The LoHud Yankees Blog

Everyone seems to agree on the meeting itself. It was short and light on details. Jorge Posada went into Joe Girardi’s office about an hour before first pitch and said he couldn’t play. Posada did not tell Girardi his back was hurt, he simply said he could not play.

“This conversation didn’t take place three or four hours before the game,” Girardi said. “That’s part of the issue. I have to go make changes. I have to tell people that they’re in the lineup. It’s final preparation for a game. We have to get lineup cards out. It was a late conversation.”

That much is clear. Everything else is kind of a mess.

Posada said his back was stiff and he saw a chiropractor. Girardi said he only heard about the back through a television report, and Posada did not mention it to him “at any point.” Brian Cashman said there was no injury and the Yankees team doctors are still not aware of a back problem.

Posada said before the game that he understood the decision to drop him in the lineup — and Girardi talked to him about it one-on-one before the lineup was posted — but after the game, Posada said he needed to clear his head. He said he felt “a little bit” disrespected, without going into detail about exactly why. He said he was upset with Cashman for talking about the injury during the game, but Cashman said Posada and his agents were well aware that he was going to address it.

Posada said the injury was bad enough that he wouldn’t have played today even if he were hitting over .300, but he also called the injury an excuse. “As soon as I wasn’t able to play I took that and used it as an excuse of coming out of the game,” he said.

It’s impossible to be in Posada’s head, but in the end, this entire episode — the injury, the decision to sit, the anger at Cashman — seems to have more to do with frustration than anything else.

“Players go through difficult times in this game,” Girardi said. “We all do. Sometimes we need days to clear our head and just to take a deep breath. I’ve been there. I’ve been through struggles. And this season has been a struggle for Jorge. It has been. He has tried to fight through it and today he just felt like he needed a day.”

Here’s Girardi’s postgame.

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• Girardi made it clear after the game that Posada never said he felt “insulted” to be hitting ninth.

• Posada laughed off a question about whether he was considering retirement.

• Girardi did not commit to anything regarding Posada being in or out of the lineup tomorrow.

• Girardi answered one question about the game during his postgame press conference. Everything else was about Posada. “I thought CC pitched a good game,” Girardi said. “I didn’t like the call to Jason Varitek. I thought Mike’s zone, he called some low strikes on us, and I thought that was a pivotal point of the game and it changed the complexion of the game.”

• Sabathia entered this game 3-0 with a 0.91 ERA against Boston at Yankee Stadium. He lost for the sixth time in 40 career starts in the Bronx, including the postseason.

• Sabathia had not allowed an extra-base hit to a lefty this season before tonight’s game.

• Curtis Granderson has more than one hit in five of his last eight games.

• The Yankees were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They’re 5-for-39 with runners in scoring position the past four games. They have not had a runner reach third base in either of their two games against Josh Beckett this season.

• Making his first Double-A start of the year, Carlos Silva allowed three hits and no walks through six innings tonight. He struck out six and allowed one run, unearned.

Associated Press photos

The line of media outside the Yankees clubhouse tonight looked like a playoff game. I was expecting a strange situation, but it was beyond that.

Jorge Posada said he couldn’t play tonight. He said the reason as a combination of a stiff back and the need to clear his mind. He said the back injury was not significant, but still indicated that it was bad enough that he might have been more seriously injured had he tried to play. He said the back was the reason he sat out, but still talked about the need to clear his head of all the frustration from this season.

Joe Girardi said he only learned of the sore back while he was watching the game from his office after his ejection. Girardi said the pregame conversation with Posada was was extremely short, and Girardi didn’t ask any questions because if Posada needed a day off, Girardi needed to quickly move on to another options.

“I just sensed that he was frustrated,” Girardi said.

Posada was also clearly upset with Brian Cashman for discussing the situation during the game.

I’ll have more later. For now, here’s Posada speaking after the game.

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Joe Girardi tried to shake things up tonight. Instead, the Yankees gave him more of the same, and the manager watched the last few innings from the clubhouse. In what was unmistakably the low point of the season thus far, the Yankees were shutout 6-0 by the Red Sox. Jorge Posada asked to be taken out of the lineup, Girardi was ejected for shouting at home plate umpire Mike Winters and the Yankees lost their fourth in a row. It’s their longest losing streak of the season, and they’ve now lost eight of their past 11. CC Sabathia hasn’t pitched well in three straight starts, and this time he could only limit the damage so long. Adrian Gonzalez’s three-run home run in the seventh put the game well out of reach for a lineup that’s struggling regardless of batting order.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (20-16)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones DH

LHP CC Sabathia (3-2, 2.89)
Sabathia vs. Red Sox

RED SOX (18-20)
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
Jed Lowrie SS
Mike Cameron RF
Carl Crawford LF
Jason Varitek C

RHP Josh Beckett (2-1, 1.99)
Beckett vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:10 p.m., FOX

WEATHER: Pretty much a 40-percent chance of rain throughout the night. Temperatures in the upper 50, lower 60s. It’s cloudy with some wind blowing from right to left. Feels like one of those nights when it could start/stop raining at any moment.

