On the Yankees beat

Here are my predictions for the 2008 season:

Yankees go 93-69 and win the wild card

AL East champ: Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: Mariners

ALCS: Tigers over Red Sox

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL wild card: Braves

NLCS: Cubs over Mets

World Series: Cubs over Tigers

AL MVP: Manny Ramirez
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay

NL MVP: Derrek Lee
NL Cy Young: Pedro Martinez

No update yet on when the game will start. When it does, Jim Baumbach will be live-blogging it. We're planning to have somebody live-blog every game this season.

2:29 p.m.

Game postponed until tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

2:12 p.m.

Three Blue Jays are walking to leftfield to warm up. I can't tell if it's Roy Halladay.

Dare we take that as a positive sign?

Come on, let's play two!

2:06 p.m.

General manager Brian Cashman, manager Joe Girardi and Yankees security official Sonny Hight just walked onto the field, presumably to check the conditions. They walked from the Yankee dugout to shallow rightfield. The fans cheered loudly, no doubt hoping to encourage them to have a game today. But I still doubt it.

1:54 p.m.

Uh oh.

Jim Hall, Bob Sheppard's sub, just announced to the crowd that the weather reports "no longer look promising" and they are evaluating their options. Another update will come soon, he said.

The crowd booed.

1:44 p.m.

BTW, anyone care to read into this?

A rain delay on Opening Day.

Not a good omen.

Or is it?

1:35 p.m.

I hate to tell you guys, but I've got nothing. They keep telling us they're going to get this in, but it just keeps raining. Supposedly there's a window of opportunity coming soon. We'll see.

In the meantime, I went through my memory bank and thought of the six Opening Days that I have attended in my lifetime. Here's my list. Ken Davidoff has been to many more Opening Days than I have and here's his list.

12:37 p.m.

Here we are at a rainy Yankee Stadium, and the 1:05 start has been delayed. No word on a new start time. All we're told is they intend to play. Let's hope they do.

Now, on to other business - remember me, Jim Baumbach? I'll be live blogging all day, so please keep coming back here and refreshing your screen. And post comments! I'll chime in there, too. Meanwhile, while we await the start, here are some pre-game notes:

* The entire Steinbrenner clan except for Hank is here. The sedan that drove George here parked right outside the press gate. George walked in with his right hand on his driver's shoulder and with daughter Jenny holding his left elbow. Hank hasn't arrived yet, and at this point it's in question if he's coming. He wasn't at the team's Welcome Home Dinner last night. Someone familiar with the family said Hank was supposed to fly this morning, but the source thought it was unlikely at this point Hank is coming.

* Bill the Baker, who was injured in a hit-and-run accident in Brentwood, is here. He's in a wheelchair wrapped in blankets to keep him warm. He said he's feeling okay. He's currently in a rehab facility.

* Harlan Chamberlain, Joba's father, also is here. He was waiting for his son outside the clubhouse two hours before the game.

* Phil Hughes' locker moved to the corner closest to Joe Torre's office ... er ... I mean Joe Girardi's office. That's the locker that used to be Randy Johnson's back in the good ol' days. There are a lot more positive vibes over there nowadays.

* Remember how Morgan Ensberg made such a big deal of getting rid of No. 21 because he didn't want to take Paul O'Neill's number? Get this: LaTroy Hawkins jumped on 21. That's his new number. Take that, Paulie!

* The guest list for the Steinbrenner suite includes the usual suspects: Henry Kissinger, Regis Philbin, Donald Trump, etc.

* Check out my new blog: The Final Score. And check out what I did yesterday: I was a part of the chains crew for the New York Dragons game. Here's my story and a video of me in action. Brace yourselves.

Unfortunately, it's raining here at Yankee Stadium, so the teams didn't take batting practice on the field. Just got word that the start of the game is being delayed due to rain. No start time as yet.

