NY Yankees Notes: 1st Spring Training Game vs Phillies

The Bronx Bombers dropped their first spring training game vs the Phillies 5-4. A couple of things I took away from today's game:

• Bartolo Colon: The former Cy Young winner, who hasn't pitched in a MLB game since 2009, actually didn't look to bad on the mound. His fastball started at around 88-89 mph but by the end of his stint in the 2nd inning, he was throwing it at around 93-94 mph. Robinson Cano and Francisco Cervelli have been big fans of Colon this spring, saying that the right hander is definitely a top candidate for the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation.
• Jorge Posada: Maybe I'm making a little bit too much out of this, but Posada swinging at the first pitch is somewhat bothersome for me. Posada has been a player who has played the field his whole career. Most guys like him who have had to transition to DH have always talked about how not being in the game completely affects them at the plate. So doesn't it befit Posada to take a couple of pitches for the simple fact that he hasn't been in the flow of the game?
• Joba Chamberlain: Most of the talk early in Yankees Spring Training dealt with players weight. C.C. Sabathia lost 25 pounds in the offseason, while Bartolo Colon came in saying he is 25 pounds overweight. Another pitcher caught in "WeightGate" was Joba Chamberlain. There were reports that Joba had come into camp overweight and Yankee coaches and officials were not pleased. However, after watching him today and hearing Michael Kay on the air, it looks more like Joba put on muscle weight. He did not look any worse than he has in other seasons. As for his performance, he introduced a new pitching style, with his hands starting lower around his belt before he began his motion towards the plate. It resulted in a very impressive inning for Chamberlain, with his fastball hitting 93-94 mph and showing a sharp breaking ball. After the Yankees signed Rafael Soriano to shore up the middle relief, Chamberlain could be fighting for a spot in the bullpen and a good showing could put him there and may attract other teams for possible trades.
• Mark Teixeira: Teixeira was the only regular to take more than 2 ABs. During that third AB, Michael Kay brought up the notion that the Yankees might give Teixeira more ABs during this spring training to maybe help him kick the funk of getting off to slow starts once the season begins. As if on cue, Teixeira drove the ball and banged it off the outfield wall for an RBI triple. Heck, whatever work.