Today’s news is powered by…The Doobie Brothers:

• Joba will definitely be ready for his start Tuesday:

The lasting effect of eight days off should charge through Joba Chamberlain when he takes the mound on Tuesday against the Rangers. At least, the hard-throwing right-hander expects it will.

“Strong like bull,” Chamberlain said, grinning.

. . . “It still feels like it’s about a month in between each start, but that’s just because you’re used to going out every five days and doing it. This one felt a lot better than the last one did.”

• Girardi opines on the Posada/Burnett troubles:

“This (Jorge Posada) is a guy who’s played in [five] World Series — he’s doing something right,” said Girardi, a former big league backstop himself. “The true onus falls on the pitcher, what they’re going to throw.

“I would never want a pitcher to throw what I want if he didn’t believe in it, ever. Conviction, for me, is extremely important for pitchers. We’re suggestion boxes.”

(A.J.) Burnett gave new life to one of the Yankees’ most recent hot-button issues on Saturday, when he threw a fastball to David Ortiz that he admitted he did not completely want to throw.

• Where will Hideki Matsui be in 2010?

The Yankees admire Matsui’s professionalism and are thrilled that he has overcome two knee surgeries in the last two seasons to remain productive. But as reliable as Matsui has been while hitting 23 homers and driving in 68 runs as a designated hitter, the Yankees may not offer him a contract for 2010.

The Yankees have high-priced veterans like Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Mark Teixeira who need rest from playing defense, so they would rather use the D.H. as a flexible spot. General Manager Brian Cashman, who considers Matsui, 35, a full-time D.H., said there were too many unknown variables to speculate about Matsui’s future.

“Obviously, he’s a pro,” Cashman said. “He can swing the bat, there’s no doubt about that. Where it goes from here, who knows?”

. . . Matsui was noncommittal about his future, saying that he was “not looking at anything beyond the season right now.”

When pressed on whether he would rather stay with the Yankees, Matsui eventually said: “I like New York, I like being with the Yankees, I like the New York fans. So it’s a place that I feel very comfortable.”

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• Buster Olney defends the Captain against Jim Rice:

According to The Associated Press, Jim Rice told Little Leaguers, “You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod, you see Jeter. Guys that I played against and with, these guys you’re talking about cannot compare.

“We didn’t have the baggy uniforms. We didn’t have the dreadlocks. It was a clean game, and now they’re setting a bad example for the young guys.”

I cast a vote for Jim Rice to enter the Hall of Fame because he was one of the best players of his time. I don’t know, however, whether he’s the wisest judge of the players of this era or even his own. It’s not entirely clear whether Rice was talking about the differences between the generations in their respective standards of play, or in collective character, or in style, or maybe all of the above.

. . .  Rice owes Jeter a public apology for the way he spoke about him, because after 15 years of playing in the majors, there are three indisputable truths about Jeter.

1. He plays hard.
2. He plays well.
3. He represents the sport well.

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Today’s news is powered by the (Yankees’) quest for the Holy Grail:

• More of Jeter’s own perception of his future:

Jeter joked to Joe Girardi the other day that he could see himself being a designated hitter for five more years after he stops playing short, saying that DH duties are “easier” because “you only have to worry about one thing.” A handful of reporters were talking with Jeter on Wednesday when one asked him if he could see himself being a DH at age 41 – six years from now.

“You’ll see me at short still,” Jeter said without a hint of humor in his voice.

After riding Jeter’s defensive ability for years, the stat-heads have decided this season that he’s actually a pretty good shortstop. I asked Jeter if he felt like he was playing any better in the field this year than he ever has, and his answer was typical Jeter: “I don’t know. It’s not over yet.”

Then, he added, “I just try to be consistent. I don’t sit around and rate my seasons. That’s your job, right? I feel good. That’s pretty much all I can say.”

• Six bullets left in the Chamberlain:

Because (Joba) Chamberlain threw only 100 innings last season, the Yankees intend to limit his innings to guard against injury. Chamberlain has thrown 126 innings so far. Six more starts would likely put him around 165.

