Raul Ibanez remembers standing in left field, watching Johnny Damon break for third. He remembers pointing and screaming and feeling helpless. He remembers losing.
“I was still mad about the 2009 World Series loss,” he said this morning. “Until about a week ago.”
Ibanez came into camp with a good reputation as a good clubhouse guy, and today he made a good first impression. He talked about his struggles last season, his opportunities this winter and the feeling of brand new pinstripes.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “It didn’t really hit me until I pulled up to the stadium and realized I will be working here… It’s an honor and a privilege.”
Seems like a good guy. Now he’s just got to hit…
News from Yankees camp came down today that Brian Cashman will not work on an extension for Russell Martin until after the season, which is expected. I would like to see how Martin performs and how his health stands up before we give him the security of a long term deal.
Austin Romine is listed for batting practices this morning so his health must be improving or improved totally which is always a good sign. Nothing new on the George Kontos front but an oblique is a pretty hard injury to heal overnight.
CC Sabathia is now working with Michael Pineda on his changeup. This could be an amazing duo for the next 5 years if Pineda can get this changeup working and get comfortable with it. CC described Pineda as "electric" on the mound and I think CC would know better then most. Thumbs up from day 7 with more to come because all the batting practices and bullpen sessions are scheduled for this afternoon.