Curtis Granderson started in center field for the Yankees and got two hits against his old team.

Gardner started in left field. Gardner raised his spring batting average to .143 when he got one hit in two times at bat. Gardner also worked a base on balls and scored two runs.

Gardner also grounded into a double play and left a runner on base.

Other outfielders competing for a job saw action in this game. Marcus Thames, who signed a minor league contract with the Yankees started in right field and was 0-3 at the plate.

Jamie Hoffman, acquired as a Rule V Draft choice in the offseason subbed for Thames and had one hit in two times at bat. His one hit was a double.

Greg Golson replaced Granderson in center and Golson hit a home run.

David Winfree replaced Gardner in left and went 2-2 with one RBI.

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"People just have to understand that everybody does business in a different way,” Steinbrenner said to reporters following Tuesday’s news conference to announce the details of the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl.

“I just don’t believe in contract extensions, and that’s throughout the organization, no matter who it is. Hopefully, nobody takes that personally, it’s just business.”

Not to be harsh, and not to beat around the bush, but, priority would suggest signing the face of the New York Yankees to a contract extension now.

Jeter, entering the final year of a 10-year $180 million contract, is eligible for free agency at the end of the 2010 season.

I can say with confidence that Jeter will receive a new contract, the amount and length is to be determined.  Another 10 years is unlikely but for everything Jeter brings to the table; leadership, poise, a winning attitude, locking him up long-term to finish out his days in pinstripes is the right thing to do.

Mariano Rivera on the other hand is another story.

Rivera is in year three of a $45 million contract.  Based on history, Rivera was worth every penny.  The question is, how much longer can Rivera and this fairytale last?

Rivera, entering his 16th season, is as good or better than he has ever been.  This despite a 2 mph drop in his fastball and a higher probability than most years to rely on his cutter (93 percent).

Can Rivera,  virtually down to two pitches, continue his sheer dominance? 

One can say yes, even though one day, a Hall of Famer can can be brought back down to earth with little or no warning.

Then there is Joe Girardi, a man so scrutinized this past year, winning the World Series had to happen.

With all the glory comes tremendous pressure; high risk, high reward.

More than likely, the result of this season will affect Girardi more than the previous two candidates.  It is unfortunate, however, that is how the game works.

Can you ask the question, what if the Yankees did not win the ‘09 World Series?

What if Pedro Martinez became the Pedro of old and dominated the Yanks in Game 6, Ala Curt Schilling.

Isn’t that what makes this game grand?  Automatics are not, guarantees never.

Is your job secure one year after winning the game’s ultimate prize?

Not really.

“I’ve got a great relationship with them all,” Steinbrenner said. “I’ve expressed to all of them that, ‘You’re part of the Yankee family and you’re wanted. It wouldn’t be the same without you.’ But as far as no extensions, it’s a business policy of mine.”

Never before have the careers of three of the most reliable this club has ever seen,  intertwined in almost every dramatic moment Yankees fans have seen in the past 15 plus years, become so unsure.

This article can also be found on The GM's Perspective

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But just because the newspapers suck, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of Yankee-related stories out there worth your time. Leave it to the bloggers to do the newspapers' jobs for them. Here's a list of suggested reading:

Former BBD writer Matt Imbrogno has been examining Brian Cashman’s recent trades. Today, he wrote part 2 of his series and it’s definitely worth a read .

Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues is taking to task a Phillies' beat writer who has made the claim that the Phillies have the best infield ever despite the fact that, as Axisa points out, they might not even be the best in baseball today (ahem, Yankees).

Jason Resenberg over at It’s About the Money, Stupid has a good piece about race in baseball.

This one is a couple of days old, but Gary Wallace from No Maas had a great piece on Nick Swisher.

Marc Hulet of Fan Graphs also released their Top 50 AL Prospects. Jesus Montero is No. 4.

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New Era Cap Company, Inc. has signed a four-year deal to be the title sponsor for the game that will now be known as the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

The name is a combination of the company and the famous pinstripes the Yankees wear on their home uniforms.

