Of course he has. Who hasn’t? Derek Jeter’s quest for 3,000 career hits is running up against something you don’t normally see associated with baseball:

The clock.

Obviously the milestone will be special wherever Jeter ends up doing it, but with four games left on the Yankees homestand and Jeter seven hits away, it’s just possible enough for him to do it in the Bronx that the attention will be ratcheted up even more.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you I haven’t been thinking about it,” Jeter said yesterday. “Yeah, I’d love to do it at home.”

Jorge Posada said he wants to see it happen at Yankee Stadium. So did Joe Girardi. And so did Mark Teixeira. Everyone wants Jeter to be in pinstripes, as opposed to road grays, when he finally gets to 3,000. So what are the chances it happens?

Somewhere around decent, I’d say. As the guys at River Ave. Blues noted, Jeter has had seven hits in four games in the past, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. It’s worth noting, though, that he’ll probably need some help: the last four-game stretch where he had seven hits, for example, was May 19-22 and Jeter had 19 plate appearances in those four games. Getting up that many times requires some offense from the rest of the Yankees, too (the team scored 30 runs in four games then).

If you’re looking for some historical perspective, check out this story. Some interesting nuggets there about others on the cusp of 3,000 and how long (or short) it took them to get there. I like the way Craig Biggio did it, going 5-for-6 in an 11-inning win. Doesn’t that sound like something Jeter would do?

* That’s an AP shot of Jeter’s RBI single in the eighth inning yesterday.

Every day Joe Girardi checks in with his players before posting the lineup card and you can bet he’ll be paying extra close attention to what Russell Martin has to say during today’s conversation.

Yesterday, Martin played for the first time since hurting his back on Tuesday. After going 0-for-4 with two double plays, Martin admitted that he still feels discomfort. “It’s still there a little but something I can play with,” Martin said. “I can run, throw, hit, even though I didn’t hit today, I can do enough to get the job done.”

Admirable as that sentiment is, Girardi may have a decision on his hands. Catcher isn’t a position to fool around with and it’s physical demands are intense; having a starter who is isn’t as close to 100 percent as possible isn’t ideal when it’s only June (and not, say, October). Girardi said during his postgame press conference that he’ll be interested to see how Martin’s back responds to a day back behind the plate.

Is it worth giving Martin a little more time off? Maybe. If he says he’s all ready to go, it’s hard to argue but no one should be surprised if the Yankees play it cautiously. Martin has been struggling since the end of April, and his average has dropped all the way to .232. Trying to play hurt might only magnify whatever bad habits have seeped into his swing.

Then again, rustiness isn’t much help at the plate either.

“It’s been a while since I had an at-bat,” Martin said yesterday. “I was swinging at pitches that I knew I was going to get, I just couldn’t do anything with them. Maybe it’s just not having an (at-bat) in a little while, probably takes me a day or two to get used to it. Come back stronger tomorrow.”

The Yankees certainly hope so.

* That’s an AP photo of Martin.

I know there are some divided loyalties in terms of NFL teams on here, but I figured everyone can get behind CC Sabathia being a good guy. So … here’s a great AP shot from today of Sabathia signing autographs for Jets coach Rex Ryan and his family. If you’re keeping score, that’s Rex’s nephew, James, on the left; sister-in-law Lauren and son, Seth, on the right. No word on whether Rex is now guaranteeing that the Yankees will win the World Series.

By the way, Sabathia was a top-quality tight end coming out of high school, so if Dustin Keller gets hurt this season …

Freddy Garcia got knocked around by the Red Sox on Tuesday, giving up four runs and lasting just 1 2/3 innings. It was by far his worst start of the season and, with what happened to Bartolo Colon on Saturday, the Yankees needed to see more of the old Garcia today.

No problem. Garcia was back to his old self, weaving in and out of trouble all afternoon as he pitched into the seventh. The most telling stat? Garcia didn’t allow a single hit with men on base all day (covering 12 plate appearances). That turned out be critical since Garcia also didn’t have a single clean 1-2-3 inning.

“His (splitter) was awesome today,” Russell Martin said. “That’s the difference between this start and last start. That’s his out pitch.”

According to Curtis Granderson – who has faced Garcia in the past and now plays behind him in center field – the key for Garcia is his deception. “I always looked at him as someone who is going to throw something hard,” Granderson said, pointing out that Garcia’s build makes him look like a big presence on the mound. “So you wait for it and then he almost never does. Then you sit soft, and he finally comes with something hard. It just keeps you off-balance.”

With Colon down for at least a few starts, the pressure on Garcia will increase. He says he doesn’t mind that, though, and is looking forward to walking off the mound to more of the type of ovations he got from the fans today.

“When you have a good outing, you get that,” he said. “When you pitch bad, they boo you. That’s how it is around here.”

• Derek Jeter hit two balls incredibly hard today, neither one of which ended up being one of his two hits. The rocket to center in the first and the long fly to right in the third both were caught, yet he dunked a single to right in the fifth and bounced a ball past a drawn-in infield in the eighth, bringing him to 2,993 hits for his career.

Of course, Jeter said he’s still not considering this to be “close” to 3,000.

“Unless we play a pretty long game, it’s still not a one-day thing,” he said. (It should be said: the record for most hits in a single game is seven.)

With four games left on the homestand, Jeter will need to stay productive if he hopes to reach the milestone at home – something his best friend on the team, Jorge Posada, is hoping happens.

“I hope he gets on a roll and does it at home,” Posada said. “I really want him to do it at home.”

• Posada, by the way, is no longer in possession of the lowest batting average among Yankee regulars. That now belongs to Nick Swisher, who is at .225 – one point behind Posada’s .226. A six-game hitting streak (the last five of which have been multi-hit efforts) has pushed Posada – 2-for-3 today – out of the Yankee cellar.

“I’m not doing anything different,” Posada said. “They’re just falling in.”

• Russell Martin looked “rusty” at the plate, according to Girardi, though Martin said his back was feeling better. “It’s still there a little bit,” Martin said, “but it’s something I can play with.” Martin was 0-for-4, grounded into two double plays and saw the Indians steal five bases (though, to be fair, Garcia has to take part of the blame because of a slow delivery). Girardi said he’s looking forward to seeing how Martin’s back responds tomorrow after a day back behind the plate.

• Lots of running for Brett Gardner today, who had two doubles, a triple and scored three times. On the triple, Gardner said he wasn’t sure what it would be off the bat but once he hit first base and saw both the left and center fielders with their backs to him, he knew he could make third. On the double that seemed to be right at Cleveland right fielder Shin-soo Choo? “I think he lost it,” Gardner said. “I wasn’t thinking double off the bat.” Either way, that’s how the Yankees want to see Gardner using his speed.

• Curtis Granderson was 4-for-4 with 2 RBI and has now driven in a run in four straight games.

• As a team, the Yankees are now nine games over .500 (matching their season-high) and have not trailed at any point in this series. Their 18 hits today is the most since May 31, 2010 (also against Cleveland) and they’ve combined for 33 hits in their last two games.

* That’s an AP shot from today.

A day after seeing Bartolo Colon go down with a pulled hamstring, the Yankees got an encouraging outing from Freddy Garcia and plenty of offense from their hitters in a X-X rout of the Indians. Derek Jeter edged closer to 3,000 hits with a 2-for-5 performance that has him only seven away now, and Curtis Granderson added four hits and two RBI. Brett Gardner, who had a rough day on the bases yesterday, made amends with two doubles, a triple and three runs scored.

Garcia’s performance – 6 2/3 innings, one run, seven hits and six strikeouts – was more important than it will look in final box score. The Yankees didn’t blow the game open until a five-run fifth inning, and Garcia pitched out of trouble constantly to keep the game close before the bats broke out. The veteran righty didn’t have a clean inning all day but allowed the Indians just one hit in 12 at-bats with runners on base.

* That’s an AP shot of Garcia.

YANKEES (35-27)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
Brett Gardner LF

RHP Freddy Garcia (4-5, 3.86)
Garcia vs. Indians

INDIANS (34-28)
Michael Brantley CF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Grady Sizemore DH
Carlos Santana 1B
Shin-Soo Choo RF
Matt LaPorta 1B
Orlando Cabrera 2B
Austin Kearns LF
Jack Hannahan 3B

RHP Josh Tomlin (7-3, 3.71)
Tomlin vs. Yankees

TIME/TV: 1:05 p.m., YES Network / TBS

WEATHER: Gray, but a little warmer than yesterday with less wind.

UMPIRES: HP CB Bucknor, 1B Mike Muchlinski, 2B Dale Scott, 3B Dan Iassogna

LONG TIME COMING: Yesterday’s 4-0 win was only the second time the Yankees have shutout an opponent this season and their first shutout at home since Sept. 2, 2010 vs. Oakland.

MR. 400: Joe Girardi picked up his 400th career win as a manager yesterday, 322 of which have come with the Yankees. Girardi was also 78-84 during his one season managing the Florida Marlins.

A PAINFUL RECORD: As has been chronicled, the Yankees have had at least player hit by a pitch in five straight games, which is one shy of their longest streak since 1920 . On two occasions have they had six-game stretches of HBPs: From Aug. 30-Sept. 4, 2010 and May 16-21, 2006.

UPDATE, 1:13 p.m.: We’re underway here, and I’m hearing that Rex Ryan is also in the house today. Unfortunately, the NFL guys don’t have a lot going on these days …

UPDATE, 1:19 p.m.: Jeter gave that one a ride to center but Michael Brantley got a good jump and tracked it over his shoulder well to pull it in on the track. Still stuck on 2,991 for the Captain.

