Weekend Update

Just don't tell Lorne Michaels. Yours truly was down for the count with a bug and some overtime, so I didn't get a chance to post until today. Here's a wrap-up of the games and news from Friday thru today.

Friday

This game made news before it even started. Carl Pavano was in the middle of warm ups as he readied for his start. First came the news that Pavano was being sued by the guy who Pavano crashed into last year. Then Pavano, with permission form the Yanks, skedaddled. At the time, the team wouldn't specify what the issue was, but said it had nothing to do with the lawsuit.
Since then word has come down that the problem was a medical issue involving Pavano's girlfriend. Pavano verified that info yesterday, though he would not go into any detail. There has been an unsubstantiated rumor that she suffered a miscarriage.

As for the game, the Yankees pitching was the story once again as Jeffrey Karstens stepped up and tossed 3 shutout innings in his emergency start. He was originally slated to appear in relief in the game. Chase Wright followed Karstens with two 2-3 scoreless innings. Meanwhile Derek Jeter delivered a 2-run single in a 4-run 2nd inning. Jorge Posada added a solo home run in the 6th. It was Jorgie's 2nd of the spring. Melky Cabrera added 2 hits as well.

~~~

Saturday

The Yankees traveled to Bradenton on Saturday to face the Pittsburgh Pirates. Eric Duncan smacked a 2-run HR off of Salomon Torres in the top of the 9th to give the Yankees a 5-3 victory. Luis Vizcaino picked up the victory with an inning of relief. Sean Henn recorded the final out to earn the save.

All eyes were on the Yankees' starting pitcher in this one. Kei Igawa improved on his first outing, with 3 innings of solid work. Ronny Paulino tagged Igawa for a 2-out, 2-run HR in his 3rd and final inning of work. Igawa allowed 5 hits, walked none, and struck out 4. Tyler Clippard continued to make a name for himself by throwing a pair of scoreless innings. Robinson Cano helped out the offense with an RBI and a run scored.

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Sunday

Earlier today the Yankees hosted the Cleveland Indians at Legends Field. Chien-Ming Wang got the start and turned in his longest outing of the season. After allowing a 1st inning HR to former Yankee David Dellucci, Wang allowed just 2 more hits, walked 1, and struck out 3 in his 4 innings of work. Things did not go as smoothly for Phil Hughes. The prized prospect struggled with his control, walking 3 in 1 1-3 innings. He also allowed 3 runs on 4 hits. He's mostly headed to the minor league camp sooner rather than later.

Fausto Carmona failed miserably in his tryout as the Indians closer late last summer, but he breezed through 3 innings in his start against the Yanks. A-Rod and Brett Gardner each drove in a run off the Indians pen, but the Yankees trailed 4-2 in the 9th. That's when another super prospect gave the crowd a thrill. 19-year old Jose Tabata smacked an opposite field HR off of Jeff Harris for the Yankees final run in their 4-3 defeat.

Mariano Rivera gave up his 1st hit of the spring, but breezed through his 1 inning of work. Bronson Sardinha continued his torrid spring with 2 more hits.




A sign of things to come? Tabata goes deep

Short Stops - 3/9

The names continue to pour in from the HGH bust at Applied Pharmacy in Alabama. Former major leaguer (and member of the '98 Yankees) Darren Holmes is the latest athlete to be thrust into the spotlight.

The LA Angels are already looking into voiding Gary Matthews' 5-year, 50 mill deal should Little Sarge prove to be guilty or not 'fess up to his involvement in the Applied case. Matthews hit 50 points higher than his career average last season and added career highs in HR and RBI.

As part of his visit to Legends Field on Wednesday night, Roger Clemens stopped into the YES booth to talk with announcers Ken Singleton and Al Leiter. The Rocket seemed very relaxed and seems like a natural to do color commentary if he so chooses. He was already better than the informative, but very wooden, Leiter.

Humberto Sanchez has been able to throw off flat ground without any stiffness and he hopes to throw off a mound this weekend. Todd Pratt's career could be winding down. As we previously reported, he's been suffering from an inflamed heel. Turns out he has plantar fasciitis- a nearly impossible injury for a catcher to deal with.

