Cano and Mo Steal the Show: Yankees Comeback to Beat the Dodgers in 10 Innings

The Yankees looked down and out when the Dodgers brought in Jonathan Broxton with a four run lead in the ninth inning, but the Bombers soon changed that.

Broxton struck out Teixeira to start the inning, but the wheels fell off the wagon shortly after.

A-Rod singled to left, Robinson Cano followed with an RBI double to right field, cutting the lead to three runs.

After a very lengthy at-bat, Jorge Posada ripped a single to right field, putting runners at the corners with one out, followed by Granderson’s walk to load the bases.

The rookie, Chad Huffman, after a long at-bat, hit a two-run single to right field, bringing the Yankees to within a run of the lead, with Granderson standing on third.

Fellow rookie Colin Curtis grounded out to first base, James Loney’s throw back to the plate was not in time, as Granderson scored to tie the game at six runs a piece.

With Huffman at second and first base open, Broxton intentionally walked Derek Jeter, bringing up pinch hitter Francisco Cervelli, who grounded out to end the inning.

Broxton ended up throwing 48 pitches and allowing four runs in one inning, certainly his worst outing of the year.

Mariano Rivera sent the game to extra innings after a controversial one-two-three inning in the bottom of the ninth, in which Garret Anderson was ejected and Joe Torre voiced his opinions to home plate umpire Chris Guccione and his strike zone.

Teixeira led off the top of the tenth with a base hit to right, A-Rod grounded into a force out, leading Joe Torre to bring in George Sherrill to replace Ramon Troncoso, with Robinson Cano coming up.

At first it looked like a smart move by Torre, since Cano had been 0-11 against Sherrill coming into the game. Apparently, Torre and Sherrill hadn’t received the memo that Cano is the best hitter in the Majors.

After swinging at a slider for strike one, Cano launched his 15th home run to center field, giving the Yankees an 8-6 lead heading to the bottom of the 10th.

Rivera allowed a lead-off single by James Loney, but after Russell Martin was called out on strikes and was ejected for slamming and breaking his bat, Reed Johnson struck out and Jamey Carroll grounded out to Jeter to end the game.

Rivera won the game after pitching two innings for the second time in the past week, each of the last two series have ended in extra innings with Rivera going two innings both times.

The Yankees won their first series against a Joe Torre managed team since his departure from New York, and also managed to keep Manny Ramirez in the park over the three games.

Next up, the Yankees welcome the Seattle Mariners to town on Tuesday, after the travel day on Monday. Phil Hughes will be opposite Cliff Lee, marking Lee’s first game at Yankee Stadium since his dominant performance in game one of last years World Series.

The Yankees Unusual and Unexpected Road to the Top of the AL East

If I told you before the season that Derek Jeter would have a worse batting average than Nick Swisher in the middle of June, you probably would have said “Are you crazy?”, or something of that nature.

Now that we are in the middle of June, and Swisher does have a higher batting average than Jeter, you have to wonder how the Yankees are in first place.

Well, to say the least, it has been quite an unusual year for the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees have been thrust into first place by several unexpected seasons by players that you least expected a big year from.

Phil Hughes has been a major boost for the Yanks this year, now 10-1 on the season, which is the best record on the team. Hughes is arguably the best starter this year, and has certainly been a big surprise for the Yankees.

Brett “the Jet” Gardner has become a big part of the Yankee offense this year. He is hitting .320, with 49 runs scored, and has swiped 23 bases in 28 attempts. His speed has been a refreshing new look for the Yankees.

Many Yankee fans, including myself, were very worried about not resigning Johnny Damon, but after the start that Gardner has had, I think we can all happily say “Johnny who?”.

Another player who has really come into his own and has official staked his claim as the best second baseman in baseball is Robinson Cano.

Not only is he leading the Majors in hitting, but he leads the Yankees in nearly every offensive category, hits, RBI, home runs, you name it he’s leading the way. Not to mention his 1.009 OPS for the season.

Nick Swisher is yet another player having a career year and giving the Yankees all that he can. Heading into tonight, Swisher is hitting a career high .298 (nearly 50 points higher than his career average), and has driven in 44 RBI to the tune of 11 home runs.

