Results tagged ‘ Francisco Cervelli ’
Battery problems: Francisco Cervelli, Ivan Nova injured for Yankees
NEW YORK – Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova exited Friday’s game against the Blue Jays in the third inning with an apparent injury on what has developed into a troublesome night for the home team at Yankee Stadium.
Nova’s final pitch of the evening came on a ball that was hit back up the middle by Rajai Davis for a single. The ball did not hit Nova, but the hurler grimaced and confirmed an injury to head athletic trainer Steve Donohue. Nova gave the ball to manager Joe Girardi, his work done after two-plus innings pitched.
David Phelps relieved Nova on what was a short night for the Yankees’ battery. Catcher Francisco Cervelli lasted just five pitches before he was hit with a Davis foul tip in the first inning, suffering an injury to his right hand. Chris Stewart took over the catching duties for New York.
The Yankees have not yet announced details of either injury, but catcher Austin Romine was lifted mid-inning from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s game against Syracuse, an indication that Cervelli’s injury could be substantial.
The Yankees had been getting early production from Cervelli, who hit his third home run of the season in Thursday’s 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays. He is batting .269 with three doubles and eight RBIs in 17 games.
Jorge Posada: Mariano Rivera “is a freak of nature”
Jorge Posada hasn’t yet arrived in camp for his duties as one of the Yankees’ guest instructors, but we must be getting close, because the five-time World Series champion is starting to talk a little ball.
Posada was a guest on Sirius/XM MLB Network Radio this morning with hosts Jim Memelo and Jeff Nelson. He shared his thoughts on several topics around the 2013 Yankees, including Posada’s prediction that Mariano Rivera will be able to return to the same dominant level for this team.
On Mariano Rivera: “Mariano is going to be 100 percent. Mariano is a freak of nature. One of those things about Mariano, he has great control, that cutter will not go away. I expect Mariano to be the old Mariano.”
On Derek Jeter: “He said it perfectly the other day, he’s going to be sore all over because he hasn’t been able to train like he wanted to, but he’s going to push himself to be ready for Opening Day. I know him, he’s going to probably be doing two-a-days and working really hard off the field to get back to 100 percent when it comes to Opening Day.”
On the Yankees’ catching competition: ”Obviously whoever has the best spring is going to start. That probably changes throughout the year. We’ve got three young catchers and we’re going to hopefully look forward to seeing them compete. This is what baseball is all about. You don’t get the job, you earn the job. I think it’s going to be good.”
On scouting reports for Cervelli and Romine: “Cervelli, very energetic, very athletic, very quick behind the plate. He has a good arm. He’s a lot more mature now so I think it’s perfect timing for him right now. Romine, obviously a little younger, smart kid behind the plate. We like him very much but they don’t want to rush him, so we’ll see. He’s got a shot too. We’ll see what happens in the spring.”
On Kevin Youkilis: “It’s going to be fun. I think it’s going to be great. The guy plays hard, that’s another guy that wants to prove himself. He had a tough year last year and I bet he worked really hard during the offseason to be a Yankee and be a part of this team.”
Spring is here: Yankees pitchers and catchers report
George M. Steinbrenner Field is open for business, and while we’re still waiting to hear the first official crack of the bat, these words should be enough to warm your afternoon wherever you are — Yankees pitchers and catchers reported to Tampa today.
CC Sabathia meets the media in the Yankees dugout on Tuesday.
The players went through the usual gauntlet of physical tests and checked out their locker assignments – with 84 names on the invited list, the Yankees have had to build a few new ones in the clubhouse – before heading out for the day. The real work begins tomorrow, with the first official workout for pitchers and catchers.
