A Fresh Start For The Evil Empire?

Another year in the books, and another Boston Red Sox World Series victory. But more importantly to some, another first round exit for the New York Yankees, marking the third straight year they've managed to accomplish such a feat. Its been less then a month since the world series has ended, and the Yankees front office has been yet again very busy. First came the exit of long time manager Joe Torre and the entrance of new manager Joe Girardi. Then we were all embraced with the saga of Alex Rodriguez along with his agent Scott Boras as they test the free agent market for a deal worth enough to buy a mid-sized country, only to see him come back to the Yankees. In addition to the circus that was the opting-out, then resigning of A-Rod, to yet another record deal, they have also resigned Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada as well as picking up a $16 million option on outfielder Bobby Abreu.

Millions of dollars later it is time to ask yourself what the state of the Yankees is now. The answer is, exactly in the same spot they were last year, if not worse. As the off season stands right now all this money has been spent to put the same product on the field we have seen in these past few unsucessful years(don't get me wrong I am more then happy to see the resigning of Rivera and Posada), and once again few measures have been taken to adress the number one problem area that has plagued them of recent. Pitching. It's no question that good pitching can carry you through the playoffs and that has been the Yankees problem in recent years. Sure the offense has been putting up record numbers in the regular season but when it comes to the playoffs they have been less then clutch. It's very dfficult to win in the post season when you have to ask your offense to score 7 or 8 runs a game, especially when the pressure is on and you're no longer facing the Devil Rays.

With Andy Pettittes future hanging in the ballance, the yankees starting rotation as of now looks like: Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy and Mussina. Thats not exactly a rotation I would bank my season on as only two, Wang and Mussina, have establsihed themselves as reliable starting pitchers in the MLB. Currently the Yankees are in talks with the Twins about a possible trade for Johan Santana. It is obvious that he is the best starting pitcher available but at what cost is he worth. The Yankees have gone after big named pitchers before, mostly ending in failure. Names like Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown and even Randy Johnson come to mind. The issue here is not the amount of money needed to sign him, as that is never an issue for the Yankees, but rather the value needed to be given up in young prospects. As a Yankee fan, I would love to see Santana in pinstripes but i really think it is time for the Yankees to keep and develop their prospects. The three names that have been thrown around in terms of trades are pitching prospects Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy. Hughes and Chamberlain showed great potential last year. There has also been talk of second basemen Robinson Cano and outfielder Melky Cabrerra used in the trade. Both of whom are sure to play huge roles in the future of the organization. In my mind the only way i would take Santana is if it meant NOT GIVING up Phil Hughes or Jaba Chamberlain who could potentially turn into something great. I would also be very reluctant to give up Robinson Cano who has played exceptionally well as the starting second basemen these past couple years. If something could be worked out with Cabrerra and Kennedy i would probably take it. Now it probably won't be possible to get Santana without giving up at least one of those players so maybe they should stay away and look elsewhere as in Oaklands Dan Haren. Clearly not as established of a pitcher but it would also take a lot less to get him.

Now if we have the same thinking Yankees we've seen these past few years, Santana will be on the starting rotation and the Yankees will be playing golf in Florida instead of the World Series in the Bronx.

The Exciting Finish in the MLB Season

The hunt for October is over. This was an exciting year for Major League Baseball. We saw new records, such as Barry Bonds breaking the home run record, but what made the season great were the teams competing for the playoffs. We saw teams pull off a magical season and saw teams blow a lead into the playoffs.

What would it have been like if the New York Yankees did not make the playoffs? This year we will not find out because for the thirteenth consecutive year the New York Yankees have made the playoffs. On May 29 the New York Yankees were 21-29, which is unbelievable for a franchise with high salaries they pay for their players. After that beginning of the season, people said that Joe Torre, the manager of the Yankees, would be, fired. The Yankees also at one time were in pitching trouble with having 10 different starting pitchers in its first 30 games of the season. After beginning 21-29 on May 29th they became the hottest team and went 70-38. They finished with a record of 94-68. This was one of the biggest stories of the season because the Yankees were 9.5 games out of the AL Wild Card. Then at the end they won the AL Wild Card to finish off a great story for this team. Alex Rodriquez, who had 54 homeruns, 156 RBIs, and143 runs, leading in all categories in the MLB helped make this happen. Although, they had a struggling pitching year, the Yankees offense was amazing. They lead the AL in homeruns and lead the MLB in RBIs, batting average, runs, and hits. The Yankees high powered offense helped them to be a great offense in the MLB.

Another exciting race that happened was in the NL East, which included the Philadelphia Phillies coming back to win the NL East and the New York Mets choking at the end. The New York Mets had a great record through May 31st by going 34-18, but they went 40-42 from June through August. With only 17 games left, the Mets had a 7 game lead over Phillies. The Mets lost 11 out of 16 games towards the end of the season. Even though the Mets, lost at the end of the season, the Phillies still had to play well. They went 12-3 towards the end and the two teams were tied with only one game to go. The Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 6-1, and the Mets lost to the Florida Marlins 8-1. Due to Mets lose the Philadelphia Phillies won the National League East. The Phillies were able to win as they had, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins, who all had a terrific season. The Phillies led the NL in batting average RBI’s, runs scored, and was second in homeruns. The Phillies and the Mets help made the National League East an exciting race.

Probably the greatest story to come out of the playoff race is the Colorado Rockies. Many Rockies fans believe that it was a magical year since the Rockies have not made the playoffs since 1995. The Rockies were the hottest team in September, going 20-8. The Rockies won 13 out of 14 games at the end including 11 games in a row. The team set a franchise record going 90-73. The Rockies had the best hitting average in the NL, led by their NL MVP candidate Matt Holiday. He had the best hitting average and the most RBI’s in the NL. The biggest reason why the Rockies are still playing in October is the teams fielding. They have the fewest errors in MLB and setting a record with the best fielding percentage all time in MLB with .989.The San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies played a tiebreaker to see who would get the NL Wild Card and get to play the Philadelphia Phillies. After a long game in Colorado, the Padres had the lead in the bottom of the thirteenth 8-6 with their ace closer Travis Hoffman. This is when the Rockies would rally tying the game 8-8 with Matt Holiday on third. Jamey Carrol would have a sacrifice fly and Matt Holiday would score, which many fans have argued over whether or not he was safe. The umpire called Holiday safe and the Rockies would continue on with their magical season into the playoffs after beating the San Diego Padres.

Now that the playoffs have started who will win the World Series. Unfortunately, the playoffs have not been as exciting like the end of the regular season; three teams got swept and most of games were blowouts. With the divisional series over close to being over, the question is who will win the ALCS, the Boston Red Sox vs. the Cleveland Indians/New York Yankees, and the NLCS, the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. the Colorado Rockies. All we can hope is that these playoffs get more exciting like the end of the regular season was.