Sweeney Murti is a clever man and has come up with a list of things that have happened in between Carl Pavano's last start and his next one.:


The whole thing is actually pretty amusing so go check it out if you get a chance.

Can you feel it? Opening day is days away and the 2007 season will soon be upon us...and it's about time!

To get you a little more amped up, here are some links from around the web to get you up to speed. First off, the roster is set.


I'm glad that Villone is not on the team. He might be able to make it back at some point but he just looked awful in spring training and the Yankees just had a better option. Villone was signed to a minor league deal so he could either choose to become a free agent or take a demotion to the minors and try to work out his stuff there. At this point, either of those scenarios seem plausible.

Tyler Kepner of the NY Times checks in with the news that Phelps has been so good that he's got Joe thinking using him as the left-hander portion of a platoon with Doug Mientkiewicz. The following from the post also struck me as worth noting:


Andy seems like such a stand-up guy and after all the family issues that he had to go through last year and this spring, I hope that he gets picked up by another team and he gets to show what he can do. I wish him and his family nothing but the best.

Finally, SG, of RLYW fame, guests over at The Hardball Times and looks at the most important 5 questions facing the Yankees as they start the season while EJ Fagan over at Pending Pinstripes writes a preview of this years Trenton Thunder (AA) team.

Luis Vizcaino
Age: 32 Years Old (Turns 33 in August).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	W	L	ERA	G	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2004	Brewers	4	4	3.75	73	1	4	72.0	61	35	30	12	24	63
2005	White Sox	6	5	3.73	65	0	3	70.0	74	30	29	8	29	43
2006	Diamondbacks	4	6	3.58	70	0	2	65.1	51	26	26	8	29	72
2007	Bill James	4	4	3.65	67	0		69.0	62			9	26	63
2007	CHONE			3.84				68.0	63	32	29	9	27	57
2007	Marcel	4	5	4.15		0		65.0	62	31	30	8	27	54
2007	ZiPS	4	6	4.77	68			66.0	66	38	35	9	28	56

SEASON	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2004	Brewers	7.88	3.00	2.63	1.50	.231	1.18	.259	73.7 %	4.66
2005	White Sox	5.53	3.73	1.48	1.03	.273	1.47	.299	80.0 %	4.79
2006	Diamondbacks	9.92	3.99	2.48	1.10	.217	1.22	.277	79.7 %	4.10
2007	Bill James	8.22	3.39	2.42	1.17	.242	1.28	.287		4.29
2007	CHONE	7.54	3.57	2.11	1.19	.247	1.32	.286	75.9 %	4.57
2007	Marcel	7.48	3.74	2.00	1.11	.253	1.37	.295	75.5 %	4.52
2007	ZiPS	7.64	3.82	2.00	1.23	.262	1.42	.305	68.8 %	4.55

Outlook: I might have been the only person in northeast who was genuinely excited about Luis Vizcaino's acquisition. I am ecstatic because Luis should provide Torre with something he sorely lacked last year, a third solid option in the bullpen. Yes, I know Joe had Villone last year but he didn't use him in the first half and overused him in the second. Now, if Torre uses him, Luis should be a consistent source of quality innings (5 years of 60+ IP, 4 with ERA+ of over 110) and the addition of that has a pretty striking impact. Farnsworth and Proctor can then be used less and with his splits, it reduces the need for a second lefty (just in case Henn doesn't work out). It's actually pretty interesting - he's a righty that's good against both but especially good against lefties (.163/.281/.288/.569 last year and .214/.305/.362/.667 over the last three). He's the bizzaro Mike Stanton!

Also, over the course of the last two years, he's pitched in hitters parks and did a decent job there so the move to Yankee Stadium should help mitigate his move from the NL to the AL. Finally, another interesting thing to notice is Luis' GB ratio. Now, I don't know what he changed up in 2005 but he's got his groundball groove going now (42.8% in 2005, 45.1% in 2006) so that could work out well with an improved Yankee infield.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G	Innings	W	L	BB	K	SV	BlSv	ERA

