The LoHud Yankees Blog

We all know spring training stats are meaningless. We’ve learned that lesson time and again. But for some players in Yankees camp, a few positive results could be positive reinforcement of new ideas and new mechanics.

“Whenever you have success when you’ve made a change, it’s a lot easier accepting that change,” Joe Girardi said. “When you’re struggling and you’re making a change and saying, ‘OK, it’s going to take two or three weeks to get used to the change,’ or ‘It’s going to take two or three months to get used to the change, but I know in the long run it’s going to be better for me,’ that becomes very hard.”

A.J. Burnett is changing his delivery, trying to be more consistent with his mechanics. Today he allowed his first runs of the spring, then followed with nine straight outs.

“I wouldn’t say results (matter),” Burnett said. “I would say more execution.”

Swinging without a stride, Derek Jeter is hitting .333 with one strikeout. He has one extra-base hit — and that was a bit of a lucky triple — but he’s been hitting more line drives and fewer ground balls as spring has progress.

Swinging with both hands on the bat, Brett Gardner had his fourth extra-base hit today. He’s batting .273/.429/.500 with two strikeouts and six walks.

Swinging with slightly altered mechanics he picked up late last season, Curtis Granderson is hitting .348/.400/.913 with the team lead in runs.

“Last spring wasn’t good and then the season started out great,” Gardner said. “So you can’t put a lot of stock into it. But at the same time, when you’re working on things you want to try and do well with it and be successful and get some confidence going into the season.”

Confidence is good. Then again…

“If I thought there was a chance (the change) could hurt me or send me in the wrong direction, I probably wouldn’t be doing it,” Gardner said.

Associated Press photo of Granderson

It’s impossible to ignore Jorge Vazquez this spring. The guy made a career out of smashing baseballs in Mexico, he’s hit through his first two seasons in the minor leagues, and this spring he’s leading the team in RBI, tied for the team lead in home runs and batting .480.

“He’s played really well for us in spring training. He continues to swing the bat and continues to do what he needs to do,” Joe Girardi said. “This kid has shown that he can hit, and he’s hit at every level that he’s been at.”

Girardi has more than once called Vazquez “more of a first baseman,” but he can play third. If Eric Chavez weren’t also hitting this spring, Vazquez might be playing his way into a strong chance of landing a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Instead, he’s making an impression. The Yankees seem to be heading toward carrying Chavez on the bench, but it’s hard to ignore what Vazquez is doing right now, and it will be hard to forget if/when the Yankees need an extra bat in the middle of the summer.

“We know what he can do, and he’s shown us what he can do,” Girardi said.

• Burnett was most encouraged by his curveball today, but he continued his spring training tradition by working in a few changeups that he said were pretty effective. He threw one to right-handed hitter Ryan Zimmerman, who lined out on the pitch.

• Speaking of the changeup, here’s Burnett talking about pitching to Russell Martin: “He has an idea what I want to do. I faced him a couple of times a long time ago. He’s got an idea what my strengths are, but he wants me to use my changeup. He’s a big believer in that. It’s all confidence with him.”

• One more Burnett note: He has yet to walk anyone, and he seemed realize talking about it probably jinxed it this afternoon. “I haven’t walked anybody yet, have I?” Burnett said. “Well, there goes that.”

• In his first action in center field, Brett Gardner played there through the seventh inning. Eduardo Nunez stayed at shortstop throughout.

• Rule 5 pick Daniel Turpen gave up a walk-off single in the ninth inning, sending the Nationals to a 6-5 win. Not sure how much longer the Yankees will look at Turpen and Robert Fish, but it’s a crowded bullpen as it is, and neither Rule 5 pick has strong numbers this spring.

• Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano are both scheduled to pitch tomorrow.

• The Yankees remain excited about what they’ve seen from Chavez, but they decided to play it safe when it came to today’s road trip. “Extremely encouraged,” Girardi said. “I just thought it was silly to put him on a bus for two hours after he played yesterday.”

• When Ramiro Pena popped out in the eighth, he turned and flung his bat back toward the Yankees dugout, a rare show of emotion for the Yankees utility man. Hard not to notice that he’s hitting .154 this spring while Eduardo Nunez has thrived. I still think there’s a chance Pena will be the pick — the utility job is going to be an incredibly minor role, and the Yankees love Pena’s glove at short — but Nunez is clearly outplaying him this spring.

• Alfredo Aceves is likely to start against the Yankees on Monday.

• Speaking of former Yankees: Talked to Chien-Ming Wang a little bit before today’s game. He said he’s thrown a sim game this spring and he’s hoping to be game ready early this season. His fastball has been 86-87 mph, and he thinks that will go up as he gains arm strength. “It’s been a long time, but I’ve been patient,” he said.

• I couldn’t see it from the press box, but Gardner said a stealth bomber flew by in the middle of the game. It happened before the bottom of an inning, while he was warming up with Melky Mesa. Gardner told Mesa to turn around and look at it, and Gardner said Mesa’s reaction was priceless. Gardner told him it was a UFO. Mesa’s reaction? “Maybe.”

Associated Press photos of Vazquez with Montero; Burnett’s arm; and Cano laughing after a called strikeout

A.J. Burnett allowed his first spring training runs this afternoon. He allowed a leadoff single in the second inning, then threw a “decent” pitch to Michael Morse, and Morse hit it out to right field.

Burnett retired the next nine batters.

“I got hit, gave up the bomb, and I didn’t care,” Burnett said. “I was there to get back on the mound and get the next three guys out one at a time. I’m not going to be perfect all the time — we all know that — so it was good to get out of the stretch and make some pitches after they scored a couple.”

Burnett said he finally found his curveball today, and he was pretty happy with the few changeups he threw, but there’s rarely been any doubt about his stuff. For him, this spring is about consistency on the mound and in his head. How many times has his lead foot landed in the wrong spot this spring?

“Handful,” he said. “But it’s a difference of how I’m reacting to that. Just let it go. If you fall off and miss, who cares? Don’t let the hitter know you (didn’t mean) to do it, but who cares? Get on the mound and throw your next pitch. That’s what I’ve been doing. It’s not a fall off and then the wheels start turning. It’s not a fly open or a swing and the wheels start turning.”

Four innings allowing two hits, no walks and four strikeouts is a nice, solid spring outing. For Burnett, this is all a step-by-step process, and spring training is just the beginning.

“By no means am I happy or content right now,” he said. “I’ve got a long way to go, and I know that. Everything is different under the lights. It’s preparing right now to get there. Everything feels great so far.”

Here’s the Burnett audio. Turns out, Sweeny Murti put him up to a little joke, trying to get him to randomly snap at a reporter for no reason. Burnett tried to pull it off, but immediately started laughing and asked Sweeny if he got the right guy. That Sweeny Murti. You can’t trust him. I’ve always said that.

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Associated Press photo

YANKEES (6-8-2)
Brett Gardner CF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Russell Martin C
Robinson Cano 2B
Jesus Montero DH
Jorge Vazquez 1B
Ramiro Pena 3B
Justin Maxwell LF
Melky Mesa CF

RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 0.00)
Burnett vs. Nationals

NATIONALS (8-5)
Roger Bernadina CF
Ian Desmond SS
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam LaRoche 1B
Michael Morse LF
Wilson Ramos C
Rick Ankiel DH
Lance Nix RF
Danny Espinosa 2B

LHP John Lannan (1-0, 6.00)
Lannan vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., not on television

WEATHER: Little bit of wind blowing out to left-center. Beautiful blue sky overhead. A really great day for baseball.

UMPIRES: HP Ed Hickox, 1B Paul Nauert, 3B Fran Burke (only three umps listed, but I’m guessing there’s a third)

ON THE LINE: A.J. Burnett is trying to keep making strides forward. It’s also a chance for Eduardo Nunez to further establish himself as the best utility player in camp, and for Jesus Montero to finally get his bat going.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE YANKEES: RHP Hector Noesi, RHP D.J. Mitchell, RHP Adam Warren and RHP Luis Ayala. Andrew Brackman , Robert Fish, Ryan Pope and Daniel Turpen also made the trip, but they’re not listed as scheduled relievers.

BULLPEN FOR THE NATIONALS: RHP Yunesky Maya, RHP Collin Balester, LHP Atahualpa Severino and LHP Sean Burnett

TRAVEL SQUAD: Without an open clubhouse this morning, I don’t have the position by position plans, but here are the guys who made the trip: C Jose Gil, C Kyle Higashioka, C Gustavo Molina, C Austin Romine, INF Doug Bernier, INF Brandon Laird, INF Kevin Russo, INF Bradley Suttle, OF Daniel Brewer, OF Austin Krum and OF Jordan Parraz

NOT WORTH THE RISK: Eric Chavez was scheduled to make this trip, but Joe Girardi called that his mistake. He ultimately decided it wasn’t worth having Chavez make the long bus ride. Chavez is healthy, the Yankees just didn’t want to put a guy with a history of back problems on a bus across the state.

