2015 Yankee Spring Training Tidbits

Wingack

Yankee Mod
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
34,372
In The Quivering Forest
Nate Eovaldi looked pretty solid in his Yankee debut today. Hit 98mph on the gun, which is obviously crazy given how early it is in spring training.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
He had one really sweet swinging K on a 90 MPH splitter, that is the pitch that will take him to the next level if he can harness it. 
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Former Sox farmhand Chris Martin, a 6'8" relief pitcher, impressed Girardi today. 
 
"“Martin did a really good job keeping his fastball down, and they did not have good swings on him tonight,” Girardi said. “That’s something obviously you pay attention to moving forward. Obviously there’s some deception there. He’s tall, and he’s got a real downhill angle.”
 
Long shot to make the roster probably, but a bit of info on him here from when he was in the Boston organization still:
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/77801-chris-coldplay-martin/
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
A combined 5 4 0 0 0 7 from Pineda and Eovaldi today against what looks like a lot of the TB starters, especially nice to see 5 Ks from Eovaldi in 3 innings.
 

Wingack

Yankee Mod
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
34,372
In The Quivering Forest
jon abbey said:
A combined 5 4 0 0 0 7 from Pineda and Eovaldi today against what looks like a lot of the TB starters, especially nice to see 5 Ks from Eovaldi in 3 innings.
 
I am trying to not get too excited about Eovaldi, but it isn't working.
 

foulkehampshire

hillbilly suburbanite
SoSH Member
Feb 25, 2007
5,099
Wesport, MA
Wingack said:
 
I am trying to not get too excited about Eovaldi, but it isn't working.
 
He's only one average pitch away from being a really good pitcher. Command and control have been steadily improving. If his splitter becomes a real part of his arsenal watch out. The slider and fastball are dominant offerings. What really bit him last year was that he'd groove fastballs and hang his slider in unfavorable counts because he wasn't fooling anybody due to his limited assortment of weapons. A Garrett Richards-type breakthrough in 2015 is a real possibility.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
1) Terry! Welcome back!
 
2) There's no way that is close to right, this seems much more realistic (90-92), but that is still better than last year.
 
https://twitter.com/FeinsandNYDN/status/577970745059500032
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
He's hit a wall five outs in, a couple of bullet RBI hits with two outs in the second. 
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
Agree on the gun. But if he is throwing 92 already, that's pretty good. Looked tired in second inning for final few pitches, which figures. His knee will be a concern every time out, much like Tanaka's elbow.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Yeah, supposedly the YES gun was 4 MPH too fast for the first Tanaka start, so 92 seems right. 
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
jon abbey said:
Yeah, supposedly the YES gun was 4 MPH too fast for the first Tanaka start, so 92 seems right.
Seems like a lot of good news in camp so far. Love the infield defense. Pitchers must be thrilled.
 

InsideTheParker

persists in error
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,371
Pioneer Valley
There's a neat article in the NYT on the Yankees' new nutritionist and her diet: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/20/sports/baseball/yankees-opt-for-a-performance-enhancer-a-good-diet.html?ref=baseball
 
The belief is that certain foods can reduce players’ inflammation, encourage healing and boost their immune systems, while unhealthy foods do the opposite. If the right foods can keep one player in the lineup for one extra day, and that player helps win a game, then why not?
“People really accept now the adage ‘You are what you eat,’ ” Sass said in a telephone interview. “So every time you eat or drink, it’s an opportunity to make your body stronger and healthier.”
In recent years, Cashman grew increasingly unhappy with the food that the Yankees were serving to the players, believing it was not in line with the latest research. So at the recommendation of the trainer Steve Donohue, Cashman hired Sass (and another nutritionist to oversee minor league players) to upgrade the Yankees’ health and performance through a better diet.
He also hired the former Yankees minor league pitcher John Kremer as a high performance science director to coordinate the departments that have an impact on player performance: food preparation, medical staff, coaches, scouts and the players themselves. Kremer’s task is to streamline communication and create language common for all the departments.
Sass is a big part of that process. She said she had 20 years of experience working in nutrition, including three with the Philadelphia Phillies and the last eight with the Tampa Bay Rays. She has also been working with the Rangers of the N.H.L.
After the Yankees hired her away from the Rays this winter, Sass met with the chefs at Yankee Stadium and at the team’s spring training complex here to learn what they served to the players and how it was prepared. She made general recommendations, but did not turn the Yankees’ cafeteria into an East Village vegan cafe, at least not yet.
The idea is to add healthy alternatives, educate the players about them, see what they like and then make adjustments. As a general rule, teams provide players with two meals per day: breakfast and lunch for day games and lunch and dinner for night games. On the road, opposing teams provide the food, and Sass said she might make general requests to those teams. For example: Always provide produce.
 

