The LoHud Yankees Blog

Two interesting decisions late in the game today:

• Melky Cabrera has been Mr. Clutch for the Yankees this season, hitting .362 in “close and late” situations this season and driving in 11 runs that have either tied the game or given the team the lead after the seventh inning. Gutsy call by Joe Girardi sending Hideki Matsui up. Matsui was 5 of 10 with five RBI off Jason Frasor.

• Meanwhile, Frasor throwing a 3-2 slider to Eric Hinske was pretty gutsy, too. Hang that pitch up in the zone and maybe Hinske deposits it in right field. Props to Frasor for having confidence in the pitch. That said, it was high and away and was probably ball four.

Extending Andy Pettitte into the seventh inning was a mistake. This was one of those games where you can look back at 101 things. Bottom line: They lost and it’s off to Minnesota. You take the 5-2 homestand and move on.

YANKEES (48-33)
Jeter SS
Swisher 1B
Teixeira DH
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera LF
Hinske RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (8-3, 4.25).

BLUE JAYS (42-41)
Scutaro SS
Hill DH
Wells CF
Rolen 3B
Rios RF
Millar 1B
Bautista RF
Barajas C
McDonald 2B

Pitching: LHP Ricky Romero (6-3, 2.85).

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have won 10 of 11 and sit a game behind Boston. The Yankees have the third-best record in baseball. … Boston starts a four-game series with Oakland tonight. … The Yanks fly to Minnesota after the game.

WELCOME ABOARD: This game will be the debut of Eric Hinske, who was obtained on June 30, activated on July 1 and sat idle for five games.

MR. CONSISTENCY: This from the Yankees’ notes: Derek Jeter hit his 10th home run of the season in Sunday’s win vs. Toronto, marking his 14th consecutive season with 10-or-more homer. He is now one of six players to accomplish the feat solely as a Yankee and is one of five active Major League players with such a streak through 2008 or 2009.

The other Yankees to have done that: Mantle (1951-68), Berra (1947-62), Ruth (1920-34), Gehrig (1925-38) and Bernie (1993-06).

OLD FRIENDS: On Sunday, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada each went 4 for 5, marking the first time in the 14-year history the two have been teammates that they both collected four hits in the same game. Aaccording to Elias, it marked the first time two Yankees – each past his 35th birthday – had at least four hits in the same game since July 21, 1950 when Johnny Mize and Joe DiMaggio accomplished the feat in a 14-5 win vs. the Tigers.

BLUE JAY BEATING: The Yankees are 5-1 against the Jays this season.

OLD FOES: Pettitte is 18-11 with a 3.92 ERA in 36 career starts (37 appearances) against Toronto.

Thanks to Jake Thomases for calling in the lineup. He’s covering the game today as I pack for the road trip and All-Star break. But I’m planning to watch the game and will chip in some updates from time to time.

UPDATE, 12:12 p.m.: Joe Girardi says the Thursday starter will not be Phil Hughes. That would seem to narrow it down to Alfredo Aceves or Sergio Mitre.

How about Kei Igawa? Thanks, I’ll be here all week. Tip your waitresses. Try the veal.

UPDATE, 1:10 p.m.: We’re underway in the Bronx as Pettitte faces the Jays. Hey, Eric Hinske caught a fly ball. He’s in the books as a Yankee.

Enjoy the game.

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m.: Jeter looked safe, but the throw beat him and it’s a silly play to try and steal third there unless you know for sure you’re going to be safe. It’s equally pointless for Girardi to get tossed out.

UPDATE, 1:50 p.m.: That Jeter play got Romero off the hook in the first inning and he cruised through the second. Meanwhile Michael Kay just asked David Cone if he was ever in Boy Scouts.

Full disclosure: I was in Troop 24 and made it all the way to Life Scout (one rank below Eagle) before I bailed out at the age of 15. Learned life-saving skills, how to make a square knot and how to make a fire without matches. All fairly useless skills.

Anyway, the 1-2 pitch.

UPDATE, 1:58 p.m.: The blown call at second base cost the Yankees three runs. Of course, Pettitte shouldn’t be walking Marco Scutaro to lead the inning off.

Pettitte: 11 home runs in 58.1 innings at home, 2 home runs in 42 innings on the road.

