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So Phil Hughes took a no-hitter into the eighth inning last night. How can this afternoon’s starter match that? Well, CC Sabathia has already taken a no-no into the eighth this season, getting two outs further than Hughes did last night, so he’ll have to come up with a new trick. Completing the Yankees second straight sweep and extending their winning streak to seven games would be sufficient.

CC needed just 73 pitches to get through six innings while striking out nine Rangers (and walking none) his last time out, and over his last two starts he’s allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out 14 in 13 2/3 innings. He’ll face crafty 26-year-old lefty Dallas Braden this afternoon. Braden has shown improvement in each of his last two big-league campaigns and has been sharp in the early going, starting 2010 with three quality starts, all leading to Oakland wins. He faced the Yankees just once last year and was torched in the Bronx (seven runs on ten hits and six walks in 5 2/3 IP). A week later, an infected rash on his foot ended his season.

Nick Swisher returns to the lineup this afternoon while Curtis Granderson yeilds to Marcus Thames against the lefty Braden. Brett Gardner is in center. Francisco Cervelli catches the day game after the night game. After Cano, the lineup is Swisher, Thames, Cervelli, Gardner.

Tonight the Yankees look to go five-for-five in series in the young season and extend their current five-game winning streak to six. If that should happen thanks to another solid start from Phil Hughes, the latter would be as encouraging as the former. Hughes looked sharp early in his regular season debut against the Angels last Thursday. Though he ultimately walked five and ran up his pitch count in turn, limiting himself to five innings, he also held the Halos to two runs on three hits while striking out six. For all of my grousing about Joba Chamberlain being wasted in the bullpen, Hughes is every bit as important to the future of the Yankee rotation (and thus the Yankees’ future) and his time is now. His strong debut was more than just the cherry on top of the Yankees’ hot start.

Opposing Hughes will be Ben Sheets, who despite being a veteran All-Star, has something to prove himself coming off a season lost to elbow surgery and ill-timed free agency. After three starts, Sheets has a 2.65 ERA, but has walked two more than he’s struck out and hasn’t pitched past the sixth inning, leaving room for the A’s bullpen to blow his first two games. It’s a compelling matchup of talented hard-throwing right-handers at very different stages of their careers.

Randy Winn will start in right field tonight as Nick Swisher gets a curiously-timed day off after returning to his old haunt and breaking an extended 0-fer. Maybe he was proving it all night, too.

The A’s team the Yankees will face over the next three days is currently in first place in the American League West. That doesn’t mean they’re any good.  The A’s are 9-5, with six of those wins having come at home. Thus far they have gone 4-3 against the Mariners, 3-1 against the Orioles, and taken two of three from the Angels. That’s a solid intra-division showing, but the Mariners are missing Cliff Lee, and one of the A’s wins against the Halos came against replacement starter Matt Palmer.I’d say the A’s are headed for a fall, but they haven’t really climbed to any great height just yet. The Angels and Rangers, the real cream of their division, are just two games behind them in the standings, and with the Yankees coming to town, things are about to get serious.

The A’s have some pitching. Justin Duchscherer and Ben Sheets are currently healthy. Twenty-two-year-old lefty Brett Anderson is an emerging ace. Twenty-six-year-old lefty Dallas Braden, who will face CC Sabathia on Thursday, is emerging as a nice, team-controlled mid-rotation innings eater, and tonight’s starter, 24-year-old lefty Gio Gonzalez, is a prospect with good stuff, a nice high-upside option for the fifth spot. That rotation has posted a 2.70 ERA thus far, second only to the Cardinals in the majors, and home-grown arms such as Trevor Cahill (currently rehabbing an injury to his non-throwing shoulder) and Rutherford, New Jersey’s Vin Mazzaro provide depth with major league experience at Triple-A. The A’s bullpen, headed by 2009 Rookie of the Year closer Andrew Bailey, has been solid as well and should continue to be so.

That the A’s have been the stingiest team in the American League in the early going is particularly impressive given that they’re nothing special on defense. That their pitching has carried them to the top of their division is similarly impressive given that they can’t hit. In terms of runs scored per game, the A’s have been roughly league average in the early going, but their component performances, especially their .362 team slugging percentage (third worst in the AL and sixth-worst in baseball), are unimpressive. There is worse to come.

Here’s a question: who is the A’s best hitter? Is it Daric Barton, the first base prospect who finally seems to be clicking? Barton is an on-base machine, but he doesn’t have much power. His ceiling seems to be something like a healthy Nick Johnson. Is that their best hitter? Is it Kevin Kouzmanoff, the power-hitting third baseman acquired from the Padres? The right-handed Kouzmanoff has finally escaped Petco Park only to find himself playing his home games in a stadium that had a 77 park factor for right-handed home runs over the past three years per The Bill James Handbook (Petco’s was 86). Kouzmanoff has hit .284/.328/.477 on the road in his career. Is he their best hitter? Is it Eric Chavez, the man once tagged as the A’s franchise player whose bad back limited him to 31 games over the past two years and who, having returned as a designated hitter, has yet to start hitting again? Chavez has hit .249/.323/.439 over the last six seasons. Is he their best hitter? Their third-place hitter is Ryan Sweeney, a righty-swinging outfielder with a career .286/.343/.388 line in 1,109 plate appearances in the major leagues. Is he their best hitter?

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So, I thought I’d do a thing where, every so often at the end of a home stand or road trip, I’d pop in to take a look at how things are going for the Yankees. Call it “Howzit Goin’?,” make it a casual, quick-hit look at the team. Figured it would give me an opportunity to address what’s going right and wrong for the Bombers at that particular point in time. So here’s my first attempt, but I have a problem: everything’s going right.

What’s there to say? The Yankees have won their first four series of the season for the first time since 1926, doing it against their two primary division rivals (believed to be the best teams in the league if not the majors other than the Yankees themselves), as well as my pick to repeat as the AL West champs and one of their primary rivals. They open a new road trip tonight on a four-game winning streak having gone 5-1 on their just-completed homestand and 9-2 since their Opening Day loss to the Red Sox in Boston. Overall they’re 9-3, a record better than all but one team in the American League, that being the 10-3 Tampa Bay Rays, whom the Yankees took two of three from in Tampa the weekend before last.

The Yankees’ three losses break down this way: On Opening Day in Boston, they took and early 5-1 lead on the Red Sox, but CC Sabathia and the bullpen gave the lead back and then some, resulting in a 9-7 loss. In their first game in Tampa, the Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth, but Javier Vazquez, making his regular season debut, fell apart immediately after, giving up eight runs in an eventual 9-3 loss. In Vazquez’s next start, against the Angels in the Bronx, he again took a loss, but in that game, the Yankee offense was stymied by Joel Piñeiro and was unable to give Vazquez a lead. Trailing 2-1 after five, Vazquez gave up two more runs in the top of the sixth which sealed the Angels’ eventual 5-3 win (note that two of those three Yankee runs came against the Angel bullpen).

That last loss was the only one that could really be pinned on the offense, which leads the league with 5.75 runs scored per game and has yet to score fewer than three runs a single game this season. John Lackey actually had the best starting performance against the Yankees in the early going, holding them scoreless for six innings, but Andy Pettitte kept the Red Sox in check in that game and Lackey’s bullpen quickly blew his slim one-run lead and ultimately the game in ten innings (the Yankees’ only extra-inning game thus far). In addition to Piñeiro and Lackey, the Rays’ David Price, who beat Vazquez in his first start, was impressive, but did give up both an early lead and three runs on seven hits and three walks in total.

