The LoHud Yankees Blog

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

Tonight is kind of a strange start for Phil Hughes. He might be pitching for his spot in the rotation, but there’s no real benchmark he has to reach, and there’s nothing set in stone saying he’ll be bumped if he falters. His manager has supported him, but also acknowledged that there are other options.

As Hughes goes to the mound tonight for his fifth start since coming off the disabled list, there is simply this looming idea that the Yankees could make a change, and there’s the unmistakable presence of Ivan Nova just a few lockers away.

“I have pressure on myself,” Hughes said. “I don’t really think about the other stuff when I’m out there. There’s pressure to pitch well every five days, whatever the circumstances are, whether there are six guys in the rotation right now or not. It won’t be any different.”

Joe Girardi has acknowledged that he doesn’t plan on sticking with a six-man rotation. He said yesterday that no option is off the table, but he also seemed to give a vote of confidence to Hughes. At the very least, he gave an indication that Hughes will be given plenty of time to prove himself, something he earned last season.

“What we try not to do is we try not to look at things in a snapshot,” Girardi said. “You’ve got to look at things over the long haul and what you see. Sometimes people want immediate results, and sometimes they don’t get immediate results. Those are the tough decisions that we have to make.”

Hughes seems to be approaching the situation with his usual calm. His stuff hasn’t been his best these past four starts, but that’s to be expected, and he’s shown considerable improvement since April. Hughes believes the stuff will come — the velocity, the curveball, the cutter — but it’s a process, and he’s still going through it.

“It’s not like one game or one pitch is going to turn it around,” he said. “I need to have some success over the course of some starts, feel like I’m myself again, to get back that total confidence… I didn’t really expect to be at a certain plateau by this date or that date. If I can go out there, not have my best stuff and battle, pitch a good game, I’m going to take that over what the scoreboard says or anything else. I don’t really think I expected to be anywhere after a certain day, I just went out there and tried to do the best job I can.”

Here’s Hughes speaking before yesterday’s game.

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Associated Press photo

I don’t remember who brought it up last night, but it was a fair point: CC Sabathia and Francisco Cervelli don’t seem like perfect partners. Sabathia is calm and collected. He might let out a scream now and then, but his ability to stay emotionally centered is a big part of his persona on the mound. Cervelli is the opposite behind the plate with his constant fist pumps and over-the-top reactions.

Why is that Sabathia has been at his best since he’s been working with Cervelli?

“Because of that combination,” Sabathia said. “He’s got a lot of energy and he comes up to the mound a lot and makes sure that I’m finishing pitches and trying to be aggressive.”

There’s a solid chance that the real answer is this: It doesn’t matter how or why they work together.

Most days, I’m sure Sabathia could work with anyone and get results. He’s been pitching so well lately, he could probably pitch to my grandmother and still get guys out.* I don’t think Cervelli is the reason he’s been so good — and I wouldn’t say the results would be any worse with Martin behind the mound — but Sabathia does have some eye-opening stats during his games with Cervelli.

Cervelli’s been behind the plate for Sabathia 10 times this season. Sabathia has a 2.33 ERA with a .215 opponents batting average and a 3.95 strikeouts-to-walk ratio. Those numbers are quite a bit better than he had with Martin earlier this season.

Even if the Cervelli/Sabathia combination isn’t the reason for the success, they’re certainly fun to watch together. There’s something interesting about to icy cool of Sabathia, with the boiling-over excitement of Cervelli.

“I just try to keep him in the game, no matter what happened,” Cervelli said. “This is my game. I love this sport, and every time I’m there, I’m going to compete… I come here ready to catch every day. If they tell me it’s just with CC, that’s fine. But I come ready for everybody.”

* You know, my grandmother could probably call a pretty good game. I’m not sure she could actually catch the thing without be knocked over backwards, but she’s watched a lot of baseball in her life. I think she could hold her own.

Associated Press photos

Last time we saw CC Sabathia, he left his teammates with no doubt that rain had washed away a night of perfection. Sabathia was overwhelming last week, certainly as good as he’s been all year and maybe as good as he’s been at any point in his career.

Today was different, and maybe that’s what makes him so good.

