The LoHud Yankees Blog

Monday
RHP Phil Hughes (4-5, 6.41)
vs.
RHP Felix Hernandez (14-11, 3.15)
10:10 p.m., YES Network

Tuesday
RHP A.J. Burnett (9-11, 5.27)
vs.
LHP Charlie Furbush (3-8 4.84)
10:10 p.m., YES Network

Wednesday
RHP Ivan Nova (15-4, 3.94)
vs.
LHP Jason Vargas (8-13, 4.49)
10:10 p.m., YES Network / ESPN

It kind of got lost on the blog yesterday, but the Angels pregame ceremony in memory of September 11 was outstanding. It was understated and emotional, and the Angels did a nice job keeping the Yankees involved from start to finish.

“Obviously we have an opportunity to wear New York across our chest, and we take a lot of pride in that,” Derek Jeter said. “This was something that affected the whole country, but during that time right after September 11, when we were playing in the playoffs, and even now, it means a lot to us.”

Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera caught ceremonial first pitches from first responders who were part of that tragic day in New York. Afterward, all six — the heros and the players — mingled in the infield, with the Yankees signing autographs and making small talk.

“A lot of Yankees fans,” Jeter said. “A lot of the guys were pulling for us. It’s always good to hear. You meet guys that are true heroes and they say how much they appreciate the way you play. It makes you feel good.”

I realize it’s a day later, but we’ll have plenty of time to talk baseball today, and event seemed to really mean something in the Yankees clubhosue. Joe Torre was a surprise guest — no one seemed to know he was going to participate — and it was hard not to have an emotional reaction as the first responders and members of the military were introduced.

“It was a wonderful ceremony,” Rivera said. “They did a tremendous job. They gave us an oppoortuity to be there and be a part of it, which was awesome.”

Here’s Jeter. You’ll be shocked to learn he was terrific talking about the ceremony before shifting gears to talk about the game and the team’s need for a win.

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The Yankees needed this one. A third of their lineup has been sidelined with injuries, they haven’t had a full group of available relievers in several days, and even their healthy hitters have been struggling. Today they caught a break on a dropped fly ball, and it just enough luck to snap a four-game losing streak and extend their lead in the American League East.

“We’ve been through a lot lately,” Mark Teixeira said. “And for us to scratch this one out, we could kind of smell it. Once we got that lead, we weren’t going to give it back.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the drama of the day: The pregame ceremony was incredibly touching, two rookie catchers were splitting time behind the plate, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher were once again on the bench. There was a lot going on, but there was also this undeniable fact.

“We lost the last four in a row, so we needed a win, period,” Mariano Rivera said. “We got a little bit of luck today, but that’s part of the game.”

Eric Chavez had an early RBI single, and Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano homered in the middle innings, but the decisive blow was a seventh-inning sacrifice fly that glanced off Peter Bourjos’ glove. When he coupled that error with a bad throw, the Yankees were able to score not only the tying run, but also the go-ahead run.

And this time, they had all of their late-inning relievers available to seal it.

“Tex drove that ball a long way,” Joe Girardi said. “The sun helped us today… We’ve had some tough losses here. These guys are a tough team to beat, and we know that. We had a chance to win three games in a sense. To be able to get this one was important.”

—

A lot of eyes on Jesus Montero today. He’s made a quick impression — and a quick impact — which his bat, but today was his first time behind the plate in a Major League game. He was catching a familiar veteran in Freddy Garcia, but he was also catching a guy who likes to throw a ton of offspeed pitches and bounce splitters in the dirt.

It’s hardly a surprise that Girardi decided to use Austin Romine as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning — the Yankees have never denied that Romine is a better defensive catcher — but Montero threw out the first guy who tried to steal against him, and the Yankees seemed happy with his ability to hold his own in this situation.

Garcia: “He did a really good job. We were on the same page. We talked about it before the game, what I like to do, and he did pretty good. I was really happy for him.”

Girardi: “I thought he did okay. There’s balls going every which direction when you catch Freddy. Some splitters are going to go straight down, some are going to left and some are going to go right. I thought he did a good job. To be thrown into that situation against an aggressive ballclub after losing two games, I thought he did a nice job.”

Montero: “A little nervous the first time, but after that it was like, let’s work. Let’s win today. Let’s help our team to win… We talked before the game. We talked about everything: ‘I like to throw this, I like to do this.’ I was OK. He told me, ‘Be ready to block.’ That’s what I did. We did a nice job together.”

Here’s Montero.

