The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – New York Yankees – INSIDE PITCH
Vernon Wells doesn’t need anybody to tell him he’s in a slump. The numbers obviously speak for themselves, but the outfielder has lived through every one of the at-bats that make up his recent struggles.
Wells went 0-for-3 in Thursday’s loss to the Rays, leaving him with only nine hits in his last 90 at-bats, a paltry .100 average dating back to his final at-bat on May 22.
“I don’t need to know the numbers,” Wells said. “I know they’re terrible. That’s pretty easy to figure out.”
Wells went through two down years with the Los Angeles Angels before being traded to the Yankees this spring, but the 34-year-old believes his current slump is different than his struggles in Anaheim.
“I think it was a little different the last couple of years because I didn’t have a chance with the swing I had the last couple of years,” Wells said. “I’ve actually had a chance, hit some balls hard, but all that matters are results. I need to get back to getting the results. If I do that, then we’ll get back to winning our share of games.”
Wells has drawn only one walk and has one extra-base hit and three RBI during his drought. Hitting coach Kevin Long has spent the past few days looking at video of every at-bat Wells has taken this season, looking for any differences between his current swing and the one that made him one of the biggest comeback stories of the first six weeks of the season.
“Everything for the most part looks the same,” Wells said. “We were talking today about my hand path going to the ball, and it could be getting away from my body a little bit. Get back to keeping my hands close to my body and keeping the bat in the zone. Sometimes the more you try to go to the opposite side, your hands tend to travel sometimes, and I’ve got to get back inside the ball and really emphasize that and stick with that.”
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – New York Yankees – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 39-33
STREAK: Lost two
PAST 10 GAMES: 3-7
NEXT: Rays (Roberto Hernandez, 4-7, 5.02) at Yankees (David Phelps, 4-4, 4.08)
PLAYER NOTES:
–LHP Andy Pettitte fell to 2-5 with a 5.13 ERA over his last nine starts after allowing five runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. He also is 0-3 with a 7.46 ERA over his last five outings at Yankee Stadium.
–RHP Michael Pineda continued his recovery from a shoulder injury by making his second rehab start for Class A Tampa. In four innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits.
–LF Vernon Wells remained in the lineup but went 0-for-3. That extended his slump to nine hits in his last 90 at-bats and dropped his batting average to .221.
–CF Brett Gardner is one of few Yankees to be on a hot streak. He went 2-for-3 and is batting .337 (34-for-101) over his last 26 games since May 24.
–3B Kevin Youkilis underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back on June 20, and he will be out of action for 10-12 weeks. Youkilis, who missed 30 games in April and May with a lumbar spine sprain, experienced numbness in his foot and calf when he woke up on June 14 and was placed on the disabled list. Youkilis had a microscopic lumbar discectomy procedure performed by Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles.
–RHP David Phelps will make his 21st career start and 10th start of the season Friday night against Tampa Bay. On May 24, he retired the first 13 Rays and allowed four runs and six hits in 7 2/3 innings. Since then he is 1-2 with a 4.34 ERA over his last four outings. Phelps pitched twice on New York’s 11-game West Coast trip. He allowed one run and three hits in six innings in a no-decision during a 2-1 win at Seattle on June 9 and then gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings in a 6-2 loss to the Angels.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Everything for the most part looks the same. We were talking today about my hand path going to the ball, and it could be getting away from my body a little bit. Get back to keeping my hands close to my body and keeping the bat in the zone. Sometimes the more you try to go to the opposite side, your hands tend to travel sometimes, and I’ve got to get back inside the ball and really emphasize that and stick with that.” — LF Vernon Wells, brainstorming ways to end his slump (9-for-90).
———————————————–
MLB Team Report – New York Yankees – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–1B Mark Teixeira (right wrist inflammation) was removed from the June 15 game after aggravating the wrist injury that kept him out for the first two months of the season. Teixeira was sent back to New York to be examined by the Yankees’ team doctor, where an MRI revealed inflammation and he was given a cortisone shot. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 18 retroactive to June 16.
–3B Kevin Youkilis (lumbar back strain) went on the 15-day disabled list June 14. It’s his second trip to the DL this season because of the same injury. Youkilis, who missed 30 games in April and May, experienced numbness in his foot and calf when he woke up June 14, likely the result of a nerve issue. He had surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back on June 20, and he will be out of action 10-12 weeks.
–3B Alex Rodriguez (left hip surgery in January 2013) went on the 60-day disabled list Feb. 13. He began baseball activities May 6, and the Yankees expect to have him back after the All-Star break. He faced live pitching for the first time in Tampa, Fla., on June 18. The team did not have an update but GM Brian Cashman said he could not place a date for his return.
–SS Derek Jeter (left ankle surgery in October 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 27. He was shut down from his rehab program in late April after a CT scan revealed a small fracture in his left ankle area. He had his walking boot removed May 24 and was given clearance to resume running and full baseball activities June 13. He took part in baseball activities June 14 for the first time. He hit balls off a tee, fielded grounders and played catch but did not run the bases at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, Fla. Jeter is not expected back until after the All-Star break.
–INF Eduardo Nunez (left ribcage tightness) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 6, and he was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on June 14. He fielded grounders May 20. He began taking batting practice before suffering another setback May 25, and he was shut down again. He suffered another setback in his rehab June 4 when he tried to swing a bat at the minor league facility in Tampa.
–RHP Michael Pineda (right shoulder surgery in May 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list March 16. He began a rehab assignment June 9 with Class A Tampa. He is expected to be ready in late June or early July.
–OF Curtis Granderson (left hand fracture) went on the 15-day disabled list May 25. He underwent surgery May 29 and is expected to be out until late June or early July.
–C Francisco Cervelli (fractured right hand) went on the 15-day disabled list April 27 and was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 1. He had his cast taken off and the pins removed from his hand on May 24. He is expected to be ready to resume baseball activity in mid-June.
–LHP Cesar Cabral (stress fracture in left elbow) went on the 60-day disabled list March 26. He began a rehab assignment with Class A Tampa on May 14.
ROTATION:
LHP CC Sabathia
RHP Hiroki Kuroda
RHP Phil Hughes
LHP Andy Pettitte
BULLPEN:
RHP Mariano Rivera (closer)
RHP David Robertson
RHP Joba Chamberlain
LHP Boone Logan
RHP David Phelps
RHP Preston Claiborne
RHP Shawn Kelley
RHP Adam Warren
CATCHERS:
Chris Stewart
Austin Romine
INFIELDERS:
1B Lyle Overbay
2B Robinson Cano
SS Reid Brignac
3B Jayson Nix
DH Travis Hafner
INF David Adams
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Vernon Wells
CF Brett Gardner
RF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Thomas Neal
OF Zoilo Almonte
———————————————–
