The LoHud Yankees Blog

The Yankees top offseason addition has already seen Dr. James Andrews, and that’s rarely a good sign.

Sounds like Rafael Soriano is going to miss another two months or so, and although it’s always hard to allow for and anticipate injuries, the Yankees certainly weren’t looking at a clean medical history when they gave Soriano three years, $35 million this offseason. The elbow, in particular, had been a problem.

August 30, 1996: Signed as an outfielder with the Mariners. Converted to pitcher in 1999.

April, 2001: Opened on the High-A disabled list with right elbow sprain.

May 10, 2002: Major League debut vs. Boston.

July 10, 2002: Placed on 15-day disabled list with right shoulder strain.

May 12, 2004: Place on 15-day disabled list with right elbow sprain.

August 17, 2004: Tommy John surgery.

September 5, 2005: Activated by Seattle after recovering from surgery.

July 29, 2006: Placed on 15-day disabled list with right shoulder fatigue.

August 29, 2006: Suffered a concussion when hit in the head by a Vladimir Guerrero line drive.

April 7, 2008: Placed on 15-day disabled list with right elbow tendonitis.

June 6, 2008: Placed on 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation.

August 3, 2008: Placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation.

August 28, 2008: Ulnar nerve transposition surgery and bone spur removed. Soon transfered to 60-day disabled list.

Associated Press photo

Andruw Jones more than doubled his season RBI total yesterday. He went deep twice, part of a 3-for-3 afternoon that raised Jones’ batting average above the Mendoza line and brought his RBI total from three to seven.

Did he save his job in the process?

Getting sporadic playing time — even more sporadic than he’s gotten used to — Jones has struggled to live up to his billing as Marcus Thames’ replacement. He has even struggled to live up to his billing as Andruw Jones. Last season, the Yankees opened with both Thames and Randy Winn as reserve outfielders, and it was almost exactly one year ago that the Yankees decided they’d seen enough of Winn.

On May 28 of last season, Winn had 61 at-bats. He was hitting .213/.300/.295 with one home run, eight RBI, 15 strikeouts and a .595 OPS. He was designated for assignment.

Before yesterday’s game, Jones had 47 at-bats. He was hitting .191/.240/.340 with two home runs, three RBI, 17 strikeouts and a .580 OPS.

I tend to think Jones’ leash was a little bit longer than Winn’s. Nick Swisher is struggling, Chris Dickerson is a lefty, and there’s no immediately available, in-house, veteran alternative. But eventually the Yankees might have been forced to make a change, to give up on Jones and give Justin Maxwell, Brandon Laird, Kevin Russo or even Eduardo Nunez a shot as a right-handed outfielder.

If nothing else, yesterday’s game might have delayed that decision and bought Jones a few more at-bats to have a Thames-like impact, not a Winn-like exit. I don’t think he was on the verge of being released, but he might have been creeping closer. Yesterday put him back on solid ground.

Associated Press photo

David Robertson was a little anxious before Wednesday’s 7-3 win over Toronto.

The Yankees would be bound after the game for Seattle where they would spend their off day today. But Robertson’s off day would have a more somber tone. He was headed for Tuscaloosa, Ala., to survey the aftermath of the tornado that blew through April 27 and left so much death and devastation behind.

“It’s my hometown,” Robertson said. “It’s real dear to me.”

The house in which he was raised got spared. So was his family. So many others weren’t as fortunate. A few of his friends lost their homes.

“I hear the damage is unbelievable,” Robertson said. “I’m a little nervous to go down there and see how one bad day and one tornado can destroy a whole town pretty much. It didn’t get the entire town, but it destroyed a couple of places where I grew up (going to). It’s kind of weird to know everything you were used to seeing isn’t there anymore. I’m really nervous to see how bad it is.”

The 26-year-old reliever, who pitched there at the University of Alabama, cares enough that he’s going to try to help the citizens of Tuscaloosa. He planned take a tour today and meet with the mayor and others, attempting to see where some money is most needed.

He would love the public’s assistance from near and far. He and his wife have created the Dave and Erin Robertson Foundation and established a Web site with information on how to donate, www.highsocksforhope.com.

In addition, he’s going to donate $100 to the fund for every time he strikes out a batter. He struck out one of the two batters he faced to close out the seventh in the finale against the Blue Jays.

Robertson plans to fly out early tomorrow morning to rejoin the team for Friday night’s game against the Mariners.

The photo of this damaged Tuscaloosa neighborhood is courtesy of The Associated Press.

One day, two big-league records.

Mariano Rivera finished off the Yankees’ 7-3 win over the Blue Jays with a one-hit ninth. It marked appearance No. 1,000, all with one team. No one had ever done that.

“You have to be old to do that,” Rivera said after he lowered his ERA to 1.71. “It’s a blessing, being on the same team and to be able to do that. The most important thing is we won.”

There have been only 14 other pitchers to appear in 1,000 regular-season games.

“When you simplify it, he’s a one-pitch pitcher coming from a small fishermen village in Panama, and to have this type of success in one of the biggest cities in the world, it’s incredible,” Brian Cashman said. “And he’s that great a guy at the same time. He’s the same person he was when he signed.”

Andruw Jones remembers facing him in 1996 with the Braves.

“He’s the same guy, same pitcher, still getting them out,” Jones said. “I think he’s super human.”

Then there’s the case of Jo-Jo Reyes. The Toronto lefty tied the record held by Matt Keough and Cliff Curtis – 28 straight winless starts.

“I’m not worried about that streak,” said Reyes, who’s 0-13 with 15 no-decisions dating to his time with the 2008 Braves. ”When I step on the rubber, all I think about is executing pitches. We have fun with it, but it doesn’t get to me and doesn’t bother me. … Once I start pressuring myself into this funny streak, that’s when I get into trouble and try to do way too much.”

Brian Cashman had this to say about Dr. James Andrews’ diagnosis of an inflamed ligament in Rafael Soriano’s right elbow that will keep him out at least another six to eight weeks:

“I didn’t talk to Andrews directly,” Cashman said, “but talking to (team physician) Chris Ahmad, it sounded like Andrews is optimistic with the time frame and course of treatment that he should come through this OK.”

Freddy Garcia is sure doing OK. He improved to 3-4 but with a 3.26 ERA in nine games, including eight starts. Not bad for a guy who arrived at spring training with a minor-league non-roster invitation.

“Everything we’ve needed and more,” Cashman said. “He’s allowing us to plug a major hole and answer our prayers because obviously the winter didn’t go the way we wanted it to. You go from Plan A (Cliff Lee) to maybe Plan Z, but it doesn’t matter. You’re looking for the end results. The one thing I knew about Freddy before he came here was this man would not be intimidated by this environment.”

Jones matched his home-run total for the season with a pair of two-run shots. He came in batting .191 with three RBI. He had been 3 for his last 24. But he finished with three hits in this game.

“My last 20 at-bats, I wasn’t happy with them,” Jones said. “So I just kept working with (Kevin) Long, trying to get it right. Today was a great day.”

So the Yankees have won two straight and seven of nine to go to 27-21.They lead the Red Sox by percentage points. 

“It’s been an up and down first two months for us,” Joe Girardi said. “But the fact is we’re in first place and there’s a ton of baseball left to be played. You go through a two-week stretch where you really struggle and in some divisions you could be way back.  In a sense, we’re somewhat fortunate that it’s been an up-and-down season for what seems like every team in our division.”

*The Yankees reacquired righty reliever Kanekoa Texeira, claiming him off waivers from the Royals and assigning him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. To make room on the 40-man roster, Phil Hughes was moved to the 60-day DL.

*Girardi passed Buck Showalter for eighth on the Yankees’ managerial victory list with No. 314.

*Derek Jeter passed Cap Anson for 23rd on baseball’s all-time runs-scored list with No. 1,713 and doubled for hit No. 2,976.

*Curtis Granderson is batting .296 vs. lefties as opposed to .273 vs. righties, and he’s batting .304 with eight homers and 18 RBI since taking over the two-hole on a regular basis on May 6.

*Mark Teixeira has homered four times in his last seven games.

*Alex Rodriguez owns a six-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in 14 of his last 17 games.

*The Yankees will spend tomorrow’s off day in Seattle and then A.J. Burnett will be on the mound when they open the series against the Mariners Friday night. The Yankees will be facing Michael Pineda and Felix Hernandez in the first two games of the series.

