The Growing DL

It's only about a month or so away from summer -- when the season really starts to heat up. So far, the Yankees have been doing well with a 22-12 record, 2 games behind the first place Rays and the best team in baseball. However, this record indicates how well the Yankees are doing with a sudden bunch of injuries hitting the team. Chan Ho Park has been out for weeks, and may return Sunday. Curtis Granderson went down with a groin injury and will be out for at least a month -- he has not done any activity yet, so we will see if he will be returning the first week or so of June. Jorge Posada was out for a few games with a calf injury. Thankfully, Cervelli has been a GREAT back-up catcher - he's definitely one of my favorite Yankees now that Matsui is an Angel. He has great energy and emotion. He's great defensively and has gotten a lot of key hits! Mariano Rivera hadn't pitched since April 30 until he came into last night's game that originally was going to be a save until the Yankees scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th inning. (I have no problem with Mo getting some extra rest and we haven't needed him that much). Nick Swisher was out of today's game with sore biceps. ARod had -- I think a leg injury? Andy Pettite's last start was skipped because of inflammation around the elbow, but should return on Saturday to pitch. Alfredo Aceves is on the DL with a back issue. Nick Johnson is on the DL with an arm issue. Cano missed a game after being hit by Josh Beckett. We've had Winn/Thames platooning in left field since Curtis Granderson has been out. Winn is at least a veteran with some speed, but he isn't the greatest offensively. Thames is very good at left-handed pitching, but not the greatest defensively. Golson, Nova, Sanchez, Miranda, & Russo have all been called up to fill missing spots in the bullpen and lineup. So yep, the injury bug has hit the Yankees hard and they should be fortunate to have such a good record.

Hughes has been great for the Yankees and looks like an ace ... in the 5th spot in the rotation! Vazquez appeared to get over his pitching woes last time out -- going 7 innings while only giving up 2 runs. Pettite has been doing great until his injury. The offense, however, has struggled the last few games. They need to snap out of this rut as they go on to face a tough schedule. They play the Twins (22-12) at home tomorrow, the Red Sox (18-17) a 2-game series, then the Rays (24-10) a 2-game series. Then they go on the road to face the Mets (18-16) and the Twins again. They end the month at home with a 4-game series against Cleveland (13-19).

The upcoming homestand and roadtrip will show how much character this Yankees team has, especially without Park, Johnson, Granderson, and Aceves and the addition of a mixture of Triple-A callups and bench players. Let's hope for the best! Go Yanks!