The LoHud Yankees Blog

YANKEES
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Nady RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Ransom 3B
Cash C
Tomko RHP

Pitching today: Brett Tomko, Alfredo Aceves, Dan Giese.

BRAVES
Schafer CF
Escobar SS
C. Jones 3B
McCann C
Norton 1B
Diaz RF
B. Jones LF
Prado 2B
Jurrjens RHP

Pitching today: Jair Jurrjens.

Notes: While most of the Yankees head for Disney, Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher will play for Triple-A Scranton at 1 p.m in Tampa. … The three pitchers are the three remaining candidates to be the long reliever. Tomko has been the best this spring. But Joe Girardi remembers how well Aceves and Giese pitches last season. … Posada will also catch tomorrow before getting some time off. He said last night that his shoulder continues to feel good.

Back with more later on.

UPDATE, 1:02 p.m.: We’re about to get underway here at Disney. Pretty quiet day so far in terms of news. Girardi said back in Tampa that the long man competition won’t necessarily be decided today. But what happens today will have an impact.

UPDATE, 1:09 p.m.: The game is on television somewhere because it’s on in the pressbox. The Braves folks say it’s on Sports South.

UPDATE, 1:1 p.m.: Brian McCann just left the game when he took a foul tip off his hand.

UPDATE, 1:16 p.m.: The Yankees loaded the bases with one out. But Cano grounded into a 6-4-3 DP.

UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.: The Braves started the inning with a wind-blown pop-up double. Melky was apparently playing behind the fence given how long it took him to get over to the ball. But Tomko wiggled out of the jam without allowing a run.

UPDATE, 1;27 p.m.: According to our operatives in Tampa, Jorge Posada threw out a runner in the minor league game. But Wang allowed two home runs, at least one of which was wind-blown.

UPDATE, 1:35 p.m.: The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs in the second when Tomko inexplicably drew a walk. Jeter grounded into what looked like a sure double play. But using his great will to win and True Yankeeness, Jeter was able to convince the ball to take a bad hop and two runs scored.

Now the Yankees lead 3-0.

UPDATE, 1:38 p.m.: This release from the Yankees:

The Yankees announced today they have acquired minor league RHP Charles Nolte from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for RHP Jason Jones. Jones was taken by Minnesota in the 2008 Rule 5 Draft and offered back to the Yankees. Instead of Jones being returned to the organization, the Yankees and Twins agreed on the two-player trade.

Nolte, a 24th-round pick by Minnesota in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, was 4-3 with one save and a 2.05 ERA in 44 relief appearances with the Single-A Beloit Snappers in 2008 (70.1IP, 63H, 26R, 16ER, 35BB, 75K, 1HR). The 6-3, 200 lb. right-hander is a San Diego, Calif. native and attended San Diego State University.

UPDATE, 1:52 p.m.: Yankees lead 4-0. Melky is 2 for 2. He’s hanging in there maybe.

UPDATE, 2:00 p.m.: Brian Bruney pitched in the Double-A game this afternoon. His line: 2 0 0 0 0 4. 32 pitches / 19 strikes.

UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: Tomko didn’t do anything to hurt his cause: 3 3 0 0 1 1. Aceves now on to pitch. Still 4-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:15 p.m.: The Yankees made a double switch and put Ramiro Pena to play short. On cue, he made a diving stop (going, ahem, to his left) and then a strong throw to get Matt Diaz. The Yankees gathered outside the dugout to congratulate him after the inning.

It would be forward-thinking if the Yankees kept him on the roster instead of Berroa.

UPDATE, 2:17 p.m.: It is high, it is far, it is gone! Mark Teixeira has hit a ball over the right-field fence and the Yankees lead 5-0! And Tex marks the spot! He’s on the Mark!

OK, I’ve lost my mind. But it really is 5-0.

UPDATE, 2:22 p.m.: Cano goes deep to left. 6-0.

UPDATE, 2:38 p.m.: Aceves allowed a run in the fifth. 6-1 Yankees.

