Hughes to the 15-Day DL

Michael Kay just announced that Phil Hughes will be placed on the 15-day DL with a strained oblique (ribcage area). Darrell Rasner will probably get the call and if he starts and does well he could get a long look. I wonder about this injury. Before last night’s game it seemed like Hughes had turned a corner and was throwing around 93 mph. Last night he was “popping” the glove at around 91 mph. Maybe the injury occurred before the game, or maybe it occurred during the game, I’m not really too sure.

Maybe, just maybe the injury is a “phony” and the Yanks wanted to keep Hughes out of the rotation for a few weeks so that Dave Eiland, the Yankee pitching coach, could help him out and get himself fixed. Who knows, but the timing of the injury seems pretty peculiar. Either way, Hughes will not make his next start.

Game 2: Yanks VS. Tigers

Here’s the lineup:

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Giambi 1B
Cabrera CF
Cano 2B
Molina C
Gonzalez 3B
Pettitte LHP

It’s go time. Hopefully Pettitte will rebound after his last tough start in Cleveland.

Moeller Makes It

The Yankees resigned Chad Moeller after designating him for assignment just a few days earlier. That’s definitely good news, as the Yanks optioned Chris Stewart (good riddance) back to Triple-A and recalled the enigma that is Chris Britton (again). Sean Henn was also DFA’d in order to make room on the 40-man roster.

What to Make of Phil Hughes

After last night’s loss, Phil Hughes’ spot in the rotation is quite possibly in jeopardy. Hughes looked lost on the mound, surrendering run after run. It was much of the same from Hughes and, after the game, when asked about what went wrong, Hughes had the same somber look on his face and the same ol’ story.

He didn’t have his fastball command, he threw his curveball too often, he was overthrowing, all of these things sound rather familiar, primarily because we hear it after every single game that he has started in. Many fans say that he’ll work things out and he’ll eventually learn how to overcome his problems, however, judging from what we’ve seen, I don’t know if that’s the case anymore. I too used to think that Hughes just needed a couple of starts to find himself and figure things out, but he looked strangely vacant last night and his confidence was questionable. He simply looked bad out there.

Of course, after last night’s start, every paper in NY is debating what will happen to Phil Hughes. Most writers like Joel Sherman or John Harper think that Hughes needs to be sent down in order to regain his confidence, fix his mechanical issues, and figure things out away from the NY pressure, which is mounting after every walked batter, every loss, and every 3rd inning exit. Right now, I actually agree with these guys. It’s sad to say because I have a lot of confidence in Phil Hughes, but, at this point, I don’t think Phil Hughes has confidence in himself. He looked defeated last night and that’s not necessarily healthy for a 21 year old starter that’s still learning how to pitch. Hughes’ early exits have also hurt our bullpen, a bullpen that has been particularly strong when we’ve needed them to pick up the pieces for a few innings.

Darrell Rasner has been dominant at Triple-A, thus far. With Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman being especially vague with their comments about Hughes’ rotation future, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a chance while Phil figures things out in the minors (where the game is a lot “slower”).

What do you think?

A-Rod to the DL

A-Rod is headed to the DL with his quad strain. He’ll be out for at least 2 weeks (and the hits keep coming, huh?). PA also reports (in that same link) that Brian Cashman will have internal discussions regarding Phil Hughes about whether or not he’ll make his next start.

Things are snowballing in Yankeeland.

Game 1: Yanks VS. Tigers

PA provides the lineup:

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Matsui LF
Giambi DH
Duncan 1B
Ensberg 3B
Cano 2B
Stewart C
Hughes RHP

Even without A-Rod or Jorge, that’s a good lineup. Chris Britton has been optioned back to AAA and Edwar Ramirez has been recalled.

Also, the AP has an update on Harlan Chamberlain, who has been discharged from the hospital and is feeling a lot better (great news).

UPDATE (7:15) — 10 minutes into the game and Hughes has already given up 2 runs. Well, I guess that’s what happens when you walk the leadoff hitter. You can blame Damon on Polanco’s run but come on, everyone knows he doesn’t have a good arm. By by having him at CF you’re just asking for people to run.

