The LoHud Yankees Blog

Here’s the announcement from the Yankees.

The New York Yankees announced today that they will donate a total of $100,000 to support the rescue and relief efforts associated with Hurricane Irene. Of the total, $50,000 will be given to the Salvation Army and $50,000 to the Red Cross, both of which are already working in the affected areas.

The Yankees will make an additional $25,000 donation specifically to support the rescue and relief efforts associated with the Texas wildfires. Of the total, $12,500 will be given to the Salvation Army and $12,500 to the Red Cross.

“On behalf of the entire New York Yankees organization, we would like to express our support to all of those affected by Hurricane Irene here at home on the East Coast and those affected by the devastating wildfires in Texas,” said New York Yankees General Partner and Vice Chairperson Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal. “We are eager to support the efforts of wonderful organizations like the Red Cross and Salvation Army who are already on the ground making a difference in so many lives. Our hearts and prayers are with all those suffering during this difficult time as they begin the process of rebuilding.”

This time tomorrow, let’s have a chat. Why not?

Six-man rotation. A sprained thumb. An inflamed elbow. A concussed catcher. A rejuvenated Captain. Two rookies behind the plate. An MVP candidate in center. A division race in September.

There’s plenty to talk about.

I’ll get to as many questions as I can tomorrow at noon. Stop by if you can. Blow off work if you must. Bring up Andy Pettitte* only if you absolutely, positively can’t help yourself.

* No, I don’t think he’s coming back this year.

Yesterday afternoon, at around 1 p.m., Austin Romine had no idea whether he was going to make his first big league start against the Mariners, and he wouldn’t find out for another three or four hours. But he got to Safeco Field just in case.

“I was the first guy on the bus,” he said. “Me and Hector Noesi. I wanted to make sure I was the first guy here… I didn’t know if I was starting or not, but I wanted to be prepared. I hadn’t hit in a week, hadn’t thrown a ball since — well, yesterday — but I hadn’t thrown since six days from then. I wanted to get here and get everything out of the way.

“I got in the cage with K-Long and hit a little bit, then I was in the video room for two or three hours. I just wanted to make sure, if I was starting, if I was going to get in, I didn’t want to make a mistake. I wanted to know how to pitch every single batter.”

He’s been in the big leagues less than 48 hours, but Romine seems to be making a quick impression on the coaches and players around him.

“Crash course for him,” Joe Girardi said. “For a 22-year-old, really impressive. There aren’t many 22-year-old catchers that are in the big leagues. He’s been real impressive… I think the hardest thing for young players is to slow the game down, and he’s been able to do that because he’s been able to follow the plan.”

Said Phil Hughes: “He’s really good back there. I’ve had him a couple of times in spring training, a couple of times in rehab starts. He’s very advanced behind the plate. Calls a good game, gives a real good target and it was nice to see him get his first Major League hit, too.”

He’s barely played above Double-A, so it’s hard to handicap Romine’s chances of sticking around and winning a bench job in October, but the Yankees seem to like him and trust him. He certainly doesn’t seem to be out of the mix.

“I felt like I was ready for it,” he said. “Nothing really caught me off guard. These guys really helped me out, what to expect, where to go, what to do… It really hasn’t processed. I kind of don’t want it to because it keeps me going.”

Here’s Romine.

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After six innings of one-run ball — his second strong start in a row — Phil Hughes ERA has dropped to a nice, round number: 6.00. Truth is, there’s nothing nice about it, and Hughes knows there’s not nearly enough time to make his season numbers look pretty.

All that’s left are these final few regular season starts, and then the month of October.

“I can’t change what’s already happened,” Hughes said. “But from this point on I can try to pitch well enough to have a job when the playoffs come around. I’d love be out there and help this team as much as I can, because you know we always have a good chance of winning, so that’s really the only goal I have right now.”

Beyond CC Sabathia, the Yankees postseason rotation is anyone’s guess. Everyone seems to be pitching for a job, and no one seems to have a spot absolutely guaranteed. Tonight, Hughes made his case, and his strongest statement might have been getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

“That was a huge situation and he really dug deep right there,” Austin Romine said. “Larry told him, ‘This is your game right here, let’s go get it.’ I was fired up, and he didn’t even bat an eye. He kind of dug deep there and got out of that situation.”

This was a win defined by the Yankees ability to score against Felix Hernandez. That’s what will be remembered about this game. If anything else, it might be Romine’s debut as a starting catcher and his first big league hit. Hughes’ performance will be secondary. His big picture impact will be whatever impact it has on defining his role next month.

“At this point, I guess the whole six-man thing doesn’t really hold as much weight,” Hughes said. “We’re coming up on the last part of the year, and as long as they keep CC on five days, I think that’s pretty much all you can worry about. At this point I’m just trying to finish off the year strong and see what happens when October rolls around.”

