The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Yankees haven’t posted a lineup. It’s usually up by now, but I have to think the Yankees are waiting to check on Alex Rodriguez. Batting practice groups aren’t posted either, so I’m not even sure A-Rod is taking BP.

Just rolled into Yankee Stadium, where a few Red Sox — including Dustin Pedroia — are taking early batting practice. There’s a Yankee running along the warning track and I’m pretty sure it’s Andy Pettitte, but he’s pretty far away.

On my way here, the Yankees managed to pick up a half game in the standings because the Rays were nearly no-hit — again! — in a loss to the Blue Jays. Brandon Morrow made a 1-0 lead hold up while striking out 17. He was pitching to former Yankees catcher Jose Molina, and his strikeout total was the second-highest in Blue Jays history behind Roger Clemens’ 18-strikeout game in 1998.

Joe Girardi wouldn’t say yesterday whether he planned to have Jorge Posada in the lineup tonight, but the smart money seems to be on Posada sitting the bench. The Yankees have established a clear starter-catcher rotation, it doesn’t often include Posada catching A.J. Burnett.

For the most part, Girardi has assigned Posada the task of catching CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and Dustin Moseley/Andy Pettitte. Francisco Cervelli catches the other two. Vazquez hasn’t pitched to Posada since May 1. Burnett has pitched to him once since June 21.

“Will it change from time to time? Possibly,” Girardi said. “But Cervi has caught Javy and A.J. most of the time nd I’ve stuck to that rotation because it’s been successful.”

It’s all in the name of keeping Posada healthy, especially after the knee problems that forced him to miss time in Cleveland. That’s part of the reason Posada didn’t DH on Friday.

“I can catch today and tomorrow and wake up and it’s fine,” Posada said. “I can catch the same game and something I did, I don’t know what, something kind of makes it flare up. I don’t know the reason. I catch the same way, it’s just one play or one block or one thing that happens to make it (hurt). I just have to see how it is the next day.”

The source of the problem is a cyst, which Posada said could be drained, though he’s never considered doing it. He said he might have it drained this offseason, but there’s no guarantee that it won’t come back.

“Obviously I’ve got to deal with it,” he said. “I’ve got to get it ready to play. It’s good. It’s better than it was in Cleveland for sure.”

Associated Press photo

Lance Berkman was booed off the field twice on Saturday. Once when he bounced out to strand runners at the corners, and again when he grounded out to begin the eighth inning.

“As long as it’s not my wife or kids, I’m fine with it,” he said. “This is a big boy’s game and place to play, and if you can’t handle that, go home.”

Berkman has not hit in his eight days with the Yankees. It’s a remarkably small sample size — just 22 at-bats — but in that stretch, Berkman has just two hits. He’s also drawn two walks and struck out four times.

“Trust me, I’m booing myself,” he said. “I have no credibility here… I didn’t come up here to catch a break. I came up here to play well and win.”

His laid back, Texas demeanor could be taken as soft, but the guy’s been in the big leagues since 1999. Like he said, this is surely not his first 2-for-22 stretch, and he’s not surprised or upset that the fans are a little down on him.

“He’s an experienced player that’s had a lot of success that’s probably been in a slump before in his career,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s pretty even keeled.”

Mostly because I didn’t use it last night, here’s the Girardi postgame audio that goes into Berkman, CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez.

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Associated Press photo

Ramiro Pena has not started in the outfield since late last season when he got a few Triple-A starts in center field to increase his versatility. But he has gone into the outfield as an emergency player twice this season, and he still takes fly balls every once in a while to stay sharp. He was in right field doing exactly that this afternoon when Alex Rodriguez was hit by a ground ball during batting practice.

“I saw that and I said, ‘Let’s go back to the infield,’” Pena said.

Starting in Rodriguez’s place, Pena had two RBI. He has a hit in five of his past eight starts. He’s not here for his offense — “I have to be ready for defense, and when I get a chance, I have to hit also,” he said — but he does have 13 RBI while starting just 24 times.

“He’s done a tremendous job in those situations,” Joe Girardi said. “In the second inning, all he needed was a ground ball up the middle. He didn’t try to do too much. He got that. He’s been really good in those situations. And this is not a young man that’s getting to play on a regular basis. For what he’s doing, it’s pretty amazing.”

Of course, of greater concern was the status of Rodriguez, who said he’s not sure whether he’ll be able to play tomorrow. He had just waved to Joe Buck and never saw the ball off Lance Berkman’s bat. I’m sure he’ll be ripped for taking his eyes off the field, but batting practice is such a routine, I don’t think it’s especially unusual for a player to look away for a second. There are balls flying all over the place out there. It’s not unheard of for someone to get hit.

