Yankees notes from a Saturday

Here are the Yankees notes from Saturday.  Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees blog has everything covered down in Tampa.  I add my two cents to some of the notes in here. 

Hiroki Kuroda never looked particularly bad this spring, but he never looked overwhelmingly sharp either. Today he looked sharp. Kuroda allowed one run through four innings. Of his 59 pitches, 49 were strikes.

“Very happy with this outing compared to the last one,” Kuroda said. “My command was better. I was able to throw all my pitches where I wanted. … I’m not a power pitcher. I don’t strike out a lot of hitters. The less pitches the better.”

This was more the kind of outing the Yankees expected when they gave Kuroda $10 million this offseason.

“I thought he was really good,” Joe Girardi said. “I thought his fastball command was good. I thought his sinker was really good, (so was) his split. He threw some curveballs. Good outing for him. I thought he threw the ball well and it’s kind of what you’re going to see. He’s going to locate.”

 Robinson Cano’s first spring homer was positively crushed to right field. “I hit that one pretty good,” Cano said. “I don’t think I could any one any harder than that.” Cano said he never saw where it landed, and someone joked that it still hadn’t. “That’s good,” Cano said. “I might see it when I go out then.”  He has been struggling this spring but the last couple of games it looks like he has started to pick it up.  Spring Training is six weeks long for a reason and guys like him I don't worry about.  Cano is a great hitter and may be the best player on the team now.  He will be ready to go on Opening Day. 

 Mariano Rivera needed eight pitches — seven strikes — to get through his scoreless fifth inning. “I feel good, thank you very much,” he said. “I felt good out there. Got a little sweat. It was good.”  He continues to amaze although he shouldn't.  I guess none of us should ever be suprised at anything he does anymore.  He is so special and a treasure to watch. 

 Rivera has gone 24 consecutive spring training innings without allowing an earned run. That dates back to 2008.  This is probably meaningless but a fun stat. 

 Girardi’s take on Rivera’s inning: “It was the inning that I was on TV so it was a good inning to bring Mo in.”  That is a funny quote from the manager. 

 Dellin Betances pitched just one scoreless inning today, and that was according to plan. Betances will pitch again mid-to-late next week, and the Yankees didn’t want him to go too many days between appearances. He’s still getting stretched out, just needed to face a few hitters today. “His last two outings have been really good,” Girardi said. “He has had command of his three pitches. I’ve been very pleased. His first one, it was like a guy who hadn’t thrown since October. Since then, I’ve been very pleased with what he has done.”

 Eduardo Nunez played only four innings today, but that’s strictly because he hasn’t played in almost two weeks. His bruised right hand actually felt good the whole time, and he got an infield single to show for it. “I’ll take it,” Nunez said.  It is good to see him back especially with Derek Jeter being a little banged up. 

 Russell Martin has been scratched from tomorrow’s trip strictly because Girardi decided to let Martin, Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher all rest until Tuesday. “During the season I probably could have played all three of them today,” Girardi said. “But we might as well be safe.”

 The plan is for Dave Robertson to throw a bullpen tomorrow. He played catch and did more running today.

 Another hitless day for Raul Ibanez. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and is hitting .071 this spring. “I’m not worried about it,” Girardi said. “I thought his at-bats were better today. This is a guy that hasn’t played every day this spring, it’s not like he’s in a groove. We’ll get him going.”  I wouldn't worry about him just yet but he is older and 071 is pretty bad. 

 Freddy Garcia said this morning that he expects to miss only one start because of his swollen right hand. Girardi agreed, saying Garcia was scheduled to pitch on Monday but that outing will be pushed back. Doesn’t sound like a long-term problem.

 The plan is for Andy Pettitte to be in Tampa in time for Tuesday’s workout. He’s scheduled to throw a bullpen that day. Wonder what I’ll be writing about that day.

The Mets lose to the Braves 3-2

The New York Mets were defeated by the Atlanta Braves by the score of 3-2 this afternoon. Jon Niese started and pitched well and Daniel Murphy had a couple of hits and RBI. Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco also pitched well for the Mets. 
Niese pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up six hits and he struck out three batters. Rauch faced two batters and retired them both, Francisco pitched a perfect inning and Chuck James pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and two runs. Ramon Ramirez pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up two hits and one run with a strikeout. He got charged with a blown save and the loss. Daniel Herrera pitched one inning giving up a hit.

Murphy had two hits and two RBI. Josh Satin had a hit, Jason Bay and Adam Loewen each drew a walk. Justin Turner drew a walk, Mike Baxter had a hit and Jordany Valdespin had a hit. Ronny Cedeno had a hit and an RBI. The Mets were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base.

Baxter had a stolen base. Niese had an error. The Mets will take on the Houston Astros in Kissimee, Florida tomorrow afternoon.

The New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros 6-3

The New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros 6-3, Kuroda pitches well

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros by the score of 6-3 on Saturday afternoon. Hiroki Kuroda made the start for the Yankees and pitched well. Mariano Rivera made another appearance and continues to amaze. He only needed eight pitches this time out to retire the sides. Robinson Cano hit a homerun that went out of the stadium. The Yankees even got some good news on their injuries today.

Kuroda pitched four innings giving up three hits and one run. He struck out two batters and picked up the win. In spring training you don’t have to go the five innings, it doesn’t matter anyway. Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning striking out one, Cory Wade pitched two innings giving up one hit and a strikeout and Dellin Betances pitched an inning giving up two hits and he struck out a batter.

Brett Gardner had two walks, Curtis Granderson had a hit, walk and an RBI and Robinson Cano had a hit and three RBI. Bill Hall had a hit and an RBI, Raul Ibanez and Colin Curtis each had a walk. Andruw Jones had two hits and an RBI, Eduardo Nunez and Jayson Nix each had a hit.

Granderson had a double and Cano and Hall each had a homerun. The Yankees were 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Nix and Gardner each stole a base and Curtis was caught stealing. Hall did commit an error for the Yankees.

The Yankees will play the Orioles tomorrow night in Sarasota.

Yankees Friday notes:Andy Pettitte returns to play

Here are the Friday notes as Andy Pettitte returns to the Yankees.  Chad Jennings provided the notes from the Journal News and Lohud Yankees blog. 

“It wasn’t really helpful to me because I said, ‘What are you telling me?’” Cashman said. “He goes, ‘I don’t know what I’m telling you. It’s just something I’m thinking about.’ I kind of forced it a little bit, or tried to.”

To force it, Cashman offered a contract worth $10-12 million. He also told Pettitte he was in negotiations to trade for Michael Pineda and sign Hiroki Kuroda, and if those deals went through, the available money and roster spots would be gone. Pettitte couldn’t commit, and told Cashman he would need six weeks to workout and decide whether he wanted to play.

“We kinda agreed that something may not happen,” Pettitte said. “So (I wanted to) keep working out, see if you can get the juices flowing.”

At that point, Pettitte to the Yankees was still a longshot. Step-by-step, though, the whole thing came together.

