A-Rod's Return to Yankees' Lineup on Friday Still Looks Uncertain

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez had another day to rest his sprained thumb in Toronto, but said  he wasn't sure  he would be playing against the Blue Jays.  Goodbye Cameron.  Helloooo Nunez. 

While the rest of the Yankees spend their last off-day of the regular season prepping for the stretch run, A-Rod said he will will test his swing on Friday and make a decision after that.

Asked by reporters if that means he won't play against the Blue Jays, Rodriguez said, "That depends on how the session goes."

Only yesterday, Joe Girardi was optimistic about A-Rod's Friday night encore.


"We decided  for him to not hit [Wed.]," said the manager.  "We said, you know what, if we can give him two more days before he actually swings on it, it's probably better off for our plans just to put him there Friday."

Contrary to what Girardi said about A-Rod's Friday night return to the lineup yesterday, he has now backed off by saying his slugger is more day-to-day.

"I haven't touched a bat in five days," said Rodriguez.  "Maybe Girardi has more confidence than me."

The third baseman injured his left thumb Aug. 21 against the Minnesota Twins.   He played in nine games since then and is hitting .258 (8-for-31) with two home runs and 4 RBI's over that span.

Rodriguez was expected to miss only three or four games since the digit acted up again Sept. 9.  That is, until it was slow to heal this week.

Girardi planned on using A-Rod if the slugger could swing a bat on Thursday.  He didn't, so it doesn't look good.

A-Rod took ground balls and threw long-toss before Wednesday's game against the Seattle Mariners.

"I was at the point I had to stop because I was unable to do my job," said Rodriguez. "It's not going to feel 100%, but you have to play through it." 

The Yankees play 14 games in 13 days before closing out the regular season-- all against AL East rivals.

For A-Rod, this has been a tough week.  Besides breaking up with his long-time actress girlfriend, Cameron Diaz, the put-offish player was named the sixth "Meanest Major League Baseball Player" in a Sports Illustrated player's poll.

A.J. Burnett Has Words For Girardi: Could They Be His Last As A Yankees Starter?

A.J. Burnett had some choice words for Joe Girardi after the New York Yankees manager pulled the frustrated pitcher out tonight's game against the Minnesota Twins.  Girardi had seen enough after the ineffective Burnett had already given up four runs and left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning.

As Burnett walked towards the dugout, he turned back, glared at Girardi and let loose with a public diatribe directed at the manager.

Those words could be Burnett's last as a Yankee starter.

Girardi called in Luis Ayala to relieve the useless Burnett with two outs.  Ayala promptly gave up two hits to the Twins batters and padded the Minnesota lead to 7-0.

After a few moments of mulling over Burnett's verbal assault, and the yanked Burnett's bee-line to the clubhouse, Girardi himself made his way into the same Yankees lounge from the team bench.  Girardi returned to the dugout rail a few minutes later and, miraculously,  Burnett reappeared on the dugout bench a couple of minutes later-- pouting.

The snarling Burnett abruptly returned to the clubhouse after watching Ayala deposit the three runs into Burnett's already bloated ERA.

What was said in the locker room between Girardi and his frustrated pitcher to make him come out of the clubhouse is unknown, but it probably had to do less with Burnett's feelings than a spot in the starting rotation.

This isn't the first time Burnett (9-9 before the game) has showed up Girardi-- his biggest, and maybe only, supporter.  There have been other instances of Burnett barking at Girardi or slamming the ball into the manager's hand when he was being pulled from a game-- which has been a common occurrence this season.

Girardi has always defended Burnett from the fans and media who have called for the $82.5 million starter's head during his six-week losing streak.  Before the game the manager said he just wanted "A.J. to compete."

Now, Burnett pays back Girardi with an embarrassing display of self-entitlement.

Tonight, it looked like the maligned Burnett has totally lost his control, his temper and his manager's respect in one game.

I guess Burnett thought Girardi was supposed to let the underachieving starter-- who almost let a 12-run lead dissipate a couple of weeks ago-- continue to get clobbered until he found his groove.

The bad news for Burnett is he pitched badly after a serviceable outing last week.  The worse news is he probably yakked his way out of the rotation.  There is no good news.

Burnett might have just made Girardi's daunting and long-awaited task of trimming his starting rotation down to five men a lot easier, and Burnett has no one to blame but himself.

Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are veterans who have been consistent, if not overpowering, and young guns Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes look like everything the Yankees hoped they would turn out to be.  CC Sabathia is the ace, so that leaves Burnett as the odd-man out.

Odd man is the right term in more than one way.

