The Yankees look to rebound from a disappointing Opening Day tonight against the Orioles and veteran Japanese right-hander Koji Uehara. Uehara is making his major league debut tonight, but he already has some history with the Yankees’ two Asian players. When Uehara joined the Yomiuri Giants as a 24-year-old rookie in 1999, Hideki Matsui was already established as the Giants hitting star. Matsui is just six months older than Uehara, and the two were teammates for four seasons and remain friends. Their time together climaxed in 2002, when Matsui won his third Central League MVP award, Uehara won his second Sawamura Award, and the Giants won their twentieth Japan Series championship. Matsui joined the Yankees the next year, and the Giants haven’t won a championship since.

In 2004, Uehara pitched for the Japanese Olympic team in Athens. When Japan faced Chinese Taipei, the starting pitchers were Uehara and Chien-Ming Wang, then a Yankee prospect who had just made his Triple-A debut. Uehara and Wang matched each other into the seventh. Uehara gave up a three-run home run to the Dodgers’ Chin-Feng Chen in the third. Wang blew the lead by allowing Japan to tie the game in the sixth. Ultimately, the game was decided by the bullpens as Japan won 4-3 with a run off the Rockies’ Tsao Chin-Hui in the bottom of the ninth. Current Dodger Hiroki Kuroda got the win.

Uehara also pitched for Japan in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and was the starting pitcher in Japan’s game against the USA. Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 in that game. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5. Johnny Damon struck out in a pinch-hit at-bat, I assume after Uehara came out of the game.

So, Uehara isn’t a complete unknown to the Yankees, at least not to Jeter and Matsui. The scouting report on the 34-year-old righty is that he’s a finesse pitcher with outstanding control. His fastball tops out in the low 90s, but he compliments it with a cutter, slider, splitter, and forkball. In his ten seasons with the Giants, he walked an incredibly low 1.20 men per nine innings and had an equally impressive 6.68 K/BB ratio. He has, however, suffered from some leg injuries and spent 2007 as the Giants’ closer in part to stay healthy. Last year, he made just 12 starts against 14 relief appearances and posted a 3.81 ERA in just 89 2/3 innings, though his peripherals remained outstanding.

The most famous walk Uehara issued came in his rookie season of 1999. Matsui and Venezuelan slugger Roberto Petagine were neck-and-neck in the Central League’s home-run race that year. With Matsui a home run behind the gaijin late in the season, Uehara was ordered by to intentionally walk Petagine in a game against Petagine’s Yakult Swallows. The Swallows had been walking Matsui all game, but Uehara wanted to pitch to Petagine and broke down in tears upon carrying out his orders. It was all for naught, as Petagine out-lasted Matsui, 44 homers to 42. In 2003, Petagine joined the Giants as Matsui’s replacement.

Getting back to tonight, while Uehara brings some interesting history to the mound, my eyes will be on Chein-Ming Wang, who is making his first regular season start since breaking his foot while running the bases in Houston on June 15 of last year. Wang had an inconsistent spring, posting a 4.15 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and most alarmingly, allowing three home runs (he allowed four in 15 starts last year). In his last start of the spring, in the first game ever played in the new Yankee Stadium, he gave up four runs in five innings and didn’t get a ground-ball out until the third inning. Wang’s foot is not my concern. What concerns me is the rust on his arm and his mechanics, as well as the fact that, when he hit the DL last year, his numbers revealed career-highs in ERA (4.07), walk-rate (3.3 BB/9), and WHIP (1.32). None of those figures is alarming, they were combined with a career-high strikeout rate (5.1 K/9), and Wang is no longer being relied on to be the Yankees’ ace, but after an eight-month layoff from mid-June to mid-February, he has something to prove this month.

The Yankee line-up is the same as Monday’s. The Orioles have moved Luke Scott to DH and replaced him in left field with Felix Pie, putting Ty Wigginton on the bench.

In other news, Dan Giese was claimed off waivers by the A’s.

Today’s news is powered by . . . you!

• Joel Sherman sounds the klaxons over game #1 of 162:

Now a few sentences about perspective. Sabathia began horrendously last year, going 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in his first four starts and recovered to have arguably his best season. Teixeira annually is an April dud and then steadily builds toward superb final results.

But we all know the terms of engagement here. Sabathia was the highest-paid free-agent pitcher of the offseason and Teixeira the highest-paid position player. In a down economic climate, the Yanks invested $341 million on just those two. They are not going to feel bad about those decisions at 0-1. However, no one wants to make a bad first impression as a Yankee because the hole is always a little deeper, so deep that many never truly escape.

[My take: As long as they keep Hank Steinbrenner sedated and muzzled, everything will work itself out.]

• Will Carroll writes of any CC Sabathia injury concerns:

It was just last year, in Cleveland, when Sabathia began the season poorly, but by the end of the year, no one was talking about those first few outings. People seemed more confused than worried about his Opening Day start for the Yankees, with Sabathia showing no dominance, some command problems, and spending his half-inning on the bench with a heating pad on his side. The heating pad had many concerned, though in the few shots I saw, it was being held in different areas along his ribcage, and Sabathia’s explanation that he was “keeping warm” does make some sense. “Precautionary” would make even more sense, because it’s important to remember that Sabathia has a history of oblique strains, injuring himself at the start of the season in both 2005 and 2006. With the combination of game results, his history, and the provocative image, this bears watching. I do think that there was something throwing off his release point; it could be any one of a million factors, including not being able to get his core loose.

• PeteAbe provides the minor league rosters for all levels.  Here is the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster:

CLASS AAA SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES
Manager: Dave Miley
Coaches: Scott Aldred (P), Butch Wynegar (H), Aaron Ledesma
Pitchers: Alfredo Aceves, Anthony Claggett, J.B. Cox, Dan Geise, Phil Hughes, Kei Igawa, Steven Jackson, Jason Johnson, Ian Kennedy, Zach Kroenke, Mark Melancon, Dave Robertson, Brett Tomko, Brett
Catchers: Kevin Cash, P.J. Pilittere, Chris Stewart.
Infielders: Doug Bernier, Eric Duncan, Justin Leone, Juan Miranda, Kevin Russo.
Outfielders: Shelley Duncan, Austin Jackson, Todd Linden, John Rodriguez.

• Some of the Yankees managed to get a tour of The White House.
• Just in case you were wondering which company was the “Official Paint” of the Yankees, CNBC lists all the major sponsors for the 2009 season.

