The Yankees drop their second real spring training game to the Pirates.

The Yankees took on the Pirates for their spring training home opener, and an rough outing by Robert Coello in the 8th inning quickly turned a tie game into a five-run deficit.

It was a slow day in terms of Yankees' offense. It wasn't until the fourth inning before the Yankees even had a chance to score. Brett Gardner hit an infield single, then advanced to second on an error by second baseman Michael Martinez, who threw the ball into the camera well. Nothing came of the lead off single, though, as Derek Jeter got out on a chopper to third, and Ichiro Suzuki and Brian Roberts both grounded out to end the inning.

Francisco Cervelli started off the fifth inning with a single to center off of Brandon Cumpton, then scored the first run of the game thanks to an RBI-double off the bat of Kelly Johnson. Russ Canzler hit a line drive to left field, putting runners on the corners, but Mason Williams ended the inning by grounding into a double play. The Yankees tied the game up 2-2 in the sixth inning. With two outs, Ardonis Garcia made it to first base on an error by third baseman Matt Hague. Corban Joseph then worked a walk, bringing up JR Murphy, who wants to be called John Ryan Murphy from here on out (Apparently he had never been called JR in his life until he started playing in the minor leagues and let things get out of hand because he didn't know how to stop people from calling him that). Murphy singled to left, driving in Garcia. Pirates 2, Yankees 2.

Unfortunately, that's where the scoring ended for the Yankees. Jeter couldn't get anything going in his spring training debut; he went 0-2, grounding into a double play in the first inning, then was out in the fourth inning on a chopper to third. Peter O'Brien, who has been hitting impressive home runs over the new scoreboard during batting practice, came up to bat twice and struck out twice.

As far as pitching goes, David Phelps started the game and gave up a solo home run to Gregory Polanco in the first inning. He struck out four batters through two innings. Chris Leroux replaced him in the third and pitched two clean innings. Jim Miller got into trouble in the sixth inning. Jaff Decker started the inning with a double into the gap, then Polanco flew out to deep center allowing Decker to tag and go to third base. Former Yankee Chris Dickerson hit a fly ball out to left that dropped at Jose Pirela's feet and drove in Decker for the Pirates second run. Yoshinori Tateyama was brought in and finished the sixth without allowing anymore damage, then pitched a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts.

Robert Coello came in to pitch the eighth inning, and gave up a lead off walk to Robert Andino. Chris McGuiness followed that up with a single to put runners on the corners. Mel Rojas Jr then hit a 3-run home run to deep right, making that 5 runs for the Pirates. Still no outs. Alen Hanson looped a single into left, which Pirela played on a hop for some reason. Next, Jeff Roy hit a grounder up the middle, and Ramon Flores' threw to third to try to get Hanson, but the throw was too late. Zelous Wheeler then threw to second to try and get Roy, but that throw was also too late. Still no outs. Coello finally did something useful and got Tony Sanchez to strike out. Nevin Ashley came up to bat and was hit by the pitch. Matt Hague singled on a grounder to left, scoring Hanson and Roy. Pirates 7, Yankees 2. Coello finally got pulled out of the game, and Branden Pinder finished off the inning without further trouble. Jeremy Bleich came in to pitch the ninth inning and allowed one more run to score, making the final score 8-2.

That makes the Yankees 0-2 in spring training so far, unless you count the win against the Seminoles. They'll be looking for their first official win against the Tigers tomorrow at 1:05 PM. Adam Warren will take the mound against Max Scherzer. You can check out the box score here.

Oh, and a fun thing that Michael Kay said: Joe Girardi told him that the Yankees are no longer reluctant to have Eduardo Nunez play third base (Uh, why?).

The boo-boo review

Tyler Austin

Austin has seen his value fall dramatically over the last year. A wrist injury, diagnosed as a bone bruise, ruined most of his 2013 season. He was supposed to play winter ball, but the injury flared up again. He was hoping that this year would be a fresh start, but his wrist is still bothering him and his wrist will be reevaluated. A bone bruise just needs to heal, but the longer this becomes a problem, the more I start to worry that it's something more serious.

Jose Ramirez

After suffering an oblique strain last year and missing the second half of the season, Jose Ramirez needed a strong and healthy 2014 to regain some of his prospect value and show that he can be a major league option relatively soon. He seems to have gotten off on the wrong foot, though, because he's already dealing with a tight back. Ramirez was supposed to be available out of the bullpen in Wednesday's game, but he was held out as a precaution instead. They'll try again today and see how he's doing. It doesn't sound serious, but who knows anymore.

Odds and Ends

Alfonso Soriano is expected to be ready for games by March 2. He had been fighting the flu, so now that he's feeling better, the Yankees will give him extra time before he makes his spring debut. Eduardo Nunez was a late scratch from Wednesday's game because of a tummy ache. Apparently he got food poisoning, because of course he did. RIP, Nunie.

Nik Turley is resting a sore arm for the next few days. Matt Daley was available out of the bullpen on Wednesday, but he was held out because he has a sore calf. Francisco Rondon is feeling sore, possibly in his shoulder, so he might be shut down for a bit. Everyone feels sore now that baseball has started back up.

Chad Jennings just released a few updates:

Francisco Rondon is going to be shut down for a "couple of weeks" because of his shoulder issue that popped up yesterday. ... Jose Ramirez was sent for two MRIs, one on his back and one on his oblique to figure out what was causing his tightness yesterday. No word yet on test results. ... Giradri said he did not yet have an update on Tyler Austin's wrist, but Austin did have the wrist unwrapped last I saw him in the clubhouse. Might be totally meaningless, but it's the first time in several days that I'd seen him without it wrapped up.

Erasmo hit his spots, Smoak scored Cano, Ackley ripped a double, and we got to listen to a real, live baseball game.

And that's it folks, game one is in the books. Well, sort of. The Mariners don't open their regular season until March 31st, so in a way, this was more like game -33 in the books. But still, it was a real baseball game! With real pitchers, throwing real baseballs to real baseball players, who are wearing different uniforms! One of them was named Robinson Cano, and he was wearing a Mariners uniform. Another player was René Rivera, and he was not wearing a Mariners uniform this time. But a person who was wearing a Mariners uniform was a 55 year old man with no hair and a mouth full of teeth slowly grinding into tiny pieces with each scowl out of the shadows of the dugout. His name is Lloyd McClendon, and today was the first day of his era in Seattle. Let's look at some of the highlights from the M's 7-1 victory over the Padres in the annual Charity game.

