The LoHud Yankees Blog

Lance Berkman’s ankle injury is not believed to be serious, and the Yankees don’t expect Alex Rodriguez to go on the disabled list, but the team did not want to go any longer with Francisco Cervelli as their fifth infielder.

“There’s only so long you’re comfortable going with no backup infielder,” Brian Cashman said. “It’s nothing serious on either one of them.”

Berkman said he actually wanted to run today, but the training staff told him to wait. He showed up here uncertain that he would be put on the disabled list, but said he knew it was a possibility.

“I feel like, if there was a Doberman chasing me, I could probably do alright,” he said.

Rodriguez seemed to be moving through the clubhouse just fine. He was on his way to hit as the media left the locker room. Cashman said Rodriguez “should not” be a disabled list option.

“He’s doing better every day,” Cashman said. “He’ll probably be a DH first, but I don’t think it’s a long-term issue. You just want to make sure you take care of him the proper way.”

• Alfredo Aceves is here, but he’s still going to have at least one more rehab start, probably more. Cashman said Aceves is being evaluated “on an outing-by-outing basis” and there’s not set date for his return.

• There’s a chance Aceves will be stretched out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be considered as a rotation option. “Arm strength-wise, it would probably help to stretch him out,” Cashman said.

• Berkman’s DL stint should be retroactive to August 16. Berkman said he expects to be ready to play as soon as his 15 days are up. “Unless I fall down the stairs or something,” he said.

• Joe Girardi said he’s not sure if or when the Yankees might need to skip a Phil Hughes start to keep his innings from getting out of control, “because I can’t tell you what (number of innings) every start is going to be,” Girardi said.

• Off days on the schedule will be a chance to rest all five starters, not necessarily a chance to skip Hughes. “It will probably be an extra day for everyone,” Girardi said.

• Girardi said there “might be” warnings issue to each bench before today’s game, but he hasn’t been told one way or the other.

UPDATE, 12:28 p.m.: Tigers lineup
Austin Jackson CF
Will Rhymes 2B
Ryan Raburn RF
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Johnny Damon DH
Jhonny Peralta SS
Brandon Inge 3B
Alex Avila C
Don Kelly LF

Associated Press photo of Berkman

Lance Berkman has been placed on the disabled list because of his ankle injury.

“It hadn’t progressed quite as quickly as we wanted it to,” Joe Girardi said.

The Yankees will wait until after batting practice to determine whether Alex Rodriguez will be available as a pinch hitter.

Alex Rodriguez is listed as a player off the bench. Lance Berkman is not. Berkman to the DL could be the move for Eduardo Nunez.

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Austin Kearns DH
Ramiro Pena 3B

UPDATE, 10:54 am: Berkman gave no indication that he’s been placed on the DL, but he did say going on the DL is a possibility because the team is short on the bench. He said he feels like he could run, but the training staff wants him to take it slow.

Still no lineup, buy Eduardo Nunez just walked in the clubhouse.

I’m sure everyone is waiting for a lineup, but there has been absolutely nothing this morning.

Chad Gaudin was here for about three minutes, now even he is gone. I’m standing around with Mark Feinsand looking at a room full of nothing.

A lot of the postgame chatter was about the errant pitches in this 9-5 Yankees victory.

Jeremy Bonderman hit Brett Gardner in the leg in the first inning apparently to retaliate for his hard slide Monday night that put Carlos Guillen on the DL with a badly bruised knee. Chad Gaudin then hit Miguel Cabrera in the back in the eighth after he had launched two homers off Dustin Moseley. Then Enrique Gonzalez threw behind Derek Jeter’s legs in the bottom of that inning.

“I think it got ugly,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s unfortunate that it did. It happens sometimes.”

Bonderman and Jim Leyland, who was ejected for arguing that Gaudin should’ve been tossed since warnings were issued in the first inning, wouldn’t comment on the intent of the pitch that hit Gardner.

“I don’t know if it was intentional or not,” Gardner said. “If it was, so be it. If it wasn’t, so be it. If there were some hard feelings over what happened the other night, I would’ve thought something would’ve happened yesterday because of it. Whatever. It’s over and done with. No hard feelings here.”

Asked if he thought Gaudin’s pitch was intentional, Bonderman did say, “You saw it.”

Even Girardi admitted it looked bad.

“Did you do that on purpose?” Girardi asked Gaudin.

Gaudin said no. He said it was just a sinker that got away from him. …

Dustin Moseley now has two quality starts and three so-so starts in place of Andy Pettitte. He got the win after allowing three homers and four runs in five innings.

“He’s giving us a chance to win ballgames,” Girardi said. …

The Yankees’ bullpen, outside of Gaudin, did a wonderful job again. Joba Chamberlain gave up a leadoff double in the sixth, then got out of it 1-2-3, although Curtis Granderson helped with a sliding catch to end the inning. Kerry Wood struck out two to escape unscathed in the seventh with the bases loaded, thereby leaving Cabrera in the on-deck circle. And David Robertson inherited a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the eighth from Gaudin and gave up just one run on a long sac fly. Since the run wasn’t charged to him, he’s now credited with 18 straight scoreless appearances.

