Yankees Quiet on Rule V Draft

Johan Santana was one of the best Rule V draftees.

The MLB Rule V draft is never as exciting as the entire hot stove process and rumor mill that is associated with it, but occasionally a team can come away with a player that makes a big impact. (e.g. Johan Santana selected by the Marlins from the Astros in '99 and subsequently dealt to the Twins.)

The Yankees were one of just six teams that didn't draft anyone in Thursday's Major League and Triple-A phases. Additionally, the Yankees and the Atlanta Braves were the only teams not to have a player selected from their system. The Braves, White Sox, Rays, Nationals, and Brewers joined the Yankees in not selecting any players.

The top player chosen was Red Sox right-hander Josh Fields (not to be confused with the former White Sox third baseman of the same name) by the Astros.

Check out Baseballnewshound.com for a break down of the day's drafting.

BD Spring Training Report: NL To The DL | Baseball Digest

BD Spring Training Report: NL To The DL | Baseball Digest

Yesterday the Spring Training Report took a look at the injury situation in the American League. Today we take a look at who’s hurtin’ for certain in the National League.

NL East

Atlanta: Superstar-in-the-making Jason Heyward returned to the Braves’ lineup yesterday after sitting out the the last four games due to a sore back. Heyward saw a specialist on Wednesday for further evaluation. “He told me it’s bone structure vs. muscle or anything like that, nothing to be torn,” said Heyward, who hasn’t played since his back stiffened Saturday in batting practice, a scheduled day off for him. “If I can’t tear anything or do anything worse, I’ll play, and that’s what I told Fredi (Gonzalez).”

Florida: The Marlins may have a makeshift outfield in their lineup on opening day. Another superstar in the making, Mike Stanton, has yet to play in a spring game after injuring his quad in an exhibition game against the U. of Miami. While he has taken some at-bats in minor league games, he’s been replaced by a pinch-runner each time he gets on base. On Thursday, Chris Coghlan was sidelined with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. Manager Edwin Rodriguez has not ruled out Coghlan starting the season on the DL.

Free agent pitcher Javier Vazquez was scratched from a Tuesday start due to elbow soreness, but threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and felt fine afterwards. He’s scheduled to start against St. Louis tomorrow. Fellow starter Anibal Sanchez is expected to pitch in Sunday’s game after being out since March 10 after a comebacker bruised his shin. Their potential battery mate, John Baker, is day-to-day with a muscle strain near his right throwing elbow. He can swing the bat, but so far he has been prohibited from throwing.

New York: Things have been rough in Metsville and they may get rougher. Reports surfaced this week that ace Johan Santana was behind schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery. The Mets have denied the report, which specifically stated that Santana’s bullpen sessions were not going as planned. Whatever the case, Santana will be on the DL (as expected) to start the season. Carlos Beltran has been slowed by left knee tendinitis and might start the season on the DL. GM Sandy Alderson is contemplating not having Beltran play any additional spring games so that the DL time can be backdated.

Philadelphia: All-Star 2nd baseman Chase Utley continues to be bothered by patellar tendinitis andchondromalacia in his right knee and sought out assistance from a specialist on Thursday. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is hoping Utley can avoid surgery. “We’re doing everything we possibly can to have him not get into a surgery,” Amaro said. “Until we stop seeing progress, then we’ll continue to exhaust all those possibilities.”

Third baseman Placido Polanco had to leave Wednesday’s game after hyperextending the same elbow he had surgery on in November. He’s expected to be back in the lineup in a few days. Closer Brad Lidge is day-to-day with muscle soreness in his right bicep, but Amaro is not worried since Lidge has already thrown a good number of innings. Finally, prospect Domonic Brown was lost for the season after he broke the hamate bone in his right hand and underwent surgery.

Washington: Chien-Ming Wang continues to try to come back from 2009 shoulder surgery. He’s been limited to a pair of bullpen sessions, including one this past Tuesday, so the Nationals have not been able to set a timetable for his return. 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman strained his groin on Monday and has sat out since. He’s expected to return to action next week and said he would have played had it been during the regular season.

NL Central

Chicago: Angel Guzman will miss the start of the season and won’t be back until mid-April at the earliest, as he recovers from a tear in his throwing shoulder.

Cincinnati: Johnny Cueto had to leave his start last Friday with stiffness in his right bicep, but after having a throwing session yesterday, he’s expected to return to the mound on Saturday.

