Results tagged ‘ Alex Rodriguez ’
Yankees won’t have set lineup
Good stuff from Pete Caldera today in the Bergen Record, who caught up with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long via telephone:
Long said the Yankees will not have a set lineup going into Spring Training, instead using the exhibition season to determine what their best fits might be.
That means the Yankees should be open to thinking about Brett Gardner as the everyday leadoff hitter, moving Robinson Cano into the three slot, dropping Derek Jeter in the order and most of the other topics that have been thrown around during the Hot Stove season.
“I think we need to [experiment]. It’s important we throw all the options out there,” Long said. “I wouldn’t say we have a set lineup going into camp. We’ll toy with it.”
Long is meeting with Nick Swisher this week and has also been setting up sessions to work with Jeter in Tampa. He has already worked with Alex Rodriguez and says that he seems to be “on a mission” like he was before his 2007 MVP season. Curtis Granderson could also brush up with Long this month.
A.J.’s barn, Joba’s pen and more
Some additional notes from today’s event in Washington Heights, where the Yankees moved 19-year-old right-hander Leonel Vinas from “Hank’s Yanks” to the Gulf Coast League Yanks, and Brian Cashman said once again that they’re preparing for ’11 without Andy Pettitte:
- A.J. Burnett knows his rebound is important. He’s remodeled a barn at his Maryland home into an indoor pitching facility and is expecting new pitching coach Larry Rothschild to drop by for about a week next month. Cashman said:
“We need A.J. to come back to his previous form, there’s no doubt about it. I believe he will, but we need that to happen, too. We signed A.J. not to pitch toward the back of the rotation, to be a front of the rotation starter. That’s what his abilities are, that’s what he’s capable of doing. That’s what we expect. I believe you’ll see that again, but that means a lot of hard work. I know he’s up for it. I’ve talked to A.J. several times now and met with him in person in Maryland. He knows the responsibility he has to us and this fan base. He’s committed.”
- Joba Chamberlain will be in the bullpen for 2011 and the future. Cashman told a reporter to “bite your tongue” when it was suggested that Chamberlain might be called in to fix the rotation problems, and later explained:
“His stuff plays so much more significantly out of the ‘pen. We’ve given him the opportunity to show what he can do out of the rotation, and the velocity dropped. It’s just not the same stuff.”
- Food for thought: Even if Pettitte says he’s done pitching before the Yankees get to Spring Training, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that he could “unretire” – hey, Roger Clemens did it – if the Yankees rotation cries out for him. The GM wouldn’t shoot down the suggestion outright, saying, “I don’t want to speculate on stuff like that. I guess we’ll see where we’re sitting in May.”
- The Yankees were never close on a deal with Kerry Wood, who wound up taking much less than everyone expected to go back to the Chicago Cubs. Here’s Cashman one more time:
“We never got close because, in talking to his agents, it was going to cost $5.5 million a year or more on a multi-year basis. We weren’t interested in that level. But they said that it was what it was going to take. When we saw he signed with the Cubs at $1.5 million, I called right away and said, ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’ They said the Yankee price was the Yankee price; no different than the Red Sox price or the White Sox price. The bottom line is, he moved his family from Phoenix to Chicago and he’s going to be a Cub for life now. This had a lot to do with non-baseball related stuff, too. I can understand that.”
- Alex Rodriguez saw Dr. Marc Philippon after the season and was given a clean bill of health on his right hip. The Yankees expect no problems with him being ready for the spring.
A-Rod gets the day off
Alex Rodriguez isn’t in the Yankees lineup tonight, having played two games since coming back from the disabled list. Joe Girardi said it is just a day off to rest him and Rodriguez should be available to play Wednesday vs. Baltimore.
“If he had only taken five or six days off, he would have been in there today,” Girardi said. “Having three weeks off and then playing two days without doing a rehab, I just felt like the one thing I don’t want is him to be a little fatigued at this point in time and injure something.”
A-Rod said that if he’d had his choice, No. 13 would have been at third base tonight:
“I wish I could play. I pleaded my case long and hard last night, again this morning, again this afternoon. I went 0-for-3,” Rodriguez said. “I always want to play. [Girardi is] in control.”
A-Rod out after one at-bat
Alex Rodriguez’s return to the Yankees lineup didn’t last long. A-Rod jogged on a second-inning groundout to third base against the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez and was pinch-hit for when the DH spot came back up in the fourth inning, as the Yankees sent Austin Kearns to the plate instead.