“We sat down and figured out a plan that works for both of us as far as keeping it as regular as possible,” Chamberlain said. “It gives my arm the rest that this whole thing is for, so it all worked out great. Mentally, for me to know that this is the plan for the rest of the year, it’s definitely calming.”

. . . Come the postseason, Chamberlain will be used as a starter with no limitations.

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Today’s news is powered by The Thin White (not Zach) Duke:

• Joe Posnanski: Jeter . . . UNDERrated?:

. . . I think that in many ways Derek Jeter this year has added a third title. He has, against all odds, become UNDERRATED. And that is a wicked turn. I think Jeter at 35 is having one of his greatest seasons. I think he’s playing defense better than he ever has, he’s getting on base and slugging like he did in his prime, and in my view he has been the Yankees most valuable player in 2009. And, for once, it’s funny, I don’t hear too many other people talking about it.

Now, let me be clear — there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the American League MVP this year is Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, and nobody else is even close, and I feel so strongly about this that I am doing daily updates about it on my blog. But the Twins are probably not going to make the playoffs, and there are many people who feel that the most valuable player must come from a playoff team. And if that’s the case then … well, I think at this moment Jeter might be my MVP, non-Mauer division.

Look: He’s hitting .330 through Tuesday and has a .394 on-base percentage — tied with A-Rod for best on the Yankees. He’s on pace for 218 hits, 109 runs, 21 homers. 27 stolen bases. He’s having a great offensive season, quite similar to the season last year’s MVP, Boston’s Dustin Pedroia, had.

And — this is weird — those advanced statistics that have so universally mocked his defense now show him to be, well, darned good defensively.

• Ian Kennedy update:

New York Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy likely will pitch next month in the instructional league, his first game action since having surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps.

Kennedy said Wednesday it’s doubtful he will return for a minor league game this season. The right-hander is throwing fastballs and changeups during bullpen sessions and could be ready for a simulated game early next month.

• Spare the A-Rod:

Alex Rodriguez winced as he made his way down the first-base line on Tuesday, having been drilled on the left elbow for the second time in the Yankees’ past five games.

While Rodriguez certainly wouldn’t claim the repeated bruising is helping his performance at the plate, he also isn’t about to use it as an excuse. For the time being, Rodriguez is prepared to keep moving forward.

“I’m not really concerned,” Rodriguez said prior to Wednesday’s series finale with the A’s. “I’m probably just dealing with a little bit of a back [issue] and my elbow. It’s all part of it. I feel pretty good up there. I felt really good up there last night. I had five quality at-bats.”

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• How’s the knee, Hideki?:

(Hideki) Matsui had not played in New York’s past three games after having his troublesome knee drained on Sunday during the club’s series in Seattle, but he said that the stiffness and lack of motion has subsided.

“There never was any pain,” Matsui said through an interpreter. “That’s not really an issue. There’s the difficulty of movement when there’s fluid in there, and it’s harder to move the knee. It just feels like there’s all this pressure there. Right now it feels very light and easy to move.”

Knee difficulties have become a fact of life for Matsui, part of the price he has had to pay for a lengthy consecutive games streak that spanned 1,250 contests in Japan before setting a big league record with 518 straight games played to open his Yankees career.

• No Haranguing with the Reds:

The Yankees inquired about Reds right-handers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo, but backed off when the Reds said they would not include any money in a deal. While the Yankees remain active in their pursuit of a starter, they likely will stand pat and await the benefit of the roster expansions on Sept. 1.

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Today’s news is powered by a tour of the current home of the Oakland A’s:

• Heathcott, what you got?:

The Yankees have signed first-round pick Slade Heathcott for $2.2 million. He was drafted 27th overall, and the MLB recommendation for his slot was $1,107,000.

• Not only Heathcott, but Murphy and Cotham too:

The Yankees have also agreed to terms with their second-round pick, catcher J.R. Murphy, and a fifth-round pick, right-hander Caleb Cotham.

A catcher with power and good arm strength from the Pendleton School in Bradenton, Fla., Murphy’s signing bonus was for $1.25 million, Baseball America reported. A Vanderbilt sophomore, Cotham signed for $675,000.

