Yankees baseball blog

Moose mows down Jays

The spark the Yankees needed to erase a lazy April afternoon came from a relatively unlikely source. After manager Joe Torre was ejected in the middle of the fifth inning Sunday for arguing balls and strikes, the Yankees immediately put two runs on the board against Blue Jays pitching, leading the way to a 4-1 victory. The timing of the runs, several players said, was not a coincidence. "I think it gave us a little fire in our butts," said Alex Rodriguez, who worked a bases-loaded walk to plate the Yankees' second run. "We were a little flat, and I thought after that, we kind of picked it up a little bit." Continue

Sheff bruised but OK after crash

Gary Sheffield's fifth-inning collision at first base yesterday appeared serious, but the Yankee right fielder - who was on the ground for several minutes - was checked out by team doctors and has only bruises on his left wrist and right knee. Manager Joe Torre said he will see how Sheffield feels today and then decide if he can play.

With the bases loaded, Sheffield nubbed a ball into the hole on the right side. Jays first baseman Shea Hillenbrand was frozen for a moment as second baseman Aaron Hill made a diving stop. With Hillenbrand late covering, the throw arrived up the line. As Hillenbrand lunged down to make the catch, Sheffield's left knee banged Hillenbrand's head. Hillenbrand and Sheffield both crumbled to the ground with Sheffield collapsing onto his right shoulder. Continue

Call Big Unit Yankees' old unreliable

There were plenty of ways to pass the time yesterday while Randy Johnson tried to find himself. A person could hop the No. 4 train, walk over to Radio City Music Hall, make sure Jets fans weren't rioting (they weren't), and be back at the Stadium before Johnson's upper lip had transformed into a scowl. Truly masochistic New Yorkers could venture down to the Garden, check to see if the Rangers had made a miraculous recovery (no such luck) and still be back in the Bronx in time to watch the Big Unit turn a glorious spring day into an afternoon of pain. Continue

Yanks slug past Jays

Johnny Damon wasn't ready to chat up his impending return to Boston, even though the new Yankees center fielder is certainly peaking at just the right time for what could prove to be a rude welcome back to Fenway Park. Even though Damon had just slammed two homers in his new team's record-tying, 17-6 victory over Toronto before a throng of 50,119 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, it was his effort on a popup that drew the most note from his manager and teammates in the home clubhouse.

The Yankees, for the second time in their history and for the sixth time in American League history, scored in every inning on Saturday. The Yankees scored in every inning in a 14-1 over the St. Louis Browns on July 26, 1939. Continue

Jaret feels he's on Wright track

Jaret Wright said he preferred to look at the positive aspects of his start against the Blue Jays last night because "the outcome definitely was not there." What he meant was that he was going to focus on what he did in the middle four innings and not what he did at the beginning and end. Though Wright allowed four earned runs in a 7-2 loss to Toronto, he did show some signs of hope in his five-plus innings on the mound, especially considering he hadn't pitched in 13 days.

Since the Yankees have had several days off recently, Wright hadn't started since April 15. The rust showed early, as Wright gave up a two-run home run to the second batter he faced, Frank Catalanotto. Though Wright didn't exactly cruise through the next four frames - he allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in three of them - he didn't allow another run until the sixth, when two runners he was responsible for scored on a three-run homer that reliever Scott Proctor gave up to Shea Hillenbrand. Continue

Bernie both good and bad

Bernie Williams' performance last night could be a microcosm of what the aging outfielder can give the Yankees this season: An occasional highlight sandwiched between a couple of failures to produce. Williams hit his first home run of the year but also failed to come through twice with runners on.

The Yankees veteran hit his homer in the sixth inning, a two-run shot that accounted for the Yankees' runs in a 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays. Williams hit the homer into Monument Park in left-center field off Scott Schoenweis on a 3-1 pitch. It was Williams' first home run since Aug. 26, when he hit two against the Royals. Continue

Yanks throttled by Blue Jays

Almost one year ago to the day, the Yankees were blanked by Roy Halladay at Yankee Stadium, the last time they were shut out on their home turf. Halladay didn't finish the job on Friday night, but his 5 1/3 scoreless innings were good enough to lead the Blue Jays to a 7-2 win over the Yankees. "I think it's just one of those teams where it's a challenge," Halladay said. "I look forward to coming in here. It's arguably, probably one of the best lineups in baseball."

Halladay may be correct, but New York's lineup didn't do much damage in the series opener, as the only runs came on a two-run home run by Bernie Williams in the sixth. The Yankees went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, continuing a trend highlighted earlier this week, when the offense went 2-for-15 with RISP against the Devil Rays. Continue

Ex-Yank Howe dead at 48

Steve Howe, the relief pitcher whose promising career was derailed by cocaine and alcohol abuse, died yesterday when his pickup truck rolled over in Coachella, Calif. The Yankees observed a moment of silence before last night's game for Howe, whose death came nearly 10 years after a star-crossed career marred by cocaine and alcohol abuse - and seven substance-related suspensions - concluded with the Bombers in 1996.

He was 48. "This is very sad news, especially because Steve loved life so much," said Joe Torre, who managed Howe briefly in '96. "Although I only managed him for a short time, I will always remember his passion and determination." Continue

Low-key Jeter leads by example

He does not have the American League Most Valuable Player plaque, as one of his teammates does. He did not have the winning hit last night, he did not have the lion's share of publicity this spring, he maybe does not have as much of his team's hopes on his shoulders as the closer does.

