The story about Sprinz's 1939 attempt led to a connection with a PCL fan who clipped the story out of the newspaper and has held onto it for 75 years.

A few weeks ago, I began researching long forgotten stories about the Pacific Coast League (PCL) thinking I might pull them together in a book if I could find enough of them, and if I could find enough interest. I came across one such story that would definitely make the cut.

In 1939, on his 37th birthday, a catcher named Joe Sprinz, who played for the San Francisco Seals at the time, tried to set a new world record for the highest catch.

Knowing what I know about MiLB and its need for promotional stunts for survival purposes, part of me wonders if the Seals didn't put Sprinz up to this, but I couldn't find any evidence of that. But one source says the team arranged for someone on the Goodyear blimp to drop the ball from 800 feet in the air, so the Seals were at least partially involved in facilitating it. That same source describes what happened that day (click the story if you want to see a couple of photos):

He missed the first four balls, but on the fifth Sprinz angled his catcher's mitt in position to catch the hurtling sphere. The ball plummeting at an estimated 154 miles per hour smashed into his mitt, which according to the physicist, David Halliday, "slammed his glove hand into his face with such force that he broke his upper jaw in twelve places, fractured five of his teeth and [he] was rendered unconscious."

He also broke his nose and had lacerations to both his upper and lower lips.

That same story says he ended up in the Guinness World Records book, saying he holds the record for the world's highest catch. Another source says he did not catch the ball. A quick search of Sprinz's name or "highest catch" on the Guinness World Records website comes up with nothing baseball related.

As I was researching this story, I set a Google alert, which made me aware of an article in The County Leader by Paul Fugleberg in which he reminisces about growing up in Hollywood as a baseball fan during the heyday of the PCL, and some might say baseball in general. His article included these tidbits:

I still have the scrapbooks I compiled during that time. Among photos are: Lou Gehrig watching from the Yankee dugout after he voluntarily benched himself after playing in 2,130 consecutive games; catcher Joe Sprinz of the San Francisco Seals being tended to after attempting to catch a baseball dropped from a blimp 800 feet overhead - fractured jaw; Cincinnati third baseman Billy Myers, who was conked on the head by a thrown ball as he approached third base - slight concussion. He was safe, too.

So I sent him an email to talk minor league baseball and he responded, adding some wonderful background information about the era of baseball in which Sprinz attempted to set the new world record. Fugleberg grew up following the Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels of the PCL, attending games and listening on the radio.

Fugleberg is a former newspaper owner who retired in 1980. He still writes freelance articles for the Lake County Leader and The Daily Missoulian - both of which are Montana newspapers.

I'll get to his reasoning for clipping the story about Sprinz in a moment, but here's a little anecdotal history from Fugleberg's perspective as a PCL fan.

"One memorable game was in Hollywood when the public address system announcer informed the crowd that American planes had bombed the Japanese homeland," Fugleberg said. "The crowd roared. The war news up to that point had been mostly bad. A few months later I met one of the B-25 pilots from that raid, Ted Lawson, at church when he was visiting at a Sunday service."

Fugleberg easily remembered the names of players from both the Stars and Angels of that era.

"Among players I recall on Stars' teams were Frenchy Uhalt [who played for the Stars from 1938-‘42], Frank Kelleher [1944 and 1946-‘54], Rugger Ardizoia [two stints with the team - the late 1930s and late ‘40s], who pitched briefly with Yankees during the war, Gus (Ozark Ike) Zernial [1947 and 48], and Jim Baxes [1949 and ‘50], a third baseman whose trademark was firing the ball submarine style to first," Fugleberg said.

"Among LA Angels were outfielders Lou Novikoff [who played for the Angels in 1940 and ‘45], who moved up to the Cubs during the war, Johnny Moore [1930-'31 and 1938-‘45], Arnold (Jigger) Statz [who played 17 seasons with the Angels, on and off, starting in 1920], Rip Russell [six scattered seasons with the Angels from the mid-1930s to the mid-‘40s who also went on to play for the Stars], Eddie Sihocky [Fugleberg wasn't sure about the spelling and I couldn't confirm it one way or the other], and Stevie Mesner [1934-‘37]. Novikoff, incidentally occasionally would sing the national anthem at some of the games."

Okay, so why clip the story about Sprinz out of the newspaper and hang onto it for 75 years?

"No special reason for keeping the clipping other than I thought it was a dumb thing to do," Fugleberg said.

But as is often the case with baseball, the story became the catalyst for a trip down memory lane, so the clipping more than served its purpose.

Where does Adam Jones rank among the center fielders in the AL East?

As we continue our series comparing the AL East position-by-position, we take a look at center field. Top to bottom, one could argue that this division features some of the best players in the entire major leagues. Gold gloves, silver slugger awards, and high expectations can be associated with each of the following players, making it hard to distinguish who among them is the best.

1. Adam Jones - Baltimore Orioles

Jones' combination of offensive production and defensive prowess put the Orioles on the top of yet another positional list. In 2013, the San Diego native tallied a career-high in both home runs (33) and runners batted in (108) on his way to a silver slugger award. After recording only two errors last season, a career-best number, Jones also collected his third gold glove. Jones has only missed two games over the last two seasons, and at only 27 years old, the three-time All-Star is in the middle of his prime. One downside to Jones, however, is that he does not draw very many walks, leading to a low on-base percentage. If he continues to hit 30+ home runs, as he has over the past two seasons, a low OBP is something that Buck Showalter and the Orioles can live with.

2. Jacoby Ellsbury - New York Yankees

This past offseason, Ellsbury traded in his Red Sox uniform for some pinstripes when he signed a seven year, $153 million deal with the Yankees. Although Jones' recent deal with Orioles came at a bargain price (six years, $85 million) compared to Ellsbury's, they are both worth every penny. One of the premier center fielders in the majors, when healthy, the career .298 hitter will bring a new dimension to the top of the Yankees lineup that the team has lacked in Derek Jeter's declining years. Although he just turned 30 and his stats will eventually decline, Ellsbury has shown no signs, yet, as he led the league in stolen bases (52) for the third time in his career.

3. Colby Rasmus - Toronto Blue Jays

One of the most underrated players in baseball, Rasmus' reputation has not allowed him to gain the recognition he deserves. Once a top prospect of the St. Louis Cardinals, Rasmus had a falling out with then-manager Tony LaRussa, ultimately leading to his departure from the Gateway City. An uninspired first season with Toronto, coupled with a Cardinals World Series championship made Rasmus into a scapegoat, but the 27 year old has been on a tear since. Back-to-back 20 home run seasons lead me to believe that it is possible that, if healthy, Rasmus can continue to progress into the five-tool player that he was once projected to be.

4. Desmond Jennings - Tampa Bay Rays

Although he is only 27 years old, Jennings' slow progression to the majors is his downfall. While he is still young and can obviously can progress into a star, Jones and Rasmus have two or three years more experience than Jennings, despite being the same age. In his second full year at the major league level, and first year in center after the departure of BJ Upton, Jennings showed off a combination of power and speed, tallying 14 home runs and 20 stolen bases. By no means was it an easy task moving from the corner outfield position, but if he can improve defensively, Jennings will move up this list.

5. Jackie Bradley, Jr. - Boston Red Sox

Ranked by many as the top prospect in the Red Sox organization, Bradley, Jr., will have some large shoes to fill during his first full season in the majors. After splitting time between the show and Triple-A, Bradley, Jr., will try to replace the departed Ellsbury in center field. An absurd spring training led many to believe he would light the world on fire last season, but the rookie had a tough time adjusting to the majors, batting only .189 in 37 games played. Despite this, his .275 batting average out of the lead off spot for the PawSox shows he has the potential to be a star for many years to come. However, it may take time for the 24 year old speedster to develop into an all-star worthy of better mention on this list.

Francisco Cervelli has drawn plenty of attention from scouts so far in camp.

According to Chad Jennings of LoHud, "a few teams have been specifically scouting Francisco Cervelli as a potential trade target." Cervelli, who turned 28 years old just a few days ago, is out of minor league options and is slated to be the team's backup catcher once camp breaks. This is barring a trade, of course.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise at all that teams are scouting Cervelli, considering said teams (namely the White Sox and Brewers) have already done so with John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine. However, as Jennings notes, teams are specifically scouting the 28-year-old because he is out of options and another team could possibly trade their out-of-option player (say, an infielder) for the option-less Cervelli. Jennings doesn't mention the teams that were on hand to see Cervelli, but Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish notes that there is "lots of trade interest" for Cervelli, including from the White Sox.

