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Posts Tagged Spring Training

We Interrupt this Pledge Drive for Pirates vs. Yankees

Mar 14

Posted by Jerry Milani in Announcers/Broadcasting, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Sports on TV | No Comments

Most of the time if I can catch a Spring Training game on TV, it’ll be a YES Network broadcast with the Yankees announcers and from a Yankees perspective.  And though there are a few ticket-sales purchases in those broadcasts, they are not too intrusive.

I realize that the Yankees broadcast more than a dozen Spring games, so they can spread the sales pitches over a bunch of games.  And that the Pirates only have a couple of games sent back to Pittsburgh in March.  But today’s Yankees-Pirates game, shown on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh and simulcasted on MLB Network, seemed to spend more time pitching Pirates season ticket plans than following the action.

Now, I hope that the Pirates sold thousands of tickets today; for sure, there is plenty of inventory.  Prices were extremely reasonable (some plans had tickets priced in the $7 and $8 range, good luck finding anything like that in points East like New York, Boston or Philadelphia.  There were even some extra goodies for fans buying certain packages — Bill Mazeroski signed baseballs and Roberto Clemente jerseys.

Having a team rep or two in the booth for a couple of innings at the beginning of the game was fine, but did we really need to go Live! from PNC Park, talking to random ticket office personnel as they fielded calls, PBS style?

For sure we are spoiled in New York today.  I remember in the late 70’s, even into the 80’s, that many regular season games weren’t televised.  Spring games were a rare treat, usually a game against the Mets and one or two others, if that.  Last week, one of the XM Home Plate announcers was talking about how until recently most teams would broadcast just one or two Spring games back home and they would make sure to play all the starters in those so as to look best for potential ticket buyers.

The Pirates looked great today, shutting down what was some of the Yankees regular lineup, then scoring a bunch of runs off Jonathan Albaladejo and former Angel Dustin Moseley.  Hopefully Bucs fans weren’t turned off enough by the constant sales pitch to stick around and see it.

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Park signing solidifies Yankees bullpen

Feb 22

Posted by Jerry Milani in New York Yankees, free agency | No Comments

The Yankees made a nice under-the-radar move today, reportedly signing Chan Ho Park to a one-year contract.

Park has had an interesting career.  He is the first — and to date most successful — South Korea native to play in the majors, and was a solid starter for the Dodgers before cashing in on a huge free-agent contract with the Rangers, for whom he was just awful (5.46 was his lowest ERA in three-plus years there).  His career looked to be over in 2007, when he made just one start for the Mets, struggled at AAA New Orleans and, after the Astros took a flier on him, at AAA Round Rock.

The resurrection came in 2008, when he returned to the Dodgers, this time in relief, a role he hadn’t been in since his rookie 1996 campaign.  He continued his success with the Phillies last year, and now will be with his sixth team in six years (seven if you count his half-season in the minors for Houston).

The biggest thing that Park gives the Yankees roster is a veteran presence in the bullpen.  Assuming they go with seven relievers, the staff will look like this:

  • Rivera - closer
  • Hughes or Chamberlain – setup/8th
  • Marte - lefthanded specialist/setup
  • Robertson - 6th or 7th inning setup
  • Park - 6th or 7th inning setup
  • Aceves - long relief/6th or 7th inning
  • Gaudin - long relief/spot start

Ramirez

I like how Park gives them added flexibility to move guys around.  That’s a much deeper bullpen than they started the season with last year, and with Jonathan Albaladejo, Mark Melancon, Boone Logan and Edwar Ramirez likely heading for AAA, there’s additional insurance if needed.

Sometimes these middle-relief deals have worked out for the Yankees (Mike Stanton, Tom Gordon), a lot of times they haven’t (LaTroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, Chris Hammond, Paul Quantrill, Steve Karsay, et al).  But this one is low-risk and, I think, high reward, especially since today’s teams regularly go through 10-12 relievers.

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More Grandy Goodies

Feb 9

Posted by Jerry Milani in New York Yankees | No Comments

courtesy Grand Kids Foundation www.grandkidsfoundation.com

Yankee fans are going to love Curtis Granderson.  I say that fully aware that if he hits .167 in April their patience will be tested.  Though it’s becoming more evident that the Tigers gave up on his potential for stardom more than his salary, I think he’ll be a great fit in the Yankees outfield and lineup.

More than that, he’s someone who really gets it.

Here is good piece by Bryan Hoch and Alden Gonzalez on MLB.com about Granderson’s efforts to fight obesity as part of a MLB program.  Granderson was the one who last off-season went to Europe with a group from the International Baseball Federation to pitch baseball’s 2016 Olympic bid, and he’s been lauded in Detroit for his Grand Kids Foundation and other charitable endeavors.

Right now it looks like Granderson has a spot, at least against all righthanders, probably in center field, where he’s played nearly every one of his almost 700 Major League games, but possibly in left depending on how the other outfield slots shake out.  The knock on Granderson, besides his high strikeout total, is his low production against southpaws.  That was the knock on Paul O’Neill when he came to New York, but the difference was that O’Neill was regularly benched against lefties, whereas Granderson has played against both sides for the past four years, mostly out of necessity in Detroit.

With the Yankees signing Randy Winn, claiming Jamie Hoffmann on Rule 5 and bringing in slugger Marcus Thames as a non-roster invitee, it seems the Yankees see Granderson playing in the 120 or so games in which the Yanks will face a righty, and maybe pinch hitting or running or coming in for outfield defense in the rest.

My pre-Spring Training Yankees lineup thoughts:

vs. RHP

  1. Jeter ss
  2. Johnson dh
  3. Teixeira 1b
  4. Rodriguez 3b
  5. Posada c
  6. Cano 2b
  7. Swisher rf
  8. Granderson cf
  9. Gardner lf

vs. LHP

  1. Jeter ss
  2. Johnson dh
  3. Teixeira 1b
  4. Rodriguez 3b
  5. Posada c
  6. Cano 2b
  7. Swisher rf
  8. Winn/Hoffmann lf
  9. Gardner cf

That’s pretty much the same both ways, with left/center field the wild cards.  Thames has even played some right field, though he’s played four times as many games in left, and Winn has played about a third of his 1500-plus career games in right, so unless there’s an injury, Swisher will probably match or exceed the 130 games he played there last year.

More on the Yankees roster after pitchers, catchers and PR guys report next week.

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