Opponents Boston loved to hate in 2011 [Globe]

I am back, faithful readers.

And I’m damn glad.

It’s been two and a half months since my last post — by far the longest hiatus this blog has ever gone through — but I have every intention to resume daily blogging activities from this day forth. I’m a little ashamed to say my first post back isn’t an original lenNYsYankees.com work, but I figured it would be a good start.

I’m still working for Boston.com (remotely from Quinnipiac, my home in New Hampshire and even once from Florida), and my latest work is a feature on opponents who Boston fans loved to hate in 2011. So yes, some Yankees made the list. One of them was even voted the most hated opponent of all (including basketball, football and hockey opponents).

Can you guess the three players on the list? Check it out here, and let me know in the comments if there’s someone I forgot, or if there’s someone you feel doesn’t belong.

Ivan Nova test results provide silver lining after tough loss

Nobody’s happy after last night’s loss, but at least there’s some good news on Ivan Nova’s arm.

Nova underwent an MRI on his throwing arm today after leaving last night’s start early. The results were good; he has a Grade 1 Flexor Strain, which is “expected to heal without complications this winter,” according to the Yankees announcement.

Yankees’ offseason wasn’t dismal [Storify]

Larry Rothschild: A.J. Burnett will be different this year

New Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild told the Daily News he believes in A.J. Burnett and he’ll have a different mindset on the mound in 2011.

“We're trying to do a few things to make it a habit where when he goes out to the mound he can throw the ball instead of trying to govern himself to throw strikes. Hopefully, it helps him get back on the attack. Confidence will come from that, and the demeanor will be a little different.” - Rothschild

Rothschild had a lot more to say about Burnett in the article linked above. Remember, Rothschild visited Burnett at his home in the offseason to train, meaning they likely developed a good rapport.

Both Rothschild and Burnett want the same thing: success. Rothschild showed he was dedicated to achieving success by training this offseason and now he’s projecting confidence in Burnett.

Yankees notes: Swisher, Sabathia, Joba, Ayala, Chavez, Aceves

After an extremely busy Tuesday, I’m back with a quick roundup of Yankees notes. A few have arrived at the Yankees minor league complex in Tampa, and there are also a few notable transactions.

• Nick Swisher was featured in the Wall Street Journal yesterday for his Twitter usage.
• CC Sabathia was the heaviest man in baseball last year, but supposedly has lost 30 pounds.
• Joba Chamberlain put on some weight. But at least it’s muscle, according to Erik Boland.
• Luis Ayala signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. Ayala has pitched relief for nearly six years in the National League, but spent all of last season in the minors.
• Eric Chavez’s deal with the Yankees could be worth up to $5.5 million. He’ll have to spend a lot of time on the Yankees roster in order to do that, but first he has to make the team.
• Alfredo Aceves signed with the Red Sox to a major league deal. Aceves spent three seasons with the Yankees (only one full season).
• LoHud has you covered for some small spring training notes from Tampa.

That’s it for now.

Jim Abbott Featured Card of the Week

If you’ve never heard of Jim Abbott, do you notice anything weird about this card? Abbott was born without a right hand, but still managed to pitch 10 seasons in the majors — two with the Yankees.

His greatest accomplishment with the Yankees was his no-hitter on Sept. 4, 1993. Pretty remarkable.

Twitter followers undecided on Andy Pettitte's Hall of Fame chances

Using a new social media tool called Storify, I’ve been able to aggregate your comments on Twitter easily and present them to the rest of my followers easily and elegantly.

I can also include Facebook comments, YouTube videos and much more. Pretty cool, I think.

Based on my several responses from Yankees fans, it seems Pettitte certainly is a borderline Hall of Famer. I think the key to his case is, unfortunately, his connection to HGH and the Mitchell Report.

Here are the responses:

Poll Results: Brett Gardner should hit leadoff

The majority of my readers agree with me! I’m surprised only 25 percent stuck up for Derek Jeter to hit leadoff, but I’m glad to see people supporting Brett Gardner.

A family friend reiterated an important point in the comments of a post about this poll: Gardner led the Yankees in on-base percentage last season. That has to be a key statistic Joe Girardi uses in determining his leadoff hitter.

Super Bowl Sunday makes me think baseball needs a one-game playoff

The most overblown annual sporting event is tonight, and I can guarantee you it wouldn’t be nearly as hyped up if the NFL champion was decided in seven games like baseball’s World Series. 

The idea of adding a second wild card to both the American and National Leagues would create an opportunity for a one-game playoff. The two wild cards from both leagues would square off in one game (ideally hosted by the team with the better record), and both winners would advance to their respective Division Series.

Yankees add Ronnie Belliard on minor-league deal

On the same day Andy Pettitte announced his retirement, the Yankees picked up a player who could help the team this season.

Ronnie Belliard and the Yankees agreed to a minor-league deal, according to Enrique Rojas, in which he can earn up to $825,000 plus incentives if he makes the Yankees.

