[新聞] Rodriguez May Return Sooner Than Expected

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Rodriguez May Return Sooner Than Expected
By TYLER KEPNER
Published: April 29, 2009
DETROIT —

The Yankees have stuck to a May 15 target date for Alex Rodriguez’s return,
but that seems too conservative now. Rodriguez, who had hip surgery March 9,
will start playing in games Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Unless he needs two weeks
of game action, he will be back sooner than first expected.

“Is it possible to get him back early? Absolutely,” Manager Joe Girardi
said. “He’s got to play some games and get some at-bats under his belt
and make sure he can play nine innings.”

On Friday, Rodriguez will play against Yankees prospects at the team’s
minor league facility and get four or five at-bats as the designated hitter.
Because of the controlled conditions, Girardi said, Rodriguez can choose to
run the bases as much or as little as he wants.

Girardi said Rodriguez would probably play in extended spring training
games as his rehabilitation progresses, because the loose rules would
allow him to bat as often as the Yankees wanted. Girardi did not know
when Rodriguez would begin playing in the field, but the Yankees want him
comfortable at third base before activating him.

The other Yankee in Tampa, Chien-Ming Wang, is scheduled to throw up to
65 pitches Saturday as he tries to strengthen his hips, build arm strength
and improve his sinker.

WHAT’S A VASOSPASM?

When David Cone had an aneurysm in the front of his right shoulder as a
Yankee in 1996, he said he felt numbness and tingling in his right ring
finger, which turned black and blue. Joe Girardi, then a Yankees catcher
and now the manager, said he worried about an aneurysm again when he
learned that the pitching prospect Ian Kennedy had numbness in his middle
finger.

But tests on Kennedy, a right-hander at Class AAA, showed a vasospasm,
a condition Cone said he had never heard of. It is usually caused by cold
weather that reduced blood flow to the affected area. “For a diagnosis,
that’s probably as good as it could be,” Girardi said.

Kennedy, who has a 1.59 earned run average in four starts for
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, will wear a glove for a week and will not
throw until he is re-evaluated in New York on Monday.

GARDNER’S WATCHING

Melky Cabrera started in center field for the third game in a row
Wednesday, with Brett Gardner on the bench each time. Gardner, who
is hitting .220, was named the starter in spring training, but he
understands what has happened.

“Melky’s bat needs to be in the lineup,” Gardner said. “He’s swinging
the bat well and he deserves to be in there. Melky’s swinging the bat
better than I am right now, and he’s giving us the best chance to win.”

The Yankees used Cabrera more than they expected because of the elbow
injury to Xavier Nady, and he entered Wednesday’s game hitting .325.

“Melky was playing more and got hot, and that’s why he’s playing,”
Joe Girardi said.

Gardner has drawn only three walks but said he was not aggressive enough
at the plate, concentrating too much on taking pitches, which put him
behind in the count. The Yankees value patience at the plate, but it has
been a detriment for Gardner.

“I’ve just got to get a good pitch and hit it instead of letting it go
by, and worry about how many pitches we’re seeing an inning or how many
pitches I’m seeing an at-bat,” Gardner said. “Just go up and hit the ball
hard.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/sports/baseball/30yanknotes.html?_r=1&ref=baseball

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