New York Yankees News & Notes 2/26: Damon, A-Rod, Youkilis, Game Recap and Preview

As the Yankees face their first possible rainout of the year, let’s take a look at some news and notes.

February 24, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees third baseman

(36) before the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Game three recap: The Yankees visited their division rivals with not exactly the A squad and lost 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles. On the plus side, Brett Gardner went 3-3, however, someone should tell him not to slide head first into first base in a spring training game (or any game for that matter)

Damon’s Return: Johnny Damon was on Michael Kay’s radio show yesterday, and said he’d be interested in a return to the Yankees. He said he’d take the minimum and even leave when Curtis Granderson returned. I bet Bobby Abreu and Carlos Lee would do the same thing. GM Brian Cashman said that the team will look internally and I think that is the correct move for now.

A-Rod’s Not So Charitable: A Boston Globe report about athletes and their charitable foundations came out and guess who’s on there? Apparently, Alex Rodriguez‘s foundation in 2006 gave only one percent of its funds to actual charities. They then stopped submitting their mandatory forms to the IRS and their tax exempt status was taken away. The site also hasn’t been updated since 2007.

Youk On The Shelf: More injury news for the Yankees, though this one doesn’t seem too bad. Kevin Youkilis will not be playing today and is shut down for a few days. He felt a little cramp in his hip, but the Yankees are calling it a strained oblique. Youkilis says he’s fine though

Today’s Lineup: The Yankees head to Clearwater to take on the Phillies. Here’s the lineup;

Eduardo Nunez SS

Ichiro Suzuki RF

Robinson Cano 2B

Mark Teixeira 1B

Travis Hafner DH

Matt Diaz LF

Melky Mesa CF

Bobby Wilson C

Addison Maruszak 3B

Jose Ramirez P

The game is at 1:05 and is on MLB Network and isn’t blacked out in NY.