Masahiro Tanaka out with partially torn ulnar collateral ligament

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed the worst possible news during Thursday night's game against the Cleveland Indians, saying that right-hander Masahiro Tanaka has been diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Seen by three different doctors, the recommended route for Tanaka is to try rehabbing the injury first, which would keep him out of the big leagues for at least six weeks -- nobody said that he should undergo Tommy John surgery just yet.

Tanaka will have a platelet rich plasma injection next week in New York, and then attempt to begin a throwing program. Should things not work out, Tommy John will be the next step and we won't see Tanaka again until sometime late next season.

With pitchers left and right having to undergo Tommy John this year, this is just another devastating blow to not only the Yankees for losing their best pitcher and most watchable player this season, but to Major League Baseball for losing one of it's best young stars.

Tanaka last pitched on Tuesday for the Yankees, giving up five runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 inning. He was having a great rookie season up to this point, going 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 135/19 K/BB ratio in 129 1/3 innings over 18 starts.

This is really that worst possible thing that could happen to the Yankees this season. Losing CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova for the year and Michael Pineda for several months is one thing, but losing Tanaka for at least six weeks while trying compete for a playoff spot is the worst.

I'll be over in the corner crying in case you're looking for me. If I grab the gun, please take it away.

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CC Sabathia likely headed for an MRI for fluids in his knee

CC Sabathia is heading for an MRI on his knee after waking up to some fluids and swelling in his knee this morning following a rehab start with Double-A Trenton last night, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters before the game.

He'll be shut down for a bit, and now his expected return date will be pushed back even further than what nobody already knew what it was going to be. The Yankees are awaiting results of the MRI before figuring out how they should move forward with this.

Sabathia will down on the DL back in May and it was revealed that he has a degenerative issue in his knee, which could be a major problem in the future. The Yankees were hoping to get him back sometime around the all-star break, but that was eventually pushed back to at least August.

With both Sabathia and Michael Pineda on the DL until who knows when, the Yankees' rotation has been in need of a boost, relying on Vidal Nuno, whose last two starts have actually been decent, David Phelps and Chase Whitley, a career minor league reliever that got off to a hot start in the big leagues before struggling in his last two starts, to carry this rotation behind an on again, off again Hiroki Kuroda and staff ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Getting him back just after the all-star break could have been like adding a pitcher through a trade, in that there was a chance Sabathia comes back to be a steady pitcher in the rotation, giving the quality innings and good starts that he's paid to produce.

Instead, the unknown timetable becomes even more of an unknown.

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Brendan Ryan feeling good, expects to play Wednesday

Things have been very different for the Yankees this spring compared to last year in terms of injuries. Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson all went down for the Bombers last March, but all has been going well for the Yanks this spring.

The only real injury concern so far has been the sore oblique of Brendan Ryan that isn't really much of a concern at all.

The Yankees expect that Ryan will be out of the lineup for a few more days, and Joe Girardi believes that this injury won't have any long-term effects. Ryan had some precautionary MRIs the other day and everything came back clean.

“This isn't one of those things where it’s like, if it was Game 7 I could tough it out,” Ryan said. “No. Back end of a quadruple-header, I'd be upset if I wasn't in there. … I'd say they're being cautious to say the least. This is only happening because it’s March. Really quite a small deal.”

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Teixeira plans to return on-time for full Spring Training

Mark Teixeira has his entire rehab schedule laid out. It's to the point that he has even planned out his first at-bat against in Spring Training.

"That first game, against Justin Verlander in Lakeland, he throws me a 95-mph fastball on the inside part of the plate, I want to drop the head (of the bat) on the ball," Teixeira said on Monday night during an appearance on the YES Network. "Even if I don't get a hit or get a home run off it, I want to know that I can make a really strong, quick move on an inside fastball at 95 mph, and have no pain, no tightness. Once I do that, then I'll know that I'll be fine for the season."

Teixeira missed all but 15 games last season after having surgery in June to repair a torn tendon sheath in his right wrist. He originally hurt the wrist while practicing with Team USA during the World Baseball Classic.

His plan back then was to return to action by May 1st, but he missed that date by over a month, coming back in June, only to hurt the wrist once more, forcing him to undergo the surgery.