UPDATE, 2:20 p.m.: A couple of blown calls. … Jose Bautista making like Willie Mays in the outfield … Doesn’t look much like a sweep in the making, does it?

UPDATE, 2:33 p.m.: Eric Hinske finds out quickly how accommodating right field can be at Yankee Stadium. 4-1 Jays. Yankees need to get into the tired Toronto bullpen.

UPDATE, 2:39 p.m.: 82 ABs since Tex last hit a home run. It was on June 12. We had a much larger population of celebrities back then.

UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: Andy’s line so far: 6 4 4 4 4 3. Or as Joba Chamberlain would term it: just tremendous.

Speaking of which, somebody needs to talk to young Mr. Chamberlain about accountability. Part of being a big leaguer is owning up to bad games. This “well they hit good pitches” stuff is getting old.

UPDATE, 3:08 p.m.: Yankees fans won’t want to hear this, but good for John McDonald. “Johnny Mac” grew up in East Lyme, Conn., a big Yankees fan. He played junior college ball then went to Providence College and was an All-Big East player before the school dropped baseball. John and his family will be thrilled that he homered in the Bronx. His dad, Jack, was a great high school football official and umpire.

Back in another life, I selected John for an American Legion All-Star Game that my former paper, The Norwich Bulletin, sponsored for years. He’s a good guy and has been in the big leagues for a decade. Not bad for a kid that UConn didn’t want out of high school because he was too small.

UPDATE, 3:14 p.m.: Brian Bruney showing again why they’re keeping Phil Hughes in the bullpen. He’s either still hurt or just terribly rusty.

UPDATE, 3:28 p.m.: It’ll be interesting to see whether the Yankees try and paint this game as they got screwed by the umpires. Because, frankly, they didn’t. It was bad pitching by Pettitte and Bruney.

UPDATE, 4:02 p.m.: All this mess and they bring the tying run to the plate. Jeter will want to take a shot at right field.

UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: Big spot for Swisher. Does he work the count?

UPDATE, 4:06 p.m.: I don’t get it, I just don’t. Swisher is supposed to be Mr. Patience. Frasor walks in a run and he hacks at the first pitch and pops it up. And it was low. Pin that on the umpires, too? 10 LOB.

UPDATE, 4:20 p.m.: Jon Albaladejo holds the Twins at seven. Yankees need runners.

UPDATE, 4:32 p.m.: Yanks were 1 for 10 with RISP before Godzilla struck.

UPDATE, 4:32 p.m.: Eric Hinske can become a True Yankee with one swing.

UPDATE, 4:34 p.m.: Yankees have had eight walk-offs. Another one in the works?

Frasor has had to throw a lot of pitches.

UPDATE, 4:35 p.m.: Swung at ball four there.

UPDATE, 4:36 p.m.: And that is that. Yankees 2 for 12 with RISP and left 11 men on base. Hinske swung at ball four twice. Plenty of chances to win this one.

UPDATE, 4:50 p.m.: There were three bad calls by the umpires and some fans will point to that. Maybe some players, too. But only weak teams do that. Over the course of the season, it pretty much evens out. They left 11 men on base five in scoring position and Pettitte and Bruney pitched poorly. That’s why they loss.

The Yankees are — or at least should be — above pinning it on the umpires.

Alfredo Aceves provided relief in every way as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays again. Mike Dougherty has the story.

Chien-Ming Wang has been shut down. This notebook also has an update on A-Rod.

Tiger Woods explained why the golf tournament he hosts, the AT&T National, lets kids 12 and under in for free:

“We don’t want to have what happened at Yankee Stadium. Tickets are so overpriced that you can’t bring the family. We want to have everyone come out and enjoy being in a family atmosphere, walk around, have a good time and not have it cost an arm and a leg.”

This from a guy who, according to Forbes, made $110 million in 2008.

Congratulations to the Yankees. They’ve managed to make even Tiger Woods blanch at their ticket prices. Meanwhile, they haven’t sold out a game since Opening Day and the team looks better than it has in several years.

The good news is that if you get a seat in right field, odds are you’ll catch a home run. Probably two.

Jose Molina was 0 for 3 today with two strikeouts. He played for Trenton in a 5-0 loss against New Britain and caught Jeremy Bleich (6 9 5 3 2 6).

Jose is 1 for 7 in three games, which really doesn’t matter much. What does is that he caught seven innings and apparently felt fine.

