The Yankees filed a protest after the Red Sox took Josh Beckett out in the fifth inning without notifying the umpires he was injured.
Boston pitching coach John Farrell came out for a mound visit with Beckett but he was not accompanied by a trainer. Soon after, manager Terry Francona emerged from the dugout and signaled to his bullpen. A trainer followed him to the mound, and it was clear Beckett was hurt.
Manny Delcarmen came in, and was given extra time to warm up since Beckett was injured. Joe Girardi then went to umpire Larry Vanover and filed a protest.
“They signaled to the bullpen before they announced to the umpires he was hurt,” Girardi said. “So you’re supposed to get eight warmup pitches when you make a pitching change, and when you take someone out you’re supposed to if he’s physically hurt take the trainer and talk to the umpire and tell him he’s hurt.”
The protest goes to the commissioner’s office. If upheld, the game would be picked up from the time Beckett left with the Yanks winning 5-0.
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Jorge Posada‘s latest lower-body injury has nothing to do with Baltimore’s Jeremy Guthrie drilling him in the right knee on April 28. However, Posada said a right calf problem that surfaced five days later was related to getting hit.
Posada missed a second straight game last night with a bothersome right foot that took a foul ball in Sunday’s loss to the Twins. Monday, there was a knot on top of the foot. Yesterday, the knot was gone but the bottom of the foot was uncomfortable.
“There is something going on in the bottom of the foot,” Posada said. “I have no idea, I don’t know what it is but the bottom of the foot is barking.”
Posada said X-rays of the foot were negative and with the aid of tape he could have played last night. Posada hopes to play tonight when the Yankees open a two-game series with the Rays.
Since getting drilled by Guthrie, Posada missed four games due to the calf injury. He said the two problems were related.
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Nick Johnson reported the operation on his right wrist yesterday went well.
Johnson had damaged tissue removed by Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser and it’s expected to be at least four to six weeks before the DH can pick up a bat.
“Good, a little pain,” Johnson said.
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Nick Swisher tested his left biceps with a session of hitting off a batting “T” yesterday and said it was OK.
“I feel fine, we will see, it’s just an extra day,” said the switch-hitter, who left a game on May 12 and has been bothered swinging from the left side.
Marcus Thames, Monday’ night’s hero, started for the third straight game in right field and made a huge error in the ninth that led to two Red Sox runs.
“It’s not something we want to linger,” Girardi said of Swisher’s injury. “The medical staff thinks it is OK. We will see about [tonight].”
As for Thames, Girardi said the organization’s plan to add depth in the offseason is paying off.
“That was the focus of the offseason,” Girardi said of the Yankees, who added Thames and Randy Winn. “We are not made up of 25-year-olds who can play 162 games a year.”
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Damaso Marte was up briefly in the bullpen in the eighth inning while Joba Chamberlain was melting down but Girardi decided not to use the lefty reliever.
“We just didn’t think he was fit. We thought about getting him up and then I said no. He threw too many pitches [Monday night],” Girardi said of the lefty who threw 26 pitches. “I just physically didn’t want him to throw.”
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Even though Javier Vazquez threw four pitches to one batter Monday night, Girardi said he didn’t want the veteran starter to work back-to-back nights out of the pen.
Vazquez is slated to start Friday night against the Mets.
Sergio Mitre is available again as a reliever tomorrow. He worked five innings against the Twins Sunday, throwing 79 pitches in a start.
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Alfredo Aceves is looking to play catch tomorrow. Aceves, who is on the DL with a lower-back problem, had an epidural shot on Friday.
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James Rowson, the Yankees’ organization roving hitting coordinator, arrived at the Stadium yesterday. He will serve as the Yankees’ hitting coach Thursday and Friday night when Kevin Long goes to Arizona for his son’s (Jaron) high school graduation.
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Girardi used the left-handed hitting Juan Miranda as the DH last night. Girardi said he plans on using the spot vacated by Johnson as a place to give regulars a half-day off.
“I will continue to try and rest guys but still use Miranda,” Girardi said. “They get excited to do it and enjoy it.”
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Minor league head Mark Newman will be in the Dominican Republic tomorrow to scout Cuban refugee Yuniesky Maya. The 27-year-old right-hander will participate in a workout.