What Derek Jeter does have, though, is the Yankees in his hands.No matter who they get or what those players do, this still is Jeter's team. He is the captain, the undisputed leader, the people's choice. He also happens to be batting .408. "Man, he is in a zone," said Shawn Chacon, the winning pitcher who benefited from Jeter's three hits and a walk at Yankee Stadium last night. "You hope he stays that way for a long time." Continue

Jaret hopes to get Wright

This was not the way Jaret Wright wanted his second season in New York to start. Coming off a nightmarish 2005, when the free-agent pickup missed three months with shoulder troubles, Wright was hoping for a clean start in 2006. One free of injury, where he would be a regular contributor to the Yankees' rotation and give the Bombers some bang for their 21 million bucks.

But so far this season, Wright's appearances on the mound have been about as rare as Bigfoot sightings - tonight will mark just his second start and third appearance of the season. There are a couple of reasons for the relative inactivity. First, there were the back spasms in spring training that set Wright back, while five off days on the Yankees' early schedule provided little opportunity for a fifth starter. It's all proved to be pretty frustrating for the 30-year-old righthander. Continue

Matsui caps rally; Yanks down Rays

The Yankees didn't have many opportunities to score on Thursday night, but unlike the night before, they took advantage of them when it mattered most. Hideki Matsui's two-run single in the sixth highlighted a three-run inning for the Yankees, who took the rubber match of their three-game set with the Devil Rays by a 4-1 final.

"You have to come up with the big hit, and Matsui had a huge hit," said Derek Jeter. "That was big for us, because we really didn't have too many good swings." After leaving 16 men on base on Wednesday, drawing 14 walks without having any of them turn into runs and going 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position, the Yankees made sure not to have a repeat performance on Thursday. Continue

No excuses from Rivera

He could have easily played the rust card, claiming he wasn't sharp because circumstances haven't allowed him to get regular work. But alibis have never been Mariano Rivera's modus operandi, and last night was no exception. After allowing the Devil Rays two runs in the 10th inning of an aggravating 4-2 loss in which he watched his teammates strand 16 baserunners, the Yankees' closer placed the blame squarely on his own No. 42."It's one of those games. We didn't play good baseball," Rivera said. "Myself, I made a lot of mistakes." Continue

Cold comfort for hot Jeter

A couple of hours before game time, Derek Jeter was rummaging through his locker in search of a satisfactory pair of socks when a visitor approached and he looked. "What's the weather out there?" he asked. "Very cold and windy," he was told. Jeter frowned. "I don't know what it is," he said. "All the time we were away it seemed it was in the 70s here but since we've been home, it's been like this almost every day." At that point, a bit of debate arose in the clubhouse as to whether hitters or pitchers benefit from cold, inclement weather. "The hitters, definitely," said Mariano Rivera. "I hate the cold." "Without doubt the pitchers," said Jeter. "No hitter likes hitting when it's cold like this."

Considering his .384 average, however, Jeter seemed to be the last person who should be complaining about the weather. As Don Zimmer, his old mentor and favorite foil who is now a special adviser with the visiting Devil Rays, observed: "Don't matter what the circumstances are, he's gonna get his 200 hits and he just gets better and better." Continue

Yankees come up short against Rays

Inning after inning, the Yankees had men on base. Inning after inning, New York couldn't get the one big hit it needed. Comparatively, the Devil Rays had relatively few chances, but they managed to break through at the right time, scoring twice off of Mariano Rivera in the 10th inning to hand the Yankees a 4-2 loss. The Yankees had only themselves to blame for this one, leaving 16 men on base while going 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

"There was frustration, obviously," said manager Joe Torre. "You can't get that many opportunities and come away empty without being frustrated." New York received an incredible 14 walks in the game -- setting a Tampa Bay club record -- but not one of those baserunners came around to score. Continue

Dazzling Derek's red hot

Yesterday afternoon, Joe Torre remarked that Derek Jeter has looked more and more comfortable in the past week. Torre made another observation, and wound up looking like a psychic. "The way he hits the ball to right-center field, he's driving it with no problem," Torre said. In the first inning last night, Jeter smashed a two-run homer to right-center off Scott Kazmir, paving the road to a 9-1 rout of Tampa Bay. The Yankee captain finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs in the team's third straight victory. Continue

Mussina, offense too much for Rays

Last season, the Yankees dropped 11 of 19 games to the Devil Rays, including six of nine at Yankee Stadium. Tuesday night, New York got off to a better start in 2006. Mike Mussina dazzled Tampa Bay's offense for six-plus innings while the Yankees' lineup got to the Devil Rays' pitchers early and often, resulting in a 9-1 win for the Bombers.

"They really gave us fits last year," Mussina said. "We have to go out and play better against these guys, and this was a good way to start it. We played the kind of game we want to go out and play every time we play." Derek Jeter went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored, pacing a 12-hit attack in which the top three members of the batting order scored six runs and drove in five more. Continue

Rocket to Yanks? not yet

There was nothing to the buzz circulating through baseball yesterday that Roger Clemens has decided to pitch for the Yankees and was close to signing with them. "Roger's son broke a finger [playing minor league baseball] and that's what he is dealing with," agent Alan Hendricks said. "There is nothing else new." Koby Clemens, a third baseman for Single-A Lexington of the Astros' organization, is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Clemens, who has drawn interest from the Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers and Astros, can begin negotiations with Houston on May 1. Continue

DH agreeing with Giambi

With a two-home run, five-RBI performance, Jason Giambi provided the power to go with Randy Johnson's pitching in yesterday's 7-1 rout of the Orioles. But as impressive as his blast off the upper deck facade was, even more significant was his opposite-field double - and the fact he did it all as a DH. Giambi has few warts at the plate, but the three biggest are his slow starts, his penchant for pulling the ball, and his struggles as a DH. He overcame all of them in earning a curtain call from the 47,996 on hand at the Stadium.

"It gave us a big lift, especially the [second] inning - we had two guys thrown out and still come away scoring two runs. That was big," said Joe Torre. "I never look at numbers if I like what I see, and I'm comfortable with him [at DH]. He hadn't done a lot of it; he was wondering what he should do between at-bats. But he could have a stronger year if we're able to [DH him] a couple of occasions." Continue

Giambi, Johnson shut down O's

The reports of Randy Johnson's demise have been greatly exaggerated. On Sunday afternoon, five days after being roughed up by the Blue Jays, the Big Unit dominated the Orioles, leading the Yankees to a 7-1 victory. Johnson allowed one run on three hits -- all by Miguel Tejada -- over eight innings, and Jason Giambi homered twice and drove in five runs to lead the Yankees' offense. "It doesn't get much better than that," said manager Joe Torre. "If Tejada doesn't play, it may be a no-hitter." "It's a little tough to score with only one of your guys getting hits," said Orioles skipper Sam Perlozzo. "Obviously, Randy did a pretty good job."

The win lifted New York's record to 9-8, just the second time the Yankees have been over .500 since winning the season opener. The victory was the Yankees' second in a row after alternating wins and losses over the past six days. Continue

Posada's back with Big Unit

Randy Johnson and Jorge Posada will be reunited today. Because Kelly Stinnett caught yesterday's 6-1 victory over the Orioles and the Yankees have a scheduled off-day tomorrow, manager Joe Torre has decided to pair up Posada and Johnson for the first time since Opening Day in Oakland.

"It's not a Randy issue or a Jorgie issue," Torre said. "We make changes as we go along." Stinnett had caught Johnson's three previous outings: one gem, one abbreviated start and one shelling. Torre didn't want to play his backup two days in a row, and he's not totally sold on giving Johnson (2-4, 4.63 ERA) a personal catcher for the second straight season. Continue

Unit losing inside edge

For a Yankee team that desperately needs Randy Johnson to pitch with dominance, his Tuesday night start in Toronto was obviously cause for concern. Johnson had never lost a game after being staked to a four-run lead, and yet what seemed most alarming, at least to professional observers, was his docile demeanor.

"The thing that shocked me," says an American League scout, "was that Randy just kind of hung his head when he was getting lit up. They were digging in, looking for his slider, hitting everything hard, and he never came up and in on them and knocked somebody down.

"From a pitching standpoint, I just think it was one of those nights. But the thing is, his slider is his out pitch now, and I think he needs to start putting some fear in hitters with his fastball, to let them know they might pay a price for diving in on his slider. He needs to get a little meaner." Continue

Chacon, Yanks get back on track vs. O's

Saturday's 6-1 win over the Orioles was good news for the Yankees, but Shawn Chacon's stellar outing was a much more important development for New York. Chacon, who had struggled with consistency through the first two weeks, had his best outing of the season, holding the Orioles to one run on four hits over seven innings.

New York used a four-run sixth inning to break the game open, tagging starter Daniel Cabrera for six runs in five-plus innings. The Yankees took the lead in the third on Derek Jeter's RBI single, then added another run in the fourth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Bernie Williams. Continue

Homecoming not happy for Yanks

The Yankees finally returned to the Bronx on Friday night, but it wasn't the happiest of homecomings. Chien-Ming Wang had another puzzling outing, looking flawless in some innings and shaky in others. The end result was a 6-5 loss for the Yankees, who kicked off their nine-game homestand with a disappointing defeat.

"We gave too much away, walk-wise," said manager Joe Torre, referring to four untimely passes issued by his pitchers. "We have to do a better job in making somebody beat us without beating ourselves." The offense didn't do much to support the pitching staff, leaving the bases loaded in both the sixth and ninth innings. Continue

Rocket rdux?

Fourteen games into the season, this is what we know about the Yankees: They are going to need pitching help. Aaron Small and Octavio Dotel will improve the bullpen when they return from injuries, but the greatest need is in the starting rotation. Before April drains into May, the biggest question mark coming into the season has morphed into a problem.