Teixeira says he is currently performing strengthening exercises to rebuild the tendon sheath. He’s been able to do "some really slow swinging, just to make sure the range of motion is there." He laid out his plan in detail last night:

1. Strengthening and flexibility exercises through December.
2. Beginning tee and pitching machine work on January 1.
3. By early February, hitting off a 90-mph machine with authority.
4. Full everyday workouts when spring training opens, but no games in the first week of exhibitions.
5. Begin playing Grapefruit League games in early March.

"I want to slowly build into live batting practice, simulated games, and then start playing games," Teixeira said.

Yankees pitchers and catchers report to camp on February 14th, and all position players will have arrived by Feb. 19th. The first game is Feb. 25th, and a few days later in Feb. 28th, the Yankees take a bus trip up the the Tigers -- the game that Teixeira said he wanted to play in. If he were to play against the Tigers that day, he would have to be ahead of schedule.

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Sabathia Shut Down With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain

With just six games left this season, the Yankees will have to play on without their highest paid pitcher in CC Sabathia, who was shut down by the Yankees on Monday after it was announced he had suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

"We have hopes and beliefs that next year will be a better year for him and for us,'' Cashman said. "There's no point in having him make his last start with an injury.''

Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Sabathia strained his left hamstring in the second inning of his last start for the Yanks on Friday against the San Francisco Giants. The injury will take about 8 weeks to heal, according to the team.

Sabathia, 33, had been going through a very rough 2013 season, finishing with a 14-13 record with an un-CC like 4.78 ERA, the highest of his 13-year career. He also allowed a career-high 26 homeruns this season, six more than his previous career-high.

"He's had an interesting year, to say the least,'' Cashman said. "The home runs really killed him. But we think he's retained a number of abilities that should allow him to pitch at or near the top of our rotation next year. ''

Losing CC may sound like a back-breaker for the Bombers, but in reality, it's not that bad. The Yankees only have six games remaining, and Sabathia was only going to take the mound one more time -- Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays, who CC is 1-4 with an abysmal 7.52 ERA against this season.

With CC no longer starting against Tampa this week, it's like that Phil Hughes will start for the Yankees in one of the three critical games in the Bronx against the Wild Card leading Rays.

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Logan Has Bone Spurs In His Elbow, Hopes To Pitch This Season

After a visit with Dr. James Andrews in Florida, Yankees left-handed specialist Boone Logan has been diagnosed with bone spurs in his left elbow. For the moment, it's nothing serious, and there's currently no damage to any of the ligaments in his elbow.

Logan is hoping that he'll be able to pitch again for the Yankees before this season is over, Friday at the earliest, but he will have to undergo surgery on his elbow this offseason to clean out the bone spurs.

If this sound familiar, its' because it is. CC Sabathia had the same procedure done on his elbow this past offseason, and he's come back to have no problems at all -- other than his decrease in velocity.

Logan has been sidelined with elbow problems ever since he first felt some pain on a pitch he threw to Mike Napoli that turned into a game-tying grand slam against the Boston Red Sox last Friday. With him out, the Yankees have had to rely on David Huff and Mike Zagurski as the only left-handers out of the bullpen.

Logan has been having a good season for the Yankees, posting a 5-2 record with a 3.26 ERA in 38.2 innings over 60 appearances in 2013. If the Yankees were to make the playoffs, it would be a great benefit to have him coming out of the bullpen to face a tough lefty in any late-game situation.

This season, left-handed hitters are batting .224 (17-76) with six walks, 13 RBIs, three homeruns and three doubles against Logan.

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Soriano A Late Scratch In The Yanks Lineup

About 10 minutes before the Yankees and Red Sox began play on Saturday, the Yanks announced that Alfonso Soriano, originally penciled in as the No. 4 hitter and playing left field, was scratched from the lineup because of a sprained right thumb.

Soriano hurt his thumb while diving for a ball in Baltimore this past week, and it's been bothering him ever since. He had been able to play through it, but decided not to give it a go after going through batting practice this morning.

Since coming over to the Yankees in late-July, he's been arguably their best hitter, as he has more homeruns (15) and RBIs (47) than any other major league hitter over that span.

In the new lineup, Vernon Wells was moved from right to left field, while Girardi added Ichiro to the lineup as the Bombers face LHP Jon Lester.

