MLB

Yankees’ Hughes lets it fly in bullpen session

TORONTO — Phil Hughes labeled yesterday’s bullpen session as “high intensity,” but until the right-hander gets into a game he won’t know if the time spent on the disabled list will have cured his dead arm problem.

“I will be able to judge it after one game,” said Hughes, who has not been told when he will begin a rehab assignment. “If I see arm strength is still an issue and I am not letting the ball go, I won’t be ready.”

Hughes was placed on the 15-day shelf last Friday. He has been long-tossing, and yesterday had his first bullpen since being shut down. He is slated for another one tomorrow at Camden Yards.

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“As for the program, everything is going well,” said Hughes, whose fastball has been in the pedestrian 88-to-89-mph range since the middle of spring training. “I will throw another bullpen and see how it goes from there.”

Veteran Bartolo Colon took Hughes’ spot in the rotation last night against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre and provided a solid 6 2/3 innings in a 6-2 win.

“Everything I am doing is feeling good,” Hughes said.

Hughes and the Yankees insist the lack of velocity is not caused by an injury, but he is taking anti-inflammatory medication.

“It’s frustrating right now, you do all the work,” said Hughes, who is 0-1 with a 13.94 ERA in three games and has given up 19 hits in 10 1/3 innings. “I have to get the arm strength where it used to be [94 mph]. I have to go on an assignment, show improvement and be ready to go.”

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The Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but had four RBIs in those situations. They have two hits in their past 25 at-bats with runners in scoring position. . . . The Yankees have homered in 14 of 16 games this year and have 30 in 16 games.

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Brett Gardner fully understands why manager Joe Girardi has dropped him from leadoff to ninth in the order against right-handed pitching.

“You have to take advantage of an opportunity. They gave me a chance to lead off the first couple of weeks, and I didn’t do a good job of it,” said Gardner, who was not in last night’s lineup against Blue Jays lefty Brett Cecil. “I have to do a better job of getting things done.”

Gardner is in a 0-for-16 slide and batting .128 (6-for-47). When the Rangers started right-hander Alexi Ogando on Sunday, Girardi moved Derek Jeter from second to first and batted Gardner ninth.

Girardi plans on returning Gardner to the lineup tomorrow night against Orioles righty Brad Bergesen, and it’s likely Gardner will hit ninth.

Gardner does not believe his rebuilt swing is the root of the slump. During the winter, Gardner decided to keep two hands on the bat longer than he had in the past.

“It’s something I am comfortable with,” Gardner said. “Sometimes I don’t think about it. In spring training, I swung the bat well. Two hands isn’t affecting what’s going on right now.”

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CC Sabathia is scheduled to start tomorrow night and will be followed by Freddy Garcia and Ivan Nova Saturday and Sunday in Baltimore.

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Francisco Cervelli was the designated hitter for Tampa in the extended spring training program yesterday. He was hit by a pitch on the arm, but wasn’t injured.

“He is getting closer,” Girardi said of the catcher, who is on the DL with a fractured left foot.

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Spanish soccer teams Barcelona and Real Madrid have overtaken the Yankees as the best-paid global sports teams, according to a British study.

The review published yesterday showed annual average pay during the 2009-10 season was $7.9 million at Barcelona and $7.4 million at Real Madrid.

The Yankees, who were the top team last year, are paying their players an average of $6.8 million this season. The NBA’s Lakers and Magic occupy the fourth and fifth spots in the study compiled by http://www.sportingintelligence.com, followed by English soccer team Chelsea.