OT--- !!!OH HAPPY DAY!!!
MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly
Posts: 541 ✭✭✭
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MyDaughtersNameIsMattingly
Posts: 541 ✭✭✭
Comments
<< <i>Cool...not sure why Jeter is in the same picture as the others..... :-p >>
I know, but when the team is as weak as it is this season,........you have to put somebody one the cover.
IMF
<< <i>Maris could have been drawn better (looks nothing like him IMO)
IMF >>
FYI, that's not Maris.....it's Johnny Schenkenburg.....Maris' stunt double
Spring is in the air, and it reminds me how much I missed these things that gave me such pleasure last year...
1. Russell Martin's awesome .237 avg. And how Girardi has a soft spot for weak-hitting catchers (I wonder why?).
2. Granderson's K's.
3. Arod's deterioration.
4. Swisher and Tex's studly lifetime postseason stats.
5. Tex's inability to hit to the opposite field.
6. Gardner's inability to blossom into a genuine leadoff man.
7. The team's baffling willingness to turn the DH slot into a resting zone while the anemic-hitting Nunez takes the field, instead of using the DH as a source of legitimate offensive production.
But hey, at least we have a #3 or #4 starter in Kuroda as our #2. And Burnett is gone!
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<< <i>Cool...not sure why Jeter is in the same picture as the others..... :-p >>
I know, but when the team is as weak as it is this season,........you have to put somebody one the cover. >>
Weak? Yankees are #1 in ESPN preseason Power Rankings
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<< <i>
<< <i>Cool...not sure why Jeter is in the same picture as the others..... :-p >>
I know, but when the team is as weak as it is this season,........you have to put somebody one the cover. >>
Weak? Yankees are #1 in ESPN preseason Power Rankings
Just saw that last night. Cool breakdown of the teams and top 5 players at all positions.
"Live everyday, don't throw it away"
The Yanks can blow out the bad teams and score 20 runs in one game, then get housed in tight games against elite teams-- it's their MO: beat up on the weak teams during the regular season, then their no-contact, low-average bats get shut down by elite pitching come October.
Tim Kurkijan (sp) actually had what I thought was a realistic take on the Yankees pitching staff, which seems solid at first glance, but then you realize they have...
1. CC, who is one tiny notch down from the very top tier guys Roy Halladay and 2011 Verlander.
2. Kuroda, who no one would ever project as a #2 starter on a WS team.
3/4. Nova and Hughes-- both solid question marks. Will Hughes return to the form he had in his one good HALF season as a starter? Will Nova emerge or backslide?
5. Freddy Garcia. Ancient and can be serviceable during a season against the lesser teams expecially, but this is not a guy you ride to a title.
6*. Andy. Who knows what the Yanks get out of him. Another question mark. Beloved and would still trust him, if in shape, with a big game--- but will the time off have rejuvenated him or caused unshakable rust?
7**. Oh yeah, the obese Pineda, with shoulder tendinitis. Shaky second half last year. And cost us our one promising, youthful, MLB-ready bat.
These guys represent a lot of question marks when compared to other staffs, like say the Angels or Rays.
As to offense, the Yanks haven't improved at all from last year, when the low-contact bats vanished against decent pitching. Who does a Yankee fan feel confident will get the big hit when the chips are down? Not Martin, Swish, or Tex (we've seen a healthy sample space on them). Granderson, Cano, or Jeter perhaps. But will time claim Jeter this year as it did A-Rod last year?
I really wonder where the young offense comes for the Yankees in the years ahead, as Jeter and Arod near 40. Without guys like Montero coming up, they'll keep buying (overpaying for) past-their-prime bats like they have done for ages.
The upper management is very savvy, in that they know how to field a competitive team year in and year out, to keep fan interest and hope alive. The NY media feeds into this, and overhypes guys who aren't that great by any stretch. But the management has not put together one of the elite staffs in MLB.
They also have to know most of their hitters are uppercut swingers with low averages (Swish, Tex, Granderson, Martin). With the resources at the Yankees' disposal, it's tough to stomach their, "make the playoffs and cross your fingers, because anything can happen," mentality. They should field a team with some guys in whom you at least feel confident against elite pitching in close, pressure situations, knowing 7 our of 10 times the best will fail to get a hit. Last year's Detroit series felt just like 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Sometimes you just need a hit, and not a HR. Sometimes you need CONSISTENT contact hitters.
