Game 3 Wrap-Up: NYY 4 HOU 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

I'm smart enough now to not be at all concerned about starting the season 0-2, but it's not like I would have been happy to see the Yanks open the season getting swept by a team that lost 111 games last season.  In that sense, last night's start was the first big test for Ivan Nova in 2014.  He was the starting pitcher tasked with preventing the sweep and he was supported by an offense that had produced 3 runs in 18 innings and was without its leadoff hitter, cleanup hitter, and starting third baseman.

Game Notes:

- Nova, like those before him, didn't get off to a good start.  2 sharp singles and a HBP and it was bases loaded, nobody out in the top of the 1st.  A force play scored a run, a walk loaded the bases again, and in what turned out to be a HYYUUUUUUUUGE play, Nova escaped the inning on 4-6-3 a double play.

- Interestingly enough, it was Ellsbury and Johnson's replacements who got the rally started in the top of the 3rd.  Ichiro and Yangervis Solarte singled with 1 out, then came around to score on a Brett Gardner single and a Carlos Beltran sac fly to give the Yankees their first lead of 2014.

- Nova breezed through the next 3 innings, mainly on the strength of some well-timed double plays to end the 3rd and 4th, but then hit the skids again in the 5th when he gave up another run.  A 4th double play ball of the night kept it at only 1.

- The offense managed to keep tacking on with a Derek Jeter RBI single in the 5th and what was scored as an RBI single for Solarte on an infield pop-up that the Astros decided not to field.

-The 4-2 lead they built held up thanks to some stellar bullpen work behind Nova.  Adam Warren and Shawn Kelley didn't allow a baserunner and struck out 4 in 2.1 IP and D-Rob went 1-2-3 for his first save of the year.

Home Opener On Monday's Not Going To Be Sweet Or Anything...

Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte will throw out the first pitches to Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada at the #Yankees’ home opener on Monday.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 3, 2014

Nope.  Not at all.  Just my 3 favorite Yankees of all time and the greatest Yankee catcher I ever got to see play, the foundation of the most recent run of World Series success in team history, throwing out the first pitch to each other.  Nothing sweet about that.

If you have tickets to that game, I hate/envy you.

Thoughts On The Minor League Rosters

(Should be the starting Triple-A catcher.  Courtesy of Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Minor League season gets started tonight, and while I don't want to steal any of Tamar's team-by-team season preview thunder, I did want to comment on some of the roster decisions.  Each club officially released their Opening Day rosters yesterday, some more complete and correctly than others.  There are some surprising and not so surprising decisions at almost every level, which is pretty par for the course in the world of managing a wide range of prospects and non-prospects.  Here's my 2 cents on the early roster breakdowns for the 4 full-season MiL teams (click the team names for the full rosters).

Soriano's Early Results Show Signs Of Lingering Spring Training Rust

(Courtesy of Texas Leaguers)

That's Alfonso Soriano's swing plot through the first 2 games of the season.  As you can see, it's all over the place.  Soriano has seen 36 pitches in his 8 plate appearances and he's swung at 19 of them.  Of those 19 swings, he's swung and missed 8 times and put the ball in play 4.  None of those balls in play have gone for hits and the other half of his 8 PA have ended in strikeouts.  Needless to say, that's not the production you're looking for from a player in a run-producing spot of the lineup.

Soriano missed a fair amount of time early in Spring Training because of his bout with the flu and the time needed to catch back up limited the number of in-game ABs he got.  That swing plot above is indicative of a hitter who's not seeing the ball well and doesn't have his timing at the plate and that's almost certainly a direct result of that early missed time.  Soriano is expanding his strike zone all over the place and taking a lot of bad swings at bad pitches to hit, but there's no reason to panic based on 8 PA.  As he gets more reps, gets more comfortable at the plate, and gets his timing back, this issue should correct itself.  If the rest of the lineup had hit over the first 2 games, Soriano's struggles wouldn't stick out as much as they do.

Game 2 Wrap-Up: HOU 3 NYY 1

(Pinch hitting Solarte for Johnson??  Courtesy of Getty Images)

It wasn't the start to the season that any of us had in mind on Tuesday night.  Thanks to some very poor starting pitching and some shoddy defense, the Yankees found themselves down 6-0 before the game was an hour old.  They were hoping for a better result in game 2 with Hiroki Kuroda on the mound last night.  Instead they got the same one, only half as bad.

