You have to like the Yankees to go all the way this year

[WilliamPitt]

You have to get through Johnson, Pavano and Mussina before you get to brown on the pitching staff, and they're pissed with something to prove now (for the first time in a while).

I'm picking the Yankees against any NL team in the Series.

[inslee08]

1. HA HA HA

True, the addition of RJ helps the Yanks. But everybody knows that the 2005 ALCS will be 2003 ALCS part 3 (Yanks vs Red Sox). The Sox have improved their lineup greatly, even with some question marks in the rotation. I pick the Sox to go to the World Series, but I don't know who'll win it.

(For the record, I'm a Sox fan, if you couldn't tell)

[nickgutierrez]

4. I like what the Sox did with the rotation

Clement will be a major upgrade over Lowe, and there's nothing wrong with #3-4 starter Wade Miller.

I'm not so sure where they upgraded the lineup, aside from Renteria being an upgrade over Cabrera offensively (though not as much as is the perception), but their offense didn't need that much help to start with.

I think the Sox are still the team to beat, but the Yanks are almost certainly #2.

[DaveinMD]

5. They lost Pedro

and replaced him with Wells. That's a huge negative.

[Emboldened Chimp]

11. Agreed - Wells helped kill the Yanks in the playoffs...

He will do the same for the Sox. Sorry, Boston fans....

[GalleryGod]

2. I Know I'll Be Rooting for Them.

:party:

[ohkay]

3. No you don't.

I see the distractions and whatnot hurting any potential improvements in the rotation.

Wasn't Kevin Brown going to be the Hope Of The Yankees last year?

:evilgrin:

[OneBlueSky]

6. lowering expectations are we, Mr. Pitt? . . .

no one knows if Johnson's knees and back will hold up, Mussina has always been overrated, and both Pavano and Wright are coming off career seasons after lackluster prior performances . . . and then there's Kevin Brown, the grouch who punches out walls . . . I'm a Yankee fan, but if you ask me, they have a lot to prove before they can be considered favorites . . . like, can Giambi hit OR play first base? . . . is Bernie Williams still able to deliver? . . . is the fact that every team A-Rod has left has improved immensely indicative of anything? . . . is Mariano Rivera slipping? . . . is Gary Sheffield's repaired shoulder any more reliable than his unrepaired mouth? . . . personally, I think the Sox are the team to beat . . . they're the champs until proven otherwise . . .

on edit: did the Yankees overpay for Johnson, Pavano, and Wright? . . . no question . . .

[HuckleB]

16. Is there any Yankee player at a starting position who isn't overpaid?

:shrug:

[Bemis]

7. With that payroll...

the Yanks have to be in the World Series EVERY YEAR, or its a losing season.

The fun is watching them not make it.

Go SOX!

[HuckleB]

8. The odds are in their favor, as always.

And it's been so long now, that it's difficult to see it going any other way.

[joeybee12]

9. There are 3 sure things: deaths, taxes, and a Yankees choke this year...

...they may have the best team, but they have the most headcases of any team out there. They're pampered, spoiled, and they don't want it bad enough. They'll be favored, and lose--yet again, for the fifth year in the row--to a team that that actually is inspired.

Unless you're a die-hard Yankees fan, you know I'm right.

[bigwillq]

10. Everything you say is true--except--

The Yanks are going to win this year

Even Yankee haters know I'm right!:P

[joeybee12]

12. Well, I've been saying this for four years now (thought the Yankees would

beat the Diamondbacks)and I've been right. Nothing that has happened over the off-season has shown me the Yankees are once again a serious contender--nothing. Even Johnson has gone to great lengths to prove he's just an arrogant distraction.

[cruadin]

15. And, if you're listing arrogant distractions on the Yanqui roster,...

don't forget Alex "Slappy" Rodriguez. ;)

[joeybee12]

17. Of course not! He's at the top of the list!

[DaveinMD]

21. adding the best pitcher in baseball can only help

the Yankees are better than Boston this year. Boston's time is done. I hope they enjoyed it. Its all they are getting for another 80 years.

[ohkay]

31. That's why the Mets signed him

Contract was for too long, but he should still be usefull this year at least.

[DaveinMD]

33. ha

RJ is the best in the game right now.

[ohkay]

34. we shall see my friend, we shall see....

[hijinx87]

13. awwwww. do I have to?

RJ was a .500 pitcher last year, albeit on a miserable team, kevin brown's ERA was over 4, mussina's ERA was over 4.5, bernie williams is light years over the hill, gary sheffield can't with without steroids, (not to mention the 1.5 years of good behavior that he can manage per team will be over shortly), jason giambi can't hit with steroids, jeter and Arod are both overpaid, overrated mediocrities, and matsui is a staggering defensive liability.

why am I scared again ? ;)

edited for typo

[ohkay]

14. I love you

I think my avatar says it all.

