The MLB Spring Training schedule in 2014 is about to get started in full swing and the New York Yankees are excited as pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is set to make his debut with the team this weekend as the Grapefruit League and Cactus League games start around baseball.
Players have reported to spring training and have already started workouts and playing in smaller games and now the actual spring training schedule will begin this week. The 30 teams have training in either Arizona or Florida and games last through March and there will be some intriguing matchups, even if the games really don't mean anything, as the Red Sox and the Cardinals will face off after the World Series, while the Yankees and Boston will have some added drama with the back and forth this offseason and the signing of Jacoby Ellsbury.
The Yankees already had enough attention on them after signing Tanaka, Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann and now they have the added bonus of it being the final season for Derek Jeter. The team signed young star Brett Gardner to a new deal and after dolling out nearly half a billion dollars, fans will expect a championship run, or at least the playoffs after missing out last season.
Having Alex Rodriguez on the sidelines might be the best thing for the team and now they are looking to knock off the champions in the Boston Red Sox. The team opened with a game against the Florida State Seminoles and now they head into big league matchups and they start with games against the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers. Tanaka comes to the Yankees and will pitch on Saturday against the Phillies and he likely will pitch for two innings and about 30 pitches.
"That's a big thing for them, to come into a clean inning," Girardi said. "That's the way [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] drew it up."
Click here for the full schedule of games for both leagues this spring training.
