The LoHud Yankees Blog

The second opinion was the same as the first.

Alex Rodriguez will have surgery on his knee tomorrow. He’s expected to miss four to six weeks.

They aren’t all as pretty as yesterday. This afternoon, the Yankees only real bright spot was CC Sabathia, but he did enough to carry the Yankees to a 1-0 win against the Rays in the final game before the all-star break. Sabathia pitched a complete game, striking out nine, walking one and picking up his 13th win. The only scoring came in the seventh, when Robinson Cano made two base-running mistakes, but was rewarded with a pair of throwing errors that let him score once when he should have been out twice. The Yankees have won eight of their last nine series heading into the break.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (52-35)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF
Andruw Jones RF
Eduardo Nunez 3B

LHP CC Sabathia (12-4, 2.90)
Sabathia vs. Rays

RAYS (49-39)
Ben Zobrist 2B
Elliot Johnson SS
Evan Longoria DH
B.J. Upton CF
Sean Rodriguez 3B
Kelly Shoppach C
Casey Kotchman 1B
Brandon Guyer RF
Justin Ruggiano LF

RHP James Shields (8-7, 3.56)
Shields vs. Yankees

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

WEATHER: Another nice day here at the stadium. Looks like the Yankees won’t have any trouble playing their final game before the all-star break.

UMPIRES: HP Ron Kulpa, 1B Gary Cederstrom, 2B Derryl Cousins, 3B Jim Wolf

MORE ABOUT JETER: For the first time since May of 2009, Derek Jeter has an extra-base hit in four straight games. He’s hit safely in 19 of his past 22 games and has 10 extra-base hits in his past 22 games after collecting just seven in his first 45 games this season.

UP NEXT: A four-hit game by Jeter would move him into a tie with Al Kaline for 26th place on baseball’s all-time list. He’s seven hits from tying Wade Boggs for 25th.

AFTER THE BREAK: The yankees played 18 of their first 22 games after the all-star break against teams at or below .500. The Yankees will be on the road for 42 of their final 74 games.

BERNIE CHIMES IN: Bernie Williams is in Arizona for several all-star game festivities, and before taking the stage on Saturday night, he passed on the following message to Jeter:

“Congratulations, Jeet, on No. 3,000. I wish I could have been at the Stadium today, but I was certainly glued to the TV in my hotel room in Arizona. In true Jeter fashion, you did not limp into the 3,000 hit club, but absolutely blew the doors off of it. I celebrate with you, your family and friends, all your teammates through the years, the Yankee organization, and baseball fans around the world. While the home run for number 3,000 is what everyone will remember from this day…knowing you…you probably are more satisfied with that eighth inning single up the middle that won the game. I was privileged to have the best seat in the house to see the majority of those 3,000 hits, and so many of your greatest moments, and while today is yet another one of those moments to add to your amazing career in pinstripes, I know there is still a lot more to come. Just exhale, enjoy it, and know what an honor it was to be your teammate for so many years. Tonight, my last song is dedicated to you my friend.”

UPDATE, 1:16 p.m.: Robertson is in! Dave Robertson has replaced David Price on the American League all-star roster.

UPDATE, 1:46 p.m.: Sabathia is in! CC Sabathia has also been named as an all-star game replacement. He is — oddly enough — replacing Tampa Bay starter James Shields. Obviously Sabathia won’t be going to the game, so he’ll be replaced by Alexi Ogando of the Rangers.

UPDATE, 1:49 p.m.: My only guess is that Nunez thought he was either going to be hit by the throw or out on the tag. Otherwise, I can’t really explain the last-second slide into first. My initial reaction was that he had seriously injured himself, but apparently not.

UPDATE, 1:51 p.m.: There’s 3,004, a bunt single down the third-base line. Really, really nice bunt by Jeter.

UPDATE, 1:53 p.m.: I don’t see any reason to have Granderson bunting in that situation, but I sit next to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger during home games, and really hates the sac bunt strategy. I mean really, really hates it. His reaction when Granderson squared to bunt was epic. Off the charts, epic.

UPDATE, 2:04 p.m.: Just showed a U.S. women’s soccer update on the big screen. Huge game-tying goal, and the crowd erupted here at the stadium. The game was on in the Yankees clubhouse pregame (or at least the leadup to the soccer game was on in the clubhouse pregame).

