Opinion

The Yankees drafted Ian Kennedy in the first round of the 2006 draft, and by the end of the 2007 season he was not only pitching in the majors, but over three starts he was pitching brilliantly.

He pitched so well, in fact, that it earned him a spot in the 2008 rotation coming out of spring training. Kennedy struggled in the big leagues that year though and was sent back down to the minors.

How do you truly measure defense in Major League Baseball?

Some of the greatest defensive players to play the game have taken home numerous Rawlings Gold Gloves. Ozzie Smith didn’t get the nickname “The Wizard” because it was cool, his glove was simply magical.

Omar Vizquel will one day get into the Hall of Fame and it will not be largely due to his offense. Ivan Rodriguez is arguably one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game, thanks to the 13 Gold Gloves stashed away on his mantle.

The New York Yankees lost a spring training game to the Minnesota Twins yesterday, 11-0.

Brett Gardner started and got one hit in three times at bat.

His hit came on a bunt. The bunt was fielded by the pitcher, whose throw pulled the first baseman off the bag.

Gardner's speed was the critical element in the play because the pitcher had no time to make an accurate throw with Gardner speeding down the line.

Ryan Braun is good.

While that is hardly breaking news to hardcore, or even casual, baseball fans, what may surprise most people is just how good Braun is.

The 26-year-old Braun is already historically good. He is all-time great good. With the power stats he's posted in his first three seasons in the majors, his name easily sits next to others like Pujols, Mathews, Kiner, and DiMaggio.

The Author originally published the following slideshow at hotstove.com, and it can also be seen here:

http://www.hotstove.com/2010/03/will-the-san-francisco-giants-make-the-p...

When a team finishes 72-90 in 2008 and then jumps up to a 88-74 finish in 2009, 2010 expectations obviously skyrocket.

This is not some knee-jerk reaction to what happened in yesterday's 15-3 blowout loss to the Sox. Sure, the right-hander gave up seven hits and six runs in two innings of work, including a pair of home runs. 

But Carlos Silva has got to go.

Now this should not be a surprise to anyone who knows anything about baseball. The fact that Silva is a lousy pitcher is one of the biggest "Duh!'s" in history. It is an understatement similar to saying that Tiger Woods likes the ladies.

The battle for the fifth starting spot on the Yankees is up for grabs this spring. While in all reality there are about five players in contention, many believe it will come down to either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, with the "loser" moving to the bullpen.

Charlie Morton's 2009 ERA of 4.55 shouts "league average."  But that's exactly what he is not, because he got there in a funny way.

My father (a retired civil engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University) used to say that there were two types of "B" students.  One type made "straight Bs." The other (rarer) kind made half As and half Cs.

Picture this. You wake up in the morning and stroll peacefully outside. It's mid morning and the sun has already begun to heat the earth. It's not too hot, but certainly not cold. You hop in the car and begin cruising down the highway with the windows down, wearing a baseball cap and matching team jersey.

Three of the greatest pitchers in New York Yankee history have a lot in common.

Whitey Ford, Ron Guidry, and Mariano Rivera each were great.

Ford is in the Hall of Fame, Rivera is a lock for it, and Guidry would have made the Hall if injuries had not shortened his career.

Number 16 is permanently attached to the wall in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium.

So is Number 49.

Number 42 will be there as soon as he retires.

All three of these guys were big game pitchers.

All three of them played their entire careers only with the Yankees.