Yankees notes as they prepare for the first spring game this Saturday

Joe Girardi named David Phelps as his starter for Saturday and Adam Warren on Sunday. The Sunday game will be the first one televised on the YES network. Phil Hughes had back spasms today in his upper back which Girardi considers good. He said he will be shut down for a couple of days and then they will see from there. Girardi said he isn’t too worried because he was a little ahead of schedule. 
Eduardo Nunez is going to get a chance to play a lot right now. It is another chance for him to make a name for himself. Nunez is a very good offensive player, he is dynamic with speed and some power. It is his defense that gets him in trouble. Nunez will play a lot of shortstop though with Jeter not being ready to play games yet and definitely not in the field for a little while. Jeter may even be the regular DH against lefties during the season which would give Nunez that opportunity to be the regular shortstop against lefty starters. Girardi said he has to earn it and that they have to toy with some different options but they liked what they saw out of him at the end of last year. They said they plan on keeping him at short for the most part, I don’t see him anywhere else right now other then DH.

Girardi said it is possible they keep both Nunez and Jayson Nix but then they wouldn’t have a lefty pinch hitter and they would like to have that.

Austin Romine said he is more or less stopped thinking about his back. He doesn’t really notice it anymore. He is very optimistic that he has gotten past that problem and a week into spring training and he has had no problems at all.

According to Chad Jennings of the Journal News and Lohud Yankees blog there was some buzz today about Ichiro. He made a behind the back catch during outfield drills, Brett Gardner said it was his fault because he asked him for it. He apparently does this every so often, he seems like a really fun guy to be around and he loves being a Yankee. I really like this guy and hope he continues to succeed because he is a crowd favorite.

Mark Teixeira will have his last day in Yankees camp before heading to the WBC on March 2^nd and Cano on March 3^rd.

Welcome to Opening Day-New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays begin their 2012 season this afternoon at 3:10PM.  The Yankees will be live on the YES network, pregame coverage begins at 2.  Here are the pregame notes along with the lineups for both teams.  These are directly from the Yankees, the press notes. 

I will start with the lineups:Yankees:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.  CC was 19-8 last year with a 3.00 ERA and he is on the mound. 

Rays Lineup:Desmond Jennings, Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, Jeff Keppinger, Sean Rodriguez, Carlos Pena, Elliot Johnson, Jose Molina, Matt Joyce.  James Shields is on the mound, he was 16-12 last season with a 2.82 ERA. 

Derek Jeter is making his 16th Opening Day start at shortstop which is a franchise record.  The previous record was held by Phil Rizzuto and it was 11.  The last shortstop with as many Opening Day starts at SS for any team was the Red Barry Larkin who made 17. 

Alex Rodriguez has played in seven Opening Days with the Yankees and hit safely in all of them.  He is 12-30 which is a 400 batting average with four doubles, two homeruns and nine RBI. 

The Yankees this spring were 18-12-3 which is a 600 winning percentage.  It is their best spring since 2009 when they were 24-10-1 and of course won the World Series.  I don't make much of spring training results or stats but those are the facts. 

In 1973 on this date Ron Blomberg became the major leagues first DH.  He went 1-3 with an RBI ast the Yankees lost to the Red Sox in Fenway Park 15-5.  He walked with the bases loaded in the first inning in his first plate appearance. 

On this date in 1974 the Yankees played their first home game at Shea Stadium.  Yankee Stadium began a two year remodeling.  They beat the Cleveland Indians 6-1 as Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complte game and gave up seven hits. 

Enjoy Opening Day everyone, comment here or follow me on twitter @gmarchesej.  I can also be found on Facebook.  I will talk to everyone later after the game with the postgame reactions. 

