New York Yankees notes from Denver

Eduardo Nunez is feeling better but he is not ready to play in a game. The Yankees will hope he is better in the next couple of days but in a NL park it isn’t helping them much. They are going to be short since the pitcher has to bat. Girardi said it is too early to make a move but if you think it is going to be close to the two weeks then you would DL him and get someone else in there so you have the extra body. The Yankees really don’t have a backup and Corban Joseph was just sent down and couldn’t be called up yet without Nunez going on the DL. 
The Yankees are officially on their third string left side of the infield. Jeter and Arod were the starters and then Nunez and Youkilis were the backups, it is crazy to have backups to the backups now playing. Girardi said it really tests the depth and I agree, I have never seen a season especially so early in the year with so many guys injured. Robertson was going to play catch pregame and if he still felt fine he would be able to pitch on Tuesday night.

Ivan Nova is going to pitch in an extended spring game on Wednesday. He could possibly start one of the doubleheader games on Monday in Cleveland because that will put him on schedule for that. Travis Hafner has no chance of playing the field so basically in Colorado he will get one pinch hit appearance each night. Granderson had five at bats in extended spring, Teixeira hit in the cage, Cervelli and Jeter aren’t doing anything yet and Arod did what he did yesterday which isn’t much. These updates were from Joe Girardi.

Brett Gardner had the day off because of the Yankees facing a lefty and that is it. Clay Rapada is now in AAA, he will get in some games there. He signed a minor league contract, it is possible he gets called back up to the big leagues at some point.

New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers-Lineup and Notes

The New York Yankees will begin a three game series with the Texas Rangers tonight weather permitting.  It has been raining off an on and right now it is raining.  The tarp is on the field at Yankee Stadium.  It will be C.C. Sabathia vs. Alexi Ogando if the game is played.  The Yankees have some things going on and here is the news and notes and also their lineup for the game. 

The Yankees will decide at 6:00PM if Derek Jeter will go to the disabled list or not.  He is trying to talk his way out of it and the Yankees are leaning that way.  The Yankees don't want to be shorthanded going to the National League parks starting this weekend.  The pitchers have to bat so there are more bench players used in the games.  Jeter feels he may only miss five or six days but the best bet is probably for him to go on the 15 day disabled list where he hasn't been since 2003.  The Yankees either way will be calling up Ramiro Pena, Eduardo Nunez will start at short and Pena will be the backup for now. 

The Yankees also have to make a decision on Russell Martin.  If he isn't able to play a couple of games in a row or he just can't play they may want to DL him also and call up Jesus Montero from the minor leagues.  It looks like though for whatever reason they don't want to do that.  Francisco Cervelli is the starter right now with Posada as the backup although Posada will not catch unless it is an emergency.  There is talk that they may even call up Gustavo Molina if they have too.  I don't see why they can't call up Montero and see what he has, he will only be the backup anyway and maybe he hits and you get to showcase him a little for a possible trade if the Yankees aren't going to keep him. 

The Yankees still need a starter for Thursday.  It looks like it will be Hector Noesi if he isn't needed in the next couple of days.  If he does pitch in the next couple of days then it will be David Phelps from AAA Scranton. 

Yankees Lineup:Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira(DH), Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada(1B), Nick Swisher, Eduardo Nunez(SS), Francisco Cervelli. 

The Yankees will announce something shortly after 6:00PM with Jeter, I would expect him to go to the DL and be eligible to be activated on the next homestand which will give him three home games to get to 3000 before they go to Citi Field. 

Yankees Pregame-Martin is back and some roster moves

The New York Yankees will try and win their third straight this afternoon over the Cleveland Indians.  They will have Freddy Garcia on the mound and their regular lineup back in there.  Arod is ok one day after being hit in the thigh and Russell Martin is back after taking a few days off with a bad back. 

The Yankees did make some roster moves today.  They placed Batolo Colon on the 15 day DL with a strained hamstring.  He is expected back shortly after those 15 days though, so this isn't a horrible situation if that is indeed the case.  They have called up Hector Noesi to take his place and they also put Amaury Sanit on the DL with a elbow issue, they recalled Chris Dickerson from AAA Scranton.  There is no started listed yet for Thursday to take Colon spot but it could be another pitcher from AAA. 