Game Notes:

- Once again they were down after the 1st inning.  Dexter Fowler hit the second pitch of the game, a hanging sinker from Kuroda, for a leadoff HR and a quick 1-0 Houston lead.

- Fowler tripled with 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd and scored on a fielding error by Mark Teixeira to make it 2-0.  Rough start at first base for Teix.  Rougher than his start at the plate.

- The lineup managed a measly 4 singles through 5 innings off Astros starter Jarred Cosart and they squandered a 2 on/1 out situation int he top of the 5th with a pair of groundouts.

- Cosart went out after 5, but the failure to capitalize didn't end there.  The Yanks wasted another 2 on/1 out setup in the 6th inning on a strikeout by Teix and a groundout by Alfonso Soriano.  Even the run they scored in the 7th, after a leadoff walk and a Brian Roberts single, was a wasted opportunity thanks to a GIDP by pinch hitter Yangervis Solarte.

- Hirok retired 9 of the last 10 he faced to make it through 6 innings without any more damage and gave way to David Phelps to start the bottom of the 7th.  Phelps gave up a 2-out solo HR to Matt Dominguez to seal the deal for the 'Stros.

Now The Real Utility Bench Competition Begins

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The move to designate Eduardo Nunez for assignment was a long time coming.  After spending a few years earlier in his career as the media-anointed heir to Derek Jeter's starting shortstop spot, Nunez came to be seen for what he truly was over the last few seasons: a below-average hitter with a swing-happy approach and an almost unfathomably bad defensive player at any position.  The Yankees gave him plenty of chances to show signs of improvement and he didn't show them, so even though there does exist the slight possibility of him sticking with the organization, it's far more likely that we've seen the last of Eduardo Scissorhands in a Yankee uniform.

A Reason To Not Be Concerned About CC's Start Yesterday

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Besides the simple and obvious one that he's had a poor Opening Day track record, of course.  CC Sabathia was bad in his first 2 innings last night, giving up all 6 of his runs in those frames before settling down and making it through 6 without further damage.  He and Joe said his early struggles were due to his pitches cutting, and after the game CC had an explanation as to why:

“I wanted to try to back off and not overthrow.  When I do that, I tend to cut myself short and that’s when the balls cut. My changeup cuts, my fastball was cutting. It’s just me not really getting extended and letting the ball go out in front. It’s just cutting it off and that’s what makes it cut.”

Whatever mechanical adjustment he made to counteract the early cutting problem worked for him over the next 4 innings, as did the addition of the cutter to his pitch mix in the 4th.  While it's never good to see the big guy struggling, it's reassuring to read that he knew what was wrong and made a change to correct it.  That's way better than the lack of answers he had for most of last season and should provide confidence that Sabathia will be fine going forward.

Game 1 Wrap-Up: HOU 6 NYY 2

(Courtesy of the AP)

After going through an offseason that saw more roster revamping than I can ever remember, the Yankees became one of the final 2 teams to start their 2014 season when they took the field in Houston last night against the Astros.  On this night, they looked very much like an early work in progress.

Game Notes:

- Ugly, ugly start for the Yanks.  CC Sabathia wasn't sharp in the 1st inning, giving up 4 runs on 3 hits and a wild pitch.  Brian McCann's poor throw on an extra base attempt and Mark Teixeira's wide throw home attempting to prevent the second run didn't help matters.

- Sabathia's struggles continued in the 2nd.  He gave up his second HR of the game to L.J. Hoes to start off the inning, then his 6th run of the night on a 2-out single by Jose Altuve.  Before the Yanks even had a chance to turn their lineup over, they were down 6-0.

- The offense didn't do much to help the shaky Sabathia.  Scott Feldman held them to 3 baserunners (1 hit, 1 BB, 1 HBP) through 6 innings.  They loaded the bases against him in the 7th, but the bullpen got him off the hook.

- Sabathia settled down and got through 6 innings after the horrible start.  He retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and started to find the command of his sinker and slider.  It was just too little too late.

- Speaking of which, the Yanks managed to not get shut out by tacking on 2 too little too late runs in the top of the 8th.  McCann and Teix each singled in a run to finalize the 6-2 score.

