The LoHud Yankees Blog

In the back of the Yankees clubhouse, on the left side of the room, there is a row of five lockers. Jorge Posada is in the corner, followed by Francisco Cervelli, Austin Romine, Jesus Montero and Russell Martin. They’re all grouped together, the top of the food chain in this catching-rich organization.

Martin’s locker is at the end of the row, almost as if they’re easing the new guy into the mix.

So far, the Yankees are easing Martin into catching drills. His hip is fine, but Martin is still working out some range-of-motion issues with the MCL in his right knee. He said it loosens day by day, and squatting behind the plate actually seems to be helping the process.

The only thing Martin is not doing is block balls in the dirt. The Yankees don’t want him to start blocking drills just yet, worried that slamming his knee into the ground might cause a setback at a time when he’s very nearly 100 percent.

For the most part, though, Martin said he feels good and his lower half feels strong. Yankees camp is very regimented, and the team goes pretty hard from the very beginning of camp.

“I’m glad I came prepared,” he said.

• The closer has arrived. Mariano Rivera got into town last night and will begin his usual spring training routine this morning. As usual, he’s not sure when he’ll finally throw off a mound, but it won’t be any time soon.

• Reegie Corona has been scratched from big league camp. He’s still rehabbing and will get his treatments at the minor league complex. His locker at big league camp has been cleaned out. Name plate taken down and everything.

• Speaking of name plates, there is finally a locker labeled D.J. Mitchell. Either as a joke or a mistake, Mitchell’s locker was originally labeled Bryan Mitchell.

• CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett each threw bullpens earlier this morning. “The earlier the better,” Burnett said. They’re up around 30 pitches each.

• Bullpen assignments:

Group 1
Bartolo Colon (to Francisco Cervelli)
Freddy Garcia (to Russell Martin)
Sergio Mitre (to Austin Romine)

Group 2
Luis Ayala (to Jesus Montero)
Boone Logan (to Gustavo Molina)
Mark Prior (to Jose Gil)

Group 3
Buddy Carlyle (to Austin Romine)
Robert Fish (to Kyle Higashioka)
Ryan Pope (to Jose Gil)

• Same hitting groups as the past two days.

Associated Press photo of Martin with Jorge Posada

CC Sabathia did the early work today, throwing his bullpen early this morning at Steinbrenner Field. It was Sabathia’s second bullpen of the spring.

Right now, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine are taking their turns in the batting cage beneath the stadium. Brett Gardner just walked in.

Clubhouse opens to the media in five minutes. Another day…

UPDATE, 9:24 a.m.: Based on his locker, I’m pretty confident Mariano Rivera has arrived.

I know the Joba Chamberlain starter-vs-reliever debate has gotten old, but I also know plenty of people still have questions about the decision, and both Brian Cashman and Chamberlain talked about it today. Here are a few of their comments about the situation.

Brian Cashman

On whether there have been mechanical changes since Chamberlain’s shoulder injury:
“He’s always had trouble repeating his delivery. That was prior to the Texas issue, that’s always been an issue for him. I wouldn’t trace any mechanical changes to what took place in Texas.”

On vcelocity changes since the shoulder injury:
“He used to throw 95-plus from pitch one as a starter. He doesn’t do that now. But he can do that out of the bullpen. And that also happens with the evolution of players regardless. Some guys come out of the minor leagues throwing gas, and eventually in their mid 20s start to settle in, and their stuff backs off over time. It could be that too.”

On initially keeping him as a starter after the injury:
“The velocity was down. People were asking questions. Joe would have meetings with him. Is he pacing himself? Is he saving his bullets? Never had those conversations before. If you’re saving your bullets, don’t. You’ve got to empty the tank, right from inning one. He would try, but it just wasn’t there. At some point, you accept it. This is what you see out of the rotation, this is what you see out of the bullpen. They’re radically different. It used to be the same out of the rotation and the bullpen. It played the same. Now when you scout him it’s not. It’s radically different out of the bullpen.”

