YES Network.com

Yankees legend and icon Andy Pettitte is back in the Bronx. After the 2010 season, he swiftly retired seemingly with a lot left to offer the game of baseball. However, he has returned to give the Yankees and the fans everything that he has left in his soon-to-be 40-year-old tank. Pettitte is one of the few players that fans wished they could have seen just one more time in pinstripes, and now he's giving them almost an entire season.

“There's going to be a real warmth in the stands today about him coming back,” Joe Girardi said about the atmosphere that will be in the Stadium in the series finale against the Mariners.

For the fans of the Yankees, this is a very special treat. Pettitte is a once-in-a-generation type pitcher for an organization.

To these people, he is the southern son of a city that appreciates his “awe shucks” calmness. That impassivity is not always welcomed by New Yorkers, however in his case, he is loved for it. How he has handled his business on the field, his killer instinct and his passion have created this love affair between player and city. The five-time World Champion has embraced the pressure that comes along with pitching on the world's biggest stage and has succeeded almost every time he's been called upon to do so. His 19 victories in postseason play are an all-time record and it's also no coincidence that he holds the record for most postseason series clinching victories.

He's the ultimate model of consistency. The way he plays the game is the epitome of what Joe DiMaggio said about himself in 1951: “There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best.”

Pettitte always gives everything he has to his performances and even during his worst outcomes, you always know that Pettitte pitched as if it might be the last game he was ever going to appear in.

When he was a rookie back in 1995, Pettitte's calm demeanor and larger than life presence almost made him like a veteran. Now, 240 Major League wins later, with 203 of those wins coming with the Yankees, comes back to lend a helping hand on the mound and in the clubhouse. He returns to guide the young pitchers and give the Yankees a much needed boost to a rotation that needs it.

“I think he can do a lot on the field and off the field in the clubhouse,” Joe Girardi said before Pettitte's first start. “He's a leader; he leads by example; he can talk to the younger pitchers about things that he went through, because you look at our rotation and you've got Nova and Hughes, a couple of young pitchers that there's expectations. Andy's been through that, and I think he can help.”

He may or may not pitch well in his first start. Pettitte could lose this game being that his last start was Game 3 of the 2010 ALCS, but whatever the outcome is, win or lose, the Yankees and the fans have already won, because Andy Pettitte is home where he belongs.

Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner was on the right road to recovery and was expected to come back to the Yankees as early as today. In two starts with the Triple-A Yankees, Gardner was 3-for-5 with a triple and a run scored. However, after he came out of the game on Wednesday night, he had a setback in his recovery process.

“After the game last night he came out and he was sore, so as we speak, I believe he's having another MRI," Girardi said. “I can't tell you when he's going to be available to us, but I can tell you it won't be today.”

Girardi delineated a little more on the circumstance saying, “When he came out of the game he had a little swelling in there. I talked to (Yankees trainer) Stevie (Donahue) about it, and they brought him back and decided to have more tests today. It's in the muscular part; it's not where the bone bruise was.”

When asked by YES Network's Meredith Marakovits if this was a new injury, Girardi said, “It could be new. He had the bone bruise plus the muscular part before, but the muscular part had healed. He's feeling it in that area and he had some swelling. He played the whole game yesterday without a problem. It was after.”

Gardner, before the injury, was 9-for-28 this season, with a .321 average and had two stolen bases. He has played a key role with the Yankees since his call-up to the Majors in 2008. His style of game, being an on-base machine at the back of the lineup and a stolen base threat every time he gets on base, just gives the Yankees another weapon on how they can defeat teams. It hasn't just been on the offensive side of the ball that he has impressed. As a left fielder, he is superb. Between Granderson in center and Gardner in left, they cover a lot of ground in the outfield.

“We miss him. There's no doubt about it,” Girardi said of Gardner. “The way he was swinging the bat, his defense, the way he puts pressure on defense. We miss his presence in left field, but we've got to find a way to get it done without him, and as I said, I don't know when we're going to get him back -- I don't. I'm sure today will be much more revealing after he goes through the test and he probably is examined by the doctor and maybe see how it responds, how it feels tomorrow, but for right now we don't have him.”

