Minor league games and notes

The Scranton Yankees played to a 6-6 tie today. I am going to start with some notes courtesy of Chad Jennings the beat writer for the Scranton Yankees, you can check out his blog at http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees. Jorge Posada threw out a guy trying to run on him. Wang gave up 2 homeruns but the wind was terrible and on a normal day would of been fly outs. Chieng-Ming Wang pitched 5 innings giving up 9 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. He didn't have his best game but that is ok, the wind was bad and it was a minor league game where the focus isn't always the same. Zach Kroenke pitched 2 innings giving up 3 hits, 2 runs with 3 strikeouts. Jose Valdez pitched 2 innings giving up 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. The offense Eric Duncan going 2-3 with a homerun, triple and 4 rbi's. Edwar Gonzalez was 3-4 with a homerun, rbi and stolen base. Austin Jackson was 1-3 with a triple, Jorge Posada had a double in 4 plate appearances. Nick Swisher had a solo homerun. The Yankees traded Jason Jones to Minnesota for minor league reliever Charles Nolte. Jones was a rule 5 pick for Minnesota and when they decided to not put him on the team this year they made this trade. The guy they got in the trade is a 23 year old righty who was a 24th round pick in 2007. He had a 2.05 era in Low A ball last year. He has struck out 97 batters in 94.2 innings with 46 walks and holding opponents to a 230 batting average. He has a huge groundball tendency. Brian Bruney pitched in AA going 2 perfect innings wiht 4 strikeouts so he now has had solid back to back outings. Hideki Matsui was 2-3 with a double, hr and walk in the AA game.

Chicago Cubs at New York Yankees set for friday

The pitching matchups for the first 2 games at the New Yankee Stadium are set. These are 2 exhibitions but will be very exciting as everyone will get their first chance to see the New Stadium whether you are there or on TV. The games will be broadcast on the YES network starting friday at 6 with the pregame show followed by the game at 7:00PM and then on Saturday at 1:00PM. I will be attending the Saturday game and will have a writeup about the stadium sometime that evening when I get back home. I am very excited and can't wait to see the new stadium and all that it has to offer. The pitching matchups are for Fridays game: Ted Lilly vs Chieng-Ming Wang remember gates open at 4:05 for this 7:05 game and for any 7:05 games all season Saturdays game: Rich Harden vs AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte, gates open at 10:05 for this 1:05 game and will be like this all season for the 1:05 games. This is a change as the gates used to open 2 hours before the game and now will open 3 hours before the game. I am sure the Yankees can't wait to hop on that plane Wednesday evening and head to NY after this long spring training and although it will be 2 exhibitions it won't feel that way.

Yankees recap and some notes

The New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves by a score of 6-4 today in Orlando. Brett Tomko started and pitched 3 innings giving up 0 runs, 3 hits a walk and strikeout. Alfredo Aceves also pitched 3 innings giving up 1 run, 2 hits a walk and strikeout. Dan Giese didn't help his chances which I think were long anyway by giving up 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings, only 1 was earned though, 3 hits, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Joe Girardi after the game threw a curveball and said they may not carry a longman. Brett Tomko is clearly in the lead and you would think would win the job if they do carry a longman. The problem is if Tomko makes it they have to clear space on the 40 man roster for him. The offense had Mark Teixera going 2-2 with a rbi and walk. He hit a solo hr. Johnny Damon had a walk and rbi, Xavier Nady was 3-4 with a rbi. Robinson Cano was 1- 3 with a rbi being a solo homerun. Melky Cabrera is still fighting going 3-4. Cody Ransom was 1-4. The Yankees made some cuts after the game reassigning 8 guys to minor league camp. The 8 that were reassigned are Shelly Duncan, Todd Linden, John Rodriguez, Doug Bernier, Justin Leone, P.J. Pilittere, Chris Stewart and Dave Robertson. The only suprise here may be David Robertson, he pitched very well this spring: 8 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and 12 strikeouts. He will be in AAA Scranton and if he continues to pitch well and one of the other guys are struggling or get hurt he will get another chance with the Big club. The Yankees will unveil a monument to the victims of Sept 11th at Steinbrenner Field tomorrow. The monument contains actual pieces of steel from the World Trade Center that were donated by retired NYC firefighters. There are two towers with the base being in the shape of a pentagon and on grass which represents the field one of the planes crashed into in Pennsylvania. Jennifer Swindal-Steinbrenner will represent the team, Joe Holland who is a retired NYC firefighter will throw out the first pitch. His son was killed in the North Tower. An armed forced color guard will be present along with representatives of local law enforcement agencies. Taps will also be played.

Spring Game 31: Yankees at Braves

Today is the battle of the long man. This will be Dan Giese, Alfredo Aceves and Brett Tomko's last chance to impress Joe Girardi and his coaches. I am guessing by early this week we will know the long man and CF, im guessing its Brett Tomko and Brett Gardner with Melky making the team as the backup OF. Wang is pitching to Jorge Posada back in Tampa in a minor league game with Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui also playing in that game to get some extra at bats. The game is not being televised. Check the link below via Peter Abraham for more notes about the game and later on. Spring Game 31: Yankees at Braves Posted using ShareThis

Yankees minor league game and notes

The AAA Yankees tied Pittsburgh's AAA 5-5. Kei Igawa pitched 4 innings giving up 7 hits, 3 runs with 2 of them earned. He had 2 walks and strikeouts. He left the game early with tightness in his groin and will be checked out tomorrow. Mark Melancon pitched 2 innings giving up 1 hit, 0 runs and 2 strikeouts. Kevin Whelan also pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 hit and 1 run on a wind blown homerun. Kevin Russo was 2-4, Juan Miranda was 1-4. Edwar Gonzalez was 1-2 with a hr and 4 rbis. Colin Curtis returning from having a few days off was 1-2. Humberto Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 inning for AA Trenton, his first action of the spring.

Johan rolls, Mets win

The New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals by a score of 4-1 tonight in Port St. Lucie. Johan Santana rolled in a tuneup to his opening day start. He threw seven innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits with 6 strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez pitched an inning giving up 2 hits, 0 runs and 2 strikeouts. Pedro Feliciano pitched a perfect inning with 1 strikeout. David Wright was 1-4, Carlos Delgado was 2-4. Carlos Beltran was 1-4 and Fernando Tatis was also 1-4 with 2 rbi. Daniel Murphy was 3-4 with 2 rbi. The Mets will take on the Marlins tomorrow with Livan Hernandez scheduled to pitch in a minor league game.

CC looks sharp

The New York Yankees defeated the Cincinatti Reds tonight by a score of 4-1. CC Sabathia pitched 7 2/3 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits with 7 strikeouts. He basically retired the last 18 batters he faced. He had retired 16 in a row through the 7th and came back out for the 8th, he struck out the first guy who got to first when Shelly Duncan dropped the throw from Jose Molina but then got the next guy to ground into a double play. Damaso Marte pitched to one batter and got him out and Mariano Rivera closed it out with a perfect ninth inning getting one strikeout. The offense was led by Mark Teixera was 2-3 with a rbi, Derek Jeter was 1-4 with a rbi. Johnny Damon was 0-4, Xaver Nady was 1-3 and Cody Ransom had a rbi. CC Sabathia said tonight that other then getting his slider sharper he is ready to go. He threw 68 strikes out of 93 pitches and dominated the Reds. He said he felt great, he got 14 out of 23 outs on the ground and also had 7 strikeouts. That means that only 2 outs were in the air, Jorge Posada said " he is fun to catch." Tomorrow at 1 Chieng-Ming Wang will pitch for the AAA Yankees to Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui are scheduled to play also to get some more at bats. Jeremie Guthrie was told tonight after having a rough outing that he will be facing CC Sabathia and the Yankees on opening day a week from Monday. Guthrie has an almost 8 era in 3 spring starts. The one other thing about tonight, is MO really human?? He only threw 5 pitches tonight and had a 1-2-3 9th inning. He has thrown 45 pitches this spring with 35 of them being strikes. Did he really have shoulder surgery, it doesn't appear that way, maybe this guy will pitch forever.

