 Yankees and kick-started by Brett Gardner, who led off with a single, stole second and scored on Cody Ransom’s single (Ransom came home with the second run on a throwing error). It’s only Game 3, but you think Gardner is hungry to prove a point?

Ian Kennedy then retires the Twins in order.

1:32 p.m. Justin Leone’s one-out homer puts the Yankees ahead 3-0. It would have been four if not for Angel Berroa’s failed attempt to turn a leadoff single into a double.

1:35 p.m. Gardner, your 2009 Opening Day center fielder, is 2-for-2 with a single and a double.

2:01 p.m. The Yankees have eight hits in 2 1/2 innings, but left the bases loaded without scoring a run. Sound familiar?

Cabrera popped up with runners on second and third and one out. Remember that he’s out of options, so if Gardner wins the CF competition, the Yankees will either have to find a place for Cabrera or risk losing him should he not clear waivers.

2:04 p.m. Kennedy’s line: 2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. He left a runner stranded at third to end the second.

2:17 p.m. Gardner drew a one-out walk, the third time he’s reached base. Minutes later he swiped second base. The Twins announcers said he has a little element of Lenny Dykstra, as in when he plays, you notice him.

2:23 p.m. Swisher flies out to end the threat. Still 3-0, Yankees

2:48 p.m. Cabrera grounded out to end the top of the fifth. He’s 0-for-3. Jorge Posada left the game after going 2-for-3. He is 4-for-5 in two games. 3-1, Yankees.

3:02 p.m. Austin Jackson pinch-hit for Gardner, who is batting .429 (3-for-7) with a homer and two stolen bases in three spring games.

3:20 p.m. Competition report: Cabrera finished hitless in three at-bats and is 0-for-5 in two games. Swisher went 2-for-3 and Nady 1-for-3.

4:17 p.m. Yankees lose 5-4 to fall to 2-1 on the Grapefruit Season. The Twins snuffed a late rally in the ninth.

Surprising reaction to the Lightning Rod

arodblog022609.jpgBy Joe Auriemma
With all of the news about Alex Rodriguez and steroids this offseason, you knew that he was bound to get booed at other stadiums around the league. In fact, during the first exhibition game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, FL, A-Rod did get booed.

What was a little surprising to me was that he got a mixed reaction when stepping up to the plate at George M. Steinbrenner Field in his first “home” plate appearance. Now the Yankees were playing the Rays, who might have had their own fan base at the game supporting the team, but it still was a little shocking.

A-Rod has been accused of having a fragile psyche in the past and does seem to try to hard in key situations, so this was probably not what he needed to hear at the start of the season. The bottom line is that he is under contract to be the Yankees’ third baseman for the next nine seasons. If you are not a fan of A-Rod and what he did, but a fan of the Yankees, it’s really a Catch-22. In order for the Yankees to compete for a World Series, they need A-Rod to produce. There is no way around it.

I’m not saying that fans need to give him a standing ovation, but I hope that the Bronx and the beautiful new Yankee Stadium can be a safe haven for a player that is going to have to deal with a lot of abuse on the road.

The New Stadium
On Wednesday morning I got to see the new Stadium and took a tour of the new Monument Park; the Yankees held an event to put the Babe Ruth monument into its new home. My first reaction was that it’s quite amazing. Yankee Stadium, and from what I’ve seen of CitiField in Queens, are as grand as the city they call home.

As I stood in the new Monument Park, I realized that hitting a home run to dead center will now make the monuments, plaques and retired numbers vulnerable to being hit. Even the restaurant above the Monument Park is bound for an assault from a monster home run shot. It’s going to make the game much more interesting to watch. It looks as if the Stadium is going to be much more fan friendly then the previous facility. The upper deck isn’t as steep, making each seat closer to the field.

I’m certainly going to miss the feeling I got when walking into the old Yankee Stadium, but I think that over time, and when baseball is being played in this new park, that old feeling is bound to come back.

Gardner stakes claim on CF

gardner_250_022609.jpgBy Glenn Giangrande
While I sit here and watch Phil Hughes take his first steps towards erasing his 2008 season, I’m still shocked by what I saw in the box score from Wednesday’s Spring Training opener.
 
Brett Gardner went deep?
 
Sure, it doesn’t have the media relevance that A-Rod’s two-run jack had, but boy oh boy, what a nice way to start the official slate for Gardner, who I fully expect to win the job in center field over Melky Cabrera. He’s not going to be hitting many homers, I know, but I don’t think people who view CF as a position battle will get their money’s worth.
 
In my eyes, Gardner is the clear cut favorite, and if he wasn’t so young and inexperienced, he might’ve been given the job in college, although I think we’d all agree in saying that Joe Girardi is the probably the kind of manager who likes to foster competition when possible. The facts cannot be ignored though. Gardner has blazing speed in the outfield, and while his arm is not at the level of Melky’s, you don’t need to throw the ball in if you can run it down!
 
When he doesn’t start, Gardner can wreak havoc in the late innings as a pinch runner, but I believe that the temptation to have that dimension in the lineup on a regular basis is far too tempting for Girardi. 

And we're off and running ….

By Jon Lane
Game 2 is on the air. Michael Kay and Ken Singleton are in the YES Booth and I’m at MLBAM headquarters to provide some commentary.

Some quick hits from Peter Abraham’s blog:

  • Mariano Rivera has been playing catch and will get on the mound for the first time next week.

  • Brian Cashman has no information as to whether Alex Rodriguez will meet with MLB investigators today and was asked about Yuri Sucart driving his players to and from games.

“It has been handled,” he said. “That’s all I want to say, it has been handled.”

  • George Steinbrenner is at his game. The temperature in Tampa, Fla., is sunny and 73 degrees. Not to shabby, eh?

1:15 p.m. Michael Kay mentioned the team feels relaxed and confident, this in spite off all the A-Rod melodrama. That is a good sign. Bernie Williams threw out the first pitch and looks and feels great. Phil Hughes hits Adam Kennedy to being the game. Not a good start.

1:27 p.m. Hughes survived two hit batsman to get Gabe Kapler to pop out to short, but threw threw 18 pitches (13 strikes), continuing a disturbing trend. Hughes averaged 78.8 pitches in his eight starts last season while pitching into the sixth inning only three times, the last when he went eight strong September 24 against the Blue Jays.

1:32 p.m. Mark Teixeira’s first at-bat as a Yankee ends with him chasing high heat on Wade Davis’ 2-2 pitch as the Yankees go quietly in the first.

1:45 p.m. Alex Rodriguez is met with a smattering of boos, but mostly cheers while stepping into the batter’s box. Like many, Ken Singleton expressed disappointment in A-Rod using PEDs and couldn’t understand why he chose to do it in the first place.
 
A-Rod goes down swinging. The catcalls grow a little louder. It’s plainly obvious he’ll be Lightning Rod all season. What cannot go unnoticed is how Joe Girardi handles the pressure of being asked about this day in and day out.

1:54 p.m. Phil Coke pitches a scoreless third. I like this guy a lot. He works fast, changes speeds and is fearless, and got the third out by breaking Willy Aybar’s bat (with help by a nice play from Robinson Cano). He and Damaso Marte have the potential to be an effective lefty combination out of the bullpen.

1:55 p.m. Jorge Posada crushes one over the right-field fence to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. That surgically repaired shoulder had better hold up. I can’t stress enough the importance of a healthy Posada to this team.

1:57 p.m. Melky Cabrera flies out to center. He’s already trailing Brett Gardner in the center field derby. This is only the second Spring Training game, and Cabrera’s first, but Glenn Giangrande has already deemed Gardner the winner.

2:17 p.m. A-Rod’s second at-bat is met with louder boos that drowned out some cheers (one man yelling “Go A-Rod!” made it through). Rodriguez wastes Teixeira’s one-out single by grounding into a 5-4-3 double play. No boos, but a collective groan, one all too familiar during A-Rod’s Yankees years.

2:25 p.m. A svelte Brian Bruney works a clean inning, hitting as high as 95 MPH on the radar gun. With Joba Chamberlain the Yankees’ undisputed fifth starter, Bruney has to be the eighth-inning bridge to Rivera. During the top of fifth, Girardi told Kay and Singleton that Posada will start his first game behind the plate on March 15.

2:30 p.m. Posada doubles home the Yankees’ second run. He’s 2-for-2 with both RBIs.

2:59 p.m. The Yankees lowered the price of about 600 obstructed-view bleacher seats at the new Yankee Stadium from $12 to $5. It’s a good deal when you think about it. Fans who purchase these tickets get access throughout the new palace. That includes the sports bar adjacent to the bleachers that I believe will be an open air facility. That to me is a great way to spend a summer’s day or evening, watching a ballgame on site while in the atmosphere of a sports bar. 

3:12 p.m. Remember Shelley “Slam” Duncan? He crushed a three-run home run to left field to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh. Duncan’s power and energy burst upon the scene in 2007 by hitting three home runs in his first two games and eventually drew comparisons to Kevin Maas, which wasn’t exactly a good thing. Like Maas, Duncan faded and was designated for assignment in the offseason. Having received a non-roster invite to Spring Training, Duncan is trying to bash his way back on the roster. He’ll just have to learn to hit a breaking ball.

3:22 p.m. Three up and three down for Mark Melancon in the eighth. This kid has got the goods to either be a dominant late-inning set-up man and possibly Rivera’s eventual successor.

3:35 p.m. Yankees win 5-1 to move to 2-0 on the Grapefruit season. Tomorrow brings a two-hour-plus bus ride to Fort Myers for the chosen players.