Inside The Yankees: February 2006

Gary Sheffield: Pinstripes in 2007?

When Gary Sheffield arrived at Legends Field for spring training yesterday, Brian Cashman pulled him aside to have a closed door conversation.

Gary Sheffield emerged from this impromptu meeting in great spirits, telling reporters that the Yankees intend to pick up his 13 million dollar option for 2007.

Gary mentioned that he would love to see him and A-Rod reach the 500 HR plateau while playing for the same team in the same season. And this is likely to happen for both of them in 2007. Gary currently stands at 449 and Alex stands at 429.

It's amazing that Gary Sheffield has not declined in skill level over the past two seasons. He is the same age as Bernie Williams, and while Bernie's production has noticeably declined, Gary has been hitting and playing as well as ever. He is still arguably the most feared right handed batter in major league baseball.

Let's hope that Gary Sheffield continues to produce good numbers for the Yankees and that he remains a part of the club in 2007 and beyond.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Jorge Posada and Randy Johnson - Can They Do It?

Jorge Posada and Randy Johnson, photo by the AP

Jorge Posada has made it clear that his top prioirty this season is to develop a good working relationship with Randy Johnson.

Take a look at the body language in this picture. You can see how eager Jorge is to be respectful and friendly with Randy Johnson. (Photo by the AP)

Randy, on the other hand, is taking more of a low key approach to his relationship with Jorge. He told reporters yesterday that the bottom line is that he has to pitch well, regardless of who is sitting behind the plate.

It's extremely important to Jorge that he and Randy develop a good working relationship this year.

First of all, Posada needs 81 appearances behind the plate to earn a guaranteed salary of 12 million for the 2007 season.

Secondly, Posada's bat carries more power than any other catcher around. And the Yankees need Posada to play in every playoff game. To lose Posada's bat every time Randy Johnson takes the mound in a playoff game would not be favorable to the Yankees offense.

Finally, Posada is looking beyond the hope of locking in his 12 million for 2007. He is genuinely passionate and proud to be a Yankee, and is undoubtedly looking to finish his career in pinstripes. A great 2006 season will go a long way to Posada earning one final contract with the Yankees before retirement. Such a contract might only be for 2 years for 4-7 million dollars per season, but this would allow Posada to maintain his legacy as a lifelong New York Yankee.

Look for Jorge Posada to have a career year in 2006.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Mariano Rivera: Master of the Cutter

Is there anyone on the Yankees roster who is more reliable than Mariano Rivera?

Everyone knows about his famous cutter. But have you ever had the privilege of watching his cutter from directly behind him?

Let me explain.

Almost all major league stadiums are set up with television cameras in left center field. In other words, the view that we are getting is from the right hand side of the pitcher.

This view makes it very difficult to see how much movement different breaking balls have.

I'm not sure which stadium it was from, but I once watched footage of Mariano pitching, where the camera was directly above and behind him. In other words, the view of the camera was a straight line from the pitcher's mound to home plate.

I was stunned by the amount of movement on Mariano's cutter. It started on the inside corner of the strike zone and just zoomed to the outside corner right before it hit the catcher's mitt.

When a regular curve ball has that much movement, batters have time to make an adjustment. But because Mariano's cutter is thrown at fastball speed, hitters hardly stand a chance of recognizing the break until it is way too late.

Thankfully, Mariano continues to perform at a high level. He showed no signs of decline last year.

At 36, he is preparing for the 2006 season in the slow, methodical manner that has served him well for the past several seasons.

2006 is an important year for Mariano and his trusty cutter. If he makes 47 or more relief appearances, the Yankees must pick up a 10.5 million dollar option on him for the 2007 season.

Look for another dominant season from Mo.
- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

New York Yankees Baseball Salaries

Have you ever wondered how much different Yankees players have made over the course of their careers?

We are putting together a chart that shows this information.

It will be another 2-3 weeks before the chart is complete, but you can take a sneak peek here:

Salaries of Current and Former Yankees Players

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Chien Ming Wang Says No To WBC

In news that pleased Yankees officials a great deal, Chien Ming Wang told reporters yesterday that he is learning towards not playing for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic, which begins on March 3rd.

Chien Ming Wang has been working out for the past three weeks in Arizona, and reports indicate that his pitching arm is feeling just fine.

***

In other Yankees news, it appears that Tino Martinez will work as a baseball analyst for ESPN this coming season. Tino is currently talking with the sports network about a position with their baseball crew.

***

Present at the Yankees minor league training complex yesterday for informal workouts were pitching coach Ron Guidry, bullpen coach Joe Kerrigan, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Miguel Cairo, Tanyon Sturtze, Bubba Crosby, and new lefthanded middle reliever, Ron Villone.

Carl Pavano's Back?

According to a report in a Conneticut newspaper, Carl Pavano's poor outing in 2005 was due to an injury that he sustained in Spring training of last year. He hurt his lower back while throwing and had to change his throwing motion to ease his lower back pain. The change in throwing motion is what caused his shoulder to get injured during the season.

There's no question that 2005 was a disappointing season for Carl Pavano. The Yankees were expected him to be one of their top pitchers after singing him to a 4-year, 39.95 million dollar contract. Carl was strongly pursued by the Yankees, Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, and the Detroit Tigers.

Just last week, the Yankees sent Pavano to a back specialist in California after he began feeling lower back stiffness during a throwing session. Fortunately, he was pronounced as having a healthy lower back and is set to resume throwing again when training camp starts later this week.

According to Brian Cashman, the visit to the back specialist was a precautionary move given what happened to Carl last Spring. Pavano felt twinges of discomfort about two weeks ago at the Yankees' minor league complex in Florida after throwing on flat ground.

For now, Pavano continues to follow an exercise program that is aimed at improving the strength and conditioning of his core - his lower back and abdominal muscles.

Let's hope that Carl Pavano's back doesn't give him any more trouble and that he has a career year.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Jason Giambi Anxious To Play Ball

Weighing in at 235 to 240 lbs, Jason Giambi is feeling strong and healthy again, and can hardly wait for the beginning of the 2006 season.

With Johnny Damon on the Yankees roster this year, look for Jason to gain even more of an edge mentally, as Johnny's presence is likely to bring back memories of Jason's MVP years in Oakland, even if Damon was in Oakland for one season.

In Oakland, Jason had a tremendous amount of respect from all of his teammates, Damon included. To have Damon around in the same clubhouse again can only help Giambi.

According to Joe Torre, Brian Cashman, and Jason Giambi, the plan is to have Giambi play first base as much as possible, as his numbers at the plate are much better when he is playing defense as opposed to being the DH.

Torre supports the plan of playing Giambi at first on a regular basis because he wants to reserve plenty of DH spots for Bernie Williams, Gary Sheffield, and Hideki Matsui. Both Sheffield and Matsui were clearly dragging towards the end of 2005, and could benefit from a few games at DH throughout the long season.

Look for Jason Giambi to have a great season in 2006 - somewhere along the lines of .320 avg, 38 HR, .430 plus OBP, and 110 plus RBIs.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Roger Clemens To The Red Sox?

The Boston Herald is reporting that the Red Sox are putting together an impressive recruiting package to lure Roger Clemens back to Fenway Park to finish off his career.

Included in the Red Sox pitch is a DVD that shows scores of Red Sox fans begging the Rocket to return to Boston.

While Roger Clemens has been reported to be flattered by the Red Sox interest, it's widely believed within baseball circles that chances are virtually nil that Roger would return to Fenway.

Despite not being eligible to play for the Astros until May 1st, Roger's number one choice still appears to be to suit up one more time for Houston. After all, Houston is his home, and the Astros gave him an opportunity to play in 2004 on a part time basis while spending lots of time with his family.

Also, Roger has a 10 year services contract with the Astros to act as an advisor/coach once he retires.

Plus, his oldest son, Koby, is in the Astros minor league system. Surely dad can be of great help to his son in the coming years as Koby strives to make it to the big leagues.

It's believed by most baseball executives that the Yankees are the only other team that Roger would consider playing for in 2006.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

The Return Of Andy Pettitte?

At a recent awards dinner in NYC, Andy Pettitte left open the possibility of returning to the Yankees in 2007. Photo by the AP

Andy Pettitte is entering the 3rd and final year of his 3-year, 30 million dollar contract with the Houston Astros. Unfortunately for the Astros, Andy has been injured on and off during his tenure with them, and had to shut it down completely for an extended period of time after having elbow surgery in 2004.

He has remained non-committal about signing an extension with the Astros, saying that he prefers to wait and see how he feels towards the end of the 2006 season.

When the Yankees chose not to re-sign Pettitte at the end of the 2003 season, their primary concern was that his elbow was ready to blow. They anticipated a need for surgery.

And they were right.

Now that Andy has had surgery and rest on the Astros' watch, will the Yankees bring back one of their most reliable post-season pitchers during their incredible run from 1996 to 2000?

No one knows for sure, not even Andy. But I have a gut feeling that Andy will return to the Bronx in 2007.

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Site Map For InsideTheYankees.com

Hey everyone...

Just wanted to let you know that I created a Site Map For InsideTheYankees.com.

I'll add to the map as I write each new page.

Enjoy...

- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com

Player Profile On Chien Ming Wang

He'll turn 26 years old on March 31st of this year and could be the ace of the Yankees rotation for many years to come.

He has arguably the heaviest sinker ball in the big leagues.

He's 6'3" and weighs 200 lbs.

He's the pride of Taiwan.