MLB

GIRARDI: I BELIEVE MY PLAYER

SARASOTA, Fla. – Joe Girardi yesterday said he watched the replay of Shelley Duncan’s slide from Wednesday and believes Duncan’s explanation.

“Shelley told me that he tried to break up the play,” Girardi said. “I saw a similar slide that he made in Toronto, a very hard slide that he went after the ball in the player’s glove. I believe my player. And the way he reacted when he slid leads me to believe that that’s what he was trying to do. ‘Cause if there was malicious intent, I think he would have popped right up. I believe my guy.”

Girardi said he didn’t have a problem with the slide.

“Did his spikes go up a little high? Yes they did,” he said. “Part of that could have been because he hit the base funny and then he hit him. When you hit the base funny your legs kind of go up and then if you make contact, it’s going to go up. It’s going to push up. You don’t want to try to hurt anyone, but I believe Shelley wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”

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Kei Igawa is starting against the Rays today, with Joba Chamberlain traveling to Lakeland to face the Tigers. It begs the question: Are the Yankees are having Chamberlain skip the Rays game because he’s an emotional fist-pumping player and the Yankees want to ensure that nothing happens again with Tampa Bay?

“It has nothing to do with it,” Girardi said. “We are moving on.”

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Andy Pettitte had no problems with a 47-pitch bullpen session yesterday. Pettitte, who missed Wednesday’s start with mild elbow tendinitis, says he’s ready to pitch Monday. “Felt real good,” he said.

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Phil Hughes’ superb spring start took some lumps yesterday. Hughes, who had tossed six hitless innings coming in, was ripped for four runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings in the Yankees’ 7-7 tie with the Reds.

“Today was a good example of what happens when you don’t command the fastball,” he said.

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Francisco Cervelli, who had surgery for the broken wrist he suffered in the collision with Tampa Bay’s Elliot Johnson last Saturday, was at Legends Field yesterday. Said Cervelli, “I gave him the back of the plate, he had room, but that’s OK, he decide at the moment to do another thing.”

Additional reporting by Kevin Kernan.