Yankees News and Notes

The New York Yankees named A.J. Burnett their number two starter on Saturday and it looks like they are about to wrap up the competition for the fourth and fifth starters. Bartolo Colon was brilliant on Monday night and may have locked up the fifth spot, it has been widely assumed that Ivan Nova is the fourth starter and Sergio Mitre may remain the long reliever unless he is released and Freddy Garcia takes that job. If Colon isn't the fifth starter then I don't know what he would of needed to do in order to win that job. Garcia if pitching well would of probably won the job but has been bad in his last two outings and most likely lost the job. The Yankees say that Jesus Montero and Austin Romine are still running neck and neck in the battle for the backup catchers job but I would be suprised if the job isn't going to Montero. I think they want Romine to learn more down in the minors and they feel that Montero can learn up in the big leagues since he has already torn up the minors and won't be able to learn that much down there compared to up in the big leagues at this point. Ramiro Pena has shoulder soreness but said he is fine. Joba Chamberlain will throw in a game tomorrow for the first time since March 11th. He said he has felt fine the whole time but the Yankees were being careful with him. Eric Chavez has a calf injury, he is being shutdown until Friday at the earliest. It doesn't appear to be major but the Yankees aren't going to risk anything with him. The Yankees will have Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter batting one, two in the order they are listed for the next couple of games that they play together. It appears they may want that to be the new combo at the top of the order although no decision has been made yet. Joe Girardi has imposed a March 28th date for roster decisions and maybe that will include the lineup. Manny Banuelos suffered his first rough outing of the spring. He had pitched eight scoreless innings and then allowed two runs in two innings tonight. He still showed good poise though not letting it spiral out of control even though he didn't have it tonight. Freddy Garcia will pitch in a minor league game on Thursday because the team is off. The Yankees say they aren't going to learn any more from him during that game. They already know what he is and what he can bring to the table. It sounds like their mind is already made up but they are not tipping their hand. Mariano Rivera pitched in a minor league game and Joe Girardi said he had no idea how he did, saying he doesn't worry about him. If something happened bad Girardi would know about it. He was fine, he pitched two innings giving up three hits and struck out two batters. The Yankees will play at Sarasota against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday with Sergio Mitre making the start and Joba Chamberlain pitching in that game also.

Mets release Oliver Perez

The New York Mets finally released Oliver Perez. It was a long time coming and a move that Mets fans everywhere are embracing. They have now gotten rid of Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez in a span of three days. They were probably the two most hated Mets over the last few years. The Mets new regime is trying to start fresh and get their guys in. They still have the Madoff mess hanging over their heads but at least the team is trying to head in a new direction. The Mets won Monday on a walk-off single by Luis Hernandez who Terry Collins wants as his second baseman. No one has been able to claim that job because no one has impressed. They won the game 8-7 over the Atlanta Braves. The Mets will name a second baseman soon and probably place Carlos Beltran on the disabled list because it is now 11 days away from Opening day in Florida against the Marlins and I don't think there is any way he could be ready by then. The Mets have to be encouraged by what they have seen from their pitching. Jason Isringhausen though has a sore elbow which isn't good but they don't believe it is a big problem and he should only miss a couple of days. The Mets will hold their breath because it looks like he could become their eighth inning guy. The Mets will travel to Lakeland which is a long 2 1/2 hour trip to play the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. They will bring most of their regulars as the season draws near and they want them playing together.