:loveya:

[KitchenWitch]

18. 2005 WS is Twins versus Cardinals

Mark it down!

[joeybee12]

19. You might be right--my first reaction is that St. Louis is too down to

bounce back. Then again, they probably didn't take their thrashing by the Red Sox too seirously--since it was over even before it really started!

And if your Twins make the playoffs, for God's sake, beat the Yankees for once! It was extremely enjoyable for us Red Sox fans to see the skankees choke, but it was a little too nerve-wracking to go through again!

[KitchenWitch]

20. believe me, there is nothing more I want to see than the Twins

beating the spankees. Gawds I hate the Yanks. I was so rooting for the Saux wicked hard in the CS then in the WS.

Never underestimate Tony LaRussa, he is a great manager.

[joeybee12]

24. True, LaRussa is great, but the spin about him seems to be accurate...

...he seems to be lacking something in the play-offs. Well, we'll see this time around.

[SaveElmer]

41. Absolutely...This will happen

Best staff in the league...Mauer healthy, Morneau at first the whole year....excellent!!!

[WindRavenX]

22. yup

With all the smack the Sox have been talking, I expect the yankees to kick some serious mfing ass.

[ohkay]

25. edited.

Never mind. That was mean.

Let's not fight kitten, we're both from NH, we both like baseball ( even if you root for the wrong team), and we're both liberals..

We'll wait till october to fight :evilgrin:

[WindRavenX]

26. heheh...I'm not from NH

I'm from NJ, living in Boston now :evilgrin:

[ohkay]

27. Oh, well

SCREW YOU!!

(kidding)

Why do you have "Love free or die" next to Capn't Intangibles?

[WindRavenX]

35. best state slogan

Sums up my feelings perfectly :hi:
NH is a nice state. I spent many cold ass weekends canvassing during the primaries for JK.

[THUNDER HANDS]

23. the Yanks remind me of the 1993 NY Mets

a bunch of overpriced, thrown-together veterans who don't like eachother and will probably suffer innumerable injuries and fade out of contention long before the All-Star break.

I don't see the Yankees winning more than 80 games this year. Seriously.

I think they're going to implode.

The Mets, on the other hand, will win 90+ and take the series in 6 games from the Twins.

[DaveinMD]

29. get real

the Yankees have made the postseason every year since 1995. They've won 100 games three straight years. This year will be no exception.

[THUNDER HANDS]

30. trust me

I see bad things in the future for the Yanks. Reeeal bad things. They are having one of those spring training camps that the Mets used to have.

Oddly, the Mets are having one of those camps the Yanks usually have.

[DaveinMD]

32. put your money where your mouth is

I'm willing to bet the yanks will play postseason baseball again this year.

[Toby109]

28. On paper, sure.

Check out the Yankee rosters when they were winning. How many players came up through the system? More than now, I would guess. Torre is a fine manager but even he may not be able to make a team out of store-bought talent.

[NationalEnquirer]

36. You can say that about the yankees EVERY year..

They are the big spenders and should be able to win it most of the time.

Having said that, ya still gotta play the games...

[ProgressiveConn]

37. Yankees wont even be the best team in the city this year.

Yay Mets.

[DaveinMD]

38. I'm very confident they will be

the Mets Pitching isn't deep, they have no bullpen and their lineup just isn't that deep. The Yanks will win 100 games again.

[ProgressiveConn]

39. I think the staff is just fine.

Shhh don't ruin it. Until they prove otherwise I'm going to assume the New Mets will come through for me. =)

[DaveinMD]

40. good luck

I'd love another subway series.

[KamaAina]

42. Weren't they pissed with something to prove when

they lost the Series to a cheesy expansion team? Or when they lost the Series to... um... another cheesy expansion team?

Then again, it wasn't just that they lost, or even that they lost to the Sox, or even that they suffered the worst, um, collapse in postseason history, it was that they suffered the worst, um, collapse in postseason history to the Sox. "Pissed" is actually far too mild a word to describe this state of affairs. All winter I've been waiting for Mauna Steinbrenner to erupt and spew hot lava across the Tri-State Area. Nothing, yet...

Say, do the Washington Nationals count as a C.E.T.? They'd sure make a nice dark-horse pick (not to mention Vegas overlay!)

[nickgutierrez]

43. No, they wouldn't

:)

No team that signs Vinny Castilla and Christian Guzman to big contracts deserves to be in contention, and the Nats will be no exception to this rule.