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—

• Rivera got career save No. 599 today. Up next, becoming the second pitcher to ever reach 600. “It’s a great number, definitely,” Rivera said. “It’s going to happen if it happens. I’ll be fine. I won’t lose any sleep if it doesn’t happen, but it’s a great number.”

• Obviously this wasn’t Garcia’s finest start — he’s had two shaky outings in a row — but leaving the bases loaded in the fifth inning might have been the key to the game, specifically the 3-1 pitch that Mark Trumbo popped up for the second out. “I was really glad that Joe gave me the confidence to finish that inning,” Garcia said. “It’s really important for any pitcher in that situation. We lost the first two here, so to give me the chance to get out of that inning, it was big.”

• Although the numbers weren’t great, Garcia wasn’t beating himself up and Girardi seemed generally pleased with the start. A lot of infield singles all week, and tonight the Angels were able to capitalize with two key two-run homers. “The home run to the center fielder, that was a good pitch,” Garcia said. “Nothing you can do about it. Those guys know how to play the game. They take pitches and make you work.”

• Crazy day for Austin Romine, who drove from Scranton to Kentucky — where he’s in the process of moving — then found out last night he was being called up. He woke up at 4:30 ET, flew to LA, got to the park around noon and made his big league debut as a defensive replacement. “I had a million things thrown at me at one time,” he said. “They were showing me pictures of hitters and counts and stuff like that. I just took a deep breath and treated it like spring training. I’d caught him before — I’d caught all these guys before – and I’d played here before, so the comfort level was higher than I thought it was going to be. I just took a deep breath and didn’t think.”

• Speaking of Romine, he said he didn’t throw to second on the strange stolen base in the seventh because Torii Hunter was in front of him. “He was in front of me,” Romine said. “I didn’t want to try to throw it around him and throw it into the outfield. I figured, we have a guy on the mound who can get people out. Let him get them out, rather than have me throw the ball into the outfield and put us even or down a run. I just didn’t want to throw it away.”

• Russell Martin said his thumb is better, but Girardi said he expects either Montero or Romine to catch tomorrow night in Seattle. “You’ve got two guys that, if you add them up, are the same age as Jorge,” Girardi said. “They both did a good job. I remember my first game in the big-leagues and I was as nervous as you could be. For them to do what they did, I’m proud of both of them.”

• Speaking of feeling better, the Yankees aren’t ruling out the idea of Nick Swisher playing tomorrow. He hasn’t been hitting or throwing, but Swisher said his elbow isn’t as sore. “Normal moving around, picking things up, it feels better,” he said.

• Teixeira on his sac fly, which turned out to be the game-winner: “I thought I hit it really well. I knew at the very least it got the job done… I was running hard the whole way, just in case.”

• Montero on throwing out the first runner who tried to steal against him: “Well, thank God I make a nice throw right there. I know Callaspo likes to run and I was ready to throw the ball to second base real quick, and that’s what I did.”

• Apparently I only put this on Twitter pregame and forget to actually put it on the blog: Steve Garrison was designated for assignment to make room for Romine on the 40-man roster.

Associated Press photos

The Yankees finally swung the bat a little bit this afternoon, and when they needed it, they ran into a little bit of luck, too. Peter Bourjos dropped sacrifice fly let not only the tying run score, but also the winning run in a 6-5 Yankees win. Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson both homered, with Granderson going deep for the first time since August 28. With the bullpen finally fully available, Cory Wade, Rafael Soriano, Dave Robertson and Mariano Rivera delivered a scoreless inning apiece. Freddy Garcia had his second straight rocky outing, allowing five runs in five innings. Catcher Jesus Montero was swapped for defensive replacement Austin Romine after six innings behind the plate. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Yankees.

Associated Press photo

YANKEES (87-57)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano DH
Jesus Montero C
Eric Chavez 3B
Andruw Jones RF
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Brett Gardner LF

RHP Freddy Garcia (11-7, 3.50)
Garcia vs. Angels

ANGELS (80-65)
Erick Aybar SS
Howie Kendrick 2B
Bobby Abreu DH
Torii Hunter RF
Mark Trumbo 1B
Peter Bourjos CF
Mike Trout LF
Bobby Wilson C

RHP Ervin Santana (11-10, 3.18)
Santana vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 3:35 p.m., YES Network

WEATHER: Little bit cloudy, but it’s L.A. Not much reason to be worried about rain.

UMPIRES: HP Larry Vanover, 1B Brian Gorman, 2B Dan Bellino, 3B Tony Randazzo

THREE, NOT FOUR: The Yankees have lost three straight road games, matching their season high. They are one of only two teams — the White Sox are the other — that have not lost more than three straight road games this season.

