The LoHud Yankees Blog

Nick Johnson was scratched from the lineup yesterday because of stiffness in his lower back. This is the risk-reward nature of bringing Johnson back to New York. When he’s healthy, he gets on base as well as anyone in baseball, but his career has been marked by a series of trips to the disabled list.

Without Johnson, the Yankees faced the Phillies in a premier matchup between CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay. The notebook also has item on Joba Chamblerlain and Phil Hughes, Boone Logan, Kevin Russo and Royce Ring.

Ranked among the top prospects in the Cardinals’ system earlier this decade, Reid Gorecki’s career hit a wall in 2005 and he was ready to give it up before the Braves gave him a second chance. Now 29 years old, he made his major league debut with Atlanta last season, and got his first big league hit in New York against the Mets.

You grew up on Long Island, so did you grow up a Yankees fan?
Gorecki: No comment. (laughs) I was a Mets guy until right around Jeter stepped in, and Mariano, and they started crushing people. The Mets kind of fell off there for a while, so I was a fair weather fan. I was always on the fence, I always rooted for both teams, but now it’s a little different. There’s only one team here now.
It must be cool to play with these guys.
Gorecki: Oh, is it ever. Just being around them, you see how hard they work and the kind of work ethic that they put in and the mind frame that they have. It’s something special over here. These guys really know what they’re doing and they have a goal. I’m happy to be a part of that goal… Being a new guy, I really don’t want to go mix it in too early. I like to get to know guys by watching them and how they act and see what kind of things they do. I don’t want to go opening my mouth, being a young guy, too early.

What brought you over here? Did you see some opportunities in the outfield?
Gorecki: To be honest with you, I’ve always wanted to play for the Yankees. Even though I grew up a Mets fan, this is such tradition. There are so many things about the Yankees that bring players in. I had an opportunity. My agent called me and said, ‘The Yankees are interested,’ and I said, ‘Sign the papers.’ I want to be a part of that, that winning atmosphere like these guys are a part of every year.

You were pretty highly touted when you coming up with the Cardinals, then things fell off for you when you were getting close to the major leagues. Did you think the big leagues would never happen?
Gorecki: I broke my hamate bone, and I kept twisting my ankle every day. I thought I was on the outs, to be honest with you. I went home and I got a job after the Cardinals released me, an everyday job with a couple of friends who had started a business. I was ready to give it up, and the Braves called and really gave me a second chance, a second breath of fresh air. Since then it’s been one goal in mind, and it’s been unbelievable. My road back from the Cardinals releasing me has been a real special road.

What was the big league debut like?
Gorecki: Unbelievable. The guys in the clubhouse really welcomed me with open arms. I had known a lot of them from being up and down in spring training every day. They were giving me opportunities. They threw me in the outfield the first day, and my heart was racing. The first fly ball, I pretty much caught it behind my head. I might has well have caught it behind my back. I was pretty nervous out there. And then we went to New York the next day and I was in front of my home fans and family. It was unreal the atmosphere, playing in front of that many people was nothing like anything I had ever done before.

For people who have never seen you, what kind of player are you?
Gorecki: I’m a scrappy dirtball. I like to leave the field the dirtiest guy on the field. I’m going to dive for a ball. I’m going to throw a runner out. I’m going to steal a base. I’m going to occasionally hit with some power. I just love winning. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve been blessed with good surroundings and we’ve always been a part of a winning team.

Nick Johnson said he could have played today. He “for sure” would have played if this were a regular-season game, but he felt something in his lower back and the Yankees decided to play it safe.

“You’re cautious in spring training because it’s a time when you can give guys a couple of days,” Joe Girardi said. “And as a DH you can make up at-bats pretty easy.”

Girardi said he didn’t treat Johnson any differently because of his injury history, and Johnson said his injury history didn’t cause him to overreact to today’s relatively mild situation. To be on the safe side, Girardi said Johnson will likely sit out tomorrow as well.

“It won’t be too long,” Johnson said. “I’m not really worried about that.”

• Joba Chamberlain should be good to go tomorrow. Girardi had no update on him this morning, but said this afternoon that he expects Chamberlain to be healthy enough to pitch. “He’ll be OK tomorrow unless something comes back,” Girardi said.

• Nice work by Boone Logan today. He retired all four batters he faced, and three of them were lefties.

