It's almost baseball season again, the time of year when all things are possible, when the cold winds of autumn are months away, waiting, we all know, to dash our hopes of pennants and wold series triumphs, the time when we keep high wish that rookies and fading veterans give us one more year of hope.
I am, as all good readers know, a Red Sox fan, one of God's most pathetic creatures. I'm also a rationalist, someone who tries to evaluate the cold hard facts without excessive sentimentality, but even I find myself thinking, "Can Middlebrooks recover from that wrist injury, can Lackey become again the pitcher he once was, can Victorino provide some occasional power from a position where you really expect some homerun clout?" If all those things actually happen, the Sox could be formidable.
Despite two world series wins in the last decade, rooting for the Red Sox still seems like being loyal to a company that makes a slightly inferior product. It's as if you somehow love the Kia, when you know all the experts say the Accord or the Camry is the standard of excellence in the compact car class.
For years, the baseball standard of excellence has been (cue the Darth Vader march) the New York Yankees. The Yankees grind down opponents, they rely on a superior amount of player talent, on their roster or available to it, thanks to the big fat Steinbrenner checkbook. It's not quite fair, although the Red Sox are not exactly pikers at throwing huge amounts of money at ballplayers either.
This year looks to be different. The Yankees are hurting. Their centerfielder, Curtis Granderson, has a broken arm. Their third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, has a bad hip. Now their first baseman, Mark Teixeira (Did I spell it right?) is injured. They signed Kevin Youkilis to cover third base until "A-Rod" returns, and could move him to first, but that leaves third in the hands of two men for whom the sobriquet "journeyman" is actually a compliment. "Youk" also is fragile. The shortstop, Derek Jeter, the "face of the franchise," injured his ankle last year and might be slowing down. Only Robinson Cano among the infielders is a quality player in the prime of his career.
Their offense looks to have a "Punch and Judy" aspect this year. Brett Gardner, moving to centerfield to cover for Granderson, is fast and can steal bases, as can the ageless Ichiro Suzuki, playing rightfield. Neither does much about hitting homeruns, long the Yankee staple. Leftfield will also be in the hands of players who cannot reach the bleachers.
With Russell Martin gone to piracy, they must rely on marginal major league talents behind home plate.
As a baseball traditionalist, I believe it's really all about the starting pitching. Have a good rotation and your team is in good shape, but even here the Yankees look brittle and old. C.C. Sabathia is still solid at age 32, though not as dominating as he was a few years ago. Hideki Kuroda teams with him to provide a left-right combination that's very good, though, again, both men are in their thirties, and have logged a lot of innings on their shoulders and elbows. Even more so for Andy Pettitte, forty years old, who has defied the wear and tear a major league pitcher expects, but is a baseball senior citizen.
Beyond that, there are question marks. The oft injured Phil Hughes can throw quality innings unless he hurts himself, which is probable. Ivan Nova did very well last year, but remains an unknown quality for the long haul. The Yankees traded for Michael Pineda before the 2012 season, and he did nothing for them last year. He might become again the young stud-hoss he was for the Mariners, but who can say?
There might be more talent in their minor league system, but it hasn't become obvious yet.
The Yankee bullpen looks to be a strength. Mariano Rivera is back as the closer, though he is ancient by baseball standards. (He's twenty years younger than I am, but then I'm not trying to throw fastballs past big league hitters.) The corp of set-up men looks solid, but Joba Chamberlain gets hurt every year, it seems.
The Yankees might yet sign someone off the baseball scrap heap and get good service from him, as they did with Andrew Jones the last couple of years. They might swing a trade for another team's veteran player to fill one of their talent gaps. When A-rod, "Tex" and Granderson all return they might be very good again. Possibly there will be a rookie who emerges to give them a lift. Possibly yes, but probably no.
So Yankee haters, take heart. This looks like a down year for the pinstripes.
Now, can Lester and Buchholz carry the Bosox?
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