Here’s Curtis Granderson’s numbers this season before he got hurt and went on the Disabled List:

23 Games, 91 PA
.225/.311/.375 BA/OBA/SLG
.19 K/PA

And, here are his numbers since he’s returned from the Disabled List (where he missed 24 games):

19 Games, 74 PA
.246/.324/.492 BA/OBA/SLG
.26 K/PA

So, Yankees fans, how are you liking your Curtis Granderson experience so far this season?

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In his last 41 games, the Yankees Captain has come to the plate 196 times and has authored the following BA/OBA/SLG line: .258/.327/.382

That’s not exactly what you want from your lead-off batter, is it?

Granted, it’s just one 25% snapshot of what would be a full season from Jeter. But, if it continues, and if Brett Gardner continues to reach base 40% of the time, is it…dare we say…time to move Jeter out of the Yankees lead-off spot?

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I just saw this picture of Brian Cashman and Jesus Montero:

Source: Star Ledger

And, my first thought was “Man, Cashman is really little, or, Jesus is a really big dude – or maybe its both?”

But, my next thought was “I wonder what the heck Cash is thinking at this moment?” – looking at the expression on the Yankees G.M.’s face.

Lastly, thinking more, I seem to recall other pictures of Cashman, in the past, with a worried look.

So, is it just me, or, could we easily make a photo collection of “Cash The Worrier”?

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As Steve said, Philly came into this three-game series on an absolute tailspin but they leave having taken two out of three after winning last night’s game 7-1.  I don’t have it in me to say much else about last night’s game other than:

• Pettitte pitched reasonably well enough (7 6 3 2 3 7) but got no support from his hitters;
• The aforementioned “hitters” went a collective 4-for-31 (all singles) resulting in a pathetic .129/.182/.129 against Kyle Kendrick and two relievers; and
• Philly added four runs in the top of the 9th inning to put the game out of reach, courtesy of the combined efforts of #62, Damaso Marte and Chan-Ho Park.  It took them 44 pitches to get the final three outs of the game and they combined for a god-awful 1 4 4 4 3 0 pitching line.  Odd that weak links Boone Logan and Chad Gaudin can pitch 5.2 nearly perfect innings the night before and the supposed strength of the bullpen gets lit up like the tree at Rockerfeller Center…

I had a feeling the Phillies would take two out of three from the Yanks.  The only catch is that I never expected the Yankees to go down so quietly against two of the cruddier pitchers in the game.  The red-hot Mets are up next and I don’t see any reason for optimism this weekend.  As long as Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira are batting a combined .220/.333/.407 in the month of June from the first and third spots in the lineup, well, no offense will look good with that lack of production at the top.

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Just saw a full-page ad in the current print edition of Baseball America for this DVD:

Looks Kevin Long is trying to make a Charlie Lau name for himself.

But, forty-bucks for a hitting instruction DVD? At that price, along with the disc, they should throw in a 10% off your first visit with Dr. Anthony Galea coupon too…

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Via Mike Silva:

It made me think what is the Yanks record vs. teams with currently are .500 or better this season? Going into tonight’s action it’s a very pedestrian 21-20. Essentially the Yankees have been a .500 club.

Last year they were 52-35 (.598) against teams that finished with a .500 or better record.

It’s no crime to beat up on the lesser teams, but so far the Yankees don’t appear to be any better than many of the top clubs. This shouldn’t be a surprise since Teixeira hasn’t really got going, Granderson has been a bust to date, and the bullpen has been a major disappointment. If not for the outstanding starting pitching – namely Hughes and Pettitte- who knows where they would be at.

Yes, the Yankees are in first place today, but is it a mirage or a real testament to how they have played?

It’s an interesting thought, eh? For the record, here are the rest of the teams in the A.L., going into last night’s game, when playing team’s who are .500 or better:

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Check out those Red Sox…now, that’s scary.

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Is it just me, or, are Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano the stylistic polar opposites on the baseball field. Keep in mind: This has nothing to do with relative production and is all just about the naked eye perception. Granderson seems to labor, for lack of a better word, in everything that he does…even just running down to first base on a ground out, it seems like Curtis has elbows and knees flying all over the place…whereas Cano is sooooo smooth that it sometimes seems like he’s not even trying. Again, I’m not saying one is right and the other is wrong…or that one is better than the other. I’m just saying it’s like watching a marionette caught in a wind-storm versus witnessing a hawk in flight…when I see these two perform on a baseball field. Then again, maybe it is just me?