What's kind of funny is how the Yanks' talk is all about WINNING the postseason, and not just making it there. They have proven they are very good at making it, but for a group with such boundless resources and a focused goal, they only make it to the WS or win the WS as much as any other team, lately.
Should be an interesting, entertaining season to watch unfold, though, with so many question marks on the team.
All Angels outfield spots and DH are not likely to generate much offense. Pujols will have a monster year to prove his worth to the fans, and Kendrick should maintain what he did last year. Aybar is a nice little player who can definitely contribute a lot to a winning team, but he certainly can't carry a team. Callaspo is similar, and playing at a power position without much power. Trumbo and Morales are huge question marks in my mind. Abreu, Hunter, and Wells cannot be counted on to generate offense anymore. Walden has even more control problems than Wilson, and the rest of that bullpen is very suspect.
Detroit has more than its share of weaknesses, but if I had to choose between Detroit's roster and Anaheim's roster, I'd take Detroit in a heartbeat. Verlander, Fister, Benoit, and Valverde will anchor that staff all year. Prince and Cabrera provide a better 3-4 punch than another other team in baseball can claim. Boesch could have a breakout year, and Raburn should hit if he gets to start every day, not to mention Delmon Young hitting right behind the two big guys. Infield defense will be non-existent, so hopefully Verlander will average 20 strikeouts a game!
Look at ERA, WHIP, WAR, etc, not win-loss record. He was 9th in the NL in ERA last year, but had 6 losses where he allowed 2 earned runs or fewer, and twice had no-decisions where he didn't allow any runs. In 7 of his 32 starts, the opposing team was shut out. In his first 23 starts, the Dodgers scored 60 runs. He was 7-14 with an ERA of 3.01 at that point.
If LA had a real owner a few months ago, he'd still be a Dodger.
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
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The Tigers do look formidable. I also think the Blue Jays are deceptively good, in that already cutthroat division. They could really create a logjam if the Yanks stumble.
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Where is Lou???!!!!! No respect!
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/pdub1819/othersets/6204
<< <i>Yeah. Lou and Yogi got the shaft on that pic. I'd take either one of them over Jeter or Reggie any day. >>
Lou is in the pic, next to Joe D. I cut him off by accident. Yogi isn't in the pic.
Actually Yogi is no where to be found in the booklet at all. This year there are 24 different tickets, each with a different great Yankee moment depicted on it, he isn't even on the one for Larsen's PG. The moments are :
Jeter 3000th hit
Maris 61
David Cone PG
Lou Gehrig "luckiest man speech"
Mariano 602
Tino HR game 4 2001 WS
Yanks win 5 consec. WS titles (Rizzuto, and Martin on ticket)
ARRON BOONE
Guidry 18 K game
Jeter "flip play to Posada" 2003 alds
Elston Howard's first game becoming the first African American player for the Yanks
Scott Brosius' HR in game 5 of 2001 WS
Mantle's HR off the right field frieze
Dimaggio's 56 game streak ends
David Wells PG
Mattingly homers is eight straight games
Jeter dives into stands VS Red Sox
Arod's 600th HR
Reggie's 3HR WS game in '77
Larsens PG
Bucky Dents HR vs Boston in '78 one game playoff
Whitey Fords 10th WS victory
Ruth's called shot
Chambliss ALCS winning HR in '76.
I really think they could have found a Yogi Moment to replace the "Jeter dives into stands"....that was a great play but it wasn't even a playoff game!
He also hardly ever struck out, which today's star players seem to do with alarming relative frequency. I'd have to check, but I think he might have flirted with having more homers some years than K's. Now that's impressive.
In 1951: 27 HR and 20K.
In 1952: 30 HR and 25K.
In 1955: 27 HR and 20K.
In 1956: 30 HR and 29K.
In 1957: 24 HR and 24K.
Who does that today?
This guy's cards are WAY, WAY undervalued IMO.
<< <i>Why did they put Arod in the middle?
Lol! When I took the booklet out of the Fed Ex box, I thought the same thing at first glance!