Bob Nightengale apparently dropped quite a doozy to Jim Bowden:

… Jim Bowden ex-Reds GM, tweeted Monday that Bob Nightengale says that [Francisco] Liriano could be traded for Ivan Nova or Joba Chamberlain in the next two weeks. Presumably, Bob said this to Jim on Jim’s XM show.

That would be…interesting. To say the least.

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A day after Dellin Betances electrified Yankees fans with his three strikeout 5th inning in Clearwater, fellow top prospect Manny Banuelos made his spring debut for the Bombers against the Tigers.

Since the game wasn’t televised it’s not really possible to come up with many specifics regarding Banuelos’ stuff, but the results were certainly there. He got the first batter he faced, Victor Martinez, to ground out and then struck out Jhonny Peralta and Brandon Inge to finish off the inning. I can report, however, that the Tigers’ play by play broadcaster got very excited when Banuelos struck out Peralta with a curveball. As I said on Twitter at the time; you know you’re doing something right when you get the other teams broadcaster excited about one of their players striking out. Apparently the curveball that got Inge was similarly pretty, as the guy was still talking about how good the pitch was into the next half inning.

Other than that, there isn’t much to say about today’s game. Mark Prior pitched an inning and his arm didn’t fall off. Derek Jeter went 1 for 4 and has reportedly asked hitting coach Kevin Long to put in some extra time with the captain tomorrow. And the Yankees held the Tigers scoreless through 6 innings, after which the three last pitchers gave up 2 runs each.

The Yankees will make the trip to Lakeland today for a 1:00 game with the Tigers, and the big guy, C.C. Sabathia, will be making his 2011 debut. Unfortunately, the game isn’t on TV so far as I know, so we’re relying on the various beat writers and John Sterling to relay the action to us (actually I’ll probably listen to the Tigers’ radio broadcast, and if you have an MLB advanced media subscription you can do the same). Lineups and notes after the jump.

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(Click here to see the previews of the American League teams we’ve completed so far.)

2010 record: 80-82 (3rd place, A.L. West)

2010 run differential: -21 (681 runs scored, 702 runs allowed)

Key additions: Vernon Wells OF, Hisanori Takahashi LHP, Scott Downs LHP

Key losses: Mike Napoli C/1B, Juan Rivera OF

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My quick observations from the second game of the Spring:

• Ivan Nova looked pretty good. Struck out Ryan Howard with a nice breaking ball and got the other five outs on breaking balls a second strikeout and 4 ground ball outs. Also touched 96 MPH with his fastball. A strong showing right out of the gate.
• Jesus Montero was…a normal baseball player. Had a good at bat in his first go-round before smoking a liner right at Placido Polanco, then swung at two first pitches, just putting one through the infield for a hit in his third at bat. Didn’t look terrible behind the plate either.
• Curtis Granderson hit his first opposite field home run since 2009.
• Dellin Betances is real, and he’s spectacular! Struck out 3 batters around a walk of Carlos Ruiz while working the bottom of the 5th. Had the fastball working around 94-95, and brought some wicked curveballs to back them up. Yes, I’m drooling.
• I know that we’re only talking about two games, but Brandon Laird is really not making a good first impression on me at the plate.
• Jorge Vazquez is apparently working his way into the competition for the backup corner infielder spot.

Heads up Yankees’ prospect huggers, today you get a glimpse of the holy grail, as Jesus Montero will be getting a start behind the plate when the Yankees travel for a re-match with the Phillies. On top of that, Dellin Betances is schedule to make an appearance on the mound. If you’re interested in that, the game is live on YES at 1:00, and will be replayed on MLB Network tonight at 8:00 P.M. The Yankees full lineup is after the jump.

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Just a few notes and observations from the Yankees 5-4 loss to the Phillies today in Tampa:

• I guess we might as well get this one out of the way; Bartolo Colon is huge. But other than that, he didn’t embarrass himself out there today, and he only allowed one really well hit ball, a shot to right that would have been a loud single had Nick Swisher not misplayed it and allowed it to go for a triple.
• On the other hand, Joba Chamberlain really didn’t look fat to me at all. Or, at least, he didn’t look any bigger than he was last season. But maybe my vision was skewed by the fact that he was following Colon.
• Obviously results mean very little in spring training, let alone the first game, but still, I was struck by how good A-Rod’s swing looked right out of the gate.
• David Robertson pitched the 4th inning, and just about everyone on my Twitter timeline noticed that he had a decidedly lower leg kick in his delivery. He was also trying to work in a change up, and threw a very nice one to strike out Raul Ibanez.
• Hector Noesi has some seriously long legs.
• It might have just been me, but it sure looked like Brandon Laird was swinging really hard in his at bats.
• This one really doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but Jorge Vazquez hit a monster home run in the 7th inning. It cleared the batter eye and everything. Again, doesn’t mean anything, but it was really cool to watch.
• For some reason, Hank Steinbrenner did not attend the pre-game ceremony honoring The Boss. Seemed a little weird, given what a production that was.

