On the Yankees beat

I'm headed to Texas in a couple of hours. Not sure if it will be a quiet trip or a busy one. As of last night, sources indicated George Steinbrenner had not made up his mind to fire Joe Torre, at least not right now. We will see if fthat changes or not.
As our columnist Wally Matthews points out today, what could another manager have done differently that would have made a significant difference? Could he have hit for Bobby Abreu this week? Would he have had someone else close other than Mariano Rivera in the games Rivera blew? Would he have conjured up replacements for Mike Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano and Jeff Karstens?
It all comes down to what the Boss thinks, though.

Most of you know Derek Jeter feels strongly about Joe Torre. After the Yankees' 7-4 loss to the Red Sox yesterday, he spoke up in Torre's favor. It was a strong backing, more vocal than Jeter often is.

"It's unfair to even be talking about it, and it should stop," Jeter said of speculation on Torre's job.

“It’s unfair,” Jeter said. “It shouldn’t be questioned. His job should never be questioned. Like I said, he is in no way responsible for us not playing well. He puts the best players out on the field for every game, and then it’s up to us.”

Here are the lineups for the final Yankees-Red Sox game this weekend.

Red Sox
Julio Lugo SS
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
Eric Hinske RF
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Alex Cora 2B
Julian Tavarez P

Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Chien-Ming Wang P

Carl Pavano threw a bullpen session from a mound today, so that would be the surprising development. He got through it with reportedly no problems.

As if the Yankees didn't have enough pitching problems, Jeff Karstens was hit on the left knee by Julio Lugo's line drive on the first pitch of the game. He stayed in for one more batter (five pitches), and gave up a single to Kevin Youkilis. Then that was it. Karstens called for the trainer.
Kei Igawa is coming in. Back in a minute with other tidbits.

Oh, lineups:

Red Sox
Lugo SS
Youkilis 1B
Ortiz DH
Ramirez LF
Drew RF
Lowell 3B
Crisp CF
Mirabelli C
Pedroia 2B
Wakefield P

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Karstens P

The Yankees have lost seven in a row now, the most since 2000. If things don't turn around quickly, it seems something has got to give. What that is is the question. The pitching has been horrible, and the last two days, the offense hasn't been great either. We will see what comes next.

Andy Pettitte is out of the game for the Yankees. He failed to get through five innings, allowing five earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. It's 5-4 Red Sox after five.

Early news and the lineup for you:

Derek Jeter is playing, says he's fine.
Mike Mussina threw a simulated game indoors due to the weather, and is tentatively slated to pitch in Texas next Thursday.
Phil Hughes will get another start, probably Tuesday in Texas.

Lineups
Red Sox
Julio Lugo SS
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
J.D. Drew RF
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Daisuke Matsuzaka P

Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Hideki Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Andy Pettitte P

The Red Sox are in town for a quick revisit of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Last weekend in Boston was all Red Sox, as they swept 3-0. The Yankees now need wins even more, having lost the three games since then. Tonight, they'll be lucky to play, as it's raining hard and forecast to rain throughout the day and evening.

Phil Hughes is done for the night. He gave up four earned runs on seven hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five. The only batter who really zeroed in on him was Vernon Wells, who was 3-for-3.
The Yankees trail 4-0 in the top of the 6th.

Phil Hughes had a little bit of a rough first inning, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Since then he's been excellent, though. He has allowed one hit and no runs in the past two innings.
It's 2-0 Blue Jays midway thru the 3rd.

The Yankees announced that Jeff Karstens will start Saturday against the Red Sox. Kei Igawa will be skipped this time through the rotation after struggling mightily against the Devil Rays. Karstens, of course, was pleased. Igawa was unavailable for comment.
The Yankees just announced that Derek Jeter was scratched from the lineup tonight, presumably due to the bruised left thigh from a hit-by-pitch in Tampa Tuesday. Jeter has been at the park for several hours and was originally in the rotation.

