The LoHud Yankees Blog

There are A.J. Burnett’s words:

I’m a force out there. Guys don’t want to face me. I just felt like guys didn’t care if they faced me (last year). I feel like I gave them that edge… I came here to win. I came here to pitch. I came here to be behind Big Man. And I wasn’t last year.

First, it’s kind of cool that he calls CC Sabathia “Big Man” on first reference. Second, I can’t imagine the Yankees wanting to hear anything different from their erratic supposed-to-be-number-two starter. He managed to acknowledge that he was terrible in 2010, while also showing confidence for 2011.

“It’s a chicken and egg question,” new pitching coach Larry Rothschild said. “Is the confidence there because of success or is success there because he’s doing things right mechanically and gets confidence? I think we’ll attack it right now to get him in line to the plate. Get him comfortable throwing the ball, and I think he’ll get the confidence and demeanor that he should have.”

Burnett talked a lot about confidence today. He talked about having it when he was pitching well, and losing it after his winless month of June. When he lost his confidence, Burnett started thinking too much. He went searching for advice that might put him back together, and pretty soon the pieces were scattered everywhere.

When Rothschild went to Burnett’s house this winter, the meeting started with a long conversation. Four or five hours of B.S., Burnett said. The actual lessons wer about taking a mental problem and making it physical, and about taking a physical problem and making it mental.

The theory is: If Burnett can mentally force himself to physically repeat his mechanics, then he’ll physically pitch better and feel better mentally. The cycle will build on itself.

“I like Larry,” Burnett said. “He’s old school. I’m old school. He’s not here to come change or fix a bunch of things. On the other hand, my lower half tends to swing out like a gate. It’s a matter of keeping that from over swinging.”

He made it sound so simple, and the exercises Rothschild gave him this offseason were about little more than repetition, about getting one leg to consistently fall in the same spot over and over again. It seems like such a small thing, but the Yankees are banking on the idea that, it snowballed one way last year, why couldn’t it snowball the other way this year?

“You look back and I wasn’t really a factor (last year),” Burnett said. “And I’m here to be a factor.”

Here’s Burnett.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And just for good measure, here are a few comments about bringing Burnett back from last season.

Brian Cashman: “I certainly hope it, believe it. He’s had a history of some really high times when he’s been extremely good, and then there have been some times when he hasn’t performed up to his abilities. Whenever he’s had some dips, he’s always bounced back. I count on that. He’s coming off his worst season, but he’s had some tough stretches before and he’s responded to it. He’ll respond. I believe that. Need him to, but I believe it (too).”

Joe Girardi: “There’s a few reasons I have confidence in A.J. (One), I’ve seen what he can do. Two, I know his heart, and I know how disappointed he was about some of his starts last year. I saw how it affected him… I know that until the season, until we see him pitch, it’s going to be asked a lot. But I’ve just got a feeling in my gut that he’s going to have a good year because of those reasons.”

Larry Rothschild: “It’s hard to say right now, but going into it, look, this guy’s had success at a pretty good level in the major leagues. We’re not trying to rebuild anything. We’re just trying to get it where he can repeat deliveries so he can throw the ball loose. This isn’t by any stretch of the imagination a rebuilding or anything. It’s just kind of tooling it back a little bit, and refining things, and simplifying.”

A.J. Burnett: “It got me depressed every time I thought about it, so I just stopped thinking about it. It’s in the past. I’ve had seasons before that were bad. You just have to come back. It will bury you if you don’t. Figure out a way to let it slide. I realize how important I was last year, for the first time in probably my whole career. It should be a little different.”

Associated Press photos

Sitting at his familiar locker in the back corner of the Yankees clubhouse, Jorge Posada seemed to be at ease with his new role. He did not appear agitated or frustrated (and Posada has rarely been one to hide his agitation or frustration).

“I think knowing before spring training started that you’re going to be a DH, I think that helped me a little bit,” he said. “That mentality has changed for me a little bit.”

When he got the news this winter, Posada didn’t want to hear it. In the months since, Posada’s feelings seem to have settled. I’m sure there’s still a part of him that wants to catch everything — and thinks he could catch every day — but at 39 years old, Posada recognizes several truths: It’s been three years since he had 400 at-bats, he’s entering the last year of his contract, and the Yankees have plenty of young catchers on the verge.

