Iwakuma 00740314

03/09/2008 4:30 PM ET
Notes: Girardi voices frustration
Yankees manager maintains stance on home-plate collision
By Maureen Mullen / Special to MLB.com









FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A day after the right wrist of Yankees catching prospect Francisco Cervelli was broken in a home-plate collision with Rays infielder Elliott Johnson on Saturday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was still upset.
"It's just disheartening in Spring Training," Girardi said before the Yankees left Tampa, Fla., for their game against the Twins in Fort Myers on Sunday. "I just don't understand it.

"I played to play hard, but when you do something like that, you take the chance of getting someone hurt. They've got a chance of getting their guy hurt -- separated shoulder. And I'm all for playing hard. You should play hard, but that's a play that there is no memo. But [Rays manager Joe Maddon's] comment after the last one is, 'We'd like to see more plays like that from our team.' And then sometimes kids can't decipher when to do it and when not to do it.

"It's scary to me," Girardi added. "Plenty of times during the season, that's part of it. I understand. He was playing hard. Great. I want you to play hard. I want you to hustle. I want you to [run]. But to me, that's just not the time to do it."

Girardi said that Cervelli is expected to be out for eight to 10 weeks.

"I'm not sure exactly what our plans were with him," Girardi said. "But obviously, he's a very good player and he's going to be missed wherever he would have been the next eight to 10 weeks.

"Cervelli didn't have a chance to do anything. But one thing that you teach catchers is that when you do have a chance to do something and there is going to be contact, try to be the one to initiate it instead of absorbing it."

Catcher Joe Muich was called up to replace Cervelli and traveled with the Yankees to Fort Myers.

Back to work: Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, both nursing right lat strains, are expected to be back in the lineup and in the field on Monday night against the Reds.

Nice to see you: Of the 59 players currently in Yankees camp, the breakdown is: 29 pitchers, six catchers, 13 infielders and 11 outfielders; 20 are non-roster invitees, 27 were either originally drafted or signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Yankees, 32 players appeared in at least one game with the Yankees in 2007, 12 are new to the organization since the end of 2007, 30 did not attend Spring Training with the Yankees in 2007, and 10 were originally selected in the first round (or the first compensation round) of the First-Year Player Draft.

On the move: The Yankees reassigned pitchers Alan Horne, Jeff Marquez and Chase Wright to Minor League camp after Sunday's 6-4 win over the Twins.

Up next: The Yankees will host the Reds on Monday at Legends Field in Tampa at 7:15 p.m. ET. Right-hander Joba Chamberlain will start for the Yankees, with righty Homer Bailey taking the hill for the Reds.

Maureen Mullen is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.