Yankees vs. Red Sox-Yanks looking to avoid the sweep

The New York Yankees have lost the first two games of this three game series against the Boston Red Sox.  The Yankees also have Russell Martin out with a back issue and then today learned that reliever Joba Chamberlain has a torn ligament in his right elbow and will almost certainly need Tommy John surgery meaning his season is over.  The Yankees were already without what was supposed to be their eighth inning guy Rafael Soriano, Pedro Feliciano never got his season started and the Yankees are left with Mariano Rivera, Dave Robertson and Boone Logan.  They need some pitching help and unless they turn to the young guys in the minors I don't know that they are going to get it.  Mark Prior would of been an option but he is also on the DL.  Phil Hughes is currently making his way back, could the Yankees shift him back to the pen, I guess it is a possibility but who knows if they would do that again. 

It has been a really tough couple of days for the Yankees as they lost first place last night and they also lose some of their players now.  I don't know if the Yankees will do it but I would look for some pay back tonight with C.C. on the mound.  The Red Sox have become way too comfortable at Yankee Stadium and something has to be done about it.  I am not advocating throwing at anyone but throw inside and make them eat some dirt and if they get hit oh well.  The Yankees are going to need seven or eight inning out of C.C. tonight and hopefully they can scratch out some runs off of Beckett. 

Here is the Yankees lineup for tonight:  Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Brett Gardner, Francisco Cervelli. 

The Red Sox also may be getting some bad news today as second baseman Dustin Pedroia was sent back to Boston for tests on his knee.  He is out for today but they hope that is it, he indicated it is possible he may need knee surgery, if that is the case that would be a huge blow for them. 

The Yankees are 1-7 against the Red Sox this season, not very good but a few yrs ago they were 0-8 against them and ended up splitting the season series.  The Red Sox right now are the better team but they aren't that much better.  I see it as a confidence thing, the Sox know they will beat the Yankees and the Yankees aren't sure they can beat them. 

There is one other thing this year that suprises me so far, the Yankees are only a couple of games over 500 at home.  They need to get that great home field advantage going again.  They always had it at the Old Stadium and in the two years since this stadium opened they have had it but not this year.  That is going to need to change if the Yankees are going to go anywhere this year. 

The game is on MY9, YES has pre and postgame.  I wouldn't expect the game to start on time as thunderstorms are rolling through the area but we will see.  I would expect a delay of an hour or more which on getaway day for the Red Sox and with how long they play will be really fun. 

Yankees lose to the Red Sox

The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox last night by the score of 6-4.  Freddy Garcia had nothing and four batters into the game it was 3-0 Sox.  He lasted only 1 2/3 innings.  Luis Ayala pitched 1 1/3 innings and then Hector Noesi really saved the Yankees bullpen by pitching six innings giving up two runs.  He pitched great out of the pen and got sent down today because he wouldn't be available for a while and the Yankeees are short in the bullpen.  The Yankees claimed Jeff Marquez off of waivers and he is expected to be with the team at game time and Amaury Sanit got recalled.  The Yankees were trailing 6-1 in this game and then got a big two run double from Nick Swisher to make it a 6-3 game.  The Yankees had their chance in the ninth, Jorge Posada had an RBI single to make it 6-4 and Arod was the tying run but struck out to end the game.  Posada was filling in for Mark Teixeira who left in the first inning after getting beaned on the knee.  He has a contusion but he will be playing tonight.  Posada went 3-3 with a walk in the game. 

The Yankees are now 1-6 against the Red Sox this season and 0-4 at home against them.  A.J. Burnett will pitch tonight against Tim Wakefield.  There are a couple of things to watch for, one of them is if the Yankees will retaliate tonight because of Tex and Martin getting hit last night and the other bigger one is Big Papi flipping his bat after his two run homerun in the fifth inning.  Joe Girardi did not like that at all but he wasn't going to have a rookie retaliate.  A.J. Burnett would be a guy that would and could do it tonight.  The other thing to watch for is Varitek who has never been comfortable catching the knuckleball is in the lineup because Jarod Saltalamacchia is in the hospital with an illness.  The Yankees when on base should run on him all night long.  This could be a huge part of the game, I wouldn't of been suprised if they even played Chris Dickerson in this game or at some point he does come in just to add even more speed to the lineup.  The game is on at 7:00PM on the YES network. 

