Time to see if Jorge, AJ on the same page

The time has finally come to see if the spring training bonding worked for Jorge Posada and AJ Burnett. Both players started camp fully intent on resolving whatever issues existed between them. They also were determined to show the baseball world that they could build a strong working relationship. Did it work? We get the first answer tonight.

Posada had a rough night behind the plate Sunday so the questions have already started about his ability to manage a pitching staff. And those questions start with Burnett, one of the more difficult and frustrating pitchers to handle given his erratic pitching tendencies.

It would be great for the New York Yankees if Burnett and Posada have a good night. It’s an interesting twist of fate that the effort to work well together begins in Fenway Park, the site of Burnett’s notorious meltdown last year that started all the questions about his ability to work with Posada.

The team took a bit of a gamble letting Jose Molina, who had a nice rapport with AJ, go and giving the back-up job to Francisco Cervelli. If Posada and Burnett fizzle together, the pressure will be intense on Joe Girardi to make Cervelli AJ's personal catcher. The kid did a good job filling in for Posada and Molina when they got hurt last year, but still has to prove he can be a reliable backstop in 40-50 games.

Test #1 is tonight, but this will be an important issue for the Yankees throughout the season.

Thanks to shortstopVM via Wikipedia for the photo.

Beckett deal a lesson in avoiding distraction

Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox agreed on a four-year deal worth $68 million. In one move, the Red Sox eliminated Beckett's impending free agency as a possible distraction from the team's quest to dethrone the New York Yankees as baseball's champs. Why couldn't the Yankees do the same thing?

I know, I know. It's the Yankees policy not to negotiate with signed players until their contracts expire and that's why they couldn't even talk to Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera about new deals. Except that it really isn't. They signed Jeter to his current 10-year deal well before he hit free agency. It was a smart move then and would have been a smart move now.

By waiting, the Yankees failed to eliminate a potential distraction. Brian Cashman better get used to constantly answering the contract questions. The media has already made it clear that they believe the expiring contracts are a major issue, even if Jeter and Mo don't agree. In fact, the only reason the issue died in spring training was because of the latest Alex Rodriguez controversy. If the two Yankee legends get off to monster starts, we'll start seeing story after story questioning the Yankees judgment and guessing about how expensive it's going to be for the Yankees to re-sign both players. It's a distraction the Yankees could have done without.

Thanks to User PhreddieH3 on en.wikipedia for the photo.

Baseball is back and as awesome as ever

Now that March Madness is over (sorry Butler, I was rooting for you even though you quashed Syracuse's national title hopes and broke my heart), we can all turn our full attention to baseball. And Monday was a fantastic day all around the majors, one that I'm sure Bud Selig was thrilled about.

Where do we start? Since I'm a pitching and defense kind of fan, I'll start with Roy "Doc" Halladay showing why the Philadelphia Phillies are probably on their way to repeating their division title and a World Series rematch with the New York Yankees after tossing 7 innings of one-run ball. Or we could go with the Freak Tim Lincecum showing why the San Francisco Giants were smart to finally get that contract done and lock the youngster up for a couple of years with a dominant performance in the first game of the regular season.

If you like offense, Albert Pujols started another Most Valuable Player campaign with not one, but two homers. Pujols seems to be trying to settle the question once and for all of who is the best player in baseball. It's hard to argue against him after swinging the bat like he did yesterday.

The Mets had a surprisingly good all-around game, led by a typical strong performance from Johan Santana. But David Wright's nice afternoon, including that homer, was probably more reassuring for fans of the Metsies hoping for a turnaround from an awful season.

All and all, it was an awesome opening day in baseball and hopefully a sign of the fantastic season to come.

Thanks to Bryce Edwards and UCinternational via Wikipedia for the photo.

Harsh spotlight cast on Granderson

Welcome to the Rivalry, Curtis! Until Sunday night, the New York Yankees new outfielder only heard stories about the intense competition with the hated Boston Red Sox, only saw it from a distance. Now he finds himself smack in the middle and it was a mixed debut for him.

Granderson got off to a good start, slamming a home run in his first at-bat of the baseball season off of Josh Beckett and making a nice running catch that temporarily kept the trouble at bay. But he also ended the game after Jorge Posada got on with two outs to keep the Yankees hopes alive. His debut was somewhat overshadowed by the terrible pitching by CC Sabathia and the bullpen, but a couple of stories called out Granderson for his futile 9th inning at-bat against closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Again, it's only one game and Yankee fans and the media have to constantly remind themselves of that fact. But I'm sure Granderson now realizes that every success and failure is magnified on a daily basis with the Yankees, especially against the Red Sox. I'm also sure he can't wait to get back on the field to have another chance to shine in his first experience with the Rivalry. He gets it tonight.

