The LoHud Yankees Blog

Javier Vazquez reported no pain after his bullpen session here in Minnesota. He remains on schedule to start Thursday’s series finale.

“It felt normal,” Vazquez said. “I didn’t feeling it pitching so I’m ready to go Thursday.”

Vazquez threw a little bit on Sunday and felt no pain, so he was optimistic that today would be more of the same. He threw about 30 pitches, and the session was the same as ever. The swelling is gone in his finger — though the fingernail still has a little bit of black-and-blue around the edges — and he was able to throw all of his pitches pain free, with no grip changes.

“If I was altering my pitches or anything with my grip I would probably not be able to pitch,” he said. “But everything just felt normal.”

• Curtis Granderson remains on track for a return to the Yankees lineup on Friday. He’s scheduled to play seven innings tonight, tomorrow will be a day off, then he’ll play a final rehab game on Thursday.

• Girardi said he has not decided how to stack his lineup when Granderson comes back, but he does like having Nick Swisher in the No. 6 hole to break up lefties. Sounds like he would prefer not to go with Cano, Granderson and Miranda in order without someone break them up.

• The Yankees will definitely shift Brett Gardner back to left field and put Granderson back in center.

• Jorge Posada’s right foot is being reevaluated on Thursday. “He’s in the boot so you won’t really know (his progress) until he sees the doctor,” Girardi said.

• Marcus Thames is available. “Ready to go,” Thames said.

• Gardner said the gaps here at Target Field seemed big when he was in the outfield earlier today. “I know from statistics that it’s played big,” Girardi said.

• Girardi said Gene Monahan is feeling good and could be more or less with the team the rest of the way.

Associated Press photo of Vazquez

According to Joe Girardi, Alfredo Aceves was six or seven pitches into a flat ground throwing session in Tampa when he again felt discomfort in his lower back.

Girardi wasn’t sure what’s next for Aceves, but it sounds at least possible that Aceves will come back to New York for more tests.

Still waiting to talk to Joe Girardi, but here are some quick notes from the clubhouse.

– Javier Vazquez said his finger feels good. He took the bandage off yesterday morning and seemed optimistic heading into his bullpen.

– Marcus Thames said he’s able to play with no problems. His ankle is fine.

– Brett Gardner said he might have been pressing lately, but he said he hasn’t changed his approach since moving to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

– Gene Monahan is here.

I’ve been here less than an hour, but so far Target Field has exceeded my expectations. It’s just a gorgeous ballpark with enough oddities to keep it unique but not so many that it becomes quirky. The area all around the stadium is vibrant, with statues and random nods to Twins history. Very cool place.

I’ll try to write more about the place as I see more of it.

Here’s the Yankees lineup for their first game in the new ballpark.

Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner CF
Mark Teixeira DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Juan Miranda 1B
Francisco Cervelli C
Kevin Russo LF

RHP A.J. Burnett

Tonight the Yankees will get their first look at Target Field, the new stadium in Minneapolis that has drawn rave reviews.

“I had a chance to see Target Field last year, when we went in there during the regular season and it really looked beautiful,” Joe Girardi said. “I went up to the parking deck in right field and looked out over the field and it looked great. I’m excited to go there.”

The Yankees have a 17-18 record in their debut games in stadiums built during the Expansion Era, but they are 2-0 in their first games in Minnesota stadiums. On May 2, 1961 they won 6-4 at Metropolitan Stadium and on May 28, 1982 they won 10-5 at the Metrodome. The Yankees also swept their first series — both three-game sets — at each stadium. The Yankees also swept their final series at the Metrodome and won the last ever game at the dome in Game 3 of the ALDS.

“It was a dome that was very comfortable to play in, and it was always a good brand of baseball, and they were always good games,” Girardi said. “But I do prefer outdoor baseball. Maybe we’re catching it at the right time. It’s supposed to be 80 degrees in Minnesota this week. They claim it’s only one degree colder than Chicago on average. And it seems the weather’s been really good up there this year.”

Photo from the Twins website.

Tonight
RHP A.J. Burnett (4-2, 3.86)
vs.
RHP Scott Baker (4-4, 4.88)
8:10 p.m., MY9

Wednesday
LHP Andy Pettitte (5-1, 2.68)
vs.
LHP Francisco Liriano (4-3, 4.25)
7:10 p.m., YES Network and ESPN2

Thursday
RHP Javier Vazquez (3-4, 6.69)
vs.
RHP Nick Blackburn (5-1, 4.50)
8:10 p.m., YES Network

Associated Press photo of Pettitte

Good morning from the familiar Delta terminal at LaGuardia. This is one of those mornings when I’m hoping some coffee and a nap on the plane will have a huge impact on my day. Last night didn’t include nearly enough sleep.

The Yankees are hoping this is one of those days that makes them forget the previous week. As Rick Carpiniello wrote in today’s paper, the team is struggling up and down the roster. “You don’t want to see your players go through it,” Joe Girardi said. “But you know that they are, and every one of them is going to go through it. But sometimes it’s hard to watch them go through it because you remember what it felt like to go through those periods.”

Also from today’s paper: Yogi Berra is getting his own statue.

Hard to tell the difference between the bench and the lineup these days. Francisco Cervelli and Marcus Thames have seen regular playing time most of the month, Juan Miranda is getting regular at-bats at designated hitter and Kevin Russo has been worth a look in left field. Thames has played in more games than Curtis Granderson, and Randy Winn has played in more than Nick Johnson.

What’s gone right?

Gazoooo!
Cervelli and Jorge Posada have played in the same number of games. Posada has outstanding offensive numbers, but Cervelli still has more RBI. In his oversized helmet and bigger-than-expect role, Cervelli keeps getting big hits in big situations. The Yankees took a chance on him this winter, choosing not to sign a veteran backup catcher, and the faith has paid off and then some.

Unless he’s heading for a Hall of Fame career, Cervelli’s numbers are sure to dip at some point, but he looks like a guy who can hit and certainly catch at this level. And he made the decision easy when the Yankees might have been tempted to rush either Jesus Montero or Austin Romine after Posada’s injury.

Other bright spots: Thames’ offensive production against both righties and lefties; Thames’ walk-off home run; Russo’s first major league start; Miranda showing some power; Pena proving his defense can play anywhere.

What’s gone wrong?

Randy Winn
When everyone was healthy, Winn’s primary role was to play right field defense after Nick Swisher’s final at-bat, but occasional duty has been a tough adjustment for the longtime major league starter. Winn has come through in the clutch a few times, but for the year he’s hitting just .213 with a .295 slugging percentage. Both are ugly numbers for a corner outfielder.

If it hasn’t been Winn filling in, it’s been Thames, who’s done more than enough with the bat while continuing to struggle in the field. There will never be a better example than his walk-off home run one night, followed immediately by his game-changing error the next night.

Other problem areas: Pena isn’t expected to hit much, but you’d like to get more than a .211/.244/.237 slash line. Even that’s kind of nit-picking considering Pena’s role on this team and the fact he’s come through more than once. Ultimately, there’s not a lot to complain about on the bench.

For a while there, it was hard to remember what the real Yankees outfield looked like. Curtis Granderson was on the disabled list, Nick Swisher was fighting through a sore biceps and Ramiro Pena was learning to play right field on the fly. Today, the outfield is coming back together. Granderson is rehabbing in Triple-A, Swisher is back in the lineup and the Yankees have added Kevin Russo, a utility man who actually has more than seven games of outfield experience.

What’s gone right?

Speed and power
Granderson was supposed to add a little of both to the Yankees lineup: He was supposed to run the bases, hit home runs and give the Yankees a dependable center fielder for the next few years. He had that huge home run against Boston, then slowed down and limped onto the disabled list.

Instead, the speed and power have come from Brett Gardner and Swisher. Gardner has been one of the team’s more pleasant surprises, and Swisher has the second highest slugging percentage among healthy regulars (behind Robinson Cano).

Other bright spots: Marcus Thames’ offense; Two home runs from Gardner; Swisher’s improved approach at the plate; Good call giving Russo regular time in the Triple-A outfield this season.

What’s gone wrong?

Hurry back Curtis
Through 80 at-bats, Granderson’s overall numbers aren’t great. He’s hitting just .225 without a ton of power and only seven RBI. But with him on the disabled list, the Yankees have been faced with the choice of Thames’ diminished defense or Randy Winn’s diminished offense. There’s no perfect answer there.

After missing most of the month, Granderson seems close to a return, and the Yankees need him to come back better than he was when he left (three hits in his previous 10 games).

Other problem areas: Thames’ defense; Winn’s offense (except for two or three huge hits); Swisher’s seemed-like-it-would-never-go-away biceps injury; Gardner’s .315 OBP as the No. 2 hitter; Colin Curtis and his high ankle sprain in Triple-A.

Quick quiz: Who’s second on the Yankees in RBI this season? Alex Rodriguez leads team with 32. Second most belongs to Mark Teixeira who has 30. That tells you a little bit of how worthless RBI is as a statistic, but it also tells you that Teixeira has done some things to help this team win even when he’s off to a horrible start.

What’s gone right?

Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter has shown some signs of life recently, and Rodriguez started showing some power this month, but the Yankees early season MVP is clearly their second baseman. Cano is a very, very good baseball player and he’s shown it with his glove and his bat. He’s hit for power, he’s hit for average and he’s even shown some occasional patience at the plate.

A lot of teams would gladly take a .276 average and four home runs from their shortstop, but this is clearly not the best of Jeter. Seven hits in his past four games, though, might be a sign of things to come. Rodriguez was hitless yesterday, but seven of his past nine games included multiple hits.

Other bright spots: The infield defense has been very good; If we’re counting catcher in this group then Jorge Posada’s hitting has been a definite plus; Jeter’s month of April; Teixeira’s three-home run game; We’ll get more into the greatness of Francisco Cervelli in a post about the bench.

What’s gone wrong?

Mark Teixeira
If we’re counting Posada and Nick Johnson among the infielders — and I guess we are because I’m not planning a post for catchers and DH’s — then those injuries certainly fall into this category, but ultimately Teixeira is the easily the headliner of the What’s Gone Wrong Club.

Earlier this month, Teixeira seemed to have really turned a corner. He was finally crushing the ball again, and doing it against the Red Sox. Then he went cold, just like he’d been the whole month of April. I’m sure everyone expects Teixeira to turn this thing around, but so far Ramiro Pena has a higher batting average.

Other problem areas: Jeter’s recent slump; Rodriguez’s slow start; Johnson’s awful start to the season and seemingly inevitable injury; Posada’s bizarre series of knee, calf and foot injuries.