The Yankees opened up their exhibition season this weekend with three games. They played the University of South Florida on Friday and the Phillies both Saturday and Sunday. Each game had a 'player of the game' that made an impact in that game. Each player that I will list below, were the big winners of the first weekend of spring training. A 'big winner' is a player that is in contention for a big spot in 2008 and did something to plead their cases. Hopefully this will be a regular segment on The Roll Call. The following are the Big Winners of the weekend of February 29-March 2.
Friday, Feb. 29: The Big Three
Versus USF on Friday, each member of the Big Three was featured, all displaying why the Yankees passed up trades for marquee names. They combined for 5 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 6 strikeouts, and 0 walks. They were simply dominant over the Bulls. It is already known that each player will be on the 25-man roster and will pitch in some capacity. The reason they are the big winners is that this team will strongly depend on their performances. Each player on Friday showed exactly why they have all the hope stored in them. With performances like that, it is easy to see that they will all make impacts this year.
Saturday, March 1: Shelley Duncan
Versus the Phillies on Saturday, Shelley was dominant from the plate. He went 2-for-3, smashing a homer Slam Duncan-style, and driving in 5. This was big for him because he is in contention for the first base job. Talk around town is that Giambi has pretty much got it, well Shelley quieted that down a bit with his great performance Saturday. He said he didn't think it really mattered because its just the spring, but it must have looked good to Joe Girardi yesterday. And in the back of his mind you've got to believe that he thought it was a statement. So Shelley's the Big Winner because he started to build his case for first base. If he can keep that up, it won't be hard to see #17 manning the first base line come March 31st.
Sunday, March 2: Jason Giambi
Versus the Phillies on Sunday, Jason went 2-3 with a big 3-run HR and a hard hit, opposite field double that scored one. He also made a nice play in the field and didn't seem stiff out in the field. This was a huge game for Jason because after Shelley's performance yesterday, people began to talk. So Giambi goes out there and has a huge game himself to tell everyone that he's not done just yet. That was a big boost for Jason because its showing that his work with K-Long is paying off and his defensive could be slightly improving. This was also a statement game from Giambi. So the Giambino is the Big Winner here because he too started to build his case for first base. If he keeps this up, Yankee fans will be treated to a good competition for first base.
Runner Up: Andy Pettitte (he had something to prove today, and was successful)
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