The LoHud Yankees Blog

YANKEES (33-24)
Derek Jeter DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones LF
Eduardo Nunez SS

RHP Freddy Garcia (4-4, 3.34)
Garcia vs. Red Sox

RED SOX (33-26)
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
Carl Crawford LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
J.D. Drew RF
Marco Scutaro SS

LHP Jon Lester (7-2, 3.94)
Lester vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:05 p.m., MY9 / MLB Network

WEATHER: It’s actually warmer here than it was in Los Angeles this weekend. Wind blowing out to right field.

UMPIRES: HP Jerry Layne, 1B Bob Davidson, 2B Hunter Wendelstedt, 3B Brian Knight

DELAYING THE INEVITABLE: Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon has been suspended three games because of his actions on Saturday (he got into an aggressive screaming match with the home plate umpire), but Papelbon won’t serve his suspension right now. He’s appealed, so he’ll be available tonight.

TROUBLE WITH THE DOUBLE: Weird note from the Yankees: Mark Teixeira has gone a career-long 25 games without double. He hasn’t hit one since May 8 in Texas. He average 37.75 doubles per season through the first eight years of his career and has finished Top 10 in doubles three times.

ONE AWAY: Derek Jeter is still 14 hits away from No. 3,000, but he’s only one run away from tying Willie Keeler for the 22nd most runs in baseball history. He’s scored 1,719. Alex Rodriguez is currently 17th in runs with 1,792, seven away from Ted Williams in 16th place.

MAKING CONTACT: Jeter has not struck out in his past 52 plate appearances, the longest such streak of his career. He last struck out May 24 against Toronto starter Ricky Romero. He is on pace for the fewest single-season strikeouts of his career.

UPDATE, 7:17 p.m.: Well that was unexpected. A home run by Jacoby Ellsbury and a triple by Adrian Gonzalez — no, I don’t have those reversed — have gotten the Red Sox out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

UPDATE, 7:25 p.m.: That doesn’t look good at all. Teixeira could barely walk off the field. Lester just drilled him in the right knee. Posada is off the bench to replace him.

UPDATE, 7:46 p.m.: Third batter in the second inning, Luis Ayala already getting loose.

UPDATE, 7:53 p.m.: Wow. An inning and two thirds from Garcia. Here comes Ayala. I’m guessing we might see a little Hector Noesi action tonight.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: Welcome home, Derek. That went down as an infield single, putting him 13 away.

UPDATE, 8:21 p.m.: Mark Teixeira has a right knee contusion. He’s going to be reevaluated tomorrow but x-rays were negative. Seems like good news. As good as the Yankees could have hoped for, anyway.

UPDATE, 8:22 p.m.: Wouldn’t you know it? Posada just snapped an 0-for-27 against lefties this season with a single off Lester. The guy finally got a hit against a lefty in a game he didn’t start specifically because of the lefty.

UPDATE, 8:26 p.m.: Really nice catch by J.D. Drew. Even Jorge Posada might have scored from first base on that one. Also, here’s Noesi to start the fourth inning.

UPDATE, 9:19 p.m.: The fact the Yankees are even within three runs at this point is pretty remarkable. If not for the David Ortiz homer in the top of the fifth, Nick Swisher’s two-run double in the bottom half would pulled the Yankees within one. Instead, it’s 6-3.

UPDATE, 9:39 p.m.: Pretty easy to read Danks’ lips. Looked like he said he felt something in his back on that pitch. He’s out of the game. Here’s Matt Albers out of the bullpen for the Red Sox.

UPDATE, 9:58 p.m.: Really nice work by Noesi. The kid keeps proving his value. That’s five inning with only the Ortiz home run as a real problem. He’s retired 11 in a row.

Joe Girardi was asleep when the Yankees made their first draft pick last night. He woke up to a series of text messages letting him know the newest Yankees prospect was “Little Dante,” the son of one of Girardi’s best friends, and a kid Girardi had known since birth.

“I’m thrilled to death,” Girardi said. “Because I’ve known this little guy for a long time.”