• Speaking of relievers pitching well, Mark Melancon looked sharp today. He struck out two in his one inning of work, and made Jayson Werth look pretty bad on a curveball.

• Zack Segovia, Zach McAllister and Ivan Nova each pitched a hitless inning… Jose Gil and David Winfree each had ninth-inning RBIs… Colin Curtis had another hit… Greg Golson pinch ran, stole a base and scored a run.

• Jesus Montero singled in his first spring at-bat. I was in the clubhouse at the time, but I assume it circled the globe before dropping into right field.

• I know it’s spring training and it’s too early to be especially impressed or disappointed by a pitcher, but Roy Halladay looked awfully good this afternoon. He threw 24 pitches, 21 for strikes. “He hasn’t changed much, that’s for sure,” Girardi said. “That’s who he is, he’s a strike-throwing machine who knows how to locate with movement.”

• Turns out, Melancon grew up near Halladay and watched him pitch in high school. When Melancon was younger, Halladay actually called to give him some advice about the draft.

CC Sabathia still remembers the game last spring when he gave up five runs against the Tigers. “I didn’t realize how big the story was going to be,” he said.

He was better today. Not perfect, but better through two scoreless innings. He walked two and allowed two singles.

“My delivery was so-so,” he said. “I had a couple of times when I fell off the mound and wasn’t headed toward the plate. That’s why you saw changeups going into the other batters box. That will be something I’ll work in in my bullpen coming up.”

For his first start of the spring, he was happy. And he didn’t give the tabloids any back-page fodder.

“Results don’t start to matter until April 4,” he said. “That’s when I’ll start paying attention to them.”

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YANKEES
Gardner, CF
Johnson, DH
Posada, C
Cano, 2B
Swisher, RF
Winn, LF
Miranda, 1B
Pena, SS
Laird, 3B

LHP CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 in 2009)

PHILLIES
Rollins, SS
Polanco, 3B
Francisco, CF
Werth, RF
Mayberry, LF
Ransom, 1B
Castro, 2B
Bocock, DH
Ruiz, C

RHP Roy Halladay (17-10, 2.79 in 2009)

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m.

WEATHER: Pretty much the same as yesterday, but probably a little more sunny and not quite as windy. Temperatures are supposed to be in the upper 50s.

UMPIRES: HP Dan Iassogna, 1B Eric Cooper, 2B Phil Cuzzi, 3B Chad Fairchild

ON THE LINE: No Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez or Mark Teixeira on this trip, so it could be an opportunity for some younger infielders to make an impression.

HIM AGAIN: Roy Halladay is finally out of the Yankees division, but they’ll face him again here in the second game of the spring. Better to face him now than in a crucial game in the middle of September.

TWO FOR THE BIG MAN: CC Sabathia is scheduled for 35 pitches or two innings. This will be his first start of the spring. Obviously.

OLD FRIENDS: The Phillies new third baseman is Placido Polanco, who was a long-time teammate of new Yankees outfielders Curtis Granderson and Marcus Thames in Detroit.

LOST FRIENDS: Of course, Granderson and Thames aren’t on this trip.

UPDATE, 9:51 a.m.: A few morning notes before I get on the road to Clearwater.

• Zach McAllister and Austin Romine have been named the Kevin Lawn Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Year for 2009. Romine found out about it when a reporter told him congratulations.

• Kevin Russo said he feels “better,” but the Yankees are giving him another day off.

• Royce Ring is away from the team because his wife has gone into labor.

• Joe Girardi kind of laughed off the idea of today’s Sabathia-Halladay matchup. “It’s getting a lot of coverage like it’s a regular-season game,” he said.

• Today’s late-inning replacements: C Austin Romine, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Eduardo Nunez, SS Reegie Corona, 3B Jorge Vazquez, LF Colin Curtis, CF Reid Gorecki, RF David Winfree, DH Jesus Montero. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I knew Vazquez could play third until I saw him taking ground balls there the other day.

UPDATE, 12:34 p.m.: Just got back from batting practice, and I’ll admit to destroying some strawberry shortcake in the lunch room. It’s pretty windy here, might actually be as windy as yesterday, but the wind is blowing almost perfectly across the field — from left field to first base — instead of carrying out over the fence. Balls hit to left are going to die in the air.

UPDATE, 12:38 p.m.: As always, there are a lot of Yankees fans in the house. The picture is of Jorge Posada signing from the dugout.

