The LoHud Yankees Blog

Joe Girardi inadvertently opened up a little box of controversy yesterday when he mentioned that one division series would require three starters and the other four. The team with the best record has a choice.

I would think the Yankees would use the longer series with fewer starters. That plays to their strengths and allows them to rest their position players an extra day, too.

What this means for Joba Chamberlain is incidental. There are no roles in the postseason, there is a team-wide task to win 11 games. Pitchers do whatever they’re asked to the best of their ability. If Joba pitches out of the bullpen in the division series and starts in the ALCS, so be it. Once the playoffs start, it’s about winning. Everything else is meaningless.

Mike Mussina pitched in relief in the postseason, so did Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and dozens of other starters over the years. The Yankees have spent the entire season rightfully concerned about Chamberlain and the rest of their pitchers. But all hands are on deck once the bunting is draped over the stadium railings.

Some fans and media are way too hung up on Joba and what his role might be. He’ll do what he’s told, that’ll be his role. And if he doesn’t pitch well, they’ll find somebody else who will.

One of Brian Cashman’s best trades came June 29, 2000 when he dealt three prospects to Cleveland for David Justice. The outfielder was with the Yankees for only parts of two seasons, but drove in 17 runs in postseason games.

And Justice helped the Yankees get Nick Swisher, believe it or not. Follow the trail of trades:

Dec. 7, 2001: Justice traded to the Mets for Robin Ventura.

July 31, 2003: Ventura traded to the Dodgers for Scott Proctor and Bubba Crosby.

July 31, 2007: Proctor traded back to the Dodgers for Wilson Betemit.

Nov. 13, 2008: Betemit traded to the White Sox for Swisher as part of a five-player deal.

26 home runs and 77 RBI later, Cashman is a genius again. Plus this can only mean Swisher will start dating Halle Berry when the Yankees win the World Series.

(Full disclosure: I’m not nearly smart enough to come up with this on my own. A friend mentioned it to me last night after the game. Seemed interesting enough to post.)

UPDATE, 12:49 p.m.: But wait, it gets even better. Thanks to Thomas, a reader who posted, here is how Ruben Rivera led to Nick Swisher:

April 22, 1997: Rivera was traded with Rafael Medina and $3 million to the Padres for Gordon Amerson, Homer Bush, Hideki Irabu and Vernon Maxwel.

December 22, 1999: Irabu was traded to Montreal for Jake Westbrook, one of the prospects used to obtain Justice.

So a trade that happened 12 years ago leads back to Nick Swisher winning the game last night. Pretty good.

UPDATE, 12:56 p.m.: Tyler Kepner, who actually is a smart guy, figured this all out back in April. But it’s still fun to look at all the steps.

Current Franchise Hits Leaders

Arizona: Luis Gonzalez – 1,337
Atlanta: Hank Aaron – 3,600
Baltimore: Cal Ripken, Jr. – 3,184
Boston: Carl Yastrzemksi – 3,419
Chicago (AL): Luke Appling – 2,749
Chicago (NL): Ernie Banks – 2,583
Cincinnati: Pete Rose – 3,358
Cleveland: Nap Lajoie – 2,046
Colorado: Todd Helton – 2,110
Detroit: Ty Cobb – 3,902
Florida: Luis Castillo – 1,273
Houston: Craig Biggio – 3,060
Kansas City: George Brett – 3,154
Los Angeles (AL): Garrett Anderson – 2,368
Los Angeles (NL): Zack Wheat – 2,804
Milwaukee: Robin Yount – 3,142
Minnesota: Sam Rice – 2,889
New York (AL): Lou Gehrig – 2,721
New York (NL): Ed Kranepool – 1,418
Oakland: Bert Campaneris – 1,882
Philadelphia: Mike Schmidt – 2,234
Pittsburgh: Roberto Clemente – 3,000
San Diego: Tony Gwynn – 3,141
San Francisco: Willie Mays – 3,187
Seattle: Edgar Martinez – 2,247
St. Louis: Stan Musial – 3,630
Tampa Bay: Carl Crawford – 1,270
Texas: Ivan Rodriguez – 1,734
Toronto: Tony Fernandez – 1,583
Washington: Tim Wallach – 1,694

Two things that jump out at me: It’s amazing given their history that the Yankees didn’t have somebody collect 3,000 hits along the way. Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle walked so often and Joe DiMaggio only played 13 seasons.

Meanwhile, pretty sad that the Mets have never had somebody stick around long enough to collect even 1,500 hits. Kranepool was a .261 hitter who made the All-Star team once and never had more than 133 hits in a season.

It’s sort of a strange record to celebrate in terms of the Yankees. It’s as much a testament to good health and perseverance as it is to talent. The guy who seems least interested is Derek Jeter.

Derek Jeter has an off night but Nick Swisher delivered a walk-off home run for the Yankees.

Dave Robertson is going to get his elbow checked by Dr. James Andrews. This notebook also has updates on the quest for home-field advantage and Ian Kennedy’s progress.

This creature was spotted at Yankee Stadium tonight. It appears to be a hybrid of the Abominable Snowman and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Fans are advised to stay away and let security or Brian Cashman deal with this beast. It answers to the name of Swishalicious. It once roamed the Chicago area but migrated to New York last winter.

Derek Jeter did not make himself available to the media after the game, which is very unusual for him. He is hitless in 12 at-bats for the first time this season. David Price became the first pitcher to strike Jeter out three times in a game since Curt Schilling in on April 19, 2004 at Fenway Park.

Like it mattered, right? The Yankees won 3-2 on a walk-off homer by Nick Swisher. It was the third time Swisher has homered from both sides of the plate this season. He now has 26 homers (five at the Stadium) and 77 RBI.

“I guess I was due,” Swisher said. “The guys were kind of giving me a hard time about it, saying I had my one for this month.”

A few other notes: Johnny Damon reached 100 runs for the 10th time in his career. … Dave Robertson will go see Dr. Andrews on Thursday at his office in Pensacola, Fla. … Chad Gaudin has allowed four earned runs in 14 innings as a starter since joining the Yankees. The team is 3-0 in games he has started. … Yankees have won 22 of 26 at home.

YANKEES (89-50)
Jeter DH
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Swisher RF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Hairston SS

Pitching: RHP Chad Gaudin (1-0, 4.08).

RAYS (72-66)
Bartlett SS
Crawford LF
Longoria 3B
Zobrist CF
Burrell DH
Richard 1B
Zaun C
Gross RF
Iwamura 2B

Pitching: LHP David Price (7-7, 4.75).

TIME/TV: 7:05, My9.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees have won three of four and 11 of their last 14. They swept two games from Tampa Bay yesterday. The Yankees start the day nine games ahead of Boston in the American League East and 6.5 games ahead of Los Angeles for home field throughout the playoffs. The Red Sox host hapless Baltimore and the Angels host the Mariners. It’ll be King Felix against Scott Kazmir. Nice matchup.

HIGH-WATER MARK: The Yankees are 39 games over .500. They have not been 40 games over since finishing the 2004 season 101-61.

DAZE OF THE RAYS: Tampa Bay has lost six straight and seven of eight.

THE JETER METER: In case you just returned from solitary confinement, a Mets game or some other place devoid of people, Derek Jeter needs four hits to break the franchise record of 2,721 held by Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. Jeter was 0 for 8 in the two games yesterday. He has not gone hitless in three consecutive games since the final three games he started last season.

HERE COMES A-ROD: Alex Rodriguez is 10 of 20 with eight RBI in his last eight games. His batting average is up to a season-best .282.

DELIVERIES BACK ON SCHEDULE: Melky Cabrera is 19 of 46 (.413) in his last 13 games with five extra-base hits and 10 RBI He’s up to .281 for the season with a .340 OBP.

HUUUUUUUGHES: Phil Hughes has not allowed a run in his last 12.1 innings.

G.O.A.T: Mariano Rivera has converted 39 of 40 save chances this season including a personal record 35 in a row.

PITCHING PROWESS: The Yankees held the Rays to two runs on 19 hits and struck out 23 yesterday.

IT MUST BE THE FERVENT SUPPORT OF THE FANS IN THE LEGENDS SEATS. THAT IS WHEN THEY’RE NOT IN THE RESTAURANT EATING LOBSTER: The Yankees have won 21 of their last 25 games at home. They are 47-20 at the Stadium this season — 41-13 since A-Rod came off the disabled list.

DOUBT NOT THE BIG MAN: The Yankees are 10-1 in the games CC Sabathia has started since the All-Star break.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: L.A. Woman by The Doors. For reasons uncertain, I’ve been listening to The Doors all afternoon.

Back with more later on. We’ll follow the Captain pitch by pitch all night.

UPDATE, 4:23 p.m.: Mr. Berra is in the house. Good omen?

UPDATE, 4:47 p.m.: Dave Robertson (elbow) has been shut down and is going to see Dr. James Andrews. He’s been pitching with “tightness” for about 10 days now.

The hope is, Girardi said, that it’s not serious and he comes back after some rest.

UPDATE, 6:36 p.m.: Spoke to Robertson. He said he’s been pitching with it for two weeks now. There has been no drop in velocity or command, just tightness after he’s done pitching. He had an MRI and said no injury was apparent.

“I’m confident it’s not going to be anything,” he said.

Robertson has never had elbow issues before.

UPDATE, 7:10 p.m.: We are underway in the Bronx. 72 degrees and bit overcast. Either a late arriving crowd or a small one. Lots of empty seats.

UPDATE, 7:12 p.m.: That ball has to be caught by Damon.

UPDATE, 7:14 p.m.: Heck of a play by Alex there, especially in executing the fundamentals of the rundown. Alex is a terrific defensive player, which a lot of people forget.

UPDATE, 7:20 p.m.: Jeter strikes out. Doesn’t look like the record falls tonight, unless he gets up four or five more times. But 35,000 people got a nice photo of him whiffing at least.

UPDATE, 7:21 p.m.: Wanted to say hi to Jenn and Janet, who are here from Scranton and attended the blog outing last week. So if you see two women being escorted out of the terrace seats by security, its probably them.

Have a good time, ladies.

UPDATE, 7:32 p.m.: First home run at home for Swisher since June 8. He had hit 12 straight on the road.

UPDATE, 7:34 p.m: Research by the Abraham Sports Bureau confirms that Swisher has 25 home runs more than Wilson Betemit.

UPDATE, 7:51 p.m.: Jeter is 0 for 2 and the third inning is over. The Iron Horse will hold the record for at least another night, it looks like. He’s 0 for his last 10 with three K’s.

UPDATE, 8:03 p.m.: Chad Gaudin’s line so far: 4 2 0 0 1 5. Pretty impressive.

UPDATE, 8:44 p.m.: Jeter 0 for 3 and has struck out three times. He is 0 for his last 13, which I believe is his longest hitless streak of the season. Working to check that now.

I’m sure there will be some “Jeter’s choking under the pressure” nonsense written and said. Never mind that he has no idea about the record until a few weeks ago.

UPDATE, 8:58 p.m.: Big RBI for A-Rod as the Yankees go up 2-0.

UPDATE, 8:59 p.m.: Yeah, really big as Longoria homers.

UPDATE, 9:02 p.m.: Way too much faith in Chad Gaudin there. The Yankees have a dozen pitchers in the bullen. Somebody should have been warming up before the inning so Gaudin could have been pulled once he allowed the home run.

UPDATE, 9:07 p.m.: This is where they would have used David Robertson. Instead it’s Bruney. Big test for him.

UPDATE, 9:08 p.m.: Yes, Jeter’s 0 for 11 is the longest streak he has had this season.

UPDATE, 9:23 p.m.: Girardi played match game with Maddon and won. Meanwhile, David Price threw a good game and leaves down 2-1.

UPDATE, 9:29 p.m.: Boy, it sure is exciting to see two managers use everybody on their roster. Managers love expanded rosters.

UPDATE, 9:34 p.m.: Phil Hughes into pitch to the soothing sounds of Cyanide by Metallica.

The Franchise to face the top of the order.

UPDATE, 9:35 p.m.: One pitch and we’re all tied up as Bartlett goes deep.

UPDATE, 9:40 p.m.: Hughes had gone 12.1 innings without giving up a run. Yankees have the top of the order coming up in the eighth inning. Jeter will probably hit a homer to win it, reminding everybody that he is all about winning, not records.

UPDATE, 9:47 p.m.: Jeter has not whiffed four times in a game since Sept. 1, 1997 against Curt Schilling at Veterans Stadium. It has only happened twice.

UPDATE, 9:51 p.m.: Jeter is 0-4 with that liner. He has whiffed three times for the first time since July 30, 2008 and only the second time in the last two seasons. That’s pretty amazing.

UPDATE, 9:54 p.m.: Mo in the ninth. If the Yankees are to win this, it’ll be a walk-off. Gentlemen, start your pies.

UPDATE, 10:05 p.m.: Mo does his job. Now the Yankees can win it. Back with clubhouse reaction no matter what happens.

When Shelley Duncan was called up yesterday, it gave the Yankees a roster of 34 players. They’re carrying 16 position players and 18 pitchers.

So who’s not here?

There are six players on the 40-man roster who have not been called up. They are:

Andrew Brackman: Evil genius Scott Boras insisted Brackman be on the 40-man roster when he was signed. So far, all he has done is take up a lot of space. Brackman was a hideous 2-12 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.706 WHIP for Single-A Charleston. He walked 76, hit 10 and threw 26 wild pitches in 106.2 innings. The good news: He pitched well in relief at the end of the season and his surgically repaired elbow feels fine. But he turns 24 in December and the clock be ticking.

Anthony Claggett: He appeared in two games for the Yankees earlier this season. Once the Scranton season is over, he would appear to be a candidate to get called up.

Wilkin De La Rosa: He had a biceps tendon issue and hasn’t pitched since early last month. There would seem to be little chance of his getting called up.

Christian Garcia: The oft-injured right-hander appeared in only five games for Trenton before requiring elbow surgery.

Ian Kennedy: He had surgery in May to remove an aneurysm from his shoulder. He has been throwing in Florida and will pitch in the Arizona Fall League.

Juan Miranda: Still in Scranton, the big first baseman from Cuba has had his path blocked by Mark Teixeira. Perhaps the Yankees can trade him this winter. He had an solid season (.290/.369/.498) for Scranton. But he is listed at 26 and is probably older.

If the Yankees wanted to call any other player up, they would have to first create room on the 40-man roster. That’s easy enough to do.

More likely, they’ll invite some young guys to hang around and work out for a few days. They’ve done that the last few years.

Lost in the shuffle of his pursuit of Lou Gehrig and the franchise hits record is that Derek Jeter just passed Yogi Berra on the list of games played for the Yankees.

Jeter has played in 2,117 games. Only Mickey Mantle (2,401) and Gehrig (2,164) played in more.

Our friend Dave Kaplan of the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center asked Yogi what he thought about Jeter moving past him.

“Not bad,” he said. “But I’ll remind him he didn’t have to catch.”

The Museum has a special exhibit on Gehrig commemorating the 70th anniversary of his farewell. His 1939 road jersey, his cap and bat are among the items on display. If you have not been out there, you really should go.

The Museum also will host Fritz Peterson for a discussion and book signing on Sept. 17 starting at 7 p.m. Peterson is the author of Mickey Mantle Is Going To Heaven.

Peterson was an All-Star and 20-game winner but is best known for trading wives with teammate Mike Kekich in 1972. He will discuss his interactions with the likes of Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson and Jim Bouton.

To orders personalized copies of Peterson’s book or for more info, call (973) 655-2378.

Here is what Eric Hinske and Jerry Hairston Jr. have given the Yankees this season off the bench:

Games: 58
Hits: 31
A-Bats: 124
Extra-base hits: 16
RBI: 24
Runs: 25
Walks: 17
Strikeouts: 27
Batting average: .250.
OBP: .349.
Hinske positions played: RF, LF, 3B
Hairston positions played: 3B, RF, LF, SS, CF

Not bad considering the Yankees gave up three B-level prospects and are paying about $1 million for both.