YankeeHeadquartersCom Blog

2008-09-14T20:08:00.001-04:00

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano was benched Sunday after manager Joe Girardi became upset with his lack of hustle on a fielding play against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cliff Floyd led off the fourth inning with a hard grounder between first baseman Jason Giambi and Cano. Giambi dived and the ball went off his glove and into right-center field. Cano didn’t immediately go after it and Floyd beat right fielder Xavier Nady’s throw to second for the unusual double.

Girardi switched Cody Ransom from third to second and inserted Wilson Betemit at third before Tampa Bay batted in the fifth.

“That’s a ball that we have to hustle after and get and keep Cliff Floyd from getting to second,” Girardi said after New York’s 8-4 victory.

The Yankees open a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night, and Girardi said he hadn’t decided whether Cano will be in the lineup.

“Sometimes I let the team down,” Cano said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time I play hard. It’s kind of frustrating not helping the team, and he’s right.”

Cano is nearing the end of a disappointing season, batting .260 after hitting over .300 in each of the previous two years. He admitted that he sometimes carries his frustration at the plate over to the field.

This gaffe was particularly rough on the 25-year-old Cano.

“That’s embarrassing,” he said. “You’re playing and you’re taken out of the game. … It’s a situation that no player would like to be in.”

2008-09-13T10:50:00.001-04:00

Andy Pettitte will start against the Orioles on Sept. 21. Pettitte will receive an extra day of rest and pitch Tuesday against the White Sox before getting the ball four days later for the Stadium finale.

"It will be an emotional night for me, that's for sure, being able to make that last start here," Pettitte said.

Girardi called it "fitting" that Pettitte will get the team's final start in the current Yankee Stadium. The left-hander is in his 11th season in pinstripes and ranks fourth in franchise history with 177 victories.

Pettitte said he's OK with Girardi juggling the rotation to give him an extra day of rest.

"If we were right there in the (playoff) mix, I would probably be considering doing whatever I could - maybe going on short (rest)," Pettitte said. "Obviously that would be different circumstances."

2008-09-10T00:14:00.001-04:00

Derek Jeter singled in the first inning Tuesday night, passing Babe Ruth for second place on the New York Yankees’ career hits list.

Jeter sent an 0-2 pitch from Los Angeles Angels right-hander Ervin Santana into left field for his 2,519th hit. Only Lou Gehrig (2,721) has more hits in a Yankees uniform. Jeter got No. 2,520 with a triple in the sixth and notched his third hit of the game with a single in the seventh.

Jeter has 1,260 hits at Yankee Stadium, nine shy of Gehrig’s record, with 10 games remaining there.

2008-09-09T21:11:00.000-04:00

By Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports

There are only tough jobs and impossible jobs in their line of work, which is why, I suppose, Joe Torre owns a surfboard and Joe Girardi has done well not to gnaw the lacquer from his fungo bat.

The surfboard was a gift. And the next wave Torre catches will be the first.

But there’s a long-board spirit in Torre these days, Old Guys Rule and all that. He’s 68, has a mismatched ballclub in first place and is a good 3,000 miles from the nearest Steinbrenner.

“So far,” Torre said over the weekend, 140-plus games into his West Coast gig, “I’ve got a better tan. It’s wonderful.”

To the dismay of a fan base that merrily fills Dodger Stadium despite 20 years of mostly inconsequential baseball, Torre has not transformed the Dodgers into much more than they are: a pitching-heavy team whose daily lineup lacks players in their primes. Even Manny Ramirez, whose trading-deadline arrival brought early spikes in wins and dreadlock extensions, has found the job bigger than it appeared. He’s batted .397 with 11 home runs and 34 RBIs in Dodgers script, yet the club is just 19-17 with him.

But, and maybe this explains the healthy glow and Endless Summer perspective, the NL West has been kind to Torre, Manny and the Dodgers. There is a sense some of the organization’s rising talents – Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, James Loney, Andre Ethier, Clayton Kershaw – have had nice growth seasons, ones that will serve them (and the franchise) in Torre II and Torre III, assuming he serves to the end of his contract.

If nothing else, the young Dodgers have been allowed to be young Dodgers. When they lugged their duffels into their first big-league clubhouse, they discovered the world not only wasn’t about them, but didn’t think much of them, either. The manager at the time – a very nice gentleman named Grady Little – was suffering from his own crisis of confidence and, as it happened, was on his way out. Their new, veteran teammates cared more about their own jobs and their own at-bats than for creating a chummy, constructive workplace.

