Even seats behind the outfield fence will be costly at the new Yankee Stadium.

The front part of the area behind the outfield in right and left will cost $100 and $75 per game next year as part of season-ticket plans at the $1.3 billion ballpark.

But behind those four sections of seats, and to the rear of the bullpens closer to center field, are nine sections of bleachers priced at $12, the same as the cost this season in the final year of the 85-year-old ballpark.

The Yankees put season ticket prices on their Web site Friday along with a seat locator that shows views from each location. They also mailed relocation brochures to season-ticket holders.

Prices for the best seats were announced in March, with the Yankees charging $500-$2,500 for tickets near home plate in the first nine rows, contained in 25 sections ringing home plate. In all, the Yankees have sold more than 3,500 of approximately 4,300 premium seats on the field, main and terrace levels, chief operating officer Lonn Trost said Friday.

“Other than those 4,300 seats, which are going to subsidize everybody else, the prices are not” being raised significantly, Trost said. “And remember, 24,000-plus seats will have no price increase at all.”

The Yankees said Friday the remainder of the field-seats level seats cost from $75-$325 as part of season tickets, while main-level seats go for $45-$100. The highest deck is split into two areas, with terrace seats going for $40-$65 and grandstand selling for $20 and $25.

In a sign most of the best seats will be sold as season tickets, only the least expensive category of field seats and the two least expensive levels of main seats are being made available for partial plans. The Yankees are charging $5-$10 more per seat for partial plans than they are for season tickets. Individuals game prices haven’t been set.

Invoices for season tickets will be sent out starting in mid-September, and fans who decline their seats, wishing to upgrade, downgrade or switch their plan, can go in a pool for others seats. A 10 percent payment is due about two weeks after receiving an invoice.

If today's bullpen session goes without a hitch Joba Chamberlain will take the next step in his rehabilitation process.

Nevertheless, pinning the Yankees down on what that will be isn't easy.

"We are taking it a day at a time and see how he feels," manager Joe Girardi said of the right-hander Chamberlain, who will throw his third bullpen session and is expected to make 35 to 45 pitches and throw breaking balls and fastballs. "He could do a simulated game Double-A (Trenton) and Triple-A (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) are in the playoffs so there is time."

Chamberlain has been on the DL since leaving an Aug. 4 game in Texas with what was diagnosed as rotator cuff tendinitis.

GM Brian Cashman didn't say if the Yankees' place in the standings would dictate if Chamberlain is activated. The Yankees lost 7-3 to the Red Sox last night at the Stadium, falling six games behind Boston in the wild-card race.

"We are going to do what is best for him," Cashman said.

Joba Chamberlain will throw a 35-pitch bullpen today at Yankee Stadium with pitching coach Dave Eiland watching. Chamberlain will throw sliders and curve balls for the first time since leaving a game on Aug. 4 with right rotator cuff tendinitis. Chamberlain threw in the bullpen Saturday but was limited to fastballs and change-ups.

He is looking to an early September return but it hasn't been decided if Chamberlain will come back as a starter or reliever or on what date.

It would be nice if the New York Yankees had a couple of young position players like the Mets' David Murphy and Nick Evans coming in the system, but they do not according to New York Daily News baseball columnist Bill Madden. They do not have a first baseman to replace Jason Giambi, or an impact center fielder, or a shortstop to spell (and eventually replace) Derek Jeter, or a second baseman who could enable them to deal the enigmatic Cano while he still has value.

The reason they don't have any of these players in their system is because they continue to do a terrible job of scouting and developing. They spend millions more in Latin America than almost every other team and yet the only position players from there to make the big club over the last 10 years are Alfonso Soriano, Cano and Melky Cabrera. The draft? An even bigger disgrace. Jeter, in 1992, is the last player they drafted who became a regular.

And the beat goes on. In this year's draft, the Yankees took pitchers with their first three picks: No. 1, Gerrit Cole, whom they did not sign because their scouts obviously didn't get to know the kid's makeup or his family situation; No. 2, Jeremy Bleich, who's going to need Tommy John surgery; and No. 3, Scott Bittle, whose arm problems were so severe they elected to pass on signing him.

After a while, you have to wonder what fatal attraction Cashman's player evaluators have with injured pitchers. Last year, they took North Carolina State righthander Andrew Brackman in the first round, knowing he was going to miss all of this season with Tommy John surgery. And, then, of course, there's the immortal Humberto Sanchez, purportedly the key return player in the Gary Sheffield deal with Detroit, who also underwent Tommy John surgery and is still rehabbing somewhere.

Cashman keeps stockpiling pitchers who come up hurt or fall on their face when they get to the big leagues. Enough! He is banking on the offense coming back next year, even though everyone will be a year older and there is nobody to step in when the inevitable injuries come. Off the way this season has gone, with young, homegrown teams such as the Rays and Twins giving their owners so much more bang for their buck, the Yankees returning to power would be an even bigger surprise.

From SI:

The Yankees

Owner George Steinbrenner returned from his three-year suspension for handing gambler Howie Spira $40,000 to dig up unflattering information about Yankees slugger Dave Winfield. The Yankees' GM was Gene Michael, their manager Buck Showalter. The starting shortstop was the mighty Spike Owen, the starting rotation included Jimmy Key, Jim Abbott, Melido Perez and Scott Kamieniecki, and the closer was the immortal Steve Farr (25 saves!). Future postseason heroes Key, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Wade Boggs and Jim Leyritz were on the roster as the Yanks chased the Jays instead of the Rays.

Winners in every month but the last, the Yankees' high point was Abbott's no-hitter against Cleveland on September 4 as they closed in on a first-place tie with Toronto that was achieved next day. Then the bottom fell out. The injury-plagued Yanks were swept in Texas and lost four of six during a Sept. 16-22 homestand while Toronto was reeling off nine wins in a row. The Jays stuck the knife in by taking two of three in Toronto on Sept. 24-26. But if there had been wild cards, the Yankees would have won one. They finished with the third-best record in the league.
The A.L. East

(in order of finish)

Toronto (95-67), Yankees (88-74, 7 GB), Baltimore (85-77, 10 GB), Detroit (85-77), Boston (80-82, 15 GB), Cleveland (76-86, 19 GB), Milwaukee (69-93, 26 GB)
Playoff field

Blue Jays, White Sox, Phillies, Braves
World Series

The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies in six games, on Joe Carter's walk-off home run served up fat and juicy by Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, to win the Series for the second year in a row -- the first team to repeat since the '77 and '78 Yankees.
Awards

MVP (Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas), Cy Young (Greg Maddux, Jack McDowell), Rookies of the Year (Mike Piazza, Tim Salmon)
Notable diamond feats

Carlos Baerga became first switch-hitter ever to homer from both sides of the plate in the same inning as the Indians bombed the Yanks, 15-5 on April 8; Carlton Fisk of the White Sox played his 2,226th and final Major League game; Three teammates (Toronto's John Olerud at .363, Paul Molitor .332 and Roberto Alomar .326) finished atop the race for the A.L. batting title for the first time in 100 years.
Highest-paid player

Ryne Sandberg, Cubs, $5.975 million

(Now: Alex Rodriguez: Yankees, $27 million)
Highest-paid Yankee

Danny Tartabull, $5.05 million
Elsewhere in sports

The Montreal Canadiens (the Yankees of hockey) won their 24th Stanley Cup (and last to date) by defeating Wayne Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings in five games. Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls snuffed the Phoenix Suns in the finals for their third straight NBA title. The Buffalo Bills lost their third straight Super Bowl, a 52-17 squeaker to the Dallas Cowboys. Miguel Indurain peddled his rear end to victory in the Tour de France for the third time en route to five straight wins. Monica Seles was stabbed by a demented fan of Steffi Graf at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.
Major sports scandal

Reds owner Marge Schott was fined $25,000 and suspended nine months in the wake of complaints that her wardrobe drawer included a Nazi armband and that she had uttered ethnic and racial slurs about her own players.
Celebrity scandal of the year

Michael Jackson was accused of playing slap-and-tickle with a 13-year old boy. The white-gloved superstar later issued a four-minute denial on network TV and consented to a rare, and widely-watched, interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Soundtrack

