Think the Yankees could use a little more strength in the middle of the bullpen or a better spot-starter than Chad Gaudin? Not many people remember the Yanks’ first-round draft pick in the 2008 June Amateur Draft. Well, that’s because he didn’t sign.

The Yankees took 6-4, 220 pound right hander Gerrit Cole with the 28th overall pick in the 2008 draft. The Yankees (and baseball) thought Cole would sign for sure while being represented by Scott Boras. He was rated the 17th best high school prospect by Baseball America and grew up a Yankee fan in California. However, Cole decided that no matter how much the Yankees offered, he would attend college at UCLA.

Cole was clocked at 98 mph in high school. As a freshman at UCLA, Cole went 4-8 with a 3.49 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 85 innings. However, Cole turned his college career around this season, posting an 11-3 record after a win on Monday night at the College World Series against the TCU Horned Frogs. I flipped back and forth as the Yanks were getting demolished by Rodrigo Lopez and the D’Backs, watching Cole consistently hit between 95 and 97 with his fastball and mix in a filthy 88 mph slider to strike out 13 and induce pop up after pop up. He’s also allowed five hits or less in 13 of his last 18 starts in the competitive Pac-10.

So how does this effect the 2010 Yankees? As you look back to the first round of 2008, players from the draft are being called up to the majors each day. Pedro Alvarez, Buster Posey, Brian Matusz, Gordon Beckham, Justin Smoak, Ike Davis, Justin Fields, Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth and Conor Gillaspie have all seen their MLB debuts already. There’s always the “what if?” factor in baseball. Well, what if Gerrit Cole had signed with the Yankees? What if the Yankees had found assurance in Cole and given up on Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes? Or what if they kept all three and had one of the most promising young pitching staffs around? You can only wonder where the Yankees would be in 2010 if Cole had signed and developed. The Yankees selected outfielder Slade Heathcott in the first round of the 2009 draft as the supplemental pick. He is currently at Class-A Charleston.

Until 2011 when Gerrit Cole is eligible for the draft again, we can only wonder what could have been. Don’t be surprised to see him in a Baltimore Oriole jersey somewhere down the road.

Yes, the four-hour slug-fest returned Monday night for yet another memorable game.

I’m going to try to keep this as short as possible. The Yankees spanked Daisuke Matsuzaka in the first inning. Derek Jeter singled to lead off the inning, followed by a Brett Gardner single and a Mark Teixiera walk to load the bases. Alex Rodriguez singled to drive in two, and Robinson Cano singled to score Teixiera. Francisco Cervelli doubled to right to drive in Alex, and Cano was thrown out at home for the first out. Marcus Thames hit a sac fly to drive in Cervelli. Score after 1: Yankees 5, Red Sox 0.

In the second, Adrian Beltre put the Sox on the board with an RBI single. Teixiera got the run back in the bottom of the inning with a double to right. In the fourth, David Ortiz hit a shot off Phil Hughes to make it 6-2. In the fifth, JD Drew hit a two out, three run home run to make it a 6-5 Yankee lead. That was the end of the night for Phil Hughes, who looked shaky throughout the night. In the bottom of the fifth, Thames doubled to drive in Cervelli and end Matsuzaka’s night. In the sixth, new pitcher Boone Logan gave up a bomb to Victor Martinez over the Yankee bullpen. In the eighth, Chan Ho Park (who was removed from the DL today), allowed back-to-back home runs to Kevin Youkilis and Victor Martinez to give the Sox a 9-7 lead. Note: Javier Vazquez entered in the ninth with two outs and struck out Youkilis.

In the bottom of the ninth, Gardner led off with a double. Teixiera followed with a flyout, moving Gardner to third. On the first pitch of the at bat, A-Rod saw a fastball right down broadway that he drove deep into the night, tying the game at 9′s. Cano then flew out, so with two out, Cervelli was hit on the arm. On the first pitch of his at bat, Marcus Thames saw an even more irresistable fastball than Alex’s, which he drove into the porch in left. Final Score: Yankees 11, Red Sox 9.