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As long as I can remember, the line on the Rangers was always that they’d be dangerous if they could ever find some pitching. Scoring runs in the Texas heat was no major challenge (though scoring runs on the road often was), it was preventing them that was the trick. Well, last year the Rangers were the fourth stingiest team in the junior circut, but it wasn’t so much that they found some pitchers (though they have several talented young arms in development) but that they found some fielders.

The Rangers were dead last in the majors in defensive efficiency in 2008, but climbed all the way to third in the AL (seventh overall) in 2009 thanks in large part to the arrival of defense-first shortstop prospect Elvis Andrus and late-blooming all-around right-field talent Nelson Cruz, and massive improvement in the field by star second baseman Ian Kinsler (who currently on the DL with a sprained ankle). This year, they’re mixing in speedy center fielder Julio Borbon, which has the added advantage of pushing Josh Hamilton to left field, thus giving the Rangers an above-average defender in all three pastures. Chris Davis, a repurposed third baseman, is also capable of athletic play at first base and could soon be pushed by top prospect Justin Smoak, who is considered even better afield, and though Michael Young has long been a liability in the field (his 2008 Gold Glove was completely undeserved), his having a year of experience at third base under his belt can only help his play at the hot corner. They’ve done it quietly, but the Rangers have added their names to the rapidly expanding list of American League teams that have greatly improved themselves by using the rising tide of their defense to lift their pitching boats.

That’s good, because for all of the pitching talent the Rangers have in their system, they’re still a season or two away from reaping their fruits. Top prospects Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz reached the majors last year, but lefty Holland has opened 2010 back in Triple-A, and fireballing Feliz, a starting prospect, is still biding his time in the bullpen (though two early blown saves by Frank Francisco have already moved him into the closer’s job). The next arm on the list, Venezuelan lefty Martin Perez, is a 19-year-old trying to find his feet in Double-A.

In the meantime, with Holland back in the minors, Feliz in the pen, and middling home grown arms such as Tommy Hunter and Eric Hurley on the disabled list, the major league rotation continues to be patchwork. Scott Feldman and Matt Harrision (the latter of whom came over from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira trade along with Feliz, Andrus, and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who is also on the DL) are in their proper spots, but the Rangers had to turn to free agency, Japan, and their own bullpen to fill the other three.

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Coverage of the Angels this past offseason focused on the fact that, a year after they let Francisco Rodriguez depart as a free agent, four more of their key players were eligible to do the same. It was generally believed that the Angels had to resign at least two of them to maintain their hold on the American League West, but after quickly re-upping Bobby Abreu for two years at an annual salary of $9 million, the Angels watched as Chone Figgins, John Lackey, and Vladimir Guerrero, not to mention valuable veteran set-up lefty Darren Oliver, all signed elsewhere.

Here’s the thing. I still think the Angels are going to repeat as division champions this year. For one thing, though they didn’t resign Guerrero, they did sign Hideki Matsui for a mere $6 million, and to my eyes, that’s an upgrade. Matsui’s actually eight months older than Guerrero, and both have a lot of mileage on their bodies and have struggled with injuries in recent years, but Guerrero, who signed for $6.5 million plus an option with division rival Texas, just looked used-up last year, playing in just 100 games and failing to reach 20 homers or walks. After leading the league in intentional walks in each of the previous four years, Guerrero was passed intentionally just three times in 2009, damning evidence that the Impaler’s blade has dulled significantly.

Matsui, meanwhile, arrives in L.A. coming off one of his best seasons. Both seem capable of replicating Matsui’s career line of .292/.370/.483 if healthy, but I think Guerrero will need the help of his new park to get there, while Matsui can do it on his own. The catch is that Mike Scioscia has already given Matsui a start in left field. If he continues to do that every so often, the chances of Matsui staying healthy are significantly reduced (not to mention the effect of his two bad knees on the Angels’ defense).

As for Lackey, the Angels replaced him last July when they acquired Scott Kazmir from the Rays for three prospects including Sean Rodriguez. Kazmir is ably filling Lackey’s shoes by starting the season on the disabled list, which Lackey did each of the last two seasons. When he returns, Kazmir will give the Halos a young, hard-throwing lefty to complete a five-deep rotation that also includes Jered Weaver, lefty Joe Saunders, Ervin Santana, and free agent addition Joel Pineiro, the last of whom is the only of the five Angels starters to have reached his thirties. None of those guys is an ace, but Weaver and Kazmir can be number-twos, Saunders and the groundballing Pineiro slot in well at three and four, and the erratic Santana has front-end potential as evidenced by his strong 2008 campaign which earned him his first All-Star selection and even a few Cy Young votes. Hidden in Santana’s 2009 numbers is the 3.18 ERA he posted over his last 11 starts, much in the same way that Kazmir’s unimpressive 2009 figures mask a strong second half in which he posted a 3.27 ERA and a 1.73 mark after becoming an Angel.

The depth of that rotation is a large part of the reason that I believe the Angels are going to repeat, but their lineup is still solid as well. Only the Yankees scored more runs than the Angels in 2009, and with Matsui replacing Guerrero, the only real change is the loss of Figgins. It remains to be seen if Erick Aybar will be an out machine while taking Figgins’ place atop the order, but things are solid behind him, with Abreu getting on base in the two-hole and Torii Hunter, Matsui, and Kendry Morales lining up to drive him in. If Aybar can hit for enough average to prop up his OBP, and Brandon Wood, who replaces Figgins at third base and opens the season batting eighth, can deliver on his considerable power potential (the 25-year-old slugged .541 in the minors and averaged just shy of 29 homers a year over his last five minor league seasons), the Angels should actually be better without Figgins than they were with him. Those are big “if”s, of course, but the Angels have room for error given their production last year.

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The story of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays over the last three years has been all about run prevention. In 2007, the last of their wilderness years, they allowed more runs than any team in baseball (944, 5.83 per game) and lost 96 games. That offseason they traded defensively challenged right-fielder Delmon Young for right-hander Matt Garza and slick fielding shortstop Jason Bartlett, and moved Akinori Iwamura to second base to make room for rookie Evan Longoria. Those moves, along with the mid-season acquisition of strong defensive right fielder Gabe Ross, upgraded their defense from the worst in baseball in 2007 (according to defensive efficiency) to the best in 2008, and filled a big hole in their rotation in the process. The result was that in 2008 the newly re-named Rays allowed the third fewest runs in baseball (671, 4.14 per game) and won 97 games and the American League pennant. Last year, some correction set in as the Rays fell just below the major league average by allowing 754 runs (one more than the Yankees) or 4.65 per game and finished third in the division with 84 wins.

The good news for the Rays is that, while all that was going on, their offense has developed into one of the most potent in baseball, ranking sixth in the majors with 4.96 runs scored per game last year, and there are reasons to expect a better performance from their starting rotation this year.

In 2009, Scott Kazmir and Andy Sonnanstine combined to make 38 starts for the Rays in which they posted a cumulative 6.32 ERA. This year, Kazmir is an LA Angel (and back on the DL) and Sonnanstine is being limited to long relief. Their places in the rotation have been taken by David Price, the top overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft, and Wade Davis, a third-round pick from 2004 who pitched well in a September call-up last year. I’m among those who believe that Price and Davis, both of whom are 24 this season, could be the top two arms in the Tampa rotation before long.