Reggie Jackson (who is styling, BTW) is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

Here's the Blue Jays' lineup:

Eckstein SS
Stewart LF
Rios RF
Wells CF
Thomas DH
Overbay 1B
Hill 2B
Scutaro 3B
Zaun C

Halladay P

Andy Pettitte talked about his outing yesterday and his upcoming first start. He said he's not too worried, despite missing time w/back spasms: "Not really, because last year I was in the exact same boat also. Last year, I felt like it was a really good first half for me."
Pettitte's not sure exactly how many pitches he'll be able to go. He threw 77 yesterday, and hopes to get stronger, but figures the intensity level might be a little higher in a regular season game than when facing minor leaguers. He said he's confident of being able to go 80.

It's Opening Day for the final time at this Yankee Stadium. As I walked from the subway to the stadium, I heard a man say, to nobody in particular: "It's Opening Day in the neighborhood. Life is good."
I was excited to see the new stadium going up. I hadn't seen it in months, and a lot's been done since then of course. It's going to be a very impressive place, from all I've heard and from what I can see. The only thing I didn't like seeing (though I'd already heard about it) is that the park next to the Stadium is no longer there. I believe they're going to build a parking garage there. I used to love walking up to the Stadium in the afternoon before a night game or on my way home in the evening after a day game, and seeing kids playing baseball and basketball.

Please share any favorite memories of past Opening Days or favorite memories of Yankee Stadium, since this is the last one here.

Lineup for the Yankees
Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Hideki Matsui DH
Melky Cabrera CF

Chien-Ming Wang P

Back later with updates and season predictions.

Here are a few leftover things I have from Miami yesterday. I'm not at the Stadium for the workout, so any updates from there will have to come from somebody else:

*Melky Cabrera, who homered yesterday, is very excited to make his first Opening Day start, and relieved that the appeal on his suspension will not keep him out of that.
"I'm going to feel really content," Cabrera said. "It's going to be the last Opening Day in the Stadium, and that's something really special."
*Nice scene Friday night when Scott Patterson came out of Joe Girardi's office after being reassigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was visibly upset, kicking something in front of his locker and then slumping down there. LaTroy Hawkins (and Joba Chamberlain, but it was clearly Hawkins's lead) went over and sat down next to him to give him some encouragement.
Hawkins said: "I just told him to keep his head up. A lot of guys have been through it before. I know I have."
Hawkins, 35, made his major league debut with the Twins in 1995 and also saw limited action in 1996. But in 1997, he thought he had done well enough in spring training to make the Opening Day roster, but was told otherwise by the Twins: "I thought I should have made the team, but I didn't."
Patterson was appreciative of Hawkins' chat, and said Hawkins told him he knew he'd see him soon. If Patterson keeps getting anywhere near the results he did in spring training, he will be back soon. He allowed only one hit and no walks in 7 2/3 innings.
*Morgan Ensberg, who was uncomfortable taking Paul O'Neill's old number, said he plans to wear No. 11. He wanted No. 14, but his $5,000 offer to Wilson Betemit was declined. He said he's still hopeful Betemit will change his mind, but that hadn't happened as of yesterday.

*Also, reports out of Tampa say that Pettitte's minor league game went well today. He pitched six innings in an intra-squad game against Yankees' Triple-A players. He allowed just one hit and one walk, with six strikeouts, and threw 77 pitches.
Starting opposite Pettitte was Ian Kennedy, who pitched five innings, allowing one walk and striking out five.

Derek Jeter bruised his right pinkie finger on a bad hop while fielding ground balls during batting practice. He's fine. If he were not fine, they would not have let him play at all. As he said, "No problems."

The Yankees are trailing 2-1 in the top of the eighth inning. Melky Cabrera hit a solo home run for the Yankees. Phil Hughes pitched innings and allowed two runs, one earned. He gave up three hits and one walk and struck out four.
For those asking about Derek Jeter and if he's hurt, i don't know. We have not gotten any updates. He did leave the game after two at-bats, while the other regulars stayed in for three at-bats, but I am not sure if there is an injury involved.

Here's the lineup for the final exhibition game:

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Matsui DH
Cabrera CF

Hughes P

Marlins
Ramirez SS
Uggla 2B
Jacobs DH
Willingham LF
Gonzalez RF
Cantu 3B
Wood 1B
Hoover C
De Aza CF

Volstad P

The Yankees finalized their Opening Day roster Friday night, making several final cuts. The most significant news is that Andy Pettitte will start the season on the disabled list, but he is expected to come off the DL and start the fifth game of the season April 6th.