If Cervelli gets dealt, the Yankees would have to decide between Murphy and Romine for the backup catcher's spot. Both are certainly capable, and legitimate cases could be made to have either one over the other break camp with the team, but that argument is moot at the moment since Cervelli is still with the team. That being said, the Yankees shouldn't just look to unload Cervelli for the sake of unloading him if the return is negligible. At the very least, having depth at an important position is a nice "problem" to have.

Sizemore's base salary is low, but there's the potential for him to make real money.

Grady Sizemore signed on with the Red Sox this off-season for a modest sum on a major-league contract. He was guaranteed $750,000 regardless of whether he made the team out of spring training or not, which is a couple hundred thousand dollars more than the major-league minimum, but there are incentives in the deal that could bring it up to $6 million total. WEEI's Rob Bradford has unearthed the full details of these incentives, so we can finally see what it is Sizemore has to do to earn the full value of the deal.

Were Sizemore to make the Opening Day roster, he would immediately get a $250,000 jump in his pay, putting his deal at an even $1 million. It doesn't matter, in this scenario, if he's the starting center fielder over top outfield prospect Jackie Bradley Jr., or if he's simply the fourth outfielder, spending his time on the bench: Making the Opening Day roster will earn him a larger paycheck. If he's healthy, then that's a likely scenario, as Sizemore is out of options and can't be sent to the minors.

Sizemore then has the opportunity to make up to another $1 million, based on his time spent on the active roster. It's similar to what Mike Napoli had to do in order to reach his full incentives in 2013 after his degenerative hip condition was discovered, albeit on a much smaller financial scale. If Sizemore can hit 60, 90, 120, and 150 days on the active roster for Boston, he'll earn $250,000 each time.

He also gets a quarter-million dollar bump for plate appearances -- this is the arena where being a starting outfielder, rather than a bench outfielder, matters for Sizemore's wallet. Every 25 plate appearances, starting at 225 of them and up through 500, Sizemore can pull in an additional $250,000, giving him the opportunity to rake in an extra $3 million overall from playing time. So, if he makes the Opening Day roster, spends 150 days on the active roster, and accrues 500 plate appearances, Sizemore will have earned $5 million, rather than his base of $750,000.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

There's another million bucks of incentives laying around, too, but it's all based on awards of one kind of another. He can make $50,000 here and there for an All-Star appearance, a Silver Slugger, or taking home ALCS MVP honors. There's $100,000 at stake for both the World Series and American League MVP awards, with lesser bonuses for runner-up finishes on the latter. The most believable of the bunch, since it entails actually sticking around and playing well rather than the rest of the team's performance, is $50,000 for winning AL Comeback Player of the Year.

Let's just say now, though, that if the Yankees' Derek Jeter remains healthy, it's his award to lose, just like it was for Mariano Rivera in his final campaign. Sorry, John Lackey, as well as maybe possible hey it could happen Grady Sizemore.

The full $6 million is difficult to attain, but, if Sizemore is healthy, pulling in $5 million seems like a breeze, so long as he gets the opportunity to start. Were he to make $5 million by year's end, it would tie for the third-most he's ever made in a season, matching the $5 million the Indians gave him as a free agent in 2012 as he attempted to work back from surgery. Sizemore wouldn't log a single plate appearance that year, but if he is to be paid this time around, he's going to have to rack them up.

As for how Sizemore's full contract would relate to Boston's overall payroll, there's no reason to worry: now that Ryan Dempster's $13.25 million has been cleared from the books with his placement on the restricted list, the Sox' luxury tax concerns are basically null. Cot's Contracts lists their payroll at $152 million in guaranteed deals. Throw in the roughly $10 million for players' benefits as well as another roughly $8-10 million for the pre-arb crew's cost, and Boston is still comfortably behind the $189 million mark for this year's Competitive Balance Tax, even if Sizemore makes every cent of his incentive-laden deal.

Suppose the Yankees want to try someone other than Eduardo Nunez as their backup infielder, but they don't want to completely cut ties with him yet. There's an out!

Figuring out which young players around baseball have options on them can be a challenge, but Tim Dierkes over at MLB Trade Rumors made the process much easier. Dierkes tracked down reliable sources for 30 MLB teams to determine who no longer had options remaining, and it turns out that from the Yankees only Ivan Nova and Francisco Cervelli are out of options. Since Nunez came up to the big leagues the same year as Nova in 2010, it was unclear whether or not Nunez had exhausted all of his options or not.

Fortunately, the Yankees still apparently have an option left on their beleaguered infielder, probably because he spent all of the 2011 and 2013 campaigns at the big league level with the exception of rehab stints. If they do not want to cut ties with him completely, then the option is thus a way to keep him in the organization while also trying a new backup infielder. To put it lightly, we have not been shy about our displeasure with Nunez, as readers around here likely know. Nunez has spent four seasons in the pros and for all the hype about his bat, he has simply not hit well enough at all to make up for his well-documented deficiencies in the field.

Overall, Nunez has hit .267/.313/.379 with an 86 wRC+, and last year, he hit almost exactly those numbers but a hair lower: .260/.307/.372, 83 wRC+. For all the talk about how he was supposed to be good against lefthanded pitching, he only hit .225/.279/.373 with a 75 wRC+ against them in 2013. If the Yankees don't trust lefty third baseman Kelly Johnson against lefty pitching, they clearly need to find a better platoon partner. Hell, they might not even need a platoon since Johnson batted a decent.291/.337/.349 with a 95 wRC+ against them in 2013, roughly league average for an infielder, and he has hit .276/.336/.434 with a 105 wRC+ against them for his career.

It's a struggle to determine in what way, shape, or form Nunez could actually help the Yankees' bench in 2014. The Yankees have tried to use Nunez as a legitimate bench option at numerous different times for four years in a row now without success. When the Yankees lost Derek Jeter for the majority of the season last year, it was Nunez's opportunity to demonstrate that he could pass as a bench option. Instead, he only played 90 games due to his own injuries, hit worse than the horribly-declining Rickie Weeks, finished among the 10 worst players in baseball by fWAR with at least 300 PA, and looked worse than ever in the field, where his once-decent range vanished. Veteran Brian Roberts is incredibly fragile at second base--what happens if/when he goes down due to injury? If Nunez is the backup, then it's likely that he would become the starter at either second or third base (with Johnson moving to his natural second). A player who struggled as badly as Nunez did in 2013 and for the rest of his career really has no business starting just because his swing occasionally looks nice. Nunez just doesn't bring anything to the bench, and the status quo just won't cut it in terms of infield depth.

Therefore, the Yankees should either DFA Nunez or exercise that last option they have on him to send him down for the start of the season. They need someone fresh with at least a little hope on their bench. The current alternatives to Nunez aren't extremely exciting, but they are worth exploring since the current plan has proved to be folly every year since 2010. There's the recovering Scott Sizemore, who missed most of the last two seasons with a torn ACL, but is not 30 and hit .245/.342/.399 with 1.6 fWAR in 2011 for the Tigers and Athletics. There's Dean Anna, who might be a 27-year-old career minor leaguer with Pacific Coast League-inflated numbers, but who is also already on the 40-man roster, displays nice plate discipline, and was a solid defender at second last year in Triple-A. There's also 27-year-old Yangervis Solarte, who has looked great in spring training thus far despite a couple disappointing years in the Rangers' organization. It would be a pleasant surprise to receive decent bench production out of any of these three alternatives, but they all at least provide a little more hope than Nunez.

The cliched quote about history is that those who don't learn from it are doomed to repeat it, but it certainly applies in this case. The history has proven that gambling on Nunez for a fifth straight year is unlikely to produce good results. Since the Yankees have a way to keep Nunez on the 40-man roster without losing him entirely as they seem to be afraid to, they should take advantage of this extra option. Even the easiest tactic of simply turning to Anna since he wouldn't require an extra move to bump him to the 40-man roster would be an acceptable attempt at improvement. The Yankees have utilized roster flexibility in the past to improve the team, and this is just one more way to do so and improve the team.

Andy Dirks is hardly a star and his injury doesn't rob the Tigers of a key part, but underscores what could be a fatal lack of outfield depth for the AL Central favorite.

Sometimes the problem with a surplus is that not only does it provide a false sense of security, it can also amplify the urgency when something goes terribly wrong. We see it often in rotations-teams get confident that they have enough pitching to last the season and trade arms to augment their roster, only to have injuries and regression make it difficult to fill a rotation (see, for example, last season's unexpectedly Billingsley-free Dodgers). It happens less often with position players because it's easier to hide a utility player's weaknesses than a starting pitcher's, but the Tigers have reached that point with outfielder Andy Dirks having been sidelined for back surgery.

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Having made deals -- good, defensible deals though they were -- that depleted their pile of outfielders, the Tigers are feeling the strain of shifting from too much outfield help last year to potentially needing to make a trade or raid the reject pile before the season starts. They are already on backup Plan C and the season hasn't even started.

Plan C might work, of course, but it's going to be ugly if they get to Plan D.

Last July, the Tigers were in the enviable position of having, if not too many outfielders, a supply roughly sufficient for their needs, with Austin Jackson, Avisail Garcia, Andy Dirks, Torii Hunter, Matt Tuiasosopo, and Don Kelly, the last of whom Jim Leyland considered a major leaguer for reasons that remain obscure. Knowing they had top prospect Nick Castellanos waiting in the minors to take over duties in left field for 2014, the organization felt it had enough insurance for their pasture at the trade deadline to move the 22-year-old prospect Garcia, a right fielder whose upside boasts power and credible defense, to the White Sox in a three-team trade that sent pitcher Jake Peavy to Boston and defensively-excellent shortstop Jose Iglesias to the Tigers, the acquisition being a necessity with a Biogenesis suspension and free agency looming over Jhonny Peralta.

Even without Garcia, a Castellanos-Jackson-Hunter outfield seemed strong enough for a contender, but the Prince Fielder trade further complicated things. Flipping Fielder and cash considerations to the Rangers for second baseman Ian Kinsler was an opportunity too good to pass up for the Tigers, allowing them to shore up three positions at once. Miguel Cabrera's two years at the hot corner were spent nursing injuries and playing through pain, something that became more evident with every belabored waddle after bunts and soft grounders. It wasn't clear how much longer the organization could ask Cabrera to suffer (or suffer his poor defense, which cost them 18 runs last season, according to Defensive Runs Saved). With Cabrera back at first, that forced the Tigers to move Castellanos, Plan A for left field, back to third, the position he was drafted to play but had abandoned due to Cabrera's presence there. So far so good for the infield, but the shuffling forced the Tigers to move to Plan B in the outfield -- a left-field platoon of the left-handed-hitting Andy Dirks and the right-handed Rajai Davis, a combination that, while hardly likely to put up big numbers, could reasonably hoped to have been at least serviceable.

Over the last three seasons, major league left fielders have hit .258/.323/.417. Dirks is a career .278/.333/.418 hitter vs. right-handers, while Davis has hit .294/.354/.425 against southpaws. Both players are good fielders, so given consistency from each, it's easy to imagine that the platoon, while not making anyone forget Willie Horton, might have been a quietly effective part of the Tigers' winning efforts.

Andy Dirks. (Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)

To paraphrase Robert Burns, the best laid plans of complacency and weak outfielders often go awry, and even though Plan B wasn't great, it got worse when it was announced that Dirks will miss at least 12 weeks, leaving a team that had too much outfield help eight months ago with just the less-utilized side of a platoon in Davis, the incapable Kelly, and a lot of questions like, "Well... what do we do now?" when it comes to left field.

In Plan C, the Tigers will likely use Davis as an everyday left fielder until Dirks returns. That would be a fine decision if games were won on stolen bases and strong defense alone, but while Davis does fine against left-handed pitchers, there's little benefit in letting him play against righties (.255/.297/.353) and since right-handedness is more ubiquitous, it will be harder to disguise his weaknesses. It's unclear how new manager Brad Ausmus will use Kelly, who was often Leyland's solution to problems much bigger than his ability, but even a quick glance at his numbers should tell him that he can't do much other than offer his starters an occasional off day. The Tigers added Steve Lombardozzi this offseason as a utility infielder, but given the shortage of outfielders and his experience playing left field for the Nationals, he could be another option. The bad news, however, is that he should only be used in dire situations, because his career 74 OPS+ (just three points higher than Kelly's) is just a step above fielding two outfielders.The team's cadre of outfield prospects is light on players who are either major-league ready or project as impact talents.

Plan C is ugly, but would be workable for teams that don't have ambitions as great as the Tigers. It's not the absence of Dirks that's a problem, really, because Dirks himself is limited, it's that we're not even to Opening Day and the Tigers have implemented their backup plan to their backup plan, and fielding a human reserve parachute for 162 games won't do. The Tigers have a little bit of wiggle room atop the AL Central as the projected favorites (FanGraphs has them as an eight-game favorite, while Baseball Prospectus suggests a nine-win margin), but it hasn't exactly been simple for the Tigers to win the division the past two seasons -- if panicking over the loss of Dirks is an overreaction, remember that it's not Plan C that is to be feared so much as the possibility that at some point this season the Tigers might have to default to Plan D, which at its catastrophic worst would be Davis, Kelly, and Lombardozzi in the same outfield. In such a catastrophic scenario the Tigers might even be forced to abandon their offseason plan, move Castellanos back to left, and hunt around for a third baseman (which would inevitably mean more Don Kelly). All it would take is more injuries. Maybe the Tigers' outfield has hit rock bottom now, but it's hard to imagine Hunter playing 140-plus games again at age 38, and considering that Jackson and Davis dealt with hamstring and oblique injuries last season that sidelined them for 20-plus games each, it's at least cause for concern.

If the Tigers do pursue additional help, they can take two approaches: short term platoon help for Davis until Dirks returns, or a long-term solution that can fill the vacancy that will be created at the end of the season by Hunter's free agency (even if the Tigers want to retain him, at 39 he'll finally be eligible to play for the Phillies). On the expensive end, there may be an opportunity to get Andre Ethier, who is signed through 2017 and getting handsomely paid, but the obvious downside, aside from the expense, is that he's spent the past eight seasons successfully hypnotizing the Dodgers into believing he's more than just a platoon player even though his splits would suggest otherwise. There were some rumblings earlier this offseason that the Cardinals might be willing to trade Jon Jay, who isn't good enough defensively for center and blocked on the corners by Matt Holliday and Allen Craig. The Rockies have said they aren't looking to trade an outfielder, but it would only make sense to at least consider moving Charlie Blackmon or Corey Dickerson before opening day given that teams surplus of fourth outfielder types.

Don Kelly chases. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports )

If the Tigers just want to get through the next few months with a backup plan, they might find success in a trade with the White Sox for Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo, two floundering outfielders who are now blocked by the addition of better talent. The Yankees may be looking to trade Ichiro Suzuki, who has been pushed to the bench; though he might be at the end of his utility, he can still run and field well and perhaps can find another half-season of hitting .300 in singles in him. If they just want insurance, the Tigers may be able to take a flier on an excess outfielder like Justin Maxwell, in camp with the Royals but out of options, but a move like that would be more about adding warm bodies than depth.

The Tigers have perhaps the best hitter in baseball in Miguel Cabrera, three of the best pitchers in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez, and yet over the last three seasons we've seen them lose two championship series late and get blown out of a World Series because as good as they are, they're always just a little bit short. The little bit this time around could be left field. Sure, they could stand pat, figuring they weren't going to get a whole lot more from Dirks and Davis together than they will from Davis alone, but if you've come as close as they have, taking anything for granted seems like an unsupportable act of faith. The Tigers are a Torii Hunter sneeze away from having a defunct outfield. They don't have to make a move, but they should.

This afternoon's Grapefruit League game between the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees is being shown live on MASN and on delay tonight on the MLB Network. There doesn't appear to be any radio coverage of today's tilt, so you have to watch live or later...

Jordan Zimmermann makes his third start of the spring this afternoon in a 1:05 pm EDT game against the New York Yankees, who will have CC Sabathia on the hill in Viera, Florida's Space Coast Stadium. This afternoon's game is being broadcast live on MASN and it's available on replay later tonight on the MLB Network. Today's outing will be Zimmermann's first of the spring against a team other than the Atlanta Braves.

In his previous two trips to the mound, the 27-year-old right-hander has given up a total of five hits and one walk in five scoreless innings over which Zimmermann has struck out five batters while holding opposing hitters to a .176 BAA.

Zimmermann was (19-9) on the year in 2013, finishing at +3.6 fWAR with a 3.25 ERA, 3.36 FIP, 40 walks (1.69 BB/9) and 161 Ks (6.79 K/9) in 32 starts and a career-high 213 1/3 IP.

