 What are your expectations for this year? Do you feel good? You ready to roll? Yeah, I'm ready. I've been working hard. I just want to lose a little bit of weight. And I'm excited to go again to compete. Now obviously your first half of the season you were as good as any pitcher in baseball. Second half there was a fall-off. People talked that maybe you were tipping pitches. John Flaherty was on. He said you know that's the second year after pitching 200 innings. What was it the second half fall-off? I mean I could go be both. You know we're not perfect. Maybe I was tipping pitches. Maybe you know I was gonna be tired. But the good thing that I finished wrong you know and I'm ready for this season. I was working. I'm working and that had no bad don't happen again. So what exactly are you working on? I think my physical being needed well. Well than the last year. In my training you know I think that will help me more. You know maybe not get tired. Maybe work more in my shoulder or my leg to not get tired in that part of the season. Now the tipping of the pitch is for us that you know we're not on the field. We don't understand it the same way. Can you explain to us what you might have been doing and that you're working on that tonight do? I was watching some videos. They told me that when man's second before I go to home play I was stopping to look up third. I was throwing the breaking ball and I was throwing the fastball. I was going straight home. So that you know I thought about it and you know everybody can see that. So I would work on that. I need to work on that. It's the problem. But I think I could do it in the future. When you first watch it is it is it something you were ever aware of that you do all the time? I just think it's so interesting. It's just a habit that randomly forms. Exactly. It's not at all. When I watch it I say oh yes it is. You know when I'm watching you pitch and like in the first half I used to just sit there and go they have no chance. They're no chance against you and then all of a sudden in the second half when they're laying off sliders that they shouldn't have been laying off did that make you think too why are they taking that pitch? Yeah of course a little bit but you know sometimes you think maybe he's taking that pitch maybe he they know the slider is coming or stuff like that. You never know maybe when you when you see that maybe four or five times you may think about it but not you know the first time. Last year expectations were high as well and we had Didi on and he's like I feel like we have to win like that was his attitude. I mean do you do you feel that way coming off a hundred wins season improving during the off season is the sense of not only do we we think we can win we have to win this division. I think we have the team you know I think everybody is prepared. We haven't happened close you know last year last year we lose against Red Sox. They won the World Shears the year before against Houston. They won the World Shears. So I think we're ready and like you said we have to win. You know we have a good team. We got good stuff and we're ready for it. What do you think the acquisition of Paxton and having halved the whole year what's that going to mean to the pitching staff. I'm so happy about that. You know we got to we got two good lefties. I actually mean Paxton like a week ago he's a great guy and he's a great pitcher. You know a strikeout pitcher did a good job since we got him. So I think they're going to help us a lot. What did it what did it mean to you guys particularly the pitchers to find out Cece was coming back. That was amazing. You know for me Cece is the leader of the pitching staff of the team. You know that the guy that when we need some advice we go to him you know he have been in the game for a long time so we need to have anything about maybe playoffs or any situation. He's the guy that we had to go. When he had that moment when he decided to throw who did he throw out again Michael. He threw the guy who who the day had thrown it somebody and then he threw two innings short of like his right when he made the decision to throw it the guy in spite of the fact of coming up short knowing he loses bonus was that the Yankees gave him the Yankees did in the end give it to him. Was that something that the team all rally around that and pat him on the back for that. Did you guys know what was happening. I didn't know I didn't know what to happen. I mean that was tough decision. That's a lot of money. That is a lot of money. When you do that you got the respect from everybody. It was a lot of money. But that means something to a team because you know that's a lot of money and he still did it. It's like he didn't even care because he wanted to protect his team. Of course like I say he already have a respect but do something like that. It's amazing like what you have to do you know you have to just you know take care of people you know and that's what he did. Well we had Jerry Remy on before former Red Sox Red Sox broadcaster he said it's going to be hard for the rivalry to be as great with the Red Sox Yankees like it was 30 40 years it goes because the players really didn't hate each other. Do you hate the Red Sox or do you just look at them as that's our