Notes

• Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with a walk, a run and 2 strikeouts
• Brett Gardner went 2-for-4 with a walk and 3 runs (.399 OBP)
• Mark Teixiera went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI
• Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a home run, 4 RBI, and 2 R
• Robinson Cano went 1-for-5 with an RBI
• Francisco Cervelli went 2-for-4 with and RBI and 3 R (.400 season average, .471 OBP)
• Marcus Thames went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI (First career walk-off)
• Randy Winn went 1-for-4
• Ramiro Peña went 1-for-3 with a stolen base
• Phil Hughes’ line: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 K, 1 BB, 2 HR (104 pitches)
• Boone Logan’s line: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, HR
• Chan Ho Park’s line: 1+ IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 HR
• Damaso Marte’s line: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 R
• Javy Vazquez’ line: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 R (WIN)
• NY is 5-2 against Boston this season, and 14-3 dating to last season

Thoughts

• Derek Jeter’s average is down to .268. He has been anything but clutch the past two weeks or so. In the bottom of the eighth with a man on first, he struck out on a 3-2 sinker against Daniel Bard. Now, it was a filthy pitch, but Jeter has to know the scouting report for Bard, who throws a consistent 97 mph fastball. Jeter’s lucky everyone around him is picking up his slack.
• Phil Hughes had his worst performance of the season tonight. He looked solid through the first two innings, but after that the stuff wasn’t there. Hopefully he’ll bounce back against the Mets.
• Everyone needs to calm down about Chan Ho Park. Maybe it was foolish of Girardi to put him in such a tight spot just off the DL, but it’s baseball. Having said that, things will hopefully turn around for Park, who has an ERA of 8.10. However, he did such a solid job for the Phillies last season out of the bullpen, you have to hope he’ll turn it around (like Javy Vazquez).
• Javy Vazquez got his second win of the season for a third of an inning out of the bullpen, just saying. But we’ll have to find out if his move means he won’t be starting Friday night at Citi Field.

Line of the Day

Marcus Thames went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBI (First career walk-off)

Quote of the Day

TBD

Up Next

• vs. Boston, Tuesday 7:05 pm: RHP Josh Beckett (1-1, 7.46) vs. LHP CC Sabathia (4-2, 3.71)
• vs. Tampa Bay, Wednesday 7:05 pm: RHP Wade Davis (3-3, 3.38) vs. RHP AJ Burnett (4-1, 3.31)

Around the AL East

• Kansas City 4, Baltimore 3
• Tampa Bay 4, Cleveland 3
• Minnesota 8, Toronto 3

Record

25-13 (13-3 at home) 2 GB in East

I didn’t like it, you didn’t like it, but Brian Cashman liked it. When Cashman signed 32-year-old 1B/DH Nick Johnson to a 1-year, 5.5 million dollar deal over the off season, you could sense problems coming. Sure enough, Johnson headed to the DL May 8th due to an inflamed wrist, his tenth trip in his nine seasons.

Johnson was given a cortisone shot last week to his wrist, but it will not show results for a few weeks.

“It’s my intention to learn if [the shot] worked as soon as possible,” Cashman said Saturday. “If not, then we want to go right to the surgery. When healthy, we know what this guy can do, but he can’t do anything for us right now.”

What this guy has done this season is bat .167 with 2 home runs and 8 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .388. Surgery to remove the inflamed tissue in his wrist would leave him out for four to six weeks on top of the month he’s already scheduled to miss. We’ll either see him mid-June with the wrist still bothering him or in August when the playoff race heats up.

Thoughts: I hated this deal from the moment I learned about the signing. I think every Yankee fan knew something would go wrong with Johnson this season. All this means is Marcus Thames and Randy Winn will most likely get more playing time until he comes back. But it also means a minor league player will probably remain on the roster as well. We’ve seen Juan Miranda be called up, but if he doesn’t hit, don’t rule out the possibility of seeing Jesus Montero in a Yankee uniform. Another possibility is Jermaine Dye, who is still jobless. Yes, he is a righty, but he can smash the ball, especially to the short porches at Yankee Stadium.

