OK, I’m almost back from the DL . . . consider this post a “rehab assignment”.

Contrary to circulating rumors, I did not pull an oblique during vigorous typing, nor did I strain my vocal cords screaming at Girardi.  But thanks to you all for your concern!

Today’s news is powered by footage from LAST year’s All Star Game:

• PeteAbe has a rather telling stat on how good (or not) the Yanks may be:

But the Yankees have played four teams (the Angels, Red Sox, Phillies and Tigers) who lead their respective divisions at the break and they are 5-15 against those teams. That’s why you can’t just dismiss this weekend as just some bad luck.

• Joba Joba Joba Joba Joba Chameleon:

Is Joba Chamberlain the most confident pitcher in baseball, or the most delusional?

After another laborious outing on Friday night, Chamberlain stood at his locker and spoke about making good pitches. He talked about his stuff being as good as it’s been all season. If that’s the best Chamberlain has to offer as a starting pitcher, the debate over his future in that role is sure to rage on.

In his last two outings, Chamberlain has given up 13 runs – although only seven were earned – on 18 hits and two walks in eight innings, taking no-decisions in each game. The last part is nothing new for Chamberlain, whose 10 decisions through his first 29 career starts are the fewest in big-league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “The last two starts, that’s the best my stuff has been all year. It makes it even more frustrating,” Chamberlain said. “I felt I’ve been better in the last two but we came up against some good ball clubs.”

• Angel Berroa has been picked up off the scrap heap . . . by the Mets.  Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein weighs in:

This is hardly a note to defend Angel Berroa, who stinks, but rather to defend the move itself. It’s easy to just see the name Angel Berroa and chuckle, but do people really think Omar Minaya is jumping up and down with joy over the signing? Really? Without getting into the real problem here, which is that for the last two years the Mets have assembled a roster with very little in the way of a backup plan, let’s just focus on the present facts, here and now.

1. The Mets have an injured Jose Reyes, and no shortstop at Triple-A.
2. The kid playing shortstop at Double-A, Ruben Tejada, is 19 years old and not near ready.
3. Last I checked, Hanley Ramirez wasn’t available.

So what were the Mets supposed to do? Teams need bodies, especially up the middle, and the signing of Berroa makes very good sense for New York, right here and right now, despite the fact that he’s not a good player . . .

[My take: We may bust on Cashman, but just take a look at what’s going on in Queens.]

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Today’s news is powered by the match-up between a swordsman and a baseball pitching machine:

• Three Yankees headed to the All Star Game:

Mark Teixeira was not glued to the progress reports of fan balloting for the 2009 All-Star Game, but his friends and family made sure to keep him updated. All he knew was this: there was ground to make up.

Teixeira’s back-and-forth battle with Red Sox counterpart Kevin Youkilis to serve as the American League’s starting first baseman ended on Sunday, and the slugger is headed to the July 14 contest at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, joined by Junior Circuit leading vote-getter Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, both 10-time All-Stars.

“I’m so appreciative of the fans,” Teixeira said. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve said they were the best fans in the country. I want to thank all of the fans for going out there and voting. It just shows how passionate Yankees fans are.

[My take: The recognition is nice, but after a while, I think these guys would like a three-day vacation in the middle of the long season.]

• No Tex in the Home Run Derby:

Teixeira said after the Yankees’ 10-8 win over the Jays on Sunday that he would not accept an invitation to perform in the hitting exhibition at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium on July 13, saying that his one experience before the 2005 Midsummer Classic was more than enough.

“I’m just not a Home Run Derby guy,” Teixeira said. “It doesn’t fit well for me. If I go out there and just hit two or three home runs, I’d rather let someone else go out and do it.”

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A brief one heading into the holiday weekend:

• Catching conundrums:

. . .  although (Joe) Girardi said the Yankees have not yet begun discussing what to do with (Francisco) Cervelli once (Jose) Molina returns, it’s unlikely that they would carry three catchers.

“We’ll cross that bridge when it comes,” Girardi said. “Our roster has one infielder and has a couple extra outfielders, but we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”

Though Cervelli has shown extraordinary growth in his first extended stint in the big leagues, he is still just 23 years old and would presumably benefit more from playing every day in Triple-A than from catching sporadically in the Majors. The Yankees, meanwhile, are paying Molina well — more than $2 million this season — to be their backup.

• PeteAbe has a nice appreciation of Ken Griffey, Jr.:

If you’re a fan of baseball history, you had to appreciate watching Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run at Yankee Stadium last night.

It was No. 621 in his career, 39 shy of Willie Mays. The new Stadium also became the 44th park he has homered in, one short of the record held by Sammy Sosa . . .

It’s hard to believe, but Griffey has received only one vote in the MVP balloting in the last 11 years and has been an All-Star twice in the last decade. He’s like a cameo of his greatness.

Griffey is a guy that the young players in the clubhouse were thrilled to see, much like Chipper Jones. In a game lacking heroes, those are two players you can respect.

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Today’s news is powered by a classic from Tom Lehrer:

• As you likely know by now, the Yanks acquired Eric Hinske from the Pirates.  GM Brian Cashman offers this on the deal:

“He’s a pro,” said Cashman, who sent two minor leaguers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Hinske. “He’s been through the trenches in the American League East. We just felt that he can come in and help us. Doesn’t mean he will. I think our bench is better because of it. Joe (Girardi) has more choices because of it. Hopefully we’ll benefit because of it. We might not, but that’s at least the method to the madness.”

