Okay, I'll give you a little break today from the plug-plugging of my book's crowd-fundraising campaign (click here if you want to see what I'm talking about) and let's talk about what's going right in Yankee camp this Spring Training.

The obvious need not be stated (again) so I won't. First off, the pitching has been dominant as the last couple weeks of the grapefruit league games are getting played and the players are rounding into shape. The Yanks who had barely won any games so far this spring (but, really, much like spring stats wins and losses don't account for ... anything) but over the last three games and after the word came down that the Bombers were going to rely on speed and pitching especially during the injury-plagued beginning of the season, the pitching- from top to bottom - has been phenomenal.

How phenomenal? How about one run - total - in the last three games facing the Blue Jays, Cardinal and Rays (two of the three being very good hitting teams) and yes, the Yankees won all three. With that kind of pitching, scoring three or four runs per game is more than sufficient. Kuroda has looked as sharp as he did last year. The back-end of the rotation, most notably Nova and Phelps, have been pushing each other with fantastic results. I think between the two of them, they've given up one run in 20+ innings.

As for the battery, once the Yanks let Russell Martin go, it was decided it was going to be defense over offense for the catcher position. If the previously mentioned pitching is any reflection on the backstop, well then point made. Want a stat? Francisco Cervelli has thrown out five of seven runners attempting to steal. If that's mid-season form, it's pretty impressive. It may not reflect on how he does once the real season starts, but it does indicate that he's doing something right behind the dish.

In front of the dish, Robinson Cano has been beating the crap out of the ball for the Dominican Republic WBC team. He's hitting up a storm, over .500. Brett Gardner is proving he's healthy and perhaps ready to make the jump to star. Yes, defensively the injury to Curtis Granderson will see Gardy still in leftfield even when  Granderson is back, but he's also a star in the making as a centerfielder.

And as Brian Cashman is reaching out to the AARP for players, some of the kids being given a chance such as Melky Mesa and Cuban Mustelier and are impressing. We kind of know what kind of (limited) production we would get from the likes of Rivera, Diaz and Francisco, but in the short-term and especially as pitchers would need to learn them, the potential upside of one, or more, of these kids being given the chance to start the season, and see some playing time with the big club could be bigger than the diminished expectations.

Okay, that's my glass half full perspective. Ahh, spring training: all that sound and fury and hope, signifying ... who the heck knows.

Cheers,
B.