Don't Get Too Jumpy About Hughes Just Yet

(Courtesy of the AP)

The latest bad injury news came in yesterday when Joe said "it's possible" that Phil Hughes won't be ready for the start of the season due to the bulging disk in his back.  At least it's bad news if you consider that tiny morsel of vague information news.  Hughes has done nothing but work out in a pool since the injury was diagnosed, and there's still no definite timetable for when he'll pick up a ball and throw again, let alone pitch in a ST game.

But Joe also acknowledged that it's still "too early to tell that" when delivering his pseudo-update on Hughes' condition, and with as much time as there still is in ST he's right.  Hughes has another two weeks before time really starts to work against him, and as a guy with a history of back injuries it's better to use as much of that time as he needs and not rush back to risk further injury.  It's possible that Hughes won't be ready for the start of the season just like it's possible that Jeter won't and just like there's "a chance" that A-Rod won't make it back at all this season.  Until we have a better idea of when he's going to start throwing again, it's not worth wringing our hands over.

Analyzing The Early Season "Sans-Granderson" Schedule

(Coach 'em up, guy.  Courtesy of Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News)

For all the talk about the projected strengths and weaknesses of this year's team, and the adjustments that now have to be made to make up for the loss of Curtis Granderson, nobody out there (myself included) has really looked at the schedule to see how difficult or easy a time the Yankees will have making those adjustments.  It's easy to say that every team in the AL East has gotten better (not all of them have) and the Yankee have gotten worse, but what teams the Yanks play and when they play them can have just as big an effect on their early-season success or failure as the makeup of their own club.  With that in mind, and as a way to tie together all the "what are they going to do to get by without C-Grand?" talk and this morning's sobering offensive projection, let's take a look at the early schedule and set some realistic expectations for what the Yankees can do.

Joba's Latest Words Signal Future Intentions

There's been plenty of talk about what the future has in store for upcoming free agents like Robbie Cano, Phil Hughes, and C-Grand, but there's another upcoming FA who's not getting a lot of attention, at least not until yesterday.  Joba Chamberlain's contract is also up after this season, and he made it pretty clear what his intentions are with his comments about his ability to pitch as a starter again.  Joba has been a full-time reliever with the Yankees since 2010, and at this point there's no chance they make the attempt to convert him back to a starter.  Joba's best chance to get that chance again is being signed by a team willing to at least try him out as a starting pitcher and his statements yesterday certainly seemed like Joba trying to set that precedent early and up his value on the open market.

The timing of Joba's comments can be called into question, and I did like both Joe and Cash subliminally pointing that out in their responses to Joba, but at the same time I can't really get on Joba for saying what he said.  He's 27 years old, hitting free agency for the first time in his career, and doesn't have much of a resume to show off in an attempt to get a big deal.  The Yankees and their handling/mishandling of the early years of his career are a contributing factor to that light resume.  Their commitment to letting him start was always weak at best, and even though his career starter splits aren't Strasburg-ian, a 4.18/4.27/4.17 slash over 221.2 IP in 43 starts as a 23/24-year-old is hardly a good reason to pull the plug.  Joba' has the right to speak his mind and do what he feels is in his best interests, same as the team has used him to fit their best interests.

Some are going to spin this as Joba not being focused on this season and not being focused on the team, but I don't see it that way.  If anything, I think this is a sign that Joba is more focused and feeling better than he has in years.  He's healthy again and he knows his opportunities to prove himself this season are going to be limited.  It's no fun thinking about the prospect of him leaving for another club, but if this is the first step towards a return of the flame-throwing, fist-pumping, post-K-screaming Joba, I'm OK with it.

Latest ZiPS Projections Not Kind To The Yankee Offense

Not to belabor the point, but the Yankee offense has taken a beating these last 4+ months.  Through players lost, lesser players added, players getting injured, and players recovering from injuries, the starting lineup on Opening Day could look drastically different than in recent years and drastically weaker as well.  Dan Szymborski of ESPN, master of the ZiPS projection system, attempted to project just how much weaker the lineup could be after the Curtis Granderson injury by running the latest projected lineup through a simulator.

It's an Insider Only piece, but there are only a few key things you need to know to get the point of this exercise.  One is that Szymborski left Derek Jeter out of this lineup projection, not an entirely unfair move with Jeter's Opening Day status still in the air.  The other is that the projected lineup looked like this: 1) Gardner, 2) Ichiro, 3) Cano, 4) Teix, 5) Youkilis, 6) Hafner, 7) Rivera, 8) Stewart, 9) Nunez.  You don't have to be a sabermetric genius to figure out that that lineup ain't much.  But just how bad does it project to be?  I'm glad you asked.

