New York Yankees 2008 Spring Training Thread

AMJets · Feb 24, 2008

The latest Joba.

http://www.nj.com/yankees/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1203744975220970.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

Joba, Kennedy, Melancon, and Betances all in one draft.

Give Oppenheimer a raise!

dwalsh · Feb 24, 2008

10Pennington10 said: ↑

The latest Joba.

http://www.nj.com/yankees/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1203744975220970.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

Joba, Kennedy, Melancon, and Betances all in one draft.

Give Oppenheimer a raise!
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damnit, now everyone is going to know about this kid. It was nice being one of the few talking about him

CaptainClutch21 · Feb 24, 2008

that article basically gave me a hard on. besides the "rust" and elbow questions.

AMJets · Feb 25, 2008

Phil Franchise Owns.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/

Pettitte and Hughes throw some BP

Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes threw live BP today on the main field. It was very interesting to watch.

Pettitte is working on a slide step, something he has never used in the past, to hold runners closer.

Why would a lefty with a great pickoff move need a slide step? According to Pettitte, several players in the AL East have tormented him by stealing third base, He mentioned Aaron Hill, Brian Roberts and Alex Rios.

“I have to figure out some way to keep them from doing that,” he said.

Hughes was, in a word, terrific. He made Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu and Francisco Cervelli look foolish at times. He got Abreu to swing and miss at a curveball and had Damon fouling balls off the other way, a sign of how late his swing was. Jeter only swung at 3 of the 10 pitches he saw and fouled all of them off.

Now, keep in mind, the hitters have been facing live pitching for four days and Hughes started throwing off a mound in Tampa in mid January. But what was encouraging is the confidence with which Hughes threw his curveball.

That was the pitch he was throwing when he blew out his hamstring in Texas last May. For Hughes to throw the curve the way he wants, he has to follow through with his body and “snap” the pitch off. Without confidence that your legs will hold up, it’s a hard pitch to throw.

As he said later on, he never had his true curveball last year after the injury. Now it’s back. Hughes is working out with Pettitte six days a week and has dropped 10 pounds since last season. You can never say never, but all the work he has done should help him avoid leg injuries.

I know it’s Feb. 25. But if you’re a Yankees fan you should be just as excited about Hughes as you are Joba Chamberlain. Phil Franchise is the real deal.
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jonnyd · Feb 25, 2008

Phil franchise. classic

CaptainClutch21 · Feb 25, 2008

im sorry to reference my dick again but i have another hard on. reading about phil franchise got me more sexually aroused then "one night in paris".

jonnyd · Feb 25, 2008

^ dude, do you know a guy named jtuds by any chance?

Cappy · Feb 25, 2008

CaptainClutch21 said: ↑

im sorry to reference my dick again but i have another hard on. reading about phil franchise got me more sexually aroused then "one night in paris".
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If you truly were sorry, you'd stop doing it.

CaptainClutch21 · Feb 26, 2008

Cappy said: ↑

If you truly were sorry, you'd stop doing it.
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then i suppose im not. i cant help myself.

AlioTheFool · Feb 26, 2008

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I was already at least as excited about Hughes as I was Chamberlain. This is why I didn't want him sent to Minny, even for Santana.

AlioTheFool · Feb 26, 2008

Steinbrenner to talk with GM Cashman about deal during season
Associated Press

Updated: February 25, 2008, 6:38 PM ET
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TAMPA, Fla. -- Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner plans to talk about a new contract with general manager Brian Cashman before the regular season ends.

Cashman, in the final year of his current contract, said shortly after arriving at spring training that he wanted to keep any discussion of a new deal between himself and the Steinbrenner family.

"I want to concentrate on the season, and he does, too," Hank Steinbrenner said Monday. "But during the course of the season, we will talk. It will just happen. We'll be sitting together at the game, and we'll start talking about it. It's just that simple."

Cashman joined the Yankees as a 19-year-old intern in June 1986. He succeeded Bob Watson as general manager after the 1997 season.

