It's all relative in Campos' third victory

Jose Campos has posted a 0.56 ERA through three starts this season. (Brian Bissell/Future Star Photos

Yankees rotation auditions not going well

The auditions by Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes to stay in the Yankees’ rotation aren’t going great.

Garcia gave up five runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 Monday night in losing to the Twins after throwing five wild pitches in his first start at Baltimore, and he only made it through 4 2/3 in that one, a no-decision. His ERA stands at 6.97. Hughes hasn’t made it through five yet. He’s 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA after two starts.

But there are more auditions coming for them, still time to try to save their spots. Andy Pettitte could have four or five minor-league starts left before he’s ready. Michael Pineda hasn’t started his rehab assignment, but he did throw 28 pitches in a bullpen session yesterday, using his full assortment. Girardi said he will throw another bullpen session in two or three days, and then they’ll see what’s next. Girardi also said he isn’t going to go with a six-man rotation.

“We’ve got to see how guys are throwing,” Joe Girardi said. “I think that’s the easiest way to do it. We’re all assuming that Andy’s going to get back to where he is. I’m one of those guys who kind of has that belief, too. But we’ve got to make sure.

“I try not to worry about things that aren’t right in front of me. We’re a ways away. As a manager, you’ve got enough issues to handle on that day and the next two days that I try not to think 25 days ahead. … Issues that come up, I’m not going to try to predict them.”

What do you think is going to happen? Garcia or Hughes to the pen and Pineda to the minors? We’ll probably see next month.

Perfect read by Yankees' Curtis Granderson leads to running catch

Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 9:10 AM

By Marc Carig/The Star-Ledger

Al Bello/Getty ImagesCurtis Granderson stretches out to take a hit away from Justin Morneau on Monday night.

NEW YORK – Ultimately, Curtis Granderson's gorgeous running catch in the seventh inning did not factor in the Yankees' 7-3 loss to the Twins. At the time, the Twins led by two runs and Justin Morneau would have made it three had Granderson not made a long run to chase down the drive in deep left center.

Later, the Twins put the game away with two runs in the eighth. Nevertheless, Granderson's catch might be the Yankees' best of the season so far.

“That was quite a catch,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I wasn't so sure he was going to get to it myself. But he did a tremendous job and he got a tremendous jump on the ball, and ran a long, long way. You're playing Morneau to pull a little bit and he hits it in the left-center gap. It's a really, really great play. You hope that kind of saves you and you come back and win, but we weren't able to.”

Indeed, Granderson's grab was a sight to behold, the product of his sheer athleticism and taking a perfect route to the ball.

“On a ball like that, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line,” left fielder Brett Gardner said. “If he runs, if he zig zags a little bit or wavers off course a little bit, he probably doesn't get to it. I don't know, and obviously I didn't have an overhead view of it, but in order for him to cover that much ground and catch up to that ball, he probably was pretty close to a straight line.”

With Granderson shaded toward right field -- playing Morneau to pull -- Gardner said the center fielder needed a perfect jump to even have a chance at the ball.

“There might be a lot of guys that get to it but not necessarily run a good route and be there on time,” he said. “It was a great play, a really good play. I wasn't sure that either of us was going to get to it. I kind of let him know at the last minute to go ahead and take it because I wasn't going to be able to get it. And he made a great play.”

It wasn't a bad day for Granderson, who in the first inning hit a homer in the first inning, his third of the season. Granderson's shot followed Derek Jeter's leadoff homer. It was the first time the Yankees led off a game with homers since Sept. 23, 2005 against the Blue Jays, when Jeter and Robinson Cano pulled off the feat.

For the Yankees, it was just the sixth time in history they've started a game with back-to-back homers.

For more Yankees coverage, follow Marc Carig on twitter at twitter.com/MarcCarig

Marc Carig: mcarig@starledger.com

3UP: Jeter, Valentine, Youkilis

1. The contract negotiations between Derek Jeter and the Yankees after the 2010 season were quite contentious. Jeter felt like he should be paid for all that he had meant to the organization for such a sustained period and to do otherwise was to be disrespectful. The Yankees, conversely, felt they should only pay him for what he was and was likely to be, which to all historic comparisons and to any eyewitness account of what Jeter looked like in 2010 suggested a steadily declining player.

The Yankees felt that even what they ultimately agreed to was an overpay: A three-year, $51 million contract that they saw as a compromise between what he was worth (they thought about $8 million a year) and his importance in team history. There is an $8 million player option for 2014 and the Yankees figured it was mere window dressing to throw in escalators based on accomplishments. For example, the option would climb from $8 million to $12 million if Jeter wins the MVP at any point from 2011-13 or to $10 million if he finishes from second to sixth.

Except all of a sudden, Jeter has turned back the clock and – if anything – appears underpaid. If the season stopped today, he probably would finish in the top six in the AL MVP and trigger an escalator. Of course, the season does not conclude today. Jeter is 37, turns 38 in June and there is a lot of schedule left for an older player at a demanding position.

