The LoHud Yankees Blog

Three weeks ago, I thought all the buzz about Jesus Montero having a chance to break camp as the Yankees backup catcher was just talk.

Montero’s still young, he struggled through the first half last season, and regular playing time in Triple-A — learning from a good former catcher in Butch Wynegar — would surely let him take those final development steps. It seemed to me that the Yankees would inevitably let Francisco Cervelli keep his job and send Montero back to the minors for more seasoning.

Today, I’m not so sure.

The Yankees seem legitimately impressed by Montero’s improvement behind the plate, and pitchers say nothing but good things about his ability as a receiver. Six games into spring training, Montero and Cervelli have an equal number of starts.

“You have to make the jump sometime or no one ever gets here,” Joe Girardi said. “So, I mean, there’s a lot of people who’ve handled the jump extremely well. Some people don’t and you deal with that, but the kid works hard. He’s talented. There’s nothing that leads you to believe he couldn’t handle it, but you don’t know.”

True, you don’t know. I still think there’s a lot to be said for sending Montero back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — and I think Cervelli is a pretty good option as a No. 2 catcher — but I also think the Yankees are right that on-the-job learning, even as a backup, goes a long way in the big leagues. If this Cervelli injury is more than a bruise, the door could swing wide open. It might be pretty wide open already.

“I hope (Cervelli’s) back on track again,” Montero said. “I wish nothing bad on nobody. I’m just going to do my job behind the plate.”

The Yankees opened camp talking about a three-way competition, but it’s hard to miss the fact that Cervelli and Montero have gotten the starts while Austin Romine has been playing off the bench.

“(Cervelli and Montero) are your first two, but I’m looking at Romey,” Girardi said. “I looked at the job he did (Wednesday), God, he must have blocked 15 balls in the dirt. He caught well yesterday. That’s something that, he’s in the mix too, but when you go into a race, the guys that have played at a higher level are the guys that are the favorites. But that doesn’t mean that they get it.”

Romine has never played above Double-A. He hit .268/.324/.402 in Trenton last season, but Girardi said the jump from Double-A to the big leagues doesn’t bother him.

“I did it,” Girardi said. “(Romine is) probably a much better prospect than I was. I think players can handle that. That’s not a huge concern of mine.”

So Romine could be in the mix, but now that Russell Martin is about to start his first game at catcher, I’m finally ready to believe that there really are two legitimate candidates to be his backup behind the plate.

“We have an idea of what Cervi can do,” Girardi said. “We’ve seen him play very well at this level, so the evaluation is a lot of the young kid, Montero.”

Associated Press photo of Montero

I only covered Johnny Damon for about a month in the playoffs, but he’s an instantly likable personality, and the other New York writers seem to always enjoy saying hello to him. Today Damon said he was never close to coming back to the Yankees this winter, but he spoke pretty highly of his time in pinstripes.

“My time in New York was nothing but great,” he said. “I loved every minute of it. I loved going back there. I loved a bunch of the players over there, the coaching staff, the way the organization is. It’s going to be four years I’m always going to remember. Now it’s time for me to help my home team win a championship. It’s been a long time coming for me to have this opportunity to come play for Tampa, so I’m excited about it.”

Here are a few notes and links to wrap up the day.

• At this point I’m guessing we won’t hear anything definitive on Francisco Cervelli until tomorrow. His MRI results are being reviewed by team doctors in New York.

• Nice story by Dan Barbarisi about the Yankees rallying around Red Sox first-base coach Ron Johnson, whose daughter lost her leg in a terrible accident. Johnson used to be Kevin Long’s manager in the minors.

• Great interview with VP of baseball operations Mark Newman. There’s a lot of good stuff about the Yankees minor league system in there, including some notes about guys who could very well make the big league roster this year.

• Writing for Baseball America, George King notes that Brandon Laird could put himself into the big league mix at some point this season as a power hitter who can play all four corners.

• Speaking of Baseball America, they’re reporting that the Yankees have signed 1B Nick Ebert, a non-drafted free agent out of South Carolina.

• Yankees single-game tickets go on sale Saturday morning.
Sorry, went to the wrong page on Yankees.com. Single game tickets are on sale March 11 at this link. Saturday’s ticket thing is for season tickets.

