David Robertson, Shawn Kelley, and Matt Thornton are the only bullpen arms with any big league track record. The numbers suggest Joe Girardi should push the envelope on these pitchers' workloads this season.

Although the Yankees are pretty well situated in the late innings, their bullpen is likely to be one of their weaknesses this year. David Robertson will slide seamlessly into the closer's role, while Shawn Kelley and Matt Thornton should form a solid righty-lefty combo in the seventh and eight innings, but things get a little dicey after those front three. The team's other bullpen options -- Preston Claiborne, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, Matt Daley, Jim Miller, Chris Leroux, Vidal Nuno, Cesar Cabral, and Fred Lewis -- all have their merits, but are almost entirely unproven at the big league level. Of course, any one of these pitchers can establish himself with a strong month or two, but for now at least, these guys are probably best suited for lower-leverage situations.

As the only established bullpen pieces, its not hard to envision Joe Girardi leaning heavily on Robertson, Kelley, and Thornton in high-leverage situations this year, using them on back-to-back days or even three days in a row -- something none of these pitchers have been asked to do in the past few years. Another factor to consider is that the Yankees aren't obligated to pay Robertson or Kelley beyond this year, giving them less reason to be concerned about any negative externalities extending beyond 2014. I wouldn't expect Girardi to work these guys to the bone a la Scott Proctor in 2006/2007, but he has little incentive not to squeeze a few extra bullets out of their arms. And the numbers suggest that would be a sound strategy.

David Robertson:

Robertson has appeared in 205 games for the Yankees since 2011 and 53 of those appearances have come on one days rest.* Throwing on back-to-back days doesn't seem to phase D-Rob in the least. He throws just as hard and his strikeout and walk numbers don't seem to be affected either. If anything, Robertson seems to perform slightly better when coming back the next day.

*I use "one days rest" to describe pitching on back-to-back days, which is sometimes referred to as pitching on "zero days rest."

Shawn Kelley:

With 114 relief appearances over the last three years, Kelley doesn't have quite the track record of Robertson. Still, Kelley looks to be at his very best when pitching on back-to-back days. His average SIERA is nearly two runs lower and his strikeout and walk numbers are significantly better as well. Kelley's only pitched on back-to-back days 19 times, but even in such a small sample of games, a split like that is hard to ignore.

Matt Thornton:

Like Kelley, Thornton is also at his best when pitching on back-to-back days, which he's done 45 times in the past three seasons. The lefty's SIERA drops by nearly a point and a half and his strikeout to walk ratio nearly triples. Thornton's split is particularly believable because it looks to be backed up by improved stuff. For whatever reason, Thornton's slider seems to be a little sharper when he's pitched the day before, dropping an inch or two further than when he's well rested. This added movement might explain why Thornton's ground ball rate jumps by over 10% when he pitches on back-to-back days.

Keep in mind that looking at reliever splits is always a risky proposition. Relief pitchers throw very few innings as it is, so sample sizes get dicey once you start slicing those innings up. Nonetheless, I think there's definitely something here. Robertson's split is probably negligible, but the splits for Kelley and Thornton are pretty sizable, and I think they may represent something more than just random noise.

At the very least, its safe to say that none of these three perform any worse when pitching on back-to-back days. So until someone else emerges a viable late-inning option, I'd hope to see Girardi signal for his top dogs just as often as is necessary, regardless of who pitched the night before. All three have proven they're more than capable of getting it done on little rest. When the game's on the line, the Yankees would probably be better served using their best pitchers for the second or third straight night than turning it over to the likes of Preston Claiborne or Cesar Cabral.

Adam Warren may not be the Yankees' fifth starter, but he is starting tonight's spring training matchup against the Phillies at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The lineup is mainly full of regulars, as you'd expect for a home game so close to Opening Day, with Ichiro Suzuki playing center field in Jacoby Ellsbury's absence and Alfonso Soriano getting some outfield reps while Carlos Beltran serves as the DH.

You can catch tonight's game on MLB Network, MLB.tv, and the YES Network at 7:05 pm.

Joe Girardi used a parade of relievers that he affectionately referred to as Johnny Wholestaff to complete a game against the Phillies in which the offense failed to do any inspiring. Nine Yankee pitchers toed the rubber for one inning tonight, starting with Adam Warren and concluding with Matt Daley. David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, David Robertson, Matt Thornton, Shane Greene, Shawn Kelley, and David Herndon picked up all the innings in between as the Yankees fell to the Phillies, 6-0.

Phelps allowed an unearned run in the second inning after Kelly Johnson made two errors in the same inning. Nuno was next up out of the pen, and he allowed back-to-back home runs to Ryan Howard and Marlon Byrd before departing with the Phillies up 3-0. Robertson and Thornton, two relievers guaranteed to be on the big league squad, held the Phillies scoreless for two innings before Greene allowed two RBI singles to Domonic Brown and Carlos Ruiz to pad the Philadelphia lead. Daley was responsible for the remaining Phillies run in the ninth.

It wasn't a banner day at the plate or in the field for the Yankees, who committed three errors and couldn't string any of their nine hits together. Brett Gardner had the best offensive day by far, chipping in three singles. Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, Carlos Beltran, Derek Jeter, Dean Anna, and Scott Sizemore (who was responsible for the third error of the night) each reached base on singles. Yangervis Solarte worked the Yankees' only walk of the game.

Jeter's hit was only his second since March 7th, which may be expected after his absence from the field for nearly all of last year. Mark Teixeira, also returning from a long hiatus, struck out three times. Teixeira is a notorious slow starter, and not playing the vast majority of last year only stands to further impact how long it takes him to get his timing back.

The Yankees travel to Dunedin, Florida, tomorrow to take on the Blue Jays at 1:05 pm. Chris Leroux is listed as the probable pitcher, opposite R.A. Dickey for Toronto. The game will be televised on MLB.tv only via the Blue Jays' broadcast. Spring training is almost over!

Box score

Felix Hernandez and the Mariners defeated the Royals on Tuesday, 9-6. It was a weird day.

It was July 23rd, 2012 and I was riding the bus home from school. I don't remember anything about what I did in class that day, or even honestly what classes I was taking at the time. But I do remember scrolling through my twitter feed and seeing that someone had retweeted ESPN or MLB Trade Rumors or something like that, and the tweet said that the Mariners told Ichiro Suzuki to walk to the visitors clubhouse before game one of their series with the Yankees because he had been traded. The next tweet was from the twitter account of this very website, and all it said was "wait what"

I bring this up because that day was honestly the weirdest I've ever felt following this baseball team. Not rage, not anger, not even necessarily sadness. Instead, it was confusion, bewilderment, surprise. Nothing comes close--not annoying  Jaso trades, not Griffeys falling asleep mid-game or Don Wakamatsus and toxic clubhouses, not even the Geoff Baker article. Nothing. Just...weird. And that day was its apex.

In a way, the weirdness following the Ichiro trade has never really subsided. It has instead turned into this foreboding cloud hovering over my fandom, one that breaks apart to let in peaks of sun like Robinson Cano and Felix perfectos but ultimately reforms into its cumulus form, reminding me that that feeling of confusion in the pit of my stomach has turned into a normal and expected byproduct of Seattle Mariners fandom. This brings us to all the weird shit that happened today--the end of the Wolf saga, the starting rotation behind Felix, and one Nick Franklin, Seattle Mariner on March 25th. In November, all these things were supposed to go a different way. But now, here we are.

