The LoHud Yankees Blog

Alex Rodriguez participated in a camp day in Tampa, simulated game situations for low-level Yankees minor leaguers. According to the Yankees, he had four hits in 13 at-bats, including two doubles. He fanned three times. He ran the bases on most of the at-bats. He also played the equivalent of three innings at third.

Joe Girardi still expects to get him back during the four-game series in Minnesota that starts Thursday night.

Freddy Garcia showed the media the finger, the one he cut at home about five days ago. He wouldn’t give the full details on how it happened. But there was a small cut just to the right of the nail on his right index finger. It didn’t look too bad from what I could see, although he reiterated that it had an effect Saturday on his ability to throw his splitter and that’s why he had to be skipped today.

“It feels really good today,” Garcia said.

“A couple of days probably,” he added about the healing process.

Both he and Joe Girardi are hoping he can pitch during the four-game series in Minnesota that starts Thursday night.

Still no makeup date announced for today’s game. Girardi said it will probably be part of a doubleheader when the Rays come back Sept. 20-22.

Girardi said he would push his rotation back a day because of the rainout, so today’s scheduled starter, A.J. Burnett, will open the Kansas City series tomorrow night.

The game is rained out. No makeup date yet.

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

So all this time spent speculating about the rotation cut and there’s no decision because Freddy Garcia cuts a pitching finger. Joe Girardi revealed it after the game.

“I think it was a kitchen accident,” Girardi said. “Players shouldn’t use knives.”

Girardi said he has known about this for four or five days, which is about when it happened. Garcia got through a bullpen session without throwing his splitter. But he tried to throw splitters on flat ground today and couldn’t. Girardi said the ball was rubbing against the cut on the side of the finger, so he was scratched from Sunday’s scheduled start. A.J. Burnett is down to start instead.

So the decision is on hold. Girardi would only go as far to name his rotation for the three-game Kansas City series, Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon and CC Sabathia. But weather.com is predicting a 70 percent chance of rain for Sunday, so that might impact things again.

Girardi is hopeful Garcia will only miss this one start.

“But obviously we have to make sure it’s healed before we have him even try,” Girardi said. “And he’s going to have throw a bullpen before he tries to pitch in a game. I don’t really see it as being a deep, deep cut. But it’s enough where it effects his split.”

*Girardi said Phil Hughes “mixed his pitches today as well as I’ve seen him.”

Hughes fanned six and walked one, while allowing the two runs and four hits over six. And he was able to block out the swirl about his place in the rotation.

“There are always circumstances with everything,” Hughes said. “It’s hard enough to pitch a big-league game with a clear conscience.”

Jorge Posada, meanwhile, was back in a big way after being benched last Sunday. After five games of sitting, he had a grand slam, two singles and six RBI. Girardi told him afterward he would get another DH start tomorrow. Girardi said Posada is going to play, that he will still get some DH work and maybe some backup work at first if Mark Teixeira is the DH.

“Georgie is very professional,” Girardi said. “That’s the way he’s always been. I knew he was dying to get back in there. I knew that. It’s tough not putting him in the lineup. Georgie and I have a long history together. We were teammates and won together. I think he’s a great player. I think he’s a great man. So it’s difficult because I know how much he wants to play.

“And I want him to have success. That’s the bottom line. We want him to drive runs and do all that. At times it’s been a struggle this year. Sometimes I have to make tough decisions. But I know he was itching to get back in there. Georgie will be 60 years old and he’ll be itching to get back in there. That’s the type of guy he is.”     

Posada passed Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra for sole possession of sixth on the Yankees’ all-time grand-slam list. This was No. 10. It was a very satisfying day for him.

“It’s special,” Posada said. “I got an opportunity to play. It’s tough to sit around. It’s not easy sitting here and everybody’s playing. It’s tough.

“I just have to be prepared for that opportunity. From now on, I have to look at the lineup card and be ready. I haven’t given up.”   

The fans asked for a curtain call after the slam and he popped out of the dugout after Russell Martin’s ensuing single. They have been great to him throughout, and he appreciates it.

“I play for them,” Posada said.

*Curtis Granderson has hit five homers over his last five games. His 33 homers not only tie him for the MLB lead with Jose Bautista, but they are the most by a Yankees center fielder since Bobby Murcer launched 33 in 1972.

*Alex Rodriguez went 0 for 3 as the DH in his second rehab game for Single-A Tampa at Dunedin.

