Mariano Rivera has seemed a bit off over the last week to ten days or so, going deeper into counts and allowing more baserunners than he did earlier in the season. While he has been able to limit the damage, it has been evident that Mo was not exactly himself. Well, now we may know why:
Mariano Rivera didn’t throw at all today and was unavailable to pitch. “He was feeling a little cranky today,” Joe Girardi said. Rivera told us his right shoulder was sore, but he did not classify the soreness as painful. He said he has felt this pain before and felt fine soon after. Girardi said he’d be “shocked” if Rivera weren’t available tomorrow in Seattle.
Mariano goes through a dead arm period every August, and it freaks out Yankees fans until he inevitably straightens it out. The numbers actually bear out this observation very clearly, as Mariano’s August ERA is indistinguishable from other months, but most of his peripherals are worse in August. Looking at his career splits, August is his worst month in terms of BAA, OBPA, SLGA, SO/BB, and WHIP. His tOPS+ for August is 116, meaning that his OPS against is 16% worse than usual in August. Furthermore, as he has done thus far this month, Mariano generally powers through his dead arm period without breaking, as evidenced by his unaltered ERA. So do not worry. This is normal, and it should not lead to much harm.
From the AP:
Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy has thrown off a mound for the first time since undergoing surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps.
Kennedy threw 25 pitches during a bullpen session Tuesday. The right-hander says everything was fine and he would work off a mound again Friday.
The 24-year-old Kennedy was pitching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he experienced numbness in his pitching hand. He hopes to pitch in a minor league game before the season ends.
You have to feel for Kennedy, who had a season that would have been ripe with opportunity for him destroyed by a freak ailment. He almost certainly would have been given every opportunity to take hold of the position Sergio Mitre now occupies, and could have earned himself a spot in next year’s rotation. Instead, it was a lost season of development for a pitcher who has pretty much done all that he can on the minor league level. He now enters spring training as a question mark, and it is doubtful that the Yankees will consider him for a big league roster spot to start 2010. He will once again be a depth guy, and will have to hope that an opportunity comes his way. He has the talent to be, at worst, a #4 starter, something that would lend the Yankees plenty of stability in the back of their rotation for a while. Hopefully, when his chance does present itself, he is able to seize it.
Pete Abe is reporting that Brett Gardner is headed to the DL witha broken left thumb. He injured the digit sliding into second yesterday, and will spend two weeks in a cast prior to being reevaluated. Brett had become an important member of the team, and was becoming more vital as Melky continued to struggle. Jon Albaladejo is replacing him today, while Austin Jackson, Shelley Duncan, and John Rodriguez are the options to take his spot for the duration of Brett’s injury. If the Yanks want someone to fill the role Brett was playing, we may see A-Jax for a few weeks.
For most of his first month back on the field following hip surgery, Alex Rodriguez has shown the ill effects of the procedure. While his incredible talent has allowed him to swing the bat with authority (.255/.407/.541), he has looked statuesque in the field and slow on the basepaths. Balls that look like infield singles off the bat are easy outs, and defensive plays not right at Alex are an adventure. However, Alex seems to have made a lot of progress over the last few games in regard to mobility and speed. Peter Abraham has more:
But in a fluid motion, he charged the slowly hit grounder off the bat of Carl Crawford in the third inning, grabbed it with his bare hand and made a strong throw to get the speedy Tampa Bay runner. The defensive gem came a day after Rodriguez attempted his first stolen base of the season. It was further evidence that he is nearly complete after having hip surgery in March.
“Every day I feel a little better,” said Rodriguez after the Yankees beat the Rays 4-3.
Rodriguez was 1 for 3 with a walk, raising his batting average to .255. He has only one home run in the last 13 games but appears more consistent with his swing in general. Yankees manager Joe Girardi had noticed Rodriguez moving more surely in the field as well.
“We knew it was going to take him some time to get back to where he was,” Girardi said. “That was significant surgery. I’ve been impressed with how quickly he was able to come back.”
With Alex nearing full strength, Xavier Nady getting closer, and Brian Bruney making progress, the Yankees are close to being the product that Brian Cashman expected to put on the field for Opening Day. With the club ten games over .500 and in first place as it is, the Yankees look to be a force to be reckoned with once at full strength. A healthy Alex Rodriguez is vital to meeting this team’s goal of winning a title, and he seems well on his way to a full recovery.
From Pete Abraham:
Xavier Nady has been cleared to play in an extended-spring-training game in Florida today. He has been on the disabled list since April 16 with a partially torn elbow ligament.