Girardi said he had no input into the decision to draft Dante Bichette Jr., but it’s clear that Bichette was hoping the Yankees would take him. He’s committed to the University of Georgia, but Bichette said he wants to begin his professional career “as soon as possible.” Sounds like signing him won’t be an issue.

“It’s the most prestigious club around,” Bichette said. “There’s nothing better than being a Yankee. You grow up as a little kid dreaming of being a Yankee and hitting a home run in Yankee Stadium, and I was given the opportunity last night to build myself and get up to the biggest level, so hopefully that happens.”

Girardi and Bichette Sr. became friends in 1993, when both were members of the expansion Rockies. Girardi said it was unlikely friendship — Bichette’s a free spirit, and “everyone knows how I am,” Girardi said — but for whatever reason, they got along.

“Little Dante was born that first season,” Girardi said. “He was a wonderful little kid. There were times when we’d play on the road in Chicago, and we’d all stay at our house. Little Dante would sometimes have a hard time going to sleep at night, so we’d get in the car and drive him around. To think this is the kid that we drafted, the kid that I was trying to get to sleep in the car seat. It’s a special family. My wife and his wife are very close. I’ve seen Junior basically working at this his whole life. The setup they have in Florida, Dante has a cage with a workout facility and a basketball court for his sons to get better at baseball and do whatever they want. Dante is really committed to it.”

Said Bichette: “I still call him Uncle Joe. I think I’m going to have to stop that. That’s how close we are right now, but it’s just a great thing that I might be able to play for him some day.”

Here’s Girardi’s pregame audio.

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• Girardi is starting Derek Jeter at designated hitter today and said he won’t change his approach to Jeter’s playing time because of the chase for 3,000 hits. “You’d love for him to do it here,” Girardi said. “We have 10 games on this home stand, 14 hits he needs, and I would love to be able to do it here, but you can’t physically wear him down or risk hurting him to do that. We’re going to have to be smart about how we do this, and we’re going to play it pretty close to how we’ve played it all year long.”

• Why DH Jeter today? “Getting all our righties in there against Lester tonight,” Girardi said. “I could have played him at short and maybe you DH Alex. I wasn’t going to DH Nunez because he’s fresh all the time. I just felt it’s a way to do it to keep him fresh. We came off a long road trip where he played every day.”

• Eric Chavez is supposed to see the team’s medical staff tonight. No update on him just yet.

• Except for designated hitter, the American League all-star voting leaders haven’t changed in the past week. The Yankees are still leading at every infield position and catcher. Curtis Granderson is still second in the outfield. The only change is that David Ortiz has moved ahead of Michael Young at DH.

• Girardi was asked by Joba Chamberlain and not Dave Robertson moved into the eighth inning after Rafael Soriano went on the disabled list. “I could use both,” Girardi said. “But it was his experience in doing. We had kind of had them, David in he sixth, Joba in the seventh, so I really just moved them back. They’ve both done an outstanding job in Soriano’s absence of bridging that gap to Mariano. Very pleased with what they’ve both done.”

• Girardi on Jon Lester: “He’s got great stuff, and he’s got a lot of different pitches he can go to. He has the two fastballs, the curveball, the changeup. Knows how to expand the zone. He’s just another example of a tough left-hander in our division.”

RED SOX
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Adrian Gonzalez 1B
Kevin Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
Carl Crawford LF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
J.D. Drew RF
Marco Scutaro SS

Associated Press photos

Dante Bichette Jr. just did a conference call with the Yankees beat writers. Very soft-spoken, seems like a nice kid. He said he’s basically the exact same hitter as his father, who taught him from an early age to approach at-bats like a big leaguer. He’s committed to Georgia, but it sounds like there should be no problem signing him. He said he went into the draft hoping to be picked by the Yankees, and he wants to get a contract finished as soon as possible.

