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With the wind blowing out, the Orioles and Yankees combined for 18 runs on 22 hits including 13 for extra bases and six home runs (four by the Yankees). When the dust cleared, the Yankees had won 11-7.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
R – Greg Golson (CF)

Subs: David Winfree (1B), Justin Snyder (2B), Ramiro Peña (SS), Marcos Vechionacci (3B), P.J. Pilittere (C), Jon Weber (RF), Ray Kruml (LF)

Pitchers (IP): Javier Vazquez (5 1/3), Joba Chamberlain (2/3), Chan Ho Park (1), David Robertson (1), Royce Ring (1)

Big Hits: Home runs by Robinson Cano (1-for-3, a three-run shot), David Winfree (1-for-3, another three-run shot) Marcus Thames (1-for-4, a solo shot), and P.J. Pilittere (1-for-1, another solo shot). A double by Randy Winn (1-for-3, BB). Nick Johnson walked three times in five at-bats and scored twice.

Who Pitched Well: Chan Ho Park worked around a single, striking out two in a scoreless inning. Joba Chamberlain gave up a single and struck a man out over the course of three batters, finishing the sixth for Javier Vazquez.

Who Didn’t: Royce Ring issued a walk and gave up a two-run homer to Luke Scott, then gave up a double before finally finishing the ninth inning. Javier Vazquez, who said the wind made it difficult for him to throw his breaking pitches, gave up four runs on three walks and seven hits, including five doubles and a home run while striking out only three in 5 1/3 innings. David Robertson gave up a run on a walk and two hits in the eighth.

Oopsies: Ramiro Peña made a fielding error. Francisco Cervelli had a passed ball.

Ouchies: Mark Teixeira was hit directly on the right elbow by a Jeremy Guthrie pitch and immediately left the game. It looked (and sounded) bad, but the Orioles’ team orthopedist didn’t feel the need for an x-ray, diagnosing him with just a bruise. He’s day-to-day. Alfredo Aceves has a tight lower back. His scheduled appearance on Tuesday will be skipped, but the Yankees expect him to be ready for Opening Day. And for those who are still tracking him (stop), 27-year-old fleeting pitching prospect Alan Horne is going to have surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. Horne’s only good season as a pro was 2007 and that came at pitching-friendly Trenton. He hasn’t been healthy since.

Other: For you velocity hunters, Joba’s fastball topped out around 93 mph. Also, switch-pitcher Pat Venditte is on the travel roster for tomorrow’s day game per Joe Girardi’s request/curiosity. Unfortunately, that’s not the game that is being televised.

Happy Passover.

Andy Pettitte was supposed to start Sunday’s game against the Tigers in Lakeland, but because of the threat of rain, Joe Girardi started his bullpen instead so as not to jerk Pettitte around in the event of a delay. Slated to throw six innings, Pettitte wound up entering the game in the bottom of the fourth and pitching a perfect inning, but the game was rained out soon after with the Yankees leading Detroit 8-0. Pettitte, who has only appeared in one other spring training game this month due primarily to two previous rain-outs, instead threw five simulated innings indoors to get up to 100 pitches total. Here’s the skinny on the three-plus innings that were played:

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)

Pitchers (IP): Damaso Marte (1), Mariano Rivera (1), Boone Logan (1), Andy Pettitte (1)

Big Hits: A two-run double by Robinson Cano in the Yankees’ six-run first inning.

Who Pitched Well: Everyone, but I’ll single out Boone Logan, who threw a perfect frame to continue his push for the final bullpen spot.

Oopsies: In the top of the fourth, third-base umpire Marty Foster misjudged another Robinson Cano double, this one to the warning track in left-center, calling it an out because, as he admitted to Joe Girardi, he simply didn’t see it fall past Austin Jackson’s outstretched glove. The umpires ultimately gave Cano a single, but the game was called soon after anyway.

Other: Chad Gaudin signed with the A’s.

Ex-Tigers Curtis Granderson and Marcus Thames got the job done against Detroit’s lefty starter as A.J. Burnett and the Yankees beat Nate Robertson and the Tigers’ starters 2-1.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (LF)
L – Nick Johnson (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Marcus Thames (DH)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
R – Kevin Russo (2B)
R – Brandon Laird (3B)

Subs: David Winfree (1B), P.J. Pilittere (C), Jon Weber (RF), Abraham Almonte (CF), Austin Krum (LF)

Pitchers (IP): A.J. Burnett (6 2/3), David Robertson (1/3), Chan Ho Park (1), Joba Chamberlain (1)

Big Hits: A solo home run by Marcus Thames off lefty Nate Robertson leading off the fourth inning. In his other three trips, Thames walked once, also against Robertson, and struck out twice. Doubles by Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson (both 2-for-4), also off the lefty Robertson. Granderson’s was an RBI double in the first and an encouraging sign for the left-handed-hitting outfielder. It’s worth noting that every Yankee outfielder who could find himself in a platoon was in the otherwise-thin lineup against the lefty Robertson. In addition to Thames and Granderson, Randy Winn and Brett Gardner combined to go 0-for-7 with a walk taken by Gardner. Posada was on the trip to catch Burnett. Lefty-hitting Nick Johnson was the only other Yankee starter on the trip.

Who Pitched Well: A.J. Burnett walked more men than he struck out (three to two), but allowed just one run (scored by Johnny Damon after his third-inning double) on three hits and those three walks. Burnett didn’t throw any changups and said after the game that his curve wasn’t working. Kudos to Burnett and Posada for their success despite those handicaps. Chan Ho Park pitched around a double for a scoreless eighth. Joba Chamberlain, in his thrilling return to short relief work, worked around a pair of singles for a scoreless ninth. Throwing only fastballs and sliders, he struck out one and topped out at 94 mph on the gun. David Robertson faced two men and walked the first, but he only needed on out and he got it before that runner could advance.

Nice Plays: I didn’t see the game, but reportedly Randy Winn made a few nice ones in right, including one sliding catch after which he popped up and fired to Posada at first base to double off aptly named pinch-runner Michael Rockett.

Oopsies: None. Have you noticed that as we get closer to Opening Day, the players get closer to regular season form, and the minor leaguers get farmed out, there are fewer and fewer errors? It’s as if spring training actually serves a purpose and major leaguers deserve to be where they are.

Other: Spring training stats are largely meaningless, but for what little they’re worth, here are the hitting lines on a couple of 2010 Tigers who played in this game:

Johnny Damon: .341/.396/.568 (2 SBs in 2 tries)
Austin Jackson: .339/.413/.554 (3 3Bs, 3 SB in 4 tries)

Also, Ian Kennedy has made the Diamondback’s rotation, but with Jayson Heyward officially the Braves’ Opening Day right fielder, Melky Cabrera has been bumped out of Atlanta’s lineup, thus beginning his career as a journeyman fourth outfielder.

Also, note on the Upcoming Schedule on the sidebar that CC Sabathia will pitch the road day game against the Braves while Sergio Mitre will start the night home game against the Blue Jays (I originally had their assignments the other way). I assume this is to prevent the Jays from getting an extra look at Sabathia with the season almost here, but it’s just as likely to let CC have his evening off. I can’t imagine the Yankees are that worried about Toronto. The unfortunate side-effect is that Mitre will now be pitching the televised game. Unfortunate for most, that is, I’m curious to watch him pitch given how well he’s been doing this spring and the fact that he’s still in competition for the Opening Day roster.

My in-laws got my wife and I some “Bomber Bucks” for Christmas, including with the gift their babysitting services so that Becky and I could get out to at least one game this year. It was a very thoughtful gift. Unfortunately, it turns out that Bomber Bucks can only be cashed in for tickets (not concessions or merchandise) and only at the ticket windows at Yankee Stadium. Adding insult to the difficulty of finding babysitting (thanks, Mom!), spending $25 on trains, and taking a three-hour round trip from suburban New Jersey to the Bronx simply to purchase tickets, the Yankee Stadium ticket windows didn’t open for business until five days after tickets went on sale to the general public via phone and internet.

