(Syndicated from Gotham Hub Baseball).

We just passed the 17th anniversary of Mariano Rivera’s first save on May 17, 1996 when he filled in for John Wetteland and ended it by getting Garret Anderson on a double play.

Since then he’s racked up 624 more, including 75 against the Orioles, which is an astounding number but also is a testament to how the Yankees have handled Baltimore over his career.

Starting with the 1996 season, the Yankees are 169-95 against the Orioles and 84-45 in Baltimore. Rivera has saved 75 of those wins, converting 75 of 83 chances while facing 540 hitters.

Not bad for a guy whose first appearance against the Orioles was a sixth inning grand slam to Bobby Bonilla on September 15, 1995. Not bad for someone who had a 5.79 ERA in six appearances against the Orioles in 1996 as a setup man.

In his first season as closer, he faced them once. Until last year that was Baltimore’s previous winning season and that also marks the last time the Orioles won the season series.

However, that changed in 1998 when he recorded five saves against the Orioles. The first one actually occurred 15 years ago today when the Yankees scored twice in the eighth and Rivera retired Brady Anderson on a lineout to end a 3-1 win.

The Oriole have a .224 batting average against him and that’s actually the fifth highest among American League teams. The hitters faced on the Orioles are the most in the AL as are the 504 at-bats.

The 47 runs are the most he has allowed against any team but that’s simply by facing him before 1997. So are the 11 home runs and the 11 stolen bases.

However,the Orioles have a .266 on-base percentage and that’s seventh among AL teams. The .600 OPS is fourth but that’s also because he hasn’t allowed an OPS higher than .678.

The 168 total bases are also the most but that only allows for more double play opportunities. And sure enough, the Orioles’ 10 double plays against him are the most.

In terms of advanced numbers, the .259 BAPIP against him is in the middle of the pack.

In Baltimore, his 67 appearances are the most in any opposing ballpark. His .173 batting average allowed there  is the third-best in any place he has visited more than 15 times.

The Orioles have been on-base at just a .213 clip and have an OPS of .480 against him in their home games. They also have a .202 average on balls put into play against him at Camden Yards.

He also has a 1.67 ERA there and his 41 saves there are his most anywhere else besides New York. So are his 73 innings and 60 strikeouts.

In terms of this year, to gain a better perspective, look at when he got his 17th save in previous years. This year he has saved 17 of the 28 wins that have come in 44 games so far.

Two years ago, save 17 occurred in Wrigley Field on June 18 when he gave up a solo home run to Reed Johnson before getting a double play and strikeout in the 69th game of the season.

In 2010, save 17 happened at Dodger Stadium on June 25. In the 73rd game, he struck out Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and James Loney.

In 2009, save 17 happened at Atlanta on June 25. In Game No. 72, he entered with two on and two outs and simply retired a young prospect named Diory Hernandez.

In 2008, save 17 happened in Oakland on June 10. In the 65th game of the season, he gave up a two-out single to Carlos Gonzalez before getting Kurt Suzuki.

In 2007, Rivera had to wait until August 5 and Game 101 to reach that number because of the combination of the team’s slow start and prolific offense. Against the Royals at Yankee Stadium, that save occurred when Mark Teahen grounded out.

In 2006, save 17 also happened at Yankee Stadium but this time it was June 26 and in Game 74. It wasn’t supposed to be that night but after Atlanta scored two to create a save situation in a 5-0 game, he stranded two, watched Bobby Cox get ejected and ended it with a strikeout to Adam LaRoche.

In 2005, save 17 occurred June 27 and in Game 76 at Baltimore. That night was a 6-4 win and it ended perfectly with a Larry Bigbie groundout.

In 2004, save 17 occurred in Game 47 on May 28 in Tampa Bay. He had the tying run up and a runner on second but saved a 7-5 victory by retiring Julio Lugo.

In 2003, Rivera missed the first month with a groin injury, so save 17 did not occur until Game 96 on July 19 against the Indians. It featured two strikeouts and ended with a Victor Martinez groundout in a 7-4 victory.