*Out of the gifts Derek Jeter received at the pregame ceremony to honor him for reaching 3,000 hits, the one that stood out the most to him was the 225-pound stainless-steel sculpture of himself that Posada and CC Sabathia commissioned on behalf of the players.

“I really appreciate that,” Jeter said.

“He said, ‘Where am I going to put this at?’ ” Posada said. “I said, ‘You’ve got plenty of room in that house in Tampa.’ “

Freddy Garcia cut a finger on his pitching hand four or five days ago in a kitchen accident, according to Joe Girardi, so he has been scratched from tomorrow’s start and the decision about who to cut from the rotation will now be delayed. A.J. Burnett will take the start tomorrow, weather permitting, because the forecast sounds bad.

Yankees lineup
1. Brett Gardner LF
2. Derek Jeter SS
3. Curtis Granderson CF
4. Mark Teixeira 1B
5. Robinson Cano 2B
6. Nick Swisher RF
7. Eric Chavez 3B
8. Jorge Posada DH
9. Russell Martin C
Phil Hughes RHP

Rays lineup
1. Desmond Jennings LF
2. Johnny Damon DH
3. Evan Longoria 3B
4. Ben Zobrist 2B
5. Casey Kotchman 1B
6. B.J. Upton CF
7. Matt Joyce RF
8. Sean Rodriguez SS
9. Robinson Chirinos C
Jeremy Hellickson RHP

Time/TV: 4:11/FOX
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 82
Umpires: Tom Hallion HP, Bill Miller 1B, James Hoye 2B, Phil Cuzzi 3B

Posada back: Jorge Posada lost his share of the DH job last Sunday and didn’t play the last five games. But he’s the DH today. He’s 1 for his last 13 and 9 for his last 31. In his 36 starts since June 5, he’s batting .292.
Happy birthday: Boone Logan, you’re 27 today.

Update, 4:13: Maybe the ceremony threw Jeter off. He just made a throwing error on his first chance. But he has been very steady in the field.

Update, 4:16: Jeter starts 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. A-Rod’s game is supposed to start around 6 in Dunedin.

Update, 4:22: Gardner picked off first after being hit to start the inning.

Update, 4:26: Granderson goes down swinging to end the first.

Update, 4:36: Hughes escaped a first-and-second two-out jam. He just missed low on 2-2, then got Sean Rodriguez on a liner to Cano.

Update, 4:47: Bases packed, no outs for the Yankees on an infield hit and two walks.

Update, 4:48: Chavez fouls out. Big hand now for Posada.

Update, 4:50: Posada wanted to do everything he could to get back into the lineup. First at-bat, two-run single ripped to right.

Update, 4:59: Hughes three scoreless innings. The Daily News and MLB.com have the Yankees signing Scott Proctor for a possible sequel, bound for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Update, 5:17: Swisher fans, leaves two on, 2-0, heading for the fourth.

Update, 5:24: Great diving stop by the invaluable glove of Teixeira at first, man on second, two outs in the fourth.

Update, 5:29: No runs, two hits allowed by Hughes through four. Would a shutout be enough to save him from being the odd man out in the rotation?

Update, 5:33: Posada is a new man. Another hit, line single to left-center.

Update, 5:40: Jeter lines out hard to short, strands two, so it’s still 2-0 after four.

Update, 5:47: Hughes is looking sharp – pop fly, strikeout looking at a 93 mph and strikeout on an attempted check swing on a curve, two-hit shutout through five.

Update, 5:52: Granderson is now tied for the MLB lead with Jose Bautista with 33 homers, shot to the right-field seats to open the fifth.

Update, 5:56: Hellickson is done after a Cano double with one out in the fifth. Brandon Gomes is the new pitcher.

Update, 6:03: Bases loaded, one out, Posada up.

Update, 6:06: Grand slam to right for Posada. Now a curtain call.

Update, 6:08: Posada’s six RBI are the most for him since the 2006 season. His career high is seven. It’s 7-0.

Update, 6:14: The shutout is gone for Hughes. Jennings leads off the sixth with a homer to the left-field seats, looked like a hanging curve. Damon follows with a triple.

Update, 6:16: Logan is warming. Hughes at 88 pitches with one out.

Update, 6:18: Groundout by Zobrist, RBI. It’s 7-2.

Update, 6:21: Could have been Hughes’ last inning. He’s allowed two runs and four hits through six. Cesar Ramos will pitch now for the Rays. Cory Wade is warming for the Yankees.

Update, 6:25: RBI double for Teixeira, 8-2.

Update, 6:28: RBI fielder’s choice for Chavez, 9-2.

Update, 6:31: Hughes is done. Wade is on for the seventh.

Update, 6:34: Hughes fanned six and walked one. He has allowed two runs or less in five of his six starts since coming off the DL. He doesn’t deserve to be taken out of the rotation, either. Really, Burnett is probably the weakest link at this point and he hasn’t been terrible, either, outside of the Chicago start. Guess it’s a good problem except if you’re the guy who has to go.

Update, 6:47: 9-2 after seven.

Update, 7:05: Hector Noesi will try to close it out. Cano is out of the game, Eduardo Nunez is playing second.

Update, 7:11: Yankees win, 9-2.

The Jeter ceremony was short. He didn’t speak. But Mariano Rivera did. Jeter received a standing ovation, then an engraved Waterford crystal vase and a 14-carat No. 2 ring with 50 diamonds from the Yankees. Plus, his teammates presented him with a stainless steel sculpture, commissioned by CC and Posada. It’s 225 pounds. It shows him tipping his helmet, with 3000 at the base of the sculpture, as far as I could see from up here in the press box. It was on the back of a cart.

His dad, mom and sister were out there with him. Dad also got the ring and his mom and sister received pendants. 

“Thank God for giving me an opportunity to play with a terrific player like Derek,” Rivera told the crowd. “Jete, I love you, continue, and God bless you and God bless your family.”

Jorge Posada just met with us. He’s been buried since getting benched last Sunday in Boston. But he has resurfaced today. Joe Girardi has him as the DH.

“I’m looking forward to being in the lineup again,” Posada said. “I want to do everything I can to try to stay in the lineup.”

Asked if it has been hard to stay sharp while not playing for the last five games, Posada said, “We’ll find out today.”

Asked about Girardi, Posada said. “Me and Joe are fine. We talk. That’s between me and Joe.”

Phil Hughes takes the ball today against the Rays in what could be his last start until the Aug. 27 split doubleheader in Baltimore. We shall see.

The rotation is about to be cut to five and unless the Yankees are trying to throw everyone off the scent, no signs have been pointing toward Hughes.

CC is CC, even though he’s been off a bit lately. Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia have done well. Brian Cashman endorsed A.J. Burnett as a starter yesterday. Joe Girardi said Wednesday that Ivan Nova wasn’t pitching for a job in that night’s start against the Angels, and he threw well again. Girardi didn’t directly answer a question yesterday about how Hughes’ performance today could impact the decision. And Hughes has bullpen experience.

Today Girardi was asked how Hughes has handled all the curves thrown at him, including pitching in relief Sunday in Boston and having his Tuesday start skipped.

“I think he’s handled it well,” Girardi said.  ”It’s a not a fact that we’ve wanted to bounce him around. That’s not what we’ve tried to do. He started off slow. He ended up going on the DL. He was on the DL for a while. He’s been through a lot this year. But his personality has remained pretty constant.”

Girardi said he hasn’t spoken to Hughes about the situation.

“I’m just going to let him go do his work,” Girardi said.

Whatever the Yankees decide, it’s expect to be announced tomorrow or Monday.

“It’s tough,” Girardi said. “But when you look it at, we’re all trying to win. We’re all trying to get to the same point. And you can help in a lot of different ways. That’s the bottom line. I’m sure that there are guys who don’t play every day who would like to play more. But you’ve got to all pull together and be prepared when you’re called upon.”

So who would you chop from the rotation?    

*Alex Rodriguez was supposed to play about half the game at third tonight for Tampa at Dunedin after starting as the DH in his first rehab game last night at Dunedin. But the Yankees are going to have him DH again and probably have him do more informal situational work in the field tomorrow. Girardi said he could still play a couple of games in the field for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and be ready to go. That Triple-A work is expected to be done Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with two RBI last night.

“It’s hard to be better than a home run and a double in three at-bats,” Girardi said. “I guess he could’ve got another hit. But that’s a good sign.”

As for how the Yankees will use him at first when he returns, Girardi said, “The one thing that we can do is we can possibly DH him a couple of times a week, two or three times a week. We’ll have that option. If we have to work him back slowly and get him in shape where he can play four or five days in the field, we can do that as well.”

*Derek Jeter will be honored with a ceremony before today’s game, saluting his 3,000-hit achievement. Jeter said his parents will be here, but that he doesn’t know what’s planned for the ceremony.