This Is Your Captain, I am Ready For Lift Off

Scranton, PA, the home of the Triple-A Scranton RailRiders is going to have a little extra excitment this July 4th weekend. Nope, not more fireworks, just the captain of the New York Yankees checking into town.

Derek Sanderson Jeter has gotten the go ahead from the Yankees team docs to start a rehab assignment. El Capitan is expected to play at least five innings in the field during Saturday night's game.

During prep for this season, Jeter fractured a different area of his ankle then where the break occurred that knocked him out of last season's playoffs.. I admit it seems kind of odd that someone that just started to run the bases the other day would start a rehab assignment already (or already in my estimation.), but this is very good news.

Here's to the Yankees' captain staying healthy for the rest of the season and replacing whatever .190 hitter is at shortstop in the meantime.

Lillibridge and Nova Among the Latest Comings and Goings

Lillibridge robbing the Yankees

 
The Yankees designated Reid Brignac for assignment earlier today and recalled utility infielder Alberto Gonzalez from Scranton. But Gonzalez may not be up for long- the Yankees have acquired the versatile Brent Lillibridge, who can play both the infield and outfield.

Lillibridge was playing for the Cubs Triple-A team in Iowa City and came at the cost of a player to be named later or cash considerations. The move is a little puzzling since Lillibridge's offensive numbers (career split of .207/.271/.339) are comparable to Brignac's, thought the 29-year old's ability to play the outfield is a plus.(You might recall a Yankees game against the White Sox in which Lillibridge made back to back diving catches to win the game for Chicago.)

His best year came with the White Sox in 2007 when he posted career highs in average (.258), OPS (.845), HR (13) and RBI (29). The Yankees are his seventh organization after he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2005, dealt to the Braves, dealt to the White Sox, dealt to the Red Sox, dealt to the Indians, and finally signed as a free agent with the Cubs. He was 1-24 for the Cubs before his demotion to Triple-A.

Ivan Nova will be recalled to start Sunday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. It remains to be seen who will be removed from the roster to make room for Nova. The righty was 2-0, 2.04 in three starts for Scranton with 17 strikeouts and four walks in 17.2 innings. He's 2-1, 5.16 in four starts and two relief appearances for the big club.

The Yankees also added outfield depth to the Scranton squad by inking veteran Corey Patterson to a minor league deal. The Mariners had released him earlier this month after he posted less than a .500 OPS at Triple-A. The Yankees are Patterson's 12th organization, though he has not played in the Majors for all of them.

Not done yet - the Yankees acquired Texas Rangers right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama earlier Friday afternoon. Tateyama has spent the entire season at Triple-A Round Rock and is a right-handed specialist.

Mike Zagurski, probably unknown to most, was picked up by the Yankees after the Pittsburgh Pirates let him go. The left-hander has 88 games of Major League experience, 45 of them spent with the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. A career 6.84 ERA and 1.733 WHIP won't be get him called up any time soon (if ever).

Throw it against the wall and see what sticks.

Yuke, We Hardly Knew Ye; Tex Returns to DL

The saying goes that things will get worse before they get better. According to the YES Network's Meredith Marakovits the cliche applies to Kevin Youkilis. The first year Yankee and former Red and White Sox third baseman was recently placed on the DL a second time this season due to a bad back. Now word is that Youkilis has a bulging disc that requires surgery and will be out 10-12 weeks.

In other words, you aren't seeing Kevin Youkilis in a Yankees uniform again. In the revolving Yankees soap opera, Youkilis was brought in to replace the injured Alex Rodriguez, who will probably replace the injured Youkilis. Unless Bud Selig intervenes. Either way, Youkilis is done.

The chrome domed Youkilis got off to a good start for the Yankees and had a .977 OPS after a dozen games. A 1-15 skid followed as did a week off due to his balky back. He thought he was well enough to return on April 27, but after an 0-3 afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays, Youkilis was placed on the 15-day DL. He wouldn't return to the Majors until a month later.

Youkilis lasted just 11 games and was 6-41 at the plate before his back landed him back on the DL. He should be on the 60-Day DL in short order to open some room on the 40-man roster.

If this is it for Youkilis' Yankees career, it lasted 28 games with a .219/.305/.343 split and $12MM in earnings. His surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. Brian Cashman stated that David Adams, Reid Brignac, and Jayson Nix will continue to split playing time at the hot corner for the time being. (Again I say, Ronnier Mustelier!)

The news comes on the heels of the announcement that Mark Teixeira is also back on the DL due to his painful right wrist. Pitcher Adam Warren was recalled to take his place on the roster. Hitting coach Kevin Long didn't think Teixeira's wrist "has been right" from the moment he returned from the DL on May 31, the same day Youkilis came back. Cashman was not happy that Long mentioned it to reporters, but had not told anyone before that. I'm sure there will be a heartfelt talk (aka yellfest, at the very least, between Cashman and Long.

Lyle Overbay will resume his duties as the every day first baseman.

Sending Out An SOS: Yankees Need the Cavalry

Teams lose to other teams. Some of those other teams might not be as good as the losing team. It happens - well Suzyn, you can't predict baseball, etc.  The Yankees lost four straight to the Mets after Thursday night's 3-1 debacle (at least the game was quick) and have dropped five straight overall as they head into a much more important series with the Boston Red Sox this weekend.

