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.

As expected, more rain washed the Yankees out again Friday afternoon, canceling their game against the Nationals. The Yankee bus turned around before reaching the Nationals’ complex in Viera. Andy Pettitte, who threw a simulated game for his first turn, threw three simulated innings this time as well, getting up to 50 pitches. Joe Girardi says that he’ll be sure to have Pettitte face live batters for his remaining four turns. Austin Romine caught Pettitte. Now they’re saying Derek Jeter had food poisoning yesterday, not the flu. The Upcoming Schedule on the left sidebar is updated with next week’s pitching assignments.

That’s a term you rarely hear in baseball, but Thursday night’s exhibition game between the Braves and Yankees was rained out, and in spring training, that doesn’t result in the game being merely postponed. It’s canceled. A.J. Burnett threw three innings under simulated conditions to stay on schedule, working in his curve for the first time this spring. Jorge Posada caught him. Francisco Cervelli was outfitted with a new S100 batting helmet which he’ll wear at the plate indefinitely to protect against another pitch-induced concussion (though he’ll switch to a less bulky standard helmet when running the bases). Derek Jeter has the flu. More rain possible on Friday. And those are the issues of the day.

The fifth-starter battle continued to fizzle as the Yankees needed a two-run ninth-inning homer from Greg Golson to pull out a 9-8 victory over the Tigers, who scored seven combined runs off Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes in the third and fourth innings.

Lineup:

L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Marcus Thames (RF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)
R – Mike Rivera (C)
R – Jorge Vazquez (3B)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Reegie Corona (SS), Eduardo Nuñez (3B), Austin Romine (C), Jamie Hoffmann (RF), Greg Golson (CF), David Winfree (LF), Colin Curtis (DH)

Pitchers: Joba Chamberlain (2 1/3), Phil Hughes (2 2/3), Jason Hirsh (1), Andrew Brackman (1), Grant Duff (1), Ryan Pope (1)

Big Hits: A game-winning two-run homer by Greg Golson (1-for-2) in the ninth. A solo homer by Mark Teixeira (2-for-3, BB) off former Yankee gopherballer Phil Coke. Doubles by Jorge Vazquez (1-for-2), Mike Rivera (1-for-3), and Jamie Hoffmann (1-for-2). Curtis Granderson singled twice and walked in four trips. David Winfree singled in both of his at-bats. Brett Gardner had a walk and a bunt single in three trips and scored twice.

Who Pitched Well: Jason Hirsh pitched around an error for an otherwise perfect sixth inning, striking out two. Ryan Pope pitched around a single, striking out two in a scoreless ninth, picking up the save. Grant Duff pitched around a single for a scoreless eighth. Phil Hughes gave up a solo homer to Ryan Rayburn and a pair of singles, but in contrast to Joba Chamberlain, his 2 2/3 innings, which included a pair of punchouts and no walks, looked sparkling.

Who Didn’t: Joba Chamberlain got through two scoreless innings allowing just a single and a walk, but melted down in the third. Before he could record a second out in that frame, he gave up six runs on three walks and five hits including a grand slam by Gerald Laird, older brother of Yankee camper Brandon Laird. Chamberlain said he felt fatigued in that third inning, but he also struck out just one of the 15 batters he faced in the game (Austin Jackson on a changeup). Compared to that, Phil Hughes looked fantastic, and he did strike out two against no walks, but also he gave up a solo homer to Ryan Rayburn, two other singles, and needed a spectacular catch from Curtis Granderson to escape the fourth inning without further damage. Joe Girardi said before the game that this was the last “tune-up” start for Chamberlain and Hughes before the fifth-starter competition would begin in earnest. Both should be please by that as Joba has struggled in both of his starts (though he had the flu as an excuse for the first), and Hughes has underwhelmed despite better overall results. LoHud’s Sam Borden provides some explanation for those disappointing performances.

Nice Plays: Curtis Granderson made a running, over-the-shoulder catch on a deep drive by Miguel Cabrera, catching it just shy of the wall, more than 400 feet from home plate. That catch saved Phil Hughes from what could have been an ugly fourth inning. Sadly, the game wasn’t televised, but Borden was so impressed by the catch he dedicated a whole post to it after the game.

Oopsies: Jamie Hoffmann made an error in right field.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli caught Andy Pettitte’s bullpen session.

Other: Johnny Damon was out of the Tigers’ lineup after stubbing his toe at home. Austin Jackson played center and led off for Detroit and singled and struck out in four at-bats. Teixeira’s homer was the only blemish on Phil Coke’s one inning of work.

Just eight games into the exhibition schedule, the Yankees and Pirates met for the third time. The Yankees won the first two 6-3 and 6-0. This time the invading Pirates got their revenge with an ugly 12-7 win.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
S – Randy Winn (LF)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
R – Kevin Russo (2B)

Subs: Jorge Vazquez (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Jesus Montero (C), Greg Golson (RF), Reid Gorecki (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Jon Weber (DH)

Pitchers: CC Sabathia (2 1/3), Dustin Moseley (1 2/3), Royce Ring (1), Romulo Sanchez (1 1/3), Boone Logan (1 1/3), Hector Noesi (1), Jeremy Bleich (1/3)

Big Hits: A pair of solo homers by Nick Johnson in his only two at-bats, both of Charlie Morton, a wall-scraper in the first and a bigger bomb in the third. A triple by Curtis Granderson (1-for-3) into the right-field gap off D.J. Carrasco (Granderson was stranded at third). Hitting for Johnson in the fourth, Jon Weber (2-for-3) delivered a two-RBI single and later doubled in the ninth. Jorge Posada went 2-for-2 with a walk, and RBI, and a run scored.

Who Pitched Well: Back from the birth of his daughter, Royce Ring pitched a perfect fifth, striking out one. Romulo Sanchez retired four men in a row striking out two before walking the last man he faced.

Who Didn’t: CC Sabathia gave up four runs before getting an out (single, double, RBI double, three-run homer by lefty-hitting Garrett Jones), and gave up another double before escaping the first. He then pitched a perfect second inning, but gave up another run on two hits and a walk in the third before hitting his pitch count with just one out in that frame. He later said he was collapsing his back side (said CC, “I have a big back side”) and thus leaving the ball up. That’s a typical and easily correctable mechanical issue he should be able to fix prior to his next start.

In the process of getting just three outs, Hector Noesi allowed three singles and a walk, with all four runners scoring, three on his watch and one after he was pulled for Jeremy Bleich with two outs in the ninth. Bleich should have stranded that runner, but Jorge Vazquez dropped a throw at first base and Bleich gave up a booming RBI double to the next batter before finally getting the final out of the inning. Boone Logan gave up two runs on a single, a double, and a walk i n1 1/3 innings of work.

Oopsies: For those who skipped the last section, first baseman Jorge Vazquez dropped a throw from Corona at second base for what would have been the final out of an ugly ninth inning. It was in his glove and he just dropped it.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli (concussion) worked out at 70 percent effort on Tuesday and said he felt “a little weird,” but better than Monday. He will have a full-speed workout on Wednesday with the goal of playing in Friday’s game.

Other: Those of you checking the box score might notice that the Pirates stole two bases with Jesus Montero behind the plate. They stole them both on the pitcher. Former Yankee farmhand Doug Bernier got a huge jump on Boone Logan, and Argenis Diaz’s steal came on a ball in the dirt. Montero didn’t make a throw in the latter case, but did make a nice, strong, accurate throw to second in the former only to find Bernier already standing on the bag. Throughout the telecast, John Flaherty spoke favorably of what he’s seen and was seeing of Montero behind the plate, feeding my optimism about Montero’ s ability to remain a catcher. My impression is that, with first base blocked, Montero would have to be a total disaster back there for the Yankees to move him off the position.

Finally, I’ve promised to lay off Michael Kay, but Bob Lorenz did play-by-play for YES for this game and it was so pleasant to listen to. Of course, I’m sure if I listened to Lorenz do 150 games a year for a decade and a half things about him would irritate me as well, but I’d be willing to take that chance . . .

The Yankees ended a four-game losing streak with a pair of wins on Monday, their B-team blanking a split-squad Pirates team 6-0 on the road under manager Mick Kelleher, and their A-team eking out a 7-5 win over a full-squad Phillies team at the Boss, six of those runs coming against ex-Yankee Jose Contreras. I’ll break them both down, the A-game first.

Yankees 7, Phillies 5

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
L – Nick Johnson (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Nick Swisher (RF)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
R – Kevin Russo (3B)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)

Subs: Jose Gil (1B), David Adams (2B), Russo (SS), Jimmy Paredes (3B), Jesus Montero (C), David Winfree (RF), Reid Gorecki (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Damon Sublett (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Javier Vazquez (2), Jonathan Albaladejo (1), David Robertson (2/3), Amaury Sanit (1 1/3), Christian Garcia (2), Zach Segovia (1 1/3), Kevin Whelan (2/3)

Big Hits: Nick Swisher cracked two booming doubles, one to each gap, in three at-bats, driving in three runs. Robinson Cano doubled and singled in two at-bats and drove in two. Kevin Russo played the entire game, doubling, singling, and walking in four trips. Split-squad call-up David Adams doubled in in his only at-bat.

Who Pitched Well: Javier Vazquez, who was given the derogatory nickname “Home Run Javy” during his 2004 stint in New York, gave up home run to Jimmy Rollins on his first pitch back in a Yankee uniform (a fastball right down the middle), but that was the only baserunner he allowed as he struck out four of the other six hitters he faced. Kevin Whelan retired the only two men he faced in the ninth, striking out one of them, stranding the tying runs on base and picking up the save. Christian Garcia allowed a solo homer to John Mayberry Jr. and a walk in two innings while striking out two. Amaury Sanit stranded two inherited runners and pitched around a pair of singles in an inning and a third, striking out two.

Who Didn’t: David Robertson got to 3-2 on Jayson Werth with two outs and the bases empty, but just missed outside with ball four. He then allowed an RBI double, an RBI single, a stolen base, and another walk before getting pulled.

Nice Plays: Robinson Cano made a modest dive to his left to flag down a would-be hit in the first. Ramiro Peña made a nice ranging play to snag a ball behind second base and start a 6-4-3 double play.

Oopsies: Split-squad call-up Jimmy Paredes wiffed on a grounder at third by trying to style rather than square up the ball.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli was cleared to resume light baseball activities by the neurologist. He could appear in Friday’s game. Damaso Marte threw a bullpen without issue. Nick Johnson walked in three trips as the DH and said afterwords that he felt no discomfort. Johnson had tweaked his back on Thursday by wearing spikes rather than turf shoes for batting practice. The Yankees use an artificial turf covering to protect the dirt at home plate during BP, and Johnson caught a spike and wrenched his back. Such is Nick Johnson. Speaking of which, Chan Ho Park was scratched from his first BP session due to tweaking a glute during some running, though he reported no pain and will get his session in on Tuesday.

Michael Kay nugget: Recounting the Jose Contreras signing, Kay said, “I don’t know if it’s urban legend or not, but when the Yankees ended up signing him, Theo Epstein took a chair and threw it through a window.” The story is most likely untrue, and there are some similarly unverifiable stories of Epstein breaking a door and a window, but the widely circulated version of the story describes Epstein breaking a chair, not throwing it through a window. Perhaps I’m nit picking, but Kay proved he could even make up made up stuff.

More significantly, Kay referred to David Adams as Eduardo Nuñez in consecutive half innings, failing to correct himself even after Adams was shown in a medium shot after a nifty double-play he turned with Ramiro Peña. Nor did he address the mistake when Adams came to bat a couple of innings later. In Kay’s defense, Adams was wearing Nuñez’s number 94, but, well, click on those links again. Nuñez has been in most of the games thus far, Kay should know what he looks like. He did notice that dark-skinned Dominican third baseman Jimmy Paredes was not Caucasian outfield Jon Weber in the ninth despite similar number overlap.

Yankees 6, Pirates 0

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
R – Randy Winn (RF)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
R – Mike Rivera (C)
R – Jamie Hoffmann (LF)
R – P.J. Pilittere (DH)
S – Reegie Corona (2B)

Subs: Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Austin Romine (C), Jon Weber (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Kyle Higashioka (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Alfredo Aceves (4), Ivan Nova (2), Zach McAllister (2), Jason Hirsch (1)

Big Hits: They spread it around pretty well. Four Yankees doubled including Juan Miranda (2-for-4, RBI), Eduardo Nuñez (2-for-2, RBI), Brandon Laird (1-for-2), Kyle Higashioka (1-for-2), and Greg Golson (1-for-2). Not included in those five was Jon Weber, who went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, or Alex Rodriguez, who had a two-RBI single in three trips.

Who Pitched Well: Everyone. The Pirates managed just a single (off Nova) and two walks (off Nova and McAllister) in the game. Aceves struck out three in his four innings, and all four of the Yankee pitchers in this game have 0.00 ERAs in the early going this spring.

Oopsies: Eduardo Nuñez made two errors in half a game at shortstop (one fielding, one throwing), and has three already this spring.

Other: Veterans Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Randy Winn, and Alex Rodriguez skipped the long trip to Fort Myers on Sunday, so they made the shorter trip to Bradenton on Monday.

The Yankees traveled to Fort Myers Sunday afternoon to endure an 11-0 beating at the hands of a Twins split-squad. The Yankees have now been outscored 20-1 over the last two days and have allowed 32 runs in their last three games. Through the first five games of their exhibition schedule, they have scored just two runs prior to the sixth inning.