The Yes Network directly after the game and then the postgame will premiere the Joe Girardi Yankeeography, you will want to stay tuned for that.  The series will finish off tomorrow night with a classic pitchers duel between C.C. Sabathia and Josh Beckett. 

Yankees and Orioles Postponed

The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles were postponed tonight and there is no makeup date yet.  The Yankees decided to push back their pitchers so A.J. Burnett will pitch tomorrow night and Phil Hughes on Thursday night.  The Yankees didn't announce yet if Freddy Garcia will still make his start on Friday or be pushed back.  If he doesn't start again he will sometime in the next five days as they have five games in a row and need all their starters. 

The Yankees are placing Luis Ayala on the DL with a lat strain, it isn't known who will be called up yet but Steve Garrison is a name that jumps out.  They could use another lefty with it also being revealed that Pedro Feliciano had a setback.  This move could turn out to be a disaster as the overwork by the Mets is clearly affecting him now.  The Yankees did sign him though knowing the risk.  Mark Prior is a logical thought to come up but the Yankees said that isn't being considered.  I get the feeling they want him to be down there a couple of months and show he is healthy before they think about calling him up. 

Alex Rodriguez is doing better and was in the lineup tonight.  He will play tomorrow, Girardi said he was smiling today and that wasn't something he was doing on Sunday.  Russell Martin was scheduled to have a day off on Friday but now that they had a day off today that probably won't happen, we will have to wait and see. 

Enjoy the night everyone and we should have baseball tomorrow night.  A.J Burnett vs. Chris Tillman unless Baltimore switches up their rotation.  The same lineup should be in order for tommorrow also.  The game will be on YES tomorrow night at 7:00PM. 

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.

Regular Season Game 2-Yankees at Red Sox

Tonight will be all about A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada working together again. Last year they had trouble and it ended up at the end of the year that Jose Molina caught A.J. Burnett including through the playoffs. A.J. Burnett said he never had a problem and they worked together all spring and have appeared to get over whatever happened between them. Tonight will be the first official start together in a long time. I know everyone will be curious to see how they work together and that will be the big story. Here are the game notes and tonights lineup. I would love to here from you guys under this post as to how your feeling, what you think of the lineup?? What do you think of A.J. and Jorge?? Whatever else you want to discuss lets get it going here. This is game 2 of the 3 game opening series in Boston, it will be A.J. Burnett and Jon Lester on the mound. After this series the Yankees will be off on Thursday and head to Tampa for a weekend series before returning home next tuesday. Curtis Granderson homered in his first at bat and plate appearance as a Yankee. This was the first Yankees to accomplish that feat since Cody Ransom did so on 8/17/08 vs Kansas City. It was the first time a Yankee did it in his first plate appearance on Opening Day since Jim Wynn on 4/7/77 vs Milwaukee. The only players to homer in their first Yankees at bat at Fenway Park other then Granderson were Andy Phillips(2004), Graig Nettles(1973) and John Miller(1966). The season opening telecast on the YES network marked the second highest rated and second most watched regular season live sporting event ever on a NY regional sports network. It was second only to the YES networks 4/3/05 Yankees-Red Sox game. Chan Ho Park became the first Korean born Yankee in franchise history with his appearance on Sunday night. The Yankees fell to 14-19 on Easter with their loss on Sunday. The opening loss dropped them to 18-11-1 in 30 previous all time opening day games vs Boston. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Swisher(RF) Thames(LF) Granderson(CF)

Hughes looks great in Extended Spring

The Yankees were off today and their wasn't much news. Phil Hughes did make a start down in Tampa in extended spring training though. He pithced 8 1/3 innings allowing 3 hits, 0 runs and had 12 strikeouts. That is very impressive although it was in extended spring. I feel really good about him as the 5th starter and think he may give them double digit wins. I think this is the year he really shows his potential and then stays in the rotation for good. He will be rejoining the team before pitching another extended spring game when the team is in Tampa this coming weekend. The Pitching Matchups for the rest of the series in Boston are: Tommorrow-A.J. Burnett vs Jon Lester Wednesday-Andy Pettitte vs John Lackey The Yankees will try to even up the series tomorrow. The games are at 7:00PM and on the yes network and wcbs radio 880AM.

