23 posts tagged “spring training”
I'm not big into Spring Training stats; it's one of the reasons why I don't post many game recaps in February and March. Still, I was a bit surprised when I checked out some of the leaders thus far for the Yankees in Spring Training. Here are some of the leaders in important hitting and pitching categories (to make it more even, I narrowed it down to hitters with more than ten at bats and pitchers with more than three innings pitched):
Batting Average
Angel Berroa - .500
Eduardo Nunez - .500
Mark Teixeira - .500
Home Runs
Brett Gardner - 3
Angel Berroa - 2
RBI's
Angel Berroa - 5
Alex Rodriguez - 5
At Bats
Brett Gardner - 21
Cody Ransom - 20
Angel Berroa - 18
Melky Cabrera - 18
Innings Pitched
Dan Giese - 8.1
Ian Kennedy - 7.2
Brett Tomko - 7.0
Games Pitched
Steven Jackson - 5
Dan Giese - 4
Mark Melancon - 4
David Robertson - 4
ERA
Phil Hughes - 0.00
Mark Melancon - 0.00
Chien-Ming Wang - 1.80
The games and stats start to gain significance towards the end of March - right now, it's about staying healthy and getting ready for the season.
The Yankees played team USA today and lost 6-5. But the fact that the Yanks came within one run is pretty impressive, considering these were the starting lineups:
Team USA
Pedroia 2B
Jeter SS
Jones DH
Wright 3B
Dunn RF
Youkilis 1B
Braun LF
McCann C
Granderson CF
Yankees
Damon LF
Gardner CF
Teixeira 1B
Posada DH
Nady RF
Ransom 2B
Cash C
Berroa SS
Leone 3B
Clearly, Team USA was favored from the get-go.
Gardner had another solid day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a stolen base. Cody Ransom and Jorge Posada also had multi-hit games. Phil Hughes started, pitching two outs into the third inning. He allowed three hits and two runs.
On the USA side, Derek Jeter went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI's. Roy Oswalt pitched into the fourth inning, with Brad Ziegler, Matt Thornton, Heath Bell, Jonathan Broxton, and Matt Lindstrom following.
While I won't be following the WBC religiously, I am hoping that the American team comes through. Ultimately, a victory in the tournament will depend on the effort of the players and the managing of Davey Johnson.
The Yankees are currently down 6-3 in the fourth inning of Game 4 of Spring Training.
Joba Chamberlain struggled in his one inning of work, allowing three hits and two runs. Dan Giese also struggled - in two innings, he gave up four hits, a walk, and four runs.
Combined, the Twins have seven hits in eighteen at bats, and the Yankees have five hits in eleven at bats. It looks like this one is turning into a slugfest real fast.
Update: The Yankees end the day with a 7-3 loss at the hands of the Twins. In two days, the Yankees have lost two games to the Twins, and their spring record now stands at 2-2.
I didn't catch the game on YES today, but it's good to see that the Yanks won their second game of the spring, this one by a score of 5-1. Jorge Posada went 2-for-2 with a home run, Shelley Duncan hit a bomb, and all seven Yankees pitchers (Hughes, Coke, Bruney, Marte, Cox, Melancon, Albaladejo) threw well.
I am so looking forward to watching these guys pitch throughout the remainder of the spring and into the regular season. Phil Coke was dominant in his short time in the majors last year, and it seems he has continued his success early on in '09. I haven't seen Melancon pitch yet, but I've heard his stuff is amazing. Hopefully, he continues to progress, since he will probably be the heir to Mariano Rivera. Albaladejo has to be in the conversation too- there is a good chance that he will make the team out of Spring Training.
Boy, it's good to have baseball is back, eh?
The Yankees won their first Spring Training game today by a score of 6-1.
The Yanks sported this lineup:
Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Shelley Duncan DH
Juan Miranda 1B
Todd Linden LF
Kevin Cash C
Brett Gardner hit a leadoff home run, and Alex Rodriguez was booed (and then promptly hit a home run). After the game, A-Rod said that, "This is what I do. I know how to play baseball. I just hope that this is the start of something really special for this year. I feel really good about our team." Amen to that.
On the pitching side, Brett Tomko started and pitched two shutout innings. Jose Veras, Dan Giese, Kei Igawa, Christian Garcia, Michael Dunn, Steven Jackson, and David Robertson followed (Veras gave up the only run).
All in all, it was a good day for the Yanks, and it's nice to see that they have already established a winning atmosphere for the 2009 season.
I will turn 18 this April, so I can't say that I've had a lot of experience in life, baseball, or anything for that matter. Sure, I've read myriad books and watched hundreds of Yankees games, but I never experienced the golden days of Yankee baseball that many older fans have.
But I am smart enough to know that stuff like this didn't happen in Spring Training sixty years ago.
If you're too lazy to click on the link, it's the story about the Yankees playing pool today. Look at some of these quotes:
"Hopefully we can start some relationships here. Nothing bad can come out of this." -- Jorge Posada
"Everyone started laughing. We're going to have a little pool tournament, and have fun. That's the main thing." -- Jorge Posada
"I think everybody had a great time. We got to see who's spending too much time at the pool hall and we know the ones that don't spend enough free time in there. For Joe to let us take a day off from practice like that, it makes you want to work even harder for him." -- Johnny Damon
"This was the most fun I've had in my whole career at spring training, and I think a lot of guys would say the same thing." -- Mark Teixeira
Oh, give me a break (for the record, this story was the #1 news story for the Yankees on Yahoo).