Spring Game 30: Reds at Yankees

This is a opening day lineup and should be the opening day lineup with CC starting also. I would expect to pretty much see this lineup for the rest of the games in florida which ends Wednesday and then the couple of exhibitions in the New Yankee Stadium against the Cubs a week from today and tomorrow. CC will try and get to 90-100 pitches and then tone it down in his last start before opening day which should be Wednesday. The first day of the Jeter leading off and Damon batting second went pretty well, lets hope that continues. Spring Game 30: Reds at Yankees Posted using ShareThis

Baseball Notes

It looks like Derek Jeter leading off and Damon batting second will be the lineup for now and I am not really sure what I think of it. I haven't thought about it too much as it seems to me right now it doesn't matter so much where they bat as long as they are the first two hitters. I should of mentioned this the other day when the story came out but it looks like the Yankees made the right decision getting rid of Jose Tabata, the kid has all the tools to be a great player one day but he is just trouble. The latest news had his wife being arrested for kidnapping a baby, which he seemed to be shocked by, one thing that really caught my eye was that his wife is like 20 yrs older then him and has a long criminal record, this guy is just a bad thing looking to happen at any moment. CC Sabathia got the opening day assignment and also the home opener. Joba Chamberlain will pitch the 6th game of the season. I don't know what anyone else thinks but the Mets have major pitching issues. They do have arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Johan Santana but after that Mike Pelfrey who looks promising has been bothered by a hurt leg, John Maine has looked horrible this spring coming back from shoulder surgery, Oliver Perez is getting criticized by his pitching coach, he is out of shape and looking horrible, he has always been up and down anyway. Livan Hernandez should be ok as a 5th starter although he did have a era of 6+ last year. The bullpen has been upgraded and seems to be a strength now but they have to get the ball to the pen with a lead and im not so sure they can do that right now at a good rate. Chad Billingsly has a strained groin for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manny is back and seems to be ok though. The New Yankee Stadium and Citifield will open a week from tomorrow with the Mets playing the Red Sox and the Yankees playing the Chicago Cubs, should be an exciting time as we are now in the final days of spring training and getting ready for opening day which is just about here.

Yankees minor league stats and notes

Ian Kennedy pitched well and was happy with his curveball which he is working on locating at the bottom of the strikezone and has been working on it all week. He allowed 6 hits with 5 of them singles, and three were to the first three batters he faced. He finished going 5 1/3 innings, 1 run with 1 walk and 2k. Kanekoa Texeira pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run which wasn't earned with 1 walk and strikeout. Steven Jackson pitched 2 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 run which wasn't earned and had 3 strikeouts. The offense had Kevin Russo going 2-3 with a walk and rbi, Austin Jackson was 1-2 with a walk. David Williams was 2-2 with a rbi, I believe he is out of Rutgers University in NJ. Eric Duncan was 3-4 with a hr and 3rbi. Francisco Cervelli threw out a guy at second, he could be a backup catcher in the future, the Yankees really seem to be stocked at catcher with him Austin Romine and Jesus Montero leading the pack. Alan Horne who was one of the Yankees top pitching prospects last year before he got hurt threw what was basically a simulated game today throwing 40 pitches. He said his command was better today and that he is working on consistency with his fastball command. He said tonight that he would be pitching in a real game on Sunday, if everything goes well he could be back at AAA at some point this year and knocking on the door to the big leagues. Most of these notes are via Chad Jennings who covers the AAA Yankees and does a great job there and with his blog which you can locate on my link list to the right on the blog.

