Return of the Jeet (Stay on target... Part II)

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As part of my daily routine, I read the New York Daily News. Yes, I live in Vegas, but reading the Daily News makes me feel like I'm back home.  Anyway, in reading an article abut Jeter, I came across this paragraph:

And in that respect, he does not talk about any milestones he can still achieve in this last season. He is already the only player besides Willie Mays to have at least 3,000 hits, 250 homers, 300 stolen bases and 1,200 RBI in his career, already the Yankees’ all-time leader in hits, stolen bases and games played. With 120 more hits, he will surpass Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Carl Yastrzemski, Honus Wagner and Cap Anson into sixth place on the all-time list, and with 74 more runs scored he will surpass Tris Speaker, Lou Gehrig, Alex Rodriguez* and Stan Musial to take ninth on that list.


(Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/madden-derek-keeping-pundits-hustling-article-1.1704786#ixzz2udOlDgcP)

That got me thinking about an blog I wrote a few years ago, Stay on target... Almost there... I made some predictions about the end of Jeter's career. Let's see how close I am.  I predicted he will play till 2014. Jeter announced his retirement in 2014.  Although to be fair, his contract only lasted till 2014 so this was kind of a gimmie.  I predicted 3690 hits for 4th all time.  It looks like he will end up 6th.  Although I'm pretty sure he would've ended up 4th if it wasn't for his injury.

300HR Club.  He's currently at 256.  Doesn't look like he's going to make this one.

400 Stolen Bases.  He's currently at 348.  Doesn't look like he's going to make this one either.

10K At Bats. Yeah, he toppled this in grand fashion in 2012 when he got 683 ABs.  He is starting the season at 10,614.

2500 Games Played.  He passed this one up also in 2012.  2014 starts him at 2602.

He also added another ASG appearance in 2012 to bring him up to 13.  And you know he is going to the 2014 ASG so that will put his career at 14 ASGs.

I did say that he would have one more spectacular season in him.  Looks like 2012 was that year.  I wonder what could have been if not for his injury plagued 2013 season.

Like I've mentioned before, Jeet is a 1st year HoF inductee.  Tom Seaver holds the record for highest vote percentage into the HoF at 98.8%.  I really, really believe that Jeet has a chance at breaking this record also.  I guess we will revisit this in 2019, the first year he will be on the ballot.  I will tell you this, I plan to be there in 2020 when he makes his acceptance speech.

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Stats provided by Baseball-Reference.com

1st Yankee prediction of 2012

in

Predictions sure to result in an Epic Failure.

So I think it’s time to introduce a new feature to this blog.  I’m calling it “Predictions sure to result in Epic Failure.”  I’m going to put my “vast” baseball knowledge to the test and start making predictions.    If my predictions don’t happen, then I’ve failed just like I said I would.  If predictions do happen, I look like a genius.  I can’t lose.

Today’s prediction is focusing on the Yankees 2012 Starting Rotation…

Six guys competing for five spots on the pitching rotation.  Out of those six, only two have a guaranteed spot.  Let’s look at the names:

CC Sabathia – Guaranteed spot on the rotation.  Ace of the team. Opening Day pitcher. Look for another 20-Win season with an ERA in the low 3.00s this year. ‘Nuff said.

Hiroki Kuroda – According to news outlets, Hiroki is also guaranteed a spot on the starting rotation. Huh?  HK has only had one winning season in the majors, and barely at that (8-7 in 2009).  He does have a career ERA in the 3.00s (3.45) and he does eat up innings (208).  He did play for the Dodgers that last 4 years so it’s possible he simply didn’t have the run support.  He should have plenty of run support with Yankees.

Phil Hughes – Let’s call him “The Great White Hope.” With an electrifying 2010 season in which he went 18-8 and was voted and All-Star, it was expected that he would improve on that… Or at least match it.  What we got in 2011 was not pretty at all.  Plagued with injuries, Phil went 5-5 and didn’t even remotely resemble the Phil Hughes of 2010.  He’s got something to prove this season and expect to see him return to 2010 numbers. 

Ivan Nova – I made the mistake last season of saying that Nova would be traded for Ubaldo Jimenez.  I still think Ubaldo is a great pitcher, but I’m glad Ivan is still with the Yankees.  I expect him to have a 15+ win season and lower his ERA to under 3.40.

Michael Pineda – Pineda is going into his sophomore season and the Yankees have high expectations of him.  I believe that the pressure of playing in New York is going to affect him. He will get a starting position out of spring training only to lose it 2 months into the season.

Freddy Garcia – This guy is going to have a Cinderella season.  I expect him to start the season in the bullpen, but he’ll be in the rotation when Pineda “loses” it.  He has experience and, if he has the patience, I believe he will also go 15+ wins this season.  He’s the one that’s going to keep the Yankees on track towards the post-season.

So, in conclusion, the 2012 Starting Day Rotation is going to look like this:

CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes, Michael Pineda

But expect it to look like this by All-Star Break

CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Freddy Garcia

Of course, I could be totally wrong.

It wouldn't be the first time.