Morning Bits: Recap, A-Rod

Hey, folks! Let’s dive in here:

• Led by CC Sabathia, the Yankees beat the Twins last night, 8-4.
• A-Rod is with the Yankees, but won’t be in the lineup until at least Saturday.

As you know, Alex had surgery on July 11 to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

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G70: Yankees @ Cubs

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

YANKEES
Brett Gardner LF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
CC Sabathia LHP

CUBS
Reed Johnson CF
Starlin Castro SS
Jeff Baker 1B
Aramis Ramirez 3B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Geovany Soto C
Lou Montanez RF
D.J. LeMahieu 2B
Randy Wells SP

Hope you’re all having a nice Father’s Day / Sunday. Enjoy!

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OT: Happy Father’s Day!

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Morning Bits: Recap, Dante, Miller

Here are a few quick items to start the day:

• The Yankees fell to the Cubs last night, 1-3, as Doug Davis tossed 7 1/3 innings of 1-run ball.
• The Yankees have signed their top pick in this year’s draft, the powerful Dante Bichette Jr., for $750k.
• Andrew Gammons says the Yankees tried to get Andrew Miller to opt-out of his contract with Boston.

Miller, a one-time top pitching prospect with the Tigers who was later traded to the Marlins in the Miguel Cabrera / Dontrelle Willis deal, joined the Sox via trade in 2010. He was granted free agency and then re-signed with Boston on a minor-league deal for 2011, though his contract contained an opt-out clause. Miller was recently called up by Boston so that he may start agains the Padres on Monday, however, so the opt-out never became an issue.

Or, at least that’s how it should go, in theory. According to Gammons, the Yankees, as well as several other teams, had spoken to Miller while he was with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, in the hopes that they persuade him to opt-out of his deal. Teams aren’t allowed to do that, of course, as discussing such matters would constitute as a “tampering” in the MLB. Yankees GM Brian Cashman responded to Gammons, calling the accusation “not true.”

Never a dull moment between Boston and New York, huh?

Photo by the AP

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G68: Yankees @ Cubs

Hey there, folks! Let’s try and fix this, shall we?

Here’s the Yankee lineup for today’s game (note that Nick Swisher is leading off (again)):

Nick Swisher RF
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS
Brett Gardner LF
Freddy Garcia RHP

To those that have stuck around, many thanks. Let’s see what we can do here…

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Nova & Garcia to round out the Yanks rotation

Via MLB.com:

The Yankees have set their pitching rotation to begin the season, selecting Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia as the Nos. 4 and 5 starters while assigning Bartolo Colon to the bullpen.

Manager Joe Girardi announced the decisions on Saturday before the team’s Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Girardi noted that Colon, who hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2009, will play a role similar to that of former Yankee Alfredo Aceves–serving as a reliever / spot starter. The Yankees also signed Kevin Millwood to a minor league deal yesterday, which gives them some more depth and flexibility going forward (in the event of an injury, etc.).

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Cervelli out a month with a broken foot

Via Bloomberg:

New York Yankees backup catcher Francisco Cervelli will miss the start of the Major League Baseball season after fracturing his foot.

Cervelli will be in a protective boot for at least four weeks after fouling a ball off his left foot in a game two days ago against the Houston Astros, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters today in Tampa, Florida.

Apologies for the lack of posts, guys. Not good on my part.

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Red Sox sign Alfredo Aceves

Via MLBTR, we learn that the Red Sox, today, signed former Yankee, Alfredo Aceves, to a Major League deal. He’ll reportedly receive $650,000 with incentives. According to WEEI.com, the Sawx see Aceves as a starter–not a reliever.

Aceves was released after an unrelenting lower-back injury curtailed the majority of his 2010 season. He also had surgery in late November to repair a fractured left clavicle suffered during a bicycling accident and was expected to miss at least some of Spring Training. Of course, Yankees fans will always remember how good the right-hander was in 2009, as he posted a 4.09 xFIP over 84 innings (80 2/3 of which were in the bullpen), making him worth 1.3 WAR.

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Andy Pettitte retires

Breaking news via Jon Heyman, who just tweeted that Pettitte has informed the Yankees of his decision.

More on this later…

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Yanks sign Freddy Garcia

And the patchwork winter continues.

Via the NY Post:

The Yankees added another aging former All-Star to their pitching mix yesterday, signing Freddy Garcia to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Garcia, 35, pitched in 28 games for the White Sox last season, going 12-9 with a 4.64 ERA. It was the first time since 2006 that Garcia was able to stay healthy and be a consistent starter.

Garcia posted a 4.59 xFIP over 157 innings last season with the White Sox, so he was actually slightly better than his ERA would suggest. At this point, the Yankees are just trying to plug holes and, in that regard, Garcia is passable. He’ll compete with Bartolo Colon for a spot in the back-end of the team’s rotation this spring.

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