The LoHud Yankees Blog

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

Still waiting for a lineup, but there’s this bit of news from across the bridge:

Eric Chavez went 4-for-5 this afternoon in his second rehab appearance with High-A Tampa. All four hits were singles, he scored once on a home run, and he was lifted for a pinch runner after his last hit.

I’m sure you remember that Derek Jeter had a camera crew with him through the final days of his pursuit of 3,000 hits. Today, HBO and MLB announced that the documentary will premier on July 28 on HBO. Here’s the announcement.

New York, NY — “DEREK JETER 3K,” the hour-long documentary special from HBO and Major League Baseball Productions, will premiere Thursday, July 28th at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. The special chronicles New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s dramatic quest for his 3,000th career hit, which he accomplished versus the Tampa Bay Rays with a remarkable five-for-five performance on July 9th at Yankee Stadium. “DEREK JETER 3K” will take viewers behind the scenes as Jeter made his run at the 3,000-hit milestone, becoming the first player to do it in a Yankees uniform.

With the cooperation of Derek Jeter and the Yankees, MLB Productions gained extensive access to Jeter both at and away from the ballpark. For the first time ever, Jeter wore a microphone during two games including the one where he reached the 3,000 career hit milestone. He also allowed MLB Productions camera crews to follow him on multiple occasions and in a variety of settings, including in his home and during rehabilitation from a calf injury. “DEREK JETER 3K” also will feature exclusive interview footage with the Yankee captain which was recorded shortly after he became only the 28th player in MLB history to achieve the milestone.

Produced by MLB Productions in collaboration with HBO Sports, “DEREK JETER 3K” will include reflections on Jeter’s entire career, including footage in the Major League Baseball Film and Video Archive from his early days with the Yankees through his five World Series Championships. The special will include new interviews with his family and friends as well as Yankees executives, legends and teammates such as Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Curtis Granderson, Dave Winfield, Minka Kelly, Billy Crystal, and many more. Liev Schreiber, the voice of HBO Sports, will narrate.

In addition to the prime-time premiere on July 28 and a full schedule of replays, the special also will be available to subscribers on HBO ON DEMAND® and HBO GO.

Associated Press photo

When Bartolo Colon failed to pitch out of the first inning last week, Joe Girardi insisted that Colon’s stuff was better than his results — which was probably true — but there was a lingering concern about Colon’s admission that he was still favoring his recently recovered hamstring. It didn’t seem to hurt him, but Colon hesitant to test it.

There was no such hesitation last night.

“Thank God, I felt really good today,” Colon said. “I didn’t feel anything in my leg, feel anything in my head. Nothing crossed my mind that I was going to get hurt today. When I was warming up in the bullpen, I felt the same way. I felt really comfortable today.”

In the end, last night’s game was a disappointment, but in the beginning, it was an encouraging return to form for the Yankees most surprising starting pitcher. With the trade deadline less than two week away, the Yankees rotation has become an unending debate, and Colon’s outing seemed to be a declaration that he’s not finished just yet.

“It should put his mind at ease,” Girardi said. “He knows how he feels better than I do, but I thought he was effective all night.”

Colon had the familiar movement on his four-seamer, but he also showed quite a few changeups and sliders, and he was able to work up in the zone with his four-seamer, which was constantly humming in the mid-90s.

“He just looked better,” Russell Martin said. “The ball was coming out better. He looked like he felt fine… You always want to be throwing the ball well, especially for him, how dominant he was early in the year, I guess it was probably frustrating for him the last couple of games, but today was better.”

Associated Press photo

Last night was decided on a bases-loaded walk. Tonight it was a fly ball lost in the roof and a bad play on the mound.

“We kind of stole one last night,” Joe Girardi said. “We gave it back tonight.”

To put it another way.

“I don’t feel like they won it,” Russell Martin said. “We just gave it to them.”

The fly ball to center

It was a routine out, hit sky high but infinitely catchable. Off the bat, it seemed to be no problem for Curtis Granderson, but as the ball came down, he put his hands out in the universal “I lost it” signal.

