David Phelps belongs in Yankees rotation

Shortly after New York Yankees right-hander David Phelps found a way to earn a 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, manager Joe Girardi stopped short of endorsing him as a full-time starter.

I'll come out and say it: Phelps deserves to remain in the rotation when Ivan Nova returns from triceps inflammation. While Nova suffered a recent setback, is saddled with a 1-1 record and 6.48 ERA, and has seriously regressed since a 16-win rookie season, Phelps has continued to get it done as a starter or out of the bullpen. There's little doubt what to do with Phelps once a decision has to be made, and Nova may find himself in the bullpen or perhaps Triple-A the way Phelps is living up to internal expectations.

"We have always envisioned him as a starter," Girardi said after Phelps allowed one run on seven hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings of work. "From the time he came up that is what we have envisioned him as. It is not just that he is able to locate and change speeds. He does all the other little things right, too. ... We like what he is doing." 

Where Nova tends to unravel, Phelps bears down and delivers with runners on base. He got in immediate trouble in the first with two one-out walks, but struck out J.P. Arencibia and picked off Jose Bautista at second. When the Blue Jays threatened again in the third, Phelps got Melky Cabrera to ground into a double play and whiffed Edwin Encarnacion following a two-out walk. 

Despite the Blue Jays cutting the Yankees lead to 3-1 in the fourth, Phelps bore down again by striking out Maicer Izturis to prevent further damage. 

"I was making pitches when I needed to," Phelps said. "I was all over the place today."

He still got the job done, just like the rest of the Yankees starters, who along with the bullpen are the primary reason why the team is a surprising 27-16. The rotation is still peaking and to get to that next level it needs, besides health, reliable production from the back end. Phelps has proven his worth, now let it ride.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

Yankees acquire infielder Reid Brignac

The New York Yankees acquired utility infielder Reid Brignac from the Colorado Rockies on Saturday for a reported $75,000. CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman was the first to report the deal.

Designated for assignment by the Rockies, Brignac can play shortstop, second and third base and consider him an upgrade over Alberto Gonzalez, who was DFA'd by the Yankees.

Brignac, who batted .250 with a homer and six RBIs for the Rox, will report to the Bronx on Sunday.

"He is a fly ball hitter so we will see if we can take advantage of the left-handed bat with Yankee Stadium here, a little bit," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "He is a very good fielder, more so than a bat." 

To the chagrin of Yankees fans, struggling outfielder Ben Francisco (.114-1-1) remains on the team.

"In terms of your fans' comments section, just say, 'I'm holding on to him to piss everyone off,'" Cashman said. "If you are dealing with the feedback, 'Why is this guy here?' Just tell them that, just to shut them up." 

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

CC the ‘ace,’ but Hiro the ‘stopper’

Since he was first fitted for pinstripes, in fact for most of his career, CC Sabathia has been considered a rotation ace. From the time he became a Yankee in 2009, The Big Lefty has been “The Man,” no questions asked.

However, after seeing what Hiroki Kuroda did Friday night at Yankee Stadium, I reserve the right to pose the question on who is the Yanks’ true staff ace. Call Sabathia and Kuroda New York Yankees starters 1 and 1A if you wish, but there’s no doubt that Kuroda has been the team’s best pitcher.

Kuroda played the stopper’s role on Friday with eight scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays to improve to 6-2, with a 1.99 ERA. Considering that Felix Hernandez, Clay Buchholz, Matt Moore and Hisashi Iwakuma all pitch in the American League, it’s way too early to consider Kuroda a Cy Young Award front runner.

But an early candidate? Absolutely.

Kuroda showed his stuff once again on Friday by wiping out the Blue Jays in two hours and 28 minutes – tied for the shortest game the Yankees have played in 2013 -- and preventing New York from losing three straight for the first time all season. The right-hander faced only two batters over the minimum and after allowing a leadoff double to Melky Cabrera held the Jays hitless over his next 19 men faced. Kuroda is especially adept when the heat is turned up. His opponents are 0 for their last 25 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-30 on the season.

“You don’t really have to worry a whole lot about him,” said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. “When I think about Hiroki, the one thing that we do pay attention to is some of his pitch counts because he’s not 25, either. But he goes out there and sometimes acts like he is, so we have to make sure that we don’t get confused and forget how old he is, and that we take care of him and make sure that he can bounce back every start, because that’s what you want.”

At the ripe young age of 38, Kuroda has pitched at least seven innings without allowing more than two runs in four straight starts. When you think about it, Kuroda could be undefeated. He took a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies on May 7 despite allowing two runs over seven pitching in Denver’s thin air. And a line drive hit Kuroda on his pitching hand that forced him from his first start of the season after 1 1/3 innings of an eventual 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

“Every once in awhile, you can feel it out there when a pitcher goes out there, and no matter what you put down, it’s going to be a good pitch,” said catcher Austin Romine said. “It made my life a lot easier. He pitched to the glove all night, and we were on the same page. It was smooth out there.”

On the day 40-year-old Andy Pettitte landed on the disabled list, Kuroda stepped up yet again and was smooth as silk. Sabathia has long been the Yankees’ unquestioned ace, but seeing what Kuroda as done, the Yankees now have two.

