The LoHud Yankees Blog

Brian Heyman here for this weekend series against the Rockies at Yankee Stadium. Joe Girardi said during his pregame press conference that Derek Jeter isn’t doing baseball activities yet in Tampa (outside of throwing) and that his calf is still sore. The Captain is eligible to return here next Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, but it doesn’t sound like the chase for 3,000 will resume that night.

“We’re getting to the paint that Wednesday is probably in jeopardy. but I can’t rule it completely out,” Girardi said.

Bartolo Colon is making progress in his comeback from his hamstring strain. Girardi said he threw off a mound in Tampa. The plan is for him to throw 50 pitches in a simulated game on Monday. Phil Hughes’ next rehab start is scheduled for tonight for Double-A Trenton at New Britain. The hope is he can go 75 pitches. Girardi wouldn’t project an exact return date for him.

But when Hughes and Colon come back, would Colon return to the bullpen where he was at the start? Girardi said the plan hasn’t been discussed yet.

“(Colon) was throwing so well in the rotation, it would be pretty hard to take him out of the rotation,” Girardi said. “But these are things we’ll have to look at.”

What do you think? Who should be the odd man out?

As for the report that Francisco Rodriguez wouldn’t mind setting up for the Yankees, Girardi didn’t offer much because of tampering rules. He did say David Robertson has done a great job. But he also said, “You can never have too much pitching.” 

The DH will be in play for this interleague game and the Rockies have an experienced one in Jason Giambi. 

“Colorado might be equipped more for the American League game because of Big G,” Girardi said.

1. Gardner LF
2. Granderson CF
3. Teixeira 1B
4. Rodriguez 3B
5. Cano 2B
6. Swisher RF
7. Posada DH
8. Martin C
9. Nunez SS
Burnett P

Tonight
RHP A.J. Burnett (7-5, 4.05)
vs.
RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7, 4.68)
7:05 p.m., YES Network / MLB Network

Saturday
LHP CC Sabathia (9-4, 3.39)
vs.
RHP Aaron Cook (0-2, 4.67)
1:05 p.m., YES Network

Sunday
RHP Ivan Nova (7-4, 4.13)
vs.
TBA
2:20, YES Network / TBS

Here’s the latest from The Associated Press down in Tampa, where the Yankees have a long list of players rehabbing. Still no mention of Derek Jeter hitting.

Speaking of Jeter, Brian Cashman shot down the idea of trading for Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. Cashman said the Yankees don’t have a need at shortstop, but he’s still on the lookout for a reliever. He indicated that Jeter would probably play in some minor league games before being activated. That means huge ticket sales for someone.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter threw for the third straight day Thursday as he rehabs a strained right calf muscle that landed him on the disabled list.

Jeter has been on the DL since July 14, putting his chase for 3,000 hits on hold. He was six shy of reaching the milestone when he was hurt during a game June 13 against Cleveland.

The Yankees’ captain has been working out at the team’s spring training complex. He could increase his on-the-field workout in the next couple days.

Also, right-hander Bartolo Colon and infielder Eric Chavez increased their onfield drills as they rehab injuries.

Colon, sidelined by a strained right hamstring, ran sprints in the outfield for the first time in addition to his third consecutive day of long toss. Chavez, out with a broken left foot, said he was fine after running from home to first around a half-dozen times.

Five of the Yankees everyday position players are in line to be all-star game starters, but there’s no vote for all-star game pitchers. If you could vote for one Yankees pitcher to make the team, who would it be?

CC Sabathia is tied for the league lead in wins, and Mariano Rivera is second in saves, but right now the Yankees all-star pitcher just might be Dave Robertson.

“He’s just got a lot of confidence in what he does,” Joe Girardi said. “And he has very good command, usually, of two pitches. And he’s mixed in a changeup a few times, which I think has been effective for him. It’s not something he uses a whole lot. He has that late life on the fastball, and it’s tough on hitters.”

I’m not sure he could win a fan vote, and it’s rare for any middle reliever to be selected at large, but Robertson has numbers — a team-low 1.19 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 30.1 innings — and he has to have the attention of the league. He’s stepped into a bigger-than-expected role, and he keeps dancing out of next-to-impossible situations.

