Yankees postgame notes following a Wednesday matinee loss

Here are some Yankees notes from Wednesday afternoon/evening after a loss.  The Yankees had their ace on the mound playing a last place team.  They figured that even after the tough loss on Monday they could take the seris with this game.  It didn't work out the way they wanted as Sabathia wasn't great.  The notes are courtesy of the Lohud Yankees blog with my thoughts mixed in.

CC Sabathia tried to take all the blame for today’s debacle. As reporters gathered around his locker, the Yankees ace was blunt.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” he said. “I feel like this game is all my fault, obviously.”  This is why he is an ace.  He should of pitched better but it isn't all of his fault. 

Actually, it wasn’t obvious at all. Sabathia gave up a lead twice, so he deserved some of the blame, but the Yankees were 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position. They made three errors, and that’s not counting the two diving catches that fell out of Andruw Jones’ glove. They lost two out of three against the worst team in the division, and next they have to face the second-place Orioles.

“You show me a manager or player who’s happy to lose a ballgame, and I’ll show you a loser,” Joe Girardi said. “We didn’t play well today. We had plenty of opportunities to win that game and we didn’t get it done. You have to get it done. … We had chances offensively and didn’t get it done. We had chances defensively and didn’t get it done. We didn’t make pitches when we had to. We just didn’t play.”

True, true and true. This was a game the Yankees should have won for all sorts of different reasons, mostly because the Blue Jays are a bad team and the Yankees are supposed to be  a World Series contender. There are plenty of excuses – Sabathia’s defense let him down, the Yankees made some good plays to make up for some of their mistakes, the lineup is missing key pieces – but Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira aren’t coming back any time soon, and the Yankees have to beat teams like the Blue Jays.

Today was a bad game. It was a bad game for Sabathia, it was a bad game for the lineup and it was a bad game for the Yankees.

“Ain’t nobody that likes losing before off days,” Nick Swisher said. “Tough series for us, man. We’ve got to put it behind us. That off day for us couldn’t come at a better time. We’re a little banged up right now. We’ve just got to keep going out there. We’ve got to find a way to win games. That’s it.”

The Yankees actually did have some good luck on their side. They scored two runs when Rajai Davis misplayed Curtis Granderson’s fly ball, and they scored another when Russell Martin’s bouncing ball hit the third-base bag and skipped into the outfield. “There’s a lot of times you say, ‘Hit the bag,’ and it never does,” Girardi said. “Today was one of those days it hit the bag, (but) it seemed like a few times we had runners on second with nobody out and weren’t able to get them home. That’s probably what cost us the game.”  It is true in this game but not for much of the season. 

Andruw Jones nearly made two good catches, but with each diving attempt, the ball rolled out of his glove when he hit the ground. “The first one, I had it,” he said. “I just kind of rolled over my wrist a little bit and wasn’t actually (hurt) that bad. But the second one, I got my fingers caught up into the ground and rolled over a little bit. Those are tough plays, but if you get your glove to them, you’ve got to make them.”

Jones clearly hurt his glove hand on the second diving play, but he said he was fine. “It’s alright,” he said. “It’s just my fingers went back a little bit. But it’s alright I guess.”

Ichiro Suzuki is known for an ability to handle the bat, but he failed to get a bunt down today and it seemed to cost the Yankees. “Obviously in baseball you just have a lot of momentums,” he said. “And I wasn’t able to get that bunt down to create that momentum. Obviously in this important stretch, the run down the stretch, obviously we need to get things done and I need to do better.”  He is such a fundamentally sound ballplayer you are shocked when he doesn't do something like that.  He is a lot like Jeter in that way. 

 The Yankees were held homerless in back-to-back games for the third time this season. It’s the first time they were back-to-back games without a homer at home this season.
  It is a little strange not watching them pound the baseball over the fence.  It is a little harder without Rodriguez and Teixeira though. 

The Yankees reached base in six of nine innings and matched their season-high for at-bats with runners in scoring position in a nine-inning game. Of their eight hits, six were doubles, their most doubles in a game since July 30, 2011.

 Derek Jeter’s first-inning error was his first since July 8, snapping a 38-game errorless streak. According to Elias, it’s his longest error-free streak since a career-high 52 games in 2010.

Sabathia’s day started to go bad when he gave up three runs with two outs in the third. Jayson Nix made a nice play to turn two and put Sabathia on the verge of ending the inning, but things started to unravel with a hit by Edwin Encarnacion. “I just think obviously it was 3-0 just trying to make a pitch,” Sabathia said. “He put a good swing on the pitch. I just think the two-strike pitches killed me today.”

Sabathia on the homer to Escobar, which came on a hanging slider: “I was just trying to make a pitch and not walk him. I should probably be smarter than that.”

 Some of the Blue Jays damage came on broken bat hits, but Sabathia couldn’t care less. “It really doesn’t matter,” he said. “They’re line drives to score runs. It’s up to me to make pitches and get out of the inning, and I didn’t do that tonight.”

 Make no mistake, Sabathia said he was fully healthy and had good stuff. “Just frustrated at actually having my stuff and not making the pitches,” he said. “Obviously you have to give them credit for putting together good at-bats, but I need to make better pitches and I didn’t do that today.”

 Final word goes to Girardi: “At times we haven’t hit during this little streak. We haven’t scored as many runs as we have in the past. Up until today our pitching wasn’t too bad. Today it was a combination of a lot of different things. You have to put it behind you. That’s all you can do. This day is over with, so put it behind you and move on.”  There is no choice, they are in front so the other teams have to catch them.  The Yankees have to start winning some games though and getting some distance between them.  The next three series are against the teams competing against them for the playoffs. 

Yankees postgame notes after a bullpen meltdown in Chicago

Here are the Yankees postgame notes from Monday night.  The Yankees blew two different leads, the bullpen was not good and Garcia collapsed in the fifth inning.  Chad Jennings of the Journal news and Lohud Yankees blog has all the info with my thoughts mixed in of course. 

