New York Yankees @ Bare Baseball - Baseball MLB Blog

Sean Henn arrived in the Bronx on Sunday, giving him one day to sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Monday, he will be the show.

Henn, a 24-year-old left-hander, will make his second career start for the Yankees, taking on the same Devil Rays team that pounded him for six runs in 2 1/3 innings on May 4 at Tropicana Field.

"Right now, I'm a little more relaxed," said Henn, sitting at his locker in the Yankees' clubhouse. "It's nice to have done it before."

Henn, who began the season with Double-A Trenton, was promoted to Triple-A Columbus after his Major League debut. In four starts with Trenton, Henn went 2-1 with a 0.71 ERA. He has continued to impress since moving to Triple-A, going 4-2 with a 3.19 ERA in eight starts for the Clippers.

"When we sent him out, he didn't have a good start but we promoted him," said manager Joe Torre. "We feel his ability should dictate where he should pitch."

Henn was pulled from his start on Thursday against Pawtucket after three innings, as the Yankees wanted to make sure he would be able to pitch for New York on Monday night.

"I threw 50 pitches and they came to the mound to take me out," Henn said. "I just laughed and then they said, 'No, really, you're done.'"

Despite his rocky debut in May, Henn believes he has the stuff to succeed in the Majors. With a start under his belt, he should have fewer nerves when he takes the mound on Monday than he did six weeks ago.

"It was a good idea to get him here a day ahead of time," Torre said. "He can come here, not have to put a uniform on and pitch. He can sit here for a day and take it all in.

"I can't let where I am affect my game," Henn said. "It's the same game. You've got to go out there and make pitches whether it's in Triple-A or here. If you make good pitches, you'll get guys out."

Tino out: Tino Martinez was out of the lineup on Sunday, as Jason Giambi returned to first base against the Cubs.

Giambi has started the majority of games over the past two weeks, though Martinez was in the lineup on Saturday while Giambi rested his tight hamstrings. Martinez has been battling an injury of his own, suffering from plantar fasciitis in his right heel.

"It's something that's hurting him when he's out there for a period of time," Torre said. "Every time he has to stop or go hard, that's when it barks at him the most."

As long as Giambi is healthy, he will see a lot of playing time at first base. Once Hideki Matsui returns to the outfield, Giambi could get some more at-bats at DH, opening the door for Martinez to see some action.

Wright or wrong: Jaret Wright continues to make progress in his rehab in Tampa, but Torre isn't holding his breath for the right-hander to return to the Yankees' rotation.

Wright has been on the disabled list since late April with a strained right shoulder, and he is expected to return sometime around the All-Star break. But Torre isn't going to plan for Wright's return to the rotation until he starts a rehab assignment.

"You can't have him involved in your plans right now," the manager said. "If it happens, it's a real plus for us. You can't plan on it and then be disappointed by it. [Chien-Ming] Wang has kept it from being a dramatic problem."

Wang has gone 4-2 with a 3.97 ERA in nine games, eight of which have been starts. His impressive rookie season has eased the pain of Wright's injury, allowing the Yankees to take their time with Wright's rehab.

"You come up to the big leagues, there's so much emotion involved," Torre said. "That's what makes Wang so unique, because he has a calm about him that's so unusual."

Brown better: Kevin Brown, who was placed on the 15-day DL on Saturday, shouldn't miss more than the 15 days before he returns to the active roster.

Brown has been dealing with back spasms since leaving his start on Wednesday.

"We're going to get him working on getting that spasm out of there," Torre said. "Once that happens, hopefully we can get him throwing later in the week."

On deck: The Yankees continue their 13-game homestand on Monday, hosting the first of four games against the Devil Rays. Henn will take the mound for New York, while Casey Fossum gets the nod for Tampa Bay.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

After last week's brutal road trip, the struggling Yankees were looking forward to enjoying the comforts of home.
Well, home has certainly agreed with the Bombers, who won their sixth consecutive game on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep of the Cubs at Yankee Stadium with a 6-3 victory.

The sweep was the second in a row for the Yanks, who took three straight from the Pirates to open their homestand. After dropping 11 of 14 to fall two games below .500, New York now finds itself at 36-32, five games behind Baltimore in the American League East.

"When we came back off that last trip, we weren't feeling too good about ourselves," said Mike Mussina, who won his third straight start. "To play well in the Pittsburgh series and now the Cubs series, it helps us feel better about ourselves. We believe we're a good team."

Mussina allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings, while his offense picked him up with a four-run fourth inning that erased a one-run deficit. Alex Rodriguez's two-run single capped the inning, as New York plated at least six runs for the sixth straight game.

"We've been getting some great at-bats," said Jorge Posada, "especially when men are on base."

Jeromy Burnitz gave the Cubs a lead with a solo homer against Mussina in the second, but Gary Sheffield tied it in the third with an RBI single.

Chicago regained the lead in the fourth on Todd Walker's RBI single, but the Yankees struck back quickly, tagging Sergio Mitre for four runs in the bottom of the inning.

Jason Giambi started the one-out rally for New York with a walk. With Bernie Williams at the plate, Giambi saw that the Cubs weren't holding him on, so he took off on the 2-2 pitch. Williams poked a ball through the hole at short, where Neifi Perez had vacated to cover second, and the Yankees had runners on the corners.

"You've got to take what they give you," Posada said of Giambi's aggressiveness.

Robinson Cano singled in Giambi, then, after Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Tony Womack lifted a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Yanks a 3-2 lead. A-Rod opened the lead further with a two-run single past a diving Perez, giving Mussina and the Yankees a 5-2 advantage.

"We've pitched well and we're scoring runs," Mussina said. "Because of that, everybody is feeling better. The pitchers don't feel that the game is on the line every inning."

With a four-run lead, Mussina put two runners on in the seventh, prompting Torre to bring in Tanyon Sturtze with one out. Sturtze hit Jason Dubois to load the bases, but Neifi Perez grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.

"I was just trying to throw a sinker down and away," Sturtze said. "Get a ground ball."

Mussina earned his seventh win in his last nine decisions, improving to 8-4. Unlike his five-hit shutout of the Pirates on Tuesday, his outing against the Cubs wasn't so easy. He allowed five hits and walked two, striking out five in the victory.

"Today was a lot of work. Guys put some good swings on the ball and guys made some nice plays, defensively," Mussina said. "We played well and got some timely hits. We're doing things in the past week that we weren't doing a week or two weeks ago."

The Cubs chipped away with a run in the eighth, but Mariano Rivera closed out the win with a scoreless ninth, earning his 16th save. Rivera has converted 16 consecutive save chances since blowing his first two of the season, and he has allowed just one earned run in his last 25 outings.

With a perfect 6-0 start to the homestand under their belts, the Yankees will try to continue their run on Monday, opening a four-game set against the last-place Devil Rays.

"We have to prove ourselves to ourselves every day," Torre said. "We have to prove that when we put on our uniforms, we pretty much know what to expect. The only way to do that is to work your [rear end] off."

"This stretch is similar to the way we played in the 16 out of 18 stretch, which is what we expected of this club," Mussina said. "I'm just glad we've been able to get it going in the right direction. Hopefully we can keep it going in that direction."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

Hideki Matsui won't return to the outfield until Wednesday at the earliest, but that may not be bad news for the Yankees.
Matsui, who was named the American League's Player of the Week on Monday, was in the lineup as New York's designated hitter for the seventh consecutive game.

His sprained right ankle, which he injured on June 12 in St. Louis, is not completely healed, though he shagged fly balls in the outfield before Monday's game to test it.

"The pain hasn't gone away completely," said Matsui through his interpreter. "In terms of playing defense in a game, that may take a couple of days.

"I had a light workout today. In terms of going after the ball and catching it, it's not a problem," he added. "Catching the ball, doing sudden movements and throwing, that's still a bit tough."

Despite the bum ankle, Matsui hit .455 (10-for-22) with three home runs, 10 RBIs, six runs, 22 total bases and a .538 on-base percentage during his award-winning week.

"I wasn't surprised, because I was feeling pretty good in St. Louis with my hitting," he said. "I'm happy that the injury didn't affect my hitting."

When Matsui returns to the outfield, Torre will have several options with his lineup, including giving days off to Bernie Williams, Tony Womack and Gary Sheffield.

"Bernie's been playing a lot more than we wanted him to play, so it wouldn't hurt giving him a day off," Torre said. "I also want to give Sheffield a day off from time to time, so by the time [Matsui] is ready to go back to the outfield, I can probably pick out of a hat for any DH I want."

Starting point: The Yankees have won each of their last six games, marking the first time since August 1998 that they rattled off six straight wins to open a homestand.

The biggest difference for New York? The starting pitching. During the homestand, the Yankees' starters are 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA, striking out 36 while walking just six in 42 innings.

"That's been enormous. To me, everything keys off the starting pitching," Torre said. "It makes everything else seem to work better. When your starting pitchers do a good job, hitters think, 'What little thing can I do to get a run home?' as opposed to being behind three, four, five runs."

Rivera rolling: Mariano Rivera has not allowed a run in his last 16 appearances, showing the form that has made him one of the most dominant closers in history.

Rivera's season started on a rocky note, as he blew two straight saves against the Red Sox in the first series of the year. Since then, he has allowed just one run over 23 games (25 innings), converting all 16 of his save opportunities.

"He's who he's always been," Torre said. "He's dominant, he's throwing a lot of strikes, and he's throwing balls on both sides of the plate. I'm very at ease watching him."

After blowing the two saves against Boston, many people questioned whether Rivera had lost a step. With his performance since that first week, the closer has answered those questions rather emphatically.

"It's all about what you're made of," Torre said. "You don't have that role for this ballclub as long as he's had it and not have a belly full of guts. He's not going to back off anywhere."

Second start: Sean Henn, who started for the Yankees on Monday night, will be slotted into the rotation while Kevin Brown is on the disabled list, setting the rookie southpaw up for a start against the Mets on Saturday.

"I don't anticipate looking for anyone else to do that," Torre said. "He's not auditioning, he's here as a fill-in for Brownie. Even if he pitches a couple of no-hitters, it doesn't mean he's going to stay here."

Brown is eligible to return on July 1.

Good cause: Don Mattingly will be honored at a benefit for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and his Youth First! Foundation on Wednesday night. The event, titled "A Celebration of the Career of Don Mattingly," will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.

The fundraiser, set for 6:30 p.m. ET, will be hosted by Yankees broadcasters Michael Kay and John Sterling. Tickets to the benefit are priced at $350 per person, including cocktail hour and dinner, and are available by calling (914) 332-4772.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide. Youth First! has set out the mission to reduce substance abuse by providing research-proven prevention and early intervention programs for area youth and their families.

On deck: The Yankees and Devil Rays play the second game of their four-game set on Tuesday, as Randy Johnson looks to follow up his complete-game victory from last Thursday with another gem. Hideo Nomo, who won his 200th game -- split between Japan and the Major Leagues -- in his last start, takes the mound for Tampa Bay.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

Sean Henn's second Major League start wasn't much different than his first, as the 24-year-old left-hander was roughed up by the Devil Rays in a 5-4 Yankees loss.
New York rallied with four runs in the eighth, but it wasn't enough to lift the Bombers to a seventh consecutive victory. The loss was the first in seven games on the current 13-game homestand.

"With the amount of talent we have in this clubhouse, we have to come out and play with our hair on fire," said Alex Rodriguez, who popped out in a crucial spot in the eighth. "I don't think we did that today. Today, we were a little lazy."

The Yankees are now 2-5 against the Devil Rays, including a 1-2 mark at Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay is just 4-27 in all other road games.

Henn, who walked just 12 in 48 innings with Triple-A Columbus, couldn't find the strike zone on Monday night, walking seven in just 4 2/3 innings.

"I don't know what it was," Henn said. "It would be easy to say I was nervous, but I just didn't have it. I was all over the place."

The young southpaw walked the bases loaded with two outs in the second, then walked Carl Crawford to force in the game's first run. Julio Lugo followed with a ground ball to shortstop, where Derek Jeter tried to force out Alex Gonzalez at third, but he threw the ball by Alex Rodriguez instead, allowing two runs to score.

"I don't think I would have gotten him anyway," Jeter said. "There was no chance to get Crawford at second, and it was hit too slow to get Lugo at first. It was basically the only play I had."

"It was a bang-bang situation where it was his only play," said manager Joe Torre. "With the bases loaded, you take your shot at it."

Tampa Bay took advantage of Henn's wildness again in the fifth, using a pair of walks to threaten the Yankees one more time. Torre pulled Henn in favor of Paul Quantrill, who promptly allowed an RBI single by Damon Hollins, extending the lead to 4-0.

Henn was charged with four runs (three earned) on four hits and seven walks, striking out one. He is now 0-2 with a 10.29 ERA in two starts, both against the Devil Rays.

"The first batter, I may have been a little nervous. After that, I settled down, but I couldn't find it all night," Henn said. "You have to make them swing the bat. You have to make them put runs on the board instead of helping them out."

"If there's a problem with him at this point, and he's not quite ready to be here yet, it's his command," Torre said. "He got ahead in a couple of counts and then lost the hitters. He's got Major League stuff, it's just a matter of being able to refine it."

While Henn struggled, Tampa Bay starter Casey Fossum had little trouble against the Yankees' offense. The left-hander held the Yankees without a hit until the fifth, when Hideki Matsui broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff double.

"He got us out pretty easily," Torre said. "We didn't pick up his change of speed as well as we'd like to. We didn't have many opportunities to do anything."

Fossum left the game with a 5-0 lead after Robinson Cano blooped a single to start the eighth, just the third hit of the game for the Yankees. Lance Carter came in for the Rays, giving up a pair of singles, including Gary Sheffield's RBI hit that got New York on the board.

Carter retired A-Rod, but Matsui belted a three-run shot to right, cutting the lead to 5-4. But Danys Baez got the final four outs for his 10th save of the season.

"We fought our way back, but we fell short," Torre said. "It just wasn't supposed to happen."

With the loss, the Yankees remain five games behind the Orioles in the American League East. Randy Johnson takes the mound for New York on Tuesday, trying to get the Bombers back on the winning track.

"Playing with the intensity we played with the last two innings, that's what we need to bring," A-Rod said. "We were a little dead out there. We have to do better than that as a team. We're better than that, so I'll leave it at that."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

At this time last week, Hideki Matsui's sprained right ankle threatened to keep him out of the Yankees' lineup and end his 12-year-old streak of consecutive games played.
Rather than face relegation to the bench, though, Matsui remained in the lineup as the team's designated hitter and was so productive that on Monday he was named the American League Player of the Week.

"I wasn't even considering how well he was going to play," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "I was just wondering whether he'd play, period. I never envisioned him being in the lineup [to begin the week]."

Indeed, Matsui shone brighter than any other player in the league, leading the Yankees to a 6-0 record and sweeps of the Pirates and Cubs. He batted .455 (10-for-22) with three home runs and an AL-leading 10 RBIs, posted a .538 on-base percentage, led the league with a 1.000 slugging percentage and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

He was so good as the Yankees' DH, in fact, that Torre joked on Friday that Matsui wouldn't return to the outfield when his ankle was fully healed.

"Never again. He sent his glove home," Torre said. "Matsui has been remarkable."

Though it may have seemed unusual that Matsui was able to churn out such impressive numbers with a bad ankle, Matsui was nonplussed.

"I wasn't surprised, because I was feeling pretty good in St. Louis with my hitting," he said. "I'm happy that the injury didn't affect my hitting."

Matsui's performance over the week was so impressive that he earned praise from both teammates -- third baseman Alex Rodriguez called Matsui "one of the most impressive players I've played with in my career" -- and opponents.

"Matsui, [that] guy killed us," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Friday. "You've got to do something to stop him. This guy can hit. It didn't seem to matter if you brought in a left-hander or right-hander, he's going to hit whoever you bring in there."

Matsui's teammate, Mike Mussina, also was nominated for Player of the Week honors for his efforts, which included a 2-0 record and a 1.17 ERA over 15 1/3 innings.

Other nominees included Rangers second baseman Alfonso Soriano, who batted .400 (10-for-25) with four homers and 10 RBIs; Devil Rays third baseman Jorge Cantu, who batted .455 (10-for-22) with two homers and five RBIs; and Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, who batted .440 (11-for-25) with three homers and eight RBIs.

None of them, however, had an ankle sprain that hurt so good.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

As expected, C.J. Henry chose baseball over basketball on Tuesday, signing a contract with the Yankees after being selected with the 17th overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft.
Henry, a two-sport standout at Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City, Okla., had committed orally to play hoops at the University of Kansas, but after being taken in the first round, he decided that the Yankees offered him a better opportunity.

"I think once I concentrate fully on baseball, I think I'll surprise everybody with how good I can be," Henry said on the day he was drafted. "Maybe two or three years from now, I'll be able to make it to the show."

The 19-year-old shortstop led his team at Putnam City in every offensive category this season, batting .481 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs in 37 games.

"We spent a lot of time scouting him, all the way back to watching him play basketball," said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' vice president of scouting. "He's a guy that can play in the middle of the diamond, is very athletic and has the kind of skills that made him very attractive to us."

As the 17th overall pick in this year's draft, Henry became the highest first-round selection for the Yankees since 1993, when they selected right-hander Matt Drews with the 13th overall pick. Henry has reported to the Yankees' Gulf Coast League affiliate in Tampa.

"I think I'm a five-tool player with a high ceiling and unlimited potential," Henry said earlier this month. "I need to work on every phase of the game, get better everywhere. You can never be good enough. I'm ready to work hard."

New York also signed 18 other draft picks on Tuesday, including its third-rounder, center fielder Brett Gardner, and its fourth-rounder, right-hander Lance Pendleton.

The other signings include left-hander Garrett Patterson (seventh round), right fielder James Cooper (ninth round), third baseman Kyle Anson (10th round), catcher Joseph Muich (12th round), center fielder Joel Perez (14th round), right-hander Joshua Schmidt (15th round), second baseman Chris Malec (16th round), right-hander Keaton Everitt (17th round), catcher Joseph Burke (18th round), right-hander James Conroy (19th round), left-hander Bryan Rueger (21st round), right-hander Michael Mlotkowski (27th round), first baseman Felipe Garcia (30th round), catcher Bradley Canada (34th round), left-hander Jesse Bahr (41st round) and right-hander Andrew Carter (43rd round).

In addition, the Yankees signed non-drafted free agent catchers Jared Greenwood and JT Lafountain, first baseman Kyle Larsen, second baseman Tony Roth and right-hander Steve Schroer.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

With six outs to go, the Yankees were faced with a four-run deficit and the prospect of a second consecutive loss to the Devil Rays on their home turf in the Bronx.
With five outs to go, the Bombers led the game, 15-11, starting an incredible inning in which they scored 13 runs en route to a 20-11 win over the Rays.

The offensive explosion erased a deficit that stood at eight runs after four innings, with Bernie Williams' bases-loaded triple putting the Yankees ahead for good.

"That eighth inning just wouldn't end," said manager Joe Torre. "It was remarkable."

New York tallied 23 hits, the most in almost six years, and the 20 runs scored were the most since July 24, 1999, when they defeated Cleveland, 21-1.

The Yanks scored more runs in the eighth than the Rays scored all game, homering four times in the frame. The Yankees homered four times in an inning just once before, accomplishing the feat on June 30, 1977. Ironically, one of those four homers was hit by Lou Piniella, who now manages Tampa Bay.

"We had a four-run lead, but we didn't hold it," Piniella said. "What are you going to do? Do you think we were trying to blow a baseball game?"

Gary Sheffield blasted two homers and tied a career high with seven RBIs, and Derek Jeter (a career-high five hits), Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez also homered in the win.

"We didn't want to lose two games in a row," Sheffield said. "At this point in the season, we need to win every series."

Overshadowed by the eighth-inning outburst was the performance of Randy Johnson, who was roughed up for seven runs in just three innings, his shortest outing since Aug. 25, 2000, when he lasted just 2 1/3 frames against the Mets.

Johnson didn't resemble the pitcher who dominated the Cardinals and Pirates in his last two outings, as Tampa Bay got to him for five runs in the second, including back-to-back homers by Damon Hollins and Kevin Cash -- the first back-to-back shots by the Devil Rays this season.

Johnson gave up two more runs in the third, both on Jonny Gomes' fourth homer of the season. It marked the third time this season that the Big Unit served up three long balls in the same game.

"If we had lost this game, it would have been squarely on my shoulders," Johnson said. "I didn't pitch well."

"He just didn't have it," Torre said. "His first inning was good, then all of a sudden, he flattened out. He just couldn't get the ball out of the middle of the plate."

Tampa Bay extended the lead to 10-2 after four, scoring three runs against Scott Proctor in the fourth.

Said Torre: "I had a sense in the dugout of, 'Let's see who we are and where we go from here.' "

Driving 'em home
Tampa Bay at NY Yankees, June 21, 2005
Derek Jeter, Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams combined for 15 of the game's hits, 13 of its runs (on four homers) and 15 of its RBIs. Their lines:
AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI
Jeter 6 5 5 1 0 1 1
Sheffield 6 3 4 0 0 2 7
Matsui 5 4 4 1 0 1 2
Williams 4 1 2 1 1 0 5
Totals 21 13 15 3 1 4 15
Yankees 46 20 23 4 1 6 20
Sheffield's seven RBIs ties a career high set on Sept. 18, 1995, as a Marlin. It was also the 32nd multi-homer game of his career and first of the season. Five RBIs are the most for Williams since July 25, 2000. His career high is eight.