MISSING BATS: In their past 25 innings, the Yankees have been held to just one run and eight hits. They have been held to one run or less in consecutive games by the same team for the first time since Detroit shut out the Yankees on back-to-back days last May.

BOUNCING BACK: The Yankees are 20-7 in games immediately following shutout losses since the start of the 2008 season, winning each of their last three such contests.

UPDATE, 3:56 p.m.: Another big hit from Howie Kendrick, who just hit a two-run homer for a 2-0 Angels lead in the first.

UPDATE, 4:12 p.m.: RBI single by Chavez has pulled the Yankees within 2-1 heading into the bottom of the second.

UPDATE, 4:19 p.m.: Montero has plenty of arm, it’s about getting his huge frame out of the crouch and ready to throw. He just sent a bullet to second base to get Callaspo trying to steal. The caught stealing ended the second inning.

UPDATE, 4:40 p.m.: The ball never left the infield, but the Angels got a run in the third inning with an infield single, a couple of bunts and a ball in the dirt that got past Montero. It’s now 3-1.

UPDATE, 4:43 p.m.: Cano just got one just over the tall wall in right field, a solo shot in the fourth to pull the Yankees within 3-2.

UPDATE, 4:51 p.m.: Bases loaded, two outs for Gardner. A chance to do something big here, something the Yankees haven’t done since the first inning on Thursday.

UPDATE, 4:52 p.m.: Looping line drive to center. Inning over.

UPDATE, 4:59 p.m.: Two-run homer by Bourjos.

UPDATE, 5:05 p.m.: Granderson has been in a real funk lately, but he just went deep — Jeter didn’t even watch it go, just put his head down and ran from first — for a two-run shot that’s pulled the Yankees within 5-4 in the fifth.

UPDATE, 5:31 p.m.: This game could have been lost any number of ways that inning, but Garcia got through the fifth with the bases left loaded. he got a popup to second and a grounder to second, and the Angels lead is still 5-4.

UPDATE, 5:38 p.m.: Nunez bounces into an inning-ending double play, and now Cory Wade is in to pitch the bottom of the sixth.

UPDATE, 5:59 p.m.: Sac fly would have been enough to tie the game, but when Bourjos dropped the ball and made a bad throw, the Yankees were able to take a 6-5 lead in the seventh.

UPDATE, 6:18 p.m.: By the way, Romine is catching this inning, and it looked like Hunter was in his way for that throw to second. I’m not sure he was actually planning to throw — looked like he was going to fake the throw and hold the runner at third — but it doesn’t really matter because Soriano was able to strand the runners.

Jorge Posada has some of the same curiosity when it comes to Jesus Montero.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him back there,” Posada said. “I think it’s a kid that, no question about it, has a lot riding on his shoulders. He’s doing a helluva job hitting, so now it’s time for him to catch a little bit.”

Posada remembers his first start behind the plate. It was September 25, 1996, the second game of a doubleheader against Milwaukee.

“I think it was Kenny Rogers,” Posada said. “I caught a doubleheader, and he’s telling me he’s going to add and subtract (signs). If I call a fastball, he’s going to add and subtract (to signal a different pitch). I didn’t know what in the hell he was talking about. I’m glad he didn’t do it. I think Jimmy Key was there, and Jimmy Key said, ‘Don’t try it. Don’t do it because that kid is already nervous.’ So thank God for that.”

Today, Montero will be catching his own veteran starter. As luck would have it — “It was not my master plan,” Joe Girardi said — Montero first act as a big leaguer was to catch Freddy Garcia’s bullpen in Boston. Montero also caught Garcia’s rehab starter earlier this season in Scranton.

“I’m not going to make too much of today,” Girardi said. “You think about the situation he’s playing in, he’s shown he can relax at this level as a hitter. I’m not going to make too much of today. He’s got Freddy who’s a veteran. I think that should be helpful because Freddy knows what he wants to do, and they speak the same language, so that should be helpful. I thought he had improved (when watching video of Montero catching in Triple-A), and we’re going to get a chance to watch him.”

• The Yankees will stick with a six-man rotation, letting Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova start this week in Seattle. “It’s still something we could possibly change,” Girardi said. “But now we’ve got that doubleheader coming up. Do you want a guy to sit for two weeks? I don’t know.”

• Another factor in sticking with six starters is that the Yankees don’t need another pitcher in the bullpen right now. “Our bullpen, right now, is OK,” Girardi said. “We’ve kind of caught up a little bit with the guys in the back end.”

