Yankees News

"The Yankees took yet another injury hit last night when Ivan Rodriguez went down with a bruised right knee that leaves his status as day-to-day. Rodriguez, who was acquired last week from the Tigers, was on the receiving end of a collision at the plate with Rangers leftfielder David Murphy in the bottom of the second inning. Rodriguez caught the throw from rightfielder Bobby Abreu and held on despite the force of Murphy bowling into him. But Rodriguez remained on the ground and had to leave the game. He has a bruised right knee and is considered day-to-day. Murphy also left the game with a left knee sprain."

"Phil Hughes, rehabbing from a fractured rib, could be two minor-league starts away from providing help to the Yankee rotation. Hughes starts tonight for Triple-A Scranton, and is expected to throw in the area of 60 pitches. His next outing would be an 80-pitch effort. After that it would go to 95. Considering Joba Chamberlain went on the DL yesterday and Ian Kennedy and Dan Giese are starting this week against the Angels in Anaheim, could Hughes make that 95-pitch start in the big leagues? "It's possible," manager Joe Girardi said. Hughes went 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA in six starts before going on the DL in late April. In two games for Charleston (Single-A), Hughes went 2-0 and threw 62/3 ..."

"Joba Chamberlain is on the disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis in the right shoulder, and nobody knows if the Yankees' best pitcher will work again this season. And if Chamberlain does return, could he be sent back to the bullpen to reduce the stress on the hinge? Tendinitis was diagnosed by Dr. Stuart Hershon and Dr. James Andrews yesterday after Chamberlain was examined in Pensacola, Fla., a day after Hershon, the Yankees' team doctor, stuffed Chamberlain into the Carl Pavano Memorial MRI tube in New York. Chamberlain has been told to rest for about a week and start a throwing program shortly after the seven-day period expirers. He will be evaluated throughout the process and ..."

"Joe Girardi, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte were thankful for the chance to attend Bobby Murcer's memorial service yesterday near Oklahoma City. Murcer, a popular long-time Yankees and YES broadcaster, died July 12 due to brain cancer. "It was awesome, but hard," Girardi said. "There were a lot of tears. It was sad because we miss Bobby so much." Pettitte and Jeter were the only players to attend. "I felt I needed to go," Pettitte said. "It was a good tribute to him, it was pretty special." Sad Jeter: "They did a real nice job." A number of Yankees executives and staff members attended: general partner Hal Steinbrenner, senior VP Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal, club president Randy Levine, ..."

"They beat the Rangers. Sidney Ponson pitched well. Derek Jeter showed signs of escaping a slump. Mariano Rivera proved his back was OK, and the relievers in front of him were effective. Yet, there was a thick cloud smothering the Yankees' 5-3 win last night in front of 38,638 at Rangers Ballpark. Hours before halting a two-game losing streak, the Yankees learned Joba Chamberlain, their best pitcher, was put on the disabled list with rotator cuff tendinitis. Two innings into the tilt, they watched David Murphy run into Ivan Rodriguez at the plate and leave the recently-acquired catcher on his back with a right knee injury. Though Pudge only suffered a bruised knee, nobody can predict when ..."

"Joe Girardi had all intentions of putting Melky Cabrera back in the lineup for Wednesday night's game, but a late change of heart by the manager left the center fielder, who is 0-for-13 in August, on the bench for a third straight night. Girardi said the decision had nothing to do with Cabrera, but rather with Alex Rodriguez, who was penciled in as the designated hitter after two hitless nights at third base in the brutal Texas heat. "I planned to play Melky, but I thought A-Rod needed a DH day, which changed the plans a little bit. It's nothing more than that," Girardi said. "We're in a tough stretch of 20 games in a row and you don't want his bat out of the lineup. Two days in the heat ..."

"Even during those times in recent seasons when the Yankees made you think their run of playoff seasons was surely finished, they were never in this kind of trouble with the calendar. Even last season they were clicking by early August, on course to make fools of anyone who had predicted doom for them. So this is different. They have lost Joba Chamberlain to the disabled list late in the season at a time when they already need starting pitching. And they can't be sure they'll see him on the mound again this season. The diagnosis of rotator cuff tendinitis was relatively good news for the Yankees, considering they were concerned enough to send him to see Dr. James Andrews, but it could mean ..."

