Here’s how you know you got up early: When you walk out the door and the newspaper delivery guy is just coming down the hallway. Depressing.

There are at least five Yankees fans here at the gate waiting to go to Motown. At least I assume that’s what the guys in the Jeter and Joba shirts are doing.

It’s amazing how many people travel with the team. Then again, it’s probably cheaper than paying for a ticket and to park in the Bronx.

If you ever consider going on the road, try Baltimore. Camden Yards is a great park, you can walk there from many hotels and there are plenty of bars and restaurants around. Toronto is the same deal (only in Canada and the Rogers Centre is kind of boring).

For the ambitious, go to Anaheim. Very underrated stadium and plenty to do around there as well. Of course you’ll need to rent a car. Seattle is great, too.

Don’t go to Oakland. If you remember anything, remember that.

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Here’s a balanced take on Joe Girardi’s relationship with the media from Neil Best of Newsday.

Speaking only for myself, I think Joe has a better understanding of the situation now and it speaks well of him that he cared enough to take steps to fix things before they got untenable.

Speaking of untenable, the Post reports that David Wells wants to be a Yankee. Hey, if Billy Crystal can get a deal, why not Boomer? They’re about the same age.

Wells allowed 201 hits (22 of them homers) in 157.1 innings last season. Take your 1.54 WHIP and enjoy retirement. Little Stein, of course, had a comment and seems for it.

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As always, it’s good to be the Captain.

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OK, off to Detroit. Check back later for the lineup and other news.

The Yankees got production from Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi (who?) and beat the Indians. Brian Heyman has the story.

Kei Igawa is back and starts tonight. This notebook also has an A-Rod update.

I pumped my fist when I finished this post. Sorry for showing you up like that.

Tonight: LHP Kei Igawa (3-3, 3.86 with Triple-A Scranton) vs. LHP Kenny Rogers (2-2, 6.27), 7:05

Tomorrow: RHP Darrell Rasner (1-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Jeremy Bonderman (2-3, 4.17), 3:45

Sunday: LHP Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.77) vs. LHP Nate Robertson (1-4, 6.64), 1:05

Did Joba Chamberlain park in Mike and the Mad Dog’s space at the Stadium?

Quick synopsis of the show this afternoon:

* Joba should never pump his fist when he pitches well. That shows the opposition up.

* Joba should sit in the dugout and “stare out on the field” after he gives it up and not cover his head with a towel. That shows too much emotion, too.

* Joba didn’t say he got even with David Dellucci today. But that’s what he meant.

I have an idea: Let’s have the two managers flip a coin at home plate to decide the outcome of games. That way nobody will show any emotion.

I’ve never understood why hockey, basketball and football players are expected to show emotion and baseball players can’t. Tiger Woods pumps his fist and everybody loves it. Joba does it and he’s a bad guy.

Joba is a good kid and he acts the same way in the clubhouse as he does on the field. He’s brash, loud, confident and it’s genuine. He’s not acting on the mound; the emotion is who he is. Take that away and he’s not in the majors.

The guy was an out-of-shape Division II player a few years ago and now he’s a Yankee and pitching great. How could be not be emotional?

Mike and Chris are entertaining radio. But cut the kid a break.

(For those of you from out of town, Mike and Mad Dog are on WFAN-AM radio in New York on weekday afternoons. Go to WFAN.com to listen. They do a great job, but they’re reaching on this.)

Ken Griffey Jr. said he wanted to be traded earlier this week. The going-nowhere Reds might as well deal him. There are going to be other players out there, too. Many of the usual suspects (Kevin Millar, Xavier Nady) but maybe some new names will pop up.

Would you want the Yankees to obtain a veteran player and plug him into the lineup to aid the cause? Alex Rodriguez will be back soon but Jorge Posada remains a month away. Jason Giambi looked better today, but it was one day.

Or do you stay the course, suffer the growing pains and battle through it?

Obviously some trades would make great sense, others not. But the Yankees made a significant move at this time last season when they added Clemens.

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It’s not everyday you can do a good thing for only $7.50, but here’s your chance.

There’s a Yankees fan up in Connecticut named Steve. He’s a great guy, a former sports writer who got out of the business and now teaches social studies and coaches high school basketball in a little town. He got married in 2002 to the nice girl he met in college, Lyndsay.

Short version of the story: They would very much like to a baby but Lyndsay has a heart condition and doctors advise against it. Her heart, while plenty strong for everyday life, might not support a pregnancy.

They’ve decided to either adopt a baby or to have a surrogate mother carry their baby. The problem is the cost, which is astronomical and the insurance company isn’t helping out.

Lyndsay’s mother is an artist who is selling magnets of her work and donating the proceeds to help the cause. For $7.50, you get three magnets of some classy artwork. Shipping and handling included. Go to this site if you’re interested.

If you want to read a better version of their story, check out this column by Mike DiMauro, a sports columnist in Connecticut.

Full disclosure: I used to work with Steve. He took over coverage of the Double-A team the Yankees once had in Connecticut after I left for The Journal News. He e-mails me regularly, usually distraught after the Yankees lose.

He’ll probably complain that I’m doing this, but when I heard their story I wanted to share it. If two people deserve to be parents, it’s Steve and Lyndsay. And I can tell you this much: the little tyke will be a Yankees fan.

