Spring Training Game Thread: The First of Many
By
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The grass was a little greener (or less dead, anyway), the sun was a little brighter, and the New York air a little less nauseating when I woke up this morning. Why? Because baseball will be played today. I don’t care that it’s just a Spring Training game, it’s baseball, and we’ve been without it for far too long. I enjoy these games because of the prospects and stuff, but mostly because there’s no stress. Who cares who wins and who loses? There’s plenty of time to worry about that later. This brand of baseball is for pure entertainment in my book.
Bartolo Colon gets his first crack at winning a rotation spot this afternoon, though we really shouldn’t put too much stock in his performance since it’s just his first outing. That works both ways, regardless if he pitches well or poorly. It is worth noting that Colon did pitch in winter ball, so he’s theoretically ahead of the hitters as far as readiness, if you get my drift. He’ll throw two innings or 35 pitches, whichever comes first. I’m guessing the latter.
Brian Schlitter, who the Yankees lost on waivers to the Phillies after claiming him off waivers from the Cubs, is scheduled to pitch today for Philadelphia. Here’s the lineup, or at least the one that will start the game. Joe Girardi said yesterday that the regulars will get two at-bats then hit the showers…
Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Swisher, RF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robbie Cano, 2B
Jorge Posada, DH
Curtis Granderson, CF
Frankie Cervelli, C
Brett Gardner, LF
Scheduled to Pitch: Bartolo Colon, Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, David Phelps, Hector Noesi, and Eric Wordekemper.
Also Scheduled to Play: Austin Romine (C), Jorge Vazquez (1B), Kevin Russo (2B), Eduardo Nunez (SS), Brandon Laird (3B), Colin Curtis (LF), Greg Golson (CF), Justin Maxwell (RF), and Andruw Jones (DH).
The game can be seen on either YES or the MLB Network, and begins at 1:05pm ET. George Steinbrenner will be honored during a pregame ceremony; here’s that press release. Enjoy the game.
274 Comments»
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BASEBAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Sorry. I just felt the need to say that.
perfectly understandable
Pizza? Check. Beer? Check. Teixeira jersey? Check. Drinking buddies? Check.
Here we go.
Baseball baseball baseball?
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
Yeah buddy!!
Hearing that YES intro music makes me salivate. I’m like one of Pavlov’s dogs. This is sad.
+162
baseball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i actually missed michael kay
Yeah, we can bash Kay all we want, but I’ve missed baseball so much that I’m absolutely happy to hear his voice opening up a Yankees baseball game.
Play ball!
I’ve never been happier to see Michael Kay.
Just wait until September . . .
I never thought I’d be so excited to hear the YES intro and sound of Michael Kay’s voice.
Yo Mike: You got two C’s up there. Just FYI, slide Jorge over to DH.
I just got YES network, but this game is blacked out. Is this because its also on MLB network?
It should be the other way around, blacked out on MLBN but on YES.
I’m in Florida, does that make a difference?
No idea, sorry.
absolutely. I’m in Chicago, get it on MLB, not on YES.
It’s possible that all out-of-market games are blocked out if the Marlins or Rays (are you in one of their market zones?) are on TV. That might be the case during the season, too, so I’d call your cable provider ASAP!
Is the game on MLBN?
I get YES in Chicago. It’s useless here. Never airs a game (and as I learned today, not even Spring training games.) Best thing about YES in Chicago for me is Post Season Post Game shows.
The YES Network, outside of the New York area, doesn’t actually air Yankees games. It’s an absolute rip.
really? My old man lives in MA and had the YES network through DirecTV, he used to get all the Yankees games
so is the rank priority MLBN; Local Channels; and then ESPN/Fox?
im assuming u have uverse and are watching on 1702. if thats the case, and youre outta the NY market, youll never get any games…. it will say “viewing blacked out in your area” from 5 minutes before the game until 5 minutes after the game… this will happen all season
you’re gonna need to get mlbtv or extra innings
gossage looks more “american chopper” every year
Loving the Steinbrenner Tribute
The greatest form of charity is anonymity. And now let’s show you everything he did.
LOLZ… Anonimity and Steinbrenner never feel like they go hand in hand, huh
I had the exact same thought, but then again, it’s not George who is talking about everything he did, it’s now his family, so he gets a pass. He did keep all that stuff quiet.
Yeah I know. It is a tribute after all.
Batting second, number 24, Robinson Cano! Number 24.
Oh wait…
holy mother of christ, is that Steinbrenner’s granddaughter?
not ugly…
I wonder what it would be like to be a member of one of these families. I went out with a relative of the Rockefeller family last night. I just can’t imagine how that must be.
/random thoughts before game actually starts.
this might be in poor taste but Steinbrenner died 7 months ago, is there any reason to do another big tribute? Dont get me wrong i appreciate what he did for the game and the yankees blah blah blah blah but like enough already with the roses and video tributes. its a little much.
pfft, its the first ST game without George there. they had to do it.
This is heartless. The field is named after him. After everything he did for us you can’t bear to watch a short 15 minute tribute to the man who built the Yankees into what they are today? George was a good owner and a great man. He deserves far more tributes than we give him.
Please get a hold of yourself.
I tuned in late on purpose.
Troll fight! Troll fight!!!!
I think it’s totally overdone. But I figure it’s his field. He was a huge influence in Tampa. I don’t expect them to do anything special for Opening Day, but then again, when do the Yankees not overdo things like that?
It’s the first game on the field named after him
i may sound like a heartless bastard myself… but ya, i found this a little over the top
I think we don’t realize just how big a deal George was in Tampa, so it’s not just that it’s at the field named after him, it’s kinda letting the Tampa community have their own ceremony for him at the same time.
this is a good point, a better way to look at it
Damn the Yankees stretch out all the way to the RF wall.
Kind of fitting that Cliff Lee is here on opening day!
she’s already better than Christina Aguilera
she sang the anthem pretty well. … she does looks like a Streinbrenner in HD though….
I want baseball, this is not helping my hangover.
Lineups! First pitch! BASEBALL!!!
brian wilson is amazing in this commercial
ManBan standing next to Mo for the anthem… may Swindal’s sound waves transfer the mystique and aura
Man, I missed these Two Brother’s Scrap Metal ads.
I can’t even COUNT the number of times I’ve heard one teenage girl calling another to ask what to do with all her scrap metal! It’s SO TRUE TO LIFE!!!
So how long will the ceremonies take for Opening Day? An hour? This just gets worse every year. I like a little ceremony, and I understand about George, but where does this end?
The first inning my be the preview of World Series and the ninth will be a preview of the EL Championship.
Hey, who let the beertender out on the mound?
over/under 50 times Kay mentioning Lee could had been a Yank.
Under. Just
That’s quite a shadow ya got there Bartolo. Holy chicken and dumplings.
as soon as they mentioned that his ‘athlete’s build’ is 5’10″, 267lbs, I automaticaly went into the kitchen for some chips and dip
Don’t worry Colon just has one really big bulging ab.
Holy crap, he is huge.
Thought +50 was talking about his weight
A little overweight?
And the umpires already suck.
Spring training for them too.
Wow ump! Just screw the Yankees already.
More pinstripes on the uniform, Colon or Sabathia?
Sabathia’s is more, Colon’s have more ‘bend’ to them
Orr had no chance in this at-bat. Colon was eating him alive.
93 from Colon!
colon is a planet
maybe he can count on his gravitational pull to get a lot of ground balls back to the mound ?
It’s that time of year again. Yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
))
Might as well give the game away Cano. SEASON OVER!
Colon doesn’t look too bad
Well, he actually does *look* bad, but he is throwing okay.
Killer B’s shout-out!
I wonder how many fans looked and Manny’s 0-3 record and immediately thought ‘oh he suckz’
My buddies first comment. *grumble* I need more real baseballing friends.
If Rothschild turns AJ around, Yankee fans will all chip in and erect a statue of Larry right next to George.
If Rothschild turns AJ around, I’ll erect something else.
I guarantee that neither Betances or Banuelos sees significant innings in 2011.
Dont jinx it Matt!
Yeah, but the Yankees are really loving Brackman right now. Can’t wait to see him up with the big club.
