New York Yankees Notes: Derek Jeter, Alfredo Aceves and More

The Yankees won a pair of games yesterday, both by a single run, against the Minnesota Twins. It’s amazing how good the Twins have been over the years, but the Yankees never have a problem beating them.

The games are always close, but like yesterday, the Yankees always prevail.

Here are some notes:

• Derek Jeter helped the Yankees win the rain-suspended game 1-0 with his solo shot in the top of the sixth inning. That homer could be a sign that Jeter is getting his groove back. He has a .951 OPS over the last six games and has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games. His walk total is still way down.
• AJ Burnett also got the win in the suspended game, and he wouldn’t have if the Yankees didn’t score in the top of the sixth. He is now 5-2 and out of 10 starts he has really only two clunkers, not a bad ratio. His strikeouts are down so far this season, but so are his walks and home runs.
• In my story about the signing of Chad Gaudin last night, I wrote that it could mean that Alfredo Aceves 's back issue is worse than the Yankees have let on. Today the NY Post has a story about Aceves’s back, in which they speculate that he may need surgery to repair a bulging disc in his back. If that is the case he would likely be out the entire season.
• David Robertson was hit by a pitch off the bat of Joe Mauer in the first game yesterday. After the game Joe Girardi said that he would be OK, but it left him unavailable for the second game last night. It is unlikely that he will pitch tonight, too. This doesn’t seem like anything serious though.
• CC Sabathia has been struggling lately. In his last three starts he has a 6.00 ERA and opponents have a .923 OPS against him. However, that might come to an end in his next start since he and Dave Eiland said they found a mechanical flaw in his delivery that was causing him to leave the ball up.
• Last week Joe Girardi complained about the Red Sox and how they went about one pitching change. Last night Ron Gardenhire made a stink about the way the Yankees went about a pitching change. The problem—Mariano Rivera didn’t have enough time so Girardi let Andy Pettitte warm up in the top of the ninth. As soon as the game was ready to start Girardi pulled Pettitte before he threw a pitch. This was designed to let Mo get some extra reps in the bullpen. The Twins did not protest the game.

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