New York Yankees News - August 4, 2011

Good morning!

As I stated in last night's game recap, the Yankees are sitting pretty at 67-42. It's the first time they've been 25 games over .500 this season and they're on track to win 100 games. The Boston Red Sox still lead the American League East by one game, but New York has a stronghold of eight games over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the American League Wild Card. 

- Here's a cool little article that was emailed to me by a reader last night. It's a brief interview of Mark Teixeira on his eating habits during the baseball season and how he keeps fit/healthy. It was conducted by Food Republic. 

- In some inspiring off-field news, Nick Swisher has released a new CD to benefit charity. 

CHICAGO — New York Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher always seems to have a smile on his face. He has a popular Twitter account and made a guest appearance on CBS’ "How I Met Your Mother" last year.

So the naturally gregarious Swisher jumped at a chance to record a children’s album for charity. And he was quick to add his own personal touch.

Swisher’s 12-song record, "Believe," was released this week and includes "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Hang On Sloopy." The classic John Denver song is for Swisher’s hometown of Parkersburg, W.Va., and "Hang On Sloopy" is a staple at football games at the slugger’s beloved Ohio State University.

The article goes on to say that a portion of the proceeds will go to his organization called "Swish's Wishes" for kids with health problems. It's always fantastic to see players step up their commitment for charity and give back. I'm not surprised that Swisher is doing this. 

- Alex Rodriguez faces a possible suspension from Major League Baseball for his alleged role in an illegal celebrity poker ring.

- Good news about Alex Rodriguez is that he begins baseball activities down in Tampa today. Hopefully he's two weeks away or less from returning to the Bronx. 

- When Joe Girardi was asked by the media if he would keep Phil Hughes or A.J. Burnett in the rotation, he responded with the following... 

Hughesy made one good start. We look at the whole year, and A.J.’s been decent for us.

Can't disagree with you on that one, Joe. 

- Fun facts of the morning: 

1) Derek Jeter is 33 for his last 95. Yup, .347 batting average. OBP is .394 in that same time period. 

2) Pythagorean W-L record for the Yankees: 71-38. Just saying. 

3) Brett Gardner since April 28: 87 for 281 (.310 batting average), .391 on-base percentage, 54 runs scored. 

4) Ivan Nova's numbers since June began: Seven starts, 44.2 innings, 42 hits, 14 walks, 30 strikeouts, 17 earned runs. That equates to a 3.22 ERA. He's been everything Yankee fans could hope for. 

The Yankees go for the four game sweep of the Chicago White Sox tonight behind Nova. They'll face former New York Mets prospect Philip Humber. You might recognize him as one of the four players traded for Johan Santana. Game time is 8:10 p.m. EST.