Yanks are in the post-season, so now what?
Again, we continue not to be awesome on blog posts but we'll get there. I haven't really blogged about the Yankees this season because I wanted to wait until they made the playoffs to offer my thoughts. The Bronx Bombers have had a solid year, and while it has been through contributions up and down the line-up, I'll also add that it cannot be a coincidence that the Yanks went on their tear once A-Rod, Marc's enemy numero uno, came back from being on the DL.
Now we all know what happened with A-Rod in the off-season with some PED revelations and hip surgery, but with the Yanks signing Mark Teixeira, the pressure on A-Rod to be "the man" dissipated quickly. And once A-Rod came back into the line-up, Tex started hitting and things started to roll. There were a couple of blips, but overall, Yanks fans are happy to be playing in the only month that matters in baseball – October. And while the boys punched a ticket, they still don't know where they are seeded. Given the home records of the other potential teams, they have to go for home-field advantage. Hopefully they can wrap that up soon so the rotation is ready for the post-season.
The title of "most talked about/over-analyzed Yankee" now belongs to Joba Chamberlain. I think it is safe to say that he probably needs to see A-Rod's shrink (not that there is anything wrong with seeing a shrink – I'm just saying). The Yankees have messed with his pitch count, schedule, you name it, and it has royally screwed him up. And it hasn't helped that Joba has been in fantasy land regarding the quality of his starts. We have an example of someone who got a taste of fame a little too quickly and probably can use some humble pie, in addition to the Yanks hopefully learning some lessons so they don't screw up Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy in the same way. Young pitchers who were not nearly as micromanaged as Joba and have had success include Rick Porcello from the Detroit Tigers and Jon Lester from the Red Sux.
Given Joba's apparent sense of entitlement, although he does have 2 more regular season starts to show everyone what kind of heart he has, I would say to leave him off of the 1st round (ALDS) playoff roster. Joba needs to learn, like Melky Cabrera did, that nothing is a given and playing for the Yankees is a privilege and not a right. Plus Bob Klapisch wrote a great article on whether Joba is taking care of himself in between starts and in the off-season, as well as for him to get his "stuff" together. How can you invest so much in the workload and not look at what kind of prep he does in between starts? Stupid! Almost as stupid as the Yankees' brass not having A-Rod get hip surgery as soon as the season was over last year instead of waiting until Spring Training, and then having to spend time on the DL!
I also think AJ Burnett has gotten a bit of a raw deal for his lack of wins since late-July (scored a HUGE win today and that game vs. Boston in mid-August was a pure thriller), although I will say it is feast or famine with him. But he has had some excellent starts that have either had little to no run support, or no decisions. I actually saw him pitch a great game on Friday against the Seattle Mariners, but Felix Hernandez was just better (in case you didn't know, Felix is one of 2 real Cy Young contenders with the other being Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals).
My take for the 1st round of the playoff roster (you get 25 people) is:
- Catchers – Posada, Molina
- Infielders – Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, A-Rod, Pena, and Hairston Jr. (although he is due for an MRI on his wrist tomorrow, so we'll see – do you bring up Cervelli or Miranda – another lefty?)
- Outfielders – Swisher, Gardner, Cabrera, Damon, Hinske, and Guzman
- DH - Matsui
- Pitchers – Sabathia, Burnett, Pettitte, Rivera, Hughes, Robertson (assuming healthy, then Chamberlain would get nod), Aceves, Gaudin, Mitre, and Coke
Nothing controversial except for probably the pitchers with Chamberlain, but the others in the bullpen have been awful, including Ramirez, Melancon, Marte, Bruney (big gag), and Albaladejo. If Chamberlain does get his head screwed on straight in the next 2 weeks, then I would probably take out Mitre.
So those are my thoughts heading into the postseason. The Bronx Bombers are there, but still need to get in the right place to set themselves up for some wins and to move into the ALCS. Taking 2 out of 3 from Boston would probably go a long way towards making that happen. GO YANKS!