Here’s Hughes.

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• The Yankees got to Hernandez tonight, something they hadn’t really done in a while. Not to this extent, anyway, and Girardi thought that was a key part of Hughes getting through the sixth. “You don’t want to give them any life,” Girardi said. “(Hernandez) might go back out if it’s 6-3, or 6-4, so I thought that was really big on Hughes’ part.”

• As he so often does, Girardi said the difference for Hughes was his ability to spot pitches. “I just think his location,” Girardi said. “He got some outs on changeups tonight. I thought his curveball was better. He attacked. For Phil, it comes down to location, like most of our pitchers. His curveball seemed to be sharper to me tonight, and he got some strikeouts on it.”

• Not yet knowing whether he would start, Romine showed up extra early at the park to start preparing just in case. “I thought he did a very good job,” Girardi said. “We were just talking (in the dugout) about situations and how to attack some of the guys. They took the plan, they executed the plan and I thought he did a real nice job.”

• Romine on his first big league hit: “They say that first one is the hardest one to get. I was kind of starting to think about it, and then it just happened. It made me relax.”

• Significant impact from Chris Dickerson, who had exactly one at-bat since rejoining the team this month. He hadn’t faced live pitching in two weeks, but he had a hit in each of his first two at-bats, including a two-run homer off King Felix. It was Dickerson’s first big league home run since May of 2009. “He made us look really smart is what he did,” Girardi said. “I don’t know if he’s had an at-bat since he’s been back up with us, but he’s used to that. He’s been a guy that’s come off the bench and gotten spot starts, and he was prepared to play.”

• Girardi on why he finally went with Dickerson against a right-hander: “It’s a big outfield, (and) Hughesy can be a fly ball pitcher at times.”

• Turns out, the Yankees weren’t sure Dickerson would be able to stay in the game after that first single. He jammed his right thumb badly sliding into second base on the stolen base, and Dickerson initially thought it was broken. He said he’s been using a bat with a thicker handle lately, and that mean he didn’t have to put as much pressure on his thumb when he swung.

• Hughes was fired up when Curtis Granderson hauled in the last out in the sixth inning. It was a nice running play that made a significant difference in this start being a good one.

• Mark Teixeira hit his 15th career homer at Safeco, that ties him with Eric Chavez for the second-most by any opponent in this stadium. Rafael Palmeiro hit 17.

• Derek Jeter has an 11-game hitting streak, his longest of the season. He’s hitting .326 during the streak.

• Hernandez had a five-game winning streak against the Yankees, the longest ever for a Mariners pitcher. “It was nice to finally get a win against him,” Girardi said.

Associated Press photos

Felix Hernandez had not allowed five runs in an inning all season until the Yankees went to work in the fourth. Bouncing back from a sluggish weekend, the Yankees’ five-run fourth sent them to a 9-3 win that was their second in a row. They increased their American League East lead to four games, the largest lead any team has had in the division this season. Mark Teixeira and Chris Dickerson each went deep in the fourth as the Yankees beat Hernandez for the first time since 2008. Phil Hughes allowed one run through six innings to get the win.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (88-57)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Eric Chavez 3B
Brett Gardner LF
Chris Dickerson RF
Austin Romine C

RHP Phil Hughes (4-5, 6.41)
Hughes vs. Mariners

MARINERS (61-85)
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Kyle Seager 3B
Dustin Ackley 2B
Mike Carp DH
Justin Smoak 1B
Miguel Olivo C
Trayvon Robinson LF
Brendan Ryan SS
Michael Saunders CF

RHP Felix Hernandez (14-11, 3.15)
Hernandez vs. Yankees

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

WEATHER: It’s Seattle. It’s cloudy and looks like it’s going to rain. It think it looks like that every second of every day. Good thing there’s a dome.

UMPIRES: HP Mark Carlson, 1B Tim Timmons, 2B Mike Muchlinski, 3B Jeff Kellogg

TWO OF A KIND: Last night marked the first time in Yankees history that two players each made their first career appearance at catcher in the same game. It was the first time for any Major League team since Boston’s Gary Allenson and Mike O’Berry on April 8, 1979 in Cleveland.

LIKE DAVE: Cory Wade got the win last night improving to 5-0 to begin his Yankees career. He is the first player to win each of his first five decisions with the club since Dave Robertson went 5-0 from July 19, 2008 through June 4, 2009. He’s the first Yankee to accomplish the feat in one season since Aaron Small went 10-0 in the 2005 regular season.

40 FOR 42: Mariano Rivera recorded his 40th save last night. This is his eighth season of at least 40 saves and first since 2009. He and Trevor Hoffman — nine such seasons — are the only pitchers with more than four 40-save seasons in Major League history.

CERVELLI UPDATE: Just a few minutes ago, the Yankees emailed this update on Francisco Cervelli:

Cervelli was seen today by Dr. Kirk Roberts—a neurologist at NY Presbyterian Hospital specializing in concussion syndromes. He was diagnosed with a concussion, but MRI results were negative. Cervelli is home resting. There is no immediate timetable for his return. All baseball related activities have been suspended.

UPDATE, 10:19 p.m.: Three-up, three-down in both halves of the first inning.

UPDATE, 10:37 p.m.: Back-to-back singles by Gardner and Dickerson left runners at the corners. Romine got the fly ball in his first big league at-bat, but it wasn’t deep enough for the sacrifice. Still at the corners, now with one out for Jeter.

UPDATE, 10:39 p.m.: Dickerson steals a bag and Jeter gets the run in with an RBI grounder to third. It’s a 1-0 Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 10:56 p.m.: The Mariners pulled back into a 1-1 tie on Ichiro’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third. That’s their second hit of the game, and Hughes ended the inning with a grounder up the middle.

UPDATE, 11:00 p.m.: Teixeira goes deep and it’s a 2-1 Yankees lead.

UPDATE, 11:07 p.m.: A three-run fourth off King Felix, and still just one out with Gardner at second after his second hit of the night.

UPDATE, 11:09 p.m.: Dickerson practically screams “Play me more against right-handers!” with a no-doubt, two-run shot to right. It’s now 6-1.

UPDATE, 11:56 p.m.: Hughes with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, gets out of it with a shallow pop fly and fly ball to deep center. Big moment for Hughes, and it keeps the Yankees lead at 6-1. Hughes is at 99 pitches, so his night might be over.

UPDATE, 12:02 p.m.: First career hit for Austin Romine, and the ball goes into the Yankees dugout.

UPDATE, 12:14 p.m.: Cano has broken the game open with a three-run double in the seventh. It’s a 9-1 Yankees lead, and I’m guessing some September call-ups are getting loose.

Joe Girardi chose today’s starting catcher based on two Double-A games in June. When Phil Hughes was in Trenton for rehab, his catcher was Austin Romine, and so Romine will catch Hughes again tonight in Seattle.

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t start (Jesus) Montero again,” Girardi said. “I just chose to do this because he caught him those times at Double-A… Romine’s been catching longer in his lifetime than Montero, but they’re both works in progress. We’re probably going to see things from them that you may not see in a couple years, just because they’re young catchers. Romine has been considered one of the top defensive catching prospects in baseball, so that’s why I brought him in.”

At this point, the Yankees are looking at Montero and Romine a little differently than expected. Girardi acknowledged today that one of them might have to be the Yankees backup catcher in the postseason.

Today’s MRI on Francisco Cervelli came back negative, but he’s still suffering from concussion symptoms, and the Yankees aren’t sure when they’ll have him back. Russell Martin is expected to be back tomorrow, but his backup is to-be-determined. In some ways, it’s similar to spring training, with Montero and Romine given an opportunity to prove themselves.

“They might be called into duty if we do get to the playoffs,” Girardi said. “You do have to find out what they can do.”

Even before the Cervelli injury, Montero seemed to be opening some eyes with his offense. He was trying to win a roster spot as a designated hitter anyway, now his ability to catch takes on some added importance. That said, the Yankees made it clear on Sunday — when Romine came in as a defensive replacement — that they prefer Romine’s glove behind the plate.

“You think about what we asked them to do yesterday, two really young catchers that had never had a big-league start and neither one had caught in the big-leagues,” Girardi said. “They did a pretty good job.”

• Alex Rodriguez has not swung a bat since being shutdown on Saturday. Girardi said today that Rodriguez might not play against until this weekend’s series in Toronto. “I’m kind of a cage rat over there with Kevin and I can’t even do that,” Rodriguez said. “You sit around patiently (until) it heals up.”

• Nick Swisher is back in the lineup. He said swinging from the left side — like he’ll do tonight against Felix Hernandez — was completely pain-free during a pregame BP session. Swinging from the right side was only slightly painful, more of a slight tug than the sharp pain he was feeling a few days ago. “I just have to stay within myself and not try swing too hard,” he said.

• Swisher’s not ready to play the outfield. He did some throwing pregame and felt fine with shorter throws, but his elbow began bothering him when he stretched it to 120-130 feet. “Just want to make sure we get it all right,” he said. “But first base I think it will be perfectly fine.”

• One last Swisher note: “If I have to get a shot, maybe, to get through this pain toward the end of the season, we’ll go ahead and do that. My biggest thing is I want to be on the field, I want to play, and I’m going to do anything I can to get there.”