All That She Wants (Ace of Base), Whoomp! (There It Is) (Tag Team), In Utero (Nirvana), Doggystyle (Snoop Dogg), Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang (Dr. Dre), Zooropa (U2), I'd Do Anything For Love, But I Won't Do That (Meatloaf), Crying Game (Boy George), Pork Soda (Primus), Runaway Train (Soul Asylum)
Top movies and TV shows

Unforgiven won the Oscar as Best Picture, Schindler's List, Philadelphia, and Six Degrees of Separation lured many burghers to the box office while those who stayed home were glued to Home Improvement, Seinfeld, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire and Coach.
Other cultural milestones

Steely Dan re-forms; U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis stamp; Lorena Bobbitt cuts off her husband's best friend; The Artistry of Michael Bolton is released; Body and Soul proves to be Rick Astley's last offering until 2001
Notable passings

Frank Zappa, Andre The Giant, Arthur Ashe, Patricia Nixon, Conway Twitty, Cesar Chavez, George "Spanky" McFarland of the Little Rascals, Fred "Herman Munster" Gwynne, River Phoenix, Vincent Price, Herve "Tattoo" Villechaize, Thurgood Marshall, James Jordan (father of Michael), Audrey Hepburn, Dizzy Gillespie, Arlington Stadium
Notable arrivals

Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, pentium chips, World Wide Web, Windows NT 3.1, Frasier, Beavis and Butt-Head, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Walker, Texas Ranger, Daft Punk, Wu Tang Clan, The Hives, Korn, Jimmy Eat World, Modest Mouse, Big Ass Truck
Notable world events

European Union formed; Czechoslovakia dissolved; NAFTA approved, humans cloned; Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flood Midwest; Unabomber continues to send unpleasant surprises through the mail; U.S. blows 40 tomahawk missiles up Saddam Hussein's skirt in dispute over Iraq's nuclear weapons program (Jan. 19); World Trade Center bombed (Feb. 26); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms treats the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, TX rather rudely (April 19); White House counsel Vincent Foster commits suicide (July 20); Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sign peace accord (Sept. 13); Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu (Oct. 3); Church of Scientology granted full tax exempt status (Oct. 8); Omar Bongo (not the drummer for Oingo Boingo) re-elected as President of Gabon (Dec. 18).
Big threats

Tuberculosis, Hantavirus
National debt

$347 billion

Now: $9.6 trillion

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/john_rolfe/08/14/yankees.1993/index.html

General manager Brian Cashman acknowledged the Yankees are considering either Phil Hughes or Carl Pavano to assume the fifth starter's role Saturday in Baltimore. Hughes seemed like the probable choice as Pavano's 30-day rehab run is up Aug. 27, one week from tomorrow. But Cashman has been impressed with Pavano's rehab progress from Tommy John surgery.

Pavano threw six innings Sunday for Double-A Trenton and Cashman said: "He's close to being ready."

Hideki Matsui could be joining the team as early as tomorrow in Toronto. Then on Saturday, either Carl Pavano, whose last sighting roughly corresponded with Amelia Earhart, or Phil Hughes could be pitching against the Orioles because Joba Chamberlain and Dan Giese both are on the DL.

Both Pavano and Hughes made minor league rehab appearances last night.

Matsui, placed on the disabled list June 27 with left knee inflammation, played a doubleheader Friday (1-for-5, HR, BB) and then a night game Saturday (1-for-3, BB) with Single-A Tampa before undergoing a simulated game yesterday in Florida with 15 at bats (11 against righties, 4 against lefties).

Hoping to tweak their roster for a final push for the postseason, the Yankees made significant alterations on Friday, demoting outfielder Melky Cabrera and cutting ties with veteran Richie Sexson.

The move installs rookie Brett Gardner, promoted from Triple-A, as the Yankees' primary starting center fielder during a crucial stretch in which they will play 28 of their final 41 games against clubs with winning records. New York also added utilityman Cody Ransom to provide versatility off the bench in Sexson's place.

Cabrera took the move with some surprise, embracing teammates in the clubhouse before packing his belongings. The 23-year-old was New York's Opening Day center fielder, but manager Joe Girardi did not start Cabrera four times over the team's recently completed 10-game road trip to Texas, Anaheim and Minnesota.

"That's their decision, and I'm going to do whatever they say, go down there and work hard and try to come back," Cabrera said through an interpreter. "I started good, but my average went down, and I've just got to go to Triple-A."

More rips from Bill Madden of the New York Daily News:

The manager, Joe Girardi, must also come in for a goodly share of blame. Long after his April12 "Clueless Joe" game in Boston (in which he allowed Mike Mussina to pitch to Manny Ramirez with two on, two out and first base open in the sixth inning) had been forgotten, Girardi also had a horrible road trip to Anaheim, Texas and Minny.

In the first game of the trip against the Rangers, he brought back Damaso Marte in the ninth for a second inning of work and allowed him to stay in the game after walking the bases loaded, the result being Marlon Byrd's game-winning grand slam. You can give Girardi a pass for lifting Dan Giese after 83 pitches of one-run ball in the second game in Anaheim, as Giese had not thrown that many pitches all year. In the Sunday finale, however, Girardi again elected to let Marte - who, let's face it, is clearly a situational reliever - start the ninth inning after pitching out of the eighth. Again, Marte pitched the Yankees into a jam from which Mariano Rivera could not rescue them - but one from which he might have escaped, had the inexperienced Betemit, who had pinch-hit for Richie Sexson, not been at first base.

And then, of course, there was Girardi's infamous decision to rest Johnny Damon for the first game in Minneapolis - a game the Yankees desperately needed to win after just being swept in Anaheim - despite the fact that Damon was coming off five straight multihit games and was hitting .406 on the road trip. Afterward, Girardi testily blew off questions by maintaining rookie Justin Christian had good numbers against lefthanded pitching. Right.

In the wake of this "dog days" road trip, there have been accusations that the Yankees themselves are playing like a team that doesn't care anymore. In fact, they may just be playing uptight - a reflection of their tightly wound manager, who is the antithesis of the calming, reassuring Joe Torre they've been used to.

Interesting thoughts from Joel Sherman of the NY Post:

Funny, but Joe Torre was known as a guy who did not handle young players well, and it was part of the stew of reasons that so many upper Yankee management were anxious to get rid of him, and move to Girardi, who was seen as a younger man who was more capable of breaking in players. But let us remember that Torre did a fine job of integrating Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera into full-time roles with the champion 1996 Yankees. Of bringing Jorge Posada along. Of breaking in Cano and Chien-Ming Wang. And of getting the best out of Melky Cabrera. For Girardi, Cabrera has regressed horribly and so has Cano. Much of the high-level young pitching has faltered. For the record, like many of his recent Yankee teams, Torre's Dodgers are suddenly playing their best right now. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the arrival of Manny Ramirez. But don't overlook how important it is that the Torre Dodgers are getting the best out of Matt Kemp, a tool-shed player who before this year had people wondering if he would ever be able to put all of his skills and concentration together to be a winning player.

The Yankees and first-round pick Gerrit Cole, a California high school righty pitcher, have until today to agree to a deal, or Cole won't be allowed to sign with the club that used the 28th pick to take him.

"We are working on it," scouting director Damon Oppenheimer said.

Cole, who has a scholarship from UCLA if he spurns the Yankees, is being advised by agent Scott Boras. However, industry sources say Cole's father, Mark Cole, is running the show and is on the demanding side.

"They ask me for information and I give it to them," Boras said.

The Yankees look more than out of the race...no not the American League East, the Wildcard. This was a team that was supposed to have more discipline under Joe Girardi. Yeah, the manager with one year of experience (he was fired because he didn't play well with management) who replaced the Hall of Fame manager (Joe Torre, remember him? You know, the guy managing the first place Los Angeles Dodgers!) Discipline? Robinson Cano? The Yankees batters? The Yankee batters with runners in scoring position?

Anyway, in years past the Yankees were riding some sort of hot streak this time in August. Not this season. Nice job Hankie! What a way to close the House that Ruth Built!

Manager Joe Girardi didn't play Derek Jeter yesterday, but said he expects to have his shortstop tomorrow night.

"I would be shocked if he didn't play," Girardi said of Jeter, whose sore left foot kept him on the bench yesterday but not bad enough for him to pinch-hit in the ninth if needed in a 4-2 loss to the Twins.

Jeter suffered the injury when he fouled a ball off the instep in the fourth inning of Tuesday night's 9-6 win. Despite a heavy limp Jeter remained in the game until the ninth.

Jeter went 3-for-5 and was placed on a cart to exit the Metrodome. When he reported to work yesterday morning Jeter was limping slightly and spent the entire pregame session receiving treatment.

"I will play, yes," Jeter said of tomorrow night's date with the Royals at Yankee Stadium.

At the $1.3 billion new Yankee Stadium, which seats 52,325, the 1,800 Legends Field Suite seats in 25 sections ringing home plate go for $500 to $2,500, up from $250 to $1,000 for the comparable tickets this year. There also will be 1,200 Main Level Outdoor Suite seats in nine sections behind the plate at $350 to more than $500, and 1,300 Terrace Level Outdoor Suite seats in nine sections behind the plate, which sold out at $100 to $135.

The Yankees have not announced prices for the seats near the outfield but say they will keep the lowest-priced reserved seats in the top deck at $20 and $25 and bleachers at $12. Trost said 25,000 seats will not have an increase and that a complete price list will be released this month.

Trost said the Yankees have lease commitments for 44 of 51 suites priced at $600,000 to $850,000, and are sold out at the $650,000 and $850,000 levels.

The Yankees already had the third-highest average ticket price in the major leagues this season at $41.40, according to the Team Marketing Report, trailing the World Series champion Boston Red Sox ($48.80) and Chicago Cubs ($42.49).

Ian Kennedy is headed back to the minors, but it's his breaking ball and not his attitude that the Yankees instructed the young starter to work on.

Kennedy, who said he was "just not real upset" following his dismal performance against the Angels on Friday night, talked with several teammates about his comments, most notably Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte, who told Kennedy he thinks of him as a little brother, didn't want him to clarify his comments, instead talking to the 23-year-old about "how to say it the right way."

Sunday, Kennedy said he regretted the way his words came out, but he didn't want to let one bad night erase the progress he had felt he made in the minors.

"I could tell by some of your faces that it came out wrong," he told reporters. "I was very disappointed in myself, because obviously I always want to do well. I want to help the team win. I hate losing. I really, really hate losing. I wasn't going to let it ruin what I've done in the recent past."

Kennedy will make his next start for Triple-A Scranton on Wednesday, but his primary focus won't be shutting the other team down. Instead, he'll work on his sinker, curveball and slider, trying to refine the three pitches regardless of the results.

"It's still making quality pitches, but it's working on location, working on his breaking ball when he's behind in the count, not being afraid to throw it over," Joe Girardi said. "Just trying to develop him as a starter."

"Not focus on results, but rather the results of what I'm working on," Kennedy said. "Here, you can't work on it, because we're in a pennant race."

Though nobody in the Yankees organization will guarantee Joba Chamberlain will pitch again this year, the fiery right-hander said he doesn't believe the rotator-cuff tendinitis that landed him on the disabled list this week is season-ending.

In fact, Chamberlain said to look for him in a game before September.

"I'll be throwing in a week. I'll probably throw the beginning of next week," Chamberlain predicted yesterday from the Yankees' Tampa facility. "Everything feels fine now."

As for getting into a game before Sept. 1, Chamberlain said, "I'll throw way before that in a game."

New York Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano allowed one hit and struck out four during a rehabilitation start with Double-A Trenton on Thursday night.

Pavano, trying to come back from elbow ligament replacement surgery, walked two in 3 1-3 scoreless innings. Facing the Akron Aeros, he threw 38 of his 63 pitches for strikes.

Pavano last pitched in the majors in April 2007. He has made only 19 starts since signing a four-year contract worth nearly $40 million with the Yankees in 2005.

The New York Yankees’ playoff hopes took a hit Wednesday, when hard-throwing righthander Joba Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right rotator cuff tendinitis.

A published report claims Chamberlain, who was examined by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Florida, was told to rest for a week before beginning a throwing program.

The Bergen Record of Hackensack, New Jersey also reported Andrews looked at the MRI of Chamberlain’s shoulder, which was taken in New York on Tuesday.

Chamberlain underwent the exam one day after leaving his start against Texas with stiffness in the shoulder. He was pulled after only 4 2/3 innings, complaining of a “grabbing” sensation in his deltoid muscle.

New York Yankees righthander Joba Chamberlain will have his stiff right shoulder examined by famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday.

Chamberlain, who saw Yankees team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon on Tuesday, likely will miss his next scheduled start Saturday, according to New York manager Joe Girardi, who spoke to reporters prior to Tuesday’s game against the Texas Rangers.

“He’ll take his test results with him,” Girardi said of Dr. Hershon’s findings. “Until I hear from Dr. Andrews, that’s all I’ve got.”

The 22-year-old Chamberlain left Monday’s 9-5 loss to the Rangers in the fifth inning after feeling discomfort in the shoulder. He allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out five and walking two in what was his worst start of the season to this point.

Jorge Posada has been around long enough, been around for all the pennant races and all the winning, to know how it works. He had the surgery for the torn labrum and torn capsule in his right shoulder last Wednesday, 45 minutes in the operating room at the Hospital for Special Surgery with Dr. David Altchek, as good as there is. Pudge Rodriguez became a Yankee the same day. Bill Parcells always used to talk about how the assembly line keeps moving in sports, with or without you.

"I wasn't surprised (about Rodriguez)," Posada was saying Monday. "(GM Brian Cashman) was trying to get a catcher as soon as I went down. I think Pudge just kind of fell into his lap."

More from Mike Lupica at NY Daily News here.

Joba Chamberlain assumes he will enter the Carl Pavano Memorial MRI tube today at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Has there been a more frightening sentence in the Yankees Universe this season?

On a night when the game-time temperature was in triple digits, the spines of Yankees fans everywhere went cold at the sight of Chamberlain walking off the mound with trainer Steve Donohue in the fifth inning last night at Rangers Ballpark.

More from the NY Post here.

Darrell Rasner's hold on the fifth spot in the Yankees' starting rotation couldn't be more tenuous.

The right-hander allowed five earned runs over four innings in the Yanks' 14-9 victory over the Angels yesterday, and manager Joe Girardi hardly gave Rasner a ringing endorsement afterward.

"We'll continue to discuss things, and if we make a change, we make a change," Girardi said.

Though Girardi was encouraged by reports he received on Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes, both of whom pitched Saturday for Single-A Charleston, it's unlikely either right-hander would be deemed ready for Rasner's next turn in the rotation, on Friday in Anaheim.

Pavano allowed one run on five hits over three innings and Hughes fired three shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out five. Each pitcher has made two rehab starts for Charleston.

Dan Giese would be a possible option to start in Rasner's place, if a change is deemed necessary. Giese, who has started twice this season for the Yanks, bolstered his case with three innings of shutout relief yesterday.

Rasner received a no-decision and is 5-8 with a 5.23 ERA this season. He has just one victory over the past six weeks.

"I didn't do my job today," Rasner said. "I'm going to work hard this week, and I'm going to get better."

After a torrid stretch, Robinson Cano is cold again at the plate - and maybe for good reason.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi revealed yesterday that Cano has a sore left hand, the result of being jammed by an inside pitch from the Red Sox's Jon Lester last Sunday in Boston.

Cano was absent from the lineup in the Yankees' 8-2 victory over the Angels and will have his hand reevaluated today. Wilson Betemit made his second start of the season at second base in Cano's place.

Cano is batting .344 since the All-Star break, but was in an 0-for-10 rut as yesterday's play began. Cano, whose hand was wrapped after he arrived at the ballpark, was examined by the team's medical staff, but said X-rays were not taken.

"He's been fighting through it," Girardi said. "We just felt that the day off and reevaluate him [today], it might be helpful. He was swinging the bat so great, and I think it's affecting him a little bit."

August brings reality. The Yankees have an overrated offense, and cannot match up with the class team in the league, the Angels.

Their 1-0 loss to Ervin Santana and Francisco Rodriguez was more proof last night at Yankee Stadium. When I asked Johnny Damon what team these pitching-rich Angels remind him of he had a pretty good answer.

More from the NY Post here.