But this is not just about April 2012 any longer. Jeter has now sustained a brilliant performance since early July of last year. The transformation from fade to fantastic has been stunning. He believes it was about work done with his personal hitting guru, Gary Denbo, while Jeter was on the disabled list. Joe Girardi feels that Jeter had weight removed from his game when he reached 3,000 hits.

Whatever the reasons, understand that Jeter was not below-ordinary for just a week or two. From June 2, 2010 until July 4 of last season – a period of 704 at-bats for Jeter and 169 games – he hit .253. That is more than a season of at-bats for a player who was a metronome when it came to hitting over .300 in his career. Among players who had at least 500 at-bats in that period, Jeter ranked 151st in batting average, which placed him between Jeff Francoeur and John Buck – not exactly the position or company with which he was familiar.

However, from July 5 through last night’s game – a period of 325 at-bats and 78 games – Jeter hit .342. That is more than a half a season of at-bats. Among players with at least 250 at-bats in that period, Jeter ranked sixth in batting average, which placed him between Matt Kemp and Troy Tulowitzki – exactly the company with which he is familiar. In fact, the two players who were in front of him, Ryan Braun and Kemp, finished 1-2 in last year’s NL MVP balloting.

Considering the dismal history of older shortstops, I definitely believed Jeter was in his decline phase and needed to be de-emphasized. In particular, I believed he needed to be dropped toward the bottom of the lineup or be given more off-days when the Yankees faced righty starters. In that period from June 2, 2010 through July 4, 2011, Jeter hit just .232 against righties with a .297 on-base percentage and a .287 slugging average. But in those next 78 games, Jeter hit .307/.361/.395 against righties.

And also what cannot be ignored is that Jeter is hitting for impact again. In that long stretch of futility, he managed 37 extra-base hits in 704 at-bats and averaged a homer every 100.57 at-bats, which led to a .330 slugging percentage. You want to know how bad that is? Remember the former, power-deficient Yankees shortstop, Alvaro Espinosa? His career slugging percentage was .331.

Since last July 5, Jeter had 29 extra-base hits in 325 at-bats and was averaging a homer every 46.43 at-bats, which has led to a .483 slugging percentage, which would tie for the second highest in Jeter’s own career. Yogi Berra’s career slugging percentage was .482.

2. From July 5 of last year, Jeter had an .874 OPS, including 1.071 this season through Monday’s game. If he maintains anything like this kind of production for a full season, he will all but flout history.

For this is Jeter’s age-38 season since he turns that age before the midway point of the schedule. In major league history, just two shortstops in their age-38 season or older topped even an .800 OPS in a year in which they qualified for the batting title: Honus Wagner (.891) in 1912 and Luke Appling (.833) in 1949. In fact, Wagner and Appling are the only two shortstops to defy age and remain productive. They have six of the seven highest OPS totals for a shortstop 38 or older. Omar Vizquel has the other, having produced a .749 OPS in 2006.

That Jeter is in the conversation with Wagner and Appling should serve as a reminder about something else: So often in describing Jeter the tendency is to fixate on his intangibles. And while those are valuable, we should not forget that Jeter is tangibly one of the greatest players of all time and on the very small list of greatest shortstops ever.

3. Bobby Valentine is a provocateur. He loves the sound of his own voice and loves it most of all when it is nettling others. He does not mind the uncomfortable moment or confrontation. In fact, he seems most uncomfortable with peace and quiet.

There are times he is calculating and offers an edgy comment or three with the desire to unsettle his surroundings whether that is his front office, his own clubhouse, the opponent or even the media. And there are times simply because he is Valentine that he is hardwired to offer opinions in just such a way that they have an incendiary quality. The guy just does not do boring well. He does not do sermons from the big baseball book of clichés.

In a firestorm on Patriots Day in Boston, Valentine insisted that he was not trying to ignite a slumping Kevin Youkilis when he told a TV station on Sunday, "I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason." Valentine claimed he misspoke and was trying to respond specifically about Youkilis’ swing. That is borderline farfetched. Valentine has been a manager in many places for a long time. One of those places was Japan, so he understands the importance of being understood exactly. He also worked in the media as an analyst for ESPN. In other words, he knows how to communicate clearly. So it is possible that he botched his words. But not probable.

I will say this: When Valentine took over as Mets manager he clearly came to believe some veterans who seemed to have firm locks on jobs were not winning players. He worked behind the scenes – often without much subtlety – to get those players off the roster. Now Valentine is an excellent judge of baseball talent; in fact, by far the best I have ever seen among managers. And that is the dichotomy of the man. He has this skill to read who can and cannot play. But he can lack patience and tact in wanting to make the clubhouse conform to his vision – immediately.

Is this happening with Youkilis? I have no idea. Youkilis has been a part of two championship teams in Boston and his passion is something that has never been publicly questioned before. Conversely, his body has betrayed him in recent seasons and it is possible he is fading. The Red Sox have a third base prospect in Will Middlebrooks who appears near ready for the majors and Youkilis can be a free agent after this season.

It is possible that what Valentine said had nothing to do with all of that. But it had something to do with something. Valentine talks a lot. But it is rare that he talks and it has no message or meaning.