Late health issues only damper for Yanks

TAMPA, Fla. -- Joe Girardi liked far more than he didn't like this spring, but any manager's No. 1 spring goal is for his team to come out of camp healthy.

That wasn't the case for the Yankees, though it could be worse.

"We were so healthy for so long, it kind of bothered me the last couple of days we got some people nicked up," Girardi said. "I know it's going to happen and you try to prepare for it, but everything was going so well from a health standpoint, you felt pretty good about it."

The two primary concerns for Girardi are outfielder Curtis Granderson and lefthander Pedro Feliciano. Granderson, who played in a simulated game Tuesday, is still an Opening Day possibility, provided he makes it through a minor-league game Wednesday.

After his simulated game, Granderson (strained oblique) was optimistic about Opening Day.

"Every at-bat felt good," he said. "Hopefully, tomorrow it's the same thing, then I'll join up with these guys a day late."

Feliciano (upper arm soreness) will start the season on the disabled list and will be out "at least three weeks," Girardi predicted, maybe longer.

"You start talking about maybe losing your centerfielder a while and your lefthanded specialist, those are two pretty big guys," Girardi said. "Let's get through today and let's get through tomorrow with Granderson and then you'll feel a lot better."

Overall, Girardi did leave spring training feeling good. The Yankees went 13-15 after beating their Opening Day opponent, Detroit, 2-1, Tuesday.

"I think we've answered a lot of questions," Girardi said. "I can't say if we're going to make a move or not make a move, but I like the guys that we have. I feel good about this team."

The biggest questions centered around the rotation. As expected, Ivan Nova won the fourth spot and Freddy Garcia, who started Tuesday and allowed one run in 42/3 innings, earned the fifth spot. Bartolo Colon, who outpitched everyone involved in the competition, will start the season in the bullpen.

"You've got CC, I really like what A.J.'s done, [Phil Hughes], I've always raved about Nova's stuff," Girardi said of his confidence in the rotation. "And Freddy's a competitor, that's the bottom line."

The bench appears solid with Eric Chavez, who had a standout spring, and Andruw Jones, who did not, along with middle infielder Eduardo Nuñez -- the Yankees like his speed and bat -- and Gustavo Molina, who, barring a late pickup, will back up Russell Martin.

"I like our bench," said Girardi, who added it has the potential to be the best he's had in his four years as Yankees manager.

Another question was whether Derek Jeter would bat leadoff.

"Jeet will lead off against lefties, you can bank on that," Girardi said.

As for Brett Gardner batting leadoff the majority of the time, as he did the last several spring games and is likely to for Thursday's season opener, Girardi said, "It's something we'll talk about on the plane."

And so it begins for real Thursday, something most players started looking forward to in recent days.

"I always enjoy spring training, but I think you just get excited about the season during the last week," Mark Teixeira said. "I've never said, 'Get me out of here, I can't wait to leave,' but at the same time, we play because it counts. We've had a lot of work down here and we've had a lot of fun. But now it counts."