By JOSH NORRIS
Staff Writer

TRENTON — After putting left-hander Wilkin De La Rosa on waivers last night to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Yankees have filled that hole with a little bit of local flavor.

Steve Garrison, also a southpaw, from the Hun School in Princeton, was claimed on waivers by the Yankees earlier yesterday afternoon, and will report to the Thunder for the playoffs.

Garrison was still dealing wit the shock of being removed from the Padres’ 40-man roster when general manager Brian Cashman to tell him the news.

“I really don’t know what I’m feeling right now,” he said. “It’s a big-time roller-coaster. … I’m thankful people still believe in me.”

Garrison, who has had an issue with a bone spur in his left foot, will fly to Philadelphia this morning to meet with Yankees head trainer Gene Monahan and take a physical.

If he passes, he believes will join the Thunder on Sunday for the if-necessary Game 5 at Waterfront Park.

De La Rosa’s removal from the 40-man roster comes at a bad time for the Thunder, who also suspended J.B. Cox yesterday after an altercation in the dugout on Wednesday with manager Tony Franklin.

Initial reports suggested that De La Rosa’s removal from the 40-man roster had little, if anything, to do with

Witnesses said Cox, who was upset after being removed from the game in favor of Pat Venditte, slammed the ball down before getting chest to chest with his skipper and engaging him in an extended argument.

For a man who has already left the organization once, gotten in a bar fight before spring training and been disciplined for writing an obscenity on his shoes, this may have marked the last straw for Cox in the Yankees organization.

“We took some action,” Franklin said, referring to the suspension. “We felt the action was needed. I wish him well. If his career has ended with the Yankees, I hate for it to end on this note.”

Ben Watkins, a right-hander, was promoted yesterday from Charleston to fill one of the spots. Garrison will fill the other.

Watkins joins teammate Taylor Grote, who joined the Thunder in New Britain over the weekend, as former RiverDogs suddenly thrust into a playoff situation.

“My mood went from great, being home and seeing my family and friends,” Watkins said, “to even better, getting to play some playoffs here in Trenton.”

TRENTON — Looking almost distraught in the hallway outside of the Thunder clubhouse yesterday, Thunder reliever Wilkin De La Rosa unequivocally denied that he ever injected himself, or anyone else, with vitamin B-12 or any other substance.

The denial stems from a New York Post report Friday that he and former Thunder teammate Ivan Nova did in fact inject each other with B-12 in the home clubhouse. MLB is investigating whether, if the allegations are true, B-12 was the only thing in the players’ syringes.

“I have never done that and doing that has never entered my mind. I don’t know why anyone would make that comment,” De La Rosa said. “I was surprised because I don’t even think about anything like that. They called me into the office (Friday in Harrisburg) and told me. I thought it was about something else...not even close to something like that. I have never done that.”

In and of itself, B-12 is legal under Major League Baseball’s rules. Injecting oneself or someone else with it, however, is not. Any and all injections must be performed by a licensed physician.

When Tony Franklin heard about the report, it produced one main reaction: The manager spoke with both De La Rosa and Mark Newman, the Yankees’ Vice President of Baseball Operations, about how to handle the situation.

“I was shocked when I heard there was an article written,” he said. “I just don’t believe it. When I heard about it, in my opinion, I don’t think it happened…It just absolutely floored me. I was shocked. I feel bad for he and Nova that this report came about.”

As for the source of leak to the Post, both Franklin and De La Rosa are in the dark. More concerning to the pitcher than the allegations, however, is the stigma attached to his name now that the allegations have surfaced.

“I have no idea where (the leak) came from,” he said. “That kind of comment – you have it with you for life. This is the last time I am going to talk about it because I didn’t do anything wrong so there is no need to talk about it.”

Six Yankees minor leaguers have been suspended for performance-enhancing drugs this season. Former Thunder reliever Amauri Sanit, who tested positive for mephentermine in late May, was the only player to ascend past rookie ball.

The other five, Rony Bautista (boldendone), Josue Rodriguez (stanzolol), Daury Aquino (stanzolol), Alexander De Los Santos (boldendone) and Angel Rincon (stanzolol), each played on one of the Yankees’ two Dominican Summer League clubs.