In 2002, save 17 took place in Game 54 on May 29 at Chicago following a five-run inning by the Yankees. After getting the lead, Rivera gave up a double to Royce Clayton but retired Kenny Lofton and Ray Durham on groundouts.

In 2001, save 17 took place in Game 57 on June 6 against the Orioles. This time it was at Yankee Stadium and with a runner in scoring position, he ended it by striking out Jeff Conine.

In 2000, save 17 took place in Game 69 on June 24 at Chicago. In a 12-8 win over the White Sox, Rivera actually started in the eighth in a 10-5 game and gave up a sacrifice fly to Frank Thomas and an RBI single to Magglio Ordonez. In the ninth he gave up a run, threw two wild pitches but ended it by retiring Brook Fordyce on a flyout..

In 1999, save 17 took place in Game 59 on June 12 in Florida. In a 5-4 win Rivera walked Bruce Aven with two outs but retired Tim Hyers on a groundout to end it.

In 1998, save 17 happened in Game 69 on June 22. The Yankees had a 51-18 record and he ended a 6-4 win that saw the Yankees get three off Greg Maddux and John Rocker. After giving up a hit to Ozzie Guillen, he ended it by retiring Chipper Jones. (I’m guessing Jones is the best player he got the final out against in his 17th save)

In 1997, save 17 happened on June 6 in Game 59 and it was an easy time wrapping up a 6-3 win over Milwaukee. That game saw him preserve a 6-3 win and one of the last by Kenny Rogers with a ground out against former teammate Gerald Williams.

The Yankees have mostly had a good record at this point of the season with some exceptions but the fact that Rivera has 17 saves through just 44 games is astounding, especially compared to when he reached that point previously.

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Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira took a big step toward a return on Monday when he went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk during a simulated game against minor leaguers.

This is indeed a big step, but it’s not one that signals that he’s fine. First of all, this is not even an Extended Spring Training game yet. So it’s not like he’s poised to begin playing in rehab games just yet. First is probably another simulated game or two, or three, and then he’d probably play in a few Extended Spring Training games.

Only after that, which will take at least another week, will Teixeira get to the point where he begins his official 30-day rehab clock with one of the Yankees minor league teams.

Once Teixeira gets to the point where he is playing in actual rehab games, he’s still going to be prone to a setback. Keep in mind that this is a wrist injury which is a big deal for hitters, especially power hitters. Not only a wrist injury, but a torn tendon sheath which is even more notorious for setbacks.

Just look at Jose Bautista who missed all of last season with the same injury and Mark DeRosa, who missed parts of two seasons.

This is something the Yankees are well aware of. That’s why they’ve been taking it slowly with the injury despite the fact that Teixeira himself predicted that he’d be ready by May 1 and, more recently, when he didn’t reach that date predicted June 1 (another date he’s going to miss).

“Unfortunately with his circumstance, you’ve got to go through the entire process,” Brian Cashman told Ken Davidoff of the NY Post.

“Until (Teixeira) is actually rehabbing in games…we’ll hold our breath for a while, and then he’ll go through spring training. If that goes fine, then I’ll believe at we’re OK. But prior to that, I’m not gonna count my chickens yet.”

“(He) is the one that, I could tell you, until he goes through that rehab-game process, you can’t really say he’s declared himself out of the woods,” Cashman said. “But I know he feels really good. I know he feels strongly that this is going to be successful, and that’s great.

“That’s worth something, but at the end of the day, I’ve bee disappointed before. So think the worst and hope for the best.”

For what it’s worth, the Yankees actually have more incentive than just another setback to keep him on the DL. Teixeira hurt himself while taking batting practice for the World Baseball Classic. As part of the tournament’s agreement with MLB, the WBC is paying Teixeira’s salary while he’s out.

So taking Teixeira’s rehab slowly does a couple things. It helps them to avoid a setback, which is still a realistic possibility, and it saves them a few dollars. Best of all, if he does have a setback and requires season ending surgery, the Yankees won’t have to pay any of the $23 million that he is owed this season.

• Another rehabbing Yankee, Michael Pineda, threw an Extended Spring Training game on Saturday and got “strong reviews” as he threw 51 pitches. The expectation is that he’ll pitch in two more extended games before being sent to a minor league affiliate for his rehab assignment. That puts him at about 40 days away from a return to the Bronx.

• Ivan Nova also threw an extended game on Monday. It’s possible that will be his last rehab appearance before a Bronx return. With the way David Phelps has been pitching lately it wouldn’t surprise me if they gave him one start at Triple-A (or somewhere) before activating him.

• Cashman called Eduardo Nunez 10 days away before they can even think about his return.

• Former Yankees reliever Scott Proctor has officially decided to retire from baseball. Proctor had two stints with the Yankees after he was traded to the Bronx as part of the Robin Ventura deal in 2003. In five seasons in Pinstripes he had a 4.51 ERA, a 7.4 K/9, and a 4.0 BB/9.

• Remember when George Steinbrenner was alive and the Yankees didn’t wear stupid gimmicky hats? That’s the atrocity that they’ll be wearing on Memorial Day.

Travis Hafner

Hafner’s was actually the fourth homer of the game. Robinson Cano, David Adams, and Lyle Overbay each hit solo shots as well. Hafner’s shot tied in at 4-4 in the ninth. Ichiro Suzuki leadoff the 10th with a double, Vernon Wells doubled him in and Hafner hit a RBI-single to right that made it 6-4.

CC Sabathia started the game, he did so so considering how it ended, but it was the bullpen that really saved this game. Shawn Kelley came in and kept the damage from burying the Yankees in the seventh. Kelley along with Boone Logan, David Robertson, and Mariano Rivera combined for this line: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.

• Shawn Kelley keeps rolling along. After his first four atrocious appearances, he has 24 strikeouts and two walks in 13 innings. Ignore his 5.40 ERA.

• David Adams hit the first home run of his major league career. It was a nice shot to left that just stayed fair. He’s now hitting .333 though he’s still looking for his first walk.

• Cano hit his league leading 13th home run. He also picked up a pair of walks which is good because his .337 OBP has been a little lacking.

• This was a good game for Brian Cashman fans. Vernon Wells went 1-for-2 with the game winning RBI, Travis Hafner went 2-for-5 with the game tying home run, and Lyle Overbay went 2-for-5 with a homer. Three not so obvious moves that the Yankees made that are really paying off.

• Reid Brignac made his Yankees debut. He went 0-for-2 and was eventually lifted for Wells.

• Travis Hafner stole a base, his second of the season. He stole two bags from 2009 through 2012.

Photo credit: (May 16, 2013 - Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America).

Hal Steinbrenner has recently been making the rounds and doing interviews with different members of the media. Here’s what he had to say:

• The biggest news: Hal says the Yankees have not and will not abandon the $189 payroll goal. ”The math works to me if the young kids do their job,” he said. “It has to happen. And I’ve been saying that for over a year now — that’s the goal we’re going to push for. But again, I’ll reiterate what I always reiterate, which is we’re always going to field a championship-caliber team.”

• Hal also confirmed that the Yankees have had several conversations with Robinson Cano and his new agent Brodie Van Wagenen. ”A lot of it’s procedural. I keep saying, it’s not a process we’ll be reading about in the paper every day. If anything significant happens, everybody’s going to know, but we’re going to continue in the weeks to come to work though things and try to come to an agreement,” he said.

• Hal did say that giving out a seven, eight, or even a 10 year deal would make him nervous though. “Anybody would get a little nervous if you get into a seven or eight-year deal. It depends on the age of the player, too, I guess. Give an eight-year contract to a 34-year old — you probably wouldn’t do that, right? Twenty-five, 26?” I wish he was around when Alex Rodriguez got his mega-deal.

• “Pleasantly surprised,” Hal said when asked if he was surprised by this team. “I’m not shocked. I didn’t but into the doomsday scenario that many people did. Because I knew that we had some good kids at Triple A. But more importantly, I knew that the guys we got in the offseason were veterans. And whether or not people thought they were worth getting or not, I thought they were veterans, and this is what you expect veterans to do. And they’ve done it. They’ve stepped up.”