As the Yankees broke their first 3-game losing streak of the season, Phil Hughes just kept on rolling.

After a Brett Gardner single and steal of second in the first inning, Alex Rodriguez singled him in with two outs. In the third with one out, Derek Jeter walked and stole second, and was driven in by Mark Teixeira, again with two outs. Meanwhile, it was smooth sailing for Phil Hughes right along through seven. The Yanks broke it open in the eighth as Robinson Cano led off and was hit by a pitch. After a Randy Winn fielder’s choice, Greg Golson got the first hit of his big league career. Francisco Cervelli followed with an RBI single, followed by a walk to Ramiro Peña to load the bases. Jim Leyland proceeded to remove Phil Coke and bring in Figaro. Singles from Gardner and Teixeira broke the game open to 6-0, and Alex Rodriguez added an RBI double. Teixeira scored on a Figaro wild pitch to make the game 8-0. Mariano Rivera finished off the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Notes

• Derek Jeter went 0-for-4 with 2 runs scored, dropping his season average to .270
• Brett Gardner went 3-for-5, with an RBI and two runs scored
• Mark Teixeira went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI, bringing his average back over .200 (.203)
• Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI
• Robinson Cano went 0-for-3 with a walk
• Nick Swisher went 0-for-3
• Marcus Thames went 0-for-3 (3-for-13 vs RHP this season)
• Francisco Cervelli went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI
• Ramiro Peña went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .138
• Phil Hughes’ line: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K
• Joba Chamberlain’s line: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (15 pitches, 11 strikes)
• Mariano Rivera’s line: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

UPDATE: Nick Swisher left the game early due to tight biceps, and is listed day-to-day

Thoughts

• It’s really incredible how Brett Gardner has gone from an sub-par/par outfielder to a vital part of the Yankee lineup in just one offseason. He’s batting .337 and has proven to be able to perform at the top or bottom of the lineup. He saw 27 pitches (by far the most of all Yankees) and didn’t walk! And although we knew the speed would be there, it is hard to believe that the Yankees have a contender to lead the league in stolen bases (Rickey Henderson was the last in 1988).
• Phil Hughes moved to 5-0 and dropped his ERA to 1.38. After throwing over 40 pitches through 2 innings, he finished seven with only 101 pitches (71 strikes). He’s moved into the early Cy Young talks.
• Joba looked great in the eighth inning yet again. His slider was filthy tonight as well, topping out at 90 mph (?!). I hope everyone can agree that he should stay in this role for now.

Lines of the Day

I thought I’d split the lines of the day to two deserving Yanks:

Phil Hughes’ line: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

Brett Gardner: 3-for-5, RBI, 2 R, SB

Quote of the Day

“He’s made some huge strides for us,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We expected him to be a good starting pitcher coming out of spring training, but I think he has exceeded even what we were hoping we’d get.” Amen.

Up Next

• @ Detroit, Thursday, May 13: LHP CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.04) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.50)

Around the AL East

• Toronto 3, Boston 2
• Baltimore 5, Seattle 2
• Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 3

Yet another big performance from yet another big starter.

The Yankees beat the Orioles 4-1 with ease (probably easier than last night).

AJ Burnett brought his A-game yet again, going 7-plus innings of one run ball. His one earned run was thanks to his own error in the top of the third. Garrett Atkins led off with a walk, and Burnett walked the next batter Rhyne Hughes. Caesar Izturis laid down a bunt, but Burnett threw away the relay, allowing Atkins to score. AJ proceeded to strike out the side.

After that, it was all Yankees. In the bottom of the third, Francisco Cervelli drove a ball to center that Adam Jones made a diving attempt for, but failed. The ball rolled to the wall and Cervelli and his oversized helmet stood on third with a triple. Ramiro Peña drove him in on a groundout to short. In the fifth, after a leadoff walk to Brett Gardner and a single by Cervelli, Peña laid down a bunt that was thrown away by Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz, allowing Gardner to score. After two outs, Mark Teixeira walked, and Alex Rodriguez was walked with the bases loaded, giving the Yanks a 3-1 lead. They scored again on a sac fly by Peña in the eighth, but that was all. Joba Chamberlain recorded his second save in his many nights in place of the sore Mariano Rivera.

Final Score: Yankees 4, Orioles 1.

Game MVP(s): AJ Burnett/Francisco Cervelli

Notes:

• Cervelli: 3-3, 3B  2 R
• Cano: 2-4 (avg at .376)
• Peña: 0-2, 2 RBI
• 1-4 Hitters (Jeter, Swisher, Teixeira, Rodriguez): 1-14, 3 BB (Jeter double)
• Burnett: 7.1 IP  5 H  1 R  0 ER  8 K  2 BB (W) (107 pitches) It’s good to see AJ keeping his pitch count so low thus far.
• Chamberlain: 1 IP  1 H  2 K (S) Still have to say that closer does not seem to fit Joba.
• Matusz: 6 IP  6 H  3 R  1 ER  2 K  3 BB (L)
• *Greg Golson played the eighth and ninth in center field in his first game as a Yankee
• 4/5 Yankee Starters (excluding Vazquez) are 14-1 with an ERA around 2.60

Yankees Record: 18-8 (9-2 home)

Around the AL East:

- Boston: 5, Los Angeles: 1

- Toronto: 8, Cleveland: 5

- Tampa Bay at Seattle, 0-0, Top 3

Dear Curtis, we’re doing fine without you. Love, your fellow outfielders.

In probably the fastest game of the season, the Yankees beat the Orioles 4-1 quite easily, on the day where Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter finally received their Gold Gloves.

Matt Wieters gave the O’s a 1-0 lead in the second with a rocket over the wall in right. In the fourth, Nick Swisher drove in Alex Rodriguez with a two-out single. After a Brett Gardner single, Randy Winn hit his first home run since April 25 of last season (numbers 11, 22, 33 all scored on the play). The Yanks took a 4-1 lead and never looked back. Jorge Posada, however, left in the fifth with a tight right calf. CC Sabathia cruised right along for 8 innings and the win, and Joba Chamberlain recorded his first save since September 23, 2007. Although Joba only walked one batter, he didn’t look to fit the role (I don’t know if you’ll agree with me).

Final Score: Yankees 4, Orioles 1.

Notes:

• Swisher: 3-3, RBI  R (9 for last 13)
• Winn: 1-3, HR  3 RBI
• Gardner: 1-2, BB  R
• Sabathia: 8 IP  6 H  1 ER  2 K  2 BB  1 HR
• Chamberlain: 1 IP  1 K  1 BB
• Guthrie: 7 IP  6 H  4 ER  2 K  2 BB
• Time of Game: 2 hours, 29 minutes

Yankees Record: 17-8 (8-2 home)

Around the AL East:

- Red Sox: 17, Angels: 8

- Toronto: 5, Cleveland: 1

- Tampa Bay: off

The show was hot, hot, hot tonight, leading the Yankees to a 4-0 victory over the Orioles, to win yet another series.

Derek Jeter led off the game with a single, and Mark Teixeira moved him to third with a double. Alex Rodriguez hit a sac fly. Moving right along to the bottom of the third, Robinson Cano (otherwise know as “The Show”), made an incredible play when Nolan Reimold grounded a ball up the middle, of which Robby had to range very far to his right. Cano picked the ball, and threw across his body from the shortstop side to get the out. That adrenaline must have carried over to the fourth, when Cano crushed a ball to right for a home run. Marcus Thames got the start at DH against the lefty Brian Matusz, and he drove in Cano on a double to left after Cano had doubled to right the at bat before. Going to the top of the eighth, Cano drilled another that barely made it over the wall in right. Let’s not forget AJ Burnett this game, who threw possibly his best game as a Yankee, going 8 innings, and throwing only 116 pitches (what he usually throws through 5-6 innings). Mariano Rivera saw action for the first time since Oakland, throwing a scoreless (and save-less) ninth.

