Kuzul

Going into Saturday’s game with the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankee Derek Jeter is only nine hits away from 3,000 hits and baseball immortality. 

Once a player reaches his 3,000th hit, he becomes a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. Derek Jeter is without a doubt one of best Yankees’ of all time, but is having him bat in the leadoff position the best move for the New York Yankees in their quest at another World Series title?

The 36-year-old shortstop is in his 16th season as a Yankee, his production is down and the Yankees find themselves two games out of first place and only a one-game lead in the Wild Card race. It is only June, but the Boston Red Sox are heating up and change might be necessary before it is too late.

Jeter is only batting .256 with two HR and 18 RBI. He also has an OPS .655 which is one of the worst of any leadoff hitter in all of baseball. He has seven stolen bases and has been caught twice, not exactly leadoff material.

The questions seems to be if not Jeter, than who should lead off? The New York Yankees actually have several options, but Manager Joe Girardi is committed to Jeter, and his team is suffering.

Robinson Cano would be a good fit for the leadoff spot and so would Brett Gardener. Cano is currently batting .281 with 12 home runs, 40 RBI and a .829 OPS. Much better than Jeter’s numbers.

Gardener’s numbers are about the same as Jeter’s with a .266 BA and 15 RBI. His OPS is higher at .725, and he has more stolen bases with 13. Speed is very important at the top of the lineup, and Jeter is not the player he once was.

With the season-ending injury to relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees are going to have to score even more runs in order to keep leads. The Yankees need a jolt at the top of their lineup, and if they wish to make another run at the post season, Joe Girardi is going to have to make some very difficult decisions.

DH Jorge Posada is batting a career low .214 and LF Nick Swisher is also having a terrible season with just a .215 BA. Look for both of these players to be out of the starting lineup by the end of July if they can’t turn it around.

Derek Jeter should reach hit number 3,000 during the middle of next week. Stay tuned to ESPN as they will cover most of his at-bats once he reaches hit 2,999.

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This is a slideshow on the top 10 Yankee performers right now.  Keep in mind that the entire show is not based on past seasons’ performances.  It is only based on the future, which I think is the most relevant tool that we can look to at this point.  Thus, don’t be surprised if you see some major names kept off of this list.

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With Opening Day only a few hours away, the crack of the bat is soon to be heard. The eyes of the sports world will shift from the dreariness of winter sports, to the excitement of baseball and the thrill of the approaching summer months. 

Last season was a memorable one for Major League Baseball. There were numerous perfect games (and near perfect games), including a perfect gem in the playoffs by Roy Halladay; Ken Griffey Jr’s retirement; the surge and disappointment of Stephen Strasburg; and the resurgence of the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants.

This season will be no different. There will be thrills and disappointment. But first, here are some players who will make the most impact in their respective leagues. These are the pre-season all-star teams.

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The biggest question at second base heading into the 2011 season is: What will fantasy owners get from Phillies second baseman Chase Utley?

When healthy and at his best, Utley is elite. He has posted career highs in the standard five rotisserie categories, as follows: .332-131-33-105-23.

The problem is the health, or lack thereof, of Utley’s knee, which will likely land him on the disabled list to start the season. From a fantasy perspective, the bigger worry is that improvement in his knee seems to be moving at a snail’s pace. How soon will he be back? Will the injury linger and affect his performance when he’s back on the field?

Here are our top 15 fantasy second basemen for 2011:

1. Robinson Cano, Yankees: With the exception of stolen bases, Cano puts up elite stats across the board at a relatively weak position. Cano, who set career highs in home runs (29) and runs batted in (109) in 2010, has the second-most hits in all of baseball over the past two seasons.

2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: In addition to hitting over .300 for his career, Pedroia gives fantasy owners the potential for a 15-20 season. Despite missing half of last year, Pedroia ranks 10th in the majors in runs scored (286) from 2008 to 2010.

3. Dan Uggla, Braves: At a position where power hitters are less common, Uggla has been a model of consistency when it comes to power. In each of the past four seasons, Uggla has hit 31-33 home runs and has driven in 90-plus runs including a career-high 105 last season. But will you get his career-low .243 (2009) or career-high .287 (2010) batting average? Although he’s a career .354 hitter in his new home ballpark (Turner Field), the answer likely falls somewhere in between that range.

4. Ian Kinsler, Rangers: The biggest knock on Kinsler is playing time (123.6 games per season over past five years). If healthy, Kinsler has the potential to put up elite numbers. For example, when he played a career-high 144 games (2009), Kinsler hit 31 homers and stole 31 bases.

5. Brandon Phillips, Reds: For the first time in four seasons, Phillips failed to have a 20-20 season. In 2010, he finished with 18 home runs and 16 stolen bases. The majority of Phillips’ at-bats in 2010 came at one of the top two spots of the lineup after mostly batting cleanup in 2009. The effect? His runs batted in dropped from 98 in 2009 to a five-year low of 59 in 2010.

6. Chase Utley, Phillies: Two seasons removed from a 30-20 season, Utley will most likely begin the 2011 season on the disabled list after missing a total of 47 games last year. If he were healthy, Utley would be second on this list.

7. Rickie Weeks, Brewers: Speaking of health, Weeks played an average of 95 games per season from 2005 through 2009 before playing a career-high 160 games last year. Naturally, he set career-highs in runs scored (112), hits (175), home runs (29) and runs batted in (83) in 2010. The only way he approaches those numbers again is if he can stay healthy for two seasons in a row. Before last year, he hadn’t done that for one season in a row.

8. Martin Prado, Braves: Prado, who played mostly second base and some third base last year, is moving to left field for the Braves and soon will be eligible at three fantasy positions. In a career-high 140 games last season, Prado hit .307 and 15 home runs with 100 runs scored.

9. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: After hitting 14 homers with 63 runs batted in over 103 games in his rookie season, Beckham seemed poised for a breakout season last year. The eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft got off to an incredibly slow start in 2010, but he picked up the pace as he hit .310 after the All-Star break. Beckham, who will bat second for the White Sox this season, is a guy I’ve targeted in most of my drafts this year.

10. Ben Zobrist, Rays: Like Prado, Zobrist has multi-position eligibility as a second baseman and outfielder (and first baseman in Yahoo! leagues). After a breakout season in 2009 (.297-91-27-91-17), Zobrist really struggled down the stretch last season. After the All-Star break, Zobrist hit only .177 and hit .200 or lower per month from July to October. On a positive note, Zobrist stole a career-high 24 bases in 2010 and will likely have even more base-stealing opportunities as the team’s leadoff hitter.

11. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays: Not only did Hill have the lowest BABIP (.196) of his career, it was the lowest in all of baseball. Even with the horrible BABIP and batting average (.205), Hill still managed to hit 26 home runs in 2010.

12. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks: In his first season with the Diamondbacks, Johnson set career highs in runs (93), hits (166), home runs (26), runs batted in (71) and stolen bases (13) in 2010. Johnson hit .311 with 16 of his 26 home runs at Chase Field last year.

13. Howie Kendrick, Angels: The direction of his batting averages over the past four seasons isn’t what you’d like to see: .322 (2007), .306 (2008), .291 (2009) and .279 (2010). That said, he set career highs in several counting statistics: runs scored (67), runs batted in (75), stolen bases (14) and tied his career high in home runs (ten).

14. Chone Figgins, Mariners: Since 2004, Figgins has stolen 30-plus bases every season. In five of the past six seasons, he has stolen 40-plus bases. Figgins is having a good spring (.349 average and four steals in 16 games).

15. Brian Roberts, Orioles: When healthy, Roberts has provided fantasy owners with lots of runs and stolen bases and a decent batting average. Before missing 100-plus games in 2010, Roberts stole 30-plus bases for four consecutive seasons although he went from 50 (2007) to 40 (2008) to 30 (2009).

Feel free to send fantasy baseball questions to me via Twitter at @EDSBaseball or post them in our fantasy baseball forum.

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For the first time in several seasons, The New York Yankees spring training campaign is not being dominated by scandal or distraction.

The Bombers’ third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, has consistently been at the forefront of many of these distractions. Whether it’s steroids, divorce, or Madonna, A-Rod and scandal have had a very intimate relationship in the last few years.

But this year things are different; Rodriguez has not had to handle off-the-field issues or being mauled by the media. This is not to say that Alex has stayed completely out of the headlines. During the Super Bowl, Rodriguez was caught being fed popcorn by girlfriend/actress Cameron Diaz. (Is this really news worthy? Well, define news.) In A-Rod’s first meeting with the media during spring training, instead of having to face tough questions Rodriguez sat down, and with a smile on his face, quipped, “Did anybody see the Super Bowl?”

Rodriguez got the whole matter of “Super Bowl-popcorn-gate” out of the way, and since, has not had to focus on anything besides baseball. A-Rod is pleased to have avoided anything extracurricular to confront this spring, as he was not happy with his last three seasons, stating that his production was “unacceptable”. Mind you, in each of those three seasons Rodriguez posted more-than-acceptable numbers with 30+ homeruns and 100+ RBIs.  Alex Rodriguez came into spring training in better shape than last year and certainly in a better state of mind.

The Yankees were by all means not the biggest winners in offseason roster moves. What that means to the team is, besides Rafael Soriano and Russell Martin, there are no new players that are supposed to take on big roles for the Yankees. There aren’t any new playing styles to adjust to and no new egos to handle. What this also means is that, compared to the Boston Redsox who have brought in two all-stars, the Yankees have not really been a focus of other teams and the media alike. Other than the retirement of pitcher Andy Pettitte, the Yankees have lost very little of their team, and if A.J. Burnett can pick it up this season, the Yanks’ rotation could come up with similar production to last year’s.

According to Mariano Rivera, the Yankees are happy to be somewhat under-the-radar this spring, hoping that the team can sneak up on some teams in the upcoming season.  No matter what the media has said, the Yanks are still confident that they can win it all in 2011.

