The LoHud Yankees Blog

Let’s do a chat tomorrow. Why not? Stop by here at noon, I’ll be answering questions about the Yankees heading into the postseason. My guess is that the rotation will come up. Probably Jesus Montero as well. And maybe the role of Jorge Posada.

In other words, we’ll be talking about the exact same things were talking about in spring training.

Still no lineup and Joe Girardi isn’t addressing the media until 5 p.m. The clubhouse is basically empty except for Hector Noesi, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera.

Fascinating story coming out of Minneapolis this morning. Amelia Rayno caught up with Chuck Knoblauch, who finally opened up about his trade to New York, his throwing issues in the Bronx, his ugly return to Minnesota, his inclusion in the Mitchell Report and his quiet life outside of baseball.

“Something obviously went wrong, but I have no idea what it was,” Knoblauch said of his throwing problems. “I couldn’t overcome it. I got to thinking too much, and I couldn’t shut it off.

“I was bright lights, big city and I was having this serious issue, in front of millions of people, and I had to wake up every day and face it. And I faced it. If you care so much about something, it’s hard not to make it a life and death thing. I feel like I went to New York as a boy and I left it a man. Because I went through the wringer.”

There’s a lot of good stuff in the story. It’s a well-written profile of a key part of late-90s Yankees dynasty. Check it out.

Associated Press photos

I have to say, that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. After having no celebration when the Yankees clinched a playoff spot earlier today, there was sheer pandemonium in the clubhouse after the Yankees’ second 4-2 win of the day over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees clinched their 12th AL East title in 16 years, and they completely let loose after the win.

“It’s been a tough ride, but it’s the day-by-day that keeps me going,” said Jorge Posada, tonight’s hero. “Days like today keep me going. I’m having a bunch of fun still, and hopefully we can continue this ride.”

The moment was even more special for all of the players in the locker room because it was Posada — whose trials and tribulations have been well-documented this year — who came up with the clutch game-winning hit. In a move that had many people scratching their heads, manager Joe Girardi pinch-hit Posada for rookie sensation Jesus Montero in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded.

“I just felt that it was the right time to go to Jorge,” Girardi said. “I like him in the situation, I liked the matchup, and as much as we’re trying to win the game, I thought that Jorge is used to DHing and used to having time in between at-bats, and those other guys don’t pinch hit much.”

Even with big name hitters such as Alex Rodriguez available on the bench, Girardi said his gut told him that this was the right situation for Posada. As bad as Posada has looked at times this season, he seems to still have that flair for the dramatic.

“You couldn’t have written it any better,” Curtis Granderson said. “You had Jeter with the 3,000, you had Mariano with the 602, and Jorge Posada was the final piece.”

After deciding to intentionally walk Robinson Cano when the count went to 3-2, Rays manager Joe Maddon brought in the right-handed Brandon Gomes to face Montero.

“Joe told me before the inning started,” Posada said. “He told me, ‘If they bring in a righty for Montero, you’re going to hit.’ ”

Posada stepped up and laced a two-run single to right-center field to break a 2-2 tie, and Rafael Soriano came on to close out the game in the ninth. Another storybook ending for the Bombers.

“I’m sure it meant a lot to him,” Girardi said of Posada’s hit. “This is a guy who’s been a great Yankee, had a wonderful career, and a lot of big hits in his time. Just to get another one to clinch the division has to mean a lot to him. We’ve gone through some difficult struggles at times, but I believe in Jorge.”

• Lost in all of the Posada madness was the combined pitching performance out of CC Sabathia, David Roberston and Soriano. CC gave the Yankees 7 1/3 strong innings, allowing two runs while striking out six. He gave up the game-tying homer to Sean Rodriguez in the seventh, but Girardi still brought him out for the eighth. CC loaded the bases in the eighth with one out, prompting Girardi to bring in Robertson. He ended up throwing a whopping 127 pitches. “I felt good, but I know Joe told me that our ultimate goal is to try and win a championship,” Sabathia said. “He went to Robertson, and if there’s a guy who you want to have the ball with the bases loaded, it’s him. He’s been unbelievable.”

• Houdini, as many of his teammates refer to him, aka Robertson got the job done again — as he has so many times this season. One pitch, double play, inning over. “I’m out there and I’m really stressed out trying to figure out a way to get out of it, and tonight was the quickest one that I’ve had in along time,” Robertson said. “I just do everything that I can to try and help this team win ball games. It doesn’t matter how. When Joe puts me in, I’m just trying to get outs.”

