New York Mets at Washington Nationals series preview

The New York Mets will open their 2015 season on Monday afternoon in Washington D.C. against the Washington Nationals.  Bartolo Colon the veteran starter will get it started against Max Scherzer.  The Nationals are arguably the best team in baseball and have the majors best rotation.  The Mets have their own very good rotation with a lot of youth and a lot of guys on their way up.  They are hoping their hitting will add some help to a good rotation and that their bullpen has gotten better with some youth in it and some lefty relievers that were added late in spring training. 

The Mets finalized their 25 man roster on Saturday.  They demoted Eric Campbell and will carry just four bench players and eight relievers.  Buddy Carlyle is on the team and Vic Black is going to the disabled list.  Daniel Murphy will not go on the DL and Danny Muno and Matt Reynolds were both sent to AAA.  The Mets rotation lost Zach Wheeler to Tommy John surgery but will get Matt Harvey their ace back.  They will also have Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and Jacob deGrom.  The lineup will have David Wright, Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson returning along with Daniel Murphy and Juan Lagares who they are hoping will continue to improve offensively.  Michael Cuddyer is the big free agent addition to help the lineup. 

The Nationals have an unbelievable rotation consisting of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Scherzer, Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmerman.  They have some pop in their lineup and their one weakness will be their bullpen.  Ryan Zimmerman will move to first base, Denard Span, Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth are their big players. 

The Mets will be off on Tuesday and then continue their series Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Here are the pitching matchups.

Monday-Scherzer vs. Colon

Wednesday-Zimmerman vs. deGrom

Thursday-Strasburg vs. Harvey

New York Yankees news and notes

The New York Yankees were essentially rained out on Saturday in Tampa.  They did some indoor work but it was a light day.  There were pitchers scheduled for batting practice who will now do that on Sunday and the ones regularly scheduled for Sunday will still throw as well.  It will be a busy Sunday in camp.  The Yankees were going to have an intrasquad game on Sunday but that may happen on Monday now and then the exhibition games begin on Tuesday. 

There are 13 pitchers throwing live BP on Sunday morning.  Luis Severino is throwing a bullpen with Brian McCann catching him which is interesting because McCann usually only catches guys that will be on the team or have a good chance of making it.  Andrew Miller will be throwing live BP and Esmil Rogers is scheduled for a two inning simulated game.  He is being stretched out to be a starter just in case. 

It took a while but Didi Gregorius the new shortstop finally got some attention on Saturday.  He is the replacement for Jeter but the Yankees have focused on telling him he can't replace him, he is just the guy that comes after.  Gregorius seems to be taking it in stride, he is a happy guy, always smiling and says he knows he can't avoid being compared to him but he also knows that no one is Jeter.  He said he isn't worried about the attention, that doesn't bother him at all.  He said he came a little early to camp to start to get to know everyone.  The Yankees were going to have their regular infield on the field on Saturday but that didn't happen.  It was going to be Stephen Drew at second and Gregorius at short with Rob Refsnyder going with the minor league guys and Jose Pirela being with the major league guys.  I am not sure if it really means anything but they are clearly looking at Drew and Gregorius as the starters with Pirela being a likely bench/utility guy and Refsnyder being in AAA.  Things can change with injuries or complete ineffectiveness. 

If that is the case and it looks like Drew will be spending most of his time at second and very little at short then Brendan Ryan seems to be secure on the roster as the backup SS.  He was feeling a little better on Saturday.  Joe Girardi left no doubt on Saturday that Garrett Jones will play both 1B and the OF this season.  Girardi said he will play both in spring training as well, he is not focused on one or the other.  The Yankees have eased Carlos Beltran into defensive drills.  He is on track to play in the early exhibition games but the Yankees don't want him to overdo it. 

Joe Girardi is expected to announce his starters for the first few exhibition games on Sunday.  He was going to do it on Saturday but with the rain that changed.  Alex Rodriguez should be making his spring debut Tuesday or Wednesday.  We should find that out either today or tomorrow most likely.   

Yankees pitchers and catchers report and first workout is on tap

The Yankees pitchers and catchers reported on Friday, their first official workout is Saturday.  Joe Girardi held his annual state of the team and opening of camp press conference this morning.  Here are some of what he talked about and then some notes courtesy of the Lohud Yankees Blog. 

The two biggest topics for Joe during the press conference were Alex Rodriguez and Masahiro Tanaka.  He was asked about the batting order and said that is something they need to figure out but he expects that Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner will pretty much be in the same spot all year unlike last year where they were moved around.  He says the last two weeks of camp are important and that will determine a lot about the batting order. 

He spoke about the health of the rotation and admitting that he has concerns.  He says right now CC and Tanaka are healthy but until you get CC out there every fifth day and making three or four starts in a row you don't know how his knee is going to feel and respond.  He says with Tanaka you just don't know, there are some guys who have had what he has and gotten through it for a long period of time and then there are others who haven't been able to make it and end up getting Tommy John.  He says they are the biggest concerns right now but as of right now they feel good and look good. 

The six man rotation is something the Yankees will talk about but they won't do it for a whole year.  He said it is something they may do when they are in a long stretch for instance of 17 or 18 games in a row which they will have in April and May.  Do they have enough time to get Arod ready??  He said he thinks they will and because he is mostly going to be a DH he will get a lot of at bats, he said more then he would normally and there may be some days they send him to the minors to get some extra at bats as well.  He said communication is the most important and that he is on the roster but he will have to earn playing time, they haven't seen him for two years basically and they want to see where he is at, he has to prove that he can get playing time. 

There was a twitter question about run prevention being important and Girardi said yes it is and he does feel that it leads to more wins.  He said sometimes it is just as important as run production.  I would say he is right about this and the Yankees drastically improved their defense from last year to this year.  They in my opinion have one guy who is average and that is Carlos Beltran in right field.  I would say everyone else is a plus defender. 

Tanaka met with the media and said he is confident he can make it through the year healthy.  He said that he actually feels better now than he did last year. He said he is confident the elbow is healed and he can get through the season because he is able to throw the ball absolutely fine.  He said he hasn't made any changes in his off season program and won't make any now, Girardi said the same thing. 

Girardi talked a lot about roster competition this year.  He didn't mean for guys making the roster though as much as guys getting playing time and where they all fit in.  They have to figure out if Didi Gregorious can play SS full-time or does he need a platoon partner.  Will Drew play second base every day, will one of the young guys be the starter and him a backup.  How often will Alex Rodriguez be in the lineup and will he play the field and if he does how much??  Who will be the closer or will it be a closer by committee?  There are definitely more questions than usual in this camp. 

Rodriguez is expected to report with the rest of the position players on Wednesday.  Girardi knows it will be crazy for about a week with him and then hopes he can just get back to playing.  He said it is more of a big deal outside of the clubhouse, that with the Yankees it is part of the territory and he will make sure it doesn't stop them from getting their work in and that the team could come together with something like this.  Girardi said that he is very encouraged by Nova's progress from Tommy John surgery and Nova said that he feels good and sounded optimistic.  The Yankees are optimistic about Sabathia as well but Girardi said he needs to see him in a game to really get a sense of what to expect. 

Jose Ramirez said that last year's lat issue has cleared up, he is healthy and already throwing bullpens.  Chase Whitley wife is about to give birth to their first child.  When that happens he will be excused I am sure.  The early arrivals of position players were Carlos Beltran, Chase Headley, Stephen Drew and Garrett Jones.  They were basically just setting up lockers. 

The Yankees will have their team meeting on Saturday morning and then hit the field probably around 11-1130 for the first time as a group this season.  They will of course do that all over when the full squad reports which is next Wednesday but the first full squad workout is on Thursday. 

Yankees pitchers and catchers report to spring training

The New York Yankees pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training on Tuesday morning. They were there for their physicals, some guys played catch in the outfield and the manager met the media today. The first official workout is tomorrow morning. Here are some of the notes from today. 
Alex Rodriguez will rehab in New York and not join the team in spring training. Girardi said it has nothing to do with distractions but that there is just no reason for him to be in spring training. If you want to believe that it is fine but I am sure they just don’t want him around and deal with anything more with him.

Girardi said that for now he wants to keep Brett Gardner in left and Curtis Granderson in center but that they will continue to discuss it and won’t completely rule out a change. It seems to me that Girardi wants to keep it how it is. I think Gardner is probably a better center fielder but he was the best or one of the best left fielders so why mess with that. Girardi said the lineup is a work in progress, he gave no indication of his ideas for that. I would think that you can go Ichiro, Jeter, Cano, Tex, Granderson, Youkilis, Hafner, Stewart/Cervelli, Gardner. I like that lineup but I realize you could also go with Gardner at the top or Jeter, Granderson could bat second. Nunez could get a lot of play and that could change things a little. I think the lineup will be a lot different but that they will have the ability to score runs in different ways.

Girardi did say that Austin Romine might not be exactly on equal footing with Stewart or Cervelli but that he does have a real chance to win the job. I think they will send him to AAA and go with the other two guys in a platoon type situation. I think Romine could eventually come up and take the job though before the season is over. I would love to see Romine take the job because the Yankees need youth and more home grown players.

CC Sabathia spoke a little today and said he didn’t think he was as hurt as he was last season. He said now that he feels great and he knows the difference because he is healthy now. He said he just wants to concentrate on staying healthy now. He said he lost about 10 pounds and is down to 290 which is about the same as last spring. He said he gained the ten during the season which he is ok with because it just happens but right now he feels good and is at the ideal weight.

Yankees notes on a Saturday night

Here are the postgame notes following a Saturday evening victory over the Mariners.  The Yankees have started to get on a good roll.  They have gone one turn through the rotation plus one with all good starts.  The bullpen even without Rivera for the most part has continued to be very good.  The hitting is just starting to come around.  The Yankees are five games over 500 for the first time and look to keep it going with the return of Andy Pettitte on Sunday afternoon.  The Yankees will look for the three game sweep.  These notes are courtesy of Chad Jennings of the Journal news and Lohud Yankees Blog. 

According to Phil Hughes, the pitch that we’ve heard so much about in the past few seasons was his biggest key today. The right-hander turned in his best start of the season, pitching 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball while relying heavily on his changeup to lead the Yankees to a 6-2 win over the Mariners.
“It was a good day,” Hughes said. “I probably didn’t have my best fastball or my best curveball today, but my changeup really allowed me to get out of some jams and make some good pitches when I was behind in counts. I think that was the pitch that I really look at as the equalizer today.”

Granted, Seattle’s lineup won’t be mistaken for the ’27 Yankees anytime soon, but Hughes has now turned in three consecutive good starts after looking very shaky to start the season. Each has been better than the last, and this is certainly something he can continue to build on.

“It’s been a process overall to get myself right,” Hughes said. “There’s sometimes when you can hang onto momentum when you’re pitching well, but as far as a turning point, it’s kind of hard to get any worse than I was in the beginning of the year. I’m just trying to build on every start and get us some wins.”

Hughes talked about taking a “reliever mentality” into the game, which meant attacking hitters and not shying away from contact. He didn’t have a ton of strikeouts (four), but he was efficient, pitching deeper into a game than he has all season.

“Larry and him talked about just being aggressive – going as long as you can, as hard as you can,” Joe Girardi said. “He was so successful coming out of the bullpen and locating everything, it’s just been an attitude that we want him to take on.”

 The fact that Hughes’ changeup was his most consistent pitch today was very encouraging. That’s a pitch that he’s been working on for quite some time, but has never had tremendous success with. Coupled with a fastball that hit 95 on the gun several times today, it was very effective. It’s also worth noting that Hughes used very few cutters today, which usually sit in the 88-91 MPH range. “I think the main thing is probably that there were eight left-handers in the lineup today,” Hughes said. “I feel like my cutter is a little bit more effective to right-handers. I did throw a few to Montero, but other than that I feel better with my four-seamer going into lefties.”