Yanks DFA Nunez To Clear A Roster Spot For Solarte

(So long, Scissorhands.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

In retrospect, I think we should have all seen this coming.  As first reported by Mark Feinsand, the Yankees have designated Eduardo Nunez for assignment in order to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Yangervis Solarte.  It started late last week when Solarte was announced as Joe's pick for the final bench spot, it continued earlier today when Solarte was given Nunez's number 26, and it concludes with this roster move.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise based solely on Nunez's tenure with the team.  As recently as a week ago he looked like the odds-on favorite to win the final roster spot, but I guess his ST performance that was right in line with the consistently below-average production he's had his whole Major League career was the final straw.  The bottom line is the guy didn't hit and didn't field.  You have to be able to do one or the other to stick and the Yankees gave him plenty of chances to prove that he could.  We'll see where Nunez goes now, but this move has to all but signal an end to his Yankee career.

Tuesday Afternoon Food For Thought: Oganizational Rotation Depth

Projected Triple-A Starting Rotation Before Spring Training: Manny Banuelos, Jose Ramirez, Nik Turley, Vidal Nuno, Shane Greene

Projected Triple-A Starting Rotation as of Today: Greene, Bruce Billings, Brian Gordon, Alfredo Aceves, Chris Leroux

As much as I loved Joe's decision to bring Nuno north as part of the Major League bullpen and still think it was the right move, I'd be remiss if I didn't touch on the somewhat alarming transformation the RailRider rotation has undergone in the past month.  Turley and Ramirez have been down and out with injuries since early in spring camp and Ramirez will be converted to a reliever when he's healthy again, ManBan will start the year in High-A Tampa to knock some of the rust off, and with Nuno in the Yankee 'pen there is suddenly very little organizational depth behind the Yankee starting 5.

Now ManBan will make it back to Triple-A eventually and hopefully Turley's arm tightness doesn't turn into an eventual elbow or shoulder surgery, but it's still a night and day difference between what was supposed to be and what is.  No offense to any of the non-Greene members of the current SWB rotation.  They're all pros and I'm sure they'll do a fine job filling in.  It's just hard to get excited about a group of 30-something journeymen in a Triple-A rotation when the alternative was 5 legit prospects.  If an injury or 2 does happen in the Major League rotation, I'd rather see a Nuno or a Turley or even ManBan subbing in for spot starts than Aceves or Billings.  At least there's something to get excited about if the prospects do well and it's easier to chalk it up to lack of experience if they don't.

Opening Day Starting Lineup

Joe announced this yesterday, but here's the starting lineup that will take the field tonight:

1) Jacoby Ellsbury- CF
2) Derek Jeter- SS
3) Carlos Beltran- RF
4) Brian McCann- C
5) Mark Teixeira- 1B
6) Alfonso Soriano- DH
7) Brett Gardner- LF
8) Brian Roberts- 2B
9) Kelly Johnson- 3B

SP) CC Sabathia

A couple thoughts.  Not sure how I feel about Teix hitting 5th when he's admittedly not swinging normally.  I'd rather see him 6th.  And it's a little surprising to see Gardner 7th and Johnson 9th.  Johnson's lefty power after Soriano's righty power makes more sense in the 7-spot, but Joe must have something in mind so I'm willing to see how this lineup works before questioning the decision.

It's Here...

It's finally here.  It's been 6 long months since the Yankees last played a meaningful baseball game and that game marked the end of the legendary career of Mariano Rivera.  Today marks the start of the season-long farewell to his Core Four teammate and Yankee captain Derek Jeter, but more importantly it marks the start of another season of Yankee baseball.

The offseason was a busy and productive one.  This year's team looks a lot different and potentially a lot better than last year's.  Will it be enough to get back to the postseason and chase title number 28?  We start finding out today.  Happy Opening Day, everyone.  And let's go Yankees!

Lots Of Sound Logic In Joe's Opening Day Roster Decisions

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

As the Yankees were coming down the home stretch of Spring Training last week, I thought I had Joe's final roster selections all figured out.  I thought he was going to go with the experience/performance combo and take Matt Daley for the final bullpen spot, which also would have allowed Vidal Nuno to stay stretched out as a starter in Triple-A and be ready to come up and spot start in case of an emergency.  When it came to the final bench spot, I thought Eduardo Nunez's tenure as a Yankee and familiarity with their system would give him the advantage over Yangervis Solarte and Joe would give him the nod based on loyalty.

