Jim Mulligan

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Daisuke Matsuzaka will be starting tomorrow night for the Sox against the A’s, Joe Blanton. In their ‘North American’ opener in Oakland, the Red Sox will look to Daisuke to improve on his season opening 5 inning, 95 pitch outing which he struggled to make it that far.

What do the Sox do about the outfield situation? With Jacoby Ellsbury playing like he did in the 2007 ALCS & World Series, he all but sent Coco Crisp packing - but Theo never moved him. Was his asking price too much for a hitter who the Sox expected to step into the leadoff spot vacated by Johnny Damon? In his defense, 2006 was a disaster due to injuries. At this point, to get any value for him, you have to showcase him. When you showcase him, you have to hope he produces. So, is it a good thing JD Drew back is ailing to start the season? It allows Coco some time out in centerfield, Ellsbury in right and Manny doing his thing in left. I think Manny will have yet another great season - the Sox hold a team option for 2009. If they don’t pick it up, he’s an unrestricted free agent. So either way, he’s playing for his contract for 2009 and beyond.

The infield is steady with Jason Varitek behind the plate. He, like Manny, is playing for next year’s contract. It looks like his best offensive days are behind him but he handles the pitching staff and calls a great game behind the plate. The rest of the infield sees Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell with Julio Lugo back as they were in 2007.

Pitching Matchups for the next two games in Oakland are as follows:

Tuesday - Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-0) 3.60 ERA vs. A’s, Joe Blanton.(0-0) 4.76 ERA

Wednesday - John Lester (0-1) 9.00 ERA vs. A’s, Rich Harden (1-0) 1.50 ERA

Jim Mulligan

Mark Reichman

The  Mets new ace froze the first batter he faced, Marlins leadoff hitter Hanley Ramirez, with a nasty slider inside.  Strike three.  And the Johan Santana era has officially begun!

Santana was as advertised, throttling the Marlins 7-2 in the Mets season opener with a 3-hit, 8-strikeout performance.  The Marlins were unable to mount a consistent offensive attack as Santana reared back and overpowered most hitters.  The Marlins would have been shut out if not for a single mistake by Santana,  a fourth inning changeup that caught the fat part of the plate and which Josh Willingham golfed over the massive “Teal Montser” in Dolphin Stadium’s left field for a 2-run homer.  That cut the Mets’ lead to 6-2, but the Marlins would go quietly the rest of the way.

The most impressive aspect of Santana’s evening was the ability to bounce back from the Willingham homer and to completely stifle any hope of the Marlins through the 5th, 6th and 7th innings.  In the fifth with runners on first and second and one out, Santana got pinch hitter Jason Wood to wave ineffectively at a fiesty sinking changeup for strike three.  The next hitter, Ramirez again, was victimized by a vicious fastball that had a lot of movement, heck it probably had flames shooting off it.  Strike three again, inning over.

Then in the 6th it was Mike Jacobs’ chance to look silly as Santana’s tailing fastball “completely befuddled” Jacobs for strike three, in the words of SNY commentator Ron Darling.  (Gotta love Darling’s Ivy League vocabulary).  That made four strikeouts in a row for Santana.  All Marlin hope squashed.

Santana got stronger as the game wore on.  Darling observed that after the Mets scored 6 runs in the top of the fourth, and Santana sat around for half an hour, that he “lost a little of his command.”  Santana showed an ability to pick and choose pitches and manage the game, so that any loss in control did not endanger the game.  But what’s really amazing is how much movement his pitches have, causing hitters to take wild hacks and hit harmless fly balls.

Santana was the center of attention, but actually the Mets were clicking on all cylinders and should be delighted with a victory that showed promise for all facets of the team.  The Mets will need production from the bottom of the lineup when the opportunities are there and that’s exactly what they got.  Angel Pagan, the spring standout, got the start in left and came through with the Mets 1st RBI of the season when he zipped a double down the third base line in the fourth inning.  With hitters on first and second and none out, SNY commentators conjectured that Pagan might be called upon to bunt.  But Randolph played it aggressive and Pagan came out swinging, and it worked.  The next hitter Ryan Church also came through, jumping all over a fastball from Marlins starter Mark Hendrickson for a RBI single. (Yes Hendrickson’s a leftie, which Church supposedly can’t hit).

The Mets will also need clutch two-out hitting from their leaders, and they got some of that too.  Jose Reyes punched an RBI single over the shortstop’s head to give the Mets a 3-0 lead.  And then there was David Wright, who crushed a bases-clearing double that bounced all the way to the wall.  When the dust cleared the fourth inning was a 6-run muscle flexing by the Mets.

