Rothschild likes what he's seen, so far

New pitching coach Larry Rothschild, after working nearly two weeks with the staff, spoke on a variety of subjects Friday, on the eve of the Yankees' spring opener.

* On highly touted 19-year-old lefthander Manny Banuelos: “He’s a nice left-handed arm. He’s a kid with a good look. He’s able to repeat his delivery very well. And does this pretty easily. I think future-wise he’s somebody that should have a good future here. He’s a young kid that has to go through all the steps to get here.”

* On the overall collection of young arms in camp: “It’s not a usual group. Whether it’s exceptional or not, I think time tells that. But there’s a lot of kids here that have a lot going for them as far as stuff-wise, arm strength and being able to spin the ball, which is good to see for young kids.”

* On Ivan Nova, who started seven games last year and who the Yankees hope wins the fourth spot: “I think he’s got the pitches to win there. I think like a lot of young kids that haven’t had a lot of experience he’s got to really determine the fact that he belongs here and can pitch here and can pitch very well here. It takes a while to figure that out for a younger guy. I think the confidence thing is huge with him and I think he’s capable of pitching well for us….He’s another young kid here that is nice to be able to work with. He’s got three pitches, if he’s able to repeat them and be consistent with them, he’s going to win a lot of games for us.”

* On Andrew Brackman: “I saw him the last month, he came in early [to the Yankees minor league complex], threw some bullpens there and threw some batting practice there. I didn’t see him before but I think he’s made some really good strides. Now, we’ll see him in some games as we go but he’s made some nice strides. If he can carry that over, I think he’s got some momentum built up with what he’s doing and we need to keep that.”

Rothschild said Brackman throws hard but the 6-10 righty has more than that.

"He's got a good breaking ball, he can spin a curveball really well," Rothschild said. "Look, the guy's almost seven feet tall. But his delivery's been pretty clean, he's an athletic kid so he's been able to put it together pretty well."