New York Yankee notes: A.J., Jorge are trying to play nice

Are these really the New York Yankees? No distractions, no controversies, no huge free-agent signings to defend. One reporter has even dubbed this Spring Training as "Camp Quiet" for the Yankees.

One really positive thing going on is that A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada are working hard to overcome the difficulties they seemingly had last season in getting on the same page. With Jose Molina in Toronto, that will be important.

Molina caught all five of Burnett's postseason starts, including two decisions in the World Series, and there was a noticeable statistical difference with Posada not behind the plate.

In 16 regular-season starts with Posada, Burnett watched hitters bat .270 with a .421 slugging percentage; with Molina calling pitches, opponents hit .221 with a .353 slugging percentage.

Burnett said that he and Posada had some difficulty communicating early in the season. One difference could have been that Molina -- now with the Blue Jays -- caught most of Burnett's bullpen sessions during the season, allowing them time to bond, a luxury that Posada was not afforded as the starting catcher.

"The more we get to work with each other, the more we're going to learn from each other," Burnett said. "I hope he catches me every start. We were talking about the good games we threw together last year."

Here are a few other stories of interest.

• The always entertaining Confessions of a She Fan has five things you always wanted to know about new Yankee reliever Chan Ho Park. NoMaas doesn't care about any of those, except letting Park keep his beard.
• Ex-Yankee Johnny Damon says he is "absolutely at peace signing with the Tigers." Personally, I am at peace with the fact that the Yankees have Curtis Granderson, Randy Winn and Chan Ho Park on their roster for a combined $7.8 million, less than the $8 million Damon will get from Detroit.
• Another ex-Yankee, Ian Kennedy, is penciled in as the fourth starter in the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation this season. In the weaker National League, Kennedy probably ends up being a decent middle-of-the-rotation starter.
• A young Yankee pitcher who has not gotten his opportunity yet, Zach McCallister, is hoping to show enough this spring to earn a call-up this summer.