While the rotation did not have a good month of April, the tide seems to have turned here in May. Ace CC Sabathia has won five consecutive starts, and the rest of the rotation is shaping up. With Andy Pettitte completing his comeback tomorrow, the five-some of CC, Pettitte, Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova is looking pretty formidable. “CC sets the pace for everybody,” Hughes said. “If we get him pitching the way that he has been pitching, everyone kind of feeds off of that.”

 The big inning for the Yankees came in the bottom of the second. After Mark Teixeira doubled, Nick Swisher recorded the second out of the inning with a fly out to left. As he has all season, Raul Ibanez followed with a clutch two-out RBI double. Russell Martin broke out of his 1 for 16 slump with a laser to dead CF to score Ibanez, and then Jayson Nix laced a two-run homer. Just like that, it was 4-0 Yankees. “I love it,” Girardi said. “Those are the runs that kill teams. Those are the runs that are big for you and hurt other teams, and we got them today.”

Ibanez continued his hot play with a solo shot in the fourth. I’ve interviewed him several times, and while he’s a really nice guy, he’s not one for juicy quotes. “I’m just trying not to do too much,” he repeated several times. “Trying to hit a ball hard and put it in play.”

 Girardi talked about Nix, who broke an 0 for 20 slump that dated back to last season with his opposite field homer in the second. “I’m sure it’s extremely gratifying,” Girardi said. “This kid just goes out and does his business every day. He’s a pleasure to watch work… He gave us a huge cushion with that two-run homer.”

 Girardi strongly disagreed with the umpire’s decision to allow a runner to score in the ninth when Carp’s homer was overruled after a replay review and changed to a double, which cost Boone Logan a run. “He said he slowed up and he would have scored, and I don’t necessarily agree with that,” Girardi said. “We’re about wins, but guys care about what they give up – that’s the bottom line. They have pride in their work.”

 Hughes talked about what it’s going to be like watching Pettitte take the ball tomorrow. “I can’t speak for everybody else, but I’m really excited about it,” he said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere, and obviously he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t think he could do it.”

Yanks lineup at Tampa

The New York Yankees will go for their fourth straight win tonight.  They will take on the Rays in the second of four from Tampa.  The Yankees won 5-4 last night in comeback fashion.

A.J. Burnett had a rough first and then settled in.  The bullpen was solid and the offense did enough late with help from the Tampa bullpen.  Here is the Yankees lineup for tonight

Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner, Eduardo Nunez.

Yankees go for the sweep

The Yankees have won the first two games of this series 12-4.  They will go for the sweep today at 1:00.  Brian Gordon just picked up from AAA Lehigh Valley in the Phillies system will start today.  Here are some notes and the lineup.
Yankees Lineup:Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Andruw Jones, Jorge Posada, Russell Martin, Eduardo Nunez, Ramiro Pena.

Lance Pendleton was optioned back to AAA Scranton to make room for Gordon.
According to Elias last night was only the second time in Yankees history that every infielder hit a homerun.  1939 was the only other time.
Tex and Grandy are the eighth pair of teammates in MLB history to have at least 21 homeruns through the first 66 games of the season.  This is bringing up memories of Maris and Mantle in 1961.
C.J. Wilson starts for the Rangers against Brian Gordon.  Scott Kazmir was released by the Angels, the Yankees will take a look but its doubtful they sign him.
Lou Piniella, Joe Torre and Bernie Williams will appear at their first Old Timers Day on June 26.  It should be a great day.  Enjoy afternoon baseball today on YES.

Yankees begin West Coast Trip in Seattle

The New York Yankees begin a three city, nine game, ten day road trip tonight.  They will open the West Coast Swing in Seattle.  A.J. Burnett will start against young Seattle phenom Michael Pineda.  Here is the Yankees Lineup.  This is going to be a very tough trip, if they can be 5-4 or 4-5 that would be good, the Red Sox are very hot right now and they don't want them to pass them by and gain too much of a lead in the AL East. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher, Brett Gardner. 