Of the five starters, only Mike Mussina has pitched well. Randy Johnson's last two outings have raised questions about his health and age (42). Beyond those two, it has been a crapshoot from Chien-Ming Wang, Shawn Chacon and Jaret Wright. Combined, they are 2-2 with a 6.89 ERA in six starts. In 311/3 innings, they have given up an alarming 45 hits and 10 walks. Continue

Giambi’s arm sore after HBP

Jason Giambi said his right forearm bothered him so much yesterday after being hit by a pitch that "I couldn't pick up the bat." An 0-and-2 pitch from Blue Jays lefthander Scott Schoeneweis hit Giambi in the seventh inning. He said the bottom two fingers on his right hand went numb, making it impossible to grip the bat. The Yankees removed Giambi after he told Joe Torre about his injury. X-rays on his forearm were negative.Giambi did not know whether he would be able to play tomorrow night, saying he will report to Yankee Stadium today for treatment and try to hit before tomorrow's game against the Orioles. Continue

UNIT IS OK AFTER ROUGH OUTING

One day after the Blue Jays spanked Randy Johnson, the party line coming from the Yankees is that Johnson wasn't ailing Tuesday night when he flushed a 4-0 first-inning lead and absorbed a 10-5 beating. "If he had any physical problem, we would have known about it because he is not, not going to get treatment," Joe Torre said. "We have to chalk it up and look to the next time, which is Sunday [vs. Baltimore at Yankee Stadium]."

Many believed Johnson (2-2; 4.63 ERA)was tipping his pitches in Tuesday's loss. Johnson said pitching coach Ron Guidry told him his arm was lower than usual, which could mean a back problem. Catcher Kelly Stinnett said too many pitches were in the middle of the plate. Continue

Yanks squeeze past Jays

After watching Randy Johnson get roughed up by the Blue Jays on Tuesday night, Mike Mussina knew that Wednesday's game against Toronto was going to present quite a challenge. Fortunately for the Yankees, Mussina was on top his game, holding the high-powered Jays offense to one run over 7 1/3 innings to lead New York to a 3-1 victory.

"It was a masterpiece," said manager Joe Torre. "He was in total control, and he gave us what we needed after last night." The Yankees evened their record at 7-7, as they head home for their first extended homestand of the season, which kicks off Friday against the Orioles. Continue

Damon shows Yanks he's a prized catch

One of the reasons the Yankees signed Johnny Damon was because he can do exactly what he did last night. Although Randy Johnson got roughed up and the Blue Jays beat the Bombers, Damon put on a fielding display in center, making three outstanding catches that helped keep the Blue Jays from blowing out the Yanks early.

Damon robbed his counterpart, Jays center fielder Vernon Wells, twice and second baseman Aaron Hill once. All three plays were similar, but the second time he foiled Wells was by far the best. In that instance, Damon took off as soon as Wells struck his fourth-inning drive, tracking it toward the fence. As he neared the warning track he reached up and snared it, only to run face-first into the wall, bouncing back and landing on his back. Continue

Bad back sidelines Sturtze

Tanyon Sturtze injured his back doing squats on Saturday, and the righthander could find himself on the disabled list if the tightness doesn't go away soon. "It's been a few days and it really hasn't gotten better," Yankees manager Joe Torre said before last night's game against the Blue Jays. "We'll have to wait and see."Sturtze told the team about the injury Sunday morning and the Yankees held him out, thinking that he would be better for last night's game after Monday's off day.

But the injury was still bothering Sturtze yesterday, leaving the Yankees' bullpen shorthanded for the second game in a row. If he still feels the tightness today, the team will likely have him undergo an MRI during tomorrow's off day, Torre said. "It's a concern right now," the manager said. Continue

Johnson has a tough time vs. Jays

This time, Randy Johnson didn't leave his start because of fatigue. He left on Tuesday night because he couldn't get the Blue Jays out. The Yankees couldn't overcome the left-hander's poor outing, falling to the Blue Jays, 10-5, in front of 48,776 at Rogers Centre. Johnson, who pitched just five innings in his last outing before "hitting a wall," allowed seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings, as the Yankees lost for the third time in the last four games.

"It was just bad everything," Johnson said. "It was just one of those games where you take it on the chin." Both Johnson and manager Joe Torre insisted after the game that there was nothing physically wrong with the left-hander, despite the fact that he has pitched fewer than nine innings in his last two starts combined. Continue

Comeback kid Giambi named AL'S top player

Twelve games into the season, Jason Giambi is showing last year's sensational second half wasn't a fluke. Noting his body hasn't felt this good in two years, the Yankees' first baseman was named AL Player of the Week yesterday.

"This is the best I have felt in the last couple of years," said Giambi, who was the 2005 Comeback Player of the Year. "From being sick [2004] and blowing out my knee [2003]. All the work I did rehabbing my knee was lost when I got sick [pituitary tumor]. It was nice to finish with a positive last year and the way I came in this year." Giambi was 8-for-14 (.571) with four homers, 10 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .700 last week. It was the third time he has been named AL Player of the Week but the first time as a Yankee. Continue

Unit can handle Big responsibility

Randy Johnson knows why everyone worries. Even though the Big Unit sometimes acts amused about the constant concern over anything he does - or, in the case of Thursday's abbreviated start, doesn't do - he is well-aware of what he means to the Yankees.

"I don't ignore it," said Johnson, who returns to the mound tonight against the Blue Jays. "I know that if I do my job, it can help a lot of different areas. Maybe I can take some stress off the bullpen, maybe I can take some pressure off the other starters and maybe I can help the offense relax a little bit. I know all that. And I don't mind that." Continue

A-Rod rips three hits after ripping self

Alex Rodriguez is usually cool and composed, but in the moments after Saturday's loss his frustration was evident. Despite knocking in what would have been the winning run if the Yankees hadn't blown a lead in the ninth inning, Rodriguez called himself out and said he was letting the team down by not producing enough.

Yesterday, he responded to his own pep talk. A-Rod went 3-for-5 with two runs and crushed his third homer of the season in the seventh inning of the Bombers' 9-3 victory over the Twins. "I expect a lot of myself," Rodriguez said. "It's important for me to go out and take responsibility for what I have to do." Continue

Twins unable to sweep as Radke falls

The Twins had one goal in mind when they returned home from their opening road trip with a 1-5 record -- get back to .500 baseball. After winning five straight to get above that mark, the hopes got a little sweeter when the possibility arose to sweep the Yankees in a three-game series for the first time since 1991. But even a 9-3 loss to the Yankees on Sunday to get even for the season couldn't dampen the spirits of a surging Twins team.

"We made a good stand here against some very good baseball teams," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We're .500 against four teams that are all going to be contending for the playoffs. We're standing at .500 here after a tough start, and we've really battled back to get to .500. And you know what, that's not bad." Continue

A-Rod: 'I am one to blame'

Blame Alex Rodriguez for the Yankees' inconsistent ways. At least that's what A-Rod says. "I feel when I swing the bat well, the team does better. I need to swing the bat better," A-Rod said after the Yankees suffered a killer, 6-5, loss to the Twins last night thanks to going 3-for-13 in the clutch. "I need to elevate my game. I am the one guy to blame for what has been happening. I have been [ticked] at my game for a week now. I expect a lot out of myself. I have to get better."

A-Rod delivered the go-ahead run in the seventh with an RBI single that put the Yankees up 5-4. However, until then he was hitless in 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position and in a 2-for-15 funk overall. A-Rod is batting .262 with two homers and seven RBIs. With runners in scoring position, he is batting .250 (4-for-16). Continue

Rivera, Yanks stunned by Twins

Everything seemed to be going right for the Yankees on Saturday night. They had overcome a four-run deficit against Johan Santana, their bullpen had thrown five scoreless innings after a rocky start by Jaret Wright and the offense came through with some clutch hits, giving New York a one-run lead heading into the ninth inning.

Then the Twins scored twice against Mariano Rivera. Justin Morneau's two-out, two-run walk-off single stunned the Yankees, who dropped a 6-5 decision to the Twins in front of 42,316 at the Metrodome. "It's certainly a tough loss," said manager Joe Torre. "The day this type of game doesn't bother me is the day I should go home." Continue

Jaret hopes start finally goes Wright

Jaret Wright's first year-plus in pinstripes hasn't gone exactly as he planned. He missed four months of last season with a shoulder injury, got hit by balls and bats when he did pitch and was constantly answering questions about his health. "I could have drawn up different scenarios, definitely, for my first year in New York," he said yesterday.

Things didn't get much better this spring, as he suffered painful back spasms and pitched erratically, leaving Tampa as the Yanks' fifth starter - meaning he wasn't needed for the first two weeks of games because of several off-days in the schedule. Wright finally makes his first start of the season tonight against the Twins, and he readily admitted he's excited. He pitched in relief once (taking the loss in Oakland on April 5) but has otherwise just thrown bullpen sessions in an effort to stay sharp. Continue

Mussina outdueled at Metrodome

In their five wins this season, the Yankees have averaged 11 runs per game. In their four losses entering Friday's game against the Twins, New York had scored a total of just 10 runs. Feast or famine. All or nothing. It just depends which offense shows up on any given day.

Friday night was the latter for the Yankees, who managed just one run on four hits against Scott Baker and a pair of relievers, as the Twins took the series opener, 5-1, at the Metrodome. New York wasted a solid outing by Mike Mussina, who allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings, losing to Minnesota for just the fifth time in 25 career decisions. Continue

Unit's set to take his usual start

Randy Johnson was smiling, a bemused look that said he still doesn't get what all the fuss was all about, and in fact never gets the fusses the New York media makes about him. But the 42-year-old Big Unit's health is one of the crucial concerns of the Yankees season and will be until the day it's over.So when Johnson left Thursday's start against the Royals after five innings because he was either tired (his story) or felt some stiffness in a still-undisclosed body part (manager Joe Torre's story), it became news.

Johnson's utterances Friday on the matter were news, too. Good news for the Yankees, as it turns out, as all parties insisted that he's not injured, but just "hit a wall" after a shaky fifth inning Thursday. Continue

Unit will stick with Stinnett

Kelly Stinnett caught Randy Johnson for the second time in three starts this season and it appears the Yankees are going to use a personal catcher for the Big Unit for the second time in two seasons. "If it looks comfortable, we'll keep it that way," Joe Torre said after Johnson's five-inning outing yesterday. And, he added, "They were comfortable." Jorge Posada, the starting catcher, said he didn't have a problem with the arrangement, but he also seemed perturbed.

At the start of spring training, Posada spoke passionately about how much it meant to him to foster a good relationship with Johnson and to catch the Yanks' ace. "Not an issue, guys," Posada told reporters. "That's it. That's the way the manager wants it. ... There's no problem with me and Randy." But Torre acknowledged that the two high-strung personalities didn't always mesh in 2005, which is why John Flaherty mostly caught Johnson. Continue

Yankees roll to sweep of Royals

Yankees manager Joe Torre expects Randy Johnson to start on schedule against the Blue Jays in Toronto next Wednesday even though no one pinpointed exactly why the left-hander departed his start on Thursday after just five innings. Johnson dominated the Royals over the first four innings of a 9-3 victory that enabled the Yankees to complete a dominating three-game sweep of Kansas City. The Royals have now lost 14 straight games at Yankee Stadium after being outscored, 30-15, in three afternoon affairs.

