Jeter Done For The Year

The Yankees held a press conference for Cash and Derek Jeter to address the media about an hour ago, and it didn't take a genius to see what was coming when it was announced.  At the press conference, it was confirmed that the team will put Jeter on the 15-day DL and Cash said there are no plans to activate him when he's available to come off.  Jeter's 2013 season is over.

This is hardly surprising considering the latest leg injury being to the surgically repaired ankle and that the Yankees made a move to trade for Brendan Ryan last night.  This last setback was the last straw and in what is surely an attempt to get him started on rehabbing and conditioning for 2014, the call was made to shut Jeter down.  Cash and Jeter both referred to The Captain coming back next season, with Cash stating that "no one" has seen Jeter's last game.  He only played 17 in 2013.  Now we're left to wonder what 2014 will be like.

The Incredible Righty-Mashing A-Rod

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

After he left last night's game in the bottom of the 8th inning, the story was Alex Rodriguez's hamstring and how much, if at all, it would prevent him from playing in the next game.  He's been one of the most consistent and productive bats in the Yankee lineup since coming back last month, and that was once again the story before the bottom of the 8th.  A-Rod went 2-4 last night with a pair of doubles, 1 R scored, and 1 RBI. He started the Yankee scoring in the top of the 3rd and the big rally to take the lead in the 8th, and he looked pretty damn good doing it.  For the season his batting line is up to .301/.388/.496 with a 10.9% BB Rate in 129 plate appearances, good for a .387 wOBA and 144 wRC+.  Even more shocking is the fact that it's a dramatic turnaround against right-handed pitching and a serious reverse platoon split that's fueling those numbers.

Why Randy Levine Should Never Talk

Via ESPN NY:

"Robinson Cano is a great player. We will sit down and talk to him.  Hopefully he's a Yankee. Nobody is a re-sign at all costs, but we want him back and we feel good about negotiating something with him. But nobody is a re-sign at any cost."

"Yeah, nobody.  Except for A-Rod in '07, Jeter when his last contract came up, Rafael Soriano, CC when we gave him an extension.  After all those guys, nobody is a re-sign at any cost.  Hell, look at Russell Martin.  Sometimes players aren't even a re-sign at a reasonable cost.  We've got luxury tax money to save and Ichiro t-shirts to sell here, people."

Yanks Cover Their Shortstop Bases By Acquiring Brendan Ryan

(Courtesy of the AP)

In a move that doesn't speak positively to Derek Jeter's physical status or Eduardo Nunez's general status as a quality Major League shortstop, the Yankees traded a PTBNL to Seattle for utility infielder Brendan Ryan last night.  Jeter has been in a "holding pattern" since leaving Saturday's game with pain in his surgically-repaired ankle and Nunez still can't figure out how to be an even remotely serviceable backup shortstop defensively, so once again the Yankees found themselves without a replacement option for The Captain.  The decision was made to find a defensive upgrade over Nunez and that's exactly what they're getting in Ryan.

Never Forget

12 years ago today our nation was rocked by the worst attack against it in history.  Work, social life, baseball rooting allegiances, and everything else took a back seat as we watched our friends, family members, and fellow Americans suffer as a result of the senseless hatred of others.  I don't need to go into the details of my personal connection to the 9/11 tragedy anymore.  Those who've been AB4AR readers for years know the story, and those who are new can find it here.  But I'd be remiss if I didn't write something today to commemorate the tragic events of that day and honor those who were lost.

They say time heals all wounds and there's been a lot of time to heal from the events of that day 12 years ago.  But some wounds never heal, some losses can never be forgotten, and many lives will never be the same.  The pain from that day still lingers, and it's remembering the heroes and the sacrifice of so many on that day that helps the healing continue and reminds us all what it means to be an American and live in this country.  There's plenty that people find wrong with this country these days and sometimes it's easy to forget about all that it gets right.  Use today to remember that.  Tell someone you love them, hug somebody you haven't hugged in a while, find a fire fighter or police officer and shake his or her hand, be thankful for all the freedoms you have as a citizen of the United States.  And never forget all those we lost.

Injury News Round-Up: 9/11/13

Another day, another fresh batch of injuries to sift through.  Here's the latest...

New Injuries:

- Ivan Nova- Left after 6 IP and 79 pitches due to tightness in his right triceps.  Didn't sound like he or Joe were concerned about him missing his next start, although this has been a lingering problem for him all year.

- Alex Rodriguez- Was taken out after the top of the 8th when he felt his left hamstring tighten up on him running the bases.  A-Rod himself said he expected to at least be able to DH today.  We'll see.

- Austin Romine- Left in the bottom of the 8th after taking a foul ball off the mask.  Joe said Romine "probably" had a concussion and he was going to get checked out at a local hospital after the game.  If he does have one, it could mean the end of his season.  Gotta be careful with head injuries these days.

Old Injuries:

- David Robertson- Threw a 10-pitch bullpen yesterday and felt no problems.  Assuming he doesn't feel anything when he wakes up today he should be back in the 'pen and available tonight.

- Boone Logan- Had an MRI on his left elbow and the results were sent to Dr. James Andrews for further evaluation.  That's never a good sign.

- Derek Jeter- No real update on his status other than the team saying he's in a "holding pattern." He hasn't done any baseball activities since leaving on Satuday, and last night's acquisition of Brendan Ryan doesn't make it sound like he's coming back anytime soon.

Game 145 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 BAL 5

(Courtesy of the AP)

It's almost getting comical at this point.  The Yankees and injuries.  They started last night's game by making another roster move to add an arm to their ailing bullpen.  They ended last night's game by making a trade for a defensive shortstop who won't even be eligible for the postseason if they make it because Eduardo Nunez is so terrible moonlighting as a starting shortstop.  And in between they lost 3 more players to injury, 2 that appear to be less serious (A-Rod and Ivan Nova) and 1 maybe not so lucky (Austin Romine).  There will be more roster moves coming today, and oh yeah, they scored another huge comeback win to keep those playoff hopes alive against Miguel Gonzalez and the O's.

Game Notes:

- Alex Rodriguez has been surprisingly good against right-handed pitching this season, and that continued in the top of the 3rd when he smoked a 2-out double to right center to score Chris Stewart and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

- This start for Nova was frighteningly similar to the last time he pitched against the Orioles.  He gave up a pair of singles through 3 scoreless innings and needed just 31 pitches to get it done.  He was cruising.

- The Orioles set themselves up with 2 groundball singles in the bottom of the 5th and got a gift when Eduardo Nunez's eternal shittiness struck again.  He bounced a throw to first for an error that allowed a run to score and put runners on second and third with nobody out.

- A questionable cutoff decision by A-Rod on a Nick Markakis sac fly a batter later gave Baltimore the lead, but it was Chris Davis who did the big damage with 2 outs.  Nova hung a first-pitch curveball and Davis crushed it to center for a 2-run home run and a 4-1 Orioles advantage.

- Alfonso Soriano and Mark Reynolds hit solo HRs in the top of the 6th to get the Yankees back in it, but they really opened things up in the 8th against the Baltimore bullpen.  A-Rod led off with another double, scored on Robinson Cano's single, and then Soriano came up again and hit a 2-run homer.  A pair of doubles from Reynolds and C-Grand made it 7-4 Yankees.

- Joe pulled Nova after just 79 pitches and 6 innings - due to tightness in Nova's triceps - and went to work again with his short bullpen.  Adam Warren gave him a solid inning, Shawn Kelley a not so much 0.2 and it was time for another multi-inning Mo save attempt.  He got it done and the Yanks got a big win.