Getting Healthy

A-Rod speaks on his quad problem:

“I had a quad injury like this my senior year in high school, and it lingered on for a couple of months,” Rodriguez said. “It’s important to get it right. I think (Derek) Jeter took the right approach where he took a little bit more time. That’s probably what I need, too.”

Don’t let A-Rod scare you here. He’s not a high school kid anymore and he plays for the NY Yankees (who have specialists in abundance), so I wouldn’t expect him to be out for an entire month. He’ll likely be out for the week, which is certainly necessary. However, in my mind (as a fan), it would have been cool to see him play against Detroit. Miguel Cabrera, who now plays first base for the Tigers, was rumored to be A-Rod’s successor if A-Rod failed to resign with the Yanks during the offseason.

Posada’s Injury Not Season Threatening

From Ed Price (Star Ledger):

Posada was examined yesterday by specialist James Andrews, and a person briefed on the exam who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak before the team discussed the matter today, said the early indications are that the damage in Posada’s shoulder is not season-threatening, but cautioned that the complete diagnosis wouldn’t be known for a few more days.

This seems to connect to Jeter’s statement about Jorge being back in a few weeks. Let’s hope this is all true. ESPN also has an AP report up that seems to further this notion.

14-13

All things considered, whether the Yankees were plagued by injures (A-Rod, Jorge, Bruney, Jeter, Giambi) or horrific slumps (Giambi, Cano, Damon), the team has more than survived its grueling road trip, going 14-13, as our boys are finally headed home. The past few weeks have been riddled with a myriad of miserable moments, however, somehow, the team still finds itself 1 game out of first place.

Again, all things considered, that seems pretty good.

The team is obviously very happy that the road trip is over and, hopefully, by stabilizing their location for a bit, the Yankees will be able to rest up and maybe being back in NY will help Robinson Cano, as he experiences what can only be described as a particularly dreadful funk.

Right now, while the Yankees are headed back to NY, Jorge Posada has been traveling the country in search of answers. His shoulder has become a huge situation for the Yankees and he was seen by Dr. James Andrews yesterday. George King III that the Yankees probably won’t provide any info. on Jorge until their team doctor, Dr. Stuart Hershon, sees Posada’s new MRI results (taken yesterday). Jorge may also visit the Reds to see Tim Kremcheck, the team’s doctor and a renound shoulder expert.

The King article (mentioned above) is also interesting because of the following passage:

Though the club was mum about what Andrews found, if you read between the lines of what people who know Posada well are saying, rest – and not surgery – might be the remedy. Two weeks ago there was talk that Posada was suffering from a tear in the labrum area and that he received a cortisone shot from a Red Sox team doctor. He denied both.

“He will be all right, he will be back in a couple of weeks,” said Derek Jeter, Posada’s closest friend in the clubhouse, who spoke briefly to the catcher. “I am not a doctor, but he will be fine.”

Joe Girardi indicated surgery wasn’t necessary because he believes it’s a strain, not a tear.

“If it’s a strain then surgery is not an option,” he said. “We will probably rest him a little bit longer.”

There are all these conflicting reports about Jorge having a subscapularis muscle tear (not labrum) and there are people like Joe Girardi who totally counter that notion. This article continues to blurs our understanding of the situation, but at least Jeter said what he said. I mean, you would think that he would have some sort of insider knowledge regarding the situation (Jorge could have texted him).

In the end, the Yankees will have to wait and be patient. That’s the name of the game this year–patience. They’ll wait on the kids to become productive pitchers and they’ll wait on the veterans to heal. Back with more, tomorrow.

Argh, A-Rod Reinjures Quad

Bryan Hoch is reporting that Alex Rodriguez reaggrivated his quad injury in today’s contest. Honestly, at this point, the Yankees are still playing decent baseball even with these injuries. Right now, Girardi needs to sit A-Rod for a few days and limit his activity. Learn from the Posada situation, please.

Moose and the Pen Stifle the Tribe

So Mike Mussina pitched 5 strong innings against the Indians and the Yankee bullpen didn’t let the victory slip after Albaladejo, Farnsworth, Joba and Mo contained the lead. The offense looked pretty terrible for most of the game, however, they did come alive at the right moments and with a little bit of luck, they were able to overcome Cleveland and split the series.

