Tampa, FL., March 2 — Yankee fans didn’t have to wait long for early answers to some of the questions confronting the team as it christened its 10th year of Spring Training at beautiful Legends Field in Tampa Bay under dazzling sunshine and 75-degree temps Thursday afternoon. Would newly signed center fielder and leadoff man Johnny Damon adapt to playing for the “Evil Empire”? How would the man he is replacing, long-time star Bernie Williams, handle spot duty DH’ing and fielding the corner positions after so many years playing center field in Pinstripes?
I do not use the term lightly when I say “early returns” are good. No outfielder had an easy task this day, what with the largely cloudless sky and vibrant sun to deal with. But Williams, playing right field as Gary Sheffield DH’d, turned and hauled in Jimmy Rollins’s fly toward the right field foul pole on the game’s second pitch like he’d been doing it for years, not minutes. Bernie handled three chances in five innings flawlessly, and his excellent jump on new Philly center fielder Aaron Rowand’s sinking liner to short right leading off the top of the fourth turned a potential base hit into a routine out.
Even more under the microscope is Damon, who switched sides in the greatest two-team rivalry in professional sports by leaving the Boston Red Sox to play in New York. Damon was cheered lustily as he took the field during pregame introductions, and he showed no signs of pressure as he stroked Phillies starter Ryan Franklin’s first pitch of the day into the right field corner for a leadoff double. Derek Jeter moved Damon to third on a bouncer to second, but Sheffield fouled to third and A-Rod bounced out to end the first Yankee threat. Damon would single on the first pitch his next time up as well. He handled two flies, and did well to stop catcher Carlos Ruiz’s third inning double from reaching the wall. His throw hopped before reaching cutoff man Derek Jeter, but Ruiz could not advance, although he would come around to score Philly’s first run in front of Pat Burrell’s two-run homer off lefty Sean Henn.
Another question facing this team centers on pitchers Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small, and whether or not they can duplicate the work that saved a Yankee 2005 season that was spinning out of control. Early reports here are good as well. Chacon relied on his cut fastball to blank the Phils over two frames starting the game. He threw 30 pitches (only two of eight first-pitch strikes), walked one (a seven-pitch battle with the Alex Gonzalez not playing in Boston and home plate ump Wally Bell), and allowed a harmless ground single. After Sean Henn surrendered Burrell’s two-run tracer over his two frames, Small retired six of the next eight on just 22 pitches. J Brent Cox, carrying potential closer’s credentials from his college days, showed poise in the eighth, although he was reached for a home run. He coaxed back-to-back pops to short, the first on a 10-pitch war with reserve center fielder Ernie Kata.
The Yankees fell 6-3, and the game was lost in the top of the seventh, as lefty specialist Mike Myers was smacked around in his Yankee debut. The Yanks had taken a 2-0 lead in the home second on Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams singles (with Giambi “speeding” into third), a Jorge Posada sac fly, and a Robinson Cano single. Burrell tied it in the third, but Andy Phillips homered the other way on the first pitch in the bottom of the sixth to recapture the lead. In for Williams, Kevin Thompson made a fine grab on a liner to lead off the seventh against Myers, but three of the next four batters singled off the Yankee southpaw to tie matters. Then Scott Garrett’s booming double to deep center gave Philly a lead they would not relinquish. The only silver lining is that the damage was done by righty hitters, as Myers faced just one lefty.
The game was crisply played, taking just two hours and 36 minutes even though 48 players took part, 12 of them pitchers. Much of the credit for that goes to the Yankee defense, punctuated by a double star on a Shane Victorino bid for a single into the second base hole in the third. Robinson Cano executed a diving stop to his left and made an off-balance throw low and two feet to Giambi’s left, but Jason made the scoop and showed the ball to first-base ump Eric Cooper all in one motion. We’ve already mentioned nice plays by Williams and Thompson in right. Hurler Henn grabbed two hoppers back at him in the fourth, but threw the second one into the dirt toward the runner. Once again, Giambi moved well and corraled that toss too.
On the Philly side of things, DH Pat Burrell looked ready to go, with a homer, double, and hard liner to left. Starter Ryan Franklin looked to be throwing hard, but he proved hittable. Ryan Madson took pitching honors for the visitors, following Franklin by retiring six straight Yanks on just 21 pitches. The Yankee bats went quiet after Phillips’s home run, though the Bombers had base runners in every ensuing inning.
It’s a strange year in baseball, and four key Yankee players will not be with the team the rest of March until their respective teams either win or are bounced from the World Baseball Classic. Bernie Williams is off to Orlando to play with the team from Puerto Rico, and Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon flew to Phoenix to play with the U.S. squad after today’s game. For early spring fans, games have always been largely played by substitutes as the established stars play just a few innings and prepare gradually, and all eyes the next two weeks will be on the Yankee pitching and on youngers guys like Eric Duncan, Melky Cabrera, and Kevin Thompson. The feeling here is that Jeter and Rodriguez, both well acclimated to their roles in the Bronx, will be fine getting their play in elsewhere. And Williams, once he joins the Puerto Rican team, will play corner outfield, something he needs to continue to work on.
Titled “Behind the Free Agency Hype,” the lead story in the Tampa Tribune’s financial pages Thursday featured a picture of Johnny Damon as it discussed baseball comings and goings in the arbitration and free agency era. Clearly, the Yankee position player with the most pressure on him to perform well in 2006 will be Damon. Seventy-nine years ago, the newspapers were aghast with the new three-year deal Babe Ruth had penned with the Yanks, paying him an unprecedented $70,000 per year. America’s greatest sports figure calmy responded by leading his team to a championship, setting a home-run record that would stand for 41 years as he did so. It bodes well that Mr. Damon had a fine day in the Yankee spring opener. We can hardly wait until he returns.
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!