The LoHud Yankees Blog

We’ll start our Tuesday with three announcements from the Yankees. This was posted late last night, but just in case you missed it…

Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez will greet fans at Babe Ruth Plaza, just outside Yankee Stadium’s Great Hall along 161st St., before today’s game from 3-3:30 p.m.

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Manager Joe Girardi will join Elizabeth H. Berger, President of the Alliance for Downtown New York, to unveil a granite strip commemorating last fall’s ticker-tape parade for the 2009 world champion New York Yankees. They’ll be surrounded by a dozen members of the Downtown Little League Yankees.

The Downtown Alliance, the business improvement district serving Lower Manhattan south of Chambers Street, has embedded a strip for each of the 204 parades that have run along the famed Canyon of Heroes parade route on Lower Broadway. Downtown Alliance Chairman Robert R. Douglass will also attend the ceremony.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 11 a.m.
WHERE: 233 Broadway (west side of the street, in front of the Woolworth Building)

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Tickets for the JAY-Z and Eminem concert on September 13 at Yankee Stadium will go on sale on June 25 at 10:00 a.m. online at www.livenation.com, via Ticketmaster phone at (800) 745-3000, via Ticketmaster TTY at (800) 943-4327 and at select area Ticketmaster outlets.

It will be the second of a home-and-home series of shows for New York City-native JAY-Z and Detroit-area-native Eminem, as the pair will also perform at Detroit’s Comerica Park on September 2.

While this event will serve as the Stadium’s first official concert, JAY-Z has previously performed at Yankee Stadium, singing his hit “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys on October 29, 2009, prior to the Yankees’ 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series.

Information regarding ticket pricing will be available at www.livenation.com at a later date.

By this time next week, the short-season and rookie-ball seasons will have started, meaning some 2010 draftees will be getting some at-bats and innings. According to vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman, none of the guys taken this year is likely to open with a full-season team.

“I do not think any will be in Charleston any time soon,” he said in an email.

There are also plenty of international players and 2009 draftees who will begin playing when the short-season schedule finally gets underway. Talking about late-round picks last week, Damon Oppenheimer said he’s especially high on 2009 44th-round pick Evan DeLuca.

“You’re talking about a high school left-hander that we got real late that’s throwing 93 to 95 down here (in extended spring), with a good curveball and changeup that should move through the system pretty quick,” he said.

A few more notes and links to wrap up this off day.

• Interesting note from Donnie Collins who reports that Triple-A outfielder David Winfree has a clause in his contract that allows him to look for a team willing to immediately add him to the 40-man roster. It kicks in either today or tomorrow.

• If you haven’t already, check the NoMaas interview with Mark Newman, who spent some time discussing the nuts and bolts of player development.

• Speaking of interviews, here’s the Pinstripe Alley interview with catching prospect Austin Romine.

• Some news on former Yankees long relievers Dan Giese and Brett Tomko, each of whom is set to begin a rehab assignment with Oakland.

• Tomorrow morning at 11, Joe Girardi will help unveil a granite strip commemorating last fall’s World Series parade.

• The group at SeatGeek.com has decided Yankees fans are more loyal than Red Sox fans based on ticket prices on the “secondary ticket market.”

• The blog Subway Squawkers has a way to win tickets to this weekend’s Subway Series.

UPDATE, 10:05 p.m.: I’ll put both of these items in a post for tomorrow morning as well so that they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez will greet fans at Babe Ruth Plaza, just outside Yankee Stadium’s Great Hall along 161st St., before Tuesday’s game. They’ll be there from 3-3:30 p.m.

Also, tickets for the Jay-Z/Eminiem concert at Yankee Stadium will go on sale June 25 at 10 a.m. The show is scheduled for September 13.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
36-28, second place

Top hitter: SS Eduardo Nunez leads the team in hits, batting average, stolen bases and runs. He’s also second in RBI, and I’ve heard his defense has been pretty good this season, which seemed to be a concern after his 33 errors last year.
Top pitcher: Closer Jonathan Albaladejo leads the league in saves and has a 1.17 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. My guess is that he’s leaped over Mark Melancon in the call-up pecking order.
Top prospect: No doubt C Jesus Montero is struggling in his first Triple-A season. He’s only 20 years old, so it’s still far too early to give up on him, but he’s hitting just .230 with three home runs.

Noteworthy: 1B/3B Jorge Vazquez was just promoted from Double-A. He’ll play both infield corners… Lefty relievers Boone Logan and Royce Ring are each pitching well with a sub-1.00 WHIP… RHP Ivan Nova has won two straight starts… OF Colin Curtis is back from a high ankle sprain… OF David Winfree leads the team in HR and RBI… RHP Zach McAllister had a five-game winning streak snapped on Friday. He has a 4.57 ERA and Triple-A hitters are batting .291 against him.

