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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Spring Training notebook: Day 4

TAMPA, Fla. -- Robinson Cano is still making headlines in the New York newspapers, yet he signed with the Seattle Mariners a couple months ago. His manager fired back at comments about him in Sunday's NY Daily News; Brendan Ryan thinks Yankees fans will hate him; and Masahiro Tanaka threw another bullpen.

All of that, plus some more, in today's edition of the Yankees Spring Training notebook.

Pitching to his value: Tanaka threw another bullpen Tuesday morning, and once again, he was getting some praise for the way he threw.

“Really impressive. Really impressive,” catcher John Ryan Murphy said. “His fastball command was really good today. Cervy told me it was the other day (as well). Masahiro told me it was probably the best of the three bullpens he had thrown.

"The fastball command for me was really good inside and outside. I think his ability to forget a poor pitch and repeat a better pitch the next pitch was really impressive also. If he threw one poor pitch, he was back (to throwing a good pitch) the next one. I think he threw four or five pitches up in the zone, that was it. He commanded all of his pitches. He’s got a short memory on the bad pitches, and I think overall it was very, very good.”

As for the legendary split-finger that we've all been hearing about, Murphy had some good words about that, too.

“He only threw maybe five or six, but he threw a few that were really good and sharp and hard and downward breaking,” Murphy said. “And then he threw a couple for strikes. He did it all today, honestly.”

As for his arm strength...

“What surprised me was the effort level looked minimal and it was coming out really good,” Murphy said. “Velocity-wise, I have no idea.”

He thinks you guys hate him: Brendan Ryan is going to spend a decent amount of time subbing for Derek Jeter at shortstop this season, and he believes that Yankees fans won't be too fond of that.

But that doesn't matter, because Ryan plans to "embrace the boos," he said Tuesday.

"I'm going to get booed regardless," Ryan said. "I've been booed before. Who cares? If I'm getting high-fives from my teammates, I'm doing something right and that's what matters. Hopefully the fans will come around after that."

Jeter, who announced his retirement on Facebook last week. is coming off a season in which he played just 17 games because of various injuries, including multiple re-injurings of his surgically repaired right ankle.

The Yankees acquired Ryan from the Mariners in September, and though he can't hit, he is good enough in the field that the Yanks re-signed him on a two-year contract this offseason.

Now leading off, in center field: Jacoby Ellsbury showed up to Yankees camp today. He said that he is completely healed from the foot injury that caused him problems late last season and into the playoffs.

“It feels good,” Ellsbury said. “I went into the offseason workouts and once I stepped into that weight room it was 100 percent ready to go. Strength and everything is where it needs to be. … I’ll talk to those guys about it, but as far as me being ready to go, I’m ready to go.”

And to the surprise of nobody, Ellsbury said that Joe Girardi has told him that he'll be leading off and playing center field for the Yankees this season.

Back off my boy: Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon had something to say about Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long's comments on the Daily News Sunday that Cano didn't always hustle down the line, bothering Long during Cano's nine-year tenure in the Bronx.

"Last time I checked, I didn't know that Kevin Long was the spokesman for the New York Yankees," McClendon told ESPN.com. "That was a little surprising. I was a little pissed off, and I'm sure Joe [Girardi] feels the same way. He's concerned with his team and what they're doing, not what the Seattle Mariners players are doing.

"I'm a little surprised that Kevin Long is the spokesman for the New York Yankees. I wonder if he had any problems with Robbie when he wrote that book ["Cage Rat"] proclaiming himself as the guru of hitting."

Long responded to that on Tuesday, saying he wasn't trying to go after Cano in any way, and that "if you look at all the good things that were written about Robinson you would understand there was no malicious meaning behind any of it."

Green with envy, not money: When Yu Darvish came over from Japan to sign with the Texas Rangers two years ago, the posting system that was in place at the time was only able to get him a six-year, $56 million guaranteed deal.

What does he think about the new posting system now that the Yankees were able to give Tanaka a seven-year, $155 million contract this winter?