Yanks Recap

The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies today in Clearwater 10-2. Joba Chamberlain got off to a rough start giving up back to back homeruns in the first. He settled down after that pitching 4 1/3 innings giving up 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks and 3k. Phil Coke pitched 2/3 of an inning striking out both batters he faced. Edwar Ramirez pitched one perfect inning striking out two, Brian Bruney pitched a scoreless inning giving up 1 hit with 1k. Jose Veras pitched a scoreless inning viing up 2 hits and Jon Albaladejo pitched a perfect inning. The offense was led by Derek Jeter going 2-4 and Melky Cabrera going 2-4 with 3rbi. Johnny Damon was 1-4 with a rbi, Hideki Matsui had a 2 run homerun, Nick Swisher was 1-3 with a rbi and walk. Robinson Cano was 1-2 with a walk, Cody Ransom was 1-3 with a solo hr. The Yankees will play the Cincinatti Reds at home tomorrow at 7:15pm with CC Sabathia getting the start.

Spring Game 29: Yankees at Phillies

It is not a typo seeing Jeter leadoff and Damon second, Joe Girardi may do this for the season, he said today he will try it for a few days and if it works keep doing it. The thinking is that if Gardner is the CF you break up the lefties. I am thinking maybe they are also thinking ahead that if Damon is gone next year they need a leadoff hitter and why not get Jeter used to it if it works. Joba will get a good test today facing the Phillies A lineup. The game is on YES and for those of us who have to work im sure the replay is on tonight at 7. I will be back later with a recap and some notes. Ian Kennedy is pitching for the AAA yankees in minor league camp and I will have those notes also later. Thanks to Peter Abraham for having the pregame notes, lineup and pitchers for todays game, check out the link below. Spring Game 29: Yankees at Phillies Posted using ShareThis

Minor league Game

The AAA Scranton Yankees won their game 2-1. Phil Hughes got the start and continued his good pitching with 5 innings of 4 hit, 1 run ball. He had 1 walk and 4k. Anthony Claggett pitched 2 innings giving up 2 hits, o runs with 2k. J.B. Cox pitched 2 innings giving up 1 hit, 0 runs and 3k. Kevin Russo was 1-2 with 2 walks, rbi and sb, Kyle Anson was 2-3 with a rbi. Eric Duncan was 0-3 with a walk, he has been playing in the outfield which is interesting. Kevin Russo who is an infielder also got a start in the OF and misplayed a ball there. Phil Hughes didn't throw many curveballs but when he did it was effective and the crowd was even going "ohhh".

Andy Pettitte and other notes

I don't have all the stats for the minor league games today but I can tell you that Andy Pettitte pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits, 5 runs only one was earned though, 1 walk and 3k. He threw 83 pitches,63 for strikes. He gave up a broken bat double and two infield singles. Andy feels good and has looked very good this spring, remember he is the #4 starter which really shows the depth of the Yankees rotation. He will pitch against the Blue Jays on Monday and would like to throw 100 pitches. He will also pitch April 4 at the new stadium. I will be back with some stats about the minor league games. There was some Arod news, he talked to Yankees GM Brian Cashman on Tuesday and is doing well. He should be back by April 1 in Tampa to start doing baseball activities and the target date for him to be back is May 16th although many feel he will be back by then, me included. He said he watched the game last night and thought AJ looked great. Jon Heyman of si.com is reporting the yankees had lengthy discussions with Arod about his antics off the field. You can check out his story on si.com.

Yankees lose two from the family

The Yankees had two members of their family pass away, Arthur Richman who was the teams senior advisor of media relations and Johnny Blanchard who was a yankee from 1955-65 and played in 5 world series helping the Yankees win two of them. The Yankees will have statements regarding these two men, later on today. I will have some minor league notes later on as the Yankees are off today, Andy Pettitte is pitching for single A Tampa in a game today.