“This ballclub, the young kids, they haven’t had a lot of fun,” Torre said. “I think they’ve put a lot of pressure on themselves.”

Torre signed up and did what he could to relieve the clubhouse tension. Manny eventually stood in the middle of the lineup and eased the production responsibilities. Or, tried.

And still the Dodgers lose almost as often as they win, which, as of Monday night’s 4-0 loss in San Diego, was good enough for a game-and-a-half lead with 18 to play.

Torre walked in the door looking settled. He has a knack for that. Now he is settled.

“I found that I can look forward to coming to the ballpark again,” he said, having put distance between himself and the untidy separation from the Yankees. “It became a lot for me to deal with. I dealt with it, but it wasn’t a lot of fun.”

Yes, he still speaks to Girardi – once his catcher, then his bench coach – pretty often.

There’s a new Steinbrenner at the top, and a wholly new set of circumstances for the Yankees. Barring absolute collapse by not one, but a handful of teams ahead of them, the Yankees will miss the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 1993. The fact that they have three more wins than Torre’s Dodgers is of no comfort to Girardi.

The responsibility for that lies with the organization’s failure to reinforce its big-league pitching staff, most often a pivotal strength in Torre’s 12 seasons in New York. Torre’s teams thrilled with offense, but generally won with pitching.

Girardi, instead, has presided over an expensive team in transition, one that has required – as of Alfredo Aceves on Tuesday night here – 13 different starting pitchers. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, the organization’s hopes for a new foundation and two of the reasons it passed on Johan Santana, started 15 games between them, and the Yankees won three.

More than $80 million is expected to come off the Yankees’ payroll this winter, potentially creating opportunities and financial windfalls for the likes of CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira (and, sure, maybe Manny). But, that’s next season. Girardi first had to wear this one, the one Torre left behind.

“I think you could say it’s a daily process,” Girardi said Monday, standing along the first-base line during batting practice, hours before the Yankees would lose to the Angels 12-1. “You have a plan every day, a schedule every day, but it’s ever changing.”

Nearly three months ago, another of Torre’s former coaches – Willie Randolph – had come to Anaheim and been fired. His final game was on this field. His final night as manager was spent in the hotel the Yankees awoke in Tuesday morning. By contrast, Hank Steinbrenner revealed Monday that of course Girardi would be back next season.

“He’s managed through a lot of stuff,” general manager Brian Cashman had said a couple hours earlier.

Girardi is 43, had managed only one prior season (2006, admirably, with the Florida Marlins), and sometimes that showed. For the moment, according to two Yankees players who spoke privately, he lacks Torre’s uncommon touch in the clubhouse. For the moment, he’s still learning to manage every detail of all nine innings. But, they agreed, Girardi can juggle a bullpen, inarguably important when you’re running through 13 different starters.

“He’s been exactly what I thought,” Derek Jeter said. “That’s the best way to put it.”

It didn’t seem like a criticism. Jeter played with Girardi the catcher and appreciated him. He played under Girardi the coach and liked him.

“It’d probably be a better question for someone who didn’t know him as well,” Jeter said.

Wilson Betemit nodded his head.

“He’s a good manager,” he said. “I like him.”

No matter the angle, the season has been a devastating disappointment for the organization. “A waste,” one official called it. The Yankees didn’t win. And, other than Joba Chamberlain (whose shoulder didn’t hold up either), the developing pitchers that were to form the team’s core were injured or ineffective or both. Second baseman Robinson Cano digressed alarmingly, that coinciding with a $30-million contract extension. Injuries swallowed seasons for starter Chien-Ming Wang and catcher Jorge Posada.

Girardi has run it. He’s explained it daily. And for the first time in a very long time, it seems, that’ll all be over before October.

“You go back to work,” he said. “This game is full of exciting times. It disappoints at times, too. That’s the nature of the game. To me, I believe this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Funny, the other Joe was just saying the same thing.

“My wife keeps teasing me,” Torre said, “saying, ‘You still want to do this?’ ”

He spread his arms, raised his eyebrows, smiled. The sun caught the ends of his fingers.

“I’m here,” he said.

2008-09-07T21:30:00.001-04:00

Hideki Matsui and the Yankees haven't ruled out him returning next year with knees healthy enough for him to play the outfield.