When I finally got there on Friday, piggybacking the journey on a trip to mid-town for a “Bronx Banter Breakdown” taping (three segments coming Monday through Wednesday), I was informed that there were no bleacher seats left. Period. That the only seats to Red Sox games remaining were north of $300 a piece, and that of the six Sunday games my wife and I could both make, none had two available seats together in the grandstand. After playing what amounted to a game of battleship with the amicable young woman on the other side of the glass (“May 16” “miss” “August 18” “miss” “July 25” “miss” . . .), I was finally able to use up the gift certificate on two pairs of nosebleed seats to weeknight games and a single ticket in the grandstand for a Monday night game in May against the Orioles. Remember, tickets had only been on sale to the general public for a week. Frustrated and disappointed, I stuck my tickets in my bag, wheeled around and was greeted by this:

It is a monument to corruption, greed, and the failures of our municipal and state governments to act in the best interests of the people they are supposed to represent, and a vile and disgusting insult to all but the wealthiest of Yankee fans.

. . . what they’ve really done is take affordable seats away from the common fan who can only afford to sit in the upper deck or bleachers of the current Stadium and relocated them to parts of the ballpark only the wealthy can afford. To make matters worse, the new Stadium will hold 4,561 fewer fans, and you can surely guess which seats are being slashed. With a smaller bleacher capacity, a smaller upper deck, and an increase in luxury and outdoor suite seating, the new Stadium will be spitting out fans of modest means to accommodate the organization’s target audience of free-spending fat cats.

That was what I wrote about the new Yankee Stadium back in September 2008, three days before the final game in the real Yankee Stadium, a game Becky and I would watch from the right-field bleacher seats that were ours every Sunday, Opening Day, and Old-Timers’ Day for the old park’s final six years. Yesterday, I felt the harsh reality of those words.

To be honest, my fanaticism has receded in recent years, in part due to professional necessity and in part due to the team’s stadium shenanigans, which have soured me significantly, but I still consider myself a Yankee fan. I inherited it from my grandfathers. I paid my dues as a kid growing up in the ’80s when the Mets were hip and Yankee hats were about as cool as bell bottoms and mutton chops. I indoctrinated my wife in the ’90s, and I’m not about to abandon her or that familial tradition now. I hope to introduce my daughter to the joys of baseball through her inherited Yankee fandom. I just wish the team my family and I root for wanted or even needed us just a little.

Facing the Phillies’ starters, Phil Hughes struck out five in three innings while slotting into the fifth spot in the rotation on short rest. Jamie Moyer was better as he, Chad Durbin, and Ryan Madson dominated the Yankees and the Phillies won 3-0.

Lineup:

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

Subs: Jon Weber (1B, RF), Jorge Vazquez (1B), Eduardo Nuñez (2B), Ramiro Peña (SS), Kevin Russo (3B), Melky Mesa (CF), David Winfree (LF), Randy Winn (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Phil Hughes (3), Zach Segovia (2), Mariano Rivera (1), Damaso Marte (1), Royce Ring (1), Amaury Sanit (1)

Big Hits: None. The Yankees had four singles and no walks. No Yankee reached base more than once. I suppose the big hit was Marcus Thames‘ single as it got his average back in the triple digits (he went 1-for-3 and is now hitting .114) and came against a lefty (Jamie Moyer).

Who Pitched Well: Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte, and Amaury Sanit each threw a perfect inning recording a strikeout each. Working on short rest so as to get in rotation as the fifth starter, Phil Hughes worked three scoreless innings while allowing just two singles and striking out five including Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard in the first. He also walked four and uncorked a pair of wild pitches, though reports were that he was just missing the zone rather than being as wild as those numbers might suggest, which is something I’ve seen Hughes do in the past. He refuses to throw to the heart of the plate even when he’s not getting the corners.

Who Didn’t: Royce Ring struck out two in the eighth, but also allowed two runs on two doubles. Both runs were unearned, however. Zach Segovia wasn’t charged with a run, but he allowed an inherited runner from Hughes (who faced one man in the fourth and gave up a single) to score and allowed four baserunners (two singles, a double, and a walk) in two innings of work.

Nice Plays: Nick Swisher threw out Placido Polanco at home with the help of a nice tag by Francisco Cervelli.

Oopsies: Francisco Cervelli made a throwing error. Jon Weber, playing first base, booted a ball. Eduardo Nuñez was picked off first base while pinch-running for Robinson Cano following one of the Yankees four singles.

Cuts: Thirty-year-old Cubano Amaury Sanit was finally farmed out. He impressed in camp, striking out six in 5 1/3 innings without issuing a walk or allowing a run. He is likely headed for the Triple-A bullpen.

Other: Francisco Cervelli will be away from the team for the next two days to attend to an unspecified personal matter.

Brad Bergesen and company shut down the Yankees road lineup while the Orioles hitters beat up on Alfredo Aceves. Orioles win 8-0.

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)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
S – Randy Winn (CF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)

Subs: David Winfree (1B), Justin Snyder (2B), Kevin Russo (SS), Ramiro Peña (3B), P.J. Pilittere (C), Jon Weber (RF), Greg Golson (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Alfredo Aceves (2), Boone Logan (1), Sergio Mitre (2), Chan Ho Park (2), David Robertson (1)

Big Hits: A double by Randy Winn who had three of the Yankees’ five hits, picking up a safety in each of his three at-bats. Winn is now hitting .259 on the spring (7-for-27 with a walk, a double, and seven Ks).

Marcus Thames, meanwhile, is hitting .094 (3-for-32) with just one walk and no extra-base hits after going 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. Joe Girardi keeps talking about Thames’ track record, and it still seems as though Thames will make the team. That should tell you just how much spring performances really matter. Thames came into camp with a huge lead on his lone remaining challenger, David Winfree, a 24-year-old with 116 games of experience above Triple-A and none in majors. Winfree, who went 0-for-1 in this game and is hitting .263 (5-f0r-19, also with one walk and no extra-base hits) on the spring, likely hasn’t done enough to close the gap. Still, it’s interesting to see the Yankees giving him some work at an infield corner as he has played 250 games at the hot corner as a pro and thus offers some versatility that Thames, who has a strong arm but a glove and feet made of lead, doesn’t.

Who Pitched Well: Chan Ho Park worked around a pair of singles while striking out two and walking none for a pair of scoreless frames. David Robertson stranded a single and a walk in a scoreless ninth.

Who Didn’t: Alfredo Aceves‘s first poor outing of the spring was his last, and this one was worse. He gave up six runs (five earned) on a pair of walks and six hits, including a two-run Adam Jones homer, while striking out no one. He pitched to four batters in the third, but failed to get an out before getting the hook.

Who Did Neither: Competing for the final spot in the bullpen, Boone Logan came in with two on and none out and got a groundball to second only to have Robinson Cano throw it away and let both runs score and the batter reach second. That batter-runner then scored on a pair of productive outs before Logan got out of the inning. You can’t really blame Logan for the first two runs, but the third kept him out of the “Pitched Well” category. Meanwhile, his competition, Sergio Mitre, gave up a run on a walk and a pair of singles in his two innings of work. Neither pitcher struck out a batter. Logan gets the edge there for not allowing a hit or a walk, but it wasn’t a convincing victory.

Oopsies: Robinson Cano made a big throwing error in the third that let two runs score and put a third in scoring position that later came around on a pair of productive outs. It was his first error of the spring.

Other: CC Sabathia got lit up by the Phillies’ Triple-A campers, allowing seven runs on a walk, a hit batsman, and seven hits, including a pair of homers while using up 88 pitches in just 3 2/3 innings. Remember, CC was 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA after his first six starts last year and 18-5 with a 3.06 the rest of the way. In 2008, he was 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA after four starts and 17-7 with a 1.88 the rest of the way. The big man takes a while to get rolling. Don’t sweat his performance until May. In other rotation news, Chad Gaudin was released. I already dealt with that likelihood in my Mitre post on Tuesday.

