Day two of Spring Training — the first real workout day — went without a hitch today. CC Sabathia held a press conference and said he plans to stay sober this season by keeping himself occupied and hanging out with teammates. He did all of his heavy drinking alone in his hotel room. “That’s something I kind of got away from the past couple of years,” he said to Brendan Kuty. “Just kind of shutting myself into my hotel room and doing my deed. I’ll be out with my teammates, hanging out with the guys in the same role when I first got here, very social.”
Sabathia also confirmed he will continue to use the knee brace he used at the end of last season, when he finished with five strong starts. “I got a new lightweight one that I started using at the end of the year last year and I really took to it. Throwing my bullpens this winter, I’ve felt great. I’ll use it again tomorrow in my first bullpen and just work from there,” he said to Ryan Hatch. Here are today’s photos from camp and here are the day’s notes:
- Chad Jennings has the day’s bullpen and batting practice groups. Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, Luis Severino, Bryan Mitchell, and James Kaprielian were among those to throw. Tanaka threw 25 pitches while Pineda, Eovaldi, Severino, and Mitchell each threw 20 pitches, took a break, then threw 15 more with increased intensity. Everyone came through fine. The pitchers went through bunting drills too. [Kuty]
- Eovaldi said his elbow is perfectly fine after he had to be shut down late last season with inflammation. “I haven’t had any issues with it. If I didn’t know I had it, I wouldn’t know I was hurt,” he said. Eovaldi plans to work on his curveball this year to complement his fastball and splitter. Also, Eovaldi is locker neighbors with Aroldis Chapman, and he said it’s the first time he’s been next to someone who throws harder than him. [Anthony McCarron, Bryan Hoch]
- NJ.com has the full list of guest speakers from Captain’s Camp, if you’re interested. The team built a big hill on one of the backfields at the request of strength trainer Matt Krause. The players are going to get stuck running up it during workouts this year. “It’s definitely something that other organizations have … It’s an important tool for Matt that he’s been pushing for and I’m glad Hal Steinbrenner gave us the funds to build it,” said Brian Cashman. [McCarron]
- The Yankees invited righties Mark Montgomery and Kyle Haynes to big league camp as non-roster players, the team announced. They’re now up to 68 players in camp. Jennings has the full list of uniform numbers, if you’ve been looking for them. By my count 24, 38, and 69 are the only unissued numbers. (Montgomery and Haynes are wearing 62 and 63, respectively.)
- Gary Sanchez appears to be the favorite for the backup catcher’s job but he “will be given every chance to lose” it to someone else. The progress of his defense will be more important than his bat this spring. [Sweeny Murti]
- And finally, the Yankees are wearing a No. 8 on their sleeve this spring to honor Yogi Berra. Yogi passed away on September 22nd last year and the team did wear No. 8 on their uniform, but it was only for a short period of time because the season ended. Hopefully they wear it for the entire 2016 season. [Hoch]
This is tonight’s open thread. The Knicks are playing the Nets and the Devils are playing the Islanders. There’s no college hoops on the schedule though. Chat about those games, the day in Spring Training, or anything else here.
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