The LoHud Yankees Blog

Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1b
Rodriguez 3b
Cano 2b
Swisher RF
Posada DH
Martin C
Gardner LF

Garcia P

Just announced that Bartolo Colon and Amaury Sanit are on the DL. Chris Dickerson and Hector Noesi are here. Still no lineup yet.

Hey all, hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday night. Saw this interesting story from Buster Olney earlier today and thought it was worth a post. The idea of realignment in baseball is something that has been kicked around, in various forms, for years but now it seems to be gathering at least a little more momentum.

Frankly, I’m all for it. I’ve always thought it was grossly unfair that the teams in the NL Central are vying for an automatic playoff berth with five other teams while the other divisions all have one fewer as competition, and vice versa for the teams in the AL West. I understand the inherent difficulties in having an equal number of teams in each league, but fair is – or should be – fair. Olney says Houston would be an obvious choice to jump from the NL to the AL and that’s makes sense to me; certainly the Cubs and Cardinals aren’t going anywhere.

Going to two 15-team leagues would be weird, there’s no doubt. But if MLB increases the number of playoff teams, as it seems certain to do, then there’s no better time to make a change to a divisional system that’s flawed, too.

Curtis Granderson hit his 20th home run of the season in the fourth inning today; four innings later, Mark Teixeira hit his 19th. And while no one is expecting a Mantle-Maris situation to play out over the rest of the year, the Yankees are enjoying watching their back-to-back hitters try to keep up with each other.

“Hopefully we can do it all season,” Teixeira said. “I like those kind of competitions.”

Granderson’s power continues to amaze. He’s now homered in three straight games and is only four homers away from his total for all of last season. He’s also never come close to hitting 20 home runs this early in a season. In 2009, when he hit 30, he got to No. 20 on July 27; in 2007, 2008 and 2010, he didn’t get there until September.

What does Teixeira see from Granderson as he watches from the on-deck circle?

“His swing is consistent,” Teixeira said. “Whenever he gets a pitch to drive, he doesn’t miss it.”

* Everyone could use a hug sometimes, right? Well that’s an AP shot of Granderson getting one from A.J. Burnett after Granderson’s home run today.

As expected, two issues dominated the postgame: Bartolo Colon and the Yankees hitters as human pinatas.

First, Colon. He left Yankee Stadium and was headed to New York Presbyterian hospital for an MRI on his left hamstring. Joe Girardi said he probably wouldn’t know more until tomorrow, but depending on what the tests show, it seems likely that Colon is going to miss some time. In fact, GM Brian Cashman told the YES Network’s Jack Curry that it “looks like” Colon will go on the DL.

What does that mean for the rotation? Hector Noesi is certainly a possibility, though he’s hardly a lock. The Yankees like what Adam Warren (complete-game allowing 1 ER in last start) and D.J. Mitchell (5 ER in last 19 IP) have done recently in Scranton, and David Phelps (6 ER in last 23 IP) is on the radar, too. Colon’s next turn is scheduled for Thursday against the Rangers, so whoever gets the gig won’t have an easy assignment.

The frustrating part for the Yankees is that Colon has been every bit an ace this season. His two-seam fastball was wicked today and Alex Rodriguez said “lefties have no chance” against him. “He’s throwing like a legitimate No.1 starter, like when he won the Cy Young in 2005,” A-Rod said.

Mark Teixeira was closest to Colon as he ran over to the cover first base on Shin-soo Choo’s grounder in the seventh, and Teixeira said he was surprised to look up after fielding the ball and see Colon still far from the bag. “I knew it wasn’t good,” Teixeira said. Turns out, it wasn’t.

• As for the circumstances surrounding Mitch Talbot’s ejection for hitting A-Rod in the sixth, there were strong opinions on both sides. Talbot and Indians manager Manny Acta were shocked; Talbot claimed he slipped (not altogether unreasonable considering it was raining) and, in a 2-0 game where he’s pitching well, had no reason to hit A-Rod on purpose. “I thought it was a little ridiculous,” Talbot told reporters. “Honestly, I got tossed because Teixeira got hit yesterday.”

Plate ump Dan Iassogna disagreed. He told a pool reporter that, “after the situation we had last night, and Alex hit a big home run last night and hit another home run today, and Curtis Granderson hit a home run last night and another one today, (Talbot) threw the pitch directly at him.” So, Iassogna tossed him.

The Yankees, not surprisingly, agreed with the decision. Both Girardi and Rodriguez used the word “fishy” to describe what went on, and Teixeira sarcastically called the plunking a “crazy coincidence.”

