Kuzul

Spring training is upon us. The Red Sox have been busy this offseason. The Yankees, on the other hand, were uncharacteristically quiet. How could the New York Yankees make noise this offseason with a payroll of over 200 million dollars? Yes, even the “Evil Empire of New York” has limitations on how much they can spend.

This article will break down the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry as it stands today and forecast what the 2011 season may hold for each team and/or their players.

Looking at the resurgence of the Boston Red Sox this offseason by means of key acquisitions Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, one has to wonder, will the Red Sox push the Yankees around in 2011? Are they better than the Yankees? 

When Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was asked if he agrees that the Red Sox are better on paper today than the Yankees, he said,

“I would agree because they have a deeper starting rotation. I’m not saying they’re going to beat us. We’re not conceding anything. But if somebody asked me right now, they might be a finished product. We’re an unfinished product,” he said last night at a charity event.

“But you don’t win championships in the winter, you win them in the summer. We’re looking forward to going head-to-head with everybody and anybody.” 

“That does not discount anything I have got here,” Cashman said. “It’s just that I have more work to do. I might have the answers right here in front of me. I like what we have coming. Is it ready right now or not yet for an American League pennant race? We’re going to find out and weigh that vs. what becomes available over time. But what I do have, I’m very proud of. And what I do have is going to compete for that title. Can I make it better? I can make it better.”

His opinion that, as of now, the Red Sox are better is shared by most in baseball. There are of course exceptions, including Hank Steinbrenner.

On Tuesday, Hank Steinbrenner had this to say about Brian Cashman’s comments and where his team stands heading into the 2011 MLB season..

“I think we’re the hunter. At the end of the day, listen, no one’s conceding anything. No one’s conceding anything. But as I described the other day in full force, if this was the start of a race..from their winter, they (the Red Sox) qualified for the pole position. Their pole position right now is better than ours because of the winter that they had compared to the winter that I personally had.”

“When you guys are looking at me straight-faced in the eye and (say) what did you think about their winter and where does that put them compared to you, I think they’re the hunted, we’re the hunter and that’s as simple as that and I don’t think anybody would disagree with that,” Cashman said.

“You can make with it whatever you want, I don’t really care, but that’s not selling us short. I like our talent. I like our talent a lot. I give myself an incomplete. Simple as that. If you want to insult anybody …I’m insulting myself. It’s as simple as that. I have more work to do.”

Brian Cashman also was quoted as saying, “We have a lot of talent here because they (the Steinbrenners) allow us to go the extra mile to try and find as much as we can to put us in position to succeed,” Cashman said.

“We almost got back to the World Series but almost obviously is not good enough in our market, so every now and then, a healthy reminder of what comes with not crossing the finish line, that’s going to happen. Why we fell short, how we fell short, the bottom line is we fell short.”

Now that we have heard the sentiment from around the league, let’s now analyze for ourselves which team is better. A good place to start is by looking at the projected opening day lineups. Next, an assessment of the two team’s defenses and pitching staffs will be in order. Lastly, every team is only as good as the coach(es) behind it, so we will take a look at each team’s coaching staff.

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Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one by one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

After 14 straight seasons of batting .290 or higher, Derek Jeter bottomed out in arguably the worst season of his career in 2010, posting a .270 batting clip. His OBP (.340), slugging percentage (.370) and OPS (.710) were also career lows.

Not coincidentally, Jeter’s .307 BABIP was by far the worst of his career and well below his notoriously high .356 career mark.

Notwithstanding, Jeter still managed to score 111 runs and steal 18 bases, numbers worthy of fantasy consideration no matter what his batting average was.

So what does 2011 have in store for the 36-year-old captain?

It’d be easy to chalk up his career-worst 2010 season to old age, but one thing could explain a big chunk of it: bad luck.

Jeter still makes consistent contact (85.5 percent in 2010, MLB average 80.7 percent), and his strikeout rate (16.0 percent) remains well below the league average of 20.7 percent.

Given that he leads off for the Yankees, he remains a valuable fantasy option. Perhaps we won’t see him hit .330 for the fifth time, but a .290 average with 100 runs and approximately 20 steals keeps Jeter relevant at a very thin shortstop position.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS

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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After an embarrassing ALCS loss to the Rangers, their inability to sign key players and losing both Kerry Wood and the heart of the New York Yankees, Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have had an offseason filled with both disappointment and discouragement.

With questionable pitchers (A.J. Burnett) and players (Derek Jeter) not playing up to par, the Yankees are in need of an aid to their troubling situation.

Unless the Yankees can magically sign an ace pitcher with the caliber of CC Sabathia or postseason Pettitte, the Yankees will need some type of change to ensure a successful season. That success can all come down to both the starting lineup and rotation.

Here is a projection of both the starting lineup and rotation for the 2011 season.

