The LoHud Yankees Blog

Every now and then the Associated Press has one of these vaguely funny pictures from batting practice. Just a player — in this case Lance Berkman — making an out of the ordinary gesture. Not really funny, but kind of funny, only because it’s different.

Why post this particular picture? Because the Associated Press caption takes it from kind of funny to very funny.

New York Yankees’ Lance Berkman imitates teammate Nick Swisher following a team workout at Yankee Stadium.

When the Yankees setup a simulated game, they try to make everything as real as possible. It doesn’t more real than this: A.J. Burnett plunked two batters today. He got Greg Golson early, then he hit Austin Kearns late.

“It’s different when it’s our guys,” Burnett said. “They know I didn’t mean to do it. It’s not a good feeling, but at the same time, you see how it works every for our guys. From then on out no body wanted to step in.”

Both hit batters came on two-seam fastballs that got away, and Burnett laughed about them afterward. So did Kearns, who was grazed in the upper arm. Those two pitches aside, Burnett was happy with his outing. His past few bullpen sessions had been no more than 20 pitches, and the biggest test seemed to be working with a long pitch count deep into a (simulated) game.

“Better than I thought,” Burnett said. “I ended up throwing 80-plus pitches and felt good the whole way through it. That was a big step forward I think… Curveball was great I thought today, and I threw some great changeups too. The only two that got away were the only two that hit our guys.”

Burnett said he felt strong throughout. He’s never lacked confidence he said, but to have so much time off and still feel sharp this afternoon was a sense of relief.

“(His stuff) is always good,” Kearns said. “I think it’s just a matter of feel as far as control or command, whatever you want to say. But his stuff is good.”

Joe Girardi changed his plan for today.

Instead of meeting before today’s workout to discuss roster and rotation decisions, Girardi said his staff will meet this afternoon. That means no announcement just yet about Games 2 and 3.

UPDATE, 1:49 p.m.: That also means no announcement about the roster, but it sounds like the Yankees will carry the same group of 25. “I don’t anticipate there being a lot of roster moves, or even any,” Girardi said. “It’s something we’ll talk about and discuss as an organization after practice today. As I said, I don’t want to put myself in a box, but I don’t anticipate much.”

Meanwhile, the sim game has ended the Yankees are about to start today’s regular workout. Immediately after the sim game, Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli went through a series of throwing drills — home to second, home to third — but right now the only Yankees on the field are Kevin Long and Butch Wynegar getting ready for batting practice.

One last calm day in the Bronx before the Yankees fly to Texas. Right now everything is pretty quiet. The field is setup for today’s simulated game, and just after I snapped a picture, A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez walked into center field to begin warming up.

In what might be a telling assignment, Francisco Cervelli has his gear on and is playing catch with Burnett. Looks like Cervelli is going to catch the sim game.

UPDATE, 12:14 p.m.: The simulated baseball has begun with a surprise addition to the Yankees lineup. Curtis Granderson got two “first inning” at-bats against Burnett. He chopped one a ball back to the mound, then struck out swinging. The highlight so far: Austin Kearns losing the grip on his bat and sending it flying into the stands behind the third-base dugout

Cervelli is, in fact, catching Burnett.

UPDATE, 12:19 p.m.: Brett Gardner has come onto the field, but he’s strictly going through some base-running drills at third base with Rob Thomson. He getting his lead, taking his secondary lead, then deciding whether to go or stay on every pitch. There’s a screen in front of Gardner, so at most he can only take a few steps toward the plate, but he seems to be working on his reads. It’s the kind of drill a high school team would find incredibly boring, but here’s Gardner — a good runner — working on it two days before the ALCS. Pretty cool.

UPDATE, 12:25 p.m.: We have a new highlight of the day, and this one will be tough to beat. There has been absolutely nothing on the video board, but out of no where, the scoreboard staff just showed the clip of first-base coach Mick Kelleher getting hit in the … umm … middle of his body … by a bad throw during the ALDS. The sim game had to be stopped for just a moment so everyone could finish laughing, including Kelleher.

Just looking at a few numbers between the Yankees and Rangers.

The Good
A.J. Burnett vs. Heart of the Order
There is only one Rangers regular with better than a .250 batting average against Burnett is David Murphy. As a team, the Rangers have a .207/.291/.351 slash line against Burnett. Ian Kinsler, the star of the division series, is 4-for-20 with a home run and four strikeouts against Burnett.

Derek Jeter vs. the Rotation
Combined, Jeter is a career .431 hitter against the Rangers four-man rotation. He’s faced Tommy Hunter and Colby Lewis a total of nine times, but he’s 5-for-14 with three walks and a home run against C.J. Wilson. The numbers are even better against Cliff Lee: Jeter has a .417/.488/.583 slash line against the Rangers ace.