“I had just fielded a ground ball and I was even with the bag,” Rodriguez said. “So I was up close kind of (doing) infield-in work, which made it worse. I never saw it. I just remember getting hit, and I started jumping around like a rabbit. I looked like a scene from Platoon. Jeter and Teixeira were making fun of me back there, like I went down for the count. I’m glad they all got a great laugh out of it.”

Here’s Rodriguez. It’s brief.

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• CC Sabathia said that after the three straight extra-base hits in the second inning, he did a better job of working inside. His fastball command was much better than it had been since the all-star break, and that made his offspeed stuff more effective. “Not really getting an all-star break, throwing a bullpen and pitching the first game back, I think being able to get the extra day definitely helped,” Sabathia said.

• Joe Girardi had a different theory on what made the difference: “Maybe it was the extra day’s rest that helped him,” Girardi said. “He had a new baby, maybe that helped him, I don’t know. CC, he’s going to struggle from time to time, but they’re usually pretty short.”

• This was Sabathia’s 150th win.

• Robinson Cano went 2-for-3, his team-leading 42nd multi-hit game. He’s hitting .400 against Boston this season and has reached base in seven of his past nine plate appearances. The guy is good.

•  Curtis Granderson had one hit in his previous 17 at-bats before tripling off the wall in the second inning. He finished 2-for-4.

• The Yankees are now have 24 triples, three more than their total from last year.

• Jorge Posada stole a base for the first time since April 29, 2009 in Detroit. Before that, he hadn’t stolen a base since July 15, 2007.

• The Yankees lead the big leagues with 35 come-from-behind wins, including eight of their past 12.

• When Pena stole second base in the sixth inning, Marco Scutaro landed on top of him and kind of hurt Pena’s neck. It was sore initially, “but it’s OK,” Pena said.

Associated Press photos of the outfield celebration and Cano’s fifth-inning RBI single

We’ll go to a new post quickly just to update on Alex Rodriguez.

“He’s basically day-to-day,” Joe Girardi said. “Do I expect him to play tomorrow? I have no idea.”

Pretty good day for the Yankees lineup, but this win belonged to CC Sabathia. After allowing two runs in the second innings, Sabathia retired 20 of the next 24 batters he faced for a 5-2 win. The only exceptions were a pair of singles, a walk and a rare fielding error by Ramiro Pena. Sabathia pitched through the eighth for the first time since July 1 and end his own modest two-game losing streak. Filling in for Alex Rodriguez, Pena had two RBI, and after getting one hit in his previous six games, Curtis Granderson was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI triple.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (67-41)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Lance Berkman DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF
Ramiro Pena 3B

LHP CC Sabathia (13-5, 3.19)
Sabathia vs. Red Sox

RED SOX (63-47)
Marco Scutaro SS
Jed Lowrie 2B
David Ortiz DH
Victor Martinez C
Adrian Beltre 3B
Mike Lowell 1B
J.D. Drew RF
Bill Hall LF
Darnell McDonald CF

RHP John Lackey (10-6, 4.48)
Lackey vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 4:10 p.m. / FOX

UMPIRES: HP Jerry Layne, 1B Mike Winters, 2B Hunter Wendelstedt, 3B Bruce Dreckman

WEATHER: Temperatures in the 80s with a very light breeze blowing out.

EIGHT-INNING GAME: The Yankees are 58-0 when leading at the end of the eighth inning. That’s the best such record in the big leagues. The only other teams who are undefeated when leading at the end of the eighth are Kansas City (36-0) and Oakland (46-0).

HITTING FOR POWER: Mark Teixeira has homered in four of his past six games. Since June 26, 25 of his 42 hits have gone for extra bases (13 doubles and 12 home runs). For the year, 50 of his 107 hits have been extra-base hits.

HOME SWEET HOME: CC Sabathia is undefeated in his past 17 starts at Yankee Stadium dating back to the 2009 all-star break. In those starts he’s 12-0 with a 2.25 ERA. The Yankees have lost two of those 17 starts, but Sabathia didn’t get the decision either time.

UPDATE, 4:23 p.m.: X-rays negative on Rodriguez.

UPDATE, 4:34 p.m.: Down in the count 3-1, Sabathia served up a solo home run to Victor Martinez to start the second inning. It’s a 1-0 Red Sox lead. Sabathia had not allowed a home run since June 3, a stretch of 80.2 innings.

UPDATE, 4:43 p.m.: After the home run and back-to-back doubles, Sabathia got the bottom of the lineup in order to strand a runner and leave the second inning with the Red Sox in front 2-0.

