New York Yankee News and Notes

Mariano Rivera had surgery late last season and has been taking it easy so far this Spring just playing catch instead of throwing, but he’s ready to take the next step.

Today, he will throw probably 30 pitches from a half-sized mound (to lessen the stress on his elbow). If all goes well, manager Joe Girardi expects him to get into a game by March 17.

“(Today) could be a big day,” Girardi said. “I’m not saying it will be a 60-foot bullpen session, but it will be a bullpen session.”

Joba Chamberlain starts today against Canada’s World Baseball Classic team. My guess is he’ll throw three innings against a very good lineup. Their lineup includes Russell Martin, Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, and Matt Stairs. It should be a good test for him.

From this point on the Yankees’ rotation will be set with CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, AJ Burnett, and Andy Pettitte following Joba. This is likely how the pitching staff will go into the season barring injuries.

With the rotation set, once they get stretched out a little bit there is likely to be no room for young pitchers Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. At some point soon they will have to be transferred to the minor league camp.

At that point the Yankees would officially be abandoning last year’s youth movement.

It wasn’t a bad idea, but the Yankees made a mistake by jumping into the deep end before getting used to what comes along with using young pitchers. Now those guys are really going to have to fight their way to the Bronx unless injuries create a need.

Speaking of which, Kennedy didn’t help himself yesterday as he got knocked around by the Atlanta Braves. In the first inning he allowed a pair of doubles, a walk, and a wild pitch as he gave up a pair of first inning runs.

“I was falling behind,” Kennedy said. “It’s frustrating. But the second inning was better and the third inning was better…But I felt like I was going a little better, and today was a step back.”

Hideki Matsui is also getting closer to playing. In what sounds incredibly bad, Girardi said with Matsui the Yankees just focus on getting him through that day and don’t have many long-term plans. That being said Girardi hopes to get him into a game either today or tomorrow.

I’m getting the feeling that there will be plenty of DH at-bats to go around this season. I have no faith in this guy right now. It’s crazy when you realize this guy used to be one of the most consistent players in Japan or America.

Speaking of the team’s DH, could Manny Ramirez be their DH next season?

Manny recently signed a two-year $45 million deal with the Dodgers that he can opt-out of after this season. The Yankees will also have Matsui along with Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Pettitte, and Jose Molina coming off the books next year.

They could replace one of the outfielders with Austin Jackson, Molina with Francisco Cervelli, Nady with Swisher, and Pettitte with Hughes or another young starter. They could then use part of their $35 million coming off the books on Manny.

Finally, Billy Crystal will have his own baseball card out. If you forgot, he signed a one-day contract with the Yankees last spring training. I’m jealous and now I have to become a famous actor because I think my professional baseball player days have passed me by at age 25.

(H/T to The Voice of the Yankee Universe).