The LoHud Yankees Blog

Once upon a time, I followed college basketball as closely as I followed baseball. I covered college basketball for a while and was once in an NCAA Tournament pool that started before the conference tournaments. We had to predict the entire bracket from scratch: Seeds, regional assignments, the whole thing.

Today, it’s pretty much all baseball for me. I wish I knew college basketball as well as I once did, but I just don’t have the time for it.

But I still love the tournament.

Here at LoHud, the newspaper is running an NCAA Bracket Challenge. Follow this link to sign up, fill out a bracket and take a shot at a thousand bucks.

Let’s just say that a first-round loss by the University of Missouri would be big trouble for my picks.

Robinson Cano is well aware that he barely hit .200 with runners in scoring position last season. He’s also well aware that he’ll be expected to do better than that as the Yankees No. 5 hitter.

“It’s more than an honor to hit behind A-Rod and in front of Posada,” Cano said. “That means I’m going to have to step it up early in the season.”

Joe Girardi has said some of Cano’s ugly RISP numbers last season were the result of bad luck, a lot of hard-hit balls finding gloves. Cano said he’s working to be more patient in those situations, making sure he doesn’t chase bad pitches.

“I know what I had last year, what I went through,” Cano said. “Him putting me fifth, that means that he trusts me.”

That’s very true. Girardi likes that Cano hits for average and doesn’t strikeout very often. It’s always been expected that Cano would eventually move up in the lineup, and Girardi thinks this is the time. “I consider Robbie a veteran player,” he said, while touting Cano’s sometimes questioned work ethic.

“I think he plays the game easy,” Girardi said. “When Robbie goes after the ball, you can be going at the same speed as a guy who looks like he’s putting in 100 percent effort, Robbie is still going just as hard, but Robbie has an easiness to him. Robbie Alomar had an easiness to him when he played second base. Some guys just appear that way. The other guys look like they’re working a lot harder, but they’re not necessarily working a lot harder. I see what Robbie does day in and day out, whether it’s on the field, off the field, in the weight room. I see it every day.”

• Girardi on CC Sabathia’s outing: “Good. Very good. Much better than his last time when he wasn’t comfortable with his mechanics. He was very sound to me.”

• Girardi on what’s causing Jonathan Albaladejo’s struggles: “He just doesn’t have his sink right now. It’s something that we’re going to have to iron out. He’s going to continue to pitch for us and we’re going to continue to evaluate.”

• My own comment: Don’t forget that Albaladejo made the opening day roster the past two years. Not saying he’ll make it this year, but I wouldn’t expect him to be among the next cuts. The Yankees like him, and he was pitching very well at the end of last season.

• Expect to see the regulars playing longer into games after tomorrow’s off day. Bank on three at-bats per game, Girardi said.

• After yesterday’s start in Lakeland, Chad Gaudin told Girardi that he felt fatigued. “At some point you usually hear it, everyone here in spring training says they’ve got a dead arm,” Girardi said. “You have to fight through it.” In print, those words read as if Girardi was calling out Gaudin to “fight through it.” In reality, it sounded more like Girardi expected this sort of thing and wasn’t surprised or bothered by it. At one point he said the Yankees would help Gaudin deal with the dead arm issues.

• Girardi told the pitchers on Friday that the results start to matter now. “We told them, now you’ve got to pick it up a little bit,” Girardi said, “because now their getting to that point where you’re next couple of outings are going to be evaluated much more seriously than your first two.”

• Girardi confirmed that he still plans to have his top three starters from last year — Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte — start those first three regular-season games against Boston.

• In case you missed it: C Jose Gil, RHP Grant Duff and RHP Zach McAllister have been reassigned to minor league camp.

Joe Girardi never said it explicitly, but he gave plenty of hints about his preliminary opening day lineup, and we’ll see it in action on Tuesday.

“Obviously you have an inclination going in, what you think it might be,” Girardi said. “We’re doing some things to move guys around, but Tuesday is going to be pretty close to what it’s going to be, probably.”

We already know Derek Jeter will be leading off, with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez batting third and fourth. Yesterday, Girardi indicated a strong preference for Nick Johnson in the No. 2 hole.

“If you’re going to hit a left-hander fifth, you prefer to have a switch-hitter sixth,” Girardi said. “Then maybe another left-hander seventh, and then a switch-hitter eighth, and then maybe another left-hander.”

Which left-hander will be batting fifth?

“That’s probably where (Cano) will be Tuesday,” he said.

Sounds like this is the lineup the Yankees are leaning toward. Things can change in the final three weeks of spring training — Girardi was careful to say that several times — but this should be the lineup that “could really resemble” the opening day lineup.

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

Here’s the Girardi audio. It’s primarily about the lineup, and Cano in particular. It’s from this morning, so there are no game details.

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Last time out, CC Sabathia was frustrated. His back leg was dropping down, keeping him from staying on top of the ball and causing him to lose command of his pitches. Today in Bradenton, he was much better.

“It’s something I have to think about early, at the beginning of spring training and couple of times during the year,” Sabathia said. “But during the year, as we get going, I’ll feel it on a couple of pitches and I’m able to correct it as opposed to going a whole inning of doing the same thing and running off the field with Dave (Eiland) telling me I’m collapsing.”

Sabathia was good today. He was charged with three runs through 4.1 innings, but two of those came while he was out of the game. He was on a 60-pitch limit, and that was enough to carry him into the fifth inning. His balls-to-strikes ratio wasn’t great — 57 pitches, 29 strikes — but when Joe Girardi  was asked about it he said, “CC’s the least of my concerns.”

“I felt more together,” Sabathia said. “Fastball felt more crisp. Cutters were good, down in the dirt. Changeup was a lot better. I’m definitely pleased with the progress I made today.”

Here’s the big man talking about his day. You’ll hear an occasional pounding sound. I was standing right next to Sabathia, and he kept smacking the ice pack wrapped around his left shoulder. I guess he was making sure it was tight.

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UPDATE, 5:01 p.m.: Just got word that Zach McAllister was reassigned to minor league camp after today’s game.

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Brett Gardner CF
Randy Winn DH
Francisco Cervelli C
Jorge Vazquez 3B

LHP CC Sabathia

PIRATES
Andrew McCutchen CF
Aki Iwamura 2B
Garrett Jones RF
Ryan Doumit C
Ryan Church DH
Lastings Milledge LF
Jeff Clement 1B
Andy LaRoche 3B
Ronny Cedeno SS

RHP Charlie Morton

TIME: 1:05 p.m.

WEATHER: Even better than yesterday. Sunny, blue sky with temperatures in the upper 60s, maybe getting into the 70s.

UMPIRES: HP Tom Hallion, 1B Mark Hirschbeck, 2B Wally Bell, 3B Justin Vogel

ON THE LINE: Marcus Thames and Randy Winn are both in the starting lineup with a chance to make an impression, Winn trying to get a spot in the regular lineup and Thames trying to land a spot on the bench.

UPDATE, 1:44 p.m.: Weird play to end the second inning. Lastings Milledge hit a clean single to right-center, but Nick Swisher stumbled while fielding the ball and fell to the ground. While Brett Gardner was chasing the ball to the wall, Milledge started thinking triple, but he was given the stop sign when he rounded second. Gardner’s throw was a good one, and Milledge was out in a rundown between second and third.

UPDATE, 1:59 p.m.: Cedeno is out of the game for the Pirates. He tried to steal second and was hit by Cervelli’s throw (Cervelli, by the way, threw from his knees). Bobby Crosby has taken his place.

UPDATE, 2:29 p.m.: Sabathia is out of the game after apparently making contact with a line drive up the middle. He threw his glove hand out and I thought the ball got by without hitting him, but I guess it made contact. Regardless, Sabathia didn’t seem to be injured and was certainly close to his pitch limit anyway. Albaladejo is in to pitch in the bottom of the fifth with two on and one out.

UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: At this point, I’m not sure what to write about Jonathan Albaladejo — another awful outing — but Nick Johnson just went deep to center continuing his strong spring.

UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: Changes for the Yankees: Melancon pitching, Miranda at first, Russo at second, Nunez at short and Laird at third. Heading to the clubhouse now.

UPDATE, 3:18 p.m.: Sabathia is fine. Ball hit his glove, no problem. This was the best he’s felt all spring. Said he’s at the point that he can start fine tuning heading toward the season.

Nine players were reassigned or optioned to minor league camp on Saturday, and the Yankees completed their first round of cuts this morning by sending catcher Jose Gil and right-hander Grant Duff across the street.

Gil was a late addition tobig league camp and has kind of floated through the system the past few years, filling roles at various levels. He could get a chance to play regularly this season in Tampa. Duff is a hard-throwing reliever who put himself on the map when his fastball picked up velocity. He throws in the upper 90s and could put himself in line for a call-up at some point this season.

• There are now 55 players in camp. Jesus Montero has taken over for Kyle Higashioka as the youngest.

• CC Sabathia is starting for the Yankees this afternoon. Jonathan Albaladejo, Mark Melancon, Zach McAllister, Dustin Moseley and Ivan Nova are scheduled to pitch out of the bullpen.

• Scheduled to play off the bench: C Mike Rivera, 1B Juan Miranda, 2B Kevin Russo, SS Eduardo Nunez, 3B Brandon Laird, LF David Winfree, CF Greg Golson, RF Jon Weber, DH Reid Gorecki.

• Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Colin Curtis and Reegie Corona made the trip but are not scheduled to play.

• Talking this morning about the chances of Marcus Thames making the team, Joe Girardi listed three names as getting a look for a right-handed outfield role off the Yankees bench: Thames, Jamie Hoffmann and David Winfree. I would consider Winfree an extreme longshot — mostly because the Yankees will lose both Thames and Hoffmann if they don’t carry one of them on opening day — but Girardi mentioned Winfree without prompting. It’s worth noting.

Pirates lineup

Andrew McCutchen CF
Aki Iwamura 2B
Garrett Jones RF
Ryan Doumit C
Ryan Church DH
Lastings Milledge LF
Jeff Clement 1B
Andy LaRoche 3B
Ronny Cedeno SS

Today’s starting lineup against the Pirates in Bradenton.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Brett Gardner CF
Randy Winn DH
Francisco Cervelli C
Jorge Vazquez 3B

UPDATE, 9:45 a.m.: Sounds like we might see the Yankees actual lineup on Tuesday, almost certainly with Robinson Cano batting fifth.

Kevin Long’s playing career stalled in Triple-A, but he got to the major leagues as a hitting coach to current all-stars and future Hall of Famers. “It’s not about having a name,” Jorge Posada said. “It’s having your back, and he has my back.”

Marcus Thames has plenty of major league at-bats, but he’s fighting to stay on the big league roster this spring. This is his second stint in pinstripes, and he’s trying to win a spot on the bench despite a minor league deal that offers no guarantees.

On Saturday, Alfredo Aceves continued making his case that he’s a legitimate option for the fifth spot in the Yankees rotation. Today’s notebook also has items on Curtis Granderson playing left field, Javier Vazquez making his second start and the Yankees making their first spring cuts.

Class-A catcher Kyle Higashioka was the youngest guy in camp this spring. He’s less than half Mariano Rivera’s age, and he only got a handful of at-bats before being reassigned to the minor league complex this afternoon. He’s a long way from New York, but how many 19-year-old kids have ever had a locker four feet from Derek Jeter? I did this Q&A several weeks ago but kept holding off on posting it. It might take a few years, but I hope you start hearing more about him down the line. Good guy with a good head on his shoulders, respectful and polite without being overwhelmed or intimidated.