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Panic in the Streets … $207 million team starts 0-1!

OK … here’s the real news:

• Our own Cliff Corcoran provides his usual excellent recap of yesterday’s game.
• Here are some other recaps:
  • USA Today (Associated Press)
  • MLB.com
  • PeteAbe with a not-too-overly-concerned Joe Girardi
• Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus.com starts the Yanks out in the top position of his weekly rankings:

A $441 million spending spree brought the Yankees the winter’s biggest haul, but their self-loving $300 million slugger—a former steroid user, in case you hadn’t heard—starts the year on the DL as the team moves into its charmless $1.3 billion new ballpark, the House That Ruthlessness Built. This is the third consecutive year the Yanks top the pre-season Hit List, but money guarantees nothing in the top-heavy AL East. (800 RS/635 RA)

• Tyler Kepner writes about the risks the Yankees are taking in signing CC Sabathia:

The Yankees gave him the most money ever guaranteed to a pitcher — $161 million for seven years — without any precedent to study.

“There’s no doubt there’s risk,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “You try to assess the ability of the player and you look at body type and all those things. Regardless, even if there were some comparables, good or bad — which there weren’t — there are always stand-alones.” .  .  .

“You look at his legs, and they’re huge, but they’re solid muscle,” the Yankees’ pitching coach, Dave Eiland, said. “For me, that’s where most of his weight is, and that’s good weight. He’s 6-foot-7, big-boned, a thick guy. At 250 pounds, he’d look like Manute Bol, maybe.”

Sabathia’s bulk helps hide the ball in his delivery, and his height gives a better downward plane on his pitches. His reach allows him to release the ball a bit closer to the hitter.

[My take: Well, its not Wayne Garland-risky, but its still a LOT of money.  I don’t know if ANY pitcher is worth being in the top 5 in annual salary.]

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CC Sabathia couldn’t command his fastball in yesterday’s season opener, and though the Yankee offense made a valiant attempt to dig out of the early hole their new ace put them in, they fell just short. Then the bullpen allowed things to unravel.

Sabathia struggled from the very beginning, opening his Yankee career by allowing a single to Brian Roberts, bouncing a wild pitch to move Roberts to second, and issuing a four-pitch walk to Adam Jones. Another wild pitch moved the runners to second and third with just one out, but Sabathia got out of that jam with a couple of ground ball outs.

Sabathia worked a 1-2-3 second, but started the third by giving up a leadoff single to Cesar Izturis on a 3-1 pitch and walking Roberts. Adam Jones tried to bunt the runners up on the first pitch he saw from Sabathia, but after bunting the first pitch foul, swung away and crushed a second-pitch fastball to the right-field gap for a triple, plating both runners. Jones then scored himself on a sac fly.

A slick 4-6-3 double play got Sabathia out of another jam in the fourth after he put runners on the corners with one out, but he wasn’t so lucky in the fifth. Roberts led off that inning with a soaring ground-rule double just beyond Brett Gardner’s reach in the right-field gap. After that, the Orioles bled him, scoring three more runs without getting another ball out of the infield.

Jones followed Roberts’ double with a single that tipped off the glove of a diving Cody Ransom, who had been playing in to guard against the bunt. With runners on the corners, Nick Markakis hit a tapper on a hit-and-run to the vacated shortstop position. Derek Jeter was able to get to the ball, but not in time to get an out. That scored Roberts. Melvin Mora followed with a well-hit ball down the left-field line that Ransom was able stop, but didn’t field cleanly, allowing Mora to reach with a bases-loading single. Aubrey Huff then plated Jones and advanced the other runners with a groundout to Cano. With first base open, Joe Girardi had Sabathia intentionally walk righty Ty Wigginton to pitch to lefty Luke Scott with two outs and a force at every base. Sabathia walked Scott, ending his Yankee debut with this line: 4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 0 K.

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Baltimore Orioles

2008 Record: 68-93 (.422)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 73-88 (.451)

Manager: Dave Trembley
General Manager: Andy MacPhail

Home Ballpark (multi-year Park Factors): Oriole Park at Camden Yards (103/104)

Who’s Replaced Whom:

• Cesar Izturis replaces Juan Castro, Alex Cintron, Freddie Bynum, Luis Hernandez, and Brandon Fahey
• Gregg Zaun replaces Guillermo Quiroz
• Matt Wieters will replace Ramon Hernandez, though for now Chad Moeller has his roster spot.
• Felix Pie and Ryan Freel replace Kevin Millar
• Ty Wigginton replaces Jay Payton
• Robert Andino replaces Luis Montanez (minors)
• Koji Uehara replaces Daniel Cabrera
• Mark Hendrickson replaces Garrett Olson
• Adam Eaton replaces Brian Burres
• Alfredo Simon replaces Radhames Liz (minors) and Chris Waters (minors)
• Chris Ray replaces Chad Bradford (DL) and will soon replace George Sherrill as closer
• Danyz Baez replaces Lance Cormier

25-man Roster:

1B – Aubrey Huff (L)
2B – Brian Roberts (S)
SS – Cesar Izturis (S)
3B – Melvin Mora (R)
C – Gregg Zaun (S)
RF – Nick Markakis (L)
CF – Adam Jones (R)
LF – Felix Pie (L)
DH – Luke Scott (L)

Bench:

R – Ty Wigginton (UT)
R – Ryan Freel (UT)
R – Robert Andino (IF)
R – Chad Moeller (C)

Rotation:

R – Jeremy Guthrie
R – Koji Uehara
R – Alfredo Simon
L – Mark Hendrickson
R – Adam Eaton

Bullpen:

L – George Sherrill
R – Chris Ray
L – Jamie Walker
R – Jim Johnson
R – Danys Baez
R – Matt Albers
R – Dennis Sarfate
R – Brian Bass

15-day DL: LHP – Rich Hill

Projected lineup vs. RHP:

S – Brian Roberts (2B)
R – Adam Jones (CF)
L – Nick Markakis (RF)
L – Aubrey Huff (1B)
R – Melvin Mora (3B)
L – Luke Scott (DH)
S – Gregg Zaun (C)
L – Felix Pie (LF)
S – Cesar Izturis (SS)

Projected lineup vs. LHP:

S – Brian Roberts (2B)
R – Adam Jones (CF)
L – Nick Markakis (RF)
L – Aubrey Huff (1B)
R – Melvin Mora (3B)
R – Ty Wigginton (DH)
S – Gregg Zaun (C)
R – Ryan Freel (LF)
S – Cesar Izturis (SS)

Notes: There are 26 players listed for the O’s 25-man roster because fifth starter Adam Eaton, who was signed to a minor league deal this offseason, won’t be added until just before his first start next week.

