Yankees roster close to being set

[jacksonianmarch]

The final 3 roster spots to be determined are 12th pitcher, backup 1b and backup C. Tyler Kepner is reporting that the yankees are going young.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/sp...ll&oref=slogin

From the looks of it, Wil Nieves, the 28 yr old defensive whiz will make the team over the 40 yr old Pratt who had the better stick. I had been clamoring for Nieves last season when jokers like Kelly Stinnett and Sal Fasano were parading around. If your backup catcher sucks, might as well develop one. Nieves will never be a starter, but he is capable of hitting mid .250s and being solid defensively. I like this move.

Josh Phelps will beat out Andy Phillips. Bout goddamn time. Andy Phillips cannot hit, period. Phelps can mash. Phillips is a better defensive player, by leaps and bounds, but Minky is the best there is and he is the starter. Phelps doubles as a lefty masher who can be a solid pinch hitter in times of need against good lefties. I think Phelps is my dark horse pick to be the yankees starting 1b by the time the season ends. He has a history of serious power when he was in Toronto, but they didnt have a spot for him and he lost his way a bit. He has serious power. Might as well give him a shot in a low pressure environment.

And Sean Henn will make it over Villone. I hate Henn, or at least I did. Until I watched Ron Villone pitch at the end of last season and this ST. Henn is a much better reliever than he was a starter. It remains to be seen if he will lay an egg in relief, but he will be mostly mop up duty. He has a great arm, and Torre may be hoping they can groom him to be a lefty version of Proctor (great arm, infinite chance, finally comes through as an integral part of the pen).

As expected, Rasner has won the 5th starter charade until Karstens is ready. It sounds like Karstens will be ready by mid april. After that, either Rasner or Henn will go (my guess is Henn as he has options left).

Either way, nice to see a bit of youth on this perennially ancient team.

[26 to 6]

I agree with everything you said. Although I did like the idea of Pratt making the team. Either way it works out fine as I have also been supportive of Nieves the past year or so as well.

I'm a little disappointed about losing Phillips just because he is more versatile than Phelps, as he can play both 3rd and second in a jam, but it's not too much of a loss considering Phelps's spring.

As for Rasner, before ST I said that I think he has a chance of being a big player for the Yankees this year, and hopefully this is the start of it. Time will tell though.