Yankees vs. Royals

The Yankees begin a three game series with the Royals tonight.  It is the return of Melky Cabrera, a crowd favorite.  The Royals have played surprisingly well this year.  They are much better at home though and have lost six straight on the road.  Freddy Garcia starts for the Yankees against Kyle Davies who has struggled this year. 
Yankees lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Forge Posada, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.
The Yankees were off yesterday after winning the finale in Texas on Sunday.  They finished the road trip 3-4.  That is respectable but they didn't play well at all on the trip.
Posted via Blogaway

Yankees at Tigers-Game Two of Four

The New York Yankees will play game two of their four game series in Detroit tonight.  It will be C.C. Sabathia against Brad Penny in the pitching matchup.  The Yankees won the first game last night by the score of 5-3.  Bartolo Colon had another strong outing and continues to impress everyone.  Here are some notes and the lineup for tonight. 

Yankees Lineup:Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Andruw Jones, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner.  Nick Swisher is sitting this one out, I think it is just a day off as he has played every inning so far this season.  The Yankees are in a long stretch of consecutive games and Girardi tries to give everyone days off to keep them fresh. 

Nick Swisher announced today that he signed a deal with New Balance for two years.  It is an endorsement deal and he will be wearing their shoes on and off the field.  Swisher is a great guy to have to promote your product.  I can definitely see him going into acting after his playing career is over.  He has already done a little bit of it.  His wife Joanna Garcia of course is an actress so that probably has something to do with it but he is a natural in front of the camera. 

Phil Hughes was going to Columbia Presbyterian for further evaluation today in New York.  When there is something if anything to know about him I will have that on this blog.  It looks like he will just continue to rehab and hopefully the velocity will come back.  The Yankees can afford to take their time right now with Colon and Garcia doing so well.  Ivan Nova has also stepped up in his last couple of starts. 

The Yankees signed Brad Halsey a former farmhand to a minor league deal.  It appears that he is in extended spring.  He is 30 years old and hasn't played in the major leagues in a few years but did pitch for an independent league last season.  He is a lefthanded pitcher trying to revive his career, lefties always find a way to hang around. 

Enjoy the game which is at 7:05 tonight. 

Yankees vs. White Sox-They go for the split

The Yankees and White Sox play game four of their four game series tonight.  The Sox won the first two and the Yankees won last night.  Here are some notes and the lineup.
Yanks lineup:Curtis Grandson, Nick Swisher, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Eric Chavez(1b), Russell Martin, Forge Posada, Brett Gardner, Eduardo Nunez(ss).  C.C. Sabathia vs. Edwin Jackson is the pitching matchup.
Phil Hughes will head to St. Louis on Monday to see the specialist.  Hopefully they will figure it out then.
Brian Cashman said they will look at video of Kevin Millwood before they decide what to do with him.
Enjoy the game at 7 on the YES Network.

Mets at Marlins-The Rubber Game

Here is the Mets lineup for Sunday afternoon.  R.A. Dickey makes his first start and the Mets go for the series win and head to Philly with some confidence.  Reyes, Harris, Wright, Davis, Pagan, Duda, Murphy(2b),y Thole, Dickey.

Mets at Marlins Game Two

The Mets will try to avoid a losing streak. Here is  their lineup tonight at Florida.  Reyes, Pagan, Wright, Beltran, Davis, Duda, Emaus, Thole, Niese.  The Mets need more then 4 1/3 innings from the starter.  The offense was facing one of the best so I wouldn't worry about them as much.