Mid-January: The Yankees acquire Pineda and Kuroda

PETTITTE: “When they signed those guys, (Cashman) called me and said you can shut it down. The money (the Yankees) were going to use is gone. And the spot in the rotation, we have 7 starters now – because at that time we had AJ – and they said, ‘Go ahead and shut it down.’ And I said, ‘Ok.’ And after about 3-4 days, I looked at my wife, and I said, ‘Babe, I was loving working out.’ I couldn’t commit to them, but I was loving working out. So she said keep working out. So I kept working out.”

CASHMAN: “We wound up doing deals. I called him and just said, ‘By the way, you’ve seen what we’ve done.’ He goes, ‘I get it, no worries, I’m going to shut it down. I understand. Appreciate the honesty.’ That was it. So we have now two additional pitchers. We’re excited about it. … He said he shut it down. He’ll tell you, I’m not sure if it was a week to 10 days. It was no more than 10 days, at least a week that he said he shut it down. But unbeknownst to me, he got it going again.”

Late February: Pettitte comes to camp as a guest instructor

PETTITTE: “The reason I couldn’t commit to the Yankees earlier was because I didn’t have time to get on the mound and do the stuff I needed to do to tell them whether or not I could get there. During my work right now, my bullpen work, I can feel it all coming back, as far as the mental side of it. … I didn’t know if I would tell them or not (about the workouts). I told Hal and Cash, ‘Y’all told me to quit working out, but I’ve still been working out, and I’ve still been throwing, and I think I would love to play, man.’ They were like, ‘Oh my goodness. How are we going to work this out?’”

CASHMAN: “The day he left, he met with me. If he had a flight that afternoon he grabbed me and shut the door (in Girardi’s office) and said, ‘I’ve got to tell you something.’ … We know he can pitch in New York. He’s left-handed, and I know he’s obviously certainly long in tooth, but he’s also done the transition from power pitcher to some degree from the left side to tremendous pitchability. All that equipment is still there, or should still be there. Let’s go see. Why not?”

Tuesday morning: Pettitte threw a top-secret, early-morning bullpen in Tampa

CASHMAN: “He came down here before the Red Sox night game. He showed up here at 7:30 a.m. in front of myself, Larry (Rothschild), Joe (Girardi) and I brought Gene Michael over and we watched him do a bullpen. Not for a tryout purpose, but in a lot of discussions it was like, ‘Well, how far are you away?’ He said he’d been working out since January. He said he’d been throwing batting practice to his kids. He’d done at least six bullpens. At the same time, he wasn’t in a spring training camp type workout for pitchers. It was one of those things where I think mentally, he thinks he’s farther ahead than he is and privately we think he might be farther away than he thinks he is, so he did a bullpen here. Guys can work out all winter, but you get under the sun, you get a feel for it this way. That gave us and him a little bit more information.”

GIRARDI: “It was pretty good. He did his regular warmup, which I think is 34 pitches. Then he probably threw to (the equivalent of) three hitters, 15 pitches or so. He had all of his pitches. He threw them all. He threw them all pretty well. He got a little tired at the end but that’s to be expected I think. That’s somewhat of a long bullpen. We were pleased, and I can’t believe no one ever said anything.”

PETTITTE: “Once I stood on that mound, the other morning, it was like I’d never left. Even though it was Tuesday morning, and Cashman was standing there with Gene Michael and Joe, and Larry, and it was just like I had never left to tell you the truth. It was really weird.”

This morning: Agreed to $2.5-million deal during call with Cashman, Randy Levine and Hal Steinbrenner

CASHMAN: “It’s not easy when you make an offer of anywhere from 10, 11, 12 million in the wintertime in late December, to it’s now March whatever, and this is the best we can do. … He’s worth more than this, clearly, if he’s right. You know that. But we’re at the stage of the game now — just like anybody who signs in January, February, March, some of these free agents that are still sitting out there — they’re not going to get what they think they’re worth. It’s now about getting a job and taking what they can get.”

GIRARDI: “Until it was done I didn’t necessarily think (it would happen). I hadn’t known about it for very long, so I thought maybe when he threw his bullpen it would be a reality, and then it didn’t happen the next day or that day, so then I thought, well maybe it’s not going to happen. Really, until today I didn’t believe it was going to be a reality.”

PETTITTE: “Swish just called me and was screaming on the phone. I’ve talked to the guys, I’ve texted with pretty much all of them, before we released this, because I wanted to them to know. … Mo doesn’t know for sure. Mo’s not carrying a cell phone around anymore, he told me. He probably found out today. I did talk to Jeet. They’re excited, they’re fired up. I think the first text message I got when it came out was from Jorge. He’s fired up, and just saying congrats, and just wishing me the best.”

Next Tuesday: Pettitte is scheduled to arrive in Tampa to join the team

PETTITTE: “I’m sure I’ll be in touch with Larry, the pitching coach, then it’ll just be me and him getting this figured out, and figuring out exactly how slow they need to take me. I’m throwing bullpens where I’m throwing 60 or so pitches in a bullpen, so that’s built up pretty good right there, but I may have to back off from that to just start getting my leg stuff, covering bases, things like that. I haven’t done any of that on a daily basis.”

GIRARDI: “Obviously the next step is to get him prepared to pitch. He’s got to go through a spring training, basically. I can’t tell you exactly when he’ll be ready. You’ve got to make sure his legs are healthy and in shape, not healthy but in shape to take on what it takes to be a starting pitcher. He knows. He’s done it so many times, but we’ve got to make sure his legs are underneath him.”

CASHMAN: “He hasn’t thrown in a game since October 2010. We’re going to make sure we do the right thing, not cut a corner and rush and put him in a position where this is a waste of time and he’s not going to be in a position to stay healthy and be healthy and not be effective. He’s got to go through and get ready. … Does it complicate things? Yeah it does. But Andy Pettitte’s worth complicating things for.”

Are there other notes, not really as it is an Andy Pettitte day.  Derek Jeter will be out until at least Tuesday with a sore calf.  He stated he was fine just precautionary and I can't blame them.  Phil Hughes showed today he didn't want to lose his spot in the rotation.  The old adage is you can never have enough pitching and it is true.  Russell Martin and Nick Swisher also have minor injuries. 

The New York Mets lose big to the Detroit Tigers

The New York Mets lose big to Detroit

The New York Mets were defeated by the Detroit Tigers by the score of 9-0 on Friday afternoon. Johan Santana started and didn’t pitch very well. Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch also struggled a little bit. The offense didn’t do much. They did have seven hits but not one player had more then one hit.

Santana pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up four hits and five runs, four of them were earned runs. He walked one and struck out three batters. Bobby Parnell gave up a hit but struck out one batter, Scott Olson pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Francisco pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout. Rauch pitched an inning giving up two hits and one run, Ramon Ramirez pitched an inning giving up two hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts. Josh Edgin pitched an inning striking out two and Jeremy Hefner pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Andres Torres had a hit, Daniel Murphy had a hit and Jason Bay had a hit. Vinny Rottino had a hit, Adam Loewen had a hit and Lucas Duda had a hit. Josh Thole drew a walk, Ronny Cedeno had a hit. The Mets were 2-5 with runners in scoring position and they left six men on base. Murphy, Olson and Bay were all charged with an error.