Houston: Earlier this month, the Astros lost their starting catcher, Juan Castro, for the year with torn ligaments in his knee. Infielder Jeff Keppinger is no longer hampered by the walking boot he’s been wearing since he underwent foot surgery to remove the sesamoid bone in his left foot. He’s hoping to be back in the Astros lineup in mid-May. Wandy Rodriguez, who signed a new deal this winter, has been bothered by shoulder tendinitis and was scratched from his last start. But the right-hander threw a side session this morning and is good to go.

Milwaukee: The Brewers were hoping to get off to a good start with their 1-2-3 punch of Zack Greinke,Shaun Marcum, and Yovanni Gallardo, but Greinke injured his ribs playing pick up basketball and is out until mid-April. Outfielder Corey Hart may miss opening day due to a strained rib cage. He took swings off a batting tee on Tuesday, but still doesn’t feel right. ”It’s still not coming as fast as I want it to,” Hart said. “It won’t go away. I still can’t go full-speed on anything. Hitting off the tee is fine, but I can’t amp it up the way I know I can. I can throw, but as soon as I have to do a quick move or let it go, it kills.” Catcher Jonathan Lucroy may or may not be ready to catch on opening day. He’ll undergo surgery on Monday to remove pins that were placed in his hand when he broke his pinky finger during a catching drill back in February.

Pittsburgh: Reliever Joe Beimel has been out since early March with pain in his left forearm, but has been cleared to pitch against the Orioles this coming Monday. Catcher Ryan Doumit has missed a week with a strained oblique, but is expected to be back in the lineup today.

St. Louis: Utility infielder Nick Punto underwent surgery in February for a sports hernia and is out until at least mid-April. The Cardinals’ most devastating injury was, of course, losing starter Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery.

NL West

Arizona: Infielder Geoff Blum will miss a few days with a swollen right knee that he strained earlier in the week. Zach Duke, who was competing for the #5 spot in the rotation, is out until May after a line drive broke two bones in his pitching hand.

Colorado: Aaron Cook was already starting the season on the DL due to shoulder inflammation, but then slammed and broke his finger in a car door and is out until May. 3rd baseman Ian Stewart is day-to-day with a sprained right knee. Eric Young Jr. is back competing for the utility position after sitting out all spring with a broken tibia.

Los Angeles: The Dodgers were expected to be competitive because of their starting pitching, but have suffered two injuries already. Jon Garland is out until mid-April with a strained oblique, and Vicente Padilla is lost until late April/early May with forearm surgery.

San Diego: Outfielder Kyle Banks returned from a 10-month absence after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he served as the DH on Monday. He is a certainty to start the season on the DL. Starter Tim Stauffer is still hurting from a strained hip flexor and missed his scheduled start today. He’s listed as day-to- day. Southpaw Joe Thatcher was scheduled to undergo an MRI today on his ailing left shoulder. Thatcher hasn’t appeared in a game this spring and is headed to the DL as well.

San Francisco: Starter Matt Cain returned from a nearly two-week absence caused by elbow inflammation to throw three scoreless innings on Monday. Just like their AL counterparts, the defending NL pennant (and World Series) champions are in good shape to start the season.

BD Hot Stove: The Phab Phour | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: The Phab Phour | Baseball Digest

You could hear GMs around baseball shudder when they heard that Cliff Lee had signed a new free agent deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Suddenly the team that gone to back to back World Series in 2008-2009 and had won four straight NL East titles had put together a new top of the line rotation. 2010 CY Young winner Roy Halladay, 2008 CY Young winner Lee, career 150 game winner Roy Oswalt, and the still on the rise Cole Hamels forn the “City of Brotherly Love” invastion. Number five for the moment is flabby, but not too shabby, Joe Blanton.

I will be the first to to tell you “that’s why the games are played”, “it doesn’t matter how a team looks on paper” and so on. But that’s a pretty intimidating rotation to go up against. With a very productive lineup and a bullpen that has the potential to be capable, the Phillies could go far in 2011. But that’s not why we’re gathered here today. It’s time to take a look at what each team’s rotation will look like entering spring training.

AL East

Baltimore – Since the departure of Mike Mussina after the 2000 season, the Orioles have been searching for a new number one. They thought possibly they had found one in Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen, Matt Riley…all prospects that did not pan out for one reason or another. But the O’s do have some bright spots in their current set of prospects. Left-hander Brian Matusz will be joined by veteran Jeremy Guthrie, and fellow youngsters Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, and Chris Tillman. Top prospect Zach Britton could battle for the number five spot in the rotation.

Boston – The Red Sox have a formidable group of pitchers. The question will be whether or not some of them remain healthy and/or bounce back from a sub-par 2010. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, and Daisuke Matsuzaka are the five for now with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield plugging in here and there. If they’re on, this could be one of the nastiest rotations in baseball.

New York – The Yankees are in a bit of a quandary right now as they await Andy Pettitte’s decision to retire or continue playing baseball. CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are set. The final two spots are completely up in the air, with Sergio Mitre and prospect Ivan Nova pencilled in for now. If Pettitte returns and no other pitchers are brought in, the final spit will come down to Mitre, Nova, and any prospect who steps up.

Tampa Bay – With the departure of Matt Garza, the Rays have one less reliable starter they can count on. But this is still a highly competitive rotation anchored by stud David Price, who is in the midst of a meteoric rise in stature. James Shields, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, and rookie Jeremy Hellickson round out the starting staff.

Toronto – The Blue Jays dealt their most reliable starter, Shaun Marcum, but have one of the top prospects in all of baseball in Kyle Drabek. With limited time spent in Triple-A though, Drabek may not yet be ready for prime time. He’ll have a chance to win a spot in a rotation that has Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, and Brett Cecil as the only sure things to start the season. Jesse Litsch, coming back from hip surgery and Mike Rzepcynski will fight for spots as well.

AL Central

Cleveland – Fausto Carmona trade rumors have been heard often during this hot stove, but for now he’ll open as the number one man in the Indians rotation. He’ll be joined by fellow veteran Justin Masterson and kid Carlos Carrasco. The final two spots will between Mitch Talbot, Jeanmar Gomez, Josh Tomlin, and anyone else who will toss their hat in the ring.

Chicago – Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Edwin Jackson. Manager Ozzie Guillen has a solid four he can count on in 2011. Then there’s Jake Peavy coming back from a detatched latissmus dorsi muscle that cost him the second half of the season. It’s unsure when he’ll be ready to go, so for now highly touted Chris Sale will probably get a look in the staff’s final opening.

Detroit – When you’ve got a stud like Justin Verlander at the top of your rotation it can set the tone for the rest of the staff. Manager Jim Leyland is counting on continued growth from youngsters Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, and they’ll benefit from some words of wisdom from recently signed veteran Brad Penny. One time starter, Phil Coke gets a chance to leave the bullpen and pitch every fifth day again.

Kansas City – It wasn’t that long ago that the Royals looked like they were building a nice starting staff. Now, Zack Greinke has been dealt away and Gil Meche suffered shoulder injuries and retired. That leaves one time prospects Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies, and Jeff Francis to bolster the rotation. Recently re-signed Bruce Chen has a spot locked up, which leaves Sean O’Sullivan and Vin Mazzaro to vie for the final spot.

Minnesota – The Twins brought back Carl Pavano, who along with Francisco Liriano, and Scott Baker form a nice triumvirate. Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, and Brian Duensing will pitch for the final two spots. No matter how it shakes out you know that this Ron Gardenhire led team will compete for the division crown.

AL West

Los Angeles – The Angels should be highly competitve in the west again now they have Dan Haren for a full season. He struggled for the Diamondbacks last year, but looked like his old self once he was sent northwest at the trade deadline. Jeff Weaver, Ervin Santana, and Joel Pineiro give the Halos a solid four to start the season. The Angels need to do something about the fifth spot though as Scott Kazmir has become unreliable. Hasinori Takahashi could be the guy to step up and take Kamzir’s spot in the rotation.

Oakland – The A’s have been about developing pitching under Billy Beane’s reign and the team has a nice collection of youngsters once again. Dallas Braden, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Trevor Cahill will be joined by veteran Rich Harden. With Harden’s propensity to be injured, the A’s could look to Brandon McCarthy and others to fill in.

Seattle – The Mariners have the “King” of all baseball. Well, Felix “The King” Hernandez will be the incumbent AL CY Young winner entering the 2011 season. Unfortunately, after Hernandez the rest of the Mariners starting staff is a crap shoot. Jason Vargos and Doug Fister had decent seasons in 2010. The Mariners hope to finally get something out of Erik Bedard other than medical bills. Top prospect Michael Pineda, and journeymen David Pauley and Luke French will all get a shot at a starting spot.

