Slade Heathcott Wins James P. Dawson Award

The New York Yankees give their best rookie in spring camp an annual award with Masahiro Tanaka winning the award for the team in 2014 while the 2015 recipient of the James P. Dawson Award was announced today. The winner of the award was the Yankees outfielder Slade Heathcott after a very strong spring before being sent down to Triple-A with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

Heathcott beat out a very impressive group of rookies including Jacob Lindgren, Jose Pirela and Robert Refsnyder with a .355/.459/.581 triple slash with seven RBI and three stolen bases. Congratulations to Mr. Heathcott. The talent was always there for Slade but the consistency and his health always held him back and he may have finally put it all together this season, not a season too soon.

Meet a Prospect: Gregorio Petit

Gregorio Petit is a member of the New York Yankees after the team made what could be conceived as a knee jerk reaction to the Brendan Ryan calf injury. The team sent a player to be named later or cash considerations to the Houston Astros for the 30 year old with all six years left of team control. Petit has played every infield position but catcher and first base in his career and now looks extremely likely to start the season on the bench in the Bronx. Let’s welcome Petit to the team and to the family.

Gregorio Jesus Petit was born on December 10, 1984 in Venezuela and has spent time with the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros before his stop in New York. Before New York Petit started his career in Oakland where he made his major league debut in 2008. Petit appeared in 14 games that season and only 11 games the next season in 2009 before being designated for assignment by the team.

Much like this season right before the 2010 season he was traded at the end of spring training to the Texas Rangers for former Yankees relief pitcher Edwar Ramirez. Petit stayed in the Rangers farm system for the 2010 season before latching on with the San Diego Padres to start the 2011 season on another minor league deal. Petit was back with San Diego in 2013 but not before spending the 2012 season in Triple-A with the Cleveland Indians after signing yet another minor league deal with before the season.

Petit signed a minor league deal with the Astros before the 2014 season and another before this season and has surprisingly hit well this spring with a batting average over .300. Petit is definitely a glove first type player and is on the team due to his ability to back up at the shortstop position. You will not receive much power from Petit but if he can be a late game substitute that can hit occasionally I think he will actually be an upgrade over Ryan in the long haul. Welcome to the team and welcome to the family Mr. Petit. All eyes on you. 

Spring: New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals 4/3

The New York Yankees have two games remaining in their spring training schedule and they are both against the team they play this afternoon inside George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Washington Nationals. Today the Yankees play host to the Nationals before playing an exhibition game on the road tomorrow as their final regular season tune up game. This afternoon the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off against Stephen Strasburg for the Nationals.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. 

Weekly Check In: Jacob Lindgren

Jacob Lindgren's spring training is officially over after being assigned to minor league camp and finished his first spring with the following stats:

1-0 record
1.23 ERA
8 Games
1 Save
6 Hits Allows
7.1 IP
1 Earned Run
3 Walks
10 K's
.214 BAA

Yankees infield situation

By Eddie Sapienza
Right now the Yankees are having some problems in the infield. Coming into this season we thought that the Yankees would have a great infield defense which they still do but not as great with the injury of Brendan Ryan.

Brendan Ryan should be out the first month of the season with a Grade 2 Calf strain. Ryan is going to be the backup at shortstop for Didi Gregorius. So since Ryan's out the Yankees made another move yesterday.

They acquired infielder Gregorio Petit from the Astros for cash considerations. So now you must be thinking, why did they not get Refsnyder or Pirela for this role? Since the Yankees made a mistake and played Pirela in center field which crosses him off the list. But still why not Refsnyder?

Cashman will not give these kids a chance. The guys we have now are aging with a few exceptions and we need some young guys. Again where did the Core 4 come from? They were prospects they gave them a chance and look what happened they became stars.

Well since Refsnyder isn't playing Petit will be Gregorius' backup. Refsnyder has a great potential same with Pirela yet Cashman doesn't give them a chance. Right now the Yankees aren't the championship team they were in the late 90s and in 2009. They don't seem like they're in the position to win a championship.

