River Avenue Blues

Cervelli withdraws from World Baseball Classic

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Via Chad Jennings: Frankie Cervelli confirmed that he was withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic. He was scheduled to play for Team Italy.

Cervelli, 27 next month, will compete with Chris Stewart, Austin Romine, and I suppose Bobby Wilson for one of the team’s two catching spots. So yeah, it was a very smart decision on his part to remain with the club in camp so he can do as much as possible to impress the decision makers. Cervelli apparently has a minor league option left and I doubt he wants to return to Triple-A.

Yankees did not talk about a multi-year contract with Phil Hughes

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Via Andy McCullough & Bob Klapisch: The Yankees and Phil Hughes did not talk about a multi-year contract while negotiating their one-year agreement this offseason. “Coming up with this organization as a pitcher, you know you’re not going to be signed long-term (before free agency),” said the right-hander. “The Yankees are the ones who drafted me; they’re like a second family. For me to say I’d be neutral [about leaving New York] would be dishonest.”

Hughes, 26, will become a free agent next winter and will be, by far, the youngest starting pitcher on the open market. A strong walk year could have him looking at Anibal Sanchez money (five years, $80M) next winter. At the behest of pitching coach Larry Rothschild, Hughes underwent rounds of Active Release Technique physical therapy this winter, a regimen designed to improve flexibility. They’re working on several mechanical tweaks to smooth out his delivery and maximize his extension when he releases the ball. Whether it works remains to be seen, but either way this is an enormous season for Phil. He has quite a bit on the line.

Yankees scheduled for eight FOX broadcasts in 2013

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Just a quick little note: Maury Brown has the FOX broadcast schedule for the upcoming season. The Yankees will appear on the network eight times during the regular season, including five times (!) against the Red Sox. The other three broadcasts are road games against the Tigers, Angels, and Orioles. Click through for the full schedule.

Open Thread: 2/15 Camp Notes

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(Star-Ledger)
(Star-Ledger)

Here’s the news from a very light workout day in Tampa…

  • Both Michael Pineda (shoulder) and Cesar Cabral (elbow) threw 25-pitch side sessions this morning, all fastballs. Both guys said they felt great afterwards. Vidal Nuno threw live batting practice and that’s pretty much it. [Chad Jennings]
  • Kevin Youkilis clarified some comments he made on Thursday. It’s a non-story, but he probably should have known better than saying “I’ll always be a Red Sock” on his first day of camp as a Yankee. [Bryan Hoch]

Here is your open thread for the night. The Devils are playing and apparently there’s some kind of NBA All-Star event going on. Not the actual game or the skills competition, but something else. Either way, talk about whatever you want here. Go nuts.

Yankees taking it easy on Boone Logan (and his elbow) early in camp

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Via George King: The Yankees are taking it easy on left-hander Boone Logan — who had his elbow wrapped yesterday — early in camp. “We are being cautious with him,” said pitching coach Larry Rothschild. “We have decided to slow him down and make sure he catches up before we give him too much.”

Logan, 28, threw a career-high 55.1 innings in a league-leading 80 appearances last season. He really ramped up the use of his slider in 2012, throwing the pitch 51.4% (!) of the time compared to 35.5% in 2011 and 31.3% from 2006-2011. Logan has never been on the DL and outside of a sore shoulder during winter ball back in the day, he hasn’t had any arm problems. Throwing a ton of breaking balls tends to get the elbow barking though, so it’s good to see they’re being cautious. The Yankees have plenty of left-handed relief depth and Logan will be a free agent next winter.

Derek Lowe willing to pitch out of the bullpen

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Via Nick Cafardo: Right-hander Derek Lowe is willing to pitch out of the bullpen after spending the winter looking for a starting job. “I would love to be a starter, of course, but I understand the reality of having to work out of the bullpen,” he said, while also indicating a willingness to sign for relative peanuts. “I’ve made my money.”

Lowe, 39, pitched to a 3.04 ERA (3.77 FIP) with a 54.5% ground ball rate in 23.2 relief innings for New York after being plucked off the scrap heap in August. I’ve written several times this offseason that I’d like to see the Yankees bring him back on a low-risk (i.e. minor league) deal to serve as the swingman. That would send the loser of the Ivan Nova-David Phelps fifth starter battle to the Triple-A rotation, where they would wait for the inevitable injury. Lowe is no savior, but he would be a nice little piece of pitching depth.