The LoHud Yankees Blog

Remember a few years back when Carl Pavano was out with the infamous “bruised buttocks?” Well, Chan-Ho Park was supposed to throw live batting practice for the first time this spring today but was scratched with what Joe Girardi termed a “sore glute.”

Now, to be fair, Pavano’s injury was really more of a lower back injury but still – what are the odds? Park apparently irritated a muscle while running and despite saying he felt fine today the Yankees opted to be cautious. Brian Cashman spoke to Park and told him “don’t rush – you’ve made the team,” which is basically the same speech he gave to Nick Johnson when Johnson said he felt fine after tweaking his back.

Francisco Cervelli is a different story. He didn’t get that speech, Cashman said, and so there could be some concern that Cervelli would try to rush back from his concussion. When it comes to head injuries, though, the Yankees are cautious and Cashman said it’s “a medical decision” on when Cervelli could return. He’ll see a neurologist today.

As mentioned, Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte threw live BP on a back field with no issues and will throw bullpens on Thursday. For those fans hoping to see Rivera in action this spring – his appearances are rare – he has now been scheduled to pitch on March 17, though that could change since it’s a road game. In fact, it almost surely will change.

Normally, pitchers are a sullen lot on the day they’re pitching. They show up late, go about their business quietly and generally steer clear of interactions with anyone else.

In spring training, though, everyone’s a little more relaxed and Javier Vazquez was grinning as he walked into the clubhouse this morning. You could then hear him literally whistling as he pulled on his socks. Today is his first start of the spring and, obviously, Vazquez is ready to get going.

Today should also be Nick Johnson’s first appearance in a game since last week. The oft-injured Johnson was oft-injured yet again when he tweaked his back, but he took batting practice yesterday and is in the lineup for the home game against Philly.

For those who are wondering why Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Curtis Granderson would be playing in Bradenton today as opposed to at home, it’s probably because they made a trade – a shorter road trip today in exchange for not going on the long ride to Viera to face the Nationals on Friday. Such are the perks of being a veteran.

Speaking of Rodriguez, the vigil to find out when he’s speaking to the FBI continued this morning. As he headed to the parking lot, a few of us writers approached him and asked (yet again) if anything was new. His response was succinct and bilingual:

“Nada. Nada. Nothing.”

UPDATE, 10:17 a.m.: A few other firsts: Mariano Rivera and Damaso Marte are throwing live BP right now. Actually, Marte is throwing and the great Mariano is signing an endless line of autographs.

Home vs. Phillies

Gardner CF
Johnson DH
Teixeira 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Thames LF
Russo 3B
Pena SS

Pitching: Javier Vazquez

Road at Pirates
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Winn RF
Rodriguez 3B
Miranda 1B
Rivera C
Hoffmann LF
Pilittere DH
Corona 2B

Pitching: Alfredo Aceves

Brett Gardner is back in a familiar situation this spring, but the would-be starting outfielder is always up for the challenge of competition.

There were just a few small differences between Andy Pettitte’s “game” yesterday and his previous outing, but the lefty was happy to get his work in. The notebook also has info on two of the fifth-starter candidates pitching in Fort Myers, information on Francisco Cervelli’s situation, an update on Nick Johnson’s back and more.

—–

Split-squad for the Yankees today against the Pirates in Bradenton and the Phillies at The Boss. Keep checking back for updates all day.

No one likes long road trips during spring training. There’s no glamor in long bus rides and, as great as spring training in Florida is, the best part about the set-up in Arizona is the proximity of so many teams to each other. As more teams go west, the more teams still in the Sunshine State end up having to fill out their schedule with games against teams that are far away.

Anyway, the Yankees – like most teams – usually bring the bare minimum of four required “regular” players to road games and, for today’s marathon to Fort Myers, that meant Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher – who, not surprisingly, found a positive in a day that began with a long bus ride at a very early hour.

The key, Swisher said, is to go to bed a little later the night before the trip. That way you’re just a little more tired in the morning so you can show up for the clubhouse report at 7 a.m., grab a quick breakfast and get on the bus at 8 a.m. “By 8:15, I was passed out,” Swisher said, “and I woke up when we pulled in here feeling great!”

Sounds terrific. Of course, I still don’t see Swisher volunteering for the next long-haul road trip, which comes Friday when the Yankees go across the state to play the Nationals.

