Only two spring training games have past for the Yankees, but I am pumped. We have played amazingly in both (for the most part anyway) and things are looking great. It looks like this spring training may be a very long one for the cohort of first basemen if Shelley Duncan keeps playing like he did today. He had an amazing game with a homer and 5 RBIs! Alex Rodriguez also hit his first homer of the year today, as did Wilson Betemit.
On the pitching side of things, Chien-ming Wang aloud only one hit in two scoreless innings. He later said:
“Today my changeup was good, the slider was working and I got just one pitch to Howard up”
So things are looking up for the Yanks; Pettitte starts tomorrow against the Phillies again, it should be a good one. Stay tuned for updates on that game tomorrow.
It looks like Cashman won’t be cut as quickly as a lot of the media predicted. Today Hank Steinbrenner came out and talked about how he will be talking to Cashman during the season about a possible extension. He also said how this was the plan all along and that the media was trying to create controversy where there wasn’t any. This isn’t really the first time the media has done something of this sort. In today’s world of TV ratings and money it is surprising when they aren’t trying to create controversy. But anyway, Steinbrenner explained how unlike what the media said, the Santana dispute (Hank wanted to make the trade, Cashman didn’t) was not the only factor in this situation.
The Yankees may have decided that Chien-Ming Wang was not worth the extra 600k, but they do realize that he is still one of our better pitchers. Today, it was announced that the 19 game winner will get the start on opening day 2008. This isn’t just any opening day though, it is the last opening day at old Yankee Stadium, definetely a moment for the books. It’s good to see Wang gets atleast some recognition from the Yankees (atleast from Girardi). Hopefully he can perform in the postseason next year and get rid of the scrutiny from last year.
The more I read about him, the more I like him. After the beginning of Spring Training practices, several people including Joe Girardi, Jorge Posada, and Jose Molina are saying that Phil Hughes looks even better these season.
Andy Pettite spoke at a press conference today after arriving to training camp in Florida. The main topic was the obvious one. Performance enhancing drugs. Petite allowed the media to ask him what they wanted and he tried to answer all the questions. He apologized to the Yankees, Astros, and all his fans for what he called the embarrassment he has caused them. He also assured everyone that his recent revelation of using HGH in 2004, is the last surprise in the bag. There is nothing more, he has came out and admitted everything. With his recent affidavit about the conversation he had with the Rocket about PED’s, I think Pettite is definetely telling the truth about coming clean about everything. I think he wants to rid himself of the burden and I really respect him for that. I think it should also be noted that during both of the times when he used HGH it was to heal from injuries and more importantly HGH was not banned by the league at those times. Despite these facts, it is inevitable that fans on road games will make comments and be disrespectful to Pettite for what has probably been his worst offseason ever.
Kyle Farnsworth. What comes to mind when you hear that name? If you are a Yankee fan it might be unhappiness, disgust, contempt, or maybe even hatred. It isn’t surprising considering what was expected and how it actually turned out. Looking back at 2007, Farnsworth’s year was filled with boos. But with his constantly struggling command, his 4.80 ERA, and only 2 wins it really wasn’t a surprise. 2006 wasn’t much better either.
Some A Rod News
The media still found fault with one of his comments concerning the matter.A Rod had said that he was tested 9 or 10 times last year and was negative every time. Being tested 9 or 10 times suggests that either A Rod was picked an unusually high number of times or he was caught once, which increased the rate at which he would be tested. This made some think that the third baseman has already been caught for his first offense. He later came out and said that it was a hyperbole and not an exact number. I don’t think A Rod is lying here because it was a casual talk and he probably didn’t think of what the consequences of that exaggeration would have been. Say what you want about him, but I truly believe that he has not used steroids. I am not just saying this as a Yankee fan, I would’ve said it when he was with the Rangers, Mariners, or if he landed with another team this offseason.
Ok, now to move away from PED talk (I just wish we could stay away from it all together by finding a solution.) A Rod also came out and said that he is glad that the Yanks aren’t the “team to beat” for the first time during his tenure with the team. He said it takes pressure off and allows the team to concentrate on what they are supposed to do: play. That is a really good point, but hopefully they can win it all this year and once again become the “team to beat” for the 2009 season.
Alex Rodriguez has said that he is excited for the upcoming and hopes to have a repeat of his amazing 2007 season. He is following a very similar routine this Spring in order to try to duplicate the results. The Red Sox better watch out this year if A Rod manages to have even 80% of last year’s success because Cashman has really set this team up with good versatility, something which it hasn’t had much of in past years.