Belated Previews: AL & NL East

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

New Arrival – You can’t mention newcomers to this division without bringing up Francisco Rodriguez, the new Met closer, who helps strengthen the back of the Met bullpen, but what about JJ Putz? Putz (pictured) will likely man the 8th inning for the Mets and if he can return to 2007 form (1.38 ERA, 82 strikeouts in 71.2 innings), Met starters can comfortably turn over the game and head to the locker room knowing their win can be preserved.

We Won’t Will Won’t Miss You? – The Marlins typically trade their entire team each off-season, but one impact player to leave the NL East not from the Fish is Pat Burrell, who leaves with a ring, although one can argue he didn’t contribute much to it. Burrell went 1-for-14 in the World Series and leaves Philadelphia a career .257 hitter with 1273 strikeouts in 9 seasons, but Pat the Bat did hit 251 home runs in those 9 seasons. The Phillies think they upgraded with the addition of Raul Ibanez, who is a much better fielder than Burrell, but time will tell if Ibanez can replace Burrell’s career average of 31 home runs and 103 RBI per season.

How They’ll Finish:

1. Phillies – The champs are the favorite in the NL East with the best infield in the majors as three players (Utley, Howard, Rollins) are arguably the best at their position. The outfield leaves a lot to be desired as Ibanez isn’t a sure bet in left, but their pitching should be consistent if everyone stays healthy. Watch for Cole Hamels to follow up his stellar postseason with a Cy Young type year.
2. Mets – Pitching wins championships and that’s why the Mets still finish second in the division. Sure, they helped their bullpen out a lot, but after Johan Santana, can you really count on Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Livan Hernandez to carry you to the World Series? I don’t think so. Perez is inconsistent at best, Pelfrey had one good year and should continue to develop. Maine is a question mark and what does Livan have left in the tank? The Mets hope he has a lot. There’s also no way Carlos Delgado duplicates his 2008 season at age 37.
3. Marlins – They have a new stadium coming and every six years or so, the Fish win the World Series. I think the Marlins are still a couple pieces short of the postseason in 2009, but don’t count the future Miami Marlins out entirely in the NL East race – they’ll stay in the race for a while and could win the division in 2010.
4. Braves – The Braves are a team in decline and the Derek Lowe signing doesn’t do them any favors in the rebuilding process. After a nice long run in the 1990s, the Braves need to strip their team and completely rebuild, an unenviable task for any GM.
5. Nationals – The addition of Adam Dunn gives the Nats a player that baseball fans have actually heard of. They chased Mark Teixeira who chose pinstripes instead of the nation’s capitol and did so because of the chance to win. It will be a long time before the Nats flirt with .500.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Ah yes, my favorite division.  I think that three of the five teams in the AL East are going to win at least 90 games, which should make for an interesting and historically tight race. Which team will come out on top?

New Arrival – While the $160 million man CC Sabathia has garnered much of the media attention and hype in the Bronx, AJ Burnett (pictured) is a key acquisition for the Yankees. In 10 years in the bigs Burnett has only been healthy enough to pitch 200 innings three times – each in a contract year. Burnett won’t have a contract year for another five years and the Yankees hope he can shake the injury bug so he doesn’t wind up like another former Marlin who signed with the Yankees after a big year – Carl Pavano.

We (Might) Miss You – Maybe he hasn’t departed yet, but with the Blue Jays pretty far out of contention this year, start the Roy Halladay trade watch. Halladay is only under contract through 2010 and could fetch a king’s ransom if the Blue Jays decide to trade him. The only way Toronto is going to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox is going the way of the Rays and building from the farm system. That means trading Halladay by July 31.

How They’ll Finish:

1. Yankees – It’s almost too close to call, but if the Yankees stay healthy they will win at least 95 games and the AL East title. With 18 game winner Chien-Ming Wang as your number 3 starter, there are few teams in baseball that can rival the Yankees rotation depth. If Joba Chamberlain is their fifth starter, their sixth and seventh starters are highly touted (although less so after a disastrous 2008) Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Hughes is the real deal and is a future Cy Young candidate. Pitching wins championships and the Yanks win the East.
2. Red Sox – They made great pickups in the off-season taking fliers on John Smoltz, Rocco Baldelli, and Takashi Saito to bolster their depth. Their pitching staff is good, but can Wakefield and Smoltz (each over 40) each shoulder the load of the rotation that is expected to go deep into October? If not, Clay Buchholz is a more-than suitable replacement.
3. Rays – Let’s be real for a minute. They are arguably more talented this year than last with the eventual arrival of David Price, but their bullpen has HUGE questions, starting with who is going to close? Watch for a Mets-like collapse because of bullpen problems as the Rays fade away back to a *mediocre* (only in the AL East) 88-90 wins.
4. Orioles – Future rookie sensation Matt Wieters is the real deal and will jump into the MVP race when he gets called up, let alone the Rookie of the Year race. Adam Jones continues to develop and they have one of the most exciting players in the league in Nick Markakis, but alas, someone has to lose games in this division.
5. Blue Jays– Picked to finish last because of age (Vernon Wells, Scott Rolen, et al) in their lineup, not in their rotation. Their starters are pretty good and will strike out a lot of hitters, but with a so-so offense behind them, the starters can’t win games.

