Derek Jeter On DL For Now; Could Jose Reyes End Up In Pinstripes?

The decision to place Derek Jeter on the 15-day DL has given the New York Yankees a possible glimpse into the future and opened up a giant can of worms for the team.  If Jeter wasn't chasing his mythical 3,000th hit, some Yankee fans might secretly call his tweaked calf a blessing in disguise.

While the Yankees put Jeter's historic milestone on hold, Eduardo Nunez gets 12 games to audition for the future shortstop opening and Brett Gardner moves to the lead-off spot.  These changes might highlight the glaring deficiencies the Yankees captain has displayed this season.

Like it or not, there is already talk about the Yankees trading for shortstop Jose Reyes from their cross-town counterparts, and cash-starved, New York Mets.

That sound you just heard is a mixture of Yankee fans wincing and Mets fans throwing up a little.



No matter how blasphemous picturing the 'anti-Jeter' Reyes in pinstripes sounds to Bomber fans, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has to be thinking about how far the Yankees can go with the 36 year-old Jeter at shortstop and leadoff.  How does he go about replacing a team icon?

 The 28 year-old Reyes is having an MVP-type season.  He leads the majors with a .346 average and has 11 triples, 49 runs scored and 22 stolen bases.

Jeter has been quietly struggling to fulfill his quest for 3,000.  It's been painful to watch.  The future-Hall-of-Famer is batting .260 with 39 runs and seven stolen bases.  Jeter's .649 OPS is a fraction of Reyes' whopping .914.

For now, the 24 year-old Nunez is Jeter's replacement at shortstop and has waited a long time for his first big shot on the Yankees.  Jeter hasn't been on the DL since 2003 and left little time for anyone to showcase their talents.

Nunez is a capable sub and was named the Yankees minor league player of the year in 2010.

When the Yankees haggled with Jeter over his 3-year, $51 million contract over the winter, did they really believe he would struggle this much, this fast?  The Yankees poster boy is not the .342 hitter with range and power he once had and, without saying it too loudly,  Nunez might be a better all-round player right now.

While Nunez auditions, it is Reyes who is waiting in the wings.

Cashman isn't the only one who has to make an unenviable decision about his shortstop.

The Mets must decide if they can afford Reyes or if their best player is worth more in a trade.  If the Mets don't commit to Reyes the cash-poor team will have to let him go.

Reyes is signed through 2011 and some cynics wonder if the immature shortstop is playing up to his potential because he is in the final year of his contract.  Others say he's finally grown up.

Reyes, in nine seasons,  was a shadow under Jeter's  bright lights.  He could only watch Jeter win championships and get TV endorsements while Reyes was a blip on the back pages except for health or maturity issues.

The Mets star has been criticized for his juvenile antics in the dugout and and mental mistakes on the field, but makes up for it with speed and his bat. 

Jeter seems to be aging faster than Brooke Shields this season and his range and the ability to perform in clutch situations has diminished greatly.  Cashman will have to decide if he wants to trade his future stars in the minors for a playoff run.

Either way, it wouldn't be easy replacing Jeter during a milestone season.

It was hard enough getting the stubborn Jeter to accept his DL stint.  Imagine the monumental task of telling the proud face of the Yankees he is being replaced-- by a Met... especially in a playoff race!

Jeter Put On 15-day DL: Poised To Get 3,000th Hit Against Mets In Citi Field

The New York Yankees placed Derek Jeter on the 15-day DL shortly before 6 p.m. today and, as fate would have it, the Yankees captain could possibly get his historic 3,000th hit against cross-town rivals, the New York Mets, in Citi Field.  Ticket prices just went through the roof for that series.

Jeter tried to convince Yankees GM Brian Cashman to give him a few days off, but Cashman wouldn't budge and announced that his star would be sitting for 15 days.

An MRI showed a Grade 1 Strain of Jeter's right calf after running out a fly-out in the fifth inning of last night's 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians.  Jeter got his 2994th hit in the first and went 1-for-3 on the night.

Cashman knew it wasn't going to be easy getting Jeter to be a spectator for 15 days but, with all the injuries and light hitting on the Yankees, he knew he couldn't take a chance on Jeter compounding the injury just for history's sake and he took the safe route.



