Mets Lose to Cardinals

The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals today by the score of 6-5. John Maine got the start and pitched pretty well today. He allowed 2 runs and 2 hits in 4 innings. Pat Misch and Francisco Rodriguez didn't pitch so well either. Francisco Rodriguez allowed 2 runs and Pat Misch allowed a run. Misch allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, Rodriguez allowed 3 hits and 2 runs with a strikeout. Sean Green pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and Elmer Dessens pitched a inning giving up a hit. Kiko Calero gave up a hit and a run without giving up a hit. Gary Matthews Jr. gave up a hit and Ike Davis had a hit and rbi. Luis Castillo and Russ Adams had a hit. Fernando Martinez and Alex Cora each had a hit. Henry Blanco gave up a hit and Chris Coste had a hit and rbi. Frank Catalanotto had a hit and 2 rbi. The Mets play split squads tomorrow, one at Kissimmee against the Astros and one game at Tradition Field against the University Of Michigan. According to Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News the Mets have released Josh Fogg.

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.

Grapefruit League Game 18-Mets at Cardinals

The New York Mets will take on the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter today at 1:05PM. John Maine will take on Adam Wainwright. Jenrry Mejia, Kiko Calero, Elmer Dessens, Francisco Rodriguez, Pat Misch and Sean Green are expected to pitch also. Mejia and Misch pitched yesterday so I don't know if they will pitch again today. Here are some of the media notes along with the lineup.

• Today is the 4th of 7 spring matchups these 2 teams will play. The Mets are 3-0 against the Cardinals so far.

• Fernando Martinez leads the grapefruit league with a 500 batting average, 969 slugging percentage and 16 hits. He is tied for second with 31 total bases. He is tied for third with 3 homeruns, tied for 5th with 11 rbi. He is tied for 1st with 2 triples.

• Pat Misch ran his scoreless streak to 9 games and in 4 games he has allowed 4 hits and struck out 5.

• This season marks the 22nd year the Mets have held spring training in Port St. Lucie. There are only 8 major league teams that have trained at their sites longer. The teams are the Cubs, Athletics, Giants, Tigers, Astros, Phillies, Pirates and Blue Jays.

I will have the lineup up as soon as possible, but it isn't available yet.

UPDATE:12:12PM-Here is the Mets lineup for today.

Gary Matthews Jr.(CF)

Luis Castillo(2B)

Fernando Tatis(3B)

Mike Jacobs(1B)

Fernando Martinez(RF)

Alex Cora(SS)

Jason Pridie(LF)

Chris Coste(C)

John Maine(P)

Grapefruit League Game 18-Yankees at Astros

Here is the lineup and the pitchers for this afternoons game. Brian Hoch the Yankees beat writer for mlb.com and Chad Jennings the beat writer for the Journal News have this information up on their websites. I have some notes also from the Yankees media notes. The Yankees are 8-9 on the spring. Yankees Lineup: Brett Gardner(CF) Nick Johnson(DH) Mark Teixeira(1B) Alex Rodriguez(3B) Robinson Cano(2B) Marcus Thames(LF) Jon Weber(RF) Ramiro Pena(SS) Mike Rivera(C) Alfredo Aceves is making the start and will be followed by Dustin Moseley, Boone Logan and Mark Melancon. John Van Benschoten, Jonathan Ortiz and Craig Heyer are minor leaguers to back them up.

• Nick Johnson leads the team with 3 homeruns and is tied for second in rbi with 6. Robinson Cano leads the team with a 393 batting average, that is for those with a minimum of 25 plate appearances.

• Sergio Mitre and CC Sabathia are tied for the lead in innings pitched with 14. Mitre also leads the team with 14 strikeouts. The Yankees lead the grapefruit league in attendance. Through 9 home games they have attracted 94,030 visitors.

• Nick Swisher has a 7 game hitting streak where he has gone 8-20 which is a 400 average. Jorge Posada has gone 9 for his last 16 which is a 563 batting average. He also has 4 rbi and 5 runs in his last 6 games.

• Robinson Cano has hit safely in 7 of his last 10 games and has mulitple hits in 4 of those games.

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.

Recap of Tonights Yankees Game

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays by the score of 6-2 this evening. The story of the game was Sergio Mitre who got the start. He pitched 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 2 hits with a walk and 7 strikeouts. He was outstanding all night long, he is really making a case for a spot on this team. Joe Girardi said "He threw the ball really well tonight. Command of his fastball, he had good sink tonight. His curveball and changeup were very good tonight." He also added that he thought he could do anything they ask of him meaning relieving also. Joe Girardi said last year it would of been tougher coming back from the injury but now he is good. Chad Gaudin came on in relief and though his line will look worse then it really was I think he is pretty much eliminated from the 5th starters competition. He pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 of them earned and 3 walks. He did strike out a batter. Amaury Sanit pitched 2/3 of an inning getting both hitters out, he had a strikeout. Offensively Curtis Granderson had 2 hits and was hit by a pitch. He was taking out for precautionary reasons. He wasn't scheduled to play tomorrow and Girardi said he will be back on Sunday. Brett Gardner and Colin Curtis each had a hit and Nick Swisher had a hit and rbi. Jorge Posada had a hit and Juan Miranda had 2 hits, one of them was a solo homerun. Joe Girardi said they will have to make some decisions over the next couple of days regarding the 5th starter candidates. He said it is something they are going to have to decide pretty quickly. I think you will know a winner by the end of next week. Nick Swisher extended his hitting streak to 7 games. He is having a good spring and some other regulars are just starting to heat up like Alex and Curtis Granderson, the pitching seems to be all hitting their stride also. The Yankees always seem to have bad Aprils and I think they need to get out of the gate quick this year. The division is so tough and it will be hard to get behind this year like last year and make a comeback. The Yankees will play tomorrow at Houston at 1:05PM.

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.

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)

Yankees Split Squad Games

The Yankees are playing the Detroit Tigers right now at Steinbrenner Field. The game is on the Yes Network. Here is the lineup even though the game already started. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Nick Johnson(DH) Mark Teixeira(1B) Alex Rodriguez(3B) Robinson Cano(2B) Marcus Thames(LF) Jaime Hoffman(CF) Francisco Cervelli(C) Greg Golson(RF) CC Sabathia is making the start. The Yankees added 8 players to the roster today to cover since it is a split squad. They may not play but are needed just in case. Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Albaladejo, Royce Ring, Eric Wordkemper and Ryan Pope are all available to pitch after Sabathia. Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin will pitch later in the road game against the Rays. Zack Segovia and Amaury Sanit are also available. Kevin Russo is getting another start at SS today, they are trying to see if he can play it well enough to be a utility guy. I still think Ramiro Pena will get the job though. Damaso Marte will pitch in relief of Alfredo Aceves tomorrow. Brian Hoch from mlb.com asked Jeter how he was feeling as soon as he walked in the clubhouse. Remember a lot of people thought he got injured yesterday and this is what Jeter said "About What? The weather, health care reform, Avatar, the Pavement reunion?? I guess Jeter isn't too worried about his hand, but this is why he is who he is. He will never tell you anything. Yankees Lineup(Road Game) Brett Gardner(CF) Curtis Granderson(LF) Nick Swisher(DH) Jorge Posada(C) Randy Winn(RF) Juan Miranda(1B) Ramiro Pena(2B) Brandon Laird(3B) Eduardo Nunez(SS)

New York Mets Recap

The New York Mets defeated the Florida Marlins by the score of 5-2 in Jupiter tonight. Oliver Perez got the start and pitched pretty well. He went 4 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs. He walked 1 and struck out 2. Ryota Igarashi pitched an inning giving up 1 hit and 1 walk. He also had 2 strikeouts. Francisco Rodriguez pitched an inning and got the win. He gave up 2 hits but no runs or walks. He didn't strike out a batter. Pedro Feliciano pitched 2/3 of an inning, giving up 2 hits and 0 runs. He had a strikeout. Hisanori Takahashi pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits with a walk and strikeout. David Wright had a hit and Fernando Martinez had a hit and rbi. Jason Bay had 2 hits and 2 rbi. Jeff Francoeur had a hit and 2 rbi, Ruben Tejada and Alex Cora each had a hit. The Mets will take on the Twins tomorrow from Tradition Field. The game is at 1:10PM on SNY. Fernando Martinez continues to have a great spring. He is 15 for 27 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homeruns and 11 rbi. Hisanori Takahashi has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings this spring.