With Pettitte on the DL, the Yankees decided not to take a long man to begin the season. Right-handers Brian Bruney, Ross Ohlendorf and Jonathan Albaladejo all made the team, as did left-hander Billy Traber.

“This was a really difficult decision,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We really agonized over this.”

Moves announced last night include the sending down of right-handed pitchers Darrell Rasner, Scott Patterson, Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez; left-handed pitcher Kei Igawa and infielder Nick Green. Patterson was an especially difficult decision, as he allowed just one hit all spring.

[for reference – Yankees Opening Day 25-man roster]

Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang
Mike Mussina
Phil Hughes
Ian Kennedy
Mariano Rivera
Joba Chamberlain
LaTroy Hawkins
Kyle Farnsworth
Billy Traber
Brian Bruney
Ross Ohlendorf
Jonathan Albaladejo

Catchers
Jorge Posada
Jose Molina

Infielders
Alex Rodriguez
Derek Jeter
Robinson Cano
Jason Giambi
Wilson Betemit
Morgan Ensberg

Outfielders
Johnny Damon
Melky Cabrera
Bobby Abreu
Hideki Matsui
Shelley Duncan

Here is the boxscore from Friday night's game.

It's an overwhelmingly Yankees crowd here at Dolphin Stadium. The game just began, and here are the lineups:

Yankees
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Duncan DH
Cabrera CF

Mussina RHP

Marlins
Ramirez SS
Uggla 2B
Jacobs 1B
Willingham LF
Gonzalez RF
Cantu 3B
Wood DH
Treanor C
De Aza CF

Miller LHP

Other notes: Andy Pettitte's bullpen went fine. He will pitch in a minor league game Sunday, and should start the first time through the rotation in the regular season.
Jeff Karstens has a groin strain, not a tear.

OK, so in my last post I talked about Joe Girardi returning to Dolphin Stadium, but I neglected to write about the return of Alex Rodriguez. I thought it would be nice for him to play in Miami, where he lives and grew up, but had no idea that he has not played a game here since high school. That's what he says, and while I haven't been able to verify that there was never an exhibition game in this area, he definitely never played a major league regular season or playoff game here. The Mariners played here the year after he left, the Rangers played here the year after he left and the Yankees played in the World Series here the year before he arrived.

So the best player in baseball returning to his hometown is a really big deal. Even Joe Girardi, who lives here in the offseason, said that he attended one Miami Heat game this winter. On his drive home, he noticed a huge billboard congratulating Alex on his MVP season.
Alex said he thinks he set a record with how many tickets he bought/left for people -- about 150. Among them, he said he is particularly excited about his wife, his mother and his high school coach attending.

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who fired Girardi after the 2006 season, spoke to Girardi on the field. This was after we talked to Girardi, but according to Loria: "I just welcomed him back. I just wished him well, shook his hand, welcomed him back and wished him good luck."

A couple players talked about facing the team now managed by their former manager.
Matt Treanor said he loved playing for Joe and expected him to get another managing opportunity: "Absolutely. It's hard to get an award like Manager of the Year and not get another chance down the road.
Dan Uggla said: "I think he definitely deserved to get another chance managing."

This has got to be an interesting day for Joe Girardi. I imagine he's got all sorts of feelings about returning to Dolphin Stadium. He was the National League Manager of the Year in 2006, as he almost took the Marlins to the playoffs despite management having traded off almost all the good/experienced players in the offseason. But he was fired, nevertheless, because he and ownership/management did not see eye-to-eye.
It would appear he got the better end result now, managing the Yankees, with all their resources.
It will be interesting to see what kind of reception he receives, both from fans and from people he knows on/with the Marlins. I had lunch with a great-aunt here in Miami who is a huge fan of all Miami-area sports teams. If her opinion is representative in any way, the fans will be excited to see Girardi. She's still pretty ticked off that they fired him.