Texas – They Rangers gave up a top hitting prospect in Justin Smoak to get Cliff Lee at the trade deadline and now have neither. What they do have is a rotation that manager Ron Washington hopes can replicate or better their 2010 performance. C.J. Wilson steps up to the number one spot with Lee gone, followed by Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, and Derek Holland. Also in there? One time NL CY Young winner Brandon Webb, whom the Rangers hope is healthy and can recapture (most of) his glory.

NL East

You’ve heard enough about the Phillies already. Time to look at the competition.

Atlanta – The Braves are a team that have been developing top pitchers since the early 1990s. Times have changed and so have the Braves. Their top three – Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, and Jair Jurrjens all came from other organizations. Youngster Tommy Hanson has a spot and top 10 prospects Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, and Bobby Beachy should all get a shot at the final opening.

Florida – The Marlins have a bonafide stud in Josh Johnson, but the rest of the staff is patchwork. The team brought back Ricky Nolasco and signed free agent Javier Vazquez to join Anabel Sanchez, who had a career high 13 wins last year. Chris Volstad is the number five guy.

New York – The Mets staff is in disarray with Johan Santana not ready for opening day and Oliver Perez’s career in near complete demise. Mike Pelfrey reached his potential last year and will be the ace of the staff on opening day. The Mets also have plenty of promise in Jon Niese and hope that R.A. Dickey can repeat his remarkable 2010 season. Newly signed Chris Young, if healthy will get a spot with Jenrry Mejia, Chris Capuano, and Dillon Gee all getting long looks for the final spot out of spring training.

Washington – The prospect’s prospect Stephen Strasburg will be spending 2011 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Until then the Nationals will count on Livan Hernandez, Jason Marquis, and Jordan Zimmerman to hold down the fort. The Nats hope Chien-Ming Wang has fully recovered from shoulder surgery that made him miss all of last year. Luis Atilano, John Lannan, and Yunesky Maya are among those who will vie for the back of the rotation.

NL Central

Chicago – The city of big shoulders needs to control the big shoulders of Carlos Zambrano. The man who may be certifiable settled down late in the season and the Cubbies need that trend to continue. Ryan Dempster and newly acquired Matt Garza are the two most consistent starters on the roster. Randy Wells and Carlos Silva will have the final spots for now with recently acquired prospect Chris Archer possibly having a second half impact.

Cincinnati – The Reds won’t surprise anyone this year, but with a staff of Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, and Mike Leake they’ll do just fine. The latter three will compete for the final two openings.

Houston – The days of Oswalt, Clemens, and Pettitte are now long gone. Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, and J.A. Happ are a competitive top three on a team that won’t be too competitive. Bud Norris, Nelson Figueroa, Aneury Rodriguez, and Lance Pendleton will all get a look for the final two spots available.

Milwaukee - The Brewers have their best pitching rotation since CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets teamed for a short time in 2008. Holdover Yovani Gallardo is joined by trade acquisitions Shaun Marcum (TOR) and Zack Greinke (MIL) to form a super top three. Veteran Randy Wolf and journeyman Chris Narveson round things out. Top pitching prospect Mark Rogers could have an impact if his shoulder is healthy enough.

Pittsburgh – The Pirates have to get by on the cheap and 2011 is no different. James McDonald, Paul Maholm, Kevin Correia, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton, and Scott Olsen are the six pitchers for five spots.

St. Louis – Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Not a bad way to kick off a season. They’ll be joined by second year man Jaime Garcia and veterans Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse. It’s the rotation that will compete with the Brewers and Reds for the tops in the division.

NL West

Arizona – The Diamondbacks are in a rebuilding phase and it shows looking in their selection of starters. Their top pitcher is veteran Joe Saunders, acquired in last season’s Dan Haren deal. Youngsters Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson were both acquired over the past two seasons in deals for veterans as well. Barry Enright, who had a suprise rookie season, and one time Pirates prospect Zach Duke complete the party of five.

Colorado - Ubaldo Jiminez and Jorge de la Rosa gives the team a rocky mountain high to face opponents. After that things aren’t quite so clear. Aaron Cook hopes to recapture his 2008 form while Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Hammel, Felipe Paulino, and Esmil Rogers try to figure the rest out.

Los Angeles – The Dodgers have assembled a six man rotation that can compete with the majority of teams in baseball. Who will be the odd man out among Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, John Garland, Hiroki Kuroda, and Vincente Padilla remains to be seen.

San Diego – The Padres pitching staff helped carry them for most of the season and they came oh so close to a division title. Mat Latos was the clear top gun last year, but can he repeat his success? Clayton Richard, Tim Stauffer, Wade LeBlanc, and newly acquired Aaron Harang fill out the rest of the squad.

