The LoHud Yankees Blog

The slumping Yankees lost again as the Marlins held off a late rally. That’s eight losses in the last 12 games.

A.J. Burnett started his suspension yesterday. This notebook also has updates on Joe Girardi’s protest, Johnny Damon’s injury and the big crowds at Land Shark Stadium.

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Also check out our fine coverage of the U.S. Open led with this Sam Borden column on Phil Mickelson,

CC Sabathia said he would make his next start, dismissing any suggestion that he would not. Joe Girardi wasn’t quite that confident, saying the decision would wait until later in the week.

Here is what CC plans to do:

Monday: Receive treatment in Atlanta from team trainers.

Tuesday: Play catch.

Wednesday: Throw a bullpen.

Thursday: Rest.

Friday: Face the Mets.

Girardi said there are no tests scheduled. But why would the Yankees not get an MRI taken?

Meanwhile, the Yankees are 15-15 against National League teams under Girardi. Two out of three against the Phillies? OK. But going 2-4 against the Nationals and Marlins is pretty ridiculous.

Thanks to everybody for reading today, Check back tomorrow for more from Atlanta.

CC Sabathia told reporters after the game that he was checked out by Dr. Dan Kanell and was told he had biceps tendinitis.

While that is potentially more serious that simple “biceps tightness” as the Yankees reported, Sabathia said it has bothered him before between starts over the years and that he wanted to stay in the game.

CC also said with conviction that he planned to make his next start. No tests are planned. He will get treatment tomorrow in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the game was played under protest by Joe Girardi. The Marlins, he contends, made an illegal substitution in the eighth inning.

Relief pitcher Leo Nunez was placed in the first slot in the batting order. But Chris Coghlan, who was batting first, ran out to left field and was there for one pitch. That’s when Girardi went out to see the umpires.

The umpires made Florida take Coghlan out of the game. Girardi wanted Nunez taken out of the game.

The protest, in theory, could be upheld and cause the game to be replayed from that point.

That’s that, a 6-5 loss against Florida as the Yankees could not tie it in the ninth.

The Yankees were 11 games over .500 and one game up in the AL East on June 8.

They are 4-8 since and now sit four games behind the Red Sox. Their offense has gone further south than Land Shark Stadium.

Back with reaction from the clubhouse and hopefully more information on CC Sabathia and his condition. It’s also a little curious as to why Phil Hughes didn’t pitch.

YANKEES (38-30)
Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Cabrera LF
Gardner CF
Sabathia RHP

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (6-4, 3.67).

MARLINS (34-36)
Coghlan LF
Helms 3B
Ramirez SS
Cantu 1B
Uggla 2B
Paulino C
Ross CF
Carroll CF
Vostad RHP

Pitching: RHP Chris Volstad (4-7, 4.75).

TIME/TV: 5:05 p.m., YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have lost three of four and six of their last 10. They are three games out of first place and 5-6 in interleague games this season. They have split the first two games of this series against the Marlins.

CC CRUISING: Sabathia is 5-1 with a 2.92 ERA in his last eight starts. He is 13-6 with a 2.72 ERA in 32 interleague starts in his career. This will be his first career appearance against the Marlins.

GUESS WHO’S BACK: Alex Rodriguez is back in the lineup after resting for two days because of what the team said was fatigue. He pinch hit last night and drew a walk. Rodriguez is 0 for his last 15, 2 of his last 21, 4 of his last 39 and 8 of his last 55.

THAT’S NO BULL: Yankees relievers have allowed one earned runs in their last 18 innings while striking out 20.

GIDPs PILE UP: The Yankees have grounded into six double plays in the last two games and eight in the last four games.

GUNNING THEM DOWN: Jorge Posada had thrown out 12 of 36 base stealers (.333). Francisco Cervelli is at 6 of 16 (.375) and Jose Molina is 2 of 15 (.133).

THE MELKMAN MISSING: Since he ran into that wall in Texas a bruised his shoulder on May 26, Melky Cabrera is 11 of 58 (.190) with 11 strikeouts over 18 games. But five of those hits are for extra bases and he has eight RBI.

STOP, THIEF: Brett Gardner has stolen 15 bases, the most among rookies in the majors. He is 28 of 31 on SB attempts in his career.

HURRY UP: The Yankees have played each of their last five games under three hours.

PHIL FRANCHISE: Phil Hughes has appeared in five games in relief. His line: 8.2 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 12 strikeouts. My theory is that good starting pitchers often make good relief pitchers. Because they, you know, pitch well.

Back with more later.

UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: A.J. Burnett had a day knocked off his suspension. A five-game suspension starts today. He’ll start Saturday against the Mets.

