Beltran Heading To Tampa For MiL Rehab Games

While the offense continues to sputter and injuries continue to linger, the Yankees did get a small bit of good news on the health front after yesterday's loss.  Joe told reporters that Carlos Beltran will be heading to Tampa to get some game situation at-bats over the next few days and could rejoin the team later this week.

Beltran's right elbow has apparently responded well to the cortisone shot he received a few weeks ago.  He progressed quickly through his light rehab workouts last week, quicker than I thought he would if I'm being honest.  He went from dry swings with a fungo bat to live BP in less than a week, and he hasn't felt any pain or discomfort in the elbow after any of the workouts.

Because the MiL teams' schedules aren't conducive to a formal rehab assignment, the plan is for Beltran to play in a few ExST games.  That actually could work out better than a true assignment, as Beltran will be able to get a lot of at-bats in those informal games and really test his elbow on swings.  Joe didn't give specifics on how long Beltran would be down there, but did leave the possibility open for him to rejoin the team by the end of the week. As bad as the offense has been lately, that would be ideal.

Game 55 Wrap-Up: MIN 7 NYY 2

(Big time oofda for D-Rob today.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

There's no better example of the Yankees' player development failures than Phil Hughes.  Once the team's top prospect and one of the top prospects in baseball, Hughes went from not living up to the hype to being just plain bad in his tenure with the team before leaving via free agency this past offseason.  The change of scenery has done wonders for him in Minnesota so far.  Amazing what can happen when you get out of a flyball park and throw more strikes, huh?  Hughes made his first appearance as an opponent this afternoon, and in a frustrating display that was all too typical, he shut down the Yankees for 8 innings and gave his team a chance to make their furious 9th inning comeback.

Game Notes:

- Chase Whitley danced around 2 baserunners in the 2nd to keep the Twins off the scoreboard.  He couldn't repeat the feat in the 3rd and they took the early lead on a Brian Dozier RBI single.

- A Brett Gardner leadoff triple got the Yanks started in the bottom of the 4th.  2 more singles, a walk, and a sac fly gave them 2 runs off Hughes and a 2-1 lead.

- Whitley didn't go deep again, only 5 innings, but he held the lead and handed it off the bullpen.  Dellin Betances got the call for the 6th and 7th and retired the sides in order with 5 strikeouts.

- The 2 runs in the 4th was all the Yanks could muster.  Hughes settled in after that and retired the next 12 batters in a row to complete 8 innings.  Talk about a knife in the heart of Yankee fans.

- Adam Warren navigated the 8th and gave way to David Robertson for the close.  D-Rob promptly gave up a solo HR to Josh Willingham to lead off the 9th, the start to an ugly 6-run inning that saw him walk 3, get pulled, and get more runs tacked onto his line thanks to the Matts- Daley and Thornton.  Brutal.

Game 54 Wrap-Up: NYY 3 MIN 1

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

When all else fails, when everybody in the lineup forgets how to hit, when players are suffering injury setbacks left and right, the Yankees still have Masahiro Tanaka.  He was on the mound yesterday in the second game of this weekend series against the Twins, and once again he stepped and gave his team a big outing when they needed one to lead them to victory.

Game Notes:

- The lone blemish on Tanaka's ledger came in the top of the 1st, once again thanks to bad infield defense.  Brian Dozier got on base to lead off the game on a Kelly Johnson error, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Josh Willingham base hit.

- It was slow sailing for the Yanks against Kevin Correia through 3 innings.  They loaded the bases in the 1st, put 2 on in the 2nd, and 1 on in the 3rd and came away with nothing, ending the first 2 innings on double plays.

- They broke through to tie the game in the bottom of the 4th on a Yangervis Solarte solo home run.  It was his 6th of the season and it came with 2 outs.  Not a bad way to break out of a slump.

- Tanaka was lights out after the 1st.  He put runners on in the 2nd and 3rd as he was finding his command, but he retired the final 8 batters he faced in order and kept the Twins off the scoreboard again through 8.

