Ian Kennedy Update

UPDATE 5:41 p.m.: According to Peter Abraham, Kennedy was examined by a specialist in NYC today, and he has a vasospasm. It can be treated with medication, and Kennedy will be evaluated again Monday.

He also said that according to his own Google search that it doesn't appear that A vasopasm is serious.

Kennedy had two outs in the fifth inning when he was removed because of numbness in one of his fingers. He was sent for tests in Rochester after the game and spent Tuesday in New York with a Yankees team doctor.

Results of the tests will be released some time today. I will post any info I heard about this here so check back later.

A Look at Some Power Rankings

Back toward the end of February I took a look at the AOL Fanhouse MLB power rankings, and in early April at the ESPN MLB power rankings.

Here's how the AOL rankings looked:

1) Rays
2) Yankees
3) Mets
4) Red Sox
5) Phillies
6) Braves
7) Angels
8) Cubs
9) Diamondbacks
10) Brewers

And ESPN's:

1. Boston Red Sox
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. New York Yankees
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Philadelphia Phillies
6. New York Mets
7. Los Angeles Angels
8. Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Cleveland Indians
10. Minnesota Twins

I had intended to follow these rankings throughout the year, but it slipped my mind. From now on I will try to remain on top of it.

As you might imagine and 10-10 start has knocked the Yankees down a few pegs.

Here's the current AOL rankings:

1. Red Sox | Previous Week: 4
2. Dodgers | Previous Week: 2
3. Cardinals | Previous Week: 9
4. Mariners | Previous Week: 8
5. Phillies | Previous Week: 14
6. Blue Jays | Previous Week: 10
7. Cubs | Previous Week: 3
8. Tigers | Previous Week: 17
9. Pirates | Previous Week: 20
10. Marlins | Previous Week: 1

The Yankees ranked 12th after ranking 7th last week. And if you were wondering, the Mets are ranked 16th after being ranked 5th last week.

Here's what they had to say about the Yankees:

The terrifying thing is that the Yanks are playing .500 ball and Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia aren't playing well. Also: Alex Rodriguez isn't back for a week or so. If A-Rod returns and those guys start batting, this might actually be the team that people were scared of to begin the season.

And for ESPN's rankings:

1. Red Sox | Previous Week: 8
2. Dodgers | Previous Week: 2
3. Blue Jays | Previous Week: 4
4. Cardinals | Previous Week: 5
5. Marlins | Previous Week: 1
6. Mariners | Previous Week: 9
7. Pirates | Previous Week: 20
8. Phillies | Previous Week: 16
9. Tigers | Previous Week: 7
10. Yankees | Previous Week: 6

Here's ESPN's commentary on the Yankees:

New York's pitching is the worst in MLB with a 6.25 ERA.

Thanks for that in depth analysis ESPN.

The Mets were ranked 15th.

While where at it, let's take a look at Fox Sports power rankings:

1. Blue Jays | Previous Week: 3
2. Red Sox | Previous Week: 7
3. Dodgers | Previous Week: 2
4. Cardinals | Previous Week: 10
5. Mariners | Previous Week: 6
6. Pirates | Previous Week: 16
7. Tigers | Previous Week: 13
8. Phillies | Previous Week: 20
9. Reds | Previous Week: 15
10. Marlins | Previous Week: 1

The Yankees were ranked 12th after being ranked 18th last week.

Here's their commentary:

Yes, they don't have A-Rod. But A-Rod wouldn't have mattered during losses in which the Yanks allowed 15, 16 and 22 runs.

I'll post these rankings every week sp we can follow them as the year goes on.

What do you think, do you agree or disagree with the rankings above?

Nice To Have You Back

(REUTERS/Rebecca Cook)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NYY	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	1		11	12	0
DET	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	4	1

Welcome back to the big leagues, Phil Hughes.

You could not have asked for more from the 22-year-old tonight in Detroit. In six shutout innings the right-hander allowed just two hits and two walks, and struck out six. He threw 99 pitches in the game, 58 for strikes. I've seen every one of his starts as a Yankee and the only time he's thrown the ball this well was during the no-hitter in Texas.

According to MLB.com his fastball averaged 91.3 MPH, and he was topping out at 94. His fastball was explosive tonight, with a lot of late life, and he had great command of it.