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You know, back in the day, Victor Buono would have played an excellent Big Stein…

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Billy told Reggie to take a seat as the nation watched on NBC.

What are the odds that something just as memorable happens in today’s Mets-Yankees game?

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Old guys to start a game against the Yankees, in New York, since the Steinbrenners owned the team, where they won the game:

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With Jamie Moyer turning the trick this past Wednesday, this club is now a dirty dozen. Or, in other words, seeing an old pitcher make a start in Yankee Stadium, where he beats the home team, doesn’t happen very often…at all.

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Before they came to New York to play the Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies had won just 8 of their last 24 games. Yes, eight out of twenty-four. And, what happens? The Phils take 2 out of 3 games from the Yanks…at Yankee Stadium. Ouch.

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You can read about it here.

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Ah, it’s a no-go for the vuvuzela in the Stadium. Via the Post –

Those vuvuzela horns may be all the rage at the World Cup in South Africa, but the Yankees won’t let fans toot, toot, toot for the home team.

When “bleacher creature” Anthony Zachariadis wailed on one of the plastic horns at Tuesday night’s game, Stadium security snatched it out of his hands.

“You gotta give me the horn,” the guard told him, inducing a chorus of boos from the bleachers. “You can’t blow it.”

Zachariadis, 27, purchased several vuvuzelas months ago for $6 apiece on a soccer Web site, with the intention of traveling to the World Cup. When the trip fell through, he decided to bring the sounds of soccer to Yankee Stadium.

Though hugely popular in South Africa, the horns — which can reach an excruciating 120 decibels — are now reviled by soccer fans around the world.

Fortunately for American sports fans, the plastic instruments of irritation are still only available online or in novelty shops. But that could change.

Even though the denizens of the bleachers are known for being loud using just their own voices, Zachariadis said he couldn’t resist trying them out at the Stadium.

“I hid them in my shorts to get into the stadium, and when I pulled out the horns, the whole place went nuts,” he said.

“Phillies fans would walk by and we would blow it in their ear,” he said. “They had a laugh — they knew we were playing with them.”

Ever have someone sitting behind you at a sporting event with an air horn? This is no different. And, I have to say, I agree with the Yankees call on this one…

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With apologies for the bad pun, just a little tidbit about 2007 Yankees first round draft pick Andrew Brackman, courtesy of a Baseball America chat with Jim Callis:

[Q]: Andrew Brackman has looked strong his last 5 starts, if he keeps it up, where would you rank him in your preseason top 100 next year?

[BA]: Brackman certainly seems to have found himself, doesn’t he? I still want to see more, but if he keeps this up (34-4 K-BB in last 29 IP), I’d put him in the second half of the Top 100 somewhere.

As Callis says, we need to see more from a 24 year old college pitcher currently pitching in the Florida State (High-A) League but, despite this caveat, one cannot help but be encouraged at signs of life from a draftee that was thought to be a busted pick as recently as a few weeks ago.  High-A Tampa is a long way from the majors — hell, it’s a long way from Double-A Trenton — but it’s a major improvement over last year.  Progress is progress and that’s all the front office can hope for.  We should all be pleased.

Also, in the same chat, I saw this little throw-away question:

[Q]: With Mike Trout going crazy in Low A, did teams miss the boat with him last year or was there a small something that put teams off?

[BA]: It’s just hard to scout the players in the Northeast compared to the rest of the country because of the weather and quality of competition. The consensus was that his bat was raw and would need some time, but that hasn’t been the case. I’ll give credit to MLSB chief Frank Marcos. When we both worked on the MLB Network’s draft show in 2009, Frank had Trout as one of the top five players in the whole draft, and I thought he was overrating him. But Frank sure looks smart about Trout right now.

I’ve added the emphasis to the first sentence of Callis’s reply to point out that there’s at least some reason to believe that Cito Culver was underscouted by the vast majority of the big leagues and that, when the Yanks say they knew him better than most other teams, there may just be something to that.  It doesn’t guarantee that Culver will make it to the big leagues, nor does it guarantee that selecting him wasn’t a mistake.  It just speaks to the fact that scouts can’t be everywhere and teams make strategic decisions to spend less time in areas not as known for developing talent.  I’d venture to guess that Rochester, NY is one such underscouted area of the United States.

