The Yankees brought their starters on the road for a change, but still lost to the Indians 7-5 thanks to the arrival of the real Scott Erickson.
Lineup:

Bubba Crosby CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Gary Sheffield DH
Hideki Matsui LF
Andy Phillips 1B
Kelly Stinnett C
Russ Johnson 3B
Kevin Reese RF
Felix Escalona SS

Subs: Eric Duncan 1B, Kevin Howard 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Omir Santos C, Kevin Thompson LF, Melky Cabrera DH, Mitch Jones PH

Pitchers: Shawn Chacon, Sean Henn, Jose Veras, Tanyon Sturtze, Mike Myers, Scott Erickson

Bit Hits: Just a double by Melky Cabrera (1 for 1), Felix Escalona (2 for 3) was the only Yankee with a multi-hit day.

Who Pitched Well: Jose Veras pitched a perfect fifth inning striking out one, Tanyon Sturtze needed just eight pitches in his first game action of the spring, pitching around one hit for a scoreless sixth.

Who Didn’t: Sean Henn gave up four runs on four hits and four walks in a single inning, Scott Erickson blew the game by giving up three runs (two earned) on a walk and three hits including a homer by Todd Donovan. Shawn Chacon struck out three in three scoreless innings, but walked four, hit one and allowed two hits in the process. Joe Torre hinted before the game that Chacon has made the rotation, leaving Wang and Wright to battle it out for the fourth spot, with Pavano lined-up to claim the fifth spot which won’t be required until April 15.

Ouchies: Tanyon Sturtze made his spring debut. Jason Giambi (calf) started running on Friday and participated in full workouts over the weekend, but won’t return to game action until Tuesday because there will not be a DH in today’s road game against the Pirates. Carl Pavano threw 40 pitches, all from the rubber in his fourth bullpen session of the spring.

Second Cut, Part Two: Danny Garcia and Darrell Rasner were also reassigned to minor league camp before Saturday’s game. Garcia was an afterthought in the infield picture, but Rasner, who pitched well in two appearances (4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 4 K), should be on the short list of call-ups should injuries create room on the pitching staff. Rasner was on Jaret Wright’s schedule in the spring rotation.

WBC: Alex Rodriguez (2 for 5) came through with a bases-loaded single with two out in the bottom of the ninth to drop Japan 4-3. Jeter was 1 for 3, Damon struck out in a pinch-hit at-bat.

Chien-Ming Wang did indeed make up for his rocky first outing as the Yankees beat a split-squad Braves B-team 7-3.

Lineup:

Miguel Cairo SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Gary Sheffield RF
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Andy Phillips 1B
Mitch Jones LF
Melky Cabrera CF
Marcos Vechionacci 3B

Subs: Eric Duncan 1B, Felix Escalona 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Wil Nieves C, Bubba Crosby RF, Kevin Thompson DH

Pitchers: Chien-Ming Wang, Aaron Small, Matt Smith, Mariano Rivera, Kyle Farnsworth, Ron Villone

Big Hits: A three-run homer by Jorge Posada, doubles by Mitch Jones, Robinson Cano and Bubba Crosby.

Who Pitched Well: Wang was razor sharp in his three innings, allowing just one baserunner, a single in the third which he erased on a 3-6-1 double play. The exact opposite of his first start, Wang kept the ball down with impressive velocity, making many (admittedly minor league) batters swing and miss and striking out four. Mariano Rivera and Ron Villone each pitched 1-2-3 innings. Kyle Farnsworth pitched around a hit for a scoreless eighth.

Ouchies: Bubba Crosby played in his first game since getting hit on the index finger during bunting practice a week ago. Jason Giambi (calf) sat out again. Scott Proctor is away from camp due to the birth of his second child.

Second Cut: Philip Hughes, Chris Prieto and Jason Brown were reassigned to minor league camp before the game. According to Peter Abraham, Hughes was on Mike Mussina’s schudule and with Mussina scheduled to go five innings in his next start there are simply no innings left for Hughes in big league camp. Hughes didn’t pitch particularly well this spring (3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K), but that’s of little concern. Rather, it’s impressive that, having never pitched above the Sally League, he got to pitch as much as he did. Jason Brown, meanwhile, got into just one game with a split-squad B-team. A 31-year-old double-A lifer, Brown should have been given the opportunity to play in an A-game, merely as a reward for having stuck around so long. Odds are the only major leaguers he’ll share the field with in the future will be on injury rehab assignments. Prieto never should have been in camp in the first place.