“Just missed it,” Granderson said. “It went up and I lost it right away. Picked it back up, and then right when it was on the way back down, couldn’t find it. And then right at the last minute, when I finally found it, I was too deep. So that was it. Just one of those things where, (I was) trying to find it, kept my eye on it the whole time, but it ended up disappearing up there in the top of the roof here in the dome.”

Granderson said he wasn’t sure whether he lost it in the white of the roof or in the sudden background of the catwalk.

“I knew I was in the vicinity,” he said. “And I thought I had got to the point where, once it does finally come out, I’ll be there. But I ended up being about 10 feet too deep.”

Here’s Granderson.

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The chopper to the mound

With the bases loaded after the lost fly ball, Boone Logan got exactly what he needed. A chopper to the mound was at least going to be an easy out at the plate, but both Logan and Martin thought it would have been a 1-2-3 double play.

“I was so geared up to get him out, I was more focused on making my pitch,” Logan said. “When he hit it, it caught me off-guard. The hardest ball to catch would be the hopper over a pitcher’s head like that. You can’t really judge it well, and you’re so focused on the pitch, it kind of throws you off a little bit.”

That’s why Logan hesitated. He said he’s had other balls like that, and they always give him trouble for whatever reason. Girardi said Logan pitched “outstanding” and Granderson said Logan “did everything we needed” on the mound, but that ball gave him trouble. He said it wasn’t a funny hop off the turf, just a bad reaction on the mound.

“There was nothing quirky about my error,” Logan said. “Take that away, we win the game.”

Here’s Logan.

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• Granderson had his left ankle iced and wrapped after the game. He said he felt it all night after being hit by a pitch in the first inning, but it was never swollen and the ice was more preventative than anything.

• Obviously the bright side of tonight’s game was Bartolo Colon, who struck out a season-high nine during his 6.1 innings. “It was back like the Bartolo from earlier in the year,” Martin said. “He mixed in his pitches a bit more today. I thought he had a better feel for the changeup and the slider as well.”

• Colon also made the point that he was throwing more four-seamers than usual, and he was able to use that pitch up in the zone for some outs. After back-to-back disappointing outings, this was a big dose of encouragement. “I was extremely happy with the way he threw,” Girardi said. “That’s what we want to see. That’s the good thing about it. We didn’t score a lot of runs, but he threw the ball really well.”

• Girardi said he pulled Colon because he’d already reached a 105 pitches, which was a season high. “That’s the manager’s decision,” Colon said. “I don’t even think about it. Whatever he wants me to do, that’s what I do.”

• It was Ivan Nova’s right ankle that was hurt tonight. Apparently he believes it’s not too serious.

• Rafael Soriano went 1.1 innings in his first rehab outing. He pitched a perfect first inning, but allowed a home run, single and sacrifice bunt in the second. He struck out one and threw a total of 21 pitches.

• Eric Chavez went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first game as Tampa’s DH. He was forced out at second base after the walk.

• Martin made the final out on a fly ball to deep left field. Off the bat, I thought it was gone. Martin knew otherwise. “I didn’t hit it square so I knew that it probably wasn’t going to go out,” he said.

• Brett Gardner was 2-for-3 with two more stolen bases and his batting average is up to .290. He has 13 hits and three walks in his past 25 plate appearances for a .640 on-base percentage since the all-star break.

• Gardner’s been successful on his past 15 stolen bases attempts and has six steals in his past six games.

• Robinson Cano hit his first home run since his Home Run Derby show. I didn’t see it, but there were stories floating around about the show Cano put on in batting practice before tonight’s game. Apparently it was a sight to see. This is what I miss writing pregame notes!

• Colon was 8-0 in his first 12 career starts against the Rays, but he’s won only one of his past seven starts against them. His nine strikeouts were his most since April 26, 2007 against the Rays as a member of the Angels. His 105 pitches were his most since July 18, 2007, also against the Rays.

• How hard is it in the American League East? Tonight is only the third time since May 11 that the Rays have picked up a game in the standings on both the Yankees and the Red Sox in a single day.

• A final word from Girardi: “We kind of gave them the game. You’re going to have physical errors and you’re going to lose balls in the lights. That’s going to happen sometimes in a dome. That doesn’t mean that I’m happy about it. It happens. It’s baseball. These guys aren’t going to be perfect. They bust their butt every day and I’m proud of them for doing that. You don’t like these type of losses.”

