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Yankees 12, Phillies 0

Yanks crush Phils 12-0. Here are the details:

Lineup:

L – Brett Gardner (CF)
R – Cody Ransom (3B)
S – Nick Swisher (1B)
L – Hideki Matsui (DH)
R – Xavier Nady (RF)
R – Jose Molina (C)
R – Angel Berroa (2B)
S – Todd Linden (LF)
S – Eduardo Nuñez (SS)

Subs: Juan Miranda (1B), Luis Nuñez (2B), Ramiro Peña (SS), Justin Leone (3B), Kevin Cash (C), Shelley Duncan (RF), Austin Jackson (CF), Edwar Gonzalez (LF), Robinson Cano (DH), P.J. Pilittere (DH)

Pitchers: Joba Chamberlain, Brian Bruney, Kei Igawa, Jonathan Alabaladejo, David Robertson

Opposition: The Phillies’ B-team

Big Hits:

Brett Gardner tripled and walked in four trips. Angel Berroa and Justin Leone both doubled in three trips. Kevin Cash doubled in two trips. Cody Ransom went 2-for-2 with a walk. Eduardo Nuñez went 3-for-3 with a stolen base. Nick Swisher went 3-for-4. Xavier Nady went 2-f0r-4. Shelley Duncan went 2-for-2.

Who Pitched Well:

Joba Chamberlain and Kei Igawa both gave up two hits and a walk while striking out three in three innings. Jonathan Albaladejo struck out two in a perfect eighth inning. David Robertson pitched around a walk in the ninth.

Who Didn’t:

He didn’t give up a run, but Brian Bruney gave up a single, a double, and a walk in his lone inning of work. He was helped by a double play, but three of the five men he faced reached base.

Battles:

Brett Gardner tripled, walked, scored two runs, and drove in a third in his four trips. He is slugging .781 this spring, not counting a double he hit against the USA. Nick Swisher got his batting average over .200 with a 3-for-4, three-RBI day, though all his hits were singles. He has just one extra-base hit on the spring. Xavier Nady went 2-for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, but still hasn’t drawn a walk.

Including his three innings against Team USA, Kei Igawa hasn’t allowed a run in 12 innings this spring. Here’s his cumulative line: 12 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 11 K in five appearances. Jonathan Albaladejo and David Robertson are making their case for the opening day roster. The only relief pitcher in camp with a smaller ERA than Albaladejo (1.59) or Robertson (1.69) in five or more innings (not counting the WBC exhibition games) is Anthony Claggett, who has a 1.29 ERA after seven innings, but the 24-year-old Claggett has just six Triple-A innings under his belt.

Ouchies:

Damaso Marte and Robinson Cano‘s MRIs showed no structural damage. Marte, who has been diagnosed with inflamation in his pitching shoulder, will throw in the bullpen today, the first of three before he returns to game action. Cano, who was diagnosed with bursitis in his shoulder, delivered a pinch-hit single yesterday and will play the field on Friday. Mariano Rivera will pitch an inning in tonight’s game on YES.

More:

Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia will not travel to make their next starts this weekend, rather they’ll throw in minor league or simulated games instead. Phil Hughes will start for Pettitte in the major league game on Friday, and Jorge Posada will stay behind to catch Andy.

The Marlins have returned Rule 5 pick Zach Kroenke. Here’s what I wrote about Kroenke when he was taken by Florida:

A lefty reliever with a 93 mph fastball and a good slider, Zack Kroenke had a solid season at Double-A Trenton this year, but he’ll be 25 in late April, he walks to many men (5.4 BB/9 at Trenton), and he had a reverse split this year. With Damaso Marte and Phil Coke on hand, he wasn’t worth a roster spot, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was returned by the Fish.

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8 comments

1 The Hawk   ~  Mar 17, 2009 8:07 am

I don't quite understand the focus on Nady getting walks or not in spring training. Doesn't really strike me as important. Are players really concerned about just getting on base, rather than working out their swing and trying to get in a groove contact-wise? (Call me an ignoramus, or actually don't cause I just did, but that's how I roll.)

In Nady's case, he's not much of an OBP guy anyway ... I suspect there is a Swisher (vs Nady) bias, as there is a Gardner (vs Cabrera) one!

2 Raf   ~  Mar 17, 2009 9:13 am

Nuñez made a nice play @ SS yesterday.

Any word on Humberto Sanchez? While I haven't been following ST as closely as I have in years past, I haven't heard much of anything about him.

I don’t quite understand the focus on Nady getting walks or not in spring training.

FWIW, there's also a focus on Swisher XBH's, or lack of them.

3 MichiganYankee   ~  Mar 17, 2009 10:04 am

I am sure that the Yankees are thrilled with Igawa's performances, as he should be recovering some of his trade value. He would be a viable candidate for the long-man job if he were on the 40-man roster, but I don't see the Yanks clearing a roster spot unless they are desparate, especially since they already need to clear a roster spot for a utility infielder (note that this same analysis applies to Bret Tomko).

4 MichiganYankee   ~  Mar 17, 2009 10:13 am

[1] A player with a "guaranteed position" treats spring training differently than a player that is competing for a spot. In an apples-to-apples comparison between Nady and Swisher, Nady's apparent inability to take Ball 4 certainly hurts his case.

Furthermore, I would think that plate judgment is a skill that needs to be fine-tuned during Spring Training, just like any other aspect of hitting.

5 MichiganYankee   ~  Mar 17, 2009 10:17 am

[2] The Yankees have used 30 pitchers in exhibition games, and Sanchez is not among them. They have not optioned him, however,

6 The Hawk   ~  Mar 17, 2009 12:47 pm

[4] What you say could be true but isn't necessarily, for reasons already stated.

7 Raf   ~  Mar 17, 2009 1:34 pm

[5] Which has me wondering if he's hurt again... Or if the Yanks have something up their sleeve with regards to his roster spot.

8 zack   ~  Mar 17, 2009 2:23 pm

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Sanchez got a delayed start because of stiffness or some such...

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