Lineups
Blue Jays
Alex Rios RF
Adam Lind LF
Vernon Wells CF
Frank Thomas DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
Aaron Hill 2B
Jason Smith 3B
Jason Phillips C
John McDonald SS
A.J. Burnett P

Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Hidek Matsui LF
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Miguel Cairo SS
Phil Hughes P

Big night tonight for the Yankees' top pitching prospect, Phil Hughes. As good as everyone says Hughes is, that doesn't necessarily mean his debut will be a gem. it could be, but one game is not going to be a great indicator of his future.
Even so, I want to hear your thoughts on what Hughes's line will be tonight.

Tonight's game has been rained out.
The Yankees announced that Phil Hughes will still make his major-league debut tomorrow against Toronto.
Andy Pettitte, tomorrow's original starter, will instead pitch Friday against the Red Sox.
Interestingly, Joe Torre said he hadn't committed to a starter for Saturday. It's between Kei Igawa and Jeff Karstens. Have the Yankees lost that much faith in Igawa already? Who would you guys start on Saturday?

Writing to you from the Tampa Airport with little time before boarding. Just one question: How worried, if at all, are you about the Yankees after an 0-5 road trip, and why?
I won't be at the park tonight, but will be tomorrow. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

The Yankees lost 6-4, and have now dropped five consecutive games. It's their longest losing streak since they lost six in a row May 28-June 3, 2005. They have also lost six straight road games.

Derek Jeter said his bruised left thigh is not that bad. He had very limited mobility immediately after getting hit with the pitch, but insists he will play tomorrow night.
Alex Rodriguez's hitting streak ended.
The one bright spot for the Yankees is that Chien-Ming Wang looked very good for his first start of the season.

The Devil Rays' Carl Crawford just hit his first career grand slam off the Yankees' Mike Myers. It's now 6-3 Devil Rays.

We got word that Derek Jeter is day-to-day with a bruised left thigh suffered when a Scott Kazmir pitch hit him in the first inning.
Devil Rays trail 2-1. Chien-Ming Wang has been very good in his season debut. Wang, who missed the first three weeks with a hamstring strain, has allowed two earned runs on five hits (all singles) and no walks. The Yankees' lone run came on a Hideki Matsui home run.

Derek Jeter is out of the game. He was hit on the left thigh by a Scott Kazmir pitch in the first inning. Although Jeter took first and remained on the bases for the top of the inning, he was replaced by Miguel Cairo in the bottom half of the inning. No word yet on his condition.

Again, another really busy day. Here are the lineups. Game in top of first, Jeter got drilled on left thigh and was down for a couple minutes but eventually went to first base.

Yankees
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phelps 1B
Wang

Devil Rays
Baldelli CF
Harris SS
Crawford LF
Wigginton 3B
Young RF
Pena 1B
Gomes DH
Navarro C
Upton 2B
Kazmir

Kevin Thompson was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room for Chien-Ming Wang.

Link to short A-Rod story http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sparod0425,0,6397486.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines

Alex Rodriguez just did a lengthy interview session with reporters in the dugout. Most of it related to the incredibly hot streak he's on, but he also said: "I want to stay in New York, no matter what."

Look online for more soon.

Alex Rodriguez just hit his second home run of the night and 14th of the season. (He's on pace for 126 by the way). He has 34 RBIs this month. And yet, the Yankees still trail 10-8.
Kei Igawa gave up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings.
One out in the top of the 9th.

Alex Rodriguez just hit his 13th home run of the season. I guess his slump (kidding) is over at two games without a home run.

Busy day here, between travel, no sleep, Hughes news, Matsui back.
Lineups
Yankees
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Matsui LF
Posada C
Cano 2B
Phelps 1B
Igawa

Devil Rays
Baldelli DH
Harris SS
Crawford LF
Wigginton 1B
Young RF
Iwamura 3B
Dukes CF
Paul C
Upton 2B
Fossum

Phil Hughes is making his major league debut Thursday against the Blue Jays. More soon.

The Yankees have optioned Chase Wright back to Double A Trenton, making room to activate outfielder Hideki Matsui from the disabled list. Matsui is in the lineup tonight, returning from a strained hamstring, but Johnny Damon is not. He was bothered by back spasms and a sore hamstring over the weekend.
Back with more later.