TheYaz67

Member
SoSH Member
May 21, 2004
4,712
Justia Omnibus
I was certainly amused with stories of Tex switching to a "no fun" diet which included cutting out gluten (and dairy & sugar), despite not suffering from celiac disease....
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Jose Pirela playing CF today, where he has very little experience. Opening batter of the game hits it over his head, he slams into the fence head-first and is down for a few minutes, eventually carted off to the hospital. 
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Yankees starting on MLBN now against Fister and NatsTown. Aaron Judge is in the lineup, I think it'll be the first time I see him hit live. 
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Ew, and I ended up missing it. Here's a pic from Twitter of him and new 3B coach Joe Espada (who is 5'10"):
 


 
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
Fister got Judge on a swinging strike three, low and away, not a strike, first time up. Second time up, Judge took the same pitch to get ahead in the count, then lined a belt-high fast ball to left for a single.

Refsnyder doubled on a 3-1 pitch first time up, also singled and walked, turned a nice DP with Ryan that did not involve a long throw. That seems to be one of his problems at second, making long throws.

Lindgren with a 1-2-3 eighth. Like him more than Shreven but I guess they don't want to start his clock too soon.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Yeah, that's probably right, although hopefully/presumably Lindgren will be up at some point this year. 
 
Seven bullpen spots, five are probably fully locked up: whichever of Warren/Rogers isn't in the rotation, Wilson, Carpenter, Miller, Betances. I'd think Chase Whitley will probably also make it as a second long guy and Shreve and Chris Martin and Lindgren are battling for the last spot, with Andrew Bailey lurking in the wings if he continues on track. 
 
Ideally by June or so you have Nova bumping Warren back to the bullpen, and a ridiculous-on-paper bullpen of Warren, Lindgren, Wilson, Carpenter, Miller, Betances and Bailey as closer, freeing up Miller and Betances for multi-inning stints from the 6th-8th when necessary. Obviously it's highly unlikely that things will go according to plan and no one will be hurt, but still, yowza.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Esmil Rogers with a big fielding error leading to four unearned runs, but he has turned back into a pumpkin at a very bad time. It's looking more and more like Lindgren deserves to be on the team out of spring training, and I'm sure he would be if he was on the 40 man roster already. Maybe he will be anyway, we'll see. 
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
jon abbey said:
Esmil Rogers with a big fielding error leading to four unearned runs, but he has turned back into a pumpkin at a very bad time. It's looking more and more like Lindgren deserves to be on the team out of spring training, and I'm sure he would be if he was on the 40 man roster already. Maybe he will be anyway, we'll see.
I'm on board with Lindgren. He gets righties out, too.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
All of their lefties do, Miller we know about and Justin Wilson has looked great this spring (just threw a dominant 1-2-3 inning, 8 pitches a K and two weak grounders). 
 

TheYaz67

Member
SoSH Member
May 21, 2004
4,712
Justia Omnibus
Any concerns with Gardner's Spring to date?  One XBH in 44 plate appearances....
 
SSS caveat on all these of course, but Drew has also been awful (that is to be expected).  Beltran also hasn't shown much yet, albeit he has only been in 9 games so far b/c of health - that's 2/3rds of the outfield....
 
Several young guys shining like Refsnyder, Pirela, Williams, Bird and Galvez - lots of guys who have impressed enough to keep an eye on.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Gardner's been good long enough that I'm not worried about him, save those hits for the regular season. I'm definitely dubious/worried about much of the rest of the lineup though (Beltran, Tex, Drew are the first to come to mind). 
 