The A's received a big blow to their season when it was announced that centerfielder Mark Kotsay will miss 3-4 months with back surgery. Kotsay's attitude and hustle is invaluable to the ball club.

One of our all-time fav's, El Duque, got slammed by the Orioles yesterday, giving up 5 runs in the 2nd inning. He still has a dance, and you don't Coney.

Good Afternoon Mr. Phelps

Josh Phelps took another step forward today in his battle with Andy Phillips for the right-handed side of the 1st base platoon. Phelps knocked in the go-ahead run in the Yankees' 5-3, 10 inning win over the Atlanta Braves in Orlando, Florida. Phelps got his chance when Chris Britton blew a 1 run lead with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th. Tony Pena Jr. made his Dad proud when he tripled home Willie Harris to tie the game at 3-3.

The Yankees answered right back in the 10th against Braves reliever Steve Colyer with a pair of runs. Phelps had given the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the 8th with a sacrifice fly and came through again, singling home Ben Davis for a 4-3 lead. Phelps is hitting .600 thus far and has taken advantage of Phillips' time away from the team. There's still plenty of spring games left, but it will leave Joe Torre with a tough call. Phillips is a proven major league entity to Torre, especially with his glove. But with Doug Mientkiewicz around, that may not prove to be as important. Phelps won't ever be mistaken for Don Mattingly, but if he can continue to hit, he can give the Yankees lineup a boost this year. That's something Phillips couldn't do last year.

Bronson Sardinha- yeah him again- continues to impress. Though not major league ready, he'll definitely be in the back of Brian Cashman's and Joe Torre's minds when the time comes. After already having game-winning and game-tying hits this week, "Then Came Bronson" went 3-5 to raise his spring average to .438.

Kevin Reese has quietly helped his chances of being a call-up in case of an injury to an outfielder. He's hitting a torrid .462 and has driven in 5 runs.

The Yankees pitching continues to excel. Mike Mussina wasn't spectacular, but wasn't too bad either. Moose allowed 2 runs, including a Jeff Francoeur home run, in his 3 innings of work. The bullpen really stood out though, allowing 1 run over 7 innings. Colter Bean and Matt DeSalvo threw a pair of scoreless innings each, while Scott Proctor and Ron Villone each put up a 1 inning goose egg. Villone picked up the save in the 10th.

FIRST AID ALERT - Carl Pavano makes his second spring start on Friday.

Welcome Back Kotter

Throw a mustache and a 'fro on Andy Pettitte and John Sebastian could start singing the theme to the Gabe Kaplan sitcom. Watching Andy on the mound in last night's 1-1, 10-inning, tie with the Atlanta Braves was a bit surreal. Especially with Roger Clemens sitting in the 1st base stands near the Yankees dugout.

Pettitte wasn't as sharp as he usually is, barely throwing more strikes than balls in his 49 pitch effort. But, he impressed the Rocket and the fans when he escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam, with a strikeout and a tailor-made 4-6-3 double play. Pettitte pitched most of the game with a small cut on his left hand after a piece of a broken bat nicked him (no, it was not thrown by Clemens).

It's still hard to believe that Pettitte left in the first place. The Yankees clearly missed his presence in the 3 years he was gone (like when they had to turn to Kevin Brown in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS). Pettitte was working his way up the ladder of all-time great Yankees pitchers, not just the lineage of left-handers (Whitey, Gator, Lefty, etc.). His 149 wins in pinstripes is the 9th-best mark on the team. He should finish in the top 5 if he stays healthy and plays another year. If Pettitte hadn't left, Whitey Ford's mark of 236 wins would not necessarily have been out of reach.

Here's to a healthy year for the Andyman!

~~~

Mariano Rivera had a nice 1-2-3 inning against Cincy, and threw a change up- almost as rare a blue whale (David Wells?).

Bronson Sardinha stood out among all the veterans with another big 9th inning hit. Sardinha hit a walk-off 2-run home run on Monday to beat the Tigers. Last night he delivered the game tieing single in the 9th.

