… and one of his tosses drills Greg Golson in the head. Golson was stunned but OK. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
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CLEARWATER, Fla. — Fright invaded Yankees camp yesterday when A.J. Burnett hit Greg Golson in the head during a morning batting-practice session on a back field at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Golson went down and stayed on the ground. Eventually he was taken off the field on a cart. The outfielder was taken for tests, which were negative.
Because Burnett led the majors with 19 hit-by-pitches last year, it was easy to blame the beaning on erratic control. However, the angle of the intense morning sun in a cloudless sky made picking up the ball difficult for the batter.
“He [Golson] probably won’t play [today],” said manager Joe Girardi, whose club travels to Lakeland to face the Tigers. “But he is OK.”
* Eric Chavez is a proven third baseman. The Yankees want to see if the veteran can handle first base.
“I know he can play third,” said Girardi, who started Chavez at first yesterday in a 7-3 win over the Phillies at Bright House Field. Chavez handled seven chances without a miscue and went 0-for-3.
* Jorge Vazquez’s chances of sticking as the utility infielder are not good. However, his second homer in as many days got Girardi’s attention.
“He hits a homer every day, he should get the Grapefruit League MVP,” Girardi said of Vazquez, who plays third and first and is blocked by Chavez.
* Andrew Brackman’s left groin/hip problem passed physical tests yesterday. Brackman had been shut down for three days due to tightness in the area.
The 6-foot-10, 25-year-old right-handed pitcher, who was a combined 10-11 last year with Single-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton, played catch yesterday and is expected to repeat the activity today.
* Ronnie Belliard was scratched from yesterday’s game with a left calf problem. In the original lineup at third base, Belliard was replaced by Brandon Laird.
* Luis Ayala looked like a pitcher who hurled in winter ball Saturday when his sinking fastball was clocked at 93-mph.
Ayala, who missed all of 2007 due to Tommy John surgery, pitched in Mexico this winter, and when the sink and velocity returned on the fastball the Yankees signed him to a minor-league contract and invited to camp.
The 33-year-old pitched for three Triple-A teams last year. With Mariano Rivera, Rafael Soriano and David Robertson, there likely isn’t room for another one-inning reliever. However, if Ayala can prove he can handle multiple-inning outings, he could squeeze onto Girardi’s 12-man staff.
* Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera is expected to DH today against the Yankees in Lakeland. It will be Cabrera’s first action of the spring after a recent DUI bust.