Opening Day

It's finally here, After a month of spring games roster speculations, it is time to get down to business. The Yankees come into the season like they always have, aspiring to win their 28th championship. Not surprisingly the Yankees look to be underdogs this season as the Red Sox have have revamped their roster and are heavily favored to win the AL East. Many fans feel that this is the best case scenario as it will lift the pressure off the Yankees and place it on their hated rival, however from watching the interviews with the players, expectations are as high as ever and their isn't much talk about being underdogs, only about winning. That attitude is what has brought the Yankees 27 world championships and that is not about to change.


I expect a tight race in the AL East this season, especially with the Orioles who under Buck Showalter, are a much improved team capable of putting up a tough fight against any opponent. The Blue Jays are also a big challenge with their young pitching, though the loss of key offensive players could keep them down. As for the Tampa Rays, they are looking to find the next line of players to play around Evan Longoria. The losses of Pena, Crawford, Garza, and Soriano will be rough on them, but Maddon has shown he can do a lot with not much so don't be quick to put them at the bottom of the division. The Red Sox are loaded with talent after sweeping through free agency to to get Carl Crawford, Bobby Jenks, and Dan Wheeler and not to mention the trade that landed them Adrian Gonzalez. Those moves surely make the the odds on favorites to win the division and bump the Yankees to underdog status.

The season looks to be very compelling as many storylines will take hold and play themselves out over the next 6 months. Yankees baseball returns tomorrow and everyone is stimulated with anticipation.

March Madness

With the first of the opening round games now complete and the next half getting underway I feel it is time to talk about who I believe are the favorites and cinderellas of the 2011 NCAA tournament.

Here are the teams that I feel, if they play their cards right, should be a lock for the Final Four:

Ohio State - Getting the top overall seed in the tournament means they have seemingly been given the sweetest deal. From the looks of the East Bracket, there does not seem to be any team with the exception of Syracuse who could match up well with the Buckeyes. North Carolina is formidable, however even if they should make a run Ohio State, lead by their top man Jared Sullinger has the offensive and defensive fire power to shut down any team that they are matched up against.

Kansas - I think it is a safe bet to think that Coach Bill Self's team is more than capable of reaching the Final Four or better yet winning a national championship. Having the Big 12 player of the year Marcus Morris on your side is quite an advantage to have. Combined with rather intimidating prowess Kansas should be able to stand up to any challenge posed in the Southwest Bracket

Duke - Many analysts have placed Duke in the toughest spot of the four number 1 seeds, I will remind everyone that the Blue Devils have already proven hey can handle it by winning it all in 2010. I will agree that this year The road could be much more difficult to manage, but Mike Krzyzewski welcomes challenges and has an ire for getting his teams to push their limits and achieve. Potential match ups with Texas, UConn, and Possibly San Diego State down the road could trip Duke up, but with Players like Seth Curry, Kyle Singler, and ACC player of the Year Nolan Smith, there is enough talent and leadership to get Duke through the fire.

Pittsburgh - To say that the Panthers are not a lock is a huge spit in the face to their accomplishments over the last decade. With multiple Big East regular season and tournament championships, they have shown that they are the cream of the crop in the most competitive conference in college basketball. Though there could be a big threat in St John's, Should the Johnnies get hung up, Pittsburgh should have no problem bowling over the competition in the Southeast.

Notre Dame - Though they are not in my top four, I will say that the Fighting Irish can indeed make a run to Houston. If they can avoid any type of shooting slump for six games they stand a chance in scoring a major upset over the favored Jayhawks should they meet in the elite 8. But that is only a speculation

Now its on to the cinderellas:

George Mason - We all remember the 2006 tournament when George Mason made a run for the ages by taking out some of the top teams in the nation too reach the Final Four. They have the talent and motivation to do the same thing all over again so every team should put a red flag on the Patriots.