A seven day rest period would have meant Jeter could have resumed playing on the June 24 home stand against the Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers and possibly collecting # 3,000 in front of the home fans.

Jeter last sat out on May 5.

Cashman probably remembers how Alex Rodriguez had the same "low-grade" strain last year and sat out three games before aggravating the injury necessitating A-Rod going on the 15-day DL.

The 36 year-old Jeter will miss a six-game road trip to Wrigley Field and Cincinnati before returning during the last two games of a home-stand series against the Brewers and finally heading to Flushing and the Mets on July 1-3.

For now, the 3,000th hit will have to wait.

Jeter said being put on the DL was "a little bit frustrating."  It is the fifth time Jeter has been on the DL in 15 1/2 seasons and the first time since 2003.

The Mets organization must be thrilled with the Yankees misfortune.  It means they will possibly fill up CitiField for three games.  Sellouts in Flushing are pretty rare.

For the Yankees fans, at least Jeter still might get his monumental hit in New York.

Phil Hughes Should Join Bullpen When He Returns To Yankees

 New York Yankees starter Phil Hughes pitched today for the first time in an organized game since April and he didn't disappoint.  The right-hander, who was diagnosed with "dead-arm" two months ago, threw 3 2/3 solid innings against minor leaguers in an intra-squad game at the Yankees minor league complex and struck out six while allowing two hits.

Hughes' fastball topped out at 93 mph and was consistently throwing in the low-90's.  He retired the first eight batters.  Good news for Hughes and the depleted Yankees pitching staff.

The New York Yankees starting rotation has turned into one of the most bizarre collection of pitchers in recent history.  It's a combination of an old work-horse, schizoid fastballer, young hopeful and a couple of old retreaded former All-Stars--one who just went down and will be replaced by Hector Noesi from the bullpen or David Phelps.  Hughes' return will add another question mark in that motley crew.



This rotation may be as reliable as Harold Camping and getting nearly as old.  While the bullpen is shaky and has more injured players than Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark; where does Hughes fit in when he comes back to Yankee Stadium?

Hughes underwent a battery of tests in April and, truthfully,  hasn't been the same since last year's All-Star break.  Hughes' breakout 2010 season was still memorable and he finished 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA.  He slumped a little down the stretch when it looked like he was emerging as one of the best young hurlers in the majors, but never looked good in 2011.  This season he is 0-1 with a fat 10.94 ERA.

Now, with Bartolo Colon on the 15-day DL,  the $35 million Rafael Soriano looking at another 4-5 weeks and Joba Chamberlain out for the season; it opens up the quandary of where to put Hughes when he returns.  Chances are, it will be about the same time as Colon and way before Soriano.

Right now, Dave Robertson has played the part of set-up man with the flair of Houdini, but does manager Joe Girardi continue to bite his nails and Mariano Rivera grind his teeth every time Robertson loads the bases and goes to his great escape routine?  Boone Logan is just a mop-up pitcher right now and Girardi has to be wondering which pitcher who can get an opposing batter's knees knocking in the eighth.  Hughes could be the man.

Hughes is scheduled to leave Tampa and is scheduled to pitch for Class A Staten Island on Sunday.  Physically, the rested Hughes is getting closer to Yankee Stadium but still has a ways to go.

The 24 year-old Hughes knows it's a long process but is thankful surgery wasn't an option so far.

"It [his arm] felt good; a lot better," said Hughes after this morning's game.  "I thought the ball was coming out pretty good and that's all I can ask for at this point.  I'm just trying to build it up and make sure I don't have any set backs."

The Yankees have said this morning's outing was technically not a rehab start and is just another way of getting Hughes' pitch count up.  It will take about three or four rehab starts for Hughes to strengthen his arm and build up his stamina.

If Colon returns from his strained hamstring injury on schedule, the five-man starting rotation should be intact.  That still leaves room for a steady set-up man like Hughes for a few weeks.  A perfect opportunity to limit  Hughes' pitch count until he builds up his arm and Soriano returns--and that's no guarantee.

For the time being,  Hughes seems happy to be throwing in a game situation again.

"Really, until I get to the 100-pitch mark, there's no way of knowing [when I'll rejoin New York]," said the optimistic Hughes.  "I'm hoping it won't be much longer, but it's kind of out of my hands."