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Here are A.J. Burnett’s stats over his last 8 starts – including last night:

IP: 46.6
ERA: 6.36
BA/OBA/SLG allowed: .290/.377/.530 (218 BF)

For $16.5 million a season, you would expect a little better results than that, right? Granted, that’s just a one-quarter slice of what should be a full season for him. But, those numbers are just terrible.

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So much for hoping that “Good AJ” would take the mound last night.  “Bad AJ” showed up instead and, before I could even get comfy on the couch, it was already an ugly 6-1 deficit for the home team.  The Yanks would go on to lose 6-3 in a game where, first, a 47 year old man — born a full calendar year before President Kennedy was assasinated! — was pitching and, second, the Yankee bullpen would give the team 5.2 no-hit/no-run innings to keep them in the game.  UGH!

The Good:

• As mentioned above, Yankee relievers — inconsistent all year — did their jobs and then some last night.  With the exception of an intentional walk to Jayson Werth, Logan and Gaudin retired the Phillies perfectly over the final 5.2 innings in relief of AJ Burnett.  Yes, I am just as surprised to be writing it as you are to be reading it;
• Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to nine games with a 2-for-4 effort, including his 14th HR in the 2nd inning; and
• Jorge Posada’s 9th HR of the year in the 5th inning was the 504th HR allowed by Jamie Moyer.  Old man Moyer is now one HR short of tying of Robin Roberts, the all-time leader in HR allowed by a pitcher.

The Bad:

• I don’t know what’s up with Derek Jeter but he just isn’t himself this year.  With another 0-for-4 last night, Jeter dipped down to .286/.341/.429 for the year and is now at .224/.318/.431 for the month of June.  Captain Intangibles turns 36 a week from this Saturday and, offensively, has looked every bit his 35 years, 11 months and 355 days.  With his BB% at a near career-worst 6.6% (6.4% in 2004) and his plate discipline flagging (28.9% O-Swing vs. 19.9% career), Jeter’s AB’s are getting shorter and less productive; and
• There’s just no sugar-coating it, AJ Burnett sucked last night, as he has sucked consistently since early May.  Consider Burnett’s stats starting with his implosion in Boston on Mother’s Day: 8 starts, 2W-5L, 46.2 IP, 6.36 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 1.60 K/BB, .290/.377/.530.  If ever there was evidence that winning a World Series ring can make folks lose all objectivity on a player, consider that over the exact same stretch, Public Enemy #1 has put up 6 starts, 5W-2L, 40 IP, 2.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 3.17 K/BB, .181/.248/.348.  Ah, yes, but Burnett knows how to win in New York and Public Enemy #1 doesn’t.  Sure…

I’ll be in attendance tonight for the rubber game of this three-game series so here’s hoping I’m treated to another Yankee victory.  The pitching matchup — Andy Pettitte (8-1, 2.46) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.80) — would seem to favor the Yanks but, as we all know, you just never know…

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What do Joe Mauer, Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder, Brian McCann, Derrek Lee, Chase Utley, Jason Bay, Pablo Sandoval, Matt Holliday, Jorge Posada, Brandon Phillips, and Nick Markakis have in common?

They all have fewer RBI’s than Francisco Cervelli.

I know that the RBI in general isn’t the greatest stat to measure a player’s success. And Cervelli also has the luxury of hitting in a lineup that posts the highest OBP (by far) in baseball. But it’s clear that Cervelli has a knack for hitting with runners in scoring position.

In any event, with the return of Jorge Posada behind the plate, Cervelli’s playing time will most likely drop off. But for now, it’s amazing to see the guys he is ahead of in the RBI category.

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You know…a case could be made that…both Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner should be on the All-Star team this year. It won’t happen; but, the numbers support it. Of course, the problem is the old “every team must be represented” rule…which probably means only one of them, if any, makes it.

So, if you had to pick one Yankees outfielder to make the All-Stars, who would it be? Swish or Gardy?

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Nick Swisher does some nice work off the field.

I have to confess, Swisher is starting to grow on me this season. At the least, he hasn’t bothered me at all this year – not once.

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Courtesy of Chad Jennings over at Pete Abe’s old shop, we have two items of news to report:

First, that the Yankees have signed 13 of their draftees and, second, that first round pick Christopher “Cito” Culver has backed out of his commitment to the University of Maryland which is an obvious precursor to signing with the Yankees.