Final Score: Yankees 4, Orioles 0.

Game MVP: Robinson Cano

Notes:

• Cano: 3-4, 2 HR  2 RBI  3 R (Leads MLB with a .407 batting average, leading all batters by a mere .048 pts. Also, 2nd in AL in HR)
• Cano: 5/8 home runs have come against lefties
• Jeter: 2-5, R
• Thames: 3-3, RBI  BB
• Burnett: 8 IP  3 H 0 R  4 K  1 BB (W) (3-0 for first time in career, 10-2 all-time vs. Baltimore)

Yankees Record: 14-7 (9-6 away)

Around the AL East:

- Tampa Bay: 11, Kansas City: 1

- Toronto: 6, Oakland: 3

-Boston: off

Thought this first series against the Baltimore Orioles would be a breeze? Perhaps not.

The Yankees fell short to the O’s 5-4, behind staff ace Kevin Millwood and to the dismay of a shaky Yankee bullpen.

The first inning and a half went quickly. Luke Scott led off the O’s second with a single to left, followed by a Ty Wiggington single and a walk to Nolan Reimold, loading the bases with one out. Phil Hughes proceeded to walk Cesar Izturis, handing the Orioles their first run. Hughes didn’t look as sharp around the zone as his previous two starts, although it was clear home plate umpire Wally Bell was keeping a consistent tight strike zone. In the third, Nick Swisher led off with a single, followed by a Randy Winn single. After a Derek Jeter groundout moved the runners to second and third, Brett Gardner smashed a grounder to third baseman Miguel Tejada, who took it in the chest and allowed the run to score. Jorge Posada led off the fourth with a home run onto Eutaw Street. Score after 4: Yankees 2, Orioles 1.

The game kept moving until the bottom of the sixth when Hughes set down the first two batters. At 109 pitches, Girardi pulled him for Boone Logan, who walked Luke Scott. After that batter, Girardi brought in David Robertson, who hit Ty Wiggington with a pitch, putting runners at first and second and two outs. Three straight singles from Ryan Hughes, Reimold and Izturis put the O’s up by two, 4-2. Alfredo Aceves worked the seventh and eighth, allowing an unearned run on a single to Cesar Izturis after a Jeter error started the inning. The Yanks’ went into the top of the ninth to face Alfredo Simon, who was making his season debut after Tommy John just a year ago. Swisher singled after a Curtis Granderson strikeout, and Nick Johnson followed with a walk. After a Jeter strikeout, Gardner reached on an error to short, which allowed a run to score. Mark Teixeira followed with an RBI single, leaving runners at the corners with two outs for Alex Rodriguez. The Orioles had him played perfectly up the middle, and won the game.

Final Score: Orioles 5, Yankees 4.

Game MVP: Cesar Izturis

Notes:

• Jeter: 0-5 (5-31 on road trip)
• Teixeira: 1-3, RBI  2 BB
• Granderson: 0-4, 3 K
• Winn: 1-3, K
• Hughes: 5.2 IP  2 H  1 ER  4 BB  2 K
• Robertson: 0.1 IP  3 H  2 ER  1 K (L)
• Aceves: 2 IP  2 H  1 R  BB  K
• Millwood: 5.1 IP  5 H  2 ER  3 BB  5 K
• Castillo: 1.2 IP  1 H  3 K (W)
• Simon: 1 IP  2 H  2 R  BB  2 K (S)

Around the AL East:

-Boston: 2, Toronto: 1

-Tampa Bay: 8, Oakland: 6

Yankees Record: 12-7 (7-6 away)

Alex Rodriguez: Age 34: 585 career home runs, .305 career batting average, 3-time MVP

Dallas Braden: Age 26: 14-21 career, 4.68 career ERA

Rodriguez off Braden career: 3-6, HR

On Thursday, Alex Rodriguez hit a single off Dallas Braden. Robinson Cano followed and fouled off a ball during the at-bat. On the foul ball, Rodriguez went from first to third, and was forced to turn around and head back to first. Apparently (I wasn’t watching live), Alex crossed over back of the pitchers mound on his shortcut back to first. Well, this more than pissed off Dallas Braden, as you can see here.