"He could still play the outfield after the surgery," manager Joe Girardi said of the 34-year-old left fielder who has played 20 games in left and two in right this year, but hasn't been in the field since June 15.

Matsui didn't play from June 16 to Aug. 19 thanks to an inflamed left knee. In the 16 games he has played since coming off the shelf, Matsui has been the designated hitter.

While Girardi said Matsui will have surgery after the season, Matsui says he hasn't made a definitive date for the knife until he meets with the doctor.

"If I were to do it, it would be right after the season," said Matsui, who had surgery on the right knee following the 2007 season.

Matsui not only wants to play in the field and DH, he didn't rule out working at first base, a position that will be vacant since the Yankees aren't likely to bring Jason Giambi back.

"I would like to play and not just the outfield. I could play some first base as well," said Matsui, who hasn't played first base as Yankee but said he played first and third a while ago. "I want to be on the field, not just in the batter's box."

2008-09-07T21:29:00.001-04:00

Alfredo Aceves, a 25-year-old right-hander signed out of Mexico for $450,000, will replace Darrell Rasner in the rotation and start Tuesday against the Angels. Rasner, 5-10, hasn't won since July 12 and was available for bullpen work last night. Aceves, who took over for Rasner Thursday night against the Rays when Rasner was lifted in the second inning, has two big league relief appearances on his resume.

2008-09-07T21:28:00.000-04:00

Outfielders Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata came into the 2008 season ranked as the second and third-best prospects in the Yankees organization by Baseball America, and entered the season as teammates with the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees Double-A affiliate.

As the season progressed, Tabata struggled mightily for the first six weeks or so, was embroiled in controversy for going AWOL from a game, and eventually was traded to the Pirates in the Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte trade.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Jackson quietly put up strong numbers month after month, and finished the season with a .285 batting average, nine home runs, 69 runs batted in and 19 stolen bases. In the process, the Denton, Texas native has cemented himself as the top prospect in the Yankees' farm system.

"I think he's the top athlete in the Yankee organization, as far as being advanced and being ready to play in the big leagues," a scout said. "He's an athletic kid, he can run and throw, and he's got a chance to hit for power. He's not going to be a huge power guy, but enough to put some numbers up."

When asked what player came to mind when he watched Jackson play, he referenced another young outfielder that's come up through the minor leagues in New York in recent years.

"(Lastings) Milledge is the first guy that popped into my head," the scout said. "I think they're in the same kind of mold.

"(Jackson) has a chance to be a five-tool player. I think they're very comparable. Milledge was always pretty much untouchable until they got rid of him, and I don't think that was based on ability – I think it was because of everything else along with it."

After having Jackson in the Eastern League playoffs last season, Franklin has had Jackson manning center field and hitting third in the order all season long. After getting to watch him for 140-plus games, Franklin said he likes what he sees.

"Improvement, improvement, improvement," Franklin said in summarizing Jackson's season in Trenton. "He's made some adjustments with his swing, which has allowed him to improve his average and lay off some pitches that are out of the strike zone which most young guys would chase.

"Anytime you have prospects that are highly talked about the majority of the time and put numbers up, you've got yourself a good one, and I think we've got ourselves a very good one."

One thing the scout pointed to was Jackson's ability to improve throughout the season, something scouts key in on when watching players.

"He starts out each year slowly because he's a young kid, and then he catches up as the year goes along, which shows improvement. That's what you're looking for when it to comes to prospects."

After a productive season in Double-A, Jackson likely will be bumped up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre next season. Nevertheless, the scout said he didn't think it was out of the question Jackson could find himself in The Bronx as soon as next April.

"If you want to make sure he's ready, that's probably the plan," the scout said of moving Jackson up to Triple-A next season. "But with the Yankees need for a center fielder, if he has a hell of a spring training, he could make the club."

2008-09-03T11:13:00.001-04:00

Hal and Hank Steinbrenner agree they want Brian Cashman back as the Yankees' GM, The Post has learned.

According to a MLB source, the Steinbrenner family has decided Cashman is the man to lead the organization back from a nightmarish season that will end with the Yankees missing playoffs for the first time since 1993.

Cashman, who last week shouldered the blame for the dismal season, met with Hal and Hank yesterday at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. No contract offer was made but, according to the source, Cashman is aware of the Steinbrenners' wishes.

Talking before last night's 7-2 win over the division-leading Rays, Cashman refused comment on the Steinbrenners wanting him back. All year Cashman has said he will deal with his future in the offseason. Right now, he said the focus is on pulling off a miracle this season.

