Daily Archives: March 7, 2009

Anyone who watched the Yankees snooze against the Braves this afternoon instead of the USA’s nail-biting win over Canada in the WBC missed out big time. For what it’s worth, the Yanks lost 3-1.

Lineup:

L – Johnny Damon (LF)
S – Melky cabrera (CF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
R – Xavier Nady (RF)
R – Cody Ransom (SS)
R – Justin Leone (3B)
S – Ramiro Peña (2B)
R – P.J. Pilittere (C)

Subs: Shelley Duncan (1B), Doug Bernier (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Kevin Russo (3B), Kyle Anson (C), Todd Linden (RF), Austin Jackson (CF), John Rodriguez (LF), Austin Romine (PH), Jorge Posada (DH)

Pitchers: Chien-Ming Wang, Brett Tomko, Phil Coke, Kanekoa Texeira, Wilkin De La Rosa, Michael Dunn

Opposition: The non-WBC Braves starters.

Big Hits:

The Yankees scattered six singles. No one had two. No one even reached base more than once. Justin Leone singled in the only Yankee run of the game with two outs in the fourth.

Who Pitched Well:

Chien-Ming Wang and Brett Tomko both turned in similar three-inning performances, both allowing one run on a solo homer (Casey Kotchman off Wang, Greg Norton off Tomko), two other hits, no walks and striking out five between the two of them. Wang threw 27 of 33 pitches for strikes, an absurd 82 percent. Michael Dunn pitched a perfect ninth striking out one.

Who Didn’t:

No one, really, but Phil Coke gave up a solo home run to lefty Brandon Jones, as well as another hit, in his lone inning of work and didn’t strike anyone out. That was the worst Yankee pitching performance of the day.

Battles:

I doubt Phil Coke‘s inning is going to hurt him much, but worry that Brett Tomko‘s outing will help him in the long-man battle. Melky Cabrera went 0-for-2 with a walk. Xavier Nady went 0-for-3. Cody Ransom went 1-for-3.

Ouchies:

Hideki Matsui went 1-for-2 in just his second game of the spring and will start again tomorrow. Jorge Posada remains on schedule to catch next weekend. Jesus Montero had no lasting effects from his groin strain the other day. He’s fully available.

WBC:

Derek Jeter doubled and singled in the USA’s win over Canada. Jimmy Rollins pinch-ran for him in the fifth, Davey Johnson’s subtle way of using Rollins as a defensive replacement with the USA leading in the game. For more on the Jeter-Rollins quandry for Team USA, see my liveblog at SI.com.

Robinson Cano went 1-for-5 in the Dominican Republic’s stunning 3-2 loss to the Netherlands. Damaso Marte pitched a perfect inning in that game.

Francisco Cervelli flied out in his only at-bat in Italy’s 7-0 loss to Venezuela.

Follow the USA v. Canada game with me over on my SI.com liveblog.

Today’s news is powered by a trip in the wayback machine, offering bloopers from the station that used to carry the Yanks …

• PeteAbe reports that while Brian Cashman has stated the Yanks have not made a decision on whether A-Rod will have surgery, however:

Alex is staying in Colorado for “the foreseeable future.”

Said Cashman: “The stiffness is the beginning of the process. Eventually there is going to be pain. … You have to be realistic. We could be on the verge of having an incident. … What’s best for him is what’s best for us.”

• The Times lays out the possible surgery/recovery timetables:

Later, Cashman acknowledged that Rodriguez could make the injury worse by playing without surgery. “Oh, that’s absolutely a possibility,” Cashman said. “The worse the tear, the more complicated the surgery.”

If Rodriguez chooses to play, it is likely that he would have regular magnetic resonance imaging tests to see if the condition is worsening.

If Rodriguez has surgery to treat only the torn labrum, he could return in four to six weeks. But if there is an underlying bone problem in the hip joint that needs to be repaired, the likely rehabilitation period would be four months.

• The specialist who saw Rodriguez earlier this weeks thinks Alex “could” play through it:

In a Thursday conference call with the Yankees and other parties, Dr. Marc Philippon, the specialist, described for others how the surgery would work. But there also was an indication, during the call, that there is a “75 to 80 percent chance” Rodriguez could get through the 2009 season playing through the discomfort.