Ivan Nova and Wilkin De La Rosa are under investigation by the MLB for injecting each other with shots of B-12, which is not a substance on the league's banned list. The very act of injecting yourself or someone else, if you are not a licensed physician, however, is prohibited.

The MLB is looking into the case to see if either was being injected with something other than B-12, like HGH or other injectable performance-enhancers.

Of course, everybody is innocent until proven guilty, so I reserve my judgment until I get a chance to hear their side of the story. Nova's in the big leagues, so that will be difficult. I do, however, plan to drive up to Harrisburg tomorrow to speak to De La Rosa, so that could be interesting.

Stay tuned.

BOWIE, Md. – On the one hand, the Thunder put together 16 hits and seven runs, more than they’d tallied in latter category than in the previous two games combined. They even managed to accomplish this without Brandon Laird, their dynamic cleanup hitter, in the lineup.

On the other hand, Wilkin De La Rosa and George Kontos weren’t able to hold the fort, and Trenton was toppled 9-7 by the Bowie Baysox last night at Prince George’s Stadium.

With Bowie ahead 5-3 in the fifth, Justin Christian, freshly back with Trenton thanks to the Yankees signing of Chad Tracy, connected on a two-run triple into the right-field corner that brought home Edwar Gonzalez and Justin Snyder with the tying tallies.

With the score evened, De La Rosa was off the hook for the loss. The left-hander, who was recently re-inserted into the starting rotation on a permanent basis, continued his string of poor performance.

Yesterday, De La Rosa let in five earned runs on eight hits and two walks over just three innings. Over his last 11 outings, covering 35 2/3 innings, he’s permitted 41 hits and issued 23 free passes.

The stats are particularly alarming when one considers that De La Rosa is on the 40-man roster and was absolutely lights-out to start the year.

Through his first five appearances – spanning 9 1/3 innings – opponents scored just once off of him. Then came a string of games in late April where he got progressively worse, letting in a run, then two, and finally three on April 28.

Four times since then, De La Rosa has allowed more than four runs in an outing. The low point came on May 27, when the SeaWolves reached him for eight earned runs on 10 hits – including two home runs – in just 2 2/3 innings.

After Wilkins Arias wiggled out of a jam in the fourth, Kontos entered in the fifth and didn’t exactly provide relief.

The Northwestern-educated right-hander got two quick outs before Brandon Waring rocketed a ground-rule double to right-center. The next man, Caleb Joseph, dumped a single into no man’s land in between short and left field to bring home Waring and give Bowie the lead once again.

The Baysox got to Kontos for three more over the six and seventh before Kevin Whelan restored order in the eighth, after the Thunder had blown their last real scoring chance.

With runners at first and second with one out, Jim Hoey – a former Oriole and Rider alumnus working his way back after a series of arm injuries – battled Christian for 10 pitches before getting to wave at an offspeed offering on the outside half. He then got Luis to stare at strike three to end the inning.

NOTES: Christian and Kontos switched uniform numbers, with the outfielder taking 17 from Kontos, who received number 38.

Well, it appears that Mr. Mike Ashmore has landed upon the treasure trove of news. First, Paul Bush has gone on the Disabled List and has had an MRI performed on his right elbow. Speaking to Bush in the clubhouse, Mike reports that Bush "doesn't seem real optimistic." How astonishing would that be if the Thunder, within the a span of less than two months, lost two pitchers to their second Tommy John surgery?

Secondly, it appears that Wilkin De La Rosa is headed back to the rotation. The experiment of sending De La Rosa and Lance Pendleton into the rotation appears has ended rather quickly. Pendleton didn't last two weeks, and De La Rosa didn't make it two months. Can't be really happy if you're a Yankees fan, losing Bleich, Garcia and Bush to arm troubles in less than 60 days.

Also, Jorge Vazquez, the slugging first baseman from Mexico, is back with the Thunder. After being slated to start the season in Scranton, Vazquez had an appendectomy before the season started. Now, back in Trenton, he joins Austin Romine and Brandon Laird in forming one of the most fearsome 3-4-5s in the minor leagues. When David Adams comes back, assuming Vazquez is still in Trenton, that is going to be a NASTY lineup. Kevin Smith was placed on the Disabled List to make room for Vazquez.

After Jeremy Bleich was placed on the 7-Day Disabled List and sent to Florida yesterday, there are a lot of questions about how the new Thunder rotation will shake out. When the team left for its current road trip, its starting five looked like this:

1. Lance Pendleton
2. D.J. Mitchell
3. Jeremy Bleich
4. Hector Noesi
5. David Phelps

Now, with Bleich on the shelf, Paul Bush, a member of last year's Trenton rotation, has been taken off the disabled list. What he is not, however, according to team broadcaster/public relations man Justin Shackil, is a member of the rotation. Neither is Ryan Pope, who was pushed to the bullpen when Noesi was promoted but before Bleich was injured.

So, as it stands now, the Thunder's rotation looks like this:

1. Pendleton
2. Mitchell
3. Noesi
4. TBD
5. Phelps

Before the recent move, Pope had been a starter all his life. Bush made five starts with the Thunder last season, and two more with Scranton. He also made a handful of relief appearances in Triple-A.

Also, we know, again via Shackil, that Wilkin De La Rosa and Cory Arbiso, respectively, will start each game of the doubleheader on Saturday. I assume that one or both of Pope and Bush will see relief work at some point during those games.

So, where does that leave the Thunder as far as a fifth starter goes? As far as I see it, there are two possible scenarios, one that is exciting, and one that is not.

1. Rotating bullpen starts. Josh Schmidt, Kanekoa Texeira and Wilkins Arias made 13 starts last year, and something like that is a definite possibility for the near future. Arbiso or De La Rosa could feasibly take the place of Texeira. Eric Wordekemper could fill that role as well.

2. The other idea is Adam Warren joining Hector Noesi in the Trenton rotation. Nardi Contreras mentioned a few weeks ago that there was a good chance Warren makes his way north sometime this season. He also said Dellin Betances was close to being activated and joining Tampa's rotation.

So far with High-A, Warren is 5-3 with a 1.94 ERA in eight starts. He's struck out 32 and walked just 12 in 46 1/3 innings. By comparison, Noesi had tossed 43 innings and also made eight starts before his promotion last week.

For what it's worth, Warren last pitched Monday, which would put him on track to start Saturday in Portland, one day after Noesi.

Stay tuned, things could get interesting.

Yesterday, while I was watching the Pirates beat Roy Halladay, Grant Duff got promoted to Scranton. To take his place on the Thunder roster, Josh Schmidt was transferred back to Trenton.

This means the Thunder have lost their closer, and have gained a long reliever to go with Ryan Pope. Based on the way Tony Franklin used his pen last night, it seems like Wilkins Arias might be the guy to step into Duff's role.

Of course, Tony really never likes to designate anyone for a specific role, so it might be closer by committee for a while.

Today, after a spate of poor starts, Jeremy Bleich was placed on the disabled list and sent back to Florida yesterday. There is no word on Bleich's injury.

To take Bleich's spot, Paul Bush, a member of the Thunder staff last year, was activated off the DL. He is in New Hampshire with the team, and will be available tonight.

Interesting note: Both Bush and Pope will work out of the bullpen. There's no word on a fifth starter, says Thunder broadcaster Justin Shackil. Also from Shackil, Wilkin De La Rosa and Cory Arbiso will start in games 1 and 2

After another stinker of an outing tonight from Wilkin De La Rosa -- five runs in 1/3 of an inning -- it may be time for him to visit the Fake DL to work out those issues. He's allowed 12 runs this season, 10 of which have come in his last five innings. That's simply not going to cut it, especially coming from a guy who is on the 40-man roster.

The most frustrating part of his struggles, at least for De La Rosa, Tony Franklin and Tommy Phelps, has to be the knowledge that he is much better than what he's shown lately. Over his first 11 frames of 2010, De La Rosa allowed just two runs on four hits. He did walk five during that time, but also struck out seven.

Obviously, any decision to DL De La Rosa would be made Franklin and Phelps, in conjunction with Mark Newman and the Yankees player development staff, but right now, some time off would seem to be the best course of action.