Price made 23 starts for the big club last year, and though he had his struggles, seven of his last 12 starts were quality, including two against the Yankees, and he went 7-3 with a 3.58 ERA over those dozen outings. There’s no doubting Price’s wicked left-handed stuff, which mixes mid-to-high 90s fastballs with sweeping curves some 20 miles per hour slower and changups and sliders, the latter being his best pitch, that split the difference.

Adding Price and Davis to Garza (26), James Shields (28), and 6-foot-9 sophomore Jeff Niemann (27) gives the Rays a strong, five-deep rotation that has the potential to compete with those of the Yankees and Red Sox despite the relative lack of star power. At the same time, Price and Davis, and to a lesser degree Niemann’s ability to follow up his strong rookie showing, are the keys to the Rays’ 2010 season.

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For all the interest in how A.J. Burnett was going to handle his return to Fenway or how the Yankees were going to handle Jon Lester, the starting pitchers ultimately proved to be irrelevent in Tuesday night’s game as both lasted just five innings and left a 4-4 tie in their wake. Burnett struck out five Red Sox against just one walk, but also gave up seven hits including a two-run homer and an RBI double, both by Victor Martinez. Those runs added to the one manufactured by Jacoby Ellsbury and a Jorge Posada throwing error in the first.

Lester looked dominant at times, but was lucky to escape the second with only one run scoring. After Nick Swisher doubled in Robinson Cano, Lester walked Marcus Thames (who drew the start in left field against the left-handed Lester), but struck out Curtis Granderson, who was batting ninth against the lefty, on a weak check swing and got Derek Jeter to ground out to end the threat. Granderson and Jeter got their revenge in the fifth when they started the inning with singles off Lester, who then drilled Nick Johnson in the ribs to load the bases. Granderson scored on a Mark Teixeira fielder’s choice that erased Johnson. Jeter scored on an Alex Rodriguez double to left, and Teixeira scored on a sac fly by Robinson Cano. That gave the Yankees their first lead of the game, but Martinez’s double in the bottom of the fifth tied it up and handed the game to the bullpens.

The Yankees immediatly mounted a threat against Manny Delcarmen when Nick Swisher led off with a double and moved to third on a Brett Gardner pinch-hit groundout. Granderson followed by creaming a ball to the right side but almost directly at Kevin Youkilis, who caught the sinking liner to hold Swisher. Jeter then grounded out to end the threat. Alfredo Aceves answered that goose egg as well as one from Daniel Bard in the seventh, passing the tie on to Hideki Okajima in the top of the eighth.

Okajima is legitimately one of the better set-up men in the league, but he has struggled against the Yankees in his brief major league career. In 23 1/3 career innings against the Bombers prior to last night, Okajima had allowed 14 runs (not counting inherited runners who have scored), good for a 5.40 ERA. Curiously, though he’s blown saves against the Yankees, he’d never taken a loss against them prior to last night, a night when he didn’t actually pitch all that poorly.

Okajima started the eighth by getting ahead of Jorge Posada 0-1 and 1-2, but Posada battled back and yanked a ground rule double into the seats behind the Pesky Pole in right. Nick Swisher followed by fouling off a bunt attempt and taking strike two only to hunker down and engage Okajima in an 11-pitch battle that the Red Sox lefty ultimate won via a groundout to short that kept Posada at second with two outs. Okajima then got ahead of Brett Gardner 0-2, but Gardner, too, battled back to 2-2 before fighting off a single into shallow left field beyond Marco Scutaro’s outstretched glove. Because he wasn’t sure if Scutaro had a play, Posada held yet again. Okajima then threw a first-pitch strike to Jeter and got him to ground to shortstop, but Scutaro pulled his throw and Youkilis was unable to come up with it, loading the bases and giving the Yankees another chance. With that Okajima imploded, walking Nick Johnson, who never took his bat off his shoulder, on five pitches to walk in the go-ahead run. Scott Atchison, who spent the last two years pitching in Japan, then came on and got Mark Teixeira to fly out to deep right to end the threat.

Joe Girardi played matchups in the bottom of the eighth. David Robertson was brought in to face righty-swinging Kevin Youkilis, but gave up a single that put the tying run on base. Girardi then brought in Damaso Marte to face David Ortiz, who was still looking for his first hit of the season, but after throwing ball one, Marte threw a limp-wristed changeup to first base to check Youkilis. If you’ve ever tried to play catch with a four-year-old you know exactly how Mark Teixeira felt as Marte’s weak throw dove, bounced, and ultimately skipped by him allowing Youkilis to get to second base. Marte recovered to get Ortiz to fly out just shallow enough in center to hold Youkilis (Curtis Granderson has shown a half-way decent arm; I’m guessing Youkilis would have move up had Johnny Damon or Bernie Williams caught Ortiz’s fly). Girardi then called on Joba Chamberlain to pitch to the right-handed hitting Adrian Beltre.

Per the scouting report I linked to regarding Sunday’s game, Beltre is a first-ball, fast-ball hitter, and Chamberlain and Posada started him off with a curve that dropped into the zone for strike one. Chamberlain then just missed low and inside with a 95 mile-per-hour heater and came back with another curveball that Beltre fouled off for strike two. Chamberlain came back with the fastball, but put it low and away, well outside Beltre’s weak hack for strike three. That pitch hit 96 on the YES gun. Chamberlain stuck with the fastball against J.D. Drew, burrying one low for ball one, then beating Drew in the zone on a 95 mph pitch down the middle that Drew fouled off well down the left-field line.  After a 96 mph heater well outside seemed to get away from him, Chamberlain whipped out the slider, breaking off a good one, an 87 mile-per-hour pitch that dove as soon as it reached the plate. Drew, protecting against the fastball, was unable to check his swing in time, giving Yankee fans flashbacks of how foolish hitters looked against Chamberlian in 2007. A second, identical slider struck out Drew swinging and stranded Youkilis, handing the game to Mariano Rivera, but not before Robinson Cano crushed a Scott Atchison pitch into the right field seats to inflate the Yankee lead by a run.

Rivera gave up a one-out double to left to old nemesis Marco Scutaro, but against the other three batters he faced he threw just seven pitches, all strikes, resulting in one strikeout and two fly outs. With that, the 2010 Yankees recorded their first win, beating the Red Sox 6-4 to set-up a rubber game in the series finale Wednesday night. What do you think the chances are that one’s decided by the bullpens as well?

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The Yankees haven’t won an April series against the Red Sox since 2005 and haven’t won an April series in Fenway park since 2001. In the last three years (the two teams didn’t meet in April in 2006), the Yankees are 3-13 against the Red Sox in April. Over that same span, the Yankees are leading the overall series 28-26. The Yankees haven’t lost a season series to Boston since 2004, though the last two years the two teams split the series, going a combined 18-18.

My point is that I half expect the Yankees to split the remaining two games at Fenway (I won’t bother telling you what the other half of me expects with Jon Lester and John Lackey starting those two games for Boston), and while these three games count as much as three in September, I’m just not terribly upset about it.