Cashman and Girardi said that Xavier Nady’s (elbow) latest setback, which will likely sideline him for the season, prompted the move. Hinske will spell Alex Rodriguez at third base, Mark Teixeira at first base and provide depth in right and left fields, Cashman and Girardi said.

[My take: The Pirates are becoming the 2000’s edition of the Kansas City A’s . . . they’re the Yanks favorite talent-feeder of late.]

• Joel Sherman lists eight reasons the Yanks acquired Hinske.
• Mr. Hinske could have been had on waivers two weeks ago.

[My take: But Cashman didn’t know that Nady was gonna be down for the count at that point.]

• Mariano Rivera was almost traded away from the Bombers early on in his career:

Michael had his own ‘What if?’ moment a few years later, in 1995, when he considered trading Rivera to the Tigers for David Wells. At the time Rivera was still trying to make it as a starter, still throwing in the low 90s, and when Michael asked the Tigers what they would want in a deal for Wells, Rivera was one of the names they put on a list.

“I never said yes,” Michael said with a chuckle Monday. “And right about that time, Mariano’s velocity in the minors jumped to 95-96. I didn’t believe it when I saw our report, but I checked it out with scouts from other teams who were there, and it was true. At that point there was no way I was trading him.”

• When will A-Rod be rested?:

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Tuesday that Rodriguez will be given at least one day off and potentially more during the team’s 13-game stretch leading up to the All-Star break. It is likely Rodriguez will also be used as a designated hitter on occasion, as he continues to battle back from right hip surgery.

So even though it seems clear exactly how Rodriguez will be utilized, it may not be that simple. Girardi did not offer a roadmap outlining exactly when Rodriguez will receive this promised downtime, instead presenting several scenarios.

“I will probably give him a day off in Minnesota, for sure, and DH him a day during the week and maybe even DH him two days during this week,” Girardi said. The Yankees take on the Twins from July 7-9.

Beyond that, Girardi would not specify when the off-days will come. He suggested it is possible Rodriguez gets a day during the current homestand against the Mariners or Blue Jays, but also gave a scenario in which Rodriguez gets two days off in Minnesota on the synthetic-surface field, which is notoriously tough on the body.

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Today’s news is powered by the trailer to the Scrabble documentary “Word Wars” (Yes, I know everyone in the trailer quite well. No, I don’t get any face time in the movie.):

Here’s a little Yankee trivia question to start the date: Paul Zuvella (mentioned later on in the column) is the last name alphabetically in the Yankees’ all-time player register.  Who is the first? (answer at bottom of column)

• The Post’s Joel Sherman is quite certain of the best player he’s ever seen:

. . . (Mariano) Rivera has played just barely more than 1,000 innings in his whole career. And I know he has played mainly one inning at a time. And I also know I am biased because I have seen pretty much every pitch of that career. I was, for example, in the park on May 17, 1996 when he recorded his first major league save and again Sunday night when he reached 500 as I write about in this column.

But I actually don’t consider seeing so much of Rivera’s work a bias as much as a privilege. I have loved watching someone so great at what he does so often. Rivera has everything you would want in the best player you have seen checklist: He is a genius as a player. He has been incredibly consistent at that genius. That genius extends into the postseason. He has been incredibly durable. He elevates the play of those around him.

[My take: In this era of steroids, videotape and maple bats, Rivera is a wonder.]

• The MLB.com Yankee beat writer opines on the roster upon Jose Molina’s return:

All indications are that the Yankees will not carry three catchers because of the way their roster is constructed right now, so it will probably mean that Cervelli will have to go down to Triple-A when Molina is ready to return.

There’s no shame in that. He’s 23 and, while he’s enjoyed some success in the big leagues, there is more development that can take place. He should head down and feel good about what he accomplished, but it wasn’t like he was going to steal the job. Molina is a legitimate big league backup catcher and the Yankees are paying him well to do that.

[My take: Much as many of us have baseball crushes on Frankie, its probably best for him to get regular ABs at the Triple-A level rather than ride the pine in NY.]

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• Today’s news is powered by baseball bloopers . . . :

• The Phils have been scouting Chien-Ming Wang.

[My take: But what would the Yanks be able to get from the Phils, even if they wanted to deal Wang?]

• Jon Heyman lists CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira as the 5th and 7th-best free agent signings respectively so far this season.
• Doubts about Austin Jackson?:

At 22 years old, Jackson is among the International League leaders in hits, batting average and on-base percentage, but his season seems to have created as many doubters as believers.

His detractors say Jackson hasn’t hit for enough power, has struck out too often and has a batting average on balls in play that is too high, a statistic that suggests he’s been lucky as much as good. . . .

(more…)

Today’s news is powered by the King of Pop:

Rest in peace, Michael . . .

Let’s lead off with a dandy trivia question from MLB Network (the Yankees are involved in it):

There are seven currently active MLers who have a chance of playing in four decades (80s,90s,00s,10s).  Can you name them?  Here’s a hint: three of them have played at one time or another for the Bombers.  Answer later.

