The LoHud Yankees Blog

Tuesday: LHP Andy Pettitte (8-6, 4.51) vs. RHP Roy Halladay (11-4, 2.68), 7:07 p.m., YES

Wednesday: RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.80) vs. LHP Mark Rzepczynski (1-2, 3.25), 7:07 p.m., YES

Don’t forget, the deadline to submit a question for our Q&A with Yogi Berra is today at noon. See this post for more details.

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Received an interesting e-mail from Sachin, a blog reader and Yankees fan who works in Cambridge in the heart of Red Sox Nation. He is taking part in his company’s Autism Awareness Week to raise money for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, which supports autism research.

The person in Sachin’s company who raises the most money will present a check to the foundation on the mound at Fenway Park in September. Sachin promises that if it’s him, he will wear his Yankees cap.

How great would that be? As Sachin writes, “Obviously the plan to wear my Yankees hat on the mound at Fenway is just a small reason to donate. The important reason is to aid financially disadvantaged families who need assistance in caring and receiving services for their children with autism.”

Go to Sachin’s fund-raising page if you want to contribute. I just kicked in $25.

(Full disclosure: I attended a Flutie Foundation event last winter and autism research is a cause that I support. I would never presume to tell you what to do with your money. But if you want to contribute, it’s a great cause.)

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CC Sabathia decided enough was enough and beat the White Sox in a game the Yankees had to have.

Melky Cabera hit the cycle. This notebook also has updates on Robinson Cano, Jesus Montero and Mariano Rivera.

The postgame was a little hectic today with the players all rushing to get out of town and enjoy their day off. Two things of note:

When CC Sabathia gave up the four runs in the third inning, he stalked into the dugout and told Jose Molina, “That’s all they get.”

I asked Molina if he believed him.

“His face was mad,” Molina said. “I did believe him. He was pissed off.”

It wasn’t quite all the White Sox would get off Sabathia as they scored a run in the eighth inning that he was responsible for. But CC locked down Chicago for four innings, long enough for the Yankees to put together enough offense to win 8-5.

As pitching performances go, giving up five runs on 10 hits in seven innings is pretty lousy. But in the context of this game, it was good enough. Had the White Sox kept scoring and finished off the sweep, it would have been panic city.

“We needed this one pretty badly,” Mark Teixeira said.

Instead, the Yankees are still in first place and they get a day off to collect themselves.

The other interesting exchange came with Melky Cabrera. He spoke through an interpreter, bullpen catcher Roman Rodriguez, to most of the media. But after he was done, I asked Melky if he realized he needed a triple for the cycle when he came to the plate in the ninth inning.

“No. Not until I started running. Then I did,” he said with a little grin.

In the dugout, the Yankees were cheering like crazy.

“I think we were all running with him,” Derek Jeter said. “He had a nice little kick.”

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Chad Jennings smacked out of the park today with this feature on Shelley Duncan.

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. Yankees fans are very fortunate to get such comprehensive, intelligent coverage of the AAA team by Chad. A paper looking for a big-league writer would be smart to snap him him.

YANKEES (62-42)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston 3B
Molina C

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (10-7, 3.83).

WHITE SOX (54-51)
Podesdnik CF
Beckham 3B
Dye RF
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Quentin LF
Getz 2B
Nix SS
Castro C

Pitching: LHP Mark Buehrle (11-4, 3.45).

TIME/TV: 2:05 p.m., YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: It’s not good. The Yankees have lost three straight, four of five and five of eight. Their lead on Boston in the AL East is down to a half-game.

IT HAS BEEN UGLY: The Yankees have been outscored 27-11 in the series. In the last two games they have allowed 24 runs on 30 hits and 11 walks over 16 innings.

FOUR ON THE FLOOR: The Yankees have not four straight since May 2-7 when they lost five in a row.

ROUGH ON THE ROAD: The Yankees are 2-4 on a road trip that has three games remaining. They are off tomorrow then play two in Toronto.