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
S – Nick Swisher (DH)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
R – Marcus Thames (LF)
R – Jamie Hoffmann (RF)
R – Mike Rivera (C)
S – Ramiro Peña (SS)
R – Brandon Laird (3B)

Subs: David Winfree (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Jorge Vazquez (3B), Kyle Higashioka (C), Jon Weber (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Reid Gorecki (LF), Jesus Montero (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Sergio Mitre (3), Chad Gaudin (2), Kei Igawa (1), Ryan Pope (1), D.J. Mitchell (1)

Big Hits: Jesus Montero doubled in his only at-bat. Robinson Cano went 2-for-3. Beyond that, the Yankees scattered six singles, including a bunt single by Brett Gardner, and failed to score.

Who Pitched Well: Sergio Mitre pitched three scoreless innings allowing just three baserunners on a pair of singles and a walk while striking out three. He also hit 93 mph on the gun, which he didn’t do all of last year according to the Star-Ledger’s Marc Carig. The only negative to his outing was that four of his other five outs came in the air rather than on the ground. Ryan Pope pitched a perfect seventh.

Who Didn’t: Well, we needn’t worry about Kei Igawa sneaking up on the Opening Day roster. In his lone inning of work, Igawa gave up five runs on a walk and four hits including a double and a grand slam by Juan Portes, who homered twice in the game. Portes’s other homer came off D.J. Mitchell, who gave up three runs on four hits, including that homer and a double, in the eighth. Chad Gaudin struck out two and only gave up a walk and three hits in his two innings, but all three hits went for extra bases including a double and two solo homers. He was charged with a third run which scored on Igawa’s watch in the sixth.

Oopsies: Gaudin, who had a throwing error in his first start, dropped a flip from Mark Teixeira, which is exactly why Tex takes the ball to the bag himself whenever possible. Ramiro Peña also had a fielding error. Brett Gardner was picked off first base, but the Twins botched the rundown.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli seems to be recuperating well from his concussion, though he’ll still have to see the neurologist on Monday. Nick Johnson remains on schedule to play in Monday’s game. Tony Peña is the latest Yankee to come down with the flu

Other: Andy Pettitte threw a simulated game instead of traveling to Fort Myers for his first start.

The Yankees starters again struggled to score in Saturday’s 9-1 loss to the Blue Jays. In fact, the lone Yankee run came on a hit-by-pitch, a single, and a fielder’s choice on a double-play ball, with Francisco Cervelli, Juan Miranda, and Ramiro Peña doing the honors and Austin Romine scoring the run. Romine was in the game because the stray pitch hit Cervelli in the helmet, knocking him out of the game with a concussion. More on that below.

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
S – Randy Winn (RF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (DH)
L – Juan Miranda (1B)
S – Ramiro Peña (2B)

Subs: Jorge Vazquez (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Reegie Corona (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), P.J. Pilittere (C), David Winfree (RF), Jamie Hoffmann (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Austin Romine (DH)

Pitchers (IP): A.J. Burnett (1 2/3), Amaury Sanit (1/3), Boone Logan (2), Jonathan Albaladejo (1/3), Mark Melancon (1 2/3), Andrew Brackman (1), Romulo Sanchez (1), Jason Hirsh (1)

Big Hits: Colin Curtis doubled and walked. That’s about it. The Yankees only had five other hits, all singles, and no other Yankee reached base twice.

Who Pitched Well: Boone Logan worked the equivalent of two perfect innings striking out two. Mark Melancon worked around a single for 1 2/3 scoreless frames. Jason Hirsh hit one batter but retired the other three in the ninth.

Who Didn’t: Jonathan Albaladejo faced nine batters, eight reached base (one via walk, six via singles) and five scored, three of them on a home run by Adam Lind. Andrew Brackman gave up three hits including a two-run homer by J.P. Arencibia in his lone inning of work. Albaladejo and Brackman also both uncorked a wild pitch. A.J. Burnett had his fastball in the mid-90s, but didn’t have much command of it and intentionally stayed away from his curveball. The result was three singles, two doubles, a walk, two runs allowed, and a hook before he was able to finish his second inning.

Nice Plays: Reegie Corona made a nice ranging play at shortstop coming well across the second-base bag. Brandon Laird, at third base, made a nice back-handed stab and strong throw from the foul line. There were some other nice plays, but those two were the best.

Oopsies: Corona has nice range, but his arm makes him a second baseman, as demonstrated when he made a back-handed catch in the shortstop hole and bounced the throw to first base.

Ouchies: The most significant event in the game came in the third inning when birthday boy Francisco Cervelli was hit on the top of the helmet by a pitch from Zechry Zinicola. The pitch actually came in around neck high, but rather than fall backward and away from it, he ducked and the ball hit him on the crown of his helmet, giving him a concussion and leaving stitch imprints on his helmet. A CT scan was negative (which is a positive, that is to say, they scanned his head and found nothing), but Cervelli was hit in the same spot by a backswing in winter ball in November and suffered a concussion, so the team will be cautious. He’ll be checked again Sunday and see a neurologist on Monday. If all checks out well he could return to game action mid-week. Nick Johnson took batting practice and said he “felt loose.” He should play on Monday after skipping Sunday’s long bus ride.

Other: Michael Kay nugget of the day: a kid in the stands puts his cap on backwards and Kay explains, “Hat goes on in the Griffey style. Ken Griffey Jr. started that.” Oh he did, did he?

The fifth starter battle started with a fizzle on Friday as Phil Hughes underwhelmed and Joba Chamberlain, weakened by the flu, was flat-out awful. Things didn’t get much better after that as the Rays scored in six different innings. The Yankees, meanwhile, haven’t scored prior to the fifth inning in any of their three games this spring, though their subs put together a nice rally in the seventh on Friday. After the smoke cleared, the Rays had won 11-7.

Lineup:

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

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Kevin Russo (3B), Jesus Montero (C), Jon Weber (LF), Greg Golson (CF), Reid Gorecki (LF), Jorge Vazquez (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Phil Hughes (2), Joba Chamberlain (1 1/3), Kevin Whelan (4 batters), Kei Igawa (1 2/3), David Robertson (1), Hector Noesi (1), Grant Duff (1), Dustin Moseley (2/3), Jeremy Bleich (1/3)

Big Hits: Robinson Cano (2-for-2) doubled in the fifth and scored on a single by Francisco Cervelli (2-for-2), who “tripled” in his previous at-bat on what looked like a single into the left field gap that was misplayed by Sean Rodriguez.  In the Yankees’ six-run seventh, Eduardo Nuñez, Juan Miranda, Kevin Russo, and Jorge Vazquez each doubled in a run, all were 1-for-2, save Miranda who was 1-for-3. Russo’s double came on a 70 mph changeup from lefty sidearmer R.J. Swindle that he flinched at twice before lacing to the opposite field. Nick Swisher (0-1) drew the Yankees first walk of the spring.