• The fight to save Gate 2 rages on:

Despite the opposition of baseball romantics and some Bronx residents, the city plans to dismantle the classic Gate 2 from the old Yankee Stadium.

“I think saving it is a good idea,” Sandra Mullen, 33, of the Bronx, said of the majestic entrance opposite the new Yankee Stadium.

“I like the old stadium from when I was a child. The new one is beautiful, but the old one was a classic.”

Boosters of the effort to save Gate 2 want it incorporated as the front door to the new Heritage Park, a 10-acre park slated to fill the footprint of the House That Ruth Built.

• Tyler Kepner opines on the defense of Derek Jeter:

I’ve always contended Jeter’ defense has not hurt the team as much as some people think. Now, has he been better in the field this season? Sure, but look at the reasons, none of which have anything to do with Jeter himself.

He has a new infield coach, Mick Kelleher, whom he trusts and has known for many years. He has a better first baseman in Teixeira. And he plays behind pitchers more capable of hitting their spots than their predecessors, meaning, in theory, that hitters more often hit the ball where the fielders expect it to go.

Jeter is also playing on a new home field and might have made a change in his workout habits, though he never talks about that. I don’t know how those factors might have impacted him.

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Today’s news is powered by baseball-playing robots:

• Hideki’s knee acting up:

Hideki Matsui was held out of the New York Yankees’ lineup on Sunday, got his swollen knee drained and will likely miss at least one more game.

Manager Joe Girardi said after New York lost for just the second time in 14 games on Sunday, 10-3 to Seattle, that the designated hitter will have his surgically repaired knee reevaluated on Tuesday to see if the 35-year-old can play the second game of a series at Oakland. That’s New York’s next stop on its season-long, 10-game road trip.

“That is why we are careful with him, because he is really important to our lineup,” Girardi said.

Matsui had his second two-homer game of the season and a season-high five RBIs on Friday. He spoke afterward with huge ice packs on both knees, then sat out Saturday.

• Tom Terrific on the Joba Rules/Map:

“Tell me, how does a pitcher get to the next level unless he’s tested under fire?” (Tom) Seaver asked. “Where are you going to find the next Bob Gibson or Nolan Ryan or Steve Carlton unless a young pitcher is pushed? You won’t.”

. . . “[The Yankees] probably have a lot of money invested in Chamberlain, it’s a financial thing and they want to protect him. But he won’t reach his baseball limit this way.”

Seaver’s rejection of the innings limit is based on a single premise: A pitcher builds his arm by throwing, not resting. Seaver cites his own body of work as proof. At 23, the same age as Chamberlain, Seaver threw 277 innings and zoomed up to 290 innings only two years later in 1970.

By contrast, the Yankees are carefully rationing Chamberlain’s final 32 innings before he reaches his cutoff at 160. While Seaver considers such coddling counter-intuitive, if not damaging, the Yankees say the old-schoolers are just plain wrong.

. . . What Seaver probably doesn’t know, say the Yankees, is that Chamberlain threw only 100 innings in 2008. There are numerous examples of young pitchers who’ve been injured after increasing their workload by more than 30 innings the following year.

. . . “What really galls me is seeing a pitcher taken out of game that he’s dominating the opposing team,” Seaver said. “These people today don’t understand what it means to walk off the mound after holding the other team down for nine innings, the feeling of triumph for your own team — and the effect it has on the players in the other dugout.

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Today’s news is powered by the memory of a music legend, Mr. Les Paul:

• The “Joba Rules” have some quirks:

Joe Girardi announced Joba Chamberlain will start on Wednesday in Oakland, which will be on seven days’ rest and prevent him from pitching against Boston in next weekend’s series. Girardi also said that come playoff time, the Joba Rules may be waived as it will be “all hands on deck.”

“This is part of the plan, and this is what we have to do because this is not just about the next two months,” Girardi said of the varying degrees of rest between starts. “This is about years and years to come.”

• A couple of choice Q&As from Thursday’s online chat with Steven Goldman at Baseball Prospectus:

Pete (Bronx): If you were Brian Cashman, what would you offer Johnny Damon to re-sign? 2 years for ?? million?