A.J. Looks good in final tuneup

The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays by the score of 5-2 today. A.J. Burnett made his final tuneup start before the regular season. He looked pretty good pitching 4 2/3 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 runs. He walked 2 and also struck out 2. Royce Ring struck out the only batter he faced as he is trying to make the team as a second lefty. It is a fierce battle between him and Boone Logan. Chan Ho Park pitched another perfect inning with a strikeout and Dave Robertson pitched a scoreless inning giving up a hit. Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless inning with a walk and 2 strikeouts. Curtis Granderson had 2 hits off of lefties today, it looks like he has worked out some of his issues this spring against lefties and is ready for the season. Brett Gardner had a hit, Nick Johnson had a hit, rbi and walk. Mark Teixeira had a couple of hits and Robinson Cano was 2-2 with 2 rbi. I guess the 5th spot is agreeing with him as he has been tearing it up all spring. Nick Swisher was 2-3 and Ramiro Pena had a double and rbi. The Yankees appear to be ready for Opening Night in Boston on Sunday. The Yankees will take on the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM on the yes network and ESPN and then have their final tuneup on Saturday afternoon against the Yankees minor leaguers.

Grapefruit League Game 26-Blue Jays at Yankees

The New York Yankees are taking on the Toronto Blue Jays at home this evening. The game is at 7:05PM on the yes network. Here are the lineups for tonights game. There aren't really any notes, I will have some later on tonight or tomorrow after this game. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Thames(LF) Rodriguez(3B) Winn(RF) Pena(2B) Weber(DH) Cervelli(C) Golson(CF) Sergio Mitre is making the start. Blue Jays Lineup: Jose Bautista(RF) Aaron Hill(2B) Adam Lind(DH) Vernon Wells(CF) Lyle Overbay(1B) Edwin Encarnacion(3B) Travis Snider(LF) Alex Gonzalez(SS) Raul Chavez(C) Mark Rzepczynski is the starting pitcher for the Blue Jays.

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.

Yankees Split Squad Games

The Yankees are playing the Detroit Tigers right now at Steinbrenner Field. The game is on the Yes Network. Here is the lineup even though the game already started. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Nick Johnson(DH) Mark Teixeira(1B) Alex Rodriguez(3B) Robinson Cano(2B) Marcus Thames(LF) Jaime Hoffman(CF) Francisco Cervelli(C) Greg Golson(RF) CC Sabathia is making the start. The Yankees added 8 players to the roster today to cover since it is a split squad. They may not play but are needed just in case. Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Albaladejo, Royce Ring, Eric Wordkemper and Ryan Pope are all available to pitch after Sabathia. Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin will pitch later in the road game against the Rays. Zack Segovia and Amaury Sanit are also available. Kevin Russo is getting another start at SS today, they are trying to see if he can play it well enough to be a utility guy. I still think Ramiro Pena will get the job though. Damaso Marte will pitch in relief of Alfredo Aceves tomorrow. Brian Hoch from mlb.com asked Jeter how he was feeling as soon as he walked in the clubhouse. Remember a lot of people thought he got injured yesterday and this is what Jeter said "About What? The weather, health care reform, Avatar, the Pavement reunion?? I guess Jeter isn't too worried about his hand, but this is why he is who he is. He will never tell you anything. Yankees Lineup(Road Game) Brett Gardner(CF) Curtis Granderson(LF) Nick Swisher(DH) Jorge Posada(C) Randy Winn(RF) Juan Miranda(1B) Ramiro Pena(2B) Brandon Laird(3B) Eduardo Nunez(SS)

Grapefruit League Game 10-Atlanta Braves At Yankees(Weather Permitting)