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The last time a sense of newness and expectation this powerful converged with the New York Yankees was 2002. The YES Network had been clear for takeoff — it launched on March 19 on Time Warner Cable and RCN in New York (Cablevision would be left out until March 31 the following year). The major signing was a power-hitting first baseman brought to New York from an American League West stalwart.

This year, a massive new stadium — in size and cost — sets the backdrop for a Yankee team that has brought in another powerful first baseman from the AL West, but two stud pitchers to solidify the starting rotation.

The Yankees opened the 2002 season on a Monday afternoon in April, in Baltimore. The same scenario comes to the fore today. Seven years ago, Roger Clemens took the hill and was tattooed in a 10-3 loss. Clemens injured his pitching hand trying to snare a hard-bouncing ground ball with his bare hand.

What will the outcome be today? Will history repeat itself? Will C.C. Sabathia, the highest-paid pitcher ever, try to barehand a line drive and damage the investment the Yankees have placed in him? Will Mark Teixeira, the topic of much discussion over the weekend, particularly after Saturday’s two-home-run performance, do what Jason Giambi couldn’t: get off to a great start in New York and convince the fans that he can hang in New York?

The greatest differences: the 2002 team, while starkly different than its predecessor, was coming off a Game 7 loss in the World Series and a potential four-peat. This Yankee team, at least in the makeup of its core players, is not that different than last year’s, and is coming off its first playoff absence since 1993.

How about the season? Will history repeat itself there also? The opening-day loss didn’t faze the 2002 group, which went on to finish 103-58 and coasted to a fifth straight AL East title only to get complacent and lose to the Angels in the first round. A 103-58 record is possible, but the intradivision competition is tougher. The Angels lurk again.

From everything I’ve read, seen and heard, I sense the air of purpose from this team is as strong as the Joe Torre championship teams. I’m as curious as the rest of you to see how it all plays out, and I can’t wait.

Today’s news is powered by an Opening Day Yankee Roll Call . . .

• MLB.com reports on Ramiro Pena snagging the final roster spot:

Despite having not played above Double-A Trenton, Pena opened eyes in camp when Derek Jeter left the club for the World Baseball Classic, showcasing a slick glove and a developing bat. Pena batted .277 (18-for-65) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBIs in 30 Spring Training games for New York.

• Joba Chamberlain was quite impressive in his final Spring Training start.
• Will Alex Rodriguez be back on the field by the end of April?:

Alex Rodriguez’s progress in rehab after hip surgery is going so well that he could rejoin the New York Yankees by the end of April.

When Rodriguez underwent hip surgery on March 9, the initial prognosis was for him to miss six to nine weeks. That would have had him returning anywhere from the end of April to the middle of May.

Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long told the New York Post that Rodriguez has begun to hit and “feels 70 percent.” Long speaks with the third baseman daily, the Post reported.

Citing an unnamed team official, the Post also said it’s possible Rodriguez could be back on the field by late April if the Yankees were to support that.

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Let’s get to it . . .

• The Times provides an interactive guide to the new cathedral.
• Joel Sherman has mixed feelings about the new Stadium:

The new Yankee Stadium has just about everything you would want in a modern sports facility, except charm and a sense of proportion. . . .

(Yet) the place brought nausea, not nostalgia. It just feels like the wrong time in the history of this country and this city to be opening up the George Mahal. When the project was initiated 2 ½ years ago, the Yankees could not have known what the state of the economy was going to be now.

But this is about more than wrong place, wrong time. The Yankees’ sense of entitlement and unrestrained excess is timeless. They will tell you they built this stadium for the everyman, stressing what they consider still affordable pricing and amenities. But this stadium, in actuality, was built for a moneyed class that in many respects does not even exist in this city any longer.

• Mr. Sherman provides a listing of the 2009 payroll, and comes up with $207.4 million.
• Harvey Araton seems to feel the same way as Mr. Sherman:

The new Yankee Stadium is not about improved atmosphere; it is about amenities — and there are many. But in the context of New York’s fiscal reality, are they worth what was taken from the neighborhood folk, the taxpayer subsidies and the unholy prices of the premium seats, a fair number of which remain available? . . .

The unsold seats that stand to create pockets of blue reminders of overreaching are the Yankees’ problem. But the Steinbrenners have what they long wanted, while the players have computer screens at their dressing stalls inside a mall of a clubhouse that has a kitchen with two chefs, among places where reporters won’t roam. . . .

Of course, the demolition of the old Stadium is overdue. The neighborhood deserves at least some of its precious parkland back now that the house George M. Steinbrenner built with the help of the willing and the unwilling is officially open for business.

• PeteAbe gives his first impressions of the Stadium on a game day:

The biggest difference? Those fancy Legends seats that stretch from first base to third base are set apart by a high concrete wall. It’s like they wanted to protect the wealthy from the rest of society.

The building is just immense. The Great Hall looks like you could run a train through it. There are two small scoreboards in right and left field that show the linescore, the count, etc. There are also a lot more bleacher seats. A whole lot more.

• Some fans offered their thoughts on the new park:

As a longtime Yankees fan who saw more than 200 games at the old House that Ruth Built, Mike Generose acknowledged feeling a bit sentimental about the Yankees’ old park, still standing alongside the new venue.

“A little bit of your heart stays across the street,” he said. “But I guess if you have to move, this is a good place to move into.”

The Bronx stadium felt and sounded every bit like its urban setting, with elevated subway trains rumbling by within sight behind the outfield.

John Panzico lauded the ballpark’s openness as he squeezed the new, cushioned seats.

“I grew up in the old stadium. I brought my children there,” said the 62-year-old Panzico, who was raised on Staten Island and now lives in upstate Monroe. “I hope I’ll be starting a new tradition at this stadium with my grandchildren.”

• MLB.com offers a brief overview of the Yanks for the coming season.
• Derek Jeter and David Wright are going head-to-head . . . for charity:

Under the rules of Delta’s Jeter/Wright Batting Challenge, the player who ends the season with the highest batting average (based on a minimum 400 at bats) wins the big bonus for his charity.

In this competition, the loser is still a winner – his charity gets $50,000.

If for some reason one of the players gets hurt and doesn’t make the minimum number of at bats, Delta will call off the competition and give $75,000 to each of the players’ charities.

• The Boston Globe starts the year with 100 things to know about the Rays, Sox and Yankees.
• On this date in 1989, on the opening day of the new season, New York Yankees pitcher Tommy John ties a major league record by playing in his 26th season. John beats the Minnesota Twins, 4 – 2, for his 287th win.
• On this date in 1994, a total of 56,706 fans attend Opening Day, making it the largest crowd ever at the (then new) Yankee Stadium.
• We’ve arrived at the NCAA Final Four, which means we should take a look at the 2009 “Bronx Madness” standings.  “Heel Yeah”, despite having two fewer correct picks than “Karim Abdul Garcia”, leads by 38 points.  “Heel Yeah” has three of the four teams, including their title pick of North Carolina, still alive.  “Garcia” only has two teams alive, and their title pick of Louisville went down in the Elite Eight.  The only way “Heel Yeah” doesn’t take the honors is if Michigan State and Villanova win their respective semifinal matchups.  Then “Spanking the Wooden Floor” (ahem) will steal the top prize.

See you Monday . . .

Today’s news is powered by . . . baseball fights!

• LoHud provides video tours of the new ballparks in town.
• Brett Gardner was a little befuddled by the new Stadium:

“I couldn’t figure out how to get into the Stadium this morning, they didn’t want to let me in, because I went into the wrong gate,” Brett Gardner said. . . .

“I couldn’t figure out how to get to the clubhouse, so I just said forget it and I walked down through the stands and into the dugout and found the clubhouse,” Gardner said.

• YESblog has lots of cool photos from the day’s events.
• Kevin Devaney of LoHud got player reactions to their new home, including:

Andy Pettitte: “I was out there last night and, the dimensions, it looks exactly like the old ball park. You just look from the dugout, it looks like it’s going to play big in left and there’s a short porch in right.

“Obviously you walk through the door and see this, the clubhouse. Just the facilities we have, how beautiful everything is and the lighting, it’s state-of-the-art. For me, I’m a big-time whirlpool guy. We have unbelievable facilities as far as swimming. It’s just unbelievable.”

• Hal Steinbrenner thinks some of the tickets may be overpriced:

“I think if anybody in any business had known where this economy was going to go, they would have done things differently,” Steinbrenner said Thursday. “Look, there’s no doubt small amounts of our tickets might be overpriced.

“You know, we’re continuing to look into that. But the bottom line is, the vast majority of them, it seems like they’re right on because we’ve sold 35,000 full-season equivalents, and a lot of the tickets have, you know, sold quite well. And, well, despite what’s out there all the time … there’s thousands of very affordable seating. And, you know, the public is excited, as excited as we are, I think.”

[My take: Ummm . . . Hal? You may want to take a look at this next article.  You’ve basically built a moat within the Stadium.  Oh, and how are the TV camera going to avoid showing the empty $500-$2,500 seats in those oh-so-special between-the-bases sections?]

• $72.97 . . . that’s the average ticket cost at the new Stadium, according to the 2009 Fan Cost Index (FCI):

The Yankees’ ascendance to the top of the FCI and ticket rankings breaks two long streaks by the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have had the most-expensive average ticket since 1996, and have topped the FCI charts since 2001. . . .

About 31 percent of the Yankees’ high-priced premium tickets sell for $135 or less, according to TMR research, with prices famously topping out at $2,500 for some front-row season tickets. . . .

The Yankees have overtaken Boston ($50.24, up 0.3 percent) and the Chicago Cubs ($47.75, up 10 percent) for the priciest average ticket.

• Bill Madden predicts the Yanks will finish 90-72, behind both Tampa Bay (101-61) and Boston (94-68).

[My take: If the Rays win 101 games, without having called up David Price by May 1, I’ll eat my mousepad.]

• No matter the work status of Bob Sheppard this season, Derek Jeter will continue to be “announced” by him.

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Today’s news is powered by our fearless leader’s predictions for the Yankees in 2009, as part of a “New York Baseball Today” segment:

• Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll, on the status of our favorite celebrity/third baseman:

The Yankees are saying that Alex Rodriguez will return on May 15; sources tell me that he’s “way in front of that.”

• Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan and A-Rod.  No, its not some cross-sport menage-a-trois.  Its some of the names that come up in David Pinto’s preview of the Yanks, specifically:

Be on the lookout for a Nancy Kerrigan-like recovery for Alex Rodriguez. Back in 1994, skater Kerrigan was whacked in the knee by the boyfriend of her rival skater, Tonya Harding. Kerrigan was force to rehabilitate her knee to get ready for the Olympics, and the therapy made her stronger, leading to the best performance of her life. A-Rod is going through that kind of training right now, possibly increasing his strength beyond what a normal spring training would bring. I could imagine him coming back and posting six months worth of number in five. (Of course, he’ll complain about Jeter’s makeup and everyone will hate him again.)

• John Perrotto takes a peek at the 2009 Yankees:

Though this is one franchise that determines the success of a season by whether or not it won the World Series (something it hasn’t done since 2000), the Yankees weren’t exactly awful last season. They went 89-73, and they weren’t as dominant as usual, finishing a mediocre 13^th in the majors in team Equivalent Average*with a .262 mark while scoring an average of 4.9 per game, 14^th in runs allowed with a 4.5 average, and 25^th in defensive efficiency. This year, Teixeira should bolster the offense, and Sabathia should provide a lift to the pitching staff as they are among the game’s premier players. Teixeira’s combined .328 EqA with the Braves and Angels last season ranked fifth in the majors, and Sabathia’s combined 8.7 SNLVAR** with the Indians and Brewers ranked first. Burnett was 32^nd in SNLVAR with 5.3 for the Blue Jays, and is not considered as safe a bet as Teixeira and Sabathia because of his injury history and his often prickly personality.

“There is pressure on me, and all three of us, but I can tell you that nobody has greater expectations of me than I do,” Sabathia said. “It was that way when I was a rookie back in 2001 making the minimum salary, and that’s the way it is now that I’ve signed this contract. I want to the best pitcher I can be, get to the World Series, and win it. I know the fans expect me to come here and be that missing piece, the guy who takes the Yankees to the World Series. That’s great. I want them to feel that way, because that’s my goal, too.”

