Taking a Stab at the Yankees Playoff Roster

When your magic number is zero for anything you can play for, the two things to do is avoid injury and try to sort out a playoff roster. The Yankees have some interesting decisions to make this year, starting with who the heck is in the rotation. As we whittle down from 40 here's my thoughts about who should be the 25 guys the Yankees head into the first round of the playoffs with (hint: I will not be picking Scott Proctor):

This awesome picture (which you have to enlarge) is from @CreatureTV

The Starting Pitching:
CC Sabathia is their number 1 starter and although he didn't reach 20 wins this season, this was his best season in Pinstripes--and it's not even close. He had his best K/9, BB/9, HR/9, LOB%, ERA, FIP, xFIP, and has really taken the Yankees on his big back this year. I know Justin Verlander is a lock for the Cy Young, but there is a case to be made that Sabathia has actually had a better season. I won't make it, though. He's their numbers 1. And, for that division series, he should be going twice in the first four games. Yup, that means a 3-man rotation for the Division Series. I was a little worried about CC since his numbers have been pretty abnormal since that no-hitter start which kept on getting delayed because of rain, but if injury is not a concern, he should be going in Games 1 and 4 of the ALDS.

If Ivan Nova hadn't spent a decent amount of time in the minors this year, I think he runs away with Rookie of the Year. He's a very similar pitcher as Chien-Ming Wang--a groundball pitcher who gets a few strikeouts and relies on his fielders to make the plays around him. The difference may be that Nova has a chance to keep this up long-term as he has flashed the ability to finish off people with the strikeout. Now he just needs to stay healthy. Either way, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down this season (unlike Hughes last year) and he's my pick to go in Games 2 and 5.

At any time this season (before probably two weeks ago) I told you that Freddy Garcia would be my pick for the number three starter, I would have even told myself I was crazy. But Phil Hughes has been dealing with back spasms, Bartolo Colon has been dealing with slowing down, and A.J. Burnett has been dealing with being himself. Colon has had the much better season overall, Hughes has the brighter future, and Burnett has the best chance of being dominant, but Garcia gives you consistency which is what the Yankees desperately need in Game 3. Colon hasn't won a game since July and since is 0-4 with a 5.58 ERA, .845 OPS, and 9 HR allowed in 50 innings. Garcia is nothing special and has had some injury issues but he's gone at least 6 innings in 17 of his 26 starts which is what the Yankees need out of their playoff starter with the bullpen they'll put out there. If Colon rocks it tomorrow, I may change my mind, but right now I go with Garcia.

Starting Lineups:
Against righties:
1. Brett Gardner
2. Derek Jeter
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Robinson Cano
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Mark Teixeira
7. Nick Swisher
8. Eric Chavez/Jorge Posada/Jesus Montero
9. Russell Martin

Against lefties:
1. Derek Jeter
2. Curtis Granderson
3. Mark Teixeira
4. Robinson Cano
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Nick Swisher
7. Jesus Montero/Andruw Jones
8. Russell Martin
9. Brett Gardner

Before you get all in a huff, let me explain position-by-position.

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View From The Seats: Yankees vs. The Team That Will Knock The Red Sox Out Of The Playoffs

The Yankees look pretty hung over from their champagne celebration last night: it's 7-0 Rays in the bottom of the 3rd. Tampa didn't waste any time, either, recording three runs before the Yankees recorded an out in the top of the first. Either the Rays have come back with a renewed sense of determination after losing the first three games of this series with their season on the line, or the Yankees' quadruple-A lineup is just overmatched and the team in general is tired and complacent after securing the AL East title last night. I'm going a bit more with the latter. The Yanks just look a little bit unfocused, which is more or less expected and, frankly, not a huge concern right now.

The upside is that a Rays win (assuming they hold on) would keep the pressure on the Red Sox, who seem intent on outdoing the 2007 Mets for the biggest September collapse in MLB history. So at least there's that.

Special H/T to Sonak for the primo seats!

"It's getting late early"

A couple Saturdays ago I was forced to make a trip to the local cable company’s offices. They had a huge satellite dish outside which prompted my kids to ask “What is this place?” I told them without hesitation
“This is the cable company, the worst of all the companies!”

We were forced to make the trip because of the recent shift to all digital which meant I HAD to get a cable box even though my tv is cable ready.

I wanted to share a couple links (one from Lifehacker, the other from Business Insider) to articles discussing the increasingly popular concept of cutting out cable and going straight to internet based programming. First off let me be clear that I am not tech savvy, I use a computer all day and do not want to look at one when I go home at night. I do not know much about Apple TV or Google TV or vehicles of similar functionality. What I do know is that if it were not for live sports, there is limited need for cable tv. News, and weather info can be accessed with ease and with unlimited options via internet. The links above talk to what the current options with sports. There is still the argument for HBO series and other tv original programming that are not all available on the net. It is an interesting topic, where we have just seen the beginning of the trend of people getting rid of cable, it’s highly logical since you end up paying for a lot of stuff that you never watch.

The most frustrating sport in regards to the internet has to be MLB who is very tight in allowing use of it’s video. That seems to have changed with Full Count launched today in conjunction with Yahoo

On my ride home last Friday NPR radio was talking about how this year in baseball was the first season where you may not have any real pennant races since they started the wildcard. Since then the Rays pulled off a weekend sweep of the Sawx and things have tightened.

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Remembering 9/11

As a particularly nostalgic person, I find myself in an interesting position, writing a piece about the 10^th anniversary of 9/11.  The attacks took place at a particularly critical juncture of my life and in my development as a human being.  I was a senior in high school, preparing to apply to college and transitioning to the beginning of adulthood.  In fact, I was in my high school guidance office dropping off college paperwork when I overheard one of the guidance counselors mention that the White House had been evacuated.  Only later that morning was this information solidified via an announcement by our principal over the PA system.

The whole experience was surreal, in the most negative sense possible.  Looking back, I don’t think that I truly grasped the magnitude of what had occurred.  I was neither fearful, nor fearless.  After all, I was in the midst of applying to college and trying to improve my SAT scores.  To make matters more difficult, my grandfather passed away less than a month later and then my grandmother passed only a few weeks later.  It was the first time in my life that I really had to deal with the loss of family that was close to me.

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Announcing the NYaT Survivor League

Hey!, 

You have been invited to join our Private Group in Yahoo! Sports Survival Football.

In order to join the group, just go to Survival Football, and click the "Join a Group" button. From there, enter the following information...

Group ID#: 25153
Password: 24

The commissioner of this group has sent the following note:
--------------------------------------------------------
Join our survivor/suicide league. Bragging rights are at stake once again!
--------------------------------------------------------

-- Survival Football Commissioner/Blogmaster, Andrew Katz
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/survival

View From The Seats: Mets vs. Marlins at Citi Field

Elissa and I moved to NYC today, and our first order of business was seeing the Mets take on the Marlins here at Citi Field. (Note: this was not my idea. I would have preferred a Yankees game, but alas they are up at Fenway tonight).

It's a beautiful night and the LOLMets are up 4-2 in the 5th, thanks in large part to David Wright's two-run single. But the highlight of the night was the Keith Hernandez sighting you can see below. In case you're wondering, and I know you are, his mustache looks as glorious in real life as it does on those Just For Men commercials. A touch of gray gets me every time.

UPDATE: I just caught a tshirt from a tshirt gun! Full extension, and I dove across a pretty girl to grab it. (H/T Sarah). Upside = bright orange color, nice Mets logo on front. Downside = an even larger "Pepsi Max T-Shirt Launch 2011" logo on the back, XL sizing. Still pretty cool, though!