Managing the Yankees

Offense vs Defense! Jorge Posada or Jose Molina? Normally your first instinct is to go to Posada. And why not, Posada brings play-offs experience and instant offense to the Yankees. Posada is the only Major League catcher to ever have hit .330 or better with 40 doubles, 20 home runs, and 90 RBIs in a single season. Jorge Posada is a legitimate switch-hitting power hitter and in the clutch, he's money at the plate.

Sorry to disappoint you but Jose Molina is starting. Why?

REASON NO. 1 : Statistics don't lie!

Let's look at the statistics of Burnett when Posada is behind the plate:

• In 16 starts throwing to Posada, Burnett held opposing batters to a .270 average, going 5-5 with a 4.96 ERA in those games.

How about when Molina is catching for Burnett:

• In 11 starts with Molina, Burnett held opposing batters to only .221 average, going 5-2 with 3.28 ERA in those games.

REASON NO. 2 : Pitcher-Catcher relationship

During the season, Jose Molina spent most of his time on the bench. That gave him a great amount of time to talk to the pitching starting staff. Molina jokes with them, ask them their likes and dislikes, and knowing where they are comfortable with. It just happen Burnett and Molina started to click. They were able to build trust. Through consistency of playing together as battery mates they were able to get a rhythm that generated good outcome.

REASON NO. 3: "DEFENSE!"

Remember what happened in game 1 of the ALDS? Posada has two past ball that made Yankee Manager Joe Girardi worried. Errors should must be maintain to a minimum especially in the post-season. There is no debate here that Molina is a defensive upgrade. Not only does Molina catches better but he is also good in throwing out runners. A technique where the Twins want to take advantage of. The Twins plays small ball to compensate their lack of offense at the bottom of the order. With Molina behind the plate, the Twins will think twice before they run.

It's a big gutsy move on the part of the Yankee Manager Joe Girardi. Losing Posada's bat and if Burnett doesn't pitch well, Girardi will face scrutiny. But Girardi, who was the personal catcher for both Andy Pettitte and David Cone in the 1998 post-season, knows very well that in order to win games you should know where their players strength are. Burnett is much of a better pitcher with Molina as his battery mate.

During the 1998 season, Girardi only hit .238 but he managed to win 5 games and capturing the World Series crown. The pitchers that he used to catch (Pettitte and Cone) performed well during those games.

It's not like we are not going to see Posada in the entire game. Posada can replace Molina when Burnett is relieved of duty. Yes, the Yankees will miss Posada's offense. But that is only on 6-7 innings span. We have to make a gamble at some point. Do you want Posada in the line-up and Burnett having 5 earned runs in 6 innings, or with Molina hitting 0-4 but gaving Burnett 7-8 good innings with 1 run? All Burnett has to do is to keep the runs low for 6-7 innings and let Hughes-Rivera combination close it out.

We just have to trust the rest of the line-up to produce while Posada is out for 6-7 innings. With the line-up that the Yankees have, losing Posada is not so bad. Everybody in the Yankees batting order can hit. That's our advantage.

It's the defense that we need to give attention to. Defense wins championships! Keep the opponents offense at bay. Offense will follow.

Brian Duensing, LHP

According to mlb.com The Twins will put the rookie left-hander on the hill to start Game 1 against the Yankees. Duensing, who spent the early part of the season pitching for Triple-A Rochester, has made just nine Major League starts. After being moved into the rotation in on Aug. 22, Duensing has put up an impressive 5-1 record with a 2.59 ERA in nine games. The only time he has faced the Yankees in his career was in a relief role back in early July, in which he gave up four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.

How to beat him?

Get his pitch count up and stack our line-up with right handed and switch hitting batters. Here is starting line-up:

1.) Derek Jeter (bats right)
2.) Johnny Damon (bats left)
3.) Mark Teixeira (switch hitter)
4.) Alex Rodriguez (bats right)
5.) Hideki Matsui (bats left) (good in hitting left-handed pitchers)
6.) Jorge Posada (switch hitter)
7.) Nick Swisher (switch hitter)
8.) Robinson Cano (bats left)
9.) Melky Cabrera (switch hitter)

2 right handed hitters and 4 switch hitters. 3 left handed batters that can hit.

One way or the other, Twins pitcher Duensing will fold. Either by the pressure of the play-offs or the strength of the Yankees line-up where there are no holes and everybody can produce. Just be smart and be patient and wait for a good pitch.

Go Yankees!

Post-season has arrived. Games in the play-offs will be more tense and exciting. Coaching staff will busy scouting opponents strengths and weakness. Players will be pressured to produce and perform better than what is expected of them.

But one thing that every team or organization in baseball forget that the game is suppose to be fun and not purely business. Every team must have that kind of mentality to ease away the pressure in the play-offs. Just think like your a kid playing baseball in the park.

Look at Nick Swisher for example. Why is he a vital part of the Yankees lineup. He is just an average hitter and average fielder, but he brings something different to the team. Swisher brings a good attitude. It seemed that in the past couple of seasons the Yankees were not having fun and everything was tense. Listening to Nick Swisher in postgame interviews leads me to believe he lightens up the atmosphere around the clubhouse. He seems like the type of player that could keep the team in high spirits if they happen to lose one or two games to open a series.


These are the things that we don't normally see or is to attached on watching baseball stats and numbers. Have fun out there! It will rub-off your team-mates and your team. Winning games is easy when the team's mood is relaxed and poised.

Who would you want the Yankees to face in the play-offs? The Tigers or the Twins? The race is close in the American League Central. While the Yankees are relaxing and trading pie recipes, the 2 teams are battling it out and putting a lot of energy from the star players.

For Detroit: Pitcher Rick Porcello and Cy Young contender Justin Verlander needs to use their power arms just to get into the play-offs. Team manager Jim Leyland is aware that their ace Verlander has pitch "nine" 120-pitch games. The most by any pitcher in any of the past 4 seasons.

For Twins: They have to use another starter either Carl Pavano or Scott Baker. Not the dominant pitcher we are looking for. They need rest and don't have that luxury.

It's a tough task to these 2 teams. The winner at the end of the season would then have to hop on a plane after the game and fly to New York to play the Yankees the next night. The Yankees are well rested, have an advantage in the match-ups against these 2 teams, and have home court advantage.

After clinching the American League East, it's now time to rest our players. Let the bench start and play the remaining 6 games (3 with the Royals, 3 with the Rays). The main goal here is to stay sharp, stay relaxed and STAY HEALTHY!

The Yanks should all be fresh and healthy come play-off time. With a lot of veterans in the roster, it is a necessity to give some time off to avoid any injuries. Hideki Matsui has wobbly knees. In able to keep Matsui for the rest of the season, Joe Girardi gave Matsui a week off in Interleague games (since there is no DH). The same also applies to other Yankees veteran like A-Rod (surgical repaired hip), Posada (shoulder), and Damon (leg). The Yankees manager Girardi, will start Melky Cabrera in left and batted Brett Gardner in Damon's No. 2 spot. This is to avoid any leg injury to Johnny Damon who might be playing on the wet grass.

This is the perfect time to test other players and see what can they offer. By keeping Brett Gardner in the mix, it will give the speedster some momentum and confidence in the post-season. This is also an opportunity for Girardi to test David Robertson's condition and if the pitcher is capable of playing in the postseason. If Robertson doesn't have a setback in his right shoulder, Girardi is looking at getting him in the game against the Royals. The reliever has been inactive since feeling stiffness after a Sept. 5 outing against the Blue Jays.

Even with 6 no bearing games, the Yankees certainly must strike a balance between resting players and keeping them sharp for October.

Their is a big possibility that the Yanks will face the Tigers in the ALDS. So here is a scouting report on how to beat the Tigers.