Thanks to TheKuLeR via en.wikipedia for the photo.

Captain Jeter's longevity truly amazing

There's nothing Derek Jeter hates more than losing so he must have been bitterly disappointed with the opening night loss of the New York Yankees to the Boston Red Sox. But a silver lining for Yankee fans was that we got to watch the Yankee Captain make the 14th opening day start of his big-league career for the Bronx Bombers.

Jeter's longevity is truly amazing. As the Daily News points out, the Red Sox have had at least nine shortstops rotate into and out of that position during that timeframe. But Jeter has been the constant for the Yankees and New York City, during the good and the bad times.

Last night's opening game surely was not the start to the season that the captain was hoping for, but it was nowhere near his worst opening day experience. That day came in 2003 when he dislocated his shoulder hustling to take an extra base in a scary collision with then-Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby. The memory of that accident still makes me cringe. But it made Jeter even more famous, in part because of how gruesome that injury was. When I dislocated my shoulder a few years later and went to the hospital, the attending physician told me I was lucky not to have a Jeter-type dislocation. And I thought, wow, now he is an adjective.

But mostly the Yankee shortstop became known for what was a remarkable recovery. That was the only period Jeter has ever spent any extended time on the disabled list, and that was just six weeks for an injury that could have ruined his season and possibly his career. Doctors still shake their heads in awe. Jeter is well known for playing through all kinds of pain, even to the detriment of his personal statistics, which he cares nothing for. But to be able to heal that quickly and not feel any ill effects from that shoulder injury later on in his career is a testament to Jeter's devotion to maintaining his health.

So Jeter has made the 14th opening day start for the Yankees. Certainly it won’t be the last despite his expiring contract. Will he make it to 20? It would be a nice personal goal for a player who cares nothing about personal goals. But it would be great for Yankee fans and the city that worships him.

Pitching lets Yankees down in opener

Despite scoring seven runs, including one on a beautifully executed double steal of home by Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter, the New York Yankees lost last night in baseball's opening game of the 2010 regular season. Why? The pitching stunk up the joint big time.

Jeter always says pitching and defense win games. But they also lose games too and that was clear Sunday night in Boston against the Red Sox. CC Sabathia was given several leads by his offense, but couldn't get out of the sixth inning. And then things went from bad to worse after he left with a succession of ineffectual relievers: Dave Robertson, Damaso Marte, Chan Ho Park and finally Joba Chamberlain in his first shot at the 8th inning job.

It's only one game and it's easy to forget that the Yankees lost the first eight to Boston last year before getting over that hump on their way to the World Series. But it's disappointing to see the Yankees #1 guy and their bullpen, two of their strengths, pitch so badly on the first day of the season. We'll just have to remind ourselves it was merely a fluke and the Yankee pitching is nowhere near as bad as they pitched last night.

Thanks to Keith Allison via Wikipedia for the photo.

Yankees-Red Sox will be as intense as ever

The fact that the New York Yankees title defense begins tonight against the Boston Red Sox just makes everything sweeter. The only thing that would have been better is if the Yanks opened up at home against their archrivals, hoisting the championship banner they fought long and hard for.

No matter. The rivalry will still be intense. And I'm looking forward to seeing how the new players on both sides, namely Curtis Granderson, respond to the pressure. I'm also incredibly grateful to the cross-town Mets for taking Yankee killer Jason Bay off Boston's hands.

For the Yankees, the main concern is health and they got a fresh dose of reality this week with injuries to numerous players, including Jorge Posada and Mark Teixeira. While it seems all the players will be ready for tonight, it's still going to be a major concern throughout the season for a team that is so heavily dependent on its starters and has a very weak bench (Marcus Thames would have probably been cut by now in any other year or on another team).

For the Red Sox, the worry is whether the revamped team focused on pitching and defense will be enough to overcome the Yankees. No doubt Boston has a great rotation and you always want strong defenders behind those pitchers. But they let Bay go and didn't really replace his bat with Mike Cameron or anyone else for that matter. And it's hard to imagine Big Papi David Ortiz being able to regain his previous, crushing form.

But things heat up whenever these two teams get together and 2010 will be no exception. The title defense starts now!

Thanks to Googie man via en.Wikipedia for the photo.