Through much of the season’s first half, the Yankees kept plugging bullpen holes and found the perfect piece every time. Need a rookie long man out of spring training? David Phelps. Mariano Rivera lost for the season? Rafael Soriano. Dave Robertson out for a month? Cory Wade. Wade’s magic worn thin? Cody Eppley. Phelps has to step into the rotation? Derek Lowe.
Thing is, we all know bullpens don’t always work like that. Relievers are a notoriously inconsistent group, and now the Yankees bullpen is starting to show some of those inconsistencies.  They may be getting tired and Joba has been a big problem, he is the fresh arm but he is very rusty and doesn't have the control right now. 
“It’s tough to swallow,” Boone Logan said after tonight’s letdown. “We’ve been scuffling as a whole down there lately. You can’t go in there and do your job all year long, you’re going to hit a couple rough patches. You’ve got to grind through it and get through it. We all know that,and talk about it. We’re doing the best we can, it’s just nobody’s going well.”  This is true but the offense has gone through slumps and the starting pitching also, now it is the bullpens turn, its better to get it out now and be right for the stretch run and hopefully October. 

It was Logan who gave up tonight’s Alexei Ramirez game-winner. It was Logan’s second loss in five days, coming less than a week after he was part of another collective bullpen letdown at home against Texas. Robertson and Soriano are still pitching well in the late innings, but the bridge to the eighth and ninth no longer has that can’t-miss feeling.
“We get the groundball and we’re not quite able to turn the double play,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s a tough double play to turn in that fifth inning, and it just kind of got worse after that, in a sense. The bullpen struggled tonight. It hasn’t been something they’ve done very often this year, so they’ll bounce back.”
One thing about relievers: They’ve all been through something like this. Right or wrong, they all seem to believe they’ll get things straightened out eventually. The Yankees need that to happen, because games like this seem especially hard to follow down the stretch and into the postseason.
“We know it’s part of the game,” Logan said. “That’s the way it works. We’re still a good bullpen. It’s funny how when someone struggles, we all struggle. It seems like we all struggle at the same time. Once we all start getting on a roll, we’ll all get on a roll, and get back to where we need to be.”
Joba Chamberlain is among the worst bullpen offenders recently, but Girardi once again vowed to keep Chamberlain in the big leagues. Is he concerned? “Long-term, no,”Girardi said. “But short-term, yeah. We have to try to get him right. … He’s got to help us.”  I think that is an understatement but will he stay up or could he go to AAA and work it out, we will find out soon enough. 
Here’s Chamberlain: “If I was throwing 90 miles per hour we would have a concern. Obviously the strength and stuff (are good). My slider is 86 to 88 (mph), right where it should be. Fastball is at 95. You know it’s there, now it’s just trying to figure out what in the delivery or what we can do to change things or work on in between and go from there.”
The good news from tonight, Derek Jeter had another four-hit game, moving into a tie with Eddie Murray for 11th on the all-time hits list. Jeter has 3,255 hits. He also move into sole possession of 13th on the all-time runs scored list, passing Craig Biggio.  Jeter is on an amazing run, it will be interesting to see how long he can go, how far up the hits list will he end up??  Is 4,000 in sight or out of question?? 
Jeter also homered tonight. It was the 251st of his career, passing Graig Nettles on the Yankees all-time list.
One last Jeter note: He has a hit in 15 of his last 16 games, batting .403 in that span. He’s also a career .360 hitter against White Sox starter Gavin Floyd (who looked pretty bad tonight).

Speaking of struggling starters, Freddy Garcia got out of trouble in the first, got out of trouble in the second and got on a terrific roll before letting everything fall apart in the fifth. He’d struck out seven of nine before the last five batters he faced all reached base. “I cannot throw strike after I gave one in the fifth and base hit and whatever, man,” Garcia said. “I cannot make the pitch I needed when I need it. Was at 100 pitch and they decide to take me out. And it’s really frustrating for me because you’ve got a lead, 3-0. And that’s the game, you know. Gavin Floyd pitched two innings or whatever and I was feeling good, man. I don’t know. Something happened. I could not find the strike zone.”
Garcia said he honestly had no idea what went wrong. “I’ve got command of my fastball, my slider, my split. At that point, I was really comfortable,” he said. “Something happened and I could not find the zone. That’s crazy, but that’s the way it is.”  It was really crazy to see it disappear so quickly with one out in the fifth.  He had been very good up until that point and poof it was gone like that. 
Garcia is 1-4 with a 6.81 ERA in his past seven starts against the White Sox.
Mark Teixeira has a hit in 10 of his past 11 games. He had two hits tonight in his return from a sore wrist.
Why did Girardi mix and match so much in the fifth rather than give the ball to a long man? “I’m thinking that I’m going for the double play with Eppley,” Girardi said. “We get the ground ball, it’s just not quite at Chavy enough. That’s what I’m trying to do. If he gets the double play, I probably leave him in there to start the sixth and see the right handers. When he doesn’t, you start mixing and matching a little bit. It didn’t work.”
Logan on his home run pitch to Ramirez: “I threw it right in his bat swing. Those are the balls he hits. I threw him nothing but heaters. Stew wanted to go back in there. I knew he was probably looking slider at one point anyway. It was a bad pitch either way, but I was looking to throw it low in the dirt maybe. I knew he was hacking, I thought he might be looking for it, so I was going to show it to him, but throw it in the dirt. If I walked him, get the next guy. If he swings at it, strike him out. So that was my approach on that pitch.”

Yankees Friday night Postgame notes from Boston

Here are the postgame notes from Friday night courtesy of the Journal News Chad Jennings.  He also runs the Lohud Yankees Blog.  I also put my own thoughts into the mix as usual. 

Mark Teixeira said he wasn’t really paying attention to the bullpen. He was standing on deck watching Andrew Miller fire upper-90s fastballs at Robinson Cano.

“This guy’s a big lefty, throws 97, just struck out Cano,” Teixeira said. “So I wasn’t even thinking that they were going to bring in somebody else. I was getting into my right-handed mode to think about how I was going to hit against Miller. I was very surprised they brought in Padilla.”

When you see Robinson Cano hug David Ortiz pregame, you know that a lot of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is for the fans. It’s built for prime time. Stirs excitement. The Teixeira-Padilla rivalry has nothing to do with hats and t-shirts.  Tex and Padilla go back a long way since they were playing together and that is where it started because Tex would get thrown at because of him and then he started hitting Tex when he came to the Yankees. 

“The guy throws at people, fact of the matter,” Teixeira said. “I’m not saying anything that’s news. It is what it is. I’ve always been someone that wants to play the game the right way. You play hard, but you don’t’ play cheap. … No one else does (what Padilla does). That’s the thing that’s unbelievable to me. No one else in baseball does this. Whether he’s changed his ways, I hope he does. The guy’s a good pitcher. He’s got really good stuff. It would be nice to just talk to him as a baseball player, not someone who throws at people.”

