The LoHud Yankees Blog

Joba Chamberlain pitched poorly again as the Yankees were beaten by the Mariners. Their lead is down to five games.

Jorge Posada returned from suspension. This notebook also has updates on Dave Robertson, the rookie hazing and a new No. 5 starter.

So I hopped a flight from Seattle to Orange County after the game on Sunday. After going to the bathroom, I noticed this sticker on the toilet seat:

Look over to the right side of the warning. It’s a comb.

Is there really an issue of people throwing combs in airplane toilets? It seems hard to believe you’d get up during the flight, feel a need to comb your hair, do so in the bathroom then decide to chuck the comb into the crapper and flush it away with that blue water.

I get a buzz cut every three weeks or so and have not used a comb since seventh grade. Have combs become disposable and I missed it? I don’t get this. Of course I also don’t understand how having your seat reclined two inches is somehow unsafe for landing.

Alaska Airlines gave me something called “Jones Sugar-Free Cola” when I asked for a Diet Coke. Had I been allowed to flush that, I would have.

Ill-timed as it was after a loss, the Yankees had their annual rookie hazing today.

The theme was the old Batman television show.

Mark Melancon was Batman. Ramiro Pena was a disturbing Catwoman and Mike Dunn was the Riddler. Massage therapist Lou Potter was the Penguin and video man Anthony Flynn made a fine Robin.

The players had fun with it. Now those guys need to fly to Anaheim dressed that way.

Just received this from a reader:

As a parting gift, please take Joba with you.

That is very funny. This is not: Joba is 0-4 with an 8.42 ERA in his last eight starts and opponents have hit .331 against him.

This is even worse: Joba either doesn’t understand how poorly he is pitching or doesn’t want to admit it. Listen to his postgame interview:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

“My delivery was great,” he said. “I threw some great changeups. My slider velocity was great. My fastball velocity was more consistent. … It’s going to take a lot more than this to get my confidence level down, I’ll tell you that much. You can kick me as much as you want but I’m going to come back fighting every time. That’s how I live this life and that’s how I play this game of baseball.”

Chamberlain was asked whether he was concerned with how he has pitched lately.

“I’m fine, man,” he said. “I’m fine.”

Joe Girardi does not feel the same way. He wanted to use Joba for five innings put pulled him after three because he was pitching so poorly. He criticized his command, saying Chamberlain left too many hittable pitches over the plate.

But Girardi said that if they need a No. 4 starter in the playoffs, it would be Joba. That is a scary thought at this point.

YANKEES (95-54)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-5, 4.39).

MARINERS (77-72)
Suzuki RF
Gutierrez CF
Lopez 2B
Griffey Jr. DH
Beltre 3B
Hall LF
Carp 1B
Moore C
Wilson SS

Pitching: RHP Ian Snell (4-2, 4.86).

TIME/TV: 4:10, YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees start the day six games ahead of Boston in the division. The Red Sox now have the second-best record in the AL as well. The Yankees will clinch a playoff spot today if they win and Texas loses. … The Yankees have won two of three, 8 of 12, 17 of 24 and 44 of 61.

MONSTER MASH: Hideki Matsui is 17 of 40 with 12 RBI and is up to .280 on the season. He is second on the team with 86 RBI but eighth in plate appearances.

DAMONIC: Johnny Damon is 6 of 8 in this series with three doubles.

TORRID TEX: Mark Teixeira leads the AL with 118 RBI and is second with 37 homers. His batting average is up to .289.

FALL BALL: Robinson Cano is 25 of 68 (.368) this month and is a career .351 hitter in September and October. That is best among active players.

JOBAMANIA: Chamberlain is 0-3 with a 7.07 ERA in his last seven starts, allowing 38 hits and 11 walks over 28 innings. The Yankees have limited Chamberlain to 13 innings in his last four starts. His last two starts — 7 innings, 7 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts — have been better.

MO IN THE SHOW: Mariano Rivera has appeared in at least 60 games 12 times in his career. The record is 13 by Mike Stanton.

PHIL FRANCHISE: Yankees relievers have a 3.47 ERA since Phil Hughes joined the bullpen. It was 4.88 prior to that. Opposing hitters are 1 for 16 with RISP against Hughes since he became a reliever.

ON THE iPOD RIGHT NOW: Masters of War by Pearl Jam.

Back with more later.

UPDATE, 2:23 p.m.: A few pre-game notes for you:

• Jorge Posada is back but is still dealing with that stiff neck he came out of the brawl with.

• Chad Gaudin is your new No. 5 starter. Sergio Mitre has been banished to the bullpen.

• Joba will be going at least five innings today.

• Nick Swisher is getting a day off to deal with assorted bumps and bruises, mainly with his legs.

• Dave Robertson really let it go when he played catch before the game and looked good. He’ll get off the mound on Tuesday in Anaheim. He’ll be back quick.

• It’s distressing the Patriots are up 9-3 and it could easily be 17-3. But that’s OK.

Back with more later on.

UPDATE, 4:10 p.m.: Despite the utter failure of the once-mighty Patriots, I shall press on and cover the game. … We are underway in Seattle on a beautiful day here.

UPDATE, 4:12 p.m.: Hey, Jeter got a hit the other way. I’m fairly sure that is how the Yankees have started the game 137 times this season. At least it seems that way.

UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: Poor start there for the Yankees. After Jeter and Damon get on, Tex, A-Rod and Matsui go down meekly. They let Snell off the hook.

UPDATE, 4:57 p.m.: If the Yankees just left Joba off the playoff roster for the first round and sent him to Tampa to try and get himself fixed, could you blame them?

They should make it clear to him during the winter that he does not have the team made in 2010. This is disgraceful, giving up seven runs in two innings to a poor offensive team.

UPDATE, 5:26 p.m.: So who do you like for Game 4 in the ALCS? The choices are Chad Gaudin, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves or Nick Swisher.

It sure can’t be Joba.

UPDATE, 5:28 p.m.: Another three-inning gem for Joba.

His last 8 starts: 31 innings, 44 hits, 29 earned runs, 14 walks. That’s an 8.42 ERA.

UPDATE, 5:31 p.m.: Joba threw two more pitches than his last outing. What exactly is the point of all this? He had thrown 67 in his last game. Why not just leave him out there to throw 85 and get stretched out?

UPDATE, 6:00 p.m.: Yankees are down 7-0 and getting three-hit by Ian Snell. Barring them coming back to life, this will be five losses in the last nine games and a lead of five games against the Red Sox with the next six games against the Angels and Sox.

The only good news is that with Texas losing, the Yankees have clinched a tie for a postseason berth.

UPDATE, 6:11 p.m.: In a stunning development, Cano unable to get a hit with runners in scoring position. There may be no more confounding statistic in baseball than how he hits with RISP and without.

UPDATE, 7:01 p.m.: Yankees lose 7-1. Back later with a brief recap as I need to make a flight to Orange County.

CC Sabathia survived a line drive off the chest as he and Mark Teixeira led the Yankees to a rout of the Mariners.

Ian Kennedy is back in the majors after a medical scare. This notebook also has updates on some Yankee football fans and today’s rookie hazing.

Is Derek Jeter the MVP of the American League? He might not be the MVP of his own team That’s the question raised in the Baseball Beat column.

Brett Gardner’s value off the bench could be significant for the Yankees in the postseason.

Here is the Joe Girardi post-game interview for those of you still awake:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Girardi said he was scared at first when CC got hit with that line drive in the fifth inning. But Sabathia told them right away that he was fine.

“We’re fortunate,” Girardi said. “It couldn’t have hit his pitching hand, it could have hit him anywhere. We were fortunate.”

Mark Teixeira said that Sabathia seemed to get better once he got hit. In fact, he did as Sabathia retired the final seven batters he faced.

“He’s a strong man, he took it and he kept on pitching,” Girardi said.

Sabathia said it was no problem. He’s been hit on that spot before and he knew he was OK right away. What impressed him most was how quickly assistant athletic trainer Steve Donohue got to the mound.

“Stevie was moving,” he said. “I knew I was fine. It looked worse than it felt. I was more mad I didn’t catch it.”

Meanwhile, an unknown perpetrator took one of Nick Swisher’s sneakers and suspended it from the clubhouse ceiling. Swisher has to clamber up on a chair to snag the brown and yellow Nike.

“I’ll give $100 to know who did that,” he yelled as assorted other players snickered.

A few notes for you:

• CC is tied with Adam Wainwright of St. Louis for the most wins in the majors with 18. He has not been as good statistically as Zack Greinke or Felix Hernandez and will probably finish third in the Cy Young voting. But when you consider that his starts actually mean something, perhaps CC really has been better. Greinke pitches in a vacuum at this point.

• Hideki Matsui has hit safely in eight straight and 13 of of his last 15 games. He is second on the team with 86 RBI despite being eighth on the team in plate appearances.

• The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is two. But the Yankees don’t plan to break out the champagne until they wrap up the division. There is something to be said for acting like you’ve been there before, after all.

As for the division, the Yankees lead the Red Sox by six games with 13 to play. It’s not out of the realm of believability that Boston could make a move. But Terry Francona’s history suggests that he’ll concern himself more with making sure his regulars are rested and his pitchers are lined up as opposed to going full out after the Yankees.

It’ll be the Yankees against the Twins or Tigers in the first round and the Red Sox against the Angels in the other series.

YANKEES (94-54)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Cervelli C

Pitching: LHP CC Sabathia (17-7, 3.42).

MARINERS (77-71)
Ichiro RF
Gutierrez CF
Lopez 2B
Sweeney DH
Beltre 3B
Johjima C
Hall LF
Tuiasosopo 2B
Wilson SS

Pitching: RHP Doug Fister (2-2, 3.53).

TIME/TV: 10:10, YES.

STATE OF THE ‘STRIPES: The Yankees were beaten 3-2 on a two-run, walk-off homer by Ichiro Suzuki in the ninth inning last night. The Yankees lead the Red Sox by six games in the AL East and the Angels by 5.5 games for the best record in the American League and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Yankees have lost four of their last seven games.

CC IN SEATTLE: Sabathia is 7-0 with a 2.48 ERA in his last nine starts. He is 1-1 against Seattle this season. In 13.2 innings, CC has allowed seven runs on 13 hits and five walks while striking out 18.

ANOTHER CHANCE: Fister, a 25-year-old rookie, beat the Yankees on Aug. 16. He allowed three runs on eight hits over seven innings in a 10-3 victory.

THEY’RE HOT: Robbie Cano has hit in seven straight at 12 of 28. … A-Rod has 15 RBI in 15 games this month. … Johnny Damon is one shy of 25 homers, which would be his career high. … Nick Swisher is 9 of 25 with five extra-base hits.

THEY’RE NOT: Melky Cabrera is 1 of his last 10, as is Jose Molina. Jerry Hairston is 1 of his last 11.

NUMBERS GAME: Brian Bruney changed his number from 38 to 99. Maybe that will change his luck. Bruney has allowed 16 hits and 12 walks in his last 14.1 innings.

Back with more later on.

UPDATE, 3:41 p.m.: RHP Ian Kennedy is here and will be used as a long reliever or spot starter.

UPDATE, 7:17 p.m.: Rotation for the Angels series: Pettitte, Gaudin and Burnett against Saunders, Santana and Kazmir.

UPDATE, 9:31 p.m.: Here is some of what Ian Kennedy had to say:

“This is crazy. I didn’t dream of this happening. After not pitching all year, this seemed crazy. When he called me and told me it was going to happen … I’m still in shock.”

Kennedy’s line in two minor-league playoff games — 5 1 0 0 0 7 — impressed the Yankees enough to have him called up. They’ll try and give him some work and if not, they’ll have him pitch in a simulated game or two before he goes to the Arizona Fall League.

Kennedy is 19-6 with a 1.59 ERA in parts of four minor-league seasons. He’s only 24 and is very much still a prospect.

“We still believe he’s a part of the future of this organization,” Girardi said. “Last year didn’t go the way we wanted. This year obviously didn’t go the way we wanted. We still believe. He’s young, he’s talented and he can really help us.”

The issue is innings as Kennedy has thrown only 190 over the last two seasons. That counts his time in the majors, the minors, the minor-league postseason and Puerto Rico. So any innings he gets now and in Arizona will help extend him next season.

UPDATE, 10:13 p.m.: We are underway. … Teixeira just tripled to center. He has three triples in the last five games after not having one for two years. Baseball, you just can’t figure it.

UPDATE, 11:12 p.m.: Holy schnikes, that ball was murdered by Matsui. That’s 26 homers and 86 RBI for the mighty Godzilla and the Yankees lead 2-0.

UPDATE, 11:23 p.m.: Mark Teixeira went 1,192 ABs without a triple. Now he has three in his last 16 ABs.

UPDATE, 11:29 p.m.: Damon is 6 for 7 in this series with three doubles and two runs scored.

UPDATE, 11:31 p.m.: Tex sneaks one over the fence for a three-run jack and the Yankees lead 6-0 as Doug Fister is getting knocked all around Safeco Field. I’m going out on a limb and suggesting Carsten Charles will figure out a way to win this game.

UPDATE, 11:48 p.m.: That was scary. CC just got drilled in the upper chest with a ball. That’s going to leave a mark.

They checked him out and he’s staying in to pitch.

UPDATE, 11:52 p.m.: What a catch by Tex to end the inning.

UPDATE, 12:01 a.m.: The Yankees get the run back as Francisco Cervelli crushes a ball of the wall in left then gets thrown out going to second.

Frisco seems like one of those guys who’s a more productive hitter in the majors than the minors.

UPDATE, 12:24 a.m.: Two tremendous plays there by Cano and Jeter. The Captain is having his best defensive year in five years. Maybe even longer.

Based on the comments, some readers were upset with Joe Girardi last night on two fronts:

• They wanted Girardi to pinch hit for Jose Molina in the seventh inning with two one, one out and the Yankees leading 2-1. He did not and Molina rolled into an easy 6-4-3 double play.

Thanks a bunch for getting suspended, Jorge Posada. If the Yankees had three catchers, Girardi could have pinch hit. But in a 2-1 game, he probably wanted to save Francisco Cervelli in case the game went into extra inning or in case Molina got hurt.

• Then some people wanted Girardi to intentionally walk Ichiro Suzuki with first base open and a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth inning.

That would have made zero sense to me. Ichiro was 2 for 10 against Mariano Rivera in his career. You also do not put the winning run on base in the form of one of the fastest men in baseball. A double down the line would have won the game for Seattle.

If you are Joe Girardi, you have done your job once you hand a one-run lead in the ninth inning to the greatest closer in history. What happens after that is all on Mariano.