I know but, did everyone forget the rotation issues we had last year?
I did a lot of good things as a sim league GM.
Ah, give me something clever to say here.
Goof ****ing christ!! It's an OPINION based on the current Yankees lineup. I have been saying this all offseason!! The Yankees rotation is questionable and that's putting it politely. The bullpen isn't impressive outside of Joba. The everyday roster has a lot of age on it. Where are you getting lost? The Red Sox are a better team with a lot more depth. Blue Jays finishing second isn't out of the realm of possibility. Don't post a predictions thread of you can't handle predictions!
Going by Dry's W/L predictions the Yankees are going to finish 111-83 this year.
League Team years Record Wild Card Division Pennants Titles MSL San Diego Padres 2034-2059 2,217-1,995 1 6 3 1 TBL Arizona Diamondbacks 2005-2018 1,216-1,053 1 9 6 3 TSSL San Diego Padres 2015-2021, 2024-2028 1,017-928 0 7 3 2 TSSL Texas Rangers 2029-2033 396-414 0 0 0 0
According to Dry there is
All I can say is this is my opinion and that is what this thread is about right, opinions/predictions. All of you can think what you want and give your opinions on the Yankees winning or even coming in last place in the A.L. East. It is all just speculating. I can't see into the future and that is why they play 162 games. That take for instant a few years back when everyone was saying(even the experts) The Tigers are going to lose 100 games and look what happened to them. My point is nobody know for sure what the final standing are going to be that is why it is called an opinion.
My opinion is bases on this:
Pitching Staff
Andy Pettitte vs Roy Halladay: Pettitte is aging fast and in his whole career has never been the quality pitcher Halladay has been. The added pressure of him being the #1 guy will also hurt IMO.
Wang vs Burnett: Wang had a great year last year and hopes to continue his success, but there are no guarantees with that. Yes I think Wang is a better pitcher then Burnett and Burnett has injury issues in the past so Advantage to Wang
Mussina/Hughes/Kennedy vs Marcum/Mcgowan/Litsch: IMO Mussina is just going to continue to decline. He has the past few years gone down hill and I just don't see a resurgance in his career at his age. Hughes and Kennedy(unproven), yes they had good seasons last year and that experience with help, but you never know with with young pitchers, especially pitching in Yankee Stadium.
Bullpen: Both of these Bullpens could be great or could have difficulties. The addition of Chamberlain in the Yankees bullpen is huge, but Rivera is getting older and isn't the none flawed closer he once was. The Bluejays have injury issues with the comeback of B.J. Ryan. He could re-emerge as the dominant closer or just not be ready yet. The good thing for the Bluejays is they have Jeremy Accardo as well and he is capable of closing out games.
1B: Jason Giambi vs Lyle Overbay: Giambi is another one of these aging players that his productivity has not been the same as in the past. Overbay is nt going to give you the power that Giambi does, but he will most likely play 150 some games with good defense and put up a good average and 20 homers.
2B: Robinson Cano vs Aaron Hill: This match-up is much closer than most think. Yes I give the slight advantage to Cano, but Aaron Hill is no slotch at 2b base , especially offensively.
SS: Jeter vs Eckstein: Clearly Offensively this goes to Jeter, but Eckstein is one of the best Defensive SS out there and will help the Jays in that way.
3B: Rodriguez vs Rolen: Rodriguez is much more the offensive player than Rolen. Rolen is an injury risk with his back(and has already landed on the D.L. with hand issues. But when Rolen is in the lineup he can be productive(not as he once was) and his defensive skills are stellar at 3B.
C: Posada vs Zaun: Once again the offensive production goes to Posada, but this position is much more than that and Zaun is a very capable handler of the pitchers who will help out the younger ones in the long run.
DH: Matsui and Stairs/Thomas: I will give the slight adavantage to Matsui here only because Stairs can be very streaky, but Stairs is capable of putting up some great power numbers. Thomas is aging and will he be as productive as in the past, probably not but I think he is still a very capable DH.
Outfield: Damon/Cabrera/Abreau vs Rios/Wells/Stewart: In my opinion this advantage has to go to the Jays. Rios and Wells can put up great numbers offensively while Defensively they are also very good. Rios has one of the best, if not the best arm in RF and Shannon Stewart can also handle the bat very well. As for Damon his arm is probably the worst, but moving to LF may help that a bit. His offensive numbers have been declining. As for Cabrera, this guy could be really good with everyday AB's, but he really is unproven as an everyday CF. We shall see. And Bobby Abreau is the anchor of this OF he will put up great offensive numbers and also is great defensively.
So here is the way I see it:
Rotation: Equal
Bullpen: Equal, but if Ryan is not effective, slight advantage to Yankees
Infield: Advantage Yankees
Outfield: Advantage Bluejays
Intangibles: Joe Girardi in his first year as Yankees Managers will have tremendous pressure on him. Will he be able to handle it(I don't know).John Gibbons has been around for a few years and has talent on his club to work with, can he put it all together this year(more questions). Equal
As you can see with my simple and maybe somewhat flawed mind it is a lot closer than the Yankees running away and hiding in 2nd place. Lets get the 162 games started and see how this pans out, because that is what really determines it on the field not on paper or posts.
Bullpen is clearly the Yankees.
Chamberlain, Hawkins, and Mo will be the top 3 in baseball imo.
OF is the Yankees too, when you consider that Matsui will contribute there also. .275, ~75 HRs and ~70 SB is a really, really good OF.
Wells has injury problems, and Rios is inconsistent. Still, at best, that is a wash
I don't like Hawkins. I have the Yankees losing out to the red sox by like 1 game, and winning the WC. But I think Hawkins is far from a sure thing.
Latroy Hawkins-The Yankees will be fed up with him by the end of May. He is not a very good pitcher at all.
Yeah, I don't like him, but it was the best we could really do on the market as a 1-year deal.
I did a lot of good things as a sim league GM.
Ah, give me something clever to say here.
I mean, it could be worse, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that he will be one of the best relievers in the majors.
A 1 year deal. Well that isn't too bad. After this year they will want to let him go.