Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Yankees 2009

Each year, I feel like I start out the beginning of each baseball season saying how I'm less enthusiastic about the Yankees than I was the year before. This year will be no different.

I'm very concerned about the team's prospects this year. Their starting rotation is quite good, and should be pretty durable. CC Sabathia and Chien-Ming Wang will be a nice 1-2 but there are still some questions. I don't think Sabathia will be as strong an ace as say, Johan Santana but given the money he's getting he will be expected to be. AJ Burnett should be decent, Andy Pettitte should suffice as a #4 and Joba Chamberlain belongs in the rotation. The minors seem to have enough pitching depth in case Joba runs out of gas or there is an injury. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy had nice springs, Kei Igawa and Brett Tomko were both also amazing during the spring time. This staff should be a nice upgrade over last year, but the Red Sox have a very formidable pitching staff out there and I'm not sure the Yankees are as good.

The bullpen is very strong. Mariano Rivera appears well after his shoulder surgery. Again, the minor leagues seem well stocked enough to fill in if any of the bullpen arms go down.

As for the lineup, this is where things are a little tricky. While Giambi and Abreu didn't have great seasons last year, the only acquisition the Yankees have made is Mark Teixeira, who will not be able to make up the production of both these players. Add in the loss of A-Rod, the unpredictable returns of Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui (who can't play DH at the same time) and the increased age of Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, there has to be some concern on the run scoring side. Nick Swisher should be starting over Xavier Nady, but this probably won't make a huge difference for now. Brett Gardner brings an extra dimension to the game that will be fun to watch, but again the production improvement over Melky Cabrera probably is not going to be huge. So the projected lineup is something like: Jeter SS, Damon CF, Teixeira 1B, Matsui DH, Nady RF, Posada C, Cano 2B, Ransom 3B, Gardner CF. Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, and Jose Molina will also likely see a lot of time in the lineup. If Matsui and Posada do not perform as they had in the past (and it would be difficult as they are coming off surgery and one year older).

Finally, long term, the Yankees are going to have a huge dilemma when it comes to Derek Jeter. This is probably the most depressing decision they'll have to face in the future. Jeter has been getting a lot of flack lately for his defense, especially during the WBC when he was playing ahead of Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies. His contract will expire after the 2010 season, and it's not clear what the Yankees will do with him after that. He can't move to 3B or 1B as those positions are locked up for years to come. The only other options would be for him to go to the outfield or stay at SS. If his play is truly deteriorating, and few shortstops ever finish their careers at the position, then he would need to go to the OF. If between Cabrera or Gardner, one is the CF of the future, then that position is locked up. That would leave RF or LF remaining. At least one of these is traditionally a power position. In essence, Jeter will stay at SS, convert to the OF in a position he has never played or no longer be a Yankee. Given his salary and superstar status, it's hard to think that the Yankees wouldn't re-sign him but where will he play?

Jay Cutler Part 2

Well, that didn't take long.

One week after saying that Jay Cutler wouldn't be traded, the Denver Broncos have announced that their QB is on the block.

There need to be some real questions about Jay Cutler's maturity and attitude. I can't stress this enough. He is not the first player who has been subject to trade rumors or even the first player to have been traded. His reaction to the non-trade is remarkable. Refusing to even talk with the team after they tried to make amends can only hurt his trade value anyway. If he really wanted out it would have been better to at least not look like such a crybaby.

As for the Jets, they really have to avoid any of the media and populist fan pressure to get Cutler and just stick to their plan. They have a first year head coach and need to avoid the temptation for a big arm. We know Cutler can throw, and he is certainly more talented than the current QB's, but does he really fit into the system the Jets are trying to build? The Jets currently have dispensed with last year's #1 receiver and their top RB is holding out from voluntary workouts due to unhappiness with his contract. Cutler is also going to come at a big price. I'd rather they concentrate on keeping Jones around, keeping their draft picks and adding at a number of positions. After all, TO is more talented than the Jets WR's and they didn't pursue him. The same principle should apply with Cutler.

I hope they learn from last year when they abandoned their off-season plan and added a talented but risk-taking QB. Things didn't mesh well. Let's not forget that Kerry Rhodes has said on numerous occasions he doesn't like Cutler. There are good vibes for the Rex Ryan era right now, let's not ruin it.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Correlation vs Causation

Better to just let this speak for itself...


Found on xkcd.com

Via: Freakonomics blog

Yankees Tickets Part 2

I received an email stating that tickets for Yankee Stadium's opening week were still available. I entered a search for 2 tickets, best available on 4/18. The result? You guessed it, two tickets at $2625 each - "Legends level." The next level up, Field level, at $375 a pop also had 2 tickets available. But there was nothing to be found for Main Level or less (tickets under $150). So we get it - the Yankees aren't able to sell their premium tickets. If this continues they should just auction off the $2625 tickets off. There must be some demand, the price must just be too high.

