Jeff Dufour's New York Yankees fan blog

We are four and a half weeks away from first pitch of the new Major League Baseball and I have a lot to cover until Josh Beckett faces Joe Blanton in Japan.  This is the first of a seven part series of my MLB 2008 preview.  In the first six parts of the series I will discuss each division, break them down by team and give my predictions for the upcoming season.  The first division I will take a close look at in the NL East.  I see a tight three-team race here between the Mets, Phillies and Marlins.  Just kidding, of course the third team is the Braves.

Lets get the first two teams out of the way.  The Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals are obviously trying to build a team from the ground up.  The Marlins made a big trade this off-season, sending Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabera to the Detroit Tigers for a package of six prospects.  The Marlins are hoping these prospects help build toward the future with two of them helping this year.  Andrew Miller is slotted into the third spot in the rotation and Curtis Maybin is their starting centerfielder.  The Marlins also have some other very good young guys, beginning of course with Mr. Fantasy Baseball, Hanley Ramirez.  Dan Uggla, Jeremy Hermida and Mike Jacobs help fill out a line-up that will do their share of hitting this season.  The rotation is a work in progress with four of their five starting pitchers 27 years old or younger.  This team will struggle all year for wins but can definitely help your fantasy team.

Continue reading "First of a Seven Part Series-NL East Preview"

I have been waiting for a few weeks now and I still have a few more weeks to wait.  It can't come soon enough, I am counting down the days.  Memphis-Tennessee was a nice game to help hold me over but I am starting to get ancy.  The regular season gets a little boring at times but once March comes, all is forgiven.  We are now less then 3 weeks away until Selection Sunday and only 15 days away from the beginning of the major conference tournaments kicking off.  It is almost that time again and you have no idea how excited I am.

I will follow every major tournament, I will also follow every other tourny that is going on.  I check bracketology everyday on ESPN.COM, I read up on which teams are on the bubble and which teams have won their way in.  I will keep track of which teams get the automatic berth for winning their conference tournament and how that will help or hurt certain bubble teams. As you can see, March becomes a very busy month for me but I love every minute of it.  The excitement that this month and all the tournaments bring is  something that only happens once a year.

Continue reading "Playing the Waiting Game"

The talk at Spring Training mostly has surrounded around steroids these days.  Andy Pettitte reported on Monday and held a one-hour press conference to discuss his use of HGH and Alex Rodriguez showed up on Wednesday and he was asked questions right away (remember, Jose Canseco and John Rocker both have accused A-Rod of using performance enhancing drugs).  I am here to change the discussion to something much more positive and much more important.  What to do with the amazing Joba Chamberlain?  The Yankees have been saying all off-season that he was preparing to be in the starting rotation but just last week a New York newspaper cited a team source as saying Joba would begin the year in the bullpen and later move into the rotation.  The Yankees then said, again, he was going to prepare all spring to be a starter and they would make their decision closer to the beginning of the season.  This is a decision that could be the key to whether the Yankees make the playoffs or not and it is a very difficult decision to make. 

Continue reading "Joba Rules"

We have been waiting for this moment for months.  No, I’m not talking about the Jason Kidd trade to go through (which it did today).  I am talking to about the second half of the NBA season to begin.  The first three and a half months can be such a drag, and usually are but in the second half, everything picks up.  It is a two-month stretch run to the playoffs.  This is the time when teams like San Antonio and Detroit flip their switch on and look to be playing their best when the playoffs begin.  The flurry of trades that have gone on in the last two or three weeks has just made the second half that much more interesting.  The NBA season is about 20 games too long and it kills ratings but now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.  These next couple months of the regular season and the playoffs are going to be some of the best basketball since the ‘80’s.  The NBA, where exciting happens.

Continue reading "The NBA, Where Only the Second Half of the Season Matters."

Many of the Yankees reported to camp last Thursday, if not earlier, but today was the official start.  Why is that you ask?  That's because today was the first sighting of "The Boss".  George Steinbrenner came to camp today and held a meeting with General Manager, Brian Cashman, new Manager of the team, Joe Girardi and most of the coaching staff.  This got me thinking, with the start of the baseball season still six weeks away what questions do the Yankees have to answer while in Florida?
The first and most important question is not just about Andy Pettitte but about the starting rotation as a whole.  Will Pettitte be able to put the off-season out of his mind and be effective this year?  Even if he can, is there a pitcher after Wang and Pettitte any Yankee fan feels comfortable with?  Are Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes ready to pitch a whole MLB season?  Can Mike Mussina find any of his past glory?  This is obviously the most important question for the Yankees because, as they have learned in the past, you don't win in the playoffs without a solid rotation.

Continue reading "The Official Start to Spring Training"