Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that JA Happ will start the intrasquad game on Monday night; hopes to get 5-6 pitchers in during the game. Yankees will be playing two night intrasquad games Monday and Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
VIDEO: Brett Gardner on Gerrit Cole.
VIDEO: Longtime Yankee Brett Gardner talks about his decision to play this season.
Video of Aaron Boone talking about Masahiro Tanaka being hit in the head by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive. Boone also revealed that DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa are self-isolating at home after having tested positive for COVID-19.
Excellent news! Masahiro Tanaka has been released from the hospital.
Aaron Boone said that Tanaka is doing well after undergoing a battery of tests at the hospital. He also said that DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa (who authorized him to release the info) tested positive for COVID-19 before the intake protocol to get into camp started.
When a pitcher gets hit in the head by a line shot as Masahiro Tanaka did Sat., it raises the issue of protection. As ESPN has reported, MLB/the players union have jointly approved 2 safety devices, but pitchers never embraced them. They can opt for any protective headwear, as long as MLB doesn't consider it to interfere with competition or licensing agreements. A Safer Sports Technologies hard-shell cap insert - untested by MLB/the union - is worn by a handful of pitchers.
Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka was hit in the head with a line drive during today's sim game. He is currently alert, responsive and walking under his own power. He is being sent to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and testing.
Here is Masahiro Tanaka being helped off the field after spending several minutes down on the mound. Tanaka was hit on the head by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive.
The New York Mets resumed their "spring training" workouts at Citi Field today... and here's a preview of what it'll be like with the empty stands...
VIDEO: The Yankees released this footage of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge taking batting practice at Yankee Stadium today.
Zack Britton: "I feel good. I feel like if we had to play right now I could pitch and be fine, just based on the work that I've done at home. I can definitely benefit from these next couple of weeks, getting back in the competitive atmosphere again. I think that's the biggest thing for guys, being at home and away from Major League stadiums and Major League-caliber players, just getting back in the swing of things"
League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced today the first set of results for the COVID-19 testing
Gerritt Cole on deciding with his wife Amy that he'd play this season, even though they just welcomed their first child: "I certainly have confidence in my teammates and the staff, the Yankees, to keep us safe. My gosh, we worked like five months on this protocol, with a lot of outside counsel, so both of us want me to play. If there's obviously something that would that would put us in danger we may adjust, but I have faith that we can get through this and get through it safely."
Gerrit Cole on the Yankees still being considered one of the favorites: "We liked our chances in February, not coming out of the gate 100% healthy, so I gotta say that we really like our chances coming out of the gate 100% healthy. We're bullish on it... 60 games,162 games... when it comes down to it, players just want to compete and get after it."
Gerrit Cole on his preparation during the hiatus: “There's kind of a fine balance of not trying to throw useless bullets, but also trying to maintain some of that stress so that you can keep the tissue activated and keep the body repaired to be able to ramp up really quickly. I've responded really well to the three innings yesterday so I think the work that I put in up to this point has prepared me really well.”
When we spoke two years ago, baseball exec Mike Veeck said he was pleased — and thought his father Bill, the late Cleveland Indians owner, would also be — that the team's controversial "Chief Wahoo" logo was going away. And Veeck said then of the NFL Washington franchise clinging to its nickname: "It's time for a change and I don't get the 'historic meaning' argument," adding, "What's wrong with correcting a bad idea?"
Gerrit Cole: "There is only gonna be one Coronavirus World Series champion; and so that's unique in and of itself. I don't see why you wouldn't want to take that trophy home."
Gerritt Cole announces that he and his wife Amy just welcomed their first child, Caden Gerrit Cole. Caden was born on June 30th. Cole: "Gosh, I can't stop staring at him!"
MLB has officially cancelled the All-Star Game and will reward it to the Dodgers for 2022. Here's a statement from Rob Manfred ...
Mike Trout, whose wife is scheduled to give birth to their first child this summer, sounds very conflicted about playing. "Honestly I still don't feel comfortable." For now, he's playing. "But I gotta play it by ear."
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake watched Gerrit Cole throw a sim game at Yankee Stadium yesterday and said he looked about game-ready; his fastball was at 96-99mph.
ESPN has learned that more than half of all intake testing is almost complete as MLB prepares for preseason workouts to officially resume tomorrow. General information about the results will be released in the next 24-48 hours, but will not have identifying factors in order to protect players' privacy. As previously reported, COVID-19 related information won't be disclosed without players' permission.
Yankees managing general partner, Hal Steinbrenner, on an interview with YES Network: “I do expect to see fans in our Stadium at some point to some degree, and that's going to be a great day as well.”
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake says Gerrit Cole threw three innings today, and Adam Ottavino threw two. Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit were the hitters. Blake said that Tanaka will throw on Saturday. Blake on Cole: "He looked really good today. He's in a really good spot."