• Here’s some highlights from the bottom of the eighth, leading up to Posada’s big hit. Girardi really pressed all of the right buttons in this inning. Nick Swisher pinch-hit for Brett Gardner, and doubled to left-center. After Granderson flew out to right for the second out, Maddon brought in RHP Juan Cruz to flip Mark Teixeira around to the left side, where he has struggled immensely this season. Tex drew a walk, leading to another pitching change. Maddon brought in lefty Cesar Ramos to face Cano, before eventually deciding to walk him. One more pitching change, and then Posada took care of the rest.

• Girardi talked about the perception that the Yankees were the underdogs in the division this year to the Red Sox, and why that made this division title so much sweeter. “It’s not often that we’re considered the underdogs, but I understood with the moves that they had made,” he said. “Our season didn’t start off real good with the way that we played against them, and it seemed to turn a little bit when we went there on our last road trip. This group has a lot of pride, and this group has been through a lot.”

• On a team filled with older players who many felt were getting into the over-the-hill range, it really is incredible to think about how some players who no one expected anything out of have stepped up big. “Some of the veterans that we brought in to step into the rotation and help us out — whether it was Freddy or Bartolo — I think people had kind of written those guys off, and forgot that these guys have been successful and know how to pitch,” Girardi said. “They’re a big reason why we’re here.”

• I know that Girardi has taken a lot of heat for over-managing at times, and it’s difficult to find reasons to give him credit with such a star-studded roster, but this has probably been his best regular season managing job. He got the best out of both old and young players, and navigated through many untimely injuries. “I think Joe does an incredible job, and I don’t think he gets enough credit,” A-Rod said. “For me, he’s obviously the Manager of the Year. I was telling the guys earlier, we lost our seventh inning guy, our eighth inning guy, we lost our third baseman, our shortstop, we lost Phil Hughes, and overall he’s been the one constant.”

• I would be remiss to forget about the Orioles’ 6-4 comeback win over the Red Sox which made clinching the division possible for the Yankees tonight. After going down 4-1, Baltimore rallied behind two home runs from Mark Reynolds. Vladimir Guerrero broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run single in the eighth. Yankee fans can address their thank you notes to Buck Showalter. The Red Sox currently have a 2.5-game lead over the Rays for the wild card. They’ve lost seven of their last ten.

• A funny side-story on a personal note: I’m completely drenched in champagne. All of the reporters rushed into the clubhouse after the game, and it was a mad house. After taking some video of the players celebrating, I began to make my way to the press conference room to talk to Girardi. As I’m heading for the door, Cano comes up to me and yells, “Where are you going?”, promptly spraying champagne all over me. It was both exciting and somewhat awkward to try and ask Girardi questions while bubbly dripped down from my face. It’s been a long day, but it was a fun way to end it.

Associated Press photos

What a day. After clinching a playoff berth with a 4-2 win in the first game of today’s doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees clinched the division with a dramatic win by the same score in the nightcap. The Yankees needed a Boston loss to clinch, and they got it when Baltimore came back to beat the Red Sox, 6-4. CC Sabathia had a strong outing, allowing two runs over 7 1/3 innings, but a solo homer from Sean Rodriguez tied the score at 2-2 in the seventh. Sabathia stayed in to pitch the eighth, eventually loading the bases on a walk to Evan Longoria with one out. Mr. Houdini himself, Dave Robertson, came in and got out of the jam on one pitch, inducing a double play ball from Ben Zobrist.

In the bottom of the eighth, after three pitching changes from the Rays, Jorge Posada was brought in to pinch-hit for Jesus Montero with the bases loaded and two outs. Posada came up clutch with a two-run single, ensuring yet another AL East title for the Bombers.

YANKEES (94-60)
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jesus Montero DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Chris Dickerson RF
Eduardo Nunez SS

LHP CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.01)
Sabathia vs. Rays

RAYS (85-69)
Desmond Jennings LF
B.J. Upton CF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist 2B
Johnny Damon DH
Sean Rodriguez SS
Casey Kotchman 1B
Brandon Guyer RF
Kelly Shoppach C

RHP Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.91)
Hellickson vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 8:05., YES Network/ESPN

WEATHER: The rain has subsided a bit, but it’s chilly and wet. The delayed start looks like a good call right now, but the forecast calls for thunder storms later.