The Yankees were swept in Boston for the first time since 1990 with a 7-6 loss tonight. Scott Proctor gave up a three-run homer, Chase Wright gave up four consecutive homers and Alex Rodriguez ground into a fielder's choice for the final out of the night.

Ummm --- forget the last post. Chase Wright just gave up solo home runs to FOUR consecutive hitters. Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek went back-to-back-to-back-to-back. It's now 4-3 Red Sox.

Midway thru the 3rd inning, Chase Wright has kept the Red Sox in check. Although he walked the first two batters of the game, and put two in in the second, the Red Sox have yet to score.
The Yankees, on the other hand, have notched three runs against Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka. Jason Giambi has knocked in all three runs, with a first-inning two run double and a third-inning one run single. It's 3-0 Yankees.

Jorge Posada is still not a go, as his left thumb remains sore and swollen. Johnny Damon (back spasms) is in the lineup, however. Here are the lineups for tonight's Yankees-Red Sox game.

Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Melky Cabrera LF
Wil Nieves C

Chase Wright P

Red Sox
Julio Lugo SS
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
J.D. Drew RF
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Wily Mo Pena CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B

Daisuke Matsuzaka P

Tonight's matchup between the Red Sox and their starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the Yankees and their starter, Chase Wright, will determine whether or not the Yankees can avoid being swept at Fenway for the first time since 1990.
What are your thoughts on Matsuzaka -- who has gotten off to quite a strong start to his major league career? Do you wish the Yankees had shelled out the cash to get him? Or do you think the hype will outweight the actual performance?

This has not been a well-pitched ball game thus far -- by either team, but particularly by the Yankees. Jeff Karstens is back on the mound to begin the 5th for the Yankees. He has allowed seven runs on eight hits and two walks thus far. Josh Beckett has given up four runs, three earned, on six hits and a walk in five innings. It's 7-4 Red Sox.

Both Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada are out today. Damon's back is sore, and hamstring tight. He is not an emergency option. Posada's left thumb is bruised, but they expect him to be able to play by Monday.
Chris Britton was sent out to make room for Jeff Karstens on the roster.
Mike Mussina threw a 30-pitch bullpen, and will throw another bullpen Tuesday before heading to make a rehab start. He should rejoin the rotation in Texas.
Carl Pavano played catch from 60 feet, but still feels "it" in his right elbow/forearm.

Lineups
Yankees
Melky Cabrera CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Kevin Thompson LF
Wil Nieves C
Jeff Karstens P

Red Sox
Julio Lugo SS
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
J.D. Drew RF
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Alex Cora 2B
Josh Beckett P

Mariano Rivera couldn't keep the Yankees in the lead. He gave up two runs on three hits and was on the mound as four Red Sox crossed the plate. The Red Sox rallied to win 7-6 over the Yankees despite A-Rod's two homers and four RBIs.
Rivera is now 0-for-2 in save opportunities with an 8.44 ERA.

OK, A-Rod just hit ANOTHER home run. This one was highly entertaining in that Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp fell over the wall backwards into the Red Sox bullpen as he tried to catch it.
This was a three-run homer that put the Yankees up 5-2.
BTW, Rodriguez entered the game with a .167 average against Curt Schilling (7-of-42) with a .567 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Posada left the game with a bruised left thumb suffered on a pitch from Pettitte. X-Rays were negative.

The Red Sox have tied the score on a two-run homer by Jason Varitek off Andy Pettitte. It's now 2-2 after four innings.
Additionally, Jorge Posada has been replaced by Wil Nieves. No word on the nature of Posada's injury, or if he is in fact injured.

Alex Rodriguez just hit another home run. This was an 0-1 solo shot off Curt Schilling to put the Yankees up 2-0 in the fourth inning. It landed in the top row of seating above the Green Monster.
That's 11 in 15 games, and if he doesn't hit any more tonight (by no means a certainty), he's on pace for 119.

He now has 475 home runs, tying Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 25th on the all-time list. Of course, at this rate, he'll be in 1st by 2010.