Who Pitched Well: Kei Igawa entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth and stranded all three runners, then pitched a perfect fifth. He struck out two along the way. David Robertson threw a perfect sixth striking out one. Jeremy Bleich threw one pitch, but it came with runners on base and resulted in an inning-ending groundout in the ninth.

Who Didn’t: Have a seat. Grab a snack . . .

Phil Hughes gave up just one run on a wind-blown solo homer, but he didn’t strike anyone out, wasn’t locating his breaking stuff, didn’t break 91 mph on the gun, and was generally less impressive than his results. He was still far better than what followed. Joba Chamberlain, having just recovered from a flu which carved eight pounds off his frame, gave up five runs on a double, two triples, and three walks and was pulled two outs short of his intended two innings. He looked awful, but I doubt anyone’s going to hold it against him. The important thing is that he got his throwing in and didn’t fall behind schedule due to his illness.

Two of Chamberlain’s runs scored after he left the game. Kevin Whelan came in with men on first and second, bounced a pitch to move them up, then gave up a single to score them both, though I’d argue that Derek Jeter should scooped up that worm-burner to his left. Whelan then gave up a double and issued a walk and got the hook.

In the eighth, Grant Duff gave up three runs on two walks, a single, and a triple. In the ninth, Dustin Moseley gave up another run on two hits and two walks and was pulled with two outs.

Nice Plays: Derek Jeter made a nice backhanded play on a hotshot to shortstop to start the game. Robinson Cano made ranging, over-the-shoulder running catch in shallow left, then later backed up a bad throw from catcher to first base, spun and threw out the runner at second. In the seventh, Juan Miranda made a nice back-handed grab of a foul ball near the stands and quickly fired back in to hold the runner at second.

Oopsies: On the very next play, Miranda booted a low throw from Eduardo Nuñez. Nuñez got the error. In the third, Nick Swisher fell down after taking too large of a secondary a lead off first base and was doubled off.

Ouchies: Swisher appeared to jam his right wrist on that fall, but stayed in the game. Nick Johnson (back) thinks he can play, but the Yankees are going to give him Saturday off and leave him off the bus trip on Sunday. He should return to game action on Monday.

Other: Thanks to everyone who joined in for my liveblog of the game.

Welcome to my seventh annual spring training liveblog. This year we’re firing this thing up for the third game of the exhibition season. The Yankees enter today’s game against the Rays having beaten the Pirates on a three-run walkoff homer by Colin Curtis and lost to the Phillies on a walk-off infield hit by Wilson Valdez.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

Rays:

R – Jason Bartlett (SS)
R – Sean Rodriguez (LF)
R – Evan Longoria (3B)
S – Ben Zobrist (2B)
R – B.J. Upton (CF)
S – Dioner Navarro (C)
S – Elliot Dan Johnson (DH)
R – Justin Ruggiano (RF)
L – Chris Richard (1B)

LHP – David Price

Yankees:

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

RHP – Phil Hughes

Joba Chamberlain will follow Hughes on the mound for the Yankees, and we’re supposed to get a look at Jesus Montero behind the plate today. Nick Johnson is out with what is supposedly very minor lower back stiffness. Granderson has hit second in both of his starts this spring, but has yet to appear in a starting lineup with Johnson.

Outfielder Desmond Jennings, the Rays’ top prospect, did not make the trip for this game, much to my disappointment. Elliot Johnson, who slammed into Francisco Cervelli and broke is arm in a spring training game two years ago, did and is starting.

Pregame:

Thanks to my mom for watching Amelia this afternoon so that I can bring you all this liveblog. She’s a big Yankee fan as well, but a bigger fan of her granddaughter (as am I).

Tino Martinez is making his YES debut with this game. He always sounds like he has a stuffy nose. The announcers are in shirtsleeves rather than the pull overs they wore on Wednesday. So it’s clearly a bit warmer in Tampa, but it’s still quite windy.

Top 1st:

Fastball high and in from Hughes to Bartlett gets things going. The next pitch is a belt-high fastball on the inside corner and Bartlett hits it just foul over the left-field wall. He then rips another fastball to short, but Jeter makes a nice back-handed play to get him out. Hard contact from Bartlett who hit .320/.389/.490 last year out of nowhere.

Hughes’s first curve is the 0-1 pitch to Sean Rodriguez, well outside and low. Rodriguez is a second baseman who came over in the Scott Kazmir deal. He can hit, but the Rays have Ben Zobrist at second and are trying to make Rodriguez a utility man (he’s in left field today).

Another curve to Rodriguez is also low and outside. Hughes’ fastball is topping out at 91 mph. Rodriguez reaches out for a fastball out and over the plate. The wind lifts it to the center field wall and it hits on top for a homer. 1-0 Rays. Granderson was struggling to track that ball due to the wind. That’s more hard contact off Hughes.

Top 1st cont.

Rodriguez’s homer was on a 3-2 count.

Evan Longoria hits a hanging curve to deep left, right where Thames is playing. Two outs.

Hughes gets a nice swing-and-a-miss from Zobrist on an 82 mph changeup to even the count 2-2, then missed with another outside. Zobrists grounds out to Teixeira (unassisted, as usual) to end the inning.

1-0 Rays

Bot 1st:

The Rays’ BP caps are dark blue with sky-blue piping in all the standard places.

Yankees are in their blue BP tops and pinstriped pants. Rays in blue BP tops that say “Rays” across the chest and grey pants with dark blue piping down the leg.

Jeter singles to right on the first pitch from David Price. Michael Kay breaks out “Jeterian.” I gag on my sandwich.

Price is throwing easy gas around 95-96 mph. Granderson works the lefty for a full count, but flies out to left on a 96 mph fastball.

Bot 1st cont.

Price hits 97 against Teixeira, then comes back with a 78 mph curve. Tex fouls both off. That’s impressive on both counts. Less impressive, Teixeira swings at a fastball around his ankles and hits a would-be double-play ball, but Zobrist bobbles the transfer. Fielder’s “choice.”

I can’t tell if Tino’s any good in the booth because my Sun chips are too loud, though they also drown out Michael Kay, so I might keep eating all game.

Price paints the outside corner with a 96 mph fastball to set Alex Rodriguez down looking.

1-0 Rays

Top 2nd:

Hughes starts the second with another curve low and outside.

B.J. Upton, who is still just 25, grounds to Mark “Unassisted” Teixeira.

Hughes just doesn’t look sharp today. His fastball is slow (now upper 80s) and he’s missing with his off-speed stuff. Save for that one changeup in the first, I haven’t seen much that has impressed me.

