Steinbrenner sees spring in Yankees’ steps
Hank Steinbrenner expected new manager Joe Girardi would run an excellent spring training camp. The New York Yankees’ general partner has not been disappointed.
“I think the players have the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ back,” Steinbrenner said Saturday from Tampa, Fla. “It’s gone great. Everybody’s fit. Everybody came here ready to go.”
Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi said Girardi’s intensity has had an impact.
“I think camp has gone great,” Giambi said. “We’re playing good aggressive baseball.”
The final two weeks of spring training should see no drop in intensity, with decisions on first baseman, designated hitter and the bullpen among those pending.
“These next two weeks become real important,” Girardi said. “The thing is, you always have to be ready because you’re expected to compete the next two weeks. If you don’t start with us, you have to be ready because things happen. The next two weeks is a trial run for a lot of people.”
New York opens the regular season March 31 against Toronto at Yankee Stadium.
Lackey out 3-4 weeks
The Los Angeles Angels will start the season without ace John Lackey, who is out three to four weeks because of a strained right triceps.
Lackey underwent an MRI in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday that confirmed Dr. Lewis Yocum’s diagnosis.
The right-hander has already started rehabilitation and will not participate in any baseball activities until he is re-evaluated, the team said.
Lackey made his first spring training appearance last Monday, pitching 1 2/3 innings against Oakland. He said he threw without pain.
Chavez will stay behind
The Oakland Athletics officially took third baseman Eric Chavez’s name off the roster of players going to Japan.
The six-time Gold Glove winner will remain in Phoenix to work out at the A’s minor league facility to continue his recovery from off-season back surgery. The Athletics open the season with two games in Japan against the Boston Red Sox on March 25-26.
“He’s just not ready to play,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “He’ll stay here and continue his focus on getting ready.”
Chavez remains on a strict program, which will be monitored by the A’s training staff in coordination with the minor league staff.
The 30-year-old Chavez also had off-season operations on both shoulders and hasn’t played in a game this spring.
He had back spasms last year that landed him on the disabled list for the final two months of the season. Chavez, who hit .240 with 15 home runs in an injury-shortened 2007 season, has struggled with back and arm problems for two years.
Additionally, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez will stay behind to continue rehab on a strained left hamstring that has bothered him for the past week.
Gonzalez undergoes MRI
The St. Louis Cardinals were awaiting results of an MRI on Juan Gonzalez’s strained abdomen, an injury that has marred his comeback attempt.
The test was done on Friday and was being evaluated by a specialist.
The 38-year-old Gonzalez, who has only one at-bat the last three years, missed his fifth straight game and did not make the trip for a game against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
It’s a tie in China debut
The vendors sold peanuts, hot dogs and tea, and a breeze in left field unfurled China’s red flag alongside the Stars and Stripes.
It was opening day for baseball in China.
The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers left the nearly sellout crowd of 12,224 at the new Olympic venue in Beijing with an inconclusive outcome – a 3-3 tie in an exhibition game in Major League Baseball’s first foray into China.
Not that the result proved all that troubling. Most fans knew so little about the day’s events that nobody booed when play was called after nine innings.
“It’s historic if nothing else,” commissioner Bud Selig said.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre said all the hoopla made things feel closer to a regular-season game.
“It took on a little bit more than an exhibition game for me today,” he said.