The 2011 Major League Baseball season is right around the corner. The clocks have been pushed ahead and the days are getting longer. Yes, it's a good time of the year. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we should take a look at what's been going on down in Tampa with the New York Yankees.
Tomorrow will mark one month since pitchers and catchers reported for the New York Yankees. At that time, we had no idea how A.J. Burnett would bounce back from one of the worst seasons of any Yankee in history. So far, so good. However, let's not forget that it is the spring and the real test comes in less than three weeks when the Yankees open up the regular season at home against the Detroit Tigers.
Another question going into the spring was how Derek Jeter would react to the adjustments made to his swing by hitting coach Kevin Long. Jeter has so far passed with flying colors. In 24 at-bats this spring, Jeter has hit .333, forcing writers to talk about something other than how many times he has hit the ball on the ground, which was a story early on.
Jorge Posada has accepted his role as the team's designated hitter. He has also been a catching mentor to newly-acquired Russell Martin along with young catching prospects Jesus Montero and Austin Romine. Although Posada is struggling early on, hitting just .231, he's focusing on adjusting to his new role, which will take time.
The final hurdle of the spring will conclude with who will head north with the last spot in the starting rotation. Early on, it seemed like Freddy Garcia would be the run-away winner. However, all of that changed with today's performance against the Twins in which he allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Bartolo Colon has pitched well, posting a 3.00 ERA in the spring, but I believe Garcia will recover and be the team's fifth starter to open the season.
Sergio Mitre, who's also competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, will get the ball against the Red Sox tomorrow night.
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