That wasn't the case with his curveball for the first few innings. It had great movement, but he had no idea where it was going. Apparently he made whatever adjustments he needed to make, because by the third inning he had regained command of the pitch. The significance here is that last year he wouldn't have been able to make the adjustments necessary. Here's what Dave Eiland said about it, "He was getting quick with his lower half and I said something to him. He made the adjustment whereas last year he had something else in his head. He’s much more focused and confident now.” To me that's a big deal. It shows he's light-years ahead of where he was last year as a pitcher.

Hughes got into one jam in the game when the Tigers had runners on first and second with one out in the fourth. He got Gerald Laird to ground into a force for the second out of the inning, but then walked Brandon Inge to load the bases. Remember, at this point in the game it was still 0-0 and the Yankees had a four-game losing streak, so the pressure was on. It didn't seem to bother Hughes as he was able to get Josh Anderson to ground out to second. Hughes then retired the next six batters he faced before leaving the game after the sixth.

Tigers' starter Edwin Jackson also pitched great and matched zeros with Hughes through six. But the Yankees made him work and got his pitch count to 117 pitches through six. The Tigers had to go to their pen and the Yankees offense decided to wake up. Nick Swisher led off with a single and Melky Cabrera walked, and the Yanks were in business with two on and nobody out. Jose Molina laid down a sac-bunt to move the runners into scoring position for Jorge Posada who was pinch-hitting for Ramiro Pena. Posada hit a flare to left field that Anderson misplayed. Both runners scored and Posada ended up on second base. The Yankees would go on to add eight more in the inning with the rally being capped off by a grand-slam off from Molina.

Mark Melancon relieved Hughes in the bottom half of the seventh and pitched a very quick 1-2-3 inning, needed just 11 pitches (7 strikes). He also struck out one. His fastball was averaging 92.4 mph, and his breaking ball was filthy, especially the one he used to strike out Inge.

Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras pitched a scoreless inning each to finish off the game.

The Yankees have a chance to take the series and head home on a high note if they can win tomorrow night with Joba Chamberlain on the mound. You don't want to head home with a sub .500 record with the Angels, Red Sox, and Rays coming to town.

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jeter, SS	4	1	1	0	1	1	1	.294
Damon, LF	5	1	1	1	0	0	2	.286
Gardner, CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.220
Teixeira, 1B	4	0	0	0	1	0	2	.206
Matsui, DH	5	1	2	1	0	0	1	.288
Cano, 2B	5	1	2	1	0	1	2	.381
Swisher, RF-LF	3	3	2	1	2	0	0	.300
Cabrera, M, CF-RF	3	2	2	1	2	1	2	.325
Molina, J, C	4	1	1	4	0	0	2	.276
Pena, 3B	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.211
a-Posada, PH	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.279
1-Berroa, PR-3B	2	1	1	0	0	0	1	.250
Totals	37	11	12	10	6	4	14
a-Hit a sacrifice fly for Pena in the 7th. 1-Ran for Posada in the 7th.
BATTING 3B: Matsui (1, Jackson). HR: Molina, J (1, 7th inning off Lyon, 3 on, 2 out), Swisher (5, 9th inning off Rincon, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter; Damon; Matsui 4; Cano 2; Swisher 5; Cabrera, M 2; Molina, J 4; Berroa. RBI: Posada (14), Damon (8), Matsui (5), Cano (16), Cabrera, M (8), Molina, J 4 (5), Swisher (15). 2-out RBI: Matsui; Cano; Cabrera, M; Molina, J 4. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon 2; Cabrera, M; Cano 2. S: Molina, J. SF: Posada. GIDP: Berroa. Team RISP: 4-for-9. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Jeter (4, 2nd base off Jackson/Laird).

TIGERS OFFENSE

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hughes, P (W, 1-0)	6.0	2	0	0	2	6	0	0.00
Melancon	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Ramirez, E	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	6.48
Veras	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5.73

TIGERS PITCHING

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Phil Hughes (W, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K)

HONORABLE MENTION: Jose Molina (1-for-4, Grand-slam, 4 RBI, R, Sac-bunt)

TOMORROW'S GAME

Game Time: 7:05 p.m. | TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880
Joba Chamberlain RHP (0-0, 3.94 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello RHP (1-2, 3.75 ERA)

4/28 Minor League Report

================

We are lucky enough to have a SWB report from BigGuy tonight.
He won't be doing these all the time by when he does I will
post them. Thanks BG for the great contributions.

