CC not great but Switch Pitcher is the Story

CC Sabathia had his final tuneup before it counts and wasn't too great. He actually had a poor spring but I don't think anyone has shown any concern and I actually feel the same way. He knows what he has to do and I am sure he will be find on Sunday night in Boston. He pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up 8 hits and 5 runs this afternoon with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Pat Venditte came on in relief of him, he is the switch pitcher and stole the show. He pitched 1 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits and 1 run but he was a attraction to say the least. Sabathia didn't even know he could throw with both hands, he said I came out saw a lefty coming in then saw a right hander and though oh he must of gotten hurt but then realized it was the same pitcher. He has put up good minor league numbers but is still considered a show more then anything. To his credit he was humbled by the experience and said it is up to him to be more then a show. The audio is up on the lohud yankees blog. Robinson Cano stayed hot going 2-4 with a solo homerun. Nick Swisher was 1-4 with his first homerun, Jorge Posada was 2-3 with 2 rbi and a walk. Curtis Granderson was 1-4 with 1 rbi, Juan Miranda was 1-4 with a rbi and Kevin Russo was 1-4. Robinson Cano remains hot, so far the 5th spot is really cooperating with him. Nick Swisher is having a good spring and so is Jorge Posada, the lineup looks ready to go. The Yankees will play the Blue Jays at 7:00PM at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Yankees Defeat Astros with Regular lineup

The New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros tonight by the score of 4-1. Joe Girardi has said recently that the real competition for the 5th starters spot is starting now. Phil Hughes must of been listening loud and clear because he had his best performance of the spring. He came on in relief pitching 4 innings of shutout ball, he allowed 3 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. A.J. Burnett got the start and was wild. He has had 10 days off in between starts because of a couple of rainouts. He pitched 2 1/3 giving up 2 hits and 1 run with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. Here is how the rest of the team did. Zack Segovia came on in relief of Burnett and pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts. Mariano Rivera saw his first action of the spring and gave up a hit and a walk in 1 inning but 0 runs. He also struck out a batter. On offense Mark Teixeira had a solo homerun and Derek Jeter had a hit. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano each had a hit and Jorge Posada had a couple of hits. Nick Swisher had a hit and rbi and Brett Gardner also had a hit. The Yankees will take on the Phillies tomorrow in Clearwater at 1:05PM. Andy Pettitte will make his first start and Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to come on in relief.

Yankees minor league signings

The New York Yankees have announced several minor league signings. They signed relief pitcher Royce Ring who pitched for the New York Mets for a couple of years. They also signed outfielders David Winfree and Reid Gorecki. I only know something about Royce Ring, I will have to go with what I have heard. Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees Blog has a good grasp of minor leaguers considering he worked for Scranton for 7 years. Here are the stats that he provided and some insight. David Winfree had his first shot at AAA last year and hit 273 with 14 homeruns and 31 doubles. He did strike out 88 times with only 28 walks. Winfree is only 24 years old, he seems to have Shelly Duncan type power, similar type of player but Duncan has more experience. Baseball America ranked him as the Twins #28 prospect last year and only had one other prospect with better power. Royce Ring has 94 games of big league experience. He has pitched with the Mets, Padres and Braves. He had a 3.04 era in AAA with the St. Louis Cardinals last season. Lefties hit 208 against him last year and they have hit 229 against him in his career. He seems to be AAA filler but isn't a bad guy to have around. The Yankees now have Damaso Marte who they hope will be the guy they saw in the playoffs and not the guy they saw in the regular season. They also have Boone Logan and Wilkens De La Rosa.

Bad Joba shows up and Yanks lose

The New York Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers tonight by the score of 10-9. Joba Chamberlain got the start and was bad giving up 7 runs in 4 innings with 9 hits and 3 walks allowed. The Yankees always tough right to the end especially at home scored 4 runs in the ninth but Melky Cabrera lined into a double play to end the game after Nick Swisher attempted to bunt and popped out. Chad Gaudin came on in relief of Joba and pitched 3 2/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. Damaso Marte pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings striking out two. The offense got off to a hot start with Hideki Matsui hitting a 2 run double and Jorge Posada hitting a 2 run homerun. The Yankees after all of that in the first inning didn't do much until the ninth. Derek Jeter, A-rod and Robinson Cano all had two hits and Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui also had another hit each. Melky Cabrera had a hit and Johnny Damon had a hit and walk. The one thing I don't get about this game is it was 10-9, 1st and second no outs and Nick Swisher up who is always trying to hit homeruns and he bunts and pops it up. I am sure Joe Girardi told him to bunt and this just didn't make sense. Nick Swisher isn't my favorite player but he could of ended the game with one swing and with the pressure on the pitcher he is very patient and could of taken pitches and maybe even walked. The Yankees will try and bounce back tomorrow with Andy Pettitte on the mound tomorrow.