I'm actually a little worried about Betances, who hasn't been close to last year's dominant self so far. 
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Looks like I'm not the only one slightly worried about Betances, just saw all of this at Lohud:

"• The YES radar gun had Dellin Betances at 93-94 mph tonight. His spring numbers aren’t great, and right now his velocity is a little down from last season. “I’ve got to just trust whatever I have right now,” Betances said. “I know that the velocity will come. Same thing last year in spring training; last year I just trusted it and this year I’m trying to do a little extra with whatever I have instead of just trusting it.”
• Girardi said a lot of the same stuff about Betances, mostly that Betances wasn’t reaching the upper 90s last spring either. “There’s not concern for me now,” Girardi said. “If it was to go on for a long time, we would be concerned. He wasn’t throwing 97, 98 in spring training last year at this time. He wasn’t. And power pitchers usually take a little bit longer to get going.”
• It’s worth noting that relievers are held back a little bit early in spring training, and Betances has always said — ever since he successfully transitioned out of the rotation — that it’s the constant work out of the bullpen that’s helped him thrive in that role. Because of that, he’s excited to get back out there tomorrow for his first back-to-back appearance. “I’ve just got to pitch more,” he said. “The more I pitch, the better I’ll feel. That’s always been my thing. Ever since I moved to the bullpen, the more I get to pitch, the better I feel with all my pitches.”"
 
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2015/03/24/postgame-notes-255
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
jon abbey said:
Gardner's been good long enough that I'm not worried about him, save those hits for the regular season. I'm definitely dubious/worried about much of the rest of the lineup though (Beltran, Tex, Drew are the first to come to mind). 
 
I'm actually a little worried about Betances, who hasn't been close to last year's dominant self so far.
Pitching two days in a row, Betances topped out at 89-90 mph with his fast ball today, according to MLB.com story. That can't be good.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
And gave up a HR to one of his two batters. Miller was bad on his first back to back outing also. Andrew Bailey looked good again, though, at least.
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
jon abbey said:
And gave up a HR to one of his two batters. Miller was bad on his first back to back outing also. Andrew Bailey looked good again, though, at least.
By June, Bailey might be the closer with Miller and Betances in roles similar to 2014. But we will never see Betances as good as he was last year. Just hoping he isn't hurt.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
I actually think that the hope of Bailey being ready to step in as closer by May or so is why they've been so nonchalant about naming Miller or Betances or anyone else as the closer this spring. They're going to want to see him get out guys in AAA for at least a few weeks first, though. 
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
jon abbey said:
I actually think that the hope of Bailey being ready to step in as closer by May or so is why they've been so nonchalant about naming Miller or Betances or anyone else as the closer this spring. They're going to want to see him get out guys in AAA for at least a few weeks first, though.
Yeah, it just makes sense to have the two studs get more than three outs when necessary. Plus, why put pressure on the two studs by naming one of them closer?

I once knew a college baseball coach who called everyone "stud." Saved him having to learn first names.
 

terrynever

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2005
21,717
pawtucket
Today's tidbits from Yanks-Phils exhibition in Clearwater.
1. A-Rod singled in the second and then failed to score on two opportunities. Drew doubled down the RF line, the ball was bobbled, and Alex rounded third and stayed put. He ran 3/4 speed from first to third. The guy is not going to hurt himself this spring. Then, on a fly to fairly deep right, Alex was cut down 10 feet short of home on a strong throw from Jeff Francoeur, who is still alive.
2. Drew is 3-for-3 today, upping his average to .231. Scrub pitchers, for sure, but he has hit some balls with authority over the past week.
3. Pineda is pretty locked in. Just 70 pitches in 5 shutout innings today. I'll feel better about him after he beats Boston in Fenway but his stuff is better than most. I guess we still have to learn how he pitches in a tough environment.
4. Teixeira seems to have redistributed his weight, whatever that means. Looks a little leaner. Still not hitting much.
5. Chris Young can run balls down in the gap. He is playing CF with Ellsbury nursing an oblique. I like how the Yankees have downplayed the story of Ellsbury's injury. He should be playing soon but is way behind in game action.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Nice comeback W for NY in their final game of the spring, against NatsTown in Washington with both teams starting most regulars.
 
Eovaldi gave up three in the 1st, but that was it for WAS, Eovaldi pitched 4 shutout innings from the 2nd through the 5th, then Martin/Wilson/Carpenter/Miller/Betances combined for 4 3 0 0 1 6 to end the game. In the meantime Drew hit a 2 run HR off Fister and Chris Young hit a 2 run HR off Storen in the 8th, and NY won it 4-3.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,744
Yep, coming here to post that, so Murphy makes the team. A little surprising, but Romine didn't seem to show anything this spring to make other teams want to give up something for him.