“I don’t know (what happens after this season),” he said. “A lot has to do with this year. How I feel this year, how I come out after this season. I would like to stay healthy. I think DHing will help me. After the season, see how my body responded the whole year and how I feel after the season and make the decision then. I’m happy with everything that’s gone on.”

Posada has reached out to Edgar Martinez for advice but hasn’t been able to reach him. He said he’ll try to find a routine this summer — Joe Girardi suggested occasional catching drills in the cage during the game — and he’ll pick the brain of any veteran DH the Yankees play against along the way.

As for the physical and mental toll of catching 130-plus games season after season?

“I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” Posada said.

Here’s audio from Posada. That weird sound at the beginning is Posada taping a bat.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

• Assuming he does come back for another season, Posada said he can’t imagine playing for any other team. “I really can’t,” he said. “After the year it will be really tough to look somewhere else. We’ll see. If I want to play, I would like to stay here.”

• Joe Girardi indicated that he’d like to give Posada a few spring games at catcher, but that’s not a sure thing. “I think anyone would like to have reps if the possibility is going to occur during he course of the season,” Girardi said. “We’ll just see how he’s doing and make some judgment calls as we go.” Clearly Girardi wants Posada to get most of his spring at-bats as a DH so he can adjust to the role.

• Speaking of the catcher position, Girardi and Brian Cashman were both encouraged by what they saw out of Jesus Montero in the bullpen today. “I think he sits more comfortable,” Girardi said. “I think his hands work better. He’s in outstanding shape. We’ll see as spring training goes along, we’ll get a chance to see him do everything, but he just looks more comfortable (than last spring).”

• Larry Rothschild spoke quite a bit about A.J. Burnett this afternoon — more on that later — but he also touched on Joba Chamberlain. “Really, for him, it’s getting the ball downhill, creating the angle so it’s not flattening out going up to the plate,” Rothschild said. “I think that will help the slider. Pretty much, I think it’s that simple.”

• Most of the guys who threw bullpens today were around 25 pitches, all fastballs.

• Although the Yankees still want to take things slowly with Russell Martin, Cashman said the Yankees are not really worried about him. There’s just some stiffness in his surgically repaired knee. Nothing major, just enough for the Yankees to move with caution.

• Brett Gardner was in camp today. He said he’s allowed to be here ahead of the other position players because he’s doing rehab work. The wrist, though, feels good. He’s been able to throw and hit with no problems. “I’m ready to roll,” he said. “I feel good, man.”

• By the way, Gardner had a series of trips planned for this winter, but had to cancel all of them because of the wrist injury. I told him I went skiing this winter. Gardner said he went once in high school but won’t go again until he’s finished playing. The reason? He broke his wrist that day.

• Spent a little bit of time talking to Rule 5 pick Robert Fish today. He said this is his first big league camp — he was never in big league camp with the Angels — and he was surprised at just how hard the Yankees worked on Day 1. This was no light day.

• Speaking of the Rule 5 picks, Fish and Daniel Turpen are pretty big guys, but the biggest new guy in camp is easily Andy Sisco. He looks a little bit like Shelley Duncan, but even bigger. If he decided to attack Manny Banuelos, poor Manny would never have a chance.

Associated Press photos of Posada with Francisco Cervelli; Mark Prior crouched after sprints; and Martin going through catching drills

Mariano Rivera was not in camp today. His kids have been sick, and Rivera asked to stay home until everything clears up. He was planning to get into Tampa at some point today.

“Even when he’s here he’s got a different program, and it’s obviously one that works,” Brian Cashman said.

The illness isn’t especially bad — “flu stuff” is the way Cashman described it — but Rivera wanted to stay home with the kids, and the Yankees had no problem with it.

What is there to say? It’s Mo.

• Hector Noesi is also not in camp. He had some visa issues and hasn’t been able to report. No word on when he’s supposed to get here.

• Brian Schlitter has been claimed off waivers by the Phillies. He reported to Yankees camp yesterday morning, was designated for assignment yesterday afternoon, threw a bullpen for the Yankees this morning, and was packing his bags this afternoon.

• Brett Gardner has been hitting and throwing with no pain or discomfort. Apparently because he’s a rehab guy, he’s allowed to be in camp before the other position players.

• Despite Jorge Posada’s comment this morning that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Andy Pettitte come out of retirement before the end of the season, Joe Girardi said he’s not counting on such a return. “Andy has always been pretty true to what he says,” Girardi said.