New York Yankees defeat the Washington Nationals in ten innings

The New York Yankees beat the Washington Nationals in ten innings today by the score of 4-3. That wasn’t the news of the day though. Andy Pettitte signed a one year 2.5 million dollar minor league deal to return to the Yankees. There was also the news that Derek Jeter has a sore calf, but as usual he downplayed it and said it isn’t a big deal. It is never a dull moment around the Yankees.

CC Sabathia started the game and didn’t pitch too well. He wasn’t real bad but he just wasn’t sharp. Sabathia pitched three innings giving up six hits and three runs with one walk and two strikeouts. Rafael Soriano who has looked good all spring, pitched a perfect inning. Phil Hughes pitched really well in this game. He pitched four innings giving up three hits and he struck out three batters, Cesar Cabral pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts and Chase Whitley got the win pitching one inning and giving up a hit.

Curtis Granderson had a hit, Justin Maxwell had a hit and a walk and Robinson Cano had a hit and an RBI. Alex Rodriguez had a hit and two RBI, Mark Teixeira had two walks and Brandon Laird had an RBI. Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez each had a walk and Doug Bernier had a hit. Jayson Nix had a walk. Cano had a double and Rodriguez had a homerun. The Yankees were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Maxwell had a stolen base and Nix was caught stealing. The Yankees will be home against the Astros on Saturday afternoon.

Yankees Thursday notes

Here are a bunch of Yankees notes from Thursday.  They beat the Washington Nationals 8-5 in Viera and will play them again tomorrow afternoon at home.  Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees blog has all the coverage.

Both Joe Girardi and Freddy Garcia said pretty much the same thing today: It’s just too early to know anything for certain. Garcia had his right hand heavily wrapped this morning, but he’s still not sure how much time he’ll have to miss after being hit by a comebacker on Wednesday. I didn't think he would win the fifth starters job anyway so this may end up working out well with him going to the pen. 

“Right now I don’t think about it,” Garcia said, “because I went to the hospital yesterday, they took x-rays and everything is fine. So, I just have to wait. I move my fingers good, so I don’t think I have to have any problems.”

Girardi said he’s expecting at least one more day of treatment. The injury seems to be close to the same spot where Eduardo Nunez has experienced soreness for a week and a half now.
“I don’t expect miracles,” Girardi said. “When you’ve got swelling in your hand, it’s going to take time to get rid of it. I’m not going to scratch him, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he didn’t make his next start on his day. Maybe a couple of days later or something.”

 The entire Yankees rotation is supposed to get an extra day of rest next time through.

Two more notes about Michael Pineda’s fastball: 1) Girardi said he hasn’t seen any signs of Pineda trying to overthrow just to reach 95, and 2) Pineda said he’s much more focused on hitting his spots than hitting the mid-90s.  I don't think it is as big of a deal as it is being made out to be.  I agree with Girardi Pineda hasn't tried to dial it up just yet. 

 Russell Martin on Pineda’s fastball: “I think he was like 88-90 in Clearwater, so it’s coming along. I’m not worried about it. I just want to see the guy pitch. He’s a pitcher like anybody else out there. I just wanted to see him execute pitches. His velocity, he has it in him, it’s just a matter of time. As soon as you put on your uniform, you’re in New York and you get the juices flowing, the velocity is going to pick up no matter what.”

 And if you’re looking for more fastball specifics: “(Pineda) was a little inconsistent trying to throw his fastball away to right-handers. It looked like he was pulling off a little bit.” Martin said it’s an easy thing to correct and could be fixed in a single bullpen.

 Ramiro Pena was trying to steal second base, and just as he went into his slide, his spike stuck in the dirt. That’s when he sprained his right ankle, not when he actually made contact with the bag. He estimated that he’ll miss only two or three days, but Girardi said that might be optimistic. “We’ll see about that,” Girardi said. “I imagine it’s going to be pretty sore tomorrow. Sometimes adrenaline helps you out in a situation like that.”

 Nick Swisher told Girardi that his tight groin didn’t get any worse last night, and he was fine when he came to the stadium this morning. Girardi hopes to have Swisher in the lineup tomorrow.
Other injury updates:

 Dave Robertson was scheduled to play catch today and on track to throw a bullpen this weekend.
 Russell Branyan still hasn’t played this spring and is getting an epidural for his sore back.
George Kontos threw another batting practice.
Manny Delcarmen is throwing off a half mound.

Martin was knocked down on the play that left Wang injured. “It happened in slow motion,” Martin said. “It was weird. I tucked pretty good. If I had fell differently, it could have been worse. I kind of just rolled with it. It’s the ninja coming out right there.”

 Apparently the Yankees saved all of their excitement for after the media was down in the clubhouse. They won the game 8-5, having rallied with four runs in the seventh and two runs in the eighth. Jose Gil is hitting .750 this spring and had a two-run single. Melky Mesa and Bill Hall both doubled in the game. Hall and Justin Maxwell each had two hits, continuing a nice spring for Maxwell (he’s hitting .375 with two stolen bases). Maxwell, Jayson Nix and Andruw Jones each stole a bag today.

 Clay Rapada pitched into and out of some trouble, but finished with 1.1 scoreless innings. Mike O’Connor and Adam Warren combined for a scoreless ninth. In between, Brett Marshall allowed two runs in 2.1 innings and Juan Cedeno was charged with a run in his two-thirds of an inning

The New York Mets lose to the Miami Marlins 3-1

The New York Mets defeated the Miami Marlins by the score of 3-1 on Thursday afternoon. R.A. Dickey started and pitched a couple of perfect innings. The offense didn’t get much going and Jose Reyes only had one at bat against his former team. 
Dickey pitched two perfect innings with a strikeout. Manny Acosta pitched two innings giving up one hit and he struck out three, Bobby Parnell pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two and Fernando Cabrera got charged with a blown save and the loss. He pitched two innings giving up five hits and three runs with a walk and a strikeout. Daniel Herrera pitched an inning giving up a hit and he walked one batter.

Justin Turner had a hit, Jason Bay had a couple of hits and Jordany Valdespin had a hit. Ike Davis had a hit and an RBI, Mike Baxter and Josh Satin had a hit. Mike Nickeas had a hit and Omar Quintanilla had a walk.

Davis, Bay, Satin and Baxter each had a double. The Mets were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Valdespin was caught stealing and Satin and Loewen made fielding errors. Dekker had an outfield assist.

The Mets will be home against the Tigers on Friday afternoon at 1:10PM. The starting pitcher will be Johan Santana who will be making his third start of the spring.

