It hasn’t been mentioned much but Yankees’ reliever, Romulo Sanchez, looks likely to be heading out of the Bronx with Japan a likely destination. It means that most of the pieces of the Yankees’ bullpen might have fallen into place.
ESPN reports: Joe Girardi said the Yankees’ newly-acquired No. 1 catcher had “a little stiffness” in his left hamstring. Girardi said Martin’s injury had nothing to do with his surgically-repaired right knee and that Martin would be able to catch again on Monday.
Well, the tardiness of this column finally caught up with me and I end up writing about the Yankees’ starting rotation AFTER they have announced what THEY expect their rotation to look like.
The Yankees beat Houston 6-4 in their Spring Training game. Andruw Jones went 0-for-2 to bring his average for the Spring down to .189. This tendency to persist with senior players shows their anxiety about the youthful tryouts. The front office is suddenly talking up Gustavo Molina as a meaningful candidate for the backup catcher – despite the fact he has batted only .071 during the Grapefruit League games. His advantage over the other candidates? He has major league experience. Also still around is utility infielder, Ronnie Belliard, who plays the corners well but is only batting .158. And yesterday the Yankees also completed the signing of veteran starting pitcher, Kevin Millwood, who led the American League in losses in 2010. He has been signed to a minor league contract but has insurance written all over him.
More on that starting rotation later……..
Today, the Yankees traded “surplus for surplus” according to Brian Cashman. But maybe, just maybe, this very minor trade might have a major impact on what I was talking about yesterday.
Sergio Mitre who was not going to make the starting rotation was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder, Chris Dickerson. Now, the attention has been on the Yankees removing Mitre from the starting rotation mix but more consideration needs to be given to Dickerson. Dickerson is a more than respectable defensive outfielder who has batted higher than .270 in each of the last three seasons whilst making only sporadic appearances at the major league level. Now what the Yankees need is someone who can bat more than .250 as a backup outfielder.
Might Dickerson be a better bet than Andruw Jones?
The Yankees have had something of an epidemic in Spring Training – of oblique strains. Perhaps this is a signing of some badly organised fitness regimes but it is causing a substantial difficulty as they approach opening day. Centrefield is Curtis Granderson’s, Leftfield is Brett Gardner’s, and rightfield belongs to Nick Swisher. But now Granderson may be unavailable for opening day because of that strain epidemic and Swisher is day-to-day having taken a batted ball off his foot.
On the face of it, the Yankees’ infield is the most settled area of their squad. But in reality, there still remains some questions to be answered with not long to go in Spring Training.
What is decided?
The 2011 season is an unusual one for the Yankees. They normally go into Spring Training as the best stocked team in professional baseball. And the emphasis is normally on depth of starting pitching.
twilightdawning 