Padilla is third among active pitchers in hit batters, and he’s hit Teixeira three times. Their head-to-head dislike for one another extends to when they were teammates in Texas. Teixeira doesn’t get heated very often, but he does when he talks about Padilla.

With two on in a one-run game, though, Teixeira knew Padilla wouldn’t try anything crazy. This was going to be a legitimate at-bat, hitter vs. pitcher, and Padilla threw nothing but fastballs. It was a 3-2 pitch that Teixeira drove to center field — very nearly out of the park — for a go-ahead triple.

“Almost every at-bat, he tries to throw at your head, does a throw behind you or something screwy,” Teixeira said. “With first and second and the game on the line, he’s not going to do it then, so I could actually dig in and look for a good pitch to hit. … Game-winning hits always feel good, but that one definitely felt real good.”

Hiroki Kuroda said the long wait in the top of the first had nothing to do with it. He simply didn’t have his stuff today. “Not just in the first inning, but the whole outing,” he said. “I didn’t have most of my pitches.”  I would think it had something to do with it but yeah he didn't have it in this game.  He has been so good for so long you just shake this one off. 

Girardi, though, thought the long wait might have played a part. After that first inning, Kuroda allowed two runs through 4.2 innings. It was actually huge that he was able to pitch fairly deep into the game, especially with a doubleheader tomorrow. “If you’re off tomorrow you might (use the bullpen) a little bit different,” Girardi said. “But for the most part, I did what I thought it was to win the game tonight. I wasn’t worried about tomorrow. We always talk about, worry about tomorrow tomorrow.”

 Big, underrated play by Derek Jeter to get the out at third and keep the Red Sox from loading the bases. Jeter said, whenever there’s a runner at second, he gives the third baseman a heads up that he might throw over there. “I was basically thinking if he hit the ball that way I was going to go to third,” Jeter said. “I thought it was the only play I had. … We work on it. I don’t think it was that hard. You catch it and throw it to third. It can be difficult if you’re throwing on the run, but if you don’t get caught off guard, I don’t think it’s too difficult.”  Jeter is just a smart baseball player, always has been and that is what people love about him. 

 Jeter is hitting .385 in the first inning this season.

After blowing a few middle-of-the-inning, runners-on-base situations recently, Dave Robertson got a huge strikeout to end the seventh. He was pulled with an out to go in the eighth, but he didn’t disagree with the decision. His command wasn’t great today. “I was able to get a couple of outs and at least make it a little easier for Sori,” Robertson said.

Alex Rodriguez stole two bases tonight, giving him nine steals for the year. That’s his highest total since 2009. He’s 9-for-9 on stolen base attempts.  It seems odd that he can do that but not hit homeruns.  It just doesn't seem like he has the power anymore, maybe he will have a big second half though. 

 Russell Martin is now hitless in his past 30 at-bats. It’s the most consecutive at-bats without a hit by a Yankee since 2004 when both Jeter and Jason Giambi went hitless in 32 straight.

Darnell McDonald made his Yankees debut as a defensive replacement. His brother Donzell played in three games for the Yankees in 2001. They are the eighth set of brothers too play for the Yankees in franchise history.

 Final word goes to Teixeira: “I don’t hit a lot of triples. I had a triple and a stolen base today. I don’t know if that’s ever happened. We’ll have to look at the Elias Sports Bureau for that one. It was just a big hit. It doesn’t matter who it was off of. Long game, so when you have a chance to win the game, it’s always a good feeling.”

Yankees Thursday night notes

Here are the postgame notes for the Yankees after a tough Thursday night loss to the White Sox.  The Lohud Yankees blog does a great job and I also add in my two cents. 

What could have been a win that gave the Yankees a huge confidence boost after losing both CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte to injury yesterday ended up being a devastating 4-3 loss that left the clubhouse feeling as somber as it has in quite some time.

David Robertson is usually one of the last Yankees to express any sort of displeasure, but it was written all over his face tonight. Clearly, Robertson was mad at himself for giving up the decisive home run to Dayan Viciedo in the ninth, but he also was a bit more open about his disappointment with how he was used than I would have expected.  I was suprised by this also.  He is never like this, maybe it was just the frustration but he made it clear he wasn't happy with the manager. 
“If it’s up to me – if it’s my choice – yeah, I would prefer (to start the inning),” Robertson said. “But I’ve been in situations before just like that, and I’ve gotten out of them. Tonight just wasn’t my night.”

With regular closer Rafael Soriano understandably unavailable after pitching in four of the last five games, Joe Girardi defended his decision not to start the inning with Robertson.
“His velocity has been not as consistent as before he got hurt, so I’m watching him,” Girardi said. “I’m going to be cautious.”

Basically, Girardi said that he decided to mix and match in the ninth inning rather than use Robertson for the second consecutive day. Robertson said that he felt fine to pitch a full inning, even noting that he felt better in his second consecutive day of work against the Mets over the weekend than he did in his first. When asked if he thought he was going to have the opportunity to start and finish the ninth inning, Robertson responded, “I thought I was.”

Of course, the inning would have never come down to Viciedo’s homer if Clay Rapada had been able to turn what looked to be a routine double play. After Cody Eppley gave up a single to lead off the inning, Girardi went to Rapada to face the lefty A.J. Pierzynski. Rapada induced a weak ground ball right back to the pitcher, but his throw to second sailed into center field. “I thought I fielded it very cleanly, I just didn’t get my feet going, and pushed the ball right into center field,” Rapada said. “It’s really tough because I executed the pitch that I wanted, I just didn’t do my job as a fielder… Throwing to the chest is throwing to the chest, and I didn’t do it.”  If he would of just gotten at least the one out the Yankees most likely win the game.  That was the turning point and a very frustrating play. 

Girardi was asked if he regretted his decision to not allow Robertson to pitch the entire inning. “No, not at all,” he said. “We give up a hit, and we get a double play ball. I should have been bringing him in with two outs… We’ve done a lot of mixing and matching, and we’re going to continue to do it.”
 Lost in all of the ninth inning madness was a strong outing from Ivan Nova. He was hit hard at times, but gave the Yankees 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball. “I have to say my fastball and slider (were working), because my curveball wasn’t there today,” he said. “But I battled to the end.”

Girardi talked about White Sox starter Dylan Axelrod, who did a pretty good job against this Yankees lineup other than the fifth inning. “I thought he threw a lot of sliders that were effective against us,” Girardi said. “Whether they were behind in the count or ahead in the count, he stayed down and nibbled.”  The Yankees have more trouble with those guys especially when they haven't seen him before. 

