The LoHud Yankees Blog

When we were flying out of Seattle last night, one of the other beat writers asked me who I thought Joe Girardi would pick to start the All-Star Game. My answer was, whoever is most rested. It just seemed like the kind of thing Girardi would use as a tie-breaker among David Price, Jon Lester, Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte.

I have no idea whether that actually entered his mind, but it’s exactly what Girardi did. Price will be the American League starter — probably the most deserving choice regardless of rest — while 15-game-winner Ubaldo Jimenez will start for the National League. The managers just made the announcement on MLB Network.

American League lineup
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Derek Jeter SS
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Josh Hamilton CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Evan Longoria 3B
Joe Mauer C
Robinson Cano 2B
Carl Crawford LF

National League lineup
Hanley Ramirez SS
Martin Prado 2B (at least, I think that’s the name Charlie Manuel was trying to say)
Albert Pujols 1B
Ryan Howard DH
David Wright 3B
Ryan Braun LF
Andre Ethier CF
Corey Hart RF
Yadier Molina C

There will be plenty of interesting news and nuggets coming out of the All-Star Game festivities later today – at this point, I’m pretty sure we’re about one more injury away from Damaso Marte making the AL team as a reliever – but since that’s still a few hours away on the West Coast, how about a quick look at the second half schedule for the Yankees?

According to research from Buster Olney and the folks at ESPN, the Yankees have the seventh-easiest schedule remaining among the 17 teams with over-.500 records. The Twins and Angels are the only AL teams ranked behind them (with easier schedules) and, obviously, the Rays and Red Sox schedules are both deemed tougher.

Why? For starters, the Yankees have the fewest games against over-.500 teams left (37 to 39 for both Bos/TB) and most home games (40 to 35 for Bos/TB). That may not seem like much, but in a division as good as the AL East, any edge is important.

Take a look at the schedule here – what stands out? To me, a “critical” stretch could be the Aug. 30 – Sept. 8 homestand: 10 games, longest of the second half and the opponents are Oakland, Toronto and Baltimore. If the Yankees take care of business there (say, 8-2? 7-3 at worst?) than the hard finish in September (series against Rays, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays) suddenly has a little more cushion.

Also, I’d never noticed before that you can get a “range” of StubHub prices when you look at the baseball-reference schedule page. What’s the most expensive second-half ticket being sold? Oddly, it’s currently (as I write this) the Aug. 2 game against the Blue Jays — where the range is $11-$350,000. I’m hoping you get more than just a buffet pass and some popcorn for that.

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Since Chad is taking a break during All-Star week – he’ll pop in occasionally, but my guess is he’s vacationing here, here or here – I just wanted to take a quick moment to say thanks to all the readers who emailed/Tweeted congratulations over the past month or so.

It was very cool that good buddy Mark Feinsand mentioned the birth of my daughter, Riley, during the Yankees radio broadcast on June 4 (Riley was actually born about 20 minutes before first pitch that day) and, as you parents out there surely know, things have been tiring but amazing ever since she arrived. So thanks to all who checked in with kind words – my wife and I truly appreciate it.

Gene Monahan heard The Voice of God call his name a few times. Every time the full Yankees roster was introduced at Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard would announce the team’s trainer.

“It always was something you never thought you deserved,” Monahan said. “You never thought it would ever happen, and when it did and you never thought about it coming, it was always, ‘Oh my gosh. Bob Sheppard just said my name.’ It kind of gets you, man. It really makes you sting a little bit inside.”

Of all the people who said great things about Sheppard yesterday, Monahan was the best. Not that Derek Jeter and all of the players weren’t great, but there was something in Monahan’s voice that told you he really knew the man and appreciated the man. He called him the “most polite man” he ever met though his job.

“He would stop by every once in a while, during the course of the season,” Monahan said. “Maybe four or five times, poke his head around the door, wave over and call over me or Steve and very politely ask, ‘May I have a few lozenges?’ He was one of those guys that knew how to say that word. It took me 20 years. People can’t say that word, but he had it perfectly, of course, as he did with everything else.”