The Yankees haven’t made an official announcement about his condition, but obviously Rodriguez’s strained left calf still seems to be bothering him. They were trailing 5-0 at the time he was pinch-hit for.
A-Rod out of lineup with left leg contusion
Alex Rodriguez was struck in his left leg by a line drive during batting practice Saturday and has been scratched from the Yankees’ lineup against the Red Sox with a contusion near the base of his shin.
With Lance Berkman taking his cuts, Rodriguez was taking ground balls at third base when a hard-hit one-hopper struck the New York slugger below the left knee.
While teammates did not initially believe the injury was serious, Rodriguez seemed stunned by the unexpected blow and staggered into center field, collapsing face-down behind a protective screen.
At one point, Rodriguez was holding his head while writhing in pain. Derek Jeter called for head athletic trainer Gene Monahan from the clubhouse, while Joe Girardi and Reggie Jackson were among those who raced to Rodriguez’s side. Stadium medical personnel also attended.
“I hit it and obviously had a great view of it. I was just [saying], ‘Look out!’” said Berkman, who was batting right-handed. “It was on him. I just remember hitting it and cringing. It was heading right for him. It was hard. I hope he’s not out very long.”
“He’ll be all right,” Jeter said. “He always looks like that when he gets hit.”
After several minutes, Rodriguez was able to limp off the field under his own power with Monahan. Berkman spoke briefly with Rodriguez was helped to the clubhouse.
“I just told him when he was coming off the field, ‘Sorry about that,’” Berkman said. “I clearly didn’t mean to. It wasn’t like I was trying to hit him in the teeth and missed low or something like that. That’s just one of the things about batting practice. I think we’ve all been hit before.”
Yankees director of media relations Jason Zillo said that Rodriguez’s left leg has been placed in ice and elevated, and that it is swollen. Team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad is en route to the Stadium, and Rodriguez will have X-rays once a technician arrives.
Rodriguez had been in New York’s original lineup on Saturday, but he was replaced at third base by Ramiro Pena, who will bat ninth.
A-Rod not in Yankees lineup
Alex Rodriguez is not in the Yankees’ lineup Sunday as the chase for homer No. 600 has stalled out, now at 37 at-bats and 42 plate appearances.
“He’s played 13 days in a row. We’ve got to make sure that we keep him healthy and strong,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Girardi said he had talked about DHing Rodriguez Saturday, but the Lance Berkman move changed those plans. Now, instead of DHing A-Rod in the future (and Derek Jeter, for that matter), the Yankees might just offer a full day off. Also, Girardi said he was concerned about playing Rodriguez three straight days on the artificial turf at Tropicana Field.
“The last time he played three days in a row on turf is when he hurt his hip flexor,” Girardi said.
Rodriguez is available to pinch-hit, but Girardi said it “would be wonderful” to give him a complete day off and not use him. See you at Yankee Stadium for 600, then?
A-Rod: Cano for MVP
High praise from a three-time American League MVP:
“When you do things like he did tonight, that’s certainly the look and the taste and the feel of an MVP. That was a huge, huge hit against their closer, on the road, trying to protect first place. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.”
Meanwhile, if you’ve been breathlessly anticipating homer No. 600…
“The way I’m swinging now, it’s probably going to take a while. Everybody get comfortable. I’m just glad to be out there helping the team somehow. I scored a run. People are asking me about home runs. I’m asking for a hit-by-pitch, infield hit, bunt single, error. I’ll get on base anyhow. The home run will come.”
Is tonight the night?
Could be. One thing’s for sure — if Alex Rodriguez wants to hit No. 600 at Progressive Field, he’ll have to do it tonight. Otherwise, the catwalks of Tropicana Field could bear witness.
For his part, A-Rod said he’s enjoyed the outpouring of attention he has received here in Cleveland, where hundreds of Yankees fans seem to be roaming the streets wearing jerseys, t-shirts and caps (which makes it pretty much like every other city the Yankees visit).
“I just know that overall I’ve been very surprised with how supportive the fans have been in Cleveland,” Rodriguez said. “All the signs and all the support, it’s been pretty cool.”