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

I never made it to the original Yankee Stadium, it was torn down before I was born.  For as long as I could remember I spent at least one summer afternoon or evening at baseball’s cathedral in the Bronx.  In my lifetime, I think I’ve been to Yankee Stadium somewhere between 60 – 100 times and there’s no way to tell given that I only started collecting my ticket stubs over the past 2-3 years.

This year, while my 5-9 record won’t indicate it, I saw some great games.  A personal high, 14 games seen in person this summer.  Two against Boston, two against the Mets in the final year of Yankee Stadium.

I’ve watched hundreds of games on tv.  I saw all four clinching outs of the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 World Series’ and can still hear Joe Buck say “The Yankees are champions of baseball!” when Charlie Hayes caught the last out at Yankee Stadium in 1996.  I can still see Wade Boggs riding the horse and him being given a helmet at the parade down the canyon of heroes.  I saw Jim Abbott‘s no-hitter at my cousin’s house on Long Island.  I watched the games after 9/11 and Aaron Boone’s home run against Tim Wakefield in 2003.

I don’t remember exactly, but I think my first game was against Texas sometime in the very late 1980s or the early 1990s.  I’ve been to games in rain, snow, and sun.  I’ve been there for bat day, days celebrating the lives of Phil Rizzuto and Joe DiMaggio, and for Old Timers’ Day.  I’ve been to monument park at least a dozen times.  I’ve taken my friends on tours of the park, pointing out all the retired numbers and where I sat for some of my most memorable games.  I’ve sat in every section you could possible sit in: field level, main box, loge, both upper deck sections, and the bleachers.  I’ve chanted “Boston Sucks,” worn the shirt and been told to cover it up.  I’ve been to opening days, the last game of the regular season, and a ton of games in between.  I almost caught a foul ball last year, but I misplayed it and the ball hit me in the arm and bounced back a row. I’ve taken the Stadium tour, sat on the the dugout bench, and been in the clubhouse.  I saw the black square hanging from one locker with the white “15” on it, and i hit the sign from the clubhouse to the dugout with the immortal words of Joe DiMaggio: “I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee.”

While I don’t remember the first time I was at the Stadium, I will remember the last, Thursday night, a win over the Chicago White Sox.  Since I got back home after that game, I have compiled a list of the top ten games I have been to in my life at Yankee Stadium, evoking my favorite memories of baseball, Yankee Stadium, and the summer.  If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said I haven’t really been to many special occasions at Yankee Stadium in my life, missing some milestones by one day (A-Rod‘s 500th home run, Derek Jeter passing Lou Gehrig for the all-time hits record at Yankee Stadium). When I made this list, though, I realized that I have been to a lot of special occasions at the Stadium.  I had a terrible time ranking these, because they are each special memories to me, so let me share them with you:

10.  Yankees vs. Mets [June 27, 2008] – This was the last Subway Series game to ever be played at Yankee Stadium and it was also part one of a subway doubleheader, where the Yankees hosted game one and the Mets hosted game two.  The Yanks got clobbered behind Carlos Delgado‘s nine RBIs, but it was cool to be there for that.  Box Score.

9. Yankees vs. Twins [July 2, 2007] – In this game, on his third or fourth attempt, Roger Clemens secured career win number 350, a number I thought would never be reached ever again (Greg Maddux did it this year). Box Score.

8. Yankees vs. Blue Jays [June 3, 2008] – Joba Chamberlain‘s first start.  I’ve never seen so much excitement leading up to a game than Joba’s first start.  The Yanks lost and Chamberlain left in the third inning, but this was a dawning of a new era to many Yankee fans and people were screaming and taking pictures the whole pre-game.  Box Score.

7. Yankees vs. Cubs [June 18, 2005] – Not only was this the first regular season series between two of baseball’s most historic teams, but after a little over nine years in the big leagues, Derek Jeter hit his first career grand slam.  Box Score.