Sabathia also believes that Teixeira and Burnett will handle the high expectations. “They’re veterans and exceptional players,” said Sabathia. “You don’t reach the level they’ve reached in this game if you’re not confident and mentally strong. We’re all in the same boat. We’re new here. But we’re also here to lean on each other, and that’s going to help all three of us.”

• Newsday’s Wallace Matthews wants Joba Chamberlain back in the bullpen:

Greater baseball minds than mine have analyzed this situation at great length and determined that Joba for the first six innings every five days is better than Joba out of the bullpen five times a week.

. . . Joba can finish. He was a great setup man, and someday he’ll be a great closer. Those commodities are a lot scarcer on the market than starting pitchers.

And the Yankees, of all teams, should know it. In 1996, they wrote the book on the art of shortening the game. The nightly relay team – starting pitcher to Rivera to John Wetteland – was more reliable than Tinker to Evers to Chance. It forced every one of their opponents into the hurry-up offense, every night.

If you didn’t get those Yankees within six innings, you weren’t getting them at all, and the numbers bear it out – the record of the 1996 world champions was 70-3 in games they led after six.

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Happy April Fools Day!  Today’s news is powered by one Sidd Finch:

“I’m standing in there to give this guy a target, just waving the bat once or twice out over the plate. He starts his windup. He sways way back, like Juan Marichal, this hiking boot comes clomping over—I thought maybe he was wearing it for balance or something—and he suddenly rears upright like a catapult. The ball is launched from an arm completely straight up and stiff. Before you can blink, the ball is in the catcher’s mitt. You hear it crack, and then there’s this little bleat from Reynolds.”

On to the news:

• Tyler Kepner reports on the latest round of cuts:

. . . the Yankees cut all of their long-relief candidates and told Jonathan Albaladejo that he had made the team. That means Brett Tomko, Dan Giese and Alfredo Aceves will pitch for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. . . .

Here are 24 players who will start with the team:

Pitchers: C.C. Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Coke, Damaso Marte, Jonathan Albaladejo, Edwar Ramirez, Jose Veras, Brian Bruney, Mariano Rivera.

Catchers: Jorge Posada, Jose Molina.

Infielders: Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Cody Ransom.

Outfielders: Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera, Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher.

Designated Hitter: Hideki Matsui.

• Kepner also reports on the Yanks bargain basement bridges to Mariano Rivera:

On a team that spends more than $200 million on its roster, the Yankees’ bullpen is a bargain. Only one of Rivera’s setup men will earn more than $1.25 million this season. That is Dámaso Marte, a left-hander whose first team, the Seattle Mariners, let him go as a minor leaguer in 2000. . . .

The other relievers have much less experience, but the Yankees’ bullpen had a 3.79 earned run average last season, seventh best in baseball. Of the six relievers likely to set up for Rivera, only Phil Coke was drafted by the Yankees. The others came from discount bins.

José Veras signed as a minor league free agent after two pitching-poor teams let him go. Edwar Ramírez was released twice by the Angels and toiled in two independent leagues.

Brian Bruney was released by the Diamondbacks, who gave his roster spot to a fading veteran, Kevin Jarvis. Jonathan Albaladejo was released by Pittsburgh, signed by Washington and traded to the Yankees. . . .

• Signs are getting stronger that A-Rod will be rejoining the club around the middle of May:

Girardi said he spoke to Rodriguez via telephone on Sunday, and he reported that A-Rod has been increasing the intensity of his workouts.

Rodriguez told Girardi that he planned to throw on Monday, the first time he had done so since the March 9 procedure to repair a torn labrum in his hip.

“His rehab is taking another step,” Girardi said. “He seemed like he was in a good frame of mind. We miss him, and he misses us.”

Rodriguez has stayed in Vail, Colo., since the surgery, riding a stationary bike, working out in a pool and performing range-of-motion drills. He has also simulated the motion of swinging a bat.

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Today’s news is powered by a great speech by the Captain …

• Brett Gardner talked to Tyler Kepner about an a batting adjustment that seems to have made a big difference for him:

. . . he (Gardner) explained that his improvement at the plate began last September when Kevin Long suggested he eliminate his stride. Gardner won’t become another Molitor, to be sure, but the approach has worked.

“It did two things: I’m out front less, and I’m able to stay back and see the ball deeper,” Gardner said. “I feel like my head’s moving a lot less, and I’m able to see the ball batter. That helps you judge the strike zone and helps your timing. I feel like I’ve been squaring more balls up since last September than I ever had before. It’s something promising for me.”

• Could 23-year-old SS Ramiro Pena make the Opening Day roster?:

. . . Then, with Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano playing in the World Baseball Classic and Alex Rodriguez out after hip surgery, Peña found himself with an elevated role in spring training as a big-time infield replacement. And he played way above expectations while filling in.

In fact, he played so well that he is neck and neck with Angel Berroa for the utility infielder’s job — not in Triple-A but on the Yankees.

When Peña first realized he was being considered for a spot on the major-league club last week, his wide eyes gave away his surprise. He had thought he was in major-league camp mainly to fill in for the missing trio. That may have been the original idea, but the Yankees saw how much he had progressed.

“To me, his at-bats have really gotten better and better as the spring has gone on,” manager Joe Girardi said.

[My take: Do I hear “late inning Jeter defensive replacement” in the distance?  Girardi could pass it off as just giving the aging Jeter an inning or two more rest during the season, though if Girardi does it in 1-run games, it might raise more eyebrows.]

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The last week of March signals the beginning of the regular season like light at the end of a tunnel. In Florida, beat writers and their backups, many of whom have been stationed there since the beginning of February, are gathering the final roster notes and putting the finishing touches on their season preview specials for next Sunday’s paper, while the columnists, most of whom are based in New York, continue to track the off-field news and craft profiles of the key players involved in those scenarios.

It’s an exciting and stressful time for all the moving parts of a baseball operation, from the team itself to the media outlets covering the team, but if you work in sports and if baseball is the sport in which you’ve chosen to specialize, it’s the best stress you can have outside of being involved in the postseason.

STORY OF THE WEEK
Much has been made of Joe Girardi’s decision to flip Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon in the batting order. Much was written about this topic in the winter and spring leading up to the 2006 season, Damon’s first in pinstripes. At the Baseball Writers Association of America dinner in December of 2005, I remember asking SI’s Tom Verducci, who is a proponent of Sabermetric analysis, what he thought about putting Jeter in the leadoff spot. He agreed that the combination of Jeter’s ability to get on base more consistently (he was coming off a year with a .389 OBP to Damon’s .366), and Gary Sheffield batting third—which would have kept the righty-lefty-righty element in play that Joe Torre favored—made Jeter the better choice for the leadoff spot. But that spring, when the writers asked Torre about his plan, the Yankee manager was undeterred about keeping Damon as the leadoff hitter. Torre, in his way, usually deflected the discussion by saying, “You only have to worry about the leadoff batter for the first inning. Then the rest of the lineup takes care of itself.” It was as if the decision was predetermined from the moment Damon signed with the Yankees.

What we know as baseball fans is that the numbers rarely lie. Jeter’s lowest seasonal on-base percentage pre-Damon was .352 in 2004. Head to head, Damon, whose career has spanned the same exact time frame of Jeter’s, had a higher OBP than Jeter only once prior to his arrival in New York (in 2004: Damon .380 to Jeter’s .352.). The trend has held true since 2006, as Jeter has bested Damon in OBP twice: .417 to .359 in ’06, and .388 to .351 in ’07.

Adding further credibility to Jeter as a leadoff batter is the number of times that Jeter has grounded into double plays versus Damon. Over the course of their respective careers, Damon has grounded into 120 fewer double plays than Jeter (75 to 95), an average of nine fewer GIDPs per season.

Cliff Corcoran, through Pete Abe, did a great job of breaking down the numbers earlier this week.

Here’s a thought, though: If Girardi is adamant about Jeter in the leadoff spot now, did he think about this at all in 2006 when he was Torre’s consiglieri on the bench? If so, and if he had Torre’s ear, why didn’t he suggest it? By the numbers, and the fact that Damon is entering his Age 35 season and Jeter will turn 35 on June 26, this decision appears to be three years late.

OTHER THINGS WE LEARNED

• Alex Rodriguez not only wooed escorts and strippers and admitted his steroid use to them, now he doesn’t care what people think of him. (Does this list include WWE star John Cena?) The good news: the last time he adopted this M.O., he had an MVP season.
• FOX Sports.com’s Ken Rosenthal is a master of the obvious. On a similar note, the recent surge by Melky Cabrera may lead to a trade, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported
• Joel Sherman, while he’s on point in this article, is about two weeks behind Bronx Banter on the analysis of Chien-Ming Wang.
• Newsday’s Anthony Rieber is not a fan of Hideki Matsui, v.2009.
• Arthur Richman and Johnny Blanchard, two indelible links to Yankees history, will be missed.

Until next week . . .

Today’s news is powered by part of a foreign language documentary on the history of baseball in Italy, with this piece featuring a visit by Joe DiMaggio:

• PeteAbe reports that Brett Gardner has won the starting CF job.  Here’s a quote from the skipper on the matter:

“What happens April 6 doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what’s going to be June 1. As players, you have to perform. But right now we think Gardy has a little bit of an edge,” Girardi said. “It’s not going to be day by day. Gardy is our center fielder.”

[My take: Will Gardner get the green light often, especially with Mr. “24 GIDP” Jeter batting after him?  The last time a Yankee stole 40+ bases in a year was Alfonso Soriano in 2002.  Will Gardner be allowed to take aim at that from the 9 hole?  That’s our poll question today.]

• Here is MLB.com’s report on the establishment of Gardner in CF.
• Jonathan Albaladejo is making a strong case for a spot in the Yanks’ pen:

A member of the Yankees’ Opening Day roster in 2008, the 26-year-old right-hander has compiled a strong spring to state his case. Albaladejo has limited opponents to one run on eight hits in 9 2/3 innings (0.93 ERA), walking one and striking out eight.

Coming off a stress fracture in his right elbow, Albaladejo has had scouts buzzing again and says he is feeling as strong as he has since his early 20s.

“I’ve been throwing the ball well,” Albaladejo said. “The important part for me is I’m getting outs. I feel like I’m going good.”

The Yankees intended to take a long reliever with them last year, Girardi’s first at the helm, and heavily considered both Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner.

But Karstens was eliminated with a groin injury on the club’s final day in Tampa and Rasner instead started the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. A similar situation could emerge this year, as the Yankees weigh carrying Albaladejo and left-hander Phil Coke as a pair of multiple-inning hurlers.

• PeteAbe also takes (another) crack at predicting the Opening Day roster.

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I don’t recall Aaron Boone’s Yankee days as warmly as I should. Perhaps it’s because Boone’s home run in Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS, as exhilarating a moment as any this decade, did not ultimately lead to a world championship. Or maybe it’s because Boone’s Yankee career ended so quickly, undone by a pickup basketball game and a wrecked knee that eventually led to the acquisition of Alex Rodriguez.

Six years after Boone’s brief pinstriped tenure, I find myself thinking of him more fondly. Shortly after hearing that Boone would need open heart surgery to repair an aortic valve—a procedure that took place earlier this week—I also began to think about a pretty good pitcher named John Hiller.

The Tigers’ relief ace for much of the 1970s, Hiller is the only other major leaguer that I can recall who endured severe heart problems during his playing days. In January of 1971, the 27-year-old Hiller suffered a major heart attack at his off-season home. The effects of the attack sidelined him for all of the 1971 season and most of 1972. His career given up as a lost cause by most casual observers, Hiller proceeded to stage one of the most remarkable comebacks in baseball history. In 1973, the talented and determined left-hander set a then-major league record with 38 saves and finished fourth in the American League’s MVP balloting. Hiller never quite reached such a dominant level again, but remained an effective closer for most of the decade. He did not retire until 1980, some nine years after he was struck by the heart attack that had seemingly ended his career on the spot.

Unlike Hiller, Boone’s aortic problem did not fit the description of an “emergency” condition, but it did have to be treated through an open-heart procedure, which always carries serious concerns. Because of that, Boone’s 2009 season is over before it begins. Doctors believe that he can eventually return to the playing field, but Boone does not have the benefit of age on his side, as Hiller did. Hiller was in his late twenties when struck by the heart attack; Boone just turned 36, and has already become a journeyman who has to grapple for his job on a year-to-year basis. According to the earliest timetable, Boone would be able to resume playing in 2010, by which time he will be 37 and hoping that a one-year layoff hasn’t completely eroded his skills.

