Results tagged ‘ Braves ’
Spring Game 11: Yankees vs. Braves
It’s the first night game of the spring for the Yankees, who will be under the lights tonight at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Here are the lineups and game info:
NEW YORK YANKEES (3-7) vs. ATLANTA BRAVES (5-6)
7:05 p.m. – George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, Fla. – TV: YES, Radio: WCBS 880
RHP David Phelps (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Paul Maholm (0-1, 9.64 ERA)
BRAVES (5-6)
Jordan Schafer CF
Jason Heyward RF
Justin Upton LF
Freddie Freeman 1B
B.J. Upton DH
Dan Uggla 2B
Chris Johnson 3B
Tyler Pastornicky SS
Matt Pagonizzi C
Paul Maholm LHP
Maholm is scheduled to be followed by Cristhian Martinez, Cory Rasmus, J.R. Graham, Dusty Hughes and Yohan Flande.
YANKEES (3-7)
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Jayson Nix 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C
Dan Johnson 1B
Zoilo Almonte RF
Corban Joseph 3B
David Phelps RHP
Phelps is scheduled to be followed by David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, David Aardsma, Mark Montgomery and Shawn Kelley.
Spring Game 1: Yankees at Braves
Here is the lineup for today’s Yankees Grapefruit League game against the Braves at Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the first of 35 games this spring for the Bombers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.; there is no TV or radio for this game.
YANKEES (0-0)
Eduardo Nunez SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Juan Rivera DH
Matt Diaz LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Melky Mesa CF
Zoilo Almonte RF
Corban Joseph 3B
David Phelps RHP
BRAVES (0-1)
Andrelton Simmons SS
Reed Johnson LF
Freddie Freeman 1B
Dan Uggla 2B
Evan Gattis DH
Chris Johnson 1B
Todd Cunningham RF
Christian Bethancourt C
Jordan Schafer CF
Paul Maholm LHP
Additional Yankees pitchers making the trip: Juan Cedeno, Preston Claiborne, Brett Marshall, Mike O’Brien, Kelvin Perez, Branden Pinder, Ryan Pope, Josh Spence, Nik Turley, Chase Whitley.
Umpires: Home plate Greg Gibson, bases Lance Barksdale & Jeff Nelson.
One other note to pass along from today’s early session back in Tampa: right-hander Nick Goody walked into the clubhouse on crutches. He has a sprained right ankle.
Johnny Damon running out of options?
Back from a brief mid-winter respite wandering the streets of New York, and still there has been almost no movement on the Johnny Damon front.
Wednesday’s news brings us this article from Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record, who relays a note from a friend of Damon’s as saying that the outfielder has actually considered retirement with no offers trickling in. Here’s the exact blurb:
A friend of Damon’s recently said, “Johnny is completely in the family mode right now” and has considered that option. It’s still hard to believe that, in the wake of a 24-home run campaign in 2009, and hitting .364 against the Phillies in the Series, Damon actually would quit.
Give him credit for not panicking. In a text message to the New York Times on Tuesday, Damon wrote: “I’m sure things will work out somewhere.” Chances are, however, he never thought he’d be in this kind of predicament so late in the off-season.
The thought is that the Yankees only have about $2 million remaining to address their needs, so Damon – who made $13 million in ’09 and, via Scott Boras, was seeking the same for 2010 – may have overplayed his hand. Our Mark Bowman blogged that the Braves seem an unlikely fit, and Jason Beck notes the Tigers also haven’t expressed interest in Damon.
As this continues to drag on toward Spring Training, perhaps Damon will be forced to buckle at some point and accept far less than he’d ever thought would be waiting for him after a career year. The Yankees would love to have him back, so don’t rule them out, but only at their price.
If not, as I wrote yesterday in the Inbox, I really do believe the Yankees would be just fine with Brett Gardner in left field. Put it this way – they wouldn’t miss the playoffs because of it.
It’s worth noting that Damon also quietly considered retirement after the ’07 season, when his injuries made it miserable and painful to play, but those maladies had softened in the two years that followed. Hey, there is always the wrestling ring if Damon chooses that route.
Yankees closing in on Vazquez
The Yankees were getting close to re-acquiring right-hander Javier Vazquez on Tuesday morning, reportedly agreeing to a trade with the Braves that would also net them left-hander Boone Logan.
New York would send outfielder Melky Cabrera, lefty Mike Dunn and a Minor Leaguer to the Braves in exchange, according to the New York Daily News. The Yankees’ interest in Vazquez was first reported by the New York Post.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been looking for another arm to add to the rotation, and Vazquez fits the bill in terms of being affordable as the club looks to come in under $200 million in payroll for 2010. Vazquez is owed $11.5 million for 2010 in the final year of his contract.
– Bryan Hoch
Mr. Cashman, you have calls on lines 1, 2, 3…
For some reason, I just pictured Brian Doyle Murray in Groundhog Day, trying to unload Bill Murray at the bachelor auction: “What am I bid for this fine spec-i-mine?”
That aside, the Yankees are still taking calls on Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher, as the The New York Times reports today. But don’t keep hitting refresh looking for the trade to go down. There’s little reason to believe anything will change in the very near future.
Drawing out the lineup on paper here on January 17, the pieces don’t fit, and one of those players could be extraneous. But unless a club – the Reds, Giants, Braves and Nationals have been reported to have interest – comes calling with something that the Yankees absolutely must jump at, there isn’t really an urgent need to deal either Nady or Swisher.
They could just as easily bring both players down to Tampa for Spring Training, when inevitably some team will suffer a crippling outfield injury and all of a sudden need to make a quick move to field a decent lineup for Opening Day.
Of course, then there’s the other scenario that the Yankees wouldn’t want to see happen — it could be the Yankees themselves who suffer an injury, which would open up a way that both Nady and Swisher would be in the Opening Day lineup.
Either way, time is on Brian Cashman’s side with this one. Though it seems they’d prefer to deal Nady over Swisher, it behooves Cashman to make the best possible deal he can regardless of who gets dealt, and not rush into a hair-trigger transaction.
Hal: Yankees optimistic on Burnett
Back in New York after catching the red-eye from Las Vegas. In case you’re wondering, chalk these Winter Meetings up as a big ‘L’ for me at the tables … but more importantly, a huge ‘W’ for the Yankees. CC Sabathia is in the fold, the talks are still warm for Mike Cameron, and here’s a note we just put up over on the MLB Hot Stove blog:
Hal Steinbrenner is optimistic that A.J. Burnett will soon join the New York Yankees’ rotation behind CC Sabathia, accomplishing the club’s primary objective of upgrading their starting pitching.
The Yankees co-chairman told Newsday in a telephone interview Friday that Burnett – who is said to be in decision-making mode – could soon accept the Yankees’ five-year, $80 million offer.
“We’re interested in him and he’s interested in us,” Steinbrenner told the newspaper. “Obviously, New York has a lot to offer, and playing for the Yankees is just a great thing.”
The Atlanta Braves are pushing to acquire Burnett and are prepared to provide a similar offer, and agent Darek Braunecker said that a third unidentified team could serve as a potential suitor.
Bryan Hoch
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