Unlike last season, Yankees healthy at the start

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 30 Maret 2014 | 20.49

TAMPA – A year ago the Yankees left Florida headed for The Bronx in a plane that should have had the Red Cross logo painted on each side.

Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira were on the DL at the beginning of a year that was already ruined before the first pitch. In addition, Phil Hughes was on the shelf for Opening Day.

Inside a month starting catcher Francisco Cervelli was done for the season with a fractured right hand.

Missing the playoffs for the second time in six seasons, too many empty seats and shrinking television ratings the Yankees withdrew $458 million from the Steinbrenner Family vault to sign Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.

The three hitters are expected to return the muscle to the Yankees' lineup that gets Teixeira back but lost Robinson Cano. Tanaka is being counted on to bolster a suspect rotation.

So, as the Yankees ended the exhibition season Saturday they headed for Houston where they face the Astros in their opener on Tuesday night. And while nobody knows what transpires across the next six months they escaped Florida with no major injuries.

Early in the process Joe Girardi admitted to being concerned that Ellsbury's right calf problem that has kept him out of big league action since March 14 could be something more than minor. However, Ellsbury and the Yankees are convinced the leadoff hitter and center fielder received enough minor league at-bats to be ready.
Reserve infielder Brendan Ryan's neck problem was the biggest hurt of the camp and he will open the season on the shelf.

Most of the health watch centered on Jeter, who played in 17 games a year ago due to a twice-fractured left ankle and various leg injuries.

"Everything I came to do I did,'' said Jeter, who hit .137 (7-for-51) in 18 games. "Now it's time to get going. I feel good. Spring training is a progression, both physically and being game ready. I am where I want to be right now.''

Jeter's last visit to George M. Steinbrenner Field as a player included a presentation before Saturday's game against the Marlins was rained out. Jeter was given a key to Tampa and posed for pictures with children at home plate.

"Last year when we left were missing the middle of our order, the end of our order and the top of our order,'' said Girardi, who had Eduardo Nunez at short, Kevin Youkilis at first, Vernon Wells in left, Ben Francisco as the DH, Ichiro Suzuki in right, Jayson Nix at third and Cervelli behind the plate for last season's Opening Day gig against the Red Sox.

"This year we leave with pretty much everyone in our order that we expected to be there. I thought it was a very productive spring, a very competitive spring. I really like what I saw from our team, I do.''

Most managers sing that refrain on the final day of camp when everybody is 0-0 and the six-month grind hasn't exposed the weaknesses that every team possesses.

"We have a lot of talent but you have to perform on the field, that's the bottom line,'' Jeter said. " I like the guys we have and we are healthy for the most part. That's the key for the most part but you have to do the job on the field. It's a long season and it takes a while before you get a great feel for a team but I am pretty optimistic.''

Fueling that optimism is that when the Yankees' plane landed in Houston Saturday night all the big names were on it.


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