“Everybody talked about the guys that we didn’t sign, but talk about the guys we have coming back,” Yankees ace CC Sabathia said. “Hiro (Hiroki Kuroda) coming back, Andy (Pettitte) coming back, we’ll get Mo (Mariano Rivera) back for a full year. I think we already had the pieces here in place to compete and try to win a championship. We’ll just go with what we’ve got.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi held his first press conference of the spring, and the big news was again about Alex Rodriguez, as Girardi revealed that A-Rod will not be reporting to camp with the Yankees’ position players.
Instead, Rodriguez will be continuing his rehab in New York, which should limit some of the potential distractions that were expected to go along with MLB’s investigation of the Biogenesis case.
Girardi said that he believes the Yankees “could win 95 games and get to the World Series,” and said that “if other clubs want to think we’re vulnerable, that’s OK, but I love the character in that room and the way they find ways to win games.”
Want video? You got it.
Here are some of the other quick hits from Girardi’s session with the press:
- Girardi is not concerned about the health of Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera. He is, however, curious how the Yankees will find their designated hitter against right-handed pitching. Eduardo Nunez, Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera appear to be the early options.
- Girardi called the spring “a test” for Francisco Cervelli, who must block out the distraction of the Biogenesis investigation while also competing for the Opening Day catcher job.
- Austin Romine should be able to help the Yankees at some point during the season, Girardi said, but he doesn’t know exactly when. Romine said that he intends to make the roster out of Spring Training, but the Yankees have him ticketed for Triple-A right now.
- Girardi said Cervelli, Stewart and Romine should be able to be as good as Russell Martin was defensively.
- Michael Pineda is throwing in camp, but Girardi said he doesn’t expect to see him in a game this spring. The Yankees have been saying that Pineda’s best case scenario is to pitch in the big leagues by May or June.
- Girardi said he’s not worried about his lame duck status as the Yankees’ manager, saying that he’s only concerned with the next 162 games and getting to the World Series. The Yankees will likely hold off until after the season to open contract talks with Girardi.
Cervelli: “I really want it and this is my dream”
Francisco Cervelli is considered the early front-runner for the Yankees’ starting catching job in 2013, nudging ahead of Chris Stewart, Austin Romine and Bobby Wilson as the club prepares to head to Spring Training.
The Yankees insist that it’s more likely than not that they’ve already got their Opening Day catcher on the roster, but plenty can change between now and Opening Day, as Cervelli learned the hard way last season. It’s fair to say he wasn’t exactly planning on spending so much time in places like Rochester and Batavia.
With that in mind, he told the Newark Star-Ledger’s Jeff Bradley in a telephone interview that he didn’t celebrate much when Russell Martin inked a two-year, $17 million deal with the Pirates.
“I was happy for Russell because it was a good deal for him,” Cervelli said. “But for myself, I’m not going to make any conclusions. I know I have a lot of work to do, and I am going to remain very focused on that work.
“The way I’m thinking, I’ve changed a little bit because of what happened last year,” Cervelli continued. “But I’m very positive and looking forward to being the starting catcher, but I don’t think too much about it. I keep my expectations low because a lot of things can happen. But I really want it and this is my dream. It’s always been my dream.”
And just because, this seems like a good time to drop in this Cervelli classic from the spring:
Report: Yankees catcher Cervelli OK after whiplash scare
Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli suffered a whiplash injury on a foul tip while catching in the Venezuelan Winter League and flew to Tampa last week for an examination, ESPN New York reported on Monday.
GM Brian Cashman told ESPN New York that Cervelli had an MRI in Venezuela, which was clean, as well as the exam in Tampa.
“It was just a case of us being overly cautious,” Cashman told Wallace Matthews. “He’s fine and we’re sending him back to Venezuela to finish out the season.”
Cervelli is a frontrunner for the Yankees’ starting catching job this year, heading into Spring Training primed to compete with Chris Stewart, Austin Romine and Bobby Wilson for duties behind the plate.
Update on Francisco Cervelli
This from the Yankees:
Cervelli was seen today by Dr. Kirk Roberts—a neurologist at NY Presbyterian Hospital specializing in concussion syndromes. He was diagnosed with a concussion, but MRI results were negative.