Associated Press photo of Damon

The difference between a spring training game and a regular season game was on display in today’s seventh inning. That’s when Dellin Betances got into a bases-loaded, two-out jam and ran the count full against Tim Beckham. When he missed with ball four, the Rays scored their only run of the game.

Debacle of a performance? Not necessarily.

“He got in a little bit of trouble in the end, but that was kind of neat to see,” Joe Girardi said.

Betances was as good as ever through his first five hitters, getting B.J. Upton, Desmond Jennings and Evan Longoria in order in the sixth inning. He started the seventh by striking out Manny Ramirez and Matt Joyce. Those are five pretty good hitters, and the kid got them all.

“After I gave up that two-out double, I felt like I didn’t have a feel for my pitches,” Betances said. “I felt like trying to think too much instead of just throwing the ball, and I got away from what I was doing early on.”

He got a little rattled. It was Casey Kotchman who doubled, then Betances walked two batters to load the bases and send Larry Rothschild to the mound.

“He was just trying to say, don’t try to do too much,” Betances said. “Just put the ball there. He basically told me to change up. Try to throw breaking ball first pitch, and I did. It was just one of those days where I couldn’t find the location after the first inning and two-thirds.”

It wasn’t a bad at-bat against Beckham, but Betances lost the battle and missed a spot. He came close to a strike three pitch at one point but didn’t get the call — I thought it was a ball, but it was close — and ultimately Adam Warren came in to clean up the mess and end the inning with a strikeout. But the game wasn’t a waste for Betances, and the Yankees didn’t seem especially disappointed with the fact he finally struggled in this atmosphere.

“I thought he threw the ball pretty good,” Girardi said.

• The Yankees had Freddy Garcia at 88-89 mph this afternoon, which was seen as a plus for him. “Freddy was good,” Girardi said. “His velocity was good too.”

• Immediately after Garcia, Ivan Nova pitched three scoreless innings. It’s still incredibly early, but those two still feel like favorites for these rotation openings.

• Now that Garcia has thrown, all of the rotation candidates — depending on whether you count Andrew Brackman — have gotten in a game and should be stretched out a little more next time through. “You just want to see them be more crisp,” Girardi said. “Sometimes pitchers in this time of the year will go through a little bit of a dead arm phase. We might have to watch that a little bit. I’m not saying we will, but you just want see them get crisp, their breaking balls be sharper and more consistency.”

• Brackman will throw a simulated game on Saturday.

• Girardi has no concerns about Russell Martin playing with a knee brace tomorrow. “He did his drills with it the other day and I didn’t see it really hinder him,” Girardi said. “I think sometimes you feel a little bit more stable mentally with it as well. You know it’s not going to give out.”

• Greg Golson played for the first time since being hit in the head during live batting practice.

• We should probably get used to seeing Eric Chavez getting time at first base. ” I don’t really have a huge concern about him playing third base,” Girardi said. “I will give him some reps at third base, but you’ll see me play him (at first) more in the spring than at third base. He looks good. He’s looked good. He’s picked Tex’s brain a lot, and Tino’s brain a lot. Some times at drills we’ll have Tino follow him around so they can talk about it. But he looks comfortable.”

• Speaking of Chavez, he had one of only four Yankees hits today. Curtis Granderson, Kevin Russo and Gustavo Molina also singled, but for this wasn’t a good day for offense. “There were some balls hit pretty hard today and I think the wind affected that,” Girardi said.

• Rule 5 pick Robert Fish was brought in to face one lefty, Casey Kotchman, and Fish struck him out. Obviously, Fish is still a long shot for this bullpen, but he did his job today. The other Yankees Rule 5 pick, Daniel Turpen, followed by allowing a single before striking out two.

• D.J. Mitchell wasn’t scheduled to throw until tomorrow, but when the game went into a 10th inning, Mitchell got the call and pitched a scoreless inning.

• Johnny Damon on whether he was close to coming back to the Yankees this winter: “I don’t really think it was close at all. I think they were very happy with their outfield situation and thought Posada was not going to be catching much. It really made it easy as far as their decision and as far as mine. I’m not ready to be a part-time player in this game.”

Associated Press photos of Montero, Nova and Pena; Montero blocked the plate and finished off the play to get an out at the plate in the third inning

Freddy Garcia realizes that he’s in a fight this spring. He also realizes that he should be able to win it.