For the short term, at least until more information comes out on the nature of why Gardner had swelling in his arm, the Yankees will have to continue to make due without their reliable outfielder.

The latest on Nick Swisher

Nick Swisher spoke to the media before the game on Monday and discussed his hamstring injury that got him pulled from the game on Sunday. He described it as a minor injury, and he felt a pinch in his first at-bat of the game.

“I took that first swing and kind of felt something bite a little bit,” Swisher said. “Just tried to stretch it out and work through it. It didn't go away. The second at-bat came around and the same thing. I got to first base and just kind of jumped back on a pickoff. I went down to grab my leg and Stevie (Yankees Head Trainer Steve Donahue) and Skip (Joe Girardi) said, 'That's it. We're going to get you out of here.' "

Swisher is having one of the hottest starts of his career hitting .284, with six home runs, 15 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs in just 21 games. Right now, the Yankees want to let it heal, give it a couple of days and there are no plans to put him on the disabled list.

“I feel pretty good,” he said. “Game plan (the) next three days (is to) just kind of chill and me and Stevie get to know each other a little bit better. Then get back after it hopefully the first game in Kansas City.”

The Yankees are going to have Swisher rest for a couple of days before he even swings a bat. He will be receiving treatment on his hamstring, and then once the Kansas City series begins, he may or may not take batting practice depending on how he reacts to the treatment.

In 2007, Swisher had a hamstring injury in the same leg, but he said that injury felt a lot more severe. Even with that, he was only out for a 10-day period.

It could very well be a week before Swisher comes back onto the the field, but he wants to make sure that this injury has healed fully before he does.

“Me and Skip, we've got to get together and get a game plan,” he said. "From what I feel right now, I wouldn't see it being a week.” Swisher would later say, “I just got to do what I've got to do to get back on the field.”

Andy Pettitte's outing in Tampa

Pettitte pitched 5.2 innings and allowed six runs -- five earned -- in an Extended Spring Training start in Clearwater, Fla. on Monday afternoon against the Phillies. Those may not sound like positive numbers for the veteran southpaw, but he got his pitch count up to 96 and struck out nine, while giving no one a free pass today.

He is on the right track and may get one more start before making his debut in a week or two with the Yankees' big club.

Pettitte was originally supposed to make this start today in Portland, Maine with the Trenton Thunder, however, the weather conditions were a deterrent and the reason he made his start today in Tampa.

A concern is that he did give up another 10 hits today, which is probably the reason the Yankees want to see one more start out of Pettitte throwing over 100 pitches. Stamina and control were issues he cited after the game in Trenton, which is quite understandable in being out of the game for a full season. However, he should be with the Yankees after his next scheduled start barring a major setback.

The Yankees are making moves, trying to sure up their rotation and bullpen. Unfortunately, through only 20 games this season, this is a move that needed to be made. At present, the Yankees only have five quality starts, a 6.37 ERA and are only averaging 5.1 innings per start. With numbers like that, the Yankees' spectacular bullpen is bound to be taxed.

Freddy Garcia, with his 12.51 ERA this season and two consecutive outings of less than two innings per start is on the move to the bullpen. Yankees manager Joe Girardi alluded to the fact that David Phelps is the best candidate to move into the rotation and will most likely make the next start when Garcia's spot comes up.

D.J. Mitchell was called up to the big club, while Cody Eppley was optioned down to Triple-A after pitching three innings in the bullpen on Saturday. Mitchell and Garcia will most likely take Phelps' role as the long man in the bullpen.

The Yankees will have to make a decision after Andy Pettitte makes his way back to the Major Leagues. There are several ways the Yankees can go. One is making a full decision on Garcia's future with the club. He is not built for the bullpen and the Yankees have a lot of pitching depth in their system.

We'll know more over the next couple of weeks, but for now the Yankees have made some decisions that should help the team right now.

The Yankees have announced via their @YankeesPR twitter handle, "RHP D.J. Mitchell was recalled from Scranton/WB earlier today. He'll be making his Major League debut."