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 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 15-Rays at Yankees

The New York Yankees will play under the lights once again tonight against the Rays. Here are some notes and the lineups for tonights game. Javier Vazquez makes the start for the Yankees and Carlos Hernandez for the Rays.

• Alfredo Aceves will make the start on Saturday against the Houston Astros.
• CC Sabathia will start tomorrow at home and Sergio Mitre on the road, Chad Gaudin will pitch in relief of Mitre.
• The pitchers who are scheduled behind Vazquez today are Dave Robertson, Chan Ho Park, Dustin Moseley, Mark Melancon, Romulo Sanchez and Boone Logan.
• The players coming off of the bench for the Yankees are Austin Romine(C), Jon Weber(1B), Reegie Corona(2B), Kevin Russo(SS), Eduardo Nunez(3B), Colin Curtis(LF), Greg Golson(CF), Reid Gorecki(RF), P.J. Pilittere(DH).

Yankees Lineup:

Derek Jeter(SS)

Curtis Granderson(CF)

Nick Swisher(RF)

Jorge Posada(C)

Robinson Cano(2B)

Marcus Thames(DH)

Randy Winn(LF)

Juan Miranda(1B)

Ramiro Pena(3B)

Rays Lineup:

Jason Bartlett(SS)

Carl Crawford(LF)

Ben Zobrist(RF)

Carlos Pena(1B)

Willy Aybar(3B)

B.J. Upton(CF)

Pat Burrell(DH)

Sean Rodriguez(2B)

Dioner Navarro(C)

New York Mets defeat Boston Red Sox

The New York Mets defeated the Boston Red Sox today by the score of 4-2. Mike Pelfrey got the start and pitched well. He went 4 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits. Jenrry Mejia was outstanding again pitching a 1-2-3 inning. His spring era is now 1.08. Kiko Calero and Elmer Dessens each pitched a perfect inning. Dessens got the win, Tobi Stoner pitched 2 innings giving up 3 hits and 1 run. You have to love the name, he is a guy to root for just because of his name. The offense was kept quiet for the first few innings by John Lackey. Fernando Martinez continued his hot spring with a 3 run homerun. Angel Pagan had 2 hits and a walk, Gary Matthews Jr. had a hit and Ruben Tejada had a hit. That was all for the Mets offense. Fernando Martinez has 3 homeruns and 10 rbi on the spring and is batting 538. Daniel Murphy had a sac fly. The Mets will travel to Jupiter again tomorrow night to face the Florida Marlins. The game is at 7:05PM. Anderson Hernandez was claimed off of waivers by the Cleveland Indians according to Brian Costa of the Star Ledger. MLB is set to announce tomorrow that the June 28-30 series that was to be played in Miami with the Mets and Marlins is now being moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Marlins will remain the home team.

Joba steps up as Yanks fall down

The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Phillies today by the score of 6-2. The big story of the day though was the way Joba Chamberlain pitched. He looked really good today and has now not eliminated himself from the 5th starters competition. I am going to recap the pitchers and then the hitters and then have some notes. Andy Pettitte made the start for the Yankees, it was his first start against live competition. He pitched 4 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. I would say it was a pretty good outing for being his first time out with real competition. He was throwing simulated games because of the rainouts. Damaso Marte pitched in relief of Andy and just had a terrible day. He didn't record an out and gave up 4 hits and 3 runs. He left the game after getting hit in the back by a Ryan Howard line drive. He should be ok but he is going to be sore for a while after that. Joba Chamberlain finished the game off with 3 innings giving up 2 hits and 1 run. He walked a batter and had 3 strikeouts. Francisco Cervelli who survived a scare after getting beaned in the head is tearing it up offensively. He had 3 hits today and is batting 582 in the spring. He has the second highest average on the team. Brett Gardner had 2 hits and Nick Johnson had a hit and rbi. Mark Teixeira, Marcus Thames and Randy Winn each had a hit.