Girardi must weigh his options after Hughes does return.  What will be the former-number three starter's role?  It seems logical to slowly work him in from the bullpen and allow him to get back to form.

Yankees Great Joe DiMaggio Caught In Own Weinergate

An all-nude full-frontal nude photo of New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio is currently up for bidding at a Long Island auction house and DiMaggio's long-time lawyer isn't happy about it.  But Anthony Weiner would be proud.

The black and white photo shows DiMaggio lathering it up alongside another player inside the showers inside Yankee Stadium circa 1939.

Lelands.com, a company which specializes in sports memorabilia and photography, is calling the photograph the "Joe DiMaggio Boudoir Photo" even the there isn't a bedroom in sight.  The bidding is scheduled to begin on June 24 at $1,331.

DiMaggio's long-time lawyer and friend, Morris Engelberg, is disputing the veracity of the snapshot and claims the notoriously private Yankee Clipper would never allow himself to be photographed in such a situation.

"I could never imagine Joe DiMaggio, this private individual, ever letting anyone take a photo of him in the nude with someone next to him," claims the lawyer for DiMaggio's estate.

Engelberg who was DiMaggio's confidant for over 60 years, said, "When Joe DiMaggio went to the bathroom in a restaurant, I always had to escort him.  I made sure no one took a picture of him at the urinal."  Sounds like a fun gig.



This isn't the first time the nude photo of DiMaggio popped up.  Two years ago the nation turned their lonely eyes to  the photo of Mister Coffee hanging in an exhibition called the Hunted and Gathered at the gallery Modernism in San Francisco.  No one knows where the photo originally came from.

When asked where he got the photo,  then bluntly titled the "Joe DiMaggio Shown in All His Glory in Showers of Yankee Stadium," San Francisco curator Robert Flynn Johnson joked, "I have friends in low places."

The photo appears to have been taken a couple of years before the young slugger had his famous 56-game hitting streak.  Lelands CEO, Josh Evans, told the New York Daily News that he doesn't know how the photo made it to this point but it is "100% authentic, first generation and vintage."

Evans said he reluctantly acquired the naked image from an anonymous seller six months ago and insists there is no mystery to the photograph's origins.  Evans said he would provide a certificate of authenticity if the buyer requests one, but would not include the seller's name.

DiMaggio died in 1999 at the age of 84.

If he played right now, it would be easy to identify the modern-day DiMaggio because his body would be covered with a gallery of tattoos to go with his untrimmed nether regions.

Maybe not, we're talking about conservative Joe D here.

Bartolo Colon Limps Off Field And It Means More Bad News For Yankees

Just  a couple of days after the New York Yankees found out relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain would miss the rest of the season due to a damaged elbow; the team's second best starting pitcher, Bartolo Colon, limped off the slippery Yankee Stadium field with a "strained left hamstring" on Saturday afternoon.

Yankees GM Brain Cashman told the YES Network, after New York beat the Cleveland Indians 4-0,  the injury to Colon "looks like a DL situation."

Since getting swept by division rivals the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees have literally taken one step forward and two steps back when it concerns their pitching staff.

The one step forward was Ivan Nova's gutsy win against the Indians last night.  Nova needed a solid performance to save his spot in the Yankee rotation after being winless since May 17.  His continued ineffectiveness would have meant possibly coming out of the bullpen to replace Chamberlain.  Now it looks like he will be needed to fill Colon's big spot in the rotation.

The two steps backward are the injuries to Chamberlain and Colon--and they are of mammoth proportions.



Chamberlain had settled nicely into his role as set-up man after Rafael Soriano went out for up to eight weeks.  He was having one of his finest seasons.

Now comes Colon's pulled hammy and it could really spell trouble for the Yankees. 

The flawless Colon cruised through six innings in the drizzling rain against the Indians when he went to cover first base during Shin-Soo Choo's seventh-inning dribbler down the first base line.  Colon's slipped or landed oddly on the damp turf and limped back to the mound.  Manager Joe Girardi and team doctor Gene Monahan ran out and convinced the pitcher to exit and take his 2-hit, six strike-out gem to the showers.

Dave Robertson relieved Colon with one out in the seventh and continued to pull his Houdini act by giving up three hits then striking out the side in the eighth. Boone Logan mopped up the ninth.