With Brett Gardner going on the DL for possibly the remainder of the season a couple of days ago in Baltimore  just a couple of days after Derek Jeter went back on the DL -- the possibility of losing Alfonso Soriano for the rest of the season could easily end any hopes that Yankees had of making the playoffs.

While Soriano overall batting average this season is just .253, he's been having a great season, not just with the Yankees, but also combined with the Chicago Cubs, hitting 32 homeruns with 98 RBIs.

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Phelps And Jeter Swap Places On The 60-Day DL

Prior to Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees had a couple of roster moves to make. The Bombers announced that they have activated RHP David Phelps from the 60-day DL, while placing injured shortstop Derek Jeter on the 60-day DL to make room for Phelps on the active roster.

"He could be extremely important," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's someone who has experience and is used to coming out of the bullpen because he did it for us in the past. One inning in these type of games could be extremely important, as we saw last night."

Phelps was originally placed on the DL by the Yankees on July 6th with a slightly strained right forearm, but as his forearm began to heal, problems in his elbow put a return to the Yankees this season in doubt, even after the team shut him down for close to a couple weeks in August.

He didn't do too much pitching down in the minors, and it's not clear if he built up enough arm strength to return to his place in the rotation with Phil Hughes and David Huff battling back and forth between a starting job, and for now, Phelps will help the Yanks out of the bullpen, where they need desperate help right now. Girardi said that, for now, he'll be a one or two inning guy out of the bullpen.

"I'm not so sure we have a chance to be patient with him," Girardi said. "He might be thrown right in the fire."

Phelps' last start for the Bomber before hitting the DL in early-July came on July 4th against the Minnesota Twins when he took home the win after giving up four runs on eight hits in 6.1 innings.

He took over in the rotation for Ivan Nova when he got hurt in late-April after pitching well enough to earn a rotation spot during spring training. For the most part, he had been pitching pretty well for the Yankees, and although his 5.01 ERA might say otherwise, he was one of the Yanks better pitchers in the first half.

As for Jeter, if you still thought that there was a small chance he could return to the lineup this season, having him placed on the 60-day DL officially ends his season for good. He'll finally have time to build of the strength in his legs, and hopefully we'll see him fully healthy when the Yanks join together in Tampa, Florida for spring training next February.

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Gardner Leaves Game With Oblique Strain

Move over, Derek Jeter, Jayson Nix, Kevin Youkilis, David Phelps, Michael Pineda, and every other Yankee on the disabled list this season, another player is likely to be joining to list.

Yankees OF Brett Gardner left Thursday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning because of a left oblique strain. Gardner struck out in his first at-bat of the game, and walked straight to the clubhouse from the batters box.

As of now, Gardner is considered day-to-day, but the problem with oblique strains is that they're tricky to deal with. It's usually an injury that could last for a few weeks. If it doesn't heal quick, Gardner's season is likely to be over.

For the Yankees to lose Gardner would be a serious blow to their playoff chase, as Gardner has been a strong bat of the top of the Yankees lineup. With a .344 on-base percentage, he hit .273 with 8 homeruns on 52 RBIs this season for the Bombers.

This has easily been Gardner's best season since debuting in the majors, as he had set new career-highs in hits, doubles, triples, homeruns and RBIs.

He was replaced in center field by Curtis Granderson, who is now expected to take over the role as the Yankees everyday center field, while also sharing time with Ichiro.

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Yankees Shut Down Jeter For The Rest Of The Season

Derek Jeter's nightmare season is officially over. New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has announced that the Yankees are placing the 39-year-old shortstop on the 15-day DL, "effectively ending his season", says Cashman.

Jeter was removed from Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox after hurting his surgically repaired left ankle, and has been out of the Yankees' lineup ever since, missing his fourth straight game tonight, and 1,000th game overall this season -- not really.

"It's very disappointing not to be able to play, especially this time of year," Jeter said. "This is when I want to play the most. Unfortunately, that's not the case. The entire year has been pretty much a nightmare for me physically, so I guess it's fitting that it ends like this."

