Sunday, March 17, 2013

Slade Heathcott Cut From Spring Training Camp


Apparently I overlooked this yesterday but Slade Heathcott got cut from the Yankees spring training camp since he is battling his knee injury patellar tendinitis. He did not have a legitimate shot at making the team in my eyes anyway so better to be cautious with him now than to have to pay for it later. He will be knocking on the door, if healthy, by the end of the season.

New York Yankees @ Pittsburgh Pirates 3/17


The New York Yankees got shut out in both of their split squad games yesterday so look to bounce back today against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees will send Ivan Nova and his shorter delivery to the mound to try and give the Yankees a win. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on MLB TV.

Here are the Yankees lineups

Eduardo Nunez SS
Brennan Boesch RF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Juan Rivera 1B
Jayson Nix 2B
Chris Stewart C
Thomas Neal LF
Dan Johnson DH
Melky Mesa CF

Matt Diaz Released

After hitting .200/.250/.200 in Spring Training, which wasn't enough to make the team want to keep him around, Matt Diaz has been released. It already looked like a long-shot that Diaz would make the big-league squad, even before the team brought in Ben Francisco and Brennan Boesch, so this isn't much of a surprise. Even if you were to say Matt just had a bad spring, that doesn't make up for the fact that he only hit .220/.280/.333 in 118 plate appearances with the Braves last season, and .263/.302/.323 in 268 plate appearances in 2011.



Mark Teixeira Out Until June

The wrist tendon sheaths are in blue.

It may be time to get serious about finding a legit corner infielder for this season.

This morning it was learned that Mark Teixeira was diagnosed with an injury to his right tendon sheath. The sheath covers the tendons in the wrist, allowing the tendons to move through it so that there is less friction. This issue could keep Tex out until early June, which is about a month longer than when we thought it was merely a strain.

You may remember Jose Bautista's wrist issue last year, which was a torn sheath. He and the Blue Jays tried to allow it to heal without surgery, but eventually he went under the knife in September. Although Mark's issue sounds like inflammation, which can be treated with rest and medication, we don't know for sure that it's not a tear. Knowing what happened with Bautista last year, and with the Yankee lineup already looking pretty weak, I'd like to see the Yankees try and add something significant to the offense.

Spring Training 3/17/13 Lineup

Eduardo Nunez SS
Brennan Boesch RF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Juan Rivera 1B
Jayson Nix 2B
Chris Stewart C
Thomas Neal LF
Dan Johnson DH
Melky Mesa CF

Ivan Nova RHP