5 BOROUGH SPORTS

You Know Swish is Ready

As Spring Training ends, let’s discuss some of the final moves the Yankees have made. Now I’m not going to talk about the obvious. I can’t tell you how many “Yankee Previews” I’ve read that discusses the Yanks’ starting lineup (no shit A-Rod is starting at third). If you’re reading this and you don’t know the starting nine for Opening Day, you probably don’t belong here:

STARTING ROTATION:

C.C. Sabathia (21-7  3.18)

A.J. Burnett (10-15  5.26)

Phil Hughes (18-8  4.19)

Ivan Nova (1-2  4.50)

Freddy Garcia (12-6  4.64) w/ CWS

As we all know, Freddy Garcia won the job as the 5th starter. Personally, I would’ve liked to see Bartolo Colon get a shot at the 5th spot, but I’ll trust Girardi on this one. One of the guys I’m most excited about is my man Ivan Nova. If he throws like he did this spring, this rotation will be in phenomenal shape.

BULLPEN:

The Yankees head into the 2011 season with a deadly bullpen. First, the Yanks signed all-star Rafael Soriano to set up Mariano. Soriano had a fantastic season last year in Tampa Bay and should be an anchor for the pen.  David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain (big question mark this season) will have quality innings as well. Don’t forget Bartolo Colon will start off in the long-relief role while Boone Logan will be the left-handed specialist (Pedro Feliciano will start the season on the DL).

Soriano Will Anchor a Strong Bullpen

CATCHERS:

Two days ago, Jesus Montero was sent down to Tripe-A where he will begin the 2011 season. Don’t be surprised if we see him in the Majors by mid-May. Russell Martin will begin the season as the Opening Day starter while newly-acquired Gustavo Molina will start the season as the back-up (Francisco Cervelli will be out for at least a month with a broken foot). Girardi has already told to the public that Posada will not catch at all this season.

Martin will be the Opening Day Catcher

BENCH:

One of my favorite guys this spring was Eric Chavez. Having been injured for most of the last four years, Chavez is proving that he’s one hell of a ballplayer when he’s healthy. Eric hit .395 this spring in 43 at bats. He will back up A-Rod at 3rd base and will start occasionally at 1st.

Newly-acquired Andruw Jones will also see time in the outfield, especially against left-handers. Even though Granderson improved his numbers against lefties last season, Jones will see more action against southpaws.

Chavez Will Look to Stay Healthy and Revive His Career

If you’re a Yankees fan, you should be excited about this year. Everyone during the off-season has been critical of our team because Cashman didn’t acquire any big names. As far as I know, the Yankees still have the best lineup in baseball. We have a group of hitters who know how to succeed in New York. Are there some major questions about the starting rotation? Of course. But who doesn’t? (Yes, you too Boston).  There’s a good nucleus with this roster and we should be pumped for tomorrow. Opening Day begins tomorrow at 1pm in Detroit.

This entry was posted on March 30, 2011 at 9:57 am and is filed under Yankees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.