New York Yankees News - August 11, 2011

Good morning, Pinstripe Alley readers

Let's start off with some great news out of Minnesota. Late last night, the Minnesota Twins managed to blow a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning, but stormed back to defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-2. What does it all mean? The Yankees crawled a game closer to Boston in the American League East and now trail by one game in the loss column.

- Joe Girardi did something very smart on Wednesday night. He announced that Ivan Nova will be staying around in the Yankee rotation -

"He's been one of our best five guys," Girardi said in his pregame press conference. "The last three months, especially, he's been really, really good for us."

So was Nova still auditioning to keep his job?

"I wouldn't say that," Girardi said.

Personally, I think the best part of the article comes at the very end -

But Nova's most telling response came when he was asked, "Do you think you've proved you belong?"

Nova looked back at the reporter and laughed.

"What do you think?" he said.

- This isn't exactly an enlightening article, but it reminds Yankee fans that some things might have a positive outlook. The Star-Ledger puts into perspective Rafael Soriano's great form since returning from the disabled list. Here's what Joe Girardi had to say after the game last night -

I think he’s just really back to himself. What we got early in the year was... there were times he was very, very good. And you know sometimes coming here can be an adjustment for players. I’m not saying that’s what happened with him. But in new surroundings, everything is new in a sense, so what he did in the seventh inning was huge for us.

I have to agree with Girardi. Soriano's velocity is back up to where it should be. He averaged 93.6 MPH on his fastball Sunday night against Boston with a very slightly higher cut-fastball velocity, and his location was better as well. Mix in an 83 MPH sllider that bites hard and you've got an effective pitcher. Whether or not he should be earning $10.5 million a year is another discussion we'll save for later.

- Here's some news on Alex Rodriguez, and it's not poker-related -

The Yankees are looking to get Alex Rodriguez back into a lineup on Friday, planning on having him serve as a designated hitter in a Minor League rehabilitation game.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that Rodriguez will play for either Class A Advanced Tampa or the Gulf Coast League Yankees in Tampa, Fla., and then could play third base in a rehab game on Saturday.

New York plans on having Rodriguez back for their upcoming road trip to Kansas City and Minnesota.

- Also, FrankieCamp and I met CC Sabathia on Wednesday afternoon at the MLB Fan Cave in Manhattan. We had the opportunity to ask him a few questions in a short interview. The interview will be posted Friday morning at 9 a.m. with our thoughts following at 11 a.m.

- The Yankees play a Thursday matinee today at 1:05 p.m. Check for a game preview at 11.

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