The next step in Jorge Posada’s road back from the disabled list will be decided by his bosses.
“I am ready to go, [but] it’s up to them,” Posada said. “I will talk to them and see what we will do.”
Posada, who hasn’t played since May 16 due to a fractured right foot, ran the bases, sprinted and took batting practice yesterday.
“I thought it was going to be three weeks, but I feel fine and it’s progressing every day,” Posada said. “I ran on the treadmill [Sunday] and it felt fine [yesterday].”
The veteran catcher isn’t wild about taking a rehab assignment, saying he “would rather be here,” and manager Joe Girardi said it’s possible Posada can avoid that step.
The Yankees want to see how Posada’s foot bounces back today from yesterday’s activity before taking him off the shelf.
“To me, [today] is a big day,” Girardi said. “If that foot feels good, he is close.”
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Jets coach Rex Ryan strolled through the press box wearing a Thurman Munson jersey on the way to sitting in George Steinbrenner‘s box yesterday.
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Brett Gardner sliced the tip of his right thumb sliding head first into second base when he was caught attempting to steal in the seventh inning.
“It will be all right,” said Gardner, who went 3-for-4 and drove in a run in addition to being caught attempting to steal twice. “I should be fine.”
As for getting nabbed twice, Gardner attributed that to Indians catcher Lou Marson making two perfect pegs to second.
“He is one of the best catch-and-throw guys in the league,” said Gardner, who had never been busted twice in the same game and had been caught twice this season going into the game.
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Robinson Cano pushed his hitting streak to 14 games with a seventh-inning homer — his team-leading 11th — following Alex Rodriguez‘s grand slam. Cano is batting .450 (27-for-60) with two homers and 17 RBIs during the streak.
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Indians lefty David Huff is on track to make his next start Thursday. Huff was taken out of Yankee Stadium on Saturday when struck above the ear by a liner off Rodriguez’s bat.
“He is on target for his next start unless he shows up with something different tomorrow,” Cleveland manager Manny Acta said.
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Umpire CB Bucknor lived up to his reputation as being among MLB’s worst in the second inning when the Yankees seemed to have turned a double play only to have Bucknor, at second base, rule that Cano’s foot wasn’t on the bag when he caught Rodriguez’s throw on Lou Marson‘s grounder. Cano’s toss to first got Marson, but Bucknor ruled Matt LaPorta safe at second.
TV replays reinforced that Bucknor blew another call.
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Right-handed reliever David Robertson said he was available to work yesterday, but Girardi said he was looking to avoid using him and ultimately didn’t.
“I am feeling good,” said Robertson, who was removed from Saturday’s game after three batters due to a lingering lower back problem after he was smoked by a Joe Mauer liner Wednesday. “The problem [Saturday] was from getting hit.”
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Two of Javier Vazquez‘s last three starts have been solid. However, he was hit extremely hard in his last game Thursday in Minnesota when the Twins punished his breaking pitches.
He opens a three-game series tonight against the terrible Orioles at Yankee Stadium.
“When you aren’t [making pitches] you try even harder to make better pitches,” said Vazquez, who gave up five runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings in an 8-2 loss to the Twins.
Vazquez, who is 3-5 with a 6.86 ERA in nine games (eight starts) overall, is 1-1 with a 9.35 ERA in three home games (two starts) compared to 2-4 with a 6.21 ERA in six road outings.
Against the Orioles, he is 6-2 overall with a 4.80 ERA in 12 starts and 5-0 with a 3.47 ERA in seven starts at the ballpark he called home.
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When CC Sabathia listens to pitching coach Dave Eiland, he hears positives concerning the big lefty’s mechanics but isn’t guaranteeing everything will fall in place Thursday against the Orioles.
“Dave told me that I am pretty close,” Sabathia said. “What that means . . . It could be a month from now, it’s not saying that I am going to go out the next time and pitch great. It could be a month from now. It’s just one of those things.”
Before Sabathia’s previous start against the Indians on Saturday, Eiland worked with him on getting out over his front leg and finishing pitches.
Sabathia is 0-2 with a 6.28 ERA in his last five outings and has given up 34 hits, eight unintentional walks and hit a batter in 28 2/3 innings. In his last start Sabathia gave up five earned runs and seven hits in six innings.
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Attention-grabbing umpire Joe West ordered the Yankees to make equipment changes during the first series of the year in Boston, because Sabathia’s gray spikes didn’t have any blue in them, but they did match the Yankees’ gray road uniform and the tape on Marcus Thames‘ wrist was gray.
However, MLB had no problem trotting out white hats for the Indians and Yankees to wear yesterday to honor Memorial Day. Baseball should be applauded for honoring veterans on Memorial Day, but shouldn’t let egomaniacs like West nit-pick on what colors match what uniforms. West, after all, does work for MLB even if he thinks it is the other way around.
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The departure of trainer Mark Littlefield is good news only because that means Gene Monahan is well enough to take on more work.
Littlefield, who is based in Tampa, was with the big league club from the start of spring training while Monahan battled neck and throat cancer. Monahan made his first road trip of the season last week.
Additional reporting
by Joel Sherman