New York Yankees 2007 season preview

Hey Yankee fans! Spring training is under way, and that means the season is almost here! But what are we to expect this season? Jaret Wright, Randy Johnson, and Gary Sheffield as well as other smaller time players have left. We have also added many players, such as Doug Mientkiewicz and Luis Visciano. Lets break it down, position by position!

Starting Pitching

Our starting pitching has been very suspect as of late. It has been said that our lack of starting pitching has prevented us from winning World Series title #27. This staff has potential to be very good, or very bad. Though the possibility of Phil Hughes or Roger Clemens coming to the Yankees (or being called up in Hughes’ case) I will go with the “official” starting 5.

Chien Ming Wang- The worm killer is back, and I expect him to be better than ever! Sporting a 19-6 record with a 3.63 ERA, Wang was our ace last year. Look for Wang to work on his fastball and ability to get strike outs. He sports what many have called the best sinker in the league, Wang may become a legit Cy Young candidate this year.

Mike Mussina- Moose is loose again this season, coming off a 15-7 campaign with a 3.51 ERA, Mussina has been a great #2 starter his whole career here, and I don’t expect that to change. Moose is getting old, his numbers may tail off a tad, but I still expect a very solid campaign from him.

Andy Pettitte- While he is expected to be a team leader, nobody knows what to expect from Pettitte this year. Though he was plagued with injuries, he finished 14-13 with a less than spectacular 4.20 ERA against lesser NL competition. Pettitte has shown he can play extremely well in New York, but that was years ago. Pettitte may be older, and more injury plagued, but I still expect him to be a decent to solid #3

Carl Pavano- This is the biggest question mark on the team. I for one will believe that he will pitch when I see it. But, assuming he does pitch here is what to expect. During his short stint with the Yankees, Pavano was shaky at best. He has had 1 “good” year in his career. I don’t think Pavano will even pitch, and if he does will fail miserably. I hope the opposite happens, but this is the way I see it.

Kei Igawa- Kei was among the best pitchers in Japan. In 2006 he became the 5th fastest pitcher in Japanese baseball history to reach 1,000 k’s. He was 86-60 with a 3.15 ERA and 1,174 K in 1,244 innings in his Japanese baseball career (his record would have been much better if not for lack of run support).
Still a productive hurler, Igawa became a target of fan criticism due to his inability to perform at his prior level. In the Japanese 2005 World Series , Kei struck out 9 in 6 innings but allowed 10 hits and five runs in his loss in game one. His fastball goes up to 92 MPH, he also has a curve ball, slider and change up.

Bullpen

Our bullpen, other than Mo, is very questionable. This is another area on the team that can be great or terrible. Mo is solid, but can Proctor follow up with another solid season? can Bruney prove he wasn’t just a fluke? Can Farnsworth prove he’s not farnsWORTHLESS? Can Villone return to mid season form from last year?

Closer: Mariano Rivera- The greatest closer in the history of baseball is back and better than ever. He has seemed to become better and better as his career goes on, and I would expect nothing less than a sub 2 ERA and 35-45 saves, the usual.

Kyle Farnsworth- Farnsworth was the definition of inconsistent last year. The dynamic set up man with the 100 MPH fastball just couldn’t seem to find his groove last season. Can we expect Farnsworth to get it this year? I personally think he will do better. He has a year in the league, a year on the Yankees and I think he will settle down a little and be a solid reliever, though I do think he will slip to a middle reliever.

Scott Proctor- Scott was the best guy in the bullpen other than Mo last year. He sported a 3.52 ERA, but I personally think that he pitched better than his ERA indicated. The main question with Proctor is how will he respond to his 83 games and 102 innings pitched. Will he come back strong, or will he come back like Tanyon Sturtze? I expect him to come back just as good as last year, and emerge as the 8th inning pitcher we have needed all year.

Brian Bruney- I don’t expect Bruney to repeat last years 0.83 ERA, but I do expect him to become our 7th inning guy. He has dynamic stuff that includes a 97 MPH fastball, and he showed it in his short stint last year. Bruney has the potential to perhaps be our closer one day, but for now he/s a young pitcher who has to prove that he was not a fluke, and that he is for real.`

Mike Myers- Our lefty specialist was good, but not automatic against lefties as he was supposed to be last season, sporting a .233 batting average against. I think you will see Myers get a DFA or be involved in a trade, because we can’t be taking up a roster spot with a guy who does so little.

Luiz Visciano- This guy was terrible against right handers (.290 Batting average against), but automatic vs. lefties (.163 Batting Average Against). If Visciano can A. do better vs./ righties (.260 range would be fine) and B. prove he can go more than 1 inning, he may replace Mike Myers as our lefty specialist.

 

Bench

Our bench is as good as it has been in recent years, with 22 year old stud MelkyCabrera, Miguel “jack of all trades” Cairo and a slew of 1st basemen and catchers. Lets see how our bench stacks up.

Melky Cabrera-OF: One of the Yankees brightest young prospects will be having his first full season as a Yankee, and he looks prepared. Melky is arguably the best defensive outfielder on the Yankees, and is also a good hitter and speedster on the base paths. Melky will likely play the role of giving each Out fielder a day off every 5 games, this will give him at the very least 32 starts, not to mention being a substitute and incase of injury Melky will get sufficient playing time.

Miguel Cairo-Infielder: Cairo has been very good defensively at the 3 positions (3B,SS,2B) he is assigned and is ok with the bat for a backup infielder. He will probably be relied on as a defensive replacement and to give some guys a day off. Cairo, being the only guy to do this will probably also get decent time.

Andy Phillips-1B: while its up in the air, it appears to me that Phillips will probably be the backup 1B. Andy is a pretty good defensive 1B who can be good with the bat. Andy’s main problem is that he has a lack of plate discipline. If Phillips can overcome this, he could become one of the best backups in the league.

Will Nieves-C: The backup catcher is a crapshoot, but im just going to pick Nieves. Will is a 30 year old rookie, he has been in the minors his whole career. I admittedly know almost nothing about him, but this may be his first chance at sufficient MLB playing time, so at 30 he had better take advantage of it.

Starting Lineup

CF: Johnny Damon- Heeeeres Johnny! Damon showed a very good defense in center field last year (besides his arm), showed a substantial power increase (3 HR’s to 24 HR’s) and seems to have become one of the clubhouse favorites, and on top of all that, played almost the whole season injured. If Johnny can return from his injury and be even better, watch out, he will make our line up even more dangerous.

SS: Derek Jeter- El Captain is coming off the best season of his career, hitting at a .343 clip and being seriously considered for MVP. Jeter won yet another gold glove at SS and stole a career best 34 bases. Jeter is getting older, but he seems to get better with age, and he may be even better this year.

3B: Alex Rodriguez- A-Rod had another unreal season, hitting .290 with 35 HR’s and 121 RBI, yet was criticized mercilessly for his lack of clutch hitting and his clubhouse issues. If A-Rod can put those issues behind (HUGE if) look for him to boost his morale and have another MVP type season. If not, look for the media to dog him all year, he may be miserable and look for him to possibly opt out of his contract. A-Rod may determine how the season goes.

DH: Jason Giambi- Giambi, a very bad defensive 1B, has switched to a full-time DH. This could be very good for Giambi, who while he had 37 HR’s last season hit only .253, as he will be able to focus on hitting and be more rested. Giambi seemed to take a role of trying to snap A-Rod out of his slump, and from the SI article it seems that he was a leader in the club house. If Giambi can improve his hitting stats (up average, maybe HR’s) he may be the most dangerous hitter in the line up.

LF: Hideki Matsui- Matsui was injured the vast majority of last year, but hit .302 with 8 HR’s, a very encouraging sign. Matsui’s offensive production was missed last year, but he has shown he is capable of hitting 30 HR’s. If Matsui can do that, we may have the most dangerous 3-4-5 in baseball.

RF: Bobby Abreu- Bobby didn’t disappoint when he came to the Bronx last year, hitting .297 with 15 HR’s at the end of the year. Abreu showed a little bit of power last year, but we are not looking for power, we are looking for an on base percentage machine, and that’s what Abreu is. Abreu can extend pitch counts, take walks and hit, all extremely well. If he does that, it will help us wear down pitchers and with the guys in front of him likely give him a chance to drive in some RBI.

Robinson Cano: Arguably the best 2nd baseman in MLB, Cano had the most Home Runs from August to October, almost won the batting title and played a good 2nd base in the field. It’s almost unfair that a potential .340, 30 HR 100 RBI guy is likely to bat 7th in this lineup, but that’s just a testament to how insane this lineup is. Cano is my sleeper (ecause not a lot of people outside of New York give him props) to become one of the best hitters in baseball.

C-Jorge Posada: Posada improved every aspect of his game this past season, offensively he had a higher average, more HR’s and more RBI than the 2 previous ones. Defensively he made huge strides, increasing his Fielding percentage by a lot. Posada must prove that this wasn’t a fluke season, that he will perform at the level he performed at, or else it was 1 good season. If Posada can do that, it makes the Yankees defense excellent and offense even more excellent than previously.

1B: Doug Mientkiewicz- Minky is an excellent defensive 1B, perhaps the best in the league, but his bat is a concern. While he may save several runs with his glove, he could give up many with his bat. At .283 with 4 HR’s and 43 RBI in 90 games, he may be capable of hitting 70 RBI in and hitting .270-.290. Perhaps he will be a surprise, but for now he is in the lineup for his glove.

Well there is the preview of your 2007 New York Yankees. Spring training games are very close, the regular season is as well, and we have a lot to look forward to this season. Go Yankees!!!

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