Does that mean Boone’s career is over? Well, I wouldn’t give up on him just yet, considering that he has always kept himself in good shape and has a reputation as a rock-solid worker. And if he can find some inspiration from John Hiller—who has already done what many thought was impossible—perhaps his chances of a comeback will get that much better . . .

***

I’m not holding my breath for the Yankees to make any trades before Opening Day—spring training deals have become a lost art—but at least one player’s name has been swirling through the trade winds. Melky Cabrera has drawn interest from the White Sox, a scenario that speaks volumes about Chicago’s center field quagmire. Brian Anderson, Jerry Owens, and Dewayne Wise all have questionable resumes and have failed to advance their causes through slapdash spring performances. The White Sox like Cabrera’s defense and throwing skills, but I have to wonder how much they would offer for a player who was an offensive nonentity for most of 2008. If the ChiSox were willing to fork over a young catcher or a third baseman—anything but another pitching prospect!—the Yankees might have to take the bait. The power and bat speed displayed by Austin Jackson this spring, along with Brett Gardner’s rejuvenated swing, have the Yankees thinking better about their center field depth, thereby making Cabrera more expendable. By trading Cabrera, who is out of options, the Yankees could also open up a roster spot for another infielder or a third catcher . . .

***

The passing of former Yankee Johnny Blanchard brings to mind some personal memories from the early 1980s. As the Yankees struggled to find a permanent catching solution after Thurman Munson’s death, I once thought to myself: Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone like Johnny Blanchard right about now? Though often a third-string catcher on those multi-layered Yankee teams that featured Yogi Berra and Elston Howard, Blanchard would have been a perfect fit as Rick Cerone’s platoon mate in the early eighties. The Yankees eventually found a Blanchard-type player in Ron Hassey, but “Babe” had his limitations with the glove and enjoyed an even shorter peak to his career than Blanchard.

As Cliff Corcoran pointed earlier this week, the Yankees could sure use someone like Blanchard today as a hedge against Jorge Posada’s shoulder and Jose Molina’s bat. Unfortunately, catching depth throughout the game is about as weak as I’ve ever seen it. It’s not just the Yankees who struggle to find backups; the problem persists throughout both leagues. A Johnny Blanchard in today’s game (at least based on his three-year peak from 1961 to 1963) would carry a lavish value—and would probably start for a number of teams, including those in Anaheim, Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle, Toronto, Florida, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Washington.

Bruce Markusen writes “Cooperstown Confidential” for MLB.com.

• Newsday reports that legendary Yankee announcer Bob Sheppard will most likely not be at the new stadium’s home opener:

• As Cliff noted, your Opening Day Yankees lineup might run Jeter/Damon, rather vice-versa:

Manager Joe Girardi said he would try this out for a few days and keep it into the regular season if it works. Girardi thinks Damon, a left-handed batter who pulls the ball, is suited to batting second because he can hit behind runners. Though Jeter owns the higher career on-base percentage (.387 to .354), Damon’s was better last year (.375 to .363).

[My take: Well, Jeter often hits behind runners given how much he goes to the opposite field.  But if it lowers the 24 GIDP the Captain bounced into last season, that’s a plus.  Also, will Jeter be attempting more steals as a result?]

• MLB.com offers some more info on the lineup swap:

It happened largely by accident, in fact. Damon had been batting second to get Jorge Posada more at-bats as he resumes catching duties, but now that Jeter has returned from the World Baseball Classic, Damon will stay there.

“We kind of liked what we saw in that situation,” Girardi said. “We’re going to play with it more here over the next week.”

Damon said Girardi showed the new lineup on Thursday morning. While Damon has said numerous times how proud he is of being a leadoff hitter and a table-setter, he said he had no problem batting second.

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Today’s news is powered by a “Pitching 101” video by former Yankee (and current Blue Jay pitching coach) Brad Arnsberg . . .

• Melky Cabrera may yet be traded:

. . . the Yankees have been telling other teams they would be open to moving Cabrera and suggested that he would be a perfect fit for the White Sox, who currently have Jerry Owens, Brian Anderson and DeWayne Wise competing for the center-field job.

The move would open up more at-bats for newly acquired switch-hitter Nick Swisher, who has lost the competition to be the starting right fielder to Xavier Nady. The club had been trying to move either Swisher or Nady, but teams would be more willing to part with young talent to acquire Cabrera, according to FOXSports.com.

[My take: If they do move him, I sure hope they bring back a good catching or SS prospect.]

• ESPN’s Howard Bryant wonders if Mark Teixeira can emulate another high-priced Yankee free agent acquisition from a different era:

Still, it is Jackson who remains the most relevant. In a universe where the Yankees seem to trot out another contender to his throne every December by signing a free agent who thinks he can conquer the big town as Jackson once did, Reggie is still The One, the standard of the big-money outsider who became part of the New York family simply by delivering on the promise.

Fittingly, while Jackson stands in the hallway cooling down, a white towel around his neck, Mark Teixeira strolls past.

Teixeira is the latest to try to climb the baseball equivalent of Mount Everest: playing in New York as the top-dollar free agent and coming through on the other side. Until the past couple of weeks, he had been able to blend in, a $180 million complementary player. But as collateral damage of Alex Rodriguez’s injury, he blends no more. With Rodriguez — and the bizarre, unrelenting dramas that seem to always accompany him — gone at least until near the All-Star break, Teixeira is the power bat in the Yankees’ lineup. He is the one who will have to create the murmurs in the stands at the new Stadium when it is his turn with two on and one out. He is now the one everyone in New York is waiting for.

[My take: I for one didn’t think A-Rod would be gone till “near the All-Star break.”  And, didn’t Mike Mussina produce as expected during his years here?  Moose might not have “conquered the big town” (nor was he expected to, as someone who suited up only once every five days), but he just went about his business, pitched well for the vast majority of the time, kept his nose clean, and would be considered a good investment in hindsight.]

• Alex Rodriguez . . . unlikable?:

Alex Rodriguez says he has “given up” hoping to be widely liked, accepting that many people he does not know well simply do not care for him personally.

“I’ve given up on that; it’s just the way it is,” the Yankees third basemen told YES’ Michael Kay in an interview recorded earlier this month that debuted last night on the network’s preseason special.

“I mean, look, I feel like right now that not too many people like me, so I’ve given up on that.

“As long as my teammates like me, and they respect me, and my two daughters love their Daddy, I’m going to go out and do the very best I can. Look, I really screwed up, and for that I’m sorry.”