CHICAGO’S ON FIRE: The White Sox have won six straight games at U.S. Cellular Field, where ironically enough cell service is not that great.

TIME TO EARN THAT MONEY: CC Sabathia is 3-3 with a 4.62 ERA in his last six starts. He has allowed 45 hits over 39 innings. … CC is 14-4, 3.65 in 26 career starts against the White Sox, 7-1, 2.98 at U.S. Cellular Field.

BURLY BUEHRLE: Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game on July 23 against Tampa Bay. He lost lost against Minnesota in his next start but in the process set the major-league record by retiring 45 batters in a row.

NOT AGAINST THE YANKEES: Buehrle is 1-5, 6.11 against the Yankees, 0-4, 6.91 at home.

RISP REPORT: The Yankees are 5 for 31 with RISP in the series (.161) while the White Sox are 15 of 36 (.417). The Yankees are 12 of 60 (.200) with RISP on the road trip.

THE TEIXEIRA TERROR: Mark Teixeira has 10 home runs, 30 RBI and 26 runs scored in his last 32 games.

GOOD TRIP: Alex Rodriguez is 10 of 26 on the road trip with four RBI and three runs scored. He has not hit a home run in his last 49 at-bats. His next home run will be the 573rd of his career, tying him with Harmon Killebrew for ninth place on the all-time list.

SPEEDY CAPTAIN: Derek Jeter has 19 stolen bases, eight more than he had last season. It’s the most since he had 34 in 2006.

MELANCON MANIA: Mark Melancon has not allowed a run in his last 4.1 innings.

THE CAPTAIN CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Today will be the 2,084th game Derek Jeter has played for the Yankees. That ties him with Babe Ruth for fourth place in team history. Only Yogi Berra (2,116), Lou Gehrig (2,164) and Mickey Mantle (2,401) have played more games in pinstripes.

Back with more later.

UPDATE, 12:41 p.m.: Not much to report on a lazy Sunday morning. Neither team took BP today. For the Yankees, Girardi said he didn’t feel A-Rod needed an entire day off, just a DH day. He might get another one in Toronto. Posada is off because “he had two long games.” In a not-so-stunning coincidence, it happens to be when Sabathia is pitching. … Beyond that, not much news to report at this point.

UPDATE, 12:45 p.m.: God help us.

The Royals have DFA’d Sir Sidney Ponson. This invariably means the Yankees will sign him to a minor-league contract. Why not? They have twice before.

Sir Sidney was 1-7 with a 7.36 ERA for the Royals. He gave up 79 hits and 25 walks in 58.2 innings. But he was 4-4, 5.85 for the Yankees last season and that makes him better than Sergio Mitre.

UPDATE, 1:10 p.m.: Absolutely stunning news out of Boston. It turns out the Red Sox fired two employees who were involved with steroids and they worked closely with the players including David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Remarkably, this somehow escaped the notice of Sen. George “Go Sox” Mitchell and and his crack squad of investigators.

UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: Trenton catcher Jesus Montero is out for the rest of the minor-league season after fracturing the middle finger on his left hand in a game last night. According to Brian Cashman, he will be out 4-6 weeks.

He hit .317/.370/.539 in 44 games at Trenton with nine homers and 33 RBI. In 48 games at Tampa, he had .356/.406/.583 numbers with eight homers and 37 RBI. Oh, and he turns 20 in November.

Also, RHP Brett Marshall, the team’s sixth-round pick in 2008, had Tommy John surgery. Marshall was a Texas HS star the Yankees paid way over slot ($850,000) to sign. He was 3-5, 5.56 in 17 starts for Charleston.

UPDATE, 1:57 p.m.: Want some good news? CC and Buehrle have faced each other nine times. CC is 5-0 and Buehrle is 0-5.

UPDATE, 2:00 p.m.: The Doobie Brothers just did a great job on the national anthem.

UPDATE, 2:07 p.m.: We are underway from Chicago. 71 degrees and a beautiful day for baseball here. Enjoy the game wherever you are.