He walks Dioner Navarro on five pitches, the last an 89 mph fastball that floated high and wide.

Lineup correction, that’s Dan Johnson, not Elliot who is the starting DH. Dan is the former A’s first baseman who spent 2009 in Japan. That makes more sense.

Johnson pops out to shallow second, where Robinson Cano makes an impressive over-his-shoulder catch running away from the infield.

Justin Ruggiano flies out to center to end the inning.

Hughes only gave up one hit, a wind-blown homer by Sean Rodriguez, but his stuff wasn’t nearly as good as his results.

1-0 Rays

Bot 2nd:

Jorge Posada hits a 94 mph fastball just foul over the right field wall, then strikes out on an 86 mph changeup.

David Price then starts of Thames with a 77 mph curve ball for a strike. He is good at pitching.

YES shows footage of Marcus Thames’ home run off Randy Johnson in his first major league at-bat. We’ll see that eleventeen million more times if he makes the team.

Thames taps out to shortstop.

Robinson Cano singles directly at the center field camera causing Price to flinch and making the ball appear to levitate in mid-air before curving a bit toward right field.

Cano moves up on a passed ball down and in to Nick Swisher (it’s ruled a wild pitch, but the ball was nearly a strike . . . it’s spring training for the official scorer as well).

Swisher works a walk and Price leaves having reached his limit an out short of two full innings.

Read more…

This early in spring training, the latter innings of games tend to be played by a parade of high-number subs while the starers who might actually contribute to the big league club not only out of the game, but on their way out of the ballpark. In the Yankees’ first two games this spring, however, those late innings have contained all of the action.

Wednesday’s opener was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth and Alex Rodriguez was the only Yankee to get a hit in the first five frames. On Thursday, the Yankees and Phillies went scoreless into the bottom of the seventh. Wednesday’s game saw the home team take a small lead, blow it, then win in a walkoff. Thursday’s followed the same pattern, but it was the Phillies who were the home team. The walkoff hits themselves were the biggest difference between the two contests. The Yankees won Wednesday on a three-run homer by Colin Curtis. The Phillies won Thursday on a Wilson Valdez comebacker that ricocheted off pitcher Wilkin Arias for an infield hit that allowed the winning run to score from third, 3-2 Phillies.

Lineup:

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

Subs: Jose Gil (1B), Eduardo Nuñez (2B), Reegie Corona (SS), Jorge Vazquez (3B), Austin Romine (C), David Winfree (RF), Reid Gorecki (CF) Colin Curtis (LF), Jesus Montero (DH), Greg Golson (PR)

Pitchers: CC Sabathia (2), Zach Segovia (1), Zach McAllister (1), Ivan Nova (1), Mark Melancon (1), Romulo Sanchez (2/3), Boone Logan (1 1/3), Wilkin Arias (2/3)

Big Hits: David Winfree and Jose Gil gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead with RBI singles in the ninth, but no Yankee had an extra-base hit or more than one hit in the game. The Yankees have yet to draw a walk after two games.

Who Pitched Well: Zach McAllister and Ivan Nova pitched perfect third and fourth innings, respectively, and Boone Logan retired all four men he faced, three of them lefties. None of those three pitchers recorded a strikeout. Mark Melancon struck out two, including Jayson Werth, while working around a single for a scoreless sixth. Zach Segovia worked around a walk for a scoreless third.

Who Didn’t: Romulo Sanchez started the scoring in the seventh by giving up a run on a walk and two hits, the big blow being an RBI double by Ozzie Chavez. After the Yankees took a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth, Wilkin Arias blew the game by giving up a pair of runs on three hits including a Paul Hoover double.

Oopsies: With Brandon Laird on first, none out, and the game still scoreless in the top of the sixth, Brett Gardner dropped down a bunt, but ball hit the dirt and stopped, allowing Phillies catcher Paul Hoover to pounce on it and get Laird at second base. Later that inning, Jorge Posada made an ugly half swing missing a Jose Contreras split finger on a hit and run thus hanging Jamie Hoffmann out to dry on his way to second.

Ouchies: Nick Johnson (surprise!) was supposed to DH but was scratched due to a stiff lower back. Johnson played first base on Wednesday. Someone should hide his glove to reduce the chances of further injury. But seriously, folks, Johnson will be out again on Friday but said he’d have played both days if this were the regular season. Joba Chamberlain (flu-like symptoms) is expected to pitch in Friday’s game. Kevin Russo is also recovering from the flu-like flu. Royce Ring is away from the team because his wife had a baby. Yeah, that counts as an “ouchie.”

Other: More on the new spring training/batting practice caps. Every team seems to be doing their own thing within the new template. The Pirates had the standard piping outlining the face, along the bill, and over the MLB logo in the back. The Phillies have blue piping outlining the face and over the logo on their red cap, but the brim piping is red to match the cap (though it is still raised piping as part of the template). Meanwhile, the Yankees have road caps, which have no piping on the crown (or, rather, blue piping on a blue cap), but instead of piping on the bill and over the logo, they’ve turned the entire area outside/beneath that piping gray. Those areas are blue on the home cap, though the gray piping remains. I think it’s despicable that the Yankees have started wearing something other than their standard cap as part of MLB’s marketing gimmicks, be it the BP cap or patriotic holiday caps. I never thought I’d see the day when the Yankees wore four different caps. Hey, BP caps, get off my lawn.

Line of the day from Chad Jennings of Lo-Hud: “Jesus Montero singled in his first spring at-bat. I was in the clubhouse at the time, but I assume it circled the globe before dropping into right field.”

Reminder: I’ll be liveblogging Friday afternoon’s game against the Rays, which will feature Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes on the mound.

The Yankees kicked off 2010 in classic 2009 style with a walk-off win in their first spring training game of the year, a 6-3 win over the visiting Pirates. It was a typically colorless spring training game. Neither team drew a walk, and the Yankees sent just three men to the plate in each of the first four innings, failing to get a ball out of the infield in those 12 at-bats. Alex Rodriguez got the first Yankee hit leading off the bottom of the fifth. Ramiro Peña and Nick Johnson got the Yankees a lead in the sixth. Jonathan Albaladejo blew that lead in the seventh, and Colin Curtis delivered the game-winning three-run homer in the ninth. Here are the details:

Lineup:

R – Derek Jeter (SS)
L – Curtis Granderson (CF)
S – Mark Teixeira (1B)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
R – Marcus Thames (DH)
R – Jamie Hoffmann (RF)
L – Brett Gardner (LF)
R – Francisco Cervelli (C)
R – Ramiro Peña (2B)

Subs: Nick Johnson (1B), Reegie Corona (2B), Eduardo Nuñez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Mike Rivera (C), David Winfree (RF), Greg Golson (CF), Colin Curtis (LF), Jon Weber (DH)

Pitchers (IP): Chad Gaudin (2), Sergio Mitre (2), Alfredo Aceves (2), Jon Albaladejo (3 batters), Royce Ring (1 1/3), Jason Hirsh (2/3), Amaury Sanit (1)

Big Hits: A solo homer by Ramiro “Boom Boom” Peña off former Yankee Steven Jackson to lead off the bottom of the sixth and break the scoreless tie. An RBI double by Nick Johnson later in that inning. A three-run walk-off homer off Virgil Vazquez by Colin Curtis with one out in the bottom of the ninth. All three men went 1-for-2 in the game.