The bullpen has a 1.21 ERA and has allowed a .167 batting average since July 26. The relievers have given up just three earned runs over the last 13 games, covering 39 innings. …

The offense erupted for 15 runs over the last two games after scoring one run combined over the previous two. The nine runs were the most the Yankees have scored July 29. …

Thursday’s series finale is scheduled for 1:05. It will be Phil Hughes vs. Rick Porcello.

That’s it for tonight.

Update, 7:16: Jeremy Bonderman just paid back Brett Gardner for his take-out slide that injured Carlos Guillen on Monday night, drilling Gardner just above the right ankle. Plate ump Eric Cooper has issued a warning to both sides. Guillen had to be put on the DL today with a deep bruise to his left knee.

Update, 7:21: Mark Teixeira just paid back Bonderman with a two-run shot to the second deck in right.

Update, 7:22: Robinson Cano hits No. 23 two pitches later, the fifth time the Yankees have hit back-to-back homers. It’s 3-0 already here in the first.

Update, 7:26: Just a side note here: The Yankees and Tigers combined for just four runs Monday night. Detroit’s 3-1 win took three hours and 48 minutes. Tuesday night’s game lasted 3:10. Joe Girardi was asked by a Detroit writer about the length of Yankees games. “Hitters are doing what they’re supposed to do,” he said. “They’re supposed to put long hard at-bats on pitchers. And that’s why our games are so long. You won’t see a lot of our guys making first-pitch outs. When we play a game in 2 1/2 hours, we’re shocked.”

Update, 7:29: That was quite a shot to left by Miguel Cabrera off Dustin Moseley. His 29th homer. It’s 3-1 in the second.

Update, 8:08: Maybe Moseley should just intentionally walk Cabrera. He just hit a 0-2 mistake to the right-field bleachers for No. 30. It’s his fourth multihomer game of the season, the 18th of his career.  So it’s 3-2 in the fourth.

Update, 8:21: Ramiro Pena RBI triple and Gardner RBI double. The Yankees are up by three here in the fourth.

Update, 8:25: Sloppy work by the Tigers, E-3 and E-4 on one play, and it’s 6-2. Lefty Brad Thomas is warming in the Tigers’ bullpen.

Update, 8:35. A decent start by Moseley has turned decidedly mediocre after that two-run homer by Don Kelly here in the fifth, cutting it to 6-4. Chad Gaudin is warming up.

Update, 8:45: Too bad Curtis Granderson didn’t make over his swing earlier. His good work with a more compact stroke continues with homer No. 13. It’s 7-4. Moseley is done. It’s Joba’s ball for the sixth.

Update, 8:54: Nice sliding catch in center by Granderson to save a run and end the sixth. His defense has been outstanding in this series. Brad Thomas is on to pitch for the Tigers.

Update, 9:04: Boone Logan is on to pitch the seventh.

Update, 9:10: First and second, one out. Kerry Wood is coming in to pitch.

Update, 9:34: After Wood fanned two to get out of the bases-loaded jam in the seventh, another of the new acquisitions comes through in the home half. It’s 9-4 thanks to Austin Kearns’ two-run ground-rule double. Chad Gaudin is coming on for the eighth.

Update, 9:40: Gaudin drilled Cabrera in the back, but Cooper didn’t toss him. Jim Leyland is appropriately arguing after the first-inning warnings. But to no avail.

Update, 9:44: Awful job by Gaudin. Johnny Damon followed with a single and Jhonny Peralta walked to load the bases with no outs. So David Robertson will try to clean up the mess.

Update, 9:50: Robertson could exhale for second. That looked like a potential grand slam off Brandon Inge’s bat. But Gardner caught it on the track in left — only a sac fly.

Update, 9:55: Nice work by Robertson to escape allowing just the one run. So it’s 9-5 heading to the last of the eighth.

Update, 10:07: Jim Leyland was ejected between innings for arguing about the Gaudin pitch. Enrique Gonzalez threw behind Derek Jeter’s legs in the bottom half, but he didn’t get ejected. Now Joe Girardi isn’t fooling around despite the four-run lead. Mariano Rivera is coming in to close.

Update, 10:16: 1-2-3. Yankees win, 9-5.

Brian Heyman here for Chad again at Yankee Stadium. Most of the pregame talk was about Andy Pettitte. Suffice it to say, he’s beside himself over this continuing groin strain, even wondering  if he’ll be back this season.

“Of course, that’ll cross your mind, too,” Pettitte said. “But there’s no sense in worrying about that. I was riding in with my kids and I said, ‘Help me stay positive here.’ I’m already worried about what am I going to do, but I can’t worry about it. I want to try to stay positive. And when I’m back throwing, I’ll be mentally ready. I’ll get my work in and figure out a way to hopefully get it done.”

The 38-year-old lefty felt the grab when he tried to throw with full intensity in the bullpen on Tuesday and his subsequent MRI showed a small persistent strain.

