2008 New York Yankees Preview
The Bronx Bombers Will Baseball Boston In Baseball's Best Division
Feb 11, 2008
With just a few days remaining until pitchers and catchers report to Yankees training camp in Tampa, first year manager Joe Girardi is looking at a talented squad that features an intriguing blend of veteran stars and young kids who are barely off the farm. Girardi will face two major challenges in his first season as Yankee skipper. The first is how he will handle an offense that has too many hitters vying for too few spots. The second is figuring out who is going to pitch, and in what role. But it’s not all bad news. The Yankees have a lot to be happy about in 2008.
Alex Rodriguez Returns
Alex Rodriguez returns from his 2007 MVP season with the richest contract in team sports history hanging out of his back pocket. The man who led both major leagues in home runs, RBI and runs scored last year inked a deal that should pay him $305 million to play in the Bronx for the next ten years.
Also back and playing in their usual spots are Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Melky Cabrera and Bobby Abreu. Johnny Damon will see most of the action in left field, but Hideki Matsui will get some playing time there as well, especially in the late season. Primarily, however, Matsui will be the designated hitter, and that puts Girardi in the awkward spot on many nights of having no place to play (or to hit) Jason Giambi.
But Giambi isn't the only Yankee who will fight for playing time. Shelly Duncan, Wilson Betemit and Morgan Ensberg (who was signed to a minor league contract) will compete this spring for the starting first base job. Duncan won over fans with a nice pwer burst after being called up in July. Betemit disappointed after being traded from the Dodgers last July, but his good glove and flexibility ensure that he will see time as a backup at all four infield positions. Ensberg, who hit 36 home runs in 2005 but has since suffered a precipitous decline, could be the odd man out.
The Starting Rotation
Andy Pettitte, who was 15-7 last year and who was the only Yankee starter to pitch well in the playoffs, returns for a 14th season, his 11th with the Yankees. For the first time in his career, perhaps, Pettitte comes to spring training amidst some controversy. He named as an HGH user in the Mitchell Report, and has been drawn into the ongoing controversy surrounding Roger Clemens and his own alleged performance-enhancing drug use.
Chien-Ming Wang won 19 games in each of the last two years. He’s consistent, he’s solid, he’s unspectacular. And he’ll win 17 to 19 games in 2008.
The Rotation, Part Deux: Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy
The Yankees' offseason moves clearly indicate that they are expecting a lot from this threesome of upstart hurlers. In December, they refused to move both Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy for Johan Santana (who ultimately went to the crosstown Mets). They had already taken Chamberlain’s name off the table before negotiations began; a bold move that will be heavily debated in the New York media if the Mets start off better than the Yankees.
Hughes sat on the shelf for almost two months and was a bit shaky in his first few games back, but he pitched very well down the stretch. In the last month of the season, Hughes was 3-0 with an ERA of 2.73. He also pitched brilliantly in his two postseason appearances against the Cleveland Indians (1-0, 1.59 ERA).
Chamberlain was a sensation in 2007, surrendering just one run and striking out 34 hitters in 24 innings. The team plans to use Chamberlain in the starting rotation, but general manager Brian Cashman acknowledges that the kid won't be able to start all season "because at this stage in his development, he's not going to be able to pitch for six months in the rotation without exceeding his limit."
So what does that mean? It means that Chamberlain will start the season in the bullpen and move into the rotation sometime mid-season. Cashman also told reporters that Chamberlain may be sent down to the minor leagues in June to allow him to "stretch out his arm" for a time, and then he will return in July as a starter. That seems to be the plan going into spring training.
Kennedy is the least tested of the trio, but he pitched very well in his three starts in 2007, going 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA. Mike Mussina, coming off the toughest year of his career, and Kei Igawa, who disappointed in his first season, will compete for the fifth spot in the rotation.
Middle Relief Corps
The Yankees weak spot – or at least its spot with the most issues – is middle relief. Cashman claims that only three relievers are locked in for jobs this year: closer Mariano Rivera is a given, of course; and veterans LaTroy Hawkins and Kyle Farnsworth will fill in the seventh and eighth innings.
The remaining three bullpen spots will be up for grabs. Chris Britton, Brian Bruney, Sean Henn, Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras all pitched out of the bullpen in 2007 and could be primed for a return in ‘08.
What They Must Do to Win
Pitch. The Yankees need at least two of their three youngsters to pitch as well as they did last year. They also need someone to step up and be the stable eighth inning bridge man to Rivera. If Hughes can win 14-15 games and Chamberlain can be even nearly as effective as he was last season, the New York Yankees will be a force.
New York Yankees 2008 Projected Record: 92-70.