The New York Times reports further on the dire financial situation of the Mets:

Major League Baseball provided $25 million to the owners of the Mets as they struggled to deal with a cash shortfall last fall and a looming lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s vast Ponzi scheme, according to two people briefed on the arrangement.

[...]

The Mets have exhausted baseball’s standard bank line of credit, tens of millions of dollars that Mr. Selig and the sport’s owners make available to teams for a variety of reasons in the course of a year. The owners also have more than $400 million in debt on the team. Thus, the additional money provided by Mr. Selig — done in secret last November — might have been crucial in keeping the club functioning. Three weeks ago, after months spent denying that they were in any significant financial trouble, Mr. Wilpon and Mr. Katz announced that they were willing to sell 25 percent of the club, which is valued by Forbes magazine at $858 million. In recent days, the men indicated they were willing to sell even a larger share of the team, but they have insisted they do not want to give up majority ownership.

Mr. Selig’s decision to give what amounts to extraordinary assistance to one of the sport’s most highly valued teams — one owned by Mr. Wilpon, a man Mr. Selig has long regarded as a close personal friend — could anger other team owners, who might wonder why their money is being used to rescue a team with a $140 million payroll.

The top line takeaway here is that the Mets are in even more trouble than originally thought (how many times have we said that?), and while that certainly seems true, I’m a bit more interested in Selig’s role in all of this.

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Admit it, you can’t wait to hear those words soon. After the jump, today’s lineups, pitchers, and some rotation thoughts.

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I’ve reached an exalted status in life: I’m officially a baseball journalist blogger Joe Posnanski wannabe friend of Jason’s. I figure I can’t do my job adequately without video access to every baseball game there is (subject to blackout restrictions). How can I post adequately if I can’t watch Cleveland battle Kansas City for bragging rights in the second division of the American League Central?

Only I’m not sure the best way to do this.

There’s MLB Extra Innings through DirecTV. That’s about $200. I’m supposed to be able to watch 8 games at a time. Subject to blackout restrictions. I live in L.A., so I won’t be hit with Yankees’ blackout restrictions all that often. But then I’m limited to watching on the TVs in my house.

There’s MLB.TV ($100) and MLB.TV premium ($120). I can watch games on my computers, iPod, iPad, Droid phone, presumably all at once, with picture-in-picture on my computers if I pay for MLB.TV premium. I figure if I do that, it will take my wife and daughter about an hour to access their email, but that’s not my problem. If I invest in a Roku box, then I can watch the same stuff on a regular TV. I think.

Then there’s At Bat 11, available for $15, though I might have to pay for each device I want to use to access this service. At its heart, this program looks like a way to track ongoing games (like ESPN’s GameCast) and access statistics, but apparently you can use it to watch ballgames if you also subscribe to MLB.TV. Or maybe not.

Has anyone figured out the best way to access MLB Advanced Media content? Is it worth an extra $20 for MLB.TV premium? Do I need At Bat 11 on top of everything else? How about Roku? What are the cool kids doing at your school? Please post your thoughts in the comments below.

(This post continues our series previewing the 2011 season for each American League team. You can see the rest of the series here.)

2010 record: 81-81 (3rd place A.L. Central)

2010 run differential: +8 (751 runs scored, 743 runs allowed)

Key additions: Victor Martinez C/1B/DH, Joaquin Benoit RHP

Key losses: N/A

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There is a bit of news out of Tampa, as we await tomorrow’s first spring training game. The Yankees have announced the 2010 Kevin Lawn “Player of the Year” and “Pitcher of the Year.” Eduardo Nunez took Player of the Year honors, while David Phelps was named Pitcher of the Year.  From the Yankees Press Release:

The annual awards are dedicated to Kevin O’Brien Lawn – the son of longtime Yankees Vice President and Chief of Operations Jack Lawn – who passed away in 1999.

Nunez, 23, batted .289 (134-for-464) with 55 runs, 25 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 50 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 118 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2010, earning a spot on the midseason and postseason International League All-Star rosters. He led all Scranton/WB batters in hits and stolen bases, ranked second in doubles and recorded the third-highest average among all Yankees farmhands. Nunez was promoted to the Major League level on August 19, where he hit .280 (14-for-50) with 12 runs, one home run and seven RBI in 30 games. Following the season, he was named by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect, the “Best Defensive Infielder” and possessing the “Best Infield Arm” in the Yankees organization.

Phelps, 24, combined to go 10-2 with a 2.50 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 26 games (25 starts) with Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2010. He began the season with Trenton and went 6-0 with a 2.04 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 14 starts before being promoted to Scranton/WB on July 2. At the time of his promotion, he led the Eastern League in strikeouts and ranked second in ERA, earning EL midseason All-Star honors. With Scranton/WB, Phelps went 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA in 12 games (11 starts). Following the season, the Missouri native was tabbed by Baseball America as having the “Best Slider” in the Yankees organization.

So congrats to both Nunez and Phelps!

In less than 30 hours, the New York Yankees will take the field in Tampa, Florida to play an actual baseball game with the Philadelphia Phillies. This long, cursed winter is just about over. Anyone else have this song stuck in their heads today?