TAMPA — Brian McCann is playing catch-up this spring, and that tells you all you need to know about the Yankees’ new catcher.
There’s only one way to succeed and that’s staying behind to work with Masahiro Tanaka and not go to Panama this weekend with the Yankees’ Traveling Mo Show.
“It made more sense to stay back here,’’ McCann said Friday, a day the Yankees lost to the Twins, 7-3 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The Yankees are lucky to have signed a catcher (five years, $85 million) who has an inner sense of the game, a blue collar work ethic and thunder in his bat, the perfect Yankee Stadium swing.
“He’s a thinker and he can hit,’’ Yankees senior advisor Gene Michael said of McCann, a catcher he compares to Thurman Munson. “He is totally devoted to the pitchers, a true leader.’’
From head to toe, McCann is a winner for the Yankees.
McCann was all set to go to Panama until mid-week. That’s when the Yankees began to re-think their position.
Tanaka pitches Sunday. That’s the main reason McCann is staying back.
This also is a sign the Yankees figure to trade Francisco Cervelli.
McCann said staying back allows him to work extra with Hiroki Kuroda, too. It’s all about pitchers and catchers being on the same page, something that is essential to success. That is the game behind the game.
“If the season started tomorrow, I’d be comfortable calling the game for both of them, but two more times will get me more acclimated with them and we will go from there,’’ McCann said.
There’s are many issues here, including the basic art of communication between pitcher and catcher.
“They know fastball, curveball, split, we’re good,’’ McCann said of the English skills of the Japanese pitchers. “Everybody knows the key words to get the job done.’’
When issues arise, “we’ll just address it in the dugout between innings,’’ McCann said. “Those guys know themselves very well. They know what makes them successful. They’re professionals.’’
This is all about McCann getting to know his pitchers and what they like to do. He is studying them as much as learning to work with them.
Friday’s starter, David Phelps, who is battling for the fifth spot in the rotation, said of McCann: “He’s a big target and he receives the ball so well. All I have to do is focus on hitting him and we are going to get a lot of strikes.’’
Phelps smiled and added, “He can swing the bat a little bit, too.’’
McCann has experience catching Japanese pitchers, having caught Kenshin Kawakami in Atlanta in 2009 and 2010 when the right-hander was 8-22 with a 4.32 ERA over those two seasons.
Tanaka and Kuroda have much more talent. It’s all about executing pitch to pitch.
That makes for a long spring.
“I’m catching quite a bit because I need to see these guys,’’ McCann, 30, said. “I’m going to start catching back to back and by the end of spring I’ll probably catch three in a row, which in spring training you usually don’t do but down here I need to see everybody multiple times. I have to. I need to. It’s a big deal.’’
As for the other side of the game, McCann said his swing “feels good, but it’s not high on my priority list. I feel really good at the plate, but I’m down here working with these pitchers.’’
McCann brings video home each night to study AL East opponents.
“Guys who swing early, guys who don’t,’’ he said. “Just little things like that and put our pitchers’ stuff with what matches up well with their hitters’ weakness. I’m getting a better grasp every day. There’s a lot of good hitters in this league.
“[Panama] would have been a great trip,’’ he said, “but at the same time, I’m not upset I’m staying back.’’
McCann still hasn’t learned any Japanese.
“It’s pretty tough,’’ he admitted.
It’s crash course time in every way. Brian McCann is up for the challenge.