First, the game, which is why I'm writing this in the first place. Felix threw five innings and struck out six Royals. He was touching 93 with his fastball early in the game, and his curve was as good as it has looked all spring, if not better. He ran into a little early trouble, but settled in quickly by the second inning and was mixing his pitches well. Felix is Felix, and it's not like we were going to learn anything from him today, other than Wow we have a Felix Hernandez! or It's okay, he's trying things out for the spring. After the game he said he feels completely ready to make his opening day start in Anaheim.

While Felix was pitching well, the Mariners got to Royals' lefty Bruce Chen pretty quick, manufacturing a few runs in the first and second and then dragging him out to sea in the third with six runs. One of these runs was a no-doubter first pitch dinger from Mike Zunino, which you can see below:

Stefen Romero continued his bid for the opening day roster with a two-run home run during Chen's third inning meltdown, and while it would be pretty self-deprecating at this point to say Robinson Cano has found his coveted right-handed bat, Romero is all but a lock on the team at this point. He was even sent out to cover first base in the seventh inning--which we'll get to--and made an incredible jumping catch on the first play, showing an athleticism that runs counter to the usual archetype of a 2010-2013 Mariners outfield prospect. Progress!

But here we can welcome back that foreboding cloud that Felix, Zunino, and Romero had managed to dissipate earlier in the game. Like usual, the late innings saw Lloyd McClendon emptying his bench and sending some starters to the showers, including Brad Miller (who went 3-4 with two doubles) and Abraham Almonte (who went 2-4 with an out-ran routine grounder that was pretty incredible). Yoervis Media opened the bullpen door and trotted out with glove in hand for what would be a perfect seventh inning. John Buck threw on his full catching regalia and swatted Mike Zunino on the helmet on his way out, probably saying something endearing and folksy so as to fulfill all those parts of his one-year contract that were suggested in between its lines. And then, Nick Franklin took Michael Saunders' glove and trotted out to right field. On March 25th. Less than a week before opening night. I believe the quote was

wait, what

Look, I'm not suggesting this is a bad thing. Scott has been suggesting the M's look into this for quite a while now, and most of us wish they would've maybe started this a little earlier if they weren't going to trade him. It's just that well, here we go again. Opening day roster construction. Less than ideal circumstances. Lack of depth. Turning the steering wheel 180 degrees. Weird.

The Mariners played a lot of spring training games this year, and a lot of things happened in them. Some of these things will be or have already been forgotten, like what happened in Logan Morrison's seventh at bat or how many pitches Tom Wilhelmsen threw on March 15th. Some of these things will be remembered well into the season and beyond, like the moment when everyone realized that Roenis Elias might be really good at throwing baseballs, and that time that Scott Baker hit three batters in a row.

But if what happened in the seventh inning of tonight's game goes beyond what Lloyd McClendon laughed off as "just tinkering," then it's going to fit into this latter category. If the Nick Franklin, Outfielder experiment has started, tonight was page one of Genesis. It was the scrolling text at the beginning of Star Wars. It was the middle part of Pulp Fiction, you know, cause it starts all out of order and everything. It happened, and it happened so fast and everyone I've talked to has a different opinion because it seems that cloud of weird is kind of everywhere right now, and everyone is getting rained on, just a little bit. Weird.

And I'm not comparing this move to the Ichiro trade. That would be hyperbole of the nth degree. It's just that after such a bizarre day--the 45-day Wolf contract thing, seeing Hector Noesi's name on twitter as a possible starter, meltdowns in multiple threads featuring both cool heads and people diving off the boat head first--man it would have been nice to just have a good Felix game with a Mike Zunino dinger.

---

Some types of cumulus clouds can form acid rain, hail, and tornadoes. But other types of cumulus clouds generally indicate good weather. The good news is that I don't know a single damn thing about clouds and had to look all this up on Wikipedia five minutes ago. See, Nick Franklin might make a solid transition into the outfield and give the M's some depth, despite starting the whole thing so late. Or Nick Franklin might not even play another inning in the outfield, proving that worrying about all this was a lot of wasted energy. And the Mariners might have four weird starts in April but quickly return to having a solid rotation. Scott Baker and Randy Wolf could go pitch on the Rangers and then be in a whole hell of a mess when Derek Holland and Matt Harrison come back. But none of this makes weird go away. And I think that we've had enough weird for a while.

Maybe they should just stop playing games in a city named "Surprise." Seriously, whose stupid idea was that?

Ray discusses some players in the news this week including Matt Kemp, Michael Pineda, Yu Darvish and others.

You can expect the Roto Roundup on a daily basis going forward, as the 2014 season approaches, I will discuss players in the news due to injury or position battles, and will focus on the top fantasy performers each day/night once the season begins.

Matt Kemp to return next week

It was reported yesterday that Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp will begin the season on the disabled list, but could be activated by next week. Here is Eric Stephen from True Blue LA:

Because he was placed on the disabled list, Kemp is ineligible to play in the Freeway Series against the Angels, considered major league games even though it holds exhibition status. The earliest Kemp could be activated from the DL is April 4, when the Dodgers open their home schedule against the rival Giants.

Mattingly was noncommittal as to whether Kemp would be activated from the disabled list so soon, but called that scenario "a possibility."

Maybe I am wearing my Dodger blue sunglasses, but I think we will see a healthy Kemp this season. He has been injury prone the last two seasons, but his shoulder is 100% and he has had no setbacks in spring training with his surgically-repaired ankle, so there is reason for optimism.

If you drafted him and play in weekly leagues, I wouldn't put him in your lineup till the second week of the season.

Michael Pineda makes the Yankees rotation

One of the biggest surprises this spring is the performance of Yankees starter Michael Pineda. He is coming off shoulder surgery and has missed the last two seasons due to the surgery and his slow rehab. If his spring training is any indication, he is almost all the way back to the guy we saw back in 2011.

Here is a reminder of what he did back in 2011:

9 wins, 3.74 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 3.53 xFIP, 9.11 K/9, 2.89 BB/9, 24.9% K%, 28 starts, 171 IP

I don't think we see Pineda throw 171 innings this season, so it remains to be seen how the Yankees handle him. Heck, they may just see how long his shoulder can stay together and not worry about the innings he throws. I assume they will go with David Phelps or another young starter when they decide Pineda has thrown enough innings.

For fantasy purposes, Pineda is a late round pick in mixed and AL only leagues, but he comes with risk.

Pablo Sandoval and Nelson Cruz attached at the hip

It was reported a few days ago that Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who is a free agent at the end of the 2014 season, wants a similar contract as teammate Hunter Pence. Pence signed a five year, $90 million contract with the Giants last September.

The difference between the two players couldn't be more different though. Pence is the picture of consistency, even though he may not look good hitting, running or throwing the ball. He is one of the most consistent performers at the plate, and could be getting better.

Sandoval, on the other hand, is one of the more inconsistent hitters, has trouble keeping the weight off, and is in a bit of a decline at the plate. And there is no reason for the Giants to give him anything close to the contract they gave Pence.

I think Sandoval, assuming the Giants don't sign him and he becomes a free agent, could wait a long time to sign a contract next offseason, similar to what Nelson Cruz experienced this offseason. What he has in his favor, though, is that he is only 28 years of age, while Cruz is 33 years of age.

Yu Darvish may start season on DL

It was reported on Tuesday that Yu Darvish will not make the Rangers Opening Day start and could begin the season on the DL due to a stiff neck, and possibly more. Here is Evan Grant from the Dallas Morning News:

The Texas Rangers on Tuesday officially scratched Yu Darvish from his scheduled opening day assignment and now concede that Darvish's stiff neck may well be the result of something more than sleeping wrong.

Darvish will be sent back to Dallas to be examined by back specialist Dr. Drew Dossett, the surgeon who performed Matt Harrison's disc repair surgery last year. He will undergo an MRI exam on Wednesday.

"I think we are at the point where we need to start ruling things out," Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine said Tuesday morning.

This is not good news for our 2nd ranked starting pitcher for 2014. He dealt with the neck/back issue last season, and it could be something more than a stiff neck. Here is Adam Morris from Lone Star Ball, SB Nation's Rangers fan site:

If Darvish is having back problems, that is the sort of issue that could end up jeopardizing his season. Rangers fans remember all too well how Matt Harrison was lost for essentially the entire 2013 season due to back surgery. Just the idea of losing Darvish losing significant time in 2014 is something I don't want to consider.

Hopefully it is nothing and we see him on the mound soon, though it does appear inevitable that he starts the season on the DL since he hasn't pitched in a week and a half.

Fantasy Rundown

For more fantasy baseball news, on a daily basis, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown.

Can their loaded lineup makeup for a shaky pitching staff and see Baltimore into October?

The Baltimore Orioles fielded a good, but not great, team in 2013, but just like the Yankees, they ended up with a record of 85-77 and found themselves left on the sidelines during October. While the Yankees made a lot of major moves during the offseason, the Orioles stood pat for most of it. However, as spring training loomed, they added Ubaldo Jimenez to their thin rotation, and signed Nelson Cruz to provide some much needed offensive ability at the DH slot (a smart move considering that the Orioles learned last year that it kind of defeats the purpose of having a designated hitter if he can't, you know, hit). Although neither of these additions will push the Orioles over the top and make them favorites in the AL East, combining Jimenez and Cruz with their core of Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and Matt Wieters will make the O's a formidable offensive and defensive team, and one no one can count out of the AL East race.

The Orioles were one of the best offensive teams in baseball a year ago, leading the league in home runs and scoring the fifth most runs in baseball. Their lineup figures to be just as good this year, at least once Machado returns (offseason knee surgery will sideline him for the beginning of April, at least). While Machado will not be ready for Opening Day, he still figures to play most of the year, and with him back in the batting order, the Orioles will have a terrific lineup. After Nick Markakis (a good leadoff hitter with a career OBP of .360, though it sank to .329 last year), the O's will have a terrifying heart of their order in Machado, Jones, and Davis. Machado broke out last year, posting a 6.2 fWAR and making his first All-Star team while hitting .283/.314/.432 with a 101 wRC+. Jones had another great season in 2013, in which he hit 33 home runs, scored 100 runs, knocked in 108 more, and hit .285/.318/.493 with a 118 wRC+. After his homer-happy 2013, Davis should move into the cleanup. Last year, "Crush" set a franchise record with 53 homers and had 138 RBI, posting 6.8 fWAR and a ridiculous 167 wRC+. While he's due for some decline this year, there's no reason he can't hit another 40 home runs, knock in 125+ runs, and help make this Orioles team an offensive juggernaut yet again, a year after they led the majors in home runs and scored the fifth most runs overall.

The addition of Nelson Cruz should only strengthen this lineup, as the Orioles' DHs only hit .234/.289/.415 last season. Cruz's career numbers are well above that (.268/.327/.495) and in just 109 games of his suspension-shortened 2013, he still knocked in 76 runs and hit 27 homers. Between Jones, Davis, and Cruz, the Orioles have some serious power in the heart of their order to bring Markakis and Machado in to score.

Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy will bring some significant power to the bottom of the order, especially for their positions (catcher and shortstop, respectively). Both have hit over 20 home runs each of the past three seasons, though their other offensive stats leave something to be desired (Wieters is a career .255/.319/.420 hitter with a 96 wRC+, while Hardy has hit .260/.312/.428 hitter with a 95 wRC+ over his career). Still, it's hard to beat having a catcher and shortstop in your lineup that you can depend on for around 25 home runs and 75 RBI each season, and that's just what the Orioles have in these two players. The last two spots in the lineup (going to outfielder David Lough and probable second baseman Jemile Weeks) will not be sources of major offensive contribution, although Lough could surprise some people, and Weeks' speed will be valuable (when he gets on base, that is).

While their lineup is sure to score a lot of runs again, their pitching staff may give up just as many. Chris Tillman will be their Opening Day starter, and though he posted a 3.71 ERA and a 3.88 xFIP while striking out nearly eight batters an inning last year, 2013 marked the first season he pitched more than 200 innings. We'll see this year if he can replicate these stats and prove he's an ace; if he can't, the Orioles will be in a world of trouble, because he's about the only surely solid starter that the Orioles have on this staff.

The big pitching acquisition, Ubaldo Jimenez, has been written about plenty on this site. Succinctly, he's been lights out, absolutely awful, and somewhat competent, all in the span of a couple years. While he won't be as good as he was during 2013's second half (adjusting to the AL East will take a toll on his ERA), Jimenez might be a quite decent No. 2 starter. He could also be the pitcher who had a 5.40 ERA in 2012.

After him, it's mediocrity and question marks with pitchers Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, and Miguel Gonzalez. If the Orioles are going to have a realistic shot at making the postseason (and making any noise once they get there) they'll probably need some significant contributions from pitching prospect Kevin Gausman. Still, with their offense, if their rotation manages to be about league average, the Orioles will still be in the hunt all year long.

Bullpen-wise, the O's will miss closer Jim Johnson, who was traded away in the offseason after racking up 50 saves in each of the past two years, and the apparent closer, Tommy Hunter, will not be able to fill his shoes. Hunter was a starter for much of his career before going to the bullpen last season, and he's projected for a save total in just the mid-twenties next year.

Defensively, Baltimore shined last season, fielding three Gold Glove winners (Machado, Hardy, and Jones) and committing the fewest errors in the league. While they probably will not reach this height in 2014, they should still be one of the league's better defensive squads. Wieters, with his multiple Gold Gloves, is one of the best defensive catchers in the game, and Machado is quickly becoming one of the best defensive third baseman in the league, posting an amazing 31.8 UZR/150 in 2013. The acquisition of Lough will improve their outfield, as Lough was quite good in right last year for the Royals, and he also posted above average UZR/150 numbers in left (albeit in a small sample size) which is where he'll be playing for Baltimore. With his contribution and the continued growth of Machado, the O's should once again be one the better defensive teams in the league.

The 2014 Orioles will be in the hunt in the highly competitive AL East, just as they have been the last few years. With a great offense and a good defense, it will be up to their pitching staff to put them over the top. If Gausman can contribute and Tillman proves to be a legitimate ace, a lineup of Machado, Jones, Davis, and Cruz should more than keep the Orioles in the playoff hunt. Still, in a stacked division featuring the World Champion Red Sox, the reloaded Yankees, and a good Rays team, the Orioles will probably be on the outside looking in during October. Look for them to be in the playoff conversation for most of the season, before fading down the stretch and falling to third or fourth in the division.

