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Masahiro Tanaka's Opening Day start could be in jeapordy

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Masahiro Tanaka needs to 'dial it up' Tuesday to earn the start on Opening Day.John Raoux/AP

Masahiro Tanaka needs to ‘dial it up’ Tuesday to earn the start on Opening Day.

TAMPA – The final start of spring training is usually a formality for an ace, a tuneup to set up an opening day start. Sounds like Masahiro Tanaka’s last camp outing holds a bit more importance.

Tanaka is lined up to start the Yankees’ opener next week, but Joe Girardi says “It’s important that we see something” when Tanaka starts against the Phillies Tuesday.

“We want to see him dial it up a little bit,” Girardi added of Tanaka, who has a 7.36 ERA this spring.

“We want to make sure that we feel that he’s ready and that he feels good about where he’s at before we talk about who’s going to be our opening day starter.”

If Tanaka fails to do that? “We have a lot of people who can pitch,” Girardi said before the Yanks faced the Tigers Monday night at GMS Field.

Asked what that would mean, Girardi replied, “I’m not exactly sure. We’ll discuss that if it happens….Our hope is that he’s really good tomorrow and it’s a non-issue.”

Does it all mean Tanaka’s likely opening day start is in jeopardy? While Tanaka has had a rough spring – opponents are hitting .340 against him in four outings – Girardi is skipping the trip to Clearwater to see him pitch.

Instead, Girardi is staying back in Tampa to watch CC Sabathia, a contender for the fifth starter’s spot, pitch a split-squad game against the Pirates. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild will be with Tanaka in Clearwater.

That might offer a window into Girardi’s level of concern about Tanaka. Still, the manager obviously doesn’t love what he’s seen from Tanaka this spring, which has been slowed as he comes back from surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow.

“Inconsistent,” is how Girardi described Tanaka’s camp. “I don’t think his split has been as sharp. There have been some starts he hasn’t thrown it a lot. His slider is something that’s been important to him. To me, it’s just – and I’ve talked about it, I think it’s a guy that’s a veteran guy in a sense even though he’s not that old. It kind of takes his time easing into it but we’re pretty close to the start of the season.”

Asked if he believes Tanaka is going easy because he’s thinking about his elbow, Girardi said, “I don’t know.

“That’s hard to say. You’re asking me to play psychologist. I’m sure it’s possible that’s in the back of his mind. We’ve seen him come out and throw some really good games last year and he wasn’t holding back. We know that anyone’s arm could happen at any time. A guy that maybe doesn’t even have a sign that’s never had an injury, it could happen. It just does. You have to go out there and have your best stuff if you can.”

Asked what he wanted to hear from Rothschild about Tanaka’s start, Girardi said, “That he’s dialed up a little bit. His split was good, his slider was good and he was locating. Those are the important things for me.

“Consistency of pitches. The effectiveness of the split. His velocity has really not been much different than last year at this time, but just the consistency of his pitches.”

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