The LoHud Yankees Blog

In the bullpen before tonight’s game, Ivan Nova’s curveball was erratic. He’d throw one for a strike, then sail one out of the zone. Without a good feel for his primary breaking ball, Nova started warming up a reworked slider that he hadn’t been using this spring. It was sharp and consistent, and when Nova carried it into the game, he used it on three of his four strikeouts.

“That’s as good as it gets,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s the best pitching performance we’ve had probably in spring training.”

Nova plunked the first batter he faced, then he retired 10 in a row. He pitched six hitless innings tonight, and got 11 outs on the ground. Only one of his last 12 outs was hit in the air. This was Nova at his best. He was locating his fastball down in the zone to generate plenty of routine grounders, and when he had a strikeout count, he was able to go to that reconstructed slider for swings and misses. His fastball and slider were so good, he didn’t throw a single changeup tonight.

“No one seemed comfortable in the box,” Russell Martin said. “He impressed me out there, and I think he impressed himself.”

Nova threw a slider last year, but it wasn’t especially effective, so he tried to learn a cutter. The pitch he meant to be a cutter, actually behaves like the slider he was trying to throw in the first place. Nova calls it a slider, but said he throws it like a cutter and tries to think “cutter” when he uses it.

“My slider is like a new toy,” he said. “I have to start playing with it some time, not too much, but I feel comfortable with all my pitches.”

Coming off a rocky start in his previous outing, Nova made a big impression tonight. All four rotation candidates have shown something this spring, and the Yankees seem happy with all four. But this is certainly the standout performance of the spring, an outing so good Nova was scheduled for only five innings, made it through six, and still had to go to the bullpen to throw 15 more pitches.

“I showed myself how good I am,” Nova said. “I have to keep trusting myself and keep pitching my game.”

Here’s Nova.

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• Girardi’s reaction to Nick Swisher’s leap over the dugout fence going after a foul ball: “Outstanding play. Great effort. Don’t do it again.”

• Martin’s knee feels so strong that he’s stopped wearing the protective brace. “I’m not even worried about it now,” he said.

• Rafael Soriano told the Yankees that he didn’t want to pitch against an American League East team in spring training, so he was scratched from tonight’s game and will pitch at the minor league complex tomorrow. I believe that will be their first set of minor league intrasquad games.

• Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch in the hand — apparently it managed to make contact with both hands somehow — but he’s fine. “It’s unbelievable how much that guy gets hit,” Girardi said.

• Boone Logan is scheduled to pitch tomorrow. He was shutdown very briefly early in spring training because of slight elbow fatigue, and he’s since been pitching sim games just so that he didn’t have to go on some road trips (kind of a we-owe-you-one after he went on the road without pitching earlier in the spring). He said he feels great, just hasn’t been in a real game in a while.

• The Yankees allowed only one hit tonight. Of all people, it was Mariano Rivera who gave it up. Rivera, Mark Prior and Dave Robertson threw scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

• First time seeing the full lineup and the Yankees beat the Orioles 10-0. The O’s were using a series of relievers tonight, and the Yankees everyday players accounted for eight RBI.

• Mark Teixeira had two doubles tonight, giving him seven for the spring. Teixeira took a lot of extra swings this winter, and so far it seems to be paying off with production he hopes to carry into April. “Every indication is he’s going to do fine and get off to a good start,” Long said. “The amount of work he’s put in, that helps. Now you start to build muscle memory at a much earlier time than he’s been accustomed to, and a lot of that is going to sink in. I think he’s going to be more comfortable from the get-go.”

• Alex Rodriguez hit his third spring home run, a no-doubt shot to left-center. He’s really been swinging the bat well this spring.

• The only non-everyday Yankees to have a hit tonight were Eric Chavez — of course — and Jesus Montero.

• Francisco Cervelli was able to play catch while wearing his protective boot today.

• Here’s Joba Chamberlain speaking about his oblique injury: “I don’t know the severity of what’s going on,” he said. “I know how I feel and what I can do. There’s nothing that I can’t do. I played catch the day after it happened. We’ll err on the side of caution now instead of trying to be aggressive. During the season, we’d still probably take the two days to make sure it didn’t linger the rest of the year.”