Here's the link to Newsday's baseball preview: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/preview/

You should be able to link to all of our preview stories from this page. There are a lot of them, and many people worked hard to put it together. A few of the things you might be particularly interested in:

*A big feature on Yankee Stadium with memories, as well as a guide for people going to the stadium (travel info, tickets, etc.)
*Main stories on the Yankees and Mets
*Column on Joe Girardi
*Story on Derek Jeter and his plans to eventually own a MLB team
*Alex Rodriguez story as he returns to the Yankees for 10 years
*Overview previews of both the AL and NL
*Team capsules throughout MLB
*Predictions
*Scouting reports

Here is the boxscore from today's game.

The Yankees trail 4-1. Kei Igawa gave up four earned runs on five hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings. Jeff Karstens left the game after allowing one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings. He appeared to have some type of right-leg injury, but we have gotten no updates.
Scott Patterson pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings. He took a ball off his hip, but remained in the game. He has not allowed a run all spring.

The Yankees' only run was a solo homer by Derek Jeter in the first inning. Kind of fitting that the captain would homer on the day the field is renamed for George Steinbrenner.
The Yankees' only other hit today is by Alex Rodriguez.

Crazy busy here today with all the Steinbrenners here, the renaming of the field and it being the last game in Tampa, meaning flying down to Miami right after the game. So let's catch up quickly:

Kei Igawa is NOT making a case for himself to make the team. The Yankees are losing 4-1 in the top of the 3rd.
Some moves made yesterday include:

*outfielder Brett Gardner being reassigned to minor league camp. Joe Girardi said, "He needs to play every day," but make no mistake, Girardi's been impressed with Gardner. Gardner was OK after splitting his lower lip in yesterday's game, but not around for us to talk to.
*Cody Ransom, Jason Lane, Jason Brown, Greg Porter and Bernie Castro were all reassigned/optioned.
*The field was renamed George M. Steinbrenner Field, with Steinbrenner, his wife Joan and his four kids all on-hand. George Steinbrenner said (himself to reporters, not through a publicist):"It was good, it was a great ceremony.
*Hal Steinbrenner reiterated what he said in last week's interview with Newsday, that the Steinbrenners plan to keep the Yankees: "There's no plans to sell."
*Hank Steinbrenner is pleased with what he's seen of Joe Girardi, and expects this team to be contenders. He said: "We will do what we've got to do to win."
*Hank also defended Alex Rodriguez against allegations from Jose Canseco, saying: "There is such a thing as a natural, and Alex is a natural. It's that simple."

By the way, people who don't want to hear casual things from the clubhouse -- this is a blog. It's for fun. This is not the stocks section of the Wall Street Journal. If you don't want to hear about behind-the-scenes things with the team, baseball-related or humorous such as the Derek Jeter-Bobby Abreu-Hideki Matsui bet, you don't have to read it. But seriously, let's lighten up here.

So now that you've had your comedy for the noon hour, here's the lineup for today's last spring game at the about-to-be-renamed George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Duncan RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Matsui LF
Ensberg 1B
Betemit 2B
Cabrera CF

Igawa P

Andy Pettitte feels fine today. He will throw another bullpen tomorrow, pitch in a minor league game Sunday and probably start Friday or Saturday next week.

Johnny Damon's still a little under-the-weather, but plans to take a couple at-bats as a DH. He said he'll play and play the field tomorrow and Saturday no matter how he feels.

It was announced that Hideki Matsui got married yesterday. He flew to New York and got married to a 25-year-old Japanese woman who he's been dating since after the 2006 season. But he kept it a big secret, only their immediate families knew. I think that was to avoid the huge crush of Japanese media that follows him everywhere.

