The New York Yankees camp is in
full swing now as the position players have reported. Alex Rodriguez being down there two days
early helped as Wednesday wasn't too bad and Thursday when they had their first
official workout wasn't so bad either.
Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi are tired of answering questions
about him but that will continue at
least for a while.
The main topic on the first day was
of course Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira may
know him best of all the teammates, they were first teammates in Texas and now
have been in New York for a few years.
Here is some of what he had to say yesterday about Rodriguez. He was asked if Rodriguez has changed and
said that is a tough question to answer.
He said I don't know he is the same guy I have known a long time. He said in 2009 it was the same circumstances
and had a great year. He did a great job
of putting it behind him and playing baseball.
He said the entire job did a good job of putting it behind them and that
is what Teixeira expects this year.
He said the difference between the
two is Teixeira wasn't well past his surgery last year like Rodriguez is this
year. He is not in rehab mode and I
think he feels pretty good Teixeira said.
Teixeira said the last thing to come as a power hitter is the carry. Teixeira was asked about the state of the
game with PEDS and said he thinks it is better than ever. He said when he came up in 2003 there was
weird testing and you could still do it and have no penalty. He said he has been outspoken about the users
and he doesn't like it. He said though
if you are willing to take the chance then you have to look in the mirror. He said it is what it is, there will always
be someone trying to cheat. He said it
is like in school you worked hard and got a B and someone else cheated and got
an A, nothing you can do about it. He
said a lot of people make bad decisions but that doesn't mean they are a bad
person. He said Rodriguez is not a bad
person, he has just made some bad decisions.
Larry Rothschild brought up the
idea of six starters again even though it was overshadowed by Arod. Brian Cashman said we will see how realistic
it is, he said in a perfect world it makes sense but first they have to get
five starters. Masahiro Tanaka threw
another bullpen, this one was forty pitches.
Joe Girardi said it was very good that he threw all of his pitches. He said the arm strength looks good and they
will continue to move him along and get him ready for a game. Girardi said they don't know when he will get
him in a game but they will get him ready for that.
Jacoby Ellsbury said he will hit
anywhere in the lineup and Girardi gave no real indication of his plans for the
lineup. I would expect Ellsbury and
Brett Gardner to be 1 and 2 in the lineup and that is how I feel it should be. Girardi said they have thrown around ideas
but it is too early to decide on a lineup.
The Yankees had a meeting before their first full squad workout and it
doesn't appear Rodriguez spoke but so far so good with his interactions with
the fans, media and teammates. Rodriguez
go this first baseman's glove but hasn't started breaking it in yet. Rodriguez actually did play a little first on
Friday but basically just flipping to pitchers when they were working on
covering first base. He did take some
more BP and looked better today than he has since he got there according to the
reports.
The Yankees had photo day on
Friday. Luis Severino the top pitcher
faced top prospect Aaron Judge in live batting practice on Friday. That drew a lot of attention and Severino
struck him out. Severino was one of some
impressive pitching in the back field.
Nathan Eovaldi split innings with Severino and Jacob Lindgren and
Branden Pinder came out for an inning a piece.
The four hard throwers faced Judge, Kyle Roller, Jake Cave and Tyler
Austin. Cave was impressed by Severino
but said that he is always impressive.
The Yankees have their first injury
of the spring. Brendan Ryan will miss
about five days because of a mild strain in his back. He hurt himself lifting weights before
reporting to camp. CC Sabathia threw a
bullpen on Friday and has been wearing a protective brace on his knee. The Yankees are moving slowly due to that
knee injury with Sabathia. Girardi said
they have plenty of time and they don't have to rush him. Girardi said he will wait until Saturday to
announce his starters for the first few games of the grapefruit league next
week. It is being speculated that Adam
Warren will start the opener on Tuesday.
The Yankees are scheduled for an intrasquad game on Sunday and a light
day on Monday before the spring opener on Tuesday. Teixeira and Beltran have made a strong
impression so far by the way they reported to camp which is a good sign, we
will see if they can stay healthy though and then they should be
productive. The Yankees were also very
impressed with Severino and his sim game on Friday. Girardi said " Young kid with a great
arm." He said he has a good slider
and changeup and it is something to get excited about. Eovaldi had a two inning simulated game and
Girardi was happy with that. He said
"Really good stuff, Powerful arm."
It is interesting and fun with all the young kids in camp and they are
generating buzz which is good for the Yankees.
They have been a older veteran team for a while and it is good to see
them try to get younger and develop the next wave of homegrown stars.
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