BOSTON – New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi could say when CC Sabathia’s next bullpen session would be (Wednesday) and that he would pitch a simulated game on Friday. But no more specifics.

“Then we’ll see where he’s at,” Girardi said in his pregame press conference before Tuesday’s game at Fenway Park.

Then the subject came back to first baseman Mark Teixeira, whose bone bruise is worse than first diagnosed. When will he be back?

Girardi’s face tightened and he offered a shrug.

“I have no idea,” Girardi said. “I would have thought he’d be back by now.”

The Yankees, once the comfortable American League East leaders, are limping into the playoffs. And two of their big-money players (Sabathia makes $23 million and Teixeira $22.5 million) are not helping.

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Two surprising things come to mind:

n That the Yankees are even in contention.

n And New York, which has not reached the playoffs the past two years, did not make any trades to improve its team for the stretch run.

But these are different times for the Yankees, and this team from the Bronx is a mixture of the old and new ways of going about its business.

After the 2008 season, when New York’s playoff streak ended after 13 years, the Yankees invested heavily into free agents, including Sabathia and Teixeria. The result was the 2009 World Series title.

After 2013, when the Yankees missed the playoffs, they spent big on free agents like Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka.

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But 2014 featured 84 wins and no playoffs. New York did little in the offseason free-agent market, signing third baseman Chase Headley ($52 million) and reliever Andrew Miller ($36 million).

The New York media was lamenting this season before it began, wondering about Sabathia’s effectiveness, while pointing out the aging, dead weight in the lineup, which welcomed back 40-year-old Alex Rodriguez.

One New York Post columnist said the Yankees needed to “embrace failure,” saying it was time the team realized it was in a rebuilding year, even with a payroll of $218 million.

But New York was also in the American League East, known for its parity. The Yankees led the division by six games on July 31. Teixeira and Rodriguez surprisingly became forces. And while the rotation was not lights out (12th in the league in ERA), its bullpen was (fourth in the league in WHIP).

But at the trade deadline, as the Blue Jays were dealing for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and lefty David Price, the Yankees did little, refusing to trade top prospects.

It is a new way for New York, which has not held onto so many prospects since the 1990s (when Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams did just fine for the Yankees).

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By not trading to improve this year, maybe the Yankees were admitting that this indeed was a rebuilding year, sort of.

Since the trade deadline, Toronto stormed to the lead in the division, while New York went 14-14 in August.

The Yankees could still win it, obviously, and they are in line for a wild card if they avoid a complete collapse.

But Teixeira, 35, who was fading (batting .185/.593 OPS last month) is possibly out for the season. Rodriguez has cooled the last 30 days (.159/.542) as has Brett Gardner (.216/.583), although he homered Tuesday in a 3-1 win.

And Sabathia (4-9, 5.27) was not much of a factor before going on the DL with inflammation in his arthritic knee.

The question with Sabathia is not if he comes back but, if he does, would he even be on the postseason roster? New York’s rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, Tanaka, Ivan Nova and Luis Severino – one of those prospects New York refused to trade – looks pretty good.

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So the Yankees are hoping to get enough out of its aging lineup.

And they will keep hoping: Teixeria has another year on his contract. Then there is Rodriguez (two more years); Beltran, 38 (one more year); Ellsbury, who turns 32 next week (five more years); Gardner, 32 (three more years) and McCann, 31 (three more years).

New York needs some youth, which is why it held onto Severino, 21; outfielder Aaron Judge, 23; first baseman Greg Bird, 22; and catcher Gary Sanchez, 22.

Those prospects could have brought the Yankees some needed help this season, via trades.

But there is a new way of doing business in New York.

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or at:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: ClearTheBases


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