Am I just imagining things or did RAB come up with Killer Bs.
nope, Al Gore did, along with the InterWeb
I was wondering the same thing.
Vince McMahon did.
Kay already mis-pronouncing “Betances”.
Hey I could never pronounce it myself. A little help?
thats 20 pitches, Colon is 1/2 way home.
I know we’re still in the top of the 1st, but is it too soon to predict Jeter’s grounder to short and the obligitory “mid-season form” joke???
You win.
ummmmm, yeah.
predictions for jeter’s ops?
i’ll be optimistic and say .796
When is Hamels a free agent? I want the Yankees to steal him away from the Phillies as pay back.
Absofreakinlutely
2012 I think?
Destro doesn’t think Hamels will hit FA.
Btw, that was an excellent RAB Show.
Looks like nothing changed
Colon didn’t look horrible, but he certainly wasn’t dominating. It was nice to see him throw 93. Almost homerun from Ryan Howard isn’t the worst sign right now.
could be a monster year for hamels pitching against other teams’ #4
You know that’s not how it works, right?
first AB for Jeter of 2011: GB to SS
lol
Jeter grounds to short. I should just have a macro to make it easy on myself.
I think the RABbis might want to add it as auto-text.
awesome…. Teix is getting clipped at mid-season form as well
Arod drilled it.
Good sign.
sounded like it was going. He is just insanely strong
too high…
Man, I heard Tex yell “ouch”.
Nice little swing there.
Our offense sucks.
/Rush To Judgement
On pace to score 0 runs for the year.
That looked better off the bat.
Good swing from Alex. When takes balls to center and right field with authority good things happen
This might be the first ST where im excited to see the regulars benched.
I honesly think I am just sticking around to see Fat Joba and Domonic Brown…
Andruw would have had that.
Shit, Marcus Thames woulda had that
Yankees defense looking solid.
oh Come on DOrn, enough of that Ole shit. get in front of the ball!
Salad days? Trust me, Bartolo has never seen a salad.
bartolo’s looking svelte..185 huh? ha
each man-boob is 65 lbs… 185 is not happening. Kay called im at 267 earlier
I mean seriously, the guy’s top button is holding on for dear life!
lmao, yea that sounds more like it than that ridiculous weigh-in report. and he wants to lose like another 25 this spring? lol, a little late for that, no? that’s a lot
“Colon is regaining some of that Old Spice on his Fastball…” somehow I get a feeling that ‘Old Spice’ is BBQ sauce
is that why he’s licking his fingers after every pitch? haha
185?
that was his birth weight
his shadow weighs 185
Decent first outing, not that it means much. The fact that he could still hit 93 probably is more signigicant.
So Colon is 5’10″ and CC is 6’7″, yet is it possible that Colon weighs about the same as CC now? If it’s anywhere close (and I think it is), that’s bad.
wow… atta way to take a pitch Jorgie.
BEST. DH. EVER
Me = impressed with Colon.
not disappointed… so yeah, color me impressed.
yea i’m impressed he made it from the dugout to the mound with tiring, nor assistance form a walking aid. so hitting 94 and only getting hit hard once was gravy.
First Cliff Lee reference.
DRINK!
Frankie!!!!! someone is worried about his job!
Cervelli to the line up?
Mo bless Cano and his training.
LOL, did we get the over/under on Cano’s hitting clinic references today?
Raise your trade value Cervelli!
So the ball is jumping off of Nunez’s and Cervelli’s bats, and they hung out in the Dominican with Robbie Cano this winter
If this were 2002, I’d be pretty suspicious
if they played for Boston, you’d be pretty suspicious
+1
Lets see a hot Spring by Frankie so they can trade high on him and let Montero back-up Martin.
Second half — Montero starts. Cervelli backs up. Martin is trade bait.
goddam is Cole gonna look good in Pinstripes..
Jeter = worth the pay cut…
Third not short…is that better?
FAAAAT JOBAAAAAAAAA!!
who’s that skinny guy on the mound?
You know I didn’t think the Indians were going to contend this year, but with this Chad Durbin signing they’re right in the mix
- Things you won’t hear on sports talk radio this morning
HA!!!! Joba looks downright skinny after Joba!
