Regular Season Game 5-Nationals at Mets

The New York Mets take on the Washington Nationals in Game 2 of their 3 game series. The game is at Citi Field and starts at 1:10PM. Here are the lineups and notes for this game. Mets Lineup: Reyes(SS) Cora(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Matthews Jr.(CF) Tatis(1B) Blanco(C) Perez(P) Nationals Lineup: Morgan(CF) Guzman(2B) Zimmerman(3B) Dunn(1B) Willingham(LF) Desmond(SS) Rodriguez(C) Taveras(RF) Lannan(P) Jose Reyes returns from the DL today and the Mets optioned Ruben Tejada to Buffalo which is the AAA club of the Mets. Jeff Francoeur recorded his 7th multi HR game of his career. His last one came on April 12, 2008. Oliver Perez is making his first start of the year. He struggled in spring training and got booed on opening day. It will be interesting to see how he reacts in his first start. He has a 9.20 k per 9 inning rate which ranks 3rd among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched.

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.

Grapefruit League Game 22-Phillies at Yankees

Here is the lineup for tonights game followed by some pregame notes. Jeter(SS) Thames(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Granderson(LF) Gardner(CF) Cervelli(C) Phil Hughes is starting tonights game. Rivera and Marte are also scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen tonight. Hughes is scheduled for about 75 pitches, remember he is on short rest. I know you are wondering is that A-rod in the lineup, yes it is. He was supposed to be in Buffalo meeting with the FEDS but we are not sure if that happened. Here is what he had to say today. "There was no meeting, no meeting today." He said "What I can tell you is that nothing has changed. We're going to continue to work together. We're going to cooperate and we're going to talk to the feds and major league baseball shortly." He said he is meeting with MLB because the league wants to hear what he has to say. He said he doesn't know where or when that meeting will take place. He said they are still working on it. He said "Whether I talk to them today or next week it will get done and hopefully it will be done before Opening Day and we can move on." The reports were that he was to meet in Buffalo today with the Feds, Rodriguez never said he wasn't in Buffalo just that he was in Tampa last night. This is still all fuzzy as usual with A-rod but I really don't believe he has done anything wrong in this case. The Yankees may be mad because they didn't give him permission to even meet with Dr. Galea but I am sure they will get past this. Marcus Thames is hitting second to get more at bats against the lefty Jaime Moyer. He will also start tomorrow against lefty Nate Robertson. Joba is scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen tomorrow. He said he will continue to use a changeup and curveball in his bullpen sessions but plans on going primarily back to a fastball-slider combo as a reliever. Joe Girardi said "I think Joba can do both, I really do." He was talking about starting or relieving and I do also but right now he is best used as a reliever. Joe Girardi said the same thing that right now they need him as a reliever. I think also if MO gets injured knock on wood then they have Joba who can step right in. The game is not on TV but is on WCBS radio in NY. It is 880AM on the dial. I will be out and about tonight so I won't be able to get to a game recap but I will have that tomorrow. Here is the Phillies Lineup: Rollins(SS) Polanco(3B) Utley(2B) Howard(1B) Werth(RF) Ibanez(LF) Victorino(CF) Gload(DH) Ruiz(C)

Recap of Yankees Split Squad Day

The New York Yankees played split squad games today, one was this afternoon at home against the Detroit Tigers and one tonight at the Tampa Bay Rays. They won the afternoon game at home 6-2 and lost tonights game 6-2. The afternoon game was started by CC Sabathia who pitched well. Sabathia pitched 5 1/3 allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. He walked a couple of batters and struck out 8. Jon Albaladejo pitched 2 /3 of an inning allowing a hit, 0 runs and he had a strikeout. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. He only threw 10 pitches I believe, so it was a typical Mariano inning, he didn't throw any more in the bullpen. He is scheduled to pitch again on Sunday. Royce Ring pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and strikeout and Ryan Pope finished off the game with a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Derek Jeter had a hit, 2 rbi and a walk, Nick Johnson had a walk and Jon Weber had 2 hits and a rbi. Alex Rodriguez had 2 hits and a rbi. One of the hits was a monster homerun that was hit over the left field scoreboard. Robinson Cano and P.J. Pilittere each had a hit and Greg Golson had 2 hits. Notes from today: After the first game Joe Girardi was asked what was more impressive CC Sabathias outing or A-rods homerun. Here is what he said "I really liked what CC did today, his last 2 starts he has been extremely efficient, and he had command all day today. Outstanding changeup, very good breaking ball, pace was great. It's pretty much what CC is." He smiled and said this about A-rods homerun "Alex's ball was pretty impressive." CC said he was pretty happy with everything but still wants to work on burying the ball inside against right handers. There is audio of CC Sabathia on the Lohud Yankees Blog. Chad Jennings does a great job and he has all the notes from today and audio, check it out here. Here is what Alex had to say about his homerun. "That one felt really good, because it wasn't an everyday homerun." He wasn't too worked up over his first homerun though. He also said this, "My emphasis the first part of spring training is to go out and make sure I get my work done, and that goes way early in the morning. As you get closer to opening day, obviously you want to make sure, you hone in on your swing, and so far so good. I had a really good session with Kevin Long and Butch Wynegar on one of the back fields a couple of days ago and we're on schedule." Butch Wynegar is the AAA Scranton hitting coach for those of you who don't know. He is also a former Yankees catcher. Damaso Marte has been pushed back to Sunday. Joe Girardi said he just wanted to give him an extra day. Marte said he isn't 100 percent, he said it is ok on the outside but he feels it inside. He got hit pretty good on the back and I would expect him to feel it for a little while. Romulo Sanchez was optioned to AAA Scranton and Ryan Pope was reassigned to minor league camp.