• There is no extension coming for pending free agents Brian Cashman or Joe Girardi, but Hal seems very happy with them. “Both have done a great job. There have been a lot of ups and downs to Triple-A and back, shuffling around players. They’ve done a great job, and Cash did a great job with the players we got in the offseason,” he said.

• Hal wasn’t straightforward when discussing the declining attendance using excuses like poor weather and a bad economy as if those things are only happening in the Bronx. He says that eventually people will want to come out and see David Adams, Austin Romine, and Travis Hafner. He pointed out that tickets are affordable (somewhat agree) and for once didn’t blame StubHub (which was refreshing).

• Finally: Don’t expect Hal to be selling the team any time soon. ”Absolutely not selling the team,” he said. “Have not been talking to anybody about selling the team. Have no intention of selling the team. What would I do?”

The Yankees offense has taken a step back this year, but they are still one of the best teams in baseball largely because of their pitching staff. That staff took a big hit last week as Andy Pettitte went on the DL with a strained trapezius muscle.

The Yankees recalled Vidal Nuno to take his place in the rotation. Sunday’s rainout means that they won’t have to use Nuno this time through the rotation though.

Pettitte has a 3.83 ERA, a 7.1 K/9, and a 2.7 BB/9 in eight starts this year. His injury isn’t expected to keep him out long, but it sounds like he can benefit from a week or two off though. Nuno has done a good job in his couple of appearances this year so it probably won’t be a big deal to give him a rest.

In unrelated news the Yankees made a minor upgrade at shortstop as they acquired Reid Brignac from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for $75,000. To make room for him on the roster they designated Alberto Gonzalez for assignment.

Brignac, 27, is certainly not a huge upgrade over the Attorney General. He has a .228/.270/.321 line during his career, but he plays a good shortstop and can also play second, third, and the corner outfield spots as well. So he brings a little more versatility with him and Brignac can platoon with Jayson Nix as he hits righties better than lefties.

OTHER NOTES

• Mark Teixeira is close to playing in rehab games although it’s expected that he will take longer to get through it than Curtis Granderson did.

• Chris Stewart left Thursday night’s game with a groin injury, but the MRI came back clean and he won’t go on the DL. Instead he’s day-to-day and Austin Romine will get a chance to play.

• Joba Chamberlain, strained oblique, will not be back as soon as expected. He headed down to Tampa over the weekend for rehab. The Yankees will be down there to play the Rays over the weekend and he could be activated then.

• After he tossed 108 pitches in his MLB debut, the Yankees sent Brett Marshall back down to the minors the next day and recalled Dellin Betances to take his place in the bullpen. It’s not for merit though, they simply needed another arm and Betances was the only one on the 40-man roster that could easily be called up.

• Yankees LHP prospect Omar Luis, signed a year ago for $4 million, has been listed on the Staten Island Yankees roster which likely means that his visa issues have finally been settled.

• Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman are free agents after this season, but the Yankees have not approached them for extension talks despite the fact the team is thriving when many expected their collapse.

• Why is Ben Francisco still on the team? Brian Cashman says it’s just to piss everyone off. He was joking, but seriously…he’s hitting .114/.220/.182 in 21 games and hasn’t had even a .750 OPS since 2010. He’s not a major leaguer. Get him off the team.

• Chris Nelson, who was designated for assignment when the Yankees promoted David Adams, was claimed off waivers by the Angels.

• David Aardsma was released by the Marlins last week and is getting interest from the Hanshin Tigers.

• The recently released Gil Velazquez has signed a minor league deal with the Marlins.

• The Yankees are headed to Baltimore on Monday and you can join them. Buy Yankees tickets even while they’re on the road.

Photo credit: (April 4, 2013 - Source: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America).

The Yankees were rained out on Sunday, but continued their dominance over the Blue Jays by beating them Friday and Saturday to improve to 8-1 against them so far this season.

FRIDAY (5-0 win)

As the Yankees have done so many times this year they won Friday on timely hitting and strong pitching. This time it was Hiroki Kuroda who shutout the Jays over eight innings. His line 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR. His ERA has shrank to 1.99 on the season.

The Yankees got a run in the first and another in the fifth, but broke it open with a three run seventh. Austin Romine got the big hit that inning, a RBI-double before Brett Gardner and Jayson Nix drove in two more to chase Mark Buehrle.

SATURDAY (7-2 win)

Robinson Cano went 0-for-4 Friday night, but came on strong Saturday with a pair of homers and four RBI’s to power the Yankees. Travis Hafner, playing in his first game back since his shoulder injury, also homered as the Yankees broke out with a seven-run performance.

The Yankees got yet another strong pitching performance, but this time it was from an unlikely source as David Phelps pitched what could have been the best game of his life — 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 0 HR.

SUNDAY (rained out)

They called Sunday’s game early as it was expected to rain all day. CC Sabathia was supposed to start and instead he’ll start on Monday. Vidal Nuno, in the rotation to replace an injured Andy Pettitte, will have his start skipped.

Photo credit: (May 17, 2013 - Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America).

The Yankees have survived the first month and change of the 2013 seasons without Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis etc. In fact, they have thrived, two losses to the generally punchless Seattle Mariners notwithstanding.

The Yankees are 25-16, in first place in the American League East, and have just gotten Curtis Granderson back. Teixeira has said he is on his way, hoping to be suiting up for the big league club by the end of May.

With the Grandy-man back in the fold and Teixeira coming does this mean the Yankees are due to blow away the rest of the division and romp to another AL East crown? After all, they’re doing this while giving regular at-bats to Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay!

Not so fast. Of course, adding Granderson and Teixeira to any team is obviously a plus, but a basic look at the numbers shows that the play of Wells and Overbay, and to an extent Kevin Youkilis before he got hurt, effectively replaced Granderson and Teixeira.

Nobody on the Yankees is having some sort of Mike Trout-esque breakout that figures to be bolstered by stars returning. Simply put, the guys like Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner have gone about their business as they typically do, while Overbay became Teixeira and Wells became Granderson. The Yankees lost two stars in name but not production.

Curtis Granderson’s numbers in April and May of 2012: .259, 16 HR, 29 RBI, 1 SB, .915 OPS.

Vernon Wells’ numbers this season: .301, 10 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB, .895 OPS.

Now the power wasn’t the same, but consider that May isn’t over yet for Wells. Also, Wells’ OPS was very close to Granderson’s and Wells is hitting 42 points higher. Let’s do the same comparison for Mark Teixeira and Lyle Overbay.

Mark Teixeira in April and May of 2012: .256, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 1 SB, .792 OPS.

Lyle Overbay this season: .266, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 0 SB, .810 OPS.

Overbay has done just as well as Teixeira did last year! He has even posted a 4.6 UZR so far in 2013, so he’s dulled the pain of losing Teixeira’s glove as well.

The real injury issue that has reared it’s ugly head has been Jeter’s. It hurts more because many Yankees fans, and I suspect members of the front office, never expected the Captain to miss as much time as he has. In his absence, Eduardo Nunez has been dreadful as the everyday shortstop.

According to Fangraphs.com, Nunez has been worth -4.1 runs defensively, which was to be expected. What nobody could have saw coming was his .200 batting average with zero home runs and four RBI in 95 plate appearances before getting injured.

The bat Yogi Berra so desperately wanted in the lineup on a daily basis has completely sputtered in a full-time role while Jayson Nix has only been slightly better. Shortstop is a big hole that the Yankees may need to go outside the organization to fill, especially if Jeter continues to experience setbacks.

All in all, the return of Granderson and Teixeira will be good for the Yankees. While Wells and Overbay have performed admirably in their stead, they will remain on the team as quality veteran depth, much like Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez did last year. Well, Overbay will at least.

Vernon Wells has done so well, and Ichiro Suzuki so poorly, that Wells may continue to play in right or left while Ichiro is left the part time scraps. Whichever way Joe Girardi decides to play it, he’s in a far better spot than anyone thought he would be after a month and a half of play.