6. Yankees vs. Red Sox [May 7, 1994] – I think this was my first Yankee-Red Sox game and it featured Clemens and Melido Perez.  Somehow the Bronx Bombers won this one, but what I remember the most about this game was that it is my earliest memory of monument park.  I remember being in monument park and we walked right next to the visitor’s bullpen where Clemens was preparing for the start.  I could barely see over the wall there, but my Dad lifted me up and showed me Clemens throwing, not five feet from me.  Box Score.

5. Yankees vs. Devil Rays [September 27, 1998] – Last day of the regular season.  We sat on the main level of the left field outfield.  Shane Spencer, the September hero of 1998, hit a grand slam and Bernie Williams won the batting title that day.  Williams had gone back into the locker room and when people were standing, screaming for him, someone had to go get him and Bernie came out with his pants on, a t-shirt, sandals and his glasses for the curtain call.  Box Score.

Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees on Opening Day 1996

4. Yankees vs. Royals [April 9, 1996] – Opening Day, 1996, in the snow.  Fresh off their first postseason appearance since the 1980s, Don Mattingly and Buck Showalter were gone and this was the beginning of the Joe Torre/Derek Jeter era.  We were sitting in right field in the last occupied section of the loge (amazing how the place wasn’t always sold out until they started winning championships again).  I was at the end and I kept complaining to my Dad about how cold I was.  He was about ready to smack me when he got up and noticed that my whole right side was covered in snow.  I think we lasted four to five innings of the Yankee win.  Box Score.

Paul Simon on Joe DiMaggio Day

3. Yankees vs. Blue Jays [April 25, 1999] – Joe DiMaggio Day.  The Yankee Clipper had passed away a few months earlier and this was George Steinbrenner‘s tribute to him.  Paul Simon came out and sang Mrs. Robinson in centerfield.  Although I never saw DiMaggio play, I was smart enough to realize that he was one of the best and most revered Yankees of all-time and it was an emotional day.  Box Score.  Video.

2. Yankees vs. Rangers [April 26, 1995] – Opening Day after the strike.  My father pulled me out of school for this and that alone is worth being in the top five memories.  Fathers and sons at baseball game, passing the love of the game on, is really what baseball is all about.  One of my favorites of this era, Jimmy Key, made the start for the Yanks.  I remember that my father and I went down early to see the players and Reggie Jackson was there, signing autographs and some of the other players signed too.  My other favorite, Paul O’Neill, walked into the ballpark and didn’t wave or anything. I love the guy for the way he played the game, but when baseball was trying to earn fans’ respect back, that wasn’t the way to do it.

1. Yankees vs. Red Sox [July 1, 2004] – Derek Jeter diving into the stands.  Yankee-Boston games are always special, but this game had the feel of a World Series game.  In the top of the 12th, Trot Nixon popped a ball up near the stands on the third base side of the field, a ball that, from our seats in the first row of the upper deck on the foul side of the right field foul pole, was clearly going into the stands was snagged by Jeter as he dove into the stands.  Wow.  That’s what everyone in the place said.  He was banged up and needed help being brought back to the dugout, but that was a baseball player.  This also marked the only time that A-Rod played shortstop with the Yankees, replacing Jeter in the field in the top of the 13th with Gary Sheffield moving to third base.  The Yanks won in the bottom of the 13th when John Flaherty pinch hit for Tanyon Sturtze (with all the defensive changes, the Yanks needed starting DH Bernie Williams in the field, so they sacrificed the DH) and hit a double down the left field line, scoring Miguel Cairo. I’ve seen two Stanley Cup final games in my life and they don’t come close to the energy in Yankee Stadium after the win that night.  There was constant screaming and excitement on the way down the ramps and you couldn’t hear anything.  That memory represents how special the Yankees and Yankee Stadium are.

Honorable Mentions: Derk Jeter going for Gehrig’s record against he White Sox on September 15, 2008 with a ton of camera flashes; seeing Joba Chamberlain’s father Harlan on April 3, 2008 and everyone stopping and chanting Joba’s name; the day the Yankees were given their 1996 World Series rings in 1997 (don’t remember the date and would appreciate help!).

We all have our special memories of Yankee Stadium.  I don’t agree with them tearing it down and I will miss it.  The Stadium was like my second home in the summer, especially since I’ve gotten older and bought my own ticket packs.  I will cherish the memories of the games I have been to, many I can’t remember right now, and allow the Stadium to live on through those memories.

As we approach 8:00 and the first pitch of the last game of the Stadium, I warn that next year will not be the same and the new Yankee Stadium won’t replace the old, but I guess that’s what my father would say about this stadium.  I have taken a ton of pictures and will always remember Yankee Stadium as an important part of my summers.  The players changed, the teams changed, but Yankee Stadium was always a constant.

For now though, the only thing left to say is Goodbye.