“I feel like coming into those jams makes me really have to focus on throwing strikes,” Robertson said. “In the past when I’ve come in and no one’s on base, I tend to walk a couple — still do every now and then — but I think that’s really kind of helped me be able to bear down and kind of just pretend it’s a situation like that and just throw strikes and go after hitters.”

Girardi said yesterday that Robertson will probably fall out of the setup role when Rafael Soriano comes off the disabled list. For now, though, Robertson’s making it a little easier to forget that the Yankees are missing their top offseason addition (a guy who actually was an all-star last season). The Yankees have some bigger names who are pitching well enough to receive some all-star attention, but their newest setup man is worth a look as well.

“I’ve been moved around all over the place,” Robertson said. “I’ll stay in this spot I’m at right now for as long as they want me to.”

Associated Press photo

All-star voting continues for another week, until the end of next Thursday. So far, the Yankees are on pace for five players in the starting lineup. Major League Baseball will send one more voting update on Tuesday before the final results are announced on July 3. For now, here’s where the voting stands.

Catcher
Russell Martin, 2,226,797
Alex Avila, 1,730,511
Joe Mauer, 1,341,474

Avila has better offensive numbers than Martin, but I haven’t seen Avila day in and day out, so I can’t say whether he’s had the same impact as the Yankees new catcher. To me, Martin has felt like an all-star this season. Maybe that’s not the best way to pick the best players in the game, but it’s not a bad reason to vote for a guy. I’ve seen Martin a lot this year, and I wouldn’t have a problem voting for him.

First base
Adrian Gonzalez, 3,017,960
Mark Teixeira, 2,407,665
Miguel Cabrera, 1,771,893

Teixeira’s playing well enough to deserve a spot on the team. Gonzalez and Paul Konerko have been better first base options, but Teixeira’s right there in the mix. Teixeira is an obvious snub candidate because of his position (there are a lot of productive first basemen out there) and because of his team (if the Yankees really do get five players in the starting lineup, might be hard to get one on the bench).

Second base
Robinson Cano, 3,664,498
Dustin Pedroia, 2,239,172
Ian Kinsler, 1,452,880

Very quietly, Cano is beginning to approach last season’s level of production. He hasn’t been quite as good this year, but he’s been tremendous this month and he’s once again the best second baseman in the American League.

Third base
Alex Rodriguez, 2,876,537
Adrian Beltre, 2,307,380
Kevin Youkilis, 2,25,438

The choice should come down to Rodriguez or Youkilis. Those two have pretty similar numbers, but Rangers fans are keeping Beltre in the mix (he has the homers and RBI, but his slash line’s not in the same league as the other two).

Shortstop
Derek Jeter, 2,654,040
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2,242,157
Elvis Andrus, 1,513,929

Obviously Jeter hasn’t been the best shortstop in the American League, but at this position, he remains the most popular and recognizable option. Cabrera’s been a breakout player this season and will surely make the team, but Jhonny Peralta has also been outstanding, and so has J.J. Hardy when he’s been healthy.

Outfield
Jose Bautista, 4,156,940
Curtis Granderson, 3,473,227
Josh Hamilton, 2,400,408
Jacoby Ellsbury, 2,249,323
Carl Crawford, 1,789,097
Ichiro Suzuki, 1,537,101
Nelson Cruz, 1,462,426
Nick Swisher, 1,271,843
Brett Gardner, 1,120,179
J.D. Drew, 1,112,720

It’s been impossible to ignore Bautista for the past year and a half, and it seems the baseball world has noticed Granderson as well. Both are strong choices for the outfield. For now, Hamilton is getting in there on his popularity, but Ellsbury is having a nice season and could take that last spot in the last week of voting. Swisher and Gardner are in the top 10, but hard to imagine either one sneaking into the all-star game this time around.

Designated hitter
David Ortiz, 3,116,578
Michael Young, 1,760,195
Jorge Posada, 1,120,830

Young was the earlier leader at DH, but Ortiz has pulled ahead and pulled away. He’s certainly the most deserving choice. Young’s had a nice year, and so has Victor Martinez, Billy Butler and Travis Hafner, but Ortiz has earned the all-star spot. Posada, obviously, is not in the mix.

Associated Press photos

Jorge Posada shaking hands with Mariano Rivera after a Yankees win. It’s a picture that looks like something from another era, but it’s a positive picture, and regardless of what happened last night, this was a positive road trip for the Yankees.

