The organizational meetings have started, the World Series hasn't even started yet, yet Yankee fans want answers and they want them now. There's a mess of options, and people are confused on what, when and how the situation is going to play itself out. I'm going to give a quick run-down on what I'm guessing will happen.

Starting Pitching-

* Andy Pettitte will sign a one-year deal in the eight-to-twelve million-dollar range

* Mike Mussina will return for at least one season, with a contract similar to Pettitte.

* Joba Chamberlain will start(thank God).

* CC Sabathia will be in Pinstripes

* There will be no Lowe or Burnett.

If Mussina doesn't return, Phil Hughes will take his place in the rotation. If Mussina does return, we will see one of the craziest AAA rotations of all time: Phil Hughes, Al Aceves, Ian Kennedy, Chase Wright, Jeff Marquez/ Alan Horne. This will give the Yankees a deep rotation at the Major League Level and a deep pool of talent to choose from, if an injury does occur(one will occur).

This is the best scenario for Yankee starting pitching, because it will be one of baseball's top rotations and it will give the youngsters a chance to stretch their innings out and become more seasoned.

Relief Pitching-

* Mariano Rivera Closer

* Brian Bruney RHSU

* Jose Veras RHSU

* Edwar Ramirez RHSU

* Damaso Marte LHSU

* Phil Coke LHSU

* Dan Giese Long Relief

There's a significant chance Damaso Marte's option could be turned down. In that case, he would be offered arbitration. If and when he is offered arbitration, he would most likely turn it down and look to sign elsewhere for multiple seasons. Yankees will get the picks. In this case, Mark Melancon would most likely take his place in the bullpen. Also, in the event a relief pitcher struggles and is optioned to AAA, Melancon would replace them.

As far as the offense goes, it's hard to make sense of. I'll give it a try-

* Abreu will be offered a two-year contract, or he will be offered arbitration. Chances are he's gone.

* Teixeira could be signed, but is a client of Scott Boras and is reportedly looking for a ten-year contract. Plus the Angels love him in the lineup with Vlad.

* Manny Ramirez is also a Scott Boras client, could be signed, but is also looking for a ridiculous six-year contract which has him playing until he's forty-two. No chance.

* Gardner could play center, Damon could play center, Melky could play center, or a trade could be made for a David Dejesus type of player.

* A trade could be made for a 1b like Prince Fielder or Derrek Lee. Or Miranda could be used in a platoon with Ransom. Or another aging veteran like Millar could be brought aboarda€¦Or Giambi might be back. Impossible to tell as of now.

* Cano, Damon and Matsui could all be traded, but I doubt any of them will.

What I'm looking forward to is the return of a healthy Jorge Posada and a healthy Hideki Matsui, plus a rebound season from Robinson Cano. Those three should combine for 50-70 homers and 250+ RBI. Add to that any of the aforementioned big bats and the Yankee offense is poised to return to juggernaut form.

People need not be excited over organizational meetings in October seeing as nothing legitimate ever comes out of them. Hank will probably start running his mouth, but the man is not to be taken seriously. In all reality, we're all pretty much clueless until November the earliest.

George A. King III of the New York Post has the story.

To be honest, I'm getting tired of Hank Steinbrenner's mouth. I'm not sure whether or not the Yankee organization is as unorganized as it seems, but Hank sure does his best job at making it seem it is. Below is an excerpt from King's piece:

"There is one very important point here," Steinbrenner told The Post during an exclusive half-hour session. "The most important thing to remember is this: If you didn't get it from me or my brother [Hal], it doesn't mean [anything]. I don't care about some piss-ant employee. If you don't get it from me or Hal, it's meaningless. I have a lot of things [in Tampa] and Hal is in New York, which is good."

With a King Tut-like air of superiority about him, Hank lets the general baseball public know that he doesn't give a damn about his employees. I don't know if this is a case of being so dumb you don't realize that everyone working for the Yankees is an employee, or if it's just Hank, continuing to be the disrespectful person he comes off as. What's going through Brian Cashman or Gene Michael's heads, when they hear this nonsensical, tyrannical blabbering? I have to wonder if Cash is kicking himself in the rear end for accepting the job. After-all, he's just a piss-ant employee.

