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Tuesday, March 6, 2001
Fernandez makes TAMPA, Fla. -- Mike Mussina made his Yankees' debut, El Duque got the win, Tom Glavine took the loss and Mariano Rivera relieved.
best pitch to
Yankee brass
El Sid pitches a perfect inning
for New York in a 10-5 victory
over the BravesAssociated Press
Yet in a spring training game filled with star pitchers, Sid Fernandez was the sharpest of all.
Fernandez, in his first outing since retiring in 1997, pitched a perfect inning yesterday for New York in a 10-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.
"Of course I was a little nervous," the 38-year-old left-hander said. "It felt good to be on the mound again. It didn't feel like I missed three years."
Fernandez, the former Kaiser High School star, is hoping to earn a spot anywhere on the Yankees' staff. He needed only 11 pitches to retire three batters in the fifth.
"Three up and three down. That's a good first step," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "I'm sure when you're away from the game two, three years, then you come back, it's like an out-of-body experience. You're not sure it's real."
Fernandez, a 38-year-old left-hander, started all three batters with strikes.
"I wanted to throw strikes, obviously, but I wanted to get through it," he said. "It went through pretty smoothly and my arm felt fine. That's what I was looking for the first time out there."
Fernandez last pitched in 1997 for the Houston Astros, appearing in one game before retiring because of pain near his left elbow, which he says was caused by a nerve problem in his neck.