The official announcement of the Yankees’ fifth starter will be the big news today, but Wednesday’s headline was the performance of fourth-starter Javier Vazquez, who carved up an admittedly weak Nationals lineup as the Yankees cruised to a 3-1 win. Well, that and the fact that Ramiro Peña will once again be the Opening Day utility infielder.

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)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Ramiro Peña (SS), Francisco Cervelli (3B), P.J. Pilittere (C), Greg Golson (RF)

Pitchers (IP): Javier Vazquez (6), Damaso Marte (1), Mariano Rivera (1), Mark Melancon (1)

Big Hits: A triple by Alex Rodriguez (2-for-3), Doubles by Nick Swisher (1-for-3), and Nick Johnson (1-for-3, BB).

Who Pitched Well: Javier Vazquez needed just 77 pitches to get through six innings plus one batter. He didn’t issue a walk and allowed just one run on four singles while striking out six. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth striking out two. Mariano Rivera worked around a double for a scoreless eighth, striking out two as well.

Who Didn’t: Vazquez gave up a single to the only man he faced in the seventh. Damaso Marte then allowed that inherited runner to score on a double by former Yankee Alberto Gonzalez, though Gonzalez was the only baserunner Marte allowed in his one inning of work.

Oopsies: Brett Gardner was caught stealing second by the former Yankee battery of Brian Bruney and Wil Nieves.

Cuts: The first real significant batch:

Kevin Russo: Russo hit .333 in camp, but Russo has always hit. The issue is that he’s not really a viable shortstop, and twith Alex Rodriguez now six years and one hip surgery removed from the position, the Yankees likely reasoned that they couldn’t go into the season with Russo as Derek Jeter’s sole backup at the position. Russo moved his name toward the top of the list of replacement bench players, but with the Yankees hoping to get 150 games or more out of each of their infielders, they properly opted to go with Ramiro Peña’s glove and versatility over Russo’s batting-average-dependent offense. It will be interesting to see if the Yankees stick him back at second base in Scranton or give him more exposure at short and third in the hope of increasing his defensive value.

Juan Miranda: Miranda didn’t hit much in camp and, as Scranton’s first baseman, will have to fend off the advances of Jorge Vazquez while battling with Jesus Montero to be the first name called when Nick Johnson goes down with an injury. Given that Miranda’s also in the last year of his contract, success in Scranton could just as easily get him traded as promoted.

Greg Golson: Golson hit .300/.364/.550 in camp and struck out just four times in 20 at-bats, which offers some hope that the tweaks made to his swing and approach by Kevin Long are already yielding results. If Golson can control the strike zone, he has the tools (speed, power, glove) and athleticism to be an upgrade on Brett Gardner, but he’ll have to prove it over a larger sample as Scranton’s center fielder.

Mark Melancon: Melancon was fantastic in camp, but there’s just no room in the Yankee bullpen: Mariano Rivera, Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Chan Ho Park, Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre. That’s seven. I’d like to have seen Melancon make the team over Mitre, but as I explained Tuesday night, I’m kind of okay with Mitre making the team, particularly given how strong the rest of the pen seems to be. Had Melancon pitched better in his extremely brief major league opportunities last year, he might have had the edge. As it is, he’ll likely force his way onto the major league roster in the first half of the season.

Jonathan Albaladejo: Albaladejo made the Opening Day roster each of the last two seasons but got hurt in 2008, failed to distinguish himself in 2010, was lit up in camp this year. If there’s no room for Melancon in the bullpen, Albaladejo has no chance. He should follow Edwar Ramirez out of the organization shortly.

There wasn’t much variation in their performances to this point in spring training. That Chad Gaudin had pitched his way to the bottom of the list of the five “starters” competing for the last four spots on the Yankee pitching staff was clear, as was the fact that Sergio Mitre had simultaneously pitched his way out of that elimination spot. Exactly what the Yankees were going to do about that was less clear until the Yankees placed Gaudin on waivers on Tuesday, effectively removing him from the 40-man roster.

Gaudin, who pitched relatively well down the stretch last year (3.43 ERA, 7.3 K/9 in 6 starts and 5 relief appearances), was actually the Yankees’ (unused) fourth starter in the 2009 postseason, earning that distinction over Joba Chamberlain, who instead made ten appearances out of the bullpen. In January, Gaudin avoided arbitration with the Yankees by signing a one-year deal worth $2.95 million, but the contract was not guaranteed, meaning that the Yankees will owe him just $737,500 if he clears waivers and they release him (if they send him to Triple-A, they’ll still owe him the entire amount, but if he’s claimed, they’ll be off the hook entirely). Given that all they sent the Padres for Gaudin last August was cash, there will have been little waste involved in Gaudin’s brief time with the team.

With Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Jason Hirsh, and Zach McAllister all on hand and to different degrees ready to step into either the rotation or the bullpen, Gaudin is no great loss. Rather, Gaudin’s removal from the roster places increased emphasis on what Sergio Mitre has to offer.

With Gaudin out of the picture, it now seems likely that Mitre will be the twelfth man on the Yankees’ Opening Day pitching staff. His primary rivals are potential second lefties Boone Logan and Royce Ring, but Ring is a non-roster player and Logan has an option remaining, whereas Mitre is, like Gaudin was, a member of the 40-man roster on a non-guaranteed contract who would have to be passed through waivers to be sent to Triple-A. Mitre’s contract is small enough at $850,000 for the Yankees to eat the $212,500 they’d owe Mitre if they released him, but the club seems legitimately enthusiastic about how Mitre has been pitching this spring, and not without good reason.

I know that the prospect of Sergio Mitre on the Opening Day roster is anathema to a large part of the Yankee fanbase and the Bronx Banter readership in particular, but I still can’t completely hate on the Yankees interest in Mitre. I shrugged off the Mitre signing entering camp a year ago, remarking in my 2009 campers post that, “Mitre was never a high-ceiling starter, but rather a moderately successful sinkerballer, who had yet to put it all together in the majors prior to his [July 2008 Tommy John] surgery. He’ll be 29 next February and hardly seems worth even the minimal commitment.” Five months later, after Chien-Ming Wang had blow up twice and Phil Hughes had begun to establish himself as a dominant set-up man, I took a different view:

Mitre’s career line in the majors is certainly unimpressive (5.36 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 5.4 K/9), but he was rushed to the majors in just his third professional season at age 22, jerked between the majors, minors, rotation, and bullpen in each of his three seasons with the Cubs, and came down with shoulder problems in May of his first season with the Marlins in 2006. Given all of that, I’m tempted to just toss out those first four partial major league seasons in which Mitre went 5-15 with a 6.01 ERA in 25 starts and 26 relief appearances.Instead, I look at what Mitre did with a healthy arm and a rotation spot in the first half of the 2007 season under manager Joe Girardi. In 16 starts (not counting one aborted start in which he tore a blister during the first inning), Mitre posted a 2.82 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 3.1 K/9. Ten of those outings were quality starts and two others were scoreless but cut short by a tight hamstring. Mitre’s season fell apart in late July due to the elbow problems that led to his Tommy John surgery and wiped out his 2008 season.

As you can see, Mitre’s problems have had far more to do with health than effectiveness. That’s a red flag when a team throws $80-million, five-year contracts at a pitcher, but when the pitcher in question comes in on a make-good minor league deal, health concerns don’t concern me as there’s nothing there but upside.

Mitre posted a 6.79 ERA in nine starts and three relief appearances for the Yankees after I wrote the above, but his solid 2.46 K/BB, swollen .333 opponent’s batting average on balls in play, and absurd 22.2 percent home-runs-per-fly-ball rate (the major league average is around 8 percent) all suggested that bad luck played some role in that poor performance. Clearly Mitre was getting hit hard, but he was also unlucky and, theoretically, still building his arm back up after rehabbing from his TJ surgery.

