Add Teddy Cashman to the roster of “Bleacher Creatures.’’
When the 8-year-old son of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman informed his pop that he wanted to sit in the right-field bleachers and participate in the famous roll call in the first inning of yesterday’s game against the Tigers, Cashman made it happen.
Disguised by a visor and fake spiked hair, Cashman and Teddy were in the bleachers for the beginning of the 6-2 Yankees win.
“He is officially a Bleacher Creature, he can tell his friends,’’ Cashman said. “It’s a big part of Yankee Stadium tradition.’’
Andy Pettitte will make his fourth and possibly final minor league start for Single-A Tampa tonight.
The Yankees will evaluate the 39-year-old lefty after the outing and decide if he needs another minor league assignment or is ready to help the big league rotation, which is pleading for aid.
Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs and moved into eighth place on the all-time RBI list ahead of Willie Mays. Rodriguez has 1,904 RBIs, 13 behind Eddie Murray in seventh place.
Derek Jeter stopped a 0-for-9 skid with a pair of infield singles to short. Jeter has 3,124 career hits and is 17 shy of Tony Gwynn for 17th place on the all-time list.
With one more game left in April, Jeter has 36 hits in the first month. That is his most ever for the opening month.
CC Sabathia said he didn’t shake off catcher Chris Stewart once during eight innings yesterday. Stewart said it might have happened once.
Whatever the case, the pitcher and catcher have found a niche.
Stewart caught Sabathia for the third straight time in Sabathia’s third straight win.
“I guess he trusts me,’’ Stewart said. “We are on the same page. We are executing the game plan.’’
With Sabathia and the veteran backup working so well together, it might be easy for manager Joe Girardi to designate Stewart as Sabathia’s personal catcher.
Yet, that’s not in the plans.
“He is not a personal catcher,’’ Girardi said. “If I can, I like to keep the backup catcher with one or two different guys and it’s worked out this way.’’
Stewart, a career .200 hitter in 93 big league games, went 1-for-5 yesterday and is 4-for-12 (.333) while catching Sabathia.
That’s a bonus for the Yankees because Girardi’s message to his catchers is simple.
“Your first job is defense,’’ Girardi tells the catchers.
Rafael Soriano threw in the bullpen during the home seventh, but Girardi said the reliever wasn’t getting ready to enter the game.
With a four-run lead Girardi called for David Robertson to work the ninth. The manager said there was nothing bothering Mariano Rivera.
Former Yankee Cecil Fielder was at the Stadium and watched his son, Prince Fielder, homer off Sabathia.