The Yankees haven’t played in a postseason series since 2012 and last year’s wild-card disappointment was the first game beyond the 162-game schedule in that time frame.
If they don’t get to a series this year, manager Joe Girardi’s job will be a hot topic. He is signed through the 2017 season and will make $4 million. This is Girardi’s ninth season, and the glow of the 2009 World Series victory has been extinguished by the past three years.
Most important story in camp
Masahiro Tanaka’s right elbow. At this time last year he was preparing to pitch with a slightly torn ulnar collateral ligament that wasn’t surgically repaired.