The LoHud Yankees Blog

Alex Rodriguez has been named the American League Player of the Month for September. Robinson Cano won the award back in April. David Price was the Pitcher of the Month. Here’s the A-Rod part of the announcement.

Rodriguez led the A.L. in RBI (26) and slugging percentage (.667), and tied for second with nine home runs. He ranks among the league leaders for the season in home runs (8th, 30) and RBI (2nd, 125). The 35-year-old right-handed slugger reached base safely in 18-of-22 games played last month while leading the Yankees to their 15th postseason berth in the last 16 years.

On September 17th, Alex smashed his second home run of the game, a three-run shot in the ninth inning that carried the Yankees to a 4-3 win at Baltimore. Rodriguez collected his 100th RBI of the season on September 6th in a 4-3 loss to Baltimore. He continued his historic month by blasting his 30th home run of the season on September 29th in an 8-4 loss at Toronto. It is the 13th consecutive season that the 13-time A.L. All-Star has reached the 30-home run and 100-RBI plateaus and 14th season overall, which is the most in Major League history.

The three-time A.L. M.V.P. also passed Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx for the most career 100-RBI seasons all-time. He trails only Hank Aaron (15) for the most 30-home run seasons ever. This is the 10th career monthly award for Rodriguez (previous: June 2007), which is the most of any active player. He is the second Yankees player to earn the honor this season (Robinson Cano, April), marking the first year a pair of Yankees teammates have won the award since 2007.

Rotation
1. CC Sabathia
2. Andy Pettitte
3. Phil Hughes
I was leaning toward Hughes in Games 2 and 5 – Pettitte’s hasn’t looked sharp and Hughes has been better away from Yankee Stadium — but Pettitte pitched well against the Twins in two starts this season, one in Minnesota and one in New York. Jim Thome has bad career numbers against Pettitte, and in theory a left-handed starter is a good option against this lineup. I could easily be convinced that Hughes is a better option in Game 2, but I think I’d certainly go with three starters.

Bullpen
Mariano Rivera
Kerry Wood
Joba Chamberlain
Dave Robertson
Boone Logan
A.J. Burnett
Royce Ring
Chad Gaudin
I think Dustin Moseley deserves a spot, but 90 pitches on Sunday makes me think he wouldn’t be available for the first two games of the Division Series. Instead, I’d carry Burnett as that emergency, multiple-inning guy, then I’d put Moseley on the roster for the ALCS. I think a second lefty, even an unproven one, has value in this series. To me, the last spot comes down to either Gaudin or Mitre.

Starters
Jorge Posada C
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Derek Jeter SS
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Nick Swisher RF
Lance Berkman/Marcus Thames DH
No surprises here. My only comment would be that Brett Gardner should start against lefties and righties. Down the stretch, I think Girardi was trying to get Austin Kearns to snap out of his funk — he’d given the team a huge boost in his first few weeks — but Kearns was out of it the last few weeks. Might have been little more than bad timing for a slump, but Gardner seems to be a more reliable option even against left-handed pitchers this series.

Bench
Francisco Cervelli C
Austin Kearns OF
Eduardo Nunez INF
Greg Golson OF
I don’t think this is the way the Yankees will do it. It’s hard to tell a guy like Ramiro Pena that he’s no longer needed now that the team is in the postseason, but the truth is, I’m not sure Pena has a role at this point. He’s a more reliable option as a fill-in starter, but the Yankees aren’t going to sit any of their regular infielders unless someone gets hurt, at which point Pena could be activated. Nunez is a more dynamic offensive option off the bench, and he could play the field late in a game if necessary. Golson would give the Yankees a second pinch runner and a late-inning defensive upgrade. The team’s top pinch hitting option will be whichever designated hitter does not start. If the Yankees want to carry Pena, I’d go with Nunez ahead of Golson.

Associated Press photos of Sabathia, Robertson, Swisher and Cervelli

In a lot of ways, building the Yankees bullpen begins with building the Yankees rotation. If the team goes with three starters in the Division Series, does the odd man out slide into the rotation or does he slide off the roster completely? Is that answer different if — for some reason — A.J. Burnett is the chosen third starter instead of Phil Hughes? Not that I can imagine that happening, just throwing it out there.