[My take: If only he wouldn’t be so concerned with everyone liking him . . . people might actually like him!  And, I wouldn’t be so sure of his teammates’ respecting him.]

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Let’s dive right in . . .

• Ken Rosenthal lists the Yankees CF battle as one of the top positional tussles of the Spring:

The team only will benefit from the way Brett Gardner has pushed Melky Cabrera. Gardner looks like the favorite to win the job, but Cabrera also has played well, knowing he is less secure.

Gardner can loosen up a defense with his speed and bunting, but he lacks power and is not necessarily the answer over a full season. No problem; Gardner can start 100 games and Cabrera 60, or vice versa. Ideally, they will continue bringing the best out of each other.

• PeteAbe puts his two cents in on the Derek Jeter decline conundrum:

I find the idea that Derek Jeter should go play the outfield to be ridiculous. We have no idea if he can as he’s literally never played there a day in his life. So his lack of range at shortstop will disappear in the outfield?

He’s your shortstop until his contract expires after the 2010 season. Then you have two choices: Bid him a fond farewell or offer him some sort of DH/super utility role at a respectful salary.

The Yankees painted themselves into a corner when they signed Posada for four years, A-Rod for 10 (Seriously, great idea Hank. Just excellent.) and Mark Teixeira for eight. You can’t move Jeter to first or third and Posada isn’t going to be an everyday catcher forever. He’ll DH at some point.

• Apparently the Colorado fans are wondering if Jeff Baker is going to the Bombers:

Baker would make sense for the Astros or Yankees. However, the Yankees,a source close to their situation said tonight, are committed to giving Cody Ransom a shot while Alex Rodriguez is out. They liked him as a utility player before A-Rod’s surgery and he has enjoyed a strong spring. Remember, when Derek Jeter was hurt a few years ago, they went with a no-name for a few weeks.

Circumstances could change, but they don’t want to be held hostage in a trade for a player they might only need for 75 at-bats or so.

• Joel Sherman discusses the future of Chien-Mien Wang:

Wang is going to be a free agent after the 2010 season so to keep him the Yankees are going to have to pay him elite dollars over a long-term to stay: He will likely have a case that he should be paid commensurate with the five years at $82.5 million bestowed A.J. Burnett. And the Yanks, internally, are not positive about going to such extents with Wang. He has pitched four seasons in the majors and two have been interrupted by injury. They wonder how a pitcher who does not strike out batters will age as he loses some bite on his sinking fastball, especially since he has been sketchy in developing the rest of his repertoire. And he would begin a new contract in 2011 at age 31, so you almost certainly are buying declining years.

Because of all of this, the Yankees have weighed trade scenarios in the past involving Wang and, I suspect, they will continue to at least listen, especially if they believe that (Phil) Hughes is capable of being, at minimum, a cost-effective, mid-rotation starter.

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Today’s news is powered by a guy who built a wiffle ball field in his own backyard . . .

• Notes from Joe Girardi:
  • Alex Rodriguez is making progress in his rehab program after right hip surgery, but is unlikely to rejoin the team before it breaks spring training camp on April 1.
  • If the regular season were under way, Xavier Nady would be the starting right fielder over Nick Swisher.
• More on the Nady/Swisher battle:

Nady, 30, was not impressed by his own performance this spring, hitting .256 with one homer and six RBIs in 43 at-bats through Monday. He said that he never viewed his situation as a competition.

“I still had the same mind-set going in, to try and get ready for the season,” Nady said. “I know Swisher is obviously going to be a big part of this team. We both plan on playing a lot, and I think we’re going to need everybody in order to have success.”

Swisher now projects as a reserve outfielder and first baseman for the Yankees as he attempts to rebound from a troublesome 2008 season with the White Sox.The 28-year-old is hitting .257 with no homers and eight RBIs in 35 spring at-bats through Monday.

“They wouldn’t have brought me over here if I wasn’t going to do something,” Swisher said. “We’re just going to see how it goes.”

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Much to discuss . . . so let’s go:

• Could Kei Igawa be pitching his way towards a trade, to a team that wants him?:

Including a three-inning outing against Team Canada on March 5, Igawa has scattered seven hits in seven spring appearances, striking out 11. The outcome has drawn interest — during the Yankees’ game at Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday, professional scouts in attendance were said to be asking specifically about Igawa.

“He’s had a heck of a spring,” Cashman said. “He seems assertive, he’s moving fast and he’s throwing strikes. He’s always had good stuff. His command hasn’t been there. Now he’s showing stuff with commitment.”

Some of Igawa’s success may be due to the fact he is facing some batters who will not begin the season on big league rosters. There is little left to prove at the lower levels for Igawa, who was 14-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 26 games (24 starts) for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year.

• Jorge Posada is showing further progress in his recovery from shoulder surgery:

In the surest sign yet that Jorge Posada’s surgically repaired right shoulder will be prepared for Opening Day, the Yankees catcher unloaded strong throws to cut down three baserunners on Sunday.

Continuing to strengthen his shoulder, the 37-year-old Posada received CC Sabathia in a Minor League game against Pirates prospects, nabbing three of four potential basestealers with clean tosses to second base.

“You can’t compare what I was feeling last year,” Posada said. “I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t make three throws like that. It’s good to be back.”

• CC Sabathia seems to be adjusting quite well to his new teammates:

Beginning the process to combat Spring Training downtime, the left-hander stepped into a role of group organizer, his cohesive personality drawing the Bombers together for dinners and courtside seats at Orlando Magic games.

“I don’t know if I’m a leader,” Sabathia said. “I like to hang out with my teammates. I like to get to know them. Going to Magic games and going out to eat, I just feel like that’s something guys on the same team should always do. If I’m a leader in that regard, I guess. But I’m just trying to get to know my guys.”

• Richard Sandomir writes about Jim Kaat’s return to the broadcast booth.
• At LoHud, PeteAbe posts a Q&A with Joba Chamberlain, with the questions coming from readers, including this snippet:

Kirsten writes:: Your career has moved at a much faster pace, more so than that of most younger players. If you could go back and give advice to your 2007 self, what would you say?

Joba: “Slow things down. They’re so … especially in New York, things are going so fast. I did a terrible job my first year of slowing things down. Not so much on the field but probably off the field. You’ve just got to be happy for the situation but slow a lot of things down.”

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