But the game was turned over to the bullpen after the five-time Cy Young Award winner gave up one run on three straight two-out hits in the fifth. "He just got a little stiff," Yankees manager Joe Torre said, adding he wasn't exactly sure where the stiffness had developed. "I didn't get a chance to talk to him." Continue

It's early, but Yankee arms have yet to show legs

They say a win is a win, and yet, after watching the Yankees take batting practice for three hours against a steady parade of minimum-waged, hopelessly overmatched, not-ready-for-prime-time Kansas City Royals pitchers yesterday, you felt as if this particular win deserved an asterisk affixed to it. As in: "Versus minor leaguers."

But it was a win, and a fun one for the Yankee hitters who shook off the 3-0 deficit Shawn Chacon put them in even before they got their first hacks of the day. They busted out for 15 hits while also taking full advantage of eight walks. Indeed, so horrible has been the Royals' pitching these past couple of days that it has served to minimize the Yankees' own deficiencies in that area. Continue

Master Sheff: Yanks romp over Royals

Gary Sheffield stepped out of the batter's box, watched third base coach Larry Bowa rolling on the infield grass, and couldn't hold back his wide grin. Suddenly, Sheffield said he felt relaxed. All it had taken to calm the slugger's jangled nerves was a foul missile down the line, narrowly missing Bowa as he ducked for cover. "That relaxed me, when I saw he didn't kill himself," Sheffield said.

Laughter really may be the best medicine. The rest just seemed to fall into place. Sheffield sent the next pitch from Kansas City left-hander Jeremy Affeldt over the left-field wall for a three-run homer, prefacing a four-RBI, three-hit afternoon. The outburst led the Yankees to a 12-5 pounding of the Royals on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. Continue

Super saver Rivera back

As the Yankees kept cutting into the Royals' lead late in yesterday's game, Mariano Rivera began to believe he'd get his first save opportunity of the season. When he saw Derek Jeter's three-run homer disappear over the left-field fence in the eighth, he knew he was coming in and he began thinking boldly. "After I see Derek hit that home run, there's no way we are losing that game," Rivera said. "That motivates me. It was my turn and thank God I was able to do it. It was huge. We lost those two series on the West Coast, so it was great to come back and win this."

It has been an odd start to the season for Rivera, who finally made his first appearance of 2006 in the Yanks' sixth game - in mop-up duty, no less - because the Yanks had either played blowouts or lost. In the seventh game, yesterday, he finally got his first save. Continue

Wang, Sturtze outings hard to gauge

Viewed through a 9-7 Yankee victory, the performances of Chien-Ming Wang and Tanyon Sturtze didn't look as bad as they could have. Wang, the Yankees' No. 3 starter, gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings against the Royals. Sturtze recorded one out and gave up two runs and three hits, including a homer to Shane Costa. "I can't evaluate it," Torre said of Wang's outing, which started strongly when Wang recorded eight of the first nine outs on the ground. "He elevated a couple of pitches and they let him know about it. He has to get a little more consistent with his command."

As for Sturtze, he agreed with Torre that Costa's homer was wind-aided, but he also understood why the sold-out Stadium crowd booed him off the mound. Continue

Big Apple: Jeter's homer lifts Yankees

On Opening Day at Yankee Stadium, there was no more fitting ending. The Yankees struggled through the first seven innings, blowing a three-run lead against the Royals in what looked to be another brutal loss for New York. Enter Derek Jeter. The Yankees captain made sure the sellout crowd of 54,698 went home happy, belting a game-winning three-run home run in the eighth, lifting the Yankees to a 9-7 win.

"He's always had a flair for the dramatic," said Bernie Williams, whose RBI single in the eighth helped keep the Yankees rally going. "A day like this, it's just the way he is. It doesn't surprise me." "I've been watching this kid for 11 years," said manager Joe Torre. "It seems when something needs to happen, he's at the start of it or the finish of it. He's been as consistent as anybody." Continue

Royal return for Bombers

When Bob Sheppard introduces the Yankees today in their home opener against the Royals, which team will jog to the first base line? The one that spanked Barry Zito and Bartolo Colon or the squad that lost four games in between easy victories against the Cy Young winners because it couldn't hit in the clutch or catch the ball? Based on what today represents and who is in the other dugout, expect the Yankees to look more like the offensive powerhouse that scored 15 runs in the first game and 10 in the sixth. Continue

Finally, here's Johnny

Johnny Damon has been waiting a long time for today but he's hardly the only one. While Damon is fired up to make his first pinstriped sprint out to center field at Yankee Stadium for today's game against the Royals, his teammates are just glad to be home. After six weeks of spring training, the Bombers spent two days in Phoenix, four in Oakland and four more in Anaheim before flying back to New York late Sunday night.

Fans, too, surely are stoked to finally lay eyes on the Yankees who - because they began the season with five straight 10p.m. New York time starts - have been little more than a rumor during the season's first week. Continue

Sigh of relief for Yankees

If the Yankees could find a way to face former Cy Young Award winners every day, they would probably sign up for that. On Opening Day, the Bombers pounded 2002 winner Barry Zito for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings, blowing out the A's. Sunday, New York cuffed around the defending Cy Young recipient, hammering Bartolo Colon for eight runs in two-plus innings to finish their West Coast swing with a 10-1 victory over the Angels.

