The LoHud Yankees Blog

Yankee Stadium is getting itself ready for the American League Championship Series to return to the Bronx.

I just got to the stadium for today’s workout. The ALCS logos are being painted in foul territory , and the video boards are showing a “Quest for 27″ logo. It’s chilly and bordering on cold, but still better than snowy Minneapolis.

The clubhouse opens in a half hour, and we’ll be talking to Joe Girardi a little bit later this afternoon. I expect more questions about the rotation and the roster, and I’m hoping for an answer or two about both. Stick with us, we’ll let you know as soon as we know.

I’m getting ready to head down to the Stadium for this afternoon’s workout, and we’ll have plenty of blogging throughout the day. As many of you have e-mailed, I’m sure one topic will be contingency plans in case of rain this weekend (both how it might affect the series and how it might affect the pitching). We’ll get you any news as soon as we have it.

Also, just a reminder that we’re doing the ALCS Live Chat tomorrow NIGHT – instead of the lunchtime version – at 7 p.m. Go here to check it out and feel free to stop by at the site a little early and submit some questions ahead of time. Back with more later.

While Alex Rodriguez has (understandably) gotten much of the attention so far, the month of October continues to be Derek Jeter’s playground. For more on that, check out my column.

The Yankees are seriously considering using a three-man rotation in the ALCS, which would mean CC Sabathia pitching Games 1, 4 and (if necessary) 7. This notebook also has news on Joe Girardi’s feeling on Phil Hughes and the eighth inning, as well as some extra BP for Johnny Damon and ALCS roster speculation.

The Yankees were odds-on favorites to win the World Series at the start of the postseason and their sweep of the Twins did nothing to change that.

Though there are tons of web sites with slightly different odds, most places have the Yankees at basically an even-money proposition to win the World Series at this point, with the Angels and Dodgers both being about 3 1/2-to-1 and the Phillies at 4-1.

In other words, you’re not getting rich betting the Bombers. Save your money for the Powerball and just enjoy the games.

Ian Kennedy struck out four and walked none through four strong innings this afternoon in Arizona. He allowed a double to the first batter he faced but allowed just one other base runner. He struck out four of the last six batters he faced.

He wasn’t the only Yankee getting off to a strong start in the Arizona Fall League opener.

Brandon Laird was 4-for-6 with three RBI, Colin Curtis was 3-for-6 with two RBI and Austin Romine was 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Big right-handed reliever Grant Duff pitched a scoreless ninth while Zach Kroenke pitched one inning of relief and allowed a run on a two-out RBI single.

To answer a few questions from the comments of the previous post…

–  Duff came to Triple-A at the very end of the year. I remember him in the upper-90s, but I checked with Mike Ashmore just to be sure he saw the same thing in Trenton: “He’d start at 93-94,” Ashmore said. “And start hitting around 96-97 towards the end of the inning or second inning.”

–  When I talked to Austin Jackson at the end of the playoffs, he was planning to take the winter off (he had 500 at-bats in the regular season). I was impressed with him. Much better than I expected.

–  Jesus Montero is expected to play in Venezuela this winter. He’s listed on the roster and Mark Newman, the top guy in the Yankees minor league office, has said Montero will play barring any sort of setback with his finger injury.

Here’s the updated schedule of times for the ALCS:

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 16, 7:57 p.m. ET
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:57 p.m. ET
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 19, 4:13 p.m. ET
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 7:57 p.m. ET
Game 5: Thursday, Oct. 22, 7:57 p.m. ET
Game 6: Saturday, Oct. 24, 4:13 p.m. ET (will switch to 7:57 p.m. ET if NLCS is over)
Game 7: Sunday, Oct. 25, 8:20 p.m. ET

It’s hardly a footnote to the American League Championship Series, but it’s worth mentioning that the Arizona Fall League begins today.

The Yankees have Ian Kennedy, Mike Dunn, Zach Kroenke, Grant Duff, Colin Curtis, Brandon Laird and Austin Romine playing for the Surprise Raftors. You already know Kennedy and New York got to see a little bit of Dunn during a September call-up.

Kroenke is a lefty reliever who was named Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Pitcher if the Year this season, Duff is one of the hardest throwing right handers in the organization, Curtis is a toolsy outfielder, Laird is a power hitting corner infielder and Romine is one of the team’s top prospects, a fine defensive catcher with pop.

It’s an interesting group with some guys who could have a big league impact next year — Phil Hughes played in the Fall League last year — so it’s worth a glance or two, if you can pull yourself away from the playoffs.

Joe Girardi just did a conference call with the beat writers and said that while the team won’t have its roster/scouting meeting until tomorrow morning, “We are definitely considering going to a three-man rotation in this round.”

Girardi pointed to the lighter workload that CC Sabathia faced in September, as well as the longer layoff he’s getting now since the Yankees swept the first round. Girardi said that the team would like to have plan in place for the rotation going into the series, as opposed to just waiting to see where the team stands when Game 4 rolls around. Remember, too, that because of off-days Sabathia could pitch Games 1, 4 and 7 and only have to pitch on short rest once instead of twice.

In other news to come out of the call:

• Johnny Damon chose to join a group of four bench players who took live batting practice today at the Stadium (Jerry Hairston, Eric Hinske, Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli were the others), though Girardi said he is not concerned about Damon’s rough ALDS. He said Damon will absolutely be the starting left fielder in Game 1.

• Chad Gaudin, Dave Robertson, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Damaso Marte all threw simulated games/BP today as well in an effort to stay sharp. Sabathia was also there to throw his side session.

• Girardi doesn’t expect “a ton of changes” to the roster for the ALCS. He said three catchers again are a possibility and that the decision will be tied to whether they keep Jose Molina catching A.J. Burnett. Girardi wouldn’t commit, but it certainly seems that he’s leaning to keeping that pairing. Girardi also said dropping a lefty out of the pen is possible, and said Brian Bruney and Freddy Guzman could be considerations for the spot.

• When asked about whether he could foresee using Joba Chamberlain in the eighth inning and Phil Hughes in the seventh at some point, Girardi hedged, saying “it’s possible” but that Hughes has been the team’s eighth inning guy for most of the season. “Sometimes you look at match-ups,” Girardi said as a way of mentioning a scenario where it could happen, but added, “I’m not concerned about Hughsie.”

• The Yankees will talk to their pitchers about ways to try and contain the Angels running game, but they don’t want to over-stress it. “Yes, we will do things to curb their running game but they are going to run,” Girardi said. “You’ve got to focus on the hitter.” Pitch-outs, slide steps and pickoff plays are among the things that will be used to try and keep the Angels from running wild.

The Yankees – quite understandably – are taking it easy today but will return to the field for workouts tomorrow and Thursday before Game 1 on Friday night. The Angels are working out in California today and tomorrow, then flying east tomorrow night and will workout at the Stadium on Thursday.

As important as all that, though, is this: The LoHud Yankees Blog ALCS Live Chat is on Thursday night at 7!

Chad Jennings and I will be coming to you live from The Journal News newsroom, and taking all your questions on the Yankees-Angels showdown. We had a huge turnout for the ALDS version and and I’m hoping that the later start time will allow some of you that weren’t able to jump on at work to join us. You can find the live chat here (and feel free to send some questions on the site ahead of time).

As expected, the Yankees are back in primetime to start the ALCS. Here’s the breakdown of the series with the Angels with what we know so far (all games on Fox):

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 16, 7:37 p.m. ET
Angels at Yankees
RHP John Lackey (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP CC Sabathia (1-0, 1.35 ERA)

Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 17, 7:37 p.m. ET
Angels at Yankees
RHP Jered Weaver (1-0, 1.23) vs. RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 1.50)

Game 3: Monday, Oct. 19, TBA
Yankees at Angels
LHP Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.42) vs. LHP Scott Kazmir (0-0, 7.50)

Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 20, TBA
Yankees at Angels

Game 5: Thursday, Oct. 22, TBA
Yankees at Angels (if necessary)

Game 6: Saturday, Oct. 24, TBA
Angels at Yankees (if necessary)

Game 7: Sunday, Oct. 25, TBA
Angels at Yankees (if necessary)