Yankees News and Notes on a Wednesday night

Here are some Yankees News and Notes from a Wednesday night with some help from the Lohud Yankees Blog. The Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays tonight with a seventh inning rally 5-3. Phil Hughes pitched seven innings and threw 98 pitches. He gave up three runs on eight hits and struck out seven batters. Mariano Rivera threw a perfect inning and Boone Logan gave up a hit but struck out the side in his one inning of work. Hughes said he hasn't been happy with his cutter and asked Larry Rothschild to come up with a new grip for it. Hughes said it is more of a slider now but he will still call it the cutter. He said he threw that pitch about 25-30 times tonight. Curtis Granderson became the fourth Yankee to hurt his oblique this spring. The others told him the worst day is the day after the injury. He felt pretty good today and took that as a good sign. He said he can feel something still isn't right but normal movements are fine. He may end up going on the DL and finishing out the spring schedule with the minor leaguers who play until April 3rd. The Yankees may want to do that so they can carry an extra outfielder. They will see what happens in the next few days before they decide on that. Speaking of outfielders Nick Swisher fould a ball off of his foot and had to come out of the game. There were no X-rays and manager Joe Girardi said he hopes it is just day-to-day. The Yankees optioned Melky Mesa, Jorge Vazquez, Greg Golson, Jose Gil, Jordan Parraz, Brandon Laird and Kevin Russo to minor league camp today. The Yankees also send Ryan Pope, Steve Garrison and Eric Wordkemper to minor league camp after the game. Golson is being sent down so he can get more at-bats just in case Granderson does go on the DL and Golson is a guy they decide to bring North. Freddy Garcia will pitch at the minor league complex tomorrow with Jesus Montero catching him. Austin Romine caught A.J. Burnett at the minor league complex today. Alex Rodriguez had his 13 game hitting streak come to an end on Monday and his RBI streak tonight but he still went 2-4. He has been incredible this spring and really looks primed for another MVP type year. Derek Jeter has a four game hitting streak and has only struck out once since March 6th. It looks like the Yankees lineup tonight with Jeter first and Gardner ninth could be the lineup they use against lefties and then have Gardner first and Jeter second for righty starters. Joe Girardi said "It's not unusual to have one lineup for left-handers and one for right-handers. He said sometimes guys move up or you drop them down a little bit." The Yankees will be off tomorrow before playing Friday night at home against Houston and then Saturday at home, they will play their final road game on Monday in Fort Myers against the Twins and their final grapefruit league game on Tuesday before heading to the Bronx on Wednesday. They will open the season on Thursday afternoon March 31st against the Detroit Tigers. C.C. Sabathia will face Justin Verlander in a classic pitching duel.

Nova dazzles as Yankees defeat O's 10-0

The New York Yankees ran over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night 10-0. It was the first time their regular lineup was in the game and they looked good. Alex Rodriguez hit his third homerun of the spring, Mark Teixeira had two doubles. Nick Swisher had a could of hits and RBI, Derek Jeter had a hit and a walk. Jorge Posada who is growing more and more comfortable in his DH role had a hit, RBI and a couple of walks. The story of this game though was Ivan Nova who gave up his first couple of runs of the spring in his last outing. He pitched six no hit innings in this game hitting one batter and another batter reached on an error by A-rod. He didn't walk a batter and struck out four. The thing that you have to love about this young kid is his moxy and how nothing seems to faze him. I would think this outing solidified a spot in the rotation for him. He was a favorite coming into the spring and hasn't done anything for that to change. The problem is everyone else is pitching well also but this was the best performance of any of the pitchers so far. The Yankees broke a six game losing streak and will play their second straight night game tomoorrow night at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. The game will be on at 7:05PM. The starter in this game will be Phil Hughes and the Yankees should have their regular lineup in once again.