We can confidently assume the Yankees will carry these five relievers: Mariano Rivera, Kerry Wood, Joba Chamberlain, Dave Robertson and Boone Logan.

That leaves room for two or three relievers who can give the Yankees some depth if necessary.

Chad Gaudin
Right-handed
Pros: Made last year’s postseason roster… Mopup man earlier in the season, but essentially filled the Alfredo Aceves role down the stretch… Had a 3.97 ERA with a .239 opponents average since the end of July… Girardi seemed to gain confidence in Guadin as the season progressed… Joe Mauer is 0-for-6 against him.
Cons: Not really a long man anymore. Has not been stretched out beyond 31 pitches since the end of August. Stretched beyond 40 pitches only once since the end of July… Allowed four home runs in his last 3.2 innings… Released in spring training and spent most of the year pitching in games that were already out of control one way or the other.

Sergio Mitre
Right-handed
Pros: Has the most impressive season numbers of the bunch with a 3.33 ERA with a .223 opponents batting average… Those numbers are even better if you eliminate the early season spot starts. He had a 2.45 ERA and a .196 opponents average as a reliever… Generally a groundball pitcher… Could give the Yankees more than one inning… Has not allowed a run since September 13, a span of four outings.
Cons: Pitched 2.2 innings between August 27 and September 24. Girardi said Mitre was healthy at the time, so it seemed Girardi simply didn’t want to use him. Instead, Chad Gaudin seemed to be Girardi’s go-to one-or-two-inning reliever down the stretch…. Has thrown more than 16 pitches only once since September 5… The three Twins who have faced him more than three times have good numbers against him.

Dustin Moseley
Right-handed
Pros: Arguably the team’s fourth-best starter at this point… Could throw 100 pitches if necessary, filling that last-resort role that Gaudin filled last postseason… His last four relief appearances: 8.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K… Had a 3.77 season ERA as a reliever… Generally pitched well in his past two spot starts when a handful of mistakes cost him.
Cons: Those handful of mistakes were two two-run home runs on Sunday, and a three-run seventh inning in Texas… Not a big strikeout pitcher, with 33 Ks and 27 walks for the year… Threw 94 pitches on Sunday, so there’s no guarantee he would even be available in Games 1 or 2.

Ivan Nova
Right-handed
Pros: As a starter, showed a tendency to dominate through his first four or so innings, suggesting he would be a perfect fit in the bullpen… Overall numbers are only so-so, but he was generally impressive in his debut season… First time facing hitters in a game (as a starter), he held opponents to a .196 average with only two extra-base hits in 63 plate appearances.
Cons: Allowed the final three runs, one of them charged to him, in the Yankees regular season finale loss on Saturday (sorry, the weekend runs together)… Has pitched as a reliever only once since mid-May… Despite the fact he was a starter, he’s not any more stretched out than Dustin Moseley or Javier Vazquez… Still just 23 years old. Easily the least experienced of the options.

Royce Ring
Left-handed
Pros: Only option as a second left-handed reliever… Joe Mauer, Denard Span, Jim Thome and Jason Kubel are all left-handed suggesting a lot of opportunities for situational pitching changes… Faced only nine left-handers in his short time with New York, but held lefties to a .202 average in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre… In his career Ring has faced 168 lefties in the big leagues and held them to a .237 average with 41 strikeouts and two home runs.
Cons: Hardly pitched for New York this season. Only five games and 12 batters… Lefties were 3-for-8 against him this season, though one of those hits was a bunt single by David Ortiz yesterday… Limited experience against the Twins top left-handers. He’s faced Jim Thome four times, striking him out twice and walking him twice. Otherwise, he’s never seen any of the Twins lefties. Not much of a track record to go on.

Javier Vazquez
Right-handed
Pros: Most impressive career track record of the bunch… 2.70 ERA and a .170 opponents batting average in five relief appearances this season… For more than two months — May 17 to July 26 — he was 8-3 with a 3.16 ERA and looked like a postseason starter… Stretched out to more than 80 pitches.
Cons: Last appearance was a 10-hit, seven-run start in Toronto… Since July 31 he has a 6.97 ERA with a .303 opponents batting average. He’s allowed 14 home runs in 12 games… Girardi seemed hesitant to use him out of the bullpen down the stretch, either because he was saving Vazquez for a potential start or because Girardi had lost confidence… Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young all have good career numbers against him, especially Cuddyer and Young.

Joe Girardi left little doubt yesterday that he plans to carry Austin Kearns on the playoff roster. Kearns is a career .375 hitter against the members of the Twins pitching staff not named Matt Capps. He’s 0-for-10 against the Twins new closer, but Kearns has been pretty good against the rest of the Twins pitchers. Even if he weren’t, the Yankees don’t exactly a strong offensive alternative. Starting Kearns ahead of Brett Gardner might be a bit much at this point, but as a right-handed bat off the bench, he’s the best non-Thames option the Yankees have.

Beyond Kearns, we can confidently assume these 11 position players will also make the postseason roster: Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Lance Berkman and Marcus Thames.

That leaves room for two — three if the Yankees carry only 10 pitchers — to round out the bench. There seem to be three leading candidates, and a handful of secondary options.

Greg Golson
Outfielder
Pros: Plus speed and arm… Can play all three outfield spots… Defensive upgrade as a late-inning substitution in right field; offensive upgrade as a pinch runner… Two starts in the final two weeks of the season, with at least one hit in each.
Cons: Career .260 hitter in Triple-A, career .200 hitter in the big leagues… Limited major league experience; has only two career big league RBI… Not considered as much of a base-stealing threat as Eduardo Nunez… Yankees already have five outfield options.

Eduardo Nunez
Infielder
Pros: Considered the Yankees top base-stealing threat off the bench… Comfortable at shortstop and could play second ot third… Hit .280 in limited big league action after an all-star season in Triple-A… Better offensive utility infielder than Ramiro Pena.
Cons: Roughly a month and a half of major league experience… Counting the big leagues, played six games at second and 26 at third this season. Before that, had just 20 career appearances away from shortstop… Eight at-bats since September 4… Not as good defensively as Ramiro Pena.

Ramiro Pena
Infielder
Pros: Been with the big league club all season… Arguably the Yankees best defensive infielder at three different positions… Despite poor offensive numbers, has shown a knack for big hits in big situations… Enough speed to help on the bases as a pinch runner… Most versatile bench option with some additional experience in the outfield if needed in a pinch.
Con: Two extra-base hits all season, even in the minors he was only a .255 hitter with no power… Eduardo Nunez could play the same utility role with more offensive upside… Yankees are unlikely to rest any of their infielders during the playoffs.

Colin Curtis
Outfielder
Pros: Does a little bit of everything: Has some power, has some speed, plays quality defense at all three outfield spots… Hit pretty well during his brief window of consistent playing time.
Cons: Doesn’t do one thing especially well. Doesn’t have Greg Golson’s speed or Juan Miranda’s left-handed power… Yankees already have two lefty outfielders.

Juan Miranda
First baseman
Pros: Powerful left-handed bat off the bench… Has three home runs in limited major league duty… Most of the Yankees bench options are right-handed.
Cons: Gives almost no defensive flexibility… Limited to a pinch hitter, and the Yankees aren’t likely to pinch hit very often.

Chad Moeller
Catcher
Pros: The Yankees did carry three catchers last postseason.
Cons: A.J. Burnett was also lined up to start Games 2 and 5 in each playoff series last year. That meant the potential for two games each series caught by the Yankees backup. That shouldn’t be the case this year.

Kevin Russo
Utility
Pros: Could play every position except pitcher and catcher… Consistent minor league hitter; gave the Yankees a surprising boost in left field earlier this season.
Cons: Limited shortstop experience… One major league at-bat since July 11… Clearly behind Eduardo Nunez and Ramiro Pena in the infield pecking order.

Last time the Yankees played the Twins was May 27. The Yankees starter that day was Javier Vazquez. Their left fielder was Kevin Russo, their designated hitter was Juan Miranda and the first two relievers out of their bullpen were Chan Ho Park and Damaso Marte.

