New York Yankees spring training notes

Alex Rodriguez homered on the second pitch he saw in his first spring training game of the year on Thursday afternoon.  He said "It caught me by surprise."  He said the biggest thing for him this year is that there are no distractions and that he is clear headed.  He said he will be coming in everyday with a good attitude and understanding he has a purpose.  So far so good with him both on the field and off as he has become somewhat of a leader and kept his nose clean since he came back from suspension last season. 

Jacoby Ellsbury will make his spring debut on Saturday and Joe Girardi said it was Ellsbury who asked for extra time.  They are saying that Ellsbury is perfectly healthy but he wanted a few more days to workout.  He has come down with an injury in the past two spring trainings and maybe they are being extra careful with it, who knows.  Gary Sanchez made a strong first impression, he drew two walks in his first action and looked good behind the plate to Girardi and Ivan Nova who pitched to him. 

Nova pitched two effective innings in his first spring start of the year.  Girardi said " I thought he threw well,"  "He got a lot of ground balls, and that's what you want to see, so that means the sinker was working pretty good.  I think his curveball was a little off today and probably didn't have it today, but he worked on it and that pitch will be there."  Jacob Lindgren was shaky, he just didn't have any control in the game at all. 

Nathan Eovaldi threw a bullpen on Thursday and he is scheduled to start next Thursday.  Chasen Shreve also threw a bullpen.  Brett Gardner had a good day hitting inside for the second day in a row.  Chris Denorfia will make 1 million with another 1 million in incentives if he is on the big league roster.  Jon Heyman reported that. 

I know one game doesn't really mean much but Bryan Mitchell did impress on Friday.  He knows that there are openings in the bullpen and he wants a job out there.  Girardi said " The ability is there.  As I said last year, his role, it was a tough role because there were a lot of days in between pitching and not sure exactly what he was going to do, but the idea is to get him on track.  He has three or four pitches and his cutter was good today.  It's just getting him on track." 

James Kaprielian pitched really well also on Friday afternoon.  Kirby Yates also had a strong outing against three lineup regulars in Detroit.  Austin Romine is still in the conversation for backup catcher and he had another good day.  He was 0-3 at the plate but threw out a runner at second base. 

Gardner had another good day as he is coming along slowly from a bone bruise.  He has had no problems or setbacks.  Pete Kozma who is a backup infielder had indoor batting practice on Friday as he comes back from a lower back injury.  Utility infielder Donovan Solano had to skip the game today because of a tight back.   

The New York Mets and Miami Marlins play to a 4-4 tie

The New York Mets and Miami Marlins tied 4-4 on Friday afternoon at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida.  Logan Verrett got the start for the Mets and pitched ok in his two innings of work.  The Mets bullpen guys pitched pretty well and Dilson Herrera led the offense with a couple of hits and an RBI. 

Verrett pitched two innings giving up two hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  Akeel Morris pitched an inning giving up a hit, Addison Reed pitched  an inning giving up a walk and Jerry Blevins pitched an inning giving up two hits and an unearned run.  Jim Henderson pitched a perfect inning with a couple of strikeouts, Duane Below pitched an inning giving up two hits and striking out two and Chasen Bradford pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.  Buddy Carlyle pitched an inning giving up three hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout. 

Juan Lagares had a hit, Wilmer Flores drew a walk and Neil Walker had a hit.  Herrera had two hits and an RBI, Travis d'Arnaud drew a walk and Alejandro De Aza had a hit.  Travis Taijeron had a hit, T.J. Rivera had a hit and an RBI and Ty Kelly had a hit and an RBI.  Taijeron hit a triple and Herrera hit a homerun.  The Mets were 3-9 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.  Lucas Duda and Asdrubal Cabrera each committed an error.  Marc Krauss had an outfield assist. 

In the second inning Destin Hood hit a two run homerun to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead.  In the fifth Christian Yelich reached on a fielding error and a run scored to push the lead to 3-0 Marlins.  In the bottom of the fifth Rivera hit an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-1.  Kelly hit an RBI single to make it a 3-2 game and in the bottom of the seventh the Mets tied the game at three on a strikeout and then when the ball was thrown to first the run scored.  In the ninth Kenny Wilson hit an RBI single to give the Marlins a 4-3 lead.  In the bottom of the ninth Herrera hit an inside-the-park homerun to tie the game at four and that is how the game ended.  The Mets are now 0-1-1 in the grapefruit league and will play the Houston Astros Saturday afternoon in Kissimmee, Florida. 

New York Yankees are shutout as their pitching shined for the first time

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers on Friday afternoon in Lakeland, Florida.  Bryan Mitchell started for the Yankees and pitched well.  James Kaprielian and Luis Cessa also impressed in their two scoreless innings each.  Didi Gregorious had a hit and a walk and was robbed of another hit.  Brian McCann and Dustin Ackley each had a hit. 

Mitchell pitched two scoreless innings giving up a walk and striking out two.  Vinnie Pestano pitched an inning giving up a hit and three runs with a walk and two strikeouts, Kirby Yates pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout and Kaprielian pitched two perfect inning with two strikeouts.  Cessa pitched two innings giving up a hit and striking out two. 

Gregorius had a hit and drew a walk, McCann had a hit and Ackley had a hit.  Kyle Higashioka had a hit, Cesar Puello had a hit and Lane Adams had a hit.  Gregorius hit a double and the Yankees were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. 

In the third inning Miguel Cabrera hit a three run homerun and that accounted for all the scoring in the game.  The Yankees are 1-2 now in the grapefruit league and will play Saturday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field against the Boston Red Sox.   

New York Yankees get roughed up in second spring game

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday afternoon.  The game took place at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.  Ivan Nova started for the Yankees and pitched ok and the bullpen struggled once again especially Jacob Lindgren who had no control.  Alex Rodriguez hit a homerun and drew a walk. 

Nova pitched two innings giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout.  Diego Moreno pitched two innings giving up three hits and a run with three strikeouts, Lindgren pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up four runs and three walks and Anthony Swarzak pitched an inning giving up four hits and two runs.  James Pazos pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up two hits and three runs with a walk, Branden Pinder pitched an inning giving up a hit and he struck out two and Tyler Webb pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with a walk.  Brady Lail pitched an inning giving up a hit and a run. 

Slade Heathcott drew a walk, Carlos Beltran had a hit and Rodriguez had a hit, two RBI and drew a walk.  Mark Teixeira had a hit, Deibinson Romero had a hit and an RBI and Chase Headley had a hit.  Gary Sanchez drew two walks, Lane Adams had an RBI and drew a walk and Tyler Wade had a hit.  Jorge Mateo drew a walk, Headley hit a double and Rodriguez hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 1-5 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Wade and Mateo was caught stealing, Corporan and Gamel each committed an error. 

In the first Darin Ruf hit an RBI double to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the first Rodriguez hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  In the fourth Maikel Franco  hit a solo homerun to tie the game at two.  In the fourth Adams drew an RBI walk to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.  In the fifth Franco drew an RBI walk to tie the game at three.  Ruf hit an RBI single to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead.  Tyler Goeddel hit an RBI single to push the Phillies lead to 6-3.  In the bottom of the fifth Romero hit an RBI single to make it a 6-4 single.  In the sixth Roman Quinn hit an RBI triple to push the Phillies lead to 7-4.  J.P. Crawford reached on a fielder's choice and a run scored to make it 8-4 Phillies.  In the seventh Jorge Alfaro hit an RBI single the Phillies took a 9-4 lead and Cedric Hunter hit a two run double to make it 11-4 Phillies.  In the eighth Alfaro hit an RBI single and in the ninth Quinn hit a solo homerun to finish the scoring at 13-4. 

New York Yankees defeat the Detroit Tigers in a wild game

The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 10-9 in a wild first exhibition game of the season.  Luis Severino started for the Yankees and did not have a good outing.  He retired the first four batters and then it just fell completely apart.  The Yankees offense was led by Starlin Castro and Austin Romine who each had a couple of hits and an RBI. 

Severino pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up two hits and vie runs with two walks and a couple of strikeouts.  Nick Rumbelow pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up four hits and a run with two strikeouts, Tyler Cloyd pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout and Mark Montgomery pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.  Olson pitched 1 2/3 innings giving up a hit and two walks with a strikeout, Johnny Barbato pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up a hit and he struck out two and Nick Goody pitched an inning giving up three hits and two runs. 

Didi Gregorius had an RBI, Jorge Mateo had a hit and Castro had two hits and an RBI.  Brian McCann had a hit, Romine had two hits and an RBI and Mark Teixeira drew a walk.  Chris Parmelee had a hit, Aaron Hicks had a hit and an RBI and Dustin Fowler had a hit and an RBI.  Dustin Ackley had a hit and two RBI, Ben Gamel drew a walk and Lane Adams had a hit and an RBI.  Donovan Solano had a hit, Deibinson Romero had a hit and an RBI and McCann, Ackley, Solano, Castro, Adams and Romine each hit a double.  Mateo hit a triple and the Yankees were 7-15 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.  Gamel had an outfield assist. 

In the second inning Mike Aviles had an RBI walk giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.  In the second Bryan Holaday hit a grand slam to give Detroit a 5-0 lead.  In the third inning Detroit extended their lead to 6-0 on a Miguel Gonzalez RBI single.  Ian Kinsler hit a solo homerun in the fourth to make it 7-0 Detroit and then the Yankees started making their comeback.  In the bottom of the fourth Hicks hit an RBI single and Ackley hit a two run double to cut the lead to 7-3.  In the fifth Gregorius had an RBI groundout to cut the lead to 7-4 and Castro hit an RBI double to make it a 7-5 game.  In the sixth Adams hit an RBI double to cut the lead to 7-6 and then the game was tied on a Romero RBI single.  In the seventh Fowler hit an RBI groundout to give the Yankees their first lead at 8-7.  In the ninth Steven Moya hit a two run homerun to make it 9-8.  In the bottom of the ninth Romine hit an RBI single to tie the game at nine and then Fowler reached on a fielding error and a run scored to give the Yankees a 10-9 win. 

New York Yankees Training Camp News and Notes

Jacob Lindgren is healthy and ready to show the Yankees what he can really do.  He is amongst many competing for the last few spots in the Yankees bullpen.  We know the back end three and then maybe Chasen Shreve but other than that the other three spots are open.  I would expect one of Ivan Nova or Bryan Mitchell most likely to be the long man but you never know with that either. 

Rob Refsnyder had been working at third base over the weekend and he was feeling pretty encouraged by the early results.  The throw is of course longer and he said that he is working on having a strong base set when he makes the throw.  It is still very very early in the process but Refsnyder said he feels more comfortable at third than he did after his first two sessions learning second base. 

The Yankees announced their first three grapefruit league game starters which begin on Wednesday.  They will be Luis Severino, Ivan Nova and Bryan Mitchell.  Girardi said those three are the guys that are ready to pitch.  Brett Gardner had a good day on Sunday as he did tee-and-toss for the second day in a row.  He also did some throwing and went through some outfield drills.  He is scheduled to not swing on Monday and then to take full indoor batting practice on Wednesday.  It was supposed to be on Tuesday but the Yankees will have a team bonding at Steinbrenner Field.  They won't be doing any practice at all tomorrow and no one is sure what kind of team bonding they will be doing but we will all find out on Tuesday. 

Ivan Nova took a line drive off his leg on Sunday.  The liner came off of the bat of Aaron Judge, he is fine though.  As Refsnyder has been working at third at least somewhat, Starlin Castro has only worked at second.  Joe Girardi said he still wants to get him some work at third but it is more important for him and Didi Gregorius to get comfortable with each other as they will mostly be the double play combo this year.

The Yankees will open up the grapefruit league schedule on Wednesday at home in Tampa.  There are years where they go with a bunch of big league regulars but Girardi said he is not planning to play all of his regulars on Wednesday.  There is another home game on Thursday and Girardi said he will probably split the everyday guys between the two days.  Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran aren't likely to play in the early games.  Girardi said he isn't exactly sure when they will get into games but he wants to give them a couple of extra days. 

Chasen Shreve was hit by a comebacker on Monday but he seems to be ok.  Michael Pineda appears to be the early standout at camp and that continued on Monday.  Nathan Eovaldi has a sore groin but Eovaldi doesn't seem too concerned.  Girardi said it is more of just give it some extra time since it is spring training and he hasn't missed any of his sides or anything like that.  Aroldis Chapman was impressive in live BP as everyone still awaits a decision on any suspension that could happen with him.  CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller also threw live BP early on Monday.  Girardi said that they all threw well but Chapman threw really well.  Eovaldi and Masashiro Tanaka are the only starters who haven't faced hitters yet.  Tanaka got up to 61 pitches in the bullpen on Sunday but the Yankees haven't announced when he may throw live BP yet.  He is getting closer to that though. 

New York Mets Training Camp News and Notes

It has been pretty uneventful overall as Yoenis Cespedes daily car choice is the big story around the Mets.  The Mets will begin their grapefruit league schedule on Thursday.  Hall Of Famer Mike Piazza arrived in Mets camp on Sunday and will stick around a few days.  Zach Wheeler threw off a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery over the weekend. 

The Mets have announced their pitchers for the first couple of spring training games.  They will be Rafael Montero on Thursday and Logan Verrett on Friday.  The Mets will also play an intrasquad game tomorrow and Sean Gilmartin and Robert Gsellman will start in that game. 

Terry Collins said Eric Campbell has a legit change to make the club because of his versatility and Wilmer Flores will be getting exposure at both first and third base as it looks like he can be a super utility player for the Mets.  To go along with that, there is a chance that Ruben Tejada may not make the 25 man roster coming out of spring. 

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said that pitcher Matt Harvey has the potential to be the best pitcher in baseball.  I am not sure if that is exactly breaking news as I think most feel very highly about him as long as he is healthy. 

Curtis Granderson left the ballpark on Monday due to an eye issue the Daily News was reporting.  He was wearing glasses in the morning and went to the doctors for a diagnosis.  The Mets manager said he could be dealing with pinkeye but the team isn't sure yet.  Stay tuned for more news on this on Tuesday. 

Matt Harvey is looking good early in camp and poised for a big season it appears.