UMPIRES: HP Mike Winters, 1B Mike Everitt, 2B Mark Wegner, 3B Chris Guccione

MAKEUP DATE: The Yankees announced that their rainout on Tuesday, April 12 has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 30 at 7:05 p.m., as the second game of a day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

GOOD AS EVER: Mariano Rivera is tied with Florida’s Leo Nunez for the Major League lead with 13 saves. Rivera has the win or the save in 12 of the Yankees 13 wins at home this season.

CRAZY EIGHT: The Yankees N0. 8 hitters this season have led the American League with .292 average from that spot in the order. Of course, that’s largely thanks to Russell Martin, who last night snapped a 1-for-18 skid with a home run last night.

ON THIS DATE: On May 14, 1967 Mickey Mantle hit his 500th career home run… On May 14, 1996, Dwight Gooden threw the eighth no-hitter in franchise history.

UPDATE, 7:28 p.m.: Every now and then, CC Sabathia does something to remind everyone of just how good he is. Striking out the heart of the order to strand runners in the first inning was one of those moments.

UPDATE, 7:43 p.m.: Following Sabathia’s lead, Beckett put two on with no outs in the bottom of the first, and went through the heart of the Yankees lineup in order to strand the runners.

UPDATE, 8:02 p.m.: Brian Cashman just addressed the media to announce that Jorge Posada asked to be taken out of tonight’s lineup. Sounds like Posada will probably speak to the media after tonight’s game. Cashman wouldn’t go into detail, but it’s clear that Posada asked to be removed from tonight’s game.

UPDATE, 8:16 p.m.: Here’s Cashman’s statement about Posada:

“At 6 o’clock he came into Joe’s office and asked him to remove Jorge from the DH slot in the ninth hole. There is no injury and it’s my understanding, I think he plans on talking to you guys after the game, only because (media relations director) Jason Zillo mentioned that to me. Obviously I’ve talked to Jorge. I’m not going to comment on my conversation with Jorge on it. That’s really all I’ve got to tell you.”

Cashman wouldn’t go into any more detail. Asked what this means going forward, Cashman said, “I don’t know yet.” Cashman said he also talked to Posada, but he wouldn’t go into detail about that conversation.

“I’m not going to comment any further,” Cashman said.

UPDATE, 8:50 p.m.: Sabathia couldn’t dance out of trouble again. Two-run double by Ellsbury has put the Red Sox in front 2-0 in the fifth.

UPDATE, 9:18 p.m.: That’s a nice play by Youkilis, but my gosh, this lineup is really, really struggling.

UPDATE, 9:29 p.m.: Laura Posada just tweeted that Jorge couldn’t play tonight because of back stiffness.

UPDATE, 9:36 p.m.: Adrian Gonzalez has now homered in four straight games. The latest is a three-run shot to put the Red Sox in front 6-0 in the seventh. After making a pitching change, Joe Girardi kicked dirt on home plate umpire Mike Winters. It’s getting ugly out here. Predictably, Girardi has been ejected.

Jorge Posada has been scratched. Not sure why. Andruw Jones will DH and bat ninth.

It’s been exactly 12 years since Jorge Posada started a game as the Yankees No. 9 hitter. In a you-can’t-make-this-up coincidence, Posada hit ninth on May 14, 1999 against the White Sox and had not been at the bottom of a starting lineup since.

“I put myself in this spot,” he said. “It’s not like I want to hit ninth, and it’s not like I want to hit .100-and-whatever I’m hitting. It’s just a matter of really coming out of it.”

Joe Girardi said he’d been thinking about making this sort of move for a couple of days. Most of the Yankees regulars have been inconsistent, with stretches of good and bad. Posada and Nick Swisher have been cold pretty much the whole way. Girardi said it was the emergence of Gardner that finally prompted him to make the change, moving two guys up and moving two guys down.

“When Gardy was struggling we dropped him down and it worked,” Girardi said. “We’re doing the same thing.”

