The Yankees have whittled their magic number down to 20 as they go for their 8th win in a row this afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Here are some notes:

• Javier Vazquez gets his rotation spot back today. He was 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 9 innings during his bullpen demotion.
• Alex Rodriguez is expected back on Sunday, but Eduardo Nunez and to a lesser extent Ramiro Pena have filled in pretty well. Nunez hit .286 with a .724 OPS and Pena hit .286 with a .657 OPS.
• Andy Pettitte is going to throw a simulated game today, one of the batters will be A-Rod.
• Nick Swisher is still day-to-day. He was available for pinch hitting yesterday and could play today.
• Damaso Marte was placed on the 60-day DL this week to make room for Chad Moeller on the 40-man roster. He could be having shoulder surgery soon to repair an inflamed shoulder.
• If you missed it, Alfredo Aceves had a setback the other day and could be done for the season. Back surgery is a possibility for him.

The Yankees have a tough series coming up this weekend, not only because they are facing the Blue Jays, but because they have Ivan Nova, Javier Vazquez, and Phil Hughes on the mound. This will be a big test to see which will be reliable for the playoffs.

Here are some notes:

• Nick Swisher is day-to-day after leaving yesterday’s game with stiffness in his knee.
• Alfredo Aceves suffered a setback yesterday and was scratched from his rehab appearance. This could be it for him this season.
• Yankees amateur scouting director, Damon Oppenheimer, is a candidate for the Diamondback’s GM opening.
• Alex Rodriguez has officially dumped his agent Scott Boras.

That’s all for now. I’ll have some more updates later on today so stay tuned.

The Yankees go for a four game sweep of the Oakland Athletics tonight and their sixth win overall and have their best man on the job, CC Sabathia.

Here are some notes:

• Javier Vazquez is back in the rotation. Dustin Moseley is out.
• Andy Pettitte threw a bullpen yesterday and said he felt great. Up next is a simulated game this weekend and then at least one rehab start. He could be back as soon as a week and a half from now.
• Derek Jeter will remain at the top of the batting order.
• Alfredo Aceves is throwing another bullpen today. He could be activated any day now, but the Yankees would probably like to see him be a little more successful first.
• As expected, Lance Berkman was activated yesterday.
• Switch pitcher Pat Venditte was promoted to Double-A Trenton.

If you’ll notice, I was not among the many media outlets panicking about the Yankees rotation. Yes, it was bad. Awful actually, but Vazquez looks like he may have put his issues behind him and A.J. Burnett had a good outing last night. If those two can find some form of consistency and Pettitte comes back the Yankees rotation will be a strength again.

That’s not to say that their issues are behind them, but many people were coming just short of proclaiming the Yankees season dead. If you’ll remember, they dealt with rotation issues down the stretch last season and overcame that as the pitching was a strength in the playoffs.

Today is September 1st and the Yankees are sitting alone in 1st place. The Rays are just one game back though and have proven that they will not back down this season. The Yankees are also eight games up on the Red Sox for the Wild-Card lead, but with six head-to-head games left against them that lead isn’t exactly air-tight. The Yankees also have the toughest schedule of all three teams so nothing is locked in place. Get ready for what could be an exciting month.

Here are some notes:

• The rosters expand to 40 players today. The first call-ups: OF Greg Golson, C Chad Moeller, and RHP Jonathan Albaladejo. More will join the team later on.
• Lance Berkman is still expected to be activated today although no announcements have been made.
• Alfredo Aceves isn’t going to be activated today like I had originally guessed. There have been no reports about further back problems, but he hasn’t been sharp in his rehab outings.
• Javier Vazquez in the rotation? Not yet, for now Dustin Moseley‘s spot is secure.
• Andy Pettitte will throw another bullpen today. If that goes well a rehab start can’t be far behind.
• There is no time table for Damaso Marte‘s return, but it isn’t likely to be soon.
• Minor league outfielder Melky Mesa won the Florida State League’s Player of the Year award.
• Arizona Fall League rosters have been announced. Yankee minor leaguers participating: C Austin Romine, 3B Brandon Laird, 2B Corban Joseph, RHP George Kontos, and RHP Craig Heyer. There are spots on the roster open so more could be added later on.

I’m disappointed that Vazquez is not being put back in the rotation, but perhaps others are right in thinking that more time off could benefit him. It’s also somewhat of a surprise to see Aceves staying in the minors. I guess the Yankees don’t like what they’ve seen from him.

