The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Yankees clubhouse just opened with no lineup posted. That could be an indication that Joe Girardi is waiting to check with a player — Robinson Cano would be a good guess — before deciding who’s in and who’s out.

Let’s do a chat tomorrow.

Before the clubhouse opens here in Detroit, we’ll host a chat here at the LoHud Yankees Blog starting at 2:30 p.m. It should go for about an hour before I have to go downstairs to the clubhouse.

Stop by.

Prospects are players who haven’t proven anything yet.

It’s an idea that drives me crazy when used in a certain context — as in, trade all the young guys because they haven’t proven anything yet — but it’s also a idea that has to be kept in mind when thinking about short-term production and long-term development.

The Yankees have upper-level pitching depth. If you don’t know that by now, welcome to the blog. It must be your first day. That upper-level pitching depth is an incredible tool, but it’s not a proven tool. The Yankees system might very well have been able to fill the Phil Hughes’ rotation void, but no one knows that for certain.

That’s why Bartolo Colon has been such a remarkable find.

“You think about, if we had to go further down in our system with some younger kids, it’s difficult,” Joe Girardi said. “He has really picked us up.”

Maybe one of the young guys could have filled those shoes. Maybe D.J. Mitchell or David Phelps is ready for the big time. Maybe Hector Noesi would have shined if given the chance. Maybe the Yankees already had the pieces in place to fill in for the extended absence of an 18-game winner. Colon lets the Yankees remove any doubt.

If it doesn’t last, then they’ll begin the process of sorting through the high-end potential, but for now they have the answer right in front of them. And for now, that’s all they need.

“I appreciate the Yankees giving me the opportunity,” Colon said. “I’m very happy that I’m back in baseball.”

Associated Press photo

Phil Hughes missed all of it: The seven strong innings from Bartolo Colon, the go-ahead single by Nick Swisher, the tremendous slide by Mark Teixeira and the lesson in how to close a ball game by Mariano Rivera.

In so many ways, Hughes is back to square one in his attempt to come back from a dead arm that has baffled the Yankees since spring training. But Monday’s diagnosis — or lack of one — was good news. Hughes will go back to New York to begin a strengthening program. Today’s tests showed no signs of thoracic outlet syndrome, and so Hughes will resume a rehab program.

“We need to continue to try to rehab and try to get him strong and see if we can get him back to where he was,” manager Joe Girardi said.

Hughes will not join the Yankees this road trip, as was previously expected. He will instead begin his rehab work at home, and Girardi doesn’t expect to see him again until the team finishes its upcoming series in Texas.

Obviously, there remains some sense of mystery, and perhaps the Yankees are no closer to solving the puzzle, but thoracic outlet syndrome was hardly a best-case scenario. It might have been nice to have an answer, but surely not this answer. It’s not unusual for a pitcher to struggle one year after a significant workload increase, and Hughes might be experiencing something along those lines.

“(Today’s result) makes me feel better,” Girardi said, “because I’m not sure if he has that, what they have to do and how long you don’t have him if that’s what he has. It makes me feel better.”

• Not a lot left to say about Bartolo Colon. He’s been a crucial piece of the puzzle, a perfect fill-in while the Yankees try to figure out what’s wrong with Hughes. Colon was asked tonight if he had any sense of just how important he’s become: “I don’t have any idea right now,” he said. “I just want to keep working hard for the team.”

• Colon keeps getting a ton of strikeouts looking. “I think because I throw a lot of strikes,” he said. It was about as funny and as accurate as anything he could have said, but there’s a bigger issue at play. Hitters are taking those strikes for a reason: “I think it’s the way the ball is moving that makes it different,” Colon said.

• Curtis Granderson got a lot of credit postgame for his 12-pitch walk that opened that decisive ninth inning. Granted, he was out on a bad slide stealing second, but he seemed to disrupt Jose Valverde before Valverde had a chance to get going. “He made him work really hard and seemed to get him out of his rhythm,” Girardi said.

• And then there was the hit by Swisher, breaking a string of missed chances that included 10 Yankees left on base — four of them at third base — in the first eight innings. “Going back up the middle is definitely what you’re trying to do,” Swisher said. “For myself, I’ve been trying to do that for the past week or so, and now it feels like things are starting to click in a little bit.”

• The two home runs by Alex Avila: According to Colon, one was on a two-seamer that was supposed to be in and went outside, the second was on a changeup that was supposed to be away and wound up middle.

• The eighth-inning approach against Miguel Cabrera: Joba Chamberlain said he went with four straight sliders because he was able to locate the pitch and he didn’t think Cabrera was getting good swings against it. Of course, he wound up with a single. “I’m not going to throw any get-me-over sliders to him,” Chamberlain said.