The Yankees did most of their damage in the fifth with two outs. Curtis Granderson singled, which was followed by an RBI double from A-Rod. I’ve been saying for quite some time that opposing pitchers seem to always give him these hittable first-pitch strikes because they know he usually takes them. Tonight, he jumped on two first-pitch strikes, and it resulted in two doubles. Robby Cano also had an RBI double in the inning, giving him 19 RBI in the month of June.  Cano is just completely on fire. 

With a man on and two outs in the ninth, Derek Jeter hit one to the wall in right field that could have provided the Yankees with a walkoff win. “I didn’t know,” Jeter said when asked if he thought it was a home run. “They were playing no doubles (defense), so it either goes out or he catches it.”

Here’s a typical Derek Jeter response on what it means to tie Cal Ripken, Jr. for 13th on the all-time hits list: “Right now, it’s kind of hard to sit around and think about it. Obviously what Cal represents, being a shortstop, he’s someone that I’ve always admired.”

My opinion on Girardi’s decision not to use Robertson to start the ninth: He got too cute. I understand that Robertson is coming off of an injury, but he was obviously available. He’s their set-up man, and when the closer isn’t ready to go, the set-up man gets to close. You have to show more confidence in a guy that’s been as good as D-Rob. Girardi has done a great job managing the bullpen all year. But not tonight.  That is Chads take and I would tend to agree with that.  I mean bottom line is if the players execute especially Rapada with the easy double play we aren't talking about it but Robertson should of had the clean inning to close it out. 

Yankees Wednesday night postgame notes

The Yankees got blown out in Toronto last night.  It was an ugly game all the way around.  Kuroda can't win on the road and has been too inconsistant this season but the offense is the real problem.  They have been up and down and mostly down lately.  They are having trouble hitting in the clutch.  Here are the postgame notes courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Journal News and my opinions mixed in. 

The Yankees have lost eight games this month. In those eight loses, they are 3-for-52 with runners in scoring position.

Yes, Hiroki Kuroda made some costly mistakes tonight, and Kyle Drabek was awfully good with his sinker, and a couple of questionable calls and bad plays certainly hurt. But the Yankees went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and it was impossible to ignore the growing trend that’s been hurting this team for more than two weeks.  It is very frustrating, to me you  have to look at the hitting coach and the philosophy.  I just think he doesn't work on situational hitting with them, they are a homerun hitting team and they rely on that way too much.  They don't cut down on their swings.  Ibanez is a guy they can all learn from, he is a clutch hitter and knows how to just get a single if that is what is needed or a sacrifice fly. 

“That’s what’s killing us,” Joe Girardi said. “Guys have got to find a way. You’ve got to find a way to get a hit in that situation and see if it can become contagious. You put some more pressure on them. But we just have not hit with runners in scoring position on a consistent basis. We have not.”  He is right, they have too much talent and the guys in the lineup have to find a way, they aren't going to have anyone else come in and do it. 

Drabek was so good that Mark Teixeira compared him to Roy Halladay, but as Alex Rodriguez said in Kansas City, the Yankees can only tip their cap for so long. And that period expired a long time ago. Obviously this team can hit — they have one of the highest scoring offenses in baseball with some of the best hitters in the game — but situational hitting is often the difference in winning and losing.  Drabek may be a good young pitcher but Arod is right enough is enough.  Roy Halladay is a bit of a stretch, at some point they got to start hitting these guys. 

Teixeira said he hasn’t sensed anyone pressing, but Russell Martin conceded that “it seemed like every hitter was trying to hit a three-run homer with nobody on.” It’s hard to pinpoint a reason for the Yankees inconsistency with runners in scoring position, and it’s hard to find a fool proof way to break out of it. There’s skill involved, but there’s also some luck and random fluctuations that play a role.

“I think it’s a little bit of both,” Girardi said. “I think the skill is being able to relax and get your pitch. I think the fluctuation is you’re going to hit balls hard and make outs sometimes, or they’re just going to make really good pitches pitch after pitch.”

If you’re looking for solutions, the clubhouse offered none tonight, only this hard-to-argue reality: “Guys have got to do it, that’s the bottom line,” Girardi said. “We’ve got to get it done.”

 Hiroki Kuroda allowed a season-high seven runs through five innings. He was coming off a strong start, but he’s battling his own inconsistencies in his first season in the American League. “I can’t make that as an excuse,” he said. “I’ve been studying a lot of these hitters on video and talking a lot with the coaches. I can’t really make that an excuse, but hopefully I’ll start winning.”  This was by far his worst outing but he has been really good or just mediocre too bad, he has been alternating those starts. 

Girardi felt that Kuroda’s problem came down to a few pitches. He left a 3-2 slider up and J.P. Arencibia hit a two-run homer. He walked Jose Bautista on a close pitch, and Edwin Encarnacion followed with a three-run shot. “At times he threw the ball really well,” Girardi said. “But when he got a ball up, they didn’t miss it.”

 Martin has been catching Kuroda since their days in Los Angeles. “It’s not typical of Hiro to have this type of outing,” Martin said. “But it can happen to anyone. It’s a tough league, but he’s a quality pitcher. … I think today we just had an off day. He’s got the ability, and he’s got the arsenal, to get outs anywhere. I truly believe that.”

Kuroda gave up three of the Blue Jays four homers tonight. He was asked whether playing in more hitter friendly parks has hurt him since leaving Los Angeles. “The home runs that I gave up, I think they would be home runs in any park, American League or National League,” he said.

 Drabek got 13 groundball outs. “That sinker was really working,” Teixeira said. “You don’t want to say Halladay, because Halladay is a special pitcher, but getting the ground balls, it felt like Halladay was out there tonight. He just wasn’t getting the ball up in the zone at all.”

 Robinson Cano dropped the ball trying to turn a double play in the second inning. It didn’t go down as an error — the Yankees got one out on the play — but it probably hurt Kuroda, because it looked like Cano was going to get two. Kuroda struck out the next batter before allowing Arencibia’s two-run homer.

 This was the interaction with Girardi about the Jayson Nix being called out at second base in the seventh inning: What did they tell you about that play at second? “Said he was out.” Have you seen it? “Oh yeah.” He wasn’t. “I realize that.”  That was a bad call but it didn't cost the Yankees the game, they lost by seven runs so you can't go too crazy over that, even though that may have started a big inning. 

