Much ado about Posada/Burnett

Anyone who watched yesterday’s disaster of a game could tell that A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada were not on the same page.  This was evidenced by Burnett talking to himself on the mound, by two missed return throws to Burnett and by numerous mound visits.

Peter Abraham relays quotes from both characters, with Burnett putting the blame squarely on himself.

“There were a couple of heaters (when) I felt that I should have thrown a hook. I step off and re-gather and that’s when the non-executed pitch came. (Posada) calls fine back there. It’s just a matter of me throwing what I want to throw.

“There’s no pattern there. I’ve had a great run now with Jorge. So there’s no fingers to point but at me.”

Posada basically said, according to Abraham, that he just makes suggestions and the pitcher is the one who is ultimately in charge.

Abraham called Burnett stubborn, which he is, but Posada also appears to be extremely stubborn as well.

The team’s ultimate success is bigger than any one man.  Burnett and Posada need to get over the problems they have with each other – if any – because both players are important now and will be even more important come October.  Burnett will be the No. 2 starter in the playoffs, and Joe Girardi will obviously not want to use Jose Molina.

There is a little more than a month left in the season.  Sit these two down in one room and let them figure out what’s wrong.

A-Rod, Cash up; Melancon, Molina down

Jose Molina was officially placed on the disabled list with the quad injury.  Kevin Cash has been summoned from Triple-A to replace him.  However, he is not on the 40-man, so a move has to be made (not yet announced).

Alex Rodriguez has also been officially activated.  To make room for him, Mark Melancon was optioned to Scranton.

Rivera falters in tie game

Mariano Rivera gave up back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning of what was a tie game.  The Yankees lost 8-6 and are now embroiled in a five-game losing streak for the first time under Joe Girardi.  The Yankees were on a four-game winning streak leading up to this rough patch.

Eight home runs were hit tonight between the two clubs, including Johnny Damon’s game-tying home run in the eighth inning.  Unfortunately, the Yankees continue to struggle with runners in scoring position.

Oh yeah, Jose Molina injured his quad the day before Alex Rodriguez is set to return.  Really, is there anything else that can go wrong?

Hughes restores order

Phil Hughes, of all people, halted the Yankees’ four-game losing streak.

He pitched six shutout innings, striking out six and walking two.  He also threw 58 of his 99 pitches for strikes in the Yankees’ 11-0 victory over the Tigers.

Hughes pitched nicely, and his velocity touched 92 and 93 mph quite a bit.  He even got up to 94.  His curve was a little hard to control in the beginning but improved as the game went on, it seemed.

However, it was a pitchers’ duel for the first six innings of the game.  Edwin Jackson matched Hughes pitch-for-pitch, striking out four and walking one over six innings.  However, once Jackson was taken out, the Tigers imploded.

The Yankees scored 10 in the seventh inning, capped by a Jose Molina grand slam.  Aside from Molina, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada all had RBI in the frame.

Nick Swisher added a solo home run in the ninth to make it an 11-0 game.

Mark Melancon, Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras each pitched scoreless innings to close out the game.

Joba Chamberlain will face Rick Porcello tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. in the rubber game.

AP Photo

Burnett nearly pitches no-no, offense rolls over Rays’ pen

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NYY	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	4		7	11	0
TB	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0		2	3	0

A.J. Burnett pitched six no-hit innings before allowing three straight singles in the seventh inning to crush the Yankees’ hopes of having their first no-hitter since David Cone’s 1999 perfect game.  No worries: the Yankees were able to win 7-2 Tuesday night in Tampa to even their record at 4-4.

After Burnett gave up two runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at two, the Yankees went to work on the Rays’ bullpen once Matt Garza exited.

The Yankees broke the tie in the top of the eighth inning when Mark Teixeira hit a sacrifice fly after Brett Gardner doubled and Derek Jeter singled.

They then broke it open in the ninth against reliever Dan Wheeler.  Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera each singled.  After Ramiro Pena flew out and Jose Molina struck out, Gardner hit a ground rule double, his second two-bagger of the night, to drive in Cano.  Everyone else scored on Jeter’s three-run home run that gave the Yankees a 7-2 lead, the final score.

Burnett pitched eight innings, allowing only those two runs and striking out nine.  He threw 67 of his 103 pitches for strikes.  Brian Bruney pitched the final frame, striking out the side on 10 pitches.