• The third-inning decision to pitch to Cabrera, when he singled in run with two outs and first base open: “Brennan Boesch has been swinging the bat pretty good too,” Girardi said. “And he’s a guy that has hurt his a lot over the couple of years and hit the ball out of the ball park. It’s early and it’s 3-1 in that situation, and you don’t want to start giving free base runners.”

• Girardi said he definitely would not have used Robinson Cano tonight, but he still believes he’ll be available tomorrow. Girardi was also planning to stay away from Rafael Soriano and Dave Robertson.

• Mariano Rivera was available because he threw so few pitches the previous two nights. “He’ll fight me, but he’ll be off (tomorrow),” Girardi said.

• Jorge Posada managed a two-out, two-run double off a pitch that was at least close to 100 mph if not right at 100 mph in the first inning. “Close my eyes and swing,” he said. With tonight’s game, Posada has passed Joe DiMaggio for sole possession of 10th place on the Yankees all-time games played list.

Associated Press photos

The Yankees offense went silent for a while, but Nick Swisher’s ninth-inning single broke a tie and sent the Yankees to a 5-3 win against the Tigers. The Yankees had an early three-run lead, but the Tigers slowly chipped away while the Yankees squandered scoring opportunities in the middle and late innings. Alex Avila’s second home run of the night tied the game in the seventh, and it stayed that way until Swisher’s RBI single and a run-scoring passed ball in the ninth. Bartolo Colon is still unbeaten as Phil Hughes’ replacement in the rotation. He pitched seven innings, striking out seven, walking none and allowing the three Tigers runs.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (16-9)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF
Eduardo Nunez 2B

RHP Bartolo Colon (2-1, 2.77)
Colon vs. Tigers

TIGERS (12-16)
Austin Jackson CF
Ramon Santiago 2B
Magglio Ordonez DH
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Brennan Boesch RF
Ryan Raburn LF
Jhonny Peralta SS
Alex Avila C
Brandon Inge 3B

RHP Justin Verlander (2-3, 3.64)
Verlander vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., YES Network and ESPN

WEATHER: It’s cloudy, with temperatures dipping into the low 50s. Not much wind to speak of — seriously, the flags are almost perfectly still — but what little is blowing seems to be moving from right to left.

UMPIRES: HP Jeff Nelson, 1B Marty Foster, 2B Bill Welke, 3B Tom Tschida

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: It’s the second of May, and this is only the Yankees eighth road game of the season. They’ve played the fewest road games in the majors, going 4-3 away from Yankee Stadium. This is the first game of a seven-game road trip.

SPREAD THE WEALTH: Ten different Yankee pitchers have recorded a win this season. That’s tied for the most in the big leagues. Cleveland, Kansas City and the Mets also have 10 pitchers with a win.

MARTINEZ WORKING HIS WAY BACK: The Tigers are without catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez, but he is starting a Triple-A rehab assignment tonight and Martinez could be back in the Tigers lineup by Wednesday.

UPDATE, 7:22 p.m.: Big two-out, two-run double by Jorge Posada to cap a pretty good at-bat against Justin Verlander. The Detroit ace is already hitting 99 mph with his fastball, but the Yankees have a 2-0 here in the first.

UPDATE, 7:24 p.m.: By the way, warm and positive response for Granderson’s first at-bat, but nothing overwhelming.

UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: Look at that, Eduardo Nunez with an RBI double. Also, Brett Gardner might really be breaking out of this offensive slump. He has a hit in his past six starts, and he’s been taking a ton of walks lately. It’s 3-0 Yankees in the second.

UPDATE, 7:54 p.m.: Solo homer by Avila has the Tigers on the board. It’s a 3-1 Yankees lead heading into the third.

UPDATE, 8:07 p.m.:

***PHIL HUGHES UPDATE***

Tests on Phil Hughes were negative for all circulatory and vascular issues.

UPDATE, 8:50 p.m.: Bartolo Colon just keeps getting it done. I know it’s hard to be surprised by it at this point, but every time I see him pitch I think back to the first day I saw him in spring training and felt like he had no chance to make this team.

UPDATE, 8:52 p.m.: Phil Hughes is apparently going back to New York instead of meeting the Yankees in Detroit. Word is that there’s nothing specific planned for him when he gets there. I assume the Yankees will figure out what to do with him once he gets there.

UPDATE, 9:30 p.m.: This is the second two-homer game of Avila’s career. His second home run tonight has pulled the Tigers into a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh.

