By now, most of you have heard about the revelations about Barry Bond’s steroid use published in Sports Illustrated. Those come courtesy of an excerpt from Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, the two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who chased down the BALCO story beginning in the fall of 2003.

Once you get your full of Bonds’ juicing regime, might I recommend you turn to Howard Bryant’s Juicing the Game, which puts Bonds, BALCO, and Williams and Fainaru-Wada into context by telling the entire history of steroid use in baseball and the resulting scandal. Juicing the Game, which I edited, is now available in paperback with a new epilogue covering the 2005 season and the Palmeiro revelations. If you need further convincing, check out Alex’s objective review of the hardcover.

Since I’m on the topic of books I helped bring into existence, I will be appearing at Coliseum Books this Saturday at 6pm with Steven Goldman and Christina Kahrl to promote Baseball Prospectus 2006, to which I contributed the chapter on the Cleveland Indians.

Later that same night I’ll be switching gears to attend the book release party for the US edition of Simon Reynolds’ Rip It Up and Start Again, a history of postpunk music which I edited. The party may fill up, but it’s ostensibly open to the public, so come on out and boogie to some death disco

Finally, don’t forget to pre-order Alex’s biography of Curt Flood, Stepping Up, which is scheduled for release in two weeks.

While I’m at it, I should thank each and every one of you for your support of this site, which has made our participation in the above projects (Alex’s book and my BP chapter in particular) possible.

I was upset to hear the news about Kirby Puckett yesterday. Man, 45 is just too young. I was 13-years old when he broke in with the Twins and remember him vividly as an energetic and enthusiastic player. In recent years, a darker, more disturbing side of Puckett was revealed, which underscores not only how human athletes are, but how different they can be from their public persona, and how difficult it is for many of them to adjust to life after the game. Puckett’s post-baseball life was evidentally a struggle filled with pain. It got me to thinking, “What if a guy like Derek Jeter ended up in a similar fashion?” It’s almost impossible to believe right now–and I say almost, because, really, there isn’t much left to shock us these days–but anything can happen right?

Ultimately, I think that Puckett will be best remembered for what he did on the field. I hope the same can be said for the Yankee Captain, who was the subject of a puff piece by Don Amore this morning, but you never know:

“You’re talking to a huge Jeter fan,” said J.P. Ricciardi, GM of the Blue Jays. “If you throw out the numbers of everything he’s done, he plays the game the right way. We tell our young players, `Watch the way Jeter plays and try to be like him.’ He doesn’t talk a lot of crap. He’s the kind of guy, if he were playing in Yankee Stadium and there was nobody in the ballpark, he would still play hard.”

Joe Dimaggio never understoood or appreciated the reference Simon and Garfunkel made to him in “Mrs. Robinson.” It’s okay that he didn’t get it, because so many other people did recognize that Dimaggio stood for something, a sensibility, a period of time. Jeter is someone who could wind up in a song like that one day too, don’t you think?

Pete Abraham, the Yankee beat writer for the Journal News recently launched a Yankee-blog of his own. It’s quickly become a daily stop for me, as Abraham offers some insider tidbits and observations that most of us bloggers just aren’t privy to. If you haven’t already, consider making The LoHud Yankees Blog part of your regular Yankee rotation–and feel free to drop Abraham a line and let him know what you’d like to see from his blog as the season unfolds.

Returning home, the Yankees–sans anti-WBC propaganda–rematched with the Blue Jays, winning their second straight game despite a poor first outing from Chien-Ming Wang. Final score: 11-8.

Lineup:

Miguel Cairo SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Hideki Matsui LF
Jason Giambi 1B
Andy Phillips DH
Mitch Jones RF
Kelly Stinnett C
Marcos Vechionacci 3B
Kevin Reese CF

Subs: Eric Duncan 1B, Kevin Howard 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Felix Escalona 3B, Ben Davis C, Wil Nieves C, Chris Prieto RF, Melky Cabrera CF, Kevin Thompson LF

Pitchers: Chien-Ming Wang, Aaron Small, Ramiro Mendoza, Scott Erickson, Ron Villone, J. Brent Cox

Big Hits: Homers by Cano (one on, 2 for 2) and Nieves (a solo shot that hit the base of the foul pole in right, 1 for 1), Doubles by Matsui (1 for 1, 2 BB), Jones (1 for 4), Thompson (1 for 2) and Duncan (1 for 4). Andy Phillips (2 for 5) picked up three RBIs.

