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Positive news on Bruney, Posada

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The Yankees are rolling right now, and they’re doing so without two of their most integral pieces. Both Jorge Posada and Brian Bruney are rehabbing from injuries, and Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com provides us with some updates. Bruney threw a bullpen Friday, and it looks like he’ll be ready to rejoin the team during the homestand. The Yanks don’t know exactly what he’ll do next, but it will likely involve some live action, either a simulated game or a minor league rehab appearance. If he’s going to join the team this week, it sounds like it’ll be one appearance before activation. I’d bet on Edwar Ramirez getting the boot when the time comes.

Posada claims he’s 85 percent, which is probably just an arbitrary figure he concocted. The hammy is still bothering him a bit, but there’s not much more in terms of an update. He’s continuing his rehab, while it doesn’t sound like Jose Molina has done much more than rest since straining his quad on May 8. Getting Posada back is obviously more important for the Yanks. It’s nice to hear good news, but he’s still probably three weeks away.

Bruney’s injury and instant replay

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I don’t really need to harp on just how bad the Yankees bullpen has been over the last few weeks, but stick with me for a minute.

After last night’s loss dropped the team to 3-9 over the last 12 games, the bullpen’s season numbers are horrific. In 92 innings this year, the pen has put together a 6-6 record with a 6.26 ERA. The combined might of the Yankee relievers has resulted in 95 hits — 21 of which have left the park — as well as 49 walks.

One of the few bullpen right spots in the early going was Brian Bruney. In nine appearances spanning eight innings, Bruney had allowed 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. He had struck out 12 and had claimed the set-up spot as part of the Bridge to Mowhere.

But it was not to last. The oft-injured Bruney found himself on the disabled list 15 days ago. Initially, the Yankees said the right-hander would return after the minimum, but the news now is not quite as sunny. Bruney threw yesterday for the first time since Sunday, and while he reported no pain, he says he still needs at least another two weeks to ramp up his arm to game-ready condition.

For now, the Yankee bullpen will have to keep it together for a few more weeks, but the more interesting aspect of Bruney’s injury is how he thinks he got it. A few weeks ago, he said he was working too hard in between starts. Now, he says that a long instant-replay review caused him to overextend himself. Bruney is talking about the Yanks’ April 19th victory over the Indians when a Jorge Posada pinch-hit fly ball just cleared the right field fence. Mike and I were at that game, and it took the umpires nearly 10 minutes to reach a decision upon review.

“There’s no reason to have an 8 1/2 minute delay,” Bruney said to reporters yesterday. “In my opinion, that’s why I did get hurt. I didn’t know if that umpiring crew is going to come out in 30 seconds or two minutes. So I’ve got to keep throwing.”

Of course, Bruney then admitted that he threw more pitches than normal during a side session to keep warm. Perhaps he’s just looking for scapegoats as injured players are wont to do. Either way, Bruney brings up a valid point: The instant replay reviews should be time-limited. Umpires don’t need that much time to review a call. Two or three minutes should be ample.

In the end, while the Yanks won that April game in an exciting fashion, they lost Bruney, a key cog, in the process. For now, they’ll just have to get by without him.

Doctor’s Note: Bruney, A-Rod, Wang

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Lots of injuries; lots of recovery. Let’s jump in.

  • Brian Bruney is currently on the 15-day DL with what the Yankees are calling a strained flexor muscle in or near his elbow. Marc Craig at The Star-Ledger spoke to the Yanks’ set-up man, and Bruney blamed his intense workload between games. Apparently, Bruney really dials it up during his pen sessions and may be putting too much pressure on his arm. He will probably be activated when the 15 days are up.
  • Alex Rodriguez’s return is growing closer. The Yanks’ third baseman ran the bases again today and will soon take live batting practice. He could be in games by the end of this week and back with the Yanks sometime next week. I still think he’ll be back well before the May 15th day the Yanks continue to push. Marc Carig — a busy man apparently — wonders what happened to all the people who thought the Yanks were better off without A-Rod.
  • Meanwhile, the Yanks’ Billy Connors says that Chien-Ming Wang is “doing great.” The Yankees say they’re trying to get Wang’s velocity and stamina back up to where it needs to be. I hope they’re focusing on his release point and mechanics as well.

