This is not Cervelli’s first concussion – he has had 3 during his time in MLB and several more when he played in Venezuela – so the Yankees are not taking these symptoms lightly. Cervelli has been sent back to New York to meet once more with a neurologist, and hopefully we will have more definitive news by tomorrow. However, regardless of what the doctor says it is highly likely that this latest setback will prevent Cervelli from making the postseason roster. If there is one thing professional sports has taught us over the past few years it is that athletes should never be rushed back from a concussion before they are ready.

So what does this mean for the catching situation on the postseason roster? Russel Martin is a lock, and so is Jesus Montero. If there was any doubt about Posada making the roster that doubt should now be gone. After all, Posada has hit .286/.375/.571 in September and has a plethora of playoff experience, so in my opinion he would have made the roster even before the loss of Cervelli. I don’t see Romine making the roster – he has shown some great skill behind the plate with the Yankees but his bat is lagging behind. And besides, he is very young and spent the majority of his season in Double-A so his play since his debut on September 11 would have had to be elite for him to even be considered for the postseason.

I can understand the last two games, as they were facing Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, but this is an offense that leads the Majors in runs and run differential. However, they’ve scored just one run and managed eight hits over their last 25 innings.

Haren absolutely owned the Yanks tonight. He threw a complete game four-hitter and retired 18 straight batters at one point. He also dealt the Bombers their seventh shut out of 2011.

Oh well, I guess it’s better to slump in September instead of October. The lone bright spot is that the Sox have also dropped four straight (and are 2-8 in September) so the Yanks remain 2 1/2 up in the East.

Other news:

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The bad 1: A-Rod will be out 3-4 days as his left thumb is still bothering him. The sprained thumb has been giving him problems for a few weeks and hopefully some rest will get him right for the playoffs. The thumb is not on his throwing hand but it is clearly affecting his swing. It doesn’t seem like a big deal and could be much worse, I suppose.

The bad 2: Frankie Cervelli was a late scratch for the second day in a row due to concussion-like symptoms. He suffered the concussion in a play at the plate in Baltimore on Thursday and is going for more tests today. This is not good as we’ve seen Justin Morneau miss over half a season with a concussion, those shits aren’t to be taken lightly. If he’s shelved for a long time then we might get to see what Jesus can do behind the plate, hopefully it won’t come to that though.

The good bad: Swish Dog’s MRI revealed mild tendinitis in his elbow. He’s listed as day-to-day and the team said he could be back as early as Monday. The reason this is good bad news is that it appeared to be much more severe with words such as “sharp pain” involved; I really thought he was going to suffer the same fate as Xavier Nady. I’m glad it’s just a lot of inflammation and nothing more serious.

Hopefully a few days off will get A-Rod and Swish Dog back to normal and ready for October. We can only hope for Cervelli.

He said he felt OK and isn’t worried about it:

I’ll be fine. I’m fine now, but I just couldn’t run 100 percent and I guess when (Girardi) saw that he said he didn’t want to take any chances…It’s just a little bruise, that’s all.

In other injury news, relievers Pedro Feliciano, who hasn’t pitched since March 9 due to a triceps injury, and Boone Logan are on the mend as well. Boom Boom Boone is having back spasms after pitching Thursday, and could miss another five days.

Those two join Joba and Meattray — who are both dealing with oblique injuries — as members of a dinged-up bullpen. Joba and Feliciano are scheduled to throw bullpens on Saturday, while Meattray was rocked in today’s game against the Jays. He yielded two runs on three hits in three innings of work in the 6-5 loss.

You hate to see injuries in spring training, but these don’t sound THAT serious. They still have 13 days before Opening Day, so I’m not too concerned about these setbacks.

Also, AJ was hit in the right ass cheek with a Juan Rivera liner in the first inning of the loss, but stayed in the game and isn’t expected to miss his next start. He was touched for four runs — two earned — on five hits in four innings of work.

AJ:

It hurt, man. I never saw it.

Girardi:

You worry, a little bit, about him getting a little stiff now. By the time it’s his turn, he should be fine.

According to Brian Costello of the Post, AJ’s curveball looked as good as it has all spring and he didn’t walk anyone for the fourth straight start. However, he did toss two wild pitches, hit a batter, gave up a home run (to Jose Molina!!!) and had three Blue Jays steal on him.

Girardi was optimistic about the outing:

I think he threw better than the numbers indicate.