Workouts over for the day in Tampa
-
- February
- 12
Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Shelley Duncan and Chris Woodward were on the field at 9:40 a.m. today. They took batting practice (with Kevin Long watching) before bench coach Rob Thomson ran them through infield. Woodward played third.
Duncan stuck around later to some drills at first base with Tino Martinez.
“I feel great,” said Duncan, who may have broken a bone or two when he shook my hand. “I’m trying to get this first base thing down.”
Jeter stopped and spoke to the handful of reporters there. Like everybody else, he’s interested to see what happpens tomorrow in Washington. “You hear so much about it,” he said. “It’s a soap opera.”
Chien-Ming Wang made his first appearance in Tampa and had a long conversation with Dave Eiland before playing catch with his new pitching coach.
Wang and the Yankees are scheduled to meet in an arbitration hearing on Thursday. He’s hopeful there will be a deal before then. If not, he’s prepared for whatever happens and won’t have any hard feelings.
Wang did mention that he wanted a multi-year contract. “The Yankees said this wasn’t the right time,” he said. “For pitchers, it’s hard to stay healthy.”
Wang had a different haircut and looked a little bigger across the shoulders. As usual, he was in a good mood.
That was about it. The pitchers did a lot of distance running drills, a change from the sprints they were doing last season. Andrew Brackman looked like Bill Walton compared to the rest of them. He’s huge.
Saw Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes running but didn’t get a chance to speak to them. Then it started raining and that was that.
Back with some more later.
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on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 12:54 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Peter Abraham
Take the rest of the day off, Pete. Seeya at Mons.
Thanks Pete you’re great. How did Shelly look at 1st.?
:-D!! Yay for spring training!
It’s snowing here. Tampa right about now sounds pretty good.
what 9:40am? A-Rod was up around 6:20am at UM doing his drills.
Last year it was the plague to hamstrings. Wonder what this year brings.
Brackman could be a beast. Imagine facing him and Betances in five years
Thanks, Pete.
Do you speak Chinese? That’s a lot of info you procured there. I’m impressed with Wang’s handling of the situation. The de facto ace for the Yankees and he’s paid pennies while some shmuck gets $39.9M. Lucky thing Wang doesn’t have an American ego yet.
Did you forget to wish Wang happy chinese new year Pete?
Tino! I’m glad he’s still around. I
Thanks for the update Pete. It’s nice to read about “on the field” baseball stories.
a ball coming out at 98 mph by Brackman will look like 103 mph to hitters, this kid is going to be a beast, him and Betances.
You guys up north happy? Its a real crappy day down here. Chilly, dark clouds, and we’re waiting on a storm to hit.
But hows the snow?
Pete: Thanks for bringing Spring Training to us who are stuck here in the north!!
PLEASE post a picture or two….!
JBRO-
the snow is light up here in the north, it’s cold as F….. up here, damn that rodent for seeing his shadow
Great report, Pete. I’m grateful that we have the opportunity to attend spring training vicariously through you.
I agree with Steve, it’s great to hear Tino’s still around. That’s a role Mattingly once played until Torre suckered him off to L.A. and the mother of his children suffered an unfortunate breakdown.
Could you please include the temp down there in your posts? It’ll give us something more to which to look forward. Someday.
Brandon - that sucks, lucky its light though.
I know my friend that goes to Scranton has a snowday. So their probably getting a lot.
Peter - I plan on going to a few practices, and might try to go to P&C Friday(If its open to the public). I’ll try to get some good photos.
Derek Jeter was taking batting practice at the Tampa complex?
That means there is baseball. There is no good reason for it to be cold right now. Furthermore, I should be cursing John Sterling for his home run call of an easy pop fly right now.
I know almost nothing about Brackman and Betances other than what the scouts have said, but just the possibility of having some sort of Twin Towers combo on the mound to me is incredibly intriguing.
My nephew faced Brackman last year. He said he felt like he was right in front of you when the ball left his hand.
Said his stuff was nasty and that was pre-surgery.
He was 1-2 with a walk against him and told me he didn’t feel comfortable at the plate in any of his AB’s.
Great work Pete, thanks for the info. Have you decided who you are going to try to do the play interviews this year?
And just think. At some point, we can feature a rotation of Brackman, Hughes, Kennedy, Wang, and Chamberlain. Sanchez, Cox, Belatance, et al in pen.
I can see why teams like the Angels gush over a strong farm. Even if two of the young pitcher pan out it will make a huge difference.
