Yankees at Twins Pregame

The New York Yankees will take on their favorite whipping boy the Minnesota Twins tonight at the stadium.  Freddy Garcia starts for the Yankees and old friend or enemy Carl Pavano will pitch for the Twins.  The man the fans love to hate for his four unforgettable years in New York.  He has done well with the Twins though over the last couple of years.  Here are the lineups and some pregame notes. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.

Angels Lineup:Denard Span, Jamey Carroll, Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham, Justin Mourneau, Ryan Doumit, Valencia, Thomas, Casilla

Derek Jeter is off to a fast start, a lot different from last year.  He is hitting 366 with two homeruns and six RBI in nine games.  He has 15 hits and hit safely in eight of the games.  The hits are his third best start in that category of his career. 

He said he tried the strideless approach last spring and realized it didn't work.  He tried to go back to his old mechanics and that was an adjustment and then he got hurt.  He said it was a blessing in disguise because it gave him a chance to work on some things. 

In May Jeter will receive an honorary doctorate from Sienna.  He will speak on a video and his sister will accept the award for him.  It is meant to salute his charity work. 

CC Sabathia simply said "Bad" about his two starts thus far.  He will pitch tomorrow night.  I am not that worried about him, he is a workhorse and knows how to pitch.  He is also a big strong guy, if he was hurt he would say something and I don't think he is hurt at all.  He has also been known to be a slow starter in his career. 

Joe Girardi said he isn't considering a six man rotation for when Andy Pettitte or Michael Pineda comes back.  I would say right now Hughes will lose his spot to Pettitte but we will see what happens.  Pettitte should be back in a month, he is doing well so far but lets make sure and Pineda is a little further back then that.  These things have a way of working themselves out.  The Yankees would love to have the problem of everyone pitching well and making it a tough decision.