DAMN.. I meant Joba skiiner after Colon
Tear in the space/time continuum?
I forgot how ugly Kim Jones was
HD is not her friend
BTW Brilliant strategy by the Yankees having Joba following Colon. Joba might have put on a couple pounds, but he looks downright skinny compared to Colon.
Joba needs a haircut.
Is it just me or does Joba look almost exactly like he did last season? I mean really.
Other than the hands and the hair, yeah pretty much.
He does look a little heavier up top, which would fit with more weight-lifting.
I officially declare the whole “Joba is fat” story nonsense.
I wish Joba could be ready for the first
Ok…yeah…Joba does look fat.
Joba, oh God.
“Michael, I’m starting to think you were listening in on my conversations today…”
Well, I wouldn’t put it past him.
+1
Joba might like fat but he also looks filthy. I want to see him pitching to Howard.
Joba must have been going to the same hairstylist as Mitre
Joba and Rothschild equals win
Joba to the rotation!
nice, joba
hate to drink the Kool-Aid, but the ball did look like it was coming out of his hands real easily…. he looked good, I was impressed
So the early reports were true….excellent
Has anyone on the Yankees had a bad bullpen session yet? Don’t get me wrong, I want to hear good things, but it sounds like we have about 20 Cy Young candidates
Has any pitcher in baseball had a bad bullpen yet? Maybe Liriano, whose shoulder acted up.
/Waino
In the offseason, everyone is in the best shape of their lives and throwing better than they ever had.
/Cano
Yes. Nova did not have a good bullpen session the other day by media reports, but I get your point.
Let the Joba to the rotation demands begin!
They began three years ago.
love that movie
Oh god. Seeing Joba come in relief of Bartolo fucking Colon really pisses me off.
Co-sign.
Why is that?
Who was that whale we trotted out there to start the game? It looked like a orca that had eaten the guy I remember as Bartolo Colon.
Joba looked pretty good. Our rotation may be questionable but I think we can win 99% of games we lead after 5 inning with Joba, Drob, Raf & Mo.
not when every 5th game you have to trot that fat tub of whale shit to keep you in the game for 5 innings
Please have a bigseasonplease!!!
Twitter overloaded.
A-Rod smacked that. MVP in 2011, book it.
A-rod!
Two really nice ABs for A-Rod so far.
That’s an MVP swing right there
the popcorn diet has been paying off
I don’t want to be one of those, but after two swings A-Rod looks great.
Looks like Duchscherer is alreay sidelined with hip soreness
Arod was running real well.
Odd-season A-rod!
Spring Training: Season of endless hopes and endless possibilities…
Alex does look pretty good though.
Holy shit a D-Rob changeup.
Random thing I missed without realizing it: the pitch-count addition to the graphic. I love it so much.
D-Rob and his socks are BACK.
High socks ftw.
I have to keep repeating sample size, sample size, sample size over and over again. Because otherwise I’d give Alex his MVP trophy right now.
Tex hit .370 last spring, and we saw how that turned out last April/May. I will put no stock in results whatsoever.
So-ARod’s two great at-bats mean less than nothing. However, as someone else noted, the weight loss looks like it has really done some good in terms of quickness/flexibilty.
This, I think is an important development. The odds are that he will decline at the plate, no matter what kind of shape he is in. But if he can regain some lateral quickness, perhaps his decline in the field will be slowed. Perhaps he will be a better baserunner.
The scary thing at the end of last year was it seemed that A-ROD’s ability to contribute in ways other than hitting homeruns seemed to be diminishing at break neck pace.
From what I’ve seen today, perhaps the newer svelter more flexible Alex will be able to be more than a masher for at least a little bit longer.
beyond the box score, alex had his swing working like 2007… he looked very comfortable out there… which he did NOT look last year.
that is why everyone was on his nuts… yeah thats me, over on the left one….
Kay in mid-season form.
Get ready for 162 games worth of marriage talk.
1996 seems like 5 minutes ago…
Andrew Jones in Yankees pinstripes. Totally trippin’.
Andruw*
yeah… and only 4 seasons too late too
How does Phelps look?
