In what I guess would be called his introductory press conference, Kevin Towers sat right next to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman in the home dugout here at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The two spoke for about 10 minutes about Towers’ new role as special assignment scout.

“Everybody knows that Kevin and I are the best of friends,” Cashman said. “But I’m not in the business of hiring friends. This is all about business. I’ve got a lot of friends, I just don’t hire all of them. He’s here for professional reasons, to make us better.”

Towers was fired by the San Diego Padres last year, but he has a great reputation for his baseball mind and his scouting eye. He will cover both professional and amateur scouting for the Yankees, and Cashman said he wouldn’t rule out sending him for some international trips.

“It will be a different pool of players that I’ll be focusing on,” Towers said. “In San Diego, the months of November and December for me were trade months. We just weren’t able to be real competitive in the free agent market. Our free agent season was usually late February, who was left over. If anything, I might be able to bring to Cash and his staff here, there is probably a pool of players I focused on that maybe they didn’t focus on. Might be able to find a diamond in the rough.”

Here’s the entire session, with Cashman speaking first, then Towers, then some back and forth between the two.

Joe Girardi never said it explicitly, but he gave plenty of hints about his preliminary opening day lineup, and we’ll see it in action on Tuesday.

“Obviously you have an inclination going in, what you think it might be,” Girardi said. “We’re doing some things to move guys around, but Tuesday is going to be pretty close to what it’s going to be, probably.”

We already know Derek Jeter will be leading off, with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez batting third and fourth. Yesterday, Girardi indicated a strong preference for Nick Johnson in the No. 2 hole.

“If you’re going to hit a left-hander fifth, you prefer to have a switch-hitter sixth,” Girardi said. “Then maybe another left-hander seventh, and then a switch-hitter eighth, and then maybe another left-hander.”

Which left-hander will be batting fifth?

“That’s probably where (Cano) will be Tuesday,” he said.

Sounds like this is the lineup the Yankees are leaning toward. Things can change in the final three weeks of spring training — Girardi was careful to say that several times — but this should be the lineup that “could really resemble” the opening day lineup.

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

Here’s the Girardi audio. It’s primarily about the lineup, and Cano in particular. It’s from this morning, so there are no game details.

Last time out, CC Sabathia was frustrated. His back leg was dropping down, keeping him from staying on top of the ball and causing him to lose command of his pitches. Today in Bradenton, he was much better.

“It’s something I have to think about early, at the beginning of spring training and couple of times during the year,” Sabathia said. “But during the year, as we get going, I’ll feel it on a couple of pitches and I’m able to correct it as opposed to going a whole inning of doing the same thing and running off the field with Dave (Eiland) telling me I’m collapsing.”

Sabathia was good today. He was charged with three runs through 4.1 innings, but two of those came while he was out of the game. He was on a 60-pitch limit, and that was enough to carry him into the fifth inning. His balls-to-strikes ratio wasn’t great — 57 pitches, 29 strikes — but when Joe Girardi  was asked about it he said, “CC’s the least of my concerns.”

“I felt more together,” Sabathia said. “Fastball felt more crisp. Cutters were good, down in the dirt. Changeup was a lot better. I’m definitely pleased with the progress I made today.”

Here’s the big man talking about his day. You’ll hear an occasional pounding sound. I was standing right next to Sabathia, and he kept smacking the ice pack wrapped around his left shoulder. I guess he was making sure it was tight.

UPDATE, 5:01 p.m.: Just got word that Zach McAllister was reassigned to minor league camp after today’s game.

It remains difficult for me to believe that the Yankees fifth starter won’t be either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, but Alfredo Aceves is making a strong case early in spring training.

Through 10 innings he’s allowed one run, and that came on today’s solo homer. He has otherwise allowed just two hits — one of them an infield single — while walking none and striking out five. We’re talking about 10 innings, so the sample size is very small and a lot can change between now and April 1, but Aceves has been terrific.

“It’s been impressive,” Joe Girardi said. “It has been because of the different things he’s able to do with the baseball. Change speeds. Movement. Late movement. Pitch up, down. Change eye level. Change in and out. He can do all of those things.”

Aceves said he’s not paying attention to what the other rotation candidates are doing and he quickly pointed out that there are still 20 games to play. It’s very, very early to start thinking about April 4, but give credit where it’s due.

Here’s Girardi, giving a lot of that due credit.

• Sounds very much like Girardi is leaning toward Nick Johnson as the No. 2 hitter. “Nick really fits that bill being the on-base percentage guy,” Girardi said. “But we have to look at how the whole lineup works. When you look at what Nick does, he really fits that area.”

• I believe Curtis Granderson had to make three plays in left field today. One of them was a pretty tough running catch near the stands. “It was a tough wind and sun day,” Girardi said. “It wasn’t an easy day to play left field so I thought he looked good.”