Fair enough, but moving Posada into the ninth spot is obviously going to generate a lot more attention than Gardner. Posada’s a borderline Hall of Famer, who throughout his career has been a middle-of-the-order run producer. Girardi acknowledged that it’s harder to make this sort of decision with that sort of player.

The even harder decision comes if Posada is still not producing a few weeks from now. How much longer can Girardi stick with this sort of production from his designated hitter?

“Our hope is that he gets going and we don’t have to cross that bridge,” Girardi said. “That’s my thought process. You don’t necessarily think that a guy’s not going to be able to do it who’s done it for so long in his career. He’s struggled more right-handed than left-handed. His at-bats left-handed have been better, but we just felt it was time to make that change.”

Said Posada: “I’ve felt a lot better since Detroit. I don’t feel like I’m in a slump. I feel like I’m feeling a lot better at the plate. My average is not what it’s supposed to be, and I understand that, but I think my at-bats are a lot better and I feel a lot better at the plate. The only way I’m coming out of hitting ninth is just producing.”

Here’s Posada’s pregame interview.

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And here’s Girardi’s.

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• Phil Hughes played catch again today, this time from 75 feet. He threw from 50 feet yesterday.

• Girardi said he would have to check with Rafael Soriano after batting practice to make sure he was available tonight. Batting practice is going on now. I doubt we’ll know whether Soriano’s available until we either see him or don’t see him in a setup situation.

• Swisher’s lack of production has stayed a little bit below the radar, constantly overshadowed by either Posada, Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, but he’s really struggled this year as well. “He did hit a double the other way (last night), and when Swish is going well he sprays the ball all over the outfield,” Girardi said. “Maybe that’s the hit that gets him going.”

• No roster move today. Amauri Sanit and Hector Noesi are both still here.

• Carlos Silva is scheduled to throw 80-85 pitches for Trenton tonight.

• Speaking of Trenton, head over to Mike Ashmore’s blog to check out the Slade Heathcott brawl. Yowza!

• Is that how you spell yowza? Is it even a word?

• I had some questions this morning about why Jesus Montero was pulled after just one at-bat last night. It doesn’t seem to be in preparation for any sort of call-up. He was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
Jed Lowrie SS
Mike Cameron RF
Carl Crawford LF
Jason Varitek C

Associated Press photos

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

To some extent, CC Sabathia has followed the lead of his hitters. As the Yankees lineup has struggled, so has their ace.

Before last week’s road trip
Six starts: 2.25 ERA, .248 opponents’ batting average, 11 walks, 36 strikeouts

During last week’s road trip
Two starts:  4.85 ERA, .288 opponents’ batting average, 7 walks, 8 strikeouts

The difference, it seems, is that Sabathia still manages to give the Yankees a chance to win even when he’s not at his best. Tonight, the Yankees will count on him to end this string of losing and even this weekend series against the Red Sox.

“I think CC is real good about turning the page from pitch to pitch, hitter to hitter, inning to inning,” Joe Girardi said. “Some guys let it linger and think, ‘God, I should have made this pitch. If I would have did this, I wouldn’t have given up two runs.’ CC is able to put it behind him and relax. He never seems to get flustered. He throws a lot of strikes, so players put the ball in play. A lot of times, when players put the ball in play when they’re down in the count 0-1, 1-2, 0-2, the swings aren’t as good. They’re more protective swings, so you get outs.”

It’s obvious that there is frustration all around the Yankees right now. The team is a little more than six weeks into the season, and the offense has been inconsistent — at best — for the past two.

Joe Girardi indicated last night that he’s open to shuffling the lineup, but he’s never been one to rule out possibilities. Vague comments about Girardi being willing to “discuss” change doesn’t necessarily mean change is coming.

There are plenty calling for a call-up — Jesus Montero and Jorge Vazquez seem to the most popular names — but the Yankees say Jorge Posada’s at-bats are getting better, and they seem more likely to stick with him than make a significant move.

What the Yankees really need is for the current pieces to start producing like they were earlier in the season. No one is oblivious to the fact there’s a problem, but their best bet seems to be hitting their way out of it.

Alex Rodriguez: “I think there’s no question we need to do better. One through nine we need to step up and have more quality at-bats, and come up with big hits. We haven’t done that over the last week or even longer. We need to do a much better job of that.”

Jorge Posada: “We’re putting ourselves in good situations, and we’re just not coming up with that big hit. We’ve got a good team. We know what we can do. That’s not us, and we know we’ve got to come up with the big hit, so we look forward to tomorrow.”