Brian Bruney
Age: 25 Years Old (Turns 26 in February).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	W	L	ERA	G	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2004	D-Backs	3	4	4.31	30	0	1	31.1	20	16	15	2	27	34
2005	D-Backs	1	3	7.43	47	12	4	46.0	56	39	38	6	35	51
2006	R Yankees	0	0	4.91	3	0		3.2	1	2	2	0	3	5
2006	AAA D-Backs	0	1	33.75	4	0		2.2	10	12	10	2	4	4
2006	AAA Yanks	1	1	3.14	11	3		14.1	10	6	5	2	8	22
2006	Yankees	1	1	0.87	19	0	0	20.2	14	2	2	1	15	25
2007	Bill James	4	3	4.19	49	0		58.0	50			5	38	63
2007	CHONE			4.20				45.0	40	23	21	6	29	50
2007	Marcel	2	2	4.50		3		40.0	40	22	20	4	20	36
2007	ZiPS	3	3	4.75	48			53.0	47	31	28	5	35	51

SEASON	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2004	D-Backs	9.77	7.76	1.26	0.57	.185	1.50	.249	70.8 %	4.54
2005	D-Backs	9.98	6.85	1.46	1.17	.302	1.98	.388	65.1 %	5.29
2006	R Yanks	12.27	7.36	1.67	0.00	.088	1.09	.158	66.7 %	4.56
2006	AAA D-Backs	13.50	13.50	1.00	6.75	.571	5.25	.694	17.9 %	14.45
2006	AAA Yanks	13.81	5.02	2.75	1.26	.198	1.26	.303	79.0 %	3.62
2006	Yankees	10.89	6.53	1.67	0.44	.194	1.40	.281	97.9 %	3.73
2007	Bill James	9.78	5.90	1.66	0.78	.234	1.52	.309		4.27
2007	CHONE	10.00	5.80	1.72	1.20	.240	1.53	.307	76.7 %	4.78
2007	Marcel	8.10	4.50	1.80	0.90	.262	1.50	.319	70.9 %	4.35
2007	ZiPS	8.66	5.94	1.46	0.85	.239	1.55	.299	68.0 %	4.48

Outlook: When Bruney was DFA'd by the Diamondbacks, he was coming off a terrible 2005 (7.43 ERA with 51 Ks and 35 BBs in 46 IP) that he had followed up with a horrendous 4 games in AA Tuscon (2.2 IP, 4 BBs, 10 Hits, 2 HRs and 12 runs allowed). At that point, the D'backs felt he was done and designated him for assignment. Bruney then signed with the Yankees and after a few innings in AAA Columbus (22Ks and 8 BBs in 14 IP - see the recurring theme?), he was called up in August. In his first game up, he struck out the three batters he faced and didn't really slow down from that pace, striking out 25 guys over 20.6 innings with a 0.87 ERA.

Do I think that Bruney can replicate what he did last year? In a word...no. I really don't think there's a lot of people out there who would expect the same type of dominance he presented last year. He's got a good fastball (which people have said that he relies too much on) and seems to pitch to the edges of the strike zone (leading to the high number of walks). However, I do think that Brian can be effective. I mean, over his 98 innings of major-league work, he has a 10.10 K per 9 so he can obviously get guys out. However, he also has a 7.07 BB per 9 and a 1.70 WHIP over that time period and that's just not going to get it done. Name one pitcher that has had success with a walk rate that high - it's impossible. Still, with that fastball/slider combo, if he was able to bring down (and keep down) the walk rate to a more manageable 5 BB per 9 (what he did consistently in AAA) and then go from there, then we would be looking at someone who could really help the pen. Actually, we'd basically be looking at a younger, wilder Kyle Farnsworth and that ain't too bad for someone the Yankees picked up for a few pennies.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G	Innings	W	L	BB	K	SV	BlSv	ERA

Steve Swindal's chances of succeeding George Steinbrenner as Yankees' principal owner took a major hit as his wife (and daughter of the boss), Jennifer, has filed for divorce.

In a related story, I will be sending in my wedding proposal to Jennifer shortly.

Scott Proctor
Age: 30 Years Old (Turns 31 in January).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	W	L	ERA	G	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2004	Yankees	2	1	5.40	26	0	0	25.0	29	18	15	5	14	21
2005	Yankees	1	0	6.04	29	0	0	44.2	46	32	30	10	17	36
2006	Yankees	6	4	3.52	83	1	7	102.1	89	41	40	12	33	89
2007	Bill James	5	5	4.64	80	0		95.0	96			13	43	80
2007	CHONE			3.96				91.0	86	44	40	14	30	77
2007	Marcel	4	3	4.33		0		81.0	80	42	39	11	29	65
2007	ZiPS	5	4	4.60	73			90.0	90	50	46	13	33	76

