Saturday, February 16, 2013

Yankees' Spring Heating Up

Injured New York Yankees star pitchers CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera continued their recoveries from surgery by throwing a bullpen session today at Spring Training headquarters in Tampa.

 Sabathia is on the mend from elbow surgery to get rid of bone chips and looks much thinner than previous seasons. He told the media he had butterflies while testing his elbow but seemed fine. He hopes to be pitching in a game by early March.

Meanwhile, future Hall of Famer Rivera continues his comeback from last April's season-ending torn ACL. The greatest closer in baseball history and one of the finest players ever in Yankees' history, the 43-year-old Rivera believes he will be back without any issues. He's most worried about testing the knee while fielding - no problems pitching.

Retired catcher Jorge Posada is joining the usual group of former Yankees who aid the team in teaching the younger prospects the "Yankee Culture." He joins Ron Guidry, David Wells, Reggie Jackson and others this spring. Missing for the first time in recent memory is 87-year-old Yogi Berra, who cannot travel anymore. Posada is excited to help out, telling reporters, ""I'll be bossing them around -- telling them to run and all that stuff. I miss certain things about the game. You're always going to miss certain things. I, obviously, miss my teammates the most."

In other news, new Yankee Kevin Youkilis met with former adversary Joba Chamberlain to clear the air regarding their rivalry when Youkilis donned the Red Sox uniform. Chamberlain hit Youkilis several times when they faced each other, further fueling a mutual dislike. Youkilis should eventually win Yankees fans over with his hustling, hard-playing style, which was missing for New York last season.

Michael Pineda, the promising young pitcher acquired by NY last year for Jesus Montero, is continuing his slow process from shoulder surgery. The Yankees hope to have him back by mid-season.

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