• One day down with no major injuries to report. Girardi said nothing unexpected popped up today.

Associated Press photo of Joba Chamberlain

Stretch is over and the real work has finally started.

The first group of pitchers has taken its place in the bullpen: Freddy Garcia on the first mound, Bartolo Colon on the second, Sergio Mitre on the third and CC Sabathia on the end. These are the early sessions, mostly knocking the rust off.

In the cages, a few pitchers are bunting.

In the small, two-mound bullpen, Tony Pena is beginning to work with the catchers. Jorge Posada is in there too, kind of playing the part of coach for the young guys.

A.J. Burnett threw his first bullpen this morning. Roughly 30 pitches, all fastballs. It was his first time on a mound since the end of last season.

“You get anxious,” Burnett said. “Especially after last year. You want to come in and be ready to go.”

Cervelli said Burnett looked sharp — “Very good,” Cervelli said — but at this stage, it’s more about knocking off the rust than hitting the corners. Burnett said most of his offseason work with Larry Rothschild focused on his lower half, making sure he didn’t swing open. Ultimately, Burnett said last year’s struggles were a mental issue, and he has to move on.

“Just mentally staying right,” Burnett said. “I think every time we talked last year, the good games, I was there. I was locked in. The bad games, I think mentally I wasn’t there. It’s a matter of staying on top of my game, paying attention to every pitch and doing what I did before last year, which was not letting anything bother me. Not worrying about a thing, going out there one pitch at a time until Skip takes me out. If I do that, I’ll be fine.”

• As a precaution because of his offseason knee surgery, Jorge Posada will not catch a bullpen until next week. He’ll go through the regular catching drills — he’ll squat and said the knee doesn’t bother him right now — but the Yankees want to give him a week before they push him into a bullpen session.

• I’ll have more on Posada later, but he seemed at peace with the idea of being a fulltime designated hitter. He called himself the third-string emergency catcher, then laughed at the idea. He admitted it was hard to hear at first, but now he’s hoping this keeps him healthy enough for 500-plus at-bats. He hasn’t had that many since 2007.

• One non-catcher position player will be in camp today, with Brett Gardner coming to camp to do some work, including batting practice with the catchers. I have to assume this is all part of his rehab from wrist surgery.

• CC Sabathia will throw his first bullpen today. He’ll throw to his likely Opening Day catcher, Russell Martin.

• Brian Schlitter was designated for assignment yesterday, but he’s still in camp and will throw a bullpen today.

• Scheduled bullpen sessions (with catchers):

Group 1
Bartolo Colon  (to Gustavo Molina)
Freddy Garcia (to Francisco Cervelli)
Sergio Mitre (to Jesus Montero)
CC Sabathia (to Russell Martin)

Group 2
Luis Ayala (to Jose Gil)
Boone Logan (to Jesus Montero)
Mark Prior (to Austin Romine)

Group 3
Buddy Carlyle (to Kyle Higashioka)
Robert Fish (to Francisco Cervelli)
Ryan Pope (to Gustavo Molina)
Brian Schlitter (to Jose Gil)

• Hitting groups:

Group 1
Francisco Cervelli
Russell Martin
Gustavo Molina
Jorge Posada
Brett Gardner

Group 2
Jose Gil
Kyle Higashioka
Jesus Montero
Austin Romine

Associated Press photo of Burnett and Cervelli after today’s bullpen

The first official workout won’t begin until later this morning, but already A.J. Burnett is in right field, throwing off flat ground to an unidentified catcher. Could be Russell Martin, but I can’t be sure from this distance.

Larry Rothschild, Mike Harkey and Billy Connors are watching.

The clubhouse opens in about 10 minutes. The Yankees have some meetings this morning, and I believe stretch is scheduled for 11 a.m.

By the way, now Burnett is on his way to throw a bullpen.

From the Associated Press… Over the weekend Alex Rodriguez was honored by the Latin Baseball Hall of Fame, which recognized him as the youngest Latin player to hit 600 home runs in Major League Baseball. This was during a Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the Dominican Republic (Rodriguez was not inducted). Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal was also there on behalf of George Steinbrenner’s family to receive a tribute award from Felipe Alou. The AP moved some pictures of the event. Yes, Cameron Diaz was there.

Associated Press photos

In the early days of spring training, no request comes more often than a plea for roster numbers. So here they are, in numerical order.