In my campers post this year, I repeated much of the above about Mitre, but described Mitre’s 2009 K/BB ratio, which was a single-season career best for the right-hander, as “mildly encouraging,” later adding, “there’s some small hope that being two years removed from surgery could allow him to recapture some of his form from 2007, when over his first 17 starts he posted a 2.82 ERA with just five home runs allowed and a 3.10 K/BB.”

I don’t want him to be the fifth starter, and I don’t think there’s any real risk of that unless another starter suffers a significant injury, but I just can’t completely trash the Yankees continued interest in Mitre. I realize that spring training statistics are about as predictive as campaign promises, but Mitre really has been throwing the ball better this spring. Ignore his ERA, or even his slim hits total, and look at his 14 strikeouts in 14 innings against just three walks and one homer. Better yet, read the comments from Mitre, his manager, and catcher collected by Chad Jennings:

. . . what might have tipped the scales in Mitre’s favor?

He’s further removed from surgery: “Last year I felt good early when I was coming back from Tommy John and toward the later months of the year, I just kind of fatigued,” Mitre said. “The offseason really helped. Nothing hurts right now.”

His sinker is moving more: “I think the pitches are the same,” Mitre said. “I think the only thing that’s different is there might be more life to it as opposed to being flatter.”

He’s throwing harder: “His velocity is better,” Joe Girardi said. “He doesn’t seem to fatigue as easily. There is a difference.”

His command is better: “He’s a different guy,” Jorge Posada said. “You can tell that he’s healthy and the ball is just coming out of his hand a lot better. He’s throwing strikes. Location, that tells you that he’s back on track… He’s putting it wherever he wants.”

Mitre is a year younger than Chien-Ming Wang, further removed from injury, walked just 2.3 men per nine innings in his awful 2009 season, and now reportedly has more velocity and movement on his top pitch and is proving it with impressive spring training peripherals. There’s only one thing that upsets me about the Yankees taking another chance on this guy as the last man on the pitching staff, and it has nothing to do with how Mitre might pitch.

Going back to my campers post, I concluded Mitre’s entry by saying, “there are better, younger arms who deserve a shot at that last bullpen spot should it open up.” Gaudin’s struggles have opened that spot up, and 25-year-old fellow Tommy John survivor Mark Melancon, who has struck out eight in 6 1/3 spring innings against one walk and no homers, is more deserving than Mitre of that last spot, though I’m pretty well convinced at this point that Mitre will claim it.

I’m also convinced that Melancon will find his way into high-leverage work out of the the major league pen during the upcoming season the way David Robertson did last year, but there’s not as clear a path for Melancon as there was for Robertson last year when Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez seemed ready to cough up their spots. Maybe Mitre is that guy this year, but right now the Yankees seem to think he could be the new Ramiro Mendoza, and I’m not particularly motivated to argue with them.

The Yankees and Phillies combined for 16 runs on 24 hits, 15 of the latter for extra bases including Wilson Valdez’s two-run game-winning home run off Phil Hughes, as the Phillies won 9-7 on Monday. Earlier in the day, Hughes’ rival for the fifth-starter job worked five innings in an intrasquad simulated game. Also, the Yankees made a bunch of cuts. More below . . .

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (LF)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
R – Kevin Russo (3B)
R – Eduardo Nuñez (2B)
R – A.J. Burnett (R)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Russo (2B), Reegie Corona (2B), Jorge Vazquez (3B), P.J. Pilittere (C), David Winfree (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Jon Weber (LF)

Pitchers (IP): A.J. Burnett (4), Royce Ring (1/3), Phil Hughes (4 1/3)

Big Hits: A two-run, two-out homer by Mark Teixeira off Cole Hamels. Teixeira went 4-for-4 in the game, adding a double and two singles for eight total bases. A triple by Ramiro Peña (2-for-4). Doubles by Tex, Curtis Granderson (2-for-3, BB), Kevin Russo (1-for-4), Eduardo Nuñez (1-for-3), and Jon Weber (1-for-1 and now hitting .571 on the spring with four doubles but no other extra base hits and no walks).

Who Pitched Well: Royce Ring retired the only man he faced, lefty Raul Ibañez. So there was that.

Who Didn’t: A.J. Burnett started the game by giving up a double to Jimmy Rollins and a two-run homer to Placido Polanco on his way to a five-run first-inning. Though he didn’t allow a run in his next three frames and struck out four, he was responsible for seven hits, three walks, and a wild pitch. Phil Hughes reportedly impressed, walking no one, striking out six, and continuing to work with his changeup, getting one of those Ks with the pitch. Still, he gave up three home runs in his 4 1/3 innings, including a two-run walk-off by Wilson Valdez. Reports were that the wind was blowing out and that Valdez’s homer and the solo shot by Dane Sardinha were both wall-scrapers. Still, I have a hard time putting a pitcher who gave up 16 bases off hits, including a game-winning homer, in the above category. Can we get a ruling on this?

Meanwhile, in the intrasquad simulated game: Facing a lineup that included Randy Winn, Jamie Hoffmann, Mike Rivera, Juan Miranda, Jon Weber, Marcus Thames, Reid Gorecki, and Greg Golson, Joba Chamberlain gave up two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out just one in five innings. Those two runs came in the fourth which opened with a Gorecki double, a Hoffmann walk, and a Miranda double that drove in both runners. Outside of that three-batter sequence, Joba was sharp, getting tons of ground balls and a few infield-pop ups. He got four outs in the bottom of the fifth and just two of the 16 outs he recorded came on fly balls to the outfield, while six of them came on ground-ball double plays. Still, that lone strikeout is discouraging. I can’t say I feel much better about Chamberlain’s outing than I do about Hughes’, though both actually pitched pretty well, or so it seems.

Ouchies: Mike Rivera has a sore hamstring.

Cuts: Between Sunday and Monday, the Yankees farmed out ten players and dumped one other. They are:

Jamie Hoffmann, the Rule 5 pick received via the Nationals in exchange for Brian Bruney was returned to the Dodgers, putting an end to a complete waste of everyone’s time. Hoffmann hit .130/.259/.174 in 23 spring at-bats.

Reegie Corona, who will play second base in Double- or Triple-A depending on where Kevin Russo winds up.

Eduardo Nuñez, who will play shortstop in Double- or Triple-A depending on where Ramiro Peña winds up. Both Nuñez and Corona are on the 40-man roster and were optioned down.

Jorge Vazquez, who could actually wind up playing third base in Scranton, but more likely will split first base and DH with Juan Miranda and Jesus Montero’s days off from catching.

Brandon Laird, who should play third base in Double-A.

Colin Curtis, who impressed in camp with a supposedly rebuilt swing, going 6-for-12 with a double and two homers and two talks against just one strikeout, that after hitting .397/.472/.731 in 78 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. Still, he should have to prove it in the unfriendly hitting environment of Trenton before anyone really takes the 25-year-old busted prospect seriously.

Reid Gorecki, who will likely be the fourth outfielder in Scranton.

Jesus Montero, who will be the starting catcher in Triple-A and be given serious consideration as a mid-season DH replacement should Nick Johnson’s annual DL stay be a long one.

Austin Romine, who will be the starting catcher in Double-A and could move up to fill Montero’s spot in Triple-A if/when Montero gets the call.

Jason Hirsh, who impressed in camp, striking out five in 3 2/3 innings with a hit batsman as the only blight on his record. He will be in the Triple-A rotation and should be on the short list of pitching replacements for both the rotation and bullpen.

Dustin Moseley, who posted a 9.95 ERA in camp and, in my opinion, doesn’t deserve a spot in the Scranton rotation, though he seems to be in line for one.

For more on these 11 players, see my campers post.

Battles: The battle for the backup infield spot is now clearly down to Ramiro Peña and Kevin Russo. Peña is the defense-first choice. Russo is the offense-first choice.

