[Moriarty9]

Yanks playoff hopes on Parr
2011 Wild Card winners eye division crown
March 17, 2012

TAMPA, Fla. — In his three years at the helm, New York Yankees manager Domingo Meza has led the Bronx Bombers to improved records each year, and hopes to continue that trend in 2012.

Meza's Yankees went 69-93 in 2009, his first season as skipper. The team improved to 76-86 in 2010, and then made the playoffs as the American League Wild Card winner with an 86-76 record in 2011. If the trend continues, the Yankees should win more than 90 games this season.

If the Yankees do reach that plateau, a big reason will surely be their ace — and reigning Cy Young winner — James Parr. The 26-year-old Parr had a fantastic sophomore season, going 20-5 with a 2.18 ERA, 316 strikeouts in 235 innings, a 0.94 WHIP, and holding opponents to a .182 average.

Matt Harrison, New York's number two starter, is no slouch himself. The 26-year-old lefty went 16-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 34 starts, throwing 220 2/3 innings.

Yankees pitching coach Armando Reynoso said Parr and Harrison were one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball last season, and with a compined record of 36-14, it is hard to argue with him.

The trouble for the Yankees comes after their two big starters as Seth McClung is currently slotted as the number three starter. McClung, 31, went 9-13 with a 4.86 ERA in 34 starts last season, and has a career mark of 34-44 with a 5.52 ERA in four seasons as a starter for New York.

Ricardo Rodriguez, 33, has shown signs of big talent but has failed to put it all together. He went 14-14 with a 4.36 ERA in 33 starts last year after going 11-13 with a 4.89 ERA in 34 starts in 2010.

The fifth spot in the rotation is up for grabs between David Bush and Joel Hanrahan.

Bush, 32, was a member of the Yankees rotation for most of last season, but struggled significantly. He went 4-16 with a hefty 7.11 ERA in 27 starts, posting a 1.66 WHIP and allowing opponents to hit .306 against him.

Hanrahan didn't fare much better in the limited time he spent in the big leagues in 2011, but appears to be the leading candidate thus far. The 30-year-old went 3-5 with a 7.04 ERA in nine starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates last season. He signed a two-year deal for low money with the Yankees this winter, and owns a 9-11 record and 4.84 ERA in 40 games, including 31 starts.

The Yankees will also have to figure out its closer situation. Currently, Kurt Birkins is Meza's choice at the end of ballgames. Birkins, a 31-year-old lefty, has 29 saves in five big league seasons, picking up a pair of them last year. In 2011, he went 5-4 with two saves and a 3.58 ERA in 67 games. His career high in saves came in 2009 when he picked up 12 saves for the Yankees.

Competing for that job are set-up men Chris Ray and Courtney Duncan. Ray, 30, went 4-5 with five saves and a 4.22 ERA in 65 appearances last year with New York and spent two seasons as the closer for the Chicago Cubs before coming to the Yankees. In 2009, he saved 41 games for the Cubs. He struggled with Chicago in 2010 but managed to save 24 games.

Duncan had some experience closing out games for New York last season, going 2-2 with 11 saves and a 3.55 ERA in 59 games. It was the most significant number of saves since recording 10 with the Detroit Tigers in 2001, his rookie season. The 37-year-old owns a career record of 40-23 with 39 saves and a 4.09 ERA in 562 appearances.

Another former closer is J.J. Putz, who worked at the end of the Oakland A's bullpen previously. Putz, 35, went 1-3 with eight saves and a 5.79 ERA in 44 games for the Yankees last season, resulting in a longshot status for him to take the closer's job. He saved 107 games for the A's in 2006-2008, and went 5-7 with 18 saves and a 2.96 ERA in 2009 with Oakland before missing the 2010 season with a back injury.

Justin Miller served as the primary closer for New York, but his high ERA and inexperience in the role appears to have pushed him into a middle relief and set-up role in 2012. Miller went 3-3 with 22 saves and a 5.26 ERA in 52 games last season. He has 30 saves and a 4.01 ERA in his career.

Left-hander Jesse Carlson, 31, will work as a middle reliever in 2012. He went 8-2 with two saves and a 4.58 ERA in 70 games last year.

Fighting to try and make the club is 31-year-old right-hander Ryan Braun, who last pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010, when he went 4-2 with a 5.35 ERA in 47 games. Braun is 20-8 with one save and a 4.42 ERA in 225 games over five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (2006-2007) and St. Louis (2008-2010).

Also hoping to make the team is 28-year-old right-hander Evan Meek. Meek pitched in eight games for the 2008 Yankees and six times for the 2010 Yankees. In his career, he has no decisions or saves with an 8.64 ERA in 16 2/3 innings of work.

Behind the plate, New York has two top-notch catchers to choose from. Marvin Thomason impressed many last season as the 22-year-old hit .319 with 18 home runs, drove in 68 runs and scored 88 times in 141 games while throwing out 31% of base-stealers. Refusing to be complacent, however, the Yankees this winter signed free agent catcher Ryan Doumit of the Chicago White Sox. Doumit, a 30-year-old switch-hitter, hit .298 with 25 homers and 96 RBI in 144 games for Chicago last season. Over his career, Doumit's 162-game average comes out to 27 home runs, 111 RBI, and 101 runs scored while hitting .303. He threw out 27.2% of would-be-base-stealers in 2011.

One place there is no debate is with who will play first base. Carlos Pena has been a wrecking ball for the Yankees since joining the team in 2007. He hit .273 with 41 home runs, 104 RBI, and 106 runs scored in 160 games for New York last season and needs 38 homers this year to reach 500 in his career.

At second base, the team will decide between Ramon Vazquez and rookie Danny Sanders.

Vazquez, 35, is a left-handed hitter that served as a utility infielder last year for New York. He hit .275 with one homer and six RBI in 69 at bats, but appeared in 79 games overall, often as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Sanders, 27, has no big league experience and has not played above the AA level, but may be in the lineup come Opening Day. He hit .299 with six home runs and 44 RBI in 111 games in AA last year.

Third base belongs to 33-year-old Greg Dobbs, a left-handed slugger. Dobbs hit .262 with 29 homers and 99 RBI in 156 games during 2011, his first season with the Yankees. He is a caeeer .292 hitter with 124 homers and 560 RBI in his career.

Ty Wigginton will see some time at third base as well. Wigginton hit .291 with 17 homers and 47 RBI in 114 games last season for the Bronx Bombers.

At shortstop is future Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter. The 37-year-old hit .310 with 16 homers and 87 RBI in 137 games last season and is in the final year of his current contract. He will reach the 3,000 hit plateau this year — possibly by the end of April — and has said he'd like to retire a Yankee, but there is certainly no guarantee.

Acquired in a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Yankees plan to use Dan Ortmeier in the corner outfield spots this year. Ortmeier hit .237 with 11 home runs and 72 RBI in 150 games between the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh.

He will be challenged for playing time, however, by rookie Jow Bowden. The 23-year-old lefty hit .330 with 12 homers and 57 RBI in 92 games in AAA last year.

Also challenging for time at the plate and in the field will be Elijah Dukes, who hit just .203 last year for New York, but did hit 21 homers, drove in 59 runs, scored 101 times, and stole 16 bases in 154 games.

David Murphy appears set as the regular center-fielder after hitting .247 with eight home runs and 41 RBI in 129 games last year. His main competition is Wladimir Balentin, who hit .179 with two homers and five RBI in 41 games for New York in 2011, and is a career .225 hitter.

Slugging his way in as the DH will be 28-year-old Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera hit .289 with 24 homers and 82 RBI in 157 games last season for the Yankees.