Rivalry.

Gone are the days of pussies like Mike Mussina who refuse to protect their hitters. This is a shot of CC Sabathia after Josh Beckett drilled Derek Jeter in the 6th. I would say that the Yankees should retaliate tomorrow by hitting the Red Sox' best hitter, but I am not sure at this point that they have one. When in doubt, hit Kevin Youkilis.

5.

The Yankees take Game 4 with CC and Arod tearing it up in a 10-1 rout of the Angels of Anaheim. An A-Bomb from Arod broke things open in the 5th, then a 2-run shot by Damon in the 8th, and a 3-run 9th inning sealed the deal as CC dominated Angels' hitters all night. Scotty Kazmir threw a lot of pitches (90 in 4 innings), and got the loss, giving up 4 runs to the Bronx Bombers. Great night to be a Yankees fan.

CC Sabathia: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Arod: 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, SB, BB, K

Yanks got a day off and play game 5 in LA on Thursday. See ya then folks...

CC to Pitch Games 1 & 4 of ALCS

First, I would like to introduce myself to The Fowl Balls' followers. I am the Black Cat. Jimmy D has asked me to contribute to the site and deliver some quality Yankee Baseball reading material. So listen up bitches; pay attention, and enjoy.

PS- Nice job by SI picking the Mets to win the WS this season as you can see by the SI cover at the top. Talk about a sinking ship...

Friday in the Bronx, Game 1 of the ALCS starts with CC Sabathia on the bump against John Lackey. I'm not going to lie and be a d-bag Yankees fan; the Angels have good starting pitchers. A rotation of Lackey, Saunders, Weaver, and Kazmir is not a walk[off] in the park. However, it's looking like Girardi will lean toward a 3 man rotation, with the beast himself pitching game 4, and Burnett and Pettitte being the meat in the CC sandwich. People may overanalyze statistics and say, "Oh, CC isn't a good postseason pitcher" based on his work the Indians and the Brewers. Well guess what folks, those teams sucked, and now CC is surrounded by a gaggle of All-Stars and some future Hall of Famers. Back to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim... Lackey is 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 12 career postseason games (10 starts). We all know he is a good pitcher and that the Yanks struggle with the Angels. But you know what? The batting order is absolutely terrifying to any pitcher in baseball. Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Arod, Matsui, Posada, Cano, Swisher, and (even) Melky. I find no reason not to win a ballgame with that lineup. The Halos have some good players too, including former Yankee Bobby Abreu, who no doubt will be looking to hit the crap out of the ball every at bat. Not too many holes in the Angels lineup, so it should be a well-played series.

But enough of the fair is fair BS. I want a sweep. I want a sweep in the worst way. I know it's not very likely, but this is what every Yankee fan wants. Seven straight postseason wins going into the World Series. Alex Rodriguez is on fire in October; this is scary now. After that shot off Nathan on Friday night (a shot which Jimmy D and I both knew was coming), I knew for sure that ARod was a different player. He seems relaxed and unphased at the plate, locking in and coming up with big, clutch hits. Jeter is the usual postseason Jeter, and Andy Pettitte looked like a kid again, pitching 6 1/3 innings of 1 run, 3 hit, 7 K ball. I like the team's chances playing the Angels, but I have to admit it would have been sweet to kick the shit out of the Red Sox.

So long folks, and goodluck to the Yanks in Game 1 of the ALCS. 8 more W's in the quest for 27....

Earning his big, fat check

When the Yankees agreed to a $4,589,123,476,678,567 contract with CC Sabathia, what they expected was a front of the rotation starter that would give the bullpen a rest every five days. In his last two starts, thats exactly what he has given them:

2 G, 17 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 13 K - 2 Wins

With all of the woes suffered by the rotation thus far, the Yankees need CC to continue devouring opposing hitters like cheeseburgers (HA! Another reference to his weight! I am a genius!)

Calm. Down.

The Yankees have now finished 0.006% of their season, and already we are seeing "Money For Nothing" headlines? Sure, CC Sabathia's 400 pound ass threw an embarassing 5 innings yesterday. It happens. Mark Teixeira went o for 5. Nobody's perfect. Now, let's all take a deep breath and take our heads out of each other's asses. We can't all be hacks like those over at the Daily News, can we?

