The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Yankees ended their homestand by beating Toronto but took a beating doing so. Josh Thomson has the story.

There’s a new set of Joba Rules and they are being put into action. This notebook also has updates on Chad Gaudin’s Yankee debut and A.J. Burnett.

————

Thanks again to Josh for picking up the beat the last two days and doing a great job with the stories for the newspaper and the blog.

The Yankees arrived in Seattle hours ago. Meanwhile, the Mariners and the White Sox are over at Safeco Field scoreless in the 14th inning.

Oh, and the Yankees are missing King Felix. He pitched tonight.

I spent most of the flight reading (Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough) and following the Yankees game via ESPN News on the JetBlue television

Mariano Rivera sounds like he’s having his usual late-summer bout of soreness. This is usually a 7-10 day issue that he can pitch through. But as he gets older, you have to wonder whether it becomes harder to overcome. At some point, he’s not going to automatically snap back. But we’re probably not to that point yet.

The Yankees are going to have an interesting few weeks here as they try and manipulate their pitching staff. It’ll get much easier once the rosters expand, but for now Joe Girardi and Co. might have to suffer through some tough nights knowing it’ll pay off down the road.

Personally, I was glad to see the Yankees shed some light on how they’ll handle Joba Chamberlain. The secrecy of their plan had led to fans and even some in the media wildly speculating that he would return to the bullpen or be shut down, etc. It’s really not complicated: they’ll simply cut down on his starts. It makes good sense, too.

A couple of tidbits:

• The Yankees have no interest in Mark Mulder according to Brian Cashman.

• You can also forget about any Cuban defectors showing up any time soon to aid the cause. Those players are 2010 options, if they are options at all.

• Waiver trades could pick up shortly as more teams realize they’re not making the playoffs.

That’s it for now. Yankees-Mariners start a four-game set tomorrow night. Plenty of blogging all day.

This is Josh (not Kevin, like it says) checking in with a TON of news from the clubhouse.

For starters, the Yankees recorded their 11th walkoff win this season when Robinson Cano drove home Alex Rodriguez from second. Cano lined a one-out single off the wall in right-center and received a pie in the face from starter A.J. Burnett.

They have now won seven of their last eight series and 12 of 14.

That was the fun part for Yankee fans. Here’s the sobering news:

— Mariano Rivera didn’t throw at all today and was unavailable to pitch. “He was feeling a little cranky today,” Joe Girardi said. Rivera told us his right shoulder was sore, but he did not classify the soreness as painful. He said he has felt this pain before and felt fine soon after. Girardi said he’d be “shocked” if Rivera weren’t available tomorrow in Seattle.

— Now, that’s not all the Rivera news. We were told by a team spokesman that Rivera will not fly to Seattle with the club. He will, however, be in Seattle for the game tomorrow. The transportation change is not related to anything medical, we were told.

— X-Rays were negative on Derek Jeter’s right foot. Jeter watched the rest of the game from the clubhouse, and said he expects to play tomorrow. Girardi wasn’t so sure. “There’s a concern,” Girardi said. “He’s going to be sore.” Jeter didn’t fight it when Girardi removed him from the game. As is his way, the captain downplayed the injury afterward. “Yeah, it feels good,” he said, smiling.

— X-Rays were negative on Rodriguez’s left elbow. He was hit on the elbow in the 11th inning and reacted dramatically, doubling over in pain. A-Rod remained in the game and scored the winning run. He later said the pitch must have missed his elbow pad. He had never felt such pain since added the pad to his armor. Rodriguez will have tomorrow off, although Girardi said it was scheduled anyway. “Let’s hope it’s just one day,” Girardi said.

— The last member of the walking wounded was Posada, who had one of his rougher days behind the plate today. Posada saw four wild pitches escape him, including three by Burnett. One fastball crossed him up (he expected curve) and drilled home plate ump Joe West. “It was up there,” Posada said when asked to rank the painful day. “I got hit everywhere. It felt like a boxing match.” The worst damage came in the eighth when Raul Chavez fouled a pitch off Posada’s bare right hand. The ball struck him on the knuckle of his middle finger. Posada said he could play, but “there’s a chance he’ll have off tomorrow, too,” Girardi said.

— The last interesting nugget from the postgame was Burnett’s reluctance to discuss his wild pitches. Burnett reached a career-high 17 with three today, and he quickly said “I don’t want to discuss wild pitches” when asked about them. Of course, one was pivotal because he scored the tying run in the sixth.