Who Pitched Well: Ron Villone struck out two in 1 1/3 hitless innings, echoing fellow lefty Mike Myers by making up for an ugly first outing in his second appearance, J. Brent Cox pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the save, Scott Erickson, alarmingly, struck out two and walked none while allowing two hits in 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Who Didn’t: Chien-Ming Wang said he had his sinker working in the pen, but once he hit the mound everything was up, resulting in home runs by Troy Glaus (that’ll happen) and Erik Hinske (who you’ll recall beat Randy Johnson on a slider in that fantastic duel between Johnson and Roy Halladay last April). I caught the pitch to Glaus on Encore. It sunk, but it started at the shoulders and sunk into the zone where Glaus absolutely creamed it to dead center. It would have been in the black seats in the Stadium (Legends Field, built to the same dimensions as Yankee Stadium, has a large black screen beyond the 408-foot sign representing the black seats, Glaus’s shot hit half-way up the screen).

Nice Play: Mitch Jones broke out his canon again, nailing Aaron Hill going first to third on a single, his second outfield assist in three games.

Oopsies: Bad throws by Cairo from shortstop and Vechionacci from third.

Ouchies: Hideki Matsui played the field for the first time and reached base in all three trips to the plate. He stumbled around first base on his first-inning double, but showed no ill effects. Jason Giambi, meanwhile, left the game in the second with a cramp in his left calf and is expected to sit out today’s game as well. Gary Sheffield sat out with his sore hamstring and will also miss today’s game. Carl Pavano threw another 30 pitches off a bullpen mound, mixing fastballs and changeups, though only ten were tossed from the rubber. Octavio Dotel also threw 30 pitches from the bullpen mound, 15 of them fastballs from the rubber.

M.I.A.: Mariano Rivera did not wind up making his spring debut, the Yankees preferring to give him an extra day of rest after his Saturday bullpen session. He’ll pitch today. There are six other healthy Yankee campers who have not yet seen game action: Danny Garcia, Jason Brown, T.J. Beam, Mark Corey, Jose Veras, and, say it with me, Colter Bean, the only one of the six who should be getting a serious look this spring.

The Yankees made their first cuts of the spring on Sunday, reassigning catcher Jose Gil and pitchers Jorge DePaula, Stephen White and Kris Wilson to minor league camp. Of the four, only DePaula saw game action this spring, surrendering three runs on a walk and a pair of homers by Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand (the latter of whom had been hit on the wrist by Jaret Wright in his previous at-bat). Gil is a low-minors prospect who could use to play more often than he would have with the big boys this spring. White is a mid-level prospect coming off an injury-plagued season who could likely use same. Wilson, 29, is a never-was who won’t be, the Yankees having used up their miracle juice on Aaron Small last year. DePaula, now 27 and nearly two years away from his Tommy John surgery, has just reached that status.

Elsewhere, it appears that Al Leiter doesn’t really have any designs on breaking camp with the Yankees, but rather signed his minor league deal so that he’d be available for the World Baseball Classic (not that he needed the contract to make the Classic, but that, unlike Roger Clemens, he wasn’t guaranteed a roster spot and needed a place to stay in shape and keep his name in the mind of US manager Buck Martinez). Some choice quotes from Senator Al: “This could be the last thing I do, very much so.” “My mind was more on this than the other [making the Yankees].” “When this is over, Roger will pitch. For me, this could be it.”

For all intents and purposes, this means that Al’s minor league deal is something of a sham, and that we can more or less place him on the cut list with DePaula et. al. The primary beneficiary of this revelation is Matt Smith, who looked sharp striking out two in a 1-2-3 ninth in Thursday’s opener.

Here’s an in-a-box type look at the Yankee action since Friday. Today the Yankees take on the Blue Jays at home at 1:15 with Chien-Ming Wang making his spring debut and Mariano Rivera scheduled to do the same.

Friday:

Taking to the road (and leaving behind the ouchy Matsui and Sheffield and catcher Jorge Posada), the Yanks rematch with the Phillies, only to lose a high-scoring sea-saw battle in the ninth 11-10.