Recap of Yankees Game and some Notes

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays tonight by the score of 6-2. Javier Vazquez pitched 3 innings. He gave up 1 run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Romulo Sanchez didn't pitch very well, he pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 3 hits and 2 runs, only 1 was earned though. He also gave up a walk. Boone Logan continues to make a strong case to be the second lefty out of the bullpen. He faced one batter and it was Carl Crawford who he struck out. Chan Ho Park made his debut and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Dave Robertson who got the win pitched a perfect inning and had 2 strikeouts. Mark Melancon pitched 2 innings, he gave up 1 hit and 1 run with a walk and a couple of strikeouts. Dustin Moseley got the save with a perfect inning. He had a strikeout. Derek Jeter was 2-3 with 2 rbi. Colin Curtis continues to impress, he had a 3 run homerun. Nick Swisher had a hit and a walk. Randy Winn and Kevin Russo each had a hit. Ramiro Pena was 2-3. The Yankees will play split squad games tomorrow. Here are some postgame notes from Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog. I didn't see the game but there was some concern that Derek Jeter hurt his hand or wrist. Joe Girardi said he didn't even know until the 5th inning when he was interviewed on the YES telecast. He said he is fine though and will play tomorrow. Chan Ho Park only threw 8 pitches to get through his inning. Joe Girardi said "His outing was so short, I forgot that he even pitched." Girardi said that is how he has looked the whole time he has been in camp. Javier Vazquez said he was suprised when Dave Eiland told him he was at his limit after only 3 innings. Vazquez said "I told Dave after I came out, that I actually felt like I could keep going. I knew that I wasn't staying in, but I felt pretty good today." Nick Swisher has a 6 game hitting streak going, it is only spring training though so it doesn't count. He did make some adjustments though in the winter and they appear to be paying off. Ryan Pope was added to the travel squad for tomorrow, I am sure there will be more as it is a split squad.

Grapefruit League Game 15-Mets at Red Sox

Mike Pelfrey will make the start for the Mets this afternoon. He has not won a game yet and has a 9 era, it is his second start against the Red Sox this spring. Here are some of the pregame media notes. The Mets will wear Green hats today in honor of St. Patricks Day. The Mets have hit 13 homeruns over their last 8 games and 21 this spring which is most in the majors. The Mets hit the least amount last season. David Wright has 3 homeruns this spring, he had 10 all of last season. Bobby Parnell,Kiko Calero,Jenrry Mejia, Tobi Stoner and Elmer Dessens are all schedule to pitch or available today. Here is the Mets lineup for todays game; Pagan(CF) Cora(SS) Matthews Jr.(CF) Murphy(1B) Tatis(3B) Catalanotto(DH) Santos(C) Martinez(LF) Tejada(2B) The lineup is courtesy of Matthew Cerrone and his great Metsblog.com.

Grapefruit League Game 6-New York Mets at Washington Nationals

The New York Mets will take on the Washington Nationals from Space Coast Stadium this afternoon at 1:00PM. Here are the starting lineups via Matthew Cerrone and his blog which can be accessed at http://metsblog.com/ Mets Lineup: Angel Pagan(CF) Fernando Martinez(LF) Jolbert Cabrera(2B) Mike Jacobs(DH) Mike Hessman(3B) Ike Davis(1B) Henry Blanco(C) Kirk Nieuwenhuis(RF) Ruben Tejada(SS) The starting pitcher is Mike Pelfrey and the other pitchers scheduled are Eric Niesen, Sean Green,Elmer Dessens, Travis Blackley and Eddie Kunz.

