The Yanks may have been shut down by the Orioles yesterday, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’ve won 8 of their last 10 games and subsequently took over 1^st place in the AL East. With the Yanks playing the best ball they’ve played all season and some of the DL crew poised to return to the roster within the month Torre is faced with the task of making sure his pitching rotation and lineup are set to maximize the hot streak. They’ll have a day off tomorrow before embarking on a 21-games-in-20-days marathon that will include a double-header with 2^nd place Boston (doesn’t that sound nice?) on the 18^th, and with the way they have been playing the Yanks have the opportunity to blow the gap between them and the Bosox wide open. Here’s a quick rundown on the latest Yankees roster news:

Buh-Bye, Bubba: Matsui and Sheff may not be back yet, but after trading for Abreu the Yanks found themselves in an outfielder-overload situation. Bubba (left, holding onto Sheffield and his MLB career for dear life) has been sent down to AAA in favor of relief pitcher Jose Veras, whose presence gives the Yankees a healthy 12 pitchers on the roster. The bullpen has been incredible overworked this year—Proctor, Farnsworth, Rivera and Villone take up 4 of the top 5 spots on the “most appearances by a reliever in the AL” list—and adding Veras to the pen will give Torre the ability to rest those guys every once in a blue moon.

Cano is Back, Cairo Is out! Cano’s been out with a hamstring wound for over a month now and though the Yanks have been doing well without him his .325 batting average has certainly been missed. He has been rehabbing with AA Trenton and went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a walk on Friday. Coincedentally, Miguel Cairo is going to do some time on the DL with the same injury that landed Cano there; he'll go to the DL on Tuesday when Cano is put back on the active roster. Tuesday’s game against the White Sox will feature Mr. Cano back at his post at 2^nd base, and Nick Green (AKA “that dude that hit a home run against the Mets that one time) will likely be sent back to Columbus once Cairo's hamstring is healed.

Matsui’s Wrist Worries Over? His surgery was successful and X-Rays taken last week confirmed that the bones have healed well, but he is still feeling a bit of pain and tenderness. Torre expects him to return to the lineup in about a month, just in time to add an offensive boost to the final stretch of the season.

Pavano’s Plentiful Plagues Prohibit Prolonged Practicing; Pitiful Pitching Predicament Persists: Carl “I broke my buttocks…again” Pavano (right, faking dismay over his injuries - we all know he is secretly more than happy to sit on his millions without having to do any actual work) hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Yankees since June of 2005, and don’t get your hopes up for a 2006 return. He managed to throw 50 pitches to Nick Green and Andy Phillips this weekend, the biggest effort we’ve seen from him this year, but Torre sounded considerably less than optimistic when asked about a possible September return for Pavano. I personally do not anticipate him to serve any role for the Yanks this year other than his continued function of professional money pit, a job he has mastered to a degree unrivaled by any human save for perhaps Paris Hilton or Kevin Federline.

Labels: injuries, pavano must die, roster moves