OLD FRIENDS: Saw Tyler Clippard during batting practice. He pitched at the minor league complex today, and he’s more or less assured a spot in the big league bullpen. He’s throwing a little harder now and has added a cutter. Said he’s a much more mature pitcher than when he made his big league debut with the Yankees at age 22. He’s another good guy I’ve been happy to see find success at the major league level.

BURNETT FOR FOUR: Burnett is scheduled to go four innings or 60 pitches.

OK FOR KEI: Kei Igawa is heading home in the wake of the devastation in Japan. Brian Cashman said all of Igawa’s immediate family is OK. Great news.

UPDATE, 1:07 p.m.: Gardner tried to check his swing, wound up making contact and hit the weakest line drive ever to third base.

UPDATE, 1:14 p.m.: Walk by Nunez and RBI single by Cano. The Yankees are up 1-0 with runners still on base and two outs in the first.

UPDATE, 1:16 p.m.: RBI single by Vazquez and it’s 2-0 after one inning.

UPDATE, 1:17 p.m.: The Yankees just announced that Igawa is leaving for Japan later today.

UPDATE, 1:25 p.m.: Burnett off to a strong start. He just struck out the side in the first inning.

UPDATE, 1:40 p.m.: Single and a two-run homer off A.J. — the wind has shifted to blow out to right, which might have helped the homer — and ti’s now 2-2 after two innings.

UPDATE, 1:56 p.m.: After the home run, Burnett has now retired six in a row. It’s still 2-2 after three innings.

UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: Two-run homer by Jorge Vazquez has the Yankees back in front, 4-2. That’s his third home run of the spring. If Eric Chavez weren’t playing so well, I’d say Vazquez has a real shot at making the roster. Instead, he’s simply making a strong impression on the coaching staff, which could put him in line for a call-up.

UPDATE, 2:27 p.m.: Solo homer of Hector Noesi has pulled the Nationals within 4-3 after five innings. Burnett did not allow another base runner after that home run. He retired nine straight.

UPDATE, 3:04 p.m.: Burnett said he found his curveball today. He was encouraged by his outing — the curveball especially — and said it felt good to bounce right back after giving up the home run. Last year, a lot of outings spiraled out of control. This spring he’s been good at moving on and limiting the damage.

Also, the Yankees are now leading 5-4 in the seventh. I was downstairs and will have to check Gameday to find out how it happened.

YANKEES
Brett Gardner CF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Russell Martin C
Robinson Cano 2B
Jesus Montero DH
Jorge Vazquez 1B
Ramiro Pena 3B
Justin Maxwell LF
Melky Mesa CF

A.J. Burnett

NATIONALS
Roger Bernadina CF
Ian Desmond SS
Ryan Zimmerman 3B
Adam LaRoche 1B
Michael Morse LF
Wilson Ramos C
Rick Ankiel DH
Lance Nix RF
Danny Espinosa 2B

John Lannan

There’s no early clubhouse this morning. The Yankees had an early bus — and I have an early car ride — to Viera to play the Nationals.

Russell Martin, Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner are making the trip. So is A.J. Burnett, who has the start for the Yankees.

I’m hitting the road with Mark Feinsand, Marc Carig and Sweeny Murti. If the Yankees email a lineup before we get to the park, I’ll try to get it posted.

I mentioned it earlier, but here’s the official release from the Yankees regarding their donation to the relief efforts taking place in Japan, plus a couple of other notes about the situation and its connection to the Yankees.

The New York Yankees announced today that they have donated $100,000 to support rescue and relief efforts following the tragic earthquake in Japan. Of the total, $50,000 will be given to the Salvation Army and $50,000 to the Red Cross, both of which are already working in relief efforts on the ground in Japan.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the terrible earthquake in Japan,” said Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner. “We hope that the international community does everything in its power to support and assist the Japanese people in their time of need.”

—

Brian Cashman spoke with some reporters in Tampa about Kei Igawa’s situation.

“Obviously he has family there and he’s trying to reach out to them,” Cashman said. “He’s trying to find out if everyone he knows is OK and so he’s home doing everything in his power trying to contact people. He’s obviously glued to the TV and trying to find out every which way he can because right now the phones are down as of this morning still. It’s a very difficult time.”

