It was a pretty slow Thursday in Yankee Country. Colin Curtis’s second three-run homer of the spring anchored the Yankees over the Rays, 6-4. Chan Ho Park made his spring debut, pitching a perfect fifth inning.
Here are some interesting news items from today:
- The reigning AL MVP doesn’t know where he’ll be in 2011. Joe Mauer is negotiating with the Twins, but the parties don’t seem to be getting close to an extension. The Yankees, and the rest of baseball, are keeping their ears open.
As The Chuck Knoblog said, I think Mauer should be a Twin for life. He’s homegrown, he’s 26 years old and he’s already the face of the franchise and maybe all of baseball.
Also, the Yankees have plenty of catchers in their system. No, there’s no guarantee any of them will become major league starters, but I’d like to give Jesus Montero and Austin Romine a chance before making a gigantic financial investment. - Craig Calcaterra reveals an interesting study about the Yankees lineup from an ESPN blog. Here’s the optimal lineup, according to Sky Kalkman:
1. Nick Johnson
2. Mark Teixeira
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Robinson Cano
6. Derek Jeter
7. Nick Swisher
8. Jorge Posada
9. Brett Gardner
Yeah. Right. - Joe Girardi said he’d like to have the fifth starter decided on by next Thursday or Friday, according to Tyler Kepner of the NY Times. The Yankees brass plan to meet this weekend to discuss the rotation.
That gives Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain one more audition — maybe two — to fight for the job. My gut says Phil Hughes gets it. - Mark Feinsand of the Daily News featured the Yankees’ bright young reliever, Dave Robertson. Feinsand relates Robertson to Mariano Rivera, and Rivera says he loves Robertson’s willingness to learn to learn.