Is Brackman tall or is he stocky as well? He’s listed at 245 but I don’t have a sense of what someone 6′6″ should weigh? Any idea when he’ll be back in competition?
SJ44,
That’s better than any scouting report by a middle-aged dude in the stands with radar and a notebook.
What’s his ETA as far pitching again and when do you see him coming up for a cup?
I’m optimistic about Brackman but wonder if he might wind up in the pen. Possibly a closer.
Given his recovery from TJ, his limited innings thrown in college because of the basketball, the need for him to work on his mechanics and his major league contract I wonder if he’ll have enough time to develop a league average third pitch?
Don’t know if all of that will work out so that he’ll be a starter. He’s already 23. By the time he’s throwing again he’ll be close to 24. I could see him needing at least 2 season’s of minor league ball - that’s optimistic. So that puts him around 26 as it is.
He was definitely worth the gamble and has tremendous upside. But I don’t know how he’ll develop all the things he needs to be a starter (which also include fielding, holding guys on base, etc. which are issues for someone that tall).
This is why everyone who wants to put Joba in the pen in the future should think twice about that. They’ll likely have to put one of their young talented arms like a Brackman or Betances into the pen because they don’t make it as a starter.
well SJ when a 6′10 SP is hitting 99 MPH and 101 MPH on a radar gun plus throws a spike curveball, that would scare the crap out of me too.
As for Betances he touches 98 mph effortlessly w/ the outlook of being able to hit 100 mph if he forces it, add a hard slider and you understand while people are calling The Next “Big Unit”
kd,
That’s an interesting question. Sounds pretty hefty. You have basketball players that’re that height, but are closer to 200. Yet you have Matsui, who’s listed at 6-2, 210. Randy Johnson’s listed at 6-10, 225. So I’d think Brackman would be somewhere in between, but more hefty than lanky. Dang, I didn’t realize Randy was so thin. He probably lied on his weight, too.
Live to win! ’till you die! ’till the light dies in your eyes!
Mel,
We won’t know his ETA until he is fully recovered from his surgery.
The thing about Brackman (pre-surgery) was, his curveball was downright scary.
He would throw the fastball in the high-90’s, then drop a nasty 12 to 6 curveball on a hitter. The hitters, gearing up for heat, had no chance.
Now, I don’t know what the Yankees will do, vis a vie, the 12 to 6. Some teams don’t like their pitchers throwing that pitch. I don’t know what Nardi, Gil and Eiland have planned for him in that regard.
I will say though that, if he didn’t get hurt last year, he would have been the #1 pick in the draft. He is that good.
We just have to hope he is the same post-surgery.
He’s a big, thick kid. He is every bit of 6-10 and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was close to 250 now.
He isn’t thin looking, like Randy Johnson. He looks like what he was in his other sport. A power forward.
hey guys - ESPN is reporting (i think from a story in the Post) that Joba is starting in the pen, going to the minors in June to stretch himself out and then head to the rotation
I think that’s backwards… let him get ready to start, then put him in the pen at full strength for the playoff push. Well, I still think he should be the set-up man/future closer but that’s my opinion
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3242295
SJ
Is Gil Patterson still with the Yankees? I had read somewhere that he left to work with another team.
until I hear Brian Cashman on Yankees.com say Joba will start in the BP I will continue to believe he will start as a starter. Not ESPN, NOT WFAN or FOXSPORTS or NY PAPERS can sway that.
Pat,
Unless he left in the last week, and I’m not aware he has, he is still with the Yankees.
I haven’t heard anything about him leaving the organization.
Much needed rain for the rest of today and most of tomorrow. Pitchers & catchers report for physicals Thursday.
First day of drills for pitchers & catchers is Friday.
joba said in today’s ny times that he’s going to work out as a starter unless the plan changes. i think this is something that wont be decided until they decide what they can get from moose, kennedy and igawa. all this speculation is wasted time as the final decision wont be made for another month.
Thanks SJ
It wasn’t this past week so I guess he’s still there.
Thanks for the responses. The power forward comment seals it, he must be really scary on the mound. Give him a year and let him rip
BRACHMAN? JOBA? BETANCES? THEY’RE JUST KIDS
WHATSTHEMATTERWITHyOUMORONS?
WE NEED A VETERAN BP. THE SOX HAD ONE AND THEY WON. THAT’S HOW YOU WIN. YOU GET VETERANS! ARE YOU TO DUMB TO SEE THAT?