• Here's the lineup Washington will field for today's Grapefruit League game with New York:

#Nats lineup vs #NYY: Rendon 3B, Kobernus DH, Werth RF, Ramos C, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Moore 1B, Hairston LF, McLouth CF, Zimmermann P

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 11, 2014

Taking the field against the Nationals and behind the 33-year-old Sabathia today will be a mix of veteran and young Yankees:

#Yankees lineup vs. WAS: Ellsbury CF, Gardner LF, Teixeira 1B, McCann C, Sizemore 2B, Nuñez SS, Anna 3B, Romine DH, Almonte RF, Sabathia P

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 11, 2014

• Nats' Lineup Note:Anthony Rendon is 5 for 16 with a double, home run, two walks and seven Ks in six Grapefruit League games so far this spring. He's leading off this afternoon, but where is he likely to hit in the lineup during the regular season? Matt Williams talked at length this weekend about hitting Ian Desmond second, but said Rendon, 23, brings a similar skill set to the plate. The discussion started with Williams explaining why he likes the idea of Desmond as the Nats' no.2 hitter.

"One, I like [Desmond's] leadership," Williams said. "I like him with the ability to steal bases. He's a smart baserunner. He's let it go a little bit early on here as far as stealing, attempted steals, and he can hit the ball to all fields and he's got thunder. So, in the middle of your lineup, certainly you want that. So that's what he brings as a no.2 hitter goes. But he can also hit five and he can also be somewhere down in the order too if the situation presents itself. But right now, I want to make sure that he gets as many at bats as he can. So that dictates no.2 a little bit. I also like him in the no.2 hole, but that doesn't mean that he's going to be there all the time."

"With that in mind," Williams continued, "if [Desmond] moves down, [Rendon] is there. A guy that brings the same type of tools to the table too, so again, there are all kinds of ways you can think about it."

Rendon spent the majority of his starts last season, in his first major league campaign, hitting second, where he put up a .225/.285/.312 line in 33 games and 151 plate appearances. He also hit seventh in 27 games (.293/.371/.424) in 106 PAs and eighth in 24 games (.275/.344/.425) in 91 PAs.

• Game time: 1:05 pm EDT from Viera, Florida's Space Coast Stadium, and again, this afternoon's game is being shown live on MASN and delayed tonight on the MLB Network. There are no listings for radio coverage for either team, so it looks like MASN (or MLB.tv) might be the only way to watch today.

• Reminder: There are no blackout restrictions with MLB.tv during Spring Training, so the game should be available for viewing in and around the nation's capital.

Who's watching the Nationals?

CC Sabathia will make the trip to Nationals camp in order to take on Jordan Zimmermann. We'll get to see how CC does after his first outing where he topped out at 88 mph. It's still too early to make an definitive statements bout the (less-)big lefty, so it's entirely possible that he regains some of his lost velocity. We'll just have to wait and see.

Today's bench will include Gary Sanchez (C), Francisco Arcia (1B), Corban Joseph (2B), Yangervis Solarte (SS), Zelous Wheeler (3B), Antoan Richardson (LF), Mason Williams (CF), and Ramon Flores (RF). They also have Peter O`Brien, Jose Gil, Jose Pirela, and Adonis Garcia as potential designated hitters.

The bullpen will be comprised of Cesar Cabral, Fred Lewis, Matt Daley, Brian Gordon, Jim Miller, David Herndon, Dellin Betances, Mark Montgomery, Chase Whitley, and Danny Burawa.

Jordan Zimmermann retired the twelve batters he faced in four hitless innings in Viera, Florida's Space Coast Stadium and the Washington Nationals held on for a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees in Grapefruit League action. Also, Anthony Rendon is good at baseball.

Washington Nationals' starter Jordan Zimmermann got ahead 1-2 with a tight breaking ball inside to Jacoby Ellsbury, then went to a full count against the New York Yankees' 7-year/$153M leadoff man before he threw a 3-2 fastball low in the zone to get a groundout from Ellsbury to Ian Desmond at short. Zimmermann went up 0-2 on outfielder Brett Gardner when he got a called strike with an 86 mph change, letter-high outside, before inducing a groundout to third baseman Anthony Rendon with a 92 mph 2-2 heater. Nats' outfielder Nate McLouth handled a fly ball to center field off Mark Teixeira's bat and Zimmermann's 0-1 fastball to NY's first baseman ended a 14-pitch opening frame this afternoon in Viera, Florida's Space Coast Stadium.

Jayson Werth hit a half-swing one-hopper behind Anthony Rendon and into right field with the Nationals' 23-year-old second baseman running on contact from first. Wilson Ramos stepped in against 33-year-old lefty CC Sabathia with runners on the corners and one out in the home-half of the first and grounded into a force at second that brought Rendon home, 1-0 Nats early.

Brian McCann flew out to left on an 84 mph 1-1 change. Zimmermann was up to 21 pitches when he dropped a nasty 2-1 change on Scott Sizemore, but he went to a full count and his fastball to get a called strike three with a 93 letter-high heater outside to the Yankees' outfielder. Eduardo Nunez tried to bunt his way on, dropping a sharp one toward third, but Rendon was on it. Two scoreless for Zimmermann on 27 pitches after a 13-pitch, 1-2-3 second.

#Nats' RHP Jordan Zimmermann with two scoreless against the #Yankees on 27 pitches after a 13-pitch, 1-2-3 second in Space Coast Stadium...

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) March 11, 2014

Scott Hairston stepped in with runners on the corners and no one out in the Nationals' second after Danny Espinosa worked a walk out of CC Sabathia and went first-to-third™ on a line drive single to left by Tyler Moore. Hairston K'd looking, however, and Nate McLouth was punched out on a questionable check-swing strike three, leaving it up to Anthony Rendon... whose two-run double to left made it 3-0 Nats.

Jordan Zimmermann threw an 0-2 fastball by Yankees' second baseman Dean Anna on his 30th pitch of the game. Austin Romine K'd swinging through a 93 mph 1-2 fastball knee-high outside. Zimmermann's 41st pitch was an 86 mph 2-2 change that outfielder Zoilo Almonte rolled over, sending a weak grounder to Danny Espinosa at second base. 3-0 Nationals after two and a half.

Kind of amazing: one scout said CC Sabathia did not hit 90 mph with his fastball today against the Nats. Sat 86-87, topped out at 89.

— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) March 11, 2014

Jordan Zimmermann threw a 93 mph 2-2 fastball outside by Jacoby Ellsbury that home plate umpire Laz Diaz liked and called strike three on the Nats' starter's 47th pitch of the game. A 93 mph 1-2 fastball in tight on the wrists got Zimmermann his 11th straight out on his 51st pitch when Brett Gardner grounded back to the mound and a 1-1 fastball outside got a fly to center from Mark Teixeira that Nate McLouth picked off the top of the grass with a diving catch to make it 12 up and 12 down and four scoreless on 54 pitches by Zimmermann after a 13-pitch frame.

Drew Storen threw an 0-2 change inside by Brian McCann for the first out of the fifth inning. Storen's 0-2 slider inside to Scott Sizemore was called strike three to make it two outs and two Ks. Eduardo Nunez went to right with an 0-2 fastball up in the zone, and tripled for the Yankees' first hit. Nunez scored on a single by Dean Anna, but a 2-2 slider inside to Austin Romine got the Yankees' catcher looking and got Storen out of the inning. 3-1 Nats.

Felipe Rivero, one of the three players the Nationals got from the Rays in the Jose Lobaton/Nate Karns deal, gave up a run in the sixth with Zoilo Almonte doubling with one down and scoring on a sac fly to center by Brett Gardner that Nate McLouth tracked down on the track. 3-2 Nationals. 14-pitch inning for Rivero.

The Nats' left-handed reliever came back out for the seventh, dialing his fastball up to 94-95 and mixing in some mid-70s curves on his way to a scoreless 17-pitch inning. 31 pitches total in two scoreless innings pitched.

Daniel Stange threw a scoreless eighth. Manny Delcarmen came out for the ninth and retired the Yankees in order to end it...

• Zimmermann Highlights:

Nationals win, 3-2 final.

Not a whole lot of good happened for the Yankees early in this game. CC Sabathia made the start and it wasn't pretty. He gave up leadoff walks in the first and second, which both ended up scoring. Over three innings he allowed three runs on three hits and two walks, though he did manage to add three strikeouts against a mostly major league-caliber Nationals lineup.

CC topped out at around 88 mph, living mostly at 86 and dropping all the way to 75 mph on his breaking pitches. He showed that he could still get some pretty looking strikeouts when his location was on, but otherwise he was either hit hard or struggled to find the zone as he threw only 37 of his 62 pitches for strikes. Yuck.

Meanwhile, Jordan Zimmermann kept the Yankee offense silent for four innings. They didn't get their first runner until he left the game when Eduardo Nunez hit a triple off Drew Storen in the fifth inning. Dean Anna singled him in to break the shutout. In the following inning, Zoilo Almonte hit a double off the outfield wall and two flyouts later it was a 2–3 game at the end of the sixth.

Unfortunately, they couldn't really do anything after that. The only other Yankee to get a hit was Yangervis Solarte. Both Brett Gardner and Ramon Flores hit long fly balls that died on the warning track. The wind was apparently blowing in all game, so it might have cost them two home runs.

The Yankee bullpen was collectively much better than CC, though no one of much interest pitched in the game. Matt Daley (K, BB), Jim Miller (K), David Herndon (K), Cesar Cabral (BB), and Brian Gordon (2 K, H) pitched an inning each and limited the Nats offense to one hit over five innings. I wanted to get a look at Gary Sanchez behind the plate, but Cabral was kind of all over the place, so it was difficult to get a good read on his receiving skills. For what it's worth, he was able to nab every stray pitch thrown to him.

The most exciting part of the game was absolutely when Dean Anna tripped over Brian McCann's mask and almost killed the new catcher. It could have been a very bad accident, but luckily everyone was ok, so it's hilarious.

Teams are scouting David Phelps, and Michael Pineda has looked sharp, but Phelps is not necessarily an ideal trade chip.

When Michael Pineda had an impressive debut on the mound last week, I will admit that my mind already started slotting him into the Yankees rotation. His injury layoff probably dictates that he should have a few more innings under his belt before we all get too excited, but it's awfully hard not to. Obviously Pineda's revival would set David Phelps as the odd man out in the rotation, and other teams have apparently noticed that as they have been scouting Phelps as a trade possibility to bolster their own starting staffs. But make no mistake, this isn't a similar situation to the Yankees catching surplus. The Yankees should hold onto Phelps unless a team absolutely blows their doors off.

The team is fortunate enough to have a couple of options for an emergency starter/swingman. Vidal Nuno and Adam Warren have made the most of the opportunities they have been given at the major league level, but they have six starts between them and neither of them have peripherals as good as Phelps (8.4K/9 1.06 HR/9). He's the best insurance policy in the Yankees system if Pineda falters at any time during the season, which would not be shocking considering he hasn't pitched in 2 years. I honestly won't be completely comfortable not having a proven quality starter behind Pineda until 2015, even if he manages to maintain a clean bill of health for the majority of the year.

Phelps also serves as insurance for a bullpen that has a handful of talented arms but some short resumes. He's got good enough stuff that he could serve as anything from a middle inning reliever to an adequate setup man. If guys like Dellin Betances or Shawn Kelley falter, Phelps could become the best bridge to David Robertson that's currently available. Phelps' ability to be able to transition to the pen without worry only enhances his value and usefulness.

There's also consideration to be made for beyond this year. A capable starter like Phelps that is under team control until at least 2019 is not to be given away on the cheap. Overpaying for back of the rotation guys is how a lot of teams waste their free agency money allotment, so having Phelps around would allow the Yankees to pass on bidding on league average pitchers to fill out the rotation. He could easily slot into Hiroki Kuroda's spot in the rotation should this be his last year. If young, high-upside arms like Manny Banuelos or Jose Ramirez can overcome their injury histories Phelps might not be as necessary down the line, but for now he's a good hedge against the unknown future.

If a team really wants David Phelps, by all means let them offer a great infield piece for him. But I am not to the point where I consider Phelps an extraneous part of the roster. It's not that I don't think Nuno or Warren couldn't fill in as fifth starters admirably, it's just that Phelps has already shown he can and there is a possible opening in that rotation is still too perilously close to materializing. Throw in his quality bullpen work and low cost moving forward, and I think the Yankees should be very hesitant to move Phelps. An insurance policy is only a luxury until something goes wrong, after all.

Owings and Didi will duke it out in one of the most interesting position battles the D'Backs have ever had.

The past one year

2014 projections

Is Owings the shortstop of the future?

If you would have asked any Dbacks fan this question in 2011 and early 2012, the answer would have most likely been "Absolutely! Owings and Eaton are our players of the future, along with the great pitching from Bauer and Skaggs! GO D'BACKS!!!!!!"

I think it's safe to say things have changed a little since then. Not only does it seem that half of our young players on new teams, but Owings is no longer the lone shortstop prospect in the Dbacks system. Some guy named Didi Gregorius came along, and played 103 games for the Snakes last season. And now the battle for shortstop has started in earnest.

You might as well get used to hearing about this shortstop battle and trade speculations for the rest of 2014. I'm not sure where this battle ranks in importance in D'Backs history, but when the freaking Yankees are interested in having Owings or Didi to replace Derek Jeter, the decision is a pretty big one. So will Owings win the battle?

His projections are pretty mediocre, as the highest BA he's expected to hit is .270. I'm pretty surprised by this, as he hit .290 in limited time last year, and won the PCL MVP by hitting .330. His power could use an increase, but don't get your hopes up on that. His speed is very good and should get around 15-20 stolen bases in 2014.

The one area in hitting he really needs to improve on is his patience. You won't hit .330 in the majors, and that's where Owings could really use the walks and working the pitcher. He showed a little better plate discipline in his time in the majors, so hopefully he can build off that in 2014. His defense is below average, and that's the category where Didi demolishes Owings. Didi's fieldiing ability alone might keep him over Owings. If Owings hit well enough where KT can't get rid of him, there might be the possibility where Aaron Hill gets traded to make room for Owings at second base.

Best Scenario: Owings is everything as advertized on offense, and maybe a little more. His defense and patience improves, and we get a good package for Didi or Hill. (Although It would suck to see either one of them go.)

Worst Scenario: Owings doesn't improve on his weaknesses, and his average goes down, but he becomes an all star when he gets traded.

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• David Phelps is not yet expendable
• Yankees 2, Nationals 3: CC Sabathia disappoints again
• Spring Training Game Fourteen: Yankees vs. Nationals
• The Yankees have an option left on Eduardo Nunez, and they should exercise it
• Teams are scouting Francisco Cervelli for a potential trade

Yankees News

New York Times | Peter Kerasotis: Babe Ruth's daughter her remembers her father.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: A Q&A with Masahiro Tanaka.

SB Nation | Grant Brisbee: Carlos Beltran is now a cat.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: The Yankees have three weeks to figure out who will be their fifth starter, who will be in the bullpen, and whether or not Ichiro Suzuki can be traded.

Replacement Level Yankees Weblog | SG: A look at Brian Roberts' projections for the 2014 season.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: The Yankees have seen good things, bad thing, and still have unknowns in spring training.

Beyond the Box Score | Jen Mac Ramos: Brett Gadner is quantified as one of the grittiest players in baseball.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: Carlos Beltran hurt his foot, but is it a big deal?

Pinstripe Pundits | Chris Mitchell: Comparing Robinson Cano and Kelly Johnson defensively.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: Masahiro Tanaka went through the first simulated game of his career.

LoHud | Chad Jennings: CC Sabathia thought he stunk in his start, but Brian McCann felt that his cutter was effective.

Replacement Level Yankees Weblog | SG: A look at the projections for Alfonso Soriano.

It's About the Money | Michael Eder: A look at Francisco Cervelli's trade value.

CBS Sports | Dayn Perry: Check out Kevin Youkilis, Japanese superstar.

The New York Yankees were not as good as their record suggested last year, and they spent a lot of money this offseason to compensate for that fact.

It is not often that you can say that the New York Yankees outperformed their talent level, but they did exactly that in 2013. Manager Joe Girardi did a spectacular job of MacGuyvering his way to an 85-77 record despite a roster held together with paper clips, duct tape, and something called an Eduardo Nunez. They outperformed their pythagorean win expectation by six games, which may have been part of the motivation behind this offseason's spending spree. Unless Mike Ilitch or another team owner happens upon this page, the Yankees likely spent more than the entire net worth of everyone reading this post in an attempt to get back to the top of the division. They have some big flaws, but it is hard to see this team as anything but a serious contender in 2014.

Manager: Joe Girardi (7th year)

2013 record: 85-77, t-3rd in AL East

SB Nation blog:Pinstripe Alley

Other Yankees coverage:New York Daily News, New York Post, It's About the Money

First series vs. Tigers: August 4-7 @ Yankee Stadium

Lineup

Derek Jeter's announcement that 2014 would be his last season all but guaranteed that we have to endure a second consecutive farewell tour of the American League. Like Mariano Rivera, Jeter is coming off an injury-shortened season in hopes of having one more good year to ride off into the sunset. Unlike Rivera, I'm not sure how valuable Jeter is going to be. His power is gone, his speed is questionable on that bum ankle, and his fielding range will likely be nonexistent. Despite all of these problems, he is still a much better option than third baseman Kelly Johnson. Formerly a second baseman known for his bat, Johnson has not posted an above average season at the plate since 2010 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Though the left side of the infield sounds grim, the right side is even worse. Brian Roberts -- he of the 192 games played in the last four seasons -- is slated to be the team's starting second baseman. When healthy, Roberts has been a very productive player. He was an All-Star with the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 and 2007, and posted three consecutive seasons with an OPS above .800 from 2007 to 2009. He also stole 120 bases in that three year stretch. He will be in competition with first baseman Mark Teixeira to see who can stay on the field longer. Teixeira has only played in 138 games in the past two seasons, including just 15 last year while dealing with a wrist injury that eventually required surgery. The Yankees are hoping that he regains the power stroke that saw him hit 33 home runs or more in each of his first three seasons with the team.

