Some News From Day 1

I could have broken this down into several posts, but I figured I'd just give it all to you at once...

The Yankees will have another team bonding day, like the pool tourney last year, but you can probably count out paintball and bowling.

- If you didn't know by now, Joe Girardi is wearing #28 this year.

"That's basically just a message that we are not complacent," Girardi said during a 30-plus minute chat with reporters. "We do want to move forward and try to win No. 28 for this organization and the great city of New York. We have a wonderful group here and wonderful fans, and it's a reminder every day of why we're out there."

- His biggest concern is the lineup:

“Our No. 1 concern is ironing out our lineup,’’ said Girardi, who has to decide between Curtis Granderson and Nick Johnson in the No. 2 spot where a big void was created by Johnny Damon leaving. “In saying that, that doesn’t mean it will be the lineup the whole year. Some times you tweak things. But you would like to have a consistent lineup when you leave spring training. I really like the players assembled in camp and we have to figure out exactly where all the parts fit.’’

...

“I expect it to play out with great competition,’’ Girardi said. “One thing as the manager that you worry about is they start competing (today). I don’t want them competing (today). I want them to be ready to pitch in a couple of weeks. I expect two guys to pitch at a very high level.’’

- He also knows what the expectations are:

“The expectation here is the same every year,” Girardi said. “In a sense, you’re supposed to repeat every year… I don’t really consider (complacency) an issue because I know the people in the room.”

- Phil Hughes seems to have completely bought into that Yankee mentality.

“I don’t think it will,” Phil Hughes said. “Last year was nice, but we have to do it again this year. At the end of 2010, I don’t think anyone will be talking about who won in ‘09.”

- Posada knows how tough that will be:

"It's probably the toughest thing to try to do it again," Posada said. "Everybody plays you a little different when we come to town. You have to be ready, because they're trying to get you. You're the world champions and they're trying to play a little better. It's very challenging."

Chad Jennings has a breakdown of all the new uniform numbers we will be seeing this spring.

I'll be back later with some pictures from the first day at Spring Training 2010.