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Trenton
38-23, first place

Top hitter: 3B Brandon Laird is a legitimate MVP candidate with the league lead in RBI. He’s also top five in slugging percentage, home runs, hits and runs. He’s primarily played third with some time at first.
Top pitcher: The Thunder have a few relievers with big numbers, but it’s hard to overlook starter David Phelps who’s 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a team-high 60 strikeouts. This is only his second full season of pro ball.
Top prospect: Laird might be the team’s top hitter, but C Austin Romine isn’t far behind. Even with a June slump he’s hitting .293 with a .429 slugging and a .360 on-base.

Noteworthy: Former New York OF Justin Christian was signed after spring training and has been a Trenton regular… RHP Hector Noesi won three of his first four Double-A starts after a call-up from Tampa. He has 24 strikeotus, five walks and a 2.57 ERA… 2B David Adams, LHP Jeremy Bleich and CF Damon Sublett are significant prospects on the Trenton disabled list… Relievers Grant Duff, Eric Wordekemper, Josh Schmidt and Wilkins Arias have pitched well, but they pitched well in Double-A last year. They’ve simply been crowded out of Scranton.

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Tampa
32-27, third place

Top hitter: 2B Corban Joseph continues to establish himself as a legitimate infield prospect. Getting time at second and third base, he’s hit .309 with a .441 slugging percentage and a team-high 15 doubles and 37 RBI. He’s made 10 errors.
Top pitcher: With Noesi called up to Trenton, RHP Adam Warren is probably the top starter with a 2.44 ERA. He’s induced more than twice as many ground outs as fly outs. He was drafted just last year, so he’s definitely worth watching.
Top prospect: RHP Andrew Brackman had an awful April, a solid May and he’s so far had a good June. In his past four starts Brackman has a 1.56 ERA with four walks and 23 strikeouts. He’s getting further removed from Tommy John surgery, and it seems to be making a difference.

Noteworthy: Everyone’s favorite switch-pitcher Pat Venditte has 38 strikeouts and nine walks through 31.1 innings. He’s been slightly better against lefties than righties… RHP Dellin Betances came off the DL to allow just three hits through six innings on Thursday. RHP Manny Banuelos remains on the disabled list… If you don’t know it already, remember the name Graham Stoneburner. The right-hander was drafted last year and he’s arleady been promoted from Charleston to Tampa. He’s dominated both levels… 3B Bradley Suttle missed all of last season after shoulder surgery… LHP Shaeffer Hall is a Missouri kid, so of course I like him, and he’s earned a call-up to Tampa  after a 1.85 ERA through 10 Charleston starts.

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Charleston
29-33, fifth place

Top hitter: 1B Luke Murton leads the team 23 doubles and 37 RBI, and he’s tied for the team lead with eight home runs. In 10 fewer games than he played last season, he’s already topped his doubles and RBI totals and matched his home runs from last season in Staten Island.
Top pitcher: The top starters have already been promoted, but RHP Jose Ramirez is still in the rotation and pitching pretty well with a 3.31 ERA, 61 strikeouts and 20 walks. He just just 20 in January.
Top prospect: After opening the season in extended spring training, last year’s No. 1 draft pick CF Slade Heathcott is hitting .351/.419/.432 through his first nine games of full-season ball.

Noteworthy: Reliever Ryan Flannery is having a nice year with 25 strikeouts, seven walks and a 0.92 WHIP… One month after his 19th birthday, C J.R. Murphy is hitting just .221 with one home run. He joined the team in mid-May… Last year’s seventh-round pick RHP Sean Black has a 4.53 ERA for the year, but he had a 2.78 in May and has a 3.18 in June… C Kyle Higashioka was the youngest player in big league camp this spring. He’s hitting .201 with three home runs. He’s thrown out 34.5 percent of base runners.

Here’s the press release passed along by the Yankees.

Derek Jeter, five-time Major League Baseball World Series winner and New York Yankees legend, has been unveiled as an Ambassador to Beyond Sport, the global initiative that promotes, develops and funds the use of sport to create positive social change across the world.

As an Ambassador, Derek will be responsible for spreading the word about BeyondSport and its associated values helping to build awareness about the impact sport can have on communities worldwide. In addition, he will offer his input during the final judging process for the Beyond Sport Awards which provides funding and business support worth $1 million annually to the best projects across the globe that use sport to address issues within their communities.