Cashman said he got a call this morning from Mark Newman who told him Igawa was leaving the minor league complex to try to reach his loved ones. Cashman said Igawa has permission to go back to Japan if he needs to or wants to. “No doubt about it,” Cashman said.

I know Igawa’s name is mud within the Yankees fan base, but take it from someone who’s been around the guy a lot the past few years, Igawa is an incredibly nice and funny guy. He’s a bit of a prankster and a goofball, but he was always well liked in the clubhouse. I’m obviously hoping everything is OK for him back home, or as OK as it could possibly be under the circumstances.

“Everybody’s got Japan in their prayers right now,” Cashman said. “We’re just going to have to wait and see and that’s the frustrating thing. I was up all night watching it on TV. I absolutely have a lot of passion and I love Tokyo, love going over there, love the people of Japan. To see the devastation that’s taking place is just tragic.”

—

Commissioner Bud Selig’s statement:

“All of us at Major League Baseball are thinking of our many dear friends and colleagues in Japan today. Major League Baseball extends its deepest condolences to all those who have been affected, and we have the families and friends of our players as well as our peers and business partners in our thoughts.

“We have been in communication with the members of our office in Tokyo. Through our shared love of baseball for more than a century, Japan is a particularly special place to us, and we are deeply saddened by the disaster that has confronted the nation.

“Major League Baseball will certainly provide aid with the relief efforts in the days and weeks ahead. We will do everything we can to help Japan.”

—

The Oakland A’s announced some fundraising efforts and released a statement from Hideki Matsui. Here’s the press release from the A’s.

In the wake of the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan Friday afternoon, the Oakland A’s announced today that the team will help raise funds to aid victims of the disaster. The A’s open the 2011 season with a three-game series at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum against the Seattle Mariners and plans are being made to add a fundraising component for Japanese Heritage Day, scheduled for the series’ final game Sunday, April 3.

Details of the benefit game, which will feature Japan’s two greatest modern-day players in Oakland’s Hideki Matsui and Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, will be announced at a later date.

Matsui, a native of Ishikawa, Japan and resident of Tokyo in the offseason, issued a statement this morning about the devastation that occurred in the past 24 hours:

“I am deeply concerned and affected by what is happening in Japan. I pray for the safety of all the people that have been affected and continue to be affected by this disaster.”

The A’s said they will be working closely with Hiroshi Inomata, San Francisco’s Japanese Consul-General, and other community leaders in their efforts to support the tsunami victims.

Associated Press photos of Igawa and Matsui, top photo is from The Yomiuri Shimbun via the AP

Derek Jeter had another base hit today, his eighth in the past seven games (seven half games is more like it). I wasn’t in Tampa to see it, but the past week or so, Jeter has stopped slapping everything into the ground and has started driving the ball a little bit. He hasn’t shown much power — his only extra-base hit has been a misplayed triple — but he’s making good, solid contact.

“I think you’re seeing it on how hard he hits the ball,” Joe Girardi said. “I think you see the comfort. You see that he comes back and talks to K-Long (after) every swing, that he felt this or felt that. When you can recognize what you’re feeling, that’s a good sign.”

We all know that spring training numbers mean very little, but Jeter is hitting .333, and at the very least, the Yankees can take that as a sign that Jeter is finding his timing with his adjusted mechanics.

“I think he just needs to get at bats and say golly, I could have waited more, and get to the feeling where it’s OK to wait more,” Girardi said. “It’s just readjusting when he necessarily needs to start something.”

To be fair, I’m not sure Jeter has ever said the word “golly” in his life, but Girardi’s point is well taken.

• Speaking of adjusted swings, Curtis Granderson hit his third spring home run this afternoon in Dunedin. “He showed it at the end of last year,” Giradi said. “He’s been a different hitter since he made that adjustment with K-Long, and we’re seeing it in the spring as well.”

• Phil Hughes wasn’t too happy with his outing today in Tampa, but apparently his changeup was good. He told reporters there that he got six of his seven outs with the changeup.

• Ivan Nova came to camp seeming to be a favorite, but now that all of the rotation candidates seem to be pitching well, it’s worth noting that Nova is the only one who can be sent to the minors. Mitre is out of options, Garcia and Colon can both opt out if the don’t make the big league club. “I don’t think (it matters),” Girardi said. “We’re going to take what we feel is the best, gives us the best chance to win.”

