Harper: "I don't want to be a Yankee"

If you had hopes that the Yankees would one day sign Bryce Harper, you may want to pull back the reigns a little. Apparently, he's pretty happy in DC:

“You look at Cal Ripken. You look at Derek Jeter. You look at all the greats that played for one team their whole career,” Harper said last weekend, sitting in the dugout at Camden Yards in Baltimore. “I want to be like that. I’ve always wanted to be like that. I’ve always wanted to play with that same team.”

“Having a community and fans like we do in D.C. that love our players, love everything about us, we deserve to give something back to them,” he added. “I want to do that. I don’t want to do anything else.”

Harper has told his father the same thing, that he wants to make Washington home and play here until he retires. “Bryce is as loyal as they come,” Ron Harper said. “He doesn’t care about nothing but winning a championship.”

...

Before the Nationals played the Yankees in mid-June, Harper told his father, “I don’t want to be a Yankee. I want to beat them.”

At least the Yankees won't have to fork up the $400 million it was estimated that Harper could get on the open market, so at least they can avoid that headache. That said, if Harper spends a few years in Washington and doesn't win, I wouldn't be surprised to hear he's had another change of heart.

Rotation Update: Warren & Garcia to replace CC & Andy

UPDATE: Pettitte Has a Fractured Left Ankle... Out 6 Weeks

Here's an update via Bryan Hoch:

The news in the Yankees clubhouse has moved from bad to worse, as Andy Pettitte suffered a left ankle fracture in Wednesday’s start against the Indians and will miss a minimum of six weeks.

Just a terrible day for Yankees starters. Losing CC and Pettitte will be a very tough challenge for this team.

(Original post below)

Andy Pettitte was forced to leave today’s game vs the Indians in the fifth inning after getting hit on the lower left leg by a hard grounder. He tried to stay in the game but had to leave after throwing just one pitch to the next hitter.

With CC now headed for the DL, the last thing this team can afford is to lose another one of their top starters. Check back here for updates throughout the day.

CC Placed on 15-Day DL

The Yankees placed CC Sabathia on the 15-day DL today with a strained left adductor muscle. Here's a little more from the Daily News:

Sabathia said he felt it during his start on Sunday, but didn't tell the team until Tuesday. He gave up five runs - one earned - on nine hits and two walks in 5-2/3 innings against the Mets. It was the first time this season he didn't pitch six complete innings.

Girardi says that CC will likely only two starts and will be replaced in the rotation by Freddy Garcia who will start on Friday.

Game 73: Yankees vs. Indians

Regular Season Game 73
YANKEES vs. INDIANS
First Pitch: 7:05 PM | TV: MY9 | Radio: WCBS
Here are the lineups:

YANKEES (44-28)
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Raul Ibanez DH
Dewayne Wise CF
Chris Stewart C

Pitching: RHP Phil Hughes (7-6, 4.94 ERA)

INDIANS (37-35)
Shin-Soo Choo RF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Jason Kipnis 2B
Carlos Santana C
Michael Brantley CF
Johnny Damon LF
Casey Kotchman 1B
Jack Hannahan 3B
Lonnie Chisenhall DH

Pitching: RHP Justin Masterson (4-6, 3.98 ERA)

Pedro Feliciano Throws 1st BP Session Since Surgery

Gardner Update

From Jon Lane:

Brett Gardner (elbow) will join the Yankees in St. Petersburg, Fla., next week during the series against the Rays to take dry swings, but is still not expected back prior to the All-Star break. Gardner will first play in rehab games when teams return to action with the goal for him to be activated at full strength. He suffered a second setback on June 10 while playing with with Single-A Charleston, so the organization will err on the side of caution.

No reason not to be cautious. With the Yankees currently holding onto the game's best record there is no reason to rush anything with Gardner.

Yanks Add Two Arms

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Yankees have claimed 25-year-old pitcher Danny Farquhar off waivers after the right-hander was designated for assignment by the A's last weekend. Here's a little more fro MLBTR:

The pitcher posted a 2.97 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 20 Double-A appearances for Toronto's affiliate and pitched eight innings for the A's Triple-A squad this year.

And even more from YES including some info on Jonathan Meloan, who was also signed:

To make room for Farquhar on the 40-man roster, outfielder Brett Gardner was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

In addition to adding Farquhar, the Yankees officially announced the signing of pitcher Jonathan Meloan, who was inked late on Monday and also assigned to Double-A Trenton.

Meloan had been pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, where he was 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA and 11 saves and 36 strikeouts in 23 appearances. The 27-year-old has 17.2 innings of Major League experience, and was most recently in the Majors with Oakland in 2009; he missed all of 2010 after having Tommy John surgery, and spent 2011 in the A’s system at Double-A Midland.