Six games on the road, in unfamiliar parks, without a designated hitter, the Yankees won four times. They’ve won 10 of 13 since that three-game sweep against the Red Sox, and although last night leaves a sour taste, this team’s playing pretty well right now.

“If you can win two series, that’s what you’re looking to do,” Joe Girardi said. “You’re looking to win every series, and we were able to do that. You don’t like to lose the last game, but I thought our guys played pretty well on this trip.”

There were more positives than negatives this trip: Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia were outstanding, Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher stayed hot, Posada’s trip wasn’t wasted and Cory Wade kept looking like a nice pickup. You could add plenty of kind words about Alex Rodriguez, Dave Robertson, A.J. Burnett and Robinson Cano, who’s starting to show some of the consistency he had last season.

One game doesn’t ruin a road trip, and last night certainly doesn’t ruin this one. An off day today, and another on Monday means the Yankees get a little bit of a built-in breather the next few days. That’s a good thing, as well.

“It didn’t end up the way we wanted it to,” Russell Martin said. “But I thought overall it was a good road trip. Played some good baseball day in and day our. Four and two, I’ll take it any day.”

—

Just a quick note: After a terrible incident yesterday morning, I’ve shuffled some plans, rented a car, and I’m now driving home to Missouri for a funeral. I have some blog stuff that I was working on yesterday to bridge the gap while I was supposed to be flying to New York, but ultimately things might be a little light today. Not sure how much I’ll be able to write when I get home. Just wanted to give you all a heads up.

Associated Press photo

Joe Girardi said he hasn’t scheduled his starting pitchers beyond the next four games, but right now, the plan is for Brian Gordon to stay in the rotation. Tonight, Gordon took the good with the bad. He didn’t walk anyone, and at one point he retired 10 in a row, but when he made mistakes, the Reds punished him with three home runs.

“He had one good start and one so-so start,” Girardi said. “Obviously he’s gotten an opportunity because we have people that are hurt. Besides the few mistakes he made, he did okay, but his mistakes were big mistakes… He’s in our rotation. I haven’t sat and thought with the extra days off, what do you do? Right now, I have plans for him to start again.”

Girardi said the Yankees will stay on rotation for this weekend series against the Rockies — A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova — then Freddy Garcia will likely get the start in Tuesday’s series opener against the Brewers. Beyond that, Girardi’s not sure how he’ll manipulate the rotation. He could change it around because of Monday’s off day.

Against two of the five highest-scoring lineups in baseball, Gordon hasn’t been overwhelming — and he’s occasionally walked a tightrope — but he’s given the Yankees a chance to win. He had his good moments tonight, but a first-inning cutter, a second-inning curveball and a fifth-inning slider were hammered for home runs to left field.

“Definitely a little disappointed with the outcome,” Gordon said. “I think overall I felt like I executed most of my pitches, and I think I made three mistakes and I paid for all three of them.”

As Russell Martin explained it: “I thought he made a lot of good pitches today. He didn’t always get rewarded for it. I felt like it was a pretty tight zone out there for him, and then with the tight zone you get behind in counts and you have to get back in counts. Left maybe a couple of pitches over the middle of the plate, and they didn’t miss them.”

The Yankees might not need a fifth starter the next time through the rotation, but they’ll need one eventually, and right now Gordon is still in that spot.

Here’s Gordon after tonight’s game.

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• As you would probably imagine, this was a pretty short postgame in the Yankees clubhouse. Jorge Posada’s home run in the first game, and the Yankees winning record on the road trip, remained the biggest stories of the day. In the big picture, Gordon and the second-game letdown were pretty secondary today.

• Of course, there was the subject of Hector Noesi. He had his first truly bad outing since coming to the big leagues. The Yankees were still within striking distance before Noesi gave up three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth. “Missed location, too,” Girardi said. “Left some balls up. Left a slider up to Rolen, an 0-2 slider. He just made mistakes.”

• The good news out of the bullpen was Boone Logan, who faced two very good lefties — Joey Votto and Jay Bruce — and got them both out.