Derek Jeter DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Nick Swisher RF
Andruw Jones LF
Eduardo Nunez SS

Tonight
RHP Freddy Garcia (4-4, 3.34)
vs.
LHP Jon Lester (7-2, 3.94)
7:05 p.m., MY9 / MLB Network

Wednesday
RHP A.J. Burnett (6-3, 3.86)
vs.
RHP Tim Wakefield (2-1 ,4.40)
7:05 p.m., YES / ESPN

Thursday
LHP CC Sabathia (7-3, 2.80)
vs.
RHP Josh Beckett (4-2, 2.01)
7:05 p.m., MY9 / MLB Network

Round One came at Fenway Park in early April. The Red Sox were off to a horrible start but took two of three against the Yankees. They lost their next three games, falling to 2-10 to open the season. They’ve since gone 31-16 to quickly move right back into the race.

“They were always a good team,” CC Sabathia said. “I knew all along, I think everybody knew all along, they were going to come out of whatever they were in and start hitting and start playing well. They can get hot any time, and you can get them hot. It is what it is when you’re facing them, kind of like our lineup.”

—

Round Two came at Yankee Stadium in mid-May. At that point the Yankees were playing some of their worst baseball, and the Red Sox swept a three-game series as part of a six-game Yankees losing streak. The Yankees were in the middle of a 3-10 stretch. They’ve since gone 13-5.

“Right now I think every game’s big,” Nick Swisher said. “Whether it’s a rivalry game or another game, we feel that we’re playing great baseball.”

—

Round Three comes this week at Yankee Stadium. For the time being, this three-game series will determine first-place in the American League East. It’s hard to make too much of an early June series, but this is Yankees vs. Red Sox. The teams are a game apart in the division, both are playing well and there’s the added spotlight of Derek Jeter chasing 3,000 hits.

“They’re a team we know we’re going to battle against all year long,” Joe Girardi said. “… Guys feeling good about themselves, feeling good about the way they’re throwing the baseball, the way they’re hitting the baseball, I think that’s important.”

Associated Press photo

The Yankees just made their first pick of the 2011 draft, selecting 3B Dante Bichette Jr. with the 51st overall selection.

The organization is going to pass along a comment from Damon Oppenheimer at some point tonight. I won’t pretend to know a thing about this kid, but obviously the name is familiar. He’s the son of the former outfielder in Colorado who’s a close friend of Joe Girardi.

Sorry about that. The kid’s a third baseman, and initially I accidentally labeled the father a third baseman as well. As far as I know, Vinny Castilla’s son was not drafted.

UPDATE, 11:02 p.m.: A few links with information about Bichette.

Baseball America’s twitter feed says there’s “movement in his swing” but that’s apparently under control, and the kid has big-time power and “plenty of bat speed.”

John Manuel from Baseball America says Bichette has “big-time raw righthanded power.”

Baseball America’s draft blog suggests Bichette will likely move to an outfield corner at some point.

The Orlando Sentinel notes that Bichette was a nationally ranked tennis player when he was 14 years old.

Max Preps writes that Bichette played in the Little League World Series before becoming a high school standout.

In Frankie Piliere’s draft chat he called Bichette “a little unorthodox at the plate” but said “this kid can really hit.”

UPDATE, 11:07 p.m.: Knowing nothing about this kid except for what I’ve read, I can only add that the Yankees spent their first two picks on shortstops last season, their lower levels are loaded with center fielders, the catching depth is well known and I think I’ve written plenty about the pitching depth. The organization is a little thin at the corners, so this type of player makes some sense for the system.

UPDATE, 11:12 p.m.: Quote from Damon Oppenheimer: “Dante is one of the guys in this draft we thought had an impact bat and the potential to hit for big power in the middle of the order. He’s someone with an advanced makeup and work ethic who possesses the desire and drive to be a special major leaguer.”

UPDATE, 11:45 p.m.: Here’s the full press release from the Yankees.

The New York Yankees tonight selected 18-year-old third baseman Dante Bichette Jr. out of Orangewood Christian High School in Maitland, Fla., with their first selection (51st pick overall in Compensation Round A) in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Bichette, listed at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, batted a team-high .640 (55-for-86) with 58 runs 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 40 RBI in 30 games as a senior in 2011, as Orangewood Christian fell in the Florida Class-2A state finals. He has been named the “All-Central Florida Baseball Player of the Year” by the Orlando Sentinel in each of the last two seasons. Following his junior year, he was selected as an Under Armour All-American and named his team’s most valuable player.

He is the son of former Major Leaguer Dante Bichette, who played in 1,704 career games across parts of 14 seasons with California, Milwaukee, Colorado, Cincinnati and Boston, batting .299 with 274 home runs.

“Dante is one of the guys in this draft we thought had an impact bat and the potential to hit for big power in the middle of the order,” said Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees Vice President of Amateur Scouting. “He’s someone with an advanced makeup and work ethic who possesses the desire and drive to be a special major leaguer.”

The right-handed batter was ranked by Baseball America as the 15th-best overall player out of the state of Florida in this year’s draft. In 2005, Bichette participated in the Little League World Series with his Maitland, Fla. team.

The selection of Bichette marks the fourth straight year the Yankees have taken a high school player with their first selection in the First-Year Player Draft.

As expected, the Pirates just took UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole with the top pick in baseball’s amateur draft.

Cole’s name should be familiar. The Yankees took him with the 28th overall pick back in 2008. In April, Tyler Kepner did his usual wonderful job telling Cole’s story. The Yankees knew he would be a tough sign, but as they often do, they decided to take a shot on a potential high-end starter. It didn’t work out.

On his baseball bio page on the UCLA website, Cole still notes he “admires” Lou Gehrig and Mariano Rivera.

Because they missed out on Cole, the Yankees got a compensation pick in 2009 and used it on Slade Heathcott. This year, the Yankees don’t pick until the supplemental first round, No. 51 overall. The lost their regular first-round pick to the Rays when the signed Rafael Soriano.

Kevin Whelan opened this season as a rather forgettable part of a potentially memorable Triple-A pitching staff. Legitimate prospects filled the rotation, and the bullpen was dotted with returned Rule 5 picks and veterans with big league experience.

Then there was Whelan, the last remaining piece of the 2006 Gary Sheffield trade. He was a fallen prospect, a guy who always walked too many batters and finally reached a new low with a 6.02 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A last season.

Whelan’s been a completely different pitcher this year. As Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s closer, he’s cut down on the walks significantly. He has a 1.73 ERA, 17 saves, and he’s allowed just 17 hits and six walks through 26 innings. He’s struck out 28, and his 0.88 WHIP is the lowest on the team.

“It is the command, which translates to confidence,” pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras said in an email.

Contraras was the second person I talked to who mentioned confidence when explaining Whelan’s sudden improvement. He’s always had a good fastball and a big splitfinger — and he’s had some real success from time to time — but it seems that things are just now coming together. If the Yankees find an opening for a one-inning guy, Whelan would surely be the front-runner for the job. It’s worth noting that he’s been especially good against left-handers, holding them to a .178 batting average with 19 strikeouts and only two walks.

It’s also worth noting that Whelan’s not on the 40-man, and the Yankees have found more openings for multi-inning relievers than short relievers this season. Jonathan Albaladejo had even better numbers as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s closer last season — and he actually was on the 40-man — but Albaladejo barely got a look at the Major League level. So Whelan might not be looking for apartments in the city, but he’s surely put himself on the map. It’s impossible to ignore a guy who’s always had the potential and is just now finding the consistent results.

• Gary Sanchez is back on the Charleston active roster. He returned Saturday after being sent to extended spring training for what appears to be some combination of a bad back and a bad attitude, probably more of one than the other. He had a hit and drew a walk in his first game back.

• Greg Golson has been activated from the Triple-A disabled list, a move came one day after Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s most productive outfielder, Justin Maxwell, went on the disabled list with a jammed shoulder. Maxwell actually has a higher slugging percentage than Jorge Vazquez and homered in three games in a row just before the injury. For the season he’s hitting .260/.358/.588 and might have hit his way into a big league role had Andruw Jones not started hitting lately.

• Speaking of banged-up Triple-A players who might or might not be playing their way into a call-up: Carlos Silva was scratched from a start on Sunday because of tightness in his shoulder. Doesn’t seem too serious. Manager Dave Miley told Donnie Collins, “We’re just pushing him back.”