Nady, Jorge Posada (right hamstring), Jose Molina (left quad) and Cody Ransom (right quad) started working out at the team facility in Tampa yesterday.
Posada hopes to play in a game as early as tomorrow.
“It’s now a matter of getting into baseball shape,” he told The Associated Press after taking batting practice, throwing and running.
If Posada plans on getting into a game by tomorrow, you can expect both him and Nady back within 10 days. Nady’s return seems to create no issues with the roster. he will replace Angel Berroa, and will probably split time with Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher once he can play the field. Posada’s return, However, brings to mind the question of what the Yankees are going to do once Molina is healthy as well, as the Yankees are unlikely to carry three catchers.
Frankie Cervelli has played well, showing great defensive skill while being poised at the plate. However, with Posada’s health a question mark, the Yankees may need to take roster considerations into their thought process. If they let Molina go so as to carry Cervelli and then Posada gets hurt again, they are left with Cash as the backup catcher once again. I would guess that they send Cervelli down to keep him in reserve in case of another injury. He will be given every chance to win the backup catching position in 2010.
From The Daily News:
Xavier Nady took batting practice for the first time in more than a month, testing his injured right elbow harder than he has since he went on the disabled list on April 16.
Nady took five rounds of BP, swinging between five and eight times per round. He will likely head to Tampa at the end of the home stand, where he hopes to begin playing in rehab games as a designated hitter next week.
“It felt good,” Nady said. “I was more hesitant the first couple of swings, but I was swinging the bat good. I’ll do this for a couple days, and hopefully by Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I’ll be letting it loose out there.”
Joe Girardi said Nady’s return was “getting closer,” but it’s still unclear when the outfielder will try testing his arm by throwing. Nady said the initial rehab plan was for him to begin throwing two weeks after he started hitting, so it’s likely that he will initially return as a hitter and not a fielder.
If Nady cannot play the field right away, he will probably be used as a bench bat and to spell Hideki Matsui at DH against tough lefties. With Nick Swisher struggling, Nady would be a welcome addition to the bench, allowing the Yankees to play matchups in the late innings as well as motivating Swish to play for his job. I assume that he would replace Angel Berroa on the roster, and the Yankees would return to the 5 outfielder+Matsui configuration that they started the season with.
Via Pete Abe, we get word that Derek Jeter has a pulled oblique muscle and will not play tonight. I wonder how long he has had this nagging him, as he has not been driving the ball over the last week or so. More as it becomes available…
Update: According to Sweeny Murti of WFAN, Jeter hopes to play tomorrow. Sounds like something small, although Jeter is known for trying to tough his way through injuries. If he is not going to be able to drive the ball with regularity, it might just be better for the team if he sat for a few days.
Update: According to Jim Baumbach, Jeter has been fighting with this since Saturday. He says that he is “a little sore.”
Two bits of positive news on rehabbing Yankees:
1) Chien Ming Wang will start on tuesday at AAA Scranton and could regain his rotation spot if that start goes well. He is cleared for 100 pitches. With Phil Hughes battling inconsistency and himself, the Yankees could really use Wang’s ability to give the club innings and finally stabilize the rotation. 5 starters who can be counted on to go at least 6 innings each time out would go a long way to minimizing the damage done by the struggling bullpen.
2) Xavier Nady will take the next step in his rehab on Friday, as he will go through formal hitting drills for the first time since injuring his elbow. As you may recall, he underwent a unique procedure involving plasma enriched platelets to speed up his recovery, and the Yankees are hopeful to have him back by June. He would give the Yankees the bench bat that they have been lacking over the last few weeks, and would likely be used to spell Hideki Matsui against tough lefties.
In the latest of a season’s worth of bad news for the Yankees, Joba Chamberlain popped a blood vessel in his thumb and may miss his start tomorrow. Alfredo Aceves would go in his place, which is why Al was not used as a long reliever in today’s blowout. The Yankees really cannot catch a break, as Joba looked primed in his last start to begin pitching like the ace we know he can be. The offense better show up and help the Yankees take the series.
Update: It seems like Joba will go, as the burst vessel is not giving him any pain.
According to WFAN in NY, Ian Kennedy has an aneurysm in his pitching arm and will undergo surgery on Tuesday. I do not know the rehab time on that type of thing, but obviously the most important thing is that Ian makes it through surgery safely. From what I can recall from the David Cone situation, this is a serious procedure, and our thoughts are with Ian and the Kennedy clan.