2 Derek Jeter
11 Brett Gardner
12 Eric Chavez
13 Alex Rodriguez
14 Curtis Granderson
17 Francisco Cervelli
18 Andruw Jones
19 Ramiro Pena
20 Jorge Posada
22 Mark Prior
24 Robinson Cano
25 Mark Teixeira
26 Ronnie Belliard
27 Greg Golson
28 Joe Girardi
29 Rafael Soriano
30 Dave Robertson
31 Pedro Feliciano
33 Nick Swisher
34 A.J. Burnett
35 Neal Cotts
36 Freddy Garcia
38 Buddy Carlyle
39 Brian Anderson
40 Bartolo Colon
41 Andy Sisco
42 Mariano Rivera
43 Luis Ayala
45 Sergio Mitre
47 Ivan Nova
48 Boone Logan
50 Mick Kelleher
52 CC Sabathia
53 Gustavo Molina
54 Kevin Long
55 Russell Martin
56 Tony Pena
57 Mike Harkey
58 Larry Rothchild
59 Rob Thomson
60 Kevin Russo
61 Colin Curtis
62 Joba Chamberlain
63 Justin Maxwell
64 Romulo Sanchez
65 Phil Hughes
66 Andrew Brackman
67 Eduardo Nunez
68 Warner Madrigal
70 Brian Schlitter
71 Doug Bernier
72 Dellin Betances
73 Daniel Turpen
74 Hector Noesi
75 Brandon Laird
76 Reegie Corona
77 Melky Mesa
78 Jordan Parraz
79 Robert Fish
80 Ryan Pope
81 D.J. Mitchell
82 Steve Garrison
83 Jesus Montero
84 Austin Romine
85 Jose Gil
86 Kyle Higashioka
87 David Phelps
88 Adam Warren
89 Eric Wordekemper
92 Manny Banuelos
93 Bradley Suttle
94 Jorge Vazquez
95 Daniel Brewer
96 Austin Krum

* Andrew Jones was not actually listed on today’s spring training roster, but he had a locker with the number 18. Now that the Jones signing is official, Schlitter will come off the roster, but I’m sure he’ll take the same number if he clears waivers and comes back.

Associated Press photos from today’s informal workout of Granderson, Cervelli and Maxwell

The Yankees spring training clubhouse is pretty full as it is, but Brian Cashman said he wouldn’t mind finding room for one more. He’s still on the lookout for a starting pitcher, either through free agency or the trade market.

“If it makes sense, I’m ready to rock and roll,” Cashman said.

As it is, the left side of the Yankees clubhouse is full of fourth and fifth starter candidates. Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and Ivan Nova have lockers right next to one another. Five lockers away, in his same spot as last year, is Sergio Mitre.

The younger candidates — D.J. Mitchell, David Phelps and the rest of the young guys — are in the middle-of-the-room lockers usually assigned to minor leaguers and the more borderline big-league candidates. The fact Nova is with the veterans, in the same row as CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett, is a pretty clear indication that he’s a step ahead of the other guys who were in the minor league system last year.

“The chances that the fourth and fifth starter role will be answered sooner than later are not very good,” Joe Girardi said. “I think we’ll spend all spring evaluating everybody in our camp. You’re going to look at Nova, and Garcia (and) Colon and Sergio, and some of the young kids that are coming up… You want to see, as they develop in spring training and they get strong, who we feel has the best chance of helping us during the course of the season. So, basically, we have an open competition until March 30.”

• I doubt there’s anything to read into this, but Girardi mentioned three young starters by name: David Phelps, Adam Warren and Dellin Betances. Again, I’m sure those are just the first three names that jumped into his head, but they were specifically mentioned.

• Speaking of Betances, he said he’s been in Tampa since January. And I’ll say this again, he’s a bigger guy than I ever expected. I knew he was tall, but he’s no scrawny kid. There’s some strength to that guy.

• The Yankees expect Russell Martin’s hip and knee to be just fine, but they won’t push him in spring training. “You’ll see him catching tomorrow,” Girardi said. “It’s not like he’s not going to catch at all, but we’ll take it a little bit slow.”

• Girardi acknowledged that Brett Gardner was playing through fairly steady wrist problems in the second half of last season. “I know it bothered him a lot last year,” Girardi said. “We would talk about it every day, ‘How are you feeling?’”