• No update on Nick Swisher or Alex Rodriguez, but Girardi said he is hopeful that Swisher will be able to play tomorrow. Rodriguez is still going to miss a few days.

• Austin Romine is traveling here from Scranton. Not sure why he was still there, but apparently he was. Girardi said he hopes to have Romine at the stadium by the start of the game.

• When Romine gets here, he’ll be the No. 2 catcher. Posada is still considered an emergency-only option.

• On Russell Martin: “Russell is probably day-to-day,” Girardi said. “I don’t know if we’ll have him tomorrow. My hope is that we’ll have him on Tuesday. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

• As part of a September 11 pregame ceremony, members of the military and some first responders will throw a series of ceremonial first pitches. Members of the Angels will catch some of them, but the Angels also asked Posada, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to catch three of the pitches.

“I think everybody came together during 9-11,” Posada said. “I think that’s what we’re doing again… I wish we were home, though. I wish we were home and with people in New York, but we’re here and I’m happy for the first pitches today.”

ANGELS
Erick Aybar SS
Howie Kendrick 2B
Bobby Abreu DH
Torii Hunter RF
Mark Trumbo 1B
Peter Bourjos CF
Mike Trout LF
Bobby Wilson C
Alberto Callaspo 3B

Associated Press photos

Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano DH
Jesus Montero C
Eric Chavez 3B
Andruw Jones RF
Eduardo Nunez 2B
Brett Gardner LF

The Yankees also just announced their rotation for the Seattle series.

Monday: Phil Hughes
Tuesday: A.J. Burnett
Wednesday: Ivan Nova

Francisco Cervelli’s locker was just cleared, and his nameplate was replaced with a hand drawn tag for Austin Romine.

Looks like Romine will be here today, wearing No. 71.

No word on a move to make room on the 40-man.

It’s hard for me to relate to a lot of the September 11 stories I’ve heard these past few days. Some of the other beat guys have been telling their stories over dinner in the press box, and their recollections are nothing like my experience.

Back in 2001, I was still a college student living in Missouri, and I’d never set foot in New York City. I remember sitting on my couch for hours watching the coverage — I skipped, of all things, a communications class that day — but I was never afraid, and I had no real frame of reference for the size or the location of the buildings. I was sad and angry and confused, but the danger was distant and unfamiliar.

A lot of you experienced something completely different 10 years ago, and for those of you who lost someone you loved on that day, I’m truly sorry. There will be a baseball game this afternoon, and there will be a lineup to post in a few hours, but for now this is a day to remember the friends we’ve lost and to be thankful for the friends we have. It’s a day to think about all the sacrifices that make everything else possible, and even on a sad day like this one, there’s some joy in that.

Associated Press photo

The Yankees have lost four in a row and they’ve scored one run in their past 25 innings. But we’ll get to all of that later.

Tonight’s most intriguing subplot was behind the plate where each of the four catchers on the active roster — and one who’s not yet on the roster — became newsworthy in one way or another.

Jorge Posada
Of course it starts with Posada, who hadn’t caught in a game — any game — since last year’s American League Championship Series. Even though Russell Martin initially stayed in the game, Joe Girardi told Posada to start getting loose just in case.

“That’s incredible, what he did today,” Girardi said. “It showed a lot of guts on his part. I told him, ‘It’s like riding a bike. Go ahead and get back on the bike.’ He wasn’t so sure. I’m not sure he believed me when he went back there, but he did a nice job.”

Chances are Posada won’t be back behind the plate. This was probably his one appearance of the season, and it was clear Posada enjoyed it. CC Sabathia said it was a “welcome sight” and Derek Jeter said it was “just like old times.”

“Fun again,” Posada said. “It was fun. I’ll be sore tomorrow. I’ll sleep well tonight… I didn’t think in September it was going to happen. You’ve got another catcher up here, but baseball’s a funny game.”

Russell Martin
X-rays were negative and Martin was diagnosed with a bruised thumb. After the game, he had it heavily wrapped, but Martin refused to rule out the idea of catching tomorrow.

“It was to the point when I really could feel the baseball in my hand,” Martin said. “I tried to throw to second base and didn’t have any feeling. The ball took off on me. They took me out of the game. We’re going to see probably how it feels tomorrow, just come in and get some treatment on it, and you know, go from there. It’s just a bruised thumb. The X-rays were negative. So, I’m feeling pretty good that I should be able to get in there tomorrow. We’ll see tomorrow. But I’ve played with a bruised thumb before.”