But the one, that I think nobody saw coming, is ageless Andy Pettitte. After another strong outing last night, Andy is now 9-2 on the year, with a 2.48 ERA. He is having a career year at age 38 and just might get another shot at the Cy Young award.

Not too shabby for a guy that is on the brink of retirement every year.

So in a year when Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, A.J. Burnett, Javier Vazquez, and 90% of the bullpen have all struggled, I find it pretty amazing that the Yankees sit atop the AL East with the best record in baseball.

Updated AL All-Star Ballot: Jeter and Cano Still Ahead

Balloting for the American League All-Star team is not over, not until July 1st, and the Yankees currently have two players with the most amount of votes for their positions, SS Derek Jeter and 2B Robinson Cano.

Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and Jorge Posada are all in second place at their respective positions, but only Teixeira is close enough to still have a chance. In the outfield the Yankees don’t have anybody in the top three or four, but they are currently holding down spots five, six, and eight with Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Brett Gardner in those spots respectively.

Swisher has been putting together a great season so until the voting is over and done with I’m not going to count him out. He’s even campaigning for it using his Twitter account.

Here are the most recent numbers:

2010 MLB All-Star Balloting : American League
1st Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Justin Morneau	Twins	1,752,276
2.	Mark Teixeira	Yankees	1,507,769
3.	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	1,426,973
4.	Kevin Youkilis	Red Sox	805,244
5.	Carlos Pena	Rays	620,001
2nd Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Robinson Cano	Yankees	2,330,278
2.	Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	1,227,495
3.	Ian Kinsler	Rangers	1,075,296
4.	Orlando Hudson	Twins	848,402
5.	Ben Zobrist	Rays	648,641
3rd Base
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Evan Longoria	Rays	2,534,967
2.	Alex Rodriguez	Yankees	1,571,831
3.	Michael Young	Rangers	1,007,165
4.	Adrian Beltre	Red Sox	608,447
5.	Brandon Inge	Tigers	530,882
Shortstop
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Derek Jeter	Yankees	2,692,418
2.	Elvis Andrus	Rangers	1,319,827
3.	J.J. Hardy	Twins	770,373
4.	Jason Bartlett	Rays	639,244
5.	Alex Gonzalez	Blue Jays	556,965
Catcher
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Joe Mauer	Twins	3,280,565
2.	Jorge Posada	Yankees	1,043,748
3.	Victor Martinez	Red Sox	689,568
4.	Taylor Teagarden	Rangers	433,413
5.	Gerald Laird	Tigers	366,922
Designated Hitter
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Vladimir Guerrero	Rangers	2,316,229
2.	Hideki Matsui	Angels	1,009,648
3.	David Ortiz	Red Sox	746,316
4.	Ken Griffey Jr.	Mariners	736,918
5.	Jason Kubel	Twins	654,269
Outfield
RANK	PLAYER NAME	AL TEAM	TOTAL VOTES
1.	Ichiro Suzuki	Mariners	1,567,788
2.	Carl Crawford	Rays	1,445,615
3.	Josh Hamilton	Rangers	1,431,013
4.	Nelson Cruz	Rangers	1,377,399
5.	Nick Swisher	Yankees	1,049,047
6.	Curtis Granderson	Yankees	967,003
7.	Torii Hunter	Angels	943,814
8.	Brett Gardner	Yankees	942,338
9.	Magglio Ordonez	Tigers	869,231
10.	B.J. Upton	Rays	831,580
11.	Vernon Wells	Blue Jays	820,377
12.	Michael Cuddyer	Twins	774,088
13.	Austin Jackson	Tigers	764,488
14.	Bobby Abreu	Angels	703,134
15.	Denard Span	Twins	691,164
Results updated: Monday, June 21, 2010

Yankees Notes: Hughes, Cano, Sanit, Posada, Aceves, Duncan, Single-A All-Stars

Phil Hughes and Robinson Cano lead the Yankees to a 8-2 victory over the Indians. Here are some notes:

• Hughes (6-1, 2.70) started off the game by striking out 5 batters. His line: 7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K.
• Cano went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a walk. His average: .351.
• 30-year-old Amaury Sanit (1-2, 8.69), who has been pitching for Triple-A Scranton, has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for PED’s.
• The boot came off Jorge Posada’s foot, but they still don’t have a timeline for his return.
• Alfredo Aceves got another epidural so far no surgery, they’re going to try rehab.
• Shelley Duncan is back in town and shared that he got his World Series ring in the mail and that it helps him fit in with his father and brother better.
• Five players from Single-A Tampa made the FSL All-Star team: C Mitch Abeita, OF Jack Rye, IF Corban Joseph, RHP Adam Warren, and RHP Hector Noesi.

