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Around the Empire
MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: We’re coming down to the finish line of the race to right field. Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge are still both in the Aaroning for the starting job. Hal Steinbrenner has made it known that he has high hopes for Aaron Judge, so that’s definitely a point in his favor. However, Girardi and friends could still go with Hicks, which would mean Judge would most likely start in Triple-A where he has pretty much nothing more to prove. The choice is obvious. Defense rests.
Newsday | Erik Boland: The other battle of the spring is beginning to show results as well. Jordan Montgomery made what should be his final start of the spring. It went well, as he only allowed one run over five innings against the Blue Jays, while striking out four. Luis Severino seems like he is getting the fourth starter job and Montgomery has probably shown more promise that him at this point. The odds seem ever in his favor.
New York Daily News | Mike Mazzeo: Meanwhile, at shortstop, it looks like the quest to find Sir Didi’s fill-in is coming to a close. Tyler Wade, the future pinstriped Ben Zobrist apparently, was reassigned to minor-league camp yesterday. That leaves Ronald Torreyes and Pete Kozma as your potential shortstops to start the season. Odds are it will be Torreyes, as he really did nothing wrong last year and was a very serviceable backup infielder.
New York Post | Dan Martin: Jacoby Ellsbury batted fifth the other day. Yes, that was a thing that happened. Should it happen again? Well, perhaps Ellsbury does not need to bat second again. He probably shouldn’t bat fifth either. Perhaps seventh? Ninth? Thirteenth? Whatever Girardi decides on, Ellsbury says he’ll be fine with it. Neat.
Newsday | Neil Best: The era of non-postseason AnalystRod has officially begun. Fox has brought their postseason team to the regular season and it’s like they never left, according to A-Rod. Soon, Alex will be doing select games in the broadcast booth as a color commentator/game analyst. It is a new chapter in his post-baseball life and it’ll be interesting to see how it progresses.
Cut4 | MEARNS!!!: The Yankees on Demand team have been rolling out their 2017 commercials and they have not disappointed in any way whatsoever. One of their latest ads features Yankees’ outfielder and famed ornithologist Brett Gardner Greg Bird watching, attempting to lure him in with sunflower seeds, and pretending he’s CC Sabathia. It’s just a pleasure to watch these people have fun. Also, MEARNS!!!