UMPIRES: HP Brian Knight, 1B Fieldin Culbreth, 2B John Hirschbeck, 3B Wally Bell

CLINCH TWICE IN ONE DAY?: After clinching a postseason berth with their 4-2 win earlier today, the Yankees can lock up the AL East with a win and a Boston loss.

EIGHT IN NINE: Even with the expanded rosters, the Yankees bullpen will be short-handed in the second game of a doubleheader tonight. For just the second time in franchise history, the Yankees used eight pitchers in a nine-inning game. The only other time was in a 17-9 loss to Baltimore on 09/27/05.

WINS KEEP COMING: The Yanks are in the midst of a brutal stretch of 33 games over the final 32 days of the season. Still, they’ve managed to continue their winning ways. They have a 16-9 record in those games up to this point.

UPDATE, 8:07PM: First pitch. We have baseball. Delay of one hour and two minutes.

UPDATE, 8:11PM: Cano and Nunez pull off the nifty 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

UPDATE, 8:34PM: CC is up to his usual tricks, working in and out of trouble early and often. After a bizarre error from Cano and a single from Sean Rodriguez, the big man gets Guyer swinging to strand runners on 2nd and 3rd. 0-0 after 1 1/2.

UPDATE, 8:39PM: MVP? Cano crushes his 27th homer into the right field field bleachers on a 2-1 offering from Hellickson. It’s 1-0 Yanks.

UPDATE, 8:52PM: Boston has a 4-2 lead on the Orioles in the top of the 6th.

UPDATE, 9:10PM: I’ve got to say, Nunez has looked pretty clean in the field today. Some of his teammates talked about the extra work he’s been putting in between games. CC is at 67 pitches after four innings. That puts him on pace to get through the seventh, where hypothetically Girardi could go then go to Rafael Soriano and Dave Robertson to close it out.

UPDATE, 9:15PM: A Mark Reynolds HR ties the Orioles with the Red Sox at 4-4 in the top of the seventh. Interesting…

UPDATE, 9:18PM: An intentional walk to Cano with runners on the corners proves to be a wise move. Montero comes up with the bases loaded and no outs, and grounds into a double play. Granderson scores, but I’m sure Joe Maddon will take one run after what looked like a potential messy situation. It’s 2-0 Yanks.

UPDATE, 9:29PM: Shoppach’s solo shot brings Rays within one, 2-1.

UPDATE, 9:39PM: Baltimore takes a 6-4 lead over Boston in the eighth on a two-run single from Vladimir Guerrero. It’s looking more and more likely that the Yanks will clinch the division tonight.

UPDATE, 9:46PM: CC gets through six on 87 pitches. Looks like he should give the Yanks at least seven innings, making Girardi’s job that much easier.

UPDATE, 10:00PM: Sean Rodriguez takes a 2-1 pitch from Sabathia and crushes it off the top of the left field foul pole to tie the game at 2-2 in the seventh. Hold off on that champagne for now…

UPDATE, 10:10PM: The Red Sox game just went final, a 6-4 loss. That means a Yankee win clinches the AL East.

UPDATE, 10:12PM: CC back out for the eighth, with Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances warming in the pen. Not the arms you expected to see up at this point.

UPDATE, 10:20PM: Hard hit ball back up the middle from Upton is deflected by CC, but Chavez’s throw to first isn’t on time. Runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. CC is at 119 pitches, but Girardi is leaving him in there to face Longoria. Big moment here.

UPDATE, 10:25PM: After CC walks Longoria, Dave Robertson comes in with the bases loaded and one out. Houdini gets it done again, inducing the 4-6-3 double play from Zobrist to end the inning unscathed. It’s still 2-2 after the biggest two outs of the game.

UPDATE, 10:34PM: Swisher pinch-hitting for Gardner with one out in the eighth.

UPDATE, 10:37PM: And Swisher gets it done with a double in the left-center field gap. Here comes the Grandy man.

UPDATE, 10:43PM: After Granderson flies out to RF, Maddon is bringing in RHP Juan Cruz to face Teixeira, which is the move he had to make to move Tex over to the left side. He’s hitting just .222 as a lefty this season.

UPDATE, 10:49PM: Tex walks, and Maddon goes to another lefty to face Cano. This time it’s Cesar Ramos.