Who Pitched Well: Chad Gaudin pitched around an infield  single by Andrew McCutchen and his own error for two scoreless frames including a 1-2-3 second. Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves each worked two perfect frames while striking out one. Royce Ring allowed an inherited runner to score on a groundout, but he entered with that runner on third and none out and retired all four men he faced, striking out two. Jason Hirsh struck out both men he faced. Amaury Sanit worked a perfect ninth. Those six pitchers allowed just one baserunner, McCutchen, and no runs while getting all 27 outs, seven by strikeout.

Who Didn’t: Jonathan Albaladejo started the seventh by hitting a batter on the thigh, then giving up a single and a two-run double, then got pulled.

Nice Plays: Nick Johnson made a nice, soft-handed pick at first base on a wide and low throw by Eduardo Nuñez.

Oopsies: Chad Gaudin fired a pickoff throw past Mark Teixeira in the first. Greg Golson threw wild on Erik Kratz’s RBI double in the seventh, missing two cutoff men and allowing Kratz to move to third, from where he was able to score on an groundout to first.

Ouchies: Francisco Cervelli was hit by a pitch on the meaty part of his left forearm in the third, but wasn’t injured, though is pride might have been when he tried to avenge the HBP with a steal and was thrown out. Joba Chamberlain (flu-like symptoms) threw his scheduled bullpen before the game, but looked tired and was sent home immediately after, in part to avoid his infecting his teammates, though Kevin Russo is already feeling sick. Joba is still expected to pitch in Friday’s game.

Other: It took Michael Kay less than a minute to annoy me . His narration over footage of Jeter breaking Lou Gehrig’s Yankee hit record during the YES broadcast’s opening montage included this sentence: “The record book was assaulted as milestones were etched into forever.” That’s the verbal equivalent of a Michael Bay explosion, making the similarity between two names seem like more than a coincidence. The inanity and wrong-headedness of his and, to a lesser degree, Ken Singleton’s commentary throughout the game reminded me why I started blogging. On the other hand, Jack Curry made his YES debut as a field reporter and brought some logic, wisdom, and restraint to the proceedings. I’m encouraged by his addition.

The new spring training hats worn by Pirates (the Yankees wore their regular season home duds) look really stupid, though less obnoxiously stupid than the ear-cutout caps they’ve replaced.

Curtis Granderson said he’s experimenting with contact lenses this spring, which suggests that he took his poor showing last year pretty hard.

There’s not a lot of intrigue in Yankee camp this year. The team arrives as defending champions and, as I wrote in my campers post, the 25-man roster is fairly predictable given the players in camp. Joe Girardi does have to work out how he’s going to distribute playing time in left and center field and decide on a basic batting order, but the roles of the players involved aren’t likely to change much no matter what he decides. The only significant suspense March holds for Yankee fans, save wondering if Nick Johnson can survive the month with all of his bones and ligaments intact, is in the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. Fifth-starter battles are typically slap fights among assorted marginal minor leaguers and veteran retreads, but the battle in Yankee camp this spring pits the organization’s top two young arms against one another in a four-week competition that could have significant repercussions for the futures of both pitchers.

That would be a lot more exciting if there wasn’t as much fan fatigue over Joba Chamberlain’s pitching role as there is over Brett Farve’s flirtations with retirement, but it’s important to note that, for all of the debates, role changes, rule changes, and innings limits, the Yankees have Chamberlain exactly where they want him this spring, coming off a season of 160 innings pitched and ready to spend a full season in the rotation without having a cap placed on his innings pitched. For that reason, I believe that the Yankees are looking at the fifth starter’s job as Chamberlain’s to lose, though they’d ever admit it. Chamberlain is nine months older that Hughes and a season ahead of Hughes in terms of his innings progress (Hughes threw 111 2/3 innings between the minors, majors, and postseason last year; Chamberlain threw 100 1/3 in 2008). If Chamberlain claims the fifth-starter job this year, and the Yankees can find Hughes 150-odd innings, Hughes can follow Chamberlain into the rotation as a full-fledged starter in 2010 on the heals of the free agency of both Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez. If that happens, the Yankees will have established both young studs in the rotation before their 25th birthdays. They’re thisclose.

There are just two problems. First, Chamberlain got his innings to the right place last year, but his head and stuff seemed to go in the opposite direction. Second, getting Hughes 150 innings this year with Chamberlain eating up close to 200 in the rotation could prove to be as challenging as limiting Chamberlain to 160 last year.

Taking the latter first, the flip-side of the fifth-starter battle is the assumption that the loser will move back in to the eighth-inning role that both young pitchers have excelled at in recent seasons. In his 50 career major league relief appearances during the regular season, Chamberlain has posted a 1.50 ERA and struck out 11.9 men per nine innings while holding opposing hitters to a .182/.255/.257 line. Hughes, in 44 regular season relief appearances, all from last year, posted a 1.40 ERA and 11.4 K/9 while opposing batters hit .172/.228/.228. That sort of late-game dominance is hard to resist (thus the endless Joba debates), but both pitchers would be more valuable throwing 200 innings a year than 60, and given the impending free agency of Pettitte and Vazquez not to mention A.J. Burnett’s injury history, the Yankees have to resist slotting the loser of this spring’s competition into that role to such a degree that they’re unwilling to stretch him back out during the season, as they were with Hughes last year. Doing so would reset the clock on that pitcher’s journey toward the rotation and thus could severely damage his career path.

Read more…

The big news out of Yankee camp today is that Edwar Ramirez was designated for assignment to make room for Chan Ho Park. Ramirez was out of options and a long-shot at best for a spot on the Opening Day roster, so the Yankees were going to have to do something with him by the end of spring training. This takes care of that bit of business early.

The big news yesterday was that Joe Girardi has set his pitching rotation for the first week and a half of the exhibition schedule. Chad Jennings has the full details, and I’ve updated our sidebar with the first week’s action. CC Sabathia will start the second game to put him on schedule for the season opener. Barring injury or setback, the regular season rotation will start with CC followed by A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and then Javier Vazquez. Pettitte won’t pitch in a spring training game until March 12, but will throw a simulated game on March 7 to get his work in and stay on schedule while Gaudin and Sergio Mitre work in the actual game.

