In order from keeping his innings total from sky rocketing past the 112.1 innings he threw last year Joba Chamberlain started this season out of the bullpen before switching to the rotation.

The idea was to keep him around 140 and 150 innings this year so the strain on his arm was bearable, but that didn’t happen. Instead because of an injury and a return to the pen he will likely finish the season somewhere around 100 innings.

So now Joba and the Yankees are in the exact same position they were in last season where his innings in 2009 are going to need to be capped at around 150.

“He had an innings limit this year he didn’t meet,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “Will he exceed that innings limit next year? You wouldn’t want to do that. You’ve still got to protect the player.”

The plan was pulled off this season and possibly could be again next year, …

After dropping two of the past three games to the Red Sox the Yankees find themselves six games out in the Wild Card standings and their playoff hopes may have been dashed.

With just 29 games left to play the Yankees are dangerously close to being eliminated from playoff contention. Barring a comeback for the ages they have been essentially eliminated from October baseball.

Take a look at the numbers, if the Red Sox go 14-15 they would finish with a 91-71 record. For the Yankees to even tie that they would have to finish this season 20-9. Which could be near impossible with the rotation they have and Joba Chamberlain joining the bullpen when he returns.

The Red Sox aren’t the only team they have to be worried about as well. There are also the Minnesota Twins who would be a little easier to catch as they are only two games behind the Sox, but when you are counting on two …

The Yankees sent hard luck relief pitcher David Robertson back to the minors today and in his place they recalled Alfredo Aceves.

Aceves is a new name to most Yankee fans, but it is one they should get used to hearing. He is a 25-year-old who is playing in his first professional season in America after playing for the past six years professionally in Mexico.
He features a plus fastball which comes in anywhere from 90 MPH to 94 MPH and is said to occasionally touch 95. He has a cutter which he uses occasionally that comes in around 89 MPH and he also throws a curve ball and a change.

After being signed as a free agent Aceves started this season with the single-A Tampa Yankees. He was very impressive there in 47 innings over eight starts going 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA while only allowing 32 hits and eight walks.

He was then promoted to the Trenton Yankees and was …

Next time you’re at Yankee Stadium and fill up on $8.50 beers make sure you don’t need to use the bathroom during “God Bless America” or you will be forced to leave.
Just ask Bradford Campeau-Laurion, who was forcibly removed from Yankee Stadium when he ignored police orders to stop moving during the song. As he instead proceeded down the tunnel to the bathroom he was detained and ejected from the grounds.
“The officer informed me that I had to wait until the song was over,” Campeau-Laurion, a 29-year-old Queens native told the Daily News. “I said, ‘I don’t care about ‘God Bless America.’ Next thing I know he was pinning my arm behind my back.”
The police responded that Campeau-Laurion was removed because he was, “standing on his seat cursing, using inappropriate language and acting in a disrespectful manner while reeking of alcohol.”
Regardless of who was right and who was wrong this does bring up a very questionable rule at Yankee Stadium. …

I like Alex Rodriguez. I really do. I think that he’s the best and most exciting player in baseball today. I also feel bad for those Yankee fans who truly dislike him because they are missing out on one of the best ball players in the history of the game.
But then there are nights like last night where it is almost impossible to defend him.
In the biggest game of the season, a must-win to get into the playoffs, A-Rod came up short. He came up so short that you could debate whether or not he actually showed up at all.
Going into last night’s game the Yankees had 32 games left to play and were five games out of control of the Wild Card. Coming back would be nearly impossible, but they had six head-to-head games remaining against the Red Sox. If they could win all six they could easily take the Wild Card. If not, it would still be a monumental task …

After a few weeks of speculation and one minor scare, Carl Pavano might actually start a game for the Yankees this Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, unless he finds an excuse to skip yet another start.

The Newark Star-Ledger broke the news today after Pavano’s agent Tom O’Connell confirmed that the Yankees have spoken with their favorite cripple about starting this weekend.

“He worked extremely hard to put himself in this position, to get back and help the this club,” O’Connell said. “And he’s really excited about the opportunity and he’s up to the challenge.”