The Yankees left their starters at home and fell to the Reds 5-4

Lineup:

Kevin Reese LF
Miguel Cairo 2B
Kelly Stinnett C
Mitch Jones DH
Melky Cabrera CF
Eric Duncan 1B
Russ Johnson 3B
Felix Escalona SS
Kevin Thompson RF

Subs: Danny Garcia 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Marcos Vechionacci 3B, Omir Santos C, Rudy Guillen RF, Damian Rolls LF

Pitchers: Mike Mussina, J. Brent Cox, Philip Hughes, Scott Erickson

Big Hits: A double and a solo homer by Felix Escalona (2 for 3), doubles by Cairo (1 for 3) and Guillen (1 for 1)

Who Pitched Well: Mike Mussina pitched three hitless innings before giving up three runs (two earned) on two walks and three hits in the fourth. Moose wasn’t impressed:

“The first three innings weren’t as good as it looked. I threw the ball right down the middle, and they hit some balls hard right at people. For the most part, though, I feel pretty good and I’m getting most of my pitches over the plate or just off, so I’m not complaining.” (Yahoo!)

J. Brent Cox struck out one in a 1-2-3 fifth. Scott Erickson kept his ERA at 0.00 despite giving up the game winning run on one hit in 1 1/3 innings of work (see Oopsies). Hughes was less impressive, giving up a run on a walk and three hits in two innings despite striking out two.

Oopsies: Rudy Guillen misplayed a single in the ninth allowing the winning run to score from second. Mekly Cabrera and, for the second day in a row, Danny Garcia also committed errors.

Ouchies: Carl Pavano threw 37 pitches (or 35, depending on the source) in a bullpen session mixing fastballs, sliders and changeups all from the rubber. Octavio Dotel also threw from the rubber in his bullpen session.

WBC: In the United States’ brutal five-inning 17-0 pasting of South Africa, Damon went 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored, Jeter went 3 for 3 with a triple, a walk, an RBI and four runs scored, Rodriguez went 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored. In Puerto Rico’s 12-2 victory over Cuba, Bernie Williams went 1 for 4, his lone hit being a two-run homer.

Ask and ye shall receive. Having enjoyed Peter Abraham’s on-the-scene blogging for the Journal News, I thought he just might be the man to answer my Colter Bean conundrum. Indeed, an e-mail was all it took. Abraham spoke to Bean this morning and learned that Colter had surgery in October to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. As a result, Bean has been limited to bullpen work thus far this spring, but hopes to get in a game before the spring is over. Abraham promises more on Bean tomorrow.

PS: Don’t forget I’ll be appearing at Coliseum Books in Manhattan tomorrow at 6pm along with Steven Goldman and Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus.

In the first of two split-squad contests, the Yankees’ A-squad got two-hit by ex-Yank Kenny Rogers and a trio of relievers, including fellow ex-Ranger Colby Lewis, while Randy Johnson and Mariano Rivera combined to yield six runs in a 6-1 loss to the Tigers.

Lineup:

Miguel Cairo SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Gary Sheffield RF
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Andy Phillips 1B
Mitch Jones LF
Felix Escalona 3B
Kevin Thompson CF

Subs: Damian Rolls 1B, Kevin Howard 2B, Eduardo Nunez SS, Omir Santos C, Rudy Guillen RF, Russ Johnson DH

Pitchers: Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera, Kyle Farnsworth, Ron Villone, T.J. Beam

Big Hits: Felix Escalona (1 for 3) doubled in the third and scored on an out by Miguel Cairo. A Kevin Thompson single was the only other Yankee hit (Thompson was also 1 for 3).

Who Pitched Well: Farnsworth and Villone pitched scoreless innings but gave up a walk and two singles respectively. T.J. Beam made his spring debut by striking out two in two scoreless innings, but gave up three hits in the process. Meanwhile, ex-Yankee Marcus Thames ruined Rivera’s one inning of work, in which the Yankee closer struck out the side, with a solo homer, and Randy Johnson gave up five runs (but only two earned due to an ugly Kevin Thompson fielding error in the third) on a walk and seven hits, including a two-run Chris Shelton homer in the first, while striking out three in four innings. The good news: Unit lasted four innings and got his fastball into the mid-90s.

