cliff - i followed the sidebar to the 2 links for basak. how is he in the field and could he play 2nd/ss, as well, as a backup? i like it when you say phelps looked good defensively, too. i'm hoping we don't have to send him back to baltimore...

thanks for the writeup!

I don't remember the last good PR the Yankees had on the bench. Maybe Homer Bush?

Otherwise, does Basak have any options? If so, I can imagine he's this year's Nick Green.

2 Miguel Cairo is actually an excellent pinch-running option. I think he's 4 for 4 on the bases this spring, was 13 for 14 last year, and is 37 for 44 over the last three seasons combined. In fact, Cairo's baserunning is the most valuable part of his game.

I just wonder how many more years they'll keep trotting out Cairo. He'll likely keep his speed, and most definitely his Latin pedigree, long after every other skill has completely disintegrated, if it's not already there.

Meanwhile, anyone think Phelps could be playing himself into the opening day lineup against Kazmir?

I would love to see the Yanks break camp with Phelps/Phillips/Basak instead of Minky/Cairo/one of Phelps or Phillips.

Obviously this won't happen.

I feel better about it because given Phelps' personnel status...I think Cashman would get a vote on that one. Carrying Phillips and Dougie is just...ridiculous.

18 Before or after Cairo was given the April starts?

I jest, but the sad fact is Andy Phillips has no place on the team. And his career went down the toilet because the Yanks couldn't fathom a valuable tweener starting for them when he was really ready to (2004-05).

Not everyone here walks around with a black cloud constantly over their head pissing rain down on them.

I've seen him pitch 3 times this Spring. He's got excellent stuff. Last night he was hitting 93-4 consistently according to the NESN announcers, he's got a good hard sinker, and his curve looks quality. He broke off a nasty one to Fat Papi that looked like strike 3 to me and probably would've been if it was a veteran pitcher throwing it.

Me, I judge results. And last night he gave up three runs in two innings while hitting two batters. No matter how those pitches may have looked, that doesn't look like "a quality major league starter" to me.

He's 25 yo and he has yet to pitch a season in AAA. Me, I think he'll be lucky to be a 5th starter for the Yanks.

But I'm still rooting for you Dorf!

I'd say Ohlendorf's future is still up in the air, as we need more data. His performance at AAA will be useful in making the judgment. His performance in spring training is probably much less useful.

Would anyone like me to repeat where I stand on that deal?

Ah, no. In fact I'm pretty sure you never have to repeat that ever again. ;)

Now, if you want to rant about the ridiculous non-inclusion of Syracuse in this year's NCAA Men's D-1 basketball tournament, then I'm all ears!

I'm not that worked up about 'Cuse. It's wrong, but they didn't have a shot - not this year.

30 Syracuse handled G-town, and Marquette so I wouldn't say they didn't have a shot this year. They coulda/shoulda gone a few rounds into the tourney.

I'm rooting for my Albany Great Danes. Now, that's a team that does not have shot.

re: Dorf. Is it Russ or Ross? I think 5 out of 10 Yanks bloggers go with Russ.
I didn't catch his meltdown yesterday, but saw him throwing an impressively heavy sinker in one of his previous outings.

Go Ducks!

I'm in Syracuse (and an alum) and while they were inconsistent and not the best, they still played pretty damn good in the tough Big East - including dominating the #1 seeded Georgetown.

Anyways, go Yanks. Phelps should get the nod over Minky and I like this year's rotation much better than last year's. Plus, I can't wait to see Mo unveil the changeup during the regular season.

32Go Danes! Sliced, are you a SUNYA alum?

34You think that's a bad name? I've got four words for you: Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown.

Didn't know you were a UAlbany guy, Sliced - "Albany" and "D-1" still sounds strange to me. The basketball program has come a long way in a relatively short time - and youneverknow. Remember the UConn game last year?

Yeah, the Danes were toiling in D-3 when I was there.

My wife is from Siberiacuse, and the in-laws are hardcore Orange fans, especially my mother-in-law. She's bumming out bigtime. Last week she got two new plasma screens in the house, and was looking forward to the tournament. Forget bummed. Pissed off is putting it mildly.

I still believe Melky could hit .320 this year, but I must say I'm slightly concerned. I've not seen too many of his at-bats, but everytime I do, he seems to be rolling weak grounders over to second.

I'm not really concerned so much as interested. I love the kid so much and just can't wait to see him start to own major league pitching.

Anyone have any thoughts about his performance thus far?

No matter, my point holds, Hernandez is the best there is.

I saw Mo on the television talking about how he's fooling around with the changeup and I had to ask myself: Why just fooling around?

Is it really that risky to try to introduce a new pitch into one's repertoire?

Watching him throw it the other day made me think he should just go whole hog and dedicate the spring to perfecting it or getting it game-ready or whatever.

I just don't quite get the point of just "fooling around" with a pitch that could potentially extend his career and get huge, huge outs during the season.

What's he got to lose?

What did Cano do? He went from around .300 (or even .280s?) in his first year to .340 in his second. And Mattingly, of course. .283 in limited at-bats to .343 his second (first full) year.

I really have a lot of faith in this kid.

Plus, I just like him, doggonit.

FWIW, Jeteupthemiddle did a community projection thing on Melky (http://tinyurl.com/2lk2hq), and I contributed stats that amounted to a .289/.393/.476 line in 450 ABs - so I guess I have a lot of faith in him too.

I believe those are both pretty high on the all-time list.

http://tinyurl.com/37cjql

44 cano went thru stretches of weak grounders to the 2nd baseman, as well. mats does that to quite a bit when his mechanics get outta whack.

i think the melkman will most likely be around the .280 mark he posted last season, hopefully a bit above. with more seasoning and regular playing time, i think he can be a .300 hitter and post a line like RIYank mentioned in 48

yanks down to cincy early: 3-2, top 3

By the way, this is as good a time as any to say it, but Good God is it a relief to see Johnson gone.

He just sucked all the life out of the team, him and his scowling, victimized puss up there every week.

A cloud has lifted.

I know Moose scowls a lot too, but somehow I find it endearing from him.

He hits a lot of ground balls, but when he's on, they all seem to go up the middle or else he hits nice soft linedrives over the infielders' heads.

Anyway, better to ground out 4-3 than to strike out.

Unless, of course, you're going to hit into a 4-6-3, then you're better off taking strike three down the middle.

(I'm so happy baseball is back. I can feel a little spring creeping into my step.)

back in the beginning of '95 i was teaching at the middle school in Montoursville, PA. i was the music teacher and the gym was directly across the hall. mikey moose came to visit his old school and was right on the other side of my door. everyone knew i was a big baseball fan, but since he was an Oreo at the time, i had no desire to go meet him and talk. of course, now i would love to encounter him in a situation like that. partially 'coz i'm older, partially 'coz he's a yankee now.

i wonder what he'll do after these two years are up. he'll probably be sitting on 265-270 wins and be about 41 for the 09 season. sounds right now like he'd like to pitch and i'm sure he'd wanna open the new Stadium, but i'm not so sure there'll be much of a need for him in pinstripes by then. don't think he'd go back to the O's. if he wanted to pitch a coupla more years to see if he could get to 300 (a stretch), i think he'd only have 2 choices, since he wants to be close to home: phils or pirates. he won't win many games in pitt and the phils play in a band box. should be interesting what moose will do after this contract.

I love it.

I'd love to see him stick around until he decides to retire. One of the problems this team has had is that it doesn't seem to know how to hang on to quality number 4 and 5 starters.

El Duque leaps immediately to mind, also Andy, of course, and Lieber.

But then yet we're always forever scrambling around for number 4 and 5 guys instead of just keeping a nice stable of Duques and Mussinas around at the back and trying to just go lights out in the front.

I don't know, I think Mike should just live out the rest of his days with us. He's a great pitcher. Even when he's mediocre he's still pretty damned good. He can always surprise you and he'd be an amazing reliever--he's a guy I want in there in a jam.

Remember how he got out of that inning against Boston in '03? He came in with no outs and bases jammed? (Or something close to that.) He wriggled out without allowing a run and kept us in the game we were on the verge of losing.

That's a guy you never let go.

Just like El Duque in that game in Chicago a couple years ago, wriggling out of a bases-loaded no out jam without a scratch.

That's a guy you never let go.

And before that, when Duque kept California scoreless for all those innings until he gave up those back to back homers in like the seventh.

(Joe shouldn't have left him out there, that was one inning too long. At the time I remember thinking Joe was pushing his luck.)

Anyway, before those two homers, he'd shut 'em down in a big game.

Moral of the story: Stay with what works.

Kevin Brown.

Remember Kevin Brown?

And in fact, one of my others is Mo's performance to win that very same game. Three scoreless innings.

Three.

Emblematic of the whole series. To grunt it out on fumes so far only to get thrown out in the end.

Is it my imagination or was he really as driven as he seemed?

And do we want more like that, or are we just as comfortable with the over-talented, under-motivated set?

I do appreciate O'Neill's catching Polonia's fly ball on one leg in game 5 (1996)

Best moment for me; 7th inning game 6. Rivera comes into the game, you KNEW it was over, Wetteland's theatrics notwithstanding.

Remember after those three innings Mo pitched to shut down the Red Sox?

Remember when the third out was recorded?

He sank to his knees in an ecstasy.

That's what I want to see in my players.

It doesn't (necessarily) mean it will make you a "better" player, but it sure is glorious when the players let you know they care just as much as you do, that what's going on is something a little more than just a game, you know?

You don't have to be intense, but even a sincere lighthearted, boy-having-fun is good to see.

"Let's play two!"

I don't know. I just like to see players who respect and love the game.