Oh, Canada, why are we still in spring training

As spring training winds down, the Yankees take on the Blue Jays on the road at Toronto's complex in Dunedin. A decent amount of regulars in the starting lineup actually made the trip, but the fact that this game is being started by reliever Chris Leroux, who would be a surprise on the Opening Day roster, tells you who's available on the pitching staff. A minor bit of news that is completely unsurprising is that Francisco Cervelli is all-but-officially the Yankees' backup catcher now that John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine have both been assigned to Triple-A Scranton. (To his credit, he says he'll believe it when he sees his locker on Opening Day; as Jason noted, it's almost like he's been tricked before...) It will be interesting to see how they divvy up playing time between the two of them down there, but Cervelli seems like a fine choice given his abilities both on offense and defense, and his prior experience with the Yankees, capably backing up Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, and Russell Martin at various points from 2008-2011 before his brief-but-impressive injury-shortened stint as starter in 2013.

Knuckballing former Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey takes the mound for the Blue Jays. No word yet on who the second-stringers will be today. Video and audio for the game is available on MLB.tv

Is it really only Wednesday? This has been a long week.

Yeah that's our old friend Kelly Johnson playing first. I hope he plays a lot of first base for them this season.

Dickey has the catcher he wants. He did seem to pitch better after Thole was called up last year, but that was likely more to do with his neck and back getting better.

Remember we have rules here. Try not to be terrible.

It's less than a week until opening day!

And...if you are in Edmonton, I'm on the Fan1260, talking, I hope, Blue Jays (geeze I hope I'm not talking about the Oilers) at 11:25 mountain time.

Even after an offseason of furious spending, the Yankees find themselves on shaky ground, both for the present and the future.

The Yankees sit in an uncertain position after a disappointing 2013 campaign that saw them finish in a tie for third place in the AL East and miss out on October baseball. In addition, the team’s -21 run differential last season shows the Yankees were fortunate to win as much as they did, something GM Brian Cashman acknowledged a few weeks ago.

The club’s frustrating year led to a busy winter for the Yankees, with the organization spending money on a number of veteran players to re-tool their squad. As a result, the Yankees will showcase an improved team in 2014, though big questions remain. New York’s core is still among the oldest in baseball, and the competitiveness of the AL East means a return to the postseason is far from certain.

2013 Season in Review:

Injuries and a mediocre offense limited the Yankees to 85 wins in 2013, ultimately causing them to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teixeira all missed significant time, a reality that left the Yankees offense in a sorry state for much of the season. In their place, the likes of Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, Chris Stewart, and an aging Ichiro all performed at below league-average levels, leading to an offense that scored just 650 runs and posted a wRC+ of 85 (both of which were the club’s lowest totals since 1990).

New York’s struggles on offense drew attention away from what was one of the better pitching staffs in baseball. Yankee hurlers finished the season with a 96 FIP- (fifth in the AL), allowing just over four runs per game. Hiroki Kuroda delivered his second straight impressive season in the Bronx, compiling a 3.56 FIP and one of the lowest walk rates in the game. Behind Kuroda, Andy Pettitte pitched effectively again at the ripe age of 41, while Ivan Nova returned from early season injury to amass 2.5 WAR in just 139.1 innings. These performances were enough to make up for the struggles of CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes, though not enough to carry the team’s woeful offense into October. In his final major league season, Mariano Rivera performed just as we had come to expect, posting a 3.05 FIP and saving 44 games. Ultimately, though, not even Rivera’s farewell tour could propel an old and depleted Yankees roster into the postseason.

Key Offseason Moves:

To no one’s surprise, the Yankees were big spenders this winter, signing a number of high-priced free agents to long-term contracts. In one of the offseason’s first major signings, the Yankees knotted up Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million deal. McCann should go a long way toward improving the club’s production at catcher after Yankee backstops combined to hit .213/.287/.298 and compile just 0.9 WAR in 2013. As Harry Pavlidis and Dan Brooks noted recently, McCann’s value is not just tied up in his bat either, with the 30-year-old consistently ranking among the best pitch framers in baseball.

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Less than two weeks later, the Yankees made another big splash, signing former nemesis Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153 million contract. Ellsbury will give the Yankees the type of top-of-the-order threat they sorely lacked last season, and with his speed, above-average defense in center field, and contact ability, will add some much-needed flair to New York’s roster.

The team’s biggest offseason acquisition, however, might just prove to be Masahiro Tanaka, who arrives in America after seven seasons in Japan. The right-hander isn’t quite the talent Yu Darvish was when he made the transition from Japan, but Tanaka is no slouch, posting an ERA below 2.00 for three straight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. If Tanaka can pitch as well as his $155 million contract indicates, he will go a long way toward aiding a Yankees rotation that suddenly looks thin with the uncertainty surrounding CC Sabathia, and Andy Pettitte’s retirement. At the very least, watching major league hitters try to figure out Tanaka’s top-notch splitter should make for fun viewing.

One to Watch:

For the second straight season, the Yankees will say goodbye to a legend, as Derek Jeter begins his final major league campaign. There is no denying Jeter’s Cooperstown-worthy credentials—13 All-Star appearances, 3,316 hits, a .381 lifetime OBP—but the Yankee captain will also be crucial to the team’s success in 2014. New York’s infield depth is razor thin, and if Jeter can’t stay healthy, the club’s offense could suffer again as a result. With no viable backups at first, second, or third base, the Yankees need Jeter to stay healthy. Plus, after 19 big-league seasons, it would be a shame to see Jeter struggle through an injury-riddled year as he says his goodbye to baseball.

Yankees By the Numbers:

28

Despite their busy offseason, the Yankees’ future is uncertain at best. In their 25-and-under talent rankings, Baseball Prospectus recently ranked the organization 28th out of the 30 MLB clubs. The Yankees have a dearth of young talent, as they continue to invest in aging players on the free-agent market and their farm system struggles to develop any impact players of note. At 25, Tanaka is among the youngest players on the team’s roster, and without him, Baseball Prospectus would have ranked the Yankees dead last in 25-and-under talent. That is an eye-opening reality, and it puts even more pressure on the club to win now after spending big this offseason.

2014 Team Outlook:

With McCann, Ellsbury, and Carlos Beltran in the fold, the Yankee offense should be back to its high-scoring ways. But this team still faces numerous questions heading into the 2014 season. Will the pitching staff hold up if Sabathia’s decline continues and Tanaka struggles to adapt to life in the majors? Can the Yankees really contend in the AL East with an infield that lacks depth and star power after the departure of Robinson Cano? Will Derek Jeter stay healthy and play well enough at shortstop? Can David Robertson replace Mariano Rivera, and, perhaps more importantly, who will fill Roberston’s former role in the eighth inning?

The Yankees face far more question marks this season than they are used to. If everything breaks right, the club can contend for a playoff spot. But if injuries again ransack the roster and the team’s veterans show their age, it will likely be another disappointing season in the Bronx. They will be better than they were last year, but that doesn’t mean the Yankees will be any better off when October arrives.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

Alex Skillin is a writer and editor at Beyond the Box Score and also contributes to SB Nation's MLB newsdesk. He writes, mostly about baseball and basketball, at a few other places across the Internet. You can follow him on Twitter at @AlexSkillin.

Yankees 6 Blue Jays 10

Lots of offense today.

Happy Thoughts:

• Relievers did great. Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Aaron Sanchez, Ryan Tepera and Bobby Korecky each pitched a scoreless inning.
• Melky Cabrera was 3 for 4, with a double. .452. He's hit everything hard this spring, maybe he'll be the player we hoped to see last year.
• Jose Bautista was 2 for 4, with a double. .353.
• Adam Lind was 2 for 5, with a double. .373.
• Brett Lawrie was 2 for 4, a double and a home run. ..346.
• Ryan Goins was 1 for 3, with a double and a walk. His second extra base hit of the spring. He hit a hard line drive out too and turned a very nice double play in the 9th.172. I think that was the best game at the plate I've seen from him.