Thanks for considering it.

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I know we have a lot of Springsteen fans on his blog. In case you missed it, check out Backstreets.com for a report on last night’s charity benefit show at the Count Basie Theater in New Jersey.

Bruce and the band did the entire Darkness On The Edge Of the Town and Born To Run albums in order for the first time. It must have been great to see.

The best part? There were 37 wounded veterans who came down from the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington for the show.

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Betemit 3B
Molina C
Mussina RHP

Mike Mussina vs. the Cleveland hitters.

Paul Byrd against the New York hitters.

Notes: Matsui has a 16-game hitting streak. … The Yankees were swept at home by the Tigers last week and are trying to avoid the same fate today. … Thanks to Brian Heyman for calling in the lineup.

UPDATE, 2:21 p.m.: Still no word on Kyle Farnsworth’s appeal. I realize that MLB has plenty to do, but their discipline system is very, very slow. … Meanwhile, Hideki Matsui has extended his hitting streak to 17 games and the Yankees finally scored a run (ending a skid of 17 straight scoreless innings).

The Moose is pitching well again (well, until the fifth inning). The Yankees could really use this one before going on the road for seven games.

UPDATE, 2:58 p.m.: It’s good to see the Yankees using Ross Ohlendorf in a situation where the game can be won. I think he’s better than a long reliever, which is how they’ve been using him. Once Joba becomes a starter, I think Ohlendorf is a legit candidate for the eighth inning. He throws hard, can strike guys out and gets grounders.

UPDATE, 3:17 p.m.: Hey, it’s the Wilson Betemit they traded for last season. Big HR there. This will be an interesting outing for Joba.

Just a hunch, but he’ll throw every pitch Molina calls. Girardi mentioned to us yesterday that they “had a little talk” about shaking the catcher.

UPDATE, 3:32 p.m.: Joba is fine, our long national nightmare is over. Yes, it was only two days. But it seemed long.

UPDATE, 3:42 p.m.: How come the games are always less than three hours when I don’t work? It’s not fair.

Nice job by the bullpen. Mariano gave up a hit (shocking, I know) but he finished off the Tribe.

Does Bobby Abreu wear one of those invisible collars that shocks him when he gets too close the wall? I know every outfielder isn’t Aaron Rowand, but he could make a play once in a while, no?

Now the boys are off to Detroit, the greatest place in the world for a night off.

Cliff Lee, the greatest pitcher ever, beat the Yankees last night.

Alex Rodriguez worked for the first time since going on the disabled list. This notebook also has news on Kyle Farnsworth, Kei Igawa and Derek Jeter.

Indians-Yankees this afternoon. Mike Mussina against Paul Byrd in the who can throw slowest competition.

It’s customary in the blogosphere to pay somebody back who writes something nice about you. But this time I actually mean it.

Neil Best writes the Watchdog blog about sports media and other entertaining things over on Newsday.com. He called me “venerable” yesterday, which is very kind of him. But isn’t somebody like Dave Anderson venerable?

Anyway, Neil had a good post the other day about Michael Kay. It seems that Kay was critical on his radio show of Joe Torre for calling several of his former players, including Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.

Posada said that Torre called him to ask about his injury. Torre has known Posada since 1996 and considers him a friend. Whether you manage a team in another league or not, it would seem reasonable to call your friend to ask how he is feeling.

I would assume if WFAN’s Chris Russo were hit by a bus, Mike would inquire about his health. OK, bad example. But you get the idea.

Torre also speaks to Joe Girardi fairly often as it turns out. I realize baseball is a competitive business, but people who have been friends for years should not pretend otherwise because they wear different uniforms. I mean, it’s baseball. Calm down.

The Yankees took a 3-2 lead on the Indians in the fourth inning on Tuesday. They have not scored in the 14 innings since.

They have 10 hits and have been struck out 12 times in those 14 innings and drawn three walks. It’s not real pretty with A-Rod and Posada watching from the dugout.

The lefty-heavy Yankees can’t do much to change the look of the middle of the lineup other than to throw Shelley Duncan out there. And while everybody likes Shelley, he’s 24 of 100 as a big leaguer and has one home run in his last 59 at-bats. Melky Cabrera is having a nice season but he’s not exactly a perfect No. 6 hitter.

Much like they had to patch together the rotation last season, they’re patching together the lineup.

“It’s hard to replace an MVP. As much as guys are battling, it’s hard to replace,” Joe Girardi said. “It changes the dynamics of our lineup when we can’t split out lefties up as much.”

The Yankees have already been shut out three times this season and tonight was the 15th time in 35 games they’ve been held to three runs or less. Their margin for error is very slim.

Now Mike Mussina has to stay hot for the Yankees to avoid a sweep tomorrow afternoon.

Joe Girardi gave us an update on Alex Rodriguez’s status after the game.

He will have an MRI in Tampa next week, probably Monday or Tuesday, to determine how his leg has healed. If he is cleared, he will then play in two extended spring training games. If that goes well, he would then rejoin the Yankees.

Now here’s the tricky part.

It turns out that A-Rod is not eligible to be activated until May 15. His last game was April 28. But Rodriguez was not placed on the disabled list until April 30.

The simple version: If everything goes well, he could play next Thursday.