Last year's catching trio of Chris Stewart, Austin Romine, and Francisco Cervelli was a horrific experience for Yankees fans of all ages. All together -- along with little-used J.R. Murphy -- they combined for 0.9 fWAR, which actually ranked ahead of seven teams. Meanwhile, Atlanta Braves catchers combined for the seventh-most fWAR in baseball, led by Brian McCann's 2.7 wins. McCann, as you may have heard, is now a Yankee, and seems ready to feast upon the short porch in right field.

Source: FanGraphs

McCann is sitting on a streak of six consecutive 20-homer seasons, and I would take the "over" on him getting number seven this year.

For all the problems they have in their infield, the Yankees' outfield is loaded. In fact, it may be overloaded. Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Carlos Beltran are the likely everyday starters, but Alfonso Soriano and Ichiro Suzuki are also in the mix -- though Soriano will probably spend a healthy amount of time as the team's designated hitter. This may be for the best, however, as Ichiro's downfall has been swift and merciless. He has a .305 on-base percentage over the past three seasons, bottoming out at .297 in 555 plate appearances last year. Meanwhile, Ellsbury and Gardner will be OBP-monsters at various places throughout the lineup -- expect Gardner to bat low in the order with Jeter still around -- and Beltran has shown no signs of dropping off. He may not be able to field a lick anymore, but last year's 132 wRC+ shows that Beltran's bat still has plenty of pop.

Rotation

CC Sabathia suffered a puzzling drop-off in 2013, pitching at replacement level (according to rWAR) for 211 innings. He struggled to keep the ball in the park, allowing a career high 28 home runs. Sabathia has seen his fastball velocity drop in each of the past three seasons. He will be 33 this season and there is a lot of mileage on that arm, but a new offseason training regimen may help him stave off Father Time for another year or two. Co-ace Hiroki Kuroda has tossed 200 innings with a sub-3.40 ERA in each of the past three seasons. This included a seamless transition from the NL West to the AL East in 2012 in which Kuroda's FIP increased by a whopping 0.06. Given his reliance on location and deception -- especially with his wicked splitter -- expect more of the same in 2014.

While some believe that Sabathia and Kuroda can take pressure off of Masahiro Tanaka by performing well, it seems as if the 25 year old Japanese product already has plenty on his plate. If the Yu Darvish Circus of 2012 is any sign of what is to come, amplify that by 10 times when the Japanese media hits the largest market in the United States. As for his pitching abilities, he sports a low-to-mid 90s fastball and the same wicked splitter that Kuroda has mastered. I was able to catch Tanaka's Spring Training debut and came away impressed with how he challenged hitters with his fastball. He will need to continue to do that during the regular season in order to maximize the effectiveness of his off-speed offerings.

While Phil Hughes struggled during the better part of his tenure in New York, his departure leaves a decent hole in the back end of the rotation. Ivan Nova showed an improved ability to limit home runs last season, inducing a 53.5% ground ball rate en route to a 3.10 ERA and 3.47 FIP in 139 1/3 innings. He has received high praise so far this spring, and is firmly entrenched in the fourth starter's spot. Nova's old fifth spot is currently up for grabs, with David Phelps and Michael Pineda the top two candidates. Pineda has not thrown a pitch in a Yankees uniform, and has only logged 40 2/3 innings since being traded by the Seattle Mariners after his impressive debut season. He looked impressive earlier this spring, striking out Miguel Cabrera and three other Tigers in two innings of work. Phelps is a capable swingman, and probably will not get the chance to hold a starting spot down for long.

How do you replace Mariano Rivera? The real answer is "you can't," but David Robertson is a fairly capable reliever who should handle the ninth inning just fine. His previous attempts have not gone so well. Specifically, he was 1-for-2 with an 8.44 ERA in save opportunities after Rivera tore his ACL in 2012, leading to the brief yet successful Rafael Soriano era. Small sample aside, Robertson has had sub-2.70 ERAs and FIPs in each of the past three seasons. The real question in the Yankees' pen is who will get the ball to Robertson now that Robertson is not in a setup role. Shawn Kelley and Matt Thornton are the current contenders, and neither is inspiring much confidence. Kelley, rumored to be the frontrunner, had a 4.39 ERA and 3.63 FIP for the Yankees in 2013.

Empire state of mind

There is no "smart" way to spend half a billion dollars on a baseball team -- though another $180 million would have bought them the Houston Astros -- but the Yankees did about as well as one could expect this offseason. Brian McCann is a colossal upgrade over the team’s catching situation in 2013 and should feast upon the short right field porch. Jacoby Ellsbury will more than capably fill the void left by Curtis Granderson. Carlos Beltran can hit, which is more than you can say about anyone on their 2013 roster. And Masahiro Tanaka is the "eff you, we’re the Yankees" cherry on top. Things may look different in a few years (especially if Ellsbury gets hurt or Tanaka flops) but for now the Yankees are relevant again, which is exactly what their fanbase craves.

Player to watch: Brian McCann

Between his general baseball curmudgeon-ness and the fact that he's actually quite good, McCann should be prime entertainment in 2014. He was worth 2.7 fWAR last year despite only appearing in 102 games and has topped the 4.0 WAR mark on four separate occasions in his career. Usually, a move to the American League results in a slight drop-off in power numbers, but I do not expect this to be the case for McCann. For one, he is a pull hitter moving into a stadium so lefty-friendly it might as well be a driving range. Also, the designated hitter spot -- filled with older and more broken down players than him at the moment -- will keep his bat in the lineup on days off. McCann could feasibly be a five win upgrade over last year's brutal cocktail of catchers.

Outlook

The "stars and scrubs" mentality has not worked for the Los Angeles Angels over the past few seasons, but that may be largely due to the fact that their entire pitching staff fell into the "scrubs" category. The 2014 Yankees seem to be following a similar path, and like the Angels, their pitching staff will determine how far they go. If Sabathia bounces back, Nova steps forward, and Tanaka proves he is worth all that money, the Yankees could be title contenders. If they falter and the infield proves as old and brittle as it looks on paper, this could be another third place team. Either way, 2014 should be a much more interesting season than '13 in the Bronx.

CC Sabathia's fastball velocity has been a bit underwhelming so far this spring; should we worry about it?

CC Sabathia made his second Grapefruit League start on Tuesday, this coming against the Washington Nationals in Viera, Florida, and the results were not pretty: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. His poor performance caught plenty of attention, but it was once again his fastball velocity that garnered headlines as well. He was reportedly sitting at 86-87 mph with the heater, while failing to crack 90 mph even once. Joe Girardi said he had CC's fastball in the 88-89 mph range, though he didn't seem to be too worried about his left-hander's velocity; should we?

Although it has been a hot topic dating back to last year, Sabathia has said that he isn't worried about his decline in velocity. Girardi pretty much echoed that sentiment after yesterday's game, saying he only looked at the radar gun "once or twice," while noting that CC's command "was a little off" and that it "got (Sabathia) in trouble," rather than the radar gun readings. The lack of velocity on Sabathia's fastball at the moment may be a bit of a bigger deal than what the Yankees are making it, yes, but there's more to pitching than just fastball velocity. It appears that we should be more worried about CC's command than his velocity, at least for now.

For reference on Sabathia's past spring training velocity readings, I went back to his second spring start from last year. If you remember, he only made two spring starts in 2013 because he was recovering from off-season elbow surgery; he threw a lot on the back fields at the minor league complex before starting any real games. Anyway, that start came against the Houston Astros on March 26, in which he allowed four runs in five innings of work. I had to count the fastball numbers on my own, since spring fastball numbers aren't provided online. I counted 50 total fastballs, six of which weren't tracked due to YES Network-related reasons. Of the 44 fastballs that were tracked by YES, a majority came in at an average of 89.5 mph. There were a couple of 92's, a few 86's, and even an 84, but otherwise he was sitting around 89-90 mph.

Obviously, Sabathia's velocity from Tuesday's start was lower than the 89.5 mph fastball from his second Grapefruit League start last year, but we have to remember that there are still two weeks left in camp. Assuming he starts every fifth day, he will make three more spring starts before starting Opening Day in Houston, so, theoretically, his fastball velocity could increase a tick or two. For now, we should be more concerned about his command (he was all over the place yesterday), but if this lack of velocity thing continues later in the spring, and even into the season, we may have to worry at least just a bit.

Where does Nick Markakis rank among the right fielders in the A.L. East?

Right field has not been a primary area of concern for the Orioles since Nick Markakis made his debut in 2006. Last year, however, Markakis had his worst year at the plate in his career. Coupled with poor defense, Markakis was essentially a replacement level player by fWAR. While both projection systems Steamer and ZiPS expect him to bounce back, can he rival the other right fielders in the division?

1. Jose Bautista - Toronto Blue Jays

Bautista might have lost some of the spotlight to the duo of Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout since 2011, when he posted the fourth highest wRC+ in the last ten years, but he remains an elite bat. Last season, he had a wRC+ of 134, 34% above league average, and accumulated 4.2 WAR in just 118 games. While he will never have a high batting average due to his extreme fly ball approach, his ability to draw walks and to hit for power more than makes up for the deficiency. While you may think of him as a swing-and-miss slugger, he actually has a much lower strikeout rate than Mike Trout, which is rare among power hitters. His fielding in RF has steadily improved over the years by UZR. There are not many flaws in Bautista's game now, and he is clearly the best RF in the division.

2. Shane Victorino - Boston Red Sox

Victorino enjoyed a resurgent season with the Red Sox after signing a three-year $39 million deal that was widely criticized at the time of the signing. He had his second-best year at the plate in his career and enjoyed a huge defensive boost from his move from CF to RF. While we expect both his offensive and defensive numbers to regress, especially considering most of his success at the plate is BABIP-driven, Victorino still projects to be a three-win player, an above-average regular. Depending on your opinion on how much Myers will improve, you might prefer Myers to Victorino, but I'd rather have the reliable and versatile Victorino for 2014.

3. Wil Myers - Tampa Bay Rays

On the surface, Myers is already a star player. He had a wRC+ of 131 in his rookie season and racked up 2.1 WAR in just 88 games. However, much of his success was driven by his BABIP of .362. Once you regress his BABIP, he becomes an above-average hitter instead of an elite one. He might become that elite hitter very soon, to the dismay of Royals fans, but he is not there yet. While Victorino adds value in the field, there is no evidence that Myers is anything special in RF. Myers, for now, is just a slightly above-average RF for the Rays.

4. Carlos Beltran - New York Yankees

The Yankees signed Beltran to a three-year $45 million contract this offseason to serve as their primary RF and occasional DH. Whether Beltran is worth $45 million plus a draft pick is a question that is outside the scope of this article. Contract aside, Beltran is still a valuable player at the age of 36. Both his walk rate and strikeout rate decline dramatically last season, but his overall production output remains similar. UZR also rated him as a dreadful defensive RF last season, though defensive numbers have to be regressed significantly. His overall package suggests an average regular in RF for the Yankees.

5. Nick Markakis - Baltimore Orioles

Markakis had his worst season of his career in 2013. At the plate, he had his lowest walk rate, lowest isolated slugging (ISO), and lowest BABIP of his career. The decline in power is by far the most alarming, as it dropped from .174 to .085. His lowest ISO before last season was .122. He only had 10 homeruns and 24 doubles in 700 PA in 2013, compared to 13 homeruns and 28 doubles in just 471 PA in 2012. On the field, UZR rated him as below average in RF for the fifth year consecutive, though he still won a gold glove in this span. Both Steamer and ZiPS expect a modest bounce-back, though he still projects to be a below-average regular. There was nothing the Orioles could have done to improve their RF situation given the money they have invested in Markakis this season. As a consequent, RF will be a position where the Orioles are at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the AL East.

Nick Markakis has been an essential part of the Orioles for eight years, but it's about time for the Orioles to move on when his contract comes off the books after this season, as he is no longer a viable starting RF on a team contending for the playoffs.

He made his disturbing appearance yesterday, but he's really been here the whole time. Quit fooling yourself.

Late last night, new Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran posted a short video to Instagram of his family's recent trip and Disney World and good Lord are you not ready for this:

Cat Man Beltran sees into your past, present, and future. He is matter. He is antimatter. He will consume time, and he will consume you.

SB Nation correspondent Grant Brisbee had the scoop on the scene with crucial quotes from Cat Man Beltran's teammates about his change in lifestyle. One has to wonder what other people throughout the known history of the universe thought about him though. What, you thought this was just a one-day thing? Closer inspection of photographic evidence confirms that Cat Man Beltran has always been around. Lurking and waiting for his moment to strike.

The Birth of Venus

Yes, cherubic angels. Gaze upon the wonderment born from the blood of Uranus and Garfield's hairball.

Ancient Greece

Raphael sought to honor the greatest minds of ancient Greece in his "School of Athens." How could he leave out Plato? Well, Cat Man Beltran consumed him.

Ancient Egypt

"Stargate" taught me that the ancient Egyptians were all alien slaves to the guy from "The Crying Game," but I have reason to believe that they all worshiped Cat Man Beltran. Look, even Greg Bird Guy knows it.

Crossing the Delaware

Thousands of years later, Cat Man Beltran assisted the father of our country in the memorable crossing of the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War. Bless that feline for holding the stars and stripes. He'll save the children, but not the British children. He's coming. He's coming. He's coming.

Signing the Declaration of Independence

You probably thought that Benjamin Franklin was the elder statesman when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Nope, Cat Man Beltran.

Yalta Conference

Jump ahead several generations and the world is nearing the end of World War II. It's February 1945, and the world superpower leaders converged in the Crimea. FDR. Stalin. Cat Man Beltran. Everyone knows who the real leader is though. Even FDR can only stare at Cat Man Beltran in awe. The British dude behind him knows what's up and informs his friend. Stalin is uncomfortable sharing the stage with such an important figure.

Cat Man on the Moon

The truth about the Moon Landing wasn't that it was staged (sorry, conspiracy theorists); it was that the first man to walk on the moon was a cat man. The space mask was not needed, and Cat Man Beltran spent the next five minutes after this picture pretending to chase something, only to fool Buzz Aldrin when he emerged from the spaceship to see what it was.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

After 38 long years of separation, East Germany and West Germany were once again united in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell as the Soviet Union neared its death knell. Leading the reunion was none other than Cat Man Beltran, who gallantly helped people over the wall in a symbolic gesture of unity.

Cat Man Beltran is truly the leader of both our generation and our forefathers' generation. If you find any more evidence of his treks throughout history, please leave them in the comments. Gonna need a grant to research his impact since I'm pretty sure him chasing a ball of yarn caused the fall of Troy. Kickstarter's coming soon.

Today's game will be on MLBN.

Broadcast: MLB Network will have it in some markets (YES feed). No radio today.

Tigers lineup: Kinsler 2B, Kelly CF, Martinez 1B, Avila C, Collins LF, Crowe RF, Castellanos 3B, Holaday DH, Perez SS

Tigers pitchers: Sanchez is starting.

Yankees lineup: Ichiro 7, Jeter 6, Beltran 9, Soriano DH, Johnson 5, Roberts 4, Cervelli 2, Canzler 3, Williams 8

Yankees pitchers: Kuroda is starting.

The Yankees send out Hiroki Kuroda to face the Tigers and Anibal Sanchez.

The bench will include Austin Romine (C), Jose Gil (1B), Zelous Wheeler (2B), Dean Anna (SS), Jose Pirela (3B), Yangervis Solarte (LF?), Antoan Richardson (CF), and Adonis Garcia (RF). John Ryan Murphy, Francisco Arcia, Peter O`Brien, Gary Sanchez, Corban Joseph, Zoilo Almonte, and Ramon Flores all represent potential designated hitters for the afternoon.

The Yankees bullpen will include Shawn Kelley, Jose Campos (spring debut!), Robert Coello, Danny Burawa, Yoshinori Tateyama, Fred Lewis, Chase Whitley, Shane Greene, Chris Leroux, and Bryan Mitchell.

A system with some serious strengths and significant weaknesses.

New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2014

The list and grades are a blending of present performance and long-term potential. Comments are welcome, but in the end all analysis and responsibility is mine. Full reports on all of players can be found in the 2014 Baseball Prospect Book. The book has been delayed by my head injury, but it will come out eventually. Thank you for your patience and we still need pre-orders!

All of these grades are preliminary and subject to change.

QUICK PRIMER ON GRADE MEANINGS:

Grade A prospects are the elite. They have a reasonable chance of becoming stars or superstars. In theory, most Grade A prospects develop into major league regulars, if injuries or unanticipated problems don't intervene. Note that is a major "if" in some cases.

Grade B prospects have a good chance to enjoy successful careers. Some will develop into stars, some will not. Most end up spending several years in the majors, at the very least in a marginal role.

Grade C prospects are the most common type. These are guys who have something positive going for them, but who may have a question mark or three, or who are just too far away from the majors to get an accurate feel for. A few Grade C guys, especially at the lower levels, do develop into stars. Some end up as role players or bench guys. Many don't make it at all.

Also note that there is diversity within each category. I'm a tough grader; Grade C+ is actually good praise, and some C+ prospects (especially at lower levels) turn out very well indeed.

Finally, keep in mind that all grades are shorthand. You have to read the full comment in the book for my full opinion about a player, the letter grade only tells you so much. A Grade C prospect in rookie ball could end up being very impressive, while a Grade C prospect in Triple-A is likely just a future role player.

1) Masahiro Tanaka, RHP, Grade A-: Borderline A. Before you freak out, I won’t decide the final grade here until I get the Top 50 pitching list together and decide where I want to slot him, which will also give us a few more outings to study. The basic question: is he a genuine number one starter, or "just" a strong 2-3 guy? Personally I'd rather not rank him as a "prospect" at all given the professional caliber of baseball in Japan, but he's technically a rookie so I have to put him somewhere.

2) Gary Sanchez, C, Grade B+: Significant improvements in his defensive ability over the last two years stand out. Interestingly enough his bat looks more solid than star-like at this point, though he should still be quite productive. J.R. Murphy has the same pattern in his career but to an even greater extent. Sanchez is blocked until he is traded or until Brian McCann blows out his knee of course.

3) Greg Bird, 1B, Grade B: I doubt he’ll rank this highly on other lists and that is understandable, but my analytical process (which is a combination of objective measures and subjective factors) says he’s a Grade B and one of the top first base prospects in baseball.I will sometimes override the analytical result if the outcome seems intuitively incorrect or the slot looks weird on a list, but I have found that such overrides often backfire. So, we’ll stick with it. Bird could be something like Nick Swisher type hitter down the line and for all his flaws, Nick Swisher has had a very productive career. And you can dream beyond that for Bird.

4) Eric Jagielo, 3B, Grade B: I think his defense is actually underrated; he isn’t a gold glove but he should do well enough to stay at third as long as he produces as much offense as expected. Should produce power and OBP, but don’t expect high batting averages.

5) Slade Heathcott, OF, Grade B-: There is something of a disconnect with Heathcott between the positive impression he’s made on me when I have seen him in person and his objective performance which, while not bad, hasn’t lived up to his tools. Injuries have been a clear factor here. I suspect he may end up as a fourth outfielder but a good one, with strong defense but an erratic offensive output.

6) J. R. Murphy, C, Grade B-: Like Sanchez, Murphy has improved a great deal defensively and looks to have a steady bat, though with less upside.

7) Tyler Austin, OF, Grade B-: With a healthy wrist I expect his power will come back but, well, that’s what I hope anyway. I’m a writer, not a doctor. He did a good job with the strike zone in Double-A and I think his skills will translate to higher-level success if his body lets him. If healthy, he could leap ahead of everyone but Sanchez.

8) Aaron Judge, OF, Grade B-: Excellent tools from 2013 first-round pick out of Fresno State, could be a 20/20 player but we need to see how his hitting skills will translate into pro ball, if he’ll make contact sufficiently with a 6-7 wingspan, etc.

9) Luis Severino, RHP, Grade B-: Fast-rising right-hander showed mid-to-upper-90s fastball and improved slider and changeup along with very good 53/10 K/BB ratio in 44 pro innings (despite reports of shaky command). Just 20, could be some shiny-new-toy syndrome pushing him up lists ahead of guys closer to the majors, but he has legitimate mid-rotation potential, or could develop into a fine reliever.

10) Ian Clarkin, LHP, Grade B-: 2013 first-rounder didn’t pitch much in pro ball due to ankle injury. High school star from San Diego projects as a three-pitch southpaw starter with mid-rotation potential.

11) Gosuke Katoh, 2B, Grade B-: Strong debut from ’13 second-rounder with positive defensive reports and more pop than expected in rookie ball (.310/.402/.522). Beware GCL stars bearing hot stats, but Katoh has the scouting reports to back it up.

12) Mason Williams, OF, Grade C+: No doubt a controversial ranking with Yankees fans but I’d simply rather have Heathcott or Austin at this point. Williams has defensive skills and sound overall tools, but his hitting was terrible last year and rumbles about bad makeup became thunderous. I can overlook one or the other but not both. He has a lot to prove.

13) Jose Ramirez, RHP, Grade C+: Jason Parks loves this guy and he could be right. You have to love his arm strength and he’s often performed well, but checkered health history, Triple-A command problems, and uncertain role are also important factors.

14) Dellin Betances, RHP, Grade C+: I think he’s perfect for bullpen work and he’s made a lot of progress over the last 12 months in harnessing his ability.

15) Manny Banuelos, LHP, Grade C+: Placeholder ranking until we see how his stuff and command recover from Tommy John.

16) Rafael De Paula, RHP, Grade C+: Extremely effective in Low-A but High-A hitters exposed flaws with his command and secondary pitches. A lot of people jumped off the bandwagon but his fastball is so good that he can be a useful bullpen asset even with erratic secondaries.

17) Luis Torrens, C, Grade C+: Signed for $1,200,000 out of Venezuela in 2012, jumped to GCL in ’13 and drew strong scouting reviews for both defense and offensive potential. Early numbers aren’t there (.241/.348/.299) in the power department but observers expect it will come. Rookie ball performance is often not predictive. He controls the zone and has a good swing to go with the tools.

18) Jose Campos, RHP, Grade C+: Was a curse placed upon the Michael Pineda/Jesus Montero trade? Campos performed decently in the Sally League (3.41 ERA, 77/16 K/BB in 87 innings) but reports indicate his velocity was down and secondary pitches not as crisp. Still a prospect as a possible back-end starter or bullpen candidate.

19) Miguel Andujar, 3B, Grade C+: Borderline C. Another strong GCL performer, hit .323/.368/.496 which is a lot of punch for this league. Signed for $700,000 out of the Dominican in 2011 but seems overlooked at this point with flood of C+ type prospects in the system. Abiatal Avelino and Thairo Estrada also bear close watching and could rank around here.

20) Nik Turley, LHP, Grade C+: Borderline C. Doesn’t have the hot fastball to rank higher, but still gets his strikeouts and is very tough on left-handed hitters. Decent year in Double-A/Triple-A (3.79 ERA, 141/76 K/BB in 145 innings, 121 hits), could see the majors as fifth starter or relief option if he can get the walks down.

OTHER GRADE C+: Abiatal Avelino, SS: Rookie Davis, RHP; Dietrich Enns, LHP; Ramon Flores, OF; Pete O’Brien, C; Caleb Smith, LHP.

OTHERS: Zoilo Almonte, OF; Jake Cave, OF; Jordan Cote, RHP; Cito Culver, SS; Thairo Estrada, SS; Shane Greene, RHP; Ty Hensley, RHP; Bryan Mitchell, RHP; Mark Montgomery, RHP; Vidal Nuno, LHP; Jose Pirela, 2B; Robert Refnsyder,OF.

In some ways I really like the Yankees system. They have a considerable amount of depth, with a large number of C+ and high-ceiling C prospects, many from Latin America, at the lower levels. Some of these could truly blossom in the next year or two, although which names those will be remains to be seen. It may not be the guys with the most press clippings.

They have a collection of power arms with a lot of intrigue, although many of them are likely to wind up in the bullpen. They also seem to do a good job finding college pitchers in middle and later rounds who become useful assets along David Phelps lines. Even in the "others" section there are guys who could contribute in the majors quickly, including reliever Mark Montgomery (if he fully gets his stuff back after sagging last year) and enigmatic flamethrower Bryan Mitchell.

In other ways, this is a system with significant issues. Injuries seem a common factor: whether that’s a bad luck fluke or evidence of a systemic problem is hard to know. Most of the position players project as solid players, not stars. That could change if Judge and Jagielo make a clean transition from college to pro ball and if Bird can repeat his production at higher levels, but we need to see it happen. Tanaka looks great so far, but he is a result of having tons of money, not player development. Most of the pitching prospects will probably wind up as relievers.

Overall, there are things to like here and things to wonder/worry about, which makes it a middle of the pack system. It could look a lot better in six months once we see results from the ’13 draft class and get more data about the guys who populated the GCL rosters.