"I've known Cash for a long time," Steinbrenner said. "He's been with our family for a long, long time. I think the big thing is with Brian is the organization he put in place. You know, it's not based on just one decision as far as do a trade or don't do a trade, or sign a free agent or don't."

Steinbrenner said he hasn't even asked Cashman whether the GM would want to stay on.

"I have no idea yet," Steinbrenner said. "We haven't even talked."
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Even though Don is going to be pissed off, I want this done, ASAP. Give Cashman whatever he wants. I got upset with him at one point last season, but that was the only time, and I was wrong anyway.

Plus, anyone with the balls to tell a Steinbrenner "No" gets my vote of confidence.

Steinbrenner has been impressed thus far by the spring training camp run by new manager Joe Girardi, who replaced Joe Torre last October.

"I love what he does," Steinbrenner said. "I love what he's doing here, I mean I really do. He's a rare combination of things. The players like him, they respect him and they even have a little bit of fear of him. He can be intimidating. Extremely smart. Tough guy. Fiery. But they really like him, too. It's a tough thing to achieve as a leader."
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More and more, how great was the decision to not bring back Torre, and bring in Girardi?

Steinbrenner will be keeping a close eye during exhibition games on Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, the Yankees' trio of touted young pitchers.

"They're going to take it easy with them, build up their pitches," Steinbrenner said. "We'll be careful with them, but obviously everybody's going to be watching them."

Hughes was offered in trade talks with Minnesota about ace Johan Santana, who was dealt to the New York Mets after the Yankees, on the advice of Cashman, withdrew from negotiations.

"Nobody's going to be as patient with young pitchers as me," Steinbrenner said. "I don't care if they have 10 bad starts in a row, which they won't, but I don't care if they do. I know what they can do. We all know what they can do. It just takes patience. You don't throw them to the sharks, otherwise their arms fall off."
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You have to love the empty words when a Steinbrenner claims he's going to be patient with a player. Yeah, sure you are Hank. And Raul Castro is going to introduce free elections.

Steinbrenner did admit he will be following Santana's performance this year.

"It has nothing to do with Chamberlain, Hughes or Kennedy," Steinbrenner said. "It's just Santana is Santana. Obviously it will be hard to avoid seeing what he does."
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Oi. Let it go Hank. We're okay with our young guys. Trust the people in the organization that know baseball.

Owner George Steinbrenner spent about an hour in Max's Cafe at Legends Field. At various times he was joined by sons Hank and Hal, plus daughters Jessica and Jennifer.

In other news, Andy Pettitte threw 40 pitches, split into two segments, during his first batting practice session. Pettitte said he is on target to be ready for Opening Day.

"It was good to get on a mound with a batter in there," Pettitte said. "I feel good. My arm was dragging a little bit, but my legs are feeling better every day."
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I'm curious to see the crowd reaction when Pettitte takes the mound this year. At home, he'll probably get cheered. I wonder how it will be on the road though.

Closer Mariano Rivera is not expected to make his first spring training appearance until early next week.

"He won't work the first couple games," Girardi said. "We'll get him going, but there's no rush like it's been every spring. We know what Mo is going to give us."
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Umm, I can't recall very well, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Yankees try bringing Mo along slowly a few years back, and it took until June for him to get on track?

Obviously his body isn't getting any younger, but I hope we aren't pushing his readiness backward.

The Yankees open the exhibition season Friday against South Florida. Chamberlain, Kennedy and Hughes are scheduled to pitch.
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Anyone know if this is on YES? That should be fun to watch, with all three Young Guns getting action.

ollie · Feb 26, 2008

3 pages and only 5 posts by Don?

was he arrested or something?

ShadeTree#55 · Feb 26, 2008

AlioTheFool said: ↑

I'm curious to see the crowd reaction when Pettitte takes the mound this year. At home, he'll probably get cheered. I wonder how it will be on the road though.
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You "wonder"? He will get the full cheater treatment.

AlioTheFool · Feb 26, 2008

ollie said: ↑

3 pages and only 5 posts by Don?

was he arrested or something?
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Nice sigs.