A.J. Burnett goes for the Yankees tonight. One of of the selling points that got Burnett his big contract with the Yankees was the fact that he had survived for three years in the AL East and posted a 2.60 ERA in four starts against Boston in 2008. So, of course, in his first year as a Yankee, Burnett posted an 8.85 ERA in another four starts against the Red Sox. Burnett did have that one brilliant outing when he dueled with Josh Beckett and held the Sox to one hit over 7 2/3 shutout innings, but that came in the Bronx. His three starts at Fenway last year were all disasters as he allowed 22 runs in just 12 2/3 innings while walking as many as he struck out (ten). So Burnett comes into tonight’s start with something to prove, and I have to say, as is typically my reaction to A.J. Burnett, I’m not optimistic.

Opposing Burnett will be lefty Jon Lester, who frankly should have drawn the Opening Day start as he’s Boston’s best starter. Lester actually got beat up by the Yankees at Fenway the last time he faced them on September 25 of last year, but the other six starts he made against the Yankees in 2008 and 2009 were all quality starts, some of them downright dominating performances.

In more encouraging news, Phil Hughes was sharp in his simulated game in extended spring training yesterday and will join the team today in Boston. He’ll pitch another extended spring training game while the team is in Tampa playing the Rays this weekend. I’m looking forward to his return to the rotation a week from Thursday.

Tonight’s lineup against the lefty Lester finds Marcus Thames in left field and Curtis Granderson batting ninth behind Nick Swisher and Thames. As I’m sure Ken Singleton will say on tonight’s broadcast, there’s only one spot after ninth, and that’s “bench.” Just ask Brett Gardner, who also had a good showing on Sunday night and has a much better track record against left-handed pitching than Granderson.

CC Sabathia is notorious for having rough starts to his seasons, but in the fifth inning of Sunday night’s Opening Night game against the Red Sox in Boston, he seemed to be putting that behind him. Sabathia faced just one more hitter than the minimum through 4 2/3 innings, allowing a lone run in the second when Kevin Youkilis doubled and came around to score on a pair of outs.

By then the Yankees had built up a 5-1 lead. In the second, Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson connected for back-to-back solo homers off Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, Posada’s clanking low off the Pesky Pole, Granderson’s going more than 100 feet further to right center. In the fourth, a two-out rally added three more runs when, wth Robinson Cano on third following a leadoff double and a productive out by Posada, Nick Swisher walked, Brett Gardner singled home Cano, and Derek Jeter singled home Swisher. Nick Johnson followed and, on Beckett’s 0-2 pitch, Jeter took off for second, then slammed on the breaks just shy of the bag with the intention of getting into a run-down to allow Gardner to scamper home from third. The plan worked even better than expected as Victor Martinez’s throw was so weak that not only did Gardner score, but Jeter was able to scamper safely into second without a throw, though that was moot as Johnson struck out on the next pitch.

The Yankees drove Beckett from the game in the fifth when, with two outs, Cano was held to a single on a ball off the right-field wall by a fine play by J.D. Drew and Posada walked. Both were advanced by a wild pitch by reliever Scott Schoeneweis, but the lefty recovered to strike out Granderson and end the threat.

Sabathia got the first two outs of the bottom of the fifth rather quickly, getting David Ortiz to pop up and striking out Adrian Beltre, but he then gave up three straight singles to Drew, Mike Cameron, and Marco Scutaro, resulting in the second Boston run. After striking out Jacoby Ellsbury to end that inning, Sabathia failed to retire the first three men he faced in the sixth, issuing a five-pitch leadoff walk to Dustin Pedroia, then giving up a double to Victor Martinez and a triple into the right field corner by Youkilis that plated both runners. Over 100 pitches and clearly fatigued, Sabathia hung around to retire fellow lefty David Ortiz, then left in favor of David Robertson, who gave up a first-pitch single to Adrian Beltre that tied the game, but then retired the next two men on five more pitches.

With that, a typical, high-scoring, see-saw Yankees/Red Sox game at Fenway emerged. The Yankees scored two runs off Ramon Ramirez in the top of the seventh on a Mark Teixeira walk, Alex Rodriguez double, surprising Robinson Cano RBI groundout (Cano hit a hard grounder right at Pedroia, but Pedroia hesitated to throw home, giving up the run), and a Posada RBI single, but the Red Sox got them right back plus one in the bottom of the inning.

Despite Robertson’s efficiency in the sixth, Joe Girardi replaced him with Chan Ho Park in the bottom of the seventh. Park surrendered the lead almost immediately, giving up a lead-off single to Scutaro and, after another Ellsbury strikeout, a home run just over the Green Monster down the left field line by Pedroia (Posada’s second-inning homer traveled roughly 350 feet, Pedroia’s Monster shot went roughly 340). After getting Martinez to ground out, Park was driven from the game by a Youkilis double. Girardi called on sore-shouldered Damaso Marte to face fellow-lefty David Ortiz, but Marte slung his first pitch, a slider, outside beyond Posada’s reach, moving Youkilis to third. Three pitches later, his 2-1 offering was a fastball that was supposed to be low but sailed shoulder-high where it clanked off Jorge Posada’s glove for a run-scoring passed ball.

Joba Chamberlain replaced Marte (who ultimately walked Ortiz) and got the elusive final out of the seventh, but in the eighth, Chamberlain got into his own bit of trouble, giving up a one-out single to Mike Cameron, walking Scutaro, and giving up  an RBI single to Pedroia. That handed a 9-7 lead to Jonathan Papelbon, who worked around a two-out Posada single to nail down the win.

And it only took three hours and 46 minutes!

I hate to be that guy, but while I’m as excited about Opening Night against the Red Sox, set to commence in little more than a half an hour, as anyone else, I must temper my and your expectations for tonight’s game with a reminder about CC Sabathia’s tendency to stumble out of the gate. Against a career mark of 3.63, Sabathia has posted a 4.54 ERA in 39 career starts in April to go with a decidedly unimpressive 1.96 K/BB on the month. The last two years, coming off heavy workloads, his early starts have been worse.

In 2008, coming off his Cy Young season and a huge jump in innings pitched from 192 2/3 in 2006 to 256 1/3 (including the postseason) in 2007, he gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings on Opening Day against the White Sox and after four starts was 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA and as many walks as strikeouts. Last year, in his Yankee debut against the Orioles on Opening Day in Baltimore, he gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings while walking five against no strikeouts while clinging to a heating pad between innings. He didn’t struggle quite as much thereafter, but after six starts was 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.6 K/BB. Sabathia’s 7.23 ERA and 3.85 BB/9 in spring training this year (which doesn’t include a minor league start in which he was lit up but does include the five runs in 4 2/3 innings he allowed in his final spring start) don’t offer much hope for his bucking that trend this year.

If there’s a positive for Sabathia going into tonight’s start, it’s that he was nails against the Red Sox last year, going 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 5.17 K/BB in four starts. Then again, the Sox have added two right-handed power bats, one of whom, Mike Cameron, has hit him well in the past (6-for-13 with five extra base hits and just two strikeouts, though most of that came when Cameron was with the Mariners and he hasn’t faced Sabathia since 2004). Cameron, however, is the only member of tonight’s Red Sox lineup to have had any significant success against Sabathia.