UPDATE, 2:22 p.m.: The women’s soccer game is over, and the big video board tells me the U.S. won. It also tells me that there was more scoring in that soccer game than we’ve seen today at Yankee Stadium. Still scoreless in the sixth.

UPDATE, 2:46 p.m.: Sabathia forgets to cover the bag. Upton forgets there’s only one out. Call it even.

UPDATE, 2:54 p.m.: Two base-running mistakes by Robinson Cano, and he’s rewarded for each one of them. Should have been doubled off at first, goes to third on a horrible throw from Upton. Should have been picked off at third, scores on a throw into foul territory. It’s 1-0 Yankees. They aren’t all as pretty as yesterday.

Alex Rodriguez is in Florida getting a second opinion on his right knee. Joe Girardi said the Yankees expect to know something by the end of the day, but he’s not sure when that will be. It might not be immediately after the game, but later this evening.

If the second doctor agrees that surgery is inevitable, Girardi sees some merit in getting it out of the way right now. The Yankees aren’t going to play the next three days anyway. They might as well use those as part of Rodriguez’s recovery.

“Absolutely,” Girardi said. “That’s what I would say. If you’re going to have the surgery, let’s get it done as soon as possible so some of the off days that you’re having are during the break.”

I wasn’t there for it, but apparently CC Sabathia said yesterday that he was able to pitch through his torn meniscus last season, but that was only because he was pitching every five days. Apparently Sabathia believes it would be more difficult to play through that sort of injury every day.

“We’ve seen how it’s affected Rodriguez up to this point,” Girardi said.

• Nick Swisher said his quad feels “way better” today than it felt yesterday, but he sees no sense in rushing back into the lineup. He’s certain he’ll be in there Thursday against the Blue Jays. “We’re just going to take the rest of this time off here,” he said. “You’ve got to get better, and especially with the all-star break coming up, why not take those three days just kind of rest your mind, rest your body and just kind of get healed up for that second-half push?”

• Swisher said he’s available to hit and play if necessary.

• The original plan was to give Derek Jeter the day off after No. 3,000, but because the Yankees were rained out Friday — and because their infield is already short-handed — Girardi told Jeter last night that he’d be back in the lineup today.

• Phil Hughes threw his normal between-starts bullpen on Friday, and he threw another full bullpen today. He’ll take the next three days off and doesn’t know yet when he’s making his first start after the break. The extra bullpen, for now, is the only extra work he’s doing.

• No big surprise, but Girardi said that if Rodriguez is out for an extended period of time, the plan would be to give Eduardo Nunez those starts.

• Speaking of backup third basemen, Eric Chavez is bothered by a sore back, but apparently he felt better yesterday, and “he should be able to get back to work soon,” Girardi said.

• Of the players currently on the disabled list, Rafael Soriano is closest to a return. He’s throwing live batting practice today. “He’s getting to a point where we could see him in a (rehab) game fairly quickly,” Girardi said.

• Damaso Marte is still just throwing bullpens and not ready to face hitters.

• Girardi said he has one baseball used in yesterday’s game, but he didn’t keep anything else. He gave the lineup card to Jeter. “It would be a great lineup card for anyone to have, but I think it’s his,” Girardi said.

• Every player had a duplicate of yesterday’s lineup card waiting for them at their locker this morning.

• Great story from Jorge Posada about his son Jorge’s reaction to No. 3,000: “I said, ‘You couldn’t write it any better.’ He said, ‘Yeah, I could write it better.’ He said, ’5-2 losing in the bottom of the ninth and a grand slam to win the ball game (for) 3,000.’ That’s what he said. I said, ‘Jorge, that doesn’t happen.’”

Associated Press photos

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF
Andruw Jones RF
Eduardo Nunez 3B

There were only a few of us left in the press box. We’d been there for almost 12 hours, written an unthinkable number of words, and witnessed baseball fairy tale. Even by Derek Jeter’s standards, Saturday had been an incredibly good day.

When it was over, I turned to Marc Carig and asked whether it was the most memorable thing he’d ever seen on a baseball field. He only had to consider the question for a second.

It’s hard to compare Saturday to a playoff game, and it might not be fair to compare it to a World Series clincher, but I can’t imagine forgetting a single thing about Jeter’s 3,000th. It wasn’t just the home run, it was everything that surrounded it. This was Jeter’s career played out in five at-bats. It was his talent and his legacy and his sense of the moment. A lot of people end up at the right place at the right time, but how many know exactly what to do when they get there? The fact that he admitted to his own vulnerability afterward made it all the more impressive.

For one afternoon, Jeter reminded everyone that he is, in fact, one of the greatest players any of us has ever seen. And I’ll never forget it.

“I just can think of only one person who can have a kind of day like today, at home” Alex Rodriguez said. “It’s Derek Jeter.”

—

“He prepares himself when he gets in these situations. He looks forward to things like today. Five-for-five don’t come easily. I think he enjoys that moment. He looks forward to it. Nobody better in the clutch. You guys have seen it in the postseason. He’s amazing what he’s been able to do. He looks forward to that moment, and today was a perfect example of it. To go out and get five hits today is amazing.”
-Jorge Posada

“Well, this definitely ranks up there, number one to me. Because being the first one who has done that for the New York Yankees is tremendous and to be a part of that for me is an honor. But the best thing for him is how he prepares himself day in and day out for a performance like today. He has done it for year. I am happy for him. He deserves it. And I hope he has another thousand or two more.”
-Mariano Rivera

“It was definitely his day today. As much as it’s an honor to play with him, to have a locker next to him, I’m just going to go and say it’s an honor to know Derek Jeter. I’m happy today that I’m a Yankee and I got to be a part of this and share the field with a great baseball player.”
-A.J. Burnett

“That has been swirling around for a while now, and he’s right on the doorstep. He not only knocked on the door, he kicked it down. I mean, five hits, like I said, first ballot Hall of Famer for sure… What a day. I couldn’t have been more honored to be here and see that.”
-Nick Swisher

“It’s just an amazing moment overall. I’m sitting there next to CC and I think he fouled off a 2-1 changeup and took a great swing. I said, ‘CC, if he gets another one, he’s liable to hit a home run.’ And sure enough he hits it out. It leaves you kind of speechless… I’ve said it all along, 3,000 hits in a Yankee uniform, for me, is like getting straight A’s at Harvard. He’s been a great student.”
-Alex Rodriguez

“The dugout is the dugout, but after 2,999, his next at-bat, the dugout was full. All of our support staff. Everyone. If you look to my left, there’s the stairs that go down into the clubhouse, and it was packed. It was packed with people, and you knew that something special was about to happen. It was kind of the scene when we had two outs in the World Series in 2009, all of the sudden it was packed. It was great, because you see all the people that respect what Derek has done over his career and really care about him. And it was nice.”
-Joe Girardi

“I want to give him a big hug. It’s an absolute wonderful accomplishment.”
-Yogi Berra

Associated Press photos

Derek Jeter’s ability to handle pressure has defined his career. He’s not shaken by the big moments. He’s comfortable with the game on the line.

The pressure of 3,000, though, was something completely different. For this milestone, Jeter was being asked to entertain the crowd. It wasn’t about winning and losing, it was about getting one specific hit at one specific time in one specific place.

“I’ve been lying to you guys for a long time saying I wasn’t nervous and there’s no pressure,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure to do it here. I thought eventually I would get a few hits, but I felt a lot of pressure to do it here while we were at home.”

That’s why today’s first hit was so important. Jeter tried to hide it, but he was legitimately upset about last night’s rain out. Two hits in three games was one thing. Two hits in two games was something completely different. To cut that number in half with a leadoff single was huge.

“It was a 3-2 pitch and he could have thrown it in the dugout and I would have swung,” he said. “I’m telling you, I was not trying to walk. It’s kind of a weird feeling. It’s been like that for a few days. It’s kind of tough to hit when you have that approach, that you’re going to swing no matter what. I tried not to have that approach but it was running through my head.”

Amazing how completely this pursuit took Jeter out of his comfort zone. He said the eighth-inning at-bat — when the score was 4-4 and the game was on the line — felt much more comfortable than his first two at-bats. The uncomfortable, unfamiliar pressure was lifted, and Jeter could be himself again.