The Yankees scored only one run in the first inning after loading the bases with no outs.  Jorge Posada hit a one-out sacrifice fly.  They scored another in the fourth when Nick Swisher hit his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot.  He also doubled in the sixth inning.  He now has 11 RBI on the young season.

Gardner and Jeter each had three hits in the top two spots of the lineup.  In Teixeira’s return to the lineup, he went 0-for-3 with an RBI.  He had been out since April 10 with left wrist tendinitis.

Tomorrow is the battle of the Andys: Pettitte and Sonnanstine.  First pitch is scheduled for 4:08 p.m.

Offense explodes in victory

The Yankees finally got the money off their back, recording their first victory of the season and avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles.

After falling behind 1-0 in the third, the Yankees showed some power in the top of the fourth.  Mark Teixeira hit a first-pitch ball over the center field wall for his first home run as a Yankee.  After Robinson Cano drew a two-out walk, Nick Swisher, starting in his first game as a Yankee, homered just out of the reach of Nick Markakis to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

Starter A.J. Burnett surrendered a solo shot to Luke Scott in the bottom half of the frame, but that was all the Orioles would score.  The Yankees right-hander threw 98 pitches in 5 1/3 innings – many of them coming in the third inning.  With the bases loaded in the frame, Burnett got Aubrey Huff to strike out swinging to end the threat.  He pumped his fist and ran off the field.

Overall, he gave up two earned runs and seven hits while striking out six and walking one.

Swisher would help the Yankees extend their lead in the sixth with an RBI single.  He finished the day going 3-for-5 with five RBI after hitting a two-run double in the top of the ninth.  A big error by Orioles’ reliever Brian Bass led to two more runs, and Jose Molina had a bloop RBI single in four-run sixth inning.

Cano added a two-run shot in the seventh inning to give the Yankees a seven-run lead.  He went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a walk.  He is now 6-for-11 with one home run, two RBI and three walks on the young season.

Prior to Swisher’s ninth-inning double, Ramiro Pena record his first major league hit in his first at-bat.

Relievers Phil Coke, Jose Veras, Brian Bruney and Mariano Rivera each had scoreless and hitless outings.

The Yankees travel to Kansas City to begin a three-game series.  Andy Pettitte will face old friend Sidney Ponson tomorrow at 4:10 p.m.

AP Photo

Yankees close out the Stadium in style

Jose Molina hit the final home run in Yankee Stadium history. Andy Pettitte recorded the final victory in Yankee Stadium history. Mariano Rivera was on the mound for the final out. Everything pretty much went as planned tonight.

It was important for the Yankees to win this game, and they did just that, defeating Chris Waters and the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

The pregame ceremonies almost made the game seem like a formality. Bernie Williams made his return to the Stadium and received a thunderous ovation. It was also great to see the other Yankees greats get announced and take part in the ceremonies.

Derek Jeter addressed the crowd after the game ended and admitted he was extremely nervous. The team then did a lap around the Stadium similar to the 1996 World Series celebration.

There isn't much more to be said about tonight. It's a very emotional time to be a Yankee fan and it's surreal to think that the lights will go out after tonight.

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Giambi takes a seat

I caught my first glimpse of the lineup tonight and noticed that Jason Giambi is sitting against the lefty Matt Harrison. Who?

Harrison has had five career starts and lefties are batting a cool .500 against him.

Meanwhile, Giambi went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI last night. This snapped a 27-game long slump that saw his batting average fall from .268 to .249.

This season, Giambi is hitting .247/.402/.517 against lefties. That isn't far off from his numbers against righties: .259/.386/.509. In fact, his OBP and SLG are both higher when he is facing southpaws.

A bottom of the order comprised of Richie Sexson, Jose Molina and Justin Christian will surely terrify young Harrison.

Mussina helps Yankees bounce back

The Yankees had lost five of their last six before Mike Mussina shut down the Los Angeles Angels this afternoon on the last Old-Timers' Day in the current Stadium.

It didn't look good after 1 1/2 innings today, as Mussina fell behind 2-0 and had a relatively high pitch count. Everything seemed to change when Wilson Betemit hit a game-tying two-run home run off of Jered Weaver in the bottom of the second.

They would score two more in the third, including a Bobby Abreu solo home run, and that would be more than enough for Mussina.

He gave up two hits (both in the second inning) over seven innings while striking out five and walking two. He also retired the last 16 batters he faced. He is now 14-7 and has a 3.44 ERA after 23 starts this season.