Less Happy Thoughts:

• Edwin Encarnacion took a pitch off the forearm and left the game. He was smiling and gave a thumbs up when he left the field but it is worrying.

Anthopoulos said Encarnacion is feeling fine after being hit on the right forearm in today's game. #BlueJays

— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) March 26, 2014

This is where I won't mention that Alex has lied to us several times in the past. But let's pretend we believe this one. 

• R.A. Dickey was hit hard in his last spring appearance. 3 innings, 7 hits, 6 earned, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. He was planned for a short outing, to get ready for the season, but I'd have been happier without all the hits. The plate umpire did seem to be having some troubles calling the knuckleball. I'm not gong to worry about him.

The Jays play the Phillies tomorrow, the game is on MLB.tv, but not Sportsnet. Drew Hutchison gets his last start of the spring. After tomorrow's game, they fly up to beautiful Montreal, to play two games at ugly Olympics Stadium

It all started out so well...

The Yankees jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on the Blue Jays this afternoon in Dunedin, but shaky outings by Fred Lewis and especially Preston Claiborne led to colossally awful fifth inning. Toronto scored eight runs and that was pretty much game.

Surprise starter/normal reliever Chris Leroux actually started the game off decently enough for the Yankees by throwing three innings of two-run ball. Brett Lawrie took him deep for a solo homer in the second and the Jays added a run in the third, though Leroux received some fortune that inning when Ryan Goins lined one right to Brian Roberts at second bounce for a double play to limit the damage before Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion singled consecutively against him. It was a little weird for the Yankees to start Leroux, but it's good to know he is capable of going more than an inning in case the Yankees need him during the season.

Meanwhile, the Yankees had run the score up early against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey with six runs through the first couple innings. With one out in the first, Derek Jeter walked, and the trio of Carlos Beltran, Alfonso Soriano, and Kelly Johnson all singled, a rally that led to two runs. Francisco Cervelli bounced into a double play to cut the rally short, but the Yankees were back at it against Dickey with even greater force in the second.

Roberts blooped a single to right field and moved to third when Dickey threw a pickoff attempt away. Zoilo Almonte struck out, but Dean Anna stroked a double to right field, bringing Roberts home. With Brendan Ryan almost certain to start the season on the DL, the career minor leaguer appears to have a strong chance at an Opening Day roster spot on the bench. He's on the 40-man roster unlike some of the other infield candidates, so he would seem to be the favorite. Brett Gardner walked, and Jeter smoked a single to the opposite field to load the bases. Beltran stepped up to the plate in an RBI opportunity, and he capitalized by following Anna's lead with a double to right field. Two runs scored and Jeter came home on a sacrifice fly by Soriano to make it a six-run lead. Dickey loaded the bases again in the third on an error by Maicer Izturis and a couple of walks to Anna and Gardner, but this time he was able to escape with no further runs scoring. It wasn't a great day for Dickey, but he'll probably just chalk it up to "getting his work in." The offense was very quiet for the remainder of the game, as the Blue Jays' bullpen kept them to two batters over the minimum from the fourth onward.

Matt Daley retired the only batter he faced in the fourth, Lawrie, and Lewis relieved him by sandwiching the final two outs around a walk. Then, the fifth inning happened and the game went to hell. Goins doubled to center and was brought home on a Melky single to right. Lewis departed and in came Claiborne, who was horriawful. Bautista began the carnage with a double and Claiborne then drilled Encarnacion on the wrist he hurt last year, forcing him from the game. Adam Lind drove two runners in with a single to center, and Lawrie crushed a ground-rule double to left to score the fourth run of the inning. Claiborne walked Colby Rasmus to load the bases for Izturis, who brought Claiborne's day to a close with a two-run single to center, tying the game at six. Jim Miller gave up the lead on a sacrifice fly, and Melky notched his second hit of the inning, a double, to put an 8-ball on the scoreboard for the Toronto fifth inning. Mercifully, Bautista flew out to end it. Zero outs and six runs for Claiborne. Spectacular.

If Claiborne is going to pitch like this against a real lineup, then it seriously calls his roster spot into question. He has looked bad all spring and was not sharp in the second half of last year, either. It probably would not hurt him to get a little more seasoning in the minors since he was a surprise success when he was called up in May of last year. In his second time around the league, the hitters seemed to figure him out. Dellin Betances, who threw a perfect sixth, appears to have a roster spot in hand, so would it really be so bad to give Claiborne's Opening Day roster spot to someone else? Daley looks like a fine candidate, given his previous MLB success in Colorado and his fine numbers in both Triple-A and his brief September call-up last year. Claiborne doesn't need to cut completely, but letting him work out his current kinks in Triple-A right now seems preferable to him blowing leads when the games actually matter. At the very least, he shouldn't be pitching high-leverage innings when the season begins if he does make the Opening Day roster. Sigh. /rant/

The rest of the game was uneventful, as the Toronto bullpen shut the Yankees down and after Betances's perfect sixth, both Danny Burawa and Yoshinori Tateyama worked out of jams to escape their frames. There was an Eduardo Nunez GIDP because of course. Pinch-hitting for someone named Wes Wilson, someone named Tyler Blaser struck out to end the game against someone named Bobby Korecky. Spring training! It's almost over.

Box score

Could the 2014 Yankees Field the Worse Defense in Team History?

The last decade has been a golden era for statistical analysis, and in the last decade, the 2005 Yankees were the worst defensive team on record. And when I say worst, I mean a UZR of -147.7; the second worst team (hello 2006 Yankees!) are only at -80.1.

The key to posting the worst defense in league history is to give 9 players the bulk of the playing time, and to have those 9 all register as average to below league average defensive. Surround those players with backups who are even worse.

Look:

Now, of course UZR is a counting stat, but I thought it was better to look at how the players did in their most recent season than as a rate; Brian Roberts provides above average defense at second base, but I see no point in talking about his stellar averages when he's accrued so little playing time in the last few years.

Obviously (or hopefully?) this team won't challenge for worst defense of the decade. The upgrade of Bernie Williams' final season to Ellsbury alone could prevent that.

But I'm struck by how much like 2005 the 2014 looks, especially in the infield. Looking over these numbers make me wish again that the Yankees had built a field more like CitiField, with endless expanses of outfield for these fleetfooted outfielders to cover.

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• The worst case scenario defense
• Blue Jays 10, Yankees 6: Preston Claiborne, Archduke of Blown Leads
• Spring Training Game Twenty-Eight: Yankees at Blue Jays
• In wake of A-Rod ordeal, MLB reportedly plans to increase PED suspensions for 2014
• Yankees' AL East competition: Previewing the 2014 Baltimore Orioles

Yankees News

The Star-Ledger | Jorge Castillo: The Yankees have named Francisco Cervelli as their backup catcher.

ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews: Brian Cashman is desperate to trade the likes of John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch:Preston Claiborne's poor spring could cost him a roster spot. [Update: Yep.]

The Times-Tribune | Donnie Collins: Manny Banuelos is ready to move on from the last two years of his career and return to the pitcher he was.

Pinstripe Pundits | Derek Albin: Just because Joe Girardi said that Michael Pineda won't have an innings limit, doesn't mean the Yankees won't take precautions.

It's About the Money | Brad Vietrogoski: The Yankees really took their time getting around to this whole defensive shift thing.

Fangraphs | Jeff Sullivan: See where the Yankees' rotation ranks among the top 15 in baseball.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand: CC Sabathia talks about his velocity and other things.

Forbes | Mike Ozanian: The Yankees are still the most valuable team in baseball at $2.5 Billion.

Baseball Researcher | Tom Shieber: Check out this video of Babe Ruth not running hard to first base.

Sports Illustrated | Cliff Corcoran: A preview of the Yankees 2014 season, with scouts' takes on Mark Teixeira and David Phelps.

CBS Sports | Mike Axisa: Whether or not CC Sabathia can rebound this season is just one question for the AL East in 2014.

LoHud | Chad Jennings:Derek Jeter has been slow to get back into the swing of things, but it's coming.

Although Alfonso Soriano is nearing 40, he is still as productive as ever.

One of my most vivid memories from when I was young was the last week of the 2002 season. While there was certainly a lot going on in Major League Baseball that season—NL MVP Barry Bonds had a ridiculous 12.4 fWAR, only 0.1 shy of his 2001, 73 home run season; Randy Johnson was as dominant as ever, throwing 260 innings for an ERA- of 54 en route to the NL Cy Young Award; and Miguel Tejada and Barry Zito, the AL MVP and AL Cy Young winners, respectively, led the Oakland A's to a 103-win Moneyball type of season—my eyes were focused elsewhere.

I was busy watching every game for the New York Yankees that last week of September, focused on the once-in-a-lifetime player by the name of Alfonso Soriano as he tried to achieve the fourth ever 40 home run, 40 stolen base season.

At the time, Soriano was 26 years old and playing in just his second full big league season. Although he didn't reach the 40-40 milestone that season, falling just short with 39 home runs and 41 stolen bases, Soriano actually accomplished the feat four years later, hitting 46 home runs and stealing 41 bases in his lone season with the Washington Nationals. In other words, that magical ‘02 season was not a fluke, by any means.

Flash forward to the present day, twelve and eight years, respectively, after those two jaw-droppingly spectacular seasons, and you'll see that Soriano has been going through a bit of a renaissance.

While the steals have, for the most part, subsided—although in 2013 he stole 18 bases after not cracking double digits since 2008—here are Soriano's numbers over the past five years, his age 33 through 37 seasons, compared with his career stats:

As you can see, his power has not only stayed in his later years, but has actually been marginally better compared to his career averages. He's homering more often—roughly 18 and a half plate appearances per home run in 2013 compared to just over 20 for his career—and is smashing more fly balls out of the park than almost anyone—his 18.9% HR/FB ratio in 2013 ranked 14th in the league, trailing younger power guys like Chris Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, and Giancarlo Stanton, among others. In fact, the average age of the 13 players ahead of him is just over 27 and a half, almost a decade younger than Soriano was last year.

Moreover, his .234 ISO last season ranked ninth in the league, tied with Mike Trout, and his plate appearances per home run of 18.41 ranked seventh, trailing only Chris Davis (12.70), Miguel Cabrera (14.82), Brandon Moss (16.83), Pedro Alvarez (17.06), Edwin Encarnacion (17.25), and Adam Dunn (17.85).

What exactly has caused this resurgence? Take a look at how Soriano has done in New York since he was traded in the middle of the 2013 season:

Although his split in New York is a relatively small sample size, it's clear that he's found a new groove in his old home. Part of what has been attributing to that is the differences in right field for the two home stadiums, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium. First, here's Soriano's spray chart from his time in Chicago during 2013:

Now, here's his spray chart from the rest of 2013 when he was playing with the Yankees:

If you look at the difference between outs versus home runs in right field from his time between the two teams, you'll see that several hits that would have been outs before are now finding their way over the right field wall. Given that Wrigley Field's right field fence is 353 feet from home plate, as opposed to Yankee Stadium's just 314 foot distance, it's not all that surprising that there would be an uptick in home runs for Soriano.

Still, with Soriano on the wrong side of 35, you should have been safe to assume that his power would steadily decline; that he would, like most other players have before him, finally wear down. Just two years shy of 40, however, Soriano doesn't seem to want to let go yet.

And, with a full season in New York in a better position—playing in more of a hitter's park, not having to play defense every day—Soriano just might have another power-filled season to look forward to in 2014.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, and Brooks Baseball.

Evan Kendall is a featured writer at Beyond the Box Score and co-founder of The Sports Post. You can follow him on Twitter at @Evan_TSP.

The "new-look" Jays were a flop in 2013 but they look to ride an undeniably talented core to better fortunes in 2014.

The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be the forgotten members of the American League East. It's been over 20 years since they last made the playoffs, and their anticipated resurgence in 2013 ended with a solid faceplant at 74-88 and a finish in the AL East cellar. Renewed optimism in tow, they've decided to not forfeit the 2014 season and have returned with a relatively unchanged roster. They were rumored to be interested in Stephen Drew and Matt Garza, among others, but mostly kept their wallets closed. The bet is that the team won't suffer nearly as many injuries and players that had down years will return to previous form. When looking at how this team projects on paper that bet might be a relatively safe one.

The Blue Jays lineup will once again be anchored by sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Credit the Blue Jays scouting department or just good fortune, but both Bautista and Encarnacion underwent career renaissances to become two of the premier sluggers in all of baseball. Centerfielder Colby Rasmus seems to have similarly tapped into his latent potential by posting a 130 wRC+ of his own in 2013. Add in DH masher Adam Lind, new catching acquisition Dioner Navarro and shortstop Jose Reyes and this lineup should, health permitting, boast six regulars that posted a wRC+ above 110 in 2013. The Yankees, for reference's sake, will have four. Toronto mashed the fourth-most homers in baseball in 2013 and should do very well in that department again this year.

Finishing out the Jays' lineup, former top prospect Brett Lawrie will man third base, second-year player Ryan Goins will be at second and enigmatic former Yankee Melky Cabrera will be in felt field. Lawrie might still have some untapped potential and "The Melkman" could have a bounce-back season, but those three players should make up the weak portions of the Jays lineup. Defensively, the Blue Jays finished 22nd in UZR/150 in 2013 and aren't remarkable in that regard. Lawrie has a great reputation as a playmaker and Rasmus rated well, but defense is unlikely to be this team's calling card in 2014.

The Blue Jays starting rotation is much closer to adequate than good (ranked 18th in MLB by Fangraphs, which seems optimistic) and was the second-worst in the majors by ERA last season . One of the key acquisitions of 2013, Josh Johnson, has departed for San Diego but most of the same players remain. R.A. Dickey was not the ace he was acquired to be in 2013, and at age 39 and a knuckleballer, it's hard to predict if he will resemble anything similar to his 2012 Cy Young self again. Mark Buerhle has been about as consistent as you can get, but is 35 himself and has a lot of mileage on him. Brandon Morrow has always had excellent stuff, but turned in a brief 2013 campaign that sported 5.63 ERA (5.42 FIP) for as long as it lasted before ending due to injury. At the moment, Drew Hutchison and Dustin McGowan will get the nod for the final two spots in the rotation, but only the top three spots appear set in stone.The Blue Jays bullpen is anchored by their very good closer Casey Janssen, who has been one of the better relievers in baseball over the last three years, and setup man Brett Cecil and his 10.38 K/9 in 2013. So they should be in good shape when in comes to finishing out games.

The Blue Jays strike me as similar to the Yankees in a lot of ways. Both teams have quite a lot of talent but there are some real glaring concerns that could threaten to hold them back from making the playoffs. For both squads one of those concerns is second base, but the Blue Jays' failure to address their rotation in the offseason looks like every bit the potential albatross the Yankees' infield is. They should be better with good health, but how much better is very much in question. Interestingly enough, Fangraphs is forecasting both the Yankees and Blue Jays for 83 wins this season. It's pretty simple: the Blue Jays are going to have to hit and hit like crazy if they're going to fight their way back into the playoffs. They have a good enough lineup to get them close, but they might need to pull the trigger on upgrading that rotation if they're going to get over the hump. But if they have better luck in the injury department, they should be more than improved enough to be a real pain in the sides of the rest of the AL East.

In a mildly surprising move, the Yankees sent Claiborne and Sizemore (among others) to minor league camp, opening yet another few spots.

The Opening Day roster is beginning to take even more concrete shape, as the Yankees made a series of cuts Thursday morning that reduced their 25-man roster competition to a mere handful of players left for reserve roles on the bench and in the bullpen. Here's LoHud's Chad Jennings with more:

Seven pitchers have been sent to minor league camp. Preston Claiborne was optioned to Triple-A. Chris Leroux, David Herndon, Jim Miller, Yoshinori Tateyama, Danny Burawa and Fred Lewis were each reassigned.

Three position players have been sent to minor league camp. Outfielder Zoilo Almonte was optioned to Triple-A. Infielders Scott Sizemore and Russ Canzler were reassigned.

Jennings noted that everyone in the pitcher's group pitched quite well this spring and both Leroux and Lewis impressed manager Joe Girardi, who said "Both opened up some eyes here. Both had a pretty good camp. Competition has been pretty fierce here." Given this praise, it would be a surprise to see Leroux, Lewis, and maybe some of those other relievers back up in New York at some point during the season, though all but Claiborne face the 40-man roster hurdle.

Girardi seemed pretty disappointed with Claiborne in the post-game yesterday after the latter's absolutely disastrous performance against the Blue Jays: zero outs and six runs. Girardi remarked, "With what he did last year, we thought that he would have a really good chance of being in our bullpen. He just never really got on a roll in spring training. As we told him, we know he's capable of pitching much better than he did. It's his job just to go get ready." The Yankees will almost certainly be searching for some kind of significant improvement in his performance before they recall him from Scranton. His spring slump extended to the end of last year, too, when he looked awful down the stretch. It was the smart move to give him more time in the minors rather than trudging him out there and hoping for the best. His initial success last year was a surprise, anyway.

Claiborne's dismissal from spring training leaves Dellin Betances, Vidal Nuno, Cesar Cabral, Shane Greene, and Matt Daley as the five options for the two bullpen spots. Greene seems like a longshot since he's a starter who has yet to pitch above Double-A, but the other four seem to have legitimate chances. Betances has been dynamite this spring and was terrific out of the Triple-A bullpen last year. Girardi has always seemed to like having second lefties, and both Cabral and Nuno could serve in that role, though Nuno would likely give Girardi more innings than Cabral, who is more of a LOOGY. Daley has significant MLB experience, as he was a key bullpen piece on the Rockies' run to the playoffs in 2009, and he pitched to a superb 2.54 ERA last year in Scranton before tossing six innings of scoreless ball in September for the Yankees. Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times-Tribune believes it's all but certain that Betances will make it since he seems to have taken Claiborne's spot. The final bullpen spot is a complete toss-up though. Since the Yankees would have to make a 40-man roster move to add Daley (which is my preference since I find him more useful than Cabral) and they probably want Nuno to stay a starter, my money is on Cabral. We won't know for sure until a few more days though.

The news about the position players was not a shock. The Yankees seemed to be treating Sizemore carefully after he missed the last two years with tears of the same ACL, and he only had 19 at-bats this spring. He'll likely get a starting job in Scranton and try to prove that he's worthy of re-joining the big-league roster by the end of April, when he has an opt-out in his contract. Zoilo and Canzler were also not stunning cuts since while impressive, the Yankees were never going to take Zoilo over Ichiro due to the latter's contract unless they traded the veteran. Canzler might have had a shot at a backup first base job, but he looked as bad as Dan Johnson did last spring. He'll be first base depth in Scranton. Hopefully Mark Teixeira stays healthy and the Yankees don't need Canzler.

That leaves Eduardo Nunez, Dean Anna, Yangervis Solarte, and Zelous Wheeler as the last men remaining for the two infield bench spots with Brendan Ryan beginning the season on the DL. Both Nunez and Anna are the favorites since, again, they both occupy 40-man roster spots and the Yankees are normally reluctant to DFA players. While it would be nice to never see Nunez again and instead see the more exciting Solarte, I've already resigned myself to his presence. So it goes. I'm just glad the Yankees made the right decision on Claiborne, who clearly needed more seasoning.

WSBN's Dan on Fire show makes the case for Derek Jeter being the greatest to ever lace up a pair of cleats.

CC Sabathia makes his final Spring Training start against Stolmy Pimentel as Opening Day draws closer.

In what will be his final start of Spring Training, CC Sabathia will make the start for the Yankees this afternoon against Stolmy Pimentel of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Joe Girardi has already announced that Sabathia will be the Opening Day starter against the Houston Astros this upcoming Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. CC's past few starts have given Yankee fans a reason to be cautiously optimistic that he can make the adjustments he needs to make. Hopefully today will yield more positive signs from him, for the next time we see him pitch, it will count.

As Andrew reported not too long ago, the Yankees have made some significant cuts before this game begins. Scott Sizemore and Russ Canzler have both been reassigned. Eduardo Nunez, Yangervis Solarte, Dean Anna, and Zelous Wheeler are all in the starting lineup this afternoon competing for the final backup spots. Since Nunez is pretty much all but guaranteed a spot on the roster, the other three are really going to have to impress Girardi these next few games.

On the mound, Dellin Betances, Vidal Nuno, Cesar Cabral, Shane Greene, and Matt Daley are in the final running for the Yankees bullpen. With the Lord Preston Claiborne being optioned to Triple-A, that seemingly reassures that Dellin Betances will make the pen. Thus far, he has had a fantastic Spring Training. Kudos to him. Either Nuno of Cabral could wind up being Girardi's coveted second LOOGY. Matt Daley has been superb this Spring as well. Greene has been great, but like Andrew said in his article, he is a longshot due to having never pitched about Double-A.

It's coming down to the wire, ladies and gentleman. The Regular Season is less than a week away.

Not a promising scene in Bradenton as rain continues falling hard. No announcement has been made as yet pic.twitter.com/2m3xFaf1EO

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) March 27, 2014

Sadly, there is tarp on the field in Bradenton. We'll keep you update on whether or not the Yankees and Pirates get this game in.

Minutes after my foreboding tweet, tarp taken off the field. Still raining lightly so we, as they say, shall see pic.twitter.com/30oGeeaW3V

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) March 27, 2014

CC was good and the season is a little closer. Hooray!

CC Sabathia took the mound for the Yankees and continued his recent success with another strong start. Sabathia threw four shutout innings, allowing just three hits as the Yankees beat the Pirates 4-3.