Obviously Cashman won't face the truth. Refsnyder or Pirela would improve the Yankees infield situation much better than Petit. As of now we'll have to stick with guys like Petit being on the roster. Well Ryan will be back in a month so we won't have to deal with Petit. Besides we haven't seen Petit yet maybe he'll suprise us. The season starts in 3 days and we'll find out then.

The Greedy Pinstripes Presents The Brian Cashman Roast

Since the beginning of the 1998 season the General Manager of the New York Yankees has been a nerdy white guy named Brian Cashman. Cashman took over for Gene Watson and rode the coat tails of the dynasty that Gene Michaels and crew created which included the 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Series winners and the American League pennant winners in 2001 and 2003. While I have defended Cashman in the past he and the new Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner are making it really hard to defend them anymore and even harder to have any faith in the system and the team.

For instance when Brendan Ryan, your backup shortstop, goes down on April 1^st the GM’s knee jerk reaction was to acquire a 30 year old minor league journeyman from the Houston Astros when Robert Refsnysder is flirting with the .350 mark this spring. The team is now going to give Gregorio Petit a 40 man and 25 man roster spot on the team to sit on the bench and rot just in case the team needs a backup shortstop. You have a backup shortstop, his name is Stephen Drew. Refsnyder has been playing the second base position longer than Drew has after being switched from the outfield by the Yankees and has once again been looked over while having any semblance of hope snatched out from under him this season.

This from the talent evaluator that acquired Javier Vazquez twice, Jeff Weaver, Kevin Brown and a slew of other players for equally as talented, albeit younger, players like Melky Cabrera, Ian Kennedy, Jake Westbrook and others. This from the Good Samaritan that broke his leg sky diving and sleeps outside once a year because he thinks people actually give a crap what he does. Brian, news flash, no one cares. What we ultimately care about is what you do that affects the on the field product inside Yankee Stadium. We don’t care that you had a mistress, that you helped with a terrible Playstation game, or that in a past life you worked and founded the Goodwill and coined the phrase “one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.” We don’t care!

Now this is usually the part in a roast where we get all serious and we talk about the good things you have done and we thank you for it. Not going to happen. This trade for Petit has really gotten under my skin for whatever reason and cements what everyone else has been saying and everything I have been defending you for. You don’t trust the farm system and you don’t want to win. You want to do just enough to keep your job and keep your healthy Steinbrenner cut paycheck and frankly that’s not going to cut it. Why couldn’t you be a monkey owned by Justin Beiber?

TGP Daily Poll: Gregorio Petit Plays More Than Robert Refsnyder in 2015

This was made up before the Yankees announced that Robert Refsnyder was optioned to Triple-A and that Gregorio Petit won the backup job without playing a single inning for the team. Let's change it on the fly and say that Petit plays more than Refsnyder in 2015. 

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Trenton Thunder New Food Options for 2015

New Food and Ballpark Enhancements Highlight Additions at ARM & HAMMER Park in 2015

The Thunder, Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, are proud to announce several new additions and sponsors to the Thunder family at ARM & HAMMER Park for the 2015 season.

On the suite level, fans will have access to brand new food options beginning with complimentary fresh popped popcorn and bottled water at the Suite Level Lobby Bar. New to the suite level menu is a wild caught Pacific Salmon, seared to perfection over sauteed baby spinach and mushrooms, and a buffalo chicken dip served with tortilla chips, crackers and celery sticks.

For dessert, available both on the suite level and at the first base concession stands, fans can enjoy OREO Churro Bites. OREO's twist on a classic ballpark favorite, they are rolled in sugar and served with an OREO Creme dip.

The main concession stands, the Thunder Road Food Court (Third Base Side) and the River Ave Food Court (First Base Side), will be home to traditional ballpark fare and brand new souvenir sodas and sourvenir helmet french fries and nachos. Another new dessert addition for 2015 is Deep Fried Ice Cream, which will be made available at Deep Fried Delights located at the end of each main concession stand. The deep fried ice cream will feature a single scoop of vanilla ice cream, twice frozen and coated with chocolate cookie crumbs before being fried into the perfect hot and cold mix.

Fitch's place (located on the third base concourse) will serve BBQ Rib Sandwiches and Morabito's Tomato Pies providing fans more diverse food options at the park.

The drink menu at ARM & HAMMER Park received two new additions to help fans, age 21 and older, keep cool in the heat of summer with Frozen Margaritas and Daiquiris. The two main concession stands will be serving Budweiser and Bud Light aluminum bottles out of new Chill Chambers which will serve the beer as cold as 22 degrees fahrenheit.

However, all fans will reap the benefits of the brand new cupholders installed in the 200 level of the ballpark, thanks to Mercer County Improvement Authority (MCIA). Each seat at the park now has a dedicated cup holder with the completed installation this offseason.

ARM & HAMMER Park also saw the installation of brand new stadium lights thanks to Mercer County during the offseason to meet MiLB's lighting standards. Additionally, new spectator lights have been installed around the seating bowl to aid fans as they exit the ballpark after fireworks shows.

Fans buying tickets in-person at the Thunder Box Office will also notice brand new LED signs above the ticket windows this season.

Group outings in the picnic area will be under brand new tents this season to provide shade to large groups.

The Thunder Company Store also received several new additions including outerwear from Columbia Sportswear, women's and girls clothing from Summit Sportswear and brand new glassware from Kapan-Kent. New items are coming soon for Star Wars Night (Monday, May 4) including t-shirts and special Star Wars Jerseys. Check out the new items here.

Facebook Map Shows Yankees Still Most Popular Team in United States

According to Facebook the New York Yankees are still America's team when it comes to Major League Baseball. The above graphic is pretty self explanatory but it's interesting to note that places like Louisiana and Hawaii are not places you would expect to have a large Yankees following.

Happy Friday and a Good Friday to everyone.

Recap: Yankees 6, Pirates 2

Michael Pineda pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and Chris Young drove in two with a clutch single in the sixth Thursday as the Yankees beat the Pirates, 6-2, in a split-squad game at Steinbrenner Field.

Pineda Cruises Again: Pineda surrendered just one earned run and six hits during his stint on the mound -- striking out six while impressively walking none. He retired nine consecutive at one point, and threw 58 of his 84 pitches for strikes.

Young's Big Hit: After an Austin Romine single and a Garrett Jones double led-off the bottom of the sixth, Young flared a soft line drive to center off Pittsburgh's Jared Hughes -- easily scoring a pair to give the Yankees their first advantage of the day. Young's knock was followed two batters later by another RBI single by Rob Refsnyder -- a sharp grounder to left that plated Young's pinch runner.

A-Rod Busy at First Base: Alex Rodriguez recorded a total of seven putouts when manning first base in this one, picking a couple of balls out of the dirt while making a play unassisted. In the third, Rodriguez nearly dropped a pop-up off the bat of Starling Marte, but was able to keep it in his glove with some help from his other hand.

Betances Puts Up a Zero: Dellin Betances walked two and struck out one in the top of the seventh -- escaping a men-on-the-corners jam when Corey Hart rolled over to short. It was Betances' first scoreless inning since March 11, and lowered his ERA on the preseason to a still-high 6.14.

Other Bullpen Numbers: Andrew Miller got the win after inducing an inning-ending double-play in the sixth, and David Carpenter allowed a run on a hit in the eighth. Jose Ramirez then sat down each of the three hitters he faced in the ninth -- striking out two to officially clinch the victory.

Next Up: The Yankees will wrap up their time in Tampa Friday when they host the Nationals at 1:05 p.m. ET -- airing live on YES and on tape delay on MLB Network. CC Sabathia is slated to start for the Yankees when they go head-to-head with Washington's Stephen Strasburg -- Sabathia's third and final outing of the spring. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 4/3: Yankee Stadium & Citi Field

On this day way back in 2009 the Yankees and the Mets both debuted their new stadiums on the same day. The Yankees hosted the Cubs at the new Yankees Stadium and the Mets hosted the Red Sox at Citi Field. Both teams would win their debuts in these exhibition games and the Yankees would bring home a World Series ring in the same season.