RESULTS

Thursday: Portland 3, Thunder 2
Friday: Thunder 9, Portland 1
Saturday: Portland 5, Thunder 2
Sunday: Portland 9, Thunder 5

Key to the Series: Relief pitching, and Lars Anderson. Noel Castillo twice allowed tie-breaking home runs to the Portland first baseman.Wilkin De La Rosa, stellar up until this point, also blew two saves in the set. In his 3 1/3 innings, the left-hander gave up three earned runs on seven hits and three walks. When your seventh- and eighth-inning guys are giving up runs left and right, the team is obviously not going to be successful.

Honorable mention: If there was anything good about this series for the home team, it was the emergence of Austin Romine and Brandon Laird as middle-of-the-order threats. Here are the stat lines for each man during the four-game set.

Romine: 5-for-13, four doubles, three walks, RBI
Laird: 5-for-16, double, two home runs, seven RBIs, two walks

As an additional note, courtesy of Jay Dunn, Laird has been super clutch this year. With runners in scoring position and two outs, the third baseman is hitting 5-for-11 with 7 RBIs.

Good morning, all. The Thunder have opened the season on a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2002, and The Trentonian has full coverage. Yesterday's game was covered by the great Mike Ashmore, who provided us with two stories.

Here's the game story. It details why, although they won, yesterday's game was bittersweet for the Thunder.

Here's the sidebar: It details the severity of Christian Garcia's injury, and what it could mean for the 24-year-old's career.

Today's starters around the Yankees system:

Scranton: Jason Hirsh vs. Dillon Gee (Buffalo)
Trenton: David Phelps vs. Thad Weber (Erie)
Tampa: Manny Banuelos vs. Adam Wilk (Lakeland)
Charleston: Jose Ramirez vs. Jose Cisnero (Lexington)

Questions I wanted answered in today's pregame:

1. Has there been a course of action determined for Christian Garcia?
2. Has there been a starter decided for Tuesday against Akron?
3. If either Lance Pendleton or Wilkin De La Rosa is forced back into a starter's role, how long will they need to get stretched out?
4. Has Tony spoken to his team about the traps of a day game after a night game, especially given last year's 13-21 record in such contests?

I'll be starting a live blog shortly after I get lineups, so stay tuned and enjoy the game.

With Opening Day mere hours away, the day has come for me to slave away on the Thunder preview section, which will be on newsstands in tomorrow's Trentonian. This means I will be working on features on Austin Romine (he'll be on the cover), D.J. Mitchell, Brandon Laird, as well as previews of each team in the Eastern League.

There may also be stories on Jeremy Bleich, Josh Schmidt's experience in the Venezuelan League, and much more. Check it out tomorrow.

For now, though, take a read of my stories yesterday on Wilkin De La Rosa and Lance Pendleton moving to the bullpen, and Josh Schmidt's reaction to coming back to Trenton to begin 2010. The latter is a newspaper-only story.

Also, former Thunder pitcher Kanekoa Texeira made his major league debut last night. He got his first strikeout, but also picked up the loss.

Sorry it's taken so long, but better late than never, right? Here are a few videos I shot from today's Media Day at Waterfront Park.

That's Lance Pendleton and Wilkin De La Rosa talking about moving to the bullpen for 2010. With two starters, plus Josh Schmidt, who has proven he can start, the Thunder's pitching staff looks stacked. There are quotes from Tony Franklin and Tommy Phelps in the story, which you can find in tomorrow's edition of The Trentonian.

As the post says, I was at Media Day from 1 p.m until about 3 p.m. While there, I spoke with Lance Pendleton, Wilkin De La Rosa, Josh Schmidt, Tommy Phelps and Tony Franklin. Look in tomorrow's The Trentonian for a story about Pendleton and De La Rosa, and their transitions from starters to relievers.

I'm going to get started on that now, but to tide you over, here's a picture of the entire team. I think it sets a record for most people blinking in one shot. Enjoy.

TRENTON — If you were hoping to see Pat Venditte on Thursday at Waterfront Park, you’re out of luck.

The Thunder’s preliminary roster was released to the media yesterday, and the celebrated switch pitcher’s name was nowhere to be found.

If you’re interested in laying your eyes on some of the top prospects in the organization, however — Austin Romine, D.J. Mitchell, Brandon Laird and David Adams, to name a few — then you’re in for a treat come Opening Day.

Romine, Mitchell, Laird and Adams are the marquee names, to be sure, but there were plenty of interesting players to be found on yesterday’s roster.

Take Damon Sublett, for instance.

He started last season as a second baseman, but was asked by the organization late in the season to take the Craig Biggio route and move into the outfield, where he will play in 2010.
While he’s adapted nicely enough to his new position, he’s been caught a little off guard by its intricacies.

“It’s harder than I thought it would be,” Sublett said. “I always used to think, ‘Oh, outfield, it can’t be that tough.’ It’s pretty tough out there, especially the corner positions. Center’s not too bad, but it’s fun, though. It’s a lot of fun."

Do you find pitchers more interesting than position players? Then Christian Garcia’s your man.
Garcia, already given the Opening Day assignment, is a right-hander with electric stuff who just can’t stay healthy.

To wit, the 24-year-old right-hander has pitched just 140 2/3 innings since 2006, yet still holds a position on the Yankees’ 40-man roster. It’s an honor that Garcia doesn’t take lightly.

“It’s awesome,” Garcia said. “It just shows that they still care and they’ve never forgotten about me. I’m pretty sure if I was with any other team, they would have dropped me already and said enough is enough. It’s amazing how they’ve stayed with me and stuck by my side.”

Sticking with guys on the 40-man roster, left-hander Wilkin De La Rosa will return to the club, but with a new role.

He and righty Lance Pendleton — both in the Thunder’s rotation last season — will move to the bullpen, instantly giving the team what appears to be, on paper at least, a very interesting collection of arms.

Manager Tony Franklin, who returns for his fourth season with Trenton, explained the move on Saturday at the Yankees Minor League Complex.

“In past years, when injuries occur, and at times when we think we need a spot starter, we’ve always had someone down there who was capable of doing that,” Franklin said. “I think either one of those guys are capable of doing that. In that regard, we’re well protected.”

Indeed, whether due to injuries or rain, the Thunder often found themselves in need of an extra arm in 2009. One man who filled that role more than capably was Josh Schmidt, an Eastern League All-Star and easily the Thunder’s best pitcher in 2009.

Astonishingly, after posting a 1.61 ERA and allowing just 57 hits — including just two home runs — in 83 2/3 stellar innings, Schmidt finds himself back in Trenton this April.

He joins Grant Duff, Wilkins Arias, Noel Castillo and Eric Wordekemper in a group of relievers who each spent time with the Thunder last season. The only newcomer to the bullpen is Cory Arbiso, a 23-year-old righty who spent most of last season with Low-A Charleston.

Today being April Fool's Day, it seems only fitting that I was the victim of some mischievous Thunder pranksters yesterday. Of course, being as dense as I am, I fell for the same prank twice.

Here's how it went: Someone placed a device (probably an iPhone) in a small blue equipment. When commanded, the device made an array of (very realistic) farting noises. Someone, I suspect Wilkin De La Rosa, placed that bag under my seat. It was there for probably 20 minutes before I realized what had happened.

They eventually moved the bag under the seats of various coaches, players and others for the next few innings.

Then, once my guard was down, they did it again.

This time I was wise to the plan, and stared in the direction of De La Rosa, who smiled and asked me: "Man, what did you eat for breakfast?"

Ah, pranks. Gotta love 'em.

Photos are, clockwise from top right: Wilkin De La Rosa, David Adams' glove, Frank Menechino, Kei Igawa (and his fabulous blue glove), Damon Sublett and D.J. Mitchell.

Tepid day for the Thunder offense, which could collect just four singles off of Pirates pitching.

PITCHING
Jeremy Bleich: 5 shutout innings
Ryan Pope: 3 innings, 3 runs
Wilkin De La Rosa: 1 shutout inning

HITTING

Austin Krum: Single
Luis Nunez: Single
Jose Gil: Single
Addison Maruszak: Single

Here are some notable accomplishments in the Thunder's second exhibition game of the season, a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. All information provided by the team, courtesy of trainer Tim Lentych.

Ryan Pope: 2 1/3 IP, R
David Phelps: 2 2/3 IP, 0 R
Wilkin De La Rosa: 2 1/3 IP, 3 R
Phil Bartleski: 1 1/3 IP, R

Austin Krum: Double
Damon Sublett: Single
Ryan Baker: Double
Walter Ibarra: Triple, Single, R
Dan Brewer: Single, RBI