UPDATE, 5:11 p.m.: Damon out with a sore right calf. He’s day to day. … The latest A-Rod plan is to give him one day off a week whether he likes it or not.

UPDATE, 5:13 p.m.: Former Yankee Jim Leyritz is at the game and pressed himself up against the chain separating the fans from the field near the Yankees dugout so he could call out to players. Leyritz, who is facing a trial for killing a woman while drunk driving, was not granted a pass by the Marlins.

UPDATE, 5:41 p.m.: Well, this is a disaster as Girardi and trainer Gene Monahan have come to the mound and taken CC Sabathia back to the dugout with them.

No word on what his problem is. Alfredo Aceves pitching.

UPDATE, 5:54 p.m.: It is the shortest stint for CC since June 26, 2004 when he lasted one inning against the Rockies because of a sore shoulder.

UPDATE, 6:01 p.m.: Because Derek Jeter was able to leg out an infield hit on a sore ankle with two outs, the Yankees have scored a run and have a chance for more.

UPDATE, 6:02 p.m.: And a rested and rejuvenated A-Rod delivers a two-run single. That snaps an 0-for-16 streak.

UPDATE, 6:17 p.m.: CC has tightness in his left biceps. No tests scheduled and he’s day to day.

UPDATE, 6:20 p.m.: The Yankees are very good at telling you something but not telling you anything. It could be something simple like he couldn’t get loose (on a 95-degree day? seems doubtful) or it could be biceps tendinitis.

We’ll find out more later, presumably.

UPDATE, 6:28 p.m.: I have to say, I’m disappointed not to have seen CC hit.

Meanwhile, as Alfredo Aceves does his thing, it was our pal Jorge from Mexico who told us about Ace for the first time last year. Jorge was right, the man knows how to pitch.

UPDATE, 6:40 p.m.: Tomko follows Aceves. Yes, Phil Hughes is now part of the bridge to Mo. Girardi said today they still consider him a starter long terms but they love the work he has done in the bullpen.

UPDATE, 7:02 p.m.: Tomko gives up another homer and the Yankees trail 4-3. Aceves had thrown 43 pitches, which was probably the limit of his effectiveness.

Going 2-4 against the Nationals and Marlins is not what the Yankees were figuring. A loss today would leave the Yankees 4-8 in their last 12.

UPDATE, 7:11 p.m.: TV clown Roy Firestone sang God Bless America and added words at the end. He sang next to a guy in a fish costume. A-Rod shook Firestone’s hand as he came onto the field.

UPDATE, 7:33 p.m.: There is a good example of why having a strong arm doesn’t necessarily make somebody a good outfielder. That was a terrible throw by Melky and could keep the Yankees from coming back as it allowed an extra run.

Meanwhile, there’s a catfight about 20 rows behind the Florida dugout that the entire stadium is watching. The blonde won in a TKO. Usually in Florida you have to pay good money to see that sort of thing.

UPDATE, 7:39 p.m.: Now there’s some sort of dispute on the field involving the Florida lineup.

UPDATE, 7:42 p.m.: The delay continues. That National League baseball sure is confusing.

UPDATE, 8:03 p.m.: Alex finishes 1 for 4 with two strikeouts. He is 1 for 19, 3 of 25 and 9 of his last 59. His two-run single was not enough, it appears.

UPDATE, 8:09 p.m.: See? That throw by Melky really comes back to haunt them. But Damon has a chance to tie it.

UPDATE, 8:14 p.m.: Damon walks, Pena runs for him and now it’s Jeter.

UPDATE, 8:15 p.m.: Swings at the first pitch after a walk and grounds into a force.

Trenton reliever Mike Dunn has whiffed 57 in 41.1 innings while allowing 32 hits. Opponents are hitting .213 against him. If the lefty gets up to AAA sometime soon, maybe he could figure in the bullpen mix in New York.

The rap on Dunn is how he performs in tight situations. But those are impressive strikeout numbers.

Jesus Montero is at .283/.365/.304 for Trenton. He has one extra-base hit in 46 ABs. Having covered the Eastern League, it’s not unusual for big-time prospect to take time to adjust to that level.

They say Pat Venditte is not a prospect. But a 0.94 ERA over 28.2 innings and 39 strikeouts should give him a chance to prove himself someplace other than Charleston, no?

Kyle Higashioka was assigned to Staten Island. He is one of the many good catching prospects the Yankees have. It’ll be interesting to see how it all shakes out with him, Francisco Cervelli, Montero, Austin Romine, J.R. Murphy and now Gary Sanchez,

I suspect — no, I know — that my dad is watching or listening to a baseball game somewhere today. He might be chasing around the grandkids or doing some more work in the yard just in case Better Homes and Gardens shows up for a photo shoot, but he’ll be paying attention to a game.

