Ivan Nova, Joe Girardi happy with first outing

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- About the last thing Joe Girardi wants Ivan Nova, or any of the other contenders for rotation spots, to do at this point is take the mound thinking about winning a job.

"I want to see Nova go out and throw strikes, that's the bottom line," Joe Girardi said of his starter in Saturday's Grapefruit League opener. "I'm not looking for his stuff to be crisp. Obviously, you'd love for him to be able to throw his two innings and look good, but it's just way too early."

Nova was around the strike zone for the most part and kept the ball down in his two innings. He allowed one hit -- a two-run homer by Hunter Pence -- in the Yankees' 8-5 victory over the Phillies at Bright House Field.

Nova and Girardi shrugged off the homer -- which came on a grooved 3-and-0 pitch -- focusing instead on the righthander's changeup, a pitch both have said needs work.

"I threw a couple of good ones," Nova said. "That's the good thing. I got a couple of swings and misses. I feel really good right now."

Girardi said it wasn't just the changeup.

"I thought he had three pretty good pitches today," he said. "But his changeup was good."

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Following Nova to the mound were three of the young pitchers who have been mentioned in recent days. It started Thursday, when Hal Steinbrenner said a key component of getting the team's payroll to $189 million by 2014 is the performance of the young arms in the system. General manager Brian Cashman reiterated the message a day later.

Righthander David Phelps, 25, who is likely to start the season in Triple-A, allowed one hit in two innings and struck out one. Lefthander Manny Banuelos, 20, walked two in two innings but did not allow a run. Righthander Dellin Betances, 23, walked two in one inning but did not allow a run.

"I thought Phelps was a much different guy than we saw last year," Girardi said. "Much more relaxed, much more command today."

Phelps, after describing his 2011 spring training as "a rough one," said there was "definitely motivation" to hearing his name mentioned by the owner and GM. "Any time your name's getting thrown around by Hal or Brian, it's an honor," he said. "It motivates you to do that much better to prove them right and show them you're capable of doing that."

When Girardi addressed the team before its first full-squad workout, he had a message specifically for the pitchers.

"I said, look, we used 28 pitchers last year and I guarantee all 28 of them weren't on the 40-man when the year started. But at some point, they were there,'' he said. "So if you think we're not going to call you up because you're not on the 40-man, think again."

Banuelos, considered the top pitching prospect in the organization, said he has no idea where he'll start the season, a positive from his standpoint.

"Before my first outing last year, I heard I would go to Double-A," Banuelos said. "I heard that and just wanted to show them what I could do. This spring, I haven't heard anything like that. I feel I have a shot to get to the team as soon as possible. And if they send me down to the minor leagues, it's OK. I just want to do a great job and get back quick."