In other words, it’s been a while. A quick recap of the team the Yankees will be facing in the Division Series.

Rotation
The Twins have already announced a four-man rotation for the division series: LHP Francisco Liriano, RHP Carl Pavano, LHP Brian Duensing and RHP Nick Blackburn.

Liriano is probably the weakest of the four aces in the American League playoffs, but he has a 3.11 ERA and a .239 opponents batting average at Target Field. He’s faced the Yankees twice this season. He allowed 17 hits in those games, but he gave the Twins a chance to win both times. Pavano — as you might have heard — won 17 games this season. He threw seven complete games. You can’t predict baseball.

Duensing and Blackburn are clearly step behind the Twins’ top two. Blackburn has a 5.42 ERA and a losing record, but he did beat the Yankees twice this season. Duensing has only faced the Yankees as a reliever. Marcus Thames is 3-for-6 against him.

Bullpen
Joe Nathan was supposed to be the Twins closer, but he had Tommy John surgery before the season. Jon Rauch opened the season as the Twins closer, but then the Twins made a trade with the Nationals. Now Matt Capps handles the ninth.

Assuming Rauch is healthy — he’s said he’ll be fine after a knee injury — the Twins have a strong group of setup relievers. Rauch, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain and Brian Fuentes are Minnesota’s version of Kerry Wood, Joba Chamberlain, Dave Robertson and Boone Logan. Like the Yankees, the Twins seem to be deciding between some long relievers and potential second lefties.

Lineup
Justin Morneau will not play in the division series after a concussion that cost him the second half and a shot at the AL MVP. Without Morneau, Delmon Young has been a beast, Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer have been plenty productive and Joe Mauer has been very good even in a down year.

Danny Valencia is a name worth knowing. He was a 19th round back in 2006 and the Yankees have never seen him, but Valencia has become a solid Rookie of the Year candidate while filling the Twins hole at third base. Nothing flashy, just a nice all-around hitter.

Injuries
Rauch and Mauer both have knee injuries. Mauer was able to play a little bit this weekend — one at-bat Saturday, five innings Sunday — but Rauch hasn’t pitched in a week. Duensing felt some tightness in his shoulder during his last start.

Best I can tell, those are the most pressing non-Morneau injury concerns. Denard Span got an MRI last month, but he missed only one game in the final two weeks. Scott Baker almost certainly would have been in the rotation had he stayed healthy, but elbow problems forced him to the bullpen. He might be available as a long reliever.

Associated Press photos of Liriano and Mauer

In the end, this afternoon’s game didn’t matter. The Rays came back to beat the Royals, which meant the Yankees could not have won the division no matter what they today. Given the way the Rays finished, the Yankees would have needed a win today and in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader. Instead, they finished 95-67, the second-best record in the American League.

“In our division, that gets you the wild card,” Joe Girardi said.

I mentioned it earlier, but as I’m going back through my notes from the clubhouse I’m realizing just how much the theme of the day seemed to be moving forward. The Yankees know they didn’t play well down the stretch. They know they coughed up any chance at the division. They’ve also played long enough to know that doesn’t mean a thing on Wednesday.

“It would be stupid to sit here and say you don’t care about how you finish,” Andy Pettitte said. “But does it matter when you’re in the postseason? No.”

Whether those words bring any solace probably depends on whether you believe this team is talented enough for a five-game or seven-game series. It’s obvious things start over in the postseason. On Wednesday, there will be quite literally no win-loss record and the only advantage for the Twins will be one extra game at home. Otherwise, it’s all about which team can get hot, then stay hot for a month.

“It has absolutely no bearing on how you play in the playoffs,” Derek Jeter said. “You have to play well obviously but the regular season means nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

• There was no news from Girardi about the postseason roster or rotation. We might learn something tomorrow, but it seems more likely we’ll learn something at the workout on Tuesday.

• CC Sabathia has not been told whether he’s starting Game 4, but he’s told the Yankees that he’s up for it. “We haven’t talked about it yet but I told Joe and Dave that I am prepared to do it if they need me to do it,” Sabathia said.