“He’s a true ace, that’s what he is,” Joe Girardi said. “He knows how to pitch when he has his great stuff, and he knows how to pitch when he doesn’t have his great stuff. That’s what he did tonight.”

Sabathia matched a season-high with 10 hits tonight, and he had some luck on his side on a couple of pivotal double plays, but the bottom line was this: In a one run game, Sabathia allowed only one hit with runners in scoring position, and that was an infield single that didn’t score a run. He walked no one, struck out six and made his only costly mistake on a home run by Alexi Ramirez.

This wasn’t a dance with perfection, but when the Yankees bats went quiet, they absolutely needed their starter to be as dominant as ever. And Sabathia was. When it counted, he was terrific.

“That’s the reason he’s the No. 1 guy,” Curtis Granderson said. “He’s probably the definition of it. He wants the ball, he demands the ball and then goes out there and knows what to do with it.”

Said Sabathia: “I always say it’s just getting older, being a veteran and knowing that every time out you’re not going to have your best stuff. Being able to go out and battle and keep the team in the game.”

Here’s Sabathia.

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• Girardi said his plan is to play Derek Jeter tomorrow. Jeter didn’t do anything today — no batting practice or anything like that — just make sure he didn’t have even the slightest setback.

• Sabathia said his slider was the difference between this start and some of his other starts this season. Sabathia felt like he had a good fastball, but his slider was “kind of floating up there.” He said that’s why he gave up the two hits to A.J. Pierzynski and at least one 0-2 hit.

• Francisco Cervelli had a slightly different take: “At the beginning, the ball was running to the glove side,” Cervelli said. “But later he was able to throw the cutter and the change-up pretty well.”

• Adam Dunn struck out three times, twice with the tying run on base. Those last two strikeouts came on the slider that Sabathia said wasn’t sharp tonight. Dunn has three hits — three! — against lefties this season. All three have been singles. Sabathia admitted that it was in his mind tonight that he didn’t necessarily have to give in against Carlos Quentin because Dunn was on deck. “You’ve just got to make sure you’re going to make pitches,” Sabathia said. “Especially if you’re going to, not pitch around a guy, but just not give in to him. You’ve got to make sure you make pitches to the guy you want to get out.”

• By the way, can you imagine Dunn in New York this season? After signing that contract and having this kind of year. The White Sox fans were booing him all night. I have one friend — and old Scranton buddy name Tony — who’s a diehard White Sox fan. I texted him after the game and said, “Guess how many hits Dunn has against lefties this year.” He texted back: “Oh, I’m well aware he has 3.” Ouch.

• Sabathia got some help tonight, no question. Brent Moral came to the plate three times, always with a runner in scoring position. Essentially, he was responsible for five outs: Two line drive double plays and a fly out to right field. “I thought we kept hitting some balls hard, and they did, too,” Girardi said. “We got some big double plays and they did, too. It was one of those nights when the fielders were in the right spots.”

• Girardi had Dave Robertson warming in the eighth, but he stuck with the big man. “I wanted to see how CC was doing,” Girardi said. “(Alexi) Ramirez had some pretty good at-bats off him and has had some success off him, but I decided to stay with him.”

• Mariano Rivera got his 28th save of the season. He has a career ERA of 1.20 against the White Sox. That’s 11 earned runs in 82.2 innings. In his career, Rivera has pitched an entire season against the White Sox, and they’re not even in the division!

• Brett Gardner has a nine-game road hitting streak during which he’s hit .485 with three doubles and seven runs scored.

• Curtis Granderson has doubled twice in a game 12 times in his career. Four of those games have been this season.

• The Yankees have reportedly agreed to release Randy Flores tomorrow. The Yankees had him as lefty insurance and just never made the move.

• Speaking of the minors: MLBTradeRumors notes that former Yankees minor leaguer Matt Carson has been acquired by the Rays, so the Yankees could see him during the upcoming home stand. Carson’s a nice role player, and he’s in that Dan Giese/Andy Phillips/Eric Duncan Hall of Fame of all-time nice guys.

• I went to the hotel to get these notes finished. My hope is that the internet situation is a little more useable tomorrow. Sorry for the lack of updates during the game.

