Open Thread: March 8th Camp Notes

The Yankees actually lost a game this afternoon. Rude. The Phillies beat them 7-6. Aaron Hicks had a single and two walks, Brandon Drury had a single and a double, Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton had singles — Stanton’s was a rocket off the wall, one of those “he hit it so hard he held himself to a single” singles — and Sir Didi Gregorius socked a two-run dinger. Austin Romine had a single off the bench. He is now 9-for-13 (.692) this spring. Gotta love it.

On the mound, Luis Severino made his spring debut and looked fantastic, striking out three and allowing an unearned run in 3.1 innings before hitting his pitch limit. Severino was throwing free and easy. Great to see. Justus Sheffield (three runs in 1.2 innings) and Wade LeBlanc (three runs in two innings) conspired to blow a 6-1 lead. Rats. Here are the box score and video highlights, and here’s the latest from Tampa:

• Clint Frazier (concussion) rode the stationary bike for 20 minutes, threw, and did rotational exercises to simulate swinging today. “It’s frustrating, but I’m trying not to mess around with this,” he said. Jacoby Ellsbury (oblique) could resume running on Saturday, and it’s possible he will be ready in time for Opening Day. We’ll see. [Erik Boland, Bryan Hoch]
• The Yankees announced their first round of roster cuts following today’s game. Cale Coshow, Raynel Espinal, Trevor Lane, Chace Numata, Justus Sheffield, and Dillon Tate were all sent out. “I told him I came in here with high expectations about him, knowing how much our organization values him. He surpassed those,” said Boone about Sheffield. The Yankees still have 56 players in big league camp by my unofficial count. [Coley Harvey]
• In case you missed it earlier, Aaron Judge said he probably won’t participate in the Home Run Derby going forward. Sanchez was asked about the Home Run Derby as well, and he said it’s “too early” to know what he’ll do. Stanton said the same thing. “Depends how the season’s going, how the body’s feeling, if I’m an All-Star. All that,” he said. [Boland, Pete Caldera]
• Turns out Luis Cessa was scratched from yesterday’s start with a stiff neck. He’s fine now and will start Saturday afternoon. The Yankees will be on the road to take on the Braves tomorrow night. The game will not be televised. Sonny Gray is the scheduled starter. [Boland]

Here is the nightly open thread. If you’re interested, this afternoon’s game will be replayed on YES (10pm ET) and MLB Network (6am ET). MLB Network has the Giants and Mariners live tonight (8:30pm ET), all the local hockey and basketball teams are playing except the Knicks, and there is a ton of college hoops on as well. Talk about those games or anything else here, as long as it’s not religion or politics.