The Moose

According to a few different people, Mark Feinsand and Peter Abraham amond others) Mike Mussina had Phil Hughes' locker moved from between Pettitte and Pavano to the spot next to his. Ian Kennedy is already on the other side of Mussina.

I've always been a fan of Mussina. He gets a lot of criticism, some deserved, some not, but I'll always remember some of his biggest games for the Yankees. Remember the Jeter Flip? Moose was the one who had the Yankees in a position to win by pitching a shutout. Remember Aaron Boone hitting that home run off Wakefield? Of course you do, but it's unfortunate that less people remember the fact that if not for Mike Mussina brilliantly escaping an inherited first and third, nobody out jam followed by two more scoreless innings, the Yankees are headed home. Seriously, if Mike Mussina allows a sacrifice fly and then a double play, everyone would have said he did a good job, and yet the Yankees would have lost. But he got out of it without allowing a run. Everytime someone claims he can't pitch in big spots (and sometimes he has come up short, like...you know...most pitchers), there's an example of him being out of his element (relieving), pitching in one of the biggest games of his life in one of the toughest situations you'll ever see.

Anyway, I digress. Mussina had a good 2006, but otherwise has struggled for years now. Last year he was overall pretty terrible. But the bottom line is the Yankees need someone to fill a rotation spot. With Hughes, Kennedy, and Joba all on innings counts, Wang and Pettitte alone aren't going to cut it. Maybe you can find someone at this point that can put up slightly better numbers than Mussina (but I stress maybe, pickings are slim), but it may not be so easy to find that veteran presence. Wang's a kid too, in baseball years. Pettitte's a veteran presence, but he has his own problems to deal with. That leaves Mike Mussina, and you know what, Ian and Phil can do a heck of a lot worse. I think it's great to see Mussina step up, ready and willing to teach the kids whatever he can, and not just because someone tells him he should. One of these kids could be knocking him out of the rotation this year, but he's still willing to teach them. I think thats great. So thumbs up to Mike Mussina, and if Hughes and Kennedy can have anywhere close to the career and consistency Mussina has had prior to 2004, Yankee fans will be very, very happy with the results.

Dynasty? Really?

So apparently a book about the new Red Sox dynasty is coming out.

Look, the Red Sox are an excellent team right now. And yes, they're the only team so far this decade to win it all more than once. But dynasty? Oh come on. The 2004 team and the 2007 team aren't even that similar. You have a few of the same core players (Ortiz, Manny, Varitek, Schilling) and a couple guys who are steady contributors but not the big time players (Wakefield, Timlin) but beyond that, not a heck of a lot. No Papelbon, no Pedroia in 2004. Youkilis wasn't a full time player. No Beckett, no Matsuzaka, no Lester, no Lowell, no Lugo, no Crisp, no Drew, no Okajima, the list goes on. Hell, Boston got swept in the first round in 2005, and then didn't even come in second in their division in 2006. Am I supposed to believe the amazing ability of the 2004 team carried over all the way to 2007 to form this new dynasty?

Could this team become a dynasty? Sure. I'm not trying to bash the Red Sox here, they have a very good team. But the 2004 team has little to do with the 2007 team, and even if they had almost the same players, it takes a lot more than two wins in four years to be a dynasty. The Blue Jays did better than that in the early 90s, winning back to back...are they a dynasty? Of course not.

Anyway, hey, spring training is here!

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez

2007 Stats: .314/.422/.645, 54 Home Runs, 156 RBIs, 24 Stolen Bases

Last year, Alex had one of the better seasons you'll ever see. He easily won the MVP...now, can he repeat it?

Probably not, but that's not exactly a knock on him. When someone has a year like that, it's not fair to expect them to put up those numbers again. That doesn't mean he can't have another MVP caliber season however, and I fully expect him to. I think he may have turned a bit of a corner last year in that he seemed to have stopped letting the crowd and media reactions dictate how he plays. In 2006 it was clear that he was effected by the booing, and while he didn't really have to deal with it much this past season (getting off to such a strong start in April with two walkoffs will do that for you), he had plenty of other things going on that the media wouldn't leave him alone about. It didn't appear to effect him at all, and if he can keep that going, there's no reason to think he can't continue to put up MVP caliber seasons for a bit longer.

Prediction: .306/.411/.598, 45 Home Runs, 142 RBIs, 22 SBs

Yeah, it's down a little, but I'd sign for those numbers right now, and really, who wouldn't?

Predictions

Leading up to the start of the season, I'm going to start taking a look at the players who will be on the team (barring injury, of course). A little early, sure, but pitchers and catchers are reporting soon, and I don't intend to do more than one a day (and I know I won't have one every single day), so now's a good time to start. I'll start out with guys we know (again, barring injury) will be on the team, and hopefully by the time I get to the end, some of the other spots will be a little clearer.