The battle for the fifth outfielder spot is now down to Marcus Thames, David Winfree, and Greg Golson. Jon Weber is still in camp and has hit well, but he’s a left-handed hitter and the Yankees want someone who can spell the lefty-hitting Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner against lefties (though Gardner doesn’t need a platoon partner). Winfree is hitting .278 with just one walk and no extra-base hits. Thames is hitting .107 with just one walk and no extra-base hits. Both are non-roster players. Golson, whom I didn’t think was a legitimate contender, has hit .300 with two walks and three extra-base hits and is a strong defensive center fielder to boot. Golson could use more development time to reach his potential, but he has only struck out four times in 20 spring at-bats and is already on the 40-man roster.

The only non-roster pitchers still in camp are Royce Ring, who is challenging Boone Logan for a second-lefty job that probably doesn’t exist, Amaury Sanit, the Cuba defector, and Zach Segovia. None of those three has been charged with a run yet this spring, but I don’t expect any of them to make the team.

The Yankees and Tigers were rained out on Sunday, throwing the Yankees’ pitching plans into a bit of disarray given that they were already muddled by the need to dedicate innings to each of the fifth-starter candidates as well as the pitchers who have the staff made. A.J. Burnett was supposed to start Sundays’ game with Phil Hughes pitching in relief. They will now fill those roles in Monday’s game against the Phillies. Andy Pettitte, who had already been bumped from Monday’s game by the need to give Joba Chamberlain innings, was scheduled to pitch in a minor league game on Monday, but with Burnett and Hughes pitching against the Phillies, Pettitte’s game will now be an intrasquad contest between two teams of Yankee minor leaguers, and his mound opponent will now be Joba Chamberlain.

It seems telling that the Yankees are bumping Chamberlain to the intrasquad game, though I’m not quite sure what it tells us. I would think that, after Chamberlain’s early struggles this spring, the Yankees would be most eager to see him face a major league lineup and would rather let Burnett pitch in the minor league game. Are the Yankees showing excessive faith in Chamberlain by letting him face minor leaguers in what could be the most crucial start of the spring for him? Are they showing a lack of faith by not letting him face the major leaguers? Have they already reached a decision on Chamberlain without telling anyone? Am I reading too much into this? It doesn’t seem insignificant given that Joe Girardi has said he’d like to start eliminating pitchers from the competition this week and perhaps even choose a fifth starter by the end of the week.

The Yankees’ road lineup beat up on ex-Phillie Brett Myers, but Alfredo Aceves and Mark Melancon, in their first poor outings of the spring, were unable to make the early 4-0 lead stand up and the Astros won 8-6.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
L – Jon Weber (RF)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
R – Mike Rivera (C)

Subs: David Winfree (1B), Eduardo Nuñez (2B), Kevin Russo (2B-SS), Jorge Vazquez (3B), Reegie Corona (3B), Francisco Cervelli (C), Reid Gorecki (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Jamie Hoffmann (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Alfredo Aceves (4 1/3), Mark Melancon (2/3), Boone Logan (1), Dustin Moseley (2)

Big Hits: A solo home run by Robinson Cano (1-for-3). Triples by Brett Gardner (2-for-3, the other hit being a bunt single on the first pitch of the game; Gardner is suddenly hitting .281/.361/.406 on the spring) and Reid Gorecki (1-for-2). A pair of doubles by Alex Rodriguez (2-for-3), and two-baggers by Ramiro Peña (1-for-3), Mike Rivera (1-for-3), and Jorge Vazquez (2-for-2). Nick Johnson (0-for-1) walked twice in three trips.

Who Pitched Well: Boone Logan worked around a single (by the only lefty he faced) for a scoreless sixth. His ERA is a tidy 2.57 this spring, but with an option remaining and Sergio Mitre pitching well, he still seems like a long-shot to make the 25-man roster.

Who Didn’t: Save for a solo homer allowed his last time out, Alfredo Aceves had been dominating all spring, but after some loud outs in his first three innings on Saturday, balls started dropping in his last two. He allowed two runs in the fourth, then bequeathing three runners to Mark Melancon with one out in the fifth. Melancon let all three score, putting a five-spot on Aceves’s line to go with five hits (two doubles, three singles), a walk, and a hit batsman. Melancon then allowed a run of his own to score, though he allowed just two hits (one a Hunter Pence double) and walked none. Dustin Moseley let the Astros pile on by giving up a pair of runs in the ninth on a two-run jack by Cory Sullivan, a member of my personal Reggie Cleveland All-Star team (another thing to blame on Corey Patterson).

Oopsies: Kevin Russo made a throwing error, which likely hurts his chances of unseating Ramiro Peña as the utility infielder as it emphasizes the defensive gap between the two. Brett Gardner was picked off first base by catcher Humberto Quintero after his bunt single. Said Girardi of the latter, “I would rather see him find out what he can get now, and be more aggressive now. Then we can tone it back as opposed to being passive.”

Ouchies: Curtis Granderson‘s right hand felt fine a day after it was grazed by a pitch.

The split squad Yankees played a pair of games decided by a 6-2 score, beating the Tigers and home, but losing to the Rays on the road. In the road game, Sergio Mitre enjoyed another strong outing against a loaded Rays lineup, while Chad Gaudin again struggled. More on that and some more cuts below.

Yankees 6, Tigers 2

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
R – Jamie Hoffmann (CF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
R – Greg Golson (RF)

Subs: P.J. Pilittere (1B), Luis Nuñez (2B), Kevin Russo (SS), Jorge Vazquez (3B), Mike Rivera (C), David Winfree (LF), Jon Weber (DH)

Pitchers (IP): CC Sabathia (5 1/3), Jonathan Albaladejo (2/3), Mariano Rivera (1), Royce Ring (1), Ryan Pope (1)

Big Hits: A booming solo homer over the George M. Steinbrenner Field scoreboard by Alex Rodriguez (2-for-3). A double by Jon Weber (2-for-2), who is hitting .588 this spring. Greg Golson had two singles in four at-bats. Jamie Hoffmann walked three times in four trips, stealing second after the first.

Who Pitched Well: CC Sabathia struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs on three singles, a double, and two walks, but the first run came early in the first inning and the other scored after he left the game. Mariano Rivera needed just ten pitches to throw a perfect seventh and strike out one. Ryan Pope threw a perfect ninth striking out one. Royce Ring pitched around a walk for a scoreless eighth, striking out one.

Who Didn’t: Jonathan Albaladejo inherited two runners from Sabathia and allowed one to score on a double to Carlos Guillen before getting the final two outs of the sixth. That’s a big improvement for Albaladejo, but he’s still the only guy in this category for this game.

Oopsies: Greg Golson‘s throw home on the first Tiger run in the top of the first was very wild and allowed the batter to advance to second, resulting in an error.

Ouchies: Damaso Marte will wait until Sunday to pitch again as he still has some deep bruising where Ryan Howard’s liner hit his lower back.

Nice Plays: The next inning, Golson made a nice running catch charging a Gerald Laird flare to shallow right. Francisco Cervelli pounced on an Austin Jackson bunt and made a strong spinning throw to first which bounced, but was scooped by Mark Teixeira for the out.

Other: Kevin Russo has played shortstop in the last two games. This makes me think the Yankees are seriously considering him for the futility infield spot as he’s hitting .353/.429/.471 on the spring but the one concern about him in that role is his lack of experience at shortstop. Russo lifted a sac fly in his only at-bat in this game.

Rays 6, Yankees 2

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Curtis Granderson (LF)
S – Nick Swisher (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
S – Ramiro Peña (2B)
R – Brandon Laird (3B)
R – Eduardo Nuñez (SS)

Subs: Reegie Corona (3B-2B), Walter Ibarra (SS), Jose Pirela (3B), Jesus Montero (C), Edwar Gonzalez (RF), Reid Gorecki (RF-CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Austin Romine (DH)

Pitchers: Sergio Mitre (5), Chad Gaudin (2 1/3), Amaury Sanit (2/3)

Big Hits: A solo homer by Juan Miranda (2-for-4) off Jeff Niemann leading off the fourth. A double by Jesus Montero (1-for-1). Montero is hitting .375 on the spring, but has had just eight at-bats in eight games (in which he has a single and two doubles). If the Yankees aren’t going to give him multiple at-bats in games, they should reassign him to minor league camp so he can hit. It makes no sense for a player who has been discussed as a potential mid-season call-up to have had the fewest at-bats of the 29 hitters still in the Yankees’ major league camp. Curtis Granderson singled in both at-bats.