Rodriguez went as far as drawing a correlation between the number of home runs the Yankees hit and how often they’re getting hit by pitches. “Guys are going deep,” A-Rod said, and then pitchers are shaking off the catcher “two or three times to get to the fastball in.”

Girardi was blunter. “I’m tired of it,” he said. “Our guys get hit entirely too much. We’re a club that hits home runs and people don’t like that too much.”

Later, Girardi added, “I don’t like it. But we’ll protect our own.”

• In terms of his health, A-Rod said the pitch hit him on the “IT band” – I had to look it up, apparently it’s a group of fibers that runs along the thigh – but that he’ll “be ready to roll” tomorrow. Did A-Rod think the pitch was on purpose? “I’m not sure if it was intentional but it hurt like hell,” he said.

• Russell Martin came through his work OK and said “the plan is to be ready for tomorrow.”

• Even though everyone else may be used to Dave Robertson getting out of jams like the one he escaped in the eighth, Robertson still finds them to be “very stressful.

“A balk, two hits – it was a tough outing,” he said. “I just had to fight through it.”

• Girardi wasn’t upset with Brett Gardner after the left fielder was thrown out on the bases twice today. “He’s being aggressive,” Girardi said. “I don’t have a problem. I want him to be aggressive.”

YANKEES (34-27)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Brett Gardner LF
Francisco Cervelli C

RHP Bartolo Colon (4-3, 3.39)
Colon vs. Indians

INDIANS (34-27)
Michael Brantley LF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Grady Sizemore CF
Carlos Santana 1B
Shin-Soo Choo RF
Matt LaPorta DH
Cord Phelps 2B
Jack Hannahan 3B
Lou Marson C

RHP Mitch Talbot (2-2, 4.18)
Talbot vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Gray, windy and cooler. Looks like rain is in the forecast, too. Excellent!

UMPIRES: HP Dan Iassogna, 1B CB Bucknor, 2B Mike Muchlinski, 3B Dale Scott

JORGE HITTING: Jorge Posada has four straight multi-hit games, matching his career-high stretch (he’s done it three other times). Posada is 10-for-16 over the four games and has raised his average to .215.

FAMILIAR FACE: Bartolo Colon faces his former team today, as the Indians signed him as a non-drafted free agent in 1993. He went 75-45 with a 3.92 ERA in 162 games with Cleveland before being traded to the Expos (!) in 2002.

TARGET PRACTICE: Think the Yankees have been hit by a lot of pitches this year? You’re not wrong. They’ve been plunked seven times already on this homestand and 32 times in 2011, second-most in the majors behind the White Sox (40).

UPDATE, 1:12 p.m.: Two strikeouts to start the game for Colon, who used a pretty two-seamer to get Michael Brantley looking then whiffed Asdrubal Cabrera on a four-seamer.

UPDATE, 1:38 p.m.: Nice round of cheers for Jorge Posada, who has been on a (relative) tear of late, as noted above. Posada then promptly grounds into a 3-6-3 double play on the first pitch.

UPDATE, 1:54 p.m.: It’s amazing to me that Brett Gardner has been caught stealing as much as he has. The ball beat him to the bag on that one by at least a step and he’s now 13-for-21 on steal attempts. That’s brutal.

UPDATE, 2:08 p.m.: Winds are swirling hard but no problem for A-Rod, who crushes a liner over the left-field fence for his 13th home run of the year. It’s 1-0 Yanks.

UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: In a bizarre turn of events, Mitch Talbot has been ejected for hitting A-Rod with a pitch. Talbot immediately protested when plate ump Dan Iassogna tossed him, pointing at the mound and claiming that he slipped on the wet dirt. Iassogna wasn’t interested and Talbot is gone. It’s 2-0 Yankees in the sixth.

UPDATE, 3:09 p.m.: For the second time in half an hour, we’ve had a long wait while a pitcher gets all the time he needs to warm-up. This time it was Dave Robertson, who came on for Bartolo Colon after Colon pulled up lame covering first base. Hard to say how serious Colon’s injury is, but he was limping and there didn’t seem to be much question as to whether he could continue.

UPDATE, 3:29 p.m.: Just got word from the Yankees: Strained left hamstring for Colon. Obviously we’ll find out more after the game, but you’d have to think Hector Noesi could be a candidate to get a start if Colon has to miss one.

UPDATE, 3:45 p.m.: That would have been a surprising escape if it’d been anyone else, but Robertson is making a career out of this stuff. Single, single, balk … and then three straight strikeouts to keep the game at 3-0. Robertson needs to be more efficient, to be sure, but his ability can’t be doubted.

Obviously there was still plenty of talk today about the benches-clearing situation from last night’s game, when Mark Teixeira took exception to Fausto Carmona hitting him and Joe Girardi was captured on camera screaming at Indians manager Manny Acta.

Girardi was asked today if he heard anything from his kids about being so angry during a game and he said his oldest daughter, Serena, said, “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you that mad,” to which Girardi responded – jokingly – “You keep acting the way you do sometimes and you’re going to see it again!” (Serena laughed).

In terms of carry-over, both Girardi and Acta said they thought the teams would move on. Acta said the Indians have enough trouble “trying to win a ballgame to be worrying about that stuff”and Girardi said, “Idon’t have any hard feelings toward Manny.”

Carmona, who didn’t speak to the media after the game, held a short (and somewhat terse) interview this morning in which – through an interpreter – he basically said that the pitch got away. When asked about Teixeira’s comments – that Carmona has pitched him down and away for years and yet, suddenly after a home run, he’s coming up and in – Carmona said he was trying to mix up his approach and that Teixeira was diving out over the plate. Make of that what you will.

When the conversation turned toward Carmona’s decision to not speak for himself last night – something generally expected by teammates who don’t want to have answer for someone else’s situation – Carmona ended the interview and walked away.

• In terms of Yankee news, there isn’t a ton of fresh stuff with such a quick turnaround. Russell Martin is out today but hopes to be back in the lineup tomorrow. Even if he’s not, Girardi said he doesn’t feel a need to get another catcher on the roster.

• What did Girardi say to Kevin Whelan on the mound last night that got him to laugh in the midst of his rough outing? “I just told him, ‘we’ve all been there,”” Girardi said. “I asked him how fast his heart was beating.” As for the four walks Whelan issued, Girardi said, “I don’t make too much of that. It’s different the first time out.”

• I’m sure this won’t be the last time I (or anyone) writes some version of this but … No, the Yankees aren’t currently considering Phil Hughes as an option for the bullpen. “Our plan is to have him as a starter,” Girardi said. “I never say never on anything because I don’t think you should in my position but our plan is to have him as a starter.”

• Eric Chavez is doing some light hitting drills but hasn’t started running yet. “That’s the big test,” Girardi said.

• Rafael Soriano (remember him?) is hoping to start throwing next week. There’s no more specific timetable available on him beyond that.

Late report plus no BP = late lineup post.

Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1b
Rodriguez 3b
Cano 2b
Swisher RF
Posada DH
Gardner LF
Cervelli C

Colon P

The Indians are starting three straight right-handers the rest this series, which means more at-bats for Jorge Posada.

In his past four games, Posada has 10 hits, and he’s raised his batting average 46 points. Obviously there’s still reason for skepticism, but the change is so drastic that it’s impossible to ignore.

“Just (hard work) paying off now,” Posada said. “I’m just waiting for the ball a little longer and hitting the ball to all fields and really seeing it better… Just look forward to the next at-bat and look forward to the next day.”

We’re talking about 16 at-bats. The sample size is beyond small, and I still believe that Posada needs more a few good games to convince the world that he’s back, but there’s also a sense in baseball that things rarely turn a corner this quickly. Hot streaks often start with good at-bats that come before the good results. Maybe that’s happened for Posada. Joe Girardi said Posada’s at-bats have been better since the West Coast trip, and now the results are beginning to follow.

Of course, it’s also possible to look back to that day when Posada erupted and backed out of start at Yankee Stadium. Is it possible that was the storm before the calm, and one bad day actually did some good?

“I think that Jorge was able to express a lot of frustration with the way things were going that day,” Girardi said. “And I think it helped him. Jorge’s the kind of guy that sometimes keeps things in, and I think he was able to express it that day, and the next couple days. And I think it helped.”

Six Yankees were hit by a pitch in their three-game series against the Red Sox. Tonight’s was different. It was different because of the pitch that came immediately before it, and it was different because of all the pitches Mark Teixeira saw the past five years.

“We’ve had (seven) guys hit in the past four days,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I can’t tell you 100 percent, but if I was to say one was intentional, that was tonight.”

Benches cleared, bullpens poured onto the field and Girardi got into a toe-to-toe shouting match with Indians manager Manny Acta. It was all because Fausto Carmona threw a first-pitch fastball into Teixeira’s upper back.

Curtis Granderson had just homered on the previous pitch. The Yankees were leading by four runs, and Teixeira history against Carmona told him that a first-pitch fastball, up-and-in, was no accident. Teixeira slammed his helmet to the ground, picked himself off the dirt and began shouting.

“I was just telling him that it’s a coincidence that he throws every pitch to me in the last five years down and away,” Teixeira said. “Changeups down and away. He must have really missed his spot on that one.”

