Yankees Take Grapefruit Opener

There are some basic rules in Spring Training:

1. Stay healthy. This rule far exceeds any other.

2. Get your batting eye ready; get your swing set; get your fielding down; get your pitches in and throw strikes.

3. Don't get hurt. Yes I said it already...still can't stress it enough. Just ask Austin Romine (back) and George Kontos (oblique) about that.

4. If you weren't in shape, get in shape. NOW. Michael Pineda wants (needs) to lose 10 pounds.

5. Make people take notice of you...and be sure it's in a positive way.

Won/Lost record is not on the list of rules. George Steinbrenner would totally disagree, but it doesn't matter. You want to be sure to play well, but the won/loss record does not matter, even if you play the Red Sox or Mets or whomever.

The Yankees did win today, 8-5 over the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, but the play wasn't all positive. The Yankees made three errors, including Eduardo Nunez booting the first ball of the game at shortstop.

On the up side, Curtis Granderson picked up where he left off last season, with a home run and two hits. On a day the wind helped many a baseball elude fielders, free agent signee Cole Garner needed no help in ripping a 2-run home run to left.

Ivan Nova started for the Bronx Bombers and looked pretty good. He allowed two runs, one earned, in two innings of worked. Manny Banuelos and David Phelps threw a couple of scoreless innings apiece as they followed Nova in the pecking order.

Dellin Betances struggled with mechanics and control in an inning of work, but induced a double play to put a goose egg up on the scoreboard. A couple of lefties had mixed results in the last two innings.

Rule V pick (from Boston ) Cesar Cabrel got off to a good start in his bid to make the Yankees bullpen with a scoreless 8th inning, but Mike O'Connor was not so fortunate. The 31-yr old, who pitched in parts of three seasons with the Nationals and Mets, allowed three runs on three hits and a walk to make things interesting in the 9th.

Brett Gardner (0-3), Nick Swisher (0-3), and Russell Martin (0-2) were the only returning lineup regulars to accompany Granderson on the trip. Newbie, and former Phillies outfielder, Raul Ibanez made his Yankees' debut with a 1-3 afternoon that included an RBI.

Yankees on MLB, Saturday at 1

After playing the Univ. of So. Florida on a Friday (an 11-0 win), the Yankees begin the exhibition season against the big boys today.

Ivan Nova will get the start as the Yankees face the Philadelphia Phillies at 1 pm ET on the MLB Network. Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, and David Phelps are all expected to pitch and half dozen regulars are expected to play.

YEAH!!!

Yankees Start '10 in Walk Off

The temperatures in Tampa, Florida were unusually cold yesterday afternoon, but the New York Yankees were already in mid-Summer form. Prospect Colin Curtis belted a 3-run, walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Yankees a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the teams’ grapefruit league opener.

The walk off win became a staple of last year’s team that captured its 27th title and though it was just an exhibition game, the ironic outcome of yesterday’s game was lost on no one.

Chad Gaudin started for the Bombers and was followed by two of his fellow combatants for the 5th starter spot, Sergio Mitre and Al Aceves. The three combined to allow just one hit over six innings. A rough beginning by Jonathan Albadejo and a Yankees error helped the Pirates tie things up in the 7th after the Yankees had jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

But after lead off singles by fellow minor leaguers Brandon Laird and Jon Weber to start the 9th, Curtis hit a no doubt about (in fairness almost all home runs in the grapefruit league are no doubt about it due to the wind) blast off Virgil Vasquez to right-center for the game winner.

Ramiro Pena opened the scoring for the Yankees in the 6th with a solo home run. Nick Johnson added an RBI double and Weber drove in a third run in the inning with the first of his two singles. Former Yankees prospect was charged with all three runs.

Game Notes

The Yankees traditionally wore their pinstripes for the only time during spring training.

Curtis Granderson played centerfield and was 0-2 in his Yankees’ debut.

Number 2 in the Visitor's Lineup

The stage is set for some odd baseball in the Yankees' March 3 exhibition game. That's because they'll be playing the World Baseball Classic's US squad with shortstop Derek Jeter.

#2 opposing the Yankees? First the Joe Torre book, now this? All right, Jeter will be back in the Yankees lineup when the WBC wraps up.