• How productive can Robinson Cano be? “I wouldn’t be surprised if Cano hit 40 home runs,” Kevin Long said. “He hit 29 (last year). Could he hit 40? Why not? It’s a big number – and not something that’s a goal – but could he do it? I don’t think there’s anybody standing here that thinks he can’t.”

• There was one guy in the Yankees clubhouse who doubted that number. it was Cano himself. “No chance,” Cano said. “Maybe if you put an extra half-season… To be honest, that’s not in my mind. I don’t think I’m a home run hitter. Most of my home runs are line drives. I don’t want that kind of thing in my mind. If it hit it, thank God, but it’s not on my mind.”

• Just saw this tonight: Curtis Granderson is doing his NCAA Tournament challenge. It’s a chance to donate $10 to his foundation and get a chance to win some prizes. Not sure how much time is left to sign up. I just found out or would have posted earlier. (thanks to Matt for the email heads up)

Associated Press photos

The Yankees made six more cuts tonight.

Andrew Brackman, Brandon Laird, Kevin Russo and Melky Mesa were optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Steve Garrison and Ryan Pope were optioned to Double-A Trenton.

Those assignments don’t necessarily mean the players will open the season at those levels, but it is interesting that Pope is initially optioned to Double-A and Mesa to Triple-A. I expected those assignments to be reversed.

YANKEES (6-11-2)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF

RHP Ivan Nova (0-0, 2.25)
Nova vs. Orioles

ORIOLES (8-8-2)
Robert Andino 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Luke Scott LF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Matt Wieters C
Josh Bell 3B
Cesar Izturis SS

RHP Jim Johnson (0-0, 0.00)
Johnson vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: It’s been a beautiful day. Wind is blowing out to center field.

UMPIRES: HP Mark Lollo, 1B Eric Cooper, 2B Mark Carlson, 3B Andy Fletcher

ON THE LINE: Ivan Nova wasn’t sharp in his previous start and he needs to bounce back. As the only rotation candidate with options remaining, he’s not necessarily a lock to win a spot. A strong finish to spring training could convince the Yankees that they have to carry him, no matter what the other guys are doing.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE YANKEES: Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano will pitch again today. So will Mark Prior and Dave Robertson. Guys like Ryan Pope and Eric Wordekemper are available on standby.

BULLPEN FOR THE ORIOLES: RHP Rick VandenHurk, LHP Mark Hendrickson, LHP Michael Gonzalez, RHP David Riske and LHP Clay Rapada.

FAMILIAR FACE: The Orioles have Randy Winn on their travel squad. Winn opened last season on the Yankees bench, but he was quickly dismissed during the season. He’s in Orioles camp on a minor league deal. Other notable O’s on the trip: Nolan Reimold, Felix Pie and former Yankees infielder Nick Green.

BIRTHDAY IN CENTER: Curtis Granderson turned 30 today.

UPDATE, 7:28 p.m.: Nova looks much better than last time. He hit the first guy, but followed that with a double play — nice play behind the bag by Jeter — and he’s now retired five in a row, getting through the second inning with a 1-0 lead. The Yankees jumped in front when the first three batters had a hit, including an RBI double by Mark Teixeira.

UPDATE, 7:50 p.m.: After a botched bunt attempt, Brett Gardner struck out looking to start a 1-2-3 bottom of the third. It’s still 1-0 Yankees as Nova has settled in so far.

UPDATE, 8:04 p.m.: Another double by Teixeira and an RBI single by Posada have pushed the Yankees lead to 2-0 in the fourth. Nova, meanwhile, hasn’t allowed a hit through his four innings. Much, much better performance for him.

UPDATE, 8:22 p.m.: I’m sitting next to Brian Costello in the press box, and I just told him that tonight’s game reminds me of the best game I saw Nova pitch in Triple-A. He had something like 14 ground outs that night in Syracuse, locating his fastball down in the zone and getting bad swings at his curveball. He’s that good tonight, and the Orioles are completely overmatched. He’s already through six hitless. Easily the best pitching performance we’ve seen this spring.