- They waited long enough, but the offense finally got him some runs to put him ahead in the bottom of the 8th.  Jacoby Ellsbury singled, stole second, and moved to third on a bad throw, Brian Roberts walked, and Brian McCann double Ellsbury home for the go-ahead run.  Johnson singled in Roberts for insurance and D-Rob struck out the side in the 9th for the save.

Saturday Afternoon Bad News Post

I'm really getting tired of writing this negative injury update posts.  It really fucking sucks.

- After making it through last night's game fine, most likely because he walked 3 times and didn't have to swing much, Mark Teixeira was removed from this afternoon's game early when his wrist started acting up again.  The team is continuing to call it "inflammation" and Joe said Teix won't play tomorrow or Monday before being re-evaluated Tuesday, but he did get another cortisone shot today.  Cue the DL stint countdown.

- Michael Pineda was also shut down before he could make his scheduled ExST start tomorrow.  He felt soreness in his shoulder area after playing catch yesterday and an MRI today revealed inflammation in the same area that his initial back/shoulder muscle injury occurred.

More on these stories as it comes out...

Power Outage

May 17th- Yankees hit 5 home runs and 1 double in a 7-1 victory over the Pirates.

12 games since- Yanks have hit 4 HR, 2 triples, and 9 doubles.

6 XBH in 1 game, 15 total XBH in a dozen games.  That's not bad, that's awful.  The Yanks haven't hit a home run since 5/25 and the complete lack of power in their lineup was never more exposed than last night against Ricky Nolasco, the guy who came into the game with the second most hits allowed and second highest ERA among all qualifying pitchers in the AL.

They're all saying the right things about the power problem, but talk is cheap.  They don't know what they're going to get from Teix or Beltran in the power department thanks to their arm injuries, they already know they're not going to get much from guys like Jeter and Roberts, and at this point who knows what to expect from Soriano and McCann.  The lack of pop is a huge problem and it needs to be addressed.  They can't continue to hit this weakly with this patchwork rotation.

Game 53 Wrap-Up: MIN 6 NYY 1

(That pretty much sums it up.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Safe to say that game wasn't one of the games that the team will look back on as part of their best at the end of the year.  The Yankees looked flat in their first game back at The Stadium after a week on the road.  They didn't pitch, they didn't hit, they didn't run the bases, and they got it handed to them by the Twins.  That's never a good thing.

Game Notes:

- Minnesota got started early against Vidal Nuno with a solo HR by Oswaldo Garcia in the top of the 2nd.  0-2 fastball right over the heart of the plate, gone.

- They got 3 more in the top of the 4th, once again off of Nuno's weak fastball.  He threw a bad 0-2 one to Josh Willingham to start the inning and another bad one in a 2-1 count to Trevor Plouff with a runner on.  Both guys hit them a long way and the Twins had a 4-1 lead.

- The 1 Yankee run came in the 3rd on an RBI double down the right field line by Jacoby Ellsbury.  Brett Gardner was on 2nd after a force out earlier in the inning.  That was all the offense they'd get.

- They had themselves to blame for ruining a couple other good scoring chances against Twins starter Ricky Nolasco.  Derek Jeter rounded first base too far on a single in the 5th and started a rundown that eventually got Brett Gardner tagged out trying to score from 3rd.  Brian Roberts got picked off first base in the 2nd and thrown out at the plate to end the 6th.

- The best thing Nuno did, the only good thing, was pitch into the 7th.  Preston Claiborne took over there and gave up 2 more runs in the 8th on a back-breaking walk-single-single trifecta with 2 outs.

Friday Afternoon Linkapalooza: 5/30/14

Is it a foregone conclusion that Henrik Lundqvist will win the Conn Smythe if the Rangers win the Cup?  I feel like that's the way the media will push it as the series progresses, and in fairness Hank has been dynamite this postseason, but I think Ryan McDonagh could swoop in and steal it with another 10+ point performance in the finals.  The guy was money in the ECF, absolutely the best defenseman on the ice every game of the series and the best player period on the ice for stretches.  If he finishes the playoffs with 25-ish points, a positive plus/minus, and helps shut down what will be a very deep and dangerous offensive opponent no matter who comes out of the West, he's at least got to be in the discussion, no?  Guess we'll find oot.  Now onto the links!