UPDATE, 10:15 p.m.: Nick Swisher’s RBI single put the Yankees in the lead, and a passed ball sent the Detroit fans scrambling for the exits. It’s now 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Mariano Rivera was watching television last night when the news broke that U.S. troops had killed Osama bin Laden. Derek Jeter was out to dinner and got a text message telling him the news. Joe Girardi was already asleep and only found out when he saw a newspaper this morning.

“First you can’t believe it,” Jeter said. “Not saying it wasn’t true, but you’re just sort of in disbelief. You’re happy. It’s been a long time. It’s almost 10 years. Even though it’s almost 10 years, it sort of feels like it was yesterday. There are a lot of happy people.”

Jorge Posada said he thought back to the attacks of 2001 and remembered being in the hospital with his son. Andruw Jones remembered playing against the Mets in the first game in New York after the attacks, and he remember he and his teammates being afraid something else might happen.

“All I said (last night) was, justice,” Rivera said. “Justice prevailed. You do something like that, somewhere along the way you’re going to pay.”

To my knowledge, no one in the Yankees clubhouse gave any sort of political comment about the events of yesterday, but these are athletes of New York City, and a lot of them were playing for the Yankees 10 years ago. They couldn’t help but be affected by the events both then and now.

“I remember exactly where I was the day it happened and the sadness that was in my heart for the individuals’ lives that were so deeply affected by it,” Girardi said. “As a country we were affected and I was affected, but I didn’t lose a spouse or a brother or a close friend or a child. I didn’t go through that. For them, it’s probably a time to reflect and think about what they’ve been through the last 10 years. Maybe it’s some closure for them. There’s been a lot of sadness because of that day in 2001 that people have had to endure. I don’t know how it exactly affects everyone, but I’m sure there is some closure.”

Here’s Jeter speaking to a mass of media pregame.

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• It’s easy to forget that Curtis Granderson was injured when the Yankees came to Detroit last year. This will be his first time playing in front of the fans that once adored him. “I’m still kind of wondering what it’s going to be like,” he said.

• Girardi said he’ll check with Robinson Cano to see how he’s feeling before he rules out the idea of using him to pinch hit. “We’ll see how the treatments all go,” Girardi said. “Hopefully we don’t need him, but he might say, you know what, my hand feels pretty good, I’m ready to go.”

• Cano’s injury only really affects his hitting. He can play defense. “It’s not a like a day off’s gonna hurt the kid anyway,” Girardi said.

• Phil Hughes has a locker in the Yankees clubhouse. Girardi said the plan is for Hughes to rejoin the team during this road trip. So far, the Yankees have not heard anything from today’s tests in St. Louis, but Girardi said it’s possible they’ll know something tonight.

• Girard on playing Eduardo Nunez: “Nuney, he’s worked really hard and has not had a lot of playing time. It’s good to get him back out there. He’s playing a little bit different, a little second. He hasn’t played a ton of second. We used him there a lot in spring training and he did everything right for us. Nuney’s an exciting player because it’s always 100 percent and he’s flying all over the place. Glad to see him back out there.”

• It seems like every time the Yankees face Justin Verlander, they have CC Sabathia on the mound. Today, they have Bartolo Colon. “It’s close to CC, it’s B.C.,” Girardi said. “I guess that’s before CC.”

• Yes, Girardi really said that.

• Speaking of Colon: “What he’s done for us, it’s been great,” Girardi said. “You take away those first two innings of relief and it’s been off the charts. We’re happy with the way he’s thrown the ball and we feel like he’s going to give us a great chance to win every time he goes out.”

TIGERS
Austin Jackson CF
Ramon Santiago 2B
Magglio Ordonez DH
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Brennan Boesch RF
Ryan Raburn LF
Jhonny Peralta SS
Alex Avila C
Brandon Inge 3B

Associated Press photos

Robinson Cano has a bone bruise in his left hand after an awkward catch yesterday. He was expecting to play today, but he woke up with enough pain that he doesn’t expect to be available to hit even if the Yankees need him.

“I don’t want to make it worse,” he said.

The good news for Cano is that his hand is feeling better. He’s treating it with ice and won’t hit today, believing a full day of rest will leave him available to play tomorrow.

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

Tonight
RHP Bartolo Colon (2-1, 2.77)
vs.
RHP Justin Verlander (2-3, 3.64)
7:05 p.m., YES Network / ESPN

Tuesday
LHP CC Sabathia (2-1, 2.25)
vs.
RHP Brad Penny (1-3, 6.11)
7:05 p.m. YES Network / MLB Network

Wednesday
RHP Freddy Garcia (1-1, 2.00)
vs.
RHP Max Scherzer (4-0, 3.82)
7:05 p.m., YES Network

Thursday
RHP A.J. Burnett (4-1, 3.93)
vs.
RHP Rick Porcello (1-2, 4.25)
1:05 p.m., YES Network