Programing note: I’ll be doing my annual live blog on Friday, covering the third game of the spring, which will feature both Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, in that order, on the mound.

Shameless self-promotion: This afternoon at 3pm I will be appearing at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center for an extended Q&A with Steven Goldman, Jay Jaffe, Kevin Goldstein, and Christina Kahrl to promote Baseball Prospectus 2010.

I must admit, the Yankees caught me completely off guard when they signed Chan Ho Park Sunday night. I figured their bullpen was pretty much set with the loser of the fifth-starter battle between Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes working the eighth inning, Damaso Marte the lefty, David Robertson as the secondary righty, Alfredo Aceves and Chad Gaudin as long/swing men, and Mark Melancon hoping to make his way into the final spot and force the Yankees to bounce Sergio Mitre from the 40-man roster. So where does Park fit?

Toward the top. Park’s 2009 season doesn’t look that impressive on its face because he was awful in seven starts for the Phillies, but after moving to the bullpen, he posted a 2.52 ERA and struck out 52 men in 50 innings. Over the final three months of the season, that ERA shrank to 1.52. Park wasn’t as sharp in the postseason, but one could blame that on the hamstring pull that cost him a month and kept him out of the NLDS. In his career, Park has posted a 3.95 ERA in relief, nearly a half run better than his career mark as a starter, along with an 8.7 K/9. Indeed, though Park signed so late because he was hoping to catch on elsewhere as a starter, it has been his move to the bullpen over the past two seasons that has salvaged his career in his late 30s (he’ll be 37 in early June).

The first Korean-born major leaguer, Park emerged as the Dodgers’ second-best starter (behind Kevin Brown) around the turn of the millennium and hit the free agent market at the age of 28 with a 80-54 career record and a 3.80 career ERA. The Rangers, who had given Alex Rodriguez the biggest contract in major league history the previous year, signed Park to a five-year deal worth $65 million only to watch him completely fall apart.

The move from the pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium to the homer-happy Ballpark at Arlington did him no favors , but one could have seen that coming (Park’s home ERA during his Dodger years was 3.19, but his road ERA was 4.72). More alarmingly, after averaging 213 2/3 innings a year in his last five seasons in L.A., Park suddenly couldn’t stay healthy.

A hamstring injury limited Park to 25 starts in 2002, and that was the most he would make in any one season for the Rangers. Meanwhile, while his 6.84 home ERA that season would prove to be sadly typical. Park made just 23 more starts for the Rangers over the next two seasons combined due to a back injury which surely contributed to his 5.96 ERA in those outings. Park’s contract quickly proved to be a major albatross for the Rangers, leading some to speculate that it was part of the team’s motivation for shipping Rodriguez to the Bronx in February 2004.

Park finally stayed healthy in 2005 but was no more effective. When the trading deadline came, the soon-to-be-NL-West-champion Padres, perhaps wagering on the effects of their new pitchers’ haven, Petco, took Park and $13 million of his 2006 salary off the Rangers’ hands for the remains of Phil Nevin. Despite the friendlier home environment, Park’s struggles continued. He posted a 5.91 ERA down the stretch in ‘05, and made just 21 starts in ‘06, missing time when it was discovered that he suffered from an intestinal defect known as Meckel’s diverticulum. When able to pitch, he posted a 5.45 ERA on the road.

With his contract finally expired, Park didn’t find an employer for 2007 until Valentine’s Day. He signed with the Mets, but failed to make the team out of spring training and wound up making just one appearance for the big club, giving up seven runs in four innings in a late-April spot start before being released. The Astros signed him to a minor-league deal, but declined to call him up as he posted a 6.21 ERA and allowed 18 home runs in 15 starts for Triple-A Round Rock of the Pacific Coast League.

Seemingly out of chances, Park went home again in 2008, catching on with the Dodgers as a non-roster invitee on a minor league deal. Having made just five relief appearances over the previous ten seasons, Park made the Dodgers as a reliever and pitched well out of the pen (3.84 ERA), well enough, at least, for the Phillies, who beat Park’s Dodgers in the NLCS in ‘08, to sign him to a $2.5 million deal and bring him in as a fifth-starter candidate the next spring.

As stated above, Park was a disaster as a starter for the Phillies, but he continued to gain momentum as a reliever suggesting that, after six years in the wilderness, he has finally found away to recapture the major league success he had in his twenties, doing so in a hitter-friendly home park, no less.

Despite that success, Park isn’t going to take the eighth-inning job away from the fifth-starter loser, but he could well bounce Robertson down a rung. His presence also all but guarantees that Sergio Mitre will not make the roster, which is worth Park’s $1.2 million salary alone. Park, despite his struggles in the Phillies rotation, also gives the Yankees another potential swing man should Gaudin or Aceves, the former of whom is on a non-guaranteed contract like Mitre and the latter of whom has options remaining, struggle. If Park struggles and Melancon continues to dominate at Triple-A, the $1.2 million the Yankees owe Park is small enough that they could eat the remainder.

Ultimately what Park gives the team is another option, one that had a fair amount of success working out of the pen for playoff teams in each of the last two seasons and thus brings a fair amount of upside to the table, but who also came cheap enough to be discarded if he fails to realize that upside, which means there’s very little downside to the deal. Well done.

The Yankees enter camp this year as the defending world champions for the first time since 2001. That year, they made it all the way back to the seventh game of the World Series. The 2010 Yankees stand a very good chance of also repeating as AL Champions, but they’ll have to fight off a vastly improved Red Sox team to do so. The Yankees didn’t sit on their laurels this offseason. As they did with Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu a year ago, they let two popular and productive but aging players leave as free agents in 36-year-old Johnny Damon and soon-to-be-36-year-old Hideki Matsui, replaced them with younger players in soon-to-be-29-year-old Curtis Granderson and the fragile Nick Johnson (31), and made a big addition to their rotation to boot, adding Javier Vazquez via trade with the Braves. Granderson and prodigal sons Johnson and Vazquez are joined by fourth outfielder Randy Winn and right-hander Chan Ho Park as the big new additions to this year’s club, but there are still a couple of spots up for grabs on the Opening Day roster, a huge battle to be waged between the team’s top two young arms for the fifth spot in the rotation, and the lingering question of how playing time will be distributed among Granderson, Winn, and Brett Gardner in left and center field. Those battles will be the primary focus of my coverage in the coming six weeks, but for now let’s take a look at the other unfamiliar faces you’re likely to see in camp this spring.