Sheffield cut the lead to 10-5 in the fifth, belting a three-run shot against starter Hideo Nomo. That seemed to give the Yankees some life, and several players pointed to that as the turning point in the game.

"It was early in the game, so we didn't press the panic button," said Williams, who cut the lead to 10-6 with an RBI double later in the fifth. "We started focusing on just scoring runs during the course of the game, hopefully get it within reach later."

Jeter added a solo shot against Chad Orvella in the sixth, cutting the lead to 10-7. But Tanyon Sturtze gave one back in the seventh, extending Tampa Bay's lead back to four.

"The thing I liked was that we kept scoring runs," Torre said. "I'm very proud of how this ballclub didn't quit, especially down by eight."

Then came the eighth inning.

Robinson Cano and Jeter singled against Franklin Nunez, then Ruben Sierra plated Cano with an RBI fielder's choice. Sheffield battled from behind in the count against Nunez, singling to put runners at the corners.

A-Rod singled in Jeter, cutting the lead to 11-9. Travis Harper replaced Nunez, then Hideki Matsui doubled to right field, scoring Sheffield and moving Rodriguez to third. With their lead down to one, the Rays opted to intentionally walk Jason Giambi, giving them a chance at an inning-ending double play.

With the crowd of 40,241 chanting "Bernie! Bernie!" in unison, Williams had something else in mind, smoking the first pitch over Hollins' head in center field. All three runners scored on the triple, giving New York a 13-11 lead.

"It's where you want to be," Williams said. "That's what the game is all about -- being able to perform in situations like that. It was great that I was able to do it."

"That was big," Sheffield said. "Everybody jumped on the top step when Bernie hit that ball. You know how hard he works, so you want to see him come through."

Posada followed with a two-run homer, and after Jeter and Sierra singled, Sheffield drilled a three-run shot, his second of the game.

A-Rod and Matsui followed with solo shots, giving the Yankees back-to-back-to-back home runs off Harper, who was charged with nine runs in the frame. It was the 10th time in history that the Yankees hit three consecutive homers in a regular-season game, the first since May 8, 1994, against Boston. They also hit three straight homers in Game 1 of the 1997 American League Division Series, against Cleveland.

"When Sheffield hit the home run, then Matsui hit the home run, then A-Rod hit the home run, it was like, 'Wow, when is this going to end?' " Williams said. "It was a great thing to see."

When Russ Johnson finally flew out to right field to end the inning, the Yankees had scored 13 runs on 12 hits during their 35-minute turn at the plate.

"That eighth inning, it was a remarkable thing," Torre said. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Everything we swung at was either a base hit or a home run."

"If there's a turning point in the season, this should be it," Williams said. "Hopefully, there will be more like this to come."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

Sean Henn didn't do much to overwhelm Joe Torre and the Yankees on Monday, nor did he do enough to keep them from sending him back out to the mound on Saturday against the Mets.
Torre said that Henn, a 24-year-old lefty, would get the ball when his turn came around this weekend, even after walking seven batters in 4 2/3 innings on Monday. Henn was charged with four runs (three earned) on four hits, striking out one.

"I think he'll make the start," Torre said. "I think he tried to do too much last night, tried to be too perfect. I told him today, 'When you threw the ball over the plate and they swung the bat, they didn't hit very many balls hard.' That's an indication of his stuff."

The manager stressed that the team would not start Tanyon Sturtze or any of its other relievers.

"I don't think we're in a desperate situation where we need to do that," he said. "Sean Henn wasn't a sacrificial lamb last night. It came down to one inning where he walked four guys, and nothing good happens when you walk four guys."

Henn was starting in place of the injured Kevin Brown, who will be eligible to return from the disabled list on July 1 -- the next date that the spot in the rotation will come up for its turn.

"I don't think Henn was a disaster, it just came down to the fact that he needs to throw more strikes," Torre said. "The stuff was there. It's not like he was throwing and the ball wasn't near the plate. He got ahead of guys and then walked them because he was trying to keep them from hitting it."

Bernie centered: Bernie Williams started in center field for the ninth consecutive game on Tuesday, but the veteran did not take part in batting practice.

"I need to give him a day off, but I'm not going to be able to do that for a while," Torre said, referring to the ankle injury that has prevented Hideki Matsui from playing the outfield for the past nine days. "We have to cut our corners any way we can."

Torre also revealed on Tuesday that Williams has stopped taking fly balls in left field, as he will stick exclusively to center field.

"We shut all that stuff down. Bernie doesn't need to work out any more than he usually does," Torre said. "Right now we're locked with Bernie in center, and that's the way its going to be until Matsui comes back, which is going to be a while. He's sore."

Matsui's injury hasn't hindered him at the plate, as he has been the Yankees' hottest hitter since spraining his ankle in St. Louis on June 12.

"It's not like he can't do what he's doing, but there are so many more demands in the outfield. We're not going to force it," Torre said. "When it happens, it happens. It's not the need to get him out there as much as it's the need to sit somebody down."

Proctor arrives: Scott Proctor was recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, as the Yankees optioned outfielder Bubba Crosby to the Minors.

After needing his relievers for 4 1/3 innings on Monday night, Torre asked general manager Brian Cashman to bring up Proctor in order to bolster the bullpen for the week.

"I don't want to get caught short," Torre said. "We got a lot out of [Paul] Quantrill last night."

Proctor has been closing for Columbus, going 4-1 with 14 saves and a 4.15 ERA in 32 appearances.

"He's always had knockout stuff," Torre said. "He throws his slider and fastball, and now he's getting better with the offspeed stuff. He's always had the grind in him. He should be getting better with the experience."

Crosby appeared in 18 games with the Yankees this season, going 2-for-12 in limited action.

"He was the only guy we could send back," Torre said. "It's not something we necessarily wanted to do, but I felt the backup outfield situation wasn't as important."

Lighting a fire? Following Monday night's loss to Tampa Bay, Alex Rodriguez said that the Yankees were "lazy" during the game and that they needed to "come out and play with our hair on fire" on Tuesday.

Torre wouldn't go so far as to agree, but he understood the frustration that prompted the third baseman's comments.

"I'm sure Alex was speaking emotionally, because he's one of the players he's talking about," Torre said. "Everybody feels the responsibility."

The Yankees were held to just two hits over the first seven innings on Monday by Rays lefty Casey Fossum, who hadn't won a game as a starter since last August. New York rallied for four runs in the eighth, but it wasn't enough to overcome Tampa Bay's 5-0 lead.

"We have to play nine innings every game," Torre said. "If I criticize our club, that's saying that their pitcher wasn't very good; that it was all about our not being able to do the job. I'm reluctant to do that. We can't take anybody lightly."

On deck: The Yankees host the Devil Rays in the third game of a four-game set on Wednesday, playing a matinee in the Bronx. Carl Pavano looks to even his record at 5-5, taking on former Mets prospect Scott Kazmir.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

Gary Sheffield believed that Tuesday night's game against the Devil Rays was a big one for the Yankees, so when he watched Randy Johnson get knocked out after just three innings, he knew that he and his teammates were going to have to pick up the slack.
They did that -- and more -- in New York's 20-11 win over Tampa Bay, scoring 13 runs in the eighth inning to cap a comeback after being down, 10-2, after four innings.

"All we're worried about now is winning ballgames," Sheffield said. "It doesn't matter who is pitching, we need to put runs on the board. When they score like that, we just have to outscore them."

In a box score filled with eye-popping lines, Sheffield's stood out above the rest. In six at-bats, he had four hits, including two home runs. He scored three runs and drove in seven, tying his career highs for homers and RBIs in a single game.

"It's good to contribute," said Sheffield, who is now hitting .313 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs. "It's been Alex [Rodriguez] and [Hideki] Matsui for the most part, so it's a treat that everybody else could chip in."

With the score 10-2 after four, Sheffield belted a three-run homer against Hideo Nomo in the fifth.

"You just have to believe," he said. "You feel that if you score a run at a time and guys get on in front of you, you get them in and give yourself a chance to come back."

The homer gave the Yankees the belief that they could overcome the early deficit, even though they were still down by five runs.

"We were just looking for one bolt," said manager Joe Torre. "A three-run homer or a two-run double, just something to get us back in the game where we could reach out and sense that something was going to happen. That got us to within where it wasn't a ridiculous score."

"I thought the mood changed when we got within five runs," Sheffield said. "We felt that we could score five runs, because we've done it before. Guys on the bench started running to the bat rack, which was a good sign."

New York chipped away at the lead but found itself down by four runs entering the eighth. Sheffield came to the plate with the score 11-8 and Derek Jeter at second. He fought off some tough pitches by hard-throwing reliever Franklin Nunez before singling to left-center.

Gary Sheffield / RF
Born: 11/18/68
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R

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"We looked up on the scoreboard and saw 97 [mph], so we knew we had to get it started," Sheffield said. "Especially after whiffing at the first two, I told myself to just make contact, and he left one out over the plate."

"The at-bat that impressed me the most was the one against Nunez," said Bernie Williams, whose bases-loaded triple plated the winning runs. "Getting a base hit on a tough pitch, that was the epitome of the whole game."

But Sheffield wasn't done, as he came to bat again in the inning, this time with his team leading, 15-11. With men at first and third, he crushed a 3-2 pitch from Travis Harper into the seats in left field, blowing the game wide open.

"That's an American League ballgame," he said. "You don't ever see that in the National League."

The Yankees have now won seven of their last eight games, but Sheffield isn't ready to proclaim their season turned around just yet.

"We'll start proving something to ourselves when we're doing it on a consistent basis," he said. "We can't base it on one game, we have to base it on the season, the postseason and the World Series. That's when this team can be judged."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

Just hours after the Yankees' 20-run explosion, Carl Pavano took the mound hoping to carry that momentum into Wednesday afternoon's start against the Devil Rays.
For three innings, he did just that. Unfortunately, the rules of the game require you to play all nine.

Pavano allowed a two-run homer in the fourth and a three-run shot in the seventh, giving Tampa Bay a comeback win of its own, as the Rays downed the Yanks, 5-3, at Yankee Stadium.

"He's been inconsistent, and he'd be the first one to tell you that," said manager Joe Torre. "It's all about location. Today, he didn't locate two pitches and it wound up costing him the ballgame."

Pavano lost his fourth straight decision, giving up five runs on six hits to extend his winless streak to six starts. Pavano's last victory came May 22 at Shea Stadium against the Mets.

"The wins are going to come," Pavano said. "I just want to go out and pitch better."

The loss was just the second in the last nine games for the Yankees, who are now 7-2 on their 13-game homestand.

"This is a tough loss after last night," Torre said. "We had a couple of leads today and just couldn't hold on to them."

Coming off the 13-run eighth inning that sparked the unlikely comeback on Tuesday night, the Yankees opened the game right where they left off, as Gary Sheffield drilled a 1-2 offering from Scott Kazmir over the wall in left, giving the Yanks a quick 2-0 lead in the first.

"It got us the lead," Torre said, "which was exactly what we needed after last night."

Pavano, who entered the game with an 0-3 record and 6.49 ERA in his last five starts, looked good in the early innings, allowing just a leadoff single by Carl Crawford through the first three frames.

But the right-hander fell victim to the long ball in the fourth, as Jonny Gomes belted a two-run shot to left-center, tying the game.

During the fifth, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and assistant team trainer Steve Donahue came to the mound to check on Pavano, who had a blood blister on his middle right finger. After the game, both Stottlemyre and Torre said that Pavano had the blister drained before the fifth, but Pavano wouldn't even acknowledge the blister's existence.

"I don't know what they're talking about," Pavano said.

Regardless of the contradiction, all parties involved said that the blister had no impact on Pavano's performance.

"We just wanted to make sure it was OK," Stottlemyre said. "He was fine. It didn't create a problem."

Sheffield heating up
Devil Rays at Yankees, June 22
After going 2-for-4 with a home run and a pair of RBIs, Gary Sheffield has a 10-game hit streak, during which he is batting .405 with 28 total bases:
DATE Opp. AB R H 2B HR RBI TB
6/11 @SLN 5 0 1 0 0 0 1
6/14 PIT 2 2 1 0 0 1 1
6/15 PIT 5 1 1 0 0 0 1
6/16 PIT 4 0 1 1 0 2 2
6/17 CHN 3 3 2 1 0 0 3
6/18 CHN 5 1 3 0 0 1 3
6/19 CHN 4 0 1 0 0 1 1
6/20 TBA 4 1 1 0 0 1 1
6/21 TBA 6 3 4 0 2 7 10
6/22 TBA 4 1 2 0 1 2 5
Totals 42 12 17 2 3 15 28
Sheffield increased his season RBI total to 53 and career total to 1,406, through June 22. He now has 428 homers in his career. His career-best hit streak is 24 games (7/26/2003-8/20/2003).

New York regained the lead in the fifth on Robinson Cano's RBI groundout, and after a 1-2-3 sixth by Pavano, the Yankees were poised to win their eighth game on the homestand.

But Pavano couldn't hold the lead, walking Gomes to start the seventh, then hitting Toby Hall with two outs to put the tying runs on base.

Nick Green brought them home in a hurry, roping a 1-2 inside fastball over the left-field wall for a three-run shot, putting the Rays ahead, 5-3. Pavano has now allowed 16 homers in his 16 starts this season.

"I thought it was a good pitch, but he made a good swing," Pavano said. "That's baseball. You've got to make pitches when you need to get outs. Today, I did that at times, and at times I didn't. That cost us the ballgame."

"The way our season has gone, it doesn't matter much who we're playing," said catcher John Flaherty. "We have to go out and play hard every day. Today, we played a good game, they just beat us on two swings."

The Yanks threatened in the eighth, but unlike their 13-run outburst on Tuesday, they were unable to complete a comeback on Wednesday. With men at second and third and two outs, closer Danys Baez struck out Ruben Sierra, stranding the tying runs in scoring position.

Cano tripled with two outs in the ninth, bringing Derek Jeter to the plate as the tying run. But Baez struck out Jeter to end the game, giving Tampa Bay its sixth win in nine games against New York this season.

"This one was a bit of a setback and a surprise, because it felt like we were going to win the game," Torre said. "You get to the seventh inning, one run has to be enough. We weren't able to make it stand up for us."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

Bernie Williams had a big night on Tuesday, not only hitting the bases-loaded triple that brought the Yankees back from a 10-2 deficit and helped spark a 13-run eighth inning, but also boosting his name higher up in the Bombers' record books.
Williams went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, driving in five runs in New York's 20-11 win. The two hits tied Williams with Yogi Berra for sixth place on the Yankees' all-time hit list (a first-inning single Wednesday gave Williams sole possession of sixth), while the five RBIs pushed him past Tony Lazzeri for seventh place on the team's RBI list.

"It only means that I've been here for a while," Williams said. "It's great, because those guys have been a great part of this franchise. I'm working my way up there, too."

Williams, who lost his starting job on May 2, has started the past 10 games in center field while Hideki Matsui has been hobbled by a sprained ankle. Entering Wednesday's contest, Williams was 9-for-27 on the homestand, lifting his average to .251.

"He's not what he was 10 years ago, physically, but in key situations, when you think of big games and big at-bats, he takes a back seat to no one," said manager Joe Torre. "He brings a lot of style and grace to an organization that really has had a great history."

Williams said after the game that the stunning comeback against Tampa Bay could serve as a turning point for the Yankees, but Torre wasn't ready to look that far ahead.

"Let's wait and see what happens with the season," the manager said. "I'm glad that guys are thinking that way as opposed to thinking it was an isolated game. You certainly want to have something to build on."

Randy rocked, but OK: Randy Johnson's three-inning outing on Tuesday was his shortest since the 2000 season, but both the left-hander and his manager say that the Big Unit isn't having any health issues.

"Nothing more than not feeling too good about the way he pitched," Torre said. "It's one of those things you can't put a finger on."

Johnson allowed seven runs in three innings, serving up three homers to the Devil Rays, including their first back-to-back shots of the season. Johnson left with a 7-1 deficit, but the Yankees overcame the shaky start.

"You go into the game expecting to win when he pitches, but not when he walks off the mound losing, 7-1," Torre said. "To be able to come back and win a ballgame when he pitches like that, it has to make you feel like you stole one."

Lefty lineup: With southpaw Scott Kazmir on the mound Wednesday, Torre sat both Tony Womack and Jason Giambi, giving Ruben Sierra the start in left field and Russ Johnson a game at first base.

The decision to start Sierra not only got him some at-bats, but also gave Torre an opportunity to rest Womack. Torre said he may do the same thing in the next few days with Gary Sheffield, using Sierra in right field for a game.

"Ruben's starting to swing the bat," Torre said. "We're stretched in our outfield a little. We don't have the depth we'd like to have, especially with Matsui in the DH role."

Matsui, who hasn't played the outfield since spraining his right ankle on June 12, has been lighting it up at DH, batting .485 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in 33 at-bats.

"I still think the weekend is the earliest we can consider," Torre said when asked about a return to the outfield for Matsui. "It's sore. I guess the good reason that it's sore is because he's been on base a lot."

On deck: The Yankees and Devil Rays close out their four-game series at the Stadium on Thursday, as Chien-Ming Wang takes on Mark Hendrickson.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK — Phil Cavarretta vividly remembers running up the dugout steps at Yankee Stadium so many years ago, eager to get a look at the monuments.

Back then, the monuments were alive.

"Man, there was Lou Gehrig at first base and Joe D in center field. I don't know how many Hall of Famers they had, but there were a lot of them," the former Cubs star said.

This weekend, the Cubs are making their first visit to Yankee Stadium since getting swept in the 1938 World Series. And Cavarretta, 89 next month and the only Cubs player still around from that team, planned to watch from his home in suburban Atlanta.

"I'll be in front of the TV for every game," the 1945 NL MVP said in a telephone interview. "I wish I could be there, rooting for the Cubbies. It would bring back so many good memories from the good days."

Cavarretta also wanted to see an old friend. He was the hitting coach for the New York Mets in 1978 when their manager was Joe Torre, now guiding the Yankees.

"He called me Chi-Chi. He was a good guy," Cavarretta said. "I miss seeing him."

The Cubs and Yankees met in a memorable series at Wrigley Field two years ago. Sammy Sosa had appealed his suspension for using a corked bat, and helped the Cubs take two of three from New York. In a neat matchup, Kerry Wood and the Cubs rallied to deny Roger Clemens his 300th career victory.

Torre was looking forward to the Cubs' return trip to town.

"We went to Wrigley a couple of years ago and it was exciting there. And I'm sure with the same type of history in this ballpark, one of the originals coming in here, it's going to be exciting," he said. "Chicago, they have a great following."

The first time the Cubs and Yankees played, it certainly was historic. That was in the 1932 World Series when Babe Ruth's "called shot" highlighted New York's sweep.

The teams met six years later, and though Ruth had retired, the result was the same. The Yankees had a half-dozen Hall of Famers, including pitchers Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez, catcher Bill Dickey and manager Joe McCarthy. They also had Ol' Reliable, Tommy Henrich – at 92 and in poor health, he's the only other player left from that Series.

"I mean I shouldn't say it, because we were supposed to be out there trying to beat them, but I was thrilled to be on the field with those guys," Cavarretta said.

The Yankees won the first two games at Wrigley, pulling off a late comeback to beat a determined Dizzy Dean.

"Diz had nothing, his arm was shot by then," Cavarretta said. "He'd throw one pitch at 40 mph and another at 60 mph. DiMaggio got up and Diz was zigging and zagging. They kept yelling from their dugout, telling him to throw the ball and he was just out there laughing."

Then, the Series shifted to the Bronx.

"I went out early, before batting practice, because I wanted to see the field," Cavarretta said. "I'd heard so much about it, and it already had a lot of history because of the Babe."

Only 22, Cavarretta hit .462 for the Series and played right field, the same spot where Ruth once stood. But Cavarretta's proudest moment involved the player he looked up to the most, the Iron Horse himself.

"Lou Gehrig was my idol and in one of the games at Yankee Stadium, I was on first and he was holding me on. He was just getting sick with his illness, and I looked him in the face. He had some wrinkles and was yellowing up.

"I'm looking at him and he's looking at me – he had such sharp eyes. And then he said, 'Phil, I've been watching you play, and I like the way you play.' That was pretty good, I thought," he said. "And every day I stepped on the field the rest of my career, I remembered that."

Source: http://www.topix.net/

NEW YORK -- A sprained right ankle was not enough to hold Hideki Matsui out of the Yankees lineup on Tuesday, allowing the ironman's consecutive games streak to stretch another day.
Playing in his 1,637th consecutive professional game Sunday -- the 387th with the Yankees -- Matsui slipped and fell chasing a double in St. Louis and had to be helped off the field by manager Joe Torre and trainer Gene Monahan, raising doubts about the outfielder's availability for Tuesday's game.

Those questions persisted into the early afternoon on Tuesday, with the Yankees apparently unsure of how to handle the situation. Torre's first lineup card of the afternoon slotted the No. 5 hole as a designated hitter with the first initials 'M.A.', but the rest of the name was whited out -- subject to change, or so it would seem.

"I think the decision is [going to be] based on the fact we don't want to hurt it more," Matsui said at the time. "We're taking the safe approach."

However, after a solid batting practice session and brief baserunning drills, Matsui was able to sell Joe Torre on the health of his ankle, telling the manager he simply felt "OK."

"His priority is what's best for the team," Torre said. "He certainly understands if the injury becomes worse and he misses three or four weeks, that can't be a plus for us."

While the international streak garnered headlines and attention, especially from the Japanese press, Matsui continued to show a team-first attitude. He downplayed the streak, which carried over with Matsui from the Yomiuri Giants in 2003, saying that production was the most important thing.