SEASON	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2004	Yankees	7.56	5.04	1.50	1.80	.291	1.72	.327	69.4 %	5.80
2005	Yankees	7.25	3.43	2.12	2.01	.268	1.41	.286	64.7 %	5.77
2006	Yankees	7.83	2.90	2.70	1.06	.236	1.19	.278	77.4 %	4.01
2007	Bill James	7.58	4.07	1.86	1.23	.264	1.46	.306		4.78
2007	CHONE	7.62	2.97	2.57	1.38	.251	1.27	.286	75.5 %	4.60
2007	Marcel	7.22	3.22	2.24	1.22	.259	1.35	.297	72.2 %	4.51
2007	ZiPS	7.60	3.30	2.30	1.30	.262	1.37	.302	69.7 %	4.49

Outlook: Anyone who expected Scott Proctor to be as good as he was last year, please step forward. Okay, now that I've smacked those folks for being liars, we can all appreciate the job Scott did for the Yankees last year. Though there was much speculation that his first month of effectiveness was a fluke, he surprised a lot of people (myself included) by remaining good for the whole year. A lot of that success can be attributed to Proctor's addition and subsequent use of the sinker in his arsenal. He learned to use it quite well and as a result, his GB ratio went up while his FB ratio, and more importantly his HR per FB ratio, went down. Also, while Proctor was originally regarded as death on righties and mediocre against lefties, he changed that up last year, shutting down lefties to the tune of .204/.269/.354/.622. While this may be due to a small sample size, that's still one heck of a turnaround from 2005.

In any case, once Torre realized how effective Proctor was, he used him. A lot. Close game? Warm up Proctor. Blow-out win? Warm up Proctor. Off day? WARM UP PROCTOR! Yes, I do understand that Torre didn't have that many options at that point as Farnsworth was a little up and down but he could very well have used Villone (who at that time was wasting away) to spell Proctor even a little bit. Unfortunately, because of that, you now are putting a lot of weight on a guy who so far has had one good year and is coming off 102.3 innings (by far the most in the AL amongst relievers). Also, while we have only seen Proctor for the past few years, it's not like he's a spring chicken by any means. Still, a good amount of weight from the Yankees pen will fall on Proctor's right arm so let's just hope that Joe doesn't add Proctor to the scrap heap with the arms of Villone, Karsay and Quantrill.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G	Innings	W	L	BB	K	SV	BlSv	ERA

This is unsubstantiated by major sports outlets (but Mike A. has confirmed it and I trust him so that's good enough for me) as of yet but it's making its way through the Yankees circles that J. B. Cox has undergone Tommy John Surgery and will miss the 2007 season. My first reaction: this sucks. I honestly expected Cox to see some MLB time this year but now it looks like it will be a good long wait. First for Cox will have to recover from the surgery and then, he'll have to work his way back to pitching at the level that he was at before. What was that saying about pitching depth? Oh yeah...it doesn't exist.

Both EJ at Pending Pinstripes and Mike A. at River Ave. Blues mention the news.

Update: Pete A. over at LoHud has the update and it looks like it's not Tommy John:


Thanks for the tip Andrew.

Mike Myers
Age: 37 Years Old (Turns 38 in June).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	W	L	ERA	G	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2004	Seattle-Boston	5	1	4.64	75	42.2	45	22	22	5	23	32
2005	Red Sox	3	1	3.13	65	37.1	30	14	13	3	13	21
2006	Yankees	1	2	3.23	62	30.2	29	14	11	3	10	22
2007	Bill James	2	2	3.97	65	34.0	32			3	15	25
2007	CHONE			4.11		35.0	36	18	16	4	13	22
2007	Marcel	3	2	4.50		44.0	45	23	22	5	17	30
2007	ZiPS	2	2	4.25	67	36.0	36	18	17	4	15	23

SEASON	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2004	Seattle-Boston	6.75	4.85	1.39	1.05	.272	1.59	.312	76.2 %	4.98
2005	Red Sox	5.06	3.13	1.62	0.72	.222	1.15	.243	76.0 %	4.33
2006	Yankees	6.46	2.93	2.20	0.88	.251	1.27	.287	74.1 %	4.31
2007	Bill James	6.62	3.97	1.67	0.79	.250	1.38	.290		4.46
2007	CHONE	5.66	3.34	1.69	1.03	.267	1.40	.294	72.7 %	4.71
2007	Marcel	6.14	3.48	1.76	1.02	.266	1.41	.298	71.9 %	4.61
2007	ZiPS	5.75	3.75	1.53	1.00	.262	1.42	.290	72.7 %	4.62

Outlook: It was an interesting year for Mike as for the first time in a long time, he put up a reverse split with left-handed and right-handed hitters. In 2005, Myers held lefties to .158/.196/.211, whereas righties hit .385/.510/.641 but in 2006, lefties hit .257/.297/.443 while righties hit .224/.345/.286. Maybe this was a result of the changes he had been making to his delivery in spring training of last year. At that time, he wanted to see if moving from the first base side of the rubber to the third base side when facing righties would make his stride shorter and provide more movement. Whether it was that or simply a matter of small sample size remains to be seen.