Lineup:

Kevin Thompson – LF
Robinson Cano – 2B
Andy Phillips – DH
Jason Giambi – 1B
Kelly Stinnett – C
Melky Cabrera – CF
Miguel Cairo – 3B
Bubba Crosby – RF
Felix Escalona – SS

Subs: Eric Duncan 1B, Russ Johnson 1B/3B, Kevin Howard 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Wil Nieves C, Chris Prieto RF, Mitch Jones LF, Kevin Reese PH

Pitchers: Jaret Wright, Jorge DePaula, Ron Villone, Scott Erickson, Ramiro Mendoza, Matt Childers, Frank Brooks

Big Hits: Doubles by Cano (1 for 3), Escalona (1 for 2), Cairo (1 for 4), Mitch Jones (2 for 2) and Melky Cabrera (4 for 5). Kevin Thompson went 3 for 3, with a walk, scoring two runs, but was caught stealing for the second time in as many games (though replays showed he was safe in Thursday’s game). Jones and Eric Duncan came up with two-out hits in the ninth to cap a two-run rally against Tom Gordon, making his spring debut, to tie the score at 10-10.

Who Pitched Well: Matt Childers pitched 1 2/3 scoreless, one of only two pitchers on both teams, 12 pitchers in total, to escape unscathed (the Phillies Brian Sanches being the other). That’s about it.

Oopsies: Robinson Cano misplayed a hard hit grounder up the middle for an error.

Ouchies: After Jaret Wright hit Aaron Rowand in the wrist with a pitch, ex-Yank Jon Lieber plunked Felix Escalona. Escalona was not injured.

Saturday:

Back at home in Tampa, the Yanks stack their line-up, with Matsui making his spring debut, but struggle to score, losing 4-1 to the Reds.

Lineup:

Miguel Cairo – SS
Robinson Cano – 2B
Gary Sheffield – RF
Jason Giambi – 1B
Hideki Matsui – DH
Jorge Posada – C
Kevin Reese – CF
Marcos Vechionacci – 3B
Kevin Thompson – LF

Subs: Andy Phillips 1B, Felix Escalona 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Omir Santos C, Mitch Jones RF, Melky Cabrera LF, Eric Duncan DH, Kevin Howard PH

Pitchers: Randy Johnson, Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, Darrell Rasner, Dusty Bergman

Big Hits: Doubles by Posada (1 for 2) and Duncan (1 for 1)

Who Pitched Well: Scott Proctor pitched two hitless innings, striking out three and walking two, Darrell Rasner pitched two scoreless innings allowing just a single.

Nice Plays: Mitch Jones gunned down Austin Kearns at home.

Good Sign: Jorge Posada was behind the plate for Randy Johnson’s first spring start. Joe Torre said that the two seemed to work well together and that the whole personal catcher thing was “a non-issue.”

Bad Sign: A sign at Legends Field apologizes to fans for the absence of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Bernie Williams (though likely not Al Leiter), all of whom are participating in the WBC. The sign reads

We are sorry that certain players will not be present for portions of spring training. The New York Yankess [sic] did not vote to support this event. Any comments you have regarding the World Baseball Classic should be directed to the commissioner of Major League Baseball or the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Ouchies: Hideki Matsui made his spring debut after missing the first two games with a swollen left knee. Gary Sheffield played the field for the first time after being slowed by back spasms. Bubba Crosby was a late scratch after being hit on his left index finger during a bunting drill. Carl Pavano threw 30 pitches off a mound, his first mound work since August. Octavio Dotel threw 30 pitches from half-way up a mound, his first bullpen session since his June Tommy John surgery.

Sunday:

Back on the road, the Yankees again took a limited squad to face the Blue Jays, pulling off their first win of the spring 3-2.

Lineup:

Melky Cabrera – CF
Robinson Cano – 2B
Hideki Matsui – DH
Jorge Posada – C
Andy Phillips – 1B
Mitch Jones – RF
Russ Johnson – 3B
Kevin Thompson – LF
Felix Escalona – SS

Subs: Miguel Cairo 2B, David Parrish C, Eric Duncan DH

Pitchers: Mike Mussina, Philip Hughes, Mike Myers, Jeffrey Karstens, Matt DeSalvo

Big Hits: Doubles by Matsui (3 for 3), Phillips (1 for 5) and Cabrera (3 for 5). Phillips’ double plated Matsui in the fifth inning for the decisive run. Phillips’ excuse-me opposite field shot in Thursday’s game remains the only Yankee homer of the spring. Cabrera was 7 for 11 with a pair of doubles on the weekend. He and Kevin Thompson (7 for 11 overall with two walks) are the leading hitters in camp, though Andy Phillips slips between the two with eight total bases. Phillips, Cabrera and Thompson also boast three of the four top at-bat totals in camp (Robinson Cano being the other), proof that the WBC could be very good for farmhands around the league.