The Yankees defeat the Nationals 8-5 as Pineda pitches well

The New York Yankees defeated the Washington Nationals by the score of 8-5 on Thursday afternoon. Michael Pineda started and pitched well once again. Pineda has impressed the Yankees thus far and looked good in his three starts. The Yankees were really happy that he used his changeup a lot in this start and did well with it. There is one topic though, his velocity which has been in the low 90’s. The Yankees don’t seem too concerned with that right now and either does he. Bill Hall led the offense with a couple of hits and RBI. 
Pineda pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up four hits, two runs, one walk and he struck out four batters. Clay Rapada in a bid for the second lefty spot out of the bullpen pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up one hit and two walks with a strikeout. Juan Cedeno pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit and one run with a walk, Brett Marshall pitched 2 1/3 innings getting the win. He gave up two hits, two runs, one walk and he struck out three batters. Michael O’Connor pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up one hit and Adam Warren got a save facing one batter and retiring him.

Justin Maxwell had two hits and an RBI, Russell Martin had a hit and JR Murphy had a hit and an RBI. Andruw Jones had a walk, Chris Dickerson had a hit and Bill Hall had two hits and two RBI. Dewayne Wise had a hit, Melky Mesa had a hit and Jayson Nix had a hit. Jose Gil had a hit and two RBI, Ramiro Pena had a hit and Doug Bernier had a hit. Hall and Mesa each had a double. The Yankees were 6-12 with runners in scoring position and they left five men on base. Maxwell, Nix and Jones each stole a base. Pena and Almonte were each caught stealing.

The Yankees will take on the Washington Nationals once again tomorrow afternoon. This time they will be playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. CC Sabathia will be making the start for the Yankees.

New York Yankees Wednesday notes

Here are your Yankees notes from a Wednesday.  They are courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees blog.

Manny Banuelos is considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and there have been days — both this spring and last spring — when he’s shown every bit of that potential. Today was not one of those days, and it was instead often-overshadowed D.J. Mitchell who stole the show.

“(Banuelos) couldn’t throw his secondary pitches for strikes and he was behind,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s just a tough combination. Look at what D.J. Mitchell did. He was able to throw his curveball and his changeup when he was behind in the count to get back in the count and throw some fastballs for strikes. Manny just really struggled with his command.”

Banuelos labored through a four-run fifth inning when he allowed three hits, walked two batters and coughed up Edwin Encarnacion’s second home run of the day. If previous starts have been a reminder of what he can become, today was a reminder that he’s still very young with inconsistent command. It’s nothing that can’t be sorted out, but there’s still some development to be done.

“He’s a young guy and he’s got four pitches to be in the big leagues,” Francisco Cervelli said. “But with the experience, he’s going to learn how you can make adjustments during the game and have more patience. It’s just a bad day. Next time he’s going to come back and do what he always does because it’s great. I think he’s top three over here, best rookie guys.”

As for the top rookie in camp? Mitchell is making his case. He closed today’s game with three hitless innings, striking out four and walking none. Often labeled as a sinkerballer, Mitchell was drawing praise just last week from a Yankees official who said he doesn’t get enough credit for his secondary pitches. Mitchell does generate a lot of ground balls, but they don’t have to come from his two-seamer. He can get them with his changeup, curveball and slider. He did hit two batter today, but through seven innings in big league camp, Mitchell has allowed just three hits.He was awfully good this afternoon, and Girardi noticed.

Obviously the Yankees got good news on Freddy Garcia’s injured right hand, but there will be considerably curiosity tomorrow to find out whether the injury will cause him to miss significant time. “That’s why we try to have depth every year in case you do run into something freaky like this injury,” Girardi said before hearing the x-ray results. “I hope it’s not going to keep him down, but we’ll find out.”

 Garcia was pitching well at the time of the injury. He’d allowed one run through three innings and had just stranded two runners in the bottom of third. Edwin Encarnacion’s comebacker came in the first at-bat of the fourth. “Freddy’s Freddy,” Girardi said. “He commands all his offspeed. He commands his fastball. He changes speeds. And that’s exactly what he did today. His split was effective. Just got his hand in the way. That’s the only thing I didn’t like.”  He has been pitching the best of all the starters.  This is exactly why six or even seven starters isn't too much.  You can never predict injuries or ineffectiveness.  You need a lot of good pitchers to get through a season. 

 Cervelli on how Garcia was pitching for the injury: “It was great. It was really, really good. The split was good A lot of fastballs today. I think he was throwing 90, a lot of movement in the fastball. Really good. His plan was really good today.”

It’s a positive sign that Dave Robertson was able to jog without pain, but Girardi said he’ll need to throw a few times on the side before he starts getting into games again. “He’s been out long enough that I think he’s got to do some bullpens,” Girardi said.  The Yankees are going to be extra cautious with him and they should be.  He is a reliever so he doesn't need as much time as a starter would. 

 Girardi seems to be used to getting velocity questions. This was the first thing he said about Robertson’s half hour on a treadmill: “I don’t have the speed, but there was no pain.”

 In between Garcia’s three innings and Mitchell’s three innings, both Banuelos and Cory Wade pitched an inning. Wade gave up a two-run homer to J.P. Arencibia, letting Garcia’s final base runner come around to score. Wade also had two strikeouts in his inning.

The Mets lose 7-6 in ten innings to the Detroit Tigers

The New York Mets lost to the Detroit Tigers by the score of 7-6 in ten innings on Wednesday afternoon. Dillon Gee made the start for the Mets and pitched well. Jordany Valdespin continues to impress with a couple of hits. There were six other guys who each had a hit. 
Gee pitched four innings giving up three hits and two runs with a walk and five strikeouts. Chuck James got charged with a blown save pitched one inning giving up two hits and four runs with three walks, Chris Schwinden pitched three innings giving up a walk and a strikeout. Darin Gorski pitched an inning giving up two hits with a walk and a strikeout and Jack Egbert took the loss pitching 1/3 of an inning and giving up a hit and a run with two walks.

Valdespin had two hits, an RBI and a walk, Justin Turner had a hit and Daniel Murphy had a walk. Valentino Pascucci drew two walks, Zach Lutz drew a walk and Mike Baxter had a hit and an RBI. Josh Thole had a hit, an RBI and a walk, Adam Loewen had a hit, RBI and a walk and Cesar Puello had a hit and a walk. Wilmer Flores had a hit, RBI and a walk and Dan Dekker drew two walks in the game. Valdespin had a double. The Mets were 2-9 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. Valdespin and Puello each had a stolen base and Turner was caught stealing. Flores had two errors in the game.

The Mets are now 3-7 on the spring and they will play at Miami on Thursday afternoon.

The Yankees lose to Toronto 7-5 as Garcia leaves after being hit on the hand

The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 7-5 on Wednesday afternoon. The game was in Dunedin, Florida. Freddy Garcia started and pitched ok, it was his worst start but he was pitching so good that wasn’t hard to do. Manny Banuelos, the top pitching prospect had his worst game by far. Curtis Granderson had a couple of hits. 
Garcia pitched three innings giving up four hits and two runs. He walked one and struck out three. Garcia left his start early due to being hit on the hand. He did go for X-rays and they came back negative. Cory Wade pitched one inning giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts, Banuelos pitched an inning giving up three hits and four runs with two walks and a strikeout and D.J. Mitchell pitched three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Mitchell continues to impress as he looks for a final spot in the bullpen or at least to be the first guy called up if a need arises in the rotation.

