Intrasquads nice, but Yanks eye 'other guys'  

NEW YORK -- For two weeks, the Yankees’ hitters have dug their spikes into the Yankee Stadium batter’s box, taking hacks against one of the more intimidating staffs around the league. The repertoires featured by the likes of Gerrit Cole, James Paxton and Adam Ottavino vary widely, but they’re all difficult to barrel.

No wonder, then, that Luke Voit said on Thursday that his teammates are eager to begin facing pitchers employed by other teams. They will get two exhibition looks at the Mets this weekend and another freebie against Joe Girardi’s Phillies on Monday before taking on Max Scherzer and the Nationals on Opening Day next week.

“It’ll be nice to play another team,” Voit said. “I think that would get the jitters going more than having to face the same guys over and over. I think it'll finally make it feel like it's an actual game … guys will be more dialed in.”

The intrasquad action got off to a frightening start on July 4, when Masahiro Tanaka sustained a concussion after being hit by a line drive, but the action has taken on a more normal cadence in recent days. So what, exactly, did the pitchers and hitters get out of these intrasquad showdowns?

We asked, and we’ll let them answer in their own words:

Aaron Judge, outfielder: “We’ve just got to treat it like Spring Training. In Tampa, we have a lot of extra fields and a lot more room, more cages. After the game, [you can say], let's set up the pitching machine or let's work on some sliders, let's work on hitting with some guys on base. You treat it like a game situation so you can get more reps. The other day, me and a couple guys got on the field and kind of worked on a couple things. That's what kind of helps you out.”

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Gerrit Cole, right-hander: “The ability to get feedback after the fact is always beneficial, but in terms of approaching the game, it was easy. You know, there's two lineups and I was trying to win.”

Mike Tauchman, outfielder: “The staff and team has done a great job of getting us a lot of at-bats. We also have the added benefit of the quality arms we're facing. There's nothing really that can simulate the game speed of having a guy standing on the mound throwing to us. Guys are starting to put together some really good at-bats and their contact point is moving out front a little bit more. We’re hitting some balls hard.”

Jordan Montgomery, left-hander: “These feel pretty game-like to me. That's how I'm wired. Once the guy’s in in there, I want to beat them. It's like, they're my friends, but also I don't want them to be able to talk junk to me.”

Mike Ford, first baseman: “They all get a [scouting report] sheet every day, and it's interesting to see after the game what their plan was to attack you. I like to see what the other side's going to do to me. Just from facing our team, I'm very glad that I don't play for another team.”

Jonathan Loaisiga, right-hander: “You come into camp and you’ve got to face your teammates. It's not easy. You see the swings, you see that sometimes they miss certain pitches, especially when you're attacking with a fastball. They are a little late. It's just not easy for hitters when they don't have an opportunity to see live pitching to all of a sudden start facing live pitching throwing 95 [mph] and up.”

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Brett Gardner, outfielder: “Being able to face our own guys, we have an idea of what to expect, what kind of stuff that they have. But we also can be a sounding board to them and tell them how their stuff looks and what pitches look good out of their hands and things like that. We can all learn from each other.”

James Paxton, left-hander: “It's a great lineup and I'm glad that it's ours. I'm glad that I'm not facing those guys all the time. They're extremely talented hitters.”

Gleyber Torres, shortstop: “It's a little bit different because I don't really like seeing my teammates when they pitch. I don't feel really comfortable. But that is the moment right now, to just be focusing in your area and try to get ready for Opening Day.”

Zack Britton, left-hander: “Subconsciously, you're hesitant about going inside on guys a little bit. I faced some lefties in Ford and [Tyler] Wade, being conscious of obviously I'm not going to run a sinker in on those guys, even though it's a pitch I want to work on. You’re trying to pick and choose spots to work on stuff.”

Giancarlo Stanton, outfielder/designated hitter: “We face the guys on the back field in Spring Training where there's no one around, so the only difference is a huge stadium. It's just a matter of, are you worried about everything else that’s around -- the empty stadium and no one here -- or are you trying to get better?”

Matt Blake, pitching coach: “This was all new for me, but it was really new for them. I think that the nice part is that we've been able to put good work on the field at a high intensity level. We've seen the pitchers’ stuff has been crisp. For guys like James Paxton, getting on the mound in a game setting for the first time, it’s just getting guys to get to that game speed and then get to them to their own their delivery and execution.”

Voit: “It's pretty similar to how other teams pitch us. I've never faced Michael King, never faced Clarke Schmidt, and then you face them the next time so you kind of have an idea of how they're going to pitch you. But again, I'd rather face other guys instead of our same guys all the time.”