Day two of Yankee camp started with Francisco Cervelli answering questions about his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

Cervelli said someone told him about the clinic and he also said he left without buying anything.

“When I got my foot injured in 2011, I checked with doctors and somebody recommended me Biogenesis,” Cervelli said. “I went there for maybe suggestions, and that’s it. I walked away without nothing in my hands. I just went there, talked and that’s it.”

He wouldn’t say who recommended the place but insisted it wasn’t a fellow player or one of his agents. Cervelli answered a bunch of questions from the writers gathered in Tampa and he stated:

“I will be here just doing what I know, having fun…I know my situation right now, no distraction. I just came here to play baseball.“

Mariano Rivera arrived this morning – he was allowed an extra day and didn’t have to report yesterday. According to the writers, Mo made small talk but didn’t discuss his knee or his future. He is scheduled to throw a bullpen session today along with Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Hiroki Kuroda.

The other pitchers throwing today are: David Aardsma, Tom Kahnle, Jim Miller, Zach Nuding, Clay Rapada, Juan Cedeno, Vidal Nuno, Ryan Pope, Matt Tracy.

And because I know everyone loves this sort of news, David Robertson’s Spring Training locker has been moved. From the Lohud Yankees blog (with my favorite part bolded for emphasis):

Dave Robertson has been moved to the locker right next to Rivera (that’s where Rafael Soriano was the last two years). It was suggested that Robertson moving down the line to be so close to Rivera is an indication that he’s the heir to closer’s role. Robertson said he it was simply an indication that he’s going to be picked on this spring.

Just as I was about to publish this post, some big news came across the wires…

Big uniform news: I’m told by @YankeesPR that David Phelps has reclaimed his old No. 41, while Michael Pineda has taken back his old No. 35.

That comes courtesy of a tweet from Mark Feinsand of the Daily News.

Carry on and Happy Wednesday!

I woke up uncharacteristically early this morning – around 6:45 a.m. – and a few things popped into my head. Unsurprisingly, they were baseball related.

• I’m jealous of other teams’ fans because at least they’ve had signings and trades to complain about. Yankee fans have only complained about the team not doing much of anything.
• Winter needs to end. It’s cold and I miss baseball.
• Is Francisco Cervelli really going to be the starting catcher? I’m not sure I can deal with that or seeing him throw balls into centerfield that were meant to land in the second baseman’s glove. Russell Martin wasn’t a world beater but losing his and Nick Swisher’s double digit home run totals is a scary proposition.
• What will seeing Kevin Youkilis in Pinstripes be like? Will I want to hurl? (Probably not. I don’t mind Youk.)
• Will A-Rod actually make it back after the All-Star break or will he miss the entire year?
• Is CC Sabathia really in the best shape of his life?
• What is a FanFest and how come it seems like every other team has them but the Yankees?
• Are the Yankees too special for a FanFest?
• Could I even afford to attend said FanFest?
• Would I even want to go? I’m not a big fan of people.
• Speaking of not being able to attend something, tomorrow is SABR Day and I cannot afford to go. I’m really bummed about that.
• Does Carl Pavano have the worst luck of any human being, ever?
• Seriously, how does one rupture a spleen, falling while shoveling snow?
• Why didn’t he hire someone to shovel his driveway?
• Will I ever actually ‘get’ sabermetrics?
• Well, get it enough to be able to write about it and not sound like a dunderhead?
• Francisco Cervelli?
• Last year, I pulled off the dual stadium doubleheader – day game at Yankee Stadium, night game at Citifield. What will be the special feat this season?
• How soon will Yankee fans begin to panic? Oh, who am I kidding? They’re already panicking.
• How will it be in my new seats? (I am moving from 420A to 413. We’re still high up – because I will always be an upper deck kind of girl – but the seats are cheaper which is great for this currently unemployed lady.)
• Which songs will be overplayed during sports themed commercials this year? (This is not a drive by ay ay ay ay -MURDER!!!!!)
• Will we see another #HIROKtober?
• I’m really going to miss #UNTUCK
• How effective will Mo be after nearly a whole year away?
• Will his knee be 100% by Opening Day?
• Speaking of Opening Day, I have a feeling that even though the Yankees are saying guys – Chris Stewart, Cervelli and possibly Austin Romine – will have to compete for the starting catcher’s job, Cervelli is who they have in mind. Call me paranoid but that’s how I feel.

