SARASOTA, Fla. – Joe Girardi met with Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy yesterday to discuss pitching one day after the neophyte right-handers were spanked by the Twins Wednesday in a 7-5 loss at Legends Field.
“I enjoy that part of the game,” Girardi said. “I talked a little bit (yesterday). I talked to Ian and Joba and Alan Horne, just talked about things I saw and the importance of establishing the fastball and pitching in. It was just pitching strategy.”
Kennedy gave up a monster two-run homer to Delmon Young, and Chamberlain watched a Garrett Jones blast land far into the seats of the right-field party deck with a runner on. Falling behind hurt each pitcher.
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Mariano Rivera makes his spring debut today at Legends Field with an inning against the Astros. He will follow Andy Pettitte as long as Pettitte doesn’t have to leave in the middle of an inning.
There were some positives in yesterday’s 12-8 loss to the Reds. Scott Patterson relieved Chien-Ming Wang in the first and provided 11/3 scoreless innings. Greg Porter hit a grand slam in the eighth. In addition to Wang’s putrid outing, Sean Henn and Darrell Rasner didn’t aid their chances of making the club. Henn gave up three hits and two runs (one earned) in an inning, and Rasner surrendered four runs in two frames.
Girardi asked the umps and the Reds if the bottom of the ninth could be played in order to get pitcher Steven Jackson work. Jackson then gave up four runs and five hits before the inning was halted.
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Girardi figures Hideki Matsui will be about 20 at-bats behind the other hitters when spring training ends. Matsui isn’t expected to play in a game until next week as he recovers from offseason knee surgery. And Matsui missed two days of practice this week due to a stiff neck. He did take batting practice for the second straight day yesterday.
“We will try and get him as many (at-bats) as we can,” Girardi said. “He will start at DH before the outfield. We try to get guys 40 to 50 (at-bats), but we have to be careful because he has to build up. He is pretty close to getting in there.”
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Andy Phillips admitted to being surprised the Yankees designated him for assignment this past offseason.
“I was a little bit surprised because if you think of the last couple of years I didn’t play and stuck around and last year I contributed,” said Phillips, who is trying to make the Reds as a non-roster utility man. “When it happened, I got caught by surprise.”
Phillips batted .292 in 61 games for the Yankees playing mostly at first base last year, where he didn’t make an error in 408 chances. He suffered a season-ending wrist injury on Sept. 2.
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Pettitte faces the Astros today at Legends Field. Former Yankee Shawn Chacon starts for the visitors.