More Bad news for The Bombers

Baseball's arduous schedule can certainly take a toll on even the most physically conditioned players.  By the All-Star break you start to get a good idea of what teams are the ones to watch for in the second half of the season and which ones have playoff potential.  In the past 3 seasons there have been at least 2 division leaders that either lost first place by October or completely missed the playoffs.  In a season riddled with injuries and with the All-Star break rapidly approaching, you have to wonder what consequences the last two injuries will cause for the Yankees.

Andy Pettitte took a one-hopper off of Casey Kotchman's bat in the fifth inning of yesterday's game that will effectively take him out of the rotation for at least four weeks.  The Yankees also announced that club ace Sabathia will be placed on the 15-day DL after suffering a left groin strain during his pitching outing Sunday at Mets Citi Field.

These are the types of injuries that can do some serious damage to a team.  Pettitte rejoined the Yanks on May 13th, 2012 and his impact on the rotation has been a welcomed addition.  Pettitte has started 9 games this season and currently holds a 3-3 record; however, the 3 no-decisions for Pettitte have resulted in New York victories.  He has also posted the lowest ERA (3.22) and WHIP (1.09) among the starting rotation, amassing a commendable 59 strikeouts during his stint.

Now comes decision time for Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman.  The likely candidate on his way to Yankee Stadium is Triple-A RHP Adam Warren.  Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Warren pitched a complete game shutout on June 3rd against the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore affiliate) string out 6 during his outing.  He is set to make his first major league start on Friday against the White Sox.

The July schedule for the Yankees will bring a tremendous test with the recent injuries to the team.  They will face off this weekend against AL Central leading Chicago White Sox and will have 15 games in July against division rivals that will certainly challenge the current 5 game lead.

"We've just got to weather the storm," Pettitte said. "Nobody's going to feel sorry for you with injuries and stuff like that. We've got a lot of good stuff going on here. We've got plenty of guys who can step in and do the job, so it's time to put my pom-poms on and be a cheerleader now for six weeks or so."