2013 New York Yankees Season Long Discussion Thread

[Ram Man]

When I glanced at this thread earlier I thought the mention of Damon was a joke and a reference to the noteworthy "Damon's still available, folks" comments from last Spring.

Damon himself is saying "Damon's still available" now:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/stor...w-york-yankees

"Losing a Curtis Granderson is a tough thing to swallow, but the way I hit at Yankee Stadium and the right field porch, I mean, it worked when I played for them.

[d32123]

I wonder if Damon would actually play for free lol. Not sure he'd even be worth the roster spot though. Maybe he could do okay in AAA.

[ThePinStripes]

Damon must have a terrible financial adviser.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

Damon must have a terrible financial adviser.

My guess is that it's Mr. 3000 syndrome

[2JAY]

For all the talk of the self imposed Yankee fiscal cliff, and what we have seen by the Yankee offseason inaction, it will be interesting to see if the fans come to YS when the 2013 Yankees are mired in 3rd place with a .500 record.

[d32123]

For all the talk of the self imposed Yankee fiscal cliff, and what we have seen by the Yankee offseason inaction, it will be interesting to see if the fans come to YS when the 2013 Yankees are mired in 3rd place with a .500 record.

I will bet you anything that the Yankees will finish above .500. Bring it.

[2JAY]

I will bet you anything that the Yankees will finish above .500. Bring it.

82-80 is above .500 but would fans who are used to being in the playoffs almost every year since 1995 support that kind of team in the new YS? I think entering into the 2013 season that the Yankees are poised to have a difficult year and the message from above is that costs will be cut. One of the results of that, is a team constructed now with several big question marks and a team that cannot afford any types of injuries to its roster.

[d32123]

82-80 is above .500 but would fans who are used to being in the playoffs almost every year since 1995 support that kind of team in the new YS? I think entering into the 2013 season that the Yankees are poised to have a difficult year and the message from above is that costs will be cut. One of the results of that, is a team constructed now with several big question marks and a team that cannot afford any types of injuries to its roster.

This team is literally barely worse than last year's team. You're being ridiculously negative.

[2JAY]

This team is literally barely worse than last year's team. You're being ridiculously negative.

So the Arod injury, Jeter coming off of a major injury, 2 question marks as your starting catcher, no bench, no 4th OFer, an injury to Granderson forcing him to miss at least a month of the season, Hughes with a back problem...all of these factors makes the Yankees in 2013 "barely worse?" Go figure

[d32123]

So the Arod injury, Jeter coming off of a major injury, 2 question marks as your starting catcher, no bench, no 4th OFer, an injury to Granderson forcing him to miss at least a month of the season, Hughes with a back problem...all of these factors makes the Yankees in 2013 "barely worse?" Go figure

Yes, barely worse. Just watch. As a matter of fact I guarantee that they will win more than 90 games.

[apalradio]

So the Arod injury, Jeter coming off of a major injury, 2 question marks as your starting catcher, no bench, no 4th OFer, an injury to Granderson forcing him to miss at least a month of the season, Hughes with a back problem...all of these factors makes the Yankees in 2013 "barely worse?" Go figure

Yes, I had the same questions. As a fan, I always hope for the best possible results from my team, no matter what the roster looks like. Somehow, though, when I mix in a healthy dose of reality, this particular group simply does not conjure up much shock and awe.

[ymike673]

This team is literally barely worse than last year's team. You're being ridiculously negative.

If you go by just the starting nine the team is barely worse but the big dropoff from last season's team is in the backups dept. Losing Granderson for the first month is not really that big of a deal but if any of the starting nine sustains a major injury during the season there is no one to replace them. And so far the Yankees bench strength is MUCH WORSE than last year. Right now I do not see this team winning more than 85-86 games.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

If you go by just the starting nine the team is barely worse but the big dropoff from last season's team is in the backups dept. Losing Granderson for the first month is not really that big of a deal but if any of the starting nine sustains a major injury during the season there is no one to replace them. And so far the Yankees bench strength is MUCH WORSE than last year. Right now I do not see this team winning more than 85-86 games.

I agree that depth is an issue across the board (lineup and rotation), but I just don't see this team winning that few games unless there is a pretty serious injury bug. The rotation is still excellent (although fragile, given the ages of a couple guys) and the offense should still be decent, if not as good as last year.

[flymick24]

i have a feeling that this team will come out of the gate running, much like the knicks this year... and then gradually, as the season wears on and the older players begin to act their age, they'll slow down considerably, and by the end of the season, they'll be clawing to get into the playoffs

[YankeePride1967]

Not surprised with the negativity as for some reason that exists yearly. We've been doooooooomed since 1996.