Johnny Damon? No Thanks

As part of the MLB-wide reaction to the Curtis Granderson injury, Johnny Damon's name popped up yesterday as a possible cheap stopgap option.  Damon himself spoke at length about his desire to return to the Yankees and his willingness to work around their needs as a temporary player:

“You guys know that I would have tons of interest to go to New York.  But I just don’t think they would be interested.  They have had plenty of opportunities and I kept raising my hand, wanting to go back and, you know, hopefully it would be a perfect fit. It always had been. Have me for six weeks and then send me off on my merry way. That’s fine.”

Damon's interest in returning to New York has been a yearly offseason topic of discussion for him, but as he said, the feeling hasn't been mutual from the Yankees' side.  A year or two ago he would have made sense as a 4th outfielder, but based on his recent performance I don't think that argument still holds.  Damon hit just .222/.281/.329 (.271 wOBA) in 224 PA for Cleveland last year before being cut, with his lowest BB rate since 1996.  He's been on a rapid decline since leaving the Yankees after the '09 season, and even though he still rates positively as a defensive outfielder, it would be a stretch to say he's a better offensive option than the collection of guys already in-house who have to step up and cover for the loss of C-Grand.

So sorry, John.  You'll always have a place in Yankee history, and I know I'll never forget the double stolen base in Game 4 of the '09 World Series, but you just don't cut the mustard anymore.

The Problem With Brett Gardner

(He does deserve props for the bunt.  Courtesy of the AP)

Getting Brett Gardner back is going to be a huge boost for the Yankees this year.  His count-working ability and speed on the basepaths brings back a key missing element to the team's offense and gives Joe another lead-off option, and that same speed makes him arguably the team's best and most important defensive player wherever he is in the outfield.  When Gardner went down last season, the team's speed went down with him, and getting that speed back is a huge blessing for a team that's lost a big chunk of its power.  But Gardner's speed can also be a curse, something that can and has gotten him into trouble before.  Nowhere was that more apparent than in his first at-bat of yesterday's game.

Weird Injury Situations Already Popping Up This Year

(Never a good look.  Courtesy of Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News)

Spring Training still isn't two weeks old and already it's been an eventful one for the Yankees, especially in the health department.  The Bombers had their fair share of injury concerns coming into camp with A-Rod's hip surgery and their collection of veterans fighting to come back on schedule from major 2012 injuries.  And after a season as injury-plagued as 2012, it would have been nice to have a spring that was light on the injury news.  I guess the infamous baseball gods didn't get that memo because these first two weeks have been chock full of injury stories, and not just from the expected recovery sources.  As luck would have it, none of those guys have been problem areas at all so far, quite the opposite in fact.

Mo Ahead Of Schedule Again This Spring, Could Indicate Retirement Plans

When Mariano Rivera showed up early to camp (by his standards) last season and started throwing earlier than he usually did, it was a pretty strong indicator that 2012 was going to be his last season.  Those plans got derailed by his ACL injury, but it appears Mo is taking a similar approach this spring as he puts the finishing touches on his comeback from surgery.

Now it could just be a coincidence that he's on almost the same schedule he was last year- arrive the day after pitchers and catchers report, starting throwing bullpens and side sessions weeks earlier than he used to- and the timing of Mo's ST activities could be dictated more by his knee rehab schedule than personal preference, but it's still worth nothing that he's ahead of where he usually is at this point in ST.  He faced live hitters for the second time this morning and said the knee felt good.  The next step is still pitching in full game situation settings and seeing how he moves when he has to field a grounder or cover first base, but Mo himself talks like he's not worried about that.

Mo said a few weeks ago he had made a decision on his future after this season but that he wasn't going to announce that decision yet.  I saw his accelerated schedule last ST as a sign that he was going to hang 'em up after the season, and even if that similar schedule this spring is being driven by the knee rehab and not Mo's own plans I still feel it's that same  sign.  On the one hand, it's great to see that Mo is progressing nicely and not suffering any setbacks on his road to recovery.  On the other, it's never good to have to think about Mo retiring again.

Impact & Effects Of C-Grand's Fractured Forearm

(Why pitch that far inside in late February???  Courtesy of the AP)

I've been tougher on Curtis Granderson than most these past few seasons, admittedly shifting from excitement about his new power swing to disappointment that it sapped so much of the rest of what used to be a well-rounded offensive game.  But even I can't try to spin his fractured right forearm into anything remotely positive because there's simply nothing positive to take from it.  Granderson was one of the handful of players the Yankees couldn't afford to lose this year, Teix and Cano being the other two, and to lose him for 10 weeks, even if half of that time is Spring Training time, is a huge blow.  The baseball season doesn't give you timeouts or do-overs, though, so the Yankees must move forward with the players they have and try to figure out a strategy for how to get by without C-Grand until May.

There are a lot of aftershocks that will be felt throughout the ST roster and lineup, from now until the regular season starts, and a lot of players who are going to be looked at differently for the rest of spring camp.  In order of most immediately important to least, here are the biggest effects of C-Grand's injury.

BREAKING NEWS: Curtis Granderson Out With A Fractured Right Forearm

I was hoping it wouldn't be this bad after first reading that he had left the game after getting hit on the right wrist in his first AB of 2013, but the Yankees are calling Curtis Granderson's injury a fractured right forearm according to multiple reporters, and he is expected to be out 10 weeks.

This is obviously a huge unexpected blow to the Yankees and what was expected to be a weaker offense this year.  More details to come on this story as they become available.

** UPDATE 2:05 PM- Just to clarify, the 10 weeks includes time needed to recover and rehab (via Jack Curry). **

** UPDATE 2:29PM- Granderson on the injury- "I was excited. My body was feeling good, mind was feeling good and I was ready to go. Five pitches in we have a little setback. They said it could be worse. Now we rest, recover, get it back and get ready to play whenever that day comes. " (via Mark Feinsand) **

** UPDATE 2:52PM- Via Bryan Hoch, Cash has already ruled out the possibility of Eduardo Nunez being an OF replacement for Granderson. **

** UPDATE 3:19PM- Via Erik Boland, Cash has said that all current replacement options are internal.  We'll see how long that lasts. **

Yanks Not Willing To Give Up Much For Soriano

As the transition from offseason to preseason has been made, the chatter about what players the Yankees might go after to fill out their roster, or at least add depth for the ST competitions, has quieted down considerably.  One player whose name never really picked up a lot of steam was Alfonso Soriano, who the Cubs would love to get rid of and who would have been a great fit for the Yankees' righty OF needs.  Earlier this week, Jon Heyman all but put the final nail in the coffin of any "Soriano to the Yanks" possibility by tweeting that the Yankees weren't willing to give up much in the way of prospects to bring Soriano back.

According to Heyman, the Yankees wouldn't be willing to give up a "good" prospect let alone a top one for Soriano, who still has 2 years and $36 mil left on his current contract.  Heyman did say they would be willing to pay 10 of the remaining $36 million, but with Theo looking to add talent to his rebuilding project in Chicago that bit of financial relief won't be enough to get a deal done if it doesn't include said talent.  When I wrote about the idea of adding Soriano late last year, I said I'd like to have him if the costs required tipped a little more in the Yankees' favor.  If even a good prospect is still a part of those costs, I'm more than willing to pass on Soriano and it appears the Yankee brass is as well.

Spring Training Game 1 Wrap-Up: NYY 8 ATL 3

(Courtesy of the AP)

There wasn't a whole lot of meaning to yesterday's Spring Training opener, other than players on both sides using it to take the next step in their preparation for the 2013 season.  Major League participants in yesterday's game were outnumbered by the Minor League counterparts, and most of them didn't stay in the game for more than 3-4 innings.  It was about what you'd expect from a ST opener, with little to be taken from the game that will have an impact on the big picture.  But just like the players have to get back in the groove of their regular baseball routine, so do the bloggers.  So I'm using yesterday's game as my early Spring Training workout for getting back into doing game recaps.

Game Notes:

- David Phelps got his 5th starter competition off to a solid start, pitching 2 innings of shutout ball and allowing 3 hits.  Just a small first step, but still a good first step.

- Brett Marshall looked good in his 2 relief innings of Phelps.  He did give up an earned run on a walk and a double, but he also struck out 2 batters and had his fastball sitting 93-94.  Not bad velocity for a first spring outing.

- Strong showing for a couple MiL outfielders.  Melky Mesa showed off his speed with a nice play in center and a stolen base that led to a run in the 3rd.  Zoilo Almonte was the star of the day with a great throw to nail a runner trying to go 1st to 3rd on a single and a 2-run homer in the 4-run 3rd.

- Robinson Cano also looked good in his first game of the year, belting a solo shot in the 5th and scoring 2 runs.  He's got about a week's worth of ST games left before joining his team for the WBC.

