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.

The Bombers actually got off to a good start, as speedy Brett Gardner led off the game by working a walk off starter James Shields, then stealing second. But before Shields threw another pitch, he picked Gardner cleanly off second base. The second inning showed promise as well, as Eric Chavez, making a bid to be a backup corner infielder and pinch hitter, laced a double to just right of straight center field. The first clue that the Yanks would not be piling up runs was that the next decent chance they had came in the fifth inning on Chavez’s next at bat. Against southpaw R.J. Swindle, he lined a ball deep to right that an all-day driving wind toward left held up until the Tampa right fielder could run under it. The wind probably played a bigger role in the lack of scoring on the day than anything else, but Eric’s shot was the only one that clearly would have been a home run in this game had the breeze not knocked it down. Chavez was a good story all game, by the way, as he grounded sharply to short in the seventh, and made a nifty defensive play starting a 3-6-1 double play in the fourth inning.

The flip side to the lack of offense was that the Yankee pitching was superb. Freddy Garcia made his first appearance a good one, retiring six of seven through two frames by keeping batters off stride in midseason form. He struck out slugger Evan Longoria, popped up Manny Ramirez, then survived two singles when Eduardo Nunez pegged Matt Joyce out trying to take an extra base. Ivan Nova followed with three good innings, made even more effective because he was confronted with threats. This young righty struggled with men on base last year, and with his teammates’ help he got a chance to prove he has improved. In the third inning young third baseman Brandon Laird failed to flag down shortstop Tim Beckman’s bouncer down the line that resulted in two bases, then was eaten alive by B.J. Upton’s hot shot, both charitably ruled hits. The only reason the game remained scoreless is that Gardner unleashed a midseason-worthy throw to the plate and Jesus Montero delivered on the catch, block, and tag to nail Beckman.

Nova proved his mettle as a defender in the fourth. Laird made up somewhat for his wobbly third inning by tossing out Longoria after snagging his base-hit bid on a full-body dive into the hole. DH Manny Ramirez singled up the middle, but when Joyce sent a bouncer toward the second-base hole, Chavez tracked it and tossed to second like he’s been playing first base for years. When Ramiro Pena fired to first, Nova was there to take the throw on a close play.

Until recently the Rays have been playing their spring games in ancient Al Lang Stadium, a place that has seen better days, and that is also located just a few miles from the dome where the Rays play their regular-season games, two things the team apparently saw as negatives. They have taken Charlotte County Stadium, a facility an hour or so south, one that was most recently the spring home of the Texas Rangers, and rebuilt it into a modern baseball mini-palace. It’s beautiful, functional, and they have the cup holders one hopes George M. Steinbrenner Field would add. But in a lesson we tire of learning, not everything that is old needs to be replaced. For one thing, Al Lang was situated in downtown St. Petersburg, and the view of the sailboats in the harbor beyond left field is one not matched in Florida, and probably anywhere. In addition, Al Lang hosted some of the game’s greatest players in its 60 years of service. No less a witness than Stan the Man Musial once said that a home run he saw Mickey Mantle hit there was the hardest-hit ball he ever saw. I miss it.

As Thursday’s game zipped by in front of an almost capacity crowd, hosts of Rays and Yankee fans had a chance for a little give and take. The most common comment and routinely asked question: “Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez aren’t playing. Aren’t they here?” No team sends all their starters on every road trip in March, and at one time I took this kind of question as a criticism. But as one Rays fan told me, “I’m a Rays fan, all the way, but I came to the ballpark to see Derek and Alex play. I root for those guys. They are awesome, worth the price of admission all by themselves.” I hope the next time the Yanks travel down to Charlotte County Stadium, Derek and Alex accompany them.

Discussions between the two camps of fans that I observed warmed again in the home seventh inning. Following the two Garcia innings, and three from Nova. Young Dellin Betances took over and threw a one-two-three sixth. Starting the bottom of the seventh, he whiffed Manny Ramirez and Matt Joyce back to back. But veteran first sacker Casey Kotchman tomahawked his first pitch past third for two bases. All eyes were on Betances as he pitched to the next three guys. He fell behind Sean Rodriguez 3-1, then got him swinging too far for a full count, but missed with ball four. But you could see how hard, and how special, his pitches were, and Rays fans were asking in small confabs all over the stadium, “Who is this guy?” Flustered perhaps, he walked the next guy too. But he worked Beckman to 2-2, had one pitch fouled off, then coaxed a half swing on high heat that looked to be a strike. But the ump saw neither a swing nor a strike, resulting in a 3-2 count, and Dellin’s full count pitch was low and inside. Adam Warren relieved Betances after 28 throws that frame, and notched a strike out.

The run that crossed the plate felt definitive, but Gustavo Molina and Kevin Russo singles started the Yankee eighth. Third baseman Bradley Suttle bounced a dp ball to short, but veteran Ray Olmedo had it get by him for a tied game. Kotchman made a good play on a grounder down the first base line and pegged Russo out at the plate, preventing a run the Yanks should have scored, and the two pens kept the score at 1-1 through 10 frames when the game was called.

And so the game ended in a 1-1 tie. On the one hand, the Yanks and their fans had to feel lucky that they survived on four hits. And also of note, Dellin Betances allowed his first run of the spring. On this day in 1994, a revival of the musical “Damn Yankees” began a 510-performance run on Broadway. But whatever sentiment New York’s American League team generally provokes from the team’s opponents, particularly leading into what figures to be the most competitive AL East season ever, it was nice to hear that the grumbling about Derek and Alex’s absence was respect and not resentment.

And it was also great to see that fans of both teams realized they were seeing something special when Dellin Betances allowed his first run of the 2011 spring season.

BTW,TYT
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!