A Rainy Day Of Firsts Yesterday

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

For a while, it didn't look like yesterday's game was going to happen.  It was raining hard, the scheduled start had been pushed back, and the forecast wasn't all that promising.  It was supposed to be Masahiro Tanaka's second ST appearance and first official start in a Yankee uniform, cause for as much excitement as any ST game should cause, and both Mark Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano were also slated to make their first ST appearances.  As luck would have it, the weather cooperated long enough to get the game in and not deprive us of another chance to dissect Tanaka's outing or the string of related "firsts" that happened yesterday.

Wednesday Mid-Morning Food For Thought: Jeter's Start

(Courtesy of the AP)

The Good News- Derek Jeter has played in 4 of the last 6 Yankee ST games and done so without any physical issues.  He's looked good running the bases, he's looked as good as a 40-year-old shortstop with severely limited range can look in the field, and he just played in his first back-to-back games of the spring on Monday and Tuesday with 3+ weeks remaining before Opening Day.

The Bad News- He's 0-9 with 1 BB, 1 K, and 3 GIDPs in those 4 games.

It's still early enough in camp to give this time, but there hasn't been a lot of lift or life in most of the balls Jeter has put in play, something that raises questions about his ability to adequately handle hitting in the 2-spot.  His legs being healthy enough to play is one thing.  Them being healthy enough for him to drive the ball and be an above-average hitter are another.  This is definitely something worth watching over the next week or so to see if the results start to come.

Monday Mid-Morning Food For Thought: Fast Start For McCann

(Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

3 G, 5 AB, .600/.714/1.400, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB

That's Brian McCann's stat line through his first handful of Spring Training games.  Needless to say, he's been everything he was advertised to be and already looks like the next in line to step up and assume the on-field and in-clubhouse leadership role once Derek Jeter retires after the season.

Yes, ST stats are basically meaningless when it comes to veteran players like McCann and I'm certainly not trying to imply that this 7-PA sample size is indicative of what type of production we should expect once April 1st comes around.  But it's incredibly refreshing to see big production coming from the catcher position after what the Yankees went through there last year.  They brought McCann in to be one of the new anchors of the club and he's getting off to a great start in that regard.  He's crushing at the plate, he's looked good behind the plate, he's quickly building a strong rapport with the pitching staff, and he's erasing last season's memories of TCS.

Spring Training Opener Starting Lineup

1) Brett Gardner- CF
2) Francisco Cervelli- C
3) Kelly Johnson- 3B
4) Russ Canzler- 1B
5) Zoilo Almonte- LF
6) Brendan Ryan- SS
7) Adonis Garcia- RF
8) Yangervis Solarte- 2B
9) John Ryan Murphy- DH

SP) Vidal Nuno

Available to play off the bench: Gary Sanchez, Jose Gil, Corban Joseph, Dean Anna, Jose Pirela, Antoan Richardson, Mason Williams, Ramon Flores, Peter O'Brien, Francisco Arcia, Austin Romine, Zealous Wheeler

Available to pitch out of the bullpen: Brian Gordon, Shane Greene, Bryan Mitchell, Francisco Rondon, Chase Whitley, Fred Lewis, Dan Burawa

There you have it.  A mix of mostly lower-level guys and fringe roster competitors.  Let's play ball!

It's Game Day!

Who cares that there's only going to be a handful of regulars in today's lineup and none of the really big names?  This afternoon the Yankees will take the field for their first game of the 2014 Spring Training season and that means baseball is one step closer to really being back!  I want Gardner to go 2-2 with 2 stolen bases, I want Kelly Johnson to play a clean game at third and smack a home run, and I want Vidal Nuno to toss 3 shutout innings.  Let's go Yankees!

CC Makes His 2013 Debut Today

Bone spurs, schmone spurs.  He's dropped some ell-bees, he says his elbow is feeling good, and he's back on the hill today.  Parachute pitching pants FTW.

Now somebody hit the fuckin' music!!

A Bit Of Significance To Today's Game

A ticket stub from a Spring Training game usually doesn't mean much, especially with the types of lineups the Yankees have been putting on the field lately.  Those with tickets today's game, however, might be wise to hang onto them and tell their kids and grandkids about the time they got to see three of the best in Yankee history play.

The scheduled starter for today's ST game against the Phillies is Andy Pettitte, making his 2013 debut.  Also scheduled to pitch today is Mariano Rivera, making his second spring appearance as he continues his comeback from last year's ACL injury.  And scheduled to start at shortstop, for the first time this spring and for the first time since breaking his ankle in the ALCS, is Derek Jeter.  The three remaining pieces of the Core Four, 15 World Series rings between them, the last links to the late 90s Yankee dynasty, and they'll all be on the field today.

These three are easily the greatest Yankees of the last 35 years, and the number of times that we're likely to see all three of them play in the same game has to be down in the single digits.  With Mo already set to retire after this season, Andy probably heading down the same path, and all three guys being injury risks in their own way, it's hard to predict exactly how many more times this will occur.  Today it's practically a guarantee that all three of them will be in the same game, though, and that's a cool little footnote in Yankee history.  It doesn't matter who wins or loses today's game, but there's definitely a little more meaning to it with these three scheduled to play together.

Nova Solid In His Spring Debut

Ivan Nova followed up Hiroki Kuroda's "meh" Major League starter debut yesterday with a much better performance in his first spring start and first shot back at David Phelps in this year's 5th starter competition.  Nova threw 27 pitches in 2 scoreless innings of work, an impressive 22 of them for strikes.  He gave up just 1 hit, struck out a batter, and got 3 groundball outs.  After Phelps came into camp ahead of everybody else in his throwing program and made two good starts of his own before Nova got in a game, Nova responded in kind today.

The drama of the 5th starter competition, if there ever really was any, was weakened a bit this week with the announcement that Phil Hughes "might" not be ready for the start of the season.  Phelps would be the obvious choice to replace him and Nova would be bumped up to the four spot in the rotation.  But that still doesn't mean this isn't an important spring for Ivan as he tries to get ready to turn things around from last season's disaster, and today's outing was a very good start.  He looked sharp, commanded his fastball well, and consistently sat 93-94 with it.  When he's pitching like that, he's more than capable of being a better-than-5th starter.

P.S.- I don't know why, but I've had a good feeling about Nova since I started writing about him and Phelps competing for the 5th rotation spot this year.  I'm going to be paying close attention to him this spring because I believe in his K/BB trends from last season, and I think he can be a good pitcher if he cleans up his location.

First Spring Training Game Today

It's been 127 days since the New York Yankees played a baseball game.  That streak ends today with the start of Grapefruit League season.  It's not a full Major League lineup, the handful of Major League regulars won't play for very long, and you won't see any of the Major League pitchers, but who cares?  Baseball is officially back!

Today's Lineup

1) Eduardo Nunez- SS

2) Robinson Cano- 2B

3) Mark Teixeira- 1B 

4) Juan Rivera- DH 

5) Matt Diaz- LF 

6) Francisco Cervelli- C 

7) Melky Mesa- CF 

8) Zoilo Almonte- RF 

9) Corban Joseph- 3B

SP) David Phelps- RHP

Other players who could see game action today include Tyler Austin, Slade Heathcott, Austin Romine, Ramon Flores, Nik Turley, Brett Marshall, Branden Pinder, and Francisco Rondon.

Go Yankees!