YANKEE NOTES
TORONTO – The Yankees are taking every precaution to make sure Derek Jeter is sound when he returns from the left rib-cage problem that forced him out of Sunday’s game – even if that means keeping Jeter sidelined through next weekend’s series against the Red Sox.
“It’s not bad,” Joe Torre said of the strained muscle. “I have to go on the [assessment of the] trainer moreso than Jeter, because he isn’t going to tell you the truth. We have our fingers crossed that we can get away with four, five or even six games.”
The Yankees don’t believe that the problem is as serious as the rib-cage pulls Jeter suffered in 1998 and 2000 – both of which drove the shortstop to the DL.
Jeter missed his first game yesterday, but Torre was told by the ultra-conservative Gene Monahan that a Friday return isn’t out of the question.
“I mentioned to him that we have to be pretty cautious with this because he uses his whole body. We don’t want him to re-injure something like that,” Torre said.
* Yankees played their second straight game without right fielder Karim Garcia, who is attending the funeral of a close aunt. He is expected back for tomorrow night’s game. With Garcia gone and David Dellucci on the DL with a sprained left ankle, Torre is short on outfielders.
“I could put Ruben [Sierra] out there but [SkyDome] is not an ideal place for him,” Torre said. Sierra, 38, hasn’t played the outfield since Aug. 2 in Oakland, when he boxed several balls. “It’s big and hard on legs.”
* Luis Sojo’s days on the Yankees’ active roster will last as long as Jeter remains sidelined. When Jeter returns, Sojo will return to the special-assignment job he was doing when activated Sunday.
The move will be made to get right-handed reliever Scott Proctor and his dazzling, 100-mph fastball into the big leagues. Proctor was acquired from the Dodgers in the Robin Ventura trade and pitched for Columbus (Triple-A).
Catcher Michel Hernandez joined the Yankees yesterday and first baseman Fernando Seguignol will arrive tomorrow, along with pitcher Jorge DePaula. All played for Columbus.
