Gardner tossed quickly, but it works out for Yanks
New York Yankees' Brett Gardner, left, and manager Joe Girardi, center, react after Gardner was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Paul Emmel during the seventh inning. (July 21, 2010) Credit: AP
Joe Girardi took a pass. So did Brett Gardner.
Derek Jeter, in the on-deck circle during the dispute, measured his words.
Gardner was ejected for the first time in his major league career - the first time in his baseball career, he said - in the seventh inning Wednesday. With two on, Gardner came up and fell in an 0-and-2 hole. He turned and questioned plate umpire Paul Emmel, who threw out Joe Girardi Tuesday night, and Emmel ejected Gardner. Girardi implied Tuesday that Emmel had a quick trigger finger and posited the incident might have been a carryover from his previous ejection, which came June 6 in Toronto from this same crew.
"I don't know if I did [deserve it] or not," Gardner said. "Obviously I guess so but it's not for me to figure out. That was for the home plate umpire to figure out, and I guess he thought I deserved it."
Though it's impossible to determine what Gardner would have done had he not been thrown out, his ejection benefited the Yankees as Colin Curtis, inheriting the 0-and-2 count, hit a three-run homer.
"It worked out perfectly," Gardner said.
Grandy's troubles
If the Yankees were losing, Curtis Granderson's struggles certainly would be discussed more than they have been. Granderson, who went 9-for-26 in the Yankees' seven-game trip before the break but had a 2-for-15 start to the second half, had two hits Wednesday to raise his average to .238.
Extra bases
With the Yankees in the early part of a 16-day stretch without a day off, Girardi said he's leaning toward giving Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter a day at designated hitter this weekend . . . Mark Teixeira, who went 3-for-5, reached base safely for a career-high 37th straight game.