UPDATE, 2:29 p.m.: Melky Cabrera gives the Yankees a lead with a three-run drive into the White Sox bullpen. Mr. Perfect is not too perfect against the Yankees. Never has been. Meanwhile Melky has been mashing since Brett Gardner went down. Just what the Yankees needed.

CC has to take the 3-0 lead and hold it. This is what the Yankees paid him all that money for. His mission is to hand that lead to Hughes in the eighth inning.

UPDATE, 2:35 p.m.: Lots of great defense in this game so far.

UPDATE, 2:42 p.m.: Nice work by CC working around that double. … Jerry Hairston Jr. seems to have that “hey, I’m a first-place team,” spring in his step.

UPDATE, 2:59 p.m.: Glory be. Johnny Damon just threw to second base and held a runner at first instead of throwing to the plate fruitlessly. Now the double play is in order.

Now if only Swisher and Cabrera would learn to do that.

UPDATE, 3:00 p.m.: So much for that as Dye crunches one. Another shaky start for CC. Five hits, four for extra bases.

UPDATE, 3:01 p.m.: Make that six hits, five for extra bases as Thome drills one into the LF bleachers. 4-3 Chisox and the Yankees are in trouble.

UPDATE, 3:05 p.m.: So far, CC stands for Complete Catastrophe. 3 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 doubles, 2 HR.

UPDATE, 3:14 p.m.: CC has been bad, Mark Buehrle has been worse. You come to a game expecting to see two lefty aces duel and you get 5-4 in the fourth inning and 17 hits. 17!

UPDATE, 3:25 p.m.: Every Yankees starter has at least one hit.

UPDATE, 3:31 p.m.: So much for Mark Buehrle. Yankees hammered him.

UPDATE, 3:34 p.m.: What a pleasure it is to watch two Yankee immortals on the same field today. Of course I mean Derek Jeter and Jerry Hairston Jr.

Robbie Cano without runners in scoring position: 101 of 288 (.351)

Robbie Cano with runners in scoring position: 26 of 128 (.203).

I wouldn’t think that is possible. But apparently it is.

UPDATE, 3:39 p.m.: Jeter has tagged the ball four times today and is 1 for 4.

Now we’ll see CC can do with another three-run lead.

UPDATE, 3:45 p.m.: CC has retired six straight. In this game, that’s major. Seriously.

UPDATE, 3:56 p.m.: Bases loaded and one out against a guy who just walked three in a row. How fast can Cano make an out?

UPDATE, 3:57 p.m.: He strikes out. Better than the GIDP I was expecting. .202 with RISP.

UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: Props to CC. He has done the job today. The idea is to win the game.

UPDATE, 4:21 p.m.: In many ways, this might be the best game CC has pitched. They really need the game nd he buckled down and threw four straight shutout innings. He was great after the third inning.

UPDATE, 4:33 p.m.: Holy cow, Gordon Beckham is going to be star.

That’s it for CC, who probably should not have started the inning in the first place. Now it’s up to Hughes and Mo to hold a three-run lead. The Chicago bullpen has stopped the Yankees dead in their tracks.

UPDATE, 4:44 p.m.: Can’t blame Girardi for using a well-rested Rivera here, especially with the day off tomorrow.

UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.: How about that Meky Cabrera? He just hit for the cycle. He is 4 for 5 with a single, a double, a triple, a home run and four RBI. Greatest day of his life.

Melky is the 15th Yankee to hit for the cycle. He’s the first since Tony Fernandez on Sept. 3, 1995 against Oakland at the old Stadium.

The triple was his first of the season. His last triple was July 31, 2008.

UPDATE, 5:03 p.m.: Captain Clutch with a big RBI single to make it 8-5. … Always good to see fan favorite Cody Ransom in the game.

Meanwhile, the White Sox are now pitching Jhonny Nunez, one of the players the Yankees traded to get Nick Swisher in November. Nunez was a Yankee for a brief time, coming over from the Nats for the attorney general of defense, Alberto Gonzalez.