Opening Day does not a season make. We can all agree that with CC and Tex making their big debut and all, it would have been nice to win the first one. But they didn't. And to me, that's not a story.

The Metropolatinos, on the other hand, Showed that the bullpen that cost them a playoff spot last year is not the same as it was a year ago. Sean Green, J.J. Putz, and K-Rod combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings to preserve a 2-1 Mets victory. There's your back cover, Daily News. K-Rod doing his ridiculous pointing-to-the-sky-and-showing-up-hitters pose. Now stop trying to create a mutiny with the fans of the Varsity team.

*This post can also be seen at Bronx Baseball Daily. Check out the site for constant Yankees updates by Jimmy Dugan and others.

Who's First?

It’s time to get out of the media and the discussion of performance enhancing drugs. It’s time to forget about what drugs players are injecting and start thinking about how many balls they will be ejecting from parks in 2009. It’s about damn time for baseball.

Last September saw the last game at the House that Ruth Built. On April 16th the Yankees will begin play at the new House that was Built by the YES Network. Though they are only moving across the street, the upgrade in facilities is vast (obstructed view seating aside).

A recent Sports Illustrated article suggests that it will be Joba Chamberlain’s turn in the rotation on the day the new Yankee Stadium is set to open. If that is in fact the case, it’s a mistake.

Now, please don’t misunderstand, I don’t ever favor tinkering with your rotation based on where you are playing or who or when. But this is a special case. This is a once in a lifetime moment. This is historic and immortal. We have to beg the Bronx Bombers not to get this wrong.

Joe Girardi needs to examine the magnitude of who will start that first game and ensure he sends the right man to the hill. If you look at the 5 starters on paper, each has a case for this start, but only one is the right choice.

The choice is clear.

The choice is CC Sabathia.

Sabathia is your $161 million dollar man. He was priority one this off-season and is going to be part of the New Yankee Tradition for a while.

He is a lefty who averaged 7.2 innings per start last year and needs to feel the magic that the opening day crowd will provide. He struck out 251 batters last year and tossed 7 complete games. He is 29 years old and just hitting his prime. He is a horse, so let him run.

He also gets to face the team he made his mark with, the Cleveland Indians.

The guy is 16 games over .500 in career at his home parks, so why not let him open the new house? He is also 39 games over .500 on grass fields. So he has that going for him as well.

While he was only 1-4 in the old Yankee Stadium, his perception of the new house should be set with an opening day win and a standing ovation as he leaves the game in the 7th with a 6-1 lead. Oh, I forgot to mention that he is 11 games over .500 during the day.

But the best thing about Sabathia is that HE GETS IT. He made it a point to go the press conference held by A-Rod. He has said all the right things since getting his very large payday. He is the cornerstone of the rebuilt staff.

Sabathia knows what this means and how to handle being handed the responsibility of this game. He knows this is the fastest way into the hearts of Bronx faithful. He won’t lay an egg. Not that day. Not a chance.

He’s the guy.

Give him the damn ball.

Burnett and Sabathia to Yanks: "I got your tradition right here."

Shortly after hearing that Brian Cashman forced CC Cabathia to shave off his beard and all the world was right, I came across this picture from Newsday. If George Steinbrenner were alive to see his two new pitchers covered in tattoos, what would he be saying?

Oh, wait, what? He isn't dead? Ok, what if they let him out of that Tupperware that he has been sleeping in since 1999? I bet he'd be pissed - literally, right in his Depends.

...all the way to the bank

Courtesy of the LoHud Yankees blog, this picture represents 243,500,000 reasons that the Yankees can not miss the playoffs in 2009.

CC You in April

Tip of the cap to Peter Abraham for posting this pic, provided by the Yankees. Although the baggy attire is probably helping, Mr. Sabathia does look especially slim. Another pic was released of CC in a hard hat, but he looked too much like one of the village people to post it here. A.J. Burnett was also scheduled to take pictures in the new stadium, but apparently he never made it out of the training room.

?

