Bombers bits: Closing up in Dunedin
This is the Yankees' last trip to Knology Park until '09, and I honestly doubt many will miss it. The crowd today didn't really seem to wake up until Joba Chamberlain came in and struck out the side in the seventh inning, and the press box - between you, me and this brand-new laptop - perpetually smells of B.O.
That complaint aside, this was a productive day for the Yankees. Chamberlain insists he doesn't have a preference between starting and being in the bullpen, but for the purposes of the '08 Yankees, I have to think they've made the right call. Chamberlain is just so dominant when he lets it all rip, it's hard to imagine Joe Girardi using LaTroy Hawkins or Kyle Farnsworth over him if there's a big eighth inning. Joba equals electricity, and especially on a day where Farnsworth gave up two hits, a walk and a run, that's underscored.
Other than that, not a whole lot to report out of this one. Cody Ransom had a RBI double and a broken-bat blooper to go 2-for-3, Wilson Betemit hit a two-run homer and Shelley Duncan drove in two runs, scoring one with one of the most aggressive, head-first plate smacks you'll ever see.
I think it's Betemit and Duncan. You've got most of the field positions covered. The team seems to feel that Betemit is their bench player regardless of his stats. And Duncan is just too much of a player to leave off, as well he's probably the 1b-man of the future after '08. I find it intersting that there is so much interest in Ransom (don't get me wrong, he's showed some stuff this ST) who is a 32 year old career .236 batter when Andy Philips was a career minor leaguer? And from my perspective I'd maybe pick Ensberg over Betemit. Otherwise, as I said Duncan is the 5th OF/1b.
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Hey guys and gals!
Been reading but not doing much posting of late... but my thoughts are as follows...
Although I'll agree with Chaz and anyone else who states that Joba is best utilized as a Starter is absolutely correct, I do think the Yankees made the right decision with keeping him in the setup role for now. To me it seems two-fold; Joba gets to obtain more experience in the bigs and against big-league hitters... and, the Yankees get to feel more at ease coming into the 7th, 8th, etc... in close(r) games.
Then, you can either ease Joba into the Rotation if guys like Farny and Hawkins can get their 'stuff' straightened out. Having Joba start at this point gives you the added comfort of a W in that 4th or 5th spot, or 3rd, whichever, but you get the point, he's more reliable than our other 5th choice(s) all things considered. If the need remains and the Yankees are competitive in the Division, then you have the 'luxury' of keeping him there until next spring, where with the almost sure dumping of Farny's salary and spot might just get that shored up better and allow Joba to do what he at this point looks like he can do well, of course, starting.
Regarding Duncan... I have yet to see both plays, so I have to take each side with a grain of salt regarding an aggressive play or retaliation. However, based on this Blog from Bryan, it seems Duncan is living up to his play-hard mantra, but I bet you don't hear one peep on the news about it, i.e. in support of his play at 2nd being just a hard play, if not even the right play at the time.
Even with all the moves, it still seems our achilles heel will be relief pitching and possibly rotation depth (read: quality). I'll take the positive angle on that, we had horrid pitching for a lot of the time last year and we still managed to make Boston sweat the pennant. If Pitching wins championships, we may still be on the short end of the stick, but lookout, this offense still has a good 3-4 year window with a good core of the aging players... Giambi, Abreu, Damon, Matsui, Posada, and even Jeter. Just get a touch better in the pitching dept. and we could really see a return to dominance. While it's not quite there yet, it certainly seems to me that the Brass has realized this, or at least has re-familiarized themselves with that formula.
I like the direction we're headed!
I've got my MLB.TV lined up, it's about time!
Let's Go Yankees!
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