"I take pride in playing each and every game to contribute, and be a strength to the team," Matsui said. "I'm not thinking about my streak right now. I don't want to go out there and be a problem for my team and not contribute."

Matsui had no problem contributing on Tuesday. He blasted the first pitch he saw in the second inning over the wall in right-center for his fifth home run of the season, and finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. He was removed for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning.

Matsui said that during the course of his streak, he has played through a number of similar injuries to the sprained ankle. "I've had worse," he admitted.

In fact, Matsui estimated that he has taken his swings with "two or three" sprained ankles just like this one over the years, piled in with the usual strained obliques, bone bruises and whatever other speed bumps you could imagine.

"I wasn't really thinking whether I'd play or not," Matsui said. "All I thought of was whatever I needed to do to get better."

"I'm sure he wakes up every morning without even considering not playing," Torre said. "That's pretty special."

New stadium on the horizon: The Yankees have scheduled a press conference for Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, in which the team -- joined by Governor George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city and state officials -- will announce the plans for the building of a new Yankee Stadium.

The announcement follows a similar one late last week from the Mets, who have leapfrogged the city's waning efforts at luring the 2012 Olympic Games into a plan to replace Shea Stadium in time for the 2009 season.

Likewise, it is believed that a new Yankee Stadium facility could be prepared in time for the first pitch of 2009. The Yankees will unveil further details and renderings of the stadium on Wednesday.

History calls: With the Yankees gearing up for a 13-game homestand, history lessons might not be the top priority in the clubhouse. Still, they're in for a reminder of baseball's past with the Pittsburgh Pirates in town.

The last time the Yankees faced Pittsburgh, it was in the 1960 World Series, a series that will be remembered in Yankee lore for a crushing defeat that still stings some to this day.

Bucs shortstop Bill Mazeroski blasted a memorable Game 7 home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the Yankees home from Forbes Field with just an American League title in hand. The home run arguably may have tipped the scales in Mazeroski's Hall of Fame bid.

"It was quite a memorable World Series," said Torre, who watched the games after just having completed a two-game rookie stint with the Milwaukee Braves. "You never took anything for granted."

With two of baseball's most established uniforms meeting on the playing field this week, the focus of the series extends well beyond simple nostalgia. The Yankees feel as though they need this stretch of games to "get right," in Derek Jeter's words, and overcome a slow start that sees the team enter Tuesday's action two games under .500 at 30-32.

"We've been gone for a while," Jeter said. "It's nice to be here, but we've still got to play good whether we're at home or on the road."

Torre bristled when a reporter characterized the extended homestand as a make-or-break point for the season.

"If for some reason we don't do well, what do we do? Go home?" Torre said. "We've got games to play."

Sanchez disabled: Before Tuesday's game, the Yankees placed infielder Rey Sanchez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 10, and recalled infielder Andy Phillips from Triple-A Columbus.

Sanchez, 37, had been nagged by a pair of bulging cervical discs in his neck. Torre said that treatment could help alleviate some of the discomfort the veteran infielder -- batting .279 (12-for-43) in 23 games this year -- has been feeling. Otherwise, surgery looms as a possibility.

"It's been bothering him for a couple of weeks now," Torre said. "Hopefully, rest will do it. You don't even want to think the next step."

This is Phillips' third tour of duty with the Yankees this season. The 28-year-old is hitting .156 (5-for-32) with a home run and four RBIs in the Majors. At Columbus, Phillips was hitting .337 with nine home runs and 22 RBIs in 25 games.

On deck: The Yankees and Pirates play the second game of a three-game series at the Stadium on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET, with Kevin Brown (4-6, 5.43 ERA) taking on Bucs left-hander Mark Redman (4-4, 2.80 ERA).

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- A little home cooking was all it took to bring out the old offseason blueprint, making the Yankees look all right again.
Mike Mussina shut the Pittsburgh Pirates out on five hits, Hideki Matsui homered and three players contributed two RBIs each, as the Yankees steamrolled to a 9-0 win Tuesday, opening a 13-game homestand in style.

"If you can draw up a way to play a game, that's the way you'd draw it up," Mussina said.

Since the Yankees left Tampa in March, manager Joe Torre has repeatedly stated his belief that this pitching rotation is the strongest, top to bottom, that the team has had during his tenure.

It hasn't always looked that way this season, but you could certainly see Torre's point on Tuesday, with Mussina (7-4) taking a perfect game into the fifth inning and repeatedly taking control of overmatched Pittsburgh batters.

"I kept getting ahead of people, throwing first-pitch strikes," Mussina said. "I got a couple of first-pitch outs, and that really helps you get deep in ballgames."

In control of an excellent curveball and changeup, Mussina mixed and matched his way through the first 14 Pittsburgh hitters before allowing a single to Daryle Ward in the fifth inning, breaking up his bid for perfection.

Toiling through a steamy night in the Bronx, Mussina couldn't complain with what he had at the end, though: a five-hit shutout -- his second complete game of the season -- with six strikeouts and one walk.

Mussina credited the fact that he never had to fight through a tough inning, and that the Yankees gave Pittsburgh starter Kip Wells lengthy fits -- allowing Mussina to cool down in the air-conditioned comfort of the clubhouse -- for keeping the right-hander fresh through the 109-pitch effort.

"What Moose did today sets the tone for what we do on this homestand," said catcher Jorge Posada. "Hopefully, we can build on what he did today, and the guys who follow Moose can do what we ask for."

With Mussina locked in, the Yankees' bats were free to get hot and responded by putting up their second-highest run total in the last three weeks.

Matsui -- questionable to play almost up until game time with a sprained right ankle -- quickly eased any worries by homering on the first pitch he saw from Wells (5-5) in the second inning.

"You have a pitcher perform like [Mussina], you realize that one [run] might be enough," Torre said.

After the Yankees added an unearned run in the third, Posada blooped a run-scoring single to left in the fourth, plating Matsui from second base and extending the lead to 3-0.

Tested on that play, Matsui's heavily-taped ankle proved to be sore but not unplayable, as he ran stiffly and scowled -- as if in pain -- on the 180-foot dash to the plate.

Mussina dominates again
Pittsburgh at NY Yankees, June 14, 2005
Mike Mussina (7-4) picked up the victory with his second complete-game shutout of the season and the 23rd of his career. It was also the 56th complete game of Mussina's career and his 11th as a Yankee. He fanned six of the 32 batters he faced to increase his season strikeout total to 61 and career strikeout total to 2,319. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive batters. His line:
IP H R ER BB SO ERA
9.0 5 0 0 1 6 3.89
Key numbers for Mussina:
Pitches-strikes: 109-76; Groundouts-flyouts: 12-8;
Season strikeouts-walks: 61-21; WHIP: 1.34

Matsui went 2-for-3 before yielding to pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra in the sixth inning. Torre said that Matsui could continue to serve as a DH but likely would not see action in the outfield for a while.

"I always grit my teeth down and look like that, even when my ankle is fine," Matsui said, drawing laughter.

New York broke the game open against Wells in a four-run fifth. Robinson Cano started the inning with a leadoff double and scored on a hit by Gary Sheffield, and Posada legged out an infield single to score Sheffield with the Yankees' fifth run.

Giambi's two-run double to center capped the scoring in the inning and chased Wells, who allowed seven runs -- six earned -- in 4 2/3 innings. Sierra added a two-run single against Ryan Vogelsong in the eighth to extend the lead further.

The Pirates' biggest threat against Mussina came in the sixth, when Jason Bay doubled to right-center. Bernie Williams hit Cano with the throw from the outfield, and the relay to Posada beat Matt Lawton to the plate by several steps, ending the inning.

A thing of beauty, and just the way Torre, Mussina and the Yankees would draw it up. They'll try for an encore or two beginning Wednesday.

"I don't think we played over our heads," Torre said. "I think it's a matter of getting our confidence where we expect to do something like this, instead of being surprised by it."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- On the day the Yankees' new home was revealed with much fanfare, the team's new direction may have also been revealed by George Steinbrenner -- far more subtly.
The club's owner wasn't among the formal speakers at Wednesday's Stadium Club media conference to announce and detail the new $800 million Yankee Stadium that is to be built beginning next year.

However, his son-in-law, Steve Swindal, did address the gathering of dignitaries, joining Yankees president Randy Levine as the only club officials to do so.

Then Steinbrenner's response to a question following the formal media conference included a veiled reference to Swindal as his successor in running the franchise his family has owned for 32 years.

In discussing the decision to develop a new ballpark for the team in the Bronx, Steinbrenner said, "I think it's very important to the whole family and Steve, who's going to carry on. I think it's important to him to do something great for New York."

That remark has triggered widespread speculation that Steinbrenner, who turns 75 on July 4, has already begun machinations to hand off leadership of the club, and assume a less active role.

Yankees executives present were caught off-guard by the remark. Swindal, married to Steinbrenner's daughter Jennifer, said, "Don't read a whole lot into it."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- Randy Johnson seemed to like throwing to John Flaherty so much on Saturday, Yankees manager Joe Torre is ready to try the combination again.
After Johnson thoroughly dominated the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend at Busch Stadium, shutting out their potent offense on four hits through seven innings, Torre had an inkling that it might just have been the change in battery.

Johnson hasn't quite been the usual intimidating 'Big Unit' this season, going 6-5 with a 3.76 ERA and saying on occasion that he was happy "just to keep [his] team in the game."

Saturday showed a different Unit, with shades of the fireballer Yankees fans expected when the team traded for Johnson this past offseason, as he fanned seven Cardinals in the game.

If the pairing with Flaherty -- who caught Johnson for the first time in his 13 starts as a Yankee -- helped spur a great performance via a change in scenery, Torre is happy to play the hot hand and give regular catcher Jorge Posada an evening off.

"After [Saturday], why not?" Torre said. "We'll just pick that day to give Jorgie [a day off]."

Flaherty said he appreciated the gesture, but truth be told, the backup catcher doesn't have much faith in the prolonged "designated catcher" routine. It has been a standby in the past for some big-name pitchers, but Flaherty isn't quite sure the same rules apply here.

"I guess it works for some guys, like when Greg Maddux had Charlie O'Brien and then Eddie Perez [with the Atlanta Braves]," Flaherty said. "I'm not really a believer in it.

"First and foremost, we've got an All-Star guy here (Posada) who's always a threat to hit the ball out of the yard and does a great job. Besides, when [Johnson's] on, it doesn't really matter who's behind the plate."

The other part of the equation to consider is the loss of the productive bat of Posada, who entered Wednesday's action hitting .289 with eight home runs and 31 RBI.

Though a capable receiver, Flaherty -- a .191 batter this season -- doesn't quite cut the same imposing figure in the heart of the Yankees lineup as Posada does. Whether it continues to be an ongoing experiment is up for debate, but either way, the battery of Johnson and Flaherty will try to double up their success Wednesday.

"I look forward to playing, but I know we're not as good [an offensive team] when I'm in the lineup," Flaherty said. "We look forward to having Jorgie's bat in the lineup."

Rudy says: Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was on hand early in his usual box adjoining the Yankees' dugout, and gave a thumbs-up to the proposed $800 million Yankee Stadium unveiled at Wednesday's press conference.

Though the former mayor conceded that there was something special about watching today's Yankees take their cuts on the same patch of land where Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle took theirs, Giuliani said "it was time" for the city to step forward and join the revolution of cities building new stadiums for teams.

"There's something special about being here," said Giuliani, who tried to champion new stadiums for both New York baseball teams before leaving office. "You do lose something, but it's practical. They need a new stadium."

Giuliani said he was especially looking forward to the redevelopment of the immediate area around Yankee Stadium, providing fans with many more options of restaurants, bars and retail outlets to entertain themselves before and after the game.

"It helps bring people in," Giuliani said. "It creates a tremendous amount of economic development."

An ongoing thing: Torre would not place a concrete date on when Hideki Matsui will be able to serve as more than a designated hitter for the Yankees, saying only that it would be "a while."

Matsui sprained his right ankle during the Yankees' loss in St. Louis on Sunday. Wearing heavy tape, Matsui went 2-for-3 as a designated hitter on Tuesday before leaving for pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra. He was back in the lineup again on Wednesday.

A little charge: Jason Giambi was back in the starting lineup at first base on Wednesday as well, a night after doubling in two runs with a drive that nearly cleared the outfield wall.

"He gave us a little charge last night," Torre said. "The only way he's going to be able to drive the ball is if he gets in there and gets his regular at-bats."

Giambi is hitting .238 with four home runs and 17 RBIs entering Wednesday's action.

On deck: The Yankees and Pirates end their Interleague go-round on Thursday, as Johnson (6-5, 3.76 ERA) and Oliver Perez (5-4, 5.88 ERA) face off in the final game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- Try as he might, Jason Giambi couldn't completely tune out the boos. He figured the best plan of attack was to wipe them away entirely.
After being soundly booed in his first four plate appearances of the night, Giambi turned the Yankee Stadium crowd around as quickly as he turned on Jose Mesa's fastball.

Giambi picked the perfect time to crush his fifth home run of the year into the upper deck in right field, a momentous blast that gave the Yankees a 7-5 win in 10 innings Wednesday.

"It was incredible," Giambi said. "I wanted to get a hit so bad. I finally got a pitch I could hit and didn't miss it."

The walk-off home run capped a Yankees rally that began in the seventh inning, with New York scoring in each frame thereafter.

With the Pirates opting to pitch to Giambi with a runner at second and first base open -- something that would have been unheard of back in Giambi's MVP-era run -- Derek Jeter pulled the slumping slugger aside and predicted, correctly, that Giambi was about to win the game.

"He's been swinging the bat well for a while now," Jeter said. "I hope the fans start cheering for him, because if you're a Yankees fan, [you know] we're going to need Jason to do well."

"[Jeter] knows how hard I've worked, how I come in every day," Giambi said. "It wasn't a question of me not working hard. He's one of those guys who can appreciate it."

To Joe Torre, Giambi had been showing signs of breaking out of an extended slump in recent games. He contributed a two-run double to the Yankees' 9-0 win on Tuesday, missing a home run by inches, and earned a return engagement in the lineup Wednesday as a result.

Through a troubled season, it's true that Giambi's effort has not been lacking. He is a constant presence in the weight room and the batting tunnel with hitting coach Don Mattingly, trying continuously to turn relentless boos -- as Jeter pointed out incredulously, Giambi was booed after taking a called first strike earlier in the evening -- into the cheers he used to receive.

"I'm a human being. [Being booed is] not a joy, especially in our home ballpark," Giambi said. "But it's OK. I'm right there with them, trying to get that hit."

"He's handled his share of problems," Torre said. "To come back like this and play the hero must mean a great deal to him. ... Psychologically, this is very, very important to him. It didn't hurt us either."

After chipping away with three runs in the seventh and eighth innings, the Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the ninth off Mesa (0-5) when Jorge Posada doubled off the right-field wall, plating Gary Sheffield. Alex Rodriguez, attempting to win the game, was thrown out at the plate by several steps, sending the game to extra innings.

"[The Yankees] weren't going to let it go," Torre said. "They kept rooting. They felt this was a game they played well enough to win."

Mariano Rivera (2-0) picked up the victory in relief, tossing the ninth and 10th innings and striking out three.

Kevin Brown started for New York and received a no-decision, leaving in the fifth inning with lower back spasms. Making his first start since skipping a turn with shoulder pain, Brown allowed the Pirates three runs on seven hits through 4 1/3 innings, but Torre didn't believe his next start would be in jeopardy.

"We're going to see how it is tomorrow, and just try and get through this," Brown said.

The Pirates added runs on solo homers in the seventh and eighth innings, with Jack Wilson and Bay going deep off Tanyon Sturtze.

New York plated two runs against Pirates starter Mark Redman, who scattered nine hits and walked three over 6 2/3 innings. Posada cracked his ninth home run off Redman in the second inning, and Robinson Cano legged out a run-scoring infield single in the seventh.

The Yankees have won four of six to get back to .500, and will go for a series sweep of Pittsburgh on Thursday.

"If this game doesn't pick us up, I don't know what game will," Torre said. "We weren't going to be denied tonight."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- A new Yankee Stadium leaped from past dreams to future reality Wednesday, when club and government officials parted the curtain on construction plans for an $800 million project to replace and honor the Major Leagues' third-oldest ballpark.
Plans for the new stadium, the centerpiece of a broad redevelopment project to revitalize the Bronx riverfront, were announced at a press conference in the Stadium Club of the current Yankee Stadium.

Numerous political dignitaries, including New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Gov. George Pataki and a host of city and Bronx elected officials, joined Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in an event highlighted by the unveiling of renderings of the 51,000-seat park, targeted for a 2009 opening.

Construction in Macombs Dam Park, adjacent to and north of the current field, is scheduled to begin late next spring.

"We decided we want to stay in the Bronx. We want to do the job here," said Steinbrenner. "We wanted to do something for the people who've always supported this team."

While Yankees officials enthusiastically hailed the coming of a state-of-the-art showcase for sports' most successful franchise, government officials hailed that it will be built without public subsidy.

The Yankees plan to pay for all costs related to the stadium, and its subsequent maintenance.

"We are staying at home in the Bronx," Yankees president Randy Levine said. "We are continuing our tradition in the Bronx.

"The Yankees, not the taxpayers, will pay for this project. The Yankees, not the taxpayers, will pay to maintain this ballpark."

New York City will contribute $205 million -- pushing total budget for the project past the $1 billion mark -- to develop 28 acres of recreational facilities around the stadium and to erect new public structures.

"We make investments. We don't do subsidies," Mayor Bloomberg said. "In every case, the city will get paid back -- with a profit."

"What a trememdous day," proclaimed Gov. Pataki. "Yes, it's a great day for the Yankees, but no doubt it will go down as a historic day for New York ... a day we can all be proud of."

Levine presented a series of artist renderings depicting the new park from different perspectives. One highlighted the familiar facade of original Yankee Stadium.

New Yankee Stadium will feature modern conveniences -- such as dozens of luxury suites and wider concourses -- while also paying homage to the Yankees' home since 1923.

Preliminary plans are for the preservation of key elements of the current Yankee Stadium, such as the playing field for the use of local amateur leagues.

Other elements of the stadium, most notably Monument Park, will simply be relocated into the new park.

Not only will the new house retain the feel of the current ballpark with identical field dimensions and bullpen placements, but many planned features will actually recapture some of the original features eradicated by the extensive renovation that was done on the old stadium from 1973-75.

"We lost many of the great characteristics of the original house," Levine said. "The new stadium will take us back to our origins. This isn't the end of the legacy, but a continuation."

Among those features will be the exterior, a structure separate from the rest of the ballpark that will resemble the exterior of the original stadium.

The stadium's design is by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK) Sport-Venue-Event, whose retro touch is already visible on the MLB landscape in places such as Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Minute Maid Park in Houston and PNC Park in Pittsburgh.


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"We decided we want to stay in the Bronx. We want to do the job here. We wanted to do something for the people who've always supported this team."
-- George Steinbrenner

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The Yankees will also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the ballpark, the significance of which was stressed by Mayor Bloomberg. The city foots maintenance of the current stadium.

"And in the last five years, we've spent $30 million on upkeep," said Bloomberg, who estimated that the new stadium will "in the next 30 years, bring the city $350 million in revenue. That's not to mention 3,600 construction jobs, and 500 to 1,000 permanent jobs."

Bloomberg, saying the project will "drive the incredible renaissance in the South Bronx," said the city would contribute $135 million toward developing parks and recreational facilites, and another $70 million for the construction of four parking structures with a total of 5,000 spaces.

Groundbreaking will culminate years of plans by the Yankees organization to develop a new ballpark.

Those plans were accelerated a few weeks ago, when club and city government officials reached agreement on a memorandum of understanding covering numerous aspects of the new Yankee Stadium's construction and eventual operation.

"This is an exemplary private-public partnership," said Yankees general partner Steve Swindal, "which, without the support of our fans, could not be accomplished."

As conceived by Bronx borough president Adolfo Carrion Jr., the broader development includes a hotel, convention center and a magnet high school for sports-related careers in medicine and adminstration.

"This is a very special day," Carrion said. "We have all won today. Together, we will build a better city."

Only Boston's Fenway Park (built in 1912) and Chicago's Wrigley Field (1914) are older than Yankee Stadium.

"We pledge to all our fans that this ballpark will be affordable," Levine said.

Gifford Miller, the youthful speaker of the New York City Council, sounded an appropriate footnote to an announcement that doubtless stirred mixed feelings in many fans.

"This is a bittersweet occasion for me," Miller said. "I spent the best moments of my life in this stadium. I've suffered cut shins, from jumping up and down in joy, and broken hearts. But ... the stadium is falling apart.

"I want to make sure that for many years, I'll be able to bring my sons to a ballpark where they can experience moments like the ones I did."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- Most times, when a player is asked a specific question about Yankee Stadium, it's usually about the past: the heroics, glory, mystique and aura the old ballpark has become known for over its long and illustrious career.
Wednesday represented a totally different line of questioning altogether.

For the first time, Yankees players were being asked about a future that placed them in a new home ballpark, a facility other than the building in which a host of legends took their most heroic turns on center stage.

As the Yankees held an afternoon press conference downstairs, officially announcing plans to construct an $800 million new Yankee Stadium adjacent to their current home, the events were of a certain curiosity to players.

What was once unthinkable is now being billed as reality. Yankees captain Derek Jeter was among those to welcome the entry into what he called baseball's "new era" of stadiums.

"I think it's a great day," said Jeter. "There's a lot of history here. There were a lot of good memories here. Now we'll try to take that over across the street."

