The Bronx Daily

Pettitte Could Not Stop April Woes

The only good news for New York Yankees fans today is that April is over. The Yankees end a month that was filled with inconsistency, injuries, poor pitching, and a lack of hitting. The month ends with another loss to the Detroit Tigers, another member of the team on the disabled list, and another game out of first place.

Although Pettitte gave up five runs in six innings, the other concern yet again was the Yankees line up that only had 5 hits. Missing A-Rod and Posada is understandable, but even without them, this is a team that should be scoring runs. With Robinson Cano (.151), Jason Giambi (.164), and Bobby Abreu (.269)  not hitting anywhere near where they are capable, the Yankees line up has been lackluster at best. Starting pitching has also been very inconsistent with Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy being terrible, Mike Mussina being up and down, and Pettitte being just ok. Chien-Ming Wang and the back of the bullpen have been the only hero's so far for the Yankees faithful.

May is here and it is time to turn things around. Hopefully tomorrow will start more than just a new month but a fresh start for a team that needs one badly.

The DL Adds Another

Phil Hughes joined the disabled list today with a strained right oblique. Hughes has struggled mightily so far this season giving up 22 earned runs in 22 innings going 0-4. Brian Cashman said of Hughes' future after the injury, "Clearly, we have a player who we have high hopes for in the long term. We'll evaluate what's best for him based on that."

Darrell Rasner, who is 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA, will be the likely replacement for Hughes. He was the International League's pitcher of the week for the period of April 21-27 for Triple A Scranton.

Rodriguez Goes on the Shelf

A grade two quad strain has put Alex Rodriguez on the 15 day disabled list. Rodriguez has been hampered by this strain and finally said he needed rest. Joe Girardi decided it was best to give him some extra time and put him on the DL.

The bad news just keeps coming for the Yankees faithful. Hopefully this will all be done now and the team can pick it up and make a run at the playoffs with a healthy squad in a few weeks with Jorge Posada and A-Rod back!

Hughes Gets Rocked Again

Once again, Phil Hughes had a bad outing as he could not get through the fourth inning and gave up 6 runs. The bullpen shut the Tigers down after that but the damage was done as the Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers 6-4.

Hughes will be the topic of conversation as a decision may have to be made soon about whether he is ready to pitch at the major league level. All of the regular readers of The Bronx Daily know that I am a big Phil Hughes fan but I fear he is going to lose his confidence and may need to be optioned sooner rather than later to work on his pitches and gain the experience he needs to be a successful pitcher for the Yankees.

I was a supporter of letting him take his lumps and leaving him in the rotation, but when he can not pitch through 4 innings and is costing his team games like this, it may be causing him more harm then good by being here.

What are your thoughts on what to do with Phil Hughes?

Roster, Bruney and Posada Updates

Joe Girardi played musical rosters today as he called Edwar Ramirez from triple A and optioned Chris Britton. "He gives us a different look," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He's got the great changeup and Edwar has had plenty of experience up here as well over the last year. He's back."

Brian Bruney is trying to avoid surgery which would cost him the 2008 season and is wearing a protective boot to guard an injury to the Lisfranc joint of his right foot. The reliever slipped and fell while attempting to cover first base in the seventh inning of the Yankees' 9-5 victory at Chicago on April 22. He hopes to wear it for a month then be able to rehab and rejoin the team.

Bruney said he had another MRI taken on Monday after a visit with Dr. Martin O'Malley in New York, the third physician with whom he has sought consultation. The first two doctors recommended surgery, but Bruney insists that he does not even feel pain when he wears the boot, though he is limping a little bit as he gets adjusted to carrying the extra weight around.

"I'm going to keep going to doctors until somebody tells me I can [pitch]," Bruney said. I think he is just putting off the inevitable.

Catcher Jorge Posada was back with the Yankees today after traveling  to Alabama on Monday for an afternoon visit with noted sports orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. He is waiting for the results which he hopes to receive Wednesday.

"Until all the doctors weigh in, I'm not going to guess and speculate," Posada said in a statement released through the team. "When they give me concrete information, I'll be sure to share it with [reporters]."

