Yankees clubhouse reporter Kimberly Jones will chat live Friday night at 6:45.

Be sure to check back here to talk Yankees baseball with Kimberly prior to the start of the four game series between the Yankees and Indians.

The tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, hit Yankees pitcher David Robertson hard. Kimberly Jones recently visited Robertson's home town to share the story of how the people are determined to recover, and what Robertson and his wife, Erin, are doing to help raise awareness (WATCH).

Phil Hughes has been on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation since April 15. Since then, he’s received a cortisone shot, started a throwing program and watched the Boston Bruins eliminate his beloved Tampa Bay Lightning from the NHL playoffs.

Hughes’ throwing program to date has included a lot of playing catch and two bullpens. He’s scheduled for another bullpen Wednesday and could face hitters by the weekend. Joe Girardi said Monday that Hughes’ return won’t be until “realistically, sometime in July.”

After our first interview with Hughes was ruined by an eight-year-old tape recorder that didn’t record, we caught up again with Hughes, who answered nine questions for Nine.

1. Are you excited that I’ve moved into this new age?

Yankees clubhouse reporter Kimberly Jones will chat live tonight at 6:45.

Be sure to check back here to talk Yankees baseball with Kimberly prior to the start of tonight's Toronto vs. New York game.

1. The dramatics of the past 24 hours began with Jorge Posada believing that he’d been wronged and ended with his admission -- apologies all around -- that he was wrong. Case closed. Or so we’ve been led to believe.

In the first inning of Sunday’s game, media relations guru Jason Zillo read a statement to reporters: Posada, who’d already apologized to Joe Girardi, met with Brian Cashman and apologized to him, too. Cashman then briefed Hal and Hank Steinbrenner and Randy Levine. The apologies were accepted. No disciplinary action will be taken. “They consider the matter closed,” Zillo said.

2. Derek Jeter, Posada’s best friend, reacted publicly pregame Sunday for the first time. He had his buddy’s back. “He’s like a brother to

1. Joe Girardi had a message for his players in the clubhouse after Sunday’s 12-5 win in Texas: “You’ve got to stop making it so hard on yourselves.” Girardi was reacting minutes after the last out was recorded on a 3-4 road trip that featured plenty of blunders. Most obviously, the Yankees committed nine errors, all in the last four games. When asked, Girardi wouldn’t elaborate on his message. But clearly, he intended to give the Yankees something to think about going into yesterday’s off day. And before the homestand begins today.

2. Also on the road trip -- we’re cleaning out the notebook here -- A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova continued to forge a nice relationship. Or, as Burnett put it, “I was dragging him with me every day.”

1. Two slightly different reactions from Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, neither of whom was in the Yankees lineup when it was posted today.

Rodriguez said he knew Wednesday night that he wouldn’t be in there. Also said he believes Joe Girardi will be smart when it comes to his playing time, knowing that 145-150 games played is the goal this season.

Rodriguez, 5 for his last 40, said he wants to play every day (of course), but particularly wants to be out there when he’s not swinging the bat well. And he was critical of himself for that ninth-inning strikeout last night, when he tried to check his swing.

“I should have taken the walk,” he said, “shouldn’t have ever offered at that pitch.”

Immediately after speaking with Rodriguez, the media turned

1. Mark Teixeira said on the field Monday night that he was determined to score from second on Nick Swisher’s single to center field. And he braced himself for a possible collision at the plate, if necessary. (It wasn’t.)

So we followed up with third base coach Rob Thomson in the clubhouse, asking if sending Teixeira was an easy decision.

“You look at the way (Austin) Jackson caught the ball, “Thomson said. “He was back a little on his heels.”

The ball played him?

“The ball played him,” Thomson said. “That’s when I knew I’d send Teix.”

And Teixeira scored the winning run.
 
2. Robinson Cano told us after the game that he is hoping to be available tonight. His left hand, however, was sore. And he said gripping a bat was

We’re back! We’ve missed you and missed writing, and decided to do something about it.

Hello, “Nine.”

Our blog has returned (after a year of neglect) in a slightly altered state. For starters, the new name suits a blog that is (mostly) about baseball. And the goal is a bit different this time around: to give you insight into the players you love to watch and, at times, into the job we do in covering them.

Hopefully, everyone will be happy. (That’s another goal.)

Anyway, for the grand re-opening, we went to Derek Jeter, who agreed to a Q&A that features nine main questions. Here’s our unedited conversation, conducted at Jeter's Yankee Stadium locker:
 
1. When you go back to Michigan – and you’ve gone back often (as a Yankee) -- is there