TAMPA — 2-5-6-7.
No, those aren’t the numbers on an exacta box ticket from Aqueduct.
They represent the slots in manager Joe Girardi’s batting order he doesn’t have names set in concrete.
“We have talked about 2, 5, 6 and 7, that we really have to evaluate in spring training,” said Girardi, who has multiple options at all four spots.
Lefty swingers Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson are the candidates to hit between Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira in the No. 2 hole.
Switch-hitter Jorge Posada and lefty swinging Robinson Cano can hit fifth with the other guy sixth. Whoever doesn’t hit second will hit seventh, likely in front of switch-hitter Nick Swisher at eighth. If Brett Gardner is in the lineup in center or left, he will hit ninth.
If Girardi wants to stay away from two right-handed hitters or left-handed hitters batting back-to-back, he can employ the following lineup: 1. Jeter (right); 2. Johnson (left); 3. Teixeira (switch); 4. Alex Rodriguez (right); 5. Cano (switch); 6. Posada (switch); 7. Granderson (left); 8. Swisher (switch); 9. Gardner (left).
Of course, Johnson and Granderson are lefties and can switch slots and not upset the righty-lefty thing.
“The bottom of the order is kind of related to 5, 6 and 7, Girardi said.
* Rodriguez said he was fine following the minor car accident he was involved in around 6:15 Thursday morning.
“I was on my way to work, it was dark, it was just a little touch, no big deal, everything’s fine,” Rodriguez said of the fender bender involving his $400,000 Maybach.”
* CC Sabathia throws batting practice today, and his next outing will be against Roy Halladay and the Phillies in Clearwater.
First-base coach Mick Kelleher left camp Friday to attend his 91-year-old mother’s funeral in California. He is expected back Tuesday.
Rain forced yesterday’s workouts indoors except for Mariano Rivera and Edwar Ramirez, who played catch outside while getting wet.
“Just a drizzle. It felt good,” Rivera said of the rain that was closer to a downpour than a drizzle.
Rivera and Damaso Marte are scheduled to throw their first bullpen sessions tomorrow. . . . Chan Ho Park is expected to arrive today.