"I don't know the details of the posting system, but I think the Yankees gave him a little bit too much," said Darvish, chuckling along with his interpreter.

After everyone on Twitter made a big deal over his comments, Darvish tweeted that he was only joking, and the Rangers' PR staff sent out a statement saying, too, that he was only joking. Hmmm...

Parting shot: This comes from Girardi, who was think about the big picture when talking about his club today.....

“I'm encouraged what I've seen in camp so far. It’s a camp that, our staff does a very good job of making sure they see everyone in all the different situations, and that’s why you see BPs spread out throughout the whole day so Larry has a close eye on everyone. But I’m encouraged by what we've got so far.

"Tex hitting the third day in a row, he feels good, and the position players all get here tomorrow, and we’ll get on the field whatever day that is, Thursday.”

**********

Gavin Ewbank is the Lead Writer of Yanks Beat Blog, and you can follow him on Twitter (below).

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Yankees re-sign Brendan Ryan to two-year deal

The Yankees have re-signed shortstop Brendan Ryan to a two-year, $5 million deal with a mutual option for a third year that includes incentives which could bring the value of the contract to $10 million, reports Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

The Yankees wanted to re-sign Ryan to provide a solid defensive solution to Derek Jeter, who will go into the 2014 season with questions surrounding his health, and whether his surgically repaired right ankle, which caused him to go back on the DL for a 4th time in 2013, will be ready for next season.

Ryan was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in mid-September, and he played in 17 games for the Yankees down the stretch, batting just .220 with one homerun.

Ryan will provide the Yankees with some very solid defense, as he's been one of the best defensive shortstops in the league for throughout his career. But at the same time, Ryan is very good at handling the bat, and his offense has nothing to do with the Yanks bringing him back.

Re-signing Ryan for two-years could also mean that the Yankees are starting to give up on Eduardo Nunez as an option to replace Jeter when he decides it's time to hang up the cleats.

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Yankees Have Expressed Interest In SS Jhonny Peralta

The Yankees re-signed Derek Jeter to a one-year, $12 million deal on November 1st, and now there close to wrapping up Brendan Ryan for one more year, but that doesn't mean they're done adding  shortstops.

The Yankees have expressed interest in free-agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta, reports Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Peralta would seem to make sense for the Yankees if Alex Rodriguez, who resumed his appeal hearing with MLB on Monday, is suspended for most or all of the 2014 season. He would also be able to spell Jeter a shortstop when needed.

Peralta also learned to play left field for the Detroit Tigers for the final three games of the 2013 season and into the playoffs after serving a 50-game suspension for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

Before being suspended, Peralta earned the second All-Star selection of his career. He finished the season with an .815 OPS in 107 games with the Tigers.

He also been drawing interest from the Yankees' cross-town rivals, the New York Mets.

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Brendan Ryan "Close" To Re-Signing With The Yankees

The Yankees are "close" to re-signing shortstop Brendan Ryan for the 2014 season, says Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

Ryan would serve as insurance for the Yankees next season if Derek Jeter, whose season ended a day after the Yankees acquired Ryan on September 10th because of recurring problems with his surgically repaired left ankle.

Sherman says that the deal would be "small" and that it wouldn't have any effect on the Yankees pursuit of signing a better player that could play shortstop and even third base, such as free agents Stephen Drew and Jhonny Peralta.

The left side of the infield is something that the Yankees have been looking to upgrade at this winter with a ton of uncertainties around Jeter, who signed a one-year, $12 million contract to replace the $9.5 million player-option he had, and his ankle, then, of course, there is Alex Rodriguez and his appeal of the 211-game suspension that could end as soon as Thanksgiving, and a decision by arbitrator Frederick Horowitz could come some time near Christman.

With that said, it's unlikely that the Yankees will try to make any major moves at third base without knowing if a) they will have A-Rod next season, or b) whether or not they will have extra money to spend on players is A-Rod's suspension is upheld for at least 2014, meaning the Yankees would save about $26 million, helping very much to get under the $189 luxury tax threshold.

