The LoHud Yankees Blog

Today’s lineup against the Astros, as promised, looks a lot like the expected Opening Day lineup.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson LF
Nick Swisher RF
Brett Gardner CF

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Also, my mistake in the morning Today in The Journal News post. Wednesday’s game in Clearwater is a day game. It’s Thursday’s home game against the Rays that’s at night. Sorry about that.

There aren’t many roster spots up for grabs here in Tampa. The most interesting battles seem to be for the fifth starter and who plays center field, but those aren’t fights for roster spots so much as decisions on who plays where. The utility infielder spot might be available (depending whether you consider Ramiro Pena a lock), the final spot on the bench is available (with two obvious leading candidates) and the pitching staff seems to have one opening in the bullpen.

Most players in camp are simply trying to make an impression, hoping to be the guy called up when a spot inevitably opens. So far, so good for these guys.

Kevin Russo
Infielder
.385 average, .500 on-base percentage
Could make a push for that utility job, especially if he keeps getting playing time at shortstop and proves he can handle the position. He hit last year in Triple-A, and he’s kept hitting here in big league camp. If he doesn’t beat Pena for the utility job, he could certainly push for a quick call-up.

Mark Melancon
Right-handed reliever
3.2 innings, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
Probably the top relief prospect in the system, Melancon has been sharp through his first few outings. He could be crowded out of the big league bullpen — especially if the Yankees carry a second lefty — but don’t be surprised if he follows the same path Dave Robertson followed last season: Open in Triple-A, called up early, pitching key innings late.

Boone Logan and Royce Ring
Left-handed relievers
9 innings, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk, 3 hits
Both Logan and Ring have so far made a strong case for a second bullpen lefty, but Logan also has an option left and Ring is in camp on a minor league deal, meaning both can be sent to Triple-A if they don’t make the big league roster.

Greg Golson
Center fielder
2 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI
Golson has three hits this spring, and all three have been for extra bases. He’s also shown great speed and terrific range. Considering he has a spot on the 40-man, he could get a chance to play off the bench at some point this season.

Jason Hirsh
Right-handed pitcher
3.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts
Once a massive pitching prospect in the Astros system, he’s battled injuries the past few seasons but seems to be finally healthy again. Could push for a bullpen job, but more likely going to Scranton to work out of the rotation. Legitimate chance at the sixth starter role.

Colin Curtis
Outfielder
.500 average, .639 on-base, 1.000 slugging
Curtis made some adjustments this winter and it led to huge numbers in the Arizona Fall League. He’s continued hitting for power through his first few at-bats in big league camp. If he can carry these results into the regular season, he’s a toolsy enough outfielder to get a look in New York. Curtis, Jon Weber and David Winfree have all looked pretty good these first few weeks, but none of them has Golson’s 40-man spot.

After taking Monday off, the Yankees resume their spring training schedule tonight against the Astros. The Yankees are expected to use their opening day lineup, and the results are beginning to matter as the Yankees enter the decision-making part of spring.

This is the Yankees first night game of the spring, and their first of three night games this week: Tonight, Wednesday against the Phillies and Friday’s split-squad against Tampa Bay.

What were you doing when you were 20 or 21 years old? Were you lounging outside of the Yankees bullpen watching a spring training game from the sideline?

It must be good to be Jesus Montero and Austin Romine. That’s them during Sunday’s game in Bradenton.

On this day of practically nothing in Tampa, here are a few links and notes from around baseball.

• There’s a story on the Mariners site about Rule 5 pick Kanekoa Texeira, who was taken out of the Yankees organization. He has allowed one earned run through five innings this spring. He has also walked three and allowed four hits. Texeira is in the mix for a big league job.

• Speaking of Rule 5 picks out of the Yankees system: Lefty Zach Kroenke has pitched four times for the Diamondbacks. He has a 9.82 ERA that is inflated by three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning on Wednesday. Otherwise, he’s been solid: Three hits and no walks through three innings.

• Speaking of the Diamondbacks, Ian Kennedy has thrown five scoreless innings for Arizona. He’s found some success with his new two-seamer.

• Speaking of traded Yankees pitchers, Edwar Ramirez made his Rangers debut on Friday in a B game. He allowed two hits and struck out a batter. “I’m ready to throw strikes,” he said. Then a swift Texas breeze came and knocked him over.

• If former Yankees aren’t your cup of tea, check out Cliff Corcoran’s breakdown of the Yankees spring training to date. As always, it’s great stuff over at Bronx Banter.

I literally get emails about this every day, so here’s the most recent thing I’ve heard.