Oopsies: Kevin Thompson’s error came on a flyball (it has been alternately described as wind-blown and a ball Thompson lost in the sun) with two out and two on in the third. Both baserunners and the batter, Kody Kirkland, scored on the play.

Game 2

In the B-squad game, a line-up that included just two members of the 40-man roster and had David Parrish at DH (he went 0 for 5) exploded for 17 hits against Brett Myers and the Phillies, winning 8-3.

Lineup:

Kevin Reese LF
Danny Garcia 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Eric Duncan 1B
Wil Nieves C
David Parrish DH
Marcos Vechionacci 3B
Ramiro Pena SS
Bronson Sardinha RF

Subs: Selley Duncan 1B, Gabe Lopez 2B, C.J. Henry SS, Jason Brown C, Austin Jackson CF, Jose Tabata LF

Pitchers: Matt DeSalvo, Jeffrey Karstens, Mike Myers, Mark Corey, Jose Veras

Big Hits: The biggest was a first-inning grand slam by Eric Duncan (2 for 4) that gave the Yankees enough runs to win before a single Phillie hitter had come to the plate. Shelley Duncan (no relation, 2 for 2) capped the Yankee scoring with a solo shot in the ninth. In between Kevin Reese (1 for 3), Ramiro Pena (2 for 3), Marco Vechionacci (curiously listed as 0 for 2), and Gabe Lopez (1 for 2) delivered doubles. Danny Garcia went 3 for 3 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, Austin Jackson did the same minus the RBI.

Who Pitched Well: Matt DeSalvo started and allowed just two baserunners (a walk and a hit) while striking out two in three innings. Mike Myers, who also pitched on Wednesday, went 2 1/3 innings allowing just two hits and no runs, Jose Veras struck out two in a hitless ninth, Mark Corey pitched around a hit for a scoreless eighth.

Oopsies: Danny Garcia, in his spring debut, made an error to compensate for his excellent day at the plate and on the bases.

Ouchies: Jason Giambi (calf) took batting practice but was not allowed to run the bases, he’s hoping to return to action over the weekend. Bubba Crosby (finger) threw for the first time since the injury. Russ Johnson (back) returned to action as a DH in the A-game. Tanyon Sturtze threw a bullpen session and is schedule to pitch in Sunday’s game.

Meanwhile, with four of their starters absent due to the WBC, a lot of new names popped up in yesterday’s split squad action. As a supplement to my pre-spring training breakdown of the Yankee campers, here are quick descriptions of the players who participated in yesterday’s games were not on that initial list.

(more…)

“Outstanding,” manager Joe Torre said Wednesday after watching Pavano throw a third time off the mound. “Even though he’s a little behind [the other pitchers], I think we’re way ahead of where we were last year.”

Carl Pavano is making progress while Al Leiter is one step closer to the end of his career. Leiter and Dontrelle Willis were pounded yesterday as the USA fell to Canada. The Americans are now just one loss away from making the Boss sleep just a wee bit better at night.

In their third-straight home game, the Yankees picked up their fourth-straight win, 8-3 over a split-squad Pirates team.

Lineup:

Miguel Cairo SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Gary Sheffield DH
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Andy Phillips 1B
Mitch Jones RF
Marcos Vechionacci 3B
Kevin Reese CF

Subs: Eric Duncan 1B, Felix Escalona 2B, Ramiro Pena SS, Wil Nieves C, Kevin Thompson LF, Kevin Howard DH

Pitchers: Jaret Wright, Darrell Rasner, Scott Erickson, Mike Myers, Matt Childers

Big Hits: Doubles by Jorge Posada (1 for 1 with a walk), Andy Phillips (2 for 3, RBI, 2 runs scored, stolen base), Wil Nieves (1 for 2) and a pair by Kevin Reese (2 for 4), triples by Robinson Cano (1 for 4) and Kevin Howard (1 for 1 with a walk). Jorge and Andy smoked their doubles, Andy’s bounding over the center field wall for a ground rule jobby, Reese got his first double by hustling on a ball that fell just fair behind third but ricocheted right to the left fielder.

Who Pitched Well: Distressingly, Scott Erickson once again, walking one and striking out three in two hitless innings. Mike Myers and Matt Childers each threw one scoreless inning allowing a hit each, Childers struck out two. Darrell Rasner struck out three and walked none in 2 1/3 innings, but gave up four hits including a monster home run by Ryan Doumit. Jaret Wright retired the first eight men he faced, then gave up two runs on two walks and three hits and was pulled before ever getting another out.

