The LoHud Yankees Blog

Derek Jeter continued his resurgence, going 2 for 4 after going 4 for 6 in Texas Sunday. This was actually his season-high third straight multi-hit game. His average is up to .283. He had a two-out RBI single in the third inning of this 3-1 over the Royals.

But ask him about all this at your own risk. The Captain wasn’t happy when a reporter threw a question at him about his hitting again.

“I’ve talked so much about it,” Jeter said. “I’m not talking anymore. I’ve told you guys the more comfortable you are, the better you see the ball. The better at-bats you have, the results will be there. But it’s been dissected enough.”

Alex Rodriguez had just one hit in four at-bats, but it was the clutch two-out, two-run tiebreaking single with the bases loaded in the fifth. He broke an 0-for-10 skid with runners in scoring position.

“I’m in an RBI position,” Rodriguez said. “I want to not only gets hits but drive the ball, doubles, home runs.”

A-Rod is still just hitting .175 with no homers since April 23.

“He’s still not perfect,” Joe Girardi said. “But RBI guys find ways to drive in runs.”

As someone who has gotten on Joba Chamberlain at times for his inconsistency, I must say the guy looked great in this game, throwing a 1-2-3 eighth with Rafael Soriano unavailable due to a sore elbow. Chamberlain hit 98 on the gun when he got Alex Gordon looking. Joba talked about his mechanical changes for this season. He starts his hands lower, just like he did when he first came up. His ERA is down to 3.18 after 17 appearances.

“You’re just starting to see his stuff coming back to what it was,” Girardi said.

David Robertson did a great job as well, striking out two with the bases loaded in the seventh. He has a knack for the great escape. Joba labeled him “Houdini.”

Freddy Garcia evened his record at 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.61. Pretty good for a fifth starter. He allowed one run and six hits over six-plus, looking like his typically crafty self along the way.

“For me, I have to throw strikes,” Garcia said. “I don’t have the power anymore.” 

Wednesday night’s matchup will feature A.J. Burnett and Vin Mazzaro in his first big-league game of the season.

Rafael Soriano was unavailable tonight because of a sore elbow. He said it first started bothering him a week ago Monday in Detroit. Joe Girardi said the medical people “don’t think there’s much there.” But Soriano will have a precautionary MRI Wednesday. “I want to make sure everything’s fine,” Soriano said.

Yankees lineup

1. Derek Jeter SS

2. Curtis Granderson CF

3. Mark Teixeira 1B

4. Alex Rodriguez 3B

5. Robinson Cano 2B

6. Nick Swisher RF

7. Jorge Posada DH

8. Russell Martin C

9. Brett Gardner LF

Freddy Garcia P

Royals lineup

1. Chris Getz 2B

2. Melky Cabrera CF

3. Alex Gordon LF

4. Billy Butler DH

5. Jeff Francoeur RF

6. Eric Hosmer 1B

7. Mike Aviles 3B

8. Matt Treanor C

9. Alcides Escobar SS

Kyle Davies P

Time/TV: 7:08/YES

Weather: Fair, 64 degrees

Umpires: Ed Hickox HP, Ed Rapuano 1B, Brian O’Nora 2B, Alfonso Marquez 3B

Power Outage: Alex Rodriguez hasn’t homered since April 23 in Baltimore. Maybe Davies’ appearance will help. He gave up A-Rod’s 500th homer.

3,000 Watch: Derek Jeter is 40 hits away.

Running Royals: Kansas City leads the majors in steals with 42, coming in 49 tries.

Pitching change: Tomorrow night’s scheduled starter for the Royals, lefty Bruce Chen, has been put on the DL with a lat strain. Righty Vin Mazzaro is being called up from AAA Omaha to take the start.

Update, 7:16: Good job by Freddy Garcia to strand Chris Getz at third with two outs after a bad job holding him close to second, resulting in a steal.

Update, 7:22: 1-2-3 breeze for Davies in the first.

Update, 7:27: 1-2-3 breeze for Garcia in the second.

Update, 7:32: 1-2-3 breeze for Davies in the second. This is getting redundant. No carryover so far for the Yankees from the 12-run eruption in Texas Sunday.

Update, 7:38: That was strange. Looked like the umpires were calling a balk on Garcia after he stepped off and got Matt Treanor trying to steal second. But it does go as a caught stealing after some confusion.

Update, 7:47: Finally a Yankees hit. Brett Gardner with a stand-up triple with two outs in the third.

Update, 7:50: The Captain apparently hasn’t forgotten how to hit after all. Ground single to left-center for Jeter, 1-0 Yankees. He’s now 5 for his last 8.