Short Stops - 3/7

John Rocker has admitted that he has used the growth hormone HGH. Gee, what a shock. Rocker's revelation came via a publicist after Sports Illustrated reported Rocker's name was on the client list of recently-busted Applied Pharmacy in Mobile, Alabama. Rocker claims he used it for medicinal reasons. Sorry, John, it won't increase the size of your brain. Fellow major leaguer David Bell, pro wrestler Kurt Angle, and champion body builder Victor Martinez (not to be confused with the Indians' catcher) were also named. Angels' centerfielder Gary Matthews Jr. was previously reported as being on the client list.

No matter the sport, can we please just ban idiots already? No not the fans, the players. Ron Artest was arrested the other day for domestic violence. Turns out now that the police were called to Artest's home 5 times since August. Two of those calls were specifically for domestic violence. Just because his wife hasn't pressed charges in the past, it doesn't mean the league shouldn't take action. Same goes for the NFL concerning Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, and half of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Javier Vazquez just picked up a 3-year, $34 million extension from the Chicago White Sox. Amazing how much money you can make being mediocre.

Yanks Streak Comes to an E-nd

An error by young shortstop Alberto Gonzalez lead to 3 unearned runs and enabled the Cleveland Indians to rally to a 6-5 win over the Yankees in Winter Haven, Florida. The loss snapped the Yankees' unbeaten streak at 5. After trailing 2-0 early, Kevin Reese and Josh Phelps each smacked 2-run home runs to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the 7th.

The Indians put 3 on the board against prospect Russ Ohlendorf for a 5-4 lead. The Tribe added an insurance run in the 8th off of Kyle Farnsworth. They would need it as Raul Chavez knocked in a run in the 9th for the Bombers.

Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yankees and was up and down, allowing 2 runs in his 3 innings of work. Grady Sizemore lead off the bottom of the 1st with a solo home run that quickly gave the Indians the lead.

Phil Hughes looked very sharp following Wang; Hughes threw a pair of scoreless innings, picking a runner off of 1st and getting another to hit into a double play.

Reese (3) and Hidek Matsui (2) combined for 5 of the Yankees' 8 hits off of 8 Indians pitchers. Tony Sipp picked up the win for Cleveland, with Jeff Harris notching the save.

Short Stops

Gary Sheffield and the Detroit Tigers came to Legends Field to play the Yankees yesterday, so of course the media was all over it. Among the pearls of wisdom that Sheff bestowed on all ears: A-Rod will have a great year, and that opening up about his relationship with Jeter will help him immensely. Sheff had to earn every bit of respect from Joe Torre (you wanted to be treated like a king immediately Gary?). He had planned to retire before the lack of an extension from the Yankees "pushed" him to prove he could get the money. Some people just never grow up.

J.D. Drew is whining about the LA Dodgers' lack of interest once he opted out of his contract. Hmm, let's see J.D.. The Dodgers gave you a very fair contract and you decided to opt out of it because of greed. And you wonder why they don't miss you?

Bobby Murcer held a teleconference yesterday to let everyone know his spirits are good and he plans on getting back to the YES booth this year!

The Marlins' rotation took a blow when it was discovered that Josh Johnson has an irritated ulnar nerve and will miss the 1st two months of the season.

Todd Pratt's chances of making the Yankees 25-man roster has become limited by an inflamed heel. He's been shut down for at least several days. Pratt has said he would retire if he didn't make the club.

Igawa Lackluster, But Yankees Walk Off With Win

Kei Igawa's debut was nothing to write home about it, but prospect Bronson Sardinha will have plenty to talk about it after hitting a 2-out, 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th to give the Yankees a 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers. Former Yankee Felix Heredia had retired the 1st two batters in the 9th before allowing a single to Josh Phelps. After a wild pitch moved Phelps into scoring position, the left-handed hitting Sardinha drove a Heredia pitch deep over the wall in right for the victory. Ron Villone picked up his 2nd win of the spring.




Bronson Sardinha watches his walk-off HR





Igawa allowed single runs in each of the 1st two innings (1 IP officially), allowing 2 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 3. Hideki Matsui hit his 1st home run of the spring.

