The Yankees finally go back to playing night games as they try to end their two-game losing streak tonight against the Orioles with CC Sabathia on the mound. Sabathia is going for his 20th win of the season.

Here are some notes:

• James “Mudcat” Grant once wrote a book about all of the African American pitchers to win 20 games, he called them the “Black Aces”. If Sabathia wins 20, he would become the 14th member of the Black Aces.
• CC is also going for a record 22 consecutive games at Yankee Stadium without a loss. He is currently tied with Whitey Ford at 21.
• Andy Pettitte‘s rehab start has been pushed back to Thursday. He is scheduled to throw 4 innings or 65 pitches, which ever comes first.
• Because of Austin Kearns‘ bone bruise on his right hand and Nick Swisher‘s knee, Colin Curtis was called up from the minors.
• Swisher played yesterday and hinted that he wasn’t 100 percent, but an MRI showed no structural damage. That means he’s just playing through pain and shouldn’t be making the situation worse by being active.

So the Yankees are finally back to playing at night, at least for one day. They go back and play another day game tomorrow. That means you can probably expect Jorge Posada to sit one of these games out. My guess is tomorrow’s game since Francisco Cervelli has a lot more experience catching Ivan Nova from the minors.

If Sabathia misses out on winning 20 tonight, he will have at least four more chances to get it done.

The Yankees have owned the Orioles this season, beating them in 10 of the 12 times the two teams have faced each other, but Baltimore has been a different team since hiring former Yankees manager Buck Showalter. So this week’s three game series will not be as easy as the head-to-head record would make it seem.

Here are some notes:

• The Yankees will announce today what the next step for Andy Pettitte will be. Most likely he will pitch with Double-A Trenton on Wednesday, but he could do a simulated game instead.
• Nick Swisher had an MRI on his left knee which revealed no structural damage. There is inflammation though, but Swisher hopes he will be back in the lineup today.
• Nothing has been announced yet, but it appears that OF Colin Curtis is going to be called up today. He was pulled from a Triple-A game yesterday while his team was on the field.
• Here are the pitching match-ups vs. the Orioles:
  • Monday: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-12, 5.15) vs. LHP Brian Matusz (7-12, 4.72).
  • Tuesday: LHP CC Sabathia (19-5, 3.02) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (4-6, 5.11).
  • Wednesday: RHP Ivan Nova (1-0, 2.89) vs. RHP Brad Bergesen (6-10, 5.47).

The Yankees play the Orioles six more times over the remainder of the season. Hopefully they can still manhandle them, but it might not happen. The next six games will go a long way to showing if the Orioles are for real or not. If they are real they still aren’t going to compete for the division next season, but it will make the AL East that much harder.

Also, we’ve got Curtis likely coming up. That’s a good move because with Swisher being a question mark Greg Golson had to start yesterday. Golson is a good runner and fielder, but you really don’t want him starting down the stretch, Curtis is a better option.

The Yankees won their eighth consecutive game today against the TorontoBlue Jays, and are the hottest team in baseball as the stretch run begins.

Javy Vazquez was less than stellar in his return to the starting rotation today, giving up five runs in four and two thirds innings pitched, the Blue Jays also slugged two home runs.

The bullpen came in and bridged the gap to Mariano Rivera, and as usual, the sandman finished it off. Mo also lowered his ERA to 1.07, which would be a career low if it holds up through the end of the season, pretty amazing for a 40 year old pitcher.

The Yankees offense continued their hot hitting, driving in seven runs on the strength of nine hits.

Robinson Cano and Francisco Cervelli each had multi hit games, and Brett Gardner was on base three times hitting out of the lead-off spot.

But it was Marcus Thames who delivered the big blow in the seventh inning, a two run shot to left-center field, breaking a 5-5 tie and putting the Yanks on top 7-5.

With the win the Yanks move to 86-50 on the season, which is their high water mark for the year, and their eight game winning streak is the longest this year as well.

The win is also significant because the Red Sox lost the first game of a double header with the White Sox today, making them nine and a half games out of first, and possibly putting the nails into the coffin on Boston’s season.

Meanwhile the Yanks extend their lead over the Rays as well, pushing them two games out of first currently, but they still play tonight at Baltimore.

Even more good news for the Bronx Bombers today, as Andy Pettitte threw 50 pitches in a simulated game without aggravating his groin injury. Alex Rodriguez took part in that simulated game and collected two hits, and didn’t experience any setbacks either, he will likely be activated tomorrow.

On a lighter note, Reggie Jackson served as the umpire for the simulated game, wonder how small that strike zone was?

So with reinforcements on the way, and the Yankees performing so well, they have to be considered not only the hottest team in the Majors, but the best team in baseball as the playoffs draw closer with each passing day.

Andy Pettitte threw a simulated game, three innings, this morning and came through feeling great. One of the three batters he faced was Alex Rodriguez, who said he also felt great and could play tomorrow afternoon.