Cervelli is home resting. There is no immediate timetable for his return. All baseball related activities have been suspended.
Cervelli scratched; concussion symptoms back
Rob Thomson just posted a new lineup minus Francisco Cervelli. Joe Girardi said Cervelli’s concussion symptoms are back and he’s being sent for an impact test.
Updates to follow, Russell Martin is catching.
Yankees discussed trading for Russell Martin
The Yankees and Dodgers talked about a trade that would have sent Russell Martin to New York in exchange for Francisco Cervelli, going so far as to exchange medical information on Martin, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The Yankees have been interested in Martin for some time but have had concerns about his health. Martin, 27, was an All-Star in 2007 and 2008 but did not play after Aug. 3 last season because of a right hip fracture.Meanwhile, the Dodgers were concerned that if they went to arbitration with Martin, and kept him, he would receive an increase over the $5 million he was paid in 2010. Cervelli, who made a little over $400,000 in 2010, would cost Los Angeles much less.The Dodgers and the Yankees went so far as to exchange medical files on Martin, but the Yankees had too many concerns about Martin’s health and told the Dodgers they would not go ahead with the trade.The Dodgers, who had also tried to trade Martin to other teams, instead decided Thursday night not to tender him a contract, and he became a free agent.
“We are not handing the jobs to anybody. They have to be earned. These players have put themselves in the position to get a good, strong look. If there’s another opportunity out there that maybe allows us to not put all our eggs in one basket that makes sense, then we might pursue that as well. We do believe we have catchers that are ready to battle, but they’re going to have to do the work.”
Considering the bunt sign
Joe Girardi provided an interesting view into the window of his thinking regarding the sixth inning Friday, where Jorge Posada was on second base and Curtis Granderson was on first base with nobody out against Brett Cecil.
Cervelli hit into a double play and the Yankees would be turned away on Brett Gardner’s pop-up, and Girardi was asked if he’d considered flashing the bunt sign for Cervelli instead of letting him swing away.
“That’s a legitimate question. You have a slow runner at second and you have a lefty on the mound who’s falling off toward third base. It’s got to be a perfect bunt. Cervi’s got two hits off of this guy. Lefties are hitting .180, there’s a left-hander behind him, the wind is blowing in. A sac fly is going to be difficult.”
Granderson in center; Cervelli has hamstring strain
Two quick notes before I hit the highway and head over to Blue Jays camp:
The Yankees have their outfield alignment set for Opening Night and the beginning of the 2010 season, officially deciding that Curtis Granderson will play center field and Brett Gardner will play left field.
Though the moves had been expected for some time, Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced that his choices had been set on Thursday, sending both players to start in their respective positions in a 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.
“They both did a very nice job in both spots,” Girardi said. “Grandy has played a lot of center field in his career, and so has Gardy. We just decided that we were going to go with Grandy in center, try not to move him around and put him in one spot.”
Also…
Backup catcher Francisco Cervelli has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 (mild) left hamstring strain and may not play for the remainder of Spring Training.
Girardi said Thursday that Cervelli will be continually re-evaluated and is listed as day-to-day. With Opening Day approaching on Sunday, the Yankees will have to hope that the pinching sensation in Cervelli’s left leg can abate quickly.
“Right now, if I was to guess, he is not a DL guy,” Girardi said. “But we may not play him the rest of Spring Training.”
Cervelli felt something tweak in his left hamstring during Tuesday’s home game against the Blue Jays and was sent for a precautionary MRI on Wednesday, which revealed the strain.
Should Cervelli begin the season on the disabled list, it is possible that Mike Rivera – a veteran non-roster invitee who also battled a hamstring issue this spring – could head north with the club for Opening Night on Sunday at Fenway Park.
“I want to be there,” Cervelli said. “I think I will be there.”
Bryan Hoch
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