New York Yankees
Writer Zack Arenstein was recently able to ask Brandon C. from Pinstripe Alley some questions regarding the Yankees.
ZA: How do you think the Yankees improved from last year to this year? They did lose Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, 2 key players to their championship run last season.
BC: The real improvement from last years World Series Championship team to this years team is pitching. After Wang’s insane struggles, Sergio Mitre and Brett Tomko got starts for the Yankees. This year the Yankees have much more depth with the acquistition of Javier Vazquez, the development of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Zach McAllister, and Ivan Nova, and the fact that Chad Gaudin is a solid option. Hitting wise, the outfield of Gardner/Granderson/Swisher is an improvement over Damon/Gardner/Swisher defensively, with the offensive decline only slight.
ZA: Do you miss old Yankees Stadium? It was an icon in the world of sports. And while your new stadium is incredible as well, it doesn’t have the history that the old one had.
BC: I’ll always miss the old Yankee Stadium because of the memories I had there, as well as many other fans did. The great part about the New Stadium is that we are building the history and as current fans we get to see the first seasons of a hopefully historic stadium in the future.
ZA: Derek Jeter is going to be a free agent after this season if he isn’t given an extension. Do you see any reason to think they won’t bring him back?
BC: The Yankees will do whatever necessary to bring back Derek Jeter. The only way he is not brought back is if he hits less than .100 and asks for a raise. If he retires, which he won’t, that is another possibility. The Yankees will bring back Jeter.
ZA: Jeter will probably retire within the next five years or so. Can you even imagine what a Yankee team will look like without him? Is there anyone on the team now you’d like to see as the next captain?
BC: Jeter is only 35, so he likely has at least 5-7 years left (knowing his type of player) On the current team I do not see a real option for captain other than Jeter because Posada and Pettitte will both be gone when Jeter is. Cano isn’t enough of a leader and no one else is mature enough. The Captain of the Yankees needs to be homegrown.
ZA: Tell us about Jesus Montero. What makes him such a highly regarded prospect?
BC: Jesus Montero is a crazy-good hitter. That’s about all I know about him. Defensively he is very shaky, which is leading some to believe that he may need to switch positions in the future.
ZA: Do you think Joba Chamberlain should be in the bullpen or in the starting rotation? What about Phil Hughes?
BC: I can say one thing for certain. I want Phil Hughes to be in the starting rotation for the rest of his career, no matter what. I do not want to see Hughes pitch another game in his career in the bullpen. As for Joba I would like to see how he pitches in spring training. Have him start and if he struggles enormously make the switch. If he struggles a little send him to AAA to start the season. If he struggles in AAA permanatly put him in the pen.
ZA: You could tell this title meant a lot to the guys who were on the championship teams in the late 90s and 2000 like Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Petitte. What do you think it meant to fans to get to experience that with those guys still at the helm?
BC: It was an amazing blast from the past for the fans. I know it sounds very cocky to say “It’s been since 2000!” considering many teams haven’t made it in double or triple the amount of time. Realistically, Yankees fans are just adapted to winning, especially current fans. This World Series was special.
ZA: What do you think Joe Girardi’s strength’s and weakness’s are as a manager? How would you compare him to Joe Torre?
BC: I have always been a hater of the way Girardi handles the bench and the bullpen, but I can’t complain if he wins championships. I think he is too trusting of players sometimes and isn’t willing to go to minor-league resources. Tough to compare him to Torre, as we only have seen a few years of Girardi.
ZA: Alex Rodriguez finally got his world series title, despite all of the negative things that’s happened with him whether it be the steroid issues or his inability to hit in the clutch, on top of all the tabloid nonsense as well. What do Yankee fans think of A-Rod now that they’ve won a title with him.
BC: Not gonna lie, this time last year I hated Alex Rodriguez. I did not want to see him in a Yankees jersey and I refused to wear my Rodriguez jersey. Now? One of my favorite players. The way he handled himself was spectacular. I hate players that used steroids but sometimes I have to remind myself that he even used steroids. He finally seemed comfortable in the Bronx and Yankees fans finally respected him the way he wanted to be respected. There is mutual love in the relationship now.
ZA: There was a lot of talk the offseason before 2009 about the Yankees spending tons of money. One of those guys they brought in was CC Sabathia. One reason he almost didn’t come to the Yankees was, according to some reports, was that he had heard the Yankees clubhouse was dysfunctional. Do you believe it was? Did CC do something to change that?
BC: It wasn’t only CC. It is definitely possible that there was clubhouse tension, but the new guys really seemed to click. Teixeira and Posada had some running gags, CC and Swisher would play nintendo before games, Burnett with the pies, the clubhouse seems much more relaxed.
ZA: A lot of fans of other teams that hate the Yankees usually hate them because of all of the money they spend. Just before they won the world series, they shelled out over $400 million in free agent contracts. What do you say to fans like that that think it’s unfair to other teams that the Yankees spend so much.
BC: Oh boy. I could go on and on about this one. The simple answer: The Yankees have more money and until a salary cap is put in place the Yankees are doing absoluetly nothing wrong. It is not against the rules to be rich. Honestly if I was a Royals fan or a Rays fan or any other team I would probably hate the way the Yankees spend, too. In all aspects of the spending the Yankees are just doing what they are allowed to do. The Yankees still have to go out every day win games and play together as a team.
Thanks again to Brandon Cohen for taking the time out of his day to do this, don’t forget to check out Pinestripe Alley (link at the top).
Next up: Baltimore Orioles
