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- After pulling up lame in the game yesterday afternoon, Nick Swisher has been diagnosed with a low-grade hamstring strain, and will miss "more than a few days". In an outfield that was already paper thin, it's good news that they think Swish will be able to avoid a trip to the DL, but this still means we will likely see a lot of Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones in the outfield until Brett Gardner comes back (hopefully) on Thursday. Wrap Curtis Granderson in bubble wrap immediately.
- Freddy Garcia understands why the Yankees made the decision to move him to the bullpen and give his rotation spot to David Phelps. "When you don't do your job, what are they supposed to do", Garcia said. It's unclear whether or not Freddy truly has nothing left or if there is a physical problem causing all of his struggles, but Joe Girardi is going to make sure he gets work out of the pen. I just hope that it costs the team less wins this way.
- William Tasker at It's About The Money discussed the evolution of Alex Rodriguez since coming to New York. The A-Rod who stood up in front of all his teammates during Spring Training and gave a speech that seemed to motivate everyone in the room is definitely a far cry from the Alex Rodriguez that arrived in New York years ago. Lots of people love to hate him, but there are plenty of reasons to like him, too.
- Thanks to some PITCH f/x data, Michael Eder at The Yankee Analysts has concluded that some of Phil Hughes' struggles come from the fact that he's gotten too predictable once he has two strikes on a batter. The pitch working best for Hughes so far this season has been his changeup, but he has stayed away from it in almost every two-strike count. Eder explains what we've all seen, in that Hughes throws his fast ball with two strikes, which is continually fouled off until he eventually misses his spot. That drives his pitch count up early in the game and forces all of us to cover our eyes in anticipation of an inevitable meatball. If Phelps pitches well in Garcia's former spot, Hughes may need to watch his back with Andy Pettitte's return to New York getting closer every day.
The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda to the mound this evening to face off against Jason Hammel and the Orioles at 7:05 p.m. at the Stadium. Tickets for the game can be found here.