Steven Goldman: It seems like the assumption now is that Damon should be brought back. Given that the Yankees don’t have great alternatives (Austin Jackson’s MLE doesn’t inspire confidence)and the free agent class is not bursting with possibilities, maybe it’s a reasonable assumption. I do worry about Damon being a product of Friendly YS II (or III, really), with only .273/.346/.459 rates on the road and declining defense. Two years would be my upper limit… I really wonder if Damon is going to last long enough to get 3,000 hits and wind up as a totally unexpected HOFer. It could happen.

Jeff P (NYC): Hi Steve, thanks for the chat. What are your thoughts on how Girardi handles the Yanks’ pen? He seems to be excellent strategically (players know and are comfortable with their roles, no one’s overworked, flexible in who has what role) but mediocre tactically (who to bring in to face which batters).

Steven Goldman: I think you’ve nailed it exactly. As I said earlier, in both of his seasons in New York, he’s started with one bullpen and finished with another, and after more than a decade of Joe Torre’s obsessive focus on one or two relievers, as well as blind loyalty to anyone who had been on the roster for more than 15 minutes, it’s been quite refreshing. If Torre were here, we’d still be watching balls hit off of Edwar Ramirez fly over the moon… It’s been so long since I’ve seen a manager who excelled at pen matchups on a regular basis. Who would you rate as tops at that? Scioscia? LaRussa?

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Today’s news is powered by the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan:

• Key Yankees bruised and ailing:

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, both hit by pitches, are questionable for Thursday’s series opener against the Mariners — Rodriguez more uncertain than Jeter. Catcher Jorge Posada, who took a foul ball off his right hand and a series of other pitches off his body during Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Blue Jays, is also unsure whether he will play. And closer Mariano Rivera, who woke up Wednesday with a sore right shoulder, is similarly in question.

[My take: Hughes should be the closer for the next week.  Give the Mo Man a full rest.]

• A very interesting quote from the manager on bullpen usage, courtesy of Baseball Prospectus:

. . . Girardi is being lauded for turning a bullpen that, beyond closer Mariano Rivera, was perceived to be a weakness to many mainstream observers coming into the season into a strong point. Girardi has pieced together a quality bullpen without having any of his pitchers ranking in the top 10 in the AL in relief innings pitched.

“The bullpen, to me, is something you really have to watch,” Girardi said. “You have to be careful that you don’t fall in love with one guy because then you wear him down and he no longer can be effective. The key is to be effective for the whole year, not just two weeks or a month.”

Girardi’s approach is not lost on his relievers. “Phillip Hughes is the eighth-inning guy but it’s not like he’s going to pitch every day,” right-hander Brian Bruney told the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. “Everybody responds to pressure situations because we’re rested and ready. Girardi is careful with the way he uses us. He communicates directly with us more than any manager I ever played for.”

[My take: So Aceves is NOT Scott Proctor?  And Phil Hughes REALLY DOES understand his role?]

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Today’s news is powered by some live Pretenders:

• No Joba this Sunday:

For some time now, Yankees manager Joe Girardi has alluded to the fact that Joba Chamberlain’s schedule for the rest of the season is “mapped out,” without revealing the details of that map.

Girardi did not do so Tuesday, either. But he did offer a crumb.

Asked if Chamberlain will take his regular turn in the rotation Sunday in Seattle, Girardi would not answer. Asked if Chad Gaudin would start Sunday instead, he rolled his head from one side to the other before finally nodding. He had not yet told Chamberlain of his plans, and had no intention to do so until after his start Tuesday night against the Jays.

But, barring a change, Gaudin seems likely to start in Chamberlain’s place Sunday.

• Cont(r)acting Jeter:

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees had no immediate plans to renegotiate the contract of Derek Jeter, which expires after the 2010 season. He said they would likely handle future negotiations with Jeter the same way they handled them with Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez.

• Ian Kennedy is on the road to recovery:

New York Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy has thrown off a mound for the first time since undergoing surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps.

Kennedy threw 25 pitches during a bullpen session Tuesday. The right-hander says everything was fine and he would work off a mound again Friday.

