The LoHud Yankees Blog

Joe Girardi went back to Florida last night and there were no hard feelings.

The Yankees set their roster last night. This notebook also has news on Andy Pettitte, Jeff Karstens and Bobby Murcer.

It’s amusing that Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman picked the same roster that Joe Torre and Brian Cashman would have.

They went with big-league experience and power arms (Bruney, Ohlendorf) over minor-league stat sensations (Patterson, Ramirez).

They went with experience and power (Ensberg) over youth and speed (Gardner).

They went with an over-abundance of first baseman, just like they did last year.

They went with guys Cashman traded for (Albaladejo) over guys he has released (Rasner).

Ultimately, who is on the roster on March 31 is meaningless. Pettitte will come off the DL five days into the season and the first of many moves will be made. At this time last year, few fans knew anything about Joba Chamberlain or Ian Kennedy beyond that they were in the organization.

Expect more of the same this year. There are players who weren’t even in camp (such as J.B. Cox) who could be pitching in the majors come August. Humberto Sanchez gets on the mound for the first time on Monday. He could be a factor late in the season. There are countless possibilities.

But for now, the new boss seems to value the same qualities the old boss did.

The 2008 New York Yankees:

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

Bench
Jose Molina C
Shelley Duncan 1B-RF-LF
Morgan Ensberg 1B-3B
Wilson Betemit 1B-2B-3B-SS

Starters
RHP Chien-Ming Wang
RHP Mike Mussina
RHP Phil Hughes
RHP Ian Kennedy

Relievers
RHP Mariano Rivera
RHP Joba Chamberlain
RHP LaTroy Hawkins
RHP Kyle Farnsworth
LHP Billy Traber
RHP Ross Ohlendorf
RHP Brian Bruney
RHP Jon Albaladejo

————-
60-day disabled list
RHP Andrew Brackman
RHP Humberto Sanchez
RHP Carl Pavano

15-day disabled list
LHP Andy Pettitte
RHP Jeff Karstens
LHP Sean Henn

The Yankees just reassigned or optioned these players:

INF Nick Green
RHP Scott Patterson
RHP Darrell Rasner
LHP Kei Igawa
RHP Edwar Ramirez
RHP Jose Veras

LHP Andy Pettitte was retroactively placed on the 15-day DL. He is eligible to come off on Saturday.

What this means: They will start the season without a long reliever. The bullpen will be:

Mariano Rivera
Joba Chamberlain
Kyle Farnsworth
LaTroy Hawkins
Billy Traber
Ross Ohlendorf
Jon Albaladejo
Brian Bruney

Once Pettitte is activated, one of those players will be demoted. Joe Girardi made it clear that they will have a long man sometime soon. But the ability to put Pettitte on the DL gave them some leeway.

Girardi said making the cuts “was brutal” and he praised the spring that Patterson had. But his lack of big-league experience was a factor. Patterson looked crushed afterward.

Here we are in Joe Robbie Pro Player Dolphin Stadium for the Yankees and the Marlins. It’s 74 degrees.

The game is on WCBS radio and streaming on their web site, so you shouldn’t need me to provide too much in the way of what’s happening. But I’ll add a few comments here and there.

UPDATE, 7:12 p.m.: It would seem the place is full of Yankee fans. Jeter got a huge reaction when he came to the plate. Marlins Fever!

UPDATE, 8:37 p.m.: A-Rod (2 for 3, 2 RBI) is delighting the home folks. He homered in the fifth inning to draw the Yankees to within 4-3.

UPDATE, 9:07 p.m.: The line on Mussina: 5.1 5 5 5 1 2. 73 pitches / 48 strikes. Mike Jacobs homered twice off him and drove in three runs.

YES’s Bobby Murcer will not call any of the games next week as he recovers from the biopsy he had. He will remain at his home in Oklahoma.

A YES spokesman said they hope to have Murcer back soon.

(With records from last season)

Monday: RHP Roy Halladay (16-7, 3.71) vs. RHP Chien-Ming Wang (19-7, 3.70), 1:05, YES, ESPN

Wednesday: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-8, 3.75) vs. RHP Mike Mussina (11-10, 5.15), 7:05, YES, ESPN2

Thursday: RHP Dustin McGowan (12-10, 4.08) vs. RHP Phil Hughes (5-3, 4.46), 7:05, YES

Tonight is a homecoming for Alex Rodriguez. The Miami native said he has not played a baseball game in his hometown since he was a senior in high school in 1993. He said he left 150 tickets.

Joe Girardi, of course, was the Marlins manager in 2006 before he was fired because of a dispute with owner Jeffrey Loria. Girardi has refused to talk about the circumstances and he stayed on the high road today.

He and Loria did speak. “I welcomed him back and wished him well,” the owner said.

A few other news items: RHP Jeff Karstens (right groin) will be out at least a month. … The Yankees have not been back to Dolphin Stadium since the 2003 World Series. The only Marlin will with the team from that season is bullpen coach Pierre Arsenault. How crazy is that?

YANKEES
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreau RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Duncan DH
Cabrera CF

Pitching
Mussina

MARLINS
Ramirez SS
Uggla 2B
Jacobs 1B
Willingham LF
Gonzalez RF
Cantu 3B
Wood DH
Treanor C
De Aza CF

Pitching
Miller

Andy Pettitte threw a 25-pitch bullpen session back in Tampa and remains scheduled to start a minor-league intrasquad game on Sunday.

“As far as during my bullpen and stuff like that, I feel great,” Pettitte told the AP. “It loosened up good. Do I still feel it walking around? Yeah. Sunday is a good day. I need to get some good work in. That’s all I’m looking for now.”