Yankees Recap

The New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox tonight in Tampa 7-1. AJ Burnett got the start and was good pitching 5 2/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 4k. MO pitched a 1-2-3 inning on 16 pitches. Jon Albaladejo faced one batter and got him out on a groundball. Damaso Marte pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 1 hit, 1 walk and 1k, 0 runs and Edwar Ramirez closed it out with 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit and 2k. Austin Jackson hit a grandslam in the 8th inning when the Yankees scored 6 times. Tim Wakefield had the knuckler really knuckling and they couldn't get much going off of him. Johnny Damon was 1-3 with a rbi, Angel Berroa was 1-1 with a rbi. Derek Jeter was 1-2 with a walk, Hideki Matsui had a rbi. Robinson Cano was 1-3. Brett Gardner had a triple and run scored with his speed as he beat a throw to home and Melky Cabrera had a walk in his only at bat. Ramiro Pena who is in the mix for the utility role was 1-1. The Yankees have an off day tomorrow and will be back at it on Thursday when they face the Phillies with Joba Chamberlain on the mound. Austin Jackson was reassigned to minor league camp after the game along with Eduardo Nunez, Juan Miranda was optioned down. The Yankees are down to 39 players in camp now. Thanks to Peter Abraham for having that information on his blog and go check him out at http://yankees.lhblogs.com to see comments about Austin Jackson as Reggie Jackson and Joe Girardi had high praise for him. He ended up hitting 333 with 3 hr, 10 rbi a double and triple. He will be the AAA cf and if he does well we could see him in September, I will be watching him closely all season.

Minor League Notes

I am going to write about the minor leaguers for basically the first time this season. Chad Jennings who does a great job on the beat for the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees and has his own blog which you can access through this blog under the links just got down to Florida on Monday. The minor league camp just opened on Saturday and I plan on also covering the minor leagues throughout the season so if you are a fan of the Yankees minors or don't know much about it and would like to know about the minors then check out this blog for that information also. The Triple A Yankees won 4-3 over the Dunedin Blue Jays. Eric Hacker got the start and pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. He was having a rough time while he was in big league camp also. Jason Johnson pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Mark Melancon pitched 2 innings with 1 hit and 2k. Eric Duncan had 2 hits and a rbi, Kevin Russo was 1-3. Tim battle was 2-3 with a walk and SB, Edwar Gonzalez was 1-4 with a rbi. Francisco Cervelli had a sac fly, David Williams and Carlos Mendoza were both 1-2. Some of these names aren't too known right now but most I am sure you have heard of and if not as the season goes on I will get into more detail about the top prospects. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy of course will be the pitchers to watch in AAA along with Mark Melancon. Austin Jackson will be the position player to watch.

New stadium

Here is Yankee stadium getting the finishing touches. The stadium will open up with the Cubs next friday and saturday with 2 exhibitions. The season is drawing near.

Red Sox at Yankees

This sure looks like an opening day lineup to me, you will probably see this lineup most of the time now as we got about a week to get ready before the Yankees leave for NY and the opening of the New Yankee Stadium. It still feels wierd to say the New Stadium, anyway here is the lineup for tonight via Peter Abraham of the Journal News and http://yankees.lhblogs.com 1. Damon(lf) 2. Jeter(ss) 3. Teixera(1b) 4. Matsui(dh) 5. Posada(c) 6. Cano(2b) 7. Nady(rf) 8. Ransom(3b) 9. Gardner(cf) AJ Burnett gets the start followed by MO, Damaso Marte, Edwar Ramirez and Dave Robertson Tim Wakefield makes the start for the Red Sox and they brough Ellsbury, Lowrie and Big Papi up for the long trip, Baldelli is also in the lineup. The game is on YES and WCBS radio so enjoy the game, be back later with some reaction and notes.

