Regular Season Game 13-Yankees at A's

The New York Yankees begin a 3 game series with the Oakland A's tonight and the start of a long 9 game roadtrip. Javier Vazquez starts tonight and is the only Yankees starter witout a win. He will face Gio Gonzalez. The A's have gotten off to a suprising start at 9-5, here are the notes and lineups for tonights game. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Swisher(RF) Granderson(CF) Gardner(LF) A's Lineup: Davis(CF) Barton(1B) Sweeney(RF) Kouzmanoff(3B) Suzuki(C) Chavez(DH) Ellis(2B) Buck(LF) Pennington(SS) Joe Girardi said that he expected Chan Ho Park to play catch at some point today. Gardner is in the lineup against the left hander today. He has faced Gonzalez quite a bit also in the minor leagues but Joe Girardi didn't realize he has had success against him. He is in the lineup because he has been playing well lately. Before the game while both teams were stretching the Yankees called former teammates Chad Gaudin and Edwar Ramirez over. The Yankees surrounded them and gave them their rings and had some fun with them. Nick Swisher is 0 for his last 16 and went 1 for 19 in the past homestand. The Yankees are sticking with him though in RF and Joe Girardi said that he has probably hit about 10 line drives in his past 4 games and has nothing to show for it. I don't know how long they will stick with him but maybe if this continues they will let Winn play a couple of games. Enjoy the game it starts at 10:05 eastern time on the yes network. It will be a late night so I don't know if I will have any more posts tonight or get my articles in for world news vine. IF not please check back tomorrow for all of your information from the game, enjoy the 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.

Regular Season Game 8-Yankees vs Angels Part 2

I decided to break up the game posts since the notes section was long. Here are both teams lineups for todays game. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Granderson(CF) Swisher(RF) Gardner(LF) Angels Lineup: Aybar(SS) Abreu(RF) Hunter(CF) Matsui(DH) Morales(1B) Rivera(LF) Izturis(2B) Mathis(C) Wood(3B) Javier Vazquez makes the start against Joel Piniero.

Yankees Postgame Notes

The New York Yankees have made a decision on the 5th starter but Joe Girardi said they are not ready to announce it yet. They also aren't ready to announce the starter for Fridays game against the Phillies. Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre are pitching tomorrow but he said that the teams decision will not change based on how they do. The Yankees made 5 more cuts today and they are: Jonathan Albaladejo, Greg Golson, Kevin Russo, Juan Miranda and Mark Melancon. It looks like the announcement will be tomorrow regarding the 5th starter. Girardi did not say exactly why those 5 guys were cut but Ramiro Pena is now offically the utility guy. Javier Vazquez was happy with all of his pitches except his changeup. He said he has to iron out a minor mechanical issue. "I drift a little bit and my arm stays back." He is scheduled to pitch that last game of the spring against the minor leaguers. Francisco Cervelli made a nice play at third and Girardi said that he wants him to continue taking grounders there because Pena is the only guy on the bench who can play on the left side of the infield. Cervelli said he has gotten used to his new helmet and his teammates have stopped giving him a hard time about it. It's just the fans Gazoo he said. Joe Girardi said he got close to coming in to play third once but never actually did. He said it was a good thing he didn't.

Grapefruit League Game 15-Rays at Yankees

The New York Yankees will play under the lights once again tonight against the Rays. Here are some notes and the lineups for tonights game. Javier Vazquez makes the start for the Yankees and Carlos Hernandez for the Rays.

• Alfredo Aceves will make the start on Saturday against the Houston Astros.
• CC Sabathia will start tomorrow at home and Sergio Mitre on the road, Chad Gaudin will pitch in relief of Mitre.
• The pitchers who are scheduled behind Vazquez today are Dave Robertson, Chan Ho Park, Dustin Moseley, Mark Melancon, Romulo Sanchez and Boone Logan.
• The players coming off of the bench for the Yankees are Austin Romine(C), Jon Weber(1B), Reegie Corona(2B), Kevin Russo(SS), Eduardo Nunez(3B), Colin Curtis(LF), Greg Golson(CF), Reid Gorecki(RF), P.J. Pilittere(DH).