UPDATE, 1:45 p.m.: That’s another hit for Posada, who now has a six-game hitting streak and is 11-for-20 during that stretch. Alas, his replacement, Russell Martin, then grounds into a double-play. Still scoreless here going to the third.

UPDATE, 2:01 p.m.: After another long fly out – this one to right – Jeter has about 700 feet of outs so far this afternoon. Say this: He seems to be seeing the ball well.

UPDATE, 2:03 p.m.: And Granderson hits his own fly to deep right that scores Gardner. It’s 1-0 Yanks.

UPDATE, 2:18 p.m.: Garcia is working at it today but avoiding damage. A big strikeout and groundout there to strand Choo on third and keep a 1-0 lead.

UPDATE, 2:34 p.m.: Maybe it’s just me but Martin still looks a little cautious in his movements. Not sure how much that has to do with his two double-play grounders, but just sayin’.

UPDATE, 2:42 p.m.: How about that – the softest-hit ball Jeter has today is the one that drops in for No. 2,992. It’s an RBI for the Captain and 2-0 Yankees.

UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: The Yankees have blown it open in the fifth here, with six hits and five runs as nine men go to the plate against Tomlin. Suddenly, Garcia has some serious cushion. It’s 6-0.

UPDATE, 3:02 p.m.: Can’t blame Martin for several of these steals. Cleveland looks to be stealing right off Garcia’s move.

UPDATE, 3:07 p.m.: Close the book on Tomlin: 5 IP, 12 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2K.

UPDATE, 3:25 p.m.: That’s it for the shutout streak – 15 1/3 innings – and that’s it for Freddy, too. Garcia is gone with one on and two out in the seventh, getting a nice ovation from the fans as he goes.

UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: Ayala on to pitch now and Dickerson replaces Swisher in right field. Still 6-1.

UPDATE, 4:13 p.m.: Yup, that’s Cervelli at third base. Nunez at short. Whelan on the mound. It’s 9-1.

With a late report time Sunday it took a while before the Yankees officially announced what seemed certain: Bartolo Colon is on the disabled list, putting a hole in their rotation for at least the next two weeks.

Who will take Colon’s starts? That’s still up in the air, though Joe Girardi said Hector Noesi – who was put back on the roster today – is an option. Noesi will also be available out of the bullpen, according to Girardi, at least until they decide what they want to do with the rotation. As mentioned yesterday, there are a few other minor league options (Mitchell, Warren, Phelps) on the Yankees radar too.

Most encouraging for the Yankees, however, is that Colon seems to believe he’ll be back in the rotation as soon as his 15-day DL stint is over. He seemed relatively upbeat about how his left hamstring feels, and didn’t seem to think he’s looking at a long absence. Of course, everyone knows that you can’t predict rehab times.

In addition to being generally frustrated about getting hurt, Colon said he was disappointed because of what the Yankees have come to expect from him. “I feel bad because the team needs me and I got hurt,” he said through an interpreter.

• Russell Martin, who hasn’t played since Tuesday, is back in the lineup and says his back is fine. “I hit, ran, threw – good,” Martin said.

• A-Rod’s IT band – hip/thigh area to us normal folk – apparently is fine because he’s in there, too. A-Rod hit his 13th homer of the season yesterday and second in as many games.

• Chris Dickerson is back (according to Girardi, Noesi is here for Sanit and Dickerson for Colon), though he didn’t have far to come. Dickerson wasn’t reporting to SWB until tomorrow, so he was still in town yesterday. After Colon got hurt, Girardi called him and said, “Don’t leave.”

• Husker pride runs deep, apparently: Joba Chamberlain left tickets for Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh today.

• Noesi, by the way, is stretched out to about 75-85 pitches, according to Girardi. That certainly leaves him in play to make a start though the Yankees may prefer him in the bullpen.

Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1b
Rodriguez 3b
Cano 2b
Swisher RF
Posada DH
Martin C
Gardner LF

Garcia P

Just announced that Bartolo Colon and Amaury Sanit are on the DL. Chris Dickerson and Hector Noesi are here. Still no lineup yet.

Hey all, hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday night. Saw this interesting story from Buster Olney earlier today and thought it was worth a post. The idea of realignment in baseball is something that has been kicked around, in various forms, for years but now it seems to be gathering at least a little more momentum.

Frankly, I’m all for it. I’ve always thought it was grossly unfair that the teams in the NL Central are vying for an automatic playoff berth with five other teams while the other divisions all have one fewer as competition, and vice versa for the teams in the AL West. I understand the inherent difficulties in having an equal number of teams in each league, but fair is – or should be – fair. Olney says Houston would be an obvious choice to jump from the NL to the AL and that’s makes sense to me; certainly the Cubs and Cardinals aren’t going anywhere.

Going to two 15-team leagues would be weird, there’s no doubt. But if MLB increases the number of playoff teams, as it seems certain to do, then there’s no better time to make a change to a divisional system that’s flawed, too.