Hank loves the spotlight and he loves to stir up a frenzy, but he has to realize that no-one likes him; if he doesn't realize no-one likes him, then it must be his enablers convincing him otherwise; the people who run up on a Manhattan sidewalk and ask for his autograph. I know for a fact most Yankee fans dislike Hank, because I'm amongst Yankee fans daily. There's never a positive word uttered on his behalf. I don't know if he's trying to emulate his father, a man who lived and died with the Yankees for over thirty years, but he is not and never will be The Boss.

Hank should stick to horses and leave the baseball business to people who both care about the Yankees and know what they're talking about; the Pseudo Boss doesn't possess either one of these qualities.

For those of you who read this, and don't know what OPS+ is, here is the definition from Hardball Times:"OPS measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An OPS+ over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average."

Basically, it's On Base Percentage combined with Slugging Percentage, adjusted to ballpark quirks. It's a very, very solid method used to value a hitter's overall offensive contributionsa€"especially for hitters in the middle of a batting order.

The OPS+ statistics I'm going to use for all of these men are based on their last complete season played.

Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi have most likely seen their last days in pinstripes. Giambi definitely, Abreu most likely, unless he's willing to accept a one or two-year contract. When these two players leave the Yankee organization, that's going to take away a lot of production. A good way to measure any player's production, is OPS+. Last season, Giambi and Abreu combined for a OPS+ of 255

There are three different scenarios I see happening here, as an effective way to replace this production. Two are plausible, one is improbable but possible

Plausible Combination Number One: Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui are a combined OPS+ of 267.

Plausible Combination Number Two: Manny Ramirez and Hideki Matsui are a combined OPS+ of 277

Improbable Combination: Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira are a combined OPS+ of 307

As you see, all three possibilities are actually an improvement over Giambi and Abreu.

Yes, I have taken into consideration that Manny Ramirez is aging, and that Hideki Matsui is coming off of knee surgery. But Jason Giambi is older than both Manny and Matsui, and Abreu is slightly older than Matsui. Jason Giambi is also the most injury-prone player out of all of them. Any combination of Matsui, Teixeira and Ramirez is an improvement in age, health and production over the combination of Abreu and Giambi.

With that said, I would much rather have Teixiera over Manny, for the simple fact that he's younger and plays a dynamite 1st base. But I would gladly take Manny Ramirez as the Yankee DH if Teixeira wasn't available.

I know a lot of people do not want Manny, because of his past problems with the Red Sox and his age. But If it came down to giving either Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu or Jason Giambi a three-year contract, who would you choose? I think the logical answer is Manny Ramirez. By the looks of his 2008 season, he isn't slowing down much at all; as a matter of fact, his regular-season OPS+ of 164 is nine points above career average. I know, I know, all this jazz about Manny playing for his next contract could be true. But the thing to consider is that Ramirez grew up a Yankee fan, and had a vendetta against the Red Sox. When Ramirez is living a dream and out to prove something, he produces at a rate not even Albert Pujols can match.

I know there are holes in this plan, just as there are holes in any plans laid, but this is the best I could come up with. If you have any better ideas than what I have come up with, I'd love to hear them. I'm sure someone has a better idea than this.

Great Job by (http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1052) of Baseball Prospectus. Tim McCarver, known for his ridiculous statements and silly phrases, has recently Slammed Manny Ramirez . Baseball Prospectus, doing the great job they always do, then sorted out whether or not Mr. McCarver's statements were factual. What a surprise, they were not.

I'm not a person who hates or dislikes Tim McCarver; I'm also not a Yankee fan who thinks his sole purpose in life is to discredit the Yankees and to have biased views at all times. But I am a fan of baseball who realizes that this man makes ridiculous, fallacious statements to a national audience. And Like Joe Sheehan says in his Tim McCarver-exposing piece, it's not right.

Boston may have tried their usual smear campaign on people who have left the Red Sox on bad terms and, of course, Tim McCarver bought right into the hype. Before you try to dismantle a person's character, you had better have your facts straighta€"especially if you're going to rip him in front of a national audience. The terrific thing about McCarver saying these things, though, is that almost every baseball fan in America finds him ridiculous. If/when he rips into Manny Ramirez on national TV, the sentiment of most fans will be: "Shut up, Tim."

I like Manny, always have liked him. Yes, I hated the fact that he stuck it to the Yankees so many times, but he always seemed like he was enjoying himself and having fun out there. In my humble opinion, baseball needs more characters like Manny Ramirez; he has fun playing the game, he's a free-spirit. He treats the game of baseball exactly like it should be treated: a game. More players with a Manny Ramirez mind-set would make baseball fun again, and would stop the nonsensical "deadly business" atmosphere which has developed over the last fifteen or so seasons.

Once again, I urge you to read Joe Sheehan's piece(http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=1052) on the facts.

Hat tip to Peter Abraham for bringing this to my attention on his blog.

From the the outside looking in as a fan, I could tell there was something wrong with this Yankee team since around May. The "chemistry" just wasn't there, anymore. The smiles and joking just weren't there on the bench, anymore. I had no faith that the 2008 Yankees were going to come roaring back to life, like they had done so many seasons previous to this debacle. It seemed like there was tension at all times, the mood always seemed off. Girardi seemed disconnected from the players, and all of the sudden everyone and their mother was having a down season.

Low and behold, after all the rumblings of Girardi's mis-communication, finally there was some verification of my personal hunch. Earler today, Jon Heyman and Kim Jones, who spend a lot of time in the Yankee clubhouse, were interviewed on Mike Francesa. Both Jones and Heyman confirmed there was a disconnect between the Yankees and Manager Joe Girardi; the biggest disconnect was, supposedly, between Girardi and Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Johnny Damon. That is a major problem, those guys are the heart and soul of the Yankee team.

I entered this season disappointed in the departure of Joe Torre, but completely open-minded to the idea of Joe Girardi. As the season wore on, I became critical of Joe Girardi, and I remain critical. I want him to fit here, I want him to have success--I just don't see it happening, until he hammers these internal problems out. In order to hammer these problems out, he has to realize that he is the problem. We all know that human ego is what stops relationships from being repaired; I just hope Girardi can put his ego aside for the betterment of the New York Yankees. Being the stubborn, overly-proud man he is, I'm not sure how well that is going to go over. I'm hoping for the best, because Girardi does seem to be a good-hearted man.

Illogically, many people wanted Joe Girardi in and Joe Torre out--this goes from Joe Schmoe sitting in his apartment in Yonkers, to Hank Steinbrenner and Randy Levine cockily looking down at their personal failure from the owners box. Are you sure Girardi in and Torre out was the right decision? It isn't a mere coincidence that everything fell completely apart when Girardi arrived in lieu of Joe Torre, and that upon his departure from New York and arrival in Los Angeles, Joe Torre guides a seemingly not-manageable, immature Dodger team to the ALCS.

All we can do now, is look towards the future and hope for the best.

The Red Sox just out-classed and ousted the Los Angeles Angels in 4 games. The Angels had just come off of their franchise's first-ever 100-win campaign. They finally had two big bats to put around Vladimir, had two of the best starters in the league--Lackey and Santana--and had a completely dominating 8th and 9th inning tandem in Scott Shields and Fransisco Rodriguez. Still the 94-game-winning Red Sox made short and easy work of them.

This isn't easy for a Yankee fan to say, but the Red Sox are much like the mid-to-late-90's New York Yankees.

They have a very deep, dynamic pitching staff, with Fireballing aces like Lester and Beckett, creative gritty pitchers like Matsuzaka and inning-eating knuckleballers like Tim Wakefield. On any given day, you're faced with a different-look starter from the Sox, who can come out and shut down any opposing lineup. And the great thing about these starters, is that all of them--with the exception of the ever-infuriating, yet unbreakable Daisuke Matsuzaka--will pitch late into a ball game.

Once the Sox starters do what they have to do, opposing teams have to face guys like Manny Del Carmen, Hideki Okajima and Jon Papelbon. For where they slot, they are near-tops in the league at what they do. 7th inning reliever has an ERA in the lower 3.00's, 8th inning reliever has an ERA below 3.00 and the Closer has an ERA of 1.84 since arriving on the scene full-time in 2006.

The position players are all fundamentally sound defensively, and all seem to have that Champion grit and determination. Everyone, from top-to-bottom, seems to have the knack of hitting in pressure-packed situations. That is about as clutch a lineup as you're ever going to see. I don't know where this personality comes from, but I'm going to have to point my finger at Terry Francona; he instills something in these players, which gets the best out of them, much like Joe Torre did for the Yankees so many seasons. Francona is a world class manager.

I think the Red Sox are going to advance past the Rays and onto the World Series(although I'm, of course, rooting for the Rays). I think we will wind up seeing a Red Sox/Dodgers world series. Who will win that series, I do not know, because the pitching is so dynamic on each side. And each side seems to have a lineup which rises to the occasion, when it is most important.

I do know this: If the Red Sox repeat as World Championships--and there's a strong possibility they will--the Franchise will have an official Dynasty. As a Yankee fan, I'm already prepared for that annoyance, so I'd suggest other fans prepare for it as well.

Brian Cashman, I hope you have some major cards up your sleeve for the 2009 season.

I've been getting into some armchair GM discussions with people, and I've heard some of the craziest trade ideas of my life. There were numerous ideas thrown around--some decent, some horrendous, but one really tickled my funny bone. This is the hilarious aforementioned trade:

Yankees get: Albert Pujols

Cardinals receive: Ian Kennedy, Shelly Duncan, Melky Cabrera and "a low-level prospect"

Laughed so hard I almost lost my breakfast. This type of thing never ceases to amaze me, it really doesn't. You do not have to be a Sabermetrics wizard to figure this out. While talking trades, all you have to do is apply logical scenarios; just be reasonable.

Would you trade a $100 bill for a $1 bill? No, I didn't think so. So why in God's name would the Cardinals want to trade Pujols away for 3 unsuccessful former big-league players and one unknown, non-projected prospect? Makes about as much sense as Karate chopping yourself in the neck for 11 hours straight.

According to Peter Abraham, seven young Yankees will attend the Arizona Fall League:

RHP Phil Hughes

OF Austin Jackson

1B Juan Miranda

RHP Humberto Sanchez

RHP Jeff Marquez

RHP Kevin Whelan

INF Kevin Russo

The players we're going to want to pay specific attention to are: Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson, Juan Miranda and Humberto Sanchez considering they're going to be competing for a spot during Spring training. Jeff Marquez could also, possibly, make some sort of impact on the 2009 team. And where is Ian Kennedy?

Hughes goal is to throw 35-40 more innings, in order to reach his projected pre-2008 Season mark. He also has his change up, and newly developed cut fastball to improve on. This is vital to Hughes progression as a pitcher, and it's imperative he continues to build on his late-season success at both the Minor and Major League level.

I believe Humberto Sanchez is attending the fall league, in order to build arm strength and stamina. We saw him make a couple of appearances with the Yankees in September. In one appearance he was throwing a very heavy mid-90's fastball and knee-buckling overhand curve ball. In another appearance, his fastball was flat in the upper 80's and his Hook looked more like rainbow. He obviously is still strengthening the elbow in which Tommy John surgery was performed.

Austin Jackson, I believe, is attending the AFL so he can face top-notch talent. He has never competed above the AA level, so in order for him to have any consideration for an out field position with the Yankees, he's going to have to post monster numbers in both the AFL and Spring Training. Austin is a black horse candidate for Center Field and could make Spring Training much more competitive and interesting. Being the super-human athlete he is, and his ability to deliver in the clutch, Jackson should make a convincing case for himself.

Jaun Miranda must continue to work on his First Base defense, and continue to hammer out that almost-pretty swing he has. Is it only me that sees a ton of potential in this guy? He's got a good a good idea of what he wants to do at the plate, has power, has the ability to hit the ball to all fields and has a decent eye. A man with a plan. If you read a previous post of mine, I list the moves I would make if I was Brian Cashman. Having a first base platoon of Miranda/Ransom is one of them, and should absolutely be taken into consideration if he rakes in the AFL and Spring Training. Miranda absolutely mashes right-handed pitchers.

Another player we should follow, is Jeffery Marquez. Scouts like his delivery, they like his stuff, they like his consistency. For some reason though, all of these attributes have not translated for Marquez. As a Sinkerballer, he will give up his fair share of hits; perhaps he needs to refine his breaking pitchers, or develop a cut fastball in order to give him the scissor effect.

Stay tuned, things should get relatively interesting.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I am a Yankee fan, and will forever be a Yankee fan, but I have been supporting the Dodgers this season as my secondary team. I grew up idolizing Don Mattingly, and spent every season from 1996-2007 watching Mr. Joe Torre calmly guide the Yankees to October after October, no-matter what obstacle's were thrown his teams direction. He gets the best out of his players, there is no doubt about it.