Do you think something like this would have happened in the 1950's with Casey Stengel at the helm? Or with Billy Martin in the '70's and '80's? Granted, it's fine if the players want to relax and blow off some steam. But why make a whole rigamaroar about it?
And talk about cheesy - did you see those quotes?
Maybe I'm overreacting here, but it seems like the Yankees have gotten too soft. And maybe that's the reason they have failed under pressure in the past few seasons. If they want to win, it's time to toughen up, grind it out, and play hard.
From Sports Illustrated-
1) He starts using the phrase, "Get out there and put a Shelley Duncan on him."
2) He appeals the ceremonial first pitch.
3) He puts the shift on for Billy Crystal.
4) After every home run by an opposing team, he tosses a copy of the Mitchell Report onto the field.
5) He brings in conditioning coach Chuck Norris.
6) He gets in a pregame scuffle with new Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan.
7) He yells at base runner Prince Fielder, "You're a fatty, who's your daddy?"
8) He tells reporters, "We're just taking these meaningless exhibitions one game at a time."
Just a few notes to get you through your day:
- Injuries: Jason Giambi recently sat out for a few days because of a bad back. Andy Pettitte skipped a start but was back on the mound a few days ago. Carl Pavano is still on the DL. This is the sad fate of the Yankees: they have too many players over 35 that are fragile and unreliable. I'd be surprised if the Yankees went the whole year without at least a few major injuries from their older guys.
- Morgan Ensberg is making a case to start the season on the roster. His solid glove and versatility have sparked the interest of manager Joe Girardi. At this point, I'd be surprised if he was not on the 25-man roster come Opening Day. He could play a vital role off the bench.
- Billy Traber is now a part of the 40-man roster, and he, like Ensberg, is making a strong case to start the season on the roster. Traber hasn't allowed an earned run over his first five appearances this spring.
- Ian Kennedy had this to say about his workout regimen: "I need to do some exercises other than going outside and playing catch." Thanks, Ian.
- Here's an interesting stat: of the 40 players on the 40-man roster, only three - count 'em, three - are new to the organization since the end of the 2007 season: LaTroy Hawkins, Billy Traber, and Jonathan Albaladejo.
- Mariano Rivera pitched two innings of shutout ball against a minor-league team. He struck out four and allowed no hits or walks. "I felt good," said Rivera. "All of my pitches were in the strike zone. Everything is fine."
That's it for today. For coverage of the Virginia Tech game, I'd check out some other blogs out there, being that I didn't get a chance to catch the game. But it was certainly a generous gesture to visit the campus after what happened there a year ago.
The Yankees lost 5-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates today at home. Mike Mussina threw five perfect innings while throwing just sixty-four pitches. The performance probably solidifies a spot in the rotation for him. With a plethora of youth in the pitching staff, Mussina needs to put his age aside and provide solid innings this year. If he stays healthy, there isn't any reason that he won't throw 200 innings.
Mariano Rivera, in his third appearance of the spring, surrendered two hits but no runs. Jeff Karstens, however, proceeded to give up five runs and seven hits in just 1.1 innings.
Today's game also featured the much-anticipated debut of Billy Crystal. Crystal managed to get the count to 3-1 but then struck out. He got a huge ovation when he fouled off a pitch down the right-field line.
Something tells me Igawa would have walked him.
The Yankees and Rays are back at it again. Just four days after Eliot Johnson barreled into catcher Francisco Cervelli at home plate, the Yankees retaliated, fueling a bench-clearing brawl.
First, Heath Phillips nicked Evan Longoria with a pitch. He was immediately ejected, even though the pitch barely touched his chest.
Then, the fun started. Shelley Duncan hit a line drive off the third baseman's glove that skidded into the outfield. Duncan rounded first and headed for second as the ball was thrown to base. The ball reached Akinori Iwamura, who was covering second base, with Duncan still about ten feet off the base. Duncan slid hard into second, and his spike went into Iwamura's groin area. The umpire immediately ejected Duncan, who tried to plead his case. Suddenly, right-fielder Jonny Gomes sprinted in from the outfielder and barreled into Duncan.
The benches immediately cleared, and both players had to be restrained. There was some pushing and shoving, but no punches were thrown. All in all, about 80 players were out on the field.
Shelley Duncan, in his post-game interview, said that sliding hard into second base was a clean play. But by judging the pictures of the incident, Duncan clearly had the intention to hurt Iwamura. He went in hard even though he was clearly out, and his spikes kicked upward, which is not a natural movement.
Whether or not he had intent to hurt Iwamura, the entire incident was sparked from Girardi's comments over the weekend. He made a big deal out of an incident that didn't call for it. I understand that you have to stand up for your teammates and players, but Girardi's reaction was a little overblown.
The Yankees and Devil Rays play twice more this spring and 18 times during the regular season. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of this.
Coincidentally, the last major spring training brawl occurred five years ago to the day, when Mike Piazza charged the mound after Guillermo Mota hit him with a pitch.
And for those wondering, Billy Crystal was not injured in the incident.