• In his final at-bat, Robinson Cano got his 200th hit of the season. “Sometimes it’s not what you are or how many hits you get,” Cano said. “It’s just about doing the job to help the team to win that game. That’s what I did this year and we played as a team together. This organization is all about winning and going to the playoffs. I’m just happy that I helped the team to win the games.”

• By the way, Cano said it did feel good to have today as a DH day after 20 innings in the field last night. He didn’t mind the break.

• Dustin Moseley was upset about three things: The first home run, the second home run and the two-out walk in the fifth inning. “Through four (innings) they told me it was enough,” Moseley said. “I talked them into, if I get a runner on then come and get me but give me a chance here to get through five and they did. They gave me a chance.”

• How much did the late notice affect Moseley? “Maybe the sleep deprivation was more than anything,” he said. “But as far as getting here today and being ready to go, I felt like mentally I was there.”

• Moseley said that when Dave Eiland came to the mound in the fifth inning it was only to tell Moseley that his arm was dragging a little bit, not too unusual deep into the game.

• Nick Swisher is OK after slamming into the wall in right field. He had a hit in all eight starts at Fenway this season. He matched last year’s total with 29 home runs and hit a career-high .288.

• The Yankees have absolutely nothing planned for tomorrow. The team won’t get together again until they catch the flight to Minnesota on Tuesday. “I think tomorrow completely off is really going to help our club,” Girardi said. “We’ve just played three games in 24 hours and that’s physically a grind.”

• As I understand it, the plan was to dress the rookies in their Saturday Night Fever gear on Saturday, but when the game became a doubleheader, the Yankees had to adjust. I’m still waiting for pictures. If/when I get some, I’ll post them.

• Girardi on the Twins: “We haven’t seen him since May and they’re a little bit different of a club, but we’ve seen them enough to know what they’re capable of doing. We’ll go over reports tomorrow. We’ll get a plan and try to formulate a roster, and here we go.”

Associated Press photos of Moseley and Rodriguez

Hello from somewhere on I-90. I’m riding shotgun getting some work done. Good friend Sweeny Murti is driving and controlling the radio, which seems appropriate. I’m wrapping up some postgame notes, but the league has announced the early broadcast schedule, which covers the first three games of the ALDS.

The games will be broadcast on TBS. The group calling the Yankees series: Ernie Johnson play-by-play; Ron Darling and John Smoltz game analysts; Craig Sager reporting.

Game 1
Wednesday, at Twins
8:37 p.m. ET

Game 2
Thursday, at Twins
6:07 p.m. ET

Game 3
Saturday, at Yankees
8:37 p.m. ET

The Yankees clubhouse was fairly subdued for a while. Then the disco music started playing from an iPod speaker in the corner of the room.

Kevin Russo was wearing a massive wig and fake gold chain. Colin Curtis had on white pants so tight they had to be fastened with safety pins. Ivan Nova’s bellbottoms were bright yellow, Greg Golson’s sunglasses were perfect circles and Eduardo Nunez wore a wig of long dark hair that hung in front of his eyes.

The five rookies were forced to dressed up on the final day of the regular season, and as they paraded through the clubhouse, the mood seemed the lighten.

“Of course you’re disappointed,” Derek Jeter said. “You want to win, but that’s over with now. No use being disappointed at this point. It didn’t happen, but if you’re going to win, you’re going to have to be able to play well on the road, so the disappointment shouldn’t last long.”

That seemed to be the theme through the Yankees locker room. Obviously the Yankees didn’t do something they wanted to do, and obviously they’ve played poorly down the stretch, but this is a team of veterans that seems to completely buy into the idea of a blank slate on Wednesday.

“I think there will be no carry-over,” Alex Rodriguez said. “If we were 10-0 (down the stretch), it’s not like Wednesday at 7 o’clock we’re going to start with a 3-0 lead. We feel good about our starting pitching. We feel good about our lineup. I think we’re healthy for the most part, and we’ll take our chances.”