It is true, Pavano has seemingly worked hard during his latest comeback attempt, but it is probably the first time in four years he has worked hard at anything. He has come back quickly from Tommy John surgery and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. After all it is a contract season for Pavano and there isn’t a huge market for 30-somethings that haven’t pitched in four …

Earlier this week Hot Stove New York was excited to feature an exclusive Q&A with Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner. Today, HSNY’s Rob Abruzzese catches up with Yanks forgotten man Shelley Duncan, who struggled with injury and inconsistent playing time this season and now is working hard at getting back to baseball.
Last year’s Yankees were much like this year’s model. A team with a questionable pitching staff which was expected to be carried by its offense, but both teams struggled to score runs out of the gate.
The difference between the two teams is that last year’s version broke out and had a huge second half. One small role player who had a great contribution was Shelley Duncan. In just 74 at bats Duncan hit seven homers with 17 RBI’s with a .883 OPS.
This season it looked like he would take an even bigger role possibly as part of a platoon with Jason …

For the past three seasons Melky Cabrera has been the up and coming Yankee center fielder. The team believed in him so much they called him up on the anniversary of the day that Bernie Williams was first called to the Bronx.
But a season full of disappointments has found Melky in Scranton and in his place is the speedy 24-year-old Brett Gardner. In his first cup of coffee in the Bronx Gardner underwhelmed everyone with his .143 batting average and .373 OPS through his first 16 games.
Now in his second stint with the team he has already gotten off to a hot start by going 5-for-14 and he even picked up a game winning hit.
Hot Stove NY sat down with Gardner this week and discussed what it was like to struggle during his first shot with the Yanks and what he expects through the rest of the way. Enjoy.
Hot Stove: What was your first major …

While the Yankees aren’t technically eliminated from the playoffs yet, they are going to need more starting pitching in order to hang on.

As the rotation stands right now they’ve got Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Sidney Ponson, Darrell Rasner, and one yet to be named. The fifth starter won’t be needed until Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.
The two likeliest candidates are Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes. Both pitchers are still rehabbing, Hughes with triple-A Scranton and Pavano with double-A Trenton.
In their starts last week Hughes showed some real progress and Pavano showed the rust you would expect a pitcher to have coming off of Tommy John surgery. This week it is the opposite.
Last we heard of Hughes he had pitched a great game, but had shown signs of stamina issues late in the game. Well there may be an issue there as he didn’t manage to make it out of the fourth inning this time around. He did manage to throw 91 pitches (63 …

From being protected from a blockbuster trade to being demoted in the middle of August Melky Cabrera has taken quite a step back this season.
The Yankees demoted the struggling 24-year-old center fielder today and in his place called up Brett Gardner who will likely take his place as a starter.
Cabrera made Yankee general manager Brian Cashman look smart early this season when he hit .299 and a .864 OPS this April. It’s all been down hill since then for the Melk-man. In May Melky hit .234, in June he hit .206. Since the all-star break things haven’t gotten better either. He’s been batting .244 with a .566 OPS.
His power numbers have disappeared since an April surge. In April he hit five homers and since has only three. He has also only picked up one triple this season after picking up 10 over the past two years.
This move is a long time in coming really. Gardner didn’t exactly light up the Bronx …

The Yankees are a team with three outfielders who are paid about $15 million each and yet they still feature a starting rotation filled with scrubs like Darrell Rasner, Sidney Ponson, and Dan Giese.

That rotation will have to change if the Yankees have any real shot at catching the Boston Red Sox for the AL Wild Card this season. By the way they are five and a half back.

That rotation will change when Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano come off the DL. The problem the Yankees have now are a couple of huge question marks, will either return in time to make a difference? And will they be effective once they actually do return?

Last night Hughes pitched in triple-A Scranton and shed light on those questions with an impressive performance, but Pavano’s sub-par performance makes you think he may never pitch in the Pinstripes again.

Hughes’ start for Scranton was exactly what he needed, he started last night …

Coming into this season the Yankees expected a lot out of Ian Kennedy and now after his early season let downs and DL stint they are asking for a lot again.
That’s because he’s taking the place of Joba Chamberlain and hoping to shore up a weak starting rotation. In fact if Kennedy can pitch half way decently down the stretch this season their playoff chances will look a lot better.
Kennedy was doing nearly the same thing at this time last year when he took the place of the then struggling Mike Mussina. At that point he filled in very nicely in three starts posting a 1-0 record with a 1.89 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and a .191 batting average against.
He was so impressive in fact that the Yankees resisted trading him for Johan Santana during the off-season. A move which ultimately cost the Bombers the services of the veteran lefty.
This season has been a different story. Kennedy struggled with his command …