Who Pitched Well: Just about everyone. Mike Myers made-up for his opening day performance by pitching 1 1/3 hitless innings. Jeff Karstens struck out two and walked none in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Matt DeSalvo pitched two scoreless for the save. Philip Hughes didn’t pitch particularly well, allowing a run on two walks and a hit in 1 1/3 innings, but picked up the win.

Ouchies: Sheffield was a last-minute scratch due to a tight hamstring tweaked bursting out of the batters box in Saturday’s game, Crosby missed the game with a splint on his index finger, though x-rays were negative. Tanyon Sturtze threw batting practice for the first time this spring. Hideki Matsui DHed due to . . . allergies.

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Sam Borden delivers the annual Mariano Rivera piece for the News today. Standard stuff, fine enough, but here’s what I liked:

“If I have nothing left, I won’t be here,” he says flatly. “I’ll go home. I won’t (hang on). If I can’t get anybody out, it’s time to go home. And I will do that.”

…”He’s going to go out on his own terms,” [Jorge Posada] said. “He’s just going to say it one day. You’re going to be surprised. He’s just going to be walking out the door and we’ll say, ‘What?’ and that will be how it ends.”

That’s perfect. I can totally see Mariano just dropping the bomb on us one day and that’s that, he’s out. Another spring with Mariano is certainly something to be thankful for as a Yankee fan. And that’s word to Big Bird.

I love unexpected fat asses, especially in sports. I love watching enormous athletes who have a lot of power but take a long time to gain a head of steam, guys you expect to be faster than they are–Dave Winfield, Keyshwawn Johnson, Bernard King come to mind. And of course I love just straight up fat asses like Dave Kingman, Rob Deer, Pete Incaviglia or Adam Dunn too. Hey, Alfonso Soriano is a fat ass in a skinny body. Being a fat ass is a state of mind more than anything else.

Klap’s got an article today on our boy Robbie Cano. The Yankees’ second year second baseman has smooth moves and a cocksure disposition. But evidentally, Cano’s gotten mad, uh, puffy in the off-season (think Shelley Duvall singing, “And he’s Large,” in Robert Altman’s very weird “Popeye” movie):

There’s no mistaking how much bulkier he looks, especially in the trunk area. One scout who’s been watching the Yankees recently said: “I wouldn’t call Cano fat, but he’s going to be slower than last year, and he was slow to begin with.

“If he’s going in this direction at his age, what’s he going to look like at 28?”

I laughed out loud when I read this thinking, yup, Cano’s definitely in the all-time fat ass club, and he’s just a second year player. But the Yankees aren’t blind to it becoming an issue–they’ve got Captain Jeter, MVP Alex Rodriguez, and Sgt Red Ass on the case:

Third base coach Larry Bowa, appointed as Cano’s personal tutor, made a point of watching videos of his pupil. Bowa noted how many of Cano’s errors were the result of poor concentration, particularly dropped throws from Jeter while standing on second base.

“What Robbie needs to learn is to concentrate every single pitch, every single inning. That will come in time,” Bowa said. “He’s a good kid and he wants to learn, that’s encouraging. He is definitely not lazy. That’s one word I heard used about him when I came here — lazy — but I haven’t seen it.”

…Little by little, the Yankees hope to turn Cano into a miniature version of Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, two of the team’s hardest workers. A-Rod’s fitness lifestyle borders on obsession, while Jeter takes more ground balls during batting practice than any other Yankee.

…The kid can go either way,” said [a Yankee] executive. “It’s totally up to him.”

I’ll be rooting for Cadillac Cano. Be interesting to see if he embraces the Jeter/Rodriguez work ethic, or if he’s content to eat ice cream, hit dingers, and whiff alot like our boy ‘lil Soriano, or that chucklehead Mondesi.

On a more personal note, I remember my favorite part of playing baseball in high school was staying late after practice, in April through mid May, until it got too dark to see the ball anymore, taking ground balls. I played second base and it seemed that so long as I wanted to stay out there the coach would be there to hit them. It was something I could do with a lot more confidence than hitting. So I was particularly amped when I read the ending of the Klapisch piece:

“I’m going to teach Robbie that when he’s done taking 25 grounders, we’re not done. There’s 25 more,” Bowa said. “There’s always going to be 25 more.”

That’s dope. Got a lot of Fast Eddie Felson circa “The Color of Money” to it. It’s so cheesy, but so great. Got to love what Bowa’s bringing to the team so far, right?