Braden said after the game and his little girly rant on the field:

“He should probably take a note from his captain over there and realize you don’t cross the pitcher’s mound in between an inning or during the game. I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind — being someone of such status.”

“I don’t care if I’m Cy Young or the 25th man on the roster, if I’ve got the ball in my hand and I’m on that mound, that’s my mound … He ran across the pitcher’s mound foot on my rubber. No, not happening. We’re not the door mat anymore.”

And said a confused and casual Alex Rodriguez:

“He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I’d never quite heard that. Especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career … I thought it was pretty funny actually.”

Now, being a pitcher myself, I’d understand if Braden got slightly upset. But for him to scream at Alex and proceed to throw a Carlos Zambrano-like tantrum in the dugout is a little much in my opinion.

But what do you think? Is Braden right or was it a huge overreaction?

April 15, 1947: Jackie Robinson becomes the first colored baseball player, breaking the color barrier.

63 years later, with his number retired around baseball, the legend lives on. On a night where every player and umpire in the MLB wore the number 42, the Yankees (who have 4 1/2 African-American players) defeated the Angels 6-2. The opening ceremony featured Robinsons widow, Rachel, his daughter, Sharon, and his grandson Jesse Simms throwing out the first pitch.

On an important note on a smaller scale, Phil Hughes made his season debut after winning the ever-so-dramatic spring training competition.

Hughes struck out two batters in the first, and in the second recieved a big hello from Hideki Matsui as smashed his first hit against his old team into the Yankee bullpen. In the bottom of the second, Robinson Cano (named after Jackie Robinson), drove one out to right. Derek Jeter led off the third with a Jeterian home run to right that seemed to take the help of the wind. In the bottom of the fourth, Marcus Thames (who surprisingly impressed me at the plate this game), led off with a bloop single. Curtis Granderson followed with a rip inside first that he hustled into a triple. Jeter later drove him in with a double. Score after 4: Yankees 4, Angels 1.

After an Alex Rodriguez double to start the fifth, Cano followed him with his second home run of the night, barely clearing the right field wall, and driving Scott Kazmir out of the game. Phil Hughes kept cruising in his first start of the season. His fastball looked real sharp and had a lot of movement up in the zone, as well as a hard changeup and nice slider all night. The Angels second run came on a Kendry Morales groundout in the sixth. Both bullpens shut down the opposition for the remainder of the game. After putting runners on first and second with two outs in the ninth, the lone true #42 in the league, Mariano Rivera, came on for the one-out save.

Final Score: Yankees 6, Angels 2.

Game MVP: Robinson Cano

Notes:

• Mark Teixiera went 0-2 with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks, putting him at 3-33 (.091) for the season
• Jeter: 2-5, HR  2 RBI
• Cano: 2-4, 2 HR  3 RBI
• Thames: 2-3, R
• Matsui: 2-2  HR, 2 BB
• Hughes: 5+ IP  3 H  2 ER  5 BB  6 K  (108 pitches [career high])
• Robertson: 1.2 IP  0 H  1 BB  3 K
• Kazmir: 4+IP  8 H  6 ER  3 BB  2 K  3 HR

Around the AL East:

-Minnesota: 8, Boston: 0

-Toronto: 7, Chicago: 3

-Oakland: 4, Baltimore: 0 (in the 5th)

-Tampa Bay: off

Yankees Record: 6-3 (2-1 at home)