New York Yankees 2008 Preview

Guest Post: AJ

Without injuries in the first half last year, the Yankees would have cruised on their way to the AL East crown and wouldn’t have played in the bug infested confines of the Jake. They were 73-39 in their last 112… that’s .652 for those of you without a calculator handy.

Coaching

Joey G. is not Joe Torre. He is not going to let opposing pitchers get away with hitting his players and he’s not going to put up with whiners. He is a fierce competitor, whereas Torre was more of a ‘manage the attitudes of the players’ kind of guy. He will mix in more small ball and grit than we have seen in the last decade or so. Who knows if he will get along with Hank? If he can… it may mean great things for the Bombers.

Dave Eiland may be more important for the Yankees success than Girardi. He comes up from the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees where he coached and played a key role in the development of both Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. He will have his hands full and should expect to see a lot of the familiar faces as the Yankees try to figure out their bullpen.

Infield

The left side of the infield needs no mention, it may be top 5 best ever. Cano is poised to have an MVP type season. He’s going to have about 200 hits this year with a batting average around .340. He makes plays look easy with his range and his cannon. As for first base, you can expect to see Giambi there for much of the season. However, with more options at DH, you can expect to see a lot of Shelley Duncan and Wilson Betimit on 1B… heck, Morgan Ensberg is even an option this year.

Outfield

Melky isn’t going to wow anyone with the bat in his hands but he should make up for his average offense with solid D in center. Damon and Matsui will probably split a lot of time in left field with Damon moving over to center on occasion. Unfortunately, at this point in Damon’s career, he doesn’t have the athleticism to cover the ground he once did. Bobby Abreu doesn’t have much to worry about as far as competing for the starting job in RF. From time to time, Duncan’s going to be out there for his right-handed bat in the lineup.

Catcher

Jorge’s old body is bound to give him some troubles as the season progresses. He defied the aging process last year somehow and had a career year, don’t expect that again though. He is probably going to begin to show the signs of the wear-and-tear that catching takes on one’s body. Luckily, there are 9 Molina’s and one named Jose plays for the Yankees. He will need to produce and be reliable enough to keep Jorge from being worthless come October.

Pitching

The biggest question mark for the Yankees in the last 10 years is this team’s pitching staff. Pettitte has already shown that health may be an issue with his aging arm and back. Mussina may be in the minors on April 16^th unless he gets his location back and can get in the head of the batters he faces. Chien-Ming is solid and should provide 17-20 wins for the third consecutive season. How will Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy fair? Will Joba be starting? Is the Princeton grad (Ohlendorf) going to stick around or is it going to be a new face every few weeks in the bullpen? Can Billy Traber be reliable enough to shut down opposing lefties? The answers to these questions will undoubtedly indicate where the Yankees are come July. If there are some holes, don’t be surprised to see Hank and Cash making moves at the deadline.

Prediction: 94-68