Indications are that Yankees individual game tickets will go on sale Friday. I don’t have a time, but they will be available online at the Yankees official site and over the phone through Ticketmaster. They will go on sale at the box office on Monday.

Again, there’s nothing official just yet, but I heard this afternoon that Friday will probably be the day. That’s the plan, anyway.

Whenever the Yankees release something official about individual game tickets, I’ll be sure to have it on the blog. Until then, circle Friday. It sounds like that will be the day.

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Also, just a reminder. Feel free to signup for LoHud’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge. And feel free to pick the University of Missouri to upset West Virginia in the second round.

Numbers don’t often mean a whole lot this time of the year, but as of today, these are a few of the Yankees spring training leaders.

At-bats
Jamie Hoffmann
Makes sense. The Yankees have to make a decision on their Rule 5 pick, so they’re giving him plenty of chances. He’s played all three outfield positions and has 20 at-bats, one more than a list of five guys with 19 ABs. He’s hitting just .150, but he’s also struck out only once, suggesting he’s not totally overmatched by these pitchers.

Hits
Robinson Cano
Very good start to the spring for Cano. He’s batting .474 with two walks and not a single strikeout. Second most hits on the team? It’s a bit of unexpected tie between Brandon Laird and Jon Weber at seven apiece.

Home runs
Nick Johnson
Will he carry this power into the regular season? No idea, but he’s hit the ball hard and he’s hit it consistently since he got into camp. Johnson has three home runs — no one else has more than one — and he’s also tied for the team lead with five RBI. The other player with five? Greg Golson, of course. He’s actually looked really good down here. He can really move.

Stolen bases
Eduardo Nunez
You were expecting Brett Gardner? Nope. Gardner hasn’t stolen a single base. Nunez has taken two of them. Golson, Colin Curtis and Ramiro Pena have one stolen base each. So does — you guessed it — Nick Johnson. Who’s clogging the bases now?!

Innings pitched
Alfredo Aceves
This is what happens when you keep throwing strikes. Aceves has been under the same sort of pitch restrictions as everyone else, but he’s the only pitcher to have reached double-digit innings. He’s the only Yankees pitcher with at least four innings and no walks.

Strikeouts
Sergio Mitre
This is what happens when you’re a little farther removed from Tommy John surgery. Mitre has said he feels much stronger this spring than he did last year, and the results have been encouraging: Seven strikeouts and two walks through nine innings. Javy Vazquez is second with six strikeouts.

Walks
Joba Chamberlain
It’s been a rough first few weeks for Chamberlain, and it shows in his six walks through 3.2 innings. Only one other Yankees pitcher — CC Sabathia of all people — has more than three walks this spring. Chamberlain has pretty much lapped the field.

Wins
Amaury Sanit
Of course. Who else would it be?  Sanit has pitched three times and gotten two wins. On the other end of the spectrum: Chad Gaudin has pitched three times and has two losses.

Four weeks ago, camp opened with the Yankees needing to answer a series of questions before Opening Day in Boston. With three weeks left on the spring training schedule, the Yankees are getting closer to some of those answers.

1. Who is the No. 5 starter? Of the five candidates, Alfredo Aceves has been the best and Joba Chamberlain has been the worst, but it’s hard to know how much any of that matters. General thinking seems to be that Phil Hughes is the favorite for the job, and he’s probably pitched well enough to hold onto that label.

2. Where does the rotation’s odd man out open the season? When spring training opened, this seemed to be question strictly about Hughes and Chamberlain. Was it possible one of them could open in Triple-A rather than the bullpen? Now that long reliever Chan-Ho Park is in the mix, though, the Yankees might need to find some alternative destinations for some of their other spot-starter/long-relief type pitchers. We’re still a pretty long way from those decisions, though.

3. Is Brett Gardner an everyday outfielder? Gardner is hitting just .158 this spring, but thats better than Marcus Thames, Randy Winn or Jamie Hoffmann. The numbers that might matter most for Gardner at the plate are 2 and 4: Two strikeouts and four walks. He and Nick Johnson are tied for the team lead in walks.

4. Who is the starting center fielder? Still very much up in the air, but it is interesting that Gardner has started in left field three times while Curtis Granderson has started there only once while playing center field six times.

5. Who bats second? This seems to be an answered question: Nick Johnson.

6. Is it worth keeping a Rule 5 pick on the roster? Jamie Hoffmann isn’t exactly off to a blazing start this spring, but neither is Marcus Thames, his primary competition for an outfield job off the bench. David Winfree, Colin Curtis and Greg Golson are each playing pretty well, but the Yankees can send those three to Triple-A. If they don’t keep one of Hoffmann and Thames, the Yankees will lose both of them.

