Well, that didn't take long. 

Today's game has been postponed by rain.  No makeup date has been announced as of yet.

At least we now won't have to watch Kei Igawa pitch this week.

UPDATE:

Today's Scranton game has also been postponed due to rain so Kennedy's scheduled start will be pushed back until tomorrow.  Unfortunately, that means he won't be available to pitch Friday and another Igawa start is a possibility this weekend against the Mets.

In the understatement of the season, I think it's safe to say that all the extra running during Spring Training hasn't helped keep the Yanks healthy through the first 38 games.

Pete Abe reports that Wilson Betemit has become the fourteenth and latest Yankee to be placed on the 15-day disabled list after leaving today's game with a strained hamstring.

Alberto Gonzalez will be recalled from Scranton to take his spot on the roster.

Truth be told, while I'm not the type of person to wish injury on someone, I don't think this one hurts the Yanks very much.  I preferred to keep Gonzalez on the roster anyways because of his versatility and sure-handedness on defense, which was something this team clearly lacked.

Meanwhile, Jon Albaladejo has been diagnosed with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in addition to a strain of the posterior capsule.  Surgery does not appear likely at this point but he's not expected back for awhile.

Pete Abe reports that Jon Albaladejo is the twelfth Yankee this season to be placed  on disabled list after feeling a needle-like pain followed by a burning sensation in his elbow during tonight's outing in relief of Kei Igawa (more on him in a bit).

What all that means is anyone's guess but the short answer is that he's headed back to NY to have an MRI on that elbow.  The best part of this equation is Chris Britton, who the team just demoted a few hours ago, will once again turn around and come back to take Albaladejo's spot in the pen.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but something tells me we've seen this before. </sarcasm>

Switching gears towards Igawa, I found his post game thoughts to be incredibly entertaining, courtesy of Kat O'Brien:

 

Kei Igawa's first major league start may have been even worse than the numbers indicate. And that's even with him giving up six earned runs on 11 hits in three innings plus four batters. The Tigers had just two (TWO!!) swings and misses against him in 64 pitches. That's brutal.

Yet, after the game, Igawa seemed to have no realization how badly he pitched. He said he wished he had gotten more strikeouts, and that the Tigers found holes with their ground balls. Really?? They launched shots to the outfield all game against him. Joe Girardi said Igawa only commanded his fastball for strikes. Igawa, though, said he thought his changeup was good and slider not too bad.

 

What can you do but shake your head and laugh?

Perhaps those infamous shades he used to wear to the mound did more than protect his eyes from the sun because he must not have seen the dozen or so rockets that were hammered all over the ballpark tonight.

My only hope is that his performance eliminates any plans to ever have this guy start another game for the New York Yankees.  Call up a kid from Scranton (oh, let's see, maybe Ian Kennedy?) who at least has a fighting chance to get big league hitters out and learn to live with the growing pains.

Here are a few notes...

• Phil Hughes is has gone to the Eye Doctor's for glasses. Apparentely he is nearsighted. No word yet on whether he would need them when he's pitching, but I somehow doubt it. I'll ask him soon.
• Jose Veras is here at Yankee Stadium, taking the spot of Phil Hughes, who, incase some of you have been living under a rock for the past couple of days, has a cracked rib.
• Since Monday is an off-day, the Yankees will be skipping Ian Kennedy's start. The Yankees won't need their No. 5 starter until May 10th, and the Yankees are still discussing whether or not it will be Kennedy. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

As I get ready to sit down in the Press Box to watch the Yankees take on the Tigers in the final game of their three-game series, I figured this would be the perfect time to introduce myself to the readers of Pinstripe Alley. My name is Gaz Tavares and I am nearly positive that none of you have ever heard of me. Assuming that you haven’t, I will tell you a little bit about myself, what I do for a living, as well as what I am going to do for Pinstripe Alley. I hope you find this informative and helpful.

Well, let's see. As you already know, my name is Gaz Tavares, and I am 28 years old. I'm a huge Yankees fan, probably like most of you reading this. I have been a die-hard Yankee fan since birth, mainly because of the influence of my dad. He was also a huge Yankee fan and used to always take me to Yankee Stadium to watch games and cheer for our favorite Yankees. I currently reside in Orlando, Florida.

 I am a New York Yankees Beat Writer for a small paper based out of Florida. Why does a newspaper in Florida cover the Yankees, you may ask. Simple. The editor of my newspaper, John Parsons, grew up in New York City and loved the Yankees. He later moved to Florida and discovered that there was quite a few Yankee fans in the Orlando area. So he decided to start a newspaper delivering all of the news in Florida and New York. Naturally, that included the Yankees. He figured that the fans in Florida should be able to enjoy the same perks of having a Yankee Beat Writer covering their favorite team that the people in New York do. So he contacted me one day and asked if I was up for it.

What I will try to do here is give you an inside look at the Yankees and a little taste of what goes into finding that out. If this is informative, great. Hopefully it will be entertaining, too. I also plan on posting my newspaper articles on Pinstripe Alley, too. Have a question about the Yankees, the blog or what I'm writing in the paper? Drop me at an email at tavares.gaz@gmail.com and I'll answer you ASAP.

Well, that's all for now. Cheers!

I just heard Cashman being interviewed on the YES postgame and he stated that A-Rod has been placed on the 15-day DL as a result of re-aggravating his quad over the weekend in Cleveland.

In medical terms, the MRI revealed that he has a Grade 2 quadriceps strain.

Damn.  Who's next?

UPDATE:

Pete Caldera has this little nugget on the corresponding roster move:

Cashman said the Yankees (14-14) were expected to call up another pitcher, possibly reliever Chris Britton, since Hughes taxed the bullpen again. Wilson Betemit (conjunctivitis) is improved enough to begin a rehab assignment at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre today, and he could fill A-Rod's roster spot later this week.

Chris Britton?  Are you kidding me?  I hope he didn't unpack his suitcase.

At this point, I don't care who they recall from Scranton as long as Girardi uses him.  It makes no sense to have a fresh body sitting in the pen to simply rot while the rest of the pen not named Mo or Joba continues to get overworked.

For the first time in his career, Jorge Posada is headed to the DL and it could be a long time before we see him behind the plate again. 

Unfortunately, the shoulder injury that has plagued the Yankee catcher since the first week of the season appears to be a very serious one and could require season-ending surgery, although Posada himself somewhat downplayed that notion in his YES postgame interview.

Posada is scheduled to be examined later this week by Dr. James Andrews, which is never a good thing.

Obviously, losing Posada for any extended period of time would be an enormous blow to this club because he is irreplaceable in so many ways.  Let's keep out collective fingers crossed and hope for the best.

In the meantime, recently acquired Chris Stewart has been promoted from Scranton to take Posada's spot on the roster and backup Jose Molina. 

Although Chad Moeller was DFA'd on Friday, there's a chance the Yanks could get him back if he clears waivers.  Even if that does indeed happen, he will not be available to the Yanks for 10 days.

Poll

Posada to the DL. How worried are we?

• Jorge was the one irreplaceable Yankee. Code Red.
• One of the big cogs just went down. Panic.
• You can't plan injuries, but you have to expect them. Concerned, and watching how the FO handles things.
• The other players just have to step up- and they will. Disappointed but Hopeful.
• Molina's the better everyday option anyway. No worries.

  223 votes | Results

Both LoHud and NYTimes have posts up about Joe Girardi's secretive approach with the media.

Unlike the reporters, I don't really mind receiving less information than we have in the past. Sure I'd like constant updates on the health and availability of every player, but I've grown up watching the Steinbrenner Yankees, so I'm used to not knowing.

But I want to focus on something Joe G. said last night: I was wondering why Joe G. didn't just say, "Well, my opinion is this, but I want to talk to my coaches before committing to anything" or "I liked what I saw, but we're going to make that decision as a group" or something similar.

Well the reason not to say it is that he's worried about letting disagreements between manager and GM become public knowledge.

For Cashman's entire tenure as GM, he worked with an old school manager who had the support of the NY press, and a championship resume; because of this, when Joe Torre wanted something (Miguel Cairo, Jesse Orosco, Jeff Nelson) he usually got his way.

Last year's Joba Rules were a pointed break in that approach.

Joe G. came into the Yankees job with several important members of his coaching staff already in place, most notably pitching coach Dave Eiland. That's obviously a Cashman decision.

I wonder if Cashman in pulling more strings, and infringing on what Girardi feels is his role as manager. His breakup with the Marlins was over just those issues.

Things just keep getting worse for Brian Bruney.

Pete Abe is now reporting that Bruney is going to require surgery for his torn ligament and will likely miss the remainder of the season as a result of a Lisfranc injury he suffered on Tuesday night.

He also reports that both Jonathon Albaladejo and Chris Britton are with the team and available to pitch tonight.

Although not official, it appears as if Ross Ohlendorf will be sent down to Scranton.  Damn.

At least there's some positive news to report.  Alex Rodriguez tested his leg in the outfield today and looked fine, so he is penciled in the starting lineup.

 

UPDATE:

Ed Price reports that Chad Moeller has been designated for assignment to make room for Chris Britton.  He also speculates that Britton may be sent back down tomorrow (it's deja vu all over again) and Shelley Duncan will be recalled.

Stay tuned.

Pete Abe has the latest: