On the fourth day He arrived

Mariano Rivera arrived in Tampa last night and began his usual Spring Training routine this morning. He’s not sure when he’ll begin throwing off a mound but “it won’t be any time soon.”

I can’t say I’m pissed off that He arrived late because He’s the greatest of all time and knows His body better than anyone. Let Him do His thing. Plus, even if Mo did arrive on time He wouldn’t have started throwing until much later in camp anyway. Mo goes by His own agenda; He doesn’t travel to away games during Spring Training and, pretty much, makes His own schedule.

In other pitcher news, Girardi said this afternoon that the team is shying away from the idea of using some of its young guys to fill the back end of the rotation. SuperNova, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and Sergio Mitre are the favorites to compete for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation.

Girardi:

"I don’t think it’s completely out of the question, but I think we’re looking at some of our young kids and thinking that they might need a little bit more seasoning. Nothing is out of the question at this point, I don’t think so, but I think you’re looking more toward the veteran guys a little bit."

It would be nice to see the young guys make an appearance this season, especially with the lack of rotation arms, but they are young and another season in the minors couldn’t hurt.

Also, here’s a VERY interesting article (with audio) from LoHud regarding Joba and his role. The story quotes Cashman and Joba himself.

Russell Martin’s hip is fine and the Yanks are easing him into drills, the only concern with him is the MCL in his right knee. He is doing every drill except for blocking balls in the dirt, as the team feels slamming his knee into the ground might cause a setback. He says that, for the most part, he feels good and his lower half feels strong. He’s getting close to 100 percent.

Andruw Jones had a funny quote yesterday about his days of yore:

"When I was driving here I was thinking, ‘wow, my manager is the catcher I played against.’ That kind of makes me feel really old. It’s been a good time. Good memories of it. I wish we could have won it."

Jones, of course, is talking about his time with the ’96 Braves when he, as a 19-year-old  left fielder, fell to the Yanks and catcher Joe Girardi in six games in the fall classic. Jones, who hit like a maniac in that series, is dealing with some minor swelling in his left knee as a result of offseason workouts. However, he’s still able to run and hit without a problem.