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The sports betting community is focused on March Madness betting and the NHL trade deadline at this moment, but MLB spring training is getting started up and there is already a torrent of news and information about key players coming out of the different camps.

This will prove to be an interesting season for MLB, especially if the developments in spring training are any indication.

New York Yankees  

When George Steinbrenner owned the New York Yankees, he would say things to get the players’ attention. But when he insulted someone, it was usually his manager.

With son Hank Steinbrenner in charge, things are a bit different. Hank Steinbrenner blames the Yankees playoff loss in 2010 on too much celebrating over the 2009 World Series win. He said that players’ salaries are out of control and that players are more concerned with building mansions than winning games.

That is not exactly the way a team wants to start off spring training. Team captain Derek Jeter was asked about Steinbrenner’s comments and laughed them off. Jeter said that the team performed at its best in 2010, but came up short.

An open battle between the players and ownership can be a severe distraction to any team.

Boston Red Sox

At a time when there is contract uncertainty with big name players, such as CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols, the Boston Red Sox have seemed to avoid any of those spring training distractions.

When the topic of the contract for Red Sox star Adrian Gonzalez was brought up to team president Larry Lucchino on a local Boston radio show, Lucchino indicated that he was confident that Gonzalez would be part of Red Sox Nation for a very long time.

When asked about it in the Red Sox spring training facility, Gonzalez echoed that sentiment.

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching ace Adam Wainwright reported to training camp on time, stepped into the bullpen to start warming up and promptly tore ligaments in his elbow that could end his season and threaten his career.

Wainwright was only three pitches into his first warm-up routine of spring training when the pain started and he had to leave the field.

Wainwright finished second to the Phillies’ Roy Halladay in NL Cy Young voting last season. He finished the year with a 20-11 record and a 2.42 ERA. The Cardinals are calling it a “significant injury” that could lead to a lot of time lost for Wainwright.

Without an ace on the rotation and with no more pitching aces available to be signed, the Cardinals are already behind the eight-ball before spring training even really gets started.

In other Cardinals news, Albert Pujols’ agent has finally publicly announced the number that the slugger is seeking from the Cardinals in order sign a contract extension.

Pujols wants a 10-year contract at an average of $30 million per year. Some general managers have indicated that the cost is way out of line and extremely bad for baseball.

One of the suggestions put forth by White Sox general manager Ken Williams was that if any team signs Pujols for that much money, then it may take shutting down MLB and reworking the league’s pay structure to save the game.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Let’s make this clear right off the bat before some of you start popping off a hate filled comment aimed in my direction, stick needles in a doll with my name on it or chant some ancient curse on me based simply on the title of this column (If I wake up tomorrow with blue hair on my tongue I will know it was one of you)…

Pujols, barring some freak career ending injury or some as of yet unknown steroids related scandal with his name attached to it, is a first ballot Hall of Fame member five years after he hangs up his glove. 

Albert Pujols is the best player in the game today, it’s not even close and if anyone deserves to be the highest paid player in the game it’s this guy.

However, for as good as he is, and all that he brings to the game, no man, not even Albert the Great, is worth the kind of contract he is reportedly seeking.

Pujols has played his entire career thus far for the St. Louis Cardinals, a franchise well known for being player friendly and in a city with some of the best fans of the game. Pujols is an icon in St. Louis and claims to want to be a Cardinal for life.

It’s kind of hard to believe him when his current salary demands hold his current employers hostage.

About that “I want to be a Cardinal for life” thing? Apparently his loyalty and desire to the Cardinals comes with a price tag that would cripple the franchise well beyond the length of whatever contract he is given.

Pujols reportedly turned down a nine-year deal worth $200 million. How is that not enough for one man?

It was apparently not enough for him to remain loyal to the franchise that he supposedly loves and wants to be a part of for his entire career.

It seems that Pujols wants a deal north of the record contract handed to Alex Rodriguez, who, like Pujols, is equally undeserving of such riches.

Pujols desires to be baseball’s first 30-million dollar man. In comparison to Rodriguez, Pujols deserves to be baseball’s highest paid player but this is getting completely out of hand.

It is hard to blame Pujols for not only asking for, but expecting that kind of payday for his skills towards a game in which he utterly dominates, but I do have issue with his turning down a rather generous deal from a franchise that has been very good to him and one that he claims to wish to remain a part simply because he wants to be the highest paid player.

He is 31 years old and the best overall player in the game. Will he still deliver a plus .300 average, hit 40 plus home runs and drive in 100 plus RBI half way through his contract? 

Unlikely.

Will he still be the best player in the game over the majority of any contract he will be given?

Unlikely.

Can he pitch? No. Can he deliver a World Series to St. Louis all by himself? No.

So he should be given this ransom just because Rodriguez makes more?

Please save the “He is a draw”, “He puts asses in the seats”, “He is worth that and more just from a marketing standpoint.”

Those arguments did not work for Derek Jeter and they don’t apply here either.

Sorry Albert, your math does not compute.

Just because the Yankees are incredibly stupid does not mean the Cardinals Franchise has to follow suit. I sincerely hope they don’t give in to Pujols’ ransom demands.

The real blame here lies in part with the owners, MLB, The Players Union and the agents that represent the players themselves. It lies within the player to realize their worth to the history of the game and beyond just a payday.

At some point someone with the authority to halt this must realize that this is a team sport that is bigger than any one man, even a man such as Pujols.

Recently the New York Yankees have voiced that they will not be in the market for Pujols, which is a start. Of course, if you believe the Yankees will not get involved I have some ocean front property in Utah to sell you, but it is the right way to go.

Just ask Ken Williams.

I applaud Ken Williams, GM of the Chicago White Sox, for recently stating that $30 million for one man is “asinine” and harmful to the game. He stated what many owners think but lack the balls to say to the media out of backlash from the fans. 

I mean, can you imagine any fan of any team not wanting Pujols on their roster?

Williams stated that tying up that much money in any one player, Pujols included, was ridiculous and damages the franchise and the game for decades.

“Sorry White Sox Fans, we are not gonna do it.”

However, there are many that will argue that Williams and the White Sox failure to spend the money is the direct reason why the White Sox are strangers to the postseason.

Then a smart person mentions Florida, Tampa Bay and other teams with low payrolls that actually won on talent and heart.

Bravo Mr. Williams, bravo.

Now we just have to wait while others follow your lead and force Pujols back to Earth and make him realize that while he is the greatest player in the game currently, and will go down as one of the greatest of all time, he is but one man in a team sport and he is smaller than the game itself.

It would be AWESOME if the best deal for Pujols came from the Kansas City Royals and he had to take what was offered. 

It would serve him right and it would right the sinking ship that the MLB has become.

Ken Williams’ stance should be the mantra of all MLB teams that can afford to consider such a salary but resist the temptation to offer it.

Are you listening Hal and John?

Over the last few seasons we have witnesses more fiscal restraint, a harder line if you will, in regards to salaries of aging stars. Players like Andy Pettitte, Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter were looked at more from a business standpoint than the star status attached to their careers.

That vision, that hard-line needs to continue, even more so, towards players like Rodriguez and Pujols. It’s too late to change the monumental waste of money that was hurled at the feet of A-Rod, but the MLB has a golden opportunity, with Pujols, to set a hard line on would be greedy robber barons.

Jeter’s 189-million dollar contract should have never happened.

It did and it set up A-Rod’s ridiculous current contract. His previous one in Texas is what set this train wreck in motion.

A-Rod was and is not worth the money he has stolen, I mean, been paid.

Cliff Lee? Ditto.

Pujols’ salary demands should be boycotted for the future of the sport. Yes, I know it’s not my money and it does not affect my wallet but it’s still mind boggling.

What better way for baseball to send the message than to deny Pujols. If they do, A-Rod’s contract will never again carry any weight into any negotiation.

However, we all know that it wont happen.

He will be, unfortunately, baseball’s first 30-million dollar man.

Pujols will get his payday and along the way to the bank, while he is laughing, he will lose the respect of many that he earned through his abilities.

He will be looked upon by many as yet another greedy player, another A-Rod, and the game will continue to depreciate from a once hallowed, respected tradition of sport into a cess pool of money and greed.

However, if an owner, such as John Henry of the Red Sox where I predict Pujols will sadly land, is dumb enough to pay the ransom…don’t hate the player.

Hate the game.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Hank Steinbrenner indirectly called out Yankees captain Derek Jeter and his newly constructed mansion on Monday.

Steinbrenner implied the team was not focused in 2010 and was hungover from its 2009 World Series championship, saying: “Some of the players are too busy building mansions and other things and not concentrating on winning.”

It seems more than ironic that he would make the mansion statement in the Yankees’ Tampa spring training home. Tampa is also where Jeter has just completed construction on his new 30,875 square foot waterfront mansion.

The mansion dwarfs the neighboring mansions on Davis Island.

Steinbrenner can claim the statement was not aimed at one player in particular, but it seems quite the opposite.

Jeter, being the class act that he is, laughed the comments off as being funny.

If they were truly distracted, the Yankees were perhaps the best distracted team of all time.

Last season, they won 95 games and secured a wild card berth in the playoffs. Then they managed to sweep the Twins in the American League Divisional Series. Their playoff exit was in six games to the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.

If a team that fell two games shy of the World Series was not concentrating, then I would hate to see the concentration level of the teams that did not make the playoffs.