Who Pitched Well: Facing a strong Rays lineup, Sergio Mitre allowed two runs in his five innings, but on just a walk, a single, and an Evan Longoria double. Meanwhile, he struck out seven men in those five frames, keeping his hat in the fifth-starter ring. Amaury Sanit continued his scoreless, walk-less spring by retiring both batters he faced, striking out one.

Who Didn’t: Chad Guadin pitched his way out of the fifth-starter contest and may have pitched his way off the 25-man roster given how well Mitre has done this spring. In 2 1/3 innings, Gaudin gave up four runs (three earned) on a whopping seven singles, three walks, and two wild pitches while striking out just one. His spring ERA is now 8.68. Joe Girardi, who was at this road game to see Mitre and Gaudin pitch, blamed some of Gaudin’s struggles on his defense, which did include some players borrowed from minor league camp, and on bad luck (Carlos Peña, for example, got an infield single on a broken bat hit into the shift), but this wasn’t the first time Gaudin had been lousy this spring.

Oopsies: A-ball middle infielder Jose Pirela booted a ball while playing out of position at third base.

Ouchies: Curtis Granderson‘s hand was grazed by a pitch. He came out of the game, but only as a precaution.

Cuts: Romulo Sanchez was optioned to Triple-A. He’s likely to be in the Scranton rotation, but could be bounced to the bullpen as the Scranton rotation could get pretty crowded with Zach McAllister, Ivan Nova, Wilkin De La Rosa, Jason Hirsh, Kei Igawa, and Dustin Moseley all candidates, which doesn’t even count the possibility of one or more of the big club’s fifth-starter candidates finding themselves in Scranton.

Ryan Pope was reassigned to minor league camp. Pope looked good in camp, striking out four in four innings while allowing just one hit and no runs. He should be given another crack at the Double-A rotation as he struggled there last year.

Also, I missed two earlier cuts on Monday as Ivan Nova was optioned to Triple-A Scranton, where he’ll be guaranteed a spot in the rotation, and Hector Noesi was optioned to High-A Tampa, where he finished his 2009 campaign. Look for Noesi to pitch his way to the Double-A rotation this year and hope that Nova can pitch well enough to have his name bandied about in trade talks at the deadline or beyond.

The Yankees beat the Rays 6-4 thanks to some strong relief pitching, including Chan Ho Park’s spring debut, and a three-run homer by Colin Curtis.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Marcus Thames (DH)
S – Randy Winn (LF)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
S – Ramiro Peña (3B)

Subs: Jon Weber (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Kevin Russo (SS), Eduardo Nuñez (3B), Austin Romine (C), Reid Gorecki (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), P.J. Pilittere (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Javier Vazquez (3), Romulo Sanchez (2/3), Boone Logan (1/3), Chan Ho Park (1), David Robertson (1), Mark Melancon (2), Dustin Moseley (1)

Big Hits: A booming two-run double just shy of the warning track in center field by Derek Jeter (2-for-3). That double came before he hurt his hand, but the single came after. A three-run homer by Colin Curtis (1-for-3), his second dinger of the  spring. Ramiro Peña had two singles in three at-bats.

Who Pitched Well: Chan Ho Park looked sharp in a perfect fifth inning, needing just eight pitches to retire the side, striking out one and making a nice play coming off the mound. David Robertson struck out two (one on a nose-to-toes curve, the other on high heat) in a perfect sixth. Though Jorge Posada sullied it with a run-scoring passed ball, Boone Logan made like a proper LOOGY in the fourth, coming in with two out and the bases loaded to strike out Carl Crawford with a good slider and strand the remaining runners. Dustin Moseley worked a perfect ninth. Mark Melancon gave up a run following a booming leadoff triple by Justin Ruggiano in the eighth, but he didn’t allow any other hits and only one other man hit a ball to the outfield in his two innings of work. In the seventh, he erased a leadoff walk with a strike-em-out/throw-em-out double play with Austin Romine throwing out opposing catcher Dioner Navarro.

Javier Vazquez worked into some deep counts and walked two, shaving an inning of his intended workload by using up 60 pitches in just three frames, but he limited the damage to a solo homer by Carlos Peña (on a fastball up and on the outside half of the plate) and only allowed one other hit (a harmless single) while striking out three.

Who Didn’t: Romulo Sanchez gave up two runs on a walk and three hits, including a B.J. Upton double, before he could get three outs. He was all over the place, which was one reason Jorge Posada whiffed on a low fastball to allow one of those runs to score.

Nice Plays: On a slow roller to second, Robinson Cano circled the ball, came in on the grass, and scooped and shoveled the ball to first with his glove to get the out. Later in the game, the coaching staff had Cano positioned perfectly on Pat Burrell. Robby needed just two steps to knock down a would-be single up the middle that nearly took off David Robertson’s head. Chan Ho Park sprung off the mound to make a clean play and a strong throw on a bouncer well on the grass to the left side by Carlos Peña. Though it didn’t result in an out, Jorge Posada made a near-perfect throw to second on a stealing Carl Crawford in the third. Crawford was safe, but barely.

Oopsies: Playing shortstop, Kevin Russo was unable to come up with a hard grounder to his right in the eighth, allowing a run to score from third on what was ruled an error. On a chopper in front of the plate by Ben Zobrist in the third, Javier Vazquez and Jorge Posada both charged the ball but simultaneously pulled up expecting the other to make the play, thus allowing Zobrist to reach safely as the ball went untouched. In the fourth, Posada failed to block a low fastball from Romulo Sanchez that got through his wickets and allowed B.J. Upton to score from third. Later that inning, Posada had a Boone Logan fastball that was nearly a strike clank off his glove allowing another run to score. All of which would seem to bode well for Jesus Montero. Posada’s been out-hitting his defense for years. I’m guessing Montero can do the same.

Ouchies: A diving Derek Jeter, in failing to come up with a hard single to his left, got his throwing hand caught on the lip of the outfield grass but stayed in the game and got a hit in the bottom of that inning. He was seen wincing during warm-up throws later in the game, but, say it with me: he’s fine and will play tomorrow. A day after getting hit in the lower back with a Ryan Howard line-drive, Damaso Marte is doing well and could pitch in Friday’s home game.

An ugly spring debut from Damaso Marte helped the Phillies beat the Yankees 6-2 in Clearwater, but the story of the game was a strong four-inning appearance from Joba Chamberlain, who, having heard the gun, is finally keeping stride with Phil Hughes in the race for the final spot in the Opening Day rotation.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
R – Kevin Russo (2B)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Jorge Vazquez (3B), Mike Rivera (C), David Winfree (RF), Reid Gorecki (CF), Jamie Hoffmann (LF), Jon Weber (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Andy Pettitte (4), Damaso Marte (four batters), Amaury Sanit (1), Joba Chamberlain (4)

Big Hits: Francisco Cervelli went 3-for-3 with an RBI double and is hitting .583 on the month. Brett Gardner went 2-for-3 with a triple courtesy of a missed diving catch by Shane Victorino in center. Gardner also stole his first base of the spring.

Who Pitched Well: In his first actual game action (he previously threw two simulated games, one to avoid travel, the other due to rain), Andy Pettitte struck out four in four innings against just one walk. He did allow a pair of runs on five hits, but threw just 55 pitches. Amaury Sanit retired all three men he faced, striking out two. He hasn’t issued a walk or allowed a run in 3 2/3 innings this spring.