San Francisco – Pitching wins and the Giants pitching won the World Series last year. Ace Tim Lincecum hit some bumps in the road, but Matt Cain was as steady as can be. Lefty Jonathan Sanchez still has plenty of potential to achieve and second year man Madison Bumgarner comes in with a rotation spot sewn up for the first time. Even Barry Zito, much maligned since signing with the Giants prior to the 2007 season, showed glimpses last year of his prior greatness.

So there you have it. With veterans Freddy Garcia, Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Duchscherer, Mark Hendrickson, and Shawn Hill all still available things could still change. And every year one or two prospects busts out of spring training and heads north as a member of a 25-man squad. Who will it be this year? Stay tuned.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

The Reds and Johnny Cueto agreed to a four year, $27M extension. The team is said to be now discussing an extension with Edinson Volquez.

The Cardinals signed utility man Nick Punto to a one year deal.

Johnny Damon and the Rays are in talks, but the two sides are reportedly not close to a deal.

Texas Rangers beat man T.R. Sullivan hears the team is going after Manny Ramirez to be their new DH.

Dirk Hayhurst is popular on Twitter and has a best selling book. Now he’s employed again, signed by the Rays to a minor league deal.

The Mets signed pitcher Tim Byrdak to a minor league deal.

BD Hot Stove: Wrap It Up | Baseball Digest

Rule V Draft can provide a gem like Johan Santana.

BD Hot Stove: Wrap It Up | Baseball Digest

Tex Slam Gives Yankees Subway Series II

Mark Teixeira has heard the grousing from the fans. He's been repeatedly asked what's wrong and when will he turn things around? Joe Girardi has stuck by his 1st baseman through his season long slump and it paid off dividends over the weekends with the Mets.

Teixeira's grand slam provided all the runs on the day as CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera blanked the Mets 4-0.

The Subway Series has lost a lot of it's sting and six games is three too many. That being said, the weekend games were very intense as a good amount of Mets fans filtered into Yankee Stadium.

Johann Santana matched zero with Sabathia for the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the 3rd. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter started the inning off with back to back singles. That brought up Nick Swisher, who was below the Mendoza line against Santana in his career.

No one was more aware of that than Swisher himself. Hitting right-handed, Swisher pushed a bunt down the first base line. It so confused the Mets that Santana and second baseman Ruben Tejada collided as they converged on first base and Ike Davis' flip.

With the bags juiced, Santana threw three straight change ups, but left the last one over the heart of the plate and Teixeira jumped all over it. It was the seventh grand slam of the season for the Yankees, tops in the majors.

Sabathia breezed through the first five innings before Tejada gave the Mets their best shot with a leadoff double in the 6th. But Sabathia retired Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, and David Wright to strand Tejada right where he started.

The Mets had their last shot against Sabathia an inning later when Davis singled and Jason Bay walked. But once again Sabathia bared down. He struck out Rod Barajas looking and then induced an inning ending double play from Fernando Tatis.

Sabathia's 100th pitch was his last as he completed the eighth having allowed just four hits. Rivera's 1-2-3 9th inning earned him his 16th save of the season and a split of the six games with the Mets.

photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports

Baseball is Back Baby

Despite the horror of losing the opener up in Boston, baseball is back. A fantastic opening day that saw new kids on the block, Godzilla striking in a new city, An MVP making his early MVP statement, and plenty of injured pitchers returning to the hill.

The new guy and the "old" guy everyone is talking about today though are Jason Heyward and Albert Pujols. Heyward, the Atlanta Braves phenom outfielder, hit his first major league home run in his first major league at bat - at the expense of Carlos Zambrano. And it was no wind blown shot either.



Pujols, meanwhile, was Pujols. 2 home runs, 3 RBI 4 runs scored. Just another day at the office for a guy whose contract next year could exceed Alex Rodriguez's (did I really just say that?).

Hideki Matsui will be sorely missed by Yankees fans and he reminded all of us of that fact last night. Batting against the Minnesota Twins, Godzilla went deep for his first Angels home run. And if you go back to the finale of the World Series, that is 3 home runs in the last 2 games he's played.

Former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson, dealt for Curtis Granderson, made his Tigers debut with a bunch of firsts. Double, hit, RBI, and run scored.

It was an up and down night for hurlers who missed the '09 season. Shaun Marcum breezed through the Rangers lineup before giving up a game tying 3-run home run to Nelson Cruz in the 7th. He ended up with no decision.