As for Josh Beckett, he struck out 22 men against just five walks in 19 1/3 spring innings and allowed just two hits in seven innings while striking out ten Rays on Opening Day at Fenway a year ago. The key matchup for the Yankees against Beckett is new fifth-place hitter Robinson Cano, who has gone 15-for-44 (.341) against the Boston righty in his career with eight extra base hits (three of them homers) and just four strikeouts. Brett Gardner, meanwhile, has never reached base against Beckett in ten career confrontations.

Finally, thanks to Steve Lombardi at the Baseball-Reference Blog, we know that the Yankees and Red Sox last opened the season against each other at Fenway Park in 1985. Oil Can Boyd beat a 46-year-old Phil Neikro that day and the Yankees went on to lose the division to the Blue Jays by two games. (For more Opening Day ephemera, check out Diane’s debut Bantermetrics column.) The Yankees and Sox last opened the season against each other in 2005 doing so in a Sunday Night game at Yankee Stadium in which Randy Johnson beat David Wells. That year, the two teams finished with identical records, but the Yankees won the division by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Yankees were 10-9 against Boston that year. You could say they won the division on Opening Day.

If the Yankees and Red Sox met for the first time this season in late April, I might complain that it was too soon to feel meaningful, but Opening Day feels just right . . . or it would if it wasn’t actually Opening Night. [shakes fist at ESPN]

Given that I expect the battle between the Yankees and Red Sox to define this season, ideally climaxing in an American League Championship Series battle that will send the eventual world champion to the World Series, this gives me a great opportunity to whip out that hoary-yet-eternally-enjoyable tale-of-the-tape standby, the position-by-position comparison.

As is my usual style, I handle the everyday players by position in the lineup rather than position in the field, making some small swaps where a better match can be made, and comparing only offense, reserving fielding for a separate team-wide category.

Also, this is bound to be a long post, so I’ve put the two Opening Day Night rosters in the previous post.

And awaaaay we go . . .

Lineup:

Derek Jeter
2009: .334/.406/.465, .310 EqA; career: .317/.388/.459, .293 EqA
Dustin Pedroia
2009: .296/.371/.447, .280; career: .307/.370/.455, .283

Already fudging the lineups, I start my comparison with the Red Sox’s second-place hitter and the Yankee lead-off man who used to hit second because they’re such similar offensive players. Both hit for average, get on base, have modest pop, and will swipe a fair number of bases at a roughly 80 percent success rate (over the last two years, Jeter has stolen 41 of 51, Pedrioa 40 of 49). Both also hit into a fair amount of double plays, though Jeter is far more likely to strike out.

Pedroia has had a significant home/road split in his career, and it was downright severe in 2009 as he hit .318/.388/.514 at Fenway but just .273/.355/.381 on the road, but then Jeter lost nearly 60 points of slugging away from the New Yankee Stadium last year.

The big difference between Pedroia’s 2008 American League Most Valuable Player season and his still-solid 2009 campaign was his performance against left-handed pitching. In 2008, he hit .313/.376/.528 against lefties. In 2009, he hit just .277/.366/.399 against them. Given that he’s a right-handed hitter, I’d expect some rebound from Pedroia there. Combine that with some expected regression from Jeter coming off one of his most productive seasons and factor in the relative age of the two players (Pedroia is 26, Jeter will be 36 in June), and this one is closer than it might appear from the rate stats above, all of which give Jeter the edge.

Nick Johnson
2009: .291/.426/.405, .293*; career: .273/.402/.447, .299
Jacoby Ellsbury
2009: .301/.355/.415, .276; career: .297/.350/.414, .274

Jeter and Pedroia are so well matched that it’s disappointing to see this mismatch result from putting them together. Johnson and Ellsbury are completely different types of players. Ellsbury is a hitter who lacks secondary skills (power, patience) and gets a lot of his value from his legs (120 steals at 84 percent over the last two years). Johnson is a hitter whose primary value is his patience and ability to get on base. Johnson’s on-base percentage is more valuable than Ellsbury’s speed and makes Johnson a more reliable offensive performer (if Ellsbury’s singles don’t find holes one year, his production will collapse, and he won’t get many chances to steal). The catch is that Johnson is unreliable in his own way due to his inability to stay healthy. When both are in the lineup, the Yankees have the clear advantage, and one that could be even larger if Kevin Long’s work with Johnson does indeed result in increased power production. The big question is whether or not the Yankees can maintain that advantage with Johnson’s replacements when Nick hits the DL. If you add Ellsbury’s net steals to his total bases and subtract his times caught stealing from his hits, he “hit” .282/.334/.508 last year.

Mark Teixeira
2009: .292/.383/.565, .318; career: .290/.378/.545, .304
Kevin Youkilis
2009: .305/.413/.548, .317; career: .292/.391/.487, .296

One of the main arguments against Mark Teixeira’s MVP candidacy last year was that his production wasn’t unique for an American League first baseman in 2009. In addition to Youkilis, there was Miguel Cabrera (.311 EqA), and a tick below those top three Kendry Morales and Carlos Peña (both .298). Youkilis was an especially appropriate comparison because both he and Teixeira are superlative defensive first basemen, but Youkilis adds even more value by being able to play third with some regularity and even spot in the outfield.

Limited to their offensive games, Youkilis is an on-base threat who hits for power and Teixeira is a power hitter who gets on base, the differences largely coming out in the wash. Teixeira switch hits, but the righty-swinging Youkilis actually hits his fellow right-handers as well or better than he hits lefties, so that’s largely moot as well. Both got a nice slugging boost from their home parks last year, with Teixeira seeming to have benefited from his home parks more over the course of his career than Youkilis, but as per those park-adjusted career EqAs above, that too comes out in the wash.

What we have here are two of the top offensive threats in the league. If there is any meaningful difference between the two, it’s in career trajectory. Youkilis was a late bloomer who didn’t earn a starting job until his age-27 season and didn’t slug above .453 until his age-29 season in 2008 but has hit .309/.401/.559 over the last two seasons combined. Teixeira was a first-round draft pick who was in the Rangers’ starting lineup as a 23-year-old rookie and has  been remarkably consistent ever since. That means that Teixeira, who turns 30 a week from today, has had six years of production at his current level, while Youkilis, who is almost exactly a year older, has had just two. That is unlikely to mean much this season, but a few years down the road, when Youkilis suffers an Ortiz-like collapse and Teixeira is slugging his way into a Hall of Fame argument, the Yankees’ advantage will become clear.

(more…)

New York Yankees

2009 Record: 103-59 (.636)
2009 Pythagorean Record: 95-67 (.586)

Manager: Joe Girardi
General Manager: Brian Cashman

Home Ballpark: Yankee Stadium 2.1

Bill James Park Indexes (2009):
LH Avg-99, LH HR-120
RH Avg-99, RH HR-133

Who’s Replacing Whom:

• Curtis Granderson replaces Johnny Damon
• Nick Johnson replaces Hideki Matsui
• Randy Winn replaces Melky Cabrera
• Marcus Thames replaces Eric Hinske
• Francisco Cervelli inherits Jose Molina’s playing time
• Javier Vazquez replaces Chein-Ming Wang, Chad Gaudin, and the 17 starts made by Sergio Mitre, Aflredo Aceves, and Phil Hughes
• Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain swap roles
• Chan Ho Park replaces Brian Bruney, Jose Veras, and Edwar Ramirez
• Damaso Marte reclaims Phil Coke’s innings

25-man Roster:

1B – Mark Teixeira (S)
2B – Robinson Cano (L)
SS – Derek Jeter (R)
3B – Alex Rodriguez (R)
C – Jorge Posada (S)
RF – Nick Swisher (S)
CF – Curtis Granderson (L)
LF – Brett Gardner (L)
DH – Nick Johnson (L)

Bench:

R – Marcus Thames (OF)
S – Randy Winn (OF)
S – Ramiro Pena (IF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)

Rotation:

L – CC Sabathia
R – A.J. Burnett
L – Andy Pettitte
R – Javier Vazquez
R – Phil Hughes

Bullpen:

R – Mariano Rivera
R – Chan Ho Park
R – Joba Chamberlain
L – Damaso Marte
R – David Robertson
R – Alfredo Aceves
R – Sergio Mitre

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)

*   *   *

Boston Red Sox

2009 Record: 95-67 (.586)
2009 Pythagorean Record: 93-69 (.574)

Manager: Terry Francona
General Manager: Theo Epstein

Home Ballpark: Fenway Park

Bill James Park Indexes (2007-2009):
LH Avg-108, LH HR-85
RH Avg-107, RH HR-95

Who’s Replacing Whom:

• Mike Cameron replaces Jason Bay
• Adrian Beltre takes most of Mike Lowell’s playing time
• Mike Lowell picks up the at-bats of Casey Kotchman and Jeff Bailey
• Victor Martinez takes most of Jason Varitek’s playing time
• Jason Varitek picks up George Kottaras’s playing time
• Marco Scutaro replaces Nick Green, Alex Gonzalez, and Julio Lugo
• Jeremy Hermida replaces Rocco Baldelli
• Bill Hall replaces Mark Kotsay
• John Lackey replaces Brad Penny and John Smoltz
• Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka will compete to take starts from Tim Wakefield
• Scott Schoeneweis replaces Takashi Saito
• Scott Atchison replaces Justin Masterson

25-man Roster:

1B – Kevin Youkilis (R)
2B – Dustin Pedroia (R)
SS – Marco Scutaro (R)
3B – Adrian Beltre (R)
C – Victor Martinez (S)
RF – J.D. Drew (L)
CF – Mike Cameron (R)
LF – Jacoby Ellsbury (L)
DH – David Ortiz (L)

Bench:

R – Mike Lowell (3B/1B)
L – Jeremy Hermida (OF)
R – Bill Hall (UT)
S – Jason Varitek (C)

Rotation:

R – Josh Beckett
L – Jon Lester
R – John Lackey
R – Tim Wakefield
R – Clay Buchholz

Bullpen:

R – Jon Papelbon
L – Hideki Okajima
R – Daniel Bard
S – Ramon S. Ramirez
R – Manny Delcarmen
L – Scott Schoeneweis
R – Scott Atchison

Lineup:

L – Jacoby Ellsbury (LF)
R – Dustin Pedroia (2B)
S – Victor Martinez (C)
R – Kevin Youkilis (1B)
L – David Ortiz (DH)
R – Adrian Beltre (3B)
L – J.D. Drew (RF)
R – Mike Cameron (CF)
R – Marco Scutaro (SS)

15-day DL:

RHP – Daisuke Matsuzaka (back)
RHP – Boof Bonser (groin)
SS – Jed Lowrie (mononucleosis)
RHP – Junichi Tazawa (Tommy John surgery)

After all of that, the Yankees are going north with a roster that differs from the one I projected on February 22 by exactly one player. Sergio Mitre beat out Chad Gaudin, since released and signed by the A’s, for the final spot in the bullpen. Otherwise there were no huge surprises in camp. Phil Hughes winning the fifth-starter’s job over Joba Chamberlain was a bit unexpected, but both are on the roster, Joba in the bullpen, and all of the lip service about Alfredo Aceves, Gaudin, and Mitre being in the running for the rotation proved to be just that after Aceves and Mitre pitched so well and wound up in the bullpen. Marcus Thames didn’t hit and still made the team as a non-roster player, Boone Logan’s option proved more appealing that Boone Logan’s left arm, and Aceves (back), Damaso Marte (shoulder), Francisco Cervelli (hamstring), Jorge Posada (stiff neck), and perhaps most surprisingly, Nick Johnson (knee) all avoided the disabled list and are headed to Boston.

Still, there’s some organizational housekeeping to take care of. Mike Rivera, who was to be the third-string catcher, was released and replaced with 2008 third-stringer Chad Moeller, who spent last year in that role with the Orioles. Rule 5 pick Kanekoa Texeira made the Mariners’ bullpen, though they’ll have to keep him on their 25-man roster all season in order to avoid having to offer him back to the Yankees. A 24-year-old righty reliever, Kanekoa came over from the White Sox’s organization in the Nick Swisher trade (effectively for fellow righty reliever Jhonny Nuñez, who was acquired from the Nationals for infielder Alberto Gonzalez). He pitched well in relief in Double-A last year, but never got the call to Triple-A. Ironically, Nuñez was traded for Texeira in that deal in part because the Yankees didn’t have room on the 40-man to protect Nuñez, who made his major league debut with the Chisox last year. Lefty reliever Zach Kroenke, the Yankees’ other outgoing Rule 5 pick, because he was selected last year as well and returned, didn’t have to be offered back to the Yankees when he failed to make the Diamondbacks. Instead, he cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment from the D’backs.

With that out of the way, we’re all set for Opening Night tonight. I will post the full Yankee and Red Sox rosters as well as an extensive comparison of the two teams around 3pm this afternoon. The game thread should go up around 7:30. First pitch, from Josh Beckett to Derek Jeter, is scheduled for 8:05 pm EST. Hope to see you all here then.

In their final exhibition game against major league competition, the Yankees and Orioles played to a 6-6 draw, with five of the Orioles runs being unearned. The Yankees play their minor league future-stars on Saturday, then head to Boston for Sunday night’s opener.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)
R – Mike Rivera (C)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Justin Snyder (2B), Luis Nuñez (SS), Marcos Vechionacci (3B), Austin Romine (C), Jon Weber (RF), Brett Gardner (CF), Marcus Thames (LF), Randy Winn (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Andy Pettitte (4 1/3), Josh Schmidt (2/3), Mariano Rivera (1), Grant Duff (1), Boone Logan (1), Amaury Sanit (1)

Big Hits: A two-run homer by Nick Swisher (1-for-2). Mark Teixiera went 2-for-3. Randy Winn, who replaced Nick Johnson, went 2-for-5.

Who Pitched Well: Andy Pettitte scattered six singles, a double, and a walk but kept the O’s off the board for 4 1/3 innings. Pettitte said he tired a bit at the end of the outing due to his lack of proper game action this spring. That will be something to watch in his regular season debut in Wednesday’s series finale in Boston. Minor leaguer Josh Schmidt followed Pettitte into the game and stranded two inherited runners, striking out Adam Jones then retiring Miguel Tejada to end the inning. Boone Logan worked around a single for a scoreless eighth. Amaury Sanit worked around a double and a hit batsman for a scoreless ninth.

Who Didn’t: Mariano Rivera gave up three runs on two singles, a walk, and a hit batsman in the sixth. Grant Duff gave up three runs on four singles in the seventh, blowing the lead. Just one of their six runs was earned, however.

Oopsies: Robinson Cano and minor leaguer Justin Snyder both made errors on catches leading to all of those unearned runs.

