Unit to Start on Opening Day

The suspense was killing me. Would it be Game 7 goat Kevin Brown? Would it be Jaret Wright? Maybe it would be a surprise start like Mike Stanton. I just had no idea. Luckily, today, Joe Torre finally ended the waiting.

That's right. It's official; Randy Johnson is starting Opening Night Day for the Yankees. He'll square off against David Wells as the Yankees look to start the season off by utterly pounding the World Champions. Is it too early to start chanting 2-oh-oh-4?

In all seriousness, I don't think many Yankee fans had too many doubts as to who would start Opening Day since the Big Unit arrived in pinstripes a few months ago. As one of the most dominant lefties in history, RJ would be the logical choice to start everyone's Opening Day. While the Yanks waited until today to announce the decision, the media had proclaimed him the Opening Day when it was discovered that Curt Schilling could have faced off against Randy Johnson on Opening Day. Schilling's rehab has since made the point moot.

The Yankees could not have picked a better day to annoint Johnson their Opening Day starter. He faced the beast of the NL East today and utterly silenced them. He gave up one hit and one walk while striking out eight in six innings. He took a no-hitter into the fifth. Of course, the Braves were the victims during Randy's perfect game this year, but this is still an encouraging sign.

The Unit is primed to start the season, and with any luck, his regular season Yankee debut will look as pretty as today's start did.

Stealth Yankee Operations

I know who stole Roger Clemens' infamous Hummer.

It wasn't some Houston kid looking for a joy ride. No, it was George Steinbrenner. Or at least, one of George's henchmen.

Think about. The Yankees give Roger Clemens this Hummer as a retirement present. They wanted to thank him for those years of service to the team that included a few World Championship appearances. They wanted to thank one of the most prolific strike out pitchers of all time. And what better way to feed the Rocket's already overblown ego than with a Hummer, the most ridiculous of vehicles on the road today.

But then, something happened. Roger Clemens unretired! He went to pitch in the National League. He went to pitch for the Houston Astros as a show of loyalty to his home town team. Now, Steinbrenner knows loyalty, but his loyalty involves the Bronx Bombers, not the Houston Astros. He was incensed, furious when Clemens unretired. Furious! That was after all, $50,000 that belong to the cash-strapped Yankees.

So to get his revenge, Steinbrenner orchestrated a covert operation to reclaim the Hummer. All was going along fine and dandy until someone told him that an Orange Hummer would be a bit of challenge to conceal on the streets of Tampa Bay. One with a Texas license plate would be a bit conspicuous to say the least.

Instead of Operation Relcaim the Rocket's Hummer, the Yankees simply left the vehicle in a parking lot in Houston and had to be content with knowing that Roger suffered while his precious car was gone.

Case closed.

The Trappings of Spring Training Stats

Spring Training stats are great. After four months of baseball trades, signings, and rumors, the stats that come out of Spring Training are tangible evidence that baseball is happening again. Plus, when else would Gabe Gross lead the Majors in home runs and Tony Womack be hitting .488? Spring Training stats allow imaginations to run wild with scenarios of "what if."

What if Jose Reyes keeps stealing all these bases? What if Carl Everett or Troy Glaus lead their respective leagues in RBIs? What if Carlos Zambrano really does pitch to an ERA of 0.00 all year long? These things don't happen, but it's fun to imagine.

There is also a downside to Spring Training stats. For many pitchers, Spring Training is a time to tune up. While batters are working on their timing, pitchers are fiddling with their mechanics or picking up new pitches. Sometimes, they'll throw just off-speed pitchers for five innings. Or maybe they'll just go with straight fastballs for 30 pitches. In the end, stats suffer.

That's just what happened to Tom Gordon in the Yankees' 9-4 loss to the Reds this evening. Gordon threw one inning and surrendered six hits and five runs. He also recorded two strike outs. Gordon's spring stats before tonight were good. He had nine strike outs in seven innings and had given up just five hits and two earned runs. His earned run average will now bloat to something just under 8.00.

But for Tom Gordon, it doesn't matter. Tonight was a night of fiddling and adjusting. He's still struck out 11 in eight innings this spring. While his ERA ain't pretty, he's only walked two batters in those eight innings. He missed tonight inside the zone.

So don't worry about those spring stats. Don't worry when Randy Johnson gives up five runs because he threw only breaking balls for four innings. Don't worry about Tom Gordon's high ERA. If you want to worry about Spring Training stats, look behind those numbers. Look at Mike Mussina and his four strike outs in 13 innings. That's much more of a concern than Tom Gordon's outing.

With those Spring Training stats, which are so fun to fantasize over, it's all about knowing which ones matter and which ones do not.

Position Battles Highlight Lack of Depth

When you're the New York Yankees, Spring Training isn't really about any position battles. It's not about watching your starting second baseman and starting right fielder retire as the Devil Rays had to do this week. It's really about tuning up for a tough season with high expections. That's not to say that there aren't position battles in Tampa right now. There are, and the disturbing thing about the Yankees' position fights is just how much they highlight the lack of outfield depth on this team.

For their starting three, the Yanks have 36-year-old Gary Sheffield in right, 36-year-old Bernie Williams and his aching knees, back, and shoulders in center, and the young Hideki Matsui who will turn 31 on my mom's birthday. That's hardly a paragon of youth, and the one falling apart the most is expected to anchor the team up the middle.

The situation on the bench is bleak as well. The Yankees' fourth outfielder is, get this, Ruben Sierra. Ten years ago, Sierra would have been a great back-up outfielder, but now that he's 39, his days of playing the field effectively are just about over. So that leaves the Yankees with a choice to make: Who's going to back up Bernie Williams?

Will it be Damian Rolls who can lay claim to a .125 Spring Training batting average and a career line of .248/.291/.337? Will it be Doug Glanville who hasn't had an OBP over .300 since the waning days of the Clinton Presidency? Or will it be Bubba Crosby, a young lefty who hit 2 home runs quickly last year and then stopped hitting altogether?

Strangely, it seems that Joe Torre may be leaning toward Damian Rolls because he can play the infield positions as well as second base. Personally, I would choose Crosby. You can't go too wrong with youth. But even Bubba is not a very good solution, and therein lies the problem.

It's exceedingly likely that the Yanks will need a capable back-up centerfielder this year much like they needed Kenny Lofton last year. Bernie's body cannot withstand the physical toll of a 162-game season; he could barely take Spring Training. So as the Yankees' depleted farm system has turned up empty yet again, the back-up outfielder may be some guy who gets on base less than 30 percent of the time. An injury would be devastating.

Who Are You?

No, I'm not going to entertain you with bits and pieces of my face on a Jumbotron while The Who sings behind me. But I will introduce myself as I embark on my latest blog, this one focusing on the Yankees.

I am a native New Yorker, and a Yankee fan since birth. Don't believe me? Let me just get those pictures of me at six-months old decked out in full Yankee regalia.

I am a college senior at a small liberal arts college in southeast Pennsylvania. No, I don't have a job yet. So stop asking.

I'm a bit of a writer, having edited my college newspaper for a few semesters. I've also been a part of the Talking Baseball blog, and I have a regular column over at 360 the Pitch.

I'm a believer in the Sabermetrics revolution and the Billy Beane approach to baseball, but I also think that traditional scouting and assessment has a role in the game as well.

I'm here to write about the Yankees. I'll look at the stats. I'll look at how the team's doing and what the team should do. I'll dip into the Minor Leagues and the Majors. I'll soak up the Yankees-Red Sox series. And best of all, I'll try to chronicle the Madness of King George one move at a time.