Full Box Score

Yankees Pound Phils 10-5

Carl Pavano made his much anticipated return to the mound, and the Yankees pounded out 15 hits in a 10-5 romp over the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, FL. The victory improved the Yankees spring mark to 4-0. Pavano's 2 innings were ordinary; he allowed a run on 2 hits, walked 2, and struck out none. Jeffrey Karstens picked up the victory with a pair of scoreless innings in relief. Melky Cabrera went 3-3 as 8 different Yankees drove in a run. Raul Chavez added a pair of RBI after replacing starter Wil Nieves.

Chase Wright (2 IP 1 ER), Luis Vizcaino (1 IP 1 ER), Colter Bean (1 IP), Mike Myers (.2 IP 2 R 1 ER), and Kevin Whelan (.1 IP) also saw action on the mound, with Whelan notching his 2nd save of the spring.

Anderson Garcia took the loss for the Phillies after starter Cole Hamels tossed 3 innings of shutout ball.

Posada HRs as Yankees Rally

Jorge Posada hit his 1st home run of the spring and the Yankees rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th for a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh. Jeff Kennard picked up the victory, while Jose Veras pitched a scoreless 9th for the save.

Mike Mussina gave up a solo home run to Brad Eldred in his 2 innings of work. Matt DeSalvo, Kyle Farnsworth, and Sean Henn also threw for the Yankees. Ramiro Pena, Marcos Vechionacci, and Kevin Reese paced the offense with an RBI each.

R H E

Pirates 3 9 0
Yankees 4 6 0





Jorge goes deep

Basak Blasts Rays

Chris Basak belted a 3-run homer today as the Yankees rallied in the 7th inning to defeat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3-1. Ron Villone picked up the victory as the Yankees improved to 2-0. Andy Pettitte made his return debut in pinstripes, throwing a pair of shutout innings. Ruddy Lugo took the loss for the Rays.

Final R H E
Yankees 3 6 1
Rays 1 5 0

5 in 100

The Yankees trailed only Colorado and Arizona for the number of players in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects, which was released yesterday. Philip Hughes topped the Yankees' list at # 4. Jose Tabata was the Yankees' top non-pitching prospect. The outfielder came in at #27.

Also on the list were:

#57 Humberto Sanchez
#75 Joba Chamberlain
#100 Dellin Betances

Click Here to view the entire list.

Damon Starts Off With a Bang

Yankees 6 Twins 1 Final

Johnny Damon lead off the Yankees' half of the first inning with a home run off Minnesota Twins' starter Carlos Silva and the Yankees added two more runs in the first inning at Legends Field in Tampa. The Yankees loaded the bases on walks to Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui, sandwiched around a hit-by-pitch to Alex Rodriguez. An RBI single by Jorge Posada and a ribbie grounder by Robinson Cano brought home Giambi and A-Rod. One inning later, Giambi smacked his first home run of the spring as the Bombers built a 5-0 lead.

Chien-Ming Wang was on his game from the start, retiring the side in order in the first with his trademark, the ground ball out.






Johnny Damon goes deep against Carlos Silva

Baseball is Back

The Yankees season really kicks off today when the Bombers play host to the Minnesota Twins at Legends Field in the spring training opener. Chien-Ming Wang takes to the mound at 1:15 pm to start things off. He'll be followed by Philip Hughes, Ross Ohlendorf, Luiz Vizcaino, and Mike Myers. Carlos Silva gets the nod for the Twins.

Here are today's starting lineups:

Yankees
CF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
DH Jason Giambi
3B Alex Rodriguez
LF Hideki Matsui
C Jorge Posada
2B Robinson Cano
RF Melky Cabrera
1B Doug Mientkiewicz

Twins
CF Denard Span
3B Nick Punto
RF Michael Cuddyer
1B Justin Morneau
DH Matt LeCroy
LF Jason Kubel
C Mike Redmond
2B Luis Rodriguez
SS Alexi Casilla

The game will be televised on YES; there is no radio coverage.