Martin asked to stay in the game, to at least give his hand some time for the feeling to come back. He said the ball hit the tip of his thumb, and his thumbnail split open a little bit, leaving blood coming from the side of his finger.

“I watched Russell throw to CC when he was warming up (before the third), then I saw his throw to second and said, ‘He can’t do it,’” Girardi said.

Francisco Cervelli
Dizzy for a third straight day, Cervelli is going to New York tomorrow for tests and treatment. Cervelli said this is his third concussion, though I was almost certain it was his fourth.

“I had a little dizziness (yesterday), but today is the same, so I had to say something because it’s not normal,” Cervelli said. “… I think I just need to rest a couple of days, but we’ll see what the doctors say.”

Doctors in Los Angeles have told Cervelli it’s safe to fly. Girardi’s not sure when Cervelli will rejoin the team. It might not be before the end of this road trip.

Jesus Montero
With Martin banged up, Cervelli heading for New York and Posada having just caught for the first time in nearly 11 months, Girardi really has only one option to start at catcher tomorrow.

“It would be pretty hard to ask Jorge to go back-to-back days when he hasn’t caught all year,” Girardi said. “We’ll see what we’re going to do tomorrow. Montero will probably catch.”

It would be Jesus Montero’s first time catching a big league game. He’s become a regular at designated hitter, even against right-handers, but he obviously wants to prove himself behind the plate. The first thing he did when he was called up was catch a bullpen with Freddy Garcia, who happens to be tomorrow’s starter.

“I haven’t heard any decisions,” Montero said. “I don’t know anything yet. I might catch. I might not… I would be happy, yeah, to catch my first game in the big leagues.”

Austin Romine
Girardi strongly hinted that the Yankees will add a catcher before tomorrow’s game. He wouldn’t say who — or even confirm that a move will be made — but he said, “Let’s see who gets here tomorrow.”

Asked specifically about Romine, Girardi smiled and said, “He’s a possibility.”

Here’s Posada.

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Here’s Martin.

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• CC Sabathia doesn’t have a start like this one very often. He allowed eight hits and four walks through six innings, but gave up only one run because he made huge pitches — and got some huge defensive plays — when he needed them. “I felt like I had to battle,” he said. “Fastball command was really off, and I couldn’t get ahead of anybody but we were able to make some pitches and try to keep the game close.”

• The Yankees still had a shot until Hector Noesi gave up four runs in the seventh, two of them on a home run by .183-hitter Jeff Mathis. George Kontos made his big league debut in relief of Noesi and gave up a solo shot to Torii Hunter. “That’s my fault,” Sabathia said. “I need to be able to go deep into games. I know the guys have been sucking it up in September. A lot of guys are tired. They’ve been used a lot. I blame that game on me.”

• Girardi on the bullpen: “Noesi has thrown the ball pretty good for us. He had a rough day today. We’re not scoring runs, and that changes the way you run a game, in a sense. We’re going to need those guys when we’re winning games or are tied. It’s frustrating, but this team has bounced back a lot this year. We’re in a tough streak right now, but we’ll bounce back.”

• The Yankees have scored just one run since the second inning of Thursday’s game in Baltimore. “We need to swing the bats better,” Derek Jeter said. “That’s the bottom line. They’ve pitched well; you run up against good pitching. It’s going to be tough at times. It’s one of those streaks where it doesn’t seem like too many people are hitting.”

• Girardi said the decision to go with Posada behind the plate was an easy one. He didn’t want to lose his DH so early in the game, and that would have happened had he gone to Montero.

• Posada said he expected the Angels to try to run on him, so he wasn’t surprised when the first base runner took off. “I knew they were going to attempt, so just be prepared, be ready,” Posada said. “It’s been a while, but I just got rid of it.”

• The throw was high, but Robinson Cano made a nifty leaping catch and tag to get the out.

• Jeter said he didn’t say much to Posada on the field. “’Good throw,’ that’s about it,” Jeter said. “I didn’t get too deep.”

• Martin was asked if he could have positioned himself differently to avoid being hit in the hand. “They talk a lot about having your hand behind your back,” he said. “When there’s guys on base, you have to have your hand in position to make the transfer. That was the situation where there was a guy on first base, or second base, I don’t remember where he was. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter. My hand was right behind my glove.”

• Cervelli was asked if he was this dizzy before he left Baltimore. “After the collision, yeah,” he said. “I was catching. I don’t know how, but I stayed there. The next day, everything was sore: Nose, mouth, neck. I’m just dizzy right now. I just think I need a couple of days.”

Associated Press photos