• Boone Logan pitched another hitless inning that included two lefties. Royce Ring also pitched a scoreless inning of relief and Dave Robertson struck out the side in his inning.

• Good day for the big league regulars: Jorge Posada had three hits, Nick Johnson, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira had two each, and Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner each had one.

• Francisco Cervelli went 2-for-3 in his return from a concussion. He had a hit in his first at-bat since getting hit in the head a week ago.

• Aside from pitchers and catchers, it’s pretty rare that young guys get to stay home for a spring training road trip, so Ramiro Pena was pretty excited to look at the list for tomorrow and find his name did not have a circle around it. Other position players not going on tomorrow’s trip: P.J. Pilittere, Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Jamie Hoffmann. Originally, Teixeira was making the trip and Juan Miranda was getting the day off, but that has since swapped with Miranda going and Teixeira staying.

• Pitchers making the trip: CC Sabathia, Jonathan Albaladejo, Zach McAllister, Mark Melancon, Dustin Moseley and Ivan Nova.

• The Pirates starter tomorrow is right-hander Charlie Morton.

Andy Pettitte wasn’t going through the motions this afternoon. He was going through the Philadelphia Phillies. During his three-inning simulated game in the indoor cage at Steinbrenner Field, pitching coach Dave Eiland called balls and strikes while Pettitte acted as if he were facing the Phillies lineup.

“I didn’t give up a hit in three innings,” Pettitte said. “Unfortunately, this is what we had to do. I got my normal warm-up in, and then I got all of my throws in. And I’m tired. That was the biggest thing, I just wanted to make sure I’m good and fatigued. Obviously I would have loved to have faced hitters, but the way the weather’s been, I just had to get my work in here today.”

Eiland forced Pettitte into various game situations, occasionally calling a foul ball instead of a strike three. When Pettitte finished with his 50 pitches, he was sweating. Maybe he wasn’t exhausted, but he’d certainly been working.

“You’re trying to challenge him,” Eiland said. “You’re also trying to get his pitch count up. You don’t want to just call balls and strikes, you want to make it kind of game-like. He may throw a pitch in a certain count that might get a swing, but I’m not going to give it to him. You have to make it a challenge. It can’t be a go-through-the-motions thing.”

Pettitte chose the Phillies because that’s who he’ll face on Wednesday in his spring training debut. Twelve years ago, such a late spring training debut might have worried him, but not today.

“I’m just at a stage where, emotionally, I’m not going to get overwhelmed when I’m in a regular game,” Pettitte said. “It’s not going to change that much.”

Here’s Pettitte speaking roughly 60 seconds after his final pitch.

Say what you want about Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, but the most interesting thing I saw all afternoon was the catch that Curtis Granderson made on Miguel Cabrera in the fourth inning.

I know that the defensive value of Granderson vs. Brett Gardner is a hot debate, but when Granderson went back – all the way back – to the wall to catch Cabrera’s 410-foot laser, it was something to see. I’ve always been fascinated by the over-the-shoulder catch, mostly because I think it’s amazing that outfielders are able to see the ball, then look away to run, then turn around and find the ball again. Granderson said the keys to the play are getting a good jump and, even more, listening the other outfielders.

On that play, Gardner and Marcus Thames both began by screaming at Granderson to go back – since they’re on an angle, they can see just how deep the ball is hit – and then, as he approached the wall, they both shouted to let him know that he had just enough room to make the catch without worrying about hitting the wall. As it turned out, he finished about one stride away from the fence. Perfect.

“That’s one of those things where everything has to go right,” Granderson said. “It’s a play that’s hard to practice.”

Take a listen to the audio. It’s pretty interesting to hear just what goes into making a grab like that.

That’s it from here. I’m headed back through the traffic to Tampa. Thanks to everyone for reading today.

Joe Girardi has been saying all spring that he’s not going to focus on statistics when it comes time to decide on the fifth starter. There are other things at work, Girardi says, and not all of them are obvious to the average fan. Here’s an example:

Joba Chamberlain has been told work on getting his pitches in on hitters, particularly right-handers. In his meltdown inning this afternoon, Chamberlain tried to come inside to Austin Jackson and watched Jackson hit a single. Then he tried to come in on Ryan Raburn – another single. Then, a few batters later, he tried to come in on Gerald Laird – grand slam to left and his stat line was suddenly disastrous.

Phil Hughes? He’s been told to work on his change-up. While facing Raburn in the fourth inning today, Hughes was in a 1-1 count. Instead of throwing a cutter (which is what he said he might normally do), Hughes threw two change-ups, both of which missed the plate. Now in a 3-and-1 hole, he had to come over with a fastball that Raburn crushed over the left-field fence.

