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Friday, March 19, 2010

Yankees Central: Line-up Set, Fifth Spot Still Up For Grabs

Last week I touched upon the race for the fifth spot in the Yankees rotation. While no announcement has been made it seems as if Joba Chamberlain is pitching himself out of the competition.

After allowing six runs to the Tigers last Wednesday, Chamberlain’s spring ERA is now 27.00 in 3 1/3 innings. He will get the start today and hope that his results are much better.

While Chamberlain has struggled, Phil Hughes seems to have gotten back on track. Hughes pitched four scoreless innings on Tuesday against the Astros.
Alfred Aceves is also putting on a strong campaign for the fifth spot. Aceves has only allowed 1 run over 10 innings while striking out five and walking none.

Last year Aceves managed to win 10 games out of the bullpen and was the Yankees long reliever. He’s shown that he has the stuff to start but the 27 year old still appears to be the third option to fill the last spot in the rotation.

As for the rest of the team it seems as if Joe Girardi already has his opening day line-up in mind.

Once again Derek Jeter will be the leadoff hitter; Nick Johnson, who was picked up in a trade from the Nationals, will follow him.

The middle of the order will feature Teixera, Rodriguez, and Cano. It should be interesting to see how Cano performs in the fifth hole. Last year he hit just above .200 with runners in scoring position. He claims that this spring he has been working on being more patient at the plate.

Cano should get a lot of pitches to hit since he is batting behind A-Rod and in front of Jorge Posada.

Curtis Granderson who hit 30 homeruns last year will bat seventh. Rounding out the lineup will be Nick Swisher and Brett Gardiner.

Left field and center field are still question marks, as Girardi still hasn’t made up his mind on which position Gardener and Granderson will play.

There are now only 18 days left until opening day, the lineup is set, the rotation is nearly set and now all they have to do is stay healthy and they should be favorites once again.

More Yankees news from around the web:

The New York Times profiles Nick Johnson who is starting his second stint with the Yankees.

The Yankees may be looking ahead as rumors begin to swirl that they are eying Joe Mauer who is in the last year of his contract.

Mariano Rivera struggled a bit in his spring debut.

Fans can begin to purchase single game tickets, starting this Friday.

Boone Logan and Royce Ring battle to be second lefty out of the Yanks pen.

Former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch pleads guilty to assault.

2 comments:

  1. I think you should read that New York Times profile on Johnson, or for that matter read anything on Johnson... He was not picked up in a trade with the Nationals. He finished last year with the Marlins, and was signed by the Yanks as a free agent this off season.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've finally come to terms with Mariano's pre-season/early season struggles. We just have to ride the tumult for a month each year, and then we six months of genius.

    ReplyDelete

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