Yankees News & Notes: Thursday 6/21/12

Baseball works in strange ways. One day, your favorite team is on a roll and has their first ten-game winning streak in seven years, and just a few days later, they're heading to an off-day while reeling from a home series loss. Alas. They hadn't lost a series at home in a month (5/18-5/20, when they lost to the Reds), so it was bound to happen sooner or later. Anyway, it's Subway Series time again, as the Yankees and Mets play three games at Citi Field starting Friday.

• Breaking news from Forbes: Closers (and relievers in general) are not worth the money they're paid on the open market. I really hope Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenners realize this so they don't make any Papelbon-esque contract signings in the future. Just get a kid to do it on the cheap. No, not that kid.
• The Yankees signed Cuban lefty Omar Luis Rodriguez to a minor league deal worth $4-5 million. There was nothing reported on which minor club he will head to, but O-Rod is 19 years old and looks like he has the talent to be a great starter someday:

  Rodriguez, who projects to be a starter, burst onto the international scene during the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship when he struck out eight batters during a complete-game, 144-pitch outing to eliminate Team USA in the semifinals. He led Cuba to a bronze medal and was named to the competition's all-tournament team.

• Mark Teixeira has taken his juice and expects to be back in the lineup on Friday after missing most of today's game due to the line drive he took off his ankle on Tuesday. With all due respect to Eric Chavez, this is good news.
• Unfortunately for Yankees historian Andrew GM Marty Appel, Mickey Mantle's restaurant abruptly shut down. The news would suck anyway, but it is especially disheartening for Appel because he just donated 22 of his personal framed items to the place a few days prior to the declaration of bankruptcy. According to Appel, the bankruptcy court seems to be ignoring this fact and will be putting them up for auction. If true, that's sketchy and a load of crap. Give the man (and the other people who recently donated their personal memorabilia) their stuff back!