The photo of Mariano Rivera is courtesy of The Associated Press.

Dr. James Andrews’ diagnosis of Rafael Soriano’s right elbow turned out to be inflammation in a ligament. The downtime will be at least six to eight weeks. After two weeks of rest, the reliever can begin a throwing program. Then, according to GM Brian Cashman, he could be throwing to hitters after four to six more weeks. Cashman didn’t specify whether that meant throwing to hitters on a rehab assignment or back with the Yankees.

Yankees lineup
1. Derek Jeter SS
2. Curtis Granderson CF
3. Mark Teixeira 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez DH
5. Robinson Cano 2B
6. Russell Martin C
7. Nick Swisher RF
8. Andruw Jones LF
9. Eduardo Nunez 3B
Freddy Garcia P

Blue Jays lineup
1. Yunel Escobar SS
2. Corey Patterson LF
3. Jose Bautista RF
4. Juan Rivera 1B
5. Jose Molina C
6. Aaron Hill 2B
7. Eric Thames DH
8. Rajai Davis CF
9. Jayson Nix 3B
Jo-Jo Reyes P

Time/TV: 1:08/YES

Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees

Umpires: Wally Bell HP, Laz Diaz 1B, Scott Barry 2B, John Hirschbeck 3B

Homer happy: Jose Bautista leads the majors with his average of one homer every 7.53 at-bats. Curtis Granderson is second at one homer every 11.13 at-bats. They are also running 1-2 in homers, with 19 and 16, respectively.

Milestone Day? Joe Girardi needs one win to pass Buck Showalter (313) for sole possession of eighth on the Yankees’ career managerial victory list. Derek Jeter needs to score one run to pass Cap Anson (1,712) for sole possession of 23rd place on baseball’s career list for runs scored. Mariano Rivera needs one appearance to become the 15th player to pitch in 1,000 games and the first to do it with one team.

Negative milestone day? If Jo-Jo Reyes doesn’t earn a victory today for the Jays, he will tie the record for most consecutive winless starts at 28.

Update, 1:08: There’s goes Garcia’s no-hitter. First pitch of the game, triple to the left-center gap by Yunel Escobar.

Update, 1:14: The no-hitter may be gone, but the shutout is still going. Excellent job by Garcia, bouncer to the box by Corey Patterson, pop to the mound by Jose Bautista that Teixeira caught, although Garcia tripped Nunez on the play, and pop to Nunez halfway up the third-base line.

Update, 1:18: Derek Jeter goes the other way and doubles over Bautista’s head. The ball sailed to the base of the right-field wall. Hit No. 2,976.

Update, 1:20: Granderson does it again, pulls a double to right, 1-0, his 28th RBI in 30 games in the two hole.

Update, 1:22: Aaron Hill lets Teixeira pop go off the tip of his glove going back in shallow center, E-4, first and second. A-Rod flies out for the first out.

Update, 1:25: Granderson messed that play up. Bautista caught Cano’s sinking liner, then was late trying to double Teixeira at first. But Granderson was way late getting back to second, a 9-3-6 double play to end the inning.

Update, 1:34: One single, but no real damage done by the Jays in the second. Garcia was helped by a tough back-to-the-plate catch by Cano. He made it look so easy in shallow right-center. Makes you wonder why he has had some defensive lapses this year.

Update, 1:40: Andruw Jones, who has done next to nothing so far, sends a two-run shot to the Jays’ pen in left-center. So it’s 3-0 in the second.

Update, 1:49: 1-2-3 third for Garcia, looking at his crafty best since the triple.

Update, 1:56: Teixeira pulls a two-run shot to the left-field seats after Granderson’s second double. It’s 5-0 in the third. Jo-Jo Reyes must be beside himself at this point. This is looking like his 28th winless start in row, tying the record.

Update, 2:13: It’s 5-0 after 3 1/2. And now it’s official. Reyes is out of the game. He has tied Matt Keough (1978-79) and Cliff Curtis (1910-11) as the only pitchers with 28 straight winless starts.

Update, 2:21: Luis Perez gave up an infield hit to Jones and that was it in the fourth.

Update, 2:33: It’s 5-0 after five, 1-2-3 inning for Perez.