A-Rod didn’t get to enjoy his 600th homer last night, but at least he got his 471st double out of the way. That one came on a ball hit to right field in the sixth inning, and the base popped loose when Rodriguez hit it with a headfirst slide, clutching it to his chest and grinning quizzically toward the Yankees dugout.
He later joked he thought the milestone he was looking for was doubles.
“The thing just popped right out. I’ve never seen that before, so it was pretty funny,” Rodriguez said.
A-Rod pressing for 600?
Alex Rodriguez did a nice job on the homestand of not allowing the expecting eyes looking for 600 to take him out of his usual mode, save for the one swing where he tried to emulate Reggie Jackson and reward the fans for sitting through a two-hour plus rain delay.
But A-Rod is now 0-for-Cleveland after taking a collar last night, grounding into a fielder’s choice that ended the game representing the tying run. And the mounting pressure of the hundreds of flashbulbs popping alongside every pitch, to say nothing of the specially-marked ‘R’ baseballs being delivered to the home plate umpire, might be having an effect.
Here’s what Rodriguez said last night:
“I think for me, the biggest thing is to stay within the game and not try to do too much. I think a few times over the last three or four days, I’ve kind of come out of it and tried to swing a little too hard, or maybe get a little pull-happy. As long as I swing at strikes and think [about] the big part of the field, like that ball to right-center [in the seventh inning], then good things are going to happen.
“I don’t think I’m really expanding my strike zone. Guys are throwing strikes and I think for the most part I’m swinging at strikes. What I want to do is let the ball travel a little bit and use my hands more.”
For what it’s worth, Indians closer Chris Perez said Monday that he was beginning to see a little different version of A-Rod:
“I went after him. I even threw him a hanging slider the second pitch. He took it. If there had been nobody on, I would have thrown him all heaters. I think he’s starting to feel it. He’s starting to get aggressive. That could be good for us. Throw a sinker down and in and let him roll over it.”
7/24 – Yankees vs. Royals
Some assorted notes from Yankee Stadium for this afternoon’s 1:05 p.m. ET game against the Kansas City Royals:
MAN ON A MISSION: 3B Alex Rodriguez hit his 599th career HR in Thursday’s win vs. Kansas City, and with his next home run will become the seventh player all time to reach the 600-homer plateau…will become the second player to reach the mark as a Yankee, joining Babe Ruth.
? Hit his first career HR (off Tom Gordon, 6/12/95), his 499th HR (off Gil Meche, 7/25/07) and 500th HR (off Kyle Davies, 8/4/07) against the Royals…is 3-for-4 with 1 HR – No. 500 – in his career against today’s starter RHP Kyle Davies…according to SABR’s David Vincent, no pitcher has given up multiple milestones of either a 500th, 600th or 700th homer…only two teams have allowed both a 500th and 600th HR – San Diego (Eddie Murray’s 500th and Willie Mays’ 600th) and Pittsburgh (Mike Schmidt’s 500th and Barry Bonds’ 600th).
UNDER THE SUN: The Yankees are 24-12 (.667) in day games this season, tying Chicago-AL for the second-best winning percentage in day contests this season…only Detroit (25) has more daytime wins in 2010…the Royals (.298) and the Yankees (.290) have the two highest batting averages in day games this season…the Yankees have hit 50HR (third most in the Majors) in 36 day contests.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: 2B Robinson Cano (67R, 66RBI) and 1B Mark Teixeira (71R, 66RBI) are one of two sets teammates in the Majors this season to each record at least 60R and 60RBI (also Texas’ Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero)…along with 3B Alex Rodriguez (50R, 78RBI) and RF Nick Swisher (61R, 56RBI), the Yankees are the only team to boast four players each with at least 50R and 50RBI in 2010.
YANKEES (61-34)Derek Jeter DH, Curtis Granderson CF, Mark Teixeira 1B, Alex Rodriguez 3B, Robinson Cano 2B, Jorge Posada C, Marcus Thames RF, Colin Curtis LF, Ramiro Pena SS
RHP Sergio Mitre (0-1, 2.88)
ROYALS (41-55)Scott Podsednik LF, Jason Kendall C, Billy Butler 1B, Jose Guillen RF, Alex Gordon DH, Wilson Betemit 3B, Rick Ankiel CF, Yuniesky Betancourt SS, Chris Getz 2B
RHP Kyle Davies (4-6, 5.45)
Bryan Hoch
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