None of the other fourth and fifth starter candidates carries Garcia’s combination of a big league track record with success last season. Garcia had a lot more good outings than bad last season with Chicago, and the Yankees have seen that he can still get big league hitters out.

“If I lose the spot, that’s my fault,” Garcia said. “That’s my responsibility.”

Garcia pitched two scoreless innings in his spring debut this afternoon. He was followed by Ivan Nova — the other rotation favorite — who pitched three scoreless. Tomorrow the Yankees will see Bartolo Colon go three innings, but it’s been a year and a half since Colon pitched in the big leagues.

Of the two veterans on minor league contracts, Garcia’s recent success gives him the upper hand.

“I think we have a better idea of what he can do,” Joe Girardi said. “Colon is kind of a mystery to all of us because we didn’t see him throw last year. So it’s something that we’ll watch… but we know Freddy a lot better.”

Garcia threw almost all fastballs today. He said he threw one changeup, one slider and three split fingers (his strikeout against Evan Longoria came on a split).

“Right now I feel pretty good,” he said. “I’m in good shape. My arm feels great. That’s the difference from last year and this point in spring training. I couldn’t even half throw like this (last year). It’s just different.”

Here’s Garcia after his outing.

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Associated Press photo of Garcia

After a 1-1 tie here in Port Charlotte, the Yankees are still in the dark about catcher Francisco Cervelli.

The Yankees announced before today’s game that Cervelli’s MRI results had been sent to New York to be examined by team doctors. When the game ended a few minutes ago, Joe Girardi said that the team still had not heard back. We’ve been assured that, if the team gets an answer tonight, it will be announced.

“Any time you miss time in this game it’s a setback for you, because this is a job where everyone wants your job,” Girardi said this morning. “… If Cervi is down for a little bit, we have an idea of what Cervi can do. We’ve seen him play very well at this level, so the evaluation is a lot of the young kid, Montero.”

YANKEES (2-3)
Brett Gardner LF
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin DH
Eric Chavez 1B
Jesus Montero C
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Brandon Laird 3B
Ramiro Pena SS

RHP Freddy Garcia (12-6, 4.64 in 2010)
Garcia vs. Rays

RAYS (1-4)
B.J. Upton CF
Johnny Damon LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Manny Ramirez DH
Matt Joyce RF
Dan Johnson 1B
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Kelly Shoppach C
Tim Beckham SS

RHP James Shields (13-15, 5.18)
Shields vs. Yankees

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

WEATHER: You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day. Allman Brothers? Anyone?

UMPIRES: HP Fieldin Culbreth, 1B Paul Emmel, 2B Tim Timmons, 3B Chad Fairchild

ON THE LINE: This will be Freddy Garcia’s first spring appearance. He seems to be an early favorite for one of those open rotation spots, so this is a chance to maintain that position. Eric Chavez is also getting a start at first base to prepare for a possible backup role there, and Jesus Montero will try to continue making a case for the backup catcher spot.

CERVELLI UPDATE: Truth be told, there’s really not much of an update on Francisco Cervelli. The Yankees sent his MRI results to New York where the team doctors are reviewing them this afternoon. Joe Girardi said Cervelli looked better today, but the team won’t know anything until later today, maybe even later tonight.

OTHER PREGAME NOTES: Because of travel I couldn’t really post a normal set of pregame notes. Here are some quick hits.

• Andrew Brackman threw off a mound this morning. He’ll throw a simulated game this weekend.

• Jorge Posada is specifically scheduled to do some first base drills in the coming days. If Chavez makes the team, he’ll be the primary backup at first, but Girardi has named Posada and Nick Swisher as alternatives if Mark Teixeira needs a day off.

• Russell Martin is expected to catch four or five innings tomorrow.

• Garcia will pitch two innings today. Bartolo Colon will pitching three innings tomorrow.

ALSO PITCHING TODAY: Ivan Nova, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren are the first three listed in the bullpen. Rule 5 picks Robert Fish and Daniel Turpen are also on this trip.

ALSO PITCHING FOR TAMPA BAY: The Rays have only two relievers listed behind Shields: RHP Juan Cruz and LHP R.J. Swindle.

UPDATE, 12:55 p.m.: Just finished listening back to Girardi’s pregame media scrum. He said Gene Monahan expects to have results from the team doctors by the late afternoon.