Update, 7:59: Quite a shot by Melky over the center-field fence to tie it here in the fourth. He said something to his pal Cano on the way around the bases.

Update, 8:14: There were two on and one out for the Yankees in the fourth. But Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher still can’t break free from their season-long problems. Threat over.

Update, 8:21: Two on, one out for the Royals after back-to-back singles here in the fifth.

Update, 8:25: Nice diving backhand catch by Swisher to rob Getz and end the inning.

Update, 8:33: Another hit for Jeter, now 2 for 3. He hit .393 on the road trip. First and second, one out in the fifth.

Update, 8:38: Teixeira is hit by the pitch, bases loaded, two outs for A-Rod, who’s overdue.

Update, 8:43: A single works fine, two-run grounder into left-center, and it’s 3-1.

Update, 8:51: Garcia works a 1-2-3 sixth. He’s having a very efficient game. I believe he’s at just 78 pitches. The Yankees really couldn’t have asked for more out of their fifth starter so far this game and this season.

Update, 8:54: Long single off the base of the wall in right-center for Swisher to start the sixth. A good sign from a slumping bat? We’ll see. Anyway, Davies is done. Tim Collins is coming on.

Update, 9:01: Posada goes down swinging and Swisher is caught stealing on the play. Posada is now 0 for 3 after starting the game at .152.

Update, 9:05: Leadoff single for Francoeur in the seventh. David Robertson is warming.

Update, 9:09: Garcia is done after a single and walk to start the inning. Still, a very nice job, right now one run and six hits allowed. Robertson is in.

Update, 9:16: Francoeur steals third. Firat and third, one out. Very close, but I think he was safe.

Update, 9:18: Robertson walks Matt Treanor. Bases loaded.

Update, 9:22: Nice curve by Robertson. Alcides Escobar goes down swinging for the second out. Big moment here with Chris Getz.

Update, 9:25: Getz tried to check his swing but couldn’t according to Ed Hickox. Strike three on a low inside pitch. That call could’ve gone either way, I think.

Update, 9:35: Joba is coming on for the eighth. Wonder what’s up with Rafael Soriano.

Update, 9:40: Joba has a 1-2-3 inning. The second strikeout was against Alex Gordon. He went down looking on a 98 mph fastball. Blake Wood will pitch the eighth for K.C.

Update, 9:52: Mariano Rivera will pitch the ninth, up 3-1.

Update, 10:01: Great stab by Rivera to start a game-ending double-play. Yankees win, 3-1.

Brian Heyman here at Yankee Stadium for Chad today.

We just got to listen to Phil Hughes’ thoughts. The next step in his comeback is to try to play catch on Thursday. Hughes admitted that he had been experiencing some discomfort before his recent shot. He said that shot has helped. His shoulder feels looser. He was working with a physical therapist while the Yankees were on the road trip.

Joe Girardi said there has been no-decision yet whether to activate or option Luis Ayala, who has been on a rehab assignment at AAA.

A lot of the pregame talk was actually about the Royals, about their improvement and aggression. They lead the majors with 42 steals and are above .500, which seems like a miracle, even after just 34 games. They are at 18-16, in second place in the Central, 4 1/2 behind the Indians.

This game marks the return of Melky Cabrera, back for the first time since the Yankees dealt him to the Braves after the 2009 championship. Cabrera signed with the Royals in the offseason and is off to a good start at .283 with three homers and 21 RBI. He was looking forward to seeing one ex-teammate in particular.

“They were all great to me,” Cabrera said through an interpreter. “It felt like home when I was playing there. But especially my best friend, Robinson Cano. I really miss him. I really want to spend some time with him and see how the family is doing and chat a little bit.”

Jeff Francoeur, who was here with the Mets and then the Rangers in the ALCS last year and signed with Kansas City in the offseason, is also off to a good start at .302 with eight homers and 24 RBI.

“I’m having a blast,” Francoeur said. “It was fun to be in Texas, playing in the World Series. Playing here in the ALCS was something great. But this is a good new chapter for me, a good opportunity.”

1. Jeter SS
2. Granderson CF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Swisher RF
7. Posada DH
8. Martin C
9. Gardner LF
Garcia P

Tonight
RHP Freddy Garcia (1-2, 2.88)
vs.
RHP Kyle Davies (1-4, 7.32)
7:05 p.m., YES Network

Wednesday
RHP A.J. Burnett (4-2, 3.71)
vs.
LHP Bruce Chen (4-1, 3.59)
7:05 p.m., YES Network

Thursday
RHP Ivan Nova (3-2, 4.08)
vs.
RHP Sean O’Sullivan (1-2, 3.41)
7:05 p.m., YES Network / MLB Network

It’s amazing how many Yankees turned a corner — for better and for worse — during last week’s road trip through Detroit and Dallas. The bulk of the Yankees regulars produced significantly different results than what they showed up to that point. There was a full month of data to examine, and then it all changed.