UPDATE, 8:35 p.m.: Rodriguez’s third spring home run has pushed the Yankees lead to 4-0 heading into the sixth. Here’s Mariano Rivera in relief of Nova, with the no-hitter still intact.

UPDATE, 8:36 p.m.: Nova threw 59 pitches, 41 for strikes.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: Nick Swisher just hurdled the bullpen fence trying to make a catch. He’s a crazy man, I tell you. Crazy.

UPDATE, 9:02 p.m.: Nova said three of the four strikeouts came on a new slider. I assumed they were tight curveballs, but Nova said he’s reworked his slider and started throwing it for the first time tonight. It was nasty.

At this point, we all know how Joe Girardi rules out nothing and guarantees even less. It’s who he is as a manager in the spotlight.

Today, he’s using a lineup that might very well be his Opening Day lineup. His nine regulars are at their expected positions, and the order is pretty much the same as late last season.

“There are just some different ideas we’ve talked about,” Girardi said. “Most of (the lineup spots) are pretty set, they are. We might just do some different things here in the next two weeks as they start to play together a little bit, just to see how it looks.”

But ultimately, won’t this be the lineup on March 31?

“I anticipate seeing Verlander, and I anticipate seeing those nine guys in the lineup,” Girardi said.

But will they be in that order?

“We’ll see.”

If I had to guess, I’d say this is the exact lineup you’ll see at Yankee Stadium for the opener.

• As much as he commits to anything, Girardi committed to keeping his 3, 4, 5 hitters the same. “I don’t have any changes that I plan on making (to that part of the lineup),” Girardi said. “Three, four, five has been pretty consistent for us.”

• Girardi said he expects his lineup to be different against lefties, but he already has Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner at the bottom of this vsRHP lineup. The change, it seems, will involved Andruw Jones. “We signed him to play him against lefties, but obviously you have to see how guys are doing,” Girardi siad. “If someone is swinging a great stick, you might not take him out.”

• Joba Chamberlain’s MRI showed an oblique strain, but Chamberlain said he feels no pain and can move just fine. “He feels good, so he’ll play catch tomorrow and we’ll go from there,” Girardi said.

• If this were the regular season, Chamberlain would probably land on the disabled list only because the Yankees wouldn’t be able to carry a short-handed bullpen for five to seven days. It doesn’t sound like an injury that should take 15 days.

• Girardi said he might have a rotation order for Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett by today, but he said he’s not ready to make his second-game starter public yet.

• Ivan Nova needs to bounce back from a short start his last time out. “He threw a lot of pitches in three innings,” Girardi said. “It think he threw 62, and he needs to be more efficient than that. He was up in the zone, he needs to be down in the zone.”

• Nova is cleared for 75 to 80 pitches, probably about five innings if things go well.

• Sergio Mitre has a side today. If that goes well, he could be cleared to pitch in a game soon.

• A.J. Burnett, Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos, Andrew Brackman, Freddy Garcia and Pedro Feliciano also threw sides today.

• Out of the bullpen: Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano, Mark Prior, Dave Robertson, Ryan Pope, Eric Wordekemper, Steve Garrison and Romulo Sanchez. Everyone after Robertson is probably a backup.

• Off the bench: C Jesus Montero, 1B Eric Chavez, 2B Doug Bernier, SS Ramiro Pena, 3B Ronnie Belliard, LF Eduardo Nunez, CF Justin Maxwell, RF Jordan Parraz and DH Andruw Jones.

Associated Press photos

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

RHP Ivan Nova

ORIOLES
Robert Andino 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Luke Scott LF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Matt Wieters C
Josh Bell 3B
Cesar Izturis SS

RHP Jim Johnson

UPDATE, 1:00 p.m.: Eduardo Nunez is getting another day in left field off the bench. The Yankees also have Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano and Dave Robertson in the bullpen. Mark Prior must be healthy, because he’s also listed as an available reliever.

Just wanted to post a quick reminder that I’ll be hosting a live chat from the Steinbrenner Field press box at 2:30 this afternoon. Be sure to stop by.

In the meantime, two items of note.