The Yankees played their first exhibition game of the spring yesterday afternoon, hosting the Phillies at Legends Field in Tampa. Last year, I was able to blog the game live during a slow day at work thanks to a free MLBtv broadcast. This year I wasn’t quite as lucky. Instead I present a running commentary on the YES Network’s 7:00pm Encore presentation of the game.

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The Yankees take the field for their first intersquad game of the spring today when they host the Phillies at Legends Field in Tampa. With that, one of this offseason’s burgeoning controversies will come to a head. Or rather it should have, but the key players will be on a plane to Arizona to join the USA’s entry into the World Baseball Classic.

Still, despite their absence, now that Joe Torre will once again be filling out line-up cards on a daily basis there is sure to be a great deal of debate over the issue of who should bat lead-off once the season starts, Yankee captain and 2005 lead-off man Derek Jeter or the newly acquired Johnny Damon, who repeatedly described himself as the best lead-off hitter in the game after signing with the Yankees in late December. Given the bearded Boston baggage that comes with Damon and the reverence afforded Jeter, as well as the considerable lead-off skills of both men, the debate could get ugly. I’m here to nip it in the bud.

Choosing which players take the field is the most important job any manager has. Productive players can only produce on the field, while a team’s 27 outs can disappear in a hurry when a manager calls the wrong number. Having chosen a starting nine, a manager can further distribute playing time within a given game by calling on pinch-hitters, pinch-runners and defensive replacements. Often overlooked, however, is his ability to distribute plate appearances via the batting order.

While there’s a great deal of debate over the significance of batting order, one thing that’s undeniable is its effect on playing time. Each successive spot in the order will receive approximately 18 fewer plate appearances over the course of a full season than the spot above it. This adds up to a whopping 144 plate appearances between the top and bottom spots, but the difference is largely insignificant when deciding between two consecutive spots. For example, the difference between a line-up with a .400 on-base percentage in the lead-off spot and a .300 OBP in the two-hole and a line-up with those two batters switched in the order is just 1.8 outs over a full season (.100 OBP points * 18 at-bats).

The difference between a line-up that starts Jeter-Damon and one that starts Damon-Jeter is even smaller. By the most basic logic, a line-up that puts Jeter ahead of Damon is a better line-up because of Jeter’s reliably superior on-base percentage. However, based on a projection using Jeter’s career OBP of .386 (his 2005 mark was .389) and Damon’s road OBP from 2005 of .342, the difference between the two line-ups is a grand total of less than 0.8 outs over the course of 162 games. That’s zero-point-eight, or a fraction of one out. Bear that in mind the next time you find yourself getting worked up over the top two spots in Torre’s batting order.

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I’ve begun to see that the pleasure men take in being with each other — playing cards together, being in a bar together — isn’t actively anti-female. It isn’t against women; it just has nothing to do with them. It seems to come from some point in their lives before they were aware that there were women. They have so much fun together. I really have become much more sympathetic to men because of my job.

Jane Gross, on her experiences as woman sportswriter, to Roger Angell, 1979

I just love this quote–I’ve used it several times now–because it keeps me in touch what I find so appealing about watching baseball: the companionship, the intimacy, the natural displays of affection that ballplayers share. These days we are reminded at every turn of the distance between us and big league athletes, but we can still observe how these guys pal around, in an unaffected, generous way. Manny Ramirez’s infectious warmth spread to the entire Red Sox club a few years ago as teammates would openly hug after they hit a home run. But I remember watching Kevin Brown massage Jon Lieber’s shoulder in the dugout as they watched a game–and Brown was supposed to be the biggest ogre going.

Just this morning the Daily News ran a photo of Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, the two greatest Yankee everyday players of the Joe Torre years. Jeter is seated in the dugout leaning over, blowing some dirt off of his glove. Williams stands above Jeter, his left hand cupped in the middle of the Captain’s head. In his right hand is a cup of water which is about to pour over Jeter. His left hand is placed so as to prevent any water from running down the front of Jeter’s face, and Williams has a look of concentration on his face. It is a common enough sight, but noteable because of Jeter’s casual, almost unaware posture, and the great care Williams seems to be taking; they are completely comfortable with each other. Love that kind of stuff.

Mike Mussina pitched against Phillip Hughes yesterday. Moose likes what he sees so far from the Yankees’ right-handed prospect. According to the New York Times:

“He looked good,” Mussina said, after showering and pulling on his bright red Captain America T-shirt. “The ball comes out of his hand real nice. The one day I played catch with him, the ball was coming out of his hand easy and smooth. I hope he stays healthy.”