• Erasmo Ramirez looked good in his first spring training outing, giving up two hits in as many innings. He only struck out one Padre hitter, but generated mostly ground balls when hitters made contact, which is a great start for a pitcher who finished 2014 with a 4.26 xFIP. The Tacoma News Tribune's Bob Dutton recently posted an article where Erasmo details a focus on spotting his pitches during winter ball and relying less on his fastball, comments he echoed in an interview with Shannon Drayer during today's broadcast. I know everyone shows up to camp each spring with a new "thing", but Erasmo is still only 23, and I'm much more interested in that familiar trope if he's involved, rather than say, Blake Beavan.
• Speaking of Beavan, he actually performed quite well in his two innings, giving up only 1 hit and 1 walk with 31 pitches. And the rest of the Mariners arms looked fine in their first outing as well, giving up only 5 hits as a collective unit. Tom Wilhelmsen and Lucas Luetge went hitless with an inning each, and Danny Farquhar came in the 9th to seal the victory, although it took him a minute to settle in. It's the first day. The only thing truly of note here was the first appearance from bullpen-hopeful Joe Beimel, who fluctuated everywhere between 85-91 on his fastball. Elbow injuries are nasty both before, and after they happen.
• The minor-league kids did well in their late inning play--including a double from Burt Reynolds in his first at-bat as a Mariner--as did Dustin Ackley and Logan Morrison, who each showed some pop at the plate. Even Abraham Almonte was out there stealing bases, and its only February 27th. But the real story was a quick sequence in the bottom of the first, following Robinson Cano's first at bat as a Mariner:

(both gifs courtesy Seattle Mariners)

Soon afterward, Logan Morrison sent Cano to second and scored Kyle Seager with a sac fly. Then, up walked Justin Smoak, presumably to his usual bone-jarring country music and palpable sense of confusion and worry over the situation ahead of him. Robinson Cano has apparently taken a bit of a liking to Smoak so far, introducing him to a hitting drill popularized by Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, which is designed to force a player to use his lower half to turn weight into the ball rather than reach for them with their upper body. Here's Smoak, doubling in Cano:

Smoak has a long way to go to salvage his career. He has a lot of work left to do over the season, retraining himself, and moving away from bad habits he developed through a litany of hitting coaches and situational changes over the past few years. One drill and one double aren't going to do the work for him.

But I had both these .gifs open in separate tabs during the game to remind myself to use them in the recap, and when I would click back to open them, both would start consecutively, after the pitch was hit, the ball bouncing into right-center as the camera zoomed to follow it. One from a five-time all star and Home Run Derby champion, another from a 27-year old bust with only a handful of dingers and an obnoxiously passable wRC+ to his name. Without fail, I would have to wait until the .gif reset to know which one was hit by whom. I don't know if that means anything. But damn, it feels good to have baseball back again. Even when it makes my head hurt.

Surgery scars can be depressing reminders of injuries. Joba Chamberlain's is a happy smiley face! Wheeee!

For the first time in his career, Joba Chamberlain is pitching for a team that isn't the New York Yankees. Down in Florida for spring training, the Detroit Free Press noticed something neat about his elbow:

What we noticed when we saw this picture of Joba Chamberlain pitching today. #Tigers14pic.twitter.com/ixHNwQdCp4

— Freep Sports (@freepsports) February 27, 2014

His surgical scar isn't just a surgical scar: It's a smiley face! It's the most fun reminder of a bad injury yet.

But Chamberlain's Tommy John procedure was in 2011 -- how long has he had this tat for?

Let's try to figure out the timeline of this: this is what Joba Chamberlain looked like in Spring Training of 2011:

J. Meric, Getty Images

No scar! But in June of 2011, he hurt his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. Here's Joba pitching in October 2012, featuring the absolutely grody scar:

In this pic from June 12 last year, no tat, just the gross scar:

USA Today Sports

But in this pic from July 22, he had the tat:

So Joba clearly got inked up sometime last June/last July, but none of us noticed it.

Reasons to be excited for the upcoming season

A week or so ago, Matthew Provenzano listed all the things that could go wrong for the Yankees in 2014. Since I'm a natural optimist, I decided it'd be fun to take a look at all of the things that could go right in 2014, and all of the reasons that should excite us about the 2014 Yankees.

So here they are, in all their positive, glass-half-full glory: the reasons why the 2014 Yankees will be major contenders to win yet another World Series title.

A much-improved outfield

This has to be one of the biggest reasons to be excited for the 2014 Yankees. The Yankees made major upgrades in the outfield during the off-season, adding Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury, while hanging on to Brett Gardner and leaving Alfonso Soriano as the fourth outfielder/DH. Considering that Ichiro Suzuki (.262/.297/.342 splits last year with a 71 wRC+) started 128 games in right field last year, and Vernon Wells (who was somehow even worse, hitting .233/.282/.349 with a 70 wRC+) started almost 100 games in the outfield, this new look Yankee outfield should be one of the biggest strengths of this team. Among outfielders, Ellsbury is ninth in the major leagues in fWAR since 2008 (the year he became a full time starter) despite losing almost two full seasons to injury. That means that, except for a few unfortunate freak accidents, Jacoby Ellsbury is undoubtedly one of the best outfielders in all of baseball. He hit .298/.355/.426 last season, stole 53 bases, and scored 92 runs. And when - not if - his power numbers increase by hitting in Yankee Stadium, he'll only be more valuable.

Now, just adding Ellsbury and pairing him with Gardner and Soriano would've been a major improvement over the Yankee outfield of 2013. But by adding Carlos Beltran, the Yankees added the power hitter their outfield lacked. Beltran is 14^th in fWAR among outfielders since 2008, and should hit around 25 home runs this season after batting .296/.339/.491 last year with 24 homers and a 132 wRC+. His fWAR may be trending in the opposite direction (4.3 in 2011, 3.3 in 2012, just 2.0 last season), but still, he'll add the power hitting punch the Yankees were lacking for much of last season. Additionally, with Ellsbury and (hopefully) Gardner ahead of him in the lineup, he should drive in a lot of runs.

Speaking of Gardner, he will continue to be a defensive stalwart and solid hitter. Paired with Ellsbury, the Yankees will have one of the fastest and best defensive outfields in baseball. Thankfully the Yankees didn't undervalue Gardner and dump him for a declining second baseman (cough, Brandon Phillips, cough), and instead have extended his contract (a sign of positive changes in the Yankee front office - see, positivity and reasons for excitement to be found everywhere!). The Yankees even have the great luxury of using Soriano as the fourth outfielder/DH, a player with a combined 6.5 fWAR over the past two seasons, who will add quite a bit of power to the lineup wherever he plays. If everything goes right, this outfield will be tremendous defensively, a run scoring machine offensively, and Gardner and Ellsbury will be terrors on the base paths. All in all, this group will represent a major upgrade over last year's outfield.

The Yankees even have Ichiro as the fifth outfielder/late game defensive replacement. I don't care how much you hate Ichiro at this point - he's a pretty terrific defensive replacement, and if he's your fifth outfielder, that's a pretty damn good outfield.

A potentially lights-out rotation

Sure, Sabathia could keep sliding into mediocrity, Kuroda's arm could fall off, and Nova could once and for all show he's not that great. Maybe Tanaka will become the most overpaid No. 3 starter in the game. "Wait a second!" you yell, "I thought this was supposed to be positive!"

Don't fret, my friend. While some of these things might happen, all of them happening together is quite unlikely. If a few more probable events transpire - such as Sabathia bouncing back, Kuroda showing more of his first half 2013 form than second half, Nova continuing to build off the success of last year, and Masahiro Tanaka being the very good, if not great, pitcher he should be - this might just be one of the best rotations in the league. Remember, Sabathia's just two years removed from going 15-6 with a 3.38 ERA and 3.33 FIP. Nova had a 2.78 ERA in the second half last year, and he was 16-4 with a 3.70 ERA and a 4.01 FIP in 2011. The end of 2013 is hopefully a sign that Nova has finally made his breakthrough, and is ready to be the consistent, if not dominant, young arm the Yankees need. Tanaka was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last season; granted, it was in Japan, but still, 24-0 is 24-0!

