Yankees second baseman Drew says he's still learning the position

Yankees infielder Stephen Drew might have been one of the best when he played shortstop, but the 31-year-old is still getting acquainted with his new position.

Drew is still learning the ropes of being a second baseman, he said after committing an uncommon error in the Yankees' loss to the Phillies Wednesday.

"That route [from second], you just need to come around it a little more," Drew told NJ.com of his bobble in the game's first inning. "Then I can square up to the ball and set my feet and then throw. It's definitely the angles over there that I'm going to work the whole spring training to get really use to it before the season starts."

On the second pitch of Wednesday's contest, Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera chopped a slow roller to Drew -- who at first seemed to approach it normally. The ball bounced up to Drew's chest when his glove first contacted it, though, allowing Herrera to reach as the lead-off man.

Drew says he will work on his defense more over the next month in an attempt to stop such things from happening in the future, mainly by adjusting to the differences he's noticed in manning the other side of the field. 

"The way that ball comes off the bat is a little different," Drew said. "So it's definitely going to be something that I'm learning throughout this whole thing. [The angles on the ball] won't go away as I learn it."

Drew's mishandling of Herrera's dribbler wasn't the only time in which the former had issues on the day, strangely  -- as Drew also nearly threw away a routine grounder off the bat of Darin Ruf in the fourth. After shifting up the middle for the right-handed Ruf, Drew fielded and short-hopped one to first baseman Mark Teixeira -- who saved it with a nice pick. 

Then again, it was just one day for Drew -- something he already appears to accept. 

"I just have to trust my talent," Drew said. "Just learning at second and get the best I can at that and then taking everything in. I just have to get in that rhythm. I haven't had a normal spring training in three years, so, if I can get in a routine, finally, it'll pay off."