Grapefruit League Game 4-Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees

Here are the lineups and some notes courtesy of the Lohud Yankees Blog. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Granderson(CF) Posada(C) Rodriguez(3B) Winn(RF) Gardner(LF) Cervelli(DH) Miranda(1B) Pena(2B) Toronto Lineup: Bautista(3B) Hill(2B) Lind(DH) Wells(CF) Overbay(1B) Reed(RF) Gonzalez(SS) Snider(LF) Molina(C)Yes it is Jose Molina the former Yankee The game will be broadcast on MY9 in New York and also on the radio WCBS 880. A.J. Burnett will make his first start of the spring against Shaun Marcum. He missed all of last season, and should be one of the guys the Blue Jays look too as he was up and coming before he got hurt. The Yankees PR Dept released this info this morning. Of the 66 players in camp 37 were either originally drafted by the Yankees or signed with the Yankees as non drafted free agents. 23 played in at least one game for the Yankees last season and 27 have appeared in a game for the Yankees at some point in their careers. Andrew Brackman is scheduled to make his spring debut today. The other pitchers who are scheduled for today are: Jonathan Albaladejo, Boone Logan,Mark Melancon, Jason Hirsch,Romulo Sanchez, Amaury Sanit. The position players scheduled to come in the game are Jaime Hoffman getting his first turn in CF, Mike River(C), Jorge Vazquez(1B),Kevin Russ(2B), Eduardo Nunez(SS), Brandon Laird(3B),Colin Curtis(LF), David Winfree(RF) and Austin Romine(DH). Tomorrows scheduled pitchers are Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin, Kei Igawa, Wilkens Arias, D.J. Mitchell,Ryan Pope, Amaury Sanit and Kevin Whelan. The game tomorrow is in Fort Myers against the Twins and obviously they aren't sending any of the big guys. Christian Garcia is throwing a bullpen today and scheduled to make his spring debut on Monday. The other guys who are throwing side sessions today are CC Sabathia, Zack Segovia, Zach McAllister and Ivan Nova. Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte got up to 30 pitches in their bullpens yesterday. They are scheduled to throw tomorrw. Mo said he thinks it is BP tomorrow. Today is Francisco Cervellis 24th birthday so Happy Birthday to him. The Yankees have signed Can Am league player Myron Leslie to a minor league deal. It is on the Can Am website. This is the same league that the New Jersey Jackals play in. Enjoy the game everyone and the nice day. I am hoping you guys will post on these game posts and get some good discussion about the lineups, the battles for roster spots, the game itself even during the games etc. Any other ideas please feel free to let me know, thank you for all the support.

Yankees Win Opener on Walkoff

The New York Yankees defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon in their exhibition opener. The game was tied 3-3 when Colin Curtis hit a walkoff 3 run homerun in the bottom of the ninth to seal the victory for the Yankees. A.J. Burnett wasn't around to deliver the pie, but it was a good start as the Yankees started the way they ended with a win. The Yankees also continued on a trend last year of walkoff wins, they sure seem to love the pie. Here are some of the stats and the notes from today. Alex Rodriguez recorded the Yankees first hit of the spring. Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves each pitched 2 scoreless innings. They each also had a strikeout and Gaudin was the only one who allowed a hit with a infield single to lead off the game. Nick Johnson had a rbi double and made a nice pick over at first. He has always been a good first baseman and will provide great defense when Mark Teixeira is dhing or taking a day off. Jon Albaladejo had a rocky outing, he gave up 2 hits and 3 runs without recording an out. Royce Ring pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with 2 strikeouts. Jason Hirsh faced 2 batters and struck them both out. Sanit pitched a scoreless inning. I really don't know much about him but he is a minor league pitcher. Ramiro Pena had a solo homerun, he was the utility guy last season and I would think he is the frontrunner for the same job this season. He started it off the right way and he did make a couple of nice plays in the field, he is known for his defense though. George Steinbrenner was at the field briefly, he was driven through the concourse and quickly driven out. CC Sabathia is scheduled for 2 innings or 35 pitches tomorrow when he faces Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies. Javier Vazquez threw a bullpen today becoming the last starter to do so, Joba felt better today and threw a bullpen and then went home. If he feels ok tomorrow he will be good to go for Friday. Derek Jeter, A-rod,Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Jon Weber, Francisco Cervelli, P.J. Pilittere and Mike Rivera. If I see this correctly that is 3 catchers which would lead me to belive we will see top prospect Jesus Montero in the game tomorrow. There is Joe Girardi and Curtis Granderson audio up on the great Lohud Yankees Blog by Chad Jennings. You can hear it at http://yankees.lhblogs.com/. The Yankees take on the Phillies tomorrow in Clearwater at 1:00pm, the game is on the MLB network.