Regarding Zach Varce, I mentioned him the other day as someone I’d like to see in the organization because I think he can probably make a contribution to the bullpen in fairly short order.  I don’t want to oversell him here but I do think he can be an effective relief pitcher.

Righthander Varce carved up the Northwoods League last summer, going 3-5, 1.93 with a league-leading 105 strikeouts and just 20 walks over 75 innings. The success carried over early in the spring with Portland, but by the end of the year he was gassed. He pitched at 90-92 mph, touching 93, at his best, but later in the year he had starts when he didn’t touch 90. He’s 6 feet and 190 pounds, so scouts believe his future is as a middle reliever. At his best his slider can be an above-average pitch, but not when it’s down to 74 mph as it was later in the year. Scouts hope putting him in the bullpen will help him get the most out of his arm.

Scouting writeup courtesy of Baseball America.

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How the Yankees beat Doc Halladay, via Mel Antonen:

The New York Yankees vaulted themselves back into first place in American League East by going 14-2 vs. Cleveland, Baltimore and Houston. Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, they beat a pitcher that’s owned them since 2005.

The Yankees hits three home runs to beat Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3. Halladay, as a Toronto Blue Jay, had beaten the Yankees 11 of 13 games going back to 2005. Halladay had a 2.84 ERA in 37 career starts vs. the Yankees.

Yankees batting coach Kevin Long told The Daily News that the lineup swung at four balls out of the strike zone against Halladay, a number that is usually between 12 and 20 when they face him. “He wasn’t as sharp or as crisp as I’ve seen in the past,” Long said. “You go into the game ready for that, but we had a good approach against him. We were really disciplined.”

The Phillies, third place in the National League East, aren’t playing well, and Halladay was frustrated as he left the mound, and yelled at no one in particular.

“You try and hold things in as long as you can while you’re out there sometimes,” Halladay said in The Philadelphia Inquirer. “There’s certain points where you let it go.”

Ths is great. But, shouldn’t it always be the batters approach not to chase after pitches out of the zone? Or, is it just that Halladay is so nasty that you shouldn’t help him be even better by chasing pitches that are not strikes?

By this, I mean, if a pitcher has junky stuff, it’s O.K. if you do chase a little, here and there, because you’re going to hit his pitches in the zone anyway. But, when a guy has filthy stuff, you shouldn’t help him out by chasing too.

Yeah, that’s probably it…

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I wasn’t supposed to have tickets to last night’s game, but when one of the members of my season ticket group offered them up in a trade, there was no way I was going to pass up a Sabathia vs. Halladay matchup!

As any reader of this site will know, I had the extreme misfortune of attending 10 regular season games last year, all pitched by either Joba Chamberlain, Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin.  Only in my final game of the year — now a “Yankees Classic” on the YES Network — did I get to enjoy the sight (and performance) of a different pitcher.  Despite this, I still wanted to see the Yankee ace on the mound just one time.  Well, in his 21st home start as a member of the New York Yankees, I finally had my chance to see CC Sabathia.

Onto the game…

The Good:

–Every Yankee reached base last night by way of hit, walk or HBP;
–Robinson Cano extended his latest hitting streak to eight games.  He’s hitting .452/.528/.645 over this stretch and .385/.448/.577 for the month of June (13 games);
–Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira were the first three HR’s allowed by Roy Halladay to LHB in 2010.  Sure Teixeira’s was a 321-foot cheapie but it still counts all the same; and
–Since coming off the DL, Granderson (.276/.358/.552, 3 HR, 11 RBI in 17 games) has helped solidify the Yankees lineup.  Considering the questions fans had about a Gardner-Granderson-Swisher lineup, it’s nice to see them combine for a .295/.381/.476, 19 HR, 82 RBI in 559 AB’s.

The Bad:

CC Sabathia was not so much bad as he was a touch inconsistent.  After striking out six of the first 10 batters he faced, Sabathia had a mini meltdown in the top of the 4th inning.  He ended up throwing 29 pitches to get out of the inning — after throwing only 42 to get the first nine outs — and allowed three runners to score, all while dealing with three bases-loaded situations during the frame.