Vidal Nuno pitched beautifully for six innings, but allowed a 2-run home run to Marlon Byrd in the early going. That's about one or two runs more than the Yankees can handle these days. The bats are coming back to Earth, which means the Friday arrival of Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis is coming just in the nick of time.

The Mets starter for Thursday night was Dillon Gee. The 27-year old Texan had made 10 starts this season prior to the finale with the Yankees. In those 10 games, Gee allowed less than three earned runs just three times and recorded an out in the 7th inning just once. So tonight Gee and his 6.34 ERA threw 7.1 innings and struck out 12 Yankees. His season high had been six strikeouts, which he accomplished twice. The only blemish on his stat line was a solo home run served up to Robinson Cano.

The Yankees hitting a brick wall was not unexpected; it's about the only thing they can hit right now. There were signs of this earlier in the season, but the lineup bounced back. Not so in the series with their crosstown rivals. So Brian Cashman has some decisions to finalize tonight. With two everyday players returning, room needs to be made on the 25-man roster, and for Teixeira, on the 40-man roster as well.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cashman was quite frank when he spoke Tuesday to ESPN radio's Don LaGreca concerning the future of first baseman Lyle Overbay. Though the 36-year old has done a marvelous job (The YES Network showed a graphic prior to tonight's game that showed Overbay's numbers after 50 games were very similar to Teixeira's first 50 games in 2012.), his position limitation does not make him an ideal candidate for the everyday roster. Things are even more complicated when you consider Travis Hafner cannot play a position at all.

Letting Overbay go with no return would be a terrible mistake (he certainly would not pass through waivers without being claimed), but he's the logical choice to be removed from the roster.

The second player is likely to be David Adams who has been seeing most of the playing time at third base since he was recalled from Triple-A on May 15. Despite the organization's love of his bat, Adams should be sent back to Scranton to play every day.  Another less likely option would be to get rid of recently acquired Reid Brignac, but the Yankees don't have another infielder besides Jayson Nix that can handle shortstop.

The Yankees also announced that Andy Pettitte would be returning to start Monday's game against Cleveland. Thursday's starter Vidal Nuno would be the logical choice to go back to Scranton.

Yankees Acquire Reid Brignac from Rockies

The revolving door continues in the Bronx..Jon Heyman reports that.utility infielder Reid Brignac has been acquired by the Yankees for cash considerations.  Alberto Gonzalez, reacquired on May 9, was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Brignac was once considered a solid prospect as he climbed the ladder of the Tampa Bay Rays organization, but his bat never caught up to his glove. He played parts of five seasons with the Rays with the 2010 campaign his Major League best. He hit 8 HR and drove in 45 in 326 plate appearances, but his .692 OPS was less than stellar.

Brignac stock fell drastically after that when he was beset with injuries and put up a .448 OPS in 2011. The Rays shipped him to Colorado prior to this season for cash or a player to be named later. His slash line of .250/.294/.375 made him expendable.

The highlight of Gonzalez's brief second stint in New York was the chance to take the mound. He retired the one batter he faced when the Seattle Mariners drubbed the Yankees on Wednesday.

And the Moron of the Year Goes To...

... A.J. Burnett...

Yes ladies and gentleman it was never a contest. A.J. channeled his inner Kevin Brown and Doyle Alexander and decided to take out his frustrations on some lineup holders inside the Yankees clubhouse.

It wasn't bad enough that he had put the Yankees in a 3-0 hole early, but then he put holes in each of his palms. Bravo on a job well done.

Hey wait a minute. It gets even better. Not only did A.J. hurt his hands and his team, but he lied about it too, telling trainer Steve Donahue that he had fallen on the steps. Oops. A(ss)J(ack) later confessed and apologized to his manager, Joe Girardi, and GM Brian Cashman. He'll also apologize to the team tomorrow. He should also apologize to his banker for the withdrawal he'll have to make to pay for the hefty fine the team should hit him with. No pie for you!

It turned a nice day - Old Timer's Day - into a rotten day. Burnett, Dustin Moseley, and Chad Gaudin got pounded in a 10-4 defeat. Reid Brignac had two home runs all year, but managed to hit a pair and drove in 5 runs. While good for my fantasy team, it was not so good for the large crowd sitting in sweltering heat.

On another note, let's hope this is the last we will see of Gaudin. Seriously, enough already. Boone Logan returned yet again today, but it was in place of Damaso Marte, who landed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.

The few bright spots for the Yankees today? Home runs by Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada. That really was about it. Oh, and Joe Buck was working the other Fox game though Tim McCarver manage to rile Yankees fans when he compared the Yankees organization to Nazi Germany.

Here's hoping Andy Pettitte's "Journey to Comfort" includes taking the series with a win on Sunday.

Breaking News: Rays Do Not Acquire Bay

It has not been confirmed yet, but MLB.com is reporting that the Rays will acquire Jason Bay from the Pirates for highly regarded prospects, shortstop Reid Brignac and pitcher Jeff Niemann.

UPDATE 4:15 P.M. EDT
Ken Rosenthal says the deal is dead. MLB.com was premature in reporting the deal, which is not likely to happen at this point.

Breaking News: Rays Do Not Acquire Bay

It has not been confirmed yet, but MLB.com is reporting that the Rays will acquire Jason Bay from the Pirates for highly regarded prospects, shortstop Reid Brignac and pitcher Jeff Niemann.

UPDATE 4:15 P.M. EDT
Ken Rosenthal says the deal is dead. MLB.com was premature in reporting the deal, which is not likely to happen at this point.