Wang, Ransom hit the DL

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We’ve got a couple of roster moves late tonight via the postgame. Chien-Ming Wang has been placed on the DL following an appointment with the team’s rehab specialist in Tampa, and has been replaced on the roster with David Robertson. Cody Ransom pulled his quad in the later innings of tonight’s game and has also been placed on the DL, but no word on his replacement yet. I’m guessing they’ll end up DFAing someone (coughHumbertoSanchezcough) so they can add Angel Berroa to the 40-man and have another infielder available.

Brian Bruney is also on the shelf, having been sent back to New York to have his elbow checked out tomorrow morning. That sucks.

Update (12:33am): The official word on Wang is “weakness in his hips,” which will require just physical rehabilitation. Phil Hughes is the far too obvious candidate to replace him in the rotation, and me thinks he’ll make at least four starts in Wang’s place.

Ransom has some sort of tear in his quad and that could be kinda serious, so he may end up missing a good chunk of time. Bruney wasn’t worried about his elbow and didn’t want to see a doctor, but the team ordered him too. There’s a chance he’ll be back with the team in time for tomorrow’s game.

Bruney: I finally realized this was a full-time job

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One thing we noticed last year in Spring Training was the weight loss of Brian Bruney. He’d been scorned in 2007, sent down to AAA in August after the team got fed up with his inability to throw strikes. He responded in quite the immature manner, tossing a chair on his way out of the clubhouse (bonus if someone can find the ESPN report on that). After the season it was uncertain whether the Yanks would offer him arbitration. They did, and Bruney showed up leaner and apparently more willing to put his work in. He had fans quite optimistic before injuring his foot early on. After missing a few months he returned late last season to post quite stellar results. He talks about his transformation over at YES (opens in a new window, and it looks like you’ll have to click the top link for it to play). The biggest overall change: treating it like a full-time job. I’m pretty optimistic about Bruney this season, and this only adds to it.

Open Thread: Brian Bruney, actor

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A riveting nugget of information from Tyler Kepner today:

Finally, Brian Bruney’s movie re-aired on cable Sunday morning. You didn’t know Bruney was a film star? In 1990, when he was eight years old, he appeared in Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie was filmed in Astoria, Oregon, the next town over from Bruney’s hometown of Warrenton.

The producers needed some extras for a scene where a bunch of kids pour out of the school during a fire drill. Bruney is one of the kids, wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt with a bright orange hat. That hat was the suggestion of his grandmother, who told him to wear it so she could spot him when the movie came out.

Exciting stuff, huh? I guess it’s better than talking about the Bruney-Reynolds feud. Yeah … there’s not a whole lot going on right now. PeteAbe’s got a bunch of pictures from camp today, but that’s about it. Otherwise, use this as your open thread. Anything goes, as usual.

Oh, quick note: I’ll be on regular RAB reader and commenter Joey H.’s radio show tonight around 8:30. You can listen in here.

Update (7:47pm): Steven found a clip of Bruney’s acting gig. Skip forward to the 6:07 mark, and like T-Kep’s piece says, he’s the one wearing the orange hat. Can’t miss ’em.

Update (7:54pm) Manimal has a screen cap.

Swisher, Bruney shed pounds this offseason

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One of the most common Spring Training cliches is “[insert player here] worked all hard all summer and is in the best shape of his life,” but how often is it true? Not often. Well, Nick Swisher reportedly lost sixteen pounds this offseason, ironically by incorporated chocolate milk into his post-workout regiment. Based on the photo in the linked article, it looks to be legit (here’s last year’s slightly thicker version of Swish). Reliever Brian Bruney also reportedly shed sixteen pounds off his frame this winter, which supposedly puts him under 220 lbs for the first time since high school. There’s no picture to verify Bruney’s new physique, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt after all the weight he lost last offseason. I’m sure Joe Girardi will be pleased.