The game has been scheduled for December 30, 2010 at Yankee Stadium.

ESPN will televise the contest between the Big East No. 3 team and the Big 12 No. 6 team. ESPN Radio has also secured rights to the game.

To find out more info including where teams will be staying, visit Double G Sports .

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Really? Is this news?

I guess it is compared to some other stories that have been out there over the past two days. Unless you think A-Rod’s lawyers meeting with feds is a news story, but I don’t.

Of course, there is the Nick Johnson hit two home runs in one game OMG he’s the next Babe Ruth! Or maybe the Yankees should just pack in their season because CC Sabathia had a bad start in a meaningless game.

So with the season officially over, the Yankees should be working on those extensions with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, right? Wrong. Because that story, which never was a story in the first place, is back in the news. YAY!

Don’t fret though—there is one bit of news. Alfredo Aceves pitched yesterday, and now he’s sore today. Since when do athletes get sore the day after they do something?

This is getting to be crazy.

I nearly forgot this one—my favorite story: Jeter + A-Rod = Love!!!

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It was his second concussion since the Yankees wrapped up the World Series (he also hit his head in winter ball). Cervelli has received good news from all tests involved this time around and was cleared to start light workouts and should be back in the lineup by Friday.

Here is more from Ben Shpigel of the NY Times :

“Whether that’s a week, tomorrow, two weeks, it doesn’t really matter to me as long as when he’s ready, he’s ready,” Cashman said Monday morning, before Cervelli’s status was announced.

Cervelli sustained his first concussion about four months ago, when he was hit in the head by a batter’s backswing during a winter game in his native Venezuela. On Saturday, a pitch from Toronto’s Zech Zinicola struck him in the helmet. Cervelli was examined Sunday by a team doctor, Andrew Boyer.

“I think we’re always cautious with this stuff,” Cashman said, adding, “Everybody takes this stuff really seriously.”

This is obviously good news for the Yankees who are relying on Cervelli as their primary backup catcher going into the season. If Cervelli had missed significant time they would have been forced to rely on journeyman backup Mike Rivera .

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Here is a statement released by the Yankees:

“The New York Yankees do not condone this kind of behavior,” the statement said. “We take this situation seriously and we are looking into the matter. We will have no further comment at this time.”

This is funny, not in a ha ha way, but in more of a sad way. Just a few years ago George Steinbrenner was set to hand control of the team over to his son-in-law Steve Swindal and even made an announcement to that effect.

We’d never have gotten to know Hal or Hank Steinbrenner the way we do, but instead Swindal was busted with a DUI which started his descent with the team and ended with a divorce from not only his wife, Steinbrenner’s daughter, Jennifer, but from the organization as well.

You’d think that might become a lesson within the organization, but this week it was a lesson ignored.

So far there is no reason to believe that this means the end of Newman, because there clearly was stuff going on behind the scenes with Swindal that we didn’t know about, but we don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes here, either.

At least this is just a story about stupidity and not tragedy. We’ll update you if this effects Newman’s career with the Yankees.

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The Yankees had signed Pepitone in 1958, and after spending four seasons in the minors, Joe joined the big team for the 1962 season.

While a student at Manual Trades High School in Brooklyn, Joe was shot in the stomach in a schoolyard dispute in 1957.

When he signed with the Yankees, one club official privately believed that Joe would wind up being stabbed in an alley or committed to a mental institution.

Lack of Dedication

The Yankees had given Pepitone a $25,000 signing bonus when they decided he would become Skowron's backup at first base.

There is a great story that Joe spent all the money on his way to the Yankees' training camp in Ft. Lauderdale on a new Ford Thunderbird, a boat, and a dog.

Joe Pepitone was supposed to become a star, but that never happened.

He had some good seasons, but he lacked the dedication to the game that is a critical part of being ranked among the greats.

In his eight seasons in New York, Pepitone batted .252, with a .294 on-base average and a .423 slugging average.