• There wasn’t much discussion about the Yankees missed opportunity in the top of the seventh. Not much to say about it really. Girardi’s strategy spoke for itself — he pinch hit in the spots that he could pinch hit and neither Robinson Cano nor Posada got the big hit — and that was really their last chance to make a dent in the Reds’ lead. Next time the Yankees came to the plate, the game was out of hand.

• Cano’s ninth-inning single did extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

• The Yankees are now 8-19 when the opposition scores first.

• Reds outfielder Chris Heisey had three home runs today. He had five all season before today. “Every mistake that he got, it only took him one pitch,” Martin said. “I remember him from when I used to see him, earlier on, he really didn’t hit breaking balls that well. Today, he got a couple of mistakes on breaking pitches and he hit them.”

• Johnny Cueto is good. “I can’t speak for everybody, but I didn’t really get many pitches to hit today,” Martin said. “He had that fastball working in the bottom of the zone against me and mixing his breaking ball really well. He was tough out there.”

• The Jeff Marquez injury is a mystery. He pitched this weekend in Chicago, seemed fine, then said his shoulder was bothering him while playing catch today. “He came in and played catch today and his arm was sore,” Girardi said. “I can’t tell you when he did it. He threw pretty well Sunday for us. I have no idea. He said he played catch today and his arm was sore.”

• The Yankees have signed veterans Terry Tiffee and Mike Lamb to minor league deals to bolster the Triple-A lineup. Just my opinion, but both could quickly become legitimate options for the big league bench as power-hitting corner infielders, kind of filling that Eric Chavez role.

Associated Press photos

The Yankees hit the big home run this afternoon. The Reds hit the big home run(s) tonight. In his second spot start, Brian Gordon allowed three homers in five innings, sending the Yankees toward a 10-2 loss. The Yankees were still within three when they stranded the bases loaded in the top of the seventh. Hector Noesi then allowed three runs in the bottom of the inning, then three more in the eighth to put the game well out of reach. Reds leadoff man Chris Heisey had three homers, two off Gordon and one off Noesi.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (43-29)
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Nick Swisher RF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
Ramiro Pena 2B
Brian Gordon RHP

RHP Brian Gordon (0-0, 3.38)
Gordon has never faced any of the Reds

REDS (38-37)
Chris Heisey CF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Joey Votto 1B
Jay Bruce RF
Jonny Gomes LF
Ramon Hernandez C
Miguel Cairo 3B
Paul Janish SS
Johnny Cueto RHP

RHP Johnny Cueto (4-2, 1.68)
Cueto vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 7:10 p.m., MY9 / MLB Network

WEATHER: Still so far, so good. Some of the clouds have actually cleared out. Wind still blowing from right to left.

UMPIRES: HP D.J. Reyburn, 1B Tim McClelland, 2B Marvin Hudson, 3B Lance Barrett

LET’S PLAY TWO: Last time the Yankees played a double header was that two-game set in Boston at the end of last season. The Yankees split that day, winning the the first game and losing the second.

CLOSE THE DEAL: The Yankees are 17-7 in series finales hit season, and they’ve won nine of their past 11.

UPDATE, 7:20 p.m.: Full count, Gordon allowed a home run to his first batter of the night. An early 1-0 Reds lead in the first.

UPDATE, 7:33 p.m.: Gordon sent the next three down in order, and Swisher picked him up with a solo shot in the top of the second. Tied at 1 with Gordon heading back for his second inning.

UPDATE, 7:43 p.m.: Another leadoff homer, and another inning limited to the one run. It’s 2-1 Reds after two innings.

UPDATE, 7:46 p.m.: I can’t imagine how badly Gordon wanted to swing away at that 3-0 pitch. All this time waiting, and he doesn’t even get the bat off his shoulder with a four-pitch walk in his first big league plate appearance. Also, batting lefty. Weird.

UPDATE, 8:46 p.m.: Gordon was good except for three key mistakes, each of them  a home run to left field. It’s a 4-1 Reds lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, with Boone Logan in to face Joey Votto and Jay Bruce (he got them both out).

UPDATE, 9:09 p.m.: Girardi went to the bench, but neither Cano nor Posada could come up with the big hit in the seventh inning. The Yankees left the bases loaded and still trail 4-1.

UPDATE, 9:25 p.m.: Noesi just struggled through the seventh. He hit a batter with the bases loaded and allowed three runs that gave the Reds considerable breathing room. It’s now 7-1.