If the Yankees’ season is on the line, who do you go to, Sabathia or Kuroda?

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC 

Yankees place Andy Pettitte on 15-day DL

Forced from his Thursday night start with a left trapezius injury, Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte was placed on the 15-day disabled list. While the ailment isn't believed to be serious, the team decided to take no chances with their prized veteran left-hander.

"This is the safe play, thankfully it's minor," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "I would rather resolve this and give it the time."

Pettitte is 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA in eight starts in this his second season since coming out of retirement.  He believes he'll be back in the rotation when the 15 days are up.

"I understand," Pettitte said. "They don't want to send me out there in Baltimore Tuesday and start warming up and have it lock up."

In Pettitte's place will be Vidal Nuno, who emerged as a pleasant surprise during spring training and pitched five scoreless innings of a spot start in the second game of a doubleheader Monday in Cleveland.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

Odd men out in the Yankees outfield

Little did anyone realize, except maybe the New York Yankees themselves, that sooner or later there would be a case of too many quality players and too few positions. By the time the Yankees broke camp, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira were among those on the disabled list, and that necessitated the signings of Brennan Boesch, Ben Francisco and Lyle Overbay, and the trade for Vernon Wells. On the surface, each move represented desperation for any warm body to hold the fort until the regular players return. Beneath the surface, general manager Brian Cashman was doing his homework and not necessarily throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks.

While Boesch is now in Triple-A and Francisco's days apparently numbered, the Yankees have received major production from those considered beyond their primes. Wells leads the team with 10 home runs, and is second in hitting (.295) and RBIs (23). Overbay's 24 RBIs are two behind Robinson Cano. Another veteran, Travis Hafner, is batting .260 with six homers and 18 RBIs as the left-handed DH.

"I've said it all along these guys have done an incredible job," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "You can talk about some of the additions that we made, the late additions that we made; I want to say Vernon played his first Spring Training game on a Tuesday, and Overbay on a Thursday - Overbay had a three-day tryout that turned into four days - but for the most part they've all played pretty well."

Sooner or later, however, Girardi will have to make some critical decisions on how to deploy his outfield. Granderson is back in action after recovering from a broken forearm and he's going to play every day. So should Wells, the team's only reliable right-handed hitting outfielder who has recaptured the form that made him a three-time All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays. That leaves Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. Gardner is the Yankees' best defender, so when Hafner (sore shoulder) returns to the lineup, Ichiro, a future Hall of Famer, may be the one riding the pine more often than not.

Girardi's immediate plans were to rotate players between the outfield, DH and a day off, which he's done since Granderson returned. But once Hafner is back in the fold, not everyone can play. And that leaves Ichiro, who on Thursday night snapped an 0-for-22 streak (one shy of his career-high set last year) and is batting .239.

“He got up to about .275, .280 and he’s kind of going through what some of our other guys are going through,” Girardi said. “They’re struggling a little bit. At times we’re having a hard time scoring runs right now, but he’ll come out of it. I’m not concerned about that.”

Someone will be the odd man out, and the logical choice in the present time is Ichiro. At least his place on the 25-man roster is secure. That's more than what can be said about Francisco. Plucked off waivers during spring training, Francisco has five hits in 40 at-bats with one homer and an RBI. Chris Stewart's groin injury leaves the Yankees depleted at catcher and necessitates a move to add Bobby Wilson (.174, two homers, 13 RBIs) from Triple-A Scranton to the 40-man roster. That leaves Francisco, already on borrowed time, as the one most likely to receive his walking papers.

How would you manage the Yankees' outfield glut? It's certainly one of those nice problems to have.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC

Relaunch!

It's been too long, so I'm back to relaunch this page and essentially pick up where I left off to give you my takes on the world of New York sports. Talk to you soon.

NGN (Not Good News) for CBS

Media Week shared the overnight figures for Strikeforce on CBS.

CBS Strike Force Saturday Night Fights

9:00 p.m. – Viewers: 2.57 million (#4), A18-49: 0.8/ 3 (#4)
9:30 p.m. – Viewers: 2.55 million (#4), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#4)
10:00 p.m. – Viewers: 2.89 million (#3), A18-49: 1.2/ 4 (#2)
10:30 p.m. – Viewers: 2.52 million (#3), A18-49: 1.0/ 3 (#2)

Among males 18-to-49 -- mixed martial arts' core demographic and the only reason networks have any interest in the sport at all -- CBS Saturday Night Fights at various times trailed Cops, The Biggest Loser, Shark Tale and re-runs of Law & Order SVU.

The early figures represent a 31% drop from Strikeforce's November show on CBS, which attracted 3.79 million viewers in the 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. slot.

CBS began promoting the event during the NCAA Tournament, albeit in 5-10 second spots. And beyond the standard promos and affiliate spots that were at most 30 seconds there was nothing to educate the casual viewer on a loaded event and get them excited about it. Why Showtime or CBS - even if they go viral - can't piece together a promotional package remains a mystery.

Spike re-aired UFC 110 opposite Strikeforce. I'm curious about its ratings.