 

This game was so many different things: frustrating, annoying, nerve racking, exhilarating, deflating, frustrating again and finally, the best thing ever.

Let’s start with the frustrating aspects:

• The Yankees scored four runs on 16 hits.
• They were 4-11 with runners in scoring position
• They left 14 men on base.

Those same things were annoying but so was their ineptitude against the Red Sox bullpen.

The whole game itself was nerve racking but became even more so when the Orioles score became a final and they had beaten the Rays. At that point in the game, the Yankees were losing and were mere outs away from ending the game in a tie, once again, with Baltimore for first place in the AL East.

Then it became exhilarating.

After James Loney hit a solo shot to put the Red Sox up 3-1 in the top of the ninth, the Yankees came up, the Baltimore score was final and they were staring at the last three outs.

Curtis Granderson got things started with a single. Raul Ibanez stepped in as the potential tying run.

Then this happened:

He belted a 1-2 pitch into the right field seats and he became the tying run.

The Yankees were able to load the bases with one out after a Derek Jeter double and two walks – one to Nick Swisher and one to Alex Rodriguez. They had two chances to win the game.

Mark Teixeira hit a broken bat fly out to shallow centerfield and Jeter had to hold up at third. Then Robinson Cano grounded out to second to end the inning.

Completely deflating.

After a couple more frustrating innings – the Yankees were set down 1-2-3 in the 10th and Swisher hit a single in the 11th, the only hit they had in those two innings.

More frustration.

After two quick outs in the bottom of the 12th, everyone’s favorite third string catcher, Francisco Cervelli came into the game and worked a walk. Granderson followed that up with a walk of his own.

So with two on and two out, it was Ibanez’s turn to try and play hero again. And he did.

He poked a single through the left side between Pedro Ciriaco and Jose Iglesias which scored Cervelli and the Yankees win, 4-3.

BEST. THING. EVER.

Now, the Yankees control their own destiny. They were so close to ending tonight in a tie with Baltimore and now all they need to do is win tomorrow in order to capture the AL East.

Some facts:

• Ibanez’s last ten games: .412 avg, 4 home runs, 9 RBI and a .853 slugging pct.
• Derek Lowe was the winning pitcher and it was his 175th career win.
• Tonight’s win was the Yankees fifth walk-off of the season and third since September 21st.

(Syndicated from The Yankee Analysts)

Via the Lohud Yankees blog:

George Kontos has been traded to the Giants for catcher Chris Stewart who will be the backup in New York.

Francisco Cervelli has been optioned to Triple-A.

The move was made to add depth in the wake of the Austin Romine injury.

Chris Stewart, who was part of the Yankees organization in 2008 and 2009, ran out of options, Cervelli hasn’t, so the only move to make was to have Stewart be Russell Martin’s backup.

Cervelli wasn’t very happy with the decision:

“I’m disappointed with this, but that’s never going to change anything. All my life I’ve had to do things, and I’ve had to do it double, triple. If they want me to prove that I can catch in the big leagues, I’ll go and prove it, that I have to be here. … I don’t understand their reason. I think maybe you’ve got to ask Cash, or somebody else. Maybe the other guy is better than I am right now. Just play baseball, no matter where it is, and show them that I’m a big league catcher, like they say.”

Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia and Mariano Rivera all looked good on the mound today. Sabathia and Rivera pitched against the Phillies while Hughes started against the Twins.

Sabathia pitched three scoreless innings, gave up two hits, struck out two and walked one. Rivera followed Sabathia with a scoreless, hitless, seemingly effortless three up, three down inning.

Derek Jeter had two hits – I guess the rumors of his demise were premature. Robinson Cano had one hit and Russell Martin picked up a stolen base and scored a run.

Rivera actually picked up the win. The Yankees beat the Phillies 3-0 in Tampa.

Hughes pitched three scoreless innings against the Twins. He gave up one hit – to his first batter – then settled down and struck out one batter and gave up one walk.