A-Rod's First Swing is a Home Run; Prepares For Yankees Return on Aug. 18

It looks like Alex Rodriguez's surgically-repaired knee has healed very well, thank you.  The New York Yankees slugger smashed a home-run with the first swing of his bat in an organized game since undergoing knee surgery last month.

Tonight, according to the YES Network, A-Rod began his rehabilitation assignment as a DH with the Class-A Tampa Yankees against the Dunedin Blue Jays and got two hits in his first three at-bats tonight.  The team plays another Florida State League game against Dunedin-- an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays-- tomorrow.

The 36 year-old Rodriguez is expected to rejoin the New York Yankees next Thursday at Target Field in Minneapolis to open a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins.

Tomorrow, A-Rod is expected to play third-base for Tampa and, after a possible intra-squad game on Sunday, will head north to join the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees on Tuesday.  The Yankees are optimistic about their third baseman's return to the majors next week.

"That's possible," said GM Brian Cashman.  "We'll take it day by day but that's the rough sketch of the potential that next week looks like."

A-Rod is returning from July 11 surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.  He was in the midst of an 85 at-bat homer-less streak when he was injured June 19 at Wrigley Field.  An attempt to rest the knee without going under the knife proved unsuccessful.

The Yankees have won 20-of-30 games since the slugger went on the DL.  He is batting .295 with 13 homeruns and 52 RBI's in 80 games so far this season.





 

Yankees Garcia Slated to Start Saturday; Forecast: More Rain

New York Yankees fifth-starter Freddy Garcia is still awaiting his first start of the regular season after being bumped from his two previous attempts due to weather.  It will be 18 days between his last start in spring training and his first regular season start on Saturday against the Texas Rangers.  The forecast: rain.

Garcia's new nickname should be Dopler.  So far this season, his slated starts are more likely to be called for rain than by any weatherman at National Weather Service--at least he's been more reliable.

Garcia's last scheduled start was pushed back again after Tuesday night's rainout at Yankee Stadium against the Minnesota Twins.  After a bumpy spring training, Garcia is anxious to get on the mound.  The gap between his last start and this Saturday's is the longest of his career.

"I've just got to pitch, that's it, " said Garcia. "I don't really know what to say."

Garcia earned the fifth spot in the starting line-up after an up-and-down spring training, but he is far from a lock to stay there, even if the bottom of the five-man rotation is looking a little stormy.

The 34 year-old Garcia's first start as a Yankee now carries a lot more significance than at the beginning of the season.  CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett are the only starters making any thunder so far this season.  Slow starts by Phil Hughes, whose fastball looks more like fog than lightning, and the No. 4 starter Ivan Nova, who is still getting his feet wet have raised some concerns with the team.

If you believe Garcia, the early season layoff shouldn't affect his rhythm.

"I don't think so, I'm too old for that," the righthander joked.  "I've got to go out there and pitch, that's all I can do, and win.  If I don't have the rhythm, I don't have it, but I don't see a problem.  I've got to go out and make my pitch, that's it."

Garcia did throw one inning of relief against the Boston Red Sox last week, giving up one hit and one run, but says he has been keeping in shape by throwing bullpen sessions while waiting to get an actual start.

"Working out, man, throwing bullpen, doing my stuff," He said.  That's all I can do.  That's all I can control.  [I've been throwing] a lot, 40 [pitches], 50 , whatever I need.  That's it, throw in the bullpen and [make] it like a game, two or three innings."

The Yankees signed Garcia to a minor league deal for $1.5 million.  The veteran hurler won the fifth spot over Bartolo Colon and doesn't think pitching only one real inning in over two weeks can stop him on the mound.

The Weather Channel says:  Avoid plans for the outdoors on Saturday; Freddy Garcia is slated to start.

A.J. Burnett Is Ready To Keep Perfect April Record Intact

You have to look pretty hard to find highlights of A.J. Burnett's career as a New York Yankee, but the amazing fact is that the much-maligned right-hander is 7-0 in pinstripes during the month of April.  The lanky starter is 2-0 this year and off to another to another quick start.

Tonight Burnett tries to extend his undefeated April record as a Yankee against the Baltimore Orioles to 8-0.

Burnett, who entered this season as the teeth-gnawing piece of the Yankees rotation, has now been replaced by Phil Hughes as the big question mark.  Maybe, by turning the manager's glare from Burnett to Hughes, will help Burnett regain the confidence he lost a season-and-a-half ago?

Hughes has replaced the 34 year-old Burnett as the team's biggest concern with his 0-1 record and sky-high 16.50 ERA as Hughes, the No. 3 starter, continues to search for his fastball.