Update, 2:41: Juan Rivera rips an RBI single into left with two outs in the sixth, 5-1.

Update, 2:49: Another two-run homer by Jones, this one over the center-field fence. This marks his 39th two-homer game. The two homers match his total for the season coming into the game.

Update, 2:56: It’s 7-1 after six.

Update, 2:58: Chris Dickerson is replacing Jones in left for the seventh.

Update, 3:00: RBI double for Eric Thames. Garcia is at 85 pitches.

Update, 3:03: David Robertson is warming. RBI groundout for Jayson Nix, so it’s 7-3, man on third one out. And now Garcia is done. Nice ovation.

Update, 3:09: Robertson gets out of it.

Update, 3:16: First and second, no outs for the Yankees after singles by A-Rod and Cano. And Joba is up in the pen.

Update, 3:22: Dickerson strikes out to strand two in scoring position. So it’s 7-3 going to the eighth. Joba gets the ball. Dickerson is moving from left to right to replace Swisher. And Brett Gardner is coming in to play left.

Update, 3:32: Joba gives up a single, a walk and no runs. So it’s 7-3, bottom of the eighth. Shawn Camp will pitch next for the Jays.

Update, 3:43: Mariano takes the ninth. Girardi spoke before the game about wanting to get him some work today. So he does make his 1,000 career appearance, a record for pitchers with one team.

Update, 3:51: Yankees win, 7-3.

Brian Heyman here today. Sorry for the late pregame update, but I had to wait in the clubhouse to interview Luis Ayala for a bullpen story I’m working on with Rafael Soriano down.

Speaking of which, Soriano’s appointment with Dr. James Andrews is scheduled for this afternoon in Pensacola, Fla. We’ll see if they announce the results later today. The Yankees must have somewhat of an idea of what’s going on his elbow from yesterday’s MRI.

“We don’t like to put anything out there until we’re exactly sure what’s going on,” Joe Girardi said.

The Yankees are going to give Bartolo Colon an extra couple of days of rest, six total. He will now pitch Memorial Day in Oakland. There’s an off day tomorrow, but CC Sabathia is going to stay on regular rest and pitch Sunday in Seattle.

Will last night’s stirring comeback win in the ninth carry over to today in the series finale? It’s in Freddy Garcia’s hands.

“Momentum stops and starts with your starting pitcher,” Girardi said.

Brett Gardner is sitting at the start with lefty Jo-Jo Reyes going for the Jays. Andruw Jones is starting, bringing along his disappointing numbers, .191, two homers, three RBI.   

Girardi again defended Robbie’s Cano’s defense. Cano had three errors last year, but he has five already this year, including last night’s ridiculous error on an easy toss to first that he didn’t glove.

“The expectations for three errors every year probably aren’t warranted,” Girardi said.

David Robertson is flying to his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Ala., after the game to check on the tornado damage. He and his wife are starting a relief fund.

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

The pie came out Tuesday night. A day that started with bad news on Rafael Soriano, ended with the kind of win that became the Yankees trademark during their championship 2009 season.

“The fans were into it,” Jorge Posada said. “They were loud the whole game.”

The Yankees actually had not been playing very well at home. They’d lost seven of their past nine at Yankee Stadium, and last night was shaping up to be another tough-to-swallow night. Instead, it was about as uplifting as any win this season.

Joe Girardi: “We had a lot of come-from-behind wins in ’09, and we played extremely well here last year. We need to get back to that. That’s a real good win for us.”

CC Sabathia: “A.J. with the pies, just us coming back from 4-1. Ricky pitched a great game, and for us to get to their bullpen, that’s pretty good.”

Mark Teixeira: “It was great to do that in front of our home crowd, and we hadn’t done it too much this year. To come back and get a big win, especially for CC and the home fans, was nice for us.”

Jorge Posada: “It can turn it around. It’s a good feeling in here when you win a game like that. Everybody is laughing, everybody is looking at A.J. getting ready for Tex. People are looking at the screen and laughing. It’s a good feeling in the clubhouse.”

Associated Press photo

Obviously the pie goes to the guy who drove in the game-winning run, and Mark Teixeira earned his postgame smash in the face by A.J. Burnett. This was a wild night, and Teixeira capped it. But make no mistake, this win belonged to Curtis Granderson.