Francisco Cervelli had three hits for the Yankees against the Twins. Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher had one hit each.

The Yankees lost 5-1 with Graham Stoneburner getting the loss.

Actually, who cares about that.

Look at what was just posted on Twitter:

Yeah, now the song is stuck in your head too!

About the game: Alex Rodriguez finished 3 for 3, with a home run and two RBI (he was a triple short of the cycle – haha). D.J. Mitchell pitched two scoreless innings and the Yanks won 7-4.

Looks like Austin Romine will be on his way to the big club and Jesus Montero will be catching for Russell Martin tomorrow.

The x-rays on Martin’s injured thumb – thankfully – were negative.

Romine played the majority of the 2011 season with Double A Trenton and batted .286 with six home runs. He appeared with Triple Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for only four games.

Montero who has been DHing while up with the Yankees will most likely step in for Martin tomorrow but that could change.

Francisco Cervelli is not an option with his concussion symptoms reemerging. Marc Carig of the Star Ledger tweeted that Cervelli will be returning to New York for tests and won’t be back on road trip. And Jorge Posada, who stepped in for Martin tonight and who manager Joe Girardi described as incredible in regards to his performance tonight, will most likely be relegated to bench/DH duty.

Good Lord. What on earth is happening in the Yankee clubhouse?

Nick Swisher has tendonitis in his left elbow, Alex Rodriguez’s thumb is bothering him again – he’ll now be out 3-4 more days, Francisco Cervelli’s concussion symptoms are back – not surprising after the hit his noggin took from Nick Markakis’s shoulder and it was just made public today that Andruw Jones has been battling a tear in his left knee all season and has had it drained a few times this season (Jones is planning on doing it once more before the playoffs).

Really, baseball Gods? REALLY?

Get some bubble wrap for the rest of the guys on the team and cover them in it. Thanks.

Here’s the revised lineup:
Jeter SS,
Granderson CF,
Teixeira 1B,
Cano 2B,
Montero DH,
Chavez 3B,
Martin C,
Nunez RF,
Gardner LF

And no, you’re not seeing things, Eduardo Nunez is playing right field.

Have fun CC!

Note: This game ended after 2am so this is the ‘my eyes are crossing because I’m tired’ recap. I cannot be held responsible for what I write…

*Yawn*

If you stayed up to watch the game, are you still in disbelief about just how weird it turned out to be? And if you didn’t stay up and are reading this later today, you won’t believe what you missed.

It was sheer insanity.

As we were sitting waiting for the game to start – in my house, I wasn’t at the Stadium – my brother kept asking the same thing over and over again, “How the hell are they going to play in his [expletive deleted]?” I kept shrugging my shoulders because well, how the hell was I supposed to know?

So we sat and we waited and we waited some more. And still some more. I thought about the people at the Stadium and wondered how many people would stay.

When the beat writers tweeted that the Yankees planned to start the game at 11:00, I just laughed. The game hadn’t even started and it was already ridiculous. Little did I know just how ridiculous it would be.

After a four hour and three minute rain delay, Phil Hughes finally threw his first pitch – in the pouring rain, of course – and the game was underway. The next nine innings were an adventure.

It wasn’t high scoring like yesterday’s, excuse me, Monday’s game but it was wet, frustrating, hilarious, and fantastic all at the same time. Hmm that sounds like I’m describing something else, doesn’t it?

Excuse me, back to baseball.

The Yankees never trailed in the game but the Orioles did tie the score a couple of times just to make the night even longer than it had to be. I mean, really? You people have nothing to play for. NOTHING.

Anyway, Hughes lasted six innings and gave up two runs on five hits – the big blow being a two run homer off the bat of Matt Wieters that tied the game in the top of the sixth. No offense to Wieters but I could have hit that pitch out of Yankee Stadium. It was a [expletive deleted] meatball. Hughes also struck out five. Aside from that bad pitch to Wieters, Hughes had his curveball working tonight.

The hitting stars of the game were Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner. They all had solo home runs. I predicted Posada’s on Twitter and freaked everyone – including myself – out.

And no, I can’t give you the lottery numbers.