“Just talked to Geno,” Girardi said. “We’re waiting for our doctors to review it in New York. He had the tests here. He did feel a little bit better today but there’s still some concern and we’ll just wait to see what they say before we announce if there’s anything or it’s just a bruise… I don’t know if they would want him to go to New York, but as of now I have not been told that.”

UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: The Yankees went down in order in the top of the first. Here’s Garcia for his first action of the spring. Sorry, misspoke there. Gardner walked, stole second and was picked off at second. A 1-2-3 inning, but not necessarily down in order.

UPDATE, 1:18 p.m.: Nice first inning for Garcia. Ground ball to second, pop up to short and a strikeout of Longoria, who couldn’t hold up against an offspeed pitch.

UPDATE, 1:34 p.m.: Very nice, heads up play by Eduardo Nunez to end the second inning. With the runner after first breaking for second, Nunez was on his way to cover the bag when Sean Rodriguez slapped a ground ball to the right side. Nunez had to retreat to make the play, but didn’t have time to get the out at first. He instead looked to third and got Matt Joyce trying to go first to third on the play. He also made a nice play going back to make a catch in shallow right-center. That’s it for Garcia: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.

UPDATE, 1:40 p.m.: Garcia threw 20 pitches, 14 for strikes (sorry, upon a re-count, it’s 14 strikes for Garcia, not 13). Here’s Nova for the bottom of the third. It’s still a scoreless game. Eric Chavez’s second-inning double in the Yankees only hit.

UPDATE, 1:48 p.m.: A single got past Laird on the left side, but Brett Gardner fielded and threw home to get Tim Beckham out at the plate.

UPDATE, 2:00 p.m.: The defense keeps coming for the Yankees. Nice diving stop for Laird at third base and a nice scoop by Chavez at first base to get Longoria out to start the fourth inning.

UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: And now a double play to end the fourth inning, with Chavez starting it, Pena making the turn and Nova stretching at first to complete the play and end the inning. Nova threw 25 pitches, 16 strikes.

UPDATE, 2:17 p.m.: Mild surprise. Here’s Nova for a third inning of work. Not really a shock that he’s stretched out for this many, just didn’t get a heads up that Nova was good to go for three innings today.

Have to make this one quick because Marc Carig and I are hitting the road to Port Charlotte.

• So far, no word on Francisco Cervelli. He wasn’t in the clubhouse this morning and Joe Girardi won’t address the media until later. Looked like his bag was in his locker, for whatever that’s worth.

• Freddy Garcia will make his first spring start today. Ivan Nova, who’s already started a game, will pitch in relief.

• Phil Hughes, Dave Robertson and Steve Garrison are all scheduled to throw sides today.

• Melky Mesa, Jordan Parraz, Jose Gil, Kyle Higashioka and Austin Romine are the position players who drew the short straws today. Those five are making the long road trip, but they aren’t scheduled to play.

• The Rays have Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez in their lineup today.

• Off the bench for the Yankees: C Gustavo Molina, 1B Jorge Vazquez, 2B Kevin Russo, SS Doug Bernier, 3B Bradley Suttle, LF Greg Golson, CF Austin Krum, RF Daniel Brewer, DH Colin Curtis

• Available out of the bullpen: Ivan Nova, Dellin Betances, Adam Warren, Robert Fish, Daniel Turpen, D.J. Mitchell, Eric Wordekemper, Ryan Pope, Andy Sisco and Brian Anderson. The last few on this list are backups, not likely to pitch.

Brett Gardner LF
Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin DH
Eric Chavez 1B
Jesus Montero C
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Brandon Laird 3B
Ramiro Pena SS

Mark Teixeira had only kind words to say about Scott Boras this morning, but in ending his relationship with arguably the most powerful agent in the game, it seems Teixeira feels some sense of freedom.

“I felt at times I was Mark Teixeira, Scott Boras client instead of Mark Teixeira, baseball player,” he said. “But, we had a great relationship and he gave me everything I asked for contract-wise. I’m 100 percent happy in New York, absolutely love it here, but at the same time, the next six years of my career aren’t going to be about a contract.

“(Being a Boras client) weighed on me my entire career. That’s not negative, that’s just the world we live in. I chose Scott for a reason, because I wanted the best agent for my career and for my contracts.”