“The one thing I talked about when I was originally going to sit him on Wednesday (was that) none of us really understand what it’s like to be on the threshold of 3,000 hits and the feelings that you’re going through and maybe the anxiety that you have,” Joe Girardi said. “After talking to him a little bit it kind of made sense to me that, you know what, it’s probably better if you’re playing. I’ll still never understand what it was like to be him today, but I’m extremely proud of him for what he stands for, the way he’s represented this club and the way he plays.”

Here’s Jeter’s postgame press conference.

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And here’s Girardi’s.

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• Alex Rodriguez said he’s certain his knee injury happened in Chicago when he was running the bases, a ball got away from the catcher and he felt something while he was running. He’s going to get a second opinion tomorrow and said he’s not leaning one way or another (for or against surgery). “The bottom line is to make sure we address it one way or another and make sure we’re playing our best baseball at the end,” he said.

• Nick Swisher said his left quad is still tight, and he indicated that he might take tomorrow off just be safe. That would give him six days off in a row before the Yankees start playing again in Toronto. “Especially with the all-star break coming up,” he said. “Not really any need to try and push it right now.”

• Swisher’s initial reaction when someone asked about his injury postgame: “Who cares about that, bro? Somebody got 3,000 hits today.”

• A.J. Burnett had a season-high nine strikeouts in his no decision. He allowed one hit to the first 13 batters he faced.

• Dave Robertson allowed a run for the first time since June 9, snapping a streak of 10 straight appearances without a run. Of course, he also got the win, so there’s that.

• Mariano Rivera got his 22nd save and is now 58-for-59 in save opportunities against the Rays. This was the first time he pitched since feeling that triceps soreness after Sunday’s game.

• Nice job by Christian Lopez, the 23-year-old who caught the 3,000th hit and told the Yankees he’d gladly give it to Jeter for the opportunity to shake his hand and maybe a signed ball. “It wasn’t about the money,” Lopez said. “It’s about a milestone. I’m not going to take that away from him.”

• Of course, the Yankees showered Lopez with season tickets, three Jeter-signed bats, three Jeter-signed balls and two Jeter-signed jerseys. “He got his ticket from his girlfriend so he owes her quite a bit,” Jeter said. “He’s going to be paying her back for quite some time.”

• Jeter on the actual baseball: “It feels like all the rest of them.”

• Jeter is the 28th player all-time to reach 3,000. He’s the fourth youngest behind Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount. He and Craig Biggio are the only players to get there in a five-hit game. He and Wade Boggs are the only players to get there with a home run. He’s the fourth shortstop to get there.

• Jeter had not homered at Yankee Stadium since an inside-the-park homer on July 22, 2010. He hadn’t hit a ball out at Yankee Stadium since June 12, 2010. He’d gone 358 at-bats without the ball leaving the park at this stadium, then he did it for No. 3,000 in at-bat that he said felt more pressure than a game-on-the-line, late-inning at-bat. It was really an amazing moment.

Associated Press photos

“I didn’t care, as long as they didn’t catch it. You want to hit the ball hard. I didn’t want to hit a slow roller to third base, and have it be replayed forever. I don’t know if I would have run as hard if I had done that this time. But no, you just want to hit the ball hard, and have a good at-bat. That’s the only thing I was thinking about. I never envisioned what type of hit it would be. To me, all of them count.”
-Derek Jeter

Associated Press photos

Today is all about Derek Jeter, but there is also that small issue of the team’s star third baseman who may or may not need knee surgery.

After being diagnoses yesterday with a torn meniscus in his right knee, Rodriguez will travel to Florida tomorrow to get a second opinion. Right now it looks like he’s facing surgery, with the only question being whether he’ll have it now or at the end of the season.

Obviously the Yankees are going to wait to find out what this second doctor has to say before making a decision.

Derek Jeter needed two hits. He got five. The 3,000th hit of his career was only a step along the way as the Yankees shortstop went 5-for-5 this afternoon, capping his day with the game-winning RBI in the eighth inning for a 5-4 Yankees win against the Rays. After a first-inning single, Jeter reached 3,000 with a third-inning solo home run to left field. It was his first home run at Yankee Stadium since July 22, 2010. Jeter then doubled and scored in the fifth inning, singled and stole a base in the sixth, and singled in the winning run in the eighth. It the third five-hit game of his career.

Associated Press photo