This discussion would be incomplete without mentioning the potentially untapped well of awesome that is Michael Pineda? He just may be the pitcher he was in 2011 - when he posted a 3.74 ERA with a 3.42 FIP and an fWAR of 3.2 over 171 innings - and therefore be one of the best No. 5 starters in the league. There's so much to be excited about with this Yankee pitching staff, and I personally cannot wait to see what 2014 brings for Tanaka and Pineda.

Big upgrade behind the plate

No more Chris Stewart. In his place is Brian McCann, one of the best offensive catchers (career .277/.350/.473 hitter, and second highest fWAR among catchers in the league since his first season in 2005, behind only Joe Mauer) in the league with a short porch in right. Get excited. Moving on.

Closer David Robertson

As Andrew pointed out, worrying about him being a "proven closer" is ridiculous. Rivera wasn't, until he was. D-Rob has been awesome the past two years - he posted a 2.67 ERA in 2012, and a 2.04 in 2013. He strikes out an ungodly amount of hitters (12.02 K/9 in 2012, and 10.45 K/9 last year) and has his BB/9 have been under three over the past two season. If he's not worthy of a shot at closer, I don't know who is. His stats are gaudy. He learned under Mo. Robertson is going to be one of the best closers in the league in 2014.

The big challenge - thinking positively about the infield

Admittedly, even in a post all about optimism, the infield is obviously the Yankees' weak link (the bullpen, other than D-Rob, is the other candidate, but serviceable middle relievers are relatively easy to come by). Still, while the Yankees' infield might not be the best in the league, it could be very solid. Losing Cano hurts...a lot, but Derek Jeter could be Derek Jeter again. Frankly, if it's his final year, it would be hard to bet against him. Sure, 2013 was a lost season, but he led the major leagues in hits in 2012, and even in 2010, a down year (.270/.340/.370) he still had a 2.6 fWAR. Although Jeter's 2014 season probably won't be 2012 good, it shouldn't be as bad as 2013. He can certainly bounce back to become the good, and potentially very good, player we've known for two decades.

If Mark Teixeira stays healthy, he should be a productive player again, hopefully putting up numbers close to his 2011 levels, when he hit .248/.341/.494 with 39 homers and 111 RBI. He probably won't be quite as good, but stats a little bit below those would go a long way to making this team a real contender, as they'll need more power than just McCann and Beltran. Kelly Johnson probably won't be as good as even a 38-year-old Alex Rodriguez would've been, but he should be quite close - in 2012, A-Rod posted a 1.9 fWAR and a 113 wRC+ in 122 games, comparable to Johnson's 1.2 fWAR, 101 wRC+ 2013 season, in which he played 118 games.

Second base is a downgrade. There are no positives to be had there, no matter how you spin it. That is all.

Still, this could be a good offensive infield, with a great defensive bench player (Brendan Ryan) hopefully getting some reps later in games to preserve the leads that Jeter and a slugging Teixeira will have created. From where I'm sitting, it's not too unlikely that this happens. If the Yankees get a few breaks, this infield will be good enough offensively to push the Yankees over the top, carried mainly by the bats of Jeter and Tex.

Bottom line

Sure, things could go wrong. Things can always go horribly, horribly wrong. However, there are plenty of aspects of this team to be excited about: young, promising arms in the rotation, new faces in the outfield, a brand new catcher, the return of Mark Teixeira, and, the biggest story of the baseball year, the swan song for the Captain, No. 2, Derek Jeter.

But if most of the things listed above happen, the Yankees certainly have a legitimate shot at sending Jeter out in style with another World Championship. Frankly, after the man hit a home run for his 3,000^th hit, on his way to going five for five and helping the Yankees win a nail biter, it doesn't seem wise to bet against Jeter's fairy tale career ending without a proper finale.

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• What if it all goes right in 2014?
• Yankees injury updates: Ramirez, Nunez, Austin, Turley, Daley, Rondon
• Yankees 2, Pirates 8: 8th inning implosion
• Spring Training Game Three: Yankees vs. Pirates
• Ivan Nova has been flying under the radar early in camp
• Yankees Hot Stove: Could New York's catching depth land them one of Arizona's shortstops?

Yankees News

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: If the Yankees are still looking to add more rehabbing players, Ryan Madson and Joel Hanrahan could make sense.

The Record | Bob Klapisch: The Yankees are taking a big risk with their infield, but Stephen Drew could fix that.

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: With the question marks surrounding the Yankees rotation, Ivan Nova will be crucial.

NoMaas | Vizzini: Trading for Rickie Weeks might make some kind of sense.

The Record | Bob Klapisch:Derek Jeter discusses his stance on performance enhancing drugs.

New York Daily News | Anthony McCarron:David Ross talks about his former teammate Brian McCann.

It's About the Money | Michael Eder:Didi Gregorius would actually be a pretty decent trade acquisition.

The Times-Tribune | Donnie Collins: Projecting the Triple-A outfield in 2014.

USA Today | Bob Nightengale: Derek Jeter needs to thrive in his final season, not just get through it.

MLB.com | Barry M. Bloom: Ichiro Suzuki enters the season in a very unfamiliar role as a bench player.

Pinstripe Pundits | Chris Mitchell: Finding a player who is comparable to J.R. Murphy.

O blessed mute button, do not fail me

FOX Sports had a crisis on its hands last Fall. Ol' Tim McCarver finally realized that his time actually passed years ago and it was time to leave the broadcast booth; he had to move on to bigger and greater cardboard box festivals, after all. So who could possibly join New York's favorite, Joe Buck, for the lead Saturday Games of the Week, the All-Star Game, and the playoffs on FOX? The answer was rumored throughout the off-season, and Jason McIntyre's report at The Big Lead all but confirms it: Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci.

Verducci's been a talented Sports Illustrated writer for years, and it's hard to quibble with his merit other than minimal broadcast experience. That's not a big deal though--Verducci should be fine. On the other hand, those who don't get MLB Network or watch much non-game content on MLB.com might have forgotten about Reynolds for the better part of the past decade. Prior to that, he was with ESPN on Baseball Tonight for 10 years, until a very suspicious hug or whatever got him fired following the 2006 season. He joined MLB.com shortly after that, appearing in videos online until MLB Network went live in 2009 and he became one of its lead analysts.

Unfortunately, most of his #analysis does not include well-formed arguments and in some cases, contains misinformation. The "MLB Now" show on MLBN that pits Reynolds's "old school" ideas against Brian Kenny's "new school" thinking makes neither look good since I'm sure both sides exaggerate their stances to extremes to create more of a divide in opinion. It's lovely. Now though, it seems that Reynolds is moving on to a far more prominent stage on one of the primary television networks. They could have hired someone far more competent, but alas. At least we get to keep Coney and Singleton on YES, I suppose.

To celebrate Reynolds's near-official promotion, here are some of his best gems from the past season, courtesy of the Twitter account "Heard on MLB Tonight" with a hat tip to Lana Berry for pointing out some of the greatest:

I'm being straight up honest. I have no idea what run differential is. - Harold Reynolds

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) May 23, 2013

You're "whack" if you don't believe in batting average as the best indicator of production, says Harold Reynolds.

— Anthony Witrado (@awitrado) May 28, 2013

"The A's aren't walking a lot." - Harold Reynolds (they lead MLB in walk rate)

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) June 14, 2013

Chris Carter rips bases loaded double. "See, the Astros got two runs because they bunted this inning." - Harold Reynolds @HeardOnMLBT

— Mark (@TooGooden16) June 13, 2013

"I see a right fielder who's going to give me great defense." - Harold Reynolds on Nelson Cruz

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) August 7, 2013

"Well actually since I'm going through my values, I have to say Brandon Phillips is the MVP now that I think about it." - Harold Reynolds

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) August 28, 2013

"Every time the Rays have 1st and 3rd, what do they do? They squeeze bunt." - Harold Reynolds (the Rays have done this one time this season)

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) August 15, 2013

I've seen [Dozier] on video, and he reminds me of Troy Tulowitzki. - Harold Reynolds

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) June 6, 2013

"I don't give a flip if my 2nd hitter has a low OBP." - Harold Reynolds (h/t @GeneMorris)

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) August 29, 2013

@HeardOnMLBT "I'm surprised nobody picked up Yuniesky Betancourt to play SS" - Harold Reynolds

— Michael Kogler (@KCsportsaholic) April 27, 2013

There needs to be a stat for assisted Rbi's -Harold Reynolds @HeardOnMLBT

— Felipe Cancun (@FCancun) September 24, 2013

Get pumped. Bless you, mute button.

"Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about." - Harold Reynolds

— Heard on MLB Tonight (@HeardOnMLBT) August 31, 2013

What will the American League East look like? or East Coast Bias comes to TCB!

This week we'll be looking at the juggernaut that is the AL East, the most competitive division in baseball. Can the Red Sox repeat? Will the Yankees continue to slide? Will the Rays 'surprise' everyone? Will the Orioles' young pitching come through? Will Blue Jays fans continue to regret being Blue Jays fans?

Overview

It's looking like a two team race with Boston and Tampa Bay. The Yankees made some nice additions this offseason signing Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka, and Carlos Beltran, but the losses of Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte might be too much to overcome.

While the Orioles will also be competitive, the lack of offseason improvements to their pitching staff will hurt unless star prospects like Dylan Bundy break out, although Nelson Cruz is a nice boost to their already potent lineup.

The Blue Jays bold attempt to win it all last season fizzled out terribly, and unless the guys they signed like R.A. Dickey and Jose Reyes return to All Star form, it looks like the Jays have largely ran out of bullets in a loaded division.

The favorite

Boston. While the most popular pick will be the ever-fashionable Rays (with good reason), Boston's combination of good veterans with solid, young, big-league ready prospects will be hard to beat.

The loss of Jacoby Ellsbury will hurt, but a full season of talented Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. will likely come close to making up that deficit in wins. The Red Sox also have a ton of good young pitching in their farm system who could contribute in 2014.

This is a team that won the World Series last year and also has one of the top farm systems in the game. Unless this is the year where David Ortiz finally breaks down then Boston continues to be an organization with no weaknesses.

The next favorite

Tampa Bay has a great team and could very well win it all next year. They continue to have some of the best young talent in the game and a seemingly never-ending supply of young pitching prospects that contribute to the big-league team. Wil Myers is looking like the second coming of Vladimir Guerrero and will contribute for a full season, and they even kept David Price around because no one wanted to pay them fair market value for a young, left-handed ace in his prime.

The only problem with the Rays' wealth of young talent is that young players are often volatile. Volatility could push them to 98 wins but it could just as easily swing the other way and stick them with 91 wins. Good enough for the wild card but probably not good enough to beat the Red Sox in the division. Health is also another issue that could creep up during the season. If all the cards fall into place the Rays could be World Series contenders. If not? They might get knocked out of the first round of playoff games.

The wild card

The Orioles have an awesome lineup. Will their pitching be good enough? This is the one team in the division that has the most possible outcomes. A few injuries to key players and some bad pitching could put them close to .500. If Chris Davis has another MVP season and Dylan Bundy comes up throwing gas? They could be playoff contenders, and even have an outside shot of winning the division with some luck. A lot depends on their prospects.

The last place team

Is there any way it isn't the Blue Jays? Their big gamble to try and win it all last season was admirable, but it went about as badly as possible. The bright side is if they decide to blow it all up Astros style then they have some very tradeable big league pieces. They're not necessarily a "bad" team, but an underachieving roster and mediocre play won't cut it in baseball's most competitive division. GM Alex Anthopoulos needs a new plan.

I actually am not really sure what they're doing

To the Yankees. There are only about 5 other second basemen in the league that are comparable to Robinson Cano. They are Matt Carpenter, Dustin Pedroia, Ben Zobrist, Jason Kipnis, and Chase Utley. You could argue that a couple of those guys aren't even comparable and just had good seasons. Certainly Chase Utley isn't getting any younger, although he continues to be a top performer.

Why let Cano walk? It's understood that the Yankees were trying to spend less and get under the luxury tax threshold, but when you're talking about your infield anchor, the best player in the game at a premium position, and a guy that thrives playing in your city, you should shell out the money. The Yankees opted to go over the luxury tax threshold anyway when they signed Masahiro Tanaka, and he's an unknown at the major league level.

The Yankees' infield next season will be old Mark Teixeira, old Brian Roberts, old Derek Jeter, and Kelly Johnson. With that infield, they basically have a puncher's chance at competing to get into the playoffs, and they would have to be carried there on the backs of Ellsbury and Tanaka.

Look, the Yankees are not shying away from big free agent contracts. They're not taking a year off to sell off some assets and rebuild. They're not even going under the luxury tax, they're just continuing to be the Yankees. But if they're going to just continue to be the Yankees then they need to BE the Yankees. Embrace what they are, be the evil empire. The Yankees just got outbid by the Mariners. Would George Steinbrenner have let that happen? This team needs to remind us all why we hated them in the first place.

Best offseason move

Brian McCann by the Yankees. Great fit for a team that gets a good player at a premium position. The deal might not look that great five years down the road (like every other Yankee contract) if McCann's body breaks down, but for now it's a solid fit.

Worst offseason move

Yankees letting Robinson Cano leave to Seattle. It made some sense given that the team was able to sign Ellsbury for much less, but it's easier to find wins in the outfield than at second base. Cano also has a much better track record of staying healthy than both Ellsbury and McCann, and especially Beltran. You get what you pay for.

Division MVP

It's tempting to go with Crush Davis, but it's very likely he regresses after a monster year. Evan Longoria had a great season last year and is more likely to sustain his performance. Longoria's .312 BABIP compared to Davis' BABIP of .336 looks favorable. Unlike Davis, Longoria also derives a lot of value from being a good defender and a premium position. If he stays healthy Longoria could have another monster year and help the Rays to the playoffs.

Predicted finish

1) Boston

2) Tampa Bay

3) Baltimore

4) New York

5) Toronto

The Yankees opened up Grapefruit League play with two losses to the Pirates in both Bradenton and Tampa. Today, the team will travel to Lakeland, Florida, to take on the Tigers in a split squad matchup. It means very little for the Yankees, who don't have another game for the other half of their squad to attend today. A trio of newbies – Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Brian McCann– are expected to make the trip. Top prospect Gary Sanchez is slated to DH and bat ninth. Adam Warren gets the start for New York opposite Max Scherzer for Detroit.