"We have gone through the frustration and disappointment," Cashman said. "Now the focus is on the small things. Try and pick up a game a week and get to Fenway Park and make that series meaningful."

Cashman, 41,is in the final season of a three-year deal worth $5.4 million, and he understands the mountain his club has to climb.

"Is it too much, a game a week?" Cashman said. "It's not out of the realm of possibility. You can't do it in three or four days. Make up a game a week and get to Fenway Park with a chance. If (Boston) wants to make it easier, I'll take that."

Cashman has been linked to the Seattle and Philadelphia GM jobs. If Washington dumps Jim Bowden, expect Cashman to be mentioned in the city he attended college (Catholic University).

2008-09-02T19:16:00.001-04:00

Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.

Chamberlain was placed on the DL on Aug. 6 with right rotator cuff tendinitis. He left his start Aug. 4 against Texas with shoulder soreness.

The right-hander will work out of the bullpen the rest of the regular season. He went 4-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 32 games, including 12 starts, before getting hurt.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said it was possible that Chamberlain could start next season as a reliever. Chamberlain opened the 2008 season as the setup for Mariano Rivera before moving into the rotation.

“We had an innings limit this year that he won’t meet, so could he exceed that innings limit next year? We wouldn’t want to do that,” Cashman said before the Yankees played Tampa Bay. “We’ll talk about that, obviously, at a more appropriate time. We have to protect the player.”

Chamberlain plans to offer his input after the season about 2009.

2008-08-29T21:36:00.001-04:00

Even seats behind the outfield fence will be costly at the new Yankee Stadium.

The front part of the area behind the outfield in right and left will cost $100 and $75 per game next year as part of season-ticket plans at the $1.3 billion ballpark.

But behind those four sections of seats, and to the rear of the bullpens closer to center field, are nine sections of bleachers priced at $12, the same as the cost this season in the final year of the 85-year-old ballpark.

The Yankees put season ticket prices on their Web site Friday along with a seat locator that shows views from each location. They also mailed relocation brochures to season-ticket holders.

Prices for the best seats were announced in March, with the Yankees charging $500-$2,500 for tickets near home plate in the first nine rows, contained in 25 sections ringing home plate. In all, the Yankees have sold more than 3,500 of approximately 4,300 premium seats on the field, main and terrace levels, chief operating officer Lonn Trost said Friday.

“Other than those 4,300 seats, which are going to subsidize everybody else, the prices are not” being raised significantly, Trost said. “And remember, 24,000-plus seats will have no price increase at all.”

The Yankees said Friday the remainder of the field-seats level seats cost from $75-$325 as part of season tickets, while main-level seats go for $45-$100. The highest deck is split into two areas, with terrace seats going for $40-$65 and grandstand selling for $20 and $25.

In a sign most of the best seats will be sold as season tickets, only the least expensive category of field seats and the two least expensive levels of main seats are being made available for partial plans. The Yankees are charging $5-$10 more per seat for partial plans than they are for season tickets. Individuals game prices haven’t been set.

Invoices for season tickets will be sent out starting in mid-September, and fans who decline their seats, wishing to upgrade, downgrade or switch their plan, can go in a pool for others seats. A 10 percent payment is due about two weeks after receiving an invoice.

2008-08-27T08:29:00.000-04:00

If today's bullpen session goes without a hitch Joba Chamberlain will take the next step in his rehabilitation process.

Nevertheless, pinning the Yankees down on what that will be isn't easy.

"We are taking it a day at a time and see how he feels," manager Joe Girardi said of the right-hander Chamberlain, who will throw his third bullpen session and is expected to make 35 to 45 pitches and throw breaking balls and fastballs. "He could do a simulated game Double-A (Trenton) and Triple-A (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) are in the playoffs so there is time."

Chamberlain has been on the DL since leaving an Aug. 4 game in Texas with what was diagnosed as rotator cuff tendinitis.

GM Brian Cashman didn't say if the Yankees' place in the standings would dictate if Chamberlain is activated. The Yankees lost 7-3 to the Red Sox last night at the Stadium, falling six games behind Boston in the wild-card race.

"We are going to do what is best for him," Cashman said.

2008-08-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

Joba Chamberlain will throw a 35-pitch bullpen today at Yankee Stadium with pitching coach Dave Eiland watching. Chamberlain will throw sliders and curve balls for the first time since leaving a game on Aug. 4 with right rotator cuff tendinitis. Chamberlain threw in the bullpen Saturday but was limited to fastballs and change-ups.