• Like Tyler Kepner, Buster Olney also wonders what has become of A-Rod:

The question is this: Is Rodriguez, a month from his 34th birthday, much less of a player because he presumably no longer takes performance-enhancing drugs?

It’s a question that can never be answered, but it’s a question that will continue to be asked, probably more within the Yankees organization than anywhere else. And really, if you want, just consider the question in terms of money.

The Yankees are still on the hook for about $250 million in the next eight-plus seasons. The player who will receive that money can never give them quite what they paid for, in a sense, because A-Rod, as a marketing tool, is damaged forever. They would settle for paying him just to hit well, field effectively and run the bases as well as he did for 15 years — doing all the things on the field they needed him to do when they signed him to the highest salary in the game.

But he is not providing any of that, either. Even after delivering a crucial two-run single in the Yankees’ win over Atlanta on Wednesday night, Rodriguez is batting .210 this season; since June 7, his batting average has dropped 45 points. His slugging percentage of .441 is by far the lowest in any season since 1994, when he had a handful of at-bats for the Mariners as a teenager.

“He looks like a record playing at a slower speed,” said one talent evaluator who saw Rodriguez over the past two weeks.

Said another, “He looks old. He’s a first baseman. How many years does he have left on the contract?”

[My take: He looked pretty solid at the plate Thursday night.  Let’s see if he can keep that going, or will he need a rest again soon?]

• He apparently won’t be resting this weekend versus the Mets:

“It’s our home city, and I think our guys enjoy the Subway Series,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Thursday before New York played the Atlanta Braves. “Alex feels good, feels like he’s got a lot of energy in his legs. He feels good, so we’ll let him keep going.”

[My take: Well, they DO have an off-day on Monday, but after that its 13 games in 13 days prior to the ASB.]

• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick thinks the Yanks might be looking for some bullpen help:

“The Yankees’ bullpen has logged 225 innings, fourth most in the American League, so I can see Brian Cashman trolling around for a veteran reliever. David Robertson, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Brian Bruney all have solid numbers, but that’s a pretty inexperienced group.

. . . I can see the Yanks being interested if Jose Valverde, Huston Street or someone of that ilk becomes available.

• (more…)

Today’s news is powered by Nat Bailey Stadium’s “Sushi Race”:

• Jose Veras has been traded to the Indians for the ubiquitous “cash considerations”.

[My take: And you thought the Yankees had question marks in THEIR bullpen?]

• The return of Cody Ransom!:

Cody Ransom, who played 15 games for New York before he suffered a severe right quadriceps injury, was reinstated from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and rejoined the club at Turner Field.

In a corresponding move, Angel Berroa was designated for assignment.

“This was tough, just because I’d never been on the DL,” Ransom said. “I’d never been hurt. This was something new. Once I started playing games, it was better.”

Ransom struggled as he filled in for Rodriguez, who was coming back from right hip surgery performed on March 9 and would not return to the lineup until early May.

Ransom batted .180 (9-for-50) before he was injured running the bases in an April 24 game at Fenway Park, and later, he revealed that the quadriceps had bothered him since Spring Training.

[My take: DFAing Berroa is definitely “addition by subtraction”, regardless of what Ransom can provide.]

• Brian Cashman showed up in Atlanta:

What Cashman is in Atlanta to achieve is getting the Yankees — losers of nine out of their past 13 — back on track. Too early to seriously engage in the trade market, the GM believes that the answers to their offensive woes are all currently within the clubhouse.

“We’re struggling right now, mostly with the bats,” Cashman said. “It’s not going to last, I promise you that. We’re too good for it to last. The last three weeks of poor play is mostly to do with our offense. We’ve got to get our offense going. We’re pitching real well, but unfortunately, we’re letting that good pitching go to waste.”

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To power today’s news, I’m going to visit the “Conjuction Junction”:

• The (decision on Cody) Ransom is due Wednesday:

While he gathered his belongings in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse earlier this month, Ransom revisited his decision to hide the severity of a leg injury that he suffered not that night in Boston, but in the final week of spring training, much earlier than he had previously admitted publicly.As it turned out, the leg ailment would ultimately land him on the 60-day disabled list and throw his future with the Yankees in doubt. Still, Ransom isn’t sure he would have done anything differently. It’s easy to understand why.

“I don’t know that I would have because of the situation that we were in, Alex being out and it was an opportunity for me,” said Ransom, a 33-year-old minor league journeyman. “I was really hoping that could help the team and play well. But obviously I didn’t do that. I don’t regret anything, I don’t regret the way I handled it I don’t think.”

. . . On Wednesday, the Yankees will have to return him to the majors or designate him for assignment.

• Sabathia not planning on a pitching “Sabathical“:

“I feel like I’m going to feel fine tomorrow,” Sabathia said. “So that’s why I keep saying that I’m pitching on Friday.”

Sabathia usually throws 45 pitches in a bullpen session, but he said he would throw no more than 25 on Wednesday. He reiterated that he was not concerned.

“It doesn’t scare me at all,” Sabathia said. “It’s one of those things through the course of the season you do feel on side days. You feel a little achiness in the biceps, and it usually gets out of there. With the rest and two days off of not playing catch or anything, it feels fine. I feel good enough to pitch.”