The Yankees for the first time this spring played most of their regular lineup. Derek Jeter had a hit, Doug Bernier had a hit and two RBI and Granderson had two hits and an RBI. DeWayne Wise had two hits and two RBI, Robinson Cano had a walk and Corban Joseph had a hit. Mark Teixeira had a hit, Cole Garner had a hit and Eric Chavez had a hit. Jayson Nix and Francisco Cervelli each had a hit.

Granderson had two doubles, Cervelli, Bernier and Garner each had a double. The Yankees were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. Wise had a stolen base in the game.

The Yankees record on the spring now drops to 5-8. They will play at the Nationals in Viera on Thursday afternoon.

New York Yankees Tuesday night notes after a loss to the Red Sox

Here are the Tuesday night notes after the Yankees lost 1-0 to the Red Sox at home.  The story was Ivan Nova who was very sharp tonight.  Mariano Rivera pitched again and looked the same as always and Boone Logan continued to be sharp.  The offense didn't do much of anything once again but I wouldn't be too concerned with that.  Chad Jennings provides the coverage from the Journal News. 

Ivan Nova never seemed especially worried, but after two sloppy starts this spring, the time was right for him to finally have a good one. Tonight he finally found the strike zone and delivered four scoreless innings. He struck out the final two big league hitters he faced, getting Jacoby Ellsbury on an inside fastball and getting Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a slider.

“I just want to have good stuff,” Nova said. “Not only the good stuff, but when you don’t have the best stuff, you’ve got to pitch. That’s something I did today compared to what I did in Toronto the other day. I had the good stuff but I didn’t pitch. I think in Toronto I had (better) stuff than I had today … but I pitched, and that’s the difference.”

Nova has shown good fastball velocity and pretty good offspeed pitches all spring, the problem has been fastball command. Today, he had the command as well. He threw 55 pitches, 35 for strikes, and he consistently worked ahead in the count.

“I was more aggressive, let the hitters hit the ball,” Nova said. “I’ve got eight people behind me. You’ve got to pitch to contact, you’ve got to throw strikes. … I’m a really confident guy. It doesn’t matter if I pitch good or not, you’ve got to keep your head up (and) you’ve got to keep working. I knew that I would pitch good one day. You’ve got to look forward to the next start, and today I’m going to enjoy it, and get it behind me and wait for the next start.”

Mariano Rivera laughed when asked if he’s ready for the season to begin. “Tomorrow,” he said. Essentially Rivera got four outs today, pitching around an error for a scoreless fifth inning. “You have to work, you know?” he said. “It’s not just go in there and do whatever you want, you have to work on your pitches and work that strike zone.”

 Rivera’s next outing will likely come either Friday or Saturday. At this point, it seems like he might pitch a little more than his usually eight or nine spring innings. “That’s alright as long as we get eight, nine,” Rivera said. “It will be enough.”

 Dave Robertson ran on an eliptical machine today and could do some light jogging on a treadmill tomorrow. Joe Girardi said there’s a chance Robertson could be on a mound by the weekend.

The plan is for Eduardo Nunez to take the next three days off. Girardi said Nunez should need only a week to 10 days to be ready for the regular season. He wouldn’t need nearly as much time as Dave Robertson. “You would think that you could get him enough playing time,” Girardi said. “The great thing about minor-league games is you can get him 10 at-bats in one day if you wanted to. You can’t have a pitcher throw 10 innings in one day if they’re a one-inning guy. It’s different.”

 George Kontos came through today’s batting practice just fine, in fact, he was happy with his stuff and doesn’t feel like he lost much during his time off. He’s scheduled to get in a game on Friday.

 Asked which bullpen candidates have made a strong impression, Girardi seemed to be thinking along an obvious theme. “Our lefties have thrown the ball pretty decent,” he said. “(Clay) Rapada has thrown the ball pretty well, Juan (Cedeno) has thrown the ball pretty well, Cesar (Cabral) has thrown the ball pretty well. We think we’ve got some options if we decide to take another lefty. Time will tell.”

 Speaking of which: Another hitless inning for Boone Logan who’s looked really sharp this spring. He pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning against Aviles, Pedroia and Ellsbury. The only lefty he faced was Ellsbury, who struck out.

 Bernie Williams got here last night and was around all day today.

Another nice outing for David Phelps, who took the loss despite five strikeouts in 2.2 innings. The only run of the game came on a single to right field, where Zoilo Almonte misplayed the ball, after which David Adams made a bad relay throw turning the single into an unearned run. It was a 1-0 Red Sox win because of that play.

Girardi wouldn’t give a specific timetable for Dan Burawa’s return from a torn oblique, but it’s going to be much more than a couple of days. “It could be a while,” Girardi said. “I’m not sure. He hurt his side. I haven’t gotten a timetable. A lot of times ribcage injuries can be tough.”

 I’m sure I’ll do a full post on this tomorrow, but the Yankees announced today that individual game tickets will first be made available to the public through a MasterCard pre-on-sale online at yankees.com and yankeesbeisbol.com, and via Ticketmaster phone from March 22 at 10:00 a.m. until March 25 at 10:00 p.m. For those using other accepted methods of payment, the general public on-sale will begin on Tuesday, March 27 at 10:00 a.m. at yankees.com and yankeesbeisbol.com, and via Ticketmaster.

The New York Mets lose to the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1

The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 7-1 on Tuesday afternoon. Mike Pelfrey made the start and did not pitch well at all. Daniel Murphy had a good game with a couple of hits and Jason Bay who only had one hit in the spring, had a double. 
Pelfrey pitched 4 1/3 innings giving up six hits and four runs. He gave up two homeruns and took the loss. Garrett Olson pitched 2/3 of an inning gave up a walk, Frank Francisco pitched an inning giving up two hits and one run. Ramon Ramirez pitched an inning giving up three hits, two runs and a strikeout, Manny Acosta pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Bobby Parnell pitched a scoreless inning giving up a walk.

Adam Wainwright got the win pitching three inning and giving up a hit. He walked one and struck out one. Maikel Cleto pitched two innings giving up three hits, one run, a walk and two strikeouts. Brandon Dickson pitched a perfect inning, J.C. Romero pitched an inning giving up a hit and Marc Rzepczynski pitched an inning giving up two walks and a strikeout. Victor Marte pitched an inning giving up a hit.

Andres Torres had a hit, Murphy had two hits and Bay had a hit. Ike Davis, Zach Lutz and Lucas Duda each had a walk. Duda had an RBI as well, Rob Johnson had a hit and Josh Satin had a hit.