Meanwhile, in the AA game back in Tampa, Hideki Matsui was 2 for 3 with a double, a homer and a walk.

In the Triple-A game, Nick Swisher was 1 for 5 with a homer. Posada caught four innings and was 1 for 4 with a double.

UPDATE, 2:54 p.m.: Pretty good work by Alfredo Aceves. 3 2 1 1 1 1. Yankees lead 6-1 after six.

UPDATE, 3:37 p.m.: Jeter left the game with a bruised knuckle on his left pinky finger. The Yankees did not reveal this until Jeter had already left the park.

Officially he’s, “just fine.”

UPDATE, 3:40 p.m.: Wang did not pitch well in the AAA game. 5 9 4 4 1 3. 92 pitches. He allowed two homers.

Probably not a big deal as pitchers use those games just to build endurance.

The game is almost over here. Back with more later.

The Yankees are ready to pick a center fielder and it looks like Brett Gardner will be the choice.

CC Sabathia dominated the Reds last night. This notebook also has news on Derek Jeter, Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada, Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui.

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How are your brackets? I have five of the Final Eight teams in The LoHud.com NCAA pool contest. In the Yahoo! Sports brackets, I have seven of the Final Eight. All four of my Final Four (Michigan State, Missouri, Pitt and Oklahoma) teams are alive.

I still like Oklahoma to win it all. The tournament hasn’t been too exciting yet given the lack of upsets and lopsided scores.

Mariano Rivera has faced 16 hitters this spring. Here is how it has gone for him:

K
1-3
K
FP-2
F-9
F-8
K
4-3
Single (and congrats to you, Gerald Laird)
K
6-3
K
K
K
3-1
4-3

Rivera needed five pitches to get three outs tonight. He has thrown 45 pitches this spring, 35 strikes. That’s 2.81 pitches per plate appearance.

The Yankees made a huge mistake when they signed him for three years. They should have signed him for six.

CC Sabathia said after the game that other than getting his slider a little sharper, he is good to go for the season. He threw 68 of his 93 pitches for strikes and dominated what amounted to a B-squad lineup that the Reds ran out there. “I felt great,” he said.

Sabathia got 14 of the 23 outs he recorded on groundballs. Yes, Joba Chamberlain was in the dugout watching. Learn, young man, learn.

“They’re not all on two-seamers. A couple of change-ups. A couple of sliders in on the hands. A couple of fastballs in on the hands,” Jorge Posada said. “His location was good today. If he doesn’t have his fastball, he has his two-seamer. He can throw his curveball for a strike. He has a change-up. … He’s fun to catch.”

Meanwhile, if you are in the Tampa area tomorrow, go see the minor-league game at 1 p.m. Chien-Ming Wang will pitch for Triple-A Scranton against Triple-A Indianapolis. The Wanger will be throwing to Jorge Posada. Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher also will be in the lineup so they can get some extra at-bats.

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This from the AP:

Jeremy Guthrie hopes to pitch better on opening day than he did Friday in the Baltimore Oriole’s 9-7 win over the Florida Marlins.

Guthrie gave up six runs in the first inning. After he left the game in the fifth, he was told by manager Dave Trembley he’d be starting the season opener April 6 against CC Sabathia and the Yankees.

“He told me after the touchdown,” Guthrie said, smiling. “He said, ‘Nice job. We blocked the extra point on the touchdown.”’

Guthrie, a first round pick in 2002, went 10-12 with a 3.63 EDRA in 30 starts last year. “He’s deserving of it. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go,” Trembley said.

Guthrie has 7.94 ERA in three Grapefruit League starts.

YANKEES
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Nady RF
Ransom 3B
Gardner CF

Pitching today: CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte and Jon Albaladejo.

REDS
McDonald CF
Hairston SS
Phillips 2B
Nix RF
Gomes DH
Rosales 3B
Jones 1B
Hernandez C
Hopper LF

Pitching tonight: Aaron Harang, Daniel Ray Herrera, Mike Lincoln, Josh Roenicke, Pedro Viola.

Notes: The game is at 7:15 p.m. and will be on WCBS. … Mariano has faced 13 hitters this spring and retired 12 of them. He has six strikeouts and has thrown 30 of his 43 pitches for strikes. That’s 3.3 pitches per batter. … CC will be looking to get around 90-100 pitches. Then he’ll dial it back during his final start on Wednesday. … Back later with more.

Meanwhile, I’m in a home run pool with some friends. Here’s my team: Ryan Braun, David Wright, Grady Sizemore, Jason Giambi, Vladimir Guerrero and Hideki Matsui. I won it all last year.

Back later with more.

UPDATE, 3:03 p.m.: David Robertson is hoping to get into the game tonight. He hasn’t pitched since March 20. That would seem to indicate that Robertson is probably not making the 25-man roster.

UPDATE, 3:38 p.m.: Baseball players are a cold bunch. A few of the writers were standing around Brett Gardner conducting an interview this afternoon when Brian Bruney walked by. “What happened? You get sent down?” he asked.

Gardner just laughed and went on answering the question. “We like giving each other a hard time,” he said.

UPDATE, 4:11 p.m.: The Yankees don’t screw around. Richard Gere is throwing out the first pitch and James Delisco (Judas in the national tourning company of Jesus Christ Superstar) will sing the national anthem. The show’s company will perform Take Me Out To The Ballgame in the seventh inning.

UPDATE, 6:24 p.m.: Joe Girardi said in his pre-game interview that the Yankees would have their roster picked by Sunday or Monday. The plan remains going north with 12 pitchers, which would leave room for both Gardner and Cabrera.

Girardi said he knows who he wants in CF but wants to talk it over with Brian Cashman and the coaches first.

The Yankees also plan to bring more than 25 players to New York for the Cubs series. The final cuts will come then.

UPDATE, 6:52 p.m.: Here’s a shot of Mark Teixeira, who was in Ybor City this afternoon playing stickball to help promote Yahoo! Sports fantasy baseball. The game featured players from the Florida Stickball League.

UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: That CC Sabathia is a nice guy. To make Joba feel better about himself, he just threw 23 pitches in the first inning. But all he allowed was a single.

UPDATE, 7:47 p.m.: It’s 1-1. Jeter doubled and scored on a single by Tex in the first. The Reds had three singles in the top of the second.

UPDATE, 8:27 p.m.: The Yankees have gone up 3-1 in the fourth. Nady had a double. But it was an error and a passed ball that scored the runs. GGBG walked and was part of a double steal with Ransom.

UPDATE, 8:37 p.m.: CC has retired 10 straight. He really has his sinker working. The Yankees lead 4-1 in the middle of the fifth inning.

UPDATE, 9:07 p.m.: CC has retired 16 in a row. Just amazing. They need to get Mo and Dave Robertson an inning each, so that could be it for him.

UPDATE, 9:15 a.m.: Wow, CC back out for the eighth inning. So much for Dave Robertson.

Shelley Duncan (1B), Doug Bernier (2B), Angel Berroa (SS), Ramiro Pena (3B), Nick Swisher (LF), Melky Cabrera (CF), Todd Linden (RF) and Jose Molina ( C) all in now.

I’m sure many of you have seen Baseball-parking.com. But for those who have not, it has all you need to know about where at park at the new Stadium.

Bottom line (as Derek Jeter likes to say): it’ll cost you $19. There are garages, surface lots, etc.

My understanding is that the new Metro North Station will not be ready for the first homestand. Presumably that will alleviate some of the parking concerns.

If you are planning to attend one of the Cubs game, get there early and avoid the hassle. It’ll be a circus at first.

UPDATE, 7:18 p.m.: Sam Borden toured the Stadium and reports that Lonn Trost said the Metro North Station would not be open until the third homestand, which starts on May 15.

For many fans who can’t afford tickets or live in another part of the country, television will be their window to the new Yankee Stadium.

But how good will that window be?

Word is that the new Stadium is not particularly conducive to television cameras. The camera behind home plate, for instance, will have to shoot through the protective netting. Unlike the steeper old Stadium, there is no position to get a clean shot from that angle.

YES folks also say the camera locations down the lines are not optimal. There is already talk that YES, ESPN and other broadcast entities will request changes.

The Yankees own a percentage of YES, so you would think they would have worked closely with the broadcasters to make sure they were happy.

Presumably, these problems will have solutions. The old Stadium always looked so good on television. You would think the new park should look even better.

I have received more questions about beer this spring than almost any other subject. When the Yankees put out their release about food the other day, beer was not mentioned.

According to well-placed sources at the new Stadium, you’ll be drinking Budweiser. However, there will be “Beers Of The World” stands offering different selections.

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One of our readers, Brendan, sent along a note that I wanted to pass along.

His family organizes a yearly 3-on-3 basketball tournament in memory of their father. All proceeds are donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They contacted all the pro sports franchises in the area, seeking tickets to raffle off.

Brendan wrote to say the Yankees responded within an hour and donated some seats. The other teams did not step up. “It is not so much a knock against the other franchises, but it says something impressive about the Yankees,” Brendan wrote.

In case you’re interested in shooting some hoops, the tournament will be at Iona College on April 4. E-mail tomburke3on3@gmail.com for information.

CC Sabathia will start Opening Day and the home opener. Was there ever another choice?

Derek Jeter is the new leadoff hitter with Johnny Damon hitting second. This notebook also has a look at Joba Chamberlain’s start against the Phillies.

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OTHER LINKS OF NOTE

My boy Sam Borden is doing some writing for SNY.tv. Check out his piece on Jorge Posada

Sky Kalkman of Beyond The Boxscore e-mailed me about several Yankees articles they have done. The information is interesting, so check them out.

Here are links to the stories:

Mariano’s cutter, greatest pitch ever.

Why Swisher is a better choice than Nady.

Breaking down the lineup.

A look at the farm system.

Comparing Derek Jeter to Alan Trammell

One of our readers, Moe, has started a sports blog in Yiddish. Good luck, Moe.

The Yankees are “toying around” with the idea of hitting Derek Jeter first and Johnny Damon second according to Joe Girardi. It’s safe to say this will carry into the season. Teams don’t toy around with lineups on March 26, they finalize them.

Let’s look at this dispassionately.

Derek Jeter’s career’s OBP: .385

Johnny Damon’s career OBP: .354

Derek Jeter GIDP the last two years: 45

Johnny Damon GIDP in last two years: 9

So Jeter should get on base more often and have fewer opportunities to ground into a double play. This would seem to make sense.

David Pinto, who’s much smarter than I am, figured out that the new look would give the Yankees three more runs a year. If that results in one more victory, it was worth it.

Beyond the numbers, this move reflects what we all know to be true: Jeter has become more of a singles hitter. He had 39 extra-base hits last season. His previous seasons:

2007: 55
2006: 56
2005: 49
2004: 68

But Jeter still can work a count. His walk numbers haven’t dipped at the same rate. He’s not a base-stealer but he remains a good base-runner.

Damon had one of the best seasons of his career last season. He’s also in the walk year of his contract, which should provide plenty of incentive.

Far too much is made about lineups and this change is far more subtle than radical. But it makes good sense.

It also seems that this decision is related to another. Brett Gardner is almost certainly the center fielder and will hit ninth. Hitting Jeter first separates two left-handed hitters in Gardner and Damon. Girardi considers matchups critical to his lineup decisions and tries his best to make decisions tougher on the opposing manager.

So now the lineup is:

Jeter R
Damon L
Teixeira S
Matsui L
Posada S
Cano L
Nady R
Ransom R
Gardner L

What do you think?