Today's bench includes Austin Romine (C), Francisco Arcia (1B), Yangervis Solarte (2B), Addison Maruszak (SS), Zelous Wheeler (3B), Jose Pirela (LF), Ramon Flores (CF), Antoan Richardson (RF). Replacement designated hitters include Jose Gil, Peter O`Brien, Corban Joseph, Adonis Garcia, and Mason Williams.

The bullpen will include Shawn Kelley, Preston Claiborne, Danny Burawa, Mark Montgomery, Brian Gordon, Fred Lewis, Dellin Betances, Chase Whitley, and Bruce Billings. Caleb Cotham, Zach Nuding, and Diego Moreno have been called up from minor league camp.

Like many spring training games, today's game won't be televised. You can follow along on Gameday and listen to the audio on MLB.tv, in addition to following along in the comments below.

In their split squad match up against the Tigers, the Yankees showcase the long ball.

Although this game means little in the grand scheme of the spring, partly because only half of their team was present and many of the players were lower level prospects, it's still nice to see when they perform nicely; it gives fans high hopes of both the immediate future and the long term.

The game, pitching wise, was flooded with an armada of young arms. The game was started by Adam Warren who pitched two innings of scoreless ball and recorded two hits, two walks, and a strikeout. On Detroit's end, the game was started by none other than AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer who allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts. That one run and one hit was indeed the first home run, hit by new backstop Brian McCann; that's definitely nice to see. The scoring continued in the following inning for the Yankees, where Yankee top prospect Gary Sanchez hit  the team's second home run, a solo shot.

Scoring quieted for both teams from the bottom of the third through the sixth inning. Shawn Kelley, Mark Montgomery, Ken Burawa, and Fred Lewis recorded four scoreless for the Yankees, and Jose Ortega, Phil Coke, and Luis Marte put together three scoreless innings for the Tigers until the scoring began once again in the seventh. The home runs continued, as the Yankees scored five runs on two blasts: a two-run home run from Jose Pirela and a three-run home run from Yangervis Solarte. They're both definitely candidates for infield depth, so those are some good signs. Going into the bottom of the seventh, it appeared that the Yankees were completely in control as they led by seven, until one half-inning later.

In the bottom half of the seventh, the Tigers scored four runs on a: Ben Guez RBI single, a Steven Moya RBI single, and a John Murrian RBI double. All four runs were scored off of Brian Gordon, a former Yankee from 2011 who played in Korea from 2012 to 2013 and was picked up again by the Yankees on a minor-league deal in December. The scoring subsided after that. Chad Green and Corey Knabel recorded scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the Tigers, and Chase Whitley and Preston Claiborne did the same to close out the game for the Yankees.

Tomorrow is the spring training game everybody has been waiting for. The Yankees will be facing the Philadelphia Phillies at GMS Field, and Joe Girardi will give outings to CC Sabathia (who will start the game), Hiroki Kuroda, and Masahiro Tanaka. All eyes will be on Tanaka to see how he performs in his first spring training game with the team. I'm pretty excited. The game starts at 1 PM and will be aired on MLB.tv and the YES Network.

Box Score.

Just remember: At this point in the season, it's not about the results.

Some days being aggressive on the base paths pays off and some days it doesn't. It didn't Friday when the Tigers dropped a 7-4 Grapefruit League game to the Yankees, but that's not really a concern for new Tigers manager Brad Ausmus.

"I told (third base coach Dave Clark) in spring not only do we need to know what these guys can do, but they need to find out what they can do," Ausmus said. "That was a situation where Clarky wouldn't have done that if it was April. But we know going in we were going to have this aggressive style in spring training and not fault someone for getting thrown out or taking a chance. That applies to Clarky, too."

Four plays in particular come to mind: The first when Miguel Cabrera saw the third baseman shying too far from the bag when Victor Martinez walked in the first inning. Cabrera was thrown out at third. After doubling in the third, Torii Hunter tried to score on a single by Cabrera, but he was thrown out on a close play at the plate. In the sixth, Steven Moya tried to turn a single into a double when the ball went off the glove of a diving Yankees left fielder. He, too, was thrown out. Finally, in the eighth, Eugenio Suarez was thrown out at home on a throw by the Yankees right fielder.

"We want them to take chances now," Ausmus said. "You hope that creates kind of an overall mentality of baserunning for the team that we're always trying to go the extra 90 or 180 feet.

"It gets refined as players understand what they can or can't do. Third day of spring training exhibition games? Let's go after them. Let's force them to make the play and they made the plays today."

The Yankees, or at least a minor-league facsimile of players wearing the jerseys, meanwhile showed off a bit of power with a pair of home runs that landed on the berm, another that hit the wall of the batting cages beyond right field, and one that snuck just a bit over the right field fence.

Brian McCann -- that was the long homer -- hit a 2-0 pitch off Tigers starter Max Scherzer in the second inning.

"Anything can happen in your first time out," Scherzer said. "You can practice all you want, you can face life BPs, until you get on the mound facing opposing hitters in live game situations, nothing really matters," Scherzer said. "This is when you actually get a feel for what you've been working on this whole offseason and what it's like in game situations. You can come out here and walk the house or you come in and be dominant. You just never know what's going to happen at this point."

Scherzer's final line: One hit, one run, two strikeouts and seven batters faced.

Better news is that Scherzer felt pretty good about all his pitches.

"I really thought I was pitching with four pitches today. You don't anticipate having a feel for all four the first ime you go out. I'm in a really good position right now to have a feel for all of my offspeed pitches."

That's certainly good news for now, but it would be better news if it were his last start before the regular season, Ausmus said.

"I've seen it come and go," said the 18-year catcher. "The key is you hope when you get to the final start of spring all pitches have kind of been honed in and you're ready to go into the season ready to command them all. but it will still escape them once in a while, where they won't have one of the pitches."

Scherzer stressed the need for consistency rather than results at this point.

"You don't put stock in any results," Scherzer said. "You look at the process. And the process is trying to get all your pitches how you want to execute them, trying to attack the zone and throw first pitch strikes, and locate your fastball. When you're able to do that, that's a success."

What will the Rockies do with Tom Kahnle?

The Yankees lost five players back in December during the Rule 5 Draft. In the minor league portion, the Reds took Mikey O'Brien, the Astros selected Ravel Santana, Felipe Gonzalez went to the Pirates, and Kelvin Castro was drafted by the Marlins. None of those players will be offered back to the Yankees, so there's no reason to worry about them any longer.

In the major league portion of the draft, players can be offered back to their original team if they don't stay on the active roster all season. Tom Kahnle, selected by the Colorado Rockies, could still make it back to the Yankees, depending on how spring training shakes out, so he's at least worth keeping in mind.

Before the draft, the Yankees saved Jose Campos, Shane Greene, Gary Sanchez, Slade Heathcott, and Bryan Mitchell by adding them to the 40-man roster. Of those left out who were eligible, it was believed that at least one of Kahnle, Danny Burawa, and Chase Whitley would be taken. With Kahnle gone, the other two were invited to spring training, and Whitley has a real chance of making the team. Kahnle, now with the Rockies, could do the same.

Drafted in the 5th round of the 2010 draft, Kahnle reached Double-A Trenton after four years as a professional. During that time, he impressed with a 12.0 K/9 out of the bullpen, but also showed control issues with a 5.2 BB/9. The Yankees decided to protect Greene after he improved his control from a 5.1 BB/9 in 2012 to 1.7 BB/9 in 2013. With Kahnle's control possibly heading the wrong way, the Yankees left him to chance, knowing that he could always come back to them.

In the end, it will all come down to what's going on in Rockies camp. Since I write about the Yankees and have no expert insight into what is going on in Rockies camp, I went to Jeff Aberle, the managing editor for SB Nation's Purple Row, to find out what he thought about Kahnle's chances of making the roster:

Kahnle is, in my mind, a long man in the pen or maybe a serviceable set up man at his realistic ceiling. If the Rockies decide to keep eight relievers out of camp, he's a contender to be in that slot. I think this is unlikely though, given the team's depth at relief pitcher (such as former Yankee Boone Logan) and a number of pitchers without minor league options (like Franklin Morales). Being a Rule 5 pick, Kahnle has to stay on the 25 man roster or DL all year, so I think that if he breaks camp with the team he'll stay the whole year unless he's actively hurting the team's chances to win.

It seems that if Kahnle makes the team out of spring training, he's going to make it through the year. If they go with a seven-man bullpen, LaTroy Hawkins, Boone Logan, and Rex Brothers are the three locks to make the team. Then there's the recently acquired Franklin Morales, and Adam Ottavino, Rob Scahill, and Wilton Lopez, who have been on the team through the last few seasons. That's seven potential relievers right there. Kahnle might be on the outside looking in now, but a strong performance this spring, among any number of factors, could put him into a better position for a roster spot.

Should we be rooting for him to fail over the next month? Continued control problems could lead the Rockies to give him back, but in that case, what would the Yankees really be winning? A 24-year-old middle reliever who can walk an entire Double-A lineup? Even if he makes it with the Rockies, his control issues could crop up and cause them to pull the plug. The best we can hope for is Kahnle coming out, doing what he does best, and seeing whether or not the Rockies decide to take him with them to start the season.

I believe that the Yankees could use someone like Kahnle, if he can improve his control. I hope that he comes back to the Yankees and I think there's a good chance that he will because there are just too many factors to consider for a player who isn't allowed to spend any time in the minors. It's just a matter of what the Rockies think.

Matt Thornton is the new LOOGY in town for the Yankees. He's an aging player with declining skills, but the Yankees have plenty of options behind him should he falter.

For the past four seasons the Yankees have had the luxury of a relatively young, cheap, and effective left-handed arm in the bullpen. That luxury went away when Boone Logan signed for more money and purpler pastures in Colorado during the off-season. To replace him, the Yankees have signed one-time All-Star Matt Thornton to be the go-to lefty in the bullpen. The problem is, Thornton is a pitcher who is clearly in decline. His average fastball velocity has decreased in each of the last four seasons and hitters are beginning to feast on him because of it. Last year he surrendered hits at the highest rate of his career and combined it with a career-low strikeout rate. It may not be long before he loses his billing as top lefty in the Yankee bullpen.

So, what are the Yanks to do if Thornton is a dud in 2014? Well, if Brian Cashman has proven one thing in his more recent tenure as Yankees GM, it's that he has a deep reservoir of talented relief arms that can contribute at the big league level if needed. Here's the list of in-house LOOGY candidates:

Cesar Cabral - A two-time Rule 5 draft pick, Cabral has bounced around the minor leagues since 2008. The Yankees acquired him in 2012, but due to injury he didn't appear in any games that year. He had a cup of coffee with the big boys last September and pitched well in eight brief appearances. Management will likely give him a good, long look this spring in Tampa.

Manny Banuelos - At one time he was the Yankees' top pitching prospect and was a top 50 prospect overall according to MLB.com in 2010. However, he missed all of last year recovering from Tommy John surgery. He's been a starter for his entire minor league career but there have been whispers that he could break camp as a big league bullpen arm. At just 22 years old though, the best, and most likely, scenario has him re-building his strength in the minor league rotation to start the year.

Vidal Nuno - Picked up off the scrap heap by the Yankees in 2011, he impressed in spring training last year and was called up to make three spot starts and a couple of relief appearances before being shut down for the year with a groin injury. The Yankees probably don't want him in a lefty specialist role since he may have more value as an emergency starter, but weirder things have happened.

Fred Lewis - A non-roster invitee who's been in the Yankees system since 2010. He got his first taste of AAA last year and has been groomed as a reliever his entire minor league career. He has proven his ability to strike batters out, but control has been an issue. His chances of breaking into the big leagues depend on his ability to tame his wild arm at AAA this year.

Francisco Rondon - Another non-roster invitee who has been groomed as a reliever since being signed by the Yankees. His strikeout and hit rates have impressed, but like Fred Lewis he also struggles with command of his stuff. However, having spent time in AAA over the past two seasons he might work his way onto the 40-man roster with an impressive spring. He's not off to a great start though--Joe Girardi said that Rondon is going to be shut down "for a couple weeks" due to a shoulder issue.

Nik Turley - As the third to last pick in the 2008 draft, Turley is a veteran of the Yankees minor league system. He crept his way into AAA last year with one appearance for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so his logical progression takes him to the big club either this year or next. Like Nuno, his best value probably lies in an emergency starter role, but he's got a funky delivery and has struggled against right handed hitters, so a LOOGY role might be more realistic for him.

Who's your pick as next lefty up in the pen?

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• Can the Yankees get Rule 5 Draft pick Tom Kahnle back from the Rockies?
• Yankees 7, Tigers 4: All the home runs
• Spring Training Game Four: Yankees vs. Tigers
• Harold Reynolds will reportedly replace Tim McCarver on FOX; the nation shudders
• Cashman not concerned about Jeter and Teixeira

Yankees News

Batting Leadoff | Nadav Senensieb: Last season the Yankees sat at home while the Pirates were in the playoffs, but based on their offseason moves, things might be different come October.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: How will Joe Girardi manage the new replay system?

Pinstripe Pundits | Chris Mitchell: Can Brian Roberts actually contribute something this season?

New York Post | Ken Davidoff: The Yankees still need Derek Jeter to play well, even if it's his last season.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Michael Pineda will throw a simulated game on Sunday and Jose Ramirez has been shut down with another oblique injury.

NoMaas | Vizzini: The Yankees made a good call going with a cheap bullpen.

The Times-Tribune | Donnie Collins: Projecting the Triple-A bullpen in 2014.

It's About the Money | Michael Eder: How well will Shawn Kelley do for the Yankees in 2014?

Pinstripe Pundits | Chris Mitchell: Figuring out who is comparable to Tyler Austin.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: Gary Sanchez believes he can still make it on the Yankees, even with Brian McCann on the team.

Here's a very early guess as to what the Yankees' 25-man roster will look like come Opening Day.

After a long off-season, exhibition games have finally begun; thus, players and pitchers have started to get their feet wet in actual contests, even if said contests don't actually count. Either way, we're a little over one month away from real, meaningful baseball, so, with that, I will take a crack at what the Yankees' 25-man roster will look like come Opening Day in Houston. Obviously, this is an extremely early guess, but, if anything, this post is meant to create discussion while giving everyone a better look at the roster, so here it goes.

