Sunday notes: Not exactly protecting the plate
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Feb 26, 2012 
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Position players faced live pitching for the first time today, but these early batting practice sessions are about seeing as much as swinging. Hitters often take every pitch, working on their timing and pitch recognition as much as anything.
The first group to take BP this afternoon consisted of every big league outfielder. Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones, Raul Ibanez and Nick Swisher took their hacks against likely Triple-A starter Adam Warren. Gardner had everyone laughing when he said Warren’s fastball looked like it was in the 80s. In reality, for hitters not used to seeing live pitching, it felt much closer to 100.
“I wasn’t throwing too many inside fastballs,” Warren joked.
Last thing a young pitcher wants to do is fling one off the starting center fielder’s head.
“The first time a hitter gets in there, you want them to just to feel comfortable,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s a different look than what they’ve had the last three or four months playing catch or throwing off a mound. They’re not throwing to hitters, so it’s a different look – then there’s the screen in front of them, which a lot of them don’t like. I don’t make too much of it. My biggest concern is that they’re able to throw strikes and that they don’t hit people.”
• Girardi said he’s planning to announce the early spring rotation tomorrow.
• Mariano Rivera threw 22 pitches today. Girardi said he also thought this was earlier than usual for Rivera to be on a mound, but he was told that last spring was more of an exception and this is closer to Rivera’s usual routine. Ultimately, he’s not too concerned about the timing. “I’m pretty sure that he knows what he needs to do,” Girardi said. “And when he says he’s ready to go out there, he’s ready to go. I’m not alarmed.”
• I realize all the best-shape-of-my-life stories get old, and they quite often mean nothing, but the Yankees really do have a lot of guys in noticeably better shape this spring and it’s hard to ignore that. Mark Teixeira, Phil Hughes and Nick Swisher stand out, but Eduardo Nunez is also noticeably stronger. He’s moving closer to Robinson Cano than Ramiro Pena. Nunez said he put on about 14 pounds of muscle without losing any of his speed. He didn’t play winter ball, and just worked out with Cano instead.
• Notice I said closer to Cano, not close to Cano. To be clear, the Yankees second baseman is still quite a bit bigger than the Yankees utility man.
• I spent most of my time on the main field today and didn’t see pitchers fielding practice on the back field. Apparently there were some sloppy moments. “There were a couple throws, making sure guys set their feet,” Girardi said. “…Some guys just don’t throw to the bases as well as they should. That’s why we practice it. It’s a different velocity, a different mindset than they’re used to throwing all the time.”
• Rob Thomson has been taking all of the outfielders through a glove-free drill in the mornings. He tosses the ball to their left or right, and the outfielders have to chase them down and make the catch barehanded. He did that a lot when Justin Maxwell was the only outfielder in camp, and it’s continued now that all of the position players are here.
• David Aardsma is expected to report to camp tomorrow. He should be the final arrival for a full house.
Associated Press photo
As bad as LoHud (sniping) is now (during the winter), I can’t imagine what next Sunday will be like. If they win, it doesn’t mean crap. If they lose, everyone is totally useless and needs to be dumped, starting with Cashman and Girardi.
GB7,They play the Phils on Saturday on mlb.tv, so it will all start a day earlier.
Snipe all you want, as long it’s about baseball, not politics.
BX33 February 26th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
I, too hope that Montero sucks just so that we are not haunted in the future. While it would be nice to teach Hal/Cashman/Girardi a lesson, it is not worth the rage that we’ll experience everyday when Montero becomes Cano with power in the Pacific Northwest while our lineup deteriorates before our eyes with no way to fix it.
///
You want them taught a lesson? Wow, you aim low
.
I want the two management guys fired.
And you’re going to be doubly disappointed: first, because he’s not going to suck, and a second time, because we are going to be filled with rage when he continues to be the extreme opposite of suck.
Both weekend games on television.
MarcCarig Marc Carig
“It’s the strongest I’ve ever been, the best looking I’ve ever been. (Laughs) I mean physically.” – @NickSwisher
Did I mention politics? We’re facing Super Tuesday in a week, and I’m already sick of the ads.
Tom, I didn’t know that it was MLB-TV. Thanks. I was only looking at the YES schedule.
If I was a kid again, and starting another one of my
lousyrock bands of a bygone era, I would seriously consider calling it “The Extreme Opposite of Suck,” even though we probably did suck.“Did I mention politics”
A reference to the prior thread.
Rich,
I think Jesus and The Extreme Opposites of Suck is even snappier.
GB7,
I cant get YES, OR MLB, so it has to be mlb.com for me. Just have to get a new computer with an HDMI port to watch on my HDTV. How’s that for an and acronym-rich post?
JAP
I’m agnostic. j/k
calling for folks to get fired b/c you don’t like their baseball moves? way to stay classy…
“Whatever, Nick.”
Bad attitude.
“Snipe all you want, as long it’s about baseball…”
Better attitude!
Tom, I bought a cable to hook the computer into the TV. Was about $12-$15. Works pretty well.
Well played, Nick.