The Yankees got on the board early with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Ichiro Suzuki led off the game with a single. He then moved to third when Eduardo Nunez singled. A Mark Teixeira grounder would be the first out of the inning, but it allowed Ichiro to score the game's first run. After Brian McCann flied out, Zoilo Almonte singled. That scored Nunez and Almonte was able to move to second on the throw home. Yangervis Solarte nearly added another run with a deep shot to center. However, Andrew McCutchen was able to track it down for the third out.

The Yankees were able to pick up a couple hits in the second and third innings, but did so without pushing a run across. However, in the fourth, they did add to their lead. Adonis Garcia hit a two-out double and came around to score when Ichiro singled. Ichiro was able to move up a base on a wild pitch and he too scored when Nunez picked up another single. After four innings, the Yankees led 4-0.

Sabathia's day was over after four innings. CC allowed no runs on three hits in his four innings. He was relieved by Dellin Betances who allowed a lead-off double, but got out of the inning and stranded the runner at third. Next in was Vidal Nuno who struck out two in his one inning of work. Adam Warren allowed two hits in the seventh inning (one of which was hit to Nunez, so) but stranded both of them.

David Phelps was the next Yankee pitcher to take the mound and he would be the first to get into any real trouble. Jarek Cunningham led off the inning with a single. Andy Vazquez then doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. A walk to Travis Snider loaded the bases. Phelps then got Drew Maggi to ground into a double play. A run did score on the play, but Phelps was almost out of it. However, Phelps would not be able to finish off the inning, as he then allowed a triple to Gift Ngoepe. That hit chased Phelps from the game and made the score 4-2. Cesar Cabral came in and got Mel Rojas to ground out to end the inning.

Cabral came back out for the ninth and despite allowing a one-out single, he was able to finish off the game without too much trouble. In all, the Yankees used six pitchers, and all but one looked pretty good. The offense got some early runs and the pitching took it from there, as the Yankees came away with a 4-2 win.

The Yankees will take on the Marlins tomorrow night at 7 eastern. Hiroki Kuroda will make his final start of the spring.

Box score.

The best time for hope is before the season begins. After missing the playoffs a year ago, here are reasons to believe that the Yankees have done enough to get back to the promised land of playing in the World Series.

Sam Miller: Give me an offseason that would make you excited about this Yankee team's chances in 2014.

Ben Lindbergh: Uh... if they sign everyone? If they sign McCann -- I don't know, if they signed Ellsbury or something and moved Gardner to left? They'd have to sign all of the good players! -- Baseball Prospectus, "Effectively Wild" podcast, November 4, 2013

When Ben Lindbergh said that the Yankees would have to sign all the good players to become an exciting team in 2014, it is almost certain he didn't think the Yankees would actually do it, would spend quite as abundantly as they did during the 2013-14 offseason. No one could have guessed that the Yankees would suddenly commit about a half-billion dollars to their future over the next few months, completely dispensing with the long-rumored "Plan 189 from Outer Space," as it was occasionally referenced on Pinstripe Alley. Supposedly, the Yankees were going to try to stay under a $189 million payroll in order to avoid the luxury tax, but after a season of missing out on playoff revenue, upper management reconsidered its tactics.

Instead of Chris Stewart behind the plate, it's seven-time All-Star Brian McCann. Instead of the drastically declining duo of Vernon Wells and Ichiro Suzuki in the outfield, it's former Red Sox nemesis Jacoby Ellsbury and old crosstown rival Carlos Beltran. Instead of Phil Hughes serving up meatball after meatball in the rotation, it's 25-year-old Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka. Even with question marks littering the infield -- Can Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira rebound from an entire season lost to injury? How will the team cope with the glaring absences of Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez? -- overall this team is a better squad than the group that had to overachieve a 79-83 Pythagorean record last year to finish over .500. The Yankees could contend for the American League pennant.

In 2013, injuries struck the Yankees more viciously than ever before in their long history. A franchise record 56 different players were used in an attempt to make up for the production lost from their injured stars. A cursory glance at the Yankees with the most games played at each position in 2013 would make any Yankees fan -- and indeed, any fan of baseball -- wince. Vernon Wells? Jayson Nix? Lyle Overbay? Travis Hafner? Perhaps it's no surprise that this offense finished with an ugly .243/.308/.377 triple-slash and a league-low 2,048 total bases.

That meagre offense has since suffered the defection of Cano but was bolstered by the additions of McCann and Beltran. Some have unfairly labeled Ellsbury as an "injury-prone, slight improvement over Brett Gardner," but he brings much more than that to the table. His two biggest injuries were the results of collisions, and even if he never replicates his career year of 2011 again, a mere duplication of his 2013 in Boston (114 OPS+, a league-leading 52 steals, and 5.8 WAR thanks to arguably the AL's best center-field defense) would go a long way to assuaging the skeptics.

Additionally, while Alfonso Soriano probably won't homer every 14.3 plate appearances as he did down the stretch for the Yankees last year, he should still provide the righty power that the Yankees otherwise lack. While it's easy to question the Yankees' infield, the outfield is a much bigger threat. Full seasons from this quartet and perhaps a few under-the-radar surprises like power-hitting lefty infielder Kelly Johnson targeting the Yankee Stadium short porch with success, along with resurgences from Teixeira or Jeter, and the Bronx Bombers should restore the dignity of their old moniker in 2014.

Although the bullpen will obviously miss the incomparable Mariano Rivera, likely closer David Robertson has improved his control from his wilder days to 2.4 walks per nine innings in 2013, a rate that was better than that of most proven closers™. Shawn Kelley and Matt Thornton will have to pick up some of Robertson's slack as versatile set-up relievers, but if there's one thing manager Joe Girardi has demonstrated over his Yankees tenure, it's that he knows how to make a bullpen effective. After losing Rivera to injury in 2012, the Yankees still had a playoff-caliber bullpen. Given Girardi managed to coax productive seasons out of the likes of Cody Eppley and Clay Rapada, who's to say that he can't do the same with this bunch?

Tanaka will be the man everyone in baseball will likely be watching early on, but perhaps more attention should be paid to maligned ace CC Sabathia. A down year in 2013 combined with a decrease in velocity have caused some people to dismiss him as a lost cause. However, while CC might not have the pure stuff he once did, lefties far less talented than the big southpaw have succeeded in the league years after hitting their mid-thirties. While CC will celebrate his 34th birthday towards the end of July and has over 2,700 innings on his arm (more than both Bartolo Colon and Roy Halladay’s career totals), it's too soon to write him off.

While the peoples of two nations expect the world from Tanaka, simply posting an ERA+ in the region of 112 in his first season, just as his former NPB compatriots Yu Darvish and new rotation-mate Hiroki Kuroda did in their rookie campaigns, would be sufficient. Speaking of Kuroda, he turned 39 on February 10th but has not shown many sign of age. Ivan Nova was once banished from the rotation after injury and an ineffective 2012, but the now-27-year-old pitched to a 2.59 ERA and 639 OPS-against in 15 starts from July onward. The fifth starter spot could go to anyone from the long-rehabbing Michael Pineda to the versatile David Phelps, but even though the Yankees lost the reliable Andy Pettitte, the Yankees' rotation appears to be in better shape than it was on Opening Day last year.

The Yankees have been a safe bet to make it to the playoffs 17 times in the last 19 years. With five playoff spots available now, it's not foolish to envision a season led by an offensive resurgence that brings the Yankees back to October baseball and, eventually, the AL pennant. The spending spree worked last time during the 2008-09 offseason. It may just work again.