The LoHud Yankees Blog

A few tidbits from today:

· Hideki Matsui ran the bases today before the game. The hope is that he will get into a game as the DH sometime in the coming week.

· Joba Chamberlain didn’t seem worried about giving up two rocket doubles. Of the 21 pitches he threw, all but three were four-seam fastballs. He threw two change-ups and one slider. All today was for him was a chance to build arm strength. “It felt good coming out of my hand,” he said. “Today was just establishing my fastball.”

· CC Sabathia will throw a simulated game on Sunday morning. His first start comes Friday.

· Alex Rodriguez was supposed to meet with the MLB investigators on Sunday in Tampa. But according to Joe Girardi, he’s trying to delay the meeting.

“I know he’s supposed to meet with them soon. I’m not exactly sure what the day is,” Girardi said. “I think Alex is hoping that it’s possibly not tomorrow. We talked a little bit about it.”

Rodriguez is scheduled to play in Sarasota tomorrow then continue on to Jupiter to join the Dominican team for the WBC. So perhaps the meeting will be on Monday or Tuesday. It’s unclear why Rodriguez is stalling.

“I’m not going there,” he said.

The meeting is not disciplinary in nature. But the Yankees are clearly concerned Rodriguez will say or do something that merits a suspension.

“I think you have to be a little bit concerned any time you go in front of Major League Baseball,” Girardi said. “The precedent has been set with how they’ve dealt with players but there’s still always a concern. I’m hoping it’s a fact-finding mission and that he’s set to go on April 6.”

You see some interesting things if you pay attention around the Yankees. Like 6-foot-10 Andrew Brackman asking 5-foot-8 Yogi Berra to autograph a photo.

I went over to ask Yogi if he had watched Brackman pitch.

“Not bad,” he said. “That kid is tall. He should play basketball.”

I told him that Brackman had played two years at North Carolina State.

“See?” Berra said with a twinkle in his eye. “I told you so.”

YANKEES (2-1)
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Posada DH
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Molina C
Cabrera CF

Pitching today: Joba Chamberlain followed by Igawa, Dunn, Veras, Giese and others.

TWINS (3-0)
Span RF
Punto SS
Young LF
Kubel DH
Buscher 1B
Hughes 3B
Tolbert 2B
Butera C
Comez CF

Notes: Joba is likely only to pitch an inning, maybe two. … Francisco Liriano starts for the Twins. … Back with much more later on.

UPDATE, 9:46 a.m.: Forgot to mention this before, but the game is on YES and WCBS. I’ll live blog it here and there but I assume most of you will be watching or listening. Plus I want to get a jump start on my newspaper work.

UPDATE, 9:51 a.m.: Big news from Mets camp. Johan Santana is out “indefinitely” with a sore elbow. That is ominous news.

They need to make Hank Steinbrenner write “I will listen to Brian Cashman” 1,000 times on a blackboard.

UPDATE, 10:30 a.m.: The Captain signs for a kid in the dugout:

UPDATE, 10:41 a.m.: i’ve tried to watch the new guys as often as possible. Teixeira looks remarkably the same lefty or righty. He starts with his hands high, good hip turn and a nice follow-through. Lots of time switch hitters have more power on one side so they have a longer swing. But not Tex.

UPDATE, 12:22 p.m.: Jorge Posada has been scratched because of shoulder discomfort.

UPDATE, 1:01 p.m.: Spoke to Posada and Girardi. Posada felt some pain while stretching on Thursday and has been playing since. He didn’t think it was a big deal, But when he woke up with it again today, he said something to the trainer and was checked out by the doctor.

He won’t throw until Tuesday at the earliest. They’re describing it as the first setback he has had in his rehab but nothing to be too concerned about. But obviously there are concerns. To me, this illustrates that while the Yankees are a stronger team than they were last season, Posada and Mariano Rivera remain major concerns.

Shelley Duncan is the new DH.

UPDATE, 1:10 p.m.: Here, listen to it yourself as Jorge Posada explains the situation:

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He says how he wanted to play today but the team was being cautious. He thinks it will clear up in 2-3 days.

UPDATE, 1:22 p.m.: Joba Chamberlain is getting tattooed and not in the way he usually does.