• Andy Pettitte had this to say "I threw a lot of good stuff, a lot of good pitches. My location I thought was fairly good. The balls that they hit, were just balls that I just didn't quite finish on a couple of them."

• Damaso Marte said he is fine after getting hit by a line drive off of Ryan Howards bat. Joe Girardi asked him if he had Bud Seligs signature on his back and he said no just seams.

• Andy Pettitte threw 55 pitches, 36 of them were strikes and Joba threw 47 in the game and about another 15 in the bullpen afterwards.

• Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain are on the same schedule so Joe Girardi said that there is a good chance that Andy Pettitte will pitch in a minor league game in his next start so Joba can make another start

• Tomorrow night against the Rays none of the 5th starter candidates will pitch. Joe Girardi said we will see some of the relievers. Dave Robertson and Chan Ho Park are expected to pitch. Javier Vazquez will start the game.

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 14-Yankees at Phillies

Here is the lineup for todays game and then some notes. Gardner(CF) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Thames(LF) Cervelli(C) Pena(SS) Russo(2B) Phillies Lineup: Rollins(SS) Victorino(CF) Werth(RF) Howard(1B) Francisco(LF) Ransom(3B) Castro(2B) Ruiz(C) Blanton(P) Andy Pettitte is starting for the Yankees. He is expected to go 4 innings then Damaso Marte for an inning and Joba for 4. Joe Girardi has told him it is time to step it up. He said he told all the pitchers to now worry about results, not so much about working on things. Phil Hughes used his changeup in key spots last night and Girardi said that it shows him he has confidence in it.

• Brett Gardner cut his hair short again, maybe he is hoping for good luck or something.

• Jason Hirsh threw in the bullpen this morning.

• Here are the players that will come off of the bench for the Yankees: Mike Rivera(C), Juan Miranda(1B), Reegie Corona(2B),Eduardo Nunez(SS),Jorge Vazquez(3B), Jaime Hoffman(LF), Reid Gorecki(CF), David Winfree(RF), Jon Weber(DH).

• Here is what Joe Girardi said about Joba "I told him, just pitch. Do what you have to do. We're not expecting you to work on things anymore, we are expecting you to compete, show us what you got." I think those are pretty strong words for him and if he struggles once again I think he will be in the bullpen sooner then later. Joe Girardi said yesterday he would like to figure this out by next week and will start eliminating candidates 1 or 2 at a time.

New York Yankees Notes

Here are some notes courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Journal News. He also has the Lohud Yankees Blog. Here is Phil Hughes speaking about his changeup. "I threw some in counts where normally never, ever would do it. I got good results with it."

• Mariano Rivera had the bases loaded in his one inning of work. Here is what he had to say "It's good because you're out there throwing your pitches,working. It isn't 6,7,8 pitches, you need to throw to build you." He also added that it is like night and day how he feels now to how he felt last year at this time. He was coming off of surgery last season. He is scheduled to pitch on Friday which is a split squad and there was joking from the media on him going on the road. He of course never goes on the road in spring training.

• Burnett wasn't very happy with his outing. Jorge Posada was telling him that he was throwing his best changeup yet but Burnett was more focused on his fastball. He said he has to have command of that because it is his bread and butter. He said he knows he has a good hook but he needs his fastball to be successful. He said in his pen he is going to throw about 30 4 seamers down and away, he said he has to get back to that.

