The LoHud Yankees Blog

Here’s Joe Girardi’s quick take on Sergio Mitre’s start this afternoon: “His sinker, when it was down, was not (for) strikes. And when it was up they hit it.”

That’s pretty much a worst-case scenario for a pitcher like Mitre. He needs the sinker to be effective, and he didn’t have the sinker today. Through just three innings, Mitre allowed five hits and five runs. He gave up two homers. Of course, the Yankees have seen Mitre when his sinker is working. They know he can be better than this, and they know he can be this bad.

“I don’t look at it as a setback,” Mitre said. “I’m hoping they don’t base everything off of one spring start.”

The Yankees won’t base everything off one spring start, but right now Ivan Nova and Bartolo Colon are clearly the rotation candidates stringing together the most quality spring starts. Mitre’s ERA jumped from 2.25 to 5.73 this afternoon. Freddy Garcia’s spring ERA is 5.93.

Is Mitre guaranteed at least a spot in the bullpen?

“There’s still decisions to be made there,” Girardi said.

Is Mitre certain he has a spot on the roster?

“I hope so,” Mitre said. “I don’t think there should be any reason why not. If I still have to worry about that then I’m probably not doing something right. I think I’ve done enough, and they’ve seen enough to where they know that I can get the job done. That’s just one thing that never crossed my mind, whether I’m making the team or not.”

• Mitre made it clear the he felt no pain today. “It’s not a problem physically,” he said. “The problem I was running into today was falling behind in the count.”

• Girardi said it’s possible he’ll have two different lineups, one for right-handed pitchers and one for lefties. It might make sense to bat Brett Gardner leadoff against righties and Derek Jeter against lefties (especially considering Andruw Jones will play a lot against lefties, occasionally starting in Gardner’s place).

• Probably goes without saying, but Girardi said the Yankees will probably have to carry another outfielder if Curtis Granderson is out for an extended period of time. Eduardo Nunez doesn’t have enough experience to be the fourth outfielder. “I think if Curtis was out for a while, I think we would go with another outfielder,” Girardi said. “Andruw (in the lineup), and then we would add someone.”

• Avoiding another AL East opponent, Rafael Soriano pitched in a minor league game this afternoon. He went 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and one run. The hit was a solo homer.

• Girardi on the Eric Chavez injury: “He said he felt better today. I said, ‘Well I’m going to wait until Friday anyway.’ It just makes sense.”

• Speaking of injury prone veterans in Yankee camp: Mark Prior pitched another scoreless inning this afternoon. He’s clearly not what he once was, but Prior seems to have shown enough to possibly become an option at some point. “We see his arm speed getting there, (and) we see his offspeed getting there,” Girardi said.

• Greg Golson said his sore oblique felt good today. He got a hit in his first at-bat and felt good through his schedule four innings. “It feels better than I thought it would,” he said.

• As for the idea of maybe landing a roster spot if Granderson is hurt, Golson refused to look at the injury as an opportunity. “Any time you’ve got a jersey on your back and you’re playing you’ve got an opportunity,” he said.

• Luis Ayala came into camp pretty far off the radar, but he’s had a nice spring. He threw another scoreless inning today, dropping his ERA to 0.93. He’s struck out eight and walked none this spring.

• Nick Swisher’s second double of the spring was the Yankees only extra-base hit in today’s 6-2 loss. Swisher had two of the Yankees seven hits. The others went to Golson, Andruw Jones, Melky Mesa, Jesus Montero and Kevin Russo.

Associated Press photos of Mitre, Girardi and Prior

Joba Chamberlain gave up a home run today. He also threw his fastball in the mid-90s, struck out two and came through his first outing in more than a week without any pain in his strained oblique.

If tomorrow were Opening Day, would the most talked about middle reliever in all of baseball be ready for the season?

“One thousand percent,” Chamberlain said. “I’ve probably never felt this ready as far as physically and my secondary stuff and also being able to rely on my fastball when I need to. You have to make adjustments when you’re in this game a long time. I learned that the hard way when I got beat around a little bit. You have to be able to make those adjustments. These guys are too good in this league to not make those.”

The adjustment for Chamberlain has been a back-to-basics approach. He’s not trying to throw the ball hard — leading to ugly mechanics — he’s letting his back side do the work, and the velocity is coming easily.