- On Monday, SJK of NoMaas pointed out the illogical bullpen decisions by both managers in the Yankees' Memorial Day extra-inning victory over the Cards.

- On Tuesday, Mike Axisa of RAB mused on how John Ryan Murphy is helping the Yankees in the now and in the future with how he's played since coming up.

- Matt Provenzano of Pinstripe Alley laid out the organizational relief pitching depth for the full-season MiL teams in preparation for the upcoming MLB draft.

- On Wednesday, Derek Albin of Pinstripe Pundits analyzed the numbers and their similarities to the last 2 seasons to show why we shouldn't be as concerned about Hiroki Kuroda as most are.

- El duque of It Is High... set this Sunday as the deadline for knowing where Beltran and Teix stand with respects to their health so that the Yanks can start making alternate plans quickly.

- Michael Eder of IIATMS/TYA noticed some new trends in pitcher approach that may be factoring into Yangervis Solarte's recent regression.  Way more useful than me pointing out that he's slumping.

- On Thursday, Chad Jennings of LoHud took a lineup spot-by-lineup spot look at the offense to see where the Yanks are getting the most and least.

- Delia Enriquez of Bronx Baseball Daily identified the biggest Yankee disappointments through 2 months.

- John Balas of The Greedy Pinstripes touched on the things that have stood out to him over the first third of the season.

- On Friday, SG of RLYW summed up my feelings about the Nunez-Hughes reunions this weekend better than I ever could.

Going with a little "Cheap Sunglasses" for this week's jam.  The Sword actually does a pretty sweet cover of this song, but you gotta stick with the original.



Enjoy your weekends, everybody.

Examining Tanaka's Performance On Different Rest Schedules

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Almost a third of the way through the 2014 season, it would be hard to call Masahiro Tanaka's first year as a Yankee anything but spectacular thus far.  In 10 starts, he's pitched to a 2.29/2.61/2.30 slash in 70.2 innings with 79 strikeouts and only 10 walks.  His 28.5% K rate is tied with Zack Greinke for the best in MLB.  His splitter might already be the single best pitch in baseball.  He's got a 48.2% K rate on it and only a .318 OPS against.  He's quickly become not only the most must-see player on the Yankees and their unquestioned ace in the face of all their rotation injuries, he's also become one of the must-see players in the entire league and one of the best pitchers in the game.

One of the biggest things the Yankees wanted to do with Tanaka this season was ease him into the transition from the Japanese Leagues to MLB.  A major part of that easing was the extra rest Joe said he wanted to give him early in the season to get Tanaka's body and arm used to pitching every fifth day.  Through both smart strategic and lucky weather-related decisions, Joe has employed that strategy perfectly through the first 2 months.  Tanaka has made 6 of his 10 starts with 1 day or more of extra rest, and the extra time off actually has him 1 start behind almost every other top starting pitcher.  The rest has certainly helped keep Tanaka fresh and served the purpose of scaling back his early workload, but has it made a difference in his performance?  Let's check the numbers.

Friday Morning Injury News Roundup

Here they are, quick and dirty:

- Teix: Saw his surgeon in New York yesterday, who took an Ultrasound and didn't see anything.  The injury is still being called "wrist inflammation" and Teix's status for tonight's game is unknown.

- Beltran: Took soft toss in the cage yesterday, 25 swings each from the right and left side.  Felt no pain, scheduled to do this again today.

- Kelley: Played flat field catch again yesterday, all good.  Slated to throw a bullpen session today.

- Pineda: Scheduled to pitch in an intrasquad game in Tampa on Sunday.  No word yet on pitch count or plans after the outing.

- ManBan: Returned to the mound last night after missing some time with elbow stiffness.  Threw 2 scoreless innings for Double-A Trenton.

Prospect Stock Watch: May 2014

(The new second baseman of the future?  Courtesy of MiLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Another month is almost in the books.  That means it's time to check the prospect ticker and see who's been making gains and who's been dropping with their performance this month.  Two months in and I still don't know how I feel about the farm system this year.  There's a lot of guys having better seasons than I expected, but there's also a lot of preseason top guys who aren't living up to expectations at all.  Here are the players who stood out to me for better and worse in May.

Dirty Dave Part Deux

(Might be time to update this classic and put the fireman gear on Betances)

Remember when David Robertson was carving guys up with his curveball last May?  Well he's back at it again.  D-Rob recorded all 4 of his outs via the strikeout last night, the last 3 on his curveball and all 3 of them swinging.  It was the continuation of an exceptional run he's been on over the last 2 weeks that would be getting more talk if he didn't have the Adam Dunn walk-off blown save sandwiched right in the middle of it.

In his last 7 appearances dating back to May 15th, D-Rob has pitched 7.1 innings, given up 2 ER on 7 hits (both runs on the Dunn HR), walked 2, and struck out 18.  Yes, 18.  He's recorded 22 outs in the last 2 weeks and all but 4 of them have been strikeouts.  That's pure filth.

Game 52 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 STL 4

(Brendan Ryan at shortstop?  It can't be.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

There was a lot of good that could have happened last night.  Hiroki Kuroda could have turned in a throwback performance from last year or 2012 and inspired confidence that he can be a stabilizing force in the rotation, the offense could have woken up against a very erratic and hittable Shelby Miller, and the Yankees could have wrapped up a victorious series and road trip with a win.  2 and a half of those things happened, so I'd say there was plenty of good that came out of last night.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks stranded 2-out singles in each of the first 2 innings, then unloaded on Miller in the 3rd and 4th.  It started with a Brett Gardner walk, 3 straight singles, and an Ichiro RBI groundout to get 4 in the 3rd.

- It ended with a Brian Roberts double, Jacoby Ellsbury 2-run single (his 3rd hit of the game at that point), and a Brian McCann RBI single for 3 more in the 4th.  It was a barrage of base hits.

- The half part was Kuroda's.  He started off strong in the 1st and 2nd, danced around a bases loaded situation in the 3rd, and then never really got a grip on his command again.  He gave up a run each in the 4th, 5th, and 6th, and didn't make it out of that inning.

- Once again, Dellin Betances did his fireman thing.  He came on with 2 outs and runners on the corners in a 7-3 game and got the last out of the inning,  No flashy strikeout, but he got the job done and effectively ended the St. Louis comeback attempt.

- The early runs were all the Yankees would get.  They managed to not score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 8th, but it didn't hurt them as Adam Warren and David Robertson teamed up to get the final 9 outs.

Brian McCann Sucks

I mean really sucks.  It's startling how bad he's been at the plate.  He's been awful, no other way to describe it.  Here's where McCann's key offensive numbers rank among his fellow catchers:

• .218 BA- Last among 12 qualified/26th out of 29 w/ at least 100 plate appearances
• .275 OBP- Last qualified/27th out of 29
• .370 SLG- Last/25th
• .286 wOBA- Last/26th
• 75 wRC+- Last/26th
• 0.5 fWAR- Last/24th
• 5.6% BB rate- 11th/22nd

The only thing keeping his offensive ship afloat is the 7 HR he's popped (tied for 2nd best among all catchers) and the 22 RBI that puts him comfortably in the top 10.  The only thing he's truly done well this season has been catch.  McCann is generating almost all his value from what he's doing behind the plate.  What he's doing at the plate only seems to be getting worse.

Solate Is So-lumping Again

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

It was a tough night for Yangervis Solarte at the dish last night.  Hitting in the 5-spot behind Brian McCann, he went 0-4 (0-3 with RISP), banged into a rally-killing double play, and left 5 men on base.  He only saw 9 pitches in his 4 plate appearances, extending a little mini-slump he's stuck in to 6 games.  In his last 6 games, Solarte is just 2-23 with 1 R, RBI, and BB apiece.  His batting average has slipped to .285, and combined with the nagging injuries to Beltran's elbow and Teix's wrist, Solarte has helped expose the paper thin middle of the batting order.  Needless to say, he's no longer the ideal option for the #2 spot.