Mets release Luis Castillo

The New York Mets released veteran infielder Luis Castillo today. It was something that had to happen and Oliver Perez should be next on the list although he is still hanging in there trying to win a spot as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen. Castillo will evaluate several options but he told ESPNdeportes.com that he probably won't make a decision before noon on Sunday. He stated "I feel calm, confident that I will be on a major league roster on opening day of the season. Despite all the negative atmosphere of recent days, I'm positive and in the best shape for a long time. He was batting 283 in 28 spring at bats. He was in the last year of a 4 year 25 million dollar deal. The Mets owe him six milliion. He will be able to sign with another team for the major league minimum salary of $414,000. That amount would be deducted from what the Mets owe him. A source said although Castillo hasn't confirmed this that the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies are all interested in him. Castillo said "Until Sunday I can not talk of contract, but I'm sure I have options. I am not finished as it has been painted. He said he did not hold a grudge against the Mets. "I enjoyed every moment in New York and will always be grateful to the Mets. I have nothing negative to say about the organization. Baseball is a business." He has made three All Star teams and won three gold gloves but he will most be remembered for a dropped pop up in Yankee Stadium that cost the Mets the game. It appears that the Mets will carry two lefties and the last spot in the bullpen may come down to Perez and Michael O'Connor, I don't see how the Mets put Perez on the team, I thought it was more likely for them to keep Castillo. The Mets are going to have to eat some more salary with Perez unless it is so bad they can't afford to do that and they bring him North as a lefty specialist. I just think the fan backlash will be so bad it wouldn't be worth it for them.

Yankees News and Notes on a Thursday Morning

The Yankees will play their second straight night game tonight at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are some news and notes to get you through the day until game time. Remember I have a twitter account and can be read @gmarchesej and also on facebook. I will have the lineups up later on today through Twitter. Ivan Nova did not have a good feel for his curveball last night in the bullpen so he scrapped it. He went with what is supposed to be a cutter but it acts as a slider. Joe Girardi said "That is as good as it gets, the best pitching performance so far." He got 11 outs on the ground and only one of his last 12 outs were in the air, he wanted to keep the ball down last night and he sure did that. He said his slider is like a new toy, that he has to play with it sometimes but not too much because he has other pitches also. He said he feels good about all of his pitches right now. Nick Swisher had a typical Swisher type play during the game while running full speed after a foul ball, he jumped right over the fence into the bullpen to try and catch the ball. Joe Girardi said great effort and all but don't do that again. Russell Martin says his knee feels so good he has stopped using the protective brace, he said I don't need it, I don't even worry about the knee anymore. Martin hasn't been talked about much this spring and that is a probably a good thing, he is good behind the plate and no one ever complains about defense like they do with Posada or Cervelli. The thing to remember is this guy is still only 28 so after a rough couple of years he should bounce back. Rafael Soriano will pitch at the minor league complex today. He said he didn't want to pitch against any AL East team so the Yankees won't have him do that. Teixeira of course was hit in the hand, he is always getting hit, but he is fine, made the Yankees hold their breath for a couple of minutes. Boone Logan is scheduled to pitch today. He was shut down briefly early in the spring due to elbow fatigue but he feels fine. He said he just hasn't pitched in a game in a long time. Teixeira had two doubles last night giving him seven on the spring, he has worked hard this spring on trying to get off to a good start which he never does. He looks great though and ready to go for the season. Joba Chamberlain said he doesn't know the severity of his oblique injury but knows that he feels fine and can do everything. He said they just want to be cautious with him and even during the season he would miss a couple of days because he wouldn't want it to get worse and turn into a big problem. Yankees vs. Rays tonight at 7:00PM. As far as I know the game isn't televised.

Nova dazzles as Yankees defeat O's 10-0

The New York Yankees ran over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night 10-0. It was the first time their regular lineup was in the game and they looked good. Alex Rodriguez hit his third homerun of the spring, Mark Teixeira had two doubles. Nick Swisher had a could of hits and RBI, Derek Jeter had a hit and a walk. Jorge Posada who is growing more and more comfortable in his DH role had a hit, RBI and a couple of walks. The story of this game though was Ivan Nova who gave up his first couple of runs of the spring in his last outing. He pitched six no hit innings in this game hitting one batter and another batter reached on an error by A-rod. He didn't walk a batter and struck out four. The thing that you have to love about this young kid is his moxy and how nothing seems to faze him. I would think this outing solidified a spot in the rotation for him. He was a favorite coming into the spring and hasn't done anything for that to change. The problem is everyone else is pitching well also but this was the best performance of any of the pitchers so far. The Yankees broke a six game losing streak and will play their second straight night game tomoorrow night at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. The game will be on at 7:05PM. The starter in this game will be Phil Hughes and the Yankees should have their regular lineup in once again.