Girardi wouldn't make any predictions on the possibility of putting Colon on the DL or the extent of the injury to his pitcher's "planting foot." "We won't know anything until tomorrow," he said.  "We'll have to wait until he shows up tomorrow."

Colon has resurrected his career after under missing a year and a half of major league play.  He had undergone a radical, but controversial, treatment in the Dominican Republic for his damaged right shoulder and elbow.  This season, Colon is 5-3 and has become the number two starter on the Yankees rotation.  He won his last three starts in dominating fashion.  Extended time on the DL would be a real set back for New York.

When asked about Colon's performance so far this season, Alex Rodriguez said, "He [Colon] is off the charts.  He is pitching like his Cy Young caliber season in 2005."

A-Rod-- who got  Indians starter Mitch Talbot tossed out for plunking him in the sixth-- homered and then compared Colon to the Yankees # 1 ace CC Sabathia.

"He [Colon] has been consistently great all year," said Rodriguez.  "He is pitching like 1-A."

If Colon does go on the 15-day DL, it could take longer for the portly pitcher to rehab than other players.  He packs over 260 pounds on his short frame and was never known as the best physical specimen on any team.

It's too bad because it looked like Colon was headed for his second straight complete game victory and sensational comeback season.

Joba Chamberlain's Dad Claims "Rules" Didn't Help Prevent Son's Injury

In 2007, three young pitchers represented the future of the New York Yankees starting rotation and dominance over the American League for years to come.  Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy were the building blocks to a new dynasty after the Core Four were gone.  Now, only four years later, all three may have seen their better days with the Yankees prematurely slip away for one reason or another.

Chamberlain and Hughes were considered so indispensable, Kennedy was the one traded to Arizona in the Curtis Granderson mix before the 2010 season.  He is now enjoying an All-Star season with a 6-2 record and 3.14 ERA with the Diamondbacks.

The other two fastballers stayed behind and the Yankees tried to figure out what to do with them.

Both pitchers were shuttled to-and-from the bullpen to the starting rotation and the team set limitations on the hard-throwing pitchers' innings.  They became known as the "Joba Rules."

The Joba Rules were put in place to limit pitcher's time on the mound and protect the young hurlers' arms.

Now, even with all the coddling, it looks like Chamberlain's season is over, with Tommy John surgery is on the horizon, for an elbow injury--which could keep the 25 year-old Chamberlain out until the 2013 season-- nobody saw coming.  Nobody except one person.



"I just knew.  It's something I can't explain," said Joba's dad, Harlan.  "But as a father, I knew."

Hughes, meanwhile, has been on the DL since April 15 with right shoulder inflammation--or dead arm as the Yankees have cryptically called it.  The Yankee starter, who had an All-Star season last year, threw 30 pitches over two innings yesterday in a simulated game in Tampa.  His bread-and-butter fastball reached 92 mph--slowly approaching a shadow of his old self.  Hughes will give it a go and start Tuesday for the Gulf Coast Yankees.

Even with all of the reasons behind the Yankees implementation of the Rules, it seems they did nothing to prevent injuries to Chamberlain or Hughes.

In 2007, then manager Joe Torre wouldn't use Chamberlain on consecutive days, and for every inning he threw, the young righthander would get a day off.

The following year new manager, Joe Girardi, lifted the Rules but sent Chamberlain to the bullpen.

Last season, Hughes finally earned a position in  the starting rotation but was restricted to 175 innings over the regular season.  He slumped down the stretch after an All-Star appearance and lost two big games in the playoffs.

Girardi said, up to now,  Chamberlain was consistently throwing in the mid-90's and during the recent road trip and showed no signs of pain.

While Chamberlain's new elbow injury caught the Yankees off guard, his father could tell his son was hurting.

Chamberlain's dad thought it was only a matter of time before his son injured his arm, and didn't blame the Yankees for babying their his son or causing the damage to Chamberlain's elbow, but did have regrets about the Joba Rules.

"Looking back on it now, well...there's some reservations," he said.  "But I entrust these people, this organization with one of the two most precious things I have, my children.  I don't think any where along the line that they intentionally wanted to hurt my son.  Had I thought that, I would have intervened.  In summary, they did what they felt was best and I respect that."

The elder Chamberlain said his son knew about the possibility of injury before he was a Yankee.