Joba Chamberlain Says Hello

Looking good, Joba.  Donnie Baseball ain't got nothing on that 'stache.  Just dripping class all over the place.

P.S.- How could David Price not want to come to New York and be able to rock facial hair like that??

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!

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 2/22/13

Big old batch of links this week.  Let's get right into it.

- On Monday, Jimmy Kraft of Yanks Go Yard, seemingly in anticipation of the public outcry to come, looked at some of the traditional slow starters on the Yankee roster.

- George Szabo of Gutty Gritty Yankees looked at a potential inter-divisional matchup problem between the Yankee lineup and Toronto's lefties.

- Greg Corcoran of Bronx Baseball Daily previewed the newly named Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.  Not a lot of sexy names there, but it should be a strong team.

- On Tuesday, EJ Fagan of TYA argued against the idea of extending Robinson Cano now, believing it's a better strategic move to wait and see how 2013 plays out first.

- El duque of It Is High... wondered if the Houston Astros moving to the AL West will hurt the Yankees' wild card chances.

- Mike Axisa of RAB pointed out just how important Eric Chavez was to the team last year and how much more important he could have been this year.

- On Wednesday, William Juliano of The Captain's Blog pointed out the flaws in Jeff Passan's piece about the Yankees being poor developers of pitching in the last 5 years, and showed how they've actually been pretty good at it.  I was hoping to touch on this today, but William beat me to it and said everything better than I could have.

- Egon Spengler of NoMaas mused on what David Phelps could have in store for an encore in 2013.

- Matthew B of Yankees Fans Unite correctly pointed out that the rest of the AL East has its own questions heading into the season, an important thing to remember if you're bumming on the Yankees.

- Steven Goldman of Pinstriped Bible picked through other teams' roster depth to identify possible trade targets who could help the Yankees.

- On Thursday, Chad Jennings of LoHud used his morning notes to give unfamiliar fans an introduction to prospect Corban Joseph.

- Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits, also doing a week-long look at the ST roster battles, examined the 4th OF/Righty DH competition and came to conclusions very similar to my own.

#GreatMinds

- Bryan Van Dusen of The Greedy Pinstripes kept their string of prospect interviews going by talking to Ty Hensley.  I can't say I'm a fan of his at-bat song choice...

- On Friday, Tamar Chalker of IIATMS released their official Top 30 Prospects rankings for 2013.

This week's Friday Jam is "Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, arguably the greatest song about the worst subject matter in the history of music.  I read that the BBC had to apologize earlier this week for one of its stations playing this song after doing a news report on the Oscar Pistorius case.  Pistorius is obviously a piece of garbage and there's nothing cool about murdering your significant other in cold blood, but let's get one thing straight.  Nobody ever has to apologize for playing "Hey Joe" on the radio.  Ever.  That song is the biz and I sure as shit ain't apologizing for playing it now.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

2013 Spring Training Roster Battles: Utility Infielder

(Courtesy of Barton Silverman/NY Times)

The last real roster battle in this year's camp is definitely the least exciting of all the battles, but is one that could have more importance than people realize.  The left side of the Yankee infield is full of more health-related questions than answers thanks to A-Rod's hips, Jeter's ankle, and Youkilis' entire body.  At the very least the Yankees are going to have to lean on their utility guy more in the first month of the season to give Jeter time to get into everyday game shape and to make sure that Youkilis doesn't get too worn down from playing every day.  At most, the utility guy might have to step into an everyday role for a period of time if Jeter or Youkilis hit the DL.  The Yankees have gotten by with average-at-best production from this spot in the last few years, but average-at-best might not cut it this season now that Eric Chavez has moved on.  Without a real solid corner infield option, the utility infielder role will expand in 2013, and these are the fellas competing for the job.

Phil Hughes And The Art Of Not Being Labeled Injury-Prone

Phil Hughes has been given a lot of different titles and descriptive identifiers in his professional career.  From "can't miss" and "surefire" to "uncertain" and "inconsistent," he's pretty much run the gamut of labels given to top prospects in his still short Major League career.  One thing he hasn't been called, however, is injury-prone, which comes as a bit of a surprise given his long track record of injuries, the latest of which could put him out of early spring action for a couple weeks.

(Click to enlarge.  Courtesy of Baseball Prospectus)

Take a gander there.  That's not a short list by any measure, basically one injury for every year Hughes has pitched in the Majors.  For most guys, that's enough to get the label slapped on them after just 3 or 4 years, but Hughes has spent 6 pitching at the Major League level and has still yet to have his injury problems questioned as much as his offspeed pitch selection, fastball command, or future ceiling.  How can that be?