It is a gray dreary day down in Tampa, there is rain in the forecast. It looks like they will get this game in though. Derek Jeter was in the original starting lineup but was scratched due to flu like symptoms. The Yankees told him to go home so as that he wouldn't pass it on to anyone else. He wasn't going to make the long roadtrip tomorrow so he will have 2 days off. Joe Girardi said he should have him playing in a game on Saturday. Here is the lineup for tonights game and then a couple of quick notes. Yankees Lineup: Winn(DH) Swisher(RF) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Posada(C) Thames(LF) Hoffman(CF) Pena(SS) Corona(2B) The Yankees are scheduled to play the Nationals in Viera which is a long ride, the bus is supposed to leave at 7:45AM but they are calling for bad weather tomorrow. Joe Girardi said that the Nationals are going to call them at 7:30AM if the game is called for tomorrow so they don't have to make the long trip. Here is who is scheduled to go on the trip. Pitchers:Andy Pettitte,Christian Garcia,Boone Logan,Sergio Mitre, D.J. Mitchell,Zach Segovia. Catchers:Francisco Cervelli, Jose Gil, Jesus Montero, P.J. Pilittere,Mike Rivera Infielders:Robinson Cano,Reegie Corona,Nick Johnson,Brandon Laird,Juan Miranda,Eduardo Nunez,Ramiro Pena,Kevin Russo and Jorge Vazquez. Outfielders:Brett Gardner, Colin Curtis,Gorecki, Curtis Granderson,Jaime Hoffman,Jon Weber,David Winfree and Randy Winn. Joe Girardi also announced that he has encouraged Francisco Cervelli to use the helmet with the extra padding. It was the helmet that David Wright was wearing when everyone made fun of him for looking like the Great Mazoo. The thing is I don't care what you look like if you have had head injuries you want to protect yourself as best as you can. There is Joe Girardi audi up at the Lohud Yankees Blog from Sam Borden. Here is the audio. Enjoy the game, it is at 7:00PM on the YES network. I will be back in a little bit with a official game post.

Yankees Lose To Phillies

The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 3-2 this afternoon. CC Sabathia got the start and wasn't perfect giving up 2 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings. He didn't give up a run though and was pleased with his first outing. He said April 4th is when it matters and he understands what he has to do to get ready. He said that his delivery was so-so and that he had a couple of times where he fell off the mound and wasn't headed toward the plate. He said he will work on that in his bullpen coming up. Roy Halladay who started for the Phillies was his usual self facing the Yankees. He pitched 2 perfect innings with 3 strikeouts. Zack Segovia, Zach McAllister, Ivan Nova and Mark Melancon all pitched scoreless innings. Segovia gave up a walk and Melancon gave up a hit but had 2 strikeouts. Romulo Sanchez pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up 2 hits, a run and a walk. Boone Logan pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings and Wilkens Arias blew a save and got the loss pitching 2/3 of an inning giving up 3 hits and 2 runs, he did have a strikeout. The Yankees offense didn't see anyone get more then a hit. Jaime Hoffman, Jesus Montero, Robinson Cano, Eduardo Nunez, David Winfree, Colin Curtis, Jose Gil and Brandon Laird all had one hit. Colin Curtis is really trying to make a name for himself after hitting a 3 run walkoff homerun yesterday. The rbi's were produced by Jose Gil and David Winfree. Winfree is another one of the outfielders trying to stick as the 5th OF but he is a long shot, Jaime Hoffman is the rule 5 pick who has to make the team and stay on it all year or be offered back to the Dodgers for half the price 25,000. Jorge Posada, Randy Winn and Ramiro Pena all struck out twice. The Yankees will host the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow afternoon at 1:00PM with Phil Hughes getting the start. Joba Chamberlain is scheduled to pitch also in this game. The game will be televised on the YES network.

