Sabathia not sharp in last spring outing
CC Sabathia does PFP drills at spring training in Tampa, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2012) Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams, Jr.
MIAMI -- It wasn't exactly a crisp tuneup for CC Sabathia.
Pitching for the last time before the Yankees open the season Friday, Sabathia allowed three runs, four hits and two walks in four innings against the Marlins Sunday.
"My arm feels great but my command was a little off," he said. Later he downgraded his opinion: "Today it was bad."
Sabathia, who finished spring training 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA, said he'll be fine for Friday's start in St. Petersburg against the Rays.
"It's always an honor to start the season for the franchise," he said. "I'll be ready to go."
Manager Joe Girardi said the lefthander pitched "a little under the weather," though Sabathia didn't mention it. "It will be there when the bell rings," Girardi said of his command. "I have a pretty good feeling about it."
Swisher "close"
Nick Swisher was 2-for-3, including a homer, in his first major-league game since he left the March 20 contest against the Pirates with tightness in his right groin.
"I would not say I'm 100 percent," he said, "but I'm close."
Homecoming?
Girardi managed the Marlins in 2006 and won the NL Manager of the Year award. But he also was fired after that season by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, whom he happened to run into Saturday night. "We talked," Girardi said. "I told him I was excited to see his new home."
Not a road warrior
Mariano Rivera, pitching on the road in spring training for the first time in years, allowed two hits and a run in the fifth, the first run he's allowed in an exhibition game since March 15, 2008, after 28 scoreless innings.
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