In what figures to be his final live game action of Spring Training, Joba Chamberlain looked like vintage Joba in Sarasota this aftenoon. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks in five and a third innings, striking out six. Joba threw 86 pitches but tired towards the end of his outing, allowing two walks and two hits with one out in the sixth before being pulled.

“I’ve got to be more efficient,” said Chamberlain (via Bryan Hoch). “I had some good short innings, but there were other times when I got extended with two outs. I’ve got to shorten pitches and when things get out of whack, I’ve got to slow things down.” Becoming more efficient with your pitches is standard stuff for young starters, nothing out of the ordinary here.

The Great Joba Velocity Scare should be over, as scouts had the young righty in the mid-90’s all day according to Tyler Kepner. Oh, and Jorge Posada isn’t a B-Jobber anymore, according PeteAbe’s 3:38 update. Thank Mo.

Brian Bruney bailed Joba out in the sixth, stranding both inherited base runners thanks to a strikeout and fly out. Edwar Ramirez allowed a hit and an unearned run in an inning of work, while Phil Coke and Dan Giese posted identical 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K lines to close out the game. Coke was absolutely phenomenal this spring, putting up a 15-1 K/BB ratio with a 1.42 ERA and 11 hits allowed in 12.2 IP. Hopefully he doesn’t pull a Sean Henn, who followed up a strong Spring Training in 2007 with an ERA over seven in the regular season.

The center fielder battlers accounted for pretty much all of the team’s offense, as Brett Gardner went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot while Melky Cabrera went 1-for-2 with three RBI’s and a run scored from the six-hole. Mark Teixeira doubled and walked, while Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada combined to go 0-for-6 with two walks and three strikeouts. Angel Berroa went 2-for-5 and was picked off first, and his hitting .379-.390-.621 this spring. The 6-3 win is the team’s seventh straight, and sixteenth in their last eighteen games.

The Yanks finish up the Florida portion of their preseason schedule tomorrow afternoon against the Phillies, and then will head home to New York before taking on the Cubbies in a pair of exhibition games at the New Stadium on Friday and Saturday.

Mo matters: Mariano Rivera pitched in a minor league game today, and was so dominant that he recorded five outs in just one inning of work. After serving up a homer to MVP05 legend Rich Thompson, Mo sat down the next three batters with ease, so the team stretched him out a bit and had him face two more hitters. He’s just that good.

Photo Credit: Pete Caldera

It was an relatively uneventful day in Dunedin. Andy Pettitte was strong for sixth and two-thirds innings, retiring ten straight at one point. He allowed just five hits and one run on the day, striking out seven against no free passes. He did uncork a wild pitch, but got himself up to 92 pitches. Afterwards Pettitte said he was pretty gassed, but feels good and has no complaints.

Damaso Marte finished the seventh inning, giving up a hit before recording the final out. Marte’s been entering games this spring in the middle of the inning with runners on base almost exclusively, so I guess they’re just getting ready for the situations they plan on using him in during the season. Jose Veras allowed a hit in an inning of work, while Edwar Ramirez threw a flawless ninth.

The Yanks scored a run off David Purcey nice and early, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Derek Jeter led off the first inning with a double, Johnny Damon followed with a walk, and Mark Teixiera singled in the Captain for a quick 1-0 lead. Tex drove in another run in 7th when he doubled down the first base line. Brett Gardner went hitless in three at-bats, but he managed to throw Scott Rolen out at third with an assist from Cody Ransom’s leaping skills. Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher went a combined 0-for-7, leaving a total of eight runners on base. Godzilla did reach base when Purcey plunked him.

It was just another day in the office, and the win is the Yanks fifteenth in their last seventeen games. Spring Training records actually mean less than Spring Training stats, but it is good to see the team on a nice little roll with the season just a week away. Joba Chamberlain will make his final start of the preseason tomorrow afternoon against the Reds, and is scheduled for at least six innings of work.

Minor Note: Phil Hughes was scheduled to start today, but was pushed back to Wednesday to give him some extra time off and get the Triple-A rotation all lined up.