In addition to Abreu's home run, Alex Rodriguez and Jose Molina (his first of the season) added solo home runs as well. Starting for the first time since the Yankees acquired Ivan Rodriguez, Molina went 3-for-3.

Darrell Rasner takes the hill for New York tomorrow afternoon as the Yankees look to split the four-game series against Los Angeles. John Lackey will oppose him.

(AP Photo/Ed Betz)

Breaking news: Yankees trade for Pudge Rodriguez

Jose Molina won't be the starting catcher much longer.

The Yankees have traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for future hall of fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.

In 82 games this season, Rodriguez has five home runs and 32 RBI. He is batting .295/.328/.417 in 302 at-bats. He has also walked 19 times while striking out 52 times.

Farnsworth seemed to turn his Yankee career around, becoming a rather reliable member of Joe Girardi's bullpen. He's given up a ton of home runs for a reliever (11) but he's also had stretches where he was dominant this season.

I find this trade rather strange. Unlike other Yankees fans, I never hated Farnsworth. I knew that if he could harness his stuff he could be valuable and I also felt the Yankees could get by with the tandem of Jose Molina and Chad Moeller. This takes one of the primary setup men out of the bullpen as well. That said, you can't pass up Rodriguez's defense and batting abilities.

The acquisition of Damaso Marte looks huge right now, and Brian Bruney is getting close to returning.

Rodriguez is a free agent after this season, so they won't have to worry about him interfering with Jorge Posada's eventual return.

Posada to the DL

This is the best news I've heard today: Jorge Posada has been placed on the disabled list and may need season-ending shoulder surgery.

I knew his four-year contract was ridiculous and that it could possibly hurt the team in two or three years. I once again found another way to be pessimistic, as it's hurt the team only months into it.

Posada's throws to second base have been laughable and his offensive production has been nonexistent.

It will hurt having Jose Molina's bat in the lineup everyday, but hopefully this will give Brian Cashman another reason to acquire a big bat. Melky Cabrera has struggled at the plate since April and Brett Gardner hasn't been hitting from the left field spot. The Yankees received a boost today with Johnny Damon coming off of the disabled list.

I'd give up Ian Kennedy for a big bat in a heartbeat if the right move came along. Cashman has been too attached to the farm system, so part of me is worried that he won't make such a move. If the Yankees are serious about contending, the lineup, as it stands, is not championship-caliber.

Posada needs to have surgery

Jorge Posada is one bad throw away from costing the Yankees a win. If the Yankees were unable to tie the game in the ninth inning this afternoon, a Posada wide and short throw would have aided in a loss.

It's time to stop playing around with this. The guy is delusional enough to think he can still catch, and catch for three more years at that. He won't say to Joe Girardi that it's time to shut things down this season. The Yankees need to be proactive here.

This decision would be a lot easier if Jose Molina were hitting better, but they need to do something. Molina's arm is too good to be wasted, and Posada isn't hitting much better, either.

Yanks and Giambi lose

The Yankees did not look like they wanted to be in Pittsburgh tonight.

The offense was putrid: a bottom of the order containing Melky Cabrera, Jose Molina, Justin Christian and the pitcher's spot is just embarrassing. All things considered, it's a shock they scored two runs.

And as soon as the Yankees were able to tie the game at two runs apiece, Jose Veras gave it right back.

This loss snaps the Yankees four-game winning streak, despite scoring only 14 runs over that span. Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui need to get back as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Jason Giambi lost to Evan Longoria in the final vote contest. I guess the Support the 'Stache campaign wasn't enough. While it would have been great to see Giambi in the Home Run Derby contest, Longoria is also deserving of the All-Star nod.

Pettitte spins a gem

The only thing that was able to stop Andy Pettitte tonight was his pitch count.

Eight shutout innings against the frontrunning Tampa Bay Rays resulted in Pettitte throwing 114 pitches. Edwar Ramirez was able to pitch an easy ninth inning to secure the Yankees' third straight win by the score of 5-0.

Pettitte struggled against the Red Sox in his last start, giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings, so it was obviously a positive to see him turn in a performance like this. He won his 10th game of the season, joining Mike Mussina in the double-digit victory club.

Bobby Abreu, who had been 0 for his last 15 went 2-for-4 with an RBI tonight. Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jose Molina and Jorge Posada all added two hits apiece as well. Maybe the team is starting to come out of their collective funk.

They'll do it against tomorrow afternoon. Sidney Ponson will take the hill as the Yankees look to sweep this brief two-game series.

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Posada is killing this team

Teams are beginning to run marathons on Jorge Posada's right arm, and rightfully so.

Since coming off of the disabled list, he has been unable to unleash crisp throws to second base and threw to the foul side of third base in the ninth inning tonight. A good throw probably would have had Ian Kinsler.

Posada's offense hasn't exactly made up for his poor defense, either. He is 19-for-67 with two home runs and nine RBI since returning on June 5.

It's a shame that Jose Molina and Chad Moeller can't replace Posada's offensive potential, because I'd be in favor of either of them start behind the plate if they could hit.

Hopefully Posada's scheduled off-season surgery will correct whatever probably he has, but if the Yankees have three more years of this (and he still wants to catch), there will be problems.

Speaking of killing this team, Melky Cabrera needs to be benched or sent packing. He is absolutely lost right now. Why wasn't he bunting in that spot? Brett Gardner bunted in the first inning and Posada inexplicably bunted a ball foul later in the game. Yet Cabrera, who has been terrible since May, doesn't bunt there?

Small ball comes up huge

For the first four innings, the Yankees couldn't do anything against Padres' starter Josh Banks. They had runners at second and third with one out in the first inning but were unable to score.

They eventually fell behind 1-0 in the fourth, but that was until Melky Cabrera walked with one out in the fifth.

With Jose Molina at the plate, Cabrera stole second and third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly to center. The offense was stagnant up until that point, and they needed a boost. Manufacturing a run is the best way to provide a spark.

The Yankees would score again in the sixth. Derek Jeter led off with a single, stole second, took third on a ground out and scored on an Alex Rodriguez single.

That was all the Yankees would need. The bullpen shut down the Padres, winning 2-1 and finishing off the sweep.

Joba Chamberlain struck out a career-high nine batters in 5 2/3 innings, reaching exactly 100 pitches. With the Yankees scoring in the bottom of the sixth, Chamberlain did not figure in the decision, and is still searching for his first victory as a starter.

I would have let him finish the sixth. He struck out the first two batters in the inning and his velocity was not suffering at all. Four or five pitches wouldn't kill him. If a batter reached, then you could have taken him out.

The Yankees pitchers struck out the Padres 40 times in this series. They also outscored the Padres 18-6 in the three games.

The win streak now stands at seven. The Cincinnati Reds come to town for a three-game series that begins tomorrow night.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Cano hits in front of Cabrera, goes 4-4

As we all know, Robinson Cano has had a dismal start to the season. Before last night's game, he had a .183 batting average in 142 at-bats.

Since Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada have been out, the bottom of the lineup is not providing much protection. Cano has had to hit in front of Alberto Gonzalez, Morgan Ensberg and Jose Molina.

While Gonzalez is batting .290, the sample size is rather small, and pitchers would easily rather face him than face Cano. Ensberg is batting .224 with a .268 OBP. Molina has also been awful. Since April 13, Molina is batting .071 (3-42) with one RBI.

Obviously, whoever is batting eighth is not providing much protection for the seven-place hitter (usually Cano).

This was until last night when Joe Girardi put Cano in the six-hole and dropped Melky Cabrera to seventh. Cabrera has developed more power this year, slugging six home runs and driving in 18.

While Cano has been showing improvement - 9-29 with two home runs and four RBI between May 4 and May 13 - he was still below the Mendoza Line.

However, last night Cano's bat showed up. He went 4-4 with an RBI while hitting in front of Cabrera, propelling his average to .205. Cabrera had the misfortune of hitting in front of Ensberg, and went 0-4 as a result. He has been a slide of his own lately, going five for his last 31 with one RBI.

Hopefully this seemingly minor lineup adjustment will jump-start Cano. With Rodriguez and Posada remaining out of the lineup, any help they can get is huge.

(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Hank speaks, and I don't really care

Mt. Hank Steinbrenner blew following last night's rough loss to the first-place (!) Tampa Bay Rays last night.

Kevin Kernan of the Post had all of the quotes.

Let's try to tackle this piece-by-piece.

"We've got to forget about all the injuries and start playing our butts off," Steinbrenner told The Post. The Yankees were buried by the Rays on Monday. These are difficult days for Joe Girardi's club.

