On nights like last night, when the Yankees played Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” in tribute to those affected by the tragedies at the Boston Marathon, the music that comes through the public address system at Yankee Stadium can serve as a poignant tribute. Diamond himself tweeted his appreciation to the Yankees for playing the song, which has become a fan favorite at Fenway Park:

Thank you NY Yankees for playing ‘Sweet Caroline’ for the people of Boston. You scored a home run in my heart. With respect, Neil #OneBoston

— Neil Diamond (@NeilDiamond) April 17, 2013

It’s certainly not on the same emotional scale as what we saw last night, but some of the most common requests I have received over the years via e-mail – and, later, Twitter – have been about player music.

For example, we all know Mariano Rivera’s entrance song is Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” (in case you missed it, check out this story I did in Sept. 2011 about why that is), and will be until the day he hangs up his cutter.

The ‘batting stings’ up and down the Yankees lineup, however, seem to change every year and often more frequently than that. I reached out to the Yankees’ scoreboard department last week to try to organize an updated 2013 track listing for the hitters. I tweeted a few out last night and am pleased to pass the full list along to you here. Happy downloading!

Brett Gardner – “Guitar Slinger” by Crossin Dixon
Robinson Cano – “Started from the Bottom” by Drake
Kevin Youkilis – “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy
Travis Hafner – “Symphony of Destruction” by Megadeth
Vernon Wells – “Awesome God” by R. Swift
Ichiro Suzuki – “Drop it Like It’s Hot” by Snoop
Francisco Cervelli – “Pegaito Suavecito” by “Various Artists”
Lyle Overbay – (has not yet selected a song)
Jayson Nix – “No-Leaf Clover” by Metallica
Brennan Boesch – “Blueprint” by Jay-Z
Chris Stewart – “Forsaken” by Skillet
Ben Francisco – “Da Rockwilder” by Method Man & Redman
Eduardo Nunez – “Ella Ta To” by Chimbala

Here’s a very cool video that is now live on MLB.com, as CC Sabathia, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano discuss Jackie Robinson’s impact and enduring legacy. Today, as you probably know, is Jackie Robinson Day; on this date in 1947, Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier by taking the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. As Major League Baseball has done since 1997, all players on the field today will wear No. 42 in Robinson’s honor.

There may be no big league baseball in New York on this day, as neither the Yankees or Mets are in action within the city limits, but the Yankees will pay tribute by having all of their players wear No. 42 tomorrow. Joe Girardi said yesterday that the teams don’t necessarily need to be on the field to honor Robinson’s impact.

“I think you can honor Jackie Robinson without playing baseball in New York,” Girardi said. “I’ve talked about taking my kids to see the movie. I mean, that’s honoring Jackie Robinson, because I want them to know what this man went through and what his legacy is, and how important he has been to our country. I think there’s a lot of ways that you can honor someone without necessarily playing a game.”

Judging by the weekend box office numbers, Girardi wasn’t alone in planning to see ’42.’ Having seen it recently, I can highly recommend that idea. It’s an excellent film and any baseball fan would enjoy it.

The Yankees and Indians were rained out for the second consecutive day on Thursday at Progressive Field, prompting Joe Girardi to question how teams’ schedules are set for the early part of the season.

Girardi’s Yankees won the first two games of the series against the Indians before inclement weather forced the postponements of contests on Wednesday and Thursday. No makeup dates have been announced, and this is the Yankees’ only scheduled trip to Cleveland this season.

“I don’t think you can come to cold weather cities [in April] if you’re only going to go there once,” Girardi said. “I think you’ve got to stay within your division first.”

Thursday’s game was scheduled as a 7:05 p.m. ET game and officially announced as postponed at approximately 9 p.m.

“I know teams want night games and I understand that,” Girardi said. “But if you would’ve had a day game today, it gives you a longer window to play the game.”

Girardi said that he expects the two games to be made up as a day-night doubleheader on May 13, a mutual off-day for New York and Cleveland, but that has not been finalized or officially announced.

“I don’t think there’s anything else you can do,” Girardi said.

Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes said he never warmed up on Thursday and will now be assigned to the bullpen for a few days. CC Sabathia will start as scheduled against the Orioles on Friday at Yankee Stadium.

Ivan Nova had been scheduled to start on Wednesday against the Indians and is also will be in the bullpen behind Sabathia on Friday, when more inclement weather is in the forecast.

“We’ll just keep everyone on target as much as we can, as many guys as we can,” Girardi said. “The other two guys, I know it’s tough, but it’s what we’re going to do.”

Hughes said he that will be in the bullpen on Friday and Saturday, and is lining up to pitch next Tuesday against the D-backs in New York. He had no issues with how Thursday’s game was handled.

“We’ve gone through rain delays before,” Hughes said. “You just have to sit it out and wait. Everybody was looking at the radar and it didn’t look good. We were just kind of holding tight and hoping we would get a window in, but obviously that didn’t happen.”

The Yankees decided to keep their rotation on track after Wednesday’s contest against the Indians was rained out, naming Phil Hughes as their scheduled starter for Thursday and skipping Ivan Nova.

New York and Cleveland are planning to play their originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. ET contest on Thursday. No makeup date for Wednesday’s postponed game was immediately announced, but manager Joe Girardi suggested that May 13 – an off-day for the Yanks following their road trip to Colorado and Kansas City – could mark a possible return to Progressive Field.

Hughes has been fighting a stomach virus, but his health is improving enough that the Yankees are comfortable planning on giving him the ball for Thursday’s game.

“He feels better,” Girardi said. “If he doesn’t feel good enough to make his start, it will be Nova.”

Girardi said that the plan is to have Nova, who was scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, available to pitch out of the bullpen for a few days and then slot him in to rejoin the rotation next week.

“I know that CC [Sabathia] and company have to pitch every five days,” Nova said. “I understand that part and I’ve just got to be ready when they tell me to go out there.

“I feel really good when my day to pitch is coming. All I want to do is go out there and pitch. Now I’ve got to wait five more days. It’s going to be like, for me, a month.”

The Indians are planning to start Zach McAllister as originally scheduled in Thursday’s game.
Girardi said that he did not want to push his rotation back because Monday’s off-day would create a scenario where Andy Pettitte would receive seven days of rest. Girardi acknowledged that Thursday’s forecast for the Cleveland area is also ugly.

“We’re going to probably get banged tomorrow too,” Girardi said. “Hopefully we don’t.”