Jerk.

AlioTheFool · Feb 26, 2008

ShadeTree#55 said: ↑

You "wonder"? He will get the full cheater treatment.
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I don't know. What I'm seeing is that generally, he's getting credit for at least standing up and taking his lumps with a little bit of class.

As for the "full cheater treatment" what is that anyway? The way Bonds was treated on the road? Will he be more or less jeered than Tejada?

I don't know. Like I said, I'm curious to see.

jonnyd · Feb 26, 2008

lololol ollies making us both look bad bro

ollie · Feb 26, 2008

AlioTheFool said: ↑

Nice sigs.

Jerk.
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:rofl2::breakdance:

AMJets · Feb 26, 2008

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks0227,0,4645311.story

Yankees' Mussina advises kids Hughes, Kennedy

Mike Mussina requested that Ian Kennedy be given a locker next to his this spring training. A couple of days into camp, Mussina asked for Phil Hughes to be moved to a locker on his other side, figuring he might as well give out advice on a two-for-one basis.

Mussina, 39, has earned the role of elder statesman on the Yankees. Entering his 18th major-league season, he ranks fifth on the active wins list with 250 (fourth if Roger Clemens stays retired). But Mussina is taking to the role more than anyone could have asked.

"I think circumstances play out whatever your role's going to be," Mussina said. "This is just the way it has played out now. We've got some young kids on the pitching staff that people are expecting a lot from. I've been lucky enough to be doing this for a long time, and I've been doing it in New York for, this is my eighth year. So if I can tell them anything, show them anything, give them any help I can, that's what I should be doing."

The sharing of wisdom does not come through a 20-minute daily tutorial.

"That's not how it works," Mussina said. Instead, it's something more organic. A conversation that begins as a discussion of dinner the night before or a movie watched winds up morphing into baseball talk, and some little tidbit is shared.

"It's been good," Hughes said. "He's opened up a little bit more. If I have a question about something, I'll ask him."

Hughes said at first he didn't realize that Mussina had asked that the 21-year-old be given a locker near him. All Hughes knew was that he'd been moved. But once he heard the reason, he appreciated the outreach.

Last year, Hughes was on the major-league roster for about half the season. Kennedy made his big-league debut Sept. 1. Hughes said Mussina was the pitcher to whom he went most for advice. That wasn't the case with Kennedy. He replaced Mussina, who gave up 19 earned runs in his previous three outings and 92/3 innings, in the rotation.

"I can talk to these guys and try to be the big brother type of thing," Mussina said, "but there's also a time when you've got to focus and work on what you need to work on. At the time, I had no idea what was going on. I had forgotten how to pitch. I had to figure out how to straighten myself out first, so that was kind of what I was focusing on."

Kennedy was smart enough to go elsewhere if he had a question last year. But now, Mussina is right there whenever Hughes or Kennedy could use advice. People have compared Kennedy to Mussina because he also can't overpower hitters.

Before and after workouts, the three regularly sit at their lockers -- sometimes talking baseball, sometimes not.

"You can be a little intimidated about asking for help at first," Kennedy said, but Mussina has countered that by making sure they know he is there for them.

"I love it," manager Joe Girardi said. "I actually think that's the responsibility of older players. If you want to win a championship, you need to offer up some knowledge."

Mussina said as a young player, his help came from Rick Sutcliffe, who was with the Orioles during Mussina's first two full major-league seasons in 1992-93. Mussina even riffs on how old he is.

"When I first came up, way back turn of the century or whenever it would have been," he said, "the first couple years, really helped me preparing and being able to focus and understanding the situations that are happening in the game."

Mussina is glad to be able to help the young pitchers learn the ropes in the major leagues. But this could be the final opportunity for Mussina, who is entering the final year of his contract, to win a World Series. So if his working with the young pitchers can help the Yankees win a ring this season, even better.
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AMJets · Feb 26, 2008

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/02/26/yankees.arms/index.html?eref=T1

Yankees will rely heavily on three young arms in 2008

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Yankees may be baseball's Donald Trump, but there's a lot of Tony Robbins to them as well.

After all, no one loves a good fortune cookie slogan like the Bronx Bombers. For proof, one need only consult the walls outside their locker room in the team's George M. Steinbrenner Field spring training complex. They're swallowed by oversized signs proclaiming such aphorisms as "In my mind, there has never been a direct correlation between statistics and the size of a player's heart," and "God willing -- and given the chance -- let me carve my name in something bigger than a clubhouse bench," and the Ralph Waldo Emerson classic, "Do not go where the path may lead. Go where there is no path and leave a trail."

Even though they have trampled the baseball landscape for the better part of a century, the Yankees of 2008 are, nonetheless, going where there is no path; or, if there is one, it has long been untread by them. For the first time in recent memory, the Yankees did not add a big-name, big-money free agent starter in the offseason. They chose instead to entrust their present -- and the team's streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances -- to a trio of right-handed starters for whom the team's four World Series wins between 1996 and 2000 count as ancient history.

Yet 22-year-old Joba Chamberlain, 21-year-old Phil Hughes and 23-year-old Ian Kennedy may prove to be worth the gamble. As general manager Brian Cashman noted in a quote worthy of wall space, "The hard path is to bet on the future, but that's the path I believe in."

Over the last decade, the Yankees have added a number of high-profile hurlers, including Roger Clemens (1999), Mike Mussina (2001), David Wells ('02), Jose Contreras ('03), Kevin Brown ('04), Randy Johnson ('05) and Andy Pettitte ('07). This offseason they tried to add Johan Santana to this list but failed.

Or did they?

Exercising remarkable and unusual restraint, the Yankees did not overbid for Santana, and the result is that Hughes and Kennedy, two names dangled as potential trade bait, are still in pinstripes. They and Chamberlain are expected to anchor a starting rotation that will be among the youngest in the game, and the biggest indicator yet of the team's youth movement. "It's their positions to lose," says Cashman.

Chamberlain is the closest to a proven commodity, yet he is likely to begin the season in the bullpen, both to ease the burden on an otherwise questionable 'pen and to limit his own workload. Chamberlain, who burst into the major leagues with a scintillating two-month finish to last season, is already a big enough deal that teammate LaTroy Hawkins was seen walking around in a "Joba Rules" T-shirt, an allusion both to Chamberlain's dominating debut in '07 and the unusual law that he had to be given an off-day for every inning pitched.

While Chamberlain's explosive high-90s fastball and darting slider (his only two plus pitches) make for an unbeatable presence on the mound, his fun-loving personality make for an invaluable presence in a clubhouse that is often more boardroom than locker room. He's surely the only member of the team who got nipple rings this winter (when asked why, Chamberlain simply shrugged and said "I was bored).

And no one batted an eye when a pitcher with 24 innings of big league experience entered the clubhouse and strolled lazily toward his locker on Sunday, just minutes before he was scheduled to take the field, still wiping the sleep from his eyes, and said loudly enough for half the room to hear, "Man am I tired. I hit the snooze. You should have seen the size of the drool spot on my pillow."

Chamberlain can be excused such eccentricities because a year ago he left an even bigger mark on the club than that drool spot on his pillow. He went 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA and 34 strikeouts against just six walks and emerged as the team's bridge to closer Mariano Rivera. He enters this spring again targeted for the bullpen, but it's likely he'll be starting before long. "I don't care one way or the other," says Chamberlain. "Not one guy is going to be the difference. I just want to be a part of that puzzle."

Hughes was supposed to be part of the puzzle a year ago, but a pulled hamstring suffered during his second big league start last May -- in the midst of a no-hitter, no less -- sent him to the disabled list for much of the summer. His considerable skills were never on full display, even after he returned to finish 5-3 in 13 starts. He split the winter between his native California and the Yankees' minor-league complex in Tampa, where he increased his workload from three or four days a week to five to seven days a week as spring training approached, all the while trying to ignore the persistent trade rumors.