Obviously some of these guys began changing before the road trip began — Rodriguez and Gardner jump to mind — but the numbers still paint a pretty accurate picture of who was hitting early in the season and who’s been hitting lately. One road trip produces a small sample size, but determining who’s hot and who’s not usually involves a relatively small number of at-bats.

Here are the slash lines for the Yankees regulars before and during the road trip. The question is, who’s going to hit in these days after the road trip?

Derek Jeter
Before the road trip: .242/.308/.263
During the road trip: .393/.414/.643

Curtis Granderson
Before the road trip: .281/.330/.640
During the road trip: .292/.452/.667

Mark Teixeira
Before the road trip: .256/.387/.570
During the road trip: .269/.367/.577

Alex Rodriguez
Before the road trip: .274/.389/.575
During the road trip: .231/.286/.231

Robinson Cano
Before the road trip: .320/.340/.630
During the road trip: .167/.200/.250

Nick Swisher
Before the road trip: .218/.330/.276
During the road trip: .211/.375/.421

Jorge Posada
Before the road trip: .133/.235/.387
During the road trip: .208/.321/.250

Russell Martin
Before the road trip: .293/.376/.587
During the road trip: .125/.333/.188

Brett Gardner
Before the road trip: .200/.300/.400
During the road trip: .350/.458/.350

Associated Press photos of Teixeira and Rodriguez

While I was flying all across the country today, Brian Cashman was in New Jersey for a Pinstripe Bowl charity golf tournament. He told reporters that Derek Jeter’s offensive saga, “has given other aspects of the offense some cover.”

As Joe Girardi said roughly 700 times last week, Jeter actually has one of the highest batting averages in the Yankees lineup.

A few other small notes to take from Cashman today:

On Luis Ayala: The GM said the Yankees are “ready to do something” with Ayala after a strong two-inning relief appearance for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last night. Cashman indicated the Yankees have to decide whether to activate Ayala in New York or option him to Triple-A.

On Boone Logan: Obviously the Yankees lone left-handed reliever is struggling, but Cashman has said many times that he doesn’t expect to be able to acquire anything significant before the June draft. “There’s no aspect of the club I’m worried about making changes on,” he said. “We’re still trying to decipher what is real, what isn’t real.”

On the lineup: Cashman indicated the Yankees are at least considering changes to the batting order. “I think we’re currently trying to determine and decipher where one through nine we need to be offensively,” he said.

Some other notes and links from today.

• While I was writing my previous post about the minor leagues, Jorge Vazquez ended his home run drought by hitting one in Buffalo. And just a few minutes after the post was finished, Vazquez hit another one.

• Good story from a good man: Pete Caldera wrote this weekend about Yankees traveling secretary Ben Tuliebitz and all that his job requires: Everything from player ticket requests to making sure a truck is ready to haul equipment.

• George Steinbrenner’s FBI file reveals that he cooperated with two investigations and blamed his illegal campaign contribution on bad legal advice. The Associated Press has the story.

• Heading to a Tampa Yankees game this season, or planning a trip to major league spring training next year? Check out this review of George M. Steinbrenner Field.

• Houston’s closer of the present is none other than the Yankees former closer of the future. Mark Melancon stepped into the closer role after Brandon Lyon went on the disabled list, and he’s converted his first big league save.

• I don’t have an account with the Sports Business Journal, but it’s reporting that Alex Rodriguez has signed with agent Dan Lozano, according to MLBTradeRumers.

Tonight, it’s D.J. Mitchell’s turn to standout in a crowded Triple-A pitching staff. He’s making the start against Buffalo, and so far he’s been making the most of his chances.

Then again, a lot of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitchers have been making the most of their chances.

If the names are getting familiar around here, that’s a good thing. The Yankees Triple-A pitching staff drew a lot of attention coming out of spring training, and so far that staff has the second-lowest ERA in the International League. Four of the five starters have an ERA below 4.00, and there are quite literally more quality relievers than spots in the bullpen. Josh Schmidt and his 11 strikeouts in 7.2 innings have been shipped to Trenton.