Joe Torre added:

“He’s pretty impressive, there’s no question, but a lot of things can happen on the way,” Torre said. “He just seems pretty grounded for a kid his age and with the stuff he possesses. We’ll see. He’ll be around for a little bit. As long as we can continue to get him work, he’ll be here.”

John Harper sat down with Al Leiter who has become close with Alex Rodriguez. Here’s Senator Al’s take on the man people love to hate:

“In his own way he has learned to be guarded,” Leiter said. “I think a lot of it has to do with being labeled when he was a junior in high school as someone so talented that he could someday be the greatest player in the history of the game.

“That’s some pretty heavy stuff to carry around for years. And because he is who he is, people want to know what he does, how he looks, what brand of sweat pants he’s wearing. He’s learned to be careful, but at his core he’s this jovial guy with an almost-childlike sense of fun who likes to be a little goofy and likes to have a good time, so he tries to be protective of saying the wrong thing, and as a result, it may seem like he’s insincere but it’s more not saying just the right thing.”

Leiter goes on to say how much Rodriguez enjoys talking about the nuts and bolts of the game–which reminded me of the last game of the regular season in Boston last year, with the Yanks well behind in the game, there was Rodriguez on the bench in an animated discussion with Chien-Ming Wang for several innings. Leiter continues:

A-Rod “gets the mental thing, too,” according to Leiter. Conquering postseason pressure is another matter.

“He recognizes what he means to the team in those situations,” said Leiter, “and when you try to carry the load, when you think outside of that little box you want to be in, you can’t perform at your best.

“Alex is too acutely aware of his surroundings sometimes. At those moments you need that laser-beam focus on the pitcher and what you’re doing at the plate. You can’t be thinking, ‘God, I need a hit here.’ For me, when I’m locked in, I don’t hear the crowd or think about the situation. Every single pitch is very, very clear to me. It’s elevating the process of visualization one step further.”

If only Rodriguez had a sense of humor like Barry Bonds…

The Yankees played their first game of 2006 yesterday afternoon in Tampa. Well, sorta. They played an intrasquad game with Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson managing the two squads, but it’s something.

As is the tradition, the elder Berra’s squad featured the regulars while Jackson’s team was loaded with minor leaguers and hopefuls. The reverse was true for the pitchers, as Jackson got to start Mike Mussina, who pitched two scoreless innings against his own kind, while Yogi started things off with Philip Hughes, who hurled a pair of hitless frames against his own kind.

According to a report from Sunday, the remaining pitchers were to be Steven White, Scott Erickson, Darrell Rasner, Matt DeSalvo, Dusty Bergman and Jose Veras for Jackson and T.J. Beam, Jeffrey Karstens, Mark Corey, Frank Brooks and Matt Childers for Berra.

One line-up note for Berra’s team: Bernie Williams got his first taste of right field since 1992 (when he was 23), reportedly making a nice snag in the gap on a ball hit by Kevin Thompson.

The reason Bernie was in right was that Gary Sheffield was held out due to back spasms he experienced on Sunday. Sheffield’s a back and Hideki Matsui’s left knee (Matsui also sat out the intrasquad game due to minor swelling in that knee) are the current crop of spring aches and pains. You all recall how Jorge Posada’s stiff neck and Randy Johnson’s tight calf derailed their seasons last year, right? No? Oh, that’s because they didn’t. The reason spring training exists is so that players can get back in game shape and have ample time to nurse such minor boo-boos along the way. There’s no point in fretting over each one.

That said, Carl Pavano’s back and Tanyon Sturtze’s shoulder remain worth watching. There was no new news on either yesterday. Mussina, meanwhile, threw in the intrasquad game to get lined up for his first spring start this Sunday. You’ll note that the “Important Dates” section on the side bar has reverted to “Upcoming Schedule.” The Yankees kick off their exhibition season on Thursday against the Phillies with Shawn Chacon on the mound. Chacon will be followed by Jaret Wright (who you may recall had a great spring last year), Randy Johnson, Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang in the Pavano-free five-man spring rotation.

Meanwhile, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon are the only Yankees participating in the World Baseball Classic. The US training camp opens Friday at Chase Field in Phoenix. The US squad will play an exhibition against a Giants slit-squad on Sunday in Scottsdale, Arizona, then play their first tournament game on Tuesday, also in Chase Field. Tournament schedule here, TV schedule here.

