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.

Joba steps up as Yanks fall down

The New York Yankees lost to the Philadelphia Phillies today by the score of 6-2. The big story of the day though was the way Joba Chamberlain pitched. He looked really good today and has now not eliminated himself from the 5th starters competition. I am going to recap the pitchers and then the hitters and then have some notes. Andy Pettitte made the start for the Yankees, it was his first start against live competition. He pitched 4 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts. I would say it was a pretty good outing for being his first time out with real competition. He was throwing simulated games because of the rainouts. Damaso Marte pitched in relief of Andy and just had a terrible day. He didn't record an out and gave up 4 hits and 3 runs. He left the game after getting hit in the back by a Ryan Howard line drive. He should be ok but he is going to be sore for a while after that. Joba Chamberlain finished the game off with 3 innings giving up 2 hits and 1 run. He walked a batter and had 3 strikeouts. Francisco Cervelli who survived a scare after getting beaned in the head is tearing it up offensively. He had 3 hits today and is batting 582 in the spring. He has the second highest average on the team. Brett Gardner had 2 hits and Nick Johnson had a hit and rbi. Mark Teixeira, Marcus Thames and Randy Winn each had a hit.

• Andy Pettitte had this to say "I threw a lot of good stuff, a lot of good pitches. My location I thought was fairly good. The balls that they hit, were just balls that I just didn't quite finish on a couple of them."

• Damaso Marte said he is fine after getting hit by a line drive off of Ryan Howards bat. Joe Girardi asked him if he had Bud Seligs signature on his back and he said no just seams.

• Andy Pettitte threw 55 pitches, 36 of them were strikes and Joba threw 47 in the game and about another 15 in the bullpen afterwards.

• Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain are on the same schedule so Joe Girardi said that there is a good chance that Andy Pettitte will pitch in a minor league game in his next start so Joba can make another start

• Tomorrow night against the Rays none of the 5th starter candidates will pitch. Joe Girardi said we will see some of the relievers. Dave Robertson and Chan Ho Park are expected to pitch. Javier Vazquez will start the game.

Some random notes for a quiet Saturday

I can't believe I forgot about this yesterday but the San Francisco Giants and Tim Lincecum avoided arbitration. He signed a 2 year deal for 23 million. It would of been really interesting to see what would of happened in arbitration and coming out of it. It is good they settled though for him and the team. The Yankees apparently have targeted a cuban defector as the successor to Derek Jeter at shortstop. Here is the story from George King of the New York Post. The Yankees have gone down this road before with El Duque who had great success with the Yankees. They also had Jose Contreras who was not as good as they thought and Juan Miranda who has been good in the minors but has not made it to the majors regularly yet. They also bombed out with Adrian Hernandez and Andy Morales. We will see what happens but usually if the Yankees want someone they will get him. Scott Richmond of the Toronto Blue Jays suffered a shoulder injury while preparing for spring training. He was hoping to make the rotation, he will now be behind the other pitchers due to this injury. The Washington Nationals have interest in veteran right hander Kris Benson. He hasn't pitched a full season since 2006 when he was with the Orioles. His wife is the more famous one, Anna Benson who once said that if she caught him cheating she would sleep with the whole team he was on. His agent is saying he is now 100 percent healthy and had a good workout in front of several teams. This will probably be the extent of the blogging today as it is really quiet. We will get heated up though starting on Wednesday with pitchers and catchers. Everyone take a deep breath and relax and then lets get going with the Baseball season finally. I hope everyone will comment and start discussions on here as we go through spring training and then the season. I welcome any and all suggestions even if they are against me or a criticism. Just remember to keep it clean and I will get back to everyone. I almost forgot to I had a article published on www.numberonebaseball.com this morning. It is a 2010 season preview for the Yankees. I also did one for the New York Mets but I am not sure when that will be published. Please check it out and also read me on that website and keep coming back here for more news and insight, I thank you for all the support and continued support.

Baseball Odds and Ends

The New York Mets made a couple of minor league signings today. They signed pitcher Josh Fogg and also utility man Frank Cattelanotto. He is a native of Long Island so he will be coming home. Josh Fogg pitched well as a longman for the Colorado Rockies last year. Cattelanotto hit 278 with one homerun and 9 rbi's with the Brewers last year. He had a 346 obp in 144 at bats. Adam Dunn through his agent is saying that Orlando Hudson prefers to sign with the Washington Nationals and Jon Heyman is tweeting he thinks he will end up there. The Yankees will be going on a 6 day tour of the Far East. We know the Yankees have had a relationship with Japan even though Matsui is gone now. The Yankees have a agreement with China and will be furthering their relations on this trip as well as showing off the World Series Trophy. Jim Edmonds signed a minor league deal with the Brewers with a invite to spring training. It looks like the Oakland A's are in serious discussions with Gabe Gross. If they do sign him Damon will have one less team. I still don't see where he will end up maybe it will be Toronto or Tampa.