The Mets were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. May made a throwing error. The Mets record on the spring is 3-6. The Mets will play the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Florida on Wednesday afternoon at 1:05PM.

The New York Yankees lose to the Boston Red Sox 1-0

The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox by the score of 1-0 on Tuesday night. Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and made his best start of the spring. He pitched four shutout innings, Mariano Rivera made his second appearance and looked like he always does. The offense did not do much again, they haven’t really all spring. 
Nova pitched four innings giving up no runs and two hits with three strikeouts. Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, Boone Logan pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout and David Phelps took the loss pitching 2 2/3 innings giving up two hits and one run with five strikeouts. Clay Rapada faced one batter and got him out.

Felix Doubront started for the Red Sox and pitched four innings giving up two hits and no runs. He walked one and struck out three. Michael Bowden pitched one inning giving up one hit and he struck out three, Vincente Padilla pitched three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Padilla got the win and Junichi Tazawa pitched one inning giving up a hit and he struck out three.

Russell Martin had a hit, Alex Rodriguez had a hit and a walk and Corban Joseph had a hit. Andruw Jones had a hit and the Yankees were 0-2 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base. Bill Hall, David Adams and Zoile Almonte each made an error. It was a packed house and there was plenty of buzz but it was just a spring game. It was the dress rehearsal for the 18 games and wars that will be played in the regular season between these two teams.

The Yankees will play the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Florida on Wednesday afternoon.

Yankees Monday night notes

Here are some light notes on a Monday night after a game.  Chad Jennings has everything down in Tampa covered for the Lohud Yankees Blog and Journal news.  The notes are courtesy of him. 

Hiroki Kuroda said he usually gets off to slow starts in spring training. He leans on an assortment of pitches, and it makes sense that it might take him a while to get comfortable with all of them. Despite pitching three scoreless innings tonight, the new Yankees starter wasn’t happy.

“I don’t think I had all my stuff today,” he said. “Nothing was really consistent. Two-seamer wasn’t there. Cutter wasn’t cutting.”

Joe Girardi said the problem was consistency in the strike zone. Kuroda wasn’t throwing as many quality strikes, and so he had a few more runners on base. He didn’t throw many splitfingers tonight — arguably his best pitch — but he used to to strikeout No. 3 hitter Brian Bogusevic with the bases loaded in the third inning.

“I think probably most of the nights he’s going to have the split and he’s going to have his cutter and he’s going to have his sinker and four-seamer and his slider,” Girardi said. “But early in spring training, it’s hard to get them all going because you’re not out there long enough.”

One guy who stood out was Dellin Betances. The big right-hander threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and one harmless single. “Good curveball. Good changeup. Good fastball,” Girardi said. “Throwing a lot of strikes.” He is probably their second best pitching prospect behind Manny Banuelos.  The two of them will start in AAA, they are knocking on the door and both impressing so far this spring.  It is important for guys like that to make a good impression on the coaching staff. 

No significant injury updates tonight. Girardi said, as far as he knows, everyone came through tonight’s game with no problems and he’s encouraged by the fact Dave Robertson was able to play catch. “He definitely feels better, so that’s a good sign,” Girardi said.

 Girardi was disappointed because the Yankees didn’t turn a double play — leading to two runs in the ninth — and they failed to catch a popup in foul territory which led to a run in the fourth. Ultimately, the Yankees lost 4-3 and had just five hits. They gave up 12 hits.

 Nick Swisher had an RBI triple in the sixth and J.R. Murphy had an RBI single in the ninth. The other Yankees run scored on a ground out. Robinson Cano, Dewayne Wise and Jose Gil — who’s have a nice spring — had the other Yankees hits.

 Girardi said he though Rafael Soriano threw the ball “alright” and should have pitched a scoreless inning had the Yankees caught that popup. It looked like Francisco Cervelli’s ball, but he seemed to not see it until it was too late.

The Mets and Tigers play to a tie

The New York Mets and Detroit Tigers tied their game today 7-7. It was a ten inning game. Jon Niese started and pitched ok. He wasn’t great and he wasn’t bad. There were no other major league pitchers that got into the game. Lucas Duda had a grand slam in the game. Duda is a guy the Mets feel will be a legitimate power hitter for a long time. Mike Nickeas had two hits and two RBI and Jordany Valdespin had a couple of hits. 
Robert Carson pitched one inning giving up one hit, Josh Stinson pitched one inning giving up four hits and three runs and Armando Rodriguez pitched an inning giving up a walk and a strikeout. Daniel Herrera pitched an inning giving up a hit and a walk, Jeremy Hefner pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run and Josh Edgin got charged with a blown save. He pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and two walks with two strikeouts. Jeff Stevens pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Andres Torres had a hit and an RBI, Mike Baxter had a hit and Ike Davis had a walk. Duda had the one big hit and four RBI, Josh Thole had a walk and Ronny Cedeno had a hit. Nickeas had two doubles, Valdespin had a triple and Duda hit the only homerun for the Mets. The Mets were 3-10 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base.

The Mets will host the Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon.  Mike Pelfrey will be making his second spring start. 

New York Yankees lose under the lights to the Houston Astros

New York Yankees lose under the lights

The New York Yankees lost to the Houston Astros on Monday night by the score of 4-3. Hiroki Kuroda made his second start and pitched pretty well. He wasn’t so happy with himself though. The Yankees only had five hits. Nick Swisher had an RBI triple.

Kuroda pitched three innings giving up two hits, no runs, two walks and two strikeouts. He said after the game he didn’t have his best stuff and wasn’t so happy. Rafael Soriano struggled a little bit for the first time this spring. Soriano pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and one run with a strikeout, Juan Cedeno pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up one hit and Cesar Cabral pitched one inning giving up three hits and a run with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter and Ramiro Pena each drew a walk. Robinson Cano had a hit, Melky Mesa had a walk and Swisher had a hit and an RBI. Jose Gil, Dewayne Wise and JR Murphy each had a hit. Murphy and Brandon Laird each had an RBI. Swisher had a triple. The Yankees were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Wise had a stolen base and Garner had an outfield assist.

The Yankees will play under the lights once again on Tuesday night.  They will face the Boston Red Sox.  Ivan Nova will make his third start and try to get his control under control.  Nova has pitched ok but his control has been a problem for the first couple of starts.  Girardi will start evaluating guys now after their third starts, so this is important for Nova to show some improvement. 

Yankees news and notes from Sunday

The Yankees played two games this afternoon.  They split the two games, losing in Fort Myers to the Twins and winning at home in Tampa over the Philadelphia Phillies.  Here are the notes from today from Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog and of course what I have to add to all of it. 

CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes started the games.  Mariano Rivera pitched the game at home along with Boone Logan and Cory Wade.  They all pitched very well and this is what the line looked like: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K.