/onlyhavegameday’d
Well he just gave up a run, his velocity is low 90′s, but it should be in the mid 90′s. He had a very nice curve ball in an earlier at bat.
Throwing too many strikes (7/7)?
Good enough for another year of AAA.
Swisher is great. I really hope we find a way to keep him a few more years.
Love love love him. He has such a great, positive attitude and a perma-smile on his face!
Michael Kay is a great announcer, but I know almost everyone here disagrees with me. He knows the game, he’s intelligence, funny and has great baseball stories. Everyone else is the one pushing the marriage talk on him, he’s not feeding into it.
“Michael Kay is a great announcer”
You owe me a new keyboard. I spewed Coke Zero all over it. Funniest post of the new season by far.
Funny because you disagree? And I don’t owe you anything, Coke Zero is delicious.
Just messin’ with you AJ. I suppose Michael Kay has some fans.
You know whats really annoying, the guy in the background, beeeeeeeeeeeeeer heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrreeee BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRREEEEEE. Very annoying, just sayin.
“beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrreeeeeeeee”
music to my ears
it should make you feel good. like ur at the gm. but drinking beer that’s 1/10th the price.
I know but the guy is really openin up the pipes!
AAA defense.
Out shopping with my girl
What is the score
How bout some stats
B5, bad guys 3-1
Arod, Joba & Drob showed up.
Teix trips in a run, down 2-3 now.
Tex!
I love Jack Curry.
kim jones + robbie cano = awkwardness
Noesi is a fly ball pitcher… would never make it in Yankee Stadium…
/MSM’d
I believe his is as likely as Brackman to be called up…
after Nova of course, but before Phelps.
thinking;
4) garcia
5) Colon
6) Nova
7) Noesi
8) Brackman
9) Phelps
10) Were really in trouble if we get to here
Gary Sanchez is not the best, Michael.
Can anyone paste a box score?
Thanks
In pier 1 now…just left homegoods
P-3,5,1
Y-2,4,0
*Whip Cracks*
What a bust.
Noesi has some brilliant control.
*Mike Axisa cracks a smile*
I’m pretty sure I just heard that Nunez has one of the better arms of the organization.
Kay also said that Sanchez was the best catcher not too long before that…
Like in a Rick Ankiel way.
Ugh… Now in kirklands
Found live box score on MLB. Though you guys are keeping me entertained. Keep it up thx
Vazquez mashed that one
Does Kay have any idea that Schlitter was claimed off of the Yankees just two weeks ago? You’d think that would be something worth mentioning.
Does Kay have any idea that Schlitter was claimed off of the Yankees just two weeks ago?
Negative.
Was thinking the same thing.
Bam!
How cow, over the batter’s eye!
Laird!
JoVa in beast mode. What a shot.
that was a bomb
yanks mexico scouting rules
Do the Tampa Yankees and/or the GCL Yankees play at GMS?
Call out for Creighton!!
Tampa Yankees do, the GCL team plays on one of the back fields.
I feel like Kim Jones is trying to get all the Yankees to go to war against each other.
What did guys/gals think of Colon’s outing today?
For his first outing it was not to bad IMO and it was nice to see his FB get up to 93 on some of the pitches so at least their is promise in is arm.
it was much better than I expected an overweight pitcher with shoulder issues who has not seen live action in 2 seasons to do. he touched 93 on the gun more than once, had little control issues (only once that I can remember when he got behind and tried to muscle it in did he fly open) and kept his composure (which at 37, I guess you’d expect….)
but holy shit was he looking fat. thats a problem
Anybody see this @BorowitzReport tweet?
more like the size of bartolo’s colon
ba DUM dum!
My favorite flag at GMS is the 1984 Grapefruit League Champions.
DOOM!!!
Ayala looked pretty good. Seemed to have a good sense of when to use the inner of half of the plate.
Whpo was the Yankee LFer who misjudged the flyball off Wordekemper? I assume it wasn’t a regular, but was wondering if it was Laird?
Colin Curtis
It was Colin Curtis… Jorge Vasquez, nice game…
Hmmm, surprised. He’s a good OFer.
FIRE GIRADI!
Well, the season is over. Fire Cashman. Fire Girardi.