When did you find out you were coming to big league camp?
Higashioka: I think I got called at the end of January. It was just really exciting. I kind of had a suspicion that I was going because the farm director, the vice president of the team, left a message on my phone rather than (assistant director of baseball operations) Eric Schmitt. When Mark Newman leaves a message on your phone, usually it’s a pretty big deal.

What’s the experience been like?
Higashioka: It’s almost like you’re playing in the big leagues. It’s like you get that taste. Once I go back, I’m just going to have even more hunger to get back here.

Have you been able to pick up anything from Jorge Posada?
Higashioka: The older guys like Posada and Rivera and Cervelli, they always help out, give us tips if we’re screwing up. They’re willing to help us out, which I think is great. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can here, and having them around is definitely great… Sometimes just hanging around practicing with all the big dogs, sometimes makes you better without even knowing it. You want to perform at their level, so you automatically elevate your game so that you can compete with them. I think this is definitely going to make me better.

What’s your background? What led you to this point?
Higashioka: I’m from Huntington Beach, California. I got drafted in the seventh round. This was actually one of the teams I really wanted to play for, and it ended up just working out. I came up and played in the GCL for three weeks or so after I signed. Last year I played in Staten Island. I thought I did alright. I could have put up some better numbers, but for the most part, I did an alright job. Getting the invite to big league camp, that was a big thing.

You’re in an organization that’s very deep at catcher. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Higashioka: I feel that we push each other. It’s not to the point where we’re really worrying about one another. We know that we just need to do our own thing and we can’t really control what happens as far as the organization goes. If one of us is going to get traded or who’s first in line, we can’t control that. We just work on making each of ourselves better every day and try to be the best player we can be.

It remains difficult for me to believe that the Yankees fifth starter won’t be either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, but Alfredo Aceves is making a strong case early in spring training.

Through 10 innings he’s allowed one run, and that came on today’s solo homer. He has otherwise allowed just two hits — one of them an infield single — while walking none and striking out five. We’re talking about 10 innings, so the sample size is very small and a lot can change between now and April 1, but Aceves has been terrific.

“It’s been impressive,” Joe Girardi said. “It has been because of the different things he’s able to do with the baseball. Change speeds. Movement. Late movement. Pitch up, down. Change eye level. Change in and out. He can do all of those things.”

Aceves said he’s not paying attention to what the other rotation candidates are doing and he quickly pointed out that there are still 20 games to play. It’s very, very early to start thinking about April 4, but give credit where it’s due.

Here’s Girardi, giving a lot of that due credit.

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• Sounds very much like Girardi is leaning toward Nick Johnson as the No. 2 hitter. “Nick really fits that bill being the on-base percentage guy,” Girardi said. “But we have to look at how the whole lineup works. When you look at what Nick does, he really fits that area.”

• I believe Curtis Granderson had to make three plays in left field today. One of them was a pretty tough running catch near the stands. “It was a tough wind and sun day,” Girardi said. “It wasn’t an easy day to play left field so I thought he looked good.”

• Boone Logan pitched another hitless inning that included two lefties. Royce Ring also pitched a scoreless inning of relief and Dave Robertson struck out the side in his inning.

• Good day for the big league regulars: Jorge Posada had three hits, Nick Johnson, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira had two each, and Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner each had one.

• Francisco Cervelli went 2-for-3 in his return from a concussion. He had a hit in his first at-bat since getting hit in the head a week ago.

• Aside from pitchers and catchers, it’s pretty rare that young guys get to stay home for a spring training road trip, so Ramiro Pena was pretty excited to look at the list for tomorrow and find his name did not have a circle around it. Other position players not going on tomorrow’s trip: P.J. Pilittere, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Jamie Hoffmann. Originally, Teixeira was making the trip and Juan Miranda was getting the day off, but that has since swapped with Miranda going and Teixeira staying.

• Pitchers making the trip: CC Sabathia, Jonathan Albaladejo, Zach McAllister, Mark Melancon, Dustin Moseley and Ivan Nova.

• The Pirates starter tomorrow is right-hander Charlie Morton.