Nice Play: Marcos Vechionacci put on a show at third making nice plays to both his left and right, including a diving stab of a hot shot on the foul line after which he scrambled to his feet and nailed the runner with a strong throw.

Oopsies: There were no errors in the game, but balls were dropping in all over the outfield as if it was hard for the fielders to see. The YES announcers (Kay and Murcer), however, said that the sky was clear and black.

Ouchies: Gary Sheffield (hamstring) returned to action as the DH going 1 for 2 with an RBI and a run scored (though he didn’t run all-out when going first to home on Posada’s double off the wall), Jason Giambi (calf) sat out again saying he’s improving and might play Saturday, Bubba Crosby (finger) took BP but didn’t play, Carl Pavano threw 35 pitches in the bullpen.

Roster news: Torre confirmed that the Yankees plan to break camp without Pavano. Much like they did last year, when they left Kevin Brown behind, the Yankees will use a four-man rotation for as long as the schedule will allow and hope that Pavano will be ready once a fifth starter is required. Looking at the schedule, that should give Pavano until April 15 to get in game shape:

4/3 – Randy Johnson @ Oakland
4/4 – Mike Mussina @ Oakland
4/5 – Chien-Ming Wang @ Oakland
4/6 – travel day
4/7 – Shawn Chacon @ Angels
4/8 – Johnson @ Angels
4/9 – Mussina @ Angels
4/10 – travel day
4/11 – Wang v Royals (home opener)
4/12 – Chacon v Royals
4/13 – Johnson v Royals
4/14 – Mussina v Twins
4/15 – fifth starter needed v Twins

In the mean time, I expect they’ll fill Pavano’s roster spot with an extra position player, again like they did last year when they let Andy Phillips sit on the bench until Brown came back. That extra position player will most likely be someone already on the 40-man roster, Kevin Thompson and Kevin Reese (lot of Kevins in camp this year) being the leading candidates. Torre has clearly been impressed with some of these minor leaguers and, according to Peter Abraham, joked after today’s game that the four players who left for the WBC would have to earn their way back into the lineup. If only he meant it regarding Bernie. Speaking of which . . .

WBC: Bernie went 1 for 5 with an RBI leading off for Puerto Rico. In the USA’s embarrassing loss to Canana, Jeter went 1 for 3 batting second, Rodriguez went 1 for 2 as a mid-game replacement for Chipper Jones, Johnny Damon walked in a pinch-hit at-bat for Matt Holliday (still wondering why the US lost?) and Al Leiter (there you go!) got beat up in 2/3 of an inning, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.

The Yankees evened their spring record yesterday by shutting out the grieving Twins 5-0.

Lineup:

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

Subs: Eric Duncan 1B, Ramiro Pena SS, Kevin Howard 3B, Omir Santos C, Mitch Jones DH

Pitchers: Shawn Chacon, Sean Henn, Mariano Rivera, Kyle Farnsworth, Ron Villone, Matt Smith

Big Hits: A two-run, two-out, first-inning homer by Jorge Posada (2 for 3) off Brad Radke, doubles by Matsui (2 for 3, his third two-bagger of the spring, Matsui made his first out of the spring today) and Kevin Howard (1 for 2).

Who Pitched Well: Everybody. Aggregate line: 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Chacon went three innings giving up a triple to Torii Hunter, a single and striking out two. Mariano Rivera needed just six pitches to get three outs in his spring debut and still managed to ring up a strikeout.

Ouchies: As expected Giambi (calf) and Sheffield (hamstring) did not play. Sheffield took batting practice and said he could have played. Giambi didn’t take BP, but stretched with the team and worked out in the weight room. Both are day-to-day. Bubba Crosby (finger) will take BP today and is hoping to return to action by Friday. Russ Johnson left the game early due to a back problem.

WBC: Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez–batting first, second and fourth respectively–all went 1 for 3 for the US. Damon’s hit was a triple. Jeter made a throwing error. Bernie Williams went 2 for 3 from the leadoff spot for Puerto Rico by doubling then driving in the winning run with a single.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lineup:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday:

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

Lineup:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday:

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

Lineup:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday:

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

Lineup:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Torre added:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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