UPDATE, 10:54PM: A lot going on here. After they go to a 3-2 count on Cano, Maddon decides to put him on. He brings in Brandon Gomes to face Montero, and Girardi counters by pinch-hitting Posada. I have to admit, I didn’t like the move at first, but it paid off. Posada comes through with the two-out, two-run single. It’s 4-2 Yanks.

UPDATE, 10:58PM: Interesting decision by Girardi to go to Soriano in the 9th after Robertson threw just one pitch.

The news just keeps on coming. About 20 minutes before the first pitch of the second game of today’s doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, Yankees GM Brian Cashman called a press conference to announce the results from Phil Hughes’ MRI earlier today.

“He’s been getting better, but today they decided to be move proactive because he wasn’t getting better quick enough for them,” Cashman said. “The MRI showed that he has inflammation coming from an old injury in ’04, which was a herniated disc. It’s not considered serious. It would normally resolve itself just with some more time, but because of the time of year, we decided to go proactive and hit it with an epidural.”

Hughes has been sent home to lay down and rest after receiving his shot. Cashman stressed that the motivation for the epidural was to speed up the recovery so that Hughes can remain an option for the postseason.

“We believe he’ll be fine and he’ll still pitch for us,” Cashman said. “We believe he’ll pitch maybe this weekend, whenever Joe slots him in, I don’t know when.”

Cashman said that it’s more likely that Hughes will pitch sometime next week in final series of the season in Tampa. That probably leaves Freddy Garcia, AJ Burnett and Ivan Nova to pitch against Boston this weekend.

Again, Cashman was quite clear that this is not a serious injury and that they expect Hughes back at some point, but this is certainly not the news that you want to hear in what has been a wacky year for the promising young starter.

“The doc told me that it’s nowhere near as serious as it was back then, it’s just an aggravation of an old injury,” Cashman said. “If it was earlier in the season, we would just give him more time and it would resolve itself. But because the clock is ticking and October is right around the corner, we just decided to hit it with the big bang and try to put it behind him now.”

Oh by way, it’s raining here at Yankee Stadium. Stay tuned for any word on a possible delay…

Because there’s so much to do before the next game gets started, I’m going to combine both postgame notes from the first game with the pregame notes for the second game. Obviously, the big story from today is the fact that the Yankees clinched their 16th postseason berth in 17 years with a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The mood in the clubhouse was very relaxed, with no celebrations or champagne being sprayed. The Captain set the tone for that.

“We still feel as though we didn’t accomplish anything,” Derek Jeter said. “We’re happy to be in the playoffs, but we’re not running around here jumping up and down because we clinched a postseason berth. Our goal is to win the division. We have not done that yet, so we need to continue to play well and get that done.”

To clinch the division tonight, the Yankees need a win and a Boston loss. To clinch the division period, they simply need to win two more games, so it’s a pretty safe bet that they’ll get it done. When Jeter was asked if they’ve celebrated making the postseason before they’ve won the division in the past, he said only in years in which the division was out of reach.

Other long-time Yankees such as Mariano Rivera talked about how making the playoffs never gets old.

“I can’t take it for granted,” he said. “I enjoy it as much as the first one.”

Newcomers such as Eduardo Nunez, who went 2 for 3 and hit the game-tying homer in the eighth, seemed to be a bit more excited about the accomplishment.

“For me, it’s a good experience in my young career to play on this team,” he said. “It’s a special moment.”

• After the first game, everyone was just raving about the job that Nunez has done this year. He hit the ball hard everytime up, and has been an irreplaceable piece this season filling in for Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. He came up with possibly the biggest home run of his career today to lead off the eighth, tying the game at 2-2. While Nunez’s defense has been shaky at times, he has the kind of bat that makes him a viable option in the future to eventually take over at shortstop for Jeter. “He’s been big for us, because he’s had to fill some really big shoes for us this year,” manager Joe Girardi said. “He plays with no fear, and he’s been a big addition to our club. I think our bench has played a key role.”

