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March 23, 2008
Yankees Bloggers Predict 2008's Big Story
Five days ago, I reached out to about a dozen or so select Yankees bloggers and asked them for a prediction on what will be the biggest story in Yankeeland this season.
When I did this last year, the response was pretty good - and the common theme, at that time, was A-Rod.
This year, the reponse was different from last season, to say the least.
One blogger said they couldn't respond because they were swamped with work. I can understand that. Another said that they would pass on this one because they "don’t feel terribly strong about anything" at this point. And, I can appreciate that for being an honest answer. But, the majority of bloggers asked didn't get back to me at all. So, either they don't like me - and, we know that can't be true! - or, perhaps most feel that it's too difficult to make a prediction about what will be the Yankees biggest story this season? In any event, here's some feedback from those who were up to the call:
Via Greg Cohen of Sliding Into Home:
The biggest story in Yankeeland this season will be new Yankees manager Joe Girardi. No doubt about it. Just like 1996, which turned out to be the year of Joe Torre, 2007, for better (hopefully better) or worse, will be the year of the other Joe.
For evidence of this all you need to do is look at Spring Training, the Yankees running, the Yankees showing up to camp in shape, Duncan's slide, Pettitte's inside pitch to Ortiz, no matter what happens, it's somehow related to Joe Girardi, even when it has nothing to do with him. And that's how this upcoming season will be, everything will be about Joe Girardi.Then there are these questions that will be asked throughout the season: How is Girardi handling the New York media, especially in times of adversity? How will he handle the young pitchers? Will he get along with Hank Steinbrenner, or will we have another Jeffrey Loria situation on our hands? And don't forget the ghost of Joe Torre; you know he's going to be around for a long time.
No matter what happens this year it's all going to be about Joe Girardi.
Via "YF" of YFSF:
The Yankees cannot be contained by a single storyline. Girardi's first season. The ascendance of the Brothers Steinbrenner. The Agony of Alex Rodriguez. The hagiography of Derek Jeter. The Clemens legacy. The Big Three. The All-Star Game. The quest for the pennant. The battle with the Sox. Cashman's future. Circumstance will dictate which of these capture the day's headlines. But the single story that will serve as the season through-line; that would have to be the story of Yankee Stadium's last year.
Via "Jeteupthemiddle" of Almost Perfect:
I believe that the biggest story this season will be the development of the Yankees' young pitchers. No matter what results Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy give this season, there will be dozens of articles about it. "Can the Yankees make the playoffs with this young rotation?" "The young guns saving the team!" "These players weren't worth Santana?" "Cashman saved the farm, should Cashman's job be saved?"
What about me? Personally, I think the above three responses are all on point. Coming into this, I felt that the biggest story of the Yankees 2008 season would either be Joe Girardi - and the "edge" that he provides to the Yanks this year - or, it would be about the Yankees' call to go with young pitching on, at least, one-third of their staff and whether or not that was the right thing to do - with no back-up plan.
But, just to be different, and despite the fact that I still feel that Girardi and the kid pitchers are major storylines this season for New York, I'm going to suggest that the biggest story in Yankeeland this season will be...drum roll...Hideki Matsui having a MVP type season with the bat. Then again, I said that last year too - so, what do I know?
Posted by Steve Lombardi at March 23, 2008 06:15 PM
Comments
That's because you didn't e-mail me like last year. ;-)
My answer: the big Three. Cashman's job rides on the success of the three, and his decision will be analyzed, over-analyzed, and super over-analyzed throughout the year. Though the true effect of his decision won't be felt until the end of the three's careers, most will judge his decision on an immediate basis.
Posted by: B(rent) ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 23, 2008 09:59 PM
BTW, my belated thanks to my fellow Yankees bloggers for their input on this one!
And, sorry that I missed you on this one, if I did.
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at March 23, 2008 10:35 PM
I feel that I should also throw out there as a story line: Saying goodbye to The Stadium.
Obviously this won't be an everyday occurrence, but probably for the first few homestands and then as we creep into September the story line will get bigger and bigger.
Posted by: Jeteupthemiddle at March 23, 2008 10:39 PM
You know I have a feeling deep down in my stomach that this is going to be one of those bizarre seasons for the Yanks. I feel like its going to be a wild chase for the AL East, we're going to have plenty of drama from the field, the dugout and the front office. We have a new stadium going in, a bunch of youngings.....I'm thinking we're gonna have another Bronx Burning. Like I have said all ST I think Joe will probably make this one of the most aggressive seasons in a while. Joe Torre just kinda sat there through the game, if you have ever watched Girardi he's active through the game.
I can't wait to start watching the yankees games again. I can assure everyone of this, we will have our bad stretches and our good ones. I can't wait for October
Posted by: Straylightrise at March 24, 2008 01:03 AM
Very unlikely Matsui has an MVP-type season. He should bounce back and have a better year assuming he stays healthy, and he probably will. He's never had an MVP-like season, not even when he was younger and helathier; I doubt he's capable of winning one at age 33.
I'd say more like: 28/110/.290/.380/500; quite valuable, but not really close to MVP status, especially because he will be DHing a lot of the time, and there's another DH just 240 miles away who will likely have a much better season.
There's just too much competition: Manny, Ortiz, Guerrero, Lowell, Cabrera, V. Martinez, Sizemore, even Granderson, if he ever figures out lefties.
Oh, and some doofus named Rodriguez is in the mix, too.
Posted by: Evan3457 at March 24, 2008 02:49 AM
Bounce back and have a better year?
He hit .290 with 25 homeruns and eclipsed the 100 RBI mark for the 4th time out of 5 seasons. I don't see how that's a bad year. He was streaky last year for sure, but he has always been streaky since he started playing for the Yankees.
Posted by: gphunt at March 24, 2008 10:26 AM
Well, OK, maybe hop back would've been better. Last year was slightly worse than average for him in just about everything except HR rate; BAVG, the lowest of his 5 years in the majors, EBH rate lower than any of his last 3 seasons; OBA average lower than his best seasons by aabout .020-.025; OPS+ the lowest since his 1st season.
But all of this is aggregate. He wasn't just streaky, he was there basically for only one incredibly hot streak from July 3-August 8. Over those 33 games, his line was 15/34/.346/.404/.722, and it just happens to coincide with the period when the Yanks were playing some of the worst teams and worst pitching in the AL: Twins/Angels/Rays/Jays/Rays/Royals/Orioles/White Sox/Royals/Jays.
The rest of the season? 110 G, 10/69/.265/.355/.413. To be fair, he continued to hit for average and drive in runs for another two weeks after the power streak ended, and against the toughest stretch of games the Yanks faced all season: 15 G, 0/10/.407/.464/.492. After that streak and due to the knee injury, he was just about worthless: 27 G, 2/13/.184/.325/.337.
Yes, Matsui has always been streaky, but a quick check of his gamelogs from his first four seasons doesn't show anything like this, when 60% of his season's homeruns occurred in one 30-game hot streak.
Posted by: Evan3457 at March 24, 2008 08:14 PM