Mitch Abeita is one of the nicest and honest guys I’ve had the pleasure of coming across in baseball, but I don’t understand how he made the All-Star team. Abeita’s OPS: .621. Pitchers must love working with him.

The Yankees Long List of Injuries, Updated

If you haven’t read it already, be sure to check out Brian’s article on the Yankees’ lack of roster flexibility and how it has hurt them recently. For an explanation on why they have so little flexibility right now, I thought I’d run down the list of injuries the Yankees have been dealing with so far this season that has stunted their hot start.

Injury Roll Call

Jorge Posada: Posada is having a downright phenomenal season this year, but he has missed quite a few games due to various injuries. Actually, his list of injuries is probably the longest on this list. So far he’s missed time because he was hit on the knee with a pitch, suffered a calf strain, and lately he has been missing time because of a foot injury he sustained this past Sunday when one of the Twins fouled a pitch off of it. These injuries have not killed the Yankees because Francisco Cervelli has played so damn well, but it has thinned out their bench.

Derek Jeter: Jeter has played in 38 of the Yankees 39 games so far this season, but he has been dealing with various bumps and bruises that would keep normal ball players out of games. Most notably was when he was hit on the hand by a Justin Verlander fastball in Detroit a week ago. His average hasn’t dropped much since then, but it seems to have been keeping him from driving the ball with consistency.

Robinson Cano: Like Jeter, Cano’s injury has been very minor. He was hit on the knee with a Josh Beckett fastball a little over a week ago. Cano hasn’t missed any time because of it, but he did come out of that game and his average has dropped over 25 points since then. That’s probably due to regression, but these type of little things tend to add up over a season.

Curtis Granderson: Granderson’s injury has strained the Yankees more than most. He injured his left groin on May 1st and hasn’t played since. This has weakened the Yankees defense by forcing Marcus Thames to play more than his share in the outfield and has severely depleted their bench for the same reason. When Granderson comes back it will be a big immediate lift to this team.

Nick Swisher: Swisher injured his biceps between games during a double-header in Detroit a week ago and hasn’t played consistently since. This was an early season injury that he largely ignored, but since it flared up again the injury, combined with Granderson’s injury, has left the Yankees outfield in shambles and was possibly one of the biggest reasons the Yankees lost last night.

Nick Johnson: Johnson has missed time this season after simple sessions in the batting cage left him sore, but his latest injury, a wrist injury that could force him to have surgery, is the biggest. This is going to be a huge hole for the Yankees as the summer gets started and one that might sap him of some power even after he returns. Some might have said the Yankees should have seen this coming, but this seems to stem from a wrist injury in 2008 and he did play nearly an entire 2009 season without this being a problem. So, this was definitely one that took the Yankees by surprise.

Andy Pettitte: Pettitte’s last start was a brilliant one, but right up until game time the Yankees had some serious questions about his elbow. It seems that he has recovered from it quickly, but it already caused him to miss one start and could possibly resurface down the road this year.

Alfredo Aceves: Aceves has a bulging disc in his back that has caused him to miss quite a decent amount of time, he hasn’t pitched since May 8th and the Yankees don’t know exactly when he’ll be back. This has been especially taxing on this team as Aceves wears a couple of hats in the bullpen. He’s everything from a long-man to an 8th inning specialist at times. Missing him has already put a tremendous strain on a bullpen that probably is going to struggle with consistency until Aceves returns.

Chan Ho Park: Park missed more than a month of time with a hamstring injury that lingered for some time. Even though he’s back he has already shown that he is coming back with quite a bit of rust. Hopefully he can shake that off quickly and start to return the Yankees pen to some normalcy.

Mariano Rivera: Rivera has not spent time on the DL this season, but he probably should have. Rivera missed almost two weeks at the beginning of the month with stiffness in his right side. Since he has return, he too has shown considerable rust. He blew a save on Sunday and then got the loss last night against Boston. His velocity seems a tick down and his control has been especially bad. Hopefully this is not a lingering issue and Mo regains his patented pinpoint control ASAP.