Today’s news is powered by Blue Jays . . . and the Fab Four:

• Joe Sheehan wonders about Sunday night’s late game  pitching choices:

Joe Girardi committed himself to Phil Coke in the eighth inning despite having six right-handed relievers on his roster, meaning Coke would have to face four straight right-handed batters after Jacoby Ellsbury. With Philip Hughes apparently unavailable after pitching Friday and Saturday—but for just one out each day—Girardi reacted by making none of his other righties available. It mattered less in the important matchup—letting Coke face Victor Martinez, batting right-handed, would have been the play in any case—but had Coke retired Martinez, he would have been asked to get Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay with the tying run on base, and that would have been a huge risk. It was yet another odd decision by a man for whom running a bullpen is a daily challenge.

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Hey there hi there ho there . . . I’m baaaaaack!

Today’s news is powered by the one and only Roy Orbison:

• Mr. October buys some portions of the old Stadium:

Jackson has purchased the letters that spelled “YANKEE STADIUM” on the upper ring of the old ballpark and the concrete from the blacked out part of center field, where his third Game 6 World Series homer in 1977 landed.

“I might build a Stadium at home [Carmel], light it up and make it with 100-foot fences so that when I am 75 I can hit a home run at Yankee Stadium,” Jackson said.

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Today’s news is powered by a couple of classic promos for Yankees telecasts on WPIX:

• Tyler Kepner wonders who will fill out the back of the rotation down the stretch:

So here’s my question as the trade deadline approaches: who starts Game 4 of a playoff series? The Philadelphia Phillies used four starters in all three playoff rounds in winning the World Series last year. If the Yankees want to win it all, they have to know who starts Game 4. And right now, they have no idea.

It won’t be Chien-Ming Wang, who may need shoulder surgery. I doubt it will be Joba Chamberlain, because he will have reached his innings limit by then (making him a tremendous bullpen weapon). Phil Hughes is too valuable in short relief to switch him now. That leaves Mitre.

The wild card in this is Alfredo Aceves, who still has time to transition back to the rotation. But to remove Aceves from the bullpen, the Yankees probably need to trade for a reliever. That’s why I think there’s no chance they’ll stand pat before Friday’s 4 p.m. nonwaiver deadline.

• Bullpen depth more important than a replacement for Gardner?:

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that the feeling is that the club needs to carry a 13-man pitching staff — right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo was recalled on Sunday from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — because of a tired bullpen.

“Right now, we need the pitching,” Girardi said. “But it’d be nice to have another outfielder that could help out there.”

Even though Phil Hughes is considered unavailable after throwing 39 pitches in the Yanks’ 7-5 win over the A’s on Sunday, there will almost certainly be a move for an outfielder made soon. The Yankees are coming off of a 9-1 homestand at Yankee Stadium and begin their road swing to play the Rays, White Sox and Blue Jays.

Though Cabrera was productive on the homestand, batting .308 (8-for-26), with three runs scored, two doubles and one RBI, one major concern is that five of the nine road contests will be played on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field and Rogers Centre.

That is less of a threat to Cabrera than to Johnny Damon, whom Girardi acknowledged that the Yankees will need to find a way to rest. Should Cabrera need to be spelled in an emergency, Girardi said he would look to either Damon or Nick Swisher to take over in center field. It is a scenario they want to avoid.

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Today’s abbreviated NOTD is brought to you by anagrams (“A DARN FEMINIST”, “I’M A DAFT SINNER”, “I’M SATAN, FRIEND”)  and Robitussin:

• Thumbthing in the way he moves . . . :

(Brett) Gardner fractured his left thumb during Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Athletics and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. He will be in a cast for approximately two weeks. . . .

A 25-year-old rookie, Gardner injured himself while breaking up a double play in the first inning on Saturday, sliding into second baseman Mark Ellis and reaching his left hand out to touch the base.

“I’ve done it hundreds of times,” Gardner said. “Usually, my hand slides over the base, but for some reason, my thumb didn’t get up high enough. It’s one of those freak things that happens.”

Gardner knew that something was not right after the play, but he figured that he might have strained a ligament and did not mention the pain. He stroked a run-scoring triple in the sixth inning and earned applause with a throw to third base in the seventh inning, preventing a runner from advancing.