Ben Sheets had a rocky start in his Oakland A's debut, allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, 4 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings. Sheets, who finished with 3 Ks, settled down after a shaky first couple of innings.

Johan Santana dominated Josh Josh Johnson and the Florida Marlins, 7-1. Santana allowed just 4 hits over 6 innings. Jake Westbrook would have liked those numbers, but the Indians pitcher got rocked for 5 runs, 5 hits, and issued 5 walks in just 4 innings of work. The Tribe fell to Mark Buerhle and the White Sox, 6-0.

The matchup of the day - which would be more interesting in mid-season, was the Tigers' Justin Verlander against reigning Cy Young Winner Zach Greinke of the Royals. Verlander (5 IP 4 ER) got no-decision and the Royals bullpen deprived Greinke (6 IP 1 ER) and the team of a win.

Doing the El Duque

Seeing the new Subway commercial with CC Sabathia and Johan Santana makes me cringe and long for the days of real acting and comedy on commercials.

Yankees Rout Mets in Series Finale

Santana not so Smooth.

This had to be the oddest Yankees-Mets interleague series to date. You had the Luis Castillo (Cas-tE-yo) error on Friday night that gave the Yankees an improbable victory.

Mets fans figured they were in trouble on Saturday with Fernando Nieve on the hill, but instead, he and another long time minor leaguer, Omir Santos, dominated the Yankees in a Mets win.

So you had to think that today, Sunday, the Mets would take the series with their ace Johan Santana going up against A.J. Burnett. The Yankees right-hander had been shredded in Boston and had been shaky of late, while Santana is one of the top 3 pitchers in all of baseball.

So what happened? The Yankees won in a 15-0 blowout of course. Santana was charged with 9 earned runs, the highest total of his career, in just 3 official innings. He faced 5 batters in the 4th and didn't retire any of them.

Burnett was the complete opposite of Santana on the day. He threw 7 shutout innings and got out of a bases loaded, no-out jam in the 3rd inning when the score was just 4-0. He also gave the bullpen a much needed rest.

The Yankees put 4 runs on the board on Santana in the 2nd inning with Francisco Cervelli and Derek Jeter delivering RBI singles and Johnny Damon driving in a pair of runs with a single of his own.

Burnett did his Houdini act in the 3rd after a pair of walks and a single. He struck out Alex Cora and Fernando Martinez, and got Carlos Beltran on a line out to Jeter. Burnett was fired up by his great escape and so were his teammates.

They sent Santana to an early shower in the 4th after he allowed a 2-run home run to Hideki Matsui and an another RBI single to Jeter. Brian Stokes was greeted by Damon with an RBI double and an infield single by Mark Teixeira. An RBI ground out drove in another run and then Robinson Cano crushed a Stokes deep into the bleachers in right-center field for an 11-0 Yankees lead. Melky Cabrera capped off the inning with a 2-run double that hit the top of the wall in right-center and came back into play. He was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple or the inning might still be going.

In all, 12 batters, 9 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks (2 by Nick Swisher), and 2 home runs.
Ramiro Pena added and RBI single and Cano a sac fly with the bases loaded in the 7th for the 15-0 finale.

Game Notes

The Yankees have a much earned/needed day off on Monday before starting a series with the Washington Nationals Tuesday night.

Jerry Manuel was ejected from the ball game after he came out to protest the ball and strike calls by home plate ump Jim Wolf. Both Alex Cora and David Wright were upset with him too when they struck out.

The YES camera crews caught relievers Brian Bruney and Francisco Rodriguez "discussing" Bruney's comments about the Mets closer. Several players got in between them when K-Rod got heated up. According to Jon Heyman, several Yankees stopped a Bruney interview after the game when he was asked about the incident by the media.

We hate K-Rod's end game histrionics as much as anyone, but Bruney, who has had a mediocre career, needs to shut the hell up.

Highs and Lows of Opening Day

While CC Sabathia and the Yankees would like to forget their opening day, they aren't the only ones.

It wasn't a good day for the aces:

Reigning CY Young Award winner Cliff Lee was tagged for 7 runs in 5 innings.

Tigers #1 starter Justin Verlander gave up 8 runs in 3.2 innings (and killed my fantasy team)

Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay won, but gave up 5 runs in 7 innings.

NL CY Young runner up Brandon Webb allowed 6 earned runs in 4 innings.