2013 Spring Training Roster Battles: 4th Outfielder

(Failboat... Courtesy of Getty Images)

The departure of Nick Swisher and the re-upping with Ichiro Suzuki has left the Yankees with an all-lefty starting outfield for 2013.  That's not the worst thing in the world considering the benefits of having 81 games at home for those guys to swing for the short porch in right field (well, maybe not for Gardner) and the fact that most pitchers are still right-handed.  But it does create a greater need for a useful, right-handed 4th outfielder on the bench.  Andruw Jones filled that role for the previous two seasons, with varying levels of success, and as part of the early payroll crunching plans the Yankees decided to stay cheap and low-risk in their search for his replacement rather than trading away prospects for someone like Michael Morse.  The added internal MiL candidates for the job makes depth a non-issue, but how do all of these guys shake out in the competition hierarchy now that we know who has opt-out clauses?

David Price Is An Idiot

The light at the end of the $189 million tunnel for us Yankee fans is the prospect of the Yankees getting back to their spending ways once they dip under the luxury tax threshold and reset the penalties.  One of their big targets in the years to come is going to be David Price, the Rays' 27-year-old Cy Young winner. Price is still years away from free agency, but could be at risk of following James Shields out the door in a cost-controlling trade before he becomes too rich for Tampa's blood.  Price talked to Jon Morosi  about that possibility yesterday, and mentioned the Yankees as a team he wouldn't want to sign a long-term deal with because of their facial hair policy.

Dave, Dave, Dave.  You fool.  I have a beard too, a better one than yours if I'm being honest, and I would cringe at the thought of having to rid myself of it just to play for the Yankees.  But what you don't realize is that by making that statement you've shown your hand.  The correct answer to Morosi's reference to the Yankee beard policy would have been, "I'm not even worried about that right now.  I love being a Tampa Bay Ray and I'm focused on this season and my teammates and us doing what we have to do to get back to the postseason.  I can't think about what may or may not happen years down the line, I just have to keep doing my job."  Instead you took the bait and talked about why you wouldn't want to re-sign there like it was already a foregone conclusion that you were going to be traded to the Yankees.

Just admit it, bro.  You've got Yankees on the brain.  You sweat the Yankees.  You can't get them out of your head.  Even if you aren't traded, you've got three more years before you become a free agent and your beard even becomes an issue.  Three years is a long time into the future, my dude, and you're already fixated on whether or not you're going to have to shave your beard for the Yankees.  You're like the girl in high school who's already dreaming about her crush asking her to the prom in October.  You might as well schedule a sitdown with the Steinbrenners and work out a new contract right now.

Bearded man to bearded man, I can appreciate your love for your facial hair.  But you're only lying to yourself if you honestly believe you are going to turn down an offer from the Yankees for that reason, and the way you responded to Morosi bringing it up is proof.  At the end of the day, money talks and facial hair walks.

Hal Ditching The $189 Million Budget? Believe It When You See It

(Budget cutbacks in the style department too, huh?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

After a dark, dismal offseason, there may be some rays of spending sunshine peeking through the clouds.  At least that's the implication in Wally Matthews' latest post from yesterday afternoon.  In it, Matthews suggests that Hal Steinbrenner's sudden willingness to engage in contract extension talks with Robinson Cano could signal a shift in Hal's philosophy on spending and the eventual end of the $189 million payroll budget for next season.  Matthews cites "sources" in the story, unnamed ones of course, and the whole concept of the story seems like a big conclusion to jump to based on a few reports of the two sides talking.  It's great in theory, but being willing to negotiate a new deal with Cano before his current one is up doesn't exactly trump every other offseason decision the Yankees made.

2013 Spring Training Roster Battles: Starting Catcher

(Is the kid already being groomed?  Courtesy of Ron Antonelli/NY Daily News)

There's no denying that the Yankees downgraded at more than one position this offseason, perhaps nowhere more than at catcher.  Low 2012 batting average aside, Russell Martin was a good 2-way backstop in his two years in New York.  He brought power and patience (the top two Yankee offensive staples) to the plate, some decent speed and smarts on the basepaths, and a strong all-around defensive game behind the plate.  The Yankees' decision to not even offer him a contract this offseason was beyond puzzling, both because of the money involved in the deal he eventually did sign and because of what they had left available to pick from for a replacement.  There's no other way to say it than to just say that the Yankees have two substandard candidates for the everyday job this year, guys who are much better suited as backups than starters.  That's the decision the front office made and a decision they've stood by all offseason, for better or worse.  Now that camp has started, we'll find out who's the next in line to be the bridge to Gary Sanchez.