The bullpen also looked like a strength last night.  With a 4-run lead Randolph had the luxury to try out some different set-up approaches.  When Matt Wise let up a couple of chippie singles to start the eighth, Randolph was able to turn to Scott Schoeneweis and Jorge Sosa to clean up the mess.  I’m a big fan of Sosa, so its good to see him possibly earning a defined bullpen role, since the Mets resisted making him a starter.  Sosa whistled a 3-2 slider past Willingham for strike three to end the inning, and left the mound with an emotional fist pump, as if to tell Mets fans “I’m ready to help.”  Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect ninth as the closer Billy Wagner got the night off.

Plenty of positives to build upon, none bigger than the new ace throwing fire.

Joseph Gallo

With yet another Yankee season just 1 day away I want to introduce you to some unfamiliar names you may be hearing come midseason.  Not necessarily names which will be involved in trades, but more likely names that will ride straight into the Bronx and contribute towards a playoff push.  Let’s not forget before names like Joba, Hughes, Kennedy, Cano, Wang, Shelley and Melky became household fixtures, they were earning their stripes down in Trenton and Scranton.  I will go into more detail on some of these guys in the future, but for now allow me to share with you their likely future roles and who they should be replacing.

Ready Made Middle Relievers: Scott Patterson
Most likely to be replacing: Brian Bruney or LaTroy Hawkins

     I spoke about Patterson in my previous blog entry, so I won’t go into detail about him again.  I don’t figure Bruney will last long in the Bronx, due to his lack of control, and there really is no way to tell how Hawkins will do upon his return to the American League.  His new sinker ball may lead him to success, however if not he only signed a one year deal, so it won’t hurt the Yankees to release him if he proves to be ineffective.

Backup Outfielder: Brett Gardner
Most likely to be replacing: Morgan Ensberg or an injured Damon

    Gardner held his own during his time in AAA last year and seemed to impress Girardi with his hustle in spring training.  Gardner is Juan Pierre but with more patience at the plate.  He is lighting fast and can be a league average left fielder.  Probably nothing more than a career 4^th outfielder due to this lack of power, but he can contribute once the inevitable Damon injury crops up.

Legit Emergency Starters: Alan Horne & Jeff Marquez
Most likely to be replacing: Mike Mussina or an ineffective Kennedy

     Horne was the Eastern League pitcher of the year in 2007, and scouts have raved about him possessing possibly 4 plus pitchers (fastball, slider, curve & change).  Once Horne shows consistent command with his fastball he could find himself in the Bronx.  Marquez is a sinker ball pitcher who reminds me of former Yankee farmhand Jake Westbrook (now with Cleveland).  He projects to be a back of the rotation starter, but could be a solid innings eater.  Both could be mid-season call ups if Mussina really is finished or if one of the young guns suffer severe growing pains. 

Lefty Specialist: Chase Wright
Most likely replacing: Billy Traber

     Personally I don’t see Wright having any success as a starter, but his success against lefties (.250 BAA) could make him valuable out of the bullpen if Traber falters.

Set-up Man: Mark Melancon & JB Cox
Most likely replacing: Joba Chamberlain (moves to the rotation)

     I am fine with Joba starting in the pen to keep his innings pitched down, but once he moves into the rotation where he belongs, the Yankees will need someone to step into that setup role.  I do not believe Farnsworth is that guy, so hopefully one of the young guys in the minors can step up like Joba did in 2007.  Melancon was a closer in college for Arizona, where he was extremely successful with his mid 90’s fastball and devastating curve.  Scouts also rave about his make up, as he has a tremendous work ethic, which has allowed him to comeback from TJ surgery a bit quicker then expected.  Cox was the closer at Texas after Huston Street was drafted, but I see him more as Jeff Nelson type pitcher, who won’t strike out a lot of guys, but his sweeping slider should baffle major league hitters.  I was tempted to put Humberto Sanchez on this list, but I fear his lack of control could hurt him in a relief role.

First baseman with Power: Juan Miranda
Most likely replacing: Morgan Ensberg or Shelley Duncan

     Miranda came over from Cuba last year, and did a nice job at Tampa & Trenton where his final line read .265/350/471.  His biggest flaws are his defense and lack of ability to hit lefties (.223 BAA).  However he has huge power potential, and can hopefully work with new Yankee consultant Tino Martinez on his footwork around the first base bag.  If not this year he should be in contention in 2009 for a DH role once the Yankee buy out Giambi’s 22 million dollar option.

Back after opening day on Tuesday night now, with today’s game rained out.

Joe