“Being at 95 right now, really easy, I don’t think I’ve really let any loose yet,” Chamberlain said. “That’s a good sign for me. The inconsistency in my velocity is just my mechanics.”

It’s been an odd spring for Chamberlain. First he showed up with the setup job given to someone else. Then there were all the questions about his weight. Then there was the oblique injury that he seemed to never really consider an injury.

“Maybe odd in that sense,” Joe Girardi said. “Not odd that there’s been a lot of attention for Joba. Seems like very spring since I’ve been here there’s been a lot of attention surrounding Joba, whether he’s a reliever or the bullpen or whatever his role is. This year it’s been a different kind of attention. Hopefully this injury gets behind him and he can get back to doing what he loves to do.”

Chamberlain is always an upbeat guy, and today was no different. He said he didn’t feel he had any more to prove than anyone else in that clubhouse. He has a spot on this roster, he feels healthy and he’s ready for March 31.

“Once I warmed up and got ready, I knew there wasn’t going to be any problems,” he said. “This is the best I’ve felt in spring training.”

Here’s Chamberlain, complete with his fake outrage when a cell phone rang mid-interview. It wasn’t mine.

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Associated Press photo

Curtis Granderson felt something in his right oblique during his last swing of batting practice this morning. He didn’t tell the Yankees right away and instead went forward with his usual pregame running and throwing.

“He said that did not bother him, so that’ at least encouraging,” Joe Girardi said. “But I think you really have to wait to see how he feels tomorrow to have a good handle on what it is and decide what we do next.”

Girardi said that, as of now, no tests are scheduled, but the Yankees really aren’t sure what they’re dealing with. They’ve seen Sergio Mitre’s oblique injury cost him only a couple of days, and they’ve seen Greg Golson’s cost two full weeks.

“I’m concerned,” Girardi said. “But at least he gave us a good sign by being able to go out there and saying if it was the season, he would have played. But I think you still have to wait because there’s adrenalin in there.”

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Also, Brian Cashman says the Yankees aren’t interested in recently released Mets starter Oliver Perez.

“I was asked above me to look into it just to be certain,” Cashman said. “We always look at everything, but it’s not something that right now makes sense for us based on everything we’ve seen.”

YANKEES (9-13-3)
Melky Mesa CF
Nick Swisher DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Andruw Jones RF
Jesus Montero C
Greg Golson LF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Brandon Laird 3B

RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 2.25)
Mitre vs. Orioles

ORIOLES (10-11-2)
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Matt Wieters C
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Luke Scott LF
Adam Jones CF
Mark Reynolds 3B
J.J. Hardy SS
Jake Fox 1B

LHP Zach Britton (1-0, 0.00)
Britton vs. Yankees

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

WEATHER: Bright and sunny, and as Joe Girardi said pregame, it’s unusually calm. There’s usually a lot of wind, but today’s not too bad for this place. The flags are blowing out to center field, but it’s not as overwhelming as usual.

UMPIRES: HP Manny Gonzalez, 1B Bill Welke, 2B Chad Fairchild, 3B Darren Budahn

ON THE LINE: Sergio Mitre is still in the rotation competition, but he seems to be the most natural fit in the open long-relief spot. That’s technically on the line, but in reality, the most important thing we’ll learn today is whether Curtis Granderon’s oblique injury leaves him doubtful for Opening Day.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE YANKEES: Joba Chamberlain is making his first appearance since a sore oblique. Mark Prior, Luis Ayala and Romulo Sanchez are also on this trip and likely to pitch.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE ORIOLES: LHP Michael Gonzalez and RHP Jason Berken.

LATE SCRATCH: Still waiting for any sort of update on Granderson’s oblique. The Yankees have seen a series of oblique injuries this spring (including three guys player in today’s game: Chamberlain, Golson and Mitre).

LIKE A FOX: Orioles first baseman Jake Fox has seven home runs, the most of any major leaguer this spring.

UPDATE, 1:27 p.m.: Golson singled in his first at-bat back. Have to think he could sneak onto the Opening Day roster if this Granderson injury is serious.

Also, it’s 1-0 Orioles after an inning and a half. Mitre allowed a run on two hits in the first inning.

UPDATE, 1:45 p.m.: The Yankees have tied it on an RBI grounder to short by Teixeira. Really, Mesa created the run. He singled, took second on Swisher’s single and alertly advanced to third on a ball in the dirt.

UPDATE, 2:05 p.m.: Might see some of the minor league pitchers today. Mitre is struggled in his second appearance against the Orioles. In this third inning he’s balked in one run and allowed two home runs, a solo shot by Jake Fox and a two-run homer by Luke Scott. It’s 5-1 Orioles.

UPDATE, 2:19 p.m.: Might be a little more wind up high because Mark Reynolds just went deep on a ball that looked like a fly out off the bat. Instead, it was a one-out home run off Joba Chamberlain, who entered the game in the fourth after Mitre struggled through his three innings.

Curtis Granderson has been scratched from today’s lineup with a strained right oblique. No clue how serious it is, and haven’t heard yet who’s taking his spot in the lineup.

Quick, who’s the one member of the Yankees 40-man roster you least expected to read about this morning?

I can tell you Damaso Marte is the guy I least expected to write about this morning, but when the clubhouse opened, there he was.

“I think I can pitch this season because I feel very good,” he said.

Although the Yankees haven’t been counting on Marte’s return, Marte he’s ready to do some strength exercises with those elastic tubes, and he actually thinks he might start throwing fairly soon.

Marte’s encouraged. Whether he can actually get back remains to be seen.

If you’re interested, Marte took the locker vacated by Dellin Betances. I’d say there’s a solid chance someone from that locker will pitch in New York this season, but I’m not sure which one is most likely.

• Speaking of unexpected guys in the clubhouse, George Kontos came up from the minor league complex to be available out of the bullpen. The Rule 5 pick said he was happy with the way he threw in Padres camp, but at some point it became clear they didn’t have a spot for him. He said he no longer feels any sort of discomfort in his Tommy John elbow, and some of the velocity is starting to come back on his fastball. He’s also added a two-seamer that’s been effective this spring.

• Eric Chavez was able to take batting practice today and said he’ll probably go through a full set of drills tomorrow. His calf got tight during Sunday’s game, but it felt better yesterday and Chavez seems completely unconcerned about the whole thing. And this is a guy who has reason to worry about injuries.

• Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia are throwing sides today.

• Surely at some point the Yankees will actually give Justin Snyder an at-bat in one of these big league games. He keeps coming over to the big league complex to be a backup, but he doesn’t have much to show for it.

• This was probably the quietest clubhouse of the spring. The guys who are making today’s trip got in and out quickly, and the guys who aren’t making the trip probably weren’t early risers after last night’s late game in Port Charlotte. Joe Girardi’s not meeting with the media until we get to Sarasota.

• Out of the bullpen: Joba Chameberlain, Mark Prior, Luis Ayala, Romulo Sanchez, Ryan Pope, Steve Garrison, George Kontos and Wilkins Arias.

• Off the bench: C Gustavo Molina, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Ramiro Pena, SS Doug Bernier, 3B Kevin Russo, LF Justin Maxwell, CF Melky Mesa, RF Jordan Parraz

Associated Press photo

And a new contestant enters the leadoff race! But not really.

Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Andruw Jones RF
Jesus Montero C
Greg Golson LF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Brandon Laird 3B

Sergio Mitre RHP

Bartolo Colon has outpitched Freddy Garcia this spring. It that weren’t obvious before tonight, six innings of two-hit, one-run ball from Colon surely removed any doubt. Thing is, the Yankees are weighing more than spring training numbers in choosing their fourth and fifth starters.

“I know what Freddy is,” Brian Cashman said. “I’ve seen it. He is what he is. I know what he is. Bartolo is a little bit more of a newbie in the fact that, alright, this guy is really showing us a lot of good stuff and it’s nice to see, but is it enough? Have we seen enough? Is the comfort level there?”

Colon hasn’t pitched in a year in a half. He’s 37 years old and reported to camp admittedly 25 to 30 pounds overweight. Pitching well in March is no guarantee he’ll pitch well in April, and it’s certainly no guarantee he’ll hold up through June and July.

“(The weight) is somewhat of a concern because of his stamina and if we get into the dog days, how his body holds up,” Joe Girardi said. “It hasn’t been cool here and he seems to bounce back well from day to day. In Anaheim, I’m not sure what weight he pitched at, but he was fairly large there too.”

Ultimately, there’s no way the Yankees will have enough information to make a risk-free decision. They have one week before Girardi’s self-imposed roster deadline of March 28. At that point they’ll have to do the best they can with what they have.

“We’ve all been deceived in March before,” Cashman said. “But we’ve also been rewarded with March before. You go through the motions. You put the work in. You see what you see in the games, and you have to make a call. And you hope it’s going to be the right call. We might be picking the right guy, we might be picking the wrong guy. Just have to wait and see.”

Here’s Yankees catcher Russell Martin talking about what he’s seeing from Colon. Safe to say, he’s been impressed.

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• Cashman refused to say whether Ivan Nova has already secured a spot in the rotation. “That’s a good question, but not one I’m going to answer,” he said.

• It doesn’t sound serious, but Eric Chavez has been shutdown for a few days with spasms in his right calf. Girardi said Chavez won’t play again until Friday. “I didn’t see a lot of concern from him,” Girardi said. As of right now, no tests are scheduled.

• Including the sixth inning, Colon was consistently throwing 91-93 with his fastball. Martin said he also mixed in more cutters than usual, which worked as an effective combination with the two-seamer. He had to throw another 18 to 20 pitches in the bullpen after the game.

• Here’s Martin on Colon: “His command is what has impressed me the most. He throws so many strikes. It almost gets to the point where, when we get ahead 0-2, you almost want to expand a little bit more than he has. Guys are swinging because he is throwing so many strikes. If there is any adjustment to make, it would just be maybe throwing a little less quality pitches with two strikes and maybe expanding a little more.”

• After a streak of eight scoreless innings, Manny Banuelos allowed a solo home run to Dan Johnson in the seventh inning. He responded by striking out B.J. Upton in the very next at-bat. Banuelos took the loss tonight, allowing two runs on three hits through two innings.

• The Yankees were held to just four hits, none for extra bases. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Ramiro Pena and Justin Maxwell had the singles. Jeter and Brett Gardner each stole a base.

• Another minor injury: Ramiro Pena has a sort left shoulder and had it iced after the game, but he said it’s a non-issue. Girardi described it as normal spring training soreness.

• Tomorrow in Sarasota, Joba Chamberlain will pitch for the first time since March 11. “He felt he’s been over it since it started,” Cashman said. “He’s like, ‘I feel fine, I feel fine.’ I’m glad that the trainers are ready to place him in a game situation now. Next thing you know — knock on wood — if it all goes well, you forget that he had to be pushed back a little bit.”

• Cashman said Freddy Garcia’s upcoming outing on Thursday’s off day will be a minor league start.

• More or less echoing Cashman’s comments, Girardi said he doesn’t expect to learn anything from Garcia’s minor league outing this week. “For us, not a whole lot,” Girardi said. “I think we have a pretty good idea what Freddy can do.”

• Brett Gardner is off tomorrow, but Girardi said he expects to have Gardner leading off and Jeter batting second the next two times they play together. “We’re starting to play them together and we’re trying to see what it looks like,” he said. “You’ll probably see that again on Friday too, and Wednesday.”

• Girardi said this afternoon that he had absolutely no idea how Mariano Rivera did in his minor league outing this morning. “We’re not really worried about him,” Girardi said. “If something went wrong, I would have known.” Rivera went two innings, three hits and two strikeouts.

Associated Press photos

YANKEES (9-12-3)
Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter DH
Jorge Posada 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Ramiro Pena SS
Eduardo Nunez LF
Justin Maxwell RF

RHP Bartolo Colon (1-0, 3.00)
Colon vs. Rays

RAYS (9-12-1)
Ben Zobrist RF
Johnny Damon LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Dan Johnson 1B
B.J. Upton CF
Casey Kotchman DH
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Reid Brignac SS
Kelly Shoppach C

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 3.38)
Hellickson vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., according to an email from MLB Network, tonight’s game will be available on MLB Network in the New York area

WEATHER: A few clouds, but it doesn’t seem threatening. Should be clear for nine innings.

UMPIRES: HP Tim Tschida, 1B Jeff Kellogg, 2B Brian O’Nora, 3B Fieldin Culbreth

ON THE LINE: This game seems to be all about Colon. Granted, it’s another chance for Joe Girardi to see his lineup with Gardner in the leadoff spot — and it’s another opportunity to Nunez to prove he can play the outfield if necessary — but the pressure is on the Yankees starter, who’s making a surprising run at the back end of the rotation.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE YANKEES: LHP Manny Banuelos is on the trip and available for multiple innings in relief of Colon, but Girardi made it clear that Banuelos won’t come into the game in the middle of an inning. He has RHP Romulo Sanchez and a handful of minor league guys to fill that role.

OUT OF THE BULLPEN FOR THE RAYS: RHP Kyle Farnsworth, RHP Juan Cruz and RHP Joel Peralta.

TOMORROW’S TRAVELERS TODAY: Tomorrow the Yankees are playing a day game in Sarasota. It’s a pretty brutal turnaround, because the team probably won’t get back to Tampa until well past midnight, and the players will need to report to Steinbrenner Field pretty early to catch the bus.

Pitchers who will be making the trip: Luis Ayala, Joba Chamberlain, Steve Garrison, Sergio Mitre, Ryan Pope, Mark Prior, Romulo Sanchez and Eric Wordekemper.

Players who will not be making the trip: Russell Martin, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, Eric Chavez, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Brett Gardner.

GOOD START: The Yankees starters have lost just two games this spring and have a combined 3.81 ERA through 73.2 innings. They have allowed 14 walks with 64 strikeouts.

UPDATE, 6:57 p.m.: Brian Cashman spoke before today’s game, but didn’t offer much we don’t already know. He wouldn’t comment on whether Ivan Nova has locked up a rotation spot.

“I can’t tell you when we’re going to make the decision yet,” he said. “I can just tell you the next two days are important for each individual, in Bartolo’s case and Sergio’s case, to show us what they can do and how well they can continue it.”

UPDATE, 7:34 p.m.: Two scoreless innings for Colon, who’s also had to cover first base twice and did so with no problems.

UPDATE, 8:10 p.m.: Colon is through four innings. He’s allowed one hit, no walks and struck out four. The guy keeps impressing.

UPDATE, 8:20 p.m.: Really nice catch by Justin Maxwell to start the fifth inning, then two routine outs to end it. That’s five scoreless innings from Colon.

UPDATE, 8:36 p.m.: It’s a 1-0 Yankees lead as Gardner scores on a ground ball in the sixth. Melky Mesa pinch ran for Jorge Posada and broke up a double play with an aggressive slide on the play.

UPDATE, 8:43 p.m.: Solo homer by Shoppach in the sixth, but Colon followed it with a strikeout and ground out. It’s 1-1 after six innings, Colon still sitting at 91-93 with his fastball.

UPDATE, 8:57 p.m.: After eight scoreless innings this spring, Manny Banuelos has finally allowed a run on Dan Johnson’s deep home run to right field. It’s now 2-1 Rays in the seventh.

There were open boxes scattered through the Yankees clubhouse this morning, and players were beginning to pack away some of their things. We’re getting near the end here, and Bartolo Colon is still very much a relevant part of Yankees camp.

“It is impressive,” Joe Girardi said. “When you watch him, it’s pretty simple how he does it. He’s almost a short-armer. His mechanics, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lot that can go wrong. When you watch him pitch, he’s very consistent. He’s kind of reinvented himself. He still throws up to 93, but you’re not going to see that 97 or 98 we used to see in the seventh and eighth inning.”

Tonight Colon will make his fourth official start. He’s also thrown a sim game and is stretched out to around 90 pitches. He’s going to work his way through a Rays lineup that’s full of legitimate major leaguers. No Manny Ramirez, but these guys can hit.

Colon is the Yankees most significant surprise of the spring, and he might very well be pitching his way onto this roster.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what we’ve seen from this guy,” Girardi said. “I heard that he was throwing pretty decent in winter ball, but we’re talking about spring training, coming off injuries and having to do it every fifth or sixth day. How is he going to do? I don’t remember the sink on his ball that he has now. I don’t remember his changeup being that good and I don’t remember his breaking ball being that good. I remember him being more of a power pitcher that could locate. Now he can do the other things – and still locate – and he’s been effective.”

Here’s the lineup he’ll be facing.

RAYS
Ben Zobrist RF
Johnny Damon LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Dan Johnson 1B
B.J. Upton CF
Casey Kotchman DH
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Reid Brignac SS
Kelly Shoppach C

RHP Jeremy Hellickson

Associated Press photo