He is looking to an early September return but it hasn't been decided if Chamberlain will come back as a starter or reliever or on what date.

2008-08-25T15:40:00.001-04:00

It would be nice if the New York Yankees had a couple of young position players like the Mets' David Murphy and Nick Evans coming in the system, but they do not according to New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden. They do not have a first baseman to replace Jason Giambi, or an impact center fielder, or a shortstop to spell (and eventually replace) Derek Jeter, or a second baseman who could enable them to deal the enigmatic Cano while he still has value.

The reason they don't have any of these players in their system is because they continue to do a terrible job of scouting and developing. They spend millions more in Latin America than almost every other team and yet the only position players from there to make the big club over the last 10 years are Alfonso Soriano, Cano and Melky Cabrera. The draft? An even bigger disgrace. Jeter, in 1992, is the last player they drafted who became a regular.

And the beat goes on. In this year's draft, the Yankees took pitchers with their first three picks: No. 1, Gerrit Cole, whom they did not sign because their scouts obviously didn't get to know the kid's makeup or his family situation; No. 2, Jeremy Bleich, who's going to need Tommy John surgery; and No. 3, Scott Bittle, whose arm problems were so severe they elected to pass on signing him.

After a while, you have to wonder what fatal attraction Cashman's player evaluators have with injured pitchers. Last year, they took North Carolina State righthander Andrew Brackman in the first round, knowing he was going to miss all of this season with Tommy John surgery. And, then, of course, there's the immortal Humberto Sanchez, purportedly the key return player in the Gary Sheffield deal with Detroit, who also underwent Tommy John surgery and is still rehabbing somewhere.

Cashman keeps stockpiling pitchers who come up hurt or fall on their face when they get to the big leagues. Enough! He is banking on the offense coming back next year, even though everyone will be a year older and there is nobody to step in when the inevitable injuries come. Off the way this season has gone, with young, homegrown teams such as the Rays and Twins giving their owners so much more bang for their buck, the Yankees returning to power would be an even bigger surprise.

2008-08-19T22:27:00.001-04:00

From SI:

The Yankees

Owner George Steinbrenner returned from his three-year suspension for handing gambler Howie Spira $40,000 to dig up unflattering information about Yankees slugger Dave Winfield. The Yankees' GM was Gene Michael, their manager Buck Showalter. The starting shortstop was the mighty Spike Owen, the starting rotation included Jimmy Key, Jim Abbott, Melido Perez and Scott Kamieniecki, and the closer was the immortal Steve Farr (25 saves!). Future postseason heroes Key, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Wade Boggs and Jim Leyritz were on the roster as the Yanks chased the Jays instead of the Rays.

Winners in every month but the last, the Yankees' high point was Abbott's no-hitter against Cleveland on September 4 as they closed in on a first-place tie with Toronto that was achieved next day. Then the bottom fell out. The injury-plagued Yanks were swept in Texas and lost four of six during a Sept. 16-22 homestand while Toronto was reeling off nine wins in a row. The Jays stuck the knife in by taking two of three in Toronto on Sept. 24-26. But if there had been wild cards, the Yankees would have won one. They finished with the third-best record in the league.
The A.L. East

(in order of finish)

Toronto (95-67), Yankees (88-74, 7 GB), Baltimore (85-77, 10 GB), Detroit (85-77), Boston (80-82, 15 GB), Cleveland (76-86, 19 GB), Milwaukee (69-93, 26 GB)
Playoff field

Blue Jays, White Sox, Phillies, Braves
World Series

The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies in six games, on Joe Carter's walk-off home run served up fat and juicy by Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, to win the Series for the second year in a row -- the first team to repeat since the '77 and '78 Yankees.
Awards

MVP (Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas), Cy Young (Greg Maddux, Jack McDowell), Rookies of the Year (Mike Piazza, Tim Salmon)
Notable diamond feats

Carlos Baerga became first switch-hitter ever to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning as the Indians bombed the Yanks, 15-5 on April 8; Carlton Fisk of the White Sox played his 2,226th and final Major League game; Three teammates (Toronto's John Olerud at .363, Paul Molitor .332 and Roberto Alomar .326) finished atop the race for the A.L. batting title for the first time in 100 years.
Highest-paid player

