New York

The Yankees cut five more players from the big league camp yesterday: outfielder Greg Golson, righties Mark Melancon and Jonathan Albaladejo, and infielders Juan Miranda and Kevin Russo, according to Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger.

The cuts of Miranda and Russo have pretty much cemented the Opening Day bench, ensuring a spot for Ramiro Pena.

I come at this with a bias; this I admit willingly.

You see, I am a Tampa Bay Rays fan.

I would love nothing more than to see the Evil Empire crumble and fall and watch Hank Steinbrenner go off his meds and give his best "like father, like son."

Every year I hope that the "aging" Yankees finally, well, show their age. 

Every year people wonder when these three players' stars will begin to dim.

With Phil Hughes likely the team’s fifth starter and Curtis Granderson firmly in place as the team’s center fielder, the Yankees are just about set for the season.

Now we just have to find out who the utility infielder is, exactly how the bullpen is going to be set up, and wait...

Until then, here are some news items to hold you over.

Well, finally the New York Mets get some good news.

Good news is a rarity for the Mets, so when it happens and it’s good news about one of their star players, it must be recognized.

The Mets found out yesterday that shortstop Jose Reyes has been cleared to play. His thyroid levels are back to normal.

Reyes has been back home in New York resting and avoiding exercise (sounds like me) until his thyroid levels were back to normal. It’s still uncertain whether or not Reyes will be ready for Opening Day.

The Yankees are expected to announce this morning that Curtis Granderson will indeed become their starting center fielder and will not play much left field, if at all, according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

Granderson roamed center field in all his years with the Detroit Tigers, but there was speculation that the Yankees would move him to left field after general manager Brian Cashman made the claim that Brett Gardner might be the best defensive center fielder in all of baseball.

It's hard to feel good right now as a Mets fan.

Outfielder Carlos Beltran had the knee surgery that he should have had last fall in January and is out for the first two months of the season.

New signing pitcher Kelvim Escobar, recovering from two years of shoulder issues and surgery, has had yet another setback in his rehab and will almost certainly start the season on the DL. 

Brett Gardner started in center field and hit sixth in the batting order as the New York Yankees lost a spring training tilt to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday.

Neither position is a likely spot to find Gardner after the regular season starts in just 20 days.

Because it is uncertain if Gardner can hold down a regular outfield slot, the Yankees will almost certainly put Curtis Granderson in center because he will be playing every day.

Two weeks ago, Hall of Fame great Sandy Koufax worked with a few of the Mets' pitchers.

Koufax, a longtime friend of Mets owner Fred Wilpon, often makes this annual trip to Port St. Lucie to pass on his wisdom.

This year, it felt as if this visit by Koufax was the only hope Oliver Perez had left.

Perez, coming off a disastrous, injury-plagued year, is healthy and confident. Mets ownership is counting on Perez to win 15 games, but few in the game or the stands believe it.

Mets shortstop Jose Reyes could be sidelined until May or June, according to new reports coming out of spring training today.

He has not played since March 4, when he was sent back to New York for medical tests, and while it was initially thought his overactive thyroid wouldn't prove too much of a distraction, it has now emerged that he may not even resume playing baseball for eight weeks.

With Carlos Beltran out for the start of the year, it's a big loss to be without the speedy infielder for an extended period of time.

Javier Vazquez is the luckiest man in baseball right now, and he probably doesn't even know it.

Imagine a World Series where Bad A.J. shows up instead of Good A.J. in Game Two, or Johnny Damon is thrown out trying to take that extra base in Game Five, or Hideki Matsui rides the pine with a bum knee in Game Six.

Had the Baseball Gods seen things differently, the Yankees may have entered a new decade riding the same ghost train that departed the Bronx in October 2004.