1. Former Yankees prospect Ian Kennedy has been named the Diamondbacks Opening Day starter.

2. Current Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is on the cover of GQ, with a story about his career on the field and legacy off the field.

After Tuesday’s off day, it might finally be time for Joe Girardi to tip his hand about his plans for the Yankees lineup.

Girardi hinted yesterday that he will likely start all of his regulars tonight against Baltimore. It would be the first time this spring that all nine everyday players have been in the Yankees lineup. Russell Martin was out of the starting lineup for the spring opener, and — probably more importantly — Brett Gardner was out of the lineup Sunday.

This afternoon could be an indication of whether Girardi is planning to put Gardner in the leadoff spot, and it could be an indication of who he’s considering in the No. 2 hole (which could impact spots 6 and 7). So far this spring, it seems that Girardi is going to stick with Robinson Cano in the No. 5 spot.

Of course, it’s doubtful that Girardi will set anything in stone tonight, but it could very well be our first look at the lineup that will take the field on March 31.

Associated Press photo of Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada

Here’s something completely random to wrap up this simulated off day here in Tampa.

Over at ESPN The Magazine, noted fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger was asked to re-imagine four classic uniforms: The Lakers, the Cowboys, the Canadiens and — of course — the Yankees.

This is what he came up with.

Of course, the appeal of the Yankees uniform is that it’s classic and timeless, and I can’t imagine the need to change it.

But, if a designer is asked to come up with something new, he’s going to have to come up with something new. It’s not as crazy as it might have been. Here’s Hilfiger’s explanation, via The Magazine.

“One of the main items in my first collection was a piqué polo shirt that was more relaxed and a bit oversize. Compared to the current Yankees’ uniform, the color blocking idea of the shirt speaks to the trend of mixing classical patterns in different colors. I added a collar on the shirt because it always makes everyone look good, and the full button placket taken from our woven oxford shirt allows for a more finished look for the player’s suit on game day.”

Photo sent by ESPN

First, an announcement: We’ll be hosting a live chat here at the LoHud Yankees Blog tomorrow afternoon at 2:30. Not sure whether Sam is going to be around, but I’ll be back from the clubhouse in time to do a little chatting about the Yankees at roughly the mid-way point of their spring schedule. Stop by.

Second, a remarkably minor detail: For those of you who care about the lowest levels of the minor league system, it turns out the four minor leaguers brought over to face CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon this morning were Kelvin DeLeon, Jose Toussen, Damon Sublett and Neil Medchill. It was DeLeon who doubled off Sabathia’s first pitch of the day. DeLeon also had two of the four hits off Colon, and Sublett later smoked a double to center off Sabathia.

Third, an actual blog post:

Last year Jon Weber won the Dawson Award as the best rookie in Yankees camp. He was out of the organization by the middle of the season. The year before last, it was Brett Gardner who won the Dawson Award. Now he’s the everyday left fielder. Basically, the Dawson Award is about as reliable as a spring training batting average for predicting long-term success.

But, let’s face it, part of the fun of spring training is seeing the new guys.

If I had to vote today, I would pick Jorge Vazquez for this year’s Dawson Award. There’s much more hype around Manny Banuelos, and Eduardo Nunez is much more likely to play his way onto the team, but Vazquez has been the Yankees best hitter. And that’s in a camp with a red-hot Alex Rodriguez.

Look at it this way: Imagine Vazquez were a Top 10 Yankees prospect. Imagine he came into camp with the same sort of hype as Banuelos, then hit .463/.483/.893 with three home runs through 28 at-bats. Imagine these were Jesus Montero’s numbers.

If Vazquez had any sort of prospect hype, the entire Yankee Universe would be exploding. He doesn’t generate the same attention as Banuelos or Montero or Andrew Brackman — and he might not have the same long-term impact — but that doesn’t mean he’s not having a better spring.

Banuelos has been terrific, and if he tosses three more scoreless innings against a major league lineup, I could easily change my tune.

Nunez has been all-around impressive, and if he does play his way onto the team, that might be worth rewarding.

But right now I’ll take Vazquez’s production.

Associated Press photo of Vazquez with Montero