• If there’s no spot for Whelan as a short reliever in New York, the Yankees certainly have options for long relief out of Triple-A. George Kontos and Buddy Carlyle are still pitching well in long relief for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Kontos is holding right-handers to a .143 average with 24 strikeouts and four walks. Out of the rotation, tonight’s starter D.J. Mitchell has a 2.78 ERA and pitched seven scoreless in his most recent outing.

• After hitting .218/.292/.287 in April, Kevin Russo hit .316/.384/.408 in May. Brandon Laird made a similar turnaround, from .184/.213/.289 in April to .307/.343/.406 in May. Jesus Montero went the other way, from .365/.360/.473 to .269/.333/.413.

• Strange stuff in Double-A Trenton where hitting coach Julius Matos was ejected last week, then got into some sort of argument with manager Tony Franklin and has since been removed from his role. Popular roving hitting instructor James Rowson has taken over the job for now. It’s unclear whether Matos will return in any capacity.

• Austin Romine is the only Trenton regular hitting better than .277, and he’s missed a few games with a stiff neck and back after a home plate collision. Romine has certainly been the high point of the Double-A lineup. Melky Mesa is back to being an all-or-nothing hitter, Bradley Suttle is hitting for good power but a .233 average and Corban Joseph has been good but not great.

• I talked about him a little bit in today’s chat: Trenton reliever Tim Norton is starting to get some attention. Injuries have always been the biggest knock on the guy. This year he’s healthy and putting up incredible numbers (44 strikeouts in 29 innings, for example). One scout told Bill Madden that Norton is, “better than (Joba) Chamberlain right now.”

• Manny Banuelos has a 2.12 ERA and Dellin Betances has a 1.99, so those two are doing just fine despite higher-than-you’d-like walk totals. Craig Heyer, a guy the Yankees sent to the Fall League this offseason, has been awfully good since stepping into the rotation to fill in for some injuries.

• Tampa third baseman Rob Lyerly made the Florida State League all-star team, but as expected, the High-A roster is lowest of the four affiliates in terms of prospect buzz. Starters Brett Marshall and Jairo Heredia, though, are starting to do some things. In Heredia’s past three starts he’s allowed one earned run through 21 innings. He’s walked two and struck out 22. He’s another of those “if-things-go-right” prospects.

• J.R. Murphy remains the best all-around hitter in Low-A Charleston, but first baseman Kyle Roller leads the team with a .563 slugging percentage and corner outfielder Ramon Flores leads with a .407 on-base percentage.

• Slade Heathcott in April: .370/.453/.630. — Slade Heathcott in May: .216/.283/.289.

• The amateur draft begins tonight. The Yankees don’t have a pick until the supplemental first round — No. 51 overall — but they’ll almost certainly be part of the story with pick No. 1. The Pirates are reportedly planning to take Gerrit Cole, the former Yankees first-round pick who ultimately signed with UCLA rather than join the Yankees minor league system.

Headshots of Whelan, Sanchez, Golson, Romine and Norton

Mark Teixeira kept hitting go-ahead home runs, Derek Jeter kept pulling closer to the 3,000-hit milestone and CC Sabathia twice reasserted himself as one of the game’s most reliable No. 1 starters. A lot of Yankees played well during the team’s nine-game road trip along the West Coast, and that’s part of what made the trip so successful.

But individually, it seems no one needed that success more than Nick Swisher.

When this trip started, Swisher was a legitimate concern. He had been essentially benched during the previous home stand, and he was hitless in his previous four starts. Then he had a hit in eight of nine games during the road trip. He also drew his share of walks and hit three home runs, more than doubling his season total.

“I haven’t even thought about it, which is crazy,” Swisher said. “I’m so much better when I don’t try. I think sometimes when you do try too much, things go south. For myself, I’ve just been working on that mental side of the game and just really trying to fight and scratch and claw my way out of there.”

There’s always a temptation to replace any player who struggles for an extended period of time, but the best-case scenario always involves really good players remembering how to be really good again.

“He’s swung the bat great,” Joe Girardi said. “He’s swinging like he did last year. You’re seeing the ball jump off his bat. You’re seeing him go the other way. You’re seeing him pull balls. You’re seeing him hit the ball all over the place and he looks like he did before.”

Associated Press photo