Just over a month into the season, it is obvious that the Yankees have the necessary pieces to make it back to the postseason.  However, with a lineup that changes daily, and a starter that should be in the bullpen, the Yankees will never come into rhythm.

Upon A-Rod’s return from the disabled list possibly as soon as this Friday, the lineup should look like and stay as follows:

Johnny Damon – LF

Derek Jeter – SS

Mark Teixeira – 1B

Alex Rodriguez – 3B

Robinson Cano – 2B

Hideki Matsui – DH

Nick Swisher – RF

Jose Molina – C (when Jorge Posada returns from the DL, Posada moves up one spot, and Swisher slides down.  This allows Swisher who is a high OBP guy, and Cabrera to set the stage for the top of the lineup by being on base a lot)

Melky Cabrera – CF

This lineup will allow the Yankees to have the necessary balance by allowing everyone in it the comfort of knowing where they are going to hit and most importantly placing them in slots that they are best suited …

In watching the Yankees first four home games this past weekend, you cannot help but notice the many lower level patches of seats which are vacant for each and every game.

Were the Yankees really serious in believing that even hardcore fans would pay anywhere from $300 to $2,625 a seat just to watch a baseball game?

Corporate America cannot even afford these outrageous prices.   

Fans are left with no other choice but to stay home or look around for middle or upper deck seats.  The problem however is that these seats have already been purchased by season ticket holders who could no longer afford their lower level seats.

This has resulted in fans within these levels to be relocated to different sections that they have been in for years or a reduction in games within their current seats.

Prices should have remained the same or, at the very worst, slightly increased in line with general inflation. The Yankees could have then counted on a sure sellout for every home game …

There is no doubting that Joba Chamberlain possesses the makeup of a front line starter in the majors. He has the command of four devastating pitches and the attitude that you want from someone at the top of the rotation. But being a starter is not in his best interest nor the Yankees.

The Yankees, like their fans, are excited about what Chamberlain can bring to the team for many years to come, and who can blame them? But it is simply not the right decision for a variety of reasons.

With the signings of C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang being healthy, and Andy Pettitte coming back for a possible final swan song, placing Chamberlain in the bullpen makes the most sense both short term and long term.

By being in the bullpen, it allows Chamberlain to affect the outcome of 60 to 70 games a year instead of just 35 if he were a starter. The Yankees do not need him to be a starter. …

With the winter season coming to an end and pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, baseball fans can now begin to smell the green grass of America’s greatest pastime.
And with that said, it is only appropriate to analyze the free agency moves of this past off-season. Moves that may push teams into the playoffs, to a World Series title, or completely back fire overall.
So without further adu, here is my top 20 free agent signings of the past off-season in no particular order:
Milton Bradley, Chicago Cubs – Coming off the best year of his career, the often injured and troubled OF signed with the Chicago Cubs in what was an interesting move to say the least. The always intense Bradley will either be a perfect marriage for the equally excitable Lou Piniella or one who finds himself in the dog house the entire season. The 30-year old OF if healthy will provide the Cubs with a great deal of flexibility as he could play all three OF positions. …

After watching the Alex Rodriguez’s interview this past Monday where he plead guilty to steroid use, one can only wonder if A-Rod really thinks before he speaks.

In a world where there are lawyers, agents, and publicists advising these millionaire athletes of what to say long before they are in front of the cameras, there is nobody to blame but the person.

On Monday with his interview with Peter Gammons, A-Rod stated “When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day.”

A-Rod, what type of pressure did you feel when you came to the premiere baseball market of the world in New York as the highest paid and best player in the game? How did you handle the most pressure of your often criticized life in New York?

Even better, if this story never leaked and A-Rod …

Despite the support by existing Giants players to management to bring back Plaxico Burress next year, the New York Giants should expect and plan to be without their star receiver for the 2009-10 season.

Playing without Burress will not be easy even for a talented Giants team that has already proven it can win without him. But in order to get back to the Super Bowl, the Giants will need to address their #1 receiver situation for QB Eli Manning to have any chance of success.

And if matters could not get any worse, fellow receiver and free agent to be Amani Toomer might not be back either. The often quiet Toomer recently criticized Giants management/coaching for his reduced role in the offense when Burress was suspeneded.

With Burress and possibly Toomer out of the starting lineup next year, this would only leave third year man Steve Smith as the go to guy. And while Smith has blossomed nicely as a complement and …

After losing out in the Derek Lowe sweepstakes to division rival Atlanta, the status of free agent pitcher Oliver Perez still remains in limbo.

Perez is rumored to want $14 million per year for five years. And so far the Mets have offered him arbitration which protects the team in two ways.

The first being that if Perez signs elsewhere they would receive a first or second round draft pick plus a sandwich pick due to Perez being a type A free agent. And the second being that if Perez does accept salary arbitration, that the Mets would be able to sign him for a little more than the $6.5 million that he made last season.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the first option seems more a reality right now as they want to commit less years and less money to Perez.  

Being that Perez is only 27 years old, a lefty and a proven big game pitcher, I would not be worried to commit five years to him. The …

Putting aside regular season records, what teams made the playoffs and the last quarter of the season, how can anybody justify Brett Favre going to the Pro Bowl in 2009? 

You can make the case after the first half of the season that Favre could have been considered above Matt Cassel and Chad Pennington. However, being chosen in place of Philip Rivers at any point this season would have been a complete travesty. 

Rivers’ numbers are even better the other two players who were chosen to represent the AFC in Peyton Manning and Jay Cutler. And instead Favre is chosen? 

One can not argue with the selection process that the NFL has in place where the players, the fans and the coaches all count for 1/3 of the overall vote.

But what I can do is question, how does this happen? Credit is due where credit is due, but at the time when the Pro Bowl votes are calculated (around the last quarter of the season), Rivers, Pennington and Cassel in …

Just as the New Year began, the NFL declared that the Pro Bowl would be moving from Honolulu to Miami.

And while nobody can really argue with this decision, one can definitely ask why is it being played the week before the Super Bowl?

I agree the NFL has to do something different with the Pro Bowl, but playing the game before the Super Bowl has many more weighted disadvantages than advantages:

Advantages: 

– It shortens the trip for players, media and fans.

– Allows a lot of the players who are playing in the Super Bowl and that travel to the Super Bowl to stay in one city.

– Gives fans football between the championship games and the Super Bowl.

Disadvantages: 

– Takes away from the game. Players who made the Pro Bowl but are playing in the Super Bowl will not play as they do not want to risk injury.

– Having the game the week before the Super Bowl will take away from the drama and excitement that leads up to the big …

The NY Post reported that 2B Robinson Cano is working out down in the Dominican Republic and is chiseling up for the 2009 season.

Amazing what some trade rumors and the possible free agent signing of 2B Orlando Hudson can do for a little motivation huh?

After three impressive first years with the Yankees since his rookie year in 2005, Cano’s numbers dropped in just about every major category last year:   

At Bats: 617 to 597
Runs: 93 to 70
Hits: 189 to 162
Doubles: 41 to 35
Triples: 7 to 3
Home Runs: 19 to 14
RBI: 97 to 72
BB: 39 to 26
Steals: 4 to 2
AVG: .306 to .271
OBP: .353 to .305

The only statistical category in which Cano improved was his strikeout total which decreased from 85 to 65.

There is no question, that Cano possesses the hitting ability to become a batting champion as he has good power to all fields and the ability to hit with two strikes. However, if he does …

He is not Mark Teixeira, but the New York Yankees recent trade for Nick Swisher from the Chicago White Sox is a very good trade that the Yankees quietly pulled off.

Not only will the deal allow the Yankees to fill a void at 1B or a possible need in CF, but it also allows the Yankees to allocate the majority of their available money to pitching which is their biggest need.

Additionally, the trade allows the Yankees to bring in three players as opposed to only two if the Yankees were able to sign Teixeira.  Having Swisher, C.C. Sabathia and either A.J. Burnett or Derek Lowe is more valuable than just Teixeira and Sabathia.

This trade also allows the Yankees to not only gain three impact players possibly but also to save money long term due to the current details of Swisher’s contract.  Swisher will be paid $5.3 million in 2009, $6.75 million in 2010 and $9 million in 2011 with a club option for 2012.

Despite Swisher’s manageable …

Despite all of the recent balks by both the New York Mets’ front office and Francisco Rodriguez’s agent Paul Kinzer, when it is all said and done, K-Rod will be a New York Met.

K-Rod’s team is currently looking for a five year contract at $15 million plus per season. And the Mets are said to be offering just a three year deal.

You can understand the Mets front office being a little hesitant in committing a large sum of money and contract years to a closer after Billy Wagner broke down just last season. However, Wagner was 37 when he suffered a possibly career ending injury. K-Rod is only 26 now and will be just 27 at the beginning of the 2009 season.

Rodriguez has averaged 74 innings a year for the last 6 seasons and does have one of the most violent windups in baseball. But his numbers and consistency have been simply staggering as he has not even reached his …