The Yankees head home with a 2-4 record, though Sunday's win allowed them to fly east on a positive note. New York hosts Kansas City on Tuesday in its home opener at Yankee Stadium. Jorge Posada went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs, while Alex Rodriguez also went deep. The Yanks sent 18 men to the plate in the second and third innings, jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Continue

Back to drawing board with the bats

When the Yankees arrived at Angel Stadium for last night's game, they were feeling noticeably better about themselves. It was a new day and a new game, and the last thing anyone wanted to do was think about what happened Friday.That's when they dropped a frustrating 4-1 game to the Angels, a game in which their All-Star lineup made little noise.

Once again, they're learning that nothing comes easy just because of who they have in the lineup. "Before the season, everyone was anointing this the best offense ever," Derek Jeter said. "Let us play first. Names don't win games. You have to go out and perform." Continue

Big Unit solid, but Yankees fall

The Yankees started 1-4 in 1998 before winning a team-record 114 games en route to a World Series title. Well, the Yanks are on the same pace in 2006, though the World Series is the last thing on their minds right now. The Angels handed the Yankees their fourth consecutive loss, taking a 3-2 victory on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at Angel Stadium. The Yankees have dropped seven of their last nine in this ballpark, including all three during last October's Division Series.

"I'm not the least bit concerned," said manager Joe Torre. "I'm not pleased that we lost four of the first five games, but it doesn't make me sit back and say, 'What can I do?' or 'What should I have done?' This is the game of baseball." Continue

House of Waxed

Joe Torre insisted he isn't tortured by this splendid ballpark by the freeway, that the inglorious memories of past failures do not crowd his heart when he drives past the huge "A" in the parking lot, or when he walks on the field and sees that big rockpile out beyond center field.

"Look," he said, "I obviously remembered what happened here. But I'm not haunted by it by any stretch." Still, if the Yankees hoped to get well on this opening swing through the West Coast before returning home to The Bronx, they could have selected a better site than Angels Stadium - a place where two of their past four seasons have gone to die, a place that has become their own personal shopping mall of horrors. Continue

Yankees fall as trip continues

Opening Day must seem like a long time ago for the New York Yankees. Believe it or not, it was just four days ago that the Yankees broke out the big bats, pounding Barry Zito and the A's for 15 runs in a laugher. Friday, the Yankees entered their personal house of horrors, and the script played out in the same fashion that it has over the past few years.

The Angels handed the Yankees their third straight loss, taking the first game of the weekend series by a 4-1 final. Including last year's American League Division Series, the Yankees have now lost six of their last eight games at Angel Stadium. Continue

Glove song

Derek Jeter doesn't want to hear about the bulging biceps that pop out of Yankees pinstripes. The captain wants all the chatter about scoring 1,000 runs to stop. Instead, Jeter would like to remind everyone that posting slow-pitch softball numbers isn't the recipe for success. "Everyone talks about offense, but it doesn't win games," Jeter said late Wednesday night after the Yankees flushed a 4-0 lead thanks to leaky glove work by him and Robinson Cano helped the A's to a 9-4 victory. "Pitching and defense [wins]." Continue

Special order for Sheff

Barry Bonds wanted to send his slumping friend Gary Sheffield something to pep him up in 2002, so he sent him trainer Greg Anderson, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday. Anderson apparently spilled his guts to a judge he happened to run into at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport at the time, and the judge passed the tale along to commissioner Bud Selig in a letter sent last month. MLB officials did not respond to calls for comment yesterday, but the letter will presumably become part of George Mitchell's investigation into baseball's steroid past. The letter apparently said nothing about what services Anderson provided.

According to the Chronicle, Larry M. Boyle, the chief U.S. magistrate judge in Boise, Idaho, said in his letter that he was at the airport in June 2002 and that he struck up a conversation with Anderson. With no prodding, the letter reportedly said, Anderson told Boyle that Bonds was his "best friend and best client" and was dispatched to Minneapolis to help Sheffield, whose Atlanta Braves were in town to play the Twins, according to the paper. Continue

Pen can't follow plan

Joe Torre has a plan for his bullpen this season, one that's supposed to guard against the kind of heavy workload that Tanyon Sturtze and Tom Gordon had to bear last year. What the plan does not include, however, is innings like last night's bottom of the eighth.

Four Yankee relievers appeared in the home half of the inning, in which the A's batted around the order and plated five runs to break open their 9-4 win. The biggest blow came off Kyle Farnsworth, the third pitcher in the inning: Two batters after a four-pitch walk to Mark Ellis loaded the bases, Farnsworth allowed Frank Thomas' towering three-run double that made it a five-run game. Continue

Errors cost Yankees in finale

Nobody is going to question the Yankees' offensive ability over the course of the 2006 season. Their defensive ability, however, may be an ongoing discussion. New York made two costly errors on Wednesday night, the mistakes leading to five unearned runs in a 9-4 loss to the A's in the series finale at McAfee Coliseum.

"You certainly can't expect to win when you give them extra outs," said manager Joe Torre. "Errors are part of the game, so you hope when you make errors that they don't come and bite you. Tonight, we didn't make them at a good time." Robinson Cano's error in the eighth inning allowed Milton Bradley to score the game-winner, capping a night in which Bradley also drove in three runs for Oakland. Continue

Yankees payroll 2006

Salaries include pro-rated signing bonuses (NY Post)

Derek Jeter $20,600,000
Jason Giambi $20,428,572
Mike Mussina $19,000,000
Randy Johnson $16,000,000
Alex Rodriguez $15,000,000
Johnny Damon $13,000,000
Hideki Matsui $13,000,000
Gary Sheffield $13,000,000
Jorge Posada $12,000,000
Mariano Rivera $10,500,000
Carl Pavano $8,000,000
Jaret Wright $7,666,667
Kyle Farnsworth $5,416,667
Shawn Chacon $3,600,000
Javier Vazquez $3,000,000
Ron Villone $2,250,000
Octavio Dotel $2,000,000
Tanyon Sturtze $1,500,000
Bernie Williams $1,500,000
Aaron Small $1,200,000
Mike Myers $1,150,000
Miguel Cairo $1,000,000
Tony Womack $900,000
Kelly Stinnett $650,000
Robinson Cano $381,100
Bubba Crosby $354,250
Scott Proctor $353,675
Chien-Ming Wang $353,175
Andy Phillips $331,950
Wil Nieves $328,600

Team total $194,464,656

Yankee rippers

Add clairvoyant to Billy Beane's many talents. Talking about playing the Yankees on Opening Day, the Oakland GM compared it to school kids not easing into their day. "It's like having calculus the first period of the day," Beane said. "Then the bell rings and it's over."

Last night at McAfee Coliseum, the Yankees rang the A's bell early and often, scoring seven runs in the second inning on the way to a 15-2 victory that was witnessed by a crowd of 35,077. Alex Rodriguez hit a grand slam, the 12th of his career, in that Yankee second. Hideki Matsui poked a three-run homer in the fourth, had four hits, drew two walks and drove in four runs. Continue

Yankees need Unit to stay Big into October

From the moment they added Johnny Damon you could see nights like this coming, when the Yankee bats would have a way of shrinking the field, making the game look like a baseball version of Arena Ball. You just didn't expect to see it right out of the gate. The Yankees have owned Barry Zito in recent years, but not like this. Zito looked as if he were afraid to throw strikes, especially with his fastball, but he couldn't fool Yankee hitters with his looping curveball for long.

And so when Alex Rodriguez launched a 70-mph hanger into the left field seats for a grand slam in the second inning, the Yankees were up seven and already this offense that could set records this year had made a bit of history by sacking Zito, the former Cy Young winner, with the shortest outing of his career. Continue

The road to '27'

It's not now or never. But in the Yankees' universe, the current five-year run without a 27th World Series title feels like 50. And it's not just the perception of outsiders. When the Yankees returned to their clubhouse yesterday after a workout at dreary McAfee Coliseum, T-shirts - one gray and one blue - were draped over the back of each chair.

The message on the back of the gray shirt was: "1 team, 1 mission." On the front was the interlocking NY over the number 27. On the blue shirt was "257 days, 37 weeks, nine months" above a printed schedule that started on the first day of spring training and ended with the last World Series game. Continue

No questions about Mariano

The question about Mariano Rivera is always the same: Will this be the year he finally falters? If spring training is any indication, the answer is no. Rivera tossed yet another scoreless inning yesterday and completed his spring training having allowed just one run and two hits in nine innings. Rivera was so effective that, at one point last week, he opted to throw a bullpen session instead of appearing in a game because he wanted to throw more pitches. "This is as good a spring as he's ever had," Joe Torre said. Continue

Jeter: To make a run, team needs to pitch

Derek Jeter, like his teammates, likes everything about the Yankees' lineup, from Johnny Damon leading off to a middle of the order packed with sluggers. But that doesn't mean the captain feels any better about their chances this season.

"You've got to pitch," Jeter said yesterday. "We scored a lot of runs last year. Boston scored a lot of runs, more runs than anyone. But Chicago went out and pitched."Scoring runs is great over the course of the regular season. But when you get to the playoffs, pitching is the bottom line. If you pitch, you always have a chance to win." Jeter wasn't as much throwing cold water on all the hoopla about the Yankees' offense as he was simply being realistic about the team's biggest question this season. Continue

Wright off to Yank pen

Jaret Wright returned from his workout shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday, took his iPod earphones out of his ears, slipped on a pair of flip-flops and went into the manager's office to officially get the news that everyone had been assuming for weeks.

When the season begins on Monday in Oakland, Wright will be in the bullpen. Because of several off-days in the schedule, the Yankees do not need a fifth starter for the first two weeks and Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina, Chien-Ming Wang and Shawn Chacon will start in that order, leaving Wright to wait until April 15 before he makes his first start of the year. Continue

Ailing Pavano is shut down

Carl Pavano won't pitch in an extended-spring-training game tomorrow, and the Yankees don't know when their $40 million investment will get back on the mound. Pavano was shut down indefinitely yesterday due to a bruised rear end, the result of a tumble he took Tuesday night fielding a ball near first base. He pitched an inning of a Double-A game Thursday and went for an MRI exam that night; it was negative.

"He is shut down until the pain disappears," Joe Torre said of Pavano, who reported to camp with a balky back that kept him out of games until the final week after pitching in 17 games a year ago due to a shoulder problem that didn't require surgery. "He is