As good as he’s been this preseason, AJ Burnett finally gave us a look at his ugly side today. Facing what should pretty much be the Pirates’ Opening Day lineup, Burnett allowed seven runs (six earned) on ten hits and three walks in just four and a third innings. He allowed three homers (to Eric Hinske, Ryan Doumit and Adam LaRoche) and struck out just one batter. Scheduled to throw 90 pitches, Burnett left after throwing just 83, 53 for strikes. He said his mechanics were “out of whack all day,” but the good news is that his arm feels fine. Eh, it happens, no matter what time of year. Burnett’s next start will be Saturday, the second exhibition game against the Cubs in the New Stadium. Ben and I will be there.

Damaso Marte relieved Burnett, allowing two of the three baserunners he inherited to score on a pair of hits before closing out the fifth inning. Mariano Rivera actually allowed a hit in the sixth inning, only the second baserunner he’s allowed this preseason. He struck out the side and threw 10 of his 16 pitches for strikes, pushing his Spring Training pitching line to 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K. Phil Coke was dominant in two innings of work, striking out four and inducing a pair of groundball outs against just one hit. He’s a lock for the big league bullpen at this point. Jose Veras allowed two hits in a scoreless ninth.

As bad as Burnett was, Bucs’ starter Zach Duke was even worse. The Yanks hung a seven spot off Duke (3.1 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 1 K) in the fourth thanks to a pair of bunt singles by Ramiro Pena and starting centerfielder Brett Gardner. Robbie Cano sent a ball into the people as did Nick Swisher, although Swish’s hit the field of play first. Swish is now hitting  .262-.463-.405 with a 7-12 K/BB ratio (54 PA) this spring while Nady’s put up .304-.323-.500 line with a 12-2 K/BB ratio (58 PA). Johnny Damon went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI out of the two-hole, while Cap’n Jetes went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while leading off. Jorge Posada drew a walk and went hitless in two at-bats, also committing a throwing error. I have no idea the nature of the error, so don’t ask. Yankee baserunners reached base twenty times against Pirate pitching today, walking away with a 9-8 win thanks to a Carmen Angelini run scoring bloop single in the eighth.

The Yanks will be at Dunedin to take on the Blue Jays tomorrow afternoon, and I’m presuming Andy Pettitte will make the start (rather than throw in a minor league game) since the long reliever trio pitched yesterday. The Yankees only have three more games to play down in Florida, and will be back home for the two-game series with the Cubbies at the end of the week. They open the season in Baltimore a week from tomorrow.

Also, just following up on yesterday’s post – the Yanks officially took Rule 5 Draftee Ivan Nova back from the Padres today and assigned him to Double-A Trenton. Nove only worked one inning stints with the Pads, so he might not step directly into the Thunder rotation to start the year.

The game wasn’t on television, but CC Sabathia showed the Yankees and their fans what their new ace is capable of tonight. After a 23 pitch first inning in which he allowed just a single, Sabathia surrendered a run in the second on three singles. He then retired sixteen Reds’ hitters in a row, pitching into the eighth inning while throwing 68 of his 93 pitches for strikes, exactly what he was scheduled for. Sabathia struck out seven, walked one and had a 14-3 GB/FB ratio. That … is purdy.

Damaso Marte relieved Sabathia, getting the only batter he faced to fly out. Mariano Rivera worked a flawless ninth, striking out one and inducing a pair of groundballs on the bare minimum of five pitches. The pitching staff was simply awesome tonight. You gotta love it, Spring Training or not.

The offense was led by El Capitan and Mark Teixeira, who each drove in a run. Jeter doubled and went 1-for-4 with a run scored out of the leadoff spot, while Tex went 2-for-3 out of his customary three-hole. Xavier Nady went 1-for-3 and picked up the Yanks’ only other hit, while Jorge Posada drew a walk and scored a run. Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom each swiped a bag, but otherwise went hitless. The 4-1 win was the Yanks twelfth in their last fourteen games.

The Yanks play the Braves in Orlando tomorrow afternoon, but the MLB Network broadcast has been blacked out at YES’ request. It’ll long reliever competition day, as Brett Tomko (starter), Al Aceves and Dan Giese are scheduled to throw three innings each.