• The other big blow for the Yankees came from Robinson Cano. After Brett Gardner singled and Jeter walked with one out and the game tied in the eighth, Rays manager Joe Maddon brought in LHP JP Howell to face Cano. Bad move. Cano was hitting .294 against Howell in his career, and as he has all year with runners in scoring position, he came up big. Cano stroked a two-run double into left-center field, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead with Rivera coming into the game. After the game, Girardi was asked by WFAN’s Sweeny Murti who he thought was ahead in the MVP race. “You’re trying to get me in trouble with that one, aren’t you Sweeny?” Girardi cracked. “You know, they’ve both had fabulous years, and I think they’re both deserving. It may come down to the last week, it’s very possible, because they’re all around players. They drive in runs, they score runs, they play great defense, both of them. So, I’m not going to answer that question, because it’s a loaded question. Maybe we can have co-MVPs.”

• Speaking of that MVP race, the debate between Granderson and Cano is actually closer than many people may think. Granderson’s name is mentioned much more often, but when you break it down, it’s difficult to tell who’s having a better year. Granderson has more HRs (41 vs. 26 for Cano), but Cano’s double in the eighth made him the major league leader in extra base hits with 79. Cano’s batting average is 34 points higher than Granderson’s, but Granderson’s on-base percentage is 23 points higher. Their RBI numbers are nearly identical, but Granderson leads the league in runs scored with 133. He also has 16 more stolen bases than Cano and his OPS is 60 points higher. That all might skewed the vote in Granderson’s favor, but a noteworthy stat is batting average with runners in scoring position. Granderson is hitting only .252, but Cano is raking at .311. All of this might be enough to split the vote in favor of Toronto’s Jose Bautista. Who gets your vote?

• We have to comment on the work that the bullpen did today. Spot-starter Hector Noesi wasn’t at his best today (2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR), but the rest of the bullpen didn’t allow a run. Girardi used a total of eight pitchers, which seemed to be a bit of overkill, but it worked. Raul Valdes, George Kontos, Aaron Laffey, Cory Wade, Boone Logan, Luis Ayala and Rivera each pitched out of the pen, and all of them got the job done. None pitched more than 1.1 innings, so we had quite a few mid-inning pitching changes. “Pitching was wonderful,” Girardi said. “Hec doing what he did in a spot start when he hasn’t been stretched out. We were asking a lot from him, and then the bullpen did a tremendous job getting outs. They had some base-runners, but our guys got outs when they needed to.”

• When asked if any of the relatively unknown relievers really stood out today, Girardi mentioned Valdes, who had three strikeouts. The search for a second lefty out of the pen since Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte went down with injuries has been ongoing, but Valdes seems to have worked his way into the conversation. He’s still a stretch for the postseason roster, but he’s making an impression. “I thought the last two times that we’ve used him he’s done a really good job,” Girardi said. “He’s got a little funk to him. There’s something about his windup that looks like the ball kind of jumps at you. We’ll use him more.”

• Girardi also sang Austin Romine’s praises for his work behind the plate. It’s clear that he feels much more comfortable using him as Russell Martin’s backup, rather than Jesus Montero or Jorge Posada. “He’s caught a lot of these guys, that’s the thing. He’s caught Noesi, he’s caught Valdes, he’s caught Kontos, who was next?” Girardi said with a laugh. “He’s look comfortable back there to us… I felt bad for him. He hit a bullet (in the fifth), and that could have been the tying run.”

• Of course, with a playoff spot being clinched, it was only natural that Girardi would be asked about his playoff rotation. “Let us win the division first, and then maybe we can talk about something else,” he said with a laugh. “Then I’ll stall even longer.”

• Interesting tidbit on Phil Hughes. After downplaying his back spasms and telling the media that might throw a bullpen session between games, Girardi informed us that Hughes went to go see a doctor during the first game. “He didn’t throw,” Girardi said. “He actually went to see the doctor, and I don’t have the results yet. I think he had an MRI.”

• Girardi said that he doesn’t plan on using any of the eight pitchers he used in the first game tonight. He wouldn’t commit to Dave Robertson as the closer, but that’s the assumption.

Associated Press photos

Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jesus Montero DH
Eric Chavez 3B
Russell Martin C
Chris Dickerson RF
Eduardo Nunez SS
CC Sabathia P

The Yankees came back in dramatic fashion in the first game of their doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, coming away with the 4-2 win to clinch their 16th playoff appearance in the past 17 years. Eduardo Nunez hit a game-tying homer to lead off the eighth inning, and then Robinson Cano cranked a two-run double to break the 2-2 tie. The Yankees used a total of eight pitchers after Phil Hughes was scratched due to back spasms. With a win in tonight’s game and a Boston loss, the Yankees will clinch the AL East.