Kevin Long’s main focus remains on the Yankees and helping Mark Teixeira find his power and Yangervis Solarte continue to look like a major league hitter.
Still, he usually finds time to check for Robinson Cano’s name in the Seattle box scores and see how his former pupil is doing in his new home.
“I definitely keep an eye on him out there,” the Yankees hitting coach said before the Yankees finished their series against the Angels Sunday night, leading up to Cano and the Mariners coming into The Bronx on Tuesday. “We text back and forth. It’s nothing too in-depth, but he’s doing fine.”
Cano signed a 10-year, $240 million with Seattle after the Yankees declined to go above seven years and $175 million.
“It’s how things work,” Long said. “Even though he’s not still around, I’m happy he’s still doing well. I just don’t want him to do too well while he’s here.”
Derek Jeter has seen teammates come and go, but usually not a star that leaves for more money.
“It’s a business,” Jeter said. “Like any other business. And it’s a business on both sides.”
The Yankees decided he wasn’t worth breaking the bank over and instead focused their interest — and finances — on Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, while also giving Brett Gardner an expensive new deal.
“For what I do, you always want someone like Robinson around,” Long said. “But that’s not the reality.”
The lineup has survived without Cano, largely due to the contributions of those new faces in the lineup.
Joe Girardi, though, still appreciates what Cano did for his team.
“He was a really, really good Yankee,” Girardi said. “He’s moved on and that’s all part of the game.”
The manager also drew a parallel to Cano leaving The Bronx to Albert Pujols bolting St. Louis for the Angels.
“A lot of times, when you have players of that magnitude you think they’ll be in the same uniforms for their whole careers, but that’s not how the game works,” Girardi said. “Look at Albert Pujols. People never thought he’d be an Angel and now he is. Ken Griffey, people in Seattle never thought he’d be a Red and there he was.”
Part of the way the Yankees have moved on was bringing in Beltran, who hit third in Sunday night’s lineup.
“He’s a great player, no matter where he is,” Beltran said of Cano. “You can’t think of what he’d be doing if he was still here. Who knows what would have happened?”
Cano has just one homer for Seattle, although he did add his fifth double and 11th RBI Sunday in a 6-5 win in Oakland, which means the Mariners will bring a 10-14 record East with them after making their blockbuster addition.
“I never worried about his stats when he was here,” Long said. “You always knew he was gonna produce and he’s already shown that out there.”
But he’s also pleased with how the Yankees have produced without their former star.
“Losing a guy like that is always going to leave a void,” Long said. “I’m more interested in just seeing him and saying hi. As much as you miss having him in your lineup, you miss having him around. There’s a void.”
Brett Gardner and Yangervis Solarte were held out of the lineup.
Gardner was still feeling the effects of a bruise on his left foot that he suffered when he was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning of Saturday’s win in The Bronx. Solarte, slated to start at second, was scratched shortly before the game with a sore right shoulder he originally told manager Joe Girardi about following Saturday’s game.
“I watched batting practice [Sunday] and he didn’t look quite the same swinging,” Girardi said of Solarte, adding that tests came back negative.
Gardner was sore, but felt improvement.
“He said it felt better than anticipated this morning, which was a good thing,” Girardi said.
Ichiro Suzuki (0-for-3) started in left and hit ninth in Gardner’s place. And Brian Roberts (1-for-3) was inserted at second for Solarte.
Brendan Ryan (on the 15-day DL with a cervical spine nerve injury) played in his first rehab game for Single-A Tampa Sunday, going 2-for-5 with an RBI against Lakeland. Ryan will likely need another 25-30 at-bats before he’s ready to return to the Yankees.
In hopes of keeping Michael Pineda somewhat fresh, Girardi said he is scheduled to make a simulated start Tuesday after throwing a bullpen Sunday.
“We’re trying to take every precaution to keep him sharp,” Girardi said. “He’ll see live hitters somewhere [Tuesday] and then be ready to go on [May 5 in Anaheim] like he’s getting an extra day’s rest.”
Time off hasn’t been a problem for Pineda lately, thanks to his embarrassing 10-game suspension for being caught with pine tar on his neck against Boston.
Prior to Sunday’s game, the Yankees recalled RHP Preston Claiborne from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and placed RHP Bruce Billings on the 15-day DL with a right forearm strain retroactive to April 26.