Yanks lose 2nd straight

The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox by the score of 10-5 tonight. They didn't play a good game at all but it all starts with the starting pitcher and Sergio Mitre was just awful, he hasn't been much better then the guy he replaced Chien-Ming Wang and the Yankees didn't aquire a pitcher so this isn't looking good. I hate to say this but you may actually see Kei Igawa. Mitre has a 7.90 era now on the season, he pitched 3 innings giving up 5 runs on 7 hits. Dave Robertson came on in relief and gave up a run but the game really turned in the 7th inning when Aceves gave up 4 runs, it was just a sloppy inning all around though, Jorge Posada throwing through to second with a runner on 3rd allowing the run to score, a ball of of Mark Teixeira's glove that Cano makes a lazy throw home on and Jorge Posada drops the ball when the runner would of been out at home. The Yankees scored early but then only scored 2 runs the rest of the way, they left way too many men on base again. A-rod had 3 hits and Eric Hinske hit a 2 run homerun, it seems everytime he starts he hits a homerun. Jorge Posada was 0-5, he just killed them in this game. The good thing is they have their best 2 pitchers going now the next 2 days although they are facing 2 pretty good pitchers themselves. The Yankees can't let this spiral out of control as their 3 game lead has now turned into a 1 game lead, the Yankees need to be in first place when they open the 4 game series with the Red Sox next thursday.

Yankees Season Preview

I thought since the Yankees were off today and there was no news, tonight was a good time to do this mini preview. The Yankees are in the toughest division in baseball and it won't be easy but I think they will win the division winning 97 games. The way I look at it is that even without Arod for probably a month, the additions of Posada and Matsui and having Tex plus the pitching makes up for it. The Yankees won 89 games last year with no Matsui or Posada and Pavano, Ponson, Rasner, Giese making a lot of their starts. I don't know how that team won 89 games. That is enough about last year, lets talk about this year. I am going to project what I think will be the opening day roster and here it is: Starting Pitchers 1.CC Sabathia 2. Ching Ming Wang 3. AJ Burnett 4. Andy Pettitte 5. Joba Chamberlain I think this is the best starting pitching the Yankees have had in years. I can see CC and Wang winning 18-20 games each. Burnett I see winning 16 or 17 games, Andy Pettitte 15 and Joba 12. Ok on to the relievers: Relief Pitchers Closer:MO Setup Man: Brian Bruney Setup Man: Damaso Marte Middle Relief:Jose Veras Middle Relief:Edwar Ramirez All purpose Reliever:Phil Coke Long Man: Alfredo Aceves I love this bullpen, the guys are young and what I love is that if anyone fails they can send them down and replace them with other guys like Albaladejo, Melancon, Claggett, Jackson, JB Cox etc. Starting Lineup: 1b-Mark Teixera 2b-Robinson Cano ss-Derek Jeter 3b-Arod/Cody Ransom for the 1st month C-Jorge Posada LF-Johnny Damon CF-Brett Gardner RF-Nick Swisher DH-Hideki Matsui Bench: Xavier Nady Melky Cabrera Angel Berroa-for the 1st month at least until Arod comes back Jose Molina I dont think you can complain about this lineup, yes without Arod it will hurt but I actually think Cody Ransom is going to do better then people think. He plays good defense and I think he will hit 280 or 290. Mark Teixera is a huge addition to this team in many ways, he is going to bring defense to first base that we haven't seen since Tino left and really Don Mattingly, that is how good this guy is with the glove and hitting well he is just a switch hitting power, high OBP and hits for average. I don't think you can ask for much more. I think Cano will have a bounce back year at second all around, Jeter will be Jeter and Arod when he comes back will go on a tear. I think Posada will be healthy and make that position so much better then last year. I think Damon will have a good year and if Gardner can just slap at the ball and get on base 350+ he will be fine in CF. I think between Nady and Swisher they will have 30-40 combined hrs and 100+rbis and better defense out there then Abreu. I think Matsui will be healthy only being the DH and will be back to hitting around 300 with some power and a good clutch hitter. The bench is better then it has been in years with Swish or Nady on the bench, Melky, Jose Molina and Cody Ransom or for the first month Angel Berroa. I think this team is a cohesive group and Girardi will be better in his second year with more to work with and they have a great shot at getting to the World Series.