Joba Chamberlain

On whether he’s felt the same since the shoulder injury:
“I’ve never been in the same spot so I’m always trying to figure out what works for me, making the adjustments on the fly. I’ve had to learn to pitch in the big leagues. I’m trying to make adjustments but still trying to get outs. This is the first year where I’ve had the opportunity to look back at the times I’ve been in the bullpen, the times I’ve been a starter, to know the whole year that’s where I’m going to be. I just took bits and pieces that were effective for me from the years before. The shoulder was never an issue, so I was never worried about that, I was never worried about, health-wise, anything on that.”

What does it mean to be built for the bullpen?
“I have no idea. I don’t know what that means. That’s a question you’d have to ask him. Everybody’s perception is different of what they feel. That’s a question for him (Cashman).”

Is there frustration in being assigned this role?
“No. I’m still fighting for a job on this team. Like I said, I don’t care what it is. If they feel like I’m a better fit to help us win in the bullpen, I’m not going to sit here and argue and stomp my feet like a little kid and pout about it. I’ve got the opportunity to win a job and help us have one of the best bullpens in baseball. I’ve got to take that and not worry about what the other stuff is.”

Cashman spoke outside, so the audio is pretty shaky. Here’s Chamberlain, though. He talks about both the bullpen assignment and the weight issue.

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Associated Press photos

On his way to Steinbrenner Field, Andruw Jones thought back to his introduction to the Yankees. It was, in a lot of ways, his introduction to the baseball public, an explosive performance in the 1996 World Series.

“When I was driving here I was thinking, wow, my manager is the catcher that I played against,” Jones said this afternoon. “That kind of makes me feel really old. It’s been a good time. Good memories of it. I wish we could have won it.”

Jones is a different player these days. His sure Hall of Fame career with the Braves has given way to a supporting role with the Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox and now the Yankees.

“A lot of opportunities came up,” Jones said. “There was a lot of talking, but I think when Scott (Boras) made the decision, he told me, he said this is going to be a good opportunity for you to go out there. You might get a chance (for) playing time. My main thing was the playing time, more than anything. He’s saying that the way the lineup is setup over here, they have quite a few lefties in the lineup. Me being a right-handed guy, I have a chance to get some at-bats. That’s why the choice was made. And I think everybody would like to play for the Yankees one of their years.”

Jones is dealing with some minor swelling in his left knee — the result of offseason workouts, he said — but he’s able to run and hit without a problem.

“Just happy to be here,” he said. “Happy to start and get things going.”

Here’s Jones speaking from his locker in the back of the clubhouse, in a row with Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson.

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* By the way, yes, Jones said, “when Scott made the decision.” I have no idea whether Jones simply misspoke — maybe he meant to say something about Scott giving his option — but he certainly indicated that it was Boras who decided where he would be playing this season.

Also, I’m not sure what the problem was this evening, but the blog was down for a while. Sorry about that.

Associated Press photo

Get that Enter Sandman track ready to play.

Mariano Rivera is expected to arrive in Yankees camp tomorrow. He talked to Joe Girardi last night and said he would fly to Tampa tonight, arriving in time to report to camp in the morning. He’s been away to stay with one of his kids, who’s sick with something flu-like.

“Whenever Mo gets here is fine,” Brian Cashman said.

Truth is, Rivera wouldn’t be pitching right now even if he were in camp. He follows his own schedule and doesn’t start throwing until much later. This early in camp, all he does is long toss and fielding drills. In theory, how long could he wait to actually show up?

“As long as we don’t let it out – I don’t want him getting any ideas next year – he could have went for a while,” Joe Girardi said.

• Sounds like the infield is a priority for the Yankees bench. Girardi said the team might very well carry Andrew Jones as the only reserve outfielder, leaving room for both a utility man and a second backup infielder (maybe Eric Chavez or Ronnie Belliard). “The dynamics of how many outfielders we carry probably depends on the infielders,” Girardi said.

• Speaking of Jones, he stopped by the clubhouse this afternoon and said he chose the Yankees largely because he thought it was a good opportunity to get fairly regular playing time. “I look at him more as a corner guy that’s going to play against lefties, a lot sometimes,” Girardi said. Girardi said he doesn’t need Jones in center field — “Not with the two guys that we have,” he said — so he’ll simply move Brett Gardner to center field on the days Curtis Granderson gets a day off.