Most of the attention was naturally on Rivera, and that’s probably the way it’s going to be throughout the season. If the expectation is that he’ll retire at the end of the season, then every one of his outings carries a little extra significance. There’s a little added appreciation to every step along the way. Rivera, Logan and Wade each pitched a hitless inning today, but the bulk of the innings belongs to the starting pitchers.  I would expect Rivera to retire as well, i don't see any other way it could go, it is the right time especially to do it on top and not have to lose a step and let the game tell you it's time.  Here is the starting pitchers lines along with some quotes. 

CC SABATHIA
3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Before the game, Sabathia told Russell Martin that he wanted to work on his two-seamer and his changeup, and those pitches were the focus of the afternoon. Sabathia wasn’t happy with his fastball command last time out, but he was much better this time, and he got better in the second and third innings.

Sabathia: “Felt good. The fastball command was pretty good, the secondary pitches were working. I still got a little ways to go, you know. I still want to work on my two-seamer. But I feel good today… Fastball command (improved). Getting it in on righties, and Russ did a good job making sure we got a lot of those. He called a lot of two-seamers which is something that we’ve been working on all spring. He did a good job of working in things we were trying to do.”

Martin: “He was great. What I liked about him was he had some good velocity. I don’t know how hard he was throwing, but it felt like the ball was jumping out of his hand. And he threw some good changeups. He threw his curveball for strikes. We talked before the game, he wanted to work on his two-seamer a lot and his changeup, I think we did a good job of that today. We threw some two-seamers in for lefties, made them uncomfortable. Locked a guy up with a slider for a punchy. Threw some good changeups down in the zone off his fastball. He was good today.”

PHIL HUGHES
3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Joe Girardi went on the road to see Hughes make his second spring appearance. Last time out, Hughes’ arm strength was much better than at this time last season, and his fastball remained in the low 90s this afternoon. I wasn’t there to see it, but it seems to be another solid step forward.  I think in this game Hughes impressed his manager, he looks a lot better right now then he did last spring.  I think he will be one of the starters with Garcia being the long man out of the pen.  I don't think it matters so much though, they will both get plenty of time pitching and contributing to this team this year. 

Hughes: “The cutter wasn’t as good as it was last time, but the curveball was much better. Fastball location was much better, as well. Command-wise, it was a lot better, especially in the second and third innings… It seemed like my fastball was good. It was jumping on hitters a little bit based on the swings I was getting. That was a positive thing. Being able to work out of some trouble with guys on, they put together some good at-bats in the first and I was able to get around those.”

Girardi: “I thought he had everything today. Fastball location was much better, he threw some good changeups, curveballs and cutters. I was very pleased. I thought it was a nice step in a positive direction for him. A lot of times at this point in the first couple starts, I’m focusing on the good things. Knowing that they are rusty, you don’t expect them to have their A stuff a lot of times. You want to see what they’ve got the first couple starts. I was pleased.”

Girardi said today that Hughes and Sabathia will split their next start, four innings each, on Friday.

 Dave Robertson is supposed to get his walking boot off tomorrow, but that’s subject to change depending on how he feels. “If he comes in and he’s walking okay and it’s not too painful, he’ll come out of the boot,” Girardi said. “If it’s still pretty painful, we’ll put him back in the boot.” For whatever it’s worth, Robertson seemed to be walking much more easily today.

 Eduardo Nunez could be in a game as early as Tuesday. “We’ll have him take BP Tuesday, and if he has no problem, I’ll put him in the game,” Girardi said.

 Really nice game by Chris Dickerson here in Tampa. He made a nice running play in center field, had the two-run single that gave the Yankees the lead, and he stayed in a rundown long enough to let runners advance to second and third. I’m still surprised no team thought they could carry him as a fourth outfielder this year. He’s a nice player.  I don't think he will make the big league bench with the Yankees either but that is because they have veteran guys for those spots. 

 Russell Martin stole another base today. That’s four steals in five games for the Yankees catcher. “I’m putting a little pressure on Gardy,” Martin said. “That’s all I’m doing.” Might be working because Gardner also had a stolen base today. It was Gardner’s second.  It has been surprising but maybe he figures he will catch everyone off guard. 

 Derek Jeter went 2-for-3 — and had another hit taken away by a nice catch in center field — in the Yankees 3-1 win against the Phillies. Dickerson, Robinson Cano, Gustavo Molina, Bill Hall, Justin Maxwell and call-up-for-the-day Austin Krum also had hits in the win. … Francisco Cervelli went 3-for-3 in the 5-1 loss to the Twins. Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Gary Sanchez, Jayson Nix and Corban Joseph also had hits in that game, as did call-up-for-the-day Walter Ibarra.

Clay Rapada, Chase Whitley and Kevin Whelan were able to keep the shutout intact in Tampa. … In Fort Myers, Adam Warren allowed one run through three innings, but the game unraveled when Graham Stoneburner allowed a solo homer in the seventh inning and Adam Miller gave up a three-run homer in the eighth. All five Twins runs came on home runs.  That is the problem with evaluating games in spring training.  A lot of guys you see at the end of games are not going to be on the team at all this year.  You can't look at the wins and losses, you have to focus on certain things you want to see and concentrate on that. 

 Add Dan Burawa to the injured list. Girardi said today that Burawa hurt his ribcage yesterday. “He’s probably down for a little bit,” Girardi said. Burawa seemed to be making a pretty good impression this spring but was still just here to get his feet wet. He’s not realistically in the big league picture this season.

 Once again Girardi said Austin Romine is making steady progress from his sore back, but the Yankees are staying extra cautious. There’s no rush to get Romine into regular duty in spring training. “If he’s a backup here, he’s not going to play every day,” Girardi said. “And if he’s in the minor leagues, he’s going to play every day, so you can work him up to three and four days in a row down there. That’s not a problem. I want to see him playing healthy before we leave; that’s the most important thing.”

 A lot of guys up from minor league camp today, but center field standout Mason Williams wasn’t among them. Girardi said today that he expects Williams to come up for a big league game at some point this spring. Girardi’s never seen him play, but “I’m interested,” he said.

During a surprise Facetime conversation, Alex Rodriguez, Dave Robertson and Tino Martinez spoke with Stephanie Decker, the mother that lost both legs while protecting her two children from a tornado in Indiana last week.

 Want further proof that Mariano Rivera pretty much sets his own schedule in spring training? Here’s Girardi’s I-have-no-idea answer to a question about what’s next for Rivera after today’s debut appearance: “He’ll probably have some days where he has a couple days off. He might throw an inning, do a bullpen the next time, then throw an inning again. He usually gets his seven or eight appearances in, so he’s got plenty of time to do that. There’s no rush.”  I guess when you are the best closer of all-time you do what you want and no one is going to mess with success like that.  The Yankees will play the Houston Astros at home tomorrow night and then the Boston Red Sox in another night game on Tuesday night. 