[YankeeFan1421]

i have a feeling that this team will come out of the gate running, much like the knicks this year... and then gradually, as the season wears on and the older players begin to act their age, they'll slow down considerably, and by the end of the season, they'll be clawing to get into the playoffs

For the first time since the 1980's basically I can envision a million different scenarios for the al east. I can see it going south really fast for the yanks. Think about the extent they are relying on declining players...it might be unprecedented. That said it's hard to argue any team in the division is on paper as good as the yankees either.

I think the rays are being underrated. Obviously shields is a loss and to a lesser degree so is Upton, but Moore and hellickson have big upside and it's entirely plausible they end up with three near aces, and breakout possibilities in archer and myers.

Jays are way improved.... Though I'm predicting 86 wins for them... Probably not enough for a wc.

Orioles are decent.

The red sox just plain suck.

[YankeePride1967]

I think any of four teams (sans Boston) can win the division. I think it will be a tight race to the end. I think the Yanks are close to as good as last year. Toronto (if healthy which is true for any team) improved a lot, Baltimore I want to see them do it again and TB's pitching alone should make them competitive.

[YankeeFan1421]

Damon must have a terrible financial adviser.

I think Damon lost a lot of money in one of those ponzi schemes (madoff-lite). But he lives in freaking Orlando where there is no state income tax and you can live like a king on $200k a year.

My guess is that johnny just likes to play baseball.

[ymike673]

I agree that depth is an issue across the board (lineup and rotation), but I just don't see this team winning that few games unless there is a pretty serious injury bug. The rotation is still excellent (although fragile, given the ages of a couple guys) and the offense should still be decent, if not as good as last year.

Last season they scored a large amount of their runs via the homer. Nothing wrong with that but the players no longer on the team accounted for almost 100 of those home runs. This could be a factor as far as the offense is concerned this season.

[goin for 27]

Last season they scored a large amount of their runs via the homer. Nothing wrong with that but the players no longer on the team accounted for almost 100 of those home runs. This could be a factor as far as the offense is concerned this season.

This is my biggest worry. Never loved that they rely on the long ball the last couple of years, but this version is extremely anemic. Zero power behind the plate, and a very weak HR hitting OF....Grandy the only player who can possibly hit over 15 on the roster.

Infield? Need Youkilis and Tex to really bounce back in the power department, lot to ask.

Say 175 HR's as a roster...they have to score much differently than in the past couple of years...concerning.

[Doug]

Grandy the only player who can possibly hit over 15 on the roster.

.....................................................................................................................................

Tex and Cano should easily get 15+

maybe Jeter or Youkillus or Hafner, perhaps one of them will ?

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

Grandy the only player who can possibly hit over 15 on the roster.

.....................................................................................................................................

Tex and Cano should easily get 15+

maybe Jeter or Youkillus or Hafner, perhaps one of them will ?

He meant the only outfielder on the roster.

[ymike673]

This is my biggest worry. Never loved that they rely on the long ball the last couple of years, but this version is extremely anemic. Zero power behind the plate, and a very weak HR hitting OF....Grandy the only player who can possibly hit over 15 on the roster.

Infield? Need Youkilis and Tex to really bounce back in the power department, lot to ask.

Say 175 HR's as a roster...they have to score much differently than in the past couple of years...concerning.

They are really going to have to manufacture runs this season if they expect to win. I am not sure the current team is capable of doing that on a regular basis.

[35Knucklecurve]

Most of the predictions I've seen pick Toronto to win the division with the Yankees either 3rd or 4th behind Tampa Bay and the O's. I just cannot see Baltimore winning the way they did last season, going 29-9 in one run ballgames. We've definitely got an uphill battle with the power in the line-up either gone or out of commission. I think CC will be just fine, but I don't know what to expect from Andy - can he duplicate last year, or come close to it (minus the injury, of course)?

I'd rather have things look really shaky now and get a nice surprise, but the truth is I just cannot say confidently that I pretty much know what to expect.....too many "if's and's and but's".

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

Last season they scored a large amount of their runs via the homer. Nothing wrong with that but the players no longer on the team accounted for almost 100 of those home runs. This could be a factor as far as the offense is concerned this season.

They did, but 1) with guys like Gardner and Ichiro on the team for a full season, it's likely they're going to be less dependent on the HR this year and 2) it's not like they are going to get zero HRs from all the ABs they're replacing -- the net loss is going to be less than the total from the guys that aren't there this year.