Still, Myers was brought on board for one reason; the guy is the one of the most hardcore LOOGYs out there. His sidearm motion is very effective on lefties and for his career, he's held lefties to a .210 AVG over 276 innings (righties have tattooed him to a tune of .307 in 211 innings). Basically, he's very good against lefties, doesn't give up many homeruns and if these adjustments that he's made for righties remain effective, he becomes a much more useful part of the bullpen. However, with the limited use that he gets, it will be a while before we see if he really has improved against righties.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G	Innings	W	L	BB	K	SV	BlSv	ERA

Kyle Farnsworth
Age: 30 Years Old (Turns 31 in April).

Three-Year History, three-year splits and last year's splits.

SEASON	Team	W	L	ERA	G	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
2004	Cubs	4	5	4.73	72	0	4	66.2	67	39	35	10	33	78
2005	Tigers-Braves	1	1	2.19	72	16	2	70.0	44	18	17	5	27	87
2006	Yankees	3	6	4.36	72	6	4	66.0	62	34	32	8	28	75
2007	Bill James	4	3	3.77	67	2		62.0	55			7	27	67
2007	CHONE			3.49				67.0	58	28	26	8	26	72
2007	Marcel	3	4	4.15		6		65.0	61	32	30	8	26	64
2007	ZiPS	4	2	4.16	72			67.0	60	34	31	9	29	67

SEASON	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP
2004	Cubs	10.53	4.46	2.36	1.35	.263	1.50	.341	71.6 %	4.39
2005	Tigers-Braves	11.19	3.47	3.22	0.64	.182	1.01	.261	83.6 %	2.93
2006	Yankees	10.23	3.82	2.68	1.09	.250	1.36	.327	71.4 %	3.82
2007	Bill James	9.73	3.92	2.48	1.02	.239	1.32	.308		3.91
2007	CHONE	9.67	3.49	2.77	1.07	.235	1.25	.300	77.8 %	3.90
2007	Marcel	8.86	3.60	2.46	1.11	.250	1.34	.308	73.3 %	4.12
2007	ZiPS	9.00	3.90	2.31	1.21	.241	1.33	.295	72.0 %	4.24

Outlook: Well, I mentioned Farnsworth's pattern at the beginning of last year. Odd years - good/great seasons, even years - mediocrity. I also said that while he has been uneven, the general direction of his seasons has been better. Well, he proved me correct on both counts. 2006 was definitely a step down from 2005 but you know what, his peripherals still weren't horrible. He gave up a line of .243/.315/.376/.691, which again, wasn't nearly as bad as his last bad season (2004) when it was .260/.348/.426/.769 which was then a far cry from his previous off seasons (2002: .293/.370/.558/.924 and 2000: .291/.392/.476/.864).

Looking forward to 2007, there's still a lot to like about Farnsworth. I mean, come on; with that arm and his propensity for the strikeout (9.69 K per 9 for his career - always a nice way to get out of a tight spot), he should be perfect for those high-leverage situations. However, back issues, mental toughness questions and the inability to be used consistently on back to back days have taken him out of Torre's circle of trust and as such, we'll have to wait and see about his continued use in those high leverage situations. Finally, it was interesting to hear that Farnsworth was working on a changeup and a sinker. Ron Guidry suggested it at the end of last season as a way to keep hitters from sitting dead red and Kyle's been working on it. If he can pull it off, great - otherwise, I just hope that he doesn't hurt himself because 2007 should be a very good for Kyle Farnsworth.

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G	Innings	W	L	BB	K	SV	BlSv	ERA

From the press release announcing the latest Jeter shoe:


I hope they can add a stripe next year...

Full press release below.

» Read More

Jeff Karstens received some good news:


Peter Abraham mentioned that Bobby Murcer has been approved for a clinical trial and had his first dose of a vaccine today.

Tony Gicas points to Project A13, a website/project dedicated to getting Yankees fans to support A-Rod.