The Pool Tourney Was a Huge Success

You can see more pics on this slideshow from today's outing from NJ.com.

The Yankees played two 8-ball tournaments and Mariano Rivera was a member of the winning for both. First he paired up with Andy Pettitte and defeated a team of Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui. For the second round, he was teammates with reliever Phil Coke.

Here's some quotes about today from the players:

Peter Abraham had this from Johnny Damon:

“It was a great day. We’ve been at spring training for a week and Joe came up with a great idea to get us together as a team. It was great to break up spring training a bit, get the team together, get some camaraderie there.

“I think everybody had a great time. We got to see who’s been spending too much time at the pool hall and we know the ones that don’t spend enough time in there.

“For Joe to let us take a day off from practice like that, it makes you want to work even harder for him.”

“Camp has been going great so far. We all have been rallying around each other, having a good time in the clubhouse. Today is one of those days that, as a ballplayer, you’ll never forget. I don’t think any team has ever really done this. It’s a day I’ll never forget. It says a lot about Joe. He knows we’ve been working hard and he rewarded us with a day off.”

And this from Mark Teixeira:

“I thought it was a great idea. We’ve been working really hard – the pitchers a little bit longer than the position players. We had a good week of practice and we’re going to start games here soon, so I think Joe just wanted to give us some time off.”

“I’ve never have (heard of a team doing something like this), but I think more teams should. This was a great time, great for all of us to get together.”

...

“It makes you relax and realize that we can have fun off the field. Once we get on the field, it’s business, but we can build some relationships as well.”

“Usually during the season, you get to hang out with guys because we’re always on the same bus or the same plane. Our schedules are identical. In spring training, you don’t go on trips together, the pitchers have different schedules than the hitters and the hitters are in different groups, so there might be a couple guys you don’t get to know at all.”

Here's some more from Tex, from Pete Caldera:

Teixeira played with Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.

"Alex and I got ousted early, but Robbie and I made it to the Sweet 16," Teixeira said. "This was the most fun I've had in my whole career at spring training, and I think a lot of the guys would say the same thing. There were probably 16-18 pool tables. There were some card tables. We had darts. We had guys playing dominos and we had lunch, also. Everyone was just having a good time."

Who was the worst pool player?

"Brian Bruney takes the cake today," Teixeira said. "He'll take the heat for that one."

The AP had these quotes from Jorge Posada:

"If I was a young man that's going on this trip, I think it's something you don't see often," catcher Jorge Posada said. "You can hang out with the veterans. Being away from the field and being together. Hopefully we start some relationships here. Nothing bad can come out of this."

Girardi previously discussed the idea with several veteran players, including Posada and captain Derek Jeter. The rest of the squad was informed at a team meeting the manager called Monday.

"Everyone started laughing," Posada said. "We're going to have a little pool tournament, and have fun. That's the main thing."

It's cool to see the Yankees do something like this. This doesn't necessarily fit in with the "Yankee way," but that might be a good thing.

People can make light of team chemistry all they want, but I will always believe that it helps. It's not the most important part of the game, but it helps. You can tell how much these guys enjoyed this. Look at the pictures, read the quotes. They all gained something from this. Maybe most importantly, so did Joe Girardi.