Now here's the funny, no, hilarious part. During his meeting with the American press this morning, someone asked Matsui if he would tell Derek Jeter to get married now. Then Matsui said they had a bet, Jeter has a year. We were waiting at Jeter's locker when he got there, and he was stunned that Matsui had gotten married. His jaw dropped, he said: "Nuh-uh, Hideki? Where'd you hear that?"
He then raced over to Matsui's locker to find out if it was true, talked to Hideki for a minute and congratulated him, then returned to his locker, where Jeter said: "We had a bet, that's not even right."
Apparently, Matsui, Bobby Abreu and Jeter made a bet (at the start of spring, when Matsui already knew he was getting married) about who would get married first. Jeter was given a one-year handicap, since he doesn't have a girlfriend (or as Matsui put it, claims he doesn't), and Abreu was given a six-month handicap, I guess because he has a girlfriend but it wasn't long-term like Matsui.
So everyone wanted to know if Jeter would be attempting to win. He conceded, saying: "He won." People said hey, you've got a year. He said no chance, "I'll give him the money today." He then recovered and said, "Good for him, congratulations." But Jeter, who always says he is not surprised by anything, admitted he was surprised by this.
About that time, Abreu got to the park and Jeter told him. Abreu's locker is just a couple away from Matsui's, and his jaw dropped. He checked with Matsui, found out it was true.
Like Jeter, Abreu has no plans to attempt to match Matsui by getting married within his "handicap period." Abreu said, "He won, so we have to find someone else and make a new bet."
However, as they closed the clubhouse, Jeter was going over to Matsui. There seems to be some confusion as to whether or not this was a fair bet, or if Matsui punked or played them. Anyway, there is the comedy for the day. Enjoy.

The Yankees lost 4-0 to the Phillies. Chien-Ming Wang gave up four earned runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He had one tough inning in which he gave up four straight singles, all grounders, and an error kept the inning going longer than it should have. Still, manager Joe Girardi said it was the best he's looked.

I'd say Billy Traber's on the team at this point. He pitched 2/3 of an inning, and got out left-handed hitters Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. GM Brian Cashman said: "Obviously Traber's doing everything that he can."

Alex Rodriguez declined to give any more comment on the Jose Canseco allegations.
Brett Gardner left the game when a ball he fouled bounced up and hit him in the mouth, splitting his lower lip. I'm told it was bleeding pretty badly. He didn't lose a tooth, but was taken to a dentist for further evaluation and X-rays.

Here's the boxscore from today's game.

here are a couple of stories from today's paper:

One on Alex Rodriguez letting things slide: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks265626405mar26,0,7756381.story

And one on Jose Canseco's accusations against Rodriguez: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spcanseco265626404mar26,0,3209103.story

Here's the Yankees-Phillies lineup. Johnny Damon was scratched. He's been battling some type of flu/bug for several days. Something's gone around this spring, and I can vouch, it's no fun and it doesn't go away in 24-48 hours. Only a couple major leaguers on the Yankees have been affected, but many minor leaguers have.

Yankees
Gardner CF
Cano 2B
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Betemit SS
Lane LF
Wang RHP (and hitting)

Phillies
Rollins SS
Dobbs 3B
Utley 2B
Howard 1B
Burrell LF
Jenkins RF
Werth CF
Coste C
Myers P

Andy Pettitte threw a bullpen, said he felt good. As long as he's good tomorrow, he'll pitch in a minor league game saturday and pitch the third game of the season for the Yankees.
Back w/more later.

I stayed back from the game today in order to talk to Andy Pettitte after he played catch, to talk to Alex Rodriguez and to see Joba Chamberlain pitch in a minor league game. Speaking of Rodriguez, the Jose Canseco allegations were first reported on a blog, but colleague Ken Davidoff got a copy of the Canseco book, so Newsday is writing the allegations after having seen the book. It's not just from someone's blog/humor website. Sorry for any confusion. I'll have a different Alex Rodriguez story tomorrow that's not based on Canseco stuff, so you can check that out if you like.

In the game against the Indians, the Yankees lost 7-5 after Darrell Rasner gave up three unearned runs for a blown save/loss. Ian Kennedy gave up four unearned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The offensive star of the spring for the Yankees, and I'm not sure this is even debatable, is Robinson Cano. He went 3-for-4 yesterday with two more doubles (five this spring) and two RBIs. He's hitting .464, and has a major-league-best 19 RBIs.

Here is the boxscore from today's game.