Yankees Concessions

The Yankees issued a press release detailing the concessions in the New Stadium. They are committed to quality, variety, convenience and value. I don't really buy much in the stadium, I prefer to go to the deli before the games, get my stuff there and bring it in. The problem this year is they won't let you bring stuff in or at least that's what I hear. I may have to buy drinks inside, which is ok, I will just eat my sandwich before I go in. I want to outline the concessions here. The stadium is also opening an hour earlier this year meaning 10 for 1 starts, 4 for 7:00 games, 5 for 8:00 games and 1 for 4:00 games. Stadium Debuts: Boars head made-to-order deli sandwich stand, including soups and salads Brother jimmys bbq Dunkin Donuts coffee Highlanders traditional ballpark food with a NY flare, including hot dogs with sauerkraut and "pushcart" onions Johnny Rockets Lobels of NY Moe's Southwest grill Otis Spunkmeyer Pepsi Cola products including gatorade, Lipton iced tea and tropicana lemonade Tommy Bahamas bar serving mixed drinks Turkey Hill ice cream New Cuisine: Garlic fries stand Latin corner serving cuban sandwiches and nachos and burritos Noodle bowl stand and other asian-inspired items Soy kitchen sushi and salads Triple play grill, offering beef and chicken sliders, and lobels steak sandwiches Healthy Alternatives and Specialty items: Melissa's a traditional farmers market, carrying fresh fruit and vegetables Various Glatt kosher options Child-friendly options: The Big apple stand, offering candy, caramel and chocolate dipped apples Dale and Thomas popcorn stand Kids cart with school-lunch favorites and smaller portion items, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, small hot dogs and kozy shack pudding The Yankees claim they will be offering a $3 hotdog, $6 beer and $3 soft drink, I will believe it when I see it as the prices were always ridiculous and I can't see them being any cheaper in a new stadium.

Yankees Recap and some notes

The New York Yankees were defeated in Clearwater today by the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. It was a wet day and after traveling around Chieng-Ming Wang made the start for the Yankees and pitched 5 innings giving up 5 hits and 3 runs with 2 walks and strikeouts. Brian Bruney allowed 2 runners to score when he came in relief of Wang and he gave up 2 hits and 2 runs of his own in 1 inning. He is having a rough spring and joked about making the team, that is a lock though but Girardi said he has to do better soon. Dan Giese vying for the long relief role pitched 1 inning giving up 4 hits and 3 runs with 3k. Brett Tomko who appears to be the frontrunner for the long relief job pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit, 0 runs with 1k. Kei Igawa was sent down to the minors so he is out of the mix and Dan Giese hasn't shown much so it appears Tomko may win the job, he has had a great spring posting a 1.46era. Alfredo Aceves is still in the mix but I have a hunch they would prefer him in AAA pitching every 5 days. Opening day is 2 weeks from today in Baltimore so this should be decided by early next week before they head north to take on the Cubs to open the new stadium in 2 exhibition games. The offense had both Johnny Damon and Brett Gardner going 1-2, Jorge Posada was 0-2 but had a walk. Mark Teixera was 1-3 and Xavier Nady was 1-2 with a rbi. Joe Girardi basically announced him as the starting RF earlier in the day and Swisher said he isn't going to get himself in trouble although he would like to play everyday. He did say they have a great team that is going to do special things and just wants to help in anyway he can. Melky Cabrera was 1-3 and Ramiro Pena who has opened some eyes was 2-3, i don't see him winning the utility role though, i think it will be Angel Berroa with Ransom the 3b until Alex Rodriguez gets back. Chieng-Ming Wang did have to bat but did not swing at all and according to Peter Abraham it was hilarious to watch as he stood at the edge of the batters box and just watched the balls being thrown, the funny thing is they couldn't throw a strike to him though although he eventually did strike out. The Yankees will take on the Red Sox tomorrow night in Tampa and it will be on YES at 7:00pm. Derek Jeter will be back tomorrow and in the lineup to face the hated Sox. Dan Giese and Brett Tomko will both pitch Saturday against the Braves while Wang works in a minor league game. A-rod will not make it back to Tampa while the team is still there, im sure everyone is just so dissappointed. I can't wait to next week when the new stadium opens, i said earlier today that I will be at the Saturday game and I plan on giving as much of a in depth look at the stadium as I can, I hope to post some pics and give you some good stuff about the new stadium.

