Pregame notes: Happy Father’s Day
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Notes on Jun 19, 2011 
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Happy Father’s Day everyone.
My dad is probably in a wheat field somewhere in Southeast Missouri, I’m here at a ball field in Northern Illinois and this afternoon Joe Girardi was down in Peoria visiting his own father. He said he drove down this morning, spent about two hours with his dad, then drove back to Chicago. Girardi’s dad has been sick, but today was encouraging.
“The morning was very good,” Girardi said. “Better than I expected after what I had heard. His eyes were open, he was moving and he ate well, so it was all good.”
Girardi said it was the first time since 2007 that he spent Father’s Day with his dad.
When Girardi got back to Chicago, his own kids gave him their Father’s Day gifts. His son gave him a new iPod, one daughter gave him a handmade toothbrush holder and the other gave him a big plate because — as she told him — the Yankees manager likes to eat.
“They know their daddy,” Girardi said.
• Girardi hadn’t checked with Russell Martin, but he was confident his catcher would be fine after yesterday’s collision. “It was just a check on the boards, right?” Girardi said, a rock-solid hockey reference for his Canadian catcher.
• The Yankees bullpen is largely built around the goal of getting the ball to Dave Robertson and Mariano Rivera. The rest of the bullpen has been pieced together, but the Yankees have seen encouraging signs from guys like Cory Wade and Hector Noesi who might be primed for larger roles. “I haven’t really looked at it about guys winning jobs, it’s just based on needs,” Girardi said. “Wade is a guy that I know I can use in the back end. I know that, just because he’s done it before. Noesi was the one that I talked to, I told him … I will use you for distance too, but your role’s going to change a little bit, so don’t be surprised.”
• Girardi said he still considers Luis Ayala his top option in the seventh inning. He wasn’t available yesterday because he’d thrown so much recently.
• With all of his new relievers, Girardi said he looks primarily at quality strikes. It was quality strikes that made him believe Noesi could be valuable in short stints.
• Still quite a bit of talk this afternoon about Eduardo Nunez’s defense. Nunez said he learned from Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano to move forward, not letting defense affect offense and vice versa. “It’s good to see him be able to turn the page,” Girardi said. “Players are going to make errors, that’s the bottom line. Yes, they’re frustrating and you don’t want them to happen, but I don’t see him taking it to his offense and I don’t see him taking his offense to his defense. I think he’s just playing the game, and that’s what we want.”
• Yesterday’s Nunez error came on a ball that never actually hit his glove. Nunez said the ball took a bad hop and actually hit him in his bare hand before shooting away. “It’s an error anyway,” Nunez said.
• Martin will be off either Tuesday or Wednesday (when the Yankees have a night game, then a day game in Cincinnati).
• Girardi guessed that he had Logan up and throwing in the bullpen five times on Thursday and Friday, which made him hesitant to use him on Saturday. He’s not hurt or anything, just hasn’t actually pitched in a while.
• I was writing and didn’t see it, but apparently CC Sabathia hit three homers in a row during batting practice.
• Phil Hughes went 4.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in his rehab start for Staten Island. He struck out seven and gave up a home run to a catcher named Nelfi Zapata.
CUBS
Reed Johnson CF
Starlin Castro SS
Jeff Baker 1B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Geovany Soto C
Lou Montanez RF
D.J. LeMahieu 2B
Randy Wells SP
Associated Press photos
Hit one out tonight CC.
sad about Girardi’s dad . lets win one for him tonight !!!
I’m sure someday they will have a cure for what Girardi’s father has. It’s a shame it wasn’t pursued aggressively the past decade.
Mike_Vorkunov Mike Vorkunov
Next step for Hughes is throwing for the Trenton Thunder in 5 days. “Tentatively” #yankees
28 minutes ago
jnorris427 Josh Norris
Have a day, Mason Williams: 3-for-4, R, RBI, 2 SB, outfield assist. Culver has 2 RBIs but no hits.
Mike_Vorkunov Mike Vorkunov
Hughes allowed the homer on a 83 mph change up. He had good velocity in the 4th inning, staying at 92 mph with his fastball #yankees
34 minutes ago
Sad story about Joe’s dad, I lost my dad as a boy, you enjoy them for as long as you can and never take them for granted.
Sounds good for Phil…………and hopefully he will continue to throw the change; the more he does, the better it will be.
Record_Taratara sullivan
Hughes says his likely next start for Trenton in New Britain. Very happy with how he felt.
Rhapsody – you said it. More than anything else, the most important things we have in our lives are our family relationships.
Let’s go Yankees.
A breakdown on Hughes, including his non-existant curve ball at 72-75 MPH.
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-.....id=6678758
GB,
Happy Father’s Day and to all the other Dads too.
GB, do you ever take a day off from being crabby? I got accused of being like Phil’s mom – so you must be his great-grandfather or something. You can not stand to hear any sort of evaluation that indicates that this kid isn’t perfect. Give me a break.
Alex has shoulder issues…
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-.....id=6678882
Good afternoon, SAS. Thank you very much. hope all is going well in the S. household.
Betsy June 19th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
GB, do you ever take a day off from being crabby? I got accused of being like Phil’s mom – so you must be his great-grandfather or something. You can not stand to hear any sort of evaluation that indicates that this kid isn’t perfect. Give me a break.
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I’m crabby for posting a link? Lady, you have some serious issues beyond not knowing what you’re talking about.f
GreenBeret7 June 19th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
“Vargas with a 3 hit shutour with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts against Philadelphia. Retired 16 of the last 17 hitters. (that hit was a bloop single by Howard),”
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Yep. Whodauthunk that Vargas would out-pitch Felix and Pineda, let alone toss a shutout vs. that line up (who’s been pretty good vs lefties)
Nice to see Dustin off to a good start in the bigs…
~1st hit in his first AB (Friday)
~1st homer in his second game (Saturday)
~1st triple in his third game (today)
~and, he turned a couple nice DP’s (and, considering the position switch, that it HUGE)
Off to “the other Washington” go the Ms…
Had a large family dinner with all the kids and grandkids at one of the in laws. Thank goodness. Gorgeous day here though. My grandson’s other grandparents came too. Nice.
No embarassments tonight. This has to be won by the yanks.
SAS, sounds like a great day with the family. Well, except for all of those little crawly things that bite ankles. Thank god that my girls and the great grandkids are perfect.
Congrats to your team, Rosy. Vargas had the Phillies completely fouled up. Those sorts of pitchers never seem to have great years, but they sure give good hitters on good teams fits.
Thanks, GB.
Vargas (save for his start vs. the Yanks and a couple others) has been pretty solid for the M’s. This was Jason’s 2nd shutout this season (other vs. the Rays). Felix and Fister each have 2 CG’s but neither has a shutout.