Cano hit his 300th career double, tying Roy White for 15th on the Yankees all-time list.

Teixeira’s single was the 1,500th hit of his career.

 By the way, Teixeira’s voice sounded terrible after the game. Worst I’ve heard him sound since this coughing thing started about a month ago. He was glad they closed the roof after batting practice. “Maybe they heard me hacking out there and they closed it for me,” he said.

 Even glass-half-full Girardi called this an “ugly” game. Some of the writers were discussing whether this might have been the Yankees ugliest loss of the year. They didn’t hit, didn’t pitch and didn’t play good defense. Just a bad night and a bad game.

Yankees Postgame Notes

Javier Vazquez wasn't great but I don't know if he deserved the boos he received today. Javier didn't pitch particularly well but the fans are remembering him more for what he did his last time around in 2004. They aren't going to give him much of a chance because of that and it is something that Vazquez will have to work through. Here is what Joe Girardi said "As soon as he can get a win here, I think it will be best for all of us. Fans they remember, his next start will be on the road and it would be nice to get him a win and on a roll. Today we didn't score many runs, he could of won that game as well if we would of scored some runs today." Vazquez said it was "disappointing" to hear the boos but was upset with himself mostly. He was pressed by the media and finally admitted he thinks it is too early to be booed. Derek Jeter said "The bottom line is, they are Yankee fans. They want to cheer for you, they come here to cheer for you. Everyone has been booed at some point. You can't let it affect you. If Javy gives up three runs everytime he pitches he is going to have a pretty good year." Nick Swisher said this about Joel Piniero "I can remember him from back when he was with Seattle. He was a power guy, threw really hard. Now he still has that power in there but is using it more for movement. He threw some great sinkers today. Just when you think it is going to be in the zone it falls off the table." Robinson Cano has hit safely in all 8 games this season and has more multi hit games then one hit games. He has 5 multi hit games. Scott Kazmir will come off the DL tomorrow to make the start against the Yankees. Thanks to Chad Jennings for providing the quotes on his Lohud Yankees Blog.

Regular Season Game 8-Yankees Vs Angels

Here are the pregame notes. Some of these are from Chad Jennings who was in the clubhouse this morning. He works for the Journal News and also has the great Lohud Yankees Blog. I apologize that the game posts are backwards, the second one appears first and then the first one second. Robinson Cano has hit safely in all 7 games this season. Nick Johnson was the first Yankee to go at least 6 seasons in between homeruns yesterday since Ruben Sierra did it. He hit one in 1996 and then not again until 2003. Dave Robertson was his usual self in the clubhouse today. He has a short memory which is what you need as a reliever. He gave up a grand slam yesterday but said today is a new day. I didn't realize it yesterday but Nick Swisher was given a fake ring and was shocked to see it but wore it the whole time. Mariano Rivera gave him the real thing after the ceremony. Joe Girardi said that Vazquez was rushing in his first start which caused his arm slot to drop and "his fastball was running too much back across the middle of the plate." Joe Girardi said he is excited to see Phil Hughes on the mound tomorrow night. "I think he is much more physically and mentally prepared." He was talking about now as compared to 2008. Joe Girardi at the end of his press conference was asked how many rings he would like to win and said, Yogi has 10 and I am sure he would like to win another. He was basically saying as many as he can. It is the Yankee way to always want more and keep trying to win which is good to see that there is no complacency.

Postgame Reaction from last nights Yankee Game

Joba Chamberlain met one of his childhood heroes before the game last night. John Smoltz was working for MLB network and he did offer Joba some advice. Smoltz remember started and relieved in his career and did both well. He told Joba to treat relieving as though it is a "one inning game." Joba said "It is just getting back in the routine, getting comfortable with what I do down there, when it is all clicking, it feels right." He was talking about being in the bullpen. He sure looked like his old self last night hitting 96 on the gun and showing that emotion that he needs to show. Chad Jennings of the Journal News had these postgame notes: Here is what A.J. Burnett said about Posada, he said that Posadas ability to block his curveball early in the game gave him the confidence to keep throwing it late. "My first couple of hooks aren't exactly 60 footers, they are more like 56 and a half." Nick Swisher said "I'm really just taking this, for the first time in my career, like a job. Show up, I do the work, make sure I am doing everything the right way and it's really working out. Maybe I am just a little more focused." Girardi said he didn't want to use Park because he felt a little sick yesterday. Girardi said it was possible that Robertson would of pitched the whole 8th inning had he not allowed that leadoff single. Girardi said this about Nick Johnson "That is why we went and got this guy." He was commenting on him getting on base 50 percent of the time even though he hasn't got a hit yet. The Yankees were pleased with the way Burnett pitched, Burnett said that he just made 2 mistakes to Victor Martinez. Here is what Girardi said about Cano in the 5 hole. "His approach has been outstanding."

Grapefruit League Game 25-Yankees at Braves

The New York Yankees will take on the Atlanta Braves this afternoon in Lake Buena Vista. CC Sabathia will be on the mound. The Yankees also have a home game this evening against the Toronto Blue Jays. Here is the lineup and some notes, mostly left over from last night. Yankees Lineup: Gardner(LF) Swisher(RF) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Granderson(CF) Miranda(1B) Russo(SS) Laird(3B) It is a rainy, dreary day in the Northeast but lets remember that baseball is right around the corner. The Yankees will open the season on Sunday Night in Boston, gametime is 8:05PM. CC Sabathia will go up against Josh Beckett. The Yankees and Atlanta will play their first and only meeting of the spring as they had a game postponed due to rain earlier in March. Chan Ho Park hasn't allowed a run in 4 outings. He has pitched 5 innings giving up 4 hits and has 5 strikeouts. Mark Teixeira is going to be ok, he has a nasty bruise and will take a couple of days off, he expects to play on Thursday though. Joba Chamberlain was hitting 93 on the gun last night. Javier Vazquez will make his final start of the spring on Saturday. He said he was only building arm strength last night, it was a tough night for him because it was so windy. He couldn't use his breaking pitches.

Yanks offense keeps rolling as tempers flare

The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 11-7 tonight in Sarasota. This game though was more then just the final score, Mark Teixeira left the game early with a elbow contusion after getting hit by a pitch, later on in the game Francisco Cervelli got hit also and Joe Girardi lost his temper. It was reported by Chad Jennings who was live blogging the game from down there that he was shouting and motioning to the other dugout. I don't know what the repercussions will be if any but Baltimore and the Yankees will play many games this season as they are in the same division and I am sure this isn't over. Javier Vazquez got the start and pitched 5 1/3 innings giving up 7 hits and 4 runs with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. He was pitching well until he gave up a 3 run Adam Jones homerun in the 6th inning. Joba Chamberlain got the final 2 outs of the 6th inning giving up a hit and striking out one guy. Chan Ho Park once again pitched a scoreless inning. Dave Robertson pitched an inning giving up 2 hits and 1 run with a walk and strikeout. Royce Ring didn't pitch too well in his bid to be the second lefty. He pitched 1 inning giving up 2 hits and 2 runs with 1 walk and strikeout. Robinson Cano hit a 3 run homerun, David Winfree hit a 3 run homerun and had 4 rbi and Marcus Thames hit another homerun. Mark Teixeira had a hit and rbi before leaving the game and Alex Rodriguez had a hit. Randy Winn had a hit and Francisco Cervelli had a hit, walk and stolen base. Greg Golson also had a hit. The Yankees will play split squads tomorrow with the away game at Atlanta at 1:00PM and a home game against Toronto tomorrow night at 7 on the yes network.

Some Yankee notes from Today

Here are some notes from today via Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog. Chad Gaudin has reportedly signed with the Oakland A's. Sergio Mitre is starting the home game of the split squad games on Tuesday and the Yankees plan on him pitching more then 3 innings. They want to keep him stretched out in case of an injury, he will be the guy they go to early in the season. It could also be Alfredo Aceves but most likely it would be Mitre. CC Sabathia will pitch the road split squad game on Tuesday. Girardi said "That is where CC asked to go. I said great that works out good." Joe Girardi said that all of these missed games for Andy Pettitte may actually keep him stronger through the year. I guess you can always find a positive in any negative. The Pitchers scheduled for tomorrow night are Javier Vazquez, Joba Chamberlain, Chan Ho Park, Dave Robertson and Royce Ring. The whole regular infield will make the trip tomorrow. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher will not along with Jorge Posada.

Some notes from today

Here are some notes today from Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog. Marcus Thames was 0-4 today and his spring average is now down to .094. That is terrible but he does have experience and he is basically the last guy standing. Here is what Joe Girardi said "The one thing we talk about Marcus is playing against a lot of left-handers possibly. He hasn't seen a lot of left-handers this spring." The Yankees are scheduled to play Jaime Moyer tomorrow and Joe Girardi said he will be in the lineup. They will see lefty Nate Robertson on Saturday. He does have very good career numbers against lefties. Here is what Phil Hughes said about winning the 5th starter competition: "It was what I set out in the spring to do. I grew up a starter in high school, minor leagues, even my first couple partial seasons in the big leagues. It was something that I really wanted and I feel like im ready for the challenge and ready for the season that lies ahead. Im just looking to go out and put together as many quality starts as I can and give our guys a chance to win everyday. That's really all I can ask for myself. Girardi says he sees Sergio Mitre as the long man out of the bullpen but he seems open to putting whoever is earning it in key spots late in the game. He said when your pitching well you are going to pitch. This is what I love about Joe Girardi, he rewards guys that deserve to be rewarded, Joe Torre always relied on certain guys and that was it no matter what. Girardi said he isn't sure if A-rod will be available on Saturday, remember he is meeting with the FEDS tomorrow. The beat writers are going out to play some paintball with Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, Jason Zillo and other members of the Yankees PR staff. There probably won't be much news tomorrow morning but I will see if anything gets leaked about A-rods meeting. The game tomorrow is not until 7:00PM.

Phil Hughes named 5th Starter

I am sorry that I didn't get to post the lineups or pregame information for today but here is what is going on. Chad Gaudin met with the beat reporters this morning to announce he has been released. Brian Cashman said he tried to trade him but there was no match and if they sent him to AAA they would have had to pay his full salary, right now they only owe him 1/4 of his salary. Phil Hughes was announced as the fifth starter and will start tomorrow on short rest so he can line up behind Javier Vazquez. Joe Girardi said a key to choosing Hughes was the development of his changeup this spring. They expect his innings limit to be slightly higher then Joba Chamberlains were last season, about 170. There was no announcement on when he will actually make his first start of the season but the Yankees don't need a 5th starter until April 17th and they only need one twice in April, they have every Monday off so this is a way to keep his innings down. There is audio of Joe Girardi today on the Lohud Yankees Blog at http://yankees.lhblogs.com Not that it matters but Aceves got knocked around pretty good today, he gave up 4 runs and didn't even get through the 3rd inning, he also gave up 6 hits. I will have a lot more later on this afternoon and evening regarding the days events and also the game recap.

Yankees look ready for opening day

The New York Yankees had their starting lineup in the game today and Javier Vazquez started and went into the 7th inning. The Yankees won the game by the score of 3-1 and appear to be ready for opening day which is less then 2 weeks away. Vazquez went 6 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run. He didn't walk anyone and struck out 6 batters. Damaso Marte came in to pitch a inning and allowed a hit with a strikeout. Mariano Rivera had another scoreless inning allowing a hit with 2 strikeouts. Mark Melancon got the save with a perfect ninth inning, he had 2 strikeouts. The Yankees didn't score a lot of runs but they did what they needed to do. Nick Johnson had a hit and a walk. A-rod was 2-3 with 2 rbi, I think his hip is good as he had a rbi triple in the game. Robinson Cano was 1-1 with a rbi and Francisco Cervelli was 1-1. Curtis Granderson was 1-2 with a walk and Nick Swisher was 1-3. Brett Gardner was also 1-3. The Yankees will play the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM, the game is not on TV. Here are some of the pregame notes that came out of the media session with Joe Girardi. Chad Jennings had all the information at http://yankees.lhblogs.com

• Joe Girardi said that they haven't made a decision on the 5th starter yet. He said he isn't sure if they will announce it tomorrow either. He said he is meeting with the staff tonight. He said he thinks that everyone has a feeling but that he wants to listen to their opinions before he formulates a decision. He said it is the right thing to do. I agree with him but I think it will be pretty unanimous for Phil Hughes.

• He said that he hasn't decided on Granderson in center either although he was there tonight. Joel Sherman tweeted that this decision was made and I believe him but Girardi said this isn't the case. Maybe they didn't tell the players yet and that is why he is saying that. I would guess it will be Granderson though with Gardner in left. It is easier to move him out of left and get someone else if he doesn't perform.

• Girardi said the only other decisions are should they carry a second lefty in the pen? Who is going to be the right handed bat off of the bench? I don't see who else it would be other then Marcus Thames unless a wild card makes it but I doubt it. I don't think they will carry the second lefty with Mitre, Aceves going to the pen.

• This is what Girardi said about Doc Goodens arrest "Your heart goes out to him, I don't have any details, that is the first I have heard of it, but your heart goes out to him. He was a great teammate. Doc and I will always be linked because we played on a championship team and had a no-hitter together. If you didn't know it was the 1996 season. I loved playing with Doc, he was great to be around and a great teammate. You hope that everything is ok."

• Alfredo Aceves will start the game tomorrow with Amaury Sanit, Dave Robertson, Chan Ho Park, Sergio Mitre and Zack Segovia all scheduled to make the trip. Almost all position players are making the trip, the only ones who aren't going are Curtis Granderson, Jorge Posada, Mike Rivera and Brett Gardner.

Grapefruit League Game 20-Nationals at Yankees

The New York Yankees will take on the Washington Nationals tonight at 7:05PM at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Here is todays lineup via Chad Jennings of the Journal News, this is a second look at what most likely will be the Opening Day Lineup. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Granderson(CF) Swisher(RF) Gardner(LF) Javier Vazquez is making his fourth start of the spring. Mariano Rivera, Mark Melancon, Zack Segovia, Boone Logan and Damaso Marte are also available to pitch. Here are some of the pregame notes. Scheduled to come off the bench tonight are: P.J. Pilittere(C), Juan Miranda(1B), Kevin Russo(2B), Ramiro Pena(SS), Francisco Cervelli(3B), Jon Weber(LF), Greg Golson(CF), David Winfree(RF). Yes Cervelli is playing third, I know its strange. Cervelli played first base way back in 2003. He has never played third base before, not even in the minor leagues. He does take ground balls there routinely though as the Yankees like to have all of their catchers get reps at the corners. The Yankees brought up minor leaguers Luis Nunez(Infielder) and Ryan Baker(C) for the game as backups. Here is the Nationals lineup tonight and on the traveling roster are former Yankees Alberto Gonzalez(SS), Brian Bruney(P), Tyler Clippard(P), and Wil Nieves(C). Nationals Lineup: Roger Bernadina(LF) Christian Guzman(SS) Willie Harris(3B) Josh Whitesell(1B) Justin Maxwell(CF) Adam Kennedy(2B) Ian Desmond(DH) Wil Nieves(C) Willy Taveras(RF) Starting pitcher is Livan Hernandez. This is a pretty no name lineup, there are some names you should know but not much firepower. The game is not on radio or TV tonight so check back later tonight or tomorrow morning if you don't stay up late for the recap and postgame notes.

Looks can be deceiving

The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater by the score of 9-7. A.J. Burnett got the start and had a horrible first inning, he recovered after that. He ended up throwing 4 innings giving up 5 runs on 7 hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. He gave up all of his runs in the first inning and then threw 3 scoreless after that. This is typical A.J., he can be soo good yet so bad at times and sometimes it is just one inning. Royce Ring faced one batter a lefty and got him out. Phil Hughes who probably could have locked up the 5th starter spot appeared to get roughed up. His line was 4 1/3 innings 5 hits, 4 runs, 0 walks and 6 strikeouts. He gave up a 2 run homerun that was legitimate but he also gave up 2 other solo homeruns that were wind aided. The good thing was 0 walks and 6 strikeouts. Mark Teixeira led the offense going 4-4 with a 2 run homerun. Brett Gardner had a rbi and Curtis Granderson was 2-3 with a walk and rbi. Nick Swisher had a hit and rbi and Ramiro Pena had 2 hits. Kevin Russo and Eduardo Nunez each had a hit and rbi. The Yankees are off tomorrow. Here are some notes from today via Chad Jennings of the Journal News. Joe Girardi said that they will be having serious discussions about the 5th starter on Wednesday and then see what their next move is and who will get more innings. Girardi said he isn't ruling anything out at this point. "We have five guys, we have in a sense one spot in the rotation and three in the bullpen. I can't tell you exactly what is going to happen, we have two weeks to go." There is a couple of audio of Girardi today on the Lohud Yankees Blog. A.J. Burnett said he threw some good changeups today, he said some got hit but but you keep throwing them. He said it is different, in the season you probably wouldn't keep throwing it but in the spring you can. Joba Chamberlain said his changeup is getting better and better. He said this is the best changeup he ever had today. He threw 5 innings giving up 6 hits and 2 runs in the intrasquad game today. He had 1 walk and 1 strikeout, he threw 75 pitches, 48 for strikes. Mariano Rivera got three outs, one of them a strikeout in the intrasquad game. He said "feeling good fellas, feeling good." He is scheduled to pitch again on Wednesday. Chan Ho Park was brilliant in the intrasquad game. He got 7 outs, 5 of them by strikeout. He only gave up one hit and threw 21 out of 29 pitches for strikes. Joe Girardi said "He did everything we wanted him to do." Damaso Marte got 4 outs, he got a double play and had 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Dave Robertson also got 4 outs. He struck out 3 and had 1 walk.

Grapefruit League Game 18-Yankees at Astros

Here is the lineup and the pitchers for this afternoons game. Brian Hoch the Yankees beat writer for mlb.com and Chad Jennings the beat writer for the Journal News have this information up on their websites. I have some notes also from the Yankees media notes. The Yankees are 8-9 on the spring. Yankees Lineup: Brett Gardner(CF) Nick Johnson(DH) Mark Teixeira(1B) Alex Rodriguez(3B) Robinson Cano(2B) Marcus Thames(LF) Jon Weber(RF) Ramiro Pena(SS) Mike Rivera(C) Alfredo Aceves is making the start and will be followed by Dustin Moseley, Boone Logan and Mark Melancon. John Van Benschoten, Jonathan Ortiz and Craig Heyer are minor leaguers to back them up.

• Nick Johnson leads the team with 3 homeruns and is tied for second in rbi with 6. Robinson Cano leads the team with a 393 batting average, that is for those with a minimum of 25 plate appearances.

• Sergio Mitre and CC Sabathia are tied for the lead in innings pitched with 14. Mitre also leads the team with 14 strikeouts. The Yankees lead the grapefruit league in attendance. Through 9 home games they have attracted 94,030 visitors.