Associated Press photos

Ivan Nova was pulled in the second inning of tonight’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees game in Columbus. Nova already had three strikeouts when he came out of the game.

Joe Girardi said he heard that Nova rolled his ankle. Donnie Collins reported that it happened on a comebacker.

Girardi said he’s not sure the severity of the injury or how long Nova will be out. It’s worth noting that George Kontos followed Nova with 2.2 scoreless innings, getting four strikeouts of his own.

Bartolo Colon returned to form tonight, but a strange inning in a strange ballpark left the Yankees with a 3-2 loss to the Rays. Colon struck out a season-high nine and left with a one-run lead in the seventh. Immediately after Colon walked off the mound, the Rays scored two runs on a lost fly ball, a high chopper off Boone Logan’s glove and a shallow fly ball that left Curtis Granderson no time to make a strong throw home. Russell Martin nearly tied the game with two outs in the ninth, but his deep fly ball was caught at the wall for the final out.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (56-37)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF
Eduardo Nunez 3B

RHP Bartolo Colon (6-5, 3.47)
Colon vs. Rays

RAYS (50-43)
Johnny Damon DH
Ben Zobrist RF
Evan Longoria 3B
Casey Kotchman 1B
B.J. Upton CF
Robinson Chirinos C
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Sam Fuld LF
Reid Brignac SS

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (8-7, 3.21)
Hellickson vs. Yankees

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

WEATHER: It’s hot outside, and it’s honestly a little bit warm inside the dome. Girardi was talking about that pregame. Not hot exactly, just a little warm in here.

UMPIRES: HP Ed Rapuano, 1B Dan Iassogna, 2B Alfonso Marquez, 3B Ed Hickox

FIVE THE HARD WAY: Last night the Yankees scored five runs on eight singles and nine walks. According to Elias, it was the first time the Ynakees scored at least five runs in nine innings or more without an extra-base hit since May 20, 2006 against the Mets. That was also a 5-4 Yankees win.

POWER OUTAGE: The Yankees have gone four games without a home run, their longest stretch of the season. They still lead the Majors in home runs, multi-homer games and home run differential.

BROTHERLY LOVE: Brandon Laird’s brother Gerald is a Cardinals catcher currently in New York to play the Mets. According to Elias, the Lairds are one of six sets of brothers currently playing in the big leagues (either active or on the DL): J.D. and Stephen Drew, Scott and Jerry Hairston, Jose and Yadier Molina, B.J. and Justin Upton and Rickie and Jemile Weeks.

UPDATE, 7:42 p.m.: After a 1-2-3 first inning, Rafael Soriano gave up a home run and a single that later scored in the second inning. All told he pitched 1.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits while striking out one.

UPDATE, 7:48 p.m.: Hellickson really does have pretty nasty stuff. He got Nunez swinging to strand runners at first and second in the second inning. Hellickson has five strikeouts through two innings.

UPDATE, 8:06 p.m.: Two-out double by Teixeira, followed by a two-run homer by Cano. It’s 2-0 Yankees in the third.

UPDATE, 8:11 p.m.: Nice sliding catch by Eduardo Nunez, who tried to play it cool for a little while, but finally cracked a smile.

UPDATE, 8:31 p.m.: Colon looks terrific. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Ivan Nova left today’s Triple-A game with some sort of leg injury.

UPDATE, 8:46 p.m.: Sam Fuld and Reid Brignac of all people just scratched out a run against Colon. It’s now 2-1 Yankees in the bottom of the fifth. Martin came up big with a caught stealing to eliminate Brignac from the bases.

UPDATE, 9:24 p.m.: As my buddy Sweeny Murti just said, that’s as good a throw as Jeter’s made in a while. I thought he had enough on it to get the out, but the Rays get the call on a close play and Colon’s pitching with a runner at first and one out in the seventh.

UPDATE, 9:27 p.m.: After back-to-back singles in the seventh, Colon is finished and Logan is in to face Sam Fuld or a pinch hitter to be named later. Cory Wade is also loose, so I guess he could come in if the Rays switch to a right-hander.