Punto: Single up the midde. Young: Double to deep center. Kubel: One-hop double over the fence in right. 2-0 Twins.

UPDATE, 1:36 p.m.: Yankees tie it up. Jeter single, Tex double, A-Rod sac fly to deep left. Swisher then reached on a throwing error by the 3B and Tex scored.

Dan Giese on to pitch.

UPDATE, 2:19 p.m.: Giese got knocked around, too. Twins lead 6-3 after three and now Jose Veras is pitching.

UPDATE, 3:13 p.m.: Fair is fair, Kei Igawa pitched well for the Yankees. Clubhouse open to the media now. Check back later.

Brett Gardner wants to play center field but he’s going to have to earn it.

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Meanwhile, Happy Birthday to us. The LoHud Yankees Blog started up on Feb. 28, 2006 with a post about Phil Hughes looking good in an intrasquad game. If you’re curious, all of the archives are on the right side at the bottom.

We used the Blogspot software back then and it was a grand experiment, posting Yankees news as it happened on line. I was the first beat writer for any sport in the NYC market to have a blog and we were flying blind. There were no comments and only the sports editor was reading. I’m pretty sure she skipped some days, too. It seemed doomed to fail.

Now here we are, 29 million page views, 5,000 posts and 700,000 comments later. We get readers from nearly every country in the world and there’s a social network that thrives 24 hours a day.

You are what makes us strong, as without readers, this would not exist. So many of you encouraged me or spread the word to your friends and family. This is part of my job but it’s one of the parts I enjoy the most.

So keep those ideas coming. Keep pushing for more and keep reading as there will be plenty more to come. I’m hoping to announce our next reader Q&A with a Yankee early next week.

That’s it for the blogging today. Long ride back to Tampa with a stop on the way to see Jerry Seinfeld perform in St. Pete. Should be a good time.

But here’s excitable boy Nick Swisher (2 for 3 today) for delicious chocolate milk from Broughton Foods:

We’ve heard a lot about steroids and drug testing this spring, too much. But Joe Girardi brought that subject up again after the game today in a more positive sense.

The context was a discussion about Brett Gardner. Because of drug testing, Girardi said, a player like Gardner will become more valuable.

“Just to be flat-out straightforward, you’re probably going to see some more speed in the game,” the manager said. “You’re not going to have as many home runs. You’re going to have to find ways to create runs.”

Gardner had an interesting first inning. He showed bunt, which drew the infield in a step or two. Then he slapped a ball up the middle. Minnesota second baseman Alexi Casilia knocked the ball down but had no play.

Gardner then stole second and scored on a single. The threat of speed and then actual speed helped the Yankees score a run.

I asked Jorge Posada how much a player like Gardner irritates a catcher. “Oh, we hate it,” he said. “It changes everything about the defense.”

Of course none of this much matters unless Gardner can get on base as a decent clip. But through three games in spring training, he’s giving the Yankees something to think about.

The Yankees lost 5-4. Andrew Brackman, George Kontos, Wilkin De La Rosa and Steven Jackson allowed four runs over the final three innings.

The Yankees had a shot at the end, loading the bases with two outs and a run in. But Eduardo Nunez grounded out.

YANKEES (2-0)
Gardner CF
Ransom 2B
Swisher 1B
Posada DH
Nady RF
Cabrera LF
Berroa SS
Leone 3B
Cervelli C

TWINS (2-0)
Gomez CF
Casilia 2B
Crede DH
Morneau 1B
Cuddyer RF
Young LF
Redmond C
Harris 3B
Punto SS

Pitching for the Twins: Scott Baker, Brian Duesing, Kevin Mulvey, Ben Julianel, Bob Keppel, Jason Jones.

Pitching today: Ian Kennedy followed by Eric Hacker, Andrew Brackman, Wilikin De La Rosa, Anthony Claggett and Michael Dunn.

Notes: We have a 2.5 hour drive to Fort Myers, so don’t expect any updates for a while. … The beat writers and Joe Girardi had a nice dinner last night in Tampa. Media Relations Director Jason Zillo organized the event. We took Joe out last year and he was nice enough to return the favor. Lots of good baseball talk, albeit all off the record.

