Entering this season, the Yankees had seven viable arms for only five rotation spots. After Michael Pineda’s injury, Freddy Garcia’s demotion, and the erratic pitching of Phil Hughes and Hiroki Kuroda, the Yankees have some serious questions. Outside of CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova, the Yankees don’t have any reliable options. Andy Pettitte is a week or so away from joining the rotation, but through 21 games, the Yankees’ pre-season strength has now become a concern. Entering Monday, the Yankees are 12-9 and current sit 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the East. Granted, the Orioles seem to start strong every season, but Yanks need some quality starts this week. David Phelps is set to join the rotation and will make his first start on Thursday.  

With 141 games to go, the Yankees will find a happy medium with their rotation and the Yankee offense will help offset any poor starts. The Yankees are currently third in baseball with 112 runs scored and the offense will continue to be this team’s strength. We all know that championship aspirations live and die in the post-season and those post-season runs start and end with starting pitching. The Yankee rotation will take form as the season goes, but so far, this team’s strength is now an apparent weakness. 

Time is money. And Brian Cashman has all the time in the world to make the right move. Prior to trading for Michael Pineda, Cashman had the opportunity to sign CJ Wilson, bid for Yu Darvish, or trade for Ubaldo Jimenez, Gio Gonzlaez, or even Mat Latos. However, Cashman clearly didn’t like the associated cost. For some of these names, one could argue that the talent may be comparable, but in terms of player cost, there’s no comparison. More after the jump..

AP Photo

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It only took 28 hours to complete, but the Yankees blew the Tigers out, 9-3 in Game 1 of the ALDS. After the rain chased CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander last night, Ivan Nova and Doug Fister took the ball. The two righties battled before Robinson Cano got to Fister in the fifth with an RBI double. Cano would follow up with a grand slammer an inning later, giving the Bombers a 8-1 lead. Nova proved he could handle the big stage as the Yanks take a 1-0 lead in this best of five series.

See Ya---AP Photo

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In a day/night doubleheader against the heavily slumping Red Sox, the Yankees won 6-2 in game one and lost 7-4 in 14 innings in game two. With the Tampa Bay Ray win, they now hold a one game lead in the American League wild card standings as each team has three games left to play.

Jorge Gives Thanks - Nick Laham, Getty Images

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Ivan Nova continues to prove why he’ll take the ball in Game 2 of the ALDS. Tonight, Nova threw eight shutout innings against a desperate Tampa Bay who is clawing to get into the post-season propelling the Yanks to a 5-0 win. Nova scattered six hits en-route to nailing down his 16th win of the season. His season kind of reminds me of Phil Hughes last year, right? Curtis Granderson struck the big blow in the second inning with a three run double. He now has 119 RBIs on the season, tops in the AL. 

A Helluva Start

The Red Sox lost tonight (Yay) so the Yankees magic number falls to three. The Yankees magic number to clinch home field advantage is five, so expect a lot of clinching to happen this weekend against the Red Sox. It may even happen tomorrow night!

What’s Next?: How about two games tomorrow?! The Yankees will play Game 1 at 1:05 and Game 2 at 7:05. Time for Big C to get that elusive 20th win!

Game 1: James Shields (15-11, 2.78 ERA) vs. Phil Hughes (5-5, 6.60 ERA)

Game 2: Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.91 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.01 ERA)

The Seattle Mariners defeated the New York Yankees early this morning 2-1 in the 12^th inning. With the late loss, we unfortunately missed the opportunity to see Mariano Rivera tie Trevor Hoffman’s save record at 601. Still, the Red Sox and Rays lost, so the Yankees lose no ground in the standings.

Gold Glove? - AP

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The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays tonight by a final score of 3-2. Ivan Nova picked up his tenth win of the season, and the Yankees take first place back from the Red Sox, who got smoked 10-0 tonight. The A-Rod and Teix-less Yankees still managed some power from a very unlikely source.

The Bomb - AP

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The New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins tonight by a final score of 3-0. Ivan Nova dominated the Twins and picked up his ninth win in ten attempts. Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira picked up home runs as the Yankees picked up another W and are now 77-48 on the season.

Word. - Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

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The New York Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals by a score of 9-7 this evening. Ivan Nova got the win after the bullpen got the final eleven Royals out, and Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Russell Martin all picked up multiple RBIs. With the win, the Yankees move to 74-46 on the season and are a half game up on the Red Sox in the division

Not sure what's going on here / AP, Charlie Riedel

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