No further details were given on the corresponding move that will be made or when Mitchell will be making his Major League debut.

The 24-year-old Mitchell impressed the Yankees in Spring Training, and in his four starts in Triple-A, he was 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA. He also struck out 21 in 23 innings pitched, while only walking seven batters.

More news to come.

The Yankees confirmed after the game that Brian Cashman has made the decision to send Andy Pettitte to Tampa to make his next start with the Class-A Tampa Yankees on Monday. He was schedule to pitch with the Double-A Trenton Thunder on the road against the Portland Sea Dogs, but weather concerns have derailed that plan.

Before the game, Yankees manager Joe Girardi hinted that this was a possibility noting the conditions of Pettitte's last start in Trenton.

"He pitched in some pretty raw conditions the other day, as well," Girardi said before Saturday's game. "Because of that we might change where he throws. He might pitch in Tampa on Monday depending on talking about some conditions."

Pettitte most likely will not be pitching with the Major League club until early- to mid-May, making possibly two more Minor League starts.

Nick's quick start

Nick Swisher did not hit his fifth home run in 2011 until his 53rd game on June 5 and his sixth home run until his 61st game on June 14. In just his 20th game of the season he reached both numbers. Saturday marked the 18th multi-home run game of Swisher's career.

He also did it from both sides of the plate for the 11th time in his career tying Eddie Murray and Chili Davis for second on the all-time list. Only Mark Teixeira has homered more times from both sides of the plate in one game, accomplishing it 13 times.

Austin Jackson CF
Brennan Boesch RF
Miguel Cabrera 3B
Prince Fielder 1B
Andy Dirks LF
Brad Eldred DH
Alex Avila C
Jhonny Peralta SS
Ramon Santiago 2B

Drew Smyly LHP

Derek Jeter DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Andruw Jones LF
Russell Martin C
Eduardo Nunez SS

Freddy Garcia RHP

Alex Rodriguez now stands alone in fifth place on the all-time home run list with 631 surpassing his former teammate and friend Ken Griffey Jr. In the history of baseball only Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) have amassed more. With a strong push in 2012, A-Rod may be able to catch Willie Mays.

A-Rod, in his ninth season with the Yankees, has hit 285 of those 631 career home runs in Pinstripes. He also played spoiler hitting this very historic home run on the same day the Red Sox celebrated the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park. He did it iconic fashion, hitting it over the Green Monster.

“I think it's interesting,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said about A-Rod climbing up the home run chart. “I think it's something to follow. It's amazing what he's done in his career. You look at the home runs, the RBIs, the runs that he's scored; you look at the stats that they put on the board and they're amazing. So I think it puts a little interesting sidebar on our season and it's something people will follow.”

Rodriguez is also amazed at the names he is passing on the home run list, however, passing Griffey Jr. is certainly a very sweet name to pass for him being they were teammates and close friends in Seattle. “It definitely means I'm getting old that's for sure,” he said. “Obviously Grif (Ken Griffey Jr.) is special to me because we came up together. It was kind of the same relationship that Melky [Cabrera] and [Robinson] Cano had with me. He was a teammate, a mentor and a brother, so you know it is kind of special.”

A-Rod is now in elite company on the home run list.

Today in celebration of the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park, YESNetwork.com put out a top-10 Yankees-Red Sox moments of the rivalry, but I would be remiss if I didn't add a couple of very big moments in the rivalry into my own list.

The Summer of '49

This was such a big season in the heated rivalry of the two franchises that the late great David Halberstam chorincled it in a best selling book. The Red Sox were the odds on favorite to win the Pennant and win their first World Series since 1918. Casey Stengal was implemented as the new manager of the Yankees and this hiring was panned around baseball. As the season wore on the DiMaggio brothers shined. Dom DiMaggio, along with Teddy "Ballgame" Williams led the Red Sox to a wonderful season. Joe DiMaggio did all he could to keep the Yankees in the race. The Red Sox came to New York for the final two games of the season needing just one win to clinch the Pennant. The Sox lost the first game 5-4 as Johnny Lindell blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth that sealed the deal. In the final game of the season, with both teams now tied, Vic Raschi won his 21st game of the season in a low scoring 1-0 affair all the way up until the eighth inning when the Yankees broke it open winning 5-3. The Yankees won the pennant and went on to win their first of five consecutive World Series.