Meanwhile, back in Tampa, the absence of those three could mean extra long looks for Felix Escalona and Russ Johnson in the infield and Kevin Thompson and Kevin Reese in the outfield. Joe Torre has already said that he will not use Eric Duncan at third base this spring, to allow him to focus fully on continuing to learn first base.

It’s a bit fractured, but that’s our first taste of real baseball news this spring, so savor it. I’ll finally get that line-up post up tomorrow. Then Thursday: baseball!

Quickly cruising around the local papers this morning, we’ve got Sam Borden’s interview with Steve Swindal, Jim Baumbach on the budding relationship between Robinson Cano and Larry Bowa, Don Amore catches up with Andy Phillips, Mark Feinsand details Eric Duncan’s fine spring thus far, an amusing piece on Jason Giambi’s new workout partner, Bob Klap on Lee Maz, and finally, Tyler Kepner catches up with our boy Bernie:

“It’s all in the way you look at it,” Williams said Monday after lifting weights long after most of his teammates had left. “You can look at it and say, ‘Oh, they’re messing with me, they don’t respect me, this and that.’ But you’ve got to make your choice.

“I think if I look at it in a negative way, it would just put a bad taste in my mouth that I shouldn’t have, because there’s been so much positive and so much greatness that I’ve witnessed in the last 15 years. You want to remember the positives. At this point in my life, this is gravy, man. This is a great time of my life.”

Bernie has always reminded me of the children’s story Ferdinand the Bull. Nice to see that he continues to stop and smell the flowers.

The Negro League election to the Hall of Fame was announced this afternoon and neither Minnie Minoso or Buck O’Neil made the cut. I am personally bummed for both of them, but don’t expect either to feel sorry for themselves.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have several encounters with O’Neil. The first was of the more memorable days of my life. Twelve years ago, I worked as a runner for Ken Burns as he and his team of editors mixed the sound for “Baseball.” It was my first job out of college and not only did it reunite me with the game (and the game’s history), it also introduced me to people and players I didn’t know anything about. Ken hipped me to Lester Young and Willie Morris. I learned about Curt Flood’s story–and found it so moving that now, after three years of work, am set to publish my first book this spring–and it’s all about Curt. I also got to meet Buck O’Neil. I had seen him on the mixing room screen for months, and heard much about him from the rest of the crew, so when he came to New York in May of ’94 for a screening I felt as if I already knew him.

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In addition to some of the cool new Yankee sites that Cliff has already added to our roll call, please g’head and check out the fresh Canyon of Heroes blog by long time Bronx Banter reader Mike Plugh. Mike lives in Japan and, no joke, he used to live in the same apartment building where I currently reside in the Bronx. We’ve never met, but he’s a great guy. Talk about a small world. Welcome him to the club, y’all.

The special Negro League Hall of Fame vote will be announced later today (this article in the Times is worth checking out for the photograph alone)–here’s hoping it’ll be a memorable day. In the meantime, the Yankees begin their exhibition season this Thursday. Randy Johnson threw another bp session yesterday; Joe Torre is pleased with what he’s seen from Al Leiter thus far. Tyler Kepner covers Carl Pavano in the Times:

Asked how important Pavano’s recovery was to the Yankees, Torre did not hesitate.

“Major,” Torre said. “I think he’s major for us, and the reason I say that is because of his youth, for one, where he can take a good portion of the workload. That about covers it, really. He just never got into a groove of any kind, just never got there. But he’s major for us.”

Bill Madden has a piece on Bernie Williams in the News:

“Last year was a wake-up call for me,” Williams said. “It seemed like I was breaking someone’s record or passing some milestone and that was not my focus. Given my situation, with my playing time being reduced, it was very frustrating for me. When they signed me this winter, they were expecting me to accept a certain role.

“Last year it was more confusing. Once you get used to playing every day and (suddenly) they’re bringing in this guy and that guy to see what happens. I wasn’t used to that. This year, it’s been made very clear to me: ‘You’re not gonna be the center fielder. That’s the offer, take it or leave it.'”

The Yanks will be in good shape if Pavano and Bernie are even reasonably productive this year, no?

Sheff riffs, Sheff and Cash talk, Sheff chills. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

Randy Johnson grazed Johnny Damon yesterday during live batting practice, but the more compelling tidbit is that 19-year old Phillip Hughes impressed the veteran Yankee hitters during his session. Jorge Posada said he hasn’t seen such a live arm since Mariano Rivera was a youngster. “He reminds me of Roger Clemens; that fastball is late,” Jason Giambi told the Post. Joe Torre added:

“The thing that is unusual for a kid as young as he is, the curveball is really impressive…It’s one of those real tight rotation breaking balls. He is not commanding it like he is going to after more experience, but his stuff is very real.”