• Even with split-squad games, Robinson Cano and Russell Martin didn’t play today. Both had played two days in a row, and both are making tomorrow’s long trip to Viera.

• In his second spring appearance, Rafael Soriano struck out two through a hitless inning in Tampa. Joba Chamberlain followed with a scoreless inning of his own.

• The Yankees lost both games today — 10-3 in Dunedin, 6-2 in Tampa — and most of the damage was done against guys unlikely to make the big league club. Steve Garrison allowed four runs in one inning in the home game, and David Phelps allowed four runs through one inning in the road game. Phelps pitched part of a second inning but couldn’t get an out. That’s when one of his four runs scored.

• Is it just me, or does Phelps look a lot like Ian Kennedy in this picture on the left? He doesn’t really look like him in person, but I did a double take when I saw this picture from today’s game in Dunedin.

• Eduardo Nunez had a double and continues to hit this spring. He’s hitting .385 while Ramiro Pena is batting .174. Those two have been good friends since the very beginning of their careers, and they seem to be taking this as a friendly competition, but right now Nunez is thriving and Pena’s not doing much to hold him off.

• The Yankees have announced that they’ll be donating $100,000 to the relief efforts in Japan.

• Mark Newman told Marc Carig that Kei Igawa has not been able to get in touch with his family.

• Former Yankees Darrell Rasner and Jonathan Albaladejo are playing in Japan. Todd Linden, who was in Triple-A with the Yankees, might also still be playing over there. It’s probably going to be a while before we find out whether everyone is OK. The Yankees have a close working relationship with the Yomiuri Giants. “The players and people and families of Yomiuri are good (according to what the Yankees are hearing), but obviously it’s not true of the people in the country,” Brian Cashman said.

Associated Press photos

Ivan Nova is the kid in this back-of-the-rotation competition. By the time he made his U.S. debut in rookie ball back in 2006, Bartolo Colon had already won a Cy Young, Freddy Garcia had already made two all-star teams and Sergio Mitre was already three years into his big league career. Nova, though, has shown nothing but confidence this spring, even after a rocky outing today in Dunedin.

“I’m going to win (a spot),” he said. “I’m fighting for it to the end, and I’m going to win.”

Nova’s fastball command, especially down in zone, is one of his strengths. He didn’t have it today, and he couldn’t make the adjustment. That led to five hits, two walks and two runs through three innings. Joe Girardi went on the road specifically to see Nova, and Nova wasn’t at his best.

“I feel at first good because he came here to see me pitch,” Nova said. “I know I didn’t show a good thing today, but it doesn’t affect me. I’m mentally good. I’m strong, waiting for my next opportunity to try to fix what I did today.”

Girardi has seen better. This morning he once again brought up Nova’s first big league start when he loaded the bases with no outs, but got out of it without allowing a run (against this same Blue Jays team). Girardi said he was impressed that day because Nova showed “no panic” and he was still able to throw strikes. He’s shown some bravado, on the field and off, and Girardi said he’s confident it’s healthy confidence rather than brazen arrogance.

“I don’t see him show a lot of emotion necessarily,” Girardi said. “I don’t see him walk around here like, I belong here, I’m the No. 1 guy here. I don’t see him short-change his work. He works extremely hard. Those are things that tell me he knows what he needs to do to be good.”

Here’s Nova after today’s outing in Dunedin.

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Associated Press photo

Home game

YANKEES (6-6-2)
Derek Jeter SS
Andruw Jones LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jorge Posada DH
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Austin Romine C
Justin Maxwell RF
Austin Krum CF

RHP Phil Hughes (0-0, 5.40)
Hughes vs. Braves

BRAVES (8-5)
Martin Prado LF
Brooks Conrad 2B
Chipper Jones DH
Brian McCann C
Jason Heyward RF
Ed Lucas 3B
Freddie Freeman 1B
Jordan Schafer CF
Diory Hernandez SS

RHP Tommy Hanson (1-0, 0.00)
Hanson vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: It was bright and sunny when I left Tampa. I’m sure it’s still that way. A little cooler than it has been most of spring training, but no one down here is going to complain about the cold.

ON THE LINE: Most of the Yankees regulars stayed behind to play today’s home game. So did all of the big league relievers scheduled to pitch today. Nunez has another chance to keep making his case for the big league bench, and Romine has a chance to keep himself on the map for the backup catcher job.