• Girardi said the Yankees could find creative ways to get Jesus Montero or Austin Romine at-bats if they were to break camp as the backup catcher. “You can develop a lot playing twice a week too at this level,” Girardi said.

• Girardi said it’s “fair to say” it’s a three-man race for the backup catching job: Montero, Romine and Francisco Cervelli.

• Cashman on releasing Neal Cotts: “You go through the medicals for a reason. He had his physical, and from that, we decided to release him.”

• Hector Noesi is still dealing with visa issues. It’s unclear when he’ll actually arrive in Tampa.

• The New York Post reported this morning that catching prospect Gary Sanchez was sent for medical tests on his heart, but the test revealed nothing serious. “There’s no worries now with Gary Sanchez,” Cashman said. “Simple as that. Nothing more to talk about.”

• Nick Swisher was among the position players hitting at the Yankees minor league complex today.

• One non-weight note about Joba Chamberlain: He’s made a small adjustment with his hands during his delivery. “When I talked to (Larry Rothschild) about the idea, he said yeah, that was one of the things that I noticed,” Chamberlain said. “Just my hands traveling away from the center of my body, and that’s when your hand doesn’t catch up. And that’s where they were when I first got called up. I thought I’d go back and try that to get away from my hands being back up here because I bounce a lot and don’t get over the rubber.”

Associated Press photos: Cashman, Billy Eppler and Girardi watching the bullpen sessions; Pedro Feliciano throwing a bullpen

Joba Chamberlain knew the weight question was coming. He had apparently already answered it once or twice this morning, and when a pack of reporters approached him this afternoon, he wasn’t especially happy to be discussing it again.

“This is the last time I’m going to answer this question,” Chamberlain said. “I know you guys have to ask it. I feel great. I’m stronger physically. I’m better in my bullpens, right where I was at the end of last year, getting my mechanics. I know you guys have to ask it, but that’s’ the last time I’m going to answer it.”

Of course, weight only matters in terms of being in shape. As I’ve written the past couple of days, the place Chamberlain is most noticeably bigger is through the chest and shoulders. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, I don’t know, but Chamberlain said he feels great.

“Awesome,” he said. “I would probably say that I’m in better shape than I have been in a couple years. The running is great. I mean, running’s never easy, but it’s something that I don’t’ dread every day. It’s a peace of mind for me when I run.”

Joe Girardi seemed to echo that idea: “You think about what it says (that he’s heavier), but Joba is going to be pretty much evaluated on how he pitches. That’s the bottom line, and we’ve been very pleased in what we’ve seen so far. The little adjustment he’s made with his hands seems to really (help). He looks better throwing bullpens now than he did last year. He sure does. And that’s encouraging for us.”

Associated Press photo of Chamberlain walking out of the bullpen with Russell Martin. I know it’s not ideal for this sort of issue, but I really haven’t seen a good full-body AP picture of Chamberlain.

The Yankees have their first spring training move.

Lefty reliever Neal Cotts has been released. The Yankees didn’t like the medical report after his physical on Monday. Cotts had some injury issues in the past, and Brian Cashman said the decision was 100 percent because of the physical, not because of anything the Yankees saw out of him.

Also from Cashman, the general manager was willing to say that Joba Chamberlain is heavier than last year, but he wouldn’t say how much heavier and wouldn’t comment on whether he’s out of shape. Cashman did say the Yankees were happy with Chamberlain’s bullpen this morning.

UPDATE, 1:07 p.m.: I’ll have more later. Joba wouldn’t go into detail about his weight, but said he’s in good shape and stronger than he can remember being. As I’ve written, he’s clearly bigger, but there’s no beer gut or anything.

Phil Hughes threw a bullpen this morning, but instead of the usual early spring allotment of 25 fastballs, Hughes mixed all of his pitches through a 40-pitch session. He threw 20, sat for a while, then threw 20 more. Cutters, breaking balls, changeups.

“The whole shebang,” Hughes said.

At the minor league complex, Hughes had already worked his way up to 40 pitches, but this was the first time he split the session in half. A lot of minor league guys have already faced live hitters, but the Yankees will dial most of them back to 25 pitches today and keep most of camp on more or less the same schedule.