Update: How can the Yankees expect to sell these "Legends" seats if seats on Stubhub in these sections are available from $500-$1000 a seat?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Pearl Jam: Ten Reissue



Pearl Jam has re-issued their debut album, "Ten" today with a huge set of unreleased tracks and a new, harsher mix. This brings it back to the old days - check this video out about 3 minutes into the song when Eddie Vedder takes a dive into the crowd. Remarkably there are a lot of YouTube videos of him climbing equipment and jumping around from the early 90's. Back then, weren't video cameras a lot bigger and harder to sneak into arenas? This particular clip looks like it's from a tv show but there are a lot of bootleg videos on YouTube. It's definitely pre-camera phone era stuff, I wonder how all this video exists!

Yankees Tickets


I just did a search for 4 tickets via TICKETMASTER for a Yankees game vs the A's on 4/20, "Best Available"

Here's my result:

Section 19, Row 1, $2625.00 per ticket with $59.70 service charge.

That's $2625 PER TICKET! Besides not having the money (and probably not the credit limit) I don't really feel comfortable making that purchase online!

You know, the more I think about it, at $2600 a pop, couldn't they waive the service charge?

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Domino's Bailout

I just saw an ad for the Domino's bailout promotion. With this deal you have the choice of any three medium one-topping pizzas or sandwiches (any combination) for $15.

For some reason I find it both amazing and frightening that the cost of labor and ingredients for Domino's to produce a medium, one-topping pizza is less than $5. I guess flour is cheap.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Along with my Star Trek chair...

Maybe a little Tiberius cologne? I like the "Red Shirt, because tomorrow may never come."

Via Crave

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Kirk's Chair

I would never think to get Kirk's chair for my living room (independent of living in a small apartment in New York) but it's very popular among Star Trek fans. For some reason I found this article quite funny. I'm also shocked the first place I'm reading about this fad is in the NY Times, which is generally behind on trends and nerdy-type things.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

More on SVU

Last night's SVU with guest stars Carol Burnett and Matthew Lillard as guest stars. They played some characters with really quirky personalities too. This year's SVU has had an amazing track record of guest stars in general. A strong episode just in time for sweeps.

Battlestar Galactica at the UN

I like Battlestar Galactica, but I can't decide if this is silly or cool.

Via Newsarama

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Forrest Gump?

Am I the only one who thinks of Forrest Gump every time I see a movie that takes place through multiple eras? Cases in point: Benjamin Button definitely had the feeling of Forrest Gump as Brad Pitt grew young through the ages. Watchmen has a little of that flavor too, with the songs from multiple eras and flashbacks from the 50's through the 70's (and the opening credits). Now here comes the Wolverine film, with shots in the trailer of Wolverine fighting in the Civil War and WWII. All I can think of is Gump when I see the trailer. Granted, I didn't feel this way about Dewey Cox, which also took place over multiple decades, so maybe it's only a thing I'm noticing.

Jay Cutler

To the Jets:

Please don't acquire Jay Cutler. Sure, he has a great throwing arm, and he's probably better than anyone that the team currently has. But the way he's reacting lately to the situation with the Broncos is extremely out of proportion compared to what has actually happened. And remember when he had a mini-feud with Philip Rivers? I believe Kerry Rhodes also said "I don't like him" after the team lost to the Broncos last year. It's tempting but don't do it!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Netflix: 1 month and 4 days later

So I've made some headway on my Netflix queue of "long wait" and "very long wait." I have a one disc per month plan that more or less ends up being 1-2 discs per week.

At last glance
, nearly a month ago, on the queue under "long wait" and "very long wait" were:
Wall-E
Pineapple Express
Hulk Vs
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

As of this post, I have received and seen Wall-E, Hulk Vs and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Pretty good progress. But I've also added Wonder Woman (animated) and Role Models to my queue, both of which are now added to the "very long wait" category. I guess I'm just picking the most popular movies?

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Iron Man: Iron Popper

It's like Snood only with Iron Man. Wow, did I ever kill tons of hours at work with Snood! Very fun.

Iron Popper

Via The Beat

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Jeopardy - Music

This singer has released albums with Eddie Vedder and Justin Timberlake.

Who is Chris Cornell?

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Orange Listerine is Sort of Gross

I just picked up some Orange Listerine instead of the Blue Listerine I usually use. This orange flavor is gross. It is sort of like a strange mint-orange wth alcohol that tastes even worse after you brush your teeth with mint tooth[aste. Listerine in general tastes strange and this flavor certainly wins the prize!