2009 MLB Spring Training

After A.J. Burnett was roughed up Sunday by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates in his last spring start, the Yankees coaching staff was looking for answers.

Fans, players, and Yankee employees were seeking a catalyst to explain such a glaring deviance from an otherwise dominant spring.

Yankees catcher and emotional leader Jorge Posada was very vocal in his beliefs regarding Joba Chamberlain's future.

Posada felt that Chamberlain belonged in the Yankee bullpen, regardless of the widely spread intrigue with transitioning him into a starting pitcher.

Well something strange happened. It is actually pretty funny, too. I'd like to talk about it. This is the talk. The Orioles Talk, that is. Isaac Barrow, I hope you enjoy this one. Laugh your heads off on this one.

Here lies "The House That Ruth Built" (1923-2008)

Today is "Earth Hour", where people are encouraged to shut off their lights for one hour in a symbolic act to conserve energy. But in Arizona, there is nothing symbolic about the decisions Lou Piniella, Larry Rothschild and the gang have to make.

In the bullpen, only four spots are set. The closer will either be Carlos Marmol or Kevin Gregg, with the slight edge going to Marmol at this point. However, Gregg has pitched very well this spring. Either way, one will pitch in the eighth and one in the ninth.

Drafted No. 38 overall by the Mets in 2001, third baseman David Wright has seen his skill, and popularity, rise more and more each year in the organization.

Raised in Chesapeake, VA (20 minutes away from the old Mets' AAA-affiliate Norfolk Tides), Wright grew up a Mets fan and dreamed of playing for his favorite team one day.

Never in a million years did he imagine it would come true.

The son of a retired police chief, Wright was raised in a very disciplined household.

According to Alden Gonzalez of Yankees.com, FOX Sports is reporting that Melky Cabrera is once again being dangled as trade bait across the league.

In a game that may be forgotten before writers' heads hit their pillows tonight, A.J. Burnett showed Boston no spring training mercy.

Consistently pounding the strike zone with an eye-popping breaking ball and a 95 mile-per-hour heater, Burnett made sure that the Red Sox lineup will not sleep quite as soundly.

Boston's socks began to take on a shade of green by the end of Burnett's outing, as they became envious of the Yankees new flamethrower.

In cementing his place as the opening day starter for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in AAA, Phil Hughes gave the Minnesota Twins all they could handle and more.

Hughes lowered his spring ERA to an impressive 2.19, while limiting the Twins to just four base runners in 4 1/3 innings pitched.

Here is a list of how the Yankees have done so far in spring training. Keep in mind that nobody even has 50 at-bats, so the sample size is a little bit too small to draw conclusions from. It’s still nice to see how people are doing.

The list is via ESPN, and I took out quite a few guys with less than 10 at-bats, although not everyone.

Stats as of March 19, 2009