(AAA) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (14-3) lost to Lehigh Valley 6-0: Box Score - Recap

The SWB Yanks entertained Lehigh Valley (Phillies) and were shutout by a score of 6-0 for only their 3rd loss of the year. The Yanks record is now at 15-3.

PITCHING: Eric Hacker, replacing Phil Hughes, made his first AAA start. Hacker was perfect the first 2 innings, striking out the side in the 2nd. He picked up 2 quick outs in the 3rd before the roof caved in. A solo homer, 2 infield hits, balk, an RBI single, and a 3-run homer by John Mayberry Jr. gave Lehigh Valley a 5-0 lead. Hacker recovered nicely throwing 3 more scoreless innings. The only baserunner coming in the 4th, reached on an error by Eric Duncan at 3rd. Hacker retired the last 8 men he faced. Other than the 2 homer runs in the 3rd innng he had a very good debut. The 3 singles in the 3rd were not hit hard. He finished with 8 strikeouts and had 4 perfect innings in the game.

Hacker's line: 6.0 IP, 5 runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts---2 walks. He threw 102 pitches--65 for strikes, 7 groundouts - 3 flyouts.

BULLPEN: J.B. Cox came on to pitch the 7th inning. He gave up 1 run on a double and rbi single to give Lehigh Valley a 6-0 lead. Cox threw a scoreless 8th allowing a double and picking up his 2nd strikeout. Cox threw a scoreless 9th allowing a 2 out single.

OFFENSE: SWB came into the game averaging just under 8 runs per game, but not in this game. Lehigh Valley pitchers combined to shutout the Yankees on 7 hits. SWB threatened in the 2nd when Shelley Duncan and Juan Miranda singled with no outs but were stranded. In the 6th after 2 outs, John Rodriguez was HBP and Todd Linden doubled, but again was left stranded.

Austin Jackson had 2 singles.

NOTES: Ian Kennedy left Monday's game in the 5th inning with a numb finger. Todd Linden extended his hit streak to 13 games with a double in the 6th inning. John Rodriguez had his 11 game hit streak snapped. Eric Duncan has had 2 rough games. Eric had 4 K's Monday, and hit into 3 DP's tonight.

There was also this injury update from Chad Jennings:

Jason Johnson (right) went for tests on a sore right shoulder this afternoon, and the tests did not go well. Johnson has a partially torn labrum and will head to Tampa to rehab the injury. He doesn't think he'll need surgery.

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Lehigh Valley	0	0	5	0	0	0	1	0	0		6	9	0
Scranton/WB	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	7	1

W: R. Lopez (1-1, 2.70); L: E. Hacker (0-1, 7.50)
HR: LHV: J. Mayberry (5), J. Ellison (1).

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

Offense:
Todd Linden: 1-for-4, 2B
Shelley Duncan: 2-for-4
Juan Miranda: 1-for-4
Austin Jackson: 2-for-3
Luis Nunez: 1-for-3

Pitching:
Eric Hacker (L, 0-1): 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (7.50 ERA)
J.B. Cox: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (5.40 ERA)

(AA) Trenton (9-7) beat Connecticut 2-0: Box Score - Recap

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Connecticut	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	3	0
Trenton	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	X		2	10	1

W: G. Kontos (1-1, 2.66); L: J. Foppert (0-1, 5.79); SV: A. Sanit (1)
HR: None.

Trenton Thunder

Offense:
Eduardo Nunez: 1-for-4
Reegie Corona: 2-for-3, BB, 2 R, SB
Colin Curtis: 2-for-4
Jorge Vaquez: 1-for-4, RBI
Marcos Vechionacci: 2-for-3, BB, RBI
Francisco Cervelli: 1-for-4
James Cooper: 1-for-2, BB

Pitching:
George Kontos (W, 1-1): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K (2.66 ERA)
Michael Dunn: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (0.77 ERA)
Amaury Sanit (S, 1): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (0.00 ERA)

(High-A) Tampa (9-9) beat Lakeland 3-1: Box Score - Recap

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Tampa	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0		3	6	1
Lakeland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	5	1

W: W. De La Rosa (1-0, 0.00); L: D. Below (1-2, 1.86); SV: J. Ortiz (4)
HR: TAM: J. Montero 2 (4). LAK: K. Kaiser (2).

