The Yankees are riding a six-game winning streak, courtesy of the staggering 70 runs the Yankees have put on the board over the course of those 6 games (and don't give me that "well they scored against crappy teams" shit; a hot offense is a glorious sight to behold and an undeniably positive sign for the team) and solid pitching from just about every pitcher from the Wangster to Vizcaino (and again, don't even think about coming back at me with some "well the Royals offense sucks so who cares" mumbo-jumbo, because allowing a mere 19 runs over 54 innings is quite a feat for the Yanks staff to pull off), and by all accounts spirits are high in the clubhouse, too. Their performance of late has given us plenty of reason to continue holding out hope for a post-season appearance, but there’s still a lot of ground to make up and the Yanks are going to need all the help they can get to make it through the next couple months. Injuries have been a colossal hindrance all year (and not just Carl Pavano, although he remains the irrefutable champion) - causing constant lineup shifts and rotation shuffles - and I maintain that if not for the injuries there most certainly would not be a 6.5 game gap between the Yanks and the BoSox. That’s the bad news. The good news is that several of our fallen troops are healing up and will be on the road back to Yankee-ville in plenty of time to make an impact on the team and hopefully contribute to a post-season run. Let’s take a census of the residents of Disabled List Road and see who is rehabbing and who is in a laying in a nursing home bed in a full-body cast, being fed mashed bananas by a Red Cross volunteer (I’ll give you a hint: Pavano must die.):*

Philly Hughes: He’s pitched 4 rehab games now, and each with success. His most recent start was a 6-inning outing during which he struck out 7 and allowed no runs. His strained hamstring and ankle (which he busted up while he was rehabbing from the hamstring problem… convenient) seem to have healed up beautifully. All signs point to an August return for the boy, and since he’s finally 21 he can go out and celebrate with the big kids after he pitches a no-hitter.

Jeff Karstens: It’s been almost 3 months since AL LVP (least valuable player, obv) Julio Lugo smacked a line drive right into Karsten’s leg and broke his fibula, and it looks like he may finally be able to pitch again. He’s pitched a couple good games in AA and AAA and could be ready to join the Yankees again at some point late in the season, possibly in the bullpen.

Jason Giambi: Be forewarned, folks who enjoy defense: he’s on his way back, possibly as early as the next week or so. Hopefully Andy Phillips will keep himself handcuffed to first base so that Giambi can be kept far, far, away from it.

Doug Mientkicantspellhisname: The beating he took at the cruel hands (or knee) of Mike Lowell back in June was pretty brutal, and it is taking him a while to get back on track. Since Cairo and now Phillips have been doing so well defensively in his stead and Dougie is even worse offensively then Cairo, he is really not missed too much in the lineup. However, I do love the man, and he clearly loves playing, so I root for his return.

Carl Pavano: He is currently laying in a nursing home bed in a full-body cast, being fed mashed bananas by a Red Cross volunteer.


As for me, I am injury-free and ready for the post-season.


*FYI, that paragraph contained 315 words, 4 parenthetical references, 9 commas, and not one disparaging remarks about the Red Sox.