Every single time I sit down to cover a game and fill in the names on my scorebook, I think of my father teaching me how to score a game when I was a kid. Somehow, all those lines and numbers told the story of the game. Eventually, all those lines and numbers became a job. High schools at first, then a few college games and eventually the minor leagues and now the Yankees.

It’s a ridiculously fun job and there is no chance, none whatsoever, that I would be doing it without my father’s love, guidance and passed-down love of sports. Especially baseball.

A lot of you probably share the game with your dad, I suspect. So call him today or stop by and ask him what he thinks of Joba’s role or why Derek bunts so often. It’s a better present than most anything else.

The Red Sox today placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list and Terry Francona said it will be for more than two weeks.

Probably a lot longer. Matsuzaka is 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA. He has allowed 59 hits and 18 walks in 35 innings. Boston is saying he has a shoulder injury. Just like the Yankees said Chien-Ming Wang had “weak hips” and the Tigers say Dontrelle Willis has an anxiety disorder.

Basically, the all have a case of pitching lousy. I’m sure the teams can somehow document these supposed injuries, but the manipulation of the disabled list has reached new heights. Every team does it, so nobody much cares.

Baseball should just allow it within the transactions.

BOSTON—Placed RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (stinks) on the 15-day disabled list. NEW YORK— RHP Chien-Ming Wang (no longer stinks as much) was activated off the 15-day disabled list.

The other issue is the WBC, which is essentially to blame for Matsuzaka and cost the Yankees Damaso Marte. The Yankees remain very much relieved that CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett wanted nothing to do with the WBC.

A.J. Burnett was good but Josh Johnson was better as the Marlins edged the Yankees 2-1

A-Rod pinch hit last night and will play today — at least that’s the plan. This notebook also has an update on Xavier Nady.

If the Yankees make a trade, here are some possible targets.

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A few other stories for you to be aware of …

Both Mark Feinsand of The Daily News and Tyler Kepner of the Times have pieces on Scott Proctor, the former Yankees reliever.

He admitted to alcoholism while a member of the Yankees and is now in AA trying to clean up his life. The Yankees have never said so on the record, but their decision to trade Proctor in 2007 was related in part to his off-field activities. Proctor is out for the rest of the season following Tommy John surgery and hopes to continue his career in 2010.

Meanwhile, according to the Palm Beach Post, A-Rod put aside his fatigue on Friday night and was out until 2:30 a.m. with Kate Hudson.

A.J. Burnett made it a point tonight to give credit to Jorge Posada. The catcher, he said, called just enough change-ups to make his fastball and that curveball even more effective.

“He did a great job tonight. He was on page. I didn’t shake him all night,” Burnett said. “I told him he did an exceptional job back there.”

The notion that Posada is somehow hurting the Yankees with his catching gets more ridiculous by the day. Some people like to cite the ERA of a catcher, which is a badly flawed statistic. But if you’re interested, the Yankees have a 2.06 ERA in the last four games Posada has caught. Is that good enough?

Meanwhile, if you’re inclined to complain about the Yankees scoring one run tonight, know that Josh Johnson is one of the best pitchers in the game right now. He is 7-1, 2.66 and fanned Melky Cabrera with a 98-mph heater on his final pitch of the night in the seventh inning.

Johnson was throwing his slider 90 mph and threw 67 of his 103 pitches for strikes. The guy is a 6-7 horse and knows what he is doing out there. After watching the Yankees hammer fastballs on Friday night, he went to his slider more than usual.

Tyler Kepner, Mark Feinsand and I went to the Florida clubhouse after we interviewed the Yankees and Josh was nice enough to speak to us even though he had already done his interviews with the Florida media.

“That was definitely the most emotion I’ve ever showed,” he said. Johnson called his strikeout of Derek Jeter in the sixth inning one of the highlights of his career.

“I’ll remember that for the rest of my life, I’m sure” he said. “He’s one of the all-time greatest players, I think. One of the more respected players, too. That’s why I got a little emotional when I struck him out.”

Johnson was 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2006. But on Sept. 12 of that season, he was sent back out to pitch after an 82-minute rain delay. Some blamed that decision by Joe Girardi, then the manager of the Marlins, on Johnson ultimately requiring Tommy John elbow surgery.

Johnson absolved Girardi, saying his elbow was tight before that and that he was determined to stay in the game. Girardi, he said, was not to blame.

“It’s something that just happened,” he said. “I was hiding from Joe, there’s no way he was taking me out of that game.”