Associated Press photos

CC Sabathia wasn’t at his best tonight. He allowed 10 hits, which matched a season high, but also got the big outs in a 3-2 Yankees win against the White Sox. Of those 10 White Sox hits, the only one that did any damage was a two-run homer. Otherwise, Sabathia got all the outs he needed, including two key strikeouts against the White Sox struggling cleanup hitter. The Yankees did all of their scoring in the early innings, getting two runs in the first inning before adding a pivotal third run in the third. This was their fourth straight win.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (64-42)
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 3B
Jorge Posada DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Francisco Cervelli C

LHP CC Sabathia (15-5, 2.56)
Sabathia vs. White Sox

WHITE SOX (52-54)
Juan Pierre LF
Alexei Ramirez SS
Carlos Quinton DH
Adam Dunn 1B
Alex Rios CF
A.J. Pierzynski C
Gordon Beckham 2B
Brent Lillibridge RF
Brent Morel 3B

RHP Jake Peavy (4-4, 5.27)
Peavy vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 8:10 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Wind blowing left to right. Temperatures in the 80s. A few clouds, but seems like rain shouldn’t be a problem.

UMPIRES: HP Tim McClelland, 1B Ted Barrett, 2B Brian Runge, 3B Marvin Hudson

ON THE ROAD AGAIN (AND AGAIN): Beginning today, the Yankees play 34 of their remaining 56 games on the road. August is an especially brutal month for travel, but the Yankees are 27-20 on the road this season, the second-best road record in the Majors. They’re 17-10 on he road since May 29.

AUGUST RUSH: The Yankees have had a winning record 13 of the past 14 Augusts (the only exception was a 13-15 month in 2008). In the past two seasons, they went 37-20 in August.

GRUNDY MAN: Curtis Granderson leads the Majors with 94 runs, which is 13 more than any other player. He already has 18 more runs than he scored all of last year and he’s 28 away from his career high. Granderson is on pace to score 144 runs, which would be the second-most by a Yankees outfielder since 1950 (Rickey Henderson scored 146 runs in 1985).

UPDATE, 8:23 p.m.: Well that didn’t take long. The Yankees jumped on Peavy for two runs in the first inning and they’ve given Sabathia a lead.

UPDATE, 9:49 p.m.: Seriously, if I ever complain about the internet in a ball park, remind me of this night! Anyway, CC’s given up a two-run homer, but otherwise he’s been able to consistently strand runners, sometimes with nice pitches and sometimes with nice plays behind him. It’s 3-2 in the seventh.

Joe Girardi said he changed his rotation because he likes the idea of giving Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia a little extra rest. What the rotation looks like beyond this weekend is still a mystery.

“If (Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova) both throw the ball the way we want them to, then decisions will have to be difficult on what we do,” Girardi said. “Do you put one of them in the bullpen or keep one going as a starter knowing that you have another split double header coming up in, what, three weeks? Four weeks? You have to prepare for those things too, so it’s just some things we’re going to have to talk about.”

Girardi wouldn’t rule out anything, including sticking with a six-man rotation beyond this turn, but that’s clearly not the intention.

“We’ll see how it works, but it’s not my plan,” Girardi said. “But we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

GIrardi acknowledged that Hughes has more bullpen experience and is probably a more natural bullpen fit than Nova, but he also said he won’t make a decision on Hughes based on a handful of starts coming back from an injury.

“I think it’s too early to necessarily give up on Hughesy and say that he’s not going to be an effective starter for us after what he did last year,” Girardi said. “He’s just basically coming out of spring training for him, so, we believe in our guys. We believe in what he’s capable of doing and we’re giving him a shot to show us. That’s what we’re doing.”

• Derek Jeter told Girardi that he could play today, but Girardi decided to give him a day off. Jeter was hit in the middle finger of his right hand, and he can bend the finger with no problem. He said there will be some lingering soreness, but he could have played today and expects to play tomorrow.

• By the way, it’s not just Jeter who expects Jeter to play tomorrow. Girardi said the same thing.

• The plan is for Alex Rodriguez to travel to Tampa on Wednesday and begin baseball activities on Thursday. He’s clearly getting closer to coming off the DL, but Girardi still doesn’t have an expected return date. “I don’t think it’s 100 percent, but I think it’s to the point where they think he can start doing stuff,” Girardi.

• No surprise, but Girardi did say Rodriguez will likely need a rehab assignment.

• Girardi said he felt no need to address the team after the trade deadline: “I don’t think so. I think the guys understand we got to where we are with the guys in that room, plus some extra guys because we’ve seen a lot of people come through that clubhouse this year. So, no, I think they understand it.”

• Paul Konerko is out of the White Sox lineup, which leaves Adam Dunn and his shockingly bad numbers in the Chicago cleanup spot.

• Jeter on the start of a whole bunch of road games: “It’s not ideal. We do enjoy playing at home, but if you’re going to be a good team, you have to play well on the road, too. So I really don’t think it makes much of a difference, whether you’re at home or on the road. You play well, you’re going to win regardless of where you are.”

WHITE SOX
Juan Pierre LF
Alexei Ramirez SS
Carlos Quinton DH
Adam Dunn 1B
Alex Rios CF
A.J. Pierzynski C
Gordon Beckham 2B
Brent Lillibridge RF
Brent Morel 3B

Associated Press photos

The rotation is the same for today, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Yankees have changed Thursday’s starter to Ivan Nova, leaving Bartolo Colon, CC Sabathia and Freddy Garcia to start the weekend series in Boston.

Nova just finished throwing a bullpen with Larry Rothschild.

Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 3B
Jorge Posada DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Francisco Cervelli C

After settling into a Chicago hotel room and reading the New Yorker’s intense account of the Bin Laden raid, it’s back to the business of covering the Yankees: The same Yankees I was covering before the trade deadline.

My hope is that all of you spent the deadline weekend doing something other than consuming absurd amounts of DayQuil — seriously, I was on the only person in the world less active than Brian Cashman this weekend — but also hope that none of you were banking on a massive Yankees maneuver, because it just wasn’t in the cards this year.

The Yankees don’t have a glaring hole this year, nor do they have a significant depth problem. The only way to clearly improve this team was to add a high-profile, high-cost player either to replace Jorge Posada at DH or to give the team a clear No. 2 starter. Those moves would have been extremely costly, and it’s tough to pay such a high price for a move that might not be necessary.

In the lineup, Posada gave a glimmer of hope, but he’s since fallen off. The situation could be resolved when Alex Rodriguez comes off the disabled list, or it could be resolved even sooner if the Yankees move Jesus Montero to the big leagues. John Nalbone — an old friend who’s well connected in this organization — says the Yankees are planning to move Montero to the big leagues “in the very near future.” *

In the rotation, the Yankees literally have more starters than they know what to do with (and that’s not counting Adam Warren, who’s spot in the Triple-A rotation was shuffled specifically so that he could have started one of Saturday’s double header games had Ivan Nova not been healthy enough). To upgrade there, the Yankees needed someone clearly better than what they have, and I’m not sure the market provided such a thing. Ubaldo Jimenez was the closest thing to a sure No. 2 that moved this weekend, but he came with his own concerns and a price tag that seemed excessive.

Could you say with absolute confidence that Wandy Rodriguez, Erik Bedard, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda or whoever else floated through trade rumors last week would be more reliable than Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett or Phil Hughes through these final two months?

Two other things in the wake of the Yankees non-trade trade deadline:

1. The only true deadline addition they made in 2009 was Jerry Hairston Jr., and that year seemed to workout pretty well. 2. There are still deals to be made. If the Yankees discover that they really do need another pieces, the waiver trade market should be robust. Both Buster Olney and MLBTradeRumors took a look at some of the platers who could be available in August.

Finally, in choosing a picture for the blog post, I went with one that has nothing to do with the trade deadline or the series opener in Chicago or the current Yankees winning streak. I chose the most memorable thing I saw while drowning myself in cold and flu medicine. Brett Gardner is usually a bit meticulous in the way he takes care of his bats, so that end-of-the-game meltdown was especially epic.

* I already checked around today and there are currently no plans to have Montero with the big league club tonight. I’m sure John has a good source telling him the move is going to happen fairly soon, but it sounds like it won’t be today.

Associated Press photo