UPDATE, 1:03 p.m.: Not sure why, but Jamie Hoffmann was just introduced as the Yankees No. 2 hitter. No sign of Nick Johnson.

UPDATE, 1:13 p.m.: Johnson has been scratched from the lineup. Hoffmann is in at DH. Still not sure why.

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m.: Stiff lower back for Nick Johnson.

UPDATE, 1:44 p.m.: That should be it for Sabathia: Two scoreless innings, with two walks and two singles.

UPDATE, 1:52 p.m.: Zack Segovia in to pitch. He was supposed to pitch yesterday but didn’t get in the game.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: Just got back from the clubhouse. Johnson felt something in his back during batting practice. He wore his spikes on the turf in the cage — he usually wears turf shoes — and a spike got caught during one of his swings. He said it’s not a big deal and he would have played if this were the regular season.

UPDATE, 2:28 p.m.: With a runner at first, Gardner just dropped a bunt directly in front of the plate. It actually had backspin on it and stopped immediately before rolling back to the catcher just in front of the plate. The Phillies got a force out at second and Gardner was safe at first.

UPDATE, 2:31 p.m.: Rule 5 pick Jamie Hoffmann just did a nice job going the other way with a single to right. Gardner went first to third easily and the Yankees might be in business.

UPDATE, 2:33 p.m.: Spoke too soon. Hoffmann was thrown out trying to steal second, then Jorge Posada struck out, stranding Gardner at third.

UPDATE, 2:53 p.m.: Yankees have changed their entire lineup. All backups in there now: C Austin Romine, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Eduardo Nunez, SS Reegie Corona, 3B Jorge Vazquez, LF Colin Curtis, CF Reid Gorecki, RF David Winfree, DH Jesus Montero.

Romulo Sanchez is now pitching. We’ve already seen scoreless innings from McAllister, Nova, Melancon and Segovia.

UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Double to right off Sanchez scores a run and gives the Phillies a 1-0 lead. The Yankees clubhouse is opening again, so I’m heading down there.

Bernie Williams stopped by the Yankees clubhouse on Wednesday. He was there as an honored guest, but being in a room with so many teammates brought back some lingering thoughts of playing again.

On the field, the Yankees won their first spring training game in walk-off fashion when Colin Curtis hit a three-run home run in the ninth. The notebook also has items about three rotation candidates, the outfield alignment, the batting order and Joba Chamberlain’s health.

If you followed today’s spring training opener, you surely know the name Colin Curtis. In his third big league camp, Curtis hit the walk-off home run that beat the Pirates today at George M. Steinbrenner Field. He’s been hitting for a lot power lately, having just led the Arizona Fall League with a .731 slugging percentage.

What was that feeling like today?
Curtis: It felt really good. Coming in, it’s the first day, so you’re going out there basically just trying to get your timing down and get everything going. To be able to come through and win a ball game with a walk-off home run, any time you do that is a good feeling, especially in the first big league spring training game. It was really fun… Before the game you saw everybody that came out. We kind of had all of those festivities from last year so it was a good vibe going into today. Everybody was happy to get going and playing against someone from the opposite team. To get off to a win in kind of exciting fashion, it was pretty fun.

The numbers in Arizona were so good. What were you doing out there?
Curtis: The last few years I’ve spent so much time thinking about what I’m doing hitting, I just haven’t been very consistent. I actually went back and threw on high school video tape and tried to get back to how I swing naturally and not really think about it. I went down there with one swing and didn’t make any adjustments, just focused on seeing the ball. I was just going to give it a shot, see how it worked out, and it ended up I was really successful. I’m just trying to stay with that approach.

When you looked at old tape, did you change anything yourself?
Curtis: Yeah, it was a lot different. It was kind of funny. You get going and you make a little tweak here and then another tweak, and pretty soon it’s completely different. I just kind of tried to go back to what I do naturally. Not try to get any mechanics out of it.

What did you notice? What is it you do naturally?
Curtis: When you’re hitting, you have kind of a feel. Sometimes you kind of lose that feel when you’re trying to do things mechanically. I was just seeing how I swing. I think I can pick out things that are kind of hard to articulate. I kind of see how I went about it, and the smooth and the feel that I had. I was trying to find that and get that back. I went down to the Fall League with that intention and it turned out to work really well.