Another day, another crooked number for a Yankees opponent. After losing 11-0 to the Twins today, the Yankees have given up 32 runs in their past three games which, spring training or not, isn’t particularly good. Chad Gaudin gave up three runs, the immortal Kei Igawa gave up five and D.J. Mitchell gave up the last three, long after much of the Hammond Stadium crowd had headed for the early-bird specials.

Still, there were no major injuries to report and Joe Girardi got another look at two of his fifth-starter hopefuls. Sergio Mitre “threw the ball pretty decent,” Girardi said, while Gaudin “made a couple of mistakes, that’s all.” Gaudin said the homer he gave up to Jason Kubel was a good pitch that he could have sworn Kubel hit off the handle; Girardi, however, said he thought Kubel “squared him up pretty good.” Either way, the ball got out in a hurry.

Girardi was also pleased with Brett Gardner dropping a bunt down for a base hit. That’s something Gardner has said he’s been working on doing more and his self-critique afterward was that it was only an “OK bunt” – he was hoping to get it past the pitcher but couldn’t get it all the way there. He beat the throw by a half-step anyway. Gardner also talked about how it feels to be back in a playing-time competition yet again, saying, “That’s the way it’s been for me, always – even in college. Ever since I was drafted by the Yankees in ’05, I’ve always been competing for a job. I feel like it makes me better. It makes me work harder, and I’m sure it does the same for the other guys.” Check out the paper (or website) tomorrow for more on Gardner.

Lastly, Girardi said he spoke to Francisco Cervelli and reported that Cervelli sounded “pretty good.” There’s no timetable yet on when Cervelli might return to action but tomorrow’s examination by a neurologist is an important test. If all goes well, he could be back later this week but the Yankees will no doubt be careful.

That’s it from here. Long ride back to Tampa ahead but we’ll be back at it early tomorrow morning.

YANKEES
Gardner CF
Swisher DH
Teixeira 1B
Cano 2B
Thames LF
Hoffmann RF
Rivera C
Pena SS
Laird 3B

Pitching: RHP Sergio Mitre (3-3, 6.79 ERA in 2009)

TWINS
Revere CF
Punto 3B
Mauer C
Cuddyer RF
Kubel DH
Peterson 1B
Jones LF
Tolbert SS
Casilla 2B

Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (15-9, 4.36 ERA in 2009)

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., No TV

WEATHER: Lovely. Clear skies, Not much wind. Right now, the flags are hanging limp.

UMPIRES: HP Tim Tschida, 1B Brian O’Nora, 2B Fieldin Culbreth, 3B Marvin Hudson

ON THE LINE: It’s still early but two of the five fifth starter candidates – the “20 percenters,” as Joe Girardi called them – are taking the mound. Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin will try to put themselves into the mix for the last spot in the rotation.

SPLIT DECISION: This actually a split-squad affair for the Twins though, as you can see from the lineup, most of the regulars opted to stay home. The rest of the Twins (including Orlando Hudson and Justin Morneau) are in Bradenton to face the Pirates.

ALSO ON THE MOUND: After Mitre and Gaudin, Wilkins Aria, Kei Igawa, D.J. Mitchell, Ryan Pope and Kevin Whelan are slated to work today.

UPDATE, 12:23 p.m.: Good buddy Mark Feinsand and I managed to navigate the (seemingly) 8,000 miles from Tampa to Fort Myers safely, and Hammond Stadium is starting to fill up. As expected, Andy Pettitte survived his simulated game in Tampa and feels good. He faced Randy Winn and Colin Curtis, who crushed one pitch that one-hopped off the wall but was called an out by Dave Eiland. Either way, Pettitte threw 36 pitches on a back field in his first “game” since Game 6 of the World Series.

“I told them, ‘I can’t even get the big-league field? What’s going on here?” Pettitte said. “I got a backstop over there, I got a lawnmower over here, but what’s amazing is I seriously feel like I can put myself in a game, whether it’s against these guys or not, so I guess that’s good. Mentally, I feel like I’m seeing my pitches. Especially, at my age, I’m happy at 9 o’clock in the morning to be able to get it going, I was up at 5:30 trying to get ready for this.”

UPDATE, 1:08 p.m.: And we’re off at picturesque Hammond Stadium. There is still a long line of cars trying to get into the parking lot and I saw a guy walking along the edge of the road leading into the stadium with a sign saying “I need tickets.” Not all that unusual, except for the fact that it was professionally printed and laminated, as opposed to scrawled on a piece of paper. Nice to see the professional scalping business embracing technology.

