For Yankees, rate this one 'no stars'
Yankees' third baseman Doug Bernier throws to first base for an out in the fifth inning. (April 3, 2012) Credit: AP
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Mets beat the Yankees Tuesday, 7-6, on Ike Davis' walk-off home run in the ninth inning in the teams' first spring training meeting since 1996.
Or perhaps it's more accurate to say the Mets beat Ivan Nova, Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher, four bench players and a bunch of other guys wearing the Yankees uniform. The Yankees decided not to bring Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez or Curtis Granderson or Robinson Cano or Mark Teixeira or Mariano Rivera with them to meet the Mets.
A few Mets expressed surprise when told the Yankees sent the majority of their stars back to Tampa after a two-game series in Miami.
"Really?" pitcher R.A. Dickey said. "No Jeter? No A-Rod?"
But it's routine to bring only a few regulars to a road spring training game. The Yankees were playing their fourth away contest in four days on a trek through the East Coast of Florida that began Saturday. And their season starts Friday against the Rays in St. Petersburg.
"Just because of the schedule we're on," Joe Girardi said. "It's a tough schedule . . . We brought kind of what I thought we had to." He said his first duty was to "make sure I keep my guys strong and healthy."
That was probably little consolation to the Digital Domain Park record 7,644 fans who came out for the Mets' first sellout of the spring. The Mets were averaging 5,195. The Mets slapped a premium on ticket-buyers for this game. Tickets for all other home games this spring ranged from $8-$25. But the Mets raised prices for Tuesday to $20-$35.
And that's not all: According to Will Flaherty, director of communications for ticket-price search engine SeatGeek.com, tickets on the resale market were going for an average of $77.91, with a high of $200.
In addition to starting pitcher Nova and regular outfielders Gardner and Swisher, the Yankees' lineup included bench players Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones, Eduardo Nuñez and Francisco Cervelli. That quartet formed a 3-4-5-6 in the order that the Yankees hope they never have to use during the regular season.
Sandy Alderson was asked if he was upset that the Yankees didn't bring more players.
"That's an issue for MLB, not for us,'' Alderson said. "But I don't know whether Yankee fans are happy to see a Yankee uniform or would prefer to see somebody recognizable in the uniform. That's up to them."
Terry Collins was asked the same question. "I understand Joe's situation, what he just went through the last two days -- a night game last night, come back on a day game, I have no problems with that."
Girardi joked that after Monday night's game in Miami, "I didn't hear any requests" from his stars to play against the Mets. "You know, 5½ hours, six hours of bus riding," Girardi said.
The entire Mets squad, except for Opening Day starter Johan Santana, will return the visit Wednesday at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The Mets are leaving after that game to fly to New York for Thursday's regular-season opener against the Braves. Santana went a day early.
The Yankees and Mets last played in spring training on March 30, 1996, in Tampa. Their last meeting in Port St. Lucie was on April 22, 1995. They started playing each other during the season in 1997. This year, they will meet at the Stadium June 8-10 and at Citi Field June 22-24.
With David Lennon
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