Photo credit: (May 20, 2011 - Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America).

The Yankees dropped Thursday night’s game and the series to the Mariners, but more importantly they lost Andy Pettitte and Chris Stewart to injuries at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte left the game in the fifth inning with a sore trapezius muscle (between the neck and the back) and Stewart left in the seventh inning with a groin injury. Pettitte said after the game that he wasn’t sure if he would miss a start or not, but that he wouldn’t need a MRI. Stewart went for a MRI, although he said that he felt no pop when he hurt his leg.

After losing a starting pitcher and a catcher the game was almost secondary. It was another weak performance by the offense though. These days if Robinson Cano and Vernon Wells aren’t leading the team, they need to be on the winning side of a pitcher’s duel and Cano and Wells went just 1-for-8.

The Yankees did score two runs, one in the second and another in the seventh, on a David Adams RBI-double and Cano RBI-single. The M’s scored three times though, once in the second, fourth and sixth, with Michael Morse picking up the eventual game winning run on a solo shot in the sixth.

• Pettitte was good, not great before he left the game. He still struggled with consistency on his breaking pitches though. His line: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HR.

• After the game Joe Girardi said he wasn’t sure if he would need to call up another catcher, but if Stewart is hurt expect Bobby Wilson to get a call up.

• Ichiro Suzuki ended a 0-for-22 skid. He went 1-for-4 and is now hitting .239/.280/.328.

• Curtis Granderson is finally shaking off some of the rust with a 3-for-4 night in his third game of the season.

• Jesus Montero, hitting .204/.257/.333, looked rough behind the plate. This was a perfect example of why everyone says he can’t catch. The Yankees only stole three bases off of him, but he didn’t setup well, didn’t frame well, and generally moved around too much back there.

• Former Yankee Hector Noesi made the start and wasn’t too bad. He didn’t get the win, but his line: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, wasn’t bad.

Photo credit: (May 15, 2013 - Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America).

Mark Teixeira is still rehabbing down in Tampa the sheath in his wrist which protects his tendon that he tore while getting ready for the World Baseball Classic back in March. The rehab is going slow, as it should for an injury with a high likelihood of a setback, but he says it’s going great and expects to be back with the Yankees by June 1st.

That puts Lyle Overbay in an interesting situation because he has been a big cog on this team, but won’t have a position when Teixeira returns. So what exactly will happen with Overbay when Teixeira returns?

He could ride the bench as the Yankees would still need a backup first baseman even with Teixeira back. This is Teixeira, who has gotten hurt just about every year in Pinstripes, after all so insurance wouldn’t be bad either.

The problem is that once Teixeira is back they can only keep him around until Kevin Youkilis comes off the DL too. At that point they would have Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, Overbay, and Travis Hafner and there simply wouldn’t be room for all those players.

If Teixeira and Youkilis are playing first and third the Yankees could potentially use both Overbay and Hafner as the DH, but the problem with that is that both Overbay and Hafner hit righties better than lefties so having both doesn’t make a lot of sense.

So it does become a question of Hafner or Overbay at some point which isn’t an easy question to answer. For one thing Hafner put up video game numbers in April. If he’s healthy this team needs those numbers. Overbay has hit well, though not quite as well as Hafner, and can play the field and play it well. It’s a tough decision, but one that will probably have to be made because it seems hard for them to co-exist.

If they can’t keep Overbay that means he’s got to go which is a funny thing. The Yankees literally got Overbay for nothing three days before the season started. At the time it was thought that they would use him and eventually release him and the idea that they could get anything for him was silly a month and a half ago. He’s posted an .801 OPS since then so he does have some value.  Somebody will want him although it’s hard to see anyone spending a ton for him.

Certainly they won’t be able to get a big time prospect. Instead the best they can probably expect a middle reliever or bench piece at best. A shortstop or bench player that can mash lefties would be ideal. It’s going to be difficult to find a good piece, that a team is willing to part with, and one that isn’t going to be directly competing with the Yankees for a playoff spot.

