Jorge Posada has a strained shoulder that's limiting him to designated hitter duties (he hopes to resume catching next week), Derek Jeter missed time with a strained quadriceps and King of All the Earth Alex Rodriguez left Sunday's game with a strained quadriceps. Oh, and Jason Giambi would kill right now to even reach the Mendoza Line -- his .109 batting average was being iced in the trainer's room following Sunday's game.
What if that Ortiz jersey, buried in the concrete of new Yankee Stadium ever so briefly, already has cursed the Yanks?
It'll no doubt take Yankees fans several years to notice, because they're still living in the past.
Setup man LaTroy Hawkins had to choose a new number upon arrival last winter because preferred No. 32 is retired in Elston Howard's honor. No other major-league club has retired as many numbers as the Yankees, who have mothballed 15 over the years. The simple act of choosing a digit in the Bronx is more difficult than getting a cable television guy out to your house.
So Hawkins picked No. 21 for a very good reason: to honor Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, who was killed 10 days after Hawkins was born. It was an intelligent and classy move.
Yet he was forced last week to change to No. 22. Nobody since O'Neill had worn No. 21, and Yankees fans wouldn't let Hawkins hear the end of it. They even chanted Paul O'Neill's name when Hawkins pitched.
Team guy that O'Neill is, he did little to help get the fans off Hawkins' back -- even though he's got the perfect forum as one of the club's television broadcasters. Best he could do when Hawkins gave up the number was say, "It makes you feel good that the fans still think of you as wearing that number."
Hey fans, those knives you've been plunging into Hawkins' back sure could use sharpening!
New manager Joe Girardi used 18 different lineups in the first 19 games, and if A-Rod's quad strain lingers, there soon will be more where those came from -- no matter how much Holy Water dripped from the Popemobile on Sunday.
Oh, by the way, the previous two times -- 1965 and 1979 -- a pope has said Mass in Yankee Stadium before Sunday?
The Yankees didn't make the postseason in either year.
2. Miguel Tejada admits he's really 33, not 31: Duh. Why do you think Baltimore traded him? It was killing their budget to stock the clubhouse coolers with both Gatorade and Ensure.
Seriously, how do you think this will play to Congressional bird-dogs already investigating him for perjury in the steroids hunt? I don't know about them, but I'm paging back through one of my notebooks right now, reviewing notes from my conversation with Tejada two weeks ago, and here's what he told me about new Houston manager Cecil Cooper:
"I don't want to say I'm impressed with him because we've played two games now. I was impressed with him from the first day I met him. He's respectful toward the game, and he's the kind of manager who thinks not like the coaches, but like one of us. He always is going to the players to find a way of talking to somebody. That's why he's going to do good here."
I'd be tempted to say I'm not sure how he really feels about Cooper based on his shading the truth. But, and I'm not condoning lying here, isn't it understandable how a kid would say or do almost anything to put himself in a position to escape extreme poverty -- as Tejada did when he long ago fibbed to that scout in his native Dominican Republic?
3. Toronto releases Frank Thomas: From .277, 26 home runs and 95 RBI last season to a seat on the bench and his walking papers two weeks into '08. Bottom line: If you're hitting .167 and you've gone 4-for-35 since going deep in three consecutive games April 5-8, perhaps you should be a little more agreeable when your manager finds a nice, warm seat on the bench for you.
"My career isn't going to end like this," the Angry Hurt said after being benched Saturday.
Here's how it should end: with the Seattle Mariners hiring him to be their DH, because their current guy, Jose Vidro, is to DHs what Pee Wee Herman is to bodybuilders.
4. Tampa Bay signs Evan Longoria to six-year deal: Rays general manager Andrew Friedman intends to sit down with infielders Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman to talk long-term contracts next month.
5. Tom Glavine on disabled list for first time in 22-year career: You mean, this is what's in the trainer's room -- ice, tape and a whirlpool? And Peter Moylan, Mike Hampton, Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez and Chipper Jones?
6. Giants manager Bruce Bochy feels earthquake -- in St. Louis: You can imagine the veteran skipper's confusion. He first thought he was in San Francisco, then learned it was that shocking quake centered in Southern Illinois, and later, seismologists confirmed it was Tim Lincecum's 95-pitch, seven-shutout-innings rocker against the Cardinals on Saturday.
7. Torii Hunter's new Bentley rear-ended: Poor guy treats himself to a new ride a month ago, the Bentley had only about 1,000 miles on it, and some slob nails him a mile from Angel Stadium. Good thing Hunter's got the Rally Monkey on his shoulder: He shook off neck and back stiffness to slam three doubles that night and finish the game by stealing a home run from Richie Sexson before it disappeared over the center field fence. This being Southern California, they're already developing a movie script: Driving Mr. Hunter.
8. Milwaukee's Ben Sheets leaves his Friday start after five innings: And in a related story equally as shocking, bratwurst is really, really popular in Wisconsin. At least the Brewers got Yovanni Gallardo back Sunday. Maybe he's not a household name yet, but he is really, really good. Just as good as bratwurst. Well, almost.
9. The Padres go deep: Still comatose from playing 22 innings on Thursday night, San Diego got a real, live, honest-to-goodness home run from Paul McAnulty on Saturday night in Arizona. No big deal ... except it was the Padres' first home run in 106 2/3 innings, a club-record drought. They've combined to hit nine already this season -- or, one more than Philadelphia's Chase Utley, who blasted two against the Mets on Sunday night.
10. Goodbye, Hideo Nomo: Kansas City released him Sunday in favor of activating Luke Hochevar, freeing Nomo to ride shotgun with Frank Thomas in the Big Hurt's job search.