It's no coincidence that the Dodgers win their first NL West tittle since 2004, complete their first playoff sweep since 1963 and their first playoff series win since 1988 upon Mr. Torre's arrival.

It is also no coincidence that the Yankees, in 2008, missed their first October since 1993 upon Joe Torre's departure. I wonder what Hank Steinbrenner has to say now?

They just swept the Cubs; the Cubs had the best record in the National League.

Congratulations Mr. Torre, I knew you could do it again. Congratulations, Donnie baseball. Congratulations Los Angeles Dodgers, best of luck to you.

Robbie Cano, what the heck happened?

Year BA OBP SLG OPS+

2005: .297 .320 .458 106

2006: .342 .365 .525 126

2007: .306 .353 .488 120

2008 : .271 .305 .410 88

Cano obviously had a down season--a very, very down season in comparison with his career numbers. So what happened? I believe it was a mixture of a few different components: Lack of self-discipline, lack of concentration, lack of Managerial/Coaching discipline, and pitchers figuring him out.

Lack of self-discipline, lack of managerial intervention and lack of concentration go hand-in-hand. Had Girardi intervened earlier in the season and benched him, perhaps he would have put more effort into his game and would have elevated his concentrationr. After his mid-September benching, Cano had a fire lit under his rear end which didn't go out until the season ended.

As far as pitchers figuring him out, I'm surprised it took this long. Robinson had always started with his stance wide open, shoulders facing towards the pitcher. As the pitcher would deliver the ball, Cano would then shift his hands and shoulders back into a closed stance, before swinging. There were simply too many moving parts. Robbie did not have enough time to react to fastballs on the inside portion of the plate. His approach was to either hit outside fastballs into the opposite field, or to pull junk breaking balls on the inside part of the plate. Breaking balls on the outside part of the plate, he was lost. Fastballs on the inside part of the plate, he also had no chance. Why it took the league so long to figure this out, I have no idea.

After a little tinkering from Kevin Long(Yankee hitting coach), Cano had refined his stance. The change was to keep his stance closed, instead of closing it while the pitch was being delivered. Less moving parts, more time to react, same sweet swing. Simple, yet very effective.

Intervention from Kevin Long and the benching given to Cano by Joe Girardi were relative. I believe both were responsible for Robbie's scorching finish to the 2008 season. When this kid is focused and on top of his game, he's just as good a hitter as almost anyone in baseball, besides the super-humans like Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Manny Ramirez. I hope Girardi and Long stay on him from here on out, which I think may be the case, considering Kevin Long is currently working with Robinson in the Dominican Republic.

What can we expect from him? In my opinion, a bounce back season, and perhaps the finest of his young career. Those are all very impressive numbers Cano has posted, except for the 2008 season. But even during his "down" season, he slugged over .400, slammed 53 extra base hits and drove in 70. Torii Hunter drove in only 8 more runs than Robinson.

The last thing the Yankees want to do, is trade him.

If someone can explain this to me, I'd love to be enlightened.

This sentiment has been steadily repeated since the end of the Yankee season: If you get rid of Jason Giambi, you have to replace him with another hitter capable of posting a high On Base Percentage, thirty-five home runs and roughly 100 RB per season. I agree that you need to replicate his production, but I strongly disagree with needing to replicate what Jason Giambi is.

Jason Giambi, as much as I like the guy for the actual person he seems to be, does not have to be replicated in a batting order. Yes, he does work the count and, yes, he does hit his home runs and, yes, he does get on base at a relatively high clip. But Jason Giambi also strikes out looking at called third strikes a ton--rally killer; Jason Giambi is slow-footed, pull-happy slugger, who is prone to banging into double plays--rally killer; Jason Giambi hit roughly .215 with Runners in Scoring Position; rally killer. And while I know batting average is a statistic in which people place far too much stock, Jason Giambi, at this point of his career, has trouble getting over the .250 mark--rally killer.

