New York Yankees News and Notes

Good morning, Pinstripe Alley readers. The Yankees lost a tough one last night, but we have about six hours of baseball ahead of us today. A sweep of a day-night double header would be nice. On to your usual morning news.

Ivan Nova to Pitch Game Two Tonight.

Ivan Nova will make his first start for the Yankees since being sent down in favor of Phil Hughes on July 3rd. After his demotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Nova has made three starts and pitched to the tune of a 3.38 ERA. In those sixteen innings, Nova had 18 strikeouts and just two walks. 

Nova hit the DL after hurting his ankle on July 19, but all reports seem to indicate he is fine. No matter how successful he is tonight, it's hard to imagine a situation where he remains with the club after the game. The team was non-commital about their plans for Nova moving forward.

Rafael Soriano Returned.

In case you missed it, Rafael Soriano was activated from the disabled list on Friday, but did not pitch. Soriano had been on the DL for about two and a half months due to right elbow inflammation. To make room for him on the 25-man roster, Steve Garrison was optioned to Double-A Trenton, and to make room for him on the 40-man roster, Sergio Mitre was placed on the 60-day DL.

Joe Girardi indicated that the Yankees will take it slow with Soriano:

We're going to work him back slow. We're not going to throw him right in there, and we'll be careful about, I'll have to look about two days in a row. We're just getting him back, and we want to make sure he's where he's supposed to be.

Hey Joe, isn't that what rehab assignments are for? If you weren't sure if he was ready, why is he here? Shouldn't you guys have made sure he was "where he's supposed to be" before bringing him back to the Bronx?

Yankees Can Win With Current Rotation.

It's About the Money argues that the Yankees can win the World Series with their current rotation, and uses FIP to compare the Yankees to the other American League contenders. As of now, Yankees starters match up favorably with the rest of the league. Combined with an elite offense, I'd have to like their chances as well.

Of the contenders, only the Yankees, Rangers, and Angels have three starting pitchers with FIPs under 4.00. So, do the Yankees still need to make a move to compete with the Red Sox?

Links:

• Fans say Derek Jeter is as great as Babe Ruth.
• Brett Gardner smashed his bat into pieces after striking out to end the game last night. His quote? "I didn't get any hits tonight, so it was time to retire it anyway." Brilliant.
• Mark Teixeira is spending time with Harlem RBI.
• A few days old, but Alex Rodriguez will more than likely return on schedule. He was oroginally listed as 4-to-6 weeks, but will probably return sooner rather than later.
• Robinson Cano does not think the Home Run Derby has caused his current skid.
• After his poor start, almost everything is back to normal for Nick Swisher.