• Ian O’Connor thinks an A-Rodless Yankee team might not be so bad, in a way:

Why? Because an extended A-Rod absence would swing open a door of delicious opportunity, that’s why.

The Yankees could go back to being the Yankees. They could go back to being the team that won four championships in five years with reliable pitching and a harmonious band of position players that didn’t need a slugger whose favorite teammates are Me, Myself and I.

“It was all about the team for us,” Tino Martinez said. “There were no real stars. You had Bernie [Williams] and [Derek] Jeter, but not superstars. We just figured out ways to get a lead and win games. “Position by position, this year’s team has much more physical talent than we did. It’s a way better team than our championship teams. But we knew how to come together, and that’s the trick.”

[My take: But you still have to put runs on the board at some point …]

(more…)

The Yankees won their first game since February 26, beating Justin Verlander and the Tigers 7-3 with the help of new ace CC Sabathia.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Johnny Damon (LF)
S – Nick Swisher (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (DH)
R – Shelley Duncan (RF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
R – Jose Molina (C)
R – Angel Berroa (2B)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Doug Bernier (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Kevin Russo (3B), Jesus Montero (C), John Rodriguez (RF), Austin Jackson (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Kyle Anson (C)

Pitchers: CC Sabathia, Alfredo Aceves, Steven Jackson, Jose Veras, Anthony Claggett, David Robertson

Opposition: The Tigers’ B-team.

Big Hits:

Five doubles, one each by Cody Ransom (1-for-3), Johnny Damon (1-for-2, BB), Jorge Posada (1-for-3), Jose Molina (2-for-3), and Jesus Montero (1-for-1). Ramiro Peña went 2-for-2, stole a base, and delivered a sacrifice bunt.

Who Pitched Well:

In his first game action as a Yankee, CC Sabathia allowed two hits and one unearned run in two innings of work. The run came after Shelley Duncan turned a pop-up into a double and Angel Berroa booted a ball. Sabathia struck out two, and got his other four outs on the ground. Alfredo Aceves allowed a single and a walk in 2 2/3 scoreless innings. David Robertson struck out the side in order in the ninth. Jose Veras struck out two in the seventh allowing only a walk. Anthony Claggett pitched around a single in the eighth.

Who Didn’t:

Steven Jackson gave up two runs on a pair of singles and a walk in an inning and a third.

Battles:

Cody Ransom, who is now battling to be the Yankees’ replacement third baseman, went 1-for-3 with a double. Angel Berroa went 1-for-3 and made his third fielding error of the week (though his first official boot as the other two came against WBC teams in games that don’t “count”). Scary thought: if Ransom does become the third baseman, does that make Berroa the utlity infielder? Doug Bernier and Kevin Russo have one hit between them this spring. Eduardo Nuñez hasn’t hit in A-ball yet, and Ramiro Peña hit .266/.330/.357 in Double-A last year? Justin Leone doesn’t have the glove for the job. Then again, neither does Berroa. It’s worth noting that the slick-fielding Peña has been getting a lot of starts with Rodriguez, Jeter, and Cano away from camp.

Brett Gardner went 1-f0r-3 and made a great catch in center. Nick Swisher walked in three trips. Jose Veras‘s decision to skip the WBC to solidify his bullpen job is paying off. David Robertson is coming on strong as well. If the season started today, the pen would likely be Rivera, Bruney, Marte, Veras, Coke, Robertson and a long man, though I’d rather the Yankees take Albaladejo or Melancon. As for the long-relief competition, Alfredo Aceves threw his hat back in the ring with his outing yesterday, though the five-day gap between his appearances suggest the  Yankees are prepping him to startin Triple-A and focusing on Dan Giese and (sigh) Brett Tomko as the long-relief candidates.

More:

Mariano Rivera will join the Panamanian WBC team over the weekend for ceremonial purposes only. Panama’s game against Puerto Rico follows the US v. Canada matchup that I’ll be liveblogging for SI.com starting at 2pm today. (Was that plug subtle enough?)