Thoughts: This team is no where near the 2009 Mets yet, but things have to start straightening up for them soon or the Rays could start pulling away and the Red Sox will start gaining ground. The outfield and bullpen have been especially bad for them. That should change soon, at least in the outfield, where Swisher isn’t expected to miss a ton of time and Granderson is probably a week or so away from a return.

The interesting thing will be to see what the Yankees do at DH. Will they just wait patiently for Johnson to return? Or will they make a trade or call somebody up (Jesus Montero)?

Update Wed 6:12: Here are some of the most recent updates on these players”

Swisher still isn’t available tonight and admitted that the injury is worse than he initially let on. A trip to the DL still isn’t likely, but it explains why he’s still out.

The Yankees also sent Posada in for a MRI today because his foot has not gotten better the way they have expected it to.

Aceves received a cortisone shot on Friday to alleviate some pain. He’s expected to play catch tomorrow.

Injury Bug Continues to Plague Yankees

Photo Credit to Getty Images

After a 10-3 drubbing of the Red Sox last night, the talk of the town was on the health of the Yankees instead of the fantastic pitching by Phil Hughes.  Coming into this series the Yankees had their share of dings and dents, but after game one the list has gotten longer.

In the 5th inning, last night, Marcus Thames pinch hit for Nick Johnson, which promptly raised a few eyebrows.  It had appeared that nothing serious had become of NJ, but as the game progressed news broke that NJ was battling a wrist injury and it forced him from the game.  Johnson is going to be put on the DL.  Utilityman Kevin Russo is being called up to take his spot on the 25-man roster.  Russo plays all over the infield and has even seen some time in the outfield this season in Scranton.  With various Yankees being dinged up, Russo’s positional flexibility will be very helpful.

Later in the game Boston starter Josh Beckett really struggled with his command and hit Robinson Cano on the inside of his left knee.  It was definitely unintentional, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Robbie was forced to leave the game.  Cano is not expected to go on the DL, but he is not in the lineup today and probably will sit again tomorrow.  Ramiro Pena will start at second while Cano is out. UPDATE: According to Mark Feinsand, Cano will take batting practice and may play in today’s game.  If I were Girardi I would err on the side of caution and let Cano have a day to rest, but that’s just me. UPDATE (2:55): Cano is the DH today and will bat 5th.

Joe Pawlikowski at River Ave Blues did a great job breaking down the Yankees possible roster moves to counter their injuries.  I’d say the best option is for a rainout today; the Yanks could use a day off to recover.

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On a positive note, did everyone thoroughly enjoy the Phil Hughes show last night?  I sure did.  I really can’t get over how great he has been this season.  Last night’s line was 7IP 7H 2R 1BB 7K.  Always great when a start like that raises his ERA to 1.69.  Let’s just sit back and enjoy watching him develop right in front us.  From Ben Shpigel, “Phil Hughes is youngest Yankee to win first four decisions of a season as SP since Whitey Ford (21) began 1950 at 9-0.”  That’s not too shabby eh?

What if the Texas Rangers had picked Robinson Cano?

On February 16, 2004 the Texas Rangers traded the 2003 AL MVP, Alex Rodriguez, to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later. The Yankees reportedly gave the Rangers a list of minor leaguers and they were told to select one. The Rangers made their decision, and on April 23, 2004 the Yankees sent Joaquin Arias to the Rangers to complete the trade. Arias was not the only minor leaguer on the list the Yankees gave to Texas of course one of the more interesting names to accompany Arias was Robinson Cano a 21 year old infielder from the Dominican. The rest is history as Miquel Cairo played second for the Yanks in 2004 then Robinson Cano was called up in 2005 and has put together a great career so far, but what if Texas had selected Cano instead of Arias?

If Texas would’ve kept Cano in their system and not traded him he likely would’ve been called up in 2006 when Alfonso Soriano was traded to the Nationals, and his career would’ve took off from there but how would this change have affected the Yankees? The Yankees should consider themselves lucky the Rangers chose Arias instead of Cano, because an outlook on how things could have turned out at 2nd aren’t great. The Yankees signed Tony Womack going into the ’05 season and without Cano there to force Womack off of second the Yankees may have had to live with Womack, who had his worst career year in 2005 with the Yankees. After the 2005 season there was a minimum amount of talent available at second in free agency so the starting 2nd base job possibly would have been a spring training battle between minor leaguers Andy Cannizaro, Caonabo Cosme, Kevin Escalona, Russ Johnson, and Andy Phillips. If you are interested not one of those guys are currently in the MLB or on any MLB minor league affiliate. Knowing the Yankees brass it is safe to say Brian Cashman would have made some sort of deal to get an everyday second basemen but the likelihood is still that player would not be what Robinson Cano is now. Robinson Cano now in his 6th MLB season has made strides to be a complete player; he is a top tier hitter, a top tier defender, and has demonstrated above average power.

To think only 6 years ago Cano was almost a player to be named later, thats right he could have been the PTBNL scrolling across the bottom line on ESPN when the A-Rod for Soriano deal was announced. Now the Yankees are 16-8 a season after winning their 27th title and Robinson Cano with 9 HR 21 RBI and a .387 AVG leads the Yankees in all three categories, thank you John Hart you deserve your own plaque amoung all the Yankee greats.

Read: Burnett and Cano Turning Careers Around

The Yankees won yesterday behind stellar performances from starter AJ Burnett and second baseman Robinson Cano so naturally they were the subject of quite a few stories today. Joel Sherman of the NY Post had a particularly good one that you should check out.

In Cano’s piece he discussed how rarely the Yankees offer their young players longterm contracts, but in Cano’s case they made an exception and it looks like it will pay off:

But the Yanks did commit to Robinson Cano after the 2007 season and before what would have been his first arbitration hearing. The guaranteed portion of the contract was just four years at $28 million, but included club options for 2012 at $14 million and 2013 at $15 million.

Cano would have been in arbitration all of these years and a free agent after the 2011 season if the contract were not signed. So, at this point, this looks like a money saver for the Yankees. For at this point, Cano has the look of someone who has graduated from a very good player to something more special than that.

In the part about Burnett, Sherman notes how since 2008 he has been a different than he was early in his career:

But Burnett said something in spring training that really struck me. He explained that it was ridiculous and unacceptable that a pitcher with his skill had managed just to win 100 games overall and be just 100-85 for a decade-long career. He sounded not like a con man, but like a talented pitcher who maybe had a light go on about maximizing that talent.

He is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA this season. But maybe we should take a step back now and notice that Burnett is actually 34-19 with a 3.94 ERA since the beginning of the 2008 season. So he is 15 games over .500 for that period in a career in which he is just 18 over. More important, the once fragile Burnett has made 72 regular-season starts in that period. Only three pitchers have made more: Detroit’s Justin Verlander and Atlanta’s Derek Lowe, who have 73 each, and his teammate, CC Sabathia, who has 74.

Even though they still have to manage to keep up their performances for it to make a difference, but the Yankees took some big risks with Cano and Burnett by giving them such huge contracts. It was no guarantee that Cano would mature into this player and Burnett could very well have been the next Carl Pavano. However, both have taken their careers very seriously and the Yankees are reaping all of the benefits.

Yes, Burnett can still be inconsistent and Cano will occasionally be a streaky hitter, but Cano has carried this team early this season with both Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez under-performing. Burnett has also pitched quite a few very important innings and it appears that he will be ready to pitch quite a few more. Every now and then he has a clunker, but when he is on nobody can hit him.

What Do Early Struggles/Success Mean for Teixeira and Cano?

Early in the Yankees season the two biggest stories in the Bronx have been the April struggles of Mark Teixeira, again, and the hot start by the Yankees new number five hitter in the order, Robinson Cano. Last season both players had similar starts to their seasons but what do these starts mean for them this year?

Mark Teixeira

April 2010: 20 GP 10 hits 2 HR 9 RBI 15 BB 18 K .133 AVG

April 2009: 19 GP 14 hits 3 HR 10 RBI 17 BBs 12 K .200 AVG

May 2009: 28 GP 38 hits 13 HR 34 RBI 10 BB 24 K .330 AVG

What this means: Last April was the worst opening month of Teixeira’s career, and then this season started. Teixeira’s ’09 April is a MVP month compared to this April as Teixeira’s average is 67 points lower this April. Yes his HR and RBI numbers will likely still be at the norm for Tex come September, but his average it seems like may suffer due to his start. If Mark has a May identical to the one he had last season his average will be at .252 (after May last season his average went up to .281). If Mark wants to get to at least where he was last year he will probably have to have three months like his 2009 September (when he hit .343). Some people don’t care to much about average but would you be OK with Teixeira putting up 2006 Jason Giambi numbers (37 HR 113 RBI .253 AVG)? In my opinion as long as Mark’s situational numbers  are up at the end of the season the Yankees can survive a steep dip in his average.

Robinson Cano

April 2010: 20 GP 30 hits 6 HR 15 RBI 6 BB 10 K .390 AVG

April 2009: 22 GP 34 hits 5 HR 16 RBI 6 BBs 9 K .366 AVG

May 2009: 28 GP 31 hits 4 HR 15 RBI 4 BB 6 K .272 AVG

What this means: Last April with A-Rod out the Yankees struggled, but they stayed afloat due to some guys, like Cano, having hot starts to the season. Then coming into this year people saw the potential for even bigger things from Cano, because of the departure of Hideki Matsui he would get a chance to bat fifth and he hasn’t disappointed. Cano early on has done the impossible by topping his April 2009 with a monstrous start to the 2010 season. When he comes up no one watching expects him to get out, and his .390 average through 20 games leads the entire MLB. The only trips in Cano’s step last season were his May/June numbers where he hit a still very respectable .272 and .270 respectively. Cano in his career has always warmed up with the weather, hitting 37 points higher post all star game then pre-all star game and those pre numbers will be the key to his season. If Cano can keep his “bad” months to one instead of two he will likely have a season just like his 2006 where he hit .342. It is hard to imagine Cano slowing down looking very comfortable in his new spot in the order. My guess is Cano will compete with his 2006 numbers and likely even make a strong case for AL MVP.

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Notes and Quotes: Vazquez, Joba, Cano, and Swisher

Good evening Bronx Baseball Daily readers. Some of you might have noticed our lack of updates this morning. First, we didn’t have a game recap because the west coast trip the Yankees are on is hard to stay awake for and in an effort to stay up late last night I accidentally caused myself to sleep in today. Also, we had some server issues this morning and it may have been hard for people to access the site.

Things are good to go now though and I’m excited. Actually I am excited that Javier Vazquez finally got his first win and that Phil Hughes is making his second start of the season tonight.

Notes

• Vazquez got his first win with the Yankees since 2004, but it wasn’t exactly pretty. He is starting to come around though, he threw more pitches for strikes and his velocity was up, if only slightly, last night. He only went as high as 91.4 mph, but he was sitting 89-90 for a while which is better than he was.
• Joba Chamberlain came in yesterday and pitched very well. He got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the 7th and pitched a strong 8th. His velocity has been improving each game. It is doubtful to ever get back to where it once was, but he was in the 96 mph range yesterday. He also appears to have won the 8th inning job.
• Robinson Cano kept his great season going by walking three times last night. Obviously that’s not usually that big a deal, but coming from Cano it shows that he has matured as a hitter. He is having a great season, but realize that even those he is currently OPS’ing a whopping 1.028 his OPS with RISP is only .706.
• Nick Swisher went 1-for-4 yesterday picking up a pair of RBI’s. It snapped an 0-for-16 slide and got his average up to .205. If you are worried about him though you probably shouldn’t be. It’s early. Less than a week ago his average was up to .308. This early your numbers look bad if you go through even a very small slump.

Quotes

Vazquez on his night: “My mechanical stuff still is off but it was an improvement from my first couple starts,” Vazquez said. “That’s my weakness, mechanics, through my career. I just need to get it back. The first two games were tough. I can’t hide that, but it’s still early in the season and there are still a lot of games to be played.”

Girardi on Vazquez’s start: “We think he’s going in the right direction,” Girardi said. “I like the way he finished. I think it’s important for him to get that under his belt.”

Up Next

• The Yankees have Phil Hughes on the mound tonight. He’s taking on a tough pitcher in Ben Sheets tonight, but after his last start he has the potential to match up against most pitchers right now. Consider this, the Yankees might be un-slumpable this season. Even if Hughes doesn’t pitch well tonight, they still have a pretty damn good shot at winning this series with CC Sabathia on the mound tomorrow.