St John's - Now you may wonder way I would have a number 6 seed as a cinderella, but taking into account that the last time St. John was legitimately in the tournament, and had a record this good, Omar Cook was their point guard. The loss of DJ Kennedy is huge, but Steve Lavin already has gotten the Red Storm to a much better place than they have been in a decade, the only way to go is up. With wins over Pittsburgh, Duke, Notre Dame and UConn, St. Johns certainly has no fear of top tier teams in the NCAA

Bucknell - This is a talented and steady group of players who know how to play as a cohesive unit. They may not have the team which ran out the heavily favored Kansas Jayhawks in 2005 but the Patriot League champions could repeat those events if anyone should take them too lightly

Back on the Move

Hi everyone, I know it's been a while so I will start out by wishing each of you a safe and prosperous new year. Now that I finally have the time to write I want to talk about the state of the New York Yankees in 2011.

From what I have seen and read, the lost chance of landing Cliff Lee did indeed rattled the Yankee hierarchy and I don't blame them. Lee would have filled a hole that just seemed to keep getting bigger in 2010 with the struggles of AJ Burnett all season long. any questions that fans and experts had about the rotation Lee would have answered in more ways than one. But alas, that is not to be, so The Yankees must do as many others who have come up short of an ultimate goal, they must forge on. While it could be looked at as an utter tragedy to some including myself, I now see it as an opportunity for the team to truly evaluate the team in front of them, especially their to tier minor league prospects. Jesus Montero is already being held in high regard amongst Cashman, Girardi, and the Steinbrenners, so much so that the team refused to give him up when the Mariners asked for him in the potential mid May deal that would have landed Lee. The signing of Russell Martin coupled with the permanent move of Posasda to DH creates a window for Montero to break into the majors sooner much sooner than we think.

Andy Pettitte looks to be headed towards retirement though with spring training upon us next month, he has yet to make anything official. His presence in the rotation would certainly help greatly but the team is doing the right thing by presuming he is retired so that they are not left waiting. Contrary to what many may think thee are many alternatives that can be looked at in replacing Pettitte that I am sure the Yankees have looked at. They have explored signing Justin Duchscherer who has Major league experience and some good seasons under his belt. Perhaps looking within is the way to go, with young pitchers like Andrew Brackman, Ivan Nova, Dellin Bentances, and Daniel Turpen there is much to choose from and much to look forward to. Hopefully patience will be a virtue, and the Yankees will not be tempted into making any desperate moves to match the Red Sox bevy of off season acquisitions. Opening day will soon be upon us and one thing the Yankees can count on the the undying support the New York fans will show as they pursue title number 28.

The chase for 600

The wait continues as Alex Rodriguez is on the verge of reaching a career milestone that only seven have reached before him. I am certain the Yankees fans are disappointed that he could not hit it at home during the recant home stand, but the notion that he will get it eventually leaves optimism for the seven game road trip. On a down note Rodriguez was hit in the hand yesterday and it could have an effect on whether or not he can hold a bat steady let alone hit a home run. I had the great opportunity to be at the game as all of the fans collectively anticipated each at bat hoping to get a live in person view of history. The Yankees rallying to get Alex one more at bat for the fans showed how much the team wanted him to do it in front of the Yankee faithful. However the Royals Pitcher Blake Wood did not want to have his name on the wrong side of history and did the only thing he felt was better for his career. The fury every fan felt that a team would stoop this low was that of a grease fire when you add water. While the hit that we all wanted to see did not happen, there was still some history to be shared as Robinson Cano collected his 1,000 career hit, making him on of the fastest to reach that plateau. Could this the the first part of his march to 3,000 hits? who knows but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

It is nice to see Derek Jeter putting together good multiple hit games as he has corrected the one flaw in his swing. With him holding his hands higher he should be able to strike the ball with more authority, thus collecting more hits and shortening the wait for the illustrious 3000 hit.