• The Bombers’ protest of Sunday’s substitution snafu game with the Marlins has been denied:

Working in favor of the Marlins was Rule 3.05, which states:

“If an improper substitution is made for the pitcher, the umpire shall direct the proper pitcher to return to the game until the provisions of this rule are fulfilled. If the improper pitcher is permitted to pitch, any play that results is legal. The improper pitcher becomes the proper pitcher as soon as he makes his first pitch to the batter, or as soon as any runner is put out.”

Additionally, Rule 3.05(c) Comment reads: “If a manager attempts to remove a pitcher in violation of Rule 3.05 (c) the umpire shall notify the manager of the offending club that it cannot be done. If, by chance, the umpire-in-chief has, through oversight, announced the incoming improper pitcher, he should still correct the situation before the improper pitcher pitches. Once the improper pitcher delivers a pitch he becomes the proper pitcher.”

Girardi felt Sunday’s situation was similar to one earlier in the year, when Rays manager Joe Maddon had a mixup with his designated hitter, resulting in Evan Longoria not starting.

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Today’s news is powered by some cute stop-motion animation from “Sesame Street”:

• And on the seventh day, A-Rod will rest:

Alex Rodriguez, who did not start on Friday and Saturday due to fatigue six weeks after returning from surgery on his right hip, will get one day of rest each week through next month’s All-Star break.

The Yankees will follow a plan created by Dr. Marc Philippon, the surgeon who operated on A-Rod’s hip in March.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Rodriguez said on Sunday. “From what I understand, that comes from Vail (Colo.) and Dr. Philippon. We’ll follow his instructions and regroup in a month. The idea is that I’ll get stronger each month.”

Rodriguez started 38 consecutive games after returning to action on May 8. He is batting .153 (9-for-59) with two homers and 11 RBIs in June. He singled in the third inning of Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Marlins to end a 0-for-16 slide. Overall, he is batting .213 with nine homers and 28 RBIs in 40 games.

Manager Joe Girardi said he plans to schedule A-Rod’s off days. He’ll get two days off in weeks when the Yankees have an off day.

[My take: Ummm . . . wasn’t the plan coming out of surgery to only play him five or six days a week anyway?  Where did THAT plan go in the last five weeks?]

• The folks at Baseball Prospectus analyze the troubles of Rodriguez since his return:

His .250 Isolated Power (or ISO, slugging percentage minus batting average) is 22 points below his career mark, but about the same distance above two of his five full seasons in pinstripes. It surpasses all but 24 batting-title qualifiers, not that A-Rod himself has enough plate appearances to qualify.

He’s homered in 5.4 percent of his PA, which would rank ninth among qualifiers, though it would be the fifth-lowest mark of his career. The 33-year-old superstar’s real problem is that the hits aren’t falling in for him.

Prior to his benching, Rodriguez’s batting average on balls in play was .192, 128 points below his career mark, and 10 points below the next-lowest qualifier, Jay Bruce. Upon closer inspection, he’s hit line drives—which result in hits far more frequently than any other type—on just 14.8 percent of his balls in play, well below last year’s 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, his ground-ball rate has risen significantly.

A-Rod is one of several star players to recently have a procedure known as femoral-acetabular impingement labroplasty. . . . The problem is that while many skiers have recovered successfully from this operation, there’s almost nothing beyond these very few names to go on as to how this will affect a baseball player.

While the Yankees were ultra-conservative with Rodriguez during rehab, they suddenly forgot the schedule of offdays that Rodriguez’s doctors had set up. Sources tell me that Rodriguez’s hip still shows a small strength and range deficit, one that’s become worse with fatigue. A more regular schedule of rest would appear to be necessary, and it should help get Rodriguez back on track physically.

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Today’s news is powered by . . . animals interrupting sporting events:

• CC Sabathia exited yesterday’s game in the 2nd inning with tightness in his bicep.  He’s day-to-day.
• A.J. Burnett regrets how he left the Marlins:

It’s easy to remember the bad, the way his career ended here in 2005. The Marlins had just lost 5-3 to Atlanta with a week left in the season when Burnett lambasted his manager, Jack McKeon, the coaches and his teammates, saying, “We played scared. We managed scared. We coached scared.” . . .

“It’s depressing around here,” he said at the time. “It’s like they expect us to mess up. And when we do, they chew us out. There is no positive, nothing, around here for anybody.”

The next day he was suspended for the rest of the season. Instead of letting him make his last start, the Marlins called up a rookie to make his major-league debut: Josh Johnson. Before Burnett left, he told the rookie pitcher to “give ’em hell,” Johnson remembers.

More than three years later, Burnett and Johnson found themselves back in the storyline, as they faced each other at Land Shark Stadium, Burnett now with the Yankees, pitching here for the first time since he set fire to every bridge on the way out – an ending he now regrets.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said,” Burnett said after taking the loss in Saturday’s 2-1 game. “I don’t think about the ending. I remember that they gave me my start. . . . I was young and I’ve grown up a lot since then.”

• Burnett’s suspension is reduced by 17%!:

Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett’s suspension for throwing high and tight to Texas’ Nelson Cruz has been reduced to five games from six.