All right everybody, the stands are filling up now with first pitch about 15 minutes away. The Sox are wearing thier green uniforms, which to me look like Christmas colors.
Pre-game news: Chien-Ming Wang will come off the DL and pitch Tuesday in St. Petersburg against the Devil Rays. Darrell Rasner was sent out to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Colter Bean called up.

Here are the lineups for the day:

Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera LF
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B

Red Sox
Julio Lugo SS
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
J.D. Drew RF
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Dustin Pedroia 2B

I've got a couple pretty interesting notes for you, courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau. Neither has to do with the Red Sox series, but oh well.

Sean Henn (Thursday), Kei Igawa (Wednesday) and Chase Wright (Tuesday) were the pitchers of record who got wins for the Yankees the last three days. All three earned their first big league win. The Yankees are now the first team in major league history to sweep a series (3+ games) with all three winning pitchers getting their first major league victories. I bet if you guessed what team would likely do that first, the Yankees would be 30th on your list, given the normal lack of rookies.

Yesterday's game was the second time the Yankees have won a game at Yankee Stadium that they trailed by four or more runs when down to their last out with the bases empty. The other was in 1923, the first year at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth began a four-run game-tying ninth inning with an inside-the-park home run, and the Yankees beat the Tigers 9-8 in 10 innings.

Have fun playing Trivial Pursuit w/your friends.

The annual Yankees-Red Sox marathon clash begins tonight. I'm looking forward to covering my first regular season Yankees-Red Sox series. I'm not a complete newbie to the rivalry in person, though, as I covered the 2004 ALCS (yes, the one the Red Sox came back from 0-3 to win).
It appears it is going to be a gorgeous weekend in Boston, particularly tomorrow and Sunday, with temperatures in the 60s.
The Yankees are riding a good wave after sweeping the Indians on Alex Rodriguez's walkoff three-run homer yesterday.
As for the Red Sox, since we mostly write about the Yankees here (that's the point, right?), they are one game ahead of the Yankees. They have gotten tremendous pitching. Their top three starters -- Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka -- will be on the mound. It will be interesting to see how they fare against the Yankees, who sport the best offense in the league. Boston's hitting hasn't been quite as robust as normal. Offense tends to suffer more in colder temperatures, particularly slugging. David Ortiz hasn't struggled, with five homers and 13 RBIs (good in any universe's other than A-Rod's right now), but Manny Ramirez is hitting only .200 with one homer and both Coco Crisp and Jason Varitek are beneath the Mendoza line.
Back at you in a couple hours.

I know the whereabouts of Humberto Sanchez have been of great interest. Sanchez had elbow ligament transplant surgery (Tommy John surgery) Tuesday. That's obviously very disappointing for the Yankees, as he was a main pickup in the Gary Sheffield trade who had performed quite well in the minors last year.
But Mark Newman (Yankees farm director) was actually glad it was that and not something else, at least from the standpoint of Tommy John surgery has a pretty good success rate. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery. He's among the best, if not the best, at that operation.
All right, that's it from me for the day.

Unbelievable. Alex Rodriguez just hit a walkoff three-run homer. It's like impossible to write a better start to a season for somebody. The Yankees won 8-6.

Jason Giambi just rocked one to right field for a 2-1 Yankees lead. Darrell Rasner pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on four hits, a walk and two hit batters. But he was fortunate to escape without scoring damage beyond that. Two outs in the bottom of the sixth.

Here's the Yankees lineup today vs. the Indians, and the Indians' lineup as well.

Indians
Grady Sizemore CF
David Dellucci LF
Travis Hafner DH
Victor Martinez C
Ryan Garko 1B
Casey Blake 3B
Jhonny Peralta SS
Mike Rouse 2B
Jason Michaels RF
Fausto Carmona P

Yankees
Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera LF
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Wil Nieves C
Darrell Rasner P

For all the injuries the Yankees' pitching staff has had, they've been doing awfully well so far. The Yankees go into today's game against the Indians with the third-lowest ERA in the American League at 3.57. Only the Red Sox (2.55) and A's (2.69) are lower. The Yankees' relievers have the lowest ERA in the AL at 2.26.
Of course the Yankees' offense has, as expected, been more productive than all others. They are batting a league-best .280 and have scored a league-high 83 runs.