Tampa Yankees

Offense:
Austin Krum: 1-for-3, 2 BB, RBI
Jesus Montero: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Brandon Laid: 1-for-4
Austin Romine: 0-for-3, BB, R
Jack Rye: 2-for-4

Pitching:
Wilkin De La Rosa (W, 1-0): 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K (0.00 ERA)
Jason Stephens: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (3.94 ERA)
Grant Duff: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K (7.88 ERA)
Jonathan Ortiz (S, 4): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (8.53 ERA)

(Low-A) Charleston (11-8) lost to Asheville 7-6: Box Score - Recap

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Charleston	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	3		6	11	4
Asheville	0	1	0	2	1	0	1	0	2		7	11	1

Charleston RiverDogs

Offense:
Carmen Angelini: 0-for-4, BB, R
Raymond Kruml: 2-for-5, 2B, RBI, R
David Adams: 1-for-3, BB, R
Brian Baisley: 2-for-5, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, R
Melky Mesa: 2-for-4
Daniel Brewer: 3-for-4
Mitch Abeita: 1-for-3, HR, RBI, R

Pitching:
David Phelps: 6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (2.42 ERA)
Hector Noesi: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (0.00 ERA)
Pat Venditte (BS, 1)(L, 1-1): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (0.00 ERA)

Game 20: Yankees @ Tigers... Huuuuuuuuggghhhhhees

Regular Season Game 20
Yankees @ Tigers
Comerica Park - Detroit, MI
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV/Radio: YES, WCBS 880

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES (9-10)
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Melky Cabrera CF
Jose Molina C
Ramiro Pena 3B

Pitching: Phil Hughes RHP (season debut)

TIGERS (11-8)
Curtis Granderson CF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Miguel Cabrera 1B
Carlor Guillen DH
Gerald Laird C
Brandon Inge 3B
Josh Anderson LF
Adam Everett SS

Pitching: Edwin Jackson RHP (1-1, 2.77)

News & Notes

UPDATE 7:12 p.m: Chien-Ming Wang threw 50 pitches off the mound today. There's a chance he could pitch in an extended spring training game later in the week.

- Jorge Posada is out with a sore hamstring, he is expected back in the lineup tomorrow.

UPDATE 5:20 p.m.: Here is an A-Rod update from the AP via NorthJersey.com:

Alex Rodriguez participated in a sliding drill for the first time and got 15 at-bats Tuesday during his initial simulated game since undergoing right hip surgery last month.

The New York Yankees third baseman slid five times on a sliding mat, a key step in his rehab program. He also faced rehabbing pitchers Sergio Mitre (elbow) and Paul Patterson (shoulder) in the simulated game.

"A good day. It felt good," Rodriguez said. "Good to be out there."

He hit several hard liners to right field and several strong grounders up the middle.

- If you missed it earlier, the Yankees have decided to reduce ticket prices for some of the higher priced sections.

- Phil Hughes has faced the Tigers twice in his career and the numbers aren't good. He's 0-2, with a 10.24 ERA. In 9.2 innings, he's allowed 11 runs on 12 hits, including five homers. One of the games was in Comerica. He lasted six innings, allowing five runs on four hits - three homers - walked one and struck out six.

This year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Hughes was 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA. In 19.1 innings he's allowed four runs on 17 hits, walked just three, and struck out 19.

Here are his three starts for Scranton:

4/12 @ LHV: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
4/17 vs. ROC: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
4/22 vs. BUF: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Steven Jackson was sent down to make room for Hughes on the roster.

- Former Tampa Bay Ray Edwin Jackson has faced the Yankees 13 times throughout his career, nine times as a starter, and he's 2-4, with a 5.72 ERA. Last season he was 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA in six starts against the Yanks.

Yanks vs. Jackson

	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
D. Jeter	24	10	1	1	1	4	3	5	.417	.481	.667	1.148
R. Cano	21	5	1	0	0	1	3	1	.238	.333	.286	.619
A. Rodriguez	19	7	3	0	2	8	1	6	.368	.400	.842	1.242
J. Damon	19	3	0	0	0	0	3	3	.158	.273	.158	.431
H. Matsui	19	6	0	0	1	3	1	1	.316	.350	.474	.824
M. Cabrera	15	5	0	0	0	1	0	3	.333	.333	.333	.667
N. Swisher	11	4	1	0	2	3	2	2	.364	.462	1.000	1.462
J. Posada	8	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250	.333	.250	.583
J. Molina	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.143	.143	.143	.286
X. Nady	7	4	2	0	0	2	1	0	.571	.625	.857	1.482
M. Teixeira	7	2	0	1	0	0	0	2	.286	.286	.571	.857
B. Gardner	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.250	.250	.250	.500
C. Ransom	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals	164	50	8	2	6	22	15	28	.305	.363	.488	.851