"Things change, times change," Bernie Williams said. "I guess it was time for a change."

The new facility will join the family of baseball's ongoing trend of 'retro' stadia, designed by the renowned HOK firm and playing off the characteristics of the old-time stadium against which all others are judged: Yankee Stadium, before its 1973 remodeling.

Mixing the rich tradition of The House that Ruth Built with modern amenities such as more luxury boxes, wider concourses and improved shopping and entertainment options for fans, the 2009 opening of the new Yankee Stadium is sure to be an event to behold. The first shovels are to hit the soil of Macombs Dam Park next spring.

"You don't get excited until they break ground," said Alex Rodriguez. "But a franchise like this that's been around, four years is pretty short anyways."

"It's progress," said manager Joe Torre, who briefly dropped in on the press conference before the Yankees' game with Pittsburgh. Today, with technology and everything they do building stadiums, I'm sure it's going to be impressive. ... Just from the looks of it, it looks like it's going to be a classy joint."

Several players were happy to hear that the current Yankee Stadium would be converted into a sort of baseball museum, with the facade and playing field to be preserved. Such a gesture, the Yankees felt, will give the sport's most hallowed cathedral the respect it deserves.

"You think about the United States of America, and this is one of our major landmarks," Rodriguez said. "It's one of the greatest museums."

The gesture has sentimental meaning to Torre, who grew up in Brooklyn and fondly recalled driving on the Major Deegan Expressway in the 1950s and 1960s.

Heading toward the George Washington Bridge, the two iconic landmarks were unmistakable; there was old Yankee Stadium, rising above the Bronx to the right, and to the left, across the river in Manhattan, the Polo Grounds.

Then, one day in April 1964, the Polo Grounds disappeared, replaced by a group of apartment buildings. Torre was pleased that the same could never happen to this Yankee Stadium, a place that has been the host of so many of his fondest memories over the last 10 years.


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"There were a lot of good memories here. Now we'll try to take that over across the street."
-- Derek Jeter

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"I saw some renderings and [the new Stadium] looks like a special place," Torre said. "This is a special place, but again, it's old. ... You know it's going to be a sad time, but at the same time, you understand that it's been up here a long time."

Though further details will be revealed in the weeks and months to come, a jazzed-up version of Monument Park will eventually be moved next door to the new facility, along with many other striking qualities of the Stadium.

So many great players have passed through the walls of the Stadium, the place has taken on a sort of magical ambience. Though players accepted the move with open arms, all were unanimous in saying they'd treasure their memories of the current Stadium -- as Rodriguez stated, every Major League player remembers his first at-bat in the Bronx.

"You always hear stories about the history of the Yankees, but it's never like when you're living it," Mariano Rivera agreed. "I had an opportunity to be a part of it and live it. Hopefully when they open [the new Stadium], I'll be here. I think it's something great for the city and the fans."

As Torre joked, the "ghosts" of Octobers past will be invited to take limos and vans over to the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees' storied tradition should not -- perhaps, could not -- suffer with a move to a new stage.

"It can be done," Jeter said. "It's still the New York Yankees."

"And you can't take away the history that happened here," Rodriguez said. "No one will ever forget it."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- If Thursday night's performance isn't the best of what Randy Johnson has to offer, then the Yankees have a lot to look forward to.
Johnson twirled a complete-game gem against the Pirates at Yankee Stadium, leading the Bombers to a 6-1 win and a three-game series sweep of the Bucs in the process.

"This could have been the best [start] all year," said manager Joe Torre. "He had electric stuff, no question."

Johnson, who tossed seven shutout innings last Saturday against the powerful Cardinals offense, followed with his first complete-game win of the season on Thursday.

Yet even with his dominant outing, the Big Unit was not impressed with himself when all was said and done.

"I don't get worked up about anything," Johnson said. "I'm not overly excited about the way I pitched today, though I don't think I pitched all that bad. My body of work will be at the end of the year, not two starts."

Johnson may not be satisfied with his night's work, but his team couldn't have been happier. After a 3-9 road trip, the Yankees are off to a 3-0 start on their 13-game homestand, having gotten complete-game victories from Johnson and Mike Mussina in the process.

It was clear from the first inning that Johnson had his good stuff, as he struck out three batters in the opening frame.

That was all it took for the Yankees to give the left-hander a lead, as Derek Jeter opened the bottom of the inning with a ground-rule double, then Hideki Matsui drilled a two-run homer into the right-field bleachers.

"The tone was set in the first inning with Randy striking out three guys and Hideki hitting the big home run," said catcher John Flaherty. "We needed to build on what we did last night."

Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano each drove in runs in the second, then Gary Sheffield tacked on a two-run double in the fourth.

Pittsburgh's only run came courtesy of a solo shot by Michael Restovich in the fourth, Johnson's lone mistake of the evening. Well, the lone mistake that cost him anything, anyway.

"You make mistakes out there, and mistakes tend to get overlooked when we play like we played today," Johnson said. "If we had lost, 1-0, we'd be talking about the mistake."

Big Unit K-Meter
Pirates at Yankees, June 16, 2005
Randy Johnson (7-5) fanned 11 of the 33 batters he faced in his complete game to increase his season strikeout total to 91 and career strikeout total to 4,252, through June 16. A look at his Ks:
K Strikeout victim Inn. Count
1 F. Sanchez (swinging) 1 0-2
2 M. Lawton (swinging) 1 0-2
3 R. Doumit (swinging) 1 0-2
4 M. Restovich (swinging) 2 1-2
5 D. Ward (swinging) 4 0-2
6 J. Wilson (swinging) 5 0-2
7 M. Lawton (looking) 6 1-2
8 R. Doumit (looking) 6 2-2
9 M. Restovich (swinging) 7 2-2
10 J. Castillo (looking) 7 3-2
11 D. Ward (swinging) 9 0-2
Key numbers for Johnson:
Pitches-strikes: 110-86; Groundouts-flyouts: 7-9;
Season strikeouts-walks: 91-20; WHIP: 1.14

Johnson worked with Flaherty as his catcher for the second consecutive game, with the battery once again proving to be effective. Torre said after the game that he would stick with the combination, but both the pitcher and catcher made it clear that they both have tremendous respect for starting backstop Jorge Posada.

"It was only a matter of time before he got going, I just happened to be back there the two games that it's happened," Flaherty said. "I'm not real comfortable with it. I have the utmost respect for Jorge and his ability, and we're a better team when he's out there. We'll see how this thing goes."

Flaherty did have a conference on the mound with Johnson in the sixth inning, after Jason Bay lined a hard shot to the wall in right. After the ball was caught by Sheffield, Johnson made some wild gestures with his arms, waving in and out in reference to the location of his pitch.

The catcher made his way to the mound to make sure that Johnson wasn't trying to show him up, but the Unit assured Flaherty that he was gesturing to himself over the location of his offering.

"He made some animated gestures about in and out, and I wanted to make sure that those weren't directed toward me," Flaherty said. "I'm not going to let him make gestures like that toward me at the plate. We had a nice conversation, figured out what was going on and we went forward from there.

"This is the first time we've seen Randy feeling good about himself out on the mound, so he's more animated," Flaherty added. "He knows he has good stuff, he has dominating stuff again, and we're seeing a guy who is very confident in his ability right now."

Johnson's 110th and final pitch of the night whizzed by Daryle Ward for the last out, the 11th punchout of the game for the lefty. The 11-strikeout performance was the 205th double-digit strikeout effort of Johnson's career, second only to Nolan Ryan's 215.

"He's going after them and daring them, where a few starts ago, he was feeling his way," Torre said. "The last few times out, stuff has fallen into place for him. Now, he is who he is."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- Bill Clinton didn't let a little rain prevent him from collecting a big check from the Yankees on Thursday, as the former president accepted a $1 million donation for relief efforts from the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in December.
Clinton accepted the donation from Yankees general partner Steve Swindal on behalf of owner George Steinbrenner before Thursday night's game against the Pirates. With rain falling on the Yankee Stadium field, pitcher Mike Mussina escorted President Clinton from the Yankees dugout to the area behind home plate.

The donation will be divided equally between the Bush-Clinton Fund and the Clinton Foundation Tsunami Recovery Project.

The Yankees had previously announced that they would contribute $1 million from the proceeds of their 2005 Opening Night game against the Red Sox to aid the millions effected by the tsunami.

"The New York Yankees are proud to join the worldwide effort to aid and assist those in South Asia affected by the tsunami," Swindal said in a statement. "It is a distinct honor to have President Clinton as our welcomed guest at Yankee Stadium. His work and efforts -- along with those of President George H. W. Bush -- are a humbling reminder of the positive impact American people can make all over the world."

In January, President George W. Bush asked former Presidents Bush and Clinton to lead a national campaign to encourage donations for tsunami relief. Since that time, the American people, businesses and organizations, have made more than $1 billion in private contributions.

In February, the former presidents traveled to Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives Islands to witness the effects of the tsunami and talk with survivors, relief workers and government officials about the recovery effort.

For more information on the Clinton Foundation, visit www.clintonfoundation.org.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- The last time Jason Giambi hit a walk-off home run for the Yankees, he earned his pinstripes and went on to a spectacular season in the Bronx. Joe Torre is hoping that Wednesday night's game-winner can have the same impact on the struggling slugger.
Giambi, who entered Thursday's action hitting .243 with five homers and 19 RBIs, is batting .296 in June, and his three extra-base hits are already one more than he had in all of May, a sign that things may be turning around for him at the plate.

"I've been getting hits, but it hasn't been really clicking," Giambi said. "The power is there; that hasn't been a question. It's just squaring up the ball at the right time. That's why hitting home runs is tough. It's probably the single hardest thing to do."

Giambi has been playing just about every day, mostly at first base. Torre has said repeatedly that he wants to get Giambi at-bats in order to get him going, and his plan may finally be paying off.

"It's a move in the right direction," Torre said of Wednesday's home run. "[The power was] the only thing that was missing, because there were singles and walks, but with the double off the wall the other night and the game-winning home run last night, that's what Jason provides and hasn't been able to. Hopefully this is the start of something."

Giambi's teammates have been supportive, encouraging him throughout the season both in the clubhouse and on the bench. Following his game-winner, the entire team welcomed him at home plate, celebrating the victory together.

"You saw the reaction at home plate, everybody welcoming him with no hesitation in hugging that big bear," Torre said. "You look in his eyes, and you know he's hurting at times -- not physically -- with everything he's gone through. Sometimes, we forget that these players have blood running through their veins. I know the players are all pulling for him."

"They've been supportive since Day 1," Giambi said. "Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bernie [Williams], Joe, all of them. It's nice to see the results after all of the hard work."

Brown on hold: Kevin Brown, who left Wednesday's game in the fifth inning with back spasms, is doubtful for his next start on Monday against the Devil Rays.

"He's not any better today, so it's going to be doubtful for him for his next start," Torre said after Thursday's game. "We'll have to figure it out."

