The Yankees are nearly a week into their exhibition season. How are things going in Tampa?
Let's take a peek.
The Bombers dropped their first game of the spring to the
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Wednesday, dropping their record to 3-1-1, but things are looking pretty rosy in pinstripes so far. Here's a bare bones roundup of happenings in Yankee camp.
Shelley Duncan is tearing it up. It's
very early, but Frankenstein is making his claim to be an everyday player. Duncan blasted a three-run homer and drove in five in the
Yanks 9-3 win over the Phillies Saturday and leads the Grapefruit League with 9 RBIs.
Andy Pettitte hits the mound. Pettitte wasn't great, but the veteran lefty pitched
two scoreless innings against Philadelphia in his first start of the season. I actually caught the first few innings of this game on YES. Pettitte's command was off, but he did manage to pick off Pedro Feliz at first.
Jason Giambi makes some noise. Joe Girardi told Giambi to be ready to play first base before camp and it has translated to some mashing at the plate. The Giambino blasted a three-run bomb in Sunday's
7-7 tie with Philly and is batting .429 so far this spring.
Robinson Cano feels secure. The Yanks signed the second baseman to a multi-year contract in the offseason and it's doing wonders for Cano's hitting. Canu collected three hits on Wednesday and leads the Grapefruit League with a robust .700 average.
Kei Igawa bounces back. Sort of. Igawa was shelled during his first appearance this spring (by a college team), but the Yankee lefty came back and pitched
two scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday. "This time I was concentrating on throwing strikes," Igawa said through an
interpreter. Huh!
Two of the Big Three take some lumps. Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy weren't sharp on Wednesday. Kennedy went two innings and gave up two hits and a run on a long home run by Minnesota's Delmon Young. Chamberlain didn't fair much better. Joba pitched two innings and allowed two runs on two hits and walked one. He also gave up a gopher ball -- to Garrett Jones. On the plus side, Phil Hughes has been perfect in his three innings of work this spring.
Mike Mussina doesn't impress. The Moose was
rocked in his spring debut against the Houston Astros Monday. Mussina's line: 2 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 earned), 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR.
Hideki Matsui still hurting. Godzilla missed his third straight day of batting practice Wednesday. The Yankee left fielder had knee surgery in the offseason and has been slowed by a stiff neck.
And finally, some great news from Tampa. The biopsy performed on
Bobby Murcer came back negative. The test revealed just scar tissue and no signs of cancer. "We are very excited about this news," Murcer said. "It's what we had hoped
for all along."
Here, here.
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