As first reported by ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the Yankees signed AJ Burnett to a five year, $82.5 million contract. Color us baffled. Making a five year commetment to a 32 year old pitcher who has made 30+ starts two twice in his career (once in a contract year) is an overextension. We would have been happier with the lesser of two evils; giving a four year deal to the older, yet much more predictable Derek Lowe. As of this moment on December 15th, the Yankees rotation looks like this:

1 - Sabathia
2 - Wang
3 - Chamberlain
4 - Burnett
5 - Aceves/Hughes/Kennedy/Ponson/Kameneicki/Militello

It looks as though the Yankees are convinced that Andy Pettitte will accept the $10 million offer that they have put before him, but as we have found out in the past nothing is a lock.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3765754

Winter Meetings: Day 3

CC Sabathia - Done. Here's some more details. Source: nypost.com/seven/12102008/sports/yankees/how_the_sabathia_deal_was_made_143549.htm Derek Lowe - Reports of his signing were pre-mature, but the Yankees are continuing in negotiations. Gordon Edes says that Lowe is not, in fact, on the verge of signing. Source: sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-loweupdate121008&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Mike Cameron - WFAN in New York is reporting that the Yanks have acquired Cameron for Melky Cabrera. Good move defensively, but still leaving some to be desired with the bat. Source: http://www.wfan.com/ AJ Burnett - The Yankees are in active discussions with Burnett also, according to Ken Rosenthal. ESPN radio reported that it was possible that the deal was appraoching $90 million. For a guy that has made 30+ starts twice in his career. TWICE. Wow. Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8922020/Wednesday-MLB-winter-meetings-blog Ben Sheets - No new news here.

Can CC Play Centerfield on Off Days?

Now that theYankees have acquired (arguably) the best pitcher in baseball and appear to be on the verge of signing up to three more pitchers, it's time to turn our attention to what they will do about the offense. It is clear that a Melky/Gardner centerfield is not what championships are built on, so what is the plan? The Fowl Balls wants to hear from you. Who completes the offense? Dunn? Cameron? Teixeira (HA!)? Manny?

Use the comments section to make your suggestions, seeing as though we have already established that the Yankees are reading...

Winter Meetings: Day 2

CC Sabathia - This is the biggest news in all the league today. As reported here earlier, Joel Sherman broke the story at abuot 4:30am - CC has accepted the offer. This comes after Newsday reported that Cashman blew off his media time to fly to San Fran and meet with Sabathia and his family. This is a big day for the Yankees, as they have gotten their man. In listening to fan feedback, many felt that the Yankees have been made to look bad during the process, but honestly, who cares? This is exactly what they needed; an ace in his prime. This is the first time that the team can say that since Ron Guidry in the late 70's, so get over it.
Source - http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spwebyanks1210,0,3840560.story

AJ Burnett - John Heyman over at SI reports that the Yankees have topped the offer set forth by the Braves. God help us all
Source - http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/30781-yankees-may-consider-fifth-year-for-burnett

Derek Lowe - In that same article, Heyman suggests that the Yankees are working on a four year deal for low worth over $65million. This sits a lot better with me than the $80 million+ that they are throwing at Pavano v2.0

Ben Sheets - It seems as though the team has offered Sheets a two year deal worth around $26million, according to Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News
Source - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_yankees_brewin_up_multiyear_offer_for_fr-2.html

Mark Teixeira - No source here, but in my own estimation the Yankees are out on Teixeira after offering approximately $300 million to three pitchers. Although I have heard ignorant Yankee fans suggesting otherwise.

Report: CC is a Yankee

Joel Sherman of the NY Post reports that the deal is done. More to come.

Winter Meetings: Day 1

Here is the latest news on the Yankees' activity at the Winter Meetings, with links included:

CC Sabathia - There seems to be reason piling up as to why CC does not want to play in New York, with the most recent being that he wants to train in Arizona according to SI's John Heyman. However, the Yankees seem to be confident that the 140,000,000 reasons that they will land Sabathia will be enough. Also, according to Peter Abraham, the Yankees have met with CC twice since the meetings started.
Sources - http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/30144-brewers-open-to-upping-efforts-to-keep-cc, http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/12/08/update-from-the-suite/

Robinson Cano - Somebody is lying here. First there was a report by Fox's Ken Rosenthal that teased our collective penis that the Dodgers had re-opened discussions about Cano and possibly Melky Cabrera for Matt Kemp, and about ten minutes later Dodgers GM Ned Colletti stated that he hadn't spoken with the Yankees since July.
Sources - http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8912072, http://www.yankees.lhblogs.com/

AJ Burnett - Lots of buzz around the injury-waiting-to-happen today. Heyman reported that the Yankees are aggressive, and about to make an offer. Ken Rosenthal also reported that Burnett reached out to training room buddy Carl Pavano to ask about the Yankees. I wonder how that conversation went...

AJ - Hey Carl, what do you have to say about the Yankees?
Carl - They have a beautiful facility in Tampa.
AJ - What about playing in New York City?
Carl - I heard it is wonderful.
Sources - http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/hot_stove/posts/30383-yanks-ready-to-top-braves-offer-for-burnett, http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8912072

Mark Teixeira - Though Cashman flew to DC to meet with Teixeira last week, there was no offer made according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Source - http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/yanks-meet-with-sabathia-again/

Andy Pettitte - Abraham says that the Yankees have no meeting scheduled with Pettitte's agents.
Source - http://yankees.lhblogs.com/

Ben Sheets - In maintaining the "pitchers that are a strain away from a career ending injury" theme, the Yankees met with Sheets, and are about to extend an offer.
Source - http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_yankees_brewin_up_multiyear_offer_for_fr.html

Derek Lowe - Not a whole lot on Lowe today, except that his "priority is winning" when searching for a new team according to Ken Gurnick of mlb.com. This may be an advantage for the Yankees, unless they fail to make significant improvements before spring training.
Source - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081206&content_id=3704514&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp&partnerId=rss_mlb

Check back tomorrow for a recap of Day 2, and keep checking http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ for information. Tim Dierkes is doing one hell of a job compiling information on the Yankees and the rest of the MLB, totaling over 70 posts today.

The Yankees continue to do what The Fowl Balls tells them

According to reports, the Yankees have extended a massive offer to CC Sabathia spanning six years for $140 million. This is the exact offer thet The Fowl Balls suggested on October 7th.

Proof: http://www.thefowlballs.com/2008/10/every-man-has-price.html

With this additional evidence that Brian Cashman is a fan of ours, we implore the organization to hire Jimmy Dugan as a consultant at a paltry $1 million salary. My first order of business will be to pull the ridiculous five year offer to AJ Burnett off the table before he tears a rotator cuff attempting to sign it.

Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/11182008/sports/yankees/yankees_prepare_a_j__offer_139209.htm

Every Man Has a Price

Screw California - 6 years, $140 million puts CC in pinstripes.

Looking Toward 2009

On a topic that will be the subject of much debate over the next few months, the Yankees look poised to make some substantial moves in the rapidly approaching offseason. In classic if-I-were-GM fashion, the following is a list of moves that The Fowl Balls feels will benefit the club going forward.

Sign CC Sabathia
Regardless of the push for a low-cost youth movement, the Yankees will forever be a team with a payroll in the stratosphere. Over the course of his career, CC has proved to be a durable, innings-eating pitcher that consistently performs at an elite level. On those merits alone he seems to be a good fit for the team, and when added to the fact that he is left handed this makes him a must-have acquisition. The team has a load of payroll coming off the books (roughly $88 million) and have plenty of room to add a superstar pitcher, even if they will be forced to grossly over pay for him.

Trade Robinson Cano
The more one watches Cano play, the more one becomes frustrated. Mark my words; Robinson Cano will win at least one batting title in his career. Unfortunately, he will also have seasons like this one, where is arguably one of the worst full time players in baseball (thanks to Melky Cabrera FINALLY given the Fredo treatment). On talent alone, it seems that Cano could be moved for a young, talented pitcher that is more proven than the young, talented pitchers that the team already owns. Names like Zach Grienke have been thrown around as potential matches in a Cano trade, and only a fool would turn down such a player at this point. After yesterday's game, Robbie's OBP fell below .300. Alfonso Soriano was run out of town after a much more productive season, and I expect the same for Cano.

