Game 1: Yanks VS. Rays (Makin’ Moves)

Today the Yankees called up Chad Moeller to replace Jose Molina who will not be placed on the DL (at least not yet). Instead, Wilson Betemit has been placed on the 15-day DL with a case of pink-eye (huh?) and Joba Chamberlain has been placed on the bereavement list while he takes care of his father (read a statement from Joba, here). When you’re on the bereavement list, you have to be out for a minimum of 3 days, so I don’t expect to see Joba much this week. The Yankees have called up Jonathan Albaladejo to replace Joba in the pen (he could be used as a long man in case IPK fails tonight).

You get all that?

Also, yes there’s more, Derek Jeter WILL play in today’s game. Here’s the current lineup (via PA who hooked up all of this great roster information):

YANKEES
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Ensberg 1B
Cabrera CF
Moeller C
Gonzalez 2B
Kennedy RHP

Smart move by Girardi to sit Cano now and to play Gonzalez at 2B. Cano’s been struggling and he could use a day off. Gonzalez has been hot ever since he got the call, so hopefully he’ll hit in Cano’s absence while Cano figures himself out on the bench.

Chien-Ming Wang Does it All

He throws 2-hitters, he sells computers, and he even dances…

Thanks to PA for the link.

What to Make of Phil

Last night, Phil Hughes was terrible in his Red Sox-Yankees rivalry debut. He allowed 7 runs in 2 innings of work and it was his second consecutive bad outing. Joe Girardi, however, still believes in Phil and thinks that with time, he’ll get better. Hughes also believes that he will get better and he attributes his recent struggles to his lack of fastball command. Essentially, he’s lost the strike zone and has not been able to regroup accordingly (we saw that in spring training). When asked about the possibility of being sent down to Triple-A, which is a far and distant possibility, Hughes responded by saying that the majors are the “best forum” for him to right the ship and that once he regains his command he’ll be fine. I sure hope so, because, if he continues to struggle, the Yankees could actually be forced to send him down and call up Kei Igawa. It’s either that or start Joba until Phil gets fixed in the minors (again, sending Phil back to the minors is not an actual idea at this point in time).

In other news, Derek Jeter expects to play tonight (he says that everyday) and Jose Molina thinks he’ll only be out for a few days. Chad Moeller is still expected to be with the team in Tampa and he’ll likely find his way into the lineup with Jorge as the DH.

Joba Headed Home

According to the Daily News, Joba will not be with the team tomorrow in Tampa. Directly after tonight’s game, Joba learned that his father, Harlan Chamberlain, collapsed in his Nebraska home and is currently in critical condition. Joba will head to Nebraska tomorrow in order to take care of his father and he could be out for an extended period of time. Of course, we wish Joba and his family the best during these tough times.

Molina Injured

Tonight, when Joe Girardi took Jose Molina out of the game in the 8th inning only to insert Wilson Betemit in as the runner, I nearly kicked the television. It really made no sense. The speed was marginally better at best and Molina still had to catch in the 9th. I knew that Posada would ultimately replace Molina behind the dish and that was bad enough considering Jorge’s shoulder woes. So, why, why Girardi would you do such a thing?

Then I read that Jose Molina injured himself in the 4th inning of today’s game. I think it was when he was tagging up and slid into home. When he was walking back to the dugout after his slide, you could see him brushing his leg a bit (I didn’t really think much of it). He hung in there for a few more innings and that’s the reason Girardi took him out when he got on in the 8th. So, in terms of that decision, all is forgiven (although I can argue that Joba should have come in instead of Farnsworth since Joba would have done a better job at keeping the Sox off the bases, allowing Jorge to simply play catch instead attempting to throw guys out).

With Molina headed to the DL, his presence both behind the plate and with the stick will definitely be missed. He has hit .364 for the Yankees and has actually been their best hitter over the past week or so (talk about surprises). This means that Chad Moeller, a weak offensive player, will be called up to catch (Jorge did not look ready to throw yet) or at least play backup to a catcher who will not be able to challenge runners.

Believe it or not, the loss of Jose Molina now overshadows the absence of Derek Jeter.