Alex Rodriguez brushed off Jose Canseco's accusations against him, choosing to ignore what Canseco levied against him in his new book.
The website Deadspin found excerpts of Canseco's new book "Vindicated" from a freelance writer, Joe Lavin. According to that, Canseco said he "introduced Alex to a known supplier of steroids." Rodriguez said, "I really have absolutely no reaction."
When told that Canseco also accused Rodriguez of trying to hook up with Canseco's wife, Rodriguez raised his eyebrows and asked, "He said that in his book?", then said, "I have absolutely no comment."
According to Lavin, Canseco closed a passage as follows: "So A-Rod, if you're reading, and if I'm not getting through to you, let's get clear on one thing: I hate your --- guts."
Rodriguez said that was pretty obvious already.

Mike Mussina is now the Yankees' Game 2 starter. Andy Pettitte, who was scheduled to start that game, has been pushed back due to the back spasms he began suffering last Thursday.

Pettitte said this morning that he is feeling much better. Heplayed catch this morning with batting practice pitcher Charlie Wonsowicz, throwing 42 tosses. The final eight throws were with Wonsowicz crouching low.
“The good thing about today is I felt like it loosened up when I got out there,” Pettitte said.
When Pettitte got to the field this morning, he was told by the Yankees that he would not throw Game 2 of the season. With that in mind, there was no reason to try to push things by having him attempt a bullpen today.
“We have so many options,” Pettitte said. “I’ve just got to be smart about it.”
Pettitte said his back still felt a little tight this morning, but that it loosened up as he threw. Yesterday, it remained tight.
If Pettitte feels good tomorrow, he will throw a bullpen, then start a minor league game Saturday. That would allow him to pitch Game 3 April 3rd.

Here's the boxscore from last night's game.

The Yankees are beating up on the Phillies here. They're leading 13-4 in the top of the seventh inning. Big nights with home runs and multiple RBIs for Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera.

Phil Hughes pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Andy Pettitte (back spasms) played catch this afternoon. If he throws a bullpen tomorrow, there's still a chance he makes his start in the second game of the season. It's iffy at this point, though.

Here's the lineup -- Johnny Damon was sent home with the flu:

Phillies
Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Dobbs RF
Howard 1B
Burrell LF
Snelling DH
Feliz 3B
Coste C
Bruntlett 2B

Moyer P

Yankees
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Duncan LF
Ensberg 1B

Hughes P

Four more games remain here before we leave Tampa. Players seem to be in that let's-get-out-of-here mode, after six-plus weeks. Tonight's a night game against the Phillies, with road games remaining against the Indians tomorrow and Phillies Wednesday. On Thursday, the Yankees close out their home schedule against the Pirates, with the field to be renamed for George Steinbrenner. Incidentally, I've been told that Steinbrenner will be attending Opening Day as well as the Welcome Home Dinner Sunday night.

The Yankees lost to the Pirates 8-0 in Bradenton. Jeff Karstens got hit fairly hard, giving up four runs on seven hits in three-plus innings, with five doubles off him. My bet is on either Darrell Rasner or Kei Igawa for the long man job.

Here is the boxscore from today's game.

Andy Pettitte was unable to play catch, as his back is still a little tight. The earliest he is likely to pitch in a game is Friday. If he has to be pushed back beyond that, he likely won't start Game 2 of the regular season, but Game 3, 4, or 5.

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it.

The Yankees are playing the Pirates here. Had to stay in Tampa for a minor league intra-squad game in which Mike Mussina and Kei Igawa were pitching this morning, so it's the second inning here but the lineup is as follows:

Yankees
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Matsui LF
Ensberg 1B
Betemit SS
Lane RF
Ransom 3B
Woodward DH
Moeller C

Karstens P

Pirates
Morgan CF
Jack Wilson SS
Bay LF
LaRoche 1B
Nady RF
Bautista 3B
Paulino C
Rivas 2B
Maholm P

Yes, that's right, something I've never seen before is taking place -- the Yankees are using a DH and the Pirates are having their pitcher hit.

Back in Tampa, Mussina pitched seven innings against minor leaguers. He gave up three hits and one earned run.

Here are some leftover comments I couldn't get into my Hal Steinbrenner story. Since he doesn't talk to reporters too often, I figured I'd pass along as much as possible.

*Said 90-95 percent of his work time is now spent on Yankees.

