The LoHud Yankees Blog

Well, you’re in luck.

Through the magic of the interwebs (and our good Gannett brethren) you’ll be able to watch a live stream of the Yankees ceremony with President Obama right here. The ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. and should be pretty interesting.

Chad will be in the house for us and, knowing that he shares my love for all things “West Wing,” I’m sure he’ll be doing exactly what I’d be doing if if I were there: Looking for Josh, Donna and – a personal fave – Ainsley Hayes.

Seriously, pretty cool day for the Yankees (even the jaded guys who have done this before) and I know that many of you will be excited to see the Yankees get one more honor for having been last year’s champions.

Derek Jeter has been to the White House before. He’s meet the past three Presidents, and he said there one thing that stood out about his first meeting with Bill Clinton.

“It’s kind of awkward when they know who you are,” Jeter said. “That was probably the weirdest thing with President Clinton. ‘Hey Derek, how are you doing?’ What?”

The Yankees will return to the White House this afternoon, with the official ceremonial events beginning at 3. Jeter said walking into the Oval Office is “sort of like being in Steinbenner’s office.”

Jeter has met President Obama in the past, and although the President will likely be rooting against the Yankees this weekend — they play his beloved White Sox — President Obama has said he’s a fan of Jeter.

“When a President calls you by name, that’s hard to believe,” Jeter said. “Any time someone says something like that, especially coming from the President, it’s overwhelming.”

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Associated Press photo

After a red eye flight across the country, I’ve made it to Baltimore just in time to sleep for a couple of hours and get on the road to D.C.

Last night the Yankees stumbled twice and lost their series finale to the Angels. Javier Vazquez fell apart in the fourth inning, but it was Joe Girardi’s indecision in the seventh that stood out and seemed to put the game out of reach.

There wasn’t much time to dwell on the loss, because the Yankees will be visiting the White House this afternoon. The notebook also has items on Nick Johnson, Chan Ho Park and the latest World Series ring presentation.

I’ll be back with more from the White House this afternoon.

Hard to imagine anyone being more disappointed in Javier Vazquez’s first four starts than the guy who had to answer questions about them this afternoon.

“I’m not doing a good job out there,” Vazquez said. “And it’s kind of embarrassing the way I’m throwing the ball.”

Vazquez was fine through the first three innings this afternoon. He wasn’t great, but he did enough. Bobby Abreu has owned Vazquez in his career, so the third-inning homer was hardly a surprise, but Vazquez otherwise struck out the side that inning. Then came the ugly fourth inning when he hit a batter, walked a batter, allowed two singles and gave up a two-run double.

“At times he gets under the ball, and that’s something that we’re working on correcting,” manager Joe Girardi said. “When he’s on top he’s very good. To me it’s more mechanical than anything.”

Girardi said he doesn’t believe it’s a mental issue with Vazquez. He sees Vazquez lowering his arm angle — not staying up top — and that’s causing a lack of control and velocity on his fastball.

“I’m not locating at all,” Vazquez said. “That’s been my most important pitch my whole career.”

Here’s Vazquez talking about today’s start and his rough first four starts this season.

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• Robinson Cano has five home runs this season. Three of them have come off Scott Kazmir, who he’s faced six times.

• Speaking of Cano and Kazmir, Girardi said he didn’t think the second hitting HBP was intentional. “I don’t necessarily think he was trying to hit him,” Girardi said. “He might have been trying to make him uncomfortable.”

• After a double and a walk this afternoon, Marcus Thames is hitting an even .500 with an .857 slugging percentage.

• And speaking of Thames, both Girardi and Vazquez indicated that the ball to left field — the Brandon Wood two-run double — was harder to catch than it might have seemed. It had some top spin on it, which made it drop quickly. Frankly, if he’s going to keep hitting .500, it’s probably worth the occasional defensive downgrade.

• Kendry Morales was 1-for-3 in his career against Damaso Marte. Juan Rivera was 1-for-1 in his career against Dave Robertson.

• Tomorrow’s White House visit includes only the guys who were with the team last season. The new guys won’t go. That’s Curtis Granderson, Marcus Thames, Nick Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Boone Logan and Randy Winn. Granderson said he’ll be doing regular “off day stuff,” including seeing some family in the Baltimore area.

• This was Francisco Cervelli’s first start without a hit.

• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager Dave Miley presented Cody Ransom with his World Series ring.

• Prospect Christian Garcia had a second Tommy John surgery.

Associated Press photos.

You could argue that the Kendry Morales at-bat in the seventh inning made absolutely no difference. The Yankees trailed by one at the time, and never scored the run that would have tied it, but it was certainly the Morales home run that put this game out of reach. And manager Joe Girardi took full blame.

“I screwed up,” he said.

The first pitch was an intentional ball as ordered from the dugout. Girardi had decided to walk the red-hot Morales to let Dave Robertson face Juan Rivera with the bases loaded. “I probably should have stuck with my first instinct,” Girardi said.

After that first pitch, though, Girardi changed his mind. He thought briefly about having Robertson finish off the walk — that’s why he came a few steps out of the dugout for just a moment — but ultimately decided to let Marte pitch to Morales.

“He’s been hot,” Girardi said of the Angels switch hitter. “But most of it’s been left-handed.” That’s very true.

When Marte fell behind 3-0, Girardi said he considered holding up four fingers to go back to the intentional walk, but this time he stuck with his decision to pitch to him. Francisco Cervelli called for a fastball away — Cervelli said he would have been fine with a ball four in that situation — but Marte threw a fastball down the middle.

“This is something I have to live with,” Girardi said.

Take a listen to the Girardi postgame audio. You rarely hear Girardi this conflicted about a decision. He usually sticks to his guns. To his credit, he took full blame for what happened.

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That’s an AP shot of the Morales homer.

Javier Vazquez fell apart in the fourth inning, Damaso Marte unraveled in the seventh and the Yankees lost in Anaheim 8-4 this afternoon. It was their third loss in the past four days, and it gave them a series loss for the first time this season. Vazquez lasted only 3.2 innings, but the Yankees had pulled within a run before Marte allowed a three-run homer to Kendry Morales in the seventh.

Associated Press photo of Vazquez.

YANKEES (12-5)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Marcus Thames LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C

RHP Javier Vazquez (1-2, 8.27)
Career vs. Angels

ANGELS (9-10)
Maicer Izturis SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Hideki Matsui DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Juan Rivera LF
Howie Kendrick 2B
Mike Napoli C
Brandon Wood 3B

LHP Scott Kazmir (1-1, 7.45)
Career vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 3:35 p.m./YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Alfonso Marquez, 1B Tim Timmons, 2B Tim Tschida, 3B Bob Davidson

WEATHER: We’ve had three gorgeous days in Southern California, and today might be the nicest.

Joe Girardi met with the media a little later than usual, so I’ll just throw the pregame notes here in the game post.

• “We’re going with a more right-handed lineup today,” Girardi said. That’s part of the reason for starting Cervelli at catcher and leaving Posada at DH. Girardi also said he liked the idea of essentially giving Posada three days away from catching. “It does keep him fresh,” Girardi said.

• Girardi said “there’s always a worry” when both catchers are in the lineup, but the concern wasn’t enough to keep him from doing it. The emergency catcher is Ramiro Pena, who occasionally catches between innings. That said, Girardi said he has been “impressed” when he’s seen A.J. Burnett squat to catch some pitches during pregame warmups. Burnett caught when he was younger, but there’s no chance he’ll actually catch in a game.

• Nick Johnson said his sore lower back is “a lot better.” He won’t take any swings today and the Yankees will see how he feels after taking some swings on Tuesday. Girardi said he does not consider Johnson a pinch hit option.

• The Yankees still plan to send Chan Ho Park to Tampa tomorrow.

• Brett Gardner has been hitting pretty well lately, but Girardi said he wanted to give every outfield a day off during this West Coast swing and Gardner had played every other day.

• Another reason to go with Marcus Thames over Gardner: Thames is a career .412 hitter with a .706 slugging percentage against Kazmir.

• The Yankees will meet the President tomorrow, and Derek Jeter compared walking into the Oval Office to walking into George Steinbrenner’s office.

• The Yankees were passing around an autographed jersey that seemed to be the one they’ll give to President Obama tomorrow. It was No. 27, not No. 44.

• Dave Winfield was in the clubhouse this morning and sat talking to Jeter for quite a while. It was amazing how many Yankees Winfield seemed to have a personal relationship with including Thames, Curtis Granderson, Mariano Rivera, Joba Chamberlain, Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia. He was Jeter’s favorite player when Jeter was a kid.

UPDATE, 4:00 p.m.: Robinson Cano’s hot start has kind of masked Jorge Posada’s hot start. Posada just sent a rocket to center field for a two-run homer (after Kazmir plunked Cano).

UPDATE, 4:07 p.m.: Looked like a good call at first base. Jeter beat the play and drove in a run with a fielder’s choice. It’s 3-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 4:41 p.m.: That was Abreu’s 10th career home run against Vazquez. That’s easily the most he’s hit off a single pitcher. The most he’s hit off anyone else is four.

UPDATE, 4:58 p.m.: The Angels have pulled within one with a single, hit batter, single here in the fourth. They aren’t hitting Vazquez hard, but they’ve done enough to make it a 3-2 game.

UPDATE, 5:01 p.m.: A walk to Napoli has loaded the bases with one out in the fourth. That sent Dave Eiland to the mound for a brief chat.

UPDATE, 5:02 p.m.: You’re always sacrificing some defense when you start Thames in left field, and he certainly didn’t play that ball especially well.

UPDATE, 5:04 p.m.: Wow. Quick hook on Vazquez. Boone Logan coming in to face Bobby Abreu in the fourth. Vazquez actually looked OK until this inning. He was at 78 pitches.

UPDATE, 5:24 p.m.: Solid three outs from Logan, but the Morales single will chase him from the game. Here comes Aceves.

UPDATE, 5:32 p.m.: Cano was not happy about being hit by a pitch in the second inning, but he seemed to really enjoy that home run to right. Three of his five home runs this year have come off Kazmir.

UPDATE, 5:35 p.m.: Angels bring in a right-handed reliever. Yankees bring in Gardner to pinch hit for Thames.

UPDATE, 5:58 p.m.: Aceves has done his part. Now here comes Marte. Five up, five down for Aceves.

UPDATE, 6:00 p.m.: Robertson is getting loose in the pen.

UPDATE, 6:07 p.m.: An intentional ball to Morales. Then some confusion on the field. Then Torii Hunter stole third with two outs. Then Morales clobbered a 3-0 pitch for a three-run home run. Something was terribly wrong that entire at-bat. It’s now 8-4 Angels, Robertson has sat down and Mitre is getting loose.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Marcus Thames LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C

RHP Javier Vazquez

The Yankees will need a win today to win their sixth straight series. Andy Pettitte pitched brilliantly last night to give them a split of their first two games in Anaheim.

Also from today’s newspaper, the Yankees have been drawing walks and seeing a lot of pitches, but that’s not exactly the game plan. “We’re not looking for guys that walk,” Billy Eppler said. “You’re looking for a guy that can recognize his pitch.”

It’s hard to imagine Francisco Cervelli ever being known as much for his bat as for his glove, but no question he’s been a better hitter in the major leagues than his minor league numbers suggested.

“After I started to see a lot of base hits in big situations, I started to get confident,” he said. “I don’t know why. I was different in Double-A and when I got to the big leagues, it was like everything changed. My mind relaxed, and I can make adjustments quick.”

Cervelli had a big two-out, two-run single on Saturday and he’s had at least one hit in all four of his starts this season. He’s had an RBI in three of the four.

“We feel that he’s improved a lot offensively in the time that he’s been up here,” Girardi said. “He’s worked extremely hard.”

The glove was never a question for Cervelli, and he’s lived up to that defensive reputation. But as long as he can occasionally contribute offensively, his career might have staying power.

“I think it’s the key for being a long time in the big leagues,” Cervelli said. “If you can hit for average and if you catch, you can be here for a long time.”

Here’s Cervelli talking after yesterday’s game.

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Associated Press photo of Cervelli and Damaso Marte after the last out of yesterday’s game.

The picture pretty much says it all. That’s Andy Pettitte in the Yankees dugout after today’s eighth inning. He had just retired nine Angels in a row, and he was about to pick up his third win in four starts.

“First couple of starts, I told you guys my stamina wasn’t there,” he said. “I feel like I was fortunate that I’ve been able to get off to the start that I’ve been able to get off to. Now the stamina is there, and when I left spring training I felt like all my pitchers were right where I wanted them to be.”

Erick Aybar was going to be Pettitte’s last hitter no matter what, and he got Aybar to fly out to right, giving him a second straight start of eight full innings.

Pettitte had gotten into some, light trouble in the early innings, but Ramiro Pena made a diving catch and Brett Gardner threw out a runner at third to give him a boost.

“Then he really got on a roll,” Joe Girardi said.

The key for Pettitte might have been the zero walks. His first three games he averaged three walks, but today he allowed none.

“Even though I feel good with my command, I feel like I’ve been walking a few too many,” Pettitte said. “For me, because I usually give up hits, three walks in a game is too many. Hopefully I can keep that down.”

Here’s Pettitte’s postgame interview.

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• Mark down Robinson Cano for his eighth multi-hit game this season, and the fourth four-hit game of his career.

• Brett Gardner has been noticeably better the past few games. Today he had three hits, including a triple. “Any time you hit some line drives,” Gardner said. “I feel like I’ve been swinging the bat better and letting the ball get deep and making better contact.” Gardner is now batting .340, which is better than every Yankees regular but Cano. “He had a hard time getting going, but he worked and worked and worked at it and took the hits however he got them,” Girardi said. “And now he’s hitting the ball hard.”

• Gardner on throwing out Mike Napoli in the third inning: “I thought I had him. I was pretty surprised that he ran, but they’re an aggressive ball club and that’s what they do.”

• Girardi mentioned Gardner, Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson as potential No. 2 hitters while Nick Johnson is out of the lineup.

• Five of the Yankees runs came with two outs today, including two of them on Francisco Cervelli’s bases-loaded single in the third. That one came after the Angels intentionally walked Granderson to load the bases for Pena and Cervelli.

• The Yankees were night-and-day better against Joel Pineiro this time. “I thought we did a better job of making him get the ball up a little bit today,” Girardi said. “We chased some pitches down in the zone (last time), and if you do that he’s going to be awfully tough. I thought our guys saw him once and made the adjustment.”

Associated Press photos