The Mets lose to Miami in a rain shortened game 4-2

The New York Mets took on the Miami Marlins at home in Port St. Lucie, Florida on Sunday afternoon. The game was called after five inning because of rain and the Marlins defeated the Mets by the score of 4-2. Johan Santana pitched for the Mets and was pretty good, the most important thing for him is that he continues to be healthy and progress. Jon Rauch had a terrible outing, blowing a save and taking the loss. Adam Loewen had a good game with two hits as he attempts to make it as a reserve outfielder. Loewen is an interesting story as he was a pitcher and then gave that up and is trying to make it as an outfielder. 
Santana pitched 2 2/3 innings giving up two hits, one run, one walk and two strikeouts. Chris Schwinden pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up one hit and Rauch pitched one inning giving up four hits, three runs, a walk and a strikeout.

Ruben Tejada had a hit, Ronny Cedeno had a walk and Daniel Murphy had a hit. Jason Bay had a hit, Loewen had two hits and Josh Satin had an RBI. Josh Thole had a hit and an RBI, Lucas May had a hit. Loewen and May each had a double. The Mets were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on base. Cedeno and Loewen each made an error. The Mets are now 3-5 on the spring. The Mets will travel to Lakeland, Florida to take on the Detroit Tigers on Monday afternoon.

The story of the day though was the Mets and their rib cage and oblique injuries.  David Wright is flying back to New York to be examined and possibly receive a cortisone injection.  They have a bunch of other guys with oblique injuries and manager Terry Collins is trying to get to the bottom of this.  This will be the storyline until someone figures it out. 

The Yankees split their split squad games today

The New York Yankees played two games on Sunday afternoon. They took on the Philadelphia Phillies at home in Tampa and took on the Minnesota Twins on the road in Fort Myers. The Yankees won the home game by the score of 3-0 and lost the road game by the score of 5-1. Phil Hughes started the road game and pitched really well. He pitched three innings giving up no runs and a hit. CC Sabathia started the home game and pitched three good innings. Mariano Rivera made his spring debut pitching a 1-2-3 inning with 14 pitches, 10 of them were for strikes. 
I will start with the home game first. Sabathia pitched three innings giving up two hits, no runs, one walk and a couple of strikeouts. Rivera got the win with his perfect inning, Boone Logan pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Cory Wade pitched a scoreless inning. Wade walked one and struck out one batter. Clay Rapada pitched an inning giving up one hit and a walk with two strikeouts, Chase Whitley pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Kevin Whelan pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had two hits, Robinson Cano had a hit and Gustavo Molina had a hit. Austin Krum had a hit, Bill Hall had a hit and a walk and Chris Dickerson had a hit and two RBI. Justin Maxwell had a hit which was a double. The Yankees were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Martin had his fourth stolen base of the spring.

Hughes in Fort Myers pitched three scoreless innings giving up one hit with a walk and a strikeout. Adam Warren pitched three innings giving up three hit’s, a run and a walk. Graham Stoneburner took the loss, he pitched one inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk and Adam Miller pitched one inning giving up two hits, three runs and a walk.

Brett Gardner had a walk, Curtis Granderson had a hit and Nick Swisher had a hit. Gary Sanchez had a hit, Francisco Cervelli had three hits and an RBI and Walter Ibarra had a hit. Jayson Nix and Corbin Joseph each had a hit. Granderson, Cervelli and Swisher each had a double. The Yankees were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base. Gardner had a stolen base and Joseph was caught stealing. The Yankees are now 5-5 on the spring not counting their win against the University of South Florida. They will now play two night games in a row at home. They will take on the Houston Astros tomorrow night and then the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Yankees Saturday notes

Here are the Yankees notes for a Saturday.  Chad Jennings of the Journal news and Lohud Yankees blog has the notes and I as always offer my opinion as well.

One swing was enough to put Mark Teixeira on base three times today. And that made this a good day for the Yankees power-hitting first baseman.

“The one swing I took I hit a line drive up the middle which is positive, and I walked twice,” Teixeira said. “That just means I’m seeing the ball pretty good, and right now it’s really about seeing pitches and having good swings. It’s not about hitting the ball in the air and out of the park. That’s going to come. I felt good about today.”

A lot is written about pitchers working on specific things this early in spring training, but hitters are going through the same thing. They’re still fine tuning their mechanics, working on their timing and trying to see pitches.

“I’m not trying to lift the ball right now,” Teixeira said.

Instead, he was happy with an opposite field single earlier in the week, and today he was happy to hit a ball sharply up the middle for an RBI single. Of course, you know that Teixeira’s going to lay down a bunt against the shift at some point this spring. Twitter will shutdown for at least 20 minutes that day.

 Not sure I’m buying this one, but Randy Levine told Jon Heyman that the Yankees believe they can re-sign both Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano while still staying below the $189-million luxury tax threshold. I think it is possible but don't know if it will happen.  I could see Granderson going and Cano staying long term

Eduardo Nunez took batting practice today, but his right hand was still sore and he’s been shut down again. Joe Girardi said Nunez will probably get a “couple more days” to let the hand heal, but no new tests have been scheduled. Nunez was hit by a pitch on Monday and hasn’t played since.  The Yankees are usually cautious and in this case I would be as well.  It doesn't make sense to rush this guy, he is too valuable off the bench. 

 Girardi on Michael Pineda’s changeup: “He threw some good ones. Got some outs on a couple of them, got some strikes, got back in the count. That’s the purpose of it. We don’t expect it to be as far along as his slider, but it’s nice to have that weapon in his pocket.”

 All of the Yankees came through today’s game with no physical problems. No one to add to the injury list.

 Speaking of injuries, Brian Cashman said today that the Yankees really have no frame of reference to determine how long Dave Robertson might be out with his bruised foot. “Since I’ve been with the Yankees in the late-80s, I don’t recall having bruised metatarsals,” Cashman said. “Although they articulated it as a good thing and he’s going to go through Monday and have the boot off, he’s still a pitcher. He’s a reliever, so you don’t have to stretch him out much, but how long will it take for him to be weight-bearing and pain-free? That’s still a grey area for me, so we have to be extra cautious. It sounds like the time frame is encouraging, but I don’t have a history that my amateur doctor side of experience from prior people can guide me on this one.”

 Really nice bunt single for Brett Gardner today. He also got his first stolen base of the season. Justin Maxwell also stole a bag, meaning Russell Martin no longer has more than half of the Yankees total stolen bases.

 Three Yankees had 2-for-2 days today: Jayson Nix, Jose Gil and top hitting prospect Gary Sanchez. Nix had a double, Sanchez and Gil each had RBIs.

 Alex Rodriguez drove in a couple of runs with a single and a groundout. He has four RBI this spring … Another hit for Zoilo Almonte, though his batting average is down to a pedestrian .500 … Raul Ibanez had another hit today, but he also committed an error when he stumbled going after a ball in right field. David Adams also had an error, but I must have been in the clubhouse when it happened because I didn’t see it.

Cesar Cabral had a really strong outing with a scoreless 1.1 innings including two strikeouts … Pitcher of the day must have been Brett Marshall with two scoreless innings. The young sinkerballer walked two and struck out three … Michael O’Connor and Dan Burawa also threw scoreless innings. Between them, Ryan Pope allowed two runs in the eighth inning.