But it wasn't all bad.

The King, Felix Hernandez, allowed one run over 8 innings in the Mariners 6-1 win over the Twins.

Carlos Zambrano looked dynamite in his 6 innings of work in the Cubs 4-2 victory over the Astros.

Joe Saunders tossed 6.2 innings of 3-hit ball as the Angels blanked the A's 3-0.

Kevin Millwood tossed 7 innings of 5 hit ball as the Rangers crushed the Indians 9-1.

Hiroki Kuroda out pitched Jake Peavy as the Dodgers dropped the Padres 4-1.


The Hitting Heros

Arizona's Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark became just the second teammates, joining the Yankees Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada, to homer from each side of the plate. They also became the first teammates to perform the feat on opening day. (Are we the only ones who think of that unfortunate ground-rule double by Tony Clark in the 2004 ALCS, every time TC's name is mentioned?)

Toronto's Adam Lind had 4 hits and drove in a career high 6 runs. His big game included a home run.

Marlins' superstar shortstop Hanley Ramirez belted a grand slam and drove in 5 runs. Guess he got over having to get his hair cut.

Ken Griffey Jr. homered in his return to Seattle. That's 612 and counting.


The much anticipated debuts

The Mets new bullpen shone immediate. J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless eight inning, setting things up for Francisco Rodriguez's first "thank the big guy upstairs afterwards" save.

Jason Giambi went 0-3 for Oakland. Bobby Abreu was 1-4 in LA. Milton Bradley was 0-3 for Chicago. Pudge Rodriguez was 0-4 for Houston.


Are we a jinx?

Yesterday we picked CC Sabathia (12.46 ERA) for AL CY Young, Mark Teixeira (0-4) for AL MVP, and Jason Motte (1 IP 4 ER Blown Save, Loss) for NL Rookie of the Year.


It's a new day

Plenty more games on tap today, with the Royals-White Sox and Rays-Red Sox making up postponed openers.

2009 Award Predictions

Let's see how far off we can be this year!

American League

CY Young Award - There are plenty of names in contention for this one. Josh Beckett, Dice-K, and Roy Halladay chief among them. But this year's will be the Yankees very own CC Sabathia.

"When the change was made uptown And the big man joined the band"

The Yankees big man should compete for the pitching triple crown of wins, ERA, and strikeouts and help the Yankees back to the American League.

Rookie of the Year - There are a lot of good rookies out there. We can't wait to see how Elvis Andrus plays or when Matt Wieters makes his debut. Personally, we hope Brett Gardner has a big impact.

But the guy taking this award gave everyone a glimpse in last year's post-season. David Price will be back in the majors sooner rather than later and will be dominating before you know it.

MVP - This pick is really a crap shoot. You could just about throw any name out there and have a pretty good chance of picking the winner.

Our winner is, and we hope we're not jinxing him, Mark Teixeira. With Alex Rodriguez missing at least the first month of the season, the Yankees are going to need Tex to step up. Even though he's a slow starter, we expect him to be up to the task and keep the Yankees offense going.

Recent winners Dustin Pedroia and Justin Morneau will be in the mix, as will be Jason Bay and Josh Hamilton.

Manager of the Year - While we think the Yankees will rise back to the top, we don't expect Joe Girardi to get the credit for it. He'll hear the same line that Joe Torre did- anyone could have won with those guys. We're predicting Mike Scioscia will get the award for running away with the AL West despite a banged up rotation.

Comeback Player of the Year - Kris Benson, Rangers over Erik Bedard of the Mariners.


National League

CY Young Award - There are quite a number of pitchers to choose from- Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Jake Peavy, Roy Oswalt. But the best pitcher in baseball will win the NL CY Young- Johan Santana of the Mets. The Mets haven't had a winner since Doc Gooden in '85.

Rookie of the Year - There aren't too many too choose from right now, though that could change if players like the Mets' Jon Niese and/or Fernando Martinez is recalled. How much playing time will Colby Rasmus get in St. Louis?. The Braves' Jordan Schafer has already made an impact on the NL East race. But the winner will be the Cardinals catcher turned closer Jason Motte. The only thing better would be if he could catch his own pitches.

MVP - Another throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. We think Ryan Howard gets the award that we thought he would win last year. David Wright, Manny Ramirez, and Ryan Braun will all be in the mix.

Manager of the Year - We're going with a sentimental choice in Bobby Cox, who will have the Braves in competition in the NL East and wildcard right down to the final weeks of the season.