UPDATE, 9:32 p.m.: That fly ball was about has high as possible without hitting something in this dome. Granderson lost it, and the Rays now have the bases loaded with one out and Logan still on the mound to face Elliot Johnson.

UPDATE, 9:35 p.m.: What a weird series of events. First Granderson lost the ball, then Logan had a potential double play ball bounce off his glove, letting the tying run score. It’s even at 2 in the seventh.

UPDATE, 9:37 p.m.: I would say Granderson should have played that ball on a hop and tried for the out at home, but on this turf, a hop is bound to fly right over his head. Brutal luck that inning as Logan essentially got four straight hitters to produce potential outs, but instead of four outs, he had two outs and two runs. It’s now 3-2 Rays.

Settling into his locker in the corner of the Yankees clubhouse, Steve Garrison was asking Brandon Laird questions about stretch and batting practice and the usual pregame schedule in the big leagues. Laird had to explain to him that his flight was delayed yesterday, so this was his first pregame experience as well.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Garrison said. “I’m sure tonight it really will once I put on everything and go out there for stretch and everything. I haven’t stopped sweating since I woke up this morning.”

Garrison is from Trenton, so he’s been living with his mother this season. He had his phone on silent this morning and missed seven calls before the Trenton trainer finally got in touch with him. It was 10:30. Garrison showered, packed, got his stuff from the stadium and got on the road to the Philadelphia airport by 11:15. He had to run through the terminal to catch his flight and didn’t eat a thing until he landed in Tampa not too long ago. His mother drove him to Philly.

“She’s usually a really slow driver, but she actually drove the speed limit this morning, so that was saying something,” Garrison said. “She was actually going pretty quick.”

More than anything, Garrison is here to serve as a long man. Girardi said he might use him if a few lefties are due up, but mostly he’s here to give the Yankees length if they need it. He was scheduled to start tomorrow, so he’s rested and available tonight. The only other long relief-type on the 40-man is Lance Pendleton, who started for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. The other Triple-A starters have no relief experience.

“We saw (Garrison) in spring training,” Joe Girardi said. “We liked what we saw in spring training. He threw good the other night. We’ve used him out of the bullpen before, where some of these other kids haven’t been used out of the bullpen.”

• Sergio Mitre was placed on the disabled list with shoulder tendonitis. He’s also been sick, but Girardi said the shoulder is the real problem. It might explain his lack of velocity recently.

• Rafael Soriano is schedule for one inning or 20 pitches for Tampa tonight. Eric Chavez will be the DH, and he’ll continue to DH a few more games while doing defensive work before each game. “Both of them, if everything goes well, we could see them in the near future,” Girardi said.

• Girardi didn’t want to commit to Soriano’s role when he comes back. Girardi has previously said Soriano would take back the eighth-inning role. “He has been out eighth-inning guy,” Girardi said today. “We’ve got to see how he’s throwing and how he’s feeling before I can make any determination. The big thing is we’ve got to get him back healthy and throwing the way he’s capable of. We’ll just see what happens, but we’ve got to get him back first.”

• Do personal feelings matter when deciding who gets the eighth inning? “No. I’ve got to do what’s best for our team. That’s what I have to do. Let’s see how he’s throwing the ball, let’s see how he feels and how he bounces back, and then we’ll make decisions. Right now, it’s just hypotheticals. My favorite. Makes for good news and stories.”

• Girardi’s explanation of his decision to pinch hit Andruw Jones for Jorge Posada last night: “The way that Andruw has swung against left-handers had a lot to do with it, and knowing they didn’t really have another right-hander in their bullpen made it pretty easy for me.”

• Laird said he didn’t notice it until today, but his locker is in a section of the clubhouse that has five players: Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Laird, Andruw Jones and Mark Teixeira. Not a bad locker assignment for his first call-up.

RAYS
Johnny Damon DH
Ben Zobrist RF
Evan Longoria 3B
Casey Kotchman 1B
B.J. Upton CF
Robinson Chirinos C
Sean Rodriguez 2B
Sam Fuld LF
Reid Brignac SS

Associated Press photo

Sergio Mitre is not listed in the Yankees bullpen. Looks like he’s the move.

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