The Boss Calls the Captain: After he surpassed Lou Gehrig as the team's all-time hits leader, Derek Jeter received a call from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, says MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. "We miss seeing him around here as much as we used to, but it was great to hear his voice, and he had a lot of great things to say," Jeter said.

Late Press Conference for Record: The Yankees made Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez available for a late press conference after the record fell. Peter Abraham has the quotes and it's nice to see this sort of genuine respect expressed. Not everything has to be criticism or bullpen scrutiny. "We as players, coaches, media and fans are able to watch him every day, and that's a privilege," A-Rod said. Amen.

Kennedy Good in Start: Ian Kennedy was a surprise activation yesterday for Class-A Tampa, starting in game one of the Florida State League championship series. He threw 2 scoreless innings as Tampa beat the Charlotte Stone Crabs, 5-2. Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com has more.

Kennedy Back in Tampa: Chad Jennings reports that Ian Kennedy has been activated and added to the roster at Single-A Tampa, who is in the middle of a postseason run. Kennedy started game one of the championship series, which started tonight.

Arizona Fall League Additions: LHPs Mike Dunn and Zack Kroenke, as well as RHP Grant Duff have all been assigned to the Arizona Fall League, says Peter Abraham .

A.J. Burnett allowed two home runs in the second inning of Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Though one was a solo home run, Brian Roberts' came with the bases loaded. The grand slam capped the Orioles' six-run inning and put them well on their way to a 7-3 victory in the Bronx.

Burnett allowed those six runs over seven innings, striking out four and walking two while throwing 108 pitches. Josh Towers pitched the final two innings for the Yankees, allowing three hits and one run.

The Yankees couldn't put together much offensively against starter Brian Matusz, as he only allowed four hits in seven innings. The Yankees actually held a 1-0 in the first, after Derek Jeter singled, stole second, took third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly.

But that was the only run they would score until the ninth inning when Melky Cabrera had an RBI double and Jorge Posada hit an RBI single.

In addition to Roberts' grand slam, he also singled, doubled and walked.

CC Sabathia goes for New York tomorrow afternoon, as the Yankees look to avoid a home sweep at the hands of Baltimore.

Recap records: Seamus: 42–23, Patrick: 38–18, Andrew: 11–11

Andrew Fletcher regularly blogs about the Yankees at Scott Proctor's Arm.

Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times reports that, according to sources in the game "with knowledge of the matter," Major League Baseball will not seek to discipline Alex Rodriguez. The heart of their investigation stemmed from a belief that Rodriguez may have lied to MLB officials in March regarding his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Via the AP.

"For those who say today's game can't produce legendary players, I have two words: Derek Jeter."

- George M. Steinbrenner III

The Yankees lost on Friday night to the Orioles, 10-4, thanks primarily to bullpen explosions (see: Marte, Damaso (.1 IP, 4 ER) and Ramirez, Edwar (.2 IP, 3 ER) and a lack of timely hitting (a three run homer by A-Rod and an RBI single by Jeter would be all the offense they would muster). But, this team has been playing incredible baseball and losses will happen. Let's talk about what matters: on September 11, Derek Jeter became the Yankees all-time hit leader, surpassing the great Lou Gehrig (video.

"Fifty years from now, people are going to look at the back of the baseball card and see some crazy amount of hits, maybe in the mid-3,000s, maybe even 4,000, but it's not going to capture half the story," Alex Rodriguez told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. "For me, playing next to him, I've learned so much from him, he's motivated and inspired me."

"For those who say today’s game can’t produce legendary players, I have two words: Derek Jeter," said George M. Steinbrenner III, in a statement (via ESPN). "Game in and game out he just produces. As historic and significant as becoming the Yankees' all time hit leader is, the accomplishment is all the more impressive because Derek is one of the finest young men playing the game today. That combination of character and athletic ability is something he shares with the previous record holder Lou Gehrig. It adds to the pride that the Yankees and our fans feel today. Every Yankees' era has its giants. It’s thrilling to watch Derek as he becomes one of the greats of his generation, if not of all time."

Amen.