I can’t remember an inning as odd as the top of the 4th in in quite some time, actually.  It began with Sabathia nicking his finger on an infield single which he tried to field with his bare hand and also included him failing to cover first base on a potential 3-6-1 double play and getting ahead 0-2 on Howard and Ibanez (both lefties) before ultimately allowing them to get on base.  As Girardi has been saying the past few weeks, Sabathia seems thisclose to getting himself completely figured out and I think I agree with his assessment.

Let me be clear about this, however: it wasn’t all bad.  Sabathia’s secondary stuff was lethal for the second straight game (20 of his 31 CH/SL/CB were thrown for strikes (64.5%)) and his four-seamer had life and movement last night.  Between the tremendous run support and the mechanical adjustments that made Sabathia dominant for his first and last innings of the game, CC earned his first win against a team over .500 since beating the Texas Rangers on April 16th.

*** *** ***

The Yanks are still tied for first with Tampa.  AJ Burnett (6-4, 3.86) squares off against Jamie Moyer (6-6, 5.03) tonight.  AJ needs a good start so hopefully the “good AJ” from Game 2 of the World Series shows up.

One more note from this game: I took my “Uncle” Jack last night.  He’s actually my girlfriend’s uncle but I like the guy and consider him family.  Jack grew up in Westchester County in the 50′s and 60′s and was raised a disgruntled Giants fan, courtesy of his dad Irving, who had rooted for the Giants until they left for San Francisco.  Jack hadn’t been to a Yankee game since the 1981 World Series.  When I found out that I was the first person to bring him back to the ballpark in The Bronx since ’81…well…that made me happy.

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So often, when discussing Brian Cashman, I am asked “What do you think is the measure of a great G.M?”

Well, the answer to that is: Everything that’s being said about Walt Jocketty in this Forbes report.

Oh, what could have been…

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No A-Rod today. I wonder if he’s come down with a bad case of Halladayitis?

I guess Vagisil® doesn’t work on that…

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Ben Shpigel wrote about it yesterday and Marc Carig wrote about it today.

I’ve said this before: Cano has the quickest hands, especially on tag plays, that I’ve ever seen on an infielder. And, he has one of the strongest arms that you can find on a second baseman. In the past, his issues have been on focus and range. But, those problems seem to be gone.

When it’s all said and done for him, I wonder where Robbie will rank in terms of the greatest fielding second baseman of all-time?

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Well, Mark Newman did check him out. And, this report mentions the Yankees having an interest.

Me? Outside of El Duque and Shigetoshi Hasegawa, how many pitchers from Cuba or Japan have been consistently great for a long period of time in the U.S.? It’s just a different animal outside of this country in terms of the way starting pitchers are used…and, there’s a lot of risk if you sign one for big money…in my opinion.

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They all make great “In Search Of” episodes. Via Bob Klapisch today -

Start with the projected return of Alex Rodriguez, who’s been out of the lineup since Friday with tendinitis in his hip flexor. The Yankees say they’re ecstatic this most recent injury is unrelated to the slugger’s 2009 surgery on the same hip, but ask any senior executive what to make of A-Rod’s power numbers in 2010, and you get answers that range from mystified to concerned.

With only eight home runs in the first 63 games, Rodriguez is on pace to finish with an even 20 homers – a potential career low, not to mention a red flag. Is he due for a hot streak? Of course, and that’s the point Yankees’ officials keep making. But so far, something’s been wrong.

In his better days, A-Rod used to crush fastballs at an absurd rate – nearly one of every three fly balls cleared the wall. But this year, only 11.9 percent of the balls in the air go for home runs.

That’s one reason why the Yankees have slipped to No. 7 in the majors in homers. So far, it’s hardly put a dent in the offense – the Bombers still are first in runs and second in OPS — but Rodriguez’s return will be carefully monitored for two very obvious reasons.

The first is his long-term health. Is the strained hip flexor the beginning of a long run of nagging injuries? Rodriguez turns 35 next month, and if you believe he’s steroid-free, it would make sense that his body is starting to break down.

And that leads to a second curiosity about the slugger who’s presumed to be the next all-time home run champion: Just what does A-Rod have left in the tank? He’s been caught and passed by Albert Pujols as baseball’s most dangerous run-producer, showing only glimpses of the opposite-field power that made him a terror.

Rodriguez still is hitting a respectable .293, but that’s due in part because Robinson Cano is protecting him.

