The LoHud Yankees Blog

Joe Girardi needs to see Nick Swisher take batting practice before setting the lineup, but right now the plan is for Swisher to start in the outfield.

Five roster moves:
Mark Melancon to Scranton.
Jorge Posada to the DL.
Chad Moeller contract purchased.
Kevin Russo recalled.
Nick Johnson to 60-day DL.

Russo was called instead of Greg Golson because of Russo’s versatility. Russo has been playing a lot of outfield in Triple-A.

Still waiting for the Yankees to post a lineup, but Kevin Russo is listed as an available hitter.

Nick Swisher is taking full batting practice for the first time in a while. We should know more about his status afterward.

Mark Teixeira was among the players taking early BP this afternoon.

As far as I know Jack Curry was the first to confirm that Chad Moeller has been called up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. To open a spot on the 40-man, Nick Johnson has shifted to the 60-day disabled list.

Just wanted to mention that Sam and I will be video chatting here on the LoHud Yankees Blog on Friday at 1 p.m. Stop by, ask a question or just hang out for a while. We’ll be here.

By the way, Donnie Collins nailed the Montero vs. Moeller argument and summed it up nicely.

Certainly, Montero provides the Yankees with a much better chance to catch lightning in a bottle than Chad Moeller does. But the Yankees don’t need to catch lightning in a bottle. They need to weather the storm, and Moeller is an old storm-weatherer from way back. Bringing up Montero, at this stage, creates more of a storm. He’s just not ready, and too many people around the game know it. Including the Yankees.

It seemed like an extreme longshot anyway, but it looks like you can rule out Austin Romine as a catcher call-up. Romine is in today’s Trenton lineup against New Hampshire.

Donnie Collins has chimed in with his thoughts on potential call-ups, and he mentioned the possibility of Chad Huffman getting a chance in the Yankees outfield. Huffman is a right-handed corner outfielder with power and a .387 batting average in his past 10 games.

The Yankees need a catcher, but as much as fans surely want to see Jesus Montero or Austin Romine pushed to the big leagues, I’ll be surprised to see either of them in the Yankees clubhouse this afternoon.

The Yankees brought Chad Moeller back to the organization for exactly this situation: To play off the big league bench for a few weeks should anything happen to Francisco Cervelli or Jorge Posada.

Montero is still just 20 years old, and his numbers in Triple-A suggest there’s still some development to be done at that level. Never mind the fact that he was recently benched for not hustling. That sort of thing isn’t often rewarded with a call-up a few weeks later. Romine is a year older than Montero and he’s playing well in Double-A Trenton, but there’s an entire level between him and the big leagues. When Cervelli skipped Triple-A, it was largely because he was already on the 40-man.

“Cervi’s been playing well, and I foresee Cervi getting most of that time,” Girardi said last night.

That sounds like the Yankees are looking for a backup, and it would be hard to put either Montero or Romine on the bench right now, especially when there’s a bench player with 10 years of major league experience waiting in Triple-A.

Joe Girardi does not expect Marcus Thames to end up on the disabled list. X-rays showed no broken bones and Thames will be yet another day-to-day position player on the Yankees roster. Thames sprained his left ankle when he stepped on his bat while running to first base on a sixth-inning single.

“I didn’t know what happened until he came into the dugout,” Derek Jeter said. “It’s kind of weird to say it but you’re almost happy that was the case. We thought he pulled a hamstring or something.”

Thames hobbled to first base, then went down to a knee. He tried to move around, but ultimately he had to be taken out of the game and replaced by the Yankees only healthy bench player, Ramiro Pena, who had played right field only one other time in his career: One inning on Sunday.

Girardi said there were probably be a “couple of moves” before tomorrow’s game. They will obviously add a catcher, and it seems likely they will also add someone who can play the outfield. Greg Golson and Chad Huffman are on the 40-man, as is Kevin Russo, who has been an outfield regular recently. Golson can be recalled because he’ll be taking the place of a player (Posada) who’s going on the disabled list.

• Pretty unusual to hear Girardi call out the umpires, but he did exactly that tonight when he was asked about the Rays six stolen bases. “The first guy was out,” he said. As for Francisco Cervelli, I don’t think anyone worries about his defense, but he did seem to take it personally. “Tomorrow is the next day and we’re going to be better,” Cervelli said. “It’s going to change.”

• Girardi said he’s “not sure” whether Nick Swisher will play tomorrow. Swisher seemed pretty confident this afternoon, but Girardi is also very protective of his players. He’s not going to play Swisher until he’s sure he won’t do any real damage to the biceps.

• Whoever the Yankees call-up to take Posada’s place, Girardi said he expects Cervelli to continue getting the bulk of the starts. “Cervi’s been playing well, and I foresee Cervi getting most of that time,” Girardi said. “We can’t hurt him. Someone is going to get an opportunity to perform.”

• A.J. Burnett wasn’t too upset about his outing as a whole, but the game and his fastball command “got away from me that one inning,” he said. That one inning would be the four-run fourth. “It’s a matter of not having those innings where it slips away and being more consistent,” Burnett said. “When I first started off (the season) I was consistent, the first inning through seven. The last couple I’ve had a slip.”

• Burnett said the stolen bases were his fault, not Cervelli’s. “That’s a pitcher’s responsibility,” he said. “I’m normally pretty good at holding guys on, changing my times up. I guess I wasn’t doing it. I guess I was in a rhythm. I’ll go check it out and make an adjustment, but they capitalized on it for sure.”

• Robinson Cano tied his career high with four hits in the game. He’s done that 17 times, including twice this season.

• Great catch by Brett Gardner in the eighth inning, but it turned into an unexpected sacrifice fly when Ben Zobrist tagged up and scored from second.

Associated Press photos of Thames and Gardner.

When Joe Girardi announced the extent of Jorge Posada’s injury, Girardi gave a timetable of three to four weeks before Posada would be able to rejoin the Yankees lineup. Posada disagrees.

“It’s not going to take that long,” Posada said. “They can say whatever they want to say. I’ll be here before that.”

Posada has a hairline fracture on the bottom of his right foot, and he was already wearing a protective boot in the Yankees clubhouse after tonight’s game. Yesterday Posada said he expected to play within 24 hours, but when he woke up this morning, the situation wasn’t any better.

“Just hoping that it was just a bone bruise,” Posada said. “I woke up this morning and I was still limping a little bit. I got here and that’s it. Let’s get an MRI.”

The Yankees have not announced a roster move, but they will add a catcher before tomorrow’s game. Veteran Chad Moeller is in Triple-A, as is prospect Jesus Montero. Opening a 40-man spot will be no problem with Nick Johnson eligible for the 60-day disabled list. Here’s Posada talking about the foot.

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Jorge Posada has a hairline fracture in his right foot. He’ll miss three to four weeks. As for what happens at catcher, “I don’t have that for you yet,” Joe Girardi said.

Marcus Thames is not expected to go on the disabled list, but Girardi said there could be more than one move tomorrow.

After tonight’s 10-6 loss at home to the first-place Rays, the Yankees have now lost three of their past four, and they’re 4-7 since a six-game winning streak earlier this month. A.J. Burnett struggled and the Yankees beat-up lineup couldn’t do much against Rays starter Wade Davis. By the end of the game, Marcus Thames had added his name to the list of injured position players and Ramiro Pena was playing right first for the second time in his career.

Associated Press photo of Burnett.