OFFENSE:

Gerald Laird (.229 AVG/4 HR/32 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera (.329 AVG/32 HR/100 RBI)
Placido Polanco (.288 AVG/10 HR/71 RBI)
Brandon Inge (.228 AVG/27 HR/79 RBI)
Adam Everett (.235 AVG/3 HR/44 RBI)
Magglio Ordonez (.297 AVG/7 HR/42 RBI)
Curtis Granderson (.250 AVG/28 HR/68 RBI)
Carlos Guillen (.258 AVG/11 HR/40 RBI)
Aubrey Huff (.243 AVG/15 HR/85 RBI)

Marcus Thames (.250 AVG/13 HR/36 RBI)
Alex Avila (.276 AVG/5 HR/14 RBI)
Ramon Santiago (.272 AVG/7 HR/32 RBI)
Ryan Raburn (.286 AVG/14 HR/42 RBI)
Clete Thomas (.243 AVG/7 HR/39 RBI)

It's only Miguel Cabrera that gives an offensive threat. The rest of the line-up can be contained. There are a lot of holes in the Tiger's starting line-up that the Yanks' pitchers can take advantage of. Laird and Granderson are struggling against lefties. With CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte on the mound plus Coke and Marte on the Bullpen, Detroit's left handed batters will have a nightmare in the play-offs. Detroit can't seem to find a solution to the struggles against opponents left handed pitching.
The Yanks pitching and defense will dominate the Tiger's offense. Tiger's runs will be limited.

DEFENSE:

This is where it become scary. The Tiger's has a vicious starting rotation!

Starting Pitching:

Justin Verlander (3.41 ERA)
Edwin Jackson (3.36 ERA)
Rick Porcello (4.14 ERA)

But their bullpen has been horrible.

Bullpen:

Eddie Bonine (4.60 ERA)
Ryan Perry (4.03 ERA)
Fu-Te Ni (2.70 ERA)
Jeremy Bonderman (9.00 ERA)
Zach Miner (4.31 ERA)
Bobby Seay (3.88 ERA)
Brandon Lyon (2.82 ERA)
Nate Robertson (5.56 ERA)

Closer:
Fernando Rodney (4.35 ERA)

Here is the best solution to defeat Detroit's starting rotation. Make their pitch count high. Make their pitch 20 plus per inning. When they pass the ball to the bullpen that's the time we go crazy and score some runs. Just be patient and wait for a good pitch. The Yanks are deep with their line-up. Everybody can produce. We will score runs no matter what.

Here is a potential line-up for ALDS:

Starting Line-ups:

Jorge Posada (Catcher)
Mark Teixeira (1st Base)
Robinson Cano (2nd Base)
Alex Rodriguez (3rd Base)
Derek Jeter (Shortstop)
Johnny Damon (Left Field)
Melky Cabrera (Center Field)
Nick Swisher (Right Field)
Hideki Matsui (Designated Hitter)

Reserves:

Jose Molina (Catcher)
Brett Gardner (Center Field-Left Field)
Eric Hinske (Right Field-1st Base)
Jerry Hairston (Can play almost all position)
Freddy Guzman (Pinch Runner-Out Field)

Note: Jerry Hairston is questionable, i doubt if he could contribute due to his recent injury. That is why we added Freddy Guzman. His speed will be needed to pinch run in late games.

Starting Rotation:

CC Sabathia
AJ Burnett
Andy Pettitte

Note: Rotate these 3 Starting Pitchers for ALDS and let the remaining Starting pitching staff to the bullpen (Joba, Gaudin). With enough rest, CC can start ALDS game 4 if necessary and Burnett for game 5. These is the Play-offs! We can't afford another upset!

Relief Pitchers:

Joba Chamberlain
Chad Gaudin
Sergio Mitre
Damaso Marte
Alfredo Aceves
Phil Coke
Phil Hughes (Set-up)
Mariano Rivera (Closer)

Note: It's a short series. Yanks don't need to stack a lot of pitchers.