Baseball News

The New York Mets made a trade today to get another outfielder with the absence of Carlos Beltran for at least the beginning of the season. They traded right handed pitcher Brian Stokes to the Anahiem Angels for Gary Matthews Jr. He isn't the same player he was at one time, but should provide pretty good defense. The reason this deal is ok for the Mets is because the Angels were so happy to get rid of him that they are paying 21 million of the 23 million owed to him over the next 2 years. This story is fascinating to me if not a little strange. A 23 yr old prospect from the Oakland A's is leaving baseball for the priesthood, this is something you don't see everyday. The really strange thing about it is that he had a great year last year and appeared to be closing in on getting to the big leagues. The Philadelphia Phillies have signed pitcher Jose Contreras. He was ok at one time, never really made it with the Yankees. I guess this is a good move for depth reasons but I just can't see him succeeding in that park. The thing to me is how are the Mets not making any moves for a pitcher when that is what they really need. Here is a nice article with Curtis Granderson, the new Yankees centerfielder. One of the quotes that came out of this article was this " When you wear it, man it is something, it pops." That was Granderson on wearing the Yankees cap. Jim Edmonds who was an elite centerfielder at one time but hasn't played since 2008 is trying to get a job, several teams have called him and apparently the Yankees are one of them. I just don't see the Yankees going for this guy, they can stick with what they have or hope to get Damon back or maybe just sign Reed Johnson or someone like that for leftfield or to caddy with Gardner out there.

More on Mark McGwire

Here is the story on Mark McGwire and his confession. I personally wouldn't vote for him for the Hall Of Fame if I had a vote. I don't think he is one with or without steroids and these guys that did it really annoy me, i know A-rod and Barry Bonds did it also but in my mind they are Hall Of Famers either way and before they did it they still put up amazing numbers. I think it is guys like Sosa and McGwire who may only be Hall Of Fame worthy because of the homeruns that won't make it now because of using steroids. I think there will be some interesting cases that will test this steroid thing out, a great example will be Roger Clemens. I think the only reason Big Mac admitted to it now is because he realized that once he arrived in spring training all the questions would start and he had to do something as not to be a distraction to the St Louis Cardinals. I wonder if it will all go away or will he still have to deal with a lot during the season, riducule from fans in other ballparks and what about the players he is trying to teach??

NFL Week 17 recaps

The New York Giants ended their season in miserable fashion, losing to the Minnesota Vikings 44-7 yesterday. There really is nothing to say about the game, once again the team was embarrassing and the talk will now turn to how to fix this mess. The Giants already began their offseason with the dismissal of defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan today. Here is the story, this was totally expected and I really don't think there was any other choice. The Giants gave up the second most points in team history and gave up more then 40 points 5 times. I am sure there will be more changes coming also but this was the first necessary step. Giants co-owner John Mara was not happy as you can expect and had many things to say The New York Jets are headed to a rematch with Cincinatti in Cincy on Saturday at 4:15. The Baltimore Ravens will play at New England. In the NFC the Eagles will travel back to Dallas for a rematch with them and Green Bay will travel back to Arizona for a rematch with the Cardinals. These teams played each other the last week in the season which is really strange. I will get into my predictions on friday. The Jets will be playing with some extra emotion it appears as Casey Johnson the daughter of owner Woody Johnson was found dead today in LA. Here is the story on this terrible tragedy.

Mike Blowers the psychic

Here is a link to an amazing story, Mike Blowers the former Mariner and Yankee made some bold predictions before Saturdays Seattle/Toronto game. Check this out it is truly amazing. It is now gaining publicity all over the internet and is also on the Lohud Yankees Blog at least a link to a story on mlb.com. I would like to hear what everyone has to say about this one because I have never seen or heard anything like it. http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=374&sid=218287

Yanks/Rays recap

The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays today by the score of 9-7. CC Sabathia really didn't pitch too bad, he made one bad pitch that was hit for a 3 run homerun. He could of gone back out there for the ninth but in a tie game at home and also a long inning Joe Girardi decided to go with Mo and it backfired. Mariano Rivera who has struggled in tie games over the past couple of years got knocked around giving up 4 runs in 2/3 of an inning. I do like the fact that the Yankees never give up and tried to come back after that with two runs and a couple of shots that was at Upton, if he wasn't playing so deep it may have been a different story. I dont like the fact that the Yankees are now 2-9 against the Sox and Rays. The Rays are 3-0 at Yankee Stadium this year. Mark Teixeira was a bright spot again with a solo homerun that almost reached the upper deck and a 2 run double. A-rod hit a homerun also and had a couple of walks. The Yankees didn't really do much offensively most of the game. David Price walked a few but was impressive, he really does have great stuff and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Joba Chamberlain will get the ball tomorrow and try to build off his impressive 8 innings last time out.

Some Yankees Reaction to Arod

Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada both spoke today from the Yankees minor league complex in Tampa,Florida. "You have to give him the benefit of the doubt" Jeter told reporters. "My initial reaction is let him respond,give him the respect to respond to it before you pass judgement." "Yeah of course everyone was shocked by it, you have to find out both sides of the story before you make an assessment." Jorge Posada had this to say, "I've gotta say Alex is my teammate and is going to be my friend forever." "I'm going to support him any way that I can." Jorge said that he had sent Alex a text message but hasn't heard back from him yet. Derek Jeter wouldn't say if he has tried to contact him. Asked if they were concerned about being on the list here is what they had to say. Derek Jeter-"Why would I worry about being on the list." Jorge Posada-"I hope not, i think I have dont things right." I don't like Posadas quote there, doesn't sound too convincing but hey I don't know anymore, they were all taking it as far as im concerned.