UPDATE, 1:14 p.m.: Couple of sharp singles for Tex and Cano put two on with two outs but Marcus Thames whiffs to end the inning. Mitre to the mound now.

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m.: Just doing reading and came across a “30-seconds with Goose Gossage” piece in the Times. The Goose pulls no punches and has some harsh comments on (among others) Mark McGwire and Francisco Rodriguez. “K-Rod is a clown,” he said. Well, OK. Read the whole thing here.

UPDATE, 1:45 p.m.: You want more bunts from Brett Gardner? You got it. Gardner just dragged a nice bunt down the first base line and beat the flip to the bag by half a step. It’s 0-0 in the third.

UPDATE, 1:48 p.m.: Apparently Gardner’s legs can be used for evil, as well as good. He was just picked off first by Baker when he left too early, but got bailed out when shortstop Matt Tolbert dropped the ball while lunging to tag him in the rundown.

UPDATE, 1:52 p.m.: And the Yanks can’t take advantage of the break – Teixeira hit into a double play and Cano grounded out to end the inning.

UPDATE, 2:09 p.m.: Who would win in a race between Jose Molina and Mike Rivera? Call it a pick ‘em. Rivera was just thrown out on a grounder to third in which Nick Punto looked to about three different bases (and double-clutched twice) before throwing him out by a couple steps at first.

UPDATE, 2:12 p.m.: Nice job by Mitre, who allowed two hits in three scoreless innings. Gaudin is on now.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: Brock Peterson – who sounds like a football player – just took Gaudin over the left-field fence. 1-0 Twins.

UPDATE, 2:21 p.m.: Not a great sequence for Gaudin. First he gets taken out by a guy who should be playing linebacker then he drops a throw from Teixeira and is charged with an error.

UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: Single for Cano and he’s replaced by pinch-runner Kevin Russo. Clubhouse should be opening shortly so I’m heading down. Back with more later.

UPDATE, 3:48 p.m.: So it seems this one got a little out of hand. We got back upstairs just in time to see someone named Juan Portes crush a home run off D.J. Mitchell that made it 11-0. In the old days, George Steinbrenner would be demanding the Yankees run wind-sprints on the bus ride back to Tampa.

Joe Girardi had a big cup of coffee in front of him this morning and, when someone asked if he was a big coffee guy, Girardi nodded vigorously. “Three kids,” he said, by way of explanation.

Anyway, there aren’t too many newsy updates coming out of The Boss this morning, but here are the highlights:

• Francisco Cervelli will see a team doctor over at the minor-league complex today (the minor leaguers are having physicals). He’ll also see a neurologist tomorrow and the Yankees are being careful. “It’s scary,” Girardi said when asked about head injuries. “Hopefully he’ll be back in a few days but we’ll be cautious.”

• Nick Johnson’s back is feeling better and he’ll take BP today.

• Tony Pena is not with the team today because he’s got the flu. He’ll see the doc, too.

• Girardi isn’t worried about Andrew Brackman struggling with his command a little yesterday. “His mechanics are a lot cleaner than they were,” he said. Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte and Chan-Ho Park will throw live BP tomorrow. Park could get in a game by the weekend, if not sooner.

• The Yankees have a split-squad day tomorrow and Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Randy Winn are among the players heading to Bradenton to face the Pirates. Alfredo Aceves will start that game, while Javier Vazquez will face the Phillies at The Boss.

Andy Pettitte – not particularly interested in making the two-hour trip to Fort Myers – will throw a simulated game here shortly. Then it’s off to The Fort to see Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin against the Twinkies.

Here’s today’s lineup for the game against the Twins in Fort Myers. First pitch is 1 p.m.

Brett Gardner CF
Nick Swisher DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames LF
Jamie Hoffmann RF
Mike Rivera C
Ramiro Pena SS
Brandon Laird 3B

Pitching: Sergio Mitre

A.J. Burnett is looking to add a change-up to his repertoire and he worked on it during his spring training outing against the Blue Jays. Chad’s story also has notes on Francisco Cervelli’s concussion, Nick Johnson’s balky back and some pitching updates.

—-

Long trip to Fort Myers today means lots of time in the car. I’ll do my best to get the lineup up before everyone hits the road for the game against the Twins.