-Here's a good look at what we might be able to expect from Yankees hitters and pitchers in 2010. The thing that I like about PECOTA is that they offer several projections for the season, based on a percentile scale, which implicitly acknowledges that this is all little more than an education guess. But, fans are going to make projections no matter what, so you might as well look at a player's age, injury history, and historically comparable players if you're going to do it.
So remember that these are all their 50th percentile, middle-of-the-road scenarios. In theory, nobody has to get particularly lucky or unlucky in any department to hit these numbers.
-Rob Neyer has a few things to say about what Rivera's last birthday means for his 2010 season. The good news is, he doesn't thing it means much of anything at all. Most players are a fairly safe bet to repeat their performances from a season ago, regardless of their age. I'll disagree with him on this, though:
There's never really been a good (let alone great) 43-year-old reliever who didn't throw a knuckleball or a spitball.
How about one who threw a cutter, because I bet Rivera's going to try. Nothing's ever a sure thing, at any age let alone over 40, but Rivera can decline plenty and still be a good reliever.
-You read it here first: there are no plans for personal postseason catchers. Hopefully AJ's 5.27 ERA and 16 walks in 27 1/3 postseason innings dispelled any misinformation about this subject going forward.
-This puts spring training in perspective. Money quote:
Beyond symbolizing the return of baseball after a three-month hiatus, (Spring Training) doesn’t really mean that much at all.
Enjoy it, watch it, but don't overanalyze it. A handful of innings against some poor team's B-squad isn't going to determine anybody's career path. The odds are, whatever we think we know on Opening Day will probably change by June or July.