Most importantly, Joba Chamberlain answered the bell with four strong innings (including an unofficial bottom of the ninth with the home-team Phillies in the lead). He did allow a run, but on a well-placed bloop double over Kevin Russo’s head and a single. He also struck out five against just one walk after getting just two Ks against six walks in his previous 3 2/3 innings. Like Hughes on Tuesday, he did it over the game’s final four innings, but he faced a better group of hitters than Hughes did against a split-squad Astros road team. Having needed just 47 pitches to get through those four frames, Joba threw about 15 more in the bullpen. During the game, Chamberlain was not only efficient but was working quickly, showing the aggressive approach that so often seemed missing last year but showed its head in his three strong starts after the All-Star break. That is a very good indicator, as is the fact that his slider had that nasty break to it as seen in the highlight reel found here. Both of those things suggest that this fifth-starter battle could live up to its billing after all.

Who Didn’t: In his first spring appearance, Damaso Marte faced four batters without getting an out. Switch-hitters Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino singled. Righty Jayson Werth hit a three-run home run. Lefty Ryan Howard then singled off Marte, bouncing him from the game.

Ouchies: Howard’s liner hit Damaso Marte in the lower back and left a bruise. Marte was doing his exercises before the game was over and said he was fine after, but the Yankees might push back his next appearance to be on the safe side.

Other: Having finally faced major league batters, Andy Pettitte may have to start a minor league game his next time out so that Chamberlain can get his full pitch load in the major league game.

A.J. Burnett and Mariano Rivera, the latter in his spring debut, put a lot of runners on base against a pathetic split-squad Astros lineup, but only let one score. The preliminary Opening Day lineup plated three early runs, and Phil Hughes wrapped things up with four scoreless innings as the Yankees won 4-1.

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 (LF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Brett Gardner (CF)

Subs: Jorge Vazquez (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Jesus Montero (C), Jamie Hoffmann (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Austin Romine (DH)

Pitchers (IP): A.J. Burnett (2 1/3), Zach Segovia (1 2/3), Mariano Rivera (1), Phil Hughes (4)

Big Hits: A solo homer by Mark Teixeira (1-for-2, HBP). Doubles by Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano (both 1-for-3). Jorge Posada went 2-for-3 and is now hitting .421 on the spring.

Who Pitched Well: Zach Segovia retired all five men he faced, striking out two and picking up the win. Phil Hughes threw four scoreless innings allowing just three singles and a walk needing just 59 pitches, all while continuing to experiment with his changeup. At the same time, he was often working from behind in the count and faced the subs of the road split-squad of a terrible Astros team and still only struck out two (both on curveballs).

Who Didn’t: A.J. Burnett walked four and allowed a double and a single in 2 1/3 innings, using up his 65 pitches well before the Yankees’ goal for him of four innings. Burnett said he was struggling with his fastball command and overthrowing. Mariano Rivera showed some rust in his first inning of work of the spring, walking one, giving up a pair of singles (one hard hit, one that didn’t reach the outfield), and throwing 27 pitches. Still, he stranded all three runners.

Nice Plays: Running catches by Nick Swisher and Colin Curtis in the outfield.

Oopsies: Jorge Posada airmailed a throw over second base, but the runner was advanced on ball four anyway and didn’t take third on the overthrow. Robison Cano failed to get a double-play ball out of his glove in time for Derek Jeter to make the pivot. Phil Hughes dropped a comebacker for an error.

Ouchies: Mark Teixeira was hit in the back with a pitch, but stayed in the game and later homered.

Other: Although the batting order was a trial run at the Opening Day lineup, Joe Girardi was clear that he’s still experimenting with where Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner will play in the outfield, so don’t read anything into Granderson starting in left on Tuesday, even though I’m going to.

Props to the Star-Ledger‘s Marc Carig for providing some of the details via play-by-play on twitter as the game wasn’t on TV or radio in the New York area.

The Yankees have now played a dozen exhibition games, more than a third of their spring schedule. So what have we learned thus far?

Over at LoHud, Chad Jennings reports that, in Tuesday’s game, Joe Girardi will start a preliminary Opening Day lineup that is likely to look like this:

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/LF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF/CF)

Nick Johnson hitting second is among the Yankees’ worst-kept secrets. It was obvious the day they signed him that he was brought in to replace Johnny Damon in the two-hole with ability to work deep counts and get on base. The pleasant surprise from Johnson this spring has been his team-leading three home runs (all of which have come against the Pirates). No other Yankee has more than one. Johnson also has a pair of doubles and is slugging 1.308  and leading the Yankees in most major offensive categories. That despite missing some time after tweaking his lower back when his spikes got caught in the turf rug the team uses to protect the batting circle during batting practice.

Robinson Cano hitting fifth is a direct challenge to Cano to improve his numbers with runners in scoring position. Last year he hit .207/.242/.332 with runners in scoring position, and Kevin Long, who keeps such stats on the Yankee hitters, said that Cano’s swings on pitches out of the zone spiked in those situations. Cano hit .376/.407/.609 in 343 at-bats with the bases empty last year, and one of his goals this spring has been to maintain the same approach with runners on.

I expected Curtis Granderson to be the fifth-place hitter, but with Cano fifth, Granderson seventh makes sense so as not to have lefties hitting back-to-back, particularly when one of them is as susceptible to left-handed pitching as Granderson.

Brett Gardner batting ninth seems to suggest that Gardner is well on his way toward winning a starting job, and to hear Girardi speak to the YES crew during Saturday’s home game, that does seem to be the case. That was the first spring game that featured Gardner in center field and Granderson in left field in the starting lineup, and Girardi said that he was just trying to figure out which arrangement (that or with Granderson in center and Gardner in left) allowed the two to work best together. That clearly implied that Gardner would be starting at one of those two positions.

Gardner has hit just .158 (3-for-19) this spring, two of those hits being bunt singles, and hasn’t stolen a base or delivered an extra-base hit, but he does have four walks and a .304 OBP. His three challengers all have even lower averages and have combined for just one-extra base hit, one walk, and no steals: Jamie Hoffmann .150 (3-for-19, 2B), Randy Winn .133 (2-for-15, BB), Marcus Thames .111 (2-for-18).

In the battle for the backup infielder spot, Kevin Russo has distinguished himself at the plate, hitting .385/.500/.538 (5-for-13, 2 2B, 3 BB) and has rotated through second, third and shortstop without a significant gaffe. I don’t know if he’ll be able to overcome the Yankees’ existing preference for Ramiro Peña, who has struggled at the plate save for an early homer but played outstanding defense, but Russo is certainly making a strong impression, showing a great approach in the plate, and making solid contact with regularity.

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With the wind blowing out in Bradenton, the Pirates launched five home runs to beat the Yankees’ road squad 10-5. If not for Bucs non-roster reliever Jean Machi stinking it up in the ninth inning, the game wouldn’t even have been that close.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (1B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
L – Brett Gardner (CF)
S – Randy Winn (DH)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
R – Jorge Vazquez (3B)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Mike Rivera (C), Jon Weber (RF), Greg Golson (CF), David Winfree (LF), Reid Gorecki (DH)

Pitchers (IP): CC Sabathia (4 1/3), Jonathan Albaladejo (2/3), Mark Melancon (1), Dustin Moseley (1), Ivan Nova (1)

Big Hits: A two-out wind-blown solo homer to straight-away center  in the sixth by Nick Johnson (1-for-2, BB) for the first Yankee run of the game. A two-RBI double by Greg Golson in his only at-bat. No Yankee had multiple hits and only Johnson reached base more than once.

Who Pitched Well: CC Sabathia gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings, but two of those runs scored after he left the game. In his first four innings the only run he allowed came on a wind-blown solo homer by Akinori Iwamura and he only allowed to other hits, both singles, and walked two in his full outing, though he also only struck out two.  Mark Melancon worked around a leadoff single in the sixth, striking out two and erasing the single with Francisco Cervelli’s help via a caught-stealing.

Who Didn’t: Jonathan Albaladejo walked one and gave up two doubles and a single over the course of just six batters, allowing two inherited runners to score as well as three of his own. His spring ERA, which doesn’t include inherited runners who have scored, is 45.00. Dustin Moseley gave up three solo home runs as well as a single in the seventh. Ivan Nova gave up a solo homer to Bobby Crosby (who also homered off Moseley) with two outs in the ninth. He then gave up two singles and a walk, but got the third out before any of them could score.

Nice Plays: Francisco Cervelli threw a strike right to the inside part of second base to nail Lastings Milledge trying to steal in the sixth. Hat-tip to Delwin Young who robbed Marcus Thames of a hit in the seventh by leaping to snag a line drive well over his head.

Oopsies: Nick Swisher wiffed while trying to cut off a Lastings Milledge double in the gap, but Brett Gardner backed up the play and threw behind Milledge as he rounded second, trapping him in a run-down.

Cuts: Right-handed starter Zach McAllister, catcher Jose Gil and righty reliever Grant Duff, all non-roster invitees, were reassigned to minor league camp. Gil is organizational filler in an organization filled with actual catching prospects. He could serve as Austin Romine’s backup in Double-A this year or have a bigger role in High-A Tampa. Duff and his high-90s heat will likely slot into the Trenton bullpen, where he’ll have a lot to prove. McAllister is the organization’s top pitching prospect and is being farmed out this early because starters are going deeper into games and there are only so many innings available in the major league games with five pitchers theoretically competing for the fifth spot in the big league rotation. McAllister should be the ace of the Scranton rotation this year and could be in play as a mid-season replacement should the rotation require it. If not, expect to see him called up in September and competing for the fifth-starter spot himself next year.

Other: Watching the Pirates’ broadcast on MLB Network, it was a bit sad to see how hard Pittsburgh was pushing its season ticket packages. It was also frustrating; I wish the Yankees were that desperate for my business.

Though the weather in New York on Saturday was like the inside of a dishwasher, things cleared up in Florida, allowing the Yankees to finally get back in action with a pair of split-squad games. At home, the Yankees jumped all over the Orioles Jeremy Guthrie and held on for a 5-3 win thanks to four strong innings from Alfredo Aceves. On the road, the Yankees were held down by a pair of Tiger pitchers trying to make comebacks as Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman combined to allow just two runs in six innings leading to a 6-2 Detroit win.

Meanwhile, the Yankees made their first cuts of the spring, farming out eight pitchers and a catcher. Details below after the game summaries.

Yankees 5, Orioles 3

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
L – Curtis Granderson (LF)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
R – Brandon Laird (3B)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)

Subs: P.J. Pilittere (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Jesus Montero (C), Jon Weber (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Colin Curtis (LF)

Pitchers (IP): Javier Vazquez (3), Alfredo Aceves (4), Royce Ring (1), David Robertson (1)

Big Hits: A double over the left-fielder’s head by Nick Johnson (2-for-3, BB). Jorge Posada singled three times in four trips. Robinson Cano and Brandon Laird each singled twice in four trips.

Who Pitched Well: Everyone. With a strong wind blowing straight out, Javier Vazquez and Alfredo Aceves each gave up a home run on a gut-high fastball on the inside half of the plate (to Ty Wigginton and Garrett Atkins, respectively), but otherwise gave up very little. Vazquez issued one walk, which scored on Wigginton’s homer, and three harmless singles while striking out two in three frames. Aceves walked no one in his four innings, allowed two harmless singles, one of which only traveled about 20 feet up the first base line, and Atkins’ homer was a solo shot, though he only struck out one batter. Royce Ring worked around a single for a scoreless eighth. David Robertson worked around a single and struck out the other three batters he faced in the ninth.

Nice Plays: Early in the game, Ramiro Peña ranged to his left to snag a hard grounder, spun and made a strong, accurate off-balance throw for the out. Later, he dove to his right and scrambled to his knees to start a 6-4-3 double play. Brandon Laird also made a nice play ranging to his left in front of Peña and firing a strike to first base. Also, I have to tip my hat to Ty Wigginton, who is playing second base for the O’s in place of Brian Roberts, who is out with a herniated disk in his back. Wigginton ranged to his right, snagged a grounder behind second base and flipped it to Cesar Izturis with his glove while in stride to start a 4-6-3 double play.

Oopsies: Juan Miranda had a bounder about one foot to his right clang off his glove. It ricocheted right to Robinson Cano, but Miranda missed first base with his left foot while taking the throw and ran into the runner. He got an error, though I’m not sure for which part of that play.

Tigers 6, Yankees 2

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
R – Jamie Hoffmann (CF)
R – David Winfree (DH)
R – Eduardo Nuñez (2B)

Subs: Mike Rivera (1B), Kevin Russo (SS), Jorge Vazquez (3B), Austin Romine (C), Reid Gorecki (RF), Edwar Gonzalez (LF), Jose Gil (DH)

Pitchers: Chad Gaudin (3), Sergio Mitre (4), Boone Logan (1)

Big Hits: A double by Alex Rodriguez (1-for-3). Mark Teixeira singled twice and walked in three trips. Francisco Cervelli, wearing his new helmet singled twice in three trips. Derek Jeter singled twice in four trips.

Who Pitched Well: Boone Logan threw a perfect ninth inning.

Who Didn’t: Chad Gaudin gave up three runs in his three innings on a walk, three singles and a pair of doubles while striking out just one. His spring ERA is now 7.71. Sergio Mitre gave up three runs in four innings on a walk, three singles, a double, and a Johnny Damon solo homer, though he did also strike out three.

Oopsies: Jorge Vazquez booted one at the hot corner. Jamie Hoffmann played a fly ball by Miguel Cabrera into a double in center, but wasn’t charged with an error.

Cuts: Three pitchers on the 40-man roster were optioned out: Andrew Brackman, Christian Garcia, and Wilkin De La Rosa. Brackman was optioned to High-A Tampa, where he’ll slot into the rotation and hope to prove that his terrible 2009 season was the result of rust, bad mechanics, and his continuing rehab from his 2007 Tommy John surgery. Garcia, who is coming off a season largely lost to elbow surgery, was optioned to Double-A Trenton, where he’ll also be in the rotation. De La Rosa was optioned to Triple-A Scranton, though there’s some thought that he might actually open the season in Double-A if the Triple-A rotation fills up. He could become an option as a second lefty for the major league bullpen if he pitches well.

Five other non-roster pitchers were reassigned: Kei Igawa, Kevin Whelan, Jeremy Bleich, Wilkins Arias, and D.J. Mitchell. Igawa is persona non grata and likely headed back to the Scranton rotation. Whelan could be in the pen in Trenton or Scranton, but wherever he lands he’ll have to work on reducing his walk rate. Bleich, the Yankees’ top 2008 draft pick, should start in the Trenton rotation. Arias, a lefty, should be in the Scranton bullpen. Mitchell could start the season in the Double-A rotation after a breakout pro debut last year. Whelan, Bleich, Arias, and Mitchell combined for just three innings pitched in the exhibition games.

Kyle Higashioka was the catcher reassigned. He’ll be making his full-season debut this year and is no longer needed in camp with eight fewer pitchers around.

One advantage of today’s game being canceled is that it gives me room to share this roundtable discussion about the fifth-starter competition and spring training competitions in general that Jay Jaffe and I participated in over at Steven Goldman’s Pinstriped Bible on YES. A quick sample:

Cliff: . . . what Girardi is looking for (I assume and hope) is execution of pitches, game planning, the ability to set-up hitters, work out of jams, miss bats, avoid hard contact, turn lineups over, etc. This is the one time of year when I agree with those who diminish the importance of statistics. The sample is indeed too small, thus one bad outing, due to the after-effects of the flu or fatigue toward the end of an outing in which the pitcher in question is extending his pitch count, can ruin an ERA. Also, as Girardi has said, the first couple of spring starts are really tune-ups in which starters don’t use all of their pitches and are just trying to build arm strength and get a feel for things. So for Hughes and Chamberlain, as well, the charge is to execute in a high-pressure situation, to show what they can do, but I don’t think that necessarily means the pitcher with the better ERA is going to get the job. If Joba continues to struggle but suddenly finds it in his last two spring starts and looks like the guy from 2007 again, I think the job will be, and should be, his.

Read the rest here.