Garcia excited about 1st start as Yankee
New York Yankees pitcher Freddy Garcia throws in the first inning of a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays. (March 3, 2011) Credit: AP
Freddy Garcia is not too old to be enthusiastic about his first start as a Yankee.
"I'm excited," said the 34-year-old, scheduled to start Wednesday against Carl Pavano and the Twins. "First start in New York with this team. I'm looking forward to it."
Garcia went 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in five spring starts to win the fifth starter's job. For the most part, of course, he won the job the year before, going 12-6 with a 4.64 ERA with the White Sox.
Garcia said the arm and shoulder troubles that plagued him in past seasons were behind him.
"It feels pretty good, man," Garcia said.
Garcia last threw in a game March 29, the Yankees' spring finale against the Tigers. He threw 50 pitches Sunday to try and stay in some kind of rhythm.
"We'll see tomorrow," Garcia said with a smile, asked if the delay would hurt him. "I'd love to pitch every five days but that's not the case this time."
Girardi picks Granderson
With Brian Duensing on the mound Tuesday night, either Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner was going to sit as the lineup Joe Girardi plans to use against lefthanders made its debut. Granderson, who came in with a better track record, albeit a small one, than Gardner against Duensing (2-for-7 vs. 0-for-3) and is off to a slightly better start this season, got the call.
Girardi said he would weigh a number of factors in deciding whether Granderson or Gardner would sit against lefties, keeping in mind that Andruw Jones, who started Tuesday night, was brought in specifically to start against lefthanders.
"We believe both our lefties can hit lefthanders, but you don't want a guy to go two, three weeks without playing," Girardi said. "We'll look at different things. It's a feel, but it's calculated."
