September call-ups

Chad Jennings brings us the list of the Yankees' September call-ups. They are:

• Francisco Cervelli
• Ramiro Pena
• Mark Melancon
• Edwar Ramirez
• Mike Dunn (pictured)
  

The new name here is Dunn, a 24-year-old left-handed reliever, who has appeared in 73 1/3 innings between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In 20 innings with the latter club, he struck out 23 and walked 14, allowing five earned runs.

Melancon is moving on up

The Yankees defeated the Twins 6-4 this afternoon to sweep the season series.  They are now 51-34 and have won 13 of their last 15 games overall.  With Boston’s loss tonight, the two teams are in a tie for first place in the AL East.

Because the Yankees burned through the bullpen this afternoon, the Yankees have called up Mark Melancon according to Chad Jennings.

Melancon appeared in four games for the Yankees at the end of April and the beginning of May, allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings.  He walked five batters while striking out two over that span.

For Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Melancon has struck out 42 and walked nine over 39 2/3 innings.

No corresponding move has been announced yet.

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.

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

Melancon also called up

Peter Abraham is reporting that Mark Melancon has also been called up, which definitely sounds like bad news for Brian Bruney’s elbow.

Mel-AN-son, 24, has appeared in six games this season, pitching 10 1/3 scoreless innings.  He has struck out 17, walked three and allowed four hits.

The Yankees will need to make another 40-man roster move.  I will update when I what the two 40-man moves are.

Yankees sweep split squad Saturday

The Yankees, behind A.J. Burnett's four perfect innings, defeated the Astros 3-1 in one split squad game this afternoon in Tampa.

Burnett struck out three batters in his second start in Grapefruit League play. Dan Giese followed, giving up one run in two innings of play, striking out three. Edwar Ramirez, Brian Bruney and Jason Johnson then pitched one scoreless inning each.

Johnny Damon hit a solo home run in the first inning to give Burnett and the Yankees an early lead. Cody Ransom went 2-for-4 with his third double of the spring and a run scored.

In the other game, the Yankees defeated the Pirates 13-10. Austin Jackson went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and three runs scored. Jesus Montero hit a grand slam in the seventh inning.

Phil Hughes started for the Yankees. In three innings, he gave up two earned runs, two hits and three walks while striking out two. Ian Kennedy pitched three innings of his own, striking out five and allowing one run. Mark Melancon disappointing, giving up five earned runs in only 2/3 of an inning. He gave up six hits and two home runs.

Andy Pettitte will start for the Yankees against Minnesota in Tampa at 1:15 tomorrow.

Yankees lose 7-4

CC Sabathia's second inning was horrendous this afternoon against the Tigers. He gave up three singles, a double and a two-run home run by Gary Sheffield. He only retired two batters in the frame before he was taken out. In total: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HRA.

Alfredo Aceves wasn't much better. He gave up three hits and two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings, including Sheffield's second home run of the game. He also allowed a home run to Wilkin Ramirez.

Brian Bruney, Jose Veras and Mark Melancon combined to pitch the final three (scoreless) innings of the game.

Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira each had two hits, and Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Kevin Cash and Jorge Posada all drove in a run apiece.

The Yankees have an off-day tomorrow before playing the Red Sox in Fort Myers Friday night.

Yankees lose 3-2

Time to panic! The Yankees are now 2-4-1 in spring training thus far.

Ian Kennedy went three innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits, one walk and no strikeouts. Dan Giese also pitched three innings, struck out three, walked one and gave up one earned run. Andrew Brackman and Mark Melancon pitched one scoreless inning apiece in relief.

Offensively, the Yankees were offensive. They only scattered five hits (one of them off the bat of Giese) and plated two runs. Johnny Damon had an RBI single and Juan Miranda's sixth-inning groundout also scored one.

The Yankees will play Team Canada tomorrow afternoon in Tampa at 1:15 p.m. Joba Chamberlain will start this untelevised game.

Yankees lose 13-11

The offense - particularly Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner - shined Sunday afternoon in Sarasota against the Cincinnati Reds. But the pitchers didn't, as they gave up 13 runs, including three runs charged to starter Alfredo Aceves in one inning of work, to lose 13-11.

Gardner went 2-for-3 at the plate with a solo home run in the third inning. Derek Jeter and Cano went 3-for-3; Cano hit a home run, a double and drove in four. Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez each added two hits - Rodriguez hit two doubles and drove in two runs.

Mark Melancon was the only pitcher who didn't give up an earned run on the day. Damaso Marte gave up two earned runs in one inning.