Manager Joe Girardi said Sunday before New York played the Florida Marlins that the suspension began immediately and will push back the right-hander’s next start to Saturday against the Mets.

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Today’s news is powered by . . . Goofy!

• What is it with the Yanks and unknown pitchers?:

In three of the last four games, the Yankees have been squelched by starters who they had never faced. John Lannan allowed two runs in eight and a third innings in powering the Washington Nationals to a 3-2 victory on Wednesday. Shairon Martis permitted one run in six innings as the Yankees halted Washington, 4-3, on Tuesday. And, on Saturday, Fernando Nieve surrendered two runs in six and two-third innings to help the Mets stop the Yankees, 6-2.

The only time that the Yankees opposed a familiar pitcher in the last four games, they destroyed Johan Santana for a career-worst nine runs. So how can the Yankees batter Santana and get baffled by pitchers with lesser pedigrees?

“I don’t really have any concrete theories,” Girardi said. “We talk about it as a staff. I think everyone loves to see something that they’ve seen before because they’re used to it, in a sense, no matter what walk of life you’re in.”

• Leaving Wang where he is:

After review, Joe Girardi’s ruling from the field stands. Chien-Ming Wang will remain in the Yankees rotation.

Girardi caught a television re-broadcast of the right-hander’s start following his five-inning outing on Wednesday, confirming what the manager believed he had witnessed from his vantage point in New York’s dugout.

“I thought he threw some really good sinkers,” Girardi said. “His slider was really good last night. He mixed his pitches well. I thought he threw the ball pretty well. I just wanted to watch it on video to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing.”

[My take: Having been at the game, I’m left to wonder if Wang’s extremely slow pace leaves his defense a bit “back on their heels”.  If Wang pitched as quickly as his opponent that night (John Lannan), maybe his defense might be a bit more alert.]

• Slumping A-Rod bothered by hip?:

Rodriguez has seen his average dip to .219 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs, and he has looked progressively worse during the past few weeks. He has clearly been favoring his hip while running the bases and playing third base lately, and he has been seen limping around the clubhouse after games.

Rodriguez has not had more than one hit in a game since May 25, when he went 5-for-5 in Texas. Since then, he is 13-for-70 (.186) with two homers and nine RBIs.

“I’m seeing the ball well. The big issue is the body and responding,” Rodriguez said on Wednesday. “I can hit. I’m always going to be able to hit, I know that. … There are some days where your body’s just not bouncing back the way I like it to.”

The injury may have affected the Yankees’ strategy in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Nationals. Rodriguez was on first with one out when second baseman Robinson Cano bounced into a game-ending double play. It seemed that it might have made sense for Rodriguez to try to steal second in that situation to try to stay out of the twin-killing.

• The Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi didn’t appreciate the playing of Thursday’s game after an all-day rain:

Despite a forecast that showed no signs of letting up during the afternoon, the team kept its fans waiting. At least they could say they were almost part of something historic: The delay apparently was the second longest in baseball history, behind only the 5 hours, 47 minutes on Oct 3, 1999, for a Reds-Brewers game.

That was the final game of the season to force a one-game playoff for the National League wild card. This was a mid-June interleague game that has absolutely no significance, and the Yankees fell back on the excuse that the two teams did not have mutual off days the rest of the year.

• The Yanks will be watching Pedro Martinez:

The Cubs and Rays are not the only teams in contact with free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez.

Those clubs, plus the Yankees and Angels, will watch Martinez throw on Friday in the Dominican Republic, according to major-league sources.

. . . (however) The Yankees, too, would benefit more from the addition of a reliever. They believe Chien-Ming Wang made progress in his start against the Nationals on Wednesday night, and currently have an extra starter, righty Phil Hughes, pitching out of the bullpen.

(more…)

Away we go . . .

• Bruney up, Veras DFAed:

Brian Bruney rejoined the Yankees’ bullpen mix after being activated from the disabled list on Tuesday, and the right-hander isn’t looking for any adjustment period in working his way back in. . . .

“I feel really good; ready to go,” Bruney said. “I don’t envision him taking it easy on me. I think if there’s a situation where we need to get some outs, I expect him to call on me.”

In a corresponding roster move, the Yankees designated right-hander Jose Veras for assignment. Veras was 3-1 with a 5.96 ERA in 25 appearances, allowing 23 hits and 17 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings. He walked 14 and struck out 18.

• A.J. Burnett has had a very tough road to hoe thus far in 2009:

A.J. Burnett was supposed to avoid being a victim of Yankee Stadium v2.0, but that was before he stopped inducing significantly more grounders than fly balls. This year has seen Burnett’s G/F drop to its lowest point since 2002, and to go along with that he has also stopped getting hitters to pop up on fly balls. Sure, it doesn’t help that he’s faced the stiffest competition in the league according to this stat report (composite of batters he has faced have the highest OPS in the majors), but at the same time, Burnett’s not doing himself any favors by handing out free passes to 4.6 hitters per nine. Combine that with the homer rate, and it’s easy to see why Burnett hasn’t had an easy time of it for his new team. I’m not so sure Burnett is going to have a serious rebound during this season, as he’s fooling fewer hitters—his strikeouts have dropped by over one full K per nine, and opponents are swinging at fewer pitches out of the zone while making more contact. Getting his walk rates back under control would be a good first step, but as it is he has actually been a little lucky, as his FIP is over a half-run higher than his ERA; improvement would move him from the level of a 5.00 ERA pitcher down to his current level.