UPDATE, 4:50 p.m.: Look at that. Curtis Granderson hitting the ball hard to center field. His triple off the wall has scored Lance Berkman from first and pulled the Yankees within 2-1, still with no outs in the second inning.

UPDATE, 4:52 p.m.: RBI ground out by Ramiro Pena. Tied at 2.

UPDATE, 5:18 p.m.: Would have been an easier play if he were right-handed, but Brett Gardner made it work for a nice running catch in the left-center gap. That’s the third out of the fourth inning, still a tied game.

UPDATE, 5:45 p.m.: Three straight two-out singles have given the Yankees a 3-2 lead, with Robinson Cano driving in Nick Swisher for the go-ahead run. Runners are still at the corners for Jorge Posada.

UPDATE, 5:46 p.m.: Make that four straight singles. Posada gets one through the right side, still runners at the corners for Lance Berkman. Now a 4-2 lead.

UPDATE, 5:50 p.m.: If being booed at home is part of the Yankees experience, then it took Berkman exactly a week to become a full-fledged Yankee.

UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.: Ramiro Pena’s second RBI of the game has pushed the Yankees lead to 5-2.

UPDATE, 6:42 p.m.: Sabathia is through eight innings for the first time since July 1.

Nothing new to report on Alex Rodriguez. Media relations director Jason Zillo said his left shin is iced, elevated and swollen. As soon as an x-ray technician gets to the stadium, Rodriguez will be checked out.

Derek Jeter said he remembered the ball bouncing before it hit Rodriguez’s leg. Lance Berkman, who hit the ball, said he wasn’t sure whether it bounced, but he knew immediately that it was going to hit Rodriguez.

“I just remember hitting it and cringing,” Berkman said. “It was heading right for him. I hit it hard, so I hope he’s not out very long. I just told him as he was coming off the field, sorry about that. I clearly didn’t mean to. It wasn’t like I was trying to hit him in the teeth and missed low.”

Berkman said he’s been hit in the leg and once in the eye during batting practice. He remembered playing for Houston when Andy Pettitte was hit in the knee just a few days before a start in the NLCS. Berkman is also well aware that this sort of accident isn’t likely to make him a fan favorite.

“Berkman’s contributions to the Yankees so far have been not the greatest,” he said, imagining fans’ reactions. “And clearly this is not good.”

The plan for Andy Pettitte is in place.

Monday: He will throw a bullpen in New York. Similar to the one he threw yesterday. Assuming that goes well…

Thursday or Friday: Face hitters in a simulated game in Tampa. Depending on his stamina and how he feels afterward…

Next Monday or Tuesday: Rehab start. “Would we do it Monday in Tampa or wait until Tuesday to possibly do it in Trenton?” Joe Girardi said. “A lot of that, more important, is how he feels coming out of that Thursday.” The Yankees don’t want to send Pettitte to Ohio, so Triple-A is probably out for a rehab start.

Pettitte is hopeful that he’ll feel great when he faces hitters in Tampa and will need only one rehab start. He was able to run today with no problem. At this point it’s mostly about building strength and stamina.

• The Yankees don’t have a date planned for Pettitte to rejoin the rotation. They aren’t sure yet whether he’ll need one or two rehab starts. They are not going to line him up with Dustin Moseley. “When Andy is ready, Andy will pitch,” Girardi said. “If we have to give guys an extra day’s rest, that’s fine.”

• For the first time, Girardi acknowledged what has become fairly clear: He plans to stick with Francisco Cervelli catching A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez, while Jorge Posada catches the other three starters. “We’ve had a rotation here with our rotation and playing Jorge,” Girardi said. “It’s been successful and it’s pretty much what I’m going to stick to.”

• Last time Posada caught Vazquez was May 1. Posada caught Burnett on Monday, but otherwise had not caught him since June 21.

• Girardi on Cervelli’s offensive struggles: “In the beginning, he was extremely hot and we didn’t expect him to stay that hot. Offensively he’s holding his own. He’s doing OK.”

• On Granderson’s struggles: “I’m not alarmed that his at-bats aren’t great, I’m not seeing that. He seems to be a somewhat streaky and right now he’s not in one of those streaks when he’s getting a lot of hits. We need to get him on one of those streaks again.”

• When he hit Rodriguez, Berkman was taking BP right-handed. He said he takes swings from both sides before every game, regardless of whether the team is facing a lefty or righty.

Associated Press photo of Pettitte with Posada

Ramiro Pena is now listed as the Yankees third baseman, batting ninth. Robinson Cano has moved into the clean-up spot, with everyong below him moving up one spot in the lineup.

The Yankees are calling it a lower left leg contusion. Dr. Ahmad is on the way and an x-ray is scheduled.