New York Yankees notes

The Yankees scratched Jacoby Ellsbury from the lineup and he will be out from a couple of days to

maybe even a week.  It is a sore calf and everyone is downplaying it but the Yankees say they want

to be cautious.  Ellsbury said if it was the regular season he would of played. 

Mashahiro Tanaka started on Sunday against the Atlanta Braves.  It was a good test for him as they had their A lineup in the game.  Freddie Freeman, the Upton Brothers, Dan Uggla and more.  Tanaka was really good only giving up a run and pitching 4 1/3 innings.  He had a couple of long innings that got his pitch count up.  He did strike out six batters and continues to impress.  He seems to have the poise and control which is important.  He needs to build up more and he looks like a guy who isn't going to want to come out of games.  It will be interesting to see how everything translates to the regular season games but so far so good with him. 

Manny Banuelos was optioned to high A today.  It may not be where he ends up but for now he will be in minor league camp and getting regular work.  He actually seemed happy and excited about it.  The Yankees are still talking about where to place him for the season.  He may start in A Tampa because of the warm weather but it still hasn't been determined.  Brian Cashman the GM said they plan on him staying a starter but he didn't rule out the possibility of him being a reliever at some point this season. 

CC Sabathia was dominant in Panama on Sunday.  He pitched five no hit innings and retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced.  The only man to reach base was on an error.  He struck out five batters.  There wasn't much talk about his velocity after this game. 

David Robertson pitched a scoreless inning and Francisco Cervelli and Yangervis Solarte continued their hot hitting in Panama.  Cervelli was 3-3 on Sunday and Solarte was 3-5.  Dellin Betances finally gave up a run this spring.  He still didn't lose it completely though.  He gave up a hit and a walk and a run on an RBI groundout.  He got through the inning though. 

Brendan Ryan went through fielding drills and indoor batting practice as planned.  He should be back in games by the end of the week. 

The Yankees other half will be back to playing by Tuesday/Wednesday.  They are just coming back from Panama on Sunday night and will be off on Monday.  They should be ready to go on Tuesday and then they have a couple more full weeks in Tampa before camp breaks and they head to Houston to start the season.  There are some tough decisions to be made for final roster spots.  The guys competing for spots have all been pretty good, it will be a tough decision but that isn't a bad thing.