2013: Year Of The Back

Of the litany of injuries that struck the Yankee organization last year, the defining body part was probably the elbow.  Elbow injuries affected veteran and prospect alike in 2012, prematurely ending more than one season, extending to end one player's 2013 season, and lessening the impact of some of the key Major Leaguers.  If the first 2 days of full-team camp are any indication, this season's injury area du jour is shaping up to be the back.

Two days of team workouts complete, two back injuries.  Mark Montgomery was scratched from a scheduled bullpen session on Monday with a back strain, and has yet to have another session scheduled.  Yesterday, it was Phil Hughes who was shelved for a few days with back stiffness after hurting himself in a fielding drill on Monday.  Neither injury is expected to be serious and both players are expected to be back soon (no pun intended), but back injuries have the tendency to linger and can turn into a recurring problem if not given enough time to fully heal.  Just ask Austin Romine.

I'm not trying to scare anybody or stir shit up in the first week of camp here.  But if another player hurts his back today...

** UPDATE 9:35AM- And the AB4AR jinx strikes again!!  New report on Hughes, via George King and Joel Sherman of The Post, has him diagnosed with a bulging disc in his back after visiting a spine specialist yesterday.  He is going to be out of action for at least 5 days, possibly up to 2 weeks. **

2013 Spring Training Roster Battles: 5th Starter

(Can Nova The Unknown shake off his terrible 2012?)

Now that all the players are in camp and team workouts have started, we can transition from introducing them to the unwashed masses who may not be familiar with every ST invitee to actually analyzing them and what they have on their respective plates this spring.

The Yankees are never short on spring roster competitions and this year is no exception.  There are four surefire roster spot battles that will be playing out over the course of this year's camp, and if you want to be bold and throw the right-handed DH role into the mix then there are five.  I personally don't consider that a real competition as that spot is basically going to be a revolving door for all the old, right-handed infielders on the roster and possibly Eduardo Nunez if the Yanks get tired of watching him botch shit in the field.  So four it is, and we're going to cover all four this week, starting with the most exciting and most time-honored of Yankee Spring Training competitions- the competition for the 5th spot in the starting rotation.

Yankees Put Four In Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects

Prospect season continued today with the unveiling of Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list.  This comes on the heels of Keith Law's Top 100 from two weeks ago and BA's 11th place ranking for the Yankee farm system as a whole last month.

The four players who made the cut come as no surprise.  Mason Williams ranked 32nd, Gary Sanchez 57th, Slade Heathcott 63rd, and Tyler Austin 77th.  Williams and Sanchez moved up the board significantly from their rankings last year (Sanchez was 81st, Williams 85th), and the inclusion of Heathcott and Austin gives the Yankees 4 in BA's Top 100 for the second straight year even after ManBan and Dellin Betances dropped off.

BA wasn't as high on this group as Law was in his rankings, but this continues the same trend that we've seen play out with the Yankee organizational rankings this offseason/preseason.  It's Williams, Sanchez, Austin, Heathcott, and everybody else.  Hopefully that talent gap gets closed some this season with some bounce back years from other top guys and a couple of big hits in this year's draft, but 4 in the top 77 is still pretty damn good.

Is Michael Pineda Ahead Of Schedule? Should We Be Excited About That?

(Courtesy of the AP)

Michael Pineda came to Yankee camp last year with high expectations.  He was a hulking 23-year-old kid coming off an impressive rookie season, the Yankees had just traded their best prospect in years to acquire him, and he represented the first significant move in the Yankees' efforts to get younger and get below the $189 million payroll threshold.  Long story short, those expectations were far from being met after Pineda showed up to camp overweight, struggled with his velocity and command, and eventually missed the whole 2012 season with a labrum tear in his pitching shoulder.

Pineda came to camp this year with no expectations.  He started his rehab throwing program in the fall, and the early words coming back from Brian Cashman and the coaching staff focused more on the idea of Pineda not pitching at all in 2013 than on exactly when he would be back.  Since arriving in Tampa, however, there's been a pretty noticeable shift in the Pineda discussion and evaluation, and there seems to be a renewed sense of positivity about the progress he's making.  With not a lot of other positive storylines to latch onto this spring, I'll raise the question.  Is it too early to start getting excited about Pineda's comeback?