The LoHud Yankees Blog

Andy Pettitte is having his next start skipped, and he’s not happy about it.

“I’m not very happy at all,” he said. “I would have loved to have been able to throw, to come in and play catch or something, and see how I feel.”

Instead, Pettitte found out today that he’ll be skipping his next start as a precaution because of some stiffness he felt around his elbow on Wednesday. Pettitte said it’s gone away completely, which leaves him frustrated that he won’t be pitching on turn, but he also said he understands why Joe Girardi and Dave Eiland made their decision.

“It’s the best thing for him, and in turn, it’s the best thing for us,” Eiland said. “If he wasn’t mad, I’d be a little bit concerned.”

Other key injury updates:

Jorge Posada
Took early batting practice only from the right side, but said he’ll hit both left and right during regular BP. He expects to play tomorrow. Girardi said he was hesitant to give him a start tonight, but he considers Posada to be an available pinch hitter.

Mariano Rivera
The Yankees closer is available out of the bullpen.

Chan Ho Park
Threw a 45-pitch bullpen session today. He’ll throw another  on Sunday.

• Sergio Mitre will make a spot start in Pettitte’s place. Mitre will start on Monday and Javier Vazquez will be pushed back to Tuesday. Girardi said rotation was set so that Vazquez — who played in the National League all last year — will start the series opener on the road against the Mets.

• Girardi said it was “pretty easy” choosing Mitre to be the spot starter ahead of Alfredo Aceves or a call-up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Girardi estimated Mitre could go between 65 and 75 pitches.

• Romulo Sanchez was called up to take Mitre’s role in the bullpen. He’s here to be an innings-eating long reliever.

• Greg Golson was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Sanchez.

• The Yankees are planning for Pettitte to return to the rotation during the Minnesota series next weekend. He did not say which of those three days would be Pettitte’s.

• Alex Rodriguez has heard about the latest Dallas Braden rant, but he doesn’t seem to be taking the bait. “I really don’t want to extend his extra 15 minutes of fame,” Rodriguez said.

• Girardi said he’s encouraged by Nick Johnson’s past few games. “He’s swung the bat better,” Girardi said. “Consistently he’s hitting the ball on the barrel more often.”

UPDATE, 6:05 p.m.: The Red Sox lineup

Marco Scutaro SS
Dustin Pedroia 2B
J.D. Drew RF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Jeremy Hermida LF
Jason Varitek C
Darnell McDonald CF

RHP Josh Beckett

Hard-throwing right-hander Romulo Sanchez is here, but he said he has no idea what his role might be. Sanchez said he might be pitching out of the bullpen.

What this means for Andy Pettitte is uncertain, but it doesn’t seem to be good news for him.

UPDATE, 4:10 p.m.: Or maybe it’s not bad news for Pettitte after all. Greg Golson is nowhere to be found. Looks like that was the move.

Francisco Cervelli is back in the Yankees lineup tonight in Boston. Still no Jorge Posada.

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

RHP Phil Hughes

I was never a good baseball player as a kid.

My best friend threw a no-hitter when we were young, but I was just a little guy who couldn’t hit, couldn’t throw and went to the plate hoping to draw a walk and steal a bag.

I was a one-and-a-half-tool player: I could catch the ball and I could kind of run. That’s all I was bringing to the table.

None of which matters today.

This morning I played the best baseball game of my life, and I played it at Fenway Park. In the New York media’s 20-3 win against Boston, I was 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run, inside-the-park home run that I’m told was the first in the history of the media game. And it was legitimate. No errors. I went the other way, got the ball into the right-field corner and ran. My teammate and blogmate Sam Borden was the third-base coach who waved me home.

If this post reads as if I’m excited … well … I am. I made a few plays at second base that I’m happy about as well. My little sister lives in Boston and came to watch the game. She declared it the greatest athletic achievement of my life.

It was a good day all-around for the New York boys. Sam started in right field, had a hit and scored a run. Pete Caldera tripled, Tyler Kepner got the win after five strong innings and Bryan Hoch closed it out with a scoreless sixth.* At that point we had run out of time. Something about a major league game being played there in a few hours.

Above is a picture my sister took of Sam and I, trying to look young and hip with our hats on backwards. I’ll be back at the field in a few hours to report about the team you really care about, but so far it’s been a pretty solid day for New York baseball.

* By the way, those are only the plays that I can immediately think of off the top of my head. We had a lot of guys who could really hit. John Harper and Jack Curry were the starting left side of the infield — and our No. 1 and 2 hitters — and those two can really play. Marc Carig drove a ball to left that was caught, but was also one of the hardest-hit balls of the game.

I’m happy to report an early 3-1 New York lead after the first inning. Tyler Kepner doing some fine work on the mound, with Bryan Hoch (LF) and Pete Caldera (2B) making plays in the field.

This morning is the start of a two-game series between the New York media and the Boston media. You probably remember reading Pete writing about this in the past.

The reporters who cover the Yankees and Red Sox play two baseball games against one another each year. Actually, there was apparently only one game last year, but we’re back to two this season. One at Fenway. One at Yankee Stadium. And we’re opening at Fenway at 8:30 this morning.

I haven’t played anything resembling baseball since I hit lead-off and played shortstop for my college intramural softball team. The last time I played actual baseball was well before that. I have no idea what position I’ll be playing, or what my role will be — or whether I’ll be any good at all — but I’m looking forward to the experience.

That said, after this week’s series of minor Yankees injuries, this is absolutely the first time in my life that I’m happy I haven’t been on the cover of Sports Illustrated recently.

Friday
RHP Phil Hughes (3-0, 1.44)
vs.
RHP Josh Beckett (1-0, 6.31)
7:10 p.m., YES Network and MLB Network

Saturday
LHP CC Sabathia (4-1, 2.74)
vs.
RHP Clay Buchholz (3-2, 2.97)
3:10 p.m., FOX

Sunday
RHP A.J. Burnett (4-0, 1.99)
vs.
LHP Jon Lester (2-2, 3.93)
8:05 p.m., ESPN

Associated Press photo

As it stands, the Yankees are hopeful that anti-inflammatories – and possibly some extra rest – will get Andy Pettitte through the mild stiffness around his pitching elbow. Unless the situation deteriorates or the problem refuses to go away, the disabled list does not seem likely.

“Right now the DL is not something that’s being considered,” general manager Brian Cashman said this afternoon.

Pettitte left last night’s game after 77 pitches and went for an MRI that showed only mild inflammation.

“The MRI came back negative other than some inflammation,” Cashman said. “And they’re going to address that conservatively with some anti-inflammatories. Hopefully that nips that in the bud.”

Cashman said no decision has been made about Pettitte’s next start, and a decision won’t be made until Cashman meets with Joe Girardi and Dave Eiland tomorrow. Cashman has his preference, but said he wants to hear from his manager, coaches and medical staff.

“We’ll gather all the troops tomorrow and we’ll make a decision on his next start,” Cashman said. “I’m inclined personally to have him skip his next start.”

Without Mariano Rivera, the Yankees swept a three-game series against Baltimore this week. Each game required a save, but the Yankees stayed away from their closer, who was bothered by a sore left side.

“It was good for me a couple of days to give him a little break and get him back where he needs to be,” Joba Chamberlain said after his second of two straight saves.

Last night’s save went to Alfredo Aceves, who had close it out after a rocky ninth inning made things interesting.

Bottom line: The Yankees’ bullpen was able to get the job done this week without its leader, but the games certainly feel a little different when Rivera’s looming for those last three outs. 

“He means a lot to us even when he’s not pitching,” Chamberlain said. “For us young guys to be able to pick his brain and ask him what he would do in this situation, and not only ask him why, but ask him how he would do it and elaborate a little bit. It’s one thing to be able to watch him, but it’s another thing for him to be actually able to actually explain it to us.”

Indications are that Rivera will be available again in Boston. The Yankees decided to move cautiously with him this week, but he reported feeling no pain after a mid-week bullpen session and Joe Girardi said the team was basically staying away from him as a precaution.

Here’s the brief leftover Chamberlain audio from Tuesday.

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You might remember that umpire Joe West got a little grumpy the last time the Yankees played in Boston. He ripped the teams for playing too slowly, calling the pace of the game “pathetic and embarrassing.”

As the Yankees prepare to go back to Fenway for a weekend series, their methodical game plan isn’t likely to change.

“We’re there to win games, not get finished in two and a half hours,” Joe Girardi said. “So I expect our players to play hard, continue to be selective and do the things they need to do to win a game. I’m sure they feel that way on the other side, too.”

Just in case you’ve forgotten, this is what West had to say during the season opening series: “They’re the two clubs that don’t try to pick up the pace. They’re two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest?

“It’s pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play.”