Boras got Teixeira the contract he wanted, the eight-year, $180-million deal that will keep Teixeira in New York through 2016. For the past year, though, Teixeira has used a different agency to represent him through his many charitable commitments.

“Ever since I was a rookie people talked about my free agent contract,” Teixeira said. “It was unfortunate for me, for my teammates. Once that contract’s over and you’re settled and I’m here in New York, you start worrying about different things. Winning a championship, winning another championship and then really being involved in the community. On the field I’m completely focused on helping this team win, and off the field it’s helping kid’s out and raising money for Harlem RBI, doing those kinds of things. Right now, the next contract isn’t really on my mind… Sometimes business relationships just run their course, and for me and my family right now, this is the best decision for me.”

Associated Press photo

Joe Girardi didn’t have the numbers in front of him — and he met with the media literally a minute or two after the game had ended — so he wasn’t sure what Joba Chamberlain’s velocity was this afternoon, but he said that this spring the Yankees have clocked Chamberlain throwing harder than at this time the past two years.

“I think it has to do with how he’s breaking his hands,” Girardi said. “He can speed up his arm.”

Chamberlain has reverted back to old mechanics, moving his hands lower. It’s a small tweak, but it’s also something that worked in the past. Chamberlain credited the increased velocity, at least partially, to a different set of old habits.

“I felt like my first year when my velocity was good and everything like that, it was because I really never stopped playing catch,” he said. “I wanted to take that and use that to see if it helped. As far as velocity-wise and feel on the mound, I think it’s a night-and-day difference to the previous two or three years I think.”

Chamberlain started throwing a lot earlier this offseason, and he tried to throw quite a bit more.

“I think I’m doing everything I can to get back to where I was,” he said.

• Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 and made solid contact today. “I didn’t get so many questions about it,” Girardi said. “He hit two line drives, so everyone’s not concerned today.”

• Russell Martin will DH again tomorrow, and he’s scheduled to catch on Friday. He’ll be wearing a very light knee brace that he labeled a precaution. He wore it today and said it’s light and doesn’t bother him. “Until it’s completely 100 percent, it will be like a safety net for me,” Martin said.

• Jesus Montero will be the starting catcher tomorrow.

• One more catching note, Girardi said it will be at least two days before Cervelli plays in another game, no matter what the final results of the MRI indicate. For whatever it’s worth, Cervelli was optimistic when he left the stadium. “I think it’s nothing bad,” he said. “A couple of days and that’s it.”

• Mariano Rivera will throw batting practice next week. Rafael Soriano is a few days ahead of Rivera, but he has also not thrown to hitters yet.

• Greg Golson will play tomorrow. He went through batting practice with no problems, but Girardi decided to give him on more day. “He could have played today,” Girardi said.

• Sergio Mitre pitched only one inning, but that was planned. He’s had lest rest between appearances than the other rotation candidates, so he’s had two shorter outings. He’ll go deeper into the game when he starts on Monday.

• During batting practice, Jorge Posada went through more defensive drills at first base, fielding throws from shortstop.

• The Yankees reserves had an eventful top of the seventh: Jordan Parraz made an error in right field, Brandon Laird threw a ball away at third base and Melky Mesa made a strong but offline throw home where catcher Austin Romine got a glove on the ball but didn’t catch it. All of that led to four unearned runs off David Phelps, who had pitched a scoreless sixth.

• The Yankees won on Martin’s bases-loaded walk off Lance Pendleton, the former Yankees minor leaguer in Astros camp as a Rule 5 pick. Pendleton wasn’t supposed to pitch today, but was summoned after Douglas Arguello allowed four hits and two walks and couldn’t pitch around Houston’s own defensive mistakes. It was a 6-5 Yankees win, their second of the spring.

• Hector Noesi got the win with two scoreless innings. Boone Logan allowed the first Houston run in the fifth inning.

• Jordan Maxwell was 1-for-1 with a walk and a stolen base. During that ninth-inning rally, Dan Brewer, Austin Romine, Melky Mesa and Eduardo Nunez each had base hits, Kevin Russo and Martin drew walks, and Jordan Parraz reached on an error. Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira had hits earlier in the game.

Associated Press photos of Chamberlain, Jeter and Cervelli. The Chamberlain photo is from earlier this spring. Didn’t see one from today’s game.