His best batting average was .271, in 1963, which was his first full season, and his best home run output was 31, in 1966.

The left-handed-hitting Pepitone batted only .241 against left-handed pitching.

A New Attitude

During spring training in 1967, Pepitone told reporters that he was going to become serious about his career.

"I still make jokes in the clubhouse, and kid around with the fans, but I'm a more serious ballplayer now. I know I'm of more value to the club. I'm in a position to make more money, and if I come up with a good year, I can own New York," said Pepitone.

"I discovered the city, the Copa, and all that. I found I could hit .996 on the street. It probably took 60 points off my average."

The Yankees were coming off a 1966 season in which they finished last.

Mickey Mantle was now going to be the first baseman, and Pepitone was going to follow Earle Combs (.325 lifetime batting average and Hall of Fame), Joe DiMaggio (.325 lifetime batting average and Hall of Fame), and Mantle as the New York Yankees' center fielder.

However, Pepitone was not a player in the old Yankees' image.

Joe had squandered his bonus money, enjoyed acting as the team clown, was a swinger, and was the first player to use a hair dryer in the clubhouse (when he joined the Cubs).

Teammate Jim Bouton, in his groundbreaking book Ball Four, described Pepitone as extremely vain. He always carried a bag of hair products as he attempted to control his rapidly balding head.

Joe had not one, but two toupees.

One, he explained, was for general use, while the second was to wear under his cap while he was playing. He called it his "game piece," which once came off when Joe respectfully removed his cap during the playing of the national anthem.

Joe didn't come up with a good year in 1967. His 31 home runs fell off to only 13, with a .251 batting average.

Following two more mediocre seasons, the Yankees traded Joe to the Houston Astros for Curt Blefary.

During the middle of the 1970 season, the Astros sent Joe to the Cubs, and he finished his underachieving career in 1973 with the Braves.

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This is termed a market inefficiency. Basically, the best thing a team can do is find something of value that isn't being valued properly on the open market.

While many people ignorantly think Michael Lewis's Moneyball is about sabermetrics, this is what it was really about: finding market inefficiencies and using them to your advantage. The biggest example that was used in this case was on-base percentage, which was significantly undervalued at the time.

At this point, something as simple as OBP is valued correctly. In recent years we've seen teams like the Mariners shift to optimizing defense at a well below-market rate.

It seemed that this was the new market inefficiency, but this seemed to right itself quickly. This offseason, we saw Boston look to improve their defense through free agency by acquiring defensive specialists Adrian Beltre and Mike Cameron while moving Jacoby Ellsbury to left field.

While Boston may seem to be a continuation of getting defense on the cheap, they actually didn't pay too much below market value with these two signings. This suggests that teams are much more aware of the impact defense can have and it can no longer be seen as a market inefficiency.

These things work in cycles. It's very hard to find a way to game the market consistently without other teams catching up to you. In a recent post on FanGraphs, Dave Cameron talked about efficiency wages . In his piece, he briefly mentions nutrition without getting into it too much.

See, MLB just raised the minor league per diem five dollars all the way to $25 per day. Now, if you're eating for one and cooking your own meals, that's fine. I cook many of my own meals and spend less than $25 a day.

The issue here is that these are not people who live on a regular schedule. They're not working nine to five jobs; they're traveling all around whatever region they're in and end up eating out for many of their meals. Now you can see why that's a struggle. If you want three meals on $25...you're going to be getting food that is neither nutritious nor particularly good.

Dave suggests a widespread increase of quality of life for minor leaguers. He proposes that you not only raise the per diem, but you get better buses as well. For the Yankees, these two things should be a no-brainer. Having updated, comfortable buses for each minor league affiliate would cost relative pennies for the Yankees. We can't be sure how much this would benefit the team in the long run but improving the day-to-day life of the team's prospects can't hurt.

