Godzilla retires.

Hideki Matsui, the MVP of the 2009 WS for the Yankees, announced his retirement today. He hit 175 MLB HR, but if you combine that with the HR he hit in Japan (332) you get 507.

I always loved Matsui. He was a low maintainence PROFESSIONAL. A clutch player who was also classy.

Who can forget when he apologized to his fans and to his teammates for breaking his wrist (which cost him 100 games one year)?

A Classy Yankee. I can only hope that he makes MANY Old-Timer’s games.

Game 104. Yanks get on track, blow out O’s 12-3.

Before I get to today’s game action, some news. Apparently Ivan Nova and Joe Girardi weren’t on the same page after last night’s loss. It was eerily like Ian Kennedy’s comments back in 2008 after he got rocked. Girardi said that Nova had no fastball command, an inconsistent slider and an inconsistent curve. Nova said he thought he had good stuff. Huh? 9 R in 5 IP, suggests otherwise. So does coughing up a 5-0 lead by giving up 7 runs with two out. Nova should learn from Kennedy (who never recovered in the eyes of management and was traded away the next year). You stink, you blow a lead, own up to it. Look in the mirror, don’t make excuses. You blew a 5-0 lead and deflated your team. No excuses. Don’t B.S. Did you get the win? No. You blew a big lead. That is all she wrote.

With the acquisition of Shane Victorino from the Phils, the Dodgers DFA’d Bobby Abreu. His career, like that of Matsui, could be over. As one reporter wrote, Johnny Damon better be looking over his shoulder. Damon right now is at .227-4-19, 4/4 in SB, OPS+ 75 for the Indians, and those numbers are actually WORSE than Abreu’s.

DeWayne Wise was released by the Yanks. He was DFA’d and refused assignment to AAA.

Now for today’s game. The Yanks got a much needed win today (I hope they were read the riot act for the game last night) by beating the Orioles 12-3. It meant the difference between a 4 1/2 game lead over the O’s and a 6 1/2 game lead.

The Yanks jumped out early. Granderson hit #29 in the bottom of the first. Swish then doubled, Cano singled him to third and Jones hit a SF. 2-0 Yanks after 1.

Teix sat again. The just-acquired McGehee played 1B. The Yanks lineup today was Jeter 6, Granderson 8, Swish DH, Cano 4, Jones 9, Martin 2, McGehee 3, Suzuki 7, and Nix 5.

Yes, that’s right. Jones in RF, Ichiro in LF.

Hughes gave one back in the top of the second. He went 6 and only gave up 1 run, but he wasn’t awesome. The O’s left a lot of runners on base.

The Yanks came back with two in the bottom of the second to make it 4-1. McGehee walked and with one out went to second on a PB. Nix singled him to third. Jeter singled in a run to make it 3-1 and after Granderson whiffed, Swisher singled to make it 4-1.

In the third, the Yanks broke the game open by scoring seven runs. With one out, Martin and McGehee walked. After an out, Nix doubled in one run. Jeter then singled in two. Granderson singled. Swisher walked to load the bases and then Cano unloaded a grand slam. Robbie’s 24th HR made it 11-1.

Meanwhile, Hughes was putting two men on in every inning but getting out of it.

Hughes (W, 11-8, 3.96) went 6, 1 R, 9 H, 2 walks and 2 K. Not pretty, but he got out of jams.

BTW, guess which Yankees pitcher was the first to 11 wins this year? You just saw it, Phil Hughes. Kuroda, CC and Nova all have 10. This from a guy people wanted to dump on say, May 2nd, when he was 1-4, 7.48. Since then, he is 10-4, 3.24.

Joba came in and got his feet wet. Not a good outing, but it was a good time for him to get his first MLB game in 14 months. 1 2/3 IP, 2 r, 4 H, 1 walk and 0 K. ERA 10.80. Settle down, Joba. Good that you are back.

Rapada 2/3, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 2 K. 2.83.

David Robertson 2/3, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 2.16.

McGehee got a bases-loaded SF in the 8th.

Jeter 3 h (3225), 3 RBI. Cano 2 h, 4 RBI. 3 h, rbi for Nix.

Hideki Matsui

My Classic Yankees bio on Hideki Matsui is now up on the Bronx Baseball Daily blog. Click the link to go there and read it.

Game 79. Freddy fine, but D-Rob continues to struggle as Yanks lose 4-3.

Freddy Garcia was everything we could have hoped for tonight. He went 5 1/3, 2 R, 5 H, 0 walks and 4 K. He gave up 2 solo HR. You would have easily signed up for that at the beginning of the game. His ERA goes to 5.94.

Unfortunately, after scoring two in the first, the Yanks’ bats didn’t do much the rest of the game, and David Robertson still doesn’t look like himself since coming off the DL.

The Yanks got two in the first when Jeter doubled (hit #3187), Granderson moved him to third with a groundout and Teixeira doubled on a ball Matsui should have caught. Matsui left the game early with a tight hammy. It speaks to the Rays woes when they are playing Godzilla in the OF. Godzilla is a DH, he’s not an OF anymore. But…

Singles by Alex and Cano make it 2-0 Yankees, but a GIDP by Swish prevented more.

Teix made a great play for a DP in the second, but he’d cost them with his first error of the season later.

Bad luck in the third. Cano LIDP with two on, one out. He couldn’t hit it harder, but you can’t place it.

B.J. Upton homered off Garcia in the fourth. 2-1 Yanks. Carlos Pena (a Yankee-killer) homered off Freddy in the sixth to tie it.

Eppley went 1, 0 R, 1 H, 0 walks and 0 K. 2.75.

The Yanks went up 3-2 in the 7th. Stewart walked, went to second on a WP and flyballs by Jeter and Granderson got him in.

After Eppley got the first man in the 7th out, Girardi went to Logan. Walk, WP and pop up. Ok, so man on second, two out.

Girardi went to Robertson. Ok, maybe a bit early, but still, 1 out in the 7th, three in the eighth—four outs—isn’t too much to ask for before going to Soriano.

But D-Rob hasn’t been himself since coming off the DL.

A double by Brooks Conrad tied the game. Then, a killer by Teixiera. On a ball hit down the line, Teix looked more like 1986 Billy Buckner in making his first error of the year. A 3-base error. Instead of out of the inning tied up, the Rays took a 4-3 lead, which they would hold.

Logan 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 1 walk, 0 K. ERA to 2.83.

Robertson went 1/3. Blown save #3. He takes the loss, dropping to 0-3. His ERA actually goes DOWN due to the unearned run.

1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 walks, 0 K. 2.53.

But still, if Robertson gets the out instead of giving up the game-tying double.

But then, he hasn’t been right since coming off the DL. Hopefully he can take advantage of the break to straighten some things out.

Rapada 1/3, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K. 3.04.

Chad Qualls made his Yankees debut. 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 walks and 1 K.

The error by Teix hurt… but we have to get Robertson back on track.

Game 72. Different lineup tonight

It’ll be a different lineup tonight as Girardi rests some people. Martin still has the stiff back, Stewart catches. A-Rod gets a day, Chavez at 3B, and Granderson gets a 1/2 day off (finally) as Wise is in CF vs. Cleveland (and our old buddy J.D. See below).

Yanks 43-28, 1st in AL East by 2 1/2 over Baltimore. 1 game behind Texas for best in AL, even in the loss column with the Rangers.
The Yankees are two games better than their Pythagorean record.
OPS+ 109, ERA+ 114 (100 is average, higher the better).

BA/HR/RBI  SB/Total Att.   OPS +

Jeter SS .305-7-25  6/7  106    3180 h, 4 behind Ripken, 92 leads AL
Granderson DH .246-21-41  4/7  125
Teixeira 1B  .253-12-42  1/2  110
Cano 2B .299-16-36  1/2  144     .154 (10 for 65) w/RISP
Swisher RF .268-11-45  1/2  120
Ibanez LF .246-11-35  2/2  106
Chavez 3B .264-5-10  0/0  106   1 for 22 w/RISP
Wise CF .133-0-0  6/6  (-11)  4 for 30
Stewart C .246-0-7  0/0  49   15 for 61

Kuroda RHP  6-7, 3.57  ERA+ 117

Jeter’s average is slowly dropping, now down to .3o5. He turns 38 tomorrow and has hit only .231 this month. Since May 4th? .245 in 44 games. Still, he’s the only regular over .300.

Ex-stars struggling. Johnny Damon comes into the Stadium at .202-3-13, 2/2, OPS+ 72. Hideki Matsui for the Rays is at .169-2-6, OPS+ 47.

Game 54. The 1/3 mark.

The season is 1/3 over after tonight’s game.

Yes Reporter Meredith Marakovits reports that David Robertson threw today and hopes to be back in 8-9 days. Girardi is inclined to keep him in the setup role. Most likely return? June 15 @ Washington.

More from various people on Twitter:

Godzilla (Hideki Matsui) will be playing RF and hitting 4th for the Rays tonight.

Tommy Lasorda wasn’t feeling well at the MLB draft last night. Bud Selig insisted he be escorted to a local hospital (NYC). Good for Selig. Lasorda suffered a heart attack. A stent was put in and he is hopeful of being released tomorrow. One artery had pretty extensive blockage.

Robbie Cano has been named captain of the AL HR derby team for the All-Star Game. He said his first pick would be Granderson, but he hasn’t asked Granderson yet. (I hope Josh Hamilton is then pick #2!)

Gardner may be back this weekend, but best bet is Monday in Atlanta.

Yanks 29-24, 1 1/2 back in AL East, 3rd place.  Right now in the 2nd wild card position. Even with Pythagorean record. OPS+ 111, ERA+ 107.

No lineup surprises vs. Shields. A-Rod at 3b, Chavez DH.

BA/HR/RBI  SB/Total attempts   OPS+ (100 is average)

Jeter SS  .336-6-20  5/6   126   3163 hits. As many HR as all of last yr.
Granderson CF .261-17-33  3/6   139
Rodriguez 3B .284-9-22  6/6   119     638 HR, 1915 RBI, 2831 hits.
Cano 2B .284-8-24  1/1  122
Teixeira 1B .253-9-32  1/2  105
Ibanez LF .252-9-29  2/2  112  Just 9 walks though. OBP only .300
Swisher RF .243-8-33  1/1  100
Chavez DH .284-3-6  0/0  105   0 for 16 with RISP
Martin C .194-4-12  1/1  85   does he get over the Mendoza line tonight?  

LHP Andy Pettitte   2-2, 3.49  ERA+ 125

Jeter is 21 hits behind Ripken’s total. Pettitte is looking to tie Juan Marichal with career win #243.

Game 16. Jeter (4 hits), A-Rod #632 spark Yanks

Derek Jeter went 4 for 5, and Alex Rodriguez’s first hit off a lefty this season was a three-run HR as the Yanks won their fourth straight, 7-4. The Yanks are now 10-6.

Jeter started things off in the first with a single, and later in the inning, Curtis Granderson’s bases-loaded single plated two.

CC gave one back in the first.

In the fifth, Derek Holland (he of the wimpy moustache. Sheesh. I’ve seen WOMEN with better moustaches!) made a cardinal mistake. He walked the leadoff hitter, who happened to be weak-hitting Chris Stewart. That’s almost as bad as walking the pitcher when a pitcher leads off an inning in the NL. Stewart to second on an error on a pickoff throw,  Jeter singled, and Stewart scored on a SF by Swisher. After a single by Cano, A-Rod—0 for 17 vs. lefties for the season at that point—hit #632 to make it 6-1.

In the sixth, Stewart surprisingly doubled, and scored on a double by Jeter. 7-1.

CC then faltered, giving up a HR to Josh Hamilton in the sixth, and two runs in the seventh. 7-4.

CC went 8, 4 R, 7 H, 1 walk and 8 K. (2-0, 5.27).

Mo finished up for save #4 of the year and #607 of his career. After blowing the game on opening day, Mo’s ERA is getting back to respectability, at 2.84.

Mo a 1-2-3 9th.  Two flyouts and a groundout.

Baseball signings: Bill Hall to the Orioles, Hideki Matsui a minor league deal with Tampa Bay.

Ibanez on radar?

There’s more talk and reports that the Yankees are in serious talks with Raul Ibanez, who is said to be amenable to accepting less money to come to the Yankees.

With only 18 days left until position players report, something should get done soon, if not Ibanez, then Damon or Matsui. Girardi prefers a lefty bat, which he can then platoon with Andruw Jones. Frankly, I’d also like the Yanks to wrap up Chavez at the same time (no word on that).

Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee are still out there, as is Fukodome, but they are longshots. Vlad and Lee because of being righthanded hitters, Fukodome for the lack of power that Ibanez/Damon/Matsui could possibly provide.

The problem with Ibanez, Damon or Matsui goes beyond the price. Damon supposedly wants $5MM and the Yanks supposedly have only $2MM to offer. The problem beyond the price is that Ibanez will be 40 in June, Damon is 38 and Matsui will be 38. AGE. There already are reports that the Yanks may sign one of the three with an eye towards a midseason deal if that individual that they DO sign doesn’t work out. Ibanez hit .245-20-84 for the Phils in 2011. CBP is a bandbox as much as Yankee Stadium is. Ibanez hit .278 with 15 homers at home in 2011, .210 with 5 HR away. He hit .256 with 16 HR vs. RHP, .211 with 4 HR vs. lefties. Which means what, exactly? That he’d only be good at home in Yankee Stadium vs. a righty??

So let’s see, if the Yanks sign Chavez and one of the I/D/M trio (Ibanez, Damon or Matsui), the makeup of 13 positional players could be this:

C-Martin (1) and Cervelli (2).
1B-Teixeira (3),
2B-Cano (4)
SS-Jeter (5)
3B-A-Rod (6) remember Jeter will be 38, A-Rod 37
1B/3B Chavez (7)
UT: 2B/SS/3B/ even some OF   Nunez (8)
backup 1B-Swisher/Chavez/Ibanez or Damon could play here too.
DH-I/D/M (9) all can play some corner OF, but no CF. Ibanez’ range factor in 2011 was awful, Damon has no arm, Matsui bad knees.
Jones (10), who’d be 35 and who could play corner OF.
LF-Gardner (11) who’d play CF when Granderson needs a day off.
CF-Granderson (12)
RF-Swisher (13) who could play 1B.

So there would be 13, leaving 12 pitchers. You could go with
Starter: CC/Pineda/Kuroda (37 y.o.)/Nova/Garcia (35 y.o.)
Bullpen. AJ (most expensive middle reliever ever?) (35 y.o.), Hughes, Wade, Logan, Soriano, D-Rob and Mo (42 y.o.). There’s 12. Once Joba is ready, you make a move. We don’t know how things could/would shake out (you can’t predict injuries) but just a guess.

Now for some signings. But at what cost? The Yanks say they don’t have much.

These next two weeks could get interesting.

Do Yanks have interest in Ibanez?

There are a number of free agent DHs out there. Rumor has it that Johnny Damon desperately wants back with the Yankees. Matsui, Vlad, Derrek Lee, Fukodome, and Raul Ibanez are others. Heck, Juan Pierre is out there (not that anyone would want the all-speed, no-power Pierre as a DH).