[Are the Yankees a business or something different?]"Well, there's no doubt it's different than a normal business, but I do tend to be pretty business-oriented. I try to look at everything from altitude as opposed to on the ground, and you know, this is a huge corporation with banks and bondholders and partners. It’s not the company it was 10 years ago; it’s gotten much, much bigger."
[on three young pitchers -- Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy]"I don't know when the last time was when we had three top young starting pitchers like this."

[on family dyanmic]"Everybody gets along fine. Everybody's going to have disagreements from time to time, like any family. It's a family. We all get along. Everything is nice and stable. Everybody's settled into their roles quite nicely, I think, considering all we've been through in the last year, and decisions are going to be made together, because each person brings their own thoughts, feelings, opinions and talents if you will, to the table."

[who's most like your father?]"I think we each got a little bit of him. I think Hank, he's always had the tendency to shoot a little more straight from the hip. To me, business is business. I tend to be a little more ... I tend to try not to get too emotional when it's business. It's not right, it's not wrong, it's just my personality. I think Hank tends to be a little more passionate and he'll be the first one to tell you that."

[your personality?]"I think most people describe my personality as, I can certainly be intense. Maybe it's the pilot in me, I don't know, but I tend to think more objectively. I try to make decisions objectively. Larger stuff, I tend to leave emotion out of it."

[how involved are your sisters?]"Jessie's really taken over the farm in Ocala with the horses and doing really well at that. Jenny's the one that is involved here. She's been real involved with the new stadium, interior design decisions taht need to be made at the suites and so on."

[did you want Torre back?]"We wanted him back. We wouldn't have made that offer if we didn't want him back."

[on A-Rod, reaction to opt-out?]"We were all surprised. I had talked to Scott Boras before that, just to tell him that we were serious about this guy, because I wanted that to get through. We're not bluffing. We're going to take it (opting out) as meaning he doesn't want to be a Yankee. Please tell him that we'd like to sit down and we'd like to talk, and any concerns he has or any opinions he has, let's sit down face-to-face and talk. We were all surprised."

[on stadium? sentimental feelings?]"Well, look, 80+ years, 85 years, obviously. I think the exciting thing about this stadium is it looks more like the original stadium than the stadium we're in now, much more like the original stadium than the one we're in now. So I think when you walk into that stadium, walk into the great hall and walk in gate four ... it's going to be nostalgic even when it's brand new. It's going to take you back."

Here's a Sunday story I'd been hoping to get for quite some time: an interview with Hal Steinbrenner. Here's the link: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sphal0323,0,6108855.story

Some of the major topics Hal talked about were the balance of power between himself and Hank (equal and they must agree on big decisions), whether the Steinbrenners will sell the Yankees in the next few years (no chance), off-season decisions (we wanted them all back, meaning Rodriguez, Rivera, Posada, Abreu, Pettitte), his personality, his philosophy and growing up a Steinbrenner. Enjoy.

Also in today's section are stories on Andy Pettitte being scratched from a start due to back spasms: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spyanks0323,0,4579772.story
and a notebook led by Graig Nettles having prostate cancer: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-spynotes0323,0,2757456.story

The Yankees were rained out here. And it is pouring. We talked to Robinson Cano, who said he woke up with back stiffness. He doesn't appear to be doing too badly, as he was smiling, and said he'll play tomorrow.
Jonathan Albaladejo had a rough outing, only managing to record one out.

Here's the Yankees-Blue Jays lineup. This is, I believe, version three, of the lineup. Kei Igawa was bumped from the start due to concerns over the weather. They wanted to make sure he gets his innings in even if rain is a problem. Robinson Cano was just scratched due to "body stiffness. Don't ask me what body part -- I was given no information on that.

Also, we talked to Graig Nettles, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He is here at spring training and plans to have it treated and removed in April. He was told it was caught early and is curable and treatable. The reason he went in to get checked is his brother, Jim, was diagnosed with prostate cancer (he's been treated and is doing well), and was told it runs in the family. So Graig went to get checked and found out he has it. He's upbeat, though it's been a scare.

Blue Jays
Eckstein SS
Rios RF
Wells CF
Rolen 3B
Thomas DH
Hill 2B
Stewart LF
Scutaro 1B
Barajas C

Wells RHP

Yankees
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Duncan LF
Woodward 2B

Albaladejo RHP