Mark Teixeira: “It goes in waves. You go in waves where you score a lot of runs, and you go in waves where you don’t. Right now we’re just not scoring a lot of runs like we’re capable of.”

I only had a short conversation about it, but apparently some sort of water pressure valve triggered a series of automatic safety measures at Yankee Stadium tonight. Among those safety measures was a disconnection of the stadium’s sound system, which meant those last few innings were met with even more silence than usual. The silence fell in three waves.

Seventh inning
Bartolo Colon walked off to a standing ovation, having going toe-to-toe with Clay Buchholz. He was pulled after a leadoff single, with the score tied. Four batters later, Joba Chamberlain had turned that tied game into a three-run Red Sox advantage. His fastball showed a ton of velocity, but it was also the fastball that Adrian Gonzalez drove for a deep sac fly and Kevin Youkilis drove for a two-run homer.

“I felt good, it was just the location,” Chamberlain said. “The fastball to Gonzalez, I don’t think it was a terrible pitch. The one to Youkilis wasn’t a great pitch at all. I knew it wasn’t a good pitch as soon as I let it go.”

Eighth inning
Daniel Bard was throwing hard, but Curtis Granderson tripled and scored on a wild pitch, then a gutsy double steal by Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano put the tying run in scoring position with one out. Nick Swisher struck out swinging, Jorge Posada grounded to second and that was it. Rally over. Opportunity wasted. Posada had been ahead 3-0 in his at-bat, but he took two strikes before hitting a 101-mph fastball on the ground.

“A lot of things (to think about ahead 3-0),” Posada said. “Got a base open, and I’ve got Russell righty on righty (up next). So that was in my mind that whole at-bat, especially 3-0. He’s got to throw three strikes… You’ve been in the situation before and you just keep on looking what the pitcher’s trying to do against you, and that’s all you can do.”

Ninth inning
Down to their last out, the Yankees got back-to-back singles from Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson to pull within a run. The tying run was on base for Mark Teixeira, who had already popped up in two of this three previous at-bats. He swung at the first pitch, another popup. That was the end of it, another deflating loss.

“I’ve got to get the head out, really,” Teixeira said. “My strength is pulling the ball and sometimes when you try to stay up the middle too much, you don’t get the head out and a couple of those pitches tonight, I popped them up because I should have pulled them.”

Here’s Joe Girardi’s postgame audio.

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• Bartolo Colon refused to address his offseason shoulder surgery, directing questions to the Player’s Association. “I’m sure of myself,” he said. “I’m sure about the aspect of what I’ve done.”

• Apparently Chamberlain’s pitch selection was questioned during the broadcast. Chamberlain said he felt good going with his fastball to both Gonzalez and Youkilis. He was trying to work away to both of them. “I felt strong going away,” he said. “(Youkilis) hit a fastball that was up in the zone. There’s not much you can do about it. You can’t second-guess your pitches.”

• Girardi’s take on Chamberlain’s pitching selection: “If I was to question it, I wouldn’t tell anyone in this room. Scouting reports are near and dear to our hearts and we don’t share them with the public.”

• Girardi said Cano never got a good grip on the ball when he looked to turn two on Jacoby Ellsbury’s ground ball in the seventh. It didn’t help that the Yankees were playing to protect against the bunt, meaning Cano was positioned so that he could cover first. “He was further away from double-play depth where you’d normally be in that situation,” Girardi said. “I don’t know if he can turn that, because he’s in a dead sprint across the bag.”

• Most of the talk about Buchholz was about the sink on his fastball. Several Yankees said he had more fastball movement than they’d ever seen from him. “It was a tough night to hit,” Teixeira said. “But at the same time, we had our chances.”

• Ellsbury was checked on the field, but manager Terry Francona said he “banged up” his knee and should be alright. Doesn’t sound like he’ll miss a game.

• According to Elias, Colon has not allowed a stolen base in 159.2 consecutive innings, the longest active streak in the majors. Seriously, those guys keep track of everything.

• This was the first time since June 1, 2008 that Colon reached 100 pitches. He threw 103, 68 or strikes.

• Russell Martin’s home run snapped a streak of 45 at-bats without a homer. It also snapped a 1-for-18 skid. He still leads all big league catcher with seven homers.

• Brett Gardner went 1-for-4 and is batting .474 in his past five games, and he’s hitting .422 in his past 17 games dating back to April 26.

• Buddy Carlyle was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I’m often stunned at some of the guys who have options remaining, and Carlyle is one of them. Definitely would have expected him to have burned all three.

Associated Press photo