This also got me to thinking about the recent film Sugar, which follows a young pitching prospect out of the Dominican Republic. Now, I don't want to spoil the film for you if you haven't seen it yet (and I recommend you do ), but the character Sugar could have benefited from these things and many more.

My Recommendation for the Yanks

With the Yankees' financial advantage, they should take this whole idea a step further. Considering that they are so active in the international free agent market, they'd benefit the most from it anyway. Instead of just increasing the per diem, encourage players to eat healthy. Maybe if there is a restaurant in an area a team is visiting that specializes in healthy food, offer incentives to eat there.

When the team is home, serve healthy foods. Substitute regular pasta, white rice, and white bread out; replace them with whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole grain bread. Obviously, I'd take it a bit further, but you get the point. Simple changes like that would not even cost very much, but would increase the health of the players.

I haven't spent enough time around the low minor leagues to know what goes on in Low-A ball, but teams should go out of their way to make sure that the prospects are comfortable and happy. In Sugar, we saw that might not always be the case.

This would not only benefit the players currently in the system. It's possible that young ballplayers would be even more attracted to signing with the Yankees because they offer a better quality of life.

As the first commenter on Dave's post points out, this would probably end up causing other teams to follow suit, which would just raise prices all around. If that happens, then so be it.

This would just mean that corporate suits end up with a little less money while these 18-year-old kids in A-ball get an increase in their quality of life. I know I don't have a problem with that.

If other teams didn't follow, then the Yankees could have found themselves another efficient way to spend their money as they streamline talent to the major league team.

Find more great content at Pending Pinstripes .

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Imagine a World Series where Bad A.J. shows up instead of Good A.J. in Game Two, or Johnny Damon is thrown out trying to take that extra base in Game Five, or Hideki Matsui rides the pine with a bum knee in Game Six.

Had the Baseball Gods seen things differently, the Yankees may have entered a new decade riding the same ghost train that departed the Bronx in October 2004.

While Vazquez wasn't the conductor of that grim locomotive six years ago, it's hard to argue he wasn't a main member of the crew. It was Vazquez whose first pitch essentially finished off the Yankees on 10/20, a meatball that Damon (the Homeless Jesus version) lifted into the right field seats for a backbreaking grand slam.

The pitch set in motion a chain of events that led to the Yankees foolishly giving up on the then 28-year-old right-hander. (See: Move, Panic ) He was shipped off as part of the Randy Johnson deal, assumedly never to be seen again.

Now he's back, asked to be the No. 4 starter on a loaded Yankees team coming off a World Series title. I doubt Vazquez thinks about, or even realizes, how his return would be different had the Yankees still been shackled to the '04 ALCS.

Luckily, the events of last fall finally moved the franchise out of that valley. Vazquez will have to endure some beat writer copy about Game Seven before his first start against the Red Sox, but that will likely be it.

Vazquez, like the Yankees, begins 2010 with a blank slate.

The trade for Vazquez was undoubtedly Brian Cashman's finest move of the offseason. Due to an absurd postseason schedule loaded with off days, the Yankees were able to navigate through three rounds of the '09 playoffs without a No. 4 starter. They got away with it, but it was clear that more depth was necessary moving forward.

Enter Vazquez. Now 33, he's coming off arguably the best season of his career. The right-hander went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA for the Braves in '09, striking out 238 in 219.1 innings. Those are ace numbers from a guy the Yankees will ask to shoulder far less weight than in 2004.

It'd be unfair to ask Vazquez to match his statistical production of a year ago. Pitching at Turner Field in the offensively inferior NL East, Vazquez was a big fish in a small pond. How he adjusts in the "AL Beast" will be a major subplot of the Yankees' season.

Vazquez made his spring training debut on Monday against the Phillies, striking out four over two strong innings. The sole damage came on a home run—a first-pitch home run—by Jimmy Rollins.

It was impossible to block out the déjà vu of the occurrence. But Vazquez and the Yankees have moved on from 2004. The scar is still there, but the pain has begun to fade from memory.

Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached via e-mail at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter at danhanzus .

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