In another shining example of why Joe and Cash have the jobs they have and I'm a cube monkey who blogs in his spare time, I was wrong on both accounts.  Joe didn't go on experience and he didn't go on loyalty.  He thought about what his team was going to need the most in the first few weeks of the season and made the 2 most logical choices to meet those needs.

AB4AR 2014 Season Preview: The Predictions

When I said the 3 weeks of season preview posts were over yesterday, I wasn't being 100% honest.  There's still the matter of making my 2014 predictions, an annual rite of passage I've passed with flying colors each of the last 2 seasons.  If you've already read the staff predictions post over at IIATMS/TYA, then you already know what my picks are.  Only thing that's changing here are the additions of the full AL East predictions and expanded postseason predictions.

Without further ado, here they are...

Spring Training News And Notes: 3/30/14

Spring Training is technically over, but there were a few noteworthy things happening yesterday as the majority of the team made its way to Houston for Tuesday night.

- Michael Pineda stayed behind to get 1 more start in at the Tampa complex.  He pitched in a MiL game and went 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks with 8 strikeouts.

- If you missed it before, here's what Tuesday's starting lineup will look like: 1) Ellsbury- CF, 2) Jeter- SS, 3) Beltran- RF, 4) McCann- C, 5) Teix- 1B, 6) Soriano- DH, 7) Gardner- LF, 8) Roberts- 2B, 9) Johnson- 3B

- A roster spot still needs to be opened in order to add Yangervis Solarte to the 40-man.  No word yet on the move, but I'd guess Nik Turley goes to the 60-day DL.

- Donnie Collins took an educated stab at predicting the Opening Day roster for the SWB RailRiders.  Definitely not the starting rotation they envisioned having.

AB4AR 2014 Season Preview Recap

Well that's it, ladies and gentlemen.  3 weeks have come and gone and with them we've previewed the upcoming 2014 season in every which way imaginable.  The last week of preview posts was this past week, a detailed position-by-position breakdown of the Opening Day roster and its strengths and weaknesses.  The rotation and outfield look like the no questions asked strengths of the team while the infield and bench look like the obvious weaknesses, but check out each individual roster group post and judge for yourself.

- The Infield

- The Outfield

- The Rotation

- The Bullpen

- The Bench

The regular season starts on Tuesday, so use these next 2 days to catch up on whatever you've missed.  The "2014 Knowns and Unknowns" series can be found here, and the "Season Storylines" posts here.  Check back tomorrow afternoon for my 2014 predictions.

The Minor League Team To Watch In 2014 Has Been Found

The Yankees have put the finishing touches on their Opening Day 25-man roster over the past few days, but they aren't the only team setting rosters with a couple of days remaining before the start of the season.  The roster pictures for each MiL affiliate are starting to come into focus and, courtesy of Josh Norris, it looks like Low-A Charleston is going to be the team to follow:

Charleston will have Judge, Avelino, Andujar, Torrens, Severino, Rookie Davis, Brady Lail and Tyler Wade
— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) March 29, 2014

In Aaron Judge, Abi Avelino, Miguel Andujar, Luis Torrens, and Luis Severino, the RiverDogs will open the season with 5 of the top 26 from the AB4AR Top 30 on their roster.  Davis, Lail, and Wade are also on the radar as guys with serious prospect potential, and once the season gets going there's a good chance we see Gosuke Katoh, Ian Clarkin, Jordan Cote, and maybe even Ty Hensley in Charleston at some point.

It's a lot of young, still tough to project talent, but all in all that's easily the most exciting group of prospects to watch this year.  The next wave, if you will.  It wouldn't shock me at all if half of next year's top 10 prospects came from this team.

Spring Training News And Notes: 3/29/14

- No final game for the Yankees yesterday.  They got rained out and so while some of the team left to fly to Houston, another group will stay behind to get some last-minute pitching work in.

- In a bit of a surprise, Joe announced Yangervis Solarte as the winner of the final bench spot.  He had an excellent ST and had an opt-out clause in his contract whereas Eduardo Nunez still had a MiL option remaining.  Let's see how that hot spring carries over to the regular season.

- Ivan Nova, David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, and Matt Thornton all threw sim games in place of their scheduled game appearances.  Michael Pineda will throw one today.

- Masahiro Tanaka was selected as the winner of this year's James P. Dawson award for the best rookie in camp.  No surprise there.

Saturday Afternoon Food For Thought: ST Starter Results

CC Sabathia- 5 G, 21.0 IP, 13 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 16 K
Hiroki Kuroda- 4 G, 11.1 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 12 K
Ivan Nova- 5 G, 19.2 IP, 21 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 21 K
Masahiro Tanaka- 5 G, 21.0 IP, 15 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 26 K
Michael Pineda- 4 G, 15.0 IP, 14 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 16 K

Total- 88.0 IP, 78.0 IP, 24 ER, 10 BB, 91 K

We all know by now that Spring Training stats don't mean anything.  That said, it's hard to look at what the Yankee rotation has done this spring and not be impressed.  They've been great.  All of them.  The only really shaky-looking numbers are Kuroda's and all 6 of his ER came in 1 bad start.  He's been money every other time and very sharp in MiL outings.

The true test starts in a few days, but the Yankee rotation has passed the ST mid-term with almost straight A's.  CC looks healthy, sharp, and much more comfortable than he did last year.  Nova's more calm and confident.  Tanaka and Pineda have each looked overwhelming at times.  Based on what they've done this spring, this is the most excited I've ever been about a Yankee rotation heading into the start of the season.  Ever.

Teix Still Not Sold On His Wrist Strength

(Courtesy of the AP)

It's been a slow and steady process for Mark Teixeira as he's worked his way back into playing shape from last year's wrist injury.  From basic strengthening exercises to dry swings to batting cage work to full BP to playing in actual ST games, one would hardly call this a "normal" Spring Training for Teix and all along he's said the most important thing is making sure his wrist feels good all the time, no matter how he's swinging.  According to what he told Kevin Kernan of The Post on Thursday, he's still not 100% confident that the wrist is completely healed:

“I’m not trusting that the wrist is healthy.

I’m just trying to protect it.  Taking your ‘A’ swing, taking that swing that is 100 percent and I need to trust that I can do that and not feel pain. I need to finish my swing instead of protecting my wrist. Last year, to protect my wrist, I didn’t finish my swing."

Teix is batting a meager .086/.289/.114 in 35 PA this spring, with 10 BB and 11 K.  His only XBH is a double he hit as a right-handed batter a few weeks ago, so obviously the numbers fit somebody who's admittedly not swinging normally and holding back.

Spring Training News And Notes: 3/28/14

The Yanks checked another game off the ST schedule last night with a 3-0 win over the Marlins.  Hiroki Kuroda and Masahiro Tanaka combined for the 6-hit shutout.

- Kuroda was great in his 3 innings (3 H, 4 K), but the story was Tanaka.  He followed up with a 6-inning relief appearance in which he allowed only 3 hits of his own, didn't walk a batter, and struck out 10.  Shutdown city, population Ma-kun.

- The big news of the day was roster announcements.  Joe announced Dellin Betances and Vidal Nuno as the winners of the final 2 bullpen spots before the game and Dean Anna as part of the bench after.

- Only 1 spot remains open and it's down to Eduardo Nunez and Yangervis Solarte.  Deadline to set rosters is 3 PM tomorrow.

- Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-5 and played center field in another MiL game.  He said he feels fine and Joe said he'll play in Sunday's Major League game as a final tuneup.

- Top prospects Tyler Austin, Slade Heathcott, Jose Campos, and Greg Bird will all be held back in ExST before starting their respective MiL seasons.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 3/28/14

I'll be attending Brewers Opening Day on Monday and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't equally as excited for that as I am for the Yankees the next day.  I've never been to a season opener for any team in any sport before, unless you count UConn football and I don't.  As a diehard sports fan, it's an experience I'm very much looking forward to taking in and for once I'll be the one trying to herd everybody into the stadium to see the Star Spangled Banner and first pitch.  Lots open up at 10 AM officially and somewhere between 8:30 and 9 unofficially, so it's going to be quite the day of drinking and merriment.  Needless to say, Monday won't be a very active day for the blog, but I'll make sure to get a few things scheduled before cracking the first beer.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, Chad Jennings of LoHud dished a whole crapload of Minor League updates, on everything from injuries to team assignments.

- Vizzini of NoMaas discussed the efficiency with which the Yankees spend their money, and correctly pointed out that their organizational expectations provide a different context for spending efficiency/inefficiency than most other teams.