Joel Sherman has a nice column praising Torre this morning as well:

For the 11th year, he had to deliver an introduction speech to the full Yankee squad on Wednesday. In the wrong hands, this could turn into a forum of rolled eyes and emotional disconnect. But according to the players who heard the words, Torre had not gone stale. As Mike Mussina explained, “He never says anything to give you reason to think, ‘oh shut up.’ When he speaks, you just realize it is a big deal.’ Alex Rodriguez added, “When it is manufactured and artificial, veteran players see through that [garbage]. He has that magic in his voice. It feels as if it is coming from a higher authority.”

Torre said his style works because “I’m not trying to sell them anything.” Players speak of feeling Torre cares about them and is honest with them…The idea that just anybody could have found the right chords to push [the 2005 team] or handle all that comes with managing the Yankees is silly. Yes, Torre gets to handle the most talent, but it comes with Steinbrenner, gigantic egos, Canyon of Heroes expectations and a media core to rival the White House. To survive, the manager better have thick skin and a soft heart, self-assurance and self-awareness.

This is nothing we don’t already know, but it is well put, don’t you think? Lastly, our boy Sheff was riffing some to Bob Klap yesterday. Well, what did you expect?

When I first plunked down the cash for a Baseball Prospectus Premium Account a few years ago, my primary motivation was being able to read Will Carroll’s Team Health Reports. For those unfamiliar with Will’s THR’s, every spring he goes team by team through the major leagues, assigning green, yellow, or red lights to each team’s starting line-up, starting rotation, and closer indicating their likelihood of injury in the coming season (see his introduction to this year’s THR’s here). His 2006 THR for the Yankees (co-authored by Michael Groopman) went up on Tuesday and contains more than a few surprises, as well as more than a comfortable number of red lights.

Among the surprises are a yellow light for Robinson Cano (“a young player at a risky position”) and a green light for Johnny Damon (who, despite his habit of crashing into everything and everyone in center field, has never spent a day on the DL in the majors–knock knock). Even more surprising were the colors assigned to Shawn Chacon and Chien-Ming Wang. If I were to tell you that one of those pitchers earned a red light and the other a green, you’d naturally assume it was Wang who got the red due to his history of shoulder woes. Not so. Chacon is the man most likely to sell his body to the night. The reason is his history of low workloads. Dating back to 2000, his age-22 season and his last full year in the minors, here are Chacon’s annual innings pitched:

2000: 173 2/3
2001: 160
2002: 140
2003: 140
2004: 63 1/3
2005: 164 1/3

Those 173 2/3 innings in double-A at age 22 remain his career high (those 63 1/3 innings in 2004 were the result of the Rockies ill-fated decision to make him their closer that season).

With all five members of the 2005 opening day rotation as well as Wang having missed at least one start due to injury last year, the Yankees are likely hoping Chacon will be able to take the ball every fifth day this season. That means racking up around 200 innings, assuming he’s reasonably effective (33 starts * 6 IP/start = 198 IP). That’s a minimum 20 percent increase over what was already his second highest career IP total.

All of which should inspire increased pesismism over Chacon’s prospects for the coming year. Still, despite his miserable 1.33 K/BB ratio in pinstripes last year (an alarming lack of improvement over his career 1.32 mark despite his having finally escaped Denver’s thin air), his fluky good .240 opponent’s average on balls in play (league average hovers around .300 and Chacon is all but guaranteed to regress toward the mean), his history of wearing down late in the season (last year being a startling exception), and the fact that I was convinced he was the suck even after the Yankees picked him up last year, I can’t seem to get that down on Chacon. I really was impressed by what I saw from him at the end of last year, from the drop on his curve to his strong showing in his first career postseason start. What’s more, there are established sabermatricians who think Chacon just might be above average. Certainly, Chacon remains one of the biggest X-Factors on a rotation full of question marks.

As for Chien-Ming Wang’s green light, I’ve dropped Will an email asking him to shed some light. I hope to add his response to this post later today.

UPDATE: Will reports that his system does not include data on minor league injuries, creating what he himself describes as “a huge hole in the system,” through which Wang slipped twice by avoiding surgery, making his late-season DL stay look like nothing more than a tired arm. Will is hesitant to override his system, but, and this is me speaking now, for all intents and purposes, Wang should be at least a yellow.