The Yankees will play the Astros tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 p.m. in Kissimmee. Chien-Ming Wang will start.

Yankees win 5-1

The Yankees are 2-0 and have outscored their opponents 11-2. Too bad it's only February.

Phil Hughes started today, and pitched two shutout innings, despite hitting two batters. He threw 33 pitches for 22 strikes and struck out one batter. Hughes was consistently reaching 92 mph with his fastballs. The two hit batters are a concern, but he was able to work out of trouble in the first inning.

Phil Coke also pitched two shutout innings, so did Brian Bruney, Damaso Marte, Mark Melancon and Jonathan Albaladejo. J.B. Cox gave up one run on three hits in his one inning of work.

At the plate, the Yankees hit two home runs, including a solo home run by Jorge Posada in the third inning. He also drove in a run on a ground-rule double to center in the fifth. Shelley Duncan followed with a three-run home run of his own in the seventh.

Mark Teixeira also hit a single in his first game as a Yankee.

The Yankees travel to Fort Myers tomorrow to face the Twins at 1:05 p.m. Ian Kennedy will go for the Yankees.

Latest on Tex, Manny, Cameron, CC and A.J.

George King (I'm still refusing to call him George A. King III) had a bunch of news items spaced out over two articles today.

In the first piece, CC Sabathia is expected in town tomorrow, will take his physical Tuesday and could be formally introduced as early as Wednesday. According to A.J. Burnett's agent, there has been no date set for his physical.

Later, King writes that Kei Igawa's salary has been the latest hold up in the long rumored Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera trade. Igawa makes $4 million per year, so they don't want to spend that after saving Cameron's $10-million salary. The Yankees have told the Brewers that no pitchers on their 40-man roster are available, so that's why they're settled on the enigmatic lefty. The Brewers asked for Phil Coke, Mark Melancon and Jose Veras, but the Yankees quickly shot that down. King says both sides expect to get the deal done eventually.

I hope they don't.

Now, his second article - Yankee-related news regarding Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez.

According to several baseball officials, the Yankees New York Yankees remain in the Mark Teixeira hunt. But the same connected voices insist if the Yankees don't land the switch-hitting first baseman, they will turn their money toward controversial slugger Manny Ramirez.

"If they can't get Teixeira, they are right there on Manny," an official with knowledge of the Yankees' plan said yesterday.

Imagine getting Teixeira or Ramirez after already signing Sabathia and Burnett? Teixeira has already received an eight-year, $160 million offer from the Angels, so he probably won't get an offer from the Yankees, but according to King, the Yankees "are likely" to offer Ramirez three years at $20 million per.

That would be $59.5 million tied up in free agents, and we're not even talking about Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. But the Yankees were given a lot of money to spend. No matter what, it still sounds like a lot, and it's fascinating to see how much the organizational philosophy has changed after a down year.

Joba's transition has begun

Why would Joba Chamberlain throw two innings and 35 pitches in an 8-0 game? Because tonight was the first night of his transition into the starting rotation.

This move obviously makes sense. While watching Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy struggle, many Yankee fans noticed that their best pitcher was just sitting in the bullpen twittering his thumbs.

Chamberlain is on a 150 innings-limit this season, and he probably would not reach that total if he spent the entire season as the eight inning guy. As a result, his innings would be limited next year, setting him back a year in his development.

He will also not have to go to the minors during this process as previously thought.

The question now is who will take his place in the eighth inning? Kyle Farnsworth has shown signs of reliability, but he has also shown signs of...well...Kyle Farnsworth. Either the Yankees will promote in-house (J.B. Cox and Mark Melancon) or they will make a trade.

It's a risk to take Chamberlain out of the eighth inning, but it's definitely one worth taking. Six or seven innings is much more valuable than one inning is in the long run.

Intrasquad day

Today marks the first time that the 2008 New York Yankees take the field for a "real" game, as the annual intrasquad game is played. The game will begin at 1 p.m.

Here is the pitching schedule, from Peter Abraham:

Mike Mussina will pitch two innings for the “home” team in the intrasquad game today. He’ll be followed by Darrell Rasner, Dan McCutchen, Sean Henn, Jon Albaladejo, Mark Melancon for one inning each.

Jeff Karstens will go two innings for the “away” team with Scott Patterson, Steven Jackson, Billy Traber, Edwar Ramirez, Ross Ohlendorf to follow.

There has been a lot of talk about Mark Melancon making the team out of Spring Training, despite only pitching six innings of professional baseball. I doubt the Yankees will take that chance, but it should be interesting to see how he performs this spring.