• Would Matsui go back to play in Japan next season?:

Comments made by an unnamed member of the Hanshin Tigers front office about the possibility of Hanshin going after Hideki Matsui this offseason are making the rounds in the Japanese media. Here’s what was said in Sponichi:

“There’s a feeling that if he comes back to Japan, it will be with Hanshin. He’s had knee issues, and if he’s going to play in Japan the natural grass at Koshien would be good.”

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Today’s news is powered by Red Barber and Mel Allen.  We lost Allen on this date in 1996:

• Tyler Kepner wonders if the Yanks pitching hiccups are tied to who is behind the plate:

One unsettling fact for the Yankees is the difference when Jorge Posada catches. With Posada behind the plate, the Yankees’ pitchers have a 6.31 E.R.A. The combined E.R.A. with Francisco Cervelli, Jose Molina and Kevin Cash is 3.81.

Posada has caught four starts by Chien-Ming Wang, whose job status is now evaluated on a game-by-game basis. Even removing those starts, the staff’s E.R.A. with Posada is still high, at 5.47. . . .

. . . Burnett, in particular, seems to struggle with him. In Burnett’s four starts pitching to Posada, opponents have batted .330. In nine starts with the other catchers, the average is .223.

When he lost a six-run lead in Boston in April, Burnett questioned the pitch selection, though he blamed himself, not Posada. Asked Sunday about the difference in pitching to the rookie Cervelli, Burnett gave a careful but revealing answer.

“I think it’s just a matter of — I don’t know if it’s the catcher — but we threw curveballs in fastball counts, we had them looking for something and they had no idea what was coming, I don’t think,” Burnett said. “That’s huge.”

[My take: Hmm . . . come 2010, could Cervelli see 100+ games behind the plate, with Posada at DH?]

• Cervelli serves notice:

Cervelli has provided the Yankees with an unexpected spark, after he was summoned from the Minor Leagues to lend a hand as the club waited for the returns of injured catchers Jorge Posada and Jose Molina.

Posada has since reclaimed his starting role, but Molina suffered a setback while on a rehab assignment and re-injured his left quadriceps, extending Cervelli’s big league stay for the foreseeable future.

“Sometimes, for one person to shine, something has to happen to someone else,” Yankees bench coach Tony Pena said recently. “Defensively, Francisco Cervelli is as good as any other catcher. There are very few catchers who can move behind the plate the way Francisco Cervelli moves.”

The Yankees were always high on Cervelli defensively, believing that he at least would project as a big league backup catcher, capable of spelling a starter for an extended period if absolutely necessary.

But Cervelli has exceeded expectations at the plate, especially considering he was batting just .190 at Double-A Trenton when he was called up. Cervelli’s three hits on Sunday raised his batting average to .298 (17-for-57) with two doubles and six RBIs in 19 games.

[My take: I don’t think the league has a “book” on him yet, but he sure doesn’t seem over-matched at the plate to date.]

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Today’s news is powered by a vintage performance from the incomparable Dave Brubeck Quartet, appearing tonight at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan:

• Today, Will Carroll is offering a conversation with Tommy John, and the doctor responsible for saving John’s career, and thereafter the careers of numerous pitchers, Dr. Frank Jobe.
• Also at Baseball Prospectus, they examine the mortal nature of Mariano Rivera (article from last Friday):

The number in his performance so far this season that immediately jumps out is his home-run rate, which sits at 1.8 HR/9. You may think this is easily explained by his new digs, as Yankee Stadium II hasn’t exactly been on friendly terms with pitchers these past two months, but that’s not the case: Mo has three home runs allowed at home in 16 2/3 innings, and a pair on the road in about half as much work. Four of his five homers allowed have come on fly balls, though he isn’t giving up anymore of those than he usually does. Another source of worry is his BABIP, which sits at a career-high .336. It’s not necessarily the fault of the Yankees‘ defense—they are right around the league average in Defensive Efficiency. The problem might be better found in Rivera’s liner rate, which sits at 25.4 percent, nearly a double-digit increase over his career rate, and much higher than anything we have seen from him since this data was first recorded back in 2002. This also means that his ground-ball rate is at its lowest since that time, which isn’t what you want to see when the ball is leaving the yard this often.

Additional homers and plenty of line drives means that Rivera is throwing pitches that the opposition can hit, whether with his famous cutter or pitches identified as vanilla fastballs. Using published velocity data going back to 2002 up through 2008, courtesy of Fangraphs, Rivera has averaged at least 93 miles per hour on pitches described as pure fastballs and, at its lowest, 92.8 mph on those classified as cutters. However slender the real distinction between the two pitches may be, this year Rivera is at 91.6 and 91.2 mph; while it’s tough to pin an exact run value on that missing velocity, the drop does hint that those extra liners and home runs aren’t from mere luck. This also puts some context behind his falling infield fly rate, which went from last year’s impressive 24.5 percent down to his current 14.3; while many pitchers would love to get that many popups, for Rivera it contributes to why his HR/FB rate has jumped from 7.5 to nearly 24 percent.

Rivera is also throwing fewer first-pitch strikes; while 59.6 percent is still above the average, it’s below his career rate and his recent work by a few percentage points. He’s also generating fewer swings and misses—16 percent overall, and just 14 percent when he’s behind in the count. That’s a significant drop from the past two seasons, when he made opponents swing and miss on nearly one-quarter of his pitches, and even more than that while behind the hitter.

[My take: Nice to see some reasonably hard data behind what we’ve perceived with our eyes.]

• Still going with Baseball Prospectus, some minutia:

The Yankees did not lead at any time in four straight games against the Red Sox, on May 4-5 and on Tuesday and Wednesday, only the fourth time that has happened in the 107-year history of the series, and the first time since 1974.

• Brian Bruney will NOT be on Francisco Rodriguez’s holiday card list:

The friction between the players stems from Bruney’s unsolicited comments about Rodriguez on Saturday. Bruney said that he did not like the way the animated Rodriguez acts on the mound and called Rodriguez “embarrassing.”

When Rodriguez was informed of Bruney’s comments on Saturday, he blasted him and challenged Bruney to speak to him face to face.

“Don’t be sending a message to the media,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t even know who that guy is, somewhere in Double-A and not even pitching one full season. He’s always been on the D.L. That’s all I really know right now. He’d better keep his mouth shut and do his job, and not worry about somebody else.”

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We made it to Friday!

• Wang stays in the rotation . . . for now:

Despite having a 21.61 ERA as a starter, Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang is expected to remain in the rotation, a source told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.

He is scheduled to start Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, a source told ESPN.

Manager Joe Girardi suggested Thursday that Wang would lose his place in the rotation if he did not pitch well on Wednesday.

“As I told him, it’s important that he has a real good start,” Girardi said to The New York Times. “He needs to show us that he’s back and he’s fully back, because at some point, production is important.”

• Wang has been consistently inconsistent:

In the bullpen and before games, Eiland said he likes what he sees. Then the game starts and Wang loses his consistent arm slot.

“I can’t go stand behind the mound with him during the game,” Eiland said. “He’s got to go out there.”

The Yankees could do worse than call on the former pitching coach Ron Guidry as a troubleshooter, as Peter Abraham suggested on his blog during the game. It’s hard to argue with the results from Wang during Guidry’s tenure: consecutive 19-win seasons and a strong working relationship with the pitching coach, which seems to be missing now. Maybe another set of eyes and a familiar, friendly face could help. At this point, it couldn’t hurt.

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Today’s news is powered by … a flight attendant with a beat!

• Sutcliffe leaves a big tip:

Hours before they were to do battle with the Red Sox Tuesday night, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez were involved in different type of confrontation, this one inside the Yankees’ clubhouse.

Upset with an accusation made by ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe two weeks ago, the two players approached the former Cy Young winner to discuss the situation.

Sutcliffe said on the air that A-Rod had been feeding Teixeira verbal signs from the on-deck circle, giving his teammate a heads-up on the catcher’s location before the pitch was delivered. Teixeira and A-Rod pulled Sutcliffe aside when they saw him in the clubhouse last night, expressing their displeasure with his charges.

“Me, Alex and him talked about it,” Teixeira told the Daily News, confirming that the conversation took place. “No doubt it’s disappointing when someone makes an accusation like that. Whatever. I can’t control what they say.”

[My take: Has Rick been hitting the sauce again?  Doesn’t he have better things to do, like ogle Erin Andrews or something?  Sigh …]

• Ken Davidoff is NOT a fan of A.J. Burnett:

If you’re going to invest $82.5 million in a guy in part because he pitches well against the Red Sox – rather than, you know, his larger body of work – then what choice do we have but to crush him when said guy doesn’t deliver on his alleged skill set?

The blame must fall on the $82.5-million man Burnett, who has pitched horribly in his two starts against the Red Sox as a Yankee, last night’s worst than his first. . . .

In two starts against the Sawx this season, both at Fenway, Burnett is 0-1 with a 12.91 ERA.

That doesn’t quite live up to the career numbers versus Boston – 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA, in eight starts – that he brought to last winter’s negotiations.

• Johnny Damon is on a mission . . . :

Johnny Damon wants the Yankees to get back to the postseason for many reasons. One is to prove Joe Torre wrong.

Damon said Torre’s book, “The Yankee Years,” has “fired” him up to have a big season. The ex-Red Sox star went into last night’s Battle for First at Fenway batting .299 with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs and five stolen bases.

“It really did,” Damon, 35, told The Post, “because it was a private matter. This game is a team game. Me and Jason [Giambi] weren’t the reason we were losing. If [Torre] feels that way, then, oh well, but I’ll tell you one thing, me and Jason were the reason why we made the playoffs [in 2007]. We made that push. As soon as I got healthy, this team got going.”

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Today’s (brief) news is powered by a dog-tired day-after-birthday girl who has a sore throat (too much rain, and insomnia).

• Teixeira takes over lead at 1B in the All Star balloting.
• Nady may be able to return late next week?
• Why all the homers? Its not the wind, but the height and curvature of the walls.
• A fan planted Yankee grass seed in Fenway Park last month.
• Mo gets a judge’s robe for his next Kangaroo Court.
• OF Slade Heathcott is Yanks’ 1st round amateur draft pick.
• A father and son are trying to see the Yankees win in all 30 parks.
• Tyler Hepner wonders what the Yankees should do with Hughes.

