Game 81: Fireworks

The Yankees were held scoreless by the Blue Jays in seven out of the eight innings they batted in yesterday. The good news was that they pushed across 11 runs in the third, their most productive frame in five years. Unlike Friday, when they blew an opportunity with the bases loaded and no one out, the Yanks actually packed the sacks three different times yesterday, leading to a two run double by Mark Teixeira, a grand slam by Brett Gardner and a bases-clearing "hit" by A-Rod that left fielder John McDonald just lost in the sun.

Andy Pettitte, who had given up a two run homer to Jose Bautista in the first, just put it into cruise control at that point and made the obligatory quality start of six innings and three runs, the final one coming on a sixth inning tater to Alex Gonzalez. Dustin Moseley made his Yankee debut, pitching two scoreless innings during which he gave up no baserunners and retired every batter via either strikeout or groundout.

Today we have a match up of young right-handed studs as 25 year old Brandon Morrow opposes 24 year old Phil Hughes. Morrow held the Yanks to one run over seven innings when he faced them about a month ago in Toronto but for whatever reason, he's struggled on the road so far this season.

Phil had his worst start of the year last time out, allowing seven runs in 5 2/3 IP against the Mariners, but as we said when it happened, he didn't pitch nearly that bad and it wasn't because they skipped one of his starts. Phil will be phine going phorward, and hopefully he can bounce right back today.

The violent one inning outburst that the Yanks had yesterday was fun to watch, but they didn't get a runner past second base aside from that. Runs are runs, but it would be encouraging to see a more balanced offensive display (perhaps punctuated by a nice finale).

Searchin' for that feelin', tell me where is the magic?
Let's stay together till we're ghosts
I want to witness love, I've never seen it close
Yeah, but I guess I gotta find it first
That's why I'm really goin' off, fireworks

I've missed them before, but won't miss them again
I keep having the same dream
And I think that I just realized what it means
All I see is fireworks

[Song Notes: I picked up Thank Me Later recently and Fireworks is the first track off of it. I've only listened to it all the way through once, so I don't have a great feel for it yet, but the first impression was pretty damn good.]

[Totally random note: Last year on the fourth of July, Chein-Ming Wang pitched his last game as a Yankee, a contest in which the Bombers tagged Roy Halladay for five runs and Jorge Posada won with a walkoff single in the 12th.

It's also George Steinbrenner's birthday, obviously.]

-Lineups-

Not today either, but Mr. Jennings and company will have you covered.

Five More Invited To Spring Training

Sometimes it's better to be invited to the party late than not be invited at all. Last week we took a brief look at the Yankees twenty non-roster invitees to Spring Training. Yesterday they added five more invitees to the list. No word as to whether the three new pitchers were notified before yesterday or if they will be given extra time to report if they were not. Here's a look.

Pitchers (3)
D.J. Mitchell
Dustin Moseley
Ryan Pope

Mitchell was a tenth round pick in 2008, made his professional debut last year, and turned in an outstanding season between Charleston and Tampa. Moseley has made 64 appearances for the Angels since 2006, but missed nearly all of last year with elbow and hip injuries. He was signed to a minor league deal that was also announced yesterday. Pope was a third round pick in 2007 and spent last season at AA Trenton. None has any realistic chance of making the team, though Moseley could provide depth at AAA.

Infielders (2)
Brandon Laird
Jorge Vazquez

Like fellow non roster invitee Colin Curtis, Brandon Laird had an impressive stint in the Arizona Fall League. He's lucky not to be playing in the Arizona Penal League this year, following his arrest, and that of brother Gerald, at a Phoenix Suns game this winter. Vazquez, like Alfredo Aceves, Ramiro Pena, and Manny Banuelos, was signed out of Mexico, which is becoming a lucrative pipeline for the Yankees. Vazquez' season at AA Trenton was cut short by injury, but he did some serious damage with the bat while healthy. That said, it should be noted that Vazquez was quite advanced for the league at 27 years old.

Laird is a third baseman who may be switched to first, Vazquez is a first baseman who has experience at third, catcher, and the outfield from his days in the Mexican League. They are the only infielders amongst the non-roster invitees and have absolutely no chance of making the team.

The five additional non-roster invitees brings the total number of players in camp to 65.