Looking Ahead To The 2012 Yankees

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Over on my favorite sports forum, DailySportsPages, we had the users there vote on many things pertaining to the 2012 team like who is most likely to be our MVP, our Cy Young winner, etc. The results are in. 

First we asked who would be the BOUNCEBACK Player Of The Year and the winner was Alex Rodriguez. Most of the users voting for AROD mentioned the knee procedure that he had in Germany that was referred to him by Kobe Bryant. I personally voted for Phil Hughes here because I thought pride would really light a fire under him. Mark Teixeira also got votes, which I can understand.

Second we asked the users who would be the SLEEPER pick for us in 2012 and the votes are in. Phil Hughes won here due to reports that he came into camp in shape and looking good. Not many people are expecting much out of him either with the Kuroda and Pineda transactions so I could see him being a sleeper. I personally voted Brett Gardner here, as did others, because I think he finally puts it all together in the field, at the plate, and on the base paths (green light him Girardi... do it now). Rafael Soriano and even Hiroki Kuroda got a vote here (albeit by a Dodgers fan) so optimism is reigning supreme in Yankees land.

The best bullpen arm came up next as we did not want to limit it to anything short of that and the results were mixed, which is not surprising seeing as deep as our bullpen is. Obviously we all know that Mariano Rivera won this, which should catch no one by surprise, but it was not as close as you would think. Many people wondered how, if possible, David Robertson could improve on his 2011 season. Many of those same people even picked him to regress in 2012, which even if he did a little would still make him the best set up man in all of baseball. I personally voted for Rafael Soriano because I know that he wants to close, if he didn't then he would have not signed a deal loaded with opt out clauses. The only way that Soriano is a closer is if he kills it in the Yankees pen, opts out, and signs a lucrative deal with another team next off season. I was in the minority here as the only one to vote for him. 

On to the good ones, we will start with the Cy Young. Ok, so maybe the build up was not worth it as CC Sabathia ran away with it. One person did vote for Michael Pineda though, which I found interesting. This user stated that he thought with the "Verducci" effect under his belt with a full year over and the help of pitching coach Larry Rothschild to help with his changeup will result in huge strides for Michael this season. Interesting.. but come on... It is CC Sabathia.

Finally, the moment we have all waited for, the Yankees 2012 MVP. Is it Cano? Is It Nick Swisher? Is it Derek Jeter? No... It is Alex Rodriguez. How bold of a prediction is this Yankees fans? Robinson Cano , as stated on the site, is the best hitter on the team but Alex Rodriguez and the magical procedure that will elongate his career has won him this one. Derek Jeter also got a few votes which I find ironic. Jeter has never won an MVP award, although he deserved to, so I do not see how someone can think he can win one this season.

That is our list.... What is yours?