Lineup Changes for today

Chieng-Ming Wang and Jorge Posada were in Tampa and got rained out then headed to Dunedin for a minor league game and got rained out and now they are in Clearwater to face the Phillies with the regular club. Jorge Posada is now leading off and catching and Wang is pitching. Damon, Tex, Nady, Cano, Ransom, Cabrera and Pena will fill out the rest of the lineup in that order. Joe Girardi said today that if the season were to start today Nady would be the RF based on what he did last season, I also think without Arod and Newsday brought this up today that they need that right handed power.

Spring Game 27: Yankees at Phillies

The Yankees are now in the homestretch of grapefruit league play. They will play their last game in florida next wednesday against Cincinatti and then board a charter headed to NY. They will have their first workout in the new stadium on Thursday and then the first two games against the Cubs friday and saturday. The two games against the Cubs will be on YES, I will be attending the Saturday game and will provide a good report of the new stadium after I get back. Derek Jeter should be back in the lineup for the Yanks against the Red Sox tommorrow night and they will have their regular lineup other then A-rod. The game tommorrow is on YES, no coverage today. Spring Game 27: Yankees at Phillies Posted using ShareThis

Recap of Yanks game

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays today by a score of 5-0. The win streak ends at 9. Alfredo Aceves got the start and only lasted 2 2/3 giving up 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 1k. Steven Jackson pitched 1 1/3 giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks. Marte getting back into action after resting his shoulder had a clean inning only giving up a walk. The K-man, Kei Igawa finally gave up a run pitching 2 2/3 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run, 4 walks and 4k. The offense didn't do much with Robinson Cano being the only player with multiple hits going 2-4. Brett Gardner was 1-2 with a walk, Austin Jackson had a triple in his one plate appearance. Melky Cabrera was 1-2. That is pretty much it for the regulars, they didn't have Matsui, Damon, Posada, Teixera on the trip and of course Jeter is still at the WBC and Arod is recovering. The Yankees will take on the Phillies tomorrow.

Notes from the Yankees minor league game

CC Sabathia pitched and threw 5 innings giving up 7 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 3k. He threw 81 pitches, 51 for strikes. The good thing is now his next start he should be up to 95 and then be ready to go after that. The more important news of the day was the Jorge Posada was catching and threw out 3 of 4 base stealers. He said his shoulder now feels 100 percent and those throws have given him great confidence. He praised CC for his slide step delivery and being quick to the plate, CC said he will be concious of doing all he can do for his catcher. The Yankees are losing 3-0 in the 6th, this may be the end of the winning streak. I will be back soon with the recap of the Yankees game.

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees are traveling down to Port Charlotte today to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. CC Sabathia is staying back in Tampa to pitch in a minor league game as the Yankees don't want him facing one of their division rivals this close to the season and since they play the Rays on the first road trip. Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui have the day off today and don't need to report. Alfredo Aceves will make the start followed by the K-man Kei Igawa who suddenly is drawing interest from other teams, I say sell high-if you can get rid of him now do it, I don't care if its for a bag of balls. Damaso Marte and Steven Jackson will also pitch. Joba is set up to pitch in a intrasquad game on April 5th so he can stay in his routine, remember the Yankees don't need a 5th starter to April 12th. Arod of course is in the papers again, supposedly a former NY madam claims she dated him and provided him with hookers, its just more of yeah thats Alex, who really cares as long as he comes back and hits and the Yankees win. Here is the lineup for today: 1. Gardner(cf) 2. Cabrera(lf) 3. Nady(rf) 4. Swisher(1b) 5. Cano(dh) 6. Ransom(2b) 7. Berroa(3b) 8. Pena(ss) 9. Cash(c) The U.S. plays Japan tonight and if they lose Derek Jeter will be back by Tuesday im guessing, if they win they play for the WBC Championship tomorrow and he will be back by Wednesday. Roy Oswalt will be facing Dice K in that game. I haven't seen YU Darvish yet the Japanese phenom and hope he will pitch tonight. I will be back later with reaction and notes from the game. The lineup comes courtesy of Peter Abraham and his lohud yankees blog.