Well this is my first blog in a while - thanks to my extremely busy college schedule. So this will not be the first of many, sadly. But last night's Yankees loss was too big of a moment not to give my thoughts about. They lost 3-2 to the Detroit Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS and got eliminated from the playoffs to the delight of Red Sox fans, Mets fans and TBS broadcasters everywhere (if you watched the series, you know what I'm talking about). But I'm not here to talk about the game or what transpired the last week. As a true fan of my team, today is the first day of next year. The postseason is over in any Yankees fan's mind and that means that we get to look forward to an offseason that can prove to be a enjoyable one or has the prospects to be devastating.
The first big decision will be that of CC Sabathia, our Ace of the rotation. Does he opt out seeking a bigger contract or does he decide to stay and play out the last 4 years of his deal for a team he loves. Without CC, the Yankees are nothing this year. The next big decision is if Brian Cashman decides to return as the GM. Cashman, hands down, is the best GM in baseball. You can say he didn't make any moves this year and that cost them in the playoffs. While the latter is true, there were no logical moves to make. He always puts the team in a great position to win and that's all you can ask of your GM. Thirdly the Yankees need to re-sign Nick Swisher and Russell Martin. There has been a lot of displease with both players but I completely don't understand it at all. Swish is the glue of the team. He provides energy and enthusiasm to an extremely veteran and focused ball club. Not to mention he has become a better defender and is always dangerous from both sides of the plate. Martin also had a GREAT year. Sure he only batted in the .230's but he provided nice power and production out of the bottom of the lineup all year AND he was OUTSTANDING behind the plate. He threw runners out at at will and blocked everything thrown in the dirt. He also proved he can stay healthy. Both of those guys need to come back.
And now looking forward to next year... If I had my wish and could make the Yankees the way I wanted, this would be my 25-man Opening Day squad and lineup. Enjoy.
Starting Pitchers
CC Sabathia
Ivan Nova
Phil Hughes
AJ Burnett
Relievers
Hector Noesi
Boone Logan
Cory Wade
Joba Chamberlain
Rafael Soriano
David Robertson
Mariano Rivera
Catchers
Russell Martin
Francisco Cervelli
Jesus Montero
Infielders
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Eduardo Nunez
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodriguez
Outfielders
Nick Swisher
Curtis Granderson
Brett Gardner
I know that's only 22 players. The other 3 would be 2 bench players and a new starter whom I cannot name because I don't know who will be available this offseason. The starter needs to be a solid acquisition either through Free Agency or via a trade. Garcia and Colon did good for us but that spot NEEDS to be upgraded. As far as Jones and Chavez on the bench, I'm not ruling out a return for either guy but I would like more speed and versatility on my bench. Someone like Jerry Hairston Jr. who we had in '09 would be perfect. He can play 6 positions and is good handling the bat and has decent speed.
Lineup vs. RHP & LHP
Brett Gardner - LF
Derek Jeter - SS
Robinson Cano - 2B
Alex Rodriguez - 3B
Mark Teixeira - 1B
Curtis Granderson - CF
Jesus Montero - DH
Nick Swisher - RF
Russell Martin - C
Gardner needs to lead-off. He struggled this year in that spot but let him lead-off 160 times and see how disruptive he can be for opposing pitchers. Jeter slides down to his natural 2 hole and can hit and run with Gardy on and we will end up with 1st & 3rd no one out so many times. Then that brings up our best hitter - hands down - Robbie Cano. Nuff said. Behind him will hopefully be a HEALTHY Alex Rodriguez. When healthy, ARod is a force. Then comes Tex in the 5 hole and following him is Grandy. Why do I have the possible MVP hitting 6th? Because he strikes out too much to be at the top of the order and he's now more of a power/production hitter. Why not bat him 5th? That's easy. It's to add another righty bat between him and Cano in case an opposing manger wants to bring in a lefty. Now he would have to go thru ARod and Tex with that lefty and that's something no one wants to do. So Grandy gets a nice matchup vs. a righty. Then we end with Jesus, Swish and Martin. Jesus and Swish can switch depending on who's hotter but I like breaking up righties if possible and giving Jesus a chance to shine like we all know he can. Thoughts?
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