Cervelli’s home run was a big one at the time. It broke a three all tie and was reviewed by the umps because it hit off a fan in left field. When the umps upheld the ruling on the field (wait, that’s a football thing right?) Buck Showalter came out to argue to no avail. Gardner came up next and hit a shot into the right field foul pole to put the Yankees up 5-3.

Yes, you are reading that correctly (people who missed the game), Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner hit back to back home runs. If I didn’t see I wouldn’t have believed it either. Like I said, the game was ridiculous.

Boone Logan came in to relieve Hector Noesi who came in to relieve Hughes. Noesi was fine. Logan gave up an RBI double to Nick Markakis – the only batter he faced – in the seventh which tied the score at 3. Logan was quickly replaced by Cory Wade who ended up getting the win thanks to Cervelli and Gardner’s heroics in the bottom of the inning.

Mariano Rivera entered the game in the ninth – duh – and after a rare Mark Teixeira error, had an easier time dispatching the O’s than he did three days ago in the 11-10 game. That was three days ago, right? It sure as hell feels like it was three days ago. What was I saying? Mo, right, he picked up his 39th save of the season and 598th save of the career.

We’re getting down to the nitty gritty with Mr. Rivera. What a ride it’s been.

Random Shiz:
Gardner’s dinger was the Yankees’ 200th of the year
The Yankees have a 6 game winning streak

Today’s matchup (because it is today now) is AJ Burnett (9-11, 5.25 ERA) against Zach Britton (9-9, 4.25 ERA). God help us all…

“It was the clap heard around the world…”

When Francisco Cervelli hit his home run last night in Fenway Park, it guided the Yankees to a victory and helped them pick up a game on the first place Boston Red Sox. But that’s not what’s important. Nor is the fact that it was his first ever home run at Fenway. No, the thing everyone is talking about this morning is the clap at home plate after he rounded the bases.

This morning, the Boston Globe had a headline: “Maybe Salty Should Have Fed Him the Alex Rodriguez Leather Sandwich Special.”

Really Boston?

I hate to break it you Sully but the most iconic picture in the history of your team only proved that Jason Varitek was a wuss who used his equipment to fight Alex Rodriguez. And didn’t Mr. “C is for Captain” grab A-Rod’s boys in the skirmish? Right.

Back to last night’s events, Red Sox starter John Lackey getting his undies in a bunch after the offensive clap didn’t help matters. He threw at Cervelli the next time he came up and after the game described the clap as “excessive.”

Actually, no John, throwing at Cervelli in his next at bat was excessive. It also showed how you let a back up catcher get to you. That action proves more about your character than it does about Cervelli’s.

Lackey’s battery mate “Salty” talked about Cervelli being an emotional player and also made it a point to mention that it was only Cervelli’s second home run of the year. True? Yes. Back handed? Definitely. Oh and to add to fuel to the fire Salty also said,

“It’s just the Latin players,” Saltalamacchia said about Cervelli’s passionate clap as he touched home. “That’s the way they play the game. It’s OK to an extent. If you go a little further than that, that’s when you need to step back.”

Open mouth, insert foot.

Congratulations Jarrod! Thanks to your comments and your douchey beard, you’ve now reached “True Red Sox” status.

More from NECN:

Saltlamacchia retracted his original statement and said he intended to say that younger players are sometimes brought up with a different code than some of the veterans in the league.

The young LATIN players, right Salty?

For his part, Cervelli stood at his locker and answered every question asked of him. He also coined a new phrase that I am sure will be used ad nauseam for the rest of the season and possibly for the rest of his career.

When asked about his enthusiasm during the YES Network postgame show, Cervelli answered as though he were channeling Rickey Henderson, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s Cervelli.”

“When you hit a home run
and you clap at the plate
That’s Cervelli…”

I mentioned in last night’s recap the irony that the Red Sox of all teams were offended by Cervelli’s antics when they have David Ortiz on their team. Ortiz poses and admires his home runs then takes about three minutes to round the bases. After nearly eight years of this nonsense, the Yankees finally threw inside at him earlier in the season and who got upset? Poor wittle Ortiz.

Give me a break.

I really hope this is the only “controversy” this series though I won’t get my hopes up. Hope for the best, expect the worst as they say.