"He throws the ball with such velocity, such power, that the torque the body goes through --any pitcher-- and compound that with a power pitcher, something eventually is going to break," he explained.

Chamberlain was having a fine season with a 2-0 record and 2.83 ERA in 27 games.

GM Brian Cashman expects the Tommy John surgery to keep Chamberlain out of action for "10 to 14 months."

Chamberlain's dad is more optimistic.  "With relievers, it's a shorter time.  You're talking eight, nine, ten months," he said.

"He's still pitching 96 mph and gets people out," Harlan Chamberlain exclaimed.  "Look what he's doing now; imagine what's going to happen when he gets back."

Here's A Few More R-Words For Yankees A.J. Burnett

A.J. Burnett continued losing another game, 11-6, to the Boston Red Sox as a New York Yankees starter, and was asked after the game why he seemed top have more success against the Sox when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Burnett's partial answer to the pertinent question, "it's retarded."

For the record, as a Blue Jay,  Burnett was 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA against the Sox but in eight starts as a Yankee, he is 0-4 in eight starts and has given up 40 earned runs in 41 1/3 innings for an ERA of 8.71 against the same ballclub.

The losing pitcher later apologized for his politically incorrect reply and it got me thinking about some R-words which could be used to describe Burnett.  Let's start with repulsive to describe the relapsing starter's answer last night.

Let's continue with red, as in Red Sox and red-faced.  Burnett seems to revert back to his rattled self every time he faces the Boston line-up.  Last night was rocked by the Sox for seven earned runs on seven hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings.   Repugnant comes to mind.


Remember is another R-word.  Did  Burnett forget about the night before when Jon Lester plunked Mark Teixeira and Russell Martin and David Ortiz humbled rookie Hector Noesi by flipping his bat after homering.

Last night, with Yankee Stadium buzzing about revenge in the steaming air, Big Papi stepped to the plate in the first inning and jacked his 15th home-run ten rows deep for an early 3-0 Boston lead.  Surprisingly, no brush-back by Burnett for Ortiz's celebratory bat toss or the boppings by Lester.  Retaliation isn't in his vocabulary.

"He's been doing that for years.  Who cares?" Burnett said of Ortiz's antics.  "I didn't watch him when he hit it off me and I didn't see it last night.  Rerun.

The Yankee manager, Joe Girardi,  was watching--both nights.  Girardi repeatedly remarked that he didn't appreciate Ortiz's funky bat move and expected his pitcher to rattle the Boston slugger because "it bothered him."

Ortiz showed no remorse about how he threw the bat after his home-run and had his own retort.

"Why should I?" said the rotund DH.  ""I don't care about what Joe Girardi says, man.  No, I come to play the game every day and that's about it.  I'm done with that."

Either way, Burnett showed no resilience on the mound and resented the question afterwards. 

"I'm not in Toronto anymore, so I'm tired of hearing that.  It's retarded," said Burnett.  "If anything is different I made pitches in Toronto.  I didn't make pitches tonight.  That's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of."

Besides the $82.5 million dollar starter, there is a lot of blame to share for last night's defeat.  Brett Gardner fell asleep on a passed ball and Derek Jeter dribbled into a double-play with the bases loaded, but the real  concern has to be about Burnett's reversal of fortune every year down the stretch.  He now has a 2-4 record after a 4-0 start.

Are the Yankees going to chance putting Burnett on the mound in a Game 2 playoff series?  If he can't hold down the Red Sox in June, how can the team expect the righthander to put them down in October?  Risky.

The Yankees starting line-up is ramshackle at best right now and being held together by CC Sabathia and  38 year-old Bartolo Colon's reanimated arm.  With Phil Hughes recovery a crap-shoot, Burnett is an important cog in the rotation.  He was specifically paid big bucks to come over from Toronto for his Red Sox slaying prowess and he has failed to reciprocate on the deal.

Should Burnett have represented by going after Ortiz last night?  

Former-Yankee, Dwight "Doc" Gooden, on his Twitter account wrote: "In the 80's Ortiz would be laying on his [backside] right now after the stunt he pulled [Tuesday] night."

The Yankees are 1-7 this season against the reviled Red Sox and looking up at first place.

Here's an R-word Burnett needs to earn whenever it involves the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry--it's called respect.