• Girardi on Martin: “He’s better. He’s going to come out and throw today and see if he can be an emergency guy for me today, if possible. His thumb is better.”

• Everyone is available in the Yankees bullpen, including Boone Logan.

• Even without Rodriguez in the lineup, the Yankees are sticking with Derek Jeter as the leadoff man, abandoning the use of Brett Gardner in the top spot against right-handers. “Jeet’s been doing a great job, so we’ve just kind stuck with it,” Girardi said.

• Girardi liked the idea of giving Mark Teixeira a half day off. “Unfortunately he got two and a half days off when he got hit in the leg, and I think that kind of rejuvenated him a little bit,” Girardi said. “But this schedule hasn’t done anything for any of our players, so that’s why I chose to DH him today.”

• Girardi on Hughes: “We want some distance from him tonight. He’s going to have to shut them down because of who we’re facing tonight. There’s usually not a lot of runs scored off of Felix, so he’s going to have o be on top of his game.”

• Girardi was asked about calling Romine’s girlfriend on Saturday to finally get in touch with Romine about the call-up. He said the Yankees got the girlfriend’s number from Romine’s agent, and she was apparently very polite when caught off guard by the Yankees manager suddenly calling her cell phone. “She asked me how I was,” Girardi said.

MARINERS
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Kyle Seager 3B
Dustin Ackley 2B
Mike Carp DH
Justin Smoak 1B
Miguel Olivo C
Trayvon Robinson LF
Brendan Ryan SS
Michael Saunders CF

Associated Press photos

Joe Girardi said he chose Austin Romine as his starting catcher because Romine caught Phil Hughes in Trenton earlier this season.

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Eric Chavez 3B
Brett Gardner LF
Chris Dickerson RF
Austin Romine C

Haven’t seen a full lineup, but Nick Swisher is back and playing first base. The Yankees aren’t ready to put him back in the outfield yet.

Chris Dickerson is in right, Austin Romine at catcher and Mark Teixeira at DH.

Austin Romine woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning. He was in Kentucky, and he hadn’t caught a ball or swung a bat in six days.

Romine boarded a plane, flew to the West Coast and rushed to a stadium that’s 10 minutes from his parents’ house. He dressed quickly, put on his No. 71 pinstriped uniform, went to the first-base line for a pregame ceremony, studied Angels scouting reports, entered his first big league game as a defensive replacement, caught three scoreless innings, then shook Mariano Rivera’s hand after the game’s greatest closer wrapped up save No. 599.

When it was over, Romine’s brother Andrew, who had been watching from the opposite dugout, came to say congratulations.

“He’s not a man of many words,” Romine said. “He just patted me on the back and said good job. (Coming from a) big brother, that means a lot.”

So often overshadowed by Jesus Montero, Romine is a highly touted prospect in his own right, and the Yankees showed what they think of him by inserting him so suddenly into a tight game that they badly needed to win. If ever there were a whirlwind day, this was it, and Romine still had the good sense to hold onto the ball when Torii Hunter made a throw to second too risky.

“He did real good,” Rivera said. “He doesn’t know the guys in the bullpen, so he had to learn a little bit. He did a tremendous job. Well done.”

He never showed it on the field, but in the clubhouse after the game, Romine still seemed dazed. The first, second and third waves of September call-ups had come and gone, and until he got a phone call late on Saturday, Romine had no reason to think he’d be in the big leagues this year. It all happened in an instant.

“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Romine said. “But I thought I was going to get some time off. Trust me, this is better. This is a whole lot better.”

—

On catching Rivera: “He’s one of the best closers in the game. It’s a tremendous honor and I’ll remember that forever.”

On the pressure of the moment: “I really wasn’t thinking. I was just going with the game, going with what Mo wanted to do.”

On making his debut in Anaheim: “I’m really happy for my family to be able to see both my brother and I playing big league ball together, and to play in front of my home town. I grew up 10 minutes from here so all my friends and family are here. It’s just a great moment for my family and my friends.”

On being prepared to play: “I haven’t caught or swung since the last game in Scranton. It’s kind of like, hurry up. It hadn’t been long enough to go away. I was still in shape and I feel good.”

On getting the call: “I was in Kentucky. I just moved out there. I was walking out of a store and I guess he’d been trying to call me for 30 or 40 minutes and couldn’t get a hold of me. He ended up calling my girlfriend and she was like, ‘Joe Girardi’s on the phone.’ I was like, ‘I might want to take that.’ So I got on and he was like, ‘We’re going to have you come up to Anaheim. We’re going to call you up.’ It didn’t really set in. It still hasn’t set in. I’ve been on a plane, a car. I’ve been going nonstop since I woke up at 4:30 this morning, so I’m sure it will settle in on the bus or on the plane.”

Associated Press photo