“He’s been big the whole year for us,” Jorge Posada said. “For him to tie it, it was fitting.”

Forty percent of Granderson’s RBI this season (14 of 35) have either tied a game or given the Yankees the lead. He had four hits tonight, none of them bigger than his ninth-inning single that scored Chris Dickerson and pulled the Yankees even.

“Try to get something I can handle, but also understand what’s going to happen in the at-bat,” Granderson said. “It was one of those things that, I may or may not get something that’s my pitch. I may have to be disciplined enough and lay off his pitch, and it’s a battle. Can you trust yourself enough to do that? Can you trust that the one pitch you’re going to hit, especially with a guy that possibly throws 95 at you, that you’re going to be ready for it? A little mental battle, but at the same time, just go ahead and try and put the ball in play hard somewhere.”

When he got to first, Granderson had a different challenge. Teixeira said his first thought when he got to the plate was that he had to give Granderson time to steal second base. Teixeira said the Yankees knew Frank Francisco was slow to the plate, and Granderson had a chance to get himself into scoring position.

“It is (worth the risk),” Granderson said. “You’ve got to understand the situation, too. I know Arencibia throws well behind the plate, and I know they had shifted, so the guys are definitely in position to be able to cover the base, but it was one of those gambles. Hey, if I get there, hopefully any ball that Teixeira puts in play I could possibly score on.”

That’s exactly how it played out. Teixeira got a game-winning single off Juan Rivera’s glove (Teixeira’s fourth walk-off RBI with the Yankees). CC Sabathia got his 24th complete-game victory (Sabathia’s third with the Yankees). Posada, Russell Martin and Robinson Cano also played their part in the comeback, but the night belonged to Granderson.

“This guy’s been unbelievable,” Joe Girardi said.

Here’s the early part of Granderson’s postgame interview.

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And here’s part of Posada.

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• One pitch, one swing and one sprint from first to second. That was Posada’s contribution to tonight’s win, and it was pivotal. His pinch-hit double set the stage for the final rally. Girardi had told Posada, when the inning started, to be ready just in case. “You want to hit a strike and be aggressive,” Posada said. “It’s just a matter of getting a good pitch to hit – and I did.”

• Posada on his decision to go for second: “As soon as he falls down, there’s that doubt of, ‘Can I get to second base?’ The ball rolled away from him enough to get to second.”

• Posada said he was only going to pinch hit if Brett Gardner made an out. If Gardner reached base, Eduardo Nunez was scheduled to bunt him over.

• Granderson had the game-tying single, but he also had the leadoff double that started the Yankees two-run eighth. Cano drove Granderson home with a two-out double. Cano’s past four RBI have been Granderson.

• Martin was 2-for-4 with the second-inning home run that gave the Yankees an early one-run lead, and with the two-out, eighth-inning single that pulled them within a run. Martin is three home runs shy of his combined home run total for the past two years.

• According to Elias, Sabathia’s was the first nine-inning, complete-game win by a Yankees starter since Sabathia himself did it on May 8, 2009 in Baltimore. The Yankees went 341 games without a nine-inning, complete-game win by a starter, the longest such stretch in American League history.

• Sabathia allowed four runs on seven hits — six of them singles — in the third and fourth innings. Otherwise, he pitched seven scoreless, allowing just one base runner. “They didn’t hit the ball hard, but they’ll look like line drives in the box score,” Sabathia said. “You need to continue to make pitches and try to get outs.”

• I liked this Sabathia quote about Posada: “Sado’s had so many big moments in this organization and been here a long time. Everybody is making a big deal out of everything he does now, but we expect it out of him.”

• Give credit where it’s due, Ricky Romero pitched a nice game tonight. “Our guys talk about his fastball moves all over the place and his changeup is like a split,” Girardi said. “Seemed like we got a hit every inning but we weren’t able to put a couple together, that’s how good his stuff was. Our guys just kept chipping away and putting some pretty good at-bats, and it’s a big win.”

• Girardi had nothing new to add about Rafael Soriano. “I’ll wait to see what Andrews says,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate, when he had the setback yesterday, that we’d have him for a while anyway.”

Associated Press photos