Andy Pettitte

The Yankees' starting rotation has been one of their strengths, but lately we’ve seen AJ Burnett leave a game early because of a self inflicted wound and Andy Pettitte limping off the mound. Now, there are real questions to be answered.

Here are some notes:

The July 31st trade deadline is right around the corner and it looks to be a very active couple of days. Teams like the Padres, Rangers, Reds, and White Sox are all contending—but need that extra piece of the puzzle to put them over the top.

The Yankees recent injury woes leave them searching for a top flight starter. After missing out on Cliff Lee they are targeting the next best thing in Houston's Roy Oswalt. But the Yanks are only one of the many suitors going after Oswalt.

Corey Hart, Ty Wiggington and Ted Lilly have been discussed by seemingly one-third of baseball.

New York Yankees starting pitcher AJ Burnett took the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday afternoon.

Burnett was pulled in the third inning, marking his shortest outing in pinstripes. This time Burnett's frustrations got the better of him, which certainly did not go well over with his teammates.

In the first inning Burnett gave up a double to Carlos Pena that scored Evan Longoria. In the top of the second inning, the Rays' Reid Brignac hit a two-run homer that put the Rays ahead of the Yankees 3-2.

The Yankees' bullpen looked good today in relief of Andy Pettitte, who lest after two-thirds innings pitched due to a Grade 1 groin strain, which will keep him out a projected 4-5 weeks.

This puts the Yankees in a very precarious position for several reasons.

The bullpen has now pitched over 13 innings in the past two games, because of A.J. Burnett's injury from his clubhouse rampage yesterday and Pettitte's groin injury today.

Yankees ace Andy Pettitte left today’s game in the third inning with a Grade One left groin strain, and it has already been announced that he is expected to miss four or five weeks.  Coupled with A.J. Burnett’s recent two-handed assault on a locker room door that left Burnett bloodied and his ego bruised, the Yankees will likely conclude they have to find another starter to make up for their recent failure to land top-prize Cliff Lee.

Allow me to introduce you to two mystery pitchers, Player A and Player B.

In their last eight starts, dating back to the beginning of June, both pitchers have been very good. Player A has been all but impossible to beat, having completed almost every game he's started, and going fewer than eight innings only once, when he went seven. He almost never walks anyone, generally keeps the ball in the yard, strikes batters out...everything you could want in a pitcher.

To kick-off the second-half of the baseball season the New York Yankees will play host to the Tampa Bay Rays

It is the number one team vs. the number two team of not only the AL East, but all of the MLB.

Entering the All-Star break the Yankees lead the Rays by two games, but this series will be watched because it will set a tone for the two teams. It's a great reality check for the Rays to show their stuff, as this battle might go down to the wire.

Pitching will dictate the series, so let's break down the two AL East Rival weekend matchups:

The Yanks enter the 2010 All-Star break with the best record in baseball and are on pace for 103 victories. But the big news in Yankeeland this past week was the non-trade for Cliff Lee. Since that deal fell through, ESPN Insider is reporting that a Yanks deal for Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly “has legs.” What I don’t understand is the Yanks’ sudden obsession with starting pitching. Yes, yes, there are those old pitching adages:

Pitching wins championships.
You can never have enough pitching.

With the weekend series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers coming to a close last night, the MLB and its fans are finally ready to move on with the post-Joe Torre Yankees.

While Torre may not be as loved and cherished by New Yorkers as he was once was, there is no denying that he brought the Yankees from a mediocre team to becoming the premiere franchise in all of professional sports.

This is what his starters would look like, if Torre selected individuals from his tenure with the Yankees and put them together on one team.

As a fan of the New York Yankees, an American League East team, it is easy to forget about the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The last time the two faced each other was back in 2007, at the old Yankee Stadium.

Looking at the bigger picture, the D-backs pose no real threat to the Yankees, whose hopes are to repeat as World Series Champions.