Alex Rodriguez a World Champion

Alex Rodriguez started off last season n0t so great. He was revealed to be a steroid cheat and then had to go through that interview on ESPN with Peter Gammons that he admitted to doing it. He then went through the press conference in Tampa where all of his teammates came out to support him and I think that is where it all started with the new and improved A-rod. He got through that and then got the hip injury that I believe was a blessing in disguise. He went away all alone to Colorado to recover and contemplate where his life was headed. He admitted in a interview on the YES network last Thursday that he thought his career could be over, all he could think of was Bo Jackson and it was a scary thought. He got to work on his rehab and credits his recovery to his doctor who did a great job. We all know that Alex Rodriguez came back on May 8th and in his first swing launched a homerun. He went through the season with some ups and downs but amazingly finished with 30 homeruns and 100 rbi's. He finished the season with 2 homeruns and 7 rbi's in the last game knowing he needed that to finish with those round numbers. He of course then went on to have an amazing postseason where he would be the postseason MVP, that award was just presented to him last weekend. He now is not only further away from that surgery and didn't need any further surgery but he is a confident man. Alex Rodriguez is now a World Series Champion and a postseason hero. These are things that can never be taken away from him. He said last week in that interview on YES with Kim Jones that he was tired of that label of being a choker and just frustrated with losing in the playoffs so much. He went out and did something about it this past season along with the rest of that great Yankees team. Alex will now go into this season with something he really hasn't had and that is a ton of confidence. It is hard to predict what someone will do but being healthy and confident the skys the limit for A-rod and that is a scary thought for the opposing pitchers. The Yankees I am sure can't get wait to get started defending their title and knowing that they have one of the greatest players of all time on their side and feeling good about himself.

Here are some Yankee notes

I missed this a couple of days ago but David Cone has been let go by the Yes Network. I am really going to miss him, I thought he grew into his role and the best is when he said crazy things and didn't even realize what he was saying. There was talk when this first started being rumored of Tino Martinez going to the booth but right now that doesn't look to be the case. Sergi Mitre signed a 1 yr deal with the Yankees for $850,000. According to Chad Jennings of the Lohud Yankees Blog who spoke with Brian Cashman, Cash said the Yankees are basically done. They are just looking at a right handed bat for left field to play against lefties and some bench help and non roster invitees to spring training. I think the more and more you interpret this it means Gardner is going to be the left fielder with Reed Johnson signing as a role player. The Yankees did announce as expected that all the coaches are returning in their roles from last season. Cash said as of right now Cervelli is the backup catcher- I hope they don't sign someone else because the pitchers really liked working with him and he even hit a little which a backup isn't expected to do. Cashman said he is not looking for bullpen help, that he is always looking for pitching but with what they have right now that is not his focus. Phil Hughes, Boone Logan, Francisco Cervelli and Romulo Sanchez each have one option left. Joba Chamberlain has three. He also said the team has agreed to several minor league contracts but he isn't ready to disclose those yet.

Royals at Yankees

The Yankees take on the Royals at 7:05 on YES. The Yankees have clinched everything they could in the regular season. The goal now is to stay healthy and finalize their playoff rosters. They will see how Robertson does this week and if Bruney can continue to be effective as well as see if Gaudin will be a long man or they will go with 2 lefties etc. The games don't mean anything as they could lose them all and still have the best record in baseball. Hereare the pregame notes and lineup via Peter Abraham. RHP Dave Robertson has been cleared to pitch and you can expect to see him tomorrow at some point. He has been out since Sept. 5 with a sore elbow. He has 61 strikeouts in 41 innings and could play a big role in the postseason. Andy Pettitte banked an additional $750,000 when he went over the 190-inning mark. He needs 8.2 innings to get to 200 and another $750,000, which won’t be happening. The Yankees are 44 games over .500. They have not been 45 games over since finishing 2002 with a 103-58 record. Yankees Lineup: Gardner(CF) Cabrera(RF) Damon(LF) Posada(DH) Cano(2B) Hinske(3B) Miranda(1B) Cervelli(C) Pena(SS)

