Things in Tampa continue to heat up. Youk arrived yesterday and already stirred up the fan base by saying he will “always be a Red Sock.” I think if we resist the knee-jerk reaction to overreact, we can understand where he’s coming from, but it was still an interesting choice of words on his first day in pinstripes. Stay tuned for updates from Yankee camp throughout your Friday.
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[1:44pm]
Sad news via the LoHud Yankee Blog: Nick Swisher‘s mother passed away and Swish left Indians camp to return to Columbus, Ohio for the funeral. Our thoughts and prayers are with our former right-fielder.
[1:42pm]
Youk on playing the Sox at the Stadium on April 1st: “What better way than to open up as a Yankee by playing against your former team?”
[11:55am]
Wallace Matthews at ESPN New York reports that Michael Pineda threw a 25-pitch side session today–all fastballs. The recovery appears to be right on schedule in Pineda’s eyes.
[11:37am]
Well, one of the most overblown storylines of the off-season seems to be over. Joba Chamberlain and Youk saw each other for the first time. Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York reports that there was a handshake but no hug. He quoted Joba on why they didn’t hug (which may be my favorite Joba quote of all-time): “It would have been awkward. I was changing, I didn’t have my shirt on, and that might not be the best time for a man-hug. Not the first time, anyway… We’re teammates now. We’ll grow mustaches together and win together.” I will now use the memory sweeper from Men in Black to remove the image of a be-mustached, shirtless Joba from my brain.
[11:32am]
Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York reports that Kevin Youkilis has addressed his “I’ll always be a Red Sock” comments from yesterday: “The one comment alone looks bad. Let’s be honest, I mean, the comment by itself looks terrible, but that was not what it was meant to be. I’m a Yankee today and I’m excited. I’m proud to be a Yankee.”
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