Here’s Monahan talked about Sheppard. Give this one a listen. It’s a very nice man talking about what must have been another very nice man.

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“I am deeply saddened by the death today of Bob Sheppard, a good friend and fine man whose voice set the gold standard for America’s sports announcers.  For over a half century, fans were thrilled to hear his unforgettable voice and players were thrilled to hear his majestic enunciation of their names.  Bob Sheppard was a great member of the Yankees family and his death leaves a lasting silence.  My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Mary, and their family.”
- George Steinbrenner

“As a player, you looked forward to him announcing your name. For me, there was nobody better. Guys around the league have come and gone, but he was there. You knew he was going to be there.”
– Jorge Posada

“You think about all the great players he’s announced. When you think of the Yankees and the old stadium, there’s no doubt you think about him and what he had done there for the organization, all the great players that he announced. It’s sad. You wish he could have been around to announce at the new stadium, at least a few games there… It’s one of those deals that when you’re with him or when you’re listening to him announce, maybe you didn’t appreciate it as much as you should have.”
– Andy Pettitte

“Amazing. I didn’t know who he was, but when I got there, it was tremendous. Hearing his voice, it’s irreplaceable. You can’t replace a voice like that. It’s outstanding. We’re going to miss that.”
– Mariano Rivera

“Old Yankee Stadium had its own feel to it, and his voice worked perfectly in that stadium.”
– Nick Swisher who said he could remember Sheppard’s voice from his trips as a visiting player.

“I remember walking in from the bullpen at Yankee Stadium during my major league debut and hearing Bob announce my name. I thought it was the greatest thing. Three years out of high school, and I’m in Yankee Stadium with Bob Sheppard announcing my name. I had arrived! He was a legend who went about his job with a quiet sense of dignity, and we will never see someone of his stature again.”
– Al Leiter

“Bob Sheppard was an institution, as much a part of Yankees lore as all of the Hall of Fame players. You know you made it in the Majors when you heard Bob Sheppard announce your name at Yankee Stadium. It was always a thrill to hear his voice, regardless of whether I was with the Yankees or with another team. My thoughts go out to his family.”
– John Flaherty

“Bob Sheppard was an icon, not just in New York, but throughout all of baseball. I knew about him when I was growing up in nearby Mount Vernon (N.Y.). Later, every time I played at Yankee Stadium while with the Orioles, it was a treat to hear Mr. Sheppard announce my name. I will miss him. All of baseball will miss him.”
– Ken Singleton

“Bob Sheppard’s voice was the only voice you can think of coming out of the grandest sports cathedral in our country. His stentorian tone was the embodiment of class and represented everything that the Yankees and Yankee Stadium stood for. Yankee Stadium will never sound the same because no one will ever come close to the ‘Voice of God.’ He will be greatly missed. He was a gentleman of epic proportions, and an absolute joy to be around. My thoughts go out to his wife Mary and his family.”
– Michael Kay

When Derek Jeter goes to the plate on Tuesday, his All-Star introduction will come from Bob Sheppard, who’s legendary voice will once again announce the Yankees captain.

“It’s a great idea,” Jeter said. “He deserves it.”

Jeter said he came up with the idea five or six years ago to have Sheppard’s voice recorded, and he plans to stick with that recording now that Sheppard has passed away.

“I grew up a Yankee fan and he was the voice I always heard,” Jeter said. “There were a few times sprinkled in and out when he wasn’t there and it just didn’t sound right. I had the idea to record his voice and to always use it.

This seems like one of the days Sheppard would have been proud of the Yankees. They went into the all-star break with the best record in baseball, and as always, Jeter was able to explain why. It was the same explanation he’s been giving for years.

“Any team that wins, it’s their rotation that carries them,” Jeter said. “That’s the bottom line. I know people get tired of hearing it, but it’s the truth. Offense can only carry you so far, but if you have a great pitching staff, you’re going to have an opportunity to win every day. They’re the reason we’re in the position that we are.”

Here’s Jeter pregame talking about Sheppard.

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And here’s Jorge Posada.