Tigers vs. Hughes

	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
P. Polanco	6	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	.667	.667	.833	1.500
M. Ordonez	5	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	.200	.200	.200	.400
C. Guillen	4	1	0	0	1	2	1	0	.250	.400	1.000	1.400
C.Granderson	4	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	.750	.833	2.500	3.333
M. Thames	3	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	.333	.333	1.333	1.667
B. Inge	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
G. Laird	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
M. Cabrera	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals	28	10	2	0	4	9	3	3	.357	.419	.857	1.276

Stick around and discuss the game

as it happens in the comments section

Hal: Yanks Will Reduce Ticket Prices

This is a statement from Hal Steinbrenner via Bryan Hoch:

“A few weeks ago I indicated that in light of the economy we would review the pricing of a small number of our premium locations at Yankee Stadium; specifically, our Suite Seats. I mentioned a small number of locations because in excess of 3.4 million seats, including 37,000 full season equivalents as well as approximately 85% of all our premium locations have already been sold. Yet, there are a few hundred Suite Seats in our premium locations that have not been sold on a full season basis. As a result, and for many of our fans who have already purchased full season Suite Seats in such premium locations, the Yankees are announcing today a program that adjusts certain prices and benefits affecting such Suite Seats.”

For the 2009 regular season only, the following price adjustments and benefits are being adopted effective immediately for a few hundred Legends Suite and Delta Sky 360 Suite Licensees.

A. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 15A, 15B, 24B and 25 will be reduced from $2,500 to $1,250 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

B. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 11, 12, 13, 27B, 28 and 29 will be reduced from $1,000 to $650 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

C. All fans who purchased full season $2,500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row, in Sections 16 – 24A, will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the first row in Sections 16 – 24A for each of the remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season.

D. All fans who purchased full season $1,250 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $1,250 Legends Suite price category for 24 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

E. All fans who purchased full season $850 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $850 Legends Suite price category for 8 games and in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 4 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

F. All fans who purchased full season $600 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 10 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

G. All fans who purchased full season $500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 8 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

H. Future 2009 regular season sales of full season $1,250, $850, $600 and $500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses, will receive comparable (dependent upon the price of the Legends Suite and Ticket License) benefits during the 2009 regular season, subject to availability.

I. The Delta SKY 360 Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 218A – 222 will be reduced from $750 to $550 for each regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

In addition, for 2009, so as to encourage fans to purchase full season ticket plans in the Field Level Sections 115 – 125, the Yankees are also adopting a program affecting a few hundred seats. And, for our fans who have already purchased, on a full season basis such Field Level seating priced at $325 Sections 115 – 125, the following program is being adopted effective immediately:

A. Going forward all fans when purchasing, on a full season basis, three (3) full regular season ticket plans priced at $325 per regular season game in Sections 115 – 125 will receive a fourth full regular season ticket at no additional cost.

B. All fans who have purchased full season plans priced at $325 per regular season game will receive complimentary regular season tickets within Sections 115 – 125 for remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season as follows:

1. If you purchased two (2) or three (3) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every other regular season game, commencing with either the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009 or the Friday evening game on May 1, 2009 and alternating for the remainder of the season.

2. If you purchased four (4) or five (5) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

3. If you purchased six (6) or seven (7) full season tickets you will receive three (3) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

4. If you purchased eight (8) full season tickets you will receive four (4) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

While the tickets are still amazingly expensive, this was a wise move by the Yankees, something they had to do in my opinion. At the same time I'm surprise they decided to do it. I thought they were too arrogant to admit they made a mistake in the first place.

Rosenthal: Joba is not headed to Yanks' pen yet

Because of the early season struggles of the pen and injury to Brian Bruney there have been cries all throughout Yankeeland lately for the Yankees to make Joba the setup man again. Ken Rosenthal says not so fast, he's needed elsewhere.

First things first: Yankees right-hander Joba Chamberlain is not returning to the bullpen — at least not yet.

"I can revisit that at any point," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday. "But right now, he is needed even more in the rotation than ever."