Belliard will challenge Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez in spring training for a backup infield spot on the Yankees roster.

Andy Pettitte: ‘I will not pitch this season’

The most important statement from today’s Andy Pettitte’s presser came about a quarter of the way through when he said very clearly, “I will not pitch this season.”

Here are some other noteworthy comments from the conference.

Andy Pettitte to retire tomorrow

After last season ended, many fans expected the Yankees to come back in 2011 with the best rotation in the majors, one that would feature CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes.

Now that the Phillies signed Lee and with Pettitte expected to announce his retirement tomorrow, Yankees fans are cringing at the sound of the team’s rotation.

[Video] How a baseball is made

Here’s an in-depth video of how a baseball is made: all the way from the cork, to the layers of yarn, and finally to the leather.

In the factory featured in this video, there are 350 sewers who help produce 8,000-10,000 balls per day.

Brien Taylor Featured Card of the Week

The Yankees drafted Brien Taylor with the first overall pick in the 1991 draft. But after defending his brother in a first fight, he suffered a dislocated shoulder on his pitching arm and never reached the majors.

Only one other first overall pick has never reached the majors: Steve Chilcott in 1966 (thanks, Wikipedia).

If Taylor hadn’t injured his arm during that fight, maybe we’d be talking about Taylor debating retirement right now.

My dad has always said Taylor’s story would make a great book: stories of athletes with extremely high expectations who never lived up. I say it would be a cool book, but it wouldn’t sell because the common fan wouldn’t know the players in it. Your thoughts?

Yankees sign Freddy Garcia to minor-league deal + new 2011 rotation prediction

The Yankees added another rotation possibility to the mix last night, signing Freddy Garcia to a minor-league contract.

Garcia will make $1.5 million if he makes the team and could make an extra $3.6 million in performance bonuses.

The 35-year-old pitched 157 innings for the White Sox last season to the tune of a 4.64 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.

My plan for Jesus Montero in 2011

The Yankees have one of baseball’s top prospects in Jesus Montero, and this season is a pivotal part of his development. It’s the season that he’s expected to get major league playing time, but nobody knows how much he’ll get or whether he’ll start the year in Scranton or New York.

The plan for Montero will be made sometime toward the end of spring training, but we’re all getting anxious at this point and there’s no harm in thinking about how Montero’s season will play out now.

Before I get into my plan, I want to share what Brian Cashman said about Montero recently (my emphasis).

The minor leagues is (where you) work out your problems, and he’s certainly closing the gap. He’s not there yet, but he’s pretty damn close. We believe he’s better than some starting catchers, defensively, in the big leagues right now.

Brian Cashman: ‘Why are people bitching so much?’

Part of Brian Cashman’s phone interview with Ken Rosenthal:

“Tell me where we are screwing up on the baseball operations side. I need a starting pitcher, but is the future strong because we have a farm system acknowledged in the industry to be one of the best? Check. Am I getting our payroll down, as charged by ownership? Check. Do we have success on the field? Check.

“What's the problem? Why are people bitching so much? That's my question. That's my frustration. The problem is people having patience with the process.”

That is one ticked off GM. And he has every right to be ticked off. The Yankees won it all in 2009 and he put his club in position to repeat in 2010.

Keith Law’s Top 10 Yankees Prospects for 2011

ESPN’s Keith Law released his Top 100 prospects and Team-by-Team Top 10 Prospects today. Jesus Montero ranked as the fourth best prospect in all of baseball (first catcher), and Manny Banuelos ranked 12th (fourth pitcher).

Here are his top 10 Yankees prospects (h/t Jason@IIATMS)

1. Jesus Montero, C (4)
2. Manny Banuelos, LHP (12)
3. Gary Sanchez, C (68)
4. Dellin Betances, RHP (73)
5. Andrew Brackman, RHP (88)
6. Austin Romine, C
7. Graham Stoneburner, RHP
8. Slade Heathcott, OF
9. Hector Noesi, RHP
10. Adam Warren, RHP

Note how this list compares with Baseball America’s (they’re pretty similar).

Jesus Montero, Gary Sanchez, Manny Banuelos listed on MLB.com’s Top 50 prospects

In MLB.com’s Top 50 Prospects list for 2011, Jesus Montero ranked ninth, Gary Sanchez 32nd and Manny Banuelos 35th.

Montero is the top-ranked catcher on the list. Before the Yankees acquired Russell Martin, Montero was expected to assume the starting job in place of Jorge Posada. Now, he’ll likely have to work his way to the majors during the season.

Remember when we joked about the Yankees being linked to Bartolo Colon?

Well, our dreams nightmares came true. FoxSports.com’s Jon Morosi says the Yankees have signed Bartolo Colon to a minor-league contract.

NY Post’s Joel Sherman adds the Yankees have invited him to spring training and he’ll earn $900,000 if he makes the team.

Colon was playing for Yankees bench coach Tony Pena in the Dominican Republic and  I take it he like what he saw.