Lebron's decision

Now that the waiting is finally over and James is officially going to Maimi, it is time to give a critique on his big move out of Cleveland. It seems that perhaps the loss to the Celtics in the playoffs may have dug deep into James' soul and made him fearful losing in the playoff yet again. For his sake, while it completely has devastated the Cavaliers and their fans, who grew to love their hometown hero expeditiously from the moment he was drafted, he was in a lose lose situation. While he would have total financial security, the Cavaliers probably would have had no way to get another player to help take the pressure off James. Miami made the Necessary moves to land big time players and everything fell perfectly in place for Lebron James to delve right in and form what is being called the "South Beach Super Team" with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. For the teams in the running, it has to be quite the disappointment especially for the Knicks as everything they have done for the past 2 years has been to land Lebron and that has backfired. Perhaps this is what happens when you try to lure a free agent in with no way of actually getting him to come, especially after the fact that your team virtually tanked two seasons and dumped off one too many draft picks. It back to the drawing board for the Knicks and there is certainly much work to do, hopefully they will do the right thing this time around.

This Free Agency period has certainly shaken up the NBA and 2010-11 looks to be quite an exciting season. One thing can be said most definitely though, every sports fan from all around are heavily anticipating Lebrons return to Cleveland as a member of the now loaded Miami Heat.

links to articles about Yankees-Dodger series

here are some interesting articles I have discovered about the series be sure to check them out

http://newyorkpost.com/p/sports/yankees/former_manager_still_father_figure_KXXy0g7xGCYTnfQAuAhlSN

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100624&content_id=11533100&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/lee_jenkins/06/25/joe.torre/index.html?eref=sihp

A time to reflect on the past

There is no doubt that all Yankee fans will be reflecting on years past as the Yankees take on the Dodgers in L.A. with none other former Yankees manager, and leader of the last Yankee dynasty...Joe Torre. Though he has been managing in L.A. for the last 2 years it will still bring a feeling of unbalance watching him manage against the team he grew to love for over 12 years. His departure still leaves some anger in faithful Torre advocates, but there is a certainty that many have gotten over it now that there is a post Torre championship in New York or fans may have called for the removal of the Yankee brass. For players like Jeter Posada, Rivera and Pettite it will very bittersweet to look in the other dugout knowing that Torre is managing against them.

On a baseball standpoint one would think tha the Yankees would be at a disadvantage because of Torre's knowledge of the Yankees players, but let us keep in mind that while he knows the core four, he does not know everyone else. on the other side the Yankees will get to see an familiar foe donning Dodger blue, Manny Ramirez, who has been a thorn in the side of the Yankees for his entire career, especially during his time with the hated Red Sox. It will be the first time the Yankees get to see the 2009 walk off machine Andre Ethier, and young pitching stud Clayton Kershaw. Outside of the folklore of the reunion of Torre and the Yankees there is a quite interesting series that should draw much attention for the baseball and not just the storyline. Let's hope emotion does not get the better of the Yankees, who need wins to to extend their AL East lead.

A look at the situation

Since the injuries to Johnson, Posada, Granderson and Aceves the Yankees seem hard pressed to get production from key spots on the team. Now some may say that Johnson was not hitting anyway and his presence would not have made a difference, but when we look at it from the perspective of baseball he was bound to turn his struggles around and become the hitter the team hoped for when he was signed. As for the loss of Granderson, there is a significant loss of continuity that has been sorely missed for the last two weeks with him out of the lineup, Gardner has been a breath of fresh air with his surprising hitting, but two is always better than one. The absence of regular players has played a part in a tumultuous week where the Yankees have not been able to get key hits when needed. Every hitter has it in their minds to try and do to much with runners in scoring position and abandoning the true objective, which is to just get a hit and keep the wheels turning. Without runs the pressure is put on the pitching staff to hold off the opponents for as long as they can until the team can manage to score, but that is way too much to put on a starting pitcher who is not likely to throw continuous shutout ball star after start, not to mention how much stress the bullpen is under if the starter does not do just that. The injuries are taking their effect and things may look bleak to fans who are fast to throw the Yankees under the bus, but no one should lose hope as things are bound to turn around for better, it is baseball after all.

For those who are wondering why Jeter is struggling, look no further than the positioning of his hands. in the past when Jeter's hands are up in his batting stance, he hits the ball with more sting and drive, but when his hands come down, he will hit everything weakly and have no ability to turn on anything on the inside part of the plate. I do not know if Kevin Long has noticed this or not but he should do so in a timely manner before this slump becomes far too prolonged.