Ted Williams won his second and final MVP award in 1949.

The Summer of '41

Joltin' Joe DiMaggio led the Yankees. Ted Williams led the Red Sox. Both had historic seasons that no one has ever forgotten to this day. DiMaggio had his infamous 56 game hitting streak on the way to winning the American League MVP. Ted Williams hit .406 and is the last player in Major League Baseball to ever accomplish that feat. Joe DiMaggio won the MVP award sparking controversy in Boston that the only reason Ted Williams did not win the award is because of his tenuous relationship with the baseball writers.

For both franchises, individual players ruled a team game for one glorious Summer. The Yankees went on to win the World Series in 1941 over you guessed it, the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Reggie Jackson-Billy Martin incident in Fenway

Who will ever forget the national TV incident between Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin? Everyone in Fenway Park saw it right in front of their eyes.

On June 18, 1977, Jackson playing out in rightfield loafed to a Jim Rice fly ball double causing Martin to pull Mike Torrez in the Yankees 10-4 loss that day. While pulling Torrez, he also pulled Jackson from the game right in the middle of the inning. Reggie stormed off the field and almost came to blows with his Manager only being restrained by Yogi Berra and some of his other teammates.

The 2004 ALCS

Now I know that no one wants to discuss this one and we already included the bloody sock game in our list, but this is THE collapse in baseball history. No one had ever come back from 3-0 down to win a series. The Yankees dominated the first three games of the ALCS winning game three 19-8. However, the Red Sox reversed the curse winning four straight on their way to the franchises first World Series title in 86 years. The Yankees had their opportunities to win both game four and five with the Red Sox late inning heroics against the great Mariano Rivera prevailing and no Yankees fan will ever forget the name Dave Roberts as long as they live. In fact, one can say that the Dave Roberts steal might be the greatest moment in Fenway Park history...for Red Sox fans at least.

Babe Ruth christens Yankee Stadium with HR

Babe Ruth facing his former team in the house that he essentially built. It was a Hollywood script waiting to happen. The fortune of two franchises going in the opposite directions because of the sale of one big player. Ruth christened the new Yankee Stadium by hitting a home run powering the Yankees to a 4-1 victory over those Red Sox. These are the moments that made him such a larger than life figure.

Tris Speaker sparkles in 11 inning win over the Highlanders in Fenway Opener

Red Sox Hall of Famer Tris Speaker came up to the plate in the 11th inning of the Fenway Opener on April 20, 1912, with an opportunity to win the game. He did just that with an RBI single giving the Red Sox a 7-6 victory and dropping the Highlanders to 0-6 on the season. The Red Sox won the Fenway opener, but also went on to win the World Series in the first year of their new ballpark. The 105 win Sox defeated the 103 win Giants 4-3 in the fall classic.

The trade that never was

Yankees owner Dan Topping and Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey were having drinks at the famous Toots Shores. They discussed the possibility of trading their two superstars, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. They verbally agreed to a trade. Both were enamored with the idea of Joe DiMaggio hitting balls off the Green Monster and Ted Williams using the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. The next day Yankees GM Larry MacPhail called off the deal refusing to include the young rookie Yogi Berra in the deal.

Tom Yawkey came back with the fact that Boston fans liked Ted Williams better anyway and the famous deal was off for good.

Thursday night certainly was a night for the ages for one of the more prolific hitters in baseball, Curtis Granderson. To this point in the season, Granderson had already hit three home runs, but something was just a little off with his swing. Whatever was wrong with his game before the Yankees’ 7-6 victory over the Twins was certainly righted.

The Yankees needed this win. It was the last game in the homestand before they traveled up to Boston, and it was a chance to split a series with a Twins team that has had little success in the Bronx over the last decade. Phil Hughes gave up four unearned runs in the first, with Eduardo Nunez committing a huge error that extended his pitch count and the inning. With the Yankees down 4-0 right off the bat, Granderson and the offense went to work.