Posada News: Torn Labrum?

From Tyler Kepner:

The Yankees fear that Posada could have damaged his labrum by trying to play through a muscle tear in his shoulder this month.

Let’s hope that’s not the case. The article also states that the Yanks were feeding Jorge painkillers and that he did in fact receive a cortisone shot. I really don’t understand why the Yankees felt the need to rush him back. They waited with Jeter, so why not Posada, who is more valuable to the club?

Game 4: Yanks VS. Indians

Finally, this series comes to an end. Here’s the lineup (via PA):

YANKEES
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez DH
Giambi 1B
Matsui LF
Ensberg 3B
Cano 2B
Molina C
Mussina RHP

I understand Girardi’s desire to give our guys enough opportunities to rest so that they don’t get worn down later on, but wasn’t all that endurance training during the spring meant to hold them over for the season (well, for most of it anyway)? Stability and routine are obviously important things to ballplayers and it would be nice to see the same lineup in there, especially when Damon is raking.

Mike Mussina is on the mound and I’m sure the Indians are happy to see anyone other than Chien-Ming Wang toeing the rubber. For those of you wondering about Jorge Posada, there’s nothing new on that front right now. However, Jorge did leave to see a specialist, Dr. James Andrews, this morning in order to find out what’s going on as soon as possible.

UPDATE (9:02) —  This guy no-hit the Yankees through 5 innings. Good god.

Wang Evolving

During the offseason, and even now, Hank Steinbrenner, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, sportswriters, columnists, everyone kept saying that we needed a Beckett-type or a Santana-type. You know, a big strikeout guy. Wang was dogged for being an effective pitcher and not a strikeout pitcher, although it seemed likely that K’s were on the horizon. The Yanks even extended Robinson Cano and left Chien-Ming Wang out in the cold. These are just a few of the things that have motivated Chien-Ming Wang this year and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do as the season progresses.

Currently, he has 39 IP and 27 K’s (6.23 K/9). Wang has more K’s than Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, Roy Halladay, Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets and John Maine, while he’s tied with guys like Chris Young and Roy Oswalt. His 27 K’s are the most he’s ever had in a month. While Wang won’t collect 200, 180, or 160 K’s anytime soon, he could definitely get up there this year (130?) and maybe earn himself that Cy Young award that has eluded him these past few years. Guys can’t sit on his sinker anymore and that’s going to be a problem for everyone.

When It Rains, It Pours

Roger Clemens reportedly had a 10-year affair with country singer, Mindy McCready. I wonder if she did HGH too? Okay, just kidding…

Food for Thought

I was thinking about the Jorge Posada situation and was wondering about some of the possible outcomes that could develop depending on Dr. Andrews’ (his doctor) analysis of Posada’s shoulder. What if Posada is told that he’ll need surgery but that he can bat for an extended period of time and be fine? Would that allow Jorge Posada to become our regular 1B and hold off on the surgery until the end of the season? Would the Yanks place Jason Giambi on the bench while Posada plays 1B and Jose Molina does the catching?

That would make for an interesting conversation. In the end, it’s probably best for Jorge to rest up and do whatever it is that he has to do in order to regain strength in that shoulder. However, if Jason Giambi is still in the gutter come mid-May (even if he hits a few more homers) would you think about starting Posada at first, full time? It’s definitely something to think about.

Waiting for Moeller

The Yankees are waiting for Chad Moeller to clear waivers (he was DFA’d) so that they could have a legitimate, experienced backup for Jose Molina while Jorge Posada is on the DL. Moeller has to clear waivers before the Yankees can do anything with him, meaning that we’re simply hoping no other team claims him while in baseball limbo. Without Moeller, the Yanks will rely on Chris Stewart, who has only played in 23 Major League games (6 with Chicago and 17 with Texas).