In both cases, the end results are ugly. But in both cases, the Yankees know that their pitchers were following instructions and trying make themselves better in the long run. Talking about Hughes and his change-up, Girardi said, “I think it comes down to, ‘Does he trust what we’re saying?’ And I think he does.”

My personal opinion is that, regardless of whether it’s based on results or something else, Hughes is firmly in the lead for the fifth starter job. I think the Yankees want him to be a starter long-term and, to this point, he hasn’t done anything that would cost him the spot. Either way, the Yankees are looking at both Chamberlain and Hughes as important pieces for their future – which is why they’re paying attention to a lot more than just the final spring training statistics.

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If you’re interested in more from Hughes and Chamberlain, check out some of the audio below.

Here’s Hughes:

And here’s Chamberlain:

CC Sabathia wasn’t good today. That much was obvious and, equally obviously, he’ll work on his mechanical issues during his side sessions so he can be better the next time out. Such is life in spring training.

While Sabathia was discussing poor mechanics on one side of the room, however, Nick Johnson was on the other wall talking about his improved mechanics at the plate. Johnson has been working with hitting coach Kevin Long on turning his back foot through (as opposed to sliding), and he said that adjustment has allowed him to start pulling the ball more. Witness what he did this afternoon, when he crushed two home runs, both of which went to the right-center part of the park.

Someone mentioned Johnson, who has a career-high of 23 home runs, possibly surpassing that this year if he’s able to pull the ball at Yankee Stadium. “I don’t like to put any numbers on guys,” Joe Girardi said. “(But) we know he’s a really, really good hitter.”

Curtis Granderson was also pleased with his fifth-inning triple, particularly since it allowed him to get out and run a little. “Nice to stretch the legs,” he said. Granderson has been in touch with several of his former teammates in Detroit – he recently had dinner with Dontrellle Willis – and he’s looking forward to facing them tomorrow in Lakeland. “That’s one of the days on the calendar that’s marked,” he said.

Here’s Girardi’s postgame audio. You might notice a long pause early on – that was when he got up to turn off the TV so that it would be a little quieter.

In his second start of last year’s spring training, CC Sabathia got knocked around by the Tigers over in Lakeland. The line was ugly: 1 2/3 innings, six hits, five runs, one day that Sabathia would have liked to forget.

This afternoon – in his second start of this year’s spring training – Sabathia had a similar experience. This time it was the Pirates roughing him up, torching him for five runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings. Afterward, Sabathia was realistic – this is spring training after all – but also not particularly happy.

“Everything was up – belt-high and above. It’s pretty easy to hit when it’s like that,” Sabathia said. “I always say results don’t matter until I give up eight runs in two innings to the Pirates.”

But wait, one writer said, you only gave up five runs. “It should have been eight,” Sabathia replied.

The problem, Dave Eiland told Sabathia, is that he was collapsing on his back leg during his delivery, which flattens out his pitches and really affects his off-speed and breaking balls. Considering how Sabathia reacted to last year’s Lakeland disaster – his regular-season was pretty good, no? – Joe Girardi isn’t particularly concerned.

“Every once in a while, you’re going to have a bad day,” Girardi said.

Sabathia’s audio is pretty interesting. Take a listen below.

Alex Rodriguez met with reporters for a few minutes this morning and offered no new information on when he’ll meet with federal investigators. He did say that he was aware of Anthony Galea’s assertion that he had treated A-Rod, and while he wouldn’t confirm whether that was true, he said, “I’m at ease, no matter what.”

A-Rod has been reasonable in dealing with the questions surrounding this situation, and when asked if he wasn’t saying much because he didn’t want to or because he had been told to keep quiet, A-Rod smiled. “I think the latter,” he said.

Earlier, Francisco Cervelli talked about his concussion and said this latest blow was in the “same spot” as the one he suffered during winter ball. He also revealed that, in addition to these two recent concussions, he suffered one in 2005 in the Gulf Coast League and maybe one more. Asked for details about that fourth one, Cervelli said he couldn’t remember. He joked that he has a “hard head” but that many concussions at age 24 is certainly something to monitor. When someone asked if he was feeling symptoms today, Cervelli said, “It’s not dizzy, it’s not headaches. It’s just … not a lot of energy.” Cervelli will catch a bullpen and hit today, and he seemed determined to play in a game on Friday.

In other injury news, Chan Ho Park estimated he threw about 35 pitches and reported that “everything else is very good.” He would like to pitch in a game soon.

UPDATE, 10:20 a.m.: Since I know everyone loves the Cisco kid, here’s the audio from Cervelli’s interview this morning. I know he wants to get back out there as soon as possible but that’s a lot of head injuries for a kid so young. Better to be cautious.