GB7,
What kind of a connector is that? Work on HDTV?
Rich,
I’m sort of gnostic, but I transgress….
GB7,
Just imagine how this place will react when Pineda gives up a home run.
Tom
I’ve always had Directtv Extra Innings but am going to add MLB.TV this year. In researching I’ve learned there is a multitude of ways to get the picture to your TV. Everything from BlueRay to XBox
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscri.....8;c_id=mlb
“Just imagine how this place will react when Pineda gives up a home run.”
Similar to how Montero (or any other Yankee) would be treated if they didn’t perform well, relative to the leverage of the situation.
Let’s not pretend that any Yankee player is immune to fans’ collective discontent, or conversely, their approval, if they do well.
At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter. Pineda, like every other player, will rise or fall based on his own performance.
Anyone know a good place to see spring training photos? All this talk makes me want to get a look at everyone in camp, but I have only seen the few photos here…
Tom, I use an S-to-Video cable because I don’t have Hi-Definition TV. Depending on your equipment, here’s some things to look at:
http://www.bing.com/images/sea.....=IGRE#x0y0
Is Montero a Yankee again?
National broadcast schedule
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/officia.....b_schedule
For those that do follow the minors, MiLB.com is well worth the $30 a year subscription. A lot of AAA tv broadcasts and almost all of the teams radio vroadcasts. Tampa Yanks don’t have a radio feed.
GB7,
Thanks for the tip, but i have to have that HDMI port.
Paco
http://www.daylife.com/topic/N.....te=daylife
Chad, do you have any info on whether outfielder Cody Johnson is still in the organization or not? The guys is a fair right fielder and huge power, but, those are some ugly strikeout totals.
I have mlb.tv & a samsung blu ray. You just download the Mlb app & sign in and you can watch every game on your tv through the blu ray . It keeps it there too so you can go back and watch any game whenever you want.
Wow, Andruw looks great. Hope he has a great year.
Jacoby Ellsbury is open to discussing a long-term deal to keep him in a Red Sox uniform beyond 2013, writes WEEI.com’s Alex Speier. Ellsbury said he leaves negotiations up to his agent, Scott Boras, but that he loves the city of Boston and its fans.
-MLBTR
I wouldn’t be surprised in Jones forces his way toward a FT job.
Tom do you have a HMDI port on your TV? Looks like a wide USB post.
If your PC is recent then it too should have an HMDI port.
From the HMDI of my DELL to the same of my Samsung LCD HDTV
Thats the route I go. Walmart has HMDI cables fairly cheap of course depending on the length you need.
Pix from camp by Bryan Hoch.
http://bombersbeat.mlblogs.com.....mp-photos/
Andruw is looking pretty good. Can’t be full time though unless he improves dramatically vs rhp.
I know Pineda is a big man, but he doesn’t look overweight in those shots, unless the extra weight is in his legs. Phil looking quite fit too.
Honestly, Montero would have less flack than Pineda will if he gets off to a slow start
Yankee fans loved Montero – even the casual ones who couldn’t name more than 10 players on the team knew who he was. Unlike a lot of prospects, no one wanted to see him traded for anyone (short of another young hitter at a premium position ala Upton), they wanted him to blossom here as a homegrown power hitter star, who also happens to fill a huge need on the team moving forward.
I don’t think fans are unhappy with Pineda, just trading away a bat like Montero’s in the first place was shortsighted regardless of return (again, unless it was for another young bat of comparable talent).
Rhapsody,
No HDMI port. Looking on Ebay now.
tomigeorgia-
you can’t have too many gadgets.
i have a mac mini with a HDMI port and a roku device.either one gets mlb.com on the tv.
plus then you’re all set for netflix streaming movies too. or amazon streaming movies which now comes free with prime membership.
plus there’s your smart phone. it’s really fun seeing how many devices you can get in play at one time
kind of ticks off your wife or girlfriend though.
“Unlike a lot of prospects, no one wanted to see him traded for anyone (short of another young hitter at a premium position ala Upton), they wanted him to blossom here as a homegrown power hitter star, who also happens to fill a huge need on the team moving forward.”
Is there any poll that reflects position?
I’m genuinely asking. There must have been polls, has conducted amongst Yankees fans that suggest reception of this trade is largely negative.
Again, I’m REALLY asking…
randy,
Or both.
“because we are going to be filled with rage when he continues to be the extreme opposite of suck.”
It’ll be manufactured rage, because anticipating being “enraged” about something you already know is a distinct possibility isn’t actually rage, it’s theater.
Jesus went 0-2 w/ a BB in today’s intra-squad game
(popped up vs. Felix, struck out vs. League, walked vs. Grube)
http://tinyurl.com/7k25nmj
“Good morning, good afternoon and goodnight.” Brandon League when walking by a conversation when Jesus Montero questioned what three pitches he saw when he struck out in the Intrasquad game vs. League.
tomingeorgia-
let me rephrase that
oh, and Noesi pitched one inning, faced five batters
(2H – 1ER – 1BB – 1K)
http://tinyurl.com/7aaxslm