More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

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In a surprising turn of events, Wang will likely hit the DL with 'shoulder bursitis,' but it won't be Phil Hughes who takes his spot in the rotation (according to Ty Kepner). It won't even be Al Aceves. The most likely candidate appears to be Scranton's Sergio Mitre.

Wang probably won't be on the DL for much more than a month. Mitre has done well in Triple-A Scranton, holding opponents to a 3.26 ERA in 30.1 innings, with 23 strikeouts against only three walks (and a fantastic 2.7 groundouts to every flyout). Of course, Mitre is already a ML veteran, having pitched for the Marlins and Cubs in five seasons (with a 5.36 ERA).

Nothing is official yet, but I've got to say that Hughes deserves to start in Wang's place. He's been nearly flawless in relief, and has been pitching in almost every game that Wang starts.

- Check out the photo.

Ryan Pope and Jesus Montero - Pope and Jesus, together. A match made in... Trenton?

[Note by Ed Valentine, 07/05/09 10:03 AM EDT:  Be sure to vote in the 'Should Hughes start?' poll in the right column. ]

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Francisco Cervelli

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Dear Brian,

We know that, as general manager of the New York Yankees you are constantly faced with difficult decisions. One of those looms large right now, and the fate of our beloved hero, Francisco The Great, known to you as Francisco Cervelli, hangs in the balance.

We here at Pinstripe Alley, united in our devotion to Francisco The Great, are begging you not to send him back to the minor leagues.

We know you must do something when the original backup catcher, Jose Molina, is ready to come off the disabled list in a few days. No offense to Molina, Brian, but please. We don't know if we can survive without at least the possibility of a Cervelli sighting each time we sit down to watch our Bronx Bombers.

We are sure you do not understand the depth of our despair at the thought of our hero wearing a minor-league uniform. Let me enlighten you as to why the thought of Francisco The Great in the uniform of a AAA town with a hyphenated name -- Scranton-Wilkes Barre -- brings such sadness to the members of Pinstripe Alley.

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When today's Game Thread is posted a bit later on you will see an unfamiliar name in the byline. We will be joined today by the 'CrazyYankeeChick,' who comes to us from her own site, aptly named CrazyYankeeChick.com.

We think the CYC -- and we hope she doesn't mind the moniker because that's what we are calling her -- will be a fine addition to Pinstripe Alley.

She brings a little more light-hearted style to the table than what PA usually offers. We hope you will enjoy her work.

Welcome, aboard, CYC!

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Mark Teixeira

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Want to see Mark Teixeira start at first base for the American League All-Star team instead of Boston's Kevin Youkilis? Today is the last day you can try to make that happen.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. EST, and Tex trails by 40,000 votes in the latest results. Get yourself over to MLB.com, where you can vote online up to 25 times, and see if you can make it happen.

By the way, check out the Hartford Courant this morning. Yours truly is quoted there in a piece the Courant did asking various Sox and Yankees bloggers to weigh in on this contest.

Oh, and one last thing. Vote for Ian Kinsler of Texas at second base. He leads Boston's Dustin Pedroia by just a handful of votes. Gotta keep it that way!

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I can't resist a little jab at the Boston Red Sox this morning after the Beantowners, leading 10-1 ater six innings Tuesday night, self-destructed and lost, 11-10.

You can relive the biggest comeback in Orioles' history at Big League Stew.

Of course, the folks at Camden Chat are rejoicing.

I was just about to turn off this sorry excuse for a baseball game and get to the laundry I've been neglecting when the rains came and washed away the stink of the Orioles. After over an hour of rain, the game recommenced, and our lives were changed. Justin Masterson replaced John Smoltz and at first, it looked like more of the same. He retired the first six batters he faced until the 8th inning.

And that's when something magic happened.

And the folks at Over the Monster are crying in their morning coffee.

Me, I am just enjoying Boston's embarrassment. By the way, did you notice the Yankees are just 2.5 games back of the Sox today?

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Brian Bruney

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Our New York Yankees were very fortunate to win last night after Brian Bruney imploded in the eighth inning, turning a two-run lead into a tie game.

Bruney, in my opinion, had no business being in the game in the first place. After Phil Hughes' dominant nine-pitch seventh inning Joe Girardi's removing him from the game can only be described one way. Dumb. I even jumped into last night's Game Thread -- something I never do -- to say the same thing.

Girardi is a smart guy, and a pretty good manager. What he failed to do Tuesday, though, was use his eyes, and his brain. Girardi's eyes had to see that Hughes was dominant. His brain had to tell him that he could easily pitch a second inning, and that Bruney has been iffy since coming back off the DL.

Instead, he used his little managerial book that says 'Bruney is the eighth-inning guy, so he pitches no matter what when we are ahead.'

The only fun part for me is that I found this morning that two of my favorite mainstream bloggers, Peter Abraham of the Journal News and Mark Feinsand of the Daily News took completely different sides on the move.

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More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Phil Hughes

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OK, so when do you guys start screaming that Phil Hughes should be the 8th inning guy? or ... gulp! ... that he should stay in the bullpen forever.

We all know Hughes' future is as a fixture in the Yankees' starting rotation. Debating otherwise is really silly at this point. But, he sure has been fun to watch coming in as a reliever.

Over his last five outings, Hughes has thrown 7 1 /3 innings of scoreless baseball in relief. He has struck out nine and walked just one. And 66 percent of his pitches have been strikes.

His fastball hit 96 at one point Sunday night and his stuff has improved during the transition to the bullpen -- normal for any starter making the move, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

"He's been really, really good down there," Girardi said.

So good, in fact, that he is being forced to begin answering questions about whether or not he might want to stay there.

Hughes has relieved seven times this season and has a 1.50 ERA and a .122 batting average against. In his last five outings, he is scoreless over seven innings with three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. Maybe this is just a short run of success, though Alex Rodriguez said, "[Hughes] is throwing the ball as well as anyone on our staff. He is a total asset."

Would anybody be surprised if in the not too distant future it is Hughes -- not Brian Bruney -- who is doing the main set-up work for Rivera? And is it possible that it will be Hughes, rather than Chamberlain, who is the heir apparent to Rivera?

"Yes, I want to be a starter still," Hughes said, sounding quite like Rivera 13 years ago. "But it wouldn't be bad to have Mariano Rivera's career. I want to be pitching in the major leagues. That is what is important to me. I think too many guys are too picky."

Hughes, 23, did not find the adjustment difficult.

"I really haven't had much trouble adapting going to the bullpen," Hughes said. "Sometimes you hear guys who it takes getting used to. But for me, it's just pitching. Every time out there, I just need to throw the ball well and not worry about what my role is."

Along with Bruney, David Robertson, Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke, Hughes has been a huge part of the revamped and resurgent bullpen.

He might stay there the rest of this season, you never know. My take on it, though, is that the experience will simply make him a better starter in the long run. In the short term, it might just help the Yankees win big.

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang delivers in the second inning against the New York Mets Sunday night.

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Let's look around the Yankee Universe and see what is going on -- other than celebrating Mariano Rivera's milestone 500th career save.

• Quite possibly the best news of the entire evening Sunday was the good work done by Chien-Ming Wang, who earned his first victory since June 15 of last year. Mark Feinsand of the Daily News summarized Wang's value to the Yankees this way.

Wang actually wasn’t as good as he was in Atlanta on Tuesday, throwing a lot more pitches (85) than he did (62) in his last start. But he pitched into the sixth, gave up one less run than he did last time, and most important, he got the win.

I know wins are not ultimately the way to measure a pitcher’s success, but for a guy that had won 46 games in 2 ½ years, it has to mean something to get the "0" out of the first half of the win-loss column.

"I think the win is great for his confidence because everyone needs a win, no matter how good you’re pitching," Joe Girardi said. "Everyone needs fruit from their hard work."

To me, the best thing about Wang’s night was that his sinker wasn’t really very good. In fact, he was having enough trouble with it that he and Jorge Posada decided to stay away from it at times, throwing sliders and four-seam fastballs instead - and getting guys out with those pitches. Earlier in the year, they tried to force the issue with the sinker, figuring it would work itself out. Tonight? A better plan.

"When his sinker isn’t there, he has enough to go to that we can get people out," Posada said. "The sinker is his pitch, but today he didn’t have it. We can’t just throw sinkers all day if it isn’t there."

If Wang can win games when he doesn’t have that sinker, he’s going to have a great second half. If he has a great second half, the Yankees become the team to beat in the American League.

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