• I didn’t see Jorge Posada this morning, but Girardi said Posada will do work as a catcher this spring. “We’re going to see Jorge go through some of this catching in spring training,” Girardi said. “I can’t tell you if he’s going to catch in games right now. I’m physically going to watch him and evaluate how he feels. But as you know, we asked him to prepare as if he was going to catch.”

• Girardi on how Rafael Soriano might react to becoming a setup man after a great season as a closer. “I know Rafael looks up to Mariano, and he talks about how he watches what he does, so I’m sure that will be a joy a little bit,” Girardi said. “A lot of times that depends on your ego, how easy it is to go from being a closer to not being a closer and being the setup. He seems that he’s excited about being here. He’s excited about doing his job, and he wants to do whatever it takes to win a championship.”

• No innings limits for either Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova. “Right now I don’t have any innings limitations for anyone,” Girardi said. “It’s kind of nice.”

• Speaking of pitching limits, Girardi said CC Sabathia’s offseason surgery shouldn’t impact his workload this season. “I’m pretty much going to manage CC the same,” Girardi said.

• Sabathia said he expects to be one of the guys who throws 20 to 25 pitches in the bullpen tomorrow.

• For the first time, David Wells is in camp as a spring training instructor. “Sometimes camp can get long,” Cashman said. “I think Boomer will keep it lively for us.”

• As you can tell by the picture, the Yankees did a few light drills today. That’s an AP shot of Jesus Montero. Brett Gardner was also in and out of the clubhouse briefly, and he did some light throwing in the outfield with a player I didn’t recognize from far away. Sergio Mitre threw a little bit off flat ground. Curtis Granderson was there at one point.

Associated Press photos

Heard today that the Yankees were just finalizing some language in Andruw Jones’ contract. Now the deal is finally official. Here’s the announcement from the Yankees.

The New York Yankees today announced they have signed five-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder Andruw Jones to a one-year Major League contract.

Jones, 33, is a 15-year Major League veteran, appearing in 2,025 combined games with Atlanta (1996-2007), Los Angeles-NL (2008), Texas (2009) and Chicago-AL (2010). He owns a .256 (1,840-for-7,176) career batting average with 368 doubles, 36 triples, 407 home runs and 1,222 RBI, and is one of four players all time with at least 400 career home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards, joining Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Ways and Mike Schmidt.

Originally signed by the Braves as a non-drafted free agent in 1993, Jones is tied for 46th on Baseball’s all-time home runs list, hitting at least 25 homers in 10 consecutive seasons from 1998-2007 (tied for sixth-most such seasons among active players) and recording seven seasons of 30-or-more home runs. He has also collected at least 100 RBI in a season five times and scored at least 100 runs four times.

Jones’s defense garnered him 10 consecutive Gold Glove Awards with the Braves from 1998-2007, making him one of just five outfielders in Major League history to win the honor that many times – also Roberto Clemente (12), Willie Mays (12), Ken Griffey Jr. (10) and Al Kaline (10). He owns a career fielding percentage of .990, including a .992 mark in centerfield (39 E, 4,597 TC).

He is a career .273 (65-for-238) batter in the postseason with eight doubles, 10 home runs and 33 RBI, appearing in 75 career playoff games. He has twice appeared in the World Series in 1996 and 1999 with Atlanta, losing both times to the Yankees. In his first career World Series contest (Game 1 in 1996), he went 3-for-4 with three runs, two home runs and five RBI at the original Yankee Stadium, homering in each of his first two World Series at-bats to join Oakland Gene Tenance (1972) as the only players all time to accomplish the feat.

Jones batted .230 (64-for-278) with 41 runs, 12 doubles, 19 home runs and 48 RBI in 107 games with the White Sox in 2010, appearing at all three outfield positions (62 games in right field, 17 in centerfield and 12 in left field). He recorded his highest average, on-base percentage (.341) and slugging percentage (.486) since 2006, while his average of 14.63 AB/HR was the sixth-highest in the Majors among players with at least 100 games played.

He is a career .261 (461-for-1,768) batter against left-handed pitchers with 102 home runs.

A native of Willemstad, Curacao, Jones became the third player from Curacao to reach the Majors when he made his debut at 19 years, three months and 23 days old on August 15, 1996 with Atlanta, joining Yankees outfielder Hensley Meulens and Florida’s Ralph Malliard.

In a corresponding move, the Yankees designated RHP Brian Schlitter for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Associated Press photo