7. Does the team need a second lefty? Need one? Probably not. Want one? Maybe. Every lefty has been reassigned except Damaso Marte, Boone Logan and Royce Ring. Both Logan and Ring have looked awfully good this spring. They’re making a good case for themselves.

8. If not a second lefty, who rounds out the bullpen? Some of the dark horse bullpen candidates (Ivan Nova, Kevin Whelan, Grant Duff) have already been reassigned, another (Edwar Ramirez) has been traded and another (Jonathan Albaladejo) has been awful. The Park signing made it significantly harder for someone to sneak into the bullpen, but Mark Melancon has been outstanding this spring. Jason Hirsh might also have put his name on that list of pitchers to keep an eye on.

9. Who is the utility infielder? Ramiro Pena still seems like the favorite — that glove is really, really impressive — but Kevin Russo has really played well. He has more walks than strikeouts, he’s made some nice plays at second base and he seems good for a hit a game, even with limited at-bats.

10. Have any bullpen roles shifted? Just as a hypothetical… What if Chamberlain struggles like this all spring? Would you put Hughes in the rotation and Dave Robertson in the eighth inning? Basically, we won’t know whether bullpen roles have shifted until the team breaks camp. It’s way too early to say one way or another.

This morning, the Yankees sent two more pitchers out of big league camp.

Right-handers Ivan Nova and Hector Noesi were optioned the minor leagues, with Nova assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Noesi assigned to Tampa. There’s a solid chance Noesi will actually open the season in Double-A, but for now he’s assigned to the High-A roster.

There are now 52 players in big league camp.

Some other notes from my morning at the minor league complex.

• Talked to George Kontos briefly. Coming back from Tommy John, he’s working off a half mound right now but should be on a full mound in a week. His ligament was completely torn in half, and the doctors told him it had probably been torn for more than a year. Might explain his dip in velocity when he came out of college. Right now, Kontos said, his arm feels great. Keep his name in mind. Before the surgery, he was really pitching well last year in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and it turns out that was with a bad elbow.

• Jorge Vazquez will open the season in Triple-A, playing 1B, 3B and DH. That probably locks up the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre infield: Juan Miranda at first, Vazquez at either corner, and whichever three 40-man middle infielders don’t make the major league roster (Kevin Russo, Eduardo Nunez, Reegie Corona and Ramiro Pena). The Yankees believe Vazquez has the arm to play third, it’s a matter of agility at the position.

• Despite being optioned to Triple-A when he was cut from big league camp, Wilkin De La Rosa is still expected to open the season in Trenton.

• As a precaution, Alan Horne was shutdown briefly because of soreness in his shoulder, but he should be back on the mound in a matter of days. He and Kontos were both going through fielding drills with the Triple-A group. So were recent major league cuts Kevin Whelan, Kei Igawa and Grant Duff.

• I saw other big league cuts down there — Jeremy Bleich, D.J. Mitchell and Christian Garcia — but I couldn’t tell which group they were with. I’m pretty sure they were all working with the Double-A group, but I can’t be sure. The listed work groups haven’t changed since the players were sent down.

• There wasn’t much to see during the morning drills, but Seth Fortenberry did catch my eye with a strong throw from center field to third base.

• The minor league spring training schedule (sort of) starts on Thursday with intrasqaud games, Triple-A vs. Double-A and High-A vs. Low-A. They’ll do that again on Friday, then played the Pirates minor leaguers on Saturday.

With nothing going on at Steinbrenner Field, I stopped by the Yankees minor league complex this morning. I think this is what a lot of people imagine when they think of spring training: A bunch of players rotating between four different fields going through various drills, most of them primarily for the pitchers to learn their defensive responsibilities.

I’ll say this for young catchers, when they go through balls in the dirt drills, they get after it. A lot of diving in the dirt and sliding through the grass.

Good news from down here, Delin Betances is scheduled to throw off a full mound tomorrow. Most of the other guys coming back from surgery — including George Kontos — are throwing off a half mound.

Games don’t start down here until the end of the week. Until then, it’s just a bunch of these sort of drills, over and over again.

He’s still just 27 years old, but Robinson Cano is now a five-year major league veteran and he’ll take a bigger role in the Yankees lineup this season. Cano is expected to bat fifth for the Yankees, in a lineup that manager Joe Girardi will debut in Tuesday’s exhibition game against the Astros.

That story also has a few notes on yesterday’s game, CC Sabathia’s improved mechanics and the latest round of cuts from big league camp.

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There is absolutely nothing going on at George M. Steinbrenner Field today. No game. No workouts. No batting practice or bullpen sessions. The entire team has the day off before going back at it on Tuesday.