- Mike Axisa of RAB put a bow on his 2014 season preview series with a personal preview of Derek Jeter's final season.

- On Tuesday, Michael Eder of IIATMS/TYA identified a pair of potential trade partners for Ichiro if the Yanks are really trying to move him.

- On Wednesday, Jason Evans of Yanks Go Yard kicked around the idea of bringing a 2nd lefty in the bullpen and weighed the remaining options.

- On Thursday, Chris Mitchell of Pinstripe Pundits examined how much of a hit the Yankees will take defensively without Brendan Ryan available at shortstop to open the season.

- Scott Davis of Pinstripe Alley mused on Alfonso Soriano and the added versatility he'll bring to the lineup this year.

- SG of RLYW compiled his 2014 projections into an all-encompassing look at what to expect from the team this season.  He's got the Yanks at about a mid-80s win team, so take that however you want.

- On Friday, Alphonso of It Is High... creatively vented his frustration with the Yankees for sending Zoilo down to the Minors again.

Going old school with some Queen for this week's Friday Jam.  Gonna be a helluva time on Monday.  Such a good time.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

AB4AR 2014 Season Preview: The Bench

(Not you again!  Courtesy of US Presswire)

So here we are at the final post of the 2014 AB4AR Season Preview Series.  The major storylines have been covered, the knowns and unknowns have been laid out, and all but one roster group has been broken down in anticipation of that magical day next Tuesday.  All in all, I feel pretty good about this team and I feel like I've done a pretty good job promoting those good feelings.  I think the new outfield is going to be super productive, I believe the rotation will end up being one of the 5 best in baseball, and I have no reason not to expect the bullpen to get figured out one way or another because it always does.  I can even muster up a little hope for the infield to be passable.

Here's the thing though.  I have zero faith in the Yankees having a productive bench this season.  None.  I know it's a popular trend to look at guys who have performed well in ST and start imagining them as regular season super subs.  The reality is that none of those guys are really that good.  If the Zelous Wheelers and Yangervis Solartes of the world were really that good, they would already be on a 40-man roster somewhere.  They very well could end up being just as productive as the more familiar faces that are going to open the season on the bench, but that's really not saying much when you look at that projected bench objectively.  The bench is a weakness again and it's something that will have to be addressed at some point if the Yankees are going to be real contenders for the title.

Shocker!! Forbes Ranks Yankees The #1 Most Valuable MLB Franchise

Forbes released its list of MLB franchise values yesterday, and in a major upset the Yankees came in at number 1 with a cool $2.5 billion value.  This is up from last year's $2.3 billion value and marks the 17th straight year that the Yanks have been the most valuable MLB team.  The Dodgers came in second at $2 bil even, and according to the full article the Yankees rank ahead of the Dallas Cowboys by $200 mil as the most valuable franchise in all of pro sports.

Considering that ticket sales, attendance, and TV ratings were all down last season as a result of the watered down on-field product, it's impressive that the Yankees were able to increase their value.  Just goes to show how big an international brand they are and how much they stand to make this year with the addition of Tanaka and a potential return to the postseason.  They may not have enough money to spend on Stephen Drew (they do), but the Yankees are still clearly doing just fine when it comes to the dollars and cents side of baseball.  Now somebody hit the music!

Spring Training News And Notes: 3/27/14

The Yankees were victorious in the 2014 Spring Training road finale yesterday, beating the Pirates 4-2 behind 4 shutout innings from CC Sabathia and 3-hit days from Ichiro, Eduardo, and Zoilo.

- Sabathia was just going through the motions and threw 44 pitches in his 4 3-hit innings, but it sounds like he looked sharp.  Next time we see him will be in the top of the bottom of the 1st on opening day.

- All 3 5th starter competition "losers" (David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno) worked out of the bullpen after CC.  They combined for 2.2 IP, 5 H, and 2 ER (Phelps) and are slated to pitch again on Saturday.

- No game yesterday for Jacoby Ellsbury, but he did go through a full workout.  He'll play in another MiL game today, maybe another on Saturday, and is still on track to be ready for Opening Day.

- Big day of morning roster cuts, with Preston Claiborne, David Herndon, Fred Lewis, Zoilo Almonte, Russ Canzler, and Scott Sizmore all getting reassigned to MiL camp.  Only a few real roster competitors left.