Ryne Sandberg, Cubs, $5.975 million

(Now: Alex Rodriguez: Yankees, $27 million)
Highest-paid Yankee

Danny Tartabull, $5.05 million
Elsewhere in sports

The Montreal Canadiens (the Yankees of hockey) won their 24th Stanley Cup (and last to date) by defeating Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings in five games. Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls snuffed the Phoenix Suns in the finals for their third straight NBA title. The Buffalo Bills lost their third straight Super Bowl, a 52-17 squeaker to the Dallas Cowboys. Miguel Indurain peddled his rear end to victory in the Tour de France for the third time en route to five straight wins. Monica Seles was stabbed by a demented fan of Steffi Graf at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.
Major sports scandal

Reds owner Marge Schott was fined $25,000 and suspended nine months in the wake of complaints that her wardrobe drawer included a Nazi armband and that she had uttered ethnic and racial slurs about her own players.
Celebrity scandal of the year

Michael Jackson was accused of playing slap-and-tickle with a 13-year old boy. The white-gloved superstar later issued a four-minute denial on network TV and consented to a rare, and widely-watched, interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Soundtrack

All That She Wants (Ace of Base), Whoomp! (There It Is) (Tag Team), In Utero (Nirvana), Doggystyle (Snoop Dogg), Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang (Dr. Dre), Zooropa (U2), I'd Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That (Meatloaf), Crying Game (Boy George), Pork Soda (Primus), Runaway Train (Soul Asylum)
Top movies and TV shows

Unforgiven won the Oscar as Best Picture, Schindler's List, Philadelphia, and Six Degrees of Separation lured many burghers to the box office while those who stayed home were glued to Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire and Coach.
Other cultural milestones

Steely Dan re-forms; U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis stamp; Lorena Bobbitt cuts off her husband's best friend; The Artistry of Michael Bolton is released; Body and Soul proves to be Rick Astley's last offering until 2001
Notable passings

Frank Zappa, Andre The Giant, Arthur Ashe, Patricia Nixon, Conway Twitty, Cesar Chavez, George "Spanky" McFarland of the Little Rascals, Fred "Herman Munster" Gwynne, River Phoenix, Vincent Price, Herve "Tattoo" Villechaize, Thurgood Marshall, James Jordan (father of Michael), Audrey Hepburn, Dizzy Gillespie, Arlington Stadium
Notable arrivals

Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, pentium chips, World Wide Web, Windows NT 3.1, Frasier, Beavis and Butt-Head, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Walker, Texas Ranger, Daft Punk, Wu Tang Clan, The Hives, Korn, Jimmy Eat World, Modest Mouse, Big Ass Truck
Notable world events

European Union formed; Czechoslovakia dissolved; NAFTA approved, humans cloned; Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flood Midwest; Unabomber continues to send unpleasant surprises through the mail; U.S. blows 40 tomahawk missiles up Saddam Hussein's skirt in dispute over Iraq's nuclear weapons program (Jan. 19); World Trade Center bombed (Feb. 26); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms treats the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, TX rather rudely (April 19); White House counsel Vincent Foster commits suicide (July 20); Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sign peace accord (Sept. 13); Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu (Oct. 3); Church of Scientology granted full tax exempt status (Oct. 8); Omar Bongo (not the drummer for Oingo Boingo) re-elected as President of Gabon (Dec. 18).
Big threats

Tuberculosis, Hantavirus
National debt

$347 billion

Now: $9.6 trillion

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_rolfe/08/14/yankees.1993/index.html

2008-08-19T07:39:00.000-04:00

General manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the Yankees are considering either Phil Hughes or Carl Pavano to assume the fifth starter's role Saturday in Baltimore. Hughes seemed like the probable choice as Pavano's 30-day rehab run is up Aug. 27, one week from tomorrow. But Cashman has been impressed with Pavano's rehab progress from Tommy John surgery.

Pavano threw six innings Sunday for Double-A Trenton and Cashman said: "He's close to being ready."

2008-08-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

Hideki Matsui could be joining the team as early as tomorrow in Toronto. Then on Saturday, either Carl Pavano, whose last sighting roughly corresponded with Amelia Earhart, or Phil Hughes could be pitching against the Orioles because Joba Chamberlain and Dan Giese both are on the DL.

Both Pavano and Hughes made minor league rehab appearances last night.

Matsui, placed on the disabled list June 27 with left knee inflammation, played a doubleheader Friday (1-for-5, HR, BB) and then a night game Saturday (1-for-3, BB) with Single-A Tampa before undergoing a simulated game yesterday in Florida with 15 at bats (11 against righties, 4 against lefties).

2008-08-15T22:30:00.001-04:00

Hoping to tweak their roster for a final push for the postseason, the Yankees made significant alterations on Friday, demoting outfielder Melky Cabrera and cutting ties with veteran Richie Sexson.

The move installs rookie Brett Gardner, promoted from Triple-A, as the Yankees' primary starting center fielder during a crucial stretch in which they will play 28 of their final 41 games against clubs with winning records. New York also added utilityman Cody Ransom to provide versatility off the bench in Sexson's place.

Cabrera took the move with some surprise, embracing teammates in the clubhouse before packing his belongings. The 23-year-old was New York's Opening Day center fielder, but manager Joe Girardi did not start Cabrera four times over the team's recently completed 10-game road trip to Texas, Anaheim and Minnesota.

"That's their decision, and I'm going to do whatever they say, go down there and work hard and try to come back," Cabrera said through an interpreter. "I started good, but my average went down, and I've just got to go to Triple-A."

2008-08-15T10:28:00.000-04:00

More rips from Bill Madden of the New York Daily News:

The manager, Joe Girardi, must also come in for a goodly share of blame. Long after his April12 "Clueless Joe" game in Boston (in which he allowed Mike Mussina to pitch to Manny Ramirez with two on, two out and first base open in the sixth inning) had been forgotten, Girardi also had a horrible road trip to Anaheim, Texas and Minny.

In the first game of the trip against the Rangers, he brought back Damaso Marte in the ninth for a second inning of work and allowed him to stay in the game after walking the bases loaded, the result being Marlon Byrd's game-winning grand slam. You can give Girardi a pass for lifting Dan Giese after 83 pitches of one-run ball in the second game in Anaheim, as Giese had not thrown that many pitches all year. In the Sunday finale, however, Girardi again elected to let Marte - who, let's face it, is clearly a situational reliever - start the ninth inning after pitching out of the eighth. Again, Marte pitched the Yankees into a jam from which Mariano Rivera could not rescue them - but one from which he might have escaped, had the inexperienced Betemit, who had pinch-hit for Richie Sexson, not been at first base.

And then, of course, there was Girardi's infamous decision to rest Johnny Damon for the first game in Minneapolis - a game the Yankees desperately needed to win after just being swept in Anaheim - despite the fact that Damon was coming off five straight multihit games and was hitting .406 on the road trip. Afterward, Girardi testily blew off questions by maintaining rookie Justin Christian had good numbers against lefthanded pitching. Right.

In the wake of this "dog days" road trip, there have been accusations that the Yankees themselves are playing like a team that doesn't care anymore. In fact, they may just be playing uptight - a reflection of their tightly wound manager, who is the antithesis of the calming, reassuring Joe Torre they've been used to.

2008-08-15T07:58:00.001-04:00

Interesting thoughts from Joel Sherman of the NY Post:

Funny, but Joe Torre was known as a guy who did not handle young players well, and it was part of the stew of reasons that so many upper Yankee management were anxious to get rid of him, and move to Girardi, who was seen as a younger man who was more capable of breaking in players. But let us remember that Torre did a fine job of integrating Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera into full-time roles with the champion 1996 Yankees. Of bringing Jorge Posada along. Of breaking in Cano and Chien-Ming Wang. And of getting the best out of Melky Cabrera. For Girardi, Cabrera has regressed horribly and so has Cano. Much of the high-level young pitching has faltered. For the record, like many of his recent Yankee teams, Torre's Dodgers are suddenly playing their best right now. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the arrival of Manny Ramirez. But don't overlook how important it is that the Torre Dodgers are getting the best out of Matt Kemp, a tool-shed player who before this year had people wondering if he would ever be able to put all of his skills and concentration together to be a winning player.

2008-08-15T07:56:00.000-04:00

The Yankees and first-round pick Gerrit Cole, a California high school righty pitcher, have until today to agree to a deal, or Cole won't be allowed to sign with the club that used the 28th pick to take him.

"We are working on it," scouting director Damon Oppenheimer said.

Cole, who has a scholarship from UCLA if he spurns the Yankees, is being advised by agent Scott Boras. However, industry sources say Cole's father, Mark Cole, is running the show and is on the demanding side.