Derek’s appointment as an Ambassador also represents a substantial show of support for Beyond Sport by Major League Baseball, one of the most widely recognised sports leagues in the world.

Speaking about his new role, Derek said: “The more we can highlight the important role that sport can play in creating positive social change and show the meaningful benefits it can bring, the more impact we can have on the lives of disadvantaged people all around the world.

“Beyond Sport’s outreach is something that I firmly believe in, and I am proud to be able to play my part in helping to achieve those goals.”

Derek joins 23 other Ambassadors, all who bring unique experiences and visions to the Beyond Sport initiative, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; the multi-Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson; Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Olympics; HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan; and two-time Women’s World Cup winner and former president of the Women’s Sport Foundation, Julie Foudy.

Here’s the latest all-star release from the league.

Nine-time All-Star Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners remains atop a crowded group of outfielders in the fourth set of American League balloting figures for the 81st All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 13th at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The fourth National League All-Star balloting update will be released tomorrow, Tuesday, June 15th.

Vying for his 10th consecutive trip to the Midsummer Classic in his 10th Major League season and his ninth fan-elected starting assignment, Ichiro (.341, 18 RBI, 18 SB) leads all American League outfielders with 1,231,950 votes. Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Carl Crawford (.296, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 21 SB) has improved from last week’s third place standing to second place this week with 1,123,132 votes. The third starting spot in the outfield is currently held by Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz (.327, 10 HR, 34 RBI), whose 1,093,099 votes are slightly ahead of the 1,006,364 cast for teammate Josh Hamilton. New York Yankees teammates Nick Swisher (808,871) and Curtis Granderson (766,088) and Torii Hunter (765,023) of the host Angels are among those remaining in contention.

The closest race in the infield is at first base, where Justin Morneau (.350, 13 HR, 43 RBI) of the Minnesota Twins continues to be in line for his first fan-elected starting assignment and his fourth career All-Star selection overall with 1,402,496 votes. Morneau is holding off New York’s Mark Teixeira (1,221,457) and Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera (1,009,822) in a three-way race.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer (.319, 19 2B, 28 RBI), aiming for his fourth All-Star selection and his third start, continues to be the most popular American League player with 2,617,822 votes, followed by the 2,108,659 for Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (.293, 8 HR, 39 RBI), who is competing for his 11th trip to the Midsummer Classic. Rounding out the top five overall American League players are Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (1,958,855; .320, 11 HR, 48 RBI), Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano (1,784,896; .371, 13 HR, 47 RBI) and Rangers designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero (1,743,946; .338, 14 HR, 54 RBI).

“Old doesn’t mean that they’re out to pasture. Old just means that they have a lot of experience, and they know how to play the game and do a lot of things right.”
Joe Girardi
Born: Oct. 14, 1964

The Yankees have an older team, and while that might be a long-term concern, it doesn’t seem to be hurting the Yankees in the here and now. These are the eight Yankees who will be at least 35 by the end of the year. It’s not a bad group.

Mariano Rivera
Born: Nov. 29, 1969
The Yankees closer did it again last night. Another hitless inning with two more strikeouts. He’s pitched 22.1 innings this season and he’s allowed nine hits. He’s 15 for 16 in save opportunities. Just watch and enjoy.

Jorge Posada
Born: Aug. 17, 1971
Injuries have been his biggest problem. Surely some of that is an age issue, but some of it has also been the product of fluke foul balls and errant pitches from Baltimore starting pitchers. When healthy, Posada has been as good as ever. He’s hitting .288/.395/.544. That slugging percentage would be the highest of his career.

Andy Pettitte
Born: June 15, 1972
So far, it’s looking like a career year for Pettitte. He’s 8-1 with a 2.46 ERA, and he’s pitched through the seventh inning in each of his past four starts. At this point he seems on his way to his first all-star game since 2001, and he’s a legitimate candidate to start it.

Chan Ho Park
Born: June 30, 1973
Park has already allowed as many home runs as he surrendered all of last year, plus he’s missed significant time with a hamstring injury, and he struggled in his first few outings back from the DL. But since an ugly outing in Minnesota, Park has allowed one run on four hits in his past seven innings. He’s walked three and struck out 11.

Derek Jeter
Born: June 26, 1974
He’s not having the same year as last year. To the naked eye, his defense seems to have taken a hit and his offensive numbers are down a bit — especially his on-base percentage — but he’s still a .293 hitter with a .440 slugging percentage that’s only slightly lower than his career mark. He’s on pace for his highest RBI total in 10 years.

Damaso Marte
Born: Feb. 14, 1975
The last time he allowed a hit was May 17 in Boston, when he was asked to pitch 1.2 innings. The last time he was charged with a run was May 14 against the Twins. His job is to get out left-handers, and his WHIP against lefties is 0.91.

Chad Moeller
Born: Feb. 18, 1975
His role is remarkably limited and might be on its last legs now that Posada is able to catch again, but Moeller has been what the Yankees needed him to be: An experienced just-in-case option behind the plate. He’s made four starts and has a double in two of them.

Alex Rodriguez
Born: July 27, 1975
After a slow month of April, Rodriguez came back with a .330/.408/.534 slash line in May. He was hitting .317 with two home runs and eight RBI in his past 10 games before the hip flexor issue. His power numbers are down, but he’s still on track for another 100-plus RBI season. Could be better, and might get better.

Associated Press photos of Jeter and Pettitte, Rivera and Jeter again.

Two and a half weeks ago, the Yankees wrapped up a series in Minneapolis and prepared to enter a soft part of the schedule. They would play 16 games, exactly three of them against a  team with a winning record. It was an opportunity to make up some ground, and the Yankees took advantage.

Yesterday’s win against Houston capped a series sweep and moved the Yankees into a tie for first place in the American League East. They went 12-4 through this part of the schedule and have now won eight in a row at home.

May 28-31
vs. Cleveland
The Yankees opened this series 4.5 games behind the Rays. They split the first two games — blowing a lead in second one–  but finished 3-1 without allowing more than three runs in any of the wins. The last game was an 11-2 blowout, leaving the Yankees 11 games over .500 and 3.5 games out of first.

June 1-3
vs. Baltimore
A lopsided three-game sweep saw the Yankees outscore the Orioles 18-5, building a five-game winning streak and pulling within two games of the Rays. When it was over, the Yankees had gone a full turn through the rotation with every starter picking up a win. They were rolling.

June 4-6
at Toronto
The Yankees had been pitching well, but Brett Cecil and Ricky Romero were better. Each went eight strong innings as the Blue Jays took Games 1 and 2 and threatened to sweep before a Yankees rally in Game 3. Salvaging that third game kept the Yankees two games behind the Rays.

June 8-10
at Baltimore
The Orioles scored 13 runs in the series. The Yankees scored 12 in the first game. Baltimore rookie Jake Arrieta won the series finale, but the Yankees took two out of three and came home still two games back and 14 games over .500.

June 11-13
vs. Houston
Finishing with a series sweep of the Astros, the Yankees improved to a season-high 17 games over .500. They also pulled into first place for the first time since April 22. The Yankees outscored Houston 22-11.

Associated Press photo from yesterday’s win

When Chad Huffman got to his locker after yesterday’s game, the baseball was waiting for him. It was in a clear case on the top shelf, and the inscription was already written in ink. Three hours earlier, Huffman had hit that very same baseball to the right side of the Yankee Stadium infield. It had been thrown to first base where Geoff Blum caught it an instant after Huffman stepped on the bag for his first major league hit.

“I looked up on the jumbotron and saw my family jumping up and down,” Huffman said. “It was a great feeling… I’m going to give (the ball) to my mom so I don’t lose it.”

Two Yankees got their first major league hit last season. Ramiro Pena did it in his first at-bat. Francisco Cervelli did it in his eighth, having gone hitless in five at-bats the year before. This season, three Yankees have picked up their first big league hit.

Greg Golson
May 12
In his eighth major league at-bat — his first with the Yankees — Golson got a clean single to center field. It was the first hit of a five-run inning in Detroit. Golson went hitless in six at-bats with the Phillies in 2008 and struck out in his only at-bat with Texas in 2009.

Kevin Russo
May 21
In his third major league at-bat — his first major league start — Russo singled in the third inning against the Mets. Four innings later, his second major league hit would be a game-winning two-run double.

Chad Huffman
June 13
In his first major league at-bat — his first day on a major league roster — Huffman beat out an infield single. “I was trying to calm myself down,” he said. “Luckily I battled back with two strikes. I kind of got out in front of it and got lucky a little bit, but that’s part of it.”

Here’s Huffman talking about what must be a surreal moment in the life of a baseball player.

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Phil Hughes was one out away from another dominant start. He settled for a very good one. In this case, the final numbers don’t tell the story. Yes, Hughes allowed five earned runs, but he was better than that. Until the last two batters, he pitched like an all-star again.

“I would hope that he’s making (all-star) plans, he and Andy,” Jorge Posada said.

