Grapefruit League and Cactus League play mercifully begins on Tuesday. Yeah, it's only spring training, but it's real live baseball. I find exhibition games fun in their own way anyway. On Monday, the Yankees held their final tune-up for Grapefruit League play with an intrasquad workout. It was very informal. They played six innings, put runners on base at will to practice certain situations, used four outs in an inning if it went by quickly, that sort of thing. They also used a pitching machine because most of their pitchers were off working elsewhere. Major league players hitting against a pitching machine tells us nothing, really. These guys are just getting their work in. And then something like this happens:
Yikes! Chris Young is no stranger to big strikeout totals. He fanned 130+ times each year from 2007-11, and as a part-time player from 2012-14, his strikeout rate remained above the league average. There's some swing-and-miss in his game. It is what it is. But a pitching machine? Come on man. That's rough. I know teams have high tech pitching machines that mix in breaking balls and whatnot these days, but still. That's a definite fine in kangaroo court.
Link: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25088735
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