Yesterday’s spring training game against the Blue Jays was filled with a bunch on interesting performances by players that will make the big league roster.
1) Mariano Rivera is not like the rest of us. Another perfect inning from Rivera, this one forcing him to use just five pitches, confirms that assessment. Mo is ready for Opening Day, and there is no reason to believe that he will not have a typical Rivera season.
2) Edwar Ramirez has yet to allow a run this spring training. Barring a total collapse or re-aggravation of his injury, he will make the club.
3) Brian Bruney continued a rough spring, as he walked 4 batters in 1.1 innings. He claims that he has used this time to work on pitches due to his being all but guaranteed a roster spot. I hope that he is telling the truth, because his failures will only embolden the cries for Joba to go to the bullpen.
4) AJ Burnett struggled with his stuff for the first time, and still only allowed 1 run in 3.1 innings. He is going to be spectacular this season. He really seems motivated to show that he has matured as a pitcher.
5) The Nady-Swisher battle for right field is heating up. Both players have their batting averages in the .280’s, although Swisher is reaching base a lot more often while Nady has shown significantly more pop. I would guess that the Yankees will choose Swisher’s patient approach and better defense for the every day job, while keeping Nady’s pop in reserve on the bench. But at this point, Joe Girardi has not really given any clues as to his plans, and I would not be shocked at all if Nady won the job.
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I would guess that there won’t be any “bench” per se, regarding the OF. Since Swish can play all 3 spots (and Nady can play LF & RF, and Damon can play CF in a pinch), there will be a relatively fluid rotation of all 4 guys. This will also preserve Damon’s legs and health.
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I like that idea, but the Yankees have given no indication of any such rotation.
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Bronx Baseball Daily Reply:
March 21st, 2009 at 3:43 am
Earlier in the spring Peter Abraham posed that proposition to Girardi who shot it down and said he wanted to have a more stable lineup than that. Whether or not he follows through on what he said is a different story.
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