competition. But is there a hate between the players and the teams. No I don't hate anybody so that's you know it's a competition. That's the way it is. They're one of the best team in the league and we are one of the best team in the league. So when we when we face each other you don't want to play hard and try to win. Is it true that Pedro Martinez helps you out a lot. Yeah yeah he's you know he played for the Red Sox. He's a really nice guy out of the field and in the field you know well how my 2016 I would say you know bad season he helped me wear a lot of stuff that I put in in the game and you know I'm a different feature of that. What was Boone like in his first year. Did you like playing for Boone. Oh yeah yeah he's a great guy. He's a great manager. You know I like the way that he communicates with the players. You know he I hope he stayed more. Now I look at this team and I go there's one guy and we brought this up earlier. If he can have the season we think he's going to have that makes you so much better. That's Gary Sanchez. Do you think he's going to have a bounce back season. Of course. I think this is this year. It's a year for him. You know I would say to him that the second year is the toughest year in the big leagues and that happened to him. You know he's not the first guy. He's not going to be the last so we just need to forget about that and keep working. Pace of play is the topic of conversation. Rule changes. A pitch clock. Would you want to have a certain time that you have to throw the ball. Would that bother you. I don't care if they have a clock or not. I would you know a guy that they give me the ball or throw the ball. So I don't need a lot of time to prepare. Does it mean something to you. I remember two years ago we would have conversations about about the Yankees and who is the ace of the staff. And then early during this season Michael and obviously it's relevant coming from him. Him being the voice of the Yankees. He said the Yankees have their ace. It's Severino. Does it does it mean something to you to have guys like Michael Kaye and people refer to you as the ace of the staff. Of course you know Michael is a great guy. You don't have to say. It's a guy. Well that you think it's so obvious. I got it before I mean I got it. Everybody's out here in this audience right now. I mean I've known I've known Louis since he came up. Does he look like a movie star right now. I mean the guy looks great. If you're not watching on TV you've got a black vest on this really nice coat. It's like a camo. It's like a great black camo. It looks a lot of manalizing today from Michael right. Oh Joey it looks tremendous. I thought I looked good today. I look like crap compared to him. Well this is better than Flaherty's shirt. This is much better than Flaherty's shirt. Absolutely. All right do you set goals for yourself. Okay I'm winning 20 games and I know I know obviously you want the team to win a World Series but do you have personal goals. I really don't care about wins. I just care about being healthy all year. I have been saying this for like two or three years. I want to get to 200 you know that that's my goal for the year you know. I think any picture that I can get to that level I think they had a good season. It must be frustrating though because I mean frustrating but good. The Yankee bullpen is so great and it's going to be better this year. You don't have to pitch seven innings each start because the bullpen is so good. I mean it's true you know we have a good bullpen but you can rest. If I want to get to 200 I need to be better than the relievers you know maybe every time I go there I try to get a zero. Is the biggest challenge to get the 200 innings the fact that guys strike out so much right. Nobody puts anybody it's either a home run or a strike out. It takes a lot of pitch to strike guys out so would the path to 200 innings maybe get guys to swing and put it in play earlier in the at bat. I mean I just want to get everybody out right. I mean but I could say it's going to be tough because everybody is a strike out or a home run so and every time they give me the ball I throw like 200 pitches so it's going to be tough for me too. You mentioned you don't care about wins you care about 200 innings. Last year there was a ton of conversation about how much did wins matter. Did you believe last year when we got down to that to the race for the best pitcher and baseball for the Sayama award. Did you believe that Jacob DeGram was the best pitcher and baseball in spite of his lack of wins. Yeah he was the best guy you know like I said for me we don't matter you know if you win you're cool but you know he was amazing a whole year but you can't control what you think it's going to do. So you throw the ball if they don't catch you or they're not hitting that's not your problem you know you have to focus in your in your game and that's what I did. Is there a pitcher out there right now in the American League that you go. Yeah he's he's great. I mean I'm a matter everybody. Every time Jacob DeGram is in the mound or Josie Berlander getting called all that guy I just see you know and watch on page because I think we have like a little bit similar so I think I can watch and maybe I can learn something.