Or at least it seemed that way. I was finally able to watch most of a Yankees' spring training game and it might as well have been the Yankees and Red Sox against the Yankees the way the game played out. The only things I can take away from this one were that Kevin Youkilis looks human again like he did in 2004 before his whole "I'm a bald Pirate" stage and will get a big hit regardless of game importance against the Bombers, Dustin Pedroia is still a small pain in the ass and isn't in "trying to steal bases well" mode yet, and Jeter terrorizes his teammates when he plays against them. By my count Jeter had a two-run go ahead single, reached base three times, advanced twice on errors or passed balls and scored constantly. He also strangely showed more range than usual.
It's a well known fact that offensively the demise of Jeter is overrated. He was hit by Daniel Cabrera in the hand in May of last year, played with a contusion and went 4/41 directly after before heating up again in June and catching fire in August. To expect anything less than his usual 100 runs, .300 average, 10 HR, 20 SB, and countless big moments in 2009 would be a poor bet to make. Defensively, I wouldn't be surprised if his range shrunk or it plays out to be a non-factor, especially considering A-Rod and Cano have more range than usual at their positions.
In other words, you have to feel pretty good about the Yankees' offense, especially with numerous capable backup catchers and the prospect of Posada being at least close to 100% for most of the season. If nothing else, the healthy bats of Jeter, Posada and Matsui are going to make this offense a terror again, and that doesn't include the prospect of a better-hitting Cano, and a full year of Nady and Teixiera. Likely, every position could improve offensively on the team, with none set to perform worse than last season.
And by actually getting to see Gardner's 3/3 game (9/14 in spring training with three SB's) and Cabrera add another hit, I'm now more comfortable with the bench the Yankees will be going to war with when spring breaks. Cody Ransom is a proficient hitter and can backup shortstop and third base in a pinch, which is basically all he needs to do with the two starters at those positions being who they are. You have to love Jose Molina's defensive skill set as a backup catcher and if he had any bat he'd be a starter somewhere.
Then it gets interesting. Who can backup second base? I would prefer for Angel Berroa not to get a valuable bench spot because if Cabrera wins the starting job I think Gardner can still serve a major purpose on the club. Either way it makes sense the club will take Ransom, Berroa and Molina in the infield and Swisher to backup the outfield. If Ransom can somehow play all of the infield, then Swisher can be the backup first baseman and corner outfielder, Molina the backup catcher and Gardner or Cabrera an additional backup outfielder (including center field) plus pinch-runner and defensive replacement.
Which brings me to my next point: Brett Gardner is more useful than Melky Cabrera. It's true Cabrera has a cannon and can switch-hit. He also has spurts of power. But Gardner is faster and has infinitely more range, he has an average arm and though he is only a lefty, Cabrera is a liability from the right side anyway. Give me a speed element and higher on base percentage over the probability of an outfield assist and a potential home run anyday. Especially in this lineup.
As for the other aspect of the game, the Yankees' pitching continued to impress. Phil Coke pitched two seamless innings dominating the best the USA has to offer. Coke could be a starter if he wanted, but will do a fine job as a swing man in what will be a strong Yankees' bullpen instead. Add the lefty arm of Marte, and then the right-handed power arms of Brian Bruney and Jose Veras and the Yankees have a nice compliment of lights-out arms to bridge the way to Mariano Rivera. Veras and Bruney will both be under 27 this year but headed into their primes and barring injury, Marte and Rivera are proven bullpen arms when used correctly.
I think Coke, who is a rookie but more seasoned and older than most rookies, will have a breakout season and that will leave two spots for: Aceves, Albaladejo, Robertson, Sanchez, Ramirez, and Melancon. My early bets are on Robertson and Ramirez because Robertson has major league experience and excellent numbers past his ERA, and Ramirez adds a different look with an excellent change-up. If you eliminate two or three outings where Robertson was absolutely hammered, his 5.34 ERA wouldn't be as high either (we're only working with 30 innings here). Even so, the young right hander gave up 29 hits in 30 innings and struck out 36 batters. New York is absolutely loaded with insurance policies in relief.
So what about the rotation? I got my first look at Hughes today, too. The one thing that jumped out to me was his confidence. Some sloppy defense set up the inning where Jeter drove in two runs and exited Hughes for the day down 2-1, but before that the right-hander looked solid against a very difficult lineup. Up until this spring, Hughes seemed to get knocked around this time of year while he tried to develop his pitches. Now the arsenal is full and it's a matter of execution, a big step in Hughes' early development in 2009. The important difference he has to work on is the one thing he is still struggling with and that is pitching inside; the source of his three hit batters in two appearances. If Hughes can locate his fastball on both sides of the plate and bury his curve, you will see the phenom he was hyped to be since 2005. What's more is that Hughes will have to be healthy, but at least the Yankees' rotation isn't relying on that this year.
The things you have the most confidence in right now are the makeup of this team. They have every reason to be fighting each other and develop a poor work ethic with all of the distractions early in the season, but as expected, this is the Bronx and these players (minus A-Rod) are conditioned not to let distractions effect them. Unlike Andy Pettitte last year, none of these distractions are interfering with team conditioning, and that's a key difference. Factor in the never-quit attitude of CC Sabathia, the maturity of AJ Burnett, the work ethic of Mark Teixeira and the craziness of Nick Swisher and the team has not only brought over a lot of talent the last few months, but they have brought an entirely different outlook and mindset as well. It's something Joe Girardi has recognized and is trying to feed into. Girardi has lifted the odd rule of headphones only in the clubhouse left over from Joe Torre's reign and will most likely remove the ban of candy too. We already saw him cancel practice and bring the team to play billiards instead.
Now he encourages Swisher to be the "Clubhouse DJ" and guys like Swish and Damon should be useful to keep the team lose all season. Guys like: Nady, Ransom, Swisher, Gardner, Matsui, Posada and Teixiera are gamers who should rub off on those who may not seem to be in that mold (Cano). Sabathia has taken a guy like Chamberlain under his wing and right now the veteran and young player dynamics, and the races for the final spots on this team, seem to be working to the Yankees' advantage. Wang reported no pain whatsoever after throwing for the first time, Bruney is on a mission to prove me right about Joba, Posada's shoulder feels fine now, all the sicknesses on the team seem to have passed and Ramirez and Matsui should see game action in the next week. The results don't matter much, but you can tell a lot by watching this early in the season.
Meanwhile A-Rod has a cyst on his hip. Might this be a blessing in disguise to not only keep him away from the Classic but also to create a storyline not involving something stupid that he did?
As for myself, I will be headed back to Florida tomorrow evening so this is probably it for me until Thursday afternoon (tomorrow will be dedicated to traveling). I'd love to take all of you northernors with me to escape the never-ending snow and cold weather seemingly intent on keeping me sick, but well, I don't want to pay the fees for having too much weight in my luggage, so you'll all have to deal. Or harass Jeff. In fact, harass Jeff, I always encourage that.
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