Here is the Yankees Lineup for todays game: Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada, Russell Martin, Brett Gardner. 

Mets try to begin a winning streak

The New York Mets begin a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Citi Field.  They will be trying to win two games in a row.  The Mets finally won their second game of the season at home yesterday, they are 2-8 there this season.  Here are some quick notes and the lineup for tonight.

Mets Lineup: Jose Reyes, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Ike Davis, Mike Nickeas, Jason Pridie, Mike Pelfrey. 

The Mets didn't place Angel Pagan on the DL yet but it is 95 percent likely according to manager Terry Collins.  Jason Pridie is taking his spot for now.  Collins said he will see how things go for playing time in center field.

The reason the Mets brought up Pridie is because they wanted the best defensive outfielder at AAA.  Carlos Beltran is not a consideration for center field while Pagan is out. 

Daniel Murphy is playing against a lefty tonight because he is the best number two hitter they have.  Murphy will become the everyday second baseman if he keeps hitting in my opinion.  He is who they really wanted all along he just needed to do some things to play.

Chris Young will throw a bullpen session tomorrow and if everything goes well he will pitch on Tuesday.  If Dillon Gee pitches well tomorrow the Mets could keep him in the rotation. 

More Yankee Notes

Jorge Posada is the emergency catcher for the next couple of days, he says hopefully he will be back in the lineup on friday. He will be reevaluated on Thursday but it doesn't look like he will go on the DL. Mariano Rivera was scheduled to throw a bullpen session today and if he came through it fine he could be available tonight. Joe Girardi said though that he would like to give him another day off. Joba would be the closer again tonight in that case. Chan Ho Park has been playing catch in Tampa and said he feels better. Park will throw off half a mound tomorrow. The Yankees plan to have him throw a bullpen session on Friday. If that goes well the Yankees will have him make a rehab appearance next week. It is not known how many rehab appearances he will need before coming back up but Girardi said one isn't going to be enough. Girardi said he may start Golson against some lefties. Marcus Thames had three hits against Matusz last week though so this made sense for tonight. Mark Melancon was optioned back to AAA-Scranton. Javier Vazquez said he still wishes he wasn't being skipped but understands it. There is no Jeter injury, Girardi just wanted to give him a day off in the field. He said as the team plays more and more days in a row you will see more of this. Girardi did this a lot last year and it worked, keeping the older players fresh.

Granderson to the 15 Day DL

Curtis Granderson was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain of his groin, he is being placed on the 15 day DL. Because Javier Vazquez was bad again and the Yankees had to use relievers early they need a fresh arm. Mark Melancon will be called up from AAA-Scranton Wilkes Barre. The Yankees lost today, Vazzuez has half of the teams losses. It looks likely that the Yankees will skip his turn in the rotation this week but what about after that?? I guess if he keeps this up they could put him in the bullpen and have Sergio Mitre of Alfredo Aceves start.

Jorge Posada Update

Jorge Posada was hit in the knee tonight but appears to be day to day. He said that it hurts and he doesn't think it will be a DL situation. He expects to be back in a couple of days but will see how he feels tomorrow. I would guess that Cervelli will catch the next 2 games and Ramiro Pena will be the emergency catcher unless the send someone down and bring up another catcher. I am sure there will be more information once Posada gets to the park tomorrow evening. The Yankees were able to get a win today and even the series and roadtrip. They will look for a series win and a winning roadtrip with a victory tomorrw. CC Sabathia has had great success against the Orioles in his career and so has A.J. Burnett who pitches tomorrow.

Random News and Notes

I know this is old but I didn't mention the death of Rockies President Keli McGregor. They say it was natural causes but he was young. It seems mysterious and we may never know or at least for a long time what the real story is. There will be a memorial service for him on Sunday and the Rockies moved the start time of their game back to accomodate everyone so they will be able to be there. Edison Volquez was suspended for 50 games for failing a drug test that was positive for the use of a performance enhancing drug. I don't think we will ever get away from this talk. I think the game has been cleaned up but there are still players doing it or HGH and there is always a big name that comes out that he was on something. I think most people are sick of this stuff though and just don't care. The thing I dont get though is how Volquez who is on the DL has that count for the 50 games. I think it has to be 50 games that you are active for. Manny Ramirez went on the 15 day DL today with a calf injury. Justin Smoak the young first base prospect of the Texas Rangers was called up yesterday. Congratulations to Ubalda Jimenez who had a no hitter last week. He is 4-0 after a shutout in his next start the other day. Jason Marquis of the Nationals was placed on the DL on wednesday with bone chips in his elbow.