Yankees Defeat Astros with Regular lineup

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros tonight by the score of 4-1. Joe Girardi has said recently that the real competition for the 5th starters spot is starting now. Phil Hughes must of been listening loud and clear because he had his best performance of the spring. He came on in relief pitching 4 innings of shutout ball, he allowed 3 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. A.J. Burnett got the start and was wild. He has had 10 days off in between starts because of a couple of rainouts. He pitched 2 1/3 giving up 2 hits and 1 run with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. Here is how the rest of the team did. Zack Segovia came on in relief of Burnett and pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts. Mariano Rivera saw his first action of the spring and gave up a hit and a walk in 1 inning but 0 runs. He also struck out a batter. On offense Mark Teixeira had a solo homerun and Derek Jeter had a hit. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano each had a hit and Jorge Posada had a couple of hits. Nick Swisher had a hit and rbi and Brett Gardner also had a hit. The Yankees will take on the Phillies tomorrow in Clearwater at 1:05PM. Andy Pettitte will make his first start and Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to come on in relief.

Grapefruit League Game 13-Houston Astros at New York Yankees

The New York Yankees will be playing under the lights for the first time this spring. They will take on the Houston Astros from George M. Steinbrenner Field. This is a game after a day off and the Yankees will have what should be their opening day lineup on the field. The lineup comes courtesy of Chad Jennings and his Lohud Yankees Blog. I have some pregame notes as well from the Yankees press notes. Here is the lineup first: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Granderson(LF) Swisher(RF) Gardner(CF) Mariano Rivera will make his spring debut behind A.J. Burnett who should pitch about 4 innings tonight. I would look for Mo to appear in the 5th inning, he is going to start an inning so if Burnett comes out before the inning is over they will use Romulo Sanchez or Zack Segovia who are also scheduled to pitch. Phil Hughes is expected to pitch after Mo and he should go about 4 innings also so I don't think you will see both Segovia and Sanchez. They will just come in if someone doesn't finish an inning. The guys who are scheduled to come off of the bench are Jesus Montero(C), Jorge Vazquez(1B),Reegie Corona(2B), Eduardo Nunez(SS),Brandon Laird(3B),Colin Curtis(LF),Greg Golson(CF),Jaime Hoffman(RF) and Austin Romine(DH). In what is not a suprise Kevin Towers who was the former general manager of the San Diego Padres was officially introduced as the newest member of the Yankees front office. His official title is special assignment scout. Brian Cashman had this to say "Everyone knows that Kevin and I are the best of friends. But I am not in the business of hiring friends, this is all about business. I have a lot of friends, I just don't hire all of them. He is here for professional reasons, to make us better." You can read more on this at the Lohud Yankees Blog. I may have some other pregame notes in a little while.

Changes to the Blog

I haven't announced on here yet but now is the time. I am going to be covering the New York Yankees and New York Mets as a member of the press this season. I will be maintaining the blog like I always do but hope that this will enhance it. The games I will be doing you will know ahead of time and I plan on doing live blogging from the games I do attend. I hope that you guys will be more interactive with me and we can get a community going on here. I will have the game posts up and I hope this will lead to lots of discussion and maybe even debate. I welcome any and all comments but remember I do monitor so please refrain from abusive or derogatory language. If you have any other ideas to make this blog better please let me know also. My first game will be covering the Mets home opener on April 5th and I will also cover the Yankees home opener on April 13th. I can't wait to get started, I am hoping to put more pictures on here also to enhance the game stories. I think having the live blog posts and postgame reaction all directly from the games will enhance this blog and hopefully get people to come here and chat in the comments section. I will be on the computer throughout the days and nights of the games I am covering so don't be shy to write away and I will be responding. I thank you for all of your past, current and future support. I am looking forward to this experience and oppurtunity and can't wait to get started.

Some Major League Baseball Odds and Ends

This is a story that involves both the Yankees and Red Sox. It is a bitter rivalry but when it comes to something like this there should be no rivaly. One of the Red Sox top prospects and he may even be their top. Baseball America rated him as the top prospect in the organization. Ryan Westmoreland will be undergoing brain surgery today. It is not known if he will ever return to baseball but at this time that doesn't even matter. This is a life threatening procedure as is any brain surgery. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family in this very difficult time. I can't say that this won't hurt the Boston Red Sox of course and I am sure there will be some Yankees fans that will bring up this hurting their hated rival but I don't think this is the time for that. I hope that he makes it through this and doesn't have too many setbacks after the surgery and one day he can return to baseball. This is a story that I will keep an eye on. The other big story of the last couple of days is probably more of a joke then anything. The rumor has been that there could be a trade between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. The trade would be Albert Pujols for Ryan Howard. I don't see how this would ever happen and don't think it would. If I was the Phillies I would make the trade in a minute because Pujols is definitely better then Howard. I know some people have called this a modern day Joe Dimaggio for Ted Williams trade rumor/debate but you can't compare it to that because there is no question that Pujols is better. It is interesting anyway to debate and talk about and I would love to hear some opinions especially if there are any Cardinals or Phillies fans out there that want to discuss this with me.

Yankees Off Day

The Yankees were off today so it was very quiet in Tampa. The Yankees did send 2 more pitchers down to minor league camp today. The pitchers were Hector Noesi and Ivan Nova. The total amount of players in major league camp is now 52. If you are looking for some good minor league stuff then check out the Lohud Yankees Blog. Chad Jennings is the main beat writer and he had spend the last 7 years in Scranton covering the AAA team there. It was the Phillies at first but then became the Yankees. He was at minor league camp today with the Big Club being off. He wrote some good notes on his blog which can be found at http://yankees.lhblogs.com. It will be interesting to see if there is any A-rod news tomorrow. I hope he met with the FEDS today on the off day and then that is put to rest. The Yankees are going to have their full lineup tomorrow and Mariano Rivera is expected to make his first appearance of the spring. If you just want to see him don't turn the game on late, he will be in there early to get his work in.

New York Mets Recap and Postgame Notes

The New York Mets defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Tradition Field by the score of 6-5 today. The starting pitcher was Fernando Nieve and he pitched 3 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He also walked 1 and didn't strike out a batter. The offensive star was Angel Pagan who hit a 2 run walkoff homerun for the victory. Here is how the other players performed. Pitching wise Jon Niese was the worst of who pitched today. His line was: 3 innings giving up 4 hits and 3 runs, only 2 were earned and he did strike out a couple. Sean Green, Pat Misch and Francisco Rodriguez all pitched scoreless innings. K-rod had a perfect inning with a strikeout in his debut. Sean Green walked 2 batters but didn't give up a hit and Pat Misch had a walk but gave up no hits. Luis Castillo had a hit, Ruben Tejada had 2 hits and a rbi. David Wright and Mike Jacobs each had a hit and Jason Bay and Fernando Martinez each had 2 hits. Fernando Martinez also had 2 rbi. Jeff Francoeur had a hit, rbi and walk. Francisco Rodriguez was sporting new goggles and told Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News after the game he has to get used to them. According to Gary Cohen Fernando Martinez will start the season in the minors. He said this during todays broadcast and said that GM Omar Minaya said this.

Grapefruit League Game 14-St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets

Here is the lineup for todays game that is just starting. The lineup is courtesy of Matthew Cerrone and his metsblog.com. Luis Castillo(2B) Ruben Tejada(SS) David Wright(3B) Mike Jacobs(1B) Jason Bay(LF) Fernando Martinez(CF) Jeff Francoeur(RF) Rod Barajas(C) Fernando Nieve is making the start. Jon Niese, Francisco Rodriguez,Pat Misch,Sean Green,Tobi Stoner and Elmer Dessens are all scheduled to pitch also. Francisco Rodriguez is making his spring debut today. The Mets made their first cuts of the spring today. Here is the list of who was reassigned to minor league camp. Josh Thole Shawn Bowman Eric Niesen Jack Egbert Josh Fogg R.A. Dickey Travis Blackley Bobby Livingston Arturo Lopez Eddie Kunz Andy Green Mike Hessman Mike Cervenak Jesus Feliciano Luis Hernandez Clint Everts Kirk Nieuwenhuis I heard a disturbing thing today. John Maine pitched poorly in relief yesterday and afterwards said he just wasn't that into it. I understand your a starter and all of that but you haven't been healthy in a couple of years. I think you need to be into whatever the team asks you to do. This is very discouraging to the Mets and their fans. He claims it was a waste of a day for him, being up, down, up, down.

Mets win yesterday lose 2 games today

The New York Mets defeated the Detroit Tigers yesterday by the score of 9-1. Oliver Perez pitched 4 shutout innings which is a good sign. According to the NY Post today though he didn't pitch as good as it looks. There was a ball hit that would of been a 3 run homerun but the wind held it up and his velocity was in the low 90s. The Mets are trying to teach him less is more though and with him any progress is good. I would take it as a good sign right now. Jenrry Mejia pitched another scoreless inning. He did give up a run in the 8th though. The Mets also had 4 homeruns, Gary Matthews Jr., David Wright,Jason Bay and Daniel Murphy. Hisanori Takahashi had another good outing as he pitched 3 innings allowing 1 hit and he struck out 3. Luis Castillo had a rbi single. Jon Heyman says that of all the prospects Mejia has the best chance to go North with the team, I have a feeling they are going to make him the 8th inning guy. I think this would be a mistake rushing him like this. I think it is different in Florida then New York and he will find that out quickly. The Mets lost 2 games today to the Florida Marlins. They lost 7-0 and 5-1. Johan Santana threw 4 shutout innings today. R.A. Dickey allowed 4 runs but only 2 were earned. Nelson Figueroa had another scoreless inning in relief. He is having a very good spring. John Maine was terrible lasting 2/3 of an inning and giving up 5 runs. He also walked 3 but says that his shoulder feels fine. He may just need some time, he hasn't pitched really in a couple of years. Kiko Calero made his debut and pitched a scoreless inning. Luis Castillo had a couple of hit and Jason Bay had a hit. Castillo is having a strong spring and maybe last year wasn't a fluke and he will have another good year. Francoeur and Cora each had a hit. The Mets will be at home tomorrow to take the Cardinals at 1:10PM.

New York Yankees Notes

CC Sabathia is fine, the ball hit his glove, he also said this is the best he has felt all spring. He is just going to fine tune some things now to get ready for the season. The Yankees reassigned 9 guys to minor league camp yesterday and 2 more today. Here are the names: Jose Gil,Grant Duff,Kyle Higashioka,Andrew Brackman,D.J. Mitchell,Christian Garcia,Kevin Whelan,Wilkens Arias,Kei Igawa,Wilken De La Rosa and Jeremy Bleich. It does look like Nick Johnson will be the number 2 hitter this year. Joe Girardi said "Nick really fits that bill,being the on-base percentage guy. But we have to look at how the whole lineup works. When you look at what Nick does, he really fits that area." Joe Girardi said this morning that 3 guys are getting a look as a right handed outfielder. They are Jaime Hoffman,David Winfree and Marcus Thames. I like Thames chances with his experience and I would say Hoffman has a better chance then Winfree with him being the Rule 5 guy but we will see what they decide. I don't have any other notes from the game, but I will either have some later or tomorrow depending on when I get my internet service back again. Tomorrow will be a good day to catch up with the Yankees having a off day.

CC survives a scare as Yanks lose to Pirates

It appears the New York Yankees dodged a bullet in losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-5 this afternoon. It wasn't that they lost the game but it had appeard that ace CC Sabathia was hit on the hand by a line drive. He did come out of the game but it looks like he is fine. He pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. I didn't get to see the game as my cable is out but it appears his command was a little off again. Jon Albaladejo who will probably be sent down in the next round of cuts was bad again. He pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 3 hits and 3 runs. He also walked a batter. Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit. He did strike out two batters. I still think he can be this years version of Dave Robertson. He has had a pretty good spring. Nick Johnson continued his hot spring with a solo homerun and a walk. Kevin Russo had a hit and Marcus Thames and David Winfree each had a hit. Those 2 guys are attempting to make the team as a 5th outfielder along with Jaime Hoffman. I would think Thames has the upper hand at this point with his experience but we will see. Greg Golson had a hit and 2 rbi and Randy Winn had a hit. The Yankees have a day off tomorrow and on Tuesday they should have their regular lineup in. Mariano Rivera will also make his debut on Tuesday.