“To say, I’m frustrated, that’s an understatement,” Pettitte said. “In Tampa (at the end of July), I talked to you all and I thought I was a week ahead of schedule maybe. … It’s just not allowing me to push when I want to go real, real hard, and I’m getting some irritation in there.

“I know how I was feeling, and I was feeling great. I think maybe I combined my bullpen work with my running and getting back into my weightlifting and maybe I pushed it too hard and got the thing aggravated a little bit.

“I’ve got to back off a little bit and focus on my mound work and that’s it. I’m sure age has a lot to do with it. I’ve got a lot of wear and tear on my body since 10 years ago, 9 years ago, the last time I did this.”

Joe Girardi is thinking Pettitte will have to do two rehab starts. That would probably follow a bullpen session and a simulated game. He will throw on flat ground for now, but is banned from the mound for about a week.

“We said all along five weeks,” Girardi said. “So it’s going to be more than five weeks. You’re looking at, as of right now, being seven weeks, and that’s longer than we anticipated.

“I think if you get into the third week of September and we haven’t gotten him back, you’d be somewhat concerned.”

Dustin Moseley gets his next turn at being Pettitte’s stand-in tonight against the Tigers. He’s 2-2 with a 4.41 ERA.

“You can’t replace an Andy Pettitte,” Brian Cashman said late Tuesday night. “But I’ve got to say, I think Dustin Moseley has done a really nice job to help cushion the blow. We have another guy down there at Triple-A, (Ivan) Nova, who’s waiting for his opportunity to try to show what he can do as well. At some point, if we have to dip down and grab somebody else to help us, so be it. That’s what they’re there for. In the meantime, it’s nice to have guys like Nova and Moseley to turn to allow the bigger guys like Andy Pettitte to get physically back on track.”

Here’s the Tigers’ lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF

2. Ramon Santiago 2B

3. Ryan Raburn RF

4. Miguel Cabrera 1B

5. Johnny Damon DH

6. Jhonny Peralta SS

7. Brandon Inge 3B

8. Alex Avila C

9. Don Kelly LF

Jeremy Bonderman P

Still no Alex Rodriguez in the lineup. Austin Kearns starting in right field.

Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Austin Kearns RF
Ramiro Pena 3B

The MRI machine didn’t bring much good news for the Yankees on Tuesday.

Although Alex Rodriguez said it could have been worse, his test revealed a mild strain of his left calf. He wasn’t able to play last night, and as Brian reported last night, he’s expected to miss at least a few more games.

Although Andy Pettitte seemed to be working toward a rehab start, his MRI showed a strain of his left groin that will keep him out until September.

So the Yankees will have to continue with their back-up plans for a little longer. These are the alternatives.

Third base
Right now it’s Ramiro Pena’s job. He doesn’t hit much, but his glove is outstanding and he’s actually had a knack for producing when given the opportunity. The Yankees have been willing to stick with him all season, and I’m not sure there’s reason to believe they would change course because of an injury that’s only supposed to cost Rodriguez a few days. But there are some options.

Brandon Laird: One of the season’s breakout prospects, Laird jumped to Triple-A at the beginning of August. He was in big league camp this spring, and he needs to be added to the 40-man this winter to be protected him from the Rule 5.
Kevin Russo: Already on the 40-man. Left a good reputation in New York. Hitting .284 this month in Triple-A.
Eduardo Nunez: On the 40-man without good Triple-A numbers all year. He’s primarily a shortstop, but the Yankees have given him starts at third base to increase his versatility.
Jorge Vazquez: Has 13 home runs in 57 Triple-A games. He’s also walked just seven times and hasn’t played third base since July 5.
Greg Dobbs: Or any other major league third baseman who’s been designated for assignment. That includes guys like Craig Counsell, Edwin Encarnacion and Geoff Blum. Brian Cashman said he doesn’t expect to make a move – and in this case I believe him — but there are some options out there.

Rotation
For now it’s Dustin Moseley’s spot, and he’s pitched pretty well despite that bad inning in Kansas City. He’s 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA as a spot starter. Last time he pitched at Yankee Stadium he beat the Red Sox and got a standing ovation. But the Yankees have plenty of alternatives who could get a shot between now and Pettitte’s return.

Ivan Nova: Having  a terrific season as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s ace, Nova is 11-3 with a 2.93 ERA. He went 5-0 in July and has a 2.41 ERA in his past 10 starts. He’s on the exact same schedule as Moseley, and last time out he allowed one hit through seven innings. Pitched well in limited big league duty earlier this season.
Alfredo Aceves: Joe Girardi previously said the Yankees only wanted to get Aceves stretched out to around 40 pitches, but he also said the return of Aceves could be based on need. With a couple more rehab starts, they could get him stretched out as a starter.
Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre: The two long relievers in the Yankees bullpen could be moved into the rotation if necessary. Seems more likely that the Yankees would stick with Moseley, but Gaudin and Mitre have pitched pretty well in their bullpen roles and both were trusted with starts late last season.
David Phelps: With Jason Hirsh on the disabled list, Phelps is probably the second-best Triple-A starter right now, but it’s hard to imagine any minor leaguer getting the call ahead of Nova.