Tampa, Fla., March 11, 2012 – A split squad of Yankees led by the staff ace and the starting infield treated a visiting split squad of Phillies pretty shabbily in a 3-0 shutout Sunday afternoon, while three hours south a traveling B squad dropped a game vs. the Twins. A day in Tampa that started with dark ominous clouds hanging over George M. Steinbrenner Field became a winner, as the intermittent cloud cover gave welcome periods of cool shade and little else.

Even though CC Sabathia walked shortstop Michael Martinez to begin the game, he set the tone by throwing strikes, finding the zone on the first pitch to the next 10 batters. Following his two-hit, three-inning outing, the Yanks kicked the stingy meter up a notch, beginning with Mariano Rivera’s first game action of the spring. Continue reading →

March 10, 2012, Orlando, Fla. – Despite the threatening clouds that dominated the skyline Saturday morning, gorgeous Champion Field was open and ready for business early. The Braves were hard at batting practice pregame, then the Yankees, both cooking, as would the 10,000-plus fans in attendance at game time, under a glaring sun only intermittently interrupted by big puffy clouds. Continue reading →

March 9, 2012, Tampa, Florida – The sun was hot and unrelenting in Tampa Friday as the Yanks, led by three scoreless frames from veteran righty Freddy Garcia, cruised to victory against a visiting squad from the Atlanta Braves. The largely absent Yankee offense made an appearance and, even if 3-0 doesn’t sound that impressive, the home team did force outfielders Michael Bourn and Jose Constanza, in center and left respectively, to repetitively retreat to the wall on a series of well-launched missiles. Continue reading →

March 2, 2012, Westchester County, NY – It was terrific and cathartic, as it always is, when I watched the first game of the Yankees’ 2012 Spring Training season on MLB Saturday afternoon. Granted, I’ve become used to seeing these live, but I can adjust until we go down next week, and however you see it, the first game is the first game. I’ve been through this many, many times, and I know it’s not about winning these games; it’s about the sun, the grass, the field, the new players: Hope springs eternal. Continue reading →

Tampa and Sarasota, Fla., March 7, 2011 — “I saw them ALL,” gushed the young girl who climbed to our section to rejoin her parents in the redone Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. A Yankee split squad was playing the Orioles Monday evening, and Sarasota, with apologies to the big stars in the Yankee outfield, was lucky enough to have the infield-dominated Bombers group make the hour-plus drive. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez lead this every-city popularity phenomenon, with Robbie Cano and Mark Teixeira bringing up the rear. Continue reading →

Kissimmee, Fla., March 6, 2011 — Following eight days of largely ineffective offense, I dreamed of hits Saturday night. Perhaps tonight I’ll dream of winning $1 million. The Yanks outlasted the Astros in Kissimmee 10-8 Sunday afternoon, outhitting the home club 21-17. A wind that was blowing out to all fields probably had a greater effect than any visions during my slumber, or at least that’s what most fans present were thinking, I’m sure. Continue reading →

Tampa, Fla., March 5, 2011 — After spending four days lamenting the lack of Yankee offense, on Saturday afternoon the team broke out for 10 hits and eight runs, with all of the latter bunched into a wild and fun home fourth inning, even if two Washington miscues got the rally ball rolling. Staff ace CC Sabathia failed to go three innings in his second start, and was tagged for five runs and six hits and a walk before handing the ball off to Joba Chamberlain. Continue reading →

Tampa, Fla., March 4, 2011 — Freddy Garcia was happy with his work yesterday in Port Charlotte, and for good reason. But he might be feeling a little less comfortable with it now, because Bartolo Colon made a statement start Friday night. Admittedly facing a different-looking Red Sox team (more on that shortly), he retired seven straight and nine of 11, and recorded five of the nine outs via the strike out, three of them swinging. Only five of the 16 strikes he recorded in the first two innings struck Sox bats. A ground double down the left field line and a swinging bunt with one out in the third slowed his momentum, but Colon came back strong with the fifth strike out and a dribbler to first where the bulky right-hander broke from the mound and took the throw at first just ahead of Boston center fielder Ryan Kalish. In perhaps the most impressive stat of his night, Bartolo forged an 0-2 count against seven of 11 batters. Continue reading →

Tampa, Fla., March 3, 2011 — The Yanks brought out their prevent offense (except for one sloppy inning in Tampa) for the third straight day in a contest vs. the Rays in Port Charlotte Thursday. They notched all of four hits good for one run over 10 innings, though it needs to be added that the run only scored when a five-year mlb veteran shortstop let Bradley Suttle’s ground ball sneak through the wickets for the game’s lone (official) error. Compounding the ineptitude, they made this showing against a Tampa team off to a bad start because their pitchers are being routinely whacked around. Continue reading →

Tampa, Fla., March 2, 2011 — The Yankees/Phillies tilt that opened Spring Training in George M. Steinbrenner Field four days ago, a back-and-forth battle in which the visitors ultimately prevailed, was noteworthy for how un-“springlike” it was. A one-run (5-4 Phils), crisply played game, with each team amassing nine hits, six walks total, and just one error on an infield roller initially ruled a hit. On Wednesday afternoon in the same venue, the visiting Astros and the Yanks played the antithesis of that game, a contest that was “springlike” in the extreme. Continue reading →