The LoHud Yankees Blog

Friday
RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 2.37) vs. RHP Ervin Santana (1-2, 4.35)
10:05 p.m., YES Network

Saturday
LHP Andy Pettitte (2-0, 1.35) vs. RHP Joel Pineiro (2-1, 1.77)
4:05 p.m., FOX

Sunday
RHP Javier Vazquez (1-2, 8.27) vs. LHP Scott Kazmir (1-1, 7.45)
3:35 p.m., YES Network

That’s an Associated Press photo of Burnett after a pregame workout last week in New York.

The Yankees have announced further details about Monday’s trip to the White House, which will kick off a three-day tour of the World Series trophy around the Washington D.C. area. Here’s the release:

On Monday, April 26, President Obama will welcome the World Series Champion New York Yankees to the White House at 3:00 p.m. to honor their 2009 season (please note that times are subject to change).

The Yankees will be welcomed on the South Portico or East Room (rain site). Open Press (Pre-set 2:00 p.m. – Final Gather 2:30 p.m. – North Doors of the Palm Room).

Prior to visiting the First Family, Yankees players, coaches and executives — including Managing General Partner/Co-Chairperson Hal Steinbrenner, General Partner/Vice-Chairperson Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal, President Randy Levine, Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost, General Manager Brian Cashman and Assistant General Manager Jean Afterman — will take the 2009 World Series trophy on a visit to see wounded warriors at Walter Reed Medical Center and the Malone House (a long-term rehabilitation home for wounded warriors located on campus near Walter Reed).

The championship trophy tour will continue the next day on Tuesday, April 27, when the 2009 World Series trophy will make its way around to distinguished locations in Washington, D.C. In the morning, Yankees staff members will transport the trophy to the office of Dan Rosenblatt, Executive Director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a non-profit organization that represents 20,000 police executives in over 89 countries.

On Tuesday afternoon, the trophy will be welcomed by Supreme Court Justice and Bronx native Sonia Sotomayor, followed by lunch in the United States Senate Dining Room with wounded warriors and U.S. senators. That night, the Yankees will invite 20 wounded veterans—10 from from Walter Reed and 10 from Bethesda Naval Hospital—as their guests for an on-field visit during batting practice prior to their game against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

The following day, Wednesday, April 28, select Yankees players are scheduled to join the 2009 World Series trophy for a visit to Bethesda Naval Hospital. Later that afternoon, the trophy will be on display at a Pentagon luncheon followed by a tour through the Pentagon offices.

There are, obviously, a whole slew of “unwritten rules” in baseball and there has been some debate over whether Alex Rodriguez broke one yesterday in Oakland. Like many baseball writers, I can’t say that I’d ever heard anyone explicitly talk about a runner crossing the mound as a “violation” in the same way that, say, bunting late in a no-hitter would be, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Obviously some “violations” come up more often than others.

Someone sent me a link to this blog, written by Jason Turbow who (apparently) wrote a whole book on the codes of baseball. As someone who has obviously done a lot of research into the unwritten rules of the game, I found his take interesting. At the very least, as Turbow points out, this isn’t the first time that A-Rod has – in the words of Eddie Murphy in “Beverly Hills Cop” – fractured an occasional law.

For me, the issue is less about what A-Rod did and more about how he reacted. I tend to agree with Mark Feinsand (scroll down to the end), who would have liked to see Alex just diffuse the issue as best he could and move on. By taking a few shots at Dallas Braden’s track record (pointing out that he’s essentially a scrub), Rodriguez accelerates the situation instead of bringing it down.

Is it understandable that he’d fire back? Sure. We all have tempers and emotions. But I would have liked to see the “new” A-Rod just take the high road, know that he’s (clearly) the bigger star and try to nip it right there.

Hello from Los Angeles, where the Yankees road trip continues tonight with the first of a three-game set against the Angels.

Last night the Yankees winning streak came to an end with a strange 4-2 loss in Oakland. CC Sabathia pitched a complete game, but walked six in the process. Mark Teixeira and Marcus Thames hit home runs, but the offense mustered little else. Robinson Cano made the turn on a triple play, but also committed the Yankees first error in 12 games.

And then there was the bizarre incident between Alex Rodriguez and Dallas Braden.

As always, there are plenty of Yankees pictures here in the updated gallery.

So the Yankees turned a triple play, hit two home runs and got a complete game from CC Sabathia… but lost the game? “We had some weird things happen today,” Joe Girardi said.

The Yankees still won the series, and the details of a 4-2 game in April will probably be forgotten by August. Even the weird argument between Dallas Braden and Alex Rodriguez will be mostly forgotten within a month.

But the triple play will be worth remembering.

“I didn’t think that was a triple play at all,” Girardi said. “You don’t see it very often like that, where the guy has to take a step to his right and then run to the bag.”

CC Sabathia called it “just straight lucky” that Kurt Suzuki rolled over a changeup down and away. It got to Rodriguez quickly, and he went to his right to step on third base before twirling to throw to second. That’s where Robinson Cano made the quick turn.

“It feels like a double play,” Cano said. “But when you walk off the field, you see the fans giving you a standing ovation so we must have done something good.”

Here’s Girardi’s postgame session with the media.

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Not such a good day for CC Sabathia, who walked six for the second time in his career. The last time was in 2004, also in Oakland.

“I was all over the place,” Sabathia said. “Didn’t really have command of anything. Changeup was decent, but that was the only thing that really kept me in the game.”

When Sabathia walked the lead-off hitter and the No. 3 hitter on four pitches in the first inning, Dave Eiland came to the mound to talk to his ace. Sabathia’s next pitch was a three-run home run by Suzuki, which stood as the difference in the game.

Sabathia’s first two walks came around to score, and his lead-off walk in the fourth — plus Cano’s throwing error — led to the A’s fourth run.

“I think I might have walked their lefties four times, and that’s just ridiculous,” Sabathia said.

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• Rodriguez said he was expecting a bunt on the triple play ball. He also called his throw to second base, “a little Hail Mary.”

• Cano’s throwing error in the fourth ended a 12-game errorless streak for the Yankees.

• Mark Teixeira was 1-for-4 with a home run and seemed to hit balls hard all game. “Probably the four best at-bats I’ve had all year,” he said.

• Even with the loss, the Yankees have won each of their first five series this season. The franchise hadn’t done that since 1926. “You like to leave on a winning note,” Girardi said. “But the bottom line is we won this series and we’re going to try to win another one in Anaheim.”

• Francisco Cervelli has now started three games — all with Sabathia on the mound — and he has five hits. This was his second straight two-hit game.

• With today’s home run, Marcus Thames is batting .545 with a .909 slugging percentage against lefties this season.

• Sabathia has two complete games this season. One was a rain-shortened game, the other was a loss.

With that, I’m off to the airport to catch a flight to Los Angeles. A two hour, seven minute game on get-away day is a good thing. See you all in Anaheim.

All three pictures are from the Associated Press. The top is of Alex Rodriguez after after the triple play, and the bottom is of Robinson Cano during the triple play.

In a very bizarre game, perhaps the most bizarre moment came in the sixth inning when Alex Rodriguez got into a shouting match with Oakland starter Dallas Braden.

“He just told me to get off his mound,” Rodriguez said. “I was a little surprised. I’d never quite heard that. Especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career.”

The whole thing started when Rodriguez went from first to third on a foul ball by Robinson Cano. On his way back to first, Rodriguez ran across the pitcher’s mound, which Braden saw as a sign of disrespect.

“I don’t care if I’m Cy Young or the 25th man on the roster, if I’ve got the ball in my hand and I’m on that mound, that’s my mound,” Braden said. “… He ran across the pitcher’s mound foot on my rubber. No, not happening. We’re not the door mat anymore.”

Rodriguez said he had never heard the unwritten rule that a player shouldn’t run across the mound. When Braden started yelling at him, Rodriguez didn’t know what it was about. “I thought it was pretty funny, actually,” Rodriguez said.

Braden, though, went out of his way to call out Rodriguez. He spoke very kindly of the Yankees organization, but took great exception to Rodriguez.

“He should maybe watch his Captain a little more often,” Braden said.

Here’s the audio from Rodriguez and Braden.

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That’s an Associated Press photo of Braden.

CC Sabathia pitched a complete game and Alex Rodriguez started the team’s first triple play since 1968, but the Yankees lost to the Athletics 4-2 this afternoon in Oakland. Marcus Thames and Mark Teixeira hit home runs, but the Yankees couldn’t muster much more against Dallas Braden. Kurt Suzuki’s three-run home run in the first inning made the difference.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson 1B
Mark Teixeira DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner CF

LHP CC Sabathia (2-0, 2.84)
Career vs. Athletics

ATHLETICS
Rajai Davis CF
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kurt Suzuki C
Jake Fox DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Adam Rosales 2B
Matt Carson LF
Cliff Pennington SS

LHP Dallas Braden (2-0, 2.70)
Career vs. Yankees

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

UMPIRES: HP Ron Kulpa, 1B Mike Muchlinski, 2B Lance Barksdale, 3B Tom Hallion

WEATHER: It’s a nice, sunny day here in Oakland. Temperatures in the low to mid 60s.