Dave Robertson vs. Josh Hamilton
The Rangers top left-handed hitter might be the MVP of the league. The Yankees have one left-handed reliever to throw at him — Hamilton is 0-for-3 against Boone Logan — but Robertson has been a pretty good matchup in a handful of at-bats. Robertson has held Hamilton 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

The Bad
Michael Young vs. the Yankees Best
The Rangers have just one career home run against the Yankees closer — Bengie Molina hit it — but they’ve been pretty successful getting hits against him. As a team, the Rangers have a career .319 batting average against Rivera, and Young has hit him pretty well with a solid sample size. He’s 7-for-22, a .318 average. Against the Yankees ace, CC Sabathia, Young is a .316 hitter with four doubles. 

Neftali Feliz vs. the Circular Lineup
Feliz is a rookie, so sample size is certainly going to an issue with his numbers. But so far, he’s been very good against the Yankees. They have a total of 24 plate apperances against him. Lance Berkman is the only one to draw a walk, no one has more than one hit and Feliz has never allowed more than a single. The Yankees have 10 strikeouts and five hits against him.

Vladimir Guerrero vs. Kerry Wood
No home runs, but Guerroro is 8-for-15 in his career against the Yankees primary setup man. He also has three walks and a triple, good for a .533/.611/.667 slash line. The only other Ranger with more than three career at-bats against Wood is Jeff Francoeur who’s 2-for-4 with a strikeout.

Cliff Lee was absolutely dominant tonight: Nine innings, 11 strikeouts and the knockout win in St. Pete.

The Rangers have advanced and the Yankees next stop is Texas, where the ALCS will open with CC Sabathia against C.J. Wilson.

“Guys just want to know where we’re going,” Curtis Granderson said today.

Now they know. Next stop, Dallas.

As the Rays and Rangers get ready to finally decide their division series, the Yankees are scattered. There is no team watch party. Some players might not find out who won until tomorrow.

“We’ll all go our own ways and do our own things,” Joe Girardi said. “I’m sure people will be glued in front of the TV, some guys. I’m sure our staff will watch it, but I’m sure there will be players who won’t watch it. They don’t really have an affect on the game, they know both clubs, and we’ll have plenty of time to get ready.”

Dave Eiland said he’ll watch, but only because he likes to watch baseball. He won’t be scouting. As for the players themselves, the Yankees starting outfield seemed to be a pretty good representation of the clubhouse as a whole.

Brett Gardner: “I can’t say I’ll watch every pitch, but I’ll watch the game.”

Curtis Granderson: “I’m going to the movies. If it’s on first, I’ll watch it. If it’s on after, I’ll catch it then.”

Nick Swisher: “If I click on, I’ll watch it. I’ve got stuff to do, man.”

Associated Press photo of Derek Jeter

The Rays and Rangers are going to play an actual baseball game tonight. Nine innings — more if Brian Cashman gets his way — with real umpires, real game decisions and real consequences.

The Yankees went through a few simulated innings this afternoon, and will do the same tomorrow.

This is the trade off. The Yankees get to rest. They get to lineup their rotation, make sure their regulars are healthy and do nothing but prepare for five days. The Rays and Rangers get to stay sharp. They get to see a few more live pitches, throw a few more live pitches and keep the must-win feeling alive and well.

“It’s a little bit of a concern, but I would rather be able to setup your rotation,” Joe Girardi said.

Dustin Moseley felt like he was throwing at 100 percent effort, “but you’re probably not,” he said. “The lights aren’t on and people aren’t in the stands. I went out there and went after it.”

That’s all the Yankees could do this afternoon. It’s all they can do Wednesday and Thursday. The time off has its good and its bad. There’s no way to change it, and the Yankees certainly wouldn’t trade places. It’s much better to be playing a simulated game today than playing a do-or-die game tonight.

“You get the guys mentally prepared,” Girardi said. “You don’t beat them up in these practices. You go through the situation (as if) you would have a two-game layoff. To me you treat it a little bit the same except you have the simulated games. That’s the biggest thing that we’re doing. Some people would say, do you think all of your hitters should be involved in a simulated game? You’d feel really terrible if you lost one of your starters because he got hit in the hand. That’s what you have to weigh. Our guys have had to deal with this before. They’re experienced. They’ll find ways to deal with it.”

• Dave Eiland said the Yankees have an idea of who will start Game 2 and who will start Game 3, but they’re not ready to announce it officially. The fact the Game 3 starter would also line up for Game 7, he said, does not factor into the decision. “We feel like whoever pitching 2 and whoever pitches 3 can pitch Game 7,” Eiland said. “Our first three guys — CC, Andy and Phil — we would have no problem running any of those three out there in Games 1 through 7, so that does not factor into it.”

• On Francisco Cervelli’s role in the ALCS: “To say a certain guy is going to catch A.J., we can’t say that,” Eiland said. “That decision has not been made yet.”

• It sounds like a three-man rotation was never a serious consideration for the ALCS because it would require too many games started on three-days rest. “Hughesy has never done it,” Girardi said. “Andy is coming off an injury. There’s some concern there. Then if you go Game 7, you’re asking CC to do it twice in one series, and that is a concern for us.”

• Any chance it’s not a four-man rotation? “I don’t see one,” Girardi said. “But I don’t want to lock ourselves into a box. Our preliminary discussions have been a four-man rotation.”

• Any consideration to anyone other than A.J. Burnett as the fourth starter? “I think we all felt that A.J. was the guy for the job,” Girardi said.

• Of all the guys who pitched today, most of the questions — surprise! — centered on Joba Chamberlain, who didn’t pitch at all in the ALDS. “That was the purpose of today to get the guys back out there and sharp,” Girardi said. “Obviously we know that he’s well rested and physically strong. My hope is that by pitching today and facing hitters and using all his pitches that he will be sharp when called upon.”

• As he always does, Ramiro Pena started laughing when I asked him about Kerry Wood breaking his bat during a sim game. “He got me,” Pena said. “He got me with a cutter.”

• Moseley and Cervelli had a fairly intense at-bat in Moseley’s second inning. It ended with a flare to right field. Cervelli claimed it was a hit. Moseley said it was a routine out. “I struck him out the pitch before and they didn’t call it on him,” Moseley said. “I told him I had the boys playing in.”

• A lot of times in spring training, coaches will tell pitchers to imagine certain scenarios (runner at first with one out, runner at third with two outs, etc.) but Moseley said there were no scenarios today. It was all about staying sharp. Just face a hitter, and try to get him out. The hitters were just trying to make good contact and stay sharp. “The competitiveness always comes out,” Moseley said.

• Preference in tonight’s game? “I think they’re pretty similar clubs actually,” Girardi said. “Their starting pitching has been good. Their bullpens have been good. They have speed. They have power. We’ve seen Tampa a lot more than we’ve seen Texas this year. To get to where they are, they’re both very good clubs. Whoever we face it’s going to be a big challenge.”

Associated Press photos

Tomorrow will be a lot like today. Almost the exact same, actually.

The Yankees are going to have another simulated game followed by another workout tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. This time A.J. Burnett will do the bulk of the pitching. Burnett is scheduled for a five-inning simulated game. Javier Vazquez and Chad Gaudin will also pitch.

“I’ve just thrown light sides in case I’m needed, 15 or 20 pitch bullpens,” Burnett said. “Tomorrow will be the work day, more of a hefty load. Maybe four or five innings. I’ll work on things then.”

Burnett said all the things you probably expected him to say. He understood the decision not to use him in the first round, he’s confident in his ability to pitch well in the second round and he’s thankful for the opportunity after the worst regular season of his career.

“I’ve been looking forward to it, hoping they’d give me a shot and they did,” Burnett said. “Now it’s my job to get ready… I’m over the season. Obviously it’s important to get right for the postseason, but it’s from here on out (that matters).”

The Yankees have not announced a rotation for the ALCS, but it sounds like they don’t want CC Sabathia pitching on three days rest twice. That means Burnett will pitch Game 4 at Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes — in some order — will pitch Games 2 and 3. Pitching coach Dave Eiland said the Yankees have a Game 2 starter in mind, but they aren’t going to make it official until they have their staff meetings tomorrow.

Hughes said he hasn’t been told when he’s pitching.

Associated Press photo of Pettitte, Burnett and Sabathia

The simulated game is over. The Yankees won.

Dustin Moseley and Sergio Mitre threw, essentially, two innings apiece. Then the regular relievers pitched an inning each. In order: Kerry Wood, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan and Dave Robertson. The writers joked that it was time to ask Joe Girardi why he went with Wood in the fifth inning and moved Robertson to the eighth.

As for results, I can’t begin to explain how little they mattered. Francisco Cervelli looped a ball into right field off Moseley, and the two had a fake argument about whether it was a base hit. Best I could tell, each “inning” consisted of four batters, no matter the result of each at-bat. Bullpen catcher Roman Rodriguez caught the first four innings, then Cervelli caught the last four.

Two things that stood out: Wood was outstanding and Chamberlain was throwing gas.

Wood broke Ramiro Pena’s bat, got Golson swinging at a terrific changeup and threw what looked like back-to-back perfect cutters to Austin Kearns. Before those two pitches, Dave Eiland and Wood had a short conversation behind the mound. It seemed to be something about mechanics, and when Wood stepped back onto the rubber he said something to Kearns — I’m pretty sure he was telling him what pitches were coming — then fired those back-to-back pitches down in the zone. Granted, Cervelli is easily excited, but he was legitimately pumped about those pitches. He was giving very real fist pumps in the middle of a  very simulated game.

As for Chamberlain, I didn’t seen anyone in the building with a radar gun, but Chamberlain pitched immediately after Wood, and the ball popped much louder in Cervelli’s mitt. It was a different sound when Chamberlain was on the mound.

Now the rest of the team is on the field for the day’s regular workout. Pretty routine stuff: Normal batting practice groups, Pena getting some grounders all over the infield, outfielders making their throws from their individual spots. The only thing that stands out is that there are a ton of photographers and TV camera crews documenting every second.