"The bottom line is that the team is not playing the way it is capable of playing," Steinbrenner said. "These players are being paid a lot of money and they had better decide for themselves to earn that money."

Well, with guys like Jose Molina, Morgan Ensberg and Alberto Gonzalez playing every night, I believe the team is playing the way it is capable of playing. There is a reason why they were expected to be role players and not everyday players. There is also a reason why Alex Rodriguez is being paid $275 million over 10 years and why Jorge Posada got a huge contract.

"We have good professional hitters and I have a lot of faith in them," Steinbrenner said from Tampa. As for the team in general, he noted, "I'm not saying they are not giving the effort, but they need to be playing harder."

Again, two of the best and professional hitters have been out since April. Also, Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano, while showing signs of coming out of their respective slumps, have been dreadful. I also don't doubt that the team is playing hard. They are failing in the clutch, but that is not because they don't care.

"There's no question we need to turn it around and we have the talent to turn it around. We've got the team in place, and now they just have to go out and do it.

"This is going to get turned around," Steinbrenner said. "If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too."

This is my favorite part. I'd actually like to see him use force next year, because I'm curious as to what he means.

His next quote is about Joba Chamberlain, but that issue is so ridiculous that it doesn't need to be mentioned in this space.

"We'll add whoever we have to add," he said. "We're missing two big pieces, but this is basically the same lineup as last year. I have great faith in all of them."

Yes, it's the same lineup as last year when Posada and Rodriguez are playing. However, when Giambi is playing everyday and Cano is still inept, the lineup is much worse than it was last year. It's also a problem that this is the same lineup last year. At least last year they'd bully bad pitchers. So far this year, they can't hit anyone.


Regarding the Rays: "I'm happy for them, but I wish they were in the National League. They only had 13,000 there (Monday) night," Steinbrenner said. "That place should be packed. They're an exciting young team."

This I actually agree with. I know Florida Marlins' fans always jumped on the bandwagon, but the Rays have a legitimate good, young team that should be around for years.

Steinbrenner needs to just be quiet and let the players play. Does he really think speaking to some reporter from the Post will motivate the team? There is a reason why he was never involved with the team until this past off-season. They are only 40 games into the season and are remarkably only two games under .500. If things get much worse from here, then you can speak. Until then, just keep your mouth shut, please.

A-Rod out longer

I saw this last night, but wasn't around long enough to post it. Good thing I missed the game too. This team is flat-out boring.

Alex Rodriguez is progressing slower than expected and will miss at least the rest of this week (including the always overblown Subway Series).

Rushing him back is the reason why his injury became more severe, so it's good to see that they are at least being more cautious this time around.

To say that the Yankees are desperately missing Rodriguez is an understatement. For every game that the lineup puts together games of six or more runs, they play three more games where they score three or less runs.

The Yankees are playing uninspired baseball at this point, and it's amazing that they are 19-20 through 39 games this season. The Yankees were 18-21 at this point in the season last year, but this was before a losing streak that found them sitting at 21-29 after 50 games. Keep in mind that Rodriguez was just coming off that crazy April where he won two games with his bat in the ninth inning.

All is obviously not lost. While the Red Sox are seven games above .500, they are only four games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings. As we learned last year, nothing is decided this early in the season. Rodriguez can sit out this week to recover, but he will start to be a concern if he's out any longer.

They can win with Rodriguez in the lineup while Jorge Posada is out. Jose Molina and Chad Moeller are fine once Rodriguez is back. However, while both Posada and Rodriguez are out with injuries, the lineup is anemic.

This season has given Yankee fans a glimpse at what life without Rodriguez would have been like if he didn't re-sign this off-season. Hopefully they will now appreciate Rodriguez and what he brings to this lineup.

Times: Posada has muscle tear

According to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times, Jorge Posada has a muscle tear and is likely headed to the disabled list.

Posada was a late scratch from this afternoon's lineup, and the Yankees said that they would not announce why until after the game. It appears that we have finally found out why.

Posada had been out of the lineup for a good part of April due to a "dead" shoulder and Jose Molina has caught 39 more innings than Posada has this season.

Chad Moeller was designated for assignment yesterday and can be claimed by another team.

It's great that Posada is in the first year of his new $52.4 million contract and held out for the Yankees to give him a fourth year. Hopefully Moeller does not get claimed and can come back to backup Molina. I can't understand why they designated Moeller for assignment when Posada still wasn't fully healthy.