Sports

Sunday, May 29, 2011

3 INTERNAL RIVERA REPLACEMENTS

For the last 16 years, Mariano Rivera's value to the New York Yankees has been indescribable. But watching him struggle last night against the Mariners has made me think about what will happen  when Rivera  is no longer around. As stable a force as he is, he is mortal. Here are 3 possible internal replacements.

1. Joba Chamberlain: He may be a bit inconsisent, but seems to be regaining his old form. His fastball speed is back to the 95-98 MPH range, with a good slider that is capable of fooling hitters. To me he seems like the most likely replacement option.

2. David Robertson: Though it seems more likely that he would be a setup man, he has closer capable fastball speed with good control of his pitches.

3. Dellin Betances: He has yet to make his major league debut, he is big, has a great fastball, with very good control of his pitches. He is an intimidating presence on the mound with a lot of upside.

Honorable Mention: Manny Banuelos, Andrew Brackman

I'm not saying Rivera is done, but someday he will be and the Yankees need to prepare for that day.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

TURN OF EVENTS FOR POSEY?

Since joining the Giants last season, Buster Posey has been the leader of the Giants in every facet of the game. He's been the Giants' best hitter, a great fielder, and has earned the trust of every pitcher on the staff. This made the news that Posey is out for the season with a broken leg so devastating. It may get worse though, as there has been some debate over whether or not he should be a catcher at all and this confirms to me that he should be moved to right field. He still has a good arm, which every right fielder needs, he can still hit, and can still be the on field leader, just not of the pitching staff.  The point being that catchers have more colllisions and take more of a beating than any position on the field and Posey is just too valuable.

Most catchers play many years behind the plate, Yogi Berra played 18 years at the position and won three MVPs, bu he was not the only power hitting offensive player on the Yankees. Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella, even Jorge Posada had long and successful careers as the backstop. The Giants, however, lack enough power at the plate to risk Posey's future health.

Maybe a season without him will convince the Giants of the same thing. He is far to valuable to this team to have this reoccur and if that means not being a catcher, then so be it.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

MESSAGE FOR GIRARDI: - TIME FOR CHANGE

The Yankee organization is too loyal to their aging stars and they must make some changes if they want to contend for the World Series again this year. What you need to do, Joe Girardi, is take some risks and never mind upsetting the veterans, Posada and Jeter specifically. The Yankee lineup must undergo a makeover.

NEW LINEUP:


1. Curtis Granderson, CF: He is like a poor man's Ricky Henderson in terms of power and speed, which is good to have at the top of the lineup.  He gets a lot of hits, too.

2. Nick Swisher, DH/RF: Though he has been struggling mightily, it might be worth showing some faith in Nick Swisher. Lets not forget, he did hit 29 home runs last year.

3. Mark Teixeira, 1B: Tex has been hitting well of late, but he still needs protection from either Cano or A-Rod. He could back up A-Rod and be backed up by Cano.


4. Robinson Cano, 2B: With Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada struggling, it becomes easier to pitch to Cano because you don't have to worry about who lurks in the on-deck circle. He might see better pitches if A-Rod was batting behind him. Not to mention, Cano has a .316 average, with 8 home runs and 29 RBI in 30 games in  the cleanup spot in his career.



5. Alex Rodriguez, 3B: With two guys who need protection batting in front of him, A-Rod must be the one to provide it.

6. Derek Jeter, SS: Though Jeter cannot be counted out completely, it is clear that he isn't the player he once was. He must accept that fact and do what is best for the team.


7. Russel Martin, C: Not much to say here. Martin remains a clutch, stable force in the Yankee lineup.

8. Jesus Montero, DH/RF: If it was up to me, Montero would have been in the majors for about a month and Posada would be benched.


9. Brett Gardner, LF: The reason Gardner is batting ninth is because he is good at getting on base with his speed, which is a good way to close out the lineup.

Note: Like I said, I would have benched Posada a month ago, but if he isn't hitting by mid season, I would try to convince him to retire and/ if it didn't work, I would release him and buy out his contract.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

BOSTON SERIES PREVIEW

Game 2: CC Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett

Even though in his last start against the Red Sox, CC Sabathia didn't have his best stuff and was beaten by tonight's starter Josh Beckett, he still only gave up 1 earned run. Also, the Red Sox were more desperate to win because going into that game, they only had 1 win. I believe Sabathia will build off his final few innings in his last start against Detroit and pitch well.

Meanwhile, I also believe Beckett will pitch very well against a struggling Yankee lineup and make this game interesting.

Prediction: Yankees 4-2

Friday, May 13, 2011

BOSTON SERIES PREVIEW

Game 1: Bartolo Colon vs. Clay Buchholz


The Yankees hit Buchholz well, with an overall batting average of .314, and 17 RBI. Also, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano began to come around last night, each blasting a home run in an 11-5 Yankee loss.
Also, Bartolo Colon has held this Boston team to a.169 average against him over the course of his career.


PREDICTION: Yankees 7-3.

 

Saturday, May 7, 2011

IVAN NOVA: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Last night may have been the best start of Ivan Nova's young career. He gave up only 1 run (0 earned) in 7.1 innings, while only walking 1 and giving up 2 hits. The part that was most impressive, was that he got 16 ground balls, with only 3 fly balls, because he was in complete control of his sinker, which had a lot of great late movement. Inducing that many ground balls is Chien Ming Wang like, while his fastball was like Josh Beckett's. Could he be similar to both?

Nova has a hard sinker, which can cause hitters to roll over on them, hitting the top of the ball into the ground instead of connecting with the sweet spot of the bat. He also has a swing and miss fastball. When he really reaches, and is in mid season form, he can hit 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. His velocity is already showing signs of improvement. Last night, he hit 94-95 miles per hour a few times. He had been throwing 91-93. Don't get me wrong, he isn't going to strike out twenty batters in a game, but he might strike out 6-8 and get plenty of batters to ground out.