“It’s part of what I love about him,” Girardi said. “He played at a pretty high level after he broke his thumb. Players are going to have things that happen all the time. During the heat of battle, you don’t feel them a lot of times as much.”

• The Yankees were well-represented during yesterday’s Hall of Fame inductions.  There of course was Rickey Henderson.  But let’s not forget Joe Gordon, the second baseman on many stellar Yankees teams of the ’40s.  Last but not least, former SS and Yankee broadcaster Tony Kubek received the Ford Frick Award.
• The Yanks are scouting the enigmatic Pirates starter Ian Snell.
• Birthdays today: Alex Rodriguez (34), Enrique Wilson (36), Shane Rawley (54) and Johnny Kucks (76).

Back Tuesday . . .

Today’s news is powered by a very old and very rare baseball board game:

• CMW’s troubles mounting:

Chien-Ming Wang is concerned that his 2009 season may be over, having sought a second opinion as he continues to feel discomfort in his right shoulder, and now Dr. James Andrews will get his chance to take a look.

Wang visited on Wednesday with Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York after suffering a setback earlier in the week while playing catch, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad on Thursday to discuss Wang’s situation.

After reviewing Altchek’s findings, the Yankees are set to next confer with Andrews before discussing Wang’s status further. But at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, the 29-year-old Wang said that he is worried that surgery may be necessary.

• If Yanks make a trade, will it be for a starting pitcher?:

The Yankees made a calculated gamble in poaching starting pitchers Alfredo Aceves and Phil Hughes for their bullpen, one that has helped them become a first-place club while also leaving a lack of depth.

It is a situation that general manager Brian Cashman is acutely aware of as the Yankees approach the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. While there are no moves that can be classified as imminent, he acknowledges that there is room for improvement.

“When we made the decisions that we’ve made so far, they were tough decisions with consequences,” Cashman said on Thursday. “We’re better because of those moves, but we’re thinner.” . . .

But the switch made it difficult to fill in earlier this month, when the Yankees lost Chien-Ming Wang from their starting rotation, with no definitive return date for the right-hander.

New York is also watching the innings tick off rapidly for Joba Chamberlain, who will take the mound on Friday having already thrown 95 2/3 frames.

“I still think there is some concern with our depth,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I’m not saying that you necessarily trade for a Major League pitcher, but there is some concern if someone else goes down. There are some innings limitations on Joba, so that is something that is a concern.

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Today’s news is powered by . . . “You’re a Good Man, Carl Pavano AJ Burnett Charlie Brown”

• Joe Posnanski offers up the top 100 players you’d want if you had to win THIS year.  A-Rod still finds himself in the top ten:

6. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
Disastrous first half splattered with injuries, rumors and a low batting average … and the guy STILL has a 145 OPS+, good for seventh in the AL.

• John Perrotto details a slightly-worried Joe Girardi:

The Yankees called up right-hander Sergio Mitre from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start Tuesday night, and he beat the Orioles despite allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings. However, Girardi worries what might happen if the Yankees lose another starter, particularly since right-handers Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves have been converted to relievers this season to strengthen a shaky bullpen. “If we have another injury, where do we go?” Girardi said.

• Christina Kahrl has some rotation concerns:

The problem is that the rotation in general hasn’t done very well. Consider Support-Neutral performances of the rotation (expected winning pct. assuming league-average run support):  only CC Sabathia‘s delivering anything like what you’d expect or pay his price for, providing a .560 Support-Neutral Winning Percentage and a dozen quality starts (through six innnings) in 20. A.J. Burnett‘s .527 SNWP is good enough to rate second on this team, but it might also understate his value down the stretch, since he’s given the club 13 quality starts in 19, including in eight of his last nine. But then things get less happy; Andy Pettitte (.476) is pitching in a way that suggests his next elaborate off-season mulling of retirement won’t involve anyone waiting on his doorstep, while Joba Chamberlain‘s upside might obscure that his work this season (.474) is the stuff fourth starters are made off.