Up next for Pettitte is likely to be a bullpen on Monday and a minor league rehab start on Wednesday. He’s expected to throw 65 pitches in the minor league start. It’s possible he could make two starts, but it is more likely he’ll just make the one and be limited to 75 pitches in his first start back in the majors. That would set Pettitte up to start Monday, September 13 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

A-Rod was good in the batter’s box today, but still isn’t running at 100 percent. He’s probably going to be in the lineup anyway tomorrow, but it will probably be another week or two before he’s completely healthy. Despite the fact that Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez have done well, it’s still a big deal to get him back.

Nick Swisher was actually written into the lineup for this afternoon’s game, but he still isn’t running at 100 percent because of the knee injury he sustained a couple weeks back. He’s day-to-day and available to pinch hit today.

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 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.

Early in the season the Yankees were carried by their strong rotation and were constantly hurt by their poor bullpen. Lately it has been the exact opposite though.

At one point CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and Phil Hughes were among the league leaders in wins. Even A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez had stretches where they were among the best pitchers on the team. Lately though only CC has been coming through for the Yankees as Pettitte has landed on the DL, Hughes goes up and down, and AJ and Javy have just been awful.

Looking back at the month of August Sabathia leads the way with a 3.12 ERA and a 5-1 record. Ivan Nova has been hot lately putting up a 2.45 ERA in a pair of starts. Hughes is right down the middle with a 4.33 ERA and a 3-2 record. Dustin Moseley has done an adequite job of filling in, but at 3-2 and 5.28 the Yankees would absolutely love to have Pettitte back.

Vazquez and Burnett? They’ve been about as bad as starters can get. Over the last month Vazquez is 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA and has been removed from the rotation, at least temporarily. Burnett has actually been worse at 0-4 and 7.80. The only thing saving him is his potential.

Overall the Yankees rotation is good for a 12-11 record and a 5.12 ERA, good for last in the AL. The rotation is in stark contrast to the bullpen which has been the best in the AL with a 2.06 ERA.

How has the bullpen done it? They’ve gotten contributions from everyone including Sergio Mitre, 2.93 ERA, and Chad Gaudin, 3.60 ERA.

The biggest single factor probably has been the addition of Kerry Wood. Wood has pitched in 11 games and has allowed only a single run, good for a 0.71 ERA. It isn’t just the fact that he pitches well on the mound though, he takes a lot of pressure off of the other relievers and allows manager Joe Girardi to lean on them less often.

Just look at David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain since Wood joined the team. Robertson has been amazing, although his last couple of outings have raised his ERA from spectacular to just good, 2.70. Joba Chamberlain has probably been the most effected though, putting up a 2.25 ERA over the last month.

Not to be overlooked is Boone Logan. Logan has been simply outstanding since his latest call-up and over the last month has pitched in more games than anybody in the pen and has managed a 0.00 ERA. You read that right, Logan has been putting up zeros for a straight month.

It’s a good thing the bullpen has managed to turn things around and with the way the rotation has been going it is just in the nick of time. The pitches staff’s overall ERA is 4.09, good for 8th in the AL. If the pen hadn’t managed to pull that ERA down one could only imagine that the Yankees wouldn’t be in first place right now.

Pettitte is due back in about two weeks. At that time things might turn around for the rotation, especially if Nova can continue to pitch well and remain in the rotation. Then in two weeks Moseley’s numbers can be replaced by Andy’s and Burnett would be moved to the 5th spot in the rotation. At that point his clunkers wouldn’t hurt the team as much as they are now as the de facto no. 3.

Via Chad Jennings of the Journal News:

Andy Pettitte sounded much more encouraged today than he did on Friday. He threw 35 pitches in the bullpen, and despite a plan to throw with the same intensity as last time, Pettitte said the last 20 pitches or so were like a normal bullpen session.

“I heated it up pretty good,” he said. “I just felt good.”

Pettitte guessed that two weeks is the soonest he could possibly be ready, but he was encouraged by how strong his arm felt. He graded it a nine out of 10.

“My arm bounced back big time,” he said.

That’s great news from Pettitte. Any further setbacks would have hurt him and the Yankees because the minor league season is coming to a close and it would be hard to find a place for Pettitte to pitch to get ready to face major leaguers.

They are saying that two weeks is the earliest that Andy will come back. That would mean a September 12th return against the Rangers in Texas, but I think a more realistic estimation would be later in the week. The Yankees are playing the Orioles starting September 17th. If Pettitte is limited to about 75-80 pitches in his first game back it would be much more wise to do that against the Orioles later on than to rush him back against a possible playoff opponent if he can’t go deep into a game. That would be a good warm up for him before he would have to face both the Rays and the Red Sox in the final weeks of the season.

Those are big starts for the Yankees and they’re going to need Pettitte out there because as good as Dustin Moseley has been (I know he hasn’t been amazing, but he’s done the job), you do not want him starting those big games against the division rivals in the final weeks of the season.

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.