Jeter underwent a CT scan on his ankle Saturday and although the Yankees' team physician, Chris Ahmad, said the results were negative, the club still sent the tests to Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed the surgery back in October, for a second opinion. Anderson told the Yankees that a lot of areas in his ankle need to be strengthened, but there's no time this season to do so.

"I'll have an entire offseason to strengthen legs." Jeter said. "That's what we're talking about here."

In a season filled with constant injuries, Jeter has only appeared in just 17 games for the Yankees. In his time in the lineup, he wasn't his normal self, batting .190 with one home run and seven RBIs.

Jeter made his season debut after missing the first 91 games the season coming off ankle surgery, and he's now making his his third trip to the DL since starting his season in early July. After just one game, he went back in the DL with a quad strain, then back on because of a calf strain just four-games after returning, and now his season is over because of problems with his ankle.

Jeter wasn't surprised by the Yankees decision to place him on the DL, saying, "I wasn't moving the way I wanted to move, I wasn't hitting the way I wanted to hit. I wasn't doing anything; I wasn't throwing the way I wanted to throw. If you can't play how you're capable of playing or what you're used to doing, then you're really not helping out. If I'm not able to play how I want to play, then I'm not benefiting the team."

He, nor anyone else in the Yankees organization believe that his career is over. "I have not seen Derek Jeter play his last game. No one has." Cashman said.

"I just know he's going to do everything in his power to get back in that field for spring training." said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "There are no guarantees in life, but I think he's going to do everything he can to get back." he added.

"... I will never doubt Derek because of who he is. If he believes he'll be back, I believe him."

Tuesday night, the Yankees acquired infielder Brendan Ryan from the Seattle Mariner for a player to be named later. Ryan is in tonight's starting lineup, and is expected to get a lot of playing time at shortstop with Jeter down.

Ryan is a stellar fielder, coming off a Gold Glove on 2012, but his numbers with the bat don't suggest that the Yankees traded for him so he could drive in a bunch of runs, as he hit just .192 in 87 games for the Mariners this season, with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

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Things Are Not Looking Good For Boone Logan

If you didn't read the title of these pre-game notes, then here you go: Things are not look good for the Yankees' left-handed specialist Boone Logan. Logan has been dealing with elbow problems ever since hurting his elbow on what he says what the pitch that Mike Napoli hit for a game-tying grand slam against the Yankees last week.

Logan was taken for a MRI over the weekend and even had a cortisone shot injected in his left elbow, but things are getting better, and now the Yankees are sending the results of his MRI to Dr. James Andrews, which is never a good thing for a pitcher to be connected to Dr. Andrews.

In the meantime, prior to tonight's game against the Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees have called up left-hander Mike Zagurski, who threw six inning for the Oakland Athletics Triple-A team this season, before spending the last few weeks in Triple-A Scranton for the Yanks, where he posted a 3.08 ERA in 26 1/3 innings.

Logan was hoping he could return to the mound by the Friday when the Yankees open up a three-game series at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.

“I think he ruled out until we say otherwise,” Said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. “If you go zero to 10, zero being down and out, and 10 being fully recovered, he hit zero the other day. He’s still stuck at zero. I don’t think he’s made any progress.”

To make room for Zagurski on the 40-man roster, the Yankees transferred DH Travis Hafner to the 60-day DL, effectively ending his season, said Cashman. Hafner has been out since late-July because of problems in his right shoulder. After signing for just $2M this offseason, Hafner hit .318 with 6 homeruns in April, but his production fell dramatically, hitting just 6 more homeruns and dropping his batting average to .202 before getting hurt.

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Jeter Goes For CT Scan, Results Come Back Negative

Update, 5:33 pm EST: For now, we can all breath a sigh of relief. The results on Derek Jeter's CT scan on his left ankle have come back negative, the Yankees announced. The team also says that they plan on sending his results to Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed the original surgery last October.

As of now, there's no word on when Jeter will next see game action for the Yankees. We can only assume that he will be day to day.

"If these games didn't count, he could take a few days off or his bounce backs would be different, but he's like everybody else," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "He knows there's no time for the weary here."

Original: Pulled for a pinch-runner in the 6th inning, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that Derek Jeter was removed from the New York Yankees' 13-9 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday because of a possible injury in the area of his surgically repaired left ankle.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman announced after the game that Jeter was being sent to the hospital for a precautionary CT scan on his ankle.