Burnett, the shaving-cream-pie-throwing, mystery-on-the-mound has looked good so far.  He is coming off a economical 6-inning, 5-hit win against the Minnesota Twins--while battling a nasty cold-- and has 11 strikeouts to go with his 4.09 ERA for the season.

Yankee fans shouldn't get too excited.  Last year Burnett started the season with a 4-0 record and then spiraled out of control the rest of the season.  He finished with a inconsistent 10-15 record and a bloated 5.26 ERA.  He was about as predictable as a Charlie Sheen show--unless you call it bad.

So far, as a Yankee, Burnett has blossomed in April.  He has a 3.91 ERA in 12 starts to go with his unblemished record, but those April showers seem to bring May sours.

If you take away the seven April wins, Burnett's record as a Yankee is a dismal 18-24, but the tattooed hurler says things feel a little different this year.

Burnett says new pitching coach Larry Rothschild altered his delivery during spring training and, more importantly, he has found a battery soul-mate with new catcher Russell Martin.

It was no secret that Burnett and catcher Jorge Posada clashed over the last two seasons and now that Posada has been assigned to a DH position, their days together are limited to high-fives in the dugout.

During his win against the Twins, Burnett showed he can once again wiggle out of trouble and after wards, he sounded like he prefers throwing to Russell.

"I shook [Martin] off today and he put the same sign back down," said Burnett.  "He's got me believing."

The Yankees have to encouraged by Burnett's first two outings--lord knows they have very little else to be happy about--but tonight he will be facing a division-leading Orioles team.

"I've said it before, it's absolutely about  consistency and doing my work in between (starts) with Larry and keeping it rolling," said Burnett.  "Not thinking about it, just go out and pitch."

Yankees Soriano Didn't Answer Relief Call Or One From His Mom

Much has been made of the Yankees Rafael Soriano's eighth-inning meltdown and subsequent vanishing act from the Yankees clubhouse on Tuesday night; but it looks like reporters weren't the only ones blown off by the surly pitcher.  Soriano wouldn' even take a phone call from his own mother after the 10-inning loss.

Soriano refused to accept a postgame call from his mom; who had been watching the game from her home in the Dominican Republic.

After giving up a four run lead over the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium, Soriano avoided the media and ignored his mother's phone call because he was too upset to talk.

"I didn't answer my phone because I didn't feel comfortable to talk to her," Soriano explained on Wed. afternoon.  "I said, 'Let me go home, relax and get ready for today.'"

The unsociable pitcher made a major Yankee faux-paux by not speaking with the self-entitled New York press--especially when it was his first week in pinstripes--but to diss your own mom.

Soriano finally addressed the media at the urging of the Yankee organization after some players steamed--none publicly--that they were left holding the dye-pack after Soriano's criminal pitching performance and escape routine.

"I'm apologizing that I didn't talk to you guys last night," Soriano said before last night's rained out game.  "The reason I didn't was because that game CC [Sabathia] was supposed to win.  That's why I got mad  and I didn't feel comfortable talking to you guys.  I know last night I was supposed to talk to you guys and I left."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi explained to Soriano that facing the press in New York after a bad outing is expected.  He wasn't in Atlanta or Tampa Bay anymore.

"There is no rule a player has to talk to the media," said Girardi.  "There are times players need to blow off steam."

Girardi knows what it like to answer questions after a tough loss.  "We've all been there" he said.  "There are days when I'd not like to come in here, as well, but I'm not allowed to do that."

Blowing off steam is one thing , but the woman who birthed you?

The conversation with his mom would have probably gone like this:

"My little Raffy, did those boys bother you?"

"I don't wanna be here."

"Don't let those Twins boys bother you."

"They're mean."

"Now you just go and make friends with those nice reporter kids"

"I don't wanna."

" Raffy, do it for your mother...and watch your language."

"Mommmm..."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman had almost the same motherly advice.

"He's new to this market, so like everything else, you live and learn," he said of the Yankees $35 million set-up man.  "We have to bang out some kinks and that was one."

Soriano learned a tough New York lesson. Face the music--even if it means standing your ground in front of your locker after a good or bad performance.  Nick Swisher, Boone Logan and Dave Robertson took their lumps after they contributed to Tuesday night's debacle.

Girardi said none of the players addressed Soriano's situation personally and Soriano now understands he has to be accountable; so it looks like water under the bridge.

The greater concern to the Yankees is Soriano's horrible performance--2/3 inning, 3 walks and allowing one hit and four runs--that ruined a seven-inning gem by Sabathia.

The next time Soriano hears a certain phone ringing, it will be in the bullpen from the Yankees dugout.  Here's hoping the "eighth-inning guy" answers that call.