Yankees vs Pirates-Game 1 of Grapefruit League

The New York Yankees opened up their grapefruit league schedule with a game at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The game was at 1:00PM but most of you like me are at work and will watch either the replay or DVR of the game later on tonight. Here was the starting lineup and pitchers for the game. 1.Jeter(SS) 2.Granderson(CF) 3.Teixeira(1B) 4.A-rod(3B) 5.Thames(DH) 6.Hoffman(RF) 7.Gardner(LF) 8.Cervelli(C) 9.Pena(2B) Chad Gaudin got the start followed by Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves for 3 of the guys battling for the 5th starter/long man spot on the team. This is the latest the Yankees have had a spring opener since 2005, last year they opened on February 25th. Joba Chamberlain was at the park this morning and he is healthy. He said he slept until 5 yesterday and then went back to bed at 10. He is ready to go for tomorrow. The Yankees also listed 9 players they expected to come off the bench today and they are: C Mike Rivera, 1B Nick Johnson, 2B Reegie Corona, SS Eduardo Nunez, 3B Brandon Laird, LF Colin Curtis, CF Greg Golson, RF David Winfree and DH Jon Weber. A-rod said he has nothing new to day and hasn't heard anything regarding the investigation into the Dr. from Canada. I will be back with some of the game coverage later on tonight.

Mets have intrasquad game, get ready for first Game Tomorrow

The New York Mets had a intrasquad game today and will have their first exhibition game tomorrow. Manager Jerry Manuel told reporters after the intrasquad today that Johan Santanas first start will probably be on March 9th. Jose Reyes hit a leadoff triple in the first at bat he had today, he showed no lingering effects of his hamstring as he was running around the bases. This was a very welcome sight for the Mets and all of their fans, this is something you should see quite often in Citi Field if he can stay healthy. Jose Reyes is the sparkplug and I really think he needs to remain the leadoff hitter but I think he will bat third until Carlos Beltran comes back. Tomorrows game is at 1:00PM against the Braves. Nelson Figueroa will get the start. The lineup will be Gary Matthews Jr. hitting leadoff and playing center field followed by Luis Castillo,Jose Reyes,David Wright,Jason Bay, Mike Jacobs who will DH, Jeff Francoeur,Ike Davis who will play first and Chris Coste will do the catching. There wasn't much else coming out of today, Matthew Cerrone on his blog, this is where I got the lineup for tomorrow stated that it feels much looser in camp this year and that there is better chemistry. I hope the Mets do have a better attitude and stay healthy, if they do that they can win some games, but pitching is the key and they need someone from the group of Mike Pelfry, Oliver Perez and John Maine to step up.

How do the Yankees and Red Sox stack up

There are only 3 NFL games left in the season, there isn't much going on in the baseball world. Hockey and basketball are in full swing but the Nets may set the all time record for least amount of wins, they are on pace for 6 which I believe is the record. The New York Knicks were showing signs of life but coming into today had lost 4 out of their last 5. The New Jersey Devils are the best team in hockey but the Rangers and Islanders are middle of the pack type teams. I also don't think many people are focused on hockey but if you are I would love to hear from you and get your take. I think with all of this in mind and knowing that it is only 31 days until pitchers and catchers report it is a good time to look at the Yankees/Red Sox rosters and see how they match up. Boston Red Sox: New York Yankees 1B-Kevin Youkilis 1B-Mark Teixeira 2B-Dustin Pedroia 2B-Robinson Cano SS-Marcaro Scutaro SS-Derek Jeter 3B-Adrian Beltre 3B-Alex Rodriguez C-Victor Martinez C-Jorge Posada LF-Jacoby Ellsbury LF-Brett Gardner CF-Mike Cameron CF-Curtis Granderson RF-J.D. Drew RF-Nick Swisher Starting Rotation Starting Rotation Josh Beckett CC Sabathia John Lackey A.J. Burnett Jon Lester Andy Pettitte Daisuke Matsusaka J. Vazquez Clay Bucholz Phil Hughes Bullpen Closer-Jonathan Papelbon Closer-Mariano Rivera Setup-Manny Delcarmen Setup-Joba Chamberlain Setup-Ramon Ramirez Setup-Dave Robertson Lefty-Hideki Okajima Lefty-Damaso Marte Longman-Boof Bonser/Tim Wakefield Lefty-Boone Logan Longman-Sergio Mitre/Chad Gaudin I know the rosters aren't complete but this is pretty much what it will be. There are some spots in the bullpen that could be open or change and same thing with the bench that is why I didn't put the bench on here. I think the Yankees have a better lineup, starting pitching is pretty close, I probably would give the Yankees the slight edge and I think the Yankees have the advantage in the bullpen. It will be a very different Red Sox team, pitching and defense. They don't have a great lineup and it will be interesting to see how that plays out with them, over the last few years they always have a very good lineup. I still think these 2 teams and the Rays are the best teams in the AL, it comes down to injuries and guys executing especially against each other.