If you didn't catch the replay of yesterday's game, the Yankees lost, but AJ Burnett looked good.
I've been thinking about AJ and Hughes- look at the AL playoff field from the last two seasons (Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Twins, Rangers, Angels). Now compare AJ and Hughes to the #2 and #3 starts for those teams.
I'll concede that any of those pairs could be better than AJ + Hughes. I'd even go so far to bet that at least one of those pairs has a more effective season that AJ + Hughes. But my thought is that Burnett was so bad, and Hughes' second half was so lackluster, that if both right the ship just a little... If both players make 3 more quality starts than last season, turn 3 duds into decent performances, I'd bet that the Yankee offense could convert half of those into extra wins.
Am I crazy, dead on, or just over thinking things again?
It's a footnote in this article on Jorge Vazquez that Eric Chavez is all but a lock for a bench role.
I've started pouring over the Yankees' schedule. It looks like the first time in years that the Yanks' don't have a 20 game stretch of road games, and April is especially forgiving- the Yanks don't play an away series without a day off until going Detroit to Texas May 5-6.
Even the getaway days seem more forgiving this year than in years past. Of 13 scheduled getaway days (a game on the road followed by a game in another the city without a travel day in between), the Yankees have 5 day games, 8 night games, and 1 TBD (Sunday at the Cubs, so a virtual lock for Sunday Night Baseball). Now, that's still ridiculous compared to the courtesy the Yankees pay visiting teams; the Yankees play an evening game to conclude a homestand without a travel day once, playing day games 7 times.