• Mariano Rivera is still not in camp. “Maybe tomorrow,” Brian Cashman said.

• By the looks of Andruw Jones locker, it seems the Yankees new fourth outfielder has arrived in Tampa. Didn’t see him this morning, but his locker is full of stuff.

• Speaking of outfielders, a guy no one seemed to know walked into the clubhouse this morning carrying a bag over his shoulder. He looked around, read through some of the lists posted on the wall, then noticed his locker and started unpacking his stuff. That was Jordan Parraz’s grand entrance.

• The only non-catcher position player officially in camp is Brett Gardner, who’s technically here as a rehab player. Every day, the Yankees post several sheets of paper full of schedules and assignments for the day (hitting Group 1 takes BP at 11 a.m., pitching Group 3 does PFP at 11:30, stuff like that). Gardner gets his own line: “Gardner will stretch on F#1 at 11:15.” He is his own group.

• Manny Banuelos also threw a bullpen this morning.

• Bullpen assignments:

Group 1
Joba Chamberlain (to Russell Martin)
Pedro Feliciano (to Jesus Montero)
Ivan Nova (to Austin Romine)
Dave Robertson (to Francisco Cervelli)
Andy Sisco (to Kyle Higashioka)

Group 2
Brian Anderson (to Jose Gil)
Dellin Betances (to Gustavo Molina)
Andrew Brackman (to Kyle Higashioka)
Romulo Sanchez (to Austin Romine)
Daniel Turper (to Jesus Montero)

Group 3
Steve Garrison (to Francisco Cervelli)
D.J. Mitchell (to Gustavo Molina)
David Phelps (to Jose Gil)
Adam Warren (to Russell Martin)
Eric Wordekemper (to Roman Rodriguez)

• Roman Rodriguez is the Yankees bullpen catcher. Every catcher in camp will catch two bullpens, leaving one leftover pitcher for Rodriguez.

• Hitting groups are the same as yesterday.

Group 1: Gil, Higashioka, Montero and Romine

Group 2: Martin, Cervelli, Molina, Posada and Gardner

Today’s early worker is Manny Banuelos.

More than an hour before today’s official workout, Banuelos is in right field doing long toss with a catcher. From here it looks like Jesus Montero.

Since he didn’t throw on yesterday, I have to assume Banuelos will throw a bullpen today. He might get it out of the way early like A.J. Burnett did yesterday.

Based on which pitchers threw bullpens yesterday, I’m guessing today will be loaded with prospects: Most if not all of the Killer Bs, plus the law firm of Warren, Mitchell and Phelps. Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova also sat out of yesterday’s bullpens, so they’ll probably throw today.

I don’t really have much to add tonight. I was just reading through some stories online and decided to post some links.

• PECOTA predicts A.J. Burnett’s ERA will drop seven-tenths of a run. It naturally predicts another potential Cy Young season for CC Sabathia.

• Of course, there are other Sabathia predictions out there. A source told The Daily News that Sabathia is likely to opt out after this season. We’ll see. My guess is that story will go away pretty quickly, only to resurface in September.

• Astros camp opened today, and general manager Ed Wade said Rule 5 pick Lance Pendleton — taken from the Yankees — is primarily auditioning for a spot in the rotation. The other Yankee lost in the Rule 5, George Kontos, is trying to win a relief job with the Padres. He could be in there with Dustin Moseley.

• Maybe there’s a glimmer of hope for my friends back in St. Louis. Seriously, every single day I get a text message from someone asking if I know what’s going on with Albert Pujols. For the record, I have no clue. I’ll find out when everyone else finds out.

• Yankees camp is about to get interesting. Curtis Granderson just tweeted, looking for suggestions of which teammate he should prank this spring. There are infinite ways for this to be hilarious. It’s hard to come up with a wrong suggestion.

• Speaking of things getting interesting… Remember when Arcade Fire won Album of the Year despite the fact a lot of the general public had (unfortunately) never heard the album? Now Arcade Fire is selling The Suburbs for less than four bucks. That’s how you celebrate a Grammy!

Associated Press photo