AND WE NEED AN ACE. THE SOX HAVE AN ACE AND THEY WON. YOU KNOW WHY THEY WON?. BECAUSE THEY HAD AN ACE AND YOU NEED AN ACE TO WIN. THE RED SOX HAD AN ACE. WE HAD WET-NOODLE WANG!
AND YOU NEED A 1ST BASEMAN. WE HAVE 5. WE NEED 1. CAN’T YOU SEE THET 5 IS 4 MORE THEN 1? THE RED SOX HAD 1 AND THEY WON. YOU KNOW WHY? THEY HAD 1 FIRSTBASEMAN. WE HAVE 5. 5 IS NOT 1. CAN’T YOU IDIOTS SEE THAT?
AND CASHMAN DOESN’T CARE. HE’S GONE NEXT YEAR. HE DOESN’T CARE. THEO CARED AND THE RED SOX WON. YOU KNOW WHY THE RED SOX WON? BECAWSE THEY HAD THEO END THEO CARES. CASH ANJU ST DOESN TCARE BEC AUYSE.. HE’S gONE NXT YR AnD… AND… HE jUS TDOE SnTC… ABOUTT HeY ANkKe… ELE…. &3MJ3*( AND ….
(WHERE ARE MY MEDS?)
any one know anything about the reliever Strickland? Supposedly Cone was talking him up on hot stove the other day, saying he could be an 8th inning guy
Pete, thanks for the update. Good to get that Florida feeling given the wonderful weather in the northeast today.
“WHERE ARE MY MEDS?”
*snicker*
Hey Old Yanks Fan - who gives a crap about what the Red Sox do? You seem a little obsessed with them. Why don’t you just become a fan of theirs? The Yankee bandwagon will survive & flourish without you.
google imaged brackman and don’t know if i’d say he’s hefty. not scrawny, but definately on the slimmer side. proportionate, i guess…
i’m thinking he’d look like an average sized pitcher until the ball comes out of his hand and looks like a golf ball…
TRADE ABREU FOR BRIAN GYLES AND A BATTING CAGE. WE SHOULD’VE SIGNED KYLE LOSHE AND LIVAN HERNANDEZ FOR VETERAN PITCHING. AND MIKE STANTON AND TROY PERCIVAL FOR THE PEN.
We tried this from 00′ to 06′. Trying to same thing and expecting different results. What is that again??
Sox are going with two rookie starters and CF and 2nd yr 2nd baseman.
dana
OYF is satirizing a poster named Chris who habitually posts nonsense like that.
dana: OYF was doing a parody of Chris from the previous thread
What do you guys think of this report by Olney that says that Pettitte is behind in his preparation and that this is a “major concern within the organization”. I’m sure he’s had things to take care of with the Mitchell report and his son, but I don’t see that the Yanks will be “alarmed by Pettitte’s condition once he arrives in camp.” I’m sure he’s found time to work out, no?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3242314
Dan,
I take it in the same vein I took his “Santana will be traded to the Red Sox within days” reports he had all winter.
In other words, with a grain of salt.
I’ll wait until Pettitte reports to ST and see what kind of shape he is in before I worry about it.
Buster lost a lot of reporting cred this off-season. No ESPN reporter (and that’s saying something) was as consistently wrong as he was this off-season.
Could have had a bad source. Or, as most ESPN reporters do these days, just went with single source gossip, as opposed to real reporting.
Andy doesn’t need 6-7 weeks of ST to get ready. He needs 3 good weeks, and a healthy arm, and he will be good to go.
Twins sign Livan Henrnandez. Not exactly an upgrade from Santana.
Can someone explain to me Carl Pavano’s role this year? I thought his contract was up? Now he’s working out in Tampa. I’m very confused.
I remember reading that the Yankees didn’t want him going to another team so they offered him a minor league contract which he denied. So what ended up happening?
Pavano is signed this year. Yanks wanted to get him to agree to a minor league deal while he rehabs to get him off the 40 man roster to make room for someone else.
peter rabbit, it wasn’t just a minor league deal they offered pavano, it was a buy out of the final year of his contract, plus a minor league deal so he could rehab his injury with the team. it was basically a move so that the yankees could free up his roster spot on the 40-man roster, and use the spot to protect someone from the rule-5 draft. Pavano’s reasons for not taking that offer are unclear to me.
Agreed, why would you be behind for one day of testimony. ESPN is really bad. They through garabage off a wall and see what sticks. Then they call these clowns insiders. Just remember - they ran a week worth of crap on SC about the Yankees being done, in june. Two years ago, Peter Gammons picked Bobby Crosby to be the league MVP.
You hear so often the spring training is too long for veterans.
Saucy,
I think Pavano didn’t take the offer because accepting a minor league deal would have an effect on his union benefits. Does this sound right?
I could see Pettitte getting behind some of his pre-ST routine due to his son, but I think its just more reporting on rumors than fact.
Gotta come up with something catchy to get people to tune in.
Johnny Damon’s wife is in this years SI Swimsuit edition. Bets on whether a reporter asks Damon if his wife used HGH.
Doreen, you could be right. i thought i heard something that it may limit his options. which is kind of vague…
I remember reading something about the Pavano AAA deal delaying his pension, and that was one of his “reasons”
“i thought i heard something that it may limit his options. which is kind of vague…”
That’s what Pavano was quoted as saying, yeah.
I also heard the pension thing. I think there’s some point at which you become eligible for an MLB pension. Perhaps Pavano will get there if he spends this season on an MLB roster, which would probably allow him to retire if he wants. Maybe that’s the option he doesn’t want to limit.
Speaking of Carl, my friend was just telling me a story about running into him and his agent.
My friends was in Tampa the week of the Giants Bucs playoff game. He said they went to a sports bar by raymond james after the game and bumped in to Carl and his agent. Carl left but his agent stuck around. My buddy was talking to him about Carl, and his agent was telling him straight up that Carl would have a large impact on the Yankees this year. Especially with all the young arms around.
Heres was my friends response to his agent:
I was just like buddy I really hope you are right I will love your guy like I do the rest of the guys if he performs for me but have you ever heard of “what have you done for me lately”, with Carl its more like “what have you done for me ever”…
I figured I’d share that with all you Pavano lovers…
according to the normal timetable for the type of shoulder surgery he had, he arguably could be available for the stretch run come august or september at about 14-15 months recovery time, should he push himself a little bit.
the guy is a louse, but he’s got talent when he’s healthy, and he’ll be a FA after this season so he’s got motivation to come back and make a statement.
whozat
February 12th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
“WHERE ARE MY MEDS?”
*snicker*
—————————————
that’s just awful
Sean:
As in Sean Ryan from JI? Way to steal that line from LockeJet. Don’t worry I wont tell anyone over there.
But maybe you can help me, I registered for JI in the beginning of the football season, and for some reason I cant make posts. Who should I contact over there…
JBRO
Haha, You got me! Bastard!
Cant make posts? Hmmm That is odd. Do you have AIM? If so IM at SeanRyanSays
Good gosh, Pete, I LOVE daily spring training reports, I don’t care which team it is! (I’m not a Yankee fan, but I like reading this blog) More, more, every day! It’s almost like being there again.
Way back when I first attended spring training, there wasn’t such a thing as Internet-for-the-masses, or a decent web browser, and ISPs were hard to find unless you wanted to set up your own server. I did a fanzine daily ST report for a couple of weeks each, for a couple of years, and I really wish the ‘Net was functioning back in those days, ’cause the fanzine subscribers didn’t get my write-up until just before Opening Day!
Let’s hear it for blogs, for reporters who use the ‘Net instead of criticizing it, and for better education for our spelling challenged youth… (OK, that last one didn’t need to be in there
)
Olney predicted Girardi, when every other reporter, including Pete, said it would be Mattingly.
Olney also predicted Alex to be an Angel and Game Over more like It’s Over to be a stud in the Yankees BP ..how did he do w/ that one
I’m guessing Pavano will make every effort to come back in the second half of the year and pitch.
This is the last year of his contract. I’m sure he’s thinking that if he can show anything at all - even some velocity that there will be some team out there that will take a flier on him this off season.
I can just see this now - Carl complaining about wanting a chance to “help the team” in the second half. How he wants to make up for the past and help the team down the stretch, etc., etc.
He’s going to try to use the Yankees as a platform to showcase himself in the off season when he goes on the market.
Sad thing is that someone will sign him.
Yeah Pete — ST information is truly scarce. THANK YOU and thanks to lohud.com for providing the service for us baseball-starved fans!
I will be in Tampa area next week and wonder if regular folks like me can go to the practices? If so, are there posted times and what is happening that day? Any intra-squad games?
Please advise