According to the Daily News, we shouldn’t be overly concerned with Mariano Rivera’s tender right elbow. But the Yankees (and their fans) are always cautious when it comes to Mo. As Will Carroll noted in his column for Baseball Prospectus yesterday:
Rivera hasnít had problems this early before, though the Yankees are used to him needing time off to rest and recover. The Yanks will watch him closely through the early season; Rivera makes his money in October.
Paul Quantrill was shut down yesterday with a pulled muscle in his rib cage. Quantrill has pitched with discomfort for several weeks now. Newsday reports:
If anything, the Yankees were pleased that Quantrill, a workhorse throughout his career, agreed to shut it down for two days. (“Any more than that and we’re going to be fighting,” he said.) But Quantrill thinks he made it worse by pitching through it.
“You think you can pitch through and all it does is set you back,” Quantrill said. “We see that every spring. Everyone does it. Even being a veteran guy, you say it’s not a big deal. For me, that’s what I did. I said this is going to go away.”
Has anyone seen Karsay this spring? He isn’t looking good. I don’t think the Yanks can expect much out of him this year, do you?
1. You say Polanco I say Womanco?c
PLAYER AVG G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI
P Polanco .385 8 26 6 10 20 1 0 3 7
T Womanco .500 9 26 4 13 16 1 1 0 6
And when I suggested that Johnny Damon was less interested in baseball than creating an off field character that would never be tolerated in George?fs World, the Carmine Hosers sneered, ran their silly numbers and said Ooh George would have snapped him up if he had been available?cDamon ....more concerned with his on camera looks than playing baseball?--that's a completely baseless thing to write?cetc. etc. Well touch base here, clueless ones: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3465846. Being a Yankee is all about character while being a RS is all about the NBA...
2. So howís the old starting pitching looking after a dozen games
3. jayd: Are you commenting on the right entry? I don't understand how your comments relate to Alex's post. (This isn't a dig, but a legitimate question.)
4. Re: Karsay, at the beginning of spring training I was hoping he'd be lights out (or close to it) this year. Now, I hope he stinks enough so Joe has no other option but to not include him on the Opening Day roster. Then they would hopefully give Phillips a shot.
5. Good point, Jen. Torre has said he might put Karsay on IR so he can pitch in the minors for a while and try to get his skills back. I still hope Karsay comes through, but I don't expect it.
6. I do have some hope Karsay can be useful, but Quantrill was a mistake from the start. If Karsay and Quantrill can both be held back, though, that could mean room on the roster for some deserving pitchers like Bean (never happening) and Proctor. Wang would be great in a swing role if he can manage to get regular time, but that's not going to happen, so for the sake of his development it's probably best for him to go back to AAA. Graman is out of options so it could open up a spot for him.