The AL East Preview is up at My Opinion on Baseball and the New York Yankees are the pick to win that division. Like most teams there are still some questions out there about the Yankees so we found an expert to give us some answers.
Please welcome Steve from BronxBloggers. Steve was gracious enough to sit down and answer some of our most pressing questions regarding the New York Yankees. Thanks for your time Steve!
What do you make of the Derek Jeter/Alex Rodriguez soap opera, is there really something there that could potentially damage the team or is the media just blowing it way out of proportion?
Steve: Lots of players go through personal difference and do not let it get to them on the field. The A-Rod/Jeter love story is nothing more than a media heyday with nothing else to cover. They are still friends and team mates and it will have no impact on either one of them.
Andy Pettitte is making his return to the Yankees but he and Mike Mussina are both getting up in years. Who is the ace of this pitching staff?
Steve: Chein-Ming Wang proved valuable as the teams ace tying the major league mark in wins and placing second in the Cy Young Voting. Both Pettitte and Mussina still have some oomph in their arms, but it's time that the younger generation needs to step up as commander. And who knows what Kei Igawa will bring and how successful Phillip Hughes is when he gets a call up. How much will the loss of Bernie Williams affect this team, both on the field and in the locker room?
Steve: Yankees players and fans will certainly miss having Bernie around as he was a true Yankee and always played his best. However, the outfield holds enough talent and if Bobby Abreu does no re-sign, Melky Cabrera will step in. Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are both Boston killers and will be a prominent force in the Yankees defense.
If you had to pick one of the following to go on the DL who would you pick and why? (Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez).
Steve: I would have to go with Damon. We really do not have another player who can play the infield at a major league level.
What player on this team is really going to surprise everyone, good or bad?
Steve: Alex Rodriguez will bounce back and play as well as he did in the past. Kei Igawa has been making waves and may be a better sign that originally though. What not to be surprised about, Carl Pavano meeting the DL. He’s already been plunked once so far this year.
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