Associated Press photo of Girardi

The Yankees will be the American League wild card. An 8-4 loss in Boston eliminated any need for scoreboard watching and solidified the postseason schedule. The Yankees will open the playoffs in Minnesota on Wednesday. Dustin Moseley made two mistakes and both were two-run home runs. The bullpen allowed four more runs and the Yankees never got back in the game. The closest they got was stranding the bases loaded in the eighth. Robinson Cano got his 200th hit and Alex Rodriguez got his 125th RBI, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Associated Press photo of Nick Swisher

YANKEES (95-66)
Brett Gardner CF
Derek Jeter SS
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano DH
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames LF
Ramiro Pena 2B

RHP Dustin Moseley (4-3, 4.77)
Moseley vs. Red Sox

RED SOX (88-73)
Eric Patterson 2B
Jed Lowrie SS
J.D. Drew RF
David Ortiz DH
Bill Hall 3B
Ryan Kalish CF
Jason Varitek C
Daniel Nava LF
Lars Anderson 1B

RHP John Lackey (13-11, 4.47)
Lackey vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:35 p.m. / YES Network

UMPIRES: HP Brian Runge, 1B Jerry Layne, 2B Mike Winters, 3B Hunter Wendelstedt

WEATHER: Temperatures in the 50s. Slight chance of rain. Not nearly as nice as yesterday. Hopefully not nearly as long either.

ONE AWAY: Robinson Cano has 199 hits this season. He’s one away from becoming the first Yankees second baseman with back-to-back 200-hit seasons. He would be the first second baseman in the majors to pull it off since Carlos Baerga in 1992-93.

ON THE RUN: Brett Gardner has 47 stolen bases this season. He’s tied for the fourth-most in the Majors, and it’s the ninth-highest total ever by a Yankee. Since 1945, the only Yankee who has stolen more in a season is Rickey Henderson who stole 93 in 1988, 87 in 1986 and 80 in 1995.

IT’S THE RUNS THAT MATTER: Seven Yankees have scored at least 70 runs this season (Cano, Gardner, Granderson, Jeter, Rodriguez, Swisher and Teixeira). Only the 1939 Yankees had more 70-run players in franchise history. The Yankees have five players with at least 90 runs, the most in the Majors this season.

THE OTHER GAME: The Rays and Royals begin playing at 2:10 ET.

UPDATE, 1:54 p.m.: Two-run home run by J.D. Drew. It’s 2-0 in the bottom of the first.

UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: Swisher has matched last year’s home run total with his 29th of the season. He has 39 more hits than last year, but 40 fewer walks. Of course, hits and walks only matter if they lead to runs, and Swisher has more runs and RBI than last year. It’s 2-1 Red Sox in the second.

UPDATE, 2:24 p.m.: The Yankees took advantage of an error, got an RBI single from Rodriguez and the game is tied in the top of the third. The Rays and Royals are scoreless after one inning.

UPDATE, 2:57 p.m.: Dustin Moseley is back out for the fifth inning with the game still tied at 2. He’s thrown 73 pitches so this is likely to be his last inning one way or another. He’s allowed two singles to the past 12 batters he’s faced, and he hasn’t walked anyone since the second hitter of the game. This could be a pretty pivotal inning for this game. The Yankees have enough reliable one-inning relievers to handle four innings. If Moseley can give the Yankees five in this situation, that’s about all they can ask.

UPDATE, 3:08 p.m.: Moseley looked like he wanted to slam his glove to the ground on that one. Jed Lowrie’s two-run home run came on Moseley’s second big mistake of the game and it’s given the Red Sox a 4-2 lead in the fifth.

UPDATE, 3:20 p.m.: Bunt single for David Ortiz. He got a curtain call and the Yankees basically lost a chance to test Royce Ring one last time. Here’s Robertson. Meanwhile, the Royals have a 2-0 lead in the fourth.

UPDATE, 3:38 p.m.: An inning that started with a bunt single by David Ortiz also includes a steal of home on the back end of a double steal. There are times when games just don’t feel like they’re going to go the Yankees way. This is one of them. It’s 7-2 Red Sox after six.

UPDATE, 3:55 p.m.: Lowrie sneaks a second home run to right field and it’s 8-2 Red Sox. The Royals are holding off the Rays so far, but the Yankees aren’t doing their part.

UPDATE, 4:15 p.m.:There’s Cano’s 200th hit and 109th RBI. It’s 8-3 in the eighth.