Spring Training II began Wednesday for the Yankees.
They had five meaningless games to try to address their biggest concerns going into a postseason in which:
- Their troubles against lefty pitching will be challenged by the southpaw-heavy Red Sox in the wild-card round.
- Their troubles playing clean defensively will be exacerbated if they get to the division series against the uberaggressive Rays and their funky home stadium.
- Their uncertain chain from the rotation, a team strength, to closer David Bednar can expose them against any postseason opponent.
The Yankees learned — and earned — their fate Tuesday when a doubleheader split against the Rays guaranteed Tampa Bay the AL East title and the league’s No. 1 seed while the Yankees now know they will host the best-of-three wild-card series next week, almost certainly against the Red Sox.
Still, for a team with the AL’s second-best record, the Yankees are too unsettled on who will be available and when, and who is filling what roles. They know they will have at least 14 position players for the wild-card round, are considering 15 and may even take 16.