Girardi was the first one out of the Yankees dugout, and he got himself between Teixiera and Carmona, who kept shouting at one another as the infield flooded with players. In the heat of the moment, no one was hotter than the usually even-tempered Girardi. He and Acta were face-to-face at one point.

“Manny told my guy to stop,” Girardi said. “Take care of your own guy. I’ll take care of my guy, you take care of your own guy. I have respect for Manny. I actually had a nice exchange with Manny at 3 o’clock today, but that doesn’t mean there’s not some feistiness in me, and when my guys are getting plunked, I’m going to protect them.”

Acta described the incident as “normal baseball stuff” and said the argument was nothing more than each manager defending his player.

“Hit by pitches are a part of the game,” Teixeira said. “I get hit plenty. Guys try to bust me in to keep me off the pitches away sometimes. I got hit in the knee the other day on a cutter that just got away from (Jon) Lester. I’m not going to get upset about that, but when I know it’s a purpose pitch and it’s up near my head, I take exception to that.”

Here’s Girardi.

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And here’s Teixeira.

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• If I had to guess which hit-by-pitch quote will be the most popular, I’d guess this one: “Sometimes it doesn’t really matter if it’s on purpose,” Alex Rodriguez said. “Overall as an offense, (the Red Sox) came in here and pretty much embarrassed us at our home field. Sometimes people are too comfortable… I thought tonight was a good way to answer back and answer the call. The last three games at home were very embarrassing for us, and it’s really not acceptable for us to play that type of baseball.”

• It might be lost because of the fight and because of the Yankees bullpen and because there were so many runs scored, but Ivan Nova was tremendous tonight. It was the second-longest outing of his big league career, and he was outstanding at the end. “I never pitched like that in my life,” he said. “In the seventh inning, I started pitching the way you pitch in the first inning.”

• Nova on his reaction after the benches cleared: “In that moment, the first thing that kept going through my mind was, you’ve got to keep pitching your game. It was too early in the game. I was never thinking, do something bad, but if you think you’ve got to do something to protect teammates or whatever, I was just thinking, keep pitching my game and get deep in the game and then decide after that what you’ve got to do.”

• Jorge Posada singled in his first three at-bats and momentarily raised his batting average higher than Nick Swisher’s. This was his fourth straight multi-hit game, which has raised his average from .169 to .215. Posada is hitting .323 with five doubles in 20 games since May 8.

• Curtis Granderson has homered in back-to-back games and leads the team with 19 homers. He didn’t hit his 19th home run last year until September 18.

• Rodriguez’s 12th homer of the season was an absolute bomb. As the Yankees postgame notes explain: It was to the left of the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, clearing the 22-foot roll-up door that sits 25 feet behind the outfield wall. “Unfortunately it only counts as one,” Rodriguez said.

• The Yankees stole a season-high five bases, including third base twice. It was their most stolen bases in a game since September 25, 2009 against Boston when they stole seven.

• Fifteen hits were a season-high for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

• Derek Jeter has a six-game hitting streak and is now nine away from No. 3,000.

• After three rookie relievers struggled to hold onto an 11-2 lead after eight innings, Girardi went to Mariano Rivera for the final two outs. “You don’t want to have to,” Girardi said. “But he hasn’t worked in a while so it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

• Kevin Whelan walked six batters in 27 Triple-A innings this season. He walked four of the six batters he faced in his big league debut. When Girardi pulled him in the eighth, Girardi actually got Whelan to laugh before letting him leave the mound. “I said, we’ve all been through that first moment,” Girardi said. “The first time that we’re on the field, the big league field, there’s a lot of nerves there, and you’re never sure how you’re going to react.”

• I only talked to Whelan briefly after the game. He was kind of shaking his head about his eventful debut. He found out around 3:30 that he was being called up, got his wife and kid, drove to New York, got to the park around 6:30 and was in a benches clearing situation by the second inning. Pretty wild day even before that inning.

• The Yankees are going to look for internal options to fill the hole left by Joba Chamberlain, and tonight’s game showed that it might be an occasionally difficult process. “I think you have to have as much patience as you can,” Girardi said. “I think you have to give these guys a chance to grow up in front of you. We all were young. We all had those nerves when we were in situations our first game, when we were put in tough situations later on. We’ve all been through that. You have to show some patience. But in turn, guys have to make pitches as well.”

• Chamberlain on his upcoming surgery: “Obviously the guy doing it has done it a few times. I’m pretty confident that he’ll do a good job, and the rest relies on me and making sure I get back to where I can be and even stronger.”

• Russell Martin plans to hit on Saturday, but he probably won’t play until the next day. “There’s a good chance I’ll be ready to play on Sunday,” he said. “That’s what I’m hoping for.”

Associated Press photos