The rotation has shown some inconsistency, but I think that’s to be expected in the first month, especially with pitchers this young and relatively inexperienced. Some of Andrew Brackman’s control problems have reemerged — 17 walks and 19 strikeouts through 26 innings — and the real constants have been Mitchell and David Phelps (that’s Phelps in the picture from spring training). Those are probably least touted of the bunch, but they’re legitimate young starters who could be pitching their way into more attention.

It’s the bullpen, though, that’s really stood out. Andy Sisco still hasn’t been charged with a run, Kevin Whelan has finally cut down on his walks and George Kontos is holding right-handers to a .175 batting average. That’s to say nothing of Eric Wordekemper (.208 opponents batting average), Amaury Sanit (24 strikeouts in 16.1 innings) and Ryan Pope (three scoreless innings since being activated).

There are flaws obviously, and I’m not sure any one pitcher completely blows you away, but there’s a lot of talent there and a lot of time for someone — anyone — to try to make himself standout from the pack.

• Slade Heathcott and J.R. Murphy just keeping hitting down in Charleston. Strictly a guess — Mark Newman was out of the office when I tried to call him this afternoon — but considering they each played at least 75 Low-A games last season, those could be the first big-name Yankee prospects to be promoted this season. Heathcott has been especially impressive with his .327/.409/.545 slash line. He has a lot of strikeouts, but the production is impossible to ignore.

• Greg Golson’s injury and Kevin Russo being designated for assignment opened a Triple-A spot for Dan Brewer to return after a brief demotion to Trenton. He’s stepped into the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leadoff spot and has four hits and three walks in his first three games back with the team. Brewer reminds me a little bit of a right-handed Colin Curtis: Kind of under the radar, can play all three outfield spots, and he does a lot of things well without doing one thing extremely well.

• Jorge Vazquez’s production has slipped recently, with a .222/.255/.311 slash line in his past 10 games. In that time he’s hit one home run, taken two walks and struck out 15 times. Ahead of Vazquez in the Scranton lineup, Jesus Montero is doing enough to keep his average fairly high, but he still has just one home run. He’s slowed down a little bit lately with just one extra-base hit in his past 10 games.

• I’ve never seen Corban Joseph play, but for whatever reason I’ve always been intrigued by him, and so far he’s hit .303/.375/.444 as Trenton’s everyday second baseman. If Russo is lost on waivers, Joseph could take that role as a guy who plays multiple positions and hits enough to play some sort of role somewhere down the line.

• Weird note from Mike Ashmore in Trenton: Outfielder Damon Sublett has been throwing side sessions. Ashmore says it doesn’t appear to be a serious attempt to convert him to the mound — he’s already a converted infielder — but it certainly seems a little bit unusual.

• A name to keep an eye on: Double-A reliever Tim Norton has 23 strikeouts and six walks through 15.2 innings. Norton was a seventh-round pick in 2006, and he might be a bigger name if not for a series of injuries. When he’s pitched, his numbers have been awfully good.

I have no idea why I notice things like this, but every time the Yankees go on the road, I notice which players are positioned next to empty lockers. It’s a sign of respect in visiting clubhouses where there are more lockers than players. The veterans and the superstars are often given lockers with an empty locker next to them. It’s a little extra space for the players’ stuff, a small gesture of respect.

In Texas, there were five empty lockers in the clubhouse.

One was between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. One was between Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada. One was between Mariano Rivera and Andruw Jones. One was between CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. One was between Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon.

Different clubhouse managers seem to make different decisions, but it’s about both seniority and status. Obviously Robinson Cano is now a bigger name and a better player than Jones, but there’s a lot of respect Jones’ career regardless of who and what he is today.

My question is, what’s your Empty Locker pecking order? If there’s only one open locker, who gets it, and how many would there need to be for Ramiro Pena to get one?

I don’t know how exactly the clubhouse guys make their decisions, but my list would lean primarily on veteran status, with occasional exceptions based on current status and current role.

Here’s my attempt.

1. Mariano Rivera
2. Derek Jeter
3. Jorge Posada
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. CC Sabathia
6. Mark Teixiera
7. A.J. Burnett
8. Andruw Jones
9. Bartolo Colon
10. Robinson Cano
11. Freddy Garcia
12. Rafael Soriano
13. Nick Swisher
14. Curtis Granderson
15. Russell Martin
16. Joba Chamberlain
17. Brett Gardner
18. Dave Robertson
19. Boone Logan
20. Francisco Cervelli
21. Ivan Nova
22. Buddy Carlyle
23. Ramiro Pena
24. Eduardo Nunez
25. Lance Pendleton