TORONTO – Don’t look for the All-Star shortstop until at least Monday. By then the Yankees will likely be without their All-Star catcher.
Welcome to Team Uncertainty, which is very thankful it had a 9½-game lead over the reeling Red Sox in the AL East when last night’s action started.
The Yanks also are fortunate that the upcoming four-game series against the Bosox at Yankee Stadium that starts tomorrow night won’t provide the Red Sox a chance to rebound.
Shortstop Derek Jeter didn’t dance around the condition of his bothersome left hamstring yesterday when he said, “It’s sore.”
Catcher Jorge Posada, awaiting word of how many games he is going to be suspended for his behavior toward umpire Andy Fletcher on Monday, was in the lineup last night against the Blue Jays at SkyDome. It’s expected that Frank Robinson, baseball’s top cop, will deliver the punishment today.
And based on Robinson’s track record recently, the Yankees can expect Posada to get hit harder than other players Robinson has suspended.
Clubhouse speculation ran from three to 10 games on Posada.
As for Jeter, “Don’t look for him this weekend,” GM Brian Cashman said.
Asked if Jeter would also miss Monday night’s game against the Red Sox, Cashman said he didn’t know.
Never a good patient, Jeter isn’t changing.
“I am not happy right now,” said Jeter, who originally felt something in the hamstring running the bases Monday. When it went away and didn’t bother him in Tuesday night’s pregame workout, Jeter played. However, when he ran out a grounder in the first inning, Jeter felt a tightness and was removed.
Jeter, who missed almost a month with a tender right quadriceps in spring training, isn’t going to fight the Yankees.
“Would they let me play?” Jeter asked. “You know how they do things around here.”
Jeter is to be examined today by club physician Stuart Hershon, and there is a possibility Jeter will undergo an MRI so the Yanks can get a better read on Jeter’s first-ever hamstring injury.
With 173 hits, Jeter is on pace for his fourth straight 200-hit season. However, should he miss a week, 200 hits will be difficult to attain since the Yankees have 22 games remaining.
“That’s selfish, it’s more important to get to the postseason,” Jeter said of missing 200 hits for the first time since 1997, when he had 190. “Our goal is to win championships.”
Posada didn’t hear from Robinson or the Players Association yesterday, and was getting weary.
“I am tired and I don’t want to talk about it,” said Posada, who was in last night’s lineup. “I want to leave it alone and see what happens.”
Also weighing on Posada’s mind is his son, Jorge, who is home recovering from corrective surgery on his head and face.
“We are waiting to see how it develops,” Posada said.
Based on the way Robinson treated Ted Lilly compared to other pitchers in similar situations, don’t be surprised if baseball’s disciplinarian comes down hard on Posada, who made contact with Fletcher twice and inadvertently sprayed the umpire with saliva.
While Lilly was suspended for six games for hitting Scott Spiezio on Aug. 5 even though Lilly wasn’t ejected from the game, other punishments didn’t fit the crimes compared to what Lilly received.
Cleveland’s Bartolo Colon got a seven-game suspension for intentionally throwing at a batter and getting ejected on July 17.
Jose Lima, then with the Astros, got five games for throwing at a batter, being ejected and starting a bench-clearing brawl on May 2.
The Phillies’ Robert Person received a six-game benching for similar actions on May 13. Arizona’s Todd Stottlemyre got six games for leaving the dugout to participate in a brawl while on the DL on Aug. 14.