It appears he will be activated in Minnesota on Tuesday. Unless the Yankees have some trick up their sleeve, Francisco Cervelli will be sent down.

UPDATE: Today’s Scranton game was postponed due to a wet field. No word yet on a make-up game or refunds.

YANKEES (47-33)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Posada C
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Ransom 3B

Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (4-2, 3.89).

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES.

HALFWAY THERE: Today is the midway point of the season, believe it or not.

NO A-ROD: As he said he would, Joe Girardi is giving Alex a day off. Given what he did after his last break, there can be no complaints from the populace. We all must follow Dr. Philippon’s rules, after all.

MOLINA REHAB SWITCH: Jose Molina is now scheduled to make a rehabilitation start for the Double-A Trenton Thunder today instead of Triple-A Scranton. Because of poor field conditions, there seems to be a chance that today’s Scranton game will be postponed.

OTHER NOTES: LHP Brett Cecil starts for Toronto. … Yankees have won nine of 10. … Toronto third baseman Scott Rolen has a 21-game hit streak, the longest of his career. … Milestone watch: Johnny Damon now has 199 home runs and Hideki Matsui has scored 499 runs.

I’m off to Scranton to meet up with a bunch of readers for our annual outing. So that’ll be it for the updates today in terms of the Yankees game. I’m hoping to post something from Scranton later on.

Enjoy the game.

UPDATE, 12:31 p.m.: Mike Dougherty, who is covering the game today, sends along these comments from Joe GirardI:

On Hughes: “I can say one thing, I don’t see us taking him out of that role right now. He’s probably less built up than anyone that we have so he will probably not be one of our options. … I see him staying in the bullpen.”

Hughes, down the road, is he still a starter?

“I still believe that he is a starter. You’ll see a lot of young pitchers that come up and have success in the bull pen and then the move them over to the rotation because on any given day you’re not asking too much from them in a sense. I think his stuff right now plays out well in both, but I think he’s been really, really good in the bullpen and has been really helpful to us, and that’s another reason that we might keep him there for a while. And the other thing is he’s not built up, and it’s tough to build them up here. You would have to send him down for a while and we’re not comfortable doing that right now with the way he’s throwing the baseball.”

So, it’s not going to be Hughes.

Jorge Posada won it for the Yankees as they beat the Blue Jays.

Joe Girardi has a great appreciation for Lou Gehrig. This notebook also has updates on A-Rod, Jose Molina, George Steinbrenner, Johnny Damon, Phil Hughes, Phil Coke and Hideki Matsui.

The Mets have built a shaky foundation and now they’re paying the price.

The Yankees placed Chien-Ming Wang (shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list today and called up RHP Jonathan Albaladejo from Triple-A Scranton.

Wang will be shut down until after the break then will try to start playing catch. No word yet on a Thursday starter. They could use the bullpen or summon a starter from Scranton.

Toronto has bumped Scott Richmond for tomorrow’s start because of a sore shoulder. Lefty Brett Cecil (2-1, 5.09) gets the start.

Because a few of you e-mailed, Robinson Cano missed a sign in the bottom of the 12th when he bunted a 3-0 pitch. Nobody was exactly sure what he was thinking and Cano did not make himself available to talk about it.

Jorge Posada also didn’t mind the pie-in-the-face treatment from A.J. Burnett. Joba deked him out, allowing A.J. to make his move. Funny stuff.

Eight walk-off wins for the Yankees this season and 24 comeback wins.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the rest of the holiday and thanks for reading. I’m headed to Scranton tomorrow for our second-annual LHYB Outing, but we’ll have a lineup posted here in the morning at some point.

Chien-Ming Wang had an MRI at Columbia Presbyterian and was back at the park by the end of the game.

He is headed for the DL with what is being described as a strain with bursitis. But everybody seems to think that he will be back within a month.

The Yankees traditionally fudge the details of injuries. But according to Wang, the pain he felt was far less severe than the shoulder inflammation that put him on the DL for nearly two months in 2005. The doctor he saw this afternoon told him that rest and rehab would take care of his issues in a few weeks.

Do not expect Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves to step in as neither is stretched out enough, although the Yankees will need that spot only once (Thursday) before the break. Sergio Mitre has pitched well for Scranton and could be the choice.