Spring Training Day 14

Two weeks into spring training and the first grapefruit league game is here against the Philadelphia Phillies. The starts will be Ivan Nova for us and Cole Hamels, maybe you have heard of him, for the Phillies. The Yankees expect to see Nova pitch a couple innings followed by David Phelps, Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Cesar Cabral, and Mike O'Connor. Other pitchers are available to pitch but not expected to today. This should be a fun and important day because , according to Joe Girardi, Nova is pitching for his spot in the rotation and apparently has a lot to prove. David Phelps is just fun to watch because he is in AAA and if he can stay healthy is on the short list of first responders if the Yankees need a starter during the season. The Killer B's are always fun to watch because they are the most highly touted pitching prospects that we have in the system right now and are closer then ever, both also pitching in the AAA rotation this year. Cesar Cabral and Mike O'Connor are both pitching for that last bullpen slot on the team along with Clay Rapada who is also available today but not expected to pitch.

Here are the lineups courtesy of Lohud Yankees Blog, a friend of the Greedy Pinstripes.

For the Yankees :

Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez DH
Eric Chavez 1B
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
Bill Hall 2B
Jayson Nix 3B

RHP Ivan Nova

For The Phillies:

Jimmy Rollins SS
Shane Victorino CF
Hunter Pence RF
Jim Thome DH
Ty Wigginton 3B
John Mayberry Jr. 1B
Domonic Brown LF
Erik Kratz C
Michael Martinez 2B

Should be a fun game to watch with surprisingly a lot of regular guys in the lineup. What I find kind of odd is the fact that Raul Ibanez, the guy we signed as a platoon hitter to hit RIGHT handed pitchers, is starting at DH against a left handed pitcher for the second straight day. Andruw Jones is scheduled to start at DH tomorrow and also surprisingly against a right handed pitcher. Joe Girardi does not pay attention to the whole righty-lefty matchups in Spring Training.

More to come later when the game is wrapped up along with CC and Pineda's side sessions and such from Yankees camp.