First, is the 25-man roster as I expect it will be constructed on Opening Day:

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

Bench:

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

Rotation:

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

Bullpen:

R – Mariano Rivera
R – Joba Chamberlain/Phil Hughes
L – Damaso Marte
R – Chan Ho Park
R – David Robertson
R – Alfredo Aceves
R – Chad Gaudin

Gaudin may have to fend off some challengers for his spot, though his contract and solid performance down the stretch last year favors him strongly. Thames and Peña, however, will have a bigger fight on their hands as Peña has a few legitimate challengers in camp and Thames arrives as a non-roster player. Including those three, here are the 45 players in camp looking to make their case for one of the final roster spots. They are:

40-man roster hitters (7):

OF – Jamie Hoffmann (R)

The Yankees traded Brian Bruney to the Washington Nationals in December in return for the rights to the first pick in the Rule 5 draft. With that pick, the Yanks had Washington take Hoffmann, a big, 25-year-old right fielder out of the Dodgers’ system who made his major league debut in late May of last year but was designated for assignment in September. Bruney was traded before the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson, but the Rule 5 draft occurred after the Granderson trade, and Granderson’s past struggles against left-handed pitching are likely why the Yankees decided to choose the righty-hitting outfielder Hoffmann. That puts Hoffmann in direct competition with Marcus Thames and a few others for the roster spot sure to be devoted to a right-handed outfielder.

An undrafted free-agent out of a Minnesota high school, Hoffmann has a power build (6-foot-3, 235 lbs), but hasn’t shown much power at the plate, slugging just .401 on his minor league career with an isolated power of just 118 (for comparison’s sake, Melky Cabrera’s major league career ISO is 116) and a career-high homer total of just 11, set across three levels last year. Hoffmann will take his walks and steal some bases, but he’s not particularly efficient at the latter (68 percent success rate in his minor league career) and doesn’t draw enough of the former to make on-base percentage the focus of his offensive game (his career mark is .355). He has a solid defensive reputation, and has played all three pastures, but his experience in center is limited (81 games career) and he’s spent just 13 games in left, all of them in 2007. Hoffmann did hit .308/.432/.542 against lefties in Triple-A last year, but that performance was completely unprecedented as he’d had a reverse split the previous four years. The Yankees would have been better off using the Rule 5 pick on a compelling arm for the last spot in the bullpen, such as Cleveland’s Yohan Piño. Hoffmann seems destined to be offered back to L.A.

IF – Ramiro Peña (S)

Peña surprised everyone by making the Opening Day roster last year despite never playing a game above Double-A, and thanks to the injuries to Alex Rodriguez and Cody Ransom, he held on to that roster spot clean through the end of June, when he was pushed to Triple-A by Ransom’s return and the acquisition of Eric Hinske. Peña is a strong fielder, a natural shortstop who can also play second and third and filled in at all three for the Yankees last year. Unfortunately, he is also a dud at the plate. A career .255/.315/.320 hitter in the minors, he hit right around those marks in Scranton after finally making his Triple-A debut last July. He hit .287 for the Yankees, but with just five walks and eight extra-base hits in 121 plate appearances and his .340 average on balls in play suggests that his solid batting average was largely luck. The Yankees like the 24-year-old Peña and had him play some center field while in Scranton in order to make him a true utility player, but he enters camp having played just seven games in the outfield. It will be interesting to see if he gets any work in the pastures in Florida. He is the favorite for the utility infield spot, but only because of his incumbency and the shortcomings of his competition.

2B – Kevin Russo (R)

If the Yankees want a utility infielder who can hit, Russo might be their man. Over the past two seasons, at Double-A and Triple-A, the 25-year-old Russo hit .318/.379/.424. There’s no power there (he has just 12 home runs in 1,299 minor league plate appearances), but he’s a .300 hitter on his minor league career and, unlike Peña, will take his walks. The catch is that Russo is a second baseman who can spot at third but has played just six games at shortstop as a pro. That’s what kept him in Triple-A last year and is likely to do so again this year.

IF – Reegie Corona (S)

Given Russo’s defensive limitations, this 23-year-old Venezuelan is the camper most likely to challenge Peña for the utility infield spot. Corona was the second overall pick in the 2008 Rule 5 draft, but was returned by the Mariners. Primarily a second baseman, he has played 242 games at shortstop in the minors and spotted at third, first, and even saw some time in the outfield in the Sally League in 2006. Peña is the better fielder of the two, but Coronoa has the upper hand at the plate due to his ability to draw walks. Reegie walked 65 times against 70 strikeouts between Double- and Triple-A last year, and while his .338 career minor league on-base percentage isn’t particularly thrilling, it’s 76 points above his .262 batting average, which is an above-average Isolated Discipline. Over the past four seasons, his OBP has been exactly one point above or below .346. Corona will have to flash that ability to get on base in camp as it’s really his only advantage over Peña. Reegie didn’t hit in his short Triple-A debut late last year, and he has no power (.342 career slugging percentage).

SS – Eduardo Nuñez (R)

The 22-year-old Nuñez has always seemed like the junior version of Peña, a skinny, Latin shortstop who is slick afield and inept at the plate. A career .271/.313/.366 hitter in the minors, Nuñez appeared to have a breakout with the bat in his Double-A debut last year, but, like Peña’s major league debut, it was mostly batting average (.322/.349/.433). Nuñez does have more power than Peña and Corona, but that’s like being the warmest city in Canada. He can also play second and third, but he has no real shot at the major league roster with such a similar player ahead of him on the depth chart.

1B – Juan Miranda (L)

Miranda is a decent hitter, but his .280/.366/.474 career line, which properly represents his skills, is below average for a first baseman, and as a lefty, he’s not what the Yankees are looking for this spring, though circumstances could make him valuable later in the season. He’ll be 27 in late April and is entering the final year of the four-year major league contract he signed after defecting from Cuba in 2006. That contract might seem like a bust, but it only cost the team $2.07 million, and Miranda has hit .368/.435/.579 in his two major league cups of coffee (23 PA). If Miranda has a couple of hot months as an injury replacement for Nick Johnson this year, the Yankees will have gotten their money’s worth.

CF – Greg Golson (R)

Acquired from the Rangers last month for punchless minor league infielder Mitch Hilligoss, Golson, a former Phillies prospect, is a toolsy center fielder with a brutal plate approach that the Yankees are hoping they can fix. Still just 24, Golson is a solid fielder with a strong arm, tremendous speed, and a bit of pop, but he has struck out 737 times in 634 minor league games against just 148 unintentional walks, a K/BB ratio of nearly 5:1. He’s not in camp to battle for a roster spot. He’s here so the Yankees can get a good look at him, and because he’s on the 40-man roster.

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Pitchers and catchers report in less than a week, but there are already Yankees in camp working out. The Yankees have no players returning from major injuries (Chien-Ming Wang and Xavier Nady having both moved on), and it will be weeks before we’ll find out if Joba Chamberlain can find the missing ticks on his fastball and more than a month before Joe Girardi names a fifth starter or a left fielder. So, with pitchers and catchers somewhat anticlimactic, and spring training games still three weeks away, what are you anxious to see or hear about as the players begin reporting to camp?