Chien-Ming Wang is on the disabled list. His replacement, Phil Hughes, remains largely unproven. The Yankees' current setup man, Brian Bruney might come off the disabled list in two weeks.

No, the Yankees are not panicking about their bullpen, not even after their weekend debacle in Boston. Cashman is always looking to upgrade, but says that he is not being "uber-aggressive" about looking for relief help, and that none of the available relievers interest him.

The Yankees' bullpen, featuring most of the same relievers, last season ranked second in the majors in strikeout rate, fourth in opponents' OPS and seventh in ERA. Cashman refers to the group as "talented and gifted and probably undersold."

"Nobody wants to hear it," another Yankees official said, "but you just have to let 'em pitch."

Actually, the best thing would be for the relievers to pitch less, and to that end CC Sabathia's complete game Monday night, even in a 4-2 loss to the Tigers, was a start.

Only two American League rotations — the Orioles' and A's — had averaged fewer innings than the Yankees' entering Monday's play. Wang, who worked only six innings in his three starts, was the primary culprit, but not the only one.

The Yankees believe that relievers such as right-handers Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez will return to form as their starters pitch deeper into games.

Lefty Damaso Marte allowed Kevin Youkilis' game-winning homer on Friday night, but manager Joe Girardi said it was the best Marte has thrown all season — and he made a point of repeating that several times to Marte.

For now, the Yankees have little choice but to stay the course, but the calls for Chamberlain to return to his original role only will grow louder if the team's relievers continue to struggle.

I completely agree with Rosenthal. Like I've been saying for a few days now, the Yankees pen has been as bad as they are because they're overworked. You can't expect a bullpen to pitch four innings a game and still remain sharp. Most team's bullpens will struggle if their pitchers are only throwing five innings a start.

That was one of the things that I did like about CC's performance yesterday, he gave the bullpen the night off. Once we see more of that from the Yankees staff, the better the bullpen will be too.

As Rosenthal also points out, there are other issues with moving Joba to the pen; Brian Bruney and Chien-Ming Wang, and someone he didn't mention, Mark Melancon.

Until Chien-Ming Wang proves he can pitch again the Yankees only have five starters including Hughes. So there is no way they can move Joba out of the rotation now.

If Bruney can come back in two weeks and pitch like he was - and there's no reason to believe he can't - the Yankees don't need an 8th inning guy because they already have one. Also, Mark Melancon looks like the real deal, not based on the two innings in Boston, but on everything he's done in the minors as well. After getting his feet wet for a week or two, he could slide right into the seventh inning role, which would leave Jose Veras, Phil Coke, Jonathan Albaladejo, Edwar Ramirez and Damaso Marte to handle the sixth. I think that should work out just fine.

The bottom line is that the Yankees need to see where they're at with Bruney, Melancon, and Wang, before doing anything drastic.

Now, what happens if Melancon is as good as advertised, Bruney and Wang come back at full strength, and Hughes is successful as a starter? Well that's a unbelievably great problem to have for the Yanks and it will give them two choices:

1) Keep Joba and Hughes in the rotation and have something of a six-man rotation to limit the innings for the two youngsters, and if the Yankees have a lead after six the game will be over.

2) Move Joba to the pen and if the Yankees have the lead after five the games will be over.

Again, that would be a great problem to have, sadly I don't think it's very likely that things will work out that perfectly. They never do.

Save Gate 2

At the request of one of this blog's readers, I'm now bumping this post for a second time.

Here's something I think all of you would be interested in checking out. It's SaveTheYankeeGate2.com, and here's their mission statement:

Our objective is to work with the Bronx Community, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and the New York Yankees in saving a small portion of the old Yankee Stadium exterior wall at Gate 2. Located near the intersection of River Avenue and 161st Street, it will serve as a dramatic gateway into the new Heritage Park.

We wish to recognize and remember, through the preservation of Gate 2, the historical and cultural importance of the old Stadium. This Gate stands proudly for all the fans, players, and individuals who visited, played, and worked within her majestic confines. It is the most architecturally significant element remaining from the original 1920's era ballpark.

With the move across the street to the beautiful new Yankee Stadium, this tangible "bridge" from the old to the new will enhance that great continuum of Yankee history for the enjoyment of generations to come.

Let us work together and SAVE THE GATE!

I think this is a pretty good idea and I'm sure many of you feel the same. There is a lot more information on their website. I know it's a long-shot, but maybe if we all get behind this we can make it happen. Who knows.