Ryan, who turns 31 in April, played 17 games for the Yankees in 2013, hitting just .220 with a .563 OPS. The Yanks never wanted him for his bat, which has also been very bad, but rather for the great defense he can provide a team.

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Yankees And Brendan Ryan Have Mutual Interest, Deal Could Happen Quickly

The Yankees have shortstop Brendan Ryan on their radar for this winter, says Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Rosenthal also says that Ryan and the Yankees have mutual interest in each other, and that a deal could happen very quickly.

Ryan was traded to the Yankees on September 10th, the day before Derek Jeter was shutdown for the rest of the season because of some issues with his surgically repaired left ankle, and played in 17 games for the Yanks, hitting .220 in 62 at-bats.

He said in the past that he loved his time in New York, and coming back would certainly make sense.

The Yankees acquired him because of his stellar glove in the field, knowing that he would be able to provide a reliable option at shortstop with Jeter down. Bringing him back for 2014 would mean that the Yankees would be able to use Jeter at shortstop more often until the questions about his ankle go away -- if they ever do.

The Yankees also have Eduardo Nunez at shortstop, although he was better in the field than in the past in 2013, he didn't completely prove to the Yanks that he can handle the daily shortstop duties when Jeter isn't in the lineup.

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Grand Slam In The 7th Blasts Red Sox Past The Yankees

Sometimes, baseball can be a cruel game.

On a Friday night on Boston -- Friday the 13th, that is -- the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox opened up their final series of the season at Fenway Park, and it was a game that lived up to everything that  Yankees and Red Sox series is suppose to be.

Boston took a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning off Yankees starter Hiroki Kuroda, but as you might already know, no lead is safe when it comes to these two teams.

Kuroda settled into end up pitching six-plus innings without giving up another run outside of the 1st, permitting four runs on eight hits, while mixing in a pair a strike outs on 101 pitches.

As the game rolled on a homerun by Brendan Ryan, sac-fly by Lyle Overbay, and a two-run double by Robinson Cano in the top of the 7th brought the Yankees all the way back to tie the game.

But in the end, the Yankees' bullpen couldn't keep them in the game, giving up four-runs in the 7th inning to pave the way for the Red Sox to take the first game of the series, 8-4.

What it means: For starters, the bullpen failed to do it's job once again. With a win by the Tampa Bay Rays tonight, the Yankees will fall back to two-games behind Tamp for the second Wild Card spot. As well as the Yanks have been playing lately, they just can't catch a break when it comes to playing the Red So, who appear to be possibly the best team in the American League.

Salty grand salami: Boston loaded the bases to start the home half of the 7th inning, and with Preston Claiborne in the mound -- normally good, but not so much of late -- and the four-run lead the Red Sox had early in the game came right back to them when Jarrod Saltalamacchia blasted a grand slam beyond the bullpens in right field to put the Sox up 8-4.

No so good start: With the bullpen as fatigued as it is, Yankees manager Joe Girardi needed Kuroda to put the team on his back, while keeping the bullpen out of the game. Unfortunately for Girardi, Kuroda took the mound in the first inning and started off the game in no way the Yankees or Kuroda was hoping for.

Kuroda took the mound in the bottom of the first and didn't get out of the inning until after the Red Sox had already tagged him for four-runs on four-hits and a walk over 33 pitches -- signalling the bullpen might get a lot of work done.

Dustin Pedroia singled to start the inning, then David Ortiz double to left field a couple batters later. Mike Carp followed with a groundout to score Pedroia, and then single by Daniel Nava scored Ortiz. Kuroda walked Saltalamacchia and then served up a double to Stephen Drew to put the Sox up 4-0.

Settling in: Somehow, Kuroda managed to turn things around after the first inning, pitching a complete 180 on the mound, keeping the Red Sox off the board in the next five innings. He went on to give up just three hits after the 1st inning, while also retiring the Red Sox in order in the 4th and 6th innings.

Bunt double: With one-out in the first inning, the Red Sox put on a shift for Robinson Cano at the plate. Cano dropped down a bunt, and as it rolled towards nobody at third base, Cano put together some heads up basing running and trotted into second with a bunt double.

Ryan's Hope: Ryan, playing in just this third game with the Yankees, hit a solo homerun off John Lackey in the top of the 3rd inning to put the Yanks on the board, 4-1. It was his 1st homerun of the Bombers, and only his 4th this season between the Seattle Mariners and Yanks -- a new career high.

How'd he catch that? The Yankees set up with runners on the corners and only one away in the 6th inning against Lackey after Cano doubled and Alfonso Soriano singled. Overbay came up and shot a ball into the right-center field gap that Shane Victorino, somehow, chased down to make the catch for the second out, all while Cano tagged and scored from third to cut Boston's lead to 4-2.

Adding the zero's: Cano was fantastic in this game. He was quite the stud on defense, making a couple nice plays, including a running, over-the-shoulder catch in shallow right field to end the 6th inning. At the plate, he was as good as advertised, collecting four hits, three of which were doubles, one of which was the bunt double, including the two-run double to tie the game in the 7th.

Up next: These two teams continue this important series tomorrow for a Saturday matinee on FOX, as a pair of lefties, CC Sabathia (13-12, 4.82 ERA) and Jon Lester (13-8, 3.86 ERA) square off in the second game of the three-game set. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05pm EST.

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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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Pettitte Faces The O's, Going For 6th Straight Quality Start

If you thought that the New York Yankees were out of the playoff chase after losing four of the last five games heading into Tuesday night, then think again, because they're still right in the middle of the second Wild Card race.

Trailing 4-3 after seven innings of play, the Yankees exploded for a four-run inning against the Baltimore Orioles, kicking off the inning with a double by Alex Rodriguez, who would score on a base hit to center by Robinson Cano to tie the game. Alfonso Soriano followed a two-run homerun to take a 6-4 lead, and Mark Reynolds doubled home a tack-on run.

Mariano Rivera came out of the bullpen to record the Yankees' final four outs of the game, sealing the Bombers' 7-5 victory. With and win and a loss by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees will enter play on Wednesday just two games back of Tampa for the second Wild Card.

Just as important as the Wild Card standings, A-Rod, Austin Romine and starter Ivan Nova all left last night's game because of injuries. A-Rod's left hamstring tightened up on him on his scoring play in the 8th; Nova left because of some tightness in his triceps; and Romine left with a possibly concussion after taking a foul-tip of his facemask.

Tonight's Lineup vs Baltimore:

Gardner CF
Rodriguez DH
Cano 2B
Soriano LF
Granderson RF
Reynolds 3B
Overbay 1B
Ryan SS
Stewart C
Pettitte LHP

Derek Jeter is out of the lineup for the fourth straight game because of his ankle; A-Rod is in the lineup, but it could be something that we'll know more on after batting practice; newly acquired Brendan Ryan is starting at shortstop, and he'll be wearing No. 35 tonight.

Pitching Preview:

Andy Pettitte got off to a good start this season for the Yankees, after about the first month of the season, he started to fall into a funk to suggest being 41-years-old was finally catching up to him. After a couple months of terrible pitching, Pettitte has once again found his grove on the mound, as he takes the mound in Baltimore looking for his sixth straight quality start.

Pettitte is coming off a good start against the Boston Red Sox last week, but the Yankees' bullpen couldn't back him up, as he would take the no-decision after giving up three runs on five hits over six innings.

"I felt good. I hate it," Pettitte said. "I wish I'd gone a little bit deeper in the game, but all my pitches were working. It was a game where you feel maybe like you could've got a little bit deeper."

Going up against Pettitte and the Yankees will be Orioles right-hander Scott Feldman, who;s coming off one of his best pitching performances of the season, going the distance against the Chicago White Sox, giving up just five hits over nine innings in the the O's 4-0 win.

"The first time through, they were kind of taking the first pitch a little bit, then after that, they got a little more aggressive," Feldman said. "So I was able to try not to live in the middle of the plate, kind of to hit the corners and hope they'd swing and get some early outs that way. If I go nine or seven -- whatever it is -- as long as we win, it's a good game."

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