Instead of replacing Jason Giambi with a younger replica of Jason Giambi, give me a guy like Mike Lowell or Hideki Matsui. These are the types of players who bat .300, hit 35+ doubles per season, slam 20 or so home runs, and don't strike out very often. They make hard, consistent contact with the baseball, which drives their situational abilities through the roof. And like Jason Giambi, these men get on base at a respectable clip and have the ability to drive in over 100+ RBI per season. Give me a guy who drives in important, situational runs over a guy with the ability to work walks any day of the week. To add another point to my case, men like Matsui or Lowell can actually run the base paths, therefore giving them more runs per season. Production is production, no-matter which way you slice it.

You need situational runs, and more flexibility. These are the sorts of players[Matsui and Lowell] who give that to you. You cannot have a lineup full of men, who consistently take a called 3rd strike. Bobby Abreu does it, Jason Giambi does it, Alex Rodriguez does it, Derek Jeter does it--I strongly believe this was one of the many downfalls for the 2008 Yankee season. That cycle has to be broken. The Yankees need more men who make hard contact.

One of the most baffling arguments I've ever heard continues to rage on.

Joba Chamberlain: Starter or 8th inning relief pitcher?

To me, the common sense answer is to keep Joba Chamberlain in the rotation. I am well aware of what Joba can do in the 8th inning, I too witnessed it. I think some Yankee fans fell too much in love with the energy Chamberlain brings with him out of that bullpen. Even non-Yankee fans fell in love with it, it's astonishing. It was thrilling to see, no doubt about it. But that is not reason enough, I'm sorry.

Some like to talk about shortening a game by having a strong relief corps to turn to for the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning. I say the real way to shorten a ball game, is for a starter like Joba Chamberlain to pitch 7-8 dominating innings every 5th day, and get as close as possible to Mariano Rivera. You get 21-24 outs and a lead, instead of possibly being behind and not able to use Chamberlain at all.

Another argument I hear is the Papelbon comparison. I have news for your folks: The Red Sox needed a closer and did not have the great Mariano Rivera in their bullpen. They desperately needed this, so Pap stepped up and did the job. If there was no Mariano Rivera, I still wouldn't be on board with Joba being a reliever, but I'd be more for it than I am now. Much more.

The Yankees' problem right now, is starting pitching, not Pensman. I'll have you know that the Yankee bullpen, in 2008, tossed 543 innings, had a WHIP of 1.27, a K/9 8.66 and an ERA of 3.78. Chamberlain tossed only 35 of those innings. Another amazing thing about the Yankee pen being that strong, is that almost 170 of those 543 innings were pitched by men with an ERA over 5, who were eventually weeded out. Now only the top, dominating choices remain: Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, Damaso Marte, Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, Dan Giese. There are also highly touted young studs like Mark Melancon waiting in the wings at AAA. The Yankee relief corps is poised to be one of the tops in baseball, if not the best. This is the Yanks' area of least concern.

We need a front-line, power-pitching ace. CC Sabathia is not a guarantee, as we all know. Phil Hughes could be that guy, but we don't know as of yet. Chien-Ming Wang is a great pitcher, I love him, but he does have the tendency to get rocked from time-to-time. Two of those "times" happened to be in the playoffs. We need a flame-tosser who can go pitch-for-pitch with hurlers like Josh Beckett(Chamberlain out-dueled Beckett over 7 innings in Fenway) in the post season. We need a guy who can escape bases-loaded jams with strikeouts(Joba accomplished this feat). We need a guy who's not scared to pitch inside and brush hitters off the plate(see Kevin Youkilis). Joba is all this and more.

I've aked this once and I'll ask it a thousand times: Would you have put Pedro Martinez or Randy Johnson in the 8th inning?

With all due respect, if you answered yes, you should probably have your head examined. Joba Chamberlain has the best all around arsenal I've seen since Pedro Martinez in his prime. He has the potential to be not only an ace, but perhaps the top starting pitcher in baseball. That's how good he is. You do not place pitchers of this caliber in the 8th inning.

Jorge Posada, and many Yankee fans, have said that they don't believe Joba could last 200+ innings per season. Perhaps not, but you have to at least give him a chance to prove that he cannot. Besides, there's nothing saying that he doesn't have the ability to. Having shoulder tendinitis is not solid, concrete evidence suggesting he's incapable of going 200+ innings. For crying out loud, 5'11" 160LB Tim Lincecum threw 227 innings over the 2008 season--a skinny kid, with one of the most violent deliveries I've ever seen; If he [Lincecum] can accomplish this, Joba certainly can.

Let us just be logical when it comes to this discussion, please.

Time to scratch the surface a bit

Phil Coke was a September Call-up for the New York Yankees. He seemingly shot out of a cannon, only to land in the Bronx carrying unstoppable momentum. In 15 innings, Phil coke allowed only 8 hits and 2 walks, good for a 0.68 WHIP. He allowed 1 run, struck out 10 and didn't give up any long balls. His ERA was 0.61.

He is left-handed, with power, strike out ability and seemingly great control. We all know how rare these attributes are for left-handed pitchers. As of right now, his value is very high and he could fetch a pretty penny in the trade market. I am excited about Phil Coke, but I'm not yet ready to fall in love with him. People are comparing what he did to what Joba did last season, and rightfully so. Their numbers are almost identical. The difference here though, is that Joba is younger, shot up from A ball and did it during a pressure packed, October-bound September with much more hype.

Phil Coke's been toiling in the minor leagues since the year 2003. For most of his minor league career, he was a starter. His numbers as a minor league pitcher, while impressive, do not blow you away:

Record: 31-29

Innings pitched: 496

Hits allowed: 489

Strike outs: 413

Base on Balls: 163

WHIP: 1.31

ERA: 3.53

K9: 7.49

These numbers are all levels of the minor leagues, from Rookie ball to AAA. He has never started a game past the Double A level, and has had only limited time at AAA, with not too much success. At the AAA level in 2008, he had a 4.67 ERA and a 1.38WHIP while pitching in relief.

In conclusion, I say this: He did blow MLB hitters away in September of 08, but we cannot disregard what he did in the 496 innings prior to that. He might be a late bloomer, or he could possibly be one of those guys who elevate his game every time he's challenged--I hope to God he is, and has a successful career with the New York Yankees. But to be perfectly blunt, this could also be a fluke.

Don't fall in love with Phil Coke just yet, Yankee fans.

Phil Hughes is twenty-two years old, let us not forget this.

The fact that people are saying Hughes is a bust at this young age completely baffles me. Especially because we've seen not only flashes of brilliance, but prolonged dominance. I'm going to give you a convincing run down of his career, thus far. The resume he's compiled at such a young age is actually very impressive, and nowhere near being a "Bust".

Minor League Career:

Innings Pitched: 310

Hits allowed: 207

Base on Balls: 71

Home Runs allowed: 10

Strike outs: 348

WHIP: 0.92

ERA: 2.35

K/9: 10.10

I know a lot of people don't put stock into the Minor League stats, which completely escapes me. Sure, there are busts, but virtually every player who's ever set foot on a Major League ball field came from the Minors. Almost none of them had numbers as impressive as Phil Hughes. Take a look at those farm numbers and try to comprehend how insane they are for an 18-20-year-old child.

Phil Hughes MLB accomplishments:

2007, as a whole, he went 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA. Not bad for a twenty-one year-old with the crushing expectations of New York. His first sign of brilliance was pitching a near no-hitter against a dangerous Texas Rangers' lineup, before being hamstrung(literally).

His most convincing stretch was September and October of 07.

September-

Record: 3-0

Innings Pitched: 32.1

Hits allowed: 32

Base on Balls: 10

Home Runs allowed: 2

Strike outs: 18

ERA: 2.73

Batting Average Against: .229

In October, his first playoff appearance ever, he was very impressive. He pitched 5.2 innings, struck out 6 and only allowed one earned run. Four of the innings he pitched, was in relief of Roger Clemens, who was getting slapped around on a day in which the Yankees could have been eliminated. Phil Hughes came out of the bullpen and shut the Indians down. Pitching down the stretch in September, when the Yankees were competing for a playoff spot, and then blowing the Indians away in the playoffs showed me what Phil Hughes was made of. He has composure and poise. "Moxy"

2008, Phil Hughes did have a disappointing season. But was it really his fault? He was trying to pitch with a stress fracture in his ribcage. Anyway, his first start of the season was very impressive. He pitched 6 innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays. After that he had disappointing starts, mostly due to the ribcage injury. He was placed on the DL, went through rehab in the Minors(and dominated), then returned to the Yankees in late-September.

Upon his return, he made two starts:

Record:0-0

Innings pitched:12

Hits allowed:9

Base on Balls:2

Strike outs:10

Home runs allowed: 1

Batting Average Against: .209

As you can tell, when Phil Hughes is healthy, he's a dominating pitcher. Not just "good", but exceptional.