Brown did not speak with reporters on Thursday, instead issuing a statement through team spokesperson Jason Zillo.

"It's tight and it's stiff," Brown said in the statement. "I don't have a crystal ball. I'm getting treatment on it every day, and we'll see where we are tomorrow."

Brown received several forms of treatment on Thursday, including warm-water massages, moist-heat applications and several stretching exercises.

Torre said that if Brown is unable to go, the team would call up a starter from Triple-A Columbus instead of using Tanyon Sturtze, who has been very valuable pitching out of the bullpen for New York.

The leading candidate to fill in for Brown would be Sean Henn, who is 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in seven starts for Columbus this season. Henn made his big-league debut on May 4 at Tampa Bay, allowing six runs over 2 1/3 innings against the Devil Rays.

Getting personal: John Flaherty was behind the plate on Thursday night for Randy Johnson's start, the second consecutive outing that Flaherty has caught the Big Unit.

Johnson tossed seven shutout innings against the Cardinals last weekend, his best start of the season. The pitcher and catcher seemed to work well together, so Torre decided to give the battery another try on Thursday.

"The result was good," Torre said. "It could just be one of those things. I'm not sure that Flash [Flaherty] did anything different than what Jorge [Posada] does; it was just a matter of things coming together."

Torre said that the pairing could continue if the manager likes what he sees.

"I'm easy," Torre said. "When it comes to managing, if you see something that works, don't try to mess with it."

On deck: The Yankees and Cubs kick off a three-game weekend series on Friday night, the first meeting between the two teams at Yankee Stadium since the 1938 World Series.

Carl Pavano looks to even his record at 5-5, while Carlos Zambrano takes the mound for the Cubs, also seeking his fifth victory.

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

NEW YORK -- The Yankees and Cubs haven't met in the Bronx since the 1938 World Series, when Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Red Ruffing led the Bombers to a four-game sweep of Chicago.
Saturday, the stakes won't be quite as high, but the atmosphere figures to be electric as the teams engage in the second game of a three-game Interleague series at Yankee Stadium on FOX's Saturday Game of the Week.

New York and Chicago met in a three-game set at Wrigley Field in June 2003, but for several members of the Cubs, this weekend marks a chance to visit one of the great, old stadiums in the Majors.

"It's one of the classic ballparks of all time, maybe the classic ballpark of all time," said Glendon Rusch, who will take the mound for the Cubs. "I look at that one, [Wrigley] and Fenway as just grounds that so many unbelievable players for so long a period of time have played in. They're classics."

Rusch lost his last start against the Red Sox, snapping a three-game winning streak in the process. The left-hander is 0-6 with a 7.16 ERA against the Yankees in his career, including an 0-3 mark and 5.63 ERA in the Bronx.

Despite his spotty history against the Yankees, Rusch, who took part in the Subway Series while pitching for the Mets in 2000 and '01, is looking forward to the matchup.

"I think it's exciting, especially a series like this," Rusch said. "I always look forward to going there. I loved it when I played there. I always enjoyed that city."

Taking the mound for the Yankees will be rookie right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, who will have gone eight days since his last start, the 8-1 loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis. Though Joe Torre called the loss one of the worst of his managing career, Wang was hardly to blame for his team's sloppy play.

"It was his worst game, but everything around him looked much worse than it was for him," said Torre, who isn't concerned about the extended rest for Wang. "The way he pitched with a great deal of rest before, I don't think it will be a problem."

Source: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/

BOSTON: Even though it was the teams' first meeting since the 1918 World Series and the Red Sox's first appearance at Wrigley Field, only four members of Boston's 25-man roster had never played in the Cubs' home park before Friday's opener. They were Trot Nixon, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis and Kelly Shoppach. ... Red Sox manager Terry Francona reflected on his days as a player with the Cubs in 1986 as he sat in the dugout. ``Here in baseball it's coming home, even if you're not. I love that part of it. There are going to be people out in the bleachers who have told me I stink for 20 years,'' he said. ... RHP Matt Clement spent the three previous seasons with the Cubs before signing as a free agent with the Red Sox. He wanted to come back to Chicago. He spent several minutes before the game meeting with Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild near the left field tarp. Later, as he was throwing in the bullpen, manager Dusty Baker came up and motioned to him. ``I will say that Dusty and Larry always treated me well. They always supported me,'' said Clement, who won't pitch in the series. ``What happened at the end of the year happened. But I hold no grudges.''
CHICAGO: Greg Maddux's last homer as a Cub came on April 20, 1992, the season before he departed for Atlanta. He now has five in his career. His last homer overall came on May 30, 1999, for the Braves against Kevin Brown and the Dodgers. Reminded that he once did a ``Chicks Dig The Long Ball'' commercial with former Braves teammate Tom Glavine, Maddux said: ``I was wondering when that would come back.'' ... Michael Barrett went 3-for4 and pushed his average over .300. He's 9-for-14 in his last four games. ... Jeromy Burnitz now has 23 multihomer games. His two-homer game came after he was out of the starting lineup Wednesday and the Cubs had an off-day Thursday. ... Maddux has won three straight starts. He needs 10 more wins to extend his major league record streak of seasons with 15 victories to 18. It started in 1988.
Tigers-Rockies
DETROIT: Manager Alan Trammell said SS Carlos Guillen's sore right knee and left hamstring will likely limit him to pinch-hit duties in this weekend's three-game series against Colorado. ... Trammell has seen plenty of Coors Field after serving as a coach for the San Diego Padres, and knows what to expect from baseball's highest-scoring field. ``I've seen a lot of strange things happen in this place where no lead is safe,'' Trammell said. ``I expect an extended roller coaster ride.''
COLORADO: RHP Aaron Cook, out all season because of blood clots, will throw a bullpen session on Saturday. ... 2B Aaron Miles (ribs) played catch, but manager Clint Hurdle said he isn't close to returning. ``I would think we are looking at sometime during the road trip that's coming up when he could go out on a rehab assignment,'' Hurdle said. ``He's played catch and taken some groundballs and some light swings, but no heavy muscle work.'' ... Hurdle, who grew up in Big Rapids, Mich., said facing the Tigers presents him with an emotional challenge. ``I grew up a Tigers fan and their home uniform is nostalgic for me,'' he said. ``Al Kaline was my hero.'' ... RHP Dan Miceli has joined the Rockies' Triple-A club in Colorado Springs.
Mariners-Nationals
SEATTLE: Manager Mike Hargrove offered RF Ichiro Suzuki the chance to take Friday off, but the player turned it down. ``Any time a player of his stature tells me he feels fine, he's going to play,'' Hargrove said. ``He's been struggling for more than a week or two. He's been struggling for most of May and most of June.'' Suzuki entered Friday batting .304 on the season; his average is .285 over the past 30 games. Suzuki has started every game of 2005, and Hargrove said he's asked the outfielder before if he wanted a rest. ... INF Pokey Reese (60-day DL, sore right shoulder) took batting practice Thursday. ``He was a little sore, so we're going to back off a little bit,'' Hargrove said. ... Hargrove's son, Andy, signed with the Mariners on Friday and will report to a mini-camp for draftees at the team's spring training site in Peoria, Ariz. Andy Hargrove, a Kent State first baseman, was taken Wednesday in the 47th round of the amateur draft.
WASHINGTON: CF Brad Wilkerson tripled in the third inning for his 500th career hit. ... The Nationals traded RHP Tomo Ohka to the Brewers for 2B Junior Spivey, who will fill in while Jose Vidro is out with a left ankle injury. Ohka was scheduled to start for Washington on Friday; he was replaced by Sun-woo Kim. Spivey took a train from Philadelphia, where Milwaukee is playing, to Washington, but he didn't get to RFK Stadium before the start of Friday's game. ... Washington also claimed RHP Ryan Drese and RHP Jacobo Seuqea off waivers. Drese, 4-6 with a 6.46 ERA for the Rangers this season, will report to the Nationals on Saturday, while Seuqea was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg. ... Veteran OF Jeffrey Hammonds retired rather than accept an assignment to Triple-A New Orleans.
Devil Rays-Pirates
TAMPA BAY: Devils Rays manager Lou Piniella acknowledged the difficulties of preparing to play the Pirates -- or any team -- when they meet only for a series, but it doesn't change his approach. ``It's still to get a well-pitched game, catch the ball and score one more run than the opposition. That's been hard to do lately,'' he said. His team had lost 10 of 11 games entering this series. ... Pitcher Rob Bell, on the disabled list since May 14 for personal and psychological reasons, was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment by starting for Triple-A Durham. ... Tampa Bay signed 2005 first-round draft choice Wade Townsend to a minor league contract.
PITTSBURGH: The Pirates have won consecutive series against Florida, Atlanta and Baltimore, taking seven of 10 games. They will play the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on the road after completing this weekend's series against Tampa Bay. ``Going in, if you looked at the schedule, this is probably the toughest part,'' manager Lloyd McClendon said. ``If anybody was thinking we'd sink, this would be (where). But we've certainly handled ourselves OK to this point. Any time you have positive results, you feel better about yourself, and it's nice to hear the type of chatter I'm hearing in the clubhouse. They've played extremely well, executed on all fronts, and when you do that you'll win ballgames.'' ... McClendon has not announced his rotation for the New York series but said it's possible he will not use Dave Williams, who allowed four home runs against Baltimore June 7.
Angels-Mets
LOS ANGELES: The Angels returned to Shea Stadium for the first time in seven years. The Yankees postponed the first two games of a 1998 series against the Angels after Yankee Stadium was declared unsafe, but played the finale at Shea before the Mets played a night game. It was the first AL-NL doubleheader. Angels 1B Darin Erstad was happy for the experience upon his return to Shea on Friday: ``It's so much easier when you know where everything is,'' Erstad said. ... OF Vladimir Guerrero was activated from the disabled list. The reigning AL MVP had a partially dislocated shoulder and was out since May 20 when he slid into home in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Angels placed RHP Kelvim Escobar back on the 15-day DL because of a bone spur in his right elbow.
NEW YORK: The Mets still haven't signed Danny Graves, though the reliever was again in the clubhouse, with his own locker and batting practice jersey. He expects a deal eventually. ``It's just dotting the i's and crossing the t's,'' Grvaes said. ... Tommy Lasorda was on hand for a brief pregame photo-op for charity. The Hall of Famer was the first manager for Mets C Mike Piazza. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Piazza as a favor to Lasorda, who was close with Piazza's family. ... Piazza has been out since he was hit on the left wrist by a foul ball Wednesday. 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, out since Sunday with a bruised rib and chest muscle, was in the lineup batting seventh.
Orioles-Reds
BALTIMORE: 2B Brian Roberts was back in the lineup for the first time since May 31. He had been bothered by a strained right shoulder. ... C-1B Eli Marrero joined the team two days after he was acquired from Kansas City in a trade. OF Napoleon Calzado was optioned to Triple-A Ottawa