Monday morning news as the Yankees head to Detroit to face off against the Tigers in a four game set.
Kevin Millwood exercised the opt out clause in his contract yesterday when the Yankees decided not to add him to the major leagure roster. This came as no surprise, as scouting reports on Millwood have not been very kind to the veteran. Additionally, the Yankees' rotation has been very solid. Overall, the rotation has a 3.93 ERA, a 3.89 FIP, and a 3.91 xFIP (Link to Fangraphs). Remove Phil Hughes' 13.94 ERA, 8.58 FIP, and 6.41 xFIP, and those numbers will see a nice improvement.
Joe Girardi is "concerned" over Phil Hughes' impending exam with Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis. He had this to say about Hughes:
I think any time any guys have an exam you're concerned, its something that you go through during the course of the season with multiple players and you just want to see the young man be OK and get back on the field. I do have a concern tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Yankee fans can take a collective sigh of relief with regards to Robinson Cano. The second baseman left yesterday's game with what has diagnosed as a bruise in the palm of his left hand. Precautionary X-rays were taken after the game, and thankfully, the results came back negative. Kevin Long expects Cano to be ready for tonight's game in Detroit.
Speaking of the hitting coach, Long is showing optimism when it comes to Derek Jeter. He had this to say about the captain:
His at-bats have been better. He seems to be more comfortable at the plate. I see his BP being really good right now. I'm waiting for that game to come where he drives a few balls and kind of turns it around like everybody else. I'm comfortable where he is at what he is doing.
I was particularly happy to hear this. It'd be nice if Jeter could start improving on his 9.6 line drive percentage and his worm-burning 72.3 ground ball percentage (Link to Fangraphs).
Sometimes, I really wonder how "Featured Columnists" such as Shaun McPartlin of Bleacher Report come up with such ridiculous ideas. Its amazing that these deals are centered around Jesus Montero. Oh, and how about this one? I think the straight-up deal of Ervin Santana for Jesus Montero is my favorite.
You really can't make this stuff up, can you?