— One more: Looks like Chad Gaudin will now start Sunday, and Sergio Mitre on Saturday. Gaudin pitched two scoreless innings to win his Yankee debut, but needed 44 pitches to do so.

YANKEES (70-43)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Matsui DH
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher 1B
Hinske RF
Cabrera CF

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-5, 3.67).

BLUE JAYS (54-58)
Scutaro SS
Hill 2B
Lind LF
Overbay 1B
Wells CF
Ruiz DH
Encarnacion 3B
Chavez C
Inglett RF 

Pitching: LHP Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.66).

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

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have won eight of nine and and 5-1 on a homestand that ends today. They start the day with a 5.5-game lead on Boston in the division. Tampa has fallen nine games off the pace.

SERIES WATCH: The Yankees need a win today to take their third series in a row. They have lost only one series since the All-Star break, that coming against the White Sox.

A.J. VS. THE JAYS, TAKE THREE: Former Blue Jay A.J. Burnett is 1-1, 4.30 in two starts against Toronto this season.

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS: Burnett, it seems, took a little while to get going this season.

First 12 starts: 4-3, 4.89 ERA, .805 opposing OPS.

Last 10 starts: 6-2, 2.32 ERA, .584 opposing OPS.

BATTERING THE BLUE JAYS: The Yankees are 8-3 against Toronto this season and have won 10 of 14 going back to last season.

CAPTAIN CONSISTENCY: Derek Jeter has hit safely in seven straight, 12 of 13 and 19 of 21. He is 6 for 10 in this series. Jeter has 145 hits. Only Ichiro (167) and Miguel Tejada (148) have more.

BETTER WITH AGE: Jeter has 13 homers and 20 stolen bases. He had 11 homers and 11 steals last season. In 2007 he had 12 homers and 15 steals.

DAMON’S DAMAGE: Johny Damon has seven extra-base hits in the last eight games.

STACKING UP THE HITS: Robinson Cano is 16 of his last 34 (.471). He is up to .316. Seven of those 16 hits have been for extra bases.

POSADA POWER: Jorge Posada is 9 of his last 22 with five extra-base hits and five RBI.

BENCHMARKS: The Yankees, to be charitable, had a lackluster bench to start the season. But Eric Hinske and Jerry Hairston Jr. have proven to be quite helpful:

Hinske: 8 of 27 in eight starts with seven RBI and six extra-base hits.

Hairston: 5 of 12 as a Yankee with five runs scored, three RBI, three walks and a homer.

ALL WE NEED IS A LITTLE PATIENCE: The Yankees have drawn three walks and struck out 16 times in the last two games.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM: The Yankees have hit 14 homers in the last six games.

ACE ON THE RISE: Alfredo Aceves’ last three appearances: 9 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts.

THAT’S IT, HE’S FINISHED: Mariano Rivera allowed his first run since June 12 last night. No big deal. But he has allowed eight hits and three walks in his last 5.2 innings.

ROBERTSON ON A ROLL: Dave Robertson has thrown 3.2 shutout innings in his last five appearances, striking out six and allowing three hits.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Yankees leave for Seattle after the game and the start of a 10-game, 11-day road trip. They play four in Seattle, three in Oakland and then three in Boston after a day off. They don’t return home until Aug. 25.

Hard to believe, but the Yankees have only three homestands left.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: Land of Hope and Dreams by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Live from The Izod Center on May 23, 2009.

PEACE, I’M OUTTA HERE: I’m on a noon flight to Seattle out of JFK. I’ll check in from the West Coast later on.

UPDATE, 10:46 a.m.: Not that this will appease the unreasonable, but Mark Teixeira is just getting a day off. The Yankees are in the middle of a stretch that has them scheduled to play 16 days in a row.

UPDATE, 11:22 a.m.: Updating via wireless from the airport as Josh sends me info via text message. Modern journalism at its finest.

Anyway, Joba was the topic this morning. Joe Girardi confirmed what has been reported here all season long, that Joba will stay in the rotation and will not be sent to the bullpen. He also will be able to pitch in the playoffs. Limitations disappear at that point. They’ll basically will spread out his starts when they can.

Joba was filled in last night with some of the details. Not every start will be on extra rest but some obviously will be. The innings limit is more than people think. They based it on the entirety of his career, not just last year.

Enjoy the game. Josh Thomson will take it from here.

UPDATE, 12:35 p.m.: A couple quick additions from me (Josh): Girardi said Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre are interchangeable over the weekend. It will depend on how much the bullpen is needed the next couple days. Presumably, Gaudin could pitch Saturday if he is not needed before then.

Here is how Girardi explained the idea of limiting Joba’s innings: “This is part of the plan. This is what we have to do because this is not just about the next two months. This is about years and years to come.”

Joba does not anticipate always having additional rest between starts, just some of them. “I don’t think it’s going to be that long in between,” he said. “I think that’s what they said. I know that in the back of my mind I know I’m not going to have eight days between every start.” As for whether Joba will be limited in the playoffs, Girardi said: “All hands on deck.”

Obviously, Teixeira has today off. Girardi, who had pledged he would rest Derek Jeter and A-Rod this week as well, said one of his main guys will likely have the day off tomorrow because of the long trip to Seattle. That should help the lineup guessing game.

I return throughout the day. Enjoy the game.

UPDATE: 1:20 p.m.: It looked like smooth sailing for Burnett after he retired the first two batters, but he needed 26 pitches to get through the first unscathed. Only 12 went for strikes.

For those of you at work looking for something to pass the time, try this. Discuss among yourselves.

UPDATE: 1:27 p.m.: I’d say Jeter looked OK running from first to third on Damon’s double, but he was certainly not himself. For those who missed it, Romero hit Jeter on the inside of his right foot to lead off the game. Jeter was in pain, but remained in the game after a visit from Joe Girardi and head trainer Gene Monahan.

UPDATE, 1:52 p.m.: Yes, Ruiz was busted twice for steroids. His minor-league OPS is .908, but you had to figure there was a reason he had played just 22 MLB games by the age of 31.

Also, here’s a link to the column on ESPN.com by Rick Reilly. A terrific story to be sure.

UPDATE, 2:01 p.m.: Jeter (right foot) is out of the game. Ramiro Pena is in. More on this later.

UPDATE, 2:10 p.m.: Johnny sure juiced another. That’s 22 HRs for him this season, two shy of the career high he set during his first season with the Yankees.

His tenure with the Yankees has been so vastly underrated. I think the blogger who said he/she hoped to re-sign Damon to a one-year deal for $5-6 million is vastly underestimating his value. He is just shy of a 35-HR, 100-RBI, 40-2B, 120-run pace.

UPDATE, 2:18 p.m.: *** JETER UPDATE *** Jeter was diagnosed with a right foot contusion. He will undergo X-rays here at the Stadium.

UPDATE, 2:49 p.m.: *** NEW JETER UPDATE *** X-rays on Jeter’s right foot were negative.

UPDATE, 3:15 p.m.: As the mist begins to fall here at the Stadium, Burnett bounces a slider on pitch No. 104. The wild pitch scored Encarnacion with the tying run. This has not been pretty for Burnett, who has matched his season high with 10 hits allowed (Aug. 1 vs. Chicago).

UPDATE, 3:42 p.m.: Wow. Pena cannot get picked off in the seventh inning of a tie game with Matsui and A-Rod coming up. That said, excellent snap throw behind the runner by Raul Chavez. The Jays have made a few great plays on defense this series.

UPDATE, 3:47 p.m.: Potentially costly day for the Yanks so far. Chavez just fouled a pitch off Posada’s bare right hand. Girardi and Monahan both came to see him, but Posada will remain in the game for now.

UPDATE, 3:48 p.m.: Five-game suspensions for Rick Porcello and Kevin Youkilis. Both have appealed.

UPDATE, 4:32 p.m.: On second thought, the Globe is reporting Youkilis will serve his suspension immediately. Terry Francona announced the decision during his 4 p.m. news conference.

UPDATE, 4:46 p.m.: The Yankees are literally swinging for the fences on every pitch to finish it. … After Tex pinch hit, here are the changes: Tex to first, Swisher to right, Hairston to short and Hinske to the bench. Hairston will bat in the No. 8 spot.

UPDATE, 5:02 p.m.: An absolutely brutal game for the Yankees. A-Rod was just drilled on the left elbow and appeared to be in serious pain. Shawn Camp drilled him with an 89-m.p.h. fastball. Rodriguez bent over in pain but eventually took his base at first.

Monahan better bring a lot of ice on the plane tonight.

Going to the game this afternoon? You’re almost sure to see a home run.

The Yankees have the most homers in baseball with 173, Texas is second with 171. The Yankees have hit 105 homers in 58 games at home, 12 more than the Rangers have hit in their 58 home games.

On only four occasions this season — May 6, June 16, June 18 and July 26 — have the Yankees failed to hit a home run during a home game.

There has been only one game this season without a homer at Yankee Stadium: June 18. The Nationals beat the Yankees 3-0 that day. There were 15 hits and remarkably none cleared the fence.

The Yankees are on a pace that would give them 248 home runs this season — 68 more than last season. That is due almost entirely to the new Stadium. The Yankees hit 92 homers at home last season and are on a pace to hit 147 in the Bronx this season.

Mark Teixeira’s addition is a one reason. But the Yankees also didn’t have A-Rod for five weeks and missed Jorge Posada for nearly a month when he was on the DL.

I’m not saying this is good or bad. It’s just remarkable how many home runs have been hit this season, both by the Yankees and specifically at the Stadium.

Joba Chamberlain wasn’t sharp but the Yankees beat the Blue Jays. Josh Thomson has the story.

Brett Gardner has hit cast off and is getting close to coming back.This notebook also has updates on Chad Gaudin’s possible start, a rarity for Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and a little pre-game justice.

YANKEES (69-43)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixiera 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Hinske RF
Cabrera CF

Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-2, 3.73).

BLUE JAYS (54-57)
Scutaro SS
Hill 2B
Lind LF
Overbay 1B
Wells CF
Ruiz DH
Encarnacion 3B
Barajas C
Inglett RF 

Pitching: RHP Scott Richmond (6-6, 3.97).

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., My9.

NOTES: Thanks to my Journal New colleague Josh Thomson for calling in the lineup. He’s covering the game this evening. … The Yankees dropped the first game of the series and are 4-1 on a homestand that has two games remaining. … Joba was shaky against the Red Sox on Thursday (5 6 4 4 7 5) after throwing three beauties in a row after the All-Star break. Still, he has won four straight. Joba was bad against Toronto only July 5 at the Stadium, allowing nine hits over 3.2 innings. … Joba is 8-0 with a 1.79 ERA in his career after the All-Star break.

Happy birthday, Melky Cabrera. He’s 25 today.

That’s it from me. Enjoy the game. I do believe Josh will publish a few updates over the course of the evening.

UPDATE, 5:03 p.m.: Mitre to stay in the rotation and pitch on Saturday. Looks like they will insert Chad Gaudin into the rotation on Sunday to give everybody an extra day off, or at least Joba extra time. … Brett Gardner has his cast off and hopes to rejoin the team in two weeks.

UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.: Hey everyone, this is Josh. … Here’s what happened with Gaudin: Girardi was asked if Gaudin could start on Sunday. He didn’t say a word but nodded his head vigorously. Later in the clubhouse, Girardi pulled Gaudin out into the hall and spoke to him. Gaudin told us shortly after that he has not been informed of anything yet. “He told me I could be used in any number of ways, so I guess that means starts, too,” Gaudin said. “I just have to take it day by day.”

As for Gardner, he was fitted for a splint that he will wear for another week. Girardi said Gardner will see the doctor on Monday. If his X-ray is positive, it may not be long before he returns. “I hope to be back playing in two weeks,” Gardner said.

Other news: Girardi said A-Rod, Jeter and Teixeira will all get a day off this week. “We’re talking about some things,” he said, but didn’t get any more specific than that. … The club has no plans of ever putting Joba in the ‘pen. They do have a plan for him, of course. Ironically, it’s a plan with specifics so top secret that Joba doesn’t even know them all. Girardi informs him of the next step after each of his starts. Interesting. … The Yanks held their second Kangaroo Court today in the press conference room. They were in there for about an hour, leaving an empty clubhouse. Judge Mariano Rivera presided and said a lot of fines were handed out, but he wouldn’t divulge specifics. Who was the guiltiest? “A lot of guys,” Rivera said. “Even the judge got fined.” Judge Marilyn Milian of “The People’s Court” gave Rivera some pointers he said helped his performance. She also bestowed him with a robe and gavel, which he wore during the proceedings. Overall, “it brings unity,” Rivera said. “It’s a great time.”

Lastly, Girardi did not downplay the notion that Teixeira was an MVP candidate. Not at all. “I think you have to consider him an MVP candidate,” he said.

I’ll check in periodically. Enjoy the game.

UPDATE, 7:51 p.m.: Wow. Johnny Damon is killing it at Yankee Stadium this year. His slugging percentage at home after those two doubles (.574) would tie him for seventh in all of baseball with Adam Dunn.

UPDATE, 8:38 p.m.: I wish you could wager on things like “Cito Gaston won’t let Scott Richmond face Johnny Damon again.” That was some catch by Joe Inglett.

UPDATE, 8:53 p.m.: Here’s video of the Youkilis-Porcello doing their samba. Thanks to reader “David.”

UPDATE, 9:00 p.m.: When you think back, what a turn of events it’s been. Since A-Rod popped up with the bases juiced to end the second, Richmond has retired 13 of 15, struck out five, walked one and allowed just one hit.

UPDATE, 9:45 p.m.: Home run or no home run? I say it is.

UPDATE, 9:47 p.m.: Home run it is. That’s the 15th time this season the Yankees have gone back-to-back.

UPDATE, 10:05 p.m.: The homer by Edwin Encarnacion snapped a 22 1/3 scoreless-inning streak by Rivera. He last allowed a run at Yankee Stadium on June 12. The opponent? The latest incarnation of the ’27 Yankees — those sluggers from Queens, the Mets.

UPDATE, 10:44 p.m.: Postgame notes from the clubhouse…
— No official word yet from Girardi about when Joba will start next. Chamberlain said he didn’t no either, and appeared surprised at the suggestion that he will not pitch on Sunday. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” he said.
— Girardi said Joba didn’t pitch poorly, that he just had one bad inning. Posada said he and Joba weren’t on the same page as in previous starts, but he didn’t think much of it. As for the yo-yo technique the Yanks are employing with Joba’s presence in the rotation, Posada said: “It’s tough what he’s been going through. He doesn’t know when he’s going to pitch. It’s tough to mentally put it all together. I think he’s doing everything he can to stay focused, but it’s tough.”
— The Yankees have now won 55 of their last 81. If they sustained that level of play for a full season, it would add up to 110-52. That’s incredible, but you know that already.
— They had their MLB-best 37th comeback win. They have now won six times when trailing after seven innings.
— I made a mistake before. This is the 14th time this season the Yankees went back-to-back (not 15th). It happened for the third straight game, which is the first time the Yankees have done that since May 4-7, 1983.
— Rivera’s scoreless streak was the fourth-longest of his career. This was the first run he allowed in a save situation since May 20th vs. Baltimore, a span of 25 outings. Here’s a funny line from Girardi: “Mo has been really, really good. He showed us today that the judge is human.”

Alfredo Aceves threw innings and 37 innings against Boston on Friday. He had two days off then threw four innings and 42 pitches against Toronto yesterday.

Now he’s going to need at least three days off.

Might the Yankees be preparing him to become the No. 5 starter? Just throwing it out there. Seems a little suspicious that with an otherwise rested bullpen in a close game, Joe Girardi left Aceves out there for four innings last night.

I’d rather use Aceves in that role and let David Robertson and/or Mark Melancon pitch more meaningful innings in relief than see Mitre or any of the other scrap-heap pickups (Ortiz, Gaudin, Towers, Hirsh, etc.) start games.

The Yankees have less talent on the roster today with Mitre and Gaudin around then they did last week. That a pitcher is capable of throwing 80-100 pitches doesn’t mean he should be.

This is their best staff:

Starters: Sabathia, Burnett, Chamberlain, Pettitte, Aceves.

Closer: Rivera.

Primary set-up men: Hughes, Coke, Bruney.

Secondary set-up men: Robertson, Melancon.

Long man: Gaudin or Mitre.

Then come the playoffs, you drop Aceves back into the bullpen, dump the long man and off you go. The key to this idea is Brian Bruney being able to pitch effectively in the seventh inning.

This from ESPN:

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast featuring the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees delivered an average of 4,698,000 viewers and 3,427,000 households to become the most-viewed MLB game on the network since June 3, 2007.

The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 5-2 to complete a four-game sweep at Yankee Stadium. The telecast generated a 12.3 metered market rating in Boston and a 10.3 in New York.