News of the day…
- Both Joba Chamberlain and Ivan Nova did some early bullpen work, getting individual attention from Larry Rothschild. Joba, like Phil Hughes, is already throwing breaking balls. Hughes did some bullpen work today as well. (Chad Jennings)
- Freddy Garcia says he can survive at 88-89 mph, but there are days when it falls to 83-84. Yikes. “That’s why I’m here [to win a rotation spot,” said Sweaty Freddy. “If you don’t think that way, don’t be here … I don’t worry about anybody else. I have to worry about myself. If I don’t worry about myself, I’m f—-d.” Ed Price points out that Garcia is a notoriously poor Spring Training pitcher. (Marc Carig & Mark Feinsand)
- Bartolo Colon came to camp at 267 lbs. and his goal is to lose 25 of them. “The problem’s not the weight, it’s the arm,” he said. “I feel really good right now the way I am, but I feel like I need to go down with my weight a little bit more.” The Yankees have Colon on a special cardio program, but apparently he was throwing 94 mph in winter ball. (Carig, Carig, Jennings & Bryan Hoch)
- Rafael Soriano will get his first bullpen session in sometime next week, and he’s not expected to need many game appearances to get ready for the season. Oh, and Hector Noesi is expected to be in camp by Sunday following his visit issues. (Jennings)
- The Yankees assigned Soriano number 29 and Frankie Cervelli number 17, so Frankie didn’t get anything out of the switch. Sucks for him. (Hoch)
- Pedro Feliciano is rocking Javy Vazquez’s old number (31), and his friends back home in Puerto Rico told him to “get rid of the voodoo.” Does that make sense? That seems like a weird thing to say. (Hoch)
- Position players are due to report and take physicals tomorrow. The first full squad workout of the season will take place on Sunday. (Jennings)
Here’s the nightly open thread. The Rangers are playing the Islanders Devils, and the entire NBA is off for the All-Star break. Feel free to talk about whatever your heart desire. Enjoy.