"I was dreading something happening the whole offseason," he says. "I tried not to pay attention to it, but then my family or some high school friends would call and say, 'I saw your name on SportsCenter.' "

"I'm glad he's here," said new manager Joe Girardi. "I like looking at him everyday."

Girardi will like even better the look of a healthy Hughes. His curveball has shown extra bite, and paired with his two fastballs -- one a four-seamer in the mid-90s, the other a two-seamer -- Hughes has top-of-the-rotation stuff.

But he's still just 21 and has much to learn, which is why Mussina, an 18-year veteran, requested that Hughes' locker be moved into the near left corner of the clubhouse next to his own and Kennedy's. There Hughes and Kennedy can soak in the lessons on pitching in particular and baseball in general that Mussina has taken to doling out.

To make his young Paduan learners feel more at home, Mussina decorated the spare, gray cinderblock wall with a picture of a window looking out on a beach, and added curtains, a wall clock and a calendar. "We're going to have a sign that says Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy, Attorneys at Law," says Moose.

Such lighthearted moments were hard to come by in 2007 for Mussina, who was, by his own admission, "In a bad mood pretty much all year" thanks to a sub-par 11-10, 5.15 ERA season. His sour attitude kept Kennedy, a longtime admirer, at bay when he arrived in the Bronx last September for his big league debut.

"He's a lot more personable now," says Kennedy, "but I'd still rather wait until he asks me something" before asking questions of my own.

Not that Mussina has all the answers, however. Earlier this spring, Kennedy mustered the courage to ask the sage veteran how to throw a front-hip two-seam fastball to left-handed batters. "He said he just started doing it two years ago, so that answer didn't really help," says Kennedy.

In that case, Kennedy can always consult a video of Mussina that longtime Yankees pitching guru Billy Connors made for his benefit. Both Kennedy and Mussina are undersized control pitchers who can throw four pitches for strikes (Kennedy's are a fastball, curve, slider and changeup) and who rely heavily on location. "Some lessons you have to experience to understand," says Mussina, "[But] if they're going to do my job, they might as well learn."

One thing the Yankees still have to learn is how much they can get out of their young trio. The Joba Rules may have been relaxed but, according to Girardi, "There are three Rules now." All three pitchers are being kept to an unannounced innings limit that is unique to the individual, and while none were aware of it, Girardi said with a cryptic grin, "It's taken care of."

Hughes, who says he's preparing as though he's going to have to pitch close to 200 innings, has never topped 146 innings as a professional, Kennedy's high is 165 1/3 and Chamberlain didn't even make his pro debut until 2007. "We're trying to protect them long-term," said Girardi. "You can't expect guys to throw 200 innings if they've never done it before."

Nor have the Yankees done this before, asking so many of their pitching stars of the future to ensure their present success. Still, expectations remain the same around Tampa: World Series or bust. "Nothing's changed," says catcher Jorge Posada, when asked if the team would have to readjust its goals. "Everything's the same. They're going to be fine because we're going to help them out."

If there's anything the Yankees like displaying more than bit-sized motivational quotes, it's reminders of their past championships, which are proudly displayed throughout the Legends Field complex and the home office in the Bronx. Four of the team's 26 World Series titles and six of the 39 pennants came during Joe Torre's 12-year run as manager. Torre was fond of telling young players, "Don't take your talent for granted, because it's on borrowed time." For the Yankees ultra-talented Young Guns, their time is now.
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nyjunc · Feb 27, 2008

AlioTheFool said: ↑

I don't know. What I'm seeing is that generally, he's getting credit for at least standing up and taking his lumps with a little bit of class.

As for the "full cheater treatment" what is that anyway? The way Bonds was treated on the road? Will he be more or less jeered than Tejada?

I don't know. Like I said, I'm curious to see.
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He'll have a rough time on the road but being a Yankee he is used to it already. I'm sure he'll handle it fine.

New York Yankees 2008 Spring Training Thread

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