Offer Bobby Abreu Salary Arbitration
Personally, I hope he declines and the Yankees are awarded compensation as he will be a Type A free agent. However, there are worse things that could happen than Abreu accepting and playing right field for another season.

Sign Orlando Hudson
Obviously, this is contingent on trading Cano, but I can hope. The Yankees would do well to add Hudson, a Gold Glover, to the mix on a defensively inferior club. He is also a speedy, switch-hitting, contact hitter that can handle the bat that the lineup could benefit from.

Don't Sign Mark Teixeira
Great fielder, good hitter, and I am sure he is a hell of a nice guy, but whoever gives him the 8-10 year contract will be pulling their hair out by year 5.

Move Damon or Matsui to First Base, attempt to Trade the Other
I know, I know. I am sure that I will get flack for this based on the infamous Gary Sheffield Experiment from a few years ago, but hear me out. Both players, especially Damon, are superior athletes to Sheffield at the time the Yankees attempted to move him to first. Given an entire offseason and Spring Training to prepare, I feel that either of these players could provide serviceable defense at a higher level than Jason Giambi has provided this season. Also, these players both have some type of value on the trade market; Matsui as a DH, and Damon as an everyday player.

Move Derek Jeter to Left Field
What blasphemy is this you ask? Derek Jeter, though marginally improved this season, is a terrible fielder. If Abreu declines arbitration, which we hope he does, Xavier Nady would then become the everyday right fielder, leaving a void in left when Damon or Matsui is moved to first base. The time has come to think of the team, and not just Jeter's legacy. I found it tough to swallow when the team acquired the best shortstop in baseball history, coming off of his second gold glove, and moved him to third base. Even though Alex Rodriguez would no longer be able to play the shortstop position, there are better options on the free agent market including, but not limited to, Rafael Furcal, and our personal preference, Orlando Cabrera.

Trade for Gerald Laird
Acquiring a younger option at the catcher position can only help. This season proved the perceived risk of signing Jorge Posada to a long term deal was a very real concern. The Yankees could deal from a position of strength by using their glut of young pitching to make this deal (PLEASE take Ian Kennedy!).

Re-sign Mike Mussina, Send Andy Pettitte to Pasture
While Moose has learned to pitch with the garbage that he has left, Andy has looked terrible this year no matter what the Yankees Propaganda Machine feeds us about him being a big game pitcher. Using Mussina as a #4 starter is a solid option on any contending squad.

Stick With Phil Hughes
Hughes is NOT Ian Kennedy, and will, at some point, be a very good Major League pitcher. Hughes was dominant the other night in the AAA playoff, going 8 shutout innings on only 94 pitches. It took Cliff Lee a trip to the minors to figure it out too.

Promote Mark Melancon and Austin Jackson From Day 1
The answer that the Yankees were looking for in their bullpen was right under their nose all season, but they were afraid to rush Melancon after TJ surgery. A career closer in college, Melancon can handle the high leverage innings that the Yankees will need him to. As for Jackson, he is still raw, but could provide a serviceable first season a la Adam Jones in Baltimore. The rest of this lineup should be able to cover for a player like Jackson who, even now, is a much better option than both Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera.

Don't Sign AJ Burnett
He is a guy with phenomenal stuff that cannot stay healthy. We don't need an older version of Joba, thank you very much. Plus he has been bitten by the curse of Alyssa Milano.

Sign Manny Ramirez
In what would have to be the shove-it-up-your-ass move of the century, the Yankees would have to make this move to protect ARod in the lineup. Though he may seem like a pricey option at approx. $15-17 million, the guys flat out produces when happy. Case in point: he is batting .407 since his move to the west coast. With Manny in the DH slot batting third, this lineup once again becomes formidable with the uncertainty surrounding Jorge Posada. Paired with an improved pitching staff, this team could be deadly.

So, without further ado, your 2009 Yankees Opening Day Lineup after the perfect offseason:
P - CC Sabathia
C - Gerald Laird/Jorge Posada
1B - Johnny Damon
2B - Orlando Hudson
3B - Alex Rodriguez
SS - Orlando Cabrera
LF - Derek Jeter
CF - Austin Jackson
RF - Xavier Nady
DH - Manny Ramirez