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Let’s get right to it:

• Hello Mitre, Goodbye Tomko:

Needing to clear roster space for Tuesday’s starting pitcher, Sergio Mitre, the Yankees designated Tomko for assignment, likely ending his time with the club. Tomko, a 13-year veteran of eight big league teams, posted a 5.23 ERA for the Yankees, pitching just 20 2/3 innings — many of them in lopsided games — over the span of 2 1/2 months.

“A lot of it was circumstance,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We played in a lot of tight games, and we went with the guys that we were using in those innings. He didn’t pitch a lot. There were times when he had a lot of days off, and it can be hard to stay sharp that way.”

Tomko hadn’t pitched since July 11, giving up runs in five of his final eight appearances with the team. After earning a callup thanks to a strong Spring Training showing and some sparkling Triple-A numbers — namely a 0.64 ERA in 10 games — Tomko began to crumble with irregular use around mid-May.

• No Halladay in the Yanks future, it appears:

A Blue Jays official involved in the Roy Halladay discussions told The Post that both New York teams are not serious pursuers of the ace right-hander.

The official confirmed what several Yankee executives already had told the Post: That since an initial phone conversation about two weeks ago between Brian Cashman and his Blue Jays counterpart J.P. Ricciardi to let the Yankees know that Halladay is available there have been no further discussions. Yankees executives have told the Post that the finances in adding Halladay don’t work, especially if it means giving up the best of their farm system, also, which is what keeping Halladay in the AL East would necessitate.

• Loosey-goosey Matsui?:

Out of the corner of his eye, Hideki Matsui caught the sight of several teammates frantically using their arms to make a tossing motion. The gestures seemed foreign at first. But as Matsui jogged toward the plate, moments after slamming a walk-off homer in the Yankees’ 2-1 victory against the Orioles on Monday, it all started to make sense.

“I was just going to step on home plate, normally,” said the typically reserved Matsui through his translator. “But they told me to throw my helmet so I threw my helmet. I’ve never done it before, so in that sense, it felt a little uncomfortable. But I like to follow whatever the team rules are.”

So, Matsui fired his helmet into the air the way a newlywed bride would toss a bouquet. And Melky Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada — the three giddy teammates who waved frantically at Matsui — all leaped after it like a group bachelors at a wedding reception diving after the garter belt.

• Will Carroll on CMW:

Between the foot, the hips, and now the shoulder, Wang has undergone a full-system breakdown in just a year. That’s very unusual, and points strongly to some sort of mechanical issue. With all the money the Yankees spend on things, you’d figure they’d be at the front of everything, including biomechanics, but they’re not. They used to have a real edge in how they managed rehabilitation, especially with Tommy John recoveries, but while they’re still very good, the rest of the league has caught up. . . Wang seems to be done for the season, with the question being whether this is a permanent or temporary stop.

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Today’s news is powered by Grand Funk Railroad, circa 1971:

• Hal Steinbrenner . . . foresees greatness:

“I think we’ve got a championship-caliber team,” he said. “I absolutely believe that we have the team that can win the championship.”

Making his first extensive public comments about the New York Yankees since Opening Day, the new controlling owner praised his players, manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman. And, already, he’s looking ahead to Aug. 6-9, when the Boston Red Sox come to Yankee Stadium.

“That four-game series is going to be a big one,” he said. “But the guys believe they can beat anybody, and that has not changed, and that’s an important thing.”

. . . “We expect to win every year. We’ve said that. We always say that,” he said. “Our job is to field a championship-caliber team every year, and that’s what we strive to do. So, Joe knows who he’s working for.”

“I’m seeing some looseness this year in the players, I’m seeing some, you know, some emotion, and that’s a great thing,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ve managed to limit the injuries — we’re doing a little bit better than last year in that area. And I just think there’s a lot of motivation. I think these guys are pumped, and I think they’re showing it. We’re firing on all cylinders at times and struggling a little bit at other times in certain areas. But overall, pretty happy.”

• Mike Mussina is staying retired.
• Wang banged up again:

(Chien Ming) Wang’s biceps felt tender when he played catch before Monday night’s game against Baltimore and won’t attempt to throw again until Friday.

“It’s not exactly the news that I wanted,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s not what you want to hear because we were hoping that two weeks’ rest is enough for him to get on a throwing program.”

