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• I received a Tweet from Jonathan Chaimberg, a noted MMA trainer who has worked with Russell Martin the past two seasons. To put it mildly, he has high hopes for the Yankees catcher.
• The dreaded oblique injury bug has bitten the Yankees again. Last spring, four players (Curtis Granderson, Joba Chamberlain, Greg Golson and Sergio Mitre) were felled by the damage. This year, three days in, young pitcher George Kontos could miss a couple of weeks.
• The Yankees haven’t re-signed Eric Chavez, but when Joe Girardi broke down some lineup options with reporters he spoke like Chavez is already part of the equation.
“If you wanted to DH Tex, you could move Swish to first if you wanted,” Girardi said. “Or you could put Chavez at first.”
“If he shows up,” Girardi later added. “We don’t have him, but there’s been talk about that we might get him. That’s not official.”
For what it’s worth, Chavez’s old locker remains empty in the clubhouse.
• It’s Day 3 of Spring Training, but here’s my early forecast of a Yankees lineup, which frankly is no different to what everyone is expecting:
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez/Andruw Jones DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF
Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC
