Jun 28, 2009 12:03 pm US/Eastern
Yankees' Jeter, Damon Sidelined By Flu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Derek Jeter
Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Yankees captain Derek Jeter and left fielder Johnny Damon were out of the starting lineup for Sunday's game with the Mets because of flu.
Jeter originally was in the starting lineup for Friday night's Subway Series, then was scratched and missed the game -- on his 35th birthday. He and Damon were not in the posted lineup for Saturday night's game, and manager Joe Girardi said they were the latest Yankees to get sick, following Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera.
"That's on him, man. I told him I could play. That's all his decision," Jeter said.
Jeter sounded congested, and said he had a headache and a cough, but no longer was feverish. Girardi said a team physician recommended that Jeter not start Saturday. Before this year, Jeter had appeared in every Subway Series game.
"I know he really wants to play today and he's not happy about being out of the lineup," Girardi said. "He was really, really sick last night, and Johnny was up all night coughing, and he's got the start of it. Had a little fever when he came in."
Girardi said that including coaches and support staff, nine people had caught flu. Jeter, he said, had the worst case.
"It's just kind of went around," Girardi said. "It's what happens when you're in a clubhouse and on airplanes together."
Jeter and Damon were available to pinch hit, according to Girardi.
Fill-in leadoff batter Brett Gardner raised his average 22 points to .303 in the Yankees' 9-1 victory Friday with a career-high five hits, including his third homer of the season and a triple. Ramiro Pena played shortstop and had two doubles and a single.
Gardner was hitting .265 on June 9 but has hit .429 (15 for 35) since then.
"That's why he's seeing more playing time," Girardi said. "If a guy's really hot, you stick with him and you find days, but that doesn't necessarily mean that one guy's lost his job. We're just riding the hot hand."
Girardi also said the Yankees planned to keep giving Alex Rodriguez days off. After hitting his 564th homer Friday night to pass Reggie Jackson and move into sole possession of 11th place, Rodriguez he had been told down to cut down his practice swings by 75 percent by Dr. Marc Philippon.
"It's not probably clear cut as the Joba rules," Girardi said, referring to restrictions in place on Joba Chamberlain when he first joined the Yankees two years ago.
With Rodriguez's stroke coming back only slowly following hip surgery in March, New York wants to limit to him to five or six games in a row, at least in theory.
"The competitiveness in a player sometimes doesn't allow them to say that I need a day, so it's our job to watch him, and we see or feel that he needs a day, we give him a day," Girardi said.
After he was kept out of the starting lineup for two games at Florida last weekend, Rodriguez went 6 for 18 with two homers and 10 RBIs, raising his average from .212 to .227. He hit only the third opposite-field homer at Citi Field -- the first by a right-handed hitter. The others were by Washington's Nick Johnson (April 24) and Adam Dunn (May 26).
"I think my legs are coming back a little bit. I think like I have more springs," Rodriguez said.
As of Sunday, the Yankees had a record of 42-32.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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