For a time, it’s been reported that the Yanks only had $2MM left to spend…on a DH and also on another backup infielder (Eric Chavez return?). Brian Cashman was suggesting trading a pitcher (dumping A.J.’s contract, eating some $$$, thus freeing up $$$) to acquire a bat. If not A.J., then Hughes or a youngster not named Banuelos or Betances (Warren, Phelps, Mitchell).

The tide could be turning, however. Now, the best thing may just be to wait out the above, aging list and to see whose salary demands drops all the way down to the level that Cashman and the rest of the Yankees’ hierarchy feels comfortable with.

Today the N.Y. Post reports that the Yankees could have interest in Raul Ibanez. Even ESPN’s Buster Olney chimed in on Twitter:

Raul Ibanez would be a good fit for the Yankees: they’d get him cheaply, he’s got a nice swing for the park,can play RF-LF, and a great guy.

Ibanez could even play 1B. (Swisher can, too, also Chavez if the Yanks re-sign him). Ibanez has been working with hitting guru Rudy Jaramillo, and thinks that he has fixed holes in his swing that led him to hit just .245 last year (.289 OBP). In the bandbox that is CBP, Ibanez still had 20 HR and 84 RBI. But his OPS+ dropped to a 91. Of course, Yankee Stadium’s RF would be a nice target for Ibanez’ lefty swing. Also obvious is that Yankee Stadium would NOT be as generous as CBP was to Ibanez if he drove the ball the other way.

If the deal is a Kuroda-like deal, for one year only, then I can see getting Ibanez (or, for that matter, Damon or Matsui). The concern is that Ibanez turns 40 in June. Heck, he’s only 9 1/2 months younger than the just-retired Posada.

Ibanez had a lower B.A. than Damon or Matsui (I’ll leave out the righty hitting DHs, like Vlad & Lee for now), and is older than both of them. Of course, Damon as the most speed of the trio. Ibanez also had more HR and RBI than either Matsui or Damon did.

I don’t know if the Yanks are favoring one over the other or if Ca$hman is just waiting for one of the trio’s price to drop into his range so he could pounce on the first one who becomes affordable. It appears that Ibanez, a .280 hitter, could (and I’m taking his age into account) post a .265 average, 17-25 HR, and say, 75 RBI. Which would be just fine for what Ibanez probably would be in the Yankees’ lineup—the #7 hitter.

Those are numbers that Posada (.285-21-81 in 111 games in 2009, OPS+ 125) would put up in that spot in the batting order. From 1998-2007, Jorge averaged 136 g., .279-21-84…then throw in the 2009 numbers, and you can see that those are numbers very similar to what you would hope to get from Ibanez. Ibanez probably would walk a bit less than Jorge did.

For his career, Ibanez is a .280 hitter, 252 HR (same total as Bobby Murcer), with an OPS+ of 112. He was an All-Star once (2009) and drew MVP consideration twice, with Seattle in 2006 and 2008 (finishing 21st and 20th).

The question with all the available DH’s is this: how much is left in the tank?

Update: A few hours after I mentioned Juan Pierre above, he signed a minor league deal with the Phillies.

Needed: DH. Cheap?

Reports are that the Yanks only have $1-$2 million for a DH(?) If so, forget Carlos Pena/Johnny Damon/Hideki Matsui (yes, Godzilla is available, too).

Yanks avoid arbitration with Hughes. $3.2 mil + performances bonuses.

Phils sign Joel Piniero to a minor league deal. They have the big 3 (Halladay, Lee, Hamels) but the back end has some question marks. Piniero was 7-7, 5.13 for the Angels in 2011, Joe Blanton 1-2, 5.01 (both are coming off injuries). You have to wonder if Vance Worley, 24, can repeat his superb 11-3, 3.01 season or suffer the sophomore jinx. The Phils will be counting on Worley big-time after seeing Oswalt leave. Kyle Kendrick (8-6, 3.22) is still in the mix there.

Boston signs Vincente Padilla to a minor league deal. The 34-year-old missed most of 2011.