New York Yankees News Recap: A-Rod, Hughes, and a six-man rotation?

Has the New York-Boston rivalry become boring?

• At the Yankees' complex in Tampa, A-Rod took batting practice for the first time since his knee surgery on July 14th. He took 43 swings in the cage (hitting six home runs), then 30 off the tee and another 66 from soft-toss. He's slated to re-join the team within a fortnight.

• One writer thinks all the poker shenanigans surrounding A-Rod make him a "badass," and puts him in a light we've never seen before.

• We know Phil Hughes is starting on Tuesday against the Angels, but he'll be available out of the pen for tonight's game.

• Will the Yankees go with a six-man rotation? Joe Sheehan says it's a bad idea.

• MLB has told its players to stop using deer antler spray as a PED alternative. Yes, players have been ingesting the substance that comes from the velvet of immature deer antlers to build muscle and cut fat.

• The Yankees made a kid's dream come true. Cancer victim Mason Kosmoski, from Reading, PA, was granted a wish by Kids Wish Network, and he chose to attend a ballgame at Yankee Stadium. That game happened to be Derek Jeter's 5-5 milestone day in which he stroked his 3000th hit.

• What makes elite athletes elite is not that they have faster reflexes. It's that they can "see the future."

• John Sickels' reviewed his pre-season list of the top 20 Yankee prospects. No. 1 on the list was, of course, Jesus Montero, who I predict will make his ML debut on Tuesday night.