New York Yankees scouting report - MLB

We asked four veteran major-league scouts to break down the eight playoff teams for us during the last week of the regular season. We asked each scout to cover two clubs for us, going over each club's batting order, anticipated playoff rotation and closer, and this is what they said:

Scouting Report

New York Yankees

"You sit and watch 'em and they see so many pitches, and it's not because they've got this thing where they're any better than anybody else at it. It's because pitchers are saying, 'I can't throw the ball here, I've gotta throw it right there to get them out.' That's why. They see so many pitches because they're such good hitters. And the manager ain't going to scare. Joe Torre's been there so much that he just thinks, 'This is fun.'"

Alfonso Soriano, 2B

"Incredible year. Geez. But you still notice he hangs around (Derek) Jeter all the time. That's a very, very smart move. He wraps that bat around (his back shoulder) almost a la Julio Franco and still you can't throw a fastball by the guy. It defies trying to figure out. You're not supposed to be able to do that and still deliver the bat like that. But he does it."

Derek Jeter, SS

"I read (Omar) Vizquel say something the other day that I thought was a backhanded compliment. He said Jeter is always in the right place at the right time. There's a reason. He knows where to be all the time, what to do. He's a tremendous clutch player. He makes plays you would think only Vizquel could make. Bottom line is, he's going to make a difference in every game because he's always there. Outstanding hitter, great clutch performer ... he does it all really, really well."

Jason Giambi, 1B

"He's had a great year for those guys. This is the first time he's been on a team favored to win, so it'll be fun to watch how he performs. Big power. If they happen to lose Game 1 and the New York press rips him, it'll be interesting to see how he reacts."

Bernie Williams, CF

"What'd he hit, .100 for the first month? And now he's just about leading the league in hitting. He not unappreciated because he plays in New York and that's impossible, but it's the same thing every year. He sees more pitches than anybody, it seems like, especially in tough spots. It's always 3-2 on Bernie Williams, and that drives pitchers crazy. He not a great center fielder, but he's good enough."

Jorge Posada, C

"Another great year. You look up and see a catcher with 100 RBI -- or, he's close to it. He's throwing a little better, he's taking defense even more seriously than he has in the past. He's still improving. You think of him being there forever, but still getting better."

Raul Mondesi, RF

"It was interesting because, the last series last year when I saw him, his hair was dyed yellow, he was overweight, he didn't have his jersey tucked in, and the Yankees won't put up with any of that stuff. I do know one thing, they get in trouble if Bernie gets hurt -- they played Mondesi in center field (recently) and that isn't going to work. He's a brutal center fielder. He still has a monster arm and likes to show it off. He may do more in the playoffs than people think because he hits sixth or seventh and he's kind of out of the way."

Robin Ventura, 3B

"His numbers at the end of the year are what, .250 and a bunch of homers. He started hot but by the end of the year he's back down hitting what you would expect Robin Ventura to hit. He's the ultimate professional, gamer. He's not going to be scared. He's a quiet professional. If you didn't know, after that start, you'd think he hit .320 this year."

Nick Johnson, DH

"I'd be surprised if in the playoffs he doesn't play first base. He's an outstanding defensive first baseman and the other guy (Giambi) is not. In the end, you can talk all you want about (Giambi playing first), but you want to win those games, too. This guy has hit less and hit more home runs than people thought he would. He's not a .245 hitter. He's a .280, .300 hitter, or he should be. He's not bad."

Shane Spencer, LF

"Spencer is fine at the bottom of the order. You hope he gets a couple of cripples to hit and you hope he hits 'em out of the ballpark. He's easy to pitch to, but in the nine hole, you want a breather and the New York Yankees don't give you any breathers."

Roger Clemens, RHP

"Big-game star, regular-season star. He puts you away with that splitter, or whatever he calls it, in tight counts. All of a sudden, the bottom falls out of the baseball. He's not a good fielder, not any of that stuff, but that stuff don't come into play whole lot with him."

Andy Pettitte, LHP

"Everybody kept waiting for that cutter, cutter, cutter to take its toll (physically) and now, it's about 12 years later (since he was drafted) and he's still doing it. Big-time clutch performer. He'll break some bats. Any big game he starts, he's gonna be in it. All their guys can pitch against anybody -- Schilling, Johnson, and have a chance. That's the big thing about the Yankees, for me."

Mike Mussina, RHP

"This is the first year he's ever really had to work to get guys out. I never thought I would see that. It comes to everybody. He used to throw any of his three or four pitches for strikes and he could get you. Now, guys are fouling them off. I imagine he'll jerk off a good one in the playoffs. He can make a pitch, but he used to not have to make one. It used to be, 'Here, this might go inside, this might go outside, but you're not going to be able to hit it anyhow.'"

David Wells, LHP

"He's still got it. They talk about his body, talk about this, talk about that ... forget all that stuff. He's still got great stuff. And he can cut it, and his curveball is outstanding."

Orlando Hernandez, RHP

"All kinds of angles, as always. I didn't see much dropoff. I keep hearing he's not that guy. I don't see it. He's pretty good. If he's your fourth starter, you're pretty good. And if he gets in trouble, you can come with (Jeff) Weaver. That's not fair."

Mariano Rivera, closer

"(The sore shoulder that has nagged him the past two months) is the whole thing. What a difference. I talk and talk and talk about Jeter, but this guy needs to play. He needs to be able to pitch for them because their alternatives are not ninth-inning pitchers."