THAMES vs. BRADEN: None of the current Yankees has as many at-bats against Dallas Braden as Marcus Thames. In 11 at-bats, Thames has a .364 average with an .818 slugging percentage against the Oakland starter.

GRANDERSON vs. BRADEN: On the other end of the spectrum, Curtis Granderson has a .125/.125/.250 line against Braden.

TWO AWAY: Derek Jeter has 440 career doubles. He needs two more to tie Don Mattingly for third place on the Yankees career list… Mariano Rivera has 1,012 strikeouts and needs two more to tied Roger Clemens for the 10th most in franchise history.

UPDATE, 3:51 p.m.: Rajai Davis just stole third base with about six feet to spare. Meanwhile, Sabathia’s command is spotty at best. He’s walked two of the first three batters.

UPDATE, 3:53 p.m.: Well, Sabathia threw a strike. And Kurt Suzuki hammered it for a three-run homer. It’s 3-0 A’s.

UPDATE, 4:42 p.m.: Looked like Cervelli had time to either catch the ball or make the tag. He didn’t have time for both and Fox slid home for a 4-0 Athletics lead. Not sure what’s wrong with Sabathia today, but he doesn’t look like himself out there.

UPDATE, 4:43 p.m.: Great throw by Cervelli gets Kouzmanoff too far off the bag at second, and make that run unearned for Sabathia.

UPDATE, 4:46 p.m.: That’s Marcus Thames’ first home run of the season, and his second career homer of Braden. It’s 4-1 Oakland.

UPDATE, 4:50 p.m.: Cliff Pennington has been impressive in the field this series. That was a terrific turn to get a double play on Brett Gardner. Not an easy thing to do.

UPDATE, 5:13 p.m.: Pretty sure I’d never seen a triple play in person until just now. Great play by Alex Rodriguez to start it, and Sabathia was positively pumped as he walked off the mound. All of the Yankees seemed to come out of the dugout to high five Rodriguez. That play has kept the Yankees in it, down 4-2.

UPDATE, 5:15 p.m.: That was the Yankees first triple play since June 3, 1968.

UPDATE, 5:22 p.m.: Media relations director Jason Zillo was on the phone with the White House to discuss details of Monday’s visit, and he just found out that he missed a triple play. Because I like my job, I will not publish the first word out of his mouth.

UPDATE, 5:25 p.m.: Zillo just found out the last time the Yankees turned a triple play. Then he said that word again.

UPDATE, 5:29 p.m.: Total of 6,632 games between Yankees triple plays. Crazy. But they’re still losing, 4-2.

UPDATE, 5:35 p.m.: His command has been spotty, but Sabathia’s pitch count is low enough — below 90 pitches — that the Yankees don’t even have anyone getting loose in the bullpen.

The Internet is broken. Probably not everywhere, but certainly in the Oakland press box. Thankfully, I can blog from my phone, but I’m still going to keep these short.

• According to Joe Girardi, Nick Johnson is getting a day at first “just to change it up” and Curtis Granderson is getting his first day off because “I just thought it was a good day for Curtis.”

• Girardi does not expect to use either Joba Chamberlain or Mariano Rivera. Chamberlain is definitely out, but Girardi said he’ll check with Rivera to find out how he’s feeling. “Just to see if he tells me I’m crazy or anything,” Girardi said.

• Chan Ho Park has played catch three days in a row and Girardi expects him to be activated the day he’s eligible to come off the DL.

• Girardi stressed that Francisco Cervelli is not a personal catcher for CC Sabathia. “That’s just the way it’s worked out lately,” he said. Cervelli will also catch one of the games in L.A.

• Both Johnson and Teixeira are struggling but Girardi seems unconcerned. “Maybe it starts with the flip flop,” he said.

UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: The Internet has returned to Oakland, and so has former Yankees minor leaguer Matt Carson. The outfielder was called up from Triple-A this morning and will start in left field for the A’s. He was hitting .357/.400/.464 in 14 games with Sacramento. He made his major league debut with the A’s last year.

Rajai Davis CF
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kurt Suzuki C
Jake Fox DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Adam Rosales 2B
Matt Carson LF
Cliff Pennington SS

LHP Dallas Braden

Nick Johnson playing the field. Brett Gardner in center. Francisco Cervelli behind the plate. We haven’t seen this lineup yet.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson 1B
Mark Teixeira DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner CF

LHP CC Sabathia