Who were you a fan of growing up?
Curtis: I’m from Seattle, so I was a big Griffey fan. Growing up, I feel like everybody watches their home team and then the Yankees. There’s tons of other teams. You’re always cheering for your home team, but every day you’re watching the Yankees. I watched guys like Jeter when I was younger, and A-Rod when he was coming up with Seattle. These are guys you’ve been watching since you were little, and then you have an opportunity to play with them.

The wind was a beast this afternoon. It almost blew a ball over Jamie Hoffmann’s head in right, and it nearly blew a ball out of Brett Gardner’s reach in left. Both made pretty good plays to make the catch.

“You can be out there for two hours in BP and you don’t get nearly as much work as that one ball I just got,” Gardner said.

That’s a good thing for the Yankees, who are still trying to sort out their outfield alignment and need to see both Gardner and Curtis Granderson tested in left. Gardner seemed to pass the first test, as did all three of the rotation/long relief candidates who pitched today. Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre and Alfredo Aceves combined for six scoreless innings with no walks, a strikeout apiece and only an infield single off Gaudin.

Here’s Joe Girardi, talking about his pitchers, his outfielders and the No. 2 spot in his lineup.

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And here’s Granderson talking about his first game in pinstripes and his need to see more left-handed pitchers before making further adjustments.

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• Position players who will not be traveling to Clearwater tomorrow: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Jon Weber, Francisco Cervelli, P.J. Pilittere and Mike Rivera.

• Unless he has a setback in the next two days, it looks like Joba Chamberlain is good to go on Friday. He threw a bullpen today “If he feels OK on Friday, we’ll pitch him,” Girardi said. Javier Vazquez also threw his scheduled batting practice session today, becoming the last starter to do so.

• George Steinbrenner was here briefly. He was driven through the concourse beneath the stadium, then driven out.

• CC Sabathia is scheduled for 35 pitches or two innings tomorrow.

• Girardi hoped to get Hoffmann and Thames at least one at-bat against the left Paul Maholm, but he left after one inning. “That plan didn’t go quite as we envisioned,” Girardi said.

• Kevin Russo woke up feeling sick this morning. He wasn’t scheduled to play anyway. “You just hope that it doesn’t go all the way around this clubhouse,” Girardi said.

• Jason Hirsh: Two batters faced, two strikeouts.

• After his home run, Ramiro Pena walked into the clubhouse and was greeted by Gardner, who demanded a hug.

• If you can’t tell, that’s former Yankees right-hander Ross Ohlendorf in the picture. He looked good in his one inning. Can’t really say the same for Steven Jackson.

When spring training opened, Joe Girardi said the Yankees No. 1 concern was “ironing out out lineup.” He needs to decide where all the pieces fit in the batting order, and that process begins with the No. 2 hitter.

Curtis Granderson batted second today, and Girardi said he’s pretty sure — he hasn’t double checked — that Nick Johnson will be batting second tomorrow.

“You want guys who hit in the second hole to get on, to set the table for the big guys who hit behind them,” Girardi said. “That’s the most important thing.”

Clearly the Yankees are going to give Granderson a look in the No. 2 hole, but if on-base percentage is the most important factor, then Johnson seems to be the heavy favorite. The No. 2 spot typically has a lot of speed as well, but that’s not a significant concern with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez batting third and fourth.

“You’d like to have guys who can run,” Girardi said. “But because of the guys behind them, that becomes less important. You don’t have to be a flier.”

As for Granderson, he expects to move around the lineup and around the outfield this spring. No matter where he hits, Granderson knows he needs to improve his numbers against left-handed pitchers, and he said he now needs more at-bats against lefties to gauge his offseason progress.

“I’ve seen a lot of good No. 2 hitters,” Granderson said. “Placido Polanco was a great one in Detroit. I think one of the best things he did, he was a great situational hitter. Whether it be moving runners, advancing runners or getting on base for the guys behind him. I think that would be the goal for a really good No. 2 hitter. Will I be there? I really don’t know.”

The Yankees seem to have picked up where they left off.

“Except A.J. wasn’t around to do anything about it,” Joe Girardi said.

Colin Curtis had the big walk-off game winner this afternoon, but it turns out the Yankees used their whipped cream pie celebration yesterday. Girardi revealed today that when Burnett won the Indy race yesterday, he was pied by a certain coach.

“A coach that’s a little shorter in stature and left-handed,” Girardi said.