Ouchies: Nick Johnson fouled a ball of his right nee and was pulled from the game with what was ultimately diagnosed as a bone bruise. He’s day-to-day and expects to be in the lineup on Opening Day, though Joe Girardi is less sure. Damaso Marte‘s shoulder is cranky again, though he says it’s a different discomfort from what kept him out of most of last season and he expects to be ready after a couple of days’ rest. He suspects he actually hurt himself by overdoing the exercises designed to keep his shoulder healthy. Alfredo Aceves (back) threw a scoreless eight-pitch inning in a minor league game and believes he’ll be ready for Opening Day as well, though how his back recovers in the morning will be the deciding factor there. Mike Rivera‘s return to action after his hamstring strain suggests that the Yankees will indeed have their third-stringer available if Francisco Cervelli can’t break camp with the team. Cervelli, meanwhile, caught in the bullpen and took batting practice and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Jorge Posada, who woke up with a stiff neck on Thursday, might get into Saturday’s game. Right now it seems possible that the Yankees will open the season without any players on the disabled list, but they’ll have a handful of guys they’ll hope they can leave on the bench on Sunday to give them two more days off before Tuesday’s second game of the season.

Cuts: Zack Segovia, who inexplicably hung around for most of camp, was farmed out on Thursday. He’ll might actually end up in the Double-A bullpen due to a lack of room at Triple-A and the fact that there’s absolutely nothing compelling about him. Lefty Royce Ring was reassigned to minor league camp on Friday. He’ll linger in the Triple-A pen as a potential second lefty having impressed in camp. That leaves Marcus Thames, Mike Rivera, and, unexpectedly, P.J. Pilittere as the only non-roster players still in camp. Thames has all but officially made the team. Rivera is here as Cervelli insurance, and Pilittere, I imagine, is Rivera insurance. It also leaves just eight relievers for the seven man bullpen. If Aceves or Marte hits the DL, Boone Logan will make the team, though I imagine that’s the only circumstance under which he will.

The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 5-2 thanks to the healthy return of Mark Teixeira, who took a pitch off his left elbow Monday night, but they have some concerns about the health of their catchers, particularly their backups.

Lineup:

L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – P.J. Pilittere (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
S – Marcos Vechionacci (3B)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Walter Ibarra (SS), Jose Gil (C), Daniel Brewer (RF), Brett Gardner (CF), Randy Winn (LF), Mitch Abeita (DH)

Pitchers (IP): A.J. Burnett (4 2/3), Royce Ring (1/3), Chan Ho Park (1), David Robertson (1), Joba Chamberlain (1), Lance Pendleton (1)

Big Hits: Doubles by Curtis Granderson (2-for-3), Mark Teixeira (2-for-4, and again quietly raking in camp to a .341/.408/.591 tune leading the remaining campers in slugging), and Ramiro Peña (1-for-3). Robinson Cano had two singles and a sac fly in three trips. Nick Swisher singled twice in three at-bats.

Who Pitched Well: All of the relievers. Royce Ring struck out the only man he faced, lefty slugger Adam Lind, swinging. Minor league call-up Lance Pendleton struck out two in a perfect ninth. Chan Ho Park struck out one in a perfect sixth and now has eight strikeouts against no hits, no walks and just four hits in seven spring innings. Joba Chamberlain worked around a walk, striking out two in a hitless eighth. David Robertson worked around a single for a scoreless seventh, though he struck out no one and uncorked a wild pitch.

Who Didn’t: A.J. Burnett scattered two runs, but allowed seven baserunners (two walks, two singles, two doubles, and a Jose Bautista solo homer) in just 4 2/3 innings while striking out only two. Then again, Joe Girardi said Burnett looked better than he had all spring. Given his 5.12 spring ERA, that’s entirely possible. He did have his curve working and mixed in his changeup, neither of which were the case in his previous start.

Ouchies: Obviously Mark Teixeira (eblow) is fine. Francisco Cervelli and Mike Rivera both have sore hamstrings. Cervelli had an MRI and was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain that will keep him out of action for the remainder of camp. The Yankees still hope Cervelli can open the season with the team, but if he can’t, the Yankees may have to reach further down the depth chart for a catcher, though Rivera is expected to test out his leg in Friday’s game. Adding to the backstop angst, Jorge Posada was scratched from Thursday’s game due to a sore neck (thus Pilittere batting clean-up). It seems Posada just slept in a bad position. The Yankees expect him to play on Friday. Alfredo Aceves (back) is scheduled to pitch on Friday and is also hoping to avoid extended spring training or a DL stay.

Other: Joe Girardi made it official, Curtis Granderson will be the starting center fielder, playing even against lefties, at least until/unless he continues to struggle against them. Brett Gardner will be the starting left fielder but, like last year, will have to produce to keep his job. I think the Yankees’ best arrangement would have been to put Gardner in center because I believe he is the superior fielder, but I understand Girardi’s thinking that he doesn’t want Granderson to have to change positions if Gardner loses his job. I can’t decide if I agree with it, but I understand it. In a way it seems as if he’s expecting Gardner to fail, but by that same token, why not expect the best from your big new acquisition (that he can be a superlative defender in center and hit lefties). Let Granderson show he can’t cut it before you limit his value by moving him to left and platooning him. I just hope Girardi’s willing to make those moves should it become clear that they’re necessary. I’m sure I’ll be revisiting this in a few months no matter which way things fall.

You’ve already seen the three Bronx Banter Breakdowns Alex and I shot with River Avenue Blues’ Ben Kabak, and I’ll have more to say about the Yankees and Red Sox in my preview of the season opening series this weekend, but if you want even more, here are a few other places that I’ve offered my take on what the coming season holds for the Yankees and the rest of the league:

• Patrick Sullivan interviewed me for Baseball Analysts’ Yankees “Stakeholders” preview.
• I also participated in the New York Times‘ Bats blog’s Yankee preview roundtable with Kabak and former SNY.tv cohort Steve Lombardi of Was Watching. Part one ran yesterday, part two is up today.
• Finally, my picks for the six divisions, wild cards, pennants, MVPs, Cy Youngs, and Rookies of the Year are up on SI.com along with those of the other SI.com “experts.”

Yankee fans upset with my pick for the AL East should be sure to check my picks for the AL pennant and World Series. Meanwhile, I stick my neck out in the NL Central due to a belief that the Cardinals don’t have the depth to survive the regression likely to be experienced by their two aces.

Solo homers by Alex Rodriguez and Juan Miranda weren’t enough for the Yankees to beat the Twins as they fell 4-2. After the game, the Yankees announced their plans for how Phil Hughes will open the season. More below.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
R – Marcus Thames (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)
S – Ramiro Peña (2B)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)

Subs: Jose Pirela (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), P.J. Pilittere (C), Edwar Gonzalez (RF), Reid Gorecki (CF), Randy Winn (DH), Reegie Corona (PR)

Pitchers (IP): Phil Hughes (4 2/3), Boone Logan (1/3), David Robertson (1), Joba Chamberlain (1), Chan Ho Park (1), Royce Ring (1)

Big Hits: A solo homer and a double by Juan Miranda, who batted ninth and got a hit in all three of his at-bats accounting for half of the team’s safeties in the game. Among the other three was a solo homer by Alex Rodriguez (1-for-3). Those two solo homers were the total of the Yankees’ scoring in this game.

Who Pitched Well: Chan Ho Park struck out two in a perfect eighth inning. Joba Chamberlain worked a perfect seventh, though he struck out no one. Boone Logan struck out lefty Jason Kubel, the only man he faced. Royce Ring worked around a walk for a scoreless ninth.

Who Didn’t: Phil Hughes struck out five against one walk in 4 2/3 innings, but he also briefly lost the feel for his curve ball and gave up three runs on six hits including a double and a triple. David Robertson gave up two hits in his inning of work, including a solo homer by Brock Peterson.

Nice Plays: Minor league camper Edwar Gonzalez threw out at Peterson third from right field.

Oopsies: A-baller Jose Pirela made a throwing error.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli felt some tightness in his left hamstring and had an MRI, but the Yankees don’t think it’s anything serious and are only worried about his running, not his hitting or catching. Mark Teixeira swung a bat on Wednesday and is expected to play in Thursday’s game wearing protection on his bruised elbow. Alfredo Aceves threw off a mound on Wednesday and is expected to pitch in Friday’s game.

Other: The Yankees have decided that Phil Hughes will be on the Opening Day roster, but will stay behind to make two starts in extended spring training before making his regular season debut on April 15 (the Yankees don’t actually need a fifth starter until April 17). The Yankees play a three-game series in Tampa during Hughes’ time in extended spring training, and he will be available as an emergency reliever or spot-starter (in the event of a rain-out) during that series. He will then travel north with the team for the home opening series against the Angels, which will conclude with his first start, so he’ll really only be away from the team only for the season-opening series in Boston. That means there won’t be an extra bullpen slot available on the Opening Day roster unless Aceves’s back forces him to open the season on the disabled list. More importantly, Hughes’ two extended spring training starts won’t count toward his regular season innings limit because they’ll be low-stress innings in a controlled environment, though in reality he’ll only be skipping one regular season start, so he’ll only be saving about six innings off that total, believed to be around 170 innings.

One-upping Chuck Knoblauch, Denard Span fouled a ball into the stands in the first inning and hit his own mother, who was wearing his jersey, in the chest. He immediately ran into the stands to check on her. Fortunately, she was fine.

The third and final installment of our Bronx Banter Breakdown season previews:

The Yankees split their final split-squad action of the spring, losing CC Sabathia’s road start against the Braves and winning Sergio Mitre’s home start against the Blue Jays. Also, two more non-roster outfielders were cut, leaving Marcus Thames as the last man standing for the final bench spot.

Braves 9, Yankees 6

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (LF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
R – Kevin Russo (SS)
R – Brandon Laird (3B)
L – CC Sabathia (P)

Subs: Walter Ibarra (2B), P.J. Pilittere (C), David Winfree (RF), Austin Krum (CF), Ray Kruml (LF)

Pitchers (IP): CC Sabathia (4 2/3), Pat Venditte (1 1/3), Zach Segovia (2)

Big Hits: Home runs by Jorge Posada (2-for-3, BB), who hit a two-run shot off former battery-mate Scott Proctor with two out in the seventh, and Nick Swisher (1-for-4 with a solo shot). Doubles by Robinson Cano (2-for-4) and Juan Miranda (1-for-4).

Who Pitched Well: No one.

Who Didn’t: CC Sabathia gave up five runs on a walk, a wild pitch, and eight hits including a two-run homer by Clint Sammons in the Braves’ three-run fourth inning and four doubles (two by Troy Glaus, one of which hit the top of the outfield wall and was initially ruled a home run, and one each by Chipper Jones and old buddy Melky Cabrera). Zach Segovia, who has been clinging to major league camp like Bernie Williams to the possibility of a comeback, gave up three runs in the eighth allowing three hits and a walk while striking out just one in two total innings of work. Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, brought on this road trip at Joe Girardi’s request, gave up a run in the sixth on two singles and a walk in his first taste of the competition above High-A, where he was dominant last year.

For those fascinated by Venditte, here’s how his outing went:

Pitching righty: retired Yunel Escobar for the last out of the fifth, then gave up a single to Matt Diaz to start the sixth. Switch to lefty: Nate McLouth bunted Dias to second. Switch to righty: Walked Clint Sammons. Switch to lefty: gave up a single to Erik Hinske to load the bases and a sac fly to Matt Young that scored Diaz. With switch-hitter Brooks Conrad coming up, had to declare which hand he’d throw with (right) before Conrad got in the opposite box. Conrad grounded out to end the sixth.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (1B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
S – Ramiro Peña (2B)
L – Jon Weber (DH)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
R – Greg Golson (CF)

Subs: Jorge Vazquez (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Ramiro Peña (3B), Austin Romine (C), Colin Curtis (LF)

Pitchers (IP): Sergio Mitre (6), Damaso Marte (1), Mariano Rivera (1), Boone Logan (1)

Big Hits: A triple by Derek Jeter (2-for-3, BB). Doubles by Ramiro Peña, Marcus Thames (both 1-for-4), and Francisco Cervelli (1-for-3). Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a walk.

Who Pitched Well: Sergio Mitre retired the first nine men he faced before giving up a groundball single to the left of second base, a home run to Aaron Hill, and a double to Adam Lind. Those three hits were the only baserunners Mitre allowed as he walked no one against five strikeouts in six innings. Mariano Rivera struck out one in a perfect eighth. Boone Logan worked around a walk for a scoreless ninth.

Who Didn’t: Relatively speaking, Damaso Marte, who gave up an unearned run in the seventh on an error, a single, a walk, and a sac fly. Also, the first out he recorded traveled about 405 feet to straight-away center, but was tracked down by Greg Golson.

Nice Plays: Golson.

Oopsies: Alex Rodriguez cut Derek Jeter off  on a Vernon Wells bounder then dropped the ball when transferring it to his throwing hand to allow Wells to reach with what would ultimately become the Jays’ third run.

Ouchies: Mark Teixeira‘s elbow was sore on Tuesday, but he had no swelling. Alfredo Aceves (back) could play catch on Wednesday. Blue Jays catcher Kyle Phillips hit Ramiro Peña in the helmet with his return throw to the pitcher in the eighth. Peña was more surprised and amused than hurt.

Cuts: Marcus Thames has hit .152 this spring. Jon Weber has hit .483, but it was Weber who got send to minor league camp on Tuesday. The reasons are plentiful. Chief among them, the Yankees want a right-handed outfield bat on their bench and Weber hits lefty. Also the 33-year-old Thames has a .491 career slugging percentage in 1,709 career plate appearances, while the 32-year-old Weber has a .473 career slugging percentage in the minors and has never appeared in a major league game. Weber also failed to walk or homer this spring, while Thames has two of each, though it’s easy and not inappropriate to argue that Weber was too busy getting hits to worry about taking ball four and his four extra-base hits (all doubles) were one more than Thames’ total of three.

Weber has earned a starting job in Scranton and put himself on the short list for outfield call-ups, though he remains hindered by being a non-roster player. That means the Yankees could find themselves with a 32-year-old rookie on the bench at some point this season. It would be a great story if it happened, but one the local media will beat to death and a bad sign for the team.

The actual right-handed batter competing with Thames, David Winfree, was also farmed out on Tuesday. He hit .269 with one walk and one homer (his only extra-base hit) in camp. Winfree, Greg Golson, and Weber will be the starting outfiend in Scranton. Golson is the only one of the three on the 40-man roster.