Yankees Lineup:

Derek Jeter(SS)

Curtis Granderson(CF)

Nick Swisher(RF)

Jorge Posada(C)

Robinson Cano(2B)

Marcus Thames(DH)

Randy Winn(LF)

Juan Miranda(1B)

Ramiro Pena(3B)

Rays Lineup:

Jason Bartlett(SS)

Carl Crawford(LF)

Ben Zobrist(RF)

Carlos Pena(1B)

Willy Aybar(3B)

B.J. Upton(CF)

Pat Burrell(DH)

Sean Rodriguez(2B)

Dioner Navarro(C)

New York Yankees first official workout

The New York Yankees completed their first official workout for pitchers and catchers today. It was a quiet day down in Tampa. The only news was that Joe Girardi has decided to lighten the workload of his starting pitchers. This is mainly because they won the World Series and ended it in November which made for a shorter offseason then usual. Joe Girardi said they figured they could ease guys back into it, make sure that they are physically ready for the same type of workload. They have two weeks before they start to play games. Alfredo Aceves, Chad Guadin and Sergio Mitre threw the first bullpen sessions of the spring, they are all competing for the 5th starter spot and bullpen roles. CC Sabathia won't throw his first bullpen until Saturday and he will be in line to start the spring opener on March 3rd followed in order by A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez. Joe Girardi said they will take Posada along slowly although he is feeling good and ready to go. Girardi said ideally he wants him to catch 110-120 games and DH some of the rest. Jorge Posada said whatever days off they want to give him he is fine with it. Bryan Hoch the Yankees beat writer for http://mlb.com said that Joe Girardi talked briefly to the players today. The media wasn't allowed in, he basically said to take it easy, they have 2 weeks before games and stressed communication. He said if you feel anything physically tell the coaches. He stressed I would rather have you miss a couple of days now then a few weeks or months later. There really isn't any other news coming out of Tampa from today, if there is anything later I will be sure to post it but it was a quiet first official day in camp.

Nick Johnson officially signs

Here is the official press release from the Yankees: The New York Yankees signed today 1B/DH Nick Johnson. Nick 31 was third in the majors last season with a 426 obp combined between Washington and Florida. He trailed only AL MVP Joe Mauer(444) and NL MVP Albert Pujols(443). He placed 6th in the NL with 99 walks while batting a career high 291 with 24 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homeruns and 62 rbi's. The Sacremento native began 2009 with the Nationals batting 295(104 for 353) with 6 homeruns, 44 rbi's and a 408 obp in 98 games before being traded with cash on July 31st to the Marlins in exchange for left handed pitcher Aaron Thompson. In 35 games for Florida he hit 279 with 2 homeruns, 18 rbi's, 36 walks and a 477 obp. Johnsons 402 career on base percentage since 2001 his rookie season is 8th among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances over the span. He had his best overall season in 2006 with Washington, batting 290 and having career bests in games played(147), plate appearances(628),at-bats, hits, doubles(46), homeruns(23), rbi(77), stolen bases(10) and walks(110). His 428 on-base percentage was a career best and the second highest single-season mark in Washington franchise history behind Tim Raines 429 in 1987. Despite the numerous career highs, Johnson season was cut short on Sept 23, 2006 by a fractured right femur which forced him to miss the entire 2009 season. Johnson wwho is a lefthanded batter, is a 292 career hitter with 16 homeruns and a 424 on-base percentage against left-handed pitching and a 266 career hitter wiht 73 homeruns and a 394 on-base percentage against righ tnaded pitching. he owns a 992 career fielding percentage, having committed just 48 errors in 5,719 career chances. He began his professional career in the Yankees organization. after being selected by the club in the 3rd round of the 1996 First-year player draft. In 3 major league seasons with the Yankees from 2001-03, he batted 256 with 36 doubles, 31 homeruns, 113 rbi, 125 walks and a 376 on-base percentage. He posted a team leading 422 on-base percentage in his final year with the club before being traded on December 4, 2003 with outfielder Juan Rivera and lefthanded pitcher Randy Choate to the Montreal Expos in exchange for right-handed pitcher Javier Vazquez. In 8 major league seasons with the Yankees, Montreal/Washington(2004-06, 08-09) and Florida(2009) he owns a 273 career batting avg with 165 doubles, 5 triples, 89 homeruns, 379 rbi, 27 stolen bases and 487 walks. The Yankees 40 man roster now stands at 38 players.