. . . “We’re going to give him a few more days and some more strengthening before he goes back out,” Girardi said. “I think anything you’re dealing with cuff issues or shoulder tendinitis or whatever you want to describe it as, I mean, there’s concern. And whatever he’s able to do, we would love to have. But I think any time someone is injured and you’re not sure when they’re exactly going to be back, you can’t really count on them in a sense.”

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Today’s news is powered by the one and only Frank McCourt, who passed away yesterday at 78.  I had him for three different classes during my years at Stuy (of course, before he became the best-selling author):

• Don’t expect a trade for a starting pitcher anytime soon:

Yankees GM Brian Cashman admits that the team’s starting rotation “as a whole did not perform well at the end of the first half” and acknowledges that a part of the team that was supposed to be a strength “didn’t play out that way” as the Bombers haven’t had any starter perform at a consistent level.

But, Cashman says, pursuing an outside option for starting help is “unlikely right now … I don’t feel we need a guy. We’re going internal and we’ll wait and see how that works out.” In fact, Cashman said, it would probably be easier to make a deal for a reliever, which would allow the Yankees to free up either Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves to go back into the rotation, if they decide they need more help than new No.5 starter Sergio Mitre, slated to start Tuesday against Baltimore.

Of course, with the July 31 trade deadline approaching and Toronto ace Roy Halladay available, Cashman could be playing coy. And, Cashman acknowledged his opinion could change if “our circumstances changed.”

But Cashman stressed that the Yankees are sticking to the don’t-pay-twice philosophy that he says they applied to Johan Santana’s availability before Santana became a Met. The Yanks, Cashman says, don’t want to both give up prospects and pay a megabucks contract extension.

• Old-Timers Day brought back Mike Mussina . . . and Don Zimmer:

. . . Zimmer, the 78-year-old baseball lifer who was permitting pinstripes to drape his body for the first time since the 2003 World Series.

Greeted with a kiss on the cheek from Andy Pettitte and a bear hug from Tony Pena, Zimmer had vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium after a spat with principal owner George M. Steinbrenner. Time has healed those wounds. He spent time around the batting cage chatting with Tigers manager Jim Leyland, one of his best friends in the game.

“I thought it’d be a good time to come back and see the guys, the Old-Timers,” Zimmer said. “I didn’t hesitate when they asked me. I didn’t even know the young kids who asked me. I just said, ‘Yes.'”

Now an advisor with the Rays, Zimmer said that he moved on immediately after that night in autumn 2003, but said that he feels badly about Steinbrenner’s declining health and said he had no words to say to him at this time. Yet Zimmer remains richly appreciative of his time serving as Joe Torre’s trusted bench lieutenant.

“Nobody will ever know how special it was,” Zimmer said, his eyes welling with tears.

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Today’s news is powered by a little “Squeeze” play:

• MLB.com offers up their own mid-season report card on the Yanks, and has this prediction:

The 2009 Yankees are a playoff team. The AL East would love to make that a false statement for a second successive season, but there’s little reason to think the division or the Wild Card are not within New York’s grasp. The Yankees don’t match up well with the Red Sox, but they’ll will find a way to be playing in October. They might even beat the Sox at least once in their remaining 10 games.

[My take: OK folks . . . who wants to do the research on whether a team has made the playoffs despite going 1-17 or worse against another team?]

• Baseball Prospectus’ Steven Goldman has some ideas for the second half of the Bombers’ campaign:

The current AL Wild Card leaders have endured great disappointment from their starting rotation. Their quality start percentage of 43% ranks 12^th in the league, just ahead of Cleveland’s. Only robust hitting and an improving bullpen has allowed them to win with consistency, but not against good teams like the Red Sox (0-8), Rays (4-4), and Angels (2-4). One obvious solution, putting Phil Hughes into the rotation is complicated by the fact that Hughes has been the team’s most effective late-inning option in front of Mariano Rivera (opposing hitters are batting .115/.182/.197 when he relieves). They would be best advised to move him to starting and trade for another bullpen arm, which would probably be less costly than getting into the Roy Halladay gold rush.

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