"He's been through a lot this year. ... We're just going to take a look under the hood." Cashman said.

Manager Joe Girardi told reporters that he took Jeter out of the game because he didn't like the way he was running, telling Jeter was he was just trying to protect him.

Jeter appeared to have hurt his ankle on a play in the home half of the 6th inning, fielding a groundball that he ended up throwing well off the first base bag, and was noticeably limping afterwards.

It was uncertain right away why he was removed from the game, by specular grew the he might be injured when Girardi was seen in the dugout talking to members of the Yankees' training staff.

Jeter has only played in 17 game for the Yankees this season due to a various amount of injuries. He missed a last portion of time because of a refracture in his ankle that he fractured during last October's ALCS.

After coming back from the ankle injury, Jeter played one game before going back on the DL because of a Grade 1 hamstring strain, then returned to play play a few more games before straining his calf while running the bases in San Diego.

The 39-year-old shortstop has played in such few games this season, spread over a couple of months, making it difficult for him to get things going at the plate, hitting just .190 in 63 at-bats in 2013.

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Cano Leaves After Being Hit By A Pitch

The New York Yankees biggest nightmare might be coming true. All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano has left Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays after being hit on the left hand by a pitch from Jays starter J.A Happ.

Following an RBI single by Derek Jeter in the 1st inning, Cano was hit on a 2-2 pitch from Happ -- that same pitcher that hit Curtis Granderson in Spring Training, fracturing his right forearm.

Cano appeared to be in serious pain, but after a few minutes of discussing things over with Yankees manager Joe Girardi and the teams trainers, Cano decided he would stay in the game and attempt to play through the apparent injury.

Immediately after, Alfonso Soriano jacked a three-run homerun off Happ, which was followed by Cano packing up his stuff in the dugout, and heading down into the clubhouse. As we speak, he's likely undergoing x-rays in his hand. So, right now, we wait.

It's very clear that if Cano is forced to miss time, then the Yankees' season is officially over. Cano is leading the team with a .305 batting average, 24 home runs and 85 RBIs. He was replaced by Eduardo Nunez at second base for the bottom of the first inning.

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Nix Has A Fractured Left Hand, Could Be Done For The Season

Jayson Nix walked it off for the New York Yankees Tuesday night, and Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, Nix walked off the field for possibly the final time this season.

Nix was hit on the left hand by a knuckleball from R.A. Dickey in the bottom of the second inning. Once he reached first base, he quickly called out Yankees trainer Steve Donohue, then proceeded to remove himself from the ball game. Mark Reynolds replaced Nix as a pinch-runner.

X-Rays on his hand came back showing a fracture on his left hand, a break that could keep him out of the lineup for up to six weeks, and this late in the season, he could possibly be out for the remainder of the Yankees' season.

Losing Nix is a tough blow for the Yankees. Manager Joe Girardi calls Nix "a baseball player". He is, for the most part, reliable in the field all around the diamond. At times, he can swing the bat, and had been doing so lately.

"I feel terrible," Girardi said. "Obviously he's got a broken hand and he's going to be out for a while. I'm not sure what exactly we're going to do, but I feel really bad."

No move has been announced yet, but with Derek Jeter header to Scranton to begin his rehab assignment tomorrow, he likely won't be back by this Friday when the Yankees start a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays down in St. Petersburg.

Jeter is expected to play five inning for Triple-A Scranton on Thursday, then maybe play another game in Scranton on Friday. Until Jeter does come back, David Adams would seem like the only option the Yankees could call up to fill in for Nix.

Nix had already spent a good chunk of time on the DL this season with a hamstring injury. He's played 86 games for the Bombers, batting .236 with three homeruns and 24 RBIs.

"I always talk about Nixy, he's a guy who does things right," Girardi said. "Maybe it's not always going to show up in the box score, all the things that he contributes, but he's a guy that just makes good decisions and does things right."

By the way, this is the 200th post on the Yanks Beat Blog this season! So, at least there's that to be happy about. And thanks to all of you that have been reading along all season.

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Thursday Recap: A-Rod Still Out, Speaks Out

While the rest of the world was enjoying their normal lives, Alex Rodriguez was out doing what Alex Rodriguez does: keeping himself directly under to media spotlight.

As you might remember, Rodriguez caused a major stir when he decided to seek a second opinion on his quad, the same quad that Yankees teams doctor Chris Ahmad had already diagnosed as a Grade 1 strain. A-Rod, without team permission, asked Dr. Michael Gross his opinion on the MRI, to which he said he saw nothing unusual.

A-Rod went on saying that he felt find, there was no pain in his quad and that he wanted to be in the Yankees lineup Friday night for the series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx.

Cashman released a statement shortly before the Yankees took the field against the Rangers Wednesday night, calling him "Mr. Rodriguez" in the statement, showing to some degree how their relationship stands.

The saga continued on Thursday, first with the statement that was released by A-Rod:

"I think the Yanks and I crossed signals, I don't want any more mix ups. I'm excited and ready to play and help this team win a championship. I feel great and I'm ready and want to be in the lineup Friday night. Enough doctors, let's play."

Later in the day, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman held a conference call around the time of the Yankees and Rangers were playing in the fourth inning of their game that people kinda forget is still being played even through the A-Rod chaos.

Cashman said that he, Yankees president Bruce Levine and A-Rod, accompanied by his lawyer, had about a 15-minute conversation, in which the two side, the Yankees and A-Rod, discussed his situation.

Cashman said that Rodriguez was evaluated once agains and stood by the Grade 1 strain, but said there is some improvement. Cashman said that A-Rod won't join the Yankees on Friday and that he'll continue to rest and receive treatment, and they would aim for an August 1st date to begin a rehab assignment.

"I can't tell you anything past the Aug. 1 date," Cashman said. "If everything goes right, I don't think you're looking at much longer past that date. We just need to cross off every box that needs to be checked. We're just following the normal course of action. So hopefully really soon after we hit that Aug. 1 date when we can get him in a [simulated] game or rehab game. Hopefully it's not very long."

What did A-Rod tink of the Yankees' plan for him? Well, he later when on the radio to talk to Mike Francesa of WFAN, telling him what he thought.

"Obviously, I'm an employee, I have to follow my bosses and I was on the phone with both of my bosses, they said there is a protocol," Rodriguez said.

The protocol is that he'll wait it out until August 1st, then he was able to choose between a five-day or a seven-day rehab plan. Obviously, A-Rod decided on the five-day plan because it'll get him on the field faster, the way he wants it.

A-Rod was then asked by Francesa, "Do you trust the Yankees?", to which A-Rod responded, "I'd rather not get into that, I'm just frustrated I'm not going to be on the field tomorrow. I'll leave it at that."

One more question thrown his way was about why he had his lawyer take part in the conference he had with the Levin and Cashman.

"I just want to make sure everything is documented properly, I know there were reports out there that I didn't ask for permission [to get a second opinion], but actually on Tuesday night I had a conversation with [Levine] and told him that I was going to get a second opinion. I wanted to be very clear on that. That's it, I just want to make sure everything is properly documented so there are no more mix ups."

A-Rod says that he told Levin that he was going to seek a second opinion on quad, contrary to what reports have said that the Yankees were investigating whether A-Rod broke CBA code by seeking the second opinion without telling the team.

Reports are saying that the Yankees are planning on disciplining him for violating the CBA codes, but it's not completely known what they would do. Some sources say that the Yanks might plan on issuing him a fine.

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Cashman Responds To The A-Rod Chaos

For those of you that haven't been following, the biggest story of the day has been Alex Rodriguez and the issue, or no issue, with his quad that was diagnosed by team doctors to have a Grade 1 quad strain.

But on Wednesday, A-Rod took matters into his own hands, reaching out to Dr. Michael Gross, chief of orthopedics of Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack. Gross said on WFAN Radio in New York that Rodriguez had asked him to look over the MRI to offer a second opinion.

Gross told WFAN's Mike Francesa that he never treated A-Rod in person, only speaking to him over the phone, but after spending about 20 minutes looking at the image, he saw no reason that Rodriguez couldn't be in the Yankees' lineup.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't see any sort of injury there," Gross said in the radio interview. "I asked him that specifically. I said, 'A-Rod, does anything hurt?' And he said, 'No.' If there's no pain -- to me, as an orthopedist -- that means there's no injury."

A-Rod has said that he feels good and that there's no pain in his quad. According to sources, he told the Yankees that he wants to be in the Yanks' lineup as early as Friday night when the team comes back home to open up a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"I asked him, 'Do you think you're fit to play?' And he said, '100 percent,'" Gross said. "I'm guessing a guy who's been playing ball his entire life knows his body. If he thinks he's fit to play, that's what he said."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman responded to these reports by issuing a statement shortly before the Yankees took the field against the Texas Rangers Wednesday night:

"I heard via a text message this afternoon from Alex Rodriguez that he had retained a doctor to review his medical situation. In media reports, we have since learned that the doctor in question has acknowledged that he did not examine Mr. Rodriguez and that he was not retained to do a comprehensive medical examination of Mr. Rodriguez. Contrary to the Basic Agreement, Mr. Rodriguez did not notify us at any time that he was seeking a second opinion from any doctor with regard to his quad strain.

"As you know, it is the Yankees' desire to have Alex return to the lineup as soon as possible. And we have done everything to try and accomplish this.

"As early as Friday, July 12, when I suggested to Alex that we move his rehab from Tampa to Triple-A Scranton (at Buffalo), Alex complained for the first time of "tightness" in his quad and therefore refused to consent to the transfer of his assignment. Again, last Sunday, Alex advised that he had stiffness in his quad and should not play on Sunday or Monday. We sent Alex to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for an MRI which evidenced a Grade 1 strain.

"As always, we will follow the rules and regulations set forth in the Basic Agreement, and will again re-evaluate Alex in Tampa tomorrow, as our goal is to return him to the lineup as soon as he is medically capable of doing so."

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MRI Shows A Grade 1 Quad Strain For A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez will no longer be joining the Yankees in Texas this week after an MRI Sunday afternoon revealed a Grade 1 quad strain in the rehabbing slugger.

A-Rod was scheduled to join the Yankees when they play the Texas Rangers this week, but they've announced that he won't, instead he'll head to Tampa for rest and treatment.

Sunday was initially the final day of Rodriguez's 20-day rehab stint. The Yankees will keep him on the disabled list, but because the 20-day window is over he will be unable to play in minor league games.

The team will be able to ask Major League Baseball for an additional rehab assignment, claiming that he has suffered a new injury.

Quad strains are not an injury that the Yankee are unfamiliar with, with Derek Jeter going through the same injury. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Jeter hasn't started running yet and isn't sure whether he'll be ready to play once he can come off the DL on Saturday.

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A-Rod Flying To New York For MRI

Alex Rodriguez's return the Yankees big league lineup is looking like it might take longer than expected. Joel Sherman of the New York Post is reporting that A-Rod is on his way to New York to under and MRI on his left quad.

As of now, it's unknown how this will effect A-Rod joining to team in Texas on Monday as originally planned, but it's not looking good.

A-Rod said that he first felt tightness in his quad will running the bases for Triple-A Scranton Friday night. He was suppose to play third base for Scranton on Saturday, but was moved to the DH spot about an hour before the game.

Rodriguez went on the play the game as the DH, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Afterwards, he said this about his quad:

"I think it's just a matter of how I wake up in the morning," said Rodriguez. "I'm going to go get some treatment. I'll get some more treatment in the morning. (Sunday) might be a good treatment day and then just strap it up Monday. But I'll talk to Joe and just see how he feels."

But apparently he woke and didn't feel very well, causing him to fly to New York for the MRI. If everything comes back clean, then it seems like we'll see A-Rod in Texas to play Monday or Tuesday. But if something comes up, then his return would likely be pushed back a week or so.

In 13 rehab game so far, A-Rod is 8-for-40 with two homeruns and 11 strikeouts. While he may be ready healthwise, his number don't suggest he's ready to face big league pitching.

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Gardner Gets Ejected, Yanks Lose 4-2

BOSTON -- Andy Pettitte wasn't happy with the way he's been pitching lately. After tonight, I don't think he came any closer to happiness. Pettitte allowed at least four runs for the seventh straight outing, giving up a pair of homeruns to Jacoby Ellsbury and Johnny Gomes in a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox.

"This ain't easy," said Pettitte. "It's a tough lineup. Those guys are good over there. They can hit the ball. You're trying to battle as best you can."

Ellsbury kicked off his second half of the season with a homerun to right field on the second pitch he saw from Pettitte in the first inning. Gomes added to the lead in the second inning with a two-run blast over the monster to put Boston up 3-0.

Facing Felix Doubront, who's had success against the Yankees in his career, the Yanks' bats weren't doing much through the first five innings, not joining the hit-column until Lyle Overbay doubled off the monster to open the 5th.

Chris Stewart brought Overbay around to score a couple batter later when he he, too, doubled off the monster to pull the Yankees within one, making it a 3-2 game.

After allowing the homerun to Gomes in the second, Pettitte settled down nicely to continue on through the game until running into some trouble in the 7th inning. Gomes double to lead off, then Pettitte induced a groundout from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, leading Girardi to make the move to the pen.

Pettitte, like I said, didn't have his best stuff early on in the game, but settled down to give up only one run after the second inning, permitting four runs on six hits, while walking one and striking out four in 6 1/3.

"It's got to change," Pettitte said. "I can't keep going out there and giving up two, three, four runs in the first inning and second inning. I feel too good."

Unlucky for Girardi and the Yankees, the bullpen was to sharp. Shawn Kelley retired Brock Holt on a grounder back at him, then threw a wild pitch to the backstop, advancing Gomes to third. Then after battling off a few pitches, Jose Iglesias bloopped a single into right field to put the Six up by two.

The lead would be big enough for Boston as they went on the shutdown the Yankees quietly in the 9th to close out the 4-2 victory. With the win, they extended their lead over the Yankees in the AL East to seven games.

"It's one night. You can't make too much of it, but obviously this is an important stretch for us that we're in, and we understand that," Girardi said. "The next three teams we play are all in front of us, and that's really important, so we need to play well."

Brett Gardner, who scored the Yankees first run in the 4th inning after stealing second and third, leading to a ball thrown into left field that lead him to score, was ejected from the game from slamming his helmet to the ground in anger after being called out on strikes.

"This is a big game, it's the middle of the game, it's a one-run game, and I've got do a better job of keeping my emotions in check," Gardner said. "But today I didn't. I wish I had done things differently and stayed in the ballgame."

Zoilo Almonte left the game in the 5th inning with a right ankle sprain that he suffered while trying to beat out a double play ball in the 2nd inning. X-Rays came back negative, but Girardi announced after the game that Almonte would be placed on the DL and corresponding move would be made on Sunday.

"It started hurting right away after the play, but I did try to run on it to see if it would get better," Almonte said.

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Cano Leaves All-Star Game After Hit By Pitch

Well, it only took about 10 minutes for the night's of Yankees fans to be ruined everywhere.

In his his first at-bat against National League starter Matt Harvey, Robinson Cano, starting second baseman for the American League, was hit on the right knee by a 96-mph fastball thrown by Harvey.

After AL manager Jim Leyland and trainers came out to talk to Cano, he decided to stay in the game, but left moment later after Miguel Cabrera struck out for the first out of the first inning.

As Cano walked off the field, he passed by the mound with Harvey patting his chest, saying "My bad" to Cano. Cano gave Harvey a wink and carried on to the clubhouse.

“I said, ‘No problem,' ” Cano said. “I know he don't want to hit nobody.

“There's nothing you can do.”

He was examined by Mets team doctors, who diagnosed him with a right quad contusion. X-Rays also came back negative and Cano hopes he'll be good to go when the Yankees start a series against the Red Sox on Friday.

"Yeah, I'll be good for Friday," Cano said.

This is the absolute worst possible thing for the Yankees as they get set to face to Boston Red Sox once the second half of play begins on Friday. If Cano is forced to miss any, and I mean any extended period of time, it would destroy the Yankees already weak lineup.

Cano has not missed a single this season, having played in all 95 of the Yankees games. He's batting .302 with 21 homeruns and 65 RBI's as the only All-Star in the lineup.

Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox entered the game as a pinch-runner to replace Cano and stayed in the game at second base.

"Of course you are," Cano said of being disappointed about his early exit. "You want to play the game and enjoy the nice city in New York with the fans, but that's part of life. Got to get it better and take it easy."

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