…so it’s okay. Feel free to post your results in the comments section.
(hat tip to DA Humber, whose blog you should be reading daily)
So much for that super-utility guy idea
If you don’t already know, Alberto Gonzalez – one of the guys picked up in the Big Unit deal – is basically the shortstop version of Marcos Vechionacci, meaning he’s frickin’ awesome with the glove. Since he plays a position occupied by someone whose name I forget at the big league level, there’s been thought of using Gonzalez as a utility guy.
Well, Gonzalez make an error in today’s game that ultimately cost the Yanks the win. Why is this signifcant? Because he was playing third at the time. This is Gonzalez’s second error of the spring, with the other error coming as he manned second. Granted this falls into the “small sample size” category, but still, he doesn’t seem as comfortable at non-natural positions.
He’s got some serious value as a trade chip, too bad Yankee fans most likely won’t ever get to see him pull a Rey Ordonez (with the glove, not the bat) impression in the Bronx.
Live Phil Hughes blog
Hughes is on the mound right now facing the Indians, here’s how it’s going:
First Batter: David Delluci walked
Second Batter: Ryan Garko struck out
Third Batter: Shin-Soo Choo GIDP’ed. Inning over.
Update: My bad, Dellucci was picked off first…
And we pick it up in the 5th (tied 2-2, Kevin Reese with a 2-run job):
First Batter: Hector Luna slapped a single
Second Batter: Mike Rouse GIDP’ed (no mistake this time)
Third Batter: Grady Sizemore good morning, good afternoon, good ni…ground out
Days likely over for Phil, who dropped his spring ERA from 8.18 to 2.70. His line: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 4-0 GB/FB ratio.
Top young outfielders
There’s a great feature at the great site Project Prospect about the top outfielders in the game under the age of 25, in which they noted this little tidbit about Melky:
So why the sudden ascension? Strike zone control. Cabrera walked 56 times while only striking out 59 in 460 at-bats. He nearly K’d twice for every walk in the minors.
Great stuff, never realized that about El Leche. (yes Tabata is on the list too…)
Igawa debut on TV
For those of you watching at home (or the office), Kei Igawa’s Spring Training debut is about to begin. You can catch Igawa vs. the AL Champion Tigers on the YES Network or at MLB.tv.
Update by JP: Eh. Per Pete Abraham: one full inning, one batter into the second. Three strikeouts (two swinging), three walks, two hits, two runs, 40 pitches, 20 strikes. Could be worse, for certain. The interesting part will be seeing how he improves next time out.
Second (and third, and fourth, and fifth) chances are what it’s all about
Pavano gets through two innings
It ain’t the prettiest box score you’ll ever see, but the Yankees continued to pummel their exhibition opponents today, defeating Cole Hamels and the Phillies, 10-5.
Pavano’s line: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 0 HR, 2/3 GO/FO. His strikes to balls isn’t available in these sparse box scores. We’ll see if he complains of pain tomorrow.