Through five innings, Hughes struck out five and scattered three singles. But the Yankees sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, and when Hughes went out for the sixth, he gave up another base hit to the first batter he faced. With two outs, he gave up a double. Tommy Manzella fought through a 10-pitch at-bat before singling in two runs, then Kevin Cash hit a two-run homer.

“I felt like I wasn’t as strong coming out just because of that long inning,” Hughes said. “Really, I just needed to execute a pitch right there (to Manzella). I’d gotten him twice before on fastballs so I was a little stubborn and didn’t go away from my fastball. It’s not like he scorched the ball, he just hit in the right spot, but I’ve got to keep my composure and make a good pitch to Cash, and I didn’t do that. The inning kind of got out of control at that point.”

Even so, it was hard to overlook all the good that came before those last 10 or so pitches. Is Hughes thinking all-star game?

“I tried not to let it slip into my mind too much,” he said. “We still have a ways to go. It’s been a good start and I’m winning games and that’s all I’m really focused on right now.”

Joe Girardi will ultimately make that all-star decision, but he didn’t really talk about it during his postgame session. He did, however, touch on Posada, Rodriguez, the Phillies and just about everything else. Here’s his postgame.

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• Another day of treatment went well for Alex Rodriguez. “Good today so we’ll evaluate him Tuesday and hopefully I can pencil him in there,” Girardi said.

• Another game went well for Brett Gardner and his left thumb: “It’s probably not 100 percent and it might not be for a while,” Gardner said. “It’s something I’ll have to deal with it. It’s a case of just not making it worse.”

• Speaking of Gardner, he had two hits, two walks and stole a base in his first start since the thumb injury. “Obviously when you miss a few days you worry about your timing,” he said. “You worry about things getting a little funky, but I saw the ball well today.”

• Robinson Cano is the third Yankees second baseman to reach 100 home runs. Tony Lazzeri hit 169 and Joe Gordon hit 153 (minimum 50 percent of games played at second).

• Ramiro Pena drove in the go-ahead runs with his fourth-inning single. It was the first time he drove in a run since May 19, and Girardi said he was happy with both Pena and Francisco Cervelli’s ability to get hits when they matter. “When we put them in there, we expect them to produce,” he said. “We don’t put them out there and say just go out and play defense or just go out and don’t worry about it. We expect them to be complete players.”

• Mark Teixeira committed his first error since October 2, 2009.

• Was that infield single exactly the way Chad Huffman always imagined his first big league hit? “Absolutely not,” he said. “But a hit’s a hit.” And what did he feel when he got to first base safely? “Relief,” he said. “Definitely relief.”

• Nick Johnson is no longer wearing a brace on his wrist and said he can do most day-to-day stuff without any problem. He’s still not cleared to be begin hitting, though.

• Maybe it doesn’t mean a lot in June, but the Yankees moved into a tie for first place today.

Associated Press photos of Hughes and Cano

After the eighth inning, Joe Girardi asked Jorge Posada how he was feeling. When Girardi heard the answer, he decided to send Francisco Cervelli to catch the ninth.

“He said, ‘I’m a little sore,’” Girardi said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s good then. You caught eight innings, that’s pretty good for your first rehab start behind the plate.’”

Posada said sore was the wrong word. His foot was simply fatigued, with no pain in the area that was broken last month. “It got tired,” he said. “It wasn’t about soreness.” Posada still hopes he can catch again on Tuesday, and Girardi shares that optimism.

“I’m a little concerned, but I wasn’t even sure ho many innings I was going to play him today going into the game,” Girardi said. “Usually when you come back from an injury you’ll catch five innings, then you might catch seven innings and you’ll get your rehab time. We didn’t do that with Jorge. I’m not really surprised that he’s sore. I think it’s more important how he feels on Tuesday and really tomorrow, even though we’re not playing, that he’s able to run around and do the things he has to do.”

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It was Posada’s work at the plate — not behind it — that drew the most attention. He’s the first Yankee to hit a grand slam in back-to-back games since Bill Dickey in 1937. According to Elias, the only other Yankee to do it was Babe Ruth in 1927 and 1929. The grand slam also broke a tie with Graig Nettles for sole possession of seventh place on the Yankees career home runs list.

“To be in the situation to hit two grand slams is amazing,” Posada said. “It doesn’t happen often. You can tell that it’s been a while so I’m happy.”

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Of course, Posada’s teammates gave him a hard time about returning to the position he’s played so often the past 13-plus years.

“A lot of the players were getting on me and telling me where to go, stuff like that,” Posada said. “It was fun to get back there.”

Associated Press photo of Posada after the grand slam.