Wednesday Morning Injury News Roundup

It's really sweet that these are becoming a regular feature on the site, right?  No?  Oh, well then that's awkward.  Aaaaaaaanyway...

- Carlos Beltran took more dry swings yesterday, both right and left-handed with a regular bat, and felt no discomfort in his elbow.  He'll take a day off today and resume swinging tomorrow.

- Shawn Kelley's back felt good after his long toss sesh on Monday, so he threw another one yesterday.  If his back feels good again, he'll throw some more today.

- More from Teix on his stiff right wrist: “The doctor is 99 percent sure that this is inflammation from overuse and just completely expected.  He was surprised I haven’t had more flare ups. It’s been pretty good all season.”  I guess that makes me feel better about it.

(Quote and updates via Chad Jennings)

Game 51 Wrap-Up: STL 6 NYY 0

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

There was a lot of pressure on David Phelps last night.  Guys always say there's not, that every game is just another game, but when you're coming back to your hometown to make your first career start there since high school and you know you're pitching in front of tons of family and friends, that's a lot of pressure.  That's what Phelps was dealing with when he took the hill and he pitched like it.  After a 7-inning exhibition of efficiency and pitching smarts in his last start,  Phelps reverted back to some bad habits and got touched up by the Cardinals in a painful-to-watch loss.

Game Notes:

- It was effectiveness without efficiency as usual for Phelps through 2 innings.  He put men on (2 hits, 1 walk) and threw a lot of pitches (41), but kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard.

- A pair of hanging sliders by Phelps gave the Cards 1 run and back-to-back errors by Derek Jeter Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts after an intentional walk gave them 3 more in the bottom of the 3rd.  Truly ugly stuff.

- Lance Lynn was very good when the game was tied.  After he got his 4 runs he made the cardinal (pun intended) sin of walking the leadoff batter the next half-inning.  Yangervis Solarte bailed him out with a rally-killing GIDP to end the inning and kept the Yanks scoreless through 4.

- Phelps gave up another run on an Allen Craig home run in the 5th, but did manage to work 6 innings before giving way to Alfredo Aceves.  He did Alfredo Aceves things, like giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, and the route was on.

- It was a route because the offense never got anything going against Lynn.  He put 2 runners on in the 6th and 8th and escaped both times.  Matheny even let him come out and finish the game in the 9th.  Not much more to say about this one.  Yanks didn't pitch, hit, or field.

Tuesday Evening News And Notes

- Michael Pineda did throw his 2-inning ExST start today as planned.  He threw 28 pitches, 20 for strikes.  No report on his velocity, not that it matters, but he did strike out 4 and walk 1.

- No Teix in the lineup again tonight.  He told reporters he wanted to play tomorrow in the series finale against St. Louis but was going to wait until he saw how his wrist felt.  He'll have the team doctors take a precautionary look at it when the team gets back to New York on Thursday.

- The latest All Star Game voting numbers came in today.  To no one's surprise, Derek Jeter is the leader for the AL at shortstop.  He's 3rd overall behind Mike Trout and Jose Bautista.

- Via Jack Curry, Elias has confirmed that Dellin Betances is the first rookie reliever in history to have 50+ strikeouts in his team's first 50 games of the season.  I guess that's pretty good.

Joe Needs To Keep Lengthening The Leash On His Young Starters

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally posted at IIATMS/TYA)

A funny thing happened this last turn through the rotation.  Joe showed a little more faith in his trio of young replacement starters, allowing all of them to work deeper into the game than they have since taking spots in the rotation, and the world didn't collapse in on itself.  In fact, the Yankees won 2 of the 3 games pitched by David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, and Chase Whitley, and may have snuck out a win in the other game if Joe had put a competitive lineup on the field.

The Yankees have had a ton of problems in their rotation already this year, almost all of them due to injury.  The latest issue has been not getting enough length from the starters and it was an issue partially perpetuated by Joe and his quick hook with these 3.  He knows who his bullpen aces are and he's leaned heavily on them to carry the burden of holding leads rather than leave it in the hands of pitchers in which he doesn't have as much confidence.  This apparent change in philosophy over the last 5 days is something that needs to continue if the Yanks are going to stay afloat into the summer.

Bottom Of The Order Coming Up Big Lately

(I'm actually going to say something positive about Ichiro.  Believe it.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Consistent offensive production continues to be a big problem for the Yankees as May winds down.  Carlos Beltran is on the DL, Teix may or may not have to join him because of his wrist stiffness, and Brian McCann and Alfonso Soriano have been unable to find their footing to carry the middle of the order.  Despite all of this, the Yankees have won 4 of their last 6 games and 8 of their last 12 over the last 2 weeks.  It's been the bottom of the order and the rotating cast of characters inhabiting it that have had a lot to do with that.

Teix Wrist Update: Might Need More Than A Day

I wouldn't say it was necessarily pessimistic, but Mark Teixeira's self-evaluation of his stiff right wrist yesterday wasn't nearly as optimistic as Joe's was earlier in the day.  Teix spoke about it after the game, and via Chad Jennings' report, he said he thought it was best to use more than just yesterday to rest it:

“It’s just inflammation, we think.  It’s probably time to take a day or two off to let it calm down anyway.”

Teix said this current stiffness is the worst he's felt all year and it's been bothering him whether he swings righty or lefty.  He didn't swing at all yesterday and he probably won't today.  There are no further tests scheduled, but it does come off a bit odd that everybody keeps talking about the stiffness in terms of what they "think" it is.  If there's uncertainty, why not get a follow-up MRI to verify?

Obviously this isn't good news for the Yankee lineup.  Teix has been the most consistent power presence in it since coming off the DL.  But the first year after surgery is always a bumpy road like this and given the history of guys who've had the same surgery, it's much better to take the safe route here.  Give Teix a few days of no swinging and see how it responds.  They've got a new backup first baseman in Brendan Ryan anyway.  I'm sure he can replicate Teix's production for a few games.

Game 50 Wrap-Up: NYY 6 STL 4

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Well that was a fun one, huh?  Today's series opener in St. Louis, the classiest baseball town in the US (wank), featured a little bit of everything.  There was some timely hitting, some good pitching, some great defense, and a ton of managerial moves and decisions that factored into the game.  It was no short matinee by any means, but a really entertaining and great game to watch.  In the end, the Yankees were able to come out on the winning side.

Game Notes:

- The Yanks needed 9 pitches to get a run off Michael Wacha in the top of the 1st on a Brett Gardner walk and back-to-back singles by Jeter and Ellsbury.  The Cards needed just 8 in the bottom half to tie the game up on a Matt Carpenter triple and a Kolten Wong ribbie double.

- Wacha retired 11 straight after the rough start, then got burned by an exact repeat of the 1st.  Ichiro walked to start the 5th and the Yanks put 2 more singles together after him to regain the lead.  A sac fly from Gardner extended it to 3-1.

- Chase Whitley matched Wacha's 0s through 4, and once again he came to the 70-80 pitch mark that has signaled the end of his day.  Joe let him work past that and Whitley made it through the 5th before gassing out and loading the bases in the 6th.  The Cards converted that into 2 runs to tie the game again.

- Gardner's 1-out single gave the Yankees a chance to go ahead in the 8th.  But Derek Jeter decided to not swing and protect him on a 3-1 base stealing attempt and Gardner was gunned down by Yadier Molina to end the threat before The Captain K'd to end the inning.

- Carlos Martinez and Dellin Betances each showed off their top notch relief stuff for 2 innings to pitch the game into extras.  Alfredo Aceves did the job and got them to the 12th, when the offense finally pieced together another rally.

-  Jacoby Ellsbury walked and stole second, Brian McCann was plunked, Yangervis Solarte sac bunted them over, and Mike Matheny intentionally walked Ichiro so lefty Randy Choate could pitch to Brian Roberts hitting right-handed.  Roberts singled to start a 3-run inning that also featured a clutch ribbie single by new backup first baseman Brendan Ryan.

- D-Rob was summoned for the save and he worked around a Derek Jeter throwing error to get it done, fanning 2 Cardinal hitters with a series of nasty curveballs.

Memorial Day Injury News Roundup

Hope everybody is enjoying their Memorial Day.  Here's the latest on the batch of injured/rehabbing Yankees if you're near a computer:

- Michael Pineda is slated to pitch 2 innings in an ExST game in Tampa tomorrow.  No word on how many of these games he's expected to pitch or what his pitch count will be.

- Carlos Beltran took 15 dry swings with a fungo bat today and felt good, and the plan is for him to take more tomorrow.  According to Jorge Castillo, tomorrow's session will include 30 swings with a real bat.

- Via Dan Barbarisi, Shawn Kelley threw on flat ground from 75 feet today "with no issues".  I imagine the team will see how he feels tomorrow before making a decision on the next step.

- If you missed it earlier, Mark Teixeira was scratched from the lineup with stiffness in his surgically-repaired right wrist.  Sounds minor, some normal post-surgery effects.  Details can be found in the post below.

Mark Teixeira Scratched From Today's Lineup (UPDATED)

Mark Teixeira was penciled in as the starting first baseman today when the Yankee lineup was first released.  A few minutes ago, he was scratched and replaced by Kelly Johnson.

Multiple beat reporters had the story, but so far there has been no explanation from the team on why Teix was scratched.  Thinking back to the tired legs he talked about having during and after the Milwaukee series, maybe it has something to do with that.  Better to play it safe with him with how shorthanded the middle of the batting order is right now.  More on this story as it becomes available...

** UPDATE 12:55 PM- Via Mark Feinsand, Teix's right wrist was feeling stiff.  Joe decided to give him a day off today to rest it and said he was "hopeful" he could have Teix back in the lineup tomorrow. **

** UPDATE 12:57 PM- A few more details on the wrist, via Dan Barbarisi and Andrew Marchand.  According to Joe, Teix has been dealing with the stiffness for a few days, but it's not considered a big deal and no tests are scheduled.  That's good news. **

Game 49 Wrap-Up: NYY 7 CHW 1

(Courtesy of the AP)

Masahiro Tanaka had his winning streak dating back to 2012 ended earlier this week in Chicago.  It was the first time a team got to face him for the second time, which was naturally a big talking point after the results of the start, but Tanaka chalked it up to poor command on all his pitches and an off-day.  He got a chance to face the other Chicago team for the first time yesterday.  With no command issues, no Jose Abreu, and no history for the White Sox to go on, Tanaka could get started on another winning streak.  He did just that.

Game Notes:

- Tanaka got a nice, fat 4-run cushion to work with in the top of the 2nd thanks to 4 hits, a walk to load the bases, and a sac fly.  Brett Gardner's 2-run single was the biggest hit.

- He made that lead stand up by holding Chicago hitless over the first 3 innings.  They made him work for it (50 pitches in those 3 innings), but Tanaka was better at finishing with 2 strikes than he was against the Cubs.

- That high early pitch count did come back to nab Tanaka in the 6th, when he gave up a leadoff double and 2-out single to give Chicago their first run of the day.  A pair of walks in the 7th signaled the end of Tanaka's day.

- He got plenty more run support from his team.  Derek Jeter tripled and scored in the 4th, singled home Alfonso Soriano in the 6th, and Brian Roberts hit a solo HR in the 8th.

- Adam Warren picked up Tanaka in the 7th and worked a scoreless 8th.  Matt Daley did the same in mop-up 9th inning duty and the Yankees got themselves a split.

Which One Is It, Joe?

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

On April 12th, after choosing to sit Derek Jeter and being asked about it by the media in terms of how he would respond to fans who were unhappy about coming out the ballpark and not being able to see Jeter, Joe had this to say:

“I have to manage him with a focus of winning games and keeping him healthy, not being a farewell tour.  I wasn't hired to put on a farewell tour.”

Perfectly reasonable and the exact response you'd expect from a manager.  Since then, however, Joe's actions in handling Jeter and managing his playing time have been more in line with the farewell tour than with winning ballgames.