Back with a more-normal report tomorrow.

Today’s news is powered by quite possibly my FAVORITE scene in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” . . . (It helps if you imagine Lonn Trost as the fellow on top of the castle, and any generic dad wanting to take his kids to the game as King Arthur) 🙂

• Bruney elbowing his way back towards the bullpen:

Yankees reliever Brian Bruney took what he called a “huge positive step” on Sunday after completing a 30-pitch bullpen session. Bruney pronounced himself pain-free (yes, we’ve heard that one before, and no, I didn’t check to see if his nose was growing).

To simulate a game, Bruney threw 15 pitches, rested four minutes, then threw 15 more. In his second round, bullpen coach Mike Harkey stood in the batters’ box for several pitches. Bruney expects to throw a similar session again during the team’s trip to Boston.

“I think we’re definitely going in the right direction,” said Bruney, who this season has fibbed about his achy elbow. “I feel good.”

• Steve Serby Q&A’s Johnny Damon:

Q: I thought you were washed up.

A: (Smiles) Sometimes when you hear it enough, you start questioning yourself, and then you find something, you reach down, and you go out and start proving people wrong again.

Q: So that lit a fire under you?

A: When they started saying I was washed up, well, I had a pulled calf muscle. So what helped me start my playing days in baseball was now wrecking it — my legs have always been my most important asset. . . . So as soon as my legs got healthy, I was able to turn it back around

• Rivera battled more than the Rays on Saturday:

For several hours before Rivera took the ball Saturday afternoon in that tie game, he’d suffered with a stomach ailment that brought aches and repeated vomiting, according to one Yankee. Rivera had rolled off the trainer’s table, where he’d hoped to sleep it off, and into the bullpen in the eighth inning, when he began to warm up.

So, no, he didn’t have his best command. And, no, he didn’t have his best fastball.

But, he didn’t sprinkle the Yankee Stadium mound with breakfast, which, in itself, was a small victory, even in defeat.

“He was so upset afterward,” the teammate said.

And yet, Rivera did not mention it after the game, and he did not reveal it late Sunday afternoon, when it would have played less like an excuse than, in victory, the simple retelling of a trying 30 hours. He did not hang those hittable fastballs or that loss on his illness. He did not blame manager Joe Girardi for asking him to pitch in a tie game when a healthier body might have – and probably should have – done.

[My take: A tummy-troubled Rivera was the best option the Yanks had in a tie game in the ninth inning?]

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First things first . . . Happy Birthday to new daddy Cliff Corcoran!

Today’s news is powered by . . . a reallllllly old McDonald’s commercial:

• Burnett gets disciplined:

Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett was suspended six games Thursday for throwing high-and-tight to Texas’ Nelson Cruz earlier this week.

Burnett appealed the penalty, which had been set to take effect immediately. He can continue to pitch until a hearing is held.

“You kind of expect something to happen when the ball comes that close,” Burnett said before New York played the Rangers in the series finale.

• MLB.com previews the Yankees’ plan for the upcoming amateur draft:

As always, the Yankees will shoot for quality over need at No. 29, but they must be sure they can actually sign the player since there is no compensation. A position player looks like a strong possibility. The Yankees believe the pool is more unique and balanced than past years.

The Yankees could highlight an athletic outfield prospect like California’s Brett Jackson on their Draft board, and there has been talk about Southern California shortstop Grant Green and Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez.
(Yankees scouting director Damon) Oppenheimer outlined desires for athleticism, power arms and left-handed pitching. “There are holes that we need to address — the system is in pretty good shape, but we need to continue to pound stuff in it,” he said.

• Sam Borden of LoHud.com wants folks to chill over the homer-happy Stadium:

First of all, it’s presumptuous to label a park a “hitters’ haven” or any other term after such a limited sample. While a park can’t necessarily “get better” the way a struggling (but talented) rookie might, there are any number of factors – starting with weather, wind patterns and surrounding buildings – that may or may not affect the way a ballpark plays as its history grows. At the very least, the new Stadium deserves a full season before it’s excoriated as a joke.

Beyond that, though, is this: Even if the park does turn out to be more homer-prone than its predecessor, even if it does yield more home runs than expected, there is nothing particularly wrong with that. It’s not better or worse than the old Stadium. It’s just different. It’s just the way it is. Consider: Home runs are a part of baseball. Baseball games are played at Yankee Stadium. So home runs are hit at Yankee Stadium. Where is the crime in that?

[My take: Well, as an example, MLB has rules that maintain that outfield walls must be a certain minimum distance from home plate.  Why would that be?  Because they don’t want football-type scores.  While it would seem MLB has been looking to pump up scoring in the last 40 years (via lowering the mound and instituting the DH), they’ve still maintained those distance standards.  When Coors Field was having football-type scores, MLB allowed the Rockies to use a humidor for the baseballs, and the scoring dropped to more “normal” levels.  I would expect MLB and the Yankees to do some serious studying of the Stadium’s wind currents in the off-season (once the old park is torn down).]

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