The Yankees took a well needed day off yesterday after getting pummelled by the Tigers. Mike Mussina gave up four bombs and ten runs in four innings of work. Needless to say, that’s not good. And to make things worse on the rotation front, Jaret Wright was shut down indefinitely because of back spasms. Carl Pavano’s still expected to start the season the DL as is Aaron Small. So that leaves Chien-Ming Wang, Shawn Chacon, Mike Mussina (read above), and Randy Johnson to keep things in the early parts of April.
Johnny Damon has gotten off to a solid start this spring after playing in the WBC. He’s five for eight so far. Robinson Cano has hit the ball well (.358/.404/.566 in 53 at bats) as has Andy Phillips, who leads the team with four homeruns. Also encouraging has been Jorge Posada. He’s eleven for 24 with two doubles and two homeruns. Gary Sheffield, on the other hand, is a pathetic two for 24 while he whines about his contract situation, although I expect Shef to be there when the season starts.
Shawn Chacon has been the best Yankees’ starter this spring. He’s given up only one earned run over 11 2/3 innings. Less impressive has been his 8/7 strikeout to walk ratio. Randy Johnson has been good but not great (3.50 ERA in 18 innings) and Wang has pitched well enough to warrant a spot in that rotation.
The Yankees are 9-12 this spring. Not too bad considering most of their regulars have been playing across the northern hemisphere.