• Nick Swisher has a 7 game hitting streak where he has gone 8-20 which is a 400 average. Jorge Posada has gone 9 for his last 16 which is a 563 batting average. He also has 4 rbi and 5 runs in his last 6 games.

• Robinson Cano has hit safely in 7 of his last 10 games and has mulitple hits in 4 of those games.

Recap of Yankees Split Squad Day

The New York Yankees played split squad games today, one was this afternoon at home against the Detroit Tigers and one tonight at the Tampa Bay Rays. They won the afternoon game at home 6-2 and lost tonights game 6-2. The afternoon game was started by CC Sabathia who pitched well. Sabathia pitched 5 1/3 allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. He walked a couple of batters and struck out 8. Jon Albaladejo pitched 2 /3 of an inning allowing a hit, 0 runs and he had a strikeout. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. He only threw 10 pitches I believe, so it was a typical Mariano inning, he didn't throw any more in the bullpen. He is scheduled to pitch again on Sunday. Royce Ring pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and strikeout and Ryan Pope finished off the game with a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Derek Jeter had a hit, 2 rbi and a walk, Nick Johnson had a walk and Jon Weber had 2 hits and a rbi. Alex Rodriguez had 2 hits and a rbi. One of the hits was a monster homerun that was hit over the left field scoreboard. Robinson Cano and P.J. Pilittere each had a hit and Greg Golson had 2 hits. Notes from today: After the first game Joe Girardi was asked what was more impressive CC Sabathias outing or A-rods homerun. Here is what he said "I really liked what CC did today, his last 2 starts he has been extremely efficient, and he had command all day today. Outstanding changeup, very good breaking ball, pace was great. It's pretty much what CC is." He smiled and said this about A-rods homerun "Alex's ball was pretty impressive." CC said he was pretty happy with everything but still wants to work on burying the ball inside against right handers. There is audio of CC Sabathia on the Lohud Yankees Blog. Chad Jennings does a great job and he has all the notes from today and audio, check it out here. Here is what Alex had to say about his homerun. "That one felt really good, because it wasn't an everyday homerun." He wasn't too worked up over his first homerun though. He also said this, "My emphasis the first part of spring training is to go out and make sure I get my work done, and that goes way early in the morning. As you get closer to opening day, obviously you want to make sure, you hone in on your swing, and so far so good. I had a really good session with Kevin Long and Butch Wynegar on one of the back fields a couple of days ago and we're on schedule." Butch Wynegar is the AAA Scranton hitting coach for those of you who don't know. He is also a former Yankees catcher. Damaso Marte has been pushed back to Sunday. Joe Girardi said he just wanted to give him an extra day. Marte said he isn't 100 percent, he said it is ok on the outside but he feels it inside. He got hit pretty good on the back and I would expect him to feel it for a little while. Romulo Sanchez was optioned to AAA Scranton and Ryan Pope was reassigned to minor league camp.

Recap of Yankees Game and some Notes

The New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays tonight by the score of 6-2. Javier Vazquez pitched 3 innings. He gave up 1 run on 2 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Romulo Sanchez didn't pitch very well, he pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 3 hits and 2 runs, only 1 was earned though. He also gave up a walk. Boone Logan continues to make a strong case to be the second lefty out of the bullpen. He faced one batter and it was Carl Crawford who he struck out. Chan Ho Park made his debut and pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Dave Robertson who got the win pitched a perfect inning and had 2 strikeouts. Mark Melancon pitched 2 innings, he gave up 1 hit and 1 run with a walk and a couple of strikeouts. Dustin Moseley got the save with a perfect inning. He had a strikeout. Derek Jeter was 2-3 with 2 rbi. Colin Curtis continues to impress, he had a 3 run homerun. Nick Swisher had a hit and a walk. Randy Winn and Kevin Russo each had a hit. Ramiro Pena was 2-3. The Yankees will play split squad games tomorrow. Here are some postgame notes from Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog. I didn't see the game but there was some concern that Derek Jeter hurt his hand or wrist. Joe Girardi said he didn't even know until the 5th inning when he was interviewed on the YES telecast. He said he is fine though and will play tomorrow. Chan Ho Park only threw 8 pitches to get through his inning. Joe Girardi said "His outing was so short, I forgot that he even pitched." Girardi said that is how he has looked the whole time he has been in camp. Javier Vazquez said he was suprised when Dave Eiland told him he was at his limit after only 3 innings. Vazquez said "I told Dave after I came out, that I actually felt like I could keep going. I knew that I wasn't staying in, but I felt pretty good today." Nick Swisher has a 6 game hitting streak going, it is only spring training though so it doesn't count. He did make some adjustments though in the winter and they appear to be paying off. Ryan Pope was added to the travel squad for tomorrow, I am sure there will be more as it is a split squad.

Grapefruit League Game 13-Houston Astros at New York Yankees

The New York Yankees will be playing under the lights for the first time this spring. They will take on the Houston Astros from George M. Steinbrenner Field. This is a game after a day off and the Yankees will have what should be their opening day lineup on the field. The lineup comes courtesy of Chad Jennings and his Lohud Yankees Blog. I have some pregame notes as well from the Yankees press notes. Here is the lineup first: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Granderson(LF) Swisher(RF) Gardner(CF) Mariano Rivera will make his spring debut behind A.J. Burnett who should pitch about 4 innings tonight. I would look for Mo to appear in the 5th inning, he is going to start an inning so if Burnett comes out before the inning is over they will use Romulo Sanchez or Zack Segovia who are also scheduled to pitch. Phil Hughes is expected to pitch after Mo and he should go about 4 innings also so I don't think you will see both Segovia and Sanchez. They will just come in if someone doesn't finish an inning. The guys who are scheduled to come off of the bench are Jesus Montero(C), Jorge Vazquez(1B),Reegie Corona(2B), Eduardo Nunez(SS),Brandon Laird(3B),Colin Curtis(LF),Greg Golson(CF),Jaime Hoffman(RF) and Austin Romine(DH). In what is not a suprise Kevin Towers who was the former general manager of the San Diego Padres was officially introduced as the newest member of the Yankees front office. His official title is special assignment scout. Brian Cashman had this to say "Everyone knows that Kevin and I are the best of friends. But I am not in the business of hiring friends, this is all about business. I have a lot of friends, I just don't hire all of them. He is here for professional reasons, to make us better." You can read more on this at the Lohud Yankees Blog. I may have some other pregame notes in a little while.