The guarantees

Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, Brian Roberts, Kelly Johnson, Brendan Ryan, Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova, David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, Matt Thornton

The title here pretty much speaks for itself. Barring injury, these players are guaranteed to make the Opening Day roster. Some of these players (Brian Roberts) are more prone to injury than others, of course.

The almost guarantees

Ichiro Suzuki, Francisco Cervelli

It is very likely, come April 1^st, that these two will be on the Opening Day roster. However, given the excessive depth at outfield and catcher, there is always the off-chance that one, or both, of these two will be traded. If not, Ichiro will be the team's fifth outfielder and Cervelli, who no longer has any minor-league options, is set to be the backup catcher.

The third base platoon

Eduardo Nunez, Scott Sizemore, Russ Canzler

Brian Cashman said the team will go with a platoon at third base. Although they're both non-roster invitees, I feel Sizemore has the edge over Canzler for this spot since he's younger, has more upside, and is a better defender at third. Really, it comes down to Nunez and Sizemore.

The fifth starter competition

Michael Pineda, David Phelps, Adam Warren, Vidal Nuno

Unless something catastrophic happens to this entire quartet of pitchers, one of these said pitchers will be the team's fifth starter. Two others, presumably, while be shifted to the big league bullpen, and the fourth could be sent to Triple-A as a starter.

Fighting for a bullpen spot

Preston Claiborne, Cesar Cabral, Dellin Betances, Jose Ramirez, Mark Montgomery, Chase Whitley, Matt Daley, other non-roster invites

To me, this competition comes down between Claiborne, Cabral, and Betances, two of whom will be in the big leagues with the third sent to Scranton. The others either have more to prove in the minors or are non-roster guys and have little chance to make it to begin with.

Minor league depth

Dean Anna, Zoilo Almonte, John Ryan Murphy, Austin Romine

All four of these players are at least relatively young, offer some upside (some more than others), and are on the 40-man, but are assured to start the year in Triple-A barring injury or a trade of someone else. Although he has gotten some hype since being acquired, there just isn't a spot on the roster open to Anna at the moment given the team's guarantees around the infield. However, Anna could very well get his chance this summer when Roberts and/or Jeter go down due to injury.

The final prediction

Catcher: McCann, Cervelli

First base: Teixeira

Second base: Roberts

Shortstop: Jeter, Ryan

Third base: Johnson, Sizemore

Outfield: Gardner, Ellsbury, Beltran, Soriano, Ichiro

Rotation: Sabathia, Kuroda, Tanaka, Nova, Pineda

Bullpen: Robertson, Kelley, Thornton, Claiborne, Cabral, Phelps, Warren

Some parting thoughts

Taking a look at the full roster, it appears as though the only real question among position players is the platoon job at third, while everyone else is essentially a guarantee. We know Johnson will fill the left-handed portion of that platoon, but it'll most likely come down to Nunez and Sizemore for the second portion.

Despite the narrative suggesting otherwise, the Yankees really have lost patience with Nunez in recent seasons. They first demoted him to the minors in 2012 after he continued to show he can't handle the shortstop position before returning as a September call-up. Then, just last season, they moved him off of short entirely in September in favor of all-glove, no-hit Brendan Ryan. This season also happens to be Nunez's final year of pre-arbitration status, so he could very well be shown the door, like Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix were this past off-season, following 2014. If Sizemore stays healthy, he should be on the roster in favor of Nunez come Opening Day.

The competition for the fifth starter spot appears to be pretty close, but, in reality, Michael Pineda should have the inside track on the job given his upside, even after his 2012 shoulder surgery. If he's healthy and is able to show that he's even reasonably effective, he will be in the team's starting rotation come April. If the Yankees don't think he's ready for the big leagues, he'll either be starting in Scranton or on the disabled list with an injury.

Assuming Pineda gets the fifth starter spot, this moves Phelps and Warren to the bullpen. Girardi recently said that both will make the team in some capacity, so it's not like they'll be sent to Triple-A and stretched out to start if they don't make the big club. It'll either be one of these two in the rotation with the other in the bullpen, or it'll be both of the two in the bullpen.

By having Pineda in the rotation with Phelps and Warren in the bullpen, this gives the two of the Claiborne/Cabral/Betances trio to fight it out for the remaining bullpen slots. As of now, I cautiously have Claiborne and Cabral in with Betances sent to Triple-A; I have a feeling the Yankees will want to go with the more experienced guy in Claiborne and a match-up lefty in Cabral. Honestly, this is the one prediction I hope I'm wrong with, because I want to see what Betances can bring to the table at the big league level. It's time for the Yankees to see what they have with Betances, and he certainly has the upside of a dominant, late-inning reliever, something the Yankees could certainly use.

Brett Gardner is one of the game's best defensive outfielders, but history suggests he may not be able to keep it up as he enters into his thirties.

Last week, the Yankees locked up their third outfielder of the winter when they signed Brett Gardner to a four-year, $52 million dollar contract extension. The deal covers 2015-2018, Gardner's age 31-34 seasons. So far, Gardner's tenure with the Yankees has been a productive one. Since he broke in in 2008, he's been worth 17.8 WAR per Fangraphs, and even eclipsed the six-win mark with his excellent 2010 campaign. Gardner's a decent hitter -- roughly league average over his career, but most of his value comes from his legs. He's amassed 65 runs above average in defense (UZR + positional adjustment) and has added 30 more with his work on the base paths. No doubt, his speed has been a weapon these past few years, but there's reason to question whether it will continue as Gardner enters into his thirties.

Defensive value tends to peak very early in a player's career. At age 30, it's probably safe to say that Gardner will never again be as good of a defender as he is right now. In fact, the days of Gardner playing elite defense may have already passed us by.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, last year's stats indicate he may be slowing down. His defensive metrics, base running metrics, and plain old stolen base totals all trended in the wrong direction last season. None of these stats are incredibly meaningful in just a one year sample, but it's concerning that they all tell the same story. It's even more concerning when you consider that Gardner missed all of 2012. That means it's been three years now since he's stolen more than 24 bases or logged a gaudy defensive metric. Still, even if he is no longer elite, he's at least very good in the outfield and on the bases. But can we expect it continue?

I decided to look at past elite defensive outfielders to see how their defense has held up through their early thirties. To give Gardner the benefit of the doubt, I did not consider his uncharacteristically pedestrian 2013 season. Instead, going back to 1990, I looked at players who had elite outfield defensive numbers from ages 25 to 27 -- as Gardner did before his injury in 2012. I used fielding plus positional adjustment, which addresses the fact that Gardner's spent significant time in both left and center field.

The players captured by these filters include: Gardner, Ken Griffey, Jr., Andruw Jones, Darin Erstad, Franklin Gutierrez, Kenny Lofton, Sammy Sosa, Torii Hunter, Mike Cameron, Marquis Grissom, Aaron Rowand, Mark Kotsay, Coco Crisp, Michael Bourn, Rondell White, Barry Bonds, Chris Singleton, and Darren Bragg.

Tracking this group through age 29, we see that, like Gardner, they experienced a pretty marked drop-off in their defensive metrics. Unfortunately, their numbers continued to descend further into mediocrity as they slogged through their thirties.

Note: For players younger than 34, I only considered the years they've played.

By age 31, the age at which Gardner's extension starts, just 40% (6 out of 15) were even above average on defense. Michael Bourn and Franklin Gutierrez, who will be playing their age 31 seasons in 2014, are only included through the age-30 proportion. The subsequent years consider the remaining 15 players.

Throwing out Bourn and Gutierrez as well as Chris Singleton, who was all but out of baseball by age 31, this group averaged about 7 runs below average from ages 31-34. Not all of them aged equally -- not even close. Kenny Lofton held up extremely well and actually remained solid on defense until he left the game at age 40. He's definitely the exception, though, as others completely cratered -- Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., and Rondell White were just about ready for full-time DH duty by the time their 34th birthdays rolled around.

Note: Coco Crisp has not yet played his age 34 season.

Obviously, some of these players are better comps than others. Just going by size, I'd say Gardner's more Kenny Lofton than Barry Bonds. Still, it's a little concerning that 10 out of 14 players who were elite at age 27 were already below average by their early thirties.

Gardner's a solid player right now, but if history is any indication, that may no longer be the case in three or four years. Very few players are blessed with defensive chops like Gardner has -- and those that are generally lose them once they pass the big 3-0. Hopefully Gardner can buck that trend, because when you take away Gardner's plus defense, he looks an awful lot like a fourth outfielder -- generally not the type of player you lock up for $13 million dollars a year.

Masahiro Tanaka makes his Yankees' (spring training) debut.

CC Sabathia will get the start for the Yankees in the fifth game of spring training, but all eyes will be on Masahiro Tanaka. The Yankees' newest starting pitcher will make his spring training debut as the Yankees take on the Phillies in Tampa.

Available off the bench for the Yankees will be John Ryan Murphy (C), Jose Gil (1B), Addison Maruszak (2B), Dean Anna (SS), Yangervis Solarte (3B), Zoilo Almonte (LF), Antoan Richardson (CF) and Adonis Garcia (RF). Francisco Arcia, Peter O'Brien, Gary Sanchez, Jose Pirela, Zelous Wheeler and Jose Flores are available to DH. In addition to Tanaka and Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda is also scheduled to pitch as are Cesar Cabral and Dellin Betances. Robert Coello, Yoshinori Tateyama and Chris Leroux may also come out of the bullpen. David Buchanan will start on the mound for the Phillies.

The game can be seen on YES as well as on MLB Network.

Blue Jays 9 Orioles 7

What You Need To Know

• Drew Hutchison looked great on his road back from Tommy John surgery striking out four batters. He blew through the first inning throwing exclusively low-90's fastballs, showing no nerves or mechanical issues. In the second inning he brought in his slider as well at 87MPH a few times, striking out J.J. Hardy with one. He also threw a wicked changeup to Matt Wieters, showing that he still has the feel for all three of his pitches. The fastball command was solid throughout the two innings and was a great statement appearance in his attempt to grab the last starting rotation spot.
• Chris Getz staked his claim for a legitimate look at the second base position this season with a nice defensive play in the first inning plus an easy triple in the second, a single in the fifth and a RBI double in the sixth as well as beating out a double play in the eighth. On the downside he got caught stealing on a bad call and dropped a very tough pop-up in the fourth inning, but I wouldn't hold either of those against him.
• *I would hold the error Chris Getz made in the eighth inning against him though seeing as it pretty well cost the Blue Jays the game.
• Jared Goedert had a nice at-bat following Getz's triple, driving him in with a RBI single.
• Marcus Stroman came in throwing heat alongside some nice looking sliders and changeups, although the radar gun on the TV broadcast went a little wild recording most of his pitches at 61 MPH. He surrendered a single and walk in the third inning, but the strike zone did get a little tight when he was throwing. He then gave up a double to Chris Davis on a hanging slider that drove in the two runners. He got out of the inning with a much better looking slider to Adam Jones. The Duke graduate came back out for the fourth flashing some nice changeups, but the command wasn't there for a lot of his pitches, allowing back-to-back singles before getting out of the inning by striking out the side.
• Ricky Romero came in and *GASP* couldn't throw strikes. The delivery was all sorts of awkward, but he laboured through the inning safely mainly because Baltimore hitters were swinging at pitches in the other batter's box.
• Anthony Gose had a RBI single in the sixth inning and then proceeded to steal second and third before being driven in by Chris Getz.
• Dan Johnson smashed a three-run homer over the right field wall in the sixth inning.
• Deck McGuire didn't look so great in his planned two innings of work, getting hit around in the eighth inning before exiting the game with the bases juiced and just one out on the board (he went 1.1 innings). Jordan Walden came in and let all of McGuire's baserunners score and loaded the bases himself before a bases clearing triple made it 9-7 Baltimore. The seven-run eighth inning is what lost the Blue Jays this game.
• The Blue Jays big league hitters didn't look that great today, with the reserve guys/Chris Getz getting the majority of the hits.

All in all a positive game for the Blue Jays with some fringe players making a statement that they deserve a shot at the big league squad. Tomorrow sees the Blue Jays host the New York Yankees in Dunedin. Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Jeremy Jeffress, and Chad Jenkins are expected to take the mound.

The Yankees' pitching combined for a shutout, but all eyes were on one pitcher in particular.

The fifth game of spring training saw the spring debuts of three Yankee starting pitchers. But one in particular was always going to get a majority of the attention. Masahiro Tanaka made his Yankee debut, throwing two scoreless innings. In addition to Tanaka, both CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda made their first appearances of the spring. Sabathia started the game with two scoreless innings, followed by Kuroda who threw two solid innings of his own. In all the Yankees' pitching combined to shut out the Phillies in a 4-0 win.

Sabathia got the start for the Yankees, allowing two hits and no runs in his two innings of work. (One hit coming off the bat of former Yankee Bobby Abreu.) Kuroda took the mound to start the third inning. Kuroda looked really good in his two innings of work. He allowed just one hit (which was immediately erased by a double play) and had one strike out.

On the offensive end, the top of Yankees' order loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third before Brian Roberts grounded out. However, an inning later, the Yankees did get on the board. Francisco Cervelli and Kelly Johnson both walked to start the inning. Ichiro Suzuki then singled, scoring Cervelli to make it 1-0. After the Yankees couldn't add more in the fourth, it was Tanaka time.

In his first inning of work, Tanaka allowed a lead off single, before getting two fly outs and a strike out to end the inning without any trouble.

The Yankees added another run in the bottom of the fifth, thanks partly to the Phillies' defense. Derek Jeter reached on an error to start the inning, after Cody Asche threw a grounder over the first baseman's head. After a Brian McCann walk, Roberts grounded into a force out at second. Cervelli then grounded to Asche at third. Asche booted the ball allowing Jeter to score, making it 2-0.

Tanaka's second inning of work included two strike outs (one coming on a nasty-looking splitter). In all, Tanaka went two innings, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out three.

After a scoreless seventh inning from Dellin Betances, the Yankees' reserves tacked on two more runs. Dean Anna led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. After Peter O'Brien flied out and Addison Maruszak struck out, John Ryan Murphy and Yangervis Solarte both walked to load the bases. Adonis Garcia then dropped a single into left, which scored two runs to make it 4-0.

Betances and Cesar Cabral combined to finish off the last three innings without any trouble and the Yankees came away with a 4-0 win.

The Yankees will play the Blue Jays tomorrow at 1:05 eastern.

Box score.