Moeller has looked comfortable with the Yankees, so far. In fact, he looks so comfortable, I wonder if another team will try to claim him, which could be definitely be a possibility. The Yankees were not smart with Jorge Posada, that’s the bottom line. They could have let Jose Molina, or when he was injured, Chad Moeller continue playing while placing Jorge on the DL. Both of those guys were hot, and they easily could have continued their mashing for at least an extra week or so (Molina has fizzled out, but Moeller was still hitting consistently). Instead, the Yanks tried to force Jorge’s bat into the lineup, whether it was getting him behind the plate as soon as possible or playing him at first. They really should have just let him rest up and discontinue all baseball activities (they should have put him on the DL early). Now, they may lose him for a long time, especially if he ends up having some sort of procedure done in order to repair his muscular tear (he’s meeting with his doctor later this week).

Although it sounds bad, It’s not the end of the world for the Yankees. Think of Jorge Posada as a baseball luxury of sorts. Most teams have survived without a tremendously talented offensive catcher, and the Yanks can do that as well. However, it’s definitely nice to have those luxuries around, isn’t it?

Wang Dominates Cleveland, Jorge Headed to the DL

Today, Chien-Ming Wang continued his dominating 2008 season, striking out 9 Indians in the matchup and outdueling the reigning Cy Young winner, C.C. Sabathia. Wang had everything working today and after a slightly shaky first inning, his 2-seamer and his slider kept Cleveland off of the scoreboard for 7 straight innings. Joba locked up the 8th, and in the 9th, Mariano Rivera closed up shop, earning the save, which was actually the 450th of his career (Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith are the only other 2 closers to have managed that feat). Wang earned his 5th win of the season and he and Arizona’s Brandon Webb (a similiar pitcher) are the only two pitchers with 5 wins so far.

In other news, Jorge Posada is headed to the DL and it’s a really big blow for the Yankees. Jorge thinks that his “shoulder strain” is something more than that, stating that he could not throw today after making a few throws yesterday. He has a slight muscle tear (subscapularis muscle) and although surgery has been ruled out so far, it’s still possible that he could be headed for that route if the pain appears to be a persistent problem (or if he reinjured the shoulder yesterday). Jose Molina is a solid backup catcher, but that’s what he is. He’s our backup and he’s not the offensive wonder that we’ve seen these past few weeks. He was simply riding a hot streak (at least he can call a better game than Jorge) and Jorge’s offense will definitely be missed.

If Jorge has to have surgery, you wonder how this will effect his future as a catcher. We may actually end up seeing him at 1B sooner rather than later.

Game 3: Yanks VS. Indians

Here’s the lineup:

Damon 7
Jeter 6
Abreu 9
Rodriguez 5
Duncan 3
Ensberg DH
Cano 4
Cabrera 8
Molina 2

No Jorge today. There’s definitely something going on (and where is Matsui?). It’s up to Chien-Ming Wang to stop the skid.

UPDATE (1:26) — Couple of notes that I missed yesterday. Shelley Duncan has been called up and Billy Traber has been optioned to Triple-A. It was the right move since he was very ineffective against lefties, thus far. Also, Jorge did throw out Grady Sizemore yesterday which was, from what I recall, the first time he’s thrown someone out since his injury. He might be sore which could signal the reason he’s out of today’s game. It doesn’t seem like we have to worry just yet.

UPDATE (2:40) — Jorge is reportedly headed to the DL. PA is reporting that Jorge has a muscle tear, but this isn’t actually new information. I reported this on April 16th (come on, I had to plug myself).

Offense Still Struggling

I apologize for the lack of posts tonight. I actually had a presentation earlier in the day and then I made my way to Safeco Field for the Mariners-A’s game which was a very fun experience. Safeco Field is such a beautiful stadium and the concession stands, the methods for fan interaction, the food, man, there’s just so much they have to offer there and it was a really great time. Yankee Stadium is pretty much the only ballpark that I’ve ever been to (other than Shea) so after seeing what Safeco has to offer, I’m excited about the new stadium. I’ll post up pictures tomorrow (we were really close).

Sadly, I didn’t get to see the Yankees-Indians game at all, although I heard the offense was particularly terrible tonight. Ian Kennedy’s performance was a fairly good one when we consider his other outings, however, nothing is guaranteed with the rotation and I feel as if the Yankees are starting to wear thin on their promise to develop their young guns.

More tomorrow.