Hughes starts but Joba gets the attention

The New York Yankees played the Philadelphia Phillies last night at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The final score was 3-0, Phil Hughes made the start on short rest to get lined up as the 5th starter but most of the attention was on Joba Chamberlain. Hughes pitched 3+ innings giving up 2 hits and 1 run with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. He was a little wild but remember was on short rest. Joe Girardi said he was pleased with his outing. He said he was missing just a little bit but he was pleased with his outing. Zach Segovia pitched 2 scoreless innings giving up 3 hits and a walk. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and so did Damaso Marte. Royce Ring pitched a inning giving up 2 runs and 2 hits with 2 strikeouts. Amaury Sanit pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Now lets get to Joba, he is the big topic as always because he is back to being in the bullpen. Here is what he had to say "I can say I am happy with myself because I gave it everything I've got. Hughes just beat me, that's it, the long and short of it." He said he expects to go back to his fastball slider combo and the Yankees expect his velocity to climb back into the upper 90's. I also expect this to happen and don't think it will take him too long to get back to that bulldog mindset and just start blowing people away. "I can't think about being a starter at this point. For me to help this team right now, it's being in the bullpen and trying to get guys out there. It's unfair to my team to think about something else." Here is what Brian Cashman had to say "I think we finished off his development plan, and we have choices with him now. He can start if we need him to start, he can relieve if we need him to relieve. I don't feel it's a waste at all. I think we completed the mission on him and what will be, will be." The Yankees offense only produced 4 hits in the game and one was by Marcus Thames off of lefty Jaime Moyer which is good, he is going to be used against lefties and needs to show he can hit them like he has in his career. The other hits were by Robinson Cano, Jon Weber and Nick Swisher. The Yankees will take on the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland today at 1:00PM. Francisco Cervelli will be away from the team for a couple of days to attend to a personal matter.

Yanks Fall to Astros

The New York Yankees lost to the Houston Astros today by the score of 6-4. Alfredo Aceves got the start and for the first time this spring he struggled. He pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up 5 hits and 5 runs with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. His numbers do look a little worse then he pitched though. Most of the damage was done at the end of his outing but this clearly was his worst start of the spring. Mark Melancon pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 2 hits and a run with a strikeout. Boone Logan pitched another scoreless inning, he did give up a hit and he had a strikeout. Brett Gardner had a couple of hits, one of them was a bunt single. The bunt hit was his 3rd of the spring, he had 2 all of last season. He has been hitting well lately and has his spring average up to 281, if he can hit like that then he will be a starting outfielder on this team. Mark Teixeira had a hit and walk and Alex Rodriguez continues to heat up as he had 2 hits and 2 rbi. Greg Golson and David Winfree each had a hit and Robinson Cano had a hit and rbi. Francisco Cervelli, Jon Weber, Kevin Russo, Ramiro Pena, Mike Rivera and Reid Gorecki all had a hit. The Yankees will host the Detroit Tigers tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM on the YES network. Here are some postgame notes from today: Joe Girardi on the 5th starter competition being such a big topic "I think people are interested that is why, because once that is set, you iron out your bullpen from there. There's a lot kind of up in the air because you don't know who's in your bullpen because of the 5th starter spot. I'm not really suprised by the attention." The other competition is for the last roster spot and it is between Marcus Thames and Jaime Hoffman and neither is playing well. Hoffman is batting 130 and Thames is hitting 107 this spring. Girardi said they aren't in that big of a hurry to make that decision. The 5th starter should be decided by Friday. The Lohud Blog has audio of Joe Girardi speaking with the media. A.J. Burnett will start tomorrow with Phil Hughes pitching in relief. Joba will start on Monday with Andy Pettitte pitching in a minor league game.

New York Mets Recap and some Notes

The New York Mets lost to the Minnesota Twins today by the score of 7-3. Johan Santana started for the Mets and he wasn't good over 3 1/3 innings. He gave up 5 runs and 9 hits. He was pitching so well before this so I wouldn't get too crazy over it. Sean Green pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing 2 hits and 1 run. Bobby Parnell pitched 2 innings giving up a hit but 0 runs. He did have a strikeout. Pat Misch pitched 2 scoreless, hitless innings. He did give up a walk but also had 2 strikeouts. Jenrry Mejia gave up a hit and run in 1 inning, he did work out of a jam though. I think it is good for him to struggle a little and then see how he bounces back from it. Jason Bay was 2-2 raising his spring average to 357, Ruben Tejada was 2-5 with 2 doubles. Daniel Murphy and Jeff Francoeur were 0-7 combined though and left 11 men on base. Fernando Martinez had a hit, Russ Adams had a hit and rbi. Omir Santos had a hit, rbi and walk and Sean Riggans had a hit. Pat Misch has a 9 inning scoreless streak going. The Mets play the Cardinals in Jupiter tomorrow at 1:05PM. Kevin Burkhardt of SNY said today during the telecast according to Matthew Cerrone that Kelvim Escobar won't start throwing until April after the Mets break camp. You can check out Matthews blog at http://metsblog.com It is a great Mets blog, he does a great job, there is lots of audio and video and everything you need to know about the Mets.

