[MVB]

Phillies- 6, Yankees- 3

W- Floyd
L- Myers
S- Gearys


NY Yankee Starting Line-up:

CF- Damon, 2-3 ( 2B, 1B)
SS- Jeter, 1-3 (1B)
DH- Sheffield, 0-2 (BB)
3B- Rodriguez, 0-3
1B- Giambi, 1-2 (1B)
RF- Williams, 1-2 ( 1B, RBI)
C- Posada, 0-1 ( sac fly)
2B- Cano, 1-3 ( 1B, RBI)
LF- Reese, 1-3 (1B)

Position/ Bench Players:

1B- Phillips, 2-2 ( HR, 1B)
C- Stinnet, 0-1 ( HBP)
2B- Cairo, 0-1

Notable Minor Leaguers:

Thompson, 1-2 (1B)
Prieto, 2-2 ( 2 1B)

NY Pitchers:

Chacon: H, BB, 2IP
Henn: 2H, 2R, K, 2IP
Small: 2H, 2IP
Myers: 4H, 3R, IP
Cox: R, IP
Smith: 2K, IP

Yankees' Spring Training kicked off on a beautiful day, in Tampa Bay, Florida. Chacon, the NY starter, pitched two solid innings, giving up only one hit. Damon made his Yankee Spring Training debut by rocketing a double down the left field line to start off the game ( he later singled). In the bottom of the second, Bernie Williams and Robinson Cano both had RBI singles, which gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead. And then Sean Henn came out to pitch..... ( he pitched two games for the Yankees last year) Henn gave up a 2-run homer to Phillies' DH Pat Burrel. Fortunately, Aaron Small came out and pitched two clean innings... By the sixth inning, most of the major league Yankees were finished for the day, and the rookies ( and position/bench players) began playing. Andy Phillips ( who will be splitting duties with Giambi at first base) hit the first pitch he saw out of the ballpark. The Yankees led 3 to 2. But Joe Torre called on Mike Myers to start an the seventh... Myers is more of a spot reliever, coming into the game to face one player. He pitches brilliantly against lefties, who bat .185 against him, but terrible against right-handers, who bat over .350 against him. You catch my drift.... Myers was rocked by the Philles, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. J. Brent Cox ( from single A) pitched the eigth inning, allowing a home run off the bat of Phillies' rookie, Chris Coste. The Phillies led 6 to 3. Matt Smith finished the game for the Yankees, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

Notes: Chacon and Small were very good... Just as they were last year.

Sheffield wasn't at his best... with a sore arm...

Matsui didn't play, because he was sore... But he says it is nothing serious...

And Myers.... must only pitch against left-handers!

Any thoughts?

[Lefty Noob]

Nice post, MVB! Bernie Williams continues to amaze me. Every year I keep hearing that he's washed up, done, but every year he seems to manage to keep playing at a solid level. Likewise, seems like the Yanks got some real diamonds in the rough with Chacon and Small. This could be a scary team in '06. They got a game today at all?

[Lefty Noob]

By the way, what's the work on Thompson and/or Prieto making it to the big league ballclub this season? Any shot? If there's one thing the Yanks could really use, its a little bit of young talent to go with all the vets.

[ThePundit]

Hey MVP: Fellow Yankee fan here: It's good to have you aboard. I feel like I'm being overtaken by the Red Sox fans.

I'm not a big fan of this WBC because that's the last we're going to see of Damon, Jeter and A-Rod until the season starts. And they better not get hurt!

Their lineup is solid - I'm not worried about that. . It's the ptiching that's worrisome.

I think Chacon is going to win at least 15 games this year. Last year he was phenominal and since he came from Colorado, you can't call what he did for the Yankees a fluke.

I think Mussina's toast. He'll maybe give you 6 good innings. He's been very mediocre in the big game and that's being kind. I won't be upset when his contract expires after this year.

I think Small will be decent as a 5th starter

Do you have any idea what's happening with Jarret Wright?

If Randy Johnson doesn't do any better than last year, the Yanks may be in trouble.

And their biggest problem may be Pavano. He's already hurt again and that's not very good for a pitcher who only had 1 very good year in the NL when he got to face pitchers instead of DH's.

What do you think?

[MVB]

Today's game took place at 1PM ET (Phillies hosting). The Phillies won 11 to 10, but the Yankees still played very well. Only two regular Yankees played ( Giambi and Cano), while Jeter, Rodriguez, Damon, and Williams were at the WBC.

I hate the WBC, because it takes the regular players away from Spring Training. The players (like Ortiz, Abreu, Rodriguez, Jeter, etc...) have less time to work with new team additions. Many fans come to see the Spring Training games ( because the tickets are relatively cheap) and because of the WBC, don't get to see their favorite players...

The Yankees really look good... And if Johnson has a very good year (20 or more wins) then the Yankees are in great shape. I really like Mussina...he has done so much for the Yankees (thinking back to the 2003 ALCS, 2000-2002 seasons), but his arm has affected his pitching for two years in a row. The Yanks can't really expect any more out of him, in my opinion. He'll probably go 13-14, with a high ERA. And as you said, he'll probably be just a six-inning pitcher.

Small will be doing most of his work in the bullpen, which is great! If any Yankee pitcher gets knocked out early, he's the guy to come in and clean up the damage.

Jarett Wright pitched today...he went two innings, giving up one run on 4 hits and a walk ( actually a hit batter). I think he'll be a mediocre pitcher this year. But! He may surprise us if he remains injury-free.

Pavano, thankfully, is NOT A NECESSARY part of this New York team... It would be great, if he could get into shape. But the Yankees have two/three other guys to take his place.

The Yankees probably have the best offense in baseball... The Red Sox lost too many players this off-season ( Damon, Millar, Miller, Mirabelli, and Renteria) to be as good as the Yanks.