Regular Season Game 9-Mets at Rockies

The New York Mets will try and salvage a game in Colorado this afternoon. Mike Pelfrey will be making the start. Here is the Mets lineup for todays game. Mets Lineup: Reyes(SS) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Francoeur(RF) Tatis(1B) Blanco(C) Pagan(CF) Pelfrey(P) Jorge De La Rosa is the starting pitcher for the Rockies. Today is the 63rd anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and making his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In honor everyone in baseball today will wear #42. The Mets lost their 3rd straight series which was the first time since 1997. Jeff Francoeur has collected at least one hit in the first 8 games. The Mets are 4th in the NL with 36 walks. They have also given up 36 walks which is 4th most in the NL. The Mets bullpen has been a bright spot so far with the 2nd best era in the majors. They have a 2.08 era. Their starters though have a 6.91 era which is 28th out of the 30 teams. They need starting pitching and that will be their downfall all year if they don't find pitching or someone they haven't doesn't step it up. David Wright is 6 hits away from tying Howard Johnson for 8th on the Mets all time hits list. He is 2 doubles shy of tying Edward Kranepool for the team record with 225.

Umpire Rips Yankees and Red Sox

I want to get to some of the postgame notes from last night but first I have to talk about the story in the Bergen Record about umpire Joe West. He is actually one of the crew chiefs and he ripped the Yankees and Red Sox. I understand wanting to speed up the pace of baseball games and all of that, I actually think overall they have gotten shorter the games but the Yankees and Red Sox are two very good teams that take a lot of pitches and also have long at bats and that will slow the game down. The problem I have with Joe West isn't that he wants to speed up the game but what he actually said, here are the quotes "embarrassing, a disgrace to baseball." This is him talking about the length of the Yankees and Red Sox games. He also called the teams "pathetic and embarrassing, they take too long to play." It is one thing to feel that way but how can you say that when your supposed to be an objective umpire. I think this is a big problem and should be addressed by commissioner Bud Selig. If the players get in trouble for speaking out shouldn't the umpires also?? I wonder what will happen here, stay tuned. Postgame Notes from Last night: Andy Pettitte actually got a little whiplash from falling to the ground during the 1st inning of the game. He said he had a headache and was sore for a few innings and had to gut it out. Steve Donahue the trainer had to massage his neck and give him some pills according to Pettitte. He said whatever he gave him worked and he was able to complete the game. He said there was no way he was coming out. Joe Girardi and Derek Jeter both said that Lackey did not hit Jeter on purpose in the 6th inning. I wouldn't think so either in a 1-0 game with the top of the lineup up. Jeter and Youkilis were joking about it on the field. Joe Girardi said his plan was to use Park for no more then 2 innings but that his pitch count was low enough that he used him for a third inning. He said that is what made him attractive to the Yankees, his ability to pitch multiple innings. Alex Rodriguez had this to say "We won two out of three and Tex and I didn't do much to help out. The bottom of our lineup did great all three games, They came up big for us." Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada hit 417 for the series and Nick Swisher hit 364.

Regular Season Game 3-Yankees at Red Sox

Here are the lineups first and then some game notes. Today is the rubber game of the 3 game opening series in Boston. The Red Sox won the first game 9-7 and the Yankees won last night by the score of 6-4. Andy Pettitte will go up against John Lackey who is making his Red Sox debut. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Johnson(DH) Teixeira(1B) Rodriguez(3B) Cano(2B) Posada(C) Granderson(CF) Swisher(RF) Gardner(LF) Red Sox Lineup: Ellsbury(CF) Pedroia(2B) Martinez(C) Youkilis(1B) Ortiz(DH) Beltre(3B) Drew(RF) Cameron(CF) Scutaro(SS)

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)

Grapefruit League Game 31-Mets at Orioles

The New York Mets will play their final exhibition game this afternoon in Sarasota against the Orioles. The game is at 1:05PM and will be on WFAN radio in New York. The Mets will head home and have a workout tomorrow at Citi Field in advance of Mondays Opener against the Florida Marlins. Jon Niese will get the start today and also expected to pitch are Oliver Perez, Ryota Igarashi and Sean Green. The Mets have one more cut to make before Mondays opener. According to the New York Daily News Francisco Rodriguez will rejoin the team tomorrow. He has been in Venezuela attending to a family matter. The New York Mets have announced that former Met Darryl Strawberry will throw out the first pitch on Monday. This is a good move by the Mets and it is about time they recognize their past.