Comeback Player of the Year - Mark Prior, SD. Just 'cause we can't think of anyone else.

2009 NL East Preview

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays last fall to win their first word championship in 28 years. The Phillies have also overtaken the New York Mets the last two seasons to win the NL East division. This year should be no different.

NL EAST

Phillies
Mets
Braves
Marlins
Nationals

The Phillies are the team to beat in the NL East, but there are two arms that could change all that. Ace Cole Hamels struggled with a bad elbow all spring, though he did pronounce himself ready to go after an outing on Sunday. Closer Brad Lidge was perfect in 41 save attempts last season. If one or both struggle this season, so will the Phillies. But they're still the best team in the division.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins are as good as any three infielders in MLB. Pat Burrell is out, but the more consistent Raul Ibanez is in. The rotation has Joe Blanton for an entire season. Ryan Madson emerged as an outstanding set up man last season.

The Mets have a lot to prove to their fans after two straight collapses that landed them on the outside looking in at playoff time. Johan Santana is still the best pitcher in baseball and Mike Pelfrey came into his own last season. The Mets re-signed erratic free agent lefty Oliver Perez, who was booed off the mound in Saturday's exhibition game at Citi Field. John Maine was awful in the second half of last season and hasn't totally regained his form this spring. The fifth spot in the rotation, for now, goes to retread Livan Hernandez, but rookie Jon Niese could step in at some point.

On offense, it all still falls on Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Jose Reyes. Wright and Reyes can't pull a disappearing act down the stretch like they did the last two seasons. The bullpen is a huge upgrade over last year with the acquisitions of closers Francisco Rodriguez and (now set up man) J.J. Putz. The pen is what will win the wildcard for the Mets.

The Atlanta Braves were impressive in their first game last night, beating the Phillies 4-1. Jordan Schafer homered in his first major league at-bat, and Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer also went deep. Derek Lowe threw an outstanding eight innings and tops a solid rotation with Jair Jurjjens, Javier Vazquez, and Japanese rookie Kenshin Kawakami. We are concerned that the top two men out of the pen, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, both have a history of arm problems. But alll that being said, the Braves will be very competitive.

The Marlins have a mix of good young players that led to a third place finish last season. They should be in the .500 range again this season, but will fall behind the Braves. Hanley Ramirez is one of the most exciting players to watch and this could be the year that Cameron Maybin develops into a star.

We'll just say this- the Nationals won't sniff fourth place.

Lincecum Grabs NL CY

San Francisco Giants second year pitcher Tim Lincecum is this year's winner of the National League CY Young Award. Lincecum finished the regular season with an 18-5 record to go along with a 2.62 ERA and a league best 265 strikeouts. The 24-yr old, who looks no more than 14, is just the second Giants pitcher to win the award. Mike McCormick was the other winner in 1967.

Lincecum beat out our choice for the award, Brandon Webb, by 64 votes and picked up 23 first place votes. In his first season in Flushing, two time AL winner Johan Santana finished third. Our pre-season pick, Jake Peavy, didn't receiving any votes. It's still a better pick than our AL choice of Erik Bedard.

2008 NL Cy Young Award Voting
Pitcher, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Tim Lincecum, SF	23	7	1	137
Brandon Webb, ARI	4	15	8	73
Johan Santana, NYM	4	8	11	55
Brad Lidge, PHI		1	7	10
CC Sabathia, MIL	1	1	1	9
Ryan Dempster, CHC			4	4

Lincecum Grabs NL CY

San Francisco Giants second year pitcher Tim Lincecum is this year's winner of the National League CY Young Award. Lincecum finished the regular season with an 18-5 record to go along with a 2.62 ERA and a league best 265 strikeouts. The 24-yr old, who looks no more than 14, is just the second Giants pitcher to win the award. Mike McCormick was the other winner in 1967.

Lincecum beat out our choice for the award, Brandon Webb, by 64 votes and picked up 23 first place votes. In his first season in Flushing, two time AL winner Johan Santana finished third. Our pre-season pick, Jake Peavy, didn't receiving any votes. It's still a better pick than our AL choice of Erik Bedard.

2008 NL Cy Young Award Voting
Pitcher, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Points
Tim Lincecum, SF	23	7	1	137
Brandon Webb, ARI	4	15	8	73
Johan Santana, NYM	4	8	11	55
Brad Lidge, PHI		1	7	10
CC Sabathia, MIL	1	1	1	9
Ryan Dempster, CHC			4	4