"They ask me for information and I give it to them," Boras said.

2008-08-14T07:47:00.004-04:00

The Yankees look more than out of the race...no not the American League East, the Wildcard. This was a team that was supposed to have more discipline under Joe Girardi. Yeah, the manager with one year of experience (he was fired because he didn't play well with management) who replaced the Hall of Fame manager (Joe Torre, remember him? You know, the guy managing the first place Los Angeles Dodgers!) Discipline? Robinson Cano? The Yankees batters? The Yankee batters with runners in scoring position?

Anyway, in years past the Yankees were riding some sort of hot streak this time in August. Not this season. Nice job Hankie! What a way to close the House that Ruth Built!

2008-08-14T07:47:00.001-04:00

Manager Joe Girardi didn't play Derek Jeter yesterday, but said he expects to have his shortstop tomorrow night.

"I would be shocked if he didn't play," Girardi said of Jeter, whose sore left foot kept him on the bench yesterday but not bad enough for him to pinch-hit in the ninth if needed in a 4-2 loss to the Twins.

Jeter suffered the injury when he fouled a ball off the instep in the fourth inning of Tuesday night's 9-6 win. Despite a heavy limp Jeter remained in the game until the ninth.

Jeter went 3-for-5 and was placed on a cart to exit the Metrodome. When he reported to work yesterday morning Jeter was limping slightly and spent the entire pregame session receiving treatment.

"I will play, yes," Jeter said of tomorrow night's date with the Royals at Yankee Stadium.

2008-08-13T08:12:00.000-04:00

At the $1.3 billion new Yankee Stadium, which seats 52,325, the 1,800 Legends Field Suite seats in 25 sections ringing home plate go for $500 to $2,500, up from $250 to $1,000 for the comparable tickets this year. There also will be 1,200 Main Level Outdoor Suite seats in nine sections behind the plate at $350 to more than $500, and 1,300 Terrace Level Outdoor Suite seats in nine sections behind the plate, which sold out at $100 to $135.

The Yankees have not announced prices for the seats near the outfield but say they will keep the lowest-priced reserved seats in the top deck at $20 and $25 and bleachers at $12. Trost said 25,000 seats will not have an increase and that a complete price list will be released this month.

Trost said the Yankees have lease commitments for 44 of 51 suites priced at $600,000 to $850,000, and are sold out at the $650,000 and $850,000 levels.

The Yankees already had the third-highest average ticket price in the major leagues this season at $41.40, according to the Team Marketing Report, trailing the World Series champion Boston Red Sox ($48.80) and Chicago Cubs ($42.49).

2008-08-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

Ian Kennedy is headed back to the minors, but it's his breaking ball and not his attitude that the Yankees instructed the young starter to work on.

Kennedy, who said he was "just not real upset" following his dismal performance against the Angels on Friday night, talked with several teammates about his comments, most notably Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte, who told Kennedy he thinks of him as a little brother, didn't want him to clarify his comments, instead talking to the 23-year-old about "how to say it the right way."

Sunday, Kennedy said he regretted the way his words came out, but he didn't want to let one bad night erase the progress he had felt he made in the minors.

"I could tell by some of your faces that it came out wrong," he told reporters. "I was very disappointed in myself, because obviously I always want to do well. I want to help the team win. I hate losing. I really, really hate losing. I wasn't going to let it ruin what I've done in the recent past."

Kennedy will make his next start for Triple-A Scranton on Wednesday, but his primary focus won't be shutting the other team down. Instead, he'll work on his sinker, curveball and slider, trying to refine the three pitches regardless of the results.

"It's still making quality pitches, but it's working on location, working on his breaking ball when he's behind in the count, not being afraid to throw it over," Joe Girardi said. "Just trying to develop him as a starter."

"Not focus on results, but rather the results of what I'm working on," Kennedy said. "Here, you can't work on it, because we're in a pennant race."

2008-08-09T12:41:00.001-04:00

Though nobody in the Yankees organization will guarantee Joba Chamberlain will pitch again this year, the fiery right-hander said he doesn't believe the rotator-cuff tendinitis that landed him on the disabled list this week is season-ending.

In fact, Chamberlain said to look for him in a game before September.

"I'll be throwing in a week. I'll probably throw the beginning of next week," Chamberlain predicted yesterday from the Yankees' Tampa facility. "Everything feels fine now."

As for getting into a game before Sept. 1, Chamberlain said, "I'll throw way before that in a game."