It has been a frightening and somewhat maddening few days as the Yankees now sit tied atop the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles (who would’ve thought it? The odds might be better at partybingo.com). With our starting pitching still shaky and the O’s red hot, things are not looking good. Right on both our coattails are the Rays too. We seem to be headed towards the recent end-of-season fates of our cross-town rivals and frankly, that should not be acceptable for this team.

Sure the injuries are not in our hands, but the lack of certain moves by management (which really comes down to the Steinbrenners) is just not acceptable. Things would almost surely have been different had their father still been in charge and I don’t think the fan response will be pretty if we miss the playoffs.

Everything is not lost yet, but the Yankees need to buckle down and get back on track, especially in the interdivision series’ left because it does not look like the O’s (or Rays) will go away quietly.

The New York Yankees are rolling on all cylinders right now as they just racked up their 8th win in a row over rivals Boston Red Sox. The win came with a great effort in collaboration by the Yanks’ bullpen (the Rafael Soriano : Dave Robertson dilemma might not be a dilemma after all). With the win the Bronx Bombers are now atop the AL East once more and have the best record in the American League. Bartolo Colon had the start for the game and allowed a couple runs before being taken out in the 5th inning. Both Soriano and Robertson got HLDs along with reliever Cory Wade and Mariano Rivera got the close.

The Yankees trail only the Philadelphia Phillies in wins in the MLB with the Phils having 73 and the Yanks 69. This sort of great bullpen work will need to last in the postseason if the Yankees hope to get far because the rotation is still iffy and considerably drops off after C.C Sabathia at the top. Colon and Freddy Garcia have played well thus far, but at their ages and points in their careers it is not a guarantee that they can last, especially down the stretch of the season when many players start to become fatigued.

Ah the predicament truly begins. Supposed to be setup man Rafael Soriano returns from the DL today to the 25 man Yankees’ big league roster. Steve Garrison was sent down to Double-A to make room for the pitcher. Now the question begins as to who will retain the setup spot and how things will be shared. David Robertson has been great for the Yanks and I think he will end up keeping the spot, especially given Soriano’s troubles even when he was hurt. But, of course the salary issue does sting a little. Manager Joe Girardi said that Soriano will be eased into things, but didn’t hint at what that means or if he is even sure what will happen at the setup position.

As the New York Yankees continue to look to bolster their pitching staff before the MLB trade deadline, new reports suggest that the team is interested in Dodgers’ right-hander Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda would have to approve any deal as he has a no-trade clause in his contract. The starting pitcher currently has an ERA of 3.19 and several teams have expressed interest. There are still doubts on whether he will end up being traded though because he has expressed that he loves Los Angeles and the Dodgers team. The Yankees are interested in improving the rotation nonetheless and a Yankees-Dodgers deal might be in the works. Stay tuned for updated on a potential Kuroda trade.

This is not really Yankees related, but it is a big event, so I’ll blog it anyway. Ervin Santana of the Los Angeles Angels hit a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians today. Santana is the first to do it at Progressive Park and is the only one to do it for the Angels in almost 27 years. Santana said he realized the possibility of the no-hitter after he got out of the 8th inning. He ended up striking out 10 batters and allowed only 2 runners on base. This was the ninth no hitter in Angels history, with four of them belonging to the legendary Nolan Ryan. Santana ended the day with 105 pitches, of which 76 were strikes. He was 0-2 in the count an astounding nine times, but it all worked out in the end.

According to reports, the Yankees seem to have the best shot at landing extraordinary pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez for the Colorado Rockies. What a haul that would be! The price will surely be high though as Colorado has made it clear, but if the Yankees could pull it off, it would really be amazing. The Yanks will almost definitely have to give up some top prospects in return as the Rockies have gone as far as to demand the likes of Aroldis Chapman (from the Cincinnati Reds) in exchange for the young, dominant pitcher. If Cashman can pull it off though, the rotation gets a huge boost and perhaps the best 1-2 punch in C.C. and Jimenez (or at least rivaling that of the Philadelphia Phillies). It is going to be an interesting time going into the trade deadline as it usually is for the Yankees. Stay tuned for more news on a potential Yankees-Rockies deal that would send Jimenez to the Bronx!

The New York Yankees continued strong today as C.C. Sabathia started against the struggling Seattle Mariners. The Yankees ace went seven innings and got his 15th win on the season as closer Mariano Rivera got the save and David Robertson the hold. Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the bottom of the 4th and Mark Teixeira hit a homer in the 8th. Both were solo shots with the other two runs for the Yankees coming in the fifth off hits by Eric Chavez and Derek Jeter.

This win puts the Yankees one and a half games behind the Boston Red Sox with a 61-40 record. The Yankees have now won three in a row and have gone seven and three in their last ten games.

The Mariners with this loss are now chasing history as it was their 17th straight loss and the team is now in contention for the longest MLB losing streak. Other teams that lost 17 games in a row include the 1926 Boston Red Sox, 1962 New York Mets, and the 1977 Atlanta Braves.

Ben Gordon started in yesterday’s win over the Rangers. He pitched 5.1 innings and gave up 7 hits and 2 runs. The game would go into extra innings tied at 2 and it would not go final until the 12th inning when Brett Gardner singled to shallow right, sending Cano to second, and Granderson home for the win. Michael Kirkman took the loss for the Rangers who the Yankees ended up sweeping with the win. The Yankees are now 39 and 28, sitting 1.5 games behind the Red Sox as they get set for their interleague series against the Cubs later today. Freddy Garcia will take the mound in today’s game against Doug Davis on the other end.

Yankees tickets prices for 2011 will differ for some seats compared to 2010. The Yankees released the 2011 season ticket pricing last November and as the season rolls closer it is important to note the changes. Among the ticket information released was a list of special programs including $5 games for select spots on specific dates and student nights. For a full list of ticket prices check out the official Yankees website.