NYCurve Yankees Blog » Spring Training

Hughes in, Gaudin Gone: Yankees Rotation is Set

M. Patel — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:27:07 +0000

Spring training is not only a time to fine tune your team before the regular season begins, but also a time to finalize your starting pitching rotation before opening day. The Yankees recently did just that when Joe Girardi named Phil Hughes their number 5 starter. That makes the final rotation C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, and Hughes.

Hughes was previously locked in a battle with Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre Chad Gaudin, and Alfredo Aceves to see who would earn the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation. Girardi had previously been shuffling the five pitchers around like he was playing texas hold em poker in an effort to find the fifth starter. In the end, the development of Phil Hughes’ changeup proved to be a big difference maker.

Girardi touched upon Hughes’ much-improved changeup by saying, “We evaluated the whole spring and we were very excited with the improvement in his changeup. To me, that made a big difference in who he is.” Girardi continued by talking about the tough decision he had to make and said, “You try to talk about every scenario possible and cover yourself in every scenario. When we walked out, Phil Hughes was our guy.”

Hughes, who made several starts last season while Chien-Ming Wang was injured, is definitely prepared for the role. He said, “I grew up a starter in high school, minor leagues, even my first couple partial seasons in the big leagues. It was something that I really wanted and I feel like I’m ready for the challenge and ready for the season that lies ahead.”

After naming Hughes the starter, Girardi and the Yankees management decided to let Chad Gaudin go. Gaudin was acquired from San Diego last August in the midst of their title run and he went 2-0 with a 3.43 ERA in six starts. The decision to let Gaudin go will save the Yankees some money since they’ll pay him $725,410 for an early termination rather than the $2.95 million salary he commanded.

As far as Chamberlain goes, he will look to earn the 8^th inning relief role while Aceves should also have a spot in the bullpen. Mitre definitely has some work to do in spring training to see if he’ll make the team.

Jeff Kent Retires, Astros’ Owner Discusses Clemens/Pettitte, Sheets Meets With Rangers

M. Patel — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:15:27 +0000

Just another Major League Baseball news update:

The biggest story of the past few days was Jeff Kent announcing his retirement. The second baseman spoke with tears in front of reporters at his press conference, remembering the various people who he was hired by and worked with over the course of his 17-year-long career. Kent is one of those guys that was never afraid to speak his mind and he has built a unique identity for himself that is respected all around the league. He took a strong stance against performance enhancing drugs and through hard work he managed to have a very successful pro career, one that will likely end with him being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kent will be missed.
Ben Sheets met with the Texas Rangers about a possible deal. Sheets lives in Dallas, so a deal with the Rangers is definitely of interest to him and as we all know the Rangers can certainly use the pitcher. Sheets was offered salary arbitration by the Brewers, so if he signs with the Rangers, Milwaukee will receive draft picks.
The Brewers agreed to a new 2-year-deal with first baseman Prince Fielder worth $18 million.
The owner of the Astros says that there is a possibility that Andy Pettitte will go back to Houston this season. The Astros are also looking to see whether or not Roger Clemens will come to spring training.

Stay tuned for more updates and news (both about the Yankees and other major news) in coming days.

A New Training

M. Patel — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:27:02 +0000

As spring training is quickly approaching, the Yankees seem to be in a different situation than past years. Why? For many years the Yankees have gone into spring training with a solid idea of who will be starting at each position, but this year there are several discrepancies, which will be decided by player performances this spring. This doesn’t mean that the Yankees didn’t get the players they wanted; it just shows how the Yankees are changing their ways. I think after Cashman’s amazing effort at reviving the farm system, a change like this should be welcomed because with more young players, spring training will be a lot more important in figuring out who will give us the best shot at getting those W’s. In my opinion it is all for the good and is a great complement to the Yankees new plan of going young.

Among the “fighting” positions are first base, starting pitching spots, relieving spots, and maybe even an outfield position. I think competition in spring training is great motivation to work harder, especially for young players and those who want to prove themselves. There will definetely be a big fight for first base with four potential starters (Shelley, Giambi, Betemit, and Ensberg.) The outfield is less iffy, but it will still see its share of competition with Matsui, Melky, Damon, and Abreu all vying for spots. The Yankees have also signed Jason Lane earlier and now have expressed interest in Kevin Mench, both of whom may seem like a long shots, but do have chances.

Then comes the pitching situation. This one has been talked about over and over again, so I won’t go into it too much again. Basically it comes down to figuring out which of the 6 potential starters get the 5 spots and which one gets a relief spot. As for the rest of the relieving spots, it will really come down to who does well in spring training.

I think this competition will only make our team stronger. It will also show us who are the better backups and who are the duds. Plus, with all of these extra players signed we are bound to find good replacements shall the injury bug hit.