Stop the game. Break out the champagne. Kyle Farnsworth just threw a 1-2-3 inning.
Injury updates: A-Rod, Giambi, Hughes
We’re still tied at five at the Stadium. I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time ragging on Kei Igawa later on, but let’s get to some more optimistic news.
A-Rod is to undergo an MRI today — though he was in the dugout, so maybe it happened already. We’ll update this section when we hear the results.
Update: From the YES postgame: MRI came back negative. Expect A-Rod to play tomorrow night.
Giambi is out of the boot and will be reevaluated. He’s got an MRI coming that will determine when he’ll be back (and boy could we use him).
Hughes is throwing BP today in Tampa, and is on target to start a rehab assignment soon:
I mentioned Hughes earlier, and there’s some good news on that front—he could start a rehab assignment next week. His ankle is healed, so now the biggest challenge for him is rebuilding his stamina. If he starts next week, he could be back in The Bronx before we flip the calendar, but expect a very deliberate, conservative plan for him.
All in all, we’re sitting on some decent news. Updates if any come later today.
News via Pete Abraham and Will Carroll.
Update by Mike: While we’re on the topic of injured players, I might as well mention this little tidbit from Kat O’Brien over at Newsday:
Jeff Karstens (broken leg) is not yet throwing batting practice, but is throwing from a mound.
…
Doug Mientkiewicz (broken wrist) and Darrell Rasner (fractured finger) are scheduled to go to Tampa at the All-Star break for further rehab.
Getting players healthy is always a good thing; even if no one has any friggin’ idea where they’ll play once they’re ready to do so.
Vote for Joba!
A couple of days ago there was a nice little discussion about which picture of Yankees pitching prospect Joba Chamberlain people preferred for the Joba Watch. I scoured the interweb looking for shots of the guy, and came up with a couple decent ones. Photos and poll after the jump.
A-Rod out today
On Monday night, we held our collective breaths when A-Rod went down. We exhaled on Tuesday when he was in the starting lineup. But mired in an 0-for-19 slump and feeling the effects of his tweaked hamstring, A-Rod is not in the lineup for today’s day game. There is no word on his condition beyond this. We’ll have more when it becomes available. Hideki is taking over the clean-up duties today.
No-hitter* for Brett Smith
An abbreviated report on last night’s action…
- Chris Britton gave up 3 ER in 1 inning of work. His ERA has gone from sub-1.00 to 2.77 in the last month or so.
- Brett Smith threw a no-hitter for Trenton, but you can stick an asterick on it; the game was called after 5 innings due to rain. He also walked an ungodly 7 batters.
- Seth Fortenberry took another 0-fer and is now 3 for his last 30. Josue Calzado went 3 for 4 with a bomb.
- Dellin Betances went 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 6 K. It seems like everyone was walking alot of guys last night, so you can probably attribute that to the crappy weather on the East Coast.
- Ross Ohlendorf went 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K in his 3rd rehab start with the GCL Yanks.
I like sleep. Sleep is good.
Losing ground
Apologies for the slow day on RAB. We weren’t around our computers on the Fourth, and you shouldn’t have been either. But the Yanks played. And lost. Once again, the team’s pitchers weren’t handled properly by Torre, and the offense couldn’t, unsurprisingly, put much together against Johan Santana. Meanwhile, the Red Sox won, and the Yanks fell to 12 out. It would be great to reel off 4 more wins before the All Star Break. The Red Sox fans Detroit this weekend, and maybe the Yanks could gain a couple of games before a much-needed vacation. If they don’t, it’s going to be a very long climb during the second half.
Joba Chamberlain & Jose Tabata … ’nuff said
There’s a devilish little rumor running around the interweb saying that the Yanks have signed 10th round pick Carmen Angelini (late sandwich/early second rounder based on talent), but MLB is forcing them to delay the announcement because the signing bonus far exceeds slot recommendations (this is very typical).
I have no confirmation of this whatsoever, and I’m actually kinda hoping someone out there knows what’s up.
Triple-A Scranton (4-3 loss to Ottawa, walk-off style)
Juan Francia: 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 RBI – if it’s possible to quietly hit .356, he’s doin’ it…
Kevin Reese: 1 for 4, 1 3B, 1 RBI
Shelley Duncan: 0 for 4, 1 K – in other news, well…um…Andy Phillips is actually starting to hit the ball
Eric Duncan: 0 for 4, 1 E (throwing)
Bronson Sardinha: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 E (fielding)
Tyler Clippard: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 3-13 GB/FB – eh, I guess it’s improvement
Ben Kozlowski: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – after being the team’s horse the first half of the year, he got in “only” 10.1Â IP in June