Phil Hughes

Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a two-run double to raise his spring batting average to .320, and second baseman Robinson Cano hit his first Grapefruit League home run in the second inning. Serving as the leadoff hitter, Brett Gardner had his third bunt single of the spring and later tripled. No. 2 hitter Nick Johnson, in typical Johnson fashion, drew two walks.  

What do the pitchers do when the rest of the team leaves for Kissimmee? For A.J. Burnett, Dave Robertson and Phil Hughes, they played fungo golf this morning at the stadium complex. It's exactly what you think it is - you hit a baseball with a fungo bat and try and get it as close to the 'pin' as you can.  

With each hit allowed, Chad Gaudin's slim chance of winning the No. 5 spot in the New York Yankees' rotation was slipping away. Gaudin gave up seven singles, including consecutive hits to Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Ben Zobrist that led to a run in the sixth inning, and a Yankees split squad lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 Friday night. Gaudin, who is competing with Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Alfredo Aceves and Sergio Mitre for the final spot in the rotation, has an 8.68 ERA in 9 1-3 innings.

It's not that I'm not competing, I'm trying to feel a rhythm   -Chad Gaudin

 

I am not of the mindset to obtain some other team's castoffs. When a veteran player is released or available, usually the call from most Yankees fans is for the Yankees to sign the guy. Reed Johnson, Rocco Baldelli, Randy Winn, and others were available for left field, and many pieces were written about the Yankees signing one over another.

He (Dukes) never got any of the bad headlines everybody feared when he came here, and I think he deserves credit for that. If anyone says there was an incident, that person has no idea what he's talking about.   -Stan Kasten

 

Putting together a truly complete pitching staff is a hard thing to do for any major league team, even the Yankees. Hell, getting five men together to form a rotation is hard enough. Luckily, the Yankees seem to have more than five guys who could be in a rotation.  

He doesn't have the electric personality of Joba Chamberlain or the first-round hype of Phil Hughes , but Dave Robertson is quickly emerging as a vital piece of the Yankees ' bullpen. Robertson, a 24-year-old strikeout artist who pitched perhaps the most important inning of the Yankees' postseason last fall, is firmly entrenched in this year's relief corps, a stark change from a year ago when he rode the New York-Scranton express for much of his sophomore season. "I'm still a young guy with things to

I'm still a young guy with things to prove   -Dave Robertson

 

TAMPA, Fla. Carl Crawford knew what to expect before Tampa Bay played the Yankees on Thursday night: A crowd of New York writers were waiting to talk to him about the possibility he'll become one of the most appealing free agents in baseball after the 2010 season. Crawford went 0 for 2, walked and stole a base in the Rays' 6-4 loss to the Yankees. "They say it's going to be like that," Crawford said.

They say it's going to be like that   -Carl Crawford

 

CLEARWATER, Fla. Jayson Werth hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning to break open a tie game, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Yankees 6-2 on Wednesday. The home run was the second of the spring for Werth, a first-time All-Star last year who can become a free agent after this season. Werth, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard all finished 2 for 3 and combined for three runs and four RBIs. "I know we're going to hit; it's only a matter of time before we get real sharp and get going,"

Blanton used all of his pitches and he had good command   -Charlie Manuel

 

The 2010 season is almost upon us. Baseball season is getting much closer to being back. We're about two weeks away to Easter Sunday on April 4, when Opening Night will kickoff the season on ESPN, and what a game to open up with between the defending World Series Champions New York Yankees and rival Boston Red Sox. But there will be 29 other teams trying to do what the Yankees did this past November, which is win the World Series.