So this may come down to a decision between Overbay and Hafner. The decent bat/glove combo or the potential for video game numbers and no glove. The Yankees must also ask themselves if Overbay even keep up a .800 OPS all season? They need to be sure that Hafner can stay healthy too. This may even come down to who is more tradable — Hafner or Overbay.

Hopefully the Yankees figure out the right move — one where they still get production from the player they keep while also bringing in a useable piece for the player they decide to cut loose. Either way Teixeira coming back could end up having a big impact against lefties by adding his own bat and making somebody else tradable.

OTHER NOTES

• David Adams was indeed called up yesterday, and went 1-for-4 in his MLB debut. To make room for him on the roster the Yankees designated Chris Nelson for assignment.

• The Yankees are seen as the “most likely landing spot” for Dominican outfielder Leonardo Molina, who is expected to be one of the best players available. Typically IFA’s can be signed on July 2nd, but Molina doesn’t turn 16 until August 1st so he can’t sign until then. He’s expected to get seven figures and the Yankees have just $1.88 million to spend.

• The Marlins agreed to release reliever David Aardsma since they didn’t put him on the major league roster by May 15. He’s going to try to find a major league job after he had a 2.57 ERA, a 7.7 K/9, and a 5.1 BB/9 in 14 innings at Triple-A this season.

• It’s official, there will be hockey at Yankee Stadium next year. Two games actually. The Rangers will play in both one on Jan. 26 against the Devils and a second on Jan. 29 against the Islanders. Neither are technically the Winter Classic.

• Buy Yankees tickets.

Photo credit: (April 12, 2013 - Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America).

Phil Hughes didn’t even make it out of the first inning as the Yankees got absolutely crushed by the Mariners in a 12-2 loss at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night.

The Mariners started piling on with a seven-run first inning that include a Raul Ibanez grand slam. The M’s scored two more in the fifth on another Ibanez homer that made it 9-1 and three more in the sixth on a Kyle Seager three-run shot that made it 12-2.

The Yankees offense was largely dormant. They got a run in the first on a Vernon Wells homer and another in the fifth on a Chris Stewart homer. There was nothing other than those two solo shots.

• Hughes was horrible. He faced 10 batters and got two of them out. His line: 0.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR. It was his second bad start in a row for him and it makes me wonder if maybe his back is acting up. At the end of April Hughes was the hottest pitcher on the team and he was just awful Wednesday night.

• Brett Marshall was nervous and shaky which is understandable in his major league debut. His line: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 1 K, 2 HR. He gave up five runs, but he really did the team a favor by saving the bullpen. He threw 108 pitches while doing it though which makes him unavailable for the next few days. That makes him a good target to get sent down when the Yankees activate Joba Chamberlain. Hopefully he goes down to the minors, prepares for his next call up, and is more relaxed and consistent the next time around.

• Preston Clairborne continues to be impressive. He came in for Hughes in the first and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. He’s still got a 0.00 ERA over seven innings with a 0.71 WHIP. Nice start to his career.

• Funny move in the ninth inning, when Marshall reached his pitch limit Joe Girardi called in the shortstop, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, to get the final out. He had a low-80′s two-seamer and got Robert Andino to pop up after four pitches. Vernon Wells went in to play second and Jayson Nix moved to short when A-Gon was brought in to pitch.

• Ichiro Suzuki is ice cold right now. He went 0-for-4 and is now hitting .159/.178/.273 over his last 12 games. Once Travis Hafner returns, Ichiro is in serious danger of losing playing time.

• David Adams turned 26 Wednesday, got called up, made his major league debut, and picked up his first hit as he went 1-for-4 while playing a solid third base. He’s expected to play third regularly until Kevin Youkilis comes off the DL.

• Curtis Granderson, playing in just his second game this season, got his first hit of the season and went 1-for-4. He started in left, but did eventually finish in center field.

• Adams and Marshall join Claiborne, Vidal Nuno, and Corban Joseph as players to make their major league debuts this season.

Photo credit: (May 14, 2013 - Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America).