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• Joe Girardi said he expected far more people on tonight’s chartered flight to Los Angeles — for the Yankees all-stars and their families — than on the chartered flight back to New York. “It’s a pretty big plane we got,” Girardi said. The Yankees and Mariners are sharing the all-star flight, so that group was cut by at least one when Cliff Lee was traded.

• CC Sabathia’s eight-game winning streak is the longest of his career. “I feel like I’ve got a good idea where the ball’s going,” he said. “I’m just trying to pound the strike zone. These guys have been scoring a lot of runs when I’ve been pitching, and playing good defense. It helps you relax.”

• Mark Teixeira is really hitting well lately, including four hits today, but Girardi and Teixeira both said a break will be good. “I think it’s a good time for him,” Girardi said. “He played every game of these 13 in a row. Really didn’t have any time off. He didn’t DH. I think these four days will serve him well.”

• Girardi’s message to the team heading into the all-star break: “I told all the guys, enjoy the break, you’ve earned it,” Girardi said.

• Here’s how the final all-star replacements worked: Trevor Cahill started against the Angels today. When he threw the first pitch in the top of the first inning, he was replaced by Girardi’s top choice, Jered Weaver. When Weaver then threw his first pitch in the bottom of the first inning, he was replaced by Andrew Bailey. Justin Verlander replaced CC Sabathia.

• Girardi said he didn’t want to announce who he plans to use as his closer on Tuesday. He’s not allowed to announce who his starter will be.

• Donnie Collins has good stuff about Jesus Montero’s very weird day of Cliff Lee trade rumors. He also notes that Eduardo Nunez was a late scratch from today’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lineup.

• Not all of the non-all-stars are on the flight back to New York. A lot are flying on their own to go home or go on vacation. Colin Curtis is staying in Seattle, where his family lives.

Associated Press photos of Jeter and Sabathia.

CC Sabathia picked up his eighth straight win today in Seattle, and the Yankees are going into the all-star break on a high note. They pitched well and hit well in their final game before the break, beating the Mariners 8-2. Mark Teixeira had four hits, Derek Jeter had two RBI and Marcus Thames hit a two-run home run as the Yankees improved to 56-32, the best record in the big leagues.

Associated Press photo of Marcus Thames and Brett Gardner

YANKEES (55-32)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

LHP CC Sabathia (11-3, 3.19)
Sabathia vs. Mariners

MARINERS (35-51)
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chone Figgins 2B
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Jose Lopez 3B
Casey Kotchman 1B
Justin Smoak DH
Josh Bard C
Jack Wilson SS
Michael Saunders LF

LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (1-8, 5.74)
Rowland-Smith vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 4:10 p.m. ET / YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Ed Rapuano, 1B Tom Hallion, 2B Ron Kulpa, 3B Lance Barksdale

WEATHER: Another nice day in Seattle. There are a few clouds but not much chance of rain. Temperatures in the 70s and getting warmer.

HEADING FOR A BREAK: At 55-32, the Yankees have the best record in baseball and a two-game lead in the AL East. It’s the team’s best record at this point since 2004 when they were 56-31. They are guaranteed to reach the all-star break with the division lead for the first time since that ’04 season. The past eight times that the Yankees led at the break, they went on to win the division.

SPEAKING OF 2004: After last night, Felix Hernandez has faced the Yankees twice this year and gotten a complete-game win each time. The last time an opponent had back-to-back complete game wins against the Yankees in a single season was 2004 when — of all people — Sidney Ponson did it with Baltimore.

SABATHIA’S STREAK: CC Sabathia has won seven straight starts, which matches the longest streak of his career (he also won seven straight in 2005). If he wins today, Sabathia will be the first Yankee to win eight straight starts since Roger Clemens in 2001. He would become the first Yankee since Mike Mussina in 2002 to win 12 games before the break.

UPDATE, 4:20 p.m.: The Yankees caught a break when Chone Figgins was ruled off the bag at second base. He was clearly off, but I’m not sure a lot of umpires would have made the call. Robinson Cano followed with a sac fly, Jorge Posado had an RBI single and the Yankees are in front 2-0.