Recap records: Seamus: 42–23, Patrick: 38–18, Andrew: 11–10

The Old Guard: Joel Sherman at the Post and Peter Abraham at The Journal News both have articles focusing on the longest tenured Yankees: Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.

Cash is Free: Recently released Kevin Cash has cleared waivers and is now a free agent, mentions MLB.com's John Schlegel.

Rays and Johnson Praise the Captain: The Devil Rays and former teammate Nick Johnson have a lot of kind things to say about Derek Jeter.

Robertson Update: Yesterday, we learned that Dr. James Andrews felt that all David Robertson needed was rest. The pitcher had a second MRI on Thursday, but Brian Cashman says that Robertson is "pumped."

Yankees reliever David Robertson was shut down recently after experiencing "tightness" for an extended period. He had his appointment with the renowned Dr. James Andrews, who recommended he rest for 10-14 days followed by a throwing program, reports the Yankees PR department.

I got goosebumps last night, watching a pair of Derek Jeter related video clips. The first was a replay of Derek Jeter tying Lou Gehrig for the most hits in franchise history and the second was Tim Kurkjian, talking about Jeter's place in Yankees history and relaying a story told to him by Buck Showalter.


The funny thing about this is, when Buck Showalter told the equipment guy to give him a single digit, he really only had one option, outside of 0. Numbers 1, 3-5 and 7-9 have all been retired. Number 6 was being worn by veteran Tony Fernandez. So, 2 it was.

What's amazing to me about Jeter is not just his performance or his numbers, but how much he gets things right - on and off the field. Peter Abraham passed on a quote from Rays manager Joe Maddon that says it best: "I'm very happy for him. He carries himself in a manner that's worthy of passing Gehrig." That's a pretty high complement. It's also true.

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It's kind of hard to wrap your head around, but Derek Jeter now tops a list along with Lou Gehrig that includes Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Yogi Berra for the most hits as a New York Yankee. Jeter went 3-for-4 to tie the Iron Horse in a 4–2 come-from-behind victory.

After going 0-for-12 over his last three games, Jeter decided to try something new in his first at-bat tonight and laid down a perfect bunt to third to pick up his first hit in 13 at-bats.

Jeter grounded out in his second at-bat, but came up for the third time in the bottom of the fifth inning and launched a ground rule double to right to pull within a hit of Gehrig and the all-time Yankee hit record.

The captain came up for a fourth time in the seventh inning with two outs, and with the Yankees trailing 2–0, he scorched a ball down the right field line to pick up his 2,721st hit as a Yankee. Jeter got a standing ovation from fans teammates, and opponents alike, and he responded by waving his helmet to the fans pointing at his family located in the stands.

Derek Jeter came up again in the 8th with a chance to take sole possession of the record, but took a 3-2 pitch down low to cap off a 3-for-4 night.

Oh yeah, and there was a game to play. The Yankees trailed after Joba Chamberlain (3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K, 1 BB, 55 PT) and his rules coughed up two runs in the first inning to put Tampa Bay up 2–0. The score remained that way until A-Rod scored on an error in the first inning to make it 2–1. Later on in the inning with one out and two runners on, Jorge Posada launched a pitch from Grant Balfour into the right field seats for a three-run homer that gave the Yankees a 4–2 lead. That was where the score would stay, as Brian Bruney and Phil Coke combined for a scoreless 9th to put the Rays away and complete a four-game sweep.

The Yankees will have the day off tomorrow before beginning a three-game set with the Orioles at Yankee Stadium, as Derek Jeter will get another shot at surpassing Gehrig. Andy Pettitte will take the mound and will face rookie Chris Tillman and the O's beginning at 7:05 ET.

Recap records: Seamus: 42–23, Patrick: 38–17, Andrew: 11–10

Some cool news from Alex Belth at Bronx Banter. The writing of Banter alum Todd Drew (read it here: "Lasting Yankee Stadium Memory #53"), who tragically passed away earlier this year, has been selected by Leigh Montville to be featured in "The Best American Sports Writing 2009", due out in October. Well deserved.