Minnesota Twins at New York Mets

The New York Mets are taking on the Minnesota Twins at Tradition Field right now. The game is on SNY. Here is the lineup for todays game, I will have some notes later on and a recap of the game. Mets Lineup: Fernando Martinez(CF) Ruben Tejada(SS) David Wright(3B) Jason Bay(LF) Daniel Murphy(1B) Jeff Francoeur(RF) Russ Adams(2B) Omir Santos(C) Johan Santana(P)

Grapefruit League Game 16-Mets at Marlins

The New York Mets will play the Florida Marlins in Jupiter. The game is at 7:00PM on SNY. Here is the Mets lineup: Mets Lineup: Angel Pagan(CF) Luis Castillo(2B) David Wright(3B) Mike Jacobs(1B) Jason Bay(LF) Jeff Francoeur(RF) Alex Cora(SS) Henry Blanco(C) Oliver Perez(P) I will have some notes later on after the game along with the recap.

Grapefruit League Game 9-Yankees at Tigers

The New York Yankees are traveling to Lakeland today to play the Detroit Tigers. Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes will both be pitching tomorrow. Here are some morning notes and the Yankees lineup. Alex Rodriguez had a update on his situation with meeting with the federal investigators. Here is what he said "They're working to schedule something that allows me to cooperate, and get my work in." Alex Rodriguez would prefer for the meeting to take place in Tampa and the Yankees have a off day on Monday so that should work but we will see. A-rod said he is looking forward to hearing from his lawyers sooner then later and is looking forward to getting this behind him. He said "I think the key thing to remember about this, it is a investigation about someone else. I don't really focus on that, I am focused on our team and Boston on Opening Day." He also added that his hip feels good and that he is not trying to overdo it this spring. He will have to see surgeon Mark Philippon and take some picture of the hip at some point in the future. He doesn't think that will happen until the All Star break or at some point when the Yankees are out west. Yankees Lineup: Granderson(CF) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Cano(2B) Thames(RF) Gardner(LF) Rivera(C) Vazquez(3B) Pena(SS) I will have some more later on from Joe Girardi this morning. The game is not televised but I will have a recap and any other notes later on today also so check back for all the action taking place today in Yankees Land.

Recap of Todays Yankees action

The New York Yankees had a great day on the field defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 12-0. Joba Chamberlain started and went 3 shutout innings giving up 2 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Brian Bruney pitched a scoreless inning giving up a couple of hits and a walk with a K. Kei Igawa, I know I can't believe he is still around either pitched 3 shutout innings with 2 hits, 1 walk and 3 k's. He has not given up a run all spring. He has pitched 12 innings giving up 6 hits, 2 walks and 11 strikeouts this spring. He won't make the team and is ticketed for AAA Scranton, he still is owed 12 million more and they can't trade him, so basically the Yankees are stuck with a AAA pitcher making lots of money but is of no use to them. Jon Albaladejo and Robertson each pitched a scoreless inning. Albaladejo had 2 strikeouts and Robertson had 1 k and 1 walk. Joba is back on track now for all of you who were worried and I have to admit it was a little alarming but that is why its spring training. The Yankees pitching all around looks good and it should be their strength this year, its going to be hard for Joe Girardi to pick who makes the final couple of spots in the bullpen as he has lots of good choices. I guess it is a good problem to have. The offense did lots of damage today with Nick Swisher leading the attack going 3-4 with 3rbi. Brett Gardner had a rbi triple, Cody Ransom was 2-2 with a walk. Hideki Matsui had a walk, Xavier Nady was 2-4 with a rbi. Angel Berroa was 1-3, Kevin Cash was 1-2 with a rbi and Jose Molina was 1-3 with a rbi. Austin Jackson had a hit and rbi. Shelly Duncan was 2-2 with a rbi trying to stay on the Yankees mind. Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady look to be getting their swings down and Brett Gardner continues to run away with the CF job. It is good to see Matsui getting in there pretty much everyday, Cody Ransom is trying to make us forget about Arod, lets hope he doesn't leave all the hits in Florida. The Yankees will be on YES tomorrow night with CC taking the hill. The Yankees got good news today regarding Marte and Cano as they have no structural damage. Cano expects to start in a game on friday. Damaso Marte will throw a bullpen tomorrow and need a couple of those before he gets into a game. Andy Pettitte will not be going to Fort Myers on Friday, instead he will throw to Jorge Posada in a minor league game. CC will not face the Rays on Sunday, he will get in his work somewhere else. MO will get into his first game tomorrow night, he should be following CC, probably the 5th inning or so.