The Yankees center fielder put on a show, blasting three home runs while driving in four runs in the first four innings en route to a 5-for-5 performance. It will most certainly not be forgotten by the 40,327 in attendance and the people watching at home. He became the first Yankee in franchise history to have three home runs and five hits in a single game.

Granderson was even stunned by that historical note after the game.

“Definitely very amazed that it hadn't been done with all the greats that have played the game here and in this organization,” he said. “You would have expected to see something like that, especially when you see somebody break a record or accomplish something like that, you're like, ‘Wow it hadn't been done here,’ when you consider the Yankees.”

The Yankees’ manager stressed how important this win was and how special a night it was for his center-field slugger.

“Just quite a performance,” Joe Girardi said to the media. “The four RBIs as well, it was just what he did today is a special day and they don't happen very often. He should cherish it, and it's fun to watch as a manager.”

The performance of Phil Hughes, who mercifully got the win; the error by Nunez; and Derek Jeter tying Dave  Winfield for 19th on the all-time hits list at 3,110, while extending his hitting streak to 10 games, were all overshadowed by the historical night put up by Granderson in the Bronx.

He was the first Yankee to have three home runs while hitting in the No. 2 spot in the order since Bobby Murcer accomplished the feat on June 24, 1970. Granderson also became the only the 28th player since 1918 to have a five-hit, three-home run game, with Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia being the last to do so on June 24, 2010.

According to the New York Yankees, he became the 20th Yankee with three or more home runs in a single game, and it's only been accomplished 28 times in Yankees regular season history. The accomplishments and feats that he earned in this game go on and on.

Even Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was enamored watching from his own dugout.

“The kid can hit,” he said. “When you get it down there in that zone for him, he can turn on the baseball. That's a nice porch out there for a left-handed hitter, and he took full use of it.”

Girardi was asked after the game if this ballpark is tailor-made for a hitter like Granderson.

“I think that was one of the reasons Brian [Cashman] went and got him is because he is a pull hitter and he's in a sense built for this ballpark because he can hit the ball in the air and can hit it a long ways.”

Granderson was even surprised by the third home run, thinking he didn't get all of it. It didn't even hit him that he had three home runs in the first four innings until he got back to the dugout.

“I think it finally hit me when I got to the dugout and CC [Sabathia] told me to go out there and acknowledge the crowd,” he said. “I had never done that before. I've seen a lot of guys do it, but to actually get the opportunity to do it tonight it puts into perspective what you accomplished up to that point.”

Being the humble ballplayer that he is, Granderson made sure to mention that it was still early in the game when he accomplished the feat and that there was still work to be done in order to earn the hard-fought win.

The Yankees can now travel to Boston feeling a lot better about their homestand, in large part due to the heroics of No. 14.

The Yankees needed to win the game on Tuesday night plain and simple. Now, nothing is truly must win in April, but with their horse on the mound and three games left in the homestand, the Yankees were looking for a strong, deep outing from CC Sabathia and their offense to get going. Things did not look good after the first two and a half innings, but then the team righted the ship.

With the Yankees trailing 3-1 in the third inning of this second game of the four-game set, the offense needed to step up. Sabathia would eventually calm down and pitch a gem, but he finally got that run support he needed to ensure a Yankees victory. The support came from some of the most unlikely of places, as well, the bottom of the order and Sabathia's trusted backstop on the evening, Chris Stewart.

Stewart, along with Brett Gardner and Eduardo Nunez, combined to go 6-for-10 with 5 RBIs with Stewart driving in a career high three of those runs.

The bottom of the third was a key inning for the bottom of the order. Nunez's RBI single brought the Yankees back within one. Gardner then walked to load the bases and with Francisco Liriano's pitch count already in the mid-70's and him obviously on the ropes, Stewart the unlikely hero stepped up to the plate.

After seeing two pitches from Liriano, Stewart waited and got the pitch he liked. “He left the changeup up and luckily I got a good swing on it and I put it in the outfield where I wanted to,” Stewart said of the at-bat after the game. Two runs scored giving the Yankees the lead and it also signaled the end of Liriano's night.

“Stewie had a big game,” Gardner told the media after the game. “I told him that ball that he hit to leftfield that knocked Liriano out of the game that's the biggest hit we've had all year.”

By the time Sabathia got the ball back in the top of the fourth, he was given a two-run lead that he would not relinquish.

As the game wore on, Andruw Jones popped his second home run of the season and Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to eight games, but Stewart had another chance to shine. He did just that in the bottom of the seventh driving in his third run of the game.

Manager Joe Girardi was thrilled by the trio's performance tonight, as well, saying, “You get three RBIs from Stewie (Stewart), you gets hits from Nunie (Nunez), you get hits from Gardy (Gardner) tonight. They did a terrific job. They were a big part of the offense and set things up for us. They all contributed.”

Stewart also brought up the fact that the bench players in the lineup, Nunez, Jones and himself all contributed in the opportunity they were given. “Anytime we get a chance to get in the game period and our time comes up to produce and we're able to do it, that's awesome,” he said.

In the end, Stewart called a terrific game behind the plate and picked up his first hits and RBIs of the season; Gardner did it all going 2-for-2 with two doubles, an RBI, a stolen base, a spectacular catch in leftfield to stop the bleeding and end the top of the third and Nunez continued to sparkle with the bat aiding the Yankees to textbook win. Even if that textbook victory included getting their offense from the most unlikeliest of sources.

The story of Freddy Garcia's first start of the season in Baltimore may have been control issues and wild pitches, but on Monday night for Garcia, it was about not being able to deliver the knockout blow. Twice in the game he had the Twins on the ropes with two outs in an inning, and twice the Twins offense responded.

In the first inning, Garcia got two outs then it was a Joe Mauer double, Josh Willingham RBI single, Justin Morneau single, followed by a Ryan Doumit RBI single, and just like that, it was 2-0 Twins.

Later in the game, in the fifth inning, with the Yankees now leading 3-2, Garcia once again got two outs, this time with Alexi Casilla stranded at second base and the flood gates opened up again. Jamey Carroll ripped an RBI single followed by another Mauer double, this one driving in Carroll and the Twins were back in business again. The knockout punch for Garcia came in the sixth as Morneau blasted his second home run of the year and his fifth at new Yankee Stadium to give the Twinkies a solid 5-3 lead at the time.

“You look at the first inning, he gets the two outs and Russell throws out the baserunner and then he proceeds to give up three or four straight base hits,” Girardi said after the game. “The one thing that we've seen Freddy be really good at is minimizing damage and making pitches when people are on base. He gave up a lot of two out runs today and that was the difference.”

Garcia, upset with his performance said, “We've got the lead 3-2, and they tied the game; you've got two outs, you've got to put it away no matter what.”

What makes this game even harder to deal with for the Yankees is that they have been through the rotation twice to this point and have only two quality starts to hang their hat on from their rotation. The length of Garcia's outing certainly didn't help a bullpen engulfed in a four-game set at home and traveling to Boston immediately for the weekend set.

Now there's pressure on CC Sabathia, who has not been great in his first two starts of the season -- allowing nine earned runs in just 12 innings -- to go out and be the stopper in Tuesday's game. Sabathia is a notoriously slow starter, but they will need him to put his April woes behind him.

“We do need to get some quality starts, so we don't have to go to them (bullpen) so much,” Girardi said. “There are days that you have guys down and your bullpen's limited and tomorrow would be a great day for CC to be able to do what he usually does.”

The rotation hasn't been able to put it all together at this point. With Andy Pettitte working his way to the Bronx and Michael Pineda making his way back from injury, the rotation may look much different in the near future. Both Garcia and Phil Hughes are still auditioning to be in the rotation for the long haul and both have not looked good up to this point. In 10.1 innings pitched this season for Garcia, he's already allowed eight earned runs for a 6.97 ERA and he's also given up 13 hits, which is a concern.

One thing is certain: Garcia wasn't as wild, and it seemed like he had much better control on Monday night.

“Today I felt way better than last start and hopefully next one will be better,” he said.

The Yankees hope he is right.