So, here’s the question: At what point this season is it too late to use the “he’s due for a hot streak” logic and then only use the “something’s wrong with his power” concern when it comes to A-Rod? Is it the All-Star break? The 100 game mark? Some time in August? Never?

Or, is it time now?

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Via George King –

Dr. Mark Lindsay’s association with embattled Dr. Anthony Galea could be hurting Alex Rodriguez.

When Rodriguez came back from right hip surgery last year, he constantly credited Lindsay, a Toronto chiropractor, for his steady progress.

Because Lindsay and Galea, who is facing four charges in America relating to unapproved substances used in healing therapy and an admitted HGH user, have a working relationship at Affinity Health in Toronto, the chiropractor hasn’t been able to work on Rodriguez.

In March, Galea admitted to treating Rodriguez last year and prescribing anti-inflammatory medication. He has denied giving HGH to athletes.

“He hasn’t been working with Lindsay,” GM Brian Cashman said of Rodriguez, who has been idled by tendinitis in the right hip flexor and has missed the past three games after leaving Thursday night’s against the Orioles after an inning.

Asked if the Yankees or MLB told Rodriguez to stop seeing Lindsay, Cashman declined to elaborate. In a statement issued during spring training, the Yankees said they only approved Dr. Marc Philippon to work with Rodriguez in his recovery from surgery.

“I am not going to comment. He hasn’t been working with Lindsay,” Cashman said of Rodriguez.

Philippon, who performed the hip surgery and oversaw the rehab process that Lindsay was a big part of, didn’t immediately return calls from The Post. Nor did Rodriguez return messages.

It’s times like these that it’s a real shame that you can’t find a chiropractor in the United States…

I mean, why else would someone travel outside of the country, to use the services of a chiropractor and his healing therapy buddies? There’s no other reason to do that, right?

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Back on January 15th, 2008, I wrote about Dandy, the Yankees former mascot. Today, Scott Cassiola at the WSJ has a nice feature on Dandy as well…and it includes this video:

Something I learned from this feature: Rick Ford, then a recent college graduate, was hired to perform as Dandy. Here’s more on that from the WSJ feature:

Mr. Ford’s job became even more challenging after Mr. Munson died in a plane crash on August 2, mere days after the mascot made his first appearance. In the wake of that tragedy, Dandy took some time off. “It wasn’t the right time to have a mascot who looked like Thurman Munson,” Mr. Ford said.

One of Mr. Ford’s most high-profile gigs turned out to be his last. He said Citibank staged an elaborate corporate pep rally at Madison Square Garden after the season, and Dandy was pegged to be Bill Cosby’s warmup act. By the time Mr. Ford donned his costume, grabbed his bat and got ready to hit the stage to the tune of “Johnny B. Goode,” the libations had been flowing for hours.

“As soon as the spotlight hit my face, I was completely blinded,” Mr. Ford said. “I had no idea where I was, and these bankers were just crazy. Thousands of crazy bankers screaming at me, grabbing hold of me, almost ripping me apart. I felt like an escaped convict.”

The real drama unfolded after the event. Mr. Ford claims he held Dandy for ransom—the costume, that is—because of a disagreement with the ballclub. The issue was resolved, but that marked the end of Mr. Ford’s time with the Yankees.

Dandy, played by another young man, somehow lasted two more seasons before Mr. Harrison and Ms. Erickson declined the Yankees’ request to renew the lease because they felt Dandy wasn’t provided the support he needed to survive.

Reading all this got me wondering: Whatever happened to the Yankee Doodles, those musicians who used to stroll about the Stadium playing during games? I can’t ever remember when they disappeared from the scene. Sad.

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Travis G @ Pinstripe Alley helps us to get to know Austin Romine. It’s a two-parter: See one and two. Here’s a snip:

TG: If you make the Yankees, what number do you want to wear?

AR: Probably 12. I don’t know why, I’ve always worn 12. I like 12. I was a fan of 16, but the Yankees are pretty much locked up from 1 to 40, besides 12. (laughter) No, I always wore 12 when I was younger, All-Star teams, 12 or 16 was me. I couldn’t go any lower, I was always a little bit bigger.

TG: It’s brought you luck so far.

AR: Yeah, I didn’t have the heart to change it from last year, getting MVP of the league. The guys would’ve given me guff if I did that. So I like 12. 12 is where it’s at.

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