The team including Joe Girardi is optimistic that Jorge will be back this season. Girardi believes the MRI will show no major structural damage. Only time will tell!

Pregame Quick Hits: Yankees vs. Tigers 4/29, 4/30, 5/1

The New York Yankees (14-13) return home after a road trip that capped off a major league record for road games in April to face the Detroit Tigers (11-15). Tonights pitching match up pits age versus youth as young Phil Hughes (0-3 7.85) faces crafty veteran Kenny Rogers (1-3 7.66).

4/29 Andy Pettitte (3-2 3.23) vs. Jeremy Bonderman (1-2 4.28) 7:05pm YES
4/30 Ian Kennedy (0-2 8.53) vs. Nate Robertson (0-3 6.91) 7:05pm YES

The Yankees are coming off a four game series with the Cleveland Indians where they split the series winning to final two games. Alex Rodriguez will probably miss the upcoming series as he reinjured his quad muscle. Jorge Posada will also miss the series as he is on the DL. The last time the Yankees played a game without Posada on their active roster was 9/1/1996.

Other Quick Hits:

• Derek Jeter (.350) and Alex Rodriguez (.343) are 1 and 1 in batting for active players with more than 200 at bats against the Tigers.
• The Yankees are the only team in MLB without committing 2 errors in a game in 2008.
• The Yankees are 10-0 in games Mariano Rivera has pitched in and 7-0 in games he and Joba Chamberlain have appeared in.
• The Yankees are 1009-894-10 all time against Detroit.
• They are 551-401-4 at home and 433-285-2 at Yankees stadium against the Tigers.
• Wednesday's starter Andy Pettitte is 10-8 with a 3.49 ERA in 22 games against Detroit.

Coming Up:
The Seattle Mariners will come to New York for a three game series followed by another 3 game set against the Cleveland Indians to cap off the 9 game home stand.

Clemens in the News Again!

Here is the latest on Roger Clemens. He has become a lighting rod for controversy. What are your thoughts?

Years before Mindy McCready brought Roger Clemens home for breakfast, the country crooner’s mother says she confronted her daughter about the nature of her relationship with the Rocket Man.

“Obviously it’s a question I had to ask. A mother wants to know what’s going on,” Gayle McCready Inge told the Herald yesterday. “As a mother, I was told nothing.”

The Daily News of New York quoted sources yesterday as saying the green-eyed, honey-haired McCready had a 10-year fling with the controversial Cy Young Award winner after he saw her singing karaoke in a Florida bar in 1991, when she was 15 and he was still pitching for the Red Sox.

By the time McCready brought Clemens, a married father of four, home to Fort Myers for breakfast “a couple of years ago” - and Inge’s husband cooked him bacon, sausage and eggs - Inge said she had come to believe the relationship was strictly platonic.

“I knew Roger Clemens to be a friend of hers. She has all kinds of friends,” Inge said. “Besides, Mindy wasn’t the type to hold much back. We only met him that one time. We thought he was very, very nice.”

Clemens’ Houston attorney Rusty Hardin, did not return a call yesterday from the Herald. But he told the Daily News on Clemens’ behalf, “He’s considered (McCready) a close family friend. He has never had a sexual relationship with her.”

For her part, Inge doesn’t believe the relationship with Clemens began when her daughter was a minor. “I don’t believe that she was 15. She was driving when she met him,” Inge said.

As far as Inge knows, McCready, 32, and Clemens, 45, are still pals.

“I hope this (romance rumor) doesn’t affect that,” Inge said. “The allegations are horrible and I really feel for his family.”

As Clemens continues to defend against allegations he used steroids to enhance his on-the-field performance, years of personal setbacks, including jail time, have kept McCready off the charts. Her mother said she has a new album coming out and is hoping to launch a reality TV show.

Mike Brophey, program manager of Boston country music station WKLB, said McCready had her “heyday” in the mid-1990s with songs like “Guys Do It All the Time,” but, “We haven’t played much of her music”’ and listener requests for it have long dried up.

Despite having opened in the shadows of recording giants Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson and George Strait, “She was a fairly small act in our business,” Brophey said. “I think she had an awful lot of potential, but it was never realized.”

McCready, who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Tennessee in 1997, last year served a five-month stint in jail after attacking her mother and resisting arrest. Inge said her daughter, who has a toddler son, had been drinking and, “There was a lot of tension,” in the family home. Inge said the altercation “didn’t amount to enough to even make news.”

In 2004, McCready, who was once romantically involved with actor Dean Cain, was convicted of fraudulently obtaining prescription painkillers. A year later, while on probation, she was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Marathon Roadtrip Ends With Win

By the time Tim McCarver signed off on Saturday Yankees fans, myself included, were hanging there heads thinking it was going to be a long season. Our Bronx Bombers battled though and not only split the four game series with the Indians winning the final two games, but also split the 20 games they played on the road in April, the most by any team in April in major league history.

Considering the injuries that have plagued the team, including the reoccurance of a quad injury to Alex Rodriguez, and the lack of consistency in the pitching, a 10-10 record is pretty good. With the month coming to an end, where does the team stand?

Pitching is the huge question mark right now. Chien-Ming Wang has been outstanding, Andy Pettitte has held his own. Beyond that it has been tough. Mike Mussina won his second game in a row last night and the hope of every Yankees fan is that he has turned the page and will have a solid season. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been slower to develop than most people hoped, but let's be realistic. If they do not improve, they will be replaced. They may not become Cy Young Award candidates this year but if they can pitch 5 or 6 innings giving up 3 or 4 runs, this team can win. If they can not get to this point soon, they will need more development in the minors and the team will have to move to plan "B".

Injuries have also taken their toll. The latest is Alex Rodriguez and the fear is that this injury could keep him out for a while. Alex said, "I had a quad injury like this my senior year in high school, and it lingered on for a couple of months. It's important to get it right. I think Jeter took the right approach where he took a little bit more time. That's probably what I need, too."

Losing A-Rod for an extended period of time with Jorge Posada already sidelined is a big blow. Especially needing runs to support Hughes and Kennedy.

They next few weeks will be crucial for the Yankees. They need to play better than .500 at home and keep first place in their sites until the walking wounded can return and the team can make a push for a division championship.

Posada Heading to the DL, Catching Position Uncertain

Jorge Posada's arm has not recovered and he is now heading to the disabled list. Posada will go see Dr. James Andrews, the Birmingham, Ala.-based orthopedic surgeon, though he will first visit with Yankees team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon in New York. The New York Times first reported Posada's injury on Sunday, stating that he has a torn muscle in his shoulder. All previous reports said he had a strain to his right subscapularis muscle.

This has been the deep fear of all Yankees fans as the 36 year old catcher that just signed a lucrative 4 year deal has not been healthy all season. If he is unable to return, the Bombers will need to find another catcher, and consider that at his age, the contract he signed may be an early retirement gift. If Posada can not throw, he could return as a first baseman or DH, but his hitting numbers are good for a catcher. They may not cut it for a first baseman or designated hitter. Let's hope we do not lose Jorge for the season, but right now, I do not think it looks good.

Yankees Get One Back!

What a difference a day makes. What a difference a pitcher makes. The Yankees season so far has been a roller coaster ride. When the team gets the pitching they need, they win, when they do not, they lose. They look great, they look bad, and up and down we go.

Yesterday was an up day as Chien-Ming Wang out dueled C.C. Sabathia pitching seven shut out innings giving up only 4 hits while striking out 9 and walking 2. Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera came on to do what they do best and held on to the shut out for a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Melky Cabrera was the difference as he hit a fifth inning homerun off of Sabathia who appears to have regained his form after a slow start.

This may be the Yankees we see this season. A good game when the pitching is good, a bad game when it is not. Keep the Rolaids on hand folks, it could be a bumpy ride!

The Yankees turn the ball over to Mike Mussina. Moose will try to get the Yankees a split in the series and back over .500 again.