The LoHud Yankees Blog

A few of the night owls on the blog had an interesting discussion after the game last night.

Is Ichiro Suziki a Hall of Famer?

Forget what he did in Japan. It’s hard to take any league seriously where Kei Igawa was a star. You can speculate all you want about what Ichiro would have done had he been in the majors. But he wasn’t.

Focus instead on the nine seasons he has been in the majors. To me, he’s a slam-dunk Hall of Famer. Consider:

• Ichiro has been an All-Star nine times.

• He has won eight Gold Gloves.

• He is heading for his ninth consecutive season with 206+ hits. He also has gone eight straight years with 100+ runs.

• He is a career .333 hitter with a .378 on-base percentage. Among active players, only Albert Pujols has a higher average and that could change depending on the day.

• Ichiro has played in an amazing 1,387 of the 1,411 games Seattle has played since he arrived in 2001.

• Ichiro played in the postseason once, in 2001. He hit .421 in 10 games.

• He has clearly been one of the best hitters, base-runners and defensive players in the game since the day he arrived.

Ichiro is 35 and is signed through 2012. By then he could have roughly 2,600 hits and 1,250 runs scored. By any measurement, he is one of the best players in the game. That he spent the first half of his career in Japan is merely an addendum on his plaque in Cooperstown, not a valid reason to keep him out.

I’ll admit to some bias here. Ichiro is my favorite player in the majors and one of the most interesting athletes I’ve ever interviewed. He’s one of the few guys who can look cool just catching a routine fly ball.

If the Hall of Fame is supposed to recognize the best players, Ichiro has to be in.

A big part of beat writing is chasing injuries. It’s not a fun part of the job because most players don’t like talking about being hurt. But it has to be done.

Derek Jeter makes it easy. He just pretends he’s not hurt.

This scene yesterday from the clubhouse …

Jeter arrived at his locker. The writers gathered around, wanting to ask him about his right foot. Jeter had left the previous day’s game with a bruise on his instep after getting hit by a pitch. Jeter knew we had to ask him, but he sort of pretended we weren’t there as he talked to Jorge Posada.

“Watch this,” he said to Jorge.

With that, Jeter turned around and smiled. “I’m fine,” he said.

Then he demonstrated such by walking away. “Are you playing?” he was asked.

“Yep,” Jeter said over his shoulder.

The writers all laughed, as did Posada. But Jeter is smart. By not talking about injuries, he avoids the hassle and further hones his reputation as a durable team player. Some guys can’t wait to tell the writers about every little bruise because they want to be seen as willing to play hurt.

Jeter just plays.

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Jeter has started 1,901 of the 2,056 games the Yankees have played since he became a regular in 1996. Only 16 other players have started games at shortstop for the Yankees in those 13 seasons. They are:

Enrique Wilson 31
Erick Almonte 29
Luis Sojo 25
Wilson Betemit 18
Miguel Cairo 14
Ramiro Pena, Cody Ransom 8
Alberto Gonzalez 7
Clay Bellinger, Andy Fox, Alfonso Soriano 5
Felix Escalona, Rey Sanchez 4
Wilson Delgado, Nick Green 3
Alex Arias 1

Thee Red Sox have used 32 shortstops since 1996. Nomar Garciaparra (951 starts) was once the regular before he was traded in 2004.

Boston’s shortstop roster since the start of the 2004 season:

Julio Lugo 245
Edgar Renteria 150
Alex Cora 112
Alex Gonzalez 110
Jed Lowrie 61
Nick Green 71
Orlando Cabrera 58
Pokey Reese 56
Nomar Garciaparra 37
Cesar Crespo 7
Ramon Vazquez 6
Dustin Pedroia 5
Ricky Gutierrez 3
Mark Bellhorn 2
Royce Clayton 1

It makes you appreciate — or at least it should — how durable Jeter has been and the value that brings.

Geoff Decker, the editor of Where I Stand, has a blog and keeps tabs on assorted media types and their preseason predictions.

I’m tied for ninth place in his latest update.. Ken Davidoff of Newsday is in second, trailing only Kevin Kennedy of Fox.

Kenny D, representing New York. Nice work.

It’s August and for CC Sabathia, it’s winning time. He and the Yankees dominated the Mariners last night.

The Yankees retooled their bullpen early in the season and it has paid off.

Alex Rodriguez missed the game with a sore elbow. This notebook also has updates on Mariano Rivera, Jose Posada and a coming deadline for draft picks.

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My good buddy Mark Feinsand wrote a nice piece about attending an Islanders game with his son. Check it out.

Anybody still up?

Joe Girardi said after the game that it was 50-50 whether Alex Rodriguez starts tonight.

Like it matters. The Yankees have Jerry Hairston Jr. He is hitting .389 in 12 games as a Yankee and has driven in five runs in 18 at-bats.

CC Sabathia has allowed one earned run and struck out 19 over 15.2 innings in his last two starts, dropping his ERA to 3.64. Sabathia 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA in his last six starts. “I feel like this is my time of the year,” he said.

The Yankees are 72-43 (.626). That’s a 101-win pace.

Finally, there was a good line from Hideki Matsui. After going 4 for 5 with two homers and five RBI, he was asked how he enjoyed hitting cleanup again.

“I don’t hate it,” he said.

YANKEES (71-43)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston 3B
Molina C

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (12-7, 3.76).

MARINERS (60-54)
Suzuki RF
Gutierrez CF
Lopez 2B
Sweeney DH
Branyan 1B
Johjima C
Hannahan 3B
Wilson SS
Saunders LF

Pitching: LHP Ian Snell (0-0, 6.14).

TIME/TV: 10:10 p.m., YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have won two straight, nine of 10, 20 of 26 and 33 of 44. Wow, that’s pretty good. They start the day with a 5.5-game lead on the Red Sox on the East. My fear of the Rays seems unfounded as they have fallen 10 games back.

ROAD DOGS: The Yankees are 30-25 on the road this season. Only the Angels (32-22) have been better in the American League. Everybody else, in fact, is under .500.

CC IN SEATTLE: Sabathia is 4-1, 2.83 in seven career starts at Safeco Field. Sabathia faced the Mariners on July 2 at home and was pretty bad (5.2 10 6 6 3 in an 8-4 loss

THE GUNS OF AUGUST: Sabathia is 30-9, 3.21 in 48 starts in August.

WORKING ON A DREAM: Sabathia pitched what was probably his best game as a Yankee on Saturday when he held the Red Sox scoreless for 7.2 innings and allowed two hits. He walked two and fanned a season-high nine.

JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY: Johnny Damon has nine extra-base hits (five of them homers) in his last nine games.

HE FELL OFF THE CYCLE: Melky Cabrera is 5 of 36 (.139) in nine games since hitting for the cycle in Chicago. His batting average has fallen from .292 to .275. Get well soon, Brett Gardner. The Melkman needs a rest.

PHIL, SCOTTY. SCOTTY, PHIL: Phil Coke has made 55 appearances this season. Only 11 pitchers have made more, two of them in the American League (Craig Breslow and Matt Guerrier).

DONTCHA KNOW: Robinson Cano is 18 of his last 39 (.462) with eight extra-base hits and four RBI. He has eight multi-hit games in his last nine games.

That’s it for now. Back with more later.

UPDATE, 6:45 p.m.: Just saw Derek Jeter walk through the clubhouse and he wasn’t limping.

UPDATE, 6:52 p.m.: Phil Hughes finally cut that mop.

UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.: A-Rod is not available today as his elbow still has swelling. … Posada says he could play but he has a sore finger on each hand. … Jeter grinned and said he was OK. … Girardi plans to start Mitre on Saturday and Gaudin on Sunday but that could change. It’ll depend on how much the bullpen is used.

UPDATE, 8:45 p.m.: It hurts just to write this. But Seattle 3B Adrian Beltre could be done for the season after taking a bad-hop grounder in the groin last night. It caused tearing in one of his testicles along with internal bleeding and he could require surgery. Beltre does not use a cup.

UPDATE, 9:22 p.m.: If you want to catch up on the Mariners, read Geoff Baker’s blog for the Seattle Times. Good stuff.

UPDATE, 10:11 p.m: We are underway from beautiful Safeco Field, one of the best places in the league for a game. Glad you’re staying up for baseball. Enjoy it. 62 degrees here. Feinsand forgot his jacket, too.

UPDATE, 10:21 p.m.: CC had that “It’s my day to pitch” swagger in the clubhouse pre-game. The big lefty is usually The Man at this time of the year. We’ll see if he picks up where he left off against the Red Sox.

You know what’s cool about CC? Most starters don’t talk to anybody on the day they pitch and it’s an unwritten rule that the media stays far away pre-game. But CC talks to everybody, writers included. We talked about Tecmo Bowl today and how great Bo Jackson was with that one play he ran.

UPDATE, 10:56 p.m.: Ian Snell is pitching like Ian Snell. Yankees up 3-0 and threatening for more. Jeter just hit a bomb to left center. I guess his foot is OK.

UPDATE, 10:57 p.m.: Hideki Matsui just lined one over the head of Ichiro into the seats in right field. 5-0 Yankees and Ian Snell may need to suck up some innings after the M’s went 14 last night. This has savage thumping written all over it.

Wonder if Matsui ends up here next season?

UPDATE, 11:04 p.m.: I just snapped a photo of Tyler with Mariner Moose. I also have an old shot of Mark with T.C. The Bear and one of Tyler with T.C. When it comes to capturing beat writers and mascots, I’m Ansel Adams.

UPDATE, 11:20 p.m.: Tex squared that ball up and crushed to the gap in right. 6-0 Yankees. Ian Snell looks like he’s terrified to put the ball over the plate.

Now we know why the Yankees wanted nothing to do with trading for him.

UPDATE, 11:42 p.m.: So much for the shutout. Josh Wilson just snuck one inside the foul pole 6-1 Yankees in the fifth. His first homer since Sept. 2, 2007.

UPDATE, 11:50 p.m.: Snell has retired seven straight. Yankees are in “We gave CC the lead, see you tomorrow” mode.

UPDATE, 12:07 a.m.: Snell gone, Yankees up 7-1 and Matsui has another RBI. Godzilla 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBI. He’s winning the contest to be the best Japanese player on the field.

UPDATE, 12:14 a.m.: When is Jerry Hairston Jr. Bobblehead Day?

UPDATE, 12:33 a.m.: Matsui showing off at this point. Two homers and five RBI.

Don’t know why this struck me, but it did. Check out the home run balance for the Yankees:

Texieira 29
Damon 22
Rodriguez 21
Swisher 18
Cano 18
Matsui 17
Posada 15
Jeter 13
Cabrera 11

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Meanwhile, did you see the Wrigley nitwit who dumped a beer on Shane Victorino last night? Victorino says the fan should be accountable for what he did.

Totally agree. Cheer, boo, whatever. Knock yourself out. But when a fan does something that can change the outcome of a game, he or she should be barred from the park and face whatever legal charges are appropriate.

I try and answer every e-mail that comes my way — at least the reasonable ones — and figured I might as well throw today’s Q&A session on the blog. So here’s a quick little mailbag:

Question: I know Damso Marte is currently pitching in AAA; any timetable for a return to the majors or does he just have to prove to the Yankees that he can be that Marte with a career 3.43 ERA? And talk anywhere about Edwar Ramirez? When that guy was going strong, he was unhittable. Any plans on a promotion, maybe a September call-up?

Answer: Marte is toiling away at Scranton (10 appearances, 2.70 ERA) and the Yankees seem largely uninterested. However his rehab assignment is close to being finished, so they’ll have to figure something out soon. As for Edwar, he’s a classic AAAA player. He dominates in the minors with his changeup but any sort of good hitter figures it out quickly in the majors because his fastball is below average. He could get called up as bullpen fodder in September.

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Question: The Chad Gaudin trade made me wonder how do “player to be named later” deals work? Is there a list of players, prospects, cash, or combinations of all three agreed to by the respective GM’s that they agree to agree on in the future? Or are the players, etc. to be exchanged more or less wide open?

Answer: Good question. In this case, they likely agreed on a player. But because that player would have had to clear waivers, they’ll just hold off and complete the deal down the road. That’s usually how it works. In some cases, if the GMs are buddies, they’ll base it on how the player performed.

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Question: I am a little confused with how the league handles retaliation from pitchers. A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett were both suspended this year after an incident where they didn’t hit the batter in question and didn’t admit to trying to hit the batter. Matt Garza not only hit the batter in question, but said after the game that he intentionally hit him. Yet Garza was fined and not suspended. Is there some part of the rule that is not apparent to fans?

Answer: There are no rules, there is only the discretion of Bob Watson. From what I can tell, he punishes more severely based on the location of the ball. Guys who throws balls near the heads of batters seem to get longer suspensions. I think past offenders get more days, too.

One question I get all the time is about the music played at the Stadium when the players come to bat or come into pitch.

So I asked scoreboard and sound system guru Mike Bonner for his playlist. A few highlights:

Derek Jeter: Get Up (50 Cent)

Alex Rodriguez: PSA (Jay-Z)

Johnny Damon: Handlebars (Flobots), Psychosocial (Slipknot), Bleed It Out (Linkin Park)

Nick Swisher: Save A Horse, Ride a Cowboy (Big & Rich)

Mark Teixeira: I Wanna Rock (Twisted Sister)

Robinson Cano: Who’s Real (Jadakiss)

Phil Hughes: Cyanide (Metallica)

Phil Coke: Fuel (Metallica)

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So what would be your at-bat song? Pick three.

Mine would be:

Put On (Young Jeezy and Kanye West)

Sabotage (Beastie Boys)

No Surrender (Bruce Springsteen).

UPDATE, 1:23 p.m.: In response to some questions, yes the players can pick their own music. For some guys (like Damon), it’s something they put a lot of thought into. Swisher, too.

Some guys change up a lot. Others — Jeter and A-Rod — pick something they like and stick with it.

One of the great ironies of baseball is that Mariano Rivera doesn’t really like Metallica or own any of their music. But the song stuck and now he’s forever linked to Enter Sandman.

As all the comments on this post prove, there is some sort of connection to baseball and music. People like singing at games, the music between innings,

Great comments and selections by you guys. Thanks.

UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: Speaking of music, the great guitar innovator Les Paul passed away today in White Plains. I once had a chance to see Mr. Paul play at a small club and it was an amazing experience.

Tonight: LHP CC Sabathia (12-7, 3.76) vs. LHP Ian Snell (0-0, 6.14), 10:10 p.m., YES

Friday: LHP Andy Pettitte (9-6, 4.14) vs. LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-1, 3.86). 10:10 p.m., YES

Saturday: TBA vs. LHP Luke French (1-0, 6.97), 10:10 p.m., YES

Sunday: TBA vs. LHP Doug Fister (0-0, 0.00), 4:10 p.m., YES

Note: The Yankees plan to start Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin for the final two games of the series but haven’t said which.