The bottom line is probably that Steinbrenner was looking to energize the Yankees going into 2011 spring training games and the regular season. He probably knew that Jeter could take a jab better than other players and they can begin chasing their 27th World Series championship.

Either that or Steinbrenner is still bitter from the way contract negotiations with Jeter played out in the media and public.

The world will see how focused the 2011 New York Yankees are once the first pitch is thrown and the new season begins.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

As teams prepare to begin the exhibition season, the fans continue to prepare for what the upcoming season may bring from their favorite teams and players.

With plenty of unexpected movement this past offseason, we are guaranteed to experience some more major surprises, as the season is just over one month away from the first pitch.

After all, how many people predicted that the San Francisco Giants would defeat the Texas Rangers in the 2010 Fall Classic? If you did, can you please tell me who you like in 2011?

The Giants will try and defend their crown, while 29 other teams will look to dethrone them. Many new players will be heavily counted on to bring their new team to glory, while the teams who stood pat this past Winter will be expecting to take the next step toward reaching their destiny.

So even though most fans are expecting the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies to meet in the 2011 World Series, nothing can ever be counted on as a foregone conclusion.

Like I already said, how many of you had the Giants and Rangers squaring off last year before the season started?

Exactly. That is why they play the games.

The games may not start for a little longer, but the questions have already begun. Here is a look at a few pesky questions that each team will face heading into the 2011 MLB season.

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This is something that I’ve been experimenting with for a few years now with the NFL, MLB and NBA. Not only will I be ranking all of the starting players, you’ll see a number between 7-10 beside the player.

These numbers break the players up into essential categories; here’s a rough layout. 

10- Best player/pitcher in baseball

9+- Superstar, MVP/Cy Young Candidates

8+- Consistent All-Star

7.5- Periodical All-Star

7.25- Solid Starter

7- Average Player

The numbers do more than rank the players, you can also figure out which positions have the most/least depth. I just think it’s a fun way of looking at it.

I also want to reiterate that these are projected starters. For example, I believe Ben Francisco starts the season off as the right fielder, but eventually I believe Dominic Brown takes over. 

Another example you’ll see is Alex Avila, my projected starting catcher in Detroit. I believe Victor Martinez will DH.

ALSO CHECK OUT

10 Reasons to Take Halladay over Lee in a Game 7

Top 25 Underrated Starting Pitchers

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Monday’s Spring Training press report didn’t have much to say. Joe Girardi said the platitudes, as did Brian Cashman.

Not much except for this:

“We signed (Derek Jeter) to be our shortstop and we signed him to be our leadoff hitter,” Girardi said. “And he’s got a pretty good track history of what he’s done in the game of baseball. He had a couple of rough months last year. The month of September he was back to being Derek, I thought. I’m not really too concerned about him as our leadoff hitter.”

Okay, one question. Why?

In almost every single way, Brett Gardner is the perfect leadoff man over Derek Jeter.

As for Girardi’s comment about Jeter being back to his old self in September, that’s not entirely true. It is true that Jeter batted .287 in the last month, which is better than he batted in any month since April. But .287 isn’t what you want out of Jeter.

Jeter can’t draw walks like he used to; Gardner can. Jeter can’t run like he used to; Gardner has speed to burn. Take September, Jeter’s best month since April—he had a .375 OBP. In September, with a severely sprained wrist and his worst month of the year, Gardner’s OBP was a .372. In that month—his best OBP month all season—Jeter stole three bases. In his worst month, with a sprained wrist, Gardner stole eight bases.

Look, I get it, Jeter is the captain. The face of the franchise. But would it be such a insult to him to bat second with Teixeira behind him and trying to drive in Gardner with slaps the other way as Gardner creates a hole on the right side of the field? Doesn’t that make more sense?

Gardner was eighth in the league in OBP, third in steals, 10th in walks and ninth in runs scored. All while batting ninth in the lineup. The man is a born leadoff hitter. Jeter, at this point in his carer, isn’t. And it shouldn’t be a slap to the captain. He has batted second more in career than in any other spot, so it’s not a big move.

I admire Girardi’s loyalty. He played with Jeter and has a bunch of respect for the franchise, but batting Jeter first is a mistake

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Last season, New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia stated to the press that despite having the option to do so, he would not opt out of his contract.  Joining the team in 2009, the big lefty’s seven-year, $161 million deal has a clause that allows him to opt out after three years, should he want to.

Just yesterday, however, Sabathia hinted that he might exercise that clause after the season.  Being a Yankee fan, I just had one response.  WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Sabathia is, for all intents and purposes, the top dog of the Yankees pitching staff.  Were he to opt out for more money, there aren’t any other big market teams who would be able to swing the funds to do so.  Long story short, it would be the stupidest career decision he could possibly make.

Hell, while we’re at it, let’s have a look at some other, less idiotic things that could happen!

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