"Life without Joba Chamberlain isn't going to be easy for the Yankees, but at least it's off to a good start. Sidney Ponson pitched the Yankees to a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers Wednesday night, giving the Bombers a solid performance on a night when they truly needed one. "I just want to get us wins," Ponson said. "I'm trying to go out there every five days and give them a quality start." Wednesday night's 6-1/3-inning, three-run outing against the team that released him earlier this season was a good place to start. Ponson is now 3-1 as a Yankee, having allowed three runs or less in five of his seven starts since joining the Bombers on June 27. "Sidney threw really well here before we ..."

"Joba Chamberlain will miss at least the next two weeks, although the Yankees could be without their young star for considerably longer than that. Chamberlain was diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis after visiting Dr.James Andrews, the renowned orthopedist, Wednesday in Pensacola, Fla. The trip followed two exams by doctors in New York and an MRI Tuesday in New York. The Yankees placed Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list, making him the fifth Yankees starter to spend time there this season. Chamberlain will rest his arm for "approximately a week," then begin a throwing program "shortly thereafter," according to Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo. While that diagnosis leaves open the ..."

"Joba Chamberlain has been placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Yankees, replaced on the roster by reliever Chris Britton. The Yankees had not officially announced the move as of 5:00 pm ET, but Chamberlain's name was not among the 25 players listed on today's lineup sheet in the team's clubhouse. Chamberlain was set to visit renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews today at his Pensacola, Fla., office, but the Yankees have not announced any results. Andrews' lengthy list of patients includes Kerry Woods, John Smoltz and ex-Met Paul Wilson. General manager Brian Cashman is en route back home to New York after attending a memorial service for Bobby Murcer earlier in the day in Oklahoma ..."

"The Yankees have placed starting pitcher Joba Chamberlain on the 15-day disabled list. Chamberlain, who injured his shoulder pitching Monday night against the Rangers, was seen by specialist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., today after undergoing an MRI yesterday. The Yankees, who called up relief pitcher Chris Britton, did not immediately reveal the extent of Chamberlain's injury this afternoon."

"Sure does seem fitting that the fate of the 2008 Yankees season now sits on the shoulders of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who you'd have to rank right now as the Yankees' two most disappointing players. Remember, this Yankees season was supposed to feature the emergence of the youth. It was billed in spring training as a coming-of-age transition year, a season in which team brass essentially banked on their young talented trio of starting pitchers to prove that, yes, you can win and rebuild at the same time. That the Yankees have hung tight in the American League East to this point, with a 61-52 record, is impressive considering they're doing it in spite of two of the three young pitchers ..."

"While the Yankees have placed Carlos Rios and Ramon Valdivia on administrative leave until MLB's investigative unit is done looking into allegations that money from signing bonuses in the Dominican Republic was skimmed, it's believed that the players involved won't become free agents. "It's a scouting thing," a source close to the situation said. "They aren't going to go that route [free agent]." That's a good thing for the Yankees since stud prospect Kelvin DeLeon's name has surfaced in the investigation. DeLeon, a 17-year-old outfielder, was signed for $1.1 million last year and is playing for the Yankees' entry in the Dominican League. According to sources, Rios and Valdivia have had ..."

"When Joba Chamberlain allows Dr. James Andrews to examine his right shoulder today, his team will be very close to going on life support. "It's critical now," Johnny Damon said after last night's 8-6 loss to Texas at Rangers Ballpark dropped the Yankees to 6½ games out of first place and 3½ lengths off the wild-card pace. "We had an opportunity to inch closer [Monday] night and [the Rays and Red Sox] won [last night]. That's not a good combination. This [10-game] road trip is very important and we have started 0-2. With 49 games left, neither deficit is impossible to overcome. However, if you watched the Yankees struggle for runs against neophyte lefty starter Matt Harrison, know that ..."

"THE plan has gone horribly awry. Six months ago, the Yankees were building both their short- and long-term future around young starting pitching. Today? Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are at Triple-A, and - more vitally - the Yanks anxiously will await the results from Dr. James Andrews' examination on Joba Chamberlain's right shoulder. They will hope - pray, sell their souls to the devil - that the news is just bad, and not devastatingly so. Because there is no avoiding bad news. Chamberlain was not sent to Pensacola, Fla., to see Andrews because he was a scared 22-year-old who wanted to have the elite surgeon give a second opinion to confirm a positive first diagnosis by Yankee doctors. ..."

"The road from the Carl Pavano Memorial MRI tube to Dr. James Andrews isn't a path a pitcher wants to travel. Yet, at the Yankees' request, that is the one being taken by Joba Chamberlain, who will have his talented and bothersome right arm examined today by the noted orthopedic surgeon. Though GM Brian Cashman wouldn't comment on why the Yankees are sending their best pitcher to Andrews, the MRI exam taken yesterday at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and read by team doctor Stuart Hershon showed something that warranted a second look. "It was my decision to send him to New York and our decision to send him to see Andrews," Cashman said. Chamberlain, who will see Andrews in Pensacola, ..."

"Joba Chamberlain and the Yankees now get a second opinion on Chamberlain's right shoulder before we even know about the first opinion, provided by an MRI machine in New York City Tuesday. It doesn't mean we will get bad news on Chamberlain today, it just means the kid is on his way to see Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., who as much of a legend as he is in sports medicine doesn't always specialize in good news. And sometimes turns out to be the bogeyman. We don't know if Chamberlain did serious damage to his shoulder the other night, don't know if he is lost for the season, might find out he is missing only a single start. All we know is that the Yankees acted a little bit like a ..."

"On Monday, the Texas Rangers had a dramatic win over the New York Yankees. On Tuesday, they won a game that included a whole lot of drama. And when the 8-6 win was over, the Rangers' third consecutive victory seemed a little secondary to the fallout. While the Rangers remained five games behind Boston in the wild-card race and moved to within 1 ½ games of the Yankees by getting to six games above .500 (60-54) for the first time since June 23, 2006, the fallout is this: C.J. Wilson's days as closer appear to be over. If not forever, probably for the year and certainly for the next two weeks. After a disastrous return to the mound for the first time since Friday, Wilson was placed on the ..."

"C.J. Wilson needed only five batters and one postgame sentence to push Matt Harrison off the front page Tuesday night. The Texas Rangers' closer is headed to the disabled list, and he might not come off it for the rest of the season. Wilson revealed that he has been pitching with bone spurs in his left elbow, and his appearance in the eighth inning of an 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees convinced him that he can be of no help to his team with the elbow issue. He expects to fly to Los Angeles later this week to see Dr. Lewis Yocum for a second opinion on his elbow. "I've been pitching through it, but I can't do the team too much good unless I get healthy," said Wilson, who expects to ..."

"The Yankees have been cool to the idea of bringing Ian Kennedy back to the majors, despite the righthander's solid numbers at Triple-A. But with Joba Chamberlain headed to Alabama to visit Dr. James Andrews, Kennedy appears to be set to receive that call after all. According to a major league source, the Yankees plan to bring Kennedy, 23, back from the minors to start Saturday's game against the Angels in Anaheim, marking his first start for the Bombers since May 27. A source at Triple-A Scranton, however, said that the decision had not been finalized as of Tuesday night, leaving a slight chance that the Yankees could go with Darrell Rasner in Chamberlain's spot. Kennedy was sent down ..."

"The Yankees took the field Tuesday night uncertain about what Joba Chamberlain's future held for the rest of the season. If they keep playing like they did against the Rangers, it won't make much of a difference. Texas beat the Bombers, 8-6, to take the first two games of the four-game series and send the Yankees to their fourth loss in the last six games. After winning eight straight games following the All-Star break, the Yankees have now dropped seven of the last 10. "We've got to find a way to put another streak together," Joe Girardi said. "And we've got to do it fairly quickly." Richie Sexson hit a grand slam in the eighth to make it a ballgame, but it was not enough for the ..."

"If pitching were a natural act, Mike Mussina likes to say, we would all walk around with our arms above our heads. In its essence, pitching is unnatural and damaging to the arm. Teams try to prevent injuries with pitch counts and closely monitored workouts, but it is all about reducing the odds. "When you are a power pitcher - or any pitcher at this level - you're subjecting yourself to injury from time to time," said Harlan Chamberlain, whose son, Joba, had several tests Tuesday on his stiff right shoulder. "It's the nature of the beast." It might have been naïve to think Joba Chamberlain was supposed to be different. But considering the care they took with him, the Yankees never ..."

"Sources say Joba Chamberlain is on his way to visit Dr. James Andrews for a further diagnosis on his ailing pitching shoulder. Chamberlain, who left last night's game against Texas with stifness in his right shoulder, had an MRI exam at Columbia Presbyterian today. The Yankees said no information on the result would be released. However, sources close to the team said the 22-year-old will be examined by the famed orthopedist. After Monday's game, Joe Girardi and Chamberlain - the cornerstone of the Yankees' pitching future - said the pain was near the deltoid muscle in the front of his upper right arm. "They did some (resistance) tests and nothing is weak," Chamberlain said after the ..."

"With just two wins for the Yankees in his past 12 starts, Darrell Rasner was sent to the bullpen. He will swap roles with Dan Giese, who re-enters the rotation Friday against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Rasner, however, could get a reprieve since the Yankees will likely need a substitute for Joba Chamberlain on Saturday. In turning to Giese, the Yankees bypassed Ian Kennedy, who has had four straight good outings in Triple A. "We talked about some different scenarios," manager Joe Girardi said. "We like the way Giese is throwing the baseball. "Wherever we've put him he's done the job, and we just felt like he's earned that right." Giese is 1-3 with a 2.51 ERA in two starts and ..."

"Dan Giese put the Yankees in position to win Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels when he pitched three shutout innings in relief of Darrell Rasner. The Yankees rewarded Giese yesterday by giving him Rasner's job. Giese is being moved into the rotation and will start Friday night's game against the Angels. "It's going to be a big-time homecoming for me," said Giese, who was born in Anaheim, attended the University of San Diego and lives in Ocean Side, Calif. "I wasn't expecting it at all. For it to be in Anaheim, it's going to be awesome. That's the stadium I went to as a kid." Giese (1-3, 2.51) had two starts in June and allowed six earned runs over nine innings. He became a long ..."

"Pudge Rodriguez was one of the first Yankees to arrive at Rangers Ballpark yesterday and spent nearly an hour before the game against the Texas Rangers meeting with pitching coach Dave Eiland and catching instructor Tony Pena. Last night was the fourth game Rodriguez has played for the Yankees since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers last week. It also was the first time he has caught rookie right-hander Joba Chamberlain. There is studying to do every day. "Every day you learn a little more," Rodriguez said before last night's 9-5 loss. "I'm learning the new pitchers. In the end, it's all the same. I've got to do what I've always been doing - make the pitcher feel comfortable with me ..."

"The picture of Joba Chamberlain holding his forehead and grimacing in pain on the back page of Newsday is all you need to see to realize he won't be pitching again anytime soon. Yes, both Chamberlain and the Yankees downplayed the injury after the game. It's muscular, they said, in an area that's not the rotator cuff or the labrum. Chamberlain said his strength and velocity were fine, so it can't be a serious thing. Don't let the optimistic company line fool you. There are two body parts a pitcher never wants to feel any stiffness: his elbow and his shoulder. And given how cautious the Yankees have been with their young pitchers, you'd better believe they're going to sit him down until he ..."

"Mariano Rivera was ready to pitch Monday night. Unfortunately for the closer, his manager wasn't ready to call on him. The Yankees' closer tested out his sore upper back during batting practice before Monday night's 9-5 loss to the Rangers, pronouncing himself ready to go. But Joe Girardi, who said earlier in the day that Rivera's availability would be a "game-time decision," chose to give the pitcher another day to rest his back. "He said he felt okay, but I have to hear that he feels great," Girardi said. "I expect he'll be available (tonight)." Rivera didn't question Girardi's decision, though he made it clear that he was ready to pitch if he was needed. "I was in the pen," Rivera ..."

"Jorge Posada has been around long enough, been around for all the pennant races and all the winning, to know how it works. He had the surgery for the torn labrum and torn capsule in his right shoulder last Wednesday, 45 minutes in the operating room at the Hospital for Special Surgery with Dr. David Altchek, as good as there is. Pudge Rodriguez became a Yankee the same day. Bill Parcells always used to talk about how the assembly line keeps moving in sports, with or without you. "I wasn't surprised (about Rodriguez)," Posada was saying Monday. "(GM Brian Cashman) was trying to get a catcher as soon as I went down. I think Pudge just kind of fell into his lap." Posada is home now, still in ..."

"After watching Darrell Rasner get knocked around by the Angels on Sunday, Joe Girardi decided he didn't want to see that again. Now, after watching Joba Chamberlain leave Monday night's game with a shoulder injury, he might not have much of a choice. The manager tabbed Dan Giese to start in Rasner's place on Friday in Anaheim, removing the struggling 27-year-old from the rotation after watching himeight of his last 10 decisions. Chamberlain's injury could force him to miss his turn on Saturday, leaving Rasner as one of the options to replace him. The Yankees could also bring Ian Kennedy up from the minors, though the team feels he still has room to improve before returning to the ..."

"When Joe Girardi didn't hear the word great spill out of Mariano Rivera's mouth when asked how his back was, the manager put his closer on ice for the second straight game last night against the Rangers New York Rangers . "He said he felt OK," Girardi said of Rivera, who was held out due to spasms in the upper back. "But I got to hear great. He feels good. He will be available [tonight]." Rivera was in the bullpen when Damaso Marte gave up a game-winning grand slam to Marlon Byrd in the ninth, ready if called upon. "I was in the pen, they made the decision," said Rivera, who played long toss before the game, shagged flies during batting practice and did stretching exercise in the bullpen ..."

"SURROUNDED on the mound by manager Joe Girardi, trainer Steve Donohue and concerned teammates, Joba Chamberlain pointed to a tender spot in the front of his right shoulder - and maybe he was pointing toward the exit to this Yankee season, too. The discussions that will go on now within the organization are not like the ones that just took place in determining that Dan Giese would replace Darrell Rasner in the rotation. That is one journeyman displacing another. There is no suitable replacement for Chamberlain if what happened to the righty in Rangers Ballpark last night verges even slightly toward the worst-case scenario. Chamberlain was blossoming into the ace of this team, and losing him ..."

"The man who performed surgery on Jorge Posada's left shoulder made sure there was no doubt the All Star catcher wanted the operation that forced the Yankees to trade for Pudge Rodriguez. "He tried every thing he could to not have the surgery," Dr. David Altchek said yesterday via phone. "But there was no other choice. It was a significant problem, and if we kept trying things there was going to be no chance he would be ready for next season." Altchek repaired a torn labrum and capsule and said Posada will be ready to throw when spring training opens. "He might not be 100 percent the first day, but as he builds arm strength he will be throwing and he will be there," Altchek said. Posada had ..."

"Joba Chamberlain assumes he will enter the Carl Pavano Memorial MRI tube today at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Has there been a more frightening sentence in the Yankees Universe this season? On a night when the game-time temperature was in triple digits, the spines of Yankees fans everywhere went cold at the sight of Chamberlain walking off the mound with trainer Steve Donohue in the fifth inning last night at Rangers Ballpark. Initially, the club announced Chamberlain's right shoulder was stiff. After the game, however, manager Joe Girardi and Chamberlain - the cornerstone of the Yankees' pitching future - both said it was lower, more near the deltoid muscle in the front of the upper ..."

"A game that featured a two-balk inning, a manager's ejection and a crucial foul-ball call ended with another oddity: a walk-off grand slam. Marlon Byrd was the hero Monday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, sending a Damaso Marte pitch into the bleachers in right-center field for a 9-5 victory over the New York Yankees. The winning slam came with two outs. All three Rangers were on base via walks issued by Marte, who was pitching in the ninth because Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (back) was unavailable. "I knew it was gone. I didn't even feel it come off my bat," Byrd said. "This is my second walk-off. This has to be the biggest because we're in the thick of things." Eddie Guardado pitched ..."

"Forget about clutch hitting, the back end of the rotation or the effectiveness of the bullpen. The Yankees' season could hinge on the health of Joba Chamberlain's right shoulder. The flame-throwing phenom walked off the mound with stiffness in the shoulder Monday night, leaving the Bombers, the front office and fan base holding their breath for the results of today's MRI, which Chamberlain will have in New York. The stiffness was in the area of Chamberlain's deltoid muscle, giving the Yankees hope that the 22-year-old will not wind up on the disabled list. "It doesn't hurt in the wrong places to be concerned," Chamberlain said. "I'm optimistic." Still, considering the care with which the ..."

"Some Yankees Scouts Under Investigation Several Yankees employees who scouted in the Dominican Republic have been placed on leave by the organization pending an investigation by Major League Baseball into the signing of prospects, according to a person in baseball who has been briefed on the matter. Major League Baseball and the F.B.I. are investigating whether club employees paid players small portions of bonuses they reported to baseball and kept the difference for themselves. The Yankees are among the six to eight teams that are being looked at as part of the investigation, the person said. Many of the people investigators are looking at worked for several other major league teams, ..."

"Since they first recognized Joba Chamberlain's extraordinary talent, the Yankees have made him a case study in protecting young pitchers. They have shifted his role from starter to reliever and back again, tracking every inning, all so he could help them while not damaging his golden arm. But it is all guesswork, and Chamberlain's shoulder let him know that it was time for a rest during Monday night's 9-5 loss to the Texas Rangers. Chamberlain was removed from his start at Rangers Ballpark with two outs in the fifth inning with stiffness in the deltoid area of his right shoulder. Chamberlain will fly to New York on Tuesday morning for tests on his shoulder at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. ..."

"For a moment Sunday afternoon, Xavier Nady stood in the dugout not even realizing that the roar enveloping Yankee Stadium was all for him. "Someone pushed me and said 'They want you,' " Nady said. "This place is always so loud anyway, I figured they were just excited." And so it was: In the seventh inning, moments after clubbing a go-ahead three-run homer, Nady walked up the dugout steps and took his first curtain call as a Yankee. "He deserved it," team captain Derek Jeter said. "He had a big game for us." Be understanding if Nady isn't completely used to the sounds of the Stadium yet. The outfielder has been a member of the team for less than two weeks. But his performance Sunday almost ..."

"The old Yankee way of plodding and pounding a path to victory disappeared in a flash Sunday afternoon, replaced by the dancing, sprinting legs of Justin Christian. The team's resident Road Runner was just the right antidote to the beastly Angels as he single-footedly accounted for the tying run in a wild 14-9 victory. Christian's pinch-running prowess broke a 9-9 eighth-inning tie and opened the floodgates to the Yankees' second comeback of a game that saw four lead changes, four Angels' errors, 10 unearned Yankee runs and 25 combined hits. "I've been around a while and I've seen a lot of crazy games, but this was one of the craziest games I've seen in a long time," Johnny Damon said. ..."

"When Joe Girardi didn't go to closer Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded, two outs, and a one-run lead in the top of the eighth, it raised a few eyebrows. After the game, Girardi's explanation wasn't very reassuring: Rivera was suffering from a back spasm and was unavailable yesterday afternoon. "He went out to play catch and he just wasn't right," Girardi said of the closer, who is perfect in 26 save opportunities this season. Rivera first felt the soreness after Friday's game, and after feeling it again yesterday before the game he checked in with the Yankees training staff. "Today I was stretching, going out to throw and I felt discomfort in there," Rivera said. "So they decide to ..."

"Xavier Nady wasn't just a trade-deadline pickup for the Yankees -- he was the exact trade-deadline pickup they wanted. In this case, "they" doesn't just mean the front office. It means the players, too. "He's one of the guys we were interested in from the beginning of the season," Johnny Damon said after yesterday's lunatic 14-9 victory. "And come deadline time, he was there for us. Great pickup." Damon doesn't strike you as a guy with GM sensibilities, but you never do know what you're going to learn when you walk into a big-league clubhouse and start asking questions. Turns out, the fans and the media aren't the only ones who obsess about the names available at deadline time. The ..."

"Mariano Rivera wasn't going to be coming into the Yankees' 14-9 win over the Angels yesterday at Yankee Stadium if the game had needed saving. The 38-year-old closer was unavailable because of discomfort in his upper back. He said he first experienced the problem after Friday's 1-0 loss in which he gave up the run in the ninth. "I felt it on Friday, but I didn't pay attention to it," Rivera said. "Yesterday, I didn't do nothing. Today, I was stretching and going out to throw and I felt discomfort in there. So they decided to shut me down for a day. "I never felt that before. I talked to the doctor and the doctor said maybe it's spasms. ... It's kind of like between the shoulders blades and ..."

"Everybody who knows anything about baseball history and the lore of the Yankees knows about the death of Babe Ruth and his bittersweet farewell to the Yankee faithful. Stooped and frail, the Yankee legend came to the Bronx ballpark in 1948 wearing his pinstripe uniform to hear the cheer of the crowd one more time. He died two months later at age 53, reportedly of throat cancer, brought on in part by a fondness for tobacco and liquor. But that's all wrong, says an Ossining dentist who spent a year researching the circumstances of Ruth's death. Dr. William Maloney uncovered little-known information about the experimental treatment that the doomed baseball titan agreed to take part in, the ..."

"The Angels are usually the ones inflicting the misery on the Yankees, be it in October or the warm-up acts. So these were strange sights yesterday at Yankee Stadium: one Angel in the outfield botching a fly; the shortstop booting a double-play ball; the catcher throwing a ball wide of third; the third baseman losing the handle on a grounder. And the home team was there to cash in on every mistake. The Angels gift-wrapped two rallies, a four-run seventh and six-run eighth, making four errors that gave the Yankees 10 unearned runs. Xavier Nady continued to make the recent trade with the Pirates look good, delivering a career-high-tying four hits and a career-high six RBI. And the Yankees ..."

"Where to begin? How about the end? When Jose Veras - and not the injured Mariano Rivera - got Jeff Mathis to fly out to Melky Cabrera to end the Yankees' 14-9 win over the Angels yesterday, a ballgame that took 3 hours and 23 minutes was over. It will take at least that long to explain everything that happened. "Crazy game," Joe Girardi said. Here we go: The Yankees fell behind 5-0 after four innings against the team with the best record in baseball and had to come back against a guy ( John Lackey) who nearly no-hit Boston in his last start and brought a 9-2 record and 2.82 ERA into the fifth. Then they took an 8-5 lead in the seventh, lost it on a grand slam in the top of the eighth and ..."

"Sunday's loss was brought to you by the letter 'E' and the number '10.' Cruising along on the best 10-game trip in franchise history, the wheels came off for the Angels in the late innings Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium and even a grand slam from Mark Teixeira couldn't keep them on. Four errors led to 10 unearned runs in the seventh and eighth innings as they lost, 14-9, to the New York Yankees. The Angels' final game at Yankee Stadium (barring a postseason return) will be one for the record books. The 10 unearned runs tie a franchise record. They also gave up 10 unearned runs in a 17-2 loss to Chicago White Sox on May 31, 1978. "It was bad. It was a bad day," Manager Mike Scioscia ..."

"THE odds of the Yankees com ing back from 5-0 against John Lackey? One hundred-to-one? Five hundred-to-one? The odds of coming back yesterday had Brett Gardner been in left field? Infinitesimal. Nevertheless, the endless day forecast by Yanks starter Darrell Rasner against Angels starter John Lackey did not turn out to be nearly the length that Xavier Nady (two-run double and seventh-inning three-run homer to break a 5-5 tie) continues to restore to a depleted Yankees lineup. It will be a long time, too, before you again see the Angels, who own baseball's best winning blueprint, drop fly balls (Gary Matthews Jr. before Nady's bomb); throw the ball into left field on steal attempts (Jeff ..."

"Darrell Rasner's hold on the fifth spot in the Yankees' starting rotation couldn't be more tenuous. The right-hander allowed five earned runs over four innings in the Yanks' 14-9 victory over the Angels yesterday, and manager Joe Girardi hardly gave Rasner a ringing endorsement afterward. "We'll continue to discuss things, and if we make a change, we make a change," Girardi said. Though Girardi was encouraged by reports he received on Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes, both of whom pitched Saturday for Single-A Charleston, it's unlikely either right-hander would be deemed ready for Rasner's next turn in the rotation, on Friday in Anaheim. Pavano allowed one run on five hits over three innings ..."

"In two of the three games Pudge Rodriguez has caught with his new team, the Yankees pitching has been terrible - including yesterday. But Rodriguez's bat helped offset the damage in the Yanks' 14-9 victory over the Angels. The former Tiger delivered a monster day at the plate, smacking his first Yankees home run to bust up John Lackey's shutout. He added a walk and a single, the latter cueing the game-winning rally in the Yankees' comeback win in The Bronx. "He's such a great offensive threat," Johnny Damon said of Rodriguez, "and he can still catch pretty well too." Rodriguez is a 13-time Gold Glove winner, but his offense was what impressed as the Yanks gained a split of the four-game ..."