Yankees Roster Move

The Yankees placed reliever Chan Ho Park on the 15 day DL today and called up left handed reliever Boone Logan. It is more precautionary then anything but better to let him rest and not hurt it more. Boone Logan had a great spring and deserved to make it but didn't, he has pitched well in AAA and will get an oppurtunity now. The weather doesn't look good right now but it isn't pouring so hopefully they will get this game in tonight.

Regular Season Game 6-Nationals at Mets

The New York Mets and Washington Nationals will play the rubber game of their 3 game series. The Mets won the first game on Friday night and the Nationals won yesterday. Here are the pregame notes and lineups for todays game. Mets Lineup: Reyes(SS) Cora(2B) Wright(3B) Bay(LF) Jacobs(1B) Francoeur(RF) Matthews Jr.(CF) Barajas(C) Santana(P) Nationals Lineup: Morgan(CF) Taveras(RF) Guzman(2B) Dunn(1B) Willingham(LF) Desmond(SS) Nieves(C) A. Kennedy(3B) Hernandez(P) Sean Green was put on the disabled list and left hander Raul Valdez was brougt up. To make room on the 40 man roster Clint Everts was designated for assignment. Jeff Francoeur has collected at least one hit in each of the teams first 5 games. He is hitting 444 on the season. Fernando Nieve became the first Mets player to pitch in all 4 games to begin a season. Doug Sisk pitched in the Mets first 3 games to start the 1985 season. Johan Santana since joining the Mets has the second lowest April era in the majors. His era is 2.13, Zack Greinke has the lowest at 1.28.

Yanks at Orioles(Yanks go for 2nd straight sweep)

The New York Yankees will take on the Baltimore Orioles tonight in game 3 of the 3 game series. The Yankees are going for their 10th straight victory over the Baltimore Orioles. They are 5 1/2 games ahead of the Angels for homefield advantage and 6 1/2 ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East. Here are the pregame notes and lineup as always via the Lohud Yankees Blog. CC Sabathia is 5-0 with a 2.64 era in his last 6 starts. He is 2-1 with a 3.10 era against the O's this season. Robinson Cano is 25 of 52 with 13 xbh, 7 homeruns and 17 rbi's against the O's this season. Cano has 7 xbh and 12 rbi's in his last 8 games overall. Alex Rodriguez has 71 rbi's this season. 35 of them have either tied the score or given the Yankees the lead. Derek Jeter is 2 stolen bases away from 300 for his career. Hideki Matsui is 3 for his last 19 with only 1 rbi. Nick Swisher is 26 of 85 at Camden Yards in his career with 13 homeruns adn 29 rbi's over 26 games. The average is 306 for those who don't have a calculator. The Yankee relievers have allowed one run on 8 hits over the last 16 1/3 innings. Derek Jeter needs 10 more hits to pass Lou Gehrig for most hits in franchise history. The Yankees are 71-33 since A-rod came off of the DL. Damaso Marte has thrown 3 1/3 scoreless innings since coming off of the DL. Yankees Lineup: Jeter(SS) Damon(LF) Swisher(1B) A-rod(3B) Matsui(DH) Cano(2B) Cabrera(CF) Hinske(RF) Molina(C)

Washington Nationals at New York Mets

The Mets are hurting but luckily the schedule favors them now. They play 2 more with the Nationals at home then 3 with the Marlins and then the Pirates. Carlos Beltran won't play the next couple of games and hopefully he will be back on Friday, he has a bruised tibia. Jose Reyes just hasn't been getting better and today as well as Ryan Church were placed on the 15 day DL. Fernando Martinez the Mets promising outfield prospect was brought up. The Mets also sent cash to the Indians for SS Wilson Valdez who will also immediately be put on the 25 man roster. Livan Hernandez gets the start tonight and the lineup is as follows: Pagan(CF) Castillo(2B) Wright(3B) Sheffield(LF) Tatis(1B) Martinez(RF) Santos(C) Martinez(SS) Hernandez(P)