I like September call-ups. It’s always fun getting to see new players on the roster. Golson’s job will be to come off the bench as a runner and defensive replacement. I don’t expect he’ll get many starts or at bats. Moeller will just be here for insurance and maybe some late inning defensive duties. Albaladejo will get a shot to show if he can help the team in the playoffs or not. The Yankees have been carrying three long-men, Sergio Mitre, Chad Gaudin, and Vazquez. That’s overkill. If Albaladejo can pitch well, he has a shot at the playoff roster.

For those who don’t know much about Mesa, I’ve had a chance to see him play quite a bit. He’s fast, has a cannon for an arm, good range in the outfield, and he hits for power. His drawback has always been that he swings at everything to the point where it’s almost comical. My experience watching him was in 2008 when he was with the Staten Island Yankees. Since then he’s improved on his over aggressiveness at the plate, but improvements can still be made. He could probably make it to the majors on his speed and defense alone though, a la Golson.

The Yankees are taking on the A’s again today and might not need as much offense with Phil Hughes on the mound. A strong start today would probably go very far in easing the fear of the playoff rotation.

Here are some notes:

• Alex Rodriguez went through a pregame workout with no problems yesterday. It appears he’s on track to returning September 5th when he’s eligible.
• Lance Berkman made his first of two rehab appearances yesterday and went 2-for-5.
• Alfredo Aceves also made another rehab appearance and allowed a run on two hits in 1.1 innings.

Tomorrow the rosters expand up to 40 players. Aceves and Berkman will likely be activated. Damaso Marte will not be as he’s had setbacks and is still dealing with shoulder issues. Colin Curtis, Jonathan Albaladejo, and Romulo Sanchez are also possibilities to be called up. More will join them when the minor league seasons end.

Two things that have been going well for the Yankees lately, CC Sabathia and their bullpen, both struggled last night, but when your offense scores 12 runs those kind of things are forgiven.

Here are some notes:

• Sabathia went 7 innings, but allowed 5 runs and David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain only managed to get 1 batter out between them.
• Offensively the star was Eduardo Nunez who went 3-for-4 with a homer and 4 RBI’s.
• Marcus Thames continued his hot streak with a pair of home runs.
• Nick Swisher continues to shine against his former team, he is 4-for-9 with 2 homers and 5 RBI’s in this series.
• Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada also had multi-hit nights.
• Mark Teixeira injured his hand while diving for a ball the day before and tried, unsuccessfully, to play through it. He’s day-to-day and could play this afternoon.
• MLB is investigating Ivan Nova for possibly self administering a B-12 shot (the shot isn’t illegal, but if a doctor isn’t the one giving it to you it is). Naturally, he’s denying the charges.

Some injury updates:

• Andy Pettitte, down with a groin injury, will throw another bullpen today. He’s still not expected to go at 100 percent, but is expected to throw harder than he did the other day.
• Alex Rodriguez, calf injury, will begin taking batting practice this week.
• Lance Berkman, out with an ankle injury, has been taking infield practice and it seems he’ll be ready to go September 1st.
• Alfredo Aceves, back, has been rehabbing in the minors. They are being deliberate with him because this is essentially his spring training.
• Damaso Marte threw a bullpen recently, but has since been shutdown. It’s possible he won’t return this season.

Today is kind of a big day for the Yankees. The White Sox currently sit outside the playoffs looking in, but there is certainly a possibility that they could be a playoff opponent. It would be nice to see the Yankees take a series against them. Also, they really haven’t been playing well now for a decent stretch and they really have to focus on winning series.

It is also a big day because Nova is on the hill today. If he can establish himself as more than just a September call-up that could be really big for the Yankees who have struggled with their starting rotation.

Also, there is Pettitte. He can’t have any more setbacks.

A.J. Burnett allowed four runs in the first inning and never settled in as he gave up eight earned runs and the Yankees lost 9-4 in the first game of a three game series against the Chicago White Sox.

Here are some notes:

• Since May 9th, the Yankees are 6-14 when Burnett starts. His numbers during that stretch: 20 G, 110.2 IP, 52 BB, 85 SO, 6.34 ERA.
• It’s possible that Burnett could lose his spot in the rotation.
• Buster Olney expects Andy Pettitte back by September 15th at the earliest.
• Alfredo Aceves made a rehab appearance in Triple-A last night, his line: 1.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO.
• Lance Berkman has begun taking ground balls. He should be back by September 1st.
• I missed this one yesterday, but MLB is investigating whether Ivan Nova in connection to a B-12 shot he might have had administered by his minor league teammate, Wilkin De La Rosa.

So, Burnett sucks. Everyone has been talking about it. When he’s good, he has control of his fastball, gets ahead in counts, and uses his curveball to put batters away. When he is bad, he has poor control of his fastball, falls behind in counts, and then his curveball is much less effective because batters are smart enough to lay off it when the count is in their favor. When he’s bad, he’s not just bad, he’s terrible because he is so desperate to get ahead in the count that he lays pitches in there and they catch too much of the plate and are entirely too hittable. That’s the story.

The big problem is that the Yankees need him. People have been talking about Pettitte all week and how important it is for him to be healthy and pitch for the Yankees in the playoffs. Well, Burnett is probably equally important and if he doesn’t have control of his fastball in the playoffs he’s going to put the Yankees in a big hole come October.

What can they do about him? Not much that they haven’t already been doing. At the very least I’d like to see him skip a start and work with pitching coach Dave Eiland for a week straight to try to smooth out his mechanics. That should at least give him the best opportunity to be successful during the stretch and into the playoffs.

Phil Hughes did not pitch well last night as he allowed five earned runs in just 3.2 innings. Javier Vazquez came on in relief and pitched pretty well with the exception of a solo-shot by Aaron Hill in the 5th. The Yankees’ bats were silent for most of the night, although they nearly mounted a comeback in the 9th. They were eventually shutdown in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays.

Here are some notes:

• Today is the 1st off-day for the Yankees after playing 20 straight games. They went 11-9 over that span.
• Nick Swisher sat again yesterday after fouling a ball off his knee the other night. He should be back in the lineup on Friday.
• Damaso Marte was scheduled for a bullpen this week, but it was scratched. It is possible that he might not return at all this season.
• Alfredo Aceves is scheduled for at least two more rehab appearances before he rejoins the team.
• Nick Johnson undergoes surgery today. He’s done for the season and his Yankee career, once again, appears over.
• Andy Pettitte will throw a bullpen tomorrow and it’s a big one. At this point if he has another set-back it could put any comeback at all in jeopardy. The Yankees would probably want him to throw a pair of bullpens and a pair of minor league rehab starts before he starts in the Bronx again this season.

Swisher should be back on Friday, Aceves seems like he’s on track. Marte and Johnson don’t appear to be coming back, but the Yankees seem to be getting along without either anyway. Pettitte is the big one, if he can’t comeback the Yankees chances take a big hit this year. It’s funny how fast he went from ahead of schedule to a pair of setbacks, but like I always say, groin injuries on pitchers tend to linger. Never expect them back on time.

The Yankees brought out the big bats yesterday as they hit five homers en route to an 11-5 victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Here are some notes:

• Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada both went 4-for-5 with a homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBI’s.
• Marcus Thames and Curtis Granderson both went 3-for-4 with homers.
• Derek Jeter had the other home run, his 10th of the year.
• Dustin Moseley started, went 6 IP and allowed 2 ER.
• Nick Swisher left the game early when he fouled a ball off his knee in the 7th inning. He’s day-to-day with some swelling.
• After the game manager Joe Girardi announced that he might use Javier Vazquez or Ivan Nova to shorten one or more of Phil Hughes‘ starts or to skip him altogether.
• Alfredo Aceves had a minor league rehab appearance last night and got rocked, 1.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K.

Every year for the past three years, the Yankees claim to have a plan to limit their young pitchers innings and every time it looks like a total disaster. I’m counting this year in those three years because it really seems like they just make this stuff up as they go along. Right now it appears they might do the same thing with Hughes this year as they did with Joba Chamberlain last year that didn’t work out, shorten his starts. I really don’t like that because Hughes will be on the mound feeling like he can’t control his own start. They are probably a lot better off just skipping him altogether.

The Yankees lost a tough one yesterday 3-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays as Ivan Nova made his first big league start. Nova wasn’t overpowering, but if it weren’t for a dominant 12 strikeout performance by Brandon Morrow the Yankees could have won this game.

Here are some notes:

• Nova ran into trouble early when he allowed a homer to Jose Bautista in the 3rd. He then raised some controversy in the 6th by throwing up and in on Bautista. Overall though he went 5.1 IP and allowed just 2 ER.
• Nova’s next start? There is no answer to that yet, but if Javier Vazquez keeps pitching poorly then Nova could get another shot.
• The rest of the rotation is just pushed back one day except CC Sabathia who will go on his normal rest on Saturday. This splits Vazquez and A.J. Burnett.
• Alfredo Aceves will make another rehab appearance today.
• Damaso Marte will throw a bullpen today, his second.
• Andy Pettitte will throw a bullpen on Friday.
• Talk of Robinson Cano winning a gold glove has started.
• The Yankees are going to have a dedication for George Steinbrenner on September 20th in Monument Park.
• RHP’s Hector Noesi and D.J. Mitchell have been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A.

Not a bad start for Nova. At this point I like him for the rotation over Dustin Moseley and probably Vazquez as well. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to at least skip Vazquez once or twice to have him rested before the playoffs.