With the A-Rod situation seemingly in order and the team still largely intact, in combination with the recent lack of media attention on the Yankees, it has been a very positive spring for the team. For the firs time in a while they have been allowed to focus on baseball and baseball alone. Hopefully they can use this to their advantage and reclaim the retooled AL East.

This article has also been featured on All Sports New York

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Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees is quickly entering the discussion for best second basemen in the game today (if you don’t think he already is), and the question is being asked if he could become the greatest second basemen ever. 

My goal is to see how he compares to the greatest in the game all-time, and see where his career might just end up.

Who are the greatest second basemen ever? They are Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Nap Lajoie, Eddie Collins, and Rod Carew (click here to see my complete top nine second basemen ever). 

I will compare him in certain key statistical categories and other areas, and then provide a projection based on what I think his final stats will be.

Where will Robbie end up in the annals of greatest second basemen ever? Will he crack my top nine mentioned above, will he crack the top five or he will end up as the greatest ever? Let’s take a look, starting with awards and honors.

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With spring training just starting up, optimism about the upcoming season is at its highest. There is not a better time to make predictions about the upcoming season, which should be a great one.

The American League MVP award is awarded annually to the player who is considered most valuable to his team throughout the year. Recent recipients of the award include Josh Hamilton and Joe Mauer.

In anticipation for the 2011 season, I have decided to rank the five American League preseason MVP favorites.

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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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Robinson Cano posted an excellent 2010 campaign in which he was in the top three of four out of the five offensive categories, including first overall in runs batted in and batting average. 

Although Dan Uggla is fourth on our list, he has been an incredibly consistent hitter over the past four years, becoming the first second baseman in MLB history to hit 30 home runs in four straight seasons.

Look for Uggla to continue his solid play as he will be surrounded with talented hitters as the newest member of the Atlanta Braves.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka is an excellent sleeper candidate for 2011. He joined the Twins in December after playing seven years with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Pacific League.

Nishioka is an excellent hitter, and could prove to be a nice late-round selection in both mixed and AL-only formats.

Visit www.kramericasports.com for complete player rankings, news and advice.

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Curtis Granderson’s debut season with the New York Yankees can best be described as one filled with many peaks and valleys.  Judging by his strong second half and impressive postseason numbers, it wouldn’t be surprising if Granderson has a 2011 similar to his breakout 2007 season with the Detroit Tigers.

His Yankee career couldn’t have gotten off to a finer start.  In his first at bat of the season, he crushed a Josh Beckett pitch into the right-center field bleachers at Fenway Park. 

Just three days later, Granderson led off against the Red Sox in the 10th inning and delivered an early moment of ecstasy to Yankee fans by blasting a game-winning home run to right field stands off of Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Granderson quickly endeared himself to his teammates and the “Bleacher Creatures” by immediately performing against their hated rivals, but his numbers would soon take a tailspin. 

He finished April with a batting average of just .211 and only two home runs.  Some Yankee fans began to question whether their center fielder would be able to produce under the bright lights in the Bronx.

Granderson’s struggles at the plate continued into July.  His sub-par first half totals consisted of a .240 batting average, seven home runs and 24 RBI and wasn’t impressing the hard-to-please crowds at Yankee Stadium. 

He soon found his power stroke and went on a torrid run, hitting 17 home runs in the second of half of the season including nine in September/October.  Granderson complied a slugging percentage of .523 after the All-Star break, which was 114 points higher than his first half mark.

In the 2010 playoffs, he took his game to new heights by leading the Yankees with a .357 batting average and tied Robinson Cano with a team-best six RBI.  In the ALDS against the Twins, Granderson dominated the Minnesota pitching logging a .455 batting average and a monstrous slugging percentage of .727.

Granderson will be looking to turn the page in 2011 and find the consistency that allowed him compile some fantastic seasons in Detroit. 

He told the New York Daily News, “All those ‘firsts’ are done with.  I know the guys more, I know the facility more, the coaching staff more.  This year will be very similar in mentality to every other Spring Training except for last year.  I’m excited about that.  Everything is just normal again.”

A player that possesses tremendous tools, Granderson played very well defensively last year and has the all-around ability to mold himself into a complete ballplayer.  Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long will work with Granderson during Spring Training to perfect his swing. 

Long was able to turn a struggling Cano into a fearsome MVP candidate and has been known to expertly retool the approach of Yankee batters over the years like Alex Rodriguez.

If Granderson can continue his bright performances throughout the 2011 season, he could come close to raising his average to above the .280 mark that he was accustomed to with the Tigers.  In a down year in 2010, Granderson still was able to hit 24 home runs and drive in 67 RBI.

Once he figures out Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field, he might have a shot at surpassing his career-best total of 30 home runs.  I’d like to see manager Joe Girardi take the training wheels off and allow Granderson to be aggressive on the basepaths. 

In 2007, Granderson stole 26 bases and only was thrown out once all season.  Last year, he converted 12 of 14 stolen base attempts and should come closer to being a “20-20” man in the upcoming season.

Granderson will turn 30 before the Yankees’ March 31 season opener against the Tigers.  He is in what most would consider his prime years and very well could go on to produce a career-best season in 2011.

Join in the discussion below and follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/HartyLFC.

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