In the interest of giving you something to do, here are two free downloads for you music fans:

No. 1: Bernie Williams playing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.”

No 2: Bernie joining Bruce Springsteen for “Glory Days” at Joe Torre’s Charity dinner in 2007.

Both cuts are on Bernie’s new jazz guitar record “Moving Forward.” It drops on April 14. Thanks to Bernie’s label, Reform Records, for making these available.

For more information, go to Bernie Williams.com.

WATCH BP TODAY: The News-Press in Fort Myers will show a live video stream of batting practice today starting at 10:15 a.m. You can find it on their home page.

I’m supposed to stop by and offer some commentary when the Yankees are on the field. That should be around 11 a.m. or so.

UPDATE, 11:32 a.m.: Here we are in Fort Myers. The video stream of BP is working, so clink the link above to watch.

UPDATE, 12:43 p.m.: The game is a few minutes off. Chamber of Commerce conditions here in Fort Myers and a big crowd on hand. I’ll update the blog every half inning or so.

UPDATE, 12:54 p.m.: Rod Carew threw out the first pitch to Paul Molitor. Two great players there.

UPDATE, 1:21 p.m.: 2-0 Yankees. Here’s how it went:

Gritty, gutty Brett Gardner singled up the middle and stole second. RBI single after a good AB by Cody Ransom. Single by Nick Swisher. After Posada flew out, Nady grounded to short. Minnesota got the out at second but Casilia threw the ball into the crowd trying to complete the double play and Ransom scored.

UPDATE, 1:26 p.m.: Good inning for IPK. Swinging, F-9, walk and 6-3.

UPDATE, 1:31 p.m.: Angel Berroa singled to start the second inning. Then forgetting he was 50, he tried to take second and was thrown out by six feet. Bad idea as Justin Leone then homered deep to left. 3-0 Yankees.

It is believed Leone rode the team bus to the game.

UPDATE, 1:34 p.m.: Brett Gardner, who clearly is the man, doubled to center. Melky Cabrera is going to have to hitchhike home at this point.

UPDATE, 1:43 p.m.: The Yankees scored only once as Gardner was stranded.

UPDATE, 1:48 p.m.: Ian Kennedy left a runner stranded at third to end the second inning. His line:

2 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 3 K.

UPDATE, 2:06 p.m.: Still 3-0. Yankees put runners on second and third with one out as Swisher and Posada singled before Nady grounded out. But Melky popped to short. After Berroa walked, Leone grounded into a force.

Eric Hacker now pitching.

UPDATE, 2:16 p.m.: Hacker walked two but got Crede to ground into a double play to end the inning. Still 3-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:33 p.m.: Eric Hacker is getting knocked in the fourth inning. He has allowed three straight hits and a run and now Anthony Claggett is in. It’s 3-1 Yankees now.

UPDATE, 2:40 p.m.: Nice job by Claggett, who left both runners stranded. He’s one of the guys they obtained for Gary Sheffield and could well be the best of the bunch. 3-1 Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:43 p.m.: Jorge Posada just singled and came out for a pinch runner. Jorge was 2 for 3 and is 4 for 5 in two games.

UPDATE FROM THE CLUBHOUSE, 3:49 p.m.: It’s 3-3 in the 8th.

Now they’re down 5-3. All of the starters are halfway home by now. Long spring games are the worst.

Jorge Posada showed why the Yankee missed him so much last season in yesterday’s victory.

The Yankees have set A-Rod straight about his cousin. This notebook also has updates on the WBC, George Steinbrenner and cheap tickets.

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The Journal News received some good news this week.

Our daily sports section was named top 10 in the country in our circulation category (100,000-250,000) in the Associated Press Sports Editors annual contest.

In the New York market, only The Journal News and the New York Times were so honored. It’s a testament to the dedication of sports editor Susie Arth and her deputy, Joe Erwin. This is a tough time for newspapers but we keep plugging away.

My friend Sam Borden won an individual writing award for a breaking news story he did. Congrats to him. Congrats also to our pal Bob Klapisch of the The Record. He was honored for column writing.

If you ask me (and nobody did), the Yankees should not screw around with their hats. There is no need for a patch on the back of the hat for the new Stadium considering there will also be a patch on the uniform.

At any rate, here is now the hats will look this season: