Yankees Notes on Photo Day as the games draw near

It was a pretty light day around Yankees camp.  It was photo day so not too much going on.  There really wasn't any news and at this point no news is good news.  Andy Pettitte did show up as a special guest instructor for the first time.  He said he will be in town for a few days.  He talked about his life now away from the game.  He said he really is enjoying it and it is crazy with the four kids.  He said he is coaching and probably throwing more now then ever.  He said that if they needed a left handed BP pitcher he could do it.  He also said he would like to do this every year.  The Yankees didn't give him a defined role and he said he is just hanging out.  He said if anyone wants to come up to him and ask him stuff then he will talk to them.  He said otherwise he is enjoying being around the guys again.  Bernie Williams is also scheduled to show up soon but no one knows for sure when.  It is good to see the retired guys coming back.  Once a Yankee always a Yankee.  Here are the days notes courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Journal News. 
Phil Hughes won't make his first spring start until March 6th out of the bullpen.  It is just because they have six starters right now and nothing to look into.  The Yankees have a split doubleheader five days later, so Hughes will be on turn to make a start on Saturday, March 11. Nothing official, but you can bet Sabathia will start at home that day. Hughes will make the road trip to face the Twins.

“(Hughes) is going to pitch just like a starter would,” Joe Girardi said. “And if I have to warm up another reliever in between to get it like it’s a rotation, that’s what I’ll do. It just works out that we have a split-squad coming up, and you can match up the split-squad.”

Counting the days to Opening Day, the current schedule leaves Sabathia lined up to start the opener on one extra day of rest (an extra day that I suppose could come at any point this spring). Hughes is actually lined up to be one regular rest for the fifth game of the season, assuming he pitches some sort of game on the March 5 off day.

  Robinson Cano will be away from camp for a couple of days. His grandmother died yesterday, so Cano has flown home.

 Girardi was on the main field to watch Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances throw batting practice. There’s still no radar gun on these guys, and they’re still knocking off some of the rust. “I actually thought they all threw really well,” Girardi said. “For some of these kids, they’ve thrown a couple times. Betances and Banuelos, very happy with what I saw from them. Very happy with what I saw from Phil and Kuroda as well. Lot of strikes today, which is important.”

Derek Jeter’s take on live batting practice: “I didn’t swing. No, I don’t like it. I get claustrophobic, man. The cage, the screen — everything seems like it’s too close. But it’s always been like that. Everyone seems like they’re throwing 200 mph.”

Jeter took BP against Hughes, so let’s get those headlines ready: Jeter says Hughes throwing 200 mph!

George Kontos has been cleared to resume throwing on Friday. After he plays catch with no problems, the Yankees will schedule a bullpen. Kontos said he feels 100 percent, but the Yankees are obviously giving him some extra time just to be sure.

David Aardsma still hadn’t shown up in the clubhouse by the time it closed to media this afternoon, but he did have a uniform hanging in it. No word of any sort of delay for him, I just haven’t seen him.  Aardsma still wasn't spotted when the clubhouse closed to the media.  We will have to see about that tomorrow to see if there was a problem. 

Still hoping that a bench job will open, Bill Hall worked at third base, second base and the outfield today. He was in the outfield and at third base for popup drills, and he went to second base to take grounders during batting practice. With Cano gone, Eduardo Nunez got some reps at second base today, and I saw Ramiro Pena getting work at both shortstop and third base. Jorge Vazquez also took some grounders at third today.


 Does it make Jeter feel old to have old teammates like Pettitte and Williams in camp as guest instructors? “I feel the same age whether they’re here or not,” Jeter said. “I was always younger than all of them and I’ll always be younger than all of them.”  That is typical Jeter, he is a smart you know what but he has a way about him.  I am sure it is a little strange to him but probably also good to see his old friends come back.