Velocity is a huge arguing point against Phil, which is ridiculous. We all know he was touted as a power-pitching prospect, possessing a mid-90's fastball. Well, it turns our that Hughes' fastball actually sits from 91-93, and that he has to reach back for 94-96. So while he's not that gas-throwing stud we had all envisioned, he still is a power pitcher and his fastball does have some zip to it. Some analysts and fans are acting as if he's a junk-baller like Paul Byrd, and that's just not the case. Remember, he is only twenty-two, with a lot of maturing to do and a lot of room to grow. By the time he's twenty-six, he most likely will be sitting at 95 with the fastball.

Phil Hughes has also grown as a pitcher. His knuckle curveball has even more bite, his change-up has improved and he's added a new cut-fastball to his arsenal. A good, hard cutter too, which sits 88-90 with a lot of late break. His four seam fastball has lateral left-to-right movement, while his cutter darts down and to the left. He now has the scissor effect. But the biggest improvement is his curveball. This is a nasty, disgusting, filthy, gross, hideous, horrible, unfair pitch. It is on par with Joba Chamberlain's slider. During his last start of the season, Phil Hughes faced the Toronto Blue Jays. In this game, one of the Toronto Blue Jays commentator's said: "Good curveball there. Oooooo, Just like AJ Burnett's curveball." That is one heck of a compliment to Hughes, seeing as AJ Burnett might have the nastiest curve in the American League.

For those of you who are still excited about Phil Hughes, you should be. He has shown, when he's healthy, that he can completely dominate lineups. I truly believe this kid is a stud in the making, a front-line starter and a possible twenty-game winner. For those of you who say he's a bust at age twenty-two, and that he's not as good as Johan Santana, all I can say is Wow.

Melky Cabrera's triple slash numbers:

2006: .280/.360/.391

2007: .273/.327/.391

2008: .249/.301/.341

Instead of progressing or hitting a plateau, Melky's skill set progressively worsened season-by-season.

In 2006, he showed an above average eye at the plate and the ability to slash balls into all fields. When he would get a pitch he could pull for power, that's exactly what he did, he pulled it for power. Melky Cabrera seemingly had a bright future.

2007, he regressed, but this is expected from a Sophomore--especially when he starts the season as a 4th outfielder with inconsistent at-bats. The league knows a player better and makes adjustments to him. 2007, I figured Melky was adjusting.

2008, Melky Cabrera get's bigger and stronger and is guaranteed a the starting CF position for the first time in his young life. He has a new chip on his shoulder, and a perpetual smile on that baby face of his. Baseball analysts are calling for him to have a break-out season, saying that he's going to slam 80+ extra base hits and be a very productive player. This was exactly what I was thinking also. I thought Melky Cabrera would have an all-star caliber season. I, and the analysts were wrong.

Melky shot out the gate and posted a triple slash line of .299/.370/.494. Everything was looking good in Melky land, all the analysts and talent evaluators seemed to be correct. The Melk man was on pace to smash 30 home runs and drive in around 80RBI from the 9 hole in a batting order. That is fantastic production. Alas, it was not meant to be.

After April, Melky's season took a turn for the horrendous:



May: .234/.270/.319

June: 206/.289/.255

July: 272/.295/.359

August: .115/.148/.115

And that is when his welcome in the Bronx has become worn out. He was optioned off to AAA Scranton, perhaps the end of his full-time Yankee days.

So what happened to Melky Cabrera? This might seem a bit too simplistic for some of you, and perhaps it is, but from what I watched, he got pull happy. No longer was Melky using his decent eye at the plate, or slashing balls up the middle or into the opposite field. Instead, after his hot April, he fell in love with the long ball. Melky failed to realize that he's never going to be Manny Ramiriez or Alex Rodriguez, he's simply not big and strong enough--but he's not exactly a slouch either. At 5'1" and 205LBS, Melky's a pretty stocky kid. He has more than enough power to slam 35+ doubles and run into 20 homers per season, while maintaining a 280+ batting average and an OBP of 35% or higher if he would keep his original approach.

Melky will never be a superstar, and his days in the Bronx are perhaps over. But, if Melky would get back to fundamentals, he could turn in a couple of all-star seasons and a solid MLB career.