Yankees at Orioles

The New York Yankees take on the Baltimore Orioles in game 2 of their 3 game series. The game is on at 7:05 on the YES network. The Yankees start the day 6 1/2 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for first in the AL East and 4 1/2 ahead of the Angels for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Here are the pregame notes and lineup from Peter Abraham and his Lohud Yankees Blog. The Yankees are 10-3 against the Orioles this season and have won 8 straight. A.J. Burnett is 0-4 with a 6.03 era in his last 6 starts. He was 5-0 with a 2.01 era in his 6 starts. Burnett is 9-1 with a 4.61 era against the Orioles in his career. Robinson Cano is 22 of his last 48 with 5 homeruns and 15 rbi's against Baltimore this season. MO is 5 strikeouts away from 1,000 and one game away from tying Cy Young for the 20th most appearances all time. A-rod needs 2 more hits for 2,500 in his career. Phil Hughes in his last 9 outings has gone 8 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks and 11 strikeouts. Johnny Damon has a 7 game hitting streak. Melky Cabrera is 6 of his last 15, Damaso Marte has not allowed a hit in 2 1/3 innings since he came off the DL. These guys are all hot. The guys who aren't so hot are Brian Bruney who has put 14 runners on base in his last 8 2/3 innings. Phil Coke has a 10.64 era in his last 14 outings. The callups are Francisco Cervelli, Ramiro Pena, Mark Melancon, Edwar Ramirez and Mike Dunn. Austin Jackson was named the International leagues rookie of the year today and Shelly Duncan was named the MVP. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(DH) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Cano(2B) Swisher(LF) Hinske(RF) Cabrera(CF)

Yanks go for 8th straight

The New York Yankees take on the Oakland A's at 7:05 tonight from the stadium on the YES network. They will be looking for their 8th straight win and another strong pitching performance. Joba was good Sunday and they hope he can contiue that with a second straight good start. Here are the notes and lineup via Peter Abraham The Yankees will be facing a 21 year old rookie tonight who they hit back in April but he has been hot lately. He has allowed one run on 11 hits in his last 4 starts. He has walked 7 and struck out 25. The Yankees have a 2.29 era since the break. They have their lowest team era of the season at 4.37 which is 9th in the league. The Yankees are 3-0 against Oakland this season and have won 7 straight dating back to last season. The New stadium has given up 157 homeruns this year which is only 3 fewer then the old stadium gave up last year. Johnny Damon is 8 of 23 since the break, Tex is 9 of 27 with 5 xbh and 7 rbi's. Jorge Posada is 6 of 20 with 4 rbi's and 5 xbh. A-rod is 3 of 4 on stolen bases since the break which is a good sign with his hip. The Yankees have won 27 of their last 36 home games. Yankees lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Tex(1B) A-rod(3B) Posada(C) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Swisher(RF) Cabrera(CF)

Yanks come out of break strong

The Yankees kind of had rookie Luke French on the ropes early but couldn't knock him out although they did make him throw a lot of pitches. The Yankees got to the bullpen in the 7th though and took a 5-3 lead. A.J. Burnett was very erractic pitching 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, with 5 walks and only 1 strikeout, he just wasn't sharp at all although he did battle and keep the team in the game. The thing is with A.J. and CC you don't want to hear that, they are the guys you expect to go out and dominate and get you the win. Phil Hughes was a savr once again pitching 2 shutout innings, striking out 6, he just looks so calm and confident out there on the mound and for good reason. The offense had their big hit when Big Tex blasted a 3 run homerun in the 7th inning to give the Yankees the lead. Melky Cabrera had a big hit but Jorge Posada was thrown out at the plate to erase that and Johnny Damon had a couple of hits. Mark Teixeira besides having the big homerun also had a couple of other hits. Hideki Matsui had 2 hits and a rbi and Robinson Cano had 2 hits as well as Derek Jeter. A-rod and Nick Swisher were the only guys in the lineup without a hit. Mariano Rivera came on for the save and we look forward to a great matchup tomorrow with CC Sabathia taking on Justin Verlander tomorrow at 1:05 on the Yes network.