UPDATE, 5:09 p.m.: OK, Mo has a three-run to take of with 8-9-1 coming up.

Back later with clubhouse reaction.

The YES Network will show a tribute to Thurman Munson at 1:30 p.m. today as part of the pre-game show. Today is the 30th anniversary of his tragic death.

The segment includes interviews with Diana Munson and the Munson children Tracy, Kelly and Mike.

The Yankees were thumped again by the White Sox much to the chagrin of Joe Girardi.

The Yankees adjusted their rotation. This notebook also has updates on CC Sabathia, Jerry Hairston Jr., Shelley Duncan and Alex Rodriguez.

The Baseball Beat looks at the coming pennant race between the Red Sox and Yankees.

Rick Carpiniello talked to Marty Appel on the 30th anniversary of Thurman Munson’s death.

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Don’t forget, the deadline to submit a question for our Q&A with Yogi Berra is tomorrow at noon. See this post for more details.

The less said about this game, the better. The Yankees have lost three straight, four of five and five of eight. At 62-42, they’re about to lead Boston by a half-game in the AL East.

Here is Joe Girardi discussing today’s 14-4 debacle:

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That the Yankees are slumping is no surprise. They weren’t going to coast through the rest of the season. But the sudden Bad News Bears level of play needs fixing. A.J. Burnett twice walked the No. 9 hitter with the bases loaded. Outfielders are throwing to the wrong bases. Players are getting thrown out on the bases.

“We looked pretty awful,” Jorge Posada said on his way out of the clubhouse. He was the guy who tried to tag a runner with his glove while holding the ball in the other hand.

Girardi didn’t help today. He was so determined to load the lineup up with right-handed bats that he used Cody Ransom at first base and Jerry Hairston Jr. in left field. John Danks is a nice lefty. But right-handed batters (.243) had not hit him particularly better than left-handed batters (.230).

Then Ransom got up with two on in the sixth inning and the Yankees still in the game. Girardi stuck with him and he struck out.

“We were going to stay with our right-handers. We thought we were chipping away,” Girardi said. “We talked about (pinch hitting), but we didn’t do it.”

Common sense tells you Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui were better options. Matsui has eight homers against lefties this season. Damon and Matsui were each 1 for 4 against Danks. Ransom was 0 for 7. Tiny sample sizes, no doubt. But you don’t need stats to make that decision.

Everybody had a bad day. Now the Yankees need to figure out how to fix this road trip before they head home to face the Red Sox.

YANKEES (62-41)
Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira DH
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston LF
Ransom 1B

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-4, 3.53).

WHITE SOX (53-51)
Podesdnik CF
Beckham 3B
Dye RF
Thome DH
Konerko 1B
Pierzynski C
Quentin LF
Getz 2B
Nix SS

Pitching: LHP John Danks (8-7, 3.89).

TIME/TV: 4:05, FOX.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have lost the first two games of the series. They have dropped three of their last four and four of their last seven. They start the day leading Boston by 1.5 games in the American League East.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB: INF/OF Jerry Hairston joins the team today. The corresponding move will be announced shortly.

BIG ONE FOR BURNETT: A.J. Burnett is 5-0 with a 3.65 ERA in nine starts after a Yankees loss this season.

GOOD STREAK FOR A.J.: Burnett is 8-2, 2.08 in his last 11 starts. Opponents have hit .209 against him in that stretch. … He is 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA in five career starts against the White Sox.

SWISH SMASH: Nick Swisher is 7 of 22 with four RBI and five extra-base hits in his last six games.

TEX DRIVES THEM IN: Mark Teixeira has eight RBI in the last 10 games.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: The Yankees are 10 of 47 with runners in scoring position (.213) on the road trip.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: Six in the Morning by D12.

Back with more later.

UPDATE, 12:32 p.m.: A few more tibits for you …

HINSKE WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: Eric Hinske has had 21 at-bats with the Yankees. They have produced five home runs and seven RBI.

MATSUI MASHES: Godzilla is 7 of 19 on the trip.

POSADA PLUNGES: Jorge Posada is 3 fo 19 on the trip.

MELANCON ON THE RISE: In his last two outings, the rookie right-hander has thrown 3.2 scoreless innings and struck out four.

ACE? NOT SO MUCH: Alfredo Aceves has allowed six runs on six hits in his last two innings. His last six outings: 8.1 innings, 11 hits, 10 earned runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts.

More to come later on.

UPDATE, 12:44 p.m.: Shelley Duncan is being optioned down for Hairston.

UPDATE, 2:31 p.m.: The upcoming rotation:

Toronto: Pettitte, Mitre

Boston: Chamberlain, Burnett, Sabathia, Pettitte.

UPDATE, 4:13 p.m.: We’re underway from Chicago, where it’s 69 degrees and overcast.

UPDATE, 4:26 p.m.: Alfredo Aceves is down today but the rest of the bullpen is OK. … The shift in the rotation allows them to avoid using Mitre against Boston and gives Joba some extra days off. They’ll give Joba extra days when they can to cut down his starts and save his innings. … Johnny Damon is feeling OK after smacking into that wall last night. … A-Rod will get a day off or a DH day tomorrow. …

UPDATE, 4:48 p.m.: Burnett just walked the No. 9 hitter with the bases loaded. This has not been a particularly crisp series for the Yanks, has it?

UPDATE, 4:49 p.m.: More bad baseball. Podsednik singles to left and Swisher throws (way late) to the plate, allowing Podsednik to take second. Yankees in big, big trouble here.

UPDATE, 4:51 p.m.: Beckham with a two-run double. 5-0 White Sox and one out in this inning. With no long reliever, Burnett may have to take one for the team here.

UPDATE, 4:52 p.m.: Wow, 6-0 as Dye singles in Beckham.

Well, the good news is the Yankees will still be in first place at the end of the day. The bad news is that they get Mark Buehrle tomorrow.

UPDATE, 5:21 p.m.: Who needs Roy Halladay? The Yankees have Jerry Hairston Jr. All he does is get on base.

UPDATE, 5:57 p.m.: A.J. Burnett twice walked the No. 9 hitter with the bases loaded. That is hard to do. Nix (a .225 hitter) is the only hitter Burnett walked.

Not his day. Now comes Brian Bruney, who has allowed nine runs on 14 hits in his last 6.1 innings. It’s 7-2 Chicago and could get a whole lot worse.

UPDATE, 6:13 p.m.: How is Girardi letting Cody Ransom hit here? Pinch hit Hinske and move Swisher to first. Or Matsui. Or Damon. Somebody.

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: Wow. Yankees trail 7-3 as Ransom whiffs again.

UPDATE, 6:36 p.m.: That Tex groundout leaves the Yankees 1-10 with RISP today. They’re down 7-3 and it could be a lot closer.

UPDATE, 6:51 p.m.: Make that 2 for 13 with RISP today. 12 of 60 on the trip.

UPDATE, 7;06 p.m.: How much money do you figure Joe Girardi owes Cody Ransom?

UPDATE, 7:11 p.m.: What is the point of wasting Phil Coke here?

UPDATE, 7:14 p.m.: I need to check this. But the Yankees have allowed 413 runners to take an extra base thanks to ill-advised throws from the outfield in this series. It might be 414.

UPDATE, 7:20 p.m.: It’s not so much that the Yankees are losing, that was bound to happen. But they’re playing a ragged brand of baseball the last three days. Sloppy and inattentive.

UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: Good idea blowing Coke out in a lost game so he can’t be used tomorrow. It’s 13-4 and and it’s the 10th time this season the Yankees have allowed 10+ runs. Another embarrassment.

UPDATE, 7:35 p.m.: Finally, it’s over. Back in a bit with some reaction.

The Yankees did not get a pitcher at the trade deadine. Then Sergio Mitre made them regret it as he was pounded by the White Sox.

Jerry Hairston Jr., the newest Yankee, is valued for his versatility. This notebook also has update on Shelley Duncan and some roster moves.