UPDATE, 4:51 p.m.: Not saying I understand why he was bunting there, but I did have a baseball official tell me once that Alex Rodriguez is the best bunter he’s ever seen, you just never see it in a game because he’s such a good hitter.

UPDATE, 5:12 p.m.: Derek Jeter nearly doubled into that gap two innings ago but Gutierrez got to the ball. This time, Jeter finds a hole for a two-run double and a 5-0 Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 5:14 p.m.: Make that 6-0 on Teixeira’s RBI double.

UPDATE, 6:00 p.m.: As you can imagine, there’s a ton of newspaper stuff to write today. The Yankees got a two-run home run from Marcus Thames, and the Mariners got an RBI single from Chone Figgins. The score is 8-1 in the top of the seventh. Meanwhile, MLB has announced replacements for the all-star team.

Jered Weaver, Justin Verlander and Andrew Bailey have been named to the team as replacements for Sabathia and Trevor Cahill, who are pitching today. Weaver was named as a replacement, but since he’s also pitching today, he also had to be replaced. That’s why there are three names replacing two spots.

UPDATE, 6:38 p.m.: After a scoreless eighth from Chad Guadin, the Yankees have Dustin Moseley and Chan Ho Park getting warm in the bullpen. So far, it’s look like win No. 12 for Sabathia.

Most of this day has been about Bob Sheppard.

“I got the news earlier this morning, email from Cash,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s extremely sad. I think of Bob Sheppard, you think of all the tradition with the Yankees. You think about Ruth and Gehrig and Yogi and Joe D. and Mantle and I think you mention Bob Sheppard. That’s how important he was to this franchise. It’s very sad. First time I ever heard him was 1996, first time I ever walked out in Yankee Stadium and you realized that you hit the big lights when Bob Sheppard announces your name.”

There are a few quick notes from Safeco Field.

• The Yankees are going to have Sergio Mitre make one more rehab start before activating him. He’ll pitch Thursday. “He’s really close,” Girardi said.

• Nick Johnson is out for who knows how long, but the Yankees are healthy enough to use more or less their regular lineup in the final game before the all-star break. “We seem to be getting healthier, and every time I say that it seems like something happens so I don’t want to talk too much about that,” Girardi said.

• Girardi said he knows who will start for him in the All-Star Game but he’s not allowed to announce it yet. He has to wait until tomorrow.

• On Joba Chamberlain: “It ends up being consistency in his mechanics is what we need to get out of him, and he needs to get out of himself,” Girardi said. “At times his slider has depth, yesterday it didn’t and we need to get that back and that comes with that consistency.”

• Nick Swisher was pretty fired up about games in 3D. He was giving some of the writers a hard time for not making a big story out of him hitting the first 3D home run.

First time Bob Sheppard announced Jorge Posada’s name was Game 2 of the 1995 American League Division Series. Posada pinch ran for Wade Boggs, and Sheppard announced the runner’s name as “Jorge Posado.”

That’s where the nickname comes from. Derek Jeter started calling him “Sado” after that.

Sheppard would later joke with Posada about the mistake. He asked Posada whether he preferred Jorge or George, and he asked if he preferred Posada or Posado.

“That first at-bat at Yankee Stadium, you don’t forget it,” Posada said. “And he’s part of that.”

I’ll try to have a lot of audio up as the day continues. A lot of great Sheppard stuff came out of the clubhouse this morning. Of course Jeter summed it up nicely.

“He’s as much a part of this organization as any player,” Jeter said. “Even though the players change year in and year out, he as the one constant at Yankee Stadium. He was part of the experience. He’s going to be missed.”

UPDATE, 2:58 p.m.: Statement from The Boss: “I am deeply saddened by the death today of Bob Sheppard, a good friend and fine man whose voice set the gold standard for America’s sports announcers. For over a half century, fans were thrilled to hear his unforgettable voice and players were thrilled to hear his majestic enunciation of their names. Bob Sheppard was a great member of the Yankees family and his death leaves a lasting silence. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Mary, and their family.”

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF