1. Joe Girardi mentions competition enough that I am going to take him at his word, and not just about the open spaces in the bullpen where as many as 8-10 guys might be vying for three spots. But I think Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui have to show in this camp and then right through the season that they are worthy of at-bats. Girardi is strongly indicating that track records alone will not assure anything. It will be interesting, therefore, if Shelly Duncan impresses Girardi and team officials this spring and eats into the at-bats of Damon, Girardi and/or Matsui.
2. Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain are the faces of the Yankees’ 2006 draft class, and fittingly so since they were picked 1-2 and because they already have enjoyed major league success. But there is a chance that this draft could be even more special for the Yanks. Mark Melancon (ninth round) and Daniel McCutchen (13th) also are in this camp and also are well-respected within the organization, especially Melancon who just might be the closer of the future. And the Yanks believe two other arms from that draft who will be part of their minor league camp â George Kontos (fifth) and Dellin Betances (eighth) â also have a chance to be top-flight major leaguers.
3. Girardi has insisted that he was protective of a young Marlin staff in 2006, his only year as a manager. And there are reasons beyond Girardi to potentially